Márquez returns to work at Catalunya Test 2011

The Spaniard started the 2011 pre-season with a positive feeling on his Suter machine, and with the aim of adapting himself to his new Moto2 bike after the winter break.

After two long months in which the rules ban any testing for the World Championship bikes, Marc Márquez donned his leathers again on Monday to start the process of adapting to Moto2. The Repsol rider made the most of the sunny day at the Catalunya Circuit to recover the feel for his bike, which he had not ridden since last November.
The current 125cc World Champion finished the day with 54 laps, following a plan devised by his team to familiarise himself with the intermediate class. The Repsol rider took the track some minutes after noon, when the asphalt had reached a suitable temperature - 24ºC- and was able to run safely on a day on which temperatures did not drop below 17ºC.
Márquez finished the first day satisfied with his performance on a track where he will have another session on Tuesday. Then the team will then travel to Valencia for the next Test, which is scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Marc Márquez:
“On the first day back it always takes a bit of time to set a good pace again after such a long time off, and you don’t feel completely comfortable, but thanks to the team’s help we were able to improve step by step. When I began to lap a bit faster we also started to make some small adjustments to the bike’s set-up, but they are still not very significant. Now we have to take things calmly; we will have time to try and set good laps. This first Test was for me to recover the confidence on the bike, run the first kilometres of the year and get the first feelings from the machine. As I increased the pace, we found some set-up problems that we have been solving, but we still have a good margin for improvement.”







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Bou continues his winning run 2011

Toni Bou - Repsol Montesa was in exquisite form at round three of the 2011 SPEA FIM X-Trial World Championship, recording his third victory in as many rounds beneath the gaze of thousands of his most vocal Catalan fans in Barcelona. Behind Bou was a stubborn Albert Cabestany – Sherco, who beat Adam Raga - Gas Gas to the runners-up spot by a three-mark margin.

Bou was in a classy mood during what proved to be an electrifying event, reinforced by the passion and animation of the Spanish crowd, who cheered their favourite riders loudly. Bou was calm and composed from the off, romping to a convincing victory that saw him outclass his rivals over some of the biggest hazards seen in the series to date. He eventually finished a remarkable eighteen marks clear of Cabestany in second.

Bou was not the only one riding well. Both Cabestany and Raga looked up for it and, spurred on by their own supporters, rode with the commitment necessary to tackle the huge steps. Others though were less fortunate. Both Jack Challoner - Beta and Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Montesa were victims of the brutal metal hazards. Challoner, who progressed to the semi final for the first time ever, suffered the most. He fell from the peak of the highest section and injured his knee. Luckily he was fit to continue and the plucky Brit bagged his best result of the season, finishing in a deserved fifth place.

Fujinami meanwhile, aggravated his neck injury early in the semi final and his inconsistency saw him pushed out to sixth. James Dabill - Beta and Michael Brown - Gas Gas were the earliest casualties of a harsh event. Both notched up too many maximums over the five qualifying sections and failed to make the semi finals on an evening where the difference between a clean and a five was marginal.

In front of a legion of loyal Ossa fans Jeroni Fajardo - Ossa rode well, but his efforts were only rewarded with fourth place. In truth while he was definitely the best of the rest, he could not match his compatriots’ consistency. The promising Catalan fived all three of the sections in the final to seal his fate. Nevertheless, it was a solid performance from the youngest of four fixed Spaniards.

With hindsight round three in Barcelona will perhaps be remembered for three things. Firstly - its unforgiving sections. Secondly - the amazing atmosphere and finally - for Bou’s elegant performance. It was a result that consolidated Bou’s position in the series. He now leads Cabestany by eighteen points with three rounds remaining. Raga meanwhile, is a further three-points behind Cabestany in what may prove to be an extremely tense and interesting battle as the championship resumes in Geneva in seven days time.

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MotoGP Test of 2011 ends with Simoncelli on top

The San Carlo Honda Gresini rider finished Thursday at the Sepang Test with the fastest time of the entire three days. Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo were second and third fastest respectively, with Valentino Rossi tenth.

Sepang Test 2011 - Day 3

The first on-track MotoGP action of the year concluded at Sepang on Thursday, and in an exciting opening chapter of the pre-season period it was Marco Simoncelli who topped the third and final day’s timesheet in Malaysia. The San Carlo Honda Gresini rider posted a 2’00.757 on his second of 42 laps, an effort that registered the best time of the entire Test and which was just 0.239s off Valentino Rossi’s 2009 circuit best lap.
The Ducati rider has also been one of the main focuses of attention throughout these three days, and he ended Thursday tenth in the timings with a lap of 2’01.842 – 1.085s off his fellow compatriot’s scorching marker.
Casey Stoner has been in fine form throughout this Test and the new Repsol Honda recruit was one of four riders to join Simoncelli under the 2’01” mark on the final day. The Australian’s effort of 2’00.811 was noted on his 38th of 42 laps, thus continuing his pattern of setting his best time late in the day and showing no lingering effects of a fall at Turn 5 earlier on.
World Champion Jorge Lorenzo was just 0.088s off Simoncelli as he placed his factory M1 as the highest Yamaha of the day. The Spaniard, who performed a tyre test in the afternoon, was precisely 0.1s faster than Andrea Dovizioso, whose Repsol Honda machine was the third RC212V inside the top four by the close of play.
Ben Spies’ integration into the Yamaha Factory Racing Team set-up maintained its smooth rate of progress. The American, using this Test to bond with his crew, finished Thursday with a time of 2’01.002 having ridden 60 laps, his best effort coming on the sixth of those. A brace of Hondas then followed, with Dani Pedrosa (+0.484s on Simoncelli) rounding off what has been an encouraging Test for the Repsol Honda rider who came into the Test hoping for no major problems with his collarbone. His best time from Wednesday also stood as the second fastest of the Test overall. Hiroshi Aoyama (+0.596s) appears to be making a slick transition to the San Carlo Honda Gresini set-up, and completed the highest number of laps of any rider with 63.
The highest placing Ducati on Thursday was that of Nicky Hayden. The factory team rider tried out different race settings on the GP11, and he and fellow American Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) were the last two to come within a second of Simoncelli’s top time.
Rossi then led a group of five Ducatis, the Italian running a new set-up on the final day and managing to deal with the chatter issue that had been affecting his GP11. Héctor Barberá (Aspar Team), Loris Capirossi and Randy de Puniet of Pramac Racing, and Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) occupied positions 11 to 14.
British rookie Cal Crutchlow put in 44 laps on the last day, setting a time of 2’02.717 on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine, with Toni Elías (LCR Honda) completing the MotoGP riders on track. Álvaro Bautista was absent from the final day due to illness, leaving Suzuki Test rider Nobu Aoki to carry out the Japanese factory’s scheduled workload. (www.motogp.com)

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2011 Moto GP Ducati ends first test with major progress

The first pre-season MotoGP test of 2011 ended today at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit. Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden were able to take advantage of three full days on the track with no rain, a rare occurrence in this Asian country, and that enabled the Ducati Marlboro Team to return to Italy with a large quantity of information and data that can be used to continue the development of the GP11.

Valentino Rossi pronounced himself very satisfied with the progress made on the GP11’s setup, allowing him to drop his best lap time by over seven tenths compared to yesterday. Despite being limited by his still-healing shoulder, the Italian was also happy with his physical progress and with the work done by his team.

Nicky Hayden also improved each day, and he looks forward to seeing the fruits of his labor at the next test, which will once again take place at Sepang, February 22-24.

Nicky Hayden 8th, 2:01.534 (60 laps)

“It’s great to be back here, and to be back on the bike. We had three important days with a lot of work to do. Of course I don’t like to still be so far away from the leaders, but we’ve reduced the gap every day. Today it looked like it could rain at any time, so we did a lot of laps in the morning and found some stuff we like. We chased the chatter a lot, which cost us time trying to figure out what’s going on. Last year, that was something we only had a problem with at this one track. We don’t want it anywhere, but it could be a problem that’s not related to the GP11 in general and is specific just to this track. We also tested some tires for Bridgestone and gave them some information that can help down the road. We realize there’s still a lot of work to do, and that starts with the rider. When we come back, we'll keep reducing the gap to the front guys.”

Valentino Rossi 10th, 2:01.842 (52 laps)

“I’m very happy because before coming here, I expected to do 20, 30 laps per day, and as it turns out, I did around 40 each of the first two days and over 50 today. Of course I was really finished by the end, in part because the rest of my body has to work differently; my left arm has to do extra work, so it’s very tired. But I’m really happy with my shoulder because it’s improving day-by-day, and even after the stress of having ridden a MotoGP bike at the limit, I don’t have any problems: now it’s just a question of strength. My mobility has improved a lot, and I no longer think my physical limitations cost me a second; let’s say I lose five or six tenths, especially on braking and in corner entry. Anyway, we worked well today too, and we were able to collect a lot of data and solve the chattering problem we were experiencing. Obviously, there’s still a lot to do, but compared to the start of the test, we’ve definitely gotten closer to the base setup we’re looking for. There’s no need to change the Desmosedici’s character; we need to take advantage of its best characteristics—its stability and its engine—and improve the other areas, especially the in-corner behavior, to make it turn better. In any case, the overall evaluation of the test is definitely good; today we’re a second off the top riders, and also in the afternoon, riding with race tires, the distance stayed around seven or eight tenths. I still have to do more kilometers in order to understand other aspects of the GP11 but, although I have to change my riding style a little, I now feel much more at home with the Ducati.”(www.fim-live.com)





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First MotoGP Test of 2011 ends with Simoncelli on top

The San Carlo Honda Gresini rider finished Thursday at the Sepang Test with the fastest time of the entire three days. Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo were second and third fastest respectively, with Valentino Rossi tenth.


The first on-track MotoGP action of the year concluded at Sepang on Thursday, and in an exciting opening chapter of the pre-season period it was Marco Simoncelli who topped the third and final day’s timesheet in Malaysia. The San Carlo Honda Gresini rider posted a 2’00.757 on his second of 42 laps, an effort that registered the best time of the entire Test and which was just 0.239s off Valentino Rossi’s 2009 circuit best lap.

The Ducati rider has also been one of the main focuses of attention throughout these three days, and he ended Thursday tenth in the timings with a lap of 2’01.842 – 1.085s off his fellow compatriot’s scorching marker.

Casey Stoner has been in fine form throughout this Test and the new Repsol Honda recruit was one of four riders to join Simoncelli under the 2’01” mark on the final day. The Australian’s effort of 2’00.811 was noted on his 38th of 42 laps, thus continuing his pattern of setting his best time late in the day and showing no lingering effects of a fall at Turn 5 earlier on.

World Champion Jorge Lorenzo was just 0.088s off Simoncelli as he placed his factory M1 as the highest Yamaha of the day. The Spaniard, who performed a tyre test in the afternoon, was precisely 0.1s faster than Andrea Dovizioso, whose Repsol Honda machine was the third RC212V inside the top four by the close of play.

Ben Spies’ integration into the Yamaha Factory Racing Team set-up maintained its smooth rate of progress. The American, using this Test to bond with his crew, finished Thursday with a time of 2’01.002 having ridden 60 laps, his best effort coming on the sixth of those. A brace of Hondas then followed, with Dani Pedrosa (+0.484s on Simoncelli) rounding off what has been an encouraging Test for the Repsol Honda rider who came into the Test hoping for no major problems with his collarbone. His best time from Wednesday also stood as the second fastest of the Test overall. Hiroshi Aoyama (+0.596s) appears to be making a slick transition to the San Carlo Honda Gresini set-up, and completed the highest number of laps of any rider with 63.

The highest placing Ducati on Thursday was that of Nicky Hayden. The factory team rider tried out different race settings on the GP11, and he and fellow American Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) were the last two to come within a second of Simoncelli’s top time.

Rossi then led a group of five Ducatis, the Italian running a new set-up on the final day and managing to deal with the chatter issue that had been affecting his GP11. Héctor Barberá (Aspar Team), Loris Capirossi and Randy de Puniet of Pramac Racing, and Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) occupied positions 11 to 14.

British rookie Cal Crutchlow put in 44 laps on the last day, setting a time of 2’02.717 on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine, with Toni Elías (LCR Honda) completing the MotoGP riders on track. Álvaro Bautista was absent from the final day due to illness, leaving Suzuki Test rider Nobu Aoki to carry out the Japanese factory’s scheduled workload.(www.motoGP.com)






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SBK BMW finish Eastern Creek testing

With the majority of the top teams running at Portimao in the official tests last week, BMW Motorrad Motorsport arranged their own tests at the non-championship venue of Eastern Creek in Australia. 2011 riding duo of Leon Haslam and Troy Corser also faced challenging riding conditions, but of a very different kind, experiencing track temperatures that hit 60 degrees on the first two days, and air temperatures that ‘cooled' from a peak of around 40 degrees to the high 20s only on the final day. The tests completed on 28 January.

The team were evaluating the S1000RR's performance mainly in terms of chassis geometry, engine mapping and electronics, and the riders posted no less than 1,453kms of testing laps between them. Corser set an impressive 1:29.5 lap time in the Eastern Creek tests, with Haslam doing a 1:30.5.


BMW's official entries will now go to Phillip Island for their own private tests on 2-3 February, before joining the entire WSBK paddock for the final official IMS tests of the year, on 21 and 22 February.


Corser last rode at this former GP venue some 18 years ago, but enjoyed his return. Corser stated, "I am pretty happy with the progress that we made on my bike. We worked on electronics, traction and rear wheel activation. In all areas we made some good steps. I also tried some chassis, geometry and fork setting. We concentrated on these areas to give us some information and to understand what we need to do if we get the same situation. The lap times got better and better as we improved the bike and the better the circuit became. The lap time we got to quite comfortably is very good for this track."


Haslam stated, "We mainly worked on the electronics, just trying to dial it in. We also focused on setting up the chassis to get a base set-up, because in the hot conditions the bike behaves very differently. We had a few issues but we are making progress with the bike. Certainly you always want to go faster and make things happen quicker. But we got in a lot of testing, which is good, and are definitely improving. I am very confident the team will give 100 per cent and that it should be good. I am just looking forward to the next test in Phillip Island. This is a track where we also race, so we know what lap times we should be doing. It will definitely be a good guideline for us." (worldsbk.com)





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2011 Moto GP Sepang Test Day 2

MotoGP Sepang Test, Malaysia

1. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team 2m 0.770s (39 laps)
2. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda Team 2m 1.434s (44 laps)
3. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing 2m 1.508s (60 laps)
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 2m 1.512s (48 laps)
5. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 2m 1.522s (42 laps)

6. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini 2m 1.534s (58 laps)
7. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing 2m 1.563s (35 laps)
8. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2m 1.687s (63 laps)
9. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2m 1.722s (33 laps)
10. Hector Barbera ESP Aspar Team 2m 2.093s (45 laps)

11. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team 2m 2.379s (62 laps)
12. Randy de Puniet FRA Pramac Racing Team 2m 2.426s (50 laps)
13. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team 2m 2.597s (42 laps)
14. Kosuke Akiyoshi JPN Honda Test Rider 2m 2.619s (47 laps)
15. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2m 3.032s (38 laps)

16. Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing Team 2m 3.047s (56 laps)
17. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 2m 3.466s (47 laps)
18. Bike #T2 JPN Yamaha test Rider 2m 3.910s (51 laps)
19. Toni Elias ESP LCR Honda MotoGP 2m 4.026s (58 laps)
20. Bike #T1 JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2m 4.142s (56 laps)

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2011 Moto GP Sepang : Test Results, Day 1

2011 Sepang MotoGP Tests: Day 1 Results:

1. Casey Stoner: Repsol Honda Team 2:01.574
2. Jorge Lorenzo: Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP 2:01.977 +0.403
3. Dani Pedrosa: Repsol Honda Team 2:02.024 +0.047
4. Marco Simoncelli: San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:02.295 +0.271
5. Ben Spies: Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP 2:02.332 +0.037
6. Alvaro Bautista: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2:02.422 +0.090
7. Hiroshi Aoyama: San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:02.483 +0.061
8. Andrea Dovizioso: Repsol Honda Team 2:02.507 +0.024
9. Colin Edwards: Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2:02.514 +0.007
10. Randy De Puniet: Pramac Racing Team MotoGP 2:03.152 +0.638
11. Kousuke Akiyoshi: HRC Test Team 2:03.224 +0.072
12. Valentino Rossi: Ducati Marlboro Team 2:03.365 +0.141
13. Nicky Hayden: Ducati Marlboro Team 2:03.508 +0.143
14. Loris Capirossi: Pramac Racing Team 2:03.695 +0.187
15. Hector Barbera: Aspar Team 2:03.767 +0.072
16. Cal Crutchlow: Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2:04.009 +0.242
17. Toni Elias: LCR Honda MotoGP 2:04.238 +0.229
18. Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing 2:04.470 +0.232
19. T1 Yamaha Test Team 2:04.717 +0.247
20. T2 Yamaha Test Team 2:05.235 +0.518
                                                           (www.Moto GP.com)







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Moto GP HRC Stoner Sepang Test

Casey Stoner's progress on the Repsol Honda RC212V continued at a rapid rate on Tuesday when the Australian rider topped the opening day timesheet at the official MotoGP Test at Sepang. Posting a best lap of 2'01.574 - the only sub-2'02" effort - at the very end of the day Stoner was 0.403s faster than World Champion Jorge Lorenzo, who had been sat at the summit of the timings on his factory Yamaha M1 prior to his rival's late lap.

Indeed the RC212V performed well on day one, with Stoner's team-mate Dani Pedrosa third at just under five-hundredths of a second behind second position and showing little or no signs of hesitance with regards to his still recovering collarbone. The Spaniard, Stoner and third Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso (who placed eighth on the timesheet) were all testing various front forks on their bikes, whilst the Italian rode the 2011 chassis for the first time.

Marco Simoncelli, the HRC supported San Carlo Honda Gresini rider now entering his second season in the premier class, was fourth at marginally over seven-tenths off Stoner's marker, with Ben Spies completing the top five. The American took his factory M1 round in a best time 0.758s off the top time, having escaped uninjured from a fall inside the opening hour of the first day's riding.

On the track he scored his equal best result in his rookie MotoGP season in 2010 Álvaro Bautista, who is this year tasked with developing the GSV-R as Rizla Suzuki's sole rider, was sixth fastest as he worked through a range of new aspects including chassis, engine, suspension and electronics. Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Dovizioso, and Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) were the final riders to get within a second of Stoner, whilst Randy de Puniet was the highest placed Ducati rider in the opening day order in tenth position, 1.578s off top spot.

Riding the recently unveiled Desmosedici GP11 but with a modified fuel tank was Valentino Rossi, whose main focus was on his riding position as he continues to adapt his style to his recovering right shoulder. The Italian was 12th on the timesheet, leading a spate of Ducatis with factory team-mate Nicky Hayden, Pramac Racing's Loris Capirossi, and Aspar Team's Héctor Barberá following in the order.

British rookie Cal Crutchlow, with a similar shoulder hindrance to Rossi, was 16th on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1 bike, just under 2.5s off top spot as he continues to make the transition to MotoGP. LCR Honda's Toni Elías was just behind, as he rode a 2010 factory RC212V chassis with a 2011 engine, and Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) completed the field, riding two different Desmosedici machines for comparison.

HRC's testing workload was supplemented by the presence of Kousuke Akiyoshi, whilst Yamaha also had two test riders on track.  (www.fim-live.com)

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Jeroni Fajardo and Ossa Trial - Set for home debut

There are many subplots to round three of the 2011 SPEA FIM X-Trial World Championship, but one of the most compelling and certainly the most romantic is Ossa’s long-awaited debut on home soil. The firm’s rich history means this is no ordinary event, and while the efforts of Toni Bou - Repsol Montesa and his close competitors will perhaps steal the headlines, those with a deeper affinity with the sport will recognise the significance of the Spanish marque’s poignant return to World Championship motorcycling.

The man leading Ossa’s charge in Barcelona is Jeroni Fajardo, a young Spaniard who was born in 1985, the same year that Ossa finally closed its factory doors after a troubled decade. Debuting one of the most revered brands in Spain to an enthusiastic home audience is no small responsibility, and while Fajardo has his own reasons to want a good result this Sunday, the desire to please legions of passionate and nostalgic fans is sure to motivate the twenty-five-year-old.

But while the expectant crowd could spur a surprise result, it could just as easily prove a burden, as the weight of responsibility lies squarely on Fajardo’s young shoulders. The pressure to perform and please his team, his factory backers and the fans will be great, and while Fajardo is an accomplished pilot his task is not an easy one. Particularly when the likes of Bou, Adam Raga - Gas Gas and Albert Cabestany - Sherco will also be gunning for a good result.

Fajardo has plenty to be positive about as his performance at round two in Marseille was at times encouraging. At one point he threatened to steal the show with a brace of impressive cleans in the opening two sections. Unfortunately, though, he was unable to maintain this form and finished a slightly disappointing fifth on his Ossa debut. This time he will have his eyes fixed firmly on the podium.

A top three finish is certainly within the realms of possibility, and a fourth at round one in Italy hinted at Fajardo’s capabilities. He will however, have to fend off advances from a host of equally hungry rivals and record his best result of the season if he is to secure a rostrum visit in Barcelona. Regardless of Fajardo’s performance though, Ossa’s Spanish debut will provide an interesting distraction from the main event.

Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi stadium is only a short distance from Ossa’s factory in Girona and hence the relationship between the marque and the city is pronounced. Those with a strong kinship to the brand are sure to create a warm atmosphere for Fajardo this weekend and, podium or not, the real winner this weekend will be the sport, who has welcomed back one of its eldest sons.(FIM.com)





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