Bridgestone motorsport wrap for 14th July 2008
Three in a Row for Stoner and Bridgestone
It was an all-Bridgestone podium at the German MotoGP at the weekend, with Australia's Casey Stoner on the top step for the third race in a row.
The defending world champion took control of the race after early race leader Dani Pedrosa crashed out in the wet conditions. The Spaniard had made a lightning start and was lapping two seconds quicker than his rivals when he lost his bike underneath him after touching the brakes on the 270kph straight.
After that, Stoner was never headed as he rode smoothly to another 25 championship points to continue his mid-season resurgence.
"I saw Dani riding off into the distance and I thought 'fair play'. There was no way I was going to go that fast in those conditions at that time. We used a harder compound on the tyres today and they were taking time to warm up," Stoner said.
"Then I saw Dani tumbling and rolling in the gravel. Given his past record in the wet, he was riding very well up until then. From then on it was just a matter of increasing a small advantage with every lap."
Valentino Rossi picked his way through the field from seventh on the grid to finish in second place for Yamaha, a result which put him back on top of the championship standings, replacing Pedrosa who didn't score a point.
It was an Australian sandwich with Chris Vermuelen underlining the performance of the Bridgestone wet-weather rubber with a brilliant third place after starting his Suzuki from 14th.
"It was a tough race for everyone today, but it was a fantastic feeling to see the podium filled with red Bridgestone caps for the first time this season," said Hiroshi Yamada, Bridgestone Motorsport's Motorcycle Sport Unit Manager.
"A lot of our on-track team come from Germany, so it is a fitting result, and the fact that it is the first MotoGP win on Bridgestone tyres at Sachsenring makes it
even more special."
Round 11 of the 18-race championship will be held at Laguna Seca in the USA in a
week's time.
German MotoGP results:
1 C Stoner (Aus) Ducati 47mins 30.057secs
2 V Rossi (Ita) Yamaha 47:33.765
3 C Vermeulen (Aus) Suzuki 47:44.059
4 A de Angelis (SMr) Honda 47:44.181
5 A Dovizioso (Ita) Honda 48:12.079
Championship standings:
1 V Rossi (Ita) Yamaha 187 points
2 D Pedrosa (Spn) Honda 171
3 C Stoner (Aus) Ducati 167
4 J Lorenzo (Spn) Yamaha 114
5 C Edwards (US) Yamaha 98