MotoGP – Losail Race – Bridgestone Report

Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team) achieved his first victory of the season at the end of a spectacular race, characterized by an exciting battle between the top four riders, who all used the harder compound type of tyres. Rossi preceded his teammate Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso (Honda Repsol), while Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro) crossed the finish line in fourth position. All the riders used the extra hard compound type for the front. For the rear, however, only Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) opted for the softer compound, while the other riders preferred the hard compound which guarantees greater durability.

After gaining the lead of the race in the initial phase, Casey Stoner (Ducati Team) was forced to retire on the sixth lap due to a fall and a close fight for the lead immediately began between Rossi, Dovizioso and Hayden, divided only by 0,2 seconds in the second part of the race. Four riders alternated in first position during the Grand Prix: Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team), Pedrosa (Honda Repsol), Stoner (Ducati Team) and Dovizioso (Honda Repsol). Hayden occupied third position for most of the race, before being overtaken by Dovizioso in the final phase.

Hiroshi Yamada – Head of Bridgestone Motorsport: “What an exciting race! Congratulations to Valentino for showing strength and consistency to get the win in Qatar and congratulations also to Jorge for moving up from sixth to second. The duel between Andrea and Nicky was also close and it's good to see both riders at the top. Finally, congratulations to Ben for fifth place and to Hiroshi for crossing the finish line in tenth place in his first race in the MotoGP class. I think the inaugural race showed how interesting this season will be!”

Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport Development Manager: “First of all I would like to congratulate Valentino, Jorge, Andrea and Nicky for this fantastic start to the season. Even though the track temperatures were the coldest of the weekend, as expected almost all the riders opted for the extra hard compound for the front and hard for the rear and I am very satisfied with the performance of our tires on this track . Only Mika used the softer compound for the rear but unfortunately he suffered a crash on lap 3, so it was not possible to compare the race performance of both specifications. The top four drivers were faster than last year's times and demonstrated the good consistency and durability of our tires.”

Valentino Rossi – Fiat Yamaha Team – Winner: “It's great to start the season with a win. I made a great start, which is very important on this track, and immediately started fighting for the lead of the race. It would have been a good fight with Casey, but when I saw his crash I immediately thought that the race would be easier for me. Instead it was harder than expected! The bike started to slide too much and I couldn't build a greater advantage. When I saw Andrea behind me, I rode at 110 percent and managed to gain enough margin to stay in front of him. It is very important to start the 2010 season with a victory!”.

Top ten classified and type of compound for the front and rear:

1st Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team) 42m50.099s Extra hard, hard
2nd Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team) 42m51.121s +1.022s Extra hard, hard
3th Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda Team) 42m51.964s +1.865s Extra hard, hard
4th Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 42m51.975s +1.876s Extra hard, hard
5th Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech3) 42m54.002s +3.903s Extra hard, hard
6th Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda MotoGP) 42m59.421s +9.322s Extra hard, hard
7nd Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) 43m06.607s +16.508s Extra hard, hard
8th Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech3) 43m09.966s +19.867s Extra hard, hard
9th Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) 43m10.992s +20.893s Extra hard, hard
10th Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda) 43m11.199s +21.100s Extra hard, hard

Weather conditions: dry; air temperature: 24°C; track temperature: 27°C
Bridgestone MotorSport