The current championship leader, Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner finished in second place and extends his lead to 28 points at the top of the MotoGP 2011 Championship.

Repsol Honda Team’s Andrea Dovizioso took third place, while Yamaha Factory rider Jorge Lorenzo managed to claw his way back through the field to finish in fourth place, ahead of Ducati’s seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi.

British rider Cal Crutchlow was passed fit to race after fracturing his left collarbone in five places no less than two weeks ago in the qualifying for the British MotoGP at Silverstone.

With his Assen Dutch MotoGP victory, Ben Spies’ becomes the first former World Superbike rider to win a MotoGP race since Troy Bayliss in 2006.

Round 7: Dutch MotoGP
1 Ben Spies (US) Yamaha 41min 44.659 secs
2 Casey Stoner (Aus) Honda 41:52.356
3 Andrea Dovizioso (Ita) Honda 42:12.165
4. Valentino Rossi (Ita) Ducati 42:15.343
5. Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati 42:27.831
6. Jorge Lorenzo (Sp) Yamaha 42:29.195
7. Colin Edwards (US) Yamaha 42:52.771
8. Hiroshi Aoyama (Jpn) Honda 42:55.412
9. Marco Simoncelli (Ita) Honda 43:09.584
10. Toni Elias (Sp) Honda 43:10.875

After seven rounds, Ben Spies victory lifts him to joint sixth position with Ducati’s Nicky Hayden in the MotoGP 2011 Championship.

MotoGP 2011 Championship
1   Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda Team) 136
2   Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) 108
3   Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda Team) 99
4   Valentino Rossi (Ducati Marlboro Team) 81
5   Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 71
6   Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) 61
=   Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) 61
8   Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) 51
9   Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) 46
10 Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) 39

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Stoner started in pole position on the grid after being the fastest rider in all qualifying sessions, setting a new Silverstone lap record in the process.  Apart from an intentional slow pull away and first couple of laps while he accustomed himself to the treacherous spray and judged the track for potential hazards, he lead the race, finishing with an amazing 15 second lead over Repsol Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso.

Race contenders Marco Simocelli, Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies lost control of their bikes, while Valentino Rossi, who started in 13th position could only finish 6th as he continues his struggle to tame his Ducati.

Casey Stoner is the first Honda rider to win three consecutive MotoGP races since Valentino Rossi in 2003.  That victory was Stoner’s fourth of the season in his 150th GP start.  He now leads the 2011 MotoGP as the teams and their riders head to the Dutch TT on Saturday 25th June at the Amsterdam Assein Circuit for Round 7 of this season’s championship.

The only British rider, Cal Crutchlow missed the chance the impress in front of a packed crowd of over 78,000 when he crashed out in qualifying on Saturday and broke his collarbone.

British MotoGP Result:

1 Casey Stoner (Australia) Honda 47:53.459
2 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Honda 48:08.618
3 Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 48:14.939
4 Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati 48:20.443
5 Alvaro Bautista (Spain) Suzuki 48:29.028
6 Valentino Rossi (Italy) Ducati 48:57.985

MotoGP 2011 Championship:

1 Casey Stoner (Australia) Honda 116.0 points
2 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 98.0
3 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Honda 83.0
4 Valentino Rossi (Italy) Ducati 68.0
5 Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 61.0
6 Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati 60.0
7 Hiroshi Aoyama (Japan) Honda 43.0
8 Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 37.0
9 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha 36.0
10 Karel Abraham (Czech) Ducati 33.0

Axel Pons - Tenerife 40 Pons Moto2 Team 2010

Axel Pons, rider of the Tenerife 40 Pons Moto2 team suffered a fractured radius in his right arm after crashing out in the qualifying session of the Assen MotoGP last week which is expected to take up to three weeks to repair.

The Spanish rider is to be replaced by his fellow countryman Carmelo Morales at this weekends Catalunya MotoGP, making his debut at the championship.

The 31-year-old rider is currently competing in the Moto2 series of the Spanish National Championship and is also a Spanish Extreme champion holder twice as well as holding two European Superstock 1000 titles.

Although it is the first time on the bike for the Spaniard he doesn’t feel that this will be of a disadvantage and is looking forward to getting to grips with the challenge on Friday.

Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha 2010

The Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo continued his winning streak after taking the victory at the Assen MotoGP on Saturday, his fourth of the season.

Starting from pole position, Lorenzo led the pack into the first corner with Ben Spies and Dani Pedrosa moving up the grid to slot into second and third places respectively.

On lap three as Lorenzo started to increase his lead, Pedrosa and Casey Stoner both made their move to pass the Monster Yamaha Tech3 of Ben Spies.  The second Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso was the next man to make a move on Spies to slot into fourth place.

Stoner was desperately trying to find a way past Pedrosa while Spies retook the position from Dovizioso with Randy de Puniet also in the battle for the points.

Lorenzo crossed the line 2.935 seconds ahead of Pedrosa, while Stoner made it onto the podium for the first time this season with third place.  Spies finished in fourth place followed by Dovizioso and De Puniet in fifth and sixth, Nicky Hayden in seventh, Colin Edwards in eighth, Marco Simoncelli in ninth and Aleix Espargaro completing the top ten finishers.

Here are the results;

1 25 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 41′18.629 171.518
2 20 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 41′21.564 171.315 2.935
3 16 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Team DUCATI 41′25.651 171.034 7.022
4 13 11 Ben SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 41′31.894 170.605 13.265
5 11 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 41′33.952 170.464 15.323
6 10 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 41′34.401 170.434 15.772
7 9 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team DUCATI 41′44.496 169.747 25.867
8 8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 41′47.620 169.535 28.991
9 7 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 41′54.287 169.086 35.658
10 6 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Team DUCATI 41′54.466 169.074 35.837
11 5 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Team DUCATI 42′15.398 167.678 56.769
12 4 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar DUCATI 42′15.519 167.670 56.890
13 3 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 42′19.244 167.424 1′00.615
14 2 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 42′26.703 166.933 1′08.074
15 1 64 Kousuke AKIYOSHI JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP HONDA 41′42.019 163.380 1 lap

Marco Melandri

Marco Melandri is the latest MotoGP rider to be injured and out of this weekends Assen MotoGP after injuring his shoulder during this mornings practice session.

The San Carlo Honda Gresini rider suffered a huge highside after being on track for just 12 minutes and has since been diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder ruling him out for the remainder of the weekend.

Melandri appeared to miss his braking point at the newly modified Ruskenhoek turn and was seen going straight on, he did well to keep the bike upright but on rejoining the circuit he was thrown into the air.

The Silverstone Circuit

There is to be 18 races in the MotoGP championship series for 2010 which has released by the FIM, with the return of Silverstone for the British Grand Prix for the first time since the 1980’s.

It has also been stated that if any of the races fail to go ahead the new circuit in Aragon in Spain will host the event.

April 11 *        Qatar              Doha/Losail
April 25          Japan              Motegi
May 2             Spain              Jerez de la Frontera
May 23            France             Le Mans
June 6            Italy              Mugello
June 20           Great Britain      Silverstone
June 26 **        Netherlands        Assen
July 4            Catalunya          Catalunya
July 18           Germany            Sachsenring
July 25 ***       United States      Laguna Seca
August 15         Czech Rep.         Brno
August 29         Indianapolis       Indianapolis
September 5       San Marino         Misano
September 19      Hungary            Balatonring
October 10        Malaysia           Sepang
October 17        Australia          Phillip Island
October 31        Portugal           Estoril
November 7        Valencia           Ricardo Tormo - Valencia

*   Evening Race
**  Saturday
*** Only MotoGP class

The MotoGP cost cutting goes a bit further than expected!

The provisional MotoGP Calendar has now been released by the FIM for the MotoGP World Championship of 2010, and hopefully all teams and riders will be on the grid as the economic crisis continues.

Date – Grand Prix – Circuit:
11 April – Qatar* – Losail
25 April – Japan – Motegi
2 May – Spain – Jerez
16 May – France – Le Mans
30 May – Italy – Mugello
6 June - Great Britain – Silverstone
26 June – Netherlands** – Assen
4 July – Catalunya – Catalunya
18 July - Germany – Sachsenring
25 July - United States*** – Laguna Seca
15 August – Czech Republic – Brno
29 August – Indianapolis – Indianapolis
12 September - San Marino & Riviera di Rimini – Misano
19 September - Hungary – Balatonring
10 October – Malaysia – Sepang
17 October – Australia - Phillip Island
31 October – Portugal – Estoril
7 November Valencia Ricardo Tormo-Valencia

* Evening Race
** Saturday Race
*** Only MotoGP class

In the event that one of the circuits is not able to comply with the requirements to hold the scheduled Grand Prix, the Motorland Aragon Circuit would host a reserve “event” on the same day.

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.”

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

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.”