“It was a very tough race and I’m happy very about this result. I want to thank my team, we have worked well, improving every session. On Friday morning we were only 17th, I think, then we started moving forward and yesterday we were able to get pole and today I finished second, so finally it has been a good weekend for me and my team,” said Dani, who was injured at Sepang in pre-season testing.

“We have made another important step forward after Phillip Island where I crashed out of the race and hurt my left knee. At the end of today’s race Valentino was faster than me, he always puts on some extra pressure towards the end, so it was difficult to follow him, but we were closer this time than we were at Motegi [where Pedrosa finished third], so I am happy that we are making progress with our new bike and tyres.”

“It has been a little bit difficult for me and my team to get used this package so late in the season, but we are getting faster every race and this is important,” said Dani. “If we can get closer at the next race then we know we are working in a good direction. I am looking forward to Valencia next week: there will be a lot of Spanish fans there.”

Absolutely! Hopefully Dani will be able to win his home race.

1. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 43min 6.007 sec
2. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (B) 43min 10.015 sec
3. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 43min 14.543 sec
4. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 43min 14.865 sec
5. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 43min 16.590 sec
6. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 43min 19.647 sec
7. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 43min 21.943 sec
8. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 43min 24.809 sec
9. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 43min 29.181 sec
10. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 43min 31.523 sec
11. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 43min 33.616 sec
12. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 43min 47.406 sec
13. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 43min 51.624 sec
14. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 43min 55.100 sec
15. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 44min 5.146 sec
16. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 44min 9.335 sec
17. Nobuatsu Aoki JPN Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 44min 54.370 sec

It was a colorful qualifying session after the heavy rain before the qualifying. A dramatic last 5 minutes happened as Casey Stoner, Andrea Dovizioso, and Valentino Rossi consecutively made to the top of timesheet. But it was Dani Pedrosa who was able to take the pole position.

`It is fantastic to be on pole here, especially since this is my first pole with Bridgestone tyres, so a big thank you to them and also to my team who have worked so hard for this,´ said an elated Pedrosa after putting down his storming 2´01.548 lap.

`Track conditions were changing all the time this afternoon, so it was quite tricky. At the beginning it was wet, then little by little the track dried, so you had to be on the ball to understand when it was best to change tyres. I was able to get in a good lap time in my final run, and I´m very happy to get this pole position.´

`Pole is particularly important here because the lap times are all very close, so a good start will be crucial. We already know what race tyres we are going to use and I feel that we are ready to race. Of course, everything depends on the weather, it usually rains here most days, so we will have to wait and see when tomorrow´s rain storm arrives. It could be wet, dry or mixed.´
Source: MotoGP.com

Results under the cut

1. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (B) 2min 1.548 sec
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 2min 1.957 sec
3. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 2min 2.171 sec
4. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 2min 2.192 sec
5. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 2min 2.245 sec
6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 2min 2.836 sec
7. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 2min 2.953 sec
8. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 2min 3.078 sec
9. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 2min 3.110 sec
10. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 2min 3.184 sec
11. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 2min 3.271 sec
12. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 2min 3.282 sec
13. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 2min 3.392 sec
14. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 2min 3.835 sec
15. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 2min 4.001 sec
16. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 2min 4.378 sec
17. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 2min 4.679 sec
18. Nobuatsu Aoki JPN Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 2min 4.835 sec
19. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 2min 5.120 sec

“This morning we struggled because we lacked a bit of rhythm, but during the afternoon session I was able to improve both my feeling with the bike and my race pace. We worked on set-up, we tested some tyres and we have some more tyres to test tomorrow. Tyre choice is especially crucial here, so we will concentrate on that.
With a different bike and tyres to adapt to, Pedrosa is aware that he is on the back foot this weekend so he is hoping the weather remains good.
“Then tomorrow afternoon we will try to get a good grid position, which is also very important here. I hope we have two dry sessions tomorrow so we can keep on preparing for the race.
“Everybody is fast at Sepang because we all test here during the winter, so everyone’s got a lot of data at their disposal.
“This winter I only tested one day here and the package I have now is completely different to what I had then. As for the Bridgestone tyres, they are different to what I am used to here, so I have been trying to adapt my riding style.”
Source

Complete second day free practice results under the cut!

1. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 2min 2.667 sec
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 2min 2.838 sec
3. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 2min 2.970 sec
4. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 2min 3.050 sec
5. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (B) 2min 3.232 sec
6. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 2min 3.346 sec
7. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 2min 3.430 sec
8. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 2min 3.474 sec
9. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 2min 3.550 sec
10. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 2min 3.598 sec
11. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 2min 3.723 sec
12. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 2min 3.925 sec
13. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 2min 4.183 sec
14. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 2min 4.190 sec
15. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 2min 4.204 sec
16. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 2min 4.281 sec
17. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 2min 4.391 sec
18. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 2min 4.568 sec
19. Nobuatsu Aoki JPN Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 2min 5.998 sec

`We weren´t so lucky at Phillip Island and sometimes you have some bad luck in racing. But we are already looking forward to Malaysia where I am determined to make up for the mistake I made in the last race. I´ve got still some pain from the accident, my left knee is a bit swollen, but I hope I will soon be in perfect condition.´

About the race track, Pedrosa said that tyres will play important role due to the heat and the track.

`It is quite long with a good combination of right-handers and left-handers, many of which are quite long. The motorcycle needs tyres of a tough compound for this race, and tyres play a very important role in the heat.´
`Both the front and rear tyres are of a similar compound because they both have to work very hard: there is a lot of heavy braking, which asks a lot of the front end, and there is a lot of hard acceleration, which affects the rear. The track has a lot of different corners and sections, so the riding style you use is quite varied and it is very physically demanding because of the heat.´

`I got a good start and was entering the second corner in third position when the rear tyre started sliding. I tried to correct the bike but I ran off the track. On the grass I tried to correct the bike again but I crashed. I hurt my left knee in the fall. Fortunately I’ve not broken any bones or damaged any ligaments, but I´ve got a lot of pain and the knee is swollen. I am very disappointed because we knew we had a good race pace and I was very confident that I could score another podium, just like at Motegi last weekend. It was another bad race. I made a mistake and I am sorry for the team, they worked hard throughout the weekend. Tonight I will fly back to Spain and rest the injury while looking forward to the Malaysia GP. Now it’s looking difficult for second place in the championship, there are only two races left.´

Source

Casey Stoner won the race while world champion Valentino Rossi has an incredible performance and finished second after starting from 12th. Dani’s team mate, Hayden was third. Complete results under the cut.

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 40min 56.643 secs
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 41min 3.147 secs
3. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 41min 3.848 secs
4. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 41min 8.143 secs
5. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 41min 8.557 secs
6. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 41min 8.886 secs
7. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 41min 9.423 secs
8. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 41min 22.563 secs
9. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 41min 22.680 secs
10. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 41min 23.442 secs
11. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 41min 23.670 secs
12. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 41min 44.451 secs
13. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 41min 44.976 secs
14. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 41min 45.542 secs
15. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 41min 45.578 secs
16. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 42min 8.410 secs

DNF:
Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (B) Lap 1
Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) Lap 1

Full qualifying results under the cut

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 28.665 secs
2. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 28.734 secs
3. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 28.756 secs
4. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 1min 28.808 secs
5. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 1min 29.031 secs
6. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (B) 1min 29.277 secs
7. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 1min 29.513 secs
8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 1min 29.558 secs
9. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 1min 29.710 secs
10. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 1min 29.925 secs
11. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 29.942 secs
12. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 1min 30.014 secs
13. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 1min 30.202 secs
14. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 1min 30.297 secs
15. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 30.545 secs
16. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 31.157 secs
17. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 31.939 secs
18. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 31.995 secs

“This morning we mainly concentrated on engine tests, comparing data and performance with some different electronic mapping,” said Dani. “It is important for us to keep on learning about this bike, and working to improve the set up of the pneumatic-valve engine with Bridgestone tyres.

“We started testing before 10.00am, but we couldn’t do too many laps because it started raining around lunch time. Then came a surprise from the team in the garage, when they produced a big cake for my birthday,” he confirmed.

Haha. Even the weather man knew it’s his birthday.
Anyway, regarding his first podium with Bridgestone Pedrosa admitted he’s pretty satisfied. He also congratulate Valentino Rossi for the victory in the race and also in the world championship.

“Third place was not so bad today, though of course I tried to be faster,” he said. “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 [on his sixth MotoGP title], he rode a great race,” Pedrosa concluded.
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