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.