Today in the Grand Prix of Aragon, Casey Stoner claimed his eighth win of the season in front of over 63,000 spectators. Not only did Casey celebrate another fantastic weekend where he recorded fastest pole position (1'48.451) and also fastest race lap (1'49.046), but he also took the Respol Honda team's 100th Victory since the partnership was born in 1995 when fellow Australian Mick Doohan won the very first race of the factory HRC team in Repsol Livery in Eastern Creek.
Dani Pedrosa completed a 1-2 finish for the Repsol Honda Team, which had a special livery for race day in Aragon, with a comfortable margin over Lorenzo. Unfortunately team mate Andrea Dovizioso had an accident on the first lap and was unable to continue.
Championship leader Casey Stoner now enjoys a forty four point margin over Lorenzo in second place, with Dovizioso in third position and Pedrosa close behind in fourth.
The Championship now heads east to Japan for round fifteen in Motegi on October 2nd where alongside it's contracted riders, HRC will enter Shinichi Ito as a wild card entry in a HRC Team while Kosuke Akiyoshi will ride alongside Toni Elias for LCR as a show of support for the East Japan area.
CASEY STONER - 1st - World Championship Position: 1st with 284 points
"Before the race everyone was a little cautious with the wind picking up after the morning warm up session and conditions being a lot different to those we have seen all weekend. This was on our mind and also warming the hard tyres to makes sure everything was good for the beginning of the race. Our start was pretty average, I pulled to the left a little on the start and managed to avoid hitting Dani but Ben came around the outside and I ended up third or fourth going into turn one, but from there we were able to settle down and feel pretty comfortable with the bike. I wanted to get to the front as soon as possible as the bike has been working perfect all weekend and it was our race to lose, so I wanted to try and get out in front and pull a gap. I passed Dani as soon as I could and tried to pull that gap, Dani kept with me for the first few laps but slowly I was able to push and put in a gap and from there manage the race. I think everyone was struggling with tyres to some degree but the bike was fantastic and I don't mind the bike when it slides around a little! A big, big thank you to the whole team and to take this hundredth win for Repsol Honda is something special".
DANI PEDROSA - 2nd - World Championship Position: 4th with 170 points
"We already saw in practice that Casey was very fast here and it was also like this in the race. I was loosing some tenths in the first sector and I was unable to reduce the gap in the other parts of the lap. The second half of the race I was sliding all the time and I had some fun, but it was a shame not to be closer to Casey, I had many problems with the rear tyre for the whole race. My priority was to control the gap to Spies and Jorge in the final laps and get another podium. We've been second in the last three races, which is not so bad, but we want to keep improving in the coming races".
ANDREA DOVIZIOSO - DNF - World Championship Position: 3rd with 185 points
"I made a small but fast slide at the first right turn, all the weight went on the front, I wasn't able to control the bike and I immediately lost it as the front tyre was still not at temperature. It’s so disappointing to see your race over on turn two of the first lap after all the hard work done during the race weekend. This morning we struggled during the warm up on used tyres and of course a bad session can affect you slightly, but at the start I was 100% focused and motivated for the race. It’s a pity because we had the pace to fight for the podium and the team did a good job. Leaving Aragon without scoring any points is also so bad for the Championship. We are still third with fifteen points advantage over Dani, but now we need to return on the podium and have good results. Last year we had a strong end of the season, especially in Japan and Malaysia, so I look forward to the next GPs".
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