Pedrosa rues inconsistent pace

Dani Pedrosa rued an early lack of his pace in the Japanese Grand Prix after falling away from the lead battle to finish third.

In only his second race on Bridgestone tyres, the Honda rider moved up from fifth to second at the start and then passed Casey Stoner's Ducati for the lead soon afterwards.

But although Pedrosa was able to dice with Stoner and Valentino Rossi at first, he didn't have the speed to fend them off and lost touch with the duo once they had overtaken him.

"At the beginning I tried to be fast, but I couldn't," Pedrosa told BBC television.

"I tried to understand a little bit, and after some laps I could get a better rhythm than in the beginning, but by that time I had already lost distance to Rossi and Casey."

Rossi went on to take the victory and clinch his sixth MotoGP title - a success Pedrosa believes the Italian fully deserves.

"Right now, Rossi is so fast at every track," he said. "Compliments to him because he did a great season."

Pedrosa had retained an outside chance of the world title going into today's race, and remains third in the championship with three rounds remaining.

MotoGP: Pedrosa disappointed by gap to Stoner

Quakes dictate pace in road draw

Hoops roll over United, keep pace

Stoner rues bad tyre compound choice

Simoncelli secures pole

Marco Simoncelli has grabbed pole position for Sunday's 250cc grand prix at the Motegi circuit in Japan.

Mika Kallio set a mark ten minutes into the session of 1:52.050, which despite repeated attempts by himself and his challengers, remained at the top for most of the session until Simoncelli went over half a second faster with eight minutes remaining with a time of 1:51.473, securing pole position.

The last minute saw frantic action as Hiroshi Aoyama finally beat teammate Kallio's time to move into second position, Kallio falling to seventh as provisional polesitter Alex Debon, Alvaro Bautista, Hector Faubel and Julian Simon went faster as the chequered flag fell.

But Kallio was still on track, and responded to move back up to fourth position. Yukio Takahashi, headed for MotoGP next year, completed the second row in eighth position.

After being third fastest in Friday's qualifying, Hector Barbera didn't set a time in today's session and will start the race from twelfth position, making his chase of championship leader Simoncelli more difficult.

Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1:51.473 2. Hiroshi Aoyama KTM 1:51.719 + 0.246 3. Alex Debon Aprilia 1:51.758 + 0.285 4. Mika Kallio KTM 1:51.765 + 0.292 5. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1:51.821 + 0.348 6. Hector Faubel Aprilia 1:51.973 + 0.500 7. Julian Simon KTM 1:52.033 + 0.560 8. Yuki Takahashi Honda 1:52.197 + 0.724 9. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1:52.228 + 0.755 10. Roberto Locatelli Gilera 1:52.259 + 0.786 11. Mattia Pasini Aprilia 1:52.464 + 0.991 12. Lukas Pesek Aprilia 1:53.130 + 1.657 13. Shoya Tomizawa Honda 1:53.289 + 1.816 14. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda 1:53.356 + 1.883 15. Fabrizio Lai Gilera 1:53.496 + 2.023 16. Takumi Takahashi Honda 1:53.660 + 2.187 17. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1:54.276 + 2.803 18. Simone Grotzkyj Gilera 1:54.688 + 3.215 19. Doni Tata Pradita Yamaha 1:55.015 + 3.542 20. Manuel Hernandez Aprilia 1:55.675 + 4.202 21. Daniel Arcas Aprilia 1:56.283 + 4.810 22. Kazuki Watanabe Yamaha 1:56.587 + 5.114 23. Yuuki Ito Yamaha 1:57.053 + 5.580 24. Imre Toth Aprilia 1:57.115 + 5.642 25. Takumi Endoh Yamaha 1:57.451 + 5.978

Unlikely pieces fuel Chicago backline

Simoncelli snatches Brno pole

Simoncelli grabs provisional pole

Barbera beats Simoncelli to pole

Hopkins frustrated with tenth

Kawasaki rider John Hopkins was frustrated at finishing tenth after feeling he had the pace to score a top-five result.

The American said he had the pace to challenge riders further up the order, but got involved in an almost race-long battle with James Toseland for tenth place, which finally resolved in Hopkins' favour for good with a pass on the last lap.

"The start is always a bit hectic here because the first few turns are quite tight, so we just got our head down and settled into a rhythm. We caught up with James Toseland and I tried everything to get around him, but he just had a little bit more acceleration out of the turns than us," explained Hopkins.

"It was quite frustrating because on the brakes and mid-corner we were much quicker, so we passed each other on many occasions. We were side by side for a lot of the time so it was a big battle and it came down to the final lap where I made a pass that stuck at turn two.

"We managed to achieve tenth, but really I felt we were capable of a top five finish because we were lapping at the same pace as riders much further up the field."

It was another disappointing race for Anthony West, who finished fifteenth after trouble with the brakes on his bike sent him off the track during the race.

"At the moment it seems that, if it wasn't for bad luck we wouldn't have any luck at all. Early on in the race my front brake lever was coming all the way back to the bar, and the bike just wasn't stopping.

"Almost every lap I had to use the brake span adjuster to move the lever further out, but two corners later it would be back to the bar again. We don't know yet what the problem was, but eventually I just ran out of brakes at the end of the straight and ended up taking a trip through the gravel trap."

Despite his riders' troubles, Kawasaki competition manager Michael Bartholemy was positive about the team's weekend, with the bike showing improved performance even if the end result wasn't quite what they had hoped for.

"This weekend has been quite positive for us, as we've been in, or close to, the top ten for most of the sessions, which is an improvement on the last few races.

"John has made some steps forward in set-up, and he has more confidence on the bike. He was trying hard to get past Toseland in the race, but it seems we need to improve the machine's corner exit capabilities, as this would certainly have helped his campaign today.

"Anthony suffered with some problems, but he made a good start to the race and he also seemed to have felt more comfortable on the bike during yesterday. I hope we can continue with the progress he's made here, especially for his home round next weekend in Australia."

Frustrated Fire hungry for success

Rossi keen to seal title with podium

Valentino Rossi has said that he would prefer to wrap up the 2008 MotoGP title tomorrow at the Japanese MotoGP rather than wait until next weekend's Australian Grand Prix.

Rossi currently has an 87 point lead and needs to essentially finish on the podium tomorrow no matter where Casey Stoner or Dani Pedrosa finish.

There are 100 points still in play, but the Italian needs to leave Japan with an advantage of 76 points or more.

"I'm happy if I come third," said Rossi. "My target is the podium. Out of the podium is not the same taste and also out of the podium if Casey wins then I don't win the championship. For me the target is the podium.

"Looking at the lap times today it's possible to fight for the victory but to win the race is another story."

The Italian has clinched all of his previous titles with podium finishes, and is keen to maintain that record.

"For me it's important tomorrow. If not Phillip Island, but tomorrow for sure," said Rossi. "When you have the first match point, it's better you play well...

"In my career I've won the championships in Phillip Island and in Malaysia, but never in Japan, so why not.

"For me (it is important to win tomorrow) after a long season and long pressure so as soon as possible (I want to win the title)."

Rossi's remaining title rivals Stoner and Pedrosa have qualified second and fifth respectively.

Rossi prepared for wet race

Melee mars excellent win for Revs

Simoncelli wins battle for victory

Championship leader Marco Simoncelli gave his 250cc title hopes a boost after holding off title rival Alvaro Bautista for victory at Motegi.

Alex Debon led at the start but pole man Simoncelli took the lead before lap one was complete, opening a small lead before coming under attack from Julian Simon before he dropped away and was replaced a couple of laps later by Bautista.

Bautista set several fastest laps, including a new 250cc lap record, but couldn't get past Simoncelli, with backmarkers getting in the way on lap 21 of 23 ending any hopes he had of beating Simoncelli.

Simon's slower pace in the closing laps allowed Alex Debon to take third place, with Simon just behind in fourth, both riders nearly ten seconds behind the top two.

After looking strong in qualifying, the Red Bull KTMs of Mika Kallio and Hiroshi Aoyama struggled in the race, Kallio finishing fifth, over fifteen seconds behind the winner, with Aoyama finishing ninth after starting second.

CLASSIFIED: Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 43:09.385 2. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia + 0.348 3. Alex Debon Aprilia + 8.414 4. Julian Simon Ktm + 9.151 5. Mika Kallio Ktm + 17.041 6. Yuki Takahashi Honda + 19.632 7. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia + 19.892 8. Mattia Pasini Aprilia + 20.442 9. Hiroshi Aoyama Ktm + 22.303 10. Roberto Locatelli Gilera + 22.387 11. Hector Faubel Aprilia + 32.851 12. Lukas Pesek Aprilia + 48.621 13. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda + 48.803 14. Shoya Tomizawa Honda + 49.572 15. Fabrizio Lai Gilera + 58.045 16. Alex Baldolini Aprilia + 58.362 17. Takumi Takahashi Honda +1:15.062 18. Doni Tata Pradita Yamaha +1:49.930 19. Manuel Hernandez Aprilia +1:58.603 20. Daniel Arcas Aprilia + 1 lap 21. Takumi Endoh Yamaha + 1 lap 22. Imre Toth Aprilia + 1 lap 23. Yuuki Ito Yamaha + 3 laps NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS: Rider Bike Laps Simone Grotzkyj Gilera 0

Barbera beats Simoncelli to pole

Crew showcasing road quality

Pedrosa content to start fifth

Dani Pedrosa said he was satisfied with fifth place on the Motegi grid in only his second qualifying session on Bridgestone tyres.

The Repsol Honda rider switched from Michelin to Bridgestone rubber prior to the Indianapolis race, where he qualified and finished eighth while acclimatising to the new tyres.

"I am happier than I was after Indy qualifying because we are improving all the time," said Pedrosa. "Every time I go out with another qualifying tyre I get faster, but during my last lap today I made a mistake at one corner and lost a lot of time.

"The second row is okay, it's important to get a good start here because the first corner is so close to the grid. #

"Today we tried a few different race tyres and did some good work, but we still need to make some improvements in a few different places."

Team manager Kazuhiko Yamano said Pedrosa was still exploring the potential of the Bridgestones.

"Dani is going well here, he has improved his race pace since yesterday and still has some small improvements to make to his set-up during morning warm-up," said Yamano.

"This is his second qualifying sessions with Bridgestone tyres, he is starting to understand the tyres, though he can still get faster with them at the next races. Considering this, the second row is a good result."

Pedrosa's teammate Nicky Hayden remains on Michelin tyres, and qualified in third position at Motegi.

Pedrosa confident on Bridgestone tyres

Lorenzo secures pole at Motegi

Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo has taken pole position for tomorrow's Japanese round of the MotoGP world championship as he set a new qualifying record, scoring his first pole in five months and Michelin's first since May.

Casey Stoner led the early running on race tyres, before Randy de Puniet became the first to set a time on qualifiers just after halfway through the session.

Over the next fifteen minutes the times steadily fell, before with sixteen minutes remaining, Stoner took seven-tenths of a second off to put in a 1:45.831.

Two minutes later Lorenzo went less than a tenth faster with a 1:45.750, and despite two more attempts Stoner failed to improve. No-one else could match Lorenzo either.

However, it didn't stop Lorenzo going out and beating his own time after the chequered flag had fallen, lowering his own mark by two-tenths to 1:45.543.

Stoner's effort was good enough to stay in second, with a late lap by Nicky Hayden bumping himself onto the front row in third. This pushed Valentino Rossi down to fourth, alongside Dani Pedrosa and Loris Capirossi who continued with his strong Motegi form.

After running fast in practice and signing for Honda for next season yesterday, Andrea Dovizioso didn't have a great qualifying, and will start from fourteenth, nearly 1.4 seconds off the pace.

A crash in the last minute of the session hurt any hopes Alex de Angelis had of improving, ending the session in eighteenth, but still almost a second clear of Suzuki's Kosuke Akiyoshi who qualified last, over three seconds off Lorenzo's pole position.

Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) 1:45.543 2. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) 1:45.831 + 0.288 3. Nicky Hayden Honda (M) 1:45.971 + 0.428 4. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) 1:46.060 + 0.517 5. Dani Pedrosa Honda (B) 1:46.303 + 0.760 6. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) 1:46.450 + 0.907 7. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) 1:46.496 + 0.953 8. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) 1:46.574 + 1.011 9. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) 1:46.616 + 1.073 10. James Toseland Yamaha (M) 1:46.863 + 1.320 11. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) 1:46.888 + 1.345 12. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) 1:46.904 + 1.361 13. Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) 1:46.907 + 1.364 14. Toni Elias Ducati (B) 1:46.958 + 1.415 15. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) 1:47.400 + 1.857 16. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) 1:47.475 + 1.932 17. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) 1:47.669 + 2.126 18. Alex de Angelis Honda (B) 1:47.680 + 2.137 19. Kousuke Akiyoshi Suzuki (B) 1:48.671 + 3.128

Rapids lament lost points in draw

Stoner tops wet warm-up

MotoGP: Edwards tops Le Mans warm-up

Lorenzo struggling for rear grip

Factory Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo admitted that he struggled to find rear-grip in the second, dry, practice session for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.

The Spaniard, who had gone an impressive fourth fastest in the damp morning session, was the slowest Yamaha rider when the track dried out, ending the day 15th overall.

"Today has been strange because usually I'm not so fast in the wet but fast in the dry; today was the opposite!" he said. "I don't really know what happened this afternoon but I felt like I didn't have enough grip in the rear on the entrance to the corner and so I didn't have enough confidence to go fast.

"It felt a bit like in Donington and Assen," he added. "We're working hard now in the team and together with Michelin and we gathered a lot of data so I hope that tomorrow we will be able to find a way to improve it.

"I know that I also need to work on my riding style a bit for this track. Anyway, it seems that tomorrow it will be hotter so I think this will help us as well."

Rossi rues poor track conditions

Hoops struggling to regain form

Di Meglio takes safe pole

Championship leader Mike di Meglio has taken pole position for tomorrow's 125cc race at the Motegi circuit in Japan.

Di Meglio took the place with four minutes remaining, improving on his own effort from ten minutes earlier as riders went seconds faster than yesterday on a dry track.

Alongside him on the front row will be Stefan Bradl, who set his time in the final minute of the session, with Nicolas Terol and Simone Cortese who also set their times in the closing minutes completing the front row.

Reigning 125cc world champion Gabor Talmacsi ended the session fifth fastest, despite never really looking in contention for pole position. Briton Scott Redding, Dominique Aegerter and Pol Espargaro complete the second row.

After setting provisional pole in yesterday's first qualifying session and showing speed early in today's session, Spaniard Joan Olive will start from twelfth position, just over a second off di Meglio's pole effort.

However, he is three places better off than di Meglio's closest championship rival, Simone Corsi, who will start from fifteenth.

Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Mike Di Meglio Derbi 1:58.678 2. Stefan Bradl Aprilia 1:59.059 + 0.381 3. Nicolas Terol Aprilia 1:59.104 + 0.426 4. Sandro Cortese Aprilia 1:59.132 + 0.454 5. Gabor Talmacsi Aprilia 1:59.179 + 0.501 6. Scott Redding Aprilia 1:59.351 + 0.673 7. Dominique Aegerter Derbi 1:59.463 + 0.785 8. Pol Espargaro Derbi 1:59.562 + 0.884 9. Andrea Iannone Aprilia 1:59.565 + 0.887 10. Sergio Gadea Aprilia 1:59.695 + 1.017 11. Tomoyoshi Koyama KTM 1:59.739 + 1.061 12. Joan Olive Derbi 1:59.756 + 1.078 13. Marc Marquez KTM 1:59.783 + 1.105 14. Bradley Smith Aprilia 1:59.784 + 1.106 15. Simone Corsi Aprilia 1:59.919 + 1.241 16. Efren Vazquez Aprilia 1:59.956 + 1.278 17. Stevie Bonsey Aprilia 2:00.112 + 1.434 18. Danny Webb Aprilia 2:00.125 + 1.447 19. Raffaele De Rosa KTM 2:00.404 + 1.726 20. Takaaki Nakagami Aprilia 2:00.434 + 1.756 21. Esteve Rabat KTM 2:01.121 + 2.443 22. Alexis Masbou Loncin 2:01.247 + 2.569 23. Lorenzo Zanetti KTM 2:01.279 + 2.601 24. Michael Ranseder Aprilia 2:01.395 + 2.717 25. Robin Lasser Aprilia 2:01.458 + 2.780 26. Iori Namihira Honda 2:01.944 + 3.266 27. Hiroomi Iwata Honda 2:01.946 + 3.268 28. Pablo Nieto KTM 2:02.000 + 3.322 29. Adrian Martin Aprilia 2:02.069 + 3.391 30. Marco Ravaioli Aprilia 2:02.148 + 3.470 31. Jonas Folger KTM 2:02.270 + 3.592 32. Yuuichi Yanagisawa Honda 2:02.488 + 3.810 33. Robert Muresan Aprilia 2:02.656 + 3.978 34. Kazuma Watanabe Honda 2:02.708 + 4.030 35. Hiroki Ono Honda 2:02.833 + 4.155 36. Jules Cluzel Loncin 2:03.058 + 4.380 37. Cyril Carrillo Honda 2:03.426 + 4.748 38. Hugo Van Den Berg Aprilia 2:03.494 + 4.816 39. Bastien Chesaux Aprilia 2:04.091 + 5.413

Ianni hopes for exciting summer

Talmacsi wins as di Meglio crashes

Espargaro takes Indianapolis pole

Dovizioso happy with day's work

Andrea Dovizioso was happy with his performance on a day when he signed for Honda for next season and tested various solutions for wet and dry conditions.

Dovizioso was ninth in the morning as he evaluated tyres, while the afternoon saw him try out a new front fork, which he was pleased with and will continue to use tomorrow as he set the fourth-fastest time.

"Today we started well and did a good job, despite the weather which was uncertain and the conditions of the track which were not optimal," explained the Italian. "This morning was wet and we tried different grooved tyres, while in the afternoon I used dry-weather rubber, even though the track still had wet spots on it.

"The second session we dedicated to try a new set of forks, which felt positive and we will continue to work on them tomorrow. In such uncertain conditions, I could do a long run of a dozen laps, and my hand is good, but we lose a little on acceleration out of the slow corners compared to other motorcycles."

JiR Team Scot technical co-ordinator Gianni Berti explained the tyre evaluation was in partnership with Michelin, looking for improvement in wet conditions: "This morning with the wet we made a series of tests with possible solutions for tyres with our partner Michelin and we were able to acquire important information that could prove useful if the race is held in the rain."

Michelin concerned about race

Rossi rues poor track conditions

Hopkins looking towards 2009 already

John Hopkins says Kawasaki's primary attentions have now turned to their 2009 bike after a disappointing season this year.

The American is still eager for a good result in the manufacturer's home race at Motegi this weekend, but wants to put his injury-filled season behind him and concentrate on preparing for next year.

"It's a very important race here, obviously with a Japanese manufacturer it's the home Grand Prix," he said. "So we're just looking to turn around and get the results back.

"This season has just been a huge list of injuries for me, from a broken hip to a broken back and a blown out knee and ankle. We're just looking to finish strongly and put this season behind us.

"We're looking towards '09 now, that's the ultimate goal. We're making a lot of changes to the bike at the factory and we're doing some wind tunnel work. We are looking to the 09 bike, but we still want to push on and finish the year well."

Chivas USA struggling to finish

Ball bouncing New York’s way

Scot to continue with Honda in '09

Scot Racing will announce this weekend that they will remain a Honda privateer team in MotoGP next season, after confirming their split with partners JiR at Indianapolis two weeks ago.

The team, who currently run Andrea Dovizioso, will confirm at the Honda-owned Motegi track which this hosts this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix that they will run a Honda V4 in next year's MotoGP championship for current 250cc rider Yuki Takahashi.

Dovizioso meanwhile is expected to move to the factory Repsol Honda team, in place of Ducati-bound Nicky Hayden.

Hartman closing on MLS save mark

Road woes continue for Toronto FC

Team Scot and JiR to part company

Capirossi wants to build up momentum

Loris Capirossi is optimistic for the final four races of the season and is looking to build up momentum to carry it into 2009.

The Rizla Suzuki rider has not enjoyed the kind of season he was expecting, and lies in 11th position after just one podium finish.

The veteran Italian reckons the remaining races will be vital in order to carry a good form into the winter and into the 2009 season.

"These four races will be very important for us also to keep the good form to start work on the bike for next year," said Capirossi in Japan on Thursday.

"We know we have many tests and we have to test many things after Valencia with the new bike. The plan for next year is really big. We know we have to try to do our best in the last four races with the stuff we have.

"I'm quite optimistic for the last four races. I'll try to do my best to have a better start next year."

Capirossi also said it was important that he does not need to worry about his future after Suzuki confirmed both him and teammate Chris Vermeulen for 2009.

"I think it's really important. We have to concentrate on riding to start to work on the new bike, because we want to arrive in the first race with a good bike already."

Chivas hope to use win as springboard

Elias aims to finish season on a high

Toni Elias says he is aiming to finish the 2008 season on a high before he starts thinking of next year.

The Spaniard has been linked with a return to the Gresini team after a difficult season with the Alice Ducati squad.

His form, however, has turned around in recent races and Elias has climbed onto the podium twice.

Elias said on Thursday that he could not talk about his future plans, but admitted he is willing to give his best for his current team in the four remaining races.

"I can't say anything at the moment," Elias told a news conference at Motegi. "I just want to finish the season like this, like in Misano and the Czech Republic.

"I think I have to improve my performance in the wet and if it's dry continue like up to now, following Stoner and Valentino. I have a very good relationship with my team and I want to finish well."

The Spanish rider also confessed the season has been hard after needing so many races to solve his problems.

"It was a difficult situation. I was in the last positions. I knew what was the problem and I was waiting for the solution. When the solutions arrived we made a big change and it was possible to be me.

"Then the podiums arrived. I made a big step forward. It's good, and we'll see next season."

Elias targets more progress in France

Elias happy but cautious about race

Takahashi set for MotoGP move

Yuki Takahashi says he is close to completing a deal to graduate to MotoGP's premier class next season, and could test a Honda RC212V at the end of this season.

The 250cc racer is being tipped to replace Andrea Dovizioso at Team Scot, who are expected to announce their plans for next season during this weekend's round at Motegi after confirming that they will split from JiR at the end of the year. Dovizioso is believed to be on his way to the works Repsol Honda team for next season.

Honda are keen to run a Japanese driver in the top class with the Team Scot outfit and Takahashi could sample the 800cc as early as the post-season test at Valencia.

"We're almost certain to move up to MotoGP so I'm really happy about this," Takahashi told MotoGP.com. "I like the team and they're a good fit for me.

"I've never ridden a MotoGP bike before and, although I'm excited, I'm also worried at the same time. It will be an interesting feeling and maybe after this season is over, I will try to ride the 800cc bike."

Takahashi is looking forward to his home race at Motegi this weekend and is hoping to improve on seventh in the championship on the back of his second-place finish in the last race at Misano (the 250cc race at Indianapolis was cancelled).

"I will have a lot of family, friends, and sponsors here, so I want to get a good result. I was ready to ride at the last round, so I was hoping they might have two races here!" he joked.

Team Scot and JiR to part company

Top of SuperLiga table clash on tap

Dovizioso hints at works Honda deal

Kawasaki hope for strong home form

John Hopkins is determined to turn around his string of poor results at Motegi to give Kawasaki a strong showing on home soil.

The American hasn't bettered his fifth place finish at Motegi in 2005 in the last two seasons, but says he likes the circuit and hopes his worst luck is already behind him this season after missing three races in the middle of the year through injury.

"Motegi has never been a circuit that's been kind to me, even last year, which was my best season so far, Motegi was definitely my worst round," said Hopkins. "However, maybe this is the year we can turn it around after all of the bad luck we've had with injury."

But the Kawasaki team have a good record at Motegi following Randy de Puniet's second-place finish in last year's race.

"It's a track I actually enjoy, the fans and atmosphere are all a lot of fun, and the circuit layout is good too.

"This is Kawasaki's second home round so it would be really nice if we can do well here. It would be great to finish the final few rounds of 2008 with strong results."

Simoncelli takes pole from Barbera

250cc championship leader Marco Simoncelli has scored his fourth pole of the season at Indianapolis today.

The Metis Gilera snatched back pole from Toth Aprilia's arch-rival Hector Barbera in the dying seconds of the 45-minute session thanks to a 1:45.168 lap, which put him back ahead of the Spaniard by 0.369 seconds.

Barbera had shot to the top of the times with three minutes of the session still to go, to break Simoncelli and Red Bull KTM's Hiroshi Aoyama battle for the top of the timesheets.

But the Japanese ultimately qualified only fifth, after his time was also bettered by teammate Mika Kallio, who will start third, and Lotus Aprilia's Alex Debon in fourth.

Aspar Aprilia's Alvaro Bautista, the winner of the last race at Misano, qualified sixth, ahead of Mattia Pasini, who crashed his Polaris Aprilia at the half-hour point and hurt his right hand.

Bautista's teammate Hector Faubel will start the race from the eighth spot, followed by Auto Kelly Aprilia's Lukas Pesek and Julian Simon on the Repsol KTM.

Thomas Luthi did not take part in the session after high-siding over his Aprilia and crashing heavily this morning. The Swiss briefly lost consciousness, but ultimately only suffered a concussion and a thumb injury, ruling him out of tomorrow's race.

Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1:45.168 2. Hector Barbera Aprilia 1:45.537 + 0.369 3. Mika Kallio KTM 1:45.563 + 0.395 4. Alex Debon Aprilia 1:45.601 + 0.433 5. Hiroshi Aoyama KTM 1:45.850 + 0.682 6. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1:46.174 + 1.006 7. Mattia Pasini Aprilia 1:46.322 + 1.154 8. Hector Faubel Aprilia 1:46.360 + 1.192 9. Lukas Pesek Aprilia 1:46.370 + 1.202 10. Julian Simon KTM 1:46.687 + 1.519 11. Yuki Takahashi Honda 1:46.739 + 1.571 12. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1:46.835 + 1.667 13. R.Wilairot Honda 1:46.847 + 1.679 14. R.Locatelli Gilera 1:47.049 + 1.881 15. Karel Abraham Aprilia 1:47.974 + 2.806 16. Stefano Bianco Gilera 1:48.620 + 3.452 17. Manuel Hernandez Aprilia 1:49.024 + 3.856 18. D.T.Pradita Yamaha 1:49.089 + 3.921 19. S.G.Giorgi Gilera 1:49.666 + 4.498 20. Imre Toth Aprilia 1:49.758 + 4.590 21. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1:50.694 + 5.526 22. Eugene Laverty Aprilia 1:51.097 + 5.929 23. Barrett Long Yamaha 1:52.384 + 7.216

Simoncelli grabs provisional pole

Barbera beats Simoncelli to pole

Ianni hopes for exciting summer

Rossi: No pressure to win title in Japan

Valentino Rossi says he is not putting himself under pressure to clinch the title at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.

The Yamaha rider is 87 points ahead of Casey Stoner with just 100 points left to be won in the four races remaining.

Rossi needs to finish in fourth place at Motegi to secure the title regardless of what Stoner does.

The Italian, however, says he is is no hurry to clinch his eighth title and will approach the Japanese race as usual.

"We have had a fantastic run of race and now here we are finally, with a 'match point' for the championship, and in Motegi once again," said Rossi in a team preview.

"In 2005 I was in the same situation but I crashed and had to wait for Malaysia to win the title, and then last year we lost the championship in Japan.

"I really would like to win in Motegi, especially as it's such an important race for Yamaha and it would be a great reward for them for all of the work they have done.

"However, we cannot put too much pressure on ourselves and I will try to treat it like another normal race. We have a good margin of points, but there are still four more races so it is still not over."

Nowak weighing U.S. midfield options

Rossi glad race was stopped

Tyre gamble doesn't pay off for Dovizioso

Andrea Dovizioso reckons he should have been able to fight for the podium at Indianapolis today, had he not taken a gamble with his Michelin tyres.

The JiR Honda rider admitted after the race that his bike had been fitted with tyres he had not previously tried in previous sessions, and the rear was not to his satisfaction.

The Italian rookie managed to get in the lead for the first time in his career during the first lap after starting seventh, but was soon overtaken by Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden - also on Michelins - and Fiat Yamaha's Valentino Rossi.

He ultimately finished the race in a distant fifth place, while the other two former world champions finished second and first respectively.

"I wanted at all costs to lead at least a lap before the end of the season, so I made it," Dovizioso told Italia1 television.

"In these conditions a fifth place is fine because it was really hard, especially after ten laps when a strong wind came.

"I can't be 100 percent happy, however, because we started the race with two tyres we never tried before, we risked a lot, and unfortunately the rear wasn't going very well. At the start it was ok, but as soon as Hayden and especially Valentino started to go quick, there was nothing I could do.

"It's a shame, because I think I could have given trouble at least to Hayden. By contrast the front tyre was good, but I couldn't get into corners aggressively because I was losing grip."

Hayden: Tyre issues a learning experience

Dovizioso hints at works Honda deal

Dovizioso thrilled to be top Honda

Vermeulen positive for Japanese GP

Chris Vermeulen feels his Rizla Suzuki team are making good progress with their new chassis and the Australian is in a positive mood for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Although neither Vermeulen nor teammate Loris Capirossi managed a good result in the previous race at Indianapolis, both men had showed strong form in the previous races.

And despite the result in the US, Vermeulen feels his team are getting stronger and stronger and he reckons the new chassis should suit the Motegi circuit.

"I had a good ride at Motegi last year despite stalling on the grid," said Vermeulen in a team preview. "I feel that every time I go out on the track I am getting faster and faster and the new chassis that we have been using for the last couple of races should certainly help us at this track.

"I am in a good state of mind going into this event and confident of a strong performance. I am just outside the top five at the moment and with the races we have left I am sure I can make a serious challenge to improve my position in the championship."

Capirossi will be also aiming for a good result at a track where he has won for the last three years.

"I have great memories from Motegi, I have won the last three races there and it will be good to go back and try to do my best again - especially now that I am riding for a Japanese factory on its home track," he said.

"We had a tough time at Indianapolis for a number of reasons, but that is now behind us and we have to make the most of the rest of the season and Motegi is a good place to start that. I can still fight with the best guys out there and that has to be my goal!"

Vermeulen and Capirossi will be joined by wild card rider Kousuke Akiyoshi this weekend.

Shorthanded Quakes stay positive

Vermeulen positive ahead of Le Mans

Rossi: No pressure to win title in Japan

Hayden confirmed at Ducati for 2009

Ducati have confirmed 2006 MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden will partner Casey Stoner at the team next season.

The 29-year-old American had already announced his plans to leave Repsol Honda at the end of the year, after six seasons at the Japanese team.

Hayden will replace Marco Melandri at Ducati, and he will make his debut on the Desmosedici GP9 on 27 October right at the end of the season in Valencia.

"We are really happy to have Nicky join us," said Claudio Domenicali, Ducati Corse CEO. "We are certain that his never-say-die attitude, riding style and character will be great additions to our team in 2009.

"I would like to thank HRC for allowing Nicky to start testing our bike immediately after the Valencia Grand Prix.

"I would also like to thank Marco Melandri for his professionalism during a difficult year, which was below all our expectations.

"Unfortunately his feeling with the Desmosedici was never good enough to allow him to ride as well as he can. We wish him all the best for the future."

Ducati confirm 2009 Melandri split

Fire near full strength for Rapids

Hayden hints at Ducati deal

Pleased Spies looks forward to the race

Rizla Suzuki's Ben Spies looks forward to tomorrow's inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix after qualifying an impressive fifth.

The Tennessee-born AMA rider, on the eve of his third MotoGP race after standing in for Loris Capirossi at Donington and being entered as a wild card for this year's two American races, was satisfied with the work done today.

"I am now really looking forward to the race because everything has gone well so far this weekend," he said.

"It was a good session this afternoon and we tried various things on both bikes. I went back to the primary bike that we had done most work on and looked at the race set-up until we were happy with that and then put on the qualifiers.

"I just went faster and faster every time I went out, those Bridgestone qualifiers are just unbelievable and it took me a time to find the limit of them, so I am sure I could go quicker with a bit more time using them!

He added: "Fifth place is a good spot and the second row will be a good place to start - if the weather is going to be as bad as they say - so that I can be ahead of any of the drama that might happen."

Suzuki's regular race riders Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen qualified 13th and 15th respectively.

Spies promises there’s more to come

Spies satisfied with career-best result

Elias set for Gresini return

Toni Elias is set to return to the Honda Gresini team next year after deciding to leave the Alice Ducati squad.

The Spaniard looked unlikely to be offered an extension to his Alice contract mid-way through what began as a disappointing season, but podium finishes at Brno and Misano raised his stock and brought about an offer from team boss Paolo Campinoti.

Both Campinoti and factory Ducati team boss Livio Suppo were happy to retain Elias for at least another season, but he is believed to have turned down the offer in favour of a return to Honda and Gresini, the team he rode for in 2007.

"The contract with Toni stipulated that he would be automatically confirmed if he was within the top eight in the championship after Brno," Suppo told Italian magazine Motosprint. "He wasn't, but we told him that if he carried on going the way he had been, then we would have confirmed him no problem.

"On Sunday Campinoti said 'if he goes on the podium again, we'll keep him'. He was third in the race (at Misano) so it was sorted for us. But after the race he said he had other offers and in the end he decided to go elsewhere."

Gresini's commercial director Carlo Merlini would not confirm that a deal with Elias had been completed, but he did say: "I can confirm that we are in talks and we have made up our mind about next year's riders."

Lorenzo thrilled with rain breakthrough

Jorge Lorenzo hailed his third place at Indianapolis as the best wet weather performance of his entire racing career.

The Fiat Yamaha rider said he had never managed to reach the podium in a wet race before.

"This is my first podium in wet conditions in all my life, so I'm so happy," said Lorenzo.

"In the Spanish championship, I never took a podium (in the wet). So for me it's a very good result."

Lorenzo added that his only regret was that the race was red-flagged before he had a chance to overtake Nicky Hayden for second place.

He had closed rapidly on the Honda rider as the rain returned in the final laps, and was putting Hayden under heavy pressure when the officials decided to halt the race due to the worsening rain and wind.

"It's not perfect, because with maybe one or two laps more I could have passed Nicky," said Lorenzo.

"He was so fast at the beginning, but with the wind and his worn tyres, he reduced his pace. Next time I hope to do better."

The result was Yamaha's second double podium in a row, as Lorenzo's championship-leading teammate Valentino Rossi clinched his fourth consecutive victory.

Dovizioso hints at works Honda deal

Andrea Dovizioso has strongly hinted that he will replace Nicky Hayden in the factory Repsol Honda team next year.

The Italian, who currently rides for the satellite JiR team and has impressed throughout his rookie season in MotoGP, has been repeatedly linked with the works team in recent weeks, and is expected to be announced as Dani Pedrosa's 2009 teammate in due course.

When asked by television station Italia1 if he had signed a Repsol Honda deal, Dovizioso replied: "No, not yet, but I hope I will. You can't say what you're not allowed to..."

Hayden has had an increasingly fractious relationship with Pedrosa, and Dovizioso admitted that he is expecting similar problems when he is paired with the Spaniard.

"Yes, I think they'll try that in every way," Dovizioso replied when asked if he thought Pedrosa and manager Alberto Puig would make his life 'difficult'.

"No-one knows Pedrosa, in my opinion. He doesn't want to be known, he wants to live MotoGP in a different way compared to the others. That's the way he is.

"I don't think anything will change, but we'll see. I'd like to get to know him..."

Dovizioso led a MotoGP race for the first time today at Indianapolis, when he burst through from seventh on the grid to head the field on the opening lap, before later falling back to finish fifth. Hayden and Pedrosa took second and eighth respectively on the factory Hondas.

Dovizioso tops wet Donington practice

Dovizioso thrilled to be top Honda

Hayden content enough with fourth

Former world champion Nicky Hayden was content enough with qualifying on the second row for tomorrow's inaugural Indianapolis MotoGP.

The Repsol Honda rider was pushed down from second to fourth on the grid in the dying seconds of the session by late runs from rivals Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo.

"It would have been nice to be on the front row, but still, second row outside here is not a disaster," said the Kentucky rider.

"I need to get a good start because that first corner and that whole first section is really tight and really only one line, so certainly it's gonna be a bit of carnage outside that.

"Things went a lot smoother today. Yesterday in the heavy rain I was aquaplaning everywhere, and was riding like a sissy. Everytime I tried to push I just had aquaplaning. I was going nowhere.

"But today I took the scare off, gassed it up, and the bike worked a lot better in the dry, or just semi-dry, even this morning with all the standing water.

"So, it's not perfect, but that's the best race pace I've had in a while. The race tyre was going quite good, so let's see what happens tomorrow."

Hayden admits to riding struggles

Hayden baffled by dismal race

Hayden to miss San Marino GP

Fire eager to get off long slide

Spies satisfied with career-best result

Rizla Suzuki rider Ben Spies was satisfied with his career-best result in today's inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix, his third ever MotoGP race.

In extremely wet conditions, the new AMA Superbike champion impressed on his way to sixth place, a result that betters his previous best of eighth at Laguna Seca, the other race in which he was entered as a wild card this year.

"It was a good race today for me because my goal was to better my result at Laguna and I did that," said the 24-year-old American.

"I know that I had a fourth place bike today though because the crew had got it working great, but after ten laps I couldn't see anything through my visor and that was why I never made an attack because I had to follow the other guys around me to see where I was going - I think if I had lost them I would have got caught by everybody!

"I rode as hard as I could and ended the race with a good sixth place. I wish we could have done a bit better, but every time I'm getting on a GP bike I'm getting better results so who knows what's to come!"

Regular Suzuki race riders Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi today could do no better than ninth and 16th respectively.

Hoops struggling to regain form

Spies promises there’s more to come

Top of SuperLiga table clash on tap

Stoner keeps expectations in check

Reigning MotoGP champion Casey Stoner is keeping his expectations in check for tomorrow's Indianapolis Grand Prix, despite qualifying second behind title rival Valentino Rossi.

The Ducati Marlboro rider, who had been on a run of seven consecutive pole positions but crashed in the last three races, was in fact surprised to qualify as high as second after suffering an engine failure in the morning's session.

"We don't expect so much this weekend: we've had not so much track time," Stoner told Italia1 television. "We've had a few problems, and we're just trying to get the confidence back.

"It was close, but we've struggled a little bit today. We broke an engine in this morning's session, and when the track was starting to become a little bit drier you could actually get a bit of a feel for it.

"(Instead) we had to spend the last 20 minutes in the box because we broke the engine. So it's a little bit disappointing."

He added: "Coming into this afternoon's session we were trying to do a lot of things in a short period of time, and we just couldn't get done all we needed before we put the qualifying tyres on. I was struggling with the front to get feeling from it, been having quite a lot of chatter.

"But to end up second I was actually quite impressed, I didn't think I was even going to get on the front two rows. I've been struggling a little bit this weekend and it's nice to come away with second anyway."

United struggling to find answers

Kawasaki confirm Melandri's arrival

The Kawasaki Racing Team have confirmed the signing of Marco Melandri for the next two years.

The Italian announced last month that he would leave Ducati after one year of a two year deal to go move to the Japanese manufacturer next year, after a dismal season in which he never got to grips with his Desmosedici.

Michael Bartholemy, Kawasaki's competition manager, had already publicly expressed interest in the former 250cc champion over two months ago.

"We started talking to Marco about riding for Kawasaki at the beginning of 2007, but contractual obligations on his part meant that it wasn't possible to secure his services for this season," explained Bartholemy.

"Since that time we've kept in close contact with Marco's management company, which meant we were able to reopen negotiations immediately once we heard that he would be available in 2009.

"This has been a tough year for Marco, but it's obvious when you speak to him that he's lost none of the drive and determination that have so far brought him five race wins and 14 podium finishes in the premier class, despite suffering results this season that don't truly reflect his talent.

"I'm confident that Marco will adapt quickly to Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR and that, together with John, he'll be able to take us to the next level with the development of the all-new 2009 bike.

"What is certain is that, with Marco and John, we will go into 2009 with our strongest rider line-up since Kawasaki made their full-time return to the premier class in 2002.

"Now we need to translate this strength and experience into improving our results, with achieving our first race win in MotoGP obviously the major goal," concluded Bartholemy.

Melandri is expected to have his debut on the Ninja ZX-RR at Valencia in October, in the two-day test that follows the end of the season.

Melandri: Kawasaki will suit my style

MotoGP: Kawasaki express Melandri interest

Melandri: Kawasaki will suit my style

Marco Melandri is confident the Kawasaki bike he will race with next season will suit his riding style.

The Italian has endured a miserable year with Ducati, struggling to get the GP8 to his liking all year long.

Melandri announced he will leave Ducati at the end of the season to join Kawasaki, who have also endured a difficult year themselves.

But Melandri admits he is looking forward to the challenge and is convinced he will not have the same problems to adapt to the bike.

"It will be easier to criticise me than to agree with my decision," Melandri was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport. "But I liked Kawasaki already in 2007, and I think they have great growth potential.

"It's a bike that suits my riding style well. It will be difficult, but I know that with Kawasaki I will finally be able to work for myself, and that's something I've never done before."

He added: "I would have gone back to Fausto (Gresini) for the human relationship, but I'm convinced of this challenge at Kawasaki: if you finish third with a Honda then it's normal, but if you go quick with the Ninja then it means you've worked well."

New additions give United jolt

Lorenzo feels he's getting back to his best

Fiat Yamaha rookie Jorge Lorenzo feels he is getting back to his best form after scoring his second consecutive front row at Indianapolis today.

The Spaniard, who had a sensational start to the season with three pole positions and a win in the first three races, did not make the front row again until the last race at Misano, after a string of crashes and injuries.

"We are on the front row for the second race in a row," said Lorenzo, "and this shows that we are truly getting back to our best, so I want to thank my team for their work, both here and in Misano.

"We are still not perfect in the wet or the dry so we need to make some improvements in warm-up, but we don't know what the weather will do tomorrow so we will have to wait and see."

"I am so happy that this track is different to how I expected, because I really enjoyed myself this afternoon! I thought it would be quite dangerous but in fact I feel really safe on my M1 here, which is allowing me to be fast.

"Some of the corners are really close together which I enjoy because it means I can ride very smoothly in the style that I like. It's a good track for me."

Resurgent Lorenzo aims for top five

Quakes stay fit, rout Honduras

250cc race rescheduled due to rain

The start of the 250cc Indianapolis Grand Prix has been delayed from its 1:15pm scheduled local time to 4:15pm, due to torrential rain hitting the historic circuit.

The rescheduling does not affect the 3pm MotoGP start slot, meaning that the 250cc race will be held after the premier class event, assuming the rain eases up enough in time for it.

As predicted, the remnants of Hurricane Ike hit the track during the 125cc race, which was eventually shortened as conditions got worse.

But just a couple of minutes before the scheduled start of the 250cc, with the riders already lined up on the grid, it turned into a massive downpour that forced race control to delay the start and competitors to rush back to their garages.

Indianapolis 250cc race cancelled

Terol wins rain-shortened Indy race

Rossi rues poor track conditions

Win worth wait for victorious Orange

Honda officially confirm Hayden's exit

Nicky Hayden and Repsol Honda have officially confirmed they are parting at the end of the 2008 season.

The confirmation has been awaited for some time, but an announcement of Hayden joining Ducati is expected this week.

The move will mean that Hayden will not ride a Honda for the first time in ten seasons after winning two AMA championships and the 2006 MotoGP title with the marque.

Hayden has had a difficult past two seasons adapting to the smaller 800cc RC 212V Honda, but got onto the podium for the first time in 2008 with the bike yesterday at Indianapolis.

The 'Kentucky Kid' said: "Sure, it hasn't just been one big holiday, along the way there's been some tough days but a lot of good days too.

Winning the World Championship was by far the highlight of my career so far, plus I won a couple championships in America with Honda, the Supersport championship, the Superbike title and the Daytona 200. And I won some dirt track with Honda too: I won Springfield short track twice, the Peoria TT, in all four Grand National dirt tracks.

"Winning MotoGP rookie of the year in 2003 was quite an achievement against Bayliss, Edwards and Melandri, that was something I was pretty proud of. And of course my two MotoGP wins at Laguna were awesome experiences. I'd just like to thank everyone, and the best way to thank them is to put up some results these last few races. That's the plan."

HRC president Masumi Hamane said: "We wish to thank Nicky for all he has achieved for Honda both as a rider and a man. Nicky and Honda have shared much success and a few disappointing days but in each case Nicky has always behaved cheerfully and has led the team in a positive way. His warm-hearted character has been much loved by all who have worked with him."

Repsol Honda team manager Kazuhiko Yamano, speaking on behalf of HRC said Hayden had been "an excellent ambassador for Honda, his genuine polite and friendly personality has made him a favourite with racing people, the media and race fans wherever he goes.

"Nicky is a racer, a tough man on track and always a gentleman with whom it has been a pleasure to work. We all wish Nicky good luck and success with his new challenge he will be a fierce rival for our team in 2009."

Hayden confirms split with Honda

Struggles grind on frustrated Quakes

Terol wins rain-shortened Indy race

Nicolas Terol has won the inaugural 125cc Indianapolis Grand Prix, a race shortened by the arrival of rain over the track.

The Jack & Jones Aprilia rider, sixth on the grid, took the lead on lap ten of the originally-scheduled 23-lap race from fellow Spaniard and pole position man Pol Espargaro.

On lap 14, however, the forecast bad weather hit the track, and the rain flag was shown to the riders. With conditions quickly worsening, Espargaro dived ahead of Terol just before the end of lap 17, to make sure he crossed the line first in case the race ended prematurely.

The red flag was indeed shown just seconds later, but the classification that counted was that at the end of lap 16, giving Terol the victory.

The battle for third was really heating up and promising an exciting finish, but alas it wasn't to be. Kiefer Aprilia's Stefan Bradl thus took the last podium place, with Scott Redding (Blusens Aprilia), Simone Cortese (Emmi Aprilia) and Marc Marquez (Repsol KTM) following.

It was a difficult day for the riders at the top of the championship table.

Leader Mike di Meglio (Ajo Derbi) dropped down to tenth when rain hit the track, second-placed Simone Corsi (Jack & Jones Aprilia) finished seventh, and third-placed reigning champion Gabor Talmacsi (Aspar Aprilia) fought against his injury but had to be content with 14th.

Polaris Aprilia's Bradley Smith ended up seventh after a charge through the field, following ending over the grass in turn two of the first lap and crossing the line in 25th.

CLASSIFIED: Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Nicolas Terol Aprilia 29:51.350 2. Pol Espargaro Derbi + 1.708 3. Stefan Bradl Aprilia + 3.984 4. Scott Redding Aprilia + 4.277 5. Sandro Cortese Aprilia + 4.413 6. Marc Marquez KTM + 4.454 7. Simone Corsi Aprilia + 6.261 8. Bradley Smith Aprilia + 7.782 9. Steve Bonsey Aprilia + 12.035 10. Mike Di Meglio Derbi + 12.251 11. D.Agerter Derbi + 15.465 12. Joan Olive Derbi + 18.312 13. Raffaele De Rosa KTM + 20.137 14. Gabor Talmacsi Aprilia + 24.651 15. Daniel Webb Aprilia + 27.592 16. Jules Cluzel Loncin + 35.432 17. Robin Lasser Aprilia + 37.082 18. Sergio Gadea Aprilia + 38.549 19. Tomoyoshi Koyama KTM + 38.571 20. Efren Vazquez Aprilia + 40.991 21. H.van den Berg Aprilia +1:06.197 22. PJ Jacobsen Aprilia +1:06.327 23. Bastien Chesaux Aprilia +1:07.067 24. Jonas Folger KTM +1:14.709 25. Robert Muresan Aprilia +1:20.413 26. Alexis Masbou Loncin +1:21.880 27. Davide Stirpe KTM +1:22.026 28. Cyril Carrillo Honda +1:22.159 29. Kris Turner Aprilia +2:11.524 NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS: Rider Bike Laps Lorenzo Zanetti KTM 12 Marco Ravaioli Aprilia 9 Pablo Nieto KTM 8 Michael Ranseder Aprilia 6 Takaaki Nakagami Aprilia 5 Andrea Iannone Aprilia 4 Esteve Rabat KTM 1 FASTEST LAP: Bradl, 1:50.460 on lap 11

Hoops, Rapids settle on tie

125cc: Talmacsi wins shortened race

Rossi wins first ever Indy MotoGP race

MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi beat crowd favourite Nicky Hayden to win the inaugural, rain-shortened Indianapolis Grand Prix.

The rain that shortened the 125cc race, and forced a rescheduling of the 250cc round, came back with 16 laps of the 28-lap MotoGP race gone, and caused the red flag to be shown on lap 22.

By then Rossi, who had a major moment with his Fiat Yamaha on lap 17 but managed to save it, had already overtaken Hayden's Repsol Honda on lap 14 and kept edging away from him, after the Kentucky rider took the lead at the end of lap two.

Rossi didn't have the best of starts from pole as he dropped to fourth, with title rival Casey Stoner taking the lead immediately with his Ducati Marlboro and followed by Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso.

In the space of a few corners the JiR Honda rider, who started in seventh, overtook both men ahead, but Hayden was soon back on his tail and from the beginning of third lap he was ahead and chased by Rossi.

Rossi and Hayden exchanged fastest laps for ten consecutive laps, while the rest of the field, led by the Italian's teammate Jorge Lorenzo, dropped back. The Spaniard, however, opened up a wide gap over a fighting trio composed of Stoner, Dovizioso, and Rizla Suzuki wild card Ben Spies.

In the end, the top six positions were classified exactly in that order, which was taken at the end of lap 20.

Sylvain Guintoli finished seventh with his Alice Ducati, ahead of Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa, eighth in his racing debut with Bridgestone tyres, Chris Vermeulen's Rizla Suzuki, and Alex de Angelis's Honda Gresini.

Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) 37:20.095 2. Nicky Hayden Honda (M) + 5.972 3. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) + 7.858 4. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) + 28.162 5. Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) + 28.824 6. Ben Spies Suzuki (B) + 29.645 7. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) + 36.223 8. Dani Pedrosa Honda (B) + 37.258 9. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) + 38.442 10. Alex de Angelis Honda (B) + 42.437 11. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) + 47.179 12. Toni Elias Ducati (B) + 55.962 13. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) + 57.366 14. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) + 58.353 15. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) +1:00.613 16. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) +1:05.620 17. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) +1:05.854 18. James Toseland Yamaha (M) +1:07.968 19. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) +1:21.023

MotoGP: Edwards tops Le Mans warm-up

Quakes encouraged by road ahead

Dovizioso tops wet Donington practice

Forecast rain may affect race start time

The forecast of torrential rain storms could affect the starting time of the inaugural Indianapolis MotoGP tomorrow.

All riders and race officials agreed last night, during the Safety Commission meeting, that if conditions were as bad as they were yesterday during the first day of practice, then all races may not even take place.

The storms are forecast to be arriving in the Indianapolis area in the afternoon, around the time of the MotoGP race which is scheduled at 3pm local time.

Should officials see that the worst of the weather will arrive during the third and final race of the day, the MotoGP race, then that race may well be brought forward to try and avoid such downpours.

In the meantime, today has been dry but extremely humid.

Indianapolis 250cc race cancelled

Win worth wait for victorious Orange

Ekpo, Nigeria win silver in Beijing

De Puniet to stay on at LCR

Randy de Puniet is to stay with the LCR Honda team for the 2009 season.

The Frenchman joined the satellite Honda squad from Kawasaki this year, and the team have confirmed that they will take up their 2009 option on him as part of a deal that also confirms their continued customer deal with Honda.

"I think that Randy and Honda have big potential," said team boss Lucio Cecchinello. "Our aim was to continue with Randy and thanks to Honda HRC support we will co-operate together for next season as well. Besides I am happy to say that we have retained all our present team staff for our 2009 project with Randy."

De Puniet has yet to finish higher than sixth for LCR Honda, having often qualified higher only to fall in the races.

But he is confident that he can do better with the team in 2009.

"The 2009 season will be my fourth year in the MotoGP class; Honda is working hard to improve the RCV machine and the LCR team is very professional and they are like a family for me," said de Puniet.

"We have got the potential to make special results and we will do our best to achieve important goals."

SuperClasico stakes higher than ever

Quakes stay fit, rout Honduras

Stoner blames tyre troubles for slump

Casey Stoner said a fading rear tyre prevented him from pushing harder in the Indianapolis Grand Prix.

The reigning world champion grabbed the lead at the start but then lost pace and ultimately finished a distant fourth in the red-flagged and rain-affected race.

"I'm never going to be satisfied with fourth place but it would have been foolish to push harder in those conditions and I made the right decision not to do so," Stoner said.

"I got a good start but I quickly lost confidence because the rear tyre was tearing up quickly and by the time they stopped the race I was struggling to hold my lap times."

Team boss Livio Suppo wasn't sure why Stoner had encountered tyre problems, but was relieved that he brought the bike home fourth despite his issues.

"It was a tough race for Casey but he showed grit and determination to bring home a decent result," Suppo said.

"It may be to do with the power delivery of our engine or the set-up of the bike but the rear tyre went off quicker than expected and Casey couldn't ride on the attack, as we're used to seeing. It's a shame it wasn't a dry race because in the warm-up we saw Casey was in good shape for those conditions."

With Valentino Rossi winning the race, Stoner is now 87 points behind his title rival in the standings with only four rounds remaining.

Hayden boosted by Indy performance

Nicky Hayden says he has been boosted by his performance at the Indianapolis Grand Prix, although the American claims he never doubted his abilities.

Hayden, world champion in 2006, had not climbed onto the podium since the 2007 season following a dismal 2008 campaign with Repsol Honda.

But the American fought for victory in the first Indianapolis race on Sunday, although he eventually had to settle for second place behind Valentino Rossi.

Hayden admitted the result was a big boost for his whole crew.

"It's great for my confidence, but honestly I don't doubt my skills," said Hayden. "I know it's been a tough year, as I said the other day, I came into this race having the worst season I've had in my career, although I don't want anyone feeling sorry for me because I've had it pretty good.

"It seemed like I couldn't do anything right. I was making some mistakes, and some things that went on in the team have just been tough on everybody. My team needed a boost. They deserved it, because my guys have worked really hard."

The 'Kentucky kid' took the lead of the race early on and stayed there until Rossi charged back following a shaky start from pole position.

Hayden finished nearly six seconds behind Rossi after the race was shortened due to the poor weather.

"It was never like I had a big lead, so I knew it wasn't going to be easy," Hayden added. "But it felt great to be up front and I felt comfortable there. I felt like I was in control.

"I knew it was going to be tough. I was a little bit worried that I was too soft on the tyres and might be in trouble. She started to spin a little bit early on, so I knew it wasn't going to be easy.

"The podium's good, but I'm greedy - I've been a world champion and I want to win. When you're leading your home GP and the laps are clicking away, I'm not thinking 'ah, be cool, let's stay on the podium', I'm thinking 'let's go for it...'"

Hayden says he had ‘nothing to lose’

Draw tough to swallow for United

Elias tops final Indianapolis practice

Alice Ducati rider Toni Elias topped the MotoGP times at Indianapolis in the final practice session ahead of this afternoon's qualifying.

With the time already expired in the one-hour session, which started damp but progressively dried, the Spaniard set a time of 1:43.708 to slot ahead of Fiat Yamaha's Valentino Rossi by seven hundredths of a second.

Third and fourth were the two Repsol Hondas, with Nicky Hayden on his usual Michelin tyres beating Dani Pedrosa in his first racing weekend since switching to Bridgestone rubber.

Andrea Dovizioso's JiR Honda was fifth fastest ahead of Alex de Angelis's Honda Gresini, with Rizla Suzuki's American wildcard rider Ben Spies setting the seventh fastest time.

Alice Ducati's Sylvain Guintoli was eighth, with Suzuki's Chris Vermeulen and LCR Honda's Randy de Puniet completing the top ten.

Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo was only 14th best, while reigning champion Casey Stoner could only set the 17th time with his Ducati Marlboro.

Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Toni Elias Ducati (B) 1:43.708 2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) 1:43.780 + 0.072 3. Nicky Hayden Honda (M) 1:43.826 + 0.118 4. Daniel Pedrosa Honda (B) 1:43.893 + 0.185 5. Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) 1:44.171 + 0.463 6. Alex de Angelis Honda (B) 1:44.210 + 0.502 7. Ben Spies Suzuki (B) 1:44.211 + 0.503 8. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) 1:44.459 + 0.751 9. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) 1:44.499 + 0.791 10. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) 1:45.087 + 1.379 11. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) 1:45.147 + 1.439 12. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) 1:45.158 + 1.450 13. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) 1:45.172 + 1.464 14. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) 1:45.318 + 1.610 15. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) 1:45.466 + 1.758 16. James Toseland Yamaha (M) 1:45.579 + 1.871 17. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) 1:45.706 + 1.998 18. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) 1:45.894 + 2.186 19. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) 1:46.945 + 3.237

Barcelona tops Guadalajara in friendly

Dovizioso tops wet Donington practice

Pachuca tops TFC for Carlsberg Cup

Stoner could undergo early surgery

Ducati team boss Livio Suppo has suggested world champion Casey Stoner could miss the end of the season if his wrist injury continues to hinder him.

The Australian aggravated an old wrist injury - suffered in 2003 - during the San Marino Grand Prix weekend and has been in pain while riding since then.

Suppo said Stoner is likely to undergo surgery eventually, and the Italian claimed his rider was in a lot of pain during the Indianapolis Grand Prix last weekend.

With his championship chances now gone, Suppo has not ruled out the possibility of Stoner sitting out some of the remaining four races of the season in order to have surgery and be ready for winter testing.

"Casey keeps quiet because he doesn't want to be labeled a whiner, but I can reveal that, besides the problem with the hand, he had great pains in his shoulder and ribs from Friday's crash," Suppo was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport.

"We got checked by several doctors and the common prognosis is that it's the old fracture from 2003 opening up again. Surgery would require two and a half months of convalescence.

"If the pain remains tolerable, then Stoner will complete the season, otherwise..."

Stoner is 87 points behind championship leader Valentino Rossi, with just 100 available in the remaining races.

Stoner dominates Indy warm-up

Reigning MotoGP champion Casey Stoner has dominated proceedings in the warm-up at Indianapolis.

The Ducati Marlboro rider, who will start today's race from second on the grid, beat Fiat Yamaha's pole position man and title rival Valentino Rossi by over six tenths of a second thanks to a lap of 1:41.553.

Third fastest was Toni Elias with his Alice Ducati, 14 hundredths behind Rossi, and ahead of Shinya Nakano's Honda Gresini.

Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden, who was second behind Stoner until two minutes from the end of the session, ended up fifth fastest and top of the Michelin runners.

JiR Honda's Andrea Dovizioso was sixth, followed by Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo and the two Rizla Suzukis of Chris Vermeulen and Ben Spies. Alex de Angelis completes the top ten with his Honda Gresini.

Dani Pedrosa could do no better than 16th fastest, 1.6 seconds behind Stoner, with his newly Bridgestone-shod Repsol Honda.

This morning's session was held in dry conditions, but rain is expected for the race.

Full results to follow

Rossi glad race was stopped

Race winner Valentino Rossi reckons that red-flagging the Indianapolis MotoGP event eight laps before the end was absolutely the correct decision.

The race was halted on lap 21 as increasing wind and rain made conditions too dangerous to continue.

At first there were suggestions that it would be restarted, causing leader Rossi and title rival Casey Stoner to lobby Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta to get the race result declared, and eventually the officials deemed that the results could be taken from lap 20.

"When I got in the lead I was a tad quicker in certain spots and I tried to push hard, but an incredible wind started, it began to rain a lot and you couldn't see anything anymore, on the straight there were gusts making the bike uncontrollable," Rossi told Italia1 television.

"I didn't raise my arm up because otherwise they would have said 'he raised it up because he's ahead', but every lap I was hoping to see the red flag and in the end I saw it.

"To win here is incredible. Today I've had plenty of different emotions. At one point I honestly thought we wouldn't race, because when the downpour started the track was impossible to use. I think they've been very good because they cleared all the water that was standing on the track.

"With the same conditions elsewhere we wouldn't have raced, but they had these trucks to remove the water. So from there I started finding my focus again and to prepare for the race.

"The problem then was the wind, it was incredible, inconsistent, with gusts. You couldn't go over the front straight, with beer cans, paper cups, plastic bags going over the track. It was a mess, the artificial grass was coming off."

Rossi's Indianapolis win was his fourth straight victory, and puts him 87 points ahead of Stoner in the championship. He can therefore clinch the 2008 title at Motegi in a fortnight.

"Things are very good for the championship, we have a lot of points," he said. "Today we finished in front and then we'll go to Motegi. We'll see.

"I can't remember when was the last time I won four races in a row. I'm extremely happy, I hadn't won a wet race for a very long time.

"I feel in shape, I'm riding well. We are working hard with the entire team, with Yamaha, and Bridgestone. Even though we have some problems, we always try to solve them calmly and we never give up.

"The advantage is 87 points, I need to leave Motegi with 76 ahead, so I can also finish behind Stoner there. In 2005 I could win the championship in Japan but I crashed and brought (Marco) Melandri down with me, so history isn't very positive. So we need to keep focused and try to do a good race there too, and then we'll see."

The Italian dedicated today's win to his grandfather, who passed away this weekend.

"I've just received the news that my grandfather, who was very sick, has died," Rossi said. "It's a shame, because I would have liked to show him whether I could win the title because he cared for it. But he was very sick, these things happen, he was very old. I'm happy to have a victory to dedicate to him."

Quakes encouraged by road ahead

Wheldon steps out of car, onto field

Indianapolis 250cc race cancelled

The Indianapolis round of the 250cc series has been cancelled due to the poor weather conditions at the American track.

The race had already been postponed three hours from its originally scheduled start as a downpour had hit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the 250cc runners lined up on the grid.

The officials had hoped to run the 250cc race after the MotoGP event, but when that had to be red-flagged eight laps from the end due to the worsening wind and rain, the decision was taken to abandon the 250cc round as well.

Championship leader Marco Simoncelli had qualified on pole before the race was cancelled.

Rossi glad race was stopped

Talented Dallas presents challenge for RSL

Wheldon steps out of car, onto field

Rossi delighted with second pole of '08

Valentino Rossi was delighted with scoring his second pole position of the year at Indianapolis today.

The Fiat Yamaha rider, whose previous pole came at his home race at Mugello three months ago, has broken Ducati Marlboro's Casey Stoner stranglehold in qualifying, with the Australian starting first in each of the previous seven Grands Prix.

"Today in the dry I've been going well since this morning," Rossi told Italia1 television.

"The laps on qualifiers were good, especially the last two. I knew I could go quick, and in the last one I pushed hard and I got a great lap time.

"I'm happy to get pole because this year I only scored one at Mugello, so this is my second one."

Rossi is confident he also has good race pace, even though he expect the rest of the field to be close.

"We've worked a bit this afternoon and I have good pace on race tyres too, and that's very important. I go fairly well but we are all quite close. The Michelins have good pace and are very close to us. This will be good for tomorrow's race.

"Naturally this is a new track for all of us, so it's normal we'll probably closer, but I start from pole, so we did a good job."

Espargaro takes Indianapolis pole

Belson Derbi's Pol Espargaro took pole position for the inaugural 125cc Indianapolis Grand Prix.

With five minutes of the 30-minutes session to go, the young Spaniard set a time of 1:50.475 that, despite several efforts from his rivals in the dying seconds, could not be beaten.

Three riders looked able to challenge that time at the end, but all slotted into second before being pushed further down. First it was Degraaf Aprilia's Danny Webb, who ended just over half a second behind Espargaro and will ultimately start fourth on the grid.

Then it was the turn of Stefan Bradl, who four minutes earlier saved himself from dropping his Kiefer Aprilia by stomping his right hand on the asphalt and keeping it going. The German will start from third place.

Finally it was championship leader Mike di Meglio taking second on the grid, 0.369 seconds behind pole position.

Midway through the session, the Frenchman suffered a high-side crash, but neither he nor his Ajo Derbi suffered consequences, and he rejoined the track thanks to a push-start from the marshals.

I.C. Aprila's Andrea Iannone will lead the second row, ahead of the Jack&Jones Aprilias of Nicolas Terol and Simone Corsi, and the Ajo Motorsport of Dominique Aegerter.

In contrast to yesterday's rain, today's qualifying session was held in sunny conditions.

Yesterday's surprise provisional pole position man Lorenzo Zanetti will ultimately start his ISPA KTM from the 28th slot of the grid, after the Italian ended up over three seconds behind Espargaro.

Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Pol Espargaro Derbi 1:50.475 2. Mike Di Meglio Derbi 1:50.844 + 0.369 3. Stefan Bradl Aprilia 1:50.878 + 0.403 4. Daniel Webb Aprilia 1:51.000 + 0.525 5. Andrea Iannone Aprilia 1:51.031 + 0.556 6. Nicolas Terol Aprilia 1:51.179 + 0.704 7. Simone Corsi Aprilia 1:51.211 + 0.736 8. D.Agerter Derbi 1:51.260 + 0.785 9. Scott Redding Aprilia 1:51.274 + 0.799 10. Sandro Cortese Aprilia 1:51.551 + 1.076 11. Bradley Smith Aprilia 1:51.572 + 1.097 12. Joan Olive Derbi 1:51.985 + 1.510 13. Marc Marquez KTM 1:52.069 + 1.594 14. Takaaki Nakagami Aprilia 1:52.076 + 1.601 15. Steve Bonsey Aprilia 1:52.086 + 1.611 16. Gabor Talmacsi Aprilia 1:52.170 + 1.695 17. Raffaele De Rosa KTM 1:52.358 + 1.883 18. Tomoyoshi Koyama KTM 1:52.635 + 2.160 19. Michael Ranseder Aprilia 1:52.759 + 2.284 20. Pablo Nieto KTM 1:53.053 + 2.578 21. Esteve Rabat KTM 1:53.115 + 2.640 22. Robin Lasser Aprilia 1:53.137 + 2.662 23. Sergio Gadea Aprilia 1:53.140 + 2.665 24. Efren Vazquez Aprilia 1:53.155 + 2.680 25. PJ Jacobsen Aprilia 1:53.209 + 2.734 26. Marco Ravaioli Aprilia 1:53.239 + 2.764 27. Alexis Masbou Loncin 1:53.478 + 3.003 28. Lorenzo Zanetti KTM 1:53.683 + 3.208 29. Jonas Folger KTM 1:53.774 + 3.299 30. H.van den Berg Aprilia 1:53.931 + 3.456 31. Jules Cluzel Loncin 1:54.414 + 3.939 32. Robert Muresan Aprilia 1:54.732 + 4.257 33. Davide Stirpe KTM 1:55.279 + 4.804 34. Bastien Chesaux Aprilia 1:55.440 + 4.965 35. Cyril Carrillo Honda 1:55.697 + 5.222 36. Kris Turner Aprilia 1:56.703 + 6.228

Di Meglio wins at Sachsenring

Ianni hopes for exciting summer

Hayden says he had 'nothing to lose'

Nicky Hayden admitted that he threw caution to the wind in his home race at Indianapolis.

The former world champion charged through from fourth on the grid to take the lead early on in the very wet race, and stayed ahead until Valentino Rossi overtook him on lap 15. Factory Honda rider Hayden then resisted a strong challenge from Rossi's Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo to take second place.

"I had nothing to lose here and just had to go for it," said Hayden.

"The bike felt pretty good in the wet when it wasn't heavy water, and I felt confident before the race. Up front, leading early, it's been a long time since I led a race and it felt really good coming out of the last corner and seeing nobody. I was thinking 'man, this is only supposed to happen in the movies', especially being at my home GP."

With the track drying slightly between showers in the middle of the race, Hayden felt he had taken too much out of his wet tyres by the time Rossi caught him.

"Unfortunately Valentino came through and had a little bit more speed than me," said the American. "I made a little run at him, but towards the end, when the track dried out, we used a lot of rubber off the tyre.

"When it rained again, on the edge I'd lost so much tread pattern and it went 'gnarly'. But still I pushed till the end, to the maximum, and I really left nothing on the table. I was riding as hard as I could, taking a few chances and I felt good up front."

The second place was Hayden's best result since he won at Laguna Seca in 2006, and his first podium of a difficult 2008 season, which has seen his relationship with the Repsol Honda team decline, and a foot injury sustained at the X-Games sideline him for two races.

"I really want to thank my team, my family, my fans and everybody for sticking behind me," said Hayden, who had to walk onto the podium with the aid of a stick due to his injured heel. "It's not been a really easy road lately, but that's how it goes."

Hayden is set to leave Honda at the end of the season, and should soon be confirmed as Casey Stoner's new teammate in the works Ducati squad.

Hayden baffled by dismal race