Ben Spies, Colin Edwards, Nicky Hayden, Jorge Lorenzo, and Hiroshi Aoyama

Aug. 26, 2010, Indianapolis Motor Speedway

MODERATOR: Warm welcome, everybody, the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix. It’s round 11 in the MotoGP World Championship; the third time we’ve been to Indianapolis in the premier press conference.
Obviously in the center, Jorge Lorenzo, the World Championship leader; 77 points he leads the championship this season. Seven wins and three second places. The Indy winner last year, and, of course, Jorge also won on the Fiat Yamaha at Laguna Seca this year. He comes here in very good shape.
To his right, no introduction needed, of course. Nicky Hayden, the former World Champion. Two podium finishes here on the Ducati at Indianapolis. Nicky riding with a damaged wrist, a nasty accident in Brno, but finished the race well.
To his left, Jorge’s left, of course, Ben Spies riding the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha. Ben, his first full season in the MotoGP World Championship. He’s seventh in the World Championship. He’s had a third at Silverstone, a front-row start at the Czech Republic and, of course, rode here a couple years ago for Suzuki, 2008 as a wild card entry.
To Nicky’s right, a warm welcome to Colin Edwards. It will be his 130th Grand Prix appearance. That’s amazing. You remember Colin coming up from World Superbikes. He’s 10th in the World Championship and he was fifth at Indianapolis last year, again, of course, riding for the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha Team.
And a warm welcome back to Hiroshi Aoyama, the current 250cc champion, of course, riding the Interwetten Honda. He’s been out of action for over two months with a back injury following a crash in the morning warmup at Silverstone.
Obviously we’ll start the press conference with Jorge. We said all the things, Jorge, 77 points, wins at Laguna, Indianapolis. You come here in very, very good shape.

JORGE LORENZO: Yes, I come here in very good shape. You know, all the things are going so well this year. There was sort of — I got second position, so I couldn’t ask for anything more. And we come here in a track that I love. In 2008 with a lot of rain and very hard conditions, I made my first podium in rain in my career, and last year I won. So it’s always very positive that MotoGP comes here in America, and I’m happy for that.

MODERATOR: And just walking into the Motor Speedway is a special place, an iconic place, isn’t it?

LORENZO: Yeah, very special with a lot of history and a lot of races here in the past. And obviously we are — we want that this continues for long years, but I don’t know whether it’s going to happen for the next years.

MODERATOR: We sat here two weeks ago, not here but in the press conference in Brno in the Czech Republic, you said: “Now I think very hard about the championship. I have to be careful. Wins not so important but podiums. We just want to win the race again.” Is it the same philosophy here, the same theory?

LORENZO: Obviously, I want to win. Nobody in this world want to lose and to make bad results. You know, but we have the possibility to lose a race and to get zero points. But anybody knows what can happen if you crash. Maybe can happen nothing and you are OK physically or you can hurt yourself. So it’s better not to take so many risks and to be on the bike.

MODERATOR: Off the track at Brno, many things happened. Valentino Rossi will not be your teammate next season. It does appear that Ben will, although that has to be confirmed yet. How do you feel about Valentino going and Ben joining you?

LORENZO: Well, Valentino is going to Ducati, it is official. It’s very big news and very interesting news. Very hard challenge for him, for Ducati. We all hope next year the championship could be more interesting, this for sure. For my side, I still haven’t signed with Yamaha, but we all hope that it comes very soon.

MODERATOR: Jorge, many thanks.
We come to Nicky Hayden, of course to Jorge’s right. Nicky currently sixth in the World Championship. As I say, two podium finishes on the Ducati here. Nicky, I know we always say it’s a special place but I think for anybody coming here, we always think, wow, this is a bit different.

NICKY HAYDEN: Yeah, absolutely. Been a lot of history here, a lot of racing, period, went on here, especially in this whole area, Indianapolis. You can race about anything within, you know, 30 miles of here. So it’s, I think special for anybody but for me it’s double because it’s so close to my house. And to drive to a MotoGP race for me is still the third year kind of seems strange because my first couple years in GP was no American rounds, so I definitely enjoy it and happy to be here and looking forward to the weekend.

MODERATOR: And the wrist obviously you crashed in qualifying, wasn’t it, at Brno, you rode in the race very bravely, you had a couple of weeks to at least make some sort of repair.

HAYDEN: Yeah, absolutely. I crashed there and was an easy crash, but I was telling Colin I always hold on to the bike too long think I’m going to save it, save it, and the bike landed on it and it definitely wasn’t real fun there in Brno for the race. After the warm-up, I was praying for rain for the race and didn’t get it. But managed to do even better than we thought in the race. But I’ve had about 10 days, and bones don’t heal up 100 percent in 10 days, so us riders we think they can sometimes and they should. But it’s certainly a lot better than it was last week, and this track doesn’t have the hard braking it had in Brno. So, you know, I really don’t expect big, big problems with it. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow. But left wrist is a lot better than the right wrist. So, you know, we’ll see. But I’m hoping for no big problems. We ain’t got time to be messing around with sore wrists this weekend; we’ve got to go for it.

MODERATOR: So typically it didn’t rain in the race at Brno, you had the test on Monday and the rain came in the afternoon. You did get some laps in, didn’t you?

HAYDEN: Actually the rain, I was done anyway, I had a couple things to try, but I couldn’t ride, so it didn’t hurt my feelings that the rain came. Every man for himself. If I couldn’t ride, actually probably just as soon nobody ride. But I think everybody got to do a few laps in the morning which I think everybody needed because it had been since Jerez that we got to try anything.

MODERATOR: Your brother in Moto2, that’s going to be interesting, isn’t it? We’ve had him in MotoGP, but Moto2, a lot of riders for him to contend with to start with.

HAYDEN: Yeah, MotoGP this year and World Superbike, Moto2 this weekend. We joke around the house: “Why if there’s any race somewhere, what he’s done at home. Surely he can find something, British Superbike or go-kart race, get involved in BMX.” But, yeah, he’s definitely looking forward to a good weekend. I think it’s a great opportunity for the American fans, too, because the whole Moto2, they didn’t come to Laguna. The championship, I’ve said before, seems a little unknown to fans around here. The whole concept of single-engine deal is not really something that’s been used a lot in the American championships in any kind of racing. So I think it will be great racing for the fans, we’ve seen 40 bikes within two seconds is good racing. And put in a good effort for the team. So it won’t be easy, as anybody knows it’s a World Championship level, so to just show up here and jump it in, it will be tough. But I think he can see how it goes.
Qualifying will be really important for him, just like everybody in Moto2. But hopefully have a good result, be fun. We certainly got the support, a lot of friends and family and stuff making the trip this year, probably more than ever. So we need to bring our A game.

MODERATOR: Just finally, 2011, there was rumors or we felt that you may make an announcement this weekend about 2011.

HAYDEN: Yeah, certainly we’re really close, and a announcement is coming soon. So officially I can’t say a whole lot more than that, but everything is looking good and soon we’ll know something.

MODERATOR: No great surprises we don’t think.

HAYDEN: No, not at this moment. So I don’t expect anybody to be shocked when they hear what’s happening. It won’t be nothing too overwhelming.

MODERATOR: Nicky, thank you very much indeed.
We come to Jorge’s left, of course Ben Spies. Ben, first season in MotoGP. Ben, at least you arrive at a circuit that you’ve actually ridden on before. That’s a start for you, isn’t it?

BEN SPIES: Yeah, I look forward to it. We were here a couple years ago and it was, I think we kind of raced in the hurricane then, but it was — I like the track, it’s definitely a different track for us. But for Indy, they put on a great event for being inside a speedway. It’s as good as it can get. I like the track. So it should be fun. A lot of, like Nicky said, he’s got a lot of friends and family, same for me. It makes it fun. It’s serious, you’ve got to perform on Sunday, but it’s kind of like a little vacation. You get to hang out with all the people that you used to like when I was in AMA and stuff like that. So I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully we can continue with the momentum from the last few weekends and just keep going. It’s tough but hope to have some fun.

MODERATOR: And I think for us Europeans, we find the place is so, so different, Indianapolis and Laguna Seca. They’re almost different countries to us. Do you feel like that in some ways?

SPIES: I grew up riding, and it’s a little bit different coming back after being at Brno and places like that. But no, it’s still nice. It’s riding at some tracks coming up that are a little bit worse than this. So it’s good. Like I said, I like the track. For what they’ve done inside a speedway, I think it’s awesome.

MODERATOR: In 2011, we all think we know where you’re going, but is there anything actually confirmed yet?

SPIES: I think you know with a few riders there’s been the worst-kept secrets of all, but like I said, I don’t think a whole lot of people will be shocked. But we have an announcement coming this weekend, and that’s pretty much all I can say right now.

MODERATOR: And Brno you did get to test in the morning anyway before the rain came?

SPIES: Yeah. We got in some laps. We did what we needed to do. We didn’t set the world on fire but we got some data and, you know, got an early look at some stuff. And hopefully found some things, too, for this weekend and the future of this year. And then, you know, started some development for next year and, yeah, it was a good test for us.

MODERATOR: It was an important test, wasn’t it? I think you’re right, so much to do with so little testing for 2010 before you can even look at 2011, it was important.

SPIES: Yeah, I mean there’s for a lot of the riders and like I said, not just – even not so much for next year but just for the rest of this year, just looking at some stuff, trying some stuff we didn’t get a chance to with Brno. The weather was kind of a little bit iffy through a couple sessions. There are some things we wanted to try and never got to. We tried to. Some things worked and some things different. We’ll just try to put it to the test this weekend and the rest of the year and try to get ready for next year.

MODERATOR: Ben, thanks very much indeed.
Come to the far end, ladies and gentlemen, of course, Ben’s teammate, Colin Edwards. Colin, 130th Grand Prix appearance. It’s been some run some run, hasn’t it?

COLIN EDWARDS: It has. Can I just say something real quick for future reference? Earlier when you said 10th in the championship, that’s like a dagger in the heart. So let’s just leave that shit out next time, OK? If it weren’t for these assholes being so fast, I might be a little bit higher up in the championship. (Laughter)
No, 130 races. Oh, man, I’m getting old, aren’t I?

HAYDEN: He’s a professional. He should be able to put a better spin on it than that. (Laughter)

EDWARDS: Yeah. No, it definitely, 130 races, yeah, it’s been something special. It’s been some of the best times of my life. It’s been awesome.

MODERATOR: Tough year for you this year.

EDWARDS: Oh, you think? Is that just being honest? (Laughter)

MODERATOR: I’m being honest. You’ve had a tough old time out there.

EDWARDS: Yeah, it’s been very difficult. We obviously finished fifth in the championship last year and came here kind of on a high thinking everything would be cool. This dumb-ass six engines per year rule, I don’t know what they have there, but we’ve suffered. We’ve obviously suffered. We got a little bit something extra at Laguna, not necessarily engine or whatever, but we developed a little bit of a faster bike overnight and it seems to be working. Our two best results were Laguna and Brno and we’re just looking to build on that.

MODERATOR: And the future, do you want to stay in MotoGP?

EDWARDS: I’m going fishing. Screw this shit.

MODERATOR: You’re beginning to sound more like Kenny Roberts every day. (Laughter)

EDWARDS: No, I would love to stay with Herve. I’d love to stay with Yamaha. That’s my No. 1 goal at the moment. We just need to try and make it happen.

MODERATOR: So an important second part of the season for both of you.

EDWARDS: Yeah, I think there are a couple chips that need to fall in the right place and I think it can happen, it’s just a matter of — is it a full moon yet? I don’t know. Anyways, we just need to see what happens.

MODERATOR: I think I speak for everybody, we hope it happens. We don’t want to lose you from the MotoGP.
Finally, I remember a couple years ago when you first came to Indy, you said what a special place to come and actually race here, just so fantastic.

EDWARDS: I have so many memories here. You all probably heard the story, it was ‘85 or ‘86 when Danny Sullivan did the 360 and still won the race. My dad was drunk on the bed, and I was a little kid. I just remember my dad being drunk, “God damn, did you see that?” I’m like, “Dad, that’s the 10th time you said that. I saw it already.” (Laughter)
But I have some memories of this place, most of them televised that I was watching. And to be here and to be parked in the same Paddock in the motor homes and just being in this area, it’s something special. They’ve done a great job with it, you know, to build a motorcycle track here, it’s a good job.

MODERATOR: Colin, many thanks. Congratulations on 130. Thank you.
We come to the far end, ladies and gentlemen, Hiroshi Aoyama. Of course, the current 250cc World Champion. He finished second here in the 250cc race last year. Been out of action for over two months. Welcome back, Hiro. It’s been a long, hard road for you.

HIROSHI AOYAMA: Thank you very much. It was two months ago, and I crashed in the warming up. It was not really hard crash, a simple crash. But when I crashed I had so much pain and they brought me to the hospital, and doctor said my back is broken and it takes three months. I was very sure at the beginning, I didn’t want it to be that, but after that I stay in my bed for one month. Sometime I had any hand and my leg numbness, so I was really scared. But now I can come back to here and it was really hard time to be, being at home for two months. But I did testing last week — two weeks ago in Brno and feeling was OK. So I think now it’s time to come back to racetrack.

MODERATOR: Will you have some special protection or some strengthening for the back?

AOYAMA: Yes, we made a special corset for riding the bike because my back is not 100 percent yet, so I need some support. With this I can ride normal. I hope I don’t have so much pain during this weekend. Last time in test I did 10 laps continued, it was OK, but after that I had to lay down on the floor. Now it’s two weeks later, so I hope it’s going to be better.

MODERATOR: And while you’ve been away, have you been watching the races on television?

AOYAMA: Yeah, these two months I was away watching the MotoGP and it was kind of stressed, but also I felt I love motorcycle and I’m really happy that I can ride a bike again, also I can walk normally.

MODERATOR: All I can say, Hiroshi, I think from everybody, a big welcome back, it’s good to see you back. We’re glad everything is OK. Thank you very much indeed.

AOYAMA: Thank you.

MODERATOR: Questions from the floor, ladies and gentlemen. Put up your hands, the microphones will come.
You silenced them all, Colin.

EDWARDS: We’ve got a question here. Right here.

SPIES: So is your dad the reason you don’t have a filter, is that it? (Laughter)

EDWARDS: He is Australian, so maybe that filter is gone. (Laughter)

Q: Pretty much the talk of the morning has been Ben’s NBA exploits. Can you tell us a little bit about your basketball? I heard you’ve been knocking down three-pointers like they’re going out of style.

SPIES: You didn’t see me dribbling too much, did you? I used to play basketball a long time ago. That was the first time, it was fun going out there and seeing how big the stadium is, how small the court feels in the stadium environment and meeting Rik Smits, that was a pretty cool deal. I got hot for a second, and then I missed everything else. (Laughter)

MODERATOR: Anybody else, ladies and gentlemen?

Q: Nick, have you tried to ride? Have you ridden your dirt bike or anything?

HAYDEN: Yeah, I rode a little bit a couple days going at my house, me and my dad, just a normal deal. Actually, yeah, I felt OK. Like I said, not just great, and I didn’t push it, but, you know, my home race, so it’s not going to get caught up thinking about it too much, just ride. So I don’t really — I’ll see tomorrow, breaking in on one of these things is a little different than riding up your driveway, backyard type thing, but it will be all right.

Q: Nicky, did you seek any kind of medical treatment for the wrist injury?

HAYDEN: Yeah. Well, I mean I went obviously to Costa after it happened and after I got home, I did an X-ray and scan because I have a screw in my left wrist, too, riding in the scaphoid area where they were worried about because at the Clinica, they can’t sometimes see 100 percent on X-ray and so close to that scaphoid bone they say needs a couple days before it can really show up. So went home to my doctor, and another doctor checked it over. Some normal therapy stuff, ultrasounds and things like that. I’ll maybe get another X-ray in a week or two and see if it’s still healing, but I don’t expect no surgery or nothing like that.

Q: Then, also, I understand maybe the new Ohlins forks were made available this weekend, but you’re not going to use them?

HAYDEN: We’re not going to use them tomorrow. I’ve got one set that, you know, I used a bit in Brno and I really didn’t have, you know, anything but — didn’t like better than what I had. I tried, really only changed one or two things on them and we’ve talked this week and it seemed after they got back and checked the data more, maybe we started off with the wrong setting on some of the static compression or whatever was maybe not the ideal place to start. So, you know, not confuse things tomorrow but maybe try them again here, Misano or something. We brought them and we’ve still got them around. So something we might look at but not tomorrow.

MODERATOR: Anybody else?

Q: Nicky, assuming that the announcement is what we all think it’s going to be, what are your thoughts of being teamed back up with Valentino next year?

HAYDEN: You know, if that was to happen — (Laughter)
You know, I think it would be great for our series, great for the championship, obviously for the Italians to have Rossi on the Ducati. I was just doing an interview and told them they better get their tickets for Mugello now because I can only imagine that place with him on it. Even the test at Valencia if he rides that, there will be as many people trying to watch the test. So I think it would be a great opportunity. We’ve been teammates before; we got on well.
You know, sure, put a lot of pressure on me and everybody to do a good job. But he has a lot of experience. Everywhere he’s went, he’s great for engineers because he’s consistent. His feedback from what I’ve been around, you know, is very clear. And I wouldn’t certainly have a problem with it. I could see only for the most part good stuff. So I hope that’s the case. I think it would be a lot of fun.

Q: For the three American riders. Obviously, to compete at the level that you guys are competing at, you have to ride beyond the edge so often anyway. But I know when you come here to race in the States, you want to win so bad and perform so well. What do you do, what do you say to yourself? How do you dig deeper for an even better performance or to try to achieve the goal that you hope for when you’re here? Because mechanically you’re to a point but you try to take it so much further on your own.

EDWARDS: You’ve been doing all the talking. Do you want to talk first?

HAYDEN: I’ll keep going. I’m warmed up. (Laughter) You’ve got to be careful. Like you say, you always try your hardest. You come and think, “Oh, wow, you’re going to try that last bit, but sometimes there’s not any more.” You try too hard and the pressure is too much, and you go slower and make mistakes. I think, if anything, you’ve got to be more careful. Just stick to your routine and do what you normally do. Really, I can’t say I’ve been holding anything back. I’ve been on the ground a lot this year. So not like I got a whole lot left, but I’m going to try to find something on Sunday.

EDWARDS: Go ahead, Ben.

HAYDEN: I’ve never heard Colin turn down the opportunity to do a little talking. (Laughter)

EDWARDS: I’m thinking.

HAYDEN: Do you feel OK, man?

SPIES: I think it’s kind of what Nicky said. You know, every Sunday, no matter what country you’re in, we try hard for 45 minutes. You want your best result to be at home. I mean, that’s what you want. You just hope everything comes together. You get good qualifying, you get a good start, the bike’s working good and try to put it together. But, yeah, I mean a week and a half ago at Brno and before that I’m pretty sure I rode as hard as I could and the same thing here. Just hope it comes together and get a good result for everybody.

EDWARDS: Honestly the same. You don’t really do anything different. Every weekend you go and you ride your balls off. And every weekend after Sunday after 45 minutes of riding you say that’s the hardest race I’ve ever ridden, this is bullshit. And it’s going to be the same this weekend. There’s nothing really different, you just do the same thing. Being on home soil, yeah, maybe a little extra incentive, maybe a little more attuned — I don’t know — kind of focused on bike setting. Maybe a little bit more trying to find that extra little 10th or two, but that’s about it.

MODERATOR: Anybody else?
OK. It’s time for the photograph, gentlemen. Thank you very much indeed.

The MotoGP World Championship enters new level of intensity this weekend as the Grand Prix de France at the historic Bugatti circuit in Le Mans kicks off a run of seven races in a little over two months before the summer break.

The Ducati Marlboro Team, which has proven to be competitive on different tracks with both riders, is looking to make the most of the potential of riders and bike as Casey Stoner aims to recover lost ground in the championship and Nicky Hayden targets a continuation of his positive early season progress.

Le Mans, widely known as a typical “stop and go” circuit, has proven to be a challenge for Ducati in the past although the factory has celebrated podiums there on two occasions, with Stoner in 2007 and Capirossi in 2006. However, the new specification GP10 machine has given the Ducati Marlboro Team plenty of reason for optimism as they look to tackle the unique demands of the French circuit this weekend.

CASEY STONER, Ducati Marlboro Team
“Because of the “stop and go” nature of the circuit at Le Mans you need a bike that is very stable on the brakes but also agile and quick in corner exit, especially in the slow sections. In the past we have usually managed to be fast and run at the front but we’ve never come away with the results that we would have liked. This year I think we can have higher expectations than the past two seasons there and we will certainly give our best to meet them.”

NICKY HAYDEN, Ducati Marlboro Team
“Le Mans is probably the most difficult circuit on the calendar for me because I think it is the only place I’ve never been on the podium or the front row at, so it will be interesting to see how we go this year. As I have said a few times we have made a good start to the season and put two good races together but we have to keep our feet on the ground and keep working because our objective is to consistently perform at a high level and close the gap even further to those front guys. The last couple of tenths are definitely the hardest to find but I feel comfortable with the bike and the team, I’m enjoying myself and I feel confident about the rest of the season.”

VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team Manager
“We have never produced amazing results at Le Mans but this year I am expecting a good race from both our riders – partly because for various reasons in the past we probably haven’t capitalised on our potential there and also because we are more competitive in general now. Casey and Nicky are in great shape and the GP10, with its more linear power curve, will put less stress on the tires at this track and should also be easier for the riders to handle around this track.”

With a win and a podium each so far this season, Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi will arrive at Le Mans this weekend with high hopes of continuing their victorious start to the season. The Fiat Yamaha pair lie first and second in the championship after two races, with Lorenzo four points ahead of Rossi following his magnificent home victory last time out.

The Spaniard turned 23 two days after Jerez and the memory of his first home MotoGP win was still fresh in his mind as he celebrated his birthday at home in Barcelona, following a successful one-day test. He cannot help but feel confident for another good weekend in Le Mans, where last year he kept his head to win by 17 seconds as the weather wreaked havoc on all around him, and the season before he finished second despite riding with two broken ankles. The Mallorcan has one other win at Le Mans, in 2007 on the way to his second 250cc title.

The French Grand Prix in 2009 on the other hand is one that nine-time World Champion Rossi would rather forget, plagued as he was by a catalogue of mishaps and visits to pit lane before limping home in 16th position. His previous record at the famous French track is exemplary however, with two wins for Yamaha in 2008 and 2005, as well as one other win and six podiums in all classes. Another two weeks off has given him time to fully recover from the shoulder injury that hampered him in Jerez and he will be back on top form and shooting for the top this time out.

Le Mans is most famous as home to the iconic 24-Hour race but the MotoGP also draws a huge crowd every year. The first part of the track is the most difficult in what is not a particularly technical circuit, with the high-speed, uphill turn one giving way to several tight chicanes. The remainder of the track is made up of short straights and hairpins calling for a set up that yields both balance and control under hard and repeated braking and a quick transfer from full braking to full acceleration on the exit of the corners.

Jorge Lorenzo – “An amazing and crazy race!”
“Despite our victory in Jerez and taking the lead in the world standings I continue to think that I am not the favourite because the season is very long and it has only just started! I am very proud however because Jerez was my first victory at home in MotoGP. Last year I won in Le Mans in an amazing and crazy race. It was a very complicated because of the rain and drying track, but I think that everybody in our team did an unbelievable job, above all on Sunday. I know that I used everything I had, from the very first laps right to the end. I hope the fans aren’t waiting for a repeat this weekend! Of course the weather is always a risk in Le Mans, but I hope for sun. I’ve been on the podium twice there, last season and when I won my second 250cc title, so I am looking forward to trying again. I’ve had almost three weeks since Jerez and I know that I am ready for this second European race.”

Valentino Rossi – “Back to full strength”
“My shoulder is more or less recovered now so I hope I will be back to full strength in Le Mans. Despite the disaster of last year’s race, Le Mans is a good track for me and the Yamaha always goes well there. The biggest problem is the weather, but after last year I think we deserve a sunny French GP! We’ve made a good start to the season, with the win in Qatar and then another podium, but we have also struggled with the bike in some areas and so we need to try to improve our performance. We had a good test after Jerez so I hope that we will be able to use that information to start strongly here.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – “Looking to carry on our good start”
“After Jorge’s brilliant win in Jerez everyone has had another long rest and now we’re excited to get back to work and carry on our good start to the season. There is a very long way to go and we won’t get too excited, but just try to continue in the same way. Le Mans has been a good track for Yamaha in the past and last year Jorge had a great win there in very difficult circumstances. Hopefully the race will be a little more simple this year, without the rain!”

Davide Brivio – “Something to forget”
“We have something to forget in Le Mans after last year, when it rained, we had some difficulties and took no points! In general however Le Mans is always a very good track for Yamaha and we have had some good results there in the past. We hope for good weather this time. We have started the championship very strongly and our aim now is to continue this trend and remaining close or at the top by taking as many points as possible. We really hope to do well here in order to put us on a good footing for the busy period of June and July, when the championship will really start to take shape.”

Ben Spies in his usual laid back style reviews his less than awesome weekend at the MotoGP of Spain at Jerez. It’s another good work from our friends at OTT… Enjoy!

Results from the MotoGP Test May 3rd at Jerez

1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1′39.425
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1′39.480
3. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1′39.506
4. Randy de Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1′39.609
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team 1′39.760
6. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1′39.786
7. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1′39.906
8. Ben Spies (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1′39.958
9. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′40.040
10. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1′40.042
11. Marco Melandri (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1′40.129
12. Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1′40.370
13. Mika Kallio (FIN) Pramac Green Team 1′40.446
14. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′40.463
15. Hiroshi Aoyama (JAP) Interwetten-Honda MotoGP 1′40.470
16. Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Pramac Green Team 1′40.686
17. Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team 1′40.932

The traditional post-Spanish Grand Prix one day test session for MotoGP teams at the 4.423km Jerez circuit was run in perfect weather conditions and the Honda RC212V riders and team technicians worked non-stop from 10.00. until 18.00. testing new parts and as many set up options as time permitted. All six RCV riders improved upon their race performances of yesterday with Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda, who finished second in the grand prix, topping the time sheets today.

Pedrosa, and Repsol Honda team mate Andrea Dovizioso, had a full day testing a variety of updated engine and chassis parts brought to Jerez by the HRC engineers. Both men improved upon their best lap times posted in Sunday’s grand prix, Pedrosa’s best time of 1m 39.425s was three-tenths of a second inside the track record he established in the race.

Pedrosa has struggled to adapt to the Ohlins suspension system that the Honda factory team has chosen to run this season but today he finally made the sort of progress he has been chasing all season. Dovizioso has more experience with Ohlins and he was on the pace from the outset today. The Italian was very pleased with the new swinging arm and chassis specifications which, together with updated engine performance, particularly the increased acceleration, allowed him to slash seven-tenths off his best race lap with a time of 1m 39.760s.

LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet was disappointed with his performance in Sunday’s 27 lap race. The Frenchman started the race form sixth on the grid but a bad start and traffic restricted him to a ninth place finish in the race. De Puniet was consistently fast all day today his best lap one second better than his best race lap yesterday.

The San Carlo Honda Gresini duo of Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli put their track time to good use today with both men setting faster lap times than during Sunday’s race. More importantly the test allowed the Gresini team technicians the time they need to test the multipule chassis and suspension options available to them in order to get the best out of the overall set up on the Bridgestone control tires.

Melandri was stronger today than during the race weekend, his race simulation was the most encouraging result and the team made progress on set up while using the softer Bridgestone tire compound, something that has plagued Melandri from the beginning of the season.

MotoGP Rookie Simoncelli has suffered with rear grip problems since he first rode the RCV and still has much work if he is to improve his rolling chassis set up to a point where he is completely comfortable. He made progress in some areas and was almost half a second faster during the test than in the race.

Hiro Aoyama, Interwetten Honda, put in a marathon session today running 97 laps of the Andalucian circuit. The Japanese MotoGP Rookie still has much to learn about the RC212V and spent the day working on general machine set up trying several alternative configurations and was pleased with the results having set lap times faster than during the GP on Sunday, his best over one second faster than his best race lap..

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1st. 1m 39.425s – 60 laps.
“This was a useful day of testing and we spent some time working in detail on suspension adjustments – some of the things we didn’t have the time to test in the pre-season because we were focusing on other issues. We also tried a modified spec engine and collected some information for the development engineers, but it’s too early to say whether it’s a step forward yet because we only had two runs out of the pits with it. The crash was a little strange and I wasn’t expecting it, but the important thing is that I’m not hurt and I can look forward to Le Mans which is a circuit I’ve raced well at before. I’m looking forward to the next round.”

Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda: 4th. 1m 39.609s – 63 laps.
“Well … I am happy about the further improvements we got today but in the mean time this testing session was very tough for me because last night I suffered a bad stomach pain and still feel weak. Anyway we are pleased with the chassis and suspension adjustments we have developed today. After two races we had a few things to fix but we did not have the time to do it during the race week ends so it was a good day to clear some points. We have been working on the start because my result was affected mainly by my bad start and my lap time have been consistent throughout the whole session both on used and new tires so we have ended this first testing with a promising progress”.

Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 5th. 1m 39.760s – 71 laps.
“I’m happy with my lap time today and, although the track conditions were better than yesterday, 39.7 is a good time on the Bridgestone harder option tire and it’s only two tenths behind the fastest time set with that tire, so I’m pretty satisfied with that. Our machine lacks a bit of stability so it’s not easy to be consistent but I’m really happy with the new parts Honda has brought here. We tried the new chassis and swingarm which have improved the last part of the braking area and corner entry. The new specification engine has improved the acceleration slightly and we’ll look at the data and decide if we’ll use it in the upcoming races.”

Marco Melandri, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 11th. 1m 40.129s – 84 laps.
“It has been a really positive day which we have spent working on our race pace, having suffered a little yesterday after a few laps with a full tank. We made some changes and completed a race simulation to see if they had the desired effect and I’m quite happy with what we found. I also tried for a fast time on a soft tire but I ran into too many riders on track and didn’t manage to improve by the few tenths that I could have but really that wasn’t the priority today. Things are progressing now and although we are still some way short of the top guys we still have to take things step by step. My pace today was noticeably stronger than yesterday, when I only managed two laps in the 1’40s and spent the rest of the time in the mid-1’41s. Today I was consistently in the 1’40s so I’m confident about going to Le M ans, where I hope we can take another step forward.”

Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 12th. 1m 40.370s – 83 laps.
“I’m quite happy because we found a few positive things today. We haven’t completely resolved the problem I had in the race but we reduced it and I managed to improve my pace on a consistent basis on hard tires so I’m happy. We didn’t manage to find any more rear grip but we took other steps forward, like improving my speed on a soft tire, so we go to Le Mans with high hopes of doing well. With time to sit down and analyse the data we gathered here, working out what worked and what didn’t, I’m sure we can improve even more in time for the next race. We could do with test days like these more often!”

Hiro Aoyama, Interwetten Honda: 15th. 1m 40.470s – 97 laps
“We did a lot of testing today and we were able to find some positive things. I could gain some more experience because of this test and I have some ideas for the upcoming Grand Prix. The average lap times were better than in the race, this means we improved and that is good. I would have loved to be even faster, but I will keep that for the next time.”

The Fiat Yamaha Team made the most of a rare day’s testing at Jerez, one of the few post-race tests they will have this season. Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo had a busy and successful day, finishing second and third respectively in the standings behind Dani Pedrosa.

Rossi, who finished third in the race on Sunday, worked with his crew to improve the M1 race setting, trying to understand the problems that had hampered them during the weekend. It was a largely successful day as his fastest time was an improvement on his best time from the weekend. He also tried a new engine evolution, which it is hoped will improve acceleration, reporting a small improvement. The Italian had one upset during the day when he had a low-speed crash at turn two, luckily causing no further damage to his recovering shoulder.

After his incredible home win, Lorenzo had to delay the celebrations one day more in order to get back on board yesterday. The main aim for his side of the garage was to try to improve his starts and his early race performance, and the Spaniard did over 20 practice starts during the day. He too had some new parts to try, including a chassis development, electronics and the modified engine. Lorenzo, who turns 23 today, finished the day in third, just behind his team-mate.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 2nd Time: 1′39.480 Laps: 61
“We improved our race setting a bit and found better stability and grip, so we arrived at the right place finally, even if we were too late for the race! We tried a new front tire for Bridgestone, which was good and also a slightly different engine from Japan, trying to improve the acceleration. The difference was small but important, although we don’t know yet when we will be able to use it in a race. My lap times were fast and apart from the small crash, when I just put a bit too much lean on and lost the front, it was a good day. I was only doing 65 km/h so luckily it wasn’t a problem. Now we have a long rest and I want to fully recover so I’m back to full strength in Le Mans.”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 3rd Time: 1′39.506 Laps: 71
“It was an interesting day. Most of all we worked on our starts; I think I did something like 25 starts! I do find it quite difficult because the clutch and acceleration aren’t always the best parts of our package, but today was good to understand how we can improve. We also tried some new electronics, including traction control, and chassis parts, as well as trying a slightly different engine. The difference wasn’t big but I did notice it, so I think this is the right way. Today is my birthday and I am looking forward to finally celebrating my win!”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“This was a very positive test because we tried many things and got some good information. The first important thing was to try to improve the setting of the weekend and understand where we went wrong, and this was more or less successful. Then we tried some different electronic maps and a new front Bridgestone which was very promising. Finally we tested a slightly different engine; a developed model that we may not see soon but our feedback will be very valuable for Yamaha in their future work. An important day’s work.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager
“Today was very interesting, especially because we don’t have many tests this year. We worked largely on trying to understand why Jorge is so much faster later in the race and also we worked on starts, because we need to improve them too. We found out some interesting information, which will help us to understand how to have the same speed throughout the race. We need to go to another track now to get a better idea of the situation but hopefully the work we’ve done will be very useful.”

The Ducati Marlboro Team were back on track in breezy but pretty warm conditions at Jerez today for the first of two post-race test days planned for this season. Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden took the opportunity to try a variety of different set-up options, clocking the sixth and seventh fastest times respectively.

Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team) 6th fastest 1:39.786 (66 laps)
“Today was quite productive because we found a race set-up for this track that was better than yesterday, with improved front feeling which is what we had been looking for all weekend. We went for quite a radical change and it did the trick but we’ll have to wait and see if it works at other circuits because this place tends to put more pressure on front tires than a lot of places and it requires a particular approach. Anyway, we go to Le Mans with a lot of useful data and hopefully it can help us there too.”

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 7th fastest 1:39.906 (70 laps)
“It has been a useful day even though we haven’t found anything spectacular. That’s to be expected because we have taken huge steps forward to get to this point and it’s always going to be more tricky to find those last couple of tenths. We changed some things with the geometry, suspension settings and a few general areas that we hadn’t had time to try over the weekend. We got a lot of data which will be useful because we don’t have another chance to test until after Brno.”

Jorge Lorenzo produced one of the rides of his life to take a superb win in Spain today, the grandeur of a full-to-bursting Jerez providing a fitting amphitheatre for his first MotoGP win on home soil. Valentino Rossi finished third, making it a sixteenth double podium for the Fiat Yamaha pair since 2008.

Lorenzo got a bad start and had dropped from second to fifth by the second lap, as he struggled to find a rhythm with a full fuel tank. On lap five he was able to pass Casey Stoner and then, five laps on, Nicky Hayden but he looked destined to stay in third as he languished 1.5 seconds adrift of Rossi, who was in turn the same distance from Pedrosa. With a third of the race to go however the Spaniard picked up pace, suddenly the fastest man on track as he stormed up on his team-mate. On lap 22 he despatched the Italian but with only five laps left and a two second gap a victory still looked unlikely. The tenacious youngster was not giving up however in pursuit of a sixth premier-class win and he rapidly gained on his fellow Spaniard to bring himself within striking distance on his penultimate lap. His first attempt to pass resulted in a dramatic moment as they both momentarily looked like running off track and in the end he had to leave it to the last lap to make the definitive move, passing Pedrosa on the brakes at the end of the back straight and crossing the line 0.543 seconds ahead. Lorenzo, who turns 23 on Tuesday, celebrated in hilarious style by leaping into the lake in the middle of the circuit, much to the rapture of the home fans who were already celebrating Spanish wins in the 125cc and Moto2 classes earlier in the day.

Rossi was happy to make the podium, having struggled all weekend to overcome his injured shoulder and set-up problems with his M1. The World Champion got a great start from the second row and was second behind Pedrosa for most of the race. He stayed in touch in the early stages but began to drop back as his bike started to slide, eventually giving best to his charging team-mate and settling for the final podium spot and a valuable 16 points, 0.4 seconds behind Pedrosa.

The Championship is now led by Lorenzo with 45 points, while Rossi is four points off him in second. The riders now have a three-week break before the French round at Le Mans on 23rd May.

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 1stTime: 45′17.538
“It has always been one of my dreams to win a MotoGP race in Spain and this was like a movie, everything that could possibly happen did! It was a very hard race because I made such a bad start and then found it very difficult in the first laps – I gave myself a tough job to do. After that I started to feel better and rode like a demon to get to the front. Once I passed Valentino I knew that I couldn’t take it easy, I had to try everything to win and it was all I could think about. I had a great fight with Dani and in one moment we nearly crashed so I had to try again, on the very last lap! I know it’s better to win races calmly, from the front, but lately that hasn’t been the way for us and I have had to fight on every lap. I saw the lake on Thursday and thought it would be funny to jump in and I think the fans liked it, but I didn’t really think about how heavy I’d be with wet leathers and for a minute I thought I wasn’t going to get out! This has been an amazing day, I can’t believe I’ve achieved this dream of mine, in front of all the Spanish fans at this magical place.”
Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi – Position: 3rdTime: +0.890
“This just wasn’t our race this year. We have struggled all weekend, first with my shoulder and then with the bike, and in the race today I couldn’t do any more than third. I got a great start and was fast with the new tire, I tried to go with Dani but then I started to slide a lot and I just had to play it safe. I made no mistakes and I’m happy about my race in the circumstances, these 16 points are very important. At the end I had a front-row seat to the Spanish party and I admit I was sorry not to be involved, Jorge did a great job today and I think it was very exciting for all the fans. I want to say thank you to Dr. Costa and all the staff at the Clinica Mobile, plus everyone back in Italy who has worked on my shoulder to allow me to be able to race this weekend. I will hopefully be back to full strength in Le Mans so I’m looking forward to that.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager
“It’s fantastic to win this race in this way. The race itself was amazing, especially the last ten laps; a fight on the edge. Before the race started our target was just to be on the podium again and we managed the highest step, so we could not ask for more! Jorge was so fast at the end of the race, really amazing. We have wondered why he seems to get much stronger at the end of races; I think it’s a combination of his riding style and confidence, because from a technical point of view there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong. Apart from a less than perfect start, he controlled the bike very well during and kept a very good pace. He was able to keep the pace at the beginning and never gave up; he just got better. The target for the season remains the same, to keep aiming for the podium every weekend. We all know there are a lot of great riders out there and they all want to win, so it won’t be easy. We have always been confident about our potential and now we are even more so. Well done to Jorge and all the team.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“Considering his recent injury we can see this as a very good result. The shoulder was okay and in fact the setting was the bigger problem, but the team did a great job to improve it as much as they could and we are happy that we made it onto the podium. Valentino got a fantastic start and was fast in the early stages but later on he couldn’t keep pace with Lorenzo and Pedrosa so 16 points is good for us today. We have some work to do for Le Mans, when we hope Valentino will be back to full fitness. Well done to Jorge and all his side of the garage, he did a great race today.”

Tough Spanish MotoGP race for Monster Yamaha Tech 3

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team was left to contemplate what might have been after a difficult and disappointing Spanish MotoGP race at the Jerez circuit this afternoon.

Colin Edwards fought a determined battle at the rear of a frenetic battle for seventh position in front of a sun-drenched crowd of 122,048 passionate Spanish fans.

The Texan eventually had to settle for 12th position after he encountered small rear grip issues in the crucial final stages that left him unable to mount a sustained offensive on the exciting mid-pack dice.

It was also a frustrating first Jerez MotoGP experience for 25-year-old Ben Spi es, who had started the race with high expectations after a brilliant performance in practice and qualifying.

The reigning World Superbike champion made a blistering start and gained two places on the opening lap to sit menacingly behind former world champion Casey Stoner in sixth position.

But just as Spies looked to consolidate his place in the leading group, he encountered a front-end issue that saw him unable to maintain his fast pace.

Despite his valiant efforts to continue and score valuable points for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team, Spies opted to retire at the end of lap eight after he’d fallen out of the top ten.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team will be hoping for improved fortunes when the MotoGP world championship resumes in France later this month. The Le Mans clash is the all-important home race for the Monster Yamaha Te ch 3 Team, with high hopes of a strong display in the third round of the 2010 campaign.
Colin Edwards

Colin Edwards – Position: 12thTime: +38.371
“I think I’ve had one good race at Jerez in my entire career and today wasn’t it. This weekend has been a struggle and I’ve never been comfortable on the bike to show the pace I know I am capable of. Right from the start I had issues with the rear grip and I couldn’t hold any load on the tire at full lean angle. That also created some problems with the front-end, so I just struggled with the balance of the bike. It’s the exact same issue that I had in Qatar even though the set-up I’m running is quite a bit different. I’d just like to be in a race. At the moment I just feel like I’m riding around and suffering. I can only look forward to Le Mans knowing that I go really well at that track and so does the Yamaha.”
Ben Spies

Ben Spies – Position: DNF
“It’s just one of those things that can happen but it’s really unfortunate because after coming here and learning the track really quick I thought we had a really good package for the race. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team had worked really hard but I just had some problem with the front-end. I’m not sure what the problem is but I’ve looked at the data and you can clearly see I had an issue. The bike just wasn’t reacting like it should and it is a big shame. I got a really good start and was right behind Casey but pretty much from the first lap I knew I had a problem. I tried to round around the problem but at the end of the day I wasn’t going to be scoring any points and I’d have risked crashing if I’d continued. The consolation is that I know we had the speed for a good result and there are a lot of positive points to take from the weekend. We can go to Le Mans confident that I’ll be able to show more of my true potential.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“I won’t say it’s a disaster but it certainly is a big disappointment for us. We had high hopes after we saw how quickly Ben mastered the track and it wasn’t unrealistic to hope that he could have been at least in the top five again like in Qatar. He got a good start but after a few laps it was obvious that he couldn’t maintain his pace and he was losing ground. He had to pull into the pits and he said he didn’t have any feeling with the front. We’ll analyse the data and check everything with Bridgestone to see if we can find out exactly what caused the problem. It is a shame for Ben but we have to accept it. Colin was never really comfortable with the bike all weekend. He had an interesting fight but it wasn’t the result he wanted, so we’ll work hard to understand some of his issues. Hopefully Le Mans will be better because that is a hugely important race for Tech 3 and Monster.”

Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner took top five finishes in the Grand Prix of Spain today, fourth and fifth place respectively representing satisfactory if not sensational results at Jerez. Both riders had higher hopes as they targeted a podium challenge from fifth and third on the grid but it was a demanding 27-lap affair as they lost touch with eventual top three Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi in the first half of the race.

Stoner’s front end troubles forced the Australian to accept 11 important championship points. Meanwhile Hayden made a great start to the race and was lapping in third place over the early laps but didn’t quite have the pace to stick with the leaders.

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team) 4th
“Fourth place is no disaster but I was hoping to stay closer to the top three towards the end and put up a bit of a fight. I’m not happy to be nine seconds adrift but we’re trying to build something here and we’ve had another solid weekend. The team, the bike, everything has been great this weekend but we just fell a couple of tenths short on race day. To be honest I thought we might find a little extra for the race, like we did in Qatar, but it wasn’t to be. Like I said yesterday my guys worked like dogs to put me in this position today and we’ve got more to do tomorrow so I want to give a big thanks to them. This is the Ducati factory team and we don’t jump up and down at fourth place but we’ll take it. We got some great data to work from that should help us be stronger at Le Mans and hopefully we can keep this upward trend going.”

CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 5th
“I’m disappointed with today’s performance. We started the weekend strongly but only got worse compared to our rivals as the sessions went by and we were never able to improve on the base set-up that we started out with. I think we fell into the trap of making changes to the bike that were too radical and it only served to confuse us because we never went in the right direction. I made an okay start to the race and felt comfortable over the opening laps, Jorge was actually slowing my progress at that point and I was eager to get past him and chase Nicky and the others but as soon as I came up to pass Nicky I lost the front and almost crashed. The bike was pretty much on the ground but I managed to pick it up and then tried to push on from there but the front folded two or three more times on that lap alone. That shot my confidence so Jorge was able to pass me easily and from that moment I just wanted to take as many points as I could. As the tires went off in the second half of the race the bike felt better and I had more contact with the front but it was little too late and I couldn’t catch Nicky. We need to work hard to find some answers in the test tomorrow and move on to Le Mans ready to battle again.”

Friday and Saturday in the sun at Jerez. The bikes the Track even the people are all really beautiful. The race (except for the RBRC Kids) hasn’t even started yet….