Joy for the supremacy of Stoner at Silverstone and Checa at Misano, bitterness for Lorenzo and Melandri’s crashes.
SILVERSTONE MotoGP
In the British Grand Prix once again the absolute ruler was our Casey Stoner (Nolan X-802) who, thanks to his third win in a row and fourth of the season, is now back at the top of the world rankings. Casey’s supremacy over the three days was never in question, even by the inclement weather conditions that characterized the race. Stoner and Nolan X-802 appeared as an unbeatable couple." At the beginning of the race we didn’t have a great start.” Casey Stoner said. “ I needed to wait for the tyres to get up to temperature. In the first few laps when I was behind the other riders I got a lot of spray up inside the visor and it was hard for me to see, or for me to push. At this time I was being careful, trying to cover my lines to stop them coming inside, then after five laps my visibility got clearer and the water drained away from my visor and I was able to start doing the lap times we were looking for and started to open a gap. I was just happy to stay up on the bike, it was incredibly cold and I was so nervous, because in these conditions it’s so easy to crash! We had a great race today in very tough conditions where anything could have happened, but to come away with a win is fantastic". Unfortunately the situation was not so good for the other Nolan Group’s flag bearer Jorge Lorenzo (X-lite X-802); while he was trying to secure an important third place, he slipped so badly on the seventh lap, breaking a long streak of 25 positive results, leaving the lead of the world championship to the Australian talent, Casey Stoner." I feel disappointed.” Said Jorge. “The crash was my own mistake. It's a shame for the team because they did a very good job all weekend and also my Fan Club who come here to support me. I was riding with confidence, but I had to wait my moment to overtake Andrea. I think I could have fought for the victory with Casey. I wasn’t worried that Simoncelli was catching me; I was worried because Casey was going if I didn't overtake Andrea... then I crashed! Before Casey was chasing me, like a greyhound with a hare but now the situation has reversed. Now we have to go for the victory in Assen! I want to say congratulations to Colin; it has been a good weekend for him. He deserves it after last week.”
Casey Stoner is now leading the championship with 116 points ahead of Lorenzo with 98. Next race at Assen on June 25.
MISANO SBK
The sbk’s absolute favourite, our Carlos Checa (X-lite X-802), didn’t fail. Once again he managed to win both races, proving his absolute supremacy. In race 1, the victory came after posting a brief tussle with Biaggi, but from lap 12 when Carlos took the lead, there was no hope for anyone.
Good third place for Marco Melandri (Nolan X-802), however he was unimpressed. Race 2 followed a similar script until the red flag was deployed for Marco’s crash, (fortunately without any damage to himself but possibly some damage for moral) therefore the race was stopped on lap 11 with Carlos at the front.
The race was then re-started for 14 laps and Carlos took the win and his eighth victory of the season. Ayrton Badovini made a good impression by reaching 4th position in Race2 and finishing 8th in the race one. " What a great result today!” Carlos exclaimed. “In the first race, I didn’t make a great start, losing some ground through the first corners. Max was strong at the start and it wasn’t easy to pass him but once in front, I was able to find good rhythm and build a small advantage. I’m extremely satisfied also because the tyre began to slide in the final laps and it was very hot today. We changed tyre for race 2 and it seems we made the right decision. Max was strong again in race 2 and both he and I had a strong pace, stronger than the other riders, but I perhaps had an extra couple of tenths over him. When I took the lead I managed the race well and took the second win of the day. We knew that Misano could be favourable to us, after results during testing here in May, but I didn’t expect the double win. Fantastic, and perhaps even more important than the Miller wins because we knew we could do well there while here it was far from easy and so even more special".
"It was a very difficult day, one to be forgotten.” Marco announced in a despairing way. “Not due to the crash, but mainly for the inability to compete. Even in Race two I was too slow to be as competitive as I should be. This morning I had difficulty riding the bike and struggled to get the podium. We made some changes prior to race two but that didn't improve anything. The bike seemed to be completely lacking in grip from the beginning and I just suddenly lost the front”.
Unfortunately Marco lost a position in the championship, he is now third with 150 points while Carlos is obviously still in the lead with 245.
The next race will be on June 19th at Aragon.
