Edwards misses out on first win as Rossi brings home the points

Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards came within metres of his first MotoGP World Championship victory today after dominating the Dutch TT until a breathtaking finale at Assen. Starting from the front row of the grid Edwards led the way from the first turn and set an electrifying pace that only American compatriot Nicky Hayden (Honda) was able to follow. With two laps remaining Hayden closed in and made his first lunge for the lead, forcing Edwards off the track and onto the escape road.  The 'Texan Tornado' looked consigned to second place but he produced a stunning fight-back to pull level with Hayden on the final lap and retake the lead with just a few corners to go. When Hayden launched one last attack into the final chicane, only to run straight onto the gravel, Edwards seemed certain to win but there was one final twist in the tale as he ran onto the grass on the exit from the corner and lost control of his YZR-M1 machine, which threw him into the air. As Edwards slid to the ground within touching distance of the finish line Hayden returned to the track to snatch his first win of the season, leaving the Yamaha man to pick his bike up and limp across the line in 13th place. Edwards' Camel Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi also produced one of his best rides of the season so far as he battled through the pain of cracked bones in his hand and ankle to take the flag in eighth place. Rossi started from the very back of the grid after struggling to qualify with the injury he picked up during Thursday morning's free practice session. However he made up ten positions in a brave ride to seal eight valuable championship points. Valentino Rossi (8th; +23.591) "That was a really hard race for me but Doctor Costa, Marco Montanari and the entire Clinica Mobile team did a great job on my hand and I was able to race until the end. I was in some pain, especially at the start and I wasn't able to ride at 100% of my ability, but it was okay. At the start I was worried how it would go, but when the adrenalin kicked in I started to feel like I could race and by the time we got to the midway point I was feeling much better and having some fun. I lost strength in my hand over the last three laps but I was able to hang on and we picked up some decent points in eighth place. The team have done a great job this weekend in difficult conditions. I wasn't able to do many laps in practice so they didn't have much data but the bike and the tyres felt great so I have to say a big thanks to everybody. I feel very sorry for Colin - he rode a great race and he was unlucky to make the mistake at the end because he deserved to win." Colin Edwards (13th; +40.412) "What can I say? Obviously I'm really disappointed because I know I should have won that race. The bike felt great from the start and I was really enjoying riding it out there. I knew my pace in practice would be hard for the other guys to cope with and that's how it proved to be. I got the start I wanted and just kept my head down, doing those times. When Nicky came up inside me two laps from the end he left the pass pretty late and there was nowhere for me to turn the bike into. I had to go straight and luckily it was at a point of the track where I could run back on again. I was determined not to lose hold of him and just gave it everything to give myself a chance on the last lap. I got past him and then tried to keep a really defensive line out of the final corner - I had no idea Nicky had run onto the gravel otherwise I wouldn't have needed to do it. Unfortunately I ran it a bit too tight onto the grass and the rear just spun up as I opened the throttle and it threw me off. I'm gutted but fair play to Nicky, it was a great race." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It was a great race and Colin missed out on the win by just a few metres. It's disappointing because we could already taste the victory champagne and we didn't expect that final twist. He made some wonderful moves on the last lap and he didn't deserve to go down like that, but that's racing! Valentino also rode brilliantly today, surprising everybody once again with his mental and physical strength. As a team we are very proud of both our riders today." Another top 10 result for Tech 3 Yamaha Team at Assen The evolution of Tech 3 Yamaha Team continued at the A-Style TT Assen as Carlos Checa furnished the team with another milestone when he climbed into the Top 10 for the second time in a week to finish in ninth position. Nicky Hayden (Honda) was the one to claim the win. Tech 3 team-mate, James Ellison didn't fair as well, crashing at the start of the fourth lap while in 12th place - right behind Carlos. It's a disappointing result for James who now heads to his home Grand Prix at Donington next week (July 2) suffering an ankle injury. With the improved results of the last two races, the Tech 3 Yamaha Team has doubled its points haul in the championship, inspiring the entire team to reach new heights in the upcoming Grands Prix to compliment the solid progression of recent weeks. Carlos Checa (8th, Fastest lap 1'38.119) "This is a very satisfying result for all of us as now we are in a fight with other riders. In the beginning of the race I tried to follow Melandri and Pedrosa but they started going away and I couldn't stay with them. It was better to stay with my pace as the feeling from the front wasn't so good. I caught and passed Tamada then step by step I also got by Vermeulen. I saw Rossi coming and by that time the chatter from the front increased. I also tried to stay with him but as the chatter was quite bad at that stage it was better to finish than risk a crash after all the hard work the team has done. We have to learn now where that is coming from as now we are going faster but we are also much closer to the front than at the beginning of the year. Dunlop has been putting in a very good effort and it is not easy from inside the box, I can tell you, but we have improved to be fighting with very strong rivals. We have made many steps in the last two races and now we are just one second off the top guys so this is the next step we have to work on. I am now able to fight and this is a lot more fun for me. When we compete with other riders it is much better than just trying to be the first Dunlop rider home. Now we hope that the improvements get us even closer in the next races. James Ellison (DNF Fastest lap 1'39.002) "Obviously I'm very disappointed but there are positives to take out of this weekend. I had a pretty good start as I've got a little trick I've been working on. I feel really comfortable on the bike and am able to be a bit more aggressive if anyone tries to get past and have the confidence to throw it back in front of them without hesitating when I see a front wheel coming alongside. I got in a pretty good position and stayed with Carlos but, going into Turn One I went in a little too hot and lost the front. I was trying real hard because I was comfortable and that's what you do. This is one meeting where I wanted to do really well as things are progressing nicely now and I wanted to use this as a springboard for Donington next week but now I've done a bit of damage to my ankle. It's pretty hard to walk on but with a week off some physio and ice packs I hope to be right. Besides being pretty mad at myself, I'm sorry for the team because they have been working non stop all year and they deserved to get a half decent result as well. Hopefully we can do something next week" Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "We are very happy. Happy with the race result and also happy with the qualifying. We have made another step from Barcelona. We may have finished ninth instead of eighth like last week but we are closer to the front which is the most important thing. We are definitely now racing, as we have Vermeulen on the factory Suzuki and Bridgestones as well as Tamada on a factory Honda and Michelins behind us. We are now in the mid field so it proves we have made big improvements. I'm disappointed for James because he was going very well and was right with Carlos when he lost the front end. Otherwise I think he would have had a very encouraging result for him too. Both riders were quick in qualifying and both riders were strong in the race. We had stable tyres until the end of the race and the lap times are very consistent. Apart from the first four we had similar lap times to many others so that is very encouraging. We now go to Donington where normally Dunlop tyres perform well. We are looking for an improvement in all areas again next week and keep the progression going."     Race classification MotoGP Round: 8 - 2006 MotoGP Assen Circuit: Assen Circuit Length: 4555 Lap Record: 1' 37.106 (Nicky Hayden, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 36.411 (John Hopkins, 2006) Race: 26 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   N. Hayden Honda  USA  42' 27.404  2   S. Nakano Kawasaki  JPN  +4.884  3   D. Pedrosa Honda  ESP  +7.525  4   C. Stoner Honda  AUS  +7.555  5   K. Roberts Team Roberts KR  USA  +8.078  6   J. Hopkins Suzuki  USA  +17.065  7   M. Melandri Honda  ITA  +18.090  8   V. Rossi Yamaha  ITA  +23.951  9   C. Checa Yamaha  ESP  +29.027  10   C. Vermeulen Suzuki  AUS  +31.627  11   M. Tamada Honda  JPN  +32.841  12   A. Hofmann Ducati  GER  +34.143  13   C. Edwards Yamaha  USA  +40.412  14   R. De Puniet Kawasaki  FRA  +1' 3.648  15   L. Capirossi Ducati  ITA  +1' 17.303  16   I. Silva Ducati  ESP  +1 lap(s)  17   J. Cardoso Ducati  ESP  +3 lap(s)  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   N. Hayden Honda  USA  1' 37.106    Championship standings MotoGP   Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Nicky Hayden Honda  USA 144  2   Daniel Pedrosa Honda  ESP 102  3   Loris Capirossi Ducati  ITA 100  4   Valentino Rossi Yamaha  ITA 98  5   Marco Melandri Honda  ITA 98  6   Casey Stoner Honda  AUS 78  7   Colin Edwards Yamaha  USA 63  8   Shinya Nakano Kawasaki  JPN 57  9   Kenny Roberts Team Roberts KR  USA 55  10   Makato Tamada Honda  JPN 54  11   Toni Elias Honda  ESP 53  12   John Hopkins Suzuki  USA 50  13   Sete Gibernau Ducati  ESP 44  14   Chris Vermeulen Suzuki  AUS 37  15   Carlos Checa Yamaha  ESP 31  18   James Ellison Yamaha  GBR 12  Manufacturers standings MotoGP   Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Honda 176  2  Yamaha 127  3  Ducati 109  4  Suzuki 64  5  Kawasaki 57  6  Team Roberts KR 55  Team standings MotoGP Pos. Team Points  1  Repsol Honda Team 246  2  Camel Yamaha Team 161  3  Fortuna Honda Team 151  4  Ducati Marlboro Team 148  5  Rizla Suzuki 87  6  Honda LCR 78  7  Kawasaki Racing Team 70  8  Team Roberts KR 55  9  Konica Minolta Honda 54  10  Tech3 Yamaha 43  11  Pramac D'Antin 17  Race classification GP250 Round: 8 - GP250 Assen Circuit: Assen Circuit Length: 4555 Lap Record: 1' 40.500 (Jorge Lorenzo, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 40.007 (Jorge Lorenzo, 2006) Race: 24 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   J. Lorenzo Aprilia  ESP  40' 30.770  2   A. de Angelis Aprilia  SMR  +8.168  3   A. Dovizioso Honda  ITA  +8.241  4   A. Debon Aprilia  ESP  +31.875  5   R. Locatelli Aprilia  ITA  +34.686  6   Y. Takahashi Honda  JPN  +39.326  7   M. Simoncelli Gilera  ITA  +39.383  8   A. West Aprilia  AUS  +45.104  9   H. Aoyama KTM  JPN  +47.526  10   M. Poggiali KTM  SMR  +59.296  11   A. Baldolini Aprilia  ITA  +1' 4.424  12   S. Aoyama Honda  JPN  +1' 5.827  13   F. Battiani Aprilia  ITA  +1' 14.392  14   A. Tizon Honda  ESP  +1' 21.750  15   A. Espargaro Honda  ESP  +1' 21.763  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   J. Lorenzo Aprilia  ESP  1' 40.500  Championship standings GP250   Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Andrea Dovizioso Honda  ITA 149  2   Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia  ESP 133  3   Yuki Takahashi Honda  JPN 99  4   Hiroshi Aoyama KTM  JPN 92  5   Roberto Locatelli Aprilia  ITA 91  6   Alex de Angelis Aprilia  SMR 91  7   Hector Barbera Aprilia  ESP 78  8   Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia  FRA 51  9   Marco Simoncelli Gilera  ITA 49  10   Anthony West Aprilia  AUS 42  11   Shuhei Aoyama Honda  JPN 38  12   Alex Debon Aprilia  ESP 35  13   Martin Cardenas Honda  COL 28  14   Manuel Poggiali KTM  SMR 28  15   Jakub Smrz Aprilia  CZE 27  Manufacturers standings GP250   Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Aprilia 176  2  Honda 154  3  KTM 96  4  Gilera 49