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2008-09-29 Rider impressions after Motegi race
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 Valentino Rossi managed to grab MotoGP title from first attempt on Honda territory, once again bringing some great racing with his great rival, Casey Stoner, which he declared as his greatest rival ever. Dani Pedrosa returned to the podium on his second race on Bridgestone tyres, while Jorge Lorenzo just missed podium. In a word, race full of impressions...
Valentino Rossi - 1st:
It’s a great victory and a great achievement; I think it’s at the same level as the first title in 2004 with Yamaha, maybe even better! This championship has been very long and hard and all of the team and all of Yamaha have worked very well, never giving up for one moment. We have been able to put a great bike onto the track in all conditions and at all circuits, and this has allowed me to ride like this and to win so many races. I am very happy! The race was a great battle and I had to ride at 100%, like I have through all through the season! Pedrosa and Stoner today were very strong and it was fun to fight with them like this, I am happy that it was a good race for the fans. It was a fantastic feeling to take the title with a win, like I did in 2001 and 2004. I think this is the hardest I have ever had to work to win a world championship and I have to say a huge thank you to Yamaha, my mechanics, the team and everyone involved for working this hard alongside me. Of course I also have to say a special thank you to Bridgestone, they have done a great job with the tyres all season and the decision to be with them has been a big part of our success this season. We have lost for two years and I don’t think I was the favourite this season, but we have shown that we are a great team and that we never give up. I am so happy that I have now won three titles with Yamaha because this is how many I won with my last team and I want Yamaha to have the same merit – I am a Yamaha rider and I feel different with Yamaha than with anyone else before – I hope we will have more together! Now I have to get used to being World Champion again!
Casey Stoner - 2nd:
At the beginning of the race everything felt good although I made a couple of mistakes on a cold tyre. We were running quite a hard compound today so we needed a few laps to get it warmed up. Once we did that the lap times were good and I felt happy with my pace. Unfortunately in the second half of the race I started to get tired in the changes of direction and I was having to close the gap coming out of the corners to get into the next one - simply because I didn't have the strength to flick the bike over with the throttle open. The lap times dropped off and when Valentino came past I couldn't keep up. He's had an amazing season - he only made one mistake at Assen and the rest of the time he's been on the podium, winning races. He's a worthy champion - eight world titles show that - and I want to congratulate him for that. I'm just disappointed that we made two mistakes in the mid-point of the season that allowed him to open up such a big advantage. Anyway, after the recent misfortune we've had it was important to come back here with a strong performance and some solid points. Now we can go to Australia with confidence and look to finish the season strongly.
Dani Pedrosa - 3rd:
Third place was not so bad today, though of course I tried to be faster. I have had some difficult races recently and some injuries, so it was a good feeling to be competitive again. I wasn’t so fast at the beginning of the race, I expected to be faster. Later on I was able to improve my pace, my times got better lap by lap, so I am happy about that. My pitboard told me that Lorenzo was coming, I got ‘plus zero’, ‘plus zero’, ‘plus zero’. I expected him to get faster because he was chasing me. On the last lap he touched me but I was able to stay on the bike. My thanks to Honda and to Bridgestone. Also congratulations to Valentino [Rossi, who won today’s race to seal his sixth premier-class crown], he rode a great race.
Jorge Lorenzo - 4th:
I am very happy with this fourth position; it was impossible to do more today. I tried so hard to pass Dani and the hairpin before the back straight was the only place I had the chance, but I couldn’t do it. Yesterday I thought I had a chance to win and I was very confident, but this morning I saw the weather, much colder and yesterday, and I knew that it would be more difficult than in the qualifying session. The track was colder and for Michelin and for me this was more difficult. I have to improve my starts because once again I had problems and lost some places, but anyway I think I’m in good form for the last three races. The team worked very well this weekend, as always, so thanks to them and to Michelin. Big congratulations to Valentino and the other side of the box, to do what he has done is almost impossible! Finally well done to everyone for winning the Team’s and Manufacturer’s titles as well, I am so happy that I have played a part in this during my first season with Yamaha.
Nicky Hayden - 5th:
I got a pretty good start and was certainly in the mix there for a couple of laps but they just had a little bit more pace everywhere. I tried to make up for it a few times on the brakes, but I just didn’t have the pace. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I had high expectations, I thought maybe we could get in there and find something extra for the race. We rode about as hard as we could and it got harder as the tyres went away. That pack was coming for me, I just tried to not make any mistakes, keep my rhythm and hold them off. I knew there was a couple of guys chasing but I didn’t know there was that many coming for me. The bandana I wore on the grid, some fan gave it to me yesterday. I wore it for qualifying and got on the front row, so I figured, try it again. Congratulations to Valentino [Rossi, who won today’s race to claim his eighth world title]. I know what it takes to win one and it takes a bad dude to win eight of them. Much respect.
Loris Capirossi - 6th:
All weekend has been not too bad for us - we’ve worked hard to find the best setting and to try to work in a different method. The race was a bit tough and I tried really hard at the beginning, and stayed with the front group, but in the middle of the race I made a mistake and lost contact with Nicky. I fought back to him and tried to catch him on the last lap but unfortunately I lost the rear and missed the opportunity. I think we had a bike capable of top-five today, but to be any higher than that would have been very difficult. We still need to keep working very hard and I feel quite good about the future and believe 100% in the Suzuki project. We now have to finish the best way we can this season so we are in a good position for 2009.
Colin Edwards - 7th:
I got a good start and settled in behind Valentino and Jorge at the first corner and I was happy because I’ve been caught up in a couple of incidents there in the past. I threw it in and then I just saw this front wheel staring straight at me. It was Dovizioso but luckily we all made through but the first lap I was just trying to get some heat into the rear tyre. I got it working and got into a good pace and saw that Loris was coming back to me. I was pushing hard but I was having a few issues with the rear spinning, which has been a problem all weekend. But then Loris made a mistake and he was right out to the kerb at the first corner. He was nearly in the dirt and I was right on his tail. I was behind him for what seemed like forever but it was fun. I could almost reach out and touch his back wheel but I couldn’t do anything to get by him. Loris’s bike was really good coming off the corner. It obviously has some bottom grunt because all I could do was watch him and I couldn’t do anything with him. I couldn’t get close enough to out-brake him and with the spinning problem I couldn’t get any acceleration grip out of the corner to line him up for a pass. I put my head down and I was riding as hard as I could, but with the spinning issue I was losing a bit of corner speed, so I was braking extra deep to keep all the weight on the front to run some momentum in the corner. Seventh is not where I want to be but it feels good to get a solid race under my belt. It feels forever since I did that, so it is something to build on for the last three races.
Shinya Nakano - 8th:
I didn’t make the best start but I tried to push straight away to recover ground and I managed to pass some riders on the first lap. Then I made a mistake and lost the rear, which cost me a few positions. I got past Edwards again on the brakes and stayed behind him for the rest of the race. I spent a few laps trying to work out where I could pass him but he was very strong on corner exit and under braking. Towards the end I had Capirossi in front of me so I tried to overtake again but Dovizioso was very close behind and it was a tough situation to judge. In the end I decided it was better to defend than attack and even though eighth place is not what I wanted it is at least an improvement on recent results. Now I feel I have my confidence back and that makes me look forward to the final three races.
Andrea Dovizioso - 9th:
Today I worked hard to catch up with the leaders. I finished the race in ninth but my race pace was good enough to get fifth. The race was decided in the early laps: in the first turn we were all in a group and no one had any intention of leaving space for others! It was a tough race, and I was riding hard and taking many risks to try and gain positions. At one point I almost touched Nakano, then I was confronted with a group of riders that brake hard like me, including John Hopkins and James Toseland and it took many laps to pass them, after which I was tired. I continued to push, and maybe the result would have been different if I had managed to stay behind Nicky Hayden, when he pulled away, but that is racing.
John Hopkins - 10th:
The start is always a bit hectic here because the first few turns are quite tight, so we just got our head down and settled into a rhythm. We caught up with James Toseland and I tried everything to get around him, but he just had a little bit more acceleration out of the turns than us. It was quite frustrating because on the brakes and mid-corner we were much quicker, so we passed each other on many occasions. We were side by side for a lot of the time so it was a big battle and it came down to the final lap where I made a pass that stuck at turn two. We managed to achieve tenth, but really I felt we were capable of a top five finish because we were lapping at the same pace as riders much further up the field. We've learnt a lot from this weekend, and we've made a lot of set-up changes, so it's definitely been positive. I've also regained a lot of confidence and we can now use the last three rounds to start preparing the bike for 2009.
James Toseland - 11th:
I gave it my all on every lap and I stayed consistent without making any mistakes. But with that lack of dry track time on Friday it cost me because I was only a couple of tenths slower than fifth position and that time you can find on a dry day with the set-up. But the guys in front were so consistent that I couldn’t really get close. One slight problem like a wet day makes it really difficult to get right on the pace. I was with Colin and Shinya early on but I’d been playing with the rear shock all weekend to try and get some grip at full lean angle. It was the best it has been but I was still losing a lot of time on the exit and they were just pulling away from me a bit. And because it is so stop and start here, if you can exit the corners better it gives you a good advantage and you can pull a couple of tenths a lap. I really wanted tenth but John came underneath me at turn one on the last lap and I tried to pass him back in the second part of it down the straight. But he came back on my side and he put my clutch on. It slipped my clutch and he was just able to get a bit of an advantage. I tried to get him back but he didn’t put a foot wrong for the rest of the lap. It’s disappointing to have worked so hard to keep that place and lose it at the end. At least now I can look ahead to three races where I know the tracks, so hopefully we can end the season on a high.
Randy De Puniet - 12th:
Honestly we expected a better race here. I made a good start but in the first corner Dovizioso braked to late and went a bit wide. I tried to pass him in the inside but some riders overtook me because did not have enough corner speed. So I lost few places finishing the first lap in 14th place. After that I tried to remain concentrated but the bike started to slide. However at 4 laps to go I caught Hopkins and Toseland but was impossible for me to pass them. Besides my wrist started to ache a lot and did my best to finish the race.
Marco Melandri - 13th:
I got a good start today but I ran off track when I was in the middle of fighting with a group of riders and lost all the positions I'd made up. It's a shame because it is really hard for me to overtake. I lose so much time on the exit of the corners that I'm always a long way back under braking. We recovered some ground but it wasn't enough. We'll see how it goes in Australia, which is one of my all-time favourite tracks and a place Ducati always seem to do well at.
Sylvain Guintoli – 14th:
Until Saturday morning things were going in the right direction, then in the qualifying and today everything has changed. I don’t know what has happened but I really didn’t make it to find the right confidence to push at the maximum. I didn’t have much confidence with the front tyre and I was losing too much time during the turns. Now I have to check the data with my technicians to sensibly improve for the next round in Phillip Island.
Anthony West - 15th:
At the moment it seems that, if it wasn't for bad luck we wouldn't have any luck at all. Early on in the race my front brake lever was coming all the way back to the bar, and the bike just wasn't stopping. Almost every lap I had to use the brake span adjuster to move the lever further out, but two corners later it would be back to the bar again. We don't know yet what the problem was, but eventually I just ran out of brakes at the end of the straight and ended up taking a trip through the gravel trap. So, a bit frustrating, but I don't want to dwell on this weekend. Now I need to look forward to my home race at Phillip Island, where I really want to put on a good show for all the Australian MotoGP fans. We made some progress with set-up during practice and qualifying here, and I hope we can continue to make further improvements before we line up for the Australian Grand Prix next Sunday.
Toni Elias – 16th:
It has been a difficult weekend for me: I am ill and today it wasn’t easy to race. In addition I went off track in the seventh lap due to some problems and to comeback it wasn’t an easy job. I really lost too much time and therefore I decided to take this race like a long run in a free practice maintaining a really good rhythm. Now I hope to feel much better physically soon to be in the best conditions in Australia.
Alex De Angelis - 17th:
It has been a really tough weekend because despite the best efforts of the team we haven’t managed to find a setting that has allowed me to ride comfortably at this track. I want to thank my mechanics because I’ve had three crashes here but they’ve done a great job to fix the bike and I’m disappointed not to get a better result for them. I tried to push hard over the opening laps but I kept running wide and never found my rhythm. It has been a day to forget but we have to stay positive because now we go to Phillip Island, which is one of my favourite tracks, and I want to bounce back. It has been a tough experience here but one we can use in our favour.
Chris Vermeulen - DNF:
It’s always very frustrating not to finish a race and when it is something that you have no control over that makes it even harder to take. I made quite a good start, but I had a couple of moments early on in the race as the tyres weren’t quite up to working temperature. I got involved with a group of riders and as soon as the tyres started to work well I felt like I had a good speed and rhythm. After about three or four laps I started to have a bit of an issue with braking and stopping the bike, and eventually I ran off the track. I am really disappointed about what happened as I thought I was in with a chance of at least a top-10 today, but now I can look forward to my home GP next weekend and try to make up for it there!
Kousuke Akiyoshi - DNF:
I had tried all weekend to get a good engine management set-up and last night we made some big changes and the feeling was a lot better. Unfortunately I crashed in the warm-up and it meant I had to use my spare bike for the race and I struggled to get a good start - but I did manage to get past five or six bikes. Then in the third corner I had a big slide and crashed. I am very unhappy about this weekend and now I must concentrate on the test tomorrow and make some more improvements and help to develop the 2009 bike.
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