Shanghai, 4 May 2008: The 22-lap race of Pramac Grand Prix of China started at 15:00 local time today with unpredictable weather conditions after a rain-shower early in the morning and today’s winner is Rossi followed by Pedrosa and Lorenzo.

This morning warm up session was wet and the track surface reached a temperature of 23°C with the LCR Honda MotoGP rider Randy De Puniet in 15th position trying to get the correct overall package in wet conditions. Then the asphalt of the Chinese track started to dry and, after a bad start from the third row, the Frenchman aboard the Michelin-shod Honda RC212V was hit by Hopkins in the end of the first lap and went wide to avoid a clash with the American rider.
De Puniet started to set his pace but the gap to the front was to wide and he finished the 4th round of the season in 13th position. Le Mans circuit (France) will host the next GP on the 18 of May.


De Puniet - 13th: “I am very disappointed! My start was bad but at the end of the first lap before the main straight Hopkins tried to overtake me but he made a big mistake and I went wide. I was able to stay up to continue my race but the front-end did not work in the best way. The situation improved after some laps when I passed Guintoli. I also tried my best to pass Toseland but it was not possible. Honestly we expected a better result here and I hope to do a good race in Le Mans”.



Race Classification:

1 Rossi
2 Pedrosa
3 Stoner
4 Lorenzo
5 Melandri
6 Hayden
7 Edwards
8 Elias
9 Capirossi
10 Nakano
11 Dovizioso
12 Toseland
13 De Puniet
14 Hopkins
15 Guintoli
16 De Angelis
17 West

Out: Vermeulen