Pedrosa victorious in red flag-interrupted German GP18/07/2010

Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Hard, Extra Hard.  Rear: Hard, Extra Hard (asymmetric)  

Dani Pedrosa took his second victory of the season today in Germany and set a new lap record in the process, beating his own benchmark time from 2009. He did so using Bridgestone’s extra hard compound front slick tyre and hard compound rear, the same tyre specifications as he used to secure a front row start during qualifying yesterday.  

Both before and after the red flag, brought about following a crash involving Randy de Puniet, Aleix Espargaro and Alvaro Bautista, Pedrosa was locked in a close battle with countryman and championship leader Jorge Lorenzo, also using the harder front tyre and softer option rear. Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi traded positions furiously in the closing stages, but it was Stoner with a decisive move on the last lap who claimed the final step of the podium.  

During the red flag period, before the race was restarted, several riders took advantage of the break at one third race distance and changed their slick tyres. Nicky Hayden changed to a harder rear and Marco Melandri chose a softer front. Stoner and Loris Capirossi replaced their rear tyres with used items of the same specification but with fewer miles. Marco Simoncelli’s front and rear tyres and Alex de Angelis’ rear tyre were also replaced with brand new items of the same specification.  

Hiroshi Yamada, Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department said:
“It is sometimes hard for interrupted races to flow well, but fortunately everyone did a great job to return the track to a safe condition after the crash and the second part of the race was just as exciting. I’d like to congratulate Dani and the Repsol Honda Team today for their victory and their new lap record, and I also wish Randy a speedy recovery from the injuries he sustained from the accident. It is also fantastic to see Valentino back – his recovery has been remarkably fast and his pace this weekend has been very impressive.”  

Tohru Ubukata, Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department said:
“This weekend we used rear tyres with a special construction designed to have better heat durability, the same as we use in Phillip Island. This helped durability a great deal and was the reason that riders could use the softer option for the race today. Consistency was also remarkable, and Casey set his best time on the final lap of the race. The top three riders were also all under the lap record so I can say that overall performance was very good too. The race was interrupted by a red flag but the overall competitive distance remained the same, with just three extra in and out laps. Of course riders will want to use new tyres when they are given the opportunity, but we can see from Dani and Jorge that with exactly the same tyres for both parts of the race there was no problem with performance or durability so changing tyres was not a necessity.”  

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team Race Winner said:
“The race was difficult because in the first part Jorge and I were going so well, then we saw the red flag. Sometimes when you restart it’s not the same, but when I restarted I felt just as good and again Jorge and I were going well. Jorge overtook me but we were going fast together. At the end I was spinning in many corners but still able to go fast so I’m very happy.”