Stoner and Pedrosa triumph in Aragón and Dovi crashes out

The Aragón Grand Prix was the stage for a very special day for the Repsol Honda Team, which secured its 100th victory thanks to Casey Stoner’s relentless dominance at this event. Wearing a design created especially for the occasion by Spanish designer David Delfín, the Australian climbed to the top of the podium, accompanied by his teammate Dani Pedrosa, who finished second. For Andrea Dovizioso, the race did not last even a lap, as he went down at the second corner.

The day looked like a grand celebration in the Repsol Honda Team garage, especially decorated for the third race of the season held in Spain. With the Stoner, Pedrosa and Dovizioso bikes and suits sporting a spectacular Davidelfin design, the Repsol riders started from the front row, with Pedrosa taking the lead and holding off Stoner under braking, while Stoner watched Spies pass him before the second corner. However, the Australian returned the move only a few corners later and moved into second, chasing Dani Pedrosa, whom he overtook before the end of the first lap.

It was a first lap that Andrea Dovizioso could not complete, as he crashed at the second corner. The Italian started from fifth and, after getting through the always-tricky first turn, was pushed wide at the second by Nicky Hayden. Taking the corner through the dirty part of the track, his front end closed up on him and he was unable to save the crash.

From that moment on, the race was straightforward for Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa, who moved firmly towards another one-two, the fifth of the season for the Repsol Honda Team riders. Stoner steadily increased his advantage over Pedrosa by tenths of a second, while Pedrosa did the same over the chasing group, until they crossed the line comfortably occupying the first two positions.

With this result, the Repsol Honda Team has reached the significant figure of 100 victories in the World Motorcycle Championship.

This milestone also allows Casey Stoner to extend his lead at the top of the general standings of the World Motorcycle Championship, which now stands at 44 points over Jorge Lorenzo. Dani Pedrosa, fourth, reduces the gap to third place, still held by his teammate Andrea Dovizioso, to 15 points.

The next event of the Continental Circus will be the Japanese Grand Prix, on October 2, at Motegi.

Statements from Dani Pedrosa:

We already saw in practice that Casey [Stoner] was a little faster than us, and that was also the case in the race.

I always lost a few tenths in the first sector and could no longer recover them over the rest of the lap. In the second half of the race the bike was sliding constantly. It was fun in part, but also a shame because we couldn’t get closer to Casey; I had a lot of problems with the rear tyre throughout the race.

From then on my priority was to control the gap, first to Spies and then to Lorenzo in the final laps, and to secure another podium. We have finished second in the last three races, which is not bad at all, but we want to keep improving and will try to do so in the races that remain.

Statements from Andrea Dovizioso:

I had a slide at the second corner; all the weight of the bike went forward and I couldn’t control it, so I lost the front wheel because the tyre didn’t have enough temperature. It is very disappointing to see your race end on the first lap after the hard work done over the weekend.

This morning we struggled in the warm-up with used tyres and, obviously, a bad session affects you a little, but at the start I was fully focused and very motivated for this race. It’s a pity, because we had the pace to fight for the podium and the team did a good job. Leaving Aragón without scoring points is negative for the championship.

We are still third, but with only 15 points’ advantage over Dani [Pedrosa]. We have to get back on the podium and get good results. Last year we had a good end to the season, especially in Japan and Malaysia. I am looking forward to those Grands Prix.

Statements from Casey Stoner:

Before the race we were all a little worried about the wind, because the conditions were quite different from what we had all weekend. I had that in my head, as well as the need to warm up the tyres at the start of the race.

Our start was more or less as always. I went a little to the left and was able to avoid Dani [Pedrosa], but Ben [Spies] passed us and I found myself third or fourth at the first corner. But from that moment on I calmed down and felt very comfortable with the bike.

I wanted to get in front as soon as possible, because the bike has been fantastic all weekend and we could only lose this race, so I wanted to be in front and try to get away. I passed Dani as soon as I could; he held me off for a few laps, but little by little I was able to pull away and control the race. I think we all suffered with the tyres in some way, but the bike has been working very well and I don’t mind it sliding a little.

Many thanks to the team for their work; winning the 100th victory for the Repsol Honda Team is something special.