From The Examiner

Composite photo sequence of James Toseland on the Corkscrew:

From TheExaminer.com

James Toseland said:

“There’s not much I can say really other than it was a tough weekend. I feel like the jump start was pretty harsh. I knew it was close but I didn’t think I’d jumped the start and that early in a 32-lap race I’m not looking at my pitboard. I was just concentrating on catching the guy in front and the first thing I realised that I’d been penalised was when I saw the black flag and my number. Obviously if I’d known I’d jumped the start then I would have come in but I’ve watched the TV replay and you can’t see anything. I didn’t gain any places either so in my opinion it’s pretty harsh. It’s a setback but I’ve just got to get on with it and bounce back in Germany.”

A top five finish for Hayden is the result of relentless hard work and dedication from rider and team since the start of the season and his best qualifying and race performances of the campaign so far represented a source of huge satisfaction. The American delighted his home crowd not only with his performance but also with a special ‘stars and stripes’ livery, that will also be available on the new Ducati 848, launched in the USA two days ago.

However, a fourth place finish for Stoner was another case of damage limitation following another physically demanding weekend. The Australian has been combating physical exhaustion and to have two races in successive weekends certainly didn’t help his cause here. Stoner will now stay on in the United States for extensive tests at the Fremont Surgery Center with Dr. Arthur Ting and Dr. Tuan, to try and understand the source of the problem.

CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) (4th)

“It has been a weekend to forget. I can’t be happy with fourth place even if it has limited the damage to my championship chances. Today I didn’t feel as bad at the end of the race as I have done in the last two but I’m still not right. I found it really difficult to keep my concentration over the last few laps and I was in a bit of a daze by the end. My left arm was feeling really tired by the end because of the fact there are so many left-handers here and my left wrist still doesn’t have the full range of movement after my operation in the winter. I’m really disappointed because without all of these problems we could have done so much better. I want to thank the team for giving me a great bike and also Doctor Claudio Macchiagodena and our physiotherapist Freddie (Dente) for all their help. Now we’ll focus on trying to find out the root of the problem because racing in this condition is not much fun.”

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati MotoGP Team) (5th)

“I have won here twice and to say that fifth place feels just as good might sound strange but man, so much hard work has gone into getting us to this point and I want to savour this feeling. To be racing at home, to score a solid result and to have had fun out there is nice. I just want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to my whole team, to Ducati and to everybody who has continued to believe in me during some difficult times this season. We have made progress over the last two races, we have kept the faith and it has paid off with this fifth place. Hopefully we can keep it going and score even better results as the season progresses.”

Q Congratulations. Your first win since Catalunya last year. Honda’s first win since Catalunya last year. It’s been a long, painful year for you, hasn’t it, and at last the wait is over.

A Yes, it’s been a long, tough year for me. Since last year here, when I couldn’t race, it’s been everything bad, and no results. So I’m happy to be back and win a race. But especially happy for my team. All this time I was injured, I couldn’t ride well, they still keep on pushing, keep on working very hard at the maximum level, as if I could win races. So they also need this win. Honda had a long time also not winning, so that’s good for them also. And I’d like also to say thanks to all the doctors I pass through this year. It’s been tough, but finally, great race, great day, and great feeling.

Q We’re used to you making such good starts. From the second row of the grid, it was a fantastic start. But were you surprised that you were able to open the gap at the front?

A Yes, I was surprised. But I was doing better rhythm than in practice, so this, I think, allowed me to go a little bit away. So perhaps the only mistake was in the last lap, where I was too slow. I thought I had more advantage, but finally Rossi came too strong to me, and fortunately it was only the last corner, so I still could win the race.

Q We’re just coming up to the halfway stage in the season, Dani. Obviously you’re a little bit behind Casey Stoner, Jorge and Valentino, but you could still get up there with them.

A Well. Right now, I like to think race by race. Trying to do great races, and trying to fight with these guys for the win each Grand Prix.

Q We go to the Sachsenring in Germany next. Obviously, unhappy memories for you last year. Rather like here, you got out at the front, and disappeared.

A Yes, everything was fine that day. I was riding very well [inaudible]. If I could finish that race, probably would be my best race ever. But everything end up wrong. So I hope this year can be the opposite.

Q Dani, congratulations. Congratulations to Honda, also. Thank you very much indeed.

Valentino Rossi (#46 Fiat Yamaha, second place):

Q Valentino Rossi, 20 very, very important World Championship points. Dani’s pace at the front, I would think, surprised you.

A Yes. [inaudible] yes. Because I don’t expect Dani so strong today. But I understand quite early that he was fast, because he go away quite easy in the first part of the race. Was quite difficult for me today, especially the first half, because I was not at 100% with the setting. We did some modify from this morning, and I was not very happy. I had to ride not at the maximum. But after lap by lap, with a bit less fuel, the feeling is better. I remain with Dani, maybe it was a little bit faster in some place, but more or less remain the same disadvantage. After, the last ten laps was thrilling, because Jorge come back very strong, and I have to push so hard for keep the advantage. We fight, we overtake each other, and in the last laps, I was pushing a lot, and I see Dani slow down, and I arrive at the last corner very close, but unfortunately not close enough for try to overtake.

Q As far as the championship goes, we know this season, picking up points, 20 points, 16 sometimes, is going to be very, very important, isn’t it?

A Yes, for sure. Twenty points is important, especially because I gain some point, and in a championship like this, is so important. But we come from two fantastic race, and today maybe was possible make better, so we have to stay strong and concentrated, because Sachsenring and Donington are so important for the championship.

Q You’ve always said since the start of the season, you think it would be four men that would win Grands Prix, four riders that would be chasing for the championship. Dani’s win today has made it the fourth, really, isn’t it.

A Yes. I was right. But you know, Dani have some unlucky, a lot of injury. But when Dani’s 100% of the potential for fight for the victory. And anyway, we are so close at the top, especially with Jorge, but also Casey’s not so far. So will be a strong season.

Q Valentino, congratulations and thank you very much.

Jorge Lorenzo (#99 Fiat Yamaha, third place)

Q Jorge, pole position for the race, two crashes in qualifying, trouble with the collarbone, trouble with the foot. An amazing result for you, Jorge. You battled for second place at one time, with Valentino.

A I did my best, or very close to my best. If we can [inaudible] this mistake in that corner to try to overtake Valentino, I did one of my best race of my career, because today my physical condition was very poor. But also with the help of Clinica Mobile, with Dr. Costa and Bernard and all the helpers, they give me a little bit more to try to finish the race.

Q How close were you to not starting the race, when you went to the warm-up this morning?

A Yeah, the warm-up was difficult, because was very cold, and I didn’t sleep too well this night. I was very cold and I have a lot of pain. But on the race, my arm improved a little bit, but the problem was that I couldn’t do a lot of force with my right hand, so I had to use a lot my left hand. So was difficult to finish the race. We finished.

Q You have a two-week rest now, for the injuries, before the Sachsenring, and that is important.

A Yeah. Now the important thing is to recover these two injuries I have, as soon as we can. For sure, maybe the foot will be easier. But my, this injury will be more difficult, because people say it’s almost five, six weeks to recover 100%. But people who do a sport recover more faster, so I will.

Q Jorge, thank you very much indeed, and congratulations on a great ride.

Questions from the floor:

Q Question for Valentino. Can we expect Valentino Rossi to stay around for a few more seasons of MotoGP racing?

ROSSI: Like I say 100 times, I don’t know. Next year I’ve already the contract signed with Yamaha, so for sure 2010 yes. And after, and after I will decide for my future.

Q Dani, congratulations for the win. I want to know if Honda, from the technical point of view, made a big step forward, or was a special situation for the track, or for you? This win could be the first step for another championship, or something else.

PEDROSA: The bike was the same. Same spec as last race in Assen. So that was all. The bike was the same. We just work and everything comes good. Nothing special, nothing.

Q Did you find the right way to set the bike, or just the race and the track or yourself?

PEDROSA: I don’t know. We will see next race. Of course we have to work during the practice to learn the good setting. With this bike we have to always try, play a little bit to find a good place. But this weekend, we pretty much find out good setting, so this help us to do a great race. And for the next one, is to just try the same.

Q Jorge, a gutsy performance. Were there ever any thoughts in your mind, when you were out on the track, “What am I doing out here?” And was there a lot of pain, or were you able to compensate by the way you rode?

LORENZO: [pause] You are very American, so I don’t understand. [Laughter]

Q I’ll try to be simpler.

MODERATOR: Jorge, I think he said -

LORENZO: You are more English.

MODERATOR: Sometimes you don’t understand my English, either. But was there a lot of pain for you, during the race, and was there any stage in the race you thought you may not finish?

LORENZO: You know, at the beginning, and also in the warm-up, where the body’s cold, you get a lot of pain. But after your adrenaline is coming up, and also the injections that Costa Doctor give me, helps me to drive more safety. But anyway, as I said, when I couldn’t do more push in this, in the right hand, I have to use a lot of this hand. So was finish, this point.

Q Jorge, yesterday’s accident was in the same turn in 20 minutes. Was the problem with something of your bike, or was casual in that corner?

LORENZO: You know, this year I am very focused, and I don’t do mistakes normally. So it’s a question of the track. This track is very hard to warm up the tire, especially the rear one. So when I stop my pace to let the riders go, then my tire was so cold that I couldn’t enter the corner.

Q Jorge, could you talk a little bit about your pass attempt on Valentino, and whether you came close to crashing?

LORENZO: Well. Yeah. The lap before, I say, I look that Valentino brakes a little bit earlier than me, so I say that I thought that I could pass him in this corner. But if you enter the line more deeper in this corner, there is more bumps, and then I brake so, so late, and my rear tire start to move a lot, and I was closing my eyes because I thought I was going to crash. So God helped me this occasion.

Q Valentino, can you tell me what the adjustments you made that went wrong, and how were you thinking about adapting in your riding style?

ROSSI: Yeah, we tried to do some modify at the front, for improve, especially the last section of the racetrack where we struggle a bit too much. But was not okay. I don’t have enough feeling from the front, so I have to brake a bit more smooth, and entry with not at 100%, because the feeling with the front was not fantastic. After lap by lap with less grip and less fuel, coming a bit better. But anyway, we are not at the maximum.

The Fiat Yamaha pairing of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo shared the MotoGP podium for the sixth time this season at the US Grand Prix today, finishing second and third at Laguna Seca. Rossi closed down a gap of over three seconds to eventual winner Dani Pedrosa but fell just short of making another final-corner pass, whilst a brave Lorenzo battled through the pain of his injured shoulder to rally after a poor start and finish a strong third.

Rossi dropped one place to third at the start but Lorenzo, starting from pole, slipped right back through the field to eighth after the first corner. Both riders quickly began to make up ground however, the Italian passing Casey Stoner into the corkscrew and the Spaniard overtaking three riders to cross the line in fifth first time around. It was a short lived stint in second for Rossi as Stoner passed him back into turn one on the third lap while Pedrosa began to open up a big gap at the front of the field. There was no change for several laps until Andrea Dovizioso crashed on lap seven, elevating Lorenzo to fourth and giving the youngster clear air in front just as he began to find his rhythm. On lap twelve Rossi made his decisive pass on Casey Stoner and re-took second place and he immediately set about trying to close a gap of nearly three seconds to Pedrosa.

Over the next few laps however it was Lorenzo who was the man on the move and the brave Mallorcan gradually began to move closer to Stoner until he was able to make a brilliant pass on the brakes into the final corner to move into third. With Rossi unable to make much headway into Pedrosa’s lead at that point, another Fiat Yamaha showdown began to brew as lap-by-lap Lorenzo edged closer to his team-mate. With four laps to go the 22-year-old saw his chance and tried to pass the World Champion at the final corner, but he suffered a big slide in the process and ran wide, letting Rossi back through and dropping back over a second. The drama wasn’t over yet however as on the final lap Rossi suddenly found himself within striking distance of Pedrosa and a final-corner overtake looked to be on the cards, but in the end he was just a couple of tenths too far off and crossed the line 0.344 seconds adrift, with Lorenzo 1.926 seconds behind him.

Rossi extends his lead at the top of the championship to nine points over Lorenzo, who in turn stretches the gap from Stoner to seven points. There is a now a two week break before the MotoGP paddock returns to Europe for another double-header at the Sachsenring in Germany followed by Donington in the UK.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 2nd Time: +0.344
“The first half of the race was quite difficult because we weren’t at 100% today. I didn’t expect Dani to be so fast but he was very strong and there wasn’t much I could do to go with him! The last ten laps were very exciting because Lorenzo was pushing me so hard that I had to really make another step and then Dani slowed down and suddenly he was right in front of me! I thought there was a chance to pass on the final corner but unfortunately I was just too far off and it was too much of a risk. Second is good today because we were not in perfect shape here, we missed something in the setting and this is always a hard track anyway, so we have to be happy with these twenty points. We have extended the championship lead so it’s a good result for us and we have shown that we are still strong this year even when things are not perfect. This consistency is the most important thing for the championship. Now I am happy that we have some time to rest because these have been a hard two weeks and the next two races are very important because we are all so close!”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 3rd Time: +1.926
“I always try to do my best and I think that is what I have done today, considering my physical condition. I am really proud and I think that this was one of my best races. My foot was okay but I had a lot of pain in my right shoulder, which meant I wasn’t strong in my right hand and I had to over-compensate with my left; I am really tired now! I want to thank the Clinica Mobile because they made it possible for me to finish the race. After a while I started to forget about the pain a bit and I just wanted to do my best and I knew that it was possible to pass Valentino. Unfortunately I hit some bumps when I braked deep and my rear tyre moved a lot and I was lucky not to crash – maybe without this mistake, if I had been able to pass him, it would have been possible to win but anyway third is good in the circumstances and we have taken good points. Now we have some time to recover; I am fit and strong so I hope that by Sachsenring I will be back to my best.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“In the end I think we can be happy with the overall balance of this weekend because we have kept our championship lead and even gained points. Bearing in mind that we weren’t at 100% of our potential, finishing second is a very good result and this is the important thing – to do well even when we can’t attack as we would like to. Congratulations to Pedrosa, it’s good to see him back but especially to Jorge because he made a great race in difficult conditions for him. The championship is very tight and exciting now so we’re looking forward to the next races.”

Ramon Forcada – Crew Chief
“Our rider did a very good job today in his poor physical condition. He showed that he never gives up even when things are tough and that his mind is very strong, which is very important for a rider. At the end, when he caught Valentino, he made his attack very soon and maybe if he had waited a little bit things might have been different, but anyway third is a very good result in the circumstances and we have got some important championship points.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1st, said:
“This is a fantastic win for us and it’s a great feeling after such a long time without a victory. The start to the season has been really difficult and actually it’s been tough since Sachsenring last year because I’ve had a lot of injuries and I haven’t been able to ride at 100 per cent for a long time, or train properly. But my team and Honda never gave up and I’d like to thank everyone who’s been working really hard to help me get back to this position. I’d also like to thank the doctors who have treated me because there have been quite a few of them! I got a good start, I was able to get into a good rhythm straight away and my pace was a little better than in practice. Perhaps my only mistake here was to slow down too much on the last lap because I didn’t realize how close Valentino was. Anyway, it was a great race, a great day and it’s a great feeling. Now I just want to focus on each race and get the best results possible. There’s a long way to go in the championship but there’s also a big gap to the leaders so I’m just going to take it one race at a time.”

Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: DNF, said:
“We were in good shape, I’d got into a fast rhythm and I’m sure we could have had good result today, so I’m very disappointed. Unfortunately I made a mistake and I have spoiled this opportunity. During the first laps, I was behind Valentino, I wanted to overtake him and I was very close at the end of the straight. It’s a blind point and I was so close that I didn’t see the plastic poles that separate the track from the pit lane. I hit a few of them and in the impact the clutch lever bent, and from that moment on I couldn’t control the engine braking. It was my mistake as my line was too far to the left but after that it was tough to ride and change gear properly. Nevertheless, I tried to stay up with the leaders. Then I lost the front and crashed after having had a couple of warnings. I’m really disappointed because we are getting closer to front-running pace at every race and here we could have done well. Still, I believe in myself, in the machine and in my team, and I really hope to get a good result soon.”

Rizla Suzuki racer Chris Vermeulen recovered from an early race set-back and managed to fight his way through the field to finish eighth at the U.S. GP today.

Vermeulen started from ninth on the grid and was edged out as the pack went into the first turn, finding himself down in eleventh place. He then got boxed out on lap two by team-mate Loris Capirossi and Colin Edwards and was relegated down to 14th place. Vermeulen battled back – and although he also benefitted from a couple of riders crashing in front of him – Vermeulen also managed to put in passes to get inside the top 10. His race pace was good enough for a top five position today and but for the tough start he encountered, things could have been considerably different for the Australian.

Capirossi had a race today that summed up his difficult weekend. He got a good start and was up to eighth position and still in touch with the front group after the first three laps, but on the fourth lap disaster struck for the Italian star. As he pushed hard to keep in touch with the leaders he lost the front end of his Suzuki GSV-R on the fast turn six and ended in the gravel. Capirossi was able to remount his machine after suffering no injuries, but the damage to his bike was too substantial and all he could do was ride back to the pits and retire.

Today’s race was watched by over 46,000 fans at trackside, and they were treated to a great battle at the front with Dani Pedrosa on his factory Honda taking a flag-to-flag win, despite coming under intense pressure at the end of the race from Valentino Rossi, who himself was pushed all the way to the finish by Jorge Lorenzo.

Rizla Suzuki now heads back across the Atlantic as it returns to Europe for the next round of the MotoGP World Championship at Sachsenring in Germany on Sunday 19th July.

Chris Vermeulen:

“It was a difficult race and we didn’t end up where we wanted to be. I got quite a good start but then got boxed in on turn one and lost a few positions. I was battling with Loris and Colin and got caught up with them and came out of it the worse, and ended up in about 14th place. We also struggled a bit with tyre performance today and didn’t get the ultimate performance out of the bike. From about lap 15 and right to the end my times were quite quick and when everybody’s tyre dropped down – including mine – it was a lot easier to ride the bike. We just didn’t really have the performance with the new tyres and it’s something that has affected us before this year and is certainly something we will have to look at. The plus is that I stayed upright all day today – which was good – and although we didn’t have the best package out there we still managed to score some decent points and now we need to move forward in Germany.”

Loris Capirossi:

“I am really upset about today, because we have worked so hard this weekend to find the best solution and we thought we would be ok with the setting today. I started quite well and was really aggressive in the first couple of laps, but in turn six I lost the front on the second lap and then on the next lap I did the same in the same place, but this time I crashed. I am really sorry for the whole team because they have worked so hard this week. The truth is this has been a terrible weekend for me as we never really found a good solution. Fortunately we have another nine races in front of us and we will keep working really hard to get some good results.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:

“The result today was not at all what we were looking for from the Laguna GP. Chris really struggled to get enough heat into the tyres in the early laps and it was always going to be an uphill struggle for him to come back from 14th. He pushed hard to get back to eighth and he had the speed and the lap-times to be in the fifth position group, but it was impossible for him to achieve that from so far back.

“Loris suffered from the same grip problems as Chris at the start of the race, but was pushing really hard and the good news is that he is completely unhurt after losing the front in turn six – one of the scariest and fastest turns here at Laguna. It was a 32-lap race and we were 32 seconds off the win. One second a lap doesn’t sound much, but it is a big gap to bridge and we need to do everything we can to get closer to the front guys as soon as possible!”

Video Interview with Chris Vermeulen on the Laguna Seca race:

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director

“It has been a hard weekend for us since the first practice session. It seems that yesterday we have found some good solutions but today things didn’t go in the right direction. Niccolò, as it happened in other races, doesn’t have the confidence with the front part of the bike at the beginning and loses too much time from the other riders. Than it’s not easy to ride by your self. We hope to be able to improve in the next race and obtain a better final result.”

Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider – 12th in the race – 16th in MotoGP Classification

“Hard race for us today. In the first laps I couldn’t push more because I didn’t have enough grip with the front part of the bike, in addition I saw other riders fall in front of me and I thought the track wasn’t in the best condition in that moment. Once the front tyre was warmer it was too late because I found my self practically alone. I maintained yesterday’s afternoon rhythm, but it wasn’t enough to reach the riders in front of me. We will try to do better in two weeks at the Sachsenring.”

For much of the race he maintained a couple of seconds lead over Valentino Rossi who got close enough on the final turn to make a lunge, but it wasn’t enough and Pedrosa took Honda’s first MotoGP victory since the 2008 Catalunya MotoGP.

Jorge Lorenzo put up a strong race and made a bold move on Rossi for second place, almost losing control of his bike in the process – Lorenzo managed to keep his bike on track but ran wide and Rossi regained his position.

Casey Stoner managed 4th place in a clearly exhausting race for him and Nicky Hayden posted his best result on a Ducati by finishing 5th.

There were 4 crashes, and James Toseland was black-flagged for missing a penalty pit lane ride-through after he was deemed to have made a jump start.

Pos  Rider             Bike               Time/Gap
1.  Dani Pedrosa      Honda            44m01.580s
2.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha           +   0.344s
3.  Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha           +   1.926s
4.  Casey Stoner      Ducati           +  12.432s
5.  Nicky Hayden      Ducati           +  21.663s
6.  Toni Elias        Gresini Honda    +  22.041s
7.  Colin Edwards     Tech 3 Yamaha    +  30.201s
8.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki           +  32.857s
9.  Randy de Puniet   LCR Honda        +  40.325s
10.  Marco Melandri    Hayate Kawasaki  +  48.028s
11.  Alex de Angelis   Gresini Honda    +  48.810s
12.  Niccolo Canepa    Pramac Ducati    +1m18.531s

DNF:

     Andrea Dovizioso  Honda                6 laps
     Sete Gibernau     Hernando Ducati      6 laps
     Loris Capirossi   Suzuki               3 laps
     Gabor Talmacsi    Scot Honda           3 laps
     James Toseland    Tech 3 Yamaha           DSQ