LONDON, (July 6, 2009) The eighth round of the MotoGP World Championship brought the world’s premier motorcycle series to the Californian coast and the Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway for its first stop off on US soil this season. With idyllic weather all weekend, and a crowd of nearly 50,000 packing the grandstands, the scene was set perfect for the 32-lap race.
Monster Energy’s reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team #46) took an impressive second position in the race after a fierce battle with his main title rivals, despite suffering from technical glitches throughout the weekend. The Italian had been struggling to find a comfortable setting on his Yamaha M1 that would see him able to make the challenge at the front, battling fiercely with title rivals Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner before coming close to passing eventual winner Dani Pedrosa in the final corner.
“I came down the hill in the last lap like a crazy man but it was too risky to overtake!” said Rossi, an eight-time MXGP world champ. “I thought there was a chance to pass on the final corner but unfortunately I was just too far off and it was too much of a risk. Second is good today because we were not in perfect shape here, we missed something in the setting and this is always a hard track anyway, so we have to be happy with these 20 points. We have extended the championship lead so it’s a good result for us.”
On the weekend of US Independence Day, it was another positive top seven finish for Texas the Tornado Colin Edwards (Monster Energy Yamaha Tech 3 #5). Like Rossi before him, Edwards had also battled against technical issues on the M1 throughout the weekend, but sealed a comfortable seventh place which moves him up to fifth overall in the championship standings.
His Monster Energy Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate James Toseland (#52) did not have such a happy day, having been disqualified from the race after missing the call into the pits for a ride-through penalty. He was harshly adjudged to have jumped the start, and unable to see the warnings, he was forced to bring the bike in to the pits.
The MotoGP World Championship reconvenes on European soil in two weeks time, for the German GP at the Sachsenring.
About Monster Energy
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MotoGP, Superbikes, supermoto, skis, boards, snowmobiles, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, off-road, trial, FMX, skate, MTB, wake, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Ripper, available in the UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Spain. Valentino Rossi digs ‘em. So will you. On the Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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