Results, notes & quotes from MotoGP Rnd 14 at Motegi

Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo put on a brilliant show for the Japanese fans at Motegi today, fighting it out for the final podium position in a battle that went down to the wire. Rossi just prevailed over his team-mate to take third, his sixth podium of the season, while Lorenzo’s fourth place sets up his first Championship match-point at Sepang next weekend.

The excitement between the pair started at turn one, when Lorenzo pulled an audacious move on Rossi, passing him around the outside and exiting the second corner in third place, with the Italian in fourth. As the eventual-winner and runner-up Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso moved clear in front, Rossi was determined not to let his team-mate escape and stuck close behind, looking for every occasion to pass him. He tried a few times before he was able to make it stick and the reigning World Champion eventually passed the current championship-leader on the sixth lap of 24, going on to set the fastest lap of the race on the next lap.

Rossi and Lorenzo then settled into a rhythm with a gap of a few tenths between them, although they were unable to make much headway on the leaders, who were nearly two seconds ahead of them by that point. As the race sped towards its climax Rossi’s tyres began to slide a little and Lorenzo took the fight to him, making his first move on lap 18 but unable to stay in front. On the penultimate lap an incredible passing sequence led to the pair touching fairings on more than one occasion and the excitement did not end there, as they swapped positions several more times before Rossi just gained the advantage in the final few corners and crossed the line half a second in front.

Lorenzo is now 69 points ahead of the injured Dani Pedrosa and needs to be at least 75 ahead of his fellow Spaniard after the Sepang race to seal the win there. Rossi has slipped back to fifth in the championship but he is only three points off Dovizioso and has fourth firmly in his sights. The MotoGP paddock now packs up and moves straight to Malaysia for the next round in one week’s time at Sepang.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 3rd Time: +5.707
“What a great race! Of course I would have preferred to be battling for the win but anyway it was a great feeling, a real show and I want to congratulate Jorge because he was very strong and didn’t give up! Unfortunately I lost time at the start when he passed me so Stoner and Dovizioso got away, and by the time I passed him again they were too far ahead. At the end I was tired and my tyre was sliding a lot, it was a bit softer than I would have liked, so I knew I was going to be in trouble but I wanted the podium so much. Jorge came back at me and we had a great battle, proper racing – I think everyone watching enjoyed it. It’s been a great weekend because we expected it to be difficult but in fact we’ve been strong in every session and worked very well on our bike. The shoulder is okay at the moment so let’s go to Malaysia and see if we can continue like this, or better!”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 4th Time: +6.221
“This was a big battle between Valentino and I, two warriors with the killer instinct. I have to say that at some points I do not think he was completely fair, we were both on the limit but some of his moves were maybe a bit too much and he touched me and pushed me wide when I don’t think it was right. We are team-mates, I am fighting for the Riders’ Championship but we are both fighting for the Teams’ and Manufacturers’ Championship as well and we have to remember this. I am disappointed to miss the podium of course because I wanted one at Yamaha’s home, but this is racing. We chose to ride with the old engine to be safe and then I wasn’t getting the best feeling from the front tyre, so things weren’t perfect for me, but anyway we took some good points. We are very close to getting our dream and I really hope we can do it next weekend in Sepang.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“The podium was our main target and it’s been a very good weekend. Valentino was fast since Friday afternoon and I think the team did a great job today. We had to change our tyre choice after warm-up and make some small adjustments to make it work properly, but he made the fastest lap and had a very good pace throughout. Then we had this exciting battle in the last laps, which was thrilling. When two strong riders have the chance to fight like this it is always going to create a lot of enjoyment and Jorge didn’t give up, but it was better for Valentino this time! We hope to see more of this for the fans and everyone watching.”

Wilco Zeeelenberg – Team Manager
“We just need a few more points! This wasn’t a perfect race for us and we struggled a bit when the track changed after Moto2, especially at the hard braking in turn one, but our target was to play it safe and take points so we are happy. Of course the end of the race was exciting, but Jorge is a winner and even with the situation with the championship he was never going to give up on the final podium spot easily. It was a great battle between the two strongest riders in the world but they are team-mates and Valentino took too many risks and touched Jorge a couple of times, which should not have happened when Jorge is fighting for the championship. Anyway, considering the front-end issues and the fact that we chose not to run the new engine, we have to be very happy with these points and now we are all just focused on Sepang and the possible championship victory there.”

Edwards romps to season best finish in Yamaha’s home race

Colin Edwards made a stunning return to the top six in MotoGP this afternoon, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider producing his best performance of 2010 to finish in a richly deserved fifth position.

With predicted rain never materialising, the 24-lap race was run in mild conditions and Edwards made a fast getaway from fifth place on the grid. He held fifth for the opening two laps, the American engaged in an exciting early fight with Italian duo Marco Simoncelli and Loris Capirossi.

Simoncelli took fifth on lap three but having comfortably pulled away from Capirossi, Edwards used all of his experience to exert intense pressure on Simoncelli. Knowing he was capable of running a much faster pace, Edwards was content to stalk Simoncelli until he made his decisive attack on lap 18.

Edwards then clearly demonstrated his superior speed, the 36-year-old opening up a three second gap on Simoncelli in the last seven laps to secure his best finish since the final round of 2009 in Valencia.

A sixth successive start from the second row of the grid had raised expectations that Ben Spies could continue his outstanding recent form. But a mistake under braking at turn five forced him into the gravel trap on lap two. Spies lost eight seconds with the off-track excursion and dropped down to 15th before he embarked on an enthralling recovery.

The Texan showcased his overtaking skills with a series of breathtaking moves that delighted a large contingent of Yamaha supporters in the 40,113-strong crowd . Lapping close to the pace of the leading group in the final stages after gambling with a radically revised front and rear suspension set-up, Spies clawed his way back into the top ten on lap 12 and eventually finished in eighth.

Colin Edwards – Position: 5th Time: +27.092
“In terms of the result I’m really happy because it is my first top six finish of the year and I think it was deserved after all the hard work the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team and me have been putting in to improve our results. And it is always good to get a result in Japan with the race being so important for Yamaha and the Tech 3 Team. I rode good all weekend and was only four-tenths off pole, but what I’m a little disappointed about is that I’m 27 seconds behind the winner. That’s a big chunk of time and I’m riding as hard as I can. I feel comfortable and I feel good on the bike now we improved the setting but I guess we just have to shoot for being top non-factory rider. It was hard in the first few laps because I didn’t have a lot of feel in the left-side of the rear tyre. But once I got confident, Simoncelli passed me but I was happy just to sit behind him and study him, check where I was faster while making sure I wasn’t going to leave the door open for Capirossi. I think my rear tyre had good grip for a little bit longer than Simoncelli’s and I managed to pass him, put my head down for a couple of laps and managed to pull a gap.”

Ben Spies – Position: 8th Time: +35.572
“Considering everything that happened this weekend with me not being totally happy with the bike and then running off early on, I’m extremely happy to finish eighth, especially coming from 15th. We made a big change to the bike before the race with the geometry in the front and I ran a rear shock that we hadn’t run all weekend and i t was a big step. It was a big gamble but it paid off. The front was a bit better in the turns and we definitely had better traction and it made the bike a bit easier to ride and more confidence inspiring. Going into turn five I think Loris was in front of me and it seemed like he braked really, really early. To avoid hitting him I had to move over and get on the kerb and run off track. After my pace in the warm-up I was wondering how I would be able to fight with anybody but I made some passes and I never gave up. I rode as hard as I could and while it wasn’t my best result it was still a really good race. Even coming through the field I was still turning some really fast laps that without the mistake would have given me a chance of running in the top five.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“I am very happy with today’s race and I think Colin and Ben performed at their maximum in the home race for Yamaha. We were determined to do well for Yamaha and I don’t think we disappointed with both of them performing incredibly well. I think everybody at Yamaha and the Japanese fans really enjoyed the way both of them performed. Colin had by far his best result of the season and this weekend he has been back to the outstanding form he showed all last season. He’s been working hard with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew for several races now to improve and this weekend that effort paid off. He had a good battle with Simoncelli that Colin won comfortably and I think we saw he used his experience today. It was unfortunate that Ben ran off the track so early because his potential was much higher than eighth. His fighting spirit was unbelievable and he never gave up and his lap times at the end would have easily put him in the top five. He demonstrated his determination today and after a positive winter test at Sepang, I’m confident he can be challenging back at the front again in Malaysia next weekend.”

—  Ducati Report

Casey Stoner celebrated his second victory in as many races with a dominant performance in the Grand Prix of Japan, leading from the first turn to the last to secure his place amongst the elite riders in MotoGP history. Stoner’s 22nd premier-class success moves him up to joint eighth in the all-time winners list alongside the legendary Geoff Duke, John Surtees and Kenny Roberts Sr.

A difficult weekend for Nicky Hayden concluded with an unfortunate race, the American running off track on the second lap. Despite returning to the track in last place he posted some solid lap times to recover four positions and claim twelfth place.

CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 1st
“This win feels great. I could have never imagined when I began my first season in Grand Prix at sixteen years of age that I would reach this level and all I can say is that it is an honour to be alongside such great names. I have taken all my MotoGP wins with Ducati and it is down to their fantastic support, hard work and above all their belief in me that this has been possible. Once again we put in maximum effort all weekend here to find some stability in the hard braking and acceleration zones at this circuit, which has been a massive challenge for us. We tried something in warm-up this morning that didn’t quite work so we took a bit of a lucky dip for the race and it paid off. Once I got out in front I knew we had a chance to win but it wasn’t without fighting for it because Andrea (Dovizioso) rode a great race to push me all the way to the last lap. It’s a big win for me, especially because it’s my first at this circuit and that means a lot.”

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team) 12th
“We haven’t had the best of weekends so we made a few more changes to the bike going into the race than we normally would and actually it felt pretty good from the moment the lights went out. Maybe I got a little too excited because I made a mistake into turn five on the second lap, got in there too hot and a few of us ran pretty deep. Spies went off in front of me and I followed him into the gravel. We touched coming back onto the track and then there was a big kerb that I had to avoid so I lost a lot of time there. Once I got into my rhythm the pace wasn’t too bad and I passed a few guys but each pass took me longer than I would have liked because I didn’t have much confidence on the brakes. By the end I could see ninth place and maybe with a couple of extra laps I could have made it but it wasn’t to be today. I have to apologise to the team because I crashed on Friday which got us behind and even though they worked hard all weekend we haven’t found the traction I needed to be competitive today. Luckily we don’t have to wait too long to put it behind us in Malaysia.”

VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team manager
“After two really tough days of practice we couldn’t really have expected a race like this so my compliments to Casey and the team. He had a great race today and set an incredible pace from the start to the end, without making a single mistake despite some intense pressure from Dovi. Congratulations to everybody in the garage because we kept cool heads yesterday at a time when it would have been easy to panic and make the wrong decisions. Unfortunately an off track moment for Nicky on the second lap meant that his charge through the pack was for twelfth place and not higher. His pace would have been good enough for seventh or eighth, which wouldn’t have been bad at all considering the way practice went and that can at least give him more confidence for the next races.”

—  HRC Report

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) fought for the victory to the final lap of the Japanese Grand Prix at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan, but ultimately finished second to Casey Stoner (Ducati).

Dovizioso was away quickly into the lead until Stoner passed him early on the first of 24 laps of the 4.801m Honda-owned circuit about 100k north of Tokyo.

Then began an epic battle, with Stoner trying to pull away and Dovizioso drawing him back in. Dovizioso saw that Stoner had a few strong points, but the Italian was strong in other areas. Their strengths canceled each other out.

The gap from first to second was under a second until the 17th lap, when Stoner just managed to open it up. And when Dovizioso had a moment a few laps from the end he had to abandon the victory chase.

Still, it was a strong showing and gave him encouragement as the series enters its most concentrated stretch, and, for one race, at least, without Dani Pedrosa.

Pedrosa was home in Spain after surgery to repair the left collarbone he fractured in a Friday practice crash. The surgery was deemed a success, but no date has been set for his return. With the Malaysian Grand Prix next weekend and the Australian Grand Prix a week after, the Spaniard has little time to recover from the physical trauma of the crash.

Even though he was half a world away, because of his strong season, which includes four wins, Pedrosa maintained second in the MotoGP World Championship to Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha). Dovizioso moved into fourth in the championship today with his fifth podium of the year.

Lorenzo finished fourth today after an epic battle, especially over the final two laps, with team-mate Valentino Rossi, who finished third.

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) equaled his career best sixth place MotoGP finish. The tall Italian was set to earn an unprecedented fifth when he was passed in the final quarter of the race by veteran Colin Edwards (Yamaha) after suffering fatigue in his forearms. The Motegi circuit has a number of hard braking, downhill corners, more than any other track on the calendar and the constant stress finally took its toll.

Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) was running in eighth place when he missed a downshift due to weakness in his still mending leg and he ran off track. The mistake only cost him two places, but it put him in a no-man’s land and he rode a lonely race to finish ninth. The finish didn’t hurt his championship placing as he still holds eighth with four races remaining.

In his home race, Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP) equaled his best finish. Racing in front of friends and family, Aoyama spent the first few laps getting his tyres up to temperature, after which he began moving to the front. From 15th on the first lap, Aoyama passed five others to finish tenth, equaling his best of the year from the season-opener in Qatar.

The race wasn’t one of the best for Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini). He started well and got as high as eighth place before traction issues began to crop up. Melandri was never able to get any heat into his tyres and also had brake problems. Eventually he finished a dispirited 11th.

In the Moto2 class, Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) continued to strengthen his championship position with his seventh win of the season, and fifth in the last six races.

The veteran led from the start, with Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, Suter) the only rider capable of matching his pace. The Spaniards quickly separated from the 40-rider field to make the race their own. There was little between them.

Simon kept the lead of Elias under half a second for almost the entire race. On the 17th lap it went to .596s, but came down on the next lap. And for the final six laps Simon pressured, but Elias never put a wheel wrong and sped across the line with a winning margin of .315s.

The race for third was equally spirited, with Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing, FTR) passing Alex de Angelis (JIR Moto2, Motobi) on the final lap to take his first ever grand prix podium.

Elias stretched his championship lead over Simon to 71 points, 249 to 168, with four races to run. Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up) had an off day finishing 13th after running off the track. He remains third in points with 147.

There was no rest for the teams, as they had to quickly pack for next weekend’s race in Sepang, Malaysia, followed a week later by the Australian Grand Prix at Philip Island.

HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V): 2nd “I pushed at 100 percent for the whole race and the lap times of Casey (Stoner) and me were pretty impressive and very consistent. At the beginning, Casey was really fast when the tyres weren’t fully up to temperature and at that moment I knew it was going to be a hard fight with him. I don’t know what Casey did to up his pace today but his speed was amazing. There were two or three places on that lap where he was faster than me every time, but I saw that he was also on the limit and so I kept pushing. It was hard to maintain the pace on the tyre in the last few laps and I nearly had a big highside three laps from the end – at that moment I knew I couldn’t win the race. It was a little bit disappointing because I wanted the win and I thought it was possible today, but I’m really happy to be back on the podium again. Following Casey I learned a lot about the strategy for tuning the electronics settings for the final part of the race when the tyre performance is dropping off, so this is really positive for the future. I want to say thank you to the team because I’m in this position thanks to their hard work. And also thanks to HRC – I’m really glad to have a good result at Honda’s home race.”

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V): 6th “That was a really nice race for me and to be honest after the warm-up I thought I could have done even better and been a little closer to the front guys. I got a bad start though and couldn’t manage it. Anyway, I had a positive race, setting a good pace until the end, when I had a few problems with my forearms and had to back off, losing touch with Colin Edwards. I would have liked to attack him again at the end of the race but I am happy and now the objective is to improve again in the next race.”

Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V): 9th “Honestly, I did not take a superb start but I was quite aggressive in the first part of the race. Then on lap ten at Turn 5 I missed the downshift because of my injured leg, which still hurts, and went wide in the gravel losing few places. After that it was not easy for me as I was alone in the race, but I am quite satisfied about this result as we still hold the 8th position in the championship. We have been waiting a long time for a good race and I think we made a good jog this weekend, especially on race trim. This top ten finish is mentally positive for me after the bad period I had after the injury. I want to thank the guys for their good job and their support in the last races. I am looking forward to racing again in Malaysia”.

Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V): 10th “The conditions in the race was a bit cooler today and that was not so good for the tyres. I had to wait a couple of laps to warm the tyres up and then I could start to overtake the other riders in front of me. On this track you don’t have so many possibilities to pass them. This race was not ideal for me, but at least I could repeat my best result of the season so far. This week I started to understand my bike a bit better and especially as I know this track so well I could learn more about the bike and we improved the set up. Now I am looking forward to Malaysia, which is my favourite track.”

Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V): 11th “That was terrible – another race just like all the rest. I got a good start but didn’t have any grip. The tyres were cold from the first lap and I had a lot less traction than the guys around me. Even when I thought they were up to temperature there was no change and they felt like they were spent. The usual problems with the bike continue and I just can’t get it stopped. When (Ben) Spies passed me I tried to push and stay with him but I just ran wide. It is a depressing situation and we have been completely forgotten about. Honda aren’t helping and I can’t understand why.”

MOTO2 RIDER QUOTES

Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki): 1st “I am really happy with this win, which moves us closer to the title. We have worked well all weekend and it was an important victory for me because I wanted to dedicate it to Tomizawa. I would have liked to have done it at Aragon but maybe winning Shoya’s home race for him is an even bigger tribute. I took control of the race pretty early but Simon didn’t make life easy for me. In the end I managed to hold him off and I’m really pleased. I am also happy to have won for Moriwaki at their home circuit. It has been a great day.”

Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, Suter): 2nd “I think that we worked very well all weekend in practice and today in the race. We have learnt a lot about the bike and have found out what we need to go a bit faster. I’m happy, because we are progressing well, have four consecutive podiums under our belts and have been close to a win. I tried to stop Toni (Elias) escaping, keeping close to his tail, but there was no clear chance to overtake him. Let’s say that we were riding very similarly in a lot of sections, but that the equality of the engines made it too tough to overtake. On the last lap I was pushing more in order to sneak past, but I made a mistake and he got just far enough ahead. I am happy with the result and with our work, as this result spurs me on for Malaysia.”

Karel Abraham (Cardian AB Motoracing, FTR): 3rd “Thank you. It definitely feels great to be here, to be third, to be finally on the podium. Even on the last lap I wasn’t sure if I could make it. I tried and it worked.”

—  Suzuki Report

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers Álvaro Bautista and Loris Capirossi had very different ends to today’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi as one took a fine seventh position, while the other was forced to retire.

Bautista was boxed in on the first corner and relegated to 12th place at the end of the first lap, from ninth on the grid. He then set about making his way through the field and just after half distance he had caught and passed Marco Melandri for eighth. The next rider in Bautista’s sight was team-mate Capirossi and as he chased him down for what was looking to be an exciting inter-team battle in the closing stages, Capirossi visibly slowed and went into the gravel on lap 22. As Bautista benefitted from Capirossi’s sad demise and moved into seventh, he tried to make up the distance to the top six, and although he ended the race with top-five position lap-times, he was just unable to close down on Marco Simoncelli with the few laps that were remaining.

Capirossi had had an impressive race and was still in with a strong chance of a top-five position, until his enforced retirement. He made an impressive start and settled into a good rhythm in seventh place, fighting with Colin Edwards and Simoncelli for fifth. Capirossi looked in with a good chance of attacking the pair in the last few laps, but an electrical issue caused him to lose power and slow dramatically, before his bike finally stopped altogether due to a fail-safe measure as he went into a corner, causing him to run into the gravel. Capirossi was unable to re-start his machine and forced to retire. He was very disappointed to leave Motegi empty-handed after what had been a very positive weekend for him.

Today’s race was held in warm, but overcast conditions and was watched at trackside by just over 40,000 very colourful and exuberant fans. Ducati’s Casey Stoner took his second win in succession, with World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo in fourth.

Rizla Suzuki now travels immediately to Malaysia for the next round of the season, which will be held next Sunday at the Sepang International Circuit near Kuala Lumpur.

Álvaro Bautista: “It was not a good, but also not a bad result! We improved on our position from the last few races, but I had a problem in the first few laps with the rear tyre because it was just not getting enough temperature in it, this made it difficult to follow the others riders. After three or four laps I got back into my rhythm and saw that I could keep a similar distance and time to the front group, but the gap was too big and I wasn’t able to catch them. I am happy with the result and the whole team has worked very hard all weekend, but we need to improve on what happened in the first few laps, because in this category those laps are very important. I hope that in Malaysia we can make steps with this and we’ll try to be in the position that I think we should be – which at the moment is in the top-six.”

Loris Capirossi: “Overall the weekend has been quite positive and we have been in a good position all the time – apart from right at the end of today! I started well and got into a good rhythm behind Marco and Colin, at some points on the track I would lose time on them, but in other places I would make a lot of time on them. Then five or six laps from the end the bike started to slow down a bit. I don’t know what happened, but then it started to go ok again and then with a couple of laps to go it completely stopped. I am very sorry for the whole team, but it seems the luck is just not with me this season – we will still try to finish the season in the best way that we can.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager: “The whole team is very disappointed for Loris. He rode with a lot of pain all weekend, he showed a consistently good pace and without the failure then sixth position was very possible. He can take some positives from this weekend, the bike package worked well and he loves Sepang, so hopefully next weekend he can go for his best result of the season. “It was nice to see Álvaro go one better than the last three Grands Prix, again it involved a big fight after being a long way back after the first couple of laps and we could make his life a lot easier with better initial performance from the GSV-R in the early stages. He’s been riding well and consistently, his level is increasing step-by-step and we’re excited about his potential for the remainder of the season.”

—  Bridgestone Report

Bridgestone slick tyre compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard (asymmetric)
Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner took his second victory in a row today at Motegi from third on the grid, catapulting himself into an early lead that he never relinquished, despite pressure throughout from pole man Andrea Dovizioso of Repsol Honda who crossed the line in second. In third, emerging on top of a tooth-and-nail battle with his Fiat Yamaha teammate, was Valentino Rossi who traded paint with Jorge Lorenzo in the closing stages of what was the most nail-biting fight of the race. Both riders used the softer rear tyre, but Rossi used the harder front slick whereas Lorenzo opted for the softer compound. As had been indicated all weekend, the overall performance of both option front tyres was very similar, and this was highlighted by the Rossi and Lorenzo battle in which the pair were very evenly matched throughout the 24 laps. Only Lorenzo and Nicky Hayden used the softer option front slick tyres, but all riders favoured the softer rear slicks. Colin Edwards scored his best result of the season in fifth for Monster Yamaha Tech3, triumphing in his own battle with Marco Simoncelli. Teammate Ben Spies finished eighth after recovering from an early off-track excursion with Nicky Hayden, and Loris Capirossi retired having also been fighting with Edwards and Simoncelli.

Mikio Masunaga – Vice President and Official Member of the Board, Bridgestone Corporation
“I would like to congratulate the Ducati Team and Casey Stoner for their excellent victory here today. This year’s Japanese Grand Prix was delayed because of the Iceland volcano but we are very glad that it was rescheduled. We are honoured to have been able to support our second Japanese Grand Prix as MotoGP’s Official Tyre Supplier, and Bridgestone will continue to strive to provide tyres of consistent quality and safety and a fair tyre service to all teams.”

Tohru Ubukata – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
“I’m pleased with tyre performance in today’s race, especially with the consistency of our softer spec rear. Conditions for the race were almost the same as last year but the pace was much faster which indicates the improvement in performance from using our asymmetric rear tyres here. I’m also happy with our tyre compound selection for this grand prix as all weekend we have seen that both specs of rear tyre were performing well and in the race our softer front slick was also very consistent, even in the intense battle between Valentino and Jorge that pushed the tyres to the maximum right to the end of the race.”

Casey Stoner – Ducati Team – Race Winner
“Today is awesome, and this is a big victory for us. We’ve been struggling a little with setup and were a little bit down on pace going into qualifying, but we took all the data from qualifying and the warm-up and made another little step for the race so huge thanks to the team and everyone. After the first couple of laps I saw the times we could do and thought we had a chance, but we just couldn’t get any distance from Andrea. It was impossible to get any breathing space! But this win means a lot to us and is a big confidence boost going into these next races.”

Toni Elías took another step towards sealing the 2010 Moto2 World Championship with victory in the Grand Prix of Japan on Sunday, holding off the determined challenge of Julián Simón to take his seventh win of the season.

Immediately from the off pole man Simón and Elías, who started from the front row, were at the head of the race and they swapped the lead on a number of occasions in the early stages.

The duel between Elías and Simón continued to rage at the front whilst Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2), Yuki Takahashi (Tech3 Racing), Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) and Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team) all remained in the hunt for third place.

Elías managed to resist Simón’s determined push and eventually finished 0.315s ahead of his fellow Spaniard. For the Gresini Racing rider victory stretched his advantage at the top of the Championship to 81 points over Simón, who finished second for the fourth race in succession.

An intense last-lap push for third place saw De Angelis and Abraham touch bikes on the final lap, with the Czech rider coming out on top for his first ever World Championship podium.

World Championship Positions:
1 ELIAS 249, 2 SIMON 168, 3 IANNONE 147, 4 LUTHI 138, 5 CORSI 113, 6 TALMACSI 95, 7 CLUZEL 94, 8 TAKAHASHI 86, 9 TOMIZAWA 82, 10 GADEA 59, 11 REDDING 58, 12 DEBON 52, 13 BRADL 52, 14 ROLFO 50, 15 ABRAHAM 49.

Marc Márquez took victory at Motegi in the 125cc Grand Prix of Japan on Sunday as he closed the gap on Championship leader Nico Terol – who finished the race in second position – to six points. It was the Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider’s seventh win of the season, which came from his ninth pole position start of the year.

Traffic at the start of the race saw Jonas Folger (Team Ongetta) and Efrén Vázquez (Tuenti Racing) crash out through no fault of their own as a coming together of bikes affected the duo. The German youngster escaped with bruising to his left arm and Vázquez avoided injury as well, but was transferred to hospital for precautionary checks.

Avoiding the chaos at the head of the race were Terol, Márquez, Bradley Smith, Pol Espargaró and Sandro Cortese who all settled into a leading group of five, which itself became more dispersed as the race continued.

With 14 of the 20 laps completed Márquez had stretched to a lead of just over two seconds ahead of Terol, with Smith (Bancaja Aspar) riding a relatively lonely race in third position. Young British rider Danny Kent, riding for the Lambretta Reparto Corse team and impressing by rising to 14th, then suffered the disappointment of crashing. It was a fate that was also experienced by home rider Tomoyoshi Koyama (Racing Team Germany) who was running in fifth when he fell with two laps to go, managing to rejoin the race but finish down in 22nd.

There were no slip ups at the front however as Márquez crossed the line 2.612s clear to narrow the gap on Championship leader Terol, who finished second, with his team-mate Smith collecting a fourth podium of the season by placing third. Espargaró (Tuenti Racing) placed fourth, but dropped to third in the championship standings, seven points adrift of Márquez. Alberto Moncayo (Andalucia Cajasol) sealed an impressive fifth-placed finish for his best result to date.

World Championship Positions:
1 TEROL 228, 2 MARQUEZ 222, 3 ESPARGARO 215, 4 SMITH 160, 5 CORTESE 122, 6 RABAT 118, 7 VAZQUEZ 110, 8 KOYAMA 102, 9 KRUMMENACHER 84, 10 WEBB 80, 11 ZARCO 72, 12 FOLGER 56, 13 MONCAYO 51, 14 SALOM 39, 15 IWEMA 34.