The 2007 Japanese Grand Prix that took place at the Twin Ring Motegi was probably the best race for Ducati Marlboro team. Although Casey Stoner finished the race in the 6th place, he managed to secure the MotoGP World Championship title with flying colors! That’s a wrap for my fave rider. In the other hand, his teammate Loris Capirossi successfully took the Japanese Grand Prix trophy for Ducati.
Ducati’s CEO, Gabriele del Torchio was on the Twin Ring Motegi grand stand and witnessed his team’s double success. del Torchio commented: "This success is the best demonstration of Ducati excellence, a triumph of Italian intelligence, talent, competence and the warmth that is one of our country’s most vital assets. It’s an important and remarkable achievement, 34 years after the premier-class World Championship was last won by an Italian factory. It is a dream come true!"
Unfortunately, pole sitter Dani Pedrosa suffered an accident and cannot continue the race. He will undergo several tests including scans and x-rays to determine if he has bone fractures on his foot. As a result, Loris Capirossi capitalized and bagged the trophy. The Italian commented after the race:
"We struggled a lot this weekend and only yesterday did we find a better set-up solution. When I woke this morning and saw the rain I said ‘wow, for sure this is going to be a difficult day’. We didn’t know which would be the best tyres to use, so we started with medium rain tyres. At first it was really difficult, so I decided to pit early, and for sure my tactic was the best because I won my third consecutive race here, it’s a great moment for me. It’s also a great day for Casey, for Ducati and for the team. I congratulate Casey, he’s a really strong rider, I’m very happy for him."
Meanwhile, Casey Stoner was the happiest person during the race as he secured the MotoGP title. The Aussie rider commented: "At the moment it all feels a little bit unrealistic! I’m struggling for words, I don’t think there’s any feeling that can compare to this, but I think it’s really going to sink in as the day goes on and heads into tomorrow. The race started out quite well, we were able to get up front quite early and I had a reasonably good feeling with the bike, I was in a happy position. But then my rain tyres started wearing out as the track dried, and Valentino and Dani (Pedrosa) came past. I didn’t really know whether to come in or not, then my team put ‘box’ on my pitboard, so I had a bit more confidence to come in. After I changed bikes there was something up with the steering damper, the bike wasn’t allowing me to tip into corners, so I had to slow down to unwind it. Then I started to find more of a rhythm, Valentino had a problem and we managed to finish ahead of him. I guess that was the aim of the game today."
Here is the result of the 2007 Japanese motorcycle GP.
1. Loris Capirossi Ducati Marlboro Team
2. Randy De Puniet Kawasaki Racing Team
3. Toni Elias Gresini Honda
4. Sylvain Guintoli Tech 3 Yamaha
5. Marco Melandri Gresini Honda
6. Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Team
7. Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team
8. Alex Barros Pramac D’Antin MotoGP
9. Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda Team
10. John Hopkins Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
11. Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
12. Makoto Tamada Tech 3 Yamaha
13. Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team
14. Colin Edwards Fiat Yamaha Team
15. Shinichi Ito Pramac D’Antin MotoGP
16. Shinya Nakano Konica Minolta Honda
17. Akira Yanagawa Kawasaki Racing Team
18. Carlos Checa Honda LCR
DNF Kurtis Roberts Team Roberts
DNF Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team
DNF Kousuke Akiyoshi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
The season finale of MotoGP is really getting hotter and hotter. Watch out for the other races
and see you next year for another nerve cracking season of MotoGP. Well, I have to find some quality catalytic converter upgrades for my exhausts, so chill out!