We’ve already covered what Casey Stoner and the podium guys and the Ducati factory team had to say about their Laguna Seca GP race, here’s what the rest of the field had to say and what happened and why, with everyone welcoming this three week break until Brno.
Ben Spies – 4th“I got a really good start but going uphill to the steep part of the track basically we didn’t have enough power.
I got stuck behind Valentino, I tried to get around as quick as I could but he’s really good on the brakes so it was pretty tough but I did the best I could.
Once we got around him it was quite a big gap to Dovizioso but I just kept my head down and kept going.
I’m happy we were able to track him down and get fourth.
It was a really good race for us it just got spoilt in the first five hundred feet.
I would have liked to have been on the podium as I think we had a package to fight with Dani, I guess that’s racing and I gave it 100% as always.
”Andrea Dovizioso – 5th“We knew that it was going to be a tough race because this track is short, with very strong braking and it’s also very demanding.
I made a good start and I was able to move into fourth position.
In the first laps I pushed hard to stay with Casey, Dani and Lorenzo.
I was loosing a lot in some corners, such as T3 and T11 and to recover I was pushing in the other areas.
I used up a lot of energy and I couldn’t be consistent for the 32 laps.
I’m disappointed because today we had the speed to fight for a good result, in fact I lapped two tenths behind the fastest lap, but I couldn’t be consistent.
I lost the battle with Spies and this is the first time I’ve lost a battle this year.
The good point is that we were able to be fast.
Now we have to focus and continue working, we are third in the Championship and we want to keep on fighting.
We will take advantage of the three week break to recharge the batteries and return in Brno more determined.
My congratulations go to Casey and Dani”.
Héctor Barberá – 9th “To tell the truth, it was a strange race for me today.
At the start everything pointed towards me being able to achieve my target, which was to keep up with the factory Ducati bikes.
However, I started to feel that I was losing the rear later on.
We had put a softer tyre on the rear and the bike was moving about a lot.
I had an awkward time getting onto the straights on a couple of occasions and I’m not sure why.
That was when Valentino and Nicky got away from me, because I lost nearly a second over the course of two laps.
I opted for a more powerful engine map after that, and I had to muscle the bike around a lot with my arms.
After ten laps my shoulders began to tighten up and fatigue.
The race wasn’t as good as our practice sessions, but nonetheless we managed to finish ninth.
On the one hand it is positive, because I consider it to be a good result.
However, I am a bit disappointed with myself because I know that I could have done even more.
”Hiroshi Aoyama – 10th“Starting from 14th place is never easy so I had to make a few passes before I could get into my true rhythm.
I am partly satisfied to have finished tenth but it was a tough race because I am still not physically fit.
My intention was to make it to the end and I am happy I did that because this was my first race here at Laguna.
Now we have a short break and I hope I can come back stronger in the next race at Brno, ready to fight for a good result.
”Karel Abraham – 11th“Start of the race and the enter to the first corner wasn’t very good and the suspension of the rear wheel broke down when I was getting close enough to overtake Hector Barbera.
I am a bit disappointed that I finished just 0,282 second behind him, but I am still satisfied with the result of the race.
I am looking forward to the Cardion AB Grand Prix České republiky which will be home Grand Prix for me and for my team.
I believe that lots of fans will arrive to the Brno Circuit to support me.
Loris Capirossi –12th“This race was a gamble for me.
In Germany I only ridden for a few laps but the shoulder was really too bad.
I made the decision to come here and for me the most important thing was to finish the race.
We knew it would be difficult because during the test was very hard to ride.
The result is bad, but I’m happy because I achieved the goal to finish the race.
Now I will try to get back to full fitness in Brno, one of my favorite tracks, because there I really want to prove that we can fight for better positions.
”Toni Elias – 13th“In this morning warm up we have changed rear set up of the bike and I felt immediately better.
As always I took a good start but on this track you get stuck if you start from the last row so I pushed but in the first corner I went a bit wide.
I was 12th when I suddenly lost the front running off into the gravel.
I could rejoin the race but for the rest of the race I felt like I was lapping on a frozen surface.
We have finished the race in 13th position but the situation is still very tough for us”.
Ben Bostrom – DNF “I took a good start and immediately felt very comfortable on the bike.
I improved my lap time of one second from the practice so I was very optimistic to see that so early in the race.
As I was riding so much faster I started to be uncomfortable in the first corner when I had to shift down because my foot hit the ground and after few laps I made a mistake running off the track into the gravel.
It took me 30 seconds to rejoin the race but I wanted to continue but the next lap I had the same problem.
So I have decided to enter the pits even if the bike was fantastic.
Honestly I was thinking about my race and didn’t want to crash this bike.
Once again I want to thank MJM, Lucio and all the guys here: it was an incredible experience for me!”Marco Simoncelli – DNF“I am really disappointed.
I don’t know whether I would have caught Pedrosa if I’d stayed in the race, it’s impossible to say, but I could have definitely had a battle with Dovizioso and Spies so it’s a real shame.
We had worked so well and managed to improve from session to session but I realised early in the race that the front was giving me more trouble than it had in practice.
It closed in turn seven on the first lap, which is a strange place for it to go, and then again two laps later in turn eight.
All we can do right now is dust ourselves down and head to Brno looking to do our best again.
”Álvaro Bautista – DNF“I am very, very disappointed after today and really frustrated because although we did a really good job all weekend, we didn’t get the result we deserved and I crashed.
We tried many different things here this weekend and used a completely different setting to last year and we managed to get the same good feeling as we had in Germany.
This is the best I have felt on a bike in my MotoGP career so I know things are moving in the right direction.
I think we made a mistake on Friday and Saturday, because we didn’t try the soft front tyre in the afternoons.
I think the hard tyre here wasn’t too bad, but it didn’t give me the feeling I wanted in the corners – the grip wasn’t too bad, but it just didn’t transmit enough information.
For the race I started with a hard front and I now think it was a mistake not to use a soft one.
I got a good start, but some riders closed up in front of me and I couldn’t get past, but I did make up one place on the first lap.
I overtook some other guys and got behind the Ducati’s, but I was a bit far away and had to catch them up.
My rhythm was really good and I had a lot of confidence in the bike, but I lost the front without any reason and crashed.
I had entered that corner at the same speed and in the same place in previous laps so I don’t know what happened.
I am happy with the work we did this weekend and pleased with my level on the bike.
Before the crash I was fighting for sixth or seventh and I know we can be there now and we have to keep working at this level and higher in the next races.
We now have some time to relax and charge our batteries, so we can be full gas for Brno.
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