Combined, these three legendary former Yamaha World Champions hold 10 world titles, with each having won events at the world-famous Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Roberts, Lawson, and Rainey will all be on the starting grid and mounted on their respective world-championship-winning Yamaha race motorcycles just prior to the opening ceremonies for Sunday’s MotoGP finale.

“These three men have contributed so much to Yamaha’s racing heritage, and this is just another way for us to honor their tremendous accomplishments,” said Bob Starr, General Manager of Communications for Yamaha, “and to have them with their Championship-winning bikes is sure to be an unforgettable moment for race fans around the world!”

Valentino Rossi wasn't even in the race on Saturday, but that didn't stop patrons at Bar dello Sport from rooting for #46. • CJ photo

RRX: How long has this bar been here?
Antonio Coculla: This bar has been here for thirty years. Four years ago, I bought it and refurbished it, and then we gave it the look that it has now.

I know from his autobiography that he used to come here as a kid.
The first year that he won a [125] Grand Prix title, in 1997, the party was held here—we have photos of that hanging in here—because this was the place where Tavullia residents always ended up, spontaneously. This is where they’d play cards, talk, and pass their time. Valentino used to come here all the time with his friends, to read magazines, to play cards.

Those must be very special memories for the residents, now that Valentino is so big.
Yes, very special. In fact, those guys sitting at that table over there are Valentino’s friends. The man with the green shirt is the one who acted as the notary public in the 2008 gag when he won his eighth world championship. There’s the vice president of the fan club, [Flavio] Frattesi, who is one of Valentino’s best friends. They’re all members of the fan club, and they were the ones who did the various gags over the years. They’d sit with Valentino and decide what to do.

Antonio Coculla (left, with assistant Emmanuele Ricci) took over Bar dello Sport four years ago. • CJ photo

Tavullia has always been very important to Vale.
Yes, he always comes back here, because he feels at home. He comes here when he needs to recharge, or to relax. He comes here and hangs out with his friends—he’s always with his friends.

What does Valentino mean to Tavullia?
Everything. If you try doing a search for “Tavullia” and “Valentino Rossi” on the internet, you get 6 million pages. That shows you what he means to us.

I imagine that it’s more difficult for Vale to move around town now that he’s so popular.
Much more difficult, because if he goes around, they stop him. They want an autograph or a photo, or to talk with him.

Is that mainly tourists? Are the locals more used to him?
No, it’s also Tavullia residents. If you see him go by, many times it’s actually Tavullia residents who recognize him and stop him because they want an autograph. Then you know how people are: if they know you’re from Tavullia, it’s a little like being from Rome, where they say, “Say hi to the Pope from me.” Here, they say, “Say hi to Valentino for me; bring me an autographed photo.”

The establishment's walls are completely covered with Rossi memorabilia. • CJ photo

Does he go out anyway?
Yes, but he usually sneaks out when no one’s around. He goes out a lot at night.

What type of people visit this bar now?
Many tourists—many, many. We’re close to Cattolica and Riccione, which is a big, big tourist area. All the foreign tourists who come to spend their vacations at Cattolica, Riccione, or Rimini also make a side trip here to Tavullia—often to watch a MotoGP race. Today, even though Valentino wasn’t racing, there were still lots of people watching. We’re also pretty close to the freeway, so if someone’s just passing through, they might stop by: “I was on my way to Ancona, so of course I had to visit Tavullia.”

Vale's friends and fan-club members were on hand at Bar dello Sport to watch the Grand Prix. • CJ photo

What was the reaction like when he was injured?
The reaction was one of stupor, because no one could believe it. He had raced for twelve years without an injury that serious, so we almost began to think that he was blessed with a superpower, like Superman—so good that he couldn’t get hurt. This accident made us realize that in some ways, he’s a regular person, just like everyone else. He’s fragile, just like all human beings, which almost makes what he’s done more amazing.

How is Tavullia helping him during his convalescence?
We’ve just tried to stay calm, to let him know we’re all with him—that he only has to worry about getting better. Because anyway, people here are waiting for him, they care about him, and they want him to get better. Hopefully, the knowledge that he’s wanted will help him psychologically during his recovery.

If you're in Tavullia, Bar dello Sport is hard to miss; just look for the yellow Fiat 500 taxi cab parked on the front patio. • CJ photo

Last question: Will he be in red next year?
[Smiles and points to a Ducati logo on the sleeve of his “I ♥ 46” T-shirt] We also got Ducati merchandising rights, because it’s been one year that there’s been serious talk about Valentino going to Ducati. We’re waiting to see what happens, but it would truly be a crowning finish to his career: an Italian super-champion on an Italia super-motorcycle. It would be the best. From what the voices are saying, it seems that it’s happening—that there’s a sponsor putting in some money—but it will be Valentino who makes the final decision. Whatever he decides, we’re with him.

Young currently sits in fourth place in the American Superbike points standings, thirty-two points behind leading teammate, Tommy Hayden. At the Road America doubleheader, Young went 3-7.

More information as it becomes available.

This version reflects a correction to where Young’s injury was incurred (it happened at the Barber test, not at the Road America race that preceded it).

The wide, flat track makes identifying reference points difficult, particularly since this is the first time it has been visited by MotoGP bikes. Air temperature was just 53 degrees Fahrenheit, and not only was the track surface the coldest of the year so far, but it was fairly green as a result of last night’s rain. As a result, riders eschewed Bridgestone’s harder tire option and were relatively tentative in the early portions of the session. With twenty-five minutes remaining, Casey Stoner was the quickest rider,  but Lorenzo displaced him several minutes later, on his seventeenth lap.

No stranger to cold tracks, Frenchman Randy de Puniet was the first rider to drop into the 2:03 range, assuming the top slot with just under sixteen minutes remaining. The next lap saw him drop his time even further, to 2:03.434, and he would keep his satellite Honda in that position for most of the session’s remainder. Lorenzo began chipping away, posting a 2:04.079 with eight and a half minutes left, then joining De Puniet in the :03 range at the five-minute mark. With the long circuit layout, timing final tire changes correctly was vital. Finally, with three minutes left, the lone Fiat Yamaha rider put up a 2:03.308 that would prove to be unmatchable. De Puniet’s time kept him in second, and Pedrosa notched a 2:03.586 with just over a minute left that would be good enough to complete the front row. Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda teammate Andrea Dovizioso was fourth-best, making it three  Hondas in the top four.

Americans Nicky Hayden and Ben Spies spent much of the session fighting over the sixth-best slot with Marco Melandri. With a qualifying setup in place, Hayden (who was consistently fast in the first split) improved substantially, notching a fifth-best time. The lap was also the best not in the 2:03 range, and it put him one spot ahead of his Ducati Marlboro teammate, Casey Stoner. Spies, who had a hard crash in the morning warm-up session, ended up seventh, while his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teammate and fellow Texan, Colin Edwards, ended up tenth.

Rizla Suzuki struggled in the team’s home GP qualifying session, with Loris Capirossi and Alvaro Bautista filling the fourteenth and fifteenth slots, respectively, out of sixteen.

Compared to his top time in yesterday’s first practice session, Lorenzo’s pole-earning lap was 2.686452 seconds faster.

Results
1. Jorge Lorenzo (Yam) 2:03.308
2. Randy de Puniet (Hon) 2:03.434
3. Dani Pedrosa (Hon) 2:03.586
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Hon) 2:03.995
5. Nicky Hayden (Duc) 2:04.332
6. Casey Stoner (Duc) 2:04.394
7. Ben Spies (Yam) 2:04.477
8. Marco Melandri (Hon) 2:04.555
9. Marco Simoncelli (Hon) 2:04.868
10. Colin Edwards (Yam) 2:05.035

MotoGP fans and supporters of Riders for Health – the official charity of MotoGP – flocked to Silverstone to raise money for Riders for Health’s lifesaving work in Africa  yesterday [Thursday 17th June] raising an amazing €185,607.

With people able to enjoy wonderful sunshine all day fans took the chance to see the stars of MotoGP ahead of the British grand prix this weekend.

The teams and riders all took part, throwing open the doors of the exclusive MotoGP paddock to lucky ticket holders. Fans had the chance to walk amongst the team hospitality suites and technical trucks, while on the pit-lane teams gave fans a glimpse of the work that goes into preparing a motorcycle for a weekend’s racing.

In the Entertainment Zone John Price guided fans through a day of fun on stage. Teams took part in A Question of Bikes quiz show, hosted by the BBC’s Steve Parrish and Matt Roberts. Jules Ryder interviewed those on the inside of MotoGP, while British star and two-time world superbike champion James Toseland and his band Crash kept the party going all day.

Away from the stage there were stunt shows, rides on the infield Stowe Circuit with teams from the British Side-car championship, music and street entertainment.

Of course the highlight of the day was the famous Day of Champions auction, which raised tens-of-thousands of pounds for Riders’ work in Africa.  The riders all appeared on stage to give their thoughts about Sundays’ race and to auction the unique and valuable items they brought with them.  Other once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience MototGP from the inside included the chance to step onto the grid for the big race on Sunday.

The money raised at Day of Champions will have a huge impact on Riders for Health’s work in Africa, allowing the organisation to mobilise more health workers and reach even more men, women and children with lifesaving health care.

Riders for Health

The famous Day of Champions MotoGP auction capped a wonderful day in the sun for Riders for Heath as the event helped to raise €185,607 for the organization’s life saving work in Africa.

The unique and amazing pieces of memorabilia that the MotoGP riders brought to the stage made an amazing €40,000. Among over 80 lots on sale included:

• Sets of race leathers from Colin Edwards, Alvaro Bautista, Marco Melandri , and Scott Redding ,

• The t-shirt that Aleix Espargaro wore to the stage,

• A painting of Andrea Dovizioso,

• A ‘46’ floor mat from Valentino Rossi’s motor-home and one of the champion’s helmets,

• Boots Hector Barbera and Mika Kallio,

• A replica helmet from Ben Spies ,

• A pair of visors from Dani Pedrosa race helmets,

• A pair of sunglasses belonging to British star, Bradley Smith,

• Hiroshi Aoyama sold three sets of knee sliders,

• One bidder will have a painting of them with championship leader Jorge Lorenzo,

• Gloves Marco Simoncelli Loris Capirossi,

• Nicky Hayden donated a signed, limited edition, Tissot watch,

• Two pairs of MotoGP wheels from Randy de Puniet’s LCR Honda,

• Artist Gigi Soldano’s artwork of all of the 2010 MotoGP riders,

• Grand prix legend Kevin Schwantz auctioned a pair of jackets,

• Alpine Stars special ‘Silverstone 2010’ boots signed by riders,

It wasn’t only kit belonging to riders that got people bidding. MotoGP fans were given the chance to take part in a series of once-in-a-lifetime experiences:

• Some of the most exclusive tickets in sport – MotoGP Grid passes – raised £2,300

• The chance to follow MotoGP photographer Andrew Northcott and get track side for one MotoGP

• Team Suzuki’s VIP package with the chance to meet the riders and watch from the pit wall raised £2,600

• One bidder paid £1,000 to spend a session in the commentary box with Eurosport’s Jules and Toby. The winning bidder had already donated a day with their Ducati Desmosedici to the auction, which raised £1,600

The action doesn’t end there. Riders for Health are giving lucky bidders the chance to get onto the grid for either the 125 or Moto2 races by bidding online. This is a once in a lifetime chance, so visit http://www.riders.org/auction.aspx?acid=5 to make your bid.

Capirossi and the Suzuki GSV-R800 were both making their maiden visits to the Island and Capirossi arrived on Wednesday to experience the amazing Isle of Man atmosphere before riding the 37.73 mile (60.72km) course on Friday morning.

Courtesy Rizla

Capirossi led away the Suzuki anniversary parade on a Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 for his first ever lap of the TT course, ably guided by ex TT racer and TV commentator Steve Parrish. Capirossi made a steady lap of the island and delighted spectators by pulling wheelies and waving to the packed vantage points as he made his way around the famous circuit.

After the final race of the week concluded, Suzuki signed-off the 2010 racing fortnight with the first ever lap of the TT course by a modern-day four-stroke MotoGP machine. Relentless Suzuki by TAS TT racer Cameron Donald rode the GSV-R for a single lap of the course and, despite in his own words “taking it easy”, Donald still managed to set the fastest top speed of the event down the Sulby straight at a fraction under 202mph (325 km/h).

Capirossi and team-mate Álvaro Bautista will next be in action on Sunday 20th June, when the Rizla Suzuki team returns to the UK for its home Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Loris Capirossi:
“This place is incredible! I’ve seen the TV footage before, but nothing prepares you for the TT course. The surface is much bumpier than I imagined and when you see the speeds that these guys run at, it is simply amazing. I said before that I think these guys are crazy – and I still think that – but when you ride the circuit you realise that it’s really exciting and you know why they come here to race. I had a great time here – it’s a fantastic event that you could never replicate anywhere else in the world and I am sure I will come back again!”

Cameron Donald:
“Man – that was just amazing! I thought the bike would be really difficult and twitchy to ride, but it was great. I was expecting to ride a steady lap, but it was so nice to ride that I was able to get a great rhythm going and pick up a fast pace. In fact, it was so good; I reckon we need to get some regulation changes for next year as this thing with a few more laps on it would really fly. I’m serious – with just a little more running you’d smash the lap record on this bike, it’s just so fast and stable. I hope the spectators enjoyed it as well! Thanks to all the guys at Rizla Suzuki for giving me this opportunity, I’m still buzzing!”

The increase in prize money, for this race weekend only, will increase the normal prize money payout structure with double amounts paid for first place through 20th place in both the National Guard SuperBike and Daytona SportBike by AMSOIL divisions, and double amounts paid for first place through 10th place in SuperSport.

“We are delighted to give our competitors additional incentive for the exciting US GP weekend,” said AMA Pro Chief Operating Officer David Atlas. “With just one opportunity for the fans at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to see our SuperBike, Daytona SportBike and SuperSport races, we wanted to over deliver for everyone competing in our series.”

The Red Bull US Grand Prix race weekend at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway will feature MotoGP along with the AMA Pro Road Racing lineup. Practice and qualifying for the AMA Pro classes will begin on Friday, July 23 with the AMA Pro SuperSport race on Saturday, July 24. The AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike and AMA Pro Daytona SportBike by AMSOIL races will be on Sunday, July 25.

Please visit www.mazdaraceway.comfor ticket and scheduling information. Also visit www.amaproracing.com for complete AMA Pro Racing series information and results. SPEED TV will be broadcasting flag-to-flag coverage of the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike and Daytona SportBike by AMSOIL races, please check your local listings for broadcast times.

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.

Mugello MotoGP Saturday: Slideshow

Rossi has won every premier-class Grand Prix at Mugello from 2002 to 2008, though he finished third last year. His seven-year win streak at his home race is unmatched in Grand Prix racing.

UPDATE 11:45 a.m. Italian time:
The P.A. announcers here are saying that Rossi has suffered a displaced fracture of the right tibia, and that he has been transported to the hospital in Florence.

Rossi has not missed a Grand Prix start since when he was racing in the 125cc class in 1996.

UPDATE: 2:45 p.m. Italian time:
According to Yamaha, Rossi is currently in the process of having the leg pinned. The injury is now being described as a displaced compound fracture of the tibia and fibula. With six races in the next seven weeks, it’s safe to say that Rossi will be dethroned this season. That being the case, Vale has no real reason to rush a return; although his contract is up at year’s end, it’s not as if the Italian won’t be pursued by the paddock’s top teams.

USA World SBK Sunday • Slideshow

Piaggio's MP3 Hyrbrid represents gas-electric-hybrid technology's entrance in the two-wheel world--or three-wheeled, as the case may be. • Courtesy Piaggio

On the machine’s range:
We minimize CO2 emissions and offer fantastic gas mileage. Right now, we’re testing somewhere between 110 and 125 miles per gallon of combined usage—so that means electrical, regenerative, and the gasoline engine.

On hybrid technology versus full-electric:
With hybrid electric engines, we can have complete autonomy; full-electric doesn’t give us autonomy. If we have to take the bike out for 60 miles, well let’s face it: a batter charge is not going to get out 60 miles and back—even with the best battery technology—unless you want to drag a trailer behind us [laughs]. Combustion is bad—we know that. Electric is better, but it [depends on] how we generate it. With hybrid, we get the best of both worlds…. Electric engines—especially the one we have in the hybrid—accelerate very smoothly, very cleanly, with a lot of torque right off the bat. We get the best of both worlds, we feel, for this market, by using the hybrid….

I love [full-electric] technology. I love the fact that they’re pushing, because we have to—we can’t wait any longer, and people who are fooled into thinking that we can wait longer are not thinking. I love the idea that they’re doing that; I just struggle with the fact that we’re still not generating electricity in a green manner…. You can’t get gold from a grape; it has to come from somewhere, so generating that electricity is the first concern.

Piaggio's Erik Madsen explains explains the groundbreaking product in the company's Costa Mesa office. • CJ photo

On how its emissions compare:
In France, there’s a test course to test [emissions], which has been determined by TUV. A small petrol car produces about 180 grams of CO2 over the 13.2 kilometers [8.2 miles]; a big petrol car is about 270 grams; a midsize scooter is about 70; and a diesel car is about 150. [With the MP3 Hyrbid] in the electric mode, we’re at zero emissions. Obviously, we’re not taking into account how we generate that electricity, so if we plug it into the wall—let’s not kid ourselves—we still have some CO2 emissions there. But on average, on the course that they test these vehicles on, [the hybrid scooter emits] 40 grams; that’s very, very good.

On the management system:
This is also a ride-by-wire vehicle, so the VMS—or Vehicle Management System—controls many, many functions. In deceleration mode, it has regenerative braking by altering the polarity of the electric motor. You can ride it in full-electric [mode], you can ride it in hybrid, you can ride it in hybrid-charge. There may be a situation in which you say, “Hey, I have to travel sixty miles, but when get there, I have to go six miles in and six miles out in an emissions-free zone, and I only have 15 percent battery charge.” So we have a mode that uses the internal-combustion engine through the electric engine, and it recharges the battery. So when you get to your destination, you’ve used a little more gasoline to do that, but then you go into the full-electric mode. One of the other nice things about the MP3 is we can lock the front end by hitting a button. Then you hit another button, and it backs up into the [parking] space, on the electric motor…. It’s silent and effortless, and you don’t even have to balance it.

Madsen says that compared to a full-electric motorcycle, the MP3 Hybrid has much more range. • Courtesy Piaggio

On the battery:
We are using lithium-ion battery. Certainly there are some recycling issues with lithium-ion, but we believe that this battery will last the full life of the vehicle…. We hold the international patent on this type of [hybrid] technology, and we have collaborated with different partners—specifically a couple of different battery companies. That’s been the big holdup for releasing our product, is to build battery technology that’s packaged properly, that has the safety features built in that we want, and that has the sustainability that we want.

On how performance compares to the standard MP3:
They’re not matched, because there’s no torque curve on an electric motor—you get full torque right off the bat. You see about 40 percent of the overall torque produced by the electric motor [compared to] the internal-combustion one…. What we’re working on right now is being able to ride the vehicle approximately 45 kilometers per hour [28 mph], for a total of approximately 20 kilometers, or about 12 miles—full-electric. That’s about the best we’ve been able to do at this point, and it’s completely zero emissions, except, obviously, the generation.

“Triumph recognizes the challenges that our troops face, and we want to show our support for the sacrifices they make for all of us,” said Jim Callahan, North American Marketing Manager for Triumph Motorcycles. “Many active members of the U.S. military have contacted Triumph dealers and Triumph North America about buying a new motorcycle. This is our way of saying ‘thank you’ for everything they do.”

The “Thank a Hero” purchase program applies to all active duty members of the U.S. Military who currently serve in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and National Guard, including all active Reserve service members.

Triumph manufactures cruiser, urban sport, and modern classic motorcycles that consistently earn ‘Best in Class’ accolades for styling, performance and real-world rideability. These range from the all new 1600cc Thunderbird cruiser and the ground breaking Speed Triple and Daytona 675 urban sport bikes to the iconic Bonneville modern classic.
The full range of Triumph motorcycles are available at authorized Triumph dealers throughout North America. To find your local Triumph dealer, please visit www.TriumphMotorcycles.com.

Shot at the season opening race at Daytona International Speedway, the show will take an in-depth look at team owner Michael Jordan and his love of all things motorcycles and motorcycle road racing. The ESPN E:60 crew couldn’t have picked a better weekend to highlight as Team Jordan rider Aaron Yates took pole position for the AMA Pro American SuperBike races and then Yates’s new teammate, Jake Zemke took his and the National Guard Jordan team’s first and second category wins as a delighted Jordan looked on.

Produced by Matthew Rissmiller and featuring Hannah Storm, the ESPN E:60 crew left no stone unturned as they researched and filmed the segment during the Daytona Bike Week activities. MJ is a frequent visitor to many of the AMA Pro road races that his National Guard sponsored team participates in and it was a perfect fit to have the ESPN E:60 cameras in Daytona for the emotional celebrations as they put their mark on the 2010 AMA Pro Road Racing season.

Don’t miss this inside look at one of the most popular and recognizable sports figures in the world and his love of competition and the sport of motorcycle road racing.

The airing of the ESPN E:60 show on May 4th at 7:00 p.m. EDT is the perfect kick off to AMA Pro Road Racing’s next event, to be held May 14-16 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. Visit www.amaproracing.com for further series information and check out www.infineonraceway.com for ticketing and schedule info for the West Coast Moto Jam at Infineon Raceway. Also visit www.espn.com for all of the latest sports scores and information.

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.

The exhibit will run July 10 – September 6 and will tell the story of Evel Knievel through fascinating artifacts drawn from both the Harley-Davidson Archives and the Knievel family collection. Visitors will see legendary pieces including his signature leathers and cane, personal photographs and letters, collectors’ toys and memorabilia, and the half-motorcycle, half-rocket “Skycycle” used to jump the Snake River Canyon. Setting numerous death-defying records over his career, Knievel’s bike of choice was the Harley-Davidson XR-750 and he was sponsored by the Motor Company through most of the 1970s. From Knievel’s early start as a side-show character in Butte, Montana, to his transformation into a larger-than-life master showman, marketer, and folk hero with international appeal, the 10,000-square-foot exhibit will engage visitors with the story of the man behind the seemingly fearless performer.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of Knievel’s famous Wembley Stadium jump in London May 26, 1976. During this pivotal stunt, Knievel crashed while trying to land a jump over 13 buses, broke his pelvis, and announced his retirement to 90,000 fans after the show.

Kids growing up in the 70s did wild things to emulate Knievel and his stunts, and the heroic inspiration he provided to those aspiring daredevils still resonates today. In that spirit, the Harley-Davidson Museum invites visitors to celebrate the “little Evel in all of us” this summer.

Harley-Davidson Museum Background

The Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a reflection of American history and pop culture like you’ve never seen it before – through the lens of a true American icon, the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Inspiring to riders and non-riders alike, the Museum offers a one-of-a-kind experience through dynamic exhibits, rare artifacts and an unparalleled collection of the legendary stories of America’s last century. The 130,000 square-foot Museum complex opened to the public in July 2008 and has been thrilling visitors ever since.

The Harley-Davidson Museum is the perfect destination for a summer road trip, bringing an important piece of the American story to life in an interesting and engaging way. More than 450 vehicles and thousands of artifacts make up the Museum’s 107-year old collection. The objects on view tell stories that fascinate visitors from around the world, such as the mysterious Serial Number One, the oldest known Harley-Davidson motorcycle in existence, and paperwork proving that Elvis Presley purchased a Harley-Davidson motorcycle just days before he became famous with the hit single, “Heartbreak Hotel.” The Museum’s impressive variety of permanent displays range from Harley-Davidson and the Military, which showcases heroic veterans’ stories and Harley-Davidson’s efforts to serve the country, to Custom Culture, which shows how Harley-Davidson motorcycles have impacted American pop culture and fueled the public’s fascination with the rebel biker image through the Hollywood film industry.

In addition, the Museum architecture is itself worth the visit, featuring unique urban design elements inspired by Milwaukee’s rich industrial heritage, including an “exo-skeleton” made up of more than 1,200 tons of galvanized steel beams. The Museum is located in the heart of Milwaukee, surrounded on three sides by the Menomonee River and includes wide open green spaces, park-like vistas, and a beautifully landscaped river walk for all visitors to enjoy. Visitors can make a day of it by checking out other hot spots on the Museum campus, including Motor Bar & Restaurant, Cafe Racer, and The Shop retail store.

Especially for families: Every Sunday is family day at the Museum. The fun begins with story time at 10 a.m. and continues with fun activities, temporary tattoos, and special kids’ menus at both Museum restaurants.

About the Harley-Davidson Museum

The Harley-Davidson Museum is located at 400 West Canal Street and is open year-round. For more information on the Museum’s galleries, exhibits, special events, tickets, and more, visit www.h-dmuseum.com.

“In addition to the international feed shared by all partners, SPEED will produce SPEED-specific features, interviews and graphic enhancements,” said Rick Miner, SPEED SVP of Production & Network Operations. “We are really stepping up the presentation for the American audience.”

Greg Creamer will be the SPEED in-studio host, with Nick Harris handling play-by-play for the international feed. Ian Wheeler will provide analysis and Gavin Emmett will report from the pits.

Coverage begins this weekend with the season-opening Grand Prix of Qatar on the 3.343-mile Losail International Circuit. The two U.S. rounds are scheduled for July 25 at Laguna Seca and August 29 at famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

SPEEDtv.com will offer full coverage of each event with photos and content from Moto Racing Editor Chris Martin and columnists Dennis Noyes, Evan Williams and Colin Young. In addition, SPEED has expanded video rights beginning this season, with 10 minutes of footage from each event available on SPEEDtv.com.

For more information on the MotoGP World Championship, please visit www.MotoGP.com.

MotoGP on SPEED air date and times (subject to change):

* Grand Prix of Qatar – April 11 (4 p.m. ET, Live)
* Japan – April 25 (Late night Saturday, April 24, 2 a.m. ET, Live)
* Spanish Grand Prix – May 2 (8 a.m. ET, Live)
* French Grand Prix – May 25 (2 p.m. ET, taped)
* Italian Grand Prix – June 6 (8 a.m. ET, Live)
* British Grand Prix – June 20 (9:30 a.m. ET, Live)
* Dutch Grand Prix – June 26 (9:30 a.m. ET, SDD)
* Catalunyan Grand Prix – July 4 (8 a.m. ET, Live)
* German Grand Prix – July 18 (8 a.m. ET, Live)
* U.S. Grand Prix – July 25 (TBD)
* Czech Grand Prix – August 15 (8 a.m. ET, Live)
* Indianapolis Grand Prix – August 29 (TBD)
* San Marino – September 5 (8 a.m. ET, Live)
* Hungary – September 19 (9 a.m. ET, Live)
* Malaysian Grand Prix – October 10 (6 p.m. ET, SDD)
* Australian Grand Prix – October 17 (Late night Saturday, October 16, 1 a.m. ET, Live)
* Portugal – October 31 (5 p.m. ET, SDD)
* Valencia Grand Prix – November 7 (8 a.m. ET, Live)

*Note: French Grand Prix is taped event due to schedule conflicts

SPEED™, anchored by its popular and wide-ranging coverage of NASCAR, is the nation’s first and only cable television network dedicated to automotive and motorcycle racing, performance and lifestyle. Now available in more than 79 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the industry leaders in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services. For more information, please visit SPEEDtv.com, the online motor sports authority.

Londono, 30, began racing at age 14 in his native Colombia. He moved to the US in 2003 and raced in CCS, ASRA, and WERA. He has won several championships along the way. In 2009 he raced in selected AMA Daytona SportBike events, with a best result of 18th at Barber Motorsports Park.

“I’m very excited to be racing for such a great team,” said Londono. “I really enjoy riding at Road Atlanta and hope to put a smile on my injured friend’s face. My goals for this event are to work together with the team to achieve a good qualifying position and obviously shoot for a top 10 finish. It will be great fun to ride these highly prepared machines.”

Villa rebroke his collarbone at Fontana, but had successful surgery last week. “It’s not very easy to give this news, of course. I would love to race at Road Atlanta, but now that I won’t because my surgery, I cant think of a better racer to replace me than my fellow Colombian rider Andres “Futuro” Londono. We have raced each other for many years, and I think he is a great rider and a good person. I have a great deal of respect for him and I hope he can give my sponsors a great result. I also want to thank all the riders and racing fans for their support and kind words. I’ll be back stronger for Infineon.”

Santiago Villa’s personal sponsors include P3 Racing, Addict By Bosi, Arai, MSR Designs and Tacama.

BMW's S1000R has swept the sport bike workd by storm in the past year or so. • Courtesy BMW

But tons of interesting stuff happened in the interim. The radically redesigned Ducati Multistrada broke cover—but since I was somehow left to languish while it was launched in Lanzarote, you didn’t hear it from me. Daytona was the first sample of a “new, improved” regime at AMA Pro Racing, and for the first time in a while I was actually sorry to have missed Bike Week, because I would have liked to catch the vibe firsthand. If you were there, feel free to email me with your impressions and sense of optimism (or continued pessimism) for the 2010 AMA Pro season.

And the annual Masterbike test was held at the new Motorland circuit near Valencia. You probably know what Masterbike is: a large group of elite motojournalists/testers (I guess it’s no suprise I wasn’t invited to that one, eh?) test all the top liter bikes. Every tester rides every bike, and all the laps are data-logged. For every permutation of rider and machine, the fastest lap is tabulated. The bikes are ranked according to the average of their best laps.

Nine manufacturers were represented in this year’s test. Obviously, the Japanese big four sent their, er, big fours:

• Honda CBR1000RR
• Kawasaki ZX-10R
• Suzuki GSX-R1000
• Yamaha YZF-R1

The demise of Buell ensured there was not a single American-designed entrant, but there were three European 1000cc bikes:

• Aprilia RSV-4
• BMW S1000R
• MV Agusta F4 (which is still American-owned, I guess, until Harley-Davidson finds a buyer for its Italian fling)

Two very different 1200cc twins were also in the mix:
• Ducati 1198R
• KTM RC8R

Although I haven’t seen the any full test write-ups yet, I’ve seen the results. Specifically, I’ve seen video footage of the results being read out. Some guy’s standing on the pit wall looking at a sheet of paper and he starts reading.

The first bike he cites is the Yamaha R1. That makes sense, I guess; after all, Ben Spies just used one to win the World Superbike Championship. The next bike he reads off is the Kawasaki. When I rode it last summer at Willow Springs, I was pleasantly surprised by it. Then comes the Suzuki; again, what can you say? It was good enough to give Mat Mladin his final AMA Pro title last season. The fourth bike named is the Honda. The last time I rode a CBR1000RR, it ended up looking like a sugar donut. Still, I found it to be an utterly competent and confidence-inspiring machine.

But…[pause for effect]…there was a catch.

The results were being read out from last to first. The four Japanese bikes finished last, second-last, third-last, and fourth-last. All I can say is that I hope that Soichiro Honda was buried with his body in a north-south alignment, because otherwise his body, spinning in his grave, might tilt the earth’s axis.

The results are:
1. BMW S1000R
2. Aprilia RSV4 Factory
3. MV Agusta F4
4. KTM RC8R
5. Ducati 1198S
6. Honda CBR1000RR
7. Suzuki GSX-R1000
8. Kawasaki ZX-10R
10. Yamaha R1

I tested the KTM RC8R late last fall at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and was struck by how easy it was to ride quickly. Although KTM's experiment with the 125 and 250cc, and even MotoGP Grand Prix classes is largely finished, the company applied what it learned, and its first real street bike is a winner right out of the crate. • Courtesy KTM

Now, admittedly, the results could be skewed by the lap-times-über-alles nature of this particular test. But I don’t think the results are skewed by the fact that it’s a track-test as opposed to a road test. The new BMW may be radical for a BMW, but it’s still a BMW. I’m certain it’s as competent on the street as it is on the track. The top twin—the KTM—is certainly not a track-only bike; it was the most comfortable superbike-class machine I’d ever ridden when I tested it last fall.

Regular readers of Backmarker will know that I’ve long harped on China as the rising power in motorcycle manufacturing. Chinese companies are spending heavily in R&D and starting to show an interest in racing. That was all it took for me to pronounce that China was the next Japan.

I obviously got that wrong. China may indeed be the second-to-next Japan, but the next Japan appears to be Europe. Masterbike is only one test, but it’s a large, controlled, randomized test. I don’t think that all four of the Japanese OEMs sitting at the bottom of the results table is a coincidence.

BMW just entered the liter-bike class. The company took a huge chance by adopting an outwardly conventional, across-the-frame four-cylinder, 1000cc motor layout for its new flagship. By doing so, it was going head-to-head with the Japanese; entering a fray no European company has won in forty years.

I once suspected that the superbike program was just a way to extract some value from BMW’s aborted MotoGP research project. While it’s not dominant in World Superbike race trim, it has clearly set a new standard for road bikes.

Tiny and chronically under-funded Aprilia stole a march on Honda by taking ownership of the V-four superbike layout. The one Italian company with an across-the-frame four, MV Agusta, has had an aesthetic champion since Tamburini penned the 750cc version of the F4. I test-rode the first-gen liter bike and found that the motor was, at least at the top end, a real monster that gave little away to the Japanese. But until now, the rap on the F4 has been, “Sure it’s gorgeous, but dude, for the price you could buy a GSX-R that’s just as fast, and have money left over for track-day bike as well.” It was for posers only. Harley-Davidson bought the company, then turned around and put it straight up for sale; as a business proposition it may not be too appealing, but according to Masterbike, the bike’s finally caught and passed its more affordable rivals.

As much as I’m struck by the position of the big four at the bottom of those results, I’m struck by the engineering diversity of the bikes above them. BMW and MV have beaten the Japanese at their own game, but Honda, Yamaha, et al have also been beaten by that Aprilia V-four and two very different two-cylinders; the desmo L-twin Ducati and the narrow-angle KTM.

I suppose an apologist for the Japanese OEMs might say, “Okay, so a handful of small European specialists can make a few bikes that, in the hands of experts, outperform the Japanese liter bikes. No normal human could exploit those advantages, and anyway, the big four still own the middleweight class, which is where the real world lives—and where the money is.”

But is that true? Ducati’s 848 and the Triumph triple are middleweight contenders, and how long will it be before BMW saws a cylinder off that 1000 and creates an amazing 750cc triple? The only class that’s been relatively recession-proof is adventure bikes. There, Ducati’s new Multistrada is going up against the iconic BMW R1200GS. The Japanese aren’t serious players at all (though I’d love to try my hand at the new Yamaha TDM). For the moment at least, it really looks as though Europe is ascendant.

Honda is clearly aware that great successes are always attended by many failures. If you’re trying to be merely okay, failure is bad. If you’re trying to be great, you have to take risks, and you frequently fail. So if greatness is your goal, failure is actually good. Honda, as a company, is still doing some amazing R&D. It threatens to do, to the executive jet category, what it once did to the motorcycle industry.

Jorge Lorenzo * Courtesy Yamaha Racing

Lin Jarvis, Managing Director, Yamaha Motor Racing
“2009 was the most successful year for Yamaha’s racing activities for many years. It will be difficult to follow such a performance but we are intending to try! We are lucky to have the same fantastic rider line-up with Valentino and Jorge and we are looking forward to getting started with our work on track.

“Of course, Yamaha has not been able to escape the global economic situation but MotoGP forms a key part of the company’s recovery plan. It is a very important brand image tool and MotoGP will remain a flag-waving activity for Yamaha worldwide.
“We are extremely fortunate to have retained all of our existing loyal sponsors and even to have added a few more to the team. Our title sponsor Fiat is with us for a fourth year and Petronas, Packard Bell and Yamalube will continue as major sponsors of the team. We have two new sponsors in the form of Yamaha Indonesia, who join us with the aim of promoting their activities in Indonesia, the most important market for Yamaha at the moment, and Iveco. We have also retained all of our existing technical sponsors and suppliers.

“Last but not least I would like to welcome back to all of our team members and staff and also extend a warm welcome to our two new team members; Wilco Zeelenberg joins from the successful Yamaha World Supersport team as Jorge’s new team manager and Davide Marelli comes in as his new Data Technician.”

Valentino Rossi * Courtesy Yamaha Racing

Based on the success of the 2009 KTM Race_Orange Track Day Experience, the program was expanded to four events for 2010. The events are unique as KTM preps and provide motorcycles for each participant. Models available include the KTM 1190 RC8 R, 1190 RC8, 990 SMR and 690 Duke. The cost is an exceptional value at $275 which includes use of the KTM motorcycle, fuel, tires and track day fee. It is truly an ‘Arrive and Ride’ event.

The program serves two purposes; not only does it provide an opportunity for riders to get on track without the need to transport their bikes to the facility, but it also gives them a chance to ride the latest lineup of KTM street bikes.

“We are really excited that KTM and The Mid-Ohio School have expanded to four Race_Orange Track Day Experience sessions for 2010. This gives more enthusiasts the opportunity to burn laps on a ‘Ready to Race’ KTM motorcycle at a prestigious race track,” remarked John Hinz, Product Line Manager at KTM North America.

This is a premium event limited to 75 participants and all skill levels are welcome. Riders will be split into three groups riding in multiple 20-minute sessions throughout the day. The first two will be ‘sport’ groups, consisting of novice and intermediate riders and the final ‘super sport’ group will encompass advanced intermediate and expert participants.

“Last year’s KTM Race_Orange Track Day Experience format was a huge success for both KTM and The Mid-Ohio School. The 60 spots available on each date sold out within a week of the announcement, so we wanted to open it up to more riders this year. With room for 75 participants on each of four dates in 2010, this year should provide an even greater opportunity for riders from across the country,” said Steve Bidlack, director of The Mid-Ohio School.

KTM has been the official motorcycle of The Mid-Ohio School since 2008. For more information or to sign up for the KTM Race_Orange Track Day Experience at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, please visit www.midohioschool.com or call 877-793-8667.

KTM, founded in 1953, is the second largest European motorcycle manufacturer specializing in “Ready to Race” street and off-road motorcycles and ATVs. Proven successes in worldwide competition are embodied into the design and function of each KTM race machine. KTM has built a reputation for high-quality premium race ready machines suitable for street and off road race competition and recreation. With more than 160 World Championships and counting, the technology, design and performance of KTM continues to race past the competition time and again.

The Mid-Ohio School provides professional driving and riding instruction to drivers and motorcyclists of all skill levels. The school’s 16 automobile courses include Defensive Driving, High Performance and Racing. The motorcycle side features three Performance Track Riding formats. Students enjoy classroom sessions, skill drills, expert private instruction and lapping on the same track that challenges the world’s top racers. In 17 seasons, The Mid-Ohio School has 34,000 graduates, including 11,400 teenagers.

With Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio both back on board their Ducati 1198s for 2010, a series of structural changes within Ducati have allowed for a certain degree of reorganization within the Ducati Xerox team.

Ernesto Marinelli is the newly appointed Ducati Xerox Team manager, and so stepping into Marinelli’s shoes as technical manager of the squad is Marco Lozej who will also have the role of track engineer for Michel Fabrizio. With Ducati since 2000, Marco has most recently been responsible for the GP development team.

Japanese rider Haga also has a new track engineer in the shape of Luca Ferraccioli, who returns to the Borgo-Panigale factory after a four year stint as race engineer with the British GSE Racing outfit. Working alongside Luca, in the role of electronics engineer to Noriyuki, will be Marco Frigerio who moves from the factory MotoGP team to the Superbike side for the coming season. The final change on Haga’s side is the appointment of a new tyre technician, Massimo Meneghin.

The final addition to the “new-look” team is Una Conway, Irish and in Italy for more than a decade, who comes on board as Team Coordinator and Hospitality Assistant.

“2010 will be a little different but I am extremely confident as well as optimistic”, commented Ernesto Marinelli, the Ducati Xerox Team Manager. “Despite the important reorganization within the team, in reality most of the new members have already been working in Ducati for some time. Both Marco Lozej and Luca Ferraccioli have worked in Ducati for years and have a wealth of experience as well as great technical ability and personality. 2010 once again represents a new challenge – we have faced many over the years and in most cases we have come out victorious. We will be doing our very best to take another title this year; our riders are in great shape and the entire team is more motivated than ever. We’re all impatient to get back on track and are looking forward to the Portimao test.”

For Brock’s Performance, SuperSport is more than a high-profile forum in which to accrue bragging rights. More importantly, the class is a crucial product research, development and proving ground.

This is because SuperSport’s DNA closely matches that of the machines sportbike enthusiasts ride every day on the street, at the dragstrip and on roadcourses during track-day events. The popular class pits lightweight CBR1000RR, GSX-R1000, R1 and ZX-10R race replicas against heavy-hitting, 1400cc powerhouses such as the Hayabusa and ZX-14. These high-stakes, winner-take-all, quarter-mile brawls last less than nine seconds and streak past the finish line at more than 155 mph.

Minimal engine and chassis mods allow SuperSport bikes to look and sound like true street machines. Rules mandate standard-length swingarms and at least two inches of ground clearance. Minimum bike-and-rider combined weights between 540 and 680 lbs. level the playing field between short and light literbikes, and longer, heavier, more powerful open-classers.

Gadson rode a Monster Energy-sponsored Kawasaki ZX-14 equipped with a selection of off-the-shelf accessories from Brock’s Performance and an engine built by Quantum Motorsports. He powered to four wins in the seven-race series and earned his ninth drag racing championship by 109 points over Brock’s-equipped Joey Gladstone, who scored the remaining wins.

Highlights of the season for Gadson include claiming three national elapsed-time records: a quarter-mile ET of 8.907 sec. in Norwalk, Ohio, as well as the eighth- and quarter-mile ET records in Indianapolis, at 5.823 sec. and 8.979, respectively.

“Since dominating the 2005 season and winning my last championship on a Brock’s Performance-prepared 1000, teaming up with Brock for 2009 made perfect sense,” said the newly crowned SuperSport champ. “He never rests on last week’s accomplishment. Brock goes back to the shop after each race and looks for every last bit of horsepower. During the season, he developed two new CT-series pipes for our ZX-14. Each one put more power down on the dyno, but, better yet, on the track!”

In addition to the straight set of wins Gadson and Gladstone shared, Brock’s Performance-equipped riders hold all of the class records, scored top-qualifying honors in all but one race and were seven of the top 10 overall points earners. Others who fought their way into SuperSport’s upper echelons this year include Farley Hall (fourth), Danny Payton (fifth), Joe Franco, Jr. (seventh) and Patrick Cooper (tenth).

Brock’s Performance president and former AMA/Prostar Superbike Champion Brock Davidson, says, “First off, I want to congratulate all AMA Dragbike racers and teams on an outstanding, season. For success in the ultra-competitive SuperSport class, we enlist the most talented, consistent riders and dedicated tuners with a team mentality. Their consistent feedback and stunning race results allow us to continue bringing 25 years of sportbike racing knowledge to everyday riders. I look forward to seeing all of our racers proudly run their well earned numbers during the 2010 season.”

For more information on Brock’s Performance, visit  BrocksPerformance.com.

The Suzuka 8 Hour World Endurance Championship-winning team will enter selected races as a wild-card entry with the aim of gathering information and technical knowledge for the next generation of Yoshimura aftermarket products.

In a statement issued by Yoshimura Japan, President Fujio Yoshimura said: “Yoshimura has been associated with motorcycle racing for nearly 60 years and we must thank the sport for the passion it has given to us, along with the fans and team sponsors who have shared the same passion for such a long time.

“Yoshimura has always put its efforts into the development of new ideas, and our challenges have created many products. Our first 4-into-1 race exhaust, which was developed during our first overseas challenge in the USA in 1971, is the one which represents our history and one that took us into a new era in racing and the street market with a wide variety of aftermarket business.

“Now Team Yoshimura has decided to embark on a new challenge; to enter selective WSBK races in 2010 as a wild-card entrant. It should give us further opportunities to develop more new, high-quality aftermarket products for the worldwide motorcycle market.

“The economic situation has been very tough and it is not easy to take on new challenges, but we believe we still have to pursue these new challenges to support our ongoing development programme.”

From November 10-15, in Hall 18 of the Milano Fiera, the exciting new motorcycle will be exhibited to the public for the first time, preceded by a dedicated unveiling to International Press during a conference on November 9th.

Faithful to the original intuition, which combined sport bike technology with comfort and versatility, Ducati now extend the concept further with a brand new Multistrada 1200 designed to satisfy the demands of all motorcyclists.

With completely new, but purely Ducati look and style, the Multistrada 1200 delivers sport bike power and excitement, being easy to ride and with a high priority on safety and comfort.

Ducati have designed a motorcycle to tackle all kinds of journeys and road surfaces using technology derived from the Bologna made race bikes in MotoGP and World Superbike.

From a sport bike for outright excitement to a tourer for long journeys with passenger and luggage, and from an everyday bike which can breeze through the daily commute to an agile enduro able to tackle off-road routes, the brand new Ducati is transforms itself to suit the rider’s demands.

The heart of the Multistrada 1200 is derived from the World Championship-winning Superbike 1198 Testastretta engine, modified to provide unprecedented smoothness and tractability. Referred to as the Testastretta 11°(eleven degrees) , it represents a milestone in combining performance with usability.

Follow the countdown on multistrada.ducati.com.

POMONA, Calif. (Sept. 24, 2009) – Blue Springs Harley-Davidson/Screamin’ Eagle rider Jared Mees secured his first AMA Grand National Twins championship by placing fifth in the final race of the season on the 5/8-mile dirt oval at the Pomona Fairplex. K&K Motorcycle Supply rider Henry Wiles won the race on a Harley-Davidson XR-750.

“Winning the championship is a dream come true for me,” said Mees. “I want to thank Harley-Davidson for its continued support of our team and of flat track racing. The Blue Springs team put me on almost flawless equipment. I think we had only one mechanical problem all season, which allowed us to stay consistent, and that was a key this year with only nine races on the schedule. You had to stay on top of your game at every race.”

Mees had to transfer from a semi-final heat after he placed fifth in the third heat race. But once in the main, the 23-year-old rider from Clio, Mich., only needed to place eighth or better to hold his points lead over the two other racers still in realistic contention for the championship, Moroney’s Harley-Davidson/Screamin’ Eagle rider Bryan Smith and three-time defending champion, Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle factory rider Kenny Coolbeth.

Smith led early in the race but dropped out on lap 10 with a mechanical failure. Coolbeth finished second, 2.9 seconds behind Wiles. The win was the first for Wiles as a Grand National Twins rider. Halbert Family/King Kustoms rider Sammy Halbert finished third on a Harley-Davidson XR-750.

“I just couldn’t get the motorcycle working right in the first heat,” said Mees. “We adjusted the suspension and then I felt great in the semi. I think if we were starting on the first row for the main I had a chance to run up front, but once I saw Smith drop out I knew I didn’t have to kill myself, just bring it home for the championship.”

Mees, a member of the Harley-Davidson Wrecking Crew, becomes the first champion in the long history of the Grand National series to claim the title without winning a race during the season. Mees finished second three times and was third twice, and never finished worse than eighth place in nine Twins events. Mees has won six Grand National Twins races since he was named the Ricky Graham Rookie of the Year following the 2004 season. Mees finished second in the Grand National Twins championship standings to Coolbeth in 2006 and 2007.

“It feels good to win a title at such a young age,” said Mees. “My heart is in dirt track racing, and I plan on riding hard for a while.”

Coolbeth saw his opportunity to win a fourth-consecutive Grand National Twins championship diminish when he was injured in a training accident prior to the Labor Day weekend race at the Springfield Mile on the Illinois State Fairgrounds. A broken shoulder kept Coolbeth, who was leading the series in points following a win at Indianapolis, from racing that weekend. Mees finished second at Springfield and opened a 15-point lead on Coolbeth with just the final race at Pomona left on the schedule.

Smith, another member of the Harley-Davidson Wrecking Crew, finished the season in fourth place and had a race win at Lima, Ohio. Wrecking Crew rider Joe Kopp, aboard the Latus Harley-Davidson/Screamin’ Eagle XR-750, finished fifth in points with a win on the Beulah Park Mile at Grove City, Ohio.

“Jared has been tenacious on the track since he joined the Grand National series, and we expected that determination and the well-prepared Blue Springs crew would one season produce a championship,” said Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Anne Paluso. “Harley-Davidson congratulates them. We also salute Bryan Smith and the Moroney’s Harley-Davidson/Screamin’ Eagle team, and Joe Kopp and the Latus Harley-Davidson/Screamin’ Eagle squad, for an outstanding season and a top-five finish in the standings. Finally, while Kenny Coolbeth and the Harley-Davidson Factory Team have had their string of titles halted, they raced like champions all season long and we are proud to have them flying the factory colors.”

Mees wrapped up the 2009 AMA Grand National Twins season with 142 points and a nine-point lead over Coolbeth, who earned 133 points. Halbert finished third with 125 points. Smith was fourth with 119 points, followed by Kopp with 117 points.

Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts are inspired by and built in the spirit of the raw adrenaline and power of motorcycle racing. Screamin’ Eagle Pro parts are specifically designed for race-use applications, while Screamin’ Eagle parts offer street-use performance options for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle owner. Visit www.harley-davidson.com for more information.

The Screamin’ Eagle Flat Track team is sponsored by Matco Tools.

Email resumes to motulusa@motul.com with rider support in the subject, or mail them to:

Motul USA Inc.
Attn: Garrett Andrews
790C Indigo Ct.
Pomona, CA 91767

“We are very excited to add d3o™ armor into our Firstgear street apparel.”                                     
Steve Johnson, President of Tucker Rocky Distributing which owns Firstgear.

“The 2010 Firstgear TPG Jackets for Men and Women takes the product to a whole new level in terms of fit and creature comfort. A key part of that change is the integration of d3o™ armor. The jackets are lighter, less bulky and more flexible for a comfortable fit.  Add to that d30™ is CE approved, providing superior protection and you have a revolutionary product.”                 
Mark Salvatore, Firstgear Brand Manager

“Over the past couple of years, d3o™ has become synonymous with state-of-the-art impact technology allowing its athletes/riders total freedom of movement. At the same time, we always positioned our technology in the midst of consumer awareness by carefully selecting each partner we launch with. We are very proud  to launch our motorcycle range of protectors within the Firstgear TPG range in the US as this launch perfectly aligns itself with an increasing demand for high quality, comfortable and technical motorcycle products.”
Marcus Hoenig, d3o™ Global Sales Manager

“We are very excited about the launch of the first d3o™ products into the US motorcycle market with Tucker Rocky, and the response to the Firstgear TPG jackets has been fantastic. It is great to work with such an innovative and forward looking company and I am sure we will be able to develop a great range of products as we build our partnership together.”
Richard Palmer, d3o™ Founder & CEO

“The technology is truly revolutionary.  I don’t believe this combination of comfort and protection can be found anywhere else in street apparel at any price point”.                     
Stephan Ulbrich, Director of Marketing, Tucker Rocky Distributing

The material drapes around the body much more easily than other materials, following the line of the body but also moving freely when the body bends.  d3o™ is built into the shoulders and elbows of Firstgear TPG jackets which will be available in early September.

Established in 2001 by CEO Richard Palmer, d3o™ Lab invented and manufactures d3o™.  For more information about d3o visit www.d3o.com

For more information on Firstgear apparel visit www.firstgear-usa.com

Hope all is good with you . Just wanted to let you know my wife and I have started a visual diary and video channel on my website johnhopkins21.com with updates every week regarding my road to recovery and plans for my future . If you wanted to put up a link or post that would be great ! Thanks man, and talk to ya soon.

Jake Gagne

Donington, England (July 25, 2009) – American Jake Gagne continued his Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup success on Saturday on England, earning his third straight top five finish in the race at Donington. The 15 year-old, racing against a field of elite teen racers from around the globe, capped off his hectic and challenging race with a last lap, last corner pass to complete his trifecta of top five finishes in the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

“I got a really good start and was in the group running up front,” said the Ramona, California resident. “There was a lot of crazy passes in the group and all it really did was let Jakub (Kornfeil) get away and hurt everyone else’s chance for the win. I really got frustrated but I managed to work up to second place and tried to go after Jakub.”

Halfway through the race, Jake was in second place when he hit a curb awkwardly. It forced Jake wide and he dropped back into sixth position, possibly damaging his rear shock on his KTM RC 125 and making the rest of his race even more difficult. “It was pretty ’squirrelly’ after that and I kept losing the rear. I wasn’t real comfortable and made some mistakes,” said the teen in his second season of roadracing. “The good part is I was able to battle back and make a pass at the very end to get back in the top five.”

Despite the drama, Gagne regrouped and gained back time. He worked his way past Florian Marino on the last lap, crossing the line just 0.148 seconds in front of the French racer. Jake earned the finish line less than half a second behind third place finisher Daijiro Hiura of Japan, showing how close Jake came to finishing on the podium three races in a row.

With just two races in the Czech Republic to go, Jake is the top American in seventh place in the season’s points.

“We’re gaining momentum and I am learning a lot,” said Jake. “I’m keeping it on two wheels and making progress against some great competition. I can’t wait to race at the next event at Brno and my goal is to go for the win and the podium again.”

Jake Gagne’s 2009 sponsors: Alpinestars, Arai Helmets, Kevin Schwantz schools, American Supercamp, KTM North America, Precision Concepts Racing, JD Built, Spy Optics, AP Designs, All American KTM, Ready Filter, Factory Backing, Ramona Cycle Supply, Rickypics.com

******************************

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

For the second time in 8 days Jakub Kornfeil produced a perfect victory and with Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup rival Sturla Fagerhaug crashing out again the 16 year old Czech goes into his home race tied on points with the 17 year old Norwegian. Spanish 17 year old Daniel Ruiz rode a great race to second in Britain ahead of 14 year old Japanese Daijiro Hiura who also put himself into Cup contention. Hiura is 18 points behind Kornfeil and Fagerhaug with 50 points at stake for the double header that wraps up the season. The top 7 riders in the Cup can still win it.

While Kornfeil matched his German wet weather disappearing act with an almost identical performance in glorious sunshine at Donington the entertainment was provided by an incredible battle for second. As Pole man Danny Kent faded through the pack to finish an eventual 8th it was the two Frenchman Florian Marino and Nelson Major who bashed elbows in second allowing Jake Gagne, Mathew Scholtz, Hiura and Ruiz to close and make it a 6 man battle for second.

Just as he did at the Sachsenring, Kornfeil reeled off perfect laps and soon had a 3 second lead while those behind slowed each other with the line-steeling and out-braking. As things settled down slightly there were many laps when Kornfeil was not the quickest man on the track but as the pursuers swapped that advantage between them they lost ground as a group.

The situation was only reversed when Ruiz pushed his way into second and broke away. That was lap 12 of 17 though and by then the story was written. Kornfeil had more than 3 seconds in hand and though Ruiz took a few tenths out of him every lap the Czech just kept his head and enough of an advantage to cross the line 2.4 seconds ahead.

“It was almost a perfect race for me but not easy.” said Kornfeil. “From the start I was happy to see that once I got ahead my lead was getting bigger and bigger but I wasn’t happy in the middle of the race when they started closing again. I just couldn’t do the lap-time I wanted. There was nothing wrong with the tyres or the bike it was just in my head I think. Still I am happy with the win and I am happy that the last races are in Brno.”

Ruiz has been frustrated so often this year but finally things worked out as he raced through from 20th place on the grid. “I think I was just so relaxed because I didn’t expect anything from this race. I really enjoyed it though and as I was passing the other guys I just felt comfortable. I was happy to get away from the group into a clear second but by then Jakub was just too far in front.”

Hiura remains frustrated even though he made the rostrum for the 4th time. “I am still not winning so I can’t be happy. I am going to have to do that in Brno.”

It was Jake Gagne who looked as though he was set for his third podium in as many races as the 15 year old Californian was the first to break free of that second place battle. That was mid race but the advantage only lasted a couple of corners. “I’d been a bit frustrated by all the crazy overtaking moves in the group so I was happy to get out front. Trouble was I then ran over the kerb and got a bit loose. That put me back and I think I then tried a bit too hard, made some mistakes and couldn’t get in front again.”

There were some pretty ‘interesting’ moves in that pack. Hiura and Marino tried for the same piece of track at the right-hand hairpin and both were lucky to remain upright. It was getting clear of that kind of action that gave Ruiz 2nd place.

For Fagerhaug, who seemed to already have one hand on the Cup, Donington was a race to forget as he crashed out on lap 3. “I went onto the back straight too tight, close to the kerb, the front wheel jumped up and I lost the front. It’s a shame because I didn’t go into the corner too fast, I just pulled a tight line to get a good drive out and I crashed as I hit the bump. In Brno… I’m not going to crash again. I love that track, hopefully it’s going to be a good one.”

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MotoGP

Valentino Rossi took pole position number four of the 2009 season on Saturday afternoon with the fastest lap of MotoGP qualifying at Donington Park. The Fiat Yamaha rider’s time of 1’28.116 gave him his first top spot for the British Grand Prix since 2005 – the last occasion in which he won at the Midlands track.

Rossi now has twice as many pole positions as he did for the entire 2008 season and, following his pole position last week in Germany, heads the qualifying timesheet for consecutive races for the first time since the beginning of 2007. His hot lap came at the end of the session in a frantic shootout, in which he sent Dani Pedrosa, the top man in both Free Practice sessions, packing by just under a tenth of a second.

Teammate and title rival Jorge Lorenzo was also hot on the Italian’s heels, placing third on the grid and maintaining his 100% record of front row starts in the current campaign. He relegated Ducati Marlboro’s Casey Stoner, who lowsided at Macleans for his second fall of the day, to the second line by just 0.044.

Andrea Dovizioso and Colin Edwards join Stoner on row two, riding for Repsol Honda and Monster Tech 3 Yamaha respectively. Edwards’ teammate and the only home rider in the premier class, James Toseland equaled his best qualifying performance of the year with ninth in the session.

In addition to Stoner’s fall, Scot Racing rider Gabor Talmacsi also came off his bike during the run-out.

250cc

Hectór Barberá took his third pole position in four races with a final throw of the dice in the 250cc category, as the Spaniard looks for a second victory of 2009. Riding the PepeWorld Aprilia RSA, Barberá was just 0.094 quicker than Marco Simoncelli when the session was shut down.

Hiroshi Aoyama bounced back from a morning cylinder problem to clock the third fastest time of the session, just over two-tenths of a second down on Barberá’s 1’31.802 hot lap. He starts from the front row as the World Championship leader, with the final spot on the first row occupied by Alex Debón.

Mike di Meglio out-qualified Mapfre Aspar teammate Álvaro Bautista for the first time in his rookie year, heading the second row. Bautista ended his 100% record of front row starts in 2009 after suffering the after-effects of two crashes in previous sessions, but will begin from sixth. Mattia Pasini, a faller in qualifying, and Ratthapark Wilairot complete the row.

125cc

Bradley Smith will start his home Grand Prix sitting on 125cc pole position for the second time this season. The Bancaja Aspar rider had to pull something special out of his box of tricks in the final minute of the qualifying session, duly obliging with a 1’37.442 lap to grab the top spot from Marc Marquez.

Red Bull KTM rider Marquez separates Smith and World Championship leader Julián Simon on the grid, with third Aspar rider Sergio Gadea putting the entire squadron on the front line for only the second time this year. Simón had crashed early on in the session.

Row two continues the Spanish theme, lining up Joan Olivé, Nico Terol, Pol Espargaró and German rider Sandro Cortese.

The British Grand Prix MotoGP race starts at 3.30pm local time, with 125cc commencing at 12.30pm and 250cc at 1.45pm.

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LCR Honda

Donington, 25 July: LCR Honda MotoGP rider Randy De Puniet will start tomorrow’s UK Grand Prix from the fourth row following today’s qualifying session at Donington Park race track which hosts the tenth round of the season before 2-weeks summer break. The French rider rode his Honda RC212V to the 10th place with a best lap time of 1’29.434 as he could not take a big advantage from the soft tyres at the 4.023 Km race track.

After yesterday’s mixed conditions opening day of the British GP, this morning free session was conducted in the dry and the hour long qualifying session was ridden in the same condition with ambience temperature of 21°C ( 31°C on the asphalt). However the 28-year-old was unable to feel comfortable on the bike as he is not a fan of the British track.
Today’s poleman is Rossi followed by Pedrosa and Lorenzo.

De Puniet – 10th – 1’29.434

De Puniet -10th: “Well … it hasn’t been an easy day for me and I always struggle to set my pace on this track especially in the last two corners. Since the beginning of this week end we had some issues to understand why we could not keep the pace of the front group. We have been focused in the last part of the track because that’s where it seems we lost too much time. We tried to improve the machine between the two sessions and I did my best to suit my riding stile to these corners for winning some tenths. Honestly we expected a third row start but I am still hoping for a top eight end”.

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Rizla Suzuki

Rizla Suzuki racers Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi have a tough task ahead of tomorrow’s final MotoGP race from Donington Park in England.

Sunday will see the last MotoGP race at Donington Park – for the foreseeable future – and Vermeulen (P13, 1′30.98, 33 laps) and Capirossi (P14, 1′30.153, 28 laps) will have their work cut out right from the start as they try to fight their way through the field after both qualified on the fifth row of the grid today, following a frustrating qualifying session for the pair.

Neither rider was able to find the answers that they were looking for to enable them to make significant steps forward with their Suzuki GSV-Rs. With rain forecast for tomorrow, Vermeulen and Capirossi could be called upon to use all their skills in the wet to carve through the field and challenge for a good result at the 4,023m British circuit.

Today’s qualifying was held in cool and windy conditions with track temperatures only getting up to 31C. World Championship leader Valentino Rossi will start from pole position on his factory Yamaha.

Tomorrow’s race will be the last motorcycle Grand Prix since GP racing returned to Donington in 1987 and a big British crowd is expected to turn up and witness end of an era when the lights signal the start at 15.30hrs local time (14.30hrs GMT).

Chris Vermeulen:
“I am really frustrated because I was looking forward to Donington as I’ve had some success here and the bike has worked well, but this weekend so far has been quite difficult. In the wet we had reasonable success, but it has been really tough for us in the dry today. We have struggled to make the bike turn how we would want it to and to keep the front end feeling and speed through the corners. That is something we will need to work on this evening, it’s an issue we’ve had a couple of times this year and hopefully we can get it resolved for tomorrow. I know I don’t really like the rain, but we might get lucky tomorrow and it will be wet – which would certainly help us this weekend. You never know what the weather will do at Donington so we will have to wait and see.”

Loris Capirossi:
“I don’t really have a lot to say about today! I would like to thank my crew for the fantastic job they did at lunchtime today when they changed an engine in about 25 minutes, which was great work. It has been hard work on the bike today as we tried to find the best solutions for here but we are still struggling a bit. We have a couple of issues to still sort out, but things were better this afternoon compared to this morning. Overall the situation does not look too good, but we are here to fight as hard as we can and we will continue to do our best tomorrow, it won’t be easy but we will be trying!”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“The issues we suffered from at Sachsenring last weekend have unfortunately transferred over to this weekend and we have been unable to give either rider a package to enable them to push to their maximum level. The team has done a good job today to try to overcome the problems and particularly on Loris’s side I must say ‘well-done’ on such a great job to change the bike completely between sessions. Those changes improved some areas but it hasn’t reflected significantly on the stopwatch or the grid positions. We’ll keep pushing hard and do everything we can to give the riders a better package tomorrow.”

British Grand Prix Qualifying Practice Classification:
1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1′28.116: 2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +0.095: 3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +0286: 4. Casey Stoner (Ducati) +0.330: 5. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +0.662: 13. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1.982: 14. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +2.037:

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Monster Yamaha Tech3

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team duo Colin Edwards and James Toseland will do battle in the last British MotoGP race to be staged at Donington Park from sixth and ninth on the grid respectively.

Edwards secured his seventh top six qualifying result of the season with a best lap of 1.28.865, the American using dry and warm conditions to further evaluate new front fork settings and a revised body position on his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine.
Bidding to score a third MotoGP podium at Donington Park in tomorrow’s 30-lap race, Edwards was one of only seven riders to lap within a second of Valentino Rossi’s impressive pole position pace.

Toseland gave his hopes of a scoring a top six finish in front of a passionate home crowd a huge boost this afternoon. Working closely with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team crew to improve the setting of his YZR-M1 machine, the 28-year-old performed superbly to equal his best qualifying result of the season.
A lap of 1.29.270s was just 1.154s away from pole position and Toseland was just over four-tenths-of-a-second away from a top six spot on the grid after he’d been as high as fifth position on the timesheets.

The British rider is confident of fighting for his best result of the season, though all eyes will be on the skies tomorrow, with a repeat of the rain that disrupted yesterday’s practice forecast for the race.

Colin Edwards 6th 1.28.865 – 30 laps
“I’m happy with the way I rode but getting close to those guys at the front is getting tough. They are running a pretty fast pace but I’m confident if I can get a good start that I’ll be able to stay with them for the race. If I can get away with them then they might pull me around for a few laps. I’m moving in the right direction with the setting and the changes we’ve made to the front forks and experimenting with my body position has improved the front feeling. But with no testing now it is difficult to get used to something so different quickly and I just need a bit more time to adapt because I know we can make the feeling much better. I’m still not sure which race tyre I’m going to run. I’d like to have the best of both compounds on one tyre. We need the left side of the softer tyre and the right side of the hard one. But deliberating that might be for nothing because I hear we’re probably going to be under water here tomorrow anyway on rain tyres. We got some time in the rain yesterday so I’m happy I’ve got a set-up for rain or dry conditions. I really want a good result with it being the last British GP at Donington Park. I’ve had a lot of success here in the past and it would be good to sign off in style.”

James Toseland 9th 1.29.270 – 30 laps
“I’m happy but at the same time a little bit frustrated because we didn’t have a really good base setting this morning. That meant we had quite a bit of work to do this afternoon, but thanks to my guys because they did a great job again. I improved quite a bit but if we had started this morning like we ended this afternoon then I’m sure I could have qualified on the second row. The base set-up didn’t work so well because we were too hard on the front and rear. I didn’t have much feel at all and I was only doing low 1.32s, so to do 1.29s this afternoon I’m really happy. At least I’ve given myself a good chance of battling for that top six tomorrow and that was always my target. Today was definitely better than last year’s qualifying, although it couldn’t really have been much worse. The new electronics are working brilliantly round here, particularly out of the slow hairpins at the end of the lap, so I’ve got say thanks to Yamaha for that again. Obviously I’m desperate t o get a good result tomorrow. I want to make amends for the disappointment of last year and give the British fans something to cheer about. The support out there today was amazing, and they deserve a good result. I can promise them I’ll be giving it my absolute maximum.”

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Repsol Honda

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa today came within 0.095s of taking pole position for the British Grand Prix in a tightly contested qualifying session at Donington Park. The Spaniard, who won the 2006 race here in his debut MotoGP season, was quick in both today’s dry sessions. He finished the morning practice with the fastest time – a lap of 1m 28.787s – and lowered that to a 1m 28.211s in the qualifying shoot-out. Pedrosa was just pipped to pole position by Valentino Rossi and so will the start the 30-lap race nicely poised in the middle of the front row. Pedrosa’s qualifying lap record of 1m 27.676s set on the 990cc Honda RC211V on his way to pole position in 2006 remained in tact.

Tomorrow, at the tender age of 23, Pedrosa could become the Spanish rider who has scored the most points ever in Grand Prix racing. Having accumulated 2006 points in his nine seasons so far, if Pedrosa finishes in ninth position or above tomorrow he will overtake the totals of fellow Spaniards Alex Criville (2012 points) and Angel Nieto (2008 points). The result would put Pedrosa in sixth place in the overall Grand Prix point scorers table behind Valentino Rossi in first place, Loris Capirossi, Max Biaggi, Mick Doohan and Alex Barros.*

His Repsol Honda team-mate, Andrea Dovizioso, also put on a competitive showing in qualifying today and will start the race directly behind Pedrosa in the middle of the second row, having qualified in fifth with a lap just 0.662s from pole. The 23-year-old Italian still feels there are some set-up improvements to be made ahead of the race tomorrow and will work in the warm-up to improve traction and his feeling on the way into corners. Dovizioso likes the Donington Park circuit and has strong previous form here, having won the 125cc race in 2004 and the 250cc clash in 2007.

As seems to be typical for the British Grand Prix, the weather threatens to play a part tomorrow with rain promised by the forecasters. The Repsol Honda Team will be ready for whatever the skies have in mind for the race, which begins later than usual at 15.30 in order to avoid a TV clash with the Formula One race in Hungary.

(*Modern day riders have an advantage due to the current point scoring system allocating more points, plus the greater number of Grands Prix per year. Statistics courtesy of Dr Martin Raines.)

DANI PEDROSA – 2nd – 1m 28.211s
“We did a good job in both sessions today and I’m happy to qualify on the front row because, in reality, that’s more important than taking pole position. On my last run at the end of the qualifying session I found some traffic on the circuit which caused me to lose my concentration and rhythm slightly, so I think I could have gone a little quicker. But still, the middle of the front row is OK. Our dry set-up is nearly there so we’ll aim to make just a few little improvements before the race. The weather is looking changeable for tomorrow, though at least we’ve had some practice time in the wet yesterday. If it’s raining I’d like to improve my riding and my pace a bit but the weather is out of our control so we’ll have to see. It’s the last MotoGP race at Donington tomorrow and of course I’d like a good result to sign off with – preferably a win.”

ANDREA DOVIZIOSO – 5th – 1m 28.778s
“Starting from the second row is not a bad place to be and gives us a chance to get away at the head of the field so I’m satisfied with that. A fast start tomorrow should give us a good opportunity to have a strong race. Having said that, I really like this track and I was hoping to be in a slightly better situation going into tomorrow both in terms of grid position and race pace. We still need to improve our speed and consistency and there is some work to do to take us closer to the frontrunners and be fully competitive. We need to improve on the entry to the corner and also to work on traction, so we’ll look at the data we collected today and I’m confident my team can help me to make these improvements. It could rain tomorrow too, so we’ll come in ready for anything.”

KAZUHIKO YAMANO – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER
“Dani was very close to pole position and this is another good performance from him and the Team. His starts have been very good this year and so the middle of the front row gives him a clear run into the first corner which could be valuable. Dani’s pace in the dry is good and he’s confident for those conditions. In the wet we need to improve the machine settings so that’s what we’ll be working on in preparation for tomorrow. Andrea is fifth on the grid and did a good job to increase his pace in qualifying. He still needs to find some improvement in terms of set-up to give him consistency for the race so his crew will be focusing on that in the warm-up tomorrow. Of course we are anticipating a range of weather conditions at Donington and whatever it brings I think the Repsol Honda Team can be challengers tomorrow.”

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Bridgestone

Bridgestone compounds available: Front: Slicks – Soft, Medium; Rear: Slicks – Soft, Medium

Fiat  Yamaha’s  Valentino  Rossi  achieved  his  fourth  pole  position  of  the  season  using  Bridgestone’s  medium compound front slick and a soft compound rear. On race tyres, his pole time was 0.6seconds faster than the existing lap record set by Honda’s Dani Pedrosa in 2006.

In contrast to yesterday’s rain, the qualifying session for the British Grand Prix was run in dry conditions giving all riders a chance to use Bridgestone’s slicks at Donington Park. Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa will start from second in tomorrow’s race, using a medium front and soft compound rear Bridgestone slick to secure his fourth front-row start of the year, just 0.095 seconds adrift of Rossi. Jorge Lorenzo was third fastest and Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner fourth, the top four all faster than the existing lap record. The top six all used the same medium front soft rear tyre compound combination.

Every rider left the pits on the medium compound Bridgestone slicks, but most riders had opted for the soft compound rear by the halfway point of the hour-long session.If  the  conditions  for  the  race  tomorrow  remain  the  same,  it  is  expected  that  most  riders  will  favour  the  medium compound Bridgestone slicks, the harder of the two options.

Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development: “I am happy with the performance of our medium compound slick tyres today as the pace at the front of the field was very fast. The top four riders were under the lap record and again Jorge rode a consistent 23-lap stint on a single set of tyres at the start of the session, both of which suggest we could see another fast-paced race tomorrow. “If the conditions remain the same for the race, I expect the medium compound slicks to be the favoured choice because their harder compound will give improved durability over the race distance, and even though Donington is a slippery track, warm-up performance was no problem today.”

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Fiat Yamaha

Valentino Rossi took pole for the second race running at Donington Park this afternoon, his fourth of the season and the 56th of his career. Jorge Lorenzo qualified third and, with four poles for him also this year, the Fiat Yamaha Team has now taken the front grid slot in eight out of the ten races. It is also the fifth consecutive race at which both riders have been on the front row.

After yesterday’s downpours, today was dry with sunny intervals and this morning saw Lorenzo second and Rossi third as they got their first chance to work on their dry settings around the 4km track. In this afternoon’s hour-long qualifying session Lorenzo held pole position for most of the session until briefly surrendering it to Dani Pedrosa ten minutes from the end, whilst Rossi struggled slightly to find the best set-up with the hard Bridgestone tyre.

22-year-old Lorenzo moved back to the top just a couple of laps later but was then edged off by Rossi with three minutes to go, as the Italian found his best form at the perfect time. The Spaniard was unable to match the pace of his championship-leading team-mate with the soft tyre and finished 0.286 seconds adrift, whilst a strong charge from Dani Pedrosa edged the Spaniard into third but was not good enough to knock Rossi off pole.

Tomorrow’s race will start at the later time of 1530 local time, which is 1630 CET.

Valentino Rossi, Position: 1st   Time: 1′28.116   Laps: 32: “I am quite surprised to be on pole today because we had a couple of problems this afternoon! This morning unfortunately we didn’t try the hard Bridgestone tyre but we weren’t worried because everyone else had good grip with it. But this afternoon when we finally tried it we found the grip to be not as we expected and our pace with it wasn’t so good. We made some modifications and improved it a bit, then we made a few more and used the soft tyre again and then we were very quick. Like that I could ride the bike how I wanted and it felt great, fast and flowing so this was a good job from the team. We need to do some work to improve our pace with the hard tyre, and then we just have to wait and see what the weather does tomorrow. Whatever happens, we’re starting from the front and this is the most important thing.”

Jorge Lorenzo, Position: 3rd   Time: 1′28.402   Laps: 35: “With the harder tyre, we’re definitely ready and I feel very good on the bike. With the softer tyre and on my last run I wasn’t so fast, but we are not too concerned about this. Anyway I feel confident on my M1 and I am enjoying riding here. Tomorrow we don’t know about the weather but I was fast also in the rain yesterday so I know that I can be competitive even if the weather is bad. I am really hoping for a good race here since it’s the last time we will come.”

Davide Brivio, Team Manager: “At the end everything worked out okay and we got a nice pole position, the second in a row. We still have some work to do to improve the race setting to finalise the package in case we have dry conditions tomorrow, but we have the warm-up in to try to fine-tune everything. It looks like it’s more likely that it’s going to rain however, in which case we will use what we learned yesterday.”

Daniele Romagnoli, Team Manager
“We are on target, because starting from the front row will be very important for this race. Today we concentrated mostly on our race setting and Jorge’s pace is very fast and consistent. Maybe we should have considered something a bit different for qualifying with the softer tyre, but the most important thing is that we’re in good shape for the race. We hope that we can have the same weather as today tomorrow, but if the rain does come then we have yesterday’s good session to help us.”

The 8 Hours of Suzuka “Coca Cola Zero”, the fourth round of the 2009 Qtel FIM Endurance World
Championship will start from next Thursday with the free practice on the Japanese track. The
qualifying session is scheduled for Friday. On Saturday will take place the “Special Stage”, a
Superpole open to two riders of the ten best teams, and this will reallocate the first ten places on
the final starting grid. The race will start Sunday at 11:30 AM (GMT + 9) and the race will finish at
7:30 PM, slightly after the sunset at Suzuka.

58 teams are expected to race. To compete against the best private and semi-official Japanese
teams will be a hard challenge for the three permanent teams who will race at Suzuka this year.
Championship leader Yamaha Austria Racing Team is one of the most experimented. The Austrian
Yamaha team has regularly been in the top 15 since the 2004 8 Hours of Suzuka, except when
they took the thirteenth place in 2007 after their bike faced some overheating problems. In
eleventh place last year, YART aims to enter the top 10 this year to increase their gap in the
championship. In the Yamaha Austria team there are three riders familiar with Suzuka, Igor
Jerman, Steve Martin and Gwen Giabbani.

After some uncertainty due to financial reasons, Phase One Endurance will finally be at Suzuka. The
British Yamaha team also has a long race history at Suzuka, although they have never been as
successful as YART. However, Phase One Endurance has been several times in the top 20 since the
2004 8 Hours of Suzuka. Pedro Vallcaneras, twelfth last year with Folch Endurance, Damian Cudlin,
thirteenth last year with Phase One Endurance and British Superbike rider Graeme Gowland will
ride the Yamaha Phase One Endurance.

BK Maco Moto Racing Team took seventeenth place last year at Suzuka. With Dani Ribalta, twelfth
last year with Folch Endurance, Jason Pridmore and Victor Carrasco, the Slovakian Yamaha team
hopes to score great points and make a significant move in the championship. Once announced at
Suzuka, RMT 21 Racing won’t be at Suzuka this year after two bikes were destroyed during the
practice and the race last month at Albacete.

To achieve their goals, the three permanent teams will have to race against the best Japanese
teams, in the likes of the Honda FCC TSR of Kosuke Akiyochi, Shinichi Itoh and Yusuke Teshima,
the Suzuki Yoshimura of Daisaku Sakai, Kasuki Tokudome and Nobuatsu Aoki and the Honda
Dream Sakurai of Chojun Kameya and Australian rider Josh Brookes.

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FIM World Endurance

The fourth round of the Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship will take place on Sunday, the 26
July in Suzuka, Japan. Although the 8 Hours of Suzuka “Coca Cola Zero” are part of the Qtel FIM
Endurance World Championship and are eagerly awaited by the local Japanese teams, it is not
compulsory for the permanent teams to enter this particular race this season. Only the very best of
them can hope to score a few points against very fast local teams who often have official support
from the Japanese factories. Last year at Suzuka, the Yamaha Austria Racing Team finished in
eleventh place ahead of Folch Endurance, Phase One Endurance and the Suzuki Endurance Racing
Team.

We will see once again on the Suzuka starting grid the Yamaha Austria Racing Team, the
championship leader, with Igor Jerman, Steve Martin and Gwen Giabbani; BK Maco Moto Racing
Team on Yamaha with Jason Pridmore, Dani Ribalta and Victor Carrasco; the Honda RMT 21 Racing
Team of Matti Seidel and Olivier Depoorter. Phase One Endurance , announced in Suzuka, will not
finally travel to Japan for financial reasons. There will be no Superstock class this year at Suzuka:
the Japanese round is not part of the FIM World Cup calendar, dedicated to this class.

In order to score some points and take advantage in the championship against other teams
entered for the Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship, these permanent teams will have to
battle against fifty-five Japanese teams. Although, due to the world economic crunch, the Japanese
factories won’t enter their traditional official teams, the competition will still be very harsh between
the semi-official teams, who often have some support from the factories. Contested on 14 June,
the 300 km of Suzuka, also often called “the road to the 8 Hours” gave a foresight of the favourites
for victory at the end of July. The Honda FCC TSR of Kosuke Akiyoshi and Shinichi Ito, won the
race ahead of Honda Musashi RT Arc Pro of Tatsuya Yamaguchi and Yoshiteru Konishi and the
Suzuki Yoshimura of Daisaku Sakai and Kasuki Tokudome. These three teams will be present at
Suzuka on 26 July.

The presence of female French rider Magali Langlois will be another curiosity this year at Suzuka.
Competing usually in the French Superbike Championship, Magali Langlois will do her first laps this
year at Suzuka with the Japanese team Clever Wolf Racing on a Yamaha.

Repsol Honda

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa followed up his win in America two weeks ago with an excellent podium finish in the German Grand Prix today. The 23-year-old Spaniard blasted from eighth on the grid to second at the first corner and was threatening eventual winner Valentino Rossi in the first few laps.

After a big slide in the middle section of the race Pedrosa reduced his pace, dropped back to fourth and it looked like his podium challenge might be over. But sensing an improvement in feedback, Pedrosa was able to attack again, retake Casey Stoner for third and close in on the back of the leaders. He set a new lap record of 1m 21.126 on lap 25, beating his own lap record from 2007 by almost a second, but couldn’t quite mount a challenge to second place man Jorge Lorenzo and Rossi ahead of him. Pedrosa crossed the line in third position just 2.899s behind the winner to record his fifth podium of the 2009 MotoGP season.

Andrea Dovizioso also looked like a podium contender early in the race, despite starting from the fourth row of the grid. The genial Italian rider shot from 11th to fifth on the first lap and overtook Lorenzo for fourth on lap three. Soon though he experienced a loss of grip from the front of his machine which meant it was impossible for the former world champion to continue at his impressive pace. Eventually, having dropped back to 11th, Dovizioso was forced to pull into the pits. His team together with Bridgestone’s tyre technicians will analyze the reason for the loss of grip.

Having passed its midway point, the MotoGP world championship now hops to Donington Park for the British Grand Prix, which takes place next Sunday at the unusual time of 15.30.

DANI PEDROSA – 3rd – World Championship position: 4th 108 points
“I’m pleased to be on the podium, and finishing this close to the leaders proves that our win at the last race wasn’t by chance. I made a very good start and in the first few laps I was comfortable behind Valentino. On about lap six or seven though I had a big moment in the last corner and almost crashed, so after that I slowed down a little and dropped back to fourth. With a slightly slower pace I felt the feedback coming back and towards the end of the race I was able to push hard again. I got past Casey and tried to catch the leaders but by this time I was a bit too far behind. Third place is a good result, but we were ready to fight for the win at this circuit so it looks like we still have a little bit of work to do. The team is in good shape though and we’re making progress all the time, so I’m confident we can continue to challenge for better results and preferably for wins. Donington is next and I’m looking forward to it. Let’s hope we can have an even better race there.”

ANDREA DOVIZIOSO – Retired – World Championship position: 7th 69 points
“We needed a strong result here and at the start of the race I was able to ride at a really good pace. I made a quick start from the fourth row and got past six riders on the first lap – then I was able to get past Lorenzo for fourth on the third lap. On that lap I did a 1m 22.7s but then, during the fourth lap, the front folded at turn eight and I ran wide. Within a few laps after this the performance from the front had dropped dramatically. It meant I couldn’t lean the bike or brake as normal so it was very difficult to control the bike. From then on my target was to finish the race but with five laps to go I had an electrical issue with the machine and I had to pull in. Obviously I’m really disappointed with the result because I was feeling fast here and I had a very good feeling from the bike. We really had the potential for a good result here, which is what we need at this moment. Still, now we’ll go to Donington next weekend and aim for the level of result we’re capable of.”

KAZUHIKO YAMANO – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER
“This was another strong ride from Dani and his pace was almost enough to challenge for the win today. It was a fighting performance from him and it’s good to see him on the podium for the second race in succession. Obviously we’d prefer to have a Repsol Honda rider on the top step and that’s what we’ll keep working for. We’ve been improving and we must continue to do so. For Andrea the result was obviously disappointing because he too had a good race pace in the early stages. We’ll have to look into the reasons for his front end problem today and I’m sure he can bounce back with a strong result at Donington.”

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Gagne Racing

Sachsenring, Germany (July 18, 2009) – Jake Gagne followed up his Red Bull Rookies Cup podium performance in the Netherlands with another spot on the box at the race in Germany on Saturday. Gagne toughed it out in wet conditions and outlasted his rivals on his way to another third-place finish in a heady performance.

“Qualifying and practice were held in the dry, so when it started raining on Sunday, I knew I had my work cut out for me. I hadn’t ridden in the wet since the Riders Cup race in Valencia last year,” said the fifteen year-old Californian. “I had a pretty good start on the second row, but I was going to get the feel for things and keep from riding over my head. After the first few laps, I started to get a good feel for the bike and the conditions and I turned the same times as the leaders, even though I had lost some ground.”

Gagne’s first trip to Germany saw him ride a steady-but-quick race that paid off in the final laps. “As the race wore on, it seemed like everyone was crashing,” Jake said after the race. “I just made sure I stayed up. It brought me another podium. That’s two in a row! We’ll keep the ball rolling and keep finishing races and getting good results. England is next weekend and it feels good having some momentum going into that race.”

Gagne is the top ranked American in the series and now is seventh in the points standings.
Jake and the Red Bull Rookies Cup will race next weekend at Donington in the United Kingdom.

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Monster Yamaha Tech3

A double top ten finish for Colin Edwards and James Toseland moved the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team into fourth place in the Team World Championship standings after a hard fought German MotoGP race this afternoon.

Starting from seventh on the grid, American Edwards stayed on the fringes of the top six until he encountered minor rear handling issues that saw him drop down to 11th on lap eight.
Quickly adapting his style to compensate, Edwards produced an impressive performance in the second half of the race as he closed down on the battle between Nicky Hayden and Marco Melandri for seventh position.

But having reduced the gap to less than 1.5s, Edwards had to settle for ninth to finish just two seconds off a fourth top six of the season.

British rider James Toseland was just one place further back in 10th place. Racing with a new Yamaha YZR-M1 anti-wheelie system for the first time, Toseland made a good start from the fifth row of the grid but found himself boxed in at the Sachsenring’s tight first corner.

Having overcome a small front tyre grip issue in the early stages of a 30-lap race, run in bright and sunny conditions, Toseland threatened to challenge for a top six as he pursued the group including Edwards, Hayden, Melandri and Toni Elias. Toseland eventually settled into a consistent pace and easily pulled away from Loris Capirossi and Mika Kallio to claim his fifth top ten finish of the season.

The result ensured the 28-year-old gave himself a big confidence boost ahead of his home race at Donington Park next weekend.

Colin Edwards 9th – 83 points
“It was a weird race and I had a similar problem to the last few races. It feels like I’ve got a load of weight on the rear pushing me into the corners. I can’t get the bike to turn and today was pretty much the same. The first few laps were a bit of nightmare because I was losing the front a lot. I was going backwards and at one point dropped out of the top ten, but when I thought it was going to be a long afternoon, a strange thing happened. As the rear grip started to drop, I actually got faster and the bike starting turning. With less grip on the rear I could turn the bike and it would help keep the front from just running straight on. So I just got my head down and recovered some positions but I ran out of laps when I getting closer to Nicky (Hayden) and Marco (Melandri). Now we go to Donington, which is a place that I love. I’ve had some success there in MotoGP and I’ll be looking to get closer to the front for all my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3, who have worked hard again all weekend.”

James Toseland 10th – 45 points
“I got a decent start and I was pleased with that after what happened at Laguna Seca and the anti-wheelie system from Yamaha has made a massive difference. But I got boxed in at the first corner. I’m not sure who it was but I had contact on my right and left knee. I didn’t roll off and got through but at the start of the race I had a few issues with the front tyre. We’re not sure if it was the temperature or the full fuel load but at the start I didn’t have much confidence. After about half distance it really started working well and I could run a really consistent pace. With the mixed conditions all weekend, I’d not had chance to run the hard rear tyre, but I really thought it would come strong in the last ten laps and help me chase the bunch I was on the back for a while that were battling for seventh. But the hard tyre wasn’t really an advantage for the last few laps and there was no difference in performance against the guys on the soft rear tyre. I’m satisfied with another top ten though and I’m now looking forward to my home race now at Donington Park. Another top ten has given me a bit of a boost. I’ll be looking to make amends for the disappointment of last year at the British GP and giving it my all for my home crowd.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“We expected a lot better because this is a track that we know Yamaha is very strong at, but Colin and James rode to their maximum again. It has been a hard weekend with the track conditions changing so much and both of them finishing in the top ten is not a bad result. Through their hard work we are back in fourth place in the Team World Championship and Colin has consolidated his fifth place in the rider standings, which is a great reward for his consistency. James also had a very solid race and this has given some good confidence ready for his home race at Donington Park next week where he keen to perform for his home fans. Congratulations again to Yamaha with another very impressive performance from Valentino and Jorge. They are showing that Yamaha really is the best brand in MotoGP.”

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Bridgestone

Bridgestone compounds available:       Front: Slicks – Hard, Extra hard   Wets – Hard; Rear: Slicks – Hard, Extra hard (asymmetric)   Wets – Hard

Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi took his fourth victory of the season using Bridgestone’s hard slicks this afternoon, finishing just 0.099seconds ahead of teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who used the same front tyre but an extra hard compound rear slick.

As  the  two  pushed  each  other  to  the  finish  in  another  nail-biting  race,  they  both  set  their  fastest laps  on  the  last  lap, demonstrating  the  consistency  and  durability  of  the  Bridgestone  slicks.  Their  fastest  laptimes  were  eclipsed  by  Dani Pedrosa however, who set a new circuit lap record five laps from the finish on his way to third position. The Repsol Honda rider opted for the same hard compound front and extra hard compound rear slick tyre combination as Lorenzo.

A  rain shower  before  the  race  ensured  that  teams  had their  wet  Bridgestone  tyres at  the  ready,  and  even  though  the rainclouds continued to threaten the conditions remained dry.  The softer option front tyre was used by all riders except Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner, but rear tyre choices were much more varied. Ten riders opted for the hard compound rear slicks, whilst seven favoured the extra hard compound.

Sachsenring has always been very demanding of tyres, the long series of fast lefts really testing the shoulder grip of both the front slicks and the asymmetric rears. Using Bridgestone tyres for the first time at this circuit, Pedrosa beat his previous race lap record, set in 2007, by almost one second, showing that the Bridgestone slicks performed well today.

Hiroshi Yamada – Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager Motorcycle Sport Unit: “Sachsenring is a tricky circuit and again this year we saw conditions that were not easy. Under difficult situations it was very good to see another exciting battle with the top four riders, and also at the end of the race between Valentino and Jorge. I’d like to congratulate them both for another spectacular race right to the flag, and to Dani for setting a new lap record here. I am also pleased for San Carlo Honda Gresini for Alex’s highest finish of the year and for Toni’s great race in which he climbed from 17th to finish sixth.”

Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development: “I am pleased with the compound choices we brought this weekend because our slick tyres showed good durability and reasonably faster lap times. The rain that fell between warm-up and the race changed the condition of the track, and this may be why a small number of riders suffered a faster wear rate of their front tyre during the race.”

Valentino Rossi – Fiat Yamaha Team – Race Winner: “First of all it was another fantastic race! It was another great battle at the start with Stoner and later especially with Jorge to the last lap. It was fun but very tough. There was some overtaking as the top riders’ choice was different in the tyres so there was different behaviour in the bikes and some different lines in places. Now that tyres are all the same for everybody you have to fight more on the track. I tried to stay concentrated and had a great last lap. It is another victory and I’m so happy!

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MotoGP

Valentino Rossi was never under any illusions that he would have it easy in his defense of the MotoGP world title, and once again the Italian was made to fight for glory at the Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. The Fiat Yamaha rider took the win at Sachsenring by just 0.099s from persistent rival Jorge Lorenzo in a breathtaking race to extend his lead in the World Championship.

After starting from pole for the first time at the German track, Rossi took the lead of the race after thirteen laps. Both the Italian and teammate Lorenzo eked out an advantage to make it a two-way battle to the chequered flag, with a last lap battle reminiscent of the Barcelona round of the series one month ago. Rossi’s definitive pass had come at the end of the home straight with two laps to go, and he brushed off the young pretender’s overtures for his fourth win of the 2009 season.

Starting from eighth on the grid, Dani Pedrosa had established his credentials in the dry with the best lap in the morning warmup. He had another storming start at Sachsenring to move up to the lead group, and put up a bold fight both amongst and behind the Yamaha duo. The Repsol Honda rider completed the podium with a race time under three seconds down on the top two.

Early leader Casey Stoner’s stamina lasted longer than he had expected in the dry race, and he was able to mount a serious challenge for the win. With five laps to go, however, he was passed by Pedrosa going into the first turn, and one lap later a sit-up meant that he lost touch of the Spaniard.

Alex de Angelis and Toni Elías had a successful salvage operation for the San Carlo Honda Gresini team, placing fifth and sixth, respectively. Elías was particularly impressive, having started from last place.

The only retirees from the race were Randy de Puniet – who crashed on the opening lap – and Andrea Dovizioso. The latter fell victim to excessive front tyre wear and was forced to call it a day before the end of the 30-lap Grand Prix.

250cc

Marco Simoncelli kept his title challenge alive with a win in the 250cc contest, his second victory of his World Championship defense. As in 2008, the Metis Gilera rider broke free from the pack in the early going. This time, however, he had Álex Debón along for the ride. Simoncelli couldn’t shake the Spanish veteran despite his best attempts, although he had enough breathing space to prevent any overtaking moves.

Debón held on to second place, his first rostrum of the 2009 season, whilst behind him a fierce battle developed for the final podium spot. Álvaro Bautista took the trailing group up to his countryman on the final lap, but was unsuccessful in making a move on Debón despite putting in a circuit record lap. He did, however, get past title rival and series leader Hiroshi Aoyama to cut the gap in the standings to ten points.

The race had been restarted after an initial lap when rain fell on the Sachsenring, but during the wait between starts the track was deemed to have dried sufficiently for the majority of riders to change back to slick tyres.

125cc

Julián Simón extended his lead at the head of the 125cc World Championship classification, meanwhile, with a runaway win. The Bancaja Aspar rider had been the standout rider in every wet practice session for the German date, but proved equally adept in the dry on race day for a second triumph of 2009.

An all-Spanish podium saw Simón’s teammate Sergio Gadea extend his podium run to three races with second place, also allowing him to become the closest rival for Simón in the overall standings.

Belson Derbi’s Joan Olivé completed the podium with his first rostrum of the season, following the battle of the race between himself, fourth placed Nico Terol and Marc Maquez. A clash of fairings between Olivé and Marquez led to the latter taking a huge highside on the final lap.

The 2009 FIM MotoGP World Championship continues at a rapid pace with the British Grand Prix taking place at Donington Park next weekend (24th-26th July).

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Fiat Yamaha

For the second time this season, Fiat Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo were embroiled in a thrilling head to head battle to the flag at the German Grand Prix in Sachsenring today. As at Catalunya earlier this season, it was the eight-time World Champion Rossi who emerged the winner, but his young team-mate pushed him every step of the way and finished just 0.099 seconds behind, an almost identical gap to that of Catalunya. Rossi’s 101st win means he equals Agositini’s all-time podium record of 159 in all classes.

Rossi got a brilliant start from pole, in contrast to Lorenzo beside him who slipped several places to sixth at the first split. The 22-year-old soon made up one place however and then Randy de Puniet crashed, elevating him to fourth at the end of the first lap. Lorenzo had a brief exchange with Andrea Dovizioso but soon dispensed with him and it was then Rossi leading from Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo – the four main championship protagonists within three-quarters of a second.

On lap seven Rossi relinquished his lead to Stoner and it remained that way for the next ten laps, although the gap from the Australian to Lorenzo in third was almost nothing. On lap 18 the Italian pulled off a brilliant pass on the brakes at the bottom of the hill into the penultimate turn to retake the lead and his team-mate followed him through, passing Stoner on the finish straight to leave the Yamaha pair lying first and second. They quickly began to eke out a gap from their pursuers and with less than two tenths between them it was clear that they were heading towards another tense finale. Lorenzo made his move at the start of lap 26, passing his team-mate into turn one and hanging onto the lead until the second to last lap, when Rossi overtook him in the same place in what proved to be the decisive pass. A brave attempt from Lorenzo to go around the outside of Rossi at the start of the final lap fell short and a perfect final lap from the 30-year-old sealed his fourth win of the season, leaving Lorenzo to content himself with his eighth podium this year and Pedrosa to cross the line nearly three seconds further back in third.

Rossi’s win means he stretches his lead over Lorenzo in second to 14 points, with eight rounds remaining. The Spaniard in turn lies14 points ahead of Stoner as the paddock moves straight on to the UK for the British Grand Prix at Donington Park

Valentino Rossi, Position: 1st   Time: 41′21.769
“I think this was a great race for everyone because there were all four leading riders of the championship, fighting very closely and all in strong form. We knew that they would all be tough to beat today so I am very pleased about this win, I rode very well and my team worked brilliantly all weekend to find the right setting. I had a very good start today, a great battle with Stoner early on and then after half race distance I was a little faster and really able to push at the maximum, which was great fun. At the end it came down to another incredible battle with Lorenzo and I really had to be on top form, especially because he passed me when I wasn’t expecting it. Luckily I was able to take him back and then I rode a perfect final lap with no mistakes. Everything worked well today, my M1 and my Bridgestone tyres, so thanks and well done to everyone. This is my fourth win of the year and I really think that our Yamaha is a fantastic bike this season. I think races like this are great for the sport. Now we have a small advantage in the championship and we’re going straight to Donington, one of my favourite tracks where I really hope I can win after a few bad years without a victory!”

Jorge Lorenzo, Position: 2nd   Time: +0.099
“Today was a very hard race because this track is slow and twisty and you have to use all the strength in your body to ride at the maximum. Keeping pace with Valentino today was a big challenge for me, especially since I’m not at full fitness after Laguna, so I am happy that I was able to push him until the end. Passing him was very difficult because he braked hard and late every time, and in fact I made a bit of a mistake because I thought there were a few more laps left when I passed him! I hoped to overtake him and then try to pull away but it didn’t work out today. Of course I’m disappointed to lose another very close race, it is always sad but I know that we are capable of fighting with him and considering his experience this is something I must be proud of. Second is important today and we still have a long way to go in this championship.”

Davide Brivio, Team Manager
“What a battle and what Yamahas! Once again another very exciting race with many changes between the four top riders in the championship. As always Valentino had a very strong drive to win and today he had to use everything he had to hold off the challenge of our team-mate. Congratulations to Jorge because he made it a very hard race for us to win and of course congratulations to Valentino for doing his job brilliantly once again!”

Daniele Romagnoli, Team Manager
“Another brilliant result from us; Jorge rode a great race and the team did a very good job in finding the right setting and choosing the right tyre for him today. Considering he’s not completely fit, we have to be impressed that he could fight so strongly to the end today and push Valentino to the final lap, riding at the highest level. We have to keep going in the same way because we still have a chance in this title fight.”

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Rizla Suzuki

Rizla Suzuki racers Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen both battled against injury to race to the chequered flag at Sachsenring in Germany today, earning themselves valuable championship points in the process.

Capirossi took a gamble on the harder compound Bridgestone race tyre, but he wasn’t able to get it up to optimum operating temperature and struggled to get the best feeling from his Suzuki GSV-R around the 3,671m German circuit. He eventually brought his Rizla Suzuki home in 11th place, a result that moves him up one position in the riders’ championship.

Vermeulen was still in a huge amount of pain from the hip and shoulder injuries that he sustained on Friday. He got a good start, but struggled in the early laps to brake hard enough and was relegated to last place. He fought back and even after running off the track, he managed to pass one rider on lap 10 and kept up the hunt – recording his fastest lap of the race on lap 27 of 30. Vermeulen fought all the way to the flag and passed Mika Kallio on the very last lap to bring his Suzuki GSV-R home in 13th place.

Today’s race was held under very cloudy skies, with a crowd of over 98,000 fans that saw Valentino Rossi win on his factory Yamaha and extend his championship lead.

Rizla Suzuki now has a trip back to England for the British Grand Prix next weekend, to be held at Donington Park on Sunday 26th July.

Loris Capirossi:
“We had a couple of issues during the warm-up today and when we saw that the weather was likely to be a bit better this afternoon we decided to use a harder compound tyre. Unfortunately we never had a chance to test this tyre during the practice and it was difficult to get the rubber up to temperature. This was one of the reasons that I struggled during the race, but there was also something else that wasn’t quite right and we need to understand why we did so badly here. This weekend has now finished and we could do with doing some work on this track to see where we are going wrong, but that is not possible. This is not good enough for us and we don’t want to be performing like this and we need as much help as we can get to improve things. The whole crew did a great job last night to rebuild the bike after I destroyed it yesterday, and my condition from that crash is not great but the biggest problem I had today was lack of feeling. I wasn’t able to turn as well as I wanted and this is a problem for me. I really hope that we can find some solutions and analyse the data from today and try and do our best at Donington next week.”

Chris Vermeulen:
“It has been a difficult weekend, especially after I didn’t get off to the best of starts by crashing in the first practice session. I gave my body a really hard time this weekend and because of the crash – and my condition – we lost some track-time and important set-up time. The team did give me a decent bike today, even with the lack of information that we had. I got a good start to the race and I had reasonable speed in the first couple of laps, but I struggled for braking performance and a lot of guys went past me. Then I ran off after I made a mistake and went wide in turn one and that cost me a lot of time. After that is was a pretty boring race and I was just trying to catch Canepa in front of me, but I just didn’t quite have the speed to do that. I did get Kallio on the last lap though and managed to get some points from not a good weekend. Hopefully I can get fitter over the next few days and push hard at Donington.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“It is very difficult to draw any positives from the race result or for that matter the whole weekend here at Sachsenring. The riders are both very much walking wounded so it is good that they were able to finish the race today with no further damage – to either themselves or the bikes – and manage to get some points as well. We hope that they will be in a much better condition to put on an improved show at the team’s second home Grand Prix’ next weekend.”

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LCR Honda

Sachsenring, 19 July: The ninth round of the season at Sachsenring race track was conducted in the dry despite cloudy skies and some light rain in the morning but LCR Honda MotoGP Team rider Randy De Puniet did not finish the race crashing out on lap one. After yesterday’s good qualifying when De Puniet got the 6th quickest time of the day riding his Honda RC212V no. 14, the 28-year-old made a good start from the second row and was third when he crashed out in the gravel.

Luckily Randy escaped unhurt from the accident and will be back on track with his crew next week end at Donington Park race track. Rossi won the German GP followed by his team mate Lorenzo and Pedrosa.

De Puniet – OUT: “I am very disappointed because I took a good start and was in third position behind Pedrosa. After that I made a mistake in the first right corner because I opened the throttle too early suffering a big highside. Anyway I feel lucky as I escaped unhurt from the crash but this is bad for me and the Team especially for the championship. We could finish in the top five as we had the speed to make an amazing race. However I am still holding the 10th position and we will start again from zero in Donington”.

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MotoGP

• This is Valentino Rossi’s first pole in the MotoGP class at the Sachsenring circuit.

• Valentino Rossi has been on the podium sixteen times in the seventeen races since finishing second in Germany last year. If he finishes in the top three here he will equal Giacomo Agostini’s all-time record of 159 podium finishes in Grand Prix racing.

• Second on the grid, Jorge Lorenzo, has maintained his record of qualifying on the front row at every race in 2009.

•  Last year’s winner in Germany, Casey Stoner, has qualified on the front row for the 8th time this year.

• Heading the second row, Nicky Hayden has qualified in his best grid position since he was 3rd fastest qualifier at the final race of last year at Valencia. This is the best qualifying performance by a Ducati rider other than Casey Stoner since the introduction of the 800cc capacity limit at the start of 2007.

• Fifth place in qualifying is Alex de Angelis’ best grid position since he was 5th fastest qualifier at the Czech GP last year.

• Sixth on the grid Randy de Puniet has finished every race so far in 2009 and needs to finish 12th or better to improve on his 61 point-haul from the full season of 18 races in 2008.

•  Colin Edwards has scored points in all sixteen races since he crashed out in Germany last year.

•  Following his victory at Laguna Seca, if Dani Pedrosa wins the race he will be the first Honda rider to win back-to-back MotoGP victories since Marco Melandri at the final two races of 2005. If he finishes 6th or better he will become just the eighth rider to reach the milestone of 2000 career points in GP racing.

• Twelfth-place qualifier, Chris Vermeulen, finished third in Germany last year after starting from 14th on the grid.

• Marco Simoncelli starts from pole for just the second time this year – his other was in Japan, where he finished 17th after suffering a front tyre puncture.

• Hector Barbera, who finished second in Germany last year, starts on the front row for the sixth time in 2009.

• Third place qualifier, Alvaro Bautista, maintains his record of starting from the front row at every race in 2009.

• If Hiroshi Aoyama wins the race he would be the first Honda rider to take back-to-back 250cc GP wins since Dani Pedrosa in 2005.

• Fifth place on the grid for Karel Abraham is a great improvement on his previous best 250cc qualifying result of 11th, which he has achieved on three occasions.

• Aprilia have not won in the 250cc class at the Sachsenring since Marco Melandri’s victory in 2002.

• Julian Simon starts from pole for the fourth time this year. From his previous three poles in 2009 he has only once gone on to finish on the podium – second place in Qatar.

• This is the 16th time in 2009 that a Spanish rider has started from pole across the three classes; however no Spanish rider has won from pole so far this year.

• Bradley Smith has qualified on the front row for the first time since he was on pole at Mugello, when he went on to win the race.

• Marc Marquez starts from the front row for the third time in his GP career.

• Marcel Schrotter is the first wild-card rider in the 125cc class to start from the front row since Yuzo Fujioka was 4th on the grid at the Japanese GP in 1995. This is also the first front row start by a Honda rider in the 125cc class since Bradley Smith was 4th on the grid at this same circuit two years ago.

• Alexis Masbou’s 6th place on the grid is his best ever qualifying result in what will be his 68th Grand prix start.

• Seventh place on the grid is a great improvement on Takaaki Nakagami’s previous best qualifying result of 14th on the grid at Indianapolis last year.

•  Wild-card rider Eeki Kuparinen is a third generation GP rider – son of Esko who raced in the Grand Prix in the 1980’s and Grandson of Hannu who raced in GP’s in the 1960’s and 70’s.

• Aprilia riders have won the last nine 125cc Grand Prix races – the longest ever sequence of successive wins in the 125cc class
by Aprilia.

Afternoon showers that hit the Lexington, OH area just prior to the scheduled start of the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Basic Qualifying session resulted in an abbreviated day’s work for Team M4 Suzuki at Mid-Ohio on Friday.

With Basic Qualifying and Superpole ultimately canceled, the squad only took to the track for a single morning free session during the day. The grid for the weekend’s twin Daytona SportBike finals will be decided based on Saturday’s Final Qualifying session, meaning that there will be no single-flying lap Superpole shootout for pole for a second consecutive weekend.

Team M4 Suzuki has earned the last five pole positions in the class with Jason DiSalvo sweeping the most recent four Superpole outings and Martin Cardenas picking up the pole in a traditional session last time out at Laguna Seca. The two will look to up that streak on Saturday before setting their sights on Saturday afternoon’s 21-lap contest.

Points leader Cardenas was fifth quickest aboard his GSX-R600 in Friday’s practice, circulating at 1:28.982, just 0.395 seconds off of first. Fourth-ranked DiSalvo was tenth best at 1:29.344.
At the conclusion of the day Colombian Cardenas said, “We only had the one session today but it went really positive. The bike was working quite well throughout the practice. We tried the other bike with a different setting but the first bike was better and I think we’re in good shape for qualifying tomorrow.

“We tested here recently and that helped a lot. The bike that I liked had the setting we found at the test.”

Despite his Laguna Seca disappointment that saw Martin crash out of the lead while seeking a seventh victory on the season two weeks ago, Cardenas still boasts a considerable 39-point advantage that he’ll look to further extend this weekend.

“I’m glad to be back racing again after what happened at Laguna,” Cardenas said. “I’m looking for a good result and hopefully another win.”

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LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 17, 2009) – A new name topped Friday’s Superpole qualifying session for the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tires at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, as Josh Hayes put the No. 4 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1 on pole position for the weekend’s AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited doubleheader.  AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL qualifying and Superpole sessions were rained out.  Starting positions for the twin Daytona SportBike races will be set by tomorrow morning’s final qualifying session.

Claiming his first career pole in American Superbike competition, Hayes turned a lap of 1:26.303 (100.133 mph) around the 2.4-mile circuit to break the string of seven consecutive poles set this season by Mat Maldin (No. 7 Rockstar/Makita/Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000).  Hayes has positive history to fall back on for the weekend with three previous wins here in his last three Formula Extreme outings at the track.

“I was a little disappointed with my time I thought we could actually go faster than that,” said Hayes.  “You kind of have to get into a rhythm, and I just didn’t put it together perfect by any stretch.  The R1’s been pretty good this weekend.  I’ve been pretty happy with it right out of the box and I’m just having fun riding and things seem to be clicking well.  This is cool, it’s cool to get your first pole and I’m looking forward to going racing.”

Starting alongside Hayes will be Aaron Yates on the No. 23 Brand Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, who ran the second-quickest lap of Superpole at 1:26.469 (99.921 mph).  Yates has three American Superbike wins to his credit at Mid-Ohio, his last two coming in a doubleheader sweep in 2000.

“My lap, it was pretty decent, nothing really too eventful,” said Yates.  “The bike was hooked up pretty well, just a little cautious, especially around the top of the keyhole, you are on the side of your tires so long.  I got around pretty good.”

Geoff May qualified third on the No. 54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R100 with a lap at 1:26.564 (99.810 mph).  Both May and teammate Yates have finished on the podium three times this season and are in search of their first win of the year this weekend.

“We needed to kind of scope out the track after all of that rain (earlier in the day), it definitely changes this place and the grip level and the patches (in the asphalt),” said May. “It looks like everybody was way off the pace and you go out there on new stuff and think ‘is it going to stick or not going to stick,’ so I was a little tentative in the first split. Then I realized I was better than I thought I was and put the hammer down, put my head down for the second half of the track to try to make up time best I could.  I really didn’t make any mistakes except for just going to slow in the first sector.”

The final spot on the front row belongs to Tommy Hayden with a time of 1:26.741 (99.607 mph) aboard the No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000.  Hayden is currently second in the point standings and looking to gain ground on Mladin, who leads him 355-228. Points leader Mladin starts from ninth with a time of 1:27.457 (98.792 mph).

“The lap seemed alright,” said Hayden.  “The bike has been pretty good since I’ve gotten here, faster than it was in the tests straight away.  So far today everything’s been going pretty smooth, I feel pretty solid out there.”

The first American Superbike race of the Honda Super Cycle Weekend rolls off from a standing start at 3:00 p.m. local time Saturday afternoon with a scheduled distance of 21 laps (50 miles).  Sunday’s race is also scheduled for 21 laps (50 miles) and has a 4:00 p.m. local start time.

Rain Washes out Friday Daytona SportBike Qualifying
An afternoon rain shower put a damper on AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL basic qualifying.  The time-certain schedule, combined with the time needed for the track to dry, did not allow for an opportunity to reschedule the basic qualifying or Superpole sessions.  Saturday morning’s final qualifying session will set the grid for the weekend’s twin Daytona SportBike races.

Graves Motorsports’ Tommy Aquino paced the morning’s practice session on the No. 6 Yamaha YZF-R6 with a lap time of 1:28.587 (97.531 mph).  Danny Eslick posted the second fastest time of 1:28.720 (97.385 mph) aboard the No. 9 Rossmeyer GEICO Powersports RMR Buell 1125R.

The first Daytona SportBike race will close Saturday’s schedule at 4 p.m. local time.  The Sunday final is the first of three races that day and will start at 2 p.m.  Like American Superbike, both Daytona SportBike races are 21 laps for 50 miles.

Scooter Superstore-Hooters and Touring Sport Ducshop Take Poles in SunTrust Moto-GT
In qualifying for tomorrow’s two-hour AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT, the No. 4 Scooter Superstore Hooters Aprilia RSV1000R of David Anthony and Ryan Elleby claimed the overall and Moto-GT1 class pole, while the No. 77 Touring Sport Ducshop Ducati PS1000LE of Elleby and Frank Shockley took the Moto-GT2 pole position.

The No. 4 Aprilia, which has earned podium positions in two of three outings this season, turned a best lap of 1:32.738 (93.166 mph) with Anthony at the controls and will be joined on the front row by the No. 13 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 of Dane Westby and Dustin Meador with a time of 1:33.787 (92.123 mph).

“My lap was just a normal lap,” said Anthony.  “I wasn’t pushing that hard, I was just watching the board and saw that I was in second and it turns out I did my biggest lap not knowing where I was.  The next lap I come around and I was in first.”

In Moto-GT2, the championship leading No. 77 Ducati of Elleby and Shockley will start from the class pole after turning a lap of 1.36:470 (89.562 mph). Starting second in GT2 will be the team’s No. 38 Touring Sport Ducshop Ducati PS1000LE shared by Cory Rech and Huntley Nash. The No. 38 Ducati posted a best qualifying lap at 1:37.093 (88.987 mph).

“I’m really proud of the two teams today,” said team owner Shockley.  “Ryan Elleby did that pole lap which was really good and the two young guys here, Huntley and Cory, stepped up and ran the second bike really, really well.  All is good and if I can just manage to keep the pace we’ll be alright.”

The No. 27 Four Feathers Racing entry of Matt Lynn originally qualified on the outside pole for tomorrow’s race but was sent to the back of the GT1 grid after failing post-qualifying technical inspection for exceeding the required fuel capacity.

The fifth round of the nine-race 2009 SunTrust Moto-GT season takes the green flag Saturday at 11:00 a.m. local time for a scheduled two hours.

Beach Paces SuperSport Practice
Friday’s AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei practice session was led by J. Beach aboard the No. 73 Honda CBR600R with a time of 1:33.266 (92.639 mph).  Lloyd Worrell posted the second fastest lap of the session aboard the No. 13 Rockwall Performance Yamaha YZF-R6 at 1:33.505 (92.401 mph).

Qualifying for AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei is scheduled for 8:40 a.m. local time on Saturday. A strong entry of 25 emerging young riders in AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei will split the Sunday Daytona SportBike and American Superbike finals with a 17-lap/40-mile race at 3 p.m.

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LTD Racing

Lexington, Ohio – Although wet and damp conditions meant most of Friday’s AMA Pro Supersport laps might not apply to the expected dry race on Sunday, the LTD Racing teammates of Tomas Puerta, Huntley Nash, and Joey Pascarella made progress at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Huntley Nash got the most laps of all on the day, as the Marietta, Georgia native rode his LTD Racing Yamaha as well as a guest ride with the Touring Sport Ducati Racing team. “Hunt” and Corey Rech qualified second in class in MotoGT.

“We really didn’t have much of a day in Supersport because of the conditions,” said Nash. “It was good to get to ride the MotoGT bike, though. My pal Corey Rech, my former Red Bull teammate, is also riding with me. That bike is a lot different than my Yamaha but it reminds me of the bikes I rode when I first started racing. This deal came together kinda late but we qualified second quickest in the class so we have a good shot at doing well tomorrow.” His best Supersport time was 1:36.098, set in the morning practice where he only completed a few laps.

Pascarella’s best lap of the day was 1:33.945. Joey, from Vacaville, California, set his quickest time of the day in the AM session. “We wanted to get some laps in a learn the track, but with the conditions it was no time to ride crazy or really do anything to crash and set us back for the weekend. Sunday’s weather is supposed to be different so there’s no reason to get ahead of ourselves.”

Tomas Puerta of Colombia posted his best time of 1:33.944 in the morning. “It was a crazy day, in both the morning and afternoon. We had a slick track in the first session and then in the afternoon, it was wet after the rain. We were hoping to get to know the track better and that’s what happened. I didn’t want to push and crash the bike. On the last lap, I pushed a little but the times were nothing to get too excited about.”

Celebrate Independence Day in Monterey next weekend! Andrew Northcott photo

The on-track activities take place Friday through Sunday, but if you’re attending, you should consider showing up a day early. In a nod to the Donington GP’s Day of Champions, Thursday this year is officially known as the Day of Stars, and as with the UK event, it’s largely dedicated to the Riders for Health charity. For paying entrants, the day’s schedule includes a continental breakfast; a motorcycle tour of Carmel Valley wine country; lunch in the Turn 4 VIP suites with Randy Mamola, Wayne Rainey, and Don Emde; an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of the paddock and pit lane; and motorcycle parade laps around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. In addition, Riders is holding an auction of signed MotoGP rider memorabilia, and the public is invited to attend and (hopefully) bid. (Last year’s auction was attended by several top racers, so it’s a great occasion to get to hang with your heroes.) For more information, visit www.dayofstars.org, and also check out our Between the Races interview with Emde.

In addition, Thursday will also be when the track hosts legends Rainey, Eddie Lawson, Kenny Roberts, and Valentino Rossi for the Superkarts race, which takes place at 3:30. It will be the first time all four world champions have gone against one another on the track before, and they’ll be doing so on very fast karts powered by Yamaha TZ250 engines. The event is free. In addition, the paddock will be open to fans from 1 p.m. on.

At the Day of Stars on Thursday, fans will have the chance to bid on signed memorabilia, with the money going to Riders for Health. Andrew Northcott photo

Finally, Thursday is also when many of the MotoGP riders and teams will be joining the media in a bicycle ride around the 2.238-mile track, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. It should be a great opportunity to laugh at us hacks and to check out Specialized’s state-of-the-art equipment at their tech trailer.

Obviously, there’s too much stuff to list going on over the rest of the weekend, but I’ll hit a few of the highlights here: Yamaha will be holding its Learn to Ride demo event, featuring TT-R dirt bikes, in the Yamaha Marketplace; Ben and Eric Bostrom’s Boz Bros custom-bike show will be on display in the Yamaha Marketplace all weekend; Ducati Island will have stuff going on all weekend (including Ducati-certified mechanics giving interactive demonstrations, plus Ohlins MotoGP-spec suspension components on display); and more.

You should also be sure to pick up a copy of the event program, for which Road Racer X is proud to once again be the official publisher (as we have since the race returned to Monterey in 2005). The souvenir program (that’s the cover at the end of this column) is always a keeper, and this one includes the most in-depth and up-to-date information you’ll find anywhere on all the teams (Scot Racing kept us on our toes with their last-minute squad changes), plus historical data and practical information on the race weekend. It costs just $10, and it includes a free copy of our brand-new August issue, which features Larry Pegram on the cover.

Also, be sure to visit the Road Racer X booth inside Turn 3, where we’ll have a great subscription special going on—anyone who signs up or renews gets a free RRX T-shirt! In addition, we’ve got free souvenir stickers for anyone who stops by.

Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden will both be at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, possibly participating in the Specialized bicycle ride. Andrew Northcott photo

Randy Mamola is one of the people I was talking about who is looking forward to next weekend. The former Grand Prix hero is skipping the Assen TT and is already here in California, visiting his parents up north. In fact, anyone who lives near Redwood City should stop by MDK Motorsports tomorrow afternoon, where Mamola will be making an appearance to raise money for Riders for Health (which Randy helped found). The event starts at noon and includes a barbeque and many prizes.

Following the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, Randy and his family are planning to spend most of July in America—or the Americas, more accurately. Part of the itinerary includes taking his family down to Costa Rica for a week.

Valentino Rossi has finished behind his teammate three times this year,but he was faster than homeboy Jorge Lorenzo today. Andrew Northcott photo

For starters, here’s a quick summary of what happened today over in Spain, where Round 6 of the MotoGP series kicked off: As you’ve probably heard, Valentino Rossi posted the quickest time in today’s single practice session, a 1:43.038 that out-paced title-rivals Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner. Completing the top five were Honda riders Andrea Dovizioso and Randy de Puniet.

(By the way, if you want to know what Valentino has to say about his sex life, break out the translator program and go here.)

For American fans, the next rider on the time sheets was a welcome sight: riding a Desmosedici GP9 whose geometry and electronics had been completely changed with ample help from Ducati Corse test-rider Vito Guareschi, Nicky Hayden turned in a lap that was 1.114 seconds off of Rossi’s pace, but only half a second off of that of his teammate.

If you'd had the kind of season Nicky Hayden has so far, you'd celebrate a sixth-quickest time too. Andrew Northcott photo

Nicky has of course been struggling with the Ducati, having scored even fewer points through the first five rounds than Marco Melandri had last year at the same point (thirteen vs. twenty-four). That being the case, and with Stoner (who hopes to overtake Wayne Gardner Sunday as the Australian with the second-most premier-class wins at nineteen, behind Mick Doohan’s fifty-four) leading the points chase, it’s commendable that Ducati has retained their faith in the American, doing everything they can to give him a rideable bike. I spoke to Nicky on the phone a week ago, and although he was anything but chipper, he insisted that he was far from throwing in the towel, and that he was still hopeful of figuring out a solution through hard work. Hopefully, he was right. Already, this is a huge turnaround for the ’06 champ, and although he emphasized that it’s too early to draw meaningful conclusions, Nicky was understandably happy with the turn of events. Fingers crossed.

Less up-beat is Dani Pedrosa, who was riding with pain-killing injections following yet another injury incurred at the last round and was only fourteenth-quickest today at his home race.

Sete Giberna was back from an injury today in time for his home race. Andrew Northcott photo

MotoGP races in Spain (and this is already the second of the season, with one more to come) are always crazy, especially for Spanish riders, and that appears to be even truer this time around. Polish journalist Mick Fialkowski tipped me off about a story posted Wednesday on Spanish mainstream news site Cadena Ser that Dani Amatriain was arrested in Barcelona (where this weekend’s race is held) after making death threats to the riders he used to manage—Lorenzo and brothers Pol and Alex Espargaro. Amatriain—an on- and off-track rival of Pedrosa manager Alberto Puig—split with Lorenzo last year, supposedly to spend more time with his family, although rumors of foul play flitted through the paddock. Considering how big this sport is in Spain, this is drama around the level of what the Michael Vick scandal was here.

Since Paolo Timoni has headed up Aprilia's U.S. business, the manufacturer has performed quite well. CJ photo.

RRX: Please tell us about your background.
Paolo Timoni: I was born and raised in Milan. Before joining Piaggio, I was a management consultant with McKenzie for many years. I was working in their New York office until 2004, and then after the acquisition of Piaggio by new shareholders and the coming of a new management team, I’ve been hired to develop the group presence in North and South America.

How are things right now in the U.S. for the company?
Very good. We’ve been growing 20 percent a year during the bad years. Last year was 61 percent growth in scooters. We’ve been nearly tripling the size of the company in the last four years.

Explain the decision to field an AMA Pro race team with KWS.
Aprilia is about performance bikes and racing. Of course racing is expensive, so you need to pace your racing ambitions with the level of maturity of the company. When we came back to the U.S., for two years, we raced in the AMA Supermoto division, and also we did Moto-ST. Both of those were very successful—we won both of the series for two years. This year, we decided to step up a notch, and so get into a series that’s more competitive and could also be an intermediate step to Superbike. This is how we came to the decision.

Is Aprilia’s World Superbike effort also helping you in the U.S.?
It’s a little bit early, but certainly there’s a lot of attention and interest also here in the United States for the new bike and—from years before—for Max Biaggi and the other riders. So yes, although we’re still in a very early stage, there’s a lot of interest and attention there.

Although the motorcycle market is suffering, the sport bike segment is doing relatively well. Why is that?
What we’re seeing is that in the generation Y—the new generation with people 24 years old and younger—there’s a rediscovery of motorcycling, and particularly performance and racing. Everything that’s powerful and fast is very interesting and appealing, and this is why sport bikes are becoming very popular; it’s a growing segment.

The Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies AMA Pro Daytona SportBike program is laying the groundwork for a U.S. racing effort aboard Aprilia's new RSV4. Riles/Nelson photo.

Do you see a positive future in the U.S. for the RSV4?
Of course. Aprilia has traditionally been a sport bike brand, and clearly, we want to continue to cover that segment of the market. The RSV4 is the major product we have coming soon.

What do you see in the future for Aprilia in the U.S.?
Continuous growth. We’ve been growing; even while the market has been contracting for the last two-and-a-half years, Aprilia has been steadily growing, and we see this trend continuing in the years to come. Of course in this mature market, we need to find our niches; we’ll always be a premium brand focusing on a specific segment—sport bikes. We entered the midrange segment with the Dorsoduro and the Shiver, and that’s been a very positive move. With the Mana, we’re trying to bridge the world of scooters with the world of motorcycles. I also think that’s been a positive step. Of course now, starting with the RSV4, hopefully we’ll develop a whole line of sport bikes.

Could the growing scooter segment eventually help the sport bike market?
Yes. As I said, I think that with the youngest generation, there’s a strong interest for sport bikes, and I think that we can offer some very interesting products to these buyers. We’ll try to do our best to get our place in the market.

Casey Stoner recorded his best ever MotoGP qualifying performance at the Jerez circuit to secure a front row spot for what promises to be a scintillating Spanish Grand Prix tomorrow. The Ducati Marlboro rider clocked the third fastest time in this afternoon’s qualifying session behind local pair Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, with his team-mate Nicky Hayden set to start from sixteenth on the grid after being unsettled by a dramatic change in the track conditions this afternoon.

After a tentative first day yesterday, Hayden made improvements this morning and was tenth fastest in the final free practice session. However, with a 15ºC increase in track temperature and the arrival of high winds he was unable to maintain his progress in the afternoon, lapping almost half a second slower than he had in the morning. Stoner also struggled with the tricky conditions but increased his pace and confidence towards the end of the session, eventually closing to within half a second of Lorenzo’s pole effort.

CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 3rd (1’39.415)
“Our bike has never really worked well here in the past but we worked hard during the test and over the past two days to come up with a package that is at least competitive. This morning it felt really good and even though we weren’t top of the time sheets I felt confident. Unfortunately the wind tends to unsettle our bike and it was pretty hairy out there this afternoon – it certainly didn’t help me feel more confident with the bike after the front end issues we had yesterday! I set myself the target of a position on the second row so to get on the front row is an unexpected bonus and it will be really helpful for tomorrow. Until the last couple of years I’d always found it hard to do well in my home race but the Spanish and Italian guys always seem to find an extra gear on their own turf. The support for Dani and Jorge is fantastic, they are both riding well and they’ll definitely be competitive tomorrow. It should be great fun!”

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team) 16th (1’40.953)
“This morning certainly went a lot better, I thought we’d found a good way forward with the bike but this afternoon I had a very different feeling. The wind certainly didn’t help things but that is the same for everybody. It was very unstable in the fast corners and just not holding the line. We tried our best to fix it but things just didn’t go nearly as smooth as we’d like and we’ve ended up with a difficult grid position. We’ll see what we can do about it tonight. We’ll make a few small adjustments to the bike, make a few tweaks to the set-up here and there and see how it goes in warm-up. The only thing is that it’s quite cool here in the morning compared to the afternoon and, like today, the feeling with the bike changes a lot without touching a thing. It’s going to be tough but we’ll keep working hard and hopefully be in shape to put on a good show for these incredible fans tomorrow afternoon.”

Circuit Record: Dani Pedrosa (Honda – 2008), 1’40.116 – 159.053 Km/h
2009 Pole: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), 1’38.933 – 160.945 Km/h
Best Pole: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha – 2008), 1’38.189 – 162.164 Km/h

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Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

A rather too sensational start to the 2009 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season saw Sturla Fagerhaug claim victory even though he crashed heavily and was half a lap behind the leading pack. The 17 year old Norwegian benefited from a restart following a 2 rider crash and pulled through to win an incredible 6 lap race 2 ahead of Mathew Scholtz and Danny Kent.

It was 16 year old South African Scholtz who rocketed away from the initial start into a 5 second lead only to run off the track when the extremely blustery wind took his front wheel away. He regained the track to cross the line 8th as the race was stopped. Featuring strongly in the first race and thus lining up for the restart in 2nd place the 15 year old Briton Kent was in the hunt for the win again after the restart.

Fagerhaug lined up at the back of the grid but with Scholtz unable to make the break-away that he did first time the battle that the South African had with 16 year old Frenchman Nelson Major and the rest of a 10 man lead pack slowed the race pace. That was all the help that Fagerhaug needed and he charged through.

Outbraking 2 or 3 riders a time into some corners Fagerhaug was unstoppable and finally stole the lead on the last lap. “When I crashed in the first day I thought it was going to be the worst day of my life. I couldn’t believe it when the race was restarted but you never want to see anyone get hurt so none of us were happy about it.”

“I’d made such a mess of the first start when I let out the clutch and the rear tyre slid sideways I just made sure I didn’t do it again. I was determined to get some good points and I saw the pack was not getting away. I started to realise that I really could get a good result but I never thought of winning it until the last lap when I saw I could do it,” concluded Fagerhaug.

It was the nasty fall of 15 year old Briton Harry Stafford that stopped the first race. He was right in the battle for the lead when the bike slid suddenly and highsided him right in front of the following pack, the front wheel of Florian Marino’s bike clipped the fallen rider and the 15 year old Frenchman also went down. Marino walked away but Stafford was taken by ambulance to hospital with a broken collarbone and severe concussion.

Scholtz had good reason not to try and repeat his attempted run-away in the restarted race. “The wind got under my bike and pushed the front wheel away in the first race. It was even worse after the restart and I had to make sure it didn’t happen again. I couldn’t believe it when Sturla caught us. One minute I looked behind and Danny was there then suddenly on the last lap… it was Sturla.”

Scholtz actually thought that the board said it was the second to last lap as did Kent. “I thought there was another lap to go,” said the Briton. “Still it was a great race and I’ll just have to see if I can go and win the race tomorrow.”

Fourth man home and strongly featuring throughout the two races was 14 year old Swede Alex Kristiansson. “I enjoyed myself so much, I really had fun. I wanted to get on the podium but it didn’t work out on the last lap, I’ll have to do it tomorrow.”

Similarly hoping for a better result in Sunday’s race, pole man Daijiro Hiura ended Saturday with no points as he crashed after pulling through to second following a mediocre start in the first race. “The wind was so hard, it just took my front wheel away,” explained the 14 year old Japanese who was unable to restart because of the damage to his KTM RC125.

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Team Haojue

The Chinese Haojue team continued its development programme at the bwin.com Grand Prix of Spain at Jerez today, with Michael Ranseder qualifying for tomorrow’s 125cc GP race on the 4.423 km circuit.

The Austrian rider put his proven experience and skill to good use to qualify within the required 107 per cent of the fastest qualifier, but his young British team mate, Matt Hoyle, riding in his first year in the GP class, just failed to make the cut.

Haojue team director Garry Taylor knows that improvements must be made; “The honeymoon period is over for us now and we need to get our heads down and make some real improvements in the next few GP races.

“Everyone knew it would be hard in this ultra-competitive class, but we are very concerned that we are still as much at 17kph down on top speed. We hoped to be far closer to the top runners on top speed and power by this time in the development programme. Our engine designers Jan Witteveen and Franco Moro are very aware of the problem and are working hard to overcome it. We also clearly have a reliability problem which we are working on.

“Our performance is certainly no reflection on the ability and commitment of our two riders, who are both contributing massively to the development programme.

“The whole team’s enthusiasm and the support of Haojue remain firm and we are all fully-committed to the success of this exiting and demanding project. But we need to resolve these problems very quickly if we are to show a real improvement.”

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DeGraaf Grand Prix (125cc)

On the Saturday of the Gran Premio bwin.com De España it was all about the wind. After rain at Qatar and Japan, there is a lot of sun but also a lot of wind in Spain. The lightweight Danny Webb was in advance with his weight and manages to grab the second row with an 8th position. Randy Krummenacher was smart in this session and used other riders ! their slipstream and ended up at a nice 13th starting position.

In the Saturday morning session the wind wasn’t as strong as in the qualification session but still much more compare to the Friday. Randy Krummenacher was the fastest DeGraaf Grand Prix rider with a 14th position. Danny Webb was struggled with the set-up and wasn’t happy with his 16th position.

The wind was so hard during the qualification session that it was hard for the mechanics to hold their light weight carbon pit boards. Also the DeGraaf Grand Prix riders found it difficult to ride with this wind but manage to have both a good qualification. Danny Webb grabbed the second row and Swiss rider Randy Krummenacher just missed the third row and will start tomorrow from a 13th position.

Danny Webb (8th, 1:49,353): ‘This second row feels good. It is the best qualification we had for this season. I’m happy with the progression we make. We not on a perfect set-up yet but we working in the right direction and it feels better and better on the bike. The wind was really extreme today. I had to work hard to hold mine line but manage to ride to the second row. For tomorrow in the race I hope to fight for a top 5 position but it will be tough to get there!”

Randy Krummenacher (13th, 1:49,968): “I’m pretty happy with today. It is a shame I just missed the third row. I’ve been held up by Sergio Gadea in mine fastest lap and lost some time there. We going in the right direction with the set-up and I’m happy how things going at the moment. I know I can ride these lap times constantly and try to get a top 8 position in the race tomorrow.”

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Red Bull KTM Moto Sport (125cc)

Red Bull KTM Moto Sport’s Marc Marquez, clearly at home in front of his home crowd in Jerez, Spain, finished fourth in qualifying for Sunday’s 125 cc GP on Saturday to secure a front row position on the grid.

It was the first time in his young career that the 16-year-old Spanish rider will be on the front row and he is understandably excited that he has achieved it in front of his home crowd. “I am very excited because I am on the front row in a GP for the first time, and now I can’t wait to go out and race. I really want to do well here at my home GP, but I know that I must not get too over-excited, because too much excitement can be treacherous! Yesterday we struggled a bit with our front fork, so we put a new one in for today and with the settings that we figured out at the texts in March eventually worked really well,” he added.

Marquez said he tried to adapt his riding style to cope with the winds that prevailed at the Spainsh circuit. “I shifted my body weight as much as possible towards the front of the bike to make it turn,” he said. “It worked quite well even though the wind gusts pushed me around here and there and everywhere.”

The team’s second factory rider, young American Cameron Beaubier, a former Red Bull Rookie and riding his first year with Red Bull KTM Moto Sport, finished in seventeenth place. “It was really windy this afternoon,” the 16-year-old American said. “We fine-tuned the set-up for the final session, but due to the conditions, I wasn’t able to go much faster. In fact, my lap times during the February tests here were a little faster. But never mind, I feel good and I am ready to race. I hope for a good start and to finally break into the point rankings which I missed so narrowly at the last race in Japan!”

Factory team boss Harald Bartol was also satisfied with his machinery and riders.
“Practice was really good for us, and being on the front row of the grid is certainly a highlight,” Bartol said. “Obviously, Marc is very motivated at his home GP, but at the same time, it’s remarkable how he withstands the pressure at his young age. But I am also impressed with Beaubier’s performance. He was doing whatever was possible with very windy track conditions without taking unnecessary risks. We completed all practice sessions without any problems on our bikes, which also boosts our confidence for a good race tomorrow!

Riders were at last able to complete a qualifying practice after rain had washed it out in the two GPs so far held, in Qatar and in Japan. This season the class has only one qualifying session instead of the two held in previous seasons. They faced almost perfect conditions on the famous Spanish circuit although they did have to content with the strong winds that affected the lighter bikes more than the other classes.

Repsol (125cc)

After two free practice sessions in the sunshine and some excellent track conditions in Jerez, a strong wind was an unwelcome guest during the classification session today. In spite of this Marc Márquez managed to make progress and classify on the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s race, the first time ever for him in the World Championship.

Scott Redding will be on the second row – in seventh position – demonstrating that, like Márquez, he can also adapt to the risky conditions, riding in strong gusts of wind. It is no coincidence that these two riders also got good results last year at Donington Park where they got their first ever podium finishes in their careers in a strong wind which they reacted to spectacularly.

Esteve Rabat’s British teammate will start a little further behind, fourth row, after setting the sixteenth fastest time. The Repsol rider did not feel comfortable at any time today, the adjustments that the team made and which worked well in both the free session yesterday and this morning did not suit him this afternoon, this meant that he was not able to ride with confidence when the wind blew strongly. In fact, with 15 minutes left in the official session, Rabat fell on the second corner when his bike lost adherence on the front wheel.

The fourth Repsol rider in the category, Cameron Beaubier, finished in a positive seventeenth position, in a session where the American got better as time passed. The Repsol rider improved gradually, few riders were able to improve their times because of the wind, but Cameron was able to lower his best time yesterday by 4 tenths of a second, showing that he is slowly getting the hang of things in this category.

Marc MÁRQUEZ >> 1’48.931 secs, 34 laps, 150 km.
“This morning we thought that we could do things well, because the set up we got in practice a month ago finally worked well when we put a new fork on. I knew that I could set a good time, but when the wind got up it made things more difficult for me. I was dying to do a good lap, and although I could not be constant because of the strong gusts, sometimes they push you and other time it is against you, I was not able to do a set of fast laps, but I set a time that was the fourth fastest. I tried to adapt my style to the strong wind, throwing my weight forward to make the bike turn. I am very pleased because this is the first time I will be on the front row and I am really dying to put in a good performance. We will still be cautious because sometimes your desire gets the better of you and what the important thing is that you finish the race.”

Esteve RABAT >> 1’50.249 secs, 34 laps, 150 km.
“The two free sessions went perfectly and I felt fine on the bike. The problem was this afternoon in the strong wind, the sensations were nothing similar. The set up was not the same and it seemed that I was riding a bike that was not mine. I did not feel comfortable and I even fell trying to follow Iannone. On my final lap I tried to improve but I came across a rider on the track and that ruined things a bit. It is obvious that I would have liked to do things better, but it was not possible. We will continue to battle on and we will have to classify this session as just a set back, because if I get a good start tomorrow I can be up with the leaders.”

Scott REDDING >> 1’49.310 secs 31 laps, 137 km.
“Things went quite well. It was not possible to ride as fast as in the morning because of the wind, but we managed to adapt well. I am feeling better and better on the bike, and I can ride normally, like last year, so I should be able to make progress and get a good position. I think that the set up for tomorrow should work, because today I think it was a good one, even in the wind. I think we can finish in a good position in the race. It is complicated riding in the wind but I like it because I can control the bike well, and when I have had good races there have been strong winds blowing.”

Cameron BEAUBIER >> 1’50.256 secs, 32 laps, 142 km.
“At the beginning it took me some time to pick up the pace and I began slowly. But I put new tyres on and I was able to do much faster laps. I hope to have a good start tomorrow and work my way up to get among the points. We have the set up quite clear in our minds, the tyres too, and I just need to be consistent in the race tomorrow.”

Official Results
1. Julián SIMÓN
1:48.237
2. Bradley SMITH
1:48.434
3. Andrea IANNONE
1:48.519

4. Marc MÁRQUEZ
1:48.931
5. Sergio GADEA
1:48.955
7. Scott REDDING
1:49.310
16. Esteve RABAT
1:50.249
17. Cameron BEAUBIER
1:50.256

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Repsol Honda

Dani Pedrosa today came within 0.051s of claiming pole position for tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix in an exciting qualifying clash at Jerez. Riding in front of his home crowd, the Repsol Honda star was quickest in this morning’s 45-minute session, and headed the timesheets for much of the afternoon, before being pipped for pole by only five one-hundredths of a second by fellow Spaniard, Jorge Lorenzo.

In both sessions today Pedrosa was inside the Jerez lap record he set in last year’s race and, with a few final adjustments to the race settings on his factory RC212V, the 23-year-old from Barcelona will be confident he can battle for a repeat of the victory he scored here last year.

Andrea Dovizioso will line up for tomorrow’s 27-lap race in 8th place on the grid after setting a lap time just over a second behind his team-mate. The Italian was able to improve his pace from yesterday by 0.6s in the morning practice, and believes he could have secured a spot on the front two rows this afternoon, but for the strong wind blowing across the 4.423km (2.748-mile) circuit which made for unpredictable riding conditions. Dovizioso remains confident of his chances in the race though, and will work with his team on final adjustments in tomorrow’s 20-minute warm-up.

With more sun forecast, a huge crowd is guaranteed to greet the MotoGP grid as they line up at 14.00 for the race start tomorrow.

Dani Pedrosa – 2nd – 1m 38.984s
“I’€™m happy because we’€™ve improved a lot from yesterday and we’re starting from the front row. This is always important – but especially at my home race. It was very windy this afternoon which made it quite difficult to ride with a consistent line and keep the rhythm on the bike, but still, my pace was good and I’€™ll go into the race with a lot of confidence. We still have some work to do to improve our set-up for the race but I’m happy with how we’€™ve progressed so far this weekend. Tomorrow is the important day though. There will be a lot of fans out there supporting me and the team and I really hope I can get a good result for them. If I get a start like I did at Motegi then that will help!”

Andrea Dovizioso – 8th – 1m 39.966s
“It has been a tricky session for everybody because it was really windy and this meant we couldn’€™t confirm some set-up improvements that we were testing. This morning we made some adjustments that gave us some positive feedback, and we wanted to keep working on them, but we couldn’€™t test properly this afternoon because of the strong wind. Still, we improved our race pace which is very important, it‒s just a pity that we will start from the third row. I think I could have been on the second row but during my fast lap I had a moment and lost the front in T4. Tomorrow morning we will work on further improving the feeling of mid-corner stability at the front. For the race I’ll have to make a good start because we cannot afford to lose contact with the guys in front.”

Kazuhiko Yamano – Repsol Honda Team Manager
“€œIt was a promising day for Dani, and second on the grid is a good place to be. His understanding of the machine is growing all the time. This is the first front row of the season for the team and indicates we’re going in the right direction. The machine is not perfect though and there are some small improvements we want to make before the race so that Dani can fight for the win. Andrea made some gains testing new parts this morning, though there are still some areas he’€™d like improved. We know he’€™s excellent in race conditions though so I’€™m hoping to get both riders on the podium tomorrow. The team did a really good job today and that’s what we’€™ll be targeting.”

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Pramac Racing

Not the happiest qualifying practice ever for the Pramac Racing riders, Mika Kallio and Niccolò Canepa, who have respectively concluded in seventeenth and eighteenth position. The Finnish rider didn’t manage to confirm the great performance done during the official test in Jerez last March, where he concluded with the sixth fastest lap time, and will have therefore try another great comeback like last week in Motegi. Niccolò has made it to improve his lap times compared to yesterday and this morning, but he will have to start tomorrow’s race from the sixth row. The Italian rider will not give up and will try his best tomorrow to conquer more world championship points.

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director
“We have a lot of work to do but we remain trustful for tomorrow’s race. The track conditions weren’t the same as in the last March test and we found some difficulties. We have tried many things without finding a good solution. We believe that during the warm up we will be able to put together the positive things found in these two days to give a competitive bike to Mika.”

Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing rider – 17th in 1′41.238
“Many things didn’t go in the right direction today. We have modified the bike many times without any luck. The only thing to do in this moment is analyze the data to understand in which direction we have to go. Today’s track condition was different compare to last March, but for sure we didn’t expect to be so far behind. Tomorrow it will be for us another comeback race.”

Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider – 18th in 1′41.253
“It went a bit better today even if with the race tyres I still need some more confidence. We have anyway got closer to the other riders and this for sure it will give us morale for tomorrow’s race. My learning period is going well and with patience we improve practice after practice. I want to thank my Team member for the great work they are doing for me.”

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LCR Honda

The LCR Honda MotoGP Team rider Randy De Puniet got the second row for tomorrows 27-lap race at the crowded Jerez de la Frontera circuit which hosts the third round of the season. The Frenchman riding the Honda RC212V nr. 14 made 21 laps in total in this afternoon qualifying session clocking his quickest time of 1’39.806 on lap 17.

Thanks to the specific adjustments made in this morning free session when Randy finished 4th overall, the Frenchman improved his pace at the 4.423 Km Spanish track lapping consistently fast on race tyres with a ground temperature of 39°C. The 45-minute qualifying session was held in the dry but with a strong wind and the 28-year-old rode his HRC machinery to the 5th fastest time hoping to get a top-six finish in tomorrow’s race that gets underway at 14:00 local time.

The Spaniard rider Lorenzo on Yamaha topped the timesheets today with a 1’38.933 lap time followed by Pedrosa on Honda and Stoner on Ducati.

De Puniet – 5th – 1’39.806
“At the beginning of the session we run on our race set up and I am happy with that as we improved a little bit the engine mapping on the power delivery. Then, for the last few runs, we lapped on soft tyres to improve our grid position but it was difficult due to the strong wind. It was not easy to do one perfect lap and I made some small mistake as the wind pushed me outside and inside of the track but this second row makes me very happy. The Team made a good job and we improved the bike step by step. Honestly I aim to get a top-six finish and we have good chance to do it as we will start from the 5th position and our package is pretty competitive”.

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MotoGP

The man of the moment in MotoGP, Jorge Lorenzo delighted the home crowd at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in beautiful conditions on Saturday afternoon, as he repeated his 2008 pole for this year’s Gran Premio bwin.com de España.

In stark contrast to the appalling weather at Motegi a week ago, which saw qualifying cancelled altogether, the growing Spanish crowd at the Andalusian track were bathed in some typical Iberian sunshine and the riders only had a strong wind to contend with during the timed sessions.

Lorenzo and his Spanish rival Dani Pedrosa did battle for pole position during the 45-minute session, with the Fiat Yamaha rider eventually emerging on top with a 1’38.933 hot lap on the eighteenth of his 21 turns of the track.

Saturday morning’s fastest rider Pedrosa again demonstrated his improving form and fitness on his Repsol Honda RC212V machine, lapping just 0.051s behind his young compatriot.

Ducati Marlboro’s Casey Stoner, who won the BMW M Award at Jerez in March’s Official MotoGP Test, was around half a second behind Lorenzo; his best effort put him third on the grid at one of his least-favoured tracks.

Friday’s top man, World Champion Valentino Rossi could not match his championship rivals and after a modest Saturday morning free practice outing the Italian qualified off the front row for the first time this year in fourth place.

A good effort from Randy de Puniet saw him as the top satellite qualifier in fifth place for the LCR Honda team, whilst the second line of the grid was rounded off by Rizla Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi – who made sure four different manufacturers are represented on the front two rows.

The third row, meanwhile, features Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini).

Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) was tenth fastest, with Sete Gibernau (Grupo Francisco Hernando) twelfth and 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro) down in sixteenth.

San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alex de Angelis crashed at the end of the session and qualified in fifteentth place, but was not reported to be injured.

250cc
An interesting 250cc qualifying practice concluded the Saturday action, with Álex Debón (Aeropuerto Castello-Blusens) making it three Spaniards on pole in the three World Championship categories, following Julián Simón’s 125cc success earlier in the day.

The fans in Andalucia had further reason to cheer, as Héctor Barberá (Pepe World Team Aprilia) qualified in second place, edging out the third fastest rider – Metis Gilera’s World Champion Marco Simoncelli – who suffered the second of two Saturday crashes in the session.

Mapfre Aspar’s Álvaro Bautista was the third Spanish 250cc rider notching himself a front row start, whilst the second row will feature Jules Cluzel (Matteoni Racing), Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Racing Team), Mike di Meglio (Mapfre Aspar Team) and Thomas Luthi (Emmi – Caffe Latte).

125cc
The 125cc qualifying session followed the free practice form as Simón took top spot for his home race, with a 1’48.237 best lap. In a great QP for the Bancaja Aspar team Bradley Smith put himself second on the grid, behind teammate Simón with a lap two tenths off the Spaniard’s pace, whilst the team’s third rider Sergio Gadea (Bancaja Aspar) qualified in fifth.

Tucking themselves in behind Simón and Smith were series leader Andrea Iannone (Ongetta Team I.S.P.A) and young Spanish rider Marc Márquez (Red Bull KTM) – who missed last year’s race in his debut campaign due to a preseason injury.

Gadea missed the front row by just 0.024s, but heads the second line of the grid in front of Dominique Aegerter (Ajo Interwetten). Scott Redding (Blusens Aprilia) and Danny Webb (Degraaf Grand Prix) were seventh and eighth respectively, meaning that there are three Britons on the front two rows.

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Rizla Suzuki

Rizla Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi will start his 285th Grand Prix from the second row of the grid tomorrow, as he rode his Suzuki GSV-R to sixth place during a windy Jerez Grand Prix qualifying today.

Capirossi recorded a fastest time of 1′39.862 from his 20 laps of the 4,423m Spanish circuit, less than a second off pole-setter and home favourite Jorge Lorenzo. Capirossi made many changes to his bike today during both this morning’s free practice session and this afternoon’s qualifying. He now believes that tyre-wear will be a big issue for all riders tomorrow, but is convinced he – and his crew – have the GSV-R set-up to go for a high-placed finish.

Chris Vermeulen will start from 10th place on the grid as he recorded a best time of 1′40.185 from his 22 laps. Vermeulen worked tirelessly with his crew in both sessions and his confidence rose as the day progressed. Suzuki’s Australian star made big steps with the bike and now has a good setting for tomorrow’s race. He is targeting to get away well from the start and fight for a top-five position.

Sunday’s 27-lap race is the third round on the calendar, and riders and fans alike will be hoping for the �good weather that has been present this weekend �to continue when the lights change to signal the start of the race at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT) tomorrow.

Loris Capirossi:
“Even though we were second yesterday and we were sixth this afternoon, it has been a much better day for us today. We did a great job this morning on the bike’s setting and we improved a lot. We tried three different settings and found the best one to preserve the life in the tyre – this is a good step for us. The condition this afternoon was very difficult because it was so windy; this is the third race where we have not had perfect conditions. The sun was beautiful, but the wind was very strong and it made it difficult out there. Overall I am happy with where we are and we are ready for the race. We will be on the second row for the third time this year, but we were so close to being on the front row. I will be fighting hard right from the start and try to understand how the tyres will behave and make them last the distance!”

Chris Vermeulen:
“It was not the position we wanted so I am a bit disappointed with that. We made some good steps with the bike and I am now a lot more comfortable on it. It has given me confidence to push a bit more and my speed was definitely up in that session, but we still need to make another step to get totally competitive. In this morning’s session I concentrated on using a race-tyre and doing a lot of laps to give us an idea of what it would be like at the end of the race. Tomorrow it will be important to get a good start and move up through the field in the first couple of laps and try to do whatever I can. Hopefully with a good race we can get a top-five position, which is going to be tough from the fourth row, but it’s certainly our target!”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“It is good to see Loris maintain his run of second row starts, and whilst Chris is disappointed with 10th we can all tell from his body language this afternoon that he is in a much better position for the race than he was this morning. The wind made things incredibly difficult for all riders this afternoon and the lap-times were quite surprising considering that. It seems that we have improved the feeling of the bike for both the guys this afternoon. There’ll be some additional things to try in the morning warm-up, but hopefully we can carry this improvement on into the race tomorrow and perform at our best!”

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Fiat Yamaha

Man-of-the-moment Jorge Lorenzo put in a blistering qualifying display at his home race in Jerez this afternoon to take his fifth pole with Yamaha in MotoGP. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi meanwhile qualified fourth on a blustery afternoon in Andalucia.

It was Lorenzo’s second consecutive pole at this track, having taken the top grid spot this time last year before finishing the race third. After last weekend’s win in Motegi the Mallorcan was disappointed to run into a few difficulties yesterday but all that was reversed today with a few set-up changes and the youngster hit form in style, setting a string of fastest laps this afternoon and looking happily in tune with his Yamaha M1 and Bridgestone tyres. The only rider to get close to him was fellow countryman Dani Pedrosa, who qualified second to set up a mouth-watering Spanish showdown for the partisan 120,000-strong crowd in tomorrow’s race.

Rossi looked the man to beat yesterday but was unable to replicate a similar pace today, struggling to find the same feeling in the windy conditions. The reigning World Champion put in his best lap at the end of the session but was unable to knock Casey Stoner off the outside of the front row and will have to settle for starting at the head of the second tomorrow, directly behind his team-mate.

Jorge Lorenzo, Position: 1 Time: 1′38.933 Laps: 21
“It’s amazing to have the pole position here again, in my home country. Riding at this track is extra special for a Spanish rider and I felt a great motivation today. Yesterday we had some problems and I was a bit worried but we have worked well in the team and today we managed to resolve everything so that I could ride my Yamaha just how I wanted to. I felt very comfortable and I hope that this will be the same for the race. We’re starting in the best possible position; I know it will be hard tomorrow because everyone is close but I feel confident that we can fight to be on the podium again, as at the last two races. I hope it’s a bit less windy tomorrow though!”

Valentino Rossi, Position: 4 Time: 1′39.642 Laps: 21
“I’m a bit unhappy because we had a few problems and it actually hasn’t been such a good day, it was also very windy which made it more difficult! Yesterday we were very fast from the start and we hoped to keep going like this today but we have lost some feeling and now I can’t ride and push how I want to. At the moment I am not happy with the setting for the race and we need to work hard to understand the situation and try to improve it because we must be stronger tomorrow. Now we will make a long meeting and try to find some solution to try for the warm-up tomorrow.”

Daniele Romagnoli, Team Manager – 99: “We couldn’t ask for more than this as far as a qualifying performance goes! The team did a great job to fix yesterday’s problems and give Jorge a bike that enabled him to have a good pace for race conditions and also allowed him to be very, very fast for his flying laps this afternoon. It’s going to be a close race tomorrow because the top riders are all fast but we are confident that we can make it a good one for us.”

Davide Brivio, Team Manager – 46: “Missing out on the first row means that tomorrow’s race will be a bit more difficult in the early stages. Our race pace and rhythm are not so bad but we still need to make some adjustments because our potential is a lot better than this. We have to make Valentino more comfortable so that he can ride how he wants to, so now our engineers will study the data and look to come up with something to improve the setting.”

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Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Colin Edwards rode his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine to a brilliant seventh place in today’s Spanish MotoGP qualifying session at a sun-drenched Jerez circuit.

A thrilling 45-minute session run in sunny but breezy conditions saw American Edwards post a best time of 1.39.926 in the final minute to claim a place on the third row of the grid for tomorrow’s 27-lap race.

The 35-year-old encountered some small front-end grip issues this afternoon but was only 0.5s away from a front row start in an exciting session, the top seven riders split by less than a second. Edwards is confident he can be a strong contender in tomorrow’s race having set a consistently fast pace throughout practice on his YZR-M1 machine.

British rider James Toseland had a frustrating afternoon, a best lap of 1.40.670 leaving the 28-year-old in 14th on the grid for the first European race of 2009. Toseland is still searching for a comfortable set-up on his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine. He’s confident he can run a much faster pace in the race with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew working tirelessly to improve his feeling.

Tomorrow’s race will carry extra importance for the Tech 3 Team, with Monster Energy President Mark Hall making a special visit to the Spanish MotoGP race, which is traditionally one of the showpiece events on the calendar.

Colin Edwards 7th 1.39.926 – 20 laps
“I was really happy with the bike this morning. I was able to run a fast and consistent pace that only the top three were able to better. But we changed a couple of things on the bike for qualifying and it was the wrong direction unfortunately. Those changes probably cost me a place on the second row. I kept tucking the front and that has never happened before on Bridgestone. I’ve not had the front move on me once since I first tried Bridgestone back in November. The front tyre is magic but for some reason I wasn’t comfortable this afternoon. We’ll just revert back to the set-up we had this morning for the race because I had no issues at all really. I’m still confident for the race. It is going to be hot and tyre endurance will be crucial as always. I did nine laps on the hard compound and it was spinning but it always does that. It’s just how you manage it from that point and I think the setting we had this morning and yesterday will be fine. I’m determined to put on a good show for Mark Hall from Monster Energy and my guys at Tech 3 who have been working hard to give me a good bike as always.”

James Toseland 14th 1.40.670 – 19 laps
“It has been a frustrating day. We have been working a lot on the bike and when we cure one problem we create another. That session was almost like a test than a qualifying session and it is frustrating because I feel like I can definitely run the pace around the top six. I’m just trying to find a compromise between good braking stability and acceleration exiting corners. We seem to improve in one area but then sacrifice something in another area. My pace wasn’t too bad on the hard compound race tyre, so if I can get a good start and get away with the pack in front I’m sure I can have a good race and be in there fighting.
We’ll definitely be working hard tonight to improve for the race. I’ll be giving it my all as always and hope to show Mark Hall how strong the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team is.”

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Bridgestone

Tyre compounds used: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Soft, Medium

Motegi winner and last year’s polesitter Jorge Lorenzo claimed pole position by just 0.05 seconds after a great battle with fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa, who won here last season. Repsol Honda’s Pedrosa was in front for most of the session but Fiat Yamaha’s Lorenzo finished ahead after the two traded places in the closing minutes of qualifying.

Most riders started the session on the hard compound front Bridgestone and the medium compound rear. Two thirds of the way through the 45 minute session, 0.2 seconds separated the top six riders, and the top 12 riders were all within one second.

Towards the end of qualifying, the lap times dropped markedly as riders opted for the soft compound rear Bridgestone for optimum traction on Jerez’s new and more abrasive surface. Lorenzo’s pole lap was 1.2 seconds faster than last year’s fastest race lap, set by Pedrosa.

Fastest in the pre-season test at Jerez, Casey Stoner will start tomorrow’s race from third position for the Ducati Team. Reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi of Fiat Yamaha, LCR Honda’s Randy de Puniet and Rizla Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi will line up on the second row of the grid.

Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development: “The tyre situation was exactly as we expected following the pre-season test here, so I am happy with the compounds we chose. The softer option Bridgestones worked better this morning in free practice when the track temperature was 30 degrees Celsius, and the harder options worked well this afternoon in qualifying when the temperature was 45 degrees so again we can say we have covered all expected conditions with just two compounds.

“At the winter test Casey was far ahead of everyone, fastest by 0.7 seconds, but today we have seen very close competition. I think as the teams and riders get more time on the track with our 2009 tyres, especially those who did not use Bridgestones last year, the field is getting closer. With the race temperature tomorrow expected to be the same as this afternoon, I think almost all riders will choose the hard front and medium rear Bridgestones.”

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In the breathtaking first Superbike race, Haslam brought his bike through in fifth place and immediately pushed hard to chase the front group of Spies, Neukirchner and Haga. He found the connection in the fifth lap, and moved into third position after Neukirchner crashed out in front of him.

It was Haga who remained in the leading position in the second half of the race, and while Spies tried to recuperate his position, Haslam upped his pace and beat the lap record doing so, by no less then 0.6s.

Haslam overtook Spies in the first sections of the track, but lost valuable second coming out of the chicane onto the straight. He kept it clean and close in a frantic elbow rubbing session with Spies in the last laps, but lost his second position to the Yamaha rider.

In the last chicane Spies got the better out of a tussle with Haga and reclaimed the lead, while Haslam took third position as they crossed the line.

In the second race, Haslam was in good form once again, but in his quest to move forward to second place, was hindered by Fabrizio. He managed to overtake the Italian in the second part of the race, but by this time Haga had extended his lead to a mere 4 seconds. Haslam stayed put and completed the successful day for the Stiggy Superbike team by adding a second place to the tally.

Haslam succeeded in his mission to be the top British and fastest Honda rider in the Superbike Championship, and further secured his third place in the rankings today.

Leon Haslam, R1-3rd, R2-2nd:
” I am absolutely over the moon. This certainly was my best race ever on one of my favourite tracks. To be on the podium twice in one weekend is just awesome. I was a little frustrated after the first race, as I wasn’t there in the last two laps with Nori and Ben to battle for the win.

With Spies crashing out in the second race I thought I had a great opportunity to battle with Nori, but it just took me too long to pass Fabrizio. By the time I got passed him I managed to brake him by a second , but Nori was already gone and had a nice lead. I managed to gain a little bit on him towards the end, but it wasn’t enough to catch him.

I want to give big thanks to my team and sponsors, and am looking forward to the next race in Monza.”

Johan Stigefelt, Team Manager:
“It has been an incredible day for us. We achieved a fantastic result here in Assen, it is a great effort from everyone in the team. We all have worked so hard to get here. Everyone believes in the project. We just have an incredibly strong and motivated team. At ten o’clock last night we were still swapping engines in Leon’s bike, but he is delivering and has rewarded the team for their efforts.

Leon can ride the bike well and has put it to the limit. He has put in a great effort as well and to take home two podium places in our fourth Superbike race is just incredible. It’s a big thing for the team, we are currently third in the Championship and best Honda team. It is hard to believe we achieved this in such a short period of time.

On the other side there was the heavy crash on Friday that took John out of contention for a while. I feel really sorry for him, and hope he will make a speedy recovery. We can give him the same package Leon has and are ready for him when he comes back.”