Round 14 - Aragon MotoGP

The track is very difficult, it has a lot of all and down. A very fast

part where you have to brake. beautiful, and has very different

types of corners. I like the corners downhill, which is

technically very tough. Especially the last one, which is very good.

The thing I like more on this track is because we are in Spain and you

can feel the support of the fans. That is the more important thing I

feel on this track. Hello. We are in the arid desert

land of Aragon this weekend, although as you can see behind me

with these grey skies, Spain is anything but sunny today. Despite

the conditions and the fact we are in the middle of nowhere, it hasn't

stopped the fans coming out in force to support the self-styled

Spanish super Hero - with one mission, to save the world...

Championship. At times it must feel for Jorge Lorenzo that he spent all

weekend chasing the shadow of Casey Stoner. Casey Stoner, fastest in

the first session, a second session, a third session, fastest in

qualifying and across the line first. He was on pole position at

Marzano... Very tight between Lorenzo and Stoner. He knows he

needs to win some races to get back. Look at that, having a big log.

Lorenzo had to cover. Australian bottled out. He ran out

of steam, leaving his prey to escape FA surprise win.

Unbelievable performance. Jorge Lorenzo, against all the odds,

takes it out in San Marino. But for A crucial victory for Jorge Lorenzo

at Manzano two weeks ago, only his third of the season and his first

since early June. It leaves the championship looking like this,

Casey Stoner leading the way on 259 is only one question for the man

Can you stop Casey Stoner? Right now, no, I couldn't. He was so fast,

he won 12 races. I am 25 points behind so I couldn't. The

championship is not over so nothing is impossible. How can you stop

him? Winning races. Winning my next races. Even that is not sure that I

became world champion so I need a little mistake from him. A of the

five seconds left, he won three of those last year but you were riding

for the championship so you were being more defensive. I suppose now

what is the opposite, you have to attack. Yes, to lose this advantage

and to make a mistake you ride a little more defensive and you don't

attack so much. If you have to recover points, you have pressure

so you have to attack all the races. This is the situation we have. I

would like to have Casey Stoner of's situation but I do not so I

have to deal with it. The world champion is down! Is it fair to say

that Silverstone was a turning point in the season? Yes, I guess

so. Silverstone... Maybe I made a mistake. I had to finish second or

maybe I had to wait some more corners to overtake. I went to

overtake very quickly so I just entered this corner so fast and I

crashed. Maybe I made a mistake, and this way it was very important

for the evolution of the championship. The evolution of the

bikers has progressed since that point. What has changed for you?

The Yamaha seems to be more competitive in the second half of

the season. We made some changes on the bike on the set-up. We made a

longer bikes it gives me more confidence on braking. From Mugello

to now, more or less, we have a better bike. It is very tough but

we can fight a bit more. Obviously you are riding at home this weekend,

and we have Valencia as well. Will that help, riding at home with the

support of the people? Yes, it depends how you manage. To race in

Spain can create extra pressure, it depends how you think. Last time I

went out it was very hot, everything, the photographs, I

couldn't work so this affected me in the race and I crashed. Normally,

to race in Spain and to be close to your farms and everything gives you

more power, no? I hope this race, the race like this will be a good

one. I get the feeling, if it doesn't happen this year, you are

quite philosophical about everything and you will still be

happy at the end of the year. is a word in Spanish that says more

or less do what you can do, and do not do what you can't do. If you

try to do things you can't do you finish on the ground or very badly.

I can fight until the end to defeat a monster like Honda, Casey Stoner.

Thanks, good luck. A big weekend for Jorge Lorenzo,

the nerves are kicking in already. He has just run off for a quick

toilet break. I had his manager with me. He was saying he can only

control certain things but on the circuit like this there seems to be

a power deficit to the Hondas, that is not under his control. Yes, he

is a typical rider and the Leeds side grip. That is the situation at

the moment. Horsepower issue? if there is no side grip you can't

get out of the corner and you are low on top speed at that time. In a

race many things can happen, even a flat tyre. A race is a race. Let's

see what happens. Good luck today. Top speed won't be a problem next

year because these boys have been testing the 1000 cc machines for

2012. The factory riders are sorted - Honda and Ducati - but what about

everyone else? Having put so much work into that new engine... Rossi

and Yamaha will have no change. What about Honda? That is where

things start to get interesting. They have been told they have got

to make 30% cuts to their budget, that is you'd so Casey Stoner stays.

Yamaha's time looks to be up, but then he would be Simoncelli's team-

mate and there is no love lost. Honda are putting up the price of

at least bike so where does he go? Rossini may be but everyone says

they haven't got enough money so they would run a claiming rule.

Toni Elias has failed to perform this year and has already been

testing Superbikes. They have been looking at the possibility of a two

bike team. They have baled out of that now. They have been in touch

with Dobry but there is no chance of factory support, that could be

the decider so then what? They have been talking to anyone - Bautista,

even Laverty from Superbikes has been in the frame. They offered it

to Bradley Smith but he says he wants to stay in Moto2 for another

year. I reckon he will be riding with Dobby or Laverty. So Suki is

as unclear as ever. They haven't even revealed if they will be on

the grid in 2012. I think and hope they stay. But who is in the

staddle? John Hopkins is desperate to be back in the paddock. If that

happens, Bautista will be doing well to speak to these people.

quite frankly, who wants to be on a Ducati? It will be all change here

at Pramac. Loris Capirossi will be moving at the end of the year.

think Abraham will be OK though. kidding, his dad owns the team.

What about Marcus? Will he move up if he wins the championship?

Personally I doubt it. His team have inquired about Honda next year.

I don't think so, sounds like he will stay in Moto2. Then the

arrival of the claiming rule teams. Basically it means you can use a

modified street tension in a prototype chassis, surely more

bikes on the grid? The question is whether these bikes will be

competitive. They will be allowed more fuel, which is a real

advantage, and on top of that they will be allowed 12 engines a year,

instead of the usual six. Colin Edwards has thrown his hat into the

ring. The DS have been testing an engine but it didn't go too well.

There are plans for a Kawasaki engine in a DETR chassis. More

questions than answers, but the key seems to be what Suzukis will do,

and how many Hondas will be on the starting grid next year.

The question I want to know is how many cups of coffee you got through

in one treaty. You must be going cold turkey in your fleas. I just

wanted to find two interesting so I thought I would make it easier. A

if there is a gap in the commentary, we will know where he has gone.

just the line-up in the grid next year that will be different... The

calendar will be different as well. Yes, but it is really looking good

and I think it is an exciting and I think it is an exciting

Callander. I think it will be very good, unless you are trying to have

a long holiday in Australia. It was a terrible calendar this year,

stupid from the team's point of It was logistically hopeless.

Stoner was complaining that jet lag a couple of weeks ago. It is a much

more practical colander. 17th June for the British Grand Prix. You may

notice there is a bright red Ducati at the back of the grid, and there

is good reason for that. Yes, they have had issues with the Ducatis so

now we have got the latest iteration of that bike. The engine

is part of the chassis, new chassis, they are literally out of vengeance.

He qualified, starting at the back. The changed engines so it is a pit

lane start. You can see it is Alan minion as opposed to carbon. They

have extended the chassis sections so it should have a bit more flags.

-- aluminium as opposed to carbon. This is a big race for Jorge

Lorenzo to claw back. On the flipside, if Casey Stoner wins he

could have one hand on the trophy. Yes, he has got to have some

momentum going and hang on to it and keep it. This place does not

work very well for Jorge Lorenzo. As I said, Ducatis with a lot of

problems this weekend, a lot of head scratching here but it went

differently for them this time last Grand Prix. Let's get down and

dirty! Jorge Lorenzo through. Casey Stoner having none of it. This is a

trying to get back. Nicky Hayden has marked him! Casey Stoner, the

Valentino Rossi starts from the back of the grid. You decided to

run the seventh engine this weekend and start from the pit lane. Yes,

it was going to happen at some time, and the qualifying was not

fantastic yesterday, it would either have had to be either here

or next race, so with all of the development, engines that do not

fit in all to the chassis is, we knew that, to move forward for next

year, we would have to take a penalty. How is the new chassis?

did not work well yesterday! Overall, it will be good in the

future. We have got a development programme were caned. We are

getting more feedback, but we have to get a few things right. You are

at the back of the grid, but you will start from the pit lane?

will do the warm-up lap with the other bikes, and we will return and

go through the pit lane at the pit- lane speed limit and arrive at the

end of the pit lane. We may be in the middle of nowhere here, but it

is still a special circuit for lots A bright new track, you never know

what you will get, but they have got the recipe right. It is all

about the elevation changes. There is not much roundabout, I had a lap

around here on the BMW last year, and one or two places caught me out.

The first corner, first gear, straightforward, but a lot of

action. On the second corner, second gear, then the third corner,

third gear. The fourth corner, I This is the eighth and ninth

corners. Over the brow of the hill, third gear, big tyre Marx, you have

to nail the apex. It is like a reverse corkscrew, not quite as

deep, it is the opposite way round compared to Laguna Seca, but if I

were a spectator, I would watch from there. It has got loads of

run-off area, it is much safer, and it is very slow. Another great

place to watch, here, 12, 13, 14. 14 was when Nicky Hayden got the

run on Jorge Lorenzo last year. It got him up to third and it knocked

Jorge Lorenzo off the podium. The drive out of 15 is so important,

because that is 900 metres of a 200 miles an hour if you are Casey

Stoner, 192 if you are on a Yamaha like Cal Crutchlow. That explains

some of the time separating him from pole position. He is in 12th

Randy de Puniet has been having a belting weekend, quick in practice,

and he. To third in qualifying. He had his usual excursion, but still

tend quickest. Jorge Lorenzo needs to win races if he is going to

retain his world title, but he has been off the pace all weekend. He

made it up to fourth, but that was one place behind Ben Spies. One-

second down of his biggest rival in the championship. Casey Stoner

dominated the session. Every time Dani Pedrosa looked like

threatening him, he went a bit faster. There was a slight chink in

his armour, but nothing to worry Conditions are very different today.

You were worried about the wind last night, it is not as bad as we

first feared. It seems to be better than we thought, but it is picking

up, these last 40 minutes. We will see how we go. We have put a small

screen on the front, there is a big back straight, but with the wind,

we have got it back. Hopefully we can get the bike to work in these

conditions. You might notice a new livery on the Honda. It is

difficult for the riders to concentrate when the conditions

changed so much from qualifying to the race. That is the new livery

that they have got on the Honda. Supposedly, it has been designed to

represent superheroes, supermen and a human cannonball. I am not sure

it does that! But at least Dani Pedrosa has been in a good mood, he

was strumming away in the paddock, getting involved with the fans. He

starts from second on the grid. He has had four podiums from the last

five races. All smiles, which is almost as rare as a massive power

could here! We had that which cancelled free practice on Friday

afternoon. It is good to see Dani Pedrosa with

a smile on his face. I am with Karel Abraham, a bit off the pace

on Friday and Saturday morning, but he pulled it together for

qualifying. We were talking yesterday, you said you did not

want conditions to be any hotter, and they are a lot colder. Usually,

it is good for us. For me, it is quite windy, so I hope it will not

make trouble, especially for the tyres. But we will see, we need one

tyres for the first lap. You had the crash, so do need a good result

here. Yes, I want to make the top 10, but the last race was good,

because we got the result we should have been getting all season.

will walk over to Randy de Puniet. It is his 100 MotoGP race. -- 100th.

Congratulations. What a way to celebrate, sixth fastest yesterday,

Surrey, on Friday, third fastest yesterday, but you had a problem

with the soft tyres in qualifying. I had some trouble with the soft

tyres in qualifying, but everybody will use the hard tyres. I am

confident, I just need to ride like to have all weekend, and I will

make a good race. The pace is there, good luck.

Lookout for him, coming through the pack. It could be an All Action

race, especially as the conditions are changing it, it raises

questions, and it could be to the benefit of Marco Simoncelli. He

starts on the second row, only the second time he has not made the top

five this season, but he struggled with where on his front tyre all

weekend. With these lower conditions, it could help him come

through and make a challenge. Alongside him, such a great battle

two weeks ago, his compatriot, Andrea Dovizioso. He also starts

from the second row. Then, Jorge Lorenzo, he alluded to the fact he

had not had a great weekend, and there he is, the first time not on

the front row since Italy, at the start of June. But he won that race

from fifth on the grid. It is not impossible for him. You can do what

you can do, but you cannot do what you cannot do, and all but! Let's

have a look at the front row, Casey Stoner starts on pole position for

the ninth time this season, a record that he holds from 2008.

Valentino Rossi has also done that, in 2003. Valentino -- Dani Pedrosa

not quite 100% in second. Ben Spies starts from the front row, his

fourth front row of the season. He has got three podiums, including a

race victory. Then, the guy that I I have got a celebrity at the last

minute! Great to see you again. I always manage to get you at the

end! You will not what allowed! Dani Pedrosa or -- than a has been

away. Yes, I have been filming a new BBC show for Sunday nights.

1/2 months in the Caribbean! That is why I wanted to do it! We are

going to Valencia from London for charity. We are starting on 30th

October, getting down to the last race in Valencia, we will auction

the bike that you are riding, Jorge Lorenzo's bike from last year, the

charity will get the profits, we will wear pink, you will wear a

Knight Rider costume! You will look cool, we will look like we are

there when the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy! Your agent is asking

for warmers on the handlebars. is only the start! Wait until the

are at -- you were on a bike! Casey Stoner has been demanded so far

this weekend. The only other guy who could give him a hard time is

Dani Pedrosa. He is a demon starter. In the head wind, that will be

significant. This is a weird circuit, slippery and abrasive.

They brought a fairly soft set of alternatives for the guys. A lot of

riders in a lot of teams were concerned that the tyres would be

degraded heavily towards the end of the race. The temperature has

dropped by at least ten degrees. Valentino Rossi will go down the

pit lane to the very end, and he will have to wait 10 seconds before

he can go. We expect to see him at the back of the pack. It depends

how he gets out of the pit lane. For the first time in his life, he

will have to work out the pit-lane exit, because it will be tricky. He

will come out here, but it will make the second corner awkward.

If you were going to have to start from the pit lane, this is the

least worst place to do it, because it is not a massive straight into

the first corner. Everybody will be working their way around. They

would not get the lead they would get elsewhere. But he might be able

to -- he might have to do it again this year. Japan, Australia,

Malaysia and Valencia still to come of their happy range for the tyres.

have got to get the tyres up to temperature quickly. Valentino

Rossi might have to wait, his tyres might be called. -- colt. Last year,

Jorge Lorenzo was in an extraordinary position, but he was

beaten by Nicky Hayden. By his standards, it was shocking.

Yamaha does not get on to the power out of the corners. Nicky Hayden

beat him last year. It was a good pass. It will be tricky out of

there. Nearly a kilometre, the tail wind. There is the standings,

as you can see. Casey Stoner has more than fair -- a win's worth up

his sleeve. He will get down the bottom of the pit lane and the

lights will indicate when Sen seconds has gone -- ten-second has

gone. If there is an issue at turn one, he will miss that. The can't

miss the Hondas, they are in safety orange. In Aragon ready to start.

Dani Pedrosa, watch for him in the middle. He always has a fast start.

I tell you what, who has gone and mocked him? Yamaha straight through

the middle and there we seek Rossi. Avoiding action by Randy de Puniet,

you were talking about that turn. it is an awkward corner. Randy de

Puniet had to go across the gravel so he is now behind Valentino Rossi.

What about Ben Spies, have raised move from him. He was the fastest

of the two Yamahas, and boy did he make that decision and stick. Casey

Stoner tries to get back on Dani Pedrosa, down the inside. Stoner

has gutted. Trading at around the back. It was tough stuff between

Dani Pedrosa and his team mate. was a big old move. There he is in

front, Casey Stoner in second. This is turn 12, very easy to go up the

slip road but a big penalty if you do because you have to wait for

everyone to come through. Down through the right hander, and it is

the next left-hander where Rossi had his practice crash. No harm

done except wasting a bit of time. Dovizioso has had a crash somewhere.

Casey Stoner has made his intentions known, he has smoked

that Yamaha. Ben Spies gone wide. His breaking point will be all over

the shop. That was a gift for him. He has already picked up Randy de

Puniet, as we watch Ben Spies closing down on that Orange bike,

really trying to give it a worker over. It is such bad news. Watch

this - was that contact? And think it was cold tyres. He got on the

power a bit too early. It flicked him off and rounded de Puniet paid

a big penalty for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

has hurt himself. That was a fantastic qualifier for Abram, he

said he wanted to stay inside the top 10. Let's hope that injury will

not impede him in two weeks' time in Japan. Here comes Simoncelli,

brace yourself. He is through on Nicky Hayden, the Ducatis having to

give its best. It is such a climb up the hill and tricky coming back

down again, easy to get sucked into a mistake especially on this left-

hander off camber. They picked up about 10 kilometres an hour because

of this tail wind, in fact it seemed to help the Yamahas more

than the Hondas. There is Cal Crutchlow. Colin got a good start.

Toni Elias qualified on the back of the grid and look at him, right in

the middle of all of this. I don't know if the crash helped him but

he's won his way through. It will be interesting to see what sort of

times he can turn in. He has the new chassis. They have built this

for Ducatis, they were contracted to do that and have come up with a

product that should in theory give it more relaxed. Valentino has been

after that all season on the front of the bike. He is testing that

bike and trying to sort it out. has plenty of track to do that at

the moment. Nicky Hayden carrying a bit too much speed, really charging

hard. Simoncelli is on the rear wheel of Jorge Lorenzo now as they

come into turn 12. Simoncelli takes its slightly wide. It is a factory

bike, it should have the speed. should do indeed, and coming down

the straight with the tail wind, this is the first advantage

Simoncelli has had. If he sits up straight, he might have a

spinnaker! He pays the penalty for being the tallest rider of course,

and I heard him say he does have fuel issues. He uses a bit more

fuel because he has more frontal air. Lorenzo will know to not stick

his fingers through the bars of that cage unless he thinks he can

fight back. Simoncelli through as we start the run up the hill.

a big one and it is all about precision, flicking left and right.

It is easy to out-brake yourself in this corner up to turn five. Back

on the brakes for turn 7. Then the replica corner of the corkscrew in

Laguna Seca. That is Dovizioso going down behind. He was just in

the shot behind Nicky Hayden. When you are the third of the three, you

understand what that body-language is all about. And that nice new

body work, which I think was designed by a five-year-old. I was

going to say, you could do better than that. He got pushed out wide.

Anyway, Ben Spies, the man in third place. It was looking so good for

him at the beginning but a little mistake at turn 16 cost him a fair

amount of time. These are the boys chasing Casey Stoner. Lorenzo,

having Simoncelli in front of him, fifth with his team-mate in third,

he will not be able to fathom this. Fide number 24, Toni Elias in front

of all these guys, including Valentino Rossi who is trying to

make a move on Capirossi. Randy de Puniet had such a great start, but

he got caught up in the crash and now he is nowhere. Valentino Rossi

on the inside. I suspect that Valentino Rossi will be able to get

past this bunched, that is my feeling. The one good thing is that

he does have a fresh engine. very much so. Cal Crutchlow,

leading his team mate Colin Edwards on the Tech 3 bike. This is the

best showing we have seen from Toni Elias, the reigning Moto2 champion

but I don't think he will ride in MotoGP again next year, it is not

looking good. That is Colin Edwards on the Tech 3 bike. He is really

just learning the bike, it is the first weekend he has been out on it,

apart from testing the 1000 model. Cal Crutchlow is the man on the

move. He has skipped past bike number 35, having a belting run. He

started in 12th but he had more pace than that. He has had to learn

this track, he has never been here before. Trying to get on to his

team-mate, Colin Edwards gets up into 12. It is when, not if, Cal

Crutchlow gets past Toni Elias as well. This is Casey Stoner with a

1.5 second lead. He is pulling away nicely. Last time around he was

faster on they la. His tyres have got up to temperature at pretty

much the perfect time of the race. He has worked out where the wind is

blowing from, what speed years getting down the straight. They

have got to be very careful up here. Right there, they are going across

the wind. That is like in sailing. Then a spinnaker run down the hill,

changing all over the shop. Simoncelli, last time around he was

faster than Ben Spies as well so that gap will come down. Cal

Crutchlow, as you said, he has never been here before. A brand new

circuit to him but he has sorted out very well. Rossi goes through

so he is really making up some ground. If this works for Ducatis,

they will be so pleased. They are desperately looking for a light at

the end of the tunnel. Valentino Rossi has said he is the test rider,

and whatever happens to him will filter down to Nicky Hayden.

Whatever happens to him will happen to them do categorise, but it has

been a terrible year for him. Cal Crutchlow went through that like a

knife through hot butter. He has worked his way through the field,

now into ninth place. Valentino Rossi with his front wheel up in

the air. It is a matter of time before he overtakes Tony Ali us.

They have had to bite the bullet and take a better engine.

doesn't want to give this up easily. When was the last time he got past

by Valentino Rossi? Only when he was lapped. Through the right

hander. Rossi is trying to line him up. Toni Elias is a lovely bloke,

it is good to see him get a little spark back but it is only a matter

of time before Rossi works his way back room. He does, and now on the

reverse corkscrew part of the circuit. Cal Crutchlow in ninth

place, he will put up more of a fight than Tony Ali asked did. He

is having a good run. Casey Stoner now has nearly a two-second lead

over Dani Pedrosa. There it is on your screen now. There is a great

scrap going on between Ben Spies and Simoncelli. There he is,

following him in, but he has really closed him down in the last couple

of laps. As we saw a couple of laps to go, Simoncelli was good on the

exit up the hill here. This is where the head wind is strongest as

well, so the bigger the bloke the bigger the penalty. So Mugello will

have to work very hard to pass Ben Spies. Ben Spies is the master of

late braking. He has learnt his trade in America, where he was

world champion so it will be more likely Simoncelli will get the

drive off on the corner. The Yamaha has been suffering from edge grip,

which means he loses speed down the following straight. Ben Spies last

time around was 316 Ks. When the wind picked up I think the Yamaha

ruin the ratios for some of the other corners. We will find out in

a minute. This is Marco Simoncelli. He leaps and jumps around on the

motorcycle, a lively, colourful rider. This is where Valentino

Rossi fell in qualifying. By lively and colourful, you say he is like a

grenade! Be competitive racer. He has had a few too many incidents,

he just needs to get some results and show what a marvellous Ryder he

is. These boys pushing hard, they are dropping a Jorge Lorenzo like a

hot rock. Valentino Rossi has gone past Cal Crutchlow. The damned hard

does not punch fast enough. -- the Yamaha. Valentino Rossi is now up

into position nine. I talked to Cal Crutchlow's father. He said, that

is the frustration, no matter how hard they push, just being off down

the straight, the Yamaha's are the slowest. This is a good Spanish

battle, Hector Barbera, he is to get the bike to turn in, get a

bit more weight to the rear. Nicky Hayden looks like he is now in the

sights of Alvaro Bautista. The qualifying did not show their race

pace. Alvaro Bautista is lapping at that. Alvaro Bautista did a full

race run in practice across the weekend, to see what the bike did.

They have been trying a bunch of new set-ups. Marco Simoncelli doing

the job. He carried the speed. Ben Spies does not want any of it.

Marco Simoncelli compromise is a little better. The last of the late

breakers. Ben Spies will try the white line around. Compromise the

first part, to try to get the run out of it. I think it worked. Not

quite, this time around. Marco Simoncelli looked to be passed

easily, Ben Spies possibly backed himself up a bit, trying to get the

run out. He got mugged. Marco Simoncelli going for his second

podium this year. It is well overdue. We will get a replay in a

second. We will get your forensic bisection! This is the boring

phrase you like when you are in first, and every time you pass the

lap board, you see the gap extending. It is almost three

seconds, but that is Casey Stoner's idea of buttering up a bit. Also,

it will say, Jorge Lorenzo, fifth. That is massive as far as the

points are concerned. For five points -- for fifth place, it is 11

points. Marco Simoncelli went wide. That is the lead-up to the mugging

zone. Jorge Lorenzo, you are going to be passed again by Marco

Simoncelli. He is giving away five seconds there. It is so easy to do

that. You have to sort your breaking out as you come over the

top of the hill. He would have lost even more time. A massive penalty

No 4 Marco Simoncelli. -- massive penalty now for Marco Simoncelli.

He did not even get to go down the slip road. He put it over them

Astroturf. -- over the Astroturf. Jorge Lorenzo sliding through.

is not just getting back on the track, it is picking up the gravel

and dirt. Your tyres have lost their grip, so you will need to

sort that out. Alvaro Bautista having a great run, he is on the

back of Nicky Hayden. It is going his way. He has been closing him

down. He will pick him up on this lap, that is great encouragement

for the Suzuki team. He can lay it where he wants, that was as neat as

you like! That was a cheeky pass from Alvaro Bautista. He will have

another run. It looks as though the handling of the Suzuki is vastly

improved over the Ducati. Brand outside. Alvaro Bautista or trying

to get a line-up. That is where we saw Marco Simoncelli overrun.

Hector Barbera having a leg and picking up the pieces. -- having a

look. The Suzuki is not slow. compromised, but he is through. He

tried to do it all on the brakes. Nicky Hayden does not know when he

is beaten, this is fantastic stuff. He has got the inside line, there

is not a lot you can do. Alvaro Bautista might be able to cut back

on the inside. Nicky Hayden, he likes it around here. He got a

podium here last year. He still has been relatively off Ducati. -- be

relatively old Ducati. That will do! He shuts the door again. He is

tenacious, he tries anywhere at all. Hector Barbera, he is watching to

see if they were true picture there are over. All the time, Nicky

Hayden is blocking. Meanwhile, number 27... Of elite this race by

four seconds. -- he leads this race. It looks to be going to plan for

the Australian. Dani Pedrosa is flying the flag, but it is fading

into the distance. On board with as the championship is concerned

for Yamaha. Jorge Lorenzo is in the championship slip away. He thought

it had gone, but then he won the last race, which surprised everyone,

including Casey Stoner. The pit board is being shown. Valentino

Rossi's times are quicker than the bikes in front, so we will soon get

a shot of him close in Nicky Hayden to get his way past if he can.

Damage-limitation from his point of view, and from Ben Spies' point of

view, desperate for another podium. He is in a podium position at the

moment. We are riding with Jorge Lorenzo. Turning right and left,

hard here. Then, on the power, dropping down the hill. You will

see how easy it is 2 outbreak yourself. Then you go on the brakes.

It is very easy to be sucked into Lorenzo, second in the championship,

224 points, he is currently 35 behind. Ben Spies is in fifth place,

courtesy of a lot of bad finishes earlier in the season. Jorge

Lorenzo is closing down his team made. It is no more than 0.1

have made their way through Nicky Hayden. Alvaro Bautista having a

belting race, and Jorge Lorenzo is through on Ben Spies. He is saying,

get back! Do as you are told! Jorge Lorenzo, we say the championship is

drifting away, but Casey Stoner could have all sorts of problems.

All sorts of things do happen. Lockout Andrea Dovizioso, he must

be feeling busted. Bad luck, it is just not your

circuit. Yes, I did not finish the race, I slid to the right, the tyre

was not 100%. When I came back, all of the weight was on the front, and

the front tyre was not hot enough, and it did not keep all my weight.

It was really bad, I am sorry for my team, because this was important

today. We have been working really hard. Before the race, we were the

third fastest. It is really bad, because we were in third place, and

that was our target. Maybe we had some possibilities to recover some

points to Jorge Lorenzo, but I made a small mistake. It is the first of

the year, but at a bad moment. Yes, first of the year, he is third

in the championship. He still has a reasonable lead over Dani Pedrosa

in fourth place. He is chorines his way through the field -- chlorine

his way through. Valentino Rossi is in ninth, but Nicky Hayden is not

so far up the road, he is 2.5 seconds in front. This would take

Valentino Rossi on to the back of Nicky Hayden, he is lapping up

Valentino Rossi, having started from the pit lane. Jorge Lorenzo

has dropped off almost one second ahead of his team-mate, Ben Spies.

He went past him in one movement, and Ben Spies has taken the

instruction. I thought he was telling him to stay behind, but Ben

Spies can't do that, because Jorge Lorenzo has picked up the pace.

Maybe the bike is coming back to him a bit. Casey Stoner, number 27,

the Australian, he is Mr superb at the moment. We thought he was great

last year, but he is even greater this year. That throws the Ducati

debacle into stark relief. This time last year, he won by a country

mile. That is Dani Pedrosa thinking he has got the lead, but Ben Spies

did not break as late as the others. They did not touch, I think Karel

Abraham has is accelerating, and the bike spun. Dani Pedrosa is

having none of it. To Ben Spies says, thank you. The Honda boys

cutting each other up a bit. This is the view from Jorge Lorenzo's

of corners in, your heart beat Senna's. That is the major part out

of the way. Getting through the first few corners, with the tyres

coming up to temperature. Going back to Casey Stoner, extraordinary,

have paid huge lead in the championship. In two weeks, Japan.

Everybody is going, great news for all the riders. Valentino Rossi is

closer to Jorge Lorenzo than Jorge way back up, having had that

excursion off the track. It is me again! So Ben Spies will be having

none of this. He gave a very good account of himself last time. Up

into the first turn, side by side, Ben Spies trying to brake later.

Maybe Lorenzo did want Ben Spies behind him to protect him from this

feller. Loris Capirossi is down, Toni Elias on the right is walking.

That is on top of the mountain, Steve. It is. Loris Capirossi goes

into the back of him. You can see he just clipped the back of Tony

Ali us into the braking zone. The good news is that he is up and

saying sorry. He is inquiring about his health, which is pretty good

considering he was the victim. You can hear applause in the background

for both of them. But look, especially for Toni Elias because

he was going so well. It will be of last man Standing Room team here.

Casey Stoner is now 6.5 seconds ahead of his team-mate, Dani

Pedrosa. He will be saving fuel, saving time, energy and money. The

bonus round of course, just to keep the wolf away. Dani Pedrosa will be

thinking what am are going to do about this man? For Dani Pedrosa it

is a forlorn hope thinking they will be team-mates next year and

Dani Pedrosa is the fastest man on the planet. I think Ben Spies has

run into some trouble because the praise he was running at the

beginning, he did start with the harder tyre compounds. The only

people who have really had an odd tyre selection was her sister.

at him, really fighting back. He has closed down Valentino Rossi and

bike number seven has gone with him. I don't know if Rossi has had a

moment or if Cal Crutchlow has got his head down but we have a scrap

going on for position nine. He must have had a moment, dropped back

into the clutches of Cal Crutchlow. I wonder if Cal Crutchlow thought

he would be having a race long battle with nine times world

champion Valentino Rossi when he started this year, I suspect not

but he will be enjoying it. He is not intimidated by anybody in this

field, he just gets out and does his thing. I thought Valentino

Rossi would catch Nicky Hayden. That is Crutchlow going past.

Plenty of smokes in the Tech 3 garage, and rightly so because he

is giving a good account of himself. Colin Edwards is having a nightmare,

13th, last, qualified badly, he has just had a shocker of the weekend.

Can Valentino Rossi told him out? No, round the outside.

That is one for the album. Cal Crutchlow, a brilliant move for him.

That will be a lovely result for him. He is sliding the Yamaha

around nicely, stays with Tech 3 next year. Still a lot of

controversy about who will replace Colin Edwards. There is talk of

Dovizioso, a lot of names in the heart. Crutchlow is closing him

down and he has done the job. Hayden goes up the inside, but not

enough as they touched! Clearing off into the distance already,

there was a very good pass. It was a back yard pass, as he Cole said.

He clipped Nicky Hayden, which didn't allow him to shift gear so

that was awkward for him. Bautista just thinking this is fantastic.

Hold yourself up as much as you can, he has his head down. We are riding

with Casey Stoner, and he has backed the pace off even more. The

last lap was one full second slower than Dani Pedrosa. Six seconds out

in front and four laps to go. just taking it nice and easy. You

would look pretty foolish if you threw it away at this stage, he

knows that. This will make his championship copper-bottomed, I

think. And the moment as it finishes he would pick up 25 points,

Lorenzo 16. We have three long-haul races coming up, in two weeks' time

Japan. Have a look at this. Knees and

elbows. Watch the front tyre, the movement going on. You can see the

suspension movement between the MoD -- mud guard. Poetry in motion.

Turn 17. Back to real time, real speed. Just under 100 mph, that

looks ever so smooth at that sort of speed. Dani Pedrosa will do his

championship chase no harm at all. Dovizioso is on 185, he is on 150.

It is most conceivable Pedrosa could finish third in the

championship this year, which would be no mean feat given all to the

races he has missed. There is the boss. Lorenzo, after three or four

laps, was thinking if I got onto the podium it would be a miracle.

He has six seconds over Simoncelli, the only man who could threaten him.

Last time around, Simoncelli was one second a lap slower than Jorge

Lorenzo so he just has two-stroke it home. This is still going on,

isn't it? Cal Crutchlow are still doing a fantastic job out there, a

really nice consistent race pays time. -- race pace. Cal Crutchlow

is just behind Tony Ali asked and Abraham, we know both of them are

out. It was looking like they would close him down but hears four

seconds down the road from Cal Crutchlow. Now the compression as

everyone brakes but he was very neat down the hill. Valentino Rossi

was the one struggling. Over the line we go, two laps remaining.

Casey Stoner was just cruising it round. He is over one second faster

than anyone else solely doesn't know how to slow down. Front-wheel

up in the air, you can see the chain working hard. Rossi has got

rear tyre problems, I am sure of that. Hasn't got the drive off the

corners any more. Keep that Yamaha wide, Cal Crutchlow. He was an

absolute demon in the 250 cc class before it was replaced by Moto2.

His best position has been involved place. That was about getting off

the corner before, I am sure of that. -- in 4th place. The big day

hill. Casey Stoner has one lap to go before he sets off for Australia,

a small vacation at home before he goes on to Japan. Here we go. All

he has got now, five kilometres. He will take his eight for win a 2011

series. -- eighth win. This gives a great indication of the elevation

changes. Bear in mind, that starts at 6000 at the bottom so it just

reminds you those things are literally... That is where it runs

out. So Casey Stoner is revving it's not sound balls off. This is

not over yet either. A Valentino Rossi didn't wake up this morning

thinking he would be banging wheels with I Aoyama. It is looking pretty

sick you're so far. Valentino Rossi those. That is from Superbikes!

Tough as goat's meat, Cal Crutchlow. Made that stick and he warned poor

old Hiroshi from doing that again. Way ahead of everybody! Casey

Stoner up on the back wheel. He smoked it, a storming performance.

Up and over the hill comes his team-mate, Dani Pedrosa, who

doesn't bother with any victory celebrations at all. This guide us

because Jorge Lorenzo has got himself a podium. Steed, there is

some damage control in that. Absolutely, it could have been a

lot worse. Ben Spies who ran into some trouble, a great run from No.

19, Bautista, and Nicky Hayden. saw off this guy in the end, but

you saw a snapshot of him. A peer, how about that? I make that Cal

Crutchlow in ninth place. For Randy de Puniet, poor old Randy de Puniet,

his one-hundredth start MotoGP and he has finished in 12th place.

Colin Edwards, that will remain one of life's great mysteries. Yes,

very sad for him. A pretty fair day for him. This man, Casey Stoner, as

I said, his 8th win of the year. 31 wins now in total. Pole position,

lap record, we in... Fastest in than everything else. I cannot wait

for the 1000 to come next year. Jorge Lorenzo can be pleased with

himself, he put this together, given that he struggled all weekend.

They had a lacklustre race this time last year. He had not

qualified well, in fourth. He showed great composure to drag it

out of the back. Marco Simoncelli, fourth place. Damage control, as we

said. Casey Stoner has taken another nine points out of him. It

is starting to look signed, sealed and delivered. But it is never over

until it is over. One little mistake can see you done for the

season. Absolutely, we saw him crash in practice, it could be a

fracture. A great day for the Australian. Not a bad one for the

I have got his team manager, was that Cal Crutchlow's best ride of

the year? It is the best ride for a long time, maybe the best of the

year. He has got a better result, but he was on his own. He was

fighting with Valentino Rossi, and he passed him and stayed in front

of him, with a bit less top speed, so he is learning. He had a

struggle halfway through the season, but the last three races, he showed

that he is back on track. We are really happy. The stock was a bit

unfortunate, but let's not be too greedy, it was a really good day,

congratulations, and a good day for Tech 3 and the Brits, a great run

from Bradley Smith in the Moto2. Kick him a high five, we will look

at the replay at -- did him. Confidence is such a big thing for

these guys, and it has been an issue for Cal Crutchlow. He passed

the man that he has knocked up to for so long. Yes, everybody has him

as the benchmark. He got such an would drive up the inside. Cal

Crutchlow put it down the inside. He was only passed by Hiroshi

They collided and shoved him out wide. A terrific run from Cal

Confidence is such a big thing in MotoGP, as it is at the top level

of any sport. Seeing those passes, they will help him. Yes, for sure.

We know how difficult it is to switch from his Superbike to MotoGP.

This is what we have been telling him all the time, do not worry

about position, you have to learn a lot of new tracks, and today, we

did a whole race with Valentino Rossi, so it means a lot, he has

learned a lot, and that is our mission. He does not know the next

track. The last three, he knows them, so we can expect something

good for the rest of the season. Since you got up at Bradley Smith,

we will ask you about him afterwards.

Congratulations, another solid victory, and in the Special livery

as well. We are back to where we were before, we struggled in that

race, but we knew what was wrong. It felt good all weekend. The bike

has been fantastic, we had to put up with a few changes in the

weather, the wind strength changed, so it was a bit challenging, but

the track conditions were good, the bike was perfect, so we just had to

bring it home. Very happy. A massive win for Casey Stoner, but

what about Cal Crutchlow? It was great for us to watch. It was fine.

If I had not had such a bad start, it would have been all right. The

thought I would make some passes, but I backed out like an idiot. I

lost some time at the start, and we were never going to get anywhere.

The only way I could catch them was to follow somebody. I thought I

would get to the front of the group, and there was some close passing

and some elbows out, but it was good fun. It is nice to finish in

the top 10 at a circuit I have never been to before. If we had

more top speed, I could have done better, but we will look through

the data, we will look at improving things. Another learning curve.

will excuse your French, it is a And other great ride for Dani

Pedrosa. -- another.

Congratulations, a lonely ride in second. Yes, I started as fast as I

could, the first laps were good, but Casey Stoner was a bit faster.

All weekend, I lost 0.2, 0.3, and that was it. I could not improve my

riding, and he was quicker. Great riding for him. I managed second

place, but it was hard, because of the tyres. But it was fun. I want

to thank my team, and I hope we can continue like this.

Riad reports always going to be an issue. -- rear quip was always

A pretty big day for Honda. Marco Simoncelli had a good ride. One

estate saw him lose a podium spot. -- one mistake. Nicky Hayden did

Valentino Rossi, not on the front Congratulations on the podium, you

told me yesterday that it would be impossible to win, the best you

could hope for was a podium. Yes, I told you! In normal conditions, it

was impossible, Casey Stoner was extremely fast, so was Dani Pedrosa.

Third position is not so bad, I am A great ride from Jorge Lorenzo. I

did not want to let you run off. I will pursue, because we heard from

Bradley Smith in our last show, there was talk of a MotoGP right.

Who will replace Colin Edwards? have not signed anybody, we are

hoping to finalise everything by the next race. The two best options,

both of them are showing good will to join us. One of there is Alvaro

Bautista, the other is Andrea Dovizioso. One of them would have

to leave Honda, and Alvaro Bautista is waiting for the Suzuki factory

to make a decision. We have had a few other Moto2 guys back in the

picture. Yes, by the next race, it should be clear. Somebody like

Andrea Dovizioso or Alvaro Bautista, it would be good for the team.

Plenty of options. You are the president of the team's association,

we are going to Japan in two weeks, there was talk that Casey Stoner

and Jorge Lorenzo were not wanting to go. That must be a relief for

you. Yes, nobody wants to go anywhere where it is not safe. We

made a lot of requirements, we checked everything. This weekend,

in the championship is racing there. Everything we got was positive and

safe to go, and we could never get any documents saying it was not

safe. The factory Ducati went there to check it, and all of the results

are fine, so there is no reason not to go. Common sense has prevailed.

See you in Japan. Like every year, you cannot wait for that. I do

really enjoy a bit of Japan. Watching Steve with chopsticks!

always have a nice trip. They are very courteous people, and we have

never had a hooter blown at first. If Laverty popped up in Tech 3,

that would make it for me. Yes, that would be superb. Let's have a

Pedrosa went up the inside. No. 11, Ben Spies, brand outside, perfect

for him. Then, Karel Abraham. A big accident. We saw him being helped

off. No. 14, Randy de Puniet, he was penalised immensely by being on

the outside. That was very unfortunate, because he qualified

OK. It was a great bit of opportunism for Ben Spies, but it

did not stick. His team-mate is the man you can see on the third step

off the lead -- podium, Jorge Lorenzo. It is not the biggest

trophy, but it was not a bad result. As he said, in normal race

conditions, he did not hold a snowflake's chance. But he has

managed a podium, that is good. Dani Pedrosa, he rode a good race,

but Casey Stoner rode a better one. He has had the pace all weekend.

Casey Stoner is not standing on just the top step of the podium, he

is standing on a lead of 44 points for the championship. Asked what --

that must feel pretty good. He is having a dream season, and he

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 57 seconds

We will be going to Australia in a few weeks' time, but next, it is