Australian GP Race Report
By Paul Kelly
indianapolismotorspeedway.com
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Rossi extended his lead in the World Championship to 38 points over Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo by finishing second to Casey Stoner at the Australian Grand Prix on Oct. 18 at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. Lorenzo ran into the back of Nicky Hayden entering the first turn on the first lap, careened into the gravel trap and crashed out of the race.
2008 Red Bull Indianapolis GP winner Rossi leads by nearly a race-and-a-half's worth of points with just two races remaining this season. He can clinch his seventh MotoGP World Championship and his ninth world title overall by finishing fourth or better Oct. 25 at the Grand Prix of Malaysia at Sepang.
After his superb ride to his third consecutive victory at his home track, one can only wonder if Stoner would have been the third rider in the title fight on his Ducati Team machine if he was healthy all season. Stoner missed three races from August to September, including the Red Bull Indianapolis GP, due to illness.
2007 World Champion Stoner climbed to third in the standings with his first victory since the Italian Grand Prix in June. He has finished second and first since returning to the grid Oct. 4 in Portugal.
"I'd forgotten how good that winning feeling is, and of all my victories, this is perhaps the most special," Stoner said. "I can honestly say that from a physical perspective I can't ever remember feeling this strong after a race, which shows that the work we have done and the time we took out has been spot on."
Pole winner Stoner took the lead from Dani Pedrosa on Lap 2 and never trailed thereafter. But he faced heavy pressure from Rossi for the next 17 laps, with the riders both setting lap times quicker than Stoner's pole lap.
Stoner finally pulled away over the last eight laps, winning by 1.935 seconds. Pedrosa finished a distant third, 22.618 seconds behind.
Americans Colin Edwards and Hayden finished fifth and 15th, respectively. Edwards had a slow start and dropped to ninth on Lap 1 on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine but passed four riders on Laps 4 and 5 to climb back to fifth.
"I'll hold my hands up and say I really messed up the start," Edwards said.
2006 World Champion Hayden also was forced into the gravel trap after the contact with Lorenzo on the first lap. But unlike 2009 Red Bull Indianapolis GP winner Lorenzo, Hayden stayed upright and continued on his damaged Ducati, finishing one lap down.
***
RESULTS
PHILLIP ISLAND, Australia - Results of the 27-lap Grand Prix of Australia MotoGP race, with position, rider, country, motorcycle, time behind winner. All riders on Bridgestone tires:
|
1. |
Casey Stoner |
Australia |
Ducati |
|||||
|
2. |
Valentino Rossi |
Italy |
Yamaha |
+1.935 |
||||
|
3. |
Dani Pedrosa |
Spain |
Honda |
+22.618 |
||||
|
4. |
Alex de Angelis |
San Marino |
Honda |
+32.702 |
||||
|
5. |
Colin Edwards |
United States |
Yamaha |
+35.885 |
||||
|
6. |
Andrea Dovizioso |
Italy |
Honda |
+38.482 |
||||
|
7. |
Marco Melandri |
Italy |
Kawasaki |
+44.461 |
||||
|
8. |
Randy de Puniet |
France |
Honda |
+44.941 |
||||
|
9. |
Mika Kallio |
Finland |
Ducati |
+54.345 |
||||
|
10. |
Toni Elias |
Spain |
Honda |
+1:01.205 |
||||
|
11. |
Chris Vermeulen |
Australia |
Suzuki |
+1:05.417 |
||||
|
12. |
Loris Capirossi |
Italy |
Suzuki |
+1:05.950 |
||||
|
13. |
Gabor Talmacsi |
Hungary |
Honda |
+1:17.951 |
||||
|
14. |
James Toseland |
Great Britain |
Yamaha |
+1:17.985 |
||||
|
15. |
Nicky Hayden |
United States |
Ducati |
+1 lap |
||||
|
NC |
Jorge Lorenzo |
Spain |
Yamaha |
+27 laps |
||||
NC - Not classified
Fastest lap: Rossi, 1:30.085, Lap 5; Pole lap: Stoner, 1:30.341
***
POINTS
Riders: Rossi 270, Lorenzo 232, Stoner 195, Pedrosa 189, Dovizioso 152, Edwards 145, de Angelis 101, de Puniet 101, Capirossi 101, Melandri 100, Elias 96, Vermeulen 95, Toseland 87, Hayden 82, Kallio 58, Niccolo Canepa 38, Talmacsi 17, Sete Gibernau 12, Yuki Takahashi 9, Aleix Espargaro 8.
Manufacturers: Yamaha 350, Honda 252, Ducati 236, Suzuki 121, Kawasaki 100.
***
PODIUM QUOTES
CASEY STONER (Ducati Team Ducati/Bridgestone, winner): "I'd forgotten how good that winning feeling is, and of all my victories, this is perhaps the most special. I can honestly say that from a physical perspective I can't ever remember feeling this strong after a race, which shows that the work we have done and the time we took out has been spot on. I got a good start and was able to put together the lap times to keep us at the front. But quite honestly, I felt I could have gone even faster if we'd have been able to find a little more rear traction over the course of the weekend. Anyway, I can't complain because the work the guys have done on the bike during the season has been phenomenal, from the swingarm to the new fairing. They just haven't stopped trying to make it better even when I wasn't around."
VALENTINO ROSSI (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, second): "This was one of the most fun and definitely one of the most important second places of my career. We were on the limit for the whole race, and there were some amazing slides. It was 'old-style' racing. To have a race like this in the sunshine at Phillip Island is an incredible emotion, and I really enjoyed myself. Of course, I wanted to win, but I had to use my head a bit. And once I'd seen that Lorenzo was out, I knew that if I made a mistake, it would be a big disaster. Anyways, I tried in places, but Stoner was a bit faster than me. I didn't give up until the end, but Casey really deserved this win; I want to give him my congratulations. We leave with 20 important points, and now the championship lead is big and we can try to finish it in Malaysia, where we will have the first 'match point.'"
DANI PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Bridgestone, third): "It's good to be on the podium again, especially after the crash in qualifying yesterday, so I'm happy about that. I pushed myself to the maximum in the race, and we led for a short while from the start. Actually, it's a shame they don't award points for getting the holeshot! Casey and Valentino were going super-fast today, and I just couldn't keep pace with them once they came past. From then on I just tried to keep my rhythm going and tried not to make any mistakes. It's a little frustrating, of course, not to be able to fight at the front, but considering the crash yesterday this result was OK. The next race is in Malaysia, and it's a track that I like. So I'm looking forward to next weekend, and I hope we can get another strong result."
***
AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES
COLIN EDWARDS (Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha/Bridgestone, fifth): "I'll hold my hands up and say I really messed up the start. I pretty much fell asleep, and when the lights went out, I was just sat there. That left me down in ninth place, but the pace was pretty quick in the low (1:) 31s, and I was able to pick off a few of them quite quickly. I knew if I didn't get my head down then I'd be towing them around because of how you can slipstream at this track. I never relented and my pace was pretty hot, and thankfully it wasn't too difficult for me to make a break from the pack. I saw (Alex) de Angelis in front of me, and I tried everything I could to get close to him. I'm tired of finishing fifth, so I gave it everything I had. But the start cost me fourth and some precious points. Toward the end of the race, I started to lose some side grip, and I couldn't do anything more to try and put pressure on de Angelis. I beat (Andrea) Dovizioso again, which is all I can do to try and get fifth in the championship. I really want that fifth to reward all my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3. They've been great, and I'll be giving it my all for them in the last two races."
NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Team Ducati/Bridgestone, 15th): "I got probably the best start I have had all season, but unfortunately it proved to be my downfall. I'm not sure what happened to Jorge (Lorenzo). I saw he got a bad start as I passed him, then the next thing I know I felt a really hard impact. It was so hard it tore both our bikes up, and obviously he couldn't keep his upright. Thankfully I did, and I got back on track, but the thing was so damaged, I was just riding around. I considered coming in to conserve the engine, but there was always the chance it might rain and give us the opportunity to swap bikes so we stayed out there and tried to stay out of harm's way. I'm disappointed because I felt we had a chance to do something here, and apart from anything, I was excited to race here because it's always so much fun. Anyway, I can't blame Jorge because he is fighting for the championship. He obviously didn't mean it, and I know it is not his style. The good thing is that I didn't get hurt, which could have easily happened in that corner, and now we go to Malaysia and try to get back in the thick end of the points."
***
MotoGP SUPPORT CLASS WINNERS
250cc: Marco Simoncelli, Italy, Metis Gilera.
125cc: Julian Simon, Spain, Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc Aprilia. Simon clinched the World Championship. American Cameron Beaubier was not classified after withdrawing from the race due to a mechanical problem on Lap 2 caused by crash on Lap 1. He is tied for 27th in the World Championship standings.
***
NEXT RACE
Grand Prix of Malaysia, Sepang, Oct. 23-25. Round 16 of 17
***
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