Ducati finally conquered its home MotoGP race at
Mugello yesterday thanks to a stunning
performance from Casey Stoner in one of the most
difficult and eventful races of his career.
Victory for the Australian in the second
wet-to-dry flag-to-flag race in succession was
his eighteenth for the Italian factory and it
was enough to secure the World Championship lead
after five rounds, with four points more than
Lorenzo and nine more than Rossi, the two riders
who joined him on the podium today.
The Ducati MotoGP Team rider, mindful of his Le
Mans experience two weeks ago, perfectly
negotiated a track that started out wet
following a heavy rain shower before the race.
He kept pace with the lead group even when his
wet tyres were completely spent, before quickly
rejoining the battle for the lead after changing
to slick tyres and holding off the challenge of
the men behind him.
Nicky Hayden produced an excellent performance
to charge from sixteenth on the grid to finish
ninth before being slowed by a small problem
with his rear brake. The American is hopeful he
can continue to make progress, starting with the
next race in Barcelona.
CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) 1st
“I have already won in Italy, at Misano in 2007,
and it was great for Ducati but this was the one
I really wanted. We’ve struggled to find a great
setting here for the past two years but today
was our day. During the practice my pace in the
dry wasn’t perfect but it was quite good. We
started out well in the wet, I felt good and the
bike was doing great until the wet tyres were
worn out. I kept trying to push to the limit
because I didn’t want to lose ground on the
others like at Le Mans and stayed out there
until I was absolutely sure it was the right
time to change tyres.
"As soon as I went out on slicks I felt
comfortable and competitive. Unfortunately I had
an issue with the clutch and it started to give
me a few problems. Loris came past and was
pushing hard and riding very well and he kept me
on my toes. At one point I thought it was all
over but thankfully I was able to work out a way
to ride around the problem and bring the victory
home. I made a couple of mistakes over the final
two laps but luckily it didn’t matter. It was a
really difficult race but a great one for the
whole team, for Filippo (Preziosi), for
everybody at Ducati and all the Ducatisti. I’m
so happy today.”
NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati MotoGP Team) 12th
“Once again we got hit by some crazy weather
although to be honest I was hoping for a wet
race today after being sixth fastest in the
warm-up. I didn’t get away well in the race but
I managed to get past a few guys pretty quickly
and my team did a great job to change the
settings on my second bike and allow me to be
amongst the first to change over. That allowed
me to make up even more ground and I was up to
ninth, having a good race until the rear brake
wore down towards the end and I lost three
positions. I was using it too much to stop the
rear from spinning up and moving around and it
has cost me a lot in the end. It’s a shame but
we can take some positives out of this race – I
was back in the top ten for several laps and we
have something to work from in the next race.”
CLAUDIO DOMENICALI – Ducati Corse CEO and
Ducati Motor Holding Product Director
“This is definitely a special win for us.
Mugello is our home circuit, where Vittoriano (Guareschi)
has done thousands of kilometres in testing and
where the Desmosedici made his first test in
2002. So to win here in front of so many
passionate Italian fans, factory workers and
suppliers, with the Ducati stand even more
packed than ever, is a great feeling and a
source of great pride. It is a good opportunity
for us to thank all the sponsors who make
results like this possible, our technicians and
everybody working either at the track or back at
the factory who give us the opportunity to
unleash the full potential of an extraordinary
rider. Casey rode majestically on board a
machine that is built on the sweat of a lot of
people. Another source of great satisfaction is
Niccolò (Canepa), who enjoyed his best race of
the season so far, and good performance from
Nicky (Hayden), who was only denied a top ten
finish by a brake problem at the end.”
2009 Mugello Podium
1st Casey Stoner (Ducati)
2nd Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)
3rd Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
Circuit Record: Casey Stoner (Ducati -
2008), 1’50.003 - 171.649 Km/h
2009 Pole: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha),
1’48.987 – 173.250 Km/h
Best Pole: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha -
2008), 1’48.130 - 174.623 Km/h
MotoGP Rider World Championship
Classification
1st Casey Stoner (Ducati) 90 points
2nd Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 86
3rd Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 81
4th Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 57
5th Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 56
15th Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 13.
MotoGP Constructor World Championship
Classification
1st Yamaha (115 points)
2nd Ducati (90)
3rd Honda (76)
4th Suzuki (49)
5th Kawasaki (48)
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