Rd 2 MotoGP: Rossi fights back

Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 8th "We've done a great job over the two days of practice and I was hoping for more than this today. I didn't get a good start and I paid the price for that. Then Hopkins' engine began to drop oil and I had to shut off the throttle, sending me even further back. My visor was covered in oil and after losing contact with the lead group it became a really hard race for me. I'm disappointed because I know I could have had a nice race today."

Colin Edwards, Camel Yamaha, 9th: “I made a good start and over the first five laps I felt fine – the bike was good and I was able to ride aggressively. I thought: ‘okay, let’s go for it.’ Then on lap six I lost the front three times in a row and I almost crashed on each one of them. I thought it was a bit early in the race for that to happen so I pushed on and got going again but the front kept going and I had to ride slower and slower. In the practice simulation I ran a 1’57.2 on my last lap but in the race it was three seconds slower so clearly something is not right. Thankfully we have a test tomorrow to find out what it was and make sure that we are in better shape for Turkey.”

Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 10th "Start was not too bad but I got boxed in by a lot of guys in front of me who were not going to be racing for the lead. Some of them were loosing oil Chris Vermeulen was dropping oil all over me. I guess I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. When I got clear of those guys the gap to the riders in front of me was too big to close down. The bike and tyres were great today but I could have been better if I had got clear of the group quicker but with oil everywhere you have to be careful. I have to thank the team for all they did this weekend, great job. Still, if you had said in November that we would have finished the first two races in the top 10 we might not have agreed with you."

Kenny Roberts Senior, Team Owner KR Honda. "We are still looking for the ideal base set up and we're trying too many things in a short time. You can loose your way a bit when you do that. We are also held back a little by having only one rider but all in all we have made progress so far."

Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki MotoGP, 11th: "We just ran out of time to fix the problems that we have been experiencing all weekend, so all I could do this afternoon was go as hard as possible and try and salvage some championship points. Our main problem seems to be a lack of traction out of the turns, mainly because the power delivery off the bottom is just too aggressive and this is causing the rear tyre to break contact and spin up. So, it was difficult to accelerate hard out of the turns, which reduced my speed along the straights. Even on the short straight between turns three and four, people were just riding past me on the throttle, while I was struggling to get the bike to hook up through the gears. It must be something about this circuit, because the bike has worked well throughout winter testing and at the first race in Jerez. After a difficult weekend I'm just happy we ended today with a points scoring finish."

Harald Eckl, Kawasaki MotoGP, Team Principal: "It is a bitter disappointment to finish outside the top ten as a factory MotoGP team. Our main aim now needs to be to go away from here and work hard to improve power delivery, driveability and top speed, so we can come back stronger for the next race in Istanbul."

Carlos Checa, Tech 3 Yamaha, 12th: “I am very happy with the performance of the Yamaha and the Dunlop tyres today. That is very encouraging for myself and the team but at the moment I am not fit enough to ride the bike and the tyres to the level that I would like. My shoulder is a little better today but in two weeks I will be so much fitter. The severe wind also made it harder to ride than I had anticipated. The team continues to improve everything about the bike and I am confident that after rest and physiotherapy I will be in much better shape to battle the way I desire in the races ahead.” James Ellison, Tech 3 Yamaha, 13th: “I am very, very happy. We both got held up on the first lap when another rider crashed in front of us and without this I think the result could have been even better. I am feeling really comfortable on the bike now and pushed very hard throughout the race. I made up two seconds in one lap but then I got stuck behind Tamada and couldn’t get past him for quite a while. The tyres held up perfectly for the 22 laps and were exactly the same at the finish as at the start and that is very encouraging. We got some points to start the season with and if I keep progressing like I am doing there will be even better results coming in the near future.”

Herve Poncharal, Tech3 Yamaha Team Director: “Altogether we had a good weekend. The entire package – the bike and tyres – worked really well, going the whole distance. I think considering the severe winds and the problems that Carlos is having we had very encouraging results. Carlos fully-fit will deliver the promise he showed in winter testing while James is getting better every time he rides the bike. After De Puniet crashed it made it difficult for the results we wanted, but both James and Carlos fought through to the end like the determined and courageous riders they are. I’m very satisfied with the results and how much everything has improved since our test here in February. We will be testing here tomorrow with James only as Carlos will return home to make a full recovery and be fit for the next Grand Prix in Turkey in three weeks.”

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