Moto GP

[Rev004]

Well the season draws nearer with one more round of testing at Jerez for the riders and teams to sort everything out and get ready for that day that we are looking forward to April the 12th when the 1st round kicks off for all us fans. Once again we will be sitting in front of the TV at all hours or the circuit for some but hey are we in for one hell of a year and it's any mans guess who will be standing on top of that Podium at the end of the year. In the mean time here's some more gossip from the GP circle.

Pedrosa progressing on comeback trail
Friday, 13 March 2009

Medical examination reveals steady recovery for Spaniard.


Dani Pedrosaâ€s recovery following two surgical procedures has been the talk of the MotoGP world over the past week, and the Spaniardâ€s progression appears to be moving along well.

A medical examination on Wednesday suggested that the healing process was progressing smoothly, with the skin graft attached to his knee completely attached and adapted. Doctor. Xavier Mir also confirmed that a cast in place on Pedrosaâ€s previously fractured wrist could be removed. The former MotoGP World Championship runner-up will return to the Institut Universitari Dexeus next week to have stitches removed from the appendage.

As a result of the recommendation for complete rest, Pedrosa will be unable to attend this Saturdayâ€s Repsol Honda team presentation in Madrid. He is scheduled to give a video press conference and pose with his new Honda RC212V whilst teammate Andrea Dovizioso takes charge of the physical side of the event.

Pedrosa will miss the final test of the 2009 preseason in Jerez as a result of last weekâ€s surgery.


AGV announce Rossi ‘Celebr-8†replica helmet
Friday, 13 March 2009

GP-Tech imitation model will go on sale in the spring.


Helmet manufacturer AGV have announced a spring release for a replica helmet christened the ‘Celebr-8â€, a version of the lid used by Valentino Rossi to commemorate his eighth MotoGP World Championship win at Motegi last year.

The helmet will be a limited edition of the GP-Tech design, itself produced with Rossiâ€s input and regarded as AGVâ€s most advanced product.

All the details used by Rossi will be present on the replica; the number eight, symbols of the sun and moon and his famous 46 logo, in addition to the chequered flag that symbolized the finale of Rossiâ€s title journey.


Melandri: One year contract with Hayate Racing
Thursday, 12 March 2009

Italian rider motivated to show potential in 2009, having cancelled Kawasaki contract.


Marco Melandri will contest the 2009 season as a Hayate Racing rider in a single-rider, single-year deal, the Italian has confirmed to motogp.com. His previous two-year contract with Kawasaki has been torn up and a new agreement hastily arranged in time for the start of the coming season, one in which he will ride a Ninja ZX-RR with no further factory development.

“The contract with Kawasaki has been cancelled. I had to make a big financial sacrifice, but the most important thing that I wanted was to find trust,” he said on Thursday morning, just over a week on from his first testing appearance of 2009 in Qatar.

“I have nothing to lose. One month ago I had one foot outside the World Championship, and now I have a team that is working solely for me. My motivation is this, and to show Kawasaki that they made a mistake in choosing to pull out their factory support.”

His future confirmed, next on Melandriâ€s agenda is finding solutions to some of the problems experienced in Qatar. Although he was some way off the fastest riders at the test, the Hayate Racing man has pinpointed what he thinks are the big factors slowing him down. He put 80% of the time differential down to a rear grip issue that has been a persistent thorn in the side of those riding the Ninja ZX-RR, a difficulty that he admits may not be resolved within the month.

“We werenâ€t fast in Qatar; thatâ€s a fact. The bike did make a good impression on me though. I donâ€t know how much it will be possible to improve it before the start of the season, but the team have assured me that they will be making a big effort until the end of March,” the former World Championship runner-up continued.

Melandri has experienced two difficult seasons with Honda and Ducati, respectively, in 2007-2008. Vocal about any disappointments and brutally honest, much interest will focus on how he reacts to a bike with which he does not expect to be pushing for the podium, but for the moment he is not looking too far ahead.

“Iâ€ve heard about not getting any factory support, but I believe in the work that has been done up to now. If the bike improves then I think that I can keep up. Obviously if Iâ€m coming in last every Sunday then it will be hard to deal with, but I donâ€t want to think so far into the future.”


2009 Hungarian Grand Prix officially cancelled
Thursday, 12 March 2009

FIM accepts Balatonring request to remove race from 2009 calendar.


Following consultation with the FIM, the scheduled 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix has been removed from the MotoGP World Championship calendar. The request to postpone the inaugural race at the Balatonring circuit until 2010, owing to the delay in construction of the track, was accepted by the FIM.

There are no plans to replace the race with another Grand Prix event, reducing the calendar for the year to seventeen rounds.

2009 MotoGP Calendar
April 12th Qatar Losail
April 26th Japan Motegi
May 3rd Spain Jerez
May 17th France Le Mans
May 31st Italy Mugello
June 14th Catalunya Catalunya
June 27th Netherlands Assen
July 5th United States Laguna Seca
July 19th Germany Sachsenring
July 26th Great Britain Donington Park
August 16th Czech Republic Brno
August 30th Indianapolis Indianapolis
September 6th San Marino & Riviera di Rimini Misano
October 4th Portugal Estoril
October 18th Australia Phillip Island
October 25th Malaysia Sepang
November 8th Valencia Ricardo Tormo - Valencia


Repsol Honda make official presentation in Madrid
Saturday, 14 March 2009
The Repsol Honda Team project for the 2009 season was presented at the same time as the Indoor Trial round in Madrid, an event that where Andrea Dovizioso & Toni Bou were present, they were accompanied by Dani Pedrosa via videoconference


This afternoon the Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid was converted into an authentic spectacle of light and music so that Repsol Honda Team`s latest addition, Andrea Dovizioso, could be presented to Spanish fans. Dani Pedrosa, still recovering from the injuries he picked up in the latest practice sessions in Qatar, did not want to miss out on the presentation either, and even though he was not able to be there in person he was there as a virtual guest via satellite. This allowed him to greet all the fans in the stadium from Barcelona and even to respond to the questions made by some Repsol workers.

At the end of the presentation Dovizioso unveiled the Repsol Honda RC212V 2009, A bike that he will ride and battle to be up with best on in this season`s World MotoGP Championship, and which thanks to the latest regulations, promises to be very competitive.

With the 2009 season about to start and with all eyes on the first race on 12th April, at night in Qatar, the final round of the World Indoor Trial Championship became a party for all the fans in the stadium. The recently crowned three times World Indoor Trial Champion, Toni Bou, made a spectacular entrance into the hall alongside Andrea Dovizioso. The two jumped onto the stage riding trial bikes, a fantastic sight that was a great warm-up for the official presentation of the riders that will defend the Repsol colours in the 2009 World MotoGP Championship.

Music from Melocos and a spectacular light show were the atmospheric setting that gave a chance to all the fans packed into the Palacio de Deportes to get to know the new member of the Repsol Honda Team, and his brand new official RC212V. His teammate Dani Pedrosa, who was not able to go to Madrid, did not miss out on the opportunity to accompany Dovizioso either and he greeted the public by taking advantage of the latest satellite technology. And he in turn received the support and affection of the public in the Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid thanks to a video-conference.

The party carried on with the final round of the World Indoor Trial Championship, something that gave Bou a chance to offer his fifth world title to the public – this is his third indoor title – after he wrapped the championship by winning the penultimate round in Italy. The next time the Repsol Honda Team is together will be at the Official MotoGP Test that will take place in Jerez in two weeks, but only Andrea Dovizioso will be there. For Dani Pedrosa things are different, his objective is to be fit enough for the first race of the year: on 12th April at the Circuit of Losail, Qatar.

Dani Pedrosa
“I feel fine – that is making progress at a normal pace – and taking things with a lot of patience, because I still have two weeks left before I can begin to bend my knee. That is why I have not been able to be with the fans that have gone to see the presentation in Madrid, I have to let my body recover, which after all is what you have to bear in mind in a case like this. But being able to greet the fans that have gone to the presentation thanks to the video-conference from Barcelona, I am glad that I was able to be present, even though it was through a monitor. I would like to be fit enough to do more practice, but I will have to find another way to prepare. The objective is stil the same, try to be fit for the first race in Qatar in a month`s time.”

Andrea Dovizioso
“Becoming an official rider in the Repsol Honda Team is a dream come true for me. It is a great experience and an incredible challenge, something I have already had a chance to see in the pre-season practice sessions. Being in the official team means that you carry more responsibility, I now have to help develop the motorbike, and that in the world of MotoGP is quite complex. All I did before was to ride and go as fast as possible, refining the setup, but now I also have to think about how the bike behaves so that its overall performance can be improved. The bike is going quite a bit better as we have more power coming from the engine, and a new chassis has really helped us with the sensations that the front end transmits to us, it now leans over better. I am very pleased to be in Madrid for the presentation of the Repsol team, and from now on I will do all I can in the fight for the world title.”