Three rookie riders proved their worth last weekend after dominating the 2006 Turkish MotoGP with Italy’s Marco Melandri, Australia’s Casey Stoner and the US’s Nicky Hayden winning the top three podium positions.

Marco Melandri, riding for Fortuna Honda on a RC211V won the race from Casey Stoner of LCR Honda, with Nicky Hayden of Repsol Honda finishing third.

“That was a fun race! I really enjoyed myself but it wasn’t easy – it was never going to be starting from 14th place at a circuit like this. I got a good start and that allowed me to manage the race better,” Melandri said.

“The first few laps were tough but I tried to go with the front group and then had two really nice battles with Pedrosa and Stoner, two really young but strong riders. They added a spectacular aspect to the race. At the end, I decided it was time to attack Stoner and I think I made my experience count, which along with the performance of the Michelin tires was enough for the victory,” the Italian narrated.

“I’m happy to win for the second time at a circuit like Istanbul. I want to say thanks to Fortuna, Michelin and Honda and I dedicate this win to them. I’m happy but we have to keep working really hard to celebrate more success together,” Melandri added.

At 20 years old, Casey Stoner would have become the joint youngest winner of a MotoGP race — with Freddie Spencer – if he had held on to his lead on the final lap. The 23-year-old Italian rider, who had three more years of experience, out-braked the Australian and scored his third MotoGP victory.

“That was more like a 125 race and this result is a great feeling because I have proved to myself and everyone else that I can race up front in MotoGP. I feel I have answered some of my critics today. I was expecting Marco to try and pass at the end of the straight because I wasn’t that confident at that point, I had crashed there a couple times over the weekend. I knew I could be on the podium and I didn’t want to risk the 20 points,” said Stoner.

Hayden finished third and was clearly frustrated that he had not yet won a race this year, although the result shot him up the top of the points table after three podium finishes in three of the season’s 17 rounds.

“It was a wild race. Everyone was riding super-aggressive and fighting for position but nobody was doing any bone-head stuff. So I enjoyed the race. I had a bit of a problem on the starting line when one of the tire warmers melted to the front disc and I thought about coming into the pits on the warm up lap. The brakes actually came in pretty good, but all through the race I felt a bit sloppy on the brakes — it didn’t feel perfect,” Hayden said. www.mb.com.ph

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