A Mysterious Rider

Maybe if Shinya rode the bike this way, he'd have better luck at Sachsenring.. heh

Podium Fallout

Let's just check it again before we send him on his way...

Source : Kawasaki-Eckl

After the high of last week, it all came back down. Way down with a DNF. Shinya was on his way to beating De Puniet at least, but halfway through the race, while my hand was all gooped up with chicken rice, he stopped at the side and got off his bike. Almost casually. Didn't even have time to snap a photo.

Everything was a-okay... at first.

"Right from the beginning of the race I was struggling with a gearbox problem that made it difficult to shift down through the gears. After a few laps I figured out how to compensate for this problem using the clutch. I was pushing as hard as I could to catch the group of riders in front of me, but then I felt the engine suddenly lose power and I had no other option but to retire from the race. It's disappointing after finishing so well in Assen, but now we need to concentrate on our preparations for the next race at Sachsenring, which is an important one for the Kawasaki Racing Team."

- Shinya on his DNF at Donington

Source : Kawasaki-Eckl

Rossi did the spectacular again, securing second spot after qualifying 12th. The last lap was a heated one with his buddy, Melandri but Rossi showed the mettle that might still crown him champ this year. The sullen Pedrosa won by a country mile, whatever that means.

I won. Yipee.
Donington Top Three

Source : Official MotoGP Website

Donington Qualifiers

Shinya qualified one spot behind team mate Randy De Puniet. This travesty must be corrected during the race. The second spot in Assen probably won't be repeated this week (still... Go Shinya!), but I'm betting an entire pot of teh tarik that Shinya's going to finish ahead of Randy.

"I'm a little bit disappointed, as I was expecting better after two good free practice sessions yesterday. Tomorrow's race is 30 laps, which will place a high demand on tyres, so we've concentrated today on confirming our tyre choice for the race. I'm happy to say that, once again, Bridgestone have come up with the goods, and I'm confident the tyre we've selected will perform consistently throughout the race tomorrow. During qualifying I had a small problem with the gearbox on the bike, which meant I missed the chance to use two of my qualifying tyres. For sure I'd rather be starting from the front or even the second row, but the race is long so I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities to make up places as the race progresses."

- Shinya on qualifying seventh

Source : Kawasaki-Eckl

MotoGP qualifying times from the British Grand Prix at Donington Park :-
1. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 1min 27.676 secs
2. Chris Vermulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 28.158 secs
3. Marco Melandri ITA Fortuna Honda 1min 28.205 secs
4. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 28.252 secs
5. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 28.394 secs
6. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team 1min 28.428 secs
7. Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team 1min 28.431 secs
8. Casey Stoner AUS Honda LCR 1min 28.447 secs
9. Kenny Roberts Jr USA Team Roberts 1min 28.473 secs
10. Colin Edwards USA Camel Yamaha Team 1min 28.481 secs
11. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team 1min 28.509 secs
12. Valentino Rossi ITA Camel Yamaha Team 1min 28.808 secs
13. Carlos Checa SPA Tech 3 Yamaha 1min 29.294 secs
14. Makoto Tamada JPN Konica Minolta Honda 1min 29.362 secs
15. Alex Hofmann GER Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 29.479 secs
16. James Ellison GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 1min 30.382 secs
17. Ivan Silva SPA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 1min 31.838 secs
18. Jose Luis Cardoso SPA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 1min 32.252 secs

Source : crash.net