2008-03-30  Rider claims after Jerez race
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From first race of the season, where Stoner resumed his dominance, this race redefined powers, with Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi striking back, while Lorenzo continued impressive performance. For sure, impressions are strong after the race, and here you may read them from first hand. Dani Pedrosa - winner: This is my first MotoGP win at Jerez and I’m very happy about today’s performance because it comes after a difficult winter during which we couldn’t test so much after I crashed and broke my right hand in January. To score good results in two complicated races and lead the Championship is very important. I got a good start, not spectacular like in Qatar, but effective, so I was able to take the lead. I did my best, I focused on not making mistakes and I was able to manage the race all the way to the finish and get a win in front of the Spanish fans. Valentino Rossi - 2nd: I’m really happy with this podium because, even though it hasn’t been so many races since the last one, it’s been quite a lot of months! I am also very happy to have reached 100 podiums in MotoGP; now I am wondering if I can get to 200! It’s a pity we couldn’t win today and maybe I was a little bit too cautious at the start because I wanted to take care of my tyres, but in the end they worked very well from start to finish and so this is great for the future. It’s always better to win but after the poor result in Qatar this is a very important second place to us, also because it’s my first podium with Bridgestone. Thanks to my team, to Yamaha and to Bridgestone because we’ve made a lot of progress this weekend, continuing right up to making some small but important adjustments after warm-up this morning. My bike and tyres are working very well, we’re third in the championship with a very long way to go and I’m feeling quite confident. Jorge Lorenzo - 3rd: Of course I’m a little bit disappointed today because we thought that we might be able to make more of a challenge, but I can’t complain because it’s only my second race and I’ve had two podiums and two pole positions, so it’s still a great result! To race today in front of so many Spanish fans and also The King was something incredible and I have really enjoyed myself a lot here. Dani was a fair winner today, his pace was very strong and I couldn’t stay with him, but I am learning all the time and I will be stronger again at the next race. It’s a very long championship and this is an important result for us. Thanks to my team and to Yamaha and Michelin, everyone worked very hard and I think we’ve done a very good job so far. To be second in the championship at this point is still f ar more than I expected and now I am just looking forward to the next race. Nicky Hayden - 4th: It was fun to be competitive, to come into that stadium section the first lap with 130,000 people coming alive, bombs going off, it was cool, it was nice to be there in the mix. The bike worked the best it’s worked all weekend and I was pushing hard. After I dropped back a bit I made a run on them, I was trying to give those guys a fight. Then I stayed on the brake a bit too long into turn one and pretty much crashed. It was elbow-down and I thought it was done, but the front tyre was good, so I picked it up on the knee and saved it. All in all it's been a good day for Repsol Honda, so thanks to my team and for the support from all the guys. Loris Capirossi - 5th: First of all I really want to say thank-you and well done to the whole team because they have all made a great effort for me and everybody stayed focused. We didn’t start the season in the best place and now we have come back a little bit, but we must continue to work in that way. Fifth position is not the best for us because our target is different, but at the moment it is not too bad. I had to fight to get through and I started really aggressive because I knew the Bridgestone tyres would work well at the beginning and I tried to stay with top guys, but as the tyre started to wear I had to defend my position. In the last couple of laps I fought with Toseland and Dovizioso, but I beat both of them in the last corner. That was for sure nice for me! James Toseland - 6th: I really had to dig deep in that race. There are two groups of people that kept it together this weekend and they are the Tech 3 team and the Clinica Mobile people. I want to thank them for helping me get out there. At one point it looked like I might not be able to ride so to finish sixth is a great result. What I was worried about was if I couldn't breath properly then that might have made me dizzy in the race but luckily I was fine. The bike felt great and the front Michelin tyre worked great. That's why I was able to pass all the guys at the same place coming onto the back straight. I couldn't pass anybody down the straight and the only place I could pass was where I did. I was getting good drive off the corner but I still couldn't get side by side on the straights to line them up for a pass on the brakes. It would have been do-or-die on the brakes, but because my front tyre was so good it really hooked well mid-corner round turn five onto the back straight and my corner speed carried me underneath Vermeulen, Dovizioso and Capirossi. I was disappointed not to keep fifth, especially after I'd battled so hard for it. The last corner was a bit manic and I don't know how Andrea stayed on the track because he was in there so hot. I got a bit pushed out and Loris came up the inside. To finish sixth like in Qatar and back that result up on a track I've never raced at in my condition is really good for me. This bike and this team are capable of being in the top six, even with a touch of bronchitis. I'm looking forward to getting the new engine now. We are one of the few that can actually look forward to getting something new for the next race and I can't wait for the new engine. John Hopkins - 7th: We took a gamble on the race tyre we used today as we've only completed two timed laps on it previously and, thankfully, we made a good decision. I got a good start to the race but went backwards a few places on lap one. I was pushing hard to make a pass on lap four when I made a mistake and lost a few positions, so I gritted my teeth and pushed hard to stay with the group in front. I was riding consistently throughout the race but, by the time the last lap arrived, I was sliding quite a lot on the rear tyre. I was right with Toseland and Dovizioso when they had a coming together in the final part of the race, which left the door open for me to make up another position. Although I'm pleased with the result, we still have a lot of work to do. My injury is feeling much better and now we have some test time so can continue the process of getting the Kawasaki to the top of the field. Andrea Dovizioso - 8th: We didn’t have the best start, but we ran a strong race. Despite our poor grid slot I was able to go to near the head of the race, which was good. From the first corner I was last – I don’t know why – but from there I was forced to attack on cold tyres. Obviously this was risky but I pushed very hard until I was in fifth position and ahead of Capirossi. After I made the pass I was tired and unable to pull away and I was also asking a lot of my Michelin tyres. I was ready to fight in last corner, but I was going a little too wide and was trying to accelerate when James and I touched each other and it moved my bike wider still and I lost grip. After this contact there was no chance to keep fifth and I ended up eighth. Shinya Nakano - 9th: I made a good start and made up a few places. At the end I had a fight with Vermeulen and two laps from the end I got past him and was going for the group ahead of me again. Throughout the weekend I’ve been able to constantly lower my times thanks to the work of the team and this leaves me quite optimistic for the next race. Thanks to all my mechanics for their work. Chris Vermeulen - 10th: It was another tough race at Jerez, for the second year in a row! I qualified a fair way back and gave myself a lot of work to do. I didn’t get a good start but I had a couple of really strong laps and got past a few guys. I felt quite strong, the bike was working well and my pace was good early on. By about lap eight I got through to seventh and I was catching fifth and sixth – they were right there in front of me – and things felt really good. Towards the end of the race my rear tyre grip really dropped off and I now think that perhaps we chose a too soft compound and it really suffered in the last few laps. I really struggled and the bike wouldn’t turn or get enough grip to lean it over far enough. We will learn from that and go with a harder compound next time. I’d like to thank all my guys for their hard work this weekend. We are finally on the scoreboard with some points and I’m already looking forward to Estoril. Casey Stoner - 11th: Today wasn't my day - I suppose it wasn't my weekend! We never found the set-up here that would let us make the most of our potential. Normally braking is one of the strong points of our bike but here I just didn't have the feeling with the front. I wasn't quite on the limit when I ran off track the first time but I couldn't get the bike stopped so it took me by surprise because we weren't doing anything differently. After that I had to really push to get back into the race and I was pretty happy once I caught the group. Just when I was passing Nakano he let go of the brakes and touched my wheel, so I had nowhere to go but the gravel. I think I could have finished fifth, which I would have been happy with, but instead it was a bit of a disaster. The tyres weren't perfect but they weren't bad either so I can't blame it on that. I'm not happy but it's not the end of the world - there are plenty of other tracks and other races, starting with Portugal, where we went well last year and finished on the podium, even if we had some little problems, and where this year we will try to fight for victory. Marco Melandri - 12th: Today, like in Qatar, we improved in the second half of the race when the bike improved under braking and on the way into the corners so I could ride much better. Unfortunately I didn't have the grip on the rear and that made me lose a lot under acceleration as soon as I went on the gas. This is my main problem and it is this which we must improve. We knew, however, that this weekend would be difficult because this track is something of an Achilles heel for Ducati, with the 800 at least, because with the 990 they won. In any case we must work and we must continue to improve especially the rear grip. Anthony West - 13th: I gave it my all today and to be honest it was hard work. The result is a big improvement since the last round, although we're still struggling with a lack of rear traction. I got a good start to the race and I was trying to be as smooth as possible but, once the tyre went off, this became quite difficult. During my battle with Melandri, I felt much faster than him and I easily re-passed him on a few occasions. He managed to pass me in the last few laps and, despite pushing really hard, I just didn't have enough grip to get by him again. The front end of the bike felt good, entry and mid corner I was a lot faster than everyone else, but we're losing a lot of time in the exit of some corners so that is the area we need to focus on. Hopefully, with the test time we have, we can make another step forward before reaching Estoril. Alex De Angelis - 14th: I am not happy about today’s performance. I was trying to make a comeback but kept losing places on the straight. I also felt that the traction control was taking away from my pace and that cost me in the end. It’s the same as in Qatar really and I hope to put things right starting from tomorrow with Bridgestone’s help. They are going to give us some new material that we have not tested before. Toni Elias – 15th: I started well, but it didn’t help me at all. This hasn’t surely been an exciting race for me. We knew we weren’t in the best conditions for this race since Friday, but we can’t make miracles in two days. We have to analyze this weekend data and find, if there are any, positive things to restart to work. This performance hurts, but I don’t give up. I will not stop until I will make this bike go well. Sylvain Guintoli – 16th: Honestly I don’t understand why I am so slow. I really try all the modifications possible but I can’t make it to improve my performances. I also try to adapt my riding style to the bike but nothing. I don’t understand what I have to do. Every time I try to dominate the bike or I lose control or I fall like it happened in yesterday’s session. Tomorrow it will be very important, we have the all day at our disposal to evaluate the situation and try to improve our rhythm. Randy De Puniet - DNF: I am very disappointed about the crash. Honestly I made a bad start and lost several positions in the first lap. Then, I found my pace again and was ready to catch the firsts. I was in the middle of the corner on lap three and my line was correct but suddenly I lost the front and crashed. I was expecting something better here after the top-ten finish in Qatar. By the way we will continue our set-up work tomorrow and we will focus on suspension regulations to bet in a competitive form at Estoril. Colin Edwards - DNF I'm disappointed. I didn't get a good start and compared to every start I've done this weekend it was a lot slower and I got caught up and tangled with Nicky and Stoner right off the start. I got in behind them and I just couldn't do anything. It's just what we are lacking in the motor. We can run the pace on our own but as soon as we get in traffic to where we can't carry the momentum round the corner, then we have a problem. We are just waiting for the new engine at the next race and that is going to make a big difference because now it is hard at the moment with the deficit we have got. I can get off the corner but when you have got somebody road blocking you midway through the corner it is hard to carry the momentum that we have to carry. You can't out-brake any of these guys from five bike lengths back. It is just not going to happen, so I was kind of stuck for a little bit and Capirossi motored by me into turn one. Then I was pretty angry because I didn't want to get stuck behind him. But I'd come off the corner and he'd just pull away. I was pushing trying get up there with the guys in front and I made a mistake. I lost the front coming onto the back straight but that's racing I guess. Before yesterday I hadn't had any moments on the front tyre. We had that big moment yesterday and today I was a bit unlucky. We've looked at the data and I was actually slower than the lap before but I must have hit a little but I'm not sure what happened. It didn't look like I should have crashed but I did. I felt really confident and thanks to my guys because they worked hard all weekend and it's a shame it turned out how it did.

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Colin Edwards 2006 Yamaha YZR-M1

Replica of Colin Edwards 2006 Moto GP Yamaha YZR-M1. Due to licencing issues, this model has been released without the Team logo and the logo of the bike lean over on its side.
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