Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha 2010

The Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo took victory again yesterday at the Red Bull US MotoGP as race leader Dani Pedrosa crashed out.

It was the Repsol Honda of Dani Pedrosa that took to the front as the lights went out at Laguna Seca from his fourth spot on the grid.  As the Spaniard made a brave pass around the outside, Casey Stoner slotted in behind followed by Lorenzo in third.

On lap 6, Stoner lost his second place after making a mistake and running wide letting Lorenzo through and hot on the tail of his fellow countryman.

On lap 12 of the 32 lap race, Pedrosa low-sided off of his Honda and was out of the race handing the lead to Lorenzo who edged away from a struggling Stoner.

In third place was a very impressive Valentino Rossi, making it onto the podium just seven weeks after his accident at Mugello in which he suffered a broken leg.  Rossi managed to catch and overtake the second Repsol Honda of Andrea Dovizioso who was still challenging for that third place at the final corner.

Nicky Hayden crossed the line in fifth place followed by Ben Spies in sixth.  Spies got off to a fantastic start and was in fourth place in the opening laps of the race but by lap 3 had dropped back to seventh place.  The Monster Tech3 Yamaha rider then worked his way back through the field, passing Hayden on lap 21 and setting Rossi in his sights before once again dropping back down the order on lap 25.

Colin Edwards finished in seventh place ahead of Marco Melandri in eighth, Mika Kallio in ninth and Loris Capirossi rounding off the top ten riders of the day.

Hector Barbera appeared to suffer a technical problem with his Aspar Ducati and failed to finish the race along with Alvaro Bautista, Marco Simoncelli and Aleix Espargaro who all crashed out.

Here are the results;

1.  Jorge Lorenzo  ESP Fiat Yamaha Team  43m 54.873s
2. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 43m 58.39s
3. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 44m 8.293s
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 44m 9.061s
5. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 44m 9.474s
6. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 44m 13.91s
7. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 44m 35.594s
8. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 44m 42.092s
9. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 44m 47.686s
10. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 44m 47.687s
11. Roger Lee Hayden USA LCR Honda MotoGP 45m 8.962s
12. Alex de Angelis RSM Interwetten Honda MotoGP 45m 9.539s

DNF:
Aleix Espargaro ESP Pramac Racing
Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini
Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team 998m 0s
Hector Barbera ESP Paginas Amarillas Aspar
Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Roger Lee Hayden - WSB Kawasaki - Assen 2010

Roger Lee Hayden will be making his MotoGP debut this weekend at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix as a replacement rider for the injured Randy de Puniet.

The 27-year-old brother of Nicky will be in front of his home crowd as he joins the LCR Honda team and is hoping to prove his worth on a track he knows well.

Despite never having ridden the bike before and only ever riding a GP bike once when he entered as a wildcard rider at the Laguna circuit back in 2007, finishing in tenth place,  Hayden is hoping to make a good impression to enable him to get a ride for next season either in the MotoGP, Moto2 or the World Superbike series.

Roger Lee had to get permission to take the ride this weekend from the American Honda team after agreeing to race for them as a wildcard rider in the Moto2 race at Indianapolis five weeks after the MotoGP Grand Prix but they agreed happily.

Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda 2010

The Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa took his second win of the season yesterday in a fantastic race at the Sachsenring circuit in Germany.

As the race got underway it was pole sitter Jorge Lorenzo on the Fiat Yamaha that took the lead ahead of Dani Pedrosa, Casey Stoner, Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi.

As Pedrosa stuck to the back wheel of his fellow countryman on lap 9 the red flag was waved following a huge crash which saw Randy de Puniet come off at turn 4 collecting both Alvaro Bautista and Alexi Espargaró. Neither rider could avoid the LCR Honda of de Puniet who received a broken left tibia and fibula and a possible cracked vertebra for Espargaró.  Despite returning to the pits to recover their spare bikes, neither Espargaro or Bautista were allowed to continue as they were unable to get back with their bikes within 5 minutes of the red flag.

The second 21 lap race started 25-minutes later with Lorenzo once again out in front but this time Pedrosa made  his intentions clear as he attempted a pass on the Yamaha rider before the end of the first lap.  While the took took turns at the front Rossi had made his way past Dovizioso for fourth and was after Stoner in third.

Pedrosa took control of the race after making his move stick on lap 12 breaking his own lap record from the previous year.  Rossi meanwhile was on the tail of Stoner before the two raced side-by-side across the circuit with just a handful of laps to run.

Pedrosa took the chequered flag 3.355 seconds ahead of Lorenzo with Stoner taking third place after passing Rossi on the final corner of the last lap.  Dovizioso crossed the line in fifth place followed by Marco Simoncelli in sixth, Nicky Hayden in seventh, Ben Spies in eighth, Héctor Barberá in ninth and Marco Melandri in tenth.

The Pramac Racing team rider Mika Kallio crashed out on the first lap of the restarted 21 lap race after a disastrous weekend while the Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Colin Edwards failed to restart the race after crashing out on lap 7 of the original race.

Here are the results;

1.  Dani Pedrosa  ESP Repsol Honda Team  28m 50.476s
2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Fiat Yamaha Team 28m 53.831s
3. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 28m 55.733s
4. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 28m 56.099s
5. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 29m 7.634s
6. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 29m 8.233s
7. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 29m 8.411s
8. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 29m 11.433s
9. Hector Barbera ESP Paginas Amarillas Aspar 29m 12.476s
10. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 29m 25.693s
11. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 29m 35.518s
12. Alex de Angelis RSM Interwetten Honda MotoGP 29m 35.68s

DNF:
Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing
Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
Aleix Espargaro ESP Pramac Racing
Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP >
Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3

The Doctor Fans

Valentino Rossi is returning to the MotoGP grid this weekend, a month earlier than was initially expected after being given medical clearance.

The Fiat Yamaha rider had now completed two test sessions on the Yamaha R1 World Superbike and feels that he is now ready to get back in the saddle if he is to have any chance of competing for the championship.

Now lying in seventh place in the standings after missing the last four rounds following his accident at Mugello where he suffered a fractured right tibia.  The Italian rider had been told to expect at least a five-month recuperation programme but after just six weeks the reigning seven-time MotoGP champion is ready to make his return.

Despite the two test sessions going well, Rossi said;

“The big question mark is the entire race, 30 laps in a row. I have to wait and see what happens!”

Jorge Lorenzo - Catalunya MotoGP 2010

The Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo crossed the line to take the chequered flag yesterday at the Catalunya MotoGP extending his lead in the championship standings.

It was the Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa that took to the front as the lights went our at the Circuit de Catalunya from fourth spot on the grid but as he came out of the first turn he discovered that he had no front brakes, forcing him wide and  back to ninth position.

Lorenzo to the front of the pack as the Marlboro Ducati of Casey Stoner began to put pressure on the Spaniard followed closely behind by the second Repsol Honda of Andrea Dovizioso and Randy de Puniet.

Within two laps Dani Pedrosa was back on the pace and had fought his way back to fifth position as his team-mate passed Stoner on the inside to take second place at turn five and began to chase down the leading man.

Dovizioso then passed Lorenzo on the following lap as they headed into turn one but only managed to hold the position for a short time as the Yamaha rider retook the lead within a lap and a half.

Stoner decided he wanted a taste of the lead and after running in the slipstream of the two front runners picked up enough speed to pass but missed his braking point at turn 1, rejoining behind Randy de Puniet and Pedrosa.

Pedrosa continued to chase down the front runners, passing De Puniet on lap 7 as the battle for the lead between Lorenzo and Dovizioso went on.

Dovizioso’s moment ended when after suffering some sort of problem with his rear brakes the Honda rider crashed out leaving Lorenzo some breathing space as he cruised towards the finishing line.

Stoner recovered from his earlier off and passed Randy de Puniet before chasing down Pedrosa for second place, however, Pedrosa gave the Ducati rider no chance of passing and finished the race ahead.

Randy de Puniet finished in fourth place ahead of the Rizla Suzuki rider Alvaro Bautista in fifth and Monster Tech3 Yamaha rider Ben Spies in sixth.

In seventh place was the second Rizla Suzuki man Loris Capirossi followed by Nicky Hayden on the second Marlboro Ducati in eighth, Marco Melandri on the  San Carlo Honda Gresini in ninth and Hector Barbera on the Paginas Amarillas Aspar in tenth.

Here are the results;

1.  Jorge Lorenzo  ESP Fiat Yamaha Team  43m 22.805s
2. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team 43m 27.559s
3. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 43m 27.761s
4. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 43m 40.862s
5. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 43m 44.166s
6. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 43m 44.308s
7. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 43m 46.986s
8. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 43m 50.746s
9. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 43m 50.851s
10. Hector Barbera ESP Paginas Amarillas Aspar 43m 55.244s
11. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 44m 1.211s
12. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 44m 21.062s
13. Kousuke Akiyoshi JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP 44m 32.153s
14. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 44m 55.207s
15. Wataru Yoshikawa JPN Fiat Yamaha Team 44m 58.042s

DNF:
Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini
Aleix Espargaro ESP Pramac Racing

Axel Pons - Tenerife 40 Pons Moto2 Team 2010

Axel Pons, rider of the Tenerife 40 Pons Moto2 team suffered a fractured radius in his right arm after crashing out in the qualifying session of the Assen MotoGP last week which is expected to take up to three weeks to repair.

The Spanish rider is to be replaced by his fellow countryman Carmelo Morales at this weekends Catalunya MotoGP, making his debut at the championship.

The 31-year-old rider is currently competing in the Moto2 series of the Spanish National Championship and is also a Spanish Extreme champion holder twice as well as holding two European Superstock 1000 titles.

Although it is the first time on the bike for the Spaniard he doesn’t feel that this will be of a disadvantage and is looking forward to getting to grips with the challenge on Friday.

Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha 2010

The Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo continued his winning streak after taking the victory at the Assen MotoGP on Saturday, his fourth of the season.

Starting from pole position, Lorenzo led the pack into the first corner with Ben Spies and Dani Pedrosa moving up the grid to slot into second and third places respectively.

On lap three as Lorenzo started to increase his lead, Pedrosa and Casey Stoner both made their move to pass the Monster Yamaha Tech3 of Ben Spies.  The second Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso was the next man to make a move on Spies to slot into fourth place.

Stoner was desperately trying to find a way past Pedrosa while Spies retook the position from Dovizioso with Randy de Puniet also in the battle for the points.

Lorenzo crossed the line 2.935 seconds ahead of Pedrosa, while Stoner made it onto the podium for the first time this season with third place.  Spies finished in fourth place followed by Dovizioso and De Puniet in fifth and sixth, Nicky Hayden in seventh, Colin Edwards in eighth, Marco Simoncelli in ninth and Aleix Espargaro completing the top ten finishers.

Here are the results;

1 25 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 41′18.629 171.518
2 20 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 41′21.564 171.315 2.935
3 16 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Team DUCATI 41′25.651 171.034 7.022
4 13 11 Ben SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 41′31.894 170.605 13.265
5 11 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 41′33.952 170.464 15.323
6 10 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 41′34.401 170.434 15.772
7 9 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team DUCATI 41′44.496 169.747 25.867
8 8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 41′47.620 169.535 28.991
9 7 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 41′54.287 169.086 35.658
10 6 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Team DUCATI 41′54.466 169.074 35.837
11 5 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Team DUCATI 42′15.398 167.678 56.769
12 4 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar DUCATI 42′15.519 167.670 56.890
13 3 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 42′19.244 167.424 1′00.615
14 2 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 42′26.703 166.933 1′08.074
15 1 64 Kousuke AKIYOSHI JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP HONDA 41′42.019 163.380 1 lap

Marco Melandri

Marco Melandri is the latest MotoGP rider to be injured and out of this weekends Assen MotoGP after injuring his shoulder during this mornings practice session.

The San Carlo Honda Gresini rider suffered a huge highside after being on track for just 12 minutes and has since been diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder ruling him out for the remainder of the weekend.

Melandri appeared to miss his braking point at the newly modified Ruskenhoek turn and was seen going straight on, he did well to keep the bike upright but on rejoining the circuit he was thrown into the air.

Rossi's Fiat Yamaha 2010

The Fiat Yamaha MotoGP team are replacing the injured Valentino Rossi with their test rider Wataru Yoshikawa at the Catalunya Grand Prix on July 4th.

The Japanese rider is a two-times Superbike champion is expected to ride the YZR-M1 for at least the next 3 races while Rossi is out of action.

Team Managing Director Lin Jarvis said in an interview;

“Finally, after a great deal of consideration, we have selected Wataru Yoshikawa, our Japanese YZR-M1 test rider, to join us as our substitute rider. We provisionally plan for three races (Catalunya, Sachsenring and Laguna Seca) but we will adjust the plan accordingly when we know more about Valentino’s expected date of return.”

The 41-year-old has only competed in the series on one previous occasion when he raced as a wild-card back in 2002, at Motegi where he finished in twelfth position.

World Superbike Championship 2010

The Interwetten Honda MotoGP injured rider Hiroshi Aoyama is to be replaced by the Honda test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi at the Assen round of the championship and the following Catalunya round.

Aoyama was injured during the warm up session at Silverstone last weekend and suffered a fractured vertebrae.  The Japanese rider was hospitalised and kept in to be monitored following the crash which is expected to keep him out of the series for at least the next couple of months.

Akiyoshi will now take to the track on the RC212V at Assen next weekend and again in Spain for July 2-4th where he will race under the number 64, the test rider will replace Aoyama until a longer term replacement can be found.