Latest Blog
Joy Ryder - Thursday 02.07.09, 13:28pm
Mika Kallio - Assen 2009
The Pramac Racing rider Mika Kallio, is to miss the next round of the MotoGP Championship at Laguna Seca this weekend.
Kallio injured his ring finger at last weeks round at Assen when he crashed out on his final lap while in sixth place and is not able to ride the Ducati at present.
The Finn, was seen shaking his hand after getting to his feet and it was later discovered that his finger had been burnt down to the bone and he had completely lost the nail, fortunately, there has been no nerve damage.
The team have decided not to replace Kallio for this round and have said;
“Mika will not go under surgery in these weeks before the German GP, but will continue to follow medications and cleaning of the injured finger to avoid infection and further complications. For this motive the Pramac Racing Team will race in Laguna Seca only with one rider, Italian Niccolò Canepa who will make his debut on the Californian circuit.”
Kallio said;
“I was so excited to race in Laguna Seca, but I guess destiny wanted to be this way and I will have to renounce. It’s a pity. We have taken this decision together with Pramac Racing Managers and I think this is probably the best solution. Laguna would have been a new circuit to learn for me and with precarious physical conditions we thought it would have been too risky.
“I will look after my self in the best way possible to be in good form at the Sachsenring, which is by the way one of my favorites circuits of the world championship. I wish all the best to Niccolò who will have to do well for the Pramac Team this weekend.”
Joy Ryder - Tuesday 30.06.09, 13:15pm
Valentino Rossi - 100th Win
Valentino Rossi rode his Fiat Yamaha over the line to claim his 100th Grand Prix win at Assen on Saturday after starting on pole position.
125cc
Sergio Gadea took the chequered flag for the Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc on Saturday in Assen, just nudging ahead of the three-way battle with Nico Terol and Julian Simón.
Mid-way through the race Gadea had caught-up with Terol and Simon who had been running at the front. All three riders waited until the final lap to make their move with Terol running off the track to try and pass Gadea. Terol was penalised after the race for the move and relegated to fifth, despite stepping-up onto the podium.
Bradley Smith was promoted to third place on the second Bancaja Aspar Team bike after his own battle with Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. rider Andrea Iannone, Smith’s rival for the championship.
Stefan Bradl on the Viesmann Kiefer Racing bike took seventh position followed by his fellow German Jonas Folgar in eighth for the Ongetta team.
Ajo Interwetten rider Sandro Cortese crashed out on lap 5 while in seventh place after claiming his first pole position with the team. Danny Webb, Tomoyoshi Koyama and Cameron Beaubier also crashed out during the race.
Here are the results;
Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1. Sergio Gadea Aprilia 39m07.577s
2. Nicolas Terol Aprilia + 0.078s
3. Julian Simon Aprilia + 0.901s
4. Bradley Smith Aprilia + 12.356s
5. Andrea Iannone Aprilia + 12.400s
6. Stefan Bradl Aprilia + 20.468s
7. Jonas Folger Aprilia + 20.755s
8. Simone Corsi Aprilia + 21.263s
9. Pol Espargaro Derbi + 21.558s
10. Marc Marquez KTM + 21.941s
11. Joan Olive Derbi + 23.605s
12. Efren Vazquez Derbi + 28.406s
13. Dominique Aegerter Derbi +1m00.312s
14. Marvin Fritz Honda +1m00.355s
15. Lorenzo Zanetti Aprilia +1m00.615s
16. Luis Salom Aprilia +1m00.629s
17. Takaaki Nakagami Aprilia +1m00.997s
18. Michael van der Mark Honda +1m01.030s
19. Jasper Iwema Honda +1m08.795s
20. Lukas Sembera Aprilia +1m09.076s
21. Johann Zarco Aprilia +1m14.817s
22. Karel Pesek Derbi +1m30.729s
23. Luca Marconi Aprilia +1m46.244s
24. Pepijn Bijsterbosch Honda + 1 lap
25. Luca Vitali Aprilia + 1 lap
Retirements:
Esteve Rabat Aprilia 11 laps
Tomoyoshi Koyama Loncin 9 laps
Cameron Beaubier KTM 5 laps
Sandro Cortese Derbi 4 laps
Randy Krummenacher Aprilia 1 lap
Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia 1 lap
Scott Redding Aprilia 1 lap
Alexis Masbou Loncin 1 lap
Danny Webb Aprilia 0 laps
250cc
Scot Racing team rider Hiroshi Aoyama, claimed his second win of the season on Saturday and is now leading the championship.
The battle between Aoyama and Alvaro Bautista on the Mapfre Aspar machine ended when the Japanese rider ran wide after getting it all wrong at the right-hander of the chicane. Aoyama braked for the left-hander but Bautista ran into his back wheel, throwing the Spaniard off his bike while the Honda rider somehow managed to stay on and take the win despite a cut tyre and other damage.
Hector Barbera on the Pepe World Team bike finished in second place followed by the reigning World Champion Marco Simoncelli on the Metis Gilera.
Aleix Espargaro crossed the line to take fourth place riding for the injured Gabor Talmacsi in the Balaton Racing team ahead of Roberto Locatelli on the second Metis Gilera.
For the third time this year Mattia Pasini for the Team Toth Aprilia left the race without any points after colliding mid-way through the race with Thomas Luthi on the Emmi - Caffe Latte machine.
Here are the results;
Pos Driver Bike Time
1. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 40m44.008s
2. Hector Barbera Aprilia +4.424
3. Marco Simoncelli Gilera +10.339
4. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia +11.383
5. Roberto Locatelli Gilera +11.596
6. Alex Debon Aprilia +14.265
7. Karel Abraham Aprilia +17.982
8. Hector Faubel Honda +19.012
9. Rattapark Wilairot Honda +20.926
10. Raffaele de Rosa Honda +21.033
11. Mike di Meglio Aprilia +32.128
12. Lukas Pesek Aprilia +41.329
13. Alex Baldolini Aprilia +1:05.321
14. Valentin Debise Honda +1:12.451
15. Imre Toth Aprilia +1 lap
16. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia +1 lap
Retirements
Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 22 laps
Bastien Chesaux Honda 19 laps
Axel Pons Aprilia 16 laps
Toby Markham Honda 14 laps
Steve Bonsey Aprilia 13 laps
Mattia Pasini Aprilia 13 laps
Thomas Luthi Aprilia 10 laps
Jules Cluzel Aprilia 5 laps
Shoya Tomizawa Honda 0 laps
MotoGP
Valentino Rossi took his 100th Grand Prix win on Saturday after starting the race on pole position followed by team-mate Jorge Lorenzo in second place.
As the race got underway it was Dani Pedrosa on the Repsol Honda that took the lead from second on the grid but it wasn’t long before he was passed by the master, however, Casey Stoner on the Marlboro Ducati managed to slip past both riders before the end of the opening lap.
On the second lap, Stoner ran wide which was all that was needed for Rossi to take full advantage and retake his place at the front and disappear into the distance.
Lorenzo got a bad start from his third position grid spot and lost several places as the race began but was soon up with the front runners and right behind the Italian although he had no chance of passing, finally finishing 20 seconds behind his team-mate.
Stoner took the third step of the podium in a race where he could not match the pace of the Fiat Yamaha’s but ahead of the Monster Tech3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards. The Ducati rider is still suffering from some sort of mystery illness and was reported as being physically exhausted after the race.
Pedrosa crashed his machine on lap 5 while in fourth place at the first corner and seven laps later his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso had an identical crash at the same spot. Fortunately, Pedrosa received no further injuries and both riders managed to walk away from their accidents.
Chris Vermeulen on the Rizla Suzuki took fifth place followed by the Tech3 Yamaha of James Toseland, taking his best result so far this season after the Pramac Racing rider Mika Kallio crashed out on the final lap.
Randy de Puniet was in seventh for the LCR Honda team after having an eventful race followed by Toni Elias on the San Carlo Honda Gresini.
Elias was later penalised for the illegal using the run-off area on the final lap and was relegated to twelveth place from eighth. Elias publicily apologised to Loris Capirossi for the incident at the chicane when he ran both of them off track.
Nicky Hayden on the second Ducati Marlboro took eighth place ahead of Capirossi on the second Rizla Suzuki and Alex de Angelis on the Gresini Honda.
The MotoGP now heads to California for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix this weekend.
Here are the results;
Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 42m14.611s
2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha + 5.368s
3. Casey Stoner Ducati + 23.113s
4. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha + 29.114s
5. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki + 33.605s
6. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha + 39.347s
7. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda + 39.543s
8. Toni Elias Gresini Honda + 39.774s
9. Nicky Hayden Ducati + 39.823s
10. Loris Capirossi Suzuki + 40.673s
11. Alex de Angelis Gresini Honda + 46.100s
12. Marco Melandri Hayate Kawasaki + 57.777s
13. Sete Gibernau Hernando Ducati +1m05.366s
14. Niccolo Canepa Pramac Ducati +1m09.897s
15. Yuki Takahashi Scot Honda +1m09.930s
16. Gabor Talmacsi Scot Honda +1m25.099s
Retirements:
Mika Kallio Pramac Ducati 25 laps
Andrea Dovizioso Honda 10 laps
Dani Pedrosa Honda 4 laps
*
Elias penalised from 8th to 12th place.
Joy Ryder - Wednesday 24.06.09, 17:50pm
Marco Simoncelli
It was announced today that Marco Simoncelli, the reigning 250cc World Champion, is to ride for the San Carlo Honda Gresini Team in the 2010 MotoGP Championship.
It is not known if Simoncelli will be replacing Toni Elias or Alex de Angelis for next years ride although it is rumoured that neither of the riders will be racing with the team next year.
The confirmation came today at a press conference in Holland, ahead of the Assen MotoGP this weekend, with the team stating;
“Marco has the determination and character we want from a rider as part of his DNA and we are sure we can look ahead to exciting times with him. Marco has shown over the past couple of years that he has the ability to be a major force in the premier class
We have established a good feeling with him already and that facilitated negotiations over a contract that we have signed for 2010. Honda also rates Simoncelli highly and believes he is a rider with great potential for the future, so Honda is very pleased that we are welcoming Simoncelli next season.”
Joy Ryder - Monday 22.06.09, 21:26pm
The newly signed Hungarian rider for the Balaton Racing Team 250cc Balázs Németh, has broken the fourth metacarpal in his left hand during the first day of testing in Valencia.
He was out on his final run of the day when he lost control of his Aprilia and crashed. It was initially thought that he had suffered no injury but after some discomfort with his hand he was seen at the circuit medical centre where the break was spotted.
The 23-year-old, underwent surgery on Thursday where he was fitted with a titanium plate to his fourth metacarpal and also had the fifth metacarpal pinned due to a dislocation. He will now be returning to his Hungarian home where he has been told that he must rest his hand for the next 30 days before having the pin removed, he can then return to the track.
The older brother of Spanish rider Pol Espargaro, Aleix, is now to be a replacement for Németh this weekend at Assen.
Joy Ryder - Monday 15.06.09, 17:56pm
Valentino's 99th Victory
A fantastic battle between the two Fiat Yamaha riders on Sunday saw Valentino Rossi snatch the victory from Jorge Lorenzo on the final lap of the MotoGP at Catalunya.
125cc
Julian Simon must be one of the most embarrassed men in the MotoGP 125cc series today after losing his win yesterday when he crossed the line to celebrate a lap to early, handing the victory to Andrea Iannone.
Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. rider Iannone, and Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc Team rider Simón exchanged the lead countless times during the race with Simón opening a gap on the penultimate lap, however, at the start of the final lap Iannone began to celebrate despite his team holding up his pit board showing him he the race still had a lap to run.
Iannone, needless to say, took full advantage of the mistake and sailed past to take his third win of the season a Simón, finally realising his error, got swallowed-up by the group of riders battling for the final podium position.
Jack & Jones Team rider Nicolas Terol, finished in second place followed by Sergio Gadea in third but only after a photo finish decision was made between himself and his team-mate Simón, who crossed the line with equal times.
Marc Marquez on the Red Bull KTM Motorsport bike took fifth place ahead of Jonas Folgar on the second Ongetta Team machine and Stefan Bradl on the Viesmann Kiefer Racing bike.
In eight place was Britain’s Bradley Smith on the Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc followed in ninth place by Sandro Cortese for the Ajo Interwetten Team and Randy Krummenacher for the Degraaf Grand Prix team to complete the top ten riders.
Here are the results;
CLASSIFIED:
Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Andrea Iannone Aprilia 41m10.494s
2. Nicolas Terol Aprilia + 2.245s
3. Sergio Gadea Aprilia + 2.330s
4. Julian Simon Aprilia + 2.331s
5. Marc Marquez KTM + 2.356s
6. Jonas Folger Aprilia + 2.531s
7. Stefan Bradl Aprilia + 10.795s
8. Bradley Smith Aprilia + 10.824s
9. Sandro Cortese Derbi + 14.984s
10. R.Krummenacher Aprilia + 15.089s
11. Scott Redding Aprilia + 16.427s
12. Esteve Rabat Aprilia + 16.515s
13. Johann Zarco Aprilia + 27.455s
14. Joan Olive Derbi + 27.712s
15. Takaaki Nakagami Aprilia + 28.411s
16. Simone Corsi Aprilia + 33.697s
17. Tomoyoshi Koyama Loncin + 42.581s
18. Cameron Beaubier KTM + 48.847s
19. Alberto Moncayo Aprilia + 49.532s
20. D.Agerter Derbi + 49.772s
21. Jasper Iwema Honda +1m02.666s
22. Sturla Fagerhaug KTM +1m15.215s
23. Johnny Rosell Aprilia +1m21.568s
24. Luca Marconi Aprilia +1m37.919s
25. Jordi Dalmau Honda +1 Lap
26. Luca Vitali Aprilia +2 Laps
NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:
Rider Bike Laps
Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia 16
Luis Salom Honda 13
Daniel Webb Aprilia 11
Lorenzo Zanetti Aprilia 10
Pol Espargaro Derbi 5
Alexis Masbou Loncin 5
Lukas Sembera Aprilia 4
Efren Vazquez Derbi 1
FASTEST LAP: Marquez, 1m51.175s on lap 7
250cc
Alvaro Bautista, on the Mapfre Aspar Team bike, dominated his home Grand Prix yesterday after taking the lead from lap 3 and remaining at the front until he crossed the line to take the chequered flag, increasing his lead in the World Championship.
Marco Simoncelli crashed his Metis Gilera on the second lap of the race and retired, claiming a mechanical problem but bringing a huge cheer from the Spanish crowd after his clash with Bautista in the last round saw him fined for dangerous riding.
Hiroshi Aoyama on the Scot Racing Team Honda claimed second place, seven-seconds behind the leader but after having snatched the lead from Héctor Barbera on the Pepe World Team bike on the final lap.
Mattia Pasini on the Team Toth Aprilia took fourth place ahead of Alex Debon on the Aeropuerto-Castello Blusens in fifth and Thomas Luthi on the Caffe Latte Team bike in sixth.
In seventh place was Ratthapak Wilairot on the Thai Honda Sag bike followed by Karel Abraham for Cardion AB Motoracing, Raffaele De Rosa on the Scot Racing Team bike in ninth and Hector Faubel on the Pepe World Team machine completing the top ten.
Roberto Localtelli on the Metis Gilera crashed out on lap 15 after a fantastic race saw him come from sixteenth on the grid to fourth place.
Mike Di Meglio on the Mapfre Aspar Team machine had been running in seventh place on lap 14 until he took a trip through the gravel, finally finishing down in fourteenth.
Here are the results;
CLASSIFIED:
Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 41m09.018s
2. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda + 7.185s
3. Hector Barbera Aprilia + 7.282s
4. Mattia Pasini Aprilia + 10.784s
5. Alex Debon Aprilia + 15.740s
6. Thomas Luthi Aprilia + 15.780s
7. R.Wilairot Honda + 28.654s
8. Karel Abraham Aprilia + 31.600s
9. Raffaele De Rosa Honda + 33.760s
10. Hector Faubel Honda + 33.843s
11. Jules Cluzel Aprilia + 34.871s
12. Lukas Pesek Aprilia + 35.117s
13. Alex Baldolini Aprilia + 39.840s
14. Mike Di Meglio Aprilia + 42.821s
15. Steve Bonsey Aprilia +1m16.524s
16. Axel Pons Aprilia +1m16.689s
17. Valentin Debise Honda +1m28.826s
18. Balazs Nemeth Aprilia +1m39.488s
19. Bastien Chesaux Honda +1m47.958s
20. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia +1 Lap
21. Toby Markham Honda +1 Lap
NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:
Rider Bike Laps
Imre Toth Aprilia 21
R.Locatelli Gilera 14
Shoya Tomizawa Honda 13
Marco Simoncelli Gilera 6
FASTEST LAP: Bautista, 1m46.656s on lap 9
MotoGP
What a race! Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo thrilled the crowd of almost 90,000 fans yesterday as they dominated the Catalunya MotoGP on their Fiat Yamaha machines.
With three laps of the race to run, Rossi passed Lorenzo on the first corner but by the following lap the Spanish rider reclaimed his lead as they ran side by side down the straight, but Rossi out-braked him and Lorenzo was once again sat behind the Italian.
At the beginning of the last lap, Lorenzo took the lead with Rossi running wide as he tried to re-pass . Not to be deterred, Rossi stuck on Lorenzo’s tail and snatched the victory on the final corner of the final lap.
Casey Stoner on the Ducati Marlboro claimed the final step of the podium, more than eight seconds behind the Yamaha’s but had been having his own battle holding back the Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso who finished in fourth place just 0.52s behind.
Loris Capirossi on the Rizla Suzuki battled with the injured Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa on the second Repsol Honda for fifth place with the Italian finally holding the place.
Colin Edwards finished in seventh place on the Monster Tech3 Yamaha followed by Randy De Puniet on the LCR Honda in eighth, Mika Kallio for Pramac Racing in ninth and Nicky Hayden on the second Ducati Marlboro in tenth place.
Yuki Takahashi on the Scot Racing Team machine, crashed out on the first lap of the race when he tried to pass the Rizla Sukuki of Chris Vermeulen. The Japanese rider broke his little finger in the incident and will not be taking part in the testing today.
Toni Elias on the San Carlo Honda Gresini, had qualified in fifth place on the grid but crashed out on lap 10 of the race while running in eleventh.
Meanwhile, Gabor Talmacsi, the 125cc World Champion, was also on track for the Scot Racing team, fuelling rumours that he is to be a replacement for Takahashi, despite the teams protest that they are to run with two riders for the rest of the season. Talmacsi finished in seventeenth place, he may have been the last over the line but he still completed the race unlike his team-mate.
The majority of the riders were too remain at the circuit today for a test session running from 10am until 6pm. As previously mentioned, Takahashi will not be taking part in the session and neither will Dani Pedrosa due to fatigue.
Here are the results;
CLASSIFIED:
Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 43m11.897s
2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha + 0.095s
3. Casey Stoner Ducati + 8.884s
4. Andrea Dovizioso Honda + 8.936s
5. Loris Capirossi Suzuki + 19.831s
6. Daniel Pedrosa Honda + 22.182s
7. Colin Edwards Yamaha + 23.547s
8. Randy de Puniet Honda + 25.265s
9. Mika Kallio Ducati + 31.797s
10. Nicky Hayden Ducati + 33.593s
11. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki + 36.683s
12. Alex de Angelis Honda + 36.874s
13. James Toseland Yamaha + 39.433s
14. Marco Melandri Kawasaki + 44.788s
15. Sete Gibernau Ducati + 46.754s
16. Niccolo Canepa Ducati + 55.873s
17. Gabor Talmacsi Honda +1m27.640s
NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:
Rider Bike Laps
Toni Elias Honda 9
Yuki Takahashi Honda 0
FASTEST LAP: Stoner, 1m42.858s on lap 2
