Honda Riders dominate podium in Italian Grand Prix

 Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) finished his home grand prix in second place with team-mate Casey Stoner finishing third. San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli was pipped at the line by Ben Spies (Yamaha) for fourth place.

Dani Pedrosa, the third member of the Repsol Honda squad, finished a courageous eighth in his return to racing. Pedrosa had been sidelined for six weeks since breaking his right collarbone in the French Grand Prix at Le Mans. The Spaniard endured two surgeries on the collarbone before returning to the track.

Pedrosa knew his fitness would be an issue, especially in the heat, but he was encouraged that he hadn’t lost any of the speed which had taken him to podium positions in the three races he completed at the beginning of the season.

Stoner bolted from the pole position into the lead and controlled the pace while Lorenzo slotted in behind and Dovizioso gave chase from third.

The Australian grew the lead to 2.326s ending the 12th lap, while Lorenzo and Dovi battled over second. Stoner’s lead began to dissipate in the second half of the race as he began to have rear tyre problems. On the 18th lap Lorenzo passed Stoner, who by now was struggling to get the power of his Repsol Honda RC212V to the ground. Stoner next came under attack from Dovizioso, who passed him in the first turn of the final lap to take second, equalling his best finish of the season.

By finishing third, Stoner kept alive an enviable record of podium placings at every race he’s finished this year. Dovi’s second was his fourth podium in the last five races. After eight of 18 rounds, Stoner continues to lead the MotoGP World Championship. The Australian has 152 points to 133 for Lorenzo.

Lorenzo leads, Stoner and Dovizioso at Mugello

Dovizioso is a strong third with 119. Honda also leads the Constructor championship and the Repsol Honda Team leads the Team championship. Simoncelli and Spies battled throughout on a hot day and under track conditions they’d not experienced for race distance.

Simoncelli hung with the leaders for the first seven laps before losing touch. Eventually he and Spies would begin a battle that would last to the finish line. “Super Sic” was in front starting the final lap, but by the time they got to the stripe Spies had edged in front of him by.096s. Still, Simoncelli equaled his best finish of the season in his home race.

The teams now have a free weekend before for the ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship at the Sachsenring in Germany on July 22-23.

Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 2nd

“Mugello is always a special event and the feeling on the podium is unbelievable. Today I was the first and only Italian rider on the podium and this makes the result even more special. The support of the fans was incredible, they were all pushing for me and they motivated me a lot especially when I was tired because of the heat and this track which is so physically demanding. This morning we fine-tuned the set-up to have more stability with the front and I had a good feeling. We made a good start and we were able to be consistent for the whole race despite the fact there was not so much grip and the tyres were spinning. In the first part of the race I had some good battles with Jorge (Lorenzo) for the second position. Then, at the end of the race, overtaking Casey (Stoner) gave me the second place. I could see Casey was spinning a lot but he was very strong in some corners so I couldn’t pass him where I wanted, in the end I managed it on the last lap. This second position is so important for the championship, because I earned some good points and reduced the gap. Casey and Jorge are really strong but we have shown that we are there, the season is long and we just need to believe it. I want to thank the team and all the people around me. We have a winning bike and we are working hard in all areas”

Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda: 3rd

“I can't say I'm totally happy with the result today. We started the race very strong and everything felt fantastic on the bike, however, we had a problem with the tyres after a few laps. We believe this was related to incorrect tyre pressures for today's track temperature and we should have probably reduced them a little compared with what we used in warm-up because as soon as the tyres got up to a certain pressure, I lost all the grip in the rear and this led to me starting to close the front. I think this is why we were able to be so fast in the beginning of the race, as the tyres were able to warm up very quickly, but then the tyre overheated and I lost all the grip. I'm disappointed as our potential to win today was high, I thought I might still have potential to fight with Jorge and Andrea, but Jorge came past and he was too fast for me. Then Andrea came past and I thought I could respond, but I didn't have any traction. It's still a podium, and important points but I'm here to win races.”

Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 5th

“It was a very tough race because it was really hot and the track conditions were new to us so I didn't have the same feeling as in practice. The front three were able to set a slightly faster pace, I was able to hang on for six or seven laps but after that I lost touch. I tried to fight off Spies at the end but he was faster than me through the final corner and managed to take the inside line to pass me. Anyway, I am happy because it was a hot and long race. It was a positive weekend overall because the most important thing for us was to finish the race. The strange thing is that when the racing is close at the front and there is only nine seconds covering the top five I seem to stay upright but when they are more strung out and I have the opportunity to make positions up I have some kind of disaster!”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 8th

“I'm very happy with my performance and the result was worth it in the end, even if I'm still far from 100% fit. Historically in the past, when I have tried to go back racing after an injury I wasn't able to finish the race and today I managed to. I see that even being out for a quite a long period of time, I haven't lost the speed, so I'm sure that I'll back on top when my physical condition improves. At the start of the race, I had a problem with the clutch and I couldn't operate the gears for a lap and a half, so I lost everything in this moment. I lost many places and when the clutch started working again I tried to get into rhythm and find my pace, even though I was very tired very soon. I was improving step by step and caught the group ahead consisting of Valentino (Rossi), (Hector) Barberá and (Alvaro) Bautista. However, by that time I already had no energy to push any harder. I am extremely tired now, I gave everything I had and to take eighth position and eight points in my conditions, together with this clutch problem is quite a good result in my view. I'm satisfied with my race pace, I didn't think I would be able to lap in the high 1'49's, low 1'50's during the twenty three laps, so I'm happy about this. Congratulations to Jorge (Lorenzo) for his good race and many thanks to my fans and doctors for helping me to be back.”

Credit content: http://www.world.honda.com Photo: http://www.MotoGP.com