Qatar GP. Rider´s comments

Sebastián Porto: ‘ I know that the difference with regard to Dani is big, but there are many points still at stake and anything can happen’.
MotoGP. Nicky Hayden 5th: ‘The first few laps I just couldn’t get any feeling from the front of the bike. My fist few laps were so slow it was embarrassing. I kinda’ got the feeling back in the front when the tyre was more scrubbed in and it felt much better. I managed to get going and get into a decent sort of rhythm. If I try and look positively we got a top five finish and this is the first time we’ve scored any points since Donington. It was nice to actually finish. I’m definitely not happy with how the race went. It wasn’t pretty and I can only think about moving onto Malaysia and starting all over again next week.’MotoGP. Alex Barros 4th: ‘Really disappointed. I got a bad start and I saw Sete and Checa move away so I know I need to catch. I pass Xaus and then Valentino touched me and knocked me off line. I go in the dirty section of the track and come back a few places later. Then I see the Kawasaki smoking and I am right behind. I brake and I feel the front go so I just run off the track and come back in nearly last place I think. I then have to recover everything and we start the race again. I know I had a chance to fight with Sete today. We had a great opportunity and we missed the opportunity. The machine felt good and I need to look positively forward. I need to win. I want a victory. We have three races left this year.’MotoGP. Rubén Xaus 3rd: ‘I’m very happy for this third place, especially here, in Qatar. I made a very good start, very concentrated because I knew that it would be a very hard race and I didn’t want to make any mistake. That could have been a disaster. I didn’t want to get off the racing line, but the Ducati with a full tank and new tyres is very complicated to ride. The pace of the first five laps was incredible but I was really excited because I was thinking about the fans and also the team; they have been working hard throughout the year and they deserve it more than anybody else. There are three races left and I think that we’ll be able to keep on making them all happy.’250. Sebastián Porto 1st: ‘This has really been one of the best Grand Prix. I’ve been leading the practices and today we’ve won the race, so it’s been a perfect weekend. It’s been however a very difficult weekend as well, due to the heat that has made us suffer a lot; but I’m physically all right and I’ve been able to stand it. The hardness of the last laps was compensated by the good behaviour of the bike. Now we have to enjoy the triumph and look forward to the next race. The most important is that we’ve scored some important points that allowed us to move up one place in the overall standings. I know that the difference with regard to Dani is big, but there are many points still at stake and anything can happen.’250. Fonsi Nieto 5th: ‘It hasn’t been a bad race considering that I had some problems yesterday, during the practices. The first day I felt comfortable on the bike but we did some changes yesterday to have a bit more confidence. Today, during the warm-up, we made some additional changes which improved the bike’s racing behaviour. I’m not completely happy because I’ve been very close to a podium finish but wasn’t able to get it. Too bad, but we’ll have to get ready for Malaysia, to be able to fight for a place among the top three.’125. Pablo Nieto 6th: ‘It’s been a very hard race because the heat is hard to stand on the bike. After a race like the one in Japan, where I wasn’t able to finish, I think that it was important to score as many points as possible. We weren’t able to get a better result in this race because we didn’t have time enough to tune the bike at a 100%; and we were limited by this fact. Anyway, I want to say a big thank you to my team for the hard work they’ve done here. Let’s see if we’re able to be more in the front in the next Grand Prix.’125. Sergio Gadea 18th: ‘It’s been a very complicated race, there was an intense heat and the bike felt it, from the engine to the tyres. I noticed from the start that the tyres wouldn’t resist a whole race, and, in fact, eight laps before the end of the race I was just about to crash. It’s been a shame because I know that I could have done better, but such are races. We have to resign ourselves and move on to Malaysia with a renewed mentality.’