Victory for Lorenzo at Laguna Seca extends Championship lead

The Fiat Yamaha rider won his sixth race of the 2010 campaign at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix after Dani Pedrosa crashed out when leading. Second place for Casey Stoner marked his best result of the season so far, whilst Valentino Rossi finished an admirable third.

Jorge Lorenzo’s Championship lead was stretched to 72 points at Laguna Seca as the Fiat Yamaha rider won the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix ahead of Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi, in a round nine race that saw Dani Pedrosa crash out when leading.

A trademark lightning start from Pedrosa saw him lead into turn one of the first lap and the Spaniard appeared to be making a similar break for victory as he had done in the previous round, as he led for the early part of the race whilst setting a fierce pace.

However, on Lap 11 and with Lorenzo pressuring him for the lead the Repsol Honda rider crashed out at turn five, leaving his fellow Spaniard to take his M1 to a sixth win of the season as he tasted victory on the Californian circuit for the first time.

In second place at 3.517s behind Ducati Team rider Casey Stoner scored his best result of the season so far – his fourth podium in a row – and a comfortable finish with a distance of almost ten seconds back to third place. That was taken by Valentino Rossi, the reigning World Champion achieving a superb podium finish in only his second race back from injury and one which he worked hard for throughout the race.

There were early ends to the race for rookies Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) and Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar), the former of whom crashed whilst the latter retired, neither making it past lap four. By that stage Pedrosa was already rapid at the front with Stoner matching him for pace, but on lap five Lorenzo – who had dropped to fourth at the start – managed to pass the Australian who ran wide at turn three.

Then the drama really kicked in as Pedrosa crashed, leaving Lorenzo first with Stoner not far behind, and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) in third with an almost two-second margin over those following. However, that gap was quite admirably shredded away by Rossi as he managed to make up the difference, eventually passing his fellow Italian with five laps to go to slot into third.

As the tyres started to go off towards the end there were changes further down the order, as Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) fought for the honour of highest placing American, a duel that presented plenty of enthralling moments of its own.

Lorenzo eventually crossed the line comfortably ahead of Stoner, with Rossi managing to hold off Dovizioso for the final podium spot. Hayden edged out Spies for fifth place, with the latter’s team-mate Colin Edwards seventh. The top ten was completed by Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team), Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki). The remaining two riders to finish the race in 11th and 12th were Roger Lee Hayden (LCR Honda) and Alex de Angelis (Interwetten Honda MotoGP).

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) suffered the disappointment of crashing out two-thirds of the way through the race when battling with team-mate Melandri for eighth, whilst Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing) fell three laps from the end when in a top-ten position.

Lorenzo now has 210 points, with Pedrosa remaining second in the standings on 138 and Dovizioso third on 115.

source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/laguna+seca+race

Stoner aiming for “most competitive race” yet

After qualifying in second position for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix the Ducati Team rider is hoping that he can carry the pace he displayed into tomorrow’s race.

Casey Stoner battled to the bitter end of the hour-long qualifying session at Laguna Seca with Jorge Lorenzo for pole position in Sunday’s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, eventually closing at 0.191s off the Spaniard’s best lap to secure second position on the grid.

Stoner had looked all set for his second pole of the season when he regained the lead on the timesheet from Lorenzo towards the end of the session, and the Australian then improved on his own time further before the Championship leader’s late effort pushed him in front.

“We’re closer to the front than last week but we still need to improve the bike before tomorrow,” stated Stoner, who qualified with a lap time of 1’21.169. “I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t make full use of the session this afternoon and ended up going back to the setting we had this morning. We tried a few different things that weren’t really working and unfortunately one of the settings took a long time to change so we wasted time there.”

Despite lamenting the time he felt had been lost during the session Stoner was happy with his best lap, having been consistently fast throughout the hour.

“To be honest I was happy to post the time I did,” he said. “I thought we could have gone a bit quicker today considering how good the bike felt from yesterday to this morning but we just didn’t take that extra step.”

And looking ahead to tomorrow’s race Stoner, who is going for his first win of 2010, added: “Hopefully we can take that step in the warm-up and have our most competitive race of the season tomorrow.”

source:  http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/stoner+review+qualifying

Lorenzo edges rousing pole position battle

The World Championship leader won a marvellous contest with Casey Stoner for first spot on the starting grid at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, with a blistering late lap of 1’20.978 to take his 40th career pole.

Jorge Lorenzo took his fifth consecutive pole position of the campaign on Saturday with a fantastic display in qualifying at Laguna Seca, in which he and Casey Stoner battled to the very end for top spot on the starting grid. Having both lapped consistently fast it was the Fiat Yamaha rider who finally took pole with his penultimate lap of the session, a 1’20.978, which made him the only rider of the weekend so far to have broken the 1’21” barrier.

Ducati Team rider Stoner had competed with Lorenzo for the latter half of the session and led for much of it, his time of 1’21.169 the best of a consistent set of fast turns. The Australian looked to be on the verge of his second pole of the season but eventually ended the session 0.191s off Lorenzo.

Securing third spot on the grid and taking his first ever front-row start in the premier class Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso was a fraction over six-tenths off Lorenzo’s marker, thus underlining the level to which the top two had pushed one another. Italian Dovizioso set his best time on his 36th and final lap.

Heading up the second row, which was separated by 0.071s, will be last year’s race winner Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), who was just under four-hundredths off his team-mate. Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Ben Spies was impressive once more and will go for home glory from fifth after his final lap slotted him in front of Valentino Rossi, as the reigning World Champion secured sixth, repeating his position from both practice sessions.

The top ten was completed by American duo Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) and Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech3), and rookies Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) and Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar).

Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) had a crash at the top of the corkscrew at the very end of the session, following his fall in the earlier practice, and Roger Lee Hayden (LCR Honda) had a run off at the same spot and another at turn nine in a complicated session for the stand-in.

source:  http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/lorenzo+pole+laguna

Laguna providing more of a challenge for Rossi

After the first practice at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix the Italian, who was sixth fastest, said that the layout of the American circuit was causing him more pain than in Germany last weekend.

Valentino Rossi admitted after his first hour on track at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix that he was experiencing more pain than he had done last weekend at Sachsenring. The Fiat Yamaha rider was sixth fastest in the first practice at Laguna Seca, almost a full second off pace setter Casey Stoner, as he felt the effects of his continually recovering leg and shoulder injuries.

“This track is a bit harder for me than Sachsenring and I have more pain than I had there, mostly in the ankle but also in the shoulder at the breaking point before the Corkscrew,” explained the 31 year-old, who won at Laguna in 2008 and was second last season. “Aside from that I think we can be better tomorrow.”

Discussing the technical aspects, Rossi continued: “We haven’t put everything together yet to be at our full potential on the track and if we had a few more laps today we could have been a bit further up. We used the hard tyre at the end but the track was maybe a bit dirty for it. Tomorrow we will try the soft tyre also in the front.”

Rossi also noted the special livery being displayed by him and team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, to mark the launch of the Fiat 500 car in the United States.

“I like the special livery; it’s something different and fun. Tomorrow I will have a helmet to go with it!” he concluded.

source:  http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/rossi+review+fp1+laguna

MotoGP: Rossi & Lorenzo Fiat 500 Leathers

Dainese has created new leather motorcycle racing suits that Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo will wear at the upcoming Laguna Seca MotoGP race.

The Laguna Seca Grand Prix takes places next Sunday in California and during the Moto GP race and the Dainese riders will wear a special Fiat livery. The leathers are intended to support the recent news that Fiat Automobiles are re-entering the American market.

If you can remember back this far, Fiat struggled in the USA for nearly thirty years before finally exiting the market about 25 years ago. Today, Fiat is once again a major automotive manufacturer and financially healthier than it’s been in the past.

This impressive comeback is broadly attributed to Sergio Marchionne, who took over in 2004 as CEO for the Fiat Auto Group, who is now preparing the company to celebrate the launch of the new Fiat 500 in the US market.

The 2011 Fiat 500 will likely be the first and only planned Fiat sold in the U.S. until some positive sales results of the Mini-Cooper-like vehicle take hold.

The leathers for this MotoGP race are white, black and yellow and have been customized on the front, back, arms and legs with the photos of the fan faces that took part in a Dainese photo contest.

The fan faces have been printed on the perforated lorica leather of the Dainese suits: the final effect is a very original black and white poster, composed by the stylized faces of the immortalized motorcycle racing fans.

source:     http://www.ultimatemotorcycling.com/2010/motogp-laguna-seca-rossi-lorenzo-fiat-500-leathers

Lorenzo looking for first win at Laguna

The Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, round nine of the MotoGP World Championship, brings to an end a run of five races in just six weekends and marks the midpoint in the 2010 season, and the pre-event press conference took place on Thursday.

Current Championship leader, Jorge Lorenzo, has finished either first or second in every race so far this season, making him the first rider since Valentino Rossi to start his Championship campaign with eight successive podium finishes. The Fiat Yamaha rider was second last time out in Germany and arrives in California with a 47-point advantage over Dani Pedrosa in the standings, a margin he is keen to maintain or even extend this weekend with yet another podium finish.

“I have some painful memories of this track,” said Lorenzo, during the pre-event press conference. “In 2008 I crashed on cold tyres in the first corner and injured my feet, which meant no dancing during the holiday! Last year I crashed twice on cold tyres, once on the front and once on the rear, but then went on to get pole and finish on the podium. Laguna is certainly a special place, very different to the rest of the circuits we race at, but I like riding here, especially the Corkscrew. I want to race here in perfect condition, without injury, and I hope I’ll have the opportunity this weekend.”

When asked whether he is thinking about the Championship and not just race wins, Lorenzo said: “You have to pay a lot of attention to your limits, know where they are, try and stay within them and finish on the podium whenever it’s possible. We hope to have a good race this weekend.”

Joining the Championship leader at the press conference were the winner of the race in Sachsenring, Dani Pedrosa, two times winner at Laguna Seca, Nicky Hayden, reigning World Champion, Valentino Rossi and Silverstone podium finisher, Ben Spies.

Pedrosa was the winner here at Laguna 12 months ago and arrives at the Californian circuit looking for his first back-to-back wins in the premier class, having won a straight fight with Lorenzo to take victory last time out at Sachsenring.

“The last few races have been good for us and I have good memories from this race last year,” declared Pedrosa. “I hope that, this weekend, we will have more good memories to take away from Laguna Seca with us.”

“The Championship still isn’t over as the gap to Lorenzo can be closed. We have a lot of races to go, but we can only take things race by race and do the best we can,” concluded the Repsol Honda rider.

Leading the home charge this weekend will be Ducati Team rider Nicky Hayden, who currently lies fifth in the Championship standings. The American took two of his three Grand Prix wins here at Laguna, the first in 2005 and the second the following year on his way to the World Championship title. No American rider has finished on the podium at Laguna since Hayden’s win in 2006; a situation the Kentucky Kid is keen to rectify this weekend, at a track he rates as being very special.

“Laguna has always been good to me and to my brothers also,” commented the Ducati rider, whose younger sibling Roger Lee is riding as a replacement for the injured Randy de Puniet on the LCR Honda team this weekend. “I’m looking forward to the weekend ahead and I hope we can get a good result here, because we need one after struggling at the last few races. We’re just going to go for it and see what happens.”

Just six weeks after breaking his leg at Mugello Valentino Rossi made his racing return at Sachsenring, finishing fourth after an intense battle with Casey Stoner that saw the Australian only steal the final podium position from the Italian at the last turn. Rossi was surprised with the result in Germany, but arrives at Laguna, where he won in 2008 and finished second last season, knowing that a podium finish could be within his grasp.

“After the race in Germany I didn’t have any extra problems, especially with my leg, so I’m in quite good shape,” declared Rossi. “It will be important tomorrow to see if Laguna Seca gives me more problems with the leg, but if I can ride like at Sachsenring it’s possible to have a good weekend here. Laguna is a great track and one that I like a lot. I had one of the best wins of my career here in 2008, after battling with Casey. There are a lot of left corners, which is not so bad for me, but the Corkscrew could be a bit of a problem. We will see.”

Ben Spies is also aiming high this weekend, as he returns to one of only three tracks on the calendar at which he has raced a MotoGP bike previously, the other two being Indianapolis and Valencia. The Texan finished eighth at Laguna back in 2008 as a wildcard rider for Suzuki, but has his sights set firmly on a much higher finish this time around.

“Laguna has always been a special track for me, even when I used to come here in the AMA series,” said Spies. “The track will be a bit different on a MotoGP bike, but it will be nice to actually work on the bike set-up on Friday for once, rather than having to learn which way the track goes. You always want your best result of the season at your home race; you try 110% every weekend, but the home race is where you really want to secure your best finish.”

Both Spies and Colin Edwards will receive long awaited upgrades to their Yamaha M1 machines this weekend at Laguna Seca, but Spies was unable to be specific about exactly what they’ll receive.

“I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but I hope we do get something from Yamaha that makes my job a little bit easier this weekend.”

Like their Fiat Yamaha counterparts, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad will run a one-off livery at Laguna, commemorating the Lone Star state of Texas.

“It’s good to have two Texans in the team, so we can do something special with the livery this weekend. We have commitments to our sponsors, which means we haven’t gone all the way with the livery, but it looks pretty good,” added Spies.

source:  http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/press+conference+laguna

Jorge Lorenzo ‘curious’ to see Casey Stoner at Honda

MotoGP world championship leader Jorge Lorenzo says he’s curious to see how Aussie rival Casey Stoner will gel with Honda’s factory RC212V machine in 2011.

Stoner was the first of the big four to confirm his plans for next season when his move to HRC from Ducati was unveiled before the previous race in Germany.

Stoner, who won the 2007 world championship for Ducati, is expected to partner Spaniard Dani Pedrosa with plans for a three-rider ‘super-team’ to also feature Andrea Dovizioso under threat because of a lack of sponsorship.

Italian Dovizioso might have to move to the satellite Gresini squad but still get top factory support alongside Marco Simoncelli.

Lorenzo meanwhile, who has yet to pen a new deal with Yamaha, said it would be interesting to see whether Stoner can be as formidable an opponent for Honda as he has been for Ducati.

The 23-year-old told MCN: “It will be interesting. Everybody is curious to see Casey with the Honda and what he is capable of doing with that bike. I think Ducati and Honda are also very competitive. Casey has talent so for sure he will be very fast with the Honda.”

Lorenzo starts this weekend’s American MotoGP race at Laguna Seca with a 47-point lead over fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa.

The pair have won seven out of the opening eight races of the 2010 campaign, though Valentino Rossi missed 50 per cent of the campaign with a broken right leg.

source:  http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresults/MotoGP/2010/July/jul2110-lorenzo-on-stoner-honda-move/

Britain’s Got Biking Talent competition with Carole Nash starts today

The search for the UK’s best bike starts here! The fourth annual Britain’s Got Biking Talent competition kicks off today and here’s how you can be in with a chance of winning fame, glory and a VIP trip to a European MotoGP round of your choice. Plus the top twelve finalists will be professionally photographed for the Carole Nash 2011 calendar.

Last year thousands of bikes entered the competition, from wacky choppers to hand-built race-bikes. You don’t need to have painstakingly made every nut and bolt to do well (but we’d be impressed if you did) – judges will be looking at overall style as well as engineering effort.

To enter the competition just go to www.britainsgotbikingtalent.co.uk and fill out a short registration form then upload a photo of your bike. You can make your entry more eye-catching by uploading a brief description of your machine and even a video.

You can upload your bike on the website from today. The first 500 entrants will recieve a FREE Oxford Cargo net, plus one lucky entrant will win a full set of Oxford Lifetime luggage worth over £300.

The overall winner of Britain’s Got Biking Talent will be crowned at the Carole Nash Motorcycle Live! show at the NEC in November as well as clinching the star prize of a VIP trip to a European MotoGP round of their choice, courtesy of Pole Position travel.
Second prize is a trip for two to the French Battlefields with MCi Tours.

Not only is a tour of the Somme a truly moving experience, it’s a great biking one too thanks to empty country lanes and stunning rural vistas.
Third place is a track day at a Motorsport Vision circuit.

How to enter
1)  Upload your bike pics, spec and optional video to www.britainsgotbikingtalent.co.uk
2)  Expert judges pick the top ten bikes in each category
3)  MCN readers vote to decide the top 12 bikes (for the Carole Nash
calendar) and the overall winner

Categories
This competition is for all types of bikes. Our judges will pick the best ten from the following categories, and then MCN readers will vote for the best two in each section.
1)  Street modified – heavily modified unfaired bike (you should still be able to recognise the original bike)
2)  Streetfighter – heavily modified unfaired road bike (vastly different from the original bike)
3)  Classics – unrestored or modified
4)  Choppers and customs
5)  Concours and restored – pristine classics/modern classics
6)  Other – modern bike with a fairing

Fantastic prizes
1st prize
The overall winner, the owner of 2010’s most beautiful and beguiling bike, will be heading off on a VIP trip to a European MotoGP of their choice – courtesy of Pole Position Travel (www.polepositiontravel.com). The package includes flights, accommodation, grandstand seats, party invitation and a paddock pass.

2nd prize
A trip for two to the French Battlefields with MCi Tours (www.mcitours.com), or £500 off a fly-ride package – £250 discount per person.
3rd prize
Capture third spot and you’ll be hitting any one of the five UK MotorSport Vision (www.motorsportvision.co.uk) circuits to savour a trackday. Choose between Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Snetterton, Cadwell Park, or Bedford Autodrome.

Plus
A FREE Oxford Cargo net for each and every one of the first 500 entrants plus one lucky entrant will win Oxford Lifetime luggage worth over £300.

source:  http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/General-news/2010/July/jul2110-Britain-s-Got-Biking-Talent-competition-with-Carole-Nash-starts-today-Are-you-Britain-s-best-bike-builder/

video motogp crash germany 2010

De Puniet recovering, Roger Lee Hayden to ride at Laguna Seca

The Frenchman had a successful operation last night on his left leg, and hopes to be back for Brno. LCR Honda have confirmed the American rider will stand in at this weekend’s Red Bull US Grand Prix.

Randy de Puniet underwent a successful two-hour operation on his left leg last night to insert a titanium rod, following fractures to his left tibia and fibula sustained in a crash in Sunday’s race at Sachsenring.

The surgery, organised by Doctor Claudio Costa from the Clinica Mobile along with Doctor Ulf Schendel and his medical team, was conducted at hospital in Hartmannsdorf where De Puniet was flown by helicopter from the circuit. LCR Honda have reported the operation as a positive one, and De Puniet will leave the hospital tomorrow (Tuesday, July 20th) to begin his rehabilitation with the aid of the Clinica Mobile.

“As riders we always risk crashing and breaking something, but it’s always when you are not thinking about crashing that you do,” said De Puniet. “When Kallio accidentally hit my leg after I crashed I immediately knew I had a serious problem. However, the surgery went very well and now I am feeling better. I want to thank Doctor Costa and all the medical staff here for the good job they did. They say that I need a six-week recovery period before starting to race again, but I will try my best to be back in Brno (August 15th).”

LCR Honda have also officially confirmed that Roger Lee Hayden, younger brother of 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky, will ride the team’s satellite RC212V at the Red Bull US Grand Prix this weekend. The agreement, which has been facilitated by American Honda, means Roger Lee Hayden will ride in his second MotoGP race at the circuit – one he knows well – having ridden to seventh place there in 2007 on a Kawasaki.

LCR Honda Team Manager Lucio Cecchinello said: “I was a rider and injured myself several times so I understand Randy’s condition and how he feels. I am still here with him at the hospital and Doctor Costa and Doctor Ulf are very confident about his recovery. He is a tough rider and I am sure he will be back soon.”

“After yesterday’s bad news we had a meeting with Randy and Honda to take a decision for the following race,” continued Cecchinello. “Despite this unfortunate experience we decided to go on with our job and we agreed to replace Randy for the US GP. Thanks to the cooperation from Nicky Hayden and Kevin Schwantz, we went for the best choice: Roger Lee Hayden. He has plenty of experience at Laguna Seca and we will do our best to support him.”

Roger Lee Hayden commented: “First of all I want to wish Randy a speedy recovery. It’s never nice to see another rider on the sidelines due to injury. I’m very happy that LCR has chosen me to fill in for Randy this weekend at Laguna Seca. It is a track I like a lot and I hope to do a good job for the team and for all the American fans. I want to thank Team Pedercini for giving me the okay, and everyone else involved for helping with this great opportunity.”

source:  http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/de+puniet+on+surgery+after+sachsenring+crash

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