Australia 2008
VALENTINO ROSSI HAD A HIGH-SPEED, OFF-TRACK EXCURSION AT A CRUCIAL TIME IN SATURDAY QUALIFYING THAT LEFT HIM AT THE FURTHEST PART OF THE CIRCUIT AND UNABLE TO GET BACK IN TIME FOR THE LAST FEW HECTIC LAPS OF THE SESSION. THIS LEFT HIM IN 12TH ON THE GRID.
CASEY STONER TOOK POLE AND CEMENTED IT WITH VICTORY IN HIS HOME EVENT BUT FOR THE FIRST THIRD OF THE RACE HE WAS CHALLENGED BY HIS NEW FOR 2009 TEAM-MATE, NICKY HAYDEN, WHO WAS STILL RIDING HIS HEART OUT FOR HONDA. GOOD TO SEE NICKY BACK AT THE FRONT.
DANI PEDROSA MUST STILL BE UNSURE OF THE BRIDGESTONE TYRES HE NOW USES BECAUSE HE WENT OFF AND OUT OF THE RACE AT TURN 2 ON THE FIRST LAP. THE BEST ACTION, AND IT WAS BRILLIANT CLOSE RACING, WAS THE FIGHT FOR 3RD SPOT. INITIALLY, IT WAS JAMES TOSELAND, HAVING HIS BEST RACE OF THE SEASON ON A TRACK HE KNOWS WELL FROM HIS SUPERBIKE DAYS. VALENTINO HAD COME UP THROUGH THE FIELD AND THE BATTLE BETWEEN HIM AND JAMES WENT ON FOR MANY LAPS WITH VALENTINO UNABLE TO GET PAST AND THEN MAKE IT STICK.
ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS, HE GOT PAST ONLY FOR JAMES TO GET IN FRONT AGAIN - IT WAS STIRRING STUFF. ALSO IN THIS SCRAP WERE JORGE LORENZO, SHINYA NAKANO AND ANDREA DOVIZIOSO AND THIS COMPACT 5-MAN TRAIN LOOKED MORE LIKE A WORLD SUPERBIKE RACE THAN MOTOGP, WHICH TENDS TO HAVE BIGGER GAPS BETWEEN RIDERS. EVENTUALLY, VALENTINO GOT CLEAR AND SUBSEQUENTLY CAUGHT NICKY HAYDEN, WHOSE TYRES WERE NOW CAUSING CONCERN.
AN ENTHRALLING RACE!
STARTING GRID
| | | | | |
| 1.
|
Casey Stoner
|
| 2.
|
Jorge Lorenzo
|
| 3.
|
Nicky Hayden
|
| 4.
|
Randy de Puniet
|
| 5.
|
James Toseland
|
| 6.
|
Dani Pedrosa
|
| 7.
|
Colin Edwards
|
| 8.
|
Andrea Dovizioso
|
| 9.
|
Shinya Nakano
|
| 10.
|
Alex de Angelis
|
| 11.
|
Loris Capirossi
|
| 12.
|
Valentino Rossi
|
| 13.
|
Tony Elias
|
| 14.
|
Sylvain Guintoli
|
| 15.
|
Chris Vermeulen
|
| 16.
|
John Hopkins
|
| 17.
|
Marco Melandri
|
| 18.
|
Anthony West
|
RESULT
| |
| 1.
|
Casey Stoner
|
| 2.
|
Valentino Rossi
|
| 3.
|
Nicky Hayden
|
| 4.
|
Jorge Lorenzo
|
| 5.
|
Shinya Nakano
|
| 6.
|
James Toseland
|
| 7.
|
Andrea Dovizioso
|
| 8.
|
Colin Edwards
|
| 9.
|
Randy de Puniet
|
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Riders :
| |
| Valentino Rossi
|
332
|
| Casey Stoner
|
245
|
| Dani Pedrosa
|
209
|
| Jorge Lorenzo
|
182
|
| Andrea Dovizioso
|
145
|
| Nicky Hayden
|
131
|
| Colin Edwards
|
126
|
| Chris Vermeulen
|
118
|
| Shinya Nakano
|
106
|
Constructors :
|
| Yamaha
|
361
|
| Ducati
|
286
|
| Honda
|
275
|
| Suzuki
|
165
|
| Kawasaki
|
81
|
Race Results posted by
David Little
6th October 2008
The HTML code for this page has been validated by the World Wide Web Consortium.