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26-10-2009, 04:38am
Rossi: This is a ‘great achievement†Sunday, 25 October 2009
Valentino Rossi claimed his seventh premier class world title in Malaysia – the ninth of his career across all categories – on Sunday, and acknowledged the magnitude of his feat.
A twelfth podium of the season for Valentino Rossi – the 163rd of his career across all classes – secured the 2009 MotoGP World Championship for the Italian at Sepang, and he was understandably delighted with the achievement.
In rain-soaked conditions and after falling to tenth place from pole position after a slow start, Rossi climbed the field to secure third behind Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa, and explained the problems that faced him before the start of the race.
“Todayâ€s race went a bit like how the season has gone, because we were so fast on the dry tyres, but right before the start of the race it started to rain so we had to go out on the track without any wet setting,†said Rossi.
“Itâ€s a great achievement, and for me itâ€s the ninth championship, the seventh in MotoGP. I have to thank all the guys from Yamaha, who are great, and all the Fiat Yamaha team, from Jeremy (Burgess, chief mechanic) and all the mechanics to all the guys that work for me, and all my friends. All the people that helped me with this great achievement.â€
Having been pushed throughout the season to retain his crown by team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who finished fourth, Rossi paid special tribute to the 22 year-old Spaniardâ€s efforts.
“Throughout the season I had great rivals, at the end especially Jorge my team-mate, who stayed very close to me, and we had some great fights. Heâ€s a great rival so congratulations to him,†said Rossi.
“But we are on the top and now weâ€ll relax and try to take in this achievement. The ninth championship is great – Iâ€m so happy.â€
Pedrosa happy with wet podium
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Dani Pedrosa was pleased to have recorded his first podium in full wet weather conditions in MotoGP at Sepang.
Second place at Sepang for the second year in a row – his fourth podium in as many MotoGP seasons at the track – was the result of some hard work from Dani Pedrosa in preparing for wet weather conditions.
At the rain-soaked Malaysian circuit, Pedrosa overcame the kind of weather setting that has previously proven hard for him to deal with to finish second, behind Casey Stoner and in front of Valentino Rossi.
It was a result that particularly pleased the Spaniard, who had worked specifically on improving his ability to deal with such a scenario, one which ended team-mate Andrea Doviziosoâ€s race after 14 laps when the Italian slid off.
“Riding in the rain has always been one of my weakest points and so for a long time I have tried to improve this by working hard and going over my limit in the wet,†he explained. “This hasnâ€t been an easy process, but now, finally, I achieved a podium in the wet so Iâ€m really happy and I want to thank all the people who have helped in this process.â€
Pedrosa continued, “In the middle of the race Andrea was just behind and he was closing and was putting some pressure on me, but I was riding well and I was able to keep my focus and concentration. Finally when Andrea went off, another rider was coming and this time it was Valentino. He was going quite a lot faster than me, but in the last laps I kept my pace and was able to finish in second place. Iâ€m very happy today.â€
Pedrosa also lauded Rossiâ€s achievement of securing a ninth World Championship title across all classes with his podium finish.
“I also want to congratulate Valentino on the World Championship – nine titles is amazing,†added Pedrosa. “Now we go to Valencia and weâ€ll be trying hard again there. Itâ€s a track that I love and there will be a lot of fans too, so Iâ€m looking forward to it.â€
Stoner: ‘Comeback has been almost perfectâ€
Sunday, 25 October 2009
After his comprehensive win at Sepang Casey Stoner believes his performances are reaching close to perfection since his comeback from illness.
Second place at Portugal for Casey Stoner on his comeback after a three race absence due to illness has been followed up by two brilliant successive wins from the factory Ducati rider at Phillip Island and Sepang in the space of seven days – as he puts his mid-season difficulties behind him.
Stoner adapted most efficiently to the wet weather at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon to take a remarkable 15 second victory over the rest of the field, before humbly stating, “The conditions were the same for everyone today and none of us had tested at this track in the wet for quite a long time. So the early laps were a bit tentative and going into turn one I didnâ€t get a good start and a few people came past me.â€
“I slotted into fourth place coming out of turn two though and then when I got into the lead I thought Iâ€ll just test the track condition for a few laps and I never expected to pull out the gap that I did. After that I just decided to keep going hard for at least half race distance and once I got a gap I was happy with I started to back off the pace.â€
Giving a highly positive summary of his successful return to action in recent weeks, the Australian added, “We canâ€t ask for anything more after the season we have had. These last three races back have been close enough to perfect, and we were just one result away from perfection at Portugal which is always a difficult circuit for us anyway.â€
“Now Iâ€m really looking forward to going to Valencia as it is a track which I have enjoyed for the past few years and I want to give a big thanks to my team, everyone who has supported me and the doctors who helped me out. It has been very nice to come back and get results like this.â€
Lorenzo pays tribute to ‘number one†Rossi
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Jorge Lorenzo paid tribute to Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi after seeing the Italian seal the 2009 MotoGP world title in Malaysia, and is now focusing on wrapping up second spot in the standings.
Fourth place in the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix was not enough for Jorge Lorenzo to prevent Valentino Rossi from securing this yearâ€s title, after a mechanical fault meant the Spaniard started the race from the back of the grid.
Having qualified in second behind Rossi for the race, a problem with his YZR-M1 prototype as the sighting lap started meant Lorenzo had to change bikes, and he then made it to the grid too late to take his place on the front row.
“We tried to start the race with bike number one, but it wouldnâ€t start so we took the second bike but we lost a few minutes. We thought it was possible to do two (sighting) laps like the other riders, but the time was finished so we had to start the race in last place,†said Lorenzo.
The 22 year-old continued to assess his display, which saw him make up ground with a blistering start, before rear-grip issues saw him fall away from the battle for third between Rossi and Dani Pedrosa, who came second.
“I started very well and overtook eight or nine riders in the first lap and I was feeling okay, but at the middle of the race the rear tyre started to spin and it was impossible to follow Vale and Dani to finish second,†explained Lorenzo. “Fourth place is okay and we just have to get the points in Valencia to ensure second place in the championship.â€
Finally, Lorenzo acknowledged the achievement of Rossi, after the 30 year-old secured his seventh premier class title.
“We tried to the end to beat him, but I think he was the number one this year because heâ€s been faster than us in almost every race. He was more consistent than us and he was more clever, so he is the winner,†concluded Lorenzo.
Vermeulen thanks team after taking sixth place
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Chris Vermeulen equalled the second best result of a tough season on Sunday in sixth place at Sepang and then thanked his Suzuki crew for their hard work in Malaysia.
That a sixth place result in the penultimate race of the season matches Chris Vermeulenâ€s second best result of 2009 so far speaks for itself in terms of the difficult time he has had this year, but the departing Rizla Suzuki man was pleased to have produced a competitive display in Malaysia on Sunday.
Although the likeable Australian is departing from MotoGP to pastures new at the end of the current campaign he wants to return to the World Championship in the future, and the 10 valuable points he gained at round 16 mean he has every chance of a good final standings result after Valencia in two weeks time.
Vermeulen is involved in a close five-rider fight with Marco Melandri, Loris Capirossi, Alex de Angelis and Toni ElÃas for seventh place overall, and he outperformed all of them at Sepang on Sunday to give himself a confidence boosting result.
“I got a good start, but in turn one there was a lot going on and I got pushed around a little bit, but I came out of it ok and was able to get my head down straight away,†Vermeulen commented as he reviewed the wet race at Sepang. “For the first four or five laps I really struggled to get a feeling in the tyres, especially on the left-hand-side, but once I got that working and into a rhythm I felt quite good. The bike worked well up until the last few laps - when the track started to dry out - and then it was very difficult through the corners, but I'm sure it wasn't easy for anyone out there.â€
Noting the hard graft put in by his mechanics at round 16, he added, “I think we had the speed for a top five today and my guys did a great job with the motorbike to be able to give me something competitive today when we hadn't done any wet testing here at all.â€
Rossi clinches title as Stoner wins wet Sepang contest
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Valentino Rossi finished third behind Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa at a rain-soaked Sepang to take the 2009 MotoGP World Championship title.
Valentino Rossi, 2009 MotoGP World Champion
Casey Stoner was the race victor at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix on Sunday, but it was Valentino Rossi whose achievement of third place laid the foundation for the story of the weekend.
Stonerâ€s second successive win was impressive enough, as was his astounding 14.666s margin of victory, but it was the Italianâ€s result that secured his ninth world title – a seventh in the premier class – as he defended his 2008 crown, with Dani Pedrosa finishing second with his 78th career podium across all classes.
The race started on a wet track after a 35-minute delay due to rain, and there was drama from the off. A problem during the sighting lap with his machine for Jorge Lorenzo meant that failure to join the starting grid in time resulted in relegation from second to the back.
It made little difference to the Spaniard however as he flew up to overtake Rossi, who dropped to tenth after a sluggish start from pole position. Lorenzo eventually finished in fourth position.
Randy de Puniet had a very early nasty high-side which fortunately resulted in no injury for the Frenchman, as Stoner established a four-second lead at the front over Pedrosa after just two laps.
Nicky Hayden was dogged in his attempt to hold off Lorenzo in fifth place, but the Fiat Yamaha rider managed to pass the Ducati Marlboro man before Rossi passed both to move into fourth spot after eight laps.
Shortly after, Stonerâ€s lead at the front had grown to a huge 15 seconds, but there was no such deficit between Pedrosa in third and his Repsol Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, who diced for second spot. Disaster struck for the Italian however, as on lap 14 he succumbed to the wet conditions and slid off, allowing Rossi to move up to third and target Pedrosa.
The Spaniard was out of Rossiâ€s grasp for the remainder however, but third was one place higher than he required to take the title (had Lorenzo won the race), and a characteristically flamboyant celebration followed involving a chicken dressed in the Italianâ€s blue and yellow colours.
Elsewhere, Aleix Espargaró impressed with an eleventh-placed finish in his third MotoGP race of the campaign for Pramac, while Monster Yamaha Tech 3 pair Colin Edwards and James Toseland both struggled, finishing in 13th and 15th respectively.
After Lorenzo took fourth spot he duly handed hearty congratulations to Rossi, with Hayden equalling his second-best result of the season in fifth. Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki), Toni ElÃas (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing), Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) completed the top ten.
SHELL ADVANCE MALAYSIAN MOTORCYCLE GP
MotoGP Race
Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Total time Km/h Gap
1 25 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 47'24.834 147.435
2 20 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 47'39.500 146.679 14.666
3 16 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 47'44.219 146.437 19.385
4 13 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 47'50.684 146.107 25.850
5 11 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 48'03.539 145.456 38.705
6 10 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 48'05.895 145.337 41.061
7 9 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 48'13.389 144.961 48.555
8 8 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 48'20.391 144.611 55.557
9 7 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 48'25.137 144.374 1'00.303
10 6 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 48'25.274 144.368 1'00.440
11 5 44 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Ducati 48'26.489 144.307 1'01.655
12 4 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 48'26.681 144.298 1'01.847
13 3 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 48'35.612 143.856 1'10.778
14 2 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 48'40.685 143.606 1'15.851
15 1 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 49'15.506 141.914 1'50.672
Not classified
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 31'59.321 7 Lap
14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 2'28.718 20 Lap
