Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda 2010

The Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa crossed the line to take the victory at the Indianapolis MotoGP yesterday after qualifying in fifth place.

It was pole sitter Ben Spies on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 that led the pack into the first corner followed by the Marlboro Ducati of Nicky Hayden and the Repsol Honda of Andrea Dovizioso.  Pedrosa followed in fourth place ahead of the two Fiat Yamaha riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi.

By lap 2, Pedrosa had moved into second position, quickly passing his team-mate and Hayden as he began to chase down the leading man.

On lap 7, Pedrosa passed Spies to take the lead while Nicky Hayden was dropping back down the pack after his kneeslider became loose when he hit a drain cover, allowing Lorenzo and Rossi the chance to get past.

Lorenzo eventually managed to get past Dovizioso on lap 12 of the race although the Italian didn’t let him get away easily.  The Honda rider soon began to lose grip on his tyres following his impressive ride allowing Rossi to also get past, losing his chance of a podium finish.

Dani Pedrosa took the win ahead of Ben Spies in second and Jorge Lorenzo in third.  Rossi completed the race in fourth place followed by Andrea Dovizioso in fifth, Nicky Hayden in sixth, Marco Simoncelli in seventh, Alvaro Bautista in eighth, Aleix Espargaro in ninth and Hector Barbera in tenth.

Casey Stoner lost the front end of his Marlboro Ducati on lap 8 of the race while Colin Edwards was forced to retire on lap 17 after developing rear tyre problems.  Mika Kallio crashed out on lap 18 after hitting a bump on the track and was out of the race,  Marco Melandri was the only other rider who failed to finish the race.

Here are the results;

1.  Dani Pedrosa  ESP Repsol Honda Team  47m 31.615s
2. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 47m 35.190s
3. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Fiat Yamaha Team 47m 38.427s
4. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 47m 44.248s
5. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 47m 53.500s
6. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 48m 6.753s
7. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 48m 8.355s
8. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 48m 8.440s
9. Aleix Espargaro ESP Pramac Racing 48m 16.52s
10. Hector Barbera ESP Paginas Amarillas Aspar 48m 22.983s
11. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 48m 27.001s
12. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP 48m 29.518s
13. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 48m 35.754s

DNF:
Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing
Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team
Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini

Roger Lee Hayden - WSB Kawasaki - Assen 2010

Roger Lee Hayden will be making his MotoGP debut this weekend at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix as a replacement rider for the injured Randy de Puniet.

The 27-year-old brother of Nicky will be in front of his home crowd as he joins the LCR Honda team and is hoping to prove his worth on a track he knows well.

Despite never having ridden the bike before and only ever riding a GP bike once when he entered as a wildcard rider at the Laguna circuit back in 2007, finishing in tenth place,  Hayden is hoping to make a good impression to enable him to get a ride for next season either in the MotoGP, Moto2 or the World Superbike series.

Roger Lee had to get permission to take the ride this weekend from the American Honda team after agreeing to race for them as a wildcard rider in the Moto2 race at Indianapolis five weeks after the MotoGP Grand Prix but they agreed happily.

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

MotoGP Pramac Racing 2009

The Spanish rider Aleix Espargaró has signed to race for the Pramac Racing team for the 2010 season, riding alongside Mika Kallio.

The 20-year-old, made his debut in the MotoGP series for the team, replacing Kallio who was drafted into the Marlboro Ducati team to ride for the ailing Casey Stoner.  He rode in the Indianapolis round, finishing thirteenth and then again at the Misano circuit, finishing in eleventh.

Espargaró looked to moving onto the new Moto2 machine next season after spending the majority of the year working on the development of the machine but said when this chance came along he couldn’t turn it down.

The new satellite Ducati rider said;

“I am very happy to be arriving in MotoGP after the time I have had this year. It is better news to be riding for Ducati all through next season than to be riding in the final few races of this year, which could have happened. The two races that I did for Ducati this year were good, I was very comfortable on the bike and with the team. I think I adapt well to MotoGP because I’m quite tall and the bikes suit me better than Moto2 machines. 2010 could be a good year for me.”

“I performed well in the two MotoGP races I did but now I will have the whole winter to practice with the bike, get the set-up right and prepare for 2010. I will be able to prepare calmly and precisely for racing in MotoGP.”

Nicky Hayden - Ducati Marlboro 2009

The Ducati Corse team announced yesterday that Nicky Hayden has signed a one-year contract to, once again, ride alongside Casey Stoner on the Ducati Marlboro for the 2010 season.

Hayden made it onto the podium last weekend at the Indianapolis round of the MotoGP Championship, finishing in third place on the Desmosedici GP9, in front of his home crowd.

This weekend the team are that their home circuit of Misano for the Italian MotoGP and will no doubt be fully supported by the passionate Italian supporters.

Mika Kallio, will once again be on the second Ducati Marlboro, replacing the recuperating Casey Stoner who is due to return next month at Estoril.

Nicky Hayden said of this weekends race;

“At Mugello I realised how special it is to race for Ducati in Italy so hopefully I can give all the Ducatisti even more reason to party.  I know it won’t be easy and I can’t get overconfident even though everything went so well at Indy.

The little time we’ve had since Sunday’s race has flown by and even though I would have liked to have a bit more time to reflect on last weekend, Misano is right on us and that is what we have to focus on. Last year I rode in practice but wasn’t able to take part in the race because of a foot injury. Still, I like the circuit and there are a couple of fast right-handers at the end of the lap, in particular, that are a lot of fun.”

Talking of his 2010 contract, Hayden said;

“This has been a very good week and this news just adds to that. After the good result in Indy, now to renew the deal with Ducati is exactly what I wanted. I’m very happy. I always had faith and believed that we could achieve good results.

I’m excited for these last five races of the 2009 season, and if you look at the progression we have made from the start of the season to the middle, hopefully we will continue this through to the end. I just wish to say a big thanks to all the guys who made this happen, especially everybody in Ducati, as well as all our sponsors.”

Alex de Angelis - San Carlo Honda Gresini 2009

Marco Melandri has been signed-up to ride alongside Marco Simoncelli for the San Carlo Honda Gresini Team, meaning that Alex de Angelis, and his team-mate Toni Elias, have been left without a ride for the 2010 season.

The 25-year-old rider, finished second in last weekends Indianapolis MotoGP and is currently running in seventh place in the championship after scoring points at every event this season.

The Italian appeared to have lost his from mid-way through the season, finishing outside of the top ten for in seven consecutive races, but soon pulled it back and was once again with the front runners.

Angelis feels that although he put in the effort for the San Carlo Honda Gresini team, he’s convinced that they never believed in him 100%.

He confirmed that he is in talks with other MotoGP teams such as Tech 3 Yamaha, Pramac Racing and another Honda team but he is also prepared to look outside of the series and could be tempted by Moto2 or Superbikes.

Toni Elias has said that he had no idea where he will be in the 2010 and confirmed that every year he has the same problem despite scoring podium finishes.

Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha 2009

Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo, took the win at the Indianapolis MotoGP on Sunday after Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa both crashed out.

125CC

Pol Espargaro claimed his maiden win in the 125cc Indianapolis MotoGP on Sunday, in a thrilling race that went to the very last lap.

The 18-year-old Derbi Racing Team rider, crossed the line just 0.120 seconds ahead of the Bancaja Aspar rider Bradley Smith.  In third place was Simone Corsi on the Fontana Racing machine followed by Nico Terol on the Jack & Jones bike in fourth.

Championship leader Julian Simon on the second Bancaja Aspar bike, finished in fifth place ahead of Marc Marquez on the Red Bull KTM, Stefan Bradl on the Viessmann Kiefer Racing bike, Joan Olive on the Derbi Racing Team machine, Takaaki Nakagami for Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. and Dominique Aegerter on the Ajo Interwetten.

Here are the results;

250CC

Marco Simoncelli took the chequered flag on Sunday for the Metis Gilera 250cc MotoGP team, in the first and last 250cc event at the circuit.

Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha 2009

The Italian rider, is currently running third in the championship, 27 points behind the Scot Racing Team rider Hiroshi Aoyama, with five rounds left to run.

Spanish rider Alvaro Bautista, took the final step on the podium as he took third for the Mapfre Aspar Team, adding valuable points to his season, and now only 16 points behind Aoyama.

Mike di Meglio, qualified in pole position on his Mapfre Aspar Team machine, finishing fourth in the race, he was followed by Roberto Locatelli on the Metis Gilera in fifth and Hector Barbera on the Pepe World Team bike in sixth.

Lukas Pesek on the Auto Kelly – CP bike, finished in seventh place ahead of Hector Faubel on the Valencia CF – Honda SAG, Thomas Luthi on the Emmi – Caffe Latte and Karel Abraham on the Cardion AB Motoracing team bike completing the top ten riders.

Jules Cluzel on the Matteoni Racing machine, was leading the race after qualifying in fifth place when he crashed out and later the Team Toth Aprilia rider Mattia Pasini went down, after starting from seventh on the grid.

Here are the results:

MotoGP

For the third time this season, the Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo took the victory for the Fiat Yamaha team while his team-mate Valentino Rossi crashed out of the race.

Dani Pedrosa made a great start from pole position on the Repsol Honda to take the lead at the start of the race ahead of Rossi and Lorenzo, but on just lap 4 of the race, Pedrosa went down.  After struggling to get the bike upright, the Spanish rider rejoined the track in last place.

Once again, the battle began between the two Fiat Yamaha riders, with Lorenzo passing Rossi on lap 9, however, on the following lap Rossi went down.  He managed to get his Yamaha back on the circuit only to retire a couple of laps later due to damage on the R1.

With Rossi and Pedrosa out of the running, the San Carlo Honda rider Alex de Angelis was now in second place with the Ducati Marlboro rider Nicky Hayden hot on his tail.  Hayden crossed the line to take third after holding off the challenging Repsol Honda of Andrea Dovizioso.

Colin Edwards finished in fifth place for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team, followed by his team-mate James Toseland in sixth.  Loris Capirossi took seventh for the Rizla Suzuki team followed by Mika Kallio on the factory Ducati in eighth, Toni Elias on the second San Carlo Honda in ninth and Pedrosa in tenth.

Pedrosa had clawed his way back through the field taking the tenth position from Chris Vermeulen on the second Rizla Suzuki as they crossed the line.

Marco Melandri crashed out on the Hayate Racing machine, late on in the race while battling with James Toseland for sixth position.

The riders and team now head to Misano for round 12 of the championship, next weekend.

Here are the results;

Pramac Racing 2009

Aleix Espargaro is to make his debut at the Indianapolis MotoGP for the Pramac Racing team as a replacement for Mika Kallio.

With the mystery illness still effecting Casey Stoner, Kallio was given the temporary ride on the Ducati leaving a spare seat at the Pramac team.  Stoner isn’t expected to return until October for the Portugal round and Kallio will be filling his place until then.

The 20-year-old Spanish rider said;

“I am very happy as this season has been very hard for me. We are beginning a project for next year to be back in the World Championship and this will be a good chance to get back in touch with things. This season I have ridden for a couple of races in the 250cc category in Assen and Sachsenring concluding in fourth and seventh positions, therefore I feel physical ready. It is like a dream come true to find myself all of a sudden in MotoGP. I want to thank the Pramac Racing team for giving me this opportunity to compete at the top level of motorcycle racing.”

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.

Casey Stoner Takes A Tumble

The teams and riders head to Japan for the next round of the MotoGP at the Montegi circuit and Valentino Rossi is hoping to wrap up the 2008 Championship for the Yamaha team.

Rossi is currently 87 points ahead of Casey Stoner with still 100 points up for grabs over the next four races, which means that if Rossi finished in the top four at Montegi, the title will be his regardless of where Stoner finishes.

The Rizla Suzuki team will be running with a third bike at the Japanese round with Kousuke Akiyoshi on board for his home round.

The team ran three bikes in Indianapolis, the two usual riders Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi, plus Ben Spies and they did the same again at the Leguna Seca round.

Capirossi has won the race at Montegi for the past three years and is hoping to do the same this year but on a Japanese bike.

Nicky Hayden is hoping to be back on the podium after his victory last time out at Indianapolis for the Repsol Honda team.

After confirmation that Hayden will be riding for the Ducati Marlboro team next year as the team-mate of Casey Stoner, he wants to finish in the best possible place for Honda.

Meanwhile, the boss of the Ducati Marlboro team, Livio Suppo, has suggested that if the injury that Stoner is suffering continues to cause a problem, he could miss the end of the season.

Stoner has been having problems with an old fracture which he received in 2003 and the surgery he will need has a recuperating time of about ten weeks.

As it looks likely that Rossi will win this years championship, it would make sense to get the surgery over with earlier so that Stoner and the team can concentrate on winter testing ahead of the 2009 season.