MotoGP Japan: Rossi crashes, Ducati wins
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Image Gallery ( 28 images )QUOTES:
Max Biaggi, Repsol Honda Team, 2nd: “That race was so hard and I am very happy with the result in the end. Michelin did a great job with the tyres – the grip on the edge was unbelievable! When I opened the throttle there was so much traction it was incredible. My team have done a great job and even if we didn’t win we improved again in the championship. It is good to be the best Michelin finisher and the first Honda back as well. I’m confident in Malaysia that we can take revenge on Bridgestone! They did a great job and Loris rode very hard – congratulations to them. A good battle to watch for the fans I think.”
Makoto Tamada , Konica Minolta Honda: 3rd: “Best result of the season but I feel I can do even more. I am only at 70 per cent of my conditions and I hope that soon we’ll make it to improve. Finally I had the opportunity to show my new Michelin cap seen this is my first podium with the French tyres. During the race I had some chattering problem which didn’t allow me to remain with the fastests. I tried, but when I saw falling down Rossi and Melandri, I preferred to don’t risk and maintain the third position. Marco has risked going outside the track some laps before, therefore I preferred to give him some space to don’t get involved in some contacts. At the end I think I made the right choice. When he was in front of me, Rossi was going really fast, but I noticed that he wasn’t secure as usual. I am happy for this result, most of all because obtained in front of our title sponsor, Konica Minolta, who this year never stopped believing in it. I hope to be able repeat this performance in seven days, because we are on the right way.”
Carlos Checa, Ducati, fourth: "The most important thing is that we made good progress here. We had some problems both and in Brno but we grew up a lot over this weekend. We knew that the tyres had a lot of potential but we had been unable to use them but here we went one step in front. I am actually happier for the performance rather than the result. I have to give my compliments to Loris and they tyres have definitely made some difference to us today, so thanks to Bridgestone for their good work."
John Hopkins, Suzuki, 5th: “Finally I got the top five finish I’ve been looking for in my whole GP career! I am perfectly confident in my riding talent, I have always believed that the results would come when the machinery gets better and that’s exactly what’s happened. Suzuki has brought some improvements here and the Bridgestone tyres were just unbelievable this weekend, everything about them was really good. I had a couple of front-end slides in the race but that was inevitable with the heat. The lap-times weren’t as good as what we had been doing but as I said with the heat that is only natural. I got to the first corner and just kept thinking don’t anybody hit me, don’t anybody hit me and they didn’t! So I breathed a huge sigh of relief and just kept my cool and my consistency and brought it home in the top five. That was really important for me because first it’s the top five - then a podium - then a win!”
Hirotaka Ono – Board Member, Suzuki Overseas Marketing:“I think the team did their best so I am happy today. But of course I’m not satisfied with today’s result. But now the tyre construction is getting better – the Bridgestone team is working very hard – so I hope our staff can develop a more powerful engine for it. I think we have a big possibility and the team situation and team-work is very good, so as I said today I am happy but not satisfied.”
Paul Denning, Suzuki Team Manager: “I’m really pleased that John has got the top five position that he has been working so hard for. He’s ridden consistently on the limit all weekend and richly deserves the result – and the bonus money! My feeling before the race was that a top ten result would be – despite the qualifying positions – a sensible and achievable target. We got better than that! Kenny suffered – along with John in the early laps – from a lack of front grip and an inability to brake hard and turn in, maybe caused by the higher track temperature this afternoon than we have had all weekend. Both the guys managed to cope with it and a lot of the riders didn’t - there was a lot of carnage out there. I’d like to thank all Suzuki senior management, in particular Mr Iguchi and Mr Ono for attending this weekend. They can see the effort that the riders and the team are making and we know where we have to be. Those guys are going to help us get there.”
Colin Edwards, Gauloises Yamaha, 5th: "I made a good start for once and it wasn't too bad to begin with. I got past Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) but I lost the front going into turn seven and ran wide. It was strange because, apart from my crash on Friday, the front has been very stable this weekend but in the race I lost it in a few corners and it affected my confidence. For the rest of the race it was survival for me. I got past Kenny again but the conditions were hotter than they had been during practice and our tyre and suspension combination suffered a little. It has been a struggle for the past few races but I like the tracks we've got coming up so hopefully we can sort it out and make some progress. At least we've moved up to third in the championship, so that's one good thing we can take away from here!"
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