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INDIANAPOLIS, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009 – The 2009 MotoGP season ended with Dani Pedrosa winning the Grand Prix of Valencia and a possible sneak preview at a powerful American trio in the premier class in 2010.
Pedrosa led from start to finish on his Repsol Honda in the 30-lap race Nov. 8 at the Ricardo Tormo circuit after pole sitter Casey Stoner crashed out of the event during the warm-up lap on his Ducati. Spaniard Pedrosa controlled the gap to second place Valentino Rossi in the closing laps despite strong winds, holding off 2008 Red Bull Indianapolis GP winner Rossi by 2.630 seconds for the home victory. Fiat Yamaha claimed two of the three podium spots as 2009 Red Bull Indianapolis GP winner Jorge Lorenzo was third, 2.913 seconds behind Pedrosa.
“It’s really great to finish off the season with a win, especially here in front of my home fans,” Pedrosa said.
American riders claimed three of the top seven finishing positions. Colin Edwards placed fourth on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine, while 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden finished fifth on the Ducati Team bike. 2009 Superbike World Champion Ben Spies finished seventh in a wild-card ride for the Sterilgarda Yamaha Team.
Spies’ strong ride in his first MotoGP start of the season was vital for fellow Texas Edwards, who will be his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teammate in 2010 in MotoGP. Spies passed Andrea Dovizioso late in the race for seventh, dropping Dovizioso to eighth at the finish. That was all Edwards needed to clinch fifth place in the season standings.
Edwards edged Honda factory rider Dovizioso by one point, 161-160. Edwards ended the season with his best points position since he was fourth in 2005. He also was the top rider from a satellite (non-factory) team in the standings in 2009.
“Things really fell my way today, but over the course of the season, I feel like I really deserve fifth place in the championship,” Edwards said. “I was doing the best I could but wasn’t sure where Dovizioso was. It turns out Ben got by him, and that point proved crucial. I gave him a big hug after the race and anything he wants me to buy him, he can have it.”
A slipping clutch early in the race hampered Hayden, but he recovered to record his fourth top-five finish of 2009. Hayden finished 13th in points, but just 11 points out of seventh.
“It hasn’t been a great season for me in terms of results, but the improvements we have made since the start are huge, and I’m excited about the future,” Hayden said.
A major test for 2010 rider lineups will take place Monday, Nov. 9 at Valencia. The 2010 season starts with a night race April 11 in Qatar. The third annual Red Bull Indianapolis GP is Aug. 27-29 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
RESULTS
VALENCIA, Spain – Results of the 30-lap Grand Prix of Valencia MotoGP race, with position, rider, country, motorcycle, time behind winner. All riders on Bridgestone tires:
1. Dani Pedrosa Spain Honda +
2. Valentino Rossi Italy Yamaha +2.630
3. Jorge Lorenzo Spain Yamaha +2.913
4. Colin Edwards United States Yamaha +32.515
5. Nicky Hayden United States Ducati +34.585
6. Toni Elias Spain Honda +34.888
7. Ben Spies United States Yamaha +37.706
8. Andrea Dovizioso Italy Honda +38.364
9. Mika Kallio Finland Ducati +42.491
10. Alex de Angelis San Marino Honda +43.689
11. Randy de Puniet France Honda +46.018
12. James Toseland Great Britain Yamaha +50.226
13. Aleix Espargaro Spain Ducati +57.168
14. Loris Capirossi Italy Suzuki +1:06.877
15. Chris Vermeulen Australia Suzuki +1:11.701
16. Gabor Talmacsi Hungary Honda +1:14.405
17. Marco Melandri Italy Kawasaki +1:33.425
NS Casey Stoner Australia Ducati
NS – Not starting
Fastest lap: Pedrosa, 1:32.778, Lap 10; Pole lap: Stoner, 1:32.256
POINTS
Riders: Rossi 306, Lorenzo 261, Pedrosa 234, Stoner 220, Edwards 161, Dovizioso 160, Elias 115, de Angelis 111, Capirossi 110, Melandri 108, de Puniet 106, Vermeulen 106, Hayden 104, Toseland 92, Kallio 71, Niccolo Canepa 38, Talmacsi 19, Espargaro 16, Sete Gibernau 12, Spies 9, Yuki Takahashi 9.
Manufacturers: Yamaha 386, Honda 297, Ducati 272, Suzuki 133, Kawasaki 108.
PODIUM QUOTES
DANI PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Bridgestone, winner):
It’s really great to finish off the season with a win, especially here in front of my home fans. I was waiting on the grid with my visor up, and I was looking to the side for Casey (Stoner) to arrive, but the marshal in front of me was walking to the side and I was thinking: ‘Where is he going?’ So I assumed something had happened to Casey on the warm-up lap. In the first few laps, I had to be careful because you have to warm up the tires here, especially on the right-hand side. But once that was done, we maintained a good pace and kept focused. In the last laps, the wind was strong and it would have been easy to make a mistake, but I was able to control the gap to Valentino and take this win.
VALENTINO ROSSI (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, second):
I’m really happy about this result because it was fantastic to be able to ride well at Valencia, and it’s my best finish here since 2004. Of course, it would have been better to win, but I lost some time at the start battling with (Toni) Elias and (Jorge) Lorenzo, and by that time (Dani) Pedrosa had gone. And at this track, it’s almost impossible to make up a two-second gap. It’s not one of our best tracks, but after the problems we had all weekend, we can be very pleased. We made a great modification in warm-up, so thanks to all my guys for this. We’ve ended the championship on the podium, and it’s been a great season: another world title and the triple crown for Yamaha. I am very proud. Thank you to Yamaha, all my team, Bridgestone and everyone else, now we will have a little party before we start work on the 2010 bike tomorrow.
JORGE LORENZO (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, third):
I had some good fights at the start, and I was feeling quite strong. But then I made a big mistake in the slow corner, and I was lucky not to crash, so Valentino got by. I was in a bit of pain, and I took some time to recover, and by then the gap was a bit too big to catch him. Anyway, I’m happy to get another podium in Spain, and I am so proud to have finished second in the championship. I want to thank everyone, Yamaha, Bridgestone and all my team, because we have worked so hard, and this is a great achievement in just our second season. Now I can’t wait to start testing the new bike, and I look forward to being even stronger next year.
AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES
COLIN EDWARDS (Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha/Bridgestone, fourth):
Things really fell my way today, but over the course of the season, I feel like I really deserve fifth place in the championship. At best, I was thinking I could finish fifth in the race, but then I saw Casey (Stoner) wasn’t on the grid, and immediately I thought,‘Well, there’s some more points up for grabs.’ I got a great start and the bike was working awesome, but those three out front were untouchable. I don’t know how they do it, what they’ve got or what they eat for breakfast, but I couldn’t run their pace. In the middle of the race, I couldn’t carry the corner speed I wanted to, so I tried to smooth myself out and just rode out of my skin. I was doing the best I could but wasn’t sure where (Andrea) Dovizioso was. It turns out Ben (Spies) got by him, and that point proved crucial. I gave him a big hug after the race and anything he wants me to buy him, he can have it. I’m glad he adapted so quickly to the Yamaha because him riding so well is what got me that fifth overall, and I’m really looking forward to working with him. To finish fifth in the championship is a great feeling when you look at the talent in front of me. I was consistent all season and feel like I rode some of my best races to get this final position. I’m happy for myself and for my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3. We are a really close unit, and they always give me 100 percent, so hopefully they can take a lot of satisfaction out of this result, as well. I wish James (Toseland) all the best for the future, too, and am convinced he can carry on Yamaha’s success in World Superbikes.
NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Team Ducati/Bridgestone, fifth):
I thought it might be possible to do a little better than that today, but I didn’t get the best start. The clutch was slipping a little bit down the first couple of straightaways, and I lost some positions. After that I managed to pull myself up again, and from there it was a case of doing my best to try and bridge the gap to Colin (Edwards). The bike was working quite well, but every time I closed a tenth or two he had an answer and pulled it back out. Toward the end I had some issues in a couple of left-handers, and my pace dropped too much. Anyway, I had an enjoyable race, going back and forth with a few guys at the beginning, especially. It’s not a spectacular result, but we’ve end the season with two top fives, and we know we have a direction to work in over the winter. It hasn’t been a great season for me in terms of results, but the improvements we have made since the start are huge, and I’m excited about the future. We’re 13th overall, which looks awful on paper, but we are only 11 points off seventh, and I had three first-lap incidents that weren’t my fault – just one of those could have made the difference. Next season starts tomorrow, and I can’t wait to get back to work!
BEN SPIES (Sterilgarda Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, seventh):
It was pretty good. I actually got a better start than I expected, but in the first few laps I got shuffled around and bullied a little bit. I guessed that would be the case as I haven’t figured out how to get comfortable quickly on the tires. Eventually I slowly picked off some people with some smart passes, as I didn’t want to mess up anyone else’s championship position, and I wanted to be clean but still ride as hard as I could. I saw (Andrea) Dovizioso and then I was thinking about him and Colin (Edwards) and their battle, and I managed to get past him. Then I kept my head down and tried to keep the laps fast, and I recorded my best time on the last lap, so it was good. I didn’t do anything stupid and stack it up. It was a good weekend, and we got a top 10. This result is like winning a World Superbike race for me in terms of the amount of satisfaction it has given me. These are the fastest guys in the world.
MotoGP SUPPORT CLASS WINNERS
250cc: Hector Barbera, Spain, Pepe World Team Aprilia. Hiroshi Aoyama of Japan clinched the World Championship.
125cc: Julian Simon, Spain, Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc Aprilia. American Cameron Beaubier was not classified after crashing with one lap remaining. He finished the season tied for 27th in the World Championship standings.
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