Eighth and ninth place finishes for the two Marcos - Simoncelli and Melandri - don’t tell the whole story of their race today. For the opening two thirds of the race Simoncelli was right up there giving chase to the frontrunners until the torrid heat and humidity finally got the better of him. He made it to the finish line completely dehydrated but happy to have been in touch with the lead riders in the series for the majority of the race. Melandri struggled under braking in the early stages of the race and ran off track at one point but returned with a strong fight back. The results are a shame but a good indication of things to come before the season ends.
Marco Simoncelli (8th) “Obviously the result is a bit of a shame but I am happy because I came through from the back to have a really good first two third to the race. Unfortunately after that I physically couldn’t do any more. I was struggling to breathe, my vision was blurred and I really found it hard to make it to the end. If we could have kept our pace to the end we could have finished fourth or fifth so like I said it is a shame but I am happy because this is a track I don’t particularly love, winter testing here was a disaster yet here we were today putting in a good performance, even chasing Dovizioso and Lorenzo over the first few laps. Now I’m looking forward to the next race because this was a positive weekend for us.”
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Marco Melandri (9th) “What can I say? The result was a shame because compared to other races I got a good start here and my pace was decent. Unfortunately after just two laps I lost feeling for the front and every time I let go of the brakes I felt there was a risk I was going to crash. I went wide at a couple of places because I couldn’t match the pace of the guys in front of me. I ran off track at one point but I got back on and caught De Puniet but it was tough to pass him. Once I managed it I kept my pace up whilst a few guys in front of me got tired. Physically I felt good so it was a shame because this could have been a good race for us.”
Fausto Gresini “Apart from the final result Simoncelli has put on a good show up until the point where he could do no more. He really suffered in the heat, he was very dehydrated and that punished him. The important thing is that today he showed once again that he is making substantial improvements and that is positive. Melandri’s race was compromised when he ran off track, otherwise today could have been good for him. I am happy on one hand and disappointed on the other that he wasn’t able to show his true potential today because this was an opportunity for him to do so.”
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