Oz Racers around the World
– July 2008
MotoGP
Valentino Rossi has scored one of his greatest MotoGP victories after a stunning bar-to-bar battle with Casey Stoner during Sunday's US Grand Prix, which ended in favour of the Italian when Stoner dropped his Ducati with eight laps to go. Acutely aware of Stoner's awesome practice pace, which saw the Ducati rider lead every track session by at least 0.447secs, Rossi was determined not to let Stoner break away in the race - and made his intentions clear before the end of the first of 32 laps. Stoner took the lead from pole but Rossi - who joked on Saturday that he needed a 30-second head start to beat Stoner, and that 'the only way to stop Stoner was to shoot him' - gave the young Australian a taste of what to expect by diving inside the Ducati rider on the entry to the corkscrew.
But the real action between the pair began on lap four, when Stoner retook the lead from Rossi into turn one, only for Rossi to fling his Fiat Yamaha back underneath into Turn Five. Stoner was back ahead on the run up to the corkscrew, when Rossi again lunged inside - this time running over the dirt as he dived downhill, pushing both riders wide on the exit!
If Stoner had any doubts about how determined Rossi was to stay ahead of him, they were eradicated on the following lap when Stoner once again took the lead along the home straight - and again Rossi block passed him straight back into Turn Five.
Stoner's next assault came on lap 14,
when he ran around the outside of Rossi through turn one - but outbraked
himself into the double apex, forcing him to tip-toe back onto the racing line.
If Rossi had been trying to rattle Stoner,
it looked to be working. Nevertheless, Stoner
still possessed the better ultimate pace and had re-caught Rossi within two
laps. The deciding moment of the race then occurred when Stoner's rear wheel bobbled under braking for the final turn on lap
24.
Stoner rejoined in a safe second position, while Rossi made a double-take at his pit board when it revealed his now untouchable lead the next lap around. Rossi officially won his fourth race of the season and first since Mugello on June 1, by 13.001secs from Stoner, and celebrated by kissing the asphalt at the top of the corkscrew. Rossi's previous best finish at Laguna Seca was third in 2005. Rossi now leads the 2008 world championship by an enlarged 25 points from Stoner heading into the summer break, with the absent Dani Pedrosa dropping to third.
Stoner, who later criticised some of Rossi's moves, brought his Ducati home 13.608secs in front of third placed Chris Vermeulen. Vermeulen had indicated his podium potential during free practice, but qualified just eighth on the grid. The Rizla Suzuki rider, third last Sunday in the German rain and something of a Laguna Seca specialist, was up to fifth by the end of the opening lap and eventually levered third place from home hero Nicky Hayden and JiR Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso. Dovizioso did his hopes of securing Hayden's factory ride for 2009 no harm by taking fourth place from the Repsol Honda rider with eleven laps to go, then holding off the double US GP winner by less than one second at the line - making Dovi the highest placed Michelin rider.
Reigning double AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies finished his second MotoGP race in eighth position for Rizla Suzuki, a result he didn't seem too impressed with. James Toseland was also unhappy after slipping from fifth on the grid to ninth for Tech 3 Yamaha, while Shinya Nakano completed the top ten for Gresini Honda.
Kawasaki's
replacement rider Jamie Hacking matched AMA rival Spies for much of the race
before losing out to Elias and Nakano in the closing stages, costing him his
target of a top ten finish by just one position. Stoner's team-mate Marco Melandri finished what might be his
final Ducati race in 16th, after running off track on lap ten - a mistake that
relegated the Italian from ninth to 17th, a position that eventually went to
Only one rider failed to
finish and that was Rossi's team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.The MotoGP rookie, who has been
trying to rebuild his confidence after some nasty accidents, lasted less than
half a lap at his first US Grand Prix before a brutal highside - which equalled
his Shanghai accident in terms of height - sent the Estoril winner bouncing
through the gravel and nursing a foot injury.
World Superbikes:
Brands Hatch
Race 1: Rookie Ryuichi Kiyonari has taken a stunning maiden World Superbike victory after coming out top in a thrilling exchange between himself and Troy Bayliss that went down to the very final corner.
A race that saw the pendulum of momentum swing between a variety of riders throughout the 25 laps, Bayliss got away best from the lights as those alongside him bogged down. Indeed, heading into Paddock Hill Bend, Bayliss had dragged through fifth place Troy Corser into second, while Tom Sykes popped his Suzuki into third briefly before going on to be swallowed up by the chasing pack. Nonetheless, he remained in contention in fifth, just behind Noriyuki Haga and Max Biaggi, but ahead of Yukio Kagayama and Kiyonari, the front row sitter getting away badly to be seventh by the end of the first lap.
Up at the front, Bayliss and Corser made a brief breakaway from the pack, with Haga holding onto third having briefly lost the place to a charging Biaggi. However, after falling behind Sykes at Druids on lap two, the Italian was pushing just a bit too hard when he ran wide at Surtees, allowing Kagayama and Kiyonari through too. Later on in the lap, Kiyonari was up to third when he passed a seemingly struggling Corser, the Australian having just lost second to Haga too.
However, just as it looked like Haga would be getting ready for another legendary fight with Bayliss, he quite suddenly low-sided mid-way through Surtees and came off the bike. Quickly jumping back on his Yamaha, Haga was nonetheless well out of contention now. It left Bayliss exposed to a flying Kiyonari, the pair rapidly establishing a gap over now Sykes, who was the latest rider to dispose of Corser in his steady slip down the order.
With the bumper crowds cheering Sykes on, ‘The Grinner' looked as though he could be on for a very famous podium. However, just as it looked like he was starting to catch the race leaders, Sykes began slowing on lap nine. Visibly frustrated as his rivals swept past, Sykes rode straight into the pit-lane to retire. Investigations have since shown that a hole in the radiator, caused at the start when another rider ran wide onto the dirt, was the reason for a devastating retirement.
Back in the race, Bayliss was inch perfect as he defended from Kiyonari. It took a dive down the inside at Graham Hill Bend for him to get his nose in front. However, a calm Bayliss simply counter-attacked into Surtees to steal the place back. Kiyonari would repeat an identical move on lap 18 with the same result.
Nonetheless, Kiyonari persisted and after getting close to passing at
Paddock Hill Bend at the start of lap 21, he finally made his move stick with a
fine pass at the high-speed Hawthorn Bend.
Initially pulling out a gap, Bayliss
admits he was willing to settle for second, but was stunned into pushing again
thanks to the superb late race pace from Biaggi.
Indeed, Biaggi had fought his way back into the podium reckoning mid-way through the race before setting a furious pace as he beat down the advantage of the two leaders. Catching them with only two laps remaining, all three riders rode nose-to-tail throughout the final lap, but not one was able to do anything more than a feigned look.
“I am really happy to take my first win in World Superbikes,” he said in the ensuing press conference. “There is a big satisfaction to win here. The Honda has a perfect set-up and I have been feeling good this weekend, so I hope I can win again in race two.” Just behind, Bayliss held off Biaggi by just five hundredths of a second as they crossed the line almost alongside each other.
Carlos Checa made it a good day for Ten Kate in sixth after a significant improvement over his qualifying performance, while Max Neukirchner dropped valuable points to Bayliss with a run to seventh place.
Corser was a disappointing eighth after fading quite dramatically from his initial strong start, while Jakub Smrz was ninth after never recovering from a poor getaway off the front row of the grid.
Race 2: Just hours after winning his maiden World Superbike victory, Ryuichi Kiyonari has completed the double at Brands Hatch after a mature display in defensive riding. Resisting a sustained attack by Noriyuki Haga for the majority of the race, Kiyonari held his countryman at bay all the way until the chequered flag to complete a superb double win around the circuit that witnessed a British Superbike title on his previous visit.
Like the first race though, Kiyonari made is somewhat difficult for himself when he laboured off the line. Although his slip to fourth place was less damaging than it was in the first race, it still left him behind Troy Bayliss, Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga
At the front, Haga was on the move, passing Yamaha team-mate Corser at Surtees for second and setting about closing the gap on Bayliss in the lead. Indeed, while Bayliss had looked comfortable out front for the first part of the race, he was unable to put up much of a fight against Haga when he swept past at Paddock Hill Bend at the start of lap seven.
From here, Bayliss looked to be a sitting duck, quickly losing second to Kiyonari – who had just passed Corser himself – and then having to fend off the attentions of his countryman, as well as an inspired Tom Sykes.
Pulling away as third
place was disputed, Kiyonari was now beginning to put
pressure on Haga and duly completed a clean move on lap nine at Paddock Hill
Bend. Almost as quickly, Haga was back ahead when Kiyonari wobbled under brakes
into
Indeed, while Haga looked
as though he was primed and ready for another attack on the white and green
machine, he merely stayed close without attempting to make too much a concerted
to get back past.
Indeed, Kiyonari was soaking up all the pressure Haga was throwing at him right
up until the penultimate lap when Haga appeared to give up the fight and settle
for second. Allowing Kiyonari to ease away to a two
second win, his maximum points haul hauls him up to eighth in the overall
standings. Corser completed the podium for Yamaha
after passing Bayliss and pulling
away from Sykes. Bayliss slipped
back gradually as the race continued, being passed by a number of rivals as he
seemed to suffer from a debilitating issue. He would eventually finish 11th,
although his second place in the first race means he actually increases his
lead by three points.
World Supersport
Jonathan Rea has scored
his second consecutive World Supersport victory at Brands Hatch, although the race was marred
by a despicable accident for Craig Jones. A somewhat unusual race that was
stopped midway when rain returned to wreak havoc on proceedings, Rea was
leading Jones with only seven laps remaining when the Parkalgar Honda got out
of shape coming onto the home straight.
Sending him into a violent high-side, Jones was left motionless in the middle
of the circuit as the field luckily streamed past. Attended on the circuit by
the swift paramedic team, Jones was initially unconscious but is thought to
have been conscious when he was taken away to hospital. Ironically, Jones will
still be classified as second, ensuring a British 1-2 in front of their home
fans. Sadly, the outcome of the race means there was no podium to celebrate.
Up to that point, Rea and Jones had embarked on a thrilling battle once the race was restarted, the pair swapping positions constantly when Rea eventually pulled ahead at the crucial moment. Before the restart, Jones and Rea had been battling away behind Robbin Harms, who had pulled himself into the lead. Seemingly enjoying the increasingly damp conditions, the Danish rider pulled in front as his rivals behind gestured frantically to have the race stopped. It wasn't until Harms slid off in worsening conditions at Graham Hill Bend though that the race was stopped. Interestingly though, despite the weather seemingly being the primary reason for the stopped race, Harms was not allowed to make the restart having been deemed to have prompted the red flags himself. Instead, Rea started on pole, with Jones and Andrew Pitt – up from ninth on the grid – starting third. It was positions they would hold onto until its curtailed conclusion eight laps later.
With the results decided on an aggregate format, Broc Parkes was classified fourth on the Yamaha, with Barry Veneman the best of the Suzuki’s in sixth. Italian duo Gianluca Nannelli and Massimo Roccoli were seventh and eighth, while wild-card rider Rob Frost produced a marvellous performance to finish ninth having started 30th on the grid. He had been running in seventh, but was classified lower on aggregate. Fellow wild-card rider Hudson Kennaugh was tenth with Steve Plater 11th and Graeme Gowland 15th. Karl Harris, meanwhile, was running a strong fifth when he took a tumble at Graham Hill Bend.
AMA Race 1
Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Mladin scored his third straight AMA Superbike victory of the season at Mid-Ohio, handing his team an amazing 40th consecutive premier class win while upping his all-time wins mark to 69. However, Saturday's final was anything but business as usual, as the chaotic affair included three red flags, numerous crashes (including one by Mladin), and took over two hours to finally complete.
The opening seven laps
featured a tight three-way scrap for the lead with
American Honda's Neil
Hodgson suffered a nightmarish start from the front row, dropping back several
positions. The former World Superbike champ rebounded to dice his way up to
fourth before his
The restarted race lasted less than a lap before a second red flag flew as leader Mladin and second-placed Hacking crashed separately just feet apart as they crested the hill in Turn 9. Incredibly, the cause was fluid on the circuit that had leaked from an over-passing bridge, after a fan dumped a cooler over the track.
Despite not falling, Spies was in visible pain as he returned to the pits following a near highside. Meanwhile, Mladin remounted and made it back fairly quickly while Hacking finally did the same after having to push his ZX-10R for a considerably distance before finally getting it running again.
The third start was
red-flagged four laps later after Corona Honda's Matt Lynn went sliding across
Turn 2 with his
Behind, Hacking held off title leader Spies until the Texan finally ducked to the inside on the brakes entering Turn 6 on the penultimate lap. Spies went on to finish second after the arduous affair while Hacking rounded out the podium.
Race 2
While Mat Mladin delivered Suzuki their 40th consecutive win in unconventional fashion on Saturday at Mid-Ohio, his 70th career AMA Superbike victory that came a day later was strictly by the books.
Monster Energy Kawasaki's Jamie Hacking bulled his way into the lead off the stripe but was overhauled by double champ Ben Spies entering Turn 6 for the first time. Spies' time at the front would only last a lap-and-a-half, however, as Mladin dove underneath him at the Carousel to conclude the second lap.
At that point Mladin put his head down and continually built up what became an unassailable advantage en route to his fourth win in succession -- his 10th all-time at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
"It was a good race for us," Mladin commented. "We got a decent start and the guys got out there. I didn't want to let them get in a rhythm so I pushed past as quickly as I could and wanted to set my pace. We made a couple changes this morning and I realized I had a bike that was capable of going a little bit quicker than yesterday so I wanted to get out there and get the most out of it while I could. I opened up a gap and was able to hold on at the end."
Spies came home a clear second, just over six seconds behind his rival. While the Texan will obviously be less than satisfied to see the Australian responding to his record-breaking win streak with a run of his own, he has to be pleased to have minimized the damage this weekend, considering his recent appendix surgery, by taking the pole and a pair of seconds.
Hacking was easily the third fastest man on the track today. Unfortunately he couldn't come anywhere near matching the pace of the Suzuki’s on this day, He said, "Today we made a few changes in the rear of the bike and I don't want to say that they were in the wrong direction. I just don't think they were perfect, but I don't think it was any worse than yesterday. Pretty much, I was lonely out there, I was basically racing the fourth-place guy behind me, and making sure I kept my splits on him."
American Honda's Neil Hodgson survived a pair of assaults by Jordan Suzuki's Aaron Yates to claim fourth. On lap 11 Yates attempted to sweep past entering 6 but got in too deep and had to regroup from a couple seconds back. He finally closed back in on the Briton's tail by lap 18 only to be violently thrown from his GSX-R1000 and out of the contest.
Mladin double weekend has allowed him to
close the gap to Spies by nine points, making the difference 476-449 with five
races remaining on the 2008 AMA Superbike slate.