Motogp 2011

[Kwasaki]

Going to be interesting again Marco next to Jorge front row, with Casey.

Any of the 8 top riders starting from the first three rows for podium but I think my monies on Jorge, Casey second & Marco if he stays on.

Nice to see Colin up there again, he said he was happy with the new parts coming through talking to the BBC girl, she asked him about all the troubles going on and you seem to keep out of it, his answer was full of bleep, bleeps.

Got to see the download from Assen, from all the angles I have to say Marco was out of order but it's racing and unfortunately Jorge was the victim.

Well done for Ben he did prove he could put some pace on and keep his lead.

Vale and Nicky up there. and Nicky getting the same bike as Vale in Italy.

Edited July 2, 2011 by Kwasaki

[soihok]

Just watched the timed practice session.

Just two things to comment on.

1) It was raining and I understand that some of the riders / teams had no interest in going out to better their times.

This leads me to my second comment

2) Why the hell didn't all riders go out for at least two laps to wave at the fans?

Good to see Ducati headed by Rossi made the first move, but it is his home as well as Ducati's.

Ben Spies waving at the camera sitting in his pit made me really angry.

Loads of people have made a great effort to be there for this session and some of these riders / teams couldn't be bothered one bit.

Shocking

[Kwasaki]

I thought the last practice was done with, wrong again, all change

Yes, the feeling about it being the last of 800's this year is rubbing off I think.

Kawasaki Suzuki with one bike couldn't be bothered

[soihok]

Race direction should have oredered all riders out for a few sighting laps.

Really

[Atmos]

from www.autosport.com; note there's a video on same page as this article showing bikes in qualifying.

Valentino Rossi admitted he had hoped Mugello would bring an upturn

Valentino Rossi admitted after qualifying 12th at Mugello that he had hoped Ducati's problems would be less apparent at its home track.

With Rossi a seven-time winner at the circuit in MotoGP and Ducati having tested its 2012 bike - an 800cc version of which Rossi is now using - at the track, there had been optimism that this weekend would see an upturn in Ducati's fortunes.

Rossi felt that had qualifying not been spoiled by rain, he would have been able to improve his position - but not by enough to be content.

"I think that with normal qualifying we can be a bit further up, like this morning around seventh or eighth place. But anyway, that's not enough," he said.

"I always have the same problems - I don't feel the front tyre very much, so I'm slow to enter the corner and that's the place where I lose a lot of time.

"We hoped at Mugello we could stay closer to the top, but at the end the gap is the same as at the other tracks. So it will be hard."

[Atmos]

and some reading from the same site; I can't see the two combining - too much money at stake in both series; be about as likely as F1 and the Indy Cars combining.

Maybe add in road racing as well and make Isle of Man a compulsory, triple-points scoring event, see how the pretty boys like that one!!

Why it's time to combine MotoGP and WSBK

JUNE 15TH 2011

As more race calendars collide, as they did last weekend, Toby Moody asks whether it's time to consider whether motorsport is overloading its fans. And where does motorcycle racing fall within all this? Is it finally time to combine the sport's two world championships?

Last weekend was a bumper weekend of motorsport. MotoGP at Silverstone, Formula 1 at Montreal, World Superbikes at Misano and Le Mans 24 Hours meant fans didn't get off the sofa for both days. Petrol heaven for some but overkill for others, and that includes motorcycling as a whole.

more

Edited July 3, 2011 by Atmos

[Bluetongue]

Well Dorna is one of the bidders for WBSK or Infront whatever, it is for sale apparently.

No Jerry Burgess for Vale this weekend, so another point scoring exercise for him I feel. Effective dry time was cut short in QP so Stoner who usually has a fast early time kept pole but it will be closer at the front than the times indicate. Simple really needs to not worry about winning the race in the first half or first lap even, just keep cool. So far he has been unable to do so. He has a lot of experience but is coming across as very immature, disappointing.

I agree that the fans would have been disappointed by the unofficial cessation of serious efforts in Qualifying due to rain, I cant understand why if it might rain during the race you wouldn't do a few laps even as sighters. Although no-one wants to fall off, particularly Pedrosa for instance, injured and who has never been much for pushing in wet practice. I suppose the team managers woudl feel that the times set cant be bettered therefore whats the point but if the fans are there, they should give them something.

Costs of travel backwards and forwards to the States twice, well the circus uses about 3 jumbo jets for freight plus thousands of seats, I'm not sure how the expenses are broken up and the lower classes dont go to Laguna Seca so in the grand scheme it may not be that much of an issue. Usually the far eastern legs are consecutive, but I know Dorna keep pushing to have Phillip Island early in the season, to try and get better weather, I wish them luck with that one. the Superbikes are on there in February March and I can recall a few occasions when seagulls have been swimming across the track.

Anyway hard to go past Stoner today, but Lorenzo could be the man, Spies in there

[Atmos]

In Moto 2, Thailand's 'Feem' Ratthapark Wilairot must be on thin ice with his sponsors after another crash on the weekend; that's five races in a row without scoring a point.

ahem . . . make that six in a row

Don't know what - accident or breakdown? but another DNF today at Mugello

He qualified 34th

[Atmos]

Mugello result

1 25 Jorge LORENZO SPA

2 20 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA

3 16 Casey STONER AUS

4 13 Ben SPIES USA

5 11 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA

Points after Mugello, Stoner's 3rd has closed the pack a little

1 Casey STONER Honda AUS 152

2 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha SPA 133

3 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Honda ITA 119

4 Valentino ROSSI Ducati ITA 91

5 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati USA 77

6 Ben SPIES Yamaha USA 74

7 Dani PEDROSA Honda SPA 69

8 Hiroshi AOYAMA HondaJ PN 56

9 Colin EDWARDS Yamaha USA 53

10 Marco SIMONCELLI Honda ITA 50

Edited July 3, 2011 by Atmos

[Atmos]

Just watched replay, EuroSport only showed the second race

Close racing, and 34 starters - does make for more interesting watching than M GP lately

Sizzling Snetterton dishes up a British Superbikes treat

Sunday, July 3, 2011

John Hopkins leads the pack in the second British Superbikes race at Snetterton.

A record crowd, sizzling temperatures, scorching racing – Snetterton marked round six of the British Superbikes Championship in style.

More than 43,000 spectators crammed into the Norfolk circuit during the weekend, the first headline event for its new Snetterton 300 format. And the racing did not disappoint, with two thrilling superbike (BSB) contests that went all the way down to final-lap tangles.

American title challenger John 'Hopper' Hopkins marked Independence Day early with arguably the best of things, taking a sweet race-one victory on his Crescent Racing Suzuki from Tommy Hill's Swan Yamaha – just as Hill looked set for his third win in three races.

Hopper then seemed a certainty for top step in race two – only for his battle with championship leader Shane 'Shakey' Byrne to ultimately push the pair into mistakes.

Hopkins forced Byrne off the track before losing traction and places, letting in defending champion and Byrne's HM Plant Honda team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari for the win.

British Superbikes (round six, Snetterton)

Race One: 1 John HOPKINS (USA, Samsung Crescent Racing), 2 Tommy HILL (GBR, Swan Yamaha), 3 Shane BYRNE (GBR, HM Plant Honda).

Race Two: 1 Ryuichi KIYONARI (JPN, HM Plant Honda), 2 Josh BROOKES (AUS, Relentless Suzuki), 3 John HOPKINS.

Current standings: 1 Shane BYRNE (Honda) 201 points, 16 podium credits; 2 John HOPKINS (Suzuki) 182, 15; 3 Tommy HILL (Yamaha) 140, 13; 4 Ryuichi KIYONARI (Honda) 120, 8; 5 Michael LAVERTY (Yamaha) 119, 4; 6 Josh BROOKES (Suzuki) 91, 2.

"Nobody was giving any room out there but it was good close racing that the fans want to see"

John Hopkins

Edited July 4, 2011 by Atmos

[Bluetongue]

Yes I think they mentioned FEEM carrying a hand injury, we didn't see him crash only retire hurt. A crash in morning warmup I think. Anyway he brings in sponsor dollars from PTT and other Thai companies, and Honda is pretty big in Thailand, manufacturing wise so he may just hang on, especially if he gets a few results towards the end when everyone is riding for next year. Marquez might still be able to challenge Bradl but statistically unlikely

I suppose Stoner's moaning last night got up a few noses on here, even I cringed a bit. Blamed it on the tyre pressures which Bridgestone recommended, not taking into account the heat. It would be interesting to know if Lorenzo and Dovisioso altered theirs, as they clearly had his measure at the end.

Anyway off to Sachsenring now this weekend.

[Lickey]

Atmos, great report from Snetterton or Snotterton as the club racers now call it,, it was my home circuit, 25ks up the road from my house, never raced, spectator or a marshall, 1966 went with some friends to see Hailwood on the 297 6cyl Honda, i cant forget the noise that bike made, its on Youtube,,,

Wasnt it good to see Yourgay and Dovi going past Moaner, it really pleased me, Rossi,s place wasnt that bad, apparantly he had the 1000cc engine, but cut down to 800 for the race, so i really dont think Duke is to worried about this years results, even though Rossi is 4th in the standings.

Simple, well, he got shown the way again, perhaps its time for a haircut? he was the slowest of all on the fastest part of the track,

[soihok]

Great win for Jorge .....well done.

I have raced at Snetterton ....once in 89...came away with nothing more than a holed piston and sufferring from a mild seizure ( the bike not me ).

I remember that we ( 250 two strokes ) were let out for practice with the bigger bikes. Heading down Revett Straight at about 90 there was enough time to show the finger to my mate riding along side me when we were overtaken by a couple of GSXR's in a haze of speed and noise. I almost sh*t myself.

Funny old game.

Cheers

[Lickey]

The Moaner thing seems never ending, http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresults/MotoGP/2011/July/jul0511-stoner-explains-abraham-bust-up/

[soihok]

Sounds as if Toni Elias is being told to get results or another job. Just read a report that informs that he has been told that he has three more races in which to do so.

Funny old game.

Just read this also, but not what you would think

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/RidingEvents/ridingeventsresults/Events/2011/July/jul111-bulldog-bash-welcomes-rossi/

[soihok]

I wonder when we are going to get see some " hand bags at dawn " between Casey and someone on TV. I guess if Simoncelli drops him we could.

[Atmos]

^ maybe his wife would step in to protect him?

"Leave my little Casey alone!"

World Superbikes are in Brno this weekend, races at 5 and 8.30pm Sunday (Thai-time).

The FIM Superbike World Championship moves into the second half of the season this weekend with the Czech Republic Round at the classic Automotodrom Brno circuit in the heart of Moravia. The 5.403 km track is full of ups and downs throughout and has a total of 14 curves

[soihok]

A total of 14 curves ...... quite like Mrs Stoner

[Atmos]

Saturday, 09 July 2011

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) took his second Tissot-Superpole win of the year today by posting a lap of 1 minute 58.580 seconds, holding off the push of his fellow Italian, Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike).

Third on the grid is championship leader Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati). The top four riders in the championship convened a meeting on the front row when Melandri's team-mate Eugene Laverty went fourth.

Local Rider Jakub Smrz (Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati) will start from fifth position on the grid, one place up on Suzuki Alstare rider, Michel Fabrizio.

Races today 5.00 and 8.30pm (Thailand time)

[soihok]

Great first race I thought. Brilliant riding from the the top three guys. Its a pity Pabrizio couldn't join in the fun as he was gaining at one point.

Great ride from Marco with Max seeming to run wide from time to time.

Last night was a bit of motor racing heaven, with the British F1 (quite a cracking race but disappointing for Brit fans) sandwiched by two good races from Brno.

There were extremely tall ladies at Brno, Marco's wife and the lady giving out the trophy's to the VIP's to give to the riders on the podium. She was almost as tall as Marco while he was standing on the number 1 podium.

It looked a great day out at Brno.

[Lickey]

Dont forget Soihok that most top bike racers are small fellas,

I enjoyed both races, good to see racing thats not dominated by one make, M.Melondri did well with the Yam, and Mrs Melon-dri was a sight to behold jumping about in the pits after his win, lets hope for the rest of the season the weather stays hot and M.M gets on the podium..

17th, this coming Sunday, German Moto GP, fast, could be a Wanda benefit race, Yams will be there too,, as usual, im hoping for a VR Duke podium..

[Atmos]

^ I met a cardboard cutout of Rossi in KL last year - 'he' was at least 180cm tall!

Think in reality more like 170cm? and under 60kg.

Didn't know about Melandri's lady - now there is a nice distraction for after the race.Manuela Raffaetà - a lingerie model

this livens the thread up. I'm guessing MM is about her shoulder height, in his high heels

eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland

The MotoGP World Championship prepares to hold its ninth round this weekend at the Sachsenring, which represents the midway point of the 18-race series. The 3.761 kilometre German track is the second-shortest of the season after Laguna Seca, and it is distinguished by a prevalence of left-hand corners, in addition to a narrow, technical layout.

Circuit info

Length: 3.671 m. / 2,281 miles

Width: 10m

Left corners: 10

Right corners: 3

Longest straight: 700 m. / 0,435 miles

[soihok]

Good grief.

[Atmos]

Marco Simoncelli sets MotoGP practice pace in Germany

Italy's Marco Simoncelli topped the timesheets in both practice sessions for the German MotoGP at Sachsenring.

The Honda rider pipped championship leader Casey Stoner by 0.181 seconds in the first and reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo by 0.095 in the second.

Ducati's Valentino Rossi endured a miserable Friday, with a lowly 14th and 12th to show for his efforts.

Britain's Cal Crutchlow could only muster the morning's 13th best time, and slipped to 14th in the afternoon.

The morning session was run in cold, windy conditions and Rossi, Stoner, Crutchlow, Dani Pedrosa and Toni Elias all came off at various points but escaped serious injury.

Rossi's bike was also hit by electrical problems toward the end of the second session, while Hector Barbera crashed out at the end of it but was left unhurt.

[Atmos]

German Grand Prix

QUALIFYING

1 Casey STONER Honda

2 Dani PEDROSA Honda

3 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha

4 Marco SIMONCELLI Honda

5 Ben SPIES Yamaha

6 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Honda

7 Colin EDWARDS Yamaha

8 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati

9 Randy DE PUNIET Ducati

10 Alvaro BAUTISTA Suzuki

and 16 Valentino Rossi Ducati, in a field of 17

Races (Thai time) 125cc 4pm, Moto2 5.15pm, MotoGP 7pm

[soihok]

Mega frustration for the Doctor.

Hector giving the finger twice to Nicky, at the end of the ualifying session is sure to earn him a fine.

I,m happy to see Dani on the front row and that Marco is still right in there. It's hard not to be impressed by Casey though, awesome to to see him right on it during qualifying.

On another note, not too impressed by the decision of some of the riders to refuse to ride at the Japanese round later this year.

Carrying a slogan " we are with you Japan ", on certain bikes just makes a complete mockery, insulte, in fact to Japan.

I understand that there is a lot of concern about the radiation contamination of the area which is about 100km away from the twin ring circuit.

I,m not sure where Suzuka is in relation to the disaster area, but surely the venue could be changed, couldn't it?

Bad enough for the people of Japan to have the terrible events of this year. They need support-----------not boycotting by the ones who are pretending to support them.

Come guys! Get a grip!!!!

[soihok]

Having missed the 125 race I,m so glad I saw the Moto2 and MotoGP races.

Well done Dani Pedrosa. A great last corner from Lorenzo up the inside of Casey keeps the title race alive.

Marco making a last corner mistake to let Spies through too.

What a great race the Moto GP was. Not only at the front but the following groups with Bautista, Hayden and Rossi battling it out and the trailing group behind.

Bautista did well to grab 7th.

The title is now only down to 15 points and off to the Cork Screw this week (due to the time difference the race will be in the early morning in SE Asia).

[soihok]

Vale is really missing Jeremy isn't he?

[Atmos]

Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Sunday 24 July 2011

Length: 3.610 m; Width: 15m; Left corners: 7; Right corners: 4; Longest straight: 453 m

Honda and Yamaha take MotoGP battle Stateside

MotoGP points leader Casey Stoner will try to reprise his 2007 Laguna Seca victory Sunday as his Honda team take their duel with Jorge Lorenzo's Yamaha Stateside. The California race will cap a period of six races in eight weeks, and Stoner would like nothing more than to consolidate his position atop the standings, with 168 points to Lorenzo's 153, as the teams head into a three-week break before the August 14 Czech Grand Prix. "The track itself is a very tight and technical track, there are lots of sweeping gradients and unusual corners with a lot of camber, so you need to be delicate on the track and not 'attack' it too much," said Stoner, winner of four races so far this season.

Edited July 22, 2011 by Atmos

[Atmos]

Saturday, 23 July 2011

Jorge Lorenzo seized pole position for the Red Bull US Grand Prix after late charges by Stoner and Pedrosa failed to top the Mallorcan's pace.

Championship leader Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) made a final push after trailing the frontrunners, posting a time of 1'21.274 to put him in second place on the grid, with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) landing in the final place on the front row.

Top 12:

Lorenzo, Stoner, Pedrosa

Spies, Simoncelli, Dovizioso

Rossi, Barbera, Hayden

Crutchlow, Edwards, Bautista

American wildcard Ben Bostrom on the LCR Honda improved his time over half a second again, though still remains 18th in the timings, one second behind team mate Toni Elias and four seconds off the pole position time.

TV: Showing at 03:30 Monday 25 July on STAR Sports live from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, California, USA

Highlights clip from 2010:

http://www.motogp.com/en/videos/2010/MotoGP+Rewind+Laguna+Seca

World Champion Jorge Lorenzo made a sensational comeback from a high speed crash this morning to utterly dominate qualifying and take pole position for tomorrow’s Red Bull US Grand Prix, his first of the 2011 season.

Edited July 24, 2011 by Atmos