Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team
“We improved a lot today. Yesterday I wasn’t competitive at all, and I couldn’t take full advantage of qualifying. It was a shame because if I had managed to start further ahead, maybe it would’ve been more enjoyable, although I think it still would’ve ended the same, as I started losing a lot of strength in my right arm after a few laps. Seven laps in, I started to feel really bad, and I had to conserve my strength. It was very difficult, and unfortunately I couldn’t control the bike. Anyway, it was still a good race; I was more aggressive and confident right away, and I was even able to stay ahead of Nicky for a little while, which is really good for me. I learned a lot of things that will be useful in the future.”
Ben Spies - Ignite Pramac Racing Team
“I had a little problem with a nerve in my chest for some reason. I don’t know if it’s from overcompensating for my shoulder problem, which is actually getting a lot better compared to Qatar. That said, two laps before the end of the warm-up, I had a twinge in my chest. It was like a knife, so we went to the clinic and they worked on me a lot and got me ready for the race. I tried as hard as I could during the race, but it wasn’t enough. At 8 laps to go, it was either come in or salvage whatever points we could. We need to work harder and get back to 100% and just keep working with the bike. I’m more disappointed for the team, friends, family, fans, Ducati, and Ignite Pramac, because they deserve better.”
“Yesterday we were so far from Marc and Dani but this morning in the warm up we found something. The hairpin corners we normally take in first gear we made in second so it improved a lot the feeling and the acceleration, but it was not enough. Just a little bit more, maybe two tenths quicker and I could have fought with Dani and Marc. Today third position was the best we could do. I want to congratulate Cal who didn't give up until the end and also Marc, he’s the youngest rider in history to win a Grand Prix; he is a phenomenon. It’s an important day for me; I never thought to get this unbelievable number of podiums so today is a magic day. Time flies very quickly, it seems like it was just yesterday that I got my first victory, which was my first podium in Brazil in 2003 ten years ago and now today my 100th.”
“This is a difficult track for us. We expected to do better, but I had a lot of problems in the race because I had a problem with the brakes. I had a vibration in braking because I lost one part of a disc so this didn't help. We knew that we had to defend here; we know that when we cannot attack we need to try and arrive in the top five but today it was sixth. The balance of the first two races is positive and we arrive in Jerez optimistic for the next few races as the tracks are better for us.”
1st
Championship Standing: 1st - 41 points
"After taking my first podium in Qatar I was very happy, but I am even more so today after my first win! It went better than I expected and I am very grateful to the team for their efforts over the preseason; we have worked very hard and, without this, the victory would not have been possible. The race was very intense and physical, as I followed Dani for many laps and then decided to launch an attack and try to open a gap with ten laps to go. I could not pull the gap I wanted as some problems emerged that we’d experienced throughout the weekend. Despite all this, we were able to take the victory. The 25 points are important, but what is more important is to have achieved a win in my second race in MotoGP. We realise that more difficult circuits lie ahead for us, but we will try to give 100% at all of them. Our battle is not the one for the championship, but rather taking it race-by-race and enjoying every moment"
Dani Pedrosa
2nd
Championship Standing: 3rd - 33 points
"Today's race was good and I'm happy with this second place. We had great pace, even though we knew that Marc was very strong. I tried to ride my own race and in the end I was losing a lot of time on the chicanes. I was tiring physically and I could not handle the bike well - especially in the first part of the circuit. In the second section of the track I was recovering quite a lot of time, but it was not enough. Furthermore, in one of the three laps before the end I made a mistake, lost around 1.5 seconds and Marc was able to get away. That was the point at which the race was lost for me. Still, I'm happy, my riding was pretty good today and I have improved compared with Qatar. I have to congratulate Marc as well, because he did a great job! Now we need to focus on Jerez - a circuit I like a lot"
"Direkt vor mir hat sich ein italienischer Fahrer verschaltet, ist gestürzt und rutschte mit seinem Motorrad in mich hinein. Ich hatte keine Chance. Wobei ich auf dem 17. Platz lag und es auch verdammt gut lief, da wäre richtig was drin gewesen. Wie ich später mit ansehen musste hätte ich die Zeiten von Platz 12 bis 15 mitgehen können. Naja, das ist eben Pech. Jetzt muss ich schauen, dass ich diese Erfahrungen mit nach Jerez nehme und da bin ich zuversichtlich, dass wir nicht nur die Trainings sondern auch das Rennen besser hinbekommen."
Toni Finsterbusch:
"Im ersten Rennen ging am Start das Motorrad nicht an und ich musste von hinten starten. Ich arbeitete mich schnell vor und lag dann irgendwo auf Platz 14-16. Allerdings hatte ich dann in derselben Kurve in der später auch Iwema stürzte, das Vorderrad verloren und musste zu Boden. Ich konnte zwar weiterfahren, aber das Rennen wurde dann sowieso abgebrochen. Im zweiten Rennen stach mir ein anderer Fahrer in einer Kurve innen hinein und ich musste eine "weite Linie" fahren. Das Aktion von meinem Gegner wirkte sich aber auf meine Bremsanlage aus, wie ich in der nächsten Kurve bemerkte: Ich hatte keinen Bremsdruck mehr, weil es bei der Aktion die Bremsbeläge nach hineingedrückt hatte. Deshalb schoss ich mit zuviel Geschwindigkeit geradeaus und konnte das Motorrad gerade noch selbst umlegen um nicht irgendwo in der Begrenzung zu landen. Das war wohl nicht unser Tag."
Stefan Kiefer, Teammanager:
"Eigentlich lief das Wochenende nicht so schlecht. Nur das Rennen, da hatten wir großes Pech. Florian war auf Platz 17 liegend sehr gut dabei, stürzte aber unverschuldet als ein Konkurrent zu Boden ging. Dabei wurde sein Motorrad so beschädigt, dass er das Rennen aufgeben musste, echt schade. Toni dagegen stürzte im ersten Rennen übers Vorderrad, wobei das Rennen dann abgebrochen wurde. So hatten wir Glück im Unglück und alles war zurück auf Null, denn im ersten Rennen musste er von ganz hinten starten. Aber da war das Glück dann nicht auf unserer Seite, denn er ging gleich zu Beginn des Rennes zu Boden und es war vorbei. Jetzt schauen wir, dass wir die allgemeine Performance von hier auf Jerez übertragen können und es dann im Rennen besser passt als diesmal."
Fotos: Kiefer-Racing, Dorna.com
