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Stoner soars to victory at Assen

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Round 7: Dutch TT – Race

MotoGP - Casey Stoner 2012 Assen MotoGP Race WinnerMotoGP - Danny Webb - Mahindra RacingCasey Stoner capped off an impressive weekend for the Repsol Honda team to take his third win of the season ahead of teammate Dani Pedrosa at today’s Dutch TT at Assen.

  • Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium. Rear: Medium-Soft, Medium (Asymmetric)
  • Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)
  • Weather: Dry. Ambient 24-24°C; Track 39-40°C (Bridgestone measurement)

Stoner made the race-winning move on lap seventeen and continued to push hard to take the checkered flag 4.965 seconds ahead of Pedrosa and the reigning champion now sits level with Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo in the championship standings as the luckless Spaniard recorded a DNF after an incident on the first lap. Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso notched up his second podium of the year with a hard-fought third place, while Randy de Puniet finished in an impressive eighth place to claim CRT honours and close the gap to his Power Electronics Aspar teammate Aleix Espargaro in the standings to just one point.

Track temperatures hit the 40°C mark for today’s race which was more than double that of last year’s and as a result tyre selection trended towards the harder compounds available, with all riders selecting the harder front slick option and just thirteen of the twenty riders opting for the harder rear slick.

Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department

“Today’s race was held under sunny skies and the fans that came to the circuit witnessed a fantastic race with many interesting battles throughout the field. Congratulations to Casey and Repsol Honda for a great win in what must have been a tough race. It was unfortunate that Jorge had some bad luck and couldn’t challenge for the win and I am sorry that some riders experienced tyre problems during the race. We are now investigating the issue and will report back to teams with our findings at the next race.

“We now look forward to the next Grand Prix in Germany as a huge crowd is always present at Sachsenring and with a German rider back in MotoGP I expect the atmosphere will be amazing­!”

Shinichi Yamashita – General Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department

“Today saw the highest track temperatures of the Grand Prix weekend and the race was run at a very fast pace. The warm temperatures meant that all riders selected the harder front slick, while all but seven riders selected the harder slick option for the rear as well.

“Unfortunately a few riders experienced a problem with their rear tyre today and we sincerely apologise to those riders affected. We have commenced a full investigation into the matter and I will personally take the affected tyres back to Bridgestone’s Technical Centre in Japan tomorrow where they will undergo detailed analysis to determine the cause of this issue.”

Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda – Race Winner

“My plan was to get a better start than I did and use my energy to build a gap at the beginning of the race. When I saw Dani doing a reasonable pace I decided to stay behind him and when there weren’t many laps left the tyre, still felt good so I decided to pass him. It was still difficult today but in general the bike was working well and my fitness was good, and in the end it worked out perfectly for us.”

Assen MotoGP™ Top Ten Race Classification
 
Pos
Rider
Team
Race Time
Gap
Front spec
Rear spec
Tyres
1
Casey STONER
Repsol Honda
41:19.855
 
Medium
Medium-soft
Bridgestone
2
Dani PEDROSA
Repsol Honda
41:24.820
4.965
Medium
Medium-soft
Bridgestone
3
Andrea DOVIZIOSO
Monster Yamaha Tech 3
41:31.849
11.994
Medium
Medium
Bridgestone
4
Ben SPIES
Yamaha Factory Racing
41:34.630
14.775
Medium
Medium
Bridgestone
5
Cal CRUTCHLOW
Monster Yamaha Tech 3
41:41.929
22.074
Medium
Medium
Bridgestone
6
Nicky HAYDEN
Ducati Team
41:51.515
31.660
Medium
Medium
Bridgestone
7
Hector BARBERA
Pramac Racing
42:18.962
59.107
Medium
Medium
Bridgestone
8
Randy DE PUNIET
Power Electronics Aspar
42:24.296
1:04.441
Medium
Medium-soft
Bridgestone
9
Michele PIRRO
San Carlo Honda Gresini
42:26.835
1:06.980
Medium
Medium-soft
Bridgestone
10
Mattia PASINI
Speed Master
42:44.942
1:28.087
Medium
Medium-soft
Bridgestone
 
source: bridgestonemotorsport.com, bsmotorsport.comBattered Ellison In The Points Again

PBMUK rider James Ellison rode through the pain barrier to claim his second successive 14th place MotoGP finish and in doing so added to his World Championship points tally at today’s Dutch TT at Assen.

Aboard the Claiming Rules Team (CRT) specification Aprilia ART, the 31-year-old was still suffering the effects of his huge Silverstone warm-up crash two weeks ago and struggled throughout the weekend for the Penrith-based Paul Bird Motorsport team as he couldn’t get comfortable on the bike.

Despite improvements made to the machine at Silverstone meaning the team was confident of a good result, Ellison qualified in 19th place out of the 21 riders but it proved to be an uphill struggle for the former World Endurance Champion and double European Superstock Champion in today’s 26-lap race.

With a high attrition rate, Ellison found himself in 13th place but following a pit stop for a new tyre, nine times World Champion Valentino Rossi managed to squeeze past James on the very last corner to relegate him to 14th by just 2/1000ths of a second at the chequered flag.

The result sees James hold joint 16th place in the World Championship after seven rounds and sixth placed ART bike. PBMUK are also in joint tenth out of the 14 in the Teams Championship going into next weekend’s race at Sachsenring in Germany.

James Ellison: “To sum it up bluntly, it was a bad day at the office. I was in a lot of pain from my Silverstone crash and have been getting treatment and painkillers before and after every session but it just proved too difficult in the race, I pushed so hard every lap but was missing apexes and even ran off the track early in the race which put us last. I worked hard to fight back and the lighter fuel load was helping but it was all too little too late. To top it off Rossi pipped us on the line by 0.002s to take another point. I’m just gutted for the whole team and Aprilia as they worked hard to give me a good bike and I’m sorry that I couldn’t capitalise on getting more points. I’ll be working hard to get fit for Germany and make up for this weekend.”

Phil Borley Technical Director: “It was extremely disappointing that due to his physical condition, James couldn’t get the maximum out of the bike as it’s the best it’s been all season. We were lucky to pick up some points but unlucky that because of getting lapped, he lost out to Valentino Rossi which rubbed salt into the wound. It was an important finish but we need to be much, much closer to the other CRT bikes so hopefully James will be a lot fitter for next weekend.”

For more information, please visit www.pbmuk.net  and www.motogp.com

MAHINDRA TAKES STEP FORWARD AT ASSEN

Mahindra riders Danny Webb and Marcel Schrötter took a step forward with new engine parts at Assen. But the hard work of the independent Indian team was not rewarded with final results, with both riders failing to make the finish.

In Danny’s case it was a crash, on the 16th of 22 laps of the 2.8-mile Dutch TT circuit at Assen, as he was beginning to move forward towards the points after placing 12th in morning warm-up. The 21-year-old Briton was lying 22nd in a big group, having just gained two places. The rear wheel locked, but team manager Nicola Casadei confirmed after the race there was no engine problem.

Marcel, nursing a broken right finger from a motocross mishap last weekend, was in the next group, and working at holding his position when he was sidelined by a clutch problem with two laps to go.

The race was close from front to back, narrowly won by Spanish rider Maverick Vinales. The Mahindra MGP-30 is one of a small handful of fully independent machines, on a quest to challenge the established production racers making up the bulk of the new-this-year Moto3™ class.

In eight days the Mahindra pair race again in Germany, in the middle of three consecutive race weekends.

DANNY WEBB – Did Not Finish

It was not a bad race while it lasted. The engine has made a small step, though we still need more, and I was losing time on the straight. But I pushed like mad through the corners to keep up. I was trying my hardest but it was difficult to pass because of the speed difference. I don’t know what to expect in Germany, but as long as we keep making progress that’s good.

MARCEL SCHRÖTTER – Did Not Finish

It was a better race, but we still lack some straight-line speed. I think I was the fastest rider in my group. I was getting held up in the corners but then if I passed anyone they would pass me back on the straight. It’s difficult to move forward while stuck with riders not at my level, and hard to find your rhythm. Germany could be not so bad. It’s up-and-down and you need power, but I like the Sachsenring circuit. If we can find a good set-up we could be okay.

source: www.mahindraracing.com, mahindra.com


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