Moto GP

[Gassick]

When does it start again? And I suppose this question is for you Rev004! Whats the goss for this year?

[LOAFIE]

Racing Starts 12 April Doha/Losail, Quatar

Some Goss

After meeting with the team managers in Bologna, Carmelo Ezpeleta headed to Borgo Panigale to talk with Ducati head honchos to see if they can put more bikes on the grid for the 2010 season.

Cirano Mularoni Team Scotâ€s manager is very interested in setting up a team in the future Moto2 and has bought two Honda CBR600rr and will probably test them this summer.

John Hopkins could join Sete Gibernau in Onde 2000 if the Nieto Brothers and Francisco Hernandez can convince Ducati to lease them another GP9.

Instead of 18 GPâ€s this year we may only get 17, the Hungarian Gp scheduled for the 20th of September may not happen, due to delays in the construction of the Balatonring circuit.

French engineering firm Solution F could be interested in helping Bartholomey with Kawasaki engines.

Suzuki will be testing in Sepang next week, but Paul Denning denies that Suzuki has definitely lost title sponsor Rizla for the 2009 world championship campaign.

The economic crisis has hit MotoGP even harder than expected, certain teams will now be flying economy instead of business class.

Valentino Rossi was spotted at Madonna del Campiglio with a new lady friend.

Marco Melandri won a race this year, not the GP rider, a horse named Marco Melandri won a race at the Montegiorgio race track.

James Toseland is staging another of his pre-season send-off parties ahead of his second assault on the MotoGP world championship.

Marco Melandri, the rider, has tried drumming up sponsors on Italian Radio DeeJay.


Meanwhile the financial crisis continues, and in an effort to reduce costs there will be some other changes .... as early as this year;

2009
Weekend practice sessions will be reduced by 15 minutes each to a total of 45 mins only
Warm-ups will be 10 mins only
No monday (post race) testing
Limit of 9 motors for the whole season per rider
Maximum 8 days of winter testing
No testing after Valencia until the start of the next season
2010
One less race (down to 17 GPs)
Only one bike per rider
No more carbon disks, back to stainless steel
Races will be a two-day affair, no riding on Fridays
Paddocks open to the public on Fridays
Each engine will have to last 3 races
Each team will have to sell their engines to another team at reduced prices

[Gassick]

Racing Starts 12 April Doha/Losail, Quatar

Some Goss

After meeting with the team managers in Bologna, Carmelo Ezpeleta headed to Borgo Panigale to talk with Ducati head honchos to see if they can put more bikes on the grid for the 2010 season.

Cirano Mularoni Team Scotâ€s manager is very interested in setting up a team in the future Moto2 and has bought two Honda CBR600rr and will probably test them this summer.

John Hopkins could join Sete Gibernau in Onde 2000 if the Nieto Brothers and Francisco Hernandez can convince Ducati to lease them another GP9.

Instead of 18 GPâ€s this year we may only get 17, the Hungarian Gp scheduled for the 20th of September may not happen, due to delays in the construction of the Balatonring circuit.

French engineering firm Solution F could be interested in helping Bartholomey with Kawasaki engines.

Suzuki will be testing in Sepang next week, but Paul Denning denies that Suzuki has definitely lost title sponsor Rizla for the 2009 world championship campaign.

The economic crisis has hit MotoGP even harder than expected, certain teams will now be flying economy instead of business class.

Valentino Rossi was spotted at Madonna del Campiglio with a new lady friend.

Marco Melandri won a race this year, not the GP rider, a horse named Marco Melandri won a race at the Montegiorgio race track.

James Toseland is staging another of his pre-season send-off parties ahead of his second assault on the MotoGP world championship.

Marco Melandri, the rider, has tried drumming up sponsors on Italian Radio DeeJay.


Meanwhile the financial crisis continues, and in an effort to reduce costs there will be some other changes .... as early as this year;

2009
Weekend practice sessions will be reduced by 15 minutes each to a total of 45 mins only
Warm-ups will be 10 mins only
No monday (post race) testing
Limit of 9 motors for the whole season per rider
Maximum 8 days of winter testing
No testing after Valencia until the start of the next season
2010
One less race (down to 17 GPs)
Only one bike per rider
No more carbon disks, back to stainless steel
Races will be a two-day affair, no riding on Fridays
Paddocks open to the public on Fridays
Each engine will have to last 3 races
Each team will have to sell their engines to another team at reduced prices

SENSATIONAL !!!!!!!
I feel complete, ready for the season ahead !Roll on April 12. LOAFIE, I hope you did this during work hours!

[Rev004]

Hey Fellars we should be in for interesting year, Rossi as made mention that this year will be very difficult and is expecting it to be a year when some of his rivals will be out for payback.

FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix

2009 provisional calendar –

Dates Grand Prix Circuit

April 12 Qatar Doha/Losail
April 26 Japan/Japon Motegi
May 3 Spain/Espagne Jerez de la Frontera
May 17 France Le Mans
May 31 Italy/Italie Mugello
June 14 Catalunya Catalunya
June 27 Netherlands/Pays-Bas Assen
July 5 United States/Etats-Unis Laguna Seca
July 19 Germany/Allemagne Sachsenring
July 26 Great Britain/Grande-Bretagne Donington Park
August 16 Czech Rep./RÃp. Tchèque Brno
August 30 Indianapolis Indianapolis
September 6 San Marino & Riviera di Rimini Misano
September 20 Hungary/Hongrie Lake Balaton
October 4 Portugal Estoril
October 18 Australia/Australie Phillip Island
October 25 Malaysia/Malaisie Sepang
November 8 Valencia Ricardo Tormo – Valencia

[Rev004]

Here's the teams for this year fellers and look Sete is back well well well what can we expect from that one

MotoGP Teams


Repsol Honda Team
Dani Pedrosa | Andrea Dovizioso


Tech 3 Yamaha
Colin Edwards | James Toseland


Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
Chris Vermeulen | Loris Capirossi


LCR Honda MotoGP
Randy De Puniet


San Carlo Honda Gresini
Alex De Angelis | Toni Elias


Ducati Marlboro Team
Casey Stoner | Nicky Hayden


Pramac Racing
Mika Kallio | Niccolo Canepa


Fiat Yamaha Team
Valentino Rossi | Jorge Lorenzo


Grupo Francisco Hernando
Sete Gibernau


Scot Racing Team MotoGP
Yuki Takahashi

[Gassick]

Well between you and LOAFIE, Rev004 I am not going to be wanting for any info or goss on the MotoGP this year. In fact I will put out a challenge to anybody who will know somthing that the 2 afore mentioned don't!!!!!! Well done guys! Seriously looking forward to this year.

[Rev004]

Thanks Gassick I'm sure there plenty of people out there that no more than we do.

Anyway here's an interesting one for the new Moto2 class that's coming up.

Bimota keen on Moto2 involvement
Monday, 02 February 2009

Factory announce willingness to provide chassis for new World Championship class.


The confirmation of the new Moto2 class´ future introduction into the World Championship schedule has sent a number of interested parties to work on their plans for the class, and not just from the factories and teams looking to participate in the new category.

The latest company to express their interest in the four-stroke series is Bimota, focusing their interest specifically on the chassis development side of the 600cc prototypes. Bimota have been busy investigating the possibility of involvement in Moto2, and are ready to produce key components for the inception of the class.

A return to the World Championship would see Bimota come full circle in their focus, as the manufacturer was originally dedicated solely for producing parts for Grand Prix bikes in the early 1970´s. Work in the field of frames, shock absorbers and the aforementioned chassis development programme have been the Bimota trademark in their collaborations with Honda, Suzuki and most famously Yamaha, for whom they provided the chassis for Jon Ekerold´s 350cc World Championship victory in 1980.

Bimota will reveal more details on their intended Moto2 involvement on their website, www.bimota.it.

[Gassick]

As per Pommies thread on Rossi! His mind games have started!!!!!

[Pommie]

I think the Hungarian GP is under question at the minute. Theres is some doubt the new layout will be finished in time.

[busakid08]

there is a website called www.motogp.com ...................

[Rev004]

Talking about Rossi what's everyones thoughts on his offer to Troy Bayliss to take him on in a challenge at one of the rounds.

Yamaha and apparently Ducati have both said that they would have a works bike ready for both if Bayliss is to except, only issue is that Bayliss wants 2m to come out of retirement...

Bayliss made a fool of the MotoGp boys on his last wildcard ride but hey that was only one race. Still would be good to see.

[busakid08]

Well I think Troy would have the advantage being that he has ridden SB for so many years mind you he has stopped training since retiring (or has he - his non training would be like trying out for the lympics for us mere mortals!), be great to see Vale on a more "normal" bike (normal yeah right lol) and have a go - be good racing and I think he would have to ride on teh wire a bit more given the extra wieght/less hp etc etc

Dont blame Troy for asking for 2m to race - thats what ex boxing/sporting champs demand to come out of retrirement

[Gassick]

Talking about Rossi what's everyones thoughts on his offer to Troy Bayliss to take him on in a challenge at one of the rounds.

Yamaha and apparently Ducati have both said that they would have a works bike ready for both if Bayliss is to except, only issue is that Bayliss wants 2m to come out of retirement...

Bayliss made a fool of the MotoGp boys on his last wildcard ride but hey that was only one race. Still would be good to see.

I think it would be great! Regardless the result, you would see 2 current world champions going head to head in a dual that primarily both would like to win but I'm sure we would see 2 blokes having a ball playing on bikes!!!!

[Rev004]

Well Sepang Testing has kicked off fellers and considering that the 2 top riders in Rossi and Stoner aren't 100% fit due to a mishap at home and the other from surgery but they still find themselves at the pointy end of the field..

Here's some info that has come from the last couple of days testing for those who want some light reading compliments of MotoGp.Com.


Sepang Testing Day 2 Results

MotoGP Official Test at Sepang, Malaysia

Session 2 - 06/02/09
Pos Rider Team Fastest lap Prev. Gap Lead. Gap Laps
1 Casey STONER Ducati MarlboroTeam 2:01.483 - - 29
2 Loris CAPIROSSI Team Suzuki 2:01.555 +0.072 +0.072 45
3 Valentino ROSSI Fiat Yamaha 2:01.626 +0.071 +0.143 40
4 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda 2:01.860 +0.234 +0.377 51
5 Chris VERMEULEN Team Suzuki 2:02.086 +0.226 +0.603 52
6 Toni ELIAS San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:02.232 +0.146 +0.749 51
7 Colin EDWARDS Tech3 Yamaha 2:02.241 +0.009 +0.758 37
8 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda 2:02.434 +0.193 +0.951 44
9 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Marlboro Team 2:03.034 +0.600 +1.551 58
10 Jorge LORENZO Fiat Yamaha 2:03.056 +0.022 +1.573 51
11 Sete GIBERNAU Guinea Ecuatorial 2:03.308 +0.252 +1.825 40
12 Alex DE ANGELIS San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:03.518 +0.210 +2.035 40
13 Mika KALLIO Pramac Racing 2:03.774 +0.256 +2.291 55
14 Niccolo CANEPA Pramac Racing 2:04.021 +0.247 +2.538 45
15 Yamaha Test Yamaha Factory 2:04.312 +0.291 +2.829 36
16 Yuki TAKAHASHI Scot Racing Team 2:04.332 +0.020 +2.849 65
17 Randy DE PUNIET LCR Honda 2:04.507 +0.175 +3.024 48
18 Yamaha Test Yamaha Factory 2:04.536 +0.029 +3.053 50
19 James TOSELAND Tech3 Yamaha 2:04.597 +0.061 +3.114 36

Session 1 - 05/02/09
Pos Rider Team Fastest lap Prev. Gap Lead. Gap Laps
1 Loris CAPIROSSI Team Suzuki 2:01.869 - - 37
2 Casey STONER Marlboro Ducati 2:02.038 +0.169 +0.169 34
3 Valentino ROSSI Fiat Yamaha 2:02.324 +0.286 +0.455 31
4 Chris VERMEULEN Team Suzuki 2:02.803 +0.479 +0.934 55
5 Toni ELIAS San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:02.886 +0.083 +1.017 52
6 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda 2:03.088 +0.202 +1.219 50
7 Colin EDWARDS Tech3 Yamaha 2:03.254 +0.166 +1.385 34
8 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda 2:03.312 +0.058 +1.443 44
9 Sete GIBERNAU Guinea Ecuatorial 2:03.750 +0.438 +1.881 54
10 Jorge LORENZO Fiat Yamaha 2:03.894 +0.144 +2.025 61
11 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Marlboro 2:04.002 +0.108 +2.133 60
12 Alex DE ANGELIS San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:04.396 +0.394 +2.527 53
13 Mika KALLIO Pramac Racing 2:04.405 +0.009 +2.536 60
14 James TOSELAND Tech3 Yamaha 2:04.502 +0.097 +2.633 34
15 Randy DE PUNIET LCR Honda 2:04.882 +0.380 +3.013 61
16 Yamaha Test Yamaha Factory 2:05.024 +0.142 +3.155 47
17 Yuki TAKAHASHI JiR Team Scot Honda 2:05.098 +0.074 +3.229 73
18 Yamaha Test Yamaha Factory 2:05.140 +0.042 +3.271 44
19 Niccolo CANEPA Pramac Racing 2:05.270 +0.130 +3.401 45


Sub-100% Rossi starts strong in Sepang
Thursday, 05 February 2009

Fiat Yamaha rider third fastest despite small crash and existing injuries.


MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi went from a fall opening the curtains to a fall in the curtain-raising test of 2009 on Thursday in Malaysia, although the Italian was far from struggling at the first of three days in Sepang.

Rossi held the fastest lap on day one for a considerable time as he resumed work with the 2009 Yamaha M1, relegated to third on the timesheet only by late laps from Loris Capirossi and Casey Stoner. All this came after a small crash in the morning –something that the Fiat Yamaha man put down to track conditions rather than physical problems from the cuts to his left hand and foot.

”I am very happy because I was able to ride the bike today, despite the stitches in my hand and foot, and I was fast. I am not 100% because of the pain, but I have no problem to ride,” said Rossi upon the conclusion of his time on track.

”I had a small fall, when I was riding very slowly. It was not so wet, but some patches of the track are lacking grip and that one especially seemed to have none at all!”

Rossi stopped just before 4pm local time after putting in 31 laps of the Sepang circuit, conserving his energy but still having time to get acquainted with the Bridgestone tyre compounds brought to the test. Notorious for his running of the hardest tyres on the grid, the 29 year-old has had to adapt slightly to the uniform rubber used for the 2009 season.

”We are adapting our way of testing to the new tyre rule and it is not so bad so far, even though we have more work to do,” explained the rider undertaking his second preseason with Bridgestone rubber. “The bike needs to be gentler with the tyres now; normally I prefer harder tyres but from now on weâ€re going to need to be ‘sweeter†with them. For sure it will be good for the show, because everyone will be starting from the same level with tyres.”

With cost-cutting talk focusing on engine life in recent weeks, Rossi and Yamaha did their bit to make a saving on day one of the test. They used the same engine as at the Jerez test last November, although -having exhausted its mileage- a new motor will be used on Friday.

”The engine is better and I feel very comfortable with the new chassis,” was the six-time MotoGP World Championâ€s verdict of the bike itself. “Tomorrow we will try something new with the electronics and we will also have to change the engine.”

Rossi experienced slight swelling and pain in his finger, but can be expected to be able to ride on all three days of testing after his midweek mishap at his home in Italy.


Stoner condition shaping up worse than expected
Thursday, 05 February 2009

Ducati Marlboro rider disappointed by lack of peak wrist fitness.


A first test since surgery on his injured scaphoid was always going to be a moment of truth for Casey Stoner, who had admitted a few weeks ago that he was unsure as to whether he would be at 100% for the three-day stay in Sepang. The Australian showed on Thursday that he has lost none of his need for speed over the course of three months out of action, although there was frustration for the former MotoGP World Champion at the physical discomfort experienced on his comeback.

“This morning was really difficult, I really didnâ€t feel comfortable on the bike. My wrist is still in a lot of pain and I honestly hoped it would be in better shape than this after three months since the operation,” said Stoner after 34 laps of the Malaysian circuit –the fastest of which was a 2â€02.038.

“Even though the lap times were good from the start the wrist was still giving me a lot of problems – it is weak and painful under braking, especially in the first left-hand turn. I canâ€t do more than four or five laps at a time and thereâ€s nothing I can do about that at the moment, other than hope that it improves over time.

“Sepang is a physically demanding circuit and probably not the best place to be riding for the first time after three months out. I preferred not to ride too much and tire myself out and hopefully it will already be a bit better tomorrow. Freddy, our physiotherapist, has a bit of work to do tonight!”

Stonerâ€s last appearance at a MotoGP test was as in the capacity of spectator back in November, overseeing new Ducati teammate Nicky Haydenâ€s work with the Desmosedici GP9. Back in the saddle on a bike developed around his feedback, he continues to have confidence in the machineâ€s potential.

“The GP9 is running well and I have the same positive feeling as the last two tests at Barcelona and Valencia. The chassis is completely different and weâ€ll have to work on improving the set-up but we have a good starting point and we can use the GP8 as a reference,” says the 2008 World Championship runner-up. “The power delivery has improved and now we have more torque, which helps on the exit of the slower corners. Bridgestone have brought two compounds here that both work well, although I prefer the harder one because even though it is a little more difficult to ride it guarantees a more consistent performance.”

Stoner has previously made clear that he expects to be at full fitness come the start of the MotoGP season on April 12th.


Solid start to workout for Repsol Honda pair
Thursday, 05 February 2009

Andrea Dovizioso and the man he joins at Repsol Honda this season, Dani Pedrosa, both made solid starts to the Sepang test on Thursday.


After well over two months off from riding their RC212V 800cc machines over the winter break the young Repsol Honda pairing of Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso returned to action on Thursday at Sepang, alongside the rest of the MotoGP grid.

Both riders made a decent start and on this occasion it was the less experienced Dovizioso, preparing for his second season in MotoGP and his first on factory machinery, who concluded the day higher up the timesheets.

Having lapped sixth quickest overall, just over a second off Loris Capirossiâ€s best time, Italian MotoGP sophomore Dovizioso commented, “Iâ€m very happy to be back in action. I was looking forward to riding my bike, and I particularly enjoy this place, I love the Sepang circuit and the hot temperatures that we find here. This morning we worked a lot on my position on the bike, testing different solutions, as I was still not comfortable enough.”

“Finally we found a good solution and a good feeling with the bike, so in the afternoon we could continue to work on the chassis and concentrate more on the set up to adapt the machine to the Bridgestone tyres. This is a very important element at the moment. In fact the tyres are consistent and have a lot of potential but we arenâ€t using all the potential at the moment. This is a good feeling because we know that there is space for improvement.”

The latest version of the Honda RC212V is intended to improve balance, with a new chassis, whilst the updated engine aims for smoother driveability. The machine is also intended to be a better match for the Bridgestone tyres which will of course be used by the entire 2009 MotoGP, the 2008 version having been developed on Michelin tyres.

Perfectionist Pedrosa is taking an all-encompassing approach to improving the existing bike and having finished Thursday eighth quickest overall he stated, “The priority at the moment is to adapt the bike to Bridgestone tyres, so we worked on the setting in order to get the best match between machine and tyres. Our target during these three days of testing is also to improve every single aspect of the bike in preparation of the season.”


Capirossi starts year on front foot at Sepang test
Thursday, 05 February 2009

Preparing for his twentieth season of Grand Prix competition Loris Capirossi was fastest on the first test day of 2009, onboard a significantly updated GSV-R800.


In sunny conditions and without any of the tropical rain which occasionally hits Sepang at this time of year, the MotoGP grid was out in full force on day one of this weekâ€s three day test visit to South East Asia, with Italian veteran Loris Capirossi topping the timesheet with a 2â€01.869 effort on the last of his 37 laps.

As the premier class riders returned to action following the winter break Capirossi demonstrated the potential of the new Rizla Suzuki GSV-R800, putting in a lap 0.38s quicker than Valentino Rossiâ€s race lap record set last October. The 2009 Suzuki features a new engine, a new chassis and new carbon fibre fairing and judging by the early evidence Capirossi already appears to be highly satisfied with the progression the factory have made over the winter months.

He commented, “The first impression is not too bad after two months of no riding. We have started tested several new things because Suzuki have been working very hard over the winter. We had a good test in the wind tunnel in Japan last November, I asked for a lot of things and they have come back with everything. The whole base of the bike is different, new seat, new fuel tank, new fairing, new engine and we have a couple of chassis to test. We have a lot of work to do!”

Capirossiâ€s hot lap time was 0.169s quicker than that of the dayâ€s second fastest rider Casey Stoner, the Australian former World Champion demonstrating that his wrist injury – the scaphoid problem which required surgery in November at the end of the 2008 season – appears not to be affecting him adversely.

Reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi was third fastest, lapping within half a second of his compatriot and friend Capirossi. The Italian is riding with stitches in his left hand and foot after falling on a glass table at his home in Italy this week. But, despite those distractions and a light crash at the Malaysian circuit on Thursday morning, the king of the premier class still looked comfortable on his evolving 800cc Yamaha prototype.

Behind the leading trio on the timing screens was Capirossiâ€s Rizla Suzuki colleague Chris Vermeulen, who went round within a second of his team-mate.

The dayâ€s top five was completed by Toni Elias (on his factory spec San Carlo Honda Gresini machine), whilst Repsol Honda newcomer Andrea Dovizioso and experienced American Colin Edwards, running the updated 2009 Tech 3 Yamaha M1 for the first time, were just behind the Spaniard.

The additional Spanish trio of Dani Pedrosa, Sete Gibernau and Jorge Lorenzo - on the fully updated 2009 M1 for the first time - completed the top ten.

Meanwhile, the likes of Marlboro Ducatiâ€s Nicky Hayden, who was eleventh fastest and Tech 3 Yamahaâ€s James Toseland, who crashed without serious consequence on turn five and finished the day fourteenth, will both be looking for improvements on day two.


Lorenzo reviews return to action in Malaysia
Thursday, 05 February 2009

On the first day back on track in 2009 at Sepang on Thursday Jorge Lorenzo was two seconds off the pace and admitted he found it tough going on his new Yamaha M1.


Last seasonâ€s MotoGP rookie of the year, Jorge Lorenzo, who just 12 months ago was still learning the art of 800cc riding, was honest enough to admit that he found Thursday´s return to testing in Malaysia to be a physically demanding task, having finished the day tenth on the timesheet.

The popular young Spaniard was running the fully updated Yamaha M1 for the first time, having used the new chassis and a 2008 engine in tests in November, but was unable to get the maximum out of his new specification engine on day one – despite acknowledging improvements in the engine.

The 21-year-old completed a decent workload of 61 laps, the joint second highest lap total of all the MotoGP grid, but his best time of 2â€03.894 was more than two seconds behind pace-setting Loris Capirossiâ€s fastest lap.

“Today has been a difficult first day back at work!” conceded Lorenzo. “My body is a little rusty after so much time off. In this condition itâ€s quite difficult to be fast, but I am happy because the bike seems to be better, especially the engine. In Japan they have been able to improve the acceleration and with the new chassis as well the bike isnâ€t moving so much on the exit of the corners.”

Having seen team-mate Valentino Rossi and fellow Yamaha colleague James Toseland hit the deck during the course of the day Lorenzo also noted, “There are two corners with some problems and when you ride through them the bike is sliding too much, which is dangerous. This is why a couple of riders have had some crashes I think.”

“I stopped quite early because I had already done a lot of laps and was very tired. Tonight Iâ€m going to have a massage and try and get as much sleep as possible, and hopefully I will feel stronger tomorrow!”

His Fiat Yamaha Team Manager Daniele Romagnoli added, “We started with the set-up we used in the last test at Jerez in November and it was a promising first day, although we still have some difficulties entering corners with the front and some other issues in acceleration. Jorge used the day just to find confidence with the bike again after the winter break and we did not concentrate too hard on set-up. That will be the priority of tomorrow.”


Electronics adaptation delights Gibernau
Friday, 06 February 2009

Returning veteran happy with Friday findings.


Sete Gibernau has been riding in Sepang this week for the first time since 2006, and focused his work on getting familiar with the electronic system of the Ducati Desmosedici GP9 Sat. The Spaniard was glowing in his review of the Friday runs, in which he recorded a fastest time of 2â€03.308.

Sete Gibernau – 2â€03.308
“Weâ€ve done a great job today. We tried to work on both the chassis and the electronics because they are both very important areas with this bike. The programme was pretty clear although on a couple of occasions we lost our way a little – especially with the electronics. Now itâ€s a case of sitting down and working out why that happened, where we went wrong, and this is the ideal time for that kind of thing. I feel good - it was a positive dayâ€s work because weâ€ve been able to try a few things for the first time. Like everybody weâ€re trying to work out how to get as much life as we can out of the tyres but like I said the most important thing today was figuring out the electronics.”


Hayden makes morning improvement before progress slows
Friday, 06 February 2009

Nicky Hayden improved his pace at Sepang on Friday morning but the afternoon at the Malaysian circuit proved to be more problematic than expected.


New Ducati recruit Nicky Hayden made an encouraging start to the day on Friday as he quickly improved on his Thursday pace, but the American then struggled to find the next step forward with the set-up of his Desmosedici GP9.

It was only towards the end of the day, when he went back towards his initial settings, that the man from Kentucky felt comfortable again. He explained, “We made a big improvement immediately this morning on used tyres and I was able knock a second off my best time from yesterday. We struggled a bit in the afternoon, though, and didnâ€t manage to improve any further. I canâ€t push it on the harder compound tyre because it makes the rear move around so much more and the bike becomes unstable.”

The 2006 World Champion continued, “At the end of the session we made a little change that improved the situation and I was able to get back onto my better lap times. The Bridgestones are really consistent and that makes our job a lot easier. Today I did 35 laps on the same front tyre without any problems! We know and I know that there is a lot of work to be done. Everything is still very new to me – the engine characteristics, the chassis and the tyres, as well as the way the team works together. Weâ€re working hard though and the improvements will come.”


Timesheet topper Stoner hoping for long Saturday run
Friday, 06 February 2009

Australian targets extended outing after series of three-lap stints.


Casey Stoner has been keeping his on-track activity at the Sepang test to a series of brief excursions from the Ducati garage thus far, the rider with the least laps on the board after two days in Malaysia. The Australian is nonetheless the holder of the quickest lap with a 2â€01.483 time, and is keen to grit his teeth and push himself for a long run on Saturday.

Stoner was vocal on Thursday about lingering pain in his wrist, noting that the end-of-season operation had left him still searching for full fitness. Friday was no different, although progress was still able to be made by the suffering star.

”The wrist is still bothering me a lot, and I canâ€t do more than two or three consecutive laps. We have to stop too often for us to be able to fine tune the setup correctly,” says the former MotoGP World Champion.

”In any case, weâ€ve improved the feeling of the GP9 a lot. We made some rear end adjustments that have really improved an area where we were suffering a lot, and now it is easier to ride the bike.

”I hope that tomorrow I can improve my physical condition a little and try to do a long run, in order to confirm the good feeling that the bike was giving today.”

Stoner undertook 29 laps of the Malaysian track on Friday, his fastest time coming on lap 22.


Pedrosa heads home early from Malaysia
Friday, 06 February 2009

Repsol Honda star Dani Pedrosa has headed back to Spain from South East Asia curtailing his test visit as he recovers from a knee injury.


At the end of the second of three scheduled test days in Malaysia Dani Pedrosa has decided to return to Barcelona earlier than originally planned, as he continues to recover from a knee injury which he picked up at the end of last year.

The Spanish rider hurt his left knee when he crashed at last yearâ€s Phillip Island GP and had a small operation on the joint in December in order to eliminate any ongoing problem – but the injury is still bothering him.

Pedrosa explained, “Tomorrow a race simulation was scheduled but at the end we decided to end the test session because today I could only do five or six laps in a row and tomorrow I wonâ€t be able to cover the race distance. Last December I underwent an operation on my left knee due to the injuries I suffered when I slid off in Phillip Island during the race in October. I just need some rest now.”

Having finished fourth on the Friday timesheet, just 0.377s off Casey Stonerâ€s pace-setting best time, Pedrosa reflected on his 51 lap practice session, stating, “Iâ€m satisfied with the work we have done. We focused on chassis and suspension and also worked with tyres in order to find the best solution with our machine. Today (Friday) I was much more comfortable on the bike, I was able to go faster from the early laps and we were able to test all the items we had planned for this session.”

“In fact I know this bike, which is an evolution of last yearâ€s bike, and this gives me an advantage compared to last year, when the bike was completely new for me. We have pointed out the aspects we want to improve for next time.”

Pedrosa will be expected back on track at the next MotoGP test in Qatar which takes place on 1st-3rd March.

[bigfoot]

can't wait for this season, the Ducati is going to be hard to beat i think both Nicky and Casey will be the top riders along with Pedrosa and Rossi and we can't rule out Lorenzo if he stops crashing!!