Qatar Test concludes with Stoner top of the timesheet

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:59:19 -0700

Casey Stoner struck the final psychological blow prior to the start of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship by setting the fastest time of the Qatar Test on Monday, as the last pre-season meeting concluded with the Australian top of the timesheet. An effort of 1'55.681 from the Repsol Honda rider placed him 0.064s ahead of team-mate Dani Pedrosa, who was the only other rider under 1'56” during the session.

The pair, who spent the five-hour second session finalising their set-ups for the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar which takes place at the circuit from Thursday to Sunday, were well clear of the rest of the field, with Yamaha Factory Racing's Ben Spies third at a distant 0.549s further down on Pedrosa as the American sought improved grip on his M1.
The session got underway in difficult conditions with strong winds having dusted the track with a coating of sand, but after a slow start the riders began to adapt and competitive lap times were soon being laid down.

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) closed the session with a best effort of 1'56.433, whilst Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) at just six-thousandths of a second behind made it four RC212Vs inside the top five on the timesheet as the latter Italian made headway with electronics settings. Randy de Puniet of the Pramac Racing team was the final rider to get within a second of Stoner's time thanks to a late lap of 1'56.445, making him the highest-placing Ducati of the final day.

World Champion Jorge Lorenzo spent Monday in search of better acceleration in the lower gears, focusing on electronics and the swingarm on his M1. However, the defending World Champion ended up 1.026s down on Stoner and in seventh position. Close on his heels and also on an M1 was Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), with Ducati Team rider Nicky Hayden and San Carlo Honda Gresini's Hiroshi Aoyama completing the top ten and all within four-hundredths of a second of Lorenzo.

Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) and Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) were next on the timesheet, both experiencing falls during the day, with Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) in 13th. The Italian also had a crash, at Turn 7, and closed the day 1.307s off top spot as his pre-season on the GP11 ended in a frustrating manner. His team-mate Hayden was one of a group of riders who fell inside the final hour.

Loris Capirossi on the Pramac Desmosedici suffered a similar fate and was eventually just under 1.7s off Stoner, with rookie Cal Crutchlow sustaining a finger injury on his left hand when his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine went down at Turn 10. The Brit was only able to complete 28 laps, finishing up 2.049s off top spot.

Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) and Toni Elías (LCR Honda) completed the timesheet, which you can view by clicking here. The pair both had crashes inside the final hour of the session.

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM COMPLETES QATAR TEST AHEAD OF OPENING ROUND

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:13:44 -0700

The final pre-season MotoGP test session was completed tonight in chilly, windy conditions at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit, where Ducati Marlboro Team riders Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi lowered their lap times from last night. The team will still be working hard to make up ground when practice for the first round of the world championship starts in two days, with the race scheduled for March 20.  Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 9th, 1:56.726 (68 laps) “When we got here this afternoon, I wasn’t sure how much riding we were going to get to do, because the wind was really gusting. It started dying down about the time we started, though, and they did a good job of cleaning the track. We tried some different options and got a little bit better, but not like we really wanted to. I did two longer runs and was able to string together some laps at a decent pace, on both hard and soft tyres. I ended the day with a crash in Turn 2, where a lot of guys have gone down this week. I just lost the front end. Anyway, that’s enough testing, because this weekend it will really mean something. We know it’s going to be a tough one, because everyone is pushing so hard, but we’ll do our best to come in here and make a good showing.”  Valentino Rossi (Ducati Marlboro Team) 13th, 1:56.988 (50 laps) “I’d say that today was pretty challenging: the weather conditions were much tougher than yesterday, and I had another crash when I slipped on a white line. Fortunately, I just fell over on the ground—it was nothing serious. The real problem was that at about an hour and a half from the finish, I started to lose strength in my shoulder, and I just couldn’t push anymore. It’s a shame, because I had just done my best time, and I may have been able to drop it a little more from there. Instead, we didn’t even mount the two soft tyres that we had. I started on a long run, but I stopped because I was losing tenths lap after lap. Let’s say that we’re not as far back as it looks, although we still have a lot of work to do, regarding both the bike and myself, because the shoulder is evidently not yet able to bear two such intense days of testing. Between now and Thursday, I’ll do some light exercise and have it massaged, and then we’ll see.”

Nicky Hayden follows rossi to Dainese

Tue, 4 Jan 2011 16:05:36 -0800

Nicky Hayden is going for a new look. No, he isn't changing teams, we all know he will ride with Valentino at Ducati, but his leathers will be different from those he wore up until 2010. The American has decided to leave longtime partner Alpinestars, in favor of Dainese.
Whether the choice was motivated by safety or financial concerns, we will probably never know. But what's certain is that Dainese counts Valentino Rossi amongst its "honorary" partners. Vale has always worn the Italian company's equipment, and he has always used AGV helmets, a brand which was recently acquired by Dainese.
So this means that Hayden will effectively be taking the spot left open by Jorge Lorenzo. The Spaniard is actually making the exact opposite move, leaving Dainese for Alpinestars, completely severing all ties with his former teammate Rossi.

Cassey Stoner: “Honda will not discriminate”

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 17:00:55 -0800

While some of his colleagues are busy with promotional activities (Lorenzo and Pedrosa), and others are getting back in shape for 2011 (Rossi), Casey Stoner is back home in Australia, not particularly worried about next season. He is confident that HRC can handle supporting four factories riders at the same time.
"As far as I can see we all have the same amount of mechanics and nobody is getting less treatment than anyone else - he told abc.net - so there is nothing wrong with this. In the past Honda did this and it was fantastic, so I think it can be a great thing."
The ex Ducati rider also responded to Dani Pedrosa's comments regarding his evaluation of the Honda engine. Stoner seemed to feel as though the RC212V had a rather smooth motor, whereas Pedrosa and Dovizioso complained about the power delivery for most of the season.
"Everyone always wants to think they are more important or special than others but if everybody is getting the same treatment, I don't see any problem and we all have our own team, mechanics and engineers to worry about."
Looking even further ahead, the Australian spoke about his expectations for 2012, when MotoGP is set to return to 1000cc engines. He is of the opinion that the change will make little difference.
"Especially as far as the electronics are concerned. People shouldn't assume that the traction control is there to make us go faster. It mostly serves as a safety feature, and the electronics help to make setting up the bike easier. For this reason there are less crashes, and nobody wants to take a step backwards in terms of safety, even if I personally prefer it when you can slide the rear tire around a bit more."

Brivio: “Rossi already in the GYM”

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 10:49:40 -0800

The typical day for a journalist in the 1980's: at least two hours spent behind a telex to communicate with the world (if you don't know what a telex is, ask someone older than you or google it); the typical day for a journalist in the fast paced 1990's: five hours spent on the mobile phone; the typical day for a conveyor of information in 2010 (and beyond): stay permanently connected to the social networking sites (facebook and twitter), since most of the personalities post the news themselves.
This was the case yesterday with Marco Melandri, who informed us of his shoulder condition, and today it was the turn of Davide Brivio to provide an update on Valentino Rossi: "Just an update on Valentino's shoulder. Everything is going well. He started to train at gym to get ready in February. He has to work hard!"
Well it isn't exactly a big revelation, since we knew this was his rehabilitation schedule. According to our calculations Vale could be fit enough for some snowboarding at Madonna di Campiglio, for the the annual Ducati team presentation on January 10th, but we seriously doubt he will take any chances...
When probed further about Valentino's condition by way of old fashioned technology (the telephone), Brivio was a little more thorough in his response.
"I sent a "tweet" because I started to get a lot of questions about how Vale was doing, and it was impossible to reply to each of them individually (Davide has more than 7,000 "followers). In any case, Rossi is recuperating well. I saw him about ten days ago, and he had already begun passive rehabilitation. Now it's time for active work. He will be about 15 days short of a complete recovery during the February test, but he will be there nonetheless. Perhaps he will do a few less laps, but it's nothing to worry about."
Hearing him speak gives the impression that the manager will continue to work with his rider, even is he won't be wearing the Ducati team colors.
"Actually I still haven't spoken with the "President" - Brivio joked - but I will be following him, wearing a jacket with the letters "VR" on it. I will handle his publicity, sharing the work with Albi. I'll be at the tests and all of the Grands Prix."