Phillip Island MotoGp

[Rev]

Storm...... Are our meat heads better than their block heads, not up with this rugby grunt fest stuff

[arthur dunga]

Friday was average from this spectators point of view ,lots of wind & rain. We have a seats at siberia stand,(last year was in the stand exiting southern loop & i think a better view) .Everyone riding on the track spins me out ,ffs, coming out of the corner sliding with the front wheel in the air on opposite lock, & quick .Busa's everywhere,on the road down,( saw a blue08 with nsw reg ,thought it may have been simmo on a saturday arvo jaunt) in the parking paddock, at the show & shine expo,& one doing burnout 's on the track!!!.Weathers lookin good so expecting a top day tomorrow.

[DAD]

I know where your your coming from NEMESIS Im over Rossi . I know Stoner has had a lot of crap this year from Rossi fans but the thing is that all the dudes who give him crap could'nt even keep up with the rider that comes last in any of the races and there got the hide to say stuff like that to him or any of these blokes. I reckon what should happen is that if someone comes out with any statement against a GP rider the punishment should be 10 laps on the back with the rider that they have been pickin on then lets see how smart they are after that.

[Rev004]

I would have to agree with you guys about the Oh Hale Rossi but I don't take anything away from him as a rider. Personnally he should make the most of the world championship becuase he won't win next year there is way to much competition that will heat things up, Lorenzo, Pedrose, Stoner & Dovizioso just to list some but i think these guys are the ones to beat next season. Now for you Rossi people I'm not saying he won't be up there to but I think some of the new blood will start to shine.

Anyway enough dribble...here is some light reading for those interested..


Qualifying fall a pain in the neck for Rossi

Valentino Rossi picked up whiplash and damage to his neck muscles in qualifying at Phillip Island, but should be fit to race on Sunday.

Valentino Rossi will undergo massage treatment on his neck in order to be fully fit for the Australian Grand Prix, following a fall in the Saturday afternoon qualifying session. The 2008 MotoGP world titlist had an awkward collision with the ground when his Fiat Yamaha M1 ran him into the grass and then the gravel trap, leaving the Italian sore and unable to clock a flying lap to elevate himself from the fourth row.

Slight whiplash and damage to his neck muscles were diagnosed by Dr. Claudio Costa from the Clinica Mobile, and Team Manager Davide Brivio also revealed afterwards that Rossi had understandably picked up a headache in the incident.

`The worst part will be tomorrow morning I think,´ said Brivio. `Valentino is receiving massages and taking pills for his headache, and we´ll see how the night goes for how his condition is. We always leave these kinds of decision to the rider.´

`I was pushing a lot with the qualifying tyre but unfortunately I went too wide at turn two and I came onto the grass on the exit. I thought I could take the bike back onto the track but, as soon as I touched the muddy grass I lost control and I couldn´t stop it,´ explained Rossi himself.

`Then I bumped my head and neck pretty hard when I landed in the gravel. It´s a pity that I will have to start from twelfth tomorrow, because this afternoon, with my Bridgestone race tyres, I had a very good pace.´

Rossi´s qualifying position is his worst of the season, and marks the first time that he has been off the front row in Australia since 2002.


The men behind Rossi´s success

motogp.com meets Valentino Rossi´s crew chief Jeremy Burgess to learn more about the six-time MotoGP World Champion´s title-winning team.

Even before Valentino Rossi´s historic move to Yamaha in 2004, the core of the Italian´s crew had a distinctly antipodean feel.

The team has been led by Jeremy Burgess for many years, and includes his fellow Aussies Alex Briggs and Gary Coleman, alongside Belgian mechanic Bernard Ansiau - all three having moved from Honda to Yamaha with Burgess and Rossi.

Existing Yamaha team members, Italian Data Recording Engineer Matteo Flamigni and Kiwi mechanic Brent Stephens, complete one of the most efficient and successful crews in the MotoGP paddock.


Bridgestone make proposal to be single tyre supplier in 2009

Japanese tyre manufacturers Bridgestone have submitted their proposal to the FIM and Dorna to be the sole supplier of tyres in MotoGP in 2009.

In a meeting held on Saturday at Phillip Island the Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman), Claude Danis (FIM), Herve Poncharal (IRTA) and Takanao Tsubouchi (MSMA), in the presence of Mr. Paul Butler (Secretary of the meeting), were informed that Bridgestone has sent a proposal to the FIM and Dorna to be the single tyre supplier in MotoGP for 2009.

The proposal will be studied and an announcement will be made on 18th October 2008 in Sepang, Malaysia.

Bridgestone´s current competitors in the premier class, Michelin, did not submit a proposal as confirmed by a press release from the French tyre company themselves on Saturday.

Hiroshi Yamada, Bridgestone´s Motorcycle Sport Unit Manager, commented, `We submitted our proposal yesterday and we have heard that Michelin didn´t apply. At the moment they have not decided yet which company will supply the tyres for next year, but as we are the only manufacturer (to propose) there is a very high possibility that we will be the supplier for next year´.


Stoner acknowledges inspirational Doohan

As both riders were honoured for their respective World Championship wins at Phillip Island on Friday, Casey Stoner told motogp.com about his admiration for MotoGP Legend Mick Doohan.

`MotoGP Champions Towers´ were presented to the premier class´ Australian World Champions to acknowledge their achievements on Friday at Phillip Island, bringing together 2007 title winner Casey Stoner and the legendary Mick Doohan.

As part of MotoGP´s celebrations marking the 60th season of Grand Prix racing this year, 1987 title-winner Wayne Gardner and Barry Sheene´s son Freddie - on behalf of his father - also collected trophies, and speaking at the event Stoner was quick to pay tribute to Australian hero Doohan, who was a five-time 500cc World Champion during an uninterrupted period of dominance in the late 1990s.

Doohan won his quintet of consecutive World titles from 1994-98 having incredibly fought back from injury when at one stage he was close to losing his right leg due to medical complications, following a horror crash in practice at Assen when leading the 1992 championship by 65 points.

Currently struggling with a wrist injury which causes him fatigue and pain during practice and races, Stoner will need surgery at the end of this season having admitted that otherwise his career could be in danger – though he does not compare his own situation to the suffering Doohan endured.

The Ducati Marlboro rider stated, `It was a big privilege to receive the trophy at the same time as these guys as I grew up watching them and they have shaped my career. You don´t need to hear from the people directly when you can see what they have done (…referring to Doohan´s injury and comeback). With my wrist we can only do the best job possible to recover from it and once we have had the operation I am sure everything is going to be fine. It is not like the kind of injury Mick had.´

On-track on Friday, Stoner ended day one of the 2008 visit to his home track as the fastest rider courtesy of a 1'30.094 effort in the dry morning session, keeping him more than half a second ahead of second quickest participant Valentino Rossi.

Although Stoner said he found he going easier physically in the wet afternoon free practice he was 1.765s off Nicky Hayden´s pace-setting best, in fourth place on the timesheet.

`This morning in the dry session it was a lot harder, wet conditions are not really an issue at the moment,´ Stoner revealed. `In the dry the changing of direction seems to be a little bit difficult. That is why I would like to try and get the bike set-up a little easier to ride and then we might be ok.´

[ROD]

Rossi love or hate him he will still go down in history as one of the greats and a funny one at that if you want someone to pick on take 4 wheels and Mark Webber that man is a dud blames every problem on something other than him self

[Rev004]

Well the day that we all want to see is upon us and the main race is kicking of in a few hours. In the mean time Stoner has set the pace in warm up and Rossi is circulating with issue as it would appear any way. The other news that I haven't seen much about is the possible changing of the MotoGp Dates from Oct to March due to the unpredictable weather that goes with this time of year, apparently Rossi with backing from Stoner and other riders have raised the issue so we will have to wait and see what the outcome is on that one..

So I still putting my money on Stoner to win


Stoner fastest in warm-up, Rossi rides without problems

Poleman and home favourite Casey Stoner was more than a second faster than any of his rivals in the Sunday morning MotoGP warm-up at Phillip Island.


Ducati Marlboro´s Aussie hero Casey Stoner warmed-up the home crowd with a dominant display of pace in the Sunday warm-up run, lapping the sun-kissed Phillip Island track 1.122s quicker than nearest rival Alex de Angelis with a 1´29.707 effort in the 10.40am outing.

With similar times to De Angelis, Honda-equipped Michelin-men Randy de Puniet, Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden were also in the top five.

Lapping sixth quickest Valentino Rossi appeared to be riding without any major restriction, after his painful qualifying crash yesterday afternoon, which saw him end up twelfth on the grid.

The warm-up top ten also included Dani Pedrosa and a Yamaha trio of 100th Grand Prix participant Colin Edwards, birthday boy James Toseland and front row starter Jorge Lorenzo.

The only crasher in the session was Stoner´s team-mate Marco Melandri who walked away unscathed from the incident. Toseland had a run-off after being hit by a bird, but was able to stay upright and immediately returned to the asphalt.


AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
MotoGP Warm Up Classification [/b]

Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap

1 1 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'29.707 328.065
2 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'30.829 315.366 1.122
3 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'30.862 315.826 1.155
4 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP Honda 1'30.946 318.799 1.239
5 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'30.960 322.020 1.253
6 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'30.978 324.139 1.271
7 2 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'31.079 326.090 1.372
8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 1'31.082 321.925 1.375
9 52 James TOSELAND GBR Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 1'31.129 321.543 1.422
10 48 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'31.187 322.404 1.480
11 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'31.316 313.995 1.609
12 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'31.505 317.771 1.798
13 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'31.637 327.668 1.930
14 56 Shinya NAKANO JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'31.666 321.829 1.959
15 50 Sylvain GUINTOLI FRA Alice Team Ducati 1'31.726 327.272 2.019
16 21 John HOPKINS USA Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 1'31.986 322.788 2.279
17 13 Anthony WEST AUS Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 1'32.506 320.212 2.799
18 24 Toni ELIAS SPA Alice Team Ducati 1'33.297 324.431 3.590


[b]MotoGP Legends enjoy Phillip Island return

Australian MotoGP Legends Mick Doohan and Wayne Gardner were joined on-track by former World Championship runner-up Randy Mamola at Phillip Island on Saturday.

The crowd at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix got a real treat on Saturday, with beautiful weather, pole position for home rider Casey Stoner and some exhibition laps by MotoGP Legends Mick Doohan and Wayne Gardner to round off a perfect day.

Doohan - the 1994-98 World Champion - and Gardner – the 1987 title winner – went round the picturesque Phillip Island track on Honda CBR1000RR Fireblades, pulling wheelies, waving to the crowd and getting up to good speeds on the main straight, alongside Randy Mamola on a Ducati.

Having completed the ride and looking back a decade after the last of his five consecutive World titles, Doohan joked, `I´m probably about 100km/h slower than Valentino Rossi and the others! It´s a little bit of fun to ride around there even though we are going quite slowly. You can never take the racer out of the man!´

Recognising Stoner´s good qualifying performance and looking ahead to the MotoGP race Doohan added, `It was a great effort from Casey right at the end there. Michelin seemed to have a bit of an edge today in qualifying so we will see what happens on Sunday. I would not write off Rossi, even though he may be starting in twelfth. He is a demon racer and the twelfth position won´t be there for very long.´


Tackling Lukey Heights: The locals´ guide

motogp.com gets the insight of local trio, Casey Stoner, Chris Vermeulen and Anthony West, on how to tackle the famous Lukey Heights section at Phillip Island.


Lukey Heights is named after Melbourne businessman, racing driver and former Phillip Island circuit owner Len Lukey - and is one of the Australian track´s key landmarks.

It comprises a long left-hander leading to a blind crest, followed by a tricky downhill run and a challenging hairpin which leads onto the crucial final section of the circuit.

A perfect example of the demanding nature of the Australian track, Lukey Heights is a true rider-favourite, requiring sharp riding and a perfectly balanced bike - as explained by 2007 World Champion Casey Stoner, Kawasaki rain-specialist Anthony West and Rizla Suzuki´s ever-popular Chris Vermeulen.

[Rev004]

GO Stoner you little beauty

Stoner repeats Australian victory ahead of rejuvenated Rossi

Casey Stoner repeated his 2007 home victory at Phillip Island, ahead of two rivals with World Championship pedigree.


In front of 50,541 spectators at Phillip Island, Casey Stoner repeated his 2007 home victory in the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. The Ducati rider led the race from start to finish after taking off from pole, and eventually crossed the line some six seconds ahead of his nearest rival.

Stoner´s fifth victory of the year, combined with a first lap crash from Dani Pedrosa, means that last year´s MotoGP World Champion is all-but assured of the runner-up spot in the standings in 2008. Pedrosa picked up a contusion to his left leg in the fall, but was otherwise unharmed in the incident.

Stoner´s future Ducati teammate Nicky Hayden attempted to keep up with the local hero over the course of the race, but the Australian proved too hot to handle in the final third. From then on Hayden had to be aware of the threat of newly crowned MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi lurking in the shadows, as the Fiat Yamaha stalked the man who beat him to the title in 2006.

Rossi overtook Hayden on the final lap, and held off the American´s attempts to re-pass him as the chequered flag loomed. Starting from his worst position on the grid of the entire season, Rossi´s move up to second from twelfth was nothing short of majestic.

Rossi´s teammate Jorge Lorenzo came home fourth in the battle of the race, involving himself, Shinya Nakano, James Toseland and Andrea Dovizioso. Toseland had been the chief protagonist of the action over the course of the 27-lap race, duking it out with Rossi and Lorenzo in the early stages and pushing hard for the podium on his 28th birthday. The Tech 3 Yamaha rider gave perhaps his best performance to date onboard a MotoGP bike, and was unlucky to be hussled by the more experienced Nakano and relegated to sixth.

Colin Edwards, Randy de Puniet, Loris Capirossi and Toni Elias rounded off the first ten past the line, whilst home rider Chris Vermeulen was denied the chance to push for a higher position by his running off-track on the opening lap.

Rossi´s charge up the field could easily have been halted by the only other crash apart from that of Pedrosa, when Alex de Angelis hit the ground just a few yards in front of him.

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
Phillip Island MotoGP Race

1 25 1 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 40'56.643 175.990
2 20 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 41'03.147 175.525 6.504
3 16 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 41'03.848 175.475 7.205
4 13 48 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 41'08.143 175.170 11.500
5 11 56 Shinya NAKANO JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 41'08.557 175.141 11.914
6 10 52 James TOSELAND GBR Tech 3 Yamaha YAMAHA 41'08.886 175.117 12.243
7 9 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA 41'09.423 175.079 12.780
8 8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Tech 3 Yamaha YAMAHA 41'22.563 174.152 25.920
9 7 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 41'22.680 174.144 26.037
10 6 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 41'23.442 174.091 26.799
11 5 24 Toni ELIAS SPA Alice Team DUCATI 41'23.670 174.075 27.027
12 4 13 Anthony WEST AUS Kawasaki Racing Team KAWASAKI 41'44.451 172.630 47.808
13 3 21 John HOPKINS USA Kawasaki Racing Team KAWASAKI 41'44.976 172.594 48.333
14 2 50 Sylvain GUINTOLI FRA Alice Team DUCATI 41'45.542 172.555 48.899
15 1 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 41'45.578 172.553 48.935
16 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 42'08.410 170.995 1'11.767
Not finished first lap
15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA
2 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA


Pole Position: Casey STONER 1'28.665 180.598 Km/h
Fastest Lap (New record): Lap 3 Nicky HAYDEN 1'30.059 177.803Km/h
Circuit Record Lap: Marco MELANDRI 1'30.332 177.266 Km/h
Circuit Best Lap: 2008 Casey STONER 1'28.665 180.598 Km/h

[BUSGO]

A great race and a brilliant battle for the minor placings throughout.

So sorry that I put the mockas on Chris and it was a shame to see Pedrosa go out so early.
I reckon he may have made a difference at the end.

[BUSGO]

A better photo of Stoner.
[attachment=4006]

The winning podium.
[attachment=4007]

[Gassick]

I know where your your coming from NEMESIS Im over Rossi . I know Stoner has had a lot of crap this year from Rossi fans but the thing is that all the dudes who give him crap could'nt even keep up with the rider that comes last in any of the races and there got the hide to say stuff like that to him or any of these blokes. I reckon what should happen is that if someone comes out with any statement against a GP rider the punishment should be 10 laps on the back with the rider that they have been pickin on then lets see how smart they are after that.

HAIL VALENTINO!!!! POP! Sorry, Dad. I'm a Stoner knocker and no I wouldn't get on a bike with him! He'd more than likely drop it!!!

[Volvi]

Love or hate Rossi, he proved today from his starting position that he is a champion and always a force to be reckoned with. But glad Stoner took the flag, literally too.

I just went as far as Tooradin had a nice relaxing cafe trip with some friends. Met there 2 busa riders, 2003 Blue/Silver and 05 Black/Grey neither familiar with this forum so updated them.

A beautiful day with perfect weather.

[DAD]

No offence taken Cossack i mean Gassick but you probably dont know what a Cossack is but us old timers do. Hail the old Timers!

[busakid08]

Rossi doesnt have to run away in case someone wants to race him like Stoner does the f$%g whimp - Rossa agin proves just how bloody good he isx .... again - plus he has a personality unlike Stoner who is monotone and boring as batshit. Did I mention how great teh day was down here ha ha ha

[RaZ]

No affence taken Cossack i mean Gassick but you probably dont know what a Cossack is but us old timers do. Hail the old Timers!

oh he is an old timer alright

[Gassick]

No affence taken Cossack i mean Gassick but you probably dont know what a Cossack is but us old timers do. Hail the old Timers!

oh he is an old timer alright

Don't you be so cheeky you young whipper snapper you!