Lorenzo delivers front row at Brno

The reigning World Champion was one of the fastest riders for the duration of the session, benefiting from improvements to his set up with a more stable YZR-M1 allowing him to pressure the competition at the top. Lorenzo led the session for a brief time and at the end of the session had missed pole by just 0.113 seconds.

Ben Spies put in a superhuman effort to secure fourth and a second row start for tomorrow’s race despite suffering a numb arm from a trapped nerve which hampered his ability to brake and turn the bike. The Texan had been running as high as second, just 0.061 from first in the last 15 minutes but was unable to hold on to his front row start at the end. He will continue to work with Clinica Mobile this evening for more physio in advance of tomorrow’s race.

Whilst qualifying was dry, the riders endured a wet final free practice in the morning, giving them an opportunity to find a good wet set up should tomorrow’s race bring rain. Lorenzo dominated the session with his revised set up, finishing in second just 0.005 seconds from the front. Spies took it easy for the morning, saving his strength for the qualifying practice and finishing the final free session in tenth, 0.768 from first.

Jorge Lorenzo: 

“Yesterday things weren’t like we expected, but we made some changes and improved braking to make the bike more stable. The lap time improved from that and we got a lot closer to Dani today and finished in front of Casey. The pace in the last laps was quite good, so we’re happy. Big thanks to my team who worked hard to improve the bike. Tomorrow we aim for the podium, or if possible, to win the race.”

Ben Spies: 

“Today, honestly, went a lot better than expected - we’re at least in a good starting position for tomorrow. I’m not 100% confident about the race and what we can do, but we’ve shown we’ve got the speed and the bike is good enough for top five. We’ll do the best we can, I’m not going to make any promises but I know I’ve got at least half a good race in me. If we get some good rest tonight then hopefully we’ll get lucky and catch a break and be good for it. We’re optimistic, the bike is working well and the speed is there, I just hope I can be there too. I need to say a big thank you to all the guys at Clinica Mobile who are working hard this weekend to keep me in the game.”

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

First pole of the season for Pedrosa

Dani Pedrosa followed up his superb Friday display in qualifying on Saturday, as the Spaniard secured his first pole position of 2011 for Sunday’s Cardion ab Grand Prix České republiky race in Brno.

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa took the front position on the grid with a time of 1’56.591 in qualifying on Saturday, a time fast enough to put him on pole but still not a fast as the crushing lap he dealt Friday by a margin of 0.268s.

The premier class took to a dry track after the morning wet practice session, with reigning MotoGP Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) taking an early provisional pole and Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) leading in second half of qualifying. But Pedrosa retaliated, grabbing back the top spot and keeping it until the end of the outing.

Lorenzo pushed hard, bettering his previous best time by four tenths with a time of 1'56.704, giving him a front row start in the second spot, followed by Stoner with lap of 1'56.860 to put him in the final front row spot.

Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) who started from the front row least year in his MotoGP rookie season, qualified four with a 1'57.178. The Texan is joined on the second row by Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team), who finished just outside the top ten on his premier class debut at Brno last season, whose time of 1'57.351 placed him in fifth to start. Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) joins the second row after posting a time of 1'57.367, giving him his best qualifying of the season so far.

Andrea Dovizioso will start from the third row, his time of 1'57.442 placing him seventh fastest. American duo Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) take the final two spots on the third row, while Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini), riding for the first time in the MotoGP class at Brno after missing last year’s race through injury, completed the top ten.

Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) crashed out of eighth position with 12 minutes remaining, running back to the pits to mount his second bike, finally concluding the qualifying in eleventh.

Cardion ab Motoracing’s Karel Abraham crashed out of the qualifying session, the 21 year old from Brno will start his home race from last on the grid. John Hopkins did not participate in the qualifying session due to injuries sustained in his FP3 crash pronouncing him unfit for racing.

source: MotoGP Official Website

Stoner sets the pace in the rain

Stoner led the MotoGP field in a wet third free practice session ahead of the Cardion ab Grand Prix České republiky qualifying. Lorenzo posted second quickest and Rossi joined the top three with the third fastest time.

The final practice before MotoGP qualifying began with rain falling on the Brno circuit, until the last 5 minutes which saw the sun trying to break through but never drying the track. The premier class riders none the less took advantage of the wet session, pushing hard for good times and consistent paces in anticipation of a wet race on Sunday, though times were more than ten seconds slower than those of the day before.

Jorge Lorenzo topped most of the session, until Casey Stoner took his spot and held it on top of the timings in the last five minutes. The Australian had crashed at the start of the session on the cold track, but remained unruffled and proceeded to push, posting a final time of 2'07.321.

Ducati Team rider Valentino Rossi, who was seventh fastest of the field on Friday, found a good set up for the rain to post a time of 2'07.443, landing him third on the charts, while Dani Pedrosa finished the session in fourth place, his time set in the first practice session of the weekend remaining fastest of the field so far.

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) took a significantly higher spot in the line up than his fourteenth place on Friday, the Kentuckian lapping well in the rain with a time of 2'07.695, just 0.374s off the pace set by Stoner for the session.

In sixth was Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) following Hayden by 0.048s, with Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) in seventh and Andrea Dovizioso in eighth. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) and Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) completed the top ten.

Karel Abraham (Cardion ab Motoracing) placed in eleventh at his home circuit with a time of 2'08.460, a gap of 1.139s off the leading time.

Wild card John Hopkins on the Rizla Suzuki had a fall in Turn 3 just fifteen minutes into the meet. He was taken to the Clinica Mobile where he was diagnosed with a fractured finger and was unable to rejoin the session.

Yamaha Factory Racing get back to business in Brno

World Champion Lorenzo and his crew were focused on improving the stopping ability and turning ability going into corners over the two sessions. He finished the morning session in fourth, 1.259 seconds from first and improved in the afternoon, remaining fourth but reducing the gap to first to 0.720 seconds.

Spies performance echoed his fellow Factory Yamaha team mate, finishing the morning session in sixth 1.575 seconds from first and improving in the afternoon. He retained sixth position but reduced the gap to first to 1.177 seconds. The Texan rider’s performance was hampered by numbness in his left arm caused by a trapped nerve in his neck which is being treated by Clinica Mobile after each session.

Jorge Lorenzo: 

“Today’s sessions have not been exactly as we expected. We are struggling a bit on braking and we lose too much time over the lap. Tomorrow we will work hard to improve the bike in the morning to be ready for qualifying because at this moment we are pretty far from the front.”

Ben Spies: 

“It was an ok day for us, I’m actually pretty happy with the results. I’ve got a little bit of a pinched nerve in my neck and I’m struggling a little bit on the bike but I’m still giving it 100%. Lap times aren’t too bad I’m just not able to put too many laps together in a row. We’re going to do a lot of physio over the next couple of days to get it where it’s comfortable for the race and I’m pretty optimistic about how we can turn things around for Sunday.”

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

MotoGP buzz back on with Brno press conference

Refreshed and ready for their imminent return to action after a two-and-a-half week interval since Laguna Seca, the MotoGP class returns to the track on Friday morning for the opening session of the Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceské republiky.

Discussing the 11th round of the 2011 campaign on Thursday afternoon at the Brno circuit were a quintet of premier class riders, who attended the official pre-event press conference as the Czech venue prepares to get the second stretch of the season underway.

Thanks to his impressive win at Laguna Seca last time out – his fifth of the year – Casey Stoner heads into this weekend 20 points clear of defending World Champion and closest current rival Jorge Lorenzo in the standings, as he aims to protect his lead at the top of the Championship.

“We went into the break with a good result and so far it’s been a fantastic season. We’ll now just have to see how this weekend goes and the second half of the season,” said the Repsol Honda rider. “This is definitely one of my top three circuits and I have a lot of fun coming here, I like the area and I’m really ready for this race. I think it’s going to be a good one for us. At the moment a few of us are consistently running up at the front and between myself and Jorge it’s a battle week by week to see who takes points off who.”

Stoner will also stay on for the official test on Monday, in which he will continue the development of Honda’s 2012 prototype machine.

“I’m looking forward to another 1000cc test,” he explained. “It’s going to be a lot of fun coming to another circuit. Jerez was a nice test at a track that’s never really suited my style but I did surprisingly well there and we felt good with the bike. We’ll see how we go at this test and how it all compares on a different circuit.”

With the Japan GP in October a continual subject of discussion amongst riders and the media, and with the recent release of the report commissioned by the FIM and Dorna which confirmed that the GP is still scheduled to go ahead, Stoner gave his latest stance on the matter.

“There was a period after Silverstone that I felt very strongly that I wasn’t going to go to Japan after things I’d seen and heard,” he said. “That came from a very strong sense of emotion after we found out that Adriana (Stoner) was pregnant. We’ve discussed it a lot since then and that’s a huge thing that’s happened in my life and now the most important. So I felt that the best thing I could do at that time was to make my mind up. There was no way I was going to risk my wife or my family and it was very tough.”

“In these weeks I’ve taken a lot of data from Australia, people we feel we can trust on the matter, and I’m now slightly more open to it than I was before. I think people can understand I was taken a little bit with my safety and that of my family in this matter. We’ll see in these next weeks, we’ll continue talking and try and find out as much information as we can. I’m not saying that I am going, but I’m not saying that I’m not. So we’ll just have to see what happens in the near future.”

When the other four riders present were asked about their opinions they commented that they would also wait further before making a firm decision, with a riders’ Safety Commission meeting planned for Friday.

Following Stoner’s comments Lorenzo was the next to speak, and the Factory Yamaha rider’s focus ahead of this weekend was clearly on closing his rival’s advantage.

“We know it’s going to be very hard work because he is riding so fast this year, so consistent, and has a good bike. But we are doing a lot, the bike is – I think – a winning bike, I am in good shape. From this moment in the season we have to try and improve the bike a little more so I think it’s going to be an interesting second part of the season,” he commented.

“In theory this is a good track for us, for the bike and my riding style, it’s a track that can be good for us,” added Lorenzo about Brno, where he won last year. “But this is just a theory. We must wait and see what happens during the weekend. The test on Monday is also going to be really important, it will be the first time I try the new bike. I have never tried a bike like that with such a powerful engine. We will see if I have to change my riding style for the bike.”

The Brno circuit holds special memories for Valentino Rossi as the site of his first GP win back in 1996, when the Italian took a 125 victory, and he said: “It’s already 15 years since the first win, which was here, so great memories!”

Looking ahead to this weekend at a circuit at which he has five wins and three second-placed finishes in the premier class, Rossi continued: “Jeremy (Burgess, crew chief) came back at Laguna Seca, we missed him a lot in Mugello and Sachsenring, and we decided to continue with this bike (the Ducati Desmosedici GP 11.1). We expect more improvements compared to the old one, but we have to work hard, Ducati are working hard to improve all the areas we are having problems in. Fortunately on Monday we have a test, so we hope for good weather and we have a lot of work to do.”

“Laguna was a better weekend for me and my team, I started from the third row and had a normal race for what is our potential at the moment,” he added. “It looks like we are not so slow at the end of the race on used tyres, we are slow at the beginning so we need to raise our potential and work on that for qualifying.”

Riding in his home race in the premier class for the first time this weekend, Karel Abraham will have the expectations of the crowd upon him and the rookie acknowledged the significance of this round.

“Of course this is a really important GP for me as it’s my home race, there is a lot of pressure and nobody means it in a bad way. We need to get a lot more experience than we have now, but with every lap we ride with the other riders we are doing that,” he said.

“We are happy so far with the season, of course we‘ve had some crashes which we’re not happy with but that happens when you’re pushing your limits. We will just try to have a good weekend and race, fight with some riders and then after the chequered flag we’ll say whether it was a good or bad race.”

Joining the other four rider was Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista, who is gaining confidence with every improvement made on the GSV-R this season.

“It’s not my best season this year but after the crash and the injury I can say I’m at my top level and can enjoy riding the bike and can reach the limit,” he stated. “The bike is much better than at the beginning, I’ve had some great battles like the one with Valentino in Sachsenring, and I’m looking forward to continuing this way this weekend.”

Bautista will be riding alongside wild card entry John Hopkins this weekend, something he hopes will benefit both himself and the team.

“I hope it’s good for me, if he’s slower than me for sure it’s good for me! It’s good for the team to have two bikes on the track and to have the opportunity to compare between two riders, because it’s difficult with one rider to test everything throughout a weekend,” he concluded.

Lorenzo and Spies ready for Czech weekend

Jorge Lorenzo returns from a mid-season holiday fresh and ready to renew his title defence, as the reigning World Champion steels himself for the Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceské republiky which takes place this weekend. Lorenzo took a first premier class victory at the track last season having won three times there in the lower classes, and will now aim to close the 20-point gap to current leader Casey Stoner.

On the other side of the Yamaha garage Ben Spies has also taken some time out to relax in the short break since Laguna Seca. The American finished fourth at Brno last year in his MotoGP debut at the circuit, a venue at which he has previously won a superbike race at and where he will this weekend look to build on a recent strong run of form.

Following the Brno race weekend Yamaha Factory Racing will remain at the circuit for a one-day 1000cc test in preparation for the 2012 Championship.

Jorge Lorenzo:

"After the long break we are going to Brno completely recharged and ready to fight and try to reduce the gap to Casey. This is a track I like and where I won last year. I hope we can start the second half of the season on the podium. After the race we will be testing the 1000cc bike for one day. I am really looking forward to discovering the new Yamaha."

Ben Spies:

“It’s been really cool to hang out at home with my friends and family in Texas and take a break from the racing. I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike now, especially at Brno which is a track I really enjoy. It was good to me in superbike and we showed a lot of potential there last year, I nearly had pole position and think I could have challenged for a podium if I hadn’t suffered a frond end grip issue early in the race.”

Wilco Zeelenberg, Team Manager:

“We’ve had a nice short break for both riders and team which after ten rounds was necessary. We feel very positive for the rest of the season after the last three rounds; we are very competitive and Jorge is riding well and the bike is better than the first period. Brno is a very smooth track which Jorge likes a lot so we go there to challenge and try to close the 20 point gap to the lead. With eight races remaining anything is possible.”

Massimo Meregalli, Team Director:

“We are all looking to Brno in good form having had a relaxing break. The team is refreshed and feels very motivated as we have had good results in Brno previously for both Jorge and Ben; the track definitely suits the Yamaha YZR-M1. Our package and performance has continued to get stronger over the season so we are looking to the last eight races determined to deliver on our potential.”

Lorenzo looking forward to ‘discovering’ 1000cc Yamaha

Jorge Lorenzo heads to the 11th round of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship at Brno with one eye on closing the gap to Casey Stoner in the overall standings, but also another eye on the much anticipated post-event test for the new 1000cc Yamaha.

The Spaniard went into the summer break 20 points behind Stoner in the overall standings after the Australian got the better of him to the United States Grand Prix.

Nonetheless, Lorenzo is feeling positive about his chances in the Czech Republic Grand Prix, a race he won in 2010 on the way to his record-breaking title.

"After the long break we are going to Brno completely recharged and ready to fight and try to reduce the gap with Casey. This is a track I like and where I won last year. I hope we can start the second half of the season on the podium. 

Beyond the race, however, Lorenzo is also excited about climbing aboard the new 1000cc Yamaha, which – unlike its Ducati and Honda counterparts - is yet to have broken cover.

“After the race we will be testing the 1000cc bike for one day. I am really looking forward to discovering the new Yamaha."

source: crash.net

video: Podium Press Conference Laguna Seca 2011 Jorge Lorenzo

Here's the official release video of 2nd podium Laguna Seca, Jorge Lorenzo

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Lorenzo draws positives from late Laguna defeat

Jorge Lorenzo and Yamaha preferred to think of Sunday's US MotoGP as 20 points gained, rather than 5 points lost.

The reigning world champion was lucky to escape serious injury when he suffered a massive highside on Saturday morning, before claiming a remarkable pole position in the afternoon.

Indeed, sore or not, Lorenzo came into the race having shown the best consistent pace, but the Spaniard was unable to shake off the Repsol Hondas of Dani Pedrosa and then Casey Stoner during the grand prix.

While Pedrosa eventually dropped away, Stoner - whose title lead had been cut to 15 points by Lorenzo - got ever stronger and surged past Lorenzo on lap 27 of 32.

“Well first of all I'm lucky to be in the second position, after the crash yesterday I thought it wasn't possible to race for a little while," said Lorenzo of his second place. "After qualifying I hoped I might be able to fight till the end for victory but sometimes expectations are not reality. 

"Casey was faster today, I couldn't match his pace at the end. My physical condition is not so perfect which makes us a bit slow as well. Second is ok, we are only 20 points behind Casey and we'll try again next time.”

Yamaha team manager Wilco Zeelenberg also thought the crash aftermath had prevented Lorenzo keeping Stoner at bay. 

“It is obvious we wanted to win this one but I think yesterday's crash gave us not the best physical condition for a 32 lap race," he said. "At the end of the day, to take 20 points after a crash like that is not so bad. We'll take some rest now and head to Brno recovered and in fighting form ready to challenge Casey again.”

“Second position is the best that Jorge could achieve considering his condition, which is very important for the Championship," added team director Massimo Meregalli.

The Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno will take place after the summer break on August 14. Lorenzo now has eight races left to overturn Stoner's 20 point lead.

source: crash

[Amazon] Jorge Lorenzo: The New King of MotoGP [Hardcover]

Product Description

This is a captivating visual study of the 2010 MotoGP World Champion. Jorge Lorenzo – in collaboration with Matt Roberts – gathers together a wealth of photographs showing every aspect of his life in motorcycle racing and accompanies them with a sharp commentary. A special feature is the intimate photography of him both off-duty and on-track throughout his title-winning 2010 season, which saw him dominate by winning nine of the 18 MotoGP races and finishing on the podium 16 times. This book is a wonderful insight into the life of a flamboyant new star of sport.

Book Description

This is a captivating visual study of the 2010 MotoGP World Champion. Jorge Lorenzo – in collaboration with Matt Roberts – gathers together a wealth of photographs showing every aspect of his life in motorcycle racing and accompanies them with a sharp commentary. A special feature is the intimate photography of him both off-duty and on-track throughout his title-winning 2010 season, which saw him dominate by winning nine of the 18 MotoGP races and finishing on the podium 16 times. This book is a wonderful insight into the life of a flamboyant new star of sport.

Product Details

Hardcover: 240 pages

Publisher: Haynes Publishing (July 15, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0857330950

ISBN-13: 978-0857330956

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Podium Laguna Seca 2011

Lorenzo lands second at Laguna

Lorenzo made a strong start from pole and led the GP field for an impressive 26 lap run before conceding to Stoner as the effects of yesterday’s massive crash took its toll on his energy levels.

Fellow Yamaha Factory Racing rider Ben Spies had a less than perfect start from the grid, initially dropping to seventh behind Valentino Rossi on the first laps of the race. Rossi was eventually dispatched by the Texan on lap three, freeing him to focus on Dovizioso ahead. Spies put in an incredible ride to close a gap of over five seconds and take fourth with just three laps to go.

The weekend’s results leave Lorenzo heading into the short holiday break trailing Championship leader Stoner by 20 points. Team mate Spies will arrive at Brno still in sixth place in the standings but now just 12 points behind Dani Pedrosa in fourth.

Jorge Lorenzo: 

“Well first of all I’m lucky to be in the second position, after the crash yesterday I thought it wasn’t possible to race for a little while. After qualifying I hoped I might be able to fight till the end for victory but sometimes expectations are not reality. Casey was faster today, I couldn’t match his pace at the end. My physical condition is not so perfect which makes us a bit slow as well. Second is ok, we are only 20 points behind Casey and we’ll try again next time.”

Ben Spies: 

“I got a really good start but going uphill to the steep part of the track basically we didn’t have enough power. I got stuck behind Valentino, I tried to get around as quick as I could but he’s really good on the brakes so it was pretty tough but I did the best I could. Once we got around him it was quite a big gap to Dovizioso but I just kept my head down and kept going. I’m happy we were able to track him down and get fourth. It was a really good race for us it just got spoilt in the first five hundred feet. I would have liked to have been on the podium as I think we had a package to fight with Dani, I guess that’s racing and I gave it 100% as always.”

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

Stoner storms to victory at Laguna

In front of a crowd of over 52,000 passionate fans, the MotoGP field lined up under the California sunshine for the start of the Red Bull US Grand Prix. Yamaha Factory rider Lorenzo had a great launch from pole position leading into turn one with the three Repsol Hondas tracking close behind, with Dani Pedrosa heading the trio. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) had a strong start and followed a tight fifth behind the Hondas until he crashed exiting turn 5 on lap seven, ending the race for the Italian.

While Lorenzo led the race, behind him Stoner was picking up steam, first passing his team mate Pedrosa on lap 18 of the 32 lap race, then ticking off fast laps to reel in the race leader. The Australian caught up to the Spaniard and proceeded to pressure him for several laps, finally making his move around the outside of Lorenzo, driving out of the last corner to take the lead with six laps to go. Stoner immediately put down the hammer and pulled away, crossing the finish with a five and a half second lead to take his fifth win of the 2011 season.

Local hero Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) had a poor start at his home track, fighting his way past Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) in the early laps of the race, then scrapping with Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) to end the race in fourth position, the highest placing American on home turf.

Dovizioso crossed the line in fifth place, ahead of the battle for sixth between the Ducati Team riders Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden. Hayden lost out to the Italian, crossing the line on his GP11 seven tenths behind the GP11.1 of his teammate.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was unable to improve the feeling of his bike after citing struggles with it after qualifying the day before, ending the race what is sure to be a disappointing eighth place in front of a huge following of loyal fans at the circuit. Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) finished in ninth, one place behind his qualifying position and Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) met his top ten goal, finishing in tenth. Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) finished eleventh, in front of Loris Capirossi (Pramac Racing) who is still struggling with pain from injuries, and Toni Elías (LCR Honda) in thirteenth.

Cal Crutchlow crashed out on lap three, the British rider hugely disappointed after qualifying ahead of his team mate Colin Edwards at the Texan’s home track, followed by Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) who fell on lap 13, while Ben Bostrom rode off the track after missing a gear on lap six, decided not to re-enter the race and retiring the LCR Honda to the garages.

'Impressive' pole for walking wounded Lorenzo

MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo took a remarkable pole position for the US Grand Prix, after suffering a huge highside at the end of morning practice.

The Spaniard was caught out when he performed a practice start, after the end of the session. 

The Yamaha's launch control overrides its traction control system, until a downshift is made - but Lorenzo didn't downshift for the following turn and was then thrown over the handlebars when he accelerated his TC-less bike on the exit.

Left in visible pain and holding his right leg after literally bouncing off the asphalt, Lorenzo eventually limped out of the gravel and headed for the medical centre, where no serious injuries were found.

Despite the set-back, Lorenzo came out fighting in qualifying, being fast from the start of the hour and on pole for all but three minutes - when team-mate Ben Spies briefly moved ahead.

Lorenzo went on to secure his second pole of the season by 0.072sec from Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner, whom Lorenzo trails by 15 points in the world championship heading into Sunday's tenth round,

“This pole position was unexpected for us after this morning, but thankfully I feel more pain walking than I do riding the bike," said Lorenzo. "Of course I'm not in perfect condition on the bike and for sure I have to put more pressure on my arms and will get more tired. I think I was very lucky this morning that I had no big injuries. I think this pole position is for us an impressive result.”

“I'm a very happy team manager today! We had an unbelievable qualifying session," said Wilco Zeelenberg. "After the crash nobody really thought about having pole but just seeing how we are for tomorrow's race.

"His second lap was a 21.9, I thank that was a thank you to his mechanics because he used the bike that he crashed with this morning. It was pretty smashed up after the crash so they worked hard to make it ready. I think the consistent lap times show he is ready to rock and roll tomorrow.” 

Dani Pedrosa will complete the front row in third, with Spies dropping to fourth after a late crash.

source: crash

Lorenzo lands pole, Spies challenges from second row

The high side crash at the end of the morning’s practice left some wondering if the Yamaha Factory rider would make it through the whole qualifying session. Fears proved to be unfounded as the Mallorcan took to the track like a man possessed, breaking under the 1.22 mark on his first flying lap. A string of consistent laps saw him keep the top spot for the entire session barring a challenge by his team mate Ben Spies. Lorenzo reclaimed pole and to keep it until the end of the session, breaking the lap record in the process.

Spies spent the early part of the session refining his set up, then having settled into a consistent pace put in a blistering lap to take provisional pole position from his team mate with a 1’21.578. Lorenzo was quick to take first position back but Spies was still threatening to secure a front row start until a mistake on the brakes in turn three ended his qualifying session. As a result he will start from the second row of the grid tomorrow in fourth position, just 0.376 seconds from pole.

Jorge Lorenzo:

“This pole position was unexpected for us after this morning, but thankfully I feel more pain walking than I do riding the bike. Of course I’m not in perfect condition on the bike and for sure I have to put more pressure on my arms and will get more tired. I think I was very lucky this morning that I had no big injuries. I think this pole position is for us an impressive result.”

Ben Spies:

“It wasn’t a bad qualifying session, we tried a couple of things and the race set up is not so bad. We got in qualifying mode and got some pretty good laps in. I made a mistake and locked the front up on the brakes going in to turn three trying super hard to get on the front row. The Yamaha boss said to me last night that he wanted me on the front row so I was doing everything I could. Joking aside I was trying everything and just made a small mistake. I banged my hand up quite a bit but it will be fine and ready for the race tomorrow. I think we’ll find a couple of things with the bike in the morning and hopefully it’ll be a good day.”

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

Lorenzo blazes into pole position unscathed after morning crash

Yamaha Factory rider Lorenzo set out into the afternoon qualifying session apparently unfazed following an enormous highside at the end of the morning practice. The reigning World Champion forgot to hit a switch that overrides the launch control system and engages the traction control during a practice start, thus launching himself into the air and across the gravel when he put the throttle at full stick. He appeared unaffected however, by setting a fast lap just 15 minutes into the qualifying meet that remained the top lap for nearly the entire session. His 35th and final lap of 1'21.202, which was over half a second faster than his FP3 time, sealed his place at the head of the starting grid.

Championship leader Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) made a final push after trailing the frontrunners, posting a time of 1'21.274 to put him in second place on the grid, with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) landing in the final place on the front row with his quickest time of 1'21.385.

The one hour qualifying session was held under perfect conditions, with the sun shining and track temperatures of 41 Celsius which warranted the field starting out on harder compound tires. The American riders were the first to switch to softer tires, hoping for good results on at their home track, with Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) taking provisional pole with 15 minutes remaining to the delight of the crowd. However, with 5 minutes on the clock, Spies lost the front in turn 3, slid across the gravel and wedged his Factory Yamaha under the air fence, damaging it too far to remount it for the last five minutes of the session and knocking him into fourth position.

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) posted a time of 1'21.696 to earn him the middle position on the second row. The Italian was followed by countryman Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) whose lap of 1'21.731 put him in the final second row spot.

Ducati Team rider Valentino Rossi made some big improvements in the second half of the session to his GP 11.1 machine to make it onto the third row with the seventh fastest time, one second off of the quick lap posted by Lorenzo. The Italian was followed by Héctor Barberá who posted a lap of 1'22.238, putting him eighth on the grid.

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team ) now has two of the same version of the Desmosedici on his side of the garage and has decided to stick with the GP11 version for the rest of the weekend after he rode both the GP11 and GP11.1 in yesterday’s sessions. He crashed in Rainey curve (turn 9) then ran all the way back to the pits after the crash truck picked up his Ducati. He swiftly reentered the session to post the ninth fastest time.

Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) found some speed, moving up from 13th in the morning to the tenth spot on the grid ahead of his team mate Colin Edwards in eleventh.

American wildcard Ben Bostrom on the LCR Honda improved his time over half a second again, though still remains 18th in the timings, one second behind team mate Toni Elias and four seconds off the pole position time.

Other incidents in the qualifying outing were the crashes of Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) and Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing). Bautista lost the front end in turn 3 and had a high speed tumble across the gravel, though was unhurt and immediately up and running to his box, while De Puniet slid off slid off in turn 5 and while he was able to walk away suffered fractures to the L3 and L5 Transverse Processes in his back and a suspected crack to the iliac bone in his hip.

source : MotoGP Official website

Stoner inches out Pedrosa in California FP3

Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) dominated most of the cold and foggy third session, staying just ahead of team mate Pedrosa with a best time of 1’21.806, to which the Spaniard followed suit with a fast lap of 1.21’823.

Despite the weather, which is typical for the coastal Northern California area this time of year, times started to dip below those set on Friday as early as 10 minutes into the 45 minute session, beginning with Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) and Pedrosa. Times were aided because of the additional layers of rubber on the track thanks to the supporting AMA class practices, with the majority of the field running about half a second quicker.

But the big story of the third and final free practice outing was the highside of Lorenzo, who crashed following a practice start during his cool down lap. The bike tossed him into the air when the rear hooked up quickly after sliding out, then hit the Yamaha rider as he was sliding in the gravel. He was able to stand up and walk away after a few moments and was then assisted on to the medical center.

Steadily holding fourth place for the second session in a row is Marco Simoncelli, who posted a time of 1’22.222. The Italian was followed by Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing), who again ranked fifth in the field, posting a time one tenth of a second behind the San Carlo Honda Gresini rider. Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) was just behind the American with a lap of 1’22.356.

Ducati Team rider Nicky Hayden chose to ride the GP11 for the morning outing, finishing in seventh with a best lap of 1'22.432, while team mate Valentino Rossi on the GP11.1 machine trailed 0.215s behind the Kentuckian. The Ducati duo were followed by Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) who was on what appeared to be a fast lap until he nearly ran off the track completely at turn 11.

Héctor Barberá had a bit of trouble at the corkscrew, missing the line at the top and running it straight down the hill slightly out of control. The Spaniard was ninth in the session while Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) set a time of 1'23.062 ranked him tenth.

Next was Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing) with Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) in tow, who has enjoyed learning the special circuit as evidenced by his smiles during garage stops and his wheelie-ing around the track. Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini), also still deep in the process of learning the track, followed in 14th.

The only rider of the session who was not able to better his times from the previous day was Toni Elias, who suffered a crash that posed a significant problem for him, as wildcard Ben Bostrom was riding his second bike. Fortunately the bike was not seriously damaged and he was able to return to the track before the end of the session, though he lost out on a significant amount of track time. Bostrom remains 18th in the timings, behind the Pramac Ducati of Loris Capirossi, though with each outing has improved between a half and a full second from the previous.

Karel Abraham also crashed halfway through the session, made his way to the garages to remount on his second bike, which stopped as he was exiting pit lane though he did make it back out into the practice session to place 15th in the field.

source: MotoGP Official Website

Video Download: MotoGP Laguna Seca Day 1 Highlight

MotoGP Laguna Seca Day 1
includes:

• Highlight FP 1 MotoGP Laguna Seca
• Highlight FP 2 MotoGP Laguna Seca
• FP 2 Interview Nicky Hayden
• FP 2 Interview Jorge Lorenzo
• FP 2 Interview Dani Pedrosa
• FP 2 Interview Valentino Rossi
• FP 2 Interview Ben Spies
• Action Clip Pedrosa Crash FP1

File name: Laguna-Day1.zip
File size:65.64 MB

Lorenzo holds off the Hondas

Jorge Lorenzo completed day one of the Red Bull US Grand Prix on top of the field, ahead of the Repsol Hondas of Dani Pedrosa in second and Casey Stoner in third.

Last year’s Laguna Seca race winner Jorge Lorenzo put in an remarkable run in the second free practice, leading the times with consistent laps from the early part of the session until ending on the top of the field with a time of 1'22.056, one tenth of a second quicker than the 2009 race winner Dani Pedrosa and four tenths faster than his own time set in FP1.

Third place in the combined free practice standings was Casey Stoner, who had an upset in turn 3 though saved his RC212V from a crash with his knee. After leading the first practice session, the Australian was 0.175s off the reigning World Champion’s leading time.

Andrea Dovizioso was the fourth fastest in the lineup, with a time of 1'22.537, moving him up one spot from his earlier fifth position. The first American in both sessions was Ben Spies on his Yamaha Factory machine kitted out in special anniversary livery, who improved on his time by two tenths of a second with a lap of 1'22.615 to put him in fifth place on his home turf.

Bigger time improvements were seen from position six onwards, starting with Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) whose time of 1'22.803 was almost a half second improvement for the crowd favorite, and was 0.253s quicker than seventh place lap of Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki), who also made a half second step up from the earlier session.

Next came Randy de Puniet, whose Pramac Racing machine was the first Ducati in the field. The Frenchman jumped from 12th to eighth with a time of 1'23.135, followed by Americans Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and the fastest Factory Ducati in the pack, that of Nicky Hayden, who had both the GP11 and GP11.1 available to him and used the GP11.1 machine for the duration of the session.

Valentino Rossi, who has Crew Chief Jeremy Burgess back in the garages after a two race absence, followed his Ducati Team mate in eleventh position, ahead of Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) in twelfth and MotoGP rookie Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) in thirteenth, who ran off at the top of the corkscrew in both practice sessions during his first day at the California circuit, though had no series incidents.

Wildcard and MotoGP first timer Ben Bostrom riding the RC212V of the LCR Honda Team, who is doing double duty with MotoGP and AMA Superbike this weekend, knocked over a second off his times from the first session though trails 4 seconds off the leading time.

source: MotoGP Official Websitse

Stoner sets the pace in California

The Australian got his California weekend off to a good start on Friday with the fastest time in the opening practice session. His best lap of 1’22.300 was 0.102s in front of his Spanish team mate Pedrosa, who had a low speed crash when he ran off at the exit of turn 2 and fell over in the gravel in the first ten minutes. Pedrosa remounted and returned to the track to finish the session with a quickest lap of 1’22.402 putting him second in the timings, just 0.081s ahead of the Factory Yamaha of Lorenzo.

The MotoGP field entered the 45 minute practice session with fog hanging over the track, but it burned off by just after mid session when the sun came out. The first American in the timings was Ben Spies on his Yamaha Factory Racing machine, posting a time of 1'22.806 to put him in fourth place. He was followed by the third Repsol Honda of Andrea Dovizioso, who was 0.105s behind Spies and just over half a second behind the leading lap set by Stoner.

Marco Simoncelli rode his San Carlo Honda Gresini into the sixth spot in the charts, with a lap time of 1'23.210, while Ducati Team rider Nicky Hayden began his session on his Ducati GP11, jumping to the top of the timings in the first ten minutes, then changed between the GP11 and GP11.1 on his subsequent outings. He finished the practice seventh with a best lap of 1'23.297, made on the GP11 bike.

On the other side of the Ducati box, Valentino Rossi had two GP11.1 Desmosedici machines, setting a time of 1'23.467 on one of them to put him in ninth position. The second fastest American in the field was Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) whose time of 1'23.459 ranked him eighth behind Hayden.

Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) posted the tenth quickest lap, a 1'23.529, with the sole Mapfre Aspar Ducati of Héctor Barberá in eleventh and Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing) twelfth.

Rookie Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) had his first outing on the California circuit, placing 13th in the field after running off at the top of the corkscrew, with Toni Elias in 14th, followed by the Pramac Racing Ducati of Loris Capirossi, who returned from injury after missing the last round at Sachsenring.

Two more first timers at the Laguna Seca circuit, Karel Abraham (Cardio AB Motoracing) and Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) made their debut placing 16th and 17th, respectively.

Ben Bostrom, who is making his MotoGP debut as a wild card at the age of 37 for the LCR Honda team, rode an 800cc bike for the first time in the FP1 session, and was just under five seconds off the fastest time set by Stoner, and just under two seconds of the time set by Aoyama.

source: MotoGP Official Websitse