Sepang MotoGP

The racing goes on. The MotoGP paddock will never forget the

tragic events here last year or the memory of Marco Simoncelli. Good

morning to you from Sepang. The storm clouds are gathering. We have

already had one heavy downpour. The racing has been pushed back 15

minutes. Three races to go for this season. The title chase is far from

over after another stunning victory for Dani Pedrosa just seven days

We are ready for a start in Japan. Bautista has muscled his way past.

That was 8 1/2 moves. He is not beyond a mistake! He stuffs it down

What is going on? Is he out of fuel? Dani Pedrosa on this Trust --

on this test track winds. So, Dani Pedrosa takes his 4th win in five

races. Not a classic but Dani Pedrosa and chipping away at the

Championship lead. He is on a roll. He has won four out of five races.

He is doing very well. He is doing everything he can. He is pushing

Jorge Lorenzo to make a mistake. Lorenzo can still be wobbling

around and it can be job done. clouds were ready to burst and it

has. -- they have. It is all up in the air now. Bear in mind this

track is slippery when it is dry. So there will be debris and rubber,

and it was hosing it down, reveal its across the track, it is very

difficult. We don't know what is going to happen in half an hour or

so. That victory for Dani Pedrosa last week means the gap at the top

is 28 points. Mathematically, Jorge Lorenzo could be crowned world

champion here today. Dani Pedrosa would have to crash. The reverse

scenario would be a three-point gap between them. Dani Pedrosa cannot

afford any mistakes. He has got to keep banging it hard. And now we

have got Stoner back in the mix now. He could be as boiler in all of

this. That is going to mix it up. When you get weather like this, it

labels things out. It does. Stoner is very good in the wet. And Dani

Pedrosa has really improved his best game as well. He could be

pretty comfortable. And Jorge Lorenzo, he has got a country mile

lead, and he is not going to chuck it away easily but he has got to be

careful. He has been in this situation before he has the benefit

of hindsight. He knows exactly what to expect here. Yes, it is my goal

to stay on the podium. If it is possible to win, of course I would

like to win because it would make more easy to win the Championship

as soon as possible but it is not so easy because now Dani Pedrosa

and his team and bike, they are very strong. He is in his best

shape in all his career. He was so good after the other races. We're

in a good shape but we will struggle to stay with him during

the race. On the practice, we made a proposition, but it is difficult

to in the race. We will try to win the race again but if it is not

possible, the more clever thing to do is to finish in second or third

place. Trust one when in six races so he only needs to finish third in

the last three but is he getting spooked? Dani Pedrosa is cranking

the pressure up. It would rattle your train. He will start next year

thinking, hang on, this man beat me all the way shrink the last half of

the year. He needs to start getting back on top of Pedrosa. We had a

dry qualifying session yesterday. He went on to take pole position,

Lorenzo, but that doesn't always mean a win. That was an astonishing

lap. We saw come in the warm-up and he was furious with the bike. He

was shaking his head. The bike was annoying him. I don't think he

thinks he's got a race in it not to win. You can see the unborn bikes

coming back in. Great news for British raise funds because the

rookie in the motor to class and a web specialist this season has

finished on the podium. -- the wet specialist. Fantastic stuff for him

after a very difficult first year. It has worked out well for him in a

wet, but anything can happen. Championships can be won or lost by

factors outside the riders control. It is not just the weather that can

affect the riders. As they can be fuel disasters as well. -- they can

Running out of fuel would be inexcusable but as it is not as

simple as that. You cannot put more him. These bikes start the race

with 21 metres. They are doing 16 miles to the gallon. The key to it

all is getting the balance right. Cal Crutchlow, he ran out of fuel.

The engineers are trying to get him to do the laps, but he wants more

power. It didn't work out last weekend. We did have a good race.

No matter if we got on a podium or not, we wanted fourth place. It was

nobody's fault. The tank didn't finish the race. We needed

slipstream and we would have finished. It is a silly mistake,

but in reality it is not so simple to manage full consumption. The

electronics help a lot. So we tried to protect the consumption, total

consumption, but in reality, especially at the beginning of the

race, which is quite a critical point, we don't want to lose any

position and we want to stay close and keep possession. So we need to

give him more power. Even taking account the total consumption.

rider can get away with worn-out tyres or breaks, but if he runs out

of fuel, it is an early Barth. I am here with Marco, the team chief.

How do you go about monitoring fuel? It is important to monitor

the fuel because we have 21 litres, this is the rule. It is not a lot.

Not for this bike. It is 1,000 here, so we must manage very precisely

how much fuel we need every lap. We must set up before, during Friday

and Saturday, have a think. Thank you. There you have it. Each team

goes about it in a different way and some of the riders have to get

involved as well. It is important before the race and especially how

much use been during the race. You don't know the lap times you can do

precisely. If you are faster and you push 100% and use been more

than in the practice, you can go over the limit easily. Engine

braking, that is the one place you can suffer a little bit and not

always affect the lap time. But it is surprising how much fuel you can

save one corner entry. Calculations, you can make it in the practice,

but you are more aggressive in the Raceway your rear wheels Benn's

more. It happens. -- in the race where your wheels spin more.

this is the camera, used to plug into the bike. Every practice

session, it goes in. It has to go up on the scales because in a

different temperatures, the volume can change but the density doesn't.

It is quite critical -- critical to measure it every time. The real

trick, keep the fuel mice and call. It goes into a fridge like this. --

nice and cool. Interesting stuff. No need for the

cover today. I am going to put it over Charlie's head. Seriously,

today is not so important because this is to reflect this summer, but

they will be using them because every bit counts. The tanks are

brimmed to the top. Very interesting what people do. What I

found interesting, the race tyres are put into the spare bike. When

the pit lane opens, he went out on the spare bike with the raised

tyres, went around, bedded them in, came back, put those tyres and

wheels into the race back and then went around slowly, and saved some

fuel. That could have been the difference between him and Cal

Crutchlow. Or the brakes, they sometimes stop using the brakes and

use engine stopping. Freezing fuel, let me tell you about it. Rain will

make a difference. It makes things easier. They knocked a lap of this

racier because fuel was so critical. So this is a fuel sensitive circuit,

not just Japan. I have just noticed the guy's putting the fuel in the

tanks. I got ice on the side of the tank, and I fell off on the first

corner! The rules are here are 15 degrees between ambient temperature.

You better put that back. Let's have a look, the third place for

Geno today. It is a pity we cannot cut to that. Obviously, Jorge

Lorenzo looking calm and collected. Now the pressure is on. The

Championship is on the line. He has got to be careful and not take

chances. Ideally, let somebody else lead and followed with Veritas

Pedrosa or Stoner. -- whether it is. I can guarantee he will be in the

garage thinking why cannot do this? It is throwing another spanner in

the works. Other things can go wrong. We might see a flight to

flight here because when the rays get started at the track will be

wet. -- a flag to flag. Dani Pedrosa is good in a rain as well.

The there are a few guys good in the rain. As Bashir Sir David

Murray. He starts in the front for the third time this season. He is a

contender for the won, Andrea Dovizioso, but also for the

Championship. I am so close to him. Maybe I can overtake him in this

track but everybody knows that he becomes better with the body, Casey

Stoner. In Australia, he was really fast. It will be hard but we will

try 100%. We know he's going to be giving 100% and he was in the warm-

up which is not the best time to be giving 100% and it can lead to

accidents. 105%, it is too much. was lucky not to hurt himself. He

got too hot in the last corner. He ran wide and lost the front and. He

wrecked the bike the morning of the race. Luckily, they have a bit more

time to fix it. Time to head over He is a real rain master. Great to

see him. He has had a lot to learn this season. How can he go from

being so far off the pace in the drive? Because he is a great wet-

weather rider. He got wiped out going into the chicane. He won't

want to be known as a rain rider. But he is based move that rider,

feels confident in those conditions. Let's hope it has shown people he

has the ability to run at the front and secured a ride for next season.

If you would hope so? Yes, we have a good amount of people coming

through. Those boys, he got red flag in the end, but it would have

been tough. The track will be soaking for this style of raised.

We heard from Jorge Lorenzo earlier on and also Dovizioso. He is hoping

to overturn Casey Stoner for third in the Championship. Stoner back

after a lengthy absence due to end ankle injury for some he has been

struggling again, but not just because of the ankle, he has bigger

problems. A physically, I won't know until I am on there. I have

not been able to complete many laps, we have been constantly fixing

issues. Basically since I came back in Japan. When I came out of the

pits, the bike broke down. We seem to be on the back foot constantly.

Every time we try to improve the pace we seem to go in the wrong

direction. When it came to qualifying, which I was quite

confident we could drop times, we were unable to. Every time we went

out on new tyres, we make the bike worse. It was difficult to find the

speed we had even yesterday. Not the happiest man right now,

considering how this weekend has gone. The potential is higher than

we are showing. Not happy. The weather will perhaps put a smile on

his face. But it is all about getting laps and getting fit for

Phillips Ireland next weekend? is a swansong. He has an

astonishing record and does not want to lose that. He won't want to

hurt himself. He wants to arrive and smoking. I agree with Charlie,

it is all about getting ready for Phillip Island. Valentino Rossi has

had an interesting weekend? everyone has this issue around here,

11th on the grid is not good. We thought they have turned the corner.

It is the track, it is not just the bikes. And the crashes we saw, it

is about engine braking. We talk about feeling. He was trying to

grab the marshal back. Valentino looking forward to the end of the

season when he can say goodbye to that will stampeded not want to let

go of it this weekend, but the three races to go for Valentino

Rossi and Ducati. He can look forward to a rebirth perhaps with

We an early at the end of the Ducati dream, but he has not turned

out that way, how will you reflect on his last few years? It is a

great pity for me because it was a dream. It was an important bet to

tried to win. Win together with Ducati. It was two very difficult

season so. We tried a lot of things, but we were never able to fix the

problem. And we did have some good races and some good results, but

not what everybody expected. We did lose the Beth, yes. What was your

fault process when the opera to Yamaha? -- opportunity. I prefer to

remain with Ducati, but I don't know how long I will continue in

MotoGP. So thinking of this, I have to rise -- race with the best bike.

In my career, I want to win almost everything but you need to enjoy.

Now is not the time in my career I should be struggling like this

every weekend. I want to arrive at the weekend with the task to try

for the victory. I know it will be difficult. Obviously things are

changing in a big way, are you excited for the future of MotoGP?

My personal feeling is they have to change a lot for the future. It is

the worst moment in MotoGP from 2000, from when I was in MotoGP.

This is the most boring moment. Because races are quite bad. Moto 3

is exciting. It is very difficult to stay awake. They have to change

a bit of the products. The level is fantastic. The bikes are very fast

and the riders are very fast. also need exciting riders. People

always ask me who is the next Valentino Rossi. He do you see who

is coming through who excites you? For May, some of the young guys

from the Moto 2. They are fast riders, but having fun. This is

what people like and it makes the difference. But it usually young

riders who arrive in MotoGP, they become more serious. This is the

problem because in MotoGP you have more opera -- pressure from the

outside. You have more money, so more pressure from the outside.

am hoping the younger riders remain fresh. The one guy we hoped it was

going to be taking it to that it next level was Marco Simoncelli.

There we will be remembering him. For me, he is a friend. For MotoGP,

it lost one of its best future riders. A guide that it raised the

with his heart and brave. But also very simple. I read an interview

from I think 2001 when you said you did not expect to race after 30

years old? When you have -- when you are 20, you have a different

idea from the people who are 34 stop you think when you arrive to

30, you think you are already old, but it is not proved. It is not an

extreme sport for the physical. You can stay at a high-level for longer.

When I go to a race weekend I am always happy. I cannot wait to go

on the bike. It is good to continue. When this attitude changes, it will

be enough. Time to stop? Yes. always see you winning a game?

hope. I don't know. I think I have the potential to win some races

next year. I think. That smile has never been wiped off his face. One

man he is a Ducati legend along side me now. Troy Bayliss a MotoGP

winner as well. Great to see you here. At I have had a great day and

seeing a lot of familiar faces. I am very happy to be here. I believe

you have some work tomorrow? It is work, but play as well. I will be

having a great time. It is Ducati Academy here. We would try and have

some fun for Star we just heard in the interview with Valentino, it

has been a difficult couple of years for did caddie. It must have

been hard to watch? In it has been a difficult time for

everybody. You have to go through them times sometimes. Maybe the way

it is turning out it could be good for the riders. You raced against

Valentino yourself in MotoGP, what do you make of him as a rider? Has

he got it in him to go and win races and Yamaha? Yes, he has the

ability to win races. Everybody would like to see him come back and

be strong again. I'm not saying he is not strong now, but it has been

added at a time will start talking about retirement, he looks fit and

wants to keep going. You experiment Somebody asked me if I missed it,

and I said I didn't. They said I was not telling the truth. But now

I can watch them go round and remember how difficult it was

riding around here. I had a smile on my face watching them ride

around today. Some things, I can do without. I cannot let you go about

asking about Casey Stoner. Retiring at 27, what do you make of that?

Many years ago, he told us he had a bit of a plan. It was and a

surprise. We will see what he does in the future. If he gets sick of

what he tries to do, he can always come back. Enjoy the rest of your

day. I think we can go to Geno he finished third in the Moto to race.

First ever podium for the British rider.

You must be pleased to get the first podium? Yes, I was red flag,

but I don't know how that always works. It is my first year in Moto

2, it has been a difficult year and we have not quite got the bike

working in the drive. But in the wet, I had a good feel for the bike

and I will try and make things work. Got off to a pretty good start. The

first few laps were a bit scary, but that was the way the bike was

set. Once we got to the funds I felt comfortable. When the track

started to drive is when I started to struggle. I dropped off a little

bit and I was praying for a bit more rain. It did start to rain and

they came back to the front a bit more. And then the red flag came

out. It was tricky conditions towards the end. It is an amazing

scene -- feeling and I would like to thank everybody who got me here,

my sponsors, my family. The whole Team, especially Mike crew chief.

It has been a hardier. I'm glad I can replace -- repay the Team.

Hears a man with plenty of his mind, Jorge Lorenzo. Here is a man. He is

not won from pole position since the opening round in Qatar. There

he goes. You can see not only how wet it is but also how fantastic

the crowd is. The grandstand tickets have been sold out. We had

a Malaysian podium as well, and he started in third position, and it

is excellent for him. We have had one British podium today, will we

see another one? Cal Crutchlow did not have a good time in practice.

They say this circuit is very bumpy since when they came here back in

February. Now everything changes. They have no set-up time in the wet

conditions so far this weekend. There he is, Cal Crutchlow.

Remember, they only actually get four sessions to set their bikes up

over the weekend. Three brief practice sessions and a qualifying

session and 20 minutes' warm-up -- warm-up. One of the practice

sessions was scrapped because it was raining in some parts of the

track and not in others. That is going to prove crucial right now.

What is most important during that three-and-a-half-hour as his

communication between the riders and mechanics. -- is the

The crew chief needs to read the rider. -- rider have. You have just

one minute to try to explain. chemistry it is important we have a

45 minute session and it is loud. After five years, he knows me quite

well. I don't know anything about mechanics. I do not know how the

engine works, but I am very sensitive on the bike. The guys,

they know. They get used to my ways. My weight is different to other

guys, maybe... The bike will not turn, it is pretty clear I am

trying to turn and push wide. wheel didn't come down and the bike

shakes as the back will hits the floor. When I go into the corner

with the break, it is snaking. Italian so I always tried to

explain, moving there hand. -- Great stuff. I always wonder what

the riders such doing. All that goes out of the window. All the set

up a word you have done for Jorge Lorenzo in the winter and practice,

it goes out of the window now. were six -- suspecting mixed

conditions but this is just wet. For the riders, it is not so easy

because they haven't tried the wet conditions. It doesn't show it will

stay dry either, so it could be wet or a little bit wet, but we start

with the rain tyres. At least you know what you have to do. There was

some wet on Friday. Do you regret not going to the track on Friday?

Not really. It was half half. It was risky, you don't learn a lot,

and you can crash. Just won -- just one win for Jorge Lorenzo. Could he

be panicking? No. He did his job at the beginning of the season. And we

do have a lead but with three races to go, 28 points is nothing, so we

need to play it clever, and we cannot get stressed about Ducati

Team or winning. We need to keep the pace. Good luck. Thank you, we

needed. I'm going to try to find somebody else. The conditions are

atrocious. From where we are sitting, it is not wet enough, we

would like it be saturated! I think this could be a cracking race. We

could have the chance of a flag to flag where the guys will come in

and change bikes with slick tyres. It depends whether it rains any

more. But a dryers very quickly around here. We know those wet

tyres will not last long on wet tyres. -- on dry conditions. Even

though it is pouring with rain, the track is warm. What these guys

would want is for it to really stay wet. Racing on wearing out wets is

horrible. But they can be aquaplaning. A drizzle would be the

answer. It will not be very pleasant. What we do know is that

Bautista warmed up his dry tyres. He has done that for his bike. I

think that was key for him so that if they had started on slick tyres

and needed the others, he has bedded him in. Once these guys

start, they can come in whenever they want, they can choose a time

to come in and change to a bike that has different tiers. It must

have either as they study on wet, as slick in the front or slick in

the back. It has to have a different tyre tread pattern.

Lorenzo will be thinking what are my going to do here? He has got to

concentrate, keep it neat, keep it tidy. In these sort of conditions,

I fancy the chances of Cal Crutchlow. It is a real leveller,

the wet. It gives the chance for the guys and little further and the

back. Let's get a quick word with Cal Crutchlow. You start from the

middle of the second row. That is not ideal for you, and not ideal

yesterday in the practice. But anything can happen in the wet.

Obviously, we had some vibration problems yesterday. They seem to be

cured this morning. I didn't set a fast time but the bag was but a. I

was confident for the dry condition, but now we do not know what is

going to happen with the rain. If it tries up, it is going to wreck

the tyres. We don't know. We are still deciding on that. Good luck.

Thank you. Bridgestone will send the tyre sheets to the guys in the

commentary box. They will let you know. It is a tough call because

not only did they not have wet practices, if they come here for

testing, if it rains, they tend to knock the test on the head because

the data is useless. The grip levels are so different. Let's see

if we can get to Jorge Lorenzo. She is following me, this girl, from

Spanish TV, she wants to be where ever I am. We were promised Jorge

Lorenzo after Spanish TV but the Italians have jumped in their.

Let's come back to Jorge Lorenzo. The sign was up wet race. That

means they will not have to put any flags up that they can come in at

any time. That means the riders, when the race starts, they can

choose when they come in to change to a bike with slick tyres. I think

Cal Crutchlow will do well. He enjoys riding and the rain. He

never enjoys sitting on a great waiting to go out there because

there is another element of things that can go wrong in these

conditions. Behind Cal Crutchlow, that is the direction of the

weather. That is something that he will be looking at closely. As well

Jorge Lorenzo. He will be worried to see whether there will be more

rain and how to play the TEC tick. Cal Crutchlow said he is not sure

what compound tyre they are going to run. He will want to start with

a soft compound wet tyre but he will not what that when it dries

out. Another gamble. This is the fly anointment, you're flicking her.

Any air and choosing. He will want to start with a soft wet tyre but

you imagine when the track dries out, the hard compound would dry

better. But you still get reveal its right across of the track which

you have got to be careful of. You Let's find out how James Mack is

doing. -- Jorge Lorenzo. There is no awful lot of frustration at the

grid. It is a massive gamble with the tyres. Been there, done it, and

it is like licking a coin and none of the riders have got time to talk

to the TV crews. You walk around the grid staring into the sky is.

Haven't you done that? Was nowhere to hide. Ellison, he is no slouch

in the wet. It is pretty good for some of these guys with these

conditions mixed up. Was power is not such a great factor. James,

sorry to interrupt you. Wet weather giving you a chance. At should do.

It is a gamble what tyres we should use in the rear. One entry is not

so good with wet, but we will have to take a gamble. If it tries out,

we might struggle. We tried -- we will try to make some places up.

are getting kicked off the grid. He is not the only one with the softer

rear tyre. I am more worried about the woman from Spanish TV who is

talking match. -- book is stalking Stoner, nobody knows. We will find

out shortly. Back to the tyres, you cannot come in and change from a

soft rear or soft compound wet tied to a compound. It has to be wet to

slip. At the sun comes out and they get the 20 lap race in the summer,

it is amazing how easily it tries up. -- dries up. The water goes

into the apex. The worst thing in the world to run on the super soft

tyre and have it fall to bits. The slick tyre, it is isometric.

other situation, it is very well starting with a hard tyre but if

you crash at turn one, who knows? It is a massive gamble. The guys

with the softer rear tyre should have an advantage at the early

stage. You might as well have go. There is no point having a

percentage player. -- there is no point having a percentage play. We

shall see. This is an important tonne. This is one of the spirals.

There is a great at Duke of it. It drops down the hill. In the wet,

I used second gear. They short shrift second, third, fourth. There

is a tight a right turn to four. It climbs up quite steeply over the

crest of the hill. Look at the weather. It is coming mainly from

the left but you never really know because the wind direction changes

dramatically. There is Ellison's tyre, he has a softer compound.

Look at the track temperature. It was 53 degrees. It has lost 20

degrees. It is still the thick end of 80. If the sun comes out, it

will skyrocket. If you get weather from that direction, that is

something to watch. There is plenty of us brave. I have a suspicious

feeling that Jorge Lorenzo might have gone for the soft compound.

When it rains harder people don't even go out to do laps. But the

appetite of some of these guys don't do that because they don't

want to put extra mileage on these engines. They have no fresh engines

left. And they are very careful of mileage. There are the sock rear

compounds. We expect Jorge to have the confidence early on. Dani

Pedrosa or I think has gone for the harder rear tyre. We urge I think

you would if he has made a decision They were talking to the

Bridgestone man. So much to play for. Bautista, Cal Crutchlow has

Stoner on one side of him and Spies Dovizioso and Pedrosa might have a

hard rear tyre but he is going with them. Everybody is tiptoeing. You

have Lorenzo from Pedrosa. Dovizioso went backwards. It is

easy to spin, you have to juggle the throttle all of the time. Nicky

Hayden having a bit of a moment it with Dovizioso. It is a nightmare,

working out what level of grip you have got. You do not know until you

go into the corner, you just hope it will stick. Valentino Rossi has

a moved up through the field. He is in very good shape. Have a look at

what you cannot see Vostok most of the rises have the be clear by his

us. Bridle has bought himself a little bit up. Cal Crutchlow did

not make much out of that. Bradl rattling the back wheel of Stoner.

The Stoner has not done much practising all week. All sorts of

issues. Lorenzo with the softer compound tyre. The softer

Bridgestone is playing dividends for Jorge. He has got the

confidence and he is going with it. Pedrosa has done well off the line.

Valentino Rossi is not making a move. The Spies it is honing in on

everybody. Valentino Rossi is trying to move up to Casey Stoner.

Valentino Rossi is in the mix. His last win was here in Malaysia.

Nicky Hayden says Cram or not on your life, I have done dirt track

and I will stay on the inside. Cal Crutchlow is behind all of this.

Cal Crutchlow had a problem in the first lap and lost some ground

because he got away fairly well. About it and now everyone is

working out the amount of grip they have available to them. There is

that your gap from Lorenzo to Pedrosa. He has opened up the gap.

Casey Stoner is sensitive but Pedrosa is making him look a little

bit foolish at the moment. Dovizioso slammed the door shut.

Now you are riding with Bradl on the tale of Valentino Rossi.

Dovizioso gone for the softer option tyre. That gave him a bit

more confidence to ride around the outside of Valentino Rossi. The

camera does show you a lot more vision than what you get when you

are on the motorcycle. It is horrible out there. You are going

along at 200 miles an hour. Not really seeing where you are going.

That is why they are fanning out a bit to try to get some vision. This

is going to be a great race. Lorenzo has the softer tyre.

Pedrosa is hanging in Vostok he should get better. The table is

coming his way, if he could just hang in there. Jorge will be

wanting to close the gap. You can see the water coming off the rear

tyres. So they are keeping the temperature. I can also tell you

what is going on in the pit lane. They are getting the other bikes

ready and this is the time in the race when they have to decide what

to do. They will be changing the wet-weather settings back to slick

tyres. 18 laps to go. It will seem so long to Jorge Lorenzo. Any

mistake is possible, but he is still riding on a razor's edge.

Still getting good speed. The gap has been closed a little bit. Jorge

Lorenzo has responded to that fastest lap from Dani Pedrosa. A

Cal Crutchlow has a bit of work to do. He is in tenth place. James

Ellison is doing well. He is having a very good run on CRT. It is still

raining but and not much. Just drizzling. The standing water will

disappear. Rivulets of water right in the braking zone. No problem

like a raincoat. There is the short shrift area you mentioned. What is

the smart money? I think Dani Pedrosa is the smart and money.

This Championship would come alive. Jorge Lorenzo leads the

Championship. Pedrosa needs to be zone, like we saw in Japan. He

needs to make a real nuisance of himself, Dani Pedrosa. Dovizioso

having a good runs. Valentino Rossi still holding 5th. Cal Crutchlow

has moved into 9th ahead of Spies. I was just going to have a look,

Cal Crutchlow went for the softer of the rear tyres, so you would

have expected that to work, but I am sure he had a moment on the

first lap. The soft tyres are Spies, Jorge Lorenzo, Bradl went for the

harder option, Dovizioso went for the softer option, Cal Crutchlow

for the softer option, Hector Barbera. Valentino Rosso, Nicky

Hayden, Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa are all on the harder

option. James Ellison has just passed Colin Edwards will stop.

Nicky Hayden has passed Bautista. The ride of the day is Pedrosa. He

is getting enough traction to be a real pest for Jorge Lorenzo.

Valentino Rossi is very much with Dovizioso who is showing strongly.

A further down the road is Casey Stoner having a lonely but useful

time. It is now up a two-point 15, the Jorge Lorenzo. If we have a

huge downpour, there is the possibility of a red flag. If there

is too much, it is too dangerous. We saw the Moto to raise it was red

flag. Geno had got himself into the lead, so it was a shame. But it is

a red flag and it is up where you were when you cross the line for

staff you can see the introduction this year with the red lights on

the back of the bike. It is for these exact conditions. Soft rear

tyre for Cal Crutchlow. He is dropping off Spies. He said he

wouldn't count wetter weather riding as part of his strong suit.

You would have said the same about Dani Pedrosa about 12 months ago.

He has got his act together in riding in wet conditions. About

three years ago, he was too enthusiastic. No thermostats on

these motorcycles, so you block a certain area offer to keep the

temperature way you want it. You ask, why would you want to keep it

warm? It has an optimum temperature to run at and the engine is more

efficient and if the oil and water is too cool, it won't be as

efficient and it won't run as fast. Casey Stoner has a problem on his

hands. Stoner, Dovizioso, you could virtually throw a blanket over them.

Then Bautista, Cal Crutchlow and supplies is on his own. In the pack

from three up to nine it could be a shortfall. There is a whole

squadron of riders coming down the hill. Lorenzo is starting to get an

advantage. What pressure is he under in his own head? You can see

the difference with a Lorenzo on the softer. Jorge Lorenzo, it is

amazing that he is looking so good here at the moment. He has nothing

to gain by winning this race, realistically. OK, an extra five

points which would seal the Championship. But he has the

biggest penalty would just going a little bit too fast and tipping off.

It is very brave, if I was him I would be backing down and making

Pedrosa come past. He could take the pace down because they are

little bit faster than Casey Stoner in third place. But clearly he

feels confident. He has got the grades, the feel from the bike. The

power will be slightly softer, it won't be giving out all the

horsepower in the lower gears. made a good point. As we have seen

across the weekend, on a circuit like this, that Honda has appeared

to be the superior bike over the Yamaha. No matter who you are

comparing. This takes the edge off that. It is harder if you are

riding a big Honda to monster the a big weekend on the island, in

Australia. Off they go. I think that Pedrosa is avoiding passing.

Watch the Dovizioso start. He is slipping, he has gone back 10

positions. Then he goes on the brakes late, then he makes up a few

places, and that is the rider of the race so far, Dovizioso. The

aerial shot at the end of the first term... As we turn into the right

hander, by the exit, he is well wide. He has dropped a couple of

spots. Edwards got down and dirty quite early, it was brilliant.

James is having a belting race. reckon you are going to get half a

second a lap continuing all along. I believe now that 14 laps

remaining this is not going to dry out. I don't think anyone will

change bikes. The sun has not come out. There is a bit of dampness in

the air. I think the harder tyre will be the end tier. The first

sign is when the riders start to move of the Natural Racing Ryan --

the Natural Racing Line. Have a look at that, Jeronimo! Then, we

the podium. I think Crutchlow, he is starting to... He is faster than

Hayden, faster than Rossi. He is on the move. The fastest lap of the

race is Jorge Lorenzo.... Looking closely, they are very stable. He

looks like he has got a couple of House bricks tied to his knees.

cannot get the lead angle in wet conditions. Please do not try this

at home on a wet road because they have got very special Torres and

they are very skilled riders but the knee sliders, the reasons they

want them bigger is because you want to be able to shove the bike

back up if it starts to slide. I never did. I used to let go and

jump and scream. Then walked down the road and find the bike. You can

see the or... On Jorge Lorenzo, he has got the thicker knee sliders.

It is a credit to Bridgestone that both of these tyres are working so

well. Pedrosa is bending his back so far. He is taking it easy,

relatively, compared to Lorenzo. The soft tyre would be in good

shape as well, and thing. I do think Pedrosa is being smart. He

wants Lorenzo to be thinking, leave me alone, but that is what he is

trying to do, hassling him. Showing him the front wheel, making sure he

knows he is there and to try to push him into a mistake. Yes, that

is the only card he can play. Let's can see. There is still enough

water on the track to preserve the efficiency of the wet tyres. They

will be hoping their visors will not fog up. It is like sitting in a

greenhouse with somebody trying to put water on you. Now, that is what

the Championship looks like. I don't think that we expect that to

happen, all things being equal, Pedrosa will probably get past. But

it is looking pretty. There is 50 points left after here but if

Pedrosa gets past, it will go down to 23, so if Lorenzo has a problem

and Pedrosa and women, he is back in the Championship. Who will

forget 2006? He merely had won the race, and then he had an unforced

error, fell off and Hayden, out of the depths of despair because he

thought the Championship was over, won. Oh, no! He is holding his

wrist. That is a bad sign. He was not in a good place, sitting in

tenth. I hope that rest is not too bad. So do I, Spies sitting in

tenth. He has had a nightmare this season. Let's hope he is OK. Do

damage your wrist, but must have been as slide. These tyres have so

much grip, you wouldn't normally have a slide but they can flick you

off. It is amazing how much grip they can get. We have said this

before. They are very grapey. It is astonishing. Best qualifying time

is two minutes. They are doing 2:15. Now, then. Heat is dipping it in.

Flicked him straight over the top. -- heat is dipping him. That was on

a shot for trial. -- shut up throttle. He is the World Superbike

champion but he cannot get it together this year. He started so

well. In his first year he had a better time. So, Crutchlow, still

in sixth position. He is the man on the move. There is fractions in it

with Bautista. In the meantime, Pedrosa sticking to the script.

is making his presence felt and affecting not to make a move. He is

cutting into the inside. Oh, no, he is out! He was 4th behind Stoner,

he was pressuring. It is easy to say that was a mistake. That was

Dovizioso. And down the bottom, I am pretty certain, that is down at

terms seven. Of course, he was battling with Stoke -- Stoner for

the Championship. But now Stoner is sitting comfortably. Look at this,

Pedrosa, is he going for it? Years, he has slipped past. No need to do

that in terms of Stoner. Lorenzo will not take the bait. The crowd

of going mad. That is Pedrosa, in front of a hugely enthusiastic

crowd. They have got a second place in the Motor Show three, that was a

local rider. I think only five points between Dovizioso and Stoner.

He finished third last year, Dovizioso. Now, here is the thing.

Stoner is not so far behind and he can come into play. He has got the

harbour rear tyre and he is lapping faster than Jorge Lorenzo. And he

will probably be thinking, Jorge Lorenzo, I cannot keep it up. So

Stoner could come into play. We are at half distance race. Stoner is

about to come in tone view. It is still mop or raining. -- it is

Crutchlow, fifth position. He is doing very well. Edward Mack, he

was doing a good run but now he is wet Electric. I did very often.

Last time around, Stoner was 6.1 seconds behind Jorge Lorenzo.

you said, nine laps to go, a Honda one-two is not out of the question.

Let's have a look... I think it will be five seconds. 5.5. Oh, no!

That is Crutchlow. Is he OK? He is hobbling. Maybe no more than that.

That was in the braking zone. is about 175 miles an hour. He is

OK. Somebody else has crashed behind them. Oh, no! Oh, no. De

Puniet. Is that oil? They are looking back. There is another bike.

There is a river there. If there is an oil slick, that will make it all

the worse. Everyone walking away from this. That is the main thing.

Watch this. That is the point where everyone had to pick up speed.

any more. There is something going on here! Has somebody got through a

bleak? May be something that is slippery. Unless of course these

tyres are starting to get too warm. This is again a front and a. He

just folded out. And Rossi was very lucky not to get tangled up.

Crutchlow will be livid because he was in pretty good shape. Stoner in

third. We have lost Spies, Cal Crutchlow, Randy De Puniet. It is

looking good realistically for Jorge Lorenzo. Single track to a

two-way line, they are in good players. -- they are in good

players. He is knocking on the door to Barbera. This is all going on

here between Bautista and Rossi, the battle for sixth place. Stoner

is lapping half a second faster than Jorge Lorenzo. He could come

into play here. This is a great bike that is improving race by race.

Would do you want to be on a big bike in these conditions? It is a

great leveller. The machine that Abraham is on his powerful.

Valentino Rossi just made a move on his own. Valentino Rossi into 5th.

Hang on to the script, it is getting torn to shreds. It is dry

in his commentary booth. I think there has been a bit more rain or

there is something on the track because times are dropping away?

Light drizzle, nothing too much but enough to keep the track wet. The

spray coming from the banks is a bit more. It is a little bit more

rain. It is a river and it has rained a bit more on that part of

the circuit. Nicky Hayden said that a with a circuit this big, when it

started raining the other day it was dry on one part of the circuit

that was a few laps ago. It did look like he went in there too fast.

Good effort. He did go down with the ship. Dani Pedrosa is covering

himself with glory. Jorge Lorenzo is out there somewhere. That is

superstar stuff from Pedrosa. think Jorge Lorenzo is thinking, I

do not need to fall off in these conditions. Stoner to Lorenzo it is

almost equal distance to Lorenzo and Pedrosa. The mats are works for

Casey Stoner, he can get this done. What is waiving their. Jorge

Lorenzo once that the race stopped for start he is saying there is too

much rain. That is what I would be saying if I was in this position.

He was having a moment. Conditions are very bad. Will they get a red

flag? Yes, they can do it. It is pouring down. In part of the track

it does not look as though it is raining so hard. He did recover!

That will land Stoner up his exhaust pipe. We are about to have

a three-point Championship. How he got it stopped and did not go up on

the grass. A hero a flag! 15 Nov 24 stop they will count it back to one.

That means Pedrosa wins, Lorenzo second and Stoner third. I'm glad I

am not going out in the pit lane. That is the job done. He is shaking

his head. He is a very lucky boy. There it is. No A B S on these

machines and you could have done with it and then. Honda are running

a the S in their endurance racing and it would have worked here today.

The he did look cross. He could see Stoner was closing him down. Dani

Pedrosa or, last time around, it 2.19 the Stoner when you factor in

the little moments a Lorenzo had. He has drifted of the circuits

trying to find the pit lane entrance. That was a stunning ride

from Pedrosa four-star Pedrosa, unfortunately would have wanted to

take more points out of Jorge Lorenzo. It is down to 23. 23

points in it and 50 points left on the table. He is not impressed, he

wanted the race to continue. safety conditions, or how much do

they look at Lorenza waving his hands around in protest? They have

to look at the water standing on the track and the eyes and ears

will be the marshals around the circuit, they will have people

monitoring what is going on. That is it, it is all done. Three-

fully gutted by that. He will know very well his team-mate was doing a

great job. It is all right the you, Pedrosa was hoping Stoner would get

past and take more. Out of you. So winners and losers? Yes, simply the

race direction would have looked at it and seen too much standing water

as well that he had no Renzo well within his grasp. -- Lorenzo.

of people looking round, making sure it is the race over and done

with. They want to get a closer look at the front tyre looking a

stopped. Mad moments of his -- that moment of his. I think there is a

possibility we can run her some more time if the rain stops. They

can run five laps as a minimum. last four-lap you did see was the

razed rolling with red flags. That is how it works, they countback one

lap. They can do that, Steve Bull star It depends if it stops raining.

But if it stops -- carries on raining, that cannot happen. The

only people left out there, Dovizioso is still classed as a

finisher. He got going in 14th If they do run another five laps,

they can start with fresh tyres. Race direction coming up. Restart

to be confirmed, depending on weather conditions. I'm sure we

will know in a second. It is still pouring in the pit lane. It does

look pretty wet. It is still pouring down outside the commentary

booth. Not quite as hard. But it is an awful lot of water coming down.

Most people, apart from Pedrosa and Casey Stoner would like to see it

finished now. It is saying that race start to be confirmed,

depending on climatic conditions. We could get another seven laps, I

am surprised. He was having a good run, Valentino Rossi. The rain is

not stopping. If that is the case, and it is raining harder than when

it started. It is absolutely throwing it down. Even if it stops

raining, when you get this downpour, it takes for ever for those

rivulets to go away. It would be seven laps, and it depends on

evolution - or what they mean is if the black cloud will disappear and

stopped raining and they can run again. He waved around furiously to

get it stopped. Barbera made very good fist of that four-star James

Ellison is in the top 10. Let's recap. The first bite to crash was

Spies macro -- Spies. So did Randy de Puniet who crashed with Cal

Crutchlow, on the same corner within about 10 seconds. Barbera

had a crush all of his own. Ivan Silva slammed it into the corner.

He was flying. I reckon Jorge would like to get on the plane to

Australia with the 23 point lead. I think that is how he would take it.

It is extremely hard. We have both been at events were they have been

restarted. It is hard, when you have had the surge of adrenalin, it

is hard to get going again. It is being explained to the team's what

is happening. It will be down to the rain. It is coming up to 5:00pm

local time. It will be getting dark. You could see Jorge saying, get it

stopped. The race director will decide. That was close! It was. The

experts, along with the race stewards and raised direction, will

decide. And the Duke's position, the riders are just in their

leathers. But if you started a race in those conditions, you would have

plastic covers on. It shows how much it has deteriorated. When it

started we were expecting them to change to dry weather tyres. Rain

was predicted from Thursday. It was always expected to rain today, and

they got it right. I don't know how you can predict it here. Lorenzo

was having an argument with Mike trendy, trying to get it done. He

does not want to go back out. if it does start, the riders that

crashed out, I am certain won't be allowed to start. Mike talking to

the boss of Monster Yamaha Tech 3. He thinks both his and riders have

crashed, he does not have to worry. What is the verdict? I was just

talking to the manager, what is the message? The rules are saying we

should restart for several laps which would be the results of the

first race. This is the rule. We will wait for the weather report to

see if the conditions will be clearer. There was a red flag

because conditions were not safe. Conditions are the same when they

put up the red flag. If it means we cannot restart the race, it will

stay like that. I cannot see this clearing. One of the riders has

been disqualified for not re- entering the pit lane in time.

he could have picked it up and drive dish round somewhere, he

might Oscar, why should we stop? Wet tyres don't cope either with

very wet weather. Pedrosa was happy to go around. And so was Stoner.

Rossi was following Hayden. He was in fourth place, three seconds

behind Stoner and in front off Valentino Rossi. This is as good a

result as they have had or year- long. Fourth and fifth looks

impressive on the results. Bearing in mind poor Hayden is having a bit

of a nightmare with his Championship. He is in ninth place.

He did have a third which was a bit freaky. He qualified in third in

Spain but his best result throughout the season has been 6th.

Yes. That was a forlorn Dovizioso. Nothing else is evaporating apart

from his hopes. As you can see, the rain is pouring down. We have run

out of time either way. We will have to leave you but if you press

the Red Button, we will either have a race restart or a podium ceremony.

My guess is it will be a podium ceremony. We will see you in a few