Sunday, April 19, 2009

Qatar MotoGP race to run on Monday

Qatar MotoGP race to run on Monday

The Grand Prix of Qatar has been postponed to a Monday night slot after a Sunday night downpour at Losail forced the opening round of the MotoGP season to be called off.

The race, scheduled to start at 11pm local time, was delayed just as the riders were about to start the formation lap, and got cancelled half an hour later, when the rain intensified.

The riders were concerned that, as well as the track being covered in standing water, visibility would be almost non-existent as the light from the floodlights reflected off the water and spray.

A midnight meeting between the teams and the organisers resulted in the decision to postpone the race to a 9pm local time slot on Monday, following a new warm-up at 6:30pm.

The 125cc event had already been truncated after only four laps, with riders being awarded half points, while the 250cc round was also forced to be shortened to 13 laps to allow the MotoGP race to start on time.

The decision to postpone until Monday evening received a mixed response from riders.

Pole-sitter Casey Stoner is concerned that the weather could intervene again, although current forecasts suggest better conditions tomorrow night.

"This is not a good idea," Stoner told Gazzetta dello Sport. "We have no guarantee it won't rain. Today's downpour has also brought sand over the track, so there's also a safety risk."

But Hayate Kawasaki rider Marco Melandri felt that having travelled to Qatar and gone through practice and qualifying it made more sense to race on Monday than to reschedule for later in the season, amid suggestions that Losail should take the September slot left vacant by the Hungarian GP's cancellation.

"For sure I would like to race tomorrow and go on holiday in September," Melandri told the official MotoGP website.

"We are here, we've been testing for days, and we are ready. It's going to be hard to change all the plans but I don't want to go back home - I want to race, because I've had a smell of the race and then had to come back into the garage."

Iannone wins truncated Qatar race

The opening 125cc race of the 2009 season was red flagged after a downpour hit the Losail track in the Qatar desert, with Andrea Iannone winning the shortened race.

The grand prix, scheduled to run for 18 laps, saw the first spots of rain hitting the floodlit circuit on the third lap, with the red flag shown just two laps later, after the riders had completed only four laps.

But thanks to article 1.23.3 of the sporting regulations, which states that half points can be awarded if it is impossible to restart the race and if more than three laps have been completed, the organisers were able to consider the race finished.

After four laps Aprilia Ongetta rider Iannone was leading Aspar Aprilia's Julian Simon by less than two tenths thanks to a fine start by the Italian from third on the grid, and a bad start by the Spaniard.

Simon dropped to sixth at the first corner after starting from pole, but in the end can consider himself lucky to finish second because he crashed right after taking the red flag.

Ajo Derbi's Sandro Cortese took the third, his maiden podium, despite being already over five seconds behind the leaders, also thanks to a massive high-side by KTM's Marc Marquez while running third on the fourth and last lap. Pol Espargaro's works Derbi followed in fourth.

Simon's team-mate Bradley Smith was also left disappointed by finishing fifth after starting from second on the grid, while Aprilia Ongetta's 15-year-old rider Jonas Folger ended up sixth, his career-best result, after starting 10th.

Nicolas Terol (Jack & Jones Aprilia), Stefan Bradl (Kiefer Aprilia), Danny Webb (Degraaf Aprilia) and Esteve Rabat (Blusens Aprilia) completed the top ten.

Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Andrea Iannone Aprilia 8m37.245s 2. Julian Simon Aprilia + 0.180s 3. Sandro Cortese Derbi + 5.211s 4. Pol Espargaro Derbi + 5.769s 5. Bradley Smith Aprilia + 6.650s 6. Jonas Folger Aprilia + 6.701s 7. Nicolas Terol Aprilia + 6.771s 8. Stefan Bradl Aprilia + 7.592s 9. Daniel Webb Aprilia + 8.169s 10. Esteve Rabat Aprilia + 8.678s 11. Dominique Aegerter Derbi + 12.232s 12. Sergio Gadea Aprilia + 12.237s 13. Scott Redding Aprilia + 12.360s 14. Simone Corsi Aprilia + 13.754s 15. Johann Zarco Aprilia + 13.783s 16. Cameron Beaubier KTM + 13.893s 17. Efren Vazquez Derbi + 14.170s 18. Joan Olive Derbi + 14.452s 19. Lorenzo Zanetti Aprilia + 15.310s 20. Takaaki Nakagami Aprilia + 16.415s 21. Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia + 18.602s 22. Randy Krummenacher Aprilia + 19.355s 23. Jasper Iwema Honda + 28.034s 24. Luca Marconi Aprilia + 28.114s 25. Lukas Sembera Aprilia + 28.199s 26. Alexis Masbou Loncin + 28.272s 27. Tomoyoshi Koyama Loncin + 28.544s 28. Luca Vitali Aprilia + 53.927s Retirements:Rider Bike Laps Marc Marquez KTM 3 Michael Ranseder Haojue 3 Matthew Hoyle Haojue 0

Ezpeleta: Monday race the right call

Ezpeleta: Monday race the right call

MotoGP boss Carmelo Ezpeleta says it was the right decision to delay the opening MotoGP round of the season until Monday night, following the race's cancellation due to torrential rain on Sunday.

The 125cc race earlier on Sunday evening had to be red-flagged after just four laps because of a heavy downpour, the 250cc race was delayed and then shortened, and another storm hit the Losail circuit just as the MotoGP field was preparing to start the formation lap last night.

Ezpeleta, who is the head of MotoGP organiser Dorna, described the weather as "extraordinary" and says the majority of teams agreed to accept the Qatar sporting authority's invitation to run the race on Monday.

"The QMMF offered us the choice to run the race tomorrow, and as it was a very important decision we wanted to consult with all the team managers," said Ezpeleta.

"The postponement was accepted by a large majority. This has been an extraordinary decision in extraordinary circumstances."

The teams' backing was given to the postponement proposal in a midnight meeting at the Losail circuit. Yamaha Racing manager director Lin Jarvis said the Monday evening timeslot would be an inconvenience, but was better than cancelling the race outright.

"Obviously we're disappointed not to race tonight under normal circumstances, but due to this totally bizarre situation of such incredibly heavy rain in the desert, we can't," he said.

"It's a great pity for all the fans at home and those here. After considerable internal discussion with Masahiko Nakajima, Davide Brivio, Daniele Romagnoli and of course Valentino and Jorge, Yamaha's decision was to fully support the proposal to race tomorrow."

Dani Pedrosa was one of the riders who stood to benefit from a cancellation, as it would have given him a further fortnight before Motegi for his injured wrist and knee to fully heal. But the Honda rider agreed that having already travelled to Qatar it was better to ensure a race took place.

"At first we thought the race was going to be called off completely and I can't say that this would have been bad for me personally because my condition is not 100 per cent," he said.

"But we came to Qatar to race so we'll come back and go for the maximum result tomorrow."

MotoGP had already agreed that it would not attempt to run a night race in wet conditions due to the glare from the floodlights reflecting off the surface water and spray. The downpour did not relent for over two hours anyway, leaving the circuit saturated into the early hours of the morning.

Doha normally receives just eight days of rain per year, but so far three of the six days of MotoGP running at the track this year have been hit by adverse weather.

Rain interrupted the opening day of last month's test, and another shower delayed 250cc qualifying on Saturday night, before the repeated downpours yesterday that affected all three races.

Claude Denis, president of the FIM road racing commission, said there had never been any question of attempting to run the event in the rain.

"For safety reasons it was not possible to race in the night due to the reflection of the lights on the track," he said. "This decision had already been taken a few years ago when we first decided to run a night race in Qatar.

"On behalf of the FIM I am very happy that we could postpone the race until tomorrow. It is important for the championship, especially at the first race, and I would like to thank Dorna, QMMF, IRTA and the MotoGP teams for helping reach this decision together."

Capirossi apologises to crew after crash

Capirossi apologises to crew after crash

Loris Capirossi apologised to his Suzuki team after crashing out of fifth place early in the Qatar Grand Prix.

The Italian had grabbed second place at the start, but soon fell back and then slid out on lap eight.

He said the bike had lost a lot of performance as the track conditions changed following Sunday night's storms.

"I feel really sorry for the whole team, because all winter we have worked so hard and have gone quite well so this was hard to take," said Capirossi.

"It was really strange today because our practice has been good, but in this evening's warm-up I had a big problem with chatter, this hadn't happened all weekend and then during the race it was the same.

"The front tyre didn't work like normal either, I had done 25 to 30 laps on the same tyre with no problems and the feeling had always been good, but today after just five laps it felt like it was destroyed.

"This race is over now and we have to concentrate on the next one and find out why the things that happened today occurred."

Team boss Paul Denning was determined to get to the bottom of Suzuki's race night slump.

"Without doubt it was the right thing for MotoGP to stay on and race here at Qatar tonight, but unfortunately for Rizla Suzuki our bike worked quite differently than it had done all weekend for both riders," he said.

"We suffered from a serious lack of front grip and some bad vibration which restricted both the guys. Clearly some of our competitors were far less affected by the different conditions and the team - and factory - will be working very hard to understand the difference in performance between tonight and the rest of the weekend."

Chris Vermeulen gave Suzuki some consolation by taking seventh on the team's other bike, despite also falling off the pace.

"The track conditions were a bit different to what it had been all weekend and it was very different to the test which was how I had the bike set-up, and to be honest I really struggled for front-end feeling," he said.

"Towards the end of the race the rear tyre performance dropped off as well so that's something we've really got to work on.

"It was not the result we wanted because we were hoping to be in the top-five. We have got quite a bit of work to do to catch up to the podium so we need to put our thinking caps on and go to Motegi and have a better performance."

Rossi closes on Stoner in the warm-up

Rossi closes on Stoner in the warm-up

Casey Stoner has continued his perfect score in Qatar by also topping the warm-up, after leading every MotoGP session so far this weekend.

The Ducati Marlboro rider, winner of the last two editions of the race at Losail, did not show the kind of dominance displayed in previous sessions however, with Fiat Yamaha's Valentino Rossi just 62 thousandths of a second behind the time of 1m56.697s set by the Australian.

The rest of the field, however, saw much bigger gaps to the top two, who will start the race from the top two spots on the grid.

Andrea Dovizioso, with his Repsol Honda, managed to set the third fastest time ahead of the Yamahas of Jorge Lorenzo with the factory entry and Colin Edwards on the Tech 3-backed satellite bike, but this trio was around seven tenths behind Stoner.

Honda Gresini's Alex de Angelis and Rizla Suzuki's Chris Vermeulen were around one second behind, followed by Randy de Puniet's LCR Honda and Marco Melandri's Hayate Kawasaki, with James Toseland's Tech 3 Yamaha completing the top ten.

Nicky Hayden, who is evaluating whether to take part in the race after a big shunt in qualifying yesterday, was 16th fastest with his Ducati Marlboro.

Pos Rider Bike Time Gap 1. Casey Stoner Ducati 1m56.697s 2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m56.759s + 0.062s 3. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m57.379s + 0.682s 4. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m57.399s + 0.702s 5. Colin Edwards Yamaha 1m57.449s + 0.752s 6. Alex de Angelis Honda 1m57.658s + 0.961s 7. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m57.700s + 1.003s 8. Randy de Puniet Honda 1m57.874s + 1.177s 9. Marco Melandri Kawasaki 1m58.097s + 1.400s 10. James Toseland Yamaha 1m58.344s + 1.647s 11. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1m58.361s + 1.664s 12. Toni Elaas Honda 1m58.556s + 1.859s 13. Sete Gibernau Ducati 1m58.878s + 2.181s 14. Daniel Pedrosa Honda 1m58.902s + 2.205s 15. Mika Kallio Ducati 1m59.129s + 2.432s 16. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m59.398s + 2.701s 17. Yuki Takahashi Honda 1m59.679s + 2.982s 18. Niccolo Canepa Ducati 1m59.912s + 3.215s

Rossi expected second position

Rossi expected second position

Valentino Rossi said that he is exactly where he and the Yamaha team expected to be after qualifying second on the grid for the Qatar Grand Prix.

The defending world champion, who is aiming for a record-equalling seventh premier class title this year, was marginally under half a second slower in qualifying than polesitter Casey Stoner.

"Second is exactly what we expected, so we have reached our objective," Rossi told Italia1 TV. "We are very close to Stoner, but a bit slower in some spots, so we have to understand how to fix that, tonight, or tomorrow.

"Starting second is fundamentally important, because the tests we had here were pretty bad, and we have made a big improvement on that this weekend, and even an improvement from this afternoon to tonight, so I'm quite happy with that."

Rossi said that the new-for-2009 reduced qualifying length of 45 minutes was challenging, but probably played into the hands of his Yamaha team.

"In my opinion the new qualifying is not bad," the 71-times race-winner added. "The 45-minute session is tough because you need to do things quickly, but we can manage to go very quick, so it's okay."

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Rossi calls for end to night racing

Rossi calls for end to night racing

Valentino Rossi believes MotoGP should stick to daylight races after rain in Qatar forced the season-opener to be cancelled.

A massive downpour hit the Losail track just before the scheduled start and the night conditions meant that visibility would have been minimal as the light from the floodlights around the track reflected off the surface water and spray.

Rain had earlier caused the abandonment of the 125cc race after four laps. The riders in the junior category reported that even in light rain it had been impossible to see anything.

Rossi said tonight's situation should be a lesson to other race organisers considering running events at night.

"First of all, since they want to race at night at Sepang too, this maybe will make them throw away that unhealthy idea," the world champion told Italia1 television.

"In my opinion we must race during the day. If we raced at two in the afternoon it would have been better."

Although rain is statistically extremely rare in Doha, both last month's test and this weekend's races have been hit by poor weather.

"Rain here is very strange," said Rossi. "However, when you want to race at night there is this risk.

"It's a shame because after six months with no racing, and after all the winter's work, the testing, trying to sort out everything, we are really left in a strange situation."

Discussions are continuing over whether the race can be held on Monday instead, with an early evening timeslot under consideration. Rossi hopes that a solution can be found.

"If this race is cancelled and with Hungary cancelled there will be only 16 races left," he said. "We want to race, but what can you do?"



  • Rossi wants less races, more track time
  • Rossi happy after ‘tough’ race
  • Weather leaves Series fit to be tied
  • Stoner also tops final practice in Qatar

    Casey Stoner carried on with his fine form in Qatar by also leading MotoGP's second and final free practice session.

    The Ducati Marlboro rider shot to the top of the times after eight minutes of the 45-minute session and stayed there throughout, setting lap times up to seven tenths of a second better than the competition.

    Stoner's final time of 1:56.310 was set with eleven minutes to go. Despite edging closer and closer, there was nothing reigning world champion Valentino Rossi could do to beat the Australian's time, who in the end was just shy of one tenth of a second ahead of the Fiat Yamaha rider in second spot.

    While first and second spot didn't look to be challenged by anyone else, third spot was hard fought towards the end of the running. Tech 3 Yamaha's Colin Edwards looked set to end up third for most of the session, until his time was bettered in the closing stages by several other riders.

    Loris Capirossi thus ended third quickest with his Rizla Suzuki, 0.288 behind Stoner, with Rossi's teammate Jorge Lorenzo fourth and Marco Melandri in an impressive fifth with the Hayate Kawasaki.

    Andrea Dovizioso took his works Repsol-backed Honda to sixth spot, beating Chris Vermeulen's Suzuki in seventh and Edwards in eighth.

    LCR Honda's Randy de Puniet was ninth quickest, with James Toseland's Tech 3 Yamaha rounding up the top ten.

    Injured Dani Pedrosa improved slightly in this second session by ending up 14th with his Repsol Honda, just ahead of former teammate Nicky Hayden, whose works Ducati finished the session almost three seconds behind Stoner's after his GP9 suffered mechanical gremlins that made him lose time.

    Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Casey Stoner Ducati 1:56.310 2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1:56.406 + 0.096 3. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1:56.598 + 0.288 4. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1:56.649 + 0.339 5. Marco Melandri Kawasaki 1:57.135 + 0.825 6. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1:57.290 + 0.980 7. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1:57.576 + 1.266 8. Colin Edwards Yamaha 1:57.714 + 1.404 9. Randy de Puniet Honda 1:57.971 + 1.661 10. James Toseland Yamaha 1:58.125 + 1.815 11. Alex de Angelis Honda 1:58.152 + 1.842 12. Daniel Pedrosa Honda 1:58.349 + 2.039 13. Mika Kallio Ducati 1:58.361 + 2.051 14. Toni Elias Honda 1:58.618 + 2.308 15. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1:59.226 + 2.916 16. Yuki Takahashi Honda 1:59.340 + 3.030 17. Niccolo Canepa Ducati 1:59.564 + 3.254 18. Sete Gibernau Ducati 2:00.256 + 3.946

  • Stoner fastest on day two at Sepang
  • Burrell tweaks back during practice
  • MotoGP: Rossi blistering in opening practice
  • Lincecum nabs MLB 2K9 cover
  • Kallio satisfied with top ten start

    Kallio satisfied with top ten start

    Mika Kallio and the Pramac Ducati team were satisfied with 10th on the grid for the Finn's MotoGP debut in Qatar, despite having been higher up the order in practice.

    The 250cc graduate has impressed greatly in recent weeks - taking sixth place in the qualifying simulation test at Jerez, then going seventh-quickest in Friday practice at Losail.

    Kallio said he was quite happy to have broken into the top ten already and did not mind failing to match his practice performance.

    "Friday was a bit better with seventh position, but if I would have known before coming here that I would have been in the top ten in my first qualifying session I would have put my signature for it," he said.

    The team's technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini confessed to slight disappointment at the result, but hopes Kallio can stay with the lead pack in the race.

    "I'm satisfied even if in this world everyone always wants more," said Sterlacchini.

    "With only a few tenth of a second we could have been one row in front. Anyway everything is going well and to have conquered the top ten in his first qualifying session as a MotoGP rider is not so bad. It will be interesting to see how we will do in the race, we will have to start well to remain with the fastest riders."

    Kallio believes his bike is not yet a match for the frontrunners.

    "Of course it is only the beginning and we have to work to improve," he said. "At the moment there aren't any big problems. When I was riding with other riders I noticed that I didn't have the same grip coming out of the corners. We will have to improve this and things will be easier for us."



  • Qatar MotoGP race called off
  • Crew’s run comes to an end in Game 4
  • Phils advance to first NLCS since ‘93
  • Kallio expects to maintain form in race
  • Burrell tweaks back during practice
  • Qatar MotoGP race called off

    Qatar MotoGP race called off

    The MotoGP season opener in Qatar has been called off due to a downpour at the Losail circuit.

    The organisers have announced that re-running the race on Monday is "under consideration", but no decision has yet been made. The teams are currently being consulted on possible solutions.

    Rain started falling as the riders prepared to leave the grid for the formation lap, and the precipitation then rapidly increased, leaving the circuit awash.

    With the riders adamant that it was unsafe to race on the floodlit circuit in the rain because of the reflection from the artificial lights on the wet surface, there was no choice but to abandon the event for tonight when conditions failed to improve.

    After a meeting of the team managers in race control, the decision not to try and race tonight was taken just after 23:30 local time, half an hour after the scheduled start.

    Earlier the 125cc race had been red flagged after just four laps due to a rain shower.

    If the Losail race is not held tomorrow, the 2009 MotoGP season will instead commence with the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi in a fortnight.

    A further meeting between the organisers and team managers will take place at midnight local time to decide whether the race will take place on Monday.



  • Best ‘pen will write ending to Game 5
  • Ezpeleta: Monday race the right call
  • Simoncelli pulls out of first round

    Simoncelli pulls out of first round

    Reigning 250cc champion Marco Simoncelli has pulled out of the opening race of his title defence due to continued discomfort from an injury.

    The Italian damaged the scaphoid in his left wrist in a motorcross accident last week. A screw was inserted into the bone on Tuesday, but he still hoped he would be able to participate in this weekend's race.

    However after struggling for speed in the two practice sessions, Simoncelli admitted that he was in too much pain to compete.

    "I tried to get some laps in but I'm not confident enough to race," he said.

    "I was able to do a couple of fast laps but my hand quickly got sore and I can't ride as I'd like. Now I'd prefer to not get back on track and race, because of the risk for the rest of the season."

    He is confident that he will be ready to race again in round two at Motegi.

    "With an extra few days of rest I should be fit for the Japanese GP," Simoncelli said.

    During his title-winning 2008 season, Simoncelli failed to score in the first two races but still came through to beat Alvaro Bautista to the championship.



  • Rays closing in on playoff roster
  • 250cc: Simoncelli planning SBK outing
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  • Simoncelli takes dominant pole
  • Hayden delays race decision

    Hayden delays race decision

    Nicky Hayden's participation in the MotoGP season opener at Losail remains in doubt after the American required a further set of x-rays on the injuries sustained in his qualifying crash.

    The former world champion's dreadful first race weekend with Ducati took an even worse turn when he had a vicious high-side on the entry to Turn 8 at the end of qualifying, landing heavily on his back and sliding into the gravel.

    The initial report from the Clinica Mobile declared that he was okay and could take part in the race, but he was subsequently sent to a local hospital for more x-rays.

    Hayden remains in a great deal of back pain and has also required stitches to close a chest wound.

    "I don't feel like going for a jog right now, I can tell you that much," he joked.

    "It was a big crash and I'm in a lot of pain so we're going to get some more x-rays done and see what the score is."

    Hayden had already suffered two mechanical failures earlier in the weekend and will start on the back row in 16th place if he is able to race.

    His team-mate Casey Stoner, who took pole position, was relieved that Hayden escaped more serious injury.

    "The whole team are keeping our fingers crossed for Nicky," said Stoner. "Hopefully he can ride tomorrow but the most important thing is that he's okay."



  • Hayden frustrated to miss pole
  • Rays closing in on playoff roster
  • With ALDS set, Rays ready for White Sox
  • Monday, April 13, 2009

    Rossi pleased to close on Stoner

    Rossi pleased to close on Stoner

    Valentino Rossi believes he has significantly narrowed the gap to Casey Stoner at Losail after today's free practice session.

    Stoner has won in Qatar for the past two seasons, was quickest by a substantial margin in the winter test at the 3.3-mile track, and was over a second clear of the field at one stage in practice today.

    But Rossi was satisfied after getting within 0.4 seconds of Stoner's time by the end of the night.

    "This evening I am quite happy because at the test we were one second from Casey but now the gap is much less," he said.

    "We had some ideas after the test to improve our pace and I am happy to say that they all seemed to have worked. I am fast, I have a good pace and I am happy with this opening session.

    "We can still improve; the track was quite dirty tonight so I think that tomorrow we will be able to push a bit harder. It's much warmer than at the test and this is helping us too, I am more confident and I can ride my M1 how I want to."

    Jorge Lorenzo was fourth on the second factory Yamaha, and expects to be much closer to the front tomorrow.

    "We had a few problems, mainly in the hard braking areas where I didn't have such a great feeling with the front tyre, but apart from that it's been okay," he said.

    The track was quite dirty so it was difficult to go at 100 per cent, and I think tomorrow it will be much better. At the end today we made a big improvement and my last lap was much better, so I am not worried and I think tomorrow, with more time on track, we can improve."



  • Burrell tweaks back during practice
  • Chance to advance spoiled for Rays
  • Stoner happy with dry set-up
  • Suzuki promises more speed to come

    Suzuki promises more speed to come

    The Suzuki team is convinced it is in better shape than its times in Friday practice at Losail suggest.

    The squad had flown during winter testing, but Loris Capirossi was sixth and 1.4 seconds slower than pace-setter Casey Stoner tonight.

    He felt that Suzuki had gone the wrong way on set-up and ran out of time to try alternatives now that practice has been cut back to just 45 minutes on Fridays.

    "For the first practice it was not too bad, but we did struggle a bit with the setting," said Capirossi. "In the recent test it was not perfect so we tried a new one and this didn't work as well so we will use some stuff from that and go back to the old one.

    "We have a good idea what we need to modify tomorrow and I am sure we will be stronger. 45 minutes seems a really short time and it is difficult to get a lot of work done, also with the limited amount of tyres - especially on such a dirty track - made it quite tough.

    "Overall we are quite pleased and we will have quite an easy way to improve tomorrow."

    Capirossi's team-mate Chris Vermeulen was only 14th quickest, having struggled with his tyres.

    "It was not really the start to the weekend that we wanted," he said. "We have a limit on tyres and didn't really want to use any of the hard front tyres that we will be using for racing.

    "We tried to make the softer one work and we were going not too bad in the beginning of session, but at the end I kept the front tyre in and there was a lot of movement in the front of the bike and struggled to keep corner speed up.

    "It was a bit frustrating that we couldn't go as fast as we have been round here, but I still have all my hard front tyres left and hopefully the speed will come back when we put that in."

    Team boss Paul Denning is expectin Suzuki to be much closer to the leaders by qualifying.

    "We didn't achieve what we wanted to this evening in terms of the result, but we are fully aware that the favoured front tyre for both riders wasn't used, so that we could keep enough for tomorrow and race day," said Denning. "I am sure with the data the guys have collected tonight - and the favoured tyres - we'll be a lot closer to the sharp end tomorrow."



  • Suzuki hopeful of good race performance
  • Capirossi thrilled with Suzuki effort
  • Vermeulen delighted by Suzuki’s effort
  • Burrell tweaks back during practice
  • Toseland says he is now fully fit

    Toseland says he is now fully fit

    James Toseland declared himself fully recovered from his winter accidents after completing 18 laps in today's MotoGP practice session at Losail.

    The Tech 3 Yamaha rider suffered two massive crashes during the winter, including a violent high-side at Jerez only a fortnight ago that left him with foot injuries and concession.

    But Toseland said he felt no ill effects from the accidents in today's practice session.

    "I'm pleased with tonight because it has been a tough winter but I was in the ballpark right from the start," he said. "I'm 11th but on the lap times I'm really close to the top six and that is really encouraging.

    "The team did a great job with the base setting because I've not had much time on the bike, and their understanding of what I need has been fantastic.

    "I felt comfortable on the bike and that was important for me. My right foot is a little bit sore after the crash in Jerez but it is not proving a big problem on the bike at all. I'm delighted with my recovery because for a while I couldn't even put any weight on my right foot.

    "But if we had a race tomorrow then I'd be going for a top six position and that's where I want to be coming off the winter."

    Toseland's team-mate Edwards made a superb start to his 2009 season by taking third in Friday practice, a second quicker than the Briton had managed.

    "I'm pretty happy to have started close to the front because it is always important to try and hit the ground running," said Edwards.



  • Culture shock just what Rays needed
  • Toseland says he’s getting over crash
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  • Toseland expected to be fit for Qatar
  • Burrell tweaks back during practice
  • Hayden unhappy with practice problems

    Hayden unhappy with practice problems

    Nicky Hayden is counting on a good run in tomorrow's final practice session to rescue his Losail weekend after a poor Friday session in Qatar.

    The former world champion was only 13th quickest in his first official session for Ducati, 2.1 seconds slower than his dominant team-mate Casey Stoner, having been forced to use his spare bike.

    "Today wasn't a great day," Hayden admitted. "To start with I had a problem with a sensor on my first bike and I had to come back after just three laps of my first run and change to my second bike.

    "The set-up wasn't the same and the clutch wasn't quite right. The 45 minutes flew by and we weren't able to get back on the pace we set here in the test."

    He admitted that he would have to use both Saturday morning practice and qualifying to fine-tune his Ducati, but is optimistic that he can still be in the thick of the fight for the top five places.

    "Obviously I'm going to need both sessions tomorrow to work something out and get on the pace," said Hayden.

    "Casey and Valentino (Rossi) are already looking really quick but we're not too far off the group behind them. Hopefully with the right changes to the bike tomorrow we can get amongst them."

    Stoner had a much more serene time on the lead Ducati, controlling the session throughout.

    "We've made a good start today and I'm happy because the bike feeling was really good straight away," he said. "The settings we brought from Jerez seem to be working well here too.

    "We still need to change a couple of things to get more grip from the rear. A lot of that is due to the track conditions being really dusty but we just need to take our time and try to get it set up better for tomorrow."



  • Unhappy Hayden sure he will improve
  • Chance to advance spoiled for Rays
  • Burrell tweaks back during practice
  • Rough start sinks Moyer, Phils in LA
  • Rossi urges against more practice cuts

    Rossi urges against more practice cuts

    Valentino Rossi has urged the MotoGP rulemakers not to reduce practice time any further in 2010.

    As part of the championship's cost-cutting measures, Friday morning practice has been cancelled for 2009 and all other practice sessions and qualifying reduced to 45 minutes.

    Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta has already hinted that Friday running could be canned altogether next season, but Rossi said this year's compressed schedule would already make it hard for riders to finalise race set-ups.

    "Now we have to wait until 10.30pm tomorrow to go onto the track and we have just the 45 minutes of free practice," he said. "We have a lot less work for the tyres, but we have to concentrate and try to be quick to set up the bike because the time is less.

    "Now they're speaking a lot about 2010, but we have to wait a little bit to understand the economic situation for next year. I think now is the minimum amount of free practice. I hope for 2010 it doesn't change or get cut."

    Rossi's Yamaha team boss Davide Brivio has already suggested that the previous levels of practice time should be restored as soon as the world economy recovers.

    The reigning champion is in favour of the other major changes for 2009, such as the move to a single tyre supplier and the introduction of long-life engines from mid-summer.

    "The engine rule is more a technical matter," said Rossi. "We hope to have an engine with more life but more or less the same performance.

    "For sure last year, especially in the first part of the season, there were a lot of different results between Bridgestone and Michelin. Now everybody is on the same tyres and maybe the situation will be clearer and I hope it will provide more excitement for everybody."

    He hopes the rule changes will improve MotoGP's spectacle, as Rossi is among those who believe the racing has suffered since the reduction in engine size at the start of 2007.

    "It's an important season," he said. "I think we lost a lot of the show when we switched from 990cc to 800cc bikes and in the last year the races have been different compared with the old bikes."

    But he said his personal motivation remained intact as he prepared for his 14th season at world championship level.

    "My excitement at the first race is the same as in 1996," said Rossi. "When this feeling changes, it's time to stay at home."



  • Best ‘pen will write ending to Game 5
  • Rossi: Practice cuts will hamper rookies
  • Burrell tweaks back during practice
  • Gibernau and Rossi willing to end feud

    Gibernau and Rossi willing to end feud

    Sete Gibernau and Valentino Rossi agreed to put their bitter feud behind them as the Spaniard began his return to MotoGP in Qatar.

    The two riders fell out in 2004 and have not spoken since, but appeared alongside each other in the pre-event press conference at Losail today and shook hands in front of the gathered media.

    Two seasons after announcing his retirement from MotoGP, Gibernau is making a comeback this season with the new Francisco Hernando Ducati team. He said he was taking a new approach to his second attempt at MotoGP and now regarded racing Rossi as an 'honour'.

    "I enjoyed the races that I won and also the races where Valentino beat me, because he's still winning and everyone says he is maybe the best rider ever, and I've been able to fight with him and that's a big honour for me," said Gibernau.

    "I don't know if I'll be able to fight with Valentino or the other guys again because I've been stopped for two years but basically I've come back to enjoy it again.

    "I hope I can enjoy time on the racetrack and outside the racetrack with Valentino. We've enjoyed time in the past then things happened and we didn't enjoy so much...

    "But at the end of the day the reason I've come back is to keep feeling happy. I'm happy to be here, I'm proud to be here with all these guys and I just want to try and enjoy it."

    Rossi said he was also open to improving their relationship. When asked if he could envisage being 'friends' with Gibernau again, he replied: "Yes, I think it's possible."

    The pair's enmity originated from the 2004 Qatar race, when Rossi was sent to the back of the grid following a protest from Gibernau and his Gresini Honda team over grid position cleaning. Rossi crashed out of the grand prix, but recovered to beat Gibernau to the title, and famously declared that his rival would never win another race - a prediction that has proved true so far.

    Gibernau insisted that he had no expectations for his return to MotoGP and just wanted to enjoy being part of the championship again.

    "I'm happy and proud to be here," he said. "I want to thank everyone, including all the riders, because they've all received me in a very nice way and my effort is paying off. I just want to enjoy every part of it.

    "My best years of my life have been in MotoGP, inside of racing and outside of racing. I'm very proud of what I did in the past. I think I had very great races with Valentino.

    "I don't know if I can fight with (Andrea) Dovi(zioso), or Casey (Stoner), or Chris (Vermeulen). To be here, sitting down with them, is already great. I thought I would never do this again so I'm happy to be here and if I'm not (racing) with those guys I'll still try to do my best."

    But Rossi does not believe Gibernau will be satisfied if he is off the pace.

    "Sete was already very fast at Jerez," said the champion. "Now he's trying to be calm and quiet, but he's here to try to win and to finish on the podium like all the other guys."

    Gibernau said his only target for this weekend's Losail race was to reach the finish as he continued to recover from shoulder surgery over the winter.

    "It's better," he said. "In Jerez I could do five or six laps and then in the last left-hand corner I couldn't push too hard. Luckily enough, here there is more right braking than in Jerez. I'll just try to do the whole race and that will be perfect."



  • Yamaha backs Rossi’s Superbike plan
  • Gibernau ‘not back to win races’
  • MLB Network signs Vasgersian
  • Rossi wants less races, more track time
  • Friday, April 10, 2009

    Stoner predicts wide open 2009

    Stoner predicts wide open 2009

    Casey Stoner thinks his and Valentino Rossi's recent domination of MotoGP could be ended in 2009, with the 2007 champion predicting a much more open contest this season.

    Rossi and Stoner have monopolised the race wins while battling for the title in the past two years, winning 29 out of 36 grands prix between them.

    But Stoner does not think they will retain that advantage over the pack this season. He has been impressed by Suzuki's strong testing form and also expects improved performances from Jorge Lorenzo, Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden - and possibly a challenge from Dani Pedrosa if he can rapidly recover from his winter injuries.

    "This year you never know what's going to happen," said Stoner at Losail today.

    "We've seen Chris (Vermeulen) and Loris (Capirossi) being very competitive on the Suzuki. Jorge's been very competitive. We haven't seen Dani's potential because of his injury. Andrea now has a factory bike and there's my new team-mate too."

    Stoner was fastest in most of the pre-season tests, but thinks winter form will prove irrelevant.

    "I don't think anybody has really showed what they can do," he said. "We know that when the race starts all the crap stops, so we'll just have to see what everyone's made of."

    He also reiterated that the wrist problem that blighted the second half of his 2008 season and the initial winter tests was now resolved.

    "No worries about my wrist," Stoner insisted. "Everything's been getting a lot better recently. I still haven't got the movement that I want in it, but it doesn't seem to be causing too many problems and the pain has gone away in the last two tests.

    "After the first night of the Qatar test we were able to ride pretty much at 100 per cent. Since then it's given me no grief and I'm pretty sure we'll be able to just concentrate and try to get this championship underway at a reasonable level so we can try not to have to play catch-up."



  • Pedrosa: ‘Stoner was better than me’
  • Evans busts out for Indios
  • Rossi expects to match Stoner in race
  • Stoner salutes ‘fantastic’ finish
  • Agent: Junior open to Seattle reunion
  • Vermeulen delighted by Suzuki's effort

    Chris Vermeulen says he has been highly encouraged by the effort Suzuki has put into its MotoGP programme over the winter despite the financial slowdown.

    After Kawasaki announced its withdrawal in January there was speculation that Suzuki could follow suit. The Japanese manufacturer swiftly denied the stories, although rumours of budget cuts continued through the winter, and has flown in testing since introducing its 2009 updates.

    "Suzuki have done a lot of work in the off-season and we're very excited to see that," said Vermeulen.

    "The economic situation is the same for all the manufacturers, but Suzuki have done a great job. They've worked really hard and we've had a lot of new development parts on all sorts of areas on the bike.

    "It's not the perfect machine, it's never going to be, but things are going in the right direction."

    The Australian now hopes that Suzuki can convert its strong winter form into race results.

    "It's getting faster, it's easier to use the tyres, it's easier on the tyres and we're moving a little bit closer to the front and becoming more competitive," Vermeulen said.

    "That's what we've been looking at doing so we're going to see what we're really like now. Hopefully we can still be at the pointy end when the races start."



  • Suzuki pair hope for step forward at test
  • Rock icons to play Citizens Bank Park
  • Evans busts out for Indios
  • Suzuki rev up for final test of 2008
  • Dovizioso: Tyre change harmed Honda

    Dovizioso: Tyre change harmed Honda

    Andrea Dovizioso believes the change from Michelin to Bridgestone tyres is the main reason that Honda lost ground over the winter.

    Honda was unable to match Ducati, Yamaha and Suzuki during the pre-season tests and has played down its expectations for this weekend's season-opening Qatar Grand Prix.

    Although Dovizioso's team-mate Dani Pedrosa switched to Bridgestones for the final four races of 2008, the Italian believes Honda was still at a costly experience deficit to most of its rivals when the now mandatory Bridgestone control tyres were introduced in testing.

    "When we changed the tyre it was so difficult," said Dovizioso. "We didn't have enough data to work on that. The new rules cut some days off the tests, so we arrive not in the perfect situation.

    "The feeling with the Bridgestones is really good, we just need to improve the settings for the tyre and also I need to learn a little bit how I need to ride with the tyre and especially the bike."

    He hopes that he can take a step forward at Losail as he has already tested at the track - and having beaten Valentino Rossi to fourth on his MotoGP debut there a year ago.

    "Last year the first race for me in MotoGP was very nice," said Dovizioso.

    "I like this track and we did a test here so we have some data with my new bike and my new team. We arrive here not at 100 per cent or in a perfect situation, but we are still working to improve our situation."



  • Riders welcome single tyre rule
  • Gillick’s method produced success
  • Alvarez showcases talent for Bucs
  • Elias expects tough start to season

    Elias expects tough start to season

    Toni Elias has admitted that he is expecting a tough start to the 2009 MotoGP season having not yet got fully up to speed on the latest Honda.

    The Spaniard has returned to Honda's leading satellite team Gresini this year after a fraught 2008 on the Alice Ducati and will receive factory-specification machinery this year.

    But the works Repsol Honda team has struggled to get its 2009 bike on the frontrunners' pace, with Elias encountering similar problems.

    He is optimistic that Honda will recover the lost ground, but with practice dramatically reduced this season, he is uncertain about his prospects in this weekend's Qatar season opener.

    "We have struggled a little more than we expected in testing but we know where the problems lie and it is good to be going back to a circuit where we already have lots of data," said Elias.

    "Ideally I'd like to be starting the season in better shape but the truth is we have work to do in a short space of time when we get out to Qatar and we'll be pushing hard in every aspect to approach the race in the best possible way. Losail is one of my favourite circuits and I've started on the front row there twice before - both times with this team.

    "I remember in particular three years ago we were three seconds off the pace on the first day and still managed to qualify on the front row. That just shows how quickly things can change in racing so we'll go there with optimism, fight hard and see what happens."



  • Dovizioso: Honda will have tough start
  • Gresini fired up after strong test
  • Missed chances haunt Rays
  • Elias glad to be back ‘home’ with Gresini
  • Phils advance to first NLCS since ‘93
  • Stoner eyes touring cars after bikes

    Stoner eyes touring cars after bikes

    Former MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner is considering a switch to touring cars when his career in motorcycle racing has finished.

    The Australian, who won the world title for Ducati in 2007, hasn't planned a timeframe on his two-wheeled career but revealed his desire to sample touring cars in his home country.

    "I'll quit bikes when I stop enjoying myself, I haven't set any objectives," Stoner told Gazzetta dello Sport. "Doohan's five titles? Should I get as many, I'll think about it.

    "When I retire, maybe I will race touring cars in Australia, where the 1000-kilometre races are very enjoyable. I want to better understand the driving style, the tyre behaviour and the set-up.

    "I've never tried out a real racing car and I'll think about it in the near future."



  • Phillies’ win honors Manuel, mother
  • Stoner salutes ‘fantastic’ finish
  • Meet Koufax, the band
  • Stoner ’shocked’ by Kawasaki exit
  • Stoner to start training in two weeks
  • Stoner plays down injury fears

    Stoner plays down injury fears

    Casey Stoner has played down suggestions that his wrist injury could prevent him from being able to complete this weekend's MotoGP season opener in Qatar.

    The Australian aggravated an old injury in falls at Brno and Misano last season, and underwent surgery to repair the damage in October.

    He was quickest in pre-season testing at Jerez and Losail but did not complete any long runs, raising suspicions that he would not be fully fit for a race. Stoner admits that the wrist has not completely recovered, but does not expect it to be a problem during the race weekend.

    "It's not 100 per cent, but the pain is almost zero now," Stoner told Gazzetta dello Sport. "We've understood the solution and there won't be any problem. But to heal it'll need nine months in total, which is absurd for such a small operation."

    When asked about the suggestions that he wouldn't be able to complete a full race distance, Stoner said: "Ok, they can say what they want. In Qatar, if I do five or six laps like I did in testing I can gain a six-second advantage over everyone else. It's a good gap to manage, but I don't think I'll need it."



  • Shields takes pride in long outings
  • Rays closing in on playoff roster
  • Stoner optimistic on injury progress
  • Tuesday, April 7, 2009

    Pedrosa confirms he will race in Qatar

    Pedrosa confirms he will race in Qatar

    Dani Pedrosa will ride at this weekend's Qatar MotoGP race after weeks of doubt over his injured left knee and wrist.

    The Honda rider re-injured the knee in a crash while testing at the Qatar circuit on March 2nd and hasn't ridden a bike since, thus missing out on the MotoGP Official test at Jerez ten days ago.

    His wrist and knee were originally hurt when he crashed out of the lead of the German GP last July.

    Repsol Honda says that Pedrosa is determined to take part in the race on Sunday, being "cautiously confident that he will have sufficient flexibility and strength in his left leg to compete in Sunday's 22-lap race."

    "First, I've got to say I'm really happy to be going to Qatar for this race," said the Spaniard. "It's clearly been quite a difficult winter for me and not the preparation for the season that we would have chosen.

    "But my recovery from the surgery in March has been good - probably a little better than we expected - and that means I have the chance to make the first race, which is great.

    "Obviously I haven't been able to do the usual level of physical training while I've been injured, and we've missed out on some testing time, so we have some catching up to do.

    "But I know my team hasn't been standing still while I've been away and I'm really looking forward to getting back on the bike and riding for the maximum result possible for my situation."

    Pedrosa finished third in the race last year, the first ever grand prix held under floodlights.



  • Rays closing in on playoff roster
  • Pedrosa hopes to be fit by Qatar
  • Pedrosa to undergo further surgery
  • Pedrosa says recovery on course
  • 250cc: Injured Simoncelli could miss Qatar

    250cc: Injured Simoncelli could miss Qatar

    Current 250cc world champion Marco Simoncelli could be forced to miss the season opener in Qatar after being injured in a crash.

    The Italian broke his right scaphoid after he crashed his motocross bike while training in Italy.

    "It was mid-afternoon: I went a bit wide and hit a bump, the rear wheel lost grip and I was thrown upwards before landing on my right hand," Simoncelli told Gazzetta dello Sport.

    "I immediately realized I hurt myself. We immediately went to the hospital, but the first two X-rays didn't show anything. I thought it was impossible, and indeed a new view highlighted a mildly-displaced crack in the scaphoid."

    The Gilera rider said he will travel to Qatar this weekend, but he is unsure if he will be able to race.

    "Inside my head there is a will to race in Qatar, and that's my objective," he said. "Last year I didn't score any points there but went on to win the title, however I want to try not to miss the race.

    "Obviously if that means putting in danger the future and maybe having trouble for three months, then I won't take those risks. But I'll be in Qatar, to try to race."

    MotoGP doctor Claudio Costa also cast doubt about Simoncelli's presence in Qatar.

    "The fracture is important and the scaphoid is a delicate area, because that bone often suffers vascular problems," he said. "Nowadays there is the possibility of having less traumatic treatments than the traditional surgery: he will probably get a screw inserted without the need of opening the wrist.

    "Many riders in the past raced with a broken scaphoid, with or without surgery. Marco's fracture is important, however, because of the race being so close time-wise."



  • Pedrosa confirms he will race in Qatar
  • Simoncelli takes dominant pole
  • 250cc: Simoncelli planning SBK outing
  • Weather leaves Series fit to be tied
  • Agent: Junior open to Seattle reunion
  • Rays closing in on playoff roster
  • Monday, April 6, 2009

    Rossi not writing off Qatar chances

    Rossi not writing off Qatar chances

    Yamaha reckons it can still challenge for victory in Qatar this weekend despite Casey Stoner dominating the pre-season test at the Losail circuit.

    Stoner was a second ahead of the field by the end of the floodlit tests and has won at the track for the past two years, while Valentino Rossi could only finish fifth in last season's opener.

    But Rossi thinks Yamaha will be much faster in qualifying and the race than it was in testing.

    "Qatar isn't one of our strongest tracks but we still have a few cards to play and I hope that a little more work will see us improve for the first race," he said.

    "Tests really mean nothing once you get to racing, the situation is totally different and really we have little idea what will happen until we get there, it's very exciting.

    "I'm feeling confident, we're in good shape even if we're going to what was our worst track during testing, but I am happy about the performance of my M1 in general; Yamaha have done a great job and so this makes me happy."

    Team manager Davide Brivio agreed that Yamaha has not yet shown its hand at Losail.

    "Valentino has been strong during testing and we're not worried about Qatar," he said. "We still have some things to try and we're confident we will be fast enough to challenge there."



  • The story of ‘Boo’ for a new generation
  • Yamaha call off Rossi’s WSBK plan
  • Rossi expects to match Stoner in race
  • Qatar weather frustrates Yamaha duo
  • With ALDS set, Rays ready for White Sox
  • Suzuki aims for Qatar podium

    Suzuki aims for Qatar podium

    The Suzuki riders are confident that they can fight for the podium from the outset when the MotoGP season kicks off at Losail this weekend.

    After a low-key 2008 campaign, Suzuki has been consistently in the top five in testing since introducing its new bike, leaving veteran rider Loris Capirossi extremely upbeat.

    "It was pleasing to finish the test schedule with a good result at Jerez and it shows how far the bike has come on in the winter," he said.

    "But now we have to be focused on racing, because we have to keep improving and try to get the best position we can. We want to be on the podium and winning races and I believe that is where we can be.

    "Qatar has been a tough track for Suzuki in the past, but the test there earlier this year was quite good and hopefully we can get the season off to a strong start."

    His team-mate Chris Vermeulen agreed that Qatar would be an important event for Suzuki given the team's lack of success there in previous years, and thinks a top five would be a good result at this stage.

    "Qatar has been a track that we have struggled at in the past, but the new GSV-R seems to be working very well there this year and both Loris and I were well on the pace in the test," he said.

    "Hopefully we can stay in the top-five at Qatar, because that is certainly what we are aiming for and if we can it will get the season off to a strong start and give us something to build on throughout the year."



  • Suzuki unveils its 2009 MotoGP livery
  • Zambrano Game 2’s central figure
  • Gibernau forced to miss Qatar test
  • Shields takes pride in long outings
  • Best-of-seven series a better test
  • Suzuki riders expect more progress
  • Hayden rues 'disastrous' session

    Hayden rues disastrous session

    Nicky Hayden described his qualifying test at Jerez as a 'disaster' after only managing 11th place in a session his Ducati team-mate Casey Stoner dominated.

    The American has been struggling to get up to speed on the Ducati GP8 all winter, and lost more ground in today's BMW Award shoot-out.

    "This morning we made some small improvements and I was able to go a bit quicker but the qualifying session was a bit of a disaster," Hayden admitted.

    "We were making some changes beforehand but ran out of time to get the bike ready and I lost some time at the beginning of the session.

    "Then when I went out we had a clutch problem and I had to change to my second bike, which I've hardly ridden this weekend, and it had a different setting."

    None of Stoner's Ducati team-mates have been able to get close to his pace on the Italian bikes in the last two years. Loris Capirossi eventually managed to rediscover race-winning form after a poor start to 2007, while last year's Ducati rider Marco Melandri languished at the back all season.

    The team hoped that Hayden's famously aggressive style would prove more suited to the Desmosedici, but so far he has also trailed Stoner by a significant margin. The former champion conceded that he had hoped to be on his team-mate's pace by now.

    "Casey has shown the package is good and to be honest I'd hoped to be closer to him by this stage but it's time to go racing now so we'll go out to Qatar, work hard and see what happens," said Hayden.



  • Hayden delighted after maiden Ducati test
  • Phils take 2-0 NLCS lead over Dodgers
  • Stoner fastest in morning practice
  • Ducati impressed with Hayden
  • Capirossi plans to reach 300 starts

    Capirossi plans to reach 300 starts

    Loris Capirossi says he will definitely reach 300 grand prix starts even if he has to return for a wild card one-off after retiring.

    The veteran Italian is in the final year of his Suzuki contract, and should his career come to a halt at the end of this season he would have done 299 races in the top three motorcycling classes.

    Capirossi fully intends to continue with Suzuki beyond 2009, but he said he already had a plan in place to reach 300 starts whatever happened.

    "Should I retire, I would in any case do a race as a wild card next year," he was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport.

    "We have already agreed to that with Suzuki. I'd do a bit of testing for them during the winter, also to keep myself in shape, and then I'd enter a race, perhaps at Motegi in order to reach this milestone.

    "It would be nice to have a sponsor-free livery but just with number 300 on it."

    He emphasised that if Suzuki kept up its excellent winter testing form in the races, he intended to stay on full-time beyond 2009.

    "If things go the way they seem to, with a really competitive bike and me carrying on enjoying myself, then it's 90 per cent certain I'll race in 2010 too," said Capirossi.



  • Suzuki pair hope for step forward at test
  • Capirossi looking ahead to 2009
  • Zambrano Game 2’s central figure
  • Sunday, April 5, 2009

    Rossi: Practice cuts will hamper rookies

    Rossi: Practice cuts will hamper rookies

    Valentino Rossi says the reduction in track time and testing time for all the grand prix classes will give an advantage to the most experienced riders and leave rookies struggling.

    With Friday morning free practice cut from the weekend schedules and other sessions trimmed, plus no post grand prix testing at most tracks, Rossi intimated that it will be harder for riders new to the class to have an impact such as Jorge Lorenzo did last year. The Spaniard started his MotoGP career with a string of poles and won his third race on a top-class bike.

    "When the young riders arrive into MotoGP they need a lot of kilometres to understand the bike and arrive at the limit," said Rossi.

    "For the young guns who arrive in the future, it will be harder than in the past. I remember when I started with the 500cc in 2000 in the winter of 1999 to 2000 I did a lot of kilometres, and (the same) during the season and now it's disappeared so for the younger riders it becomes more difficult and maybe the experience that already everybody has becomes more important."

    Rossi had significant time testing the first four stroke MotoGP bike at Suzuka during August 2001, well ahead of the new MotoGP class that commenced in April 2002.



  • Alvarez showcases talent for Bucs
  • Practice reduced as MotoGP cuts costs
  • Burrell tweaks back during practice
  • Stoner amazed by Jerez performance

    Stoner amazed by Jerez performance

    Casey Stoner admitted that he had not expected his dominant performance in today's qualifying simulation at Jerez - a track he has traditionally struggled on.

    The former world champion enjoyed a 0.7-second margin over his rivals, having been fastest throughout the shoot-out and the preceding morning practice session.

    Since graduating to MotoGP in 2006, Stoner has never qualified or finished higher than fifth at Jerez, despite his incredible record at other tracks over the past two seasons.

    "I really don't know where it came from - on this track I've never so much as taken a podium, or even started on the front row (here)," said Stoner.

    "It's really been a bogey track for both myself and my Ducati bike. The last two years have been difficult (at Jerez).

    "But today we found a good setting this morning and we came out for this qualifying and didn't really expect much. I thought everyone else was going to up the ante - and they did, they got the lap times down, but I never expected to be able to do the times that I did when I needed to pull it out."

    Stoner won a new BMW road car as his prize for topping the 'GP Zero' qualifying session, which has become the traditional curtain-raiser to the MotoGP season. This year's championship commences at Losail on 12 April.



  • Rossi: Stoner has qualifying edge
  • Music video highlights: NLCS Game 4
  • Stoner happy with dry set-up
  • Music video highlights: WS Game 4
  • Capirossi urges team to keep pushing

    Capirossi urges team to keep pushing

    Loris Capirossi believes his third place in today's qualifying test at Jerez accurately reflects Suzuki's potential for the 2009 MotoGP season - and has urged his team to keep pushing to close the gap to the leaders.

    The veteran Italian has been amongst the front-runners throughout winter testing, and was beaten by only last year's title rivals Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi in today's test shoot-out.

    "I think this has been a very positive day, especially this morning because we found a good setting that made the bike very comfortable for me to ride fast," said Capirossi.

    "Today's third-place was in a 45-minute session, but the good thing is that this was like a qualifying session that we will have in the season and everybody had the same tyre so we have got to be pleased with that."

    He reckons he is in much better shape than when starting his first Suzuki season last year, in which he took just one podium finish.

    "I worked hard with the whole team and tested many things and I now have a really good feeling - I can say that it is a 100 per cent improvement from last year," Capirossi said. "In every test we have been competitive and this is very important for us."

    But he said the team's work had only just begun, as he is determined to fight with Stoner and Rossi later in the season.

    "The position today is good but we have to continue to work as hard as we have done this year," Capirossi said. "The factory has done a really great job in the winter, but we have to continue because our potential is good, but not at the top and we need to be at the top.

    "This is only the beginning really because we need to go well in a race and we don't care a lot about today's result as it will be when the racing starts that it matters."



  • Alvarez showcases talent for Bucs
  • Capirossi looking ahead to 2009
  • Capirossi plans to reach 300 starts
  • Best-of-seven series a better test
  • Ezpeleta not expecting further pull-outs

    Ezpeleta not expecting further pull-outs

    Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta is adamant that none of the MotoGP teams are in danger of not completing the 2009 championship despite the current global financial situation.

    The winter saw the factory Kawasaki team announcing a shock withdrawal from the sport and the satellite Pramac Ducati team losing Alice as its title sponsor after just one year.

    When asked by AUTOSPORT if he was concerned about the situation, Ezpeleta replied: "No. If you can understand we are in close contact with the teams every day.

    "We are helping the teams as much as we can and we consider they are comfortable right now but in any case we must continue talking.

    "For us this is the main crucial thing, not just for this year but for the future. We need to have that in order to go to 20 bikes (next year) and to make the leasing of the bikes cheaper and these are the things we are working on right now."

    Many teams' budgets for the 2009 season were secured in April and May last year before the financial crisis hit, but Ezpeleta is sure that the new FIM cost-cutting rules published over the weekend will ensure that 2010 budgets are approved by the manufacturers.

    "For me this is a forecast, but we are right now making the necessary measures to make 2010 more comfortable than 2009," he said.

    Under the new regulations spare bikes are banned, each rider can only use six engines for the 2010 season, testing and practice time has been reduced, and restrictions on the use of exotic material have been introduced.



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  • Ezpeleta: Rookies rule set for 2010
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  • Brivio hopes MotoGP cuts are temporary

    Brivio hopes MotoGP cuts are temporary

    Yamaha team manager Davide Brivio hopes that some of the cost-cutting changes being implemented in MotoGP can be reversed when the recession is over.

    Practice and testing time has been reduced for 2009, with more dramatic technical alterations set to be announced for future seasons.

    While Formula 1's budget-reducing plans are intended to be long-term measures, Brivio wants MotoGP to return to its previous format - particularly regarding track time - when the worldwide economy recovers.

    "Some of the changes we've had to make from a sporting point of view are a little bit sad, because we've cancelled all the testing, we'll do less practice during the race weekends, and we're not happy about this," he said.

    "But hopefully it will just be for these couple of years, 2009 and 2010. We have to continue to do the best possible for our sport.

    "It's an emergency situation, but with prototype bikes we need time to improve and develop."

    Brivio does not think the reduction in mileage will have any effect on the MotoGP show.

    "I think probably when the races start the spectators will not feel these difficulties," he said.

    "I hope that the riders will continue to provide a show, but I also hope that things get back to normal as soon as possible."

    While being frustrated by the cut-backs, Brivio acknowledged that the FIM and Dorna had to do whatever it took to maintain a full field at present.

    "This situation with the economy at the moment is quite critical," he said. "It's forced everybody to reflect and to think about how to cope with this.

    "We are changing many things because at the moment the priority for everyone is to remain in the game. The target for all the manufacturers and all the teams is to remain here in MotoGP, so we are forced to reduce the costs because sponsors are coming in less.

    "But this is normal in every business and every company in this difficult situation."



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  • Stoner dominates qualifying test

    Stoner dominates qualifying test

    Casey Stoner dominated the MotoGP qualifying test at Jerez, beating perennial rival Valentino Rossi by 0.7 seconds just before rain halted the event.

    The Ducati rider won a new BMW road car for his performance in this traditional curtain-raiser to the new season.

    The session was marred by a massive accident for James Toseland, who landed heavily after a high-side at Turn 4. The red flag came out for five minutes while he received medical assistance, but initial reports from the circuit suggest he has escaped serious injury.

    Just as he had in this morning's practice session, Stoner threw in a blistering early time - lapping in 1m39.176s with his first attempt

    That put him a second in front, before Rossi started narrowing the gap, getting down to 0.6s behind by the middle of the session.

    The action was then paused after Toseland crashed with 16 minutes to go. The Tech 3 Yamaha rider had just been getting back up to speed this weekend after recovering from his enormous Sepang testing accident. He lost control through the fast Turn 4 and landed heavily before tumbling through the gravel trap.

    The clouds moved in during the pause, and when the green flag flew there was an immediate rush to set quick times.

    Rossi improved to a 1m39.3s, only for Stoner to raise the bar even further with a staggering 1m38.646s lap.

    With the rain arriving a few minutes later, Stoner was confirmed as the winner of the BMW Award.

    Loris Capirossi continued Suzuki's excellent form by beating Saturday pace-setter Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) to third, while his team-mate Chris Vermeulen took a strong fifth place.

    The star of the session was rookie Mika Kallio, who was as high as fourth on his Pramac Ducati and managed to hang on to sixth by the end of the session, despite a high-speed trip through the gravel.

    Andrea Dovizioso was only seventh as the factory Honda team's troubles continued, while returnee Sete Gibernau took an encouraging eighth for the new Francisco Hernando Ducati team.

    Gresini Honda's Toni Elias and Tech 3 Yamaha's Colin Edwards completed the top ten, with Nicky Hayden only 11th on the factory Ducati after a trip off the road.

    Testing now continues for a further two hours and 45 minutes - the final chance to get mileage prior to the Qatar season-opener.

    Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Casey Stoner Ducati 1:38.646 2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1:39.365 + 0.719 3. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1:39.757 + 1.111 4. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1:39.829 + 1.183 5. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1:39.848 + 1.202 6. Mika Kallio Ducati 1:40.149 + 1.503 7. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1:40.168 + 1.522 8. Sete Gibernau Ducati 1:40.228 + 1.582 9. Toni Elias Honda 1:40.266 + 1.620 10. Colin Edwards Yamaha 1:40.305 + 1.659 11. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1:40.401 + 1.755 12. Marco Melandri Kawasaki 1:40.405 + 1.759 13. Randy de Puniet Honda 1:40.646 + 2.000 14. Yuki Takahashi Honda 1:40.814 + 2.168 15. Alex de Angelis Honda 1:40.869 + 2.223 16. James Toseland Yamaha 1:41.425 + 2.779 17. Vittoriano Guareschi Ducati 1:41.485 + 2.839 18. Niccolo Canepa Ducati 1:41.551 + 2.905 19. Kosuke Akiyoshi Honda 1:42.206 + 3.560

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  • Thursday, April 2, 2009

    Kallio expects to maintain form in race

    Kallio expects to maintain form in race

    Pramac Ducati team boss Paolo Campinoti reckons Mika Kallio's strong run in the Jerez qualifying simulation proves his squad can join the front-runners this year.

    The Finnish 250cc graduate was as high as fourth early in today's televised session, and ended up an impressive sixth.

    The team was heavily reorganised in the middle of last year, with the departure of long-time team manager Luis D'Antin, and Campinoti believes the outfit is now significantly stronger.

    "What to say? It seems like we have started the season well," he said. "We have renovated our structure and things are turning in the right direction for us. We are really satisfied.

    "After the results of this test it seems like we will be able to be amongst the protagonists during this season."

    Kallio is also confident of maintaining his strong form in the races.

    "Together with my technical director, Fabiano Sterlacchini, we have put together all the positive things we found and we had an almost perfect bike," he said.

    "I still lose too much time in the last sector otherwise we could have finished in an even better position. We are doing great work and I believe we can keep up the good work also in the first race in Qatar."

    But while Kallio was delighted, his team-mate Niccolo Canepa continued to struggle for pace and was only 18th, 1.4 seconds slower.

    "Niccolo has found too many difficulties," said Campinoti. "He has to stay calm, we know his true value and we will do everything possible to put him in the best situation to perform at his best."

    Former factory Ducati test rider Canepa vowed not to become downcast about his poor winter form.

    "I hope in Qatar things will go better," he said. "I can guarantee I will keep my morale high and never give up."



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  • Stoner quickest in Valencia test
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  • Ducati says Stoner's wrist getting better

    Ducati says Stoners wrist getting better

    Ducati team manager Livio Suppo says that Casey Stoner's wrist injury is much better now, but could have been worse were it not for his off-season operations.

    The 2007 world champion re-injured his wrist after crashing out of the lead at Brno and Misano last year, tipping the previously injured wrist to 'open up' and stretch out the staple that was holding a bone together since 2003.

    Stoner had surgery on Thursday 30th October last year and has not done long runs at any of the three 2009 test sessions in Sepang, Qatar and Jerez.

    Suppo brushed off acknowledging how bad it was, but admitted Stoner's wrist might never be the same again.

    "As far as we haven't got the races we can't say (how it really is), but he's more happy than the first test in Sepang that was difficult for him," said Suppo.

    "In Qatar it was already much better and in Jerez it was better again. It's been a big surgery. Kind of three surgeries in one. One was the bone, one was to clean everything around the bone. It's not easy. It takes time to come back.

    "Maybe he won't ever be like before. It's like Mick Doohan's leg was never like it was before, but he could still ride and still win five championships. So I'm not saying it's not impossible for Casey to move again his wrist like before, but sure it can be that he has to live with it.

    "Surgery is always something that could stop something that was going to be worse. His wrist was really bad."

    Stoner himself said over the weekend that he is restricted with not so much up and down movement, but left to right movement with his left hand.



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  • Stoner undergoes wrist surgery
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