Bridgestone Motorsport Wrap for September 1st 2008
Home victory for Rossi at San Marino
Seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi has made up for his 2007 Misano disappointment with a win at the San Marino Grand Prix, ahead of teammate Jorge Lorenzo and Ducati rider Toni Elias.
The home victory sees the Fiat Yamaha driver equal his compatriot Giacomo Agostino's record of 68 wins in the top motorcycling categories and marks Bridgestone's 30th victory in the premier class since its entry in 2002.
Rossi started second on the grid and initially could do nothing to stop title rival Casey Stoner who flew off the start line from pole position, building up a three second lead by the end of the second lap.
Spain's Dani Pedrosa also flew off the start line but the Honda rider didn't have the pace to hold off Rossi who was soon up to second position and chasing down Stoner. Rossi was then handed the win when, in a repeat of what happened in Brno two weeks ago, Stoner's race came to an early conclusion after he lost control of his Ducati on the sixth lap.
"This was quite a difficult weekend for us from the start and there has been the added pressure of a home race, which makes it harder to concentrate because there is so much distraction! " Rossi said.
"Thanks to my fantastic Yamaha team, to Bridgestone and of course congratulations to Jorge as well, he kept pushing me today and I wasn't able to relax even for one minute! It is a great day for us all."
The win extended Rossi's lead in the world championship standings and he now sits 75 points clear of Stoner with five races left.
"Congratulations to Valentino and the Yamaha team for their win today. We are very sorry for Casey, crashing at the beginning of the race even though he had a big advantage over the second position," said Hiroshi Yamada, Bridgestone Motorsport's Motorcycle Sport Unit Manager.
"It was a very competitive race so I am pleased we have been able to get five riders finishing in the top 10, which is a very good balance among the tyre manufacturers. Next time we go to Indianapolis which is the first time for everyone so we will try our best to get a good result even though it will be a new challenge."