Yamaha Moto GP Team prepare for round 3

The MotoGP paddock sets up at the Estoril circuit on the Atlantic coast in Portugal this weekend for round three of the World Championship after an extended break. The recent disaster in Japan and subsequent postponement of the Motegi round has resulted in a four week gap between races for Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies.

Reigning MotoGP World Champion and current Championship leader Lorenzo returns to Estoril looking to extend a perfect score sheet from the Portuguese circuit. So far the young Mallorcan has three consecutive pole position starts, race wins and fastest laps, taking nothing less than victory from every Estoril race of his MotoGP career. The later scheduling of the Portuguese race in last year’s calendar meant Lorenzo raced at Estoril in 2010 having already been crowned World Champion. He went on to deliver Yamaha’s third consecutive Triple Crown that weekend with the help of his then team mate. A flawless performance under treacherous conditions in Jerez last month delivered Lorenzo’s first race win of the season, the incident filled first Spanish round leaving most of the competition struggling to stay upright and reach the chequered flag. He arrives at Estoril nine points clear of his closest rival at the top of the Championship standings.

Yamaha Factory Racing rider Ben Spies heads back from his four week break in the USA preparing for his first Estoril MotoGP race. The 2010 round which saw Monsoon weather disrupt qualifying had initially looked positive for the then satellite Texan rider, combined practice times giving him a second row start for the race. An unfortunate high side on the second of two sighting laps however resulted in a dislocated ankle meaning Spies has yet to complete a MotoGP race here and has yet to turn a wheel on a dry Estoril track. The 2010 rookie of the year had been on track for his first podium of the year at Jerez last month. He had been running in second behind his team mate until he joined the many riders to crash out as the changeable track surface took its toll on the worn out rain tyres. Spies arrives in Estoril sitting in 12th in the Championship with ten points.

The Autodromo Fernanda Pires de Silva sits just seven kilometres from the Atlantic coast and as such is notorious for dramatic weather changes; riders can see conditions change in seconds from warm sunshine to high winds and gusts of rain. Estoril provides one of the most challenging circuits for set up, featuring one of the longest straights of the MotoGP calendar combined with the one of the slowest corners. Lorenzo and Spies will need all their rider skills to negotiate the slow twisty sections then hold their nerve for the high speed 200km/hr kink at turn five and the infamous final Parabolica corner leading to the finish line.

Jorge Lorenzo
"This week we will be in Portugal, a country where I've had nice moments! In Estoril I got my first victory in the MotoGP class in 2008 which I repeated over the last two seasons. The track has turned into a talisman for me and it is the place where the astronaut always comes back. We have been training for a month, and I hope that this makes us fit for a good race. We are in front of the standings, but it is very early and it is just the beginning. This week will also be important since we are testing on Monday and we will certainly be able to check a lot of things for the future set-up".

Ben Spies
“Although I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to head home and get some chill out time in Texas this break has been way to long for me. The team worked really hard over the weekend in Jerez and by race day had delivered a competitive set up that meant we could fight for the podium. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be. I really enjoyed the first practice sessions here last year and was frustrated to have not made the race, I can’t wait to get started on Friday morning and see what we can do.”   www.fim-live.com

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Ducati Moto GP Team prepares for Estoril battle

Following the longest break of the entire season, brought about by the postponement of the Motegi GP, the MotoGP series returns to action for the Grand Prix of Portugal. The Ducati Marlboro Team is prepared for a weekend at a track that is at once demanding and full of contrasts. Despite its having the lowest average speed of the series, the Estoril circuit also includes very fast sections, including one of the longest straightaways of the year and Turn 5, which is taken at approximately 200 km/h (124 mph).

The circuit, which winds through the hills seven kilometers from the Atlantic coast, is also known for its variable weather, which often makes track conditions different from one turn to the next.

Valentino Rossi has won five times in his eleven premier-class visits to the track, and he has finished on the podium on other five occasions, while the best result of his teammate Nicky Hayden is a fourth place in 2007.

VALENTINO ROSSI:
“With the postponement of the Japanese GP, we’ve had three weekends without a race, so I was able to ‘unplug’ for a while following the GP12 test at Jerez, although I continued training to help my physical recovery. Now we go to Estoril, a track I quite like, where we’ll continue working on the GP11’s setup, particularly during the test on Monday. The conditions are often unpredictable at Estoril because the area is very windy and close to the ocean, making for variable weather, especially in the spring. Anyway, although we saw at Jerez that we’re already competitive in the wet, we’re hoping for sun in Portugal so that we can make the most of our time on the track. We still have to understand the bike better, and to work on the setup with the goal of being faster in the dry in time for the most intense phase of the season, when we’ll have six races in eight weeks starting in June.”

NICKY HAYDEN:
“On to Portugal! We’ve had three weeks off, which seems like a long time, so I’m looking forward to getting back with the team. Estoril has some pretty tight, narrow places, but I’d say my favorite part is the fast kink on the back straightaway. Actually, we were just there in the fall, but the weekend was completely wet until the race. Hopefully it’s a little bit different this year, because it would be nice to get some dry time in as well. Now the season really gets rolling as we head into summer. I know the team’s been working hard, and I’m also looking forward to the test that we have on Monday after the race. I can’t wait to get back to the track and back on the bike. Hopefully we can go and get a good result.”

ESTORIL TRACK RECORDS
Official Record: Dan Pedrosa (Honda – 2009), 1:36.937 – 155.309 km/h
Best Pole: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha – 2008), 1:35.715 – 157.291 km/h
Circuit Length: 4.182 km (2.599 mi)
2011 MotoGP Race Start: 1:00 p.m. Local Time
Number of Laps: 28
Race Distance: 117.096 km

2010 PODIUM: 1st Jorge Lorenzo, 2nd Valentino Rossi, 3rd Andrea Dovizioso
2010 POLE: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), 1:48.522 – 138.729 km/h

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RESULTS AT ESTORIL (BEST FINISH)
2010: 5th (Hayden)
2009: 2nd (Stoner)
2008: 6th (Stoner)
2007: 3rd (Stoner)
2006: 12th (Capirossi)
2005: 5th (Checa)
2004: 7th (Capirossi)
2003: 3rd (Capirossi)

/www.fim-live.com

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#21 Troy Bayliss says he wants to make a comeback

Why does Troy Bayliss keep saying certain things, if he doesn’t really mean them and keep illuding his millions of orphaned Superbike fans?
Last year, the former three times World Superbike champion was at the World Ducati Week at Misano and the big talk of the week was that he seriously wanted to make a comeback to racing, only for him to turn around the next day and say he was staying retired and happy.
Now Bayliss who is 42, and helping develop and test the brand new 2012 Ducati Superbike says he wants back again and misses racing too much.

“I can’t help it, I still need to win,” says Bayliss in this week’s issue of Motosprint magazine. “I’ve never been so fit, I’m ready to return at any time. I know I can beat anyone ” .

Max Biaggi Continues to Have a Hard Time Making Friends

It’s been a tough season so far for Max Biaggi. The reigning World Superbike Champion has had a decent start to the 2011 season, and currently sits second in the point standings after three race weekends, but his progress has been nothing like the blitzkrieg campaign he accomplished last year. Facing a non-factory Ducati that seemingly rides like a factory bike, Biaggi is 43 points behind Carlos Checa, while the devilishly quick WSBK rookie and former MotoGP contender Marco Melandri is only four points behind his fellow Italian.
Likely feeling the pressure to bring honor to the #1 plate, we’ve already seen Biaggi revert back to some of his old antics of the past. With the “slap” incident from Donington Park still fresh in peoples’ minds, more accusations come from riders that the Roman Emperor has been blocking and in the way during the Superpole qualifying event, and this time those accusations come from inside the Aprilia garage.   www.asphaltandrubber.com

Gazzetta: Biaggi acknowledges Rossi’s achievements

La Gazzetta dello Sport has published quotes from Max Biaggi in which the Italian discusses the legendary rivalry he had with Valentino Rossi when the pair competed in MotoGP. “We’re adults now and it’s time to recognise one another’s achievements, and perhaps to realise that his have been better,” said Biaggi during a ceremony in which he received a Bronze Medal from the Mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno.

Biaggi also said the pair’s rivalry had “fed itself and had been positive for the sport, both in Italy and on the world stage. Now we ride in different championships, and we aren’t adolescents any more. There’s no sense in letting it run on.”  

http://www.motogp.com

Eight years on: Daijiro Kato remembered

Daijiro Kato: 1976-2003

Daijiro Kato only commenced his full-time World Championship career in 2000 but was already on his way to becoming Japan's most successful GP rider of all time when, by the end of 2001, he had secured the 250cc world title and scored 17 GP wins to equal Japan's greatest GP winner Tetsuya Harada.

But tragically, Kato died from injuries sustained on lap 3 of the opening round of the 2003 season at Suzuka, when he lost control of his Telefonica MoviStar liveried RCV just afer the 130R corner at almost 200kph, and veered sharply left into a trackside barrier.

The massive impact left Kato in a coma, with serious head, neck and chest injuries - his heart also had to be restarted on the way to the circuit medical centre.

After being flown to a local Hospital, Kato defied the odds by showing slim signs of improvement (in terms of a slightly stronger heartbeat) in the following days, but the spinal damage to his neck alone would never have allowed him anything approaching a full recovery.

Almost exactly two weeks after his accident it was announced that Kato had lost his fight for life, and with it MotoGP lost one of its brightest stars. He had been tipped as a pre-season title favourite by none other than Valentino Rossi, and almost certainly represented Japan's greatest chance to date of a first premier-class World Champion.

Fittingly, whilst MotoGP mourned Kato's loss at round two in South Africa, his Gresini team-mate Sete Gibernau took an emotional victory (less than a week after Kato's death) which he dedicated to the Japanese, pointing skywards on the podium in a clear gesture to the lost #74.

"Daijiro was riding with me," he later said.

Kato started motorcycle racing at the age of five, in Pocket Bike competition. By 1985 he had won the Japanese Championship, then moved on to larger Mini Bikes, taking four National Championship titles.

Kato moved to 'real' motorcycles on his 16th birthday, racing 125 and 250 machines until 1994 when he contested the All Japan series and won his first big race at Aida.

He joined HRC in 1996, and raced to third place in the Japanese GP that year, riding as a wild-card. Kato went on to win the race in the next two seasons, again as a wild-card entry, before moving to the world championship in 2000, forming an enduring partnership with the Gresini Honda Team which would last to the end.

Kato finished third in the 250cc World championship in his debut season, scoring four grands prix victories, but his 2001 season was little short of sensational.

He scored 11 victories on his way to the world crown, beating Mike Hailwood's previous record of ten wins in a season.

For 2002 Kato moved to MotoGP, initially racing an NSR500 two-stroke, before being promoted to an RC211V at the German GP, in July.

Kato raced to a second place finish on each machine during the season, eventually finishing seventh in the series.

Kato's death was the last fatally in motorcycle grand prix racing until compatriot Shoya Tomizawa lost his life in the 2010 Moto2 race at Misano.
www.crash.net

2011 Start Britishsuperbike BSB

2011　Ｓｔａｒｔ　Britishsuperbike 

1 Brands Hatch Indy 22-25 Apr
2 Oulton Park (May) 30-02 May
3 Croft 13-15 May
4 Thruxton 28-30 May
5 Knockhill 17-19 Jun
6 Snetterton 300 01-03 Jul
7 Oulton Park (July) 15-17 Jul
8 Brands Hatch GP (Aug) 05-07 Aug
9 Cadwell Park 27-29 Aug
10 Donington Park 09-11 Sep
11 Silverstone Arena GP 23-25 Sep
12 Brands Hatch GP (Oct) 07-09 Oct

I'm looking forward this year BSB !

http://www.britishsuperbike.com/

John Hopkins eyes Suzuki MotoGP wild cards

John Hopkins was already plotting a dramatic return to the MotoGP world championship in 2011 before Alvaro Bautista’s cruel injury blow saw him a make a shock comeback in Jerez earlier this month.
The reformed bad boy, who is preparing to race for the Samsung Crescent Suzuki squad in British Superbike series in 2011, is still hoping to strike a deal to wild card in the British and American MotoGP races later this season.
Hopkins is seeking sponsorship to secure a factory Suzuki GSV-R ride to compete in the Silverstone round on June 12 and the Laguna Seca race on July 24. He can’t ride in the Indianapolis race in late August because of his BSB commitments at Cadwell Park.
Hopkins replaced Bautista in the recent Jerez clash after the Spaniard broke his left femur during practice for the season’s opening round in Qatar last month.
Hopkins finished 10th in a rain-hit Spanish Grand Prix and he told MCN: “If we get some sponsorship money and we can get some of the costs eliminated in doing a couple of wild card races later in the year then I think it will be a possibility.
"That’s what I’m aiming for and that’s what my hopes are. But obviously my main priority right now is to go out and do really well for the Crescent Suzuki team in BSB.”　
www.motorcyclenews.com

Texas secures 10-year MotoGP deal

Texas has secured a 10-year deal to host a MotoGP race in the United States from the 2013 season, it was announced on Tuesday evening.
The circuit, currently under construction, will also be hosting a Formula 1 grand prix from the 2012 season.
Organisers also announced on Tuesday that the track will be known as Circuit of the Americas.
The agreement with Dorna includes the three categories of the championship.
"We are delighted to be adding the Circuit of the Americas to the MotoGP calendar," said Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta. "It is an honor to expand our Championship to Texas, which has a rich history of producing World Championship riders.
"We have had a wonderful and special relationship with Kevin Schwantz for twenty years and often talked about a mutual dream of increasing the popularity of MotoGP in the US and raising our already successful worldwide profile.
"Now, with what Tavo Hellmund is doing in Austin, we have realized that situation and are looking forward to this new venture together. The 10-year agreement is a sign of our confidence and commitment to the future success of MotoGP racing in Austin."
The United States currently hosts two MotoGP events in Indianapolis and Laguna Seca.
Former world champion Kevin Schwantz, the manager of 3FourTexas MGP, added: "For me this is a dream come true, that the FIM MotoGP World Championship will be in my home state of Texas. I am such a believer in the sport and know how popular motorcycling is in Texas. I am sure that this will be a resounding long term success."
Organisers said construction of circuit is progressing well and is scheduled for completion sometime in mid 2012.
www.autosport.com

Lorenzo in the lake – again!

'Did he jump or did he slip?' that was the question after MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo ended up in a lake at Jerez for the second year in succession.

Lorenzo first leapt into the Jerez lake after his thrilling last lap victory over countryman Dani Pedrosa in the 2010 event - and needed rescuing due to the weight of his wet leathers.

After winning in far more dominant form at the wet 2011 event, Lorenzo once again headed for the lake, but this time he appeared to slip as he ran towards the water - sending him into the lake once again (pictured).

So had Lorenzo mean to go in, or was he planning to stop before he slipped?

“I was celebrating with the fans - I enjoy having fun with the fans - and I asked them 'I jump, or I don't jump?'" explained Lorenzo.

"They said 'yes' so I jumped."

Lorenzo how holds a nine point 2011 MotoGP title lead after two rounds.

www.crash.net

Stoner and Rossi’s thoughts after clashing in Jerez

Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) and nine time World Champion Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team), were involved in an incident in the MotoGP race at Jerez, which took the Australian out of proceedings.

Stoner had been in second place when the Italian mounted a challenge behind him and attempted a manoeuvre going into turn one. The Ducati rider made the move past Stoner, but lost control of his bike, causing a collision which brought them both down. Rossi was able to remount his bike and continue, picking up 11 points in fifth place. Here are the thoughts of both riders after the coming together during the race in which Rossi took full responsibility for.

”We made a good start to the race, we understood the tyres weren’t the best and they were trying to spin, so we needed to back off quite a bit,” said the Repsol Honda rider. ”Rossi came up the inside and wasn’t able to stay on the bike and took me out. It was not the best day for us for sure, after such a good weekend. We’re very disappointed with this result. I believe we would have been there at the end because it was a long race with many people crashing which is why we were being quiet.”

Stoner was clearly frustrated after the incident which ended his race prematurely. After the race, Rossi went to the Honda garage to apologise to Stoner for his mistake. The Repsol Honda rider shared his feelings after the two exchanged words.

”For sure, I would prefer if Valentino did it away from the cameras and would say something to me quietly without always having to have proof,” commented Stoner. ”For sure Valentino doesn’t do this for himself, he just wants to show to everybody that he has apologised. Yes it’s a nice gesture, it’s very good, but it still doesn’t change the result today, so we’ll see what happens in the next races.”

Rossi made amends for his mistake, but insisted he was in a position to fight for the podium.

”Yes it was a crazy race because it was difficult conditions and everyone was on the limit with the softer tyres,” explained Rossi. “I was very fast in the beginning of the race in the wet, but unfortunately I made a mistake in braking and I crashed. Unfortunately, I also crashed into Stoner. I went to him to say sorry that I made a mistake. With my race today, we had the potential to try and win or finish on the podium, but at the end the result isn’t so bad. I came back to finish fifth which was important points for the championship.”

http://www.motogp.com

Ducati corse to test new 1000cc MotoGP bike in Jerez

Ducati plans to shakedown its new 1000cc MotoGP bike at the Jerez circuit in Spain later this week, MCN can reveal.

Dyno testing has been completed and Ducati team boss Vittoriano Guareschi confirmed that durability tests were due to finish in Bologna tonight (Saturday).

Ducati’s technical guru Filippo Preziosi plans to build-up an early prototype GP12 in time for it to be shipped to Jerez for Guareschi and fellow development rider Franco Battaini to test.

The Bologna factory has a three-day test booked at the Jerez from Thursday (April 7) to evaluate a series of modifications to the current 800cc GP11 machine, including a revamped engine.

The new engine is believed to feature a heavier crankshaft and revised firing order to help tame an aggressive power delivery, which has been one of Valentino Rossi’s biggest complaints since he first rode the GP11 in Valencia last November.

A new carbon fibre chassis that Ducati is currently working on could also be ready for this week’s Jerez test. But it is more likely that Rossi will debut the frame at a one-day test immediately after the Estoril MotoGP race in Portugal early next month.

Guareschi told MCN: “The 1000cc engine is on the dyno to check the performance and durability and tonight (Saturday) we finish the reliability test and maybe next week we try the bike.

"If the durability is fine then Filippo has made a bike and maybe on Saturday it is possible to have a bike for a shakedown. This first step is only to test the engine. The rest of the bike we will make when we have a definite direction for the chassis.

"When Valentino makes a choice we will build a bike according to this. It is important now to put kilometres on the engine, both on the dyno and the track."
www.motorcyclenews.com

Join motoGP BMW ?

Rumors of BMW and Aprilia entering MotoGP in 2012 have been floating around for some time now, with Aprilia more or less denying that they want to enter the premier racing series, but BMW has a slightly different attitude, and BMW’s General Director of BMW Motorrad bigwig, Hendrik Von Kuenheim arrival during the Qatar GP sent tongues wagging again on the topic.
Apparently Dorna and BMW had set up a secret (not so secret if everyone is mentioning it) meeting to discuss something other than the German manufacturer supplying their cars as safety vehicles for the races (they’ve got a contract with Dorna until 2016) which could mean that BMW is finally negotiating their long awaited arrival in MotoGP.
According to this week’s Motosprint magazine edition, Von Kuenheim seems all for MotoGP and isn’t actually quite that happy with the image return that they get off Superbikes and wants something more, which MotoGP could give them. But this manager wasn’t the head of the division, when Herbert Diess’s idea of entering the prototype racing series in 2007 was shot down, especially after Berthold Hauser showed the company that the initial racing budget to enter MotoGP was around 40 million euros compared to just the 12 million needed to compete in Superbikes, and since racing doesn’t come cheap, Superbikes was chosen.
www.twowheelsblog.com

HRC Pedrosa will undergo surgery again after Jerez

Decision was made after the additional tests to the Repsol Honda Team rider by Doctor Eusebio Sala Planell, specialist in vascular surgery   

Dani Pedrosa has been diagnosed with intermittent compression of the subclavian artery, causing the numbness and lack of strength in his left arm. Pedrosa, who underwent surgery last October to set a double fracture of his left collarbone after a crash in the Japanese Grand Prix, will undergo surgery again following his participation in the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend to take advantage of the free month in the calendar due to the postponement of the Japanese Grand Prix.

In the operation, the titanium plate and screws will be taken out of the collarbone in order to release the compression pressure. The Spanish rider will start rehabilitation immediately afterwards and resume his activity in Estoril for the Portuguese Grand Prix on May 1st.

Dani Pedrosa
"It’s never pleasant to have an operation, but we’ve been looking for an answer for a lot of time about the effects of this injury and I’m calmed because I finally know what has happened. Now, we are in Jerez and I want to concentrate on the race, working with my team in the best possible way to prepare the Grand Prix. This race is special, the fans are always there to give you an extra point and I hope it helps me, as always. I like the track, I’ve had always good results here and I face the weekend with the aim to do my best in my current conditions".

www.fim-live.com

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