Motorcycling fans savor 4-cylinder 800-cc symphony
It may be deafening for some, but the engine roar from a MotoGP race is an addictive melody of thundering sound for racing aficionados.
“The loud sound from the race engine drives me to the circuit here every year,” Malaysian Azmie Mustafa told The Jakarta Post during the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix in Sepang over the weekend.
Mustafa says he has never missed a race, be it Formula One or MotoGP, since the races were first brought to the Sepang International Circuit in 1999.
“On television, we can only watch the race, but to feel the soul of the race, we have to watch it live,” said the 40-something insurance worker, an avid supporter of Formula One’s Ferrari team.He said he was once a wannabe-racer 20-odd years back.
Mustafa might not be aware that a typical Formula One car or MotoGP bike can produce sounds with the audibility level ranging between 110 and 130 decibels (dB), while according to www.dangerousdecibels.org, sounds of 85 dB or stronger can cause permanent damage to the hearing, depending on the length of time one is exposed to the sound.
The site suggests, for instance, the permissible exposure time to a continuous 115-dB sound, the equivalent of a rock concert, leaf blower or chain saw, is only 30 seconds. A MotoGP race usually lasts around 50 minutes.
Besides the health risks it might pose, the sound delights fans such as Mustafa. All the seats at the Main Grand Stand of the Sepang track, which can accommodate 32,000 spectators, appeared full during race day on Sunday.
Mustafa, a supporter of Ducati’s Casey Stoner, acknowledged that more people came to watch the MotoGP race every year.
“Today’s race is more crowded than the previous years,” he said.
“It’s not just men, but also women and foreigners who are coming.”
Singaporean Ayub Abubakar, who drove the 330 kilometers from the city-state, said the sound of the roaring 800-cc motorbike engines was like music to his ears.
“I come here every year, since the first race. The sound of the race engine is fantastic,” he said.
“The sound of the engine makes a lot of difference as you can’t get the sound from an ordinary bike,” added Abubakar, who joined a motorbike tour from Singapore to Thailand last year.
Abubakar, who was eager to see Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi seal the MotoGP world championship, said before the race began, “This is an exciting race where you can conclude now who will be the champion.
“I don’t want to miss it.”
Rossi finished third, but the podium spot was enough to give him an unassailable lead — ahead of the last race in Valencia — and the championship title.
A motorcycling hobbyist, Abubakar said he even video-taped races back in Singapore to enhance his riding skills.
“You can see how the rider rides. You can see the technique,” the hotel-line businessman said.
“You need to know that ... the upgrading of the engine and all that come from MotoGP.”
First-time spectator Wayne Greenwood from Australia, who made the five-hour flight to Malaysia with four of his friends, said he was not irritated at all by the high-decibel din.
“The boys all had earplugs when watching yesterday’s trials,” she said. “But I find the noise okay. I find it fine.”
Greenwood added he would return to Sepang for next year’s MotoGP.
SOURCE:
Showing posts with label suzuki. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suzuki. Show all posts
Friday, January 15, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Plans For Next Season Have To Wait - Rossi
Plans For Next Season Have To Wait - Rossi
Although the championship title for the 2009 MotoGP season is not far from the sights of the Fiat Yamaha Team, its plans for the next season have to wait until the race season ends.
"The feeling is great, right now. We are on top of the championship. It is a great season and we will try to make good results.
"We would not think about our plan for the next season, yet. Right now, we have to focus for this weekend's race," said the team's rider, Valentino Rossi, when approched by the media on Wednesday.
Fresh from his 11th podium of the season in last Sunday's Australia Grand Prix at Phillip Island, Rossi made a pit stop at the Petronas MotoGP Showcase at KLCC Esplanade here.
Joining him was team-mate Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, who is also the title contender for the 2009 FIM World Championship.
The duo had a 30-minute autograph session with the fans, organised by Petronas, the premium partner for the team.
Earlier, both riders were presented with the winning art work from a group of underprivileged students from Sekolah Kebangsaan Saujana Utama Sungai Buloh, who were participants of an outreach programme with the Petronas Sprinta Yamaha Team riders.
The Fiat Yamaha Team riders, Rossi and Lorenzo, have won 10 out of 15 races between them this year and there has only been one race when one of the pair has not been on the podium.
They would make the most successful season in the team's history.
The Malaysian leg of the 2009 MotoGP championship will take place this weekend at Sepang International Circuit.
SOURCE:
Valentino Rossi hopes to avoid Valencia decider
Valentino Rossi hopes to avoid Valencia decider
Valentino Rossi has told MCN he hopes to clinch his seventh MotoGP world title in Malaysia this weekend to avoid a final race decider against Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.
A ninth career world championship for the 30-year-old seems a formality with the Italian heading to the Far East for Sunday’s Malaysian GP with a commanding 38-point lead.
And Rossi, who moved to the brink of the title after Lorenzo’s first corner exit in Phillip Island last weekend, says he wants to avoid a Valencia showdown.
The last time Rossi fought for the world title at the final round was in 2006 in Valencia.
That race turned proved to be one of the biggest disappointments in Rossi’s career after a crash cost him the title that went to American Nicky Hayden.
Rossi told MCN: For sure it is better to finish it early but not because of Valencia and 2006. When it goes down to the last race and everything is to be decided in that one race, anything can happen.
"I’m not very worried about Valencia as such. I lost one world championship there but it can happen like this. It is just another track and I’m confident that in Valencia if we are concentrated we can be fast and fight for the victory.
SOURCE:
Valentino Rossi has told MCN he hopes to clinch his seventh MotoGP world title in Malaysia this weekend to avoid a final race decider against Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.
A ninth career world championship for the 30-year-old seems a formality with the Italian heading to the Far East for Sunday’s Malaysian GP with a commanding 38-point lead.
And Rossi, who moved to the brink of the title after Lorenzo’s first corner exit in Phillip Island last weekend, says he wants to avoid a Valencia showdown.
The last time Rossi fought for the world title at the final round was in 2006 in Valencia.
That race turned proved to be one of the biggest disappointments in Rossi’s career after a crash cost him the title that went to American Nicky Hayden.
Rossi told MCN: For sure it is better to finish it early but not because of Valencia and 2006. When it goes down to the last race and everything is to be decided in that one race, anything can happen.
"I’m not very worried about Valencia as such. I lost one world championship there but it can happen like this. It is just another track and I’m confident that in Valencia if we are concentrated we can be fast and fight for the victory.
SOURCE:
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Casey Stoner Holds off Valentino Rossi to Take Australian Grand Prix Win
Casey Stoner Holds off Valentino Rossi to Take Australian Grand Prix Win
Australian Casey Stoner held off world champion Valentino Rossi to win a hattrick of Australian MotoGPs here on Sunday.
The 2007 world champion, riding a Ducati, led for all but one lap of the 27-lap GP to claim victory by 1.935 seconds from championship leader Rossi on a Fiat Yamaha. AFP
He said his decision to take a 10 week break to overcome his mystery ailment was now paying off, with his win Sunday moving him into third place on the world standings.
“I think without taking that time off we wouldn’t be anywhere near the podium step today, things would have been too difficult for me and physically I wouldn’t have been able to last the race,” Stoner said.
“It’s just been fantastic to come back and get a second in Portugal and almost enough pace to win it, and here have the pace to win. I can’t ask for more,” he added. “We definitely made the right decision to take that time off and find our way.” USA Today
Rossi’s second place was achieved despite personal tragedy, the Italian hearing of his stepfather’s death before qualifying Saturday, and lifted him closer to retaining the title.
Crossing the line well clear of Dani Pedrosa in third, Rossi stretched his championship lead over nearest challenger Lorenzo to 38 points with two races remaining after the Spaniard crashed out before the first turn. New York Times
“It was the most fun second-place of my career because it was a great battle with Casey,” said Rossi.
“I tried with all my energy, all my speed, but Casey rode very well and at the end it was impossible, and I also have to think of the championship.
“With Jorge out, we had a good advantage.”
Spain’s Dani Pedrosa finished third, while Honda team-mate Alex de Angelis of San Marino came fourth. American Colin Edwards (Yamaha) took fifth spot.
Two rounds of the world championship remain - Malaysia and Valencia - with a maximum of 50 points available. BBC Sport
SOURCE:
Australian Casey Stoner held off world champion Valentino Rossi to win a hattrick of Australian MotoGPs here on Sunday.
The 2007 world champion, riding a Ducati, led for all but one lap of the 27-lap GP to claim victory by 1.935 seconds from championship leader Rossi on a Fiat Yamaha. AFP
He said his decision to take a 10 week break to overcome his mystery ailment was now paying off, with his win Sunday moving him into third place on the world standings.
“I think without taking that time off we wouldn’t be anywhere near the podium step today, things would have been too difficult for me and physically I wouldn’t have been able to last the race,” Stoner said.
“It’s just been fantastic to come back and get a second in Portugal and almost enough pace to win it, and here have the pace to win. I can’t ask for more,” he added. “We definitely made the right decision to take that time off and find our way.” USA Today
Rossi’s second place was achieved despite personal tragedy, the Italian hearing of his stepfather’s death before qualifying Saturday, and lifted him closer to retaining the title.
Crossing the line well clear of Dani Pedrosa in third, Rossi stretched his championship lead over nearest challenger Lorenzo to 38 points with two races remaining after the Spaniard crashed out before the first turn. New York Times
“It was the most fun second-place of my career because it was a great battle with Casey,” said Rossi.
“I tried with all my energy, all my speed, but Casey rode very well and at the end it was impossible, and I also have to think of the championship.
“With Jorge out, we had a good advantage.”
Spain’s Dani Pedrosa finished third, while Honda team-mate Alex de Angelis of San Marino came fourth. American Colin Edwards (Yamaha) took fifth spot.
Two rounds of the world championship remain - Malaysia and Valencia - with a maximum of 50 points available. BBC Sport
SOURCE:
Australia MotoGP: Casey Stoner revels in home success
Valentino Rossi lost this race?
Casey Stoner became the second most successful Australian rider in Grand Prix history with a stunning victory over Valentino Rossi at Phillip Island.
Making only his second appearance since returning from a three-race illness lay-off, the 24-year-old fought off a fierce challenge from Rossi to claim his 19th MotoGP success for Ducati.
His victory in front of 50,094 fans moved him ahead of the on-looking Wayne Gardner and the 2007 world champion could barely contain his delight at beating by Rossi by 1.935s for a third straight Phillip Island success.
"I’d forgotten how good that winning feeling is and of all my victories this is perhaps the most special.
"I can honestly say that from a physical perspective I can’t ever remember feeling this strong after a race, which shows that the work we have done and the time we took out has been spot on.
"This has been a really tough season for us. The start of the season we were competitive enough to fight for the championship.
"By the time we got halfway through we were just collecting points. We weren’t even really fighting for anything.
"And that’s why we decided to take that decision to have time off and this is the result of it. I think without taking that time off we wouldn’t be anywhere near the podium today.
"Things would’ve been too difficult for me and physically I wouldn’t have been able to last the race.
"It’s just been fantastic. To come back and get a second in Portugal and almost enough pace to win it and here, to have enough pace to win it, its just fantastic.
"I can’t ask for more. We definitely made the right decision to take that time off and find our way.”
Stoner said he never had any worry about the fatigue issues that dogged him earlier in the season would return and hinder his bid for a third win of 2009.
“Every time I went on the brakes into MG or Honda Corner, I kept expecting my arms to start buckling and just things start to get real hard, but it just never came.
"And five races doesn’t sound like a long time, but when week after week you have the same problem and not being able to fix it and for no reason, it was very, very difficult. Today was just fantastic.
"It was the same in Portugal. I was definitely a little bit more exhausted in Portugal. Of course the weather was a little hotter.
"And we hadn’t had any physical training. We done a little bit this last week just to get myself back up there again and there were no problems for the race. So we were able to just stay consistent throughout.”
Stoner said he expected the pace to be a little faster as he strived to keep a determined Rossi at bay.
But like the majority of the field, Stoner and Rossi both ran into grip problems with the left side of their Bridgestone tyre.
It made for some spectacular but rare sliding in the 800cc era and Stoner said: “I thought the track conditions were good enough to go a little bit faster than what we were.
"We were definitely struggling with rear end grip. I think everybody was to a certain point.
"But that’s something we struggle with in general with our bike at the moment. The bike turns well and brakes well, but we just can’t get grip out of the corners at most of the circuits we go to.
"So its something were still working on each week and when we solve that I think things are going to come a long a lot better and it’ll work a lot more smoothly at most circuits.
"We’re having small pumping issues again recently, because we’re trying to get the bike to hook up but its not hooking up consistently, so it’s causing the bike to move a little bit. Once we solve that we should be fine.
"But anyway the bike was working well enough to stay at the times we were today and hopefully next week in Sepang we can try to stay at the front as well.”
Stoner’s victory promoted him to third in the championship with the fast starting Dani Pedrosa fading to finish a distant third.
As well as trying to secure third in the final standings, Stoner said his other target in the final two races would be to give crucial information to Ducati’s technical staff for the 2010 Desmosedici.
“Now my aim is to help them as much as I can over the last two races and give Filippo (Preziosi) as much useful data as I can so that he can work his magic and improve the bike even more for next year,“ said Stoner.
SOURCE:
Casey Stoner became the second most successful Australian rider in Grand Prix history with a stunning victory over Valentino Rossi at Phillip Island.
Making only his second appearance since returning from a three-race illness lay-off, the 24-year-old fought off a fierce challenge from Rossi to claim his 19th MotoGP success for Ducati.
His victory in front of 50,094 fans moved him ahead of the on-looking Wayne Gardner and the 2007 world champion could barely contain his delight at beating by Rossi by 1.935s for a third straight Phillip Island success.
"I’d forgotten how good that winning feeling is and of all my victories this is perhaps the most special.
"I can honestly say that from a physical perspective I can’t ever remember feeling this strong after a race, which shows that the work we have done and the time we took out has been spot on.
"This has been a really tough season for us. The start of the season we were competitive enough to fight for the championship.
"By the time we got halfway through we were just collecting points. We weren’t even really fighting for anything.
"And that’s why we decided to take that decision to have time off and this is the result of it. I think without taking that time off we wouldn’t be anywhere near the podium today.
"Things would’ve been too difficult for me and physically I wouldn’t have been able to last the race.
"It’s just been fantastic. To come back and get a second in Portugal and almost enough pace to win it and here, to have enough pace to win it, its just fantastic.
"I can’t ask for more. We definitely made the right decision to take that time off and find our way.”
Stoner said he never had any worry about the fatigue issues that dogged him earlier in the season would return and hinder his bid for a third win of 2009.
“Every time I went on the brakes into MG or Honda Corner, I kept expecting my arms to start buckling and just things start to get real hard, but it just never came.
"And five races doesn’t sound like a long time, but when week after week you have the same problem and not being able to fix it and for no reason, it was very, very difficult. Today was just fantastic.
"It was the same in Portugal. I was definitely a little bit more exhausted in Portugal. Of course the weather was a little hotter.
"And we hadn’t had any physical training. We done a little bit this last week just to get myself back up there again and there were no problems for the race. So we were able to just stay consistent throughout.”
Stoner said he expected the pace to be a little faster as he strived to keep a determined Rossi at bay.
But like the majority of the field, Stoner and Rossi both ran into grip problems with the left side of their Bridgestone tyre.
It made for some spectacular but rare sliding in the 800cc era and Stoner said: “I thought the track conditions were good enough to go a little bit faster than what we were.
"We were definitely struggling with rear end grip. I think everybody was to a certain point.
"But that’s something we struggle with in general with our bike at the moment. The bike turns well and brakes well, but we just can’t get grip out of the corners at most of the circuits we go to.
"So its something were still working on each week and when we solve that I think things are going to come a long a lot better and it’ll work a lot more smoothly at most circuits.
"We’re having small pumping issues again recently, because we’re trying to get the bike to hook up but its not hooking up consistently, so it’s causing the bike to move a little bit. Once we solve that we should be fine.
"But anyway the bike was working well enough to stay at the times we were today and hopefully next week in Sepang we can try to stay at the front as well.”
Stoner’s victory promoted him to third in the championship with the fast starting Dani Pedrosa fading to finish a distant third.
As well as trying to secure third in the final standings, Stoner said his other target in the final two races would be to give crucial information to Ducati’s technical staff for the 2010 Desmosedici.
“Now my aim is to help them as much as I can over the last two races and give Filippo (Preziosi) as much useful data as I can so that he can work his magic and improve the bike even more for next year,“ said Stoner.
SOURCE:
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Is Rossi getting ready for retirement?
Do a quick google search and you will see that rumours are rife linking the Italian, Valentino Rossi to a move to Ducati. The two-wheeled genius has come out rubbishing reports along with his crew chief Jeremy Burgess stating that he has a contract with Yamaha for next year.
Me personally, I think that Rossi is ready to hang up his leathers and make the move to rallying. Rossi has mentioned that he would like to end his career on an Italian bike and that is what he is doing methinks. Rewind a few years back to 2003 and remember how he denied rumours that he was moving to Yamaha – we all know how that turned out.
Then there were the rumours before Yamaha popped up that he was planning a move to Ferarri in Formula 1. That stemmed from Rossi’s boredom in MotoGP and lack of any form of challenge – then came Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner, the latter who won a World Championship crown during Rossi’s tenure. There is no doubt that Rossi will win this year’s title against Pedrosa and Stoner…what challenge is now left?
The Yamaha denial aside, can we take what Rossi denies at face value – he did after all state that he will never race with cigarette sponsorship on his bike…what are Camel and Gauloises?
SOURCE:
Me personally, I think that Rossi is ready to hang up his leathers and make the move to rallying. Rossi has mentioned that he would like to end his career on an Italian bike and that is what he is doing methinks. Rewind a few years back to 2003 and remember how he denied rumours that he was moving to Yamaha – we all know how that turned out.
Then there were the rumours before Yamaha popped up that he was planning a move to Ferarri in Formula 1. That stemmed from Rossi’s boredom in MotoGP and lack of any form of challenge – then came Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner, the latter who won a World Championship crown during Rossi’s tenure. There is no doubt that Rossi will win this year’s title against Pedrosa and Stoner…what challenge is now left?
The Yamaha denial aside, can we take what Rossi denies at face value – he did after all state that he will never race with cigarette sponsorship on his bike…what are Camel and Gauloises?
SOURCE:
Rossi on course to claim title in Malaysia
Valentino Rossi is on track for his seventh premier title from this weekend's Malaysian MotoGP with a 38-point advantage.
A top-four ride in Sepang, south of the capital Kuala Lumpur, will be enough for the 30-year-old Italian to be crowned 2009 World champion on Sunday.
Rossi, fresh from second place in Australia last weekend, has sweet memories of wins in Sepang - the season's penultimate event and a circuit he has repeatedly said is a personal favourite.
"Phillip Island was like gold dust for us in terms of points and now we go to Malaysia, another of my favourite tracks," he said
Rossi has a history of good form in the Malaysian heat
.
"Of course anything can happen but it's a great track for me and the Yamaha works well there. We have a good chance but there is no chance to relax - everybody is focused, motivated and excited."
Rossi has a history of good form in the Malaysian heat. He won from second on the grid in 2008 and has had seven podium finishes there, including five wins.
Second place in Australian extended his championship points tally to 270 after title rival and Yamaha team mate Jorge Lorenzo's first-lap crash.
Lorenzo's inability to complete the race means that, even if he wins in Sepang, Rossi only needs to finish fourth to take his ninth World title across all classes. Lorenzo is second with 232 points.
He is the only rider who can stop the Italian from taking the title on Sunday but there will also be interest in the battle for third in the championship
'It's not easy to find the perfect set-up there' - Stoner
.
Dani Pedrosa was overtaken by Casey Stoner at Phillip Island, whose win on home soil moved the Ducati rider up to third in the standings at Pedrosa's expense.
Stoner said: "Sepang will be a tough race. It's not easy to find the perfect set-up there but that's always been the case and with every day that passes I feel stronger and more confident that I can be competitive in both of the two races that remain."
Honda rider Pedrosa, six points behind Stoner on 195, is determined to beat Stoner. This is the penultimate outing of the season so he knows how crucial the race is.
First free practice will be on Friday, the race on Sunday. - AFP
Championship points
MotoGP
1 Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 270
2 Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) 232
3 Casey Stoner (AUS/Ducati) 195
4 Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 189
5 Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Honda) 152
6 Colin Edwards (USA/Yamaha) 145
7 Alex de Angelis (RSM/Honda) 101
8 Randy de Puniet (FRA/Honda) 101
9 Loris Capirossi (ITA/Suzuki) 101
10 Marco Melandri (ITA/Kawasaki) 100
250cc
1 Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN/Honda) 227
2 Marco Simoncelli (ITA/Gilera) 215,
3 Alvaro Bautista (ESP/Aprilia) 198
4 Hector Barbera (ESP/Aprilia) 194
5 Mattia Pasini (ITA/Aprilia) 128
125cc
1 Julian Simon (ESP/Aprilia) 239
2 Bradley Smith (GBR/Aprilia) 183.5
3 Nicolas Terol (ESP/Aprilia) 162.5
4 Pol Espargaro (ESP/Derbi) 142.5
5 Sergio Gadea (ESP/Aprilia) 128
SOURCE:
A top-four ride in Sepang, south of the capital Kuala Lumpur, will be enough for the 30-year-old Italian to be crowned 2009 World champion on Sunday.
Rossi, fresh from second place in Australia last weekend, has sweet memories of wins in Sepang - the season's penultimate event and a circuit he has repeatedly said is a personal favourite.
"Phillip Island was like gold dust for us in terms of points and now we go to Malaysia, another of my favourite tracks," he said
Rossi has a history of good form in the Malaysian heat
.
"Of course anything can happen but it's a great track for me and the Yamaha works well there. We have a good chance but there is no chance to relax - everybody is focused, motivated and excited."
Rossi has a history of good form in the Malaysian heat. He won from second on the grid in 2008 and has had seven podium finishes there, including five wins.
Second place in Australian extended his championship points tally to 270 after title rival and Yamaha team mate Jorge Lorenzo's first-lap crash.
Lorenzo's inability to complete the race means that, even if he wins in Sepang, Rossi only needs to finish fourth to take his ninth World title across all classes. Lorenzo is second with 232 points.
He is the only rider who can stop the Italian from taking the title on Sunday but there will also be interest in the battle for third in the championship
'It's not easy to find the perfect set-up there' - Stoner
.
Dani Pedrosa was overtaken by Casey Stoner at Phillip Island, whose win on home soil moved the Ducati rider up to third in the standings at Pedrosa's expense.
Stoner said: "Sepang will be a tough race. It's not easy to find the perfect set-up there but that's always been the case and with every day that passes I feel stronger and more confident that I can be competitive in both of the two races that remain."
Honda rider Pedrosa, six points behind Stoner on 195, is determined to beat Stoner. This is the penultimate outing of the season so he knows how crucial the race is.
First free practice will be on Friday, the race on Sunday. - AFP
Championship points
MotoGP
1 Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 270
2 Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) 232
3 Casey Stoner (AUS/Ducati) 195
4 Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 189
5 Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Honda) 152
6 Colin Edwards (USA/Yamaha) 145
7 Alex de Angelis (RSM/Honda) 101
8 Randy de Puniet (FRA/Honda) 101
9 Loris Capirossi (ITA/Suzuki) 101
10 Marco Melandri (ITA/Kawasaki) 100
250cc
1 Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN/Honda) 227
2 Marco Simoncelli (ITA/Gilera) 215,
3 Alvaro Bautista (ESP/Aprilia) 198
4 Hector Barbera (ESP/Aprilia) 194
5 Mattia Pasini (ITA/Aprilia) 128
125cc
1 Julian Simon (ESP/Aprilia) 239
2 Bradley Smith (GBR/Aprilia) 183.5
3 Nicolas Terol (ESP/Aprilia) 162.5
4 Pol Espargaro (ESP/Derbi) 142.5
5 Sergio Gadea (ESP/Aprilia) 128
SOURCE:
Monday, November 23, 2009
Casey Stoner edged out world MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi to claim pole position at his home Australian Grand Prix on Saturday and boost his chances of a third successive victory at Phillip Island.
Casey Stoner played down his chances of claiming a third successive win at Phillip Island.
The 2007 world champion will start from the front of the grid for the second year in a row after continuing his superb form following a three-race absence due to a mystery illness.
The Queenslander, who was second in Portugal on his comeback two weeks ago, set a fastest time of one minute 30.341 seconds on his Ducati -- just 0.050 seconds ahead of Rossi after an engrossing battle with the Italian.
Stoner, who turned 24 on Friday, was quick to play down his chances of winning on Sunday.
"We don't have the same grip levels that we have had the last two years here," he told the official MotoGP Web site. "With the stiffer chassis which we have now it works very well at some circuits, but not so well at others. So we have lost that advantage.
"We definitely have more corner speed, but we are spinning a lot as we come out of corners and we can't get it to hook up so we're working a lot on the rear end.
"We've shortened the bike, we've changed some of the pivot positions, we've dropped the riding height, all sorts of things, but we are still searching for something for tomorrow. The warm-up session is going to be very important."
Honda's Dani Pedrosa survived a crash to secure third place after having to use a second bike as he edged past Rossi's Fiat Yamaha teammate and main title rival Jorge Lorenzo.
Lorenzo, who closed to within 18 points of Rossi with three races remaining after his victory at Estoril, missed out on a front-row start for the first time this season.
"We still don't have enough grip on the rear and the tire is spinning too much, which makes it difficult to be fast enough. Tomorrow I will try to adapt my riding style instead in order to try to make it onto the podium," he said.
"I feel better than yesterday but I'm still not at 100 percent. I feel quite weak still because I haven't been able to eat much."
The Spaniard will be joined on the second row by Monster Yamaha Tech 3's veteran American rider Colin Edwards and Honda's Alex de Angelis, who bounced back after an early spill.
The rest of the top-10 qualifiers was made up by Stoner's teammate Nicky Hayden, LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet, Mika Kallio of Pramac Racing and Repsol Honda's Andrea Dovizioso.
SOURCE:
Casey Stoner played down his chances of claiming a third successive win at Phillip Island.
The 2007 world champion will start from the front of the grid for the second year in a row after continuing his superb form following a three-race absence due to a mystery illness.
The Queenslander, who was second in Portugal on his comeback two weeks ago, set a fastest time of one minute 30.341 seconds on his Ducati -- just 0.050 seconds ahead of Rossi after an engrossing battle with the Italian.
Stoner, who turned 24 on Friday, was quick to play down his chances of winning on Sunday.
"We don't have the same grip levels that we have had the last two years here," he told the official MotoGP Web site. "With the stiffer chassis which we have now it works very well at some circuits, but not so well at others. So we have lost that advantage.
"We definitely have more corner speed, but we are spinning a lot as we come out of corners and we can't get it to hook up so we're working a lot on the rear end.
"We've shortened the bike, we've changed some of the pivot positions, we've dropped the riding height, all sorts of things, but we are still searching for something for tomorrow. The warm-up session is going to be very important."
Honda's Dani Pedrosa survived a crash to secure third place after having to use a second bike as he edged past Rossi's Fiat Yamaha teammate and main title rival Jorge Lorenzo.
Lorenzo, who closed to within 18 points of Rossi with three races remaining after his victory at Estoril, missed out on a front-row start for the first time this season.
"We still don't have enough grip on the rear and the tire is spinning too much, which makes it difficult to be fast enough. Tomorrow I will try to adapt my riding style instead in order to try to make it onto the podium," he said.
"I feel better than yesterday but I'm still not at 100 percent. I feel quite weak still because I haven't been able to eat much."
The Spaniard will be joined on the second row by Monster Yamaha Tech 3's veteran American rider Colin Edwards and Honda's Alex de Angelis, who bounced back after an early spill.
The rest of the top-10 qualifiers was made up by Stoner's teammate Nicky Hayden, LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet, Mika Kallio of Pramac Racing and Repsol Honda's Andrea Dovizioso.
SOURCE:
Pesaro, Italy - Authorities in Italy ordered Saturday a post-mortem on the body of Moto GP world champion Valentino Rossi's stepfather who is believed to have committed suicide, news reports said.
The 52-year-old Mauro Tecchi was found Friday lying on a bed in his house in the central Italian town of Pesaro with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the ANSA news agency reported.
Tecchi, who married Rossi's mother Stefania Palma in 2007, apparently placed a pillow on his chest before pulling the trigger of a 12-gauge shotgun which was found near his body, the reports said.
Tecchi died either Tuesday or early Wednesday but his body was only discovered Friday when Palma, who was at the time out of town, alerted neighbours after repeatedly trying to phone her husband.
News of Tecchi's death came ahead of Sunday's Australian Moto GP race in Sydney where Rossi has qualified third on the starting grid.
Rossi has an 18-point lead in the championship standings over his Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo who qualified fourth quickest.
SOURCE:
The 52-year-old Mauro Tecchi was found Friday lying on a bed in his house in the central Italian town of Pesaro with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the ANSA news agency reported.
Tecchi, who married Rossi's mother Stefania Palma in 2007, apparently placed a pillow on his chest before pulling the trigger of a 12-gauge shotgun which was found near his body, the reports said.
Tecchi died either Tuesday or early Wednesday but his body was only discovered Friday when Palma, who was at the time out of town, alerted neighbours after repeatedly trying to phone her husband.
News of Tecchi's death came ahead of Sunday's Australian Moto GP race in Sydney where Rossi has qualified third on the starting grid.
Rossi has an 18-point lead in the championship standings over his Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo who qualified fourth quickest.
SOURCE:
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Lorenzo seeks help to beat Rossi
MILAN: Jorge Lorenzo hopes Ducati’s Casey Stoner will do him a favour as he bids to beat Yamaha teammate and defending champion Valentino Rossi to the MotoGP title.
Rossi: Raikkonen is not fast enough burning rubber
Valentino Rossi's voice was familiarly squeaky and high-pitched with the usual rushed eccentric delivery that suggests he wants to stress his opinion before he forgets what he is talking about.
This time the biker, who is fast becoming a legend on two wheels, was opining not about his beloved
MotoGp but about Formula One, Ferrari and the Prancing Horse outfit's puzzlingly faded force, Kimi Raikkonen.
The Finn, as gloomy a personality as you would hope never to find yourself alone with if you were trapped in an elevator, has been turfed out by Ferrari after hitting a series of low spots following his 2007 season.
One win in Belgium in August was not enough to save the 29 year old who has fallen short of any justification for a £30m-a-year salary — and he has been hoofed out to make way for double-champ Fernando Alonso on the same wage.
Rossi, who rumour has it has been earmarked to link up with Ferrari when he eventually quits motorbike racing, though in what capacity is not clear, reckons Raikkonen is simply not quick enough.
Coming from a daredevil biker whose blistering speed, ability and bravery at 200-plus mph on two wheels, that is indeed conditioned criticism.
It is not as if Rossi doesn't know what he is talking about: He has been tested by Ferrari and earned plaudits from the team for his performance in the unfamiliar surroundings of a 220-mph flyer of an F1 missile.
Ferrari kingpin Luca Montezemolo would dearly love to have Rossi in his team's red livery — and I am told that could happen, but as a test driver with only an outside chance of his being frontline in Formula One.
Whatever… he certainly would not have the long-gone Raikkonen as his teammate and he said: "After Michael Schumacher left, Ferrari put everything on Kimi — but he is not very fast."
Rossi, hunting down his seventh premier classs championship as MotoGp's top-paid rider on £15 million, pondering seriously on Montezemolo's keeness to have him and bolstered by F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone's pleas to do it, reveals: "I really enjoyed the test runs I had. And they gave me a good feeling for Ferrari and Formula One — but at the moment I am happy in MotoGp. Who knows what the future holds?"
I don't know him personally — but maybe I'll get the chance in the future.
SOURCE:
This time the biker, who is fast becoming a legend on two wheels, was opining not about his beloved
MotoGp but about Formula One, Ferrari and the Prancing Horse outfit's puzzlingly faded force, Kimi Raikkonen.
The Finn, as gloomy a personality as you would hope never to find yourself alone with if you were trapped in an elevator, has been turfed out by Ferrari after hitting a series of low spots following his 2007 season.
One win in Belgium in August was not enough to save the 29 year old who has fallen short of any justification for a £30m-a-year salary — and he has been hoofed out to make way for double-champ Fernando Alonso on the same wage.
Rossi, who rumour has it has been earmarked to link up with Ferrari when he eventually quits motorbike racing, though in what capacity is not clear, reckons Raikkonen is simply not quick enough.
Coming from a daredevil biker whose blistering speed, ability and bravery at 200-plus mph on two wheels, that is indeed conditioned criticism.
It is not as if Rossi doesn't know what he is talking about: He has been tested by Ferrari and earned plaudits from the team for his performance in the unfamiliar surroundings of a 220-mph flyer of an F1 missile.
Ferrari kingpin Luca Montezemolo would dearly love to have Rossi in his team's red livery — and I am told that could happen, but as a test driver with only an outside chance of his being frontline in Formula One.
Whatever… he certainly would not have the long-gone Raikkonen as his teammate and he said: "After Michael Schumacher left, Ferrari put everything on Kimi — but he is not very fast."
Rossi, hunting down his seventh premier classs championship as MotoGp's top-paid rider on £15 million, pondering seriously on Montezemolo's keeness to have him and bolstered by F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone's pleas to do it, reveals: "I really enjoyed the test runs I had. And they gave me a good feeling for Ferrari and Formula One — but at the moment I am happy in MotoGp. Who knows what the future holds?"
I don't know him personally — but maybe I'll get the chance in the future.
SOURCE:
Lorenzo: "Rossi copies my settings"
PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX victor Jorge Lorenzo has claimed reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi often copies the Spaniard's race settings. In an interview with Italian magazine 'Riders' Lorenzo states: “My truth is that Valentino has developed the Yamaha from 2004, but if we’re talking about setting up the bike during race weekends, it’s absolutely not true that I copy his settings.”
“I have my crewchief, he sets my bike up. To tell the truth in some races, it’s Valentino’s team that copies my settings. It’s normal. I can see Valentino’s telemetry data and he can see mine; we can look at his settings and he looks at ours.”
With just three races remaining on the 2009 calendar and just 18 separating Lorenzo and arch rival Rossi, it's easy to see why the Spaniard is keen to stand his ground:
“I’d like to say that from one race to another, I change very few things, and I’m almost sure that in some races, Valentino’s team has changed his set-up to follow our indications. Each weekend I’m fast from Friday. If I copy his, I’d be fast only on Saturday or Sunday.”
SOURCE:
“I have my crewchief, he sets my bike up. To tell the truth in some races, it’s Valentino’s team that copies my settings. It’s normal. I can see Valentino’s telemetry data and he can see mine; we can look at his settings and he looks at ours.”
With just three races remaining on the 2009 calendar and just 18 separating Lorenzo and arch rival Rossi, it's easy to see why the Spaniard is keen to stand his ground:
“I’d like to say that from one race to another, I change very few things, and I’m almost sure that in some races, Valentino’s team has changed his set-up to follow our indications. Each weekend I’m fast from Friday. If I copy his, I’d be fast only on Saturday or Sunday.”
SOURCE:
Rossi wary of refreshed Stoner
The immediate return to form of Australian MotoGP star Casey Stoner has reinforced series leader Valentino Rossi's fear of being overtaken by the sports young guns before he can achieve his ultimate goal.
Rossi is headed towards his seventh world title in the elite class and at the age of 30 has given himself just two more years to break the record of eight held by fellow Italian Giacomo Agostini.
Stoner, 23, stunned his rivals by finishing second in the recent Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril on his return from a 10-week break from the sport to try to resolve a mystery illness.
The race was won by 22-year-old Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, who, with Stoner, is one of the new force of young riders Rossi is trying to keep at bay.
"If I am not strong, I know that Casey and Jorge will eat me in one bite," Rossi said.
"Earlier this season I was not very strong, not fast enough, so it was like when you start to lose blood in front of a shark.
"In this case, Stoner and Lorenzo are the sharks and they look at me with a little bit of blood flowing and maybe they thought, 'OK, now is the time'.
"They both finished ahead of me in Mugello (in Italy) in May and they thought now we have beaten Valentino in Italy we can beat him everywhere.
"But fortunately I became stronger."
After treading water early in the season, Rossi has now won six times from 13 races. Combined his main rivals Lorenzo (4), Stoner (2) and Dani Pedrosa (1) have won seven.
"This is very important because I now have more wins than Stoner and Lorenzo combined so I have to continue like this," Rossi said.
"But even with six wins from 13 races it is a very tough championship.
"I have strong rivals who give everything to try and beat me so I have to give more than 100 per cent to stay at the top."
Both Stoner and Lorenzo had each won two early-season races to get a jump on Rossi before Stoner was slowed by an unknown virus which sapped his energy at the Barcelona GP.
To try to recover he took a mid-season break and was been missing from racing since finishing 14th in the British GP in late July.
Because of his absence on sick leave Stoner has slipped to fourth in the standings with the championship now out of reach.
Rossi holds an 18-point lead over Lorenzo with three races remaining, including next week's Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.
SOURCE:
Rossi is headed towards his seventh world title in the elite class and at the age of 30 has given himself just two more years to break the record of eight held by fellow Italian Giacomo Agostini.
Stoner, 23, stunned his rivals by finishing second in the recent Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril on his return from a 10-week break from the sport to try to resolve a mystery illness.
The race was won by 22-year-old Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, who, with Stoner, is one of the new force of young riders Rossi is trying to keep at bay.
"If I am not strong, I know that Casey and Jorge will eat me in one bite," Rossi said.
"Earlier this season I was not very strong, not fast enough, so it was like when you start to lose blood in front of a shark.
"In this case, Stoner and Lorenzo are the sharks and they look at me with a little bit of blood flowing and maybe they thought, 'OK, now is the time'.
"They both finished ahead of me in Mugello (in Italy) in May and they thought now we have beaten Valentino in Italy we can beat him everywhere.
"But fortunately I became stronger."
After treading water early in the season, Rossi has now won six times from 13 races. Combined his main rivals Lorenzo (4), Stoner (2) and Dani Pedrosa (1) have won seven.
"This is very important because I now have more wins than Stoner and Lorenzo combined so I have to continue like this," Rossi said.
"But even with six wins from 13 races it is a very tough championship.
"I have strong rivals who give everything to try and beat me so I have to give more than 100 per cent to stay at the top."
Both Stoner and Lorenzo had each won two early-season races to get a jump on Rossi before Stoner was slowed by an unknown virus which sapped his energy at the Barcelona GP.
To try to recover he took a mid-season break and was been missing from racing since finishing 14th in the British GP in late July.
Because of his absence on sick leave Stoner has slipped to fourth in the standings with the championship now out of reach.
Rossi holds an 18-point lead over Lorenzo with three races remaining, including next week's Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.
SOURCE:
Rossi not happy with set-up yet
Rossi not happy with set-up yet
Valentino Rossi complained of braking issues with his Yamaha following today's first practice for the Portuguese MotoGP.
The reigning world champion was third fastest in the session but nearly half a second slower than team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.
He puts some of that time down to not yet having found a good brake balance and is confident he can close the gap in Saturday morning's sessions.
"The first practice was not so bad but we had some problems, especially in the braking," said Rossi. "We are not strong enough and suffer quite a lot with stopping the bike.
"This track is difficult for braking so we have to find the right balance. But we have some ideas for tomorrow and we hope to be more competitive.
"My laptime is not so bad for the first practice but we have some disadvantage and we have to improve the base. The work we do in practice will make the difference so the first target is to arrive on Sunday with a good setting."
SOURCE:
Valentino Rossi complained of braking issues with his Yamaha following today's first practice for the Portuguese MotoGP.
The reigning world champion was third fastest in the session but nearly half a second slower than team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.
He puts some of that time down to not yet having found a good brake balance and is confident he can close the gap in Saturday morning's sessions.
"The first practice was not so bad but we had some problems, especially in the braking," said Rossi. "We are not strong enough and suffer quite a lot with stopping the bike.
"This track is difficult for braking so we have to find the right balance. But we have some ideas for tomorrow and we hope to be more competitive.
"My laptime is not so bad for the first practice but we have some disadvantage and we have to improve the base. The work we do in practice will make the difference so the first target is to arrive on Sunday with a good setting."
SOURCE:
Friday, October 2, 2009
MotoGP Friday Practice
MotoGP Friday Practice
In good conditions at Estoril, on the opening day of the round 14 weekend, it was Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo who set the pace in the first MotoGP free practice with a best time of 1’37.185s in the closing stages, after heading the timesheet for most of the session.
Lorenzo needs to pile as much pressure as possible on his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi this weekend to stay in the title hunt and the Spanish star will be happy to have started practice in first place, at a venue where he took his first Moto GP win last year.
Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was the second quickest participant, demonstrating his pace once again with a 1’37.544 time which was 0.359s down on Lorenzo’s hot lap.
Rossi will not be too disappointed to have commenced the Estoril weekend in third place, with a similar time to Pedrosa’s best, 0.421s behind his championship rival Lorenzo - at a circuit where he has scored five premier class wins.
Casey Stoner was back on track after a three round break, taking his beloved Desmosedici GP9 machine round in a best time of 1’37.966 as the fastest Ducati rider on Friday.
Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards was fifth once again, a position he has found himself in on several occasions in 2009, going round in just over 1’38 on the satellite Yamaha M1 which he will ride again next year.
Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) were sixth and seventh respectively, whilst James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) made a late surge from lower down the order into eighth place. San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alex de Angelis and Pramac Racing’s Mika Kallio completed the top ten.
The MotoGP riders will be back on track at 9.55 a.m. local time at Estoril on Saturday morning for Free Practice 2.
SOURCE:
In good conditions at Estoril, on the opening day of the round 14 weekend, it was Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo who set the pace in the first MotoGP free practice with a best time of 1’37.185s in the closing stages, after heading the timesheet for most of the session.
Lorenzo needs to pile as much pressure as possible on his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi this weekend to stay in the title hunt and the Spanish star will be happy to have started practice in first place, at a venue where he took his first Moto GP win last year.
Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was the second quickest participant, demonstrating his pace once again with a 1’37.544 time which was 0.359s down on Lorenzo’s hot lap.
Rossi will not be too disappointed to have commenced the Estoril weekend in third place, with a similar time to Pedrosa’s best, 0.421s behind his championship rival Lorenzo - at a circuit where he has scored five premier class wins.
Casey Stoner was back on track after a three round break, taking his beloved Desmosedici GP9 machine round in a best time of 1’37.966 as the fastest Ducati rider on Friday.
Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards was fifth once again, a position he has found himself in on several occasions in 2009, going round in just over 1’38 on the satellite Yamaha M1 which he will ride again next year.
Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) were sixth and seventh respectively, whilst James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) made a late surge from lower down the order into eighth place. San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alex de Angelis and Pramac Racing’s Mika Kallio completed the top ten.
The MotoGP riders will be back on track at 9.55 a.m. local time at Estoril on Saturday morning for Free Practice 2.
SOURCE:
MOTOGP Ten years of MotoGP at Estoril
MOTOGP Ten years of MotoGP at Estoril
MOTOGP Ten years of MotoGP at Estoril
2009 will be the tenth year that the Portuguese Grand Prix has been held at the Estoril circuit.
Prior to moving to Estoril there had been two previous Portuguese Grand Prix events, both hosted in Spain; at Jarama in 1987 and Jerez in 1988.
The first Grand Prix event at Estoril was in 2000 and it has been on the calendar every year since.
Below are the highlights of the previous nine Grand Prix events held at Estoril:
2000 Garry McCoy had the honour of winning the first 500cc race at Estoril riding a Yamaha, after qualifying on pole for the only time in the premier-class. In the 250cc class Daijiro Kato took his first GP victory outside of Japan from Olivier Jacque, with Marco Melandri finishing third to become the youngest ever rider to finish on a 250cc podium.
2001 Each of the races were won by riders on their way to winning their respective world titles: 500cc Valentino Rossi, 250cc- Daijiro Kato and 125cc Manuel Poggiali.
2002 Valentino Rossi won a race that was run in very wet conditions, after Sete Gibernau had led for most of the race only to crash out with four laps to go. Fonsi Nieto had an incredible win in the 250cc race after crashing on lap 13 and re-joining the race down in seventh place.
2003 Valentino Rossi won in the premier-class for the third successive year at Estoril. Spanish riders were successful in the smaller classes, with Toni Elias winning the 250cc race and Pablo Nieto taking his one and only GP victory in the 125cc class.
2004 Both Valentino Rossi and Toni Elias repeated the victories of the previous year. The 125cc race was won by Hector Barbera ahead of current MotoGP riders Mika Kallio and Jorge Lorenzo.
2005 Alex Barros dominated proceedings by winning the race from pole position and setting the fastest lap as well as being fastest in every practice session. This was the last time that Barros stood on the top step of the podium in grand prix racing. Casey Stoner won for the first time in the 250cc class, while Mika Kallio took his first ever Grand Prix win in the 125cc class.
2006 After qualifying 11th on the grid, Toni Elias scored his one and only MotoGP victory to date by just 0.002 seconds from Valentino Rossi to equal the closest ever recorded finish in the premier-class since the introduction of electronic timing. Alvaro Bautista's win in the 125cc race was his 14th podium of the year - a new record for most podium finishes in a single season in the 125cc class.
2007 Valentino Rossi won for the fifth time at Estoril after a great battle with Pedrosa. Alvaro Bautista took the 250cc victory after finishing lap one down in twelfth place. Hector Faubel won the 125cc race from championship rival Gabor Talmacsi, with Pol Espargaro taking his first ever GP podium in third.
2008 Last year the Portuguese Grand Prix was the third event of the year and gave Jorge Lorenzo his first MotoGP win after he had qualified on pole for the third successive race. With his victory, Lorenzo became the 100th different rider to win a premier-class grand prix. Alvaro Bautista took his first win of the year in the 250cc class while Simone Corsi took back-to-back wins to extend his lead in the 125cc championship chase.
SOURCE:
MOTOGP Ten years of MotoGP at Estoril
2009 will be the tenth year that the Portuguese Grand Prix has been held at the Estoril circuit.
Prior to moving to Estoril there had been two previous Portuguese Grand Prix events, both hosted in Spain; at Jarama in 1987 and Jerez in 1988.
The first Grand Prix event at Estoril was in 2000 and it has been on the calendar every year since.
Below are the highlights of the previous nine Grand Prix events held at Estoril:
2000 Garry McCoy had the honour of winning the first 500cc race at Estoril riding a Yamaha, after qualifying on pole for the only time in the premier-class. In the 250cc class Daijiro Kato took his first GP victory outside of Japan from Olivier Jacque, with Marco Melandri finishing third to become the youngest ever rider to finish on a 250cc podium.
2001 Each of the races were won by riders on their way to winning their respective world titles: 500cc Valentino Rossi, 250cc- Daijiro Kato and 125cc Manuel Poggiali.
2002 Valentino Rossi won a race that was run in very wet conditions, after Sete Gibernau had led for most of the race only to crash out with four laps to go. Fonsi Nieto had an incredible win in the 250cc race after crashing on lap 13 and re-joining the race down in seventh place.
2003 Valentino Rossi won in the premier-class for the third successive year at Estoril. Spanish riders were successful in the smaller classes, with Toni Elias winning the 250cc race and Pablo Nieto taking his one and only GP victory in the 125cc class.
2004 Both Valentino Rossi and Toni Elias repeated the victories of the previous year. The 125cc race was won by Hector Barbera ahead of current MotoGP riders Mika Kallio and Jorge Lorenzo.
2005 Alex Barros dominated proceedings by winning the race from pole position and setting the fastest lap as well as being fastest in every practice session. This was the last time that Barros stood on the top step of the podium in grand prix racing. Casey Stoner won for the first time in the 250cc class, while Mika Kallio took his first ever Grand Prix win in the 125cc class.
2006 After qualifying 11th on the grid, Toni Elias scored his one and only MotoGP victory to date by just 0.002 seconds from Valentino Rossi to equal the closest ever recorded finish in the premier-class since the introduction of electronic timing. Alvaro Bautista's win in the 125cc race was his 14th podium of the year - a new record for most podium finishes in a single season in the 125cc class.
2007 Valentino Rossi won for the fifth time at Estoril after a great battle with Pedrosa. Alvaro Bautista took the 250cc victory after finishing lap one down in twelfth place. Hector Faubel won the 125cc race from championship rival Gabor Talmacsi, with Pol Espargaro taking his first ever GP podium in third.
2008 Last year the Portuguese Grand Prix was the third event of the year and gave Jorge Lorenzo his first MotoGP win after he had qualified on pole for the third successive race. With his victory, Lorenzo became the 100th different rider to win a premier-class grand prix. Alvaro Bautista took his first win of the year in the 250cc class while Simone Corsi took back-to-back wins to extend his lead in the 125cc championship chase.
SOURCE:
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Rossi: 800cc MotoGP's biggest mistake for 15 years
Valentino Rossi has labelled the decision to cut MotoGP engine capacity from 990cc to 800cc for 2007 as 'the biggest mistake in the last 15 years'.
In an interview with Dennis Noyes for Spain's Motociclismo publication, the reigning six time MotoGP world champion - a premier-class title winner on a 500cc two-stroke, then 990cc and 800cc four-strokes - stated:
The 990 motorcycle was 'rough' and wild, but with a great motor and a lot power. The 800 is worse, simply worse, it is the same motorcycle with less power. I was very sad at the beginning, now it has improved, yes... But the power from the 990 made it a lot more fun".
Rossi was then asked how the show can be improved for fans watching trackside and on TV - and has answer made painful reading for those behind the change to 800cc.
"For me the spectacle with the 990 was the same as with the 500. There were big battles and large slides - this is what the public wants, no? The 990 slid a lot on the entry to the turns, but above all on the exit of the corners.
With the 800... I believe that the 800 are the biggest mistake the world championship has made in the last 15 years. We have lost a great part of the spectacle and part of this is because electronics have advanced so much.
For me the manufacturers committed a great error when they changed to 800cc. The 990s were better in every way.
The cut in engine capacity was designed to limit top speeds, but has resulted in higher cornering speeds and greater dependency on electronics.
To rub salt into the wound, Dani Pedrosa took his factory Honda to a new all-time Motorcycle Grand Prix top speed of 349.3 km/h in the opening practice session for this year's Italian Grand Prix.
No satellite rider has yet won an 800cc race, while it took until this year's Catalan Grand Prix for an 800cc race to be won with a last lap pass.
The following table also shows how the change to smaller engines has halved the number of different race winners (from 14 to 7).
Note that weather was a factor in the single 800cc wins for Chris Vermeulen (fully wet), Loris Capirossi (wet/dry) and Andrea Dovizioso (damp).
MotoGP race winners: 990cc (2002-2006)
Honda: 10 riders - Valentino Rossi (20 wins), Sete Gibernau (8), Marco Melandri (5), Nicky Hayden (3), Max Biaggi (3), Dani Pedrosa (2), Alex Barros (2), Makoto Tamada (2), Toni Elias (1), Tohru Ukawa (1).
Yamaha: 2 riders - Valentino Rossi (25), Max Biaggi (2).
Ducati: 2 riders - Loris Capirossi (6), Troy Bayliss (1).
Suzuki: 0
Kawasaki: 0
Aprilia: 0
Roberts: 0
WCM: 0
Moriwaki: 0
MotoGP race winners: 800cc (2007 onwards)
Yamaha: 2 riders - Valentino Rossi (19 wins), Jorge Lorenzo (4).
Ducati: 2 riders - Casey Stoner (18), Loris Capirossi (1).
Honda: 2 riders - Dani Pedrosa (5), Andrea Dovizioso (1).
Suzuki: 1 rider - Chris Vermeulen (1).
Kawasaki: 0
Roberts: 0
Ilmor: 0
Valentino Rossi is he still the best Motogp rider? Will there be any second best to valentino rossi?
In an interview with Dennis Noyes for Spain's Motociclismo publication, the reigning six time MotoGP world champion - a premier-class title winner on a 500cc two-stroke, then 990cc and 800cc four-strokes - stated:
The 990 motorcycle was 'rough' and wild, but with a great motor and a lot power. The 800 is worse, simply worse, it is the same motorcycle with less power. I was very sad at the beginning, now it has improved, yes... But the power from the 990 made it a lot more fun".
Rossi was then asked how the show can be improved for fans watching trackside and on TV - and has answer made painful reading for those behind the change to 800cc.
"For me the spectacle with the 990 was the same as with the 500. There were big battles and large slides - this is what the public wants, no? The 990 slid a lot on the entry to the turns, but above all on the exit of the corners.
With the 800... I believe that the 800 are the biggest mistake the world championship has made in the last 15 years. We have lost a great part of the spectacle and part of this is because electronics have advanced so much.
For me the manufacturers committed a great error when they changed to 800cc. The 990s were better in every way.
The cut in engine capacity was designed to limit top speeds, but has resulted in higher cornering speeds and greater dependency on electronics.
To rub salt into the wound, Dani Pedrosa took his factory Honda to a new all-time Motorcycle Grand Prix top speed of 349.3 km/h in the opening practice session for this year's Italian Grand Prix.
No satellite rider has yet won an 800cc race, while it took until this year's Catalan Grand Prix for an 800cc race to be won with a last lap pass.
The following table also shows how the change to smaller engines has halved the number of different race winners (from 14 to 7).
Note that weather was a factor in the single 800cc wins for Chris Vermeulen (fully wet), Loris Capirossi (wet/dry) and Andrea Dovizioso (damp).
MotoGP race winners: 990cc (2002-2006)
Honda: 10 riders - Valentino Rossi (20 wins), Sete Gibernau (8), Marco Melandri (5), Nicky Hayden (3), Max Biaggi (3), Dani Pedrosa (2), Alex Barros (2), Makoto Tamada (2), Toni Elias (1), Tohru Ukawa (1).
Yamaha: 2 riders - Valentino Rossi (25), Max Biaggi (2).
Ducati: 2 riders - Loris Capirossi (6), Troy Bayliss (1).
Suzuki: 0
Kawasaki: 0
Aprilia: 0
Roberts: 0
WCM: 0
Moriwaki: 0
MotoGP race winners: 800cc (2007 onwards)
Yamaha: 2 riders - Valentino Rossi (19 wins), Jorge Lorenzo (4).
Ducati: 2 riders - Casey Stoner (18), Loris Capirossi (1).
Honda: 2 riders - Dani Pedrosa (5), Andrea Dovizioso (1).
Suzuki: 1 rider - Chris Vermeulen (1).
Kawasaki: 0
Roberts: 0
Ilmor: 0
Valentino Rossi is he still the best Motogp rider? Will there be any second best to valentino rossi?
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Valentino Rossi: I've had to raise my game
Valentino Rossi: I've had to raise my game
Valentino Rossi says he is riding better now than when he won his first MotoGP titles, and has had to dig deeper than ever to beat his current opposition.
The reigning champion - who currently holds a 30-point lead in this year's championship race - said the emergence of Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo had forced him to raise his game.
"I think this year the level is incredible," Rossi told AUTOSPORT.com in an exclusive interview.
"It is very high - especially the first four. First four are potentially world champion level. Because me, Lorenzo, Stoner and Pedrosa have enough performance in the throttle and the head to win the MotoGP championship.
"Also the bikes are very fast - Yamaha, Honda and Ducati are very strong - so this creates a high level of championship."
He said Stoner's title-winning performance in 2007 and the challenge from Lorenzo at Yamaha this year in particular had spurred him on to new heights.
"It is a great, great motivation for trying to improve," said Rossi. "Like with Stoner in 2007 and '08 I have to make a step. I have to make a clear improvement and to make an improvement at 29 years of age you have to work and struggle a lot – and make something more than in the past.
"And this year it is the same with Lorenzo. He is also my team-mate, with the same bike, so it means more concentration, more time dedicated to try and win. It is difficult, it is bad when you lose, but it is a lot, lot more exciting when you are able to win."
Rossi also thinks the races are more physically demanding now than when he won his first MotoGP titles with Honda in the early 2000s.
"Usually you don't make all the race at 100 per cent. Especially in those years, it was more about tactics, battle and afterwards push," he said.
"So if you make all the race at 100 per cent you crash for sure. But now the races change a lot. The rhythm is very fast from the beginning, from the first lap. The start is important, because with these bikes it has become more difficult to overtake. So now is very close to staying at 100 per cent for all the race."
Valentino Rossi is really riding his best now?
SOURCE:
Valentino Rossi says he is riding better now than when he won his first MotoGP titles, and has had to dig deeper than ever to beat his current opposition.
The reigning champion - who currently holds a 30-point lead in this year's championship race - said the emergence of Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo had forced him to raise his game.
"I think this year the level is incredible," Rossi told AUTOSPORT.com in an exclusive interview.
"It is very high - especially the first four. First four are potentially world champion level. Because me, Lorenzo, Stoner and Pedrosa have enough performance in the throttle and the head to win the MotoGP championship.
"Also the bikes are very fast - Yamaha, Honda and Ducati are very strong - so this creates a high level of championship."
He said Stoner's title-winning performance in 2007 and the challenge from Lorenzo at Yamaha this year in particular had spurred him on to new heights.
"It is a great, great motivation for trying to improve," said Rossi. "Like with Stoner in 2007 and '08 I have to make a step. I have to make a clear improvement and to make an improvement at 29 years of age you have to work and struggle a lot – and make something more than in the past.
"And this year it is the same with Lorenzo. He is also my team-mate, with the same bike, so it means more concentration, more time dedicated to try and win. It is difficult, it is bad when you lose, but it is a lot, lot more exciting when you are able to win."
Rossi also thinks the races are more physically demanding now than when he won his first MotoGP titles with Honda in the early 2000s.
"Usually you don't make all the race at 100 per cent. Especially in those years, it was more about tactics, battle and afterwards push," he said.
"So if you make all the race at 100 per cent you crash for sure. But now the races change a lot. The rhythm is very fast from the beginning, from the first lap. The start is important, because with these bikes it has become more difficult to overtake. So now is very close to staying at 100 per cent for all the race."
Valentino Rossi is really riding his best now?
SOURCE:
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Home News News by Country Top News Sport World Oddly Enough Blogs Investing AlertNet Humanitarian News Do More With Reuters RSS Professional Products Financial Media Support Partner Services Career Centre About Thomson Reuters Rossi says talked with Ferrari about Monza
MILAN (Reuters) - Valentino Rossi talked with Ferrari about racing in the team's second car at next weekend's Formula One Italian Grand Prix but decided against it, the MotoGP world champion has said.
"I talked with Ferrari about racing at Monza. But without testing... it would not have been logical," he told Saturday's Gazzetta dello Sport.
Ferrari instead opted for Force India's Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella, who will race for the world champions for the remainder of the season.
He replaces Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer, who struggled in his two races after coming in for the injured Felipe Massa.
Badoer only filled in because original choice Michael Schumacher had to abort his comeback plans because of an injury to his neck, which needs to be strong to cope with F1 G-forces.
Formula One teams are not allowed to test their current cars during the season.
"We already decided that to enter Formula One without testing is more risky than fun. You can't go there and do everything to understand the car in three days," Rossi said.
"I also don't know if I could have finished the race with my neck. And also, because we're fighting for the MotoGP championship, the race at Monza would definitely have been a big stress and it's better to stay in MotoGP."
Rossi, Italy's best-paid sportsperson, has tested for Ferrari in the past and was close to joining them at the end of 2006 but decided to stick to two wheels.
He considered being the test driver for 2007 and then racing in 2008 but said his Ferrari dream was over for good after opting to stay in MotoGP.
The 30-year-old has though expressed interest in a career in rallying.
Rossi shocked his Yamaha MotoGP team on Friday by casting doubt on his long-term future after they announced last week that Jorge Lorenzo will be his team mate again next season.
The Spaniard is Rossi's main rival for this year's title.
"I don't know (if I'll change team). I have a year of my contract still to run and then I'll decide what to do," he said after clocking the fastest time in Friday's practice for Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix.
"The end of this season and all of the next one risk becoming a torment."
Ferrari, a disappointing third in the constructors' standings with five races left, are hoping to change Formula One rules and race three cars next season instead of two.
Team boss Stefano Domenicali said last month that Schumacher could race a third car while Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has said Fisichella would be the ideal choice given he will be the team's reserve driver next term.
With Rossi's future unclear, he could become a candidate.
SOURCE:
"I talked with Ferrari about racing at Monza. But without testing... it would not have been logical," he told Saturday's Gazzetta dello Sport.
Ferrari instead opted for Force India's Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella, who will race for the world champions for the remainder of the season.
He replaces Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer, who struggled in his two races after coming in for the injured Felipe Massa.
Badoer only filled in because original choice Michael Schumacher had to abort his comeback plans because of an injury to his neck, which needs to be strong to cope with F1 G-forces.
Formula One teams are not allowed to test their current cars during the season.
"We already decided that to enter Formula One without testing is more risky than fun. You can't go there and do everything to understand the car in three days," Rossi said.
"I also don't know if I could have finished the race with my neck. And also, because we're fighting for the MotoGP championship, the race at Monza would definitely have been a big stress and it's better to stay in MotoGP."
Rossi, Italy's best-paid sportsperson, has tested for Ferrari in the past and was close to joining them at the end of 2006 but decided to stick to two wheels.
He considered being the test driver for 2007 and then racing in 2008 but said his Ferrari dream was over for good after opting to stay in MotoGP.
The 30-year-old has though expressed interest in a career in rallying.
Rossi shocked his Yamaha MotoGP team on Friday by casting doubt on his long-term future after they announced last week that Jorge Lorenzo will be his team mate again next season.
The Spaniard is Rossi's main rival for this year's title.
"I don't know (if I'll change team). I have a year of my contract still to run and then I'll decide what to do," he said after clocking the fastest time in Friday's practice for Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix.
"The end of this season and all of the next one risk becoming a torment."
Ferrari, a disappointing third in the constructors' standings with five races left, are hoping to change Formula One rules and race three cars next season instead of two.
Team boss Stefano Domenicali said last month that Schumacher could race a third car while Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has said Fisichella would be the ideal choice given he will be the team's reserve driver next term.
With Rossi's future unclear, he could become a candidate.
SOURCE:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
