Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) scored a solid second-place finish at Brno, the Spaniard joined in the top three by compatriot Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini) who visited the podium for the first time this season.
The two RC212V riders had very different races, Pedrosa alone for most of the 22 laps, Elias fighting all the way to beat British GP winner Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Suzuki). For the second race in a row, there were three Hondas in the top four. The 11th round of the 2009 series was won by Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) whose team-mate Jorge Lorenzo slid off while just ahead of the reigning World Champion.
Pedrosa made his customary stunning start, roaring past Rossi into the first turn but conceding first place two corners later. When Lorenzo too came past three laps later Pedrosa gradually slipped back to run his own race in third. Then five laps from the chequered flag Lorenzo fell, shortly after taking the lead from Rossi, putting Pedrosa back into second place. Pedrosa was happy that he finished the race in good physical shape – only recently has he been able to undertake his full training regime following injuries sustained earlier in the year.
Pedrosa and team-mate Dovizioso test at Brno tomorrow, along with the rest of the MotoGP pack, and they know the one-day session will be crucial to help them improve their pace for the final six races of 2009. The factory RC212V certainly has brilliant top-end performance, Pedrosa heading the top-speed charts this weekend at 302.6km/h.
Lorenzo’s crash added an extra surge of excitement to the entertaining contest between Elias, Dovizioso and Capirossi who were now fighting for the final slot on the podium. Dovizioso tried everything he could to get past Elias and he did get ahead for a lap in the closing stages, then surviving a major slide that had his left foot off the footpeg. The following lap Elias slipped past the Italian once again and held his advantage to the flag.
Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) spent the first half of the race battling for sixth place with Colin Edwards (Yamaha), Nicky Hayden (Ducati) and Mika Kallio (Ducati, subbing for the absent Casey Stoner), but things got complicated for the San Marino rider when a butterfly flew inside his helmet, causing him vision problems and losing him several places. De Angelis crossed the line in eighth place after Kallio and Marco Melandri (Kawasaki) collided and crashed on the last corner of the race.
Tenth place went to Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda), the Frenchman riding a hero’s race just one week after breaking his left ankle in a motocross fall. De Puniet’s ankle is fixed with six screws and when he’s not on his bike he’s using crutches to get about. His race was the toughest of his career and remarkable too – 11th on the first lap, he was in the thick of the pack chasing seventh place until the injury really took its toll. Unable to put the kind of pressure through his left footpeg to steer his RC212V as he normally would, de Puniet had to use more upper body strength to get through the corners.
Gabor Talmacsi (Scot Honda) enjoyed a busy first few laps, overtaking several rivals, but his pace dropped when he began to run short of rear grip. Talma and his crew will focus on this issue during tomorrow’s tests.
Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda) maintained his 250 World Championship lead with a determined ride to fourth place. Aoyama always knew that Brno would be a challenging race, but the Japanese star rode superbly as ever to finish a close fourth, just behind main title rival Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia). The pair are now separated by 12 points with six races remaining. Today’s race was won by reigning World Champion Marco Simoncelli (Gilera) who lies third in the title chase, 32 points behind Aoyama.
Aoyama did briefly lead the 20 lap event, getting ahead on lap three, but he didn’t quite have the straight-line speed to stay out front and thus lost places as the race went on.
Raffaele De Rosa (Scot Honda) impressed once again with a great ride to sixth place, his third finish inside the top six in his rookie 250 season. The Italian came through from tenth on lap one to chase down the second group. He spent the final laps locked in a duel with former 125 World Champion Roberto Locatelli (Gilera), just losing out to the veteran performer. De Rosa rates the result as his best yet.
Hector Faubel (Valencia CF-Honda SAG) and Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT-SAG) both rode excellent races. The Spaniard and the Thai ace were together for much of the 20 laps, chasing Jules Cluzel (Aprilia) for an eighth-place finish. But both men suffered from a lack of speed, Faubel demoted to tenth place three laps from the flag and Wilairot ending the afternoon 11th, just over a tenth behind his team-mate.
Today was a great day for Team CIP Honda, the French outfit getting both its riders in the points for the first time, Shoya Tomizawa (Team CIP Honda) in 13th and Valentin Debise (Team CIP Honda) in 15th. Tomizawa showed his talent once more with a spirited ride for his third consecutive points score. The Brno first-timer only had two and a half hours of practice here after losing time yesterday morning following a crash. He made a steady start, slightly unnerved by a first corner crash involving Thomas Luthi (Aprilia) and Karel Abraham (Aprilia).
Valentin Debise (Team CIP Honda) scored the last point in 15th place after overcoming Axel Pons (Aprilia) on the final lap. Like Tomizawa, this was Debise’s first race at Brno. The Frenchman also fell yesterday and struggled in the early stages of the race before getting into a good rhythm. This was his third World Championship score of the season.
Bastien Chesaux (Racing Team Germany Honda) was in the hunt for his second points score when he crashed out with eight laps to go. Chesaux had been battling with Debise when the rear let go. He suffered a gashed finger on his right hand.
Source: http://world.honda.com
The two RC212V riders had very different races, Pedrosa alone for most of the 22 laps, Elias fighting all the way to beat British GP winner Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Suzuki). For the second race in a row, there were three Hondas in the top four. The 11th round of the 2009 series was won by Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) whose team-mate Jorge Lorenzo slid off while just ahead of the reigning World Champion.
Pedrosa made his customary stunning start, roaring past Rossi into the first turn but conceding first place two corners later. When Lorenzo too came past three laps later Pedrosa gradually slipped back to run his own race in third. Then five laps from the chequered flag Lorenzo fell, shortly after taking the lead from Rossi, putting Pedrosa back into second place. Pedrosa was happy that he finished the race in good physical shape – only recently has he been able to undertake his full training regime following injuries sustained earlier in the year.
Pedrosa and team-mate Dovizioso test at Brno tomorrow, along with the rest of the MotoGP pack, and they know the one-day session will be crucial to help them improve their pace for the final six races of 2009. The factory RC212V certainly has brilliant top-end performance, Pedrosa heading the top-speed charts this weekend at 302.6km/h.
Lorenzo’s crash added an extra surge of excitement to the entertaining contest between Elias, Dovizioso and Capirossi who were now fighting for the final slot on the podium. Dovizioso tried everything he could to get past Elias and he did get ahead for a lap in the closing stages, then surviving a major slide that had his left foot off the footpeg. The following lap Elias slipped past the Italian once again and held his advantage to the flag.
Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) spent the first half of the race battling for sixth place with Colin Edwards (Yamaha), Nicky Hayden (Ducati) and Mika Kallio (Ducati, subbing for the absent Casey Stoner), but things got complicated for the San Marino rider when a butterfly flew inside his helmet, causing him vision problems and losing him several places. De Angelis crossed the line in eighth place after Kallio and Marco Melandri (Kawasaki) collided and crashed on the last corner of the race.
Tenth place went to Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda), the Frenchman riding a hero’s race just one week after breaking his left ankle in a motocross fall. De Puniet’s ankle is fixed with six screws and when he’s not on his bike he’s using crutches to get about. His race was the toughest of his career and remarkable too – 11th on the first lap, he was in the thick of the pack chasing seventh place until the injury really took its toll. Unable to put the kind of pressure through his left footpeg to steer his RC212V as he normally would, de Puniet had to use more upper body strength to get through the corners.
Gabor Talmacsi (Scot Honda) enjoyed a busy first few laps, overtaking several rivals, but his pace dropped when he began to run short of rear grip. Talma and his crew will focus on this issue during tomorrow’s tests.
Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda) maintained his 250 World Championship lead with a determined ride to fourth place. Aoyama always knew that Brno would be a challenging race, but the Japanese star rode superbly as ever to finish a close fourth, just behind main title rival Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia). The pair are now separated by 12 points with six races remaining. Today’s race was won by reigning World Champion Marco Simoncelli (Gilera) who lies third in the title chase, 32 points behind Aoyama.
Aoyama did briefly lead the 20 lap event, getting ahead on lap three, but he didn’t quite have the straight-line speed to stay out front and thus lost places as the race went on.
Raffaele De Rosa (Scot Honda) impressed once again with a great ride to sixth place, his third finish inside the top six in his rookie 250 season. The Italian came through from tenth on lap one to chase down the second group. He spent the final laps locked in a duel with former 125 World Champion Roberto Locatelli (Gilera), just losing out to the veteran performer. De Rosa rates the result as his best yet.
Hector Faubel (Valencia CF-Honda SAG) and Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT-SAG) both rode excellent races. The Spaniard and the Thai ace were together for much of the 20 laps, chasing Jules Cluzel (Aprilia) for an eighth-place finish. But both men suffered from a lack of speed, Faubel demoted to tenth place three laps from the flag and Wilairot ending the afternoon 11th, just over a tenth behind his team-mate.
Today was a great day for Team CIP Honda, the French outfit getting both its riders in the points for the first time, Shoya Tomizawa (Team CIP Honda) in 13th and Valentin Debise (Team CIP Honda) in 15th. Tomizawa showed his talent once more with a spirited ride for his third consecutive points score. The Brno first-timer only had two and a half hours of practice here after losing time yesterday morning following a crash. He made a steady start, slightly unnerved by a first corner crash involving Thomas Luthi (Aprilia) and Karel Abraham (Aprilia).
Valentin Debise (Team CIP Honda) scored the last point in 15th place after overcoming Axel Pons (Aprilia) on the final lap. Like Tomizawa, this was Debise’s first race at Brno. The Frenchman also fell yesterday and struggled in the early stages of the race before getting into a good rhythm. This was his third World Championship score of the season.
Bastien Chesaux (Racing Team Germany Honda) was in the hunt for his second points score when he crashed out with eight laps to go. Chesaux had been battling with Debise when the rear let go. He suffered a gashed finger on his right hand.
Source: http://world.honda.com
