MotoGP: Donington Results

The Doctor was out. Dovizioso, Edwards, and De Puniet were in.

Tyler Hopper

AllAboutBikes.com Staff Writer

The final MotoGP visit to Donington Park ended with a first ever premier class victory by Andrea Dovizioso and first podium finishes in 2009 for Colin Edwards and Randy de Puniet. The Doctor, Valentino Rossi, experienced a fall at the Fogarty Esses with 11 laps to go. Rossi was unable to add another victory to his laundry list of wins at Donington.

Early on into the race, volatility and indecision plagued the riders. As rain began to fall, the riders were left guessing whether or not they made the right tire choice. Toni Elias led for lap one, but Jorge Lorenzo grasped the lead, possibly as a result of being talked out of running wet tires, but took a fall when he graced a greasy rumble strip and couldn’t restart the Yamaha M1. Elias succumbed to the same fate as Lorenzo, taking a fall in the same spot on lap 7.

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MotoGP Sachsenring, Germany

Round 9 of the MotoGP Championship at Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland seemed like déjà vu of Barcelona, with Rossi and Lorenzo battling for first in the last laps of the race.

Tyler Hopper

AllAboutBikes Staff-Writer

In the difficult, squally conditions, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner filled the front line. The launch of the race saw Rossi take and early lead with Dani Pedrosa, Randy De Puniet, and Stoner close behind.

With still cold tires, on one of the few right-handers of the circuit, De Puniet crashed as he went up and over a slight right on one of the fastest corners on the circuit. Stoner nearly misses him as he goes down and slides off the track into the gravel.

Pedrosa chases Rossi’s tail and Nicky Hayden makes a move on Loris Capirosi, making his way around him on the outside. Into the start finish straight the front five breaks away and Andrea Dovizioso is the fastest man on the circuit so far in round 9 with only two laps down.

Dovizioso makes a move on the inside as Lorenzo tries to hold on to outside line, but Dovizioso takes the place from Jorge. Stoner moves to 3rd place, while Dovizioso receives pressure from Lorenzo as he tries to take back what was stolen from him moments earlier.

With 26 laps to go, Rossi tries to pull away from the pack as Stoner goes through Pedrosa into second. Stoner gets on the tail of Rossi on the second half of the track where he is strongest, looking for his chance to move into the leadership position.

With 24 laps to go, Stoner moves toward the inside of Rossi and takes him as they approach the start line. Coming up from fourth, Pedrosa begins to close in on Rossi and Lorenzo follows close behind. Rossi starts to slow down give Lorenzo and Pedrosa the opportunity to plan an overtaking, and Stoner gets the chance to pull away as they storm into the last half of the circuit.

Rossi sits on the tail of Stoner, he starts to take the outside but changes his mind. Into the starting line, with 18 to go, The Doctor still trails stoner, closing in and looking aggressive into the first two turns.

The sun begins to shine with 17 laps to go. Pedrosa starts to catch up with the pack. Rossi on the rear wheel of Stoner through turns 13 and 14 and Lorenzo moves up on Rossi. At around the half way point, in lap 15, Stoner pushes hard and Lorenzo and Rossi come up empty handed.

Pedrosa pushes hard and closes the gap, making it a 4 way battle for the podium. With 13 to go, Rossi takes the lead, and his fellow Yamaha rider follows him into second. Stoner and Pedrosa have to push even harder to make up for the dominance of the Yamaha machines. In turn 1, with 9 to go, Stoner is lagging behind number 1 and 2, the Yamahas lead the way, and Stoner begins to trail farther back, hope for his victory is diminishing.

Rossi pulls out an advantage on the front straight with 7 to go, Stoner and Pedrosa struggle to stay in the race. Lorenzo nearly makes it past Rossi on turn 12 in lap 24. Crossing the line with 6 to go, Lorenzo gets on the tail of Rossi and Pedrosa gets on the tail of Stoner. Two and two they race down the track, horizontally attacking the turns.

Lorenzo is showing signs of an overtaking, and side by side he and Rossi go into the first turn, Lorenzo leads. Pedrosa moves into third. The line up is Lorenzo, Rossi, Pedrosa, and Stoner. Rossi closes in on Lorenzo with three and a half laps to go, Rossi begins to make a move on Lorenzo, but falls back and rides his tail. On inside of turn one, Rossi sneaks past Lorenzo with two to go. Lorenzo only has two laps to take back the lead.

At the front, Rossi tries to pull away and take advantage of his lead; he doesn’t want to let Lorenzo get around him. Across the straight, Lorenzo goes around the outside, but Rossi takes shuts him down along the inside. With nearly half of a lap left, Lorenzo closes in, looking down across the inside of Rossi’s bike, but The Doctor defends his position. As they approach the finish line, Lorenzo accelerates, lining his front tire up with Rossi’s rear as they cross the line. But Lorenzo didn’t have enough room to get past Doctor Rossi. Finishing the podium in third, Pedrosa is followed by Stoner in fourth and Alex DeAngelis in fifth.

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Sachsenring Race - July 18^th: Kornfeil's perfection, Fagerhaug's misfortune.

Press Release

A flag to flag win for Czech 16 year old Jakub Kornfeil in treacherous conditions at the Sachsenring boosted him to second place in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. Points leader Sturla Fagerhaug crashed chasing him on the wet and slippery track but the 17 year old Norwegian still has a 25 point advantage after recovering to cross the line 12th and pick up 4 points.

In a drama-packed race, pole man Danny Kent crashed out of 2nd place exiting the final corner having just passed 16 year old South African Mathew Scholtz. That gave Scholtz 2nd and 3rd to 15 year old Californian Jake Gagne. Kent remounted and the 15 year old Englishman crossed the line 6th.

Kornfeil's race story was simple. "I got in front at the start and I just felt great, the bike and the tyres were perfect. It rained all day but stopped before the race so we started to get a dry line and I could just go quicker and quicker. I watched my pit board and saw that my gap was just getting bigger and bigger so I didn't worry and for me it was an easy race."

For everyone else the story was completely different and Hayden Gillim was just one of those who had a fantastic 'if only' tale. He was the fastest man on the track mid race, lapping quicker than Kornfeil as he charged through from 15th at the end of lap one. "I was enjoying it, it was hard but great fun. I felt good and I was passing the guys and watching my pit board where Danny (Walker) was telling me where I was and how far ahead or behind. Then it got to where he was showing me in 4th and I could see the group right in front so I knew I could get a good result."

"I got past Danny (Kent) but then just pushed it too hard, got on the gas to much in turn 4, the tight right hander where you start to climb back. It snapped around and threw me off. I got to the bike pretty fast but they had to empty the stones out of the fairing so that cost some time. I got going again and worked my way back to 7th or 8th and was battling with Pardo but then got a bit anxious again, the back came round and there was no saving it. That was the end of the race, I'm OK but for some sore knuckles and I've got a bit of something in my eye.... but that was fun," concluded the 14 year old American who finished 2nd in last year's AMA U.S. Rookies Cup.

Gillim had set such a pace in his charge that he might conceivably have worried Kornfeil. Another 'might have' was Fagerhaug's effort. "Jakub made such a great started and raced away while everyone else was so slow in the opening laps," explained Fagerhaug. "I had to work my way through and by the time I got to second (lap 2) he had a big lead (3.5 seconds). I pushed hard to catch him and I guess I pushed too hard because I was catching him and I had plenty of laps to do it in. I highsided (lap 5) and just got back to the bike as quick as I could. I lost a lot of time and it took me a few laps to get back to riding OK. The right hand side of the bike was quite damaged, the footrest broken and the exhaust bent, lucky there are not too many right handers but it was hard going."

There were others who knew they were a touch lucky as there were 8 fallers, some twice, all without injury. 2nd placed Mathew Scholtz was among those who benefited. "There were a lot of guys crashing and that helped me,' said Scholtz. "I got in front of Danny going onto the last lap but he passed me again right at the end. I couldn't believe it when his bike went sideways at the last corner and there was the flag, I was second."

"It was pretty slippery out there," said 3rd placed Gagne. "I just kept riding it as hard as I could and staying out of trouble. Then I started seeing the guys crashing and without me doing too much I was getting higher up the places, I didn't expect to get on the podium but I'll take it."

World SBK: Rea Quickest

Rea grabs top slot in two-day WSB test at Imola, Neukirchner injured again

World Superbike Press Release

Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) put in a quick lap right at the end of the two-day official Superbike test to take the top slot at a sweltering Imola track in preparation for the round here on September 27. The Northern Ireland youngster set a time of 1 minute 48.670 seconds around the 4.936 km circuit to edge out Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox), who had been quickest until then, from the top slot by two-tenths of a second. Texan Ben Spies finished third overall, the Yamaha World Superbike man not improving on his time from yesterday. Points leader and the only other WSB race winner this year Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) did not take part in the test as he is recovering for the next round at Brno.

"It's really motivational coming to a new circuit and finding your feet" declared Rea. "Our approach was a bit different than normal in that we forgot about setting up the bike and getting me up to speed first. Now we've had a lot of time on the bike the package is very strong and finally I'm happy after we went round in circles a bit at Donington. The team has put a massive effort into it, so a big thanks to them for everything. I put my fastest time in on a qualifier, but we've been consistently fast on both days, in the top 5, and I did a long-run and the tire was pretty good so hopefully they can bring that for the race. Where we are right now is good so I'm really happy."

Max Neukirchner, back on his Alstare Suzuki for the first time since the Monza incident, high-sided at the Tamburello ninety minutes into the morning session. He was stretchered to the medical centre but a further X-ray scan at Imola hospital revealed a D12 dorsal vertebra fracture in his lower back as well as three minor cracks in the right L1, L2 and L3 lumbar vertebrae. Neukirchner will return to Germany and must remain at total rest in a plaster cast for 30 days.

Fourth place went to Ducati DFX Corse's Lorenzo Lanzi, who was perfectly at home around his local circuit, while Tom Sykes (Yamaha World Superbike) also made progress in today's morning session to move up to fifth. John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda) ran well this morning to finish sixth, but was then advised to sit out the afternoon session as his recent injuries are still not fully healed. Ruben Xaus (BMW Motorrad) made considerable progress over the two days, moving his S1000 RR up the timesheets to finish seventh overall, but team-mate Troy Corser could only manage seventeenth. Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda), Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) and Shinya Nakano (Aprilia Racing) completed the top 10, the Italian fact

Preview: 2009 TT DVD

The Official DVD Review of the 2009 Isle of Man TT is due to be released on July 27th, but you can enjoy a sneak preview of the action right now

Isle of Man TT Official Press Release

The Official DVD Review is an action-packed and comprehensive look back at the fastest TT ever. Over almost four hours of comprehensive coverage, the Official Review brings you breathtaking action footage as records tumble over the legendary Mountain course.

Watch the trailer here.

Produced for the first time by North One Television, the TT 2009 review offers unrivalled coverage of this unique event.

There’s more on-board cameras with leading riders than ever, letting viewers experience the incredible 37.73-mile circuit from the rider’s point-of-view. Plus, the Hi-Motion camera captures spellbinding ultra-slow motion sequences which demonstrate exactly how much skill and courage it takes to control 240bhp Superbikes at speeds in excess of 190mph.

The Official Review rounds up all the practice week action, including Australian Cameron Donald’s stunning unofficial lap record and his TT-ending practice crash – complete with post-smash interview.

There’s complete coverage of every race over the Mountain course, including an incredible 15th TT win and new outright lap record of 131.578mph AVERAGE lap speed for John McGuinness. There’s also a popular double for Yorkshire’s Ian Hutchinson, an emotional return to the top step of the podium for the Dunlop name and an unexpected, but thoroughly deserved, victory for Steve Plater in the blue riband Senior TT.

The review also records a stunning 14th TT victory for sidecar legend Dave Molyneux during a TT packed with emotional highs and lows for the three-wheel crews.

Incredible camera angles, aerial footage and on-bike action are skillfully combined to bring you the full story, with informed commentary from ex-racers Steve Parrish and James Whitham keeping you fully up to speed. Plus, the Official Review takes you on-board at the Lightweight and Ultra Lightweight TT races – held on the 4.25-mile Billown Circuit – and takes a look at the inaugural TTXGP.

This was the first-ever race for clean emission motorcycles, putting the Isle of Man TT back at the cutting edge of racing technology and making headlines around the world – the Official Review’s special feature explains why TTXGP was such an important and ground-breaking achievement.

As ever, the TT attracted some famous fans and the Official Review features two of the biggest. There’s an interview with legendary ‘Voice of Motorsport’ Murray Walker O.B.E. and the historic lap by MotoGP great Valentino Rossi, the reigning World Champion taking a break from his busy schedule to achieve an ambition held since childhood – lapping the TT course.

You can order the Official DVD Review of the 2009 Isle of Man TT here.

MotoGP: Round 9

MotoGP Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland

Tyler Hopper

AllAboutBikes.com Staff-Writer

With Yamaha and Ducati dominating the top three spots in championship points, both manufacturers face stumbling blocks on the road to Deutschland. Jorge Lorenzo, currently in second place, and Casey Stoner, in third, will be competing at less than 100 percent heading to Sachsenring, Germany, for the Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland.

When Lorenzo arrives for the ninth round, he won’t be concerned with the media; his attention will be with the Clinica Mobile, whose staff helped prepare him for the Laguna Seca race after his qualifying crash. The crash resulted in a collarbone injury, a micro fracture in his right foot and two bruised ankles.

Casey Stoner, who suffered a crash during qualifying at the Laguna Seca race, has recently been diagnosed with slight gastritis and mild anemia. Stoner said, “I still don’t feel like I am 100 percent, but the biggest problem now is that my ribs are very painful after the crash in qualifying in the U.S. It will be probably another hard weekend in Germany, but as always, we will do our best to stay as much as possible close to the lead of the Championship.” Stoner managed to finish fourth at the Red Bull Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, despite his misfortune in qualifying. That kind of performance, at a time when he needed it, is an indication of how much Stoner wants to stay in the battle for the championship.

Two riders looking forward to top performances this weekend are Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi. Coming off of a victory in the US, Pedrosa looks forward to the race in Germany. “I’ve had some good results at this track and I take a lot of confidence into the race weekend at Sachsenring because we’re probably in the best shape we’ve been in for a while,” stated the Pedrosa. “The win in Laguna Seca was really important for me and the team because it proves we’ve been making progress and we now have the pace to win races.”

Rossi is looking to continue his run for the title this weekend. Rossi said, “Sachsenring isn’t one of my favorite tracks but I’ve had some great races there and generally it suits Yamaha well, which is good. We need another good result to keep our lead because our rivals are so strong and we can’t afford to make any mistakes. Last year there was a lot of rain in Germany but in fact we were able to take a great second place. I hope this year we can go one better.”

Hayden on Laguna: We’ll go full gas”

Nicky Hayden is looking forward to another special weekend at Laguna Seca, the scene of his superb wins in 2005 and 2006

MotoGP Press Release

Although Indianapolis has now become Nicky Hayden’s true home event, the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca is always a special weekend on the calendar for the Kentuckian rider.

Hayden made history when he won the first race at the Californian track after it’s re-emergence on the MotoGP schedule in 2005 - after a ten year absence - and then repeated the victory in 2006 en route to the World title, writing his name into Laguna folklore.

This year, after a DNF in 2007 and fifth place last year, Hayden is appearing on American soil for the first time as a Ducati rider and is determined to put on a good show for the fans, despite his modest start to the season.

“This year we’re racing in America on the 4th of July weekend and it’s perfect,” he enthused. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holiday than at the US GP! Also the fact my brothers will be racing on the same weekend in the AMA championship helps make it special for me. This will be the first time my American fans get to see me on a Ducati so that will be cool because there are a lot of Ducati fans in the states. No predictions or anything but we’ll go full gas and see what happens.”

Looking to make progress from 15th in the championship, with just 26 points gained thus far in 2009, Hayden has his a good opportunity this weekend at his best track. “We still have a lot of work to do but it has been nice to see a little progress over the last few weeks and at Laguna I really need to take another big step,” the former Honda man continued.

“I don’t have any big plan or anything, it’s not that easy! All I know to do is keep trying and working at it and hope it will come. Laguna is a great track and very challenging. There are a few points that stick out but in general it is different to most tracks, which usually have a few different sections, whereas Laguna is basically just one section and you have to put it all together to make a good lap.”

GP history of Laguna Seca

The history of GP racing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

MotoGP Press Release

After a ten year absence MotoGP returned to the United States and Laguna Seca in 2005 and has since hosted some superb racing. However, before that break in American GPs Laguna Seca had already featured six times on the World Championship calendar.

In fact, the first two Grand Prix events to be held in the USA were at Daytona in 1964 and 1965. Following those two events there was a 22 year gap before Grand Prix racing returned to the US, at Laguna in 1988.

This year’s event will be the eleventh time that a Grand Prix race has taken place at the Laguna Seca circuit and below is a brief summary of the previous ten World Championship visits:

1988 – This included races for the 500cc and 250cc classes with American riders finishing on the top of the podium in both races – Eddie Lawson (Yamaha) in the 500cc race and Jim Filice in the 250cc race riding as a replacement for Masahiro Shimizu on the factory Honda.

1989 – Once again American riders took the honours with Wayne Rainey (Yamaha) taking the victory in the 500cc race in front of Kevin Schwantz (Suzuki) and Eddie Lawson (Honda). John Kocinski (Yamaha) won the 250cc race as a wild-card entry.

1990 – Both Wayne Rainey and John Kocinski repeated their success of the previous year; both riders went on to take the respective world titles.

1991 – Wayne Rainey won the 500cc race for the third year in succession while in the 250cc race Luca Cadalora (Honda) became the first European rider to win a Grand Prix race at the Laguna Seca circuit.

1993 – The Grand Prix returned to Laguna Seca after a year’s absence. John Kocinski took the first ever dry weather Grand Prix victory for Cagiva in the 500cc race. Loris Capirossi (Honda) won the 250cc race and Dirk Raudies (Honda) won in the 125cc class which was run for the first time at the Laguna circuit.

1994 - Luca Cadalora (Yamaha) became the first non-American to win the premier-class Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. This was the last time that the event included 250cc and 125cc classes, won by Doriano Romboni and Takeshi Tsujimura respectively both riding Honda machinery.

2005 – After an absence of ten years the Grand Prix returned to America and the home riders dominated once again with Nicky Hayden taking his first Grand Prix victory in front of Colin Edwards. This was also the first victory in the premier-class for Honda at the Laguna Seca circuit.

2006 – Nicky Hayden repeated his victory of the previous year on his way to becoming the first American rider to win a Grand Prix world championship on a four-stroke machine.

2007 – The event was dominated by Casey Stoner who started from pole and led the race from start to finish. This was the first GP victory for both Ducati and Bridgestone tyres at the Laguna Seca circuit. Chris Vermeulen finished second - the first podium finish for the Suzuki four-stroke MotoGP machine at Laguna Seca.

2008 – Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) won for first time in America and made it three different winning manufacturers in three successive years.

Rossi’s 100 GP wins – the statistics

Some facts and figures relating to Valentino Rossi’s remarkable 100 career wins, since his first victory in the 125cc class in Brno in 1996

MotoGP Press Release

With his victory at the Alice TT Assen Valentino Rossi became only the second rider ever to reach the milestone of 100 Grand Prix victories, as motogp.com documented in Monday’s video tributes to the Fiat Yamaha star.

Today we offer a selection of statistics relating to Rossi’s colorful and triumphant march to a century of GP successes, which along the way have brought him eight World titles across the three Grand Prix classes:

• The 100 victories have come from 217 Grand Prix starts – a win rate over his career of 46.1%. Rossi has won on six different types of motorcycle: 125cc Aprilia (12 wins), 250cc Aprilia (14 wins), 500cc Honda (13 wins), 990cc Honda (20 wins), 990cc Yamaha (25 wins) and 800cc Yamaha (16 wins).
• His 41 wins riding for Yamaha is more than any other rider. The second most successful Yamaha rider is Phil Read with 39 victories.
• Rossi has won Grand Prix races at 27 different circuits. The circuits at which he has had most success are Mugello and Catalunya with nine wins at each.
• The most wins Rossi has had in a single season is 11, which he has achieved on four occasions: 1997 (125cc), 2001 (500cc), 2002 and 2005 in MotoGP.
• His 11 wins in 1997 is a record for most victories in a single season in the 125cc class.
• Rossi’s 74 race victories in the premier-class is more than any other rider in the 61-year history of Grand Prix racing.
• With his victory in Jerez this year Valentino Rossi became the first rider to achieve at least one Grand Prix victory for 14 successive seasons.
• The total length of his winning career from his first win in the 125cc race at the Czech GP in 1996 to his latest victory at Assen, is 12 years 313 days. Only four riders have had a longer winning career in Grand Prix racing: Loris Reggiani, Phil Read, Angel Nieto and Loris Capirossi.

MotoGP heads west to Laguna Seca

The riders in the premier class this week make a dash across the Atlantic to the West Coast of the US, to the superb Californian track of Laguna Seca.

Press Release

This weekend’s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca is the first of two World Championship visits to America this year and is the second of four GPs in a five week period as the 2009 season really begins to gather pace.

With Indianapolis to come in August the MotoGP riders will this weekend enjoy their first Stateside trip of the campaign as they head to California, with visits to Sachsenring and Donington Park still to come on the busy schedule before the summer break.

After seven rounds so far this year things are tight at the top, with three main protagonists emerging as the title candidates. Heading to Assen in the Netherlands last weekend, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner were all square on points at the head of the standings and even though Rossi has pushed ahead with the superb 100th GP victory of his career at the Dutch track his young rivals are still snapping at his heels.

Last year at Laguna Rossi took a hugely important win over Stoner, passing him brilliantly on infamous Corkscrew corner and scoring a significant psychological blow against the Australian. This year, however, he has two key rivals to contend with.

World Champion Rossi goes into round eight in great from, with a five point lead over Lorenzo in the general classification, having relegated his Fiat Yamaha team-mate to second place in the last two races at Catalunya and Assen. The Italian looks as strong as ever, with his Yamaha M1 machine working brilliantly as he looks to turn up the heat on his rivals.

Lorenzo, meanwhile, has never completed a race at Laguna having crashed out on the first lap on his debut at the Californian track last year. He insists however that this year he is finding things more comfortable at tracks which did not favour him in the past and can be expected to be pushing Rossi hard at the front again this weekend.

Fitness doubts for Stoner could be the major factor hindering the Ducati star following another grueling race in The Netherlands, where for the second round in succession he finished third, but was totally exhausted on the podium. If he can recover full strength he will be confident of another good performance on Sunday, at a track where he won in 2007 and finished second in 2008.

Behind the leading three in the championship, the Repsol Honda duo of Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa will be desperate to bounce straight back from their Assen disappointments having both crashed out of the Dutch contest, in separate incidents at the same corner, when well positioned to earn some decent points. Dovizioso is currently fourth in the standings, some distance behind the top three, but with just a two point advantage over Pedrosa and Colin Edwards.

Texan rider Edwards arrives for his home race in good form following his fourth place at Assen and is hoping for another good result as he seeks to extend his MotoGP career. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider was on the podium at Laguna Seca in 2005 but since then has struggled for good results there and will aim to correct that pattern on Sunday.

His compatriot Nicky Hayden, the only other American rider in the premier class at present, boasts two of his three MotoGP career wins at Laguna and would love nothing more than to get his first top five result of 2009 on his Stateside debut for Ducati this weekend.

The Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix promises to be a memorable event, coinciding with the American 4th July celebrations and commencing this Friday, 3rd July, with Free Practice 1 at 1.55pm local time, (9.55pm GMT, 10.55pm CET). The 250cc and 125cc classes do not compete at Laguna and will be back in action at Sachsenring on the 17th-19th July weekend.

June 30, 2009

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