Donington Park MotoGP Result

Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Gap
1 25 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda
2 20 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1.360
3 16 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1.600
4 13 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 8.958
5 11 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 21.622
6 10 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 22.465
7 9 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 35.284
8 8 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 38.769
9 7 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 42.112
10 6 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 45.845
11 5 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 53.190
12 4 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'12.315
13 3 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'20.398
14 2 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1 Lap
15 1 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1 Lap


DNF
99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 22 Lap
24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 23 Lap

Raines’ forecast: MotoGP Expert Eye predicts Pedrosa victory

Official MotoGP statistician Dr. Martin Raines expects Dani Pedrosa to take the holeshot and run to victory at the British Grand Prix on Sunday.

Although World Champion and poleman Valentino Rossi has a good record at Donington, MotoGP expert Dr. Martin Raines believes it will be Dani Pedrosa who crosses the line first at the end of Sunday’s final premier class race at Donington Park.

Raines can name any number of Donington racewinners from the history of the World Championship, but his prediction for the future shows Pedrosa as the top man for the final event at the track. His list of picks indicates Rossi and his Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo in a battle for second place, with Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso also in the top five. The motogp.com statistician thinks that home rider James Toseland will feature in the top ten, and says to watch out for Marco Melandri in the event of a Donington downpour…(motogp)

Pedrosa says front row "more important than pole"

Pedrosa delighted with front row

Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso had a positive qualifying session for the British Grand Prix, with the former placing second and his Italian colleague fifth. Both are optimistic about their chances of a top result -even if rain falls on Donington Park- and Pedrosa in particular can be content with a front row that he insists was his principal objective.
Dani Pedrosa -2nd

“We did a good job in both sessions today and I’m happy to qualify on the front row because, in reality, that’s more important than taking pole position. On my last run at the end of the qualifying session I found some traffic on the circuit which caused me to lose my concentration and rhythm slightly, so I think I could have gone a little quicker. But still, the middle of the front row is OK. Our dry set-up is nearly there so we’ll aim to make just a few little improvements before the race. The weather is looking changeable for tomorrow, though at least we’ve had some practice time in the wet yesterday. If it’s raining I’d like to improve my riding and my pace a bit but the weather is out of our control so we’ll have to see. It’s the last MotoGP race at Donington tomorrow and of course I’d like a good result to sign off with - preferably a win.”

Pedrosa ups pace to head MotoGP morning session

Dani Pedrosa kept up his pace in Saturday morning’s practice session for the British Grand Prix, racking up the fastest MotoGP time for the second successive run-out at Donington Park. The 2006 racewinner at the Midlands circuit was under two-tenths quicker than nearest rival Jorge Lorenzo courtesy of an exceedingly quick late lap.

Lorenzo and Pedrosa engaged in a brief shootout on a dry track, at one point both level at the head of the timesheet with exactly the same time. It took a further lap from Pedrosa to distance the Spanish pair.

A crash three minutes in at Melbourne gave Casey Stoner something to think about early on, but the Ducati Marlboro rider appeared unfazed as he rejoined the action soon after. There was no repeat of the low speed tumble en route to his third place finish on the session’s results board.

Completing the top quartet of the class’ ‘big four’, Valentino Rossi was just behind and still under half a second slower than Pedrosa. Colin Edwards, Toni Elías, Andrea Dovizioso, Marco Melandri, Randy de Puniet and Mika Kallio completed the top ten.(motogp)

Pedrosa happy to be on top in FP1

Dani Pedrosa showed that he isn’t giving up in the battle for race victories with an early warning for his rivals at Donington Park. The Spaniard was fastest in the Friday practice session for the British Grand Prix, elated by the late lap that took him up to the top spot.
Dani Pedrosa -1st

“It feels great to be on top today and I’m pleased with how we handled a tricky practice session. The conditions were continually changing and so we needed to make the best use of the track time to learn as much as we can. There are a few areas we can improve upon - such as the feeling from the bike when it’s really wet - and we’ll look at working on the settings for those conditions because the weather doesn’t look so stable for the weekend and we could see more rain on Sunday. It nearly dried out fully towards the end of the session but we stayed on wet tyres for the whole time and I think this was useful because you can have this sort of situation in the race. We’re in reasonable shape for the rest of the weekend and I hope I can be in this position at the end of Sunday afternoon.”(motogp)

Pedrosa and Dovizioso get chance to avenge German performances

Seven days on from race in which they were unable to challenge the leaders on a potentially winning bike, Repsol Honda duo get second chance in Donington.

Ice cold and focused, Dani Pedrosa is not one prone to sentimentality. However, the Spaniard has admitted in the run-up to the British Grand Prix that he will miss the Donington Park circuit, the scene of one of his first MotoGP premier class victories.

Pedrosa and teammate Andrea Dovizioso suffered from tyre problems in Germany last Sunday, with the latter’s troubles the more serious. For this reason both are looking to give Donington Park a Repsol Honda send-off.

“We’ve built some momentum with our good results in the last two races and we’ll be looking to take that to Donington this weekend. It’s a circuit I like and I’ve had some good results there so I’m confident we can have a strong weekend. To be honest, while the podium in Germany wasn’t a bad finish and we weren’t far behind the winners, we thought another win was possible last weekend,” says Pedrosa, whose third place in Sachsenring kept up his strong run of form but did little to close the gap on his title-contesting rivals.

“Naturally, the weather is always a consideration at Donington so we need to be prepared for anything,” adds Dovizioso, not averse to wet weather riding and with added experience on Bridgestone’s cut compounds.

“We gained some valuable experience on the Bridgestones in the wet in Germany so we’ll be working to make maximum use of the practice sessions, whatever the conditions. It’ll be sad to see the back of Donington because the track itself is very good to ride and one I like. I hope I can sign off there with a good result.”(motogp)

Sachsenring MotoGP - Race Result

1 V. ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 41'21.769
2 J. LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team + 0.099
3 D. PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team + 2.899
4 C. STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team + 10.226
5 A. DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini + 21.522
6 T. ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini + 30.852
7 M. MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team + 31.301
8 N. HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team + 31.726
9 C. EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 32.865
10 J. TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 43.926
11 L. CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 57.375
12 N. CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing + 1'00.539
13 C. VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 1'03.645
14 M. KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing + 1'04.155
15 G. TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 1 Lap

DNF
A. DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 5 Lap

Not finished 1st lap
R. DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP

Pedrosa fightback brings lap record, podium

Dani Pedrosa backed up his US GP victory with third place, and a new lap record, in Sunday's German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring.

The 23-year-old Spaniard blasted from eighth on the grid to second at the first corner, but was spooked by a big slide and dropped to fourth on lap 9 of 30, behind Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo.

Sensing an improvement in feedback, Pedrosa later went back on the attack, setting a new lap record on lap 25 and retaking a struggling Stoner for third soon after.

But Rossi and Lorenzo were just out of reach and the Repsol Honda rider crossed the line in third position, 2.899sec from victory, to record his fifth podium of the 2009 season.

“I'm pleased to be on the podium, and finishing this close to the leaders proves that our win at the last race wasn't by chance,” said Dani. “I made a very good start and in the first few laps I was comfortable behind Valentino. On about lap six or seven though I had a big moment in the last corner and almost crashed, so after that I slowed down a little and dropped back to fourth.

“With a slightly slower pace I felt the feedback coming back and towards the end of the race I was able to push hard again. I got past Casey and tried to catch the leaders but by this time I was a bit too far behind.

“Third place is a good result, but we were ready to fight for the win at this circuit so it looks like we still have a little bit of work to do. The team is in good shape though and we're making progress all the time, so I'm confident we can continue to challenge for better results and preferably for wins. Donington is next and I'm looking forward to it. Let's hope we can have an even better race there.”(crash)

Pedrosa says he could have won Sachsenring showdown

Pedrosa: ‘I couldn’t ride at the maximum’

Front tyre problem blamed for Spaniard’s not being able to take victory.

Dani Pedrosa took a praiseworthy podium at the Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland on Sunday afternoon, following up his Laguna Seca victory with third place in the German race.

The Spaniard made one of the flying starts that have become his trademark with the Repsol Honda RC212V, having started from a lowly eighth on the grid. He was unable to take off out in front as he had done before crashing in 2008, but says that a race win was still a possibility.

“A podium is good, but I think that we could have won. We were strong enough to win, but I had a front tyre problem when I was going fast,” said the Spaniard on the same difficulty that forced Andrea Dovizioso out of the race.

“My teammate seemed to have a big problem with it, so I’m happy to have got on the podium, but anyway I thought that today we could have been faster.”

Pedrosa raced with a new Honda engine this weekend as the Japanese factory look to beef up their 2009 machine, and Sunday saw his most extensive run yet with the new motor. Reviewing his feeling with the latest novelty, he added that “we have some experience now for the next round with the new spec.”

Pedrosa is currently fourth in the overall classification, 68 points behind leader Valentino Rossi.(motogp)

Dovizioso and Pedrosa receive new engine

The Repsol Honda team have received a new engine from HRC which they hope will be specifically suited to the characteristics of the Sachsenring circuit.
Factory Honda pair Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso have a new engine at their disposal this weekend at the Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, an update from HRC which they hope will be a specific advantage at Sachsenring.

Having incorporated a new chassis into the RC212V as of the visits to Catalunya and Assen, both riders are pleased to see the prototype Honda evolving further as the season progresses.

The pair have been pushing for improvements since the beginning of the year and Pedrosa proved at Laguna Seca that their package is already reaching an acceptable level of competitiveness – so it is hoped that with the new engine will allow them to take another step forward in Germany.

The Sachsenring track is ‘tight and twisty’, short in overall distance, one of the slowest on the calendar and requires a specific gear ratio setting given that the riders only use first gear at the start and spend a lot of time using third and fourth. The new Honda engine has been developed to assist the riders with better power delivery and the German track could be ideally suited to demonstrating that benefit.

Speaking in Thursday’s official press conference, previewing the ninth GP of the season, Pedrosa said, “The new engine is to improve power delivery because our engine is always very ‘peaky’ and we have lot of spinning in the lower gears, so we are trying to avoid this and trying to get better drive out of corners.”

For Dovizioso, meanwhile, having undertaken much of the team’s test work since his recruitment into the factory set-up over the winter - due to the injuries which restricted Pedrosa’s availability - the update is much anticipated.

The Italian rider is looking to get back in the podium fight having crashed out of the last two races and he commented enthusiastically, “Honda have brought a new engine, so I am excited to try it, especially at this track because it is very slow and the new engine should be better in terms of its character. I am confident about it.” (motogp)

Pedrosa in buoyant mood ahead of Sachsenring visit

Heading back to the scene of a season-changing 2008 crash, Dani Pedrosa returns to Germany this weekend after ending his win drought in Laguna Seca at the last round.
When Dani Pedrosa surged to a significant lead in last year’s Sachsenring contest he appeared to be on course to extend his championship advantage, but his costly crash in the wet at the end of the start-finish straight saw him lose the standings lead, suffer a hand injury and crucially lose momentum in the title fight.

Effectively Pedrosa’s nightmare run of accidents and injuries started at that moment in the German 2008 MotoGP contest, so it was a highly crucial result for the Spanish star at the last round in Laguna Seca when he crossed the line in first place for the first time in more than a year.

Pedrosa responded perfectly on the pressure building up on him as a factory Honda rider, taking the holeshot in the States and never looking back. Whilst his young championship-chasing rivals Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner suffered big crashes at Laguna, Pedrosa finally enjoyed a fully productive weekend and the maximum points haul means he can go into the Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland confident of ‘exorcising’ more demons.

Indeed, despite last year’s mishap Pedrosa has a good record in Germany, having scored three previous Grand Prix victories there - twice in the 250cc class in 2004 and 2005, and again in MotoGP in 2007. He will need another top result in order to claw back the 59 point deficit by which he trails Valentino Rossi in the general classification.

“I’ve had some good results at this track and I take a lot of confidence into the race weekend at Sachsenring because we’re probably in the best shape we’ve been in for a while,” stated the Honda star. “The win in Laguna Seca was really important for me and the team because it proves we’ve been making progress and we now have the pace to win races.”

Pedrosa continued, “However, we can’t take anything for granted and I’m sure our rivals will be strong again and determined to fight back. I really like the Sachsenring circuit too and, despite what happened last year, I think we can be competitive again here.” (motogp)

Leitner: ‘We never lost confidence in Dani’

Repsol Honda’s Mike Leitner, crew chief to Dani Pedrosa, says he never lost confidence in his rider during a year-long period without a win.
When Dani Pedrosa crossed the line in first place at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon, 0.344s ahead of World Champion Valentino Rossi, it was the Spanish rider’s first victory in more than 12 months, and brought to an end a year of difficulties and troubles.

During that period Pedrosa crashed out of the race lead at Sachsenring damaging his hand, injured his leg with another crash in the race at Phillip Island, hurt himself in preseason testing at Qatar, hurt his hip and suffered another DNF at Mugello and then crashed out again at Assen.

It has been a rollercoaster ride of intermittent podium appearances, visits to the surgeon’s table, long periods of physio and rehabilitation from injuries and a distinct lack of practice time.

Nonetheless, one of the people closest to Pedrosa in a tight circle of trusted assistants is the Repsol Honda rider’s crew chief Mike Leitner – who insists that the team of individuals closest to the 23 year-old never doubted him during the difficult period which ultimately came to a happy conclusion last weekend.

“The close group around him never lost confidence in him,” Leitner told motogp.com. “Sure people outside think, ‘what’s going on?’, because they don’t know how bad the damage is to the rider. I mean in Mugello and Barcelona he was really suffering and the Assen race was an extra blow, so it shows this Laguna result was very good.”

Asked also about the team’s faith in their RC212V race prototype, Leitner commented, “A race bike is never at 100%, this is clear, but at least you can win a race with this bike. That is a good sign. But everyone knows that at each racetrack we have the same situation, we have to find the best setting and to improve the bike because the other manufacturers are very strong.” (motogp)

'Confident' Pedrosa returns to '08 downfall

The last time Dani Pedrosa, or any Honda rider, was leading the MotoGP World Championship was heading into last year's wet German Grand Prix.

A crash while comfortably leading (pictured) not only effectively ended the Spaniard's title hopes, but also marked the start of a punishing injury run from which he is still recovering.

Pedrosa returns only fourth in the 2009 world championship, but fresh from the high of his first race win in over a year, courtesy of a shock US Grand Prix triumph last time out at Laguna Seca.

The Repsol Honda rider also has an excellent record at the short and technical Sachsenring track, where he has scored three previous grand prix victories - twice in the 250cc class in 2004 and 2005, and again in MotoGP in 2007 where he obliterated the opposition with a winning margin of over 13 seconds.

"I've had some good results at this track and I take a lot of confidence into the race weekend at Sachsenring because we're probably in the best shape we've been in for a while,” said Dani. “The win in Laguna Seca was really important for me and the team because it proves we've been making progress and we now have the pace to win races.

“However, we can't take anything for granted and I'm sure our rivals will be strong again and determined to fight back. I really like the Sachsenring circuit too and, despite what happened last year, I think we can be competitive again here.

“I've had a good week since Laguna, and it was great to be able to go and see the start of the Tour de France stage in Barcelona on Friday. I've been able to get back in training on the bicycle, and seeing the Tour gave me even more motivation. So I'm feeling confident for this weekend and I'm looking forward to Germany."

Pedrosa will start the German Grand Prix weekend 43 points behind third placed Casey Stoner.(crash)

Laguna Seca MotoGP - Race results

1. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 44min 1.580 sec
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 44min 1.924 sec
3. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 44min 3.506 sec
4. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 44min 14.012 sec
5. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 44min 23.243 sec
6. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 44min 23.621 sec
7. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 44min 31.781 sec
8. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 44min 34.437 sec
9. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 44min 41.905 sec
10. Marco Melandri ITA Hayate Racing Team 44min 49.608 sec
11. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 44min 50.390 sec
12. Niccolo Canepa ITA Pramac Racing 45min 20.111 sec

DNF:
Gabor Talmacsi HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP
Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team
Sete Gibernau SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando

DSQ:
James Toseland GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3

"Let Go" new single from AC is about Hilary Duff???

Aaron Carter’s latest single, Let Go, may have been written for Hilary. Aaron reportedly Tweeted “I wrote this song about Hilary. Wow Really? This Long?“, but the tweet was later removed.

whatever the rumors is about. this song is great and you need to check it out.
Aaron Carter - Let Go.mp3

Pedrosa thankful after tasting victory again

A stunning victory for Dani Pedrosa on Sunday at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix brought big smiles to the faces of his Repsol Honda team members, including his Crew Chief mechanic Mike Leitner and personal manager Alberto Puig, who have supported the talented Spaniard through a difficult period.

For the factory Honda team Pedrosa’s Californian success came as big relief following a year long win drought stretching back to June 2008 and Pedrosa’s home victory in Catalunya.

Indeed, the pressure had been mounting on Pedrosa for several months with a string of injuries and crashes – dating back to Sachsenring last year when he crashed out as he led the race – and the former 125cc and 250cc World Champion was quick to thank those around him as he stepped off the Laguna podium.

“It was a nice race and a nice weekend for us,” Pedrosa told motogp.com. “It has been tough but we did a good job and to finally get a win here is a good feeling. After a whole year with so many troubles and injuries this is perfect. Not only for me but for my team, because they also really needed it and we are very happy. I especially want to thank them for continuing to push forward in the bad times.”

Also acknowledging the medical treatment he has received in the past twelve months on catalogue of hand, arm and leg injuries Pedrosa stated, “I also want to thank the doctors who have treated me as they have enabled me to return to racing at this level. I want to thank everybody around me.”

When it was put to him that he may have a chance to exorcise some demons in Germany at the very next round in two weeks time, Pedrosa commented, “Sachsenring last year was very good until it became a disaster, so I hope this year it will be the opposite!”.(motogp)

Pedrosa ends Honda win drought in stunning fashion

After more than a year without a victory for Honda, since his own win at Catalunya last season, Dani Pedrosa triumphed at Laguna Seca on Sunday, taking the holeshot from fourth on the grid and not looking back - to cross the finishing line ahead of his closest rival Valentino Rossi.

Following a string of crashes and injury problems Pedrosa was finally back to his very best, lapping at a pace which none of his opponents could match. At one stage he had built up a significant gap at the front and although Rossi chased him down on the final lap there were no mishaps this time.(motogp)

Pedrosa still has some way to go if he is to challenge at the head of the standings however, as current leader Rossi picked up more good World Championship points in second place, whilst Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner were third and fourth respectively.

Pedrosa feeling confident about Californian visit

Currently sitting fifth in the World Championship standings, tied on points with Yamaha satellite rider Colin Edwards and behind his own team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, it is fair to say things have not gone according to plan so far in 2009 for Dani Pedrosa.

A series of injury problems dating back well into the 2008 campaign and his latest mishap at Assen, where he crashed out when well positioned early in the race, have hindered the highly talented Catalan rider – who wants to use this weekend’s Laguna Seca race to put things right.

Pedrosa has reasons to be cheerful despite his problems, having qualified second on the grid at Assen on the evolving RC212V which has recently been updated with a new chassis.

The 23 year-old also has a decent record at Laguna having finished second on his first visit to the track in 2006, when he set a new lap record. In 2007 he finished fifth after qualifying second.

Last year Pedrosa tried to ride in Friday practice but then withdrew from the event suffering from injuries received in the previous round in Germany. He has perhaps not shown his full strengths since then, but his current injuries are improving and he is in a positive frame of mind ahead of round eight.

“I’m actually really looking forward to getting to Laguna and I’m feeling confident going into the weekend, as I was before Assen,” revealed the Honda star. “The result there wasn’t great, but there’s no reason why we can’t have a strong race in the US. I felt much better on the bike in Assen than I did in Barcelona and, although my physical fitness is not at 100% because I haven’t been training as usual for quite a while, the injury is getting better and isn’t giving me any problems on the machine.”

On returning to the States for the first time this year, Pedrosa added, “The Laguna track itself is unique and it can be a lot of fun to ride, as long as you’re going quickly. When you’re struggling it obviously isn’t quite as much fun! As a team we’ve got to continue working hard and bring the whole machine package up to a level where we can compete for wins again. We’re making progress and with luck Laguna will take us closer to that target.”(motogp)

Pedrosa try to give the best for the fans

After the frustrating race last saturday pedrosa is trying to stay focus to the next race at Laguna Seca US this week. Hi said that the accident was really sressfull not only for him but also for the team when the team mate Dovizioso also fallen at the same corner like pedrosa did.

"I really feel better the day I came to Assen, with the chasis we got, and it feels good for me, and also my condition that i feel better than before. I really confident to race in Assen" said the spaniard thought about his accident in Assen.

After all, pedrosa promise to give the best for all his fans who always support him in Laguna Seca on July 5th.(maulida)