Aragon GP: Gresini Racing race report

Marco Simoncelli took another small but important step in his MotoGP education at Aragon today, recovering from a not ideal start to match the pace of some of the best and most experienced riders in the class. The Team San Carlo Honda Gresini rider took seventh place, edging himself closer to the battle for the most prestigious results in the championship. Ninth place is not a disastrous result for Melandri but it was another weekend to forget for the Italian, who has yet to establish a good feeling with the Honda RC212V.

Marco Simoncelli (7th) "At the start I was hoping for a better result because I felt good but I have to be satisfied with seventh place. I was running with Spies and Dovizioso over the first seven laps but but once I lost touch with them I made a couple of mistakes. Once Valentino came past I started to ride well again and even tried to attack him but made another mistake. After that there wasn't much else I could do. Overall it has been a positive weekend and we have taken a step forward compared to other races."

Marco Melandri (9th) "It has been a bad weekend for us and the race didn't go any better. Unfortunately over the first few laps the bike was unpredictable and the front kept pushing. Even when I put together a pace that was faster than the guys in front of me there was no way I could pass them. I haven't made a pass on the brakes since the start of the season - I can only overtake in direction changes and that shows something is wrong because I have always been a late braker but right now I can't. I am really disappointed because things are not improving and we need a little help from Honda because I can't do anything on my own."

Fausto Gresini "Simoncelli had another good race, showing his recent progress. Unfortunately he struggled in the second half of the race because he has an aggressive style and unfortunately with this bike sometimes it needs completely the opposite. Anyway, for a good part of the race he stayed with Valentino Rossi so we have to look at it as a positive race. He has to use the experience to his advantage in the future. I am disappointed for Melandri, who was very upset at the end of the race because he wanted to do more but couldn't. We will try to give our best for him and even though this is not a satisfactory result for us we believe in the ability of both our riders."

-source: gresini racing