ROSSI WINS AS DOVI DIGS DEEP FOR FOURTH PLACE

HONDA RACING INFORMATION


US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca

Sunday July 20, 2008

MotoGP race report

Weather: Dry, sunny
Crowd: 47,000

ROSSI WINS AS DOVI DIGS DEEP FOR FOURTH PLACE

With World Championship challenger Dani Pedrosa
(Repsol Honda RC212V) not starting this race due
to injuries it was left to pole-man Casey Stoner
(Ducati) and Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) to fight it
out at the front. Stoner finished second to Rossi
with Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) third and the
ever-consistent Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V) fourth.

After a cool and misty early morning, the sun
burst through and bathed the grid as the lights
went out and what proved to be a gripping and
hard-fought battle at the front unfolded. And it
was Stoner who made the holeshot into turn one with Rossi on his tail.

Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) held an early
third place and the pack headed uphill and on
towards the famous Corkscrew turn. Rossi pounced
on its approach and ducked inside Stoner to lead.
Meantime Jorge Lorenzo failed to complete the
first lap when he high-sided spectacularly from his Yamaha.

Dovi was holding fourth behind Hayden and ahead
of eventual third-placed finisher Vermeulen but
the action behind the leaders was nothing
compared to what was soon going on at the head of
the pack with the Italian former-Champion and the reigning Aussie.

Stoner sat behind Rossi up close for two more
laps before making another bid for the lead on
the entry to turn one. Rossi then re-passed
Stoner, this time on the steep downhill section
of the Corkscrew, running into the dirt on the
inside, just retaining control and pushing Stoner
wide on the exit. This was a brawl on tarmac and high entertainment.

On lap six Stoner used the 996m main straight to
power past Rossi again before he returned the
compliment on the next lap. The pair were more
than three seconds ahead of Nicky by now. But
Vermeulen now had the measure of Nicky and took
the place off the 2005 and 2006 race winner.

Stoner set a new lap record of 1m 21.813s on lap
eight as he clung on to Rossi. The duo now had an
eight second advantage over Vermeulen who was
never going to catch them now. Stoner tried to
take Rossi again on lap 14 at turn one but he ran
wide and gave the place back.

The top two were riding on the limit and it was a
pity there was no Dani there to add to the
spectacle. But something had to give and on lap
24 it was Stoner who made the mistake that would
cost him at least the chance of fighting for the win.

At the final turn Stoner misjudged his braking on
the entry running wide, onto the dust, but
critically too close to the gravel trap which
claimed him. It was at walking pace he finally
succumbed, toppling off, but remounting swiftly
enough to still be eight seconds ahead of
Vermeulen. Rossi was long gone now though.

Dovi was steady in fourth, Nicky tried to put
pressure on him but remained fifth, while Randy
de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) was fast enough to
repeat his sixth-place of last season. Shinya
Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) managed a
tenth place. His battered team-mate, Alex de
Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V), riding
with a broken thumb after crashing in practice, got 13th spot.

Dovi, rookie and highest Honda finisher here,
said: "Valentino and Casey were riding
unbelievably fast. I made a good start, and on
the first lap when I saw Lorenzo fall, I knew
that the first two were away and that I couldn't
follow them. I was behind Hayden who was quick,
even though Vermeulen was able to catch us. When
I realized that Hayden was running slower, I
wanted to pass him, but Laguna is difficult to
pass on and I spent four laps trying. Then I
pushed to the maximum to pass Hayden and De
Puniet, who are strong on the brakes and who were difficult to pass."

Nicky in fifth said: "Obviously at my home race
I'd hoped to be able to put up a better fight
than that. It was certainly a tough weekend, we
struggled a bit with the tyres we had available.
We really had only two race tyres, the one I used
in practice I kept using again and again, I used
it Friday, Saturday and again this morning, by
the end it had 35 laps on it. I think I learned a
good lesson, we set up the bike on quite old
tyres. In the race when we put in a grippy new
race tyre the balance of the bike changed a lot,
so it was pushing the front in a lot of places."

Sixth-placed De Puniet said: "After our worst
Friday since the beginning of the season we
finally gained a very positive result. We
struggled a bit with rear grip in the last two
days but at the end the bike set-up was good and
I could race as I like. My start was not perfect
but I knew I had the potential to race up there.
I was behind Toseland for many laps and tried to
pass him three times without success. On lap
twelfth I passed him pushing to close the gap
with Dovizioso and Hayden. I was not able to pass
them so decided to keep my position to get this
positive result for me and the Team."

Nakano said: "I'm really disappointed with
today's result because despite our good start,
when I made up some positions over the opening
few laps, I've finished tenth. Half-way through
the race when I was in eighth place I tried to
pass Toseland but I went wide under braking and
lost a lot of ground, which I was unable to
recover. There are still a lot of races left
before the end of the season and after a short
holiday we'll get fully focused again for Brno."

His team-mate De Angelis said: "That was a really
difficult race and I'm so disappointed with what
happened in qualifying. In the second half of the
race I lost so much time stuck behind West - I
don't think I could have fought for the podium
even if I was fit and qualified better but the
group ahead of me was within my grasp. At the end
of the day this was a positive race for us
because the condition I raced in was always going
to make it tough to reach the finish line, but I did so and scored points too."

Rossi on 212 now has a 25-point lead over Stoner
with seven rounds to go. Stoner has 187 points
and Dani now slips to third overall on 171.




Honda rider quotes. GP USA race. July 20, 2008
MotoGP:

Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda: 4th.
"I am pleased to have achieved this result to be
the first Honda rider on Michelin tyres, which
shows how good they are! Valentino and Casey were
riding unbelievably fast. I made a good start,
and on the first lap when I saw Lorenzo fall, I
knew that the first two were away and that I
could not follow them. I was behind Hayden who
was quick, even though Vermeulen was able to
catch us. When I realized that Hayden was running
slower, I wanted to pass him, but Laguna is
difficult to pass on and I spent four laps
trying. Then I pushed to the maximum to pass
Hayden and De Puniet, who are strong 'brakers'
and who were difficult to pass."



Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 5th.
"Obviously at my home race I'd hoped to be able
to put up a better fight than that. It was
certainly a tough weekend, we struggled a bit
with the tyres we had available. We really had
only two race tyres, the one I used in practice I
kept using again and again, I used it Friday,
Saturday and again this morning, by the end it
had 35 laps on it. I think I learned a good
lesson, we set up the bike on quite old tyres. In
the race when we put in a grippy new race tyre
the balance of the bike changed a lot, so it was
pushing the front in a lot of places. I would've
liked to have been closer to the front but I
think we learned a good lesson. Now we've got a
few weeks off, so we'll regroup and try to finish the year strong."


Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 6th.
"After our worst Friday since the beginning of
the season we finally gained a very positive
result. We struggled a bit with rear grip in the
last two days but at the end the bike set-up was
good and I could race as I like. My start was not
perfect but I knew I had the potential to race up
there. I was behind Toseland for many laps and
tried to pass him three times without success. On
lap twelve I passed him pushing to close the gap
with Dovizioso and Hayden. I was not able to pass
them so decided to keep my position to get this
positive result for me and the Team."



Shinya Nakano, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 10th.
"I'm really disappointed with today's result
because despite our good start, when I made up
some positions over the opening few laps, I have
finished tenth. Halfway through the race when I
was in eighth place I tried to pass Toseland but
I went wide under braking and lost a lot of
ground, which I was unable to recover. We were
obviously hoping for much better because my pace
in practice was so good but I tried my best.
There are still a lot of races left before the
end of the season and after a short holiday we'll
get fully focused again for Brno.".


Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 13th.
"That was a really difficult race and I'm so
disappointed with what happened in qualifying. In
the second half of the race I lost so much time
stuck behind West. I don't think I could have
fought for the podium even if I was fit and
qualified better but the group ahead of me was
within my grasp. At the end of the day this was a
positive race for us because the condition I
raced in was always going to make it tough to
reach the finish line, but I did so and scored
points too. It's a shame though because we were
in shape to do well here the good thing is that
the thumb should be okay for Brno."


Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: Did not race due to
injuries sustained at the German GP last week.



Results

MotoGP
Race Classification MotoGP : (32 laps = 115.52 km)
Pos/ Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time/ KM/H / Gap
1 / Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Fiat Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 44'04.311 / 157.270 /
2 / Casey STONER / AUS / Ducati Team / DUCATI / 44'17.312 / 156.501 / 13.001
3 / Chris VERMEULEN / AUS / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP /
SUZUKI / 44'30.920 / 155.703 / 26.609
4 / Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / JiR Team Scot MotoGP
/ HONDA / 44'39.212 / 155.221 / 34.901
5 / Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Repsol Honda Team /
HONDA / 44'39.974 / 155.177 / 35.663
6 / Randy DE PUNIET / FRA / LCR Honda MotoGP /
HONDA / 44'41.979 / 155.061 / 37.668
7 / Toni ELIAS / SPA / Alice Team / DUCATI / 44'45.940 / 154.832 / 41.629
8 / Ben SPIES / USA / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP /
SUZUKI / 44'46.238 / 154.815 / 41.927
9 / James TOSELAND / GBR / Tech 3 Yamaha / YAMAHA
/ 44'47.330 / 154.752 / 43.019
10 / Shinya NAKANO / JPN / San Carlo Honda
Gresini / HONDA / 44'48.702 / 154.673 / 44.391
11 / Jamie HACKING / USA / Kawasaki Racing Team /
KAWASAKI / 44'50.569 / 154.566 / 46.258
12 / Sylvain GUINTOLI / FRA / Alice Team / DUCATI
/ 44'59.584 / 154.050 / 55.273
13 / Alex DE ANGELIS / RSM / San Carlo Honda
Gresini / HONDA / 44'59.832 / 154.036 / 55.521
14 / Colin EDWARDS / USA / Tech 3 Yamaha / YAMAHA
/ 45'06.691 / 153.645 / 1'02.380
15 / Loris CAPIROSSI / ITA / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
/ SUZUKI / 45'12.518 / 153.315 / 1'08.207


Pole Position: Casey STONER 1'20.700 161.040 Km/h
Fastest Lap (New record): Casey STONER 1'21.488 159.483 Km/h Lap 15
Circuit Record Lap: Casey STONER 1'22.542 157.447 Km/h 2007
Circuit Best Lap: Casey STONER 1'20.700 161.040 Km/h 2008

World Championship Positions:
1 ROSSI 212, 2 STONER 187, 3 PEDROSA 171, 4 LORENZO 114, 5 DOVIZIOSO 103,
6 EDWARDS 100, 7 VERMEULEN 89, 8 HAYDEN 84, 9 TOSELAND 72, 10 NAKANO 70,
11 CAPIROSSI 61, 12 ELIAS 46, 13 DE ANGELIS 41,
14 DE PUNIET 40, 15 GUINTOLI 38.

Kiyonari Takes A Superb Double Win At Brands Hatch

SBKAugust 3, 2008

World Superbike and World Supersport 2008
Round 10 Brands Hatch - Great Britain


Kiyonari Takes A Superb Double Win At Brands Hatch

Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) took his first and second World Superbike race wins today after two thrilling contests, the first with championship leader Troy Bayliss and Max Biaggi, then the second with his countryman Noriyuki Haga.

The top three were covered by only 0.180 seconds in race one, but after a better start in race two, Kiyonari secured a margin of victory of 1.8 seconds, pushing on in the final laps to break Haga’s intense pressure.

Kiyonari’s wins take him to eighth in the championship overall, with a total of 165 points. He had secured a front row start of third after a wet Superpole contest on Saturday and put his years of BSB knowledge to good use on this circuit, making wise tyre choices and finding a good race set-up early in the weekend.

The top placed Honda rider in the series is still Kiyonari’s fellow Suzuka 8-Hour race winning partner, Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) who was 11th in qualifying, but sixth and then eighth in the two Brands Hatch races, run over 25-laps each. Checa is fourth in the championship, on 233 points to leader Troy Bayliss’ 334.

Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR) overcame his tough qualifying experiences at Brands Hatch to secure tenth place in race one, then 14th in race two, starting from 19th place in each contest.

Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR Jr) improved his overall set-up greatly this weekend, but was just out of Superpole by one place and thus 17th on the grid, then scoring points for 13th in race one but none for 17th in race two.

Gregorio Lavilla (Vent-Axia VK Honda CBR1000RR) was another rider in the points mix in each race but dropped back from 13th place on the grid to 14th in the opener and equalling his pre-race performance in race two. His new team-mate Chris Walker (Vent-Axia VK Honda CBR1000RR) missed out on Superpole but scored points in each race by going 15th on two occasions.

Karl Muggeridge (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR), was only 16th in race one and then a retiree in race two, after qualifying 16th in Superpole.

Shuhei Aoyama (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) was a retiree in the opener and 22nd in race two, while his team-mate Jason Pridmore (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) went 22nd and 23rd.

Kiyonari said:
“I’m so happy, I cannot really believe it. We have been near the top of the leader board in all the sessions this weekend so we knew that we had a good race set up. The team worked hard to give me a great bike for both races and finally we have a win – no, two wins! – to celebrate. It wasn’t easy. I found it difficult to pass and I made a couple of mistakes. In race one, I was very nervous for the last few laps but in race two I was able to keep a good pace right to the end.”

Checa said:
“I cannot say that I am happy with the results but I have to be satisfied after the problems we have had this weekend. Of course, Brands Hatch was a new circuit for me to learn and we found it difficult to find a good setting for the bike. I had a problem with the left-hander going onto the back of the circuit and this is a corner you must get right to carry speed for the rest of the lap.”

Sofuoglu said:
“Of course, I am disappointed – especially because I couldn’t move forward from the results in Brno. We made a change after the first race and my pace was definitely better. But after a good start, I got blocked in at the first corner and then found it hard to pass Laconi and Walker. However, I am looking forward to a little holiday before coming back stronger at Donington.”

Rolfo said:
“This second race was more difficult for me compared to the first one. My start was not so good and I lost some positions in the first curves. I’m pretty satisfied with my fourteenth place, but I’m disappointed because I cannot reach a good starting position during the qualifying sessions and it’s always difficult to begin a race from too far back.”

Lavilla said:
“We made some improvements to the bike in the second race and we put in some good lap times. We were consistent once again and within the points but I wasn't able to improve much on my qualifying position. So we have to keep working hard on set-up and move up to the next level, which I hope we can achieve at Donington.”

Walker said:
"Every time I went out on the bike I learned more and more and it's great to be back on a Superbike. The bike felt brilliant and I was happy with the race set-up in the end. My fitness level is good but I need to get into the gym to work on my arm strength as I had to lose weight to ride the Supersport."

The World Superbike Championship reconvenes at Donington Park, on September 7th, after the traditional summer break.

World Supersport Championship

Rea Wins In Front of Home Fans

In an aggregate WSS race Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) took his second victory in a row while Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) scored a podium finish in third, to take a 32- point championship lead into the summer break. Rea had been on the front row after qualifying, behind Honda privateer Matthieu Lagrive, but Pitt had to work his way up to his podium place in the early laps, having only qualified 9th in a session interrupted by rain.

The race was run in two parts today, with rain stopping the first race after eight laps, but the restart was also halted early when Honda rider Craig Jones (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) fell from his machine at the fast Cark Curve, while in second place, appearing to be struck by a closely following rider. With Jones prostrate on the track the red flags came out to stop the race. The result was therefore called after 15 aggregated laps, with Rea taking first place, Jones credited with second due to the results being taken from one lap before the red flag’s appearance, and Pitt finished third.

Jones’s condition was described by his team in the following official statement from Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “Craig was treated trackside by the medical staff before being transferred by air-ambulance to the Royal London Hospital. He has a serious head injury and the doctors have placed him in a pharmacological coma to stabilise his condition. We will not know any more for at least 24 or 48-hours – all our thoughts are with him and his family. I would like to thank the medical staff for their attention and also the well-wishers for their thoughts. We shall update the news on Craig’s condition as and when we can.”

Behind the three-way fight for the win, Josh Brookes (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) was credited with fifth, while Gianluca Nannelli (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) went 12th.

Robbin Harms (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) fell when the rain that stopped leg one came on, while in the lead, and he was closely followed by Russell Holland (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR). Harms was not allowed to restart in the second leg, and neither was Holland.

In the championship standings, Pitt has 149 points, Rea 117, Parkes 113, Brookes 112 and Jones 100.

Rea said:
“It’s a bad way to win a race through my good friend Craig Jones getting hurt. But the team and I have worked hard all weekend to get a good package together with the CBR600RR and we’ve been on it the whole time. It’s great to race in front of a British crowd again and I hope they enjoyed it. But, for sure, it was a real-anticlimax.”

Pitt said:
“I had some real problems during qualifying, but the bike was great for the race and I got a good start. I felt really strong and confident enough to go for the win but, with Craig’s crash, it ended before I got the chance.”

Brookes said:
“It has been a difficult race day today. In the first race it was all feeling pretty good. I got a good start, but it took some time getting comfortable and I was up to fifth place when the race was red-flagged. In the second race, I had a hard time getting into a good rhythm. Then the race was stopped for the second time and I had to settle for fifth place overall.”

Harms said:
“This is the second race in a row that I managed to put in a great race performance but finished without a result. It is very frustrating and disappointing. The race, up until my crash, was just amazing. The bike was working really well and I knew I had so much more to give. When I was in the lead, I was even able to get a bit of a gap between myself and Rea behind me.”

Nannelli said:
“It was a really chaotic race today. I had a good start in the first race and I was able to recover quite a few positions. I reached tenth position when the race was red flagged because of the rain. My second start was not so good as the first one but overall I reached a good seventh position.”

Holland said:
“I’m really disappointed to have crashed in the first race. I could not start the second race because my bike had some problems after the fall and I could not re-enter the box within the five minutes requested. Today has been a really unlucky day for me.”

The Supersport series has its next round at Donington Park, on September 7th.

World Superbike and World Supersport 2008
Round 10 Brands Hatch - Great Britain

Superbike Race 1
1 R. KIYONARI (Honda CBR1000RR)

2 T. BAYLISS (Ducati 1098 F08)

3 M.BIAGGI (Ducati 1098 RS 08)

4 Y. KAGAYAMA (Suzuki GSX-R1000)

5 F. NIETO (Suzuki GSX-R1000)

6 C. CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR)

7 M.NEUKIRCHNER (Suzuki GSX-R1000)

8 T. CORSER (Yamaha YZF-R1)

9 J. SMRZ (Ducati 1098 RS 08)

10 R. ROLFO (Honda CBR1000RR)

11 L. LANZI (Ducati 1098 RS 08)

12 M.FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098 F08)

13 K. SOFUOGLU (Jr. Honda CBR1000RR)

14 G.LAVILLA (Honda CBR1000RR)

15 C.WALKER (Honda CBR1000RR)

Superbike Race 2
1 R. KIYONARI (Honda CBR1000RR)

2 N.HAGA (Yamaha YZF-R1)

3 T. CORSER (Yamaha YZF-R1)

4 M.NEUKIRCHNER (Suzuki GSX-R1000)

5 F. NIETO (Suzuki GSX-R1000)

6 M.FABRIZIO (Ducati 1098 F08)

7 T. SYKES (Suzuki GSX-R1000)

8 C. CHECA (Honda CBR1000RR)

9 J. SMRZ (Ducati 1098 RS 08)

10 L. LANZI (Ducati 1098 RS 08)

11 T. BAYLISS (Ducati 1098 F08)

12 M.BIAGGI (Ducati 1098 RS 08)

13 G.LAVILLA (Honda CBR1000RR)

14 R. ROLFO (Honda CBR1000RR)

15 C.WALKER (Honda CBR1000RR)


Supersport
1 J. REA (Honda CBR600RR)

2 C. JONES (Honda CBR600RR)

3 A. PITT (Honda CBR600RR)

4 B. PARKES (Yamaha YZF-R6)

5 J. BROOKES (Honda CBR600RR)

6 B. VENEMAN (Suzuki GSX-R600)

7 G.NANNELLI (Honda CBR600RR)

8 M.ROCCOLI (Yamaha YZF-R6)

9 R. FROST (Triumph 675)

10 H.KENNAUGH (Yamaha YZF-R6)

11 S. PLATER (Triumph 675)

12 G.VIZZIELLO (Honda CBR600RR)

13 V. KALLIO (Honda CBR600RR)

14 J. LASCORZ (Honda CBR600RR)

15 G.GOWLAND (Honda CBR600RR)

Nicky Hayden runs MotoGP preview at the Brickyard

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

Indianapolis Motor Speedway. May 25, 2008.

Nicky Hayden runs MotoGP preview at the Brickyard

American motorcycle hero Nicky Hayden gave the massive 250,000 plus
crowd in attendance at the Indianapolis 500 today a preview of what
they can expect when the MotoGP World Championship comes to the
capitol of US motorsports on September 12-14. Riding a Repsol Honda
RC212V 2006 MotoGP Champion Hayden ran the first section of the newly
prepared motorcycle circuit before running two laps of the fabled two
and a half mile banked oval.

Hayden was delighted to be invited to run the MotoGP at the IMS the
Repsol Honda factory team rider hails from Owensboro, Kentucky, and
the Indianapolis GP will be the grand prix held closest to his home.

Hayden said. "It's great to be able to come here and to show these fans
what MotoGP was all about. It's my first time at the 500 and the atmosphere
is great. I got to meet Buddy Rice (2004 Indy 500 winner) earlier on and he
showed me around his car a bit which was fun. I just hope that a few of the
fans who have seen me on the bike today will come back in September, it
promises to be a fantastic event as these guys know how to make it good!"

The Indianapolis Grand Prix will run at the newly created 4.216km
(2.620 mile) MotoGP circuit housed within the Brickyard oval circuit.
The event caters for all three World Championship categories, 125cc,
250cc and the Blue Ribbon MotoGP race for 800cc four-stroke machines.

PEDROSA WINS TO TAKE SECOND IN TITLE STANDINGS

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

Grand Prix of Valencia

Sunday November 4 2007

Weather: Dry and sunny.
Temperature: Air 19 degrees, ground 25.
Crowd: Race day 132,500, weekend 237,149.


PEDROSA WINS TO TAKE SECOND IN TITLE STANDINGS

This was the MotoGP race that Dani Pedrosa
(Repsol Honda RC212V) wanted to win to sign off
his season in style - and take the coveted
runner-up spot in the World Championship. He was
a cut above the rest today with Casey Stoner
(Ducati) was second and John Hopkins (Suzuki) third.

Stoner rocketed into the lead form the lights and
had established a three-quarter second lead by
the end of the first tour of this 4.005km
circuit. The Aussie obliterated the lap record on
lap two and it looked as if the new World
Champion might run away with this race. But Dani knew otherwise.

On lap three Pedrosa was holding Stoner in check
and this lead pair had a 2.3 second advantage
over first Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) and
then Hopkins when he stole past the former World
Champion on lap four. Conditons were perfect for
racing under sunny skies with a temperature of 19 degrees and the track at 25.

Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) began
attacking Hayden for fourth place and the Honda
duo swapped places twice on lap four, the lap
when Dani decided to run the race at his own
increasingly rapid pace. Pedrosa set a fastest
lap of 1m 32.748s as he closed on Stoner.

Dani took him on lap six and two laps later the
21-year-old Spanish star had a 0.6 second
advantage, another two laps later it was 1.1
seconds and Stoner had no reply. Nor did the rest
of the field. And Dani's rival for second overall
in the World Championship, Valentino Rossi
(Yamaha), was struggling at the back of the field
nursing a hand injury sustained in qualifying yesterday.

Dani, starting from his fourth consecutive pole
of the season finally put his late season
dominance to full effect and rode lap after lap
at blistering pace - annihilating the opposition.
He wanted second overall, but perhaps more than
that, Dani wanted a Grand Prix win again.

Rossi slowed on lap 18 with machine trouble and
then pitted a lap later, his race run. Dani was
now riding for both the win and the runner-up
slot and he was never going to be stopped. His
margin at the finish was a massive 5.5 seconds over Stoner.

Behind them Hopkins had consolidated third while
Hayden was slipping down the order having lost
fourth place to Melandri on lap 19, fifth spot to
Loris Capirossi (Ducati) on lap 26 and then
succumbing to Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) who took
sixth from him on the penultimate lap.

Dani, who is now the only rider ever to have won
here in all three classes from pole while setting
fastest race laps too, said: "I'm very happy with
this result. I really wanted to win this race
very much and so actually achieving it feels
fantastic. In the early laps I was struggling a
little with grip from the front tyre but then in
the second half of the race it was very good. The
pace today was really fast and Casey was chasing
hard so there was no moment to relax or back off.
Towards the end of the race I was sliding in some
of the left-handers but I was still able to push
hard. Thanks to the team because they worked very
hard for me this weekend and all year - and the bike was perfect today."

Melandri was fourth. He said: "I knew that it a
would be a tough race, but today was much harder
than in practice. I made a good start to gain
five places but I lacked feeling in the front-end
and the bike was moving around a lot. I fought
with Hayden for fourth and was looking for
Hopkins, but it wasn't possible on this occasion.
It's disappointing because I wanted a podium and
I've missed out on fourth place in the World
Championship by two points to John. I wanted a
better result, but thanks to Fausto and the team for all their hard work."

Hayden, eighth at the flag, after Alex Barros
(Ducati) took seventh off him on the last lap,
said: "Well, we knew all weekend that we were on
the back foot and the race proved it. We made a
lot of changes for warm-up this morning and the
package felt a bit better, but still we didn't
have the pace we needed for the race. I got a
pretty good start but there were a few places on
the lap where I was too weak and this made it
quite a difficult race for me. It's been a tough
year so now we'll go back to work. Thanks to the
team for all their hard work this year. We're
going to keep working hard so we can do a lot better next year."

Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V) finished tenth
and said: "I made a good start, but I struggled a
lot in the first ten laps with a full tank, and
was not getting enough grip. Once my pace
improved I went after Vermeulen, de Puniet and
Capirossi but couldn't catch them. It's a shame
because I wanted to end the season with a better
result. I want to thank the team and Fausto for
the two last years. They have been like a family
to me and they helped me get my first MotoGP win."

Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V), 12th in his
final MotoGP race, despite riding with a severe
stomach complaint said: "I'm a little emotional
because I still have a great feeling for this
fantastic sport. My aim was just to finish the
race as way of saying goodbye to my fans and
friends and seven laps from the finish I started
to have a lot pain in my stomach. Grand Prix
racing has been a great part of my life but now I
start a new adventure in Superbikes."

Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) was
14th and said: "Another very difficult race and
one which has basically summed up the whole
season. My start was so-so, but I found that I
could overtake some riders going into turn two.
At the beginning my pace wasn't so bad, but from
the middle of the race I found that I couldn't
improve my lap times. I've crashed a few times
this season because of this, but I'm pleased to
be ending the year without any injuries. This is
an excellent team but unfortunately the results
haven't been there for us this year."

Kurtis Roberts (Roberts KR212V) retired on ten.
He said: "The thing just never worked right. We
did 1m 34s lap times pretty easily in practice,
and a 1m 33s lap to qualify. I was riding just
the same in the race and we couldn't even see 1m
34s. My last lap was a 1m 36s. The engine started
missing really bad off the bottom, and got
progressively worse from the first lap on. I
couldn't do anything to keep up with them. It got slower and slower."

Mika Kallio (KTM) won the 250cc race from Alex de
Angelis with Alex Debon third (both Aprilia).
With Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) already crowned
World Champion, this was perhaps a race where
Kallio established himself as one of the new front men in the class.

Lorenzo got the holeshot and as the order settled
down he was followed by Andrea Dovizioso (Scot
Honda RS250RW) and Alex de Angelis (Aprilia). But
is was soon de Angelis who then made the running
by mid-race distance of this 27-lapper with
Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) hounding him.

When Bautista crashed out on lap 20, Kallio had
entered the fray and he timed his charge to the
front to perfection taking the lead on the
penultimate lap and holding it resolutely until
the flag from de Angelis. And Alex Debon
(Aprilia) denied Dovizioso as the pair fought to the finish for third.

Dovi said: 4th "My position is better than I
expected before the race but not what I expected
as the race went on even though my race pace was
good/ My start was unbelievable and I was with
Lorenzo very quickly and just sat behind him
waiting but I saw he was not so fast. When De
Angelis passed us and went away I realised it was
not possible to follow him so I waited for
Bautista and Kallio to do the same and tried to
stay with them. But coming off the last corner
onto the straight they just pulled away from me
it is very frustrating to have to race under
those conditions. The chassis suspension and
tyres were great its just the lack of power that
causes the problem for us. I am very unhappy with
the way things have gone this season. But now we
go to MotoGP where we will have plenty of power
but I know this year could have been very different."

Julian Simon (Repsol Honda RS250RW) finished
sixth and said: "Not so bad in the end. My start
was not so good - the worst of this year and I
apologise to the team for that. But I worked hard
after the slow start and pushed really hard and
caught the group and was able to stay with them
till the end. The bike was good, chassis, engine
and suspension, even in T13 where I was having
trouble in qualifying. I've enjoyed this season
and thank my team for everything. Now we get
ready for next year and I hope to improve again and get on the podium."

Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda RS250RW) was eighth.
He said: "I made a very bad start and at the
first corner I braked too late, so many riders
passed me. Then I tried to recover position but
from the middle of the race on I maintained a
fast pace but wasn't able to reach the front
because of the start error. Anyway I'm satisfied
about the progress and I'm optimistic for next season."

Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) in 17th
said: "Very bad race for me - my worst overall
performance. Yesterday I had a big crash and hurt
my leg and hand. I took painkillers before the
start, but not enough of them, and my hand was
painful in the race. My start was not too bad and
I could follow Julian (Simon) Takahashi san and
my brother Hiro but on lap three I ran off track.
When I rejoined the race I was almost last. I
pushed again but finally I could only make 17th place."

Hector Faubel won the 125cc race from his
team-mate Gabor Talmacsi with the third member of
this three-rider Aprilia team, Sergio Gadea, in
third. But it was the Hungarian Talmacsi who
secured the World title here today.

Talmacsi started from pole but it took him until
the second lap to gain control of this race from
the front of the field. Faubel, who had to win
here with Talmacsi finishing fourth or lower, for
the Spaniard to take the title, took a while to
get on terms with Talmacsi. But on lap nine of
this 24-lap contest, he was ahead of his rival.

But Faubel ran wide at turn one several laps
later and lost touch with Talmacsi until the
closing laps when the duo swapped places with
mesmerizing frequency and then were joined by a
three-rider group headed by Gadea in the final two laps.

But Gadea was never going to interfere in the
intense fight between Talmacsi and Faubel and
although Faubel took the win Talmacsi knew he had
done enough to become the first ever Hungarian to
win a World Championship in any motorsport discipline.

Esteve Rabat (Repsol Honda RS125R) finished sixth
and said: "I got a terrible start and had to push
really hard to make up places. I passed many
riders but when I got on to the back of the last
group I had to follow them. After about mid-race
the rear tyre performance dropped off but only
slowly and I could stay with them. But when Gadea
caught and passed Pablo (Nieto) I could not get
passed and lost ground. The only problem I had
today was at T11 where the engine was not
picking-up, I don't know why but anyway it wasn't
a big problem. Thanks to my team who've given me
their best every week - we were the best Honda today."

His team-mate Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R)
was eighth and said: "My start was awesome. I was
third at the end of lap one. I just tried to hang
in there and had a good pace and it was only down
the straight that they could pass me on power.
I've had two top 10 finishes in the last two
races and 10th in the World Championship so I
have to be happy with that. Thanks to the team
for everything they've done for me - it's been great working with them."



Honda riders quotes, GP Valencia, race November 4, 2007.

MotoGP.

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1st "I'm very happy
with this result. I really wanted to win this
race very much and so actually achieving it feels
fantastic. The race was very tough and I had to
push at the maximum from start to finish. In the
early laps I was struggling a little with grip
from the front tyre but then in the second half
of the race is was very good. The pace today was
really fast and Casey was chasing hard so there
was no moment to relax or back off. Towards the
end of the race I was sliding in some of the
left-handers but I was still able to push hard. I
must say thanks to the team because they have
worked very hard for me this weekend and all year
and the bike was perfect today. Also I must thank
Michelin too because the tyres were very good
today. I didn't know until I arrived in the parc
ferme that I had second in the world championship
and this was nice surprise. I didn't expect this
because there was only a very, very slim chance
of doing this coming into this weekend. After
quite a difficult season second place is better
than third and gives the Repsol Honda Team some
reward for sticking with it and never giving up
this year. It will give us even more motivation
for winter testing because we must now take
another step forward so that we can arrive at the
first race of 2008 with the best possible
package. I think the crowd has enjoyed this
weekend and I'm very proud to have given my fans
a great result at my home circuit - it's a great feeling!"

Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 4th "I knew that
it a would be a tough race, but today was much
harder than in practice. I made a good start to
gain five places but I lacked feeling in the
front end and the bike was moving around a lot. I
fought with Hayden for fourth and was looking for
Hopkins, but it wasn't possible on this occasion.
It's disappointing because I wanted a podium and
I've missed out on fourth place in championship
by two points to John. I wanted a better result
but thanks to Fausto and the team for all their hard work."

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 8th "Well, we knew
all weekend that we were on the back foot and the
race proved it. We made a lot of changes for
warm-up this morning and the package felt a bit
better, but still we didn't have the pace we
needed for the race. I got a pretty good start
but there were a few places on the lap where I
was too weak and this made it quite a difficult
race for me. I got past Melandri and held on to
fourth for as long as I could but then to lose
four places in the last five or six laps was
tough to take. Still, the season's in the books
and we'll start all over with testing on Tuesday.
It's been a tough year so now we'll go back to
work. Thanks to the team for all their hard work this
year - everybody at Honda, Michelin, my mechanics
and everyone who's been behind me this year.
We're going to keep working hard so we can do a lot better next year."

Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: 10th "I made a good
start, but I struggled a lot in the first ten laps with a
full tank, and was not getting enough grip. Once
my pace improved I went after Vermeulen, De
Puniet and Capirossi but couldn't catch them.
It's a shame because I wanted to end the season
with a better result. I want to thank the team
and Fausto for the two last years. They have been
like a family to me and they helped me get my first MotoGP win."

Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: 12th "I'm a little
emotional because I still have a great feeling
for this fantastic sport, although I have been
very sick this weekend. My aim was just to finish
the race as a way of saying good-bye to my fans
and friends and seven laps from the finish I
started to have a lot pain in my stomach. But I
enjoyed the battle with group of Tamada, Edwards
and briefly Rossi. In the end I was ahead of them
but unable to catch Guintoli. I was not
aggressive from ninth position at the start, but
as the feeling came to me I started to push hard
to the finish. Grand prix racing has been a great
part of my life but now I start a new adventure in Superbikes."

Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 14th
"Another very difficult race and one which has
basically summed up the whole season. My start
was so-so, but I found that I could overtake some
riders going into turn two. At the beginning my
pace wasn't so bad, but from the middle of the
race I found that I couldn't improve my lap
times. It was another big battle from 16th to
12th with riders like Carlos Checa, Colin Edwards
and myself. Eventually I finished in 14th place.
This year we've struggled with front-end feeling
from the RC212V, which has been a big problem, as
my style needs this. I've crashed a few times
this season because of this, but I'm pleased to
be ending the year without any injuries. I would
like to thank Luca and Giulio for always
supporting me and keeping me motivated during
this difficult year and also the rest of the
team. This is an excellent team but unfortunately
the results haven't been there for us this year."

Kurtis Roberts, KR212V: Technical problem. "The
thing just never worked right. We did 1'34 lap
times pretty easily in practice, and a 1'33 to
qualify. I was riding just the same in the race
and we couldn't even see 1'34. My last lap was a
1'36. The engine started missing really bad off
the bottom, and got progressively worse from the
first lap on. I couldn't do anything to keep up
with them. It got slower and slower, which is
pretty bad for the slowest thing out there. Honda
did a good job on their bikes obviously, but not ours."

Chuck Aksland - Team Manager, Team Roberts: "That
wasn't exactly what we hoped for, but there's
nothing you can do when the thing's not running
right. It just got worse with each lap. It was
very inconsistent, and just got impossible to
ride. It's a shame because this morning's warm-up
went great, Kurtis has been riding hard and well
all weekend, and could have had a good race.
Anyway, that's that - we go on to better things,
hopefully. We need to thank all the fans who
supported us and showed interest in the project
this year, and to all our suppliers and technical
staff for assisting as they could. And the team:
they worked hard and never gave up. I think it is
one of the strongest teams in the paddock.
Hopefully we can get the programme together to
get our results back where they should be".


250cc:

Andrea Dovizioso, Kopron Scot Honda: 4th "My
position is better than I expected before the
race but not what I expected as the race went on.
My start was unbelievable and I was with Lorenzo
very quickly and just sat behind him waiting but
I saw he was not so fast. When De Angelis passed
us and went away I realised it was not possible
to follow him so I waited for Bautista and Kallio
to do the same and tried to stay with them. But
coming off the last corner onto the straight they
just pulled away from me it is very frustrating
to have to race under those conditions. The
chassis suspension and tyres were great its just
the lack of power that causes the problem for us.
I am very unhappy with the way things have gone
this season. But now we go to MotoGP where we
will have plenty of power but I know this year could have been very different."

Julian Simon, Repsol Honda: 6th."Not so bad in
the end. My start was not so god - the worst of
this year and I apologise to the team for that.
But I worked hard after the and pushed really
hard and caught the group and was able to stay
with them till the end. The bike was good,
chassis, engine and suspension, even in T13 where
I was having trouble in qualifying. I have
enjoyed this season and thank my team for
everything. Now we get ready for next year and I
hope to improve again and get on the podium."

Yukio Takahashi, Kopron Scot Honda: 8th."I made a
very bad start and at the first corner I braked
too strong, so many riders passed me. Then I
tried to recover position but from the middle of the race
on I maintained a fast pace but I wasn't able to
reach the front because of the error at the
start. Anyway I'm satisfied about the progress I
have made and I'm optimist for the next season. From now on I can just grow."

Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda
PTT-SAG: 15th."It was important to be back in
top 15, but a mistake at the start and another at
the end of race prevented me to secure a better
result. Anyway I think I had a good race, I was
on the pace and I could fight with Baldolini
until the end. It's the end of the season and I'd
like to thank the team and our sponsors for their
support throughout the year, helping me in my
debut. I'm very thankful to them and I hope to
keep progressing like this in the future."

Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 17th."Very bad race
for me my worst overall performance. Yesterday I
had a big crash and hurt my leg and hand - I had
took painkillers before the start but not enough
and my hand was painful in the race. My start was
not too bad and I could follow Julian (Simon)
Takahashi san and m brother Hiro but on lap three
I ran of the track. When I rejoined the race I
was almost last. I pushed again but finally I could only make 17th place."

Eugene Laverty, LCR Honda: 21st. "It's been a
tough year but I've learnt a lot. On the first
lap Fabrizio Lai crashed in front me and I ran
wide into the gravel but it's disappointing that
we could not find the set-up to go faster. I was having huge slides."


125cc.

Tito Rabat, Repsol Honda: 6th "I got a terrible
start and had to push really hard to make up
places. I passed many riders but when I got on to
the back of the last group I had to follow them.
After about mid-race the rear tyre performance
dropped off but only slowly and I could stay with
them But when Gadea caught and passed Pablo
(Nieto) I could not get passed and lost ground.
The only problem I had today was at T11 where the
engine was not picking-up, I don't know why but
anyway it wasn't a big problem. I have to thank
my team for the way they have helped me develop
and given me their best every week - we were the best Honda today."

Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 8th "My start was
awesome I was third at the end of lap one! I just
tried to hang in there and had a good pace and it
was only down the straight that they could pass
me on power. After about 10 laps the rear started
to slide badly on the left hand corners and I was
lost the slipstream of the guys in front. After
that they could run high 39 lap times while I
could only run low 40s. I have had two top 10
finishes in the last two races and 10th in the
championship so I have to be happy with that. I
just wish to thank the team for everything they
have done for me - its been great working with them."

Alexis Masbou, FFM Honda: 14th "I had quite a
good start but after that I was a little too fast
entering the corners, with too much machine angle
on the exit to accelerate well, and that¹s why
the fast pack were able to move away early in the
race. Then Juan Olive passed me, and I was able
to catch a good pace again with better cornering
lines. The lap times just followed and I was able
to catch up. I finished the race on the side of
Ranseder with whom we exchanged positions quite a
few times. I thought I could pass him in the last
straight line before the flag, but we touched in
the last few hundred meters and the slipstreaming
effect wasn¹t enough for me to pass him on the
line. Once again, we saw today that finishing in
the points is far from easy, but we made it."

Danny Webb, Molenaar Honda: 21st."That was a
brilliant race I really enjoyed it. I got a good
start and was with a good group of about seven
and we were chasing the last championship point.
I would gain some places and then get re-passed.
But after about 17 laps my rear tyre started to
slide badly but I had a good lead over the next
group so I decided not to take any risks and finish the race."

Mike Di Meglio, Kopron Scot Honda: 23rd."Not a
good race for me. I crashed in the warm up this
morning - the front end closed on me just like
yesterday. Two crashes in two days is not so good
and I raced with a sore back and right forearm
and hand. I just could not concentrate my hand was too painful."

Joey Litjens, Molenaar Honda: 24th."Not a good
race for me at all! I crashed in practice and
hurt my shoulder and that mad braking very
difficult for me. I had a lot of pain and it
affected my concentration - I made too many silly
little mistakes. Pity because my bike was really very good all weekend."


Results

MotoGP
Race Classification MotoGP : (30 laps = 120.15 km)
Pos/ Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time/ KM/H / Gap
1 / Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 46'43.533 / 154.283 /
2 / Casey STONER / AUS / Ducati Marlboro Team /
DUCATI / 46'48.980 / 153.984 / 5.447
3 / John HOPKINS / USA / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP /
SUZUKI / 47'03.937 / 153.169 / 20.404
4 / Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Honda Gresini / HONDA / 47'08.360 / 152.929 / 24.827
5 / Loris CAPIROSSI / ITA / Ducati Marlboro Team
/ DUCATI / 47'09.337 / 152.876 / 25.804
6 / Chris VERMEULEN / AUS / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP /
SUZUKI / 47'09.395 / 152.873 / 25.862
7 / Alex BARROS / BRA / Pramac d'Antin / DUCATI / 47'13.003 / 152.678 / 29.470
8 / Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Repsol Honda Team /
HONDA / 47'13.866 / 152.632 / 30.333
9 / Randy DE PUNIET / FRA / Kawasaki Racing Team
/ KAWASAKI / 47'14.428 / 152.602 / 30.895
10 / Toni ELIAS / SPA / Honda Gresini / HONDA / 47'14.563 / 152.594 / 31.030
11 / Sylvain GUINTOLI / FRA / Dunlop Yamaha Tech
3 / YAMAHA / 47'22.296 / 152.179 / 38.763
12 / Carlos CHECA / SPA / Honda LCR / HONDA / 47'26.039 / 151.979 / 42.506
13 / Colin EDWARDS / USA / Fiat Yamaha Team /
YAMAHA / 47'30.105 / 151.762 / 46.572
14 / Shinya NAKANO / JPN / Konica Minolta Honda /
HONDA / 47'33.753 / 151.568 / 50.220
15 / Makoto TAMADA / JPN / Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 /
YAMAHA / 47'40.412 / 151.215 / 56.879


Pole Position: Dani PEDROSA 1'31.517 157.544 Km/h
Fastest Lap (New record): Dani PEDROSA 1'32.748 155.453 Km/h Lap 5
Circuit Record Lap: Loris CAPIROSSI 1'32.924 155.159 Km/h 2006
Circuit Best Lap: Valentino ROSSI 1'31.002 158.436 Km/h 2006

Final World Championship Positions:
1 STONER 367, 2 PEDROSA 242, 3 ROSSI 241, 4 HOPKINS 189, 5 MELANDRI 187,
6 VERMEULEN 179, 7 CAPIROSSI 166, 8 HAYDEN 127, 9 EDWARDS 124,
10 BARROS 115, 11 DE PUNIET 108, 12 ELIAS 104, 13 HOFMANN 65, 14 CHECA 65,
15 WEST 59.

Final Constructors standings
1 DUCATI 394, 2 HONDA 313, 3 YAMAHA 283, 4 SUZUKI 241, 5 KAWASAKI 144,
6 KR212V 14.




250cc
Race Classification 250cc: (27 laps = 108.135 km)
Pos / Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time / KM/H / Gap
1 / Mika KALLIO / FIN / Red Bull KTM 250 / KTM / 43'28.349 / 149.246 /
2 / Alex DE ANGELIS / RSM / Master - Mapfre Aspar
/ APRILIA / 43'28.720 / 149.224 / 0.371
3 / Alex DEBON / SPA / Aprilia Racing / APRILIA / 43'35.146 / 148.858 / 6.797
4 / Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Kopron Team Scot /
HONDA / 43'35.229 / 148.853 / 6.880
5 / Hector BARBERA / SPA / Team Toth Aprilia /
APRILIA / 43'41.116 / 148.519 / 12.767
6 / Julian SIMON / SPA / Repsol Honda 250cc /
HONDA / 43'41.379 / 148.504 / 13.030
7 / Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Fortuna Aprilia /
APRILIA / 43'43.100 / 148.406 / 14.751
8 / Yuki TAKAHASHI / JPN / Kopron Team Scot /
HONDA / 43'44.786 / 148.311 / 16.437
9 / Thomas LUTHI / SWI / Emmi - Caffe Latte
Aprilia / APRILIA / 43'44.900 / 148.305 / 16.551
10 / Hiroshi AOYAMA / JPN / Red Bull KTM 250 /
KTM / 43'48.572 / 148.097 / 20.223
11 / Marco SIMONCELLI / ITA / Metis Gilera /
GILERA / 43'51.975 / 147.906 / 23.626
12 / Aleix ESPARGARO / SPA / Blusens Aprilia
Germany / APRILIA / 44'00.154 / 147.448 / 31.805
13 / Roberto LOCATELLI / ITA / Metis Gilera /
GILERA / 44'02.659 / 147.308 / 34.310
14 / Alex BALDOLINI / ITA / Kiefer - Bos - Sotin
Racing / APRILIA / 44'27.174 / 145.954 / 58.825
15 / Ratthapark WILAIROT / THA / Thai Honda
PTT-SAG / HONDA / 44'27.194 / 145.953 / 58.845


Pole Position: Mika KALLIO 1'35.166 151.503 Km/h
Fastest Lap (New record): Mika KALLIO 1'35.659 150.722 Km/h Lap 20
Circuit Record Lap: Dani PEDROSA 1'35.792 150.513 Km/h 2005
Circuit Best Lap: Hiroshi AOYAMA 1'35.109 151.594 Km/h 2006

Final World Championship Positions:
1 LORENZO 312, 2 DOVIZIOSO 260, 3 DE ANGELIS 235, 4 BAUTISTA 181,
5 BARBERA 177, 6 AOYAMA 160, 7 KALLIO 157, 8 LUTHI 133, 9 SIMON 123,
10 SIMONCELLI 97, 11 TAKAHASHI 90, 12 AOYAMA 90, 13 LOCATELLI 59,
14 LAI 49, 15 ESPARGARO 47.

Final Constructors standings
1 APRILIA 387, 2 HONDA 275, 3 KTM 226, 4 GILERA 116, 5 YAMAHA 4.



125cc:
Race Classification 125cc (24 laps = 96.12 km)
Pos / Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time / KM/H / Gap
1 / Hector FAUBEL / SPA / Bancaja Aspar / APRILIA / 40'14.228 / 143.330 /
2 / Gabor TALMACSI / HUN / Bancaja Aspar /
APRILIA / 40'14.413 / 143.319 / 0.185
3 / Sergio GADEA / SPA / Bancaja Aspar / APRILIA / 40'14.514 / 143.313 / 0.286
4 / Mattia PASINI / ITA / Polaris World / APRILIA / 40'15.054 / 143.281 / 0.826
5 / Lukas PESEK / CZE / Valsir Seedorf Derbi /
DERBI / 40'15.106 / 143.278 / 0.878
6 / Esteve RABAT / SPA / Repsol Honda 125cc /
HONDA / 40'20.078 / 142.983 / 5.850
7 / Pablo NIETO / SPA / Blusens Aprilia / APRILIA / 40'23.266 / 142.795 / 9.038
8 / Bradley SMITH / GBR / Repsol Honda 125cc /
HONDA / 40'27.262 / 142.560 / 13.034
9 / Tomoyoshi KOYAMA / JPN / Red Bull KTM 125 /
KTM / 40'34.962 / 142.109 / 20.734
10 / Pol ESPARGARO / SPA / Belson Campetella
Aprilia / APRILIA / 40'35.230 / 142.094 / 21.002
11 / Nicolas TEROL / SPA / Valsir Seedorf Derbi /
DERBI / 40'35.574 / 142.074 / 21.346
12 / Simone CORSI / ITA / Skilled Racing Team /
APRILIA / 40'46.306 / 141.450 / 32.078
13 / Michael RANSEDER / AUT / Ajo Motorsport /
DERBI / 40'53.770 / 141.020 / 39.542
14 / Alexis MASBOU / FRA / FFM Honda GP 125 /
HONDA / 40'53.776 / 141.020 / 39.548
15 / Randy KRUMMENACHE / SWI / Red Bull KTM 125 /
KTM / 40'53.934 / 141.011 / 39.706


Pole Position: Gabor TALMACSI 1'39.029 145.593 Km/h
Fastest Lap (New record): Hector FAUBEL 1'39.380 145.079 Km/h Lap 7
Circuit Record Lap: Hector FAUBEL 1'39.574 144.796 Km/h 2006
Circuit Best Lap: Gabor TALMACSI 1'39.029 145.593 Km/h 2007

Final World Championship Positions:
1 TALMACSI 282, 2 FAUBEL 277, 3 KOYAMA 193, 4 PESEK 182, 5 PASINI 174,
6 CORSI 168, 7 GADEA 160, 8 OLIVE 131, 9 ESPARGARO 110, 10 SMITH 101,
11 RABAT 74, 12 RANSEDER 73, 13 KRUMMENACHER 69, 14 CORTESE 66,
15 NIETO 57

Final Constructors standings
1 APRILIA 410, 2 DERBI 199, 3 KTM 196, 4 HONDA 146.

Billy McKenzie survives Spanish mudbath to keep championship leaders insight

Results Belpuig

2008 FIM MX1 / MX2 World Motocross Championship
Round 02 of 15 Sunday April 20 2008
Grand Prix of Spain, Bellpuig

Crowd: 15,324.
Weather:
Saturday – Mostly sunny with variable wind and light showers, 16 deg C
Sunday – Overcast with heavy rain, 12 deg C

Billy McKenzie survives Spanish mudbath to keep championship leaders insight

Controversy and the cancellation of the second MX1 moto brought a premature end to the Grand Prix of Spain at Bellpuig today, the second round of this year’s FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship. In what have been described as the worst conditions for a world championship motocross race ever, CAS Honda rider Billy McKenzie was Honda’s sole points scorer as Martin Honda rider Marc De Reuver was disqualified and both Julien Bill and Mike Brown struggled to slog their way through the deep muddy conditions.

After the riders enjoyed almost perfect track conditions for Saturday’s qualifying sessions, heavy overnight rain turned the Bellpuig circuit into a sodden mess for race day. Despite the prospect of less than ideal racing conditions more than 15,000 Spanish fans poured into the Bellpuig circuit to see the world’s best motocross racers.

From the start of moto one both MacKenzie and De Reuver got away inside the top five but hit trouble during the carnage of the opening circuit. Along with fellow factory supported Honda riders Julien Bil and Mike Brown, they finished the first lap outside of the top-20.

While McKenzie – who was clearly enjoying the conditions – began to carve his way through the pack De Reuver was shown the black flag. The Martin Honda rider was disqualified after the start marshal claimed the Dutchman had ridden around the inside of the start gate as it fell. With no chance to appeal De Reuver’s disqualification is final.

McKenzie reached as high as fifth place before the grinding muddy conditions destroyed his brake pads slowing his progress. The problem had already cost the 24-year-old Scotsman one position to Tanel Leok before he crashed on the final lap trying to get around lapped rider Max Nagl. He finally finished his turbulent race in eighth position. MacKenzie was the only Honda points scorer in the race won by reigning world champion Steve Ramon.

American rider Mike Brown found the deep mud conditions difficult on his CAS Honda and is unable to battle through the pack after losing his goggles early in the race.

Honda Martin’s Swiss star Julien Bill had a similar race to Brown and after a promising start on his factory Honda but lost a lot of time retrieving the CRF450R from an impassable rut. Continuing to circulate until the end Bill finished pointless in 21st position.

The second MX2 moto was red flagged in the chaotic closing stages of the race when one of the stepped Bellpuig hills became blocked with fallen riders, the track was now virtually unridable. The MX1 riders met to discuss the safety aspect of racing of racing on the waterlogged track where many deep holes were hidden by surface water and mud, consequently the second MX1 race of the day was cancelled.

The world championship continues next weekend at Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal on April 20

Roger Harvey – Honda Off-Road coordinator: “It was a shame for Billy MacKenzie to lose out the way he did on the last lap. He had a great ride to come through the pack after his trouble on the first lap, up to fifth place. It was an excellent ride from him considering the conditions.
“Mike Brown struggled with mud in his eyes, all the riders had trouble with it but his seemed to be particularly bad. He’d have been struggling to start the second race because they were so bad but of course he was ready to race if it hadn’t been cancelled.”

“There’s a bit of controversy regarding Marc De Reuver, the organisers said that he started on the outside of the gate although Marc flatly denies this. The Honda Martin team have had to accept the decision of the race organisers and of course it’s too late to do anything about it as they black-flagged him during the race. I was upset that they came to the team to actually make the black-flag action as I believe it’s their job to do that and it should not be left up to the team to stop the rider.”

“Julien Bill struggled a little bit in these conditions today and he found it pretty hard work.”

“The second race was cancelled as the riders decided that they didn’t want to ride in the interests of safety. I can sympathise with that because when you look at the first turn – and what happened to Tommy Searle at the start of the second MX2 moto – aquaplaning across the deep water was obviously an issue. The organisers had tried their hardest to drain the water but there was nothing they could do so I agree that it was probably the right decision not to start.”

Billy MacKenzie – CAS Honda: “I got a bad start and got totally filled in going down the start straight but I came out of the first corner in about fourth place. I tried to fight my way forward during the first few corners but chose the wrong rut in a corner and it was very deep and I got stuck and stalled the motor so was back in last place. I got going again and I was coming through the pack and it was just awesome – I was loving it! I passed so many people I was soon up to fifth position and felt like I could go even further but then I lost all my brakes and it caused me to go down again – a couple of times. On the last lap I tried to go around Nagl – who was actually a lap down – and I crashed again and ended up eighth.”

Mike Brown – CAS Honda: “It was not a very good day for me because of the weather even though I know it was the same for everybody and we all had to ride the same track. I struggled off the start and from then on it was just a mess – the goggles came off and my eyes got full of dirt and had a few crashes. I think it was a good decision to cancel the second race because the conditions were a little dangerous.”

Marc De Reuver – Martin Honda: “I took the complete inside gate pick because many of my rivals were starting in the middle and I thought that if I start on the inside it would be much better for the first corner. My rut was full of mud and water so I started outside of the rut but still behind the gate. I was second off the start, which was good, but I got showered with mud and had to come in for fresh goggles. I was progressing well again until I saw on my pit board that I was disqualified and had to pull out but when I passed the finish there was no black flag there so I carried on. But my mechanics stopped me the next lap and took me out of the race.

“I asked what was going on and was told the organisers had said that I rode around the start gate which is not possible because there is a hay bale there. I’ve looked over and over again at the video and it’s clearly obvious that I passed over the gate. The race director would not enter into any discussion over the matter even though I asked him to show me on the video what I had done – all they would say is that it didn’t matter because the marshal had seen me do it. I was in 12th place when they pulled me out and there was still 15 minutes left to go so who knows what position I could have got to – I’ve lost out on a lot of points here because of their mistake.

“I was keen to race the second moto to make up some points but I agree that it was dangerous and so the correct decision – not to race – was made.”

Julien Bill – Martin Honda: “I had a good start and the first lap was pretty good for me also but I came into a really deep rut and got stuck with the bike. I needed four or five minutes to get out of the rut before I could continue with the race. I don’t even know how it was possible to ride around this track, it was unbelievable and I’ve never seen a track this bad before. I’m happy I finished the race but I’m disappointed I just missed out on the points by one place.”


Results Motocross

MX1 Race 1 (15 laps 23.19 Km
Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time
1 / Ramon, Steve / BEL / Suzuki / 40:49.290
2 / Philippaerts, David / ITA / Yamaha / 41:24.751
3 / de Dycker, Ken / BEL / Suzuki / 41:38.825
4 / Coppins, Joshua / NZL / Yamaha / 42:11.431
5 / Leok, Tanel / EST / Kawasaki / 42:52.820
6 / Strijbos, Kevin / BEL / Kawasaki / 43:14.404
7 / Church, Tom / GBR / Kawasaki / 43:17.595
8 / Mackenzie, Billy / GBR / Honda / 43:30.066
9 / Desalle, Clement / BEL / Suzuki / 40:54.957
10 / Freibergs, Lauris / LAT / Yamaha / 40:57.641
11 / Salvini, Alex / ITA / Suzuki / 41:16.993
12 / Nemeth, Kornel / HUN / KTM / 41:18.617
13 / Chiodi, Alessio / ITA / TM / 41:21.247
14 / Noble, James / GBR / KTM / 41:31.631
15 / Priem, Manuel / BEL / Kawasaki / 41:35.524
Fastest Lap: COPPINS Joshua in 2:35.581 on lap 9


MX1 Race 2 cancelled due to bad weather


MX1 World Motocross Championship Standings
Pos Rider Total
1 de Dycker, Ken 70, 2 Ramon, Steve 63, 3 Philippaerts, D. 55, 4 Coppins, J. 47,
5 Mackenzie, B. 46, 6 Nagl, M. 40, 7 Strijbos, K. 36, 8 Priem, Manuel 35, 9 Nemeth, Kornel 33,
10 Leok, Tanel 26, 11 Desalle, C. 22, 12 Barragan, J. 20, 13 Church, Tom 20, 14 Leok, Aigar 20, 15 Freibergs, L. 16




MX2 Race 1 (16 laps 24.736 Km)
Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time
1 / Rattray, Tyla / RSA / KTM / 41:43.976
2 / Cairoli, Antonio / ITA / Yamaha / 42:47.948
3 / Guarneri, Davide / ITA / Yamaha / 42:55.960
4 / Sword, Stephen / GBR / Kawasaki / 43:00.952
5 / Tarroux, Jeremy / FRA / KTM / 43:10.578
6 / Monni, Manuel / ITA / Yamaha / 43:26.076
7 / Aubin, Nicolas / FRA / Yamaha / 43:44.119
8 / Musquin, Marvin / FRA / Honda / 43:52.480
9 / Simpson, Shaun / GBR / KTM / 43:55.809
10 / Searle, Tommy / GBR / KTM / 43:59.096
11 / Boog, Xavier / FRA / Suzuki / 44:04.100
12 / Frossard, Steven / FRA / Kawasaki / 44:08.893
13 / Bobryshev, Evgeniy / RUS / Yamaha / 44:38.707
14 / Nunn, Carl / GBR / Suzuki / 42:02.773
15 / Lupino, Alessandro / ITA / Yamaha / 42:06.096
Fastest Lap: AUBIN Nicolas in 2:23.580 on lap 1


MX2 Race 2 (10 laps 15.46 Km)
Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time
1 / Guarneri, Davide / ITA / Yamaha / 31:35.087
2 / Monni, Manuel / ITA / Yamaha / 34:07.782
3 / Paulin, Gautier / FRA / Kawasaki / 34:16.381
4 / Goncalves, Rui / POR / KTM / 35:15.782
5 / Roelants, Joel / BEL / KTM / 29:50.830
6 / Pellegrini, Angelo / ITA / KTM / 30:05.685
7 / Sword, Stephen / GBR / Kawasaki / 32:49.354
8 / Searle, Tommy / GBR / KTM / 33:18.379
9 / van Horebeek, Jeremy / BEL / KTM / 29:28.755
10 / Bobryshev, Evgeniy / RUS / Yamaha / 30:39.061
11 / Cairoli, Antonio / ITA / Yamaha / 33:37.797
12 / Boog, Xavier / FRA / Suzuki / 28:54.801
13 / Krestinov, Gert / EST / KTM / 30:31.190
14 / Simpson, Shaun / GBR / KTM / 32:51.797
15 / Aubin, Nicolas / FRA / Yamaha / 37:52.037
Fastest Lap: GUARNERI Davide in 2:51.025 on lap 4


MX2 World Motocross Championship Standings
Pos Rider Total
1 Rattray, Tyla 79, 2 Cairoli, A. 76, 3 Guarneri, D. 61, 4 Searle, Tommy 60,
5 Goncalves, Rui 51, 6 Monni, Manuel 48, 7 Simpson, Shaun 47, 8 Aubin, Nicolas 47,
9 Sword, Stephen 46, 10 Boog, Xavier 45, 11 Roelants, Joel 43, 12 Eggens, Erik 38,
13 van Horebeek, J. 35, 14 Paulin, G. 26, 15 Tarroux, J. 26.

HRC 2007/2008 CBR600RR KIT NOW AVAILABLE!

GREAT NEWS!! FINALLY AMERICAN HONDA IS RE-ALLOWING THE ENTRY OF THE SPECTACULAR HRC PERFORMANCE KIT FOR THE ALREADY AWESOME CURRENT CBR600RR. CONTACT OUR PARTS DEPT DIRECT FOR ALL THE DETAILS, WILL BE SOLD IN SECTIONS OR AS A COMPLETE KIT*. Both AMA and FIM legal.

MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW!

SEE OUR PHOTO GALLERY UNDER HRC PARTS FOR MORE PICTURES.

* We cannot stress more that the use of only one piece of the kit for your bike is not recommended. These parts are designed to be used in conjuction together, and the use of only pieces may cause irreversable damage to your motorcycle. These parts are for Racing use ONLY!

*****Nicky Hayden MotoGP World Champion!*****

The 'Kentucky Kid' is now the 2006 MotoGP World Champion. Nicky Hayden has
taken on the best riders in the world and triumphed in what has been a
gruelling 17-race season spanning the globe - the toughest task in
motorcycle racing.

RS125R/RS250R Availability information

Information as of 1/7/2007 regarding availability of current model [or non-current] RS125/250R HRC GP 2-stroke Racer.

We have been receiving lots of calls regarding RS availability. Let me give you the facts. As the official Honda HRC representative in North America, we are at the mercy of American Honda regarding vehicle and parts stocking.

The good news is the parts division is still fully up to speed, and we still have currently [and plan on doing so] a huge supply of HRC parts for the RS125/250R's. Their are times when we must re-load our supply which may cause a 60-90 day waiting period for some items since we are waiting on them from HRC japan and must put in a large stocking order to keep them happy.

Now the bad news is on the vehicle side. Since we are at the mercy of American Honda, we must abide by their decisions regarding the stocking of current model RS's [which at this time are a carry-over model]. Our orders usually go in by around Sept for February delivery. For the 2006, 2007, and what looks to be the 2008 season, we requested units, American Honda did not supply. This of course challenges us, and we apoligize for this problem. At this time it looks like American Honda has officially ended bringing in any [officially] for the forseable future. Grey market dealers who send buyers to Japan directly and buy from Honda/HRC dealerships directly will be your best bet at this time to acquire any RS models. We hope you understand, and we are equally frustrated.

[News udpate!! Honda has just announced at our Annual 2008 Honda Dealer Show the creation of a Honda CRF250X powered 4-stroke single in a Moriwaki Chassis that will be available in limited numbers in the USA for racers. Unknown distribution at this time. Pictures available on our 2008 Honda Dealer Show info posted in our photo gallery]. We hear they have commited to this endeavor and were planning on a large official presentation at the Dealer Show, but again, some last minute internal debate has squashed the idea at this time. Similar to the bringing in a few years ago the Full Superbike Race kits for the RC-51 and then the Standard Race version CBR1000RR and CBR600RR. Contact HRCA [Honda Riders Club of America] direct at American Honda for possible race series info using this new model.