CASEY STONER was back to his old form when he won this weekend's final 2008 MotoGP race at Valencia.
The Australian crossed the finiahing line over three seconds ahead of Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa, who failed to deliver a win on home soil. Third place went to newly-crowned 2008 World Champion Valentino Rossi, who finished the race nine seconds behind Pedrosa.
Britain's James Toseland ended the race in 11th place. A disappointing result for the Tech 3 Yamaha rider, after qualifying fifth on the grid for Sunday's race.
Casey Stoner: "We couldn't really have asked for much more today. To end a difficult season in this way is a fantastic feeling and it's a nice way to thank everybody at Ducati for their hard work. Once again my crew got it right, finding a good setting for the bike despite limited dry track time. To be honest I was quite worried during qualifying yesterday because I didn't have a good feeling at all but by the time we put the softer tyres on the bike was already feeling better and then the guys did a fantastic job overnight and in the warm-up this morning to iron out a few more of the problems. This was the first time we've ridden in these conditions all weekend so there were still a few question marks before the race, so to go out and set the pace like that was a nice feeling. Now I'm really excited about testing the new bike tomorrow. It felt good the last time I rode it and I'm sure they've made it better, so hopefully we can have a good first session and go home for the winter full of optimism about next season."
Dani Pedrosa: “I am happy with second place today. I pushed Casey as hard as I could but he had something a little extra and he managed the gap very well. We worked hard all weekend, so my thanks to my team and also to Repsol, the bike I rode today was one of the best-looking bikes I’ve ridden. The crowd was great, it was fantastic to see so many fans here, packing the grandstands and obviously really enjoying the spectacle and pushing us along. Overall, I am also happy with the last few races, because we were able to come back from a difficult period during the middle of the season. We changed tyres and I came in for some criticism, but finally we got back on the pace at the last few races, running close to the front in the wet and in the dry. It hasn’t been the easiest of years. I broke my right hand during preseason testing, I broke my left hand in Germany and I injured my left knee at Phillip Island. These injuries caused me to lose my rhythm and they interrupted our development work, while everyone else was racing and improving their bikes. I have had to push really hard to come back from all these injuries. Tomorrow we start testing for 2009 – I am looking forward to it because things are going well now. I hope to have a good off-season and stay healthy.”
Valentino Rossi: “I don’t think that was so bad today! Unfortunately we had some problems yesterday and that meant we had to start from the fourth row, which left us with a very difficult task. As always though we found a way and my team gave me a good bike, which meant I was able to get a great start and then have some fun passing people. Once I got to third there was no way to catch Dani and so it wasn’t such an exciting race from then on. This has been an amazing season for us and to finish with another podium, the 16th, is great and we cannot complain. I am so happy with what we have done this year, as I said it’s definitely one of my greatest championships and I want to thank everyone once again – Yamaha, my team, the engineers, Bridgestone and everyone who helped us to get this result. Tomorrow we will try the new bi! ke which means we can’t have as big a party as we would like, but it is important to try to find a base for it so I am looking forward to it.”
2008 Valencia Grand Prix Results
1.Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 46'46.114
2.Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda+ 3.390
3.Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team+ 12.194
4.Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP+ 24.159
5.Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda+ 26.232
6.Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha+ 32.209
7.Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini+ 34.571
8.Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team+ 35.661
9.Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP+ 38.228
10.Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini+ 47.583
11.James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha+ 52.107
12.Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team+ 52.350
13.Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki+ 52.833
14.John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing+ 53.227
15.Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP+ 53.411
16.Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro+ 1'08.387
17.Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing+ 1'11.181
18.Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team+ 1'37.055
2008 Championship Standings
1.Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 373
2.Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 280
3.Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 249
4.Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 190
5.Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 174
6.Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 155
7.Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 144
8.Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 128
9.Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 126
10.Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 118
11.James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 105
12.Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 92
13.Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 67
14.Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 63
15.Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 61
16.John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 57
17.Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 51
18.Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 50
19.Ben Spies (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 20
20.Jamie Hacking (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team 5
21.Tadyuki Okada (JPN) Repsol Honda Team 2
