The Fiat Yamaha team were hard at work in Brno yesterday and topped the standings in a one-day test, the final chance they will have to test outside of a race weekend before the end of the season. Jorge Lorenzo shrugged off any effects of Sunday’s crash to put in some brilliantly quick times and finish the day fastest, whilst race winner Valentino Rossi was close behind him in second.

A few hours were lost to rain during the afternoon but Lorenzo made the most of the time available, working to improve the setting of his M1 with an eye to getting back onto the podium in the remaining six races. He worked on a new clutch setting, different engine maps and also had the chance to try some new chassis parts for 2010. The 22-year-old was consistently fast all morning and set his best lap of 1’56.171 just before the lunch break, a time that was only a few tenths of Rossi’s pole time from Saturday.

Championship leader Rossi also had a first chance to test some prototype developments for 2010, trying out a new chassis and a new engine specification. He set his best time of the day just before the end of play with a lap of 1’56.622, under the new lap record set by Lorenzo in Sunday’s race.

The team now has a ten-day break before the next round at Indianapolis in the USA.

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 1st Time: 1′56.171 Laps: 52
“It was a profitable day and we worked on a lot of different things, especially electronics. I felt comfortable and I could ride in the 56.1’s, which was good after Sunday. In the last hour I worked on my starts because this is something I need to improve. After lunch it began to rain and so I didn’t go back on track until 1630, but I hope that everything we’ve done will help us in Indianapolis. I’m not thinking about the championship now because it’s very difficult unless something strange happens, but I want to try to be back at the front and I’m looking forward to the next race.”

Valentino Rossi – Position: 2nd Time: 1′56.622 Laps: 38
“It’s always hard to go back to work after a great win like Sunday but it was an important chance to try some things for the future. Before lunch we did a run with the new chassis, it has some good points and some bad ones and we were able to collect some data. Unfortunately it rained in the lunch break and so we couldn’t ride for a lot of the afternoon because of the wet rack, but it dried enough for us to do some more work at the end. This time we could really concentrate on doing a proper job testing the chassis and the new engine specification, and I was quite fast. Now we have a short break and then it’s on to Indianapolis!”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“Yesterday was quite a useful test for us despite an early afternoon rain shower that meant we had to change our plans a bit. We tested some chassis parts for 2010, a different clutch setting in order to find an improvement for the race start and various engine maps. We are satisfied about today’s job and right from the beginning of the test Jorge was able to ride fast and lap in the low 1’56s, showing that he was feeling okay after yesterday’s race crash. Thanks to all the team for a good job and now we’re looking forward to Indianapolis.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“It was a pity it rained but nonetheless we got a lot done and we were able to collect a lot of data about the new chassis and engine spec, which will help the engineers back in Japan with their development for the future and next year’s bike. We also tried some electronic mapping and it was a very useful day for us. We’re now approaching the final stage of the championship and we can’t relax because our rivals are strong, so now everyone can have a well-deserved rest and then we’ll be ready for anything in Indianapolis!”

Test Times
1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1′56.171
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1′56.622
3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1′56.747
4. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′57.543
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda 1′57.764
6. Toni Elias (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1′57.841
7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′57.891
8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1′57.928
9. Marco Melandri (ITA) Hayate Racing Team 1′58.045
10. Mika Kallio (FIN) Ducati Marlboro Team 1′58.051
11. Niccolo Canepa (ITA) Pramac Racing 1′58.120
12. Gabor Talmacsi (HUN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP 1′59.008
13. Mattia Pasini (ITA) Pramac Racing 1′59.614

Brno: Record Lap
J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2009, 1′56.670

Brno: Best Lap
V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2009, 1′56.145

Rossi romps to victory and all-time podium record, but Lorenzo crashes-out at Brno

Valentino Rossi put in a faultless display to claim his fifth win of the season at Brno today, 13 years almost to the day after he took the first of his 102 Grand Prix wins. The Italian’s 160th career podium also moves him ahead of Giacomo Agostini to top the all-time podium list. It was a devastating day for his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, as the Spaniard crashed out with just five laps to go when sparring with Rossi at the front.

A stunning day in the Czech Republic saw 130,000 fans make the trip to watch what was expected to be another thrilling duel between the Yamaha pair. Rossi got a great start from pole position but Lorenzo, starting alongside him, dropped a couple of positions and had to battle back to take third first time around. On lap four the Mallorcan moved past Dani Pedrosa to claim second and he and Rossi gradually began to clear a gap from Pedrosa and the chasing pack.

The middle part of the race was largely uneventful, with Rossi retaining a more or less consistent gap of about half a second from his team-mate, but just after the half way point Lorenzo improved his rhythm and suddenly started to look threatening. The two were by now pushing each other hard, lapping nearly two seconds faster than the other riders and on lap 17 Lorenzo made his move, passing Rossi early on to claim the lead and set the fastest lap of the race. The crowd was gearing up for a tense finale but on the next lap Lorenzo made a mistake in braking, ran wide and lost the front, sliding into the gravel to leave Rossi 14 seconds clear at the front. All the 30-year-old had to do then was bring his M1 safely home which he duly did, easing up to cross the line 11.766 seconds ahead of Pedrosa, with Toni Elias back in third.

Another 25 points for Rossi and zero for Lorenzo means he is now 50 points clear at the top of the championship, whilst Lorenzo stays second, 12 points ahead of the absent Stoner and 27 ahead of Pedrosa. The next stop for the team is the Indianapolis Grand Prix in two weeks time.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 1stTime: 43′08.991
“This is a very important victory for us! Jorge had shown all weekend that he was very strong and, when we still weren’t feeling perfect after the warm-up, we decided to make one more small modification to improve the feeling with the front and the result was brilliant; my Yamaha really flew today. I got a good start and I was able to ride exactly how I wanted, using all of the track to get the best lines. At the end, when Jorge passed me, I thought that the fight was starting and I was really ready for it, but then he made a mistake and crashed. Of course I’m sorry; it’s really bad for him but I have to say that it’s great for us because now we have an advantage of 50 points with six races to go. However it would be very stupid to relax now because Jorge is very strong and for sure we expect another hard fight with him in Indianapolis. Today I arrived at the top of the all-time podium list and I’m very proud of this, especially here at Brno where I took my first victory 13 years ago! Thanks to Yamaha and my team for today, it was a great win.”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: DNF
“I got a bad start and had to get by some people, and then I just didn’t have the same pace that I’d had all weekend. I was slower than in the practices and it really wasn’t what I was expecting. Unfortunately for me Valentino was just as strong as he’d been all weekend and I had to push very, very hard to stay with him. Towards the end I began to close the gap and after I passed him I was doing everything to stay in front, but then I made a mistake and crashed. There’s nothing more I can say except that I’m so sorry to the team and to Yamaha and I will do everything I can to make it up in America.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“We’re very sorry for Jorge today, because we were all hoping for another exciting battle in the final laps and I am sure it would have been a great show for the public. Today Valentino rode like a magician and again the Yamaha has been shown to be the best bike on the track. A big thanks to all the team for their work because once again they were able to provide Valentino with a bike that he was very comfortable on and happy with. Now we have a 50-point advantage but we can never stop pushing because I am sure that at the next race Jorge will be out for revenge! We are looking forward to meeting our friends from Yamaha Motor US again this year and we want to continue with the same rhythm and performance in America. Tomorrow we have a day’s testing and we will start on our development for 2010, giving Valentino the chance to try a new chassis and a new engine specification as potential solutions for next year’s bike.”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“Today was a great disappointment because after such good practice sessions we had high hopes for a great race. Of course Jorge’s target today was to try to beat Valentino in order to close the gap in the standings and so he was doing everything he could. He got past him but Valentino was still very close behind, putting a lot of pressure on Jorge and unfortunately he made a mistake and crashed. It will be another important lesson for him and we are confident that he will learn from it continue to be just as fast and to keep improving. He’s got many more races to show his potential so now we will get back to work with a day’s testing tomorrow and make sure we’re in the best shape possible for Indianapolis.”

Double top ten for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team in Brno

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team scored a double top ten finish in today’s Czech Republic MotoGP race in front of nearly 140,000 sun drenched fans at the Brno circuit.

Starting from the second row of the grid, Edwards posed a persistent threat for the top six throughout a gruelling 22-lap race that saw temperatures that nudged 30 degrees. Chasing a group in front battling for fourth that included Toni Elias, Andrea Dovizioso and Loris Capirossi, Edwards lapped nearly a second faster on lap seven to get to within 0.7s of the intense battle.

Unable to remain in close contact with the battle ahead, Edwards was left to fend off the determin ed challenge of fellow American Nicky Hayden. Still less than 100 per cent fit after an illness earlier in the weekend, the 35-year-old produced a superb performance, holding Hayden at bay until lap 18. He tried to mount a late counter attack on Hayden to secure his fifth top six finish of the season, but he had to settle for seventh, losing out to Hayden by just 0.1s.

British rider James Toseland produced a typically determined ride, the 28-year-old making up two places on the first lap as he set about mounting a top ten challenge from 14th on the grid. Growing in confidence after some early front-end issues, Toseland settled into a consistent pace and he eventually finished in a respectable ninth place, just over 1.5s away from Alex de Angelis in eighth.

Colin Edwards – Position: 7th Time: +0′25.676
“That was a pretty tough race. Right from the start of the weekend I said I thought my engine felt a bit flat and today I couldn’t do anything. I was getting passed easily and I couldn’t stay in the slipstream at all. I could do the lap time but I couldn’t race them. I couldn’t get within ten bike lengths at the end of the straight but then I’d nearly be running into the back of them at the exit of the corner because I was trying to make up all the time on the brakes and on corner speed. I lost the group with Toni, Andrea and Loris for a bit early on but I only came back at them for a while because I was pushing the front so hard. I got the right side of the front tire way too hot and after that I kept losing the front. I was nearly running into them in the middle of the corner but I couldn’t get close enough to pass them on the brakes going in. At the end I was locked in a battle with Nicky but I think I could have been behind him all day and not be able to pass him. I got another load of points and I was close to the top six, but I’ve been beating those guys in front of me consistently all year and that’s a pity because maybe I could have got another podium today. I’m back home again for Indianapolis next time out and I’ll be looking for a much better weekend.”

James Toseland – Position: 9th Time: +0′35.617
“It has been a tough weekend and I’ll be the first to admit that I was a bit fortunate to get into the top ten. I rode as hard as I could every lap and never gave up but at the moment I’m struggling with a problem with the front for the first half of the race. I get a hopping sensation on the front and it really hurts my corner speed. We’ve been struggling with it for a while now but after half distance, how the feeling comes better is unbelievable. It’s almost like somebody is tweaking my bike while I’m riding because it improves so much. On lap 20 I did a 58.4, which is only one tenth off my qualifying time, so it shows how good the bike eventually feels. But I lose so much in the first half of the race that it really costs me. My pace in the second half of the race should be getting me in the top six. If we can solve this front-end issue then I know I can be running much higher up the field, which is where the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team deserves to be.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“You can’t be disappointed when both Colin and James finish inside the top ten having given their maximum again in what was a demanding race. But it was a little bit disappointing, particularly for Colin who was doing very well all weekend. I don’t think he was 100 per cent still after his illness but it was another strong result for him. James again was much better in the race than he was in practice and I’m pleased that he put in a lot of effort in the second half of the race. If he can sol ve some of the problems he’s experiencing I’m convinced we will see him achieving much better results. Now we move to Indianapolis which is an important race for Colin, for Yamaha and for our sponsor Monster, so hopefully we can be fighting back closer to the top five. I’d like to congratulate Valentino because he again proved he is the master. Yamaha was unbelievably strong again today and it was just a shame Jorge crashed because everybody was looking forward to a strong fight for the world championship to the end.”

Nicky Hayden recorded his second best result of the season so far at Brno today, where he crossed the line in sixth place following a weekend of hard work and continual progress with his team. The American didn’t get the best of starts and was boxed in by the group around him but he fought back to regain positions and kept pace with the riders ahead of him to take the chequered flag less than four seconds behind the final podium finisher.

Mika Kallio, making his debut for the Ducati Marlboro Team in place of Casey Stoner, produced a competitive pace but was unable to make it to the end of his first race with the team following a misunderstanding with Marco Melandri, the two riders colliding and crashing out of their battle for eighth place. However, it was a satisfying weekend for the Finn, a rookie in the MotoGP class, who has set competitive lap times all weekend.

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team)  (6th)
“We have higher goals than this but sixth place is my second best result of the season so I have to be satisfied for today. After the disaster at Donington this has been a respectable weekend for us. The team did a great job all weekend getting the front working better for me so we’ve made progress and that is the most important thing. The race certainly wasn’t easy – I lost a couple of positions off the line but had a good first lap and was able to get into that second group. To be honest from that point I was holding on, going as fast as I had all weekend and when we got up behind Colin I was able to make another pass. I could see the group ahead of me and as they made a couple of mistakes I could have maybe got there. I just pushed too hard and ran wide in a couple of places and had to do my best to hold my position. They were breathing all over me during those last couple of laps but I hung on and got sixth. We were only less than four seconds off the podium so we’re obviously making some headway. I want to thank the team because it’s not been an easy time recently but today we have something to be proud of.”

MIKA KALLIO (Ducati Marlboro Team)  (crashed)
“My start was typical of this year – not good but not bad – and I pretty much held my grid position into the first turn. After that the bike was similar to how it’s been all weekend – there is still something missing with the front feeling and even though I could stay with the second group I couldn’t pass anybody because I don’t have that front-end confidence you need to brake late or take a more risky line. The proof of that was when De Angelis had his problem and slowed down, I was able to pass him and improve my lap times by half a second to catch Nicky and Edwards. Then came the crash with Melandri, who tried to pass me where it was impossible to, so that finally our lines crossed! Anyway, it has been an interesting weekend and I think if we can find something that gives me more feel with the front we can make a big step forward.”

LIVIO SUPPO – MotoGP Project Director
“We knew it would be more difficult for us without Casey but all in all I think it has been a reasonably satisfying weekend for us. Both Hayden and Kallio were able to maintain a decent pace throughout the race, which allowed Nicky to finish just a few seconds off the podium and Mika wasn’t far behind him until the crash on the penultimate lap. We have a day of testing tomorrow that will be useful to continue our set-up work with the GP9.”

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup – Brno Race2 – August 16th

Jakub Kornfeil got the best on an intense 5 man battle to take his 3rd race victory of the season and the 2009 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup by 2 points. The 16 year old Czech had to fight all the way with arch rival Sturla Fagerhaug but when the 17 year old Norwegian came together with 15 year old Japanese Daijiro Hiura with three corners to go his chance of battling with Kornfeil across the line disappeared.

The 13 lap race closed out the Cardion AB Grand Prix of the Czech Republic at Brno. Fagerhaug picked up second place both in the race and the Cup and Californian 15 year old Jake Gagne an excellent third in the race and 6th in the Cup. Hiura crossed the line 4th to hold on to his 3rd in the points table.

While the rest talked about what might have been Kornfeil enjoyed his win. “I knew that Sturla was behind me all the way, I looked back and saw it was four riders not 10 like yesterday so I was happy about that. I just rode as hard as I could and even at the last corner I expected Sturla to come past but I guess he wasn’t as close as I thought and I crossed the line on my own.”

“It was a hard weekend, there were so many interviews and things to do leading up to yesterdays race that I was feeling the pressure and I found yesterday’s race very tough. Today it seemed easier, less interviews, less friends pushing me and so less pressure. I could ride my race today and I am just so happy to take the Rookies Cup, so happy.”

An obviously terribly disappointed Fagerhaug summed it all up. “It was a great race and congratulations to Jakub, he rode very well. I was hit in the third to last corner so I didn’t have the chance to pass him at the line. I thought I was going to be able to win before that happened. I have to blame myself though I had such a big lead in the points half way through and made some mistakes. It’s been a great year though and I still have a couple of GP wild-card rides to look forward too.”

Gagne had done his share of leading during the race but admitted that the Cup battle played a part in his thinking on the final lap. “It was a great race, a lot of fun and I sure wanted to win it if I could but they were all going fast and there wasn’t the chance on the last lap. I knew those guys were battling for the Cup and I wasn’t going to do something stupid.”

The new lap record went to Hiura but he was 4th across the line. “I enjoyed the race but I’m disappointed not to be on the podium. It all happened on the last lap and I was so fixed on passing the riders in front I was a bit too aggressive and that wasn’t good. I have to congratulate Jakub on his great race today. He was ready to win it and so determined. When I passed him he would pass me straight back at the next corner he had the win in his heart.”

A fine ride to 5th by 16 year old South African Mathew Scholtz who had thoughts of a higher place finish. “I was on the back of the group, at times I was having to work hard to stay there but sometimes it was easier and I was looking after my tyres planning to make a move on the last lap. What spoilt was the tight chicane at the bottom of the final climb on the second to last lap. I lost the front and that really messed up my drive up the hill so I started the last lap just too far behind them to do anything about it.”

Saturday’s 16 year old winner Florian Marino was disappointed with his 7th place behind fellow Frenchman Nelson Major. I got a good start but after that I just couldn’t find the rhythm and the guys got away from me. I just wasn’t riding as well as yesterday, I could feel that my throttle control just wasn’t quite right and I wasn’t getting the drive off the corners.”

Nico Thöni and Alejandro Pardo had a nasty crash on lap one and while the 14 year old Austrian immediately walked away, Pardo, who had been a brilliant 3rd on Saturday took some time before he too emerged uninjured. Hayden Gillim’s bike was damaged in the incident and though he continued he was later forced to retire with broken seat. Alex Kristiansson fell unhurt and Taylor Mackenzie stopped with technical problems.

Valentino Rossi became the first rider since the advent of the one-tyre rule to dip under an existing pole position record in the Czech Republic today, taking his third consecutive pole position despite sliding off into the gravel trap with just a few minutes remaining. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo qualified second, continuing his 100% front-row qualifying record for the season.

Lorenzo had ruled the standings in both previous sessions and it looked like being the same story again this afternoon, as the Mallorcan went straight to the top and then continued to improve his time around the undulating Brno circuit. Sitting just four thousandths of a second off Rossi’s 2006 pole position record, Lorenzo looked likely to be the one to smash it but it was the World Champion who did so with a brilliant lap with eight minutes left on the clock, shaving 0.046 seconds off the time he set on the way to second place three years ago, back in the days of 990ccc engines.

The drama wasn’t over however as Rossi, pushing hard with two minutes remaining, lost the front in the second sector and slid into the gravel, luckily emerging unscathed. Lorenzo made a last minute assault on the Italian’s time but was caught in traffic and the 22-year-old had to be content with second position. The pair are joined on the front row by Dani Pedrosa, with Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards putting in another strong performance to qualify in sixth.

Today sees the launch of the Fiat Yamaha Team’s official new fan website, www.FiatYamahaTeam.it, where followers of the team can keep up to date with team news, view the latest photos, enter competitions, follow a live blog and learn more about the team and riders.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 1stTime: 1′56.145Laps: 23
“Pole position is great, but the most important thing is that I’m okay after the crash. I have a bit of pain in my right thumb but that’s all, so I think I’ve been quite lucky. I’ll get it checked out at the Clinica Mobile later but I don’t think it’s anything bad. This weekend only one of the front tyres is working well for us, which means we only have four for the weekend, so we’re putting quite a lot of stress on just a few tyres. I arrived to brake very deep and just lost the front, it was unlucky. Anyway, we did a great job in the session and being on pole again is important. We have a good race pace and I think it’s possible to be competitive tomorrow.”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 2ndTime: 1′56.195Laps: 26
“This morning we tried the softer Bridgestone tyre but I didn’t feel so good on it. This afternoon we gave it another chance but again it didn’t seem to work so well, so we decided to just concentrate on the harder tyre. I had a very strong pace and like yesterday I felt very comfortable on the bike, but I couldn’t quite get the pole position today. Being on the front row is always important though and we’ve reached this target; we know that we’re very fast. Everyone is excited and motivated as usual and we’re confident that we have the race set-up to allow us to challenge tomorrow.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“We’re in pole but Valentino’s crash was unfortunate, on a lap that might have been even faster! The most important thing is that he is okay, which is a big relief for us all. By the end of the session we’d found a good setting and it looks like tomorrow could be another big battle, let’s hope we’re a part of it! Lorenzo and Pedrosa are very motivated and look very strong so let’s see what happens.”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“It’s very good to start from the front row again and we’re happy about this. Unfortunately today we didn’t improve our lap time on the soft tyres and so we decided to do the last minute ‘time-attack’ on race tyres, then Jorge also encountered some traffic on his final lap. Anyway we are positive for the race because our pace today was pretty fast, we’re just looking at one or two small areas which we think we can improve for the race.”

Edwards battles to second row, Toseland 14th in Brno

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Colin Edwards produced a gritty qualifying performance this afternoon to equal his best grid position of the season at a hot and sunny Brno.

Despite being less than 100 per cent fit after he needed treatment for a swollen neck gland, the Texan secured his eighth top six grid position of the season in preparation for round 11 of the 2009 MotoGP world championship tomorrow. Edwards clocked a best time of 1.56.964 on his last lap, the 35-year-old finishing less than 0.5s from claiming his first front row start of the season. Working closely with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew, front-end changes to improve turning on his YZR-M1 machine have bolstered Edwards’ hopes of claiming a maiden top six finish in the Czech Republic MotoGP.

British rider James Toseland is confident he can challenge for a top ten position in tomorrow’s 22-lap race. He will start from the fifth row of the grid having missed out on a top ten grid position by less than 0.4s. Toseland clocked a best time of 1.58.331 and the 28-year-old will focus on improving rear grip on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine as he looks for a fourth top ten finish in five races.

Colin Edwards 5th 1.56.954 – 23 laps
“I’m pretty happy considering how I felt today. The last couple of days, one of the glands in my neck was pretty badly swollen up, so I was given some medicine to help it. But the doctor told me to make sure I had a full stomach when I took it. But this morning I only had a bowl of cereal and then I took the medicine. And after that I felt awful. After practice this morning I was white as a sheet and not feeling great at all. My stomach and head were feeling pretty rough and I just felt way short of my best for the rest of the day. So considering that I’m happy to have qualified fifth. I’d say Dani Pedrosa’s time was reachable in third but it would have taken a great lap to do that, and I’m not sure I had it in me physically today. I’ve been going great all weekend and my team have done a phenomenal job. We put some more weight on the front that has really helped get the bike to turn and that’s crucial at this track. I’ve never had a top six at this track but hopefully I’ll change that tomorrow and hopefully I’ll be feeling better.”

James Toseland 14th 1.58.331- 22 laps
“Obviously I’m not happy to be down in 14th and being that far back is going to make it a tough race. I’m fru strated because we changed the bike for the last soft tyre and I didn’t have the rear grip I needed to push for a better time. I had a lot of wheelspin with the final soft tyre so I couldn’t really push and I’ve given myself a hard job for the race. We’ll try and make the bike more balanced for the race tomorrow because at the moment I don’t have enough rear grip. I’ve qualified outside of the top ten a couple of times before this season and been able to fight my back into the top ten during the race. So I’m hoping to be able to do the same tomorrow.”

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup – Brno Race1 – August 15th

Florian Marino won a sensational 10 man battle to the line to claim his first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup victory. The 16 year old Frenchman fought off Briton Danny Kent and Italian Alejandro Pardo, both 15, with the first 10 all crossing the line within 2.3 seconds.

17 year old Norwegian Sturla Fagerhaug finished 5th and now has a 3 point advantage over arch rival Jakub Kornfeil, the 16 year old Czech who was 8th. With the final race tomorrow at the end of the Cardion AB Grand Prix of the Czech Republic at Brno, the Cup battle is still open to the top 4 in the points table as Hiura finished 6th and is now 19 points behind Fagerhaug and Kent has 22 to make up from his 4th position in the table.

Marino could even tie on points with Fagerhaug as there are 25 points for the race win but would loose the Cup on number of race wins. All he cares about now is his first win and was happy to talk about the way his plan worked so perfectly. “With about three laps to go I was sixth and I thought about where I could pass people and where they could pass me. So I was happy not to be leading and planned to pass everyone on the downhill half of the track. I did it; but breaking into that last right hander at the bottom I was so so late on the brakes, I thought, ‘I’m going to crash, ‘I’m going to crash.’ but I didn’t, I was in front, then on the gas and back up the hill to the finish.”

He gives full credit to Rider Coach Gustl Auinger for his first Rookies win after finishing 4th 3 times. “After Donington my head was not good and I said to Gustl, ‘what do I have to do to win?’ He told me that I have to think like a winner and concentrate on that and not the other riders behind. So I fixed on that this weekend.”

Kent also enjoyed his ride to second and just wished the finish-line was in a different place. “I was closing on him and if the line had been a bit further down the track I could have won it. Never mind, I’ll try again tomorrow. It was a great race though. Early on I had a look back and saw that we were about 10 guys. I thought then that if we had a big crash and the race got red flagged I needed to be in the front so any time someone passed me I just passed them straight back.”

Such a sensational race produced many great tales including the incredible ride to 3rd put in by Alejandro Pardo. He gave himself a lot of work to do. “I made a terrible start, the KTM is so different to my own bike and I just can’t seem to get used to it. After the first few laps I saw that the lead group was 2 or 3 seconds ahead but I soon realised that the gap wasn’t getting bigger and I just said to myself, ‘you can do it’. I just tried the maximum and caught them. I never thought that I would be able to get on the podium but when I caught the group I just passed everyone where I could and made it, incredible.”

His brilliant effort pushed Jake Gagne into 4th, a shame for the 15 year old Californian who had led the race for a good share of the distance even though he is new to the circuit. He looked like he might win it but in the end was unlucky. “I didn’t know it was the last lap. I looked at the lap counter and saw it was 6 laps to go, those 6 laps just went past quicker than I expected. On that last lap Marino came past then Danny surprised me as he went through and I got off line. That spoilt my drive up the hill a bit and that is how Pardo got by.”

Going onto that last lap it was Cup leader Fagerhaug who was in front of Marino, Gagne and Kent but it was never going to be a boring last lap as Fagerhaug explained. “Going into the first corner on the last lap Jake and Danny passed me and I tried to go back around Danny but couldn’t and lost their slipstream going away up the hill. The guys behind had my slipstream and another three of them went past. I knew that I was still ahead of Jakub on that last lap and though I wanted to win I was thinking a bit about the championship and didn’t want to make a mistake.”

Coming to the end of his third Cup season the Norwegian had put in a great performance even though he was not that quick off the line. “From the start I just concentrated on getting into a good rhythm and I was happy with the way that went. I was leading for a lot of the race but slipstreaming is so important here and the other guys just seemed to be able to come past on the straight and it wasn’t possible to break away.”

The impossibility of establishing any kind of lasting advantage was even more frustrating for his Cup rival Kornfeil. “The start was good but after that I wasn’t so happy with the race. We were in a big group and I just couldn’t break through to the front. In the first half of the race I had quite a lot of rear wheel slides so I couldn’t push but then it started to get better. Tomorrow I’ve just got to push harder, be stronger, it has got to come from me.”

The second race grid is the same as the first and you can see Sundays race, the final event of the season, live on the Rookies Cup website www.redbullrookiescup.com at 15.30 CET.

Nicky Hayden continued to make gradual improvements to both machine set-up and overall classification today as he posted the eighth fastest time in qualifying practice for tomorrow’s Czech Republic Grand Prix. The American held on to a third row spot – his second best grid position of the season – despite an intense finale to the session, which saw his stand-in team-mate Mika Kallio secure tenth place for his Ducati Marlboro Team debut despite a late crash while he was pushing for a even faster lap.

NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Marlboro Team)  (8th; 1’57.803)
“I was hoping to go faster than that but qualifying has been a weak point for us this year and I always seem to struggle to make a significant improvement when everybody else is pushing for times right at the end. Considering that I’m pleased that I was able to keep improving right to the end and hang on to what is a decent position for us compared to a lot of our qualifying results so far this season. The team have done a good job here. We’ve made some big changes to the geometry here and we’re improving. It isn’t quite showing in the lap time yet but we keep getting faster and if we can take another step forward tomorrow we can have a good race. The top three are going so quick this weekend it’s unbelievable but nonetheless we’ve done a good job so far and we’re looking to make more improvements in the warm-up and in the race.”

MIKA KALLIO (Ducati Marlboro Team)  (10th; 1’57.994)
“Up until the crash things were going really well and without it I think we could have qualified at least in seventh place, which we were only two tenths off. I take the blame for the crash but I didn’t really do anything different and the front washed away. We’ve been experimenting with different suspension angles on the two bikes and like yesterday they both have their strengths and weaknesses that we need to look at tonight and make some decisions about. We improved the situation with the rear grip on the left side but it seems we are still struggling to get heat into the tyre so this also needs more work in the warm-up. Anyway, my grid position is not what we hoped for but it’s not bad and I equalled my best lap today on a rear tyre with twenty laps on it, so the signs are promising for the race tomorrow. I’m excited and really looking forward to the race.”

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup – Brno Practice – August 14th

A brilliant final lap put Daijiro Hiura on pole position for the final two races of the 2009 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season, a race on Saturday and the final on Sunday of the Cardion AB Czech Grand Prix. The 15 year old Japanese just nudged aside 16 year old Frenchman Florian Marino leaving the two Rookies tied for the Cup lead, Sturla Fagerhaug and Jakub Kornfeil, to complete the front row.

Though he is 27 points behind, Hiura can still win the Cup as there are 50 points on offer this weekend and he knows that to do it he must win races even though this track is not his favourite. “I didn’t do well here last year so I was not expecting too much. I just worked hard through the practice and step by step went faster, the tires were well worn at the end and sliding around a lot but on that final lap I managed to get a good rhythm going and a fast time.”

It is a bigger stretch for Marino, 6th in the table, to win the Cup as he has to make up 40 points but a whole string of quick laps in the second session that gave him pole for the second half of the 30 minutes demonstrated that he could well take at least one race win. “I must do it now, the bike is really good and my mind is right. I did OK here last year, I was 5th with the 4th fastest lap time and I like this track. For tomorrow I know I have to make a good start, press hard and get away, that’s the way to win the race.” He has been furious with himself for failing to get on the podium so far, he has been 4th 3 times.

With eyes perhaps more on the Cup than the race Fagerhaug was quickest in the first session and not concerned with missing out on pole. “The first qualifying session was good and I managed to go faster and faster towards the end. I was quite happy with that. For the second session we decided to try a few different things, different lines and stuff. Then I decided it was time to go a bit quicker but then I made a big mistake and spoilt one lap, then some riders came out of the pits and got in the way. I just got going a bit, did some OK times and the bike stopped. I hope it can be fixed OK and then we’re on the front row so I just have to get away with the guys and see what happens.”

His arch rival Kornfeil was fastest for the first 15 minutes of the opening session and slid off half way through the final session but without damage to man or machine. “I was pushing too hard on the brakes and lost the front. I am happy with the bike set-up though and looking forward to the race, we made some changes after the free practice this morning and it’s good now. I think I can go quicker in the race, in practice I was either on my own or with riders following me, in a race battle I can be quicker.”

Even the first three riders on the second row, Danny Kent, Mathew Scholtz and Jake Gagne are in with a mathematical chance of the Cup win and with 2 third places already this year, fast improving Gagne, the 15 year old Californian, was very impressive as the fastest of the Brno first timers. “It’s a fun track. When you first go out it seems so wide and that takes a bit of getting used to but after a few laps I started to really enjoy it. I got onto second row in the first session and wanted to make sure I managed at least that if not the first row in the second session so I am happy with that.

Early fallers in the first qualifying session were Alex Kristiansson, on the first lap, followed by Fraser Rogers, Arthur Sissis and Josh Hook who was only just returning to action after breaking his left collarbone during practice for the German round a month ago. With no-one injured and the bikes repairable all riders took part in the second session. Falls in the second session were even lighter with Dylan Mavin, Robin Barbosa, Mathew Scholtz, Benny Solis and Deane Brown all escaping injury.

Saturday’s race can be seen live on the Rookies Cup website www.redbullrookiescup.com at 16.25 CET.

The boys of MotoGP are back at in in Brno.  On top the charts are the usual suspects but a notable result from Mika Kallio in seventh.