2011 Motogp Misano Race Report Results 8

2011 MotoGP Misano race report/results—Lorenzo strikes back with a win

Yamaha rider keeps title hopes alive with hard-earned victory, with Pedrosa second, Stoner third; Spies sixth, Edwards 13th, Hayden crashes out

September 04, 2011

Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo kept his MotoGP World Championship title hopes alive by scoring a hard-earned win on a hot and humid day at the Misano Adriatico circuit in Italy over Repsol Honda teammates Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner. After forcing his way inside of Stoner into the first turn, Lorenzo tried to shake the pursuing Australian for the next nine laps to no avail, as Stoner stayed glued to Lorenzo’s tailpiece. But then Stoner gradually began to fade as he admittedly became tired from the physically demanding pace and heat, and Lorenzo was able to open up a gap that gradually grew to a second two laps later, and then almost six seconds by the end.

Stoner soon fell back into the clutches of teammate Pedrosa, who was struggling with handling issues that kept him off the lead duo. Stoner gamely tried to defend his position, but eventually had to accede second to Pedrosa five laps from the finish. Behind the leading trio, a major battle was fought by over fourth spot by Marco Simoncelli, Andrea Dovisioso, and Ben Spies, with the three finishing in that order. Colin Edwards held eighth behind the battling threesome until he admittedly began to tire as well, eventually dropping to a lowly 13th spot. Faring even worse, however, was Nicky Hayden, who crashed out on the third lap.

Lorenzo was glad to reverse his fortunes at Misano, after a couple of subpar finishes at Indy and Brno. “This is a really special victory because the last two races have been a disaster, a little nightmare for us,” said a relieved Lorenzo. “But to be back here in Italy again and win is amazing. It was great to have a good feeling in the corners again and to be as fast I know I can be. I did a good start but the Honda has a little bit more acceleration in first gear, but I really wanted to be in the first position in the first lap because I wanted to open a gap in the first two or three laps. I was worried about the weather because it was raining a little bit for the first two or three laps. But it doesn’t rain, so I was more calm and I could push at a very high pace. I tried my best the first 12 or 15 laps, but Casey was always +0 on my pitboard, so I thought to push another three or four laps and if I don’t (open a gap), then maybe let him pass, but when I saw 0.3 on my board, I just push a little bit more and made a 33.8 (lap) and the gap increased a little bit more. The championship is not over, is really difficult because Casey is doing a good championship. If we can win some races in a row, maybe we can fight for the world title.”

Pedrosa fought to keep up with Lorenzo and Stoner in the beginning but soon realized it was a lost cause. “It was really, really difficult physically,” admitted Pedrosa. “The track is very demanding, a lot of braking, and you have to keep the pace the whole race. These guys went fast, I wasn’t really comfortable with the setting; yesterday was a little better, but we tried to change it to make it a little better, but it didn’t work, I had a lot of front closings so I wasn't able to force the bike on the entry of the corner and then I started to lose the pace. I wasn’t comfortable from the beginning and then I lose touch. I wasn’t able to fight for the win, but at the end I could catch Casey for second place and I’m very happy for that. I was hoping to get a little bit extra to get a win, the last couple of races I’ve got second so I hope to improve a little bit more and get a win soon.”

Stoner revealed that a lack of training and sleep for the past few weeks had finally taken its toll, despite his Repsol Honda crew giving him a bike that he had no complaints with. “It pretty much started from Indianapolis and two races previous”, said the Australian. “We haven’t been able to do a lot of training since Assen where I injured my neck. From Indy to here we really didn’t get any sleep, I’ve been struggling to recover. So from Friday morning, I’d do half a dozen laps and I’d feel really tired, so we knew it was going to be a tough race today. But in the end it wasn’t enough. Our bike was fantastic for the race, the team did a great job. It was braking well, turning well, we had good grip, we had the bike to win the race today for sure, but I think halfway through that race when I was sitting behind Jorge everything felt pretty good, but I just started to get tired and there was no way I could keep the pace. I kept running wide, and then I started braking earlier, losing more time, and I tried to keep that gap to Dani, but that pace was too high for me. I’m a little bit disappointed with the way things have gone today, but we knew our pace was there and we’ve got a week to recover and get ready for the next one.”

The disappointment on Spies’ face was pretty obvious, even if he was his usual self in looking at the positive side of things. “I would’ve liked to make it more interesting for sure,” said Spies of his battle with Simoncelli and Dovisioso. “I’m a little disappointed with the race, but the way the morning warmup was, it was very bad for us. I wasn’t having a great feeling with the front so we tried something new which was honestly a disaster. We actually made a really big change to the bike before the race, and it took me too long to figure out the way the bike was working the first five or six laps. But then I got quite a bit of confidence and then was going better, but the gap was a little big to Simoncelli and Dovi. When I got around Vale, once I closed up on (Simoncelli and Dovisioso), I just didn’t quite have the edge grip to get off the corners to set up for a pass, so I was just hoping and waiting that they would battle and maybe move each other so I could get around. I think we had a little bit more speed, but just couldn’t make the pass. But in the last lap, it got interesting. It was at least good for the fans and I had to give it a go, but didn’t quite have it. They rode a great race. We got some good points, but I wish we’d found the setting we had in the race yesterday so I coulda started out the race a lot more confident with the bike. It just took too long to get comfortable. Congrats to Dovi and Simoncelli both, they rode a great race, we just couldn’t get around them.”

Spies will be joining Lorenzo in a post-race test scheduled for tomorrow where the Yamaha duo will get another shot at the 1000cc prototype for 2012. “We have a good test tomorrow, so hopefully we’ll rest and get ready for Aragon, I like that track a lot. Yeah, should be good,” said Spies of tomorrow’s test. “We’ve got two different parts, major parts, so I’m looking forward to it. Just try to get some rest and hopefully the weather’s good so we can get some quality time on the bike. Looking forward to riding the 1000 around this track.”

Rossi was a little more upbeat after finishing seventh at Misano, although he was quick to point out that a lot more work is necessary to find a solution to the handling ills of the Ducati. “We modified the front (end) this morning for a little bit better feeling on the brake on the edge (of the tire), and the situation improve a lot,” revealed Rossi. “And in the race I can do quite well; I did a good lap time in the first part of the race, I can stay with Dovisioso, Simoncelli, and Spies, that is our target, and so we are quite happy. I make a good race, I ride well, I did a good start, a good two or three first laps, I enjoy riding also a little bit. But now, you know, we cannot be happy for a seventh place. We have to work, next week we will have some test. But anyway, a race like this is not so bad.”

The Ducati team will also be staying on for a test on Monday with the GP12 prototype. “We will have some new stuff, we will try the 1000,” said Rossi. “Electronic stuff, and something to improve the front grip. Will be just small things, just the first step, but we hope that it (will) work.”

Edwards was quick to point the finger at himself for his subpar performance at Misano. “I've got no excuses, today's result was nothing to do with anything else but me,” confessed the Texan. “I've no idea but for whatever reason, I just always ride so tense at this track. I kept telling myself that I needed to relax and calm down and then on the grid there's a few rain drops in the air, so that immediately means you can't help but be tense because you've no idea how hard it is coming down on other parts of the track. The front-end geometry change we made to the bike for Saturday morning made the bike feel a bit heavier and harder to change direction. I pushed as hard as I could for the first ten laps and was pretty close to Ben (Spies) and then it hit me like a pile of bricks. I got such bad arm pump I couldn't feel the front brake or the handlebars and by the end I was just moving my arms in the direction I thought they needed to go. I've never had arm pump that bad and to be honest I didn't realize you could get it that bad. It got to a point where almost pulled in. But I gritted my teeth and thought I could probably get a couple of points, which we did. But it was a complete nightmare and all I can do is put today behind and try and bounce at the Motorland Aragon in a couple of weeks."

Hayden was obviously downtrodden at throwing it away in the third lap of the race. “It was obviously a disappointing race,” lamented Hayden. “The team did a good job, as they made a couple of changes overnight, and this morning I was able to go a couple tenths faster than in qualifying, with a good rhythm. I thought we had a better chance for the race. It was raining a little bit at first, which is normally good for our bike. I got a decent start, felt good, and was going to take a few chances to try to get up as far as I could. Then I lost the front on the exit of Turn 15 and—bam!—I was down. We looked at the data, and I’m not really sure why I crashed. We were tip-toeing because of the rain, so maybe the left side of the tire wasn’t quite up to temperature, although it was still rider error. This track has been the worst one on the calendar for me. I certainly could use some good luck, and maybe we’ll get it at Aragon.”

MotoGP Misano race results:
1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha
2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda
3. Casey Stoner (AUS) Honda
4. Marco Simoncelli (ITA) Honda
5. Andrea Dovisioso (ITA) Honda
6. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha
7. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati
8. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Suzuki
9. Hector Barbera (SPA) Ducati
10. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha
11. Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Honda
12. Karel Abraham (CZE) Ducati
13. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha
14. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Ducati
15. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda
DNF Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati
DNF Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati

2011 MotoGP Misano race report/results—Lorenzo strikes back with a win

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