Stoner returns to winning ways with Donington domination, difficult day for Melandri

Casey Stoner took his second victory of the season and the 40th podium of his career today with a dominant display at Donington Park. As a result the reigning MotoGP World Champion moved up a place to third in the championship, closing the gap by five points to series leader Valentino Rossi and by nine to Dani Pedrosa, who finished in second and third place respectively. Yesterday's rain gave way to high winds today but the dry conditions suited Stoner perfectly and the youngster produced a faultless display from the first lap.

Things were much trickier for Melandri, who was unable to rediscover his positive feeling from the first day and ended up down in sixteenth place.

CASEY STONER, 1st: "This has been a great weekend for us and it's brilliant to know that we're in a position to fight that little bit harder. The last three races have gone quite well for us in general but we've taken a big step forward with the new electronic system, which worked so well at the Catalunya test and then here. After a disappointing start to the season since the opening round at Qatar it's nice to feel as though we're back on track and this weekend went well from the start. We kicked off in free practice with some good lap times and it's just got better and better since then, in wet and dry conditions. Today the bike was perfect, even at the end of the race we had really good traction and I want to thank all my team - Filippo, Vitto and all the people at Ducati - for the hard work they are doing. Now we just hope that this new electronic system will work as well at the rest of the tracks as it has done at Catalunya and Donington Park."

That was the last anyone saw Stoner. Rossi included.

Rossi (2nd), Stoner(Winner), Dani Pedrosa (3rd) - Donington podium

Vermeulen eighth as Spies scores first GP points at a windy Donington

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen battled to eighth place at today’s British Grand Prix at Donington Park, with replacement rider Ben Spies finishing in 14th to score his first-ever MotoGP points.

Vermeulen was looking comfortable in sixth place, but as grip reduced he was unable to fight off the attacks from riders around him, and even though he fought right to the chequered flag he just couldn’t find that extra bit he needed to hold on to a higher position.

Spies acquitted himself very well at his first-ever MotoGP event. The 23-year-old American continued with his steep learning curve to bring his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R home safely in 14th .He had a tough start to the race, but settled into a smooth rhythm by half distance and then produced his fastest time on the 21st lap of the race.

Today’s race was held in dry, but very windy, conditions which kept temperatures down. Over 88,000 fans at trackside saw reigning World Champion Casey Stoner lead the race from start to finish, taking the win from current championship leader Valentino Rossi in second.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now makes the short trip across the North Sea to The Netherlands for the Dutch TT next Saturday, where it looks ever increasingly likely that Loris Capirossi will make a return to track action following his crash at Catalunya earlier this month which sidelined him for today’s race with a broken hand.

Chris Vermuelen and Nicky Hayden fight for postion.

Chris Vermeulen: “It was a difficult race today as we hadn’t had a lot of track time in the dry to prepare for it. For me though we have taken a big step with the bike compared to here last year in the dry - that had a lot to do with the Barcelona test and what we learnt there. I’ve got to say a big thanks to my team because they worked so hard this weekend and gave me a bike that worked really well considering the little amount of set-up time we had. Unfortunately we didn’t have the pace of the front guys, and although I rode as hard as I could for the whole race it just didn’t quite happen. Towards the end we didn’t have much grip left in the rear tyre, which was unfortunate because I felt like I had the pace to fight with other riders around me. Let’s now move on to Assen next week and see how things go there.”

Ben Spies had a mixed weekend, not back for a complete rookie though

Ben Spies: “It was a tough race as I was still trying to learn the tyres, the bike and the track in the first few laps. The first half of the race felt like garbage to me, but the second half was really good! I was running times towards the end that would have put us in the top-10 so I’m quite pleased with that. I was catching the guys in front and reeling them in lap-by-lap, but I just didn’t have enough laps to get up and past them. I was definitely getting more comfortable on the bike and even though the result wasn’t what I wanted the times at the end were really fast and I’m happy with that!”

Paul Denning – Team Manager: “Unfortunately we weren’t able to turn the front row start into the result we were looking for today - it certainly wasn’t through lack of effort on Chris’s part. He got a good start and looked like he could get up there with the front guys, but he just didn’t have that bit of extra pace that was needed to make a challenge. Chris is very motivated and if points were rewarded for hard work, he and his crew would be at the top of the board!

“Ben did a good job here this weekend and he looked comfortable and quick on the bike towards the end of the race. He turned in lap times that were good enough for the top-10 - and that is a credit to him. He hasn’t made a mistake all weekend and has improved consistently no matter what has been thrown at him. He has done very well indeed. It’s not yet clear whether Ben will race at Assen to continue his learning curve, but he will be there ready to step in if Loris is not able to ride.”

Andrea Dovizioso takes a fighting fifth position at Donington Park

After a weekend of very differing weather conditions at the eighth round of the MotoGP World Championship, today Donington Park was finally kissed by sunshine. Thankfully, stable weather conditions blessed the MotoGP race, which saw Andrea Dovizioso on his Honda RC212V finish in fifth position for JiR Team Scot after a very strong race. Starting from the second row of the grid in sixth position, Andrea was able to stay with the three leaders with Casey Stoner out front, who was pushing hard to make a gap on the following riders. For the whole race Andrea was able to be involved in some exciting battles with the likes of Dani Pedrosa, Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards. The final position of fifth is a result, which is very important for the World Championship in which the Italian rider maintains sixth place overall.

Gianluca Montiron – Team Director: “The small amount of time at our disposal during practice to set up the bike in dry weather affected our overall result. Fifth position is representative of this. Andrea made a very good start and in the early laps he was able to maintain a very good rhythm. After this the middle part of the race saw other riders trying hard to reach the leaders and overall I want to say what Andrea achieved was very positive. We do not gain any positions in the World Championship classification, but the points achieved today were fundamental for the season ahead. We must continue like this and take each and every opportunity for points in the forthcoming rounds. Only working like this we can get the final result which we deserve.”

Andrea Dovisioso - Happy to be battling with Nicky and Colin. Will he take Nicky's place in the Repsol squad next year?

Andrea Dovizioso – 5th: “This fifth position is an important result for us and I’m happy about it. I made a good start, which allowed me to make a lot of overtaking and for some laps I was there with Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa. In the first part of the race I’m generally faster than other riders and this allows me to gain some positions straight after the start. Then Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards came back at me quite quickly. I was behind Nicky for a few laps but when I saw Colin arriving I decided to overtake him and improve my rhythm. It went well with Nicky as I passed him, but not so well with Colin who beat me to the chequered flag. I was able to maintain a good pace around 1m 29s but the bike showed the same little problem of balance that we had on Friday. In Assen at the next race it will be crucial and important to produce another good result like this one.”

Gianni Berti – Technical Co-ordinator: “The team did a good job today, as we did not have enough time to set up the bike for the dry conditions. In the wet we were ready, but Andrea was only in 13th position on Friday in the dry conditions, so this morning in the warm-up we tried to find the best settings possible and this translated to a fifth place in the race: in fact the warm-up represented for us our dry practice session. Andrea was able to interpret the race well, and he achieved this result by making a very good start as soon as the lights went out.”

Top ten at Donington marks return to top form for West

Kawasaki's Anthony West stormed to his first top ten finish of the season in today's British Grand Prix at Donington Park, after finally overcoming the traction problems that have plagued him since the beginning of the season.

West, who qualified in seventh position on the grid in the wet yesterday, rode superbly aboard his Bridgestone-shod machine, lapping consistently throughout the 30-lap race around the 4.023km circuit. The Kawasaki pilot came under pressure late on in the race, but was able to up his pace sufficiently to retain tenth place at the chequered flag.

West is now looking forward to Assen, one of his more favoured circuits, as upgrades to his race machine should further assist his quest to get a season that's been hampered by problems well and truly back on track.

John Hopkins was left frustrated today, as a technical issue with his Ninja ZX-RR forced him out of the race on lap seventeen, but it was an eventful race for the Kawasaki pilot even before this problem brought it to a premature end.

After a good start from 11th place on the grid, the Anglo-American was baulked at turn one, Redgate Corner, when James Toseland highsided out of contention right in front of him and Hopkins had to take evasive action to avoid the Briton's fallen machine. The gritty 25-year-old, who is still carrying a back injury sustained at Catalunya, fought his way up to tenth position, just ahead of his teammate, before being sidelined by an electrical fault on his Ninja ZX-RR.

While Kawasaki's engineers investigate the cause of the problem, Hopkins is looking to make amends in the Dutch TT at Assen, which takes place in just six days time.

Anthony West, #13 - 10th Position: "This result shows exactly what we are capable of and I hope it will only get better from here. The bike finally feels rideable, and I was able to push right up until the end of the race, so I'm really pleased with a top ten finish. We've made a massive step forward and I feel so much more confident in the wet or dry than I have done previously. In the closing stages I came under quite a lot of pressure from Toni Elias and Randy de Puniet, but I was able to respond and maintain a good lap time throughout. The machine set-up felt good, as did the Bridgestone tyres, and although there are many more improvements to be made, I really believe we can work on these. The next round at Assen is one of my more favoured tracks so I'm really looking forward to racing there."

John Hopkins, #21 - DNF: "It's difficult to express how frustrated I feel after today's race. I got away from the start pretty well, but then Toseland highsided right in front of me exiting the first turn and, while he slid off the track, I had to brake almost to a standstill to avoid his bike. This left me dead last on the opening lap, but I got my head down and fought my way back through the field, eventually passing Anthony to take tenth position. I think it was possible to close the gap on the group ahead of me, but then the bike just stopped at the Old Hairpin. Obviously we need to figure out what caused the problem, but with the next race less than one week away I don't want to dwell on what went wrong today but, rather, look forward to making amends next weekend in Assen."

Micheal Bartholemy, Kawasaki Competition Manager: "I am very happy for Anthony because he has ridden well in both the wet and dry conditions throughout the weekend. This proves that as a team we were right to stick by him. I have always believed we made a good choice in Anthony, and today he was able to ride a solid race to achieve our aim of a top ten finish. Today has been disappointing for John, as he has worked so hard whilst carrying a back injury. He fought to a good position before being ruled out of the race due to a technical issue. This problem is now under investigation and we will look to resolve it, wherever the trouble lies."

Optimistic comeback for Elias, Guintoli thirteenth

Surely a proof of character for Toni Elias who, starting from the last position in the British Grand Prix, gritted his teeth giving all he had from the first to the last turn. At the end of the first lap the Spanish rider had already gained two positions on Hopkins and Toseland who unluckily slipped in the first turn. Constancy allowed the Alice Team rider to improve lap after lap registering his best lap time in the 21st lap when he was in twelfth position. In the last lap, after a battle which lasted seven laps, the Catalan rider made the last overtake which put him in eleventh position which means five world championship points. Elias, now, is in fourteenth position in the World Classification with 29 points, together with Marco Melandri. His teammate Sylvain Guintoli, after the good start that saw him in eleventh position for the first six laps, has concluded in thirteenth position. The French rider is now in seventeenth position in the 2008 MotoGP classification.

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Technical Director: “With all the difficulties we found this weekend, weather conditions included, the eleventh position gives us good hopes. To start from the last position is never easy, mostly mentally, but Toni has always demonstrated his strong and determined character during his career. We knew that with this track conditions, much more similar to the last Barcelona test, we were more competitive. Next weekend in Assen we will try other solutions tried during the test to improve even more.”

Toni Elias – 11th: “Let’s put it this way, I am happy for all we have done today. With my Team we have worked intensively to find the best solution possible. I would say that we have done a good job. Naturally the eleventh place doesn’t make me happy, but for how it went yesterday I can consider myself satisfied. I am an aggressive rider and I like to overtake, but I would like to be able to fight also for better positions. In four days we will back on track and I hope to continue in this direction.”

Guintoli couldn't capitalize on his best grid postion this year

Sylvain Guintoli – 13th: “I started well and I remained in eleventh position for many laps. I didn’t push too hard in the first half of the race because today we tried a new front tyre that I never used before and we have done many modifications in the front part of the bike. After ten laps I found a good rhythm on 1’30. I made it to maintain it until the end, but even if it was a rhythm much better compare to my lap time registered on Friday, I didn’t make it to step up in the classification.”

Rossi extends championship lead with second place in 200th Grand Prix

Valentino Rossi finished a worthy runner-up at Donington Park today, unable to catch Casey Stoner on this occasion but surviving a mid-race battle with Dani Pedrosa to extend his lead at the top of the championship. Today was Rossi's 200th Grand Prix and this his 142nd podium since he opened his account with a third place at the 1996 Austrian GP in the 125cc class. It was also a good day for Rossi's team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who put his recent injuries and yesterday's poor qualifying behind him to come through from 17th on the grid to take sixth.

Rossi's recent work in testing on improving his starts paid off today and the Italian held onto his second place at the off. He tried to stay with Stoner but the Australian was too quick in some parts of the track today and Rossi knew that second was going to be as good as it got. Midway through the 30-lap race Pedrosa loomed and twice passed Rossi into turn one, but both times the multiple-champion took him back and over the final stages he was able to create a safe cushion from the Spaniard, crossing the line just under six seconds behind Stoner and 2.558 ahead of Pedrosa, who is his closest championship rival.

Despite Pedrosa's best efforts, Rossi came through by a comfy margin.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 2ndTime: +5.789: "I am quite happy about this result, although of course I would have preferred to have been fighting with Stoner for the win! I got a good start today and I tried to stay with Casey, but in some corners he was faster than me and it was impossible to keep up with his pace as the race went on. I knew that second place was important because of the points so I had to win my fight with Pedrosa in the middle of the race! Luckily we took second and now I have extended my lead by four points, which is very important for our championship. Unfortunately this weekend we made some mistakes when it was dry on Friday, and then because of the wet yesterday we weren't able to work on them until today, when it was too late to make things perfect. Anyway we did the best we could so thanks to all my guys. We are leading the championship but Stoner showed his potential today so I think that this hard battle between us all is going to continue race by race. I am glad we only have a few days to Assen and I am looking forward to doing better there."

Davide Brivio - Team Manager: "Today it was difficult to do better than this but if you think about the championship it has been a very important result and we have increased our lead on Pedrosa by four points. We're not quite at the half-way point of the championship yet - one more week - but we're pretty happy with our season so far and the important thing is that we're leading the championship. We have no time to rest before Assen but we will be going there with the aim of getting back to the top step of the podium."

Lorenzo storms to sixth with superbDonington ride

Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo wrote another impressive chapter in his rollercoaster rookie story today with an outstanding ride to sixth from 17th on the grid in the British Grand Prix. After suffering a string of crashes and injuries over the last seven weeks and missing the last round in Catalunya, his aim today was simply to come home in one piece but the determined 21-year-old did considerably better, passing a host of riders to make up 11 places from his grid position.

In dry but windy conditions, Lorenzo lived up to his nickname 'Por Fuera' at turn one by overtaking around the outside of several riders and coming out of the first corner melee in 13th position. He continued with more of the same throughout the lap and crossed the line for the first time in tenth. As his confidence grew he found the rhythm he had been lacking during the rest of the weekend and passed Anthony West to take ninth on lap 13. A consistent pace throughout the middle part of the race, matching that of the leading riders, brought him to Shinya Nakano on lap 20 and, once past him he succeeded in closing a three second gap to Chris Vermeulen and Nicky Hayden in just four laps. He dispensed with these two in turn and then set off after Andrea Dovozioso, however with only five laps remaining time ran out for the Mallorcan and he crossed the line just under a second adrift of the Italian, despite setting a personal best time on the final lap of the race.

Lorenzo now sits 13 points adrift of Stoner in fourth place, whilst Rossi extends his lead over Dani Pedrosa to 11 points as they approach the half way point in the championship, which comes at Assen in just six days time.

Jorge Lorenzo - Crashed, broken but not out!

Jorge Lorenzo - 6th: "I'm very happy with this result, because this was a very hard weekend for me and for my crew. I don't want to think about the past, or think about what might have been if I'd started in the front rows, I only want to think about the present and my ride today. The number one aim was to finish the race without crashing or hurting myself, because at the end of the day your health is the most important thing! After the start however I started to feel more and more confident and found I was able to ride better and better, then I realised that I actually had the chance to do a very good race. I had fast pace throughout and my bike and my Michelin tyres worked very well, so thank you to all my team. Sometimes lately it has been hard to stay optimistic, motivated and happy, even though I have always tried to go out smiling and with a good attitude, but this race today was great and I am very happy tonight."

Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager: "We have achieved the goal for this race; it was very important that Jorge found a good feeling with the bike and started to enjoy riding his M1 again and today this happened. He was able to ride a beautiful race and come back from a difficult grid position to take a brilliant sixth. Today he impressed us once again and it was also a great feeling for everyone to see him making eleven overtakes! The team did a fantastic job because they were able to put him in a position to be this fast. We are very confident now that in Assen Jorge will be back to his best."

Masahiko Nakajima - Team Director: "We were struggling all weekend in order to try to find the right set-up to fit these tricky conditions. At the end we found a good setting, which enabled Valentino to be fast, but unfortunately one of our rivals was still faster than us today! Anyway we were able to secure important championship points and we are satisfied about this. Now our aim is to get back to the top of the podium next week.

We are all very happy with Jorge's race today because he came through to a good finishing position from the back of the grid. Unfortunately starting from 17th meant it was very difficult to come all the way to the front but he did a fantastic job in the circumstances. We're pleased because we have seen once again the impressive riding that he showed us before his accident. Now we will continue to try to improve his bike set-up even more, with the aim of seeing him back on the podium as soon as possible."

Edwards fourth for Tech 3 Yamaha, Toseland frustrated

The Tech 3 Yamaha team had another day of contrasting fortunes at a blustery Donington Park today, with Colin Edwards claiming a hard fought fourth place in the British GP.

But there was bitter disappointment for James Toseland and a record British GP crowd of nearly 90,000 fans as the 27-year-old finished 17th following a crash at the first corner.

Seventh at the end of the first lap, Edwards started to make his charge through the field on lap 14 when he passed Chris Vermeulen at Coppice. Just three laps later he claimed fifth with an overtake on compatriot Nicky Hayden before he took fourth place from Andrea Dovizioso on lap 18. For most of the second half of the race, Edwards was able to run the pace of podium finishers Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa, but despite some aggressive riding he was unable to fight his way back into contention for a second successive podium.

It was a day of frustration for Toseland, who determined to make a strong start from 16th on the grid, crashed at the first turn having gained several places. Despite a nasty bang to his right hand and the loss of his right footpeg, Toseland rallied himself to complete 30 tough laps at a fast pace. Despite his disappointing result, Toseland still got a rousing reception from British fans appreciative of his efforts.

Colin Edwards on Tech 3 Yamaha to 4th

Colin Edwards - 4th: "I'm a bit cross even though fourth is still a good result. In the dry on Friday it was so good and I was really happy with everything. But with the rain yesterday I got thrown a bit. The geometry of the bike is quite a bit different and the weight bias quite a bit different compared to last year. So riding in the rain threw me a bit today when it was dry. Even this morning I went out and I came in and I started complaining about all these problems with the front end, yet it was exactly the same bike that I had on Friday. I got out in the race and in the first few laps I was struggling. I was riding hard but I couldn't get into the low 29s like I was doing on a tyre that had done 24 laps on Friday. And then it kind of clicked what I needed to do but it took too long to adjust. I kept letting the front pop up and kept running wide and running wide and then I figured it out. Now you have to brake a lot deeper, harder and longer on this year's bike with the geometry and I just got my head around it too late. Once I did that I got into the low 29s and started moving through the field. As far as lap times there was not much between me, Valentino, Dani and Casey. I kept seeing them at the same spot on the track and they weren't pulling away. If anything I was gaining a little bit on them. I might have fought with them had I come through a bit quicker but we still did a fantastic job this weekend. The team and Michelin did a great job and I just wish I could run the race again."

James only had billboards for company after the 1st corner onwards.

James Toseland - 17th: "It is hard to explain just how disappointed how I am. I really wanted to get a good result for my home crowd but it was always going to be difficult after the problems of yesterday. Starting from 16th was always going to be tough but I decided to attack from the start. I made a good start and passed a few people and didn't think I was too fast into the first corner but the rear end came round and I was down. I could have just cruised back to the pits but a lot of people had come to see me ride. I was hurting because I hit my head pretty hard and I smacked my right hand down on the tarmac. And the right footpeg had snapped off, but I soldiered on because I wanted to get to that chequered flag more than anything. I was going to finish for all those fans, who have been unbelievable supporting me since I arrived here. I will bounce back from this but it has got to be one of the biggest disappointments of my career. It is not in my nature to give up and I didn't today, and I know my turn will come. I am obviously disappointed, but I have to congratulate Scott Redding. He did an amazing job and it was great for the British fans to see him do that.

Herve Poncharal - Team Manager: "Firstly I really want to thank Colin because again he did another great race. He qualified on the second row in the rain and although he lose some time in the early part of the race he was running the same times as Valentino and Dani and he was catching them later on. Seeing Colin do that today proves what a competitive package we have got. Of course I am very sorry and disappointed for James. I think he really wanted to do well but the rain on Saturday meant he was always racing against the clock to improve. From then he was always trying to recover. He made a mistake but I have nothing but huge admiration for what he did afterwards. It took a lot of courage for him to carry in the circumstances and it showed that he really wanted to repay the British fans for their support. He wanted to do well for them and I don't think they can be disappointed with his effort. The good news is we have a race next week and he can show what a strong character he is by bouncing back."

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