Loris Capirossi

Pramac Ducati have stepped up their bid for results in the 2011 MotoGP Championship season by announcing two new riders who they are sure will help lift them up the standings in this years competition.

The Pramac team believe that experience of Loris Capirossi and the heroics of Randy de Puniet will put them where they would like to be in 2011, having discarded with the relatively inexperienced pairing of Mika Kallio and Aleix Espargaro who failed to impress over the course of last year.

While Pramac accept that taking on the official teams on the track maybe a tough call, team principal Paolo Campinoti will set his riders the minimum goal of being the best satellite team during the 2011 MotoGP season.

The Pramac team have been involved with MotoGP for ten years now and Campinoti has enjoyed every minute of it, but he says the recruitment of these two top class riders will put the team in its best position ever and can’t wait for the season to get underway.

Casey Stoner – Ducati Marlboro 2010

The Ducati rider Casey Stoner took his first win of the season yesterday when he crossed the line at the Aragon MotoGP.

Starting from pole position, the Australian dominated the race from the off, finishing the race 5.148 seconds ahead of second placed man Dani Pedrosa.

Pedrosa dropped back to fifth place after getting shuffled out of the pack in the opening corner but had soon fought his way back to slot in behind Stoner.

The battle for the final step of the podium went down to the line between the second Ducati of Nicky Hayden and the current leader of the championship Jorge Lorenzo.  After several attempts, Hayden managed to make his move on the Yamaha rider stick finally passing him on the final lap to take his first podium finish this season.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Ben Spies crossed the line in fifth place after and exciting race for fifth place against the second Repsol Honda of Andrea Dovizioso.  The Honda rider unfortunately crashed out on the final lap after pushing for the place.

Valentino Rossi finished in sixth place on the second Fiat Yamaha ahead of Marco Simoncelli and Alvaro Bautista with Marco Melandri in ninth position followed by the Pramac Racing rider Alex Espargaro.

The LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet, was lucky to have escaped injury after spectacularly crashing out on lap 16 of the race.

The teams and riders of MotoGP assembled on the circuit on Sunday morning to pay their respect to Shoya Tomizawa who died two-weeks ago at the Misano circuit.  The popular Japanese riders bike was placed on the starting grid and it was announced that his number 48 would be retired from the Mot02 World Championship.

Here are the results;

1.  Casey Stoner  AUS Ducati Marlboro Team  42m 16.53s
2. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team 42m 21.678s
3. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 42m 26.026s
4. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Fiat Yamaha Team 42m 26.11s
5. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 42m 30.301s
6. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 42m 43.86s
7. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 42m 45.041s
8. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 42m 51.784s
9. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 42m 51.923s
10. Aleix Espargaro ESP Pramac Racing 42m 51.997s
11. Hector Barbera ESP Paginas Amarillas Aspar 42m 52.052s
12. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 43m 1.89s
13. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP 43m 4.849s
14. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 43m 14.577s

DNF:
Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team
Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP

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

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

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

Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda

The Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa claimed his first victory of the season in this weekends MotoGP round at Mugello after Valentino Rossi was ruled out of the race following his crash in practice.

The Fiat Yamaha rider missed his first home race since 2000 after fracturing the tibia in his right leg on Saturday and underwent surgery to align and stabilised with a pin.  Rossi will have the wound stitched over the next few days and is expected to leave the hospital within the next ten days.  Rossi appeared in high spirits while being interviewed from his hospital bed and said;

“Now I can say my morale is reasonably high because I’ve discovered I have a great rapport with morphine!”

Pedrosa led from the first corner at the Gran Premio d’Italia and crossed the line 4.014 seconds ahead of his nearest rival Jorge Lorenzo on the Fiat Yamaha, who is still leading the championship after his second place finish.  The Spaniard held up a message for his ailing team-mate before the start of the race which read;

“Everyone can feel pain, but not everyone can be a legend”

The second Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso finished in third place ahead of the Marlboro Ducati rider Casey Stoner.  Stoner had been trading places with Marco Melandri and Randy de Puniet for much of the race before securing his fourth place finish, after passing Melandri on the final lap while de Puniet had to settle for sixth place.

Ben Spies crossed the line in seventh place ahead of the Pramac Racing rider Aleix Espargaro in eighth, Marco Simoncelli in ninth and Loris Capirossi in tenth.

Nicky Hayden failed to finish on the second Marlboro Ducati after the bike folded on him on lap 5 of the race as he rode through the downhill Turn 12 while Mika Kallio also failed to finish for the Pramac Racing team after crashing out.

Here are the results;

1.  Dani Pedrosa  ESP Repsol Honda Team  42m 28.066s
2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Fiat Yamaha Team 42m 32.080s
3. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 42m 34.262s
4. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 42m 53.789s
5. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 42m 53.801s
6. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 42m 54.031s
7. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 42m 56.872s
8. Aleix Espargaro ESP Pramac Racing 43m 8.238s
9. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 43m 9.460s
10. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 43m 10.173s
11. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP 43m 11.161s
12. Hector Barbera ESP Paginas Amarillas Aspar 43m 11.429s
13. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 43m 42.459s
14. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 43m 52.455s

DNF:
Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing
Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team

Jorge Lorenzo – Fiat Yamaha 2010

The Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo is now leading the championship following his win at the Le Mans MotoGP at the weekend.

Valentino Rossi led the pack for the first eleven laps of the race after getting ahead of the Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa while Lorenzo slotted into third place and the two Marlboro Ducati’s of Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner were running in fourth and fifth.

Lorenzo soon passed Pedrosa as Stoner put his foot down to get past his team-mate and move into fourth and chase down the Honda.  Stoner was on the tail of Pedrosa when he crashed out for the second time in the last three races.

The two Fiat Yamaha’s led the field ahead of Pedrosa as Lorenzo attempted a pass on his team-mate on lap 7.  Rossi immediately retook his position but only for another four laps when the Spaniard made his move stick and shot off into the distance.

Pedrosa was then left to fight off his challenging team-mate Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden for his third spot on the podium.  With only 5 laps of the race to go the pair were on the Spaniard and looking for a way past which Dovizioso managed and the chance for Hayden came on the final lap as Pedrosa ran wide as his tyres wore down gifting Hayden took his opportunity to grab that fourth place.

Here are the results;

Jorge Lorenzo

This weekend saw the MotoGP teams and riders head to Jerez for the Spanish Grand Prix with Jorge Lorenzo crossing the line to win at his home circuit.

Dani Pedrosa qualified in pole position for the Repsol Honda team and led the race as the lights went out followed by the Fiat Yamaha of Valentino Rossi who slipped into second from fourth on the grid, ahead of the Marlboro Ducati of Nicky Hayden.

The Rizla Suzuki rider Loris Capirossi crashed out on lap three and was out of the race followed shortly afterwards by the Pramac Racing machine of Aleix Espargaro, who managed to rejoin the runners.  Ben Spies on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine was seen returning to his pit garage and retire after developing a problem with his front tyre.

Pedrosa was leading the race and creating a gap between himself and second place man Rossi with a fast approaching Lorenzo while the battle further back was between San Carlo Honda Gresini team-mates Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli who were challenging for seventh place.

Lorenzo slipped past his team mate Rossi on lap 21 of the race before attempting a pass on his fellow countryman Pedrosa two laps later.  However, the Honda rider wasn’t giving up his slot easily and the two almost made contact as Pedrosa fought to hold his line.

On the final lap, Pedrosa ran wide allowing Lorenzo the chance to get past and finish 0.543 seconds ahead with Rossi in third place.

Nicky Hayden finished in fourth spot followed by Casey Stoner in fifth, Andrea Dovizioso in sixth, MikaKallio in seventh, Marco Melandri in eighth, Randy de Puniet in ninth and Alvaro Bautista in tenth.

Here are the results;

1   Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 45m 17.538s
2.  Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 45m 18.081s
3. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 45m 18.428s
4.  Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 45m 26.553s
5. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 45m 27.572s
6.  Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 45m 40.682s
7.   Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 45m 52.027s
8. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 45m 52.225s
9. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 45m 53.698s
10. Alvaro Bautista SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 45m 54.329s
11. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 45m 54.693s
12. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 45m 55.798s
13. Hector Barbera SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar 45m 55.909s
14. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP 46m 19.59s
15. Aleix Espargaro SPA Pramac Racing +3laps

DNF:
Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
Loris CapirossiITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

The first race of the MotoGP season got underway last night with Valentino Rossi doing what he does best, taking the chequered flag. The Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar got underway with Dani Pedrosa on the Repsol Honda taking the lead as the lights went out, from seventh on the grid. Casey Stoner on the Marlboro Ducati slipped back to fourth place after starting in pole position but was in the lead by the fourth lap after picking off his Ducati team-mate Nicky Hayden, Rossi and Dani Pedrosa. Rossi was soon chasing down Stoner but the Ducati rider had managed to make a gap of two-seconds by the time the Italian had made his move on Pedrosa. However, Stoner lost the front end of his Ducati going into turn 4 and was out of the race leaving Rossi at the front of the pack. Hayden stuck with Rossi after an impressive ride from ninth on the grid as the second Repsol Honda of Andrea Dovizioso replaced his team-mate Pedrosa at the front. Dovizioso got past Hayden before challenging Rossi for the lead, briefly making the pass stick on lap 16 before Rossi snatched it back. Jorge Lorenzo was then on the move as Rossi created a gap at the front, first picking off third place man Hayden before muscling his way through on Dovizioso two laps later. Hayden once again fought his way past Dovizioso but not for long as the Honda rider retook the lead on the final run down to the line for third place. Ben Spies came in to finish in fifth place on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 followed by the LCR Honda of Randy de Puniet in sixth and Pedrosa in seventh. The second Monster Yamaha Tech 3 of Colin Edwards finished in eighth place ahead of Loris Capirossi on the Rizla Suzuki, riding in his 300 grand prix finished in ninth followed by Hiroshi Aoyama in tenth for the Interwetten Honda team. The Pramac Racing riders Mika Kallio and Aleix Espargaro, both failed to finish the race after crashes along with rookie rider Alvaro Bautista, who slid off track on the final lap of the race. Here are the results;

Moto2 The first ever replacement series for the 250cc series, Moto2 took place with a surprising victory for newcomer Shoya Tomizawa. Every machine on the grid follows the new rules of using Honda-built 600cc four-stroke engines and all are fitted with Dunlop tyres, with the race coming down to riding skills and nerve. As Toni Elias took the lead in the early stages of the race, his back wheel was clipped by his team-mate Alex deAngelis , causing de Angelis and Stefan Bradl out of contention. Tomizawa had moved to the front of the pack as second place man Elias, was moved back to third when Jules Cluzel made his move with 5 laps left to run. Tomizawa took his first ever podium step for the Technomag Seuter team ahead of Alex Debon on the Aeroport de Castelló-Ajo bike in second and Jules Cluzel for the Forward Racing team in third. Elias finished the race in fourth place followed by Roberto Rolfo in fifth, Mattai Pasini in sixth, Thomas Lüthi in seventh, Simone Corsi in eighth, Gabor Talmacsi in ninth and Sergio Gadea completing the top ten riders. Here are the results;

125CC Nico Terol claimed the top step of the podium in the first 125cc race of the MotoGP season for the BancajaAspar team last night. It was Efrén Vázquez who led as the race got underway but the lead spot was soon swapped as Marc Márquez, Terol and Pol Espargaro all took a turn at the front. Terol was however the man of the day followed by Vázquez for second place and Márquez in third. Espargaro finished in fourth place ahead of Sandro Cortese, Randy Krummenacher, Esteve Rabat, Bradley Smith, Tomoyoshi Koyama and Alexis Masbou rounding up the top ten. Here are the results;

MotoGP Pramac Racing 2009

The Spanish rider Aleix Espargaró has signed to race for the Pramac Racing team for the 2010 season, riding alongside Mika Kallio.

The 20-year-old, made his debut in the MotoGP series for the team, replacing Kallio who was drafted into the Marlboro Ducati team to ride for the ailing Casey Stoner.  He rode in the Indianapolis round, finishing thirteenth and then again at the Misano circuit, finishing in eleventh.

Espargaró looked to moving onto the new Moto2 machine next season after spending the majority of the year working on the development of the machine but said when this chance came along he couldn’t turn it down.

The new satellite Ducati rider said;

“I am very happy to be arriving in MotoGP after the time I have had this year. It is better news to be riding for Ducati all through next season than to be riding in the final few races of this year, which could have happened. The two races that I did for Ducati this year were good, I was very comfortable on the bike and with the team. I think I adapt well to MotoGP because I’m quite tall and the bikes suit me better than Moto2 machines. 2010 could be a good year for me.”

“I performed well in the two MotoGP races I did but now I will have the whole winter to practice with the bike, get the set-up right and prepare for 2010. I will be able to prepare calmly and precisely for racing in MotoGP.”