An issue with tire pressure cost Casey Stoner another victory aboard the Repsol Honda, fading mid-race to third after rival Jorge Lorenzo passed on Lap 18 and his own teammate, Andrea Dovizioso, snatched second on the final lap.
Casey Stoner blamed a rear tire pressure blunder after he squandered a big lead in yesterday’s Italian
MotoGP race to eventually finish third. Stoner looked like he was cruising to a 28th MotoGP victory when he established a comfortable lead of close to 2.3 over Repsol Honda teammate Andrea Dovizioso on Lap 11. Win number five of 2011 seemed a mere formality, but Stoner’s pace suddenly slowed and he fell back into the clutches of Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo.
The reigning world champion Lorenzo took the lead on Lap 18 and completing a miserable slump for Stoner, Italian Dovizioso grabbed a hard fought second on the final lap. Stoner struggled to hide his disappointment as Lorenzo clawed back nine-points in the title race. Stoner now leads by 19-points heading to the halfway stage of the season in Germany later this month.
The 2007 world champion said: “It was disappointing because in the Warm-up the bike was good but we felt we had a bit of tire degradation, the new tire was already dropping off quite a lot. We thought the tire pressure was a bit too high but we were recommended to stay with the same tire pressure for the race and the conditions were so much hotter. It got to a certain point in the race I just lost all grip. In the middle of the turn there didn’t seem to be any contact patch, so as soon as I wanted to crack the gas open the rear would come round and I was just constantly trying to fight it and get the bike stood up and out of the corner.
The bubbly tasted a bit sweeter for Dovizioso, who snaked second away from his points-leading Repsol teammate.
“I saw Jorge start to catch us and I tried to push a bit more and go into the corners a little bit harder because it was the only place I could make any time. I closed the front a couple of times so I just thought I’ll see what happens if I can stay consistent enough whether they can catch me. They were able to take big chunks of time out of me, so I thought when they arrived I’ll see if we can stay with them and do something on the last laps but I just had nothing. I had no grip and Jorge was riding well and not making mistakes and then Andrea came past and it was the same thing. I had nothing more to give and I was pushing so hard on the way into corners because we had no grip and I really struggled in that race.
“I’m definitely disappointed because the bike and everything was working well enough to win this race but a small error with tire pressures is a big mistake. I’m not going to lie, I’m not happy with the podium. I wanted to win that race and I’m not riding around for points. I want to win races so it is disappointing to have the race pan out the way it did.”
Dani Pedrosa spoke of his frustration at having his 2011 MotoGP world title hopes destroyed by Marco Simoncelli after he made an impressive return to action in Mugello. Riding for the first time since he broke his right collarbone after a controversial collision with fellow factory Honda rider Simoncelli on May 15, Pedrosa was seventh fastest in the opening Friday practice and would go on to finish the Mugello GP an solid eighth.
Dani Pedrosa finally marked his GP return following the Simoncelli Le Mans incident and broken collarbone.
Prior to the collarbone injury suffered in France, Pedrosa had made a fantastic start to the season and was leading the rankings after a brilliant tactical win over compatriot Jorge Lorenzo in Estoril. But disaster struck two weeks later and speaking in Mugello on Friday, Pedrosa said his frustration at getting injured again was made worse by the fact that he was denied arguably his best shot at winning the MotoGP crown for the first time.
“We prepared the bike very good last year and we were ready and when the crash came I was leading the championship. But you think about it once and then you move on, otherwise you dwell on it too much.”
Pedrosa said it was mentally tough because he’d only fought his way back to fitness after a long-running left shoulder problem caused when he fell heavily during practice for the Japanese Grand Prix last October.
“The first days after the crash it was hard to swallow. This all started in October from a crash that was nothing to do with me. I get around some problems really strong and by Estoril in early May, I thought I’d closed that chapter and then I open another one immediately the next weekend. It was hard from another crash that was nothing to do with me. But then you are with family, friends and fans and they open your eyes and how you have to approach the future.”
The Friday comments followed a stinging verbal attack on Simoncelli at a packed pre-event press conference. There was tension when the five MotoGP riders walked into the conference room and it became apparent that Dorna had seated Pedrosa and Simoncelli next to each other. The pair barely made eye contact at all but it was inevitable that the subject would turn to the Le Mans controversy.
Dani Pedrosa's title hopes were dashed by fellow "factory" man Simoncelli. The Spaniard addressed the Le Mans incident as well as allegation that a supermoto accident may have aggravated his healing at the Mugello press conference.
And when it did, Pedrosa cut loose on Simoncelli and his aggressive strategy.
Pedrosa said: “If someone is still doubting this it's unbelievable. It is quite clear what he is showing on the track. In Estoril he was laughing about if somebody will arrest him but maybe he needs this because on his head there is nothing but hair."
Pedrosa also denied intense speculation that a supermoto training accident had delayed his comeback as the crash had further aggravated his damaged right shoulder. Pedrosa had undergone surgery to pin and plate the collarbone immediately after the Le Mans crash but needed an additional operation two weeks ago when it was discovered a fragment of bone had worked loose.
But he denied that loose piece of bone had been dislodged in a supermoto crash: “That’s not true. I explained this five times, in my blog and press release, how many times do you need this explained? I was doing my therapy and one small piece of the collarbone opened up. Every time I was doing any exercise the bone was moving and this was causing pain, so I was resting for a few days to see if it was something I did wrong but after two days the pain was the same. So we made some more analysis and we decided we had to fix it, so another surgery was necessary and after that I felt the collarbone already solid and I’m pretty happy about being more or less healthy and I can start my recovery and get back to training. . It is strange to be at home on Sunday’s when everybody is racing and you feel strange but I couldn’t be here, so I had to stay home and it has been a difficult time.”
Super Sic isn't making a ton of friends in Spain this season...
Simoncelli wasn’t even asked for his views on Pedrosa’s comments when he volunteered a short response. “The thing that he and his manager (Alberto Puig) said were stupid things and it is better not to speak with him and his manager,” said the former 250GP world champion.
After his Mugello performances Pedrosa rated his recovering right shoulder at less than 70% strength and is targeting a return to full fitness by the American Grand Prix at Laguna Seca later this month. He added: “I expect by Germany I can already feel a big step from now and by Laguna maybe I can feel good and closer to my normal level.”
