Repsol Honda rider had started at the back of the grid due to a technical problems and was then hit from behind on the first lap. Rea finishes eighth on his MotoGP debut.
It was not a good day at the office for Dani Pedrosa today at the San Marino Grand Prix. A fault on the starting grid complicated proceedings and Pedrosa’s race finished early after he was hit by Héctor Barberá on the first lap. There was therefore virtually no competition for race winner Jorge Lorenzo who now leads the championship by 38 points from the Repsol rider. Meanwhile, making a substitute appearance in place of the absent Casey Stoner, Jonathan Rea achieved a solid top ten finish on his World Championship debut.
The day took a turn for the worst for Repsol Honda rider Pedrosa just before the start of the race. Following an aborted start due to problems for Karel Abraham with his Ducati bike, which meant the race was slightly delayed, Pedrosa had a problem of his own with his front wheel once the tyre warmers were removed. Eventually his mechanics were able the free the front wheel, but not in the allotted time required for the race start, forcing Pedrosa to the back of the grid.
When the lights went out, Pedrosa got off to a solid start. He made up a number of places on the first few metres but also rode with prudence to avoid crowds. There was not much more to his race, as at turn eight —whilst riding in tenth— he was taken out by Héctor Barberá. Pedrosa’s fellow Spaniard knocked into his back wheel and flung him out of the race. Despite this DNF, Pedrosa continues in the fight for the title, 38 points behind race winner Jorge Lorenzo. Completing the podium were Valentino Rossi and Álvaro Bautista in second and third, respectively.
On the other side of the Repsol Honda Team garage, Jonathan Rea placed eighth in his first MotoGP race. He rode by himself for the majority of the contest. It had been a difficult weekend for the stand-in rider, thanks to tricky weather conditions. Rea acheived his goal of placing in the top ten at his debut MotoGP race.
The World Championship heads to Aragón in two weeks time, where Pedrosa recently completed a positive test. With 5 races remaining in 2012, there are 125 points up for grabs and still plenty to be decided.
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
Fall
“It was total chaos and many things happened at the same time. It all began with the restart because the procedure was not at all clear. Nobody knew if it was one minute, three minutes, warmers on or off… We were also getting different information about the number of laps, 26, 27… Then suddenly we were told it was 1 minute to the start of the race, with no board signage, nothing. The mechanics were rushing to prepare and when they tried to take off the warmers my front wheel was somehow locked, they tried to unlocked it but they weren’t able to and due to the 1 minute warning —where they are not allowed to touch the bike anymore— they put me to the back of the grid. I tried to remain focused, not make any mistake on the first lap, make clear moves to overtake riders and I was 8th or 9th by the sixth corner when Barberá hit me from behind, and that was it. I’m very upset because even it’s easy to say now, I think I could have had a chance to win this race, even starting from the last place on the grid. Now the Championship is obviously more uphill for me, but I will continue the same way. We have done everything we could so far, the bike is working well and I’m riding well, too. So it’s not over for me; there are still 5 races to go and we will do our best.”
Jonathan Rea >> Audio
8th at 43.162 sec.
“It was a tough race and I just wanted to get into a rhythm and maintain it. I’m still nowhere near the limit, I’m not really having any moments, just a few mistakes running wide, it’s a matter of trust and I’m still acclimatising to the machine. I’m really happy with the progress I made throughout the race and I learnt so much that you simply can’t pick up in testing about race distance, how the tyre wear goes down, the fuel load and how the bike behaves differently. In the beginning Nicky [Hayden] pulled a gap and I was catching him but in the end it wasn’t enough. To finish 8th is ok, but the gap to the front is a little frustrating. In general I’m really happy and I’m looking forward to the next challenge in Aragon. I want to thank all the Repsol Honda team for their hard work and support they’ve given me and to all the fans back home.”
