A big thanks to the team and everyone for all their hard work, but my thoughts are with Dani at this moment, I hope he can recover soon as he is a very strong contender for this Championship.”Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V MotoGP) says: “I am unhappy about what happened, because a result that was within my reach was denied and above all because of the fact that Pedrosa is hurt.“In my opinion the incident went like this: Pedrosa was having a bit of difficulty -I had pulled alongside him and passed him on the previous three laps. When he passed me back I was not intentionally trying to resist, and my telemetry shows that I got on the brakes at the same point as on previous laps.“I think that he had hit the brakes well before the corner, and I found myself on the outside of him and in front on the entry to the corner. I didn’t want to back off, so I left him with a metre between myself and the kerb in order to go in.“I saw that it was tight, so I tried to adjust my position. That was when he touched my back wheel and went down. I repeat that I am unhappy about it, and I want to avoid any controversy regarding penalization, but I believe that my ride through was a result of all the talk over the past few days. Now I have to focus on Barcelona.”Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing M1 MotoGP) says: “I think the race has been good in general for us and the results and points are good for the Championship. Obviously I would like to fight with Casey and the other best riders for victory but at this moment it’s really hard. What I can do is try to finish with the best result possible, take the maximum from our bike as it is now and wait for future improvements.”Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing M1 MotoGP) says: “It was a pretty exciting race. I made two mistakes on the first two laps and lost touch with Colin and Valentino. I tried to ride as hard as I could and was reeling in Colin until unfortunately he crashed; his bike slid across the track so I had to avoid it which allowed Nicky to get up to the back of me. We diced around a bit then I was able to get around him and go on my way. We got a sixth place result which is good for the points.”Colin Edwards (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha M1 MotoGP) says: “I got one of the best starts I’ve had in a long time and I just flew off the line but it was the usual jostle for position at the first corner.“I got a bit of clear track in front of me and I could see Valentino was coming back to me a little bit and Dovizioso and Lorenzo were also just in front of him. I rode at my absolute maximum to try and stay with them because I really wanted to get a top six for Tech 3 and for Monster.“I was losing four of five bike lengths though coming onto the back straight and then I’d also lose a bit more time at the next chicane because I wasn’t that fast through there. I could see the gap was staying at 1.5s and there was nothing I could do. I wasn’t making mistakes but neither were they, so I could see them but just not get close enough.“When I crashed it didn’t feel like I was doing anything too stupid. I was on the same line and I didn’t get in there too hot. Normally you get a bit of warning when the front is going to tuck, but I had nothing. I was already looking through at the next corner and then I was down. I broke the footpeg off but came back to the pits and went out again and salvaged a couple of points, which might prove valuable at the end of the year.”Cal Crutchlow (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha M1 MotoGP) says: “I’m pretty disappointed because looking at how the race panned out I could have been in sixth place because when I crashed I was having a good battle with Ben. I’d caught him quite easily and was looking forward to a good race when I made a stupid little mistake in Turn 6.“I touched the kerb and I lost the front. I literally fell off the side of the bike and that was it. It is disappointing because I had the pace to get another top eight, but these things can happen when you’re pushing so hard in a competitive class like MotoGP. I managed to get back on the bike but there was a problem with the throttle, so it was impossible for me to carry on. I showed my raw speed all weekend so I’m not going to be too hard on myself, though I was desperate to get a good result for Tech 3 and Monster.”Alvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki GSV-R MotoGP) says: “This is my first race this year because in Estoril I raced alone, but today I was able to fight with other riders! We managed to finish the race and get more kilometers under our belts, but I did not have the same feeling today as we had yesterday.“I felt like I had no good rear grip in the exit of the corner and the bike was spinning a lot and I struggled to stay with the group going for places in the top-10. I made a mistake when I tried to pass Abraham later on as I touched the gear lever and went into neutral and lost some time, and I also had a bit of an incident with Loris and Hector.“I tried to catch the group at the end, but it was very difficult to get past them. This is another race completed and I felt more competitive than in Estoril. This race was good for getting the racing feeling back and being able to overtake other riders and fight with them. I did many overtakes under braking and enjoyed the race very much – but not the result! I think if my rhythm had been better I could have finished in the top-10.“I want to thank all my team, because it has been a difficult weekend with some strange weather conditions, we tried to do the best we could and make a good bike for these conditions.”Toni Elias (LCR Honda RC212V MotoGP) says: “We have been afraid about the warm up of the tyres because the track temperature was colder compared to the practices but at the end it was not so bad. Our rear traction problem is not solved yet but now I can see progressive improvements and I want to thank the team for their good work.“When I was leading the small group in the back I thought that I could catch Aoyama but suddenly I have suffered a bike shaking banging my feet on the fairing. My leather security airbag activated and I could not ride properly for a couple of laps till it went down. After that I pushed to catch the group again but could not finish in the top ten. Anyway it has been a positive week end and I hope to see a further improvements at my home GP.”Loris Capirossi (Pramac Racing Team Ducati GP11 MotoGP) says: “So much, so much bad luck today. I was waiting for the end of the race to attack the group, I had the chance to recover some positions.“Then Bautista has slowed suddenly as he was fighting as well with another rider and I couldn’t avoid to touch him and this made me fall. There is always something wrong, unfortunately. Now there is little to say, this race has to be soon forgot. Next round at Barcelona, hoping that luck will assist us.”Randy De Puniet (Pramac Racing Team Ducati GP11 MotoGP) says: “I do not know what to say, I do not understand how I managed to fall like this. It’s been very strange, the front has suddenly lost the grip and I slipped.“I’m disappointed, I am angry: I wanted to do well in this race. Tomorrow I’ll only have in mind the next GP in Barcelona, but now I cannot forget what happened today. I’m sorry about what happened this morning with Casey. I was adjusting the brake, thinking that I had no one behind. Then, suddenly, I saw Casey coming behind me at full speed, I tried to leave the road to him, but unfortunately I went where he was pointing. I’m sorry and even if his reaction was not the best, for me it’s all put in the past and I have nothing wrong against him.”
2011 Le Mans MotoGP: Quote Wrap Up
A big thanks to the team and everyone for all their hard work, but my thoughts are with Dani at this moment, I hope he can recover soon as he is a very strong contender for this Championship.”Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V MotoGP) says: “I am unhappy about what happened, because a result that was within my reach was denied and above all because of the fact that Pedrosa is hurt.“In my opinion the incident went like this: Pedrosa was having a bit of difficulty -I had pulled alongside him and passed him on the previous three laps. When he passed me back I was not intentionally trying to resist, and my telemetry shows that I got on the brakes at the same point as on previous laps.“I think that he had hit the brakes well before the corner, and I found myself on the outside of him and in front on the entry to the corner. I didn’t want to back off, so I left him with a metre between myself and the kerb in order to go in.“I saw that it was tight, so I tried to adjust my position. That was when he touched my back wheel and went down. I repeat that I am unhappy about it, and I want to avoid any controversy regarding penalization, but I believe that my ride through was a result of all the talk over the past few days. Now I have to focus on Barcelona.”Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing M1 MotoGP) says: “I think the race has been good in general for us and the results and points are good for the Championship. Obviously I would like to fight with Casey and the other best riders for victory but at this moment it’s really hard. What I can do is try to finish with the best result possible, take the maximum from our bike as it is now and wait for future improvements.”Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing M1 MotoGP) says: “It was a pretty exciting race. I made two mistakes on the first two laps and lost touch with Colin and Valentino. I tried to ride as hard as I could and was reeling in Colin until unfortunately he crashed; his bike slid across the track so I had to avoid it which allowed Nicky to get up to the back of me. We diced around a bit then I was able to get around him and go on my way. We got a sixth place result which is good for the points.”Colin Edwards (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha M1 MotoGP) says: “I got one of the best starts I’ve had in a long time and I just flew off the line but it was the usual jostle for position at the first corner.“I got a bit of clear track in front of me and I could see Valentino was coming back to me a little bit and Dovizioso and Lorenzo were also just in front of him. I rode at my absolute maximum to try and stay with them because I really wanted to get a top six for Tech 3 and for Monster.“I was losing four of five bike lengths though coming onto the back straight and then I’d also lose a bit more time at the next chicane because I wasn’t that fast through there. I could see the gap was staying at 1.5s and there was nothing I could do. I wasn’t making mistakes but neither were they, so I could see them but just not get close enough.“When I crashed it didn’t feel like I was doing anything too stupid. I was on the same line and I didn’t get in there too hot. Normally you get a bit of warning when the front is going to tuck, but I had nothing. I was already looking through at the next corner and then I was down. I broke the footpeg off but came back to the pits and went out again and salvaged a couple of points, which might prove valuable at the end of the year.”Cal Crutchlow (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha M1 MotoGP) says: “I’m pretty disappointed because looking at how the race panned out I could have been in sixth place because when I crashed I was having a good battle with Ben. I’d caught him quite easily and was looking forward to a good race when I made a stupid little mistake in Turn 6.“I touched the kerb and I lost the front. I literally fell off the side of the bike and that was it. It is disappointing because I had the pace to get another top eight, but these things can happen when you’re pushing so hard in a competitive class like MotoGP. I managed to get back on the bike but there was a problem with the throttle, so it was impossible for me to carry on. I showed my raw speed all weekend so I’m not going to be too hard on myself, though I was desperate to get a good result for Tech 3 and Monster.”Alvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki GSV-R MotoGP) says: “This is my first race this year because in Estoril I raced alone, but today I was able to fight with other riders! We managed to finish the race and get more kilometers under our belts, but I did not have the same feeling today as we had yesterday.“I felt like I had no good rear grip in the exit of the corner and the bike was spinning a lot and I struggled to stay with the group going for places in the top-10. I made a mistake when I tried to pass Abraham later on as I touched the gear lever and went into neutral and lost some time, and I also had a bit of an incident with Loris and Hector.“I tried to catch the group at the end, but it was very difficult to get past them. This is another race completed and I felt more competitive than in Estoril. This race was good for getting the racing feeling back and being able to overtake other riders and fight with them. I did many overtakes under braking and enjoyed the race very much – but not the result! I think if my rhythm had been better I could have finished in the top-10.“I want to thank all my team, because it has been a difficult weekend with some strange weather conditions, we tried to do the best we could and make a good bike for these conditions.”Toni Elias (LCR Honda RC212V MotoGP) says: “We have been afraid about the warm up of the tyres because the track temperature was colder compared to the practices but at the end it was not so bad. Our rear traction problem is not solved yet but now I can see progressive improvements and I want to thank the team for their good work.“When I was leading the small group in the back I thought that I could catch Aoyama but suddenly I have suffered a bike shaking banging my feet on the fairing. My leather security airbag activated and I could not ride properly for a couple of laps till it went down. After that I pushed to catch the group again but could not finish in the top ten. Anyway it has been a positive week end and I hope to see a further improvements at my home GP.”Loris Capirossi (Pramac Racing Team Ducati GP11 MotoGP) says: “So much, so much bad luck today. I was waiting for the end of the race to attack the group, I had the chance to recover some positions.“Then Bautista has slowed suddenly as he was fighting as well with another rider and I couldn’t avoid to touch him and this made me fall. There is always something wrong, unfortunately. Now there is little to say, this race has to be soon forgot. Next round at Barcelona, hoping that luck will assist us.”Randy De Puniet (Pramac Racing Team Ducati GP11 MotoGP) says: “I do not know what to say, I do not understand how I managed to fall like this. It’s been very strange, the front has suddenly lost the grip and I slipped.“I’m disappointed, I am angry: I wanted to do well in this race. Tomorrow I’ll only have in mind the next GP in Barcelona, but now I cannot forget what happened today. I’m sorry about what happened this morning with Casey. I was adjusting the brake, thinking that I had no one behind. Then, suddenly, I saw Casey coming behind me at full speed, I tried to leave the road to him, but unfortunately I went where he was pointing. I’m sorry and even if his reaction was not the best, for me it’s all put in the past and I have nothing wrong against him.”