Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme : News EN

Marc Márquez postpones 2012 debut

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:45:00 +0100

Repsol rider recovering well from recent surgery on right eye but will not take part in next week's test in Valencia Runner-up in last year's Moto2 World Championship, Marc Márquez has postponed his first ride 0f 2012 until a later date. He had originally been scheduled to take part in the 8th-10th February test at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, but has elected to sit out the visit to Valencia in order to continue his recovery from eye surgery.The Repsol rider's condition continues to improve after the operation at the Instituto Oftalmológico eye surgery department of Barcelona's Hospital Clínic this past January, carried out in order to correct the double vision problem from which he had been suffering since his crash in practice for the October 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix.Márquez is expected to be back on track in the near future, but has erred on the side of caution in skipping the Valencia test.

2012 FIM Asia General Assembly in Singapore

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:51:00 +0100

FIM ASIA successfully held their 2012 General Assembly at the M Hotel in Singapore on January 16, 2012. The 2012 General Assembly was well attended with 19 FMNs officially represented. Present at the meeting were the representatives from the national motorcycle federations of Bahrain, China, Chinese-Taipei, Guam, Hongkong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. FIM Vice President Robert Rasor and FIM Executive Director for Operations Steve Aeschlimann graced the meeting and provided their invaluable insights during the meetings and seminars.Proposals for sporting and non-sporting issues including a motion to revise an article in the existing FIM Asia Statutes and align it with the FIM Statutes were presented and approved by the General Assembly. Presentations were also conducted by FIM Asia's Working Panels on Environmental Concerns, Women's Affairs, the author of the proposal for the new sporting working panel, the Promoter of FIM Asia's premiere continental championship event and the FMSCT which depicted the extent of the damage brought by the floods in Thailand in the last quarter of 2011 to FMSCT's motorcycle sports facilities. The 2012 General Assembly nonetheless turned extraordinary with FIM Asia's initiative to interject CCR and CMS Seminars and the first-ever FIM Asia Riders of the Year Gala Awards Ceremony into the festivities of the meeting. The FIM Seminars were special since they were conducted by no less than the FIM CCR and CMS Commissions Directors Rezso Bulcsu and Wolfgang Srb. Both seminars drew a record number of participants that once again reinforced the growing interest in motorcycle sports in Asia. FIM Asia found a most opportune time to honor the champions in the different continental championship events in 2011 in the FIM ASIA RIDERS OF THE YEARS GALA DINNER CEREMONY held on the evening of the General Assembly. The ceremony marked the first-ever simultaneous feting of the champions in different motorcycle sports disciplines in FIM Asia history. The event effectively reset the bar for FMNs hosting future general assemblies and likewise served as a medium for recognizing the individuals and institutions who contributed significantly to FIM Asia's accomplishments and acknowledge new members.photo 1: FIM Asia likewise recognized several individuals and institutions who contributed greatly to FIM Asia's initiatives and accomplishments. (From L to R) Mishaal Alsudairy (Saudi Arabia) FIM Asia Vice President, H.H. Tunku Mudzaffar Tunku Mustapha (Malaysia)–past FIM Asia (formerly UAM) President, Shrikant Karani (India)-FIM Asia Vice President, Stephan Carapiet (Philippines)-FIM Asia President, Thongchai Wongsawan (Thailand)-past FIM Asia (formerly UAM) President, Akira Takano (Japan)- President of the Motorcycle Federation of Japan- who received the plate of recognition on behalf of FIM Asia Honorary Adviser Masatoshi Suzuki of the MFJ, Yan Jianchang (China)-FIM Asia Vice President, Nasser Khalifa Al Atya (Qatar) FIM Vice President and who was likewise recognized for his support and guidance as FIM Asia's Honorary Adviser. photo 2: The delegates of the 2012 FIM Asia General Assembly in Singapore pose for a "class photo" at the end of meeting. photo 3:Confetti rains down on the 2011 FIM Asia Riders of the Year and the FIM and FIM Asia officials who graced the event.

Malaysia Test concludes with Stoner reigning supreme

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:06:00 +0100

The third and final day of the Official MotoGP™ Test concluded on Thursday at Sepang, with Casey Stoner breaking under the 2 minute mark on just his second lap out to dominate the field by over half a second. The first on-track MotoGP action of the year concluded on Thursday at the Sepang International Circuit, with the new 1000cc machines noticeably quicker than the 800s of last year as the top four paced under the circuit's best lap set by Valentino Rossi in 2009. Casey Stoner was half a second clear of the rest of the field on his Repsol Honda RC213V, with Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa his closest challengers the first part of the day, though an afternoon rain storm halted any attempts to catch up with the World Champion and all lap times from the morning remained unchanged. Stoner was the pace man laying down a time of 1'59.607 on just his second lap of the day, over a second quicker than his best lap from yesterday. He and team-mate Dani Pedrosa focused on testing suspension settings and a new clutch, with the Spaniard setting the 3rd fastest lap of the day with 2'00.256, an improvement of 1.252 from Wednesday. Factory Yamaha riders Lorenzo and Ben Spies successfully found base set ups for their YZR-M1s, focusing on chassis balance and electronics to manage the increased horsepower of the 1000cc bikes. Lorenzo's best effort was 0.591s behind the top time of Stoner, with Spies landing fourth and 0.888s from first before ending the day early following a minor crash on one of the Yamaha test bikes. The Test concluded on a high note for the Ducati Team with Valentino Rossi moving up two spots in the ranks to fifth fastest, bettering his time by over a second from yesterday and happy with the changes to the front end of the GP12 thus far, as confirmed by Ducati Corse General Manager Fillipo Preziosi, who stated: "This test was mainly focused on understanding if this bike is better in the front and I can say that it is." Nicky Hayden was only able to complete a couple of laps in the afternoon due to weakness in his injured shoulder hindering his ability to hold onto the 1000cc bike with any corner exit headshake. The American confirmed that he will ride at the Jerez Test along with the CRT prototypes before the second Official Test at Sepang later this month. The Pramac Racing Team wrapped up a successful Test with rider Héctor Barberá, who bettered his time from yesterday by eight tenths, breaking into the 2 minute mark with a best lap of 2'00.929 as he worked on testing new Bridgestone tire compounds. The Spaniard was two tenths ahead of British Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) who had a minor crash just after 11am that set his thus far rapid progress back slightly. Italian Andrea Dovizioso wrapped up his second successful test aboard the 2012 Yamaha M1 ranking jut behind team-mate Crutchlow with a best lap of 2'01.257. Álvaro Bautista was satisfied with the three day test, and today quickened his pace on the Honda of the Gresini Team by sixth tenths, while newcomer Stefan Bradl put in another solid day's work on the LCR Team Honda and the Moto2 Champion concluded his third day of testing with the 11th fastest time (2'01.894) while trying out tires as well as making one more back to back chassis comparison in the morning. Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) put in the 12th quickest time while testing tires on his GP12, while NGM Mobile Forward Racing's Colin Edwards worked on diagnosing chatter issues.The Texan's time of 2'04.722 put him 15th, while Avintia Racing's Iván Silva and replacement rider Jordi Torres completed the times after recovering from their engine problems of the day before.

Bridgestone wraps up a successful first round of testing

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:26:00 +0100

The first round of MotoGP testing for the 2012 season has been completed following the end of the first Sepang test with Bridgestone undertaking extensive assessment of its 2012 specification tyres. Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner was the fastest rider in Sepang, with his time of 1:59.606 – a second faster than the best time from the corresponding test in 2011 – proving that the combination of the new 1000cc machines and 2012 specification Bridgestone tyres is working well. Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo was overall second fastest ahead of Stoner's stablemate Dani Pedrosa, the pair setting times of 2:00.198 and 2:00.256 respectively. Bridgestone's focus in Sepang was evaluation of both the 2012 spec tyres and the specially developed experimental front tyre, with the data acquired to be incorporated into Bridgestone's ongoing MotoGP tyre development programme. With track temperatures regularly soaring above 50°C, Sepang presented an opportunity to test the tyres for the upcoming MotoGP season in a vastly different environment from last November's official group test in Valencia. Despite the different conditions, riders were happy with the feeling and warm-up characteristics the 2012 specification tyres delivered. With the main technical aims for this year being improved warm-up performance and enhanced rider feel, the feedback on the tyres Bridgestone supplied to the private CRT test at Valencia (30-31 January) was also positive. The wider operating temperature range engineered into these tyres ensured optimum grip levels were achieved in quicker time, even though track temperatures in Spain did not exceed 17°C. Bridgestone's consultation with Loris Capirossi also continued at Sepang, with a working plan for 2012 put in place to ensure an ongoing focus on rider safety. The regular liaison with Dorna's new Safety Advisor was valuable in developing a clearer picture of the overall rider opinion of the current crop of tyres. Bridgestone now looks ahead to the next round of MotoGP tests and will supply tyres and technical engineers for both the private CRT test at Jerez on February 20-22 and the second Sepang test, from February 28-March 1. Tohru Ubukata - General Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department"Our objective for the Sepang test was to evaluate how the 2012 specification tyres performed in the hottest temperatures possible, and in this respect we are very pleased with the feedback we received from riders in Malaysia. "Our meetings with Dorna Safety Advisor Loris Capirossi were very productive and his experience with Bridgestone tyres and relationship with the riders are valuable in understanding the relationship between rider, bike and tyre. The presence of a Safety Advisor in MotoGP is a welcome addition and we will continue our collaboration with Loris throughout the year. "The technical data and rider feedback we gathered during testing is of great importance to our MotoGP tyre development programme and I want to thank all the teams and riders for giving their valuable time in helping us achieve our objectives." Loris Capirossi – Safety Advisor to Dorna"I am very happy to resume my collaboration with Bridgestone and look forward to working together throughout the season. Personally, I feel this was a very positive test and another step in the right direction after our last meeting in Valencia. "In my discussions with riders, the general feeling is that the 2012 specification tyres are very good and they are happy with the feeling they offer. Also, the experimental front tyre helped give the riders an understanding of Bridgestone's development direction."First Sepang MotoGP test – combined times here!

History of Ice Racing

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:30:00 +0100

It is quite difficult to know with precision when and where someone had the idea of putting a motorcycle on ice. This was obviously held in countries where climatic conditions allowed this practice. The first records of racing on ice date from 1924 in Sweden; in the early 30s, motorcycles with a low frame had the tyres fit with short studs, skidding a bit sideways in the curves. Races were held on tracks designed on frozen lakes. Then longer studs were used, allowing the rider to be faster and to take very low angles in curves… This was introduced in a race in Stockholm in 1933. Ice Racing appeared then just before the Second World War in the Soviet Union – first as a demonstration in 1938, then in March 1939 in the first official competition in Moscow. After the war, national Championships developed in Scandinavia and the USSR and spread to some central Europe countries such as Czechoslovakia and Germany. Enjoying a great popular success in several places – mainly in Scandinavia and the USSR – international meetings started to be organised in the late 50s with 500cc machines mounted in frames adapted from Speedway machines, while national Championships were also run in other classes (125cc, 350cc, sidecars).In 1961 international events were organised in Ufa and Moscow with riders from Finland Sweden, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. The Swede Bjorn Knutsson (runner-up in the Speedway World Final that year and future Speedway World Champion in 1965) won the Series. Later, the events held in Helsinki and Stockholm were won by Soviet rider Boris Samorodov, from the city of Ufa. The first FIM Cup was then organised in 1963, gathering riders from the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Sweden and Finland. Five races took place in the USSR and five others in Sweden and Finland. The winner was Boris Samorodov. With such a success the competition became a European Championship in 1965, organised in 5 elimination meetings and five finals (the four best results counting towards the Championship), all of them held in the Soviet Union. Again the winner was Boris Samorodov; he was followed by a rider who was to become the greatest Ice Racing rider of all times: Gabdrakhman Kadyrov.KADYROV ON TOPThe European Championship became a World Championship in 1966, with semi-finals held in Leningrad and Novosibirsk, and finals in Ufa and Moscow – all events held over two series of heats, one on Saturday evening, the other on Sunday afternoon. Grabdrakhman Kadyrov clinched his first title, ahead of Victor Kuznetsov and Czechoslovakian Antonin Svab. Boris Samodorov, 5th in 1966, took the title back in 1967, but it was to be his last one. Kadyrov then dominated the Ice Racing scene until 1973. In 1968, he won his second title. In 1969, the Championship was run over one final event only - won by Kadyrov. In 1970, the final was held for the first time outside the USSR, in Nässjö, Sweden, and it was the first title for a non-Russian rider: Antonin Svab finished with the maximum of points, 15, one more than Kadyrov, as he had won their direct confrontation in heat 4. The Swede Kurt Westlund ended in third position. Then Kadyrov was back at the top for three consecutive years: in 1971 in Inzell (West Germany), Nässjö in 1972, and in 1973 in Inzell again – Inzell would become a traditional venue for Ice racing events.In 1974, in Nässjö, another Czechoslovakian rider, Milan Spinka, dominated the final winning all his races and clinching the World title ahead of Russians Zibrov and Kadyrov.Then riders from the Soviet Union would dominate Ice Racing competitions for many years. In 1975 in Moscow, a new generation of Russian riders showed up at the top: Sergei Tarabanko won four consecutive titles from 1975 to 78, and Anatoli Bondarenko two in 1979 and 1980. TEAM COMPETITION INTRODUCEDTeam competitions had already been organised since the 60s - when, at the initiative of the Russian Federation, an Ice Racing World Championship for Teams was introduced in 1979. Obviously, the Russians were big favorites and their individual domination would be repeated in the team contest. In 1979 they had the three World best riders, Tarabanko, Bondarenko and Gladychev. For some years, even changing one or another rider, the result did not change. But in 1983, a big surprise came from the German team, composed of Max Niedermayer, Helmut Weber and Günther Brandt, who won the title in Berlin, followed by the Swedish team, the Russians being only third – their worst result ever.In the Individual contest, 1981 was the turn of Vladimir Liubitsch, while Sergei Kasakov, after various runner-up placings, clinched two titles, in 1982 and 1983. In 1984 the final was held in Moscow, but the Swedish rider Erik Stenlund spoiled the party, winning in front of Suchov and Ivanov. In the Team final, held in Deventer (Netherlands), the USSR and Sweden were even at the end; the Russians won the run-off. The Swedes would have their revenge in 1985, winning easily in front of the USSR. In the Individual Championship, though, the Soviet domination was back: Vladimir Suchov won his third title in Assen. Stockholm welcomed the 1986 final and the spectators were expecting a second title for their star Erik Stenlund. But it was time for Yuri Ivanov to get the first of his three World titles; Vladimir Suchov was second and Stenlund third. The second title of Yuri Ivanov was clinched in Berlin in '87. But Erik Stenlund was still a match winner: in 1988 in Eindhoven, he fought back against the Russians and beat them all, clinching his second individual World title.The Russians confirmed a year later that they were still the best Ice Racing riders: Nikolai Nishenko took his turn in 1989 on the brand-new ice facility built in Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan), In 1990 things changed again: Finn Jarmo Hirvasoja won the title in the final held in Gothenburg, Then four consecutive titles went to Russian riders. In 1991 it was the turn of Sergei Ivanov (Yuri's brother). In 1992 in Frankfurt Yuri Ivanov won his third title. In 1993 the final was held again in Russia: Saransk saw the victory of Vladimir Fadeev, ahead of Alexander Balashov.The Russian reaction also came in the Team Championship after the loss of the 1985 final: the Russian team won all Team finals from 1986 until today except two of them. In 1995, their usually strongest opponents, the Swedes, won again, lead by veteran Per-Olov Serenius, fact that they repeated in 2002. But that is all so far: until 2009 everything went to Russia. INDIVIDUAL GRAND PRIX SYSTEM1994 marked a big change in the history of Ice Racing; a new running system, which was under study for several years, was finally put in place. The World Final was replaced by a Series of events known as Ice Racing Grand Prix – with two exceptions, in 1997 and 2000 when one World Final was held. Each Grand Prix kept the same formula as the World Final, one event held on Saturday night and the second on Sunday afternoon. Four final heats were held additionally deciding the final placings four by four, from 16th place to the first one. Alexander Balashov won his first title, ahead of Per-Olov Serenius and a young Russian rider Viacheslav Nikulin. 1995 was the year for Sweden: Per-Olov Serenius won the Individual Grand Prix Series and Sweden won the Team final one point ahead of Russia. One year later it was Russia's response, with five of their riders taking the first five places: Balashov, Polikarpov, Nikulin, Fadeev and Lumpov. They also clinched the Team World title. In 1997, Russian rider Kyril Drogalin won the title in Assen in a one-event World Final (the Russian team also won the Team title in Berlin). Alexander Balashov won his second title in 1998, Drogalin was second and Nikulin third. In 1999 Fadeev won a strong battle with Balashov and clinched his second World title, Nikulin finishing once again in third place. Kyril Drogalin won his second title in 2000, once again in a single World Final held in Assen, one point ahead of the new strongest non-Russian rider, Austrian Franz Zorn. As from 2001, the Grand Prix system was maintained and Drogalin took his third World title. In 2002, Per-Olov Serenius, then aged 54 years, clinched his second World title in the very last race in Inzell against Viacheslav Nikulin. German rider Günther Bauer won his first Grand Prix that year and in 2003 fought for the title until the very last race. The crown finally went to the young Russian rider Vitaly Khomitsevitch, just ahead of Bauer. In 2004 another young Russian, Dimitry Bulankin, took the crown, and from 2005 until now the World Champion has been Nikolai Krasnikov, from Russia, of course.by Marc PétrierCaptions from top to bottom:Start of a national Championship race in Moscow in 1961. © MFRThe most impressive thing in Ice Racing : the spikes…© MFRThe six World titles clinched by Gabdrakhman Kadyrov are a record number only equaled in March 2010 by Nikolai Krasnikov. © MFRThe Russian Yuri Ivanov (left) was World Champion three times (1986, 1987, 1992) & Swede Per-Olov Serenius twice, in 1995 and 2002. © FIM/Marc Pétrier

Barcelona prepares for season finale

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:11:00 +0100

The Palau Sant Jordi arena Barcelona, will welcome the stars of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship on Sunday 5 February for the final round of the 2012 series. Long regarded as the spiritual home of indoor enduro racing the Barcelona event will provide a memorable location for an exciting championship showdown, where the winners of this year's series will be decided. With the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship making it's final stop of the 2012 series the stage is well and truly set for a final night of thrilling racing action.Poland's Taddy Blazusiak – KTM is the favourite to secure this year's SuperEnduro World title. Dominating both rounds one and two in Italy and Poland, Blazusiak has so far remained undefeated - winning each and every SuperEnduro final on offer. Earning a maximum of six wins from six starts the question many are asking now is can Blazusiak continue his run of victories and clinch the championship with a perfect season. Loved by fans for both his speed and showmanship, Blazusiak enters the Barcelona event determined to deliver yet more winning performances.Behind Blazusiak's charge for the number one spot, the race for the remaining championship podium positions is sure to prove electrifying. Britain's Jonny Walker – KTM was the sensation of the Polish event. Finishing second overall on the night, the youngster recorded his first ever World championship podium by beating Sweden's Joakim Ljunggren – Husaberg. That result in Poland now puts Walker into second position in the championship standings where he heads Ljunggren by only two points. With the runners-up result now a realistic possibility, Walker will be determined to finish the championship on a high.Ljunggren, now an experienced SuperEnduro campaigner who had a difficult night at round two in Poland, will not want to let his chances of finishing as runner-up in the championship slip away. Suffering with poor starts in Lodz, Ljunggren found himself having to pass numerous riders in order to reach the race leaders. Knowing that a fast start in Barcelona will be crucial if he is to overhaul Walker in the championship chase, Joakim will enter Barcelona focused solely on success.Right behind the top three in the championship comes a group of fast Spaniards led by home favourite Ivan Cervantes – Gas Gas. With home advantage on his side, Cervantes who lives close to Barcelona, could easily become the deciding factor in the expected battle for second in the championship between Walker and Ljunggren.Narrowly missing the podium in Poland due to a double crash in the night's third SuperEnduro final, Cervantes is hopeful of giving his home crowd the result they want. Cristobel Guerrero – KTM who was third in Italy, Xavier Galindo – Husaberg and Alfredo Gomez – Husaberg are all more than capable of putting in memorable championship ending performances. Adding Italy's Alex Salvini – Husqvarna into the mix, the Palau Sant Jordi stadium is sure to witness an explosive end to what has so far been a dramatic and unpredictable 2012 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship.

Recovered Stoner tops second day of testing at Sepang

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:28:00 +0100

The Official MotoGP™ Test in Malaysia saw the reigning World Champion heading the times by the end of the day, with Yamaha Factory Racing's Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo his closest rivals.After missing a day of testing on Tuesday due to a strained muscle, Casey Stoner gradually worked his way into the top of the timesheet on day two of the Official MotoGP Test at Sepang. The Australian's 19th lap aboard his 1000cc RC213V stood firm as the fastest of the day at 2'00.895, with Spies following 0.157 seconds behind and Lorenzo a further 0.016s off the Repsol Honda rider.With the geometry and chassis set up adjusted to their ridings styles the previous day, the Yamaha Factory pair spent the morning smoothing out the YZR-M1's electronics and power delivery which had Spies topping the timesheet at the midday point.Dani Pedrosa put forward his best time of 2'01.508 on his second to the last of 35 laps to rank him fourth for the day. The Spaniard used the day to work on braking and to improve the stability of the new 1000cc Repsol Honda in corner entry as well as to test solutions to reduce some chatter.Cal Crutchlow again completed the top five, doing well to reacquaint himself with riding a motorcycle having spent the off-season largely away from two wheels. The British rider's best time of 2'01.565 at the controls of his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine was just over two tenths quicker than Pramac Racing's Héctor Barberá, who worked on solving a chatter issue and testing new parts for his GP12 Ducati.Italian Valentino Rossi was the final rider within one second of Stoner, as he and the Ducati Team spent the majority of the day testing new parts for the GP12. Still recovering team-mate Nicky Hayden reported the new Desmosedici is producing a better feeling in the front, although lack of strength from his recently injured shoulder gave him some trouble and the American passed the reins of his Ducati to test rider Franco Battaini for part of the day.Another rider recovering from injury, Italian Andrea Dovizioso (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), produced a time while getting to know his Yamaha that ranked him 9th for the day, two tenths behind Alvaro Bautista aboard the San Carlo Honda Gresini bike. MotoGP rookie Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda) followed in 11th with Karel Abraham taking the 12th spot as the Czech rider tested a new chassis on his Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati.American Colin Edwards improved his time on the Suter-BMW by over a second from his time set in the morning, as he and the NGM Mobile Forward Racing team worked on setting up a different electronics package from yesterday.Avintia Racing was not able to complete the day of testing due to issues with the engines in their BQR-FTR machine. Spanish rider Iván Silva completed just 16 laps with test riders Robertino Pietri and Jordi Torres making a handful of rounds each.

Welcome to Russia!

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:38:00 +0100

The 2012 FIM Ice Speedway Gladiators World Championship Finals begin. Sixteen of the world's best Ice racers will gather in Russia this weekend to begin their quest for the 2012 FIM Ice Speedway Gladiators World Championship. The first round of the Final Series will be held over two days at the Zorkiy Stadium in Krasnogorsk near Moscow and the draw has now been made:Ballot N° Rider Country 1 5 Eduard Krysov Russia 2 7 Franz Zorn Austria 3 3 Dmitry Koltakov Russia 4 11 Jan Klatovský Czech Republic 5 10 Harald Simon Austria 6 2 Daniil Ivanov Russia 7 9 Grzegorz Knapp Poland 8 16 Vitali Khomitsevich Russia 9 14 Max Niedermaier Germany 10 8 Robert Henderson Sweden 11 1 Nikolay Krasnikov Russia 12 15 René Stellingwerf The Netherlands 13 4 Dmitry Khomitsevich Russia 14 12 Antti Aakko Finland 15 6 Sergey Karachintsev Russia 16 13 Mats Järf Finland 17 Reserve Andrey Gavrilkin Russia 18 Reserve Maxim Lushnikov Russia The favourite for this round and, perhaps for the whole series, must be current World Champion Nicolay Krasnikov. Last year in Inzell, Germany, after winning his seventh consecutive title he announced that he would no longer compete for the World title but a change of heart, prompted perhaps by his success in the Russian Championship where he finished as runner-up, saw his enthusiasm return. He confirmed this by heading the qualifiers with an impressive unbeaten 21 points in Poland and he appears to be relishing the prospect of a record-breaking eighth title when the series ends in Sweden in April.There are six Russian qualifiers for the series, the maximum allowed under FIM rules, and the five who are snapping at the heels of Krasnikov will be keen to impress. With literally hundreds of ice racers in Russia, competition is fierce and to achieve a top six place through the domestic championships is no easy task. Daniil Ivanov will be fired up to reproduce his success in the Russian Final where he beat Krasnikov in a run-off for the title and his Togliatti team mate Dmitry Khomitsevich will also be looking for a successful start to the series. With brother Vitaly as Wild Card for this meeting to provide some sibling rivalry and Eduard Krysov, winner of the qualifier in Lukovitsy also in the line up, racing will be fast and furious. It has been a turbulent season for ice racing in Sweden this year as emphasised by the fact that, with veterans Serenius and Svensson failing to make the cut, Robert Henderson is their only qualifier. Along with Finns Antti Aakko and Mats Järf he has performed well in Swedish Elite League but all three will have to work hard to match the Russians. Similarly, Austrians Zorn and Simon will have to be at their best to achieve a podium place. Poland's Grzegorz Knapp wins a surprise but deserved place after his performance in Sanok and Max Niedemaier is Germany's only representative. Dutchman René Stellingwerf has been nominated by F.I.M as the permanent Wild Card after his spirited performance in St.Johann.The two reserve riders nominated by the Russian Federation are Andrey Gavrilkin and Maxim Lushnikov. They will be ready to make a good show if they have a chance to go.F.I.M. Official in control for this meeting will be GP Referee Craig Ackroyd from Great Britain making his first visit to Russia and Jury President is Andrzej Grodzki from Poland. As usual there will be two meetings, the first on Saturday evening at 18.00 followed by a Sunday afternoon 13.00 finale. Practice is on Friday afternoon.Photos Good-Shoot

1000cc action on track at Sepang sees Lorenzo on top

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:19:00 +0100

The first Official MotoGP™ Test of 2012 kicked off in Malaysia yesterday with Jorge Lorenzo leading the timesheet at the end of day one, while World Champion Casey Stoner sat out the first day of testing after injuring his back while warming up for his first ride.After two months off the track, the MotoGP paddock was back in action as the first official Test of 2012 began at the Sepang International Circuit. In attendance were the factory teams getting underway with development work on the new 1000cc bikes in addition several new teams contesting MotoGP CRT machines.A damp track in the morning had the riders waiting to make first contact with the asphalt, until the late morning when all but Casey Stoner made the first laps aboard their 2012 machines. Leading the pace for the first half of the day was Factory Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo, who then completed the day on top with a fastest lap of 2'01.657 aboard his new YZR-M1, 0.346s faster than closest rival Dani Pedrosa.Lorenzo's team-mate Ben Spies completed the day with the fourth fastest time of 2'02.234, and tomorrow the Yamaha pair will continue development work on a new electronics package in addition to testing new parts.While current World Champion Casey Stoner sat the day out after injuring a muscle in his back warming up in preparation to ride, team-mate Pedrosa tested the new Bridgestone tyres as well as working to set up the chassis of his RC213V, which has been developed to his specifications. The number 1 plated machine did make it to the track for four laps at the hands of Honda test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi, and Stoner did remark upon inspecting his new ride that changes made to the bike since the test in November were impressive.With the aim of only getting familiar with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 motorcycle, Cal Crutchlow completed the day third fastest in the field with a time of 2'02.221, just over a tenth of a second quicker than Valentino Rossi at the controls of the new Ducati GP12.Rossi completed 43 long anticipated laps aboard the completely redesigned Desmosedici, to post a best time of 2'02.392. Today was the first public appearance of the new machine, upon which team-mate Nicky Hayden gathered his first impressions while lapping into 10th fastest spot of the day with a time of 2'03.151.Andrea Dovizioso made his focus of the day on riding with his newly plated collarbone and working on engine management, and the Italian faired well, placing his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine sixth for the day, three tenths behind compatriot Rossi.Héctor Barberá followed in the times putting in a lap of 2'02.773 on board his Ducati GP12 of the Pramac Racing team, while Alvaro Bautista completed his very first day of testing the San Carlo Honda Gresini Team bike to rank just fourth hundredths behind Barberá.MotoGP rookie Stefan Bradl on the LCR Honda finished a day of familiarizing himself with a MotoGP bike at 11th fastest, a half second behind Hayden. The Moto2 World Champion was a tenth of a second ahead of Karel Abraham, whose focus on the Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati was on set up and tyre testing.CRT development progress continued, with NGM Mobile Forward Racing's Colin Edwards putting in 12 laps on the BMW-Suter, with much of his time going into electronics development. The Texan paced ahead of Avintia Racing rider Iván Silva, who also made 12 laps, while test rider Jordi Torres completed 42 laps at the controls of the BQR-FTR machine.

The Ducati Team starts work on the GP12 at Sepang

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:02:00 +0100

The 2012 MotoGP test season started with today's first day of a three-day test at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit. The Ducati Team took to the track with its Desmosedici GP12, and after official test rider Franco Battaini carried out the shakedown, Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden started the important work of finding a base setup. Ducati Corse Technical Director Filippo Preziosi followed the team's work from the garage. Last night's rainfall resulted in a damp track surface this morning, delaying the team's start until around midday. Valentino Rossi and his team progressed step by step, improving the lap time in each outing before finishing with the fifth-fastest time, .735 seconds behind that of Jorge Lorenzo. Nicky Hayden also began working on the GP12's setup, although his physical condition was still affected by the injury to his left scapula. The American finished the day tenth, having completed 25 laps. Valentino Rossi 5th, 2:02.392 (30 laps)"I'm happy because first impressions are important, and already in the first few laps, I could tell that I like the bike. Ducati did a good job in a just a short time. The bike is beautiful, but more importantly, it's nice to ride. The riding position has improved a lot, and it's better on braking and corner entry. I can brake like I want to and take the lines that I like, and I feel comfortable in general. I was able to ride well and not make mistakes, and there's a reason for that. It means that the bike can be ridden. It's more agile in change of direction, and it wheelies much less. We're 7 tenths back today, and of course there's still a lot of work to do before we can win. We have to improve in some areas: acceleration, electronics, power delivery and setup. I'd say we'll be able to make a more accurate assessment at the end of the test, because let's remember, the bike is just 40 days old. To leave here a second back from the top would be okay because anyway, we know that there's still much more to be done. But one of the best things from today is that the bike reacts well to changes. That enabled us to drop one or two tenths every outing, which means further progress should be possible." Nicky Hayden 10th, 2:03.151 (25 laps)"It's great to be back at the track with the team, riding a motorcycle. We lost a little time this morning, but I hadn't planned to ride the whole day anyway. Obviously, I wish my physical condition were better. On one hand I'm happy just to be here and not miss another test after missing the one in Valencia, but I wasn't able to do a lot of laps, and definitely no long stints. We know how important shoulders are on these bikes, and I didn't have the strength I would like. The bone itself was okay, but I had a lot of pain in the joint, although there was no problem with the ribs and very few problems with the wrist. Anyway, it was great to try the new bike and get some information. We made a step forward with the feeling at the front while braking and turning, but I need to find more edge grip and rear grip on entry, and a better balance with the electronics. We'll do some treatment to my shoulder tonight and see how I feel in the morning."