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Race Report: Stoner takes win, Nicky knocked out of the runningOctober 18
Ducati MotoGP Team rider Casey Stoner took his third victory in as many seasons at Phillip Island today, rubber-stamping his return to form and fitness with a dominant display from pole position. After briefly conceding the lead to Dani Pedrosa in the first turn, Stoner muscled his way past the Spaniard on the opening lap and never looked back, holding off the strong challenge of Valentino Rossi in the second half of the race to put his Desmosedici GP9 on the top step of the podium for the first time since the Italian Grand Prix in June.
Stoner’s victory, in front of 50,094 delighted home fans, also lifted him back up to third in the championship standings with two rounds remaining. The flip side of the coin today was for the unfortunate Nicky Hayden, who for the third time this season had his race ruined when another rider collided with him in the first lap. The American was forced off track after an impact with Jorge Lorenzo, but he did a remarkable job to stay upright across the wet grass and return to the track to eventually pick up a point in 15th place.
Nicky Hayden – (Ducati MotoGp Team) (15th)
“I got probably the best start I have had all season but unfortunately it proved to be my downfall! I’m not sure what happened to Jorge – I saw he got a bad start as I passed him, then the next thing I know I felt a really hard impact. It was so hard it tore both our bikes up and obviously he couldn’t keep his upright. Thankfully I did and I got back on track but the thing was so damaged I was just riding around. I considered coming in to conserve the engine but there was always the chance it might rain and give us the opportunity to swap bikes so we stayed out there and tried to stay out of harm’s way. I’m disappointed because I felt we had a chance to do something here and apart from anything I was excited to race here because it’s always so much fun. Anyway, I can’t blame Jorge because he is fighting for the championship, he obviously didn’t mean it and I know it is not his style. The good thing is that I didn’t get hurt, which could have easily happened in that corner, and now we go to Malaysia and try to get back in the thick end of the points.”
Casey Stoner (Ducati MotoGP Team) (1st)
"I’d forgotten how good that winning feeling is and of all my victories this is perhaps the most special. I can honestly say that from a physical perspective I can’t ever remember feeling this strong after a race, which shows that the work we have done and the time we took out has been spot on. I got a good start and was able to put together the lap times to keep us at the front but quite honestly I felt I could have gone even faster if we’d have been able to find a little more rear traction over the course of the weekend. Anyway, I can’t complain because the work the guys have done on the bike during the season has been phenomenal, from the swingarm to the new fairing… they just haven’t stopped trying to make it better even when I wasn’t around. Now my aim is to help them as much as I can over the last two races and give Filippo (Preziosi) as much useful data as I can so that he can work his magic and improve the bike even more for next year.”
Livio Suppo – MotoGP Project Director
“This is a really special day. It is Casey’s third victory in a row here at Phillip Island but this time it has an extra flavour. Casey deserved it – he has gone through a difficult period but he has shown enormous character and determination to come back after two months out and pick up a podium at Estoril and then a win like this today. I also have to congratulate Valentino because with the championship almost wrapped up after Jorge’s crash he produced a great race. They finished 22 seconds ahead of third place with an incredible pace, although Casey had that little bit extra today. We’re also delighted to see his health improving so much. Nicky has had such an unlucky season. He got a fantastic start but this is the third time this season that he has been involved in an incident that wasn’t his fault. It’s a shame because without them he would no doubt be in the top ten in the championship. He deserves at least that because the improvements in the bike are also down to him. It is a disappointing end to the weekend for Nicky but we know he has the character to be back fighting in the next two rounds.”
Qualifying - Stoner on pole for home race, positive seventh place for NickySaturday Oct 17
Casey Stoner will start his home Grand Prix at Phillip Island from pole position for the second successive season tomorrow after snatching top spot by just 0.050 seconds in an exciting finale to today’s single qualifying practice. With dry but cool conditions prevailing once again this afternoon, track conditions were not ideal but the Australian produced a late charge to topple Valentino Rossi on a soft tyre.
His team-mate Nicky Hayden will start from the front of the third row after an improved showing on his Desmosedici GP9. The American bettered his fastest lap from yesterday on his first outing in this morning’s final free practice session before the onset of heavy rain, although he continued to make progress in the afternoon and registered the seventh quickest time overall, just over two tenths off the front row. Stoner, who was comfortably the quickest rider in that brief wet spell this morning, will run a special livery tomorrow.
Nicky Hayden - Ducati MotoGP Team - 7th - 1`31.325
“The bike felt a lot better this morning compared to yesterday although to be fair we only ran it on new tyres before the rain came and maybe that gave us a false impression of just how good it was. Having said that, it felt okay this afternoon too and I was able to push it pretty hard and enjoy myself – probably for the first time this weekend. I was in fifth place for a good while in the first half of the session but ended up seventh, just over two tenths off the front row, and I’m disappointed with that because I really hoped we’d be closer to the front at this track. Anyway, it’s tomorrow that counts and I’m looking forward to the race because as I said I’ve finally started to enjoy myself this afternoon. The problem could be that the race doesn’t start until 4pm so it will be approaching 5 by the time we finish, and that is going to have a massive effect on tyre choice and everything else.”
Casey Stoner - Ducati MotoGP Team - Pole position 1´30.341
"It’s a great feeling to be on pole position again, especially here at my home race. I’ve had great support from the fans here this weekend and it is nice to give them something to cheer for today, although the real work starts tomorrow. To be honest we’re still struggling for traction, which seems to be the same problem for everybody, but we have worked hard this season to create a bike that turns well – trying things like going back to the aluminium swingarm – and it has paid off so far this weekend. This is a great track to ride at when you’re comfortable with your bike and even though we still don’t have a perfect set-up I still felt confident enough to push it at the end and it was good fun. Now I’m really looking forward to tomorrow, especially because we’re going to be running a special livery and I’d really like to thank our sponsors for that.”
Free PracticeFriday Oct 16
Ducati MotoGP Team riders Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden benefited from an extended spell of sunny weather at Phillip Island today as they began set-up work on their Desmosedici GP9 machines in the first free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix. Strong winds and heavy overnight rain gave way to largely blue skies this morning, allowing for a crucial opening 45-minutes of dry track time in the afternoon although both riders struggled to find grip on the cool track surface.
The Australian, celebrating his 24th birthday today, led the time sheets in the early stages of the session and stayed firm in second place after being dislodged by Valentino Rossi, closing to within 0.135 seconds of the Italian with an exciting final lap. Hayden also improved on his final effort but despite making a positive start and holding firm in the top ten for the majority of the session his best time was only good enough for eleventh place.
Nicky Hayden – (Ducati MotoGP Team) (11th; 1’32.771)
“We got a bit of sunshine today so the track temperatures came up a little but there were a few spots of rain out there during the session and that didn’t help. I came out of the gate pretty fast but found it difficult to improve from there and I’m not really happy to be this far off the pace. In the past it has taken me a while to get up to speed here, even when I have had good results, so I’m not too worried but we definitely need to get the bike working better – especially over the bumps – and find some more edge grip. Hopefully we can take a big step tomorrow.”
Casey Stoner (Ducati MotoGP Team) (2nd; 1’31.167)
"I’m not that happy with today’s session to be honest. The track conditions weren’t good at all and we struggled for traction, which is usually a strong point of our bike. We tried a few different settings, one of which gave us better rear grip but compensated in turning, which was otherwise really good. The front end was quite consistent throughout so it’s just a case of working on the rear tomorrow and hoping that the track conditions improve so that we can find where the limits are. The weather is always a worry here and there was a point in the session this afternoon where it began to spot with rain just as I was heading into turn one and I came back in. I probably had my best setting at that point so the lap time could have been better but I think it has been a difficult day for everybody so we’re not too concerned.”
