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

Spies Chasing Lorenzo At Silverstone 2010

One of the MotoGP’s worst kept secrets is expected to be announced officially this weekend that Ben Spies is to be the replacement team rider for the departing Valentino Rossi at Yamaha.

Spies will ride alongside the 2010 championship leader Jorge Lorenzo, despite the Spaniard not yet having signed his contract for the 2011 season.

The team are also looking for another sponsor for next year as the current Fiat sponsors are likely to follow Rossi to the Ducati team.  According to reports the team have been in talks with Telefonica, the Spanish telecommunications company as well as their existing partner Petronas.

Valentino Rossi 2010

It will come as no surprise to many after weeks of speculation that Valentino Rossi will move to the Ducati team for the 2011 season.

Confirmation came following the Brno MotoGP on Sunday, won by Rossi’s current team-mate Jorge Lorenzo who took his seventh victory of the season for the Fiat Yamaha team.

The 31-year-old Italian has signed a two-year deal with Ducati following a seven-year relationship with the Yamaha team with which he won four MotoGP World Championships.

Rossi said;

I think that here in Yamaha my work is finished.  The situation within Yamaha has changed a lot since 2004.   Now the M1 is maybe the best bike in MotoGP, Yamaha have great riders, so it looks like they don’t need me any more.

I’m very curious and very motivated for this new challenge and I think it will be very interesting.  I think an Italian rider on an Italian bike will be great for all Italian fans. I think we’ll have a lot of fans cheering for us.”

Doubts have already been raised on whether Rossi will be given permission to test the Ducati at the end of the season in Valencia due to contractual agreements with the Yamaha team to which Rossi stated;

“If Yamaha say no I’ll be very upset and sad.  Only Honda have said no to me in the past and that relationship was very different to the one between me and Yamaha.   If I can’t do it then I don’t understand the relationship between me and Yamaha!”

Ben Spies 2010

Riders and motorcycles from MotoGP, Moto2 and the 125cc class arrived on the streets of the Austrian capital, Vienna yesterday to the delight of the fans.

The official event took place ahead of this weekends Grand Prix in the Czech Republic with the 125cc riders Bradley Smith, Marc Marquez and Randy Krummenacher joining Moto2 riders Toni Elias, Thomas Luthi and Karel Abraham.

The MotoGP riders Ben Spies, Mika Kalio and Alex de Angelis led the parade down the famous Ringstrasse landmark in the heart of Vienna,  displaying the sight and sounds of their machines as well as meeting fans of the series.

The Cardion ab Grand Prix Czech Republic will mark the start of the second part of the season and an announcement is expected after the race regarding the move to Ducati of Valentino Rossi for the 2011 season.

Dani Pedrosa 2010

Following the last MotoGP round at Laguna Seca, the Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa spent a couple of days at the Honda Racing school of Indonesia as a guest instructor.

As well as passing on his personal riding advice to the chosen lucky students the Spaniard also put in some demonstration laps on a 110cc Honda Blade.

Hundreds of fans of the rider attended the event along with the 16 special students to see Pedrosa ride around the Sentul Karting circuit, surprising the Honda rider with their knowledge of the sport.

Dani said;

“It was great fun riding the 110cc Blade.  Obviously, it has very low horsepower compared to my RC212V, but I think that it’s great for the children to start understanding how to ride a motorbike, get to grips with the gears and the riding style needed.  The best advice I can give them is to follow their instinct from the heart and to have fun on the bike. They have an opportunity in life, so they must remember that and give it their all. When I started, I was also very small, but full of passion. I would never have imagined that I would race in the World Championship, but I was very lucky to be part of a project – like them now –, so they must go on dreaming and work hard to make their dreams come true. I was really surprised by how many people in Indonesia watch MotoGP. They are very passionate and know everything about the championship. It’s a beautiful country, the people are very friendly and everyone has told me that I must come back and visit Bali. Now, I’ll go home, visit my family and have fun with my friends, after so many races in such a short time. And then, my team and I will have to get ready for the second half of the season and to win races”.

Ducati

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The current Moto2 rider Karel Abraham, has announced on his personal website that he has signed a deal to ride a Ducati Desmosedici GP11 next season.

He will continue to ride under his current team banner Cardion AB Motoracing and the confirmation is expected to be given at a press conference before the Brno race.

The 20-year-old rider made his debut in the MotoGP series aboard a 125cc machine in 2005 before moving up to the 250cc series in 2007.

The Czech rider is currently running in fourteenth place in the Moto2 series with a best finish of fourth place at the Catalunya race.

Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha 2010

The Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo took victory again yesterday at the Red Bull US MotoGP as race leader Dani Pedrosa crashed out.

It was the Repsol Honda of Dani Pedrosa that took to the front as the lights went out at Laguna Seca from his fourth spot on the grid.  As the Spaniard made a brave pass around the outside, Casey Stoner slotted in behind followed by Lorenzo in third.

On lap 6, Stoner lost his second place after making a mistake and running wide letting Lorenzo through and hot on the tail of his fellow countryman.

On lap 12 of the 32 lap race, Pedrosa low-sided off of his Honda and was out of the race handing the lead to Lorenzo who edged away from a struggling Stoner.

In third place was a very impressive Valentino Rossi, making it onto the podium just seven weeks after his accident at Mugello in which he suffered a broken leg.  Rossi managed to catch and overtake the second Repsol Honda of Andrea Dovizioso who was still challenging for that third place at the final corner.

Nicky Hayden crossed the line in fifth place followed by Ben Spies in sixth.  Spies got off to a fantastic start and was in fourth place in the opening laps of the race but by lap 3 had dropped back to seventh place.  The Monster Tech3 Yamaha rider then worked his way back through the field, passing Hayden on lap 21 and setting Rossi in his sights before once again dropping back down the order on lap 25.

Colin Edwards finished in seventh place ahead of Marco Melandri in eighth, Mika Kallio in ninth and Loris Capirossi rounding off the top ten riders of the day.

Hector Barbera appeared to suffer a technical problem with his Aspar Ducati and failed to finish the race along with Alvaro Bautista, Marco Simoncelli and Aleix Espargaro who all crashed out.

Here are the results;

1.  Jorge Lorenzo  ESP Fiat Yamaha Team  43m 54.873s
2. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 43m 58.39s
3. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 44m 8.293s
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 44m 9.061s
5. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 44m 9.474s
6. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 44m 13.91s
7. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 44m 35.594s
8. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 44m 42.092s
9. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 44m 47.686s
10. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 44m 47.687s
11. Roger Lee Hayden USA LCR Honda MotoGP 45m 8.962s
12. Alex de Angelis RSM Interwetten Honda MotoGP 45m 9.539s

DNF:
Aleix Espargaro ESP Pramac Racing
Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini
Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team 998m 0s
Hector Barbera ESP Paginas Amarillas Aspar
Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

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.

Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda 2010

The Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa took his second win of the season yesterday in a fantastic race at the Sachsenring circuit in Germany.

As the race got underway it was pole sitter Jorge Lorenzo on the Fiat Yamaha that took the lead ahead of Dani Pedrosa, Casey Stoner, Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi.

As Pedrosa stuck to the back wheel of his fellow countryman on lap 9 the red flag was waved following a huge crash which saw Randy de Puniet come off at turn 4 collecting both Alvaro Bautista and Alexi Espargaró. Neither rider could avoid the LCR Honda of de Puniet who received a broken left tibia and fibula and a possible cracked vertebra for Espargaró.  Despite returning to the pits to recover their spare bikes, neither Espargaro or Bautista were allowed to continue as they were unable to get back with their bikes within 5 minutes of the red flag.

The second 21 lap race started 25-minutes later with Lorenzo once again out in front but this time Pedrosa made  his intentions clear as he attempted a pass on the Yamaha rider before the end of the first lap.  While the took took turns at the front Rossi had made his way past Dovizioso for fourth and was after Stoner in third.

Pedrosa took control of the race after making his move stick on lap 12 breaking his own lap record from the previous year.  Rossi meanwhile was on the tail of Stoner before the two raced side-by-side across the circuit with just a handful of laps to run.

Pedrosa took the chequered flag 3.355 seconds ahead of Lorenzo with Stoner taking third place after passing Rossi on the final corner of the last lap.  Dovizioso crossed the line in fifth place followed by Marco Simoncelli in sixth, Nicky Hayden in seventh, Ben Spies in eighth, Héctor Barberá in ninth and Marco Melandri in tenth.

The Pramac Racing team rider Mika Kallio crashed out on the first lap of the restarted 21 lap race after a disastrous weekend while the Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Colin Edwards failed to restart the race after crashing out on lap 7 of the original race.

Here are the results;

1.  Dani Pedrosa  ESP Repsol Honda Team  28m 50.476s
2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Fiat Yamaha Team 28m 53.831s
3. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 28m 55.733s
4. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 28m 56.099s
5. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 29m 7.634s
6. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 29m 8.233s
7. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 29m 8.411s
8. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 29m 11.433s
9. Hector Barbera ESP Paginas Amarillas Aspar 29m 12.476s
10. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 29m 25.693s
11. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 29m 35.518s
12. Alex de Angelis RSM Interwetten Honda MotoGP 29m 35.68s

DNF:
Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing
Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
Aleix Espargaro ESP Pramac Racing
Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP >
Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3

The Doctor Fans

Valentino Rossi is returning to the MotoGP grid this weekend, a month earlier than was initially expected after being given medical clearance.

The Fiat Yamaha rider had now completed two test sessions on the Yamaha R1 World Superbike and feels that he is now ready to get back in the saddle if he is to have any chance of competing for the championship.

Now lying in seventh place in the standings after missing the last four rounds following his accident at Mugello where he suffered a fractured right tibia.  The Italian rider had been told to expect at least a five-month recuperation programme but after just six weeks the reigning seven-time MotoGP champion is ready to make his return.

Despite the two test sessions going well, Rossi said;

“The big question mark is the entire race, 30 laps in a row. I have to wait and see what happens!”