Grand Prix 2000 - Round 13 - Valencia

1st - Garry McCoy - “What can I say? I went out trying to repeat what I did in Portugal, so I’m really happy. You couldn’t ask for anything more than this. On lap three I got a bit close to Max when I tried to pass him but we didn’t touch and I got through next time around. There was no gap for a long time but I never looked back and then made a bit of a lead, which I held even though I made a couple of small mistakes in the final ten laps. I started the season aiming for the top five in the championship but had a bad patch and dropped to tenth, which was really disappointing. It’s good to be back up there. In theory it may be possible to finish the season in second, but I’m not worrying about that too much. I just want to try to win some more races and see what happens.”

2nd - Kenny Roberts - "We needed that. It feels as good as a win. As good as two wins, actually. Valentino had to do what he did - to try and win the race - while I had to make sure of finishing. When he passed me, I did run back on the inside of him, and if the championship had hinged on it I'd have tried to pass him. But today I was ready to follow. Luckily for me, it only lasted a couple more corners. In my situation, I needed to keep it smooth and consistent. I didn't see who was behind me, or how many people. I was trying to hit all my braking points, and maybe losing a tenth or so every lap to be sure of getting all the apexes so I could get on the power early and make myself hard to pass. I'm not sure if I could have stayed with Garry (McCoy) today, but I hope after one more race I can go back to racing to win."

3rd - Max Biaggi - “I did everything I could all race, that’s my job! I’m happy with third because it was a hard race, much harder than the last few I got close to Roberts and tried to pass but the front was sliding. I had a couple of big moments. I raced my number-one bike even though we had a small engine problem in warm-up. My other bike was faster this morning but it didn’t have the same chassis feeling, so I raced my number one, even though the motor still wasn’t perfect.”

4th - Nobuatsu Aoki - "Today almost everything about the bike - the suspension and the tyres - were good. I was just worried a little about the rear brake, which seemed to lose a little performance. I was using it less, and that made it hard to stop. I made a couple of mistakes, but everyone could see today that it was very easy to make mistakes. Even Kenny ran wide some times. The temperature was very high, and the track was quite slippery and difficult. This race needed a very high level of concentration to keep a good lap time. My crew chief Stuart (Shenton) advised me today just to stay consistent, always take the same braking points, make everything the same. I just kept that promise, and as a result I was fourth for the fourth time. It was a very enjoyable race, and thanks to the engineers and team staff for everything."

6th - Regis Laconi - “I felt good for the race but with a full tank of fuel I couldn’t run at the front pace from the start, although I had a good set-up and tyres. By mid-race I was going faster but I got baulked a little bit when Checa came back onto the track. Sixth place is OK after starting tenth on this track but I would be much happier to find some better results than sixth.”

7th - Carlos Checa - “It was a big slide, maybe five metres, I was lucky not to crash and by the time I’d saved it, I was already heading off the track. The front had been pushing a lot and the rear had been moving around too. After the slide I lost a bit of confidence but I’m happy because I was fighting all race and I know what to do to improve the front end.”

8th - Sete Gibernau - "The race didn't go as I expected. I didn't have a good set-up for that race and that's my fault. But it meant I was having problems racing out there. I still tried to ride with the front group and because of that, I almost crashed three times. Then I saw Alex Crivillé go down and I remembered my own crash in Estoril. I opted to play it safe rather than take too many risks. I tried to do my best with what I had. It's a pity that I wasn't able to get a better results, especially with all the fans here for this race".

9th - Tadayuki Okada - "That was another tough race for me. My start was okay but then, going into the first corner, all hell broke loose! Everyone was just bunching into each other there and some rider touched me and pushed me off-line. I don't know who it was but I intend to find out! That move lost me a lot of time and places. The problem for me is that right now, my bike isn't giving me the tyre performance and the feeling I need and I want. After a few laps I get to understand the way it's sliding and handling and I can't turn in constant"