Rizla Suzuki riders Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista both had frustrating races at Laguna Seca today, but for very different reasons.
Capirossi brought his Rizla Suzuki home in 10th position after initially being given ninth in the classification. Video evidence was used to show that Mika Kallio crossed the line just in-front of Capirossi by only 0.001 seconds. Capirossi had battled hard through the whole race to preserve his position after a poor first few laps had cost him dearly in the standings, but unfortunately lost out on a hard-fought ninth in the final metre.
Bautista was yet again the victim of another incident as Aleix Espargaro knocked Suzuki’s Spanish rider out of the race at the start of the third lap. Bautista had already got into a good rhythm and had passed a couple of other riders before Espargaro’s intervention bought his race to an abrupt end for the second week in succession.
Over 51,000 people filled the hillsides around the Laguna Seca circuit to see Jorge Lorenzo record his sixth victory of the season and further strengthen his position at the head of the World Championship standings.
The whole MotoGP paddock will now have a short mid-season break, before re-grouping for the next round of the championship at Brno in the Czech Republic on Sunday 15th August.
Loris Capirossi:
“I think we did our job today because our rhythm is about half-a-second slower than qualifying and that’s where we were. I tried to do a different line on every one of the 32 laps to try and improve my time in the third section, but I struggled with front feeling. The race was quite tough and at the end I got in a fight with Kallio and Espargaro. On the last lap I tried to close the door to protect my place, but it seems he got me right on the line. I thought I was in front but the video shows he beat me. I don’t really care whether it was ninth or tenth because it’s not good enough and we have to go up the leader-board!”
Álvaro Bautista:
“I had a poor start because the bike wheelied too much and I lost some positions, but in the first couple of laps I felt good and was able to pass some other riders. I felt good on the bike and at the start of the third lap I passed Espargaro on the first corner and as I made the normal line to the second turn, which is two consecutive corners, he was in the middle of the last turn and hit me in the body and I crashed. This is very disappointing because I felt really very good and had been able to overtake other riders quite easily. It has been a bad start for me here in Laguna Seca, but we must make sure we keep the hard work going at the next races.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“It was obviously disappointing that Álvaro got tangled up with Espargaro and knocked off the track so early on in the race – especially as his potential had picked up so consistently over the course of the weekend. That’s the last two Grands Prix that have ended with him on the floor through no fault of his own – we just have to hope his luck changes very quickly.
“Loris’s start wasn’t too bad, but the first couple of laps didn’t go to plan and a decent gap opened up to the group in front. After that it was a question of fighting as hard as he could and it was a shame to lose ninth right on the line. Brno’s a track that the bike’s gone well at in the past and a track that Loris loves, so we’re looking forward to the race there and a very important test on the Monday afterwards.”
Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Race Classification:
1. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 43’54.873: 2. Casey Stoner (Ducati) +3.517: 3. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) +13.420: 4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +14.188: 5. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) +14.601: 10. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +52.814: DNF. ÁLVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP):
World Championship Classification:
1. Lorenzo 210: 2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 138: 3. Dovizioso 115: 4. Stoner 103: 5. Rossi 90: 13. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 36: 16. ÁLVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 25:
