Oz Racers around the World – April 2008

MotoGP

Jorge Lorenzo's 'inevitable' debut MotoGP victory has come at only his third attempt, after the reigning 250cc world champion fought past arch-rival Dani Pedrosa and team-mate Valentino Rossi during Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix. Having qualified on pole for a perfect third time in a row, Lorenzo lined up on the front of the Estoril grid with sporadic rain drops falling - adding further drama to the proceedings - before fellow front row starters Pedrosa and Rossi stormed ahead of him into turn one. Rossi wasted no time in shuffling ahead of world championship leader Pedrosa, with Lorenzo also taking advantage - then passing the fellow Fiat Yamaha of Rossi to take the lead by the end of lap one. Rossi soon struck back, passing Jorge into turn one of lap 2 of 28, and the 20-year-old was demoted back to third position on lap 11 when Pedrosa finally made a move stick into the same corner.

Lorenzo had been unable to stick with Pedrosa and Rossi just two weeks' earlier at his home grand prix, but the youngest rider on the MotoGP grid - who repeatedly warns that he'll keep getting better - went on to beat Pedrosa on the brakes into turn one, then surprised Rossi by diving for the lead into the ultra-tight chicane later in the same lap.

The top three were thus covered by just 0.4secs as the grand prix entered its second half, but Rossi - who had hoped to fight for his first Bridgestone victory - was now struggling to match the Michelin-shod Spaniards, Pedrosa overtaking the 2007 event winner on lap 15.

But Dani couldn't stick with Lorenzo, who - despite arm pump problems at the first two rounds - quickly put his M1 just out of reach of the factory Honda rider and maintained at least a one-second lead. Lorenzo rode flat out to the finish line, before erupting in celebration - while Pedrosa was left punching the tank with frustration just behind him.

Lorenzo and Pedrosa are now equal at the top of the world championships standings, while Lorenzo has become the youngest ever to take three successive podium finishes in the premier-class... taking the record from Pedrosa by just one day.

Jorge celebrated his achievement by planting his trademark 'Lorenzo's Land' flag for the first time as a MotoGP rider, and then danced his way onto the podium before leaping high into the air. Lorenzo might not have been the only rookie on the podium had Andrea Dovizioso kept his JiR Team Scot Honda on two wheels; the Italian made a great start to climb from seventh to third on lap one and stuck with the eventual top three until he fell on lap 16.

With Rossi - whose losing streak has now reached seven races - fading in the closing stages, Dovizioso may have been perfectly placed to repeat his late Qatar pass on the seven-time world champion. Rossi was also handed vital breathing room when Nicky Hayden - who had inherited fourth from Dovizioso and was lapping as fast as anyone - fell just a lap later.

Rossi thus finished five seconds ahead of satellite Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards, with John Hopkins enjoying his best race yet for Kawasaki with sixth position after clinging with the leaders for the opening half of the grand prix.

Sixth place went to world champion Casey Stoner, who had struggled with his Ducati in qualifying and dropped back as low as eleventh by lap 15. Thereafter the young Australian mounted an impressive recovery, despite some loose technical equipment rattling against his fairing, to finish two seconds from Hopkins.

James Toseland was unsure of how hard to push during the rain spots that fell for much of the race, but was once again in the thick of the action as he battled with the likes of Stoner, de Puniet and Chris Vermeulen - with whom he had clashed at Jerez - on his way to seventh.

de Puniet fell from his LCR Honda late in the race, while Vermeulen took eighth position - just in front of Rizla Suzuki team-mate Loris Capirossi. Tenth place went to Gresini Honda's Shinya Nakano. Marco Melandri was 13^th on the second factory Ducati, with Anthony West also continuing to struggle, the Australian 16^th and last on the second ZX-RR.

World Superbikes

Valencia

Lorenzo Lanzi (RG Ducati) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB) took the wins in a spectacular day of action at Valencia in front of 60,000 spectators, a record attendance for World Superbikes at the Spanish circuit.

Race 1: Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) and Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare) were the protagonists of the first race. Neukirchner led every lap from pole position until the final corner, when Checa dived inside, but the Spaniard crashed and took his German rival down with him. Neukirchner suffered a broken left collarbone in the incident and failed to take part in race 2, while Checa remounted to finish fifth. The win went to Lorenzo Lanzi, the third in his career, after he passed Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) with one lap to go. Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) and Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki Alstare) were third and fourth, while Haga crashed out on lap 4 and Max Biaggi (Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati) finished out of the points in sixteenth place.

Race 2: Bayliss led for seven laps but was passed by Checa. The Honda man then had an electrical problem on lap 12 and both he and Troy were passed by Haga on lap 12. The Japanese rider was able to hold off Bayliss until the end to take his first win of the year. Bayliss's two second places increased his championship lead to 48 points over Nieto, who could only manage fourth and tenth today. Kiyonari (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) took his best result of the season in fourth, ahead of Corser, Kagayama, Xaus and Biaggi, who rode a heroic race to finish eighth.

World Supersport

Joan Lascorz (Glaner Motocard.com Honda) scored a lights-to-flag win in front of his home crowd, his first victory in the championship. The 23-year-old from Barcelona now has a 16 point lead over Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport), who finished fourth. After poleman Andrew Pitt (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) had crashed out on lap 5, the battle for the runner-up slot was between Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) and Craig Jones (Parkalgar Racing Honda), with the Frenchman getting the edge. Gianluca Nannelli (HANNspree Honda Althea) rode to fifth place with an injured shoulder, while points leader Joshua Brookes (HANNspree Stiggy Motorsport) had to retire with a tyre problem.

AMA

Six-time AMA Superbike champion Mat Mladin’s fanatical approach to his fitness is well known. And the results are plainly visible for all to see, as at the age of 36 the Australian appears to be at the peak of his career, stacking up victories at an unprecedented rate despite being up against Ben Spies, the greatest rival of his career.

Even though he fell a point short of the ’07 title, Mladin established the new single-season record with 12 wins. If possible, he looks to be even more formidable early in 2008, storming to both poles, leading the most laps each time out, and walking away with all three races of the young season with relative ease.

After completing the weekend double, Mladin talked about the effort it took to bull his factory Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-1000R around the tight Barber Motorsports Park to such good effect. “You know these motorbikes are brutes to ride; they’re 375 lbs., they’re 200 plus horsepower, and they don’t stop that good, and they don’t turn that good. So unless you’re in good shape and willing to wrestle a motorcycle for 28 laps, you’re not going to go fast. These bikes will not go fast around a racetrack just sitting on them and expect them to turn around corners and do everything for you. They don’t do that.”

“Tomorrow I’ll get up and I’ll be hurting like hell. Everything will be sore -- my shoulders and my back and everything, and that’s what it takes to win. That’s it. Doesn’t help when you’re 36 compared to 23 or 24 down there, but everything will be hurting -- that’s what it takes.

He spoke further about his ideal start to his 2008 campaign and how he’s gotten to this point, stating, “Our goal is to come out and win as many races as possible and we’ve done that so far, three from three, and led the most laps and got poles and that sort of stuff and for us to do that it’s pretty good.