“Super Sic” had the podium as his goal today from pole position but a solid sixth place in Barcelona proved a positive end to a tough weekend. A poor start and tricky conditions certainly didn’t help the Italian to set the lap times he had been reeling off in practice, which would have brought him back in touch with the leaders in the race. However, Marco remains satisfied with a result that sets him back on the right path following a controversial few days in Spain. Hiroshi Aoyama made a big mistake that also brought an end to the race of Randy De Puniet. It was a weekend to forget for the Japanese, who failed to score points for the first time this season.
Marco Simoncelli (6°) “I don’t know if I held the clutch too long at the start but it slipped and a lot of riders passed me, costing me a lot of time. After that I was unable to get back into the rhythm I had during practice and I was struggling, even though the pace in general was slower. I had a gap of over a second to the guys in front of me and I got it back down to three tenths to Valentino but after a few laps I was taking too many chances in certain areas where it was a little damp and decided to pull my oars in and bring the bike home. Overall the weekend has been positive because after the pole yesterday sixth place doesn’t feel great but I have to think back to how I felt arriving here in Barcelona and be satisfied. I achieved the first of my three objectives from yesterday, which was to finish, so we will try for the other two in the next race.”
Click Here to Read More
MotoGP: Casey Stoner Strolls to Catalunya Grand Prix Victory
MotoGP: Catalunya Grand Prix - Race Results
Hiroshi Aoyama (DNF) ”It hasn’t been a good weekend for us and today I made a mistake. I crashed and took De Puniet with me but it was completely my fault. I don;‘t know what to say other than I want to get to Silverstone and forget about this Grand Prix.”
Fausto Gresini: “We are trying to look at the positives from the weekend because there have been plenty of fantastic moments. Obviously a sixth place for Marco is not the best but if we sit and think back to the night before the Grand Prix and Marco’s mindset when he arrived in Barcelona this is a more than satisfactory result. He scored the first pole for our team since 2005 and provided the perfect answer on the track to all the words that had been said against him off it. We are proud to have Marco with us and we are sure he will give us plenty more to cheer about. I am sorry for Hiroshi because it has been a difficult weekend for him and it ended in the worst way with a crash. He will have the chance to make up for it next week at Silverstone.
| 
|