Casey Stoner took a solid fourth place finish in the Grand Prix of Japan today, adding a precious 13 points to his championship tally despite the data acquisition showing that he suffered a strong vibration through his front brake throughout the race. With the sun finally shining through after a wet warm-up this morning, the former World Champion once again showed his maturity and knack for riding around problems with an exemplary exhibition of damage limitation. Nicky Hayden?s desperately unlucky start to the season continued when he was clumsily knocked out of the race on the opening lap by home rookie Yuki Takahashi. The American suffered another heavy blow to the back injury he suffered in Qatar but luckily he escaped without any further damage.

Starting from the front row, Stoner dropped to sixth on the first lap and then lost another position. However, the Ducati Marlboro Team rider showed his trademark determination with an inspired fightback that took him back past Melandri two laps later, before immediately picking off Chris Vermeulen and then hunting down and despatching of Andrea Dovizioso two laps from the end. Stoner is now third in the championship standings after two rounds, three points behind today?s race winner Jorge Lorenzo.

CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) 4th “We have had the same issues as everybody else, I suppose, in that we haven?t had time to set the bike up but all in all I think we were capable of at least matching the lap times of the front guys ? we just lost too much time at the start. On the warm-up lap I felt I a lot of chatter from the front brakes, they weren?t smooth and I wasn?t confident over the first five or six laps. I really didn?t know what to do, I wasn?t able to brake where I wanted to and I wasn?t confident. Maybe I could have gone faster but I don?t know how safe that would have been. Anyway, I lost a lot of positions at the beginning of the race and I spent too much time battling to get past. When I got closer to the front it was a bit too late, unfortunately. I tried to stay as consistent as I could and when I got closer to Andrea I rode a bit harder because I saw it was possible to pass him. So the race was not completely lost, we didn?t lose that many points and this is a much better start to the season than last year, so we can definitely feel positive going into the next one.?

NICKY HAYDEN ? (Ducati MotoGP Team) DNF

?That was exactly what we didn?t need. I got a decent start and I think I was up a couple of positions but just going down into the hairpin, which is a slow hard-braking corner, I was on my line and Takahashi just took me down. There was no warning – I didn?t even hear anything! I don?t want to say much about that, I don?t want to look like a cry-baby but, you know, it was the first lap? luckily I feel okay. I actually landed in the same place on my back as the crash in Qatar and my leathers and helmet have got exactly the same marks. It?s a shame because this weekend I honestly felt we were making some progress. I felt we had better communication going on and we worked more comfortably from the first day. I know we were never looking at a great result but I felt I could have been competitive today. Anyway, we have to move forward and to look to the next race.?

LIVIO SUPPO, MotoGP PROJECT DIRECTOR

?It has been a strange weekend and the weather definitely hasn?t helped but it has been the same for everybody. Casey produced a great performance, showing once again his ability to ride around problems and bringing home some important points. There are no words to describe how unlucky Nicky has been here? he was knocked to the ground in the fourth corner… Unfortunately these things happen in racing and the most important thing is that he wasn?t injured.?

After The Grand Prix of Japan this is how it stacks up in MotoGP

Rider Standings as of 26/04/2009

Pos. Rider – Manu. (Nat.) Points

1. Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha (ESP) 41
2. Valentino Rossi – Yamaha (ITA) 40
3. Casey Stoner – Ducati (AUS) 38
4. Andrea Dovizioso – Honda (ITA) 22
5. Daniel Pedrosa – Honda (ESP) 21
6. Colin Edwards – Yamaha (USA) 17
7. Mika Kallio – Ducati (FIN) 16
8. Chris Vermeulen – Suzuki (AUS) 15
9. Alex De Angelis – Honda (SMR) 13
10. Marco Melandri – Kawasaki (ITA) 12
11. Randy De Puniet – Honda (FRA) 11
12. Loris Capirossi – Suzuki (ITA) 9
13. James Toseland – Yamaha (GBR) 7
14. Toni Elias – Honda (ESP) 7
15. Nicky Hayden – Ducati (USA) 4

Manufacturer Standings 26/04/2009

Pos. Manufacturer Points

1. Yamaha- 45
2. Ducati- 38
3. Honda- 27
4. Suzuki- 18
5. Kawasaki- 12

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) celebrated 50 years of Honda excellence in the World Championships by taking a hard-fought third place, from eleventh on the grid, in the company’s home race on the Twin Ring Motegi circuit, while Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) held off teammate Valentino Rossi for the victory. Pedrosa’s teammate Andrea Dovizioso battled for a podium spot until the final few laps when he fell back to finish a close fifth to the fourth place finisher, Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro).

The race may prove to be one of the most difficult of the season for the riders, who went into the second grand prix of the season with a number of questions. The only dry session was Friday, when the temperature was 10C colder than on race day. Saturday’s practice was held in a steady rain and qualifying was rained out. Which meant the teams had to make educated guesses on everything from suspension to tires, and some of those guesses were proven wrong.

Rossi was away at the start, with Pedrosa in hot pursuit after making a bullet start from 11th on the grid. The Spaniard forced the action in the early going, despite still having limited mobility in his left knee.

On the third lap Rossi’s teammate Lorenzo came past, while Dovizioso chased Pedrosa.

Now came the heart of the race, with the Yamaha riders being chased by the Honda riders and both teams fighting among themselves for bragging rights. Lorenzo made a pass of Rossi on the ninth lap, but wasn’t able to break away. It was only when Rossi had a slight problem just past the mid-point in the 24-lap race that Lorenzo was able to put a second on his teammate.

A few laps later and it was Pedrosa Rossi had to contend with. The world champion hung tough until the 15th lap when Rossi made a mistake that cost him a second and dropped him closer to the clutches of Pedrosa.

Pedrosa made his first move up in the inside in turn one on lap 17, but Rossi immediately struck back. Pedrosa tried him again in turn five, but couldn’t make a clean pass. It was on the run down the back straight that Pedrosa snuck by into the 90 degree right that leads into the tunnel.

Rossi fought back on the 19th lap, taking Pedrosa in turn five before the first tunnel. From there he was able to hold onto second, but finished 1.304 secs. back of Lorenzo, who won by 1.304s.

Dovizioso chased Pedrosa closely in the first half before his pace slowed slightly in the second half. It was then that Stoner made a run after struggling with front brake problems in the beginning. Stoner passed Dovizioso for fourth in turn three on the 23rd of 24 laps.

LCR Honda’s Randy De Puniet finished 11th in the midst of a four-rider battle for ninth that went to James Toseland (Monster Energy Yamaha Tech 3).

San Carlo Honda Gresini’s De Angelis, starting his 150th GP, finished two spots behind in 13th . More than most riders, De Angelis was handicapped by the lack of dry practice. The settings he chose for the race clearly didn’t work and he did his best to keep the group in front of him in sight, only to fade at the end.

Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini) had worked his way up to eighth place before what he described as a “stupid crash” put him to the back of the field. Despite losing valuable time, the Spaniard remounted to score the final point in 15th place.

Scot Racing Team MotoGP’s Yuki Takahashi failed to finish his home race. The Japanese rider crashed among a tight pack of riders in turn five on the first lap.

It was 50 years ago this June that Naomi Taniguchi scored Honda’s first World Championship point at the Isle of Man. Naomi Taniguchi, a spry and lively 73, paraded a replica of his RC142 prior to the MotoGP race. He was joined by Kunimitsu Takahashi, 69, the first Japanese rider to win a World Championship Grand Prix on a Honda. Takahashi rode the RC164 that Jim Redman rode to the 1963 250cc World Championship. Freddie Spencer, a three-time world champion for Honda, rode the radical 1984 NSR500 that featured the famous “upside-down” design, with the exhaust chamber above the engine and the fuel tank below it.

250cc Grand Prix

Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Racing Team 250cc) came close to winning his home grand prix for the third time, but in the end had to settle for second place.
Aoyama, the winner in 2005 and 2006, took the lead from world champion Marco Simoncelli (Metis Gilera) on the ninth of 23 laps. Soon he was joined by Alvaro Bautista (Mapfre Aspar Team), who gave him no quarter.

Five laps from the end Bautista outbraked Aoyama into the 90 degree right-hander at the end of the back straight and quickly opened a gap, while Aoyama secured his podium position.

Mattia Pasini (Team Toth Aprilia) was a distant third place.

Wild card Shuhei Aoyama, Hiroshi’s brother, rode his Harc-Pro Honda to sixth place in his return to grand prix racing.

The most improved rider on the weekend was Shoya Tomizawa (CIP Moto – GP250). Tomizawa was 25th on the grid, after encountering problems in the free practice session that set the grid positions, but sped through the field to finish tenth, his best yet.

Scot Racing Team 250cc’s Raffaele De Rosa had to serve a stop-and-go penalty for jumping the start, but still scored four points by finishing 12th.

Just out of the points was Racing Team Germany’s Bastien Chesaux in 16th.

Neither Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT SAG), nor Valencia CF – Honda SAG’s Hector Faubel finished the race. Both raced with settings they hadn’t been able to test on Saturday, when rain lashed practice and washed out qualifying. Uncomfortable from the start, both riders crash, though, luckily, unhurt.

Honda Rider Quotes….

MotoGP:

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd.
“I’m very happy with this result. I’ve had injury problems for a long time – since last October – and so to be on the podium in the second race of the season is fantastic for me, and really we didn’t expect this so soon. I got a good start – the start was really the key part of my race – and I was able to get away with the front group. I couldn’t really believe it when I stayed with them because I was expecting to drop back after maybe one or two laps. But then it was lap five or six and I was still there and I was thinking, ‘this is unbelievable’. In the end I was near the front for the whole race, had a good battle for second, and finished on the podium so this is great. We still have to sort out some issues on the machine, but it’s a very positive result going in to the Jerez, and I’d like to say big thanks to the team and the fans.”

Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 5th.
“I’m pretty happy after this race because, considering that we struggled a lot during all the practice sessions, we were able to stay near the front for 24 laps. I was pushing really hard for a podium finish for the whole race but in the end I couldn’t make it. It was a tough race and this is a very demanding track, with many hard braking zones so we struggled a lot physically to achieve this result. I think me and Dani just gritted our teeth and got on with it today. It’s promising because we’ve reduced the gap to the guys in the front. I was 27 seconds behind the winner in Qatar and only 9 seconds behind here, so this is a good step forward. But we must keep on working hard. I have to give my compliments to Dani – he did a great race. I made a good start and was able to maintain a good pace during the race, but we still have to fine-tune the machine so that we can be really competitive.”

Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 11th:
“It was a very hard race starting from the last row and I lost some time behind Sete (Gibernau). After six laps I finally passed him and started to set my pace getting the 9th place. At that time (Mika) Kallio was behind me but he overtook me on lap 14th. After that I tried to catch (James) Toseland but my rear traction was not very good as we had only 18 laps in the dry on Friday and the machine was not as we expected. I struggled in the left corners entries and I probably made a small mistake changing gear in the two last laps and (Chris) Vermeulen easily passed me. It’s a pretty positive result considering my position on the grid and I am looking forward to racing in Jerez to improve my machine set up in the dry”.

Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 13th.
“We had some problems on Friday and missed our only opportunity to get the bike set up for dry conditions, which was an unfortunate circumstance that we paid the price for today. I went for a hard front and rear tire but it clearly didn’t work with the set-up we had and I had no feeling from the tires or the suspension today. There was a group of four riders fighting in front of me and I was desperate to get involved in the battle but I lost the rear a couple of times so finally decided to give up the chase. Three points isn’t much but it’s better than nothing.”

Toni Elias, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 15th.
“I’m very disappointed. I was struggling a little over the opening couple of laps but by lap three I started to feel good and I was able to start making up positions. I caught the group that Melandri and Vermeulen were in but just when I had done all the hard work I had a stupid crash. I got on the dirty part on the outside of the track and lost grip on the front and rear under braking. That’s the most disappointing thing because I had the opportunity to pick up some important points and I threw it away. Looking at the positives, I finished the race and picked up a point, which is something, and we have improved the bike here, which should help us in future races.”

Yuki Takahashi, Scot Racing Team MotoGP: DNF:
“Out at the very beginning of the race… what a pity. Not only for the race itself, but especially because I need making laps to learn and improve. The crash occurred at the turn number five: I was in a group of drivers, more or less all of us at the same speed, then the collision under braking. I’m really sorry.”

250cc:

Hiroshi Aoyama, Scot Racing Team 250cc: 2nd. :
“At the beginning, when I was second behind (Marco) Simoncelli, I did a few mistakes. So, I told to myself, ‘Stay calm. Cool down.’ When Marco made a mistake, I was able to take advantage of it. Mid-race, the wind began to blow stronger. I saw (Alvaro) Bautista getting closer and closer. He was fast, and I could not prevent him from overtaking me. It is his day, I thought. And I settled for second, which was great, in my home race.”

Shoya Tomizawa, CIP Moto – GP250: 10th.
“Yes, a good race for me and for the team. And my grid position is 25th and no pressure and I got a good start. The first part of the race, I pushed and pushed and I tried to pass as many riders as possible and that was easy because I had a very good motorcycle. Halfway into the race, my physical energy was a little bit down and I know I have to train a little harder for the next race. The weather was hotter today than all weekend and I didn’t learn about the weather in the first session and Gilles (Bigot) thought very hard about the settings and tires and he put in new settings and my Honda came better.”

Raffaele De Rosa: 12th.
“A silly jump start. It never occurred to me before in all my career. The red light lasted a lot, and I let the clutch slip just a fraction. What a pity, the bike was good, I could feel it. But when you are not in the position that you deserve, everything is more difficult.”

Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT SAG: DNF.
“Today I nearly crashed too many times and the time that I did crash in the fast corner I could not stop it. With both the front and rear there was too much sliding. I think it’s the same problem for everyone. Today we did a good start and then we went with the top group and the bike was OK. It was difficult because of the weather. Nobody had a good setting because of the heat. Even before I crashed, when I was braking for the turns, the front was closing and when I opened the gas the rear was sliding. It’s the same for everyone, but I think in the front tire is too soft. But the rear, everybody was on the same tire.”

Hector Faubel, Valencia CF – Honda SAG: DNF.
“Today I had a good start, but my race was only six laps. For me the race started good. I was up to sixth position after being ninth position in the first corner. Then I went into the firs corner and the front tucked and it was impossible to save and finish the race. I had too many problems all weekend. In the first training on Friday it wasn’t possible to do many laps, only six laps because I had problems with my engine. So I started the race without knowing anything. It was all a guess and it was difficult because the weather was hot and we didn’t have settings for the machine or the tires. Now we go to Jerez where I’ll be at my maximum to go to the front of the pack.”

After it looked at one point on race-day as if the Grand Prix of Japan would be a complete washout, the sun broke through the dark clouds and streamed onto the Motegi circuit as the Fiat Yamaha team enjoyed a clean sweep of the top two spots. With qualifying having been cancelled yesterday due to the heavy rain, both riders started the race from the front row of the grid according to their times from Friday’s free practice. Following a stunning race, Jorge Lorenzo took the glory of standing on the top step of the podium, after coming through a brilliant scrap with his team-mate Valentino Rossi, who finished a close second.

Starting from third on the grid Lorenzo briefly lost a position on the first lap, but was soon back up to his starting spot as they crossed the line for the first time. With a superior pace to his compatriot Pedrosa it seemed as though the Mallorcan was being held up, and sure enough on lap three the Spaniard edged into second place. Once there he had the unenviable task of closing a two-second gap to his team-mate Rossi, but gradually edged nearer his colleague. The two enjoyed a good head-to-head fight, swapping positions at the V-corner before Lorenzo finally found a way past Rossi. From that point there was no looking back, and as Rossi was entangled in the battle with Pedrosa behind, Lorenzo sealed a glorious second victory in MotoGP.

Leading from the first corner, Rossi had opened up the gap on the Spaniards in the early stages, but once Lorenzo had found a way past, it was Pedrosa who caused the champion most problems. With Pedrosa attacking on several occasions, the Italian was forced to keep his wits about him, but always seemed to have enough edge to keep ahead. The killer move come heading into the tunnel at turn five, and the race was decided as Rossi pulled away from Pedrosa in the latter stages.

With Lorenzo leading the championship on 40 points, one ahead of Rossi, the MotoGP World Championship moves on to his home race at Jerez in just a week’s time.

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 1stTime: 43′47.238
“First of all I just want to thank my team, my Mum, Dad and whole family, my friends and all the team workers. Also Yamaha, as it is their home race, it was a difficult race because I didn’t really get a very good start, I think I even finished the first lap in third or fourth. After that I began to catch up the pace. I passed Valentino and opened up a little gap, about a second and a half, and he was following me very hard. I had to ride the best I can to get the victory.”

Valentino Rossi – Position: 2ndTime: + 1.304
“It was a great race, long, very difficult and also physical. I got a really good start from the front row, but there was a part of the race that I wasn’t quite able to ride like I wanted, there was some kind of problem and I wasn’t fast enough to pull away. I lost time from Jorge and then was involved in a battle with Dani and then in the last part of the race I was able to step up my pace and pick my lines, setting some good lap times. I tried to come back but unfortunately Lorenzo was too far away. It’s a good race, second place is not a victory but it’s still twenty points for the championship. I think the championship will become very interesting now because we have four riders ready to battle for wins at the end.”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“I’m really happy about today’s result, we didn’t expect a victory, maybe we were just thinking about the podium, so I’m extremely happy. We did a great job on Friday and I think that was the key because we worked a lot around the harder tire and in the end that was the good one. With the information and the data we collected, today we just had to do some fine-tuning to the bike and it has brought us this special victory, and we are able to show the world how strong Yamaha is. Jerez will be a great battle, like today it will be a big show and so i am looking forward to that event.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“First of all, congratulations to Jorge, who rode very well, and congratulations to Yamaha, because this result confirms the great job we have done in the last months. We are always very fast and for the second time this year we have two riders on the podium. Night or day, we are always there! Valentino took a very important second place, because our target is to be always there. Now we are looking forward to going back to Europe for a very important phase of the championship and it is crucial to start this time on top”.

Top ten for Toseland, Edwards fights back into points in Japan

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team duo James Toseland and Colin Edwards secured hard fought points-scoring finishes in Yamaha’s home race at the Twin Ring Motegi today.

British rider Toseland gave himself a welcome confidence boost with a determined ride to ninth place in the 24-lap encounter, which took place in windy but dry conditions after another weekend dominated by rain. Opting to run the softer compound Bridgestone tire, Toseland made a storming start from the fourth row of the grid, crossing the line at the end of the first lap in seventh place. The 28-year-old secured his first top ten finish of the campaign with a superb attacking display in the final stages, holding off the persistent challenge of Chris Vermeulen and Randy de Puniet. American Edwards encountered a small problem in the early stages of the race but once he was able to demonstrate his true potential, the 35-year-old reeled off some blistering lap times. At times he ran the same pace as the top five as he fought his way through the field to a highly commendable 12th, setting the sixth fastest time in the race to miss out on a top ten finish by three seconds.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team now heads to Jerez next weekend for the start of the European leg of the MotoGP world championship.

James Toseland – Position: 9th Time:
“I needed to be back in the top ten, so today was the step I’ve been looking for. We made a big step with the front-end setting on Friday in just the 45 minutes of dry track time we had this weekend and it helped me a lot. The comfort on the braking was much better and I was able to pass a couple of guys on the brakes today, which was good. I went for the soft rear tire just because that’s what I’d run most on Friday. We knew the soft one would go the distance, but it wouldn’t be as strong in the latter stages of the race with the temperature being hotter today. But I didn’t want to take any risks by running the harder compound, particularly as we knew it would take a couple of laps to get to temperature. In the early part of the race I had quite a bit more grip than some of the guys and I might have been able to pass (Casey) Stoner and (Loris) Capirossi) if I was more comfortable with the bike on a full fuel load. That would have pushed me a bit further up earlier in the race when I had an advantage with the softer tire. It was a good battle on the last lap with Vermeulen. He passed me briefly at the end of the back straight, but I managed to keep him at bay. I’m happy for my team because they’ve stood behind me and everybody has kept their morale up, and now we’ve got a result we can build on.”

Colin Edwards – Position: 12th Time:
“That was not at all what I expected but I can’t turn the clock back. I wish I could because I believe I could have fought for the podium. We had a small issue at the start of the race and I simply couldn’t ride how I wanted to. I kept my head down and persevered throughout and perhaps a few more laps I could have chased down the guys in front for a top ten. I couldn’t have ridden any harder today and I did my absolute best for Yamaha. I was really confident going into the race because I was one of the few guys who had done a lot of laps on the harder compound tire in the dry on Friday. So with the track temperature coming up a lot compared to how cool it was on Friday, I felt that experience we gained would really help. When I got going in the race my lap times were as quick as the top five, so it’s a case of wondering what might have been today. We’ll look to bounce back in Jerez next weekend because I feel like I’m riding really well.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“We obviously had higher expectations but I’m pleased that both James and Colin showed their determination throughout the race. It was good to see James fighting strongly in the top ten and this result will have given his confidence a big boost. He has had a difficult winter and first race, but he’s remained incredibly focused and this is a good platform for him to build on for the rest of the season. I’d also like to thank Colin for his efforts today in difficult circumstances. He had a problem before the start and we are still investigating the cause with Yamaha. But his pace in the second half of the race was very impressive, so we know that Colin is in very good form heading into Europe. I’d like to say big congratulations to Yamaha for its one-two in front of the Japanese fans. It shows the YZR-M1 is a very strong package and that Yamaha is the brand to beat again in 2009.”

So the second round of the MotoGP world Championship is in the books. A different race than one might have expected. Fortunately, the weather held. The track was dry and the event went off without a hitch. Well, unless you’re Nicky Hayden. Nicky’s luck hasn’t changed at all. On lap one in what probably counts as the bonehead move of the year so far, rookie Yuki Takahashi plowed into the back of Nicky’s bike and down he went. He took a serious blow to the back in the exact same place he was injured at Qatar; he was not transported but appeared to be in pretty serious pain, no details yet.

In case you’re wondering, Jorge Lorenzo won this race – and in fine style. Rossi got the hole shot and at the beginning and it looked as though he may run away with it but Lorenzo had some different ideas. After the initial shuffle the running order was Rossi from Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Dovizioso, Melandri, Vermeulen and Stoner. Rossi had pulled out a lead of almost a second and a half but the pack behind him was still a slug fest. Melandri made a mistake and Stoner went by but then the deck got shuffled again. Vermeulen and Melandri got back around Stoner and the 2007 champ was in obvious trouble. Stoner’s bike did not look stable at all and it was visibly unable to get through mid corner. After the race he would tell his mechanics that he had no breaking power at the beginning and couldn’t get the bike slowed down at all.

With nineteen laps to go Stoner regained some composure and passed Vermeulen again and Melandri came through with him. Meanwhile back at the front, Rossi was still leading, followed by Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Dovi, but not for long. On lap six Elias low-sided in corner ten, the slowest corner on the track. A lap later it was on for the lead. Lorenzo put a wheel in on Rossi only to get it chopped off. Two corners later he would try it again but this time he would get by Rossi just to have Rossi drive back under him on the exit. Four corners later Lorenzo came inside Rossi, the teammates so close even Rossi would have been focused by. This time Lorenzo made it stick, and for the next couple of laps it became apparent that Rossi had been holding him up a bit.

Vermeulen had apparently pulled the parachute because he’d gone from fourth at one time to eighth and is now in twelfth. There are thirteen laps to go. On the other hand Stoner has started to come to terms with the Ducati and turns the fastest lap of the race so far. He is still in fifth at this point, and the two Yamahas and the two Hondas are quite a ways ahead. Pedrosa, who would have been a long shot at the beginning of the race (as it’s well-known he’s not yet fully healed), is flying. Pedrosa is likely the only rider who may have benefited by the rain-shortened schedule.

Somewhere at this point in the race Rossi had a moment somewhere on the track. All of a sudden the gap to Lorenzo had become almost two seconds and Pedrosa was all over Rossi. The Hondas again this weekend showed their legs. There is no doubt that the bikes are fast – Pedrosa is defiantly closing on Rossi.

I hate to sound cynical, but sometimes I wonder if Sete Gibernau is destined to battle Rossi for the spotlight (or maybe bang his head on Rossi’s spotlight) because just as the battle for second was heating up, Gibernau threw it away in corner eleven after having climbed up into twelfth. Stoner is still setting fast times, as fast as Lorenzo, but the gap to Dovi has barely closed. The difference is not enough to make much of a difference.

With eight to go now Pedrosa is all over Rossi and put it under Rossi not once but twice. You can’t say enough about the fight in Rossi. Even though he’s been fading, and Pedrosa seems to have found another gear, he’s just unwilling to concede. One lap later going into turn eleven Pedrosa does make it stick and he is able to pull away from Rossi just a bit. Not a large enough bit though because half a lap later Rossi drove under Pedrosa in five and that was that. All of a sudden Rossi, like Stoner, seemed to have come to terms with his motorcycle. In Rossi’s case though I’d bet it was just the idea of finishing behind Pedrosa.

Don’t forget about Lorenzo. He’s still out front by a far piece, about two seconds. Kallio passes Toseland for eighth and the running order is now Lorenzo, Rossi, Pedrosa, Dovizioso and Stoner to round out the top five. Stoner finally catches Dovi and in a less-than-polite pass. There’s four laps to go. Vermeulen is on the mend as well and has now moved into tenth and is staring down Toseland for ninth.

As much as I would like to report that all hell broke loose from there, it didn’t. Lorenzo claimed his second win and the gap from him to Rossi was about a second and a half at the end. Pedrosa held on for third to round out the box. Lorenzo’s win actually gives him the championship lead by a point over Rossi. Stoner goes from first to third…it’s only the second race.

Related Links:

Grand Prix of Japan Results

Rider and Manufacturer Standings

The Polini Grand Prix of Japan, Round 2 of the FIM World Championships is in the books. Good racing and good drama for the series going forward. With the possible exception of the 125 class you’d be a better man them me to have picked the podiums. I would never have guessed Pedrosa would be on the box and i wouldn’t have guessed Stoner would be off it (barring wrecks.) The 250 race was a bit of a crash fest but it happens. These are the results, our report to follow….

Race Results – MotoGP | Grand Prix of Japan

Race Results – 250 | Grand Prix of Japan

Race Results – 125 | Grand Prix of Japan

Just two weeks on from the postponement of the opening round of the MotoGP World Championship in Qatar due to rain, the series was hit by another freak weather setback in Japan as a torrential downpour led to the cancellation of this afternoon?s qualifying practice.

With this morning?s session having been hit by rain, when Ducati Marlboro riders Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden lapped third and sixth fastest respectively, yesterday afternoon?s cold but dry opening session was decisive, meaning Stoner will start from the front row in second place with his American team-mate back in 12th.

As a result of the reduced track time today, tomorrow?s warm-up has been extended to 40 minutes for the MotoGP class.

CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) 2nd (1?48.601)

“It would be strange to go through a whole season and have one session that you can?t ride in, so it?s amazing that we?ve had this situation occur in each of the opening two rounds. It?s unbelievable, the rain we?ve had, and I?d probably be feeling angry and frustrated right now if it wasn?t for the fact we?re on the front row! It is a difficult situation for everybody to have had so little track time here but we?re all, almost literally, in the same boat! With just 45 minutes of dry time and 45 minutes of wet there are obviously plenty of areas we feel with could improve the bike but, like I say, it is the same situation for all the riders. I?m confident we have a set-up to do decent lap times in both the wet and the dry. In any case it?s good to have a longer warm up tomorrow morning and I hope the circuit will be dry”.

NICKY HAYDEN ? (Ducati MotoGP Team) 12th (1?50.393)

?It?s a shame for everybody to have this situation two races in a row. The fans, the teams, the riders? everybody wants to see us line up out there and go into battle so it?s a real shame. This morning was the first chance I?ve really had to ride the bike in the rain ? I?ve ridden it in damp conditions but never really in full rain ? and I got steadily faster and faster as the session went on. We made some changes that consistently improved the bike and to be honest with you I was looking forward to qualifying in the wet. I liked my chances better in the wet today and I?m not sure what conditions I?d prefer for the race. The forecast is saying it will be dry and after today I think the fans deserve it. For me the circumstances have been unlucky because I need track time with the bike and tires, especially when we going to tracks for the first time, but it?s race day tomorrow so whatever the weather brings the aim is to just get a good start, go for it and see what happens. Good to know that the warm up will be 40 minutes!?

-release from Ducati

For the second race in a row MotoGP was a victim of severe weather conditions today, when Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix was cancelled amidst torrential rain at the Motegi Twin Ring. The decision to abandon the session meant that the grid for tomorrow’s race was decided on the fastest times from all free practices, leaving Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi on pole and Jorge Lorenzo in third.

This morning’s session was the first wet practice of the season and offered the riders their first chance to try out the new generation of Bridgestone rain tyres. Rossi and Lorenzo were happy to find their wet settings working well from the off and the Italian finished the session second with his Spanish team-mate in fourth. Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards made it a good morning for Yamaha by topping the time sheets.

The rain became heavier throughout the morning and by the early afternoon there was plenty of standing water on the track. MotoGP practice was delayed until 1500 but by then it was clear that the rain was not stopping and the decision was taken to cancel the session for safety reasons. With the grid being formed on free practice times, Rossi and Lorenzo’s strong showing in the only dry session yesterday stands them in good stead for tomorrow’s race, which is expected to be dry.

Valentino Rossi- Position: 1st Time: 1′48.545
“We’ve been very unlucky in these two races and last year as well, because we’ve just had so much rain! This year has been worse though because first we had to delay the race in Qatar and now we’ve had to cancel qualifying here. I don’t think it was such a good idea to come to Motegi in April! So now we’re going into a race after just 45 minutes in the dry and 45 minutes in the wet, and I think maybe it will be one of the most uncertain races ever! We’re lucky because we had a good session in the dry yesterday and so we’re on pole, which is very important for the race here but it’s still impossible to be at 100% after such a short time and with so little data. In the dry this morning our setting worked well also so I think we can fight whether it’s dry or wet, and after all it’s the same for everybody. Of course I would prefer it to be dry but above all I hope it’s not half and half, I hope it’s either fully wet or fully dry otherwise it will be even more difficult.”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 3rd Time: 1′48.965
“I am relieved to be on the front row and very happy we were able to do such a good time yesterday. Today is a pity but anyway I am fast in the dry and in the wet so I feel good for the race tomorrow. My bike is working well in both types of conditions and it feels good in the braking and through the chassis. Of course we don’t have so much data but we have options for a wet or a dry race so now we just have to wait and see how it is tomorrow morning.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“It’s a pity about the rain today and a shame to have to cancel the session but the conditions meant it was impossible. It was good to have a first chance to test in the wet this morning but it could have been useful to have more time this afternoon. Now it looks like it will be dry tomorrow but our setting yesterday was not bad so we hope we can make the most of this pole position. It will be interesting to see how we can perform in this race with so little track time. Now we are just hoping for a dry race and we will be looking forward to fighting at the front.”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“It’s been a very strange day today without qualifying, but Jorge has a good front row so this is important. This morning in the wet we were quite fast, although we still need to find some more traction. It seems tomorrow it’s more likely to be dry so yesterday’s session will be very important to help us to have the right race setting. We are ready and confident that we can do a good race whatever the weather.”

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team pairing Colin Edwards and James Toseland will start the Japanese MotoGP race from fifth and tenth places on the grid after torrential rain forced today’s decisive qualifying session to be abandoned.

A frustrating day had started in stunning fashion for 35-year-old Edwards, who produced a brilliant display of wet weather riding in this morning’s rain-hit second free practice session at the Twin Ring Motegi. Only reigning world champion Valentino Rossi could lap within half-a-second of the American – a performance made even more impressive considering today was Edwards’ first chance to properly assess Bridgestone’s rain tyre.

Hopes that Edwards could continue his fantastic pace to challenge for pole position were dashed as the rain worsened in the build-up to this afternoon’s qualifying session. Race Direction decided to delay the session by 55 minutes with the deluge leaving several large patches of standing water scattered around the 2.983 miles circuit. Circuit staff also placed sandbags on the perimeter at some sections of the circuit to prevent water flooding across the track, but with no let up in the downpour, a decision was taken to abandon qualifying at 3pm. Grid positions were decided on combined practice times, with times posted in yesterday dry practice session counting.

That left Edwards on the second row for tomorrow’s 24-lap race and British rider Toseland 10th. Toseland had a difficult wet practice this morning, his first outing on Bridgestone’s rain rubber hindered by a front fork issue.

Toseland though is determined to deliver a positive result for Yamaha in its home race, his confidence boosted by the competitive pace he set yesterday on Bridgestone’s hard compound slick rear tyre.

Today’s rain disruption comes less than two weeks since the opening race in Qatar was delayed by nearly 24 hours because of heavy rain

Colin Edwards 5th – 1.49.697
“That was pretty frustrating when you consider the lack of track time we already get now. But it was impossible to ride out there. There was a lot of standing water and it wasn’t even worth going out and trying. This morning was really good in the rain, though I have to say thanks to Valentino and his crew because they got a pretty good rain setting from last year. But this is the first day I’ve been on the Bridgestone rain tyre. I ran it in Jerez in testing but it was just damp and nowhere near full wet. The rain tyres are really impressive. You can actually push them and get load and that to me is a new thing. Now I can push a bit and that was pretty good fun with so much feel. Before I’ve just had to roll around in the rain and not really have the feel to push too hard. The Bridgestone front rain tyre is like their slick, it’s just magic. I’m a front-end guy and the confidence it gives is amazing. It is a bit annoying that I couldn’t go out this afternoon and try for the front row but I’m happy with fifth. It’s a shame I didn’t go out on the soft tyre yesterday but I got a full 19 laps experience on the hard tyre, and that will be the race tyre. If the temperature comes up a bit too I should be in even better shape. So rain or shine I feel ready for a good race.”

James Toseland 10th – 1.50.342
“Not being able to get out and ride showed how much rain there was out there and it’s incredible when you think about what happened in Qatar. This morning it wasn’t raining that hard at all, but even at that stage there were a few puddles starting to appear, so I thought if it got any worse we would really find it difficult to go out because in two or three places the standing water was getting quite bad. It wasn’t dangerous at that point but the rain has really come down this afternoon and made it impossible. If it is dry tomorrow I mostly ran the hard tyre yesterday, so hopefully I’ll be sat on the grid in a little bit better position than some of the others. I’m a bit annoyed because until the end of yesterday’s session I was in sixth or seventh, and if I’d put another tyre in I could have been on the second row maybe, which would have been great. I feel with the set-up we have and the distance I’ve done on the hard tyres puts me in good shape for the race.”