Moto GP

[bigfoot]

good work Casey very exciting race! I reckon Pedrosa will be out for the rest of the season bit of a painful stack

[Rev004]

Well one of the best races for the year is here with this weekends round at Catalunya so who is going to be the one to beat, will it be Lorenzo, Rossi, Stoner or Pedrosa, well if you can predict that one you will be doing better than most of us.

The 1st round of free qualifying kicks off tomorrow.

So for those interested here some light reading from the world of MotoGp.

Chance to put right Barcelona wrongs for Lorenzo
Tuesday, 09 June 2009

After missing out on last yearâ€s Catalunya race Jorge Lorenzo is highly motivated ahead of this weekendâ€s Barcelona visit.


Jorge Lorenzoâ€s 2009 campaign has so far been a much smoother ride than his debut MotoGP season last year and the Fiat Yamaha rider will hope that pattern continues at this weekendâ€s Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya.

Sitting in second place in the general standings with two victories already this season the Spanish star is looking for a strong result in Sundayâ€s contest, to maintain or improve on his championship position, having missed out on his home race last year - due to concussion sustained in a Friday practice crash.

The flamboyant rider from Mallorca has just a four point deficit to standings leader Casey Stoner and the Catalunya track would be an ideal venue to retake the championship advantage.

Lorenzo lived in Barcelona for much of his early career and after a brief period staying in London last year he has now returned to live in the stunning Mediterranean city.

Having won there previously in the 250cc class he is determined to use this weekend to put the memories of last yearâ€s nightmare home GP and this yearâ€s crash in the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez firmly behind him.

The 22 year-old commented, “Iâ€ve had a great season so far but it hasnâ€t all been perfect and I made a big mistake in Jerez when I tried to pass Stoner, so hopefully I can do better for my home fans this time! After Mugello and Le Mans we know that anything can happen and you just have to keep calm and focused.”

“This is the closest MotoGP circuit place to Mallorca and one of my favourite tracks. Iâ€ve always been fast there, right back to when I went there for the first time when I was in 125s and got my first second row start. My main aim this time is to have a better weekend than last year and to completely forget what happened. I improved on last year in Mugello so hopefully I can do the same again in Barcelona.”

In a similarly upbeat mood ahead of an important weekend, Lorenzoâ€s team manager Daniele Romagnoli also commented, “Going to Barcelona, Jorgeâ€s home race, lying second in the championship is absolutely brilliant and it gives us great motivation; we are feeling very strong right now after two good results in a row. This year the championship is very close and we need to be consistently on the podium in order to stay in touch. Weâ€ve done very well in the last two races in the strange weather conditions but I think everyone would prefer a ‘normal†race this time so letâ€s hope for some Spanish sunshine.”


Stoner aims to build on Italian win
Tuesday, 09 June 2009

On the back of his historic first Mugello win for Ducati Casey Stoner is looking for his third victory of the year this weekend at Catalunya.


The winner of a superb Barcelona race in 2007 en route to his World Championship triumph and the victor of the most recent MotoGP race at Mugello - a first win for Ducati at their home track – Casey Stoner has every reason to be confident as he arrives in Catalunya for round six.

However, approaching the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya as the standings leader, Stoner was typically understated as he previewed what promises to be another intriguing weekend at the Montmeló track.

Giving his general perspective on the title race having taken 90 points from the opening five rounds, four more than his current closest rival Jorge Lorenzo, Stoner stated, “This championship is extremely difficult and competitive and even a victory like the one at Mugello, wonderful as it was, needs to be put behind us so that we can turn our focus to the next race.”

“Being leader of the championship at this stage means absolutely nothing. My rivals are very clever, mature and capable of winning races so we have to stay focused, do our best to be competing for the top step of the podium again and if thatâ€s not possible then make sure we are bringing home the maximum number of points.”

On the qualities of the Barcelona venue, the Australian added, “It was one of my favourite circuits until they re-laid it. Even though they put a completely new surface down a few years ago it has never been the same as it was before and the fact they race F1 there hasnâ€t helped the situation in terms of the bumps and potholes. The layout is nice though. The first part isnâ€t too difficult but the middle and end parts of the lap are technical and demanding, especially the fast pair of right-handers coming onto the start-finish straight.”

Stoner and his Ducati team-mate Nicky Hayden will be honoured by the Circuit de Catalunya on Friday morning with the unveiling of their plaques on ‘Champions Avenue†- adding their names to those of Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Dani Pedrosa, amongst others - in celebration of their respective 2007 and 2006 MotoGP titles.


Suzuki unsure of race day engine rollout
Tuesday, 09 June 2009

Vermeulen and Capirossi uncertain of new engine debut before post-race test.


Rizla Suzuki have been fighting against a lack of top straightline speed since the start of the season, with the cavalry of a new engine promised in time for this weekendâ€s race in Catalonia to make up the deficit. The long straight of the Spanish track is one at which any discrepancies in power soon get found out, but the team may postpone their use of the upgraded motor until the permitted Monday test session following the race.

“We are hoping that the upgrades from Suzuki this weekend will work as well on the bike as they have in the factory, we're not sure if we'll use them in the race or hang on for the test day, we'll just have to wait and see,” says rider Chris Vermeulen, who resides a short distance away in the principality of Andorra.

Teammate Loris Capirossi came close to a podium last time out in Mugello, and seems determined to run the new engine at the upcoming round. He was the unofficial holder of the MotoGP top speed record with a 990cc Ducati at the Circuit de Catalunya before Dani Pedrosaâ€s phenomenal burst two weeks ago, and is looking for a similar push with the new GSV-R addition.

“We know we will have to work hard on the long straight at Barcelona, but we learnt a lot from the last race and hopefully that will help us this weekend. We have got some new parts coming from Japan which should make a difference to the performance of the GSV-R so we are all quite excited about that,” declared the Italian.

Suzuki have been testing out the engine since both riders made a request for more speed in preseason, but until now the motor has only been tested in laboratory conditions.



Pedrosa receives clearance for Catalonia
Wednesday, 10 June 2009

Spaniard to participate in home race after last-minute check.


Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa has confirmed his presence at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya, less than two weeks after suffering a minor fracture to his right femur. The Spaniard undertook a final check-up at Barcelonaâ€s Dexeus facility on Tuesday, with Doctors Xavier Mir and Manel Ribas giving him the all-clear to ride.

The participation of the 2008 racewinner was never in serious doubt, based on his past record of riding around injuries, the closeness of the title chase in front of him and the fact that the weekendâ€s race is one of his best chances of taking a first victory of the season. In a statement, Pedrosa also listed the desire to ride in front of his home fans as a key motivational factor.

“I didnâ€t want to miss this important date for anything in the world,” he said. “On the one hand I wanted to ride because missing this race would mean losing too much ground in the standings, and also because I wanted to race in front of my fans, friends and family.”

Pedrosa has been resting up following his Mugello ordeal, with his right leg immobilised and a cocktail of anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants to ease the pain.


Bridgestone to provide asymmetric rears at Montmeló
Wednesday, 10 June 2009

MotoGP tyre suppliers Bridgestone make their asymmetric rear tyres available for the first time this season at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya


With eight right-hand corners, most of which are long and fast, and only five left-handers, most of which are much slower, the Catalunya circuit provides a special challenge for the MotoGP riders at round six, but MotoGPâ€s sole tyre suppliers Bridgestone are on hand to provide a suitable solution.

The right shoulders of the tyres experience far greater cornering forces at Barcelona than at other venues, meaning they have to be able to cope with higher temperatures. At the same time, the left shoulders must be able to perform at a lower temperature range as they are much less stressed, hence Bridgestoneâ€s plan to provide asymmetric slick rear tyres this weekend.

Furthermore, with the nature of the circuit and the high track temperatures expected for this time of year at Montmeló, a harder rear slick is required. Bridgestone will therefore bring hard compound and extra hard compound rear slicks, though in both rear options the left shoulder of the tyre will feature a soft compound. These asymmetric rears are designed to provide a consistent level of grip throughout the lap.

Bridgestoneâ€s Motorcycle Race Tyre Development Manager Tohru Ubukata explains, “The Catalunya circuit is a technical track with long right-hand corners which increase the temperature on that shoulder of the tyres. The surface is smooth and the stress placed on the tyres†outer shoulders necessitates hard compounds, especially for the rear. We will bring asymmetric rear tyres for the first time this season as having dual compounds to suit the right and left hand corners is essential for good feeling and performance at this circuit.”

He continued, “Because the left shoulders are not used as much the temperature in them is cooler than in the right shoulders, but the soft compound on the left side allows the tyres to give optimal grip and rider feeling in these conditions.”

Meanwhile, the recently revised 2009 tyre regulations come into effect from the end of this weekend in Barcelona, meaning that every rider will need to inform Bridgestone how many of each compound of front slick tyre they wish to use at the next race in Assen.

This change in the regulations means that rather than every rider being given four of the harder and four of the softer compound Bridgestone front slicks, each can now choose whether they want four of each compound or five of one and three of the other, making tyre strategy even more important.


Elías improvement expected for return to bogey track
Wednesday, 10 June 2009

Gresini targets pick up in Spaniardâ€s results at traditionally difficult circuit.


A twenty-three point return from five races was almost certainly not what either Toni Elías and Fausto Gresini had in mind when they struck a deal for the Spaniardâ€s return to Honda, and disappointment has been evident in quotes from the last pair of MotoGP rounds. Elías†best result of the year is a ninth place, with a factory-spec RC212V that had been expected to bring him higher placings.

Gresini has said that the team had ‘hit rock bottom†at the last race in Mugello, but expects 25 year-old Elías to bring the smiles back to San Carlo Honda Gresini at his home round this weekend.

“I was very unhappy after the last race at Mugello but like I said at the time I felt we hit rock bottom there so it is onwards and upwards from here,” says Elías†team manager. “There can be no better time or place to do that than this weekend at Catalunya, in Toniâ€s home race, where he will benefit from a lot of local support as always.”

“His result in Italy was doubly disappointing because he had made progress during practice and we had high hopes of a top result. Now we will be looking to pick the positives out of the weekend, eliminate the negatives and turn potential into points.”

Despite his optimism, Elías traditionally has one of his worst races of the year at Barcelona. He has completed just 31 laps of the track in a race situation since his arrival in the premier class back in 2005, and has never reached the chequered flag.


Hayden: “Positive outlook my way of dealing with things”
Wednesday, 10 June 2009

American looks ahead to weekend race and Monday test in northeast Spain.


Experiencing his toughest start to a MotoGP season to date, Nicky Hayden is probably looking forward to next Mondayâ€s testing session more than the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya. The 2006 MotoGP World Champion has always taken the approach of working through problems with marathon sessions, but feels that he in particular has been hit by the reduced amount of permitted testing time this year.

“We canâ€t do much in terms of preparing for the Grand Prix and this obviously isnâ€t an easy period for me, but I have to think positive and continue to give it everything,” admitted the American ahead of round six. “That is my way of dealing with things and that is what Iâ€ll continue to do alongside my team. Iâ€m looking forward to getting out there and racing again but Iâ€m also looking forward to the test afterwards.”

Work to improve Haydenâ€s feeling with the Desmosedici GP9 has either come on a race weekend or via Ducatiâ€s test riders –the most recent test taking place last week in Mugello as Vittoriano Guareschi laboured with different settings. In previous seasons, Hayden would have had much more bike time in which to find his own solutions.

“I really need some testing and more time in the saddle. This year Iâ€m really feeling the testing ban that has been brought in and I know itâ€s the same for everybody but for me in particular I know Iâ€d really benefit from some test time, so hopefully we can get some good work done in Barcelona that will help me take a step forward,” he added.

Top of the agenda for the post-race test will be analysis of new set-ups and electronic updates.

[Rev004]

Another weekend is upon us with the next round of MotoGp from Catalunya one of the best rounds I reckon and as always brought us some great racing.

Well here's the gos from the last few days and we are about 10 mintues away from seeing who is going to be the pole sitter for the race.

Rossi not happy with 2009 performances thus far
Friday, 12 June 2009

World Champion Valentino Rossi spoke to motogp.com ahead of the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya.


Fiat Yamaha star Valentino Rossi believes MotoGPâ€s visit to Montmeló on the outskirts of Barcelona will provide him with a good chance to make progress with his Yamaha M1 race package, noting the good weather expected for the Barcelona race weekend.

With three hours of dry practice expected on the first two days Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya the Italian hero wants to work at the maximum with Crew Chief Jeremy Burgess and the rest of his mechanics in order to be ready to fight for a victory on Sunday.

Rossi has never been off the podium at the Catalunya circuit but has not won there in the last two years. Likewise he has not been able to achieve a win in the last two races of the current season and since his triumph at Jerez he has slipped to third in the general standings – leaving Le Mans without a point and losing his Mugello winning-streak in third place at his home race.

“Iâ€m not happy about my performances this year,” Rossi told motogp.com before the weekendâ€s action commenced. “In general I have been quite fast but not enough. From Friday we have to work harder and better on the bike and to ensure that come Sunday we are more competitive.”

Commenting on whether he felt the injured Dani Pedrosa would be a threat to him and the other MotoGP front-runners this weekend, Rossi revealed, “Iâ€m quite confident for Dani because he is always fast here in Barcelona, but of course it depends on his physical strength and the pain. It looks like (Casey) Stoner and (Jorge) Lorenzo are in good shape, but also Dani if he doesnâ€t have too much pain will try for the victory.”

Asked about tactics and key areas to make progress on opponents around the Catalunya circuit, after the tightly bunched race finish produced at Mugello, Rossi replied, “Well there are two or three points where it is good for overtaking, like braking on the first corner, braking on turn nine in particular. But in general it is possible to overtake everywhere.”


Lorenzo bucking Rossi team-mate dominance trend
Friday, 12 June 2009

Jorge Lorenzo has already finished ahead of Valentino Rossi three times this season, but Rossi traditionally has a great record against his team-mates.


In his 123 MotoGP races since the start of 2002 Valentino Rossi has been beaten by his team-mate on just 12 occasions and six of those have come in the last two seasons, with Jorge Lorenzo beating him three times in 2008 and three times already this season.

The young Spaniard already has a great record against his illustrious Fiat Yamaha colleague and Lorenzo will need to maintain that emerging trend if he wants to take the MotoGP title from Rossi this year.

Rossiâ€s former team-mates Tohru Ukawa and Carlos Checa beat him just once each, whilst Colin Edwards managed to finish ahead of the multi-title winner on just four occasions.

In the list below and in the accompanying video the successes of Rossiâ€s team-mates against him in races are put into perspective, with Lorenzo enjoying some relative glory.

2002/South Africa/Welkom: 1st - Ukawa, 2nd – Rossi
2004/France/Le Mans: 2nd - Checa, 4th - Rossi
2005/USA/Laguna Seca: 2nd - Edwards, 3rd - Rossi
2006/Spain/Jerez: 11th - Edwards, 14th - Rossi (Rossi crashed on first lap and re-started)
2006/Valencia/Ricardo Tormo: 9th - Edwards, 13th - Rossi (Rossi crashed and re-started)
2007/Great Britain/Donington: 2nd - Edwards, 4th - Rossi
2008/Qatar/Losail: 2nd - Lorenzo, 5th - Rossi
2008/Portugal/Estoril: 1st - Lorenzo, 3rd - Rossi
2008/Dutch TT/Assen: 6th - Lorenzo, 11th - Rossi (Rossi crashed on first lap and re-started)
2009/Japan/Motegi: 1st - Lorenzo, 2nd - Rossi
2009/France/Le Mans: 1st - Lorenzo, 16th - Rossi (Rossi crashed and re-started)
2009/Italy/Mugello: 2nd - Lorenzo, 3rd - Rossi


Opening MotoGP session at Montmeló ends with Rossi on top
Friday, 12 June 2009

The first MotoGP free practice session of the Catalunya weekend saw the World Champion lap three tenths of a second faster than his premier class rivals.


Valentino Rossi stamped his authority on the opening MotoGP practice of the weekend with the fastest time of Friday afternoon at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya, lapping the Barcelona track on his Fiat Yamaha M1 in 1â€43.038.

The Italian star has never finished outside the top three in a premier class race at the Mediterranean venue and he signaled his aspirations for victory at round six, having not won since the third race of the year at Jerez, by starting the weekend on the front foot.

Behind Rossi on the time-sheet was his factory Yamaha colleague Jorge Lorenzo who was 0.302s off the World Championâ€s pace on a far better Friday than last year at his home track – where he crashed in practice and missed the race due to concussion.

Third on the timesheet was Mugello race-winner and 2007 Barcelona victor Casey Stoner who went round just over half a second slower than Rossi on his Ducati Desmosedici, despite a small crash near the end of the session.

Fourth on the timesheet, just as he has been in the last two MotoGP races, Andrea Dovizioso put in a similar time to Stoner. Doviziosoâ€s injured Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa was down in 14th place as he tested the condition of his injured hip.

At one of his favourite tracks Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) was fifth fastest, whilst a big improvement by Ducati Marlboroâ€s Nicky Hayden saw him finish sixth quickest in one of his best sessions of the season so far – around a second off the pace.

Veteran riders Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) were seventh and eighth respectively. Yuki Takahashi was number nine on the timesheet, trying to push hard after seeing new MotoGP recruit Gabor Talmacsi join the Scot Racing Team on Friday.

Talmacsi was unsurprisingly the slowest participant in his first 800cc session, four seconds behind Rossi, whilst satellite Yamaha rider James Toseland completed the top ten.


GRAN PREMI CINZANO DE CATALUNYA
MotoGP Free Practice Nr. 1 Classification

Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'43.038 324.226
2 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'43.340 324.324 0.302
3 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'43.636 324.714 0.598
4 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'43.684 322.580 0.646
5 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'43.871 318.960 0.833
6 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'44.152 320.665 1.114
7 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'44.340 321.332 1.302
8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'44.419 320.665 1.381
9 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'44.484 318.114 1.446
10 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'44.580 314.960 1.542
11 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1'44.649 320.665 1.611
12 59 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati 1'44.678 318.490 1.640
13 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'44.744 318.021 1.706
14 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'45.043 327.173 2.005
15 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'45.101 320.950 2.063
16 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'45.126 321.046 2.088
17 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 1'45.394 322.773 2.356
18 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1'45.454 321.524 2.416
19 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'47.654 307.955 4.616



Stoner content with Friday Barcelona performance
Friday, 12 June 2009

Third on the MotoGP timesheet on Friday Casey Stoner felt some improvements with his Ducati prototype at Montmeló despite a small crash.


The 2007 World Champion Casey Stoner returns to the scene of one of his epic race victories from that astounding title-winning season this weekend at the Catalunya circuit and he felt comfortable in FP1 despite a small crash towards the end of Fridayâ€s outing.

The Australian star likes the Barcelona track and is in a confident mood having won at Mugello two weeks ago and now having started the six race weekend of the year in third place on the timesheets, close behind title rivals and Fiat Yamaha colleagues Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo.

The current standings leader told motogp.com, “Things have been going pretty well. We were trying some very different things on the bike that I crashed on. I didnâ€t have a good feeling on the front end in one part of the corner, but with everything else the feeling was pretty good. I think on Saturday we should be able to improve the lap times and improve the feeling overall.”

He continued, “The bike that I did my best lap time with is quite similar to what weâ€ve had in the past and everything is ok but we have still got a long way to go, so I think that when I get back on the other bike that I crashed on I should be a little bit better and more competitive.”

After a recent test by Vito Guareschi on the Desmosedici Stoner has some new settings to test over the weekend and he says he can already feel improvements with the latest evolutions of the bike. Having seen his colleague Nicky Hayden take a step forward to lap in sixth place on the timesheet, Stoner noted:

“We got some good information and I have been using settings that Vito has been using in testing. I am a bit lighter than him so the bike wasnâ€t reacting exactly the way I wanted it to as everything was a bit too rigid. I think we will soften it off on Saturday, but myself and Nicky have both felt the improvement so we are happy with the way things have gone.”


De Puniet satisfied behind the ‘aliensâ€
Friday, 12 June 2009

Frenchman places fifth in first Barcelona practice session.


Randy de Puniet was content with his Friday practice session in Barcelona, only just behind the ‘untouchable†top quartet with a 1â€43.871 lap. He tried a variety of options in the afternoon run.

Randy de Puniet –5th
“I am very satisfied about the first run out. From the beginning I was up there making my life easier. I could concentrate on the bike set up trying different front rims sizes and the harder compounds from Bridgestone: it seems to be better for me. The engine is working well and lapped consistently fast throughout the whole session. We are behind the “aliens” and this makes us very pleased but I believe we could adjust the engine brake and the traction control to improve our pace for tomorrowâ€s sessions.”

Tyre focus for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 on Friday
Friday, 12 June 2009

Edwards and Toseland end first practice session inside top ten.


Tyres took centre stage for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 on Friday, Colin Edwards and James Toseland trying out Bridgestone rubber and looking to make their own improvements.


Colin Edwards -8th
“Today I didn't feel very comfortable at all and I was having an issue with the front-end feeling. Nothing feels natural and being a front-end guy as much as I am, when the front is not quite right it causes me a problem and today I just couldn't get a comfortable feeling. Keeping the front tyre loaded and generating corner speed is the biggest issue and I'm going to sit down with my guys tonight because we need to try and figure out a way to solve it with a better setting. We've always been able to quickly solve our issues this year so I'm confident we'll come out fighting closer to the front tomorrow. Today though I hit a bit of a brick wall because I was making some changes to the bike that should have improved my feeling but the lap time wasn't any better. I was having a problem getting the bike to turn and it just wasn't comfortable for me to push. If I did push the bike would just run wide and that was costing me time.”
James Toseland -10th
“On paper it doesn't look spectacular but I'm really pleased with today because it was easily my best start to a weekend this season. I was seventh until the final minutes so that's encouraging and at the end I was out on quite an old rear tyre, which was moving around quite a bit. With a new tyre I'm sure I could have got a bit further up, but I wanted to get some information on the hard tyre for the race. We tried a slightly different setting on the rear shock, softening the spring to try and help the bike cushion the bumps a little bit better here because the track is quite bump to be fair. At the beginning we'd gone a bit too soft and that was making the rear of the bike sit a bit too low and we had to make a couple of small changes, but my team did a great job as always because it improved the feeling. We found a bit more grip at the end and I did my best lap on a rear tyre that had already done 16 laps and I was nearly half-a-second quicker than my previous best time, so it shows we're moving in the right direction. After today I feel quite confident for the weekend. It looks like we'll get a good dry weekend and I had a good result here last year. So I'm pleased to have something to build on.”


Great start for Fiat Yamaha at Catalunya circuit
Friday, 12 June 2009

Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo dominated the first day of action at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya on Friday.


World Champion Valentino Rossi and his young team-mate Jorge Lorenzo were the top dogs in the opening practice session of the weekend at Montmeló on Friday, holding the top two spots between them for the entire 45-minute practice.

It was eventually the Italian who topped the timesheet with his Spanish colleague just three tenths behind him, leaving the factory Yamaha duo looking in fine form at round six.

Valentino Rossi – 1st
“We made some changes to our base setting here and already it feels much better to ride. This practice went very well for us, we were strong from start to finish and to be in first position feels good. We have found out some very interesting things, especially about my feeling with the bike, but we need to keep on working because there are still some parts that we want to make better for tomorrow. I am really happy to be able to ride the bike how I want to finally but there is still plenty more work to continue with to make sure weâ€re in the best possible shape for tomorrow afternoon and Sunday.”
Jorge Lorenzo – 2nd
“I always have a few doubts coming to each new track but today everything felt really good, my bike and my Bridgestone tyres. I feel very comfortable and we can see that we have the potential to put on a really good performance here. We have a few things which we can improve so we will try to do that tomorrow but this is another good start for us. Itâ€s very early to be making any conclusions about who will be fighting on Sunday though and for now we just have to stay focused. It feels great to be out in front of all my home fans here and I am really happy to have the FC Barcelona stickers on my bike!”



Suzuki pair review day one in Barcelona
Friday, 12 June 2009

The Rizla Suzuki perspective on matters at the end of Friday practice at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya.


Chris Vermeulen was unable to join his Rizla Suzuki colleague Loris Capirossi in the MotoGP free practice 1 top ten at Montmeló on Friday.

Loris Capirossi – 7th
"It has been an interesting practice for us because we tried many different settings and found quite a lot of things out. At the end of the session I tried the engine with the new specification and it seemed to be a bit of an improvement on what we are using at the moment, but we have to check the data because it makes the bike perform a bit differently. Overall it has been a good session, but we still need to work a bit more on the set-up to get it perfect for here. The engine does seem to be an improvement and I want to thank Suzuki for all the hard work, because for us this is very important!"
Chris Vermeulen – 13th
"It's been good to get a full session in sunny and warm conditions. I went out with the hard front and the softer of the two rears - which I kept in for the whole session. I tried some different chassis set-ups between both of my bikes and we have certainly got a good direction. At the end - with more than race distance on the tyres - I did my fastest laps and moved up the order. The bike has felt reasonably good all day, but like I said we now have a direction to follow and we are sure that will help with both rear grip and durability of the tyres, because with such high temperatures that will be important this weekend. Hopefully we still have a long way to go and I am sure we will be making big steps tomorrow."



Pedrosa hoping for improvement on Saturday
Friday, 12 June 2009

Repsol Hondaâ€s Dani Pedrosa was clearly affected by his hip injury in Friday practice at his home GP, whereas his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso had a positive day.


Dani Pedrosa was unable to ride at 100% at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya on Friday due to his problematic right hip and the 23-year-old Spaniard, who won last yearâ€s Barcelona race, ended up two seconds off the pace in Free Practice 1.

It was a more productive day for his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, however, as the Italian finished the hour-long session in a competitive fourth place, just 0.646s back from pace-setter, Valentino Rossi.

Andrea Dovizioso – 4th
"Todayâ€s result was pretty good and we are not too far from the front which is encouraging - though we still need to close the gap. This afternoon we worked on the set-up of the bike to improve the handling during corner entry and in the turn, which remains our main issue. We tried a different set-up solution on the second bike that worked well and I was able to improve the lap time and reduce the gap to the frontrunners. Fourth place today is a good start but we are still too far from the first three top riders, so weâ€ll continue to work on this tomorrow."
Dani Pedrosa – 14th
"Itâ€s my home race and already the atmosphere and support is incredible, but of course this wasnâ€t one of the best days of riding for me. I had a pain-killing injection before I rode this afternoon but itâ€s still very uncomfortable on the bike and this means I wasnâ€t able to ride at my normal pace. MotoGP machines are very physical to ride - itâ€s not like a street bike - so itâ€s tough when you are not at full strength. Itâ€s frustrating because this is one of my favourite circuits of the season and also one where I have had a lot of good results. However, we certainly arenâ€t going to give up. Itâ€s a long season and although today didnâ€t go too well, weâ€ll come back tomorrow and see what we can do."



Big change brings big smile to Hayden in Barcelona
Friday, 12 June 2009

Ducati rider makes significant improvement with radical overhaul of Barcelona setting.


Nicky Hayden and the Ducati Marlboro team rang the changes to the Desmosedici GP9 in preparation for Barcelona, and the modifications paid dividends for the American on Friday. He placed sixth in the first free practice session.

Nicky Hayden -6th
“I know itâ€s only sixth position but still Iâ€m pretty happy because I was running up front throughout the session and having fun, which is what racing is supposed to be about! Basically “Vitto” (Guareschi) stayed on in Mugello and tested a lot and we have changed almost everything on the bike other than the handgrips! Weâ€ve altered the electronics and the geometry a lot to help me get the bike turning and weâ€ve taken a big step. I donâ€t want to get too excited because itâ€s only Friday and weâ€ve got to keep working hard but I want to say that I am very grateful to the team and to “Vitto”, Filippo (Preziosi) and “Pippi” (Cristhian Pupulin) and the Test Team in particular. Nobody here has given up on me even after a few bad races and I have always made it clear I wonâ€t give up on them. We have had to stay mentally strong and keep positive, even though that hasnâ€t been easy. Hopefully weâ€re on to something here and all the hard work will start paying off.”



Difficult afternoon for Elías on home ground
Friday, 12 June 2009

Toni Elías again found the going tough at his home track on Friday at the Circuit de Catalunya.


Despite the home support Toni Elías does not count Catalunya as one of his best tracks and that showed again on the first day of his home GP - as he lapped well off the pace, like his San Carlo Honda Gresini colleague Alex de Angelis, in the first MotoGP free practice session of the weekend.

Toni Elías – 15th
“We havenâ€t started well but it is early and we have to stay positive. We have a lot of work to do on the chassis, because there is far too much load on the front. I know I am always complaining about that but at this circuit in particular it is just too much. We donâ€t have anything new to test so it is down to us to keep coming up with new ideas, experimenting and trying to find a solution with what we have. Unfortunately sometimes you have to go down the wrong road in order to realise which is the right one so hopefully thatâ€s the case for us today. My Gaudi helmet design is from when we raced here in 2007 and I decided to wear it again simply because I love it!”
Alex de Angelis – 16th
“Weâ€re still struggling for rear grip, as we have been doing all season, and the bike is sliding around a lot but the truth is that this is our only problem. We really need to sort it out because other than that the bike feels great. The engine is really strong and in a straight line we are really fast but we need to transfer that to the corners. We had a little problem with the front forks in the first part of the session, they werenâ€t working well and I ran wide in one corner but luckily the run-off was asphalt and I was able to keep it upright. We changed the forks and it improved things a lot, even on a used tyre, but we still have plenty to do tomorrow.”



Lorenzo takes control in early Saturday run
Saturday, 13 June 2009

Having lapped second fastest on Friday, Jorge Lorenzo stepped up the pace on Saturday morning at the Circuit de Catalunya.


Fiat Yamahaâ€s Jorge Lorenzo will go in search of his third pole position of 2009 on Saturday afternoon at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya having topped the Free Practice 2 timesheet by a significant 0.674s margin.

With the air temperature already at 30°C and the ground temperature up to 37°C by 11am Lorenzo turned up the heat on his rivals with a superb 1â€41.899 lap on the 27th of his 29 laps, well over a second faster than Fridayâ€s best times. After the session Lorenzo declared himself more than happy with his rhythm on race tyres and the softer options he used to mark his pace-setting lap.

Second fastest was an improved Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), whilst in third place Lorenzoâ€s World Champion team-mate Valentino Rossi was nearly a second off the pace – albeit on race tyres.

Taking a big step forward ahead of his home race tomorrow – and following a slow start on Friday – Dani Pedrosa reduced his day one best lap by two seconds to place fourth, having taken on more painkillers before the session in his injured hip.

LCR Hondaâ€s French star Randy de Puniet was fifth fastest again at one of his preferred venues, marginally quicker than veteran American Colin Edwards of the Monster Yahama Tech 3 team.

Whilst Edwards†Tech 3 colleague James Toseland will be pleased to have lapped eighth fastest with around a second cut from his Friday pace, Ducati Marlboroâ€s Casey Stoner slipped down to seventh as he could only improve slightly on his FP1 best effort.

Ducati riders Niccolò Canepa and Nicky Hayden completed the top ten.


GRAN PREMI CINZANO DE CATALUNYA
MotoGP Free Practice Nr. 2 Classification

Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'41.899 324.032
2 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'42.573 322.966 0.674
3 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'42.810 325.595 0.911
4 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'43.049 328.867 1.150
5 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'43.316 322.388 1.417
6 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'43.409 320.950 1.510
7 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'43.496 326.086 1.597
8 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'43.628 316.622 1.729
9 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1'43.635 322.580 1.736
10 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'43.658 322.773 1.759
11 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'43.682 316.808 1.783
12 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'43.726 322.677 1.827
13 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'43.772 320.094 1.873
14 59 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati 1'43.799 320.000 1.900
15 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1'43.840 322.291 1.941
16 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'43.857 321.237 1.958
17 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 1'43.969 326.975 2.070
18 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'44.295 321.715 2.396
19 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'46.844 313.862 4.945

[Rev004]

Lorenzo beats Rossi to pole for Barcelona race
Saturday, 13 June 2009

Jorge Lorenzoâ€s excellent second season in MotoGP continued at his home GP on Saturday as he took pole at the Circuit de Catalunya, the Spaniard qualifying just 0.013s ahead of Valentino Rossi.


The MotoGP qualifying session at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya concluded with home rider Jorge Lorenzo securing his third pole position of 2009 in sweltering heat close to the Mediterranean coast.

The Fiat Yamaha star pleased the crowd in his special edition Barcelona FC livery securing the top slot on the grid with a 1â€41.974 time on the 28th of 29 laps, putting him just ahead of team-mate Valentino Rossi by a 0.013s margin.

Having never been off the podium in the premier class at Montmeló Rossi will be confident of maintaining that remarkable record on Sunday, though he knows he will have to be at his best to beat his talented young Spanish colleague.

Completing the front row is Casey Stoner as MotoGPâ€s current trio of form riders showed their strengths once again, the Australian Ducati Marlboro representative lapping just under a half a second down on Lorenzo.

Andrea Dovizioso is the ‘nearly man†in the premier class at present and he missed out on the front row by just 0.168s on his Repsol Honda factory RC212V. Nonetheless the Italian will try to fight for the podium having just fallen short at the last two rounds.

In fifth place at his home track, not traditionally his strongest circuit, Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini) will aim to improve his poor Barcelona record from the middle of the front row, whilst Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) ended up sixth and might have done better had he not crashed towards the end of the session.

Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) has looked good so far this weekend and he qualified seventh, just in front of home hero Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) who also suffered a crash in the final moments – landing on his injured right hip, but not appearing to sustain any further damage as he walked away from the incident.

The top ten was rounded off by Englishman James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Finnish rider Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing), both northern Europeans doing well to deal with the ambient temperatures of 38°C.


GRAN PREMI CINZANO DE CATALUNYA
MotoGP Qualifying Practice Classification

Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'41.974 324.421
2 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'41.987 322.677 0.013
3 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'42.426 326.678 0.452
4 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'42.594 325.791 0.620
5 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'43.139 323.256 1.165
6 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'43.168 319.054 1.194
7 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'43.175 320.760 1.201
8 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'43.207 326.876 1.233
9 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'43.233 316.437 1.259
10 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 1'43.336 326.876 1.362
11 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'43.365 323.547 1.391
12 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'43.411 314.136 1.437
13 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'43.414 320.950 1.440
14 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'43.422 322.003 1.448
15 59 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati 1'43.714 321.907 1.740
16 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'43.777 318.490 1.803
17 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1'43.792 322.580 1.818
18 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1'43.991 320.950 2.017
19 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'45.833 317.180 3.859

[Rev004]

Well guys and gals we should be in for one hell of a race but boy those Yamahas are quick so Stoner will have his work cut out for him if he wants to win back to back rounds but hey anything can happen. I would have to say that my Money is on Lorenzo if he keeps it upright.

Just when you've probably just woken up well here's some more reading leading up tonights race.

There's 2 channels beside Fox but for us poor plebs that don't have it, it's on 1HD early tonight and then if you miss that it's on 10 later in the night.


Solving traction control problem key to pole for Lorenzo
Saturday, 13 June 2009

Fiat Yamaha rider says late electronics adjustment was vital to securing his third pole of 2009 at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya on Saturday.


Jorge Lorenzo maintained his 100% front-row qualifying record for the 2009 season with another pole position at his home track on Saturday, outpacing team-mate Valentino Rossi by just 0.013 seconds - thanks to a traction control tweak.

Lorenzo did battle with Rossi, Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso in the final minutes and with his Italian team-mate on provisional pole with seconds to go Lorenzo laid down a 1â€41.974s time - to snatch the top spot after some adjustments to his electronics set-up just before his hot lap.

“Iâ€m happy with this pole position because we had some problems with the soft tyre, we had too much traction control, so I didnâ€t have enough power,” Lorenzo explained. “Then when I had my last opportunity for a fast lap we went down to just a little bit of traction control and I was able to go faster.”

Asked about his prospects for a third win of the season, the 22 year-old stated, “It is going to be a very difficult race for everyone and I am expecting a very good fight with Valentino, who has a very strong pace. It looks like Stoner and Dovizioso will be there too so I hope itâ€s an exciting race for the fans. I have a good rhythm here and I feel very comfortable on the bike so I am just going to stay focused and think about having a great race.”


Stoner unsure of victory potential
Saturday, 13 June 2009

It may just be mind games but Casey Stoner says winning at Catalunya on Sunday may be beyond him from third on the grid.


Third in qualifying and seventh in FP2 on Saturday at Montmeló Casey Stoner was satisfied that he was making some progress at the end of the day, but believes repeating his superb 2007 Barcelona win on Sunday could be a big ask.

Talking through Saturdayâ€s proceedings at a scorching hot Catalunya circuit, Stoner revealed, “Weâ€re pretty happy with the way things have gone, but we still need some improvements before the race because Valentino (Rossi) and Jorge (Lorenzo) are riding really well. Everything seems to be set up pretty well for them, but we are not quite there yet.”

“In the afternoon we made some big steps forward and I think for the end of the race we should be a bit more competitive because of that. However, we still need to improve our lap times by a few tenths of a second and get to a pace that we are reasonably happy with.”

On the subject of going for maximum points in Sundayâ€s sixth race of the MotoGP season, Stoner said, “Victory? I donâ€t think so. We will see in the morning warm-up if we can make some further improvements and try to find a good solution. Whatever happens we will just race as best as we can.”


De Puniet just misses out on second row start
Saturday, 13 June 2009

Randy de Puniet was slightly disappointed with qualifying seventh at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya.


LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet missed the second row of the Catalunya grid by 0.007s on Saturday afternoon in the Barcelona sunshine.

Randy de Puniet - 7th
“I am a bit disappointed because we have been expecting to get on the second row. I had the potential to do it but found some slower riders in the last laps and lost a few tenths as my ideal time was half second faster than this. However we are really pleased with our race set up. A second row start would have made my life easier but I feel confident for the race.”


Dovizioso close to front row, Pedrosa crashes and finishes eighth
Saturday, 13 June 2009

The Repsol Honda perspective on qualifying at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya.


Factory Honda riders Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa give their views on some contrasting fortunes at the Circuit de Catalunya on Saturday.

Andrea Dovizioso - 4th
"Iâ€m very happy with this 4th position, even though of course my target was to be on the first row. I like this racetrack - you do a lot of sliding the bike and I really enjoy this kind of riding. We made progress with the machine this morning, then we made a modification to the setting this afternoon that didnâ€t have the results we expected, so tomorrow we will go back to this morningâ€s set up. Today it was very hot and conditions were very demanding for the tyres - all the riders seemed to have less grip at the rear. Still, Iâ€m quite satisfied. We have improved our race pace and tomorrow I will fight hard for the podium. We were fast today and I think we can get closer to the frontrunners†race pace in the low 1â€43s, although consistency is still their advantage."
Dani Pedrosa - 8th
"Iâ€m reasonably satisfied with my pace today, especially considering how things felt yesterday. Weâ€ve qualified for the race and, although Iâ€d have preferred to be on the front two rows, this position is OK. In fact, I think I could have been a row further forward had I not had the crash in the last few minutes of qualifying - thatâ€s the period when the best times are usually set. I went into the corner a little bit too fast and wide and had to run straight on. Then I saw the air fence and decided it was best to get off the bike. This morning I had an injection for the pain which worked quite well so I didnâ€t have another one for the afternoon, though it was becoming more uncomfortable by then. Tomorrow Iâ€ll have another injection and weâ€ll try to take the best result possible in the race. Itâ€s going to be extra hard work because of the heat, but there are a lot of my fans out there so Iâ€ll be riding my hardest for them."



Hayden unhappy with qualifying result
Saturday, 13 June 2009

Ducati factory man Nicky Haydenâ€s hard 2009 campaign so far did not get much better in qualifying at Catalunya, though there have been some good signs for him during the weekend.


The 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden explains how his day panned out at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya on Saturday.

Nicky Hayden - 13th
“Today we werenâ€t quite able to pick up where we left off yesterday but I went half a second quicker this morning – unfortunately it wasnâ€t enough to close the gap on the guys in front because they improved too. I shaved another couple of tenths off again this afternoon but on my last run I crashed in turn two and that was pretty much that. The position isnâ€t great but on the other hand with just a couple more tenths Iâ€d have been a lot further up. I know Iâ€m talking a lot of ‘ifs†and ‘buts†here and at the end of the day the position is what counts and weâ€re not high enough up. Itâ€s just a shame that on the lap when Iâ€m sure I would have found those extra couple of tenths the rear stepped out in turn one and when I flicked it over into turn two it put me down pretty good. I smacked my left wrist quite hard but I donâ€t think itâ€s a big issue and other than that I seem to be okay so weâ€re looking forward to trying for more tomorrow.”


Suzuki duo with catching up to do
Saturday, 13 June 2009

Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen will have to race aggressively for the Rizla Suzuki team on Sunday at Barcelona having qualified outside the top ten.


Italian veteran Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen respectively qualified 1.391s and 1.411s off the pace at the Circuit de Catalunya on Saturday afternoon and were feeling the heat at the end of the day.

Loris Capirossi – 11th
"It has been pretty hard today. We tried a different setting this morning and although we improved a little bit it wasn't enough to put us in a good position for tomorrow. My impression is that our race pace is better than our qualifying and it was difficult for us to go much quicker on the softer tyres than we did on the harder compound. We will have to see what happens tomorrow, but the bike is working quite well and we have a good rhythm. The race tyre is working well so we are optimistic, but we are starting a little bit back so this will make it hard. We know we can do well off the line and have a good race."
Chris Vermeulen – 12th
"It has been really difficult today with the hot track temperatures and the limited amount of hard front tyres that we have. We did all of qualifying on the same front tyre and I did 27-laps so it was not ideal to try to do a faster lap on it at the end. We struggled a bit with grip and that's what we are going to have to concentrate on tomorrow to get a good life out of the tyres. The guys did a good job on the bike, we made a big step forward with the chassis and I feel a lot more comfortable on it than I did yesterday."


Tech 3 pair reflect on Saturday action
Saturday, 13 June 2009

Colin Edwards and James Toseland of the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team comment on the second day of action at Montmeló.


Colin Edwards still qualified in sixth place despite a crash on Saturday afternoon at the Circuit de Catalunya, whilst his team-mate James Toseland is not far behind him on the grid.

Colin Edwards - 6th
“I guess I'm pretty fortunate to have finished on the second row considering I crashed out at the crucial stage of the session. We made some changes overnight to help me get more comfortable with the front-end and while it was better, I'm still not close to the comfort level I need to go as fast as I know I can. I'm still not comfortable in the middle of the corner and I can't get it to turn or hold a line. Even when I was on the soft tyres towards the end I still didn't feel like I could push too hard. I'm normally really smooth but I can't ride like that right now. Luckily I'd done a pretty decent time on my first two softer tyres because on the last one I crashed out. The crash was a bit weird because I lost the front really early while I was still hard braking and leaning over. Normally when I lose the front it's at the apex when I'm starting to force the front. If I'm being honest, on race tyres I'm not that confident because of the set-up issue with the front. I know Valentino, Jorge and Casey are all running a good pace and it's crucial to get a good start and try and tag onto the back of them. I'd love to say I'm going to be on the podium tomorrow, which is what I had aspirations of, but it's looking difficult. As always though I'll be giving it my all for Monster Yamaha Tech 3."
James Toseland - 9th
“I can't believe I'm saying this after the season I've had but I'm frustrated with my best qualifying result of the season. To finish under a tenth off fifth and be down in ninth is frustrating though, but at least I'm frustrated to be close to fifth and not fifteenth! At the start of the session I was out on used tyres and with the temperature being so hot it was quite difficult to find grip. But it was good to get information on the extra hard tyre in that heat for the race. On my last run I had a new front and rear, so it was difficult to get a good feeling straightaway with the front. In the last two corners on my last lap I had two big moments on the front and without doubt that cost me fifth place. Going into the last two corners I'd have been fifth, but at least at that pace I feel really comfortable because I can do that time with a couple of issues. MotoGP is now so close that a tenth has cost me four places on the grid. It's a shame that I'm not on the second row because the way I'm riding and the way the team is working, we deserve to be a bit higher up, but we've all done a great job today and I've got a good chance in the race tomorrow. It's my best qualifying of the year, so hopefully I can capitalise on it and give Monster Yamaha Tech 3 a good result."


Scot Racing aiming to continue with two-rider team
Saturday, 13 June 2009

Talmacsi and Takahashi part of 2009 plan, whilst team make request for two additional bikes.


The rapid arrival of Gabor Talmacsi to the Scot Racing team in the premier class answered the questions over the Hungarianâ€s future in the World Championship, but also raised further intrigue with some logistical problems posed by the move.

The deal bringing the former 125cc World Champion into the fray entails the teamâ€s two bikes to be split between Talmacsi and their existing rookie Yuki Takahashi. After a recent spate of flag-to-flag races, however, the need for extra machines has never been more pressing.

Speculation had abounded over whether Talmacsi would end up as a replacement rider rather than an additional participant, but Team Manager Cirano Mularoni dismissed any suggestion that Takahashi would be ousted from the satellite outfit.

“Our plan is to run two riders for the rest of the season. We will need two more bikes for this, but of course they will be difficult to obtain so late after the start of the year,” said the Italian boss. “We hope to have them, but our plan is to have the two riders for the remainder of the season.”

In an informal press conference, the team also revealed that Talmacsiâ€s contract includes an option for 2010 and 2011, and also that the original approach by manager Stefano Favaro at Le Mans involved an enquiry about participation in the 250cc class.


Pramac Racing determined after Barcelona qualifying
Saturday, 13 June 2009

Kallio tenth and Canepa eighteenth on premier class grid.


Mika Kallio turned things around in MotoGP qualifying to place tenth for the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya, but teammate Niccolò Canepa had a much tougher time of things than the ice-cold Finn. Both are confident of a good race in the Sunday heat.

Mika Kallio -10th
"Yesterday, notwithstanding that the lap times weren't the best, I knew the bike was much more competitive on this circuit and so it has been. Not everything was perfect, but we consider ourselves satisfied with the result obtained today. I thought we had conquered the third row and I was a bit sad when I lost it in the last lap to the last rider on the track by only one tenth of a second. Anyway, this is the best qualifying session of the season and we are all really happy about it."
Niccolò Canepa -18th
"This afternoon the high temperatures have slowed us down. I didn't have the same grip of the morning and we have to understand why. This morning everything was working fine and we hope to do the same tomorrow during the race. As I said before coming here, I like this track a lot and I am convinced that I can conquer a good result. I will do all that is possible."

[Rev004]

Rossi takes initiative in Sunday morning practice
Sunday, 14 June 2009

After just missing out on pole for the Barcelona MotoGP race World Champion Valentino Rossi lapped fastest in the premier class warmup session.


This weekendâ€s intriguing duel between Fiat Yamahaâ€s talented duo of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo swung in favour of Rossi in the warmup on Sunday morning at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya, as he outpaced poleman Lorenzo by 0.048s.

In cooler conditions than the stifling heat of Saturday Rossiâ€s best effort of 1â€42.743 was enough to give him a psychological edge in the 20 minute session which concluded at 10am, ahead of the sixth MotoGP race of the year at 2pm on Sunday.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) showed their good pace again in third and fourth positions, whilst third fastest qualifier Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) was fifth in the session – almost exactly half a second down on Lorenzo.

Dani Pedrosa showed that he is fast enough over one lap to compete for points as he lapped sixth quickest, but this afternoonâ€s race will be a severe test of his resolve and stamina as he tries to repeat his 2008 win with an injured hip, from eighth on the grid.


GRAN PREMI CINZANO DE CATALUNYA
MotoGP Warm Up Classification
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'42.743 325.595
2 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'42.791 327.769 0.048
3 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'43.046 323.741 0.303
4 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'43.166 324.714 0.423
5 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'43.252 326.876 0.509
6 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'43.285 330.477 0.542
7 59 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati 1'43.449 321.237 0.706
8 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'43.698 324.226 0.955
9 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'43.856 321.715 1.113
10 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'43.945 323.159 1.202
11 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1'43.947 323.256 1.204
12 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 1'43.956 330.477 1.213
13 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'43.960 318.678 1.217
14 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'43.983 323.547 1.240
15 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'44.172 321.715 1.429
16 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'44.203 321.715 1.460
17 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'44.238 317.647 1.495
18 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1'44.474 319.432 1.731
19 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'45.374 310.523 2.631

[Ruffy]

Not a Rossi fan by any stretch but it was a great race between he and Lorenzo with Casey doing enough to get third - should be a close championship this year

Go Stoner

Cheers Ruffy

[Greeny_SA]

Well, The Best rider in the UNIVERSE has done it AGAIN!!!!!!

[Rev004]

Well just look at the championship board with all 3 riders on 106pts. What a year for bike fans all over the world this championship will go to the wire the way things are looking at the moment.

Brilliant Rossi takes 99th triumph on final corner
Sunday, 14 June 2009

An amazing head-to-head battle between Yamaha team-mates Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo saw the Italian take his 99th Grand Prix victory by a 0.095s margin at Catalunya.

Catalunya 2009 - MotoGP Race Highlights


In front of nearly 90,000 fans in Barcelona the reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi took a superb win, battling with his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo throughout the 25 lap MotoGP race to secure the win on the last corner.

Despite some slight cloud cover close to the Mediterranean coast, air temperatures of 40°C meant it was a draining experience for the premier class riders but Rossi and Lorenzo threw everything into their duel, with The Doctor executing a superb move right at the death to take maximum points.

Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) was on the podium again, to maintain his World Championship challenge, with the result leaving Rossi, Lorenzo and the Australian all tied on 106 points at the head of the standings – the Italian on top as the possessor of the most recent victory.

Stoner was absolutely exhausted after the race having worked extremely hard to fend off a strong challenge from Andrea Dovizioso. The Repsol Honda rider produced another consistent display to finish in fourth place for the third round in succession, having started in fourth on the grid, this time missing the podium by 0.052s.

Meanwhile, an excellent battle between Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and the brave Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) for fifth place eventually saw an Italian emerge in front of a Spaniard again, Capirossi crossing the line just over two seconds ahead.

With two-way fights for positions going on throughout the order, Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) used all his experience to overcome Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) for seventh.

Ducati riders Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) and Nicky Hayden crossed the line close together in ninth and tenth respectively, giving Hayden his best result of his first season with the Italian factory so far.

New MotoGP arrival Gabor Talmacsi had a better time in his very first premier class race than new Scot Racing team-mate Yuki Takahashi - who crashed out on the first lap – as the Hungarian gained experience coming home in last place. The unfortunate Toni Elías meanwhile was also unable to finish as his miserable home record continued.


GRAN PREMI CINZANO DE CATALUNYA

MotoGP Race Classification
Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Total time Km/h Gap
1 25 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 43'11.897 164.138
2 20 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 43'11.992 164.132 0.095
3 16 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 43'20.781 163.577 8.884
4 13 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 43'20.833 163.574 8.936
5 11 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 43'31.728 162.892 19.831
6 10 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 43'34.079 162.745 22.182
7 9 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 43'35.444 162.660 23.547
8 8 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 43'37.162 162.553 25.265
9 7 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 43'43.694 162.149 31.797
10 6 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 43'45.490 162.038 33.593
11 5 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 43'48.580 161.847 36.683
12 4 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 43'48.771 161.836 36.874
13 3 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 43'51.330 161.678 39.433
14 2 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 43'56.685 161.350 44.788
15 1 59 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati 43'58.651 161.230 46.754
16 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 44'07.770 160.674 55.873
17 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 44'39.537 158.769 1'27.640

Not classified
24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 15'45.214 16 Lap

Not finished 1st lap
72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda


Stoner happy with brave podium
Sunday, 14 June 2009

Ducatiâ€s Casey Stoner almost collapsed with exhaustion after the Barcelona contest, having gone into the sixth race of the year feeling unwell and emerging in third place.


Riding 25 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya in 40°C temperatures in a MotoGP race is enough to test the fitness off the toughest of athletes even when at 100%, so Casey Stoner did remarkably well on Sunday to secure his fourth podium of the 2009 season having gone into battle feeling unwell.

The Australian former World Champion started to feel sick on Saturday afternoon and was extremely tired just after nine laps in Sunday morningâ€s warmup session, leaving him unsure whether he would even be able to complete the race.

Having remarkably stayed in front of Andrea Dovizioso to keep third place by just a 0.052s gap, Stoner explained what he had gone through and attributed the result to the strength of his Ducati Desmosedici race package, having almost collapsed before he stepped up onto the podium.

“Iâ€m not sure how I did it because half way through the race I nearly gave up. I was very close to pulling into the pits and nothing felt right,” Stoner stated. “The bike was working really well but I just wasnâ€t able to keep the pace, I just couldnâ€t brake properly as I was nearly falling onto the front of the bike.”

He continued, “My legs and my stomach were cramping and so I decided to just relax for a few laps to see if we could finish in the top ten or something similar. The bike was so good that I was able to just keep doing consistent lap times to hold Andrea behind me, and I ended up on the podium which is really important for the championship.”

The factory Ducati man is tied on 106 points at the top of the standings with Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, with the next round taking place at Assen – where Stoner was victorious in 2008.


MotoGP World Championship

Pos. Rider Nation Team Points
1 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 106
2 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 106
3 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 106
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 69
5 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 67
6 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 54
7 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team 50
8 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 49
9 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 42
10 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 42
11 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 29
12 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing 26
13 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 25
14 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 23
15 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team 19
16 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing 10
17 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando 9
18 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 8

[Rev004]

Sorry for the late updates on this weekends motogp has been pretty hectic but anyway here some of the gos and results.

For those that haven't got FOX the race will be shown on Ten later tonight and on HD1 a couple of hours earlier. If anyone is interested HD1 will be showing the Isle of Man Race on Sunday Night which is normally worth a look, the boys with FOX will probably be watching the superbikes.
Anyway plenty of racing for all to go round I just might have to watch the MotoGp Race at work.

De Puniet springs surprise in opening MotoGP Assen session
Thursday, 25 June 2009

Frenchman shocks with late 1â€37.842 lap in first run-out for the Alice TT Assen.


LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet sprang a surprise in the first MotoGP practice session for the Alice TT Assen, occupying the top spot on the timesheet with a 1â€37.842 lap that came from out of nowhere late in the session.

For the majority of the hour-long run, Fiat Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo had resumed their inter-team tussle by trading fastest laps, but eventually the duo were usurped by flying Frenchman De Puniet and then Lorenzo by Ducati Marlboroâ€s Casey Stoner –the rider with whom the leaders are tied on 106 points in the overall classification.

Just five-thousandths of a second divided De Puniet and Rossi, with Stoner a further three-hundredths down and Lorenzo only just unable to breach the 1â€38 barrier. Trailing the early pacesetters were Repsol Hondaâ€s Andrea Dovizioso & Dani Pedrosa and Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards, all under half-a-second down on De Puniet.

Adjusting to the track in the first practice run, many riders took a trip into the run-off areas in their quest to find the limit of their 800cc machinery. However, only one rider came off his bike, namely Scot Racingâ€s Yuki Takahashi. The Japanese rider suffered a highside that left him shaken but apparently uninjured.


ALICE TT ASSEN

MotoGP Free Practice Nr. 1 Classification
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'37.842 284.135
2 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'37.847 293.000 0.005
3 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'37.877 291.105 0.035
4 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'38.061 285.789 0.219
5 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'38.092 289.544 0.250
6 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'38.194 293.318 0.352
7 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'38.205 292.921 0.363
8 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'38.350 289.855 0.508
9 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'38.379 285.563 0.537
10 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'38.429 291.891 0.587
11 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'38.495 285.487 0.653
12 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'38.928 290.869 1.086
13 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 1'39.464 285.789 1.622
14 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1'39.597 288.615 1.755
15 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'39.642 291.340 1.800
16 59 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati 1'40.151 278.494 2.309
17 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'40.185 289.156 2.343
18 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1'41.020 283.018 3.178
19 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'41.380 276.852 3.538


Lorenzo makes statement in Friday practice
Friday, 26 June 2009

Fiat Yamaha rider quickest in second Assen run.


Fiat Yamahaâ€s Jorge Lorenzo was the standout rider in Friday morningâ€s MotoGP practice session, turning up the heat in the final minute of the run to establish an advantage of four-tenths of a second over fellow championship leader Casey Stoner.

His 1â€36.756 lap came on a softer Bridgestone rear after a session spent focusing on race performance with harder rubber. Lorenzo is the fastest rider of the week so far in preparation for the Alice TT Assen.

Stoner had an eventful outing, with a high speed wobble and a heated discussion with Randy de Puniet to liven up proceedings. His crew had worked overnight on engine braking to give the Ducati Marlboro rider a better feeling with the Desmosedici GP9.

Repsol Hondaâ€s Andrea Dovizioso picked up his pace despite feeling at less-than-100%, third fastest ahead of Valentino Rossi, Colin Edwards and his own teammate Dani Pedrosa.

De Puniet lowsided his LCR Honda late on without consequences and, as on Thursday, a selection of riders took a shortcut on the final corner trying to find the limit of their bikes and lines.


ALICE TT ASSEN

MotoGP Free Practice Nr. 2 Classification
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'36.756 288.924
2 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'37.178 289.777 0.422
3 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'37.248 290.869 0.492
4 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'37.490 294.037 0.734
5 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'37.617 291.813 0.861
6 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'37.861 294.599 1.105
7 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'37.924 293.318 1.168
8 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'37.939 285.563 1.183
9 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'38.104 284.885 1.348
10 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'38.123 289.855 1.367
11 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'38.322 289.932 1.566
12 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'38.439 290.635 1.683
13 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'38.455 294.197 1.699
14 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 1'38.887 287.463 2.131
15 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1'39.016 287.157 2.260
16 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1'39.197 288.384 2.441
17 59 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati 1'39.582 287.310 2.826
18 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'39.862 286.852 3.106
19 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'40.338 280.811 3.582


Rossi outguns rivals for pole in Dutch qualifying session
Friday, 26 June 2009

Italian to chase win from front, ahead of Pedrosa and Lorenzo.


Valentino Rossi will start his quest for a 100th Grand Prix victory from pole position at the Assen circuit on Saturday afternoon, taking the top spot for the Alice TT Assen with a 1â€36.025 lap.

Although it is Rossiâ€s second pole position of 2009, it is also the first time that he has topped a qualifying session this season. His previous pole came courtesy of combined practice times when the grid-deciding session in Japan was cancelled due to rainfall.

The Fiat Yamaha rider was trailed by Repsol Hondaâ€s Dani Pedrosa, who was less than a tenth of a second slower than the Italianâ€s hot lap. Pedrosa returns to the front row after two races away.

Jorge Lorenzo continued his 100% record of front line starts with a time three-tenths down on teammate Rossiâ€s marker, and the Spaniard made a final push for pole in the closing stages of the session. He is now the only rider to have qualified on the front row for every race of the 2009 season to date, having relegated the only other candidate –Casey Stoner- to fourth place.

Although Stoner had crossed the line with enough time to perform another hot lap, the Australian sat up and opted against a further attempt at pole. Problems with grip had plagued the Ducati Marlboro rider throughout the morning and afternoon sessions, and he had another wobble that left him obviously agitated during the outing.

Colin Edwards once again qualified on the second row after leading the session for a small period of time, alongside another veteran in Rizla Suzukiâ€s Loris Capirossi.

The only crash in the session came from Niccolò Canepa, the Pramac Racing rookie escaping uninjured.


ALICE TT ASSEN

MotoGP Qualifying Practice Classification
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'36.025 293.080
2 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'36.110 296.948 0.085
3 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'36.393 292.445 0.368
4 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'36.633 292.682 0.608
5 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'36.760 293.398 0.735
6 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'36.953 291.734 0.928
7 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'37.194 292.286 1.169
8 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'37.237 290.791 1.212
9 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'37.323 287.616 1.298
10 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'37.473 294.358 1.448
11 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'37.637 288.230 1.612
12 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 1'37.749 294.518 1.724
13 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'37.759 295.404 1.734
14 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1'37.948 287.386 1.923
15 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'38.136 294.358 2.111
16 59 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati 1'38.453 290.322 2.428
17 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1'38.605 287.157 2.580
18 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'38.619 291.655 2.594
19 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'39.407 282.944 3.382


New settings bring Tech 3 success
Friday, 26 June 2009

Colin Edwards and James Toseland reap fruits of M1 adjustments.


Monster Yamaha Tech 3 riders Colin Edwards and James Toseland will start from the second and third rows, respectively, for the Alice TT Assen, and Edwards believes that he can be challenging for the podium should things go his way. Toseland has been practicing his starts in order to get off the mark well.

Colin Edwards - 5th
“It certainly wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be because at the start of the session I was in and out of the pits a lot making adjustments and normally that's not a good sign. I've got a busy feeling on race tyres now I'm using the longer wheelbase. It puts a bit more weight on the front and while it's not chatter I don't feel I'm absorbing the bumps as well as I need to be. At certain times it feels like I'm skimming over the bumps, but despite that I'm pretty happy with my pace. I did a 37.3 on race tyres and for race pace that's acceptable. I think low 1.37s or high 1.36s will be the pace if it stays dry, and I'm confident I can run those times. I put my head down on the softer rear tyre and on my last lap I managed to set my best time even though the hard front had eight laps on it. After eight or nine laps the front will start to lose that special feeling and I had a couple of slides on my last couple of laps and I wasn't going to go any quicker than what I did. Considering that I'm happy to have equalled my best qualifying of the year, particularly as I feel we can make the bike better. I think we're looking good for tomorrow because the fourth section has always been a bogey section for me and that's where you can gain or lose a lot of time. On the Bridgestone's it is unbelievable through that last section. They are just so stable you don't get the handlebars shaking or flapping through the fast sections. Everything just rolls nice and smooth and I think we can get out there and fight at the front tomorrow.”
James Toseland - 9th
“I'm really happy even though I'm only ninth again on the grid. We've spent a lot of time working on the race setting with the new set-up and I'm feeling really confident on race tyres. The weight we've put on the rear is really helping the Bridgestone work and its helping keep load on the tyre. We put a bit more weight on the rear again today and we're getting better rear grip. I'm just trying to work the rear tyre a lot more with that extra load on it and that means I can exit the corner a lot better. I've also got more stability going into the corner but on the softer tyres there was so much traffic that I got held up a bit otherwise I might have gained another couple of places. I had to roll off when I came across Toni Elias and that was a big shame because I'd just done my best first split of the whole session. Fingers crossed it will be dry tomorrow because I feel I'm getting close to where I need to be. After Catalunya I've done about 15 practice starts this week end because it is crucial that I get away to give myself a chance of a top six. I'm trying a slightly different clutch just to be a bit smoother because as I release the clutch it has been a bit aggressive in the first few races. But I'm desperate to give Yamaha and my guys at Tech 3 a good result after all the help they've been giving me this weekend.”

Pedrosa admits Rossi qualifying aid
Friday, 26 June 2009

Spaniard follows poleman to take second on Assen grid.


Returning to the front row after two races away, Dani Pedrosa took advantage of having this yearâ€s Assen poleman in front of him to grab second on the grid in qualifying. The Repsol Honda rider is looking to end a year-long win drought for both himself and Honda on Saturday, and is feeling much more capable of the task than at his recent home round in Barcelona.

“Iâ€m pleased with my qualifying position today, especially considering that there was quite a lot of traffic on track in the final few minutes,” said Pedrosa, famed for his speedy starts in the premier class.

“Itâ€s always good to be on the front row, because then you have the best chance to make a clean getaway, so Iâ€m satisfied with second. I was lucky at the end of the session to have Valentino in front and being behind him helped me a lot to set this lap time.”

The former World Championship runner-up missed testing after the Barcelona race, and as such still has to play catch-up with some minor details ahead of the Alice TT Assen itself. However, he is feeling comfortable with both the bike and his rapidly improving physical condition.

“The feeling from the machine is quite good, although we still need to make some adjustments to the set-up to make best use of the Bridgestone tyres for the race, and this is what weâ€ll be working on in the warm-up tomorrow,” he explained.

“My physical condition on the bike today was again much better than at the last race in Barcelona and this makes a lot of difference because I am able to concentrate fully on riding. I know that the race will be very physically demanding though, so I can take nothing for granted. Still, with some final set-up improvements, I hope I can make a good start and have a strong race tomorrow.”


Second row for Capirossi in The Netherlands
Friday, 26 June 2009

Rizla Suzukiâ€s Loris Capirossi continued with his recent run of good form to force his way onto the second row of the grid for Saturdayâ€s Alice TT Assen race.


Loris Capirossi took forward steps all the way through Friday afternoonâ€s hour-long qualifying practice in Holland and is confident that there is still more to come from his Suzuki GSV-R during Saturday morningâ€s warm-up and 26-lap race.

Chris Vermeulen will start closely behind his team-mate as he lines up for the race at the front of the third row.

Loris Capirossi – 5th
"Overall we have made another step with the setting and I am quite happy about that, but we still need to take a further step tomorrow morning in the warm-up. The whole team is working really hard and they really understand what I need. I am still losing a bit of front feeling, but it's not that bad and I think it is something we can overcome. Second row is not too bad and we will have to see what sort of start we get and try to keep with the front pack. I am quite optimistic for tomorrow because if we make the small step we are looking for we will be right up there challenging!"
Chris Vermeulen – 7th
"It was a fairly good qualifying for us and a lot better than the previous two GPs. The team did a great job and made a big step forward with the bike. We went well on both the compounds of tyres today and the softer one gave quite a bit more grip at the rear so we used that to do the qualifying laps on. We were able to do seven or eight laps on them and they stayed very consistent which shows what a good job Bridgestone are doing. Unfortunately on my last run we were a bit close on time and I thought I'd get in one more lap, sadly I wasn't able to, but I am sure I would have improved my time - and hopefully grid position - because I made a couple of mistakes on my previous lap - which was my fastest - and I'm sure I'd have put them right Seventh place is a bit closer to the front than we have been recently and I'm feeling quite confident and looking forward to a good race tomorrow."


Unhappy Stoner complains about Assen traffic
Friday, 26 June 2009

Casey Stoner believes his progress at the Alice TT Assen is being hampered by other riders getting in his way at the Dutch track.


Last yearâ€s Assen racewinner Casey Stoner took his 2008 win from pole on that occasion but he will have to fight his way past some strong opponents if he is to repeat that victory on Saturday, having qualified off the front row for the first time this year.

The Australian starts fourth on the grid in the seventh race of the year, having qualified behind Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, 0.608s behind poleman Rossi. The pressure is on for the Ducati Marlboro star as he looks to step up the pace against fellow championship leaders Rossi and Lorenzo.

The 2007 World Champion appeared to lose his temper more than once on Friday, with Randy de Puniet apparently holding him up in the morning practice and Sete Gibernau reportedly slowing him down in the afternoon.

Afterwards, an irritated Stoner commented, “Things are going pretty well for us in terms of race set-up. When I put the qualifiers on I had so many riders in front of me it wasnâ€t funny. We had Sete Gibernau in the middle of the track in a sixth gear area, he looked around and saw me coming and didnâ€t bother to get out of the way.”

He continued, “It has happened to me about six times this weekend and Iâ€m starting to think itâ€s ridiculous. Iâ€m not the only one it happens to, it just seems like the riders running towards the rear of the field have no care and no worries about the guys setting the faster lap times. Iâ€m pretty disappointed about qualifying but our race pace is looking ok.”


De Puniet takes things easy after morning crash
Friday, 26 June 2009

Frenchman tenth on the grid as he focuses on Saturday race setup.


Thursday's top rider, Randy de Puniet's aspirations of a front row start were hit by a morning crash on Friday. He then centred his attention on race setup in order to best prepare for the Saturday showdown.

Randy de Puniet – 10th
“After this morning's crash we decided to go for a longer run to confirm our race set up. Basically we have an acceptable lap time on race tyre but I struggled with rear grip on the edge. We do not have too much time to work on that and so we moved to soft tyres, but we could not really improve our lap time. The bike slid to much and I did not want to take any risk. We expected a better grid position after yesterdayâ€s performance but itâ€s not the end of the world; I am hoping to get a top eight finish”.


Perfectionist Lorenzo disappointed with pole near-miss
Friday, 26 June 2009

Spaniard will start from third for the Alice TT Assen tomorrow.


With his own third place on the grid for he Alice TT Assen and Casey Stonerâ€s dropping down to fourth place, Jorge Lorenzo became the only rider with a 100% front row record in the 2009 season so far. The Spaniard was, however, a little disappointed with his final hot lap.

“Iâ€m a little disappointed with my last lap. I made some mistakes on a few corners and couldnâ€t improve my time,” lamented the Fiat Yamaha rider, joint leader of the MotoGP World Championship.

“Anyway, we have good pace and we will be trying to work on T4, where we are losing a few tenths at the moment, for the race. If we can do this then we have a chance of fighting for the podium tomorrow.”

Involved in an intense battle with teammate Valentino Rossi at the last round in Barcelona, on a Yamaha M1 that has been the standout bike at the past few races, Lorenzo believes that anything that can be significantly improved will not be the ride at his disposal. “We wonâ€t work on too much mechanically in the warmup. Maybe it will be myself that needs to improve, not the bike.”

The last time that Lorenzo started from the third grid spot, back at the Japanese race in Motegi, he emerged victorious.


Hayden up for the fight on Saturday
Friday, 26 June 2009


Having qualified on the fifth row Nicky Hayden is determined to fight his way through the field at the Alice TT Assen.


American former MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden is not at the front of the Assen grid, but he will do everything he can to get a good result before next weekâ€s trip home to the US and one of his favourite tracks, Laguna Seca.

Nicky Hayden – 13th
“Unfortunately qualifying is not our strong point at the moment but we made some improvements with the bike in free practice this morning. We changed the transmission, which helped a bit, and made a few more tweaks that made the general feeling of the bike a bit better but for the afternoon we tried some stuff that didnâ€t work so well. We had to go back to what we had this morning and I was only able to go a little bit faster, which is why the qualifying position isnâ€t great. The cooler track today made it hard to get heat into the left-hand side of the tyre. You donâ€t get good balance with the single compound tyres around here, for me at least, the right side is really good but itâ€s hard to get heat into the left. Weâ€ll see what the weather brings, obviously we could do with it being nice and hot, line up and see what we got!”

[busakid08]

Rossi Kicks ARSE !!! 100 GP Wins what a incredible racer and great guy ......

Lorenzo rides well and is def going to be a force in years to come

Stoner whine .... well lets face it whine whinge whine (hey Casey ever tried smiling and just enjoying yourself) Cant even give respect and turn up for press conference - what a dick; Stoner you will never be as good as Rossi even if you ever (unlikely) win as many races you will never be teh man he is ahhhh ha ha ha ha ha ha


oh yeah there was someother guys racing to 2nd group was fun to watch


ok well I am off for the week interstate with a smile - enjoy the rerun on Ten HD :)

[Gnarbunkle99]

Lets dip our lids to the Pizza Muncher, he sure can ride, 100 wins is quite a milestone.

[REVIT13]

well done to Rossi, true champion.

what's with Stoner's mystery illness? no show at the after race conference.

[CarbonBusa]

Well, The Best rider in the UNIVERSE has done it AGAIN!!!!!!

Thanks Greeny, but what did I do

[busakid08]

100 .............            

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Valentino Rossi appears to reach a Grand Prix milestone with every victory added to his legacy, and the Italian reached a century of World Championship wins with his latest triumph on Saturday in Assen. The Fiat Yamaha rider had less of a battle on his hands than two weeks prior in Barcelona, and was in better condition to give an animated celebration –this time an unraveling of a celebratory banner and a photo with an ‘old school†camera.

“Itâ€s a fantastic achievement. 100 victories is a great number. Thanks to all the guys who have helped me to reach this number –my teams over the past ten years, Jeremy Burgess and especially all my close friends and family for giving me motivation. We hope to win some other races though!” said Rossi after stepping onto the podium with a custom made ‘100†flag.

On the race itself, which he led for almost the entirety after starting from pole, the reigning World Champion commented that: “I had a good feeling and knew that I was very fast on two or three points in the track, so I tried to get out to the front as soon as possible and impose my rhythm. It was a perfect race because any mistakes would have a high cost. I knew that Lorenzo was very strong, so I tried to take an advantage.

“Itâ€s been two races that the bike has had a good setting. This year the bike is fantastic, and we hope to continue in this way.”

Rossi will have little time to savour the win, as the MotoGP World Championship takes a swift transatlantic flight to Laguna Seca, California for next weekendâ€s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. The 30-year old was a winner there in 2008, but knows that things wonâ€t be easy stateside.

“Last year was great, but it will be hard with just 3-4 days of rest. We are in a good moment, and I hope to have a good race like last year.”

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Valentino Rossi won his 100th Grand Prix, took his second triumph in succession and became the undisputed leader of the MotoGP World Championship with a stellar performance at the Alice TT Assen. The Fiat Yamaha rider had a peerless performance from pole position and, unlike two weeks previous in Barcelona, needed no ‘Hail Mary†last lap at the Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing.

A vintage Rossi performance was celebrated with his unraveling a backdrop and posing for a classic photo with antiquated cameras, the Italianâ€s latest post-race show with his faithful fan club.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo was once again forced to settle for second place, his third on the bounce. The Spaniard got off to a bad start from third on the grid and, although he was able to fight back up to the front, could not provide Rossi with the same challenge that he had done last time out.

Ducati Marlboroâ€s Casey Stoner completed the podium with a solitary ride chasing Lorenzo. The Australian now trails Rossi and his Spanish rival in the overall standings after the trio had been level on points heading in to the Assen race.

Colin Edwards equaled his best result of the year with fourth place, at the head of an enthralling battle between the ‘best of the restâ€. Rizla Suzukiâ€s Chris Vermeulen and Edwards†Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teammate James Toseland were also in the top six with their best finishes of the season to date.

Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso had been in with a shout at the rostrum, but both took tumbles before the race took its full shape. There was also a late fall for Pramac Racingâ€s Mika Kallio when the Finn was challenging for sixth on the final lap.

Toni Elías was penalised twenty seconds for using the run-off area illegally on the final lap.

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Valentino Rossi celebrates Assen victoryValentino Rossi reached yet another milestone in his astounding career as he claimed his 100th victory at grand prix level with a dominant performance in the Assen TT.

The reigning champion led a Yamaha one-two for the second successive race, but unlike Catalunya two weeks ago, no late heroics were required to beat his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, for Rossi had this race totally under control from very early on.

Dani Pedrosa had jumped into the lead from second place at the start, and although Rossi repassed the Honda further around the opening lap, Casey Stoner slipped his Ducati past them both as they diced.

Stoner's time up front was brief, though, as he ran just wide enough for Rossi to sneak ahead at the first corner next time around. Once ahead, there was no stopping Rossi, who soon started disappearing into the distance and duly secured victory and took sole possession of the championship lead.

Having lost several positions at the start, Lorenzo soon moved up to second, but could not catch Rossi, while Stoner had no answer to the Yamahas' pace and finished over 20s adrift in third.

Pedrosa stayed with Stoner in fourth until crashing out at the first corner after four laps. Honda's frustration then doubled six laps later as Andrea Dovizioso went out at the same spot while also chasing Stoner.

Colin Edwards therefore ended up in fourth for Tech 3 Yamaha, after passing fast-starter Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki), who produced his best performance of 2009 so far to take fifth.

The muscular six-bike battle for sixth was the highlight of a largely uneventful race. James Toseland equalled his career best result by emerging on top of this incredible dice, but only after Mika Kallio crashed his Pramac Ducati on the final lap when seemingly on course for sixth.

Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) recovered from several incidents to take seventh, followed by the charging Toni Elias (Gresini Honda), Nicky Hayden (Ducati) - who had earlier run as high as seventh - and Loris Capirossi (Suzuki), who never got back into contention after losing ground on the first lap.

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 42m14.611s
2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha + 5.368s
3. Casey Stoner Ducati + 23.113s
4. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha + 29.114s
5. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki + 33.605s
6. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha + 39.347s
7. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda + 39.543s
8. Toni Elias Gresini Honda + 39.774s
9. Nicky Hayden Ducati + 39.823s
10. Loris Capirossi Suzuki + 40.673s
11. Alex de Angelis Gresini Honda + 46.100s
12. Marco Melandri Hayate Kawasaki + 57.777s
13. Sete Gibernau Hernando Ducati +1m05.366s
14. Niccolo Canepa Pramac Ducati +1m09.897s
15. Yuki Takahashi Scot Honda +1m09.930s
16. Gabor Talmacsi Scot Honda +1m25.099s

Retirements:

Mika Kallio Pramac Ducati 25 laps
Andrea Dovizioso Honda 10 laps
Dani Pedrosa Honda 4 laps