Dani Pedrosa finished third at the Italian Grand Prix, after a tough race where he was unable to fight for the victory, in spite of using all possible resources. The race started with the Repsol Honda Team rider in the lead at the end of the straight. Pedrosa took command of the test until the end of the first lap, moment when Stoner, taking advantage of the greater top speed of his Ducati, overtook the Spaniard on the finish-line straight.
A warning of what was to happen on a couple more occasions throughout the race. The next time was just two laps later, when local rider Valentino Rossi also passed Pedrosa on the finish-line straight, taking first position a couple of laps later to finally claim his third consecutive victory.
Pedrosa kept close to the Australian rider’s wheel while he saw how Rossi increased his advantage further ahead. The Repsol Honda Team rider kept close watch on the current World Champion, who during lap nine, at the end of the finish-line straight, pulled the brakes too hard, a moment seized by the Spaniard to recover second position, with Rossi one second ahead. During lap No 13, Rossi had an advantage of close to two seconds, while Dani still saw how the the main riders equipped with Bridgestone tyres ran faster times. One lap later, lap 14, and on the finish-line straight, Stoner took advantage again of his superior top speed of his Ducati to pass Pedrosa again.
In spite of his attempts at keeping up with the Australian, the Repsol rider had to give up and secure his third position, as local rider De Angelis, also with Bridgestone tyres, was getting dangerously close during the last few laps thanks to his faster pace.
A final third position for Dani Pedrosa, who after Lorenzo’s fall is now alone in second position in the general classification, 12 points behind Rossi, who maintains his lead.Nicky Hayden, in another complicated race for the American, who finished in a low thirteenth position. In spite of a good start and completing his first lap in fifth position, the Repsol Honda Team rider could not keep up with the pace set by the leading pack due to problems with his tyres, falling positions throughout the Italian race until he finally crossed the finish line in thirteenth position.
In the quarter-litre category, an unfortunate race starting out from the third row for Julián Simón, who in spite of a bad position at the end of the straight, climbed to eleventh position by the end of the first lap. The Repsol rider stayed in a pack along with Mika Kallio, still leading the World Championship, but eleven laps later he skidded off the track at the famous Arribiata 1 and 2 bends, losing contact with the pack. He lost his concentration, dropped his pace, and ended up fighting for tenth position, finally crossing the line in eleventh place.
Mika Kallio and Hiroshi Aoyama, riders who receive technical support from Repsol, finished fourth and eighth, respectively, in a race which was finally won by Marco Simoncelli.
It was not a good weekend for the 125cc Repsol riders either, with both finishing outside the points range. Marc Márquez got off to a good start, taking sixteenth position, though the superior experience of his rivals and a few details concerning adjustments to his bike’s suspension finally relegated him to a final nineteenth position. Bearing in mind this is his first season and his first visit to Mugello, the result could be considered as very positive, even more so looking at the good times registered throughout the race.
Teammate Esteve Rabat did not get off to a good start, as when the red lights blinked off, his bike stalled due to a problem with the clutch. After pushing it and managing to start it, he spent the whole race climbing positions, starting out the last of the 39 participants. Lap by lap, he managed to climb positions until he was 25th; but without an adequate setup, a better pace was needed for any further progress.
Dani Pedrosa,
3rd at 4.867 sec.
‘That was a really tough race because Valentino’s pace was very, very fast. I got a good start and the rhythm was really high, at first I was able to go with them, then I had a battle with Casey. I tried to catch him at the end but it was impossible. It was great to be on the podium, it’s a good result for the championship, but while consistency is always important, we need to win more races. The engine was good today, our main concern now is tyre consistency during the second part of races. I was losing the front towards the end of today’s race, so tyres are what we must focus on. It was very important that Okada finished today, gathering a lot of data which we will examine and discuss tonight. Valentino had his seventh win here today, I hope it will be my turn at Catalunya.’
Nicky Hayden,
13th at 50.440 sec.
‘This morning we made a nice step, we made a suspension adjustment and the bike felt a lot better, so we had a pretty good pace. We were certainly unlucky in the race. I got an awesome start, felt pretty good, but it was clear from the beginning that we had a problem. Guys started coming past and there was nothing I could do, there was no way to defend. So I just tried to get to the finish and get a couple of points. They’re checking the data now to see exactly what happened. Like I said, we were quite unlucky, I knew we didn’t have Rossi’s pace this morning, but we had enough pace to be in there, to be quite competitive. I don’t know yet which engine I’ll be using next weekend. To be honest, I’ve been concentrating on this race, so I haven’t thought about it yet.’
Tadayuki Okada
14th at 58.849 sec.
AudioWe finished the race and this was the most important thing of all – we have gathered plenty of data which we can now analyse. We still have some issues with edge grip and this is the next step to improve the engine – the bike was sliding today so I couldn’t fully use its power. The engine’s strong point is its higher rev ceiling which gives an advantage on the straights, but we still need to improve driveability. My thanks to Repsol Honda and to HRC for all their work with this engine. It was very exciting for me to race in a GP again – it felt really amazing when I crossed the finish line!
Julián Simón,
11th at 19.751 secs.
I got off to a reasonably good start, though I fell a few positions at the first bend, because I was badlt placed and my rivals found it easy to overtake me. Then I recovered a few positions, and was in a pack with Kallio, whom I tried to follow as he is our best reference given he rides the same bike. I tried to follow him as best I could, and was doing so quite well, but at the two fast right-handers I skidded off the track and lost my pace and concentration. I had a struggle with Wilairot, and was unable to round off a good weekend. We’ve worked hard, but there’s still a lot to do about the engine, because we lose a lot of time on the straight. As for me I’m working on improving my riding style on this bike, which on some circuits isn’t the best possible. We’re not going to stop working until we have a good race.
Esteve Rabat,
25th, at 56.360 secs,
‘It was a very tough race, because at the start I had problems with the clutch, which suddenly released, and the bike stalled. I pushed it to start it up again, and spent the whole race alone, without being able to do any drafting or follow anyone’s wheel. To be honest I was very slow, and I’m not here to finish in 20th place. The important thing is to not lose hope and keep moving. Luckily, next week there’s another race, in Montmeló, so I don’t have to wait that much to to better.’
Marc Márquez,
19th at 33.868 secs,
‘It was a complicated weekend, because on Friday we ran on a wet track and it’s a difficult circuit. Yesterday’s setup wasn’t the best, and during the warm-up we tried out something else, though we didn’t improve much, so we went out and raced not really knowing what would happen. The bike had improved slightly, but not enough. The mechanics have done a great job, and I’d like to congratulate the whole team for their enormous effort over the weekend. The race was quite tough. It was very hot and I had a bit of a hard time on the bike. The engine was running well, but the suspension was not set up correctly. We have to look at the good side, and that’s the progress achieved over the weekend. Now we have to think about Montmeló, and take another step forward.’
