Casey Stoner Speaks… (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."
Valentino Rossi Speaks… (2nd)
"This was one of the most fun and definitely one of the most important second places of my career! We were on the limit for the whole race and there were some amazing slides, it was ‘old-style’ racing. To have a race like this in the sunshine at Phillip Island is an incredible emotion and I really enjoyed myself. Of course I wanted to win but I had to use my head a bit and once I’d seen that Lorenzo was out, I knew that if I made a mistake it would be a big disaster! Anyway I tried in places but Stoner was a bit faster than me. I didn’t give up until the end but Casey really deserved this win; I want to give him my congratulations. We leave with twenty important points and now the championship lead is big and we can try to finish it in Malaysia, where we will have the first ‘match point’."
Dani Pedrosa Speaks… (3rd)
"It’s good to be on the podium again, especially after the crash in qualifying yesterday, so I’m happy about that. I pushed myself to the maximum in the race, and we led for a short while from the start. Actually, it’s a shame they don’t award points for getting the holeshot! Casey and Valentino were going super-fast today, and I just couldn’t keep pace with them once they came past. From then on I just tried to keep my rhythm going and tried not to make any mistakes. It’s a little frustrating, of course, not to be able to fight at the front, but considering the crash yesterday this result was OK. The next race is in Malaysia, and it’s a track that I like. So I’m looking forward to next weekend, and I hope we can get another strong result."
Jorge Lorenzo Speaks… (DNF)
"I’m a little bit sad for this crash, not for the championship but for my mistake; I didn’t expect this kind of mistake from myself. It was totally my fault, I miscalculated the distance off the line and Nicky braked earlier than I was expecting and I hit him. I thought I could save it but my front brake was broken and so when I tried to brake for the corner I couldn’t and the rear made a big slide. I have a bit of damage to my nose and my finger but it could have been a lot worse. This is what happens in racing and, although I am disappointed about the race, the most important thing is that I am not badly injured. I want to say sorry to Nicky because I ruined his race today. As for the points, the title was a long shot anyway and now I just want to look forward to the final two races."
Colin Edwards Speaks… (5th)
"I’ll hold my hands up and say I really messed up the start. I pretty much fell asleep and when the lights went out, I was just sat there. That left me down in ninth place but the pace was pretty quick in the low 31s and I was able to pick off a few of them quite quickly. I knew if I didn’t get my head down then I’d be towing them around because of how you can slipstream at this track. I never relented and my pace was pretty hot, and thankfully it wasn’t too difficult for me to make a break from the pack. I saw de Angelis in front of me and I tried everything I could to get close to him. I’m tired of finishing fifth, so I gave it everything I had. But the start cost me fourth and some precious points. Towards the end of the race I star ted to lose some side grip and I couldn’t do anything more to try and put pressure on de Angelis. I beat Dovizioso again which is all I can do to try and get fifth in the championship. I really want that fifth to reward all my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3. They’ve been great and I’ll be giving it my all for them in the last two races."
James Toseland Speaks… (14th)
"I’m really struggling to describe how I feel right now. All I can say is I feel the jump start decision was incredibly harsh and I am extremely disappointed. I have looked at the start on TV and I can’t see I’ve done anything wrong. It is hard for me to take but I’ve got to try and put it behind me as soon as possible and aim for a strong result in Sepang next weekend. I was confident of a strong race today and I was latched onto the back of the group fighting for fifth. I felt my pace was strong enough to hav e put up a strong fight for a positive result, but the ride through ended all that. I want to thank all my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 for all their hard work and effort this weekend. They have been brilliant as always and I’m not going to let this disappointment stop me from giving my all to finish this season on a high at the last two races."
Mika Kallio Speaks… (9th)
"I am very disappointed today notwithstanding the ninth position isn’t such a bad result. Until half of the race I was easily fighting for sixth position, but then something happened in the front part of the tyre and I couldn’t maintain the same rhythm. From there on my only objective was to finish the race, as I didn’t want to throw away a full racing weekend. Back in the garage we have checked the situation of the bike and we could clearly see that the front tyre was particularly worn out. A pity, we know that this sort of thing can happen to anyone and we confide that in seven days in Malaysia we can achieve a better result, but the disappointment to have wasted a good opportunity remains."
Nicky Hayden Speaks… (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."
