[mickey]

les réactions :

CASEY STONER, 1st, World Championship leader on 165 points
"This proves to people that the Ducati doesn't just have power. We've been improving the bike and now it doesn't have any particular weak points, we just need to improve it as a complete package. Obviously today it was the best bike out there. I got a perfect jump at the start, a perfect clutch release, but then I must've hit a white line and it spun up straight away. I was panicking a little bit because everybody was zooming past and I thought I'd be last into the first corner. We still got in there in a reasonable position and we were able to pick our way through. Colin seemed to be nice and smooth, but I knew I could go quicker. Then I saw the track getting drier and drier. I was worried about destroying the rear tyre, so I started going over all the wet patches. When we got to the last five laps the tyre still had a pretty good feeling and it looked pretty good at the end of the race, considering it was our softest option. I'm not looking at the championship yet, I'm just enjoying all these races whether I win or don't finish on the podium. It's just nice to be out there, I've got the confidence in myself and in the bike to really get involved in the race and really enjoy it."

LORIS CAPIROSSI,
"I'm really sad about the crash because I was feeling really good and very confident. I didn't get a perfect start but I pushed very hard and caught a lot of people until I got into fifth place. My rhythm was really good and I was feeling pretty confident, so when I saw Valentino [Rossi] and Chris [Vermeulen] ahead I thought I could also catch them because I was lapping a second a lap faster. Unfortunately I lost the front at turn one and my race ended there. The tyres were working brilliantly, even though we were using a softer type. It's a shame but I'm happy with my pace and because my feeling on the bike continues to improve. If we can keep moving forward like this at Assen I think we can do well.

Chris Vermeulen:
“It was very wet to start with and then dried out later on and that made the conditions very difficult. But my team and Bridgestone deserve full marks for picking the best tyres for today – they certainly knew what they were doing! I also want give my crew an extra special thank-you because for the second day running I crashed heavily in the morning and they again managed to get the bike rebuilt in time, so thanks guys! As far as the race went, I felt comfortable early on, but then had some trouble seeing through my visor. A couple of riders came past me and I ran off the track, I was struggling to see so much that I could have hit a wall or a spectator or anything and not have known! When the rain stopped I was able to lift my visor up a bit and that cleared the misting and I was able to push harder again. I passed John and Valentino and very nearly caught Colin but I ran out of laps. I am very happy to be on the podium and now let’s go and do it again – preferably in the dry!”

John Hopkins:
“Firstly congratulations to Chris, it is great to see a Suzuki on the podium again, I wish it had been me but he is pretty good in the wet! I got a decent start to the race and had a couple of battles early on with other riders. As the rain stopped falling it created a dry line which was difficult for me because although most riders take that line it’s not the one that I always take! For the most part I’m pleased with the result; we finished in the top-five again and got some good points. We need to get a run of dry races now because I think with the Suzuki and Bridgestone package can be competitive wherever we go. I hope it will be dry at Assen next weekend as that is a place I really enjoy and I want to get a good result there so I can climb up that championship table.”

Colin Edwards

"We had good race! I had a great start, better than any of my practice ones during the weekend, and then I just got my head down and kept pushing lap after lap. My bike was feeling good in the wet but then it started to dry out. I started braking a bit harder and feeling more confident, but then the front locked once into the chicane which gave me a bit of a scare. Then at the next corner, down at the hairpin, I locked it again, ran wide and Casey came through. After that I tried everything but I couldn't stay with him and it was clear that I didn't have the grip he had. It was pretty tough, but then I guess it was tough for everyone! You could see the dry line forming and rain tyres with a dry track don't work well! I just had to pay attention and take care not to spin it too much, using half throttle instead of spinning it up. Anyway, we did the best we could today and it feels good to be back on the podium, so a big thanks to all my guys. We've made a lot of progress this weekend and now we'll carry the momentum on to Assen next week! Hats off to Casey too, he did a great job today."

Valentino Rossi

"Unfortunately today the conditions were not good for us at all and we had a lot of problems. In the full dry we would have been at our strongest, in full wet we would have been also quite good, but with a drying track like this we struggled a lot. I made a mistake and ran off the track when I was going the best I went during the whole race and then as the track began to dry I had less and less grip; it seems that this year, when the conditions aren't perfect, we suffer a lot. I had to go very carefully just to be able to finish and, because we were riding with a wet tyre on a dry track, my tyre was destroyed by the end. Colin did a great job in difficult circumstances so congratulations to him. We've had a very long meeting tonight and now we have to try to improve the situation for Assen."