example.com: Latest News

Pedrosa battles to season-first pole at tricky Le Mans

Sat, 19 May 2012 19:35:00 +0200

The Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans provided spectators with three gripping qualifying session where riders once again battled each other, as well as the elements. In the MotoGP™ class, it was Repsol Honda Team's Dani Pedrosa who took his first pole position of the season ahead of teammate Casey Stoner. Having started in the wet, the session dried out with 30 minutes to go, leaving Pedrosa to post a time of 1.33'638 to snatch pole, and record his fourth ever MotoGP Le Mans pole position. Stoner, who had been the pace setter until the final session had his first crash of the season in the day's morning practice, yet walked away unscathed. Completing the front row is Monster Yamaha Tech 3's Andrea Dovizioso, who also achieved his best grid position of the season so far in third. Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo heads the second row in fourth after being held up in traffic on his final hot lap. Behind him in fifth is Dovizioso's teammate Cal Crutchlow, who had been the early pace setter in the session, yet couldn't quite match the Italian's speed. Sixth place is occupied by Lorenzo's teammate Ben Spies, who will be looking to take this form into tomorrow's race and fight for a podium. The third row is headed by Valentino Rossi in seventh, his best grid position so far this year, who qualified as top Ducati after lapping consistently quick ahead of San Carlo Honda Gresini's Álvaro Bautista. Bautista, who had been in the top five for most of the practice sessions, crashed out in the last minute of qualifying on his final attempt. Pramac Racing Team's Héctor Barberá sits in ninth, ahead of other satellite Ducati rider Karel Abraham on-board his Cardion AB Racing machine. Power Electronics Aspar's French rider Randy de Puniet finished top CRT in 12th, much to the delight of the home fans. LCR Honda MotoGP's Stefan Bradl crashed half way through the session, after being one of the first riders to head out on slicks on the drying track. Iván Silva saved a near low-side early on, before taking an excursion into the gravel towards the end, while De Puniet's teammate Aleix Espargaró's misery continued this weekend as he had to return to the pits with bike issues. Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol's championship leader Marc Márquez claimed pole position at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France despite a crash early in the session. The Spaniard recorded his third consecutive pole position with a best lap of 1.37'710, overcoming an early scare, as he lost the front end with 25 minutes to go. He was able to return to the pits and head back out on track shortly after. The Moto2 grid was lucky with the weather and riders were able to run in dry conditions almost right up to the chequered flag, where Interwetten-Paddock's Tom Lüthi managed to sneak into second place ahead of Pons 40 HP Tuenti's Pol Espargaró. Marc VDS Racing Team's Scott Redding heads the second row, after failing to improve on his time due to a crash on the final quick lap. He starts ahead of Speed Master's Andrea Iannone, who was pushing hard until the very end, despite some spots of rain appearing on his last run. Sixth place went to Redding's teammate Mika Kallio, who was just over two-tenths off the Brit. NGM Mobile Forward Racing's Alex de Angelis starts from seventh, ahead of JiR Moto2's local favourite Johann Zarco, who put in a strong performance in front of his home crowd. Italtrans Racing Team's Claudio Corti continued his good form from this morning as he finished ninth, with Mapfre Aspar Team's Toni Elías rounding out the top ten. Apart from Márquez and Redding, there were further crashes for S/Master Speed Up's Mike Di Meglio and Tech 3 Racing's Xavier Simeon. Simeon sustained multiple fractures in his left hand, a fracture in his left foot, and has been taken to hospital to check on potential pelvis trauma. In wet conditions at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans it was Blusens Avintia's Maverick Viñales who held his nerve to take pole position ahead of Efrén Vázquez. After having had nothing but dry time at the French circuit, the Moto3™ contingent struggled with the changed conditions, as many riders fell chasing grid positions. It was however Viñales who put in a rain master-class as he took his first pole position of the season with a time of 1.55'865, ahead of Efrén Vázquez, who also achieved his first front row start of the year, even though he was almost a second behind his compatriot. The front row is completed by Estrella Galicia 0,0's Miguel Oliveira, who set his time half way through the session, before crashing, and being unable to challenge at the end. It was a great outing for Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta's Jakub Kornfeil, who heads up the front row, just in front of Caretta Technology's local favourite Alexis Masbou. Red Bull KTM Ajo's Sandro Cortese rounds out the second row on the grid, after the current championship leader crashed early on, and only had the last 10 minutes to post a competitive time. Seventh and eighth spot are occupied by Bankia Aspar Team pair Alberto Moncayo and Héctor Faubel, with RW Racing GP's Luis Salom in ninth. AirAsia-SIC-Ajo's Zulfahmi Khairuddin rounds out the top ten. Riders that fell throughout the session included JHK T-Shirt Laglisse's Adrian Martín, who fell on two occasions, Mahindra Racing's Danny Webb, Andalucia JHK Laglisse's Ivan Moreno, RW Racing GP's Brad Binder, Oliveira's teammate Alex Rins, Thomas Sabo GP Team's Kevin Hanus, Caretta Technology's Jack Miller, Cresto Guide MZ Racing's Toni Finsterbusch, Mahindra's Marcel Schrotter, and San Carlo Gresini Moto3's Niccolo Antonelli. Rins sustained a fractured finger in his right hand, while Finsterbusch has fractured his right collarbone. Rins' ability to race tomorrow is being assessed, while the German has been declared unfit.

Le Mans begins on a high

Fri, 18 May 2012 18:32:00 +0200

Following a two week break, the FIM MotoGP world championship was back once again at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France at the historic track of Le Mans, where Repsol Honda Team's Casey Stoner laid down the marker for this weekend after setting the fastest time of the day in the second MotoGP practice session. Set in dry conditions, a lap of 1.33'740 placed him just over two tenths ahead of his teammate Dani Pedrosa in second, who has performed solidly all weekend. Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo completed the top three as he continued to hunt down the Hondas, which have dominated all day. In fourth, San Carlo Honda Gresini's Álvaro Bautista was having a tremendous outing, as he continues to improve on-board his satellite machine, just under seven-tenths off Stoner at the front. Lorenzo's teammate Ben Spies set the fifth quickest time of the day, as he looks to get his championship back on track after some difficult first rounds. Sixth place was occupied by Monster Yamaha Tech3's Andrea Dovizioso, who continued where he left off at Estoril, by beating his teammate Cal Crutchlow, who finished seventh. Both riders will be looking for strong performances this weekend at the team's home Grand Prix, especially after both have made very promising starts to the season. In eighth, Pramac Racing Team's Héctor Barberá was in impressive form as he finished top Ducati, ahead of Ducati Team duo Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden. Rossi, who announced yesterday that he will continue racing for at least another two years, finished just under 1.5s off the top. Top CRT honour went to local favourite Randy de Puniet, who put in a good performance in 13th, despite still suffering back-pain from his crash at Estoril. NGM Mobile Forward Racing's replacement for Colin Edwards, 2007 Le Mans race-winner Chris Vermeulen, finished in last place, as he was getting used to the Suter-BMW machine. Came IodaRacing Project's Danilo Petrucci had a day to forget, as he suffered a serious engine failure early in the second session. It was misery as well for Speed Master's Mattia Pasini as he dropped his bike in the gravel after running wide, while in the final few minutes of the afternoon, Aspar's Aleix Espargaró had his second crash of the day as lost the front of his ART machine. San Carlo Honda Gresini's Michele Pirro was the only other rider to crash in the morning session, after coming off in Museum corner. Marc VDS Racing Team's Scott Redding topped the Moto2™ timesheets on the first day at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans ahead of Interwetten-Paddock's Tom Lüthi. Redding set the tone for this weekend's racing at the historic French track by positing the fastest time of 1.37'869, just under one tenths ahead of Lüthi. Third place went to Came IodaRacing Project's Simone Corsi, who has been resurgent all day after being somewhat under the radar for the first part of the season. Redding's teammate Mika Kallio took fourth spot just half a second down, while fifth place went to Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol's championship leader Marc Marquez, who could not quite match the afternoon pace. Behind him, Pons 40 HP Tuenti's Pol Espargaró was close on his heels, no doubt preparing for yet another close battle between the pair. Speed Master's Andrea Iannone was seventh fastest, in front of Blusens Avintia's Julián Simón, who is slowly improving on his Suter chassis. Completing the top ten were Technomag-CIP's Dominique Aegerter, who had a solid day, as well as GP Team Switzerland's Randy Krummenacher. There were incidents early-on in the afternoon, as JiR Moto2´s local favourite Johann Zarco and Kiefer Racing's Max Neukirchner pushed each other into the gravel. Both managed to re-join the session later on, yet Neukirchner suffered another fall with just a few minutes left in the session. There were also crashes for both of Espargaró's teammates Axel Pons and Esteve Rabat, while Tech 3 Racing's Bradley Smith crashed out of the morning session. None of the riders were injured in the incidents. Blusens Avintia's Maverick Viñales ended the first day of the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France at the top of the combined Moto3™ timesheets in front of compatriot Luis Salom. Viñales was the pace setter all day, and posted the fastest time of 1.44'141 in the afternoon session, with RW Racing GP's Salom a full six tenths behind in second. Third spot was occupied by Racing Team Germany's local rider Louis Rossi, who gave his home crowd something to cheer about. The fourth fastest time was set by Estrella Galicia 0,0's Miguel Oliveira, who could not match his second position from the morning practice, ahead of Team Italia FMI's Romano Fenati, who is doing well at his first ever outing at the French track. In Sixth, Oliveira's teammate Alex Rins had a good day, finishing just over a second off the front. JHK T-Shirt Laglisse's Efrén Vazquez was seventh after a solid performance, ousting AirAsia-SIC-Ajo's Zulfahmi Khairuddin into eighth. The top ten was completed by Red Bull KTM Ajo's Sandro Cortese and Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta's Jakub Kornfeil. Championship leading Cortese had a difficult second session after suffering a mechanical failure 17 minutes before the end, with his best time coming from the morning practice. JHK's Adrian Martín fared even worse as he crashed out of the second session with three minutes remaining, yet walked away unhurt.

Stoner announces retirement at end of 2012

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:48:00 +0200

Reigning MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner confirmed on Thursday that he would retire from the sport at the end of the 2012 season. Stoner had previously dismissed his retirement plans as rumours, however he has now publicly stated that he will not continue racing past the end of the 2012 season. He said: "After a long time thinking, a lot of time talking with my family and my wife, this has been coming for a couple of years now but at the end of this 2012 season I will be not racing in the 2013 Championship. I will be finishing my career at the end of this season in MotoGP, and go forward in different things in my life. "After so many years of doing this sport which I love, and which myself and my family made so many sacrifices for, after so many years of trying to get to where we have gotten to at this point, this sport has changed a lot and it has changed to the point where I am not enjoying it." "There are a lot of things that have disappointed me, and also a lot of things I have loved about this sport, but unfortunately the balance has gone in the wrong direction. And so, basically, we won't be continuing any more. It would be nice if I could say I would stay one more year, but then where does it stop? So we decided to finish everything as we are now." As for the race in Le Mans, Stoner hopes to resolve the chatter issues which have plagued him throughout the season so far: "The last two races we've struggled a little bit with chatter, especially the last two, and it's something we want to really reduce so we have to work hard here." Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo, who lies just one point behind the reigning world champion was shocked by the Australian's announcement: "It's a surprise for me, for everyone. I didn't expect it. I heard the rumours and I thought there was a possibility, but I thought he would continue next year. Now he has told us, it's not good news for MotoGP I think, but his decision is to live quietly with his family and we must respect his decision." He will be looking to snatch back the lead in the championship this Sunday at a track he really enjoys: "Le Mans is one of my favourite tracks. Since my first ever-front row in 2003 I have always had good results, so I'm happy to be here." Monster Yamaha Tech 3's Cal Crutchlow saw the lighter side of Stoner's announcement: "With Casey making that announcement, maybe he can slow down and let me have a place in the top three. They [the aliens] don't make many mistakes. Maybe they need to change what they have for dinner the night before or something." And following a race to forget at Le Mans last year for the team, Crutchlow is looking to carry his good form this season into this round: "I'm looking forward to it, yet it can always throw a few things with the weather. I think we've had some not so bad performances this year, although Estoril was disappointing. We really struggled a little bit with the set-up, and maybe a little bit with myself. But hopefully we can get on with it this weekend at Le Mans." Valentino Rossi also had some big news as he announced he would continue racing a further two years past 2012, yet not before commenting on Stoner: "Yes, it's a big surprise. I think it's bad news for all the MotoGP world because at the end of the season maybe we're losing one of the great riders and a great rival. Is negative, but it's his own decision. For me it's very difficult to understand where my retirement news started from, as I never spoke about my retirement. I want to race in MotoGP for the next two years for sure." Le Mans was the place of his only podium with Ducati last year, which he is taking confidence from: "I have had some bad results in Le Mans, but also good memories from the past. We had a not so bad weekend in Portugal and we'll try and continue on that way and try to improve our performance to try and get closer to the guys in front of us. Last year was the best result with the Ducati, so we are optimistic." Rounding out the event was local CRT rider Randy de Puniet: "It's a very important race for me, even if this year I don't have the bike to be at the top. But top CRT. I think for the CRTs it will be a difficult track because you have two or three big accelerations, like on the back straight, but you never know what happens with the weather conditions. I hope to be 100% on the bike after my crash at Estoril, because I still have a lot of pain in my ribs. I really hope to be the first CRT this weekend in front of my home crowd."

Double-interview with Marco Melandri and Leon Haslam

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:58:00 +0200

They made history: The two BMW Motorrad Motorsport factory riders speak about the milestone they achieved at Donington. There was endless jubilation in the BMW Motorrad Motorsport garage. When factory riders Marco Melandri (ITA) and Leon Haslam (GBR) crossed the finish line of race one at Donington (GBR), they gave BMW Motorrad its long awaited milestone – not only the first ever victory for the Bavarian manufacturer in the FIM Superbike World Championship, but also the first one-two win. While both riders were fighting at the very top from start to finish, it was Marco that took the honour of being the first winner on the BMW S 1000 RR. Leon completed the triumph being second, just 0.7 seconds behind the Italian. In a double interview, the two factory riders speak about this historic day. "Marco, in an exciting first race at Donington, you and Leon achieved the first ever one-two victory for BMW Motorrad Motorsport. What does this historic success mean to you?" Marco Melandri: "It is something really special. When I joined BMW Motorrad, my target was to help to make the RR a winning bike and to get the first victory ever and this is what we, the team and the people at the factory achieved. I have to thank all the people involved in the project; the management of BMW Motorrad, the race department and the people at the track, just to name a few. We had some difficult times, but we never gave up and were very focused on our job. We concentrated on progressing step by step and now I am very proud that my name is in the BMW history book." "What were your feelings and thoughts during the last laps and especially when you were crossing the finish line?" Marco Melandri: "It was unbelievable. So many things were going around in my head. I was thinking about all the people in Germany who were watching the race on TV, all my family, all the team members. I was thinking of the time from my first test on the RR in winter until now. It is difficult to explain. I had so many thoughts and emotions in that short period of time." "Leon, during the whole season, the team constantly made progress with you and Marco consistently in the top positions. Was it just a question of time that this double victory would come – and what was the key to that success?" Leon Haslam: "We have made great progress from last season. From the first test onwards, we had made a lot of improvements to the bike. Since then, with the new team structure and staff, we have improved race by race so for me it was just a matter of time to get the result." "Marco, has the team now reached a level where it can be competitive at every race weekend? Marco Melandri: "I think that we have a very good level but now it is going to be even more difficult for us. To reach the top is difficult but to stay at the top is an even bigger challenge. Our rivals are waiting and will try to beat us. We are aware of the challenge and know that for sure we will have some difficult races but we are very focused. We want to stay at the top." "Leon, in the second race at Donington you were only a few metres away from your home victory, when you were robbed that dream result in the last corner. We know you are a fighter – does this give you even more motivation to get your first win on the RR as soon as possible?" Leon Haslam: "Donington was very disappointing for me. We could have had two victories there. Assen was another missed opportunity for the win. But yes – this makes me even more determined and confident. We can still win this championship. We just need some luck." "And a question to both of you: What are your targets now for the rest of the season?" Marco Melandri: "To continue having fun and to do my best. The championship still has a long way to go – and it is very open. We have to think from race to race and to always try to get maximum points, because we need to follow the top guys in the championship. We need to catch up the points that we lost in the last corner of the second race." Leon Haslam: "My target as always is to give 110 per cent and to try and win as many races as possible to try and get the championship for BMW Motorrad."

Ducati Team heads to "stop-and-go" Le Mans circuit

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:48:00 +0200

Having encountered at least one day of rain during every winter test and in every race so far except for Qatar, the two Ducati Team riders hope for a weekend with stable weather conditions at Le Mans as they continue working on the setup of the GP12. Friday will find Valentino Rossi back on the track where he finished on the podium last year, and with the Portuguese post-race test having been cancelled due to bad weather, he'll start with the settings he used at Estoril race, with the goal of improving upon his seventh-place finish there. Nicky Hayden also hopes to do better than in Portugal, and although he doesn't count the French circuit among his favourites, he thinks some of its characteristics could be a good match for his Ducati. VALENTINO ROSSI:"It's a shame that we lost the post-race test in Portugal because we would have continued our development work, and as we had very recent data from the race, we could have made some interesting comparisons. Still, this won't influence us much from a technical point of view at Le Mans, as any updates would have arrived later anyway. In France, we'll prepare for the race by working on the bike like we did at Estoril, starting from the base setup that we're now a bit more familiar with and trying to continue with the settings one step at a time, in such a way that we reach Sunday at the maximum of our current potential. Le Mans is another place where the weather can be challenging, particularly at this time of year, but it's also the track where I had my best result with the Ducati last year. We'll see how it goes, but we'd like to do a little better than we did in Portugal." NICKY HAYDEN:"I certainly wouldn't say Le Mans is my favourite track on the calendar, but there are some things that I like about it. Sometimes it lacks grip somewhat, which I don't like so much. On the other hand, it has a fair amount of hard braking, and I think some of those parts should suit our bike well. It will also be interesting to be at a different type of track compared to what we've seen so far this year. It's a shame we didn't get to test in Portugal because it certainly would have been nice to try a few things, but we'll get to France, see what kind of weather we get, and try to get a good result." VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team Manager"Le Mans is a bit strange, a classic stop-and-go track that's very different from Estoril. This will give us an opportunity to check the work that we're doing on the GP12's setup: Valentino used it all weekend at the last GP, so we'll continue like that in an effort to also make progress at Le Mans, where he had a really nice race last year. Though this isn't one of Nicky's preferred circuits, he'll also use the experience he has gathered while using this setup on the GP12 since the start of the championship." LE MANS CIRCUIT RECORDSCircuit Record: Dani Pedrosa (Honda – 2011), 1:33.617 – 160.932 Km/h (99.999 mph)Best Pole: Dani Pedrosa (Honda – 2008), 1:32.647 – 162.617 Km/h (101.045 mph)Circuit Length: 4.185 kmMotoGP Race 2012: 28 laps (117.180 km)MotoGP Schedule 2012: 2 p.m. local timePODIUM 2011: 1st Casey Stoner, 2nd Andrea Dovizioso, 3rd Valentino RossiPOLE 2011: Casey Stoner (Honda), 1:33.153 – 161.733 Km/h (100.496 mph) DUCATI TEAM'S BEST RESULTS AT LE MANS2011: 3rd (Rossi)2010: 4th (Hayden)2009: 5th (Stoner)2008: 15th (Melandri)2007: 3rd (Stoner)2006: 2nd (Capirossi)2005: 7th (Capirossi)2004: 8th (Bayliss)2003: DNF

MotoGP returns to Legendary Le Mans

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:56:00 +0200

Yamaha Factory Racing heads to France this week to prepare for round four of the Championship, the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France at the legendary Le Mans circuit. Jorge Lorenzo arrives trailing Championship leader Casey Stoner by just a single point in the standings and looking to take back the lead. Le Mans has delivered some great results for Lorenzo, the Mallorcan claiming two premier class wins plus one a 250cc GP victory.Fellow Yamaha Factory rider Ben Spies heads to Le Mans determined to shake off a run of mixed results and get his 2012 Championship firmly back on track. A solid sixth last year marks his best result yet at the French track, something he will be looking to improve on this weekend.The perfect Le Mans set up requires optimum balance and control under repeated hard braking. The challenging circuit requires riders to dispatch several tight chicanes before attacking the short straights and tight hairpins that form the remainder of the track. Le Mans is this year hosting the Grand Prix for the 55th time and is sure to attract a huge crowd of passionate race fans as always.Jorge Lorenzo"We arrive in good shape having always been in the first two positions in the three races of the year so far, I want to keep this going in Le Mans. Last year we struggled, especially in acceleration but I feel that this year is going to be a little different. It's a good track for my riding style so we will try to fight for the win again but always thinking about the Championship."Ben Spies"I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike again this week. My confidence has been rebuilding well now we've found a good set up that works so I think we can make another step and improve our performance again at Le Mans. It's not my favourite track but I'm going to give it 100% as always to achieve a good result on Sunday."

Greatest MotoGP™ rivalry continues at historic Le Mans

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:07:00 +0200

MotoGP™ returns this weekend at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, where Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner will look to extend his lead at the top of the championship standings.He will face stiff competition from his teammate Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo, who have been the only three racers to stand on the podium this season. They have already cemented themselves as one of the greatest rivalries in the 64-year history of the sport, having shared the podium a record 16 times – four more than any other trio in the past.Le Mans, which will host the Grand Prix for the 55th time this weekend, also sees Stoner chasing his 19th successive podium. Having won the last two races, and showing clear signs of recovery from his arm pump problem, he remains the man to beat. Lorenzo, only one point behind the Australian in the standings, has been the most consistent challenger so far and will be looking to get one over on the current World Champion at a track where he has won twice already in the premier class.Pedrosa on the other hand, who recorded his 100th podium finish last time out at Estoril, will be looking to get his first win of the season at a track where he has not yet won in the top category. Monster Yamaha Tech 3 pair Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso have so far provided some great inter-team battles and will be aiming to not only out-do one another once again, but to find that extra bit of pace to catch up to the front three.Ducati Team pair Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden, who both had mixed fortunes last time out, will be heading to the French track with optimism after Rossi recorded his best Ducati result this season in seventh. Having finished 26 seconds behind race winner Stoner, this was the closest any Ducati rider has finished to the race winner since Rossi's seventh place finish at Misano last year. The Italian will also hold fond memories of the French track, as Le Mans was the setting for Rossi's sole podium last year.Honda satellite riders, San Carlo Honda Gresini's Álvaro Bautista and LCR Honda MotoGP's rookie Stefan Bradl will look to build on their solid performances so far this year, while Pramac Racing's Héctor Barberá on-board his satellite Ducati will look to improve on his 10th place at Estoril. Cardion AB Racing's Karel Abraham has not finished a race this season so far and will hope to turn his fortunes around.After suffering a broken left collarbone in Estoril qualifying, NGM Mobile Forward Racing's Colin Edwards will be replaced by 2007 Le Mans race-winner Chris Vermeulen, making his first MotoGP appearance since 2009. Power Electronics Aspar pair Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaró will be gunning for top CRT honour once more, with de Puniet having the added motivation of Le Mans being his home track.San Carlo Honda Gresini's Michele Pirro and Came IodaRacing Project's Danilo Petrucci will once again hope for a solid performance, while Speed Master's Mattia Pasini, Paul Bird Motorsport's James Ellison and Avintia Blusens pair Yonny Hernandez and Iván Silva will look to reverse their fortunes this time out and complete the race.World Championship Standings MotoGP™1- Casey Stoner - AUS - Honda - 662- Jorge Lorenzo - SPA - Yamaha - 653- Dani Pedrosa - SPA - Honda - 524- Cal Cructhlow - GBR - Yamaha - 375- Andrea Dovizioso - ITA - Yamaha - 35

Márquez will continue his quest at the top of the Moto2™ championship this weekend

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:05:00 +0200

Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol's Marc Márquez will continue his quest at the top of the Moto2™ championship at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans this weekend, a track where he took his first ever intermediate-class victory last year, as Toni Elías makes his 200th GP start.Márquez, who has so far won two out of three races, will once again be looking to hold off the challenge from Pons 40 HP Tuenti compatriot Pol Espargaró, who has been in tremendous form this season, providing one of the most thrilling last-lap battles ever with Márquez last time out in Estoril.Hot on their heels will be Interwetten-Paddock's Tom Lüthi, who has been consistently on the pace, yet not quite able to pip the Spanish pair to a win. However, all eyes will be on JiR Moto2's French rookie Johann Zarco, who has shone since entering the class this year. His performances in the wet, and a fourth place finish at Estoril will no doubt have the crowd hoping for that next step onto the podium.One Frenchman who knows about winning at Le Mans in S/Master Speed Up's Mike Di Meglio, who was the last French winner at the track in 2008 aboard a 125cc Derbi machine. After crashing out in the last race, Di Meglio will be hoping to recapture some of that 2008 form.2010 Moto2 World Champion, Mapfre Aspar Team' Toni Elías, will be setting a significant milestone this weekend, as the race marks his 200th GP start, while Tech3 Racing's Bradley Smith will reach 100. Both riders have not been as high up the order as they had hoped so far this season, but with a seventh for Elías and a 10th place for Smith at Estoril, both will be looking to build on those results.Others to watch will be Speed Master's Andrea Iannone, who has had mixed performances since his close second at the opening round in Qatar, as well as Marc VDS Racing Team pair Scott Redding and Mika Kallio, NGM Mobile Forward Racing's Alex de Angelis and Tech3's Xavier Simeon.World Championship Standings Moto2™1- Marc Márquez - SPA - Suter - 702- Pol Espargaró - SPA - Kalex - 613- Thomas Luthi - SWI - Suter - 434- Andrea Iannone - ITA - Speed Up - 335- Scott Redding - GBR - Kalex - 28

Sandro Cortese will look to increase his lead in Le Mans

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:01:00 +0200

After taking KTM's first ever win in the Moto3™ class last time out at Estoril, Red Bull KTM Ajo's Sandro Cortese will look to increase his lead at the top of the championship with another strong showing at this weekend's Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans.Having been the strongest qualifier this season, and having come off best in a fairing to fairing contest with title rival Maverick Viñales, Cortese is in buoyant mood ahead of the French round. However, Blusens Avintia's Viñales will look to snatch back the lead at a track where he took his first ever Grand Prix win in the 125cc class last year.RW Racing GP's Luis Salom, who has finished twice on the podium this year, equalling the number of podium finishes in his 43 previous race starts, will once again be setting out to stay with the leading pack, and perhaps secure his first race win. He will most likely have another strong rider to compete with in the form of Team Italia FMI's Romano Fenati, who after starting the season with a second place and a race-win, failed to finish in Estoril due to a crash.AirAsia-SIC-Ajo's Zulfahmi Khairuddin, who made Malaysian motorcycle racing history with his fourth place in Estoril, will once again be looking to take his career to the next step and secure that first ever podium finish. Having only missed out on third place by a fraction, he is no doubt in a confident mood.JHK T-Shirt Laglisse's Efrén Vázquez, who finished third at Le Mans last year, has been in solid form, and will be hoping to repeat his previous feat. San Carlo Gresini Moto3´s Niccolo Antonelli, who has improved significantly throughout the season will be one to watch after his sixth place at Estoril, while the French contingent made up of Caretta Technology's Alexis Masbou, Racing Team Germany's Louis Rossi and Technomag-CIP-TSR's Alan Techer will look to put on a show in front of their home crowd.World Championship Standings Moto3™1- Sandro Cortese - GER - KTM - 572- Maverick Viñales - SPA - FTR Honda - 553- Luis Salom - SPA - Kalex KTM - 494- Romano Fenati - ITA - FTR Honda - 455- Zulfahmi Khairuddin - MAL - KTM - 29

History for BMW and Melandri, dramatic win for Rea

Sun, 13 May 2012 21:09:00 +0200

Donington Park (UK), Sunday 13 May 2012 – A 48,500 strong crowd saw some astounding race action at Donington in two sun-blessed 23-lap races, which culminated in a moment of history for one of the world's most important motorcycle manufacturers, some of the best SBK racing ever seen and changes near the top of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship table. After Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) won the first race, the German manufacturer added its name to the list of race-winning makes for the very first time. In race two a classic multi-rider battle ended up in joy and heartbreak for some top riders, as Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) came out on top after a final corner melee. The end result of one of the best days of racing imaginable is that Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) leads the championship with 128.5 points, from double podium man Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) on 123, and Rea on 108. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) is fourth on 105.5. The top four championship places are now covered by only 23 points, after five rounds and nine individual races. Race 1A truly historic 1-2 for BMW saw Melandri win the opening race with his team-mate Leon Haslam only 0.728 seconds behind. An eventual five rider fight for the podium places provided overtaking and personal duels aplenty as the race order changed multiple times. Tissot-Superpole winner Sykes won a tense battle to go third, with Rea making up places in the final laps to overhaul Biaggi and take fourth.The leading five were covered by only 2.102 seconds at the end of the race. Checa was sixth, four seconds from the win, making it five different manufacturers in the top six at the flag. Melandri's win also means that six different riders have now won races this year, representing five different manufacturers – and all with nine rounds and 18 races left to go. Marco Melandri: "It means a lot to me to win this for such a good factory like BMW, it's history and something I could not dream about when I was young. I just want to say thanks to BMW in Germany, the team on track and everybody involved in the project. We have been working so hard and we never give up even when we found some difficulties. We are working still right now to stay at the top and I am so happy to be here. I had good race pace yesterday and today the tyres have been working very good until the end. We managed the situation well but at the beginning I was not so fast, but fortunately Tom and Leon were fighting a lot so they lost a bit of time and we could catch them again. We are so happy for this win." Leon Haslam: "I found myself on the wrong side of Marco, on the right side of him into the Esses and I nearly went into the back off him so I had to let off the brakes and I am disappointed because I did feel quite good up to that point. Fair play to Marco and we got a BMW 1-2 which is fantastic. Hopefully we can make amends in the next one and not make that mistake. I want to dedicate this result to the late Robert Fearnall, who was a big, big friend of the family and Donington." Tom Sykes: "A fantastic race, I really enjoyed it and it certainly felt like a long, seemed to go on for many laps. Overall I think we had a very good show, lots of passing, and a little bit too much at some corners, especially at the Foggy Esses, which seemed to claim a few victims. Overall I am very happy to be on the podium and collecting some good solid points again with the Ninja ZX-10R. Unfortunately we seemed to struggle at one particular part of the track and that definitely affected our race performance, but hopefully we can improve on that very small sector and go better in race two. As for now a podium is good enough." Results: 1. Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 34'26.736; 2. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 0.728; 3. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1.609; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1.819; 5. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2.102; 6. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 4.820; 7. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 7.520; 8. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 7.927; 9. Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 15.144; 10. Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 16.065; 11. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 19.805; 12. Davies C. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 20.170; 13. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 21.274; 14. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 21.517; 15. Laverty E. (IRL) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 26.920; 16. Baz L. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 35.025; etc. Race 2Rea took his second win of the season after an incident-strewn Race 2 at Donington. On the first corner Checa and Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) touched and Checa went down, taking out Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert Ducati) and Checa's team-mate Davide Giugliano. Then Laverty himself crashed heading down Craner Curves as eventual third place man Sykes led for most of race distance. He was finally overhauled by a warring faction which included eventual second place man Biaggi plus Haslam and Melandri. After a multitude of overtakes and riders running off track on occasion, Haslam looked to have it won until both he and Melandri ran wide as the Italian attempted a pass into the very last corner and Rea pushed inside as a gap opened up. He and Haslam collided and Haslam fell, knocking off Melandri with his stricken bike as he slid across the track. Rea held on to win by just over half a second from Biaggi, with Sykes two second back in third place. Leon Camier (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) was an impressive fourth.Jonathan Rea: "In the last corner there were five guys out there wanting to win a race, most of all Melandri came from a long way back on Leon to create a gap that I went for, me and Leon touched and I'm really sorry that he crashed. But more importantly we've won, taken 25 points and I've given my team a great reward for giving me a great bike this weekend." Max Biaggi: "In race 2 the bike was a little better, I could keep up and race with the guys more than before. When the tyre went off I was struggling and then the last lap was simple, everyone tried to go inside and take my position: Melandri, Jonathan, everybody! I didn't give up, stayed cool and second place came automatically. I cannot say I'm very happy but the result is OK." Tom Sykes: "Yet again we got the holeshot and led for a number of laps, but I was missing a bit of feeling with the wind, which was unfortunate. I managed to stay out front but made one mistake and all the other guys came past at a rate of knots. We didn't quite have the best setting this weekend but a pole position and two podiums is great for myself and the Kawasaki team. I had the best seat in the house for the last couple of laps, but for me five minus two equals a podium so I'm very happy!" Results: 1. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 34'31.847; 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 0.508; 3. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 2.029; 4. Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 4.245; 5. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 6.595; 6. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 17.469; 7. Davies C. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 17.788; 8. Baz L. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 21.093; 9. Hickman P. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 21.866; 10. Aoyama H. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 22.620; 11. Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 26.764; 12. Zanetti L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 27.043; 13.Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 28.390; 14. Aitchison M. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 56.618; 15. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1'20.196; etc. Points (after 5 of 14 rounds): 1. Biaggi 128.5; 2. Sykes 123.5; 3. Rea 108; 4. Checa 105.5; 5. Melandri 97.5; 6. Haslam 89; 7. Guintoli 85; 8. Laverty 65; 9. Giugliano 50; 10. Smrz 44.5; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Ducati 161.5; 2. Aprilia 139; 3. BMW 131; 4. Kawasaki 129.5; 5. Honda 112; 6. Suzuki 40.5. World SupersportIn winning his first ever WSS race British rider Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) became the fifth different winner in five races this season and the third in a row on a Honda machine. Having struggled on with a stomach bug of some kind since Friday, and suffering a serious finger injury in a fall on Saturday, Lowes had to work hard to resist a late push from eventual second place finisher, Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini). Lowes came within 0.003 seconds of setting a new lap record in his efforts to keep the Turkish rider behind him on the penultimate lap, and is now only six points from Sofuoglu in the championship. Third place today was taken by third ranked rider overall, Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda). Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) was in the early fight for the podium places but dropped back to fourth, while Glen Richards (Smiths Gloucester Triumph) finished fifth today and Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) sixth. Results: 1. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 33'43.603; 2. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Kawasaki ZX-6R 0.678; 3. Cluzel J. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 3.987; 4. Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 8.088; 5. Richards G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 11.786; 6. Morais S. (RSA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 20.849; 7. Quarmby R. (RSA) Honda CBR600RR 23.795; 8. Debise V. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 24.094; etc. Points (after 5 of 13 rounds): 1. Sofuoglu 81; 2. Lowes 76; 3. Cluzel 64; 4. Foret 55; 5. Parkes 42; 6. Baldolini 38; 7. Quarmby 34; 8. Morais 27; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 111; 2. Kawasaki 106; 3. Triumph 51; 4. Yamaha 43; 5. Suzuki 6.