MotoGP 2010

[Rob]

Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi experienced very different fortunes in qualifying at Phillip Island on Saturday, with the 2010 World Champion taking a front-row start for the race whilst his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi qualified in eighth position.

"These conditions were really risky because it was so cold and also incredibly windy. It was hard to stay on the bike sometimes!” said Lorenzo after securing his 15th front-row start of the campaign, having led the session briefly before placing second to Casey Stoner.

“I'm happy with my race pace which is unusual for me here because I've never been so strong in MotoGP at this track, but I think we've done a good job. I wanted pole today but the weather and Casey stopped me – he is so quick here. We have the second best time so it is okay and I am feeling very calm after last weekend. We hope the weather is like this or better tomorrow, with no rain, and then we will go for it and see what happens in the race. I am ready for the race; I just want to enjoy it."

For Rossi the session was a more complicated affair however, with the Italian encountering different problems when trying to set a qualifying lap on the softer Bridgestone tyres.

"I was really unlucky today because with each of the softer tyres, when I think I could have improved a bit, I had problems,” said the 31 year-old, who has only finished off the podium once at Phillip Island in 13 previous visits in all three classes. “First it was Espargaró, then Hayden's bike on the track and then it began to rain, so I couldn't use any of the tyres how I wanted in the end.”

“We start from the third row, which will be very hard, especially because our race pace isn't that strong and we don't have the right set-up yet. We need to work hard tonight and tomorrow morning to try to improve. The conditions aren't good and it's a great pity because this is a fantastic track but you can't enjoy it in this cold, because it takes so long for the tyres to get to the right temperature. Tomorrow will be hard, but we will see what we can do,” Rossi concluded

[Tifoso]

Woooooohoooo...attaboy Casey! I see what happened to Hayden; what happened to Rossi?

MOTOGP »



Home pole and 'best possible job' for Stoner
"I got in hot and let the brake off over the little bumps there and the front closed" - Nicky Hayden.
If Casey Stoner can win Sunday's Australian MotoGP, it will mark his fourth home victory in a row and mean he has been unbeaten at Phillip Island throughout his Ducati career.

Stoner, moving to Honda next season, took the first step towards that achievement by securing pole on Saturday, which was his 25th birthday.

The double 2010 race winner lapped a threatening 0.668sec quicker than Yamaha's new world champion Jorge Lorenzo, and 1.2sec ahead of third fastest Ben Spies, after a session that effectively ended two minutes early due to the arrival of rain.

“I always seem to celebrate my birthday here at Phillip Island but I guess there are worse places to be!" said Stoner.

"We have had virtually every single condition you could imagine thrown at us this weekend so we'll have to wait and see what happens tomorrow before we make any decisions on set-up, but so far I think we have done the best possible job in every condition.

"I'm quite happy with the setting in the wet even though we haven't had a fully wet session, which made it difficult to get a good reading from the bike.

"We have had two good sessions today, making progress in the last half an hour of this morning and another big step again in the last half hour of the afternoon.

"With the last two soft tyres I was able to make a substantial improvement to the lap time and we're in the best possible position for tomorrow so I'm pretty happy so far.”

Team-mate Nicky Hayden missed the final four minutes following a small crash in turn four. However, the rain reduced the potential damage to his grid position and he will line-up in sixth place.


*snip* crash.net

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 30.107s
2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Fiat Yamaha Team 1m 30.775s
3. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 31.386s
4. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 31.402s
5. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 31.415s
6. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 31.530s
7. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 1m 31.554s
8. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 1m 31.627s
9. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1m 32.018s
10. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 32.367s
11. Aleix Espargaro ESP Pramac Racing 1m 32.542s
12. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 1m 32.816s
13. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP 1m 33.190s
14. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 33.224s
15. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team 1m 33.384s
16. Hector Barbera ESP Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1m 33.390s
17. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 34.269s

[Rob]

hope he can stay up on his bike this weekend and win this 1. Like to see rossi come through how he usually do. Should be good race.

[Tifoso]

hope he can stay up on his bike this weekend and win this 1. Like to see rossi come through how he usually do. Should be good race.

I just saw your post (above mine duh) that said what happened to Rossi. Thanks mate

[siberianlady]

Shame that there are only 16 bikes (Pedrosa will not be racing)- like place your bets on the one guy that will not get any points.......... hope this improves in the future!

[Tifoso]

Holy cow. Fantastic race by Casey. Rossi on fiya! Up 5 positions so far. Great race so far.

[Tifoso]

Brilliant ride by Casey!

Hayden made a move, but Rossi beat him on a (for today, and hopefully all next seasom) slower bike. Wow

Provisional

1. Stoner
2.Lorenzo
3. Rossi
4.Hayden

[Ste]

Great news Lou!

Yamaha approve Rossi Ducati test
Source: Autosport

Valentino Rossi has been given clearance to test the Ducati for the first time in the post-season sessions at Valencia next month.

Yamaha's contract with Rossi does not expire until the end of the season, but he had urged the team to give him dispensation to start work with his new employer immediately after the 2010 racing season ends.

Two months after his deal with Ducati was announced, Rossi said he finally has permission from Yamaha racing boss Masao Furusawa to switch to Ducati for the Valencia tests, which take place in the days after the season finale at the Spanish track on 7 November.

"Last night I spoke with Furusawa," Rossi was quoted as saying by Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, "and he said that I can test the Ducati after the Valencia GP.

"I think that it's the right choice after everything there has been between us and a way to thank me for my work and commitment. I would like to thank them; it's a nice sportsmanlike gesture, also because with the limits on testing it's not as if you decide when you can do the tests."

News that Rossi can test that Ducati next month, plus his improved form in the last two grands prix, also makes it virtually certain that he will complete the season and wait until the winter break before having surgery on the niggling shoulder injury that has affected his form this year.

The Valencia test will also see Casey Stoner having his first run with Honda after leaving Ducati.

[Tifoso]

Fantastic! Thanks mate

Yamaha is a class act; I would have been very surprised if they didn't do the honorable thing.

[Rob]

good race, that move Rossi pulled on Hayden in last few corners, brilliant. Heart in mouth moment that was.

[Rob]

Great news Lou!

Yamaha approve Rossi Ducati test
Source: Autosport

yeah that is great news, glad they let him do it. Right thing to do, same here would of been VERY surprised if wouldnt of allowed Rossi to test.

[siberianlady]

yeah that is great news, glad they let him do it. Right thing to do, same here would of been VERY surprised if wouldnt of allowed Rossi to test.

Great news- am glad they saw the light!

[Aussie]

Woooooohoooo...attaboy Casey! I see what happened to Hayden; what happened to Rossi?

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 30.107s
2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Fiat Yamaha Team 1m 30.775s
3. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 31.386s
4. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 31.402s
5. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 31.415s
6. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 31.530s
7. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 1m 31.554s
8. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 1m 31.627s
9. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1m 32.018s
10. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 32.367s
11. Aleix Espargaro ESP Pramac Racing 1m 32.542s
12. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 1m 32.816s
13. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP 1m 33.190s
14. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 33.224s
15. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team 1m 33.384s
16. Hector Barbera ESP Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1m 33.390s
17. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 34.269s

The Flying Kangaroo is back

Casey Stoner is the best

Casey i know he is going to Honda next year shame but i be going for him

[Tifoso]

The Flying Kangaroo is back

Casey Stoner is the best

Casey i know he is going to Honda next year shame but i be going for him

Can't say as I blame you mate. Great rider.

Rossi will clean his clock, though

[Aussie]

Can't say as I blame you mate. Great rider.

Rossi will clean his clock, though

Like in 07 lol.

[Ste]

Like in 07 lol.

Yea, when the Ducati was a lot better and Yamaha had a poor bike and poor Michelin tyres

Stoner is only good when his bike is good. Otherwise he's rubbish and just falls off.

If the 2011 Ducati is rideable, Rossi will destroy everyone else imo.

[Tifoso]

I do think that if Rossi has a top 3 bike (ie, not the best, but 2nd or even 3rd best), he will win the WRC (or whatever it's called ), as long as the gap in performance isn't ridiculous.

[Ste]

I do think that if Rossi has a top 3 bike (ie, not the best, but 2nd or even 3rd best), he will win the WRC (or whatever it's called ), as long as the gap in performance isn't ridiculous.

Title.

[Tifoso]

Title.

Well, duh

[OldskoolF1]

Yea, when the Ducati was a lot better and Yamaha had a poor bike and poor Michelin tyres

Stoner is only good when his bike is good. Otherwise he's rubbish and just falls off.

If the 2011 Ducati is rideable, Rossi will destroy everyone else imo.

Yeah totally agree with that. They are all bloody good riders but Rossi has that something special. That overtake on Lorenzo at Catalunya into the last corner was pure class. Another rider that will be one to watch in future is Ben Spies. He is absolutely wringing the neck of that Yamaha and he scored nearly double the points of Colin Edwards. I would not be surprised if he beats Lorenzo next year on the same bike

[Tifoso]

Yeah totally agree with that. They are all bloody good riders but Rossi has that something special. That overtake on Lorenzo at Catalunya into the last corner was pure class. Another rider that will be one to watch in future is Ben Spies. He is absolutely wringing the neck of that Yamaha and he scored nearly double the points of Colin Edwards. I would not be surprised if he beats Lorenzo next year on the same bike

I agree with this completely. He seems to be the real deal. By far the best American on the grid. Lorenzo a bit lucky that Rossi was out as long as he was, I'd say.

[Rob]

I agree with this completely. He seems to be the real deal. By far the best American on the grid. Lorenzo a bit lucky that Rossi was out as long as he was, I'd say.

yeah think if Rossi wasnt out for as long as he was or even had the accident, be Rossi champion again. Lets face it, Edwards and Hayden are, dare i say it passed their best Spies will def give Gorgeous Jorge (what they call him on Eurosport) a hard time.

[Rob]

The MotoGP season that could have been www.autosport.com

The 2010 MotoGP season could have been epic had all the pieces fallen into place, reckons Toby Moody

Oh, for what could have been in 2010. Valentino Rossi gets wheel-to-wheel against his own team-mate - Lorenzo - for the very first time, and to boot, a guy who hadn't even ridden a GP bike when Rossi was already winning on the Honda V5 in MotoGP.

Pedrosa had a bike that flew at most of the tracks, winning six races, while Stoner's Ducati had a front end that stuck like glue, leaving the Aussie to sort out the back end as he always likes it.

It would have been a hell of a season that, but alas not everyone turned up at the same time with their best bike or in their best fitness.


Lorenzo secured his first MotoGP title
At present, MotoGP has Lorenzo on all cylinders, Stoner is making them look silly once he bolts into the middle distance, Rossi is finding form at places he knows and likes, while the works Hondas are rocketships but are missing their fastest rider.

It's not quite going to be a finale like Formula 1 is having over their last three races, with five title runners, but it's still going to be a cracker at Estoril in a fortnight's time, with Stoner's current form against Lorenzo, who headed every single lap there last year and won the year before in his first ever visit to the place during his third ever MotoGP race. Pole, won the race and fastest lap: thank you very much, now where's the night club?

Will Pedrosa return for Estoril in 10 days time? Of course he will on current form. HRC had to stop him flying to Malaysia because even the engineers knew that he wouldn't have been better, while when he did ride at Phillip Island, he said it was too difficult to hold on the bike at 200mph with a collarbone that is broken into four pieces.

Travelling for 36 hours to Australia when he could barely do a press-up, let alone be off the bottom end of the field in qualifying, was hardly a surprise considering the 50kg-Spaniard had to ride a 235bhp, 148kg bike that is a beast at the best of times. Just who is making some of these decisions at Honda? There is now no question that the pocket-sized Pedrosa doesn't really crash very well, the term 'China Doll' being banded around the paddock more and more.

I just hope that for the sake of the lad his collarbone gets sorted and it doesn't end up like Sete Gibernau's, that was never right again after the big turn one pile-up at Barcelona in 2006.

Here and now the power struggle within Honda is quite innocently being won by a guy in another team, isn't it? Casey Stoner is not up for battles anywhere except out on the track, but even he must realise that as he changes from Ducati to Honda in three weeks time he'll be the one on form.

* * *


Will Yamaha miss Rossi next year? ©
Ben Spies wrapped up the Rookie of the Year title in Oz, something that wasn't going to be something too hard for him as the season shook out. But with him going onto the works Yamaha next year, with better bits and Japanese bosses who are fresh off the Rossi-Burgess work ethic, everyone is holding their breath waiting to see if the magic touch that Yamaha have had for the past seven years of Rossi riding there will continue after the confusion they were in before then.

Remember that Yamaha won 18 races in the previous nine seasons before Rossi turned up, the Italian promptly winning them the same number in just two seasons.

Blimey...

So if the Yamaha guys are fired up about Rossi upping sticks and going off in a huff, they're going to dig their heels in further with some immense talents that could still be gun slingers over the last few laps just as Rossi and Lorenzo did at Motegi.

* * *

So Rossi's slightly edgy words about Yamaha not letting him go until the end of his contract abated at Motegi and Malaysia, resulting in Masao Furasawa and Lin Jarvis letting his go on the Monday after the Valencia GP so he can test the Ducati.

Jarvis was seen in the Ducati offices at Aragon, maybe brokering a deal so that if there is a Ducati rider needed to be released to Yamaha in the future, then it might be remembered.

It's a difficult one all this 'leaving teams' but maybe contracts can finish the day after the last race unless the rider has won the title and needs to do the obligatory world tour standing alongside his newly livered number one-plated bike?

Speaking of Jarvis, there are some who have given the guy a bit of a hard time for not retaining Rossi in 2011 and beyond. They also talk of the works Yamaha team having lost sponsors over the years.

Well, there is one thing that Jarvis did do that will ensure his place within the sport's history, and that's signing Valentino Rossi for seven long and fruitful years.

Yamaha then won the championship four times with Rossi and once with Jorge Lorenzo, who Jarvis had as good as signed before the 2007 season even started, a full racing year before he actually rode the 800cc Yamaha M1. Five championship from seven years is about as good as it gets, Furasawa and Jarvis being the management of the era.

If HRC is considered the creator of all things fantastic on two wheels that have the prefix 'RC' to the slightly older generation, then the younger generation who don't know what an RC30, RC45 or an RC 211V is, will prefer a FIAT Yamaha M1 instead. Or even an Air Asia Yamaha M1 from the 2011 season.

Now it's down to Yamaha's outgoing rider Rossi to see if he can win at his bogey track, Valencia, before trying to win on a Ducati in Qatar next year.

[Aussie]

Yea, when the Ducati was a lot better and Yamaha had a poor bike and poor Michelin tyres

Stoner is only good when his bike is good. Otherwise he's rubbish and just falls off.

If the 2011 Ducati is rideable, Rossi will destroy everyone else imo.

If the honda is strong i think it will be My money is on stoner he is a strong rider imo

But last australian to ride Honda was Mick Doohan now he was a gun

[Tifoso]

If the honda is strong i think it will be My money is on stoner he is a strong rider imo

But last australian to ride Honda was Mick Doohan now he was a gun

If the Honda is strong, and the Ducati is even close, Rossi will demolish him

[Aussie]

lets see what happens mate

[Tifoso]

lets see what happens mate

Without question, amico mio. It happens on the track. My post was "just funnin' "

[Tifoso]

MotoGP 2010: The best they can do…
Maximum MotoGP championship positions
With two rounds and a maximum of 50 points remaining, the best that each rider can do in the final 2010 MotoGP World Championship standings is shown below.

The full time riders are listed in their current ranking and points, with the number in brackets the top position in the final standings that they can still mathematically attain...


1. Jorge Lorenzo 333 points (1st)
2. Dani Pedrosa 228 (2nd)
3. Casey Stoner 205 (2nd)
4. Valentino Rossi 197 (2nd)
5. Andrea Dovizioso 179 (2nd)
6. Ben Spies 163 (3rd)
7. Nicky Hayden 152 (4th)
8. Marco Simoncelli 102 (7th)
9. Randy de Puniet 100 (8th)
10. Marco Melandri 93 (8th)
11. Colin Edwards 90 (8th)
12. Hector Barbera 76 (8th)
13. Alvaro Bautista 73 (8th)
14. Alex Espargaro 60 (8th)
15. Hiroshi Aoyama 47 (10th)
16. Mika Kallio 43 (16th, withdrawn)
17. Loris Capirossi 41 (11th)
crash.net

[Tifoso]

Excellent (although I hope both the Ducati boys beat him )

MOTOGP »



Rossi: I'm happy about my performance
"I am close to the top, was fast from the beginning of session and had a good feeling with bike" - Valentino Rossi.
Valentino Rossi is confident of a competitive showing in this weekend's Portuguese Grand Prix, even if conditions remain wet.

MotoGP hasn't had a wet race so far this year, but the rain at Estoril was so bad on Friday that only four riders left the pits for the first or the two practice sessions.

Things improved for the afternoon, when all 17-riders lapped for the full 45-minutes on wet tyres.

Rossi was third fastest after his 20 laps, the best of which was just 0.361sec behind Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, winner at Estoril for the past two seasons.

"This afternoon was a normal wet practice and I'm happy about my performance," said the Italian. "I am close to the top, was fast from the beginning of session and had a good feeling with bike.

"Unfortunately we were losing a little bit in some sections of the track, especially the last one because the bike was moving a little too much.

"We will try for tomorrow to improve the settings, it's important that we made a good start this afternoon as this morning's session was cancelled and it looks like the weather may not be very good over the weekend, so we will not have a lot of time to set up the bike!"

"It was a good session today, we started with a good base and Valentino was fast throughout the practice," confirmed team manager Davide Brivio. "There are still some improvements to make both with the electronics and the balance of the bike. We got some really useful information from the session so if we have any further wet sessions or a wet race on Sunday we can continue with this good base."

Ducati's Nicky Hayden split the Yamahas with the second fastest lap time.

Saturday's two sessions will be one hour long to make up for the washed out Friday morning session.

crash.net

[Ste]

Gorgeous George on pole as Qualifying called off
Source: Autosport

Jorge Lorenzo will start from pole position in the Portuguese Grand Prix after qualifying was cancelled due to heavy rain at Estoril.

Conditions have been poor throughout the weekend and worsened again before qualifying, leaving large patches of standing water on the track.

After checking the state of the circuit with the safety car, the organisers made a final decision to abandon qualifying 30 minutes after the scheduled start time.

The grid has therefore been set on practice times, and with Lorenzo having topped both of the sessions where the weather was reasonable enough for riders to participate properly, the world champion finds himself on pole for Yamaha, despite a heavy crash this morning.

Nicky Hayden's second place on Friday afternoon means he equals the best starting position of his Ducati career in second, ahead of Valentino Rossi on the other Yamaha.

Casey Stoner is fourth with the second Ducati, followed by Tech 3 Yamaha's Ben Spies in fifth on his Estoril debut.

Marco Melandri will be sixth, his highest grid position of his final MotoGP year with Gresini Honda.

The works Hondas of Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa are only seventh and 12th, although Pedrosa showed better form this morning as he continues to recover from his collarbone injury.

Returnee Carlos Checa (Pramac Ducati) will start from the tail of the field for his first MotoGP race since 2007.

Pos Rider Team Time Gap
1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m48.853s
2. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m49.435s + 0.582s
3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m50.007s + 1.154s
4. Casey Stoner Ducati 1m50.081s + 1.228s
5. Ben Spies Tech 3 Yamaha 1m50.313s + 1.460s
6. Marco Melandri Gresini Honda 1m50.500s + 1.647s
7. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m50.787s + 1.934s
8. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda 1m50.824s + 1.971s
9. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1m51.250s + 2.397s
10. Marco Simoncelli Gresini Honda 1m51.518s + 2.665s
11. Aleix Espargaro Pramac Ducati 1m51.916s + 3.063s
12. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m52.734s + 3.881s
13. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1m53.018s + 4.165s
14. Alvaro Bautista Suzuki 1m53.317s + 4.464s
15. Hector Barbera Aspar Ducati 1m53.537s + 4.684s
16. Hiroshi Aoyama Interwetten Honda 1m53.933s + 5.080s
17. Carlos Checa Pramac Ducati 1m54.073s + 5.220s