Moto GP

[Rev004]

Another Round of MotoGp is over for a couple of weeks and I would have to agree with Rossi that there is going to be 4 riders vowing for the championship this year so are when in for a good year lets hop so.

The next couple of rounds will certainly tell the story so lets hope we get to see some close racing this year something like the 250 race at the weekend would be good.

Until I see some more gos here some light reading..

Hayden struggles with fitness and set-up
Monday, 04 May 2009

The Jerez visit brought nothing but frustration for 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden.


The Gran Premio bwin.com de España was another weekend to forget for Nicky Hayden, who appears to be out of luck in MotoGP at the moment.

The American star struggled all weekend to find a good set-up for his Desmosedici GP9, as he attempted to bounce back from his heartbreaking first lap crash at Motegi caused by Yuki Takahashi one week earlier.

The Kentucky was hindered by his physical condition after that heavy crash in Japan and his high speed accident at Qatar in qualifying on the first weekend of the season.

Despite his determination and love for hard work Hayden could only manage a fifteenth place finish, the solitary point he earned leaving him 17th in the general standings, three rounds into his factory Ducati career.

He admitted, “I was nervous that physically it would be a tough race but it turned out to be a lot worse than we expected. In the beginning I struggled a lot again with a full fuel load and I made a mistake on the first lap – I was trying to make some positions up and I actually lost some. I tried to recover but something was wrong with the set-up of the bike.”

On his difficulty thus far to adapt to Bridgestone tyres Hayden added, “I canâ€t make the harder compound work well with my bike and I have to go with the softer one but today even those didnâ€t start to work well until I got a lot of heat into them. I did my best time on the 17th lap so there is something we have definitely to work on with the team. We need to look at the data and think up something different for the next race.”

Livio Suppo, Ducatiâ€s MotoGP Project Director, had some reassuring words for the American rider, stating, “It has been a really difficult Grand Prix for Nicky on the back of two tough weekends and two crashes. We have a little break now during which time we can sit down and work out how to get him back to the level he was at in the winter tests, which would lift him much higher up the order.”


Gibernau grateful for fans support
Monday, 04 May 2009

Sete Gibernau bounced back from his Japanese disappointments with a solid 11th place in front of the passionate Jerez crowd.


Grupo Francisco Hernando rider Sete Gibernau has returned to MotoGP this year precisely because of weekends such as the one he has just experienced at the Gran Premio bwin.com de España and the veteran competitor is looking forward to more great racing this year.

The World Championshipâ€s visit to Andalusia for the early season ‘fiesta†is always a special occasion and Gibernau was proud to be a part of it as he participated in his first European race since 2006.

Returning to the track where he took victory in 2004 and finished in second place the following year after a famous battle with Valentino Rossi, Gibernau was unlikely to be a podium candidate this time around but he nonetheless made progress.

A 13th place finish in Qatar was a decent result considering his fitness problems, but Gibernau needed a good performance at Jerez to quickly put the disappointment of Motegi behind him, so the former World Championship runner-up was satisfied with coming home just outside the top ten in southern Spain.

“It was exciting and Iâ€m very happy,” an upbeat Gibernau stated afterwards. “We finished the race and we improved a lot. Itâ€s just fantastic to race at Jerez, it is something very special and the team did a great job and I enjoyed every minute of it. I think we are making progress and we are having fun. Every time we race we get a little bit better.”

Cheered on by 260,000 fans over the duration of the weekend and racing in front of 120,000 spectators on Sunday itself, Gibernau was moved by unique atmosphere, commenting, “If I could go out there to individually thank every fan that comes out to cheer us I would do so, because itâ€s unbelievable and Iâ€m very, very happy. Now I just canâ€t wait to go back home, train harder, start to push more and go to France and look for more.”


Elías tries to take positives from frustrating race
Monday, 04 May 2009

Finishing ninth in front of the Spanish fans at round three left Toni Elías disappointed but searching for positives from the Jerez weekend.


The Gran Premio bwin.com de España ultimately ended in disappointment for Spaniard Toni Elías in front of the 120,000 Spanish crowd at Jerez, as he brought his San Carlo Honda Gresini machine home in ninth place.

Elias had been confident of a much higher position after qualifying ninth on the grid, but with track temperatures higher than they had been all weekend in Sunday afternoonâ€s searing sunshine, the Barcelona rider experienced rear traction problems during the 27 lap contest and he finished more than 40 seconds behind racewinner Valentino Rossi.

“I honestly thought we were capable of a better race but it was impossible,” Elías said afterwards. “We were suffering too much throughout the race with a lack of rear grip and I can promise the fans that I couldnâ€t do any more than I did.”

He continued, “In a situation like this you can only try to take some positives away from the Grand Prix as a whole and looking back at the weekend we have at least continued to make progress. We were two seconds off the pace in Qatar, one and a half seconds off in Motegi and one second off here. The target for Le Mans is to reduce it to less than a second.”

Having seen Elías struggle and his team-mate Alex De Angelis come home in 14th - as he fought a bout of flu - team manager Fausto Gresini was in no mood to hand out sympathy to his two riders, fuming, “I am so disappointed and angry right now that I canâ€t bring myself to comment on the race. I think the best thing for us is to put it behind us and look forward. Hopefully things will be better at Le Mans. They canâ€t be much worse!”


Suzuki camp pragmatic about Jerez results
Monday, 04 May 2009

Having looked good at Jerez in preseason Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen might have wanted more than their respective sixth and tenth places in Spain, but they were keeping their spirits up after the race.


It was another steady weekend for the Rizla Suzuki team at the Gran Premio bwin.com de España, with Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen both finishing in the top ten again and both matching their qualifying results in the race.

A good showing for both riders in preseason testing at the track might have given hope of a more competitive package for the Italian-Australian pair at round three but after his sixth place finish Capirossi stated that more power is still required from the evolving GSV-R to take that next step forward.

“It was not a brilliant race but I had a good battle with Colin (Edwards) and Marco (Melandri) and in the end I was able to overtake Colin. These types of results are not our target though,” stated Capirossi. “We need a bit more of a stronger engine and that is why Suzuki are still working really hard on it.”

For his part, after a second tenth place finish in a week, Vermeulen was already looking forward to the next round at Le Mans as the place to put things right. After a good winter for Vermeulen and Capirossi to be sitting ninth and tenth in the standings after three races is undeniably below expectations, but the Aussie star is relishing the prospect of returning to France, where he took victory in 2007.

“Itâ€s a place I have won at, I was fifth there last year and we have always been quick there,” Vermeulen remarked. “Itâ€s a track which I really enjoy riding at, so hopefully we can go for another victory.”

Summarising the visit to Jerez, meanwhile, team boss Paul Denning commented, “We managed to match our qualifying positions in the race, which is not at all spectacular, but it is in honesty about what we could have expected. We need a bit more performance from the machine, but also for our overall riders and bike package the hardest tyre this weekend simply didnâ€t suit us.”

“Itâ€s the same for everyone, so hopefully weâ€ll find the situation the other way round at a circuit sometime soon, but in the meantime weâ€ll be working hard to get the absolute best out of the package weâ€ve got at the next couple of races.”


Dovizioso: ‘We need to get the full potential from our packageâ€
Monday, 04 May 2009

Andrea Dovizioso wants to do better after his eighth place finish in Spain.


Reflecting on the Gran Premio bwin.com de España Repsol Hondaâ€s Andrea Dovizioso admitted he must do better after finishing eighth in Sundayâ€s race and being overtaken in the standings by his team-mate Dani Pedrosa, who raced to a brilliant second place at Jerez.

Dovizioso qualified in eighth place and started the race well, despite his later complaints of traction problems, making it up to sixth place in the opening laps. A battle with Randy de Puniet then ensued and the Italian rider tired to hunt down the fourth placed Jorge Lorenzo after eventually getting past the Frenchman, only to be undone by an eighth lap skid which saw him leave the asphalt.

Soon getting back in the race, albeit in 16th position, Dovizioso started to fight back and after a great effort he finally crossed the finishing line in eighth.

“Iâ€m not happy to just finish in the top ten, but the problem was that there was much less grip in the race than in practice and it became a big issue, especially on corner entry in the first few laps,” Dovizioso explained. “At turn eight I went in and immediately lost the rear end grip so I went off track and the serious racing was finished for me. I was trying to catch Lorenzo but I couldnâ€t manage it.”

“Iâ€m not satisfied with eighth position here and we need to do better because we didnâ€t use the full potential of our package here,” he continued. “We have to set that as our target now before we start getting new parts from Honda.”


Bridgestone: “Faster race time shows 2009 consistency”
Tuesday, 05 May 2009

Tyre manufacturer pleased with Rossi winning race pace.


Sole MotoGP tyre manufacturer Bridgestone have, by virtue of their privileged position, little on which to compare themselves against in 2009. However, the company have refused to stand still on development. Average race pace and –in the case of Sundayâ€s Spanish race- Valentino Rossiâ€s winning race time have been the data to analyse and aim to beat at the opening three races.

Despite concerns expressed by some riders about the softness of even the harder compound choice, the Jerez showdown was a quicker outing for eventual victor Rossi than it was for 2008 racewinner Dani Pedrosa. Manager of Race Tyre Development Tohru Ubukata hailed the progress made with the current rubber options, and its ability to hold up to some demanding conditions.

“The hard front and medium rear Bridgestone combination performed well today and we saw very good consistency over the race distance, with the hottest track temperature we have seen this weekend,” said the Japanese chief.

“The winning race time this year was seventeen seconds faster than last year and the consistency was better, so I am happy. This situation clearly shows the wider operating range and improved consistency of this yearâ€s one-make Bridgestone tyres.”


LCR Honda hail De Puniet consistency
Tuesday, 05 May 2009

Frenchmanâ€s form delights boss Cecchinello.


Randy de Puniet set himself up for a promising home race at Le Mans with a fantastic fourth in Jerez on Sunday, following on from a qualifying session in which he placed fifth on the grid. The Frenchman was delighted with the result, which also brought a big smile to the face of his LCR Honda Team Principal, Lucio Cecchinello.

“Weâ€re very happy with Randyâ€s consistency at the moment. Heâ€s really starting to discover the potential of this new bike,” said the Italian of his MotoGP rider, who had hailed the satellite Honda as “the best bike that I have ever ridden.”

“He didnâ€t have much practice with the machine over the winter, and the tyres are new for us, so step-by-step we are finding out what the best setting is for Randy.”

Cecchinello had set a preseason target of finishing races rather than places like those of Sunday, and was ecstatic with De Punietâ€s exceeding of expectations.

“We had some good practice sessions here, and we all know that Randy has been able to do one very fast lap at times. However, weâ€ve been working on his consistency, and now he is starting to realize the kind of pace that he can really achieve.”


Edwards singles out Le Mans for best chance of first victory
Tuesday, 05 May 2009

“If Iâ€m going to win a race, it will be there,” says American star.


Three pole positions, four second places and six third places to his name leave Colin Edwards with just one more Grand Prix honour missing from his CV. Time is running out for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider to take that elusive first win, and the ‘Texas Tornado†has singled out the upcoming Grand Prix de France as his return to the Last Chance Saloon.

“Letâ€s go to Le Mans. Iâ€m ready,” said Edwards, rubbing his hands with glee. “If Iâ€m going to win a race, then itâ€s going to be there, as Iâ€ve always gone good at the track. Now that the field has evened out with the tyres Iâ€m really looking forward to the race,” he added, his voice picking up after reflecting on a disappointing round at Jerez.

“Iâ€ve never liked this place. I had one good result here, and always spend the entire weekend setting up the bike. If weâ€d used this setting before then we would maybe have realised that it didnâ€t work either. We just had no rear grip and no real ‘push†–something that we need to dip into the corners.”

Edwards will hope to have such problems revolved for Le Mans, where he gave the France-based Yamaha satellite squad a home podium in 2008.


Fiat Yamaha to make post-mortem on Lorenzoâ€s Jerez woes
Wednesday, 06 May 2009

Team mystified by Spaniard's Sunday problems at home race.


A slower pace on race day than in practice left Jorge Lorenzoâ€s Fiat Yamaha team scratching their heads at the Gran Premio bwin.com de España. The Spanish riderâ€s late crash was the result of pushing a bike on which he did not feel comfortable, and his crew are set to make a detailed analysis of the reasons for a lack of feel.

“We are a little bit disappointed, and we really didnâ€t expect either the result or the problems. We had good practice sessions and were faster in every one,” said Team Manager Daniele Romagnoli, looking back on a weekend in which Lorenzo took his first pole position of the year.

“We were confident; the bike settings were good, and we didnâ€t change anything for the race. Itâ€s strange that we werenâ€t so fast at the beginning of the race, and we had a crash when trying to catch Casey (Stoner).

“Weâ€re not really worried. We know that Jorge is competitive,” he went on to say. “For me now we need to analyse in further detail what happened in this race, and maybe weâ€ll find that the higher temperatures on Sunday made our bike a little unbalanced. We need to make an in-depth look at this for the next races.

“Jorge and Yamaha always go well at Le Mans, so I am confident that we can remain on top for that race too… and the ones after it!”


Toseland with issues to sort out
Wednesday, 06 May 2009

British rider aiming to improve qualifying performances.


On another problematic weekend for James Toseland at the Gran Premio bwin.com de España the satellite Yamaha rider came away with just three points having qualified 13th and finishing in the same position.

Toselandâ€s supporters, and indeed his team, were expecting him to kick on in his second MotoGP season, after he learned the majority of the tracks on the calendar last year, so his early 2009 season results have been a major disappointment with just one top ten finish so far.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider struggled to get on the pace during preseason, with two heavy crashes in Malaysia and Jerez doing nothing to help his cause. The 28 year-old is yet to shine on the 2009 Bridgestone tyres and qualifying is a specific area of concern.

Having started the three 2009 races thus far in 14th (Qatar), 10th (Japan) and 13th (Spain) on the respective grids, his recent QP results contrast starkly with those he achieved at the beginning of his debut season last year - second, eighth and sixth - as he made a strong start in MotoGP.

Toseland rode a modest race at Jerez to finish 13th, unable to progress any further through the field as he never found a comfortable set-up on his YZR-M1 machine. He successfully fended off a persistent challenge from Alex de Angelis, but will be looking to move higher up the order at the forthcoming rounds.

“It was a tough weekend and we have got some issues to sort out,” reflected the former superbike champion. “Weâ€re still trying a few things on the bike and Iâ€m still searching for a comfortable setting over a race distance. I still need a second or so on race pace but I need to sort out qualifying too, because Iâ€m giving myself too much to do by being too far back. You donâ€t need to be too far off but if you start at the back you stay at the back in a competitive class like this.”

Sitting 14th in the general standings, he added, “It has not been a great start to the season but I donâ€t feel weâ€re that far away. Weâ€ve got a lot of information from the Jerez weekend and weâ€re eliminating things that we know donâ€t work. Iâ€m confident weâ€re close to finding the setting I need and working hard with my guys to find it.”

Tech 3 team boss Herve Poncharal reiterated a similar message, saying of Toseland, “His lap times in the race were not too bad but it is clear he must improve in qualifying. He is capable of a much stronger performance, but it is difficult when you donâ€t qualify well. The start of the race now is crucial and qualifying is something that he will work on with his crew.”


Takahashi making steady progress in rookie season
Wednesday, 06 May 2009

Scot Racing rider claims satisfaction with Jerez twelfth place.


Yuki Takahashiâ€s journey of steady progress in the premier class hit a roadblock at his home race in Japan with an early crash, but the Scot Racing rider was back improving with the best of his three MotoGP results to date at Jerez.

The Japanese rookie started from thirteenth on the grid for the Spanish race, and was happy with both his twelfth place finish and a higher level of confidence in the satellite Honda RC212V.

“I'm satisfied. I had a good feeling with the bike - the best since the beginning of the championship,” revealed Takahashi.

“I had a good start, and a fast first lap. I overtook Toni Elias and found myself in a good position, but in the second half of the race I began to experience some problems with the tyres - first with the front one, then with the rear,” he continued, noting a problem experienced by many Honda riders since switching to Bridgestone rubber.

“Anyway, I'm really happy: my program is to learn race by race, and that is what I'm doing.”

Takahashiâ€s next ride will be at the upcoming Grand Prix de France at Le Mans, where he took victory in the 250cc class back in 2006.

[duc13]

125's were good for the minor placings and a great win for Smith, 250's were brilliant ,and as is becoming the norm unfortunately the main race was a bit uneventful .
Anyone watch the SBK round at Assen? I'm finding and have for a while that the superbikes and the 600's are hell of a lot more exciting to watch than the premier class.
That said i still never miss a round of Moto GP.

[Rev004]

Yes would have to agree Duc13 the superbikes have been a little more exciting to watch for a few years now but hoping the the 4 riders at the top of field in the MotoGp class can bring some close racing this year.

I see our Troy Bayliss is back testing with Ducati so I wonder what will come of that will we see the challange taken up by Bayliss to take on Rossi on a superbike now that would be a great race. In saying that Bayliss has kicked Rossi arse on a motogp bike so he may not see the point.

Anyway here's some more gos from the last week read and enjoy.


Maturing Lorenzo accepts full blame for Jerez crash
Thursday, 07 May 2009

Jorge Lorenzo turned 22 this week and he is aiming to bounce straight back from his round three heartbreak.


The Gran Premio bwin.com de España ultimately ended in huge disappointment for Spanish star Jorge Lorenzo, as he slipped from first to joint third in the MotoGP standings with his costly crash on lap 24.

Having started on pole in front of 120,000 passionate fans on home territory the Fiat Yamaha youngster was hoping to repeat his superb Motegi win, but looked off colour in the early stages and was pushing hard in his game of catch up with Casey Stoner for third place when he hit the deck.

However, this week in updating his personal blog, at lorenzo48.blogspot.com/, Lorenzo absolved his team and Bridgestone of any blame for the accident and accepted that it was his fault entirely.

Although his team have promised to closely examine all the factors which contributed to his first 2009 DNF, Lorenzo stated, “The crash on Sunday was my fault and there is no reason to go looking for excuses. Thereâ€s no point blaming the tyres or saying the track was hotter than on Saturday, because if I had been quicker at the start of the race I wouldnâ€t have had to risk it so much at the end.”

“Iâ€m not sure what I would do exactly if the race was run again, but itâ€s clear in my mind now that chasing Stoner down was more risky than I had realised before the crash,” Lorenzo continued. “The good thing about having learned to keep calm and control myself is that my thoughts are cooler and more calculated, so now I donâ€t get so angry about crashes like this.”

Offering a philosophical perspective on things, having celebrated his 22nd birthday on the day after the race, the former double 250cc World Champion also commented, “Itâ€s seven years since I made my Grand Prix debut at Jerez and since then I have learned to make the most of every moment, whether good or bad. When things donâ€t go according to plan you need to learn as much as you can from them and then put them behind you, because you only live once. There is no point torturing yourself or over analysing the reasons behind everything.”

“Iâ€ve had ups and downs throughout my career so I know what Iâ€m talking about. In the past it took me ages to get over the low points and I found it easy to get down about things, but now I know how to turn over a new leaf as quickly as possible.”


Poncharal: “We hope that Toseland can catch up”
Thursday, 07 May 2009

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 boss keeps faith in British star.


Like the factory Yamaha garage, the satellite teamâ€s Grand Prix base is divided by a wall in 2009. Unlike the main squad, however, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 have just one man overseeing both riders. Said Team Principal is Herve Poncharal, who has seen mixed results from his charges over the course of the opening three races of the year.

Top ten efforts from Colin Edwards have contrasted with early difficulties for James Toseland, and Poncharal has the task of spurring both on to better things in the forthcoming races. Following a tough race for both riders at Jerez, the Frenchman reflected on the third round in philosophical fashion.

“With the same tyres for everybody, all the riders were always going to be close together. We knew that it would not be easy to be up at the front with that group. Weâ€ve got some good points for the World Championship, but for Colin it was definitely not as good as the first two races, where we were much nearer to the front,” Poncharal analysed.

“On James†side, itâ€s still difficult. I was hoping for an easier race. I think that his pace was good enough for the top ten, but when you qualify so far down then itâ€s always hard now. Qualifying will be even more important this year than it has ever been.

“Weâ€re really hoping that James can catch up. Heâ€s trying really hard and we would like to see some sun on that side too.”

Poncharal concluded by saying that the team were targeting a first podium and front row of the season at their home race, the Grand Prix de France at Le Mans.


Capirossi reveals secrets of carbon brakes
Thursday, 07 May 2009

Rizla Suzuki rider Loris Capirossi gives explanation alongside Brembo engineer.


One of the “last of the late brakers”, Loris Capirossi has used all manner of stopping mechanisms over the course of his Grand Prix career. The Italian now brings the speed down on his Suzuki GSV-R using carbon brakes produced by specialists Brembo, one of the biggest innovations of recent times in the premier class.

In the following video Capirossi and brake engineer Eugenio Gandolfi run through the benefits, types, and construction concepts used for carbon brakes, focusing in particular on the tough, technical Motegi circuit for detailed examples.


French pair ready to shine at home race
Thursday, 07 May 2009

French riders Randy de Puniet and Jules Cluzel headed straight to Le Mans after the Gran Premio bwin.com de España, as they took part in a pre-event press conference ahead of their home GP.


Looking ahead to their home race in a special press conference this week MotoGP star Randy de Puniet and 250cc rider Jules Cluzel previewed the event in the company of promoter Claude Michy and the French Motorcycle Federation president, former GP rider Jacques Bolle.

De Puniet arrives at the 15th-17th May Grand Prix de France in good form having added to his good results in Qatar and Japan with an excellent fourth place in Jerez last weekend.

“Last time out was my best race with LCR, so now I want to build on that and get as consistent as possible. It won't be easy of course, but at least we know weâ€ve been working in the right direction so far.”

“Racing at home in Le Mans is always something special,” he added. “But I canâ€t get carried away, I have to keep my focus and just treat it as any other race. However, obviously getting a good result here would be a great feeling.”

Cluzel, meanwhile, is in great spirits having achieved a surprise podium in Qatar and another top ten finish at Jerez. Although he suffered a DNF in Japan, 2009 is already a big contrast to his 2008 season on 125cc machinery - in which he failed to score a single point.

The Matteoni Racing man stated, “Nobody expected me to be at the front and finish on the podium in Qatar, so it was a great way to kick off the year after a fairly short preseason. Moving back up from 125cc, I got used to 250cc again quite quickly and everything really clicked with the team.

“If Qatar was a dream come true, the following race in Japan was really tricky as we had very little mileage ahead of the race. It was good to be back with normal conditions in Jerez. The race was really tough, but finishing in the top eight is a satisfying result. Now I want to keep it up and Iâ€ll arrive at Le Mans in the best possible condition.”


Bayliss to test the GP9 next week
Thursday, 07 May 2009

Troy Bayliss returns to the track on a Ducati race bike!


The Australian rider, who will follow this weekendâ€s Superbike action at Monza from the Ducati garage, will test the Desmosedici GP9 from May 12th to 14th at the Italian circuit of Mugello, alongside the teamâ€s official MotoGP test rider Vittoriano Guareschi.

The test has been planned for a while and will be repeated during the year at future official sessions of the Test Team. Ducati can thus count on the feedback of a three times world champion, whose talent and experience will contribute to the continuous development work carried out on the Desmosedici GP9 and GP10.

[Rev004]

Another Round of MotoGp gets ready to kick of again this weekend from France but in the mean time here's some more gos from the paddacks.

Just to get the Memory going here's a photo of Kevin Schwantz on Lucky Strike 500 Suzuki back in 93

[attachment=5948]


MotoGP World Championship picks up momentum for Le Mans
Monday, 11 May 2009

Fourth race of 2009 takes place this Sunday afternoon at historic French circuit.


A chess move used in the opening stages of matches between the best players in the world, the French Defence will also be used this coming weekend by the current MotoGP grandmasters. The fourth round of the World Championship –the Grand Prix de France- takes place on May 17th at the famous Le Mans circuit, with the series leaders aiming to preserve their positions and stave off attacks on their supremacy.

An eleven point gap separates MotoGP World Champion and current premier class leader Valentino Rossi from nearest rival Casey Stoner heading to the continental showdown, with the duo in top form thus far in 2009. Fiat Yamaha rider Rossi won his first race of the year at the last round in Jerez, and is the only man with a 100% podium record still intact after the opening three races. Last year he headed an all-Yamaha top three at Le Mans, and a repeat of that result would leave him just one win shy of a century of victories –an honour that he could take at his home race in Mugello.

Stoner has only finished on the podium at Le Mans on one occasion, with a third place in a wet 2007 race. The Ducati Marlboro star could regain the lead of the World Championship on Sunday, depending on the results of his immediate rivals.

Tied on points in third and fourth place are the Spanish duo of Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, representing Fiat Yamaha and Repsol Honda, respectively. Lorenzo crashed out of his home race at Jerez, whilst Pedrosa took a second consecutive unexpected rostrum whilst in less-than-peak condition.

Just eleven points cover positions five-thru-ten in the overall classification, With Andrea Dovizioso at the head of the ‘mini table†and targeting a better feeling with the Honda RC212V. The Italian has a four-point advantage over Colin Edwards, competing in his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teamâ€s home race on Sunday.

Randy de Puniet follows up his fourth place at Jerez with a chance of home glory with his LCR Honda machinery, the Frenchman in a rich run of form.

The remaining riders in the top ten have all won races at the Le Mans circuit across the three World Championship classes, with Marco Melandri and Chris Vermeulen previous premier class victors at the track and Loris Capirossi a victor in the lower cylinder categories.

A return to one-hour practice sessions is brought in from the Grand Prix de France onwards.


Repsol Honda aim for another step forward in France
Monday, 11 May 2009

Andrea Dovizioso says he has been motivated by his team-mate Dani Pedrosaâ€s recent good results.


Hondaâ€s factory pairing of Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso arrive at round four in a confident mood, following the formerâ€s surge in form at the last two races.

Pedrosa is still fighting back from injury following winter crashes and surgeries, but his excellent efforts at Motegi and Jerez saw him cause a surprise with back to back podiums, giving motivation to Dovizioso as the two riders simultaneously try to improve the RC212V Honda race package.

Le Mans offers a different challenge to the tracks visited in the opening three rounds characterised by a ‘stop-and-go†style of racing following a rapid first corner, but Pedrosa has a good record at the French track having taken victory there for three years consecutively in the smaller classes from 2003 to 2005.

He also has MotoGP Le Mans pole positions and a French podium to his name and after recently overcoming his preseason disappointments he now wants to start regularly fighting for victories.

“After the Jerez race Iâ€m quite happy to be going to Le Mans because this is another circuit I like and I hope we can go well there again,” Pedrosa stated. “Itâ€s a track where the weather is often quite unstable and this means we usually have a busy weekend because we have to be prepared to set the bike up for a wide range of weather conditions and temperatures.”

On the recent change to the MotoGP regulations, reverting to one hour practice sessions the Spaniard continued, “We have 15 minutes more practice time in each session which should help us with set up, and itâ€ll be interesting to see how our allocation of 20 tyres copes with the extra time too. Some of our rivals†machines usually perform well at Le Mans so we need to be really focused on getting our bike to work well here. Personally, Iâ€ve had some good results at Le Mans including victories in 125 and 250, so itâ€s a circuit where I have quite a lot of confidence and I hope to convert that into a good result this weekend.”

Dovizioso will also be targeting the podium at a track that has brought him significant success in the past. The Italian won the 125cc race there in 2004 as part of a five-year podium streak which began in 2003 in the 125cc class and included three 250cc podiums.

Dovizioso has already displayed his trademark consistency this season and lies fifth in the World Championship standings after three rounds with his new team.

“I always look forward to racing in Le Mans and Iâ€m determined to work really hard this weekend,” he commented. “I know that I have to improve and we also need to focus on getting the best out of our machine package. Daniâ€s recent results in Japan and Spain have given me extra motivation because heâ€s shown what the bike is capable of.”

“I have always had good results at this track so Iâ€m hoping I can repeat those. The circuit is quite slow and narrow, and it has a lot of changes of direction - itâ€s a technical track. The changes to the first chicane have robbed Le Mans of part of its fascination, which is unfortunate, but itâ€s still a circuit I like. The only issue here is the weather, because it rains quite often and weâ€ve already had enough rain this year!”


Juan Martinez rejoins Ducati as Hayden Crew Chief
Monday, 11 May 2009

Ducati are taking several steps to improve the performances of Nicky Hayden and their satellite riders.


Since the Gran Premio bwin.com de España, where there were disappointing results for Ducati other than Casey Stonerâ€s best ever Jerez result, the Italian factory has taken several steps to improve their overall competitiveness.

A three-day test commences on Tuesday at Mugello, where Ducati test rider Vittoriano Guareschi will be joined by Troy Bayliss to focus on using the data from the opening three rounds of the season to further develop the GP9.

Also, some additional measures will take effect as of this weekendâ€s Grand Prix de France, with former Ducati employee Juan Martinez returning to the ‘familyâ€, to work with Nicky Hayden after a spell with Kawasaki, and with a new approach being taken to the electronics set-up of the GP9 after some recent close data analysis.

Hayden has made a slow start to the new chapter of his career with Ducati, his Motegi DNF contributing to his current position of the penultimate place in the general standings. DMT Track Engineer Cristhian Pupulin, who has doubled up as Crew Chief to Loris Capirossi, Marco Melandri and Hayden since 2006, will now work with the data collected by all of the Ducati riders at the circuit.

As Ducatiâ€s MotoGP Project Director Livio Suppo explains, “After the race at Jerez, which was fantastic for Casey but very difficult for Nicky, we had a few meetings to analyse our technical and organisational structure, with the goal of improving the all-round performances of our riders.”

“We came to the conclusion that after starting the season with some of the Ducati riders unable to match their positive form in winter testing, maybe this is the right time to introduce some new technical ideas in terms of the electronics as well as boosting our track presence in order to provide all of the Ducati riders with better support. The GP9 is still a very young machine and for the first time in MotoGP we have five bikes on the grid,” continued Suppo.

“For these two reasons we have decided that we need to concentrate more on coordinating all the data that we gather at each race in order to provide more direction for development,” the Italian boss added. “As well as changing the structure of the team we have some electronic updates and Cristhian Pupulin will be able to completely dedicate his time to the important role of coordination, which we need to continue to develop the GP9. It is a welcome return for Juan (Martinez), who worked with us in 2006 and we are sure he can quickly settle back in to life with the team.”

Hayden himself provided his perspective on the situation, saying, “Le Mans couldnâ€t get here soon enough after Jerez because I just want to get back on the bike and get back amongst the team trying to sort out our problems. The French track should be a little bit better for me, the bike is certainly stable under hard braking, acceleration is good and itâ€s good in a straight line and Le Mans has a lot of that. Having a bit more time in practice and qualifying is going to help everybody and maybe it can help me more than the rest.”

The 27 year-old from Owensboro, Kentucky, went on to say, “Also for Le Mans, we have a bit of new electronic management and a new team structure that I think should help me and all the Ducati riders. I believe that with Cristhian more freed up from some of the normal work as crew chief he can use his expertise more and focus on really working on the issues I am having with the bike and help give us a better direction and give more info to the factory.”

“So to fill his spot we will bring in Juan (Martnez), who has put up some solid results in MotoGP. He has already worked in Ducati and speaks good English and Italian so he was a good match. I canâ€t say I donâ€t have enough good manpower behind me and it has been encouraging to see Ducati trying everything and working so hard to help get me in a situation to deliver. The team is very important in our sport but it is really up to the rider to do his part and make the difference, so I hope I can step up and do my part soon!”


No surrender for Suzuki on French return
Tuesday, 12 May 2009

Rizla Suzuki ready to kickstart season at Le Mans.


Rizla Suzuki head to round four of the MotoGP World Championship raring to pick up their pace. The scene of a first -and to date only- victory for the current team structure courtesy of Chris Vermeulen in 2007, Le Mans is being cited by the team as a chance to get back to stronger results and begin the 2009 season in earnest.

“I am really looking forward to going back to Le Mans as it holds some great memories for me and has a special place in my heart. I managed a fifth there last year and I will certainly be looking to better that this time out,” says Vermeulen, who finished tenth last time out at Jerez.

“We have had a tough start to the season and the results have certainly not gone our way for one reason or another, but we need to learn from what has happened and make sure we come out stronger through the rest of the season - starting with Le Mans this weekend!"

Sharing a sense of underachievement from the opening races, Loris Capirossi is hoping that a return to hour-long sessions can bring him back up the order.

"I have said before that I have been disappointed with the results so far this season and I want to be able to show just what the GSV-R and the whole team are capable of,” explains the Italian. “We now have a bit longer to work on the bike with the increased practice sessions and hopefully we can iron-out the few things that we need to make us more competitive. I know that we can be closer to the front and challenging the top guys, we just seem to need that bit of luck and things to go our way for a change!"


Stoner expects another tough weekend
Tuesday, 12 May 2009

Revisiting the track where he suffered a 16th place nightmare last year, Casey Stoner anticipates another big challenge this weekend at Le Mans.


Securing his best ever result at Jerez last time out Casey Stoner this weekend arrives at another ‘bogey†track, determined to improve his record on French soil.

Stonerâ€s third place finish at the 2007 Grand Prix de France is his only podium in any class of racing at Le Mans and last year he came home 16th.

Indeed the 2008 contest was a highly complicated one for the Australian – and his first non-scoring ride with Ducati - after his bike slowed with mechanical problems and he came in to change to his second machine, on different tyres, as the race had been declared ‘wetâ€.

However, Stoner will hope for a more straightforward race on Sunday and having boosted his confidence with his first ever Jerez podium at round three, he is confident of rising to the French challenge at round four.

“Weâ€re on the back of two races that have really put us to the test but weâ€ve come out of them with decent results,” stated Stoner, who sits second in the standings on 54 points. “Both Motegi and Jerez have characteristics that give us a few problems, especially the tight corners where our bike isnâ€t as reactive as usual.”

“Even Le Mans is like that in a couple of places, it is not a fast and flowing track – on the contrary, itâ€s the classic stop and go layout that requires good braking, although you can take some nice, fun and fast lines on the way out of the turns. Weâ€ll see what weâ€re capable of when we get there and how many points weâ€re able to bring home.”

Looking further down the line the Ducati star added, “It is going to be a long, open season. Weâ€ve seen that with three winners and three championship leaders from the first three races and the fact that there are four of us within just a few points at the top. There is no point making predictions, the important thing is to continue working well and make sure we pick up as many points as possible in these races where we know it will be tough to come away with the ideal result.”


Bayliss begins GP9 testing at Mugello
Tuesday, 12 May 2009

Troy Bayliss completed his first day of testing on board the Desmosedici GP9 at Mugello today alongside regular factory test rider Vittoriano Guareschi.


It was a first outing for the Australian on a MotoGP bike since the final round of 2006, when he followed up his second World Superbike title by competing in the final Grand Prix of the season at Valencia, scoring a sensational one-two for Ducati with victory ahead of his team-mate Loris Capirossi.

Today was also Bayliss' first taste of an 800cc MotoGP machine and his first track action of any sort since ending the 2008 WSBK title-winning season, and his legendary racing career, with a double race victory at Portimao.

"This is literally the first time I've ridden a motorcycle since we unveiled the 1198 after the end of last season at Portimao", said the Australian rider. "It was nice to shake off a bit of rust and with Mugello being such a physical circuit it was a good workout!"

"The last time I rode a GP machine was at Valencia, which was the 990cc, but the 800cc isn't exactly lacking power and I just spent today getting a feel for it. I can't wait to get back out there tomorrow and on Thursday and hopefully by the end of the session I'll be able to give some useful feedback to Filippo (Preziosi)."


Lorenzo wants to bounce back on strong Yamaha territory
Wednesday, 13 May 2009

Following his Jerez crash Jorge Lorenzo will aim to return to the podium at Le Mans, where he featured in a Yamaha rostrum clean sweep last year.


Jorge Lorenzo should find things easier in Le Mans this year compared with his first visit to the French track as a MotoGP rider last year, when he rode with two fractured ankles.

His 2008 Grand Prix de France race saw him end up in second place despite his injuries, contributing to Yamahaâ€s podium domination alongside race-winning team-mate Valentino Rossi and third placed Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards.

This year Lorenzo approaches the French race with a bruised ego rather than any physical ailments - having walked away unscathed but heartbroken from his Jerez crash at round three, which took place on the day before his 22nd birthday.

With one win already under his belt this season the exciting Majorcan has shown that he has the talent and the knowledge to challenge the established order and he will want to banish those painful Spanish memories by returning to his best at the scene of his debut season heroics.

“Le Mans is the next stop and the first after my crash in Jerez,” stated Lorenzo as he previewed the weekend. “I was very sad about what happened there but now it is another story, everything begins again and I must try to do things step by step. The team and I need to improve after Jerez and main target is to get back on the podium.”

“I am fit and I like Le Mans, which is another historic circuit. I have had some difficult times there, and last year wasnâ€t easy because I crashed twice during the weekend, but in the end the result was good. Iâ€ve been on the podium in each category and I will remember forever the incredible Yamaha podium of last year. It was amazing!”

In conclusion he joked, “I will also remember that podium because itâ€s the only one where I was on crutches!”


Bridgestone prepared for changeable weather in France
Wednesday, 13 May 2009

After the glorious sunshine of the Jerez weekend MotoGPâ€s sole tyre suppliers are expecting varied conditions at Le Mans.


Two weekends complicated by rain in Qatar and Japan gave Bridgestone plenty of experience in dealing with unpredictable weather, as they commenced their work as the single tyre suppliers to MotoGP, and after a more straightforward visit to Spain the Japanese company will be ready for all possibilities at the Grand Prix de France this weekend.

Expecting cooler track conditions and more inclement weather than at Jerez, Bridgestone have therefore opted for soft and medium compound front slicks, as used at Motegi and the Losail International Circuit.

In terms of rear options Bridgestone will also provide soft and medium choices, as has been the case at every GP so far this season. In the case of rain, soft wet tyres will be available - the compound which was also used in Motegi on Friday afternoon and for Saturday morningâ€s free practice.

The Grand Prix de France takes place on the same weekend as it was last year, so Bridgestone anticipate an air temperature of 15 to 25°C and a track temperature of 20 to 35 °C, much less than the 49°C track temperature in Jerez.

Bridgestoneâ€s Motorcycle Race Tyre Development Manager Tohru Ubukata explained the choices for round four, saying, “The cooler climate in France means that we can run softer compounds, especially with the front tyre. Le Mans has quite a stop-go nature and a number of slow corners, so the loads placed on the tyres through the corners are lower but braking stability and traction are the key areas for tyre performance.

He continued, “The exit of turn nine is a little different though as riders accelerate hard through a long right-hander, demanding good traction from the right shoulder of the rear tyre. We have seen rain at Le Mans for the last two years so we can expect more wet weather during the weekend, which, with the cooler temperatures, is why we have selected the soft compound Bridgestone wets.”

[BUSGO]

Just in case anyone didn't know. The TEN network are telecasting the French MOTOGP on free to air tonight at about 11:10pm
The board will be offline for the upgrade anyway so why not watch the box.

[Greeny_SA]

Bugger he fell off.

[Rev004]

Well who would have thought that Rossi would have had such a horrid weekend falls off the a ride through not much more could have gone wrong. Look at that leader board now it is going to get even better one would have to say.

So here is the details and some of the reports from the race so enjoy..

Lorenzo takes dramatic victory at wet-dry Le Mans
Sunday, 17 May 2009

In a hectic French MotoGP race, which started on a wet surface and was completed on slicks, Jorge Lorenzo judged conditions perfectly to take his second win of the year.


Spanish star Jorge Lorenzo found the perfect remedy for his Jerez frustrations at Le Mans, bouncing straight back from his DNF in Spain with a brilliant win at the Grand Prix de France in highly difficult conditions - to return to the top of the standings.

Lorenzo took the lead on the first lap and shot away at the front, building up a big advantage on wet tyres as the track dried quickly, eventually being the last rider to change onto slicks in his first ever ‘flag-to-flag†contest and riding superbly on both sets of tyres to win by a 17 second margin.

Another brilliant effort by Hayate Racingâ€s Marco Melandri saw him cross the line second for his first podium since 2007, having been unsure of his MotoGP future over the winter.

Repsol Hondaâ€s Dani Pedrosa hunted down his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso on the final lap for third place to secure his third consecutive podium result.

A nightmare for Valentino Rossi saw him slip from first to joint second in the standings after a chaotic race. The World Champion swapped bikes three times, suffered a crash and was given a ride through for speeding in pit lane before eventually finishing last.

Australians Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) and Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) were fifth and sixth respectively, with Stoner drawing level with Rossi in second place in the championship.

Veterans Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), who mounted a comeback from sixteenth early in the race, and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) would have ultimately hoped for better than their seventh and eighth places.

A solid performance for James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) saw the Englishman take a step in the right direction in ninth and Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini) completed the top ten.

Lorenzo's advantage at the top of the standings is just one point, ahead of title favourites Rossi and Stoner who sit jointly in second position with 65 points each. Mugello, one of Rossi's favourite venues and his home circuit, will host the next round, the Gran Premio d'Italia Alice, the fifth date on the 2009 MotoGP World Championship calendar.


GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE
MotoGP Race Classification
Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Total time Km/h Gap
1 25 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 47'52.678 146.848
2 20 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 48'10.388 145.948 17.710
3 16 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 48'12.571 145.838 19.893
4 13 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 48'13.133 145.810 20.455
5 11 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 48'23.217 145.303 30.539
6 10 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 48'30.140 144.957 37.462
7 9 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 48'32.869 144.822 40.191
8 8 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 48'38.099 144.562 45.421
9 7 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 48'42.985 144.320 50.307
10 6 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 48'45.896 144.177 53.218
11 5 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 48'46.228 144.161 53.550
12 4 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 48'49.325 144.008 56.647
13 3 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 48'49.366 144.006 56.688
14 2 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 49'03.977 143.291 1'11.299
15 1 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 49'08.063 143.093 1'15.385
16 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 49'28.685 131.949 2 Lap

Not classified
36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 20'47.302 17 Lap



World Championship

MotoGP
Pos. Rider Nation Team Points
1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 66
2 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 65
3 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 65
4 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 57
5 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team 43
6 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 43
7 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 35
8 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 31
9 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 27
10 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 26
11 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 21
12 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 20
13 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 17
14 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing 16
15 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team 9
16 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando 8
17 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 8
18 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing 3



Rossi reflects on complicated day
Sunday, 17 May 2009

A crash, a ride through penalty, three bike changes and no points at Le Mans left Valentino Rossi with plenty on his mind.


It is hard to imagine how World Champion Valentino Rossi could have had a more complex race to deal with at the Grand Prix de France on Sunday.

The Fiat Yamaha rider went into pit lane on four separate occasions at Le Mans, three times to change bikes and once for a ride through penalty, after he got his strategy wrong for once and suffered a costly fifth lap crash having made an early switch onto slicks.

A fortnight ahead of his home race at his beloved Mugello circuit the Italian star slipped to joint second in the standings as his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo snatched top spot in the championship race by one point, with an accomplished win.

Reviewing Sundayâ€s proceedings, Rossi commented, “I had difficulties from the start and I really could not ride my bike to its best. By the fourth lap I felt that I was quite slow and that I couldnâ€t ride as I wanted. I decided to change bikes early because usually this strategy pays off. I knew that I had to warm the tyres up a little bit but I crashed anyway in that corner because at that point the track was still wet and I just didnâ€t ride into it in a calm enough manner.”

He continued, “Luckily I was able to make it back to the pits and then later I changed again, but the rule says that if you change the bike again then you have to use one wet tyre, and so this is what we did. When I started that time, the pit-limiter on my bike was not on and so I was given a ride-through for speeding, but by that time it was too late for our race anyway.”

Summarising the round four results overall, Rossi added, “Weâ€ve had problems throughout the entire weekend with the set-up of the bike and I was just hoping that I could stay with the riders in front and get some important points for the championship. Now we go to Mugello, my home GP, where I will perhaps be even more motivated than usual!”


Seasonâ€s best for Vermeulen in France
Sunday, 17 May 2009

At a track where he has a strong record Chris Vermeulen got his best result of 2009 so far at Le Mans on Sunday.


The Rizla Suzuki riders Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi review their Grand Prix de France experiences, after both concluded the weekend in the top ten in a difficult wet-dry race at Le Mans.

Chris Vermeulen – 6th
"It was a really difficult race - which I am sure everyone else will say. We started on wets and we hadn't done any wet testing so it was really tough for the engineers to get the bike set up for the conditions. They did a really good job and the bike felt reasonable, but if it had been a practice session we would certainly have come in to make changes. When the track started to dry out I saw Rossi crash and thought that it wasn't dry enough for slicks yet, so I stayed out a bit longer - probably a couple of laps too long - and it made things a bit difficult towards the end. We finished sixth and that is our best result so far this season and it gives us some good points. Now we are looking to improve on that in Mugello."
Loris Capirossi – 8th
"We changed to a slick tyre really early on in the race and it was still a bit too wet to do that. It wasn't really a mistake, more a gamble that didn't work, as I made a couple of mistakes on the damp patches and ran off. I tried to keep my rhythm, but I found I had the same problem as yesterday that when the track dried out I just didn't have enough grip. I tried hard, but Colin went past in the last few laps and I just didn't have enough to attack him back. We have now finished our work here and we must try to take the good points from it and think about the future and the next couple of races."


Podium finish big achievement for Melandri and Hayate
Sunday, 17 May 2009

Back on the podium for the first time since 2007 Marco Melandri was a happy man after the MotoGP race at Le Mans.


Although Sundayâ€s MotoGP race at the Grand Prix de France was an unusual contest, the riders changing from wets to slicks midway through on a wet-drying track, Marco Melandri fully deserved his second place at Le Mans.

Before the season few would have predicted that four races into the championship the Italian rider would have achieved three consecutive top tens, his first podium since 2007 and fifth place in the standings with the newly formed Hayate Racing team.

On a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR which was updated over the winter, after John Hopkins and Anthony West both struggled on the 2008 version of the prototype, Melandri has stepped up results on the machine despite the difficult circumstances he face over the winter – as he dealt with uncertainty about his MotoGP future.

On his achievement at the fourth round of 2009 Melandri stated, “It is awesome to be back on the podium. One month and a half ago, to imagine tasting the champagne again would have been so difficult, so it is one of the best feelings I have had in my life. I had a very difficult 2008 season and now I am working to get my speed back.”

Talking through the French race he explained, “It was tough because at the beginning my wet tyres were probably a bit too soft for the conditions that we had and every lap I wanted to change the bike, but it was still too early. When I changed the bike maybe I should have done it a lap later, so I just tried not to make any mistakes and just keep the pace. In the end I managed to have a really good race.”

Looking ahead to his home race next time out in Italy, he added, “I know it will be tough at Mugello but I just want to enjoy today. I must say thanks to my team and to Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna CEO) who helped me to come back in after Kawasaki pulled out. It would be a dream to get a good result in Mugello, so I hope to get into the top ten there.”

[Rev004]

The Mugellon MotoGp is only a few days away and once again we get to see the boys go at it again.
If the leader board stays as close as it is now we are in for one hell of a year especially when it it gets close to the end of the year.

Anyway in the mean time here's some more light reading for those interested.

MotoGP front slick tyre choices increased
Thursday, 21 May 2009

Grand Prix Commission announces regulation amendment as of June 24th, 2009.


MotoGP riders will have added choice for their front slick tyre allocation from the end of next month, the FIM has announced. Although the total number of front slick tyres permitted for a race weekend will remain unchanged at eight, three different distribution options will be made available. They are as follows:

3 of specification “A” + 5 of specification “B”, or:


4 of specification “A” + 4 of specification “B”, or:


5 of specification “A” + 3 of specification “B”.


From the FIM:

“During the preceding Grand Prix (or the official test organised by Dorna/IRTA, in the case of the first Grand Prix), the tyre supplier will inform the teams of the two front tyre specifications that will be available for the next Grand Prix. Teams must inform the tyre supplier of the number of each front slick specification required no later than 2 hours after the finish of the MotoGP race of this preceding Grand Prix (or 2 hours after the end of the final session of the official test, in the case of the first Grand Prix). This allocation request will be final and no changes are permitted after this time.”

The timing of the change in regulation means that the first available opportunity for teams to choose between the three options will come at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya, when the decision will be made on the front slicks to run at the following weekendâ€s Alice TT Assen.


Toseland looking forward to Mugello after breaking flag-to-flag duck
Thursday, 21 May 2009

British rider ready for Italian round after wet-dry top ten return in Le Mans.


Despite the rainy nature of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship season, there were no flag-to-flag races last year. That meant that last weekendâ€s Grand Prix de France was a first experience of the two-bike scenario for seven premier class riders.

Amongst the first-timers was Monster Yamaha Tech 3â€s James Toseland, who placed ninth in the wet-dry race at Le Mans. It was a day of new experiences for the Briton, as he explained to motogp.com.

“We all knew that we were going to have to come in at some point, as the weather forecast said that it wasnâ€t going to rain again. After just two or three laps there was about two-thirds of the track dry and a couple of really tricky damp corners,” said Toseland on the decision to switch to his dry M1.

“It was my first time, and I even got on a bike with my right leg which I havenâ€t ever done before! I broke it badly in 2000 and could never little pee wee it high enough!

“It was eventful. The concentration level required was huge, and then to ride on slick tyres when the track is a bit damp was very tricky. You can see that by the fact that it caught one of the best out in Valentino (Rossi).”

After returning to the top ten in France Toseland now moves on to Mugello for the latest round of MotoGP action, at an eagerly-awaited Grand Prix for the satellite rider.

“It was my first time there last year, and I got my equal best result of sixth position. So Iâ€m looking forward to going there. Itâ€s a really amazing track, with what I think is one of the best layouts on the calendar,” he concluded.


Vermeulen uses hindsight on Le Mans change timing
Thursday, 21 May 2009

Australian admits that bike switch was perhaps made too late.


Chris Vermeulen is one of four flag-to-flag racewinners since the introduction of the format in 2006, and he returned to the scene of his only Grand Prix triumph to date last week at Le Mans. The circumstances were different for the Australian –the race went from wet to dry- but nonetheless he was back in pit lane changing Suzuki GSV-Râ€s during the French visit.

“The conditions were the reverse order of a couple of years ago, when we won here. Knowing when to come in was really a tough decision, and we probably came in a little bit too late in hindsight,” admitted Vermeulen after taking a season-best result of sixth.

“When youâ€re out there itâ€s difficult to know who is coming in and what tyres those on track are using. I saw Rossi come in and go back out on slicks. Then when I saw him go down I thought that it wasnâ€t the right thing to do. Weâ€ve got some good points and our best result of the season, so it worked out alright.”

The desire to gain an extra advantage led to riders mulling over the possibility of starting the race with slick tyres, although the timing of the sunshine did not quite lend itself to such risk-taking. Instead there were plenty of nervous moments as the riders went out on wets.

“There were sections that were completely dry when we started, and that was just cooking the wet tyres. Then youâ€d get to a corner that was soaking wet. It was a gamble, but in the end the track was more or less completely dry,” explained the Suzuki man, before looking forward to the next round on the MotoGP calendar.

“Mugello is going to be a hard one for us. The Suzukiâ€s speed is not the quickest, thatâ€s no secret, so the big long straight is probably going to hurt us. However, weâ€ve had a good result and are looking to improve upon it next time out.”


Step-by-step with Andrea Dovizioso
Monday, 25 May 2009

Repsol Honda rider reveals faith in Honda and analytical approach.


Andrea Dovizioso has been inseparably linked with Honda during his time in the World Championship, from his start in the 125cc class to his eventual progression to MotoGP. The Italian explained his step-by-step trajectory in a revealing interview with Honda Motor Company, reproduced below.

“My first full-size motorcycle was a 125cc Grand Prix bike, and it was a very traumatic experience,” says Dovizioso. “I was asked to race the bike in 2000 by Fiorenzo Caponeraâ€s team because I was the fastest kid in pocketbike. But a GP bike is too big a jump from pocketbike because it isnâ€t easy to ride; itâ€s so difficult to use the engine because the rpm range is so narrow. I tested this Aprilia GP bike three times at Maggiore during the winter before the 2000 season, and each time I went very slow. In the end the team said I wasnâ€t fast enough to race.

“Every weekend I play football, ride motocross and ride pocketbike, but Caponera told me I need to stop football and focus on roadracing. Iâ€d already had a couple of try-outs with local football teams.” But the enthusiastic teenager wasnâ€t worried when he was told he wasnâ€t fast enough to race the 125cc GP bike. “When you are young you donâ€t think like that, you donâ€t think itâ€s all over,” he says with a wry smile. “Within a week another team near my home gave me a bike to ride in the Aprilia Challenge, for 125cc streetbikes. I won my first race on the bike and then I won the championship!

“This has always been my style, ever since I raced in pocketbike. Itâ€s my character, thatâ€s all. Of course, my father Antonio [a keen club motocross rider, even now at the age of 55] helped me think like this. When you start racing in pocketbike your father is everything. He is your mechanic, your driver, your teacher, everything. Thinking hard is important in every sport, of course, not just in bike racing. Whatever you are doing itâ€s important to understand everything and to think about everything so you can improve.

“My race weekends are very different now compared to what they used to be in 250cc and 125cc. From eight in the morning to eight or nine at night you are always working on something, especially the electronic controls systems. However much time you spend thinking, itâ€s never enough, because you can always do more. In 250cc and 125cc itâ€s not like this.”

Doviziosoâ€s race preparations begin immediately after the previous race. “When I get home I watch the race on TV and study every practice session which can help me learn something new before the next race. At every race I give myself a target because it is always important to keep improving. At the moment I am working with a new team, so we are working very hard to improve my feeling with the bike and to improve the set-up. Of course, I donâ€t consider this to be real work, because itâ€s what Iâ€ve always wanted to do with my life!”

In between races Dovizioso keeps himself fit in the gym and on the motocross track. “When I am at home I ride motocross as often as I can. For me itâ€s the most fun. I love everything about it, from leaving home to go to the track to the actual process of riding. When I am riding my MotoGP bike you have to think very hard, you canâ€t just ride, with motocross you can just ride and have fun with the bike.”

When he does motocross, Dovizioso rides a Honda CRF250 and Honda a CRF450, in fact heâ€s spent pretty much the last nine years of his life on Honda machinery. He won the 2001 125 European Championship and the 2004 125cc World Championship on Honda RS125Rs, then twice finished second in the 250cc World Championship aboard an RS250RW. During his time in 250cc he turned down an offer from the Aprilia factory to ride its 250cc, which has dominated the series in recent years.

“At the beginning it was coincidence that I rode Hondas, but then it was my plan because I believe in Honda. When I was riding 250cc I had the possibility to go to Aprilia but I wanted to stay with Honda because I believed in them for MotoGP.”


Hayden talks Mugello, road bikes and preparation in new Shell interview
Monday, 25 May 2009

Ducati rider gives in-depth video interview with key sponsor and supporter.


Former MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden began a new chapter in his career at the start of the year, moving to Ducati for the 2009 season. The American has been familiarising himself with the Desmosedici GP9 and his new team, and also collaborating with one of their principal sponsors in Shell.

In a new video interview undertaken with shell.com/ducati, available free on motogp.com, Hayden gave his insights into the MotoGP World Championship.

Race Preparation

“Every part of the weekend is important, I think that first practice on a Friday sometimes really sets the tone, how quick you make progress and you normally know by the end of Friday if itâ€s going to be a good weekend or not. Qualifying also on Saturday is really important, the level of competition in MotoGP is so important that you canâ€t qualify on the fourth row and expect to have a big result on Sunday normally, so itâ€s all important – every lap, every session youâ€ve really got to focus on it and get the most out of everything so come Sunday when it is time to race youâ€re prepared.Those meetings at night are just as important to make the right decisions with your team and to make the right steps to be ready to race.
“Iâ€ve got a routine that I like to stick to and I take the weekend really serious.Itâ€s not a game, itâ€s not there just to be hanging out and ‘oh if it goes good, ok if not, whatever†I take it serious and a lot of people expect a lot from you so itâ€s you know, some weekends are a lot better than others but for the most part I feel really lucky, really fortunate to do what I do. I love the racing; I love what I do, so the more races the better for me! Thatâ€s the fun part…”
Favourite MotoGP Circuits

“Every race is a big race.You know, the home GPâ€s in America this year, Laguna Seca weâ€re going to race July 4th and Indy also is huge, I mean MotoGP in America is growing a lot and Indy is very close to my house. Weâ€ve worked a lot promoting the race together. So thereâ€s those two and also the two Italian rounds – Mugello in particular, I think to be the Ducati factory rider, to go to Mugello itâ€s something that Iâ€m quite excited about. Itâ€ll certainly be a big sense of pride but theyâ€re all important – they all pay the same amount of points so you need to bring your ‘A†game every week.”
Ultimate road bikes

“The road bikes are getting really cool and the new Hypermotard by Ducati is pretty cool because itâ€s so versatile, I would have to say thatâ€s probably the best bike, if I had to go out and buy a street bike right now that would be the one.”
Biking Heroes

“I would say my all time hero is Bubba Shobert, he was an American dirt-tracker who went to race roadracing and won some AMA races and just started in GP before he had a career-ending crash at Laguna Seca. Actually the second year I won at Laguna I wore a replica helmet like his and that was one of the coolest moments of my life, to win a race in his helmet. But I respect all the guys, all the guys who came before me to really pave the road, to give me this sport how it is.”
Interview courtesy of Shell.com/Ducati.


Three-way fight headlines MotoGP Mugello return
Monday, 25 May 2009

Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice takes place this weekend at famous circuit.


Itâ€s one of the most eagerly-awaited rounds on the MotoGP calendar, and this season there is a title battle equally as breathtaking as the Mugello scenery. The Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice takes place this weekend to mark the fifth race of the 2009 season, with the top three riders in the premier class separated by just a single point.

Leading the World Championship for the second time in the present campaign, Jorge Lorenzo has sixty-six points to his name after a blistering start to the year. Victories in Japan and, most recently, France have been the standout results for the Fiat Yamaha rider since the beginning of the season, with a further visit to the podium making up the rest of his total. Only a crash in Jerez has blotted his copybook thus far, something rectified at Le Mans, and the Spaniard is keen to make amends for his 2008 DNF at Mugello with another sterling result.

Trailing teammate Lorenzo by one point, Valentino Rossiâ€s record at Mugello speaks for itself. Victory at the last seven MotoGP visits to the Italian track give the reigning World Champion an incomparable pedigree at a single circuit. Rossi has won in all conditions and on a variety of machinery at Mugello, but a win is never a done deal with the high talent level in MotoGP. The six-time premier class titlist is gunning for his ninety-ninth triumph and, most importantly, the leadership of the classification in front of his home fans. If any further motivation were needed, Rossi arrives in Italy following a last place finish at Le Mans.

Adopted by a section of the Italian crowd as one of their own, Casey Stoner is level on points with Rossi in a tightly-packed top three. Like his rival, Stoner also finished off the podium in France, meaning that no rider has stepped onto the rostrum at every race in 2009. A win in Mugello would not only be a huge psychological advantage for the Australian, but would also bring delight to Ducati and their fans at the Italian factoryâ€s home race. Stoner has taken a second place and qualified on pole position in the past two visits to Mugello.

Rapidly catching the leading group, Repsol Hondaâ€s Dani Pedrosa is building confidence and fitness with every race. He chased down teammate Andrea Dovizioso for a third consecutive podium at the last round, and has been one of the few riders to give Rossi problems at the scene of this weekendâ€s race in recent years. He is currently nine points behind leader Lorenzo in the classification.

In some respects, fifth-placed Marco Melandri is the surprise package of 2009 so far. Riding an under-developed Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR for the Hayate Racing team, the Italian took an unexpected podium at Le Mans in the flag-to-flag MotoGP race. However, despite his setbacks in recent years Melandriâ€s talent has never been in doubt, and the former MotoGP World Championship runner-up will be out to show as much at his home Grand Prix. He is currently level on points with fellow local rider Dovizioso in the standings.

The Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice is also a home round for Rizla Suzukiâ€s Loris Capirossi and Pramac Racing rookie Niccolò Canepa, who both have extensive experience of the Mugello track. Capirossiâ€s laps have come over the course of eighteen race visits in his World Championship career –including a MotoGP victory in 2000- whilst Canepa was a frequent visitor to the circuit last year as Ducatiâ€s official test rider.

Only seventeen riders will participate in the first Friday practice session for the Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice, as Sete Gibernau will sit out the event after fracturing his collarbone at Le Mans.

The race itself takes place on Sunday, May 31st, with practice and qualifying on the two days prior.

[Rev004]

Riders emerge for duty as Mugello welcomes MotoGP
Thursday, 28 May 2009

With an exceptionally close situation at the top of the MotoGP World Championship standings, the premier class riders could be forgiven for focusing exclusively on their immediate rivals.


Mugello is a special track for the 800cc competitors and merits added attention from them, as five of them explained on Thursday ahead of the Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice.

The pre-event press conference for the Italian round brought five riders out of the pleasant sun present at the track and inside to face the gathered media. Sat at the centre of the table, World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo was flanked by teammate and Mugello dominator Valentino Rossi, former titlist Casey Stoner and local stars Marco Melandri & Niccolò Canepa.

The quintet had unanimously positive opinions of the track, noting the impressive atmosphere and enjoyable layout. Despite this, nobody was making predictions on a final result for Sunday.

“We recovered 24 points in one race at Le Mans, with perhaps a bit of luck. To get a podium here would be great; to fight with Valentino would be amazing, but itâ€s not my objective,” said Lorenzo, leader of the series by a single point. “I want to finish races and improve my result from last year. I will try not to repeat what happened at Jerez (where he crashed out whilst fighting for the rostrum) but who knows? It could happen.”

Lorenzo was justified in his citing Rossi as a key rival on Italian soil. His Fiat Yamaha teammate has won the past seven visits to Mugello, and always has extra motivation for his home round.

“This Grand Prix is, from one point of view, more important than the others,” admitted reigning World Champion Rossi. “Itâ€s Italy, thereâ€s a huge crowd and a great atmosphere. “But there are 25 points available like at any other race.”

Ducati rider Stoner dismissed any hopes of Rossi buckling under pressure by stating that “he normally performs,” before saying that he is, “confident of a good race –even if a win might be another matter.”

Expectations were left at the door for Melandri and Canepa, both hoping to spring a surprise at tracks where they have much experience. Pramac Racing rookie Canepa has more experience than anyone of the track over the last twelve months from his time as a Ducati test rider but, whilst he has the track knowledge, things havenâ€t been all good at Mugello. He reminded the media that the last time that he tested at the track, he left with two broken ankles and a broken elbow.


Rossiâ€s remarkable home record
Friday, 29 May 2009

motogp.com looks back at Valentino Rossiâ€s victories in all three classes and his seven consecutive MotoGP triumphs at his beloved Mugello.


As our accompanying video tribute recalls Valentino Rossi has an incredible record of success at the Mugello circuit with nine victories across all classes, including seven successive MotoGP wins.

Below is a brief summary of each of the 13 GP results he has experienced at Mugello, scene of this weekendâ€s Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice.

1996/125cc/Aprilia - Qualified 8th/Finished 4th: Rossiâ€s first Grand Prix appearance at Mugello was just his 5th GP start, and after leading a Grand Prix for the first time he finished 4th, just 1.6 seconds behind race victor Peter Ottl.

1997/125cc/Aprilia - Qualified 3rd/Finished 1st: His first victory at Mugello – on the way to winning his first world title.

1998/250cc/Aprilia - Qualified 4th/Finished 2nd: Rossi was leading after seven laps when the race was stopped due to rain. He finished 3rd in the re-start to clinch 2nd place on combined time behind veteran Marcellino Lucchi taking his only GP victory.

1999/250cc/Aprilia - Qualified 6th/Finished 1st: Became the first rider to win in both the 125cc and 250cc classes at Mugello.

2000/500cc/Honda - Qualified 3rd/Finished 12th: Crashed on the 21st lap when fighting with Max Biaggi and Loris Capirossi for the honour of becoming first Italian to win a 500cc race at Mugello. Rossi eventually finished 12th after re-mounting.

2001/500cc/Honda - Qualified pole/Did not finish: Started from pole for the first time at Mugello but did not finish after crashing out on the penultimate lap of a two part wet race. This is the last occasion Rossi left Mugello without a race victory.

2002/MotoGP/Honda - Qualified pole/Finished 1st: Becomes the first rider to win in all three classes at the Mugello circuit.

2003/MotoGP/Honda - Qualified pole/Finished 1st: Rossi won from great rivals Capirossi and Biaggi in the first all-Italian podium in the premier-class at Mugello.

2004/MotoGP/Yamaha - Qualified 3rd/Finished 1st: After the first race had been stopped after 17 laps when rain fell, Rossi won the re-started race which lasted just six laps – the shortest premier-class race of all-time.

2005/MotoGP/Yamaha - Qualified pole/Finished 1st: Rossi wins from fellow Italians Biaggi, Capirossi and Marco Melandri. The first time in the premier-class since 1968 where Italian riders had taken the top four places.

2006/MotoGP/Yamaha - Qualified 3rd/Finished 1st: In what is considered to be one of the best races of the MotoGP era, Rossi wins from Capirossi and Nicky Hayden with less than three quarters of a second covering the three podium finishers.

2007/MotoGP/Yamaha - Qualified 3rd/Finished 1st: Rossi wins for the sixth successive year to equal the record of Mick Doohan who won the 500cc race at Mugello from 1993 to 1998.

2008/ MotoGP/Yamaha - Qualified pole/Finished 1st: Wins for the seventh successive year at Mugello – the first time in GP history that a rider has won his home GP in seven successive years. This was Rossiâ€s 91st Grand Prix victory making him the second most successful rider ever with only Giacomo Agostini having scored more GP wins.



Stoner feeling more confident than on previous Mugello visits
Friday, 29 May 2009

Having finished third on Friday Casey Stoner says he already feels in good shape at the Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice.


Hoping for a good result this weekend at round five to keep his title charge in full swing - and to give the thousands of Ducati fans at Mugello something to cheer about - 2007 MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner was in an upbeat mood at the end of the first dayâ€s action.

In superb conditions at the home track of his Ducati employers Stoner had some testing to undertake in the first free practice session of the Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice, but he still found time to put in a best effort of 1â€50.144, placing him third on the timesheet.

Trying out some swing arm variations on the Desmosedici GP9, comparing the aluminium version with the carbon version, Stoner was pleased with the work he put in and the lap time he managed to produce.

“Weâ€ve started out really well, much better than we have in the past here at Mugello. It normally takes us a lot longer to get up to a reasonable pace. Unfortunately though I had a lot of things to test today so we werenâ€t able to do the consecutive laps we wanted to, to bring the times down, but in general with what we tested we had some very positive feelings.”

Striving to break Ducatiâ€s Mugello victory duck this weekend in front of the passionate Ducatisti crowd, who will gather on the Correntaio corner throughout the weekend, Stoner said of his chances, “I think for this weekend we are feeling, not overly confident, but much more confident than we have in the past here. Iâ€m really looking forward to it all, everything feels good and we have a few more things to try tomorrow, then hopefully we can keep going in the right direction.”


Lorenzo the pacesetter in Tuscan Friday sunshine
Friday, 29 May 2009

World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo went fastest on Friday at Mugello in beautiful conditions.


The first MotoGP free practice of the Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice weekend went with form on Friday afternoon at Mugello, as the top four riders in the session finished in the same positions as they currently occupy in the World Championship standings.

That meant Jorge Lorenzo was the man at the top of the timesheet, his best time of 1â€49.870 on the 20th of his 27 laps in the hour long session giving him an early psychological advantage.

Lorenzo was the only rider to go under the 1â€50 mark, with his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi two tenths of a second behind him in second place. Rossi, the king of Mugello, will be out to stop his young colleague from gaining any further championship advantage over the next 48 hours.

In third place Ducati Marlboroâ€s Casey Stoner kept the Ducatisti happy, his bright red Desmosedici GP9 gleaming in the beautiful Italian sunshine as he lapped 0.274 behind fellow youngster Lorenzo.

The session also saw Dani Pedrosa beat the all-time top speed record in MotoGP getting up to 349.3 km/h at one stage en route to setting his best time of 1â€50.808, putting him fourth on the timesheet, taking the record from previous holder Makoto Tamada who hit 343.7km/h in China in 2006. Friday also saw Rossi and Ducati satellite riders Mika Kallio and Niccolò Canepa go faster than Alex Barros†previous Mugello top speed record of 343km/h.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) set the fifth quickest FP1 lap time, with sixth fastest rider Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) lapping at a similar pace to the American and Pedrosa. De Angelis ran off track at one point at the circuit where he achieved his best result of 2008 in fourth place in his rookie campaign.

Veteran Italian rider Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) commenced his home GP in seventh place on the timesheet, whilst Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) showed his good form again in eighth place.

The top ten was rounded off by Italian pair Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing).

Canepa (Pramac Racing) was the only crasher in the session as his home GP commenced in unspectacular fashion, the Ducati rider finishing 14th overall.


MotoGP Free Practice Nr. 1 Classification
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'49.870 342.422
2 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'50.065 344.277 0.195
3 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'50.144 340.586 0.274
4 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'50.808 349.288 0.938
5 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'50.891 338.983 1.021
6 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'50.898 340.479 1.028
7 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'51.007 339.836 1.137
8 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'51.030 337.605 1.160
9 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'51.206 341.124 1.336
10 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1'51.359 342.205 1.489
11 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'51.401 329.167 1.531
12 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'51.823 335.612 1.953
13 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'51.994 335.507 2.124
14 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1'52.319 343.402 2.449
15 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'52.403 341.555 2.533
16 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'52.607 337.078 2.737
17 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 1'52.619 348.050 2.749

[Rev004]

The 2nd day has kicked off at Mugello and things are starting to heat up so we will have to wait and see what happens in qualifying.

In the mean time here is some more gos to go over.

Rossi looks to iron out problems in Saturday runs
Friday, 29 May 2009

Italian to use Friday data to further lower Mugello times.


Valentino Rossi showed that he has lost none of his touch at Mugello upon arrival at his favourite circuit, beaten only by teammate Jorge Lorenzo in the opening practice session for the Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice. The Italian is intent on keeping up at the top of the timesheets as the weekend progresses, with nothing less than victory on his list of goals for Sunday.

Thus, a lengthy debrief kept the reigning World Champion in the team garage for nearly an hour as initial problems were analysed and solutions brainstormed. Information picked up on Friday will form the basis for any eventual improvements to the 30 year-oldâ€s times and pace.

“It was quite a good practice session today; we worked well and we are fast already. Today the conditions were fantastic, with good sunshine and good grip,” explained Rossi after the session. “Itâ€s not so bad, but we have to try to fix some problems. I have some small details to improve, but today we collected some important data in order to do better on Saturday.”

The six-time MotoGP titlist should be able to place highly despite any problems in his setup, with an innate ability to ride around any technical difficulties. Rossi agrees with the theory, but is taking no chances with his rivals biting at his heels.

Mugello is a great track for me, I always ride well here because it suits my style and the M1 is competitive here. On paper that makes it easier to understand any problems, but weâ€re working hard and waiting for tomorrow,” he concluded.


Hayden down but not out after Friday disappointment
Friday, 29 May 2009

Ducati rider places fifteenth in surprising Mugello session.


Ducati Marlboro's Nicky Hayden was at a loss to explain events in the opening practice session for the Gran Premio d'Italia Alice, held at a track where he had expected to pick up his season. The American has no intention, however, of throwing in the towel.

Nicky Hayden -15th
“This is a very different circuit to Le Mans and to be honest I was hoping that coming here, to the track where this bike was born, we would be on the pace. Unfortunately weâ€re not and the truth is weâ€re struggling again – itâ€s pretty demoralising because every track we go to at the moment seems to cause us different kinds of problems. Here the worst thing is the bumpiness of the surface, which is unsettling a bike that can already be quite unstable. It is hard to change direction when the bike isnâ€t planted and thatâ€s a big thing here.”


Lorenzo: “Too early to talk about race”
Friday, 29 May 2009

Although Jorge Lorenzo was pleased with his timesheet topping Friday performance he knows there is a long way to go before Sundayâ€s race at Mugello.


Jorge Lorenzo made an excellent start to the Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice weekend on Friday, heading a Fiat Yamaha one-two at the top of the free practice timesheet by a 0.195s margin from team-mate Valentino Rossi, but he was playing things cool at the end of the day.

In order to win Sundayâ€s fifth race of the year Lorenzo will need to overcome his seemingly untouchable Italian colleague on Rossiâ€s favourite MotoGP track, but the young Spaniard looked good in the Tuscan sunshine on day one.

Lorenzo is in fine form as he leads the championship from Rossi by just one point and he was the only rider to dip under the current Mugello lap record as he quickly found a good setting for his M1 at the undulating, high-speed track.

“This is a great start but itâ€s too soon to speak about the race or jump to conclusions, as weâ€ve only had one practice,” said Lorenzo. “Itâ€s true however that I didnâ€t have any problems today and I felt very happy for the whole session. Each time we come to a new track we donâ€t know exactly what to expect because weâ€re still learning the new Bridgestone tyres but at the moment we seem to be fast each time and I feel very comfortable at the moment.”

“Itâ€s very hot here, even hotter than in Spain but I am okay with that because weâ€ve had too much rain and we all need some sunshine. I hope it will continue like this for the weekend because itâ€s better for everyone.”


De Puniet eighth fastest on day one of LCRâ€s home GP
Friday, 29 May 2009

The Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice commenced with LCR Hondaâ€s Randy de Puniet in eighth position on the Friday timesheet.


Randy de Puniet was in good form on Friday, finishing eighth on a very hot opening day at Mugello, the home track for his team and a circuit where the Frenchman says his riding style goes well.

Randy de Puniet – 8th
“It was quite a good start to the weekend. This track has got a different lay out compared to Le Mans and it suits my riding style better. After the first run we made some adjustments to the suspension trying different tyres and my pace is pretty fast compared to last year on this track. I think we are moving in the right direction as I made my lap alone and itâ€s very close to the top five. Basically the overall package is right but we have more adjustments to test tomorrow trying to improve the rear feeling. I could go faster and I like this track very much. Itâ€s very hot now and we have to make a double effort to produce a strong performance.”


Front feeling posing problems for Suzuki
Friday, 29 May 2009

Capirossi and Vermuelen both struggling with front end on Friday.


Rizla Suzuki knew that they would experience problems at Mugello with top speed down the long straight, but it was a front end difficulty that most hindered Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen on Friday afternoon.

Loris Capirossi -7th
"It was not easy today as we struggled a bit to get a good feeling from the front of the bike, but it was good to have a full hour to work with because we were able to get through a lot of changes. We tried a couple of runs with different settings and then one with a very extreme setting. We will certainly improve tomorrow, but having said that the bike is not too bad at the moment. I really enjoy riding here at this track, but at the moment - until we get the setting right - it is just not quite perfect!"
Chris Vermeulen -13th
"It's great to come back to Mugello; this is certainly a circuit that most of the GP field enjoy. It hasn't been a good circuit for Suzuki in the past as we have suffered a bit with the high-speed turns and the long straight. During today's session we made some progress with the bike and tested both tyre compounds to see which one gave the best feeling and durability - we've certainly got a direction with that. My biggest issue at the moment is with front grip and making the bike steer a bit better. We'll be working hard with the engineers this evening and we already have some ideas how we can improve."


Good start for Edwards in Italy
Friday, 29 May 2009

Monster Yamaha Tech 3â€s Colin Edwards and James Toseland finished the opening free practice at Mugello in fifth and eleventh places respectively.


The first day of action at the Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice is analysed by Colin Edwards and James Toseland from their respective sides of the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 pit-box at Mugello.

Colin Edwards - 5th
“I'm reasonably happy because I did most of the session on my second bike. I had a very small problem with my number one bike and my guys did a great job to get me out so quickly on the second bike. The second bike though had stiffer suspension settings and I had a little bit of front-end movement that was holding me back a little bit. And with the hard compound Bridgestone tyres at the end of the session I was getting a bit more movement. But I've got to say that Bridgestone has done a great job. They are really simple and really easy to understand when you have the experience. It's the hardest rear I've tried all year and it feels great, despite the high track temperatures. And its typical Bridgestone because the more laps you seem to do on it the faster you go and even now that is still freaking me out. I think we've easily got half-a-second to come from the bike but I've got to smooth my riding out a little bit. Without getting the bike quite dialled in with the stiffer suspension settings I wasn't as smooth as I'd normally like to be, but we have got plenty of ideas to change it and I'm confident we're in for a good weekend."
James Toseland - 11th
“That wasn't a bad session really and I'm pretty happy. I didn't start off feeling very comfortable on the bike and fair play to Gary Reynders and my team because they did a good job in solving some of the problems and we always went in the right direction with the set-up. It was really difficult to change direction with the setting I had at the start and it gave me arm pump and I never suffer with that. But because I was forcing the bike with my arms at the beginning of the session, once I'd got arm pump I couldn't get rid of it. Without that I'm sure the package I had was capable of going another three of four tenths quicker and that would put me in the top six. I felt comfortable too on the hard tyre because the last time I was on that was in Sepang in testing when I had my big crash. So to be half-a-second off fifth place on that tyre, I guess we're friends again. It was hot out there with 50 degrees on the ground but the hard tyre was working pretty well for me. I'm optimistic and confident for the rest of the weekend because the time I lost was with my arm problem and not the bike, so I'm really looking forward to getting out there tomorrow and doing a good job. I'm carrying Sylvain's (Guintoli) race number on my bike as a gesture from the whole Tech 3 Team to show we're all thinking of him and wishing him a quick recovery. He's a great guy and we all want to see him back out on track as soon as possible.”


Pramac Racing riders have tough Friday in Mugello
Friday, 29 May 2009

Canepa and Kallio 14th and 17th in Italian practice session.


Neither Niccolò Canepa nor Mika Kallio were too pleased with their Friday practice session performances, although the Pramac Racing team are confident of an upturn in fortunes as their home race weekend progresses. Canepa crashed during the run, whilst Kallio had a lack of grip on the corners of the Mugello circuit.

Niccolò Canepa -14th
"The lap time I registered today at the beginning of the session, when I was in tenth position, was done easily, and this gives me a lot of trust for tomorrow and Sunday. I feel really good on the bike, the track is very nice. It's too bad about the slip, I found a small bump and I lost control of the bike. It was nothing serious, anyway. The second bike wasn't in the best condition and we used a lot of time to adjust it , but without too much luck. Tomorrow we will be at the top."
Mika Kallio -17th
"For sure it's the worst beginning of a weekend for us. During my fourth lap I basically did the same lap time as the best one of the day, and this show that we didn't find the right direction to follow. We have tried many solutions without finding the right one. A really difficult day, and the bike doesn't seem to follow my intention during the turns and everything was too complicated. Tomorrow we will have to work hard to take a big step forward."


Differing fortunes for Gresini pair on day one
Friday, 29 May 2009

Alex de Angelis and Toni Elías were sixth and twelfth in free practice 1 at the Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice.

Fausto Gresini is demanding a good performance at his home event from Alex de Angelis and Toni Elías this weekend and spirits in the San Carlo Honda Gresini camp were good on Friday, even if Elías has some catching up to do with his less experienced team-mate.

Alex de Angelis - 6th
“Today was a big improvement to be honest. Weâ€ve been fighting all season with the same problem, which is rear traction, and here you have fast, flowing corners that donâ€t put the same demands on the bike as a stop-and-go track like Le Mans. Also our engine is really strong and that is a vital ingredient here at Mugello. We had a good base setting for the bike here from last year and it has worked well today but we still have lots of work to do tomorrow. Hopefully it will stay dry and give us the chance to fight for a good position on the grid although to be honest I wonâ€t be too worried if it rains either.”
Toni Elias - 12th
“The arm is much better this week and up until the final quarter of an hour things were going well – better than in previous weeks. On my final run I ran into a lot traffic and just at the moment when I would have really improved my times I was unable to get a single clean lap in. Iâ€m pretty sure I could have done a low 1â€51 or high 1â€50 so Iâ€m annoyed about that. Anyway, Iâ€m happy with the setting we have found and pleased with the way weâ€ve started this Grand Prix so I am looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings.”


Stoner quickest at Mugello ahead of qualifying
Saturday, 30 May 2009

Ducati Marlboroâ€s Casey Stoner was Saturday morningâ€s fastest rider at the Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice.


In the continued sunny weather at Italyâ€s beautiful Tuscan circuit of Mugello on Saturday morning Casey Stoner shone the brightest in free practice as his early marker of 1â€49.323 on the fifth of his 23 laps put him at the head of the timesheet.

Stonerâ€s best time was well inside his own circuit record of 1â€50.003 and was fractionally better than the best Saturday morning time of his closest rival, Jorge Lorenzo, who trailed the Australian by just 0.027s. Ducati star Stoner suffered a crash towards the end of the session but was not hurt and soon re-emerged on track for a final pair of laps.

Behind Stoner and Lorenzo on the timesheet was the latterâ€s Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi who lapped just under two tenths of a second off the formerâ€s pace. As long a Rossi can qualify on the front row this afternoon he will be hopeful of continuing his amazing Mugello winning streak on Sunday.

Behind the front three in this session were an improved Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and the experienced Italian Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki), who both lapped under seven tenths down on Stoner.

In sixth and seventh respectively Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) were both just over seven tenths off the top spot, whilst Doviziosoâ€s team-mate Dani Pedrosa wrapped things up early in eighth place due to fatigue after 45 minutes, still recovering from his winter injuries.

The top ten was completed by Honda satellite riders Alex de Angelis and Randy de Puniet.

The hour-long MotoGP qualifying session at the fifth round of the season takes place at 1.55pm on Saturday afternoon.


MotoGP Free Practice Nr. 2 Classification
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'49.323 340.801
2 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'49.350 338.983 0.027
3 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'49.517 338.557 0.194
4 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'49.954 335.195 0.631
5 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'49.981 335.091 0.658
6 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'50.034 334.158 0.711
7 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'50.036 333.333 0.713
8 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'50.154 337.816 0.831
9 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'50.364 336.134 1.041
10 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'50.617 323.256 1.294
11 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'51.017 324.226 1.694
12 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1'51.313 341.340 1.990
13 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'51.342 335.925 2.019
14 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'51.392 336.239 2.069
15 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1'51.400 324.616 2.077
16 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 1'51.723 343.511 2.400
17 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'52.108 340.694 2.785

[Rev004]

Well it looks like we might be in for one of those races with approx 1/2 second splitting the top 5 and less than two hundreds of a second separating the top 4.
Anyway the report and results from qualifying are below so read on and we will see what tommorrow brings.

Lorenzo wins battle for Mugello pole
Saturday, 30 May 2009

An exciting qualifying session in the Italian sunshine ended with Jorge Lorenzo taking pole.


The fans at Mugello were treated to a great battle in qualifying on Saturday afternoon with Fiat Yamahaâ€s Jorge Lorenzo upstaging his team-mate Valentino Rossi on the World Championâ€s home track, with the Spaniard taking pole and the Italian off the front row.

In brilliant sunshine at the Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice four riders fought for pole right at the death with Lorenzo eventually emerging on top, courtesy of a 1â€48.987 time on the 29th of his 30 laps, beating Casey Stoner by a tight margin (0.021s).

Ducati star Stoner will be satisfied to have placed himself on the front row and given his practice performances should be in contention for victory on Sunday.

Just behind Stoner on the grid will be his former team-mate Loris Capirossi who surged to provisional pole in the final minutes on his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R before eventually ending up third.

Rossi, therefore, sits in the unfamiliar territory of the second row at a circuit where he has won the last seven MotoGP races and he will nonetheless expect to be in the podium fight once again on Sunday. It will be his first non-front row start at Mugello in MotoGP.

An excellent showing from the much improved Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) saw him qualify as the top Honda representative, with Monster Yamaha Tech 3â€s Colin Edwards just behind him by a 0.048s fraction.

Repsol Hondaâ€s factory Honda pairing of Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa will be disappointed to have qualified on the third row, meanwhile. An off-colour Pedrosa spent much of the session towards the bottom of the timesheet and he will need one of his trademark strong starts in Sundayâ€s race in order to get amongst the front-runners and stay in touch in the title race.

Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini) took a tumble when on a fast lap at the end of the practice and had to settle for ninth place, with fellow Honda rider Yuki Takahashi (Scot Racing) completing the top ten.


MotoGP Qualifying Practice Classification
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'48.987 338.983
2 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'49.008 336.868 0.021
3 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'49.121 331.491 0.134
4 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'49.148 336.763 0.161
5 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'49.499 327.371 0.512
6 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'49.547 337.500 0.560
7 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'49.648 332.001 0.661
8 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'50.073 334.779 1.086
9 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'50.078 338.134 1.091
10 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'50.305 332.205 1.318
11 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'50.405 321.237 1.418
12 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'50.448 336.553 1.461
13 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1'50.528 339.836 1.541
14 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'50.537 327.570 1.550
15 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1'50.710 339.409 1.723
16 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'50.924 333.539 1.937
17 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 1'51.008 341.988 2.021

[Rev004]

Stoner sharpest in wet Mugello warm up
Sunday, 31 May 2009

As the MotoGP riders flexed their muscles ahead of the fifth race of the season in Italy it was Ducati rider Casey Stoner who lapped quickest on a wet track.


With rain beginning to fall just at the beginning of the MotoGP warm up in Tuscany the premier class riders went out with their wet tyres on and Casey Stoner emerged as the fastest participant.

Apparently ready for whatever conditions lie ahead, Stoner starts from second on the grid and he will aim for Ducatiâ€s first ever Mugello victory having led the way in the morning by a half second margin from former team-mate Marco Melandri - who was second quickest on his Hayate Racing Kawasaki.

A man always seemingly comfortable in the rain, which in fairness had calmed down by the end of the session, Rizla Suzukiâ€s Chris Vermeulen was third, with World Champion Valentino Rossi fourth. Rossiâ€s Fiat Yamaha team-mate and poleman Jorge Lorenzo took no risks, down in 13th place.

The top ten was completed by Suzukiâ€s Loris Capirossi, Ducatiâ€s Nicky Hayden, LCR Hondaâ€s Randy de Puniet, Yamaha satellite rider Colin Edwards and additional Honda pair Alex de Angelis and Andrea Dovizioso


MotoGP Warm Up Classification
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 2'01.739 315.604
2 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 2'02.234 312.590 0.495
3 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 2'02.395 309.366 0.656
4 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 2'02.529 315.974 0.790
5 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 2'02.666 314.777 0.927
6 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 2'02.849 315.420 1.110
7 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 2'03.301 311.059 1.562
8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 2'03.406 312.048 1.667
9 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 2'03.880 311.778 2.141
10 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 2'04.070 302.521 2.331
11 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 2'04.196 309.455 2.457
12 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 2'04.430 315.328 2.691
13 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 2'04.683 314.044 2.944
14 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 2'04.859 316.251 3.120
15 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 2'05.100 307.342 3.361
16 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 2'05.506 307.779 3.767
17 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 2'06.524 310.077 4.785

[Rev004]

Well what a race going from wets to dry tyres and then let the racing begin. Great Finish.

Excellent win for Stoner in tricky Italian contest
Sunday, 31 May 2009

Casey Stoner wrapped up the Gran Premio dâ€Italia Alice action in style with victory in another wet-dry MotoGP race.


In the second flag-to-flag race in two rounds Casey Stoner ended Valentino Rossiâ€s Mugello winning streak with a polished performance to give Ducati their first ever victory at the circuit.

Much of the race came down to tactics again in front of the 80,000-strong Italian crowd as the riders once more started on a wet surface and completed the 23 lap contest on slicks, with Stoner this time judging things to perfection.

The Australian retook the championship lead as he crossed the line a second in front of former leader Jorge Lorenzo, who also rode well after the scare of crashing on the sighting lap.

Lorenzoâ€s Fiat Yamaha colleague Valentino Rossi completed the podium in third place as his seven-year wining run at his beloved home track came to an end, the Italian hero crossing the line two seconds behind Stoner and less than one tenth in front of Repsol Hondaâ€s Andrea Dovizioso.

It was a shame for Dovizioso to miss out on the rostrum on the last lap once again, having held the race lead early on, on wet tyres. Likewise, his compatriot Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) was leading at one stage – later in the race – but he fell away in the final laps to finish fifth.

James Toseland made a brave decision to come in first and change bikes when running towards the back of the field and he just missed out on equaling his best MotoGP result of sixth as he was outdone by his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Colin Edwards on the last lap, having also dueled with LCR Hondaâ€s Randy de Puniet who was eventually eighth.

Niccolò Canepa (Pramac Racing) will be delighted to have achieved his best result to date as the second highest Ducati rider in ninth at his home race, with Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) completing the top ten behind the young Italian.

Dani Pedrosa hit the deck and crashed out on lap 14 having already damaged his hip earlier in the weekend, the Spaniard stretchered away from trackside. He will face an anxious wait to see if he is fit for his own home race at Barcelona in two weeks. Honda satellite rider Yuki Takahashi also crashed out with 13 laps to go.


MotoGP Race Classification
Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Total time Km/h Gap
1 25 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 45'41.894 158.389
2 20 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 45'42.895 158.331 1.001
3 16 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 45'43.970 158.269 2.076
4 13 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 45'44.023 158.266 2.129
5 11 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 45'45.168 158.200 3.274
6 10 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 46'06.345 156.989 24.451
7 9 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 46'07.515 156.922 25.621
8 8 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 46'07.940 156.898 26.046
9 7 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 46'13.709 156.572 31.815
10 6 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 46'16.708 156.403 34.814
11 5 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 46'16.984 156.387 35.090
12 4 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 46'21.016 156.160 39.122
13 3 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 46'34.356 155.415 52.462
14 2 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 46'34.372 155.414 52.478
15 1 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 46'03.967 150.292 1 Lap
Not classified
3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 25'15.529 11 Lap


MotoGP World Championship


Pos. Rider Nation Team Points
1 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 90
2 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 86
3 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 81
4 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 57
5 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 56
6 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team 48
7 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 45
8 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 38
9 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 37
10 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 34
11 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 26
12 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 23
13 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 21
14 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing 19
15 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team 13
16 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing 10
17 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando 8
18 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 8

[BUSGO]

An excellent win for Stoner.. Outstanding.

If you haven't seen the finish of the 250 race, try and get to.
It is a fantastic fight to the finish with about 6 changes of lead in the last lap of a very wet race.
Awesome stuff.

[keno77]

one of the better motogp races in recent times. i wish it had continued to rain though because i reckon we would have had two aussies getting trophies. vermuelen was making the others look like learners for those first few laps.