Brno, 17 August 2008: after yesterdays good qualifying session result on the wet, LCR Honda MotoGP racer Randy De Puniet made a good start from the 7th place for the 22-lap race at Brno track but crashed out on lap six. Luckily the Frenchman aboard the Michelin-shod Honda RC212V escaped unhurt from the incident and rejoined the twelfth round of the season ending 16th.

De Puniet qualified 11th in this morning warm up session which was held in dry conditions with the 27-year-old struggling a lot for front-end feel. After a good start from the third row Randy tried to set his rhythm but after few laps he started to loose the front again. The premier class riders will be back on track tomorrow for two testing-day. Rossi won the race ahead 149.133 fans followed by Elias and Capirossi.

De Puniet – 16th: “Honestly I am very angry. I made a good start but could not race as I would like because struggled a lot for front-end feel. Many riders passed me in the corner entry and in the first laps I lost the front a few times. So I decided to slow down but the feeling with the front was very bad. When I tried to pass Pedrosa in the chicane I crashed out in the gravel but rejoined the race. I suffered the same crash of Friday afternoon and, although my crew worked hard to find a solution, we did not solve the problem with the front tyre. I want to forget this bad week end”.



Race Classification:

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

OUT: Stoner