From Ducati

FAULTLESS STONER DOMINATES LAGUNA, CAPIROSSI OUT OF LUCK

Ducati Team rider Casey Stoner unleashed a faultless display of riding at Laguna Seca this afternoon to win his sixth victory of the year and extend his World Championship lead to 44 points. The Australian grabbed the lead after the first few corners of the first lap and was never challenged from there, running away from the pack to win by an emphatic 9.865 seconds. Today's victory followed a similarly faultless two days of practice and qualifying - Stoner topped all five pre-race sessions aboard his awesome Desmosedici GP7. Stoner's weekend-long domination also made him the first rider to win a MotoGP race from pole position in 13 events. The last man to score pole and race victory was Loris Capirossi on his Ducati at last September's Japanese Grand Prix.

Capirossi was out of luck at Laguna today. The Italian, who finished second in last Sunday's German GP, had qualified strongly on the second row of the grid but withdrew form the US GP after the first few laps with a technical fault.

MotoGP now commences its traditional summer recess with Ducati leading the riders', constructors' and teams' World Championships. The sport reconvenes at Brno for the Czech GP on August 17/18/19.

CASEY STONER, winner, World Championship leader on 221 points

"This would have to be my best racing weekend ever. We also had a great weekend at the Sachsenring last week, it just didn't work out in the race. Today everything was perfect, the tyres, the bike, everything was working great the whole weekend. We managed to be fast in every session and after all this hard work we did it in the race. We also broke the long run of no pole sitter winning a race - the last person to do it was on a Ducati and the next person to do it was on a Ducati. I'm absolutely stoked about this race. We went out in morning warm-up and we were able to do really low 22s and even high 21s with half race distance on the tyres, so we felt pretty confident. At the start of the race I dipped into the 22s, I wanted to see how fast everybody else could go. I was pulling away from Dani [Pedrosa] by about half second lap, then Chris [Vermeulen] got in front of him and started to chase me down. I thought he was obviously pushing a bit harder so I decided to up my pace and I was slowly but surely pulling a gap. Chris was very fast, but I feel like I had a little bit better rear tyre, we had selected a pretty hard rear which really started working towards the end, so I just continued to push throughout the race. I didn't think there was going to be a big group at the front, I knew we had the set-up and it was just a matter of everything going to plan for us with no bad luck and everything worked."

LORIS CAPIROSSI, DNF, 8th in World Championship on 77 points

"The weekend had been going very well, so I'm sad not to finish the race. In morning warm-up we were faster than yesterday so I was confident I could have a good race. Casey and Chris were very fast but I believe I could have fought for another podium finish. After a couple of laps the gearbox stuck in second gear and that was that. It seems like it was only a tiny little fault, but sometimes things like that can happen in racing."

LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager

"We are so happy for Casey today because once again he dominated the weekend and today he got the victory he deserved. He has been incredibly fast all weekend. Bridgestone gave us fantastic tyres, but it was Casey who made the difference today, he finished almost ten seconds ahead of the next guy, who was also on Bridgestones. We are very, very sorry for Loris. For sure he could have ridden another great race, but he was stopped by a broken gear lever return spring. Now we go into the summer break - it's great for us to go into the break ahead in the three championships, so we can relax a bit before coming back next month. As always, a big thank you to our technical partners Bridgestone and Shell Advance."

From Kawasaki

KAWASAKI CELEBRATE A TOP TEN TRIPLE AT LAGUNA

The Kawasaki Racing Team today saw all three of their riders come home in the top ten at the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. Randy de Puniet claimed 6th place, Anthony West 7th and wild card Roger Lee Hayden, 10th.

In a stunning, 32-lap race at the California circuit, the trio of 800cc Ninja ZX-RR pilots put on a great show: consistently in the middle of the action, dicing with Edwards, Tamada, Nakano, Barros and each other.

De Puniet was delighted to put the bad luck of the past few races behind him after crashes and mechanical failure have prevented the 26-year-old Frenchman from adding to his points total since the UK round at Donington Park in June. Despite a patchy weekend, he pulled out all the stops in the race today and earned himself another 10 points, taking him to 50 overall and 12th position in the championship.

Team mate, West, despite never having ridden at Laguna, yet again fulfilled his wish to improve his race position at every round: bettering the 8th he gained at Germany's Sachsenring last weekend. Having started from 12th on the grid, the 26-year-old Australian moved up through the pack to take his best finish in front of a loud and very enthusiastic American audience, having spent much of the weekend learning the track, as well as perfecting his set up.

Wild card entry for the race, Roger Lee Hayden, put in an impressive performance in his MotoGP debut, with his hard work over the whole weekend paying dividends when he crossed the line in tenth position, and ended his home Grand Prix as the highest placed American rider.

After a sole day's test of the Ninja in Japan at the beginning of July, Hayden had little experience on the bike but didn't let that stop him getting a spectacular result for the MotoGP squad. Indeed, he very narrowly missed out on 9th, having been passed by the vastly experienced Alex Barros at the very final corner.

Kawasaki's Competition Manager, Michael Bartholemy, was particularly pleased with the progress the team made over the course of a difficult weekend and, of course, with the race result: "This is such a great moment; it's fantastic when things like this happen. We're the only manufacturer to have three riders finish today in the top ten and we had the first American rider over the line at the end."

"It's been a difficult few days though: we didn't qualify so well, we were struggling a little and even doubting ourselves a bit but we had a fantastic race. Randy rode brilliantly, Anthony's never even been here before and Roger's never raced a GP bike! I think, as they say in California, it's been awesome. A very special day for us," concluded Bartholemy.

The Kawasaki Racing Team leave Laguna on a high, determined to carry the momentum through to the next round at Brno in the Czech Republic, which takes place next month.

Position 6th
"I'm very happy. It's not been easy here: setting the bike up and getting good, consistent lap times. But this morning, in warm up, we tried a new suspension setting and front tyre and things got better for the race. It was a good result, especially from 13th on the grid. I was pleased with my start and had a good first lap, didn't lose time behind Nakano and Edwards and rode my race behind some fast riders. I saw on my pit board that Anthony was behind me so for Kawasaki it's a very good result: it's perfect and I'm very happy. It's great to do a good race before the summer break."

Position 7th
"It's getting easier every time I ride but it was still quite a difficult race, especially going up and down on the hills. And it was pretty hot but I'm feeling good and felt strong throughout. I didn't even know what position I was in half the time. All I could see was the guys in front of me; I hardly looked at my pit board at all. I had to ask the crew what place I got when I came back in and I'm really happy with the result. The team have done a great job, they've worked really hard and it just shows how good the bike is."

Position 10th
"It was a good race for me. I didn't have a great start because, when the lights went off, it took a few seconds for it to click, what I was supposed to do! I just tried to run a consistent race. It's a shame Barros got me at the last corner, but top ten is a good result and I feel like I've learned a lot. The Bridgestone tyres worked well, the bike was excellent and my whole team really did a good job and let me take things slowly, working at my own pace. I really enjoyed the bike and, even though it's been a very busy weekend, it's been an awesome experience and I feel very lucky to have had this opportunity. I wouldn't change it for anything and I want to say thanks to whole team for making it so easy for me."

From Yamaha

FOURTH PLACE FOR ROSSI AFTER DISAPPOINTING US GRAND PRIX AT LAGUNA SECA

Valentino Rossi took fourth place in the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca today, after a spirited ride in difficult conditions from fifth on the grid. Team-mate Edwards was unable to fulfil his dream of a home-race success and crossed the line in eleventh after a race led from flag-to-flag by series leader Casey Stoner.

Rossi lost some ground at the start and found himself behind Edwards for the first part of the lap. He quickly moved ahead of his team-mate however and the pair crossed the line for the first time in fourth and fifth respectively. On lap five Marco Melandri took Edwards and set off after Rossi, overtaking the Italian a few laps later and relegating him to fifth. After Melandri had in turn passed Dani Pedrosa, Rossi quickly began to close the gap on the Spaniard until he was able to strike at the end of lap twenty to claim fourth. For several laps he then looked to be closing the gap to Melandri but a lack of grip forced him to slacken off and he eventually crossed the line 30.664 seconds behind Stoner.

Edwards looked comfortable in sixth for much of the race but as his tyres too lost performance in the latter stages he was caught by a collection of riders and relegated to eleventh. Rossi and Edwards hold on to second and seventh respectively in the championship but the gap from Rossi to Stoner is extended to 44 points, with seven rounds remaining. The MotoGP paddock now embarks on a well-deserved summer break before action recommences at Brno in the Czech Republic in late August.

Valentino Rossi Position: 4th Time: +30.664

"Today was incredibly disappointing because, with the tyre situation like this, it was like our rivals were in a different race. My team and I worked very hard, especially after yesterday's crash, and we did the maximum we could to have our bike in the best possible condition. However without grip it was impossible to fight with the leaders. I rode the best race I could and I was very happy to pass Pedrosa, but I couldn't catch Melandri; we just didn't have the right rhythm or grip today. I'm very sad for last weekend in Sachsenring because there Michelin was strong and we missed a chance to make up some important points there. After today we can see just how important! It seems that tyres are the deciding factor for this season and this is a pity for the fans and for the show. We are not giving up; there are seven races left and we know that Michelin are going to work as hard as they possibly can in order to make the situation better for the second part of the season, but Stoner is very strong and we know it will be very hard. Anyway, we have some holidays now and we will be back in Brno to fight as hard as we can until the end."

Colin Edwards Position: 11th Time: +47.376

"I think it was pretty obvious today to everyone that we were struggling and why. We had a problem all weekend and we changed the bike in every possible way to try to work around it but unfortunately it proved impossible. We went round in circles but we couldn't change the underlying problem and the basic fact is that we had no grip. Of course I'm pretty disappointed that this happened at my home race, with all my family and friends here and it's a great pity we couldn't give the American fans more to cheer about today. My guys worked really hard all weekend, they all deserve their holidays now and then we'll all be fresh for a new start in Brno."

Davide Brivio Team Director

"It was quite clear today that the tyres played an important role. Last week our tyre was better but this week the situation was reversed and our riders couldn't fulfil their potential. It's a great pity because this championship should be about seeing all the best riders fighting together but at the moment this is being limited by other factors. Everyone worked incredibly hard this weekend but unfortunately Valentino wasn't able to fight for the win as we hoped and Colin, too, wasn't able to exploit his potential in front of his home fans. Now we have to keep working but we know that the situation won't be easy or quick to change. Thank you to both riders, the team and the engineers because they have worked very hard in difficult circumstances all weekend. Everyone has some time off to recover from a very hard few months now before we start again; we will keep the same fighting spirit and we won't give up."

From Honda

PEDROSA FIGHTS TO FIFTH AS HAYDEN IS FORCED TO RETIRE FROM HOME GRAND PRIX

The Repsol Honda Team had a tough U.S. Grand Prix with Dani Pedrosa battling to fifth place while Nicky Hayden was forced to pull out of the race with 10 laps of the 32-lap race remaining. From second on the grid, Pedrosa made an excellent start and led for the first three corners before being passed by Casey Stoner. Riding at the absolute limit the Spanish ace kept pace with Stoner in the opening laps, but as the performance from his tyres began to fade he was forced to drop back. Stoner went on to win the race by 10 seconds while Pedrosa brought home his RC212V in fifth to earn 11 World Championship points.

Nicky Hayden was served another slice of bad luck as a first lap incident effectively ended his race before it had begun. After making a fast start from fourth on the grid, the World Champion clashed with John Hopkins in Turn Two, breaking his screen, dropping him through the field and damaging his front brake adjuster in the process. The 25-year-old home favourite valiantly rode on despite experiencing time-sapping softness at the brake lever which he could do nothing about due to the damaged adjuster. However, Hayden eventually decided it was too dangerous to continue and reluctantly pulled into the pits.

The MotoGP paddock now takes a break for three weekends before battle reconvenes with the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic at the Brno circuit on August 19, where the Repsol Honda Team will look to recapture the form of recent races.

Dani Pedrosa

Position: 5th - Best lap: 1m 23.339.s - World Championship position 3rd - 155pts

"This was a very hard race for us and I'm not really satisfied with fifth after winning the race last week and qualifying second here. I made a good start and was leading on the first lap, but I was never able to push as hard as I wanted today. We had quite a few problems with the tyres and pretty much from the start I had a lot of chatter at the rear which was increasing through the race. As every rider came past me I was trying to stay with them, but I simply wasn't able to - I would have crashed. So I just concentrated on staying on the bike because I couldn't do more than that. It's quite disappointing after the win in Germany and we have to make sure we improve the situation before the next race."

Nicky Hayden

Position: Retired - Best lap: 1m 24.710s - World Championship position 10th - 73pts

Front tyre: 16.0" Medium Michelin slick

Rear tyre: 16.5" Medium Michelin slick

"It's such a shame to get this result at my home race, for me, the team and for the fans. It's certainly been a tough season and this is just the way things seem to be going - another first lap incident. I don't want to say too much about that because it isn't going to make things any different so we'll leave the incident at that. Luckily I didn't get hurt because I took big impact on my leg. The main thing is that it damaged my brake cable and as soon as I got going after three laps my brakes just went softer and softer and the adjuster was broken which meant I couldn't take any of the slack out of it. I carried on riding in case there was a red flag, but once I went a lap down I wasn't going to get in the leaders' way with the brakes going off, I'm not going to do that to anybody, so I brought it in the pits. It's a shame for all the fans because the support here was unreal and I would at least have enjoyed getting in the race and having a battle. We had some good momentum going with a couple of podiums in a row, but now we've got a few weeks off and we definitely need to re-evaluate a few things and come back fighting."

Makoto Tanaka - Repsol Honda Team Manager

"This race was obviously quite disappointing for us because unfortunately the Repsol Honda Team did not have the chance to challenge for the win today. Casey Stoner and Bridgestone were very strong and we could not race with them. Dani made a good start and stayed with Casey for as long as he could, but soon his tyres started to lose performance with the front pushing and the rear chattering and sliding. He made the best of a difficult situation and was able to push hard for the first ten laps but it was impossible for him to fight at the front. Nicky was involved in a first lap incident and broke his screen and damaged his brakes. It's a big shame for him at his home race because I think he could have had a similar performance to Valentino Rossi here, but realistically I think it would also have been impossible for him to go for the win today. For the next race we must work very hard with Michelin to improve this situation and close the gap to our rivals because I've never experienced this sort of performance deficit."

From Team KR

NO GLORY IN HOME GRAND PRIX

Monterey, California - July 22, 2007: Kurtis Roberts failed to finish him home grand prix when teething problems hit the brand new Team Roberts KR212V which was making its debut at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

In only six short weeks, Team Roberts designed, manufactured, and built a second generation KR212V. There were 210 new parts, 54 of which were manufactured at the team's headquarters in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Many of the parts, including the chassis, were brought as luggage to the circuit in the hills of Monterey, the site of many of team owner Kenny Roberts' greatest triumphs, both as a rider and team owner.

From the minute he first hit the track, Kurtis immediately felt an improvement with front end feel. He continued to make progress throughout the practice and qualifying and was hopeful of finishing well into the points in Sunday's race, held in brilliant sunshine before a crowd of 51,000. But soon into the race the motor began to signal problems and Kurtis was forced to withdraw on the sixth lap.
Today's race, round 32 laps of the 3.610 km Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, was won by championship leader Casey Stoner (Ducati) from Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) and Marco Melandri (Honda).

KURTIS ROBERTS - DNF
The problem started probably three laps before I pulled in. I'd go into the corner and the clutch wasn't working right and so I'd start having to grab more clutch trying to get it to slow down. I couldn't make it into the corners. All of the sudden it did something really weird after
Nicky (Hayden) passed me going up into five. I was like, that sounds strange. And two more laps, I couldn't get the thing to stop at all. I tried to slow down with engine braking. Nothing was happening. I went into the corner and I went in early and I wasn't braking deep at all. I
couldn't get it stopped. I thought the electronics or something were going out on it. So right after that I was like, this thing ain't going to make it anyway. There's no doubt we're struggling right now. But the good thing with Honda is they'll figure out what's wrong with this thing and next year I feel sorry for everyone else in the paddock next year.

That's my thinking. If it's the same Honda I've always known.

KENNY ROBERTS - TEAM PRINCIPAL
Just a couple of laps before Kurtis pulled in it looked like something was wrong. He was hanging with Nicky (Hayden) and I thought, OK, it's going to take some time for the tires to get going, because we were in tire dilemma all weekend. And I thought the more he ran the better the tires would get until the last seven, eight laps. So he was riding in a real comfortable zone right there and then all of a sudden he was slowing up, so I thought 'Something's not right.' If we can just continue to do what we do the motor's going to get better for sure.

Honda's not going to be like this forever. I thought Kurtis did a great job this weekend. We need to keep making the motorcycle better, which he thought the new one was better. If we keep making that better and if Honda do actually end up giving us something engine-wise then we'll be more ready for it.

From Honda

US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca

Sunday June 22, 2007

Weather: Sunny.
Temperature: air 30 degrees, ground 46.
Crowd: 50,830

TOUGH MELANDRI SHOWS GRIT WITH DETERMINED THIRD

This was perhaps not the MotoGP sspectacular that many imagined, but the result did at least confirm the reality of the current situation. Casey Stoner (Ducati) won comfortably from Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) with the fighting Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) in third.

The Repsol duo gave everything to continue their recent revival, but the unfortunate Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) tangled with a fellow American John Hopkins (Suzuki) on lap one and Nicky's race for a podium or better was effectively over.

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) rode a typically dogged race having fired his RC212V off the line to lead into turn one by some distance. But Stoner made it his mission to get past Dani on lap one and the Aussie was never again troubled despite Dani's best efforts. Pedrosa would eventually finish fifth.

The pattern for this 32-lap encounter was set early, and as Nicky got himself going again in 18th place after the Hopkins episode, the front men were out on their own. Vermeulen, third on the opening lap, was now working on Dani for second place and on lap four he squeezed past him.

Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) had consolidated fourth place by this stage, but Melandri was in the groove and had the former World Champion in his sights. By lap nine Marco had edged past him and was now after Dani in third. Stoner meanwhile had set an early fastest lap of 1m 22.570s and was long gone.

Melandri was riding with considerable bruising to his left lower leg after running off track and crashing in yesterday's timed qualifying session, it's a measure of the Italian's mental and physical toughness that he could show so well today.

Miguel Duhamel, riding in place of the injured Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V), retired on lap 12, while Melandri was now coming into closer contact with Dani for that rostrum spot in third. By lap 18 he had that podium position stolen from Pedrosa.

Stoner, by lap 25, was enjoying an 8.6 second lead over the persistent, yet distant, Vermeulen. This was how it would finish with World Championship points leader Stoner out front by 9.8 seconds from Vermeulen, then Melandri. Rossi robbed Dani of fourth, while the next Honda man home was Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) in 12th.

Nicky pulled into the pits on lap 22 knowing his quest for points would be fruitless and with a brake problem sustained in that first lap clash, the reigning World Champion pitted wanting to avoid becoming a becoming a hazard if encountered by the leaders.

Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V) brought his machine home in 14th place while Kurtis Roberts (Roberts KR212V), employing a new chassis here, retired on lap five. Stoner's relentless ride to victory resulted in a fastest lap of 1m 22.542s on lap 19. No one could come close to him here today.

But Stoner and his old 250cc class sparring partner Dani Pedrosa are the only riders to have scored points at every race so far this year. With seven rounds to go and with Stoner on 221 points, Rossi on 177 and Dani with 155 there is still everything to ride for. Melandri and Vermeulen are tied in fourth on 113 points apiece.

Marco, who has now finished in the top ten at the last 20 races, said: "An amazing race for me. I couldn't ride without an injection for the pain this morning, so a big thanks to the Clinica Mobile. I didn't feel any pain when riding, I just kept my rhythm, and in the end I did feel a bit of pain in my ankle. I started quietly and after a few laps I started to feel comfortable, got my rhythm and passed some guys till I caught Valentino. The bike and the tyres were working really well, I had a good pace so I decided to try to overtake him and go for third position. Ten laps to go, I started to suffer more, especially in breaking, but I was so motivated that I succeeded to maintain a good pace. I'd like to thank Honda for the new parts that arrived in Germany, Fausto and the team for the great job that have done during all this part of the season. I'm happy to give Fausto and the team a great result.".

Dani said: "This was a very hard race for us and I'm not really satisfied with fifth after winning the race last week and qualifying second here. I made a good start and was leading on the first lap, but I was never able to push as hard as I wanted today. We had quite a few problems with the tyres and pretty much from the start I had a lot of chatter at the rear, which increased throughout the race. Riders came past me, I was trying to stay with them, but I simply wasn't able to - I would have crashed. So I just concentrated on staying on the bike because I couldn't do more than that. It's quite disappointing after the win in Germany and we have to make sure we improve the situation before the next race."

The unlucky Nicky said: "It's such a shame to get this result at my home race, for me, the team and for the fans. It's certainly been a tough season and this is just the way things seem to be going - another turn one incident. I don't want to say too much about that because it isn't going to make things any different so we'll leave the incident at that. My brakes just went softer and softer and the adjuster was broken which meant I couldn't take any of the slack out of it. I carried on riding in case there was a red flag, but once I went a lap down I wasn't going to get in the leaders' way with the brakes going off, I'm not going to do that to anybody, so I brought it in the pits."

Nakano in 12th said: "We started so well for this race. I could stay with the riders in front and we managed to get up to eighth on the first lap. We slipped to ninth, but I felt good, as my lap time was better than in practice, so I felt the setting was good and the tyre choice was OK. Then from the middle of the race I felt some front chattering problems and with this happening I couldn't push hard towards the end of the race and things got a little bit worse. This was a big shame as our qualifying position was quite good. It has proved to be yet another difficult race, but I'm looking forward to the next race at the Czech Republic after I've had some rest at home in Japan. We should have some new parts which makes the second part of the season very exciting for us."

Carlos Checa, 14th placed finisher, said: "It was a difficult race and after the opening laps I couldn't stay with the second group and fight for a place in the top ten which was my target today. I pushed until the end but nothing I tried made a difference, so we need to try and better understand our package of new chassis and tyres. I did not have the feeling with the rear of the bike that I needed to be faster and this is something to look at for the coming races. Hopefully a return to Europe and the race at Brno will be a boost for me and the LCR team."

Miguel Duhamel, who retired from the race, said: "I'd like to thank Honda USA and Fausto Gresini for this great experience. During the race I decided to stop and enter the pits because I wasn't getting any fed back I couldn't get into the rhythm of the bike. After the crash this morning during warm-up, I didn't want to do any damage during the race, to the team or to any of the other riders. Despite this, I'm happy about this race weekend with the Gresini team."

Kurtis Roberts, who pitted early in the race, said: "We're struggling right now. I thought the electronics or something were going out. So right after that I was like, this thing ain't going to make it anyway. But the good thing with Honda is they'll figure out what's wrong with this thing and I feel sorry for everyone else in the paddock next year. That's my thinking. If it's the same Honda I've always known."

Honda Quotes

Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 3rd."Today is one of the happiest days in my life. I had a good start of the weekend, the bike was working really well and I was very positive. After yesterday's crash, today's third place is an incredible result. This morning I went on track for the warm up but I decided to enter the box again and rest because I had so much pain in my left ankle that I couldn't down shift the gears. For the race I started quietly and after a few laps I started to feel comfortable, got my rhythm and passed some guys till I caught Valentino. The bike and the tyres were working really well, I had a good pace so I decided to try to overtake him and go for third position. Ten laps to go, I started to suffer more, especially in breaking, but I was so motivated that I succeeded to maintain a good pace. I'd like to thank Honda for the new parts that arrived in Germany, Fausto and the team for the great job that have done during all this part of the season. I'm happy to give Fausto and the team a great result.".

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 5th."This was a very hard race for us and I'm not really satisfied with fifth after winning the race last week and qualifying second here. I made a good start and was leading on the first lap, but I was never able to push as hard as I wanted today. We had quite a few problems with the tyres and pretty much from the start I had a lot of chatter at the rear which was increasing through the race. As every rider came past me I was trying to stay with them, but I simply wasn't able to - I would have crashed. So I just concentrated on staying on the bike because I couldn't do more than that. It's quite disappointing after the win in Germany and we have to make sure we improve the situation before the next race."

Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 12th. "We started so well for this race. I could stay with the riders in front and we managed to get up to eighth on the first lap. We slipped to ninth, but I felt good, as my lap time was better than practice so I felt that the setting was good and the tyre choice was OK. Then from the middle of the race I felt some front chattering problems and with this happening I couldn't push hard towards the end of the race and things got a little bit worse. This was a big shame as our qualifying position was quite good. It has proved to be yet another difficult race, but I'm looking forward to the next race at the Czech Republic after I've had some rest at home in Japan. We should have some new parts which makes the second part of the season very exciting for us."

Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: 14th. "It was a difficult race and after the opening laps I couldn't stay with the second group and fight for a place in the top ten which was my target today. I pushed until the end but nothing I tried made a difference and for we need to try and better understand our package of new chassis and tyres. I did not have the feeling with the rear of the bike that I needed to be faster and this is something to look at for the coming races. Hopefully a return to Europe and the race at Brno will be a boost for me and the LCR team."

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: dnf - collision damage. "It's such a shame to get this result at my home race, for me, the team and for the fans. It's certainly been a tough season and this is just the way things seem to be going - another Turn One incident. I don't want to say too much about that because it isn't going to make things any different so we'll leave the incident at that. Luckily I didn't get hurt because I took big impact on my leg. The main thing is that it damaged my brake cable and as soon as I got going after three laps my brakes just went softer and softer and the adjuster was broken which meant I couldn't take any of the slack out of it. I carried on riding in case there was a red flag, but once I went a lap down I wasn't going to get in the leaders' way with the brakes going off, I'm not going to do that to anybody, so I brought it in the pits. It's a shame for all the fans because the support here was unreal and I would at least have enjoyed getting in the race and having a battle. We had some good momentum going with a couple of podiums in a row, but now we've got a few weeks off and we definitely need to re-evaluate a few things and come back fighting."

Kurtis Roberts, KR212V: dnf - electronic problem.

Miguel Duhamel, replacement rider for Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: Retired. "I'd like to thank Honda USA and Fausto Gresini for this great experience. During the race I decided to stop and enter the pits because I wasn't getting any feed back and I couldn't get into the rhythm of the bike. After the crash of this morning during the warm up, I didn't want to do any damage during the race, to the team and to the others. Despite this, I'm happy of this race weekend with the Gresini team."