2011 Jerez MotoGP Results and Quotes

jerez-2011-sResults and rider quotes from the 2011 Jerez MotoGP

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2011 Jerez MotoGP

Jorge Lorenzo has won the rain affected 2011 Spanish MotoGP at Jerez. The race was highlighted by a number of falls, with Valentino Rossi’s crash bringing down Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner. Race leader Marco Simoncelli crashed early and both Ben Spies and Colin Edwards crashed out of a podium position.

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Jorge Lorenzo 1st

“It has been one of my most patience races. It’s a great victory, which we needed and I feel so good. This is also the first time I have won in wet conditions, the first time ever! Now we are working to improve our bike, taking as much points as possible on the way. The King of Spain said to me that he would bring me good luck after our meeting last February in Madrid, he was right! With the competition so high this year I never imagined I would be leader after two races. I am so happy to have won this weekend, especially as my friends from Yamaha Indonesia came all the way here to support us; ‘Semakin di Depan’ means ‘One Step Ahead’ which was true today!”

Dani Pedrosa 2nd

“It’s been a very difficult race. At the start, many riders overtook me and I thought “that’s it”. Anyway, I knew there were 27 laps and the situation was difficult for the tyres. I was a little nervous after my bad start, but when I realised that in the first lap I was faster than in the warm up, I calmed down and started to improve. I took a good pace and had to ride at maximum concentration in order not to not make any mistakes, it was very easy to crash.

Some riders started falling down and it was a matter of resisting there. I tried to catch Lorenzo when I saw that his gap was under 1 second, but at 10 laps to go the tyres were almost finished; I couldn’t even open the throttle on the straight because the track was very slippery. When Spies crashed, my gap with Nicky was big enough to keep the second place and I crossed the finish line very very happy. It’s been a tough weekend for the arm injury, today I also had numbness and lack of strength, but to ride in wet has helped me because it’s not as aggressive as in dry conditions.

To leave Jerez with a second place finish, after the third place in Qatar, is amazing. We are 9 points behind the Championship leader and it’s a good gap to resume the Championship again in Estoril. On Friday we considered whether it was worth racing here or better to pull out thinking about the operation. So this second place is amazing. We’ve been doing great, but now comes the hard time, the surgery. Nobody likes to undergo surgery, but this time I almost wish for it because I want to end the pain and problems and start competing fully fit”.

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Nicky Hayden 3rd

“That wasn’t necessarily a pretty win because my last laps were so slow when the tires were worn, but we’re on the podium, and I’m pretty happy about it! In the beginning, our bike was really good because I had a lot of traction. After a while, it was all about focus, and there was no room for error. The track was changing every corner, because there was rain in some parts and no rain in other parts. Also, the tyres and the lines kept changing. It certainly hasn’t been an easy start to the season, so we’ll take success any way we can get it. Big thanks to the team. Hopefully we can try to build on this, and it will be the little shot in the arm to help get us going. I know Ducati’s not sleeping. They’ve got some work to do, but I think our bike is better than we’ve been showing. We’ve just been missing a little bit, but I’m confident we can still recover and have a good season.”

Valentino Rossi 5th

Today in the wet we had a great chance for me to make my first podium with Ducati, or even to get my first win. I felt good, both with the bike and my shoulder, because I could brake where I wanted to rather than where I’m forced to in the dry, since I still don’t have the necessary strength. The bike is very fast in the wet. I was advancing really well, and I’m sorry to have made that mistake and thrown away such an opportunity. While braking for the first corner, I entered a bit long, and although I tried to stay to the inside, I lost the front and couldn’t stay up. I’m sorry, because I also took out Stoner, and I certainly didn’t want to do that. I apologized to him, and I’m truly sorry; it was a mistake. It’s a shame because we really could have gotten some satisfaction, but we’ll keep trying. We’re still not so fast in the dry, but we’re working hard. Anyway today’s fifth place gave us eleven points that are very important in the championship.”

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Casey Stoner DNF

“We made a good start to the race and the bike felt good for the first few laps, then the tyres seemed to move a little so we tried to conserve them in case it rained again. I really wanted the chance to fight the Spanish riders here in a dry race, so it was disappointing for me that that it was wet.

However, we were competitive here in the wet and dry and this is very important for us – at a track that hasn’t been that great for me in the past. After so much hard work I hate to have a race like this because the team did a great job all weekend and now we go home empty handed.

With the accident, I heard Valentino arriving and I wasn’t worried about anyone passing me at that point in the race so I gave him plenty of room. It was a racing incident and there’s not much we can do, what is more frustrating is the reaction of the stewards and their assistance for Valentino and not for me, it was unbelievable. I want to just get to the next race now in Estoril, where I’m sure we can be competitive again”.

Results 2011 Jerez  MotoGP

1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing
2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team
3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team
4. Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini
5. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team
6. Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team
7. Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing
8. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3
9. Toni Elias (SPA) LCR Honda MotoGP
10. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki
11. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Pramac Racing Team
12. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team

Championship Points after Round 2

1 Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 45
2 Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 36
3 Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 25
4 Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 23
5 Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 20
6 Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 19
7 Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team 14
8 Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 13
9 Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team 13
10 Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing 12
11 Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 11
12 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 10
13 Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 8
14 Toni Elias (SPA) LCR Honda MotoGP 7
15 Loris Capirossi (ITA) Pramac Racing Team 5

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