Casey Stoner (center), Dani Pedrosa (left) and Valentino Rossi on podium at Valencia

By Eric Powell
indianapolismotorspeedway.com

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Casey Stoner earned his sixth victory of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship at the Grand Prix of Valencia on Oct. 26, standing at the top of the podium just as he did at the opening-round race at in March.

Casey Stoner earned his sixth victory of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship at the Grand Prix of Valencia on Oct. 26, standing at the top of the podium just as he did at the opening-round race at Qatar in March

"We couldn't really have asked for much more today," Stoner said. "To end a difficult season in this way is a fantastic feeling and it's a nice way to thank everybody at Ducati for their hard work. Once again my crew got it right, finding a good setting for the bike despite limited dry track time."

With his victory, Stoner, the 2007 MotoGP World Champion, finished second in points, by a margin of 373-280, to 2008 World Champion and Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi.

The Australian led every lap from the pole on the Ducati Desmosedici GP8 and finished 3.390 seconds ahead of Spaniard and local hero Dani Pedrosa, who finished second for the Repsol Honda Team by nearly nine seconds over Rossi.

The result was Rossi's 16^th podium in the 18-race season, while Pedrosa's second-place effort was his 11^th podium of the year.

American riders Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards fared well in the season finale, with Repsol Honda Team rider Hayden, of Owensboro, Ky., finishing fifth and Tech 3 Yamaha rider Edwards, of Houston, closely trailing in sixth. Fellow American John Hopkins finished 14^th for the Kawasaki Racing Team.

Just as he did at the Malaysian Grand Prix two weeks ago, Hayden battled for position throughout the race with with JiR Team Scot MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso. After starting third on the grid, Hayden slipped behind Dovizioso and gave chase throughout the race, with "Dovi" holding on for a fourth-place finish.

"We started out the weekend like a bit of a fairytale - fastest in the first three sessions, so we were off to a good start, I think the conditions were better for us then," Hayden said. "Yesterday afternoon we were third and on the front row, then this morning we had a big 'off' which probably didn't help things. I just lost the front at Turn 9, maybe conditions were a bit too cool for that front tire.

"I rode hard this weekend, now I'm looking forward to doing something different. I have to finish off by saying thanks to my team, to Honda, to Michelin and to everybody here. They made me a world champ, I'm grateful to them all."

A new era begins for Hayden Oct. 27, when he moves to the Ducati Marlboro Team and begins testing at Valencia. Many of the MotoGP teams and riders will participate in the test, signaling the beginning of preparations for the 2009 season, provisionally scheduled to start April 12 at Qatar.

RESULTS

VALENCIA, Spain - Results of the 30-lap Grand Prix of Valencia race, with position, rider, country, motorcycle/tire, time behind winner:

Fastest lap: Stoner, 1:32.582, Lap 5 (new record)

Pole lap: Stoner, 1:31.502

***

POINTS

Riders: Rossi 373, Stoner 280, Pedrosa 249, Lorenzo 190, Dovizioso 174, Hayden 155; Edwards 144, Vermeulen 128, Nakano 126, Capirossi 118, Toseland 105, Elias 92, Guintoli 67, de Angelis 63, de Puniet 61, Hopkins 57, Melandri 51, West 50, Ben Spies 20, Jamie Hacking 5, Tadayuki Okada 2.

Manufacturers: Yamaha 402, Ducati 321, Honda 315, Suzuki 181, Kawasaki 88.

***

PODIUM QUOTES

CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati/Bridgestone, winner): "We couldn't really have asked for much more today. To end a difficult season in this way is a fantastic feeling and it's a nice way to thank everybody at Ducati for their hard work. Once again my crew got it right, finding a good setting for the bike despite limited dry track time. To be honest I was quite worried during qualifying yesterday because I didn't have a good feeling at all but by the time we put the softer tires on the bike was already feeling better and then the guys did a fantastic job overnight and in the warm-up this morning to iron out a few more of the problems. This was the first time we've ridden in these conditions all weekend so there were still a few question marks before the race, so to go out and set the pace like that was a nice feeling. Now I'm really excited about testing the new bike tomorrow. It felt good the last time I rode it and I'm sure they've made it better, so hopefully we can have a good first session and go home for the winter full of optimism about next season."

DANI PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Bridgestone, second): "I am happy with second place today. I pushed Casey as hard as I could but he had something a little extra and he managed the gap very well. We worked hard all weekend, so my thanks to my team and also to Repsol, the bike I rode today was one of the best-looking bikes I've ridden. The crowd was great, it was fantastic to see so many fans here, packing the grandstands and obviously really enjoying the spectacle and pushing us along. Overall, I am also happy with the last few races, because we were able to come back from a difficult period during the middle of the season. We changed tires and I came in for some criticism, but finally we got back on the pace at the last few races, running close to the front in the wet and in the dry. It hasn't been the easiest of years. I broke my right hand during preseason testing, I broke my left hand in Germany and I injured my left knee at Phillip Island. These injuries caused me to lose my rhythm and they interrupted our development work, while everyone else was racing and improving their bikes. I have had to push really hard to come back from all these injuries. Tomorrow we start testing for 2009 - I am looking forward to it because things are going well now. I hope to have a good off-season and stay healthy."

VALENTINO ROSSI (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, third): "I don't think that was so bad today! Unfortunately we had some problems yesterday and that meant we had to start from the fourth row, which left us with a very difficult task. As always though we found a way and my team gave me a good bike, which meant I was able to get a great start and then have some fun passing people. Once I got to third there was no way to catch Dani and so it wasn't such an exciting race from then on. This has been an amazing season for us and to finish with another podium, the 16th, is great and we cannot complain. I am so happy with what we have done this year, as I said it's definitely one of my greatest championships and I want to thank everyone once again - Yamaha, my team, the engineers, Bridgestone and everyone who helped us to get this result. Tomorrow we will try the new bike which means we can't have as big a party as we would like, but it is important to try to find a base for it so I am looking forward to it."

AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES

NICKY HAYDEN (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, fifth): "We started out the weekend like a bit of a fairytale - fastest in the first three sessions, so we were off to a good start, I think the conditions were better for us then. Yesterday afternoon we were third and on the front row, then this morning we had a big off which probably didn't help things. I just lost the front at Turn 9, maybe conditions were a bit too cool for that front tire. I had to swap bikes for the race and my crew had to change a lot of stuff: calipers, swing arm and so on. My other bike didn't feel so smooth. It wasn't too bad but I definitely liked my first bike better, but that was my fault. In the race I didn't quite get the start I wanted and those guys were just quicker in the beginning, my rhythm wasn't quick enough. It obviously would've been better to finish my last race with Honda a bit stronger. I rode hard this weekend, now I'm looking forward to doing something different. I have to finish off by saying thanks to my team, to Honda, to Michelin and to everybody here. They made me a world champ, I'm grateful to them all."

COLIN EDWARDS (Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha/Michelin, sixth): "It has been a while since I finished in the top six and for this result to help the team finish fourth in the Team World Championship makes it extra rewarding. I'm pleased for Herve Poncharal and the team because they deserve it. We had a couple of races where we gave a lot of points away, but for an independent team we have done a fantastic job together and it was a year to remember. I got a great start and rode around the outside of Nicky at the first corner to slot in behind Casey and Dani. I actually felt pretty comfortable at that point. Nicky passed me though down the front straight and I started to spin the rear tire a bit just as the other guys started to get into the groove. The next thing I know, everybody was disappearing up the road and there was nothing I could do. With so little dry track time we gambled with the setting and I ran a softer tire and at the end I was having a few problems. My bike felt great but I just didn't have a lot of grip and this isn't the best track for Yamaha. We don't have the initial raw grunt that you need on a tight and twisty track like this with a lot of low speed acceleration points. I'd like to thank all my guys for their hard work throughout the season and to Yamaha for their continued support. Finally I'd like to say a big thanks to Michelin. I had the greatest moments of my career with them and I've enjoyed our time together. I'm looking forward to a bit of a break now before coming back in Jerez next month to begin working as hard as ever for 2009."

JOHN HOPKINS (Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki/Bridgestone, 14^th): "After getting such a good start to the race it became obvious we were going to be fighting a losing battle, because I soon realized I couldn't get the bike turned well enough. This also added to the wear on the rear tire, and the season-long traction issues we've suffered were evident again, so after the first few laps I had to fight for every position I could. We knew it was going to be a tough one because, after all of the rain this weekend we've had very little dry set-up time, but I was really hoping for a top ten finish. I'm also incredibly disappointed as my crew chief, Fiorenzo Fanali, is retiring after this race and I really wanted to get one final good result for him. The 2009 season starts with testing tomorrow and we have to start finding solutions to our problems so we can be competitive right from the word go next year."

***

MotoGP SUPPORT CLASS WINNERS

250cc: Marco Simoncelli of Italy, the 2008 250cc World Champion, won on the Metis Gilera.

125cc: Simone Corsi, of Italy, won on the Jack & Jones WRB Aprilia. American Stevie Bonsey completed nine of the 24 laps and was not classified.

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