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FIM MotoGP - Podium Conference Red Bull Indy


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MODERATOR: I think the riders are almost with us, ladies and gentlemen. In second place here riding the factory Yamaha, Jorge Lorenzo, of course, retains his lead in the World Championship.

The race winner here this afternoon, his second win at Indianapolis, his second win of the season is Dani Pedrosa, and yet another podium finish for Andrea Dovizioso. (Applause)

OK, obviously we'll start with the race winner. It's been a good weekend all the way around for you, Dani, hasn't it? Practice went well, obviously the record lap in qualifying and then the race itself.

DANI PEDROSA: Yes. It was a good weekend, I think. The bike was working well. We were spinning all the practice, but we had a good feeling. So, yeah, today for the race I was quite confident, but at the beginning I try to stay focused. The pace was very high. Everybody was running a high pace. Early in the race I started to open a gap, but anyway, I knew the race was long, so I tried to stay focused. It was the middle of the race, I make mistake in Turn 2, the gears get back into neutral. So when I shift again to first, the bike kick, had a good kick on me and, yeah, I almost lost control, but I kept the bike on the track. I lost one second that lap. I could get back on my rhythm and get back on the lead with good pace.

So it was the end, it was more easy because I think Jorge with the soft rear, he had more problems. So I could get more easily my pace. Yeah, the bike was working well. I have to thank to all my team. Yeah, you never know before these races, but today we did a good race.

MODERATOR: I suppose one of the problems was that Ben Spies obviously made a very good start and then, of course, the engine did blow. I suspect you were slightly worried if there was any oil on the track down at Turn 1.

PEDROSA: Yes, Spies got by me very easy in Turn 2. I was couple laps behind him; he was doing late braking. But he make a mistake before the main straight, so I had to go there. Some laps after, yeah, I see the flags, but everything happened behind me, so I didn't understand really what was going on. So I didn't know how bad was the situation. And for a couple laps I was a little scared there, but then I see everything was fine. So I could get back on my rhythm.

MODERATOR: Second win of the season, the consistency has been there throughout the season. You said you've got to win more races, you've got to beat Jorge. You've done that today. Eighteen points now between you and Jorge and the championship.

PEDROSA: Yes, today we recover five points, but surely it's going to take to stay there every weekend. This weekend for Jorge wasn't easy with the bike or the tires and still able to be second. So we have a tough competitor and sure 'til the end it will be a very tight fight. But I hope I can continue in the same way until the end and have good luck.

MODERATOR: Next round in Brno, very quick flight back and then immediately back into the action. Circuit I would imagine you would like, Brno. I think most riders like the circuit at the Czech Republic.

PEDROSA: Yes, Brno is a good layout, it has good corners. It's wide, you can carry a lot of speed into the corners. In the last years, we did improve our bike there and we hope to have a good bike again and good luck.

MODERATOR: Dani, congratulations, second time you've won Indianapolis, second of the season. Come to Jorge Lorenzo, it's been a tough weekend for you and Yamaha, you've worked very hard to get the bike right. I think the way you went across the line, you were not too unhappy in second place. It was 20 very important points.

JORGE LORENZO: Yeah, yeah. Sometimes being second is better than a victory in some circumstances. So today was like that. From the beginning, we have plenty of problems here to be competitive. Finally in the qualifying we improve so much the bike, and I started the race very confident trying to make a good start. I didn't, I was passed by Ben and Andrea. It was very difficult to pass Andrea. I take a little risk. And then after, I could follow quite a bit Ben and Dani with the soft tire I choose. But from the middle of the race was impossible to keep the same pace. I had to take so many risks, and sometimes it is better to slow down and not to crash. Then I have a little problem with one slow rider, I think it was Steve Rapp. So was really difficult to pass him because he was riding like he was defending the first position. (Laughter)

So every time I try to pass him, I see me touching him and crashing, so I prefer to wait a little bit more. And to pass him I take a little risk in this corner.

I think the blue flag wasn't in any corner, so it's unbelievable. We have to solve this because it's very bad for the riders who are fighting for the podium, no?

Anyway, good position, we are leading the championship still, and we come to Brno, which is a track much easier for us than this one.

MODERATOR: Obviously you chose the softer option rear tire for the race.

LORENZO: Was risky, was risky knowing that only Toni Elias was choosing the same tire as me. So sometimes you check all the riders' decision, no, but this time I knew with the soft one, especially at the beginning of the race I have some advantage. So I take a little risk but finally was OK.

MODERATOR: Eighteen points now between you and Dani. It's a bit like the old days, isn't it? You're fighting again but this time for the MotoGP World Championship.

LORENZO: Yeah, again like in 2010 it seems it's going to be a fight between me and him. Anyway, I will not discount Casey because he is strong and he can win several wins consecutive. So it's going to be hard; it's going to be hard for us. We need to improve a little in the bike because the bike is improving a lot during the season. So we see after the Brno race if we have a little improvement in the bike in the test.

MODERATOR: Jorge, congratulations, second place for the championship leader.

We come on to Andrea Dovizioso, of course riding that Monster Energy Tech 3 Yamaha. You're on the podium again, Andrea. It's becoming a habit, isn't it? You're on the podium so often now.

ANDREA DOVIZIOSO: Yeah, the fifth podium is real important, especially in Indianapolis. I didn't expect to be quite strong in this track, and my feeling with the team become always better also with the bike. So we had a good pace. Unfortunately in the race I couldn't push like I thought. Looks like the grip was a little bit less for everybody, and at the beginning the first riders push a lot and I couldn't follow. And after Ben broke the engine and I made off the main straight with the fog, the smoke, I couldn't see nothing. And I couldn't see where Ben was. It was so dangerous for me and Casey and Bautista. Also, when the smoke went gone, I had all the oil in my visor, so I couldn't know if I had the oil in the tires. So I made 43, I don't know, 43.5, and lose too much time.

At that point, I have to recover my rhythm. And after that, I can be riding 39, it was my pace. So I can't be happy about my inconsistency, but anyway, third position for us is real important, especially in this track.

MODERATOR: What about the battle with Casey Stoner? It was a brave, brave performance, wasn't it, by him?

DOVIZIOSO: Yeah, Casey made a really amazing race. He couldn't push and his position on the bike, it was really bad. So, I mean, I like to fight with Casey because Casey is Casey, but his situation, it wasn't hundred percent. And I wait until at the end because I knew he couldn't keep that energy until at the end. And I can beat him. Anyway, another podium for us is real important.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much, Andrea. As you say, another podium finish.

That's enough from me, ladies and gentlemen. If you have any questions, please put your hands up.

Q: Dani, do you think that you're riding at your best? This is the best of your career?

PEDROSA: Well, I don't know, really. But I know I'm doing all I know to be fast. So, yeah, I try every weekend. It's not always easy, but, sure, I hope I can continue like this until the end of the year and keep strong. It's the case because if you look at the points in the, I think in the last four races, Jorge and I, I did one point more than him, so it's going to take, sure, a lot of effort 'til the end. And I have to keep focused all the way.

MODERATOR: Anybody else?

Q: I want to go back, Jorge, again to the tire choice. Your crew chief, Ramon, speaking on Spanish TV, said you made the choice because you felt much more comfortable with the tire. Could you explain what was good about the soft tire that only you and Toni Elias used among the factory bikes?

LORENZO: I just try the soft one was a waste tire, wasn't a new one. So I just see I have very good edge grip and I could keep the pace quite a bit. The only problem was that we didn't make a simulation of race, no; only maybe 10 continuous laps or 12. So finally I have to choose one. We spend maybe half an hour trying to think which was the best. And finally we choose this because it was a special tire like in Germany with more harder, I don't know, compound to avoid the overheating. For us, the hard one with this special tire is not the best for my riding. And, for sure, my riding -- my smooth riding helps a little bit to save the tire, but obviously in the ride was completely destroyed at the end of the race. For this, my pace was always slow. That was my final decision.

 
 
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