MotoGP news

Repsol Honda celebrates another podium

Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa rode a gutsy race in today's Italian Grand Prix, battling back and forth with reigning World Champion Casey Stoner and eventually finishing third aboard his RC212V. Nicky Hayden had high hopes of a strong race following a promising performance in morning warm-up but the American ran into difficulties and came home an unlucky 13th. 

"That was a really tough race because Valentino's pace was very, very fast. I got a good start and the rhythm was really high, at first I was able to go with them, then I had a battle with Casey," said Pedrosa. "I tried to catch him at the end but it was impossible. It was great to be on the podium, it's a good result for the championship, but while consistency is always important, we need to win more races. The engine was good today, our main concern now is tyre consistency during the second part of races. I was losing the front towards the end of today's race, so tyres are what we must focus on. It was very important that Okada finished today, gathering a lot of data which we will examine and discuss tonight. Valentino had his seventh win here today, I hope it will be my turn at Catalunya."

Nicky Hayden commented, "This morning we made a nice step, we made a suspension adjustment and the bike felt a lot better, so we had a pretty good pace. We were certainly unlucky in the race. I got an awesome start, felt pretty good, but it was clear from the beginning that we had a problem. Guys started coming past and there was nothing I could do, there was no way to defend. So I just tried to get to the finish and get a couple of points. They're checking the data now to see exactly what happened. Like I said, we were quite unlucky, I knew we didn't have Rossi's pace this morning, but we had enough pace to be in there, to be quite competitive. I don't know yet which engine I'll be using next weekend. To be honest, I've been concentrating on this race, so I haven't thought about it yet."

more news

• 29 Aug.
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  • Improvement for Lorenzo
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• 26 Aug.
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• 22 Aug.
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• 20 Aug.
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• 19 Aug.
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  • Stoner ends test with threatening pace
  • Rossi confident for final rounds after test
• 18 Aug.
  • Good test ends strong weekend for Rossi
  • Ducati top test with Stoner
• 17 Aug.
  • Dismal end to disappointing weekend for Pedrosa
  • Stoner rues costly mistake
  • Encouraging results for Gresini
  • Rossi celebrates crucial victory
  • Rossi storms to win as Stoner crashes
  • Stoner still ahead in warm-up
• 16 Aug.
  • Photos: Saturday in Brno
  • Pedrosa struggles in qualifying
  • Rossi hoping for dry race
  • Stoner storms to sixth straight pole
  • Stoner fastest on Saturday morning
• 15 Aug.
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  • Rossi in confident mood
  • Gresini upbeat after first day
  • Photos: Friday in Brno
  • Stoner bites back in second practice
  • Rossi leads Stoner in first practice
• 12 Aug.
  • Stoner ready to resume battle
  • Gresini riders hopeful for Brno
  • Injured Hayden won't race at Brno
• 11 Aug.
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• 08 Aug.
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• 25 Jul.
  • FIM announces provisional 2009 calendar
• 23 Jul.
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• 21 Jul.
  • Rossi savours sweet taste of victory
  • Lorenzo rues yet another crash
  • Stoner not happy with second

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