Stoner Czechs out at Brno, Simoncelli podium

MotoGP title leader Casey Stoner cruised to a dominant victory in Sunday's Czech Republic Grand Prix, which saw Dani Pedrosa crash from the lead, Marco Simoncelli claim a first ever podium and Jorge Lorenzo fade to fourth. 

Unlike his rivals, world champion Lorenzo chose the soften option front tyre - which helped the Yamaha rider take the lead ahead of Repsol Honda riders Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Stoner on the opening lap. 

But by lap three Lorenzo was starting to have front-end moments, which allowed both Pedrosa and Stoner back past. Moments later poel-sitter Pedrosa lowsided out of the lead, handing the advantage to Stoner. 

The Australian then rode steadily into the distance, building an advantage of over eight-seconds on his way to his sixth win of the year - extending his title lead over Lorenzo from 20 to32 points. 

Despite a stubborn resistance, world champion Lorenzo was caught and passed by Italians Dovizioso and Simoncelli, with Dovizioso gaining breathing room over his compatriot in the closing stages. 

Former 250cc world champion Simoncelli, who has crashed in five races this year and been penalised in another, finally claimed his debut MotoGP rostrum after withstanding late-race pressure from Lorenzo. 

Ben Spies - struggling with a pinched nerve in his neck this weekend - brought the second factory M1 home in fifth, 1.6sec from Lorenzo. 

Valentino Rossi lost places from his best Ducati qualifying of sixth, but - aided by Pedrosa's exit - recovered the ground lost and crossed the line 2.4sec from Yamaha replacement Spies and 12.6sec from victory. 

Suzuki's Alvaro Bautista - the only rider other than Lorenzo to choose the soft front - pressured Rossi for much of the race, before lowsiding from seventh place with six laps to go. 

That allowed Rossi's team-mate Nicky Hayden to inherit the position, having spent much of the race just ahead of fellow American Colin Edwards. 

Edwards' Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Cal Crutchlow joined Pedrosa and Bautista on the DNF list, as did fellow rookie Karel Abraham. 

Abraham, whose father and team manager owns the Brno team, was unable to finish his home race after an off-track moment was followed by an engine failure. 

Bautista's wild-card team-mate John Hopkins was forced to withdraw from the event after fracturing fingers in his right hand during Saturday morning practice. 

A test session will be held at the circuit on Monday, which will feature next year's 1000cc bikes from Honda and Yamaha. 

Czech Republic Grand Prix: 

1. Stoner 

2. Dovizioso 

3. Simoncelli 

4. Lorenzo 

5. Spies 

6. Rossi 

7. Hayden 

8. Edwards 

9. Aoyama 

10. Barbera 

11. Elias 

12. de Puniet 

13. Capirossi 

source: crash.net

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

Pedrosa off to a flying start at Brno

The MotoGP bikes hit the track for the first practice session of round 11, with grey clouds overhead and cool temperatures welcoming the field into the second half of the season. Pedrosa took his Repsol Honda on a flying lap of 1.56’328, substantially faster than the rest of the field and the only rider under the 1.57” mark.

Fresh off the back of a victory at Laguna Seca Stoner, Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) was second in the field, though his lap of 1'57.294 was nearly a second behind the Spaniard. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team), who topped the timesheets briefly with 30 minutes to go, was 1.080s behind Pedrosa and third fastest of the session. The Italian ended the session with a crash in turn 13 but was unhurt.

Last year’s race winner Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) posted his best time of 1'57.587, two tenths behind Simoncelli to put him fourth in the standings. Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso was fifth quickest as he took his factory RC212V around in a best time of 1'57.776. That placed the Italian 0.127s ahead of Ben Spies (Racing), who was sixth on his Yamaha Factory YZR-M1.

Wild card John Hopkins who is returning for a second race aboard the Rizla Suzuki set an impressive seventh fastest time, followed by the other Rizla Suzuki of Álvaro Bautista. Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow and Colin Edwards werninth and tenth, respectively, with Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) three tenths outside the top ten times.

MotoGP rookie Karel Abraham (Cardion ab Motoracing) debuting as the first Czech rider to compete in the premier class at his a Grand Prix since 1989, was sixteenth in the standings.

source: MotoGP Official Website

MotoGP Summary So Far

At just over halfway through the 2011 season and with the short summer interval almost finished, motogp.com takes a look back over the ten rounds of the campaign which have provided plenty of action for review. Click on each round to watch race highlights.

Casey Stoner started the season in fine form with victory from pole position in Qatar as he won his first race on the factory Repsol Honda in the 2011 curtain raiser at Losail. Following the Australian onto the podium were defending World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, with Valentino Rossi seventh on his Ducati debut and British MotoGP rookie Cal Crutchlow 11th on his GP debut.

Just two rounds into the season and a huge talking point came at Jerez where pole man Stoner and Rossi collided during a wet race, the Australian unable to finish. Lorenzo took victory, Pedrosa second and Nicky Hayden third after Marco Simoncelli and Ben Spies both crashed when in podium positions in an eventful Spanish round. Rookie Karel Abraham impressed by placing seventh in just his second premier class race – a result he would repeat at Silverstone – whilst Héctor Barberá’s best result of the year so far saw the Spaniard place sixth.

Round 3 at Estoril saw Pedrosa take his first win of the season ahead of Lorenzo and Stoner as the defending title holder maintained a slender lead at the top of the standings, and at Le Mans there was plenty of drama. Stoner took victory, the first of a run of three consecutive wins, with team-mate Andrea Dovizioso joining him on the rostrum and Valentino Rossi taking a first podium in Ducati colours, whilst an incident involving Simoncelli and Pedrosa resulted in the Spaniard crashing and subsequently missing the next three rounds with a broken collarbone.

In Catalunya Stoner took his third win of the season, Lorenzo held onto the Championship lead with second place in the race and his factory Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies took his first podium of the year in third. Crutchlow took his best finish of his debut campaign so far with seventh, but his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Colin Edwards missed his first MotoGP race since his premier class career started in 2003 after a fall in FP2 resulted in a fractured collarbone. However, the American bounced back in admirable style in a wet race in the following round at Silverstone where he took a courageous third place, following Stoner and Dovizioso onto the podium. Lorenzo crashed out in the wet conditions, his first DNF in 25 straight races, and after the sixth round Stoner assumed the Championship lead as the chase for the 2011 crown took another twist one-third of the way through the season. The round was also notable for an impressive ride to fifth by Álvaro Bautista on the Rizla Suzuki, in only the Spaniard’s fourth race back after breaking a femur in Qatar.

In Assen Hiroshi Aoyama stepped into the factory Repsol Honda team as a substitute for the still-absent Pedrosa, and in the race the drama played out from lap one as Simoncelli – starting from pole for the second time this season – and Lorenzo went down together, the Yamaha man remounting to finish sixth as he tried to keep tabs on Championship leader Stoner. Lorenzo’s team-mate Spies took a deserved first MotoGP victory as Stoner and Dovizioso completed the podium, Rossi finishing fourth as he continued to look for the best set-up on the Desmosedici.

Pedrosa made his much-anticipated return to action at Mugello, placing eighth, with Lorenzo returning to winning ways ahead of home hero Dovizioso and Stoner on the podium. Pedrosa’s comeback was completed in spectacular style at Sachsenring where he won in just his second race back, Lorenzo trimming Stoner’s lead at the top of the standings to 15 points by finishing ahead of his rival on the podium.

Round 10 at Laguna Seca heralded another win for Stoner as the Australian turned around what had appeared to be a difficult weekend with a stylish victory, Lorenzo admirably recovering from a painful FP3 fall to place second with Pedrosa third and Spies the highest placed home rider in fourth.

source: MotoGP Official Website

Home top ten for Edwards, Crutchlow crashes early

Sunday’s race started in gloriously sunny conditions with temperatures reaching 23 degrees and a sun-drenched crowd of 52,670 were treated to an exciting battle throughout the 32-lap encounter.

Edwards seized eighth from Héctor Barberá exiting the famous Corkscrew section on lap 14, but he was already six seconds adrift of the battle for sixth place involving Ducati duo Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden. He was able to run identical lap times to nine-times world champion Rossi and double Laguna Seca MotoGP winner Hayden in the middle phase of the race. But he was unable to reduce the gap and he opted not to take any unnecessary risks to ensure he collected eighth valuable World Championship points.

Today's result, which was the 37-year-old's seventh top ten finish of the campaign, moved him up one place in the overall rankings after to consolidate his position as the leading non-factory rider in 2011.

Cal Crutchlow's debut at the spectacular Laguna Seca circuit was unfortunately a short experience, the British rider's hopes of a return to the top 10 ended by an early crash. Starting from the front of the fourth row, Crutchlow was shadowing tenth placed Alvaro Bautista when he lost the front-end of his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team machine at Turn 2. The 25-year-old was unhurt in the fourth lap incident but it was a disappointing conclusion to a weekend that had promised much from the 2009 World Supersport champion after he'd brilliantly got to grips with the 3.610km track.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team now commences a richly deserved two-week summer break before the 2011 MotoGP World Championship resumes in Brno on August 14.

Colin Edwards:

“Honestly, I'm really disappointed because I came here for my home race and I expected bigger and better things. I struggled all weekend with the set-up and we made a wrong turn somewhere in the last couple of races that have knocked us out of stride a little bit. This morning we just put in the same setting I ran in last year's race and that wasn't great, but at least I felt more comfortable with it than what I'd been running all weekend. It wasn't the best setting but at least I felt comfortable to a point where I could push for some decent lap times. I just lacked front and rear grip. I've never ridden so hard in my life but I was a second off the pace and when Cal went down in front of me, there was no way I could go with Bautista. I just had to be smooth because if I pushed I just ended up going slower. I still moved up in the Championship and got some good points, so now I'm just looking forward to a couple of weeks relaxing to get ready for the final part of the season.”

Cal Crutchlow:

“I lost the front at the second corner and it was a similar problem to what we've been experiencing in recent races. It was fine this morning in cooler conditions but as soon as the track temperature goes up, I have a few problems. Strangely it was only at that corner. It is a shame because I think we had a good pace. Bautista wasn't getting away from me and he quickly got up to Valentino and Nicky, so I think I could have gone with him and been in that battle. I'm disappointed I didn't finish the race and it is not good for the Championship but I wasn't the only one to crash today and it shows all of us are pushing on the limit. We have still learned quite a bit this weekend and the bike certainly felt better than it did in the last few races. Now we go to some tracks that I know and I'm looking forward to it because it has been a tough run and I need to recover the form I was showing in the beginning of the season."

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team 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.

Héctor Barberá steps up the pace in final practice

A cool and cloudy morning once again gave way to classic Californian sunshine at Laguna Seca this afternoon, where hard compound tyres were the general order of the day when it came to race set-up. The action on track was just as hot, with the top six riders finishing in the 1.21s but Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa establishing themselves as the men to beat in tomorrow's race. The Spaniards are both past winners at Laguna Seca as is Casey Stoner, who made a late charge to separate them on the front row.

Héctor Barberá is enjoying his 150th Grand Prix immensely so far, having qualified eighth today with a time that was only a second off Lorenzo's pole position. The MAPFRE Aspar rider has taken to the Laguna Seca circuit like a fish to water, just as he did last year before being denied in the race by a broken chain, and today he dropped his pace into the 1.22s to suggest he has the promise to do well over race distance. The Spaniard qualified eighth on the grid as the second highest Ducati, immediately behind Valentino Rossi, and he is determined to sign off for the summer with a top result.

Héctor Barberá:

"I am happy because I have improved my lap times a lot and we have worked well all weekend. I really enjoyed myself on the bike again today and we know exactly what we need tomorrow. We have found some really good form over the last couple of races and every day we improve a little more, which is helping me get more out of the Ducati. We are in line with the factory bikes and I think we can have a good battle tomorrow. No doubt Hayden wants a good result here, Valentino too, so my objective is to stick with them as best I can. The main thing is to finish the race because I only managed two laps here last year and I want to bury that memory. It is a case of getting a good start and staying focused to make sure nobody gets away from me over the opening laps."

MAPFRE Aspar press release.

Third row for Hayden and Rossi at USGP

Today the Italian posted the seventh-best time aboard the Desmosedici GP11.1, equaling his best qualifying position of the season from Catalunya, while Hayden took the ninth spot with the GP11. Despite being slightly quicker aboard the new Desmosedici version yesterday, the American decided to use the standard iteration today, as he is more familiar with it. He will also campaign his home race with that bike tomorrow.

Valentino Rossi:

“This morning we made a change to the balance that helped me to find more grip with the soft tyre, as well as a feeling that was generally better. In the afternoon though, with the warmer temperature and the hard tyre, I didn’t have the same performance and feeling. During the session we were able to change the settings again and make a small step, and when we put on the soft, we did a time that was good enough for the third row. Seventh place actually equals my best qualifying spot of the season. That was our goal, to be able to start further forward than we have lately, but for the race we must improve our pace again with the hard tyres because it’s a little too difficult now and the rear is sliding a lot. We’re focused and we’re working very hard so we’ll see tomorrow if we can take another step forward.”

Nicky Hayden:

“We went back to the standard bike today. I was a little faster on the new one yesterday, but even though it has more potential and I like the gearbox, I don’t yet have a great feel for where its limit is. For now, we prefer to go with what we know. This morning I was pretty strong and this afternoon I was consistently in the low-’22 range. I did two longer runs and came in to put in a new soft tyre and was ready to go for it. I felt good and was looking forward to going into qualifying mode. I wasn’t pushing really hard on the out-lap, but you have to push this bike to load the front, and in Rainey Curve I skipped across the bumps and went down. It’s a shame, because we had a chance to do our best qualifying of the year. I went out on the other bike, but the front tyre was 30 laps old. The team have worked like dogs switching back and forth between bikes. Now they’ll have another long night, but I’ll try to make up for it tomorrow.”

Ducati Team press release

Stoner and Pedrosa start from front row, Dovizioso on second row at Laguna Seca

All three riders have struggled to find the perfect set up on their RC212V to tackle the Laguna Seca circuit, which demands a lot from both bike and rider. The early part of the session saw, Stoner, Pedrosa, Spies and Lorenzo trading fastest laps, with Lorenzo finally securing pole a mere seven hundredths faster that Stoner who's first flying lap was affected by Spies' crash and subsequent yellow flags.

Pedrosa will be looking for one of his trademark fast starts and the long race on an uneven track surface will test the young Spaniard's fitness to the maximum. Dovizioso, who shares the second row with Spies and Simoncelli, will fight to stay with the front group and will be aiming for a podium finish.

Tomorrow morning's warm up session will be important for all three riders; as it is the last opportunity they will have to tweak the set up ready for the race which starts at 14h00 local time.

Casey Stoner:

"For the whole session we were trying to find the right set up. All weekend we've been struggling a little and we've not found anything I'm comfortable with, I've closed the front many times and we're still looking to find some balance on the bike to get it working on this track, where we expected it to work well. On my first soft tyre I encountered some traffic and was held up, also there was a crash and a yellow flag so I lost my chance on that tyre. Then on the next soft tyre we had one lap to find some pace and we managed front row which is important for tomorrow. I don't feel we're running with the pace of Dani and Jorge, they seem to be constantly one to two tenths quicker but we have warm up tomorrow morning to find something in time for the race so we'll see what we can do."

Dani Pedrosa:

"We couldn't improve as much as I'd like to in the final part of the practice, we tried some different settings and unfortunately we didn't find a good one, but to start from the front row is always important and here we are again. I felt more comfortable with the hard tyres, which it's positive because they will be the ones used for the race, but we still need to make another step forward tomorrow and hopefully find a little more grip in the rear. Lorenzo seems very stable and fast, so I hope to find something else with my mechanics tonight and to be able to fight for a great result tomorrow. The race will be very fast, there are many laps here, so it will be important to be focus on every lap and stay strong until the end. I know the race distance will be hard for me physically, you have to work a lot in this track, there are a lot of bumps and you need to be very focused not to make any mistakes. But I will try my best and I hope to stay strong and consistent until the end."

Andrea Dovizioso:

“My target was to start from the first two rows, so finishing sixth is not too bad, but I hoped to start at least from the 4th position because it’s external and gives more advantages from the start. Anyway, we are quite close and we need to work more to gain another two tenths in race pace. This afternoon we improved a lot thanks to some changes we made in the set up, moving the weight more to the back. This setting helps us to brake stronger and this suits more my riding style. We will continue working in the warm up tomorrow because the pace of Lorenzo and Dani is really high. I hope to make a good start and maintain contact with the front group. I will do my best to have a good race and get a good result.”

Repsol Honda press release.

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

Second row start for fifth fastest Simoncelli at Laguna Seca

The Team San Carlo Honda Gresini rider is still hoping to make further improvements in tomorrow's warm-up before taking the podium challenge to the front row trio of Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa. Hiroshi Aoyama also made improvements as his confidence with t he Honda RC121V showed signs of returning.

Marco Simoncelli:

Overall it has been a positive day. We took our biggest step this morning and then built on that this afternoon, although we still have work to do to close the gap to the top three. Lorenzo is maybe in the best shape at the moment ahead of Stoner and Pedrosa but if we can find a couple of tenths in my race pace we can challenge for the podium. I had more confidence in the front today and held my line better through the corners, as well as improving acceleration out of the final turn. We could still find more time there though.”

Hiroshi Aoyama:

”I have improved my lap times from session to session and also found more confidence with the bike and track. I am quite satisfied with my lap time considering that this is only my second ever day here at Laguna. Tomorrow we will try to take another step and make up positions in the race. Tyre choice will be important, the race will be long but if we can stay consistent we can make up positions.”

Team San Carlo Honda Gresini press release

Mixed feelings for LCR pair after Laguna QP

The second day of practices started with typical coastal Northern California weather (21 degrees on the ground) and the Spaniard was not able to better his times from the previous day after a crash at turn 11. He escaped unhurt from the accident and returned to the track in the afternoon for the 60-minute qualifying session which was held in warmer conditions.

Despite some geometry adjustments to his Honda machinery, Elias could not increase his pace on Q-tires, while wildcard Bostrom proceeded with learning to ride a GP at his home track.

Toni Elias:

“We are back to our “standard” situation and obviously we were expecting something better. Anyway I want to a massive thank you to the guys because they worked hard even today because we had to change the bike geometry during the session. We are struggling with the same front issue that was the cause of my crash this morning. If you crash here you lose confidence because it’s a very tricky surface. I love lapping here but in this condition it’s not fun for me. We will try to fix the bike in tomorrows warm up trying to improve front and rear grip for the race”.

Ben Bostrom:

“The two bikes couldn’t be more opposite: tires, brakes, chassis...it’s unbelievable! There’s a lot to learn and I was trying to improve every time I get on the bike step by step because I do not want crash the bike. It’s nice to have Lucio and the guys also watching so they can see the difference. The adjustments we have made this afternoon were better and our lap time improved a little bit. Probably I could have gone faster but I made race distance in the last session and I am racing two different bikes this week end so I am pretty satisfied so far”.

LCR Honda press release.

Crash frustrates Bautista in Laguna qualifying

Bautista (P12, 1’22.669, 30 laps) lost the front of his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R on turn three and crashed at just past the half-way point of this afternoon’s session. He was in ninth place in the standings at the time, but had yet to use a new rear tyre to get a better qualifying position. He managed to return to the pit and use his other bike to try and improve on his lap-time, but was unable to find his rhythm and will now have work to do from the fourth row of the grid tomorrow. A very positive point for the whole team is the consistency on race tyres of the Suzuki GSV-R around the 3,610m American circuit, a fact which was emphasised by Bautista making his fastest time on a tyre which had already done 27 laps of the Laguna Seca track.

Bautista will be looking to repeat his good starts from the two races leading up to Laguna in tomorrow’s main event, as he tries to make in-roads into the riders in front of him when the lights go out to signal the start of the 32-lap race at 14.00hrs local time (21.00hrs GMT).

Álvaro Bautista:

“It has been a very big disappointment for me and the whole team this afternoon. We had done well in every practice, but in the qualifying - where it is really important to make a good position for the race - I crashed and lost the opportunity to make a good lap. I think we need to be positive for tomorrow though, and take some encouragement from the fact that we did our best time on a 27-lap used tyre, so this is good for the race. The bad thing is that we are near the back of the grid tomorrow, so I will have to make a good start like I have in the last two races and try to get a good position in the first corner. Tomorrow we will be trying our hardest and I will be giving it full gas!”

source: MotoGP Official Website

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

Repsol Honda victory and another double podium in Sachsenring

It was a great race for Dani Pedrosa who returns to the top step of the podium at only his second race after having missed three races due to an injury to the right shoulder. The Repsol Honda rider today sealed his second win of the 2011 season and his fifth Grand Prix victory at the Sachsenring circuit (three wins in MotoGP class, and two in 250cc). On lap twenty, Dani also broke his own Circuit Record Lap record here at Sachsenring with a 1'21.846.

Championship leader Casey Stoner celebrated a seventh successive podium finish today, a personal record in MotoGP class. He led the race for nine laps but was unable to match the pace of Pedrosa and was robbed of second place at the very last corner by Jorge Lorenzo.

Andrea Dovizioso had an exciting duel with Marco Simoncelli, finally finishing ahead of him in fourth and retaining his third position in the Championship standings.

The Repsol Honda Team will have no time to rest, as they pack all the race equipment tonight and leave for the United States tomorrow. The U.S GP hosted at the fascinating circuit of Laguna Seca will take place next Sunday, July 24th.

Dani Pedrosa:

"It's an incredible feeling to be back and win a race so early; I didn't expect it, but this circuit has been always very good for me and I made it happen. I was already surprised yesterday with second position in qualifying and to finish the weekend in this way is amazing, a huge relief for me after a very hard time with injuries. Here I suffered less than in Mugello because of the layout, but in the race today I had a strange feeling, something I've never had before. At the beginning of the race I wasn't feeling great on the bike, I was fourth but I didn't get nervous or worried because I'm still not mathematically out of the Championship battle, but I know it's almost impossible. So, I just let the laps pass and in the middle of the race, with less fuel in the tank and when the tyres started sliding, I decided to step it up a little and it worked perfectly. I'm very happy with this victory, I've been suffering a lot even though this race track is not physically demanding, because I'm still weak. So a big thanks to my family and doctors that helped me to be back here because they all know how hard it has been. Also to my team and to all my fans that never gave up, they deserve it also."

Casey Stoner:

"We knew today would be a hard race, we found a good set up yesterday in qualifying but we had an issue with the rear tyre and the temperatures getting too high, with it spinning too much. We took it easy in the early part of the race and thought we'd try to preserve the tyre and warm it up slower than we did in Mugello. After a few laps I decided to make a move to the front to see what we could do and we were able to pull a small advantage, but too small compared to the effort we were putting in so I backed off on my pace a little and tried to stay as smooth as possible and see what happens. They came past me and Dani was riding so strong and was able to get past Jorge before I got there, he built a small advantage and by the time I got past Jorge and I struggled to chase him down. I made a few small mistakes and that left just Jorge and I for the last few laps. I tried everything I could, riding the cleanest lap possible and trying to block my line, but Jorge came up on the dirty part of the track and I thought it would be too high a risk but he made it stick and I have to settle for third place. I'm still leading the Championship and I'm thankful for the points here today."

Andrea Dovizioso:

“It was a tough race because this circuit is small and difficult. Our target was the podium so I’m a little disappointed with fourth position, but if we look at today's race in a bigger perspective, we took a big step forward in terms of race pace compared to my previous records at this circuit. We had a good start and tried to stay with the front riders. It was a good battle with Simoncelli and Spies for fourth position and I’m happy we won this battle! We were consistently fast during the whole weekend and even though today we were struggling, we finished fourth. We confirm that we are there and we have retained third position in the Championship, even if we aimed to gain more points on Lorenzo and Casey. My congratulations go to Dani, Casey and Jorge for a great race.”

Repsol Honda press release

Lorenzo and Spies save it for the last lap in Sachsenring Thriller

Mugello race winner Lorenzo spent the entire 30 lap race distance embroiled in a battle at the front with Championship leader Casey Stoner and fellow Honda rider Dani Pedrosa. Having retained second off the grid, the Yamaha Factory rider passed Stoner with 17 laps to go. As the laps counted down Lorenzo conceded first to Pedrosa then second to Stoner before coming back with a stunning pass on the last corner of the last lap to steal second place back at the line.

Spies dropped one place to sixth off the start line, the Texan battling with a lack of grip that prevented him from closing down the front group early on. A consistent pace for the majority of the race saw a lonely ride holding position until his patience paid off as Marco Simoncelli and Andrea Dovizioso were gradually reeled in. The fighting of the two in front made it difficult to make a pass on the twisty track. Spies held off until the last corner on the last lap to pass Simoncelli for fifth, echoing his team mate’s pass on Stoner just seconds earlier at the same spot.

Denying Stoner second place means Lorenzo has taken a step to close the Championship lead down, trailing by just 15 points with a total of 153 as they head to Laguna Seca. Team mate Spies holds onto sixth position, now just 13 points behind Valentino Rossi in fourth.

Jorge Lorenzo: 

“I’m very happy! It has been a fantastic race today. From the middle of the race I got very tired in my left hand so I didn’t know where I could find the strength to push and keep pushing to the end. Then Casey stopped the bike a lot two corners from the end so I took advantage of it, opened the throttle full stand in the last corner I went for it. It was a miracle pass! This race is very important so we are very proud and happy with the result. I have to thank my Yamaha crew who worked very hard to give me a fast bike all weekend, they have been fantastic.”

Ben Spies: 

“Unfortunately I got to the front group a little too late but I tried as hard as I could. I just lacked some rear grip in the beginning, I tried to be consistent and hope they came back to me because I couldn’t run the pace they were running in the beginning. Lap time wise it was probably the most consistent I’ve ever done in a race. We caught up to them with three laps to go and then all hell broke loose. Simoncelli started trying to find a way past Dovizioso and every time I tried to look to go past one of them was on one side of the track and the other on the other side. It was fair play, they were racing each other but it kind of messed up my game plan! Simoncelli ran wide at the end so I got him again in the last corner. I wish we could have got Dovizioso because we had the pace, we just ran out of laps.”

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

Strong seventh for Suzuki’s Bautista at Sachsenring

Starting from 10th on the grid, Bautista knew a good start was required and by the end of the first lap he had moved up into ninth place. Over the next two laps he became involved in what turned out to be a race-long battle with the Ducati’s of Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi. The trio swapped places many times over the remainder of the race, but Bautista saved his best till last. He produced his quickest lap of the race on the penultimate lap and then badgered and passed both Rossi and then Hayden on the final corner to take a well deserved, but hard-fought seventh.

Bautista chose the softer option of the Bridgestone race tyres today as the track temperatures and overcast, but humid conditions gave him the confidence to use the softer rubber. The 101,309 spectators at trackside were not only treated to the three way battle involving Bautista, but action throughout every part of the 30 lap race.

Álvaro Bautista: 

“I am happy with today’s result because it was a fun race and I am quite pleased with where we finished. At the beginning I had to try and get a good start, because in the first corner you have to be very careful with other riders. I got a decent start and was in a good position just behind the top riders, but I was a bit too far away from them, and my rhythm wasn’t quite as quick, so I couldn’t quite stay with them. I got involved with the two Ducati guys and really enjoyed the race with them. At the end it was very difficult to overtake Valentino and Nicky because they brake very hard and very late, making it tough to get past. On the last lap I overtook Valentino at the end of the main straight. I then followed Nicky and waited for the last two corners because I knew I had an opportunity there to get him. I had to brake with everything I had to get past him on corner 12, but I ran a bit wide and lost some speed, Nicky overtook me on the last corner, but he entered too quickly and he went out, so I got past him on the exit of the corner. I am very happy that we are the first finisher after the top six because they are on a different level at the moment. For the next race I hope to continue with this way of working and get closer to the top.”

Paul Denning - Team Manager:

“I think we showed this weekend at Sachsenring - a track that has traditionally been very tough for Suzuki - that both the GSV-R and the rider have made good steps in 2011, despite the bad luck and huge injury at the start of the season. The high-speed crash that Álvaro suffered at the end of warm-up this morning was not ideal race preparation and it might have had a small effect on his ultimate pace, but nonetheless he dug deep and a rode a very entertaining and aggressive 30-laps. Maybe with a better qualifying position, which we have to keep working on, or with a luckier first couple of laps, he might have been able to tow along on the back of the fastest riders. We won’t know if that could have been the case until we get the opportunity again at Laguna Seca next week. It was an incredibly competitive race today, all the top riders finished and we were beaten by only the four Factory Hondas and the two Factory Yamahas - this weekend has definitely been a step in the right direction.”

Rizla Suzuki press release

Pedrosa wins German GP clash

Repsol Honda’s Pedrosa had his usual great start, taking the hole shot ahead of Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) and Stoner (Repsol Honda) at the start of the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland MotoGP race in what was to be a 30 lap fight to the finish at the Sachsenring circuit. The Spaniard’s win is his fifth Grand Prix victory at the Sachsenring circuit and only his second race after returning from surgery for his broken collarbone.

At the end of lap one, Lorenzo was in the lead ahead of the three Repsol Honda’s of Pedrosa, Stoner and Dovizioso, who fought amongst each other for second until the Australian made his attack on lap 5 to take the lead, only to have Lorenzo regain the lead status a few laps later. The Mallorcan then tried desperately to defend his line, until lap 21 when Pedrosa got a huge drive out of the last corner to launch himself into the lead for the last time.

Meanwhile a three man battle for fourth ensued behind the leaders between Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing), out of which Italian Dovizioso crossed the line first 2 tenths of a second in front of American rider Spies and 4 tenths ahead of fellow countryman Simoncelli.

Another intense fight starred Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) and the two Ducati Team riders Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi. Bautista crossed the line seventh with Hayden less than a tenth of a second behind the Spaniard and Rossi just 6 thousands behind the American, with of Colin Edwards (Tech 3 Yamaha Monster) following the trio in tenth.

Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) had an off-track excursion in the early stages of the race, who then staged a great comeback from the back of the pack to finish eleventh, in front of Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing)

source: MotoGP Official Website

Stoner sustains leadership status in warm up

Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner set a lap of 1'22.132 to put him first of the field in the MotoGP warm up at Sachsenring, after setting pole the previous day for his sixth time this season. The Australian was 0.177s ahead of third place starter Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) and 0.280s faster than team mate Dani Pedrosa.

Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) set the fourth fastest time, a 1’22.555, before he crashed out of the warm up session, with Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team), who starts from the second row, in fifth and Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) 0.016s behind the Italian in sixth.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) posted a time of 1'22.765 to rank him seventh, with Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team), Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing) rounding out the top ten. Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) slightly improved his best time from yesterday to finish eleventh with a 1’23.260.