Rider Quotes after Misano (2000)

Troy Corser - "It's been a great day for us all and it's been great to do it for Aprilia in Italy. The win in Australia could have been considered a bit lucky, but now that I've won in the dry, everybody knows that the Aprilia can do it. I was looking forward to this race and the next two. If the results continue to come our way, we could really give Colin and the rest a fright. Right now it's going to take a little while to take in all that's happened today. But it's a great feeling and I'll talk more - maybe tomorrow."

Troy Bayliss - "I carefully prepared for my move on second position in race 1 by putting in two fast laps. That was the decisive move. Then we tried to find better grip for race 2 to be even more competitive. When Haga slid off, I was very close with the bike to go into the curve, and the most obvious thing to do was to go off the track. I think Juan made the same decision behind me. I lost more than four seconds and it wasn't that easy to catch up to Fujiwara again. My Michelins were excellent and I managed to catch up with him and overtake him on lap 13. I then had to hold off Ben's attack in the new chicane to defend second position in race 2. I'm really pleased with today's races, the final details that we sorted out in the morning warm-up made me very competitive."

Juan Borja - "Pity about that mistake in race 1 going into the Misano curve and I had a few problems with spin in race 2, probably because of the high tarmac temperature. I clearly saw the cloud of dust created when Haga slid off, and I also decided to head for the grass. My weak point was the first part of the track where I was losing on the others, but overall I'm pretty satisfied with his week at Misano which is the best possible 'preparation' for the race on my home circuit next week at Valencia where I want to do well."

Katsuaki Fujiwara - "I am very, very happy today. Finally I have the results I think I should have been getting since I started the series. We started this round with a bike set up similar to Chili and straightaway we improved. I enjoyed the races today. In the first race the bike's rear slid a little in the last five or six laps, but I think that was happening to everybody. In the second race, I managed to take the lead at the start, but I couldn't keep up the momentum and later when Haga crashed very close to me, I had to brake so hard I nearly fell myself. I lost ground on the leaders a little. Then the rear tyre began to slide and I lost a little concentration, but I was happy to get fourth - though another podium would've been better."

Akira Yanagawa - "My start was not bad, but I think Edwards missed the braking point and hit his team mate who nearly hit me, so I lost a few positions. Later on I could use Bostrom's slip stream and we managed to go quicker than the front group. Podium was close but I'm happy with the result after that long trip from the back."

Peter Goddard - "Start was o.k., but I had a bit of a problem with the throttle mid race, so I lost a bit of time entering the corners, but in the end I got some points and finished the race, that's important. I'm satisfied so far."

Edwards after race 2 - "The spare machine didn't feel right. The front was giving me problems and when I tried to push hard it began affecting the rear too. I knew after two or three laps that I had no chance of catching the leaders. I'm really unhappy with today but I suppose it all stems from that Superpole crash yesterday and me starting from the fourth row of the grid. But I'm walking and talking and ready for next week's Valencia round."

Slight after race 2 - "The machine felt fine but I struggled for traction onto the back straight. The rear wheel was spinning and I know I could have finished a lot higher if I'd been able to put that power down. I took it easy after Chili crashed in front of me, just because there was a lot of dirt on the track. When he crashed he'd just passed me so I had to follow him to see which direction he was going, so I didn't hit him."

Edwards after race 1 - "I was lining up to pass Akira Yanagawa and he sat up to brake earlier than I thought he would. I grabbed all the brake I had but it wasn't enough and I went sideways. I could see I was going to hit Yanagawa so I moved away from him but Aaron was right in front of me. I couldn't do anything about it, I just hit Aaron and the pair of us went down. Aaron just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time - it was my mistake entirely."

Slight after race 1 - "I haven't a clue what happened. The first I knew was when I was hit on the back and off I went. It's a shame, the machine felt good and I was watching the battle for second place afterwards that I felt I could've been a part of. I'm disappointed but I'm OK. We'll get the machine rebuilt for the second race and I'll see if I can do a bit better than one and a half laps!"

Pierfrancesco Chili - "The bike had a problem in the first race and I had to pull in. We don't know what the problems is (it wasn't tyres) and we'll have to wait until the team look at it properly. With Edwards out, it would've been a good opportunity to catch up in the points. It was bad luck, but it got worse in the second race. Haga crashed in the chicane and his bike collected a lot of debris and brought it back on the track. I'm not sure what I hit, but I felt the bike go from me and I couldn't do anything. I think I knew that I had done something to my left collarbone and the X-rays in the Clinica Mobila confirmed that I had broken it. My bad luck at Misano continued, but this was a particularly bad day for me here."

Noriyuki Haga -“Unfortunately the temperature rose after warm-up in the morning so we had a mismatched rear tyre for race one, which after 10 laps had less traction. We changed to a different casing for the second heat - it was the same tyre as Corser used - and it seemed much better. I was catching Corser well but just pushing too hard. I was at full lean angle and caught the front on the curbs; it went up, down, bounced the front out and lost it. It’s been a tough weekend and everyone in the team worked extra hard to get the bike set-up right - then this happens, it’s a shame. Maybe I’m not suited to Misano, in six races I’ve only finished twice!”

Paolo Casoli - "I had a few problems with front end grip. It was happening only while under braking and not while cornering. However I couldn't repeat this morning's warm-up times when the track was not so warm. I have to admit that I tried to respond to Kellner's attack but I didn't want to ruin all the good work I had done up until then. Kellner was very skilful in getting alongside me at the crucial point of the track and he shut the door on me. I succeeded in scoring vital points for a championship but I'm not thinking about winning it yet, I just want to win some races."

Pere Riba - "I'm very happy with fourth place. It's important for the team, for Honda and for myself when we achieve a strong finish like today. Honda has been working hard and the CBR600 machine has improved. All we need now are just small improvements, mainly to the suspension but I'm sure we can achieve that. Today was the first race since the opening round in Australia that I've felt capable of a finish in the top five or six."

Andrew Pitt - "I hurt my ribs when I crashed in the warm-up and went for a slide on my stomach. At first there was a little bit of pain, but I didn't think much of it. In the race I noticed it getting worse - sometimes when I changed direction quickly it felt like someone was sticking a knife in my ribs. I lost a couple of places on the first lap, but then I put my head down and started riding as smooth as I could. The weather was hot and the tyres were slippery, especially in the last five laps. I was closing on a bunch of riders in front of me near the end, but I ran out of laps. The next race is at Valencia (Spain) and I've tested there so I'm hoping to do well."