Toni Elias Back To MotoGP

2011 Moto2 winner, Toni Elias, finally back to MotoGP for 2011 season. Toni Elias will join with LCR Honda for next season. 

Toni Elias will start in Valencia on the test session with LCR Honda after this season over. Championship will be a great motivator for Elias to step ahead in MotoGP class.

“I’m very motivated. I think together we can have a very good season. I will start in Valencia after the last race and I am eager to get the job with the team underway as soon as possible!”

Team Manager Cecchinello said: “First of all I want to thank Randy (De Puniet) for his valuable cooperation and for the several successes we have shared in the 250cc class and in the MotoGP class in the last five years together.”

“The chance to work with Toni Elías is a big incentive for us because this is a very important moment for presenting a new project to our sponsors and partners. The nice thing is that Toni and I raced together in the 125cc class; I was at the end of my career and he was at the beginning of his. I remember he was a very hard rider and very determined. As time goes by he has improved very much and I think he is a very talented rider with a lot of experience. All the staff and I give him our warmest welcome!”

Welcome back Toni Elias

Paddock Girls Special: Rizla Suzuki Estoril 2010

RIZLA SUZUKI PADDOCK GIRLS ESTORIL 2010

Paddock Girls Estoril 2010

Paddock Girls MotoGP Estoril 2010

Lorenzo 1st, Rossi 2nd, and Dovizioso 3rd

Jorge Lorenzo get his hattrick at Estoril this year after wins on 2008, 2009, and this 2010 race. After taking Rossi, Lorenzo was unbeatable and finish first. The main drama came for 3rd position while Andrea Dovizioso just can get his podium on the last second after taking Marco Simoncelli. 

The world standing now was placed Valentino Rossi on the 3rd position, replace Casey Stoner. Rossi just 19 points behind Dani Pedrosa on the 2nd position. Dani Pedrosa only finish at 8th place. Pedorosa's points now are 236. It means, last race at Valencia will be looking for runner up between Pedrosa and Rossi, after Caset Stoner crashed in this race, and missed the points.

Battle for 3rd place is more interest to see, Andrea Dovizioso, Marco Simoncelli, and Nicky Hayden were involved. Nicky Hayden who's started on the 2nd position only finish at 6th place behind Marco Simoncelli at 5th. Dovizioso just taking Simoncelli off in last second and only 0.056 seconds lead. Yes right, what a race for 3rd place battle.

Congratulation to all rider

World Standing Estoril 2010

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1	Jorge LORENZO	Yamaha	SPA	358
2	Dani PEDROSA	Honda	SPA	236
3	Valentino ROSSI	Yamaha	ITA	217
4	Casey STONER	Ducati	AUS	205
5	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	Honda	ITA	195
6	Ben SPIES	Yamaha	USA	163
7	Nicky HAYDEN	Ducati	USA	163
8	Marco SIMONCELLI	Honda	ITA	115
9	Randy DE PUNIET	Honda	FRA	110
10	Marco MELANDRI	Honda	ITA	100
11	Colin EDWARDS	Yamaha	USA	99
12	Hector BARBERA	Ducati	SPA	82
13	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Suzuki	SPA	78
14	Aleix ESPARGARO	Ducati	SPA	60
15	Hiroshi AOYAMA	Honda	JPN	51
16	Loris CAPIROSSI	Suzuki	ITA	44
17	Mika KALLIO	Ducati	FIN	43
18	Alex DE ANGELIS	Honda	RSM	11
19	Roger Lee HAYDEN	Honda	USA	5
20	Kousuke AKIYOSHI	Honda	JPN	4
21	Wataru YOSHIKAWA	Yamaha	JPN	1

bwin GRANDE PREMIO DE PORTUGAL MotoGP Race Classification 2010

Pos.	Points	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time/Gap
1	25	99	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Fiat Yamaha Team	Yamaha	151.7	46'17.962
2	20	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Fiat Yamaha Team	Yamaha	151.3	8.629
3	16	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	150.3	26.475
4	13	58	Marco SIMONCELLI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	150.3	26.534
5	11	69	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Ducati Team	Ducati	150.3	27.154
6	10	14	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	LCR Honda MotoGP	Honda	150.2	28.297
7	9	5	Colin EDWARDS	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	150.1	30.109
8	8	26	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	149.3	44.947
9	7	33	Marco MELANDRI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	147.8	+1'13.649
10	6	40	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Paginas Amarillas Aspar	Ducati	147.6	+1'17.721
11	5	19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	Suzuki	147.6	+1'17.908
12	4	7	Hiroshi AOYAMA	JPN	Interwetten Honda MotoGP	Honda	146.8	+1'33.025
13	3	65	Loris CAPIROSSI	ITA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	Suzuki	146.5	+1'39.752
Not Classified
		71	Carlos CHECA	SPA	Pramac Racing Team	Ducati	144.9	15 Laps
		27	Casey STONER	AUS	Ducati Team	Ducati	147	24 Laps
Not Starting
		41	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Pramac Racing Team	Ducati		0 Lap
		11	Ben SPIES	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha		0 Lap
			Pole Lap:		Jorge LORENZO	1'48.522	Km/h
			Fastest Lap:	Lap: 20	Jorge LORENZO	1'37.928	153.7 Km/h
			Circuit Record Lap:	2009	Dani PEDROSA	1'36.937	155.3 Km/h
			Best Lap:	2008	Jorge LORENZO	1'35.715	157.3 Km/h

Combined Free Practice Used For Pole Position

Due to heavy rain, the board of MotoGP used combined free practice as pole position. So the combine free practice time place Jorge Lorenzo on pole, followed by Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi on the first row. In second row, Casey Stoner, Ben Spies and Marco Melandi.

Andrea Dovizioso, Randy De Puniet and Colin Edward on the 3rd row, Marco Simoncelli, Aleix Espargaro and Dani Pedrosa on 4th row, Loris Capirossi, Alvaro Bautista and Hector Barbera on 5th row, Hiroshi Aoyama and Carlos Cecha on 16th and 17th place.

Combine free practice means that the result came from the best time of all free practice session. For example, although Nicky Hayden best time on 3rd free practice only 1.53.018, but his record on the 2nd free practice session was 1.48.657. It makes Nicky Hayden got the 2nd position for tomorrow race.

Let see the weather tomorrow, is it gonna be the first wet race for this season? Find the answer tomorrow.

Lorenzo Fastest, Pedrosa Made A Good Progress

Jorge Lorenzo once again being fastest at 3rd Estoril free practice with 1.48.853, or 0.582 seconds in front of his teammate Valentino Rossi. Although Lorenzo crashed on a view last minute, but his time record still on the top. Andrea Dovizioso be the 3rd on last lap with 1.50.007, followed by Casey Stoner and Colin Edwards. Good progress came from Dani Pedrosa at 8th place after come back from surgery.

Estoril still with wet track and it's make difficulty level being higher. Lorenzo and Stoner crashed, but no problem with them. Both rider were slip on the turn and also impact from wet track made some bad result for their steering and brake. Carlos Checa just make a step ahead by 1.53.933, at 16th places.

Let see for the qualifying session in a moment. Keep an eye for Estoril

bwin GRANDE PREMIO DE PORTUGAL MotoGP Free Practice Nr. 3 Classification 2010

Pos.	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time	Gap 1st/Prev.
1	99	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Fiat Yamaha Team	Yamaha	306.4	1'48.853
2	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Fiat Yamaha Team	Yamaha	304.6	1'49.435	0.582 / 0.582
3	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	294.7	1'50.007	1.154 / 0.572
4	27	Casey STONER	AUS	Ducati Team	Ducati	307.3	1'50.081	1.228 / 0.074
5	5	Colin EDWARDS	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	289.9	1'50.313	1.460 / 0.232
6	58	Marco SIMONCELLI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	297.3	1'50.500	1.647 / 0.187
7	41	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Pramac Racing Team	Ducati	287.9	1'50.787	1.934 / 0.287
8	26	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	285.6	1'50.824	1.971 / 0.037
9	33	Marco MELANDRI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	302.6	1'51.250	2.397 / 0.426
10	65	Loris CAPIROSSI	ITA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	Suzuki	294.7	1'51.518	2.665 / 0.268
11	11	Ben SPIES	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	312.7	1'51.916	3.063 / 0.398
12	19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	Suzuki	300.7	1'52.734	3.881 / 0.818
13	69	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Ducati Team	Ducati	301.7	1'53.018	4.165 / 0.284
14	7	Hiroshi AOYAMA	JPN	Interwetten Honda MotoGP	Honda	279.4	1'53.317	4.464 / 0.299
15	14	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	LCR Honda MotoGP	Honda	298.9	1'53.537	4.684 / 0.220
16	71	Carlos CHECA	SPA	Pramac Racing Team	Ducati	282.1	1'53.933	5.080 / 0.396
17	40	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Paginas Amarillas Aspar	Ducati	282.4	1'54.073	5.220 / 0.140
		Fastest Lap:	Lap: 20	Jorge LORENZO	1'48.853	138.3 Km/h
		Circuit Record Lap:	2009	Dani PEDROSA	1'36.937	155.3 Km/h
		Best Lap:	2008	Jorge LORENZO	1'35.715	157.3 Km/h

Dani Pedrosa Felt Much Better On Estoril 2nd Free Practice

Dani Pedrosa ended the first day of the bwin Grande Premio de Portugal in 13th places on 2nd free practice. He said that he felt much better with his RC212V at Estoril during the bad weather after miss last three races.

“Straight away I felt much better on the bike here than I did in Australia and the shoulder has recovered a lot, which is very positive,” said Pedrosa, who along with the majority of the premier class opted against riding in the first practice due to the wet weather conditions.

“I feel a little bit tired now, but basically I feel okay after riding today. It was a pity that we missed the whole practice this morning because of the rain, and also at the beginning of the afternoon session the track conditions were difficult, which limited what we could achieve. To be honest I didn’t feel totally at home on the bike today but I think this is normal after so long without riding, and this situation will improve.”

With the focus on re-establishing his comfort on the bike times were not on Pedrosa’s mind, as he completed 19 laps with a best time of 1’53.592 – just over five seconds off Jorge Lorenzo’s top time.

“Usually when you ride in wet conditions you take it easy and this was especially true for me today because I certainly didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. It was good to be on the bike again and to see that I can ride more or less normally,” he explained, before adding a comment about the rearranged Saturday schedule which will see one hour dedicated to each of the final practice and qualifying sessions.

“Tomorrow we’ll see what the weather brings, but it’s good that we have two hours instead of two 45-minute sessions, and we’ll make the most of that extra time,” he concluded.

Now let is if Pedrosa can do better on 3rd free practice session till the Sunday race to keep his position on the table

Lorenzo Fastest, Hayden 2nd, Checa Last

After bad weather on 1st free practice, Jorge Lorenzo wrote fastest lap on 2nd free practice Estoril MotoGP with 1'48.522. Jorge's top speed was only 302.2 Km/hour. Behind Lorenzo, the Kentucky Boy Nicky Hayden 0.135 seconds left. Lorenzo's teammate Valentino Rossi set 1'48.883 on 3rd place, followed by Casey Stoner and Ben Spies. Both HRC riders Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa are on 9th and 13th. "New comer" Carlos Checa 5.922 seconds behind Jorge Lorenzo and sit on the last place.

3rd free practice session at Estoril will be held tomorrow. If Estoril still on rain, it will be more difficult for the rider. And if next Sunday race will be on rain, it means, this weekend race will be the 1st wet race in 2010 season. 

bwin GRANDE PREMIO DE PORTUGAL MotoGP Free Practice Nr. 2 Classification 2010

Pos.	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time	Gap 1st/Prev.
1	99	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Fiat Yamaha Team	Yamaha	302.2	1'48.522
2	69	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Ducati Team	Ducati	311.6	1'48.657	0.135 / 0.135
3	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Fiat Yamaha Team	Yamaha	301.7	1'48.883	0.361 / 0.226
4	27	Casey STONER	AUS	Ducati Team	Ducati	299.6	1'49.061	0.539 / 0.178
5	11	Ben SPIES	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	304.6	1'49.721	1.199 / 0.660
6	33	Marco MELANDRI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	307.5	1'49.784	1.262 / 0.063
7	14	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	LCR Honda MotoGP	Honda	298.4	1'50.043	1.521 / 0.259
8	58	Marco SIMONCELLI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	304.2	1'51.283	2.761 / 1.240
9	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	291.9	1'52.294	3.772 / 1.011
10	65	Loris CAPIROSSI	ITA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	Suzuki	284.9	1'52.575	4.053 / 0.281
11	40	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Paginas Amarillas Aspar	Ducati	285.8	1'53.131	4.609 / 0.556
12	5	Colin EDWARDS	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	264.5	1'53.510	4.988 / 0.379
13	26	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	277.8	1'53.592	5.070 / 0.082
14	41	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Pramac Racing Team	Ducati	281.9	1'53.769	5.247 / 0.177
15	7	Hiroshi AOYAMA	JPN	Interwetten Honda MotoGP	Honda	272.9	1'54.389	5.867 / 0.620
16	19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	Suzuki	287.5	1'54.410	5.888 / 0.021
17	71	Carlos CHECA	SPA	Pramac Racing Team	Ducati	266.6	1'54.444	5.922 / 0.034
		Fastest Lap:	Lap: 19	Jorge LORENZO	1'48.522	138.7 Km/h
		Circuit Record Lap:	2009	Dani PEDROSA	1'36.937	155.3 Km/h
		Best Lap:	2008	Jorge LORENZO	1'35.715	157.3 Km/h

Official: Loris Capirossi To Pramac Ducati 2011

It's officially announced, Loris Capirossi will ride for Pramac Ducati next year. This Italian rider will starting test at Valencia next November. Capirossi last rode Ducati machine at 2007 with 800cc machine.

Paolo Campinoti - Pramac Racing Team Principal

"We are very pleased to have closed an agreement with one of the most experienced riders and one of the most titled of the current MotoGP World Championship. The deal between us was very simple because Pramac Racing Team, and him, always aim to try to fight for important results. We do not need to talk about Loris, we all know him, we know his value and we are sure that thanks to his quality, we'll have fun next year on all the tracks, taking also some satisfaction. With Loris we will celebrate our tenth anniversary in the World Championship and this is a real honor for us. We know that Loris had conquer in his career 99 podiums and we hope to achieve together the triple digits. I would like to thank our partners who have welcomed our choice and we hope that Loris's and Pramac Racing Team fans will follow us with passion during next season. "

Loris Capirossi

"This return on a Ducati bike make me feel like a child. I do not feel my 37 years! I have a great desire to start this new adventure, I'm enormously pleased about this new agreement that was reached with the Pramac Racing Team, this will allow me to ride and be part of an Italian Team. I would like to thank the Team Principal of the Pramac Racing Team, Paolo Campinoti, for giving me this great opportunity and for the confidence placed in me. I'll find again the Ducati, with whom I had very good results over the past years and that I was able to develop in the 2007, this is an unique sensation for me. I thank Suzuki for the years we spent together and thanks also to the excellent relationship maintained with them, they had give me the possibility to race with my new Team since Valencia's test of next month."

Dani Pedrosa Confident After Recovery

Dani Pedrosa will race next Sunday at Estoril. This Spaniard told that this track will be more easier for him that Phillip Island. With 9 right turns, Pedrosa shoulder left shoulder will endure less load. It means, he can race with less pain.

“We get back on track this weekend at Estoril and, in principle, the situation should be much better than it was for me in Australia,” said the 25 year-old, who was forced to head home early from Phillip Island after the pain became too great to ride in the race. “The Estoril circuit is not as demanding as Phillip Island and this should help me to feel more comfortable on the bike. Plus I’ve had some more time to recover which should help too.”

“This kind of injury needs time to heal and with two more weeks having passed I’m really looking forward to seeing how much the shoulder has improved. I went to visit the doctor last Tuesday to have the stitches removed, and the scar is fine. I’ve been doing some more rehabilitation on the muscles and I have some more strength, but I will not be able to fully judge how much difference there is until I get on the bike on Friday morning. Also, I think it can be positive for me that there will be two practice sessions on Friday again, as we had in Aragón.”

Estoril is a track on which Pedrosa has enjoyed podium finishes in the past three seasons, and he is looking forward to taking the true test of how well he has recovered.

“In terms of the track layout, Estoril has some hard braking areas and it’s bumpy, but the fact that it has more right hand corners than left can be good for us. So, I’m looking forward to getting there with my team and seeing how I feel,” he concluded.

Capirossi Has Confirmed For Estoril

The Italian rider Loris Capirossi has has confirmed will race at Estoril this weekend after an injury in last few races. Capirossi was ruled out from Australian GP because a thigh strain and also out from Malaysian GP because a foot injury.

“It was disappointing to find out I had got some small fractures in my foot, but it won't stop me riding, because I was ok in Australia and it didn't cause me too many problems there – in fact it is easier to ride the bike than it is to walk! 

“I have had some intensive treatment on the thigh muscle and that is also a lot better. I can't wait to get back on my bike and give the guys something back for all their patience and hard-work over the season, especially after the tough three-week tour we had on the other side of the world which gave us nothing but pain and bike damage. 

“Suzuki and the team have always been good to me and I want to show them that I am here to do my best and compete with the best riders.”

Gear Up Estoril

MotoGP this weekend will be held at Estoril, Portugal. Although championship was over yet, but MotoGP still looking for the runner up for this season. Dani Pedrosa now on 2nd position with 228 points. He leads only 23 points from last GP winner Casey Stoner.Valentino Rossi still on 4th place with 197 points, or 31 points behind the current runner up Dani Pedrosa. Those 3 riders will hunt for MotoGP runner up this season.

Last 2 years at Estoril, Jorge Lorenzo was won. And now he's looking for his hat-trick to be King of Estoril, like Casey Stoner did at Phillip Island circuit. All of top riders are have an interest for this weekend race. Hope this weekend race still attractive like before. Plus Carlos Cecha appearance to replace Mika Kallio on Pramac Ducati, this race will me more interest.

Schedule for MotoGP Estoril (all in local time):

Friday 29 October 2010

FP1: 10.05

FP2: 14.05

Saturday 30 October 2010

FP3: 10.05

QP: 14.05

Sunday 31 October 2010

WUP: 09.30

Race: 13.00

Riders Items Being Auctioned

The E-bay auction for the rider paraphernalia donated during the Dedikato 2010 event, is set to be resumed.  The first auction was suspended immediately following the San Marino Grand Prix, out of respect for the memory of Shoya Tomizawa and his family's mourning.  All proceeds from the auction will go to the Foundation for Cystic Fibrosis Research, founded by Matteo Marzotto.

The auction will begin again on October 29th, on eve of the Portuguese Grand Prix, and conclude on November 8th, following the Valencia GP.

Numerous objects will be available for bidding including: a Shoei helmet autographed by all of the Shoei riders, a pair of Valentino Rossi's race boots, pairs of gloves from Marco Simoncelli and Toni Elias, a set of leathers worn by Marco Melandri, and more boots from Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa.

There will also be some stranger items available, such as a pair of autographed gym socks worn by Marco Simoncelli, which he took off and donated "live" during the Dedikato event.

Anyone interested can find further information on the website www.dedikato.com or directly on E-bay.

One item which will not be available is the special edition helmet, designed by artist "ONE", featuring the likeness of Dajiro Kato and signed by all of the riders present at the 2010 Dedikato event.  The Mayor of Misano, Stefano Giannini, and the President of Misano events, Luigi Bellettini, decided to present the helmet to the family of Shoya Tomizawa in a private event held after the Grand Prix.

Cal Crutchlow Testing M1 At Japan

Cal Crutchlow, a new Yamaha Tech3 rider for MotoGP next season has begun the preparation for his debut with M1 on MotoGP after a private test session at Japan.

“The M1 felt a lot smaller than my Yamaha R1 superbike,” he said. “I actually found the positioning more comfortable than the WSB machine. There is a lot of power but it feels very useable, it felt very different to a production based machine in terms of its delivery. 

“In the wet we used the normal steel brakes but when it started to dry I had a chance to try the carbon ones which were cool, I managed to get quite comfortable with them. I found the chassis very stiff, it was really easy to change direction and the electronics were really different, even more advanced than the high level I'm used to in Superbike! 

“It was a shame the weather wasn't great so I wasn't able to push to the bike's full potential, I'm really looking forward to the Valencia test so I can get back on it and give it a proper work out!”

Steering Was The Main Dovizioso's Problem At Australian Grand Prix

After Dani Pedroca decided to not race at Phillip Island las weekend, Andrea Doviziso was the only one rider of HRC that race at Australian Grand Prix. Start on 9th position on the 3rd row, Dovizioso strikes to the 5th position after 1st lap. Dovizioso was a rider with good start. But not for long, the #4 RC212V had some problem with the steering. 

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V): DNF 

"It's really a pity that I had to retire today because we had worked hard with team and, after two difficult days of practice, today we had the pace to fight for third position and a podium finish. I made a good start and I was able to recover some positions. On the first lap I did a 1m31.7s without pushing too hard and I was fifth across the line. In the first two laps though I felt the steering was stiff and on lap three this caused me to lose a lot of positions. I could control the bike but, although I completed another lap, it was too risky to keep riding and I had to come into the pits. There was a problem at the steering damper mounting - it had moved into an incorrect position, so now we will investigate the causes. I'm really disappointed because after two great races in Japan and Malaysia, it was important to make a good race here to fight for third position in the championship. Still, now we will look to get the best results possible in Estoril and Valencia. "

Paddock Girls Phillip Island 2010

Paddock Girls Phillip Island 2010