Commencing with the Silverstone race which took place on August 5 and was affected by severe weather conditions. Race 1, started dry but was almost immediately stopped when the rain began. For the restart, in dry conditions, the riders were on slick tyres but it shortly started to rain again so all had to proceed carefully around the circuit which proved a risky business. With an eye on the world championship standings, both Melandri (7th) and Checa (5th) rode a safe race whilst Fabrizio and Badovini took the risk which paid off for them as they crossed second and third respectively over the finish line (with Badovini having a final crash) which resulted in a well deserved podium for our two guys.
Race 2 saw a similar script: start, stop and re-start due to the rain, but this time the second part of the race was permanently stopped as the track was becoming too difficult for riders to negotiate. At the finish: Checa was 6th, 8th Melandri, Fabrizio 13th while Badovini crashed again.
In the overall standings, the points earned at Silverstone now put Melandri 2nd, to 10.5 points from the lead and Checa to 4th but only 2 points behind the third place. Next race in Moscow on 26/8
In the Indianapolis MotoGP race (August 19th) unfortunately our rider Casey Stoner had a huge crash during qualifying. The result was a bad injury to his ankle but, with the help of painkillers, he rode a stoic race remaining in third position until a few laps to go when, because of increasing pain, he started to slow but still past the chequered flag retaining a strong fourth place. In second place was Jorge Lorenzo, who is leading the overall standings, while Stoner is third. Next race at Brno on August 26.
Rider's declarations here.
MOTOGP
JORGE LORENZO X-lite X-802
"We thought that the soft tyre could finish the race well so we took a risk with it. At the beginning it wasn’t so bad and I could follow Ben and Dani. Then Ben had his engine failure which was lucky for my position but I am so sorry for him. Dani was a little step forward today and had a tyre advantage in the end. Anyway, second was the best we could do today which is very good for the Championship."
CASEY STONER Nolan X-802
"I'm definitely disappointed with how the weekend went. We had a strong start on Friday morning and then had a few issues Friday afternoon in FP2. We showed that we certainly had the pace for pole position and fight for the win, but unfortunately I had a huge crash in qualifying. The injuries I sustained from the crash made things very difficult for us and we lost precious track time to work on the set-up. This morning in warm-up I was just getting comfortable on the bike and trying to get a feel for everything rather than working on set up. The race was equally as difficult. We had a rough start and got pushed back some positions and had to fight our way back through. As soon as we did, unluckily Ben (Spies) had a bike failure and I found myself in the middle of the smoke, unsure where I was going and what I might hit and we lost positions again. At the end of the race it was almost impossible to maintain the pace. The painkillers I took to dull the pain gradually wore off at around the halfway point and, as I was compensating for my injury with the other side of my body, I simply had no energy left. It was frustrating to give up the podium position to Andrea (Dovizioso), but we did everything we could and at least I was able to ride and take some points."
SUPERBIKE
MARCO MELANDRI Nolan X-802
"This day actually was unbelievable. The two races were completely different, but they were both equally difficult. It was very important to finish today. Many young riders who are not involved in the championship fight were pushing very hard so the races were not easy. But I am so happy because we leave here without any damage and good points. Now I am looking forward to Moscow because the track is new for everybody. I just hope that the weather will be more stable there."
CARLOS CHECA X-lite X-802
"The conditions today, especially in race 1, were dangerous; racing in the wet with slick tyres is obviously no fun for anyway, although it probably makes for exciting races for the spectators. Before the rain started to fall I was going really well but then once the rain came, and certain sections of the track became wetter than others, I lost a bit of confidence and slowed down a bit, thinking that maybe one or two guys would come past me but instead there were five or six of them! In the final stages, when I saw how the front group was pushing and how hard it was just to stay upright, I chose to stay put and follow them rather than push and take risks. Fifth isn’t bad considering the conditions. In race 2 I lost some ground at the start but then managed to make that up again over the subsequent laps to arrive close to Berger who was in fifth. I saw some oil on the track and went wide to avoid it – I put my hand up at that point to indicate to Race Direction that conditions were getting worse but then I fell. Anyway, we’ve made up a few points in the standings and now we have to concentrate on the Russian round."
