Changes introduced for the 2010 season aimed at making the sport more exciting and the possibility of overtaking more probable. While it was one of the most exciting season’s that F1 has seen for some years the newer tracks kept overtaking to a minimum, where only the bravest of drivers excelled.

The new rules introduced for 2011 can be seen is this easy to read infographic:

Sebastien Vettel – Red Bull Racing 2010

Following last weekends Monaco Grand Prix, the joint championship leader, Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel has fuelled rumours that he could be heading for a drive with the Ferrari team next season.

The German driver has made no secret of the fact that his ultimate aim would be to one day drive for the Ferrari crew although his team-mate Mark Webber and winner of Sunday’s race has also been linked to be the replacement for Felipe Massa’s seat in 2011.

Webber crossed the line to take the chequered flag for the second time in two weeks at the Monaco Grand Prix for the Red Bull team, followed by team-mate Vettel in second.

The incident packed race saw the safety car deployed four times after several accidents during the 78 laps but Mark Webber managed to stay ahead and focused after each slot to make it another Red Bull one-two.

The first yellow flag was seen being waved from lap 1 of the race after Williams driver Nico Hulkenberg crashed his car into the barrier of the tunnel causing the first deployment of the safety car.  Hulkenberg dropped back at the start of the race after suffering problems with his clutch on the formation lap.  It was later reported that his car had encountered a front wing mounting failure which will be investigated by the team.

Current F1 World Champion Jenson Button was out of the race by lap 3 after qualifying in eighth place on the grid.  Apparently a cooling cover had been left on the left-hand side pod and wasn’t spotted until the McLaren had already entered it’s grid position.  Following the deployment of the safety car, the McLaren engine began to overheat causing a small fire and ending Button’s race as he was forced to switch off his car.

The safety car entered the pit lane on lap 7 and the restart was underway with Webber again leading the race followed by Vettel and Robert Kubica in third.

Fernando Alonso was forced to start from the pit lane in his Ferrari after hitting the barriers in practice.  The Spaniard made a mistake at Massanet, only 20 minutes into the final practice session, damaging the chassis which meant that the car would not be available to him for qualifying on Saturday.

Alonso made an early pit stop as the race got underway, having passed Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok, Lucas di Grassi was defending his line and kept Alonso behind him until he made a mistake on lap 10, allowing the Ferrari to slip past.

Pedro de la Rosa retired his BMW Sauber on lap 24 after a long pit stop saw smoke billowing from the back of his car and he was pushed into his garage.

Lap 28 was the end of the race for the Virgin driver Lucas di Grassi and on lap 32 the safety car was once again on track after Rubens Barrichello crashed out and was stranded in the middle of the circuit at Massenet.  The Brazilian had been running in tenth place when he suffered a failure at the rear of his Williams, sending him into a spin and into the barrier and leaving him with front and rear wings missing and a broken suspension.

The race was again underway on lap 34 but was deployed again on lap 43 after it was reported that a drain cover was loose at turn 3.  After a brief investigation it was decided that it was safe to continue and the safety car came in the following lap.

Bruno Senna parked his HRT F1 in his pit garage on lap 63 of the race while on lap 66, Heikki Kovalainen suffered a problem with his gearbox resulting in a long pit stop while the crew battled to try and get him back on track.

On lap 74, the safety car was deployed yet again after a huge incident at La Rascasse as Jarno Trulli’s car went over the top of Chandhok’s as both cars fought for the line.  Trulli had tried to put his Lotus up the inside of the HRT of Chandhok but the two touched wheels resulting in the Lotus jumping over the HRT as Chandhok was seen trying to protect his head.

With only two laps of the race remaining it looked as if the drivers would finish the Monaco Grand Prix behind the safety car but it exited the track just before the final lap to see Webber cross the line to take the greatest victory of his career.

Michael Shumacher was given a 20 second penalty after the race after it was deemed that he had broken regulations by overtaking.  The rules state that the drivers must take the chequered flag in the order they have been running in if the safety car has been deployed.

Here are the results;

1. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 78 laps 1hr 50m 13.355s
2. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00m 00.4s
3. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault +00m 01.6s
4. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 02.6s
5. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 04.3s
6. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 06.3s
7. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 06.6s
8. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +00m 06.9s
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +00m 07.3s
10. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +00m 08.1s

11. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +00m 09.1s
12. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 25.7s
13. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault +5 laps [DNF]
14. Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth +8 laps [DNF]
15. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth +8 laps [DNF]

Rtd Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth 58 laps completed
Rtd Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth 58 laps completed
Rtd Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 30 laps completed
Rtd Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari 26 laps completed
Rtd Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth 25 laps completed
Rtd Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 22 laps completed
Rtd Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari 21 laps completed
Rtd Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 2 laps completed
Rtd Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth 0 laps completed

Fastest lap:

Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 15.192s lap 71

all results unofficial

Renault 2009

The Renault Formula One team have today been given the go ahead to race at the European Grand Prix in Valencia this coming weekend after a decision was reached today.

Here is the statement from the International Court of Appeal;

Reminder of the facts
On 26 July 2009, the Stewards of the Meeting suspended the competitor ING Renault F1 Team (“Renault”) from the next event in the 2009 Formula One World Championship (namely, the Grand Prix of Europe to be held in Valencia) for the following reasons:
- Renault knowingly released car N°7 (driver Fernando Alonso) from the pit stop position without one of the retaining devices for the wheel-nuts being securely in position;
- Being aware of this, Renault failed to take any action to prevent the car from leaving the pit-lane;
- Renault failed to inform the driver of this problem or to advise him to take appropriate action given the circumstances;
- This resulted in a car part detaching at turn 5 and the wheel itself detaching at turn 9.
The FFSA appealed the Stewards’ decision on behalf of Renault.

Decision
Renault admitted to the Court that it breached the Sporting Regulations, in that it failed to ensure that car no. 7 complied with the conditions for safety throughout practice and the race, and that it released the car after a pit stop when it was unsafe to do so. However, it requested the Court to reconsider the severity of the sanction imposed by the Stewards.
Having heard the arguments of the parties, the Court has decided as follows:
1. to allow the appeal and overturn the sanction imposed by the Stewards in the Contested Decision;
2. to issue a reprimand and impose a fine of $50,000 upon Renault.
The reasons for this decision will be published in a full judgment in the coming days.

Valentino Rossi

This weekend the MotoGP riders return to work in Brno for the Cardion AB Czech Republic Grand Prix after their mid-summer break for the remaining seven rounds of the MotoGP Championship.  On Monday the teams and riders also have a day of testing taking place.

The Brno press conference took place yesterday with Valentino Rossi, Mika Kallio, Andrea Dovizioso, Loris Capirossi and Gabor Talmacsi in attendance.

From this round of the championship, the new engine rule comes into play, giving the riders only five engines to compete the remaining rounds of the season.  Rossi said;

“It changes the way we will work on the bike a little bit. Now you have to plan more which bike you use during the practice and you have to take care of the engine, even after the race. It should save money so it is important. In Monday’s test we have some small details to check and we will try to take another step forward with the bike.”

Dovizioso confirmed that the Repsol Honda team will be testing a new swingarm throughout the weekend and onto the Monday test, if conditions allow.

Loris Capirossi announced that the team will be using a new engine on the Rizla Suzuki at this round and will be testing further new parts on Monday as well as a possible new chassis.

Mika Kallio, is the replacement rider for the Marlboro Ducati rider Casey Stoner, after it was announced that he would be out for the next three rounds while he recovered from his mystery illness.

Gabor Talmacsi will be in front of many of his home fans for the first time as a MotoGP rider and is hoping to give them a good result.

Randy de Puniet will on the LCR Honda, despite fracturing his ankle in a motorcross training programme the week after the UK round of the championship.

Felipe Massa – Ferrari

Michael Schumacher is undergoing a rigorous fitness regime in preparation for his come back to Formula One in Valencia on the 23 August, when he replaces the injured driver Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team.

Schumacher has said on his website www.michael-schumacher.de

“I’m currently in the midst of my preparations for the upcoming race. I already lost three kilograms even if it is also important to me for to build up muscles.  So all in all, the practice is going pretty well.  I only have to admit that my neck pinches a bit. We have to get a grip on that as my health is the priority — that’s the clear arrangement made with Ferrari and with my wife too.”

As Schumacher will not be able to test the F60 due to the ban on in-season testing, the 40-year-old has taken to the Lonato circuit in Italy in a kart.

Schumacher said;

“Karting has a very good training effect, that is why today I just jumped into a testing day of the Tony Kart team in Lonato.  There is nothing better for my preparations at the moment – in terms of steering wheel forces for example, karting is even more difficult than Formula One.”

He added;

“We had two very good karting days, arms, upper body, shoulders, neck — an excellent practice indeed.”

Meanwhile, Felipe Massa is making a remarkable recovery and after a series of tests in Sao Paulo hospital, has been told that there is no need for further surgery at this time.

The 28-year-old Brazilian, has now been told to rest at home and no time has been given of when he is likely to return to his seat in the cock-pit of the Ferrari.

Michael Schumachaer

As I mentioned in a previous blog, the Ferrari team were hoping to get a helping hand by getting the in-season testing ban lifted to allow Michael Schumacher, replacing the injured Felipe Massa,  to acquaint himself with the current F60 car, however, not all the teams are fully in support of the ban suspension.

The Williams team have confirmed that they are not happy about the rule being waived, with Frank Williams saying;

“While we welcome Michael Schumacher back to Formula One, the fact is that any form of in-season circuit testing is strictly prohibited; a regulation clearly laid out by the FIA and adhered to by all of the teams.

It was for this reason that (Jaime) Alguersuari, who drove an F1 car for the very first time in Hungary, did not have the opportunity to familiarise himself with the Toro Rosso before he made his race debut.  Williams F1 sees no distinction between Alguersuari’s situation and Schumacher’s and feels that any deviation from the rule would create a precedent for the future.

In a similar situation, Williams F1 would unhesitatingly use its current test driver.

For the sake of consistency and fairness, therefore, we oppose Ferrari’s proposal to test ahead of the European Grand Prix”.

Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso,  are also opposing lifting the ban, with team boss Christian Horner saying;

“I am sure that Michael Schumacher who is a seven times World Champion and has won 91 races won’t have a problem getting up to speed.

Also Michael has driven a two-year-old Ferrari last week in Mugello so I have no doubt that he will be on the pace quickly”.

Force India were another team not giving the green-light to allow Schumacher special privileges, although they have yet to give their decision formally.

The Ferrari team, need a unanimous agreement for the ban to be lifted, however, it would seem clear that this is not going to happen, but of course,  the team are not going to leave it at that and are now having their usual playground tantrums.  A spokeswoman for Schumacher, said on Blickpunkt Sport programme;

“From the beginning it was clear that in all probability there would not be a test with the new car.  However not all at Ferrari are singing from the same hymn sheet…

Guess who opposed the test with the F60? A team that hasn’t won anything for years and yet didn’t pass over the opportunity to demonstrate once more a lack of spirit of fair play.”  From an article posted on the official Ferrari site.

“Just for the record, the Scuderia Ferrari had given its approval to let (Toro Rosso’s Jaime) Alguersuari test, but it seems even in this instance someone decided to stick to the precise wording of the regulations.”

We are all fully aware of the reasons behind the testing ban for the in-season but I’m sure some agreement could be reached whereby drivers test after the race weekend has finished, no extra travelling costs involved and supporters could be charged a fraction of the price of a Grand Prix ticket to watch the event.

The wreckage of Felipe Massa 2009

Michael Schumacher was on track today, preparing for his return to the cockpit of the Ferrari at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain.

Schumacher was testing in Mugello in a 2007 spec car, privately owned due to the in-season testing ban, but allegedly the team have been asking for a special exemption to allow the German a chance to drive the F60 prior to the Valencia practice day.

Meanwhile, the latest reports on Felipe Massa, say that the driver is likely to return to his home in Brazil at the weekend.  The 28-year-old, is to travel by helicopter to the local airport, where he will then fly by private jet to Sao Paulo.

The Brazilian driver, will then rest at home for a few days before travelling to Paris to undergo rehabilitation treatment.  Massa has been keeping staff and family amused by telling jokes and apparently doesn’t stop talking.

The Ferrari driver’s personal doctor said,  “Racing is all he can think of”, before adding;

“There’s nothing to worry about, and no further operations are forecast. He remembers everything starting from Saturday, except for the crash of which he can’t remember anything.

He knows what day is today, and he also knows that for two or three days he wasn’t conscious, and he can remember his position in qualifying prior to the accident.”

Andrea Dovizioso – Repsol Honda – Donington Park 2009

Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso took the victory on Sunday, in the final meeting at the Donington Park circuit in the wet.

125CC

Julián Simón on the Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc bike, took his third win of the season at Donington Park in a restarted race due to adverse weather conditions.

The race had begun in relatively dry conditions after a wet warm-up session, but as the skies darkened and the rain began to fall the red flag was shown and the race stopped after 15 laps.

Pol Espargaro for the Derbi Racing team, had been leading the race with a gap of almost 4 seconds from second place man Nicolas Terol on the Jack & Jones Team machine and Marc Marquez on the Red Bull KTM Motorsport bike in third.

Despite Espargaro losing the lead just before the red flag was shown, the rules allowed him to retake his pole position as the rules dictate that the order of riders is from the previous full lap before the race is stopped.

As the riders once again lined-up on the grid they were  in for a 5 lap sprint on full wet tyres as the rain increased making conditions difficult.

Britain’s Bradley Smith on the second Bancaja Aspar Team bike, took the lead on the first lap, making his move around the outside at the exit of turn one but crashed out later in the lap while battling Marc Márquez.  Smith rejoined the race but finished way down the order in twentieth place.

Márquez then took the lead but on the penultimate lap, the Spaniard suffered the same fate and high-sided off his machine at the Foggy Esses.

Simon Corsi for the Fontana Racing team then took the lead until he was passed on the final lap by Simón as they headed into McLeans.

It was last years winner Scott Redding on the Blusens Aprilia that took the final step of the podium despite starting from twelfth on the grid.

Here are the results;

CLASSIFIED:

Pos  Rider             Bike     Time
 1.  Julian Simon      Aprilia   9m12.301s
 2.  Simone Corsi      Aprilia  +   0.390s
 3.  Scott Redding     Aprilia  +   3.072s
 4.  Nicolas Terol     Aprilia  +   6.209s
 5.  Takaaki Nakagami  Aprilia  +   9.509s
 6.  Luis Salom        Aprilia  +  11.211s
 7.  Lorenzo Zanetti   Aprilia  +  11.572s
 8.  D.Agerter         Derbi    +  13.703s
 9.  Efren Vazquez     Derbi    +  14.101s
10.  Pol Espargaro     Derbi    +  15.422s
11.  Tomoyoshi Koyama  Loncin   +  17.905s
12.  Joan Olive        Derbi    +  25.625s
13.  Johann Zarco      Aprilia  +  26.793s
14.  Martin Glossop    Honda    +  27.916s
15.  Marc Marquez      KTM      +  28.631s
16.  Paul Jordan       Honda    +  28.999s
17.  Lukas Sembera     Aprilia  +  30.564s
18.  R.Krummenacher    Aprilia  +  34.468s
19.  Luca Marconi      Aprilia  +  38.709s
20.  Bradley Smith     Aprilia  +  38.938s
21.  Luca Vitali       Aprilia  +1m14.040s

NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

     Rider             Bike       Laps
     Jasper Iwema      Honda         4
     Lorenzo Savadori  Aprilia       1
     Alexis Masbou     Loncin        1
     Michael Ranseder  Aprilia       1
     Sergio Gadea      Aprilia     DNS
     Sandro Cortese    Derbi       DNS
     Esteve Rabat      Aprilia     DNS
     Andrea Iannone    Aprilia     DNS
     Stefan Bradl      Aprilia     DNS
     Daniel Webb       Aprilia     DNS
     Jonas Folger      Aprilia     DNS
     Cameron Beaubier  KTM         DNS
     Karel Pesek       Derbi       DNS
     James Lodge       Honda       DNS
     Tim Hastings      Honda       DNS

FASTEST LAP: Simon, 1m48.632s on lap 5

250CC

It was the World Championship leader of the 2500cc series Hiroshi Aoyama on the Scot Racing team Honda that took the victory, in what had started as a wet race.

The majority of riders, including Aoyama, were on full wet tyres but by lap three a dry line had started to appear on the circuit.

Aoyama sped off into the distance, creating a gap of 6 seconds at the midway point as Alvaro Bautista on the Mapfre Aspar bike had moved up to second place by lap 7.

Mattia Pasini on the Team Toth Aprilia finished in third after holding back the late charge by the reigning World Champion Marco Simoncelli on the Metis Gilera.  Pasini had crashed out with only 11 laps remaining while battling with Alex Debon on the Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens, who also crashed later in the lap, however, both riders rejoined the track in their same position, having not been passed.

Here are the results;

CLASSIFIED:

Pos  Rider             Bike     Time
 1.  Hiroshi Aoyama    Honda    45m17.516s
 2.  Alvaro Bautista   Aprilia  +   5.723s
 3.  Mattia Pasini     Aprilia  +  36.161s
 4.  Marco Simoncelli  Gilera   +  36.776s
 5.  Mike Di Meglio    Aprilia  +  41.418s
 6.  Alex Debon        Aprilia  +  41.938s
 7.  Raffaele De Rosa  Honda    +  57.483s
 8.  Hector Barbera    Aprilia  +  59.975s
 9.  Thomas Luthi      Aprilia  +1m14.852s
10.  Hector Faubel     Honda    +1m16.927s
11.  Jules Cluzel      Aprilia  +1m21.356s
12.  Lukas Pesek       Aprilia  +1m21.665s
13.  R.Locatelli       Gilera   +1m29.576s
14.  Karel Abraham     Aprilia  + 1 Lap
15.  Shoya Tomizawa    Honda    + 1 Lap
16.  Alex Baldolini    Aprilia  + 1 Lap
17.  Imre Toth         Aprilia  + 1 Lap
18.  Luke Mossey       Aprilia  + 1 Lap
19.  Valentin Debise   Honda    + 2 Laps
20.  Axel Pons         Aprilia  + 2 Laps
21.  Aitor Rodriguez   Aprilia  + 2 Laps
22.  Bastien Chesaux   Honda    + 2 Laps
23.  Toby Markham      Aprilia  + 4 Laps 

NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

     Rider             Bike     On lap
     R.Wilairot        Honda      18
     Ralf Waldmann     Aprilia     5
     Balazs Nemeth     Aprilia     0

FASTEST LAP: Baldolini, 1m34.963s on lap 22

MotoGP

It was the final British MotoGP meeting to take place at the Donington Park circuit and a first win for Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso in a dramatic race.

As the MotoGP riders lined-up on the grid ahead of their race, light rain began to fall causing a dilemma in tyre choices.  The majority of the bikes were on slicks with the exception of  Marlboro Ducati riders Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden, who had decided on full wets.

Valentino Rossi on the Fiat Yamaha led the pack into the first corner but was passed by team-mate Jorge Lorenzo as they headed to the Craner Curves.  San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Toni Elias, had moved up to third place from eighth on the grid and was on the tail of Rossi, passing him before chasing down Lorenzo.

Elias led until lap 3 when Dovizioso, who had come from fourth place at the end of lap one, took to the front of the field but was soon passed by a charging Lorenzo before he had completed the lap.

The Yamaha rider led second place man Dovizioso, followed by Rossi, Dani Pedrosa on the second Repsol Honda and Elias. A gap had appeared between the front runners and the second group headed by James Toseland, Randy de Puniet, Marco Melandri, Alex de Angelis, Loris Capirossi and Mika Kallio.

On lap 8, Elias, who had just passed Pedrosa for fourth place, touched the white line at the Schwantz curve and was thrown off the Honda.  Lorenzo was the next casualty who touched the treacherous white line going into the final turn leaving him unable to rejoin the race.

Rossi was then leading the race from Dovizioso, while third place man Pedrosa was 6 seconds behind the battling duo and going backwards.

After 11 laps in the lead, Rossi lost the rear of his Yamaha at the chicane as the rain persisted, handing the lead to Dovizioso, Rossi rejoined in eleventh place.

Many of the riders choose to return to the pits to change bikes with only 8 laps remaining with Dovizioso now having  a 10 second lead over second place man Randy de Puniet with only 7 laps left to run, but the LCR Honda man was on a mission and the gap began to close.  Colin Edwards on the Monster Tech3 Yamaha, came from nowhere and was soon battling de Puniet.  Edwards made a pass on de Puniet with only 3 laps remaining, however, de Puniet wasn’t happy settling for third and retook his position but only briefly as he was once again passed by Edwards at the very final turn.

Alex de Angelis took fourth place for the San Carlo Honda team followed by Rossi who had worked his way back into fifth place, and after snatching the place from James Toseland on the second Monster Tech3 Yamaha at the final corner.

Marco Melandri took seventh place for the Hayate Racing Team ahead of Niccolo Canepe on the Pramac Racing machine in eighth, Pedrosa in ninth and Mika Kallio on the second Pramac Racing Ducati in tenth.

The two Ducati Marlboro runners, Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden, remained at the back of the pack after taking the wrong tyre option at the start of the race.  They finished the race a lap down in fourteenth and fifteenth place respectively.

Here are the results;

Pos  Rider             Bike               Time/Gap
 1.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda            48m26.267s
 2.  Colin Edwards     Tech 3 Yamaha    +   1.360s
 3.  Randy de Puniet   LCR Honda        +   1.600s
 4.  Alex de Angelis   Gresini Honda    +   8.958s
 5.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha           +  21.622s
 6.  James Toseland    Tech 3 Yamaha    +  22.465s
 7.  Marco Melandri    Hayate Kawasaki  +  35.284s
 8.  Niccolo Canepa    Pramac Ducati    +  38.769s
 9.  Dani Pedrosa      Honda            +  42.112s
10.  Mika Kallio       Pramac Ducati    +  45.845s
11.  Loris Capirossi   Suzuki           +  53.190s
12.  Gabor Talmacsi    Scot Honda       +1m12.315s
13.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki           +    1 lap
14.  Casey Stoner      Ducati           +    1 lap
15.  Nicky Hayden      Ducati           +    1 lap

Retirements:

     Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha           8 laps
     Toni Elias        Gresini Honda    7 laps

Casey Stoner

Casey Stoner on the Marlboro Ducati claimed his first victory of the season at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar on Monday after the race was rescheduled as the weather deteriorated on the Sunday evening.

Stoner dominated the race from pole position and by the end of the first lap had built a 2 second gap which by the end of the race had been increased to 7 seconds.

Valentino Rossi took the Fiat Yamaha across the line to take second place followed by his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who was racing on Bridgestone tyres for the first time since the new single supplier rule was applied.

In fourth place was Colin Edwards who had qualified in sixth position on the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha and who was also making his debut on the new Bridgestone tyre.

The new Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso, showed some impressive riding in the first half of the race, even running in third for a while but seemed to pace in the remaining laps, finally finishing in fifth.  Meanwhile, his team-mate Dani Pedrosa, who is still not 100% fit, finished down in eleventh place.

Pedrosa’s race nearly came to an early end when he was almost run of the track by Alex De Angelis on the San Carlo Honda Gresini, contact was made and an impressive Pedrosa somehow managed to cling onto his machine, dropping places while De Angelis finished in sixth.

James Toseland on the second Monster Yamaha, had qualified in thirteenth place on the grid and looked to be in with a top ten finish at the beginning of the race, keeping pace with LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet and Pramac Racing rider Mika Kallio until he got in a tangle with Toni Elias on lap 7 seeing him fly through the gravel trap.

After rejoining the circuit Toseland struggled to find his previous pace and finished in sixteenth while Elias on the second San Carlo Honda finished in ninth place.

The Scot Racing teams new signing Yuki Takahashi had qualified in seventeenth place on his debut after moving up from the 250cc series.  He finished in fifteenth place picking up his first point in the championship with still a lot to learn as he joins the big boy racers.

There was doubt if Nicky Hayden, on the  second Ducati Marlboro, would be fit to race after his dramatic 130mph high-side in qualifying on the Saturday.  Hayden finished in twelfth place after qualifying in sixteenth, despite suffering from a badly bruised back and stitches to his chest.

It wasn’t such a good race for the Rizla Suzuki team after Loris Capirossi suffered a high speed crash and finished the first race without any points.  Capirossi had qualified in fifth place and as the riders went into the first corner he was in second.  However, he appeared to lose grip rapidly on his front tyre before flying off the bike as the front end gave way, fortunately leaving him without serious injury.  His team-mate Chris Vermeulen managed a seventh place so collected some points for the team at least.

Doubts also surrounded the Grupo Franciso Hernando Satellite bike rider Sete Gibernau, who had suffered a problem with an old shoulder injury during winter testing.  He qualified in fifteenth place and finished in thirteenth place after admitting that he had been unsure if he would be able to complete the whole 22 lap race.

Here are the results;

1  Casey STONER  Ducati Marlboro Team
2  Valentino ROSSI  Fiat Yamaha Team    +7.771
3  Jorge LORENZO  Fiat Yamaha Team     +16.244
4  Colin EDWARDS  Monster Yamaha Tech 3     +24.410
5  Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team     +27.263
6  Alex DE ANGELIS San Carlo Honda Gresini    +29.883
7  Chris VERMEULEN Rizla Suzuki MotoGP    +33.627
8  Mika KALLIO  Pramac Racing      +34.755
9  Toni ELIAS San Carlo Honda Gresini    +39.481
10  Randy DE PUNIET LCR Honda MotoGP     +42.284
11  Dani PEDROSA  Repsol Honda Team     +48.526
12  Nicky HAYDEN  Ducati Marlboro Team     +48.883
13  Sete GIBERNAU  Grupo Francisco Hernando   +52.215
14  Marco MELANDRI  Hayate Racing Team     +56.379
15  Yuki TAKAHASHI  Scot Racing Team MotoGP    +1′00.286
16  James TOSELAND  Monster Yamaha Tech 3     +1′14.978
17  Niccolo CANEPA  Pramac Racing     +1′15.028

Not classified
Loris CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

While the credit crisis has affected all forms of proffessional sport, it seems that Motorsport in general and particular at the highest level is feeling the effects more than most. The flagship motor sports of Formula One and Moto GP have historically attracted vast sums of money in the form of television rights and sponsorship deals amongst other forms of revenue  to the sport, but in the space of a few months it is those two forms of racing that have been hardest hit by the crisis.

Obviously the more finance that is involved, means the more savings to be made. Fortunately all the teams involved are in the same boat and therefore all teams are in agreement  over running the respective sports on a smaller budget.

It must be particularly frustrating for Moto GP – struggling to fill its grid, while it’s rival World Superbike championship is attracting more teams and riders than ever. Whether the amended rules will help Moto GP or effect future Moto gp results, remains to be seen, but here are the crucial changes due for 2009.

Friday free practise = Afternoon only and restricted to 40mins for 125cc and 45mins for moto gp and 250cc

Saturday free practise = Morning and restricted as above

Saturday qualifying = 40mins 125cc and 45mins moto gp and 250cc

Sunday warm up = 20 mins each category

Further rule changes are:

From Czech Grand Prix a maximum of five engines can be used for the remaining eight races, with only daily maintenance of engines allowed.

Ceramic composite materials not permitted for brake discs or pads.

Launch control not permitted.

Electronically controlled suspension is not permitted.

Only two post race tests at Catalunya and Czech GP for development purposes using test riders only are permitted.