2013 MotoGP Thread

[Tifoso]

Ok, so who wants to keep this thread updated (season dates, tests, races)?:-)


Rossi looking really fast on the Yamaha, right? :-)

How does Ducati look? Hayden and who???

[Rob]

Lap times drop as Pedrosa leaves Sepang on a high

Sepang Official MotoGP Test - Day 3 Highlights
Thursday, 7 February 2013

Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa heads into the two-week break as the man to beat after ending the final day of the Sepang test on top, as riders across the field dropped their laps times once more.
Pedrosa’s teammate Marc Márquez gave everyone a scare in the morning as he crashed in the final turn at speed, although he walked away unscathed and could continue his work on his second bike. A record lap set by Pedrosa of 2:00’100 was not beaten all day, as Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo ended just over three tenths off, himself focussing on a race simulation later in the day.

His teammate Valentino Rossi also showed that he could get below the 2:01 mark, leaving it until just before lunch to post his fastest time that saw him end the day in third behind his teammate. Márquez, despite going quicker again today, was this time unable to finish in the top three as he put in a lengthy run at the end, yet stayed a close fourth, challenged by the impressive Cal Crutchlow, the last rider below the 2:01 mark, on his 2012 Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine.

LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl just missed out on that feat with a time of 2.01’003, although the German looked on good form as he went quicker once more on his RC213V. Go & Fun Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista improved over yesterday’s time, getting more dialled in to the bike’s geometry and Showa suspension, with Tech 3 rookie Bradley Smith continuing his steep, but progressive, learning curve in eighth. Smith also undertook a race simulation early in the day before setting his best time.

The Ducati Team will be buoyed by progress, with Nicky Hayden gaining over a second over the three days, as he ended the day in ninth, with teammate Andrea Dovizioso less than a hundredth behind. Yamaha test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga was the first outside of the top ten, in front of Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaró, who put in a tremendous effort to place his CRT 12th, and just over 2.5s off the top. He ousted Pramac Team’s Italian rookie Andrea Iannone into 13th, who was without teammate Ben Spies today, as the Texan decided to sit it out and let his shoulder recuperate before the second Sepang test. He finished the overall standings in 15th.

HRC test rider Kosuke Akiyoshi headed Paul Bird Motorsport’s Michael Laverty, who has improved by nearly 3s over the three days on his MotoGP™ debut. He beat established Aspar rider Randy de Puniet, who finished ahead of Yamaha test rider Wataru Yoshikawa, Avintia Blusens’ Héctor Barberá and HRC test rider Takumi Takahashi. Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci ended the day in 20th, in front of Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham, Avintia’s Hiroshi Aoyama, NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Claudio Corti and Ioda’s Lukas Pesek. Rounding out the back of the grid are PBM’s Yonny Hernandez, trying to fix chatter issues, as well as NGM’s Colin Edwards and Gresini’s Bryan Staring.

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2013/Lap%20times%20drop%20as%20Pedrosa%20leaves%20Sepan g%20on%20a%20high

[killer]

How does Ducati look? Hayden and who???

Dovi. :-)

[Ste]

Pedrosa and Lorenzo both look strong - Marquez debut was extremely impressive. He looks super quick. Rossi is back, though slightly off the pace (not by much). He said he was happy with the test and the bike is to his liking; finally.

[Rishu]

Championship will be a three way battle..
Lor, Ped, Ros.. Consistency will be the key here & hence, Lorenzo looks good for another title

[Tifoso]

Dovi. :-)

Grazie.

Will be rooting for Ducati and boys and.......Rossi (the fricking interista :-) )

[killer]

Grazie.

Will be rooting for Ducati and boys and.......Rossi (the fricking interista :-) )

I thought you said we went for Inter?

:-D

[Tifoso]

I thought you said we went for Inter?

:-D

Which is why he's a fricking interista :-D

Will support him while holding my nose :-D

[Rob]

Think having Rossi back on a Yam, will be very interesting indeed. Wonder how long it will be until that wall is back up in the garage betweem himself and Lorenzo? :-G

[Rob]

Valentino Rossi 'born again' after Sepang MotoGP test


Friday, February 15th 2013, 17:04 GMT

Valentino Rossi believes his form in the opening MotoGP test of 2013 proves he is still a top rider even if his past advantages have gradually been eroded.

After suffering the first two win-less seasons of his premier class career with Ducati, his switch back to Yamaha produced an instant jump up the timesheets at Sepang in early February.

Rossi said he felt revitalised by his return to the top of the timesheets.

"I'm relieved [and] very happy with the way the first test [went]," he told Motosprint.

"I said I wanted to understand if I'm still a top rider. I had my own doubts too.

"I'm there already, with the strongest riders in the world, the ones at the top of their careers.

"I feel I'm born again. I'm not far off."

The 33-year-old admitted however that he no longer enjoyed an advantage over the rest of the field in terms of race preparation and strategy.

"The race, side-by-side fighting, has always been one of my strong points. Unfortunately however, due to the way MotoGP has gone, this is less and less important compared to some time ago," he explained.

"There is almost no more strategy involved, but just pure speed. [Previously] you could win races despite being perhaps a bit slower than your rival: there was more room to invent something.

"Let's say that it's an advantage I used to have in the past that has become a lot less important now.

"I've [also] taught a lot to the riders who have come after me [to] take care of every detail in order to arrive at the race in the best possible condition.

"So, the end result is that I don't even have that advantage anymore."

Rossi has 'lost nothing'

While he admitted to losing some of his past primacy, Rossi insisted that he had surrendered none of his pace or bravado through age.

Asked whether entering his 30s had dimmed any of his faculties, he replied: "I read somewhere that 'experience' is the name one gives to his own errors. It's a nice sentence, and it's very true.

"You don't lose much in terms of not being aggressive, or not being able to ride at the limit anymore because of fear.

"You try to risk a bit less at difficult times, for example when it starts to rain and you're on slicks. Here the recklessness of a youngster who has never crashed seriously offers an advantage.

"Having gone through that and crashed in those conditions, perhaps only unconsciously I remember that and my brain tells me to be careful.

"Maybe that's what you lose but, as for the rest, in my opinion I've lost nothing."


http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105581

[Tifoso]

A sad (to me) commentary on how awful the Ducati was. :oops

[Rob]

It is a shame and sad to see that the Duc is a dog of a bike. Proves to what Stoner done to win the title on that bike.

Moto GP needs this, Vale back up front winning. He can take the title this year. :pray

[tifosi1993]

1. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 2m 0.562s (Lap 41/57)
2. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 2m 0.643s (54/54) :-E
3. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory (YZR-M1) 2m 0.992s (23/56)
4. Valentino Rossi ITA Yamaha Factory (YZR-M1) 2m 1.062s (60/61)
5. Alvaro Bautista ESP Honda Gresini (RC213V) 2m 1.078s (13/43)
6. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 2m 1.094s (57/59)
7. Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda (RC213V) 2m 1.309s (7/46)
8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (GP13) 2m 1.650s (35/44)
9. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team (GP13) 2m 2.070s (23/53)
10. Bradley Smith GBR Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 2m 2.314s (46/64)
11. Andrea Iannone ITA Pramac Racing (GP13) 2m 2.566s (46/52)
12. Michele Pirro ITA Ducati Test Rider (GP13) 2m 2.773s (36/38)
13. Randy De Puniet FRA Aspar (ART CRT) 2m 2.863s (44/45)
14. Ben Spies USA Pramac Racing (GP13) 2m 3.055s (31/33)
15. Katsuyuki Nakasuga JPN Yamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1) 2m 3.154s (24/32)
16. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)* 2m 3.155s (37/42)
17. Wataru Yoshikawa JPN Yamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1) 2m 3.257s (22/26)
18. Aleix Espargaro ESP Aspar (ART CRT) 2m 3.423s (18/45)
19. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB (ART CRT) 2m 4.066s (33/57)
20. Colin Edwards USA Forward Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)* 2m 4.102s (21/42)
21. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Avintia (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)* 2m 4.512s (15/51)
22. Michael Laverty GBR Paul Bird Motorsport (PBM CRT)* 2m 4.546s (21/24)
23. Lukas Pesek CZE IodaRacing (Suter-BMW CRT)* 2m 4.674s (32/33)
24. Danilo Petrucci ITA IodaRacing (Suter-BMW CRT)* 2m 4.686s (18/36)
25. Claudio Corti ITA Forward Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)* 2m 4.718s (48/51)
26. Yonny Hernandez COL Paul Bird Motorsport (ART CRT) 2m 4.722s (46/47)
27. Takumi Takahashi JPN Honda Test Rider (RC213V) 2m 4.749s (63/65)
28. Bryan Staring AUS Honda Gresini (FTR-Honda CRT) 2m 5.313s (15/40)

[tifosi1993]

Filippo Preziosi has resigned from Ducati before he was due to start his new position at the team, citing poor health. New Ducati owners Audi elected to replace him with Bernhard Gobmeier, former director of BMW's World Superbike programme, in November last year.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105763

Well something had to happen.

[Tifoso]

Wait. Audi owns Ducati? :-E

Well, I can now "tifare" riders only.

Go Rossi!

[Tifoso]

I may just make it out to Laguna Seca in July.

US Members: who carries the races, now that SPEED is kaput?

Anybody have a forum badge (same size as my Juve and Habs ones) of Rossi's current helmet? :-)

[Tifoso]

A pic of his 1st MotoGP championship helmet would do, as well. :-)

[Rob]

Here Lou mi amico, got these two. Hope they ok...

http://i45.tinypic.com/243gbxu.jpg
http://i49.tinypic.com/29vdjwn.jpg

[Rob]

got smaller one of the donkey design..
http://i47.tinypic.com/1sir1x.jpg

[Rob]

Rossi: "Maximum effort required to beat rivals"

Raft of small problems hinder Rossi progress

Valentino Rossi was cheerful following Thursday’s final day of testing in Malaysia, but admits that beating his rivals will be no easy feat in 2013. The nine-time world champion ends this week’s proceedings fifth overall, behind Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow as well as Repsol Honda Team and his teammate.
Teammate Jorge Lorenzo led the way with his personal best ever lap of Sepang. Rossi’s quickest tour came in the form of 2’01.062, which is some three quarters of a second slower than the Spaniard.

“The balance is not so bad but we were struggling a bit more in comparison with the first two days,” Rossi told motogp.com during a video interview. “We were a bit unlucky today, encountering lots of small problems with the bike which slowed our work down. Anyway, in the end I was able to improve my lap time and stay fourth - and not so far from Jorge.”

When sizing up the competition for the season ahead, Rossi added:

“We already know that the Hondas are very fast – both of them – and that Lorenzo is very impressive. To fight with those three guys, we need to put in maximum effort and maybe more.”

Lorenzo can perhaps relax a little more, having this week beaten the official Sepang lap record despite not moving inside of Dani Pedrosa’s lap of 2’00.100, which came at the earlier Malaysian test three weeks ago. However Lorenzo is pleased that his first race simulation run of 2013 is now in the bag.

“Finally we were able to complete a race simulation,” he began. “It was much harder (than usual) because we did it at the hottest point of the day, so it was physically difficult and I didn’t have a great feeling from the front end. So the lap times during that run were not as good as I expected but, with the problems we had, it wasn’t so bad.”

This year Lorenzo is aiming for not only a third premier class crown but a first consecutive title win, having notched up his previous pair in 2010 and 2012.

[Tifoso]

Thanks mate!

[Tifoso]

Rob, you wouldn't happen to have one of the current helmet? (Unless that is the current one :oops , but I thought that the current has lime green highlights??? )

It appears that FOX is carrying this, BTW. US channel, anybody?

[Rob]

Rob, you wouldn't happen to have one of the current helmet? (Unless that is the current one :oops , but I thought that the current has lime green highlights??? )

It appears that FOX is carrying this, BTW. US channel, anybody?

will look around and try to find it for you Lou :thumb

[Tifoso]

Thanks mate :cheers

[Tobes]

got smaller one of the donkey design..
http://i47.tinypic.com/1sir1x.jpg

Use the Donkey one... :lol

Was a big MotoGP fan, but have found myself losing interest, with the loss of Sic I felt it became a tad processional and predictable...
Faily close quali, lights out and another lightning start from Pedrosa who fades or falls off and gets injured, Stoner doesn't feel well again so not on it 100%, Rossi challenging for 7th with Cal Cruthlow (so everyone goes mad) and Lorenzo wins again...
Other than a few races that could describe last season...
Always been Rossi fan but still really disappointed with his Ducati adventure, he should apologise and give them their money back...

[Tifoso]

Use the Donkey one... :lol

Was a big MotoGP fan, but have found myself losing interest, with the loss of Sic I felt it became a tad processional and predictable...
Faily close quali, lights out and another lightning start from Pedrosa who fades or falls off and gets injured, Stoner doesn't feel well again so not on it 100%, Rossi challenging for 7th with Cal Cruthlow (so everyone goes mad) and Lorenzo wins again...
Other than a few races that could describe last season...
Always been Rossi fan but still really disappointed with his Ducati adventure, he should apologise and give them their money back...

Agree absolutely. Just goes to show you that with few exceptions (Schumi, Alonso-almost), it is usually the bloke with the best car/bike that wins.

Maybe cycling (hopefully they've cleaned their house up)....

[Tobes]

Agree absolutely. Just goes to show you that with few exceptions (Schumi, Alonso-almost), it is usually the bloke with the best car/bike that wins.

Maybe cycling (hopefully they've cleaned their house up)....

He gave it the "big'un" went he went there, he and Jeremy Burgess claimed Rossi himself can make half a sec a lap etc, etc, but he failed miserably, I really believed he could have got the job done at Ducati, especially as Audi is now the driving force behind the brand, Audi don't fail at anything they set their sights on, there is no other company more likely to succeed, yet he went for the easy option and the short term fix, I think he's damaged his status by doing that far more than Schumi has tarnished his by coming back, he's demonstrated he's not the man he pretends to be...

Still a Rossi fan, but will be spending more time cheering on Dovi this season than Rossi, feel he just let everyone (including himself) down...

So disappointed...

[Suzie]

Enjoyed reading this earlier (and I have to say I am more excited about Lorenzo vs Pedrosa this year than Vale's return to Yamaha) -

http://www.motomatters.com/blog/2013/03/04/sofaracer_speaks_of_homer_s_odyssey_dona.html


The Losail Circuit in Qatar is the largest floodlit sporting venue on the planet. The lighting system includes over 1000 structures, 3 million kilos of concrete, and 500 kilometres of wire. The system would power 3000 homes. Three and a half thousand separate light sources produce 450 million lumens of light. On Sunday the 7th of April, those 450 million lumens will bathe one man. Valentino Rossi.

There are others of course, every bit as worthy of the spotlight as Rossi. But people watched Muhammad Ali fights to see Ali, not the guy who was going to beat him. The focus of every spectator at the circuit and every television viewer globally will be on Rossi because, like Ali, the story is utterly compelling.

MotoGP has somehow (more by happy accident than design) contrived to take its staid feature race, replete with little overtaking, few wheelies and certainly no burnouts in these days of limited engine availability, and serve up a season that has the hallmarks of a potential classic.

How we got here is how we got here. A guy retired, another walked away from his team, a bike was uncompetitive, a rookie rule was dropped, a potential champion became injury free, and an angry young man matured into a two-time world champion.

As the cards fell, the deals were done and the seats filled, what emerged was a script which even the most sniffy nosed Hollywood Producer would regard as having too many plot lines and far too much intrigue for any small town mid west audience to follow.

Fortunately this is MotoGP, not Hollywood. Whilst it may be regrettable to some that the series remains Euro centric, the fact is that 2013 may just serve up cinéma vérité of the highest order, with a plot to match the best of Greek mythology.

Valentino Rossi, playing the part of Odysseus returning home battle weary from his travails in the Bolognian wars to reassert his rightful place as King of Ithaca, will take the starring role in the feature presentation.

But this is motorsport, not a movie. It will serve up a happy ending for someone, but just because the audience are rooting for their hero it doesn’t mean they’re going to get the ending they want.

So what are the chances?

One in four. No, make that one in three. Wait. ‘Marquez’. One in four.

Will it be Valentino Rossi? Perhaps.

The perceived wisdom and accumulated knowledge of the MotoGP paddock states that whilst Rossi will be competitive and undoubtedly pick up podiums and the odd win, he won’t challenge for the championship. The reasons: his main competitors, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, have grown in the last two years. Both are better, faster, more consistent and mature than they were before. The current bikes require to be ridden with a level of precision at odds with Rossi’s late braking, dive for the apex, sort it out on the exit style. Put simply, the paddock reckons he’ll expend so much energy, both mental and physical, just keeping up with the metronomically fast pace of the other two that his season will consist of coat tail hanging with the odd bit of luck here and there. This could be true.

Paddock wisdom is good, but holds sway only to the end of the pit lane. After that, a race breaks out. There can be no better illustration of the vicissitudes of a season of world championship Grand Prix motorcycle racing than that given by former U.S Secretary of Defense (sic), Donald Rumsfeld (on, admittedly, another topic);

“There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know”.

The known knowns are the factory teams of Honda and Yamaha. They possess the fastest, best handling, most technologically advanced machines on the grid. Each will field two. Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi will ride for Yamaha, Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez for Honda. One of these four men will be the 2013 MotoGP world champion. Any other scenario is firmly back in the land of our Hollywood producer with the constantly streaming nose and oddly unquenchable thirst.

The known unknowns are that during an 18 race season, stuff happens. In 2012, Jorge Lorenzo unexpectedly met Alvaro Bautista at a turn one apex. He ended up in the gravel, race over, engine blown. At Misano, desperately trying to make up lost time after an altercation with, of all things, a tyre warmer, Dani Pedrosa met a similar fate. These incidents are, however, part and parcel of motorsport. Only the very fortunate make it through a full season without something interrupting a perfect score of finishes. It always happens to someone, it could happen to anyone. Known unknowns.

The unknown unknowns. The thing about the unexpected is its unpredictability, due to the very nature of its unexpectedness. Before a wheel was turned in the 2012 season it was difficult to see anyone other than Casey Stoner winning the title. Lorenzo had a shot, a good one, for sure, but it was Casey’s to lose. The Honda was magnificent and Stoner’s riding imperious. The title was his unless something completely unexpected happened. It did. Chatter. Then a new tyre was introduced, further hampering the Honda. Then, an unforced error from the kind of rider who rarely makes unforced errors resulted in a broken ankle and his championship challenge being over. An unknown unknown.

So where does this leave our returning King?

It leaves him fighting for his crown with not only the current King but also the Crown Prince and the Young Pretender.

The current King has grown in stature since Odysseus departed. No longer a youth, he has matured, learned well and now bestrides his empire exuding the steely confidence of one who knows he is fit to reign.

The Crown Prince has suffered the slings, arrows, and indeed the stuck throttles of battle. His standing in the Royal Court is at an all time high, but he knows he must seize the crown now if it is not to skip a generation.

No mere child or upstart, the Young Pretender has proven himself in battle time and again. He fears no one, for he has never experienced the emotion. His speed, determination, and panache in victory remind Odysseus of his younger self. As well it might, for the Young Pretender has a ruthless streak.

Each of the four protagonists must defeat not only his main foe, but the one on each flank as well, at the same time. Consistency wins championships. In the race for the 2013 MotoGP crown, this will be truer than ever.

At each race there are three podium positions. Ergo, at each race one of the four contenders will be not be on the podium. Satellite riders will take podiums, possibly wins, during the season. At these races, two, conceivably three of the four contenders will be off the podium. Who fails to make the podium, and when, will play a big part. All four contenders will not finish every race. Who, where and crucially, when, this occurs will also have its say in the final outcome. Known unknowns.

Of the four, three have a point to prove. Lorenzo, that he can have Rossi as his team mate and not blink an eye. Pedrosa, that he can be world champion. Rossi, that those who dared question him were wrong. Marquez has no point to prove, merely a destiny to fulfil. And a train of thought which simply does not understand the concept of waiting for a year.

On paper, there are two favourites and two underdogs. But MotoGP races on bitumen, not paper. In the cold light of a race day sunrise there are four riders between which it would be difficult to squeeze a cigarette paper. Each has the both the ability and the equipment under him to take victory on any given day.

Valentino Rossi has a one in four chance of becoming world champion in 2013. No more, no less. Given recent travails, it’s difficult to imagine that he won’t grab those odds tightly with both hands. To win, he will need to shorten them.

Homer’s epic poem ‘The Odyssey’ was written sometime in the 8th century BC. Its hero, Odysseus, returns home not only to reclaim his rightful place as King of Ithaca, but also to be reunited with his one true love. Renowned as a brave and brilliant warrior, Odysseus was given the epithet ‘mētis’ due to his intelligence, adaptability and most of all, his cunning.

Remind you of anyone?

Qatar. April 7th. Bike number 46.

[raylinds]

I may just make it out to Laguna Seca in July.

US Members: who carries the races, now that SPEED is kaput?

Anybody have a forum badge (same size as my Juve and Habs ones) of Rossi's current helmet? :-)

Lou,
Speed TV is not gone, they just lost the F1 coverage. They are scheduled to show Moto GP:

http://www.speedtv.com/programs/motogp-world-championship/

[Tifoso]

Lou,
Speed TV is not gone, they just lost the F1 coverage. They are scheduled to show Moto GP:

http://www.speedtv.com/programs/motogp-world-championship/


Ahhh, OK. Thanks Ray! :wine

http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/188652/1/suzi_perry_rossi_can_win_stick_two_fingers_up_at_t he_critics.html

No idea who Suzi Perry is, though :oops

[Rob]

Ahhh, OK. Thanks Ray! :wine

http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/188652/1/suzi_perry_rossi_can_win_stick_two_fingers_up_at_t he_critics.html

No idea who Suzi Perry is, though :oops

She used to do the BBC's GP coverage. I ok, knows her stuff on bikes. Doing F1 now, (had check the report and news as couldnt remember if it was her doing BBC F1)

[Tifoso]

She used to do the BBC's GP coverage. I ok, knows her stuff on bikes. Doing F1 now, (had check the report and news as couldnt remember if it was her doing BBC F1)


Thanks mate! :cheers

[budaman]

Honda & Yamaha factory teams, along with some of the customer teams are testing here the next few days. Hopefully will be able to sneak away from work & check some of it out.

April will be here soon!

[Rob]

Stoner and Valentino disengage torpedoes against Ducati
Rossi: "They react badly to criticism." Casey: "With the budget of Vale would have won a lot more"
March 18, 2013 11:58
Wednesday MotorCycleNews hits newsstands UK with an exclusive interview with Valentino Rossi . In the meantime, however, over the weekend, gave a tasty preview of the declarations of the nine times world champion, who after his return to Yamaha has not missed a good opportunity to attack the Ducati , with whom he has no doubt lived the two darkest years of his career in MotoGP . rider Tavullia has stressed the difference in reaction to the criticism that is in the box of a Japanese company and that of the Red Army. If on the one hand everything is perceived as something constructive to improve the bike, according to the Pesaro in Ducati things are so very different. " When you talk to a technician at Yamaha or Honda, but especially with one of the Yamaha, and explain that you think there is something wrong with the bike, the Japanese engineers did not react badly. know that is a good thing, because they understand how they can improve the bike, but this does not happen to Ducati. When you say you have a problem, first you do not trust you 100% and then get upset because you told him that their bike has a problem , "said the "Doctor" . But there are many trips arrive in Borgo Panigale this end week, because in Melbourne was Casey Stoner at Australian GP Formula 1, where he also spoke of the possibility of seeing him in MotoGP for the wild-card race , and he went there for an interview in the thin granted to the Gazzetta dello Sport : " The problem was not the bike. If in my day we had the budget you have spent the past few years, we would have achieved much more. They thought if he can do certain results Stoner, Valentino will do better. They showed a wrong mentality and did not have enough passion . " It was not the fault of the technical staff according to him, as the talking heads: " The fault is not of Filippo Preziosi, whose estrangement was a huge mistake. He created alone that project and there was much more potential. Certainly we would have won even with Ducati. 's why I brought my men to Honda and I did the same with Preziosi, if I could . " We could not miss, however, also a barb aimed at the "Doctor": " Too many drivers think that we should change the bike to suit their own style, instead you have to be to adapt to the bike when you can not. With the Ducati was able to drive over to the problems, while Valentino not. So he gave me a lot of resources and nothing. I had only one frame per season and was the one . "

http://www.omnicorse.it/magazine/25724/moto-gp-valentino-rossi-e-casey-stoner-sganciano-siluri-contro-la-ducati

[Rob]

Pedrosa: "We don’t know what will happen in Austin"

Pedrosa on his first test at the Circuit of the Americas
Monday, 18 March 2013

Dani Pedrosa is unable to predict which way the balance will swing when MotoGP™ returns to Texas for Round 2. Last week, the Spaniard and Repsol Honda Team completed a three-day private test at the venue.
The Austin-based Circuit of the Americas played host to its private gathering following on from Official MotoGP™ Pre-Season Tests in Valencia and Sepang.

After always riding on the same circuits, is it a breath of fresh air to be testing at a completely different track?

It is a different kind of track. It’s got a layout with a very ‘Formula 1’ style. It is difficult to adapt the bike to some of the strange corners. In any case, we were able to put some laps in and saw that it is a little different to the European tracks that we are used to.

What are the characteristics of the track?

The asphalt is new and in good condition. The corners are a little strange – especially the hairpins, which are really pronounced. We riders are not so used to these types of corners, with such pointed apexes. The bikes obviously don’t corner like cars, so it is difficult to find the best lines. We try to adapt as best we can to the lines required.

Does the Circuit of the Americas most closely resemble Shanghai?

Not completely. Shanghai had more rounded corners; it just had the one sharp hairpin, but the other corners were all nice and flowing.

What is the most fun part of the circuit?

In my opinion, the most fun part of Austin is the right-hander with various apexes. That’s where I enjoyed myself the most, as you can slide well there and you can get on it with some speed.

There are various tracks that are known as ‘Honda circuits’ or ‘Yamaha circuits’. Could we say that this track favours either of the two factories?

It’s difficult to say. We’ve only had one test and we don’t know what will happen in the Grand Prix.

In recent years it has not been so common to have new tracks. The last one was Silverstone in 2010. How do you approach these special cases and prepare to tackle a circuit from scratch?

The work consists of going out and getting the bike on-track. You need to put in the laps to learn from onboard the bike, finding out what the corners are like. In the beginning you don’t go at full speed, because you need to see what the grip is like with the tyres and see if you are running a tyre that is too hard or too soft. You also have to calculate the length of the straights in order to adjust your gearing for both those and the corners. Then it’s time to start pushing to go faster.

Next week you have the final pre-season test and then, a few days later, the first race of the season in Qatar. Are you counting down the days?

There’s not long to go before the start of the season and we have an important test at Jerez. It is a track that we know well and where I like to test. We will have a few days of rest afterwards in order to arrive ready at the opening GP.

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2013/Interview+with+dani+pedrosa+after+Texas+test

[Rob]

Hayden: "Added Ducati feedback important"
Monday, 18 March 2013

Nicky Hayden has praised the amount of feedback Ducati will receive over the course of 2013, with a quartet of regular riders all able to report back. The 2006 World Champion is now looking to make up lost ground.
Ducati Team is yet to claim a world title since it first did so with Casey Stoner in 2007. Now heading into its first full season under Audi ownership, the outfit is headed up by German Bernard Gobmeier who replaces stalwart Filippo Preziosi.

"I would say that in past years Ducati has been pretty close with the satellite team and the engineers are the same," Hayden said during a Red Bull Indianapolis GP teleconference. "This year, all four bikes are full factory bikes and full factory efforts. We need that. The more data and feedback and the more different styles is going to be important and useful for the engineers."

At the same time, the American admits his frustration over not visiting last week’s private test at Circuit of the Americas – attended by rivals Honda and Yamaha.

"I love going to new tracks for the first time," he continued. "I was flying home from Germany and had a four-hour layover in Chicago, so I was killing time and reading up on what the guys had to say about the track. It was frustrating. Obviously I hated not being there and I hated giving those guys a big head-start."

Heading all three days in Texas was rookie Marc Márquez. Although off-season lap times are always joined by speculation, the Spaniard continues to excite.

"Well, it is impressive," Hayden admitted. "You don't need me to tell you that. I don't think anybody doubted that he was going to be fast after what we saw in 125 and Moto2. When you’re fast, you’re fast. I would say to be quite this quick - and so consistently quick - this early…it wasn't expected and for some of us riders we aren't so pumped on it. Honestly, I think we wanted to give him a little more time, and he is going to be exciting for the sport. He rides very hard and he is very hungry. You know, if he can stay healthy, he is really going to shake things up this season. So he is being very, very impressive and very fast, which is a bit of his own style. He could be a game-changer to MotoGP and all of road racing."

Hayden’s world title for Honda was the first for an American since Kenny Roberts Junior’s in 2000, although prior to that one had to look back to 1993 and Kevin Schwantz. In order to encourage a new breed of American riders, Hayden believes solid foundations must be put in place.

"In the early 80s and the 90s all the dirt trackers made the transition to 500," he recalls. "They were really suited to those, with the amount of power and their sliding - I think dirt track was the best training for that. Now the sport has changed a lot, with the electronics, the tyres and the way the four-strokes are ridden. In Spain, I would say the main thing they are doing so good is starting the kids so young. It doesn't matter if you are golfing, riding motorcycles or want to be a cook. It is a young man's game. The younger you start, the better you are. There are academies and schools, where they are starting these kids on road racing on real bikes and real competition at a young age. If America wants to catch up, that is what America is going to have to do. The age limit in America is a little different and it makes it a little bit harder (but) we need to follow those next steps and get some kids in a competitive series earlier, like the Rookies Cup in Europe. It has certainly helped."

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, Hayden and fellow countryman Ben Spies (Pramac Racing Team) head to Circuit of the Americas in order to launch the Ducati 1199 Panigale R. Both riders will sample the Austin track for the first time.

[Rob]

Rossi leads on penultimate day of testing
Sunday, 24 March 2013

Valentino Rossi moved ahead on yet another rain-affected day at Jerez, topping the Sunday testing timesheets from Yamaha Factory Racing teammate Jorge Lorenzo. Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow joined his fellow Yamaha riders in the top three.
The first half of the day featured little track activity. Although there was no driving rain at that point, the track surface was greasy and semi-dry, meaning neither Slick nor Wet tyres would be completely suitable. After three and a half hours, now with a dryer surface, more runners elected to peel out of the pit lane.

Rossi was just 15 thousands of a second quicker than Lorenzo, leading the way on his lap of 1’39.525. Less than half a tenth separated the top three riders and the final position marked the first time Rossi had topped any MotoGP™ session since first practice for last year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Tomorrow, he and Lorenzo intend to run new chassis. Dani Pedrosa was today’s leading Repsol Honda Team bike in fourth, ahead of Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso who ran several new small parts, as the second Repsol bike of Marc Márquez finished seventh.

Sixth was GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista, who missed over an hour of running following a crash towards the end of the afternoon. While testing different suspension to that of yesterday, the Spaniard lost control at Sito Pons corner and picked up small fractures in the fourth and fifth fingers of his left hand; now resting, he will be back in action on Monday morning.

LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl, Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team’s Andrea Iannone and Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden rounded out the top ten, but both the German and Italian endured crashes during the day. All riders had hoped for either fully wet or fully dry conditions in order to conduct proper comparisons for setup changes, although the former was preferable. That was certainly the case for rookies Bradley Smith and Bryan Staring, plus Danilo Petrucci who was running a new chassis for Came IodaRacing Project.

Leading CRT was Héctor Barberá in 11th position, ahead of Tech 3’s Smith, Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaró and Ioda’s Petrucci. Incidentally, Espargaró sampled a single wet lap in the closing stages but elected to return straight to the pits, whereas teammate Randy de Puniet – who ended the day in 16th place, behind Ducati Test Team rider Michele Pirro – was caught out and crashed.

Rounding out the top 20 were NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Claudio Corti, Ignite Pramac Racing Team’s Ben Spies, Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham and PBM’s Yonny Hernández. The Colombian’s teammate, Michael Laverty, was all set to continue testing the team’s own-built chassis – on which much ECU work was carried out yesterday – but was also delayed by the rain en route to 24th slot.

The aforementioned Staring, Forward’s Colin Edwards and Avintia Blusens’s Hiroshi Aoyama occupied positions 21 to 23; the latter may have destroyed a set of Wet tyres while running on a drying track, but was able to extract direct comparisons in similar conditions to those he finished in yesterday. The second Ioda bike of Lukáš Pešek, the Czech newcomer in the CRT ranks, backed up the 25-bike field.

Monday brings the last day of pre-season testing before the 2013 MotoGP™ campaign commences in Qatar on 7th April. Sunshine and blue skies are wished for in the paddock, but weather reports are warning of more rain.

[Rob]

Return to the top pleases Rossi
Sunday, 24 March 2013

Valentino Rossi led the way as the Official Jerez MotoGP™ Pre-Season Test continued on Sunday. The result marked the first time the nine-time World Champion had topped a session since returning to the Yamaha Factory Racing squad.
Not only was Rossi atop a timesheet for the first time in 2013, but the result also signaled his first P1 finish since opening practice for last year’s British Grand Prix.

“It’s not important, but it’s very important!” the Italian smiled in an exclusive video interview with motogp.com. “To end the day with the best lap time is great, not just because of the position but also because we modified some of the settings of the bike after the first test to adapt the M1 more to my style.

“It’s good because I am able to go faster, like Jorge, in all sectors of the lap. For tomorrow, we have a new chassis with some small differences, so both Jorge and I will try it. We hope to be able to improve our level a bit.”

The weather remains the prime talking point in Spain. Although the riders would welcome an all-dry final day on Monday, more rain is expected to arrive.

[Suzie]

2 weeks to go, can't wait :clap

[tifosi1993]

http://youtu.be/5-hz1nBmCqk

[Tifoso]

Guys,

Can someone point me (again) to a link which gives USA stations/times for the races? Will bookmark :oops

[Rob]

i will look them up for you Lou.:thumb

[Tifoso]

i will look them up for you Lou.:thumb

Thanks mate. Been almost 2 weeks of pure --- here :-s

[Rob]

MotoGP™ signs multi-year deal with FOX SPORTS

Monday, 25 March 2013

FOX Sports has signed a multi-year deal with Dorna Sports for broadcast rights to the world’s most prestigious motorcycle racing series, the MotoGP™ World Championship, with races to air on SPEED and the newly announced, multi-sport FOX Sports 1 in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
MotoGP, with three events in the U.S. in 2013, is highlighted during the high-profile FOX Sports 1 August launch weekend, with the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix scheduled for August 18 as one of the first live events on the new network.

"With an international event line-up that includes three U.S. stops, MotoGP brings an immediate world class motor sports presence to the FOX Sports 1 line-up," says Bill Wanger, EVP Programming & Research for FOX Sports. "Having the race from iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway fall on our FS1 launch weekend is a bonus, and one of which we plan to take full advantage."

"We're very proud of this new agreement with Fox Sports and we are looking forward to being part of this huge project that is Fox Sports 1," adds Manel Arroyo, Managing Director of the Media Area at Dorna. "Through this agreement, MotoGP will continue to be watched by our extensive American fan base, via the Speed channel until August and from then on, via the new Fox Sports 1 channel.

"Our 15-year partnership is arriving now to a very exciting MotoGP season with three GPs on U.S. soil and the promise of some thrilling action on track. We will deliver the very highest standard of TV coverage of the Championship, using the latest production technologies, which is what our fans in the U.S. and around the world and also our Global media partners like the Fox Sports Group, deserve."

The season opens April 7 on SPEED with the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar. Other U.S. highlights include the second event of the season, the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas inaugural series event at newly built Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on April 21 and a return to Laguna Seca for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix on July 21. Coverage from Austin includes qualifying on April 20 at 9 p.m. ET; race coverage, including pre-race activities begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on April 21. On-board camera access is available on SPEED.com for all U.S. rounds, with qualifying practice sessions on SPEED2.

The new deal, continuing a successful relationship that began on SPEED in 1997, when the series was known as the FIM World GP 500, also includes coverage of Moto2™ and Moto3™, as well as expanded digital rights.

[Rob]

Bautista hails ‘big step’ for new season

Wednesday, 3 April 2013

Álvaro Bautista heads into the new MotoGP campaign with confidence, positive over improvements made at GO&FUN Honda Gresini. However his pre-season was not completely trouble-free, having suffered a crash in Jerez.
Bautista’s accident came on the penultimate day of testing and left the Spaniard on the sidelines across the final 24 hours. That aside, he is pleased with general progress and now heads to the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar in which he qualified 11th and finished seventh last year.

“The new season is about to start and I think we are ready,” he begins. “We did a great job throughout the pre-season, even though we weren't helped by the weather in the final session at Jerez. Unfortunately we still had some things we needed to test, so it would have been good but we didn't get a chance.

“Anyway, overall we have made a big step from last year…we'll keep working to make the bike more rideable and make sure we're as competitive as we can be for the race. I had a lot of problems in Qatar practice last year and only managed to finish seventh in the race, which I wasn't happy with, so this year we'll certainly look to make up for it.”

Bautista is now joined by a teammate, as Australian rookie Bryan Staring enters MotoGP as a representative of the CRT class. He raced to fourth overall in last year’s FIM Superstock 1000 series and his only previous MotoGP appearance came at the age of 17, as a wildcard entry to Phillip Island’s 125 race of 2004.

“I am nervous and excited about making my debut in MotoGP,” Staring admits. “After an encouraging test at Jerez, I am highly motivated and confident we can do well. I don't know Losail but I have watched all the races there on television and I'm curious to experience it myself.

“I have worked hard with the team throughout the winter and gradually I’m getting used to the bike, which is very different to anything I have ridden before. I have gradually adapted my riding style to cope with the power of the FTR-Honda and I am now ready for this new experience.”

In 2012, Bautista and Gresini rode to a pair of podium finishes, coming home third in the respective Grands Prix of San Marino and Japan.

[Rob]

Bridgestone explains changes for 2013 season
Wednesday, 3 April 2013

2013 sees Bridgestone continue as the sole MotoGP™ tyre supplier for a fifth consecutive season. There are no major changes to the regulations, although a number of tweaks are in place following requests from riders.
This year sees a new practice and qualifying format which has brought with it a revision in tyre allocation, with each rider being given one extra rear slick and an extra set of wet tyres at each race compared to last year.

Bridgestone has also responded to rider requests by allowing selection of up to seven of the softer option rear slicks at each race weekend, compared to six last year. Although the total number of front slicks allocated to each rider remains the same at nine tyres, riders have greater flexibility in how they can select their tyre compounds and can now choose up to six tyres in either the softer or harder slick option - up from five last year. Slick compounds for the front tyre remain unchanged this season, though the names of the front slick compounds have been revised to Extra-Soft, Soft, Medium and Hard to make them consistent with the rear slick tyre.

For those in the field competing with CRT bikes, a new softer rear slick has been made available from this season onwards.



Slick compounds available for Round 1 in Qatar:

Front: Soft and Hard

Rear: Medium and Hard (Asymmetric)

[Tifoso]

Awesome. Will be watching :-)

Go Valentino!

[Rob]

Be good seeing him back on a Yam, cross fingers for him on pole and win :pray

[Rob]

Valentino also changes the colors of his helmet
The yellow is the dominant color, but the design is novel compared to two years in Ducati
April 4, 2013 13:40
http://i48.tinypic.com/2zecy9k.jpg
In a few hours will officially begin his second adventure in Yamaha and Valentino Rossi meanwhile showed the first picture of his new helmet. As was widely expected, the "Doctor" has decided to completely turn face and to do so he invited the faithful Aldo Drudi to study a new livery. dominant color, as always, is yellow and the rest could not be otherwise, given that on the cover dominates the tribal sun that has become a trademark for Pesaro. Stands on the chin and then the number 46, which goes back to being quite large on the helmet. then there's also room for some carbon stain color here and there, with the largest space which is also its main sponsor Monster Energy . The question that everyone is doing now is simple: this will be the color of the final return at the head of Valentino ?

[tifosi1993]

Losail, Qatar (Free Practice-1)

1. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) 1m 56.685s
2. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 1m 56.743s
3. Valentino Rossi ITA Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) 1m 56.756s
4. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 57.276s
5. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (GP13) 1m 57.538s
6. Alvaro Bautista ESP Go&Fun Honda Gresini (RC213V) 1m 57.601s
7. Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda MotoGP (RC213V) 1m 57.670s
8. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 57.749s
9. Aleix Espargaro ESP Power Electronics Aspar (ART CRT) 1m 57.843s
10. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team (GP13) 1m 57.926s
11. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 1m 58.369s
12. Andrea Iannone ITA Energy T.I. Pramac Racing (GP13) 1m 58.559s
13. Ben Spies USA Ignite Pramac Racing (GP13) 1m 58.575s
14. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Blusens (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 1m 59.608s
15. Randy De Puniet FRA Power Electronics Aspar (ART CRT) 1m 59.633s
16. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing (ART CRT) 1m 59.758s
17. Colin Edwards USA NGM Forward Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)* 2m 0.341s
18. Yonny Hernandez COL Paul Bird Motorsport (ART CRT) 2m 0.426s
19. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Avintia Blusens (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)* 2m 0.563s
20. Claudio Corti ITA NGM Forward Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)* 2m 1.227s
21. Danilo Petrucci ITA Came IodaRacing Project (Suter-BMW CRT)* 2m 1.438s
22. Bryan Staring AUS Go&Fun Honda Gresini (FTR-Honda CRT)* 2m 1.942s
23. Lukas Pesek CZE Came IodaRacing Project (Suter-BMW CRT)* 2m 2.079s
24. Michael Laverty GBR Paul Bird Motorsport (PBM CRT)* 2m 2.135s

[killer]

Interesting set up they have with qualifying.

Come on Vale and Dovi!

[tifosi1993]

Losail, Qatar (Free practice-2)

http://pix.crash.net/motorsport/710/PA1302738.jpg

1. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 56.477s
2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) 1m 56.745s
3. Valentino Rossi ITA Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) 1m 56.805s
4. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 1m 57.169s
5. Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda MotoGP (RC213V) 1m 57.257s
6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (GP13) 1m 57.833s
7. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 57.877s
8. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team (GP13) 1m 58.040s
9. Ben Spies USA Ignite Pramac Racing (GP13) 1m 58.137s
10. Alvaro Bautista ESP Go&Fun Honda Gresini (RC213V) 1m 58.298s
11. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 1m 58.340s
12. Andrea Iannone ITA Energy T.I. Pramac Racing (GP13) 1m 58.575s
13. Aleix Espargaro ESP Power Electronics Aspar (ART CRT) 1m 58.631s
14. Yonny Hernandez COL Paul Bird Motorsport (ART CRT) 1m 58.871s
15. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Blusens (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 1m 58.904s
16. Randy De Puniet FRA Power Electronics Aspar (ART CRT) 1m 59.185s
17. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing (ART CRT) 1m 59.809s
18. Danilo Petrucci ITA Came IodaRacing Project (Suter-BMW CRT)* 2m 0.557s
19. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Avintia Blusens (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)* 2m 0.652s
20. Lukas Pesek CZE Came IodaRacing Project (Suter-BMW CRT)* 2m 0.919s
21. Colin Edwards USA NGM Forward Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)* 2m 0.940s
22. Claudio Corti ITA NGM Forward Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)* 2m 1.321s
23. Bryan Staring AUS Go&Fun Honda Gresini (FTR-Honda CRT)* 2m 1.622s
24. Michael Laverty GBR Paul Bird Motorsport (PBM CRT)* 2m 1.816s
* Standard ECU.

[tifosi1993]

Losail, Qatar (Free practice-3)

http://pix.crash.net/motorsport/360/PA1302795.jpg


1 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'56.084
2 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 1'56.085 0.001
3 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'56.326 0.242
4 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 1'56.416 0.332
5 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 1'56.417 0.333
6 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'56.502 0.418
7 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA GO&FUN Honda Gresini Honda 1'56.572 0.488
8 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 1'56.670 0.586
9 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'56.901 0.817
10 6 Stefan BRADL GER LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'56.984 0.900
11 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Ducati 1'57.169 1.085
12 11 Ben SPIES USA Ignite Pramac Racing Ducati 1'57.308 1.224
13 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Power Electronics Aspar ART 1'57.420 1.336
14 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Avintia Blusens FTR 1'57.956 1.872
15 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Paul Bird Motorsport ART 1'58.211 2.127
16 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Power Electronics Aspar ART 1'58.396 2.312
17 5 Colin EDWARDS USA NGM Mobile Forward Racing FTR Kawasaki 1'58.863 2.779
18 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing ART 1'59.180 3.096
19 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN Avintia Blusens FTR 1'59.212 3.128
20 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Came IodaRacing Project Ioda-Suter 1'59.755 3.671
21 67 Bryan STARING AUS GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda 1'59.758 3.674
22 52 Lukas PESEK CZE Came IodaRacing Project Ioda-Suter 1'59.837 3.753
23 70 Michael LAVERTY GBR Paul Bird Motorsport PBM 2'00.080 3.996
24 71 Claudio CORTI ITA NGM Mobile Forward Racing FTR Kawasaki 2'00.439 4.355

[Tifoso]

C'mon Rossi!

[Rob]

Rossi: "Tyre choice critical for Sunday"
Friday, 5 April 2013

Yamaha Factory Racing head into Saturday’s Losail qualifying session with the second and fourth fastest bikes, according to the timesheets so far. However both Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo point out a number of variables.
Friday’s third free practice brought the conclusion of those sessions that have a direct bearing on qualifying, as the top ten are automatically promoted to Q2 on Saturday.

“The practices were not so bad, but we are continuing to work for the race,” said Rossi, the slower of the two riders on Friday. “We still have to decide which tyre to use; that will be very important for Sunday. We are ready for tomorrow for qualifying, to try and start as far in front as possible and aim for the front row.”

Lorenzo almost topped the timesheets on Friday but was pipped to the post by Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Márquez, who moved ahead by one thousandth of a second.

“I’m very happy with the changes we made on the bike because it improved a lot,” declared the reigning world champion. “In the last moments the track was better this evening, as in the beginning it was very dirty.

“I think we can still improve the bike more tomorrow. We still haven’t decided which chassis is better; today it is the new one, yesterday the old one. I’m very curious to see how the qualifying goes with the new formula - we will just be concentrating on doing four fast laps and the maximum performance we can get.”

Although Yamaha has promised no wall between the two sides of its garage this year – as was the case when Rossi and Lorenzo last raced alongside each other in 2010 – the Losail garage is somewhat divided due to a permanent concrete divider.

[Rob]

Spies: "Our testing is starting now"
Friday, 5 April 2013

Ben Spies admits that he still has a mountain to climb in fully configuring his bike. The American, who has switched for 2013 from Yamaha Factory Racing to Ignite Pramac Racing, continues to suffer from his accident of Malaysia last year.
In last season’s race at Sepang, Spies crashed and suffered a shoulder separation as well as a cracked rib and bruised lung. Since then, he has also revealed a concussion which continued to affect him for approximately four months.

“I’m okay, even though tonight’s session didn’t go exactly the way we wanted,” the Ducati said at the Losail International Circuit on Friday night. “We tried something a little bit different before our practice and it didn’t work out. We had to make a change during the session, which cost me some time.

“We know we missed about 50% of testing due to my injury and learning a new bike so, realistically, our testing is starting now. It was the first time that we pushed the bike hard and I’m learning things about it. We’re changing stuff and getting used to it, but we need more time. The feeling with the bike is getting better every time out.”

Although he and Pramac teammate Andrea Iannone have not finished in the overall top ten of the first to third practice sessions, both men have another chance to enter Q2; in Q1 on Saturday, the two quickest riders will be promoted to the final shootout.

[Tobes]

Come on Dovi... :thumb

[Tifoso]

The doctor is in :-D

[Massimo]

The doctor is in :-D

Man, i missed seeing Rossi race like that, the doctor is back!

[tifosi1993]

"The Doctor" is back. :clap

[tifosi1993]

Man, i missed seeing Rossi race like that, the doctor is back!

And still have that "voodoo effect" on the others. :-D

[scuderiafan]

Shows how awful that Ducati must have been these past few years. Nicky, Dovi..... :-s

[killer]

Marquez :-E

[tifosi1993]

http://youtu.be/lQUxslxW2IA

[scuderiafan]

And still have that "voodoo effect" on the others. :-D

all but a certain J. Lorenzo :-D

[Alessandra]

Amazing riding from Marquez and Rossi:clap

Well done, Cal. As good as could be expected:thumb

[Massimo]

all but a certain J. Lorenzo :-D

Agree, but let's wait what happens when Rossi starts on the front row, that's a battle i'm looking forward to :-D

[Ste]

The podium in Qatar is probably the best (favourite) one I've ever seen. My three favourite riders!

So good to see Rossi back on form. It would've been interesting to see if he could've done anything about Lorenzo had he not made a mistake at the start. Lorenzo was as metronomic as ever and as for Marquez - wow. He's literally setting the sport alight. He's most definitely going to be a multiple World Champion if the team can provide him a decent bike.

[Rob]

So happy for Rossi, so glad that the 2 years at Duc not racing at the front wasnt blunted his race craft. Cal had good race, just went bit wide on the kerb into T1 and couldnt brake when he wanted.

Just shame Stoner not here anymore. If Rossi didnt make small error he could of been right there with Lorenzo and maybe won it.

[Tifoso]

So happy for Rossi, so glad that the 2 years at Duc not racing at the front wasnt blunted his race craft. Cal had good race, just went bit wide on the kerb into T1 and couldnt brake when he wanted.

Just shame Stoner not here anymore. If Rossi didnt make small error he could of been right there with Lorenzo and maybe won it.

Agreed. :-)

[Tobes]

If Rossi didnt make small error he could of been right there with Lorenzo and maybe won it.

Not convinced that's the case, Rossi is a legend no question, and as a 5 time MotoGP Champion rightly so, but Lorenzo had the measure of him and beat him on equal machinery a couple of yrs ago at Yamaha before he went to Ducati, nothing he did on Sunday made me think that is no longer the case, I agree he looked much better, and so he should on the best bike in the field, but he was pushing the entire race, the fact he was out of fuel shows just how much, and Lorenzo strolled from flag to flag, he's very quick, consistent and very rarely makes a mistake, I think he's the most complete rider out there now...

Thought Marquez has bought the brilliance he showed in Moto2 with him into the GP class, wondered if he would dutifully follow Pedrosa but clearly he's there to win, Dovi put in a brilliant show on the Ducati, give him the machinery and he'll win races, am expecting him and Hayden to get some podiums this season as Audi pumps in the finances it needs to to succeed, and thought Cal was brilliant again, surely a works rider and future Champion... :thumb

[tifosi1993]

MCN interview with Valentino Rossi (http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/videos/2013/April/apr0513-video-rossi-1/)

[Suzie]

Enjoying MotoGP more and more in the past few seasons. The Moto2 was fantastic as well with Pol and Redding.
Would love to see Cal on the podium this year but it looks like it's going to be tough - great how he was able to stick with the 2 Hondas for the majority of the race though :-)

[budaman]

Couple of pics from last weekends race at CoTA.

More to come as I get them downloaded.

[Suzie]

Couple of pics from last weekends race at CoTA.

More to come as I get them downloaded.

Oooh lucky you :-)

[Rob]

Jerez MotoGP: Valentino Rossi plays down qualifying crash


By Toby Moody and Matt Beer Saturday, May 4th 2013, 16:12 GMT

Valentino Rossi does not think his heavy crash at the end of Jerez MotoGP qualifying will have any impact on his race prospects.

Rossi was one of several riders to fall in the closing moments of qualifying in Spain.

Although his Yamaha tumbled violently through the gravel at the quick Criville corner, Rossi was thrown clear and escaped unhurt.

"Unfortunately at the end I crashed at a fast corner, but luckily I am OK," he told reporters at Jerez.

"I had some damage on the bike but the important thing is that I'm well and I'm ready for tomorrow."

Rossi still held on to fifth on the grid, his best qualifying result since returning to Yamaha. He feels this is an ideal place to start a race expecting to be a tyre-wear challenge.

"It looks like the top five have a better pace compared to the other guys, so it will be crucial tomorrow to stay in the top five and to understand the rhythm that they can keep after the first four or five laps.

"At the beginning it will be a very high pace, but in the second part of the race it will be difficult to manage the tyres.

"It will be very important to work on the balance so the bike doesn't use the rear tyre too much."

Rossi's Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo took pole, and said he had been careful to avoid the sort of incidents that Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and Cal Crutchlow suffered.

"I knew the track was difficult because there were a lot of crashes. So I said 'OK, I'm going to try my best in the conditions we have, and try to get a perfect lap,'" said Lorenzo.

"I didn't get it because I made mistakes in some braking areas and went wide but anyway it was still a very good lap and we have a pole position."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107205

[Rob]

Lorenzo on pole after dramatic Jerez qualifying

Saturday, 4 May 2013

Jorge Lorenzo has clinched his second pole position of the 2013 MotoGP™ season, topping an incident-packed qualifying session in Jerez on his 26th birthday. Dani Pedrosa, Marc Marquez, Cal Crutchlow and Valentino Rossi will fill positions two to five but all four riders have suffered falls this afternoon.
With the sun shining and thousands pouring into the Circuito de Jerez for the first European qualifying session of the year, the chance of a Spanish rider clinching pole appeared to be high. Ultimately, the front row was locked out by riders from the home nation, with Yamaha Factory Racing’s Lorenzo delivering a best lap time of 1’38.673 to see off Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) by just under three tenths of a second.

Although Lorenzo has looked extremely strong since the start of the weekend, he was aided by high-speed crashes which either disrupted or terminated his closest rivals’ sessions. Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) had tumbled in the final free practice session, whereas Rossi (Yamaha Factory Racing) and Pedrosa’s errors came at almost the same moment as qualifying reached its climax. Crutchlow visited gravel traps in both sessions and was fortunate to rejoin the action and qualify fourth quickest.

Behind Rossi, the second row is completed by GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista who out-qualified Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden, LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl - who had progressed to the pole shootout from Q1 - and Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso. Avintia Blusens’ Hector Barbera led the CRT riders and impressed with a top ten grid position, but he too would be a crasher by the time the chequered flag flew.

11th place was an achievement for Andrea Iannone - as the Energy T.I. Pramac Racing rider had sustained cuts to his left leg in a free practice accident - while Tech 3’s Bradley Smith had been the last man to enter Q2. That left Power Electronics Aspar out of the shootout for the first time in 2013 to the disappointment of Aleix Espargaro, who will start 13th from Ducati wildcard Michele Pirro and Aspar teammate Randy de Puniet.

Row 6 will consist of Blusens’ Hiroshi Aoyama, Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci and Gresini’s Bryan Staring on the team’s CRT machine. The NGM Mobile Forward Racing attack will be spearheaded by Claudio Corti from 19th spot, out-qualifying 20th-placed Colin Edwards who crashed in Q1. The grid is completed by PBM pairing Yonny Hernandez and Michael Laverty, plus Lukas Pesek whose Ioda bike was yet another to end the afternoon off the circuit.

Cardion AB Motoracing were not in action for qualifying, as Karel Abraham’s broken right collarbone brought too much pain on Friday. Also on the sidelines is Ignite Pramac Racing’s Ben Spies, who since the race in Texas has been advised by doctors to rest in order to rectify an ongoing problem with a pectoral muscle.

Sunday’s 27-lap Gran Premio bwin de España begins at 2pm local time (GMT +2).

[Suzie]

Quali was mad - Cal, Vale and Dani all crashing within minutes of one another. Should be a good race tomorrow!

Ah well, might as well enjoy MotoGP while I can as I sure as hell won't be getting BT Vision to watch it next year :-s

[Rob]

Quali was mad - Cal, Vale and Dani all crashing within minutes of one another. Should be a good race tomorrow!

Ah well, might as well enjoy MotoGP while I can as I sure as hell won't be getting BT Vision to watch it next year :-s

What, BT Vision? what going on there then Suzie?

Didnt see quali, but just reading what happened. Were they big crashes?

Gemmas Grandma over from Phoenix, and its her birthday tomorrow so big meal at pub. Going to miss it, i will record it or catch it on Eurosport later.

[Suzie]

What, BT Vision? what going on there then Suzie?

Didnt see quali, but just reading what happened. Were they big crashes?

Gemmas Grandma over from Phoenix, and its her birthday tomorrow so big meal at pub. Going to miss it, i will record it or catch it on Eurosport later.

Cal's was pretty big, yeah. He took quite a tumble, had to have ultrasounds afterwards but is okay for the most part.

There's strong rumours that BBC and Eurosport have lost the rights to show MotoGP as of the end of this season - I've read that BT Vision are going to announce they are taking it over sometime in the coming week. I'm gutted, I really can't afford to pay to watch it when I am already paying more to see F1 these days as well :-s Just have to hope the BBC or Eurosport work out some deal like with F1 whereby they can show extended highlights.

[Rob]

Cal's was pretty big, yeah. He took quite a tumble, had to have ultrasounds afterwards but is okay for the most part.

There's strong rumours that BBC and Eurosport have lost the rights to show MotoGP as of the end of this season - I've read that BT Vision are going to announce they are taking it over sometime in the coming week. I'm gutted, I really can't afford to pay to watch it when I am already paying more to see F1 these days as well :-s Just have to hope the BBC or Eurosport work out some deal like with F1 whereby they can show extended highlights.

Really? im really surprised by that, especially Eurosport. BBC, seems like they not to eager to keep big sports. Real shame. Im just surprised at that mate :-E

Good to hear that Cal is ok. Clear to race then?

[Suzie]

Yep he's fine to race, footage at the end showed him holding his back and they were worried about kidney pain but he'll be riding tomorrow.
Not good for my nerves though!

[budaman]

Good race.....don't want to spoil for those that haven't been able to watch yet.

[Alessandra]

Good race.....don't want to spoil for those that haven't been able to watch yet.


OK.......but , trying not to give anything away, has a penalty been served on a certain rider as the commentators indicated might happen? On the last lap?

[budaman]

Not that I've been able to find.

[Rob]

Pedrosa celebrates first win of 2013 in Spain
Sunday, 5 May 2013

Dani Pedrosa has clinched his maiden victory of this year’s MotoGP™ World Championship, winning the Gran Premio bwin de España on Sunday. It was another one-two finish for Repsol Honda Team after Marc Marquez dived past Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo for second place at the final corner.
The Circuito de Jerez welcomed a huge crowd as the first European race of the season took place. Lorenzo had been the rider to beat for much of the weekend, comfortably sealing his second pole position of the season on Saturday. He would share the front row with the Honda duo, with Pedrosa knowing that a quick start would be vital.

Confirming Lorenzo’s worst fears, Pedrosa overtook as the 27-lap race began. The lead was immediately snatched back, but Pedrosa made the move stick as he passed at Dry Sack on Lap 6. As the Yamaha rider dropped into the clutches of Marquez, Pedrosa maintained a steady pace en route to his first win since Valencia last year.

Marquez’s race was a dramatic one, having entered as the joint championship leader with Lorenzo. Having quickly demoted Valentino Rossi to fourth place after the Yamaha rider overtook at the end of Lap 1, the 20-year-old charged up to the back of Lorenzo and attempted several different lines in a bid to distract the current title holder. The eventual move ironically came at the newly-named Jorge Lorenzo corner at the end of the very last lap, with Lorenzo left fuming after contact was made.

Once dispatched by Marquez, Rossi had a lonely ride to fourth place on the second Yamaha Factory bike, with Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow overcoming GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista for a top five spot at the end of a difficult weekend which featured two sizeable accidents on Saturday. Ducati Team duo Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso made the top eight while test rider Michele Pirro enjoyed a strong first ride of the campaign to 11th on the squad’s GP13 Lab chassis.

Hector Barbera and Avintia Blusens’ impressed by qualifying tenth on the lead CRT machine, but on race day the Spaniard fell to 12th as Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro took CRT honours for the third time in as many races, finishing ninth from Tech 3’s Bradley Smith. As Blusens’ Hiroshi Aoyama tumbled to 18th in the closing stages, Michael Laverty scored the first points for PBM’s own-built bike by coming home 13th and ahead of Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci and NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards, who also scored for the first time in 2013.

Five riders failed to make the end of the race, notably Stefan Bradl who compounded a tough three days for himself and LCR Honda MotoGP. The German, like Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone, retired on the fourth lap. Iannone’s teammate Ben Spies did not compete, advised by doctors to rest and solve a problem with a pectoral muscle, while Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham pulled out after Friday due to suffering too much pain with his broken right collarbone.

In the World Championship, Marquez becomes the sole leader just three races into his premier class career. He now leads teammate Pedrosa by three points (61 to 58), with Lorenzo just a further one in arrears. Rossi and Crutchlow complete the top five while Espargaro has extended his CRT advantage to ten points over Barbera.

After witnessing three different winners in the first three races, the season continues with Round 4 in two weeks’ time, as the MotoGP™ community returns to legendary Le Mans for the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France.

[Rob]

Jerez MotoGP: Marc Marquez apologises to Jorge Lorenzo for clash


Sunday, May 5th 2013, 13:56 GMT

Marc Marquez has apologised to MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo for their collision on the final lap of the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez.

The two Spaniards clashed at the final corner of the race as Marquez attacked Lorenzo for second place.

The incident forced Lorenzo off the track, but he did make it to the finish in third.

Marquez tried to apologise to Lorenzo in parc ferme, but the world champion wagged his finger at the rookie before turning away.

"I say sorry to Jorge because you never want that," said Marquez. "In the end the most important thing is that we both finished the race so I think it was a nice battle for the fans.

"On the last lap I did 110 per cent, and when I saw in the last corner that Jorge opened a little bit the door, then I go in."

Marquez added that he had seen footage of similar clashes at the same corner in the past, such as Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau in 2005.

"Many times something similar has happened there," he said. "I learned from the videos and I tried to do my best."

Lorenzo refused to comment on the clash immediately after the race, claiming "it's better not to say anything" before later admitting that he felt he had made an error in allowing Marquez a chance to attack.

"I only did two mistakes," he said. "The first one was the start, and then in the last corner for not closing the door a little bit more.

"Anyway I am happy. I think we did a good race with the bike we have and I did my best."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107224

[Alessandra]

Not that I've been able to find.

Looks like no penalty then - and from Rob's reports above.
I didn't think it was cut and dried anyway; 50/50 really. Marquez is actually heading up the drivers' championship now - pretty amazing!

Good drive by Cal considering his injuries from quali. An Alonso-esque ride from Pedrosa; brave piece of overtaking early on and then a perfectly controlled drive from there to the end.
Good race all round.

[Suzie]

Really happy for Dani, he's taken some stick after being beaten by Marquez in the first two races.
Good race - Marc did barge his way past to be fair but no-one was taken out. After some of the stuff he did in Moto2 it was only a matter of time before we saw the same type of thing in the premier class!

Happy for Cal too, considering he must have been in a hell of a lot of pain.

[Suzie]

Cracking race today! Won't spoil it for any watchers of delayed coverage.

[Rob]

forgot about it, least have it recorded :thumb

[Rishu]

Marquez is making a habit of last corner heroics :)

[Rob]

Lorenzo second as Rossi falls to seventh

Lorenzo surprised by Pedrosa's rapid pace
Saturday, 1 June 2013

Jorge Lorenzo admits that he did not forecast a Dani Pedrosa pole position in Italy on Saturday, having himself already beaten the Repsol Honda Team rider’s pole record from 2012. However, Yamaha Factory Racing teammate Valentino Rossi will start six places further back for his home Grand Prix.
Ultimately, Lorenzo missed out on the top spot by barely half a tenth of a second. Until today, the Mallorcan had been one of only two riders to claim a pole since the start of the 2013 campaign, and was sure he had done enough to earn himself a third.

“I was surprised by my lap time, a 47.6 – that was really impressive and I didn’t expect it,” the Mallorcan began. “I also didn’t expect the lap time from Dani on the second try. I expected to be on pole, but that happens sometimes…and other times it happens the other way round. Anyway, I think second is a good position for tomorrow.

“We have to try and make a good start to lead the race at the beginning because we have strong pace on the first two laps. It is going to be really difficult, as Dani and his team have improved the bike so much and he has improved his riding style; he is stronger with every practice session, so it is going to be difficult for us to fight with Dani and the Honda, but we are going to try until the end.”

Teammate Rossi looked to have collected his maiden front row starting place of the campaign, but tumbled down to seventh place in a last-minute reshuffle.

“The practices are not so bad because we have a good pace for the race, which is important,” says the Italian, who won at Mugello on seven successive occasions between 2002 and 2008. “As always in qualifying, we suffer more than the others. They use the slipstream of the others and are able to go a bit faster than me. Unfortunately I have to start on the third row but I’m quite happy because my pace is quite good, so I think with a good start I can do a good race. We will see tomorrow.”

Despite missing out on pole position, Lorenzo continues to lead the BMW M Award competition by 15 points from Dani Pedrosa.

[Rob]

Pedrosa grabs 25th pole, Marquez salvages P6

Pedrosa clarifies annoyed moment with Dovizioso
Saturday, 1 June 2013

Dani Pedrosa’s Mugello pole position is his first in MotoGP™ since the season-ending Valencia race of last year. Repsol Honda Team partner Marc Marques progressed from Q1 to achieve sixth place, having crashed no less than three times this weekend.
In sealing the top spot and thus breaking his own pole record for Mugello, Pedrosa ends the stranglehold that has seen only either Marquez or Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo take the top qualifying spot so far this season.

"Today it was a hard session at the end," Pedrosa told motogp.com. "I could not really find a space to do a lap time – many riders were behind me. I was not high up in the order before my last lap, but was able to do a great lap so I’m on pole tomorrow. The most important thing is that we have made improvements to improve the rhythm of the bike."

Pedrosa was seen during the session to shake an arm at Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso, but has since moved to elucidate the action:

"He was trying to follow me. I understand his position. It was not only him, he was just one of them, but everything is alright."

Marquez is the only rider to have finished on the rostrum at all Grands Prix so far this season, but the newcomer has so far endured a bruising weekend in Italy; crashes came in all three of the opening trio of practice sessions, with the second being a high-speed incident on the main straight which left him with a swollen chin.

"Sixth place today was the best that we could have hoped for and I am very happy with this result," he says, having missed out on the front row while equaling his grid position of the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix.

"At the end of qualifying I was able to put in a hot lap, but the race tomorrow is going to be difficult and tough. I won't be 100% physically because I'm bruised and sore; my shoulder is bothering me the most and we will see how it responds tomorrow. We are going to give our all, in any case, and see where we end up."

Heading into Round 5, Pedrosa leads Marquez in the Riders’ Championship by six points, whereas Honda and the Repsol squad also head up the Constructors’ and Teams’ title races.

[Rob]

Alpinestars releases Marquez crash telemetry
Saturday, 1 June 2013

http://i41.tinypic.com/2wrku9z.jpg
It was a minor miracle that Marc Marquez did not suffer major injury in his Friday crash at the end of the Mugello start/finish straight. The Spaniard, who made the conscious decision to jump off his Honda, was saved by his Alpinestars race suit.
Marquez left the track at 337.9km/h (209.9mph), sustaining several heavy blows to his back and shoulders as well as injuring his chin while sliding along the damp grass verge en route to San Donato corner.

The graph atop this article shows the time it took for Marquez’s airbag suit to deploy, with individual impacts markets with circles. Incredibly, it is quite possible that the 20-year-old’s body was subjected to gravitational forces greater than the highest recorded figure of 25G, as the suit’s accelerometers were completely maxed out.

The second graph (below this article) demonstrates a zoomed in look at the initial moment of impact. With this information, we know that it took the Alpinestars suit just a quarter of one tenth of a second to detect that the rider was falling. This ensured the airbag had already been deployed for eight hundreds of a second by the time Marquez sustained his first hefty blow with the ground.

Several other impacts were recorded at intervals of 1.2 seconds, 1.9 seconds, 2.3 seconds and 3.0 seconds after the deployment of the airbag, with the overall duration of the high-speed shunt being officially clocked at 5.2 seconds. Marquez went on to qualify sixth fastest just 24 hours later.

http://i39.tinypic.com/21lr49z.jpg

[Suzie]

That was a sickening crash to see, thank goodness he is alright.

Looking forward to Mugello. That was a hell of a lap Dani put in to snatch pole at the last minute. Would expect an all Spanish podium again but it'd be nice for Cal to shake things up at the front again ;-)

Not sure what will be said about Vale if he doesn't put on a good showing here though...

[Alessandra]

Congrats. to Lorenzo and Cal, of course.

I have to say I felt for MArquez; after a mature ride and patient battle with his team mate one little mistake ( i guess it was) and, well, his body language said it all.

[Suzie]

I think Gresini will be trying to smuggle Alvaro out of Italy after that one...

[Rob]

Didnt see it, well got home and switched on see Rossi not in race and turned it over :oops

What happened, i got it recorded so watch it later tonight.

[Suzie]

He didn't even make it past lap 1 Rob - him and Bautista went off.

[Rob]

Lorenzo completes hat-trick of Mugello wins
Sunday, 2 June 2013

Jorge Lorenzo has won the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM for the third successive year, leading home MotoGP™ championship leader Dani Pedrosa and Britain’s Cal Crutchlow. There were crashes for both local hero Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez, ending the Spanish rookie’s run of consecutive podium finishes.
On Saturday, Repsol Honda Team’s Pedrosa – winner of the last two Grands Prix in Spain and France – had claimed his first pole position of the campaign, heading up the front row from Yamaha Factory Racing’s Lorenzo and Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso. Sunday afternoon would prove to be completely dry as the race was held in bright conditions, marking the fifth round of 18 in 2013.

A strong getaway for Pedrosa allowed the Honda man to retain his lead, but he immediately ran wide and was tagged by Lorenzo as the World Champion dived inside to take the lead on the exit of Turn 1. Pedrosa would remain with his compatriot until just past half distance, when small errors for two laps in a row allowed Marquez to attack his teammate while Lorenzo pulled out a healthy buffer.

Pedrosa’s afternoon was a mixed one. He had lost the lead at the start and kept Marquez at bay until the 20-year-old pulled off a courageous move on the inside of Savelli curve on the 19th tour. Marquez’s hard work was quickly undone in exactly the same place just two laps later, as an unforced error resulted in a fourth crash in three days and the end of his bid to become the first rookie in MotoGP history to claim five rostrum finishes at the start of his premier class career.

Marquez’s demise allowed Pedrosa to retake second place as Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Crutchlow made the podium for the second time in two weeks, becoming the first British rider since 1987 to take back-to-back podium finishes. Stefan Bradl delivered a mature ride to fourth place to equal his career-best result for LCR Honda MotoGP, which had coincidently been achieved at the same race last year. Ducati Team filled positions five to seven, with Dovizioso eventually winning a battle with teammate Nicky Hayden while Michele Pirro raced the GP13 Lap bike for a second time.

Aleix Espargaro carried his Power Electronics Aspar CRT bike to its best result yet in eighth spot, with Tech 3’s Bradley Smith achieving ninth despite being in immense pain with an injured wrist and finger. Hector Barbera completed the top ten for Avintia Blusens, but the biggest drama of the day for the Italian crowd was Valentino Rossi’s retirement only three corners into the race; the seven-time Mugello winner was involved in a collision with GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista, with both men heading into the barriers at Poggio Secco. After the event, Race Direction declared the coming together a ‘racing incident’.

Lorenzo’s second victory of the year sees him jump up to second place in the Riders’ Championship, 12 points behind Pedrosa, as Marquez falls to third and 26 points behind the championship leader. The action continues with the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya from Barcelona in two weeks’ time.

[Rob]

He didn't even make it past lap 1 Rob - him and Bautista went off.

:furious

Read your reply Suz and watched the start, didnt get to half a lap :furious gutted for him.

[Rob]

Rossi’s home race ends in barriers

Rossi and Bautista share opinions on crash
Sunday, 2 June 2013

Valentino Rossi was bitterly disappointed to have failed to finish his home Grand Prix, crashing with Alvaro Bautista on the opening lap at Mugello on Sunday.
The nine-time world champion had started seventh on the grid, two positions in front of Bautista, but both riders found themselves in the protective barriers only three corners into the race.

“Unfortunately, at the start I had a problem with the clutch spinning and I lost two or three positions,” Rossi recalls. “Then I was attacking because we had a good pace and I was fast.

“On the second corner I was on the outside already in front of Bautista. For me, from the inside he opened the throttle to close the line so he didn’t lose another position, but I was already in front so he came to me and touched my boot. I was lucky because it was a bad crash and I hit the wall, but I’m okay.

“We will try next time in Barcelona, but it is a pity because firstly it is Mugello and secondly I think we could have done a good race and maybe been on the podium.”

Rossi won seven consecutive races at home in Italy between 2002 and 2008. After today’s non-finish, he finds himself sixth in the championship and 56 points off the lead whereas Bautista is now eighth overall and a further nine points behind.

[Rob]

Bautista: ‘Neither of us is to blame’
Rossi and Bautista share opinions on crash
Sunday, 2 June 2013

Alvaro Bautista agreed with MotoGP™ Race Direction that neither he nor Valentino Rossi could be blamed for their first-lap crash in the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM.
The GO&FUN Honda Gresini and Yamaha Factory Racing riders made contact between Luco and Poggio Secco, sending both into the barriers at the third corner.

“There is not much I can say, really,” Bautista commented upon his return to the paddock. “Unfortunately, in Turn 3 I made contact with Valentino and we both crashed out of a race that was very important for both of us.

“Valentino and I have watched the incident back together in Race Direction and it was just a racing incident that leaves us both with a bitter taste in the mouth, but neither of us is to blame. I was on the inside and it is very difficult to see a rider on the outside from there.

“He was taking a slightly different line and that's why we came together. It's a shame because I felt good on the bike and it's a positive result. These things happen but we have to forget about it and try to think about the next race.”

Not only was the race the home event of Rossi, but also that of Bautista’s Gresini team.

[Rob]

New Catalunya pole record for dominant Pedrosa

Saturday, 15 June 2013

Sunday’s MotoGP™ race at the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya will commence with Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa on pole following an exciting qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. Also on the front row for what promises to be a superb race are Cal Crutchlow and Jorge Lorenzo.
Pedrosa is in impressive form on his 200th Grand Prix weekend and his pole time of 1'40.893 is the best ever lap of Catalunya.

Slotting themselves in on the front row and also looking to get away from the chasing pack tomorrow are Yamaha riders Crutchlow and Lorenzo, with the pair trailing poleman Pedrosa by 0.608s and 0.673s respectively. Lorenzo overcame an early clutch problem, swapping bikes to make the front row.

From the second row the likes of GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista, Ducati’s Nicky Hayden and Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez will also be hoping to mount podium challenges, having all qualified within a second of pole.

From the third row, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Valentino Rossi, Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone and Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso will all aim to make their final improvements in Warm Up on Sunday morning in order to be able to challenge the leading six on the grid.

Iannone impressed in eighth having made it through from Q1 with Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Bradley Smith who qualified 11th, sandwiched by 10th placed LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl and 12th placed Power Electronics Aspar man Aleix Espargaro – the only CRT rider to make Q2.

The scorching heat at the Circuit de Catalunya – track temperatures reached 52°C during qualifying – is forecast to continue on Sunday meaning that tyre tactics will be as important as ever for the sixth race of the season, with harder options likely to be favoured by the riders.

Sunday’s MotoGP™ race at the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya commences at 2pm local time.

[Rishu]

Why Rossi has been so much behind Lorenzo this season? Is he fading or Lorenzo is indeed that much better?

[Alessandra]

It's going to be one helluva start tomorrow! :-E Go Cal:thumb

[tifosi1993]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BNxIAjqCEAAN3yB.jpg:large

JLo fractures left collarbone after a huge crash in QFP2....gutted. :-(

[Rob]

Injured Lorenzo ruled out of Iveco TT Assen
Lorenzo crashes in second free practice
Thursday, 27 June 2013

MotoGP™ World Champion Jorge Lorenzo has been forced to miss Saturday’s Iveco TT Assen because of a broken left collarbone. The Yamaha Factory Racing rider picked up the injury after suffering a high-speed crash in Thursday afternoon practice.
Caught out by standing water, Lorenzo was launched over the front end of his bike before landing heavily on his left shoulder. The accident occurred at the rapid Hoge Heide right-hander which leads towards Ramshoek and the Geert Timmer chicane at the end of the legendary Assen lap.

Having been transported to the circuit Medical Centre by ambulance, Lorenzo was given painkillers before his broken collarbone was confirmed. He will now spend 12 hours under observation at Assen hospital, where CT scans will be conducted, before returning to Barcelona for surgery on either Saturday night or Sunday morning.

“Jorge has suffered an accident at over 200 kilometres an hour and the obvious injury at this point is a broken left clavicle,” explains Dr. Xavier Mir. “However, as this was a significant accident, we have to take into account that there could also be head, thoracic or abdominal injuries. For now, we have taken him to hospital in Assen where CT scans will be carried out in those three areas to rule out any further injuries. It would also be a prudent move to observe him over 12 hours to make sure he can be treated by the appropriate parties when he arrives in Barcelona tomorrow.”

In November 2009, Lorenzo underwent a small operation for the removal of a titanium plate from the same collarbone. This had been fitted following a crash in the 250 race at the Circuit de Catalunya in 2005, after which his shoulder was injured again in a Valencia off-season testing accident.

Lorenzo had headed into this race weekend off the back of consecutive race victories in the Italian and Catalan Grands Prix and is second in the Riders’ Championship, just seven points behind leader Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team).

[Rob]

That looked big, hope for full speedy recovery.

[Suzie]

Hope he will be back for the next race. As Gavin Emmett said earlier, he came out of Assen with no points last year as well, and still went onto win, so...

[tifosi1993]

Dutch TT Assen Warm up

1.Vale ROSSI (Yamaha Factory Racing) 1:35.803 12 12 304.3 :clap
.
.
.
.
.
.
8. J LORENZO (Yamaha Factory Racing) 1:36.517 10 11 301.7 :-E :bow

Full Results: http://www.bikesportnews.com/news-detail.cfm?newstitle=MotoGP-Assen:-Crocked-Lorenzo-eighth-in-morning-warm-up&newsid=9694

[Rishu]

Amazing commitment from Lorenzo. Well done Rossi, well done Cal.

[tifosi1993]

"THE DOCTOR" is back! :clap

Lorenzo - amazing commitment, Respect. :bow

[Suzie]

Best race of the season so far. Thrilled for Vale, I was so happy to see it. Cal could have gotten second but a podium's a podium. And as for Jorge - I have no words :bow

[Rob]

Missed the race, again. But just brilliant having Vale on top again. Go watch it later.

[Rob]

Now watching the race, what a move on Dani too take the lead. So brilliant too see Vale doing that and leading.The crowd went nuts.:clap

[Rob]

Big big respect to Jorge, after the crash, adn operation to ride like he did. Amazing.

[Rob]

Official: Pedrosa not racing in German GP
pedrosa unfit for sachsenring race

Sunday, 14 July 2013
It has been confirmed that championship leader Dani Pedrosa will not compete in Sunday's eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland.
Following a crash on Saturday morning in which he highsided at Turn 1 and landed heavily, Pedrosa has suffered a minor fracture to his left collarbone. After a medical check-up on Sunday morning, he was cleared to take part in the Warm-Up but ultimately did not do so due to feeling unwell.

Further checks resulted in a decision from Repsol Honda Team and Pedrosa himself to withdraw from the race due to low blood pressure. He will be examined upon his return to Barcelona on Monday, before discovering early in the week whether or not it will be possible to race at Laguna Seca next weekend.

The decision means that both Pedrosa and nearest title rival Jorge Lorenzo are to miss Sunday’s race in Germany. Should pole-sitter Marc Marquez win at the Sachsenring, the 20-year-old newcomer will retake the World Championship lead by two points.

[Rob]

Lorenzo targets Indy return after surgery

lorenzo surgery after sachsenring crash
Another operation for Lorenzo in Barcelona
Saturday, 13 July 2013

Following his crash at the Sachsenring on Friday, in which he bent the titanium plate attached to his left collarbone, Jorge Lorenzo has undergone another operation. The MotoGP™ World Champion has now revealed that he is set to miss two races before making a comeback at Indianapolis in mid-August.
Lorenzo broke the collarbone in Thursday practice for the Dutch TT just over two weeks ago, returning to Barcelona where the plate was attached with eight screws. In Germany on Friday, the plate was damaged after the Yamaha Factory Racing rider highsided on the exit of Turn 10.

Having been ruled out of this weekend’s race, he underwent surgery at the Hospital General de Catalunya on Saturday morning.

“As a result of the trauma suffered in the crash yesterday, the original fracture suffered a little movement that required new surgery to close the space and reduce the fracture by the method of osteosynthesis and with a new plate,” explains Dr. Joaquin Rodriguez, surgeon who carried out the procedure.

“The new plate needed ten screws plus one inter fragmentary screw. We then needed to take out some bone substance from the pelvis that was mixed with dried bone. We placed this implant into the collarbone to stimulate the creation of the callus and help speed up the consolidation of the bone.

“The Surgical team involved at the Hospital General de Catalunya, Sant Cugat del Vallés were Doctors Joaquin Rodriguez, Marc Cots and Anna Carreras, anesthetists Doctors Angela Verde and Eric Alvarez and instrumentalists Cristina Gil and Laia Torrens. The operation lasted for two hours.”

Lorenzo currently sits second in the World Championship to Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa, who has also injured his left collarbone in Germany.

On Saturday evening, the Yamaha Factory Racing team rider announced on Twitter that he is planning to make his comeback after the summer break, at Indianapolis, for the tenth round of the season: 'To the people asking me about Laguna, I would like to say that I don't want to take more risk and (instead) have a good recovery. See you in Indy!'

Show your support for Jorge Lorenzo by using Twitter hashtag: #GetWellSoonJorge

[Rob]

Marquez fastest as Pedrosa misses Warm-Up

marquez warm up sachsenring motogp
Sunday, 14 July 2013

Marc Marquez, pole-sitter for the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, has topped the Warm-Up session ahead of Sunday’s race. On the other side of the Repsol Honda Team garage, it is yet to be confirmed as to whether Dani Pedrosa will race, having missed the morning session due to feeling unwell.
With World Champion Jorge Lorenzo already out of action after further damaging his left collarbone on Friday, championship leader Pedrosa suffered a small fracture to his own left collarbone as he experienced a large highside crash on Saturday morning.

Following a Sunday morning medical check-up, Pedrosa has been officially declared ‘fit’ to race, but complained of dizziness and therefore did not take part in the Warm-Up. If he is ultimately able to race, he will start from 12th position on the grid.

In the Warm-Up itself, Marquez topped the timesheets with 1’21.895, whereas there was another crash when Nicky Hayden lost control of his Ducati Team bike at Turn 3. The 30-lap race at the Sachsenring will start at 2pm local time (GMT +2).

[Alessandra]

What an heroic ride from Cal C. - especially with hands 'like raw meat' as the commentator so delicately put it! Great courage!

[Suzie]

That was a tense one, Cal needs to make better starts though or he wouldn't have to fight his way back up to the podium positions all the time.

[Alessandra]

That was a tense one, Cal needs to make better starts though or he wouldn't have to fight his way back up to the podium positions all the time.


Yup, he was swamped, but was that him or the bike?

[Suzie]

He's said it's because of being so heavy with fuel at the beginning, something to do with the positioning of the fuel tank on the bike that makes it difficult to manage.

[Alessandra]

He's said it's because of being so heavy with fuel at the beginning, something to do with the positioning of the fuel tank on the bike that makes it difficult to manage.

Ah-ha.:thumb

[Rob]

New scan for Pedrosa reveals complete collarbone fracture
pedrosa update after laguna
Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa has given details of his physical condition in his latest blog post, stating that a recent medical examination undertaken in Barcelona has revealed a complete collarbone fracture in his injured shoulder.
Pedrosa returned to Europe satisfied with his fifth place finish in Sunday’s Laguna Seca race and now that a complete fracture has been detected his performance in the U.S. seems only more heroic.

The additional medical tests Pedrosa underwent in Barcelona this week have shown that his injury is more severe than first diagnosed, with the rider himself commenting online, “The race was quite unusual for me due to my injury, but anyway my feeling was ok and I finished not too far behind the leaders. The goal I set myself was to finish as close to the front as possible and I managed to do just that.”

“Having put in such an effort it was important to see how the collarbone was affected and the latest test I had was a 3D CT scan, which revealed more than was shown up in my initial tests due to swelling and limited visibility of the injury. The latest scan shows a complete fracture,” Pedrosa explained.

The Spaniard went on to add, “The key thing is that it’s not a displaced fracture and it wasn’t pushed out of shape in the race, so there is no need for an operation. It’s relatively good news and within a fortnight I’ll have another check-up. I’ll do some physio during the holidays in order to recover well in time for Indianapolis.”

Pedrosa currently sits second in the championship, 16 points behind his teammate Marc Marquez at the top of the standings.

[Rob]

Casey Stoner to test for HRC

Stoner to test with HRC
Tuesday, 23 July 2013

Casey Stoner will climb back on a Honda RC213V, for the first time since Valencia 2012, as a test rider for Honda Racing Corporation. The two-time World Champion left the sport at the end of last year and has been linked with rumours of a wild card appearance this season but this is now out of the question.

The Australian rider will do four tests in Motegi in the next few months with Honda Racing's R&D team, working on the evolution of the RC213V and also on the new production racer bike that Honda Racing will sell to selected team next year to race in MotoGP.

Casey Stoner
"It's been almost 9 months now since Valencia and I'm still happy and comfortable with the decision I made to stop racing. Sometimes I miss riding my RCV, so I am happy that HRC asked me to do some tests in Motegi this year. This will allow me to enjoy what I miss: riding a MotoGP bike! I'm looking forward to getting on the bike and see how i t has changed from last year and I'd like to thank Honda for this opportunity"

Shuhei Nakamoto - HRC Executive Vice President
"We are very pleased to have Casey back on a Honda! He knows this machine very well and I'm sure he can help our engineers and technicians with the development of the RC213V. We will also ask him to test the new production racer and give us his initial feedback to assist us in producing the best machine possible"

[Rishu]

I am pretty sure part of his heart regrets the decision to retire. I'd like to see him back.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

[Suzie]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/motogp/23536326


Cal Crutchlow has signed a two-year deal to ride in MotoGP for the factory Ducati team in 2014 and 2015.
The deal, to be announced on Friday, will see the British rider in a factory team for the first time in MotoGP.
Crutchlow on his future
"At the moment, my career seems to be on the up and I'm getting closer to the guys at the front and starting to challenge for wins.

"I don't want to take a step back, so the next thing is to be in a factory team, but it has to be the one with the right machinery."

Read more in Crutchlow's last BBC Sport blog

Crutchlow, 27, who has taken four podiums with his Tech 3 team this year, had initially wanted to stay with Yamaha but wanted assurances of a factory ride, which were not given.
Crutchlow will replace 2006 world champion Nicky Hayden at Ducati.
There are only three full factory teams in MotoGP - at Ducati, Yamaha and Repsol Honda.
These six bikes benefit from updates and higher spec machinery before the other teams, who lease their bikes from the factories.
The last British riders in a MotoGP factory team were Jeremy McWilliams and Shane Byrne with Aprilia Racing in 2004.
Both Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi's contract with the factory Yamaha team run until 2015, while Repsol Honda have Spaniards Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa signed up.
In May, Crutchlow revealed that Yamaha were in talks with Moto2 rider Pol Espargaro for a Tech 3 ride in 2014, angering Crutchlow who felt he deserved a factory contract. Crutchlow's team-mate, Bradley Smith, also has a contract with the satellite team for 2014, seemingly leaving the British rider without a ride in 2014.
Yamaha though were keen for Crutchlow, who has finished as the top satellite rider in all but two races this year, to stay with the Tech 3 team.

Yamaha Motor Racing managing director Lin Jarvis revealed ongoing talks with Crutchlow's management team as late as this week, telling motogp.com: "Now is the time to make money in your career, so the main issue is that we are trying to see if we can put together an offer that is enough for him to stay."
Crutchlow will rejoin former Tech 3 team-mate Andrea Dovizioso at Ducati next year. Dovizioso finished fourth in the championship for Tech 3 last year, but his best finish for Ducati this season has been a fourth place.

Ducati have struggled in recent years, not winning a race since Casey Stoner took victory at the Australian Grand Prix in 2010.
Seven-time MotoGP champion Rossi rejoined Yamaha this year after a two-year spell with Ducati in which he only managed three podiums.
The Audi takeover of Ducati has prompted big changes in the managerial side of the MotoGP project but they still remain without a single podium in 2013, with Ducati Corse general manager Bernhard Gobmeier talking of a two-year project to get Ducati back to a competitive level.
Yamaha are set to announce Pol Espargaro as Crutchlow's replacement in the Tech 3 team shortly after Ducati's announcement.

I hope he knows something we don't... :-??

[Ste]

There goes Cal's MotoGP career...

[Suzie]

Ah well I can't afford BT Sport anyway.

:-s

[Ste]

Me either. Will have to be online streams, if available.

Scott Redding is moving up to MotoGP next year, as well as Pol. It would've been nice to see Scott replace Bradley Squeaker, as he's just a waste of space. Also a shame for Aleix Espargaro not to be getting a better ride - his performances have been impressive.

[Sianellen]

Me either. Will have to be online streams, if available.

Scott Redding is moving up to MotoGP next year, as well as Pol. It would've been nice to see Scott replace Bradley Squeaker, as he's just a waste of space. Also a shame for Aleix Espargaro not to be getting a better ride - his performances have been impressive.

I never understood why Bradley got picked to move up to MotoGP. Did he actually win a Moto2 race? Agree about the squeaking.

[Alessandra]

Well, good luck to Cal.

[Suzie]

Agree about the squeaking.

It's a rare occurrence to see a man go bald before his voice has even broken.

[Sianellen]

It's a rare occurrence to see a man go bald before his voice has even broken.

:lol

[Rob]

Pol Espargaro signs for Monster Yamaha Tech3
Friday, 2 August 2013

Pol Espargaro will be stepping up to the MotoGP™ class with Monster Yamaha Tech3 in 2014 on a two-year contract, it has been announced on Friday.
Spaniard Pol Espargaro, younger brother of Aleix who is already competing in MotoGP™, is currently engaged in a fight for the Moto2™ world title and has won three of the eight races so far this season. In 2012, he finished runner-up to Marc Marquez who has since gone on to impress in the premier class.

Espargaro, 22 and from Granollers on the outskirts of Barcelona, made his World Championship debut in the 125 class in 2006. His maiden podium finish would come in the following season’s Portuguese Grand Prix, then winning at Indianapolis in 2009 before collecting a further four race victories prior to his Moto2™ debut in 2011.

In 2013, Espargaro - riding for the Tuenti HP 40 outfit - has become involved in a tense fight for the intermediate class title with Britain’s Scott Redding, who on Thursday also announced that he would be stepping up to the premier class next year although his team is yet to be confirmed.

In signing for the Monster Yamaha Tech3 outfit, Espargaro will race alongside Britain’s Bradley Smith, as Cal Crutchlow makes the move to Ducati Team.

[Rob]

MotoGP™-bound Redding visits BT Sport
Friday, 2 August 2013

Moto2™ championship leader Scott Redding was on-hand as BT Sport launched on Thursday night. The all-new platform will be broadcasting MotoGP™ from 2014 onwards, as Redding steps up to the premier class for the first time.
Starting at 6pm UK time (GMT +1), Thursday’s presentation saw presenters, experts, commentators and special guests gathering in the BT Sports studios in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the biggest purpose-built sports studio in Europe. The show simulcasted on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport 2 until the moment the two channels became independent. The new BT Sport website also went live.

"It’s finally a reality that ‘Great sport happens here’," declared John Petter, Managing Director of BT Retail Consumer. "The customers are the ones that matter and now they will be able to see the programmes for themselves. We‘re convinced they’re going to like what they see and we’re absolutely committed to making BT Sport fun, innovative and a firm favourite with the fans."

During a chat in front of a live studio audience, hosted by Jake Humphrey, it was confirmed that Scott Redding will be joining the premier class of MotoGP™ in 2014.

"It's good to see BT Sport want to promote MotoGP to the same level as their other sports like football," said the 20-year-old, who has won two Moto2™ races this season and picked up a total of five podium finishes. "It should help us get more support from the British fans, which is great. Since being here I've met a lot of people and they're all enthusiastic and know what they're talking about. The studio is mega and we've had a few laughs too which is always good."

Also on-hand was former racer Neil Hodgson, expert analyst on the evening.

"BT Sport are going to change the face of motorcycling and elevate it to a level people didn't think possible," he commented. "The attitude here is to raise the profile of the riders and really get to know their characters, as well as pushing to illustrate the amazing technical stories in new and exciting ways. Having met all the executives here they share the same belief that MotoGP is the greatest show on earth."

The MotoGP™ season resumes at Indianapolis on the weekend of 17-18 August. Redding carries a 23-point Moto2™ championship lead for Marc VDS Racing Team.

[Rob]

Ah well I can't afford BT Sport anyway.

:-s

Thought BT sport was free for Sky, or is it just if you have Sky Sports?

[Tobes]

Thought BT sport was free for Sky, or is it just if you have Sky Sports?

It doesn't matter if you have Sky Sports or not, it's only free to watch on Sky if you have BT broadband, you get BT Sports 1 and 2 in SD and HD and you get ESPN SD and HD thrown in, you just have to go to the BT Sports website and put your phone number and Sky viewing card number in and hey presto...

Was easy... :-D

[Ste]

Problem is, unless you're in an area that has fibre, BT Broadband is utter garbage.

[Rob]

It doesn't matter if you have Sky Sports or not, it's only free to watch on Sky if you have BT broadband, you get BT Sports 1 and 2 in SD and HD and you get ESPN SD and HD thrown in, you just have to go to the BT Sports website and put your phone number and Sky viewing card number in and hey presto...

Was easy... :-D

:rotfl, we got Sky broadband.

[Rob]

Stoner completes Honda MotoGP test, rules out wildcard return


By Pablo Elizalde Wednesday, August 7th 2013, 08:40 GMT

Casey StonerCasey Stoner completed his two-day test with the Honda MotoGP squad after a more fruitful session at the Motegi circuit.

The Australian's opening day of work had been hampered by rain, the former world champion managing just six full laps because of the poor weather conditions.

On Wednesday, however, the weather improved and Stoner completed a total of 47 laps, wrapping up the scheduled programme.

Stoner rode this year's RC213V bike before switching to the 2014 machine in the afternoon.

The two-time champion admitted he was delighted with his comeback, but insisted there are no plans to return to racing.

"Thankfully today the weather improved a lot, in fact it was pretty hot, and we were able to get some good track time and work on our test programme," said Stoner.

"We had a productive day in general and thankfully the test plan wasn't too hectic, so we were able to get most of it done today, after yesterday's washout.

"It was great to see the team, even if there were only a few people here, and I thank Honda for all their support as ever.

"It felt really good to get back on the bike after nine months and I'm happy with how the test went, but it doesn't change my mind about the wild cards - this is not something I am planning to do."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109205

[Sianellen]

It doesn't matter if you have Sky Sports or not, it's only free to watch on Sky if you have BT broadband, you get BT Sports 1 and 2 in SD and HD and you get ESPN SD and HD thrown in, you just have to go to the BT Sports website and put your phone number and Sky viewing card number in and hey presto...

Was easy... :-D

Not sure if any of you have Virgin Media but we got a notification to say the BT channels have been added onto our package free of charge. We don't have BT broadband either. It might be that Sky might get those channels at some point too.

[Tobes]

****** we got Sky broadband.

Such profanity and from the 'Naughty Word Mod' too... :-!

:rotfl



Edit-
Have reported your post.... to yourself....! :-)

[Rishu]

Sensational Marquez.. Deserves to win this championship

[Ste]

That was an utterly brilliant race. I completely expected Marquez to fall back after a few laps following his injury so I was pretty surprised when he didn't. Lorenzo was as brilliant as ever and what a finish that was.

Surely goes down as one of the all time greats, so glad I was there.

[Rob]

Work to do for Rossi and Lorenzo.

Yamaha reaction motogp sepang.
Friday, 11 October 2013

After the first two free practice sessions for the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, former World Champion Valentino Rossi and current title-holder Jorge Lorenzo have a bridge to gap - in order to match the pace of their Honda rivals.

Rossi made some improvement over the two practice sessions to wrap up the day in fourth in the combined times. The Italian made a 0.5 second improvement over the two sessions and finished 0.115 seconds behind Cal Crutchlow in third, but still trailed pace man Dani Pedrosa by nearly a second at the end of the day.

“For me personally, especially this afternoon, it was a good practice because we improved the setting of the bike a lot,” stated Rossi. “We improved with the new tyre and with the old tyre I can stay with a good pace so I feel better on the bike. For sure we have to improve, but this afternoon I feel good. It seems our competitors are a little faster than us but I will try 100% because in the last races Jorge is always there fighting at the front. It will be hard but we have to concentrate on the bike. We are not very far but we have a small gap to recover.”

Lorenzo had a tougher first day in Sepang. The Mallorcan struggled to find an optimum set up for the Malaysian circuit with mid-corner grip issues affecting his final times. He completed the first day in fifth overall, 0.085 seconds behind his teammate Rossi.

“We are investigating what happened today because I didn't have confidence in the middle of the corners and also with acceleration,” said a disappointed Lorenzo. “I had a lot of spinning and the bike is very aggressive so we have to see what we can change for tomorrow to try to get back a good feeling with the bike again.”

[fratelliferrari]

That was an impressive lap by Marquez today! Great to see Marquez and Rossi have so much respect for each other.

[Rob]

Voices from Sepang: Stoner in place of Bradl in Australia?
Many of us hope, but for now suppo denies saying that you have not even heard Casey
October 12, 2013 14:32 Voices from Sepang: Stoner in place of Bradl in Australia?

The fracture of the ankle remedied today in Sepang , compel Stefan Bradl to give up the Malaysian Grand Prix . To shorten the recovery time, the German will undergo a surgery soon in Kuala Lumpur, hoping to be able to go riding his RC213V of the LCR in a week at Phillip Island . thing, however, is not so obvious and then Lucio Cecchinello moving you'd be looking for a possible replacement. Invariably the name that began to circulate in the paddock at the Malaysian track was to Casey Stoner will be at the Australian Phillip Island for a lap of honor, recently had the opportunity to perform a couple of tests with the RC213V , also His debut with the team took their manager's Italian. This clearly would be the dream of many fans and it must be said that several colleagues have tried to spur Casey front of the microphones of journalists ( Marc Marquez and Colin Edwards all), even if the ' last word probably will be for the Honda and when Livio Suppo does not seem too convinced of the feasibility of the operation. " It would be dangerous for him, he has not raced for almost a year and has made ​​only a few days of testing , "he told GPOne.com . " I know him well, if he was interested I would have already called. Nor did it . " In short, at the time HRC does not seem too much of this idea, but many of us still hope ...

http://www.omnicorse.it/magazine/31625/moto-gp-voci-secondo-cui-stoner-potrebbe-sostituire-bradl-in-australia-ma-suppo-nega

[Rob]

missed quali. See if i can catch at some point.

[Rob]

Marquez delighted to earn tricky Sepang pole

Marc Marquez Sepang 2013 Q2 review
Sepang Qualifying: Pole position - Marc Márquez
Saturday, 12 October 2013

World Championship leader Marc Marquez took his eighth pole position of the season with a new lap record at the Sepang International Circuit on Saturday.
It was an exciting conclusion to Q2 at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, Marquez again putting on a show, as he broke the circuit record on his final hot lap. That was enough to give him pole position number eight of the season, his fourth in a row.

Valentino Rossi, Cal Crutchlow, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa all took turns to lead the way in the 15 minute shootout, but it was rookie and World Championship leader Marquez who smashed the circuit record with his last attempt.

A mistake at Turn 1 of his penultimate lap had left him with little margin for error on his final go, but he came back strong to take another pole position. He will be joined by Rossi and Crutchlow on the front row, with Lorenzo and Pedrosa on the second row in fourth and fifth, respectively.

"I'm really happy with this pole position, particularly as earning it was a little different to with my previous poles," reflected the young Spaniard. "At the start of qualifying there were two completely wet corners, which made it hard to put in a hot lap as we had to calculate the amount of risk ‒whilst still maintaining our speed. I knew that the final lap of the session would be definitive, because the surface was drying out and conditions were getting better by the minute."

"Things worked out for us and I set a time that I really wasn't expecting. Tomorrow will be a different story, because Lorenzo and Dani both have a great pace, so we shall see if we have a bit of good fortune and the conditions remain dry."

[Rob]

:clap

Rossi achieves best grid spot since 2010

Saturday, 12 October 2013

Valentino Rossi enjoyed his best qualifying session of the season at Sepang, scoring second on the grid for Sunday’s Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
Indeed the result for the nine-time World Champion is also his best qualifying result since Motegi 2010 - and puts him in a strong position ahead of the 15th race of the season.

The 15-minute Q2 took place with uncertain track conditions after a pre-session rain shower tested rider skill to the limit. Having saved a big moment at turn six on his first lap, Rossi put his head down and set a 2’03.499 to take provisional pole position.

A flurry of activity at the top followed and the multi-title winner came in to change to a fresh rear tyre in third position. As the last minutes counted down Rossi became a key protagonist in the battle for pole, delivering a scorching 2’00.336 lap to take another provisional pole, a position he held for a few seconds before a final hot lap from rival Marc Marquez moved him to second, 0.325s from pole.

"I’m very happy about today," Rossi beamed afterwards. "From this morning we really improved the bike. We worked hard with the team this weekend and I like the set up a lot, I can really push and have a good pace. Just before qualifying it started to rain and everything became more difficult. I expected it to be full dry but two or three corners were not, I had a big moment on the first lap and I was very happy to not crash, I have to say thank you to my Yamaha!"

He added, "After that I tried to push and I made a very good lap time, especially considering the conditions. Now we wait for tomorrow and I hope it will be dry because I think in the dry we are very competitive."

Defending World Champion Jorge Lorenzo shared a similar experience to his teammate Rossi, having a big moment at turn six on his first lap. Like Rossi he was also able to save it and then returned to the pits to watch the session unfold and decide on a strategy.

As the lap times began to tumble he came back out with six minutes remaining and immediately took provisional pole with a 2’00.792 second lap. He kept the pressure on, immediately dropping further with 2’00.578. A lack of trust in the track conditions held him back from attempting a perfect lap, his time good enough to take fourth on the grid on the second row, 0.567s from pole.

Lorenzo commented, "Today we improved the bike a lot and I feel much more comfortable than yesterday. I did a long run in free practice which went quite well. Then before qualifying we changed the bike a little and we were able to improve it further. The problem was in some corners, especially in turn six and turn seven as it was wet. On my second lap I almost crashed there so I didn't trust the corners to be able to make a perfect lap."

[Rob]

Crutchlow: 'The team have done a brilliant job.
Saturday, 12 October 2013

Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Cal Crutchlow thanked his crew after he made a return to the front row of the grid in Malaysia, finishing third fastest in a dramatic conclusion to qualifying.
Crutchlow calculated where he could push hard to battle for a third pole position throughout a tense and exciting Q2, after rain had fallen just before the session.

A lap of 2’01.801 put Crutchlow on top of the rankings by just 0.006s over Dani Pedrosa shortly after the halfway stage. In a frantic last lap sprint in improving conditions, the 27-year-old improved his pace to 2’00.359 to clinch a spot on the front row of the grid for the seventh time in 2013.

“I am really happy to be back on the front row because it was not an easy session at all,” said the Englishman. “It was hard with a dark visor to see where the track was wet and in some corners it was pretty tricky. It was a bit of a lottery with the damp sections and I think it came down to who was willing to take the most risks right at the end when the track was improving.”

Crutchlow continued, “Today’s result is a great reward for my crew because they have done a brilliant job giving me a very competitive package this weekend. It is going to be a very tough race in the heat and humidity but hopefully I can put up a good fight. It will be hard for the tyres as well because 20-laps is a long race and the tyres have been going off quite quickly.”

[fratelliferrari]

How was the race today? I have seen the results but was it a nice race?

[Suzie]

How was the race today? I have seen the results but was it a nice race?

It was okay - Jorge and Marc had a fantastic tussle in the first part of the race. The second half was pretty uneventful.

[fratelliferrari]

It was okay - Jorge and Marc had a fantastic tussle in the first part of the race. The second half was pretty uneventful.

Thanks then I will watch summary only :-D

[Rob]

New challenge as mandatory bike swaps added to Australian GP.

Saturday, 19 October 2013
For the first time in MotoGP™ history, compulsory bike changes will be required in Sunday’s Tissot Australian Grand Prix. With a new race distance of 26 laps, all riders will be required to change bikes during the race.

The change came courtesy of an announcement from Race Direction after qualifying on Saturday, with Bridgestone having announced that it is unable to guarantee the safety of its rear slick tyres beyond 14 laps.

It has therefore been decided to make the following changes to the MotoGP™ class race in the interests of safety:

1. The race distance will be 26 laps (previously scheduled to be 27)

2. Every rider will be required to enter the pits and change to their second machine with fresh tyres at least once during the race.

3. No rider is permitted to make more than 14 laps on any one slick rear tyre. This means that a bike/tyre change before lap 12 would require a second bike/tyre change to finish the race

4. Riders using ‘Factory’ and ‘Satellite’ machines will be required to use the ‘hard’ option tyre (B51DR). Extra quantity will be allocated by Bridgestone

5. Riders using CRT machines will be required to use the CRT ‘hard’ option tyre (B50DR). Extra quantity will be allocated by Bridgestone

6. The pit lane speed limit zone will be extended both on entry and exit and the exit route to rejoin the track will be marked by a white line in the runoff area; crossing this line whilst rejoining the track from pit lane will result in a penalty

[Rob]

Marquez's 11th front row, Pedrosa on Row 2.
Saturday, 19 October 2013

In a dramatic Q2 session at Phillip Island, World Championship leader Marc Marquez secured his 11th front row start for Sunday’s Tissot Australian Grand Prix – with his Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, starting from the second row in fifth.

Marquez, who had a small crash at turn 10 in FP3 on his first exit with the hard rear tyre, recorded his fastest lap on his second run in qualifying - on lap 6 of 8 with a 1'28.120, claiming second on the grid.

With his second position, Marquez has now also sealed the BMW M Award for Best Qualifier in 2013.

Marquez stated, "The goal today was to get a front row start, and we achieved it. We knew that Jorge (Lorenzo) and Valentino (Rossi) would both be very fast over a single lap with the new soft tyre compound, something that they showed today."

"Jorge, Dani and Valentino have a great pace, but I think I can stick with them. After the issues with tyres the race will now be a flag-to-flag, which for me is the first time so it will be interesting - even if I would have preferred a shorter race but this is the decision from Race Direction."

Pedrosa also worked hard in qualifying and got his fastest time on the last of his nine laps with a 1'28.748 lap, placing him fifth.

"I'll make no excuses," Pedrosa commented. "Qualifying didn't go well for us and I was not able to go fast. However, the practice sessions have been positive for us. Now we have been told that Race Direction have taken a decision to make the race 26 laps with a flag-to-flag. I don't think this is the best option but this is the scenario so we will do our best to prepare for it."

[madders25]

Really gutted for redding fractured wrist.

[Suzie]

RIP seagull.

[fratelliferrari]

I read it was a crazy race today but couldn't see it so I will watch it later this day.

[Rishu]

Shocker from Honda/Marquez

[Rob]

Shocker from Honda/Marquez

Yet, another team mistake, they gt be on the ball in Japan. Good result for The Docter, great see him on the podium. Want see him more on the top step next year, get his 10th title :pray

[Rishu]

Yet, another team mistake, they gt be on the ball in Japan. Good result for The Docter, great see him on the podium. Want see him more on the top step next year, get his 10th title :pray

I really want Marquez to take the title. Lorenzo is a champion rider, Marquez can not afford another mistake. The doctor is doing what Kimi will do for us next year: crucial WCC points :D

[fratelliferrari]

Shocker from Honda/Marquez

That must have been a very painful race today for Marc! I still hope he wins the title because I don't like Lorenzo at all!

[wisepie]

This looks like the thread for Massabots to divert to from now on! Marquez has had a brilliant season but is he another Vettel? I feel for Dani Pedrosa as he's always the bridesmaid, and Vale is just Vale, so any result he gets is a bonus. Admire Lorenzo, but no charisma. Silly mistake yesterday from Honda/Marquez but the racing itself is so close it's terrifying to watch. And I miss Simoncelli, but there are some strong Italians coming on in the CRT pack.

[fratelliferrari]

This looks like the thread for Massabots to divert to from now on! Marquez has had a brilliant season but is he another Vettel? I feel for Dani Pedrosa as he's always the bridesmaid, and Vale is just Vale, so any result he gets is a bonus. Admire Lorenzo, but no charisma. Silly mistake yesterday from Honda/Marquez but the racing itself is so close it's terrifying to watch. And I miss Simoncelli, but there are some strong Italians coming on in the CRT pack.

I like Pedrosa the most of the Spaniards but because he can't win the title anymore this year I hope Marquez will win because as I said I don't like Lorenzo. Valentino is doing a good job at the moment to, just a shame the Dreamteam Ducati-Rossi hadn't the success a lot of us had hoped for.

[Ste]

I think Honda's so called mistake was utter rubbish frankly. How can they have made that error? They knew there was a two-lap pit window, regardless of whether they thought you could come in on lap 11. Pedrosa pitted three laps before Marquez - so the 'mistake' is a bit odd.

I'm really enjoying MotoGP this year - not that I don't normally! I've always been a Rossi fan but have always liked Lorenzo too so I like to see them both doing well. The problem is that I supported Marquez through the lower series'. I think Marquez deserves the title - it would be amazing for a 20 year old to keep breaking records like he has so far. Though I wouldn't be complaining if Lorenzo won either! Happy that the championship is 'on' a bit longer but the Black Flag did seem incredibly extreme - why not a ride through penalty instead?

[wisepie]

I like Pedrosa the most of the Spaniards but because he can't win the title anymore this year I hope Marquez will win because as I said I don't like Lorenzo. Valentino is doing a good job at the moment to, just a shame the Dreamteam Ducati-Rossi hadn't the success a lot of us had hoped for.

As Ducati is now owned by Audi (I think), it's no longer the Italian team I'd supported, and they just seem to go backwards at the moment, even with Dovi and Hayden riding. Rossi/Ducati success would have been great, and we must have Latin blood in us somewhere, fratelli, we just seem to support anything and anyone with emotion in their veins!

[Rishu]

I think Honda's so called mistake was utter rubbish frankly. How can they have made that error? They knew there was a two-lap pit window, regardless of whether they thought you could come in on lap 11. Pedrosa pitted three laps before Marquez - so the 'mistake' is a bit odd.

I'm really enjoying MotoGP this year - not that I don't normally! I've always been a Rossi fan but have always liked Lorenzo too so I like to see them both doing well. The problem is that I supported Marquez through the lower series'. I think Marquez deserves the title - it would be amazing for a 20 year old to keep breaking records like he has so far. Though I wouldn't be complaining if Lorenzo won either! Happy that the championship is 'on' a bit longer but the Black Flag did seem incredibly extreme - why not a ride through penalty instead?

Black flag probably since it wasn't a racing mistake/incident. Rules were pretty clear before the race was started, if you don't obey them, black flag seems to be fine penalty IMO.

[Tobes]

Yet, another team mistake, they gt be on the ball in Japan. Good result for The Docter, great see him on the podium. Want see him more on the top step next year, get his 10th title :pray

Ha ha, thought it was a good race, bit too short but with shades of Michelins disaster at Indy, the weekend was kinda comical from the start, we learned really young riders aren't always the best plan if Marquez can't count past 10 and George isn't a bird lover... :-D

10th title..? Pah... you can't count the MotoGP feeder classes, that's like counting GP2 and GP3 as a world titles, as far as i'm concerned he's a 7 time Champ, just like Schumi...

[Rob]

Ha ha, thought it was a good race, bit too short but with shades of Michelins disaster at Indy, the weekend was kinda comical from the start, we learned really young riders aren't always the best plan if Marquez can't count past 10 and George isn't a bird lover... :-D

10th title..? Pah... you can't count the MotoGP feeder classes, that's like counting GP2 and GP3 as a world titles, as far as i'm concerned he's a 7 time Champ, just like Schumi...


That is true mate. Funny how Marquez carried around for 1 more lap, i couldnt believe it. :-E

Bird lover, what did i miss?

[Suzie]

Rob did you not see the seagull getting sucked into Jorge's bike during quali?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xS528BcZeI&feature=share

Something very macabre about watching him ride around with the poor thing flapping away :-s

[Rob]

Cheers Suzie, no i didnt see quali. Never seen that happen. :-E

[fratelliferrari]

Sadly too early in the morning to see Quali and Race live this weekend :-s

[fratelliferrari]

Lorenzo on pole for tomorrow with Marquez in second. Will be an exciting end of the championship in Moto GP.

[fratelliferrari]

So the championship will be decided in the last race. Iam already excited for the last race :-D

[Rishu]

I am eagerly waiting for this weekend :-D

[fratelliferrari]

I am eagerly waiting for this weekend :-D

Me too. I really hope Marquez wins!

[fratelliferrari]

Q2 almost underway. Really excited!

[tifosi1993]

I really hope Marquez wins!

Me too. (And he is on pole) :thumb

[fratelliferrari]

Me too. (And he is on pole) :thumb

Very nice indeed! Can't wait for the race tomorrow. It's nice to watch Moto GP in the weekends there isn't F1 :-D

[Rishu]

Wohoooooo Marquez is the Champ. Congratulations Marc!

[fratelliferrari]

Congratulations Marc Marquez :-D

[tifosi1993]

MARQUEZ :clap :nana :dance :bow

[fratelliferrari]

MARQUEZ :clap :nana :dance :bow

Did you see how he pushed the photographer down while celebrating :rotfl

[Rob]

Did you see how he pushed the photographer down while celebrating :rotfl

he was running sideways in gravel, lost footing by looked of it :rotfl

[Rob]

Congrats to Marc and Honda, i havent been watching all year, but enjoyed that last race.

:prayRossi wins 2014:pray

[tifosi1993]

Did you see how he pushed the photographer down while celebrating :rotfl

Yup :lol

Love seeing this kind of celebrations.

[Rob]

Further collarbone surgery for Lorenzo.

Double MotoGP title winner Jorge Lorenzo has undergone surgery on his left collarbone and right thumb, in order to be 100% fit for the start of the 2014 World Championship.
The Yamaha Factory Racing rider has suffered a series of collarbone injuries over the course of his career, with heavy crashes at Assen and Sachsenring this year resulting in damage to his left collarbone.

The latest operation saw the removal of 11 screws and the titanium plates fitted after Lorenzo’s 2013 Sachsenring crash, meaning the bone can now heal more completely. The 26 year-old also had a small procedure performed on his right thumb, further to an injury sustained in 2010.

Surgeons Dr. Joaquin Rodriguez, Dr. Ana Carreras and Dr. Marc Cots carried out the operation on Lorenzo at the Hospital General de Catalunya, in Sant Cugat just outside Barcelona, with the rider’s personal doctor, Teresa Sola, also in attendance.

Lorenzo was given the all clear to leave the hospital on Tuesday after remaining there overnight and will be re-examined before the end of the month. He then plans to resume full training early in 2014 to be ready for the first MotoGP test in Sepang after the winter test break.

[madders25]

Looks like moto gp could be close this season loooking at the 1st qual.

[fratelliferrari]

Looks like moto gp could be close this season loooking at the 1st qual.

Iam really excited for the season to get underway! I have to admit I enjoyed a lot Moto GP races than F1 races (with boring Bieber dominance) last year!

[Alessandra]

Watching Moto GP definitely better for my blood pressure than F1:-)

[fratelliferrari]

Watching Moto GP definitely better for my blood pressure than F1:-)

You definitely got a point there :-D

[Alessandra]

‘Fraid I spoke too soon about the blood pressure, didn’t I?
Set up camp in front of the TV to watch the first Moto GP race of the season only to find that it’s not available on BBC or any free provider in the UK. You have to pay for it, just like you do for many of the F1 races these days.

Perhaps I should just adopt drinking beer and playing Bingo as my preferred entertainment. :ouch

[Tobes]

Great first race, last few laps with Rossi and Marquez was shades of the old Rossi v Gibernau final laps... :clap

[fratelliferrari]

Sadly I missed the race because I was busy! Iam looking forward to watch the summary after your comments :-D

[Suzie]

Great race but wasn't impressed with the BT Sport coverage :-??

[Cheeseman]

:lol yeah the BT coverage was terrible. Were the commentators the old Eurosport guys? I was flying the flag for Bradley Smith today, I was hoping he could get a good result after a good qualifying. Good to see Rossi up there again

[fratelliferrari]

Just saw the summary and indeed it must have been a great race! I was hoping for Vale to take the win but it's nice he his on the podium.

[fratelliferrari]

LOL what was Lorenzo thinking today :rotfl

[Tobes]

LOL what was Lorenzo thinking today :rotfl

Yeah, wasn't just a bit of a jump start, George was halfway down the straight...!

Have a feeling this year will be the 'Marc Marquez' show...

[fratelliferrari]

Yeah, wasn't just a bit of a jump start, George was halfway down the straight...!

Have a feeling this year will be the 'Marc Marquez' show...

I think you are right about Marquez. Apart from that start in my eyes it was a boring race. Happy to see a Ducati on the podium again!

[budaman]

Yes, it wasn't much of a race. Even Pedrosa wasn't that close throughout the race. Marquez was flawless till the last turn of the last lap. He was fortunate to recover as it could have easily ended his day. The weekend confirmed that Moto 3 is the most enjoyable to watch.

Hope to have some pics up this evening. CoTA did a good job this weekend. I even was able to go out & do a Parade Lap on my bike. It was fun & because if the speed was able to keep up with the crotch rockets on my Roadstar. But, it sure made me miss my CBR!