MotoGP- Donington park- FP

Last lap push gives Pedrosa early Donington Free Practice advantage

Friday, 24 July 2009

Spaniard’s 1’38.627 lap opens up MotoGP practice for British Grand Prix.

Donington Park 2009 - MotoGP FP1 Highlights motogp.com

A dry line and a determined effort from Dani Pedrosa at the Donington Park circuit on Friday gave the Repsol Honda rider the fastest time of Friday afternoon, in practice for the British Grand Prix. Pedrosa clocked a 1’38.627 lap on his final lap of the day to continue his strong run of form from recent weeks, and take the early advantage ahead of this Sunday’s race.

Second quickest in the session, Casey Stoner recorded the fewest laps of any rider with 16 turns of the British track –some eleven fewer than Pedrosa. He was examining his Ducati Desmosedici GP9 in the garage whilst his rival was reducing his time by 0.245.

World Championship leader Valentino Rossi was third, ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and title challenger Jorge Lorenzo in a top five separated by half a second.

There were difficulties in the session for home rider James Toseland, who had a run off track during the session and was also unable to bring his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 bike back to the pits after an incident at the end of the session.

Track conditions were drier than the drenched 125cc session, although not completely dry. motogp.com

MotoGP Free Practice Nr. 1 Classification
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'38.627 260.497 “It feels great to be on top today and I’m pleased with how we handled a tricky practice session. The conditions were continually changing and so we needed to make the best use of the track time to learn as much as we can. There are a few areas we can improve upon - such as the feeling from the bike when it’s really wet - and we’ll look at working on the settings for those conditions because the weather doesn’t look so stable for the weekend and we could see more rain on Sunday. It nearly dried out fully towards the end of the session but we stayed on wet tyres for the whole time and I think this was useful because you can have this sort of situation in the race. We’re in reasonable shape for the rest of the weekend and I hope I can be in this position at the end of Sunday afternoon.” motogp.com
2 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'38.872 262.399 0.245

“It was good to be able to test the wet setting today because we’ve struggled with it a little this year and we need time to work out the best solution,” Stoner commented. “We’re still far from it at the moment but it felt quite good and we have a good base to work from now.”

The Aussie youngster added, “Once we got some laps under our belt in the wet I decided to sit the rest of the session out because even though the track was drying it was very slippery and it would be foolish for us to risk an unnecessary crash on the first day of an important weekend. Hopefully we’ll get a couple of sessions in the dry tomorrow and ideally, from our point of view, we’d like it to be cool.” motogp.com

3 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'38.917 261.002 0.290

“These strange conditions are always hard to ride in but it was important that we had some time in the wet today because we were able to understand our level. We’re quite happy because I felt confident and I was able to be fast today,” said Rossi on the afternoon session, in which there was both a dry racing line and wet patches on the notoriously slippery British track.

“The conditions changed a lot during the hour and by the end it was mostly dry, which meant it was quite hard to ride with the wet tyres but we were still quite fast and in the end we’re third, which is a good start. We’ve got a few modifications to make as usual after a Friday but we have a good base. Tomorrow it seems it will be completely dry so hopefully by the end of the day we will be ready for Sunday, whatever the weather,” he continued.

Expect Rossi to face competition from close to home this weekend, courtesy of teammate and persistent rival Jorge Lorenzo. The Spaniard is still undecided as to whether he will continue to share a partitioned garage with Rossi next season, but that is not something that overly alters the 30 year-old’s perception of the young pretender to his crown.

“Jorge is a great rider and a great teammate; I’ve heard the rumours about him going ot another team, but it doesn’t make a difference to me. I’m already signed for next year, and I think that he will be a great rival on either a Yamaha or another bike,” he concluded. motogp.com

4 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'39.069 258.747 0.442

“I’m satisfied with the job we did today. Of course we need to tune the set-up and improve the traction in wet conditions, but this was a good way to begin the last British Grand Prix at Donington,” said the Repsol Honda rider, just over half a second down on teammate and fastest Friday man Dani Pedrosa.

The practice started in very wet conditions and I had a good feeling on the bike from the beginning of the session so I’m pleased about that. The track had quite a reasonable level of grip and the pace I could set was good straight away.

“Conditions were changing all the time and in the last part of the session when the track was 90 per cent dry, I couldn’t set the fastest lap that I was capable of because I waited for a couple of laps and didn’t use the wet tyres to the maximum when they were new,” he reviewed.

Dovizioso had a disastrous qualifying session last time out in Germany, where he could only salvage eleventh on the grid under tricky conditions. The pressure is on the factory rider for race day after three consecutive DNFs, but at the moment his main focus is Saturday afternoon and what he expects to be a positive run.

“I’m confident for tomorrow and I think we have a decent chance of getting a good grid position here,” he declared confidently. motogp.com

5 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'39.105 261.572 0.478

“I’m really happy about this practice today because I felt comfortable on the bike and was able to brake quite late in the wet. I was pleased that we had a chance in the drier conditions later, because it showed what we need to work on for tomorrow. I had made a lot of laps in the rain so my tyre was quite worn by that time, when it was more dry, but anyway the times weren’t important for me today and I’m just happy about my performance in the wet. We learnt a lot and now we will use this to improve tomorrow.” motogp.com
6 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1'39.130 259.744 0.503

“We could understand a bit how the bike works on the full wet tyres here today, and also try to understand when would be the best time to change bikes in the race if conditions were to be like that,” Melandri stated after placing sixth in the timed run with a 1’39.130 lap.

“I’m confident, because I feel good on the bike and in the dry I also think that we can get a good rhythm going.”

Looking for further rear grip in the dry ahead of qualifying, the Hayate Racing rider is happy with his wet weather performance but still hopeful of a rain-free race.

“I would prefer to have a dry race because on this track it is very risky all the time. The grip level in the wet is very bad and it is difficult to work the left side of the tyre up to temperature during the race when you can’t wait many laps.” motogp.com

7 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 1'39.209 261.445 0.582

“I think seventh position is not too bad, because it is our first time here with this bike and everything was a little bit difficult for everyone. The things we were trying to find were difficult due to the weather. In the last laps I was able to improve a lot, so at the moment I think we can be more or less happy with where we are.”

He continued, “Normally this track has been pretty good for me, like last year I won here in the 250cc race and in 125cc I was always quite fast here. I like the track so I think in the MotoGP class we can also be really fast here. Like we saw today we are able to be in the top ten which is important, but in the race if everything goes well I hope we can be in the top five.”motogp.com

8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'39.379 259.058 0.752

“It was mixed conditions and that made it tough but it was probably the best conditions because we got some wet set-up time and at the end it was drying out really fast. And even though I was still on the wet tyres when it was dry, we gained a lot of information. I'm pretty happy because in the wet I was sitting in the top five comfortably and as it dried out I was looking good in the first three sections. But in the last section I was losing half-a-second. That was still the wettest section but I could have pushed harder. I felt like I was pushing but when you think you're on the edge you still might have another 15 per cent to go. But it's hard to gauge in those conditions until you're either on top of the charts or in the gravel trap. I think we learned a lot and we made some big progress with the front-end problems I've been having. We've been experimenting with body position to try and help improve the front and it seems to have worked. We're going more in (Jorge) Lorenzo's direction to get a bit more weight on the rear and not overloading the front. So I'm happy and looking for another good result at Donington.” motogp.com
9 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'39.755 252.269 1.128
10 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'40.116 254.592 1.489

“Typical British weather! It’s been like this since I got here at the start of the week. We started out in the wet and I didn’t have much feel to begin with but we made a couple of changes and got better and better as the session went on. On the last lap I went straight in the last corner and ran wide so I made a little error there. Basically the bike didn’t feel too good in the heavy rain but much better in the damp. The weather looks better for tomorrow so we hope that’s the case because it was difficult to draw any conclusions today.” motogp.com
11 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'40.419 256.836 1.792

"As I have said before, we need to have time on the bike to get it set-up the best for us. It seems that we keep getting really difficult weather that isn't helping us at all. Today we used a wet tyre for the whole session and at the end 85% of the track was dry and the rest was wet so it was difficult to be able to get anything done. We can hope that the weather is better tomorrow so we can work on the bike and if we can I am sure we will be in a good position for Sunday." motogp.com
12 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'40.522 255.558 1.895

“I didn't have much feeling with the bike when it was full wet but it just kept drying out and I knew the bike set-up would suit the conditions better when it was drying up. So I didn't think there was any point in coming if the track conditions were going to get better and I decided to stay out. I did a lot of laps in the mixed conditions in Germany last weekend and that really helped me out a lot today. I just kept improving and improving but unfortunately because I stayed out for the session I ran out of fuel right at the time when the track conditions were the best they had been for the whole hour. I wasn't sure how much time was left but having done 28 laps I knew it was going to be close on the fuel. It's a shame because I slipped down the order a little bit but I'm happy because most of that session I was right in the mix in the top six and it was pretty encouraging. This weekend is very important for me and as always I put my maximum effort into that session to start the weekend off on a positive note and I think I've done that. I've got unbelievable support here already and that makes me determined to get a good result on Sunday.” motogp.com
13 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'40.850 258.127 2.223
14 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'41.467 256.836 2.840

"It was really strange conditions out there today, but I guess you could say that is just normal British weather! We had a huge downpour at the start of the session and the track was very wet and quite slippery. We worked hard - and quickly - on getting a good wet setting while the track was still wet and the bike worked well in those conditions. At the end the track dried a lot so we just tested some small things that didn't really rely on fast lap-times, which was useful because with how the track was there wasn't a lot else to be learnt out there. At the end I came in a bit early because the track had dried out in most places, but there was still a couple of wet patches and it seemed a bit too dangerous for slicks." motogp.com
15 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'41.861 255.134 3.234
16 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'42.210 258.561 3.583
17 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1'42.696 253.515 4.069

wsbk- Berno - FP1+QP1

Italian flavour for opening Brno qualifying

Friday, 24 July 2009 18:10 worlsbk.com

Two Italians, Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) powered to the top two slots on the opening day of World Superbike qualifying at Brno in the Czech Republic. The multiple world champion was the only rider to dip under the two minute mark, when he set the quickest time of 1 minute 59.982 seconds right at the very end of the session. Less than one-tenth behind was Fabrizio, with both riders confirming their exceptional feeling with the Czech circuit. Third place went to another man with considerable experience of the Brno track, Spain's Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), while Ben Spies (Yamaha World Superbike), who has never seen the place before, was fourth quickest.

Italian colours were also held high by Lorenzo Lanzi, in fifth place for the private DFX Ducati team, while BMW confirmed its recent Imola testing progress as Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus set sixth and eighth quickest time respectively for the German manufacturer. One illustrious top 10 outsider at the moment is the returning Japanese rider Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), the points leader, who was injured at Donington, preferring to ease back into the pace without taking any risks and guarantee himself a position in Superpole. Haga currently lies in 15th.

Kawasaki also showed some progress in the first session, with Broc Parkes placing ninth and Makoto Tamada 17th, but the Japanese rider's fourth quickest time at the end was annulled because he had started his quick lap after the chequered flag had been shown. While some way down the field for the moment can be found Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and home favourite Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati) in 13th and 14th place respectively.

Brno Superbike - Free Practice 1st Session

Friday, 24 July 2009 13:55

1 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2'01.353
2 121 Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.399
3 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 2'01.573
4 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2'01.616
5 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 2'01.733
6 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.761
7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.829
8 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 2'01.881
9 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'01.951
10 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2'02.032
11 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'02.071
12 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'02.087
13 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2'02.136
14 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'02.331
15 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'02.393
16 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 2'02.395
17 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 2'02.570
18 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 2'02.668
19 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'02.689
20 10 Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 2'02.710
21 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 2'03.168
22 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'03.549
23 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'03.847
24 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'03.865
25 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'04.077
26 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 2'04.250
27 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'05.556
28 51 Cihak M. (CZE) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'06.820

Brno Superbike - Qualifying 1st Session

Friday, 24 July 2009 17:30

1 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'59.982
2 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2'00.066
3 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.205
4 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 2'00.558
5 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2'00.581
6 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 2'00.603
7 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2'00.648
8 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 2'00.731
9 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'00.887
10 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.958
11 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 2'01.017
12 121 Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.021
13 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.023
14 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 2'01.031
15 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 2'01.062
16 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 2'01.070
17 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.385
18 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.403
19 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.439
20 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.720
21 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'02.155
22 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'02.346
23 10 Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 2'02.644
24 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'02.691
25 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 2'02.785
26 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'02.940
27 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'04.041
28 51 Cihak M. (CZE) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'04.905

motogp- Donington park- before the race

Donington Park: Record Lap
D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2006, 1'28.714

Donington Park: Best Lap
D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2006, 1'27.676

Racing numbers for the British Grand Prix

Thursday, 23 July 2009 motogp.com

Figures, trivia and factoids in the latest edition of the MotoGP Racing Numbers, compiled by official statistician Dr. Martin Raines.

100 – At the British GP, Lukas Pesek is scheduled to make his 100th Grand Prix start. He will be only the second Czech rider to reach this milestone – the other being Jaroslav Hules who made exactly 100 GP starts during his racing career.

100 – Mike di Meglio is scheduled to make his 100th Grand Prix start at the British GP. Di Meglio has been a full-time Grand Prix rider since making his debut as a 15-year old at the opening race of 2003 in Japan and will become the second youngest rider after Jorge Lorenzo to reach the milestone of 100 GP starts.

37 – Gabor Talmacsi finished 15th in Germany to become the first Hungarian to score points in the premier-class since Arpad Juhos finished 9th at the East German GP in 1972.

33 – Qualifying day at the British GP will mark the 33rd anniversary of Barry Sheene winning the Swedish GP at Anderstorp in 1976 to clinch his first 500cc world title and the first 500cc title for Suzuki.

16 – Julian Simon’s pole at the Sachsenring was the 16th pole this year for Spanish riders; however he became the first Spanish rider to win from pole in 2009.

5 – Following Randy de Puniet’s crash in Germany, there are now five riders in the MotoGP class to have scored points at every race this year: Casey Stoner, Colin Edwards, Marco Melandri, Chris Vermeulen and Alex de Angelis.

5 – The first five riders across the line in the 125cc race in Germany were all from Spain. This is the first time in any class of Grand Prix racing that Spanish riders have taken the top five places.

5 – For the first time since 1988, Yamaha have had two riders finish together on the podium at five successive premier-class GP races.

2009 MotoGP Donington Preview - Wave Goodbye

Submitted by David Emmett

from: motogpmatters.com

Saying goodbye is one of the hardest things to do. At the end of a relationship, no matter how badly it ends, it is all too easy to look back at the good things, the happy memories, and gloss over the cracks and flaws that caused it all to end.

So it goes with Donington, which hosts the MotoGP series for the last time this year, for at least five years and probably longer. The track, located on the fringe of Leicestershire, has a long and glorious history of racing, dating back to 1937, though the circuit was closed after the Second World War, only hosting racing again in 1977. But based on the roads that ran round the grounds of the estate the track is built on, it still has the feel of an old-fashioned road circuit, like the best parts of Assen or Phillip Island.

The run down the hill through Craner Curves is still legendary, one of the finest sections of track still on the calendar today, and Schwantz, McLeans and Coppice are as challenging to get right as anywhere. The track has seen some memorable moments, from the affable Simon Crafar winning his only Grand Prix here in 1998 on the WCM Yamaha, to Valentino Rossi's battles with Loris Capirossi, or with Kenny Roberts Jr and Jeremy McWilliams, to Scott Redding's first victory for a British rider in the 125 class just last year.

Then there are the bad points. Most of the riders - all except Casey Stoner, rather surprisingly - hate the Melbourne Loop, calling it dismissively the "car park section", which is basically a set of esses and two short straights joined by hairpins. But even the horrors of the Melbourne Loop have their bright side: The Foggy Esses, the Melbourne Hairpin and Goddards are all excellent places for passing, generating plenty of spectacle despite the lack of respect they are regarded with by the riders.

But by far the worst part of the track, and the reason that riders, fans, teams and journalists alike will not be sorry to see the back of the place, is the facilities. Most of the buildings are if not decrepit, than at least run down; the tarmac is crumbling in the paddock; the plumbing is overworked; and the toilet facilities around the track are best described as medieval. The crumbling buildings might charitably be regarded as possessing old-world charm, but even viewed through the soft focus lens of nostalgia, it's hard not to feel dispirited by the run-down feel to Donington Park. It is a salutary lesson for those who look back at the Forties and Fifties and see happier times: Things may have been simpler, but that also meant that they were pretty dire.

Of course, the imminent departure from Donington adds some extra motivation for the riders. Victory here will see their names leave an indelible mark on the record books as the last premier class winner at Donington.

The man with perhaps the greatest sense of history on the MotoGP grid will be triply motivated here at Donington. Valentino Rossi hasn't won here since 2005, after winning 5 of the previous 6 races at Donington. Rossi wants to say goodbye here with a victory, and make amends for the past three years of failure.

It would be foolish to bet against him. Rossi arrives fresh from victory at the Sachsenring, his fourth of the season and extending his championship lead to 14 points. He has also won three out of the last four races, coming perilously close to taking the fourth at Laguna Seca, and having fixed the problems the team were having in the early part of the season, he will be a very hard man to beat.

His team mate will be doing his utmost to do just that. After being beaten at the Sachsenring by just 0.099 seconds, Jorge Lorenzo conceded that he needed to beat Rossi in a straight fight, alluding to the stalled negotiations over his 2010 contract with Yamaha. Lorenzo needs a win, not just to close the gap on Rossi, but even more to put pressure on Yamaha and Honda to respond to his salary demands. Lorenzo has a history of winning here in the 250 class, so it is not beyond the realms of possibility. Going into the summer break, when deals are traditionally sealed so that the riders can enjoy an untroubled vacation, Lorenzo really needs victory at Donington.

But Lorenzo has not just Valentino Rossi to beat, but also the man who could become his new team mate. Dani Pedrosa won a convincing victory here in 2006 and was on the podium in 2008. The Repsol Honda rider is gaining strength every day, now almost fully recovered from his previous injury woes and starting to train once again. His own victory at Laguna Seca just three weeks ago left Pedrosa feeling capable of regularly fighting for the win again, and finishing right behind the leaders in Germany will merely have steeled his resolve.

The last of the Fantastic Four is the one over whom the most doubt remains. Casey Stoner is still not sure just what his body is capable of, describing his condition before the race as "pretty mediocre." There is absolutely nothing wrong the the Ducati, though, according to the Australian. He believes that if he were not having his health issues, he would be battling for wins rather than podiums. But despite the exhaustion he is suffering at the end of races, leaving him struggling to keep up, the British weather might just work in his favor. It is much easier to stay on the pace when the weather is cool and the track is slick with rain, and in England, rain is always a possibility.

On the eve of the summer break, most of the rest of the field is fighting for their contracts. The most prominent candidate at Donington will be James Toseland, the British rider wanting to make an impression in front of his home crowd. His memories of 2008 are awful, Toseland not even making it past the first corner. And being widely tipped to be headed to World Superbikes next year, Toseland has freely admitted that he is riding for his job. He has his work cut out at his home race.

But Toseland isn't the only rider fighting to save his place in MotoGP. Toni Elias, Alex de Angelis, Chris Vermeulen, and Niccolo Canepa are all in the same boat to a greater or lesser extent. Niccolo Canepa looks certain to be out of MotoGP next season, though the Italian is making quiet progress on the Pramac Ducati. It will most likely not be fast enough to save him, though. Chris Vermeulen will be hoping for a wet race, as another victory would make it very difficult for Suzuki to fire him. It being Donington, and showers forecast for sometime on Sunday, his prayers might just be answered.

The Gresini team did remarkably well at the Sachsenring, finishing in 5th and 6th place, making it two 6th places in a row for Elias. With one seat at Gresini already taken by Marco Simoncelli for next season, both Elias and de Angelis are on a mission for more top 5 results. That mission starts on Sunday at Donington.

Though contract time can be harrowing for many riders, for others it is more frustrating than truly terrifying. Nicky Hayden, Marco Melandri, and Andrea Dovizioso are not certain to be staying where they are next year, but the chances of them being forced out of MotoGP are minimal. If they do lose their jobs, there will be plenty of other teams standing ready to pick them up, the only question is who, and where.

So all three men will be looking for a result to bolster their negotiating positions, and of the three, Melandri has the best cards. The Italian has a podium at Donington, and though another is almost certainly out of the question, another top 10 result will underline his value. Despite being on an underdeveloped bike, that has to be possible for the Italian.

Nicky Hayden has often struggled at Donington, but is coming off a growing streak of improving results. The Kentuckian qualified in 4th in Germany, but a poor start saw him floundering way down the order. Hayden will want to be making amends and running with the Fantastic Four at the front.

Colin Edwards has had a more successful time at Donington than his compatriot, also having taken a trip to the podium here. Edwards' spot in MotoGP is more dependent on other factors - most notably, what Jorge Lorenzo elects to do next year - than on specific results, but Edwards has come close to a podium this year, and will be keen to consolidate.

Edwards could have a new team mate next year, in the shape of Randy de Puniet. The Frenchman has been vastly improved this season, already close to matching his entire points haul of 2008 with just 9 races gone. Another strong result for de Puniet will buy himself some leverage.

The remainder of the field look safe where they are, and can approach the Donington race with a little more equanimity. Loris Capirossi is nearly back to full fitness, but after a miserable outing at the Sachsenring, the Italian veteran - making his 17th start at the British track, his first dating from 1990 - will want to start making some progress towards making the Suzuki competitive once again.

While he may not be as grizzled a veteran as Loris Capirossi, Gabor Talmacsi has been round Donington plenty of times already, though only ever on a 125cc bike. The Hungarian looks likely to stay at Scot for next season, if only because he can bring money into the cash-stricken team. But Talmacsi will still be wanting a decent result. For Talmacsi, that means narrowing the gap to the front runners, and preferably not finishing last.

Mika Kallio won at Donington last year, but it would be a very brave man who would forecast a repeat of that performance in 2009. Kallio is still struggling with the finger he injured at Assen, but a week's improvement should make things easier for the Finn. The jury is still out on whether Kallio can actually ride the Ducati Desmosedici, and more evidence from the Donington race would be more than welcome.

The MotoGP circus will leave Donington with mixed feelings on Sunday. Craner, the Old Hairpin and Coppice and McLeans will be sorely missed, but the car park section most assuredly will not. But what the MotoGP circus will miss least of all are the retro 1940's style facilities. The rest of the world seems to manage to provide pleasant, large, clean facilities, it's a mystery why that can't be done in the UK.

Whatever their opinion of the track, MotoGP fans will be hoping that the classic old track of Donington is at least given a worthy send off before the infield section is torn up to make way for the facilities required by Formula 1. For the sake of the history which is still palpable at the track, Donington truly deserves a good send off.

Rossi and Lorenzo plot victorious Donington farewell

Valentino Rossi - "Hoping to extend our lead" "Last year I had a good race at Donington to finish second, but this year I really want to win! I've always said that Donington is one of my favourite tracks in the world - it's fast and flowing but also technical - and also the UK is a very special place for me because for a long time it was my home. This is the last year we are going to race there which I am really sad about, but that makes me even more determined to try to win there, for me and for the fans who have always treated me like one of their own. I haven't won there since 2005, which is too long and I would like to say 'goodbye' to the track in the best way. Last year we couldn't take the fight to Stoner but this year our bike is extremely competitive and we're arriving leading in the championship so we're in a very strong position. We don't have much time to rest after Sachsenring but we have a good break after this race to look forward. Let's hope we can extend our lead even more before then."yamaha-racing.com

Jorge Lorenzo - "Let's reverse the results!" "Of course I am disappointed about the result in Germany but considering my physical condition I have to be happy about such a close second place. It's a pity we don't have a week off now so I have more time to recover, but I will try to relax for a few days at least and build my strength some more. I like Donington a lot and this is the last year there so I would like to try and leave with a good result. I expect that all the British fans are hoping for another race like in Sachsenring, so we will see what we can do but of course I hope the result is reversed this time! The weather in Donington can be bad so my biggest wish is that it stays dry, we had enough rain in Sachsenring! However if it does rain the that's not the end of the world either because we showed on Saturday that we are very strong also in the wet." yamaha-racing.com

Ducati team tackle fourth race in five weeks

22/07/09 16:53

Casey Stoner The MotoGP teams and riders complete a veritable tour de force this weekend as they contest the fourth race in five weekends. The event at Donington Park also signifies the end of an era for the East Midlands track, which has played host to the British Grand Prix since 1987 but will be replaced on the 2010 calendar by Silverstone, previously home to the historic event from 1977 to 1986. The Ducati Marlboro Team have worked intensively in recent weeks to improve the overall performance of the GP9 and with two riders in Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden prepared to make the best of any situation, hopes are high of a good result at a circuit where the Australian has celebrated victory for the past two seasons. Stoner has been unfortunate to encounter physical problems during one of the most intensive periods of the season but through sheer determination he has come through it with two podium finishes and two fourth places so far. The Australian hopes he can try to make a stronger challenge at the front this time before signing off for a well-earned break. “We did the best job we could at Sachsenring and now I'm a bit more confident about going to Donington”, he confessed. “The best thing for us would be to have similar weather and temperature as in Germany because I think the conditions there played into my hands, as did the circuit, which has some long corners where I was able to relax a little on the bike. I'll be happy if we can have another weekend in similar temperatures at Donington. The track has never been one of my favourites but I have had good results there. The first part is really demanding, with the long section through Craner Curves up to the Old Hairpin… but it's actually in the slow sections where you can make passes. The bike has been going really well for the last few races even though we could do with a little more traction. We'll just have to wait and see what happens this weekend and bring home as many points as possible.” Nicky Hayden, who has worked tirelessly alongside his team to make a breakthrough with his GP9, cannot wait to get back on track at Donington following a disappointing race in Germany where he was unable to take advantage of his best practice and qualifying performances of the season. “I've never had amazing results at Donington but I can't wait to get back out on track because I'm not happy with the way the last race went after the really positive practice we had. My bike is really stable under braking and that should be a real bonus at this circuit”, he said. “Things have been going well lately, I'm having fun and last weekend was the first time in a long while that I've been up front in practice. Seeing P1 unchanged on my pit board for such a long time was a nice feeling. We'll see what the weather is like because you never know what to expect at Donington and the track conditions are totally dependent on it.” Set to be replaced on the calendar by Silverstone next season, Donington Park hosts its 23rd and final British Grand Prix this weekend. It is a circuit of contrasting characteristics. After two high speed splits, the second half of the circuit becomes slow and tortuous. The first part, made up of the famous “Craner Curves”, a super-fast right-left-right sequence requires a smooth approach from the rider and puts machine importance more on handling than outright speed. The back section, meanwhile, was added in 1986 to bring the track up to the minimum length to host a Grand Prix. It consists of three short straights, a chicane and two sharp hairpins that put huge emphasis on braking and acceleration. Setting a bike up is always a question of making compromises but at Donington Park this is the case more than ever and it puts the riders and the bikes to the test. moto-live.com

Melandri: This year is like a dream

Marco Melandri admits he still has to pinch himself to believe that he is sitting sixth in the 2009 MotoGP World Championship standings after nine of 17 rounds.

Of the present MotoGP grid, the Kawasaki ZX-RR is the only bike not to have won a race since the switch to four-strokes in 2002 - and the Italian's 2009 Hayate ride isn't even officially backed, following Kawasaki's winter withdraw from MotoGP.

Nevertheless, Melandri arrives at this weekend's British Grand Prix with 70 points under his belt, compared with 51 for the whole of last season as a factory Ducati rider, and is ahead of his replacement Nicky Hayden as well as factory Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso.

“Before the championship began, if someone had said to me that at the halfway point of the year I would be sixth and ahead of one HRC guy and one factory Ducati guy, I would not have believed it,” confessed the Italian.

“For sure I cannot finish [the season in sixth], but it is like a dream for me,” he continued. “With this bike, which we didn't even have to race, we are doing good races and having nice battles. I'm happy and looking forward to this weekend.”

Melandri, who finished second in the wet/dry French Grand Prix and briefly led his home Italian Grand Prix, is being linked with a return to Honda Gresini for 2010. crash.net

Pedrosa, Dovizioso sad to see Donington go

Among those sad to see Donington Park drop of the MotoGP calendar for 2010 are Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso.

Pedrosa won the 2006 British Grand Prix, during his first season in the premier-class, and also took a 250cc victory at the circuit in 2004.

“I've had some good results at Donington so I'm confident we can have a strong weekend,” said this year's US GP winner. “It'll be sad to see the back of Donington because the track itself is very good to ride and one I like. I hope I can sign off there with a good result.”

Dovizioso, who arrives at round nine on the back of three consecutive DNFs, also has two previous Donington victories, in 2004 (125) and 2007 (250).

“Unfortunately this year will be the last time that we race at Donington Park and it's a pity because the circuit is fascinating to ride,” said the Italian, fifth on his Donington MotoGP debut last season. “I like it, in particular the first section which is very fast, and of course the Craner Curves which plunge down hill and take your breath away every time your ride them.

“Last year I had a good race at Donington and I have always liked this track. We arrive this time after two difficult races where I had the pace to fight with the leaders but for different reasons, we didn't get the results. But our motivation is high and everybody in the team is working hard. Honda is working hard too and we've had machine updates recently which are moving us in the right direction.” crash.net

Rizla Suzuki heads home for final Donington GP

23/07/09 18:10

Zoom Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki is in England this weekend for the British Grand Prix at Donington Park, an event that the team considers its second ‘home' GP of the season. With the team's operational headquarters in southern England and a big majority of the squad hailing from the UK - allied with the strong ties Chris Vermeulen has with the British racing scene from his early career - the Donington event is a real homecoming for the Japanese based Suzuki MotoGP squad. Vermeulen is hoping to be fully fit at Donington, following his injury-hit race in Germany last weekend, and is determined to keep up his successful British GP record that has seen him record one podium and two front row starts from his three previous visits. "I am really looking forward to Donington Park as it's like another home GP for me because I grew up racing bikes in the UK and spent a lot of time at Donington in my early career”, he said. “We were on the podium in the wet a couple of years ago and had a good race there last year in the dry. We have made steps forward with the bike - even if some of the results haven't gone our way. I hope my injuries allow me to push to 100% and get the Suzuki up to where we need to be." Loris Capirossi will be making his Suzuki MotoGP debut at the British event after he was sidelined through injury last year - although he does hold the Grand Prix rider record for the most GP starts at Donington with 17. Capirossi knows the importance of this race to the team and is in a determined mood to put his injury and the disappointment from last week at Sachsenring fully behind him as he goes after a result that will get the team back on target to be competitive for the remainder of the season. "Donington is a really important race because after the weekend we had in Germany we need to have a good performance and find the best solutions and settings to help us go quick”, he said. “I missed the race last year after my injuries at Barcelona and I really love the track so that was disappointing and I want to make up for it this season.We need some good results because the whole team is working so hard and although we probably don't have the best bike at the moment, our target is to keep making it stronger and stronger until it is capable of challenging at the front. My condition is nearly 95% and after the practices I am sure I will be fully fit for the race." This weekend's British Grand Prix will signal the end of an era as it will be the last time - for the foreseeable future - that the event will be staged at Donington Park. The 4,023m circuit will give way to Silverstone in 2010, so this will be the final chance spectators will get to see the amazing sight and sound as the awesome MotoGP bikes stream down Craner Curves, one of the most impressive pieces of track anywhere on the MotoGP calendar. Rizla Suzuki will start the weekend by being involved in the ‘Riders For Health Day of Champions' fundraising event on Thursday. This will be followed by the first and second free practice sessions on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning respectively. The qualifying for the race will take place on Saturday afternoon when both Rizla Suzuki racers will be going all out to get the best grid positions for Sunday's 30-lap race, which will get underway at the later time of 15.30hrs local time (14.30hrs GMT). moto-live.com

Melandri plays down Gresini rumours

By Simon Strang

Thursday, July 23rd 2009, 19:12 GMT

Marco Melandri has played down speculation that he has already signed to rejoin the Gresini Honda team in 2010, despite paddock speculation that he is close to a deal with his old squad.

Speaking to the press prior to the British Grand Prix at Donington, Melandri said that he was still talking to several teams about next year following some giant-killing performances on the under-funded Hayate Kawasaki so far this season.

"Everybody is saying I am already with Honda but it is not like this," he said. "For sure I hope to have good news at Brno so that I can have a good summer holiday.

"This time we are talking to everybody actually just to understand the situation and let the people know we are free. Like I said everybody thinks I am already with Gresini but it is not like that. It is just talk.

"I would like it actually because I want to be sure for next year, but I don't know now. But I am happy anyway, much more than I was last year."

Melandri added that he was uncertain whether Hayate would continue to run the Kawasaki in 2010, with Japanese manufacturer still keen to curtail its MotoGP activities in the current climate.

"I asked [team boss] Mr Yoda at the Saxonring what is going on with Kawasaki next year and it doesn't look a very nice situation actually," said Melandri. "So even though the results are quite good with very low money, it looks like Kawasaki want to stop.

"But I am pretty sad about that because I think the bike has a good base. If you worked a little bit more you could develop the bike in a good way. For sure you cannot win but you can be very to the top every Sunday." autosport.com

wsbk- Berno - Before the race weekend

Track Map, from trackpedia.com

Track info from: highrevs.net

Brno

Track country: Czech Republic

Track length: 5403m, 3.357miles

Track width: 15m

Longest straight: 636m, 0.395miles

Track left corners: 6

Track right corners: 8

Track time zone: GMT +1

track record: from: automotodrombrno.cz

Superbike:
2008	M. Fabrizio	Ducati	1:59,979	Dry

A look back at Brno - The last three editions

Wednesday, 22 July 2009 18:19 .worldsbk.com

2006 - The star of the Championship, Troy Bayliss, was out at the first turn after a collision with Laconi and thus the fight for the win was wide open. A group formed of Toseland, Kagayama, Haga and Pitt took the lead, but after a handful of laps Toseland and Kagayama parted company, fighting for the win alone. Yukio had the upper hand and on the fifteenth lap attacked and passed James. On the following lap he had one and a half seconds over Toseland and started to pull away for the win. Behind Kagayama and Toseland, Fabrizio took third, his first Superbike podium, obtained with a broken collarbone.

In race 2 Haga rocketed away at the start and after five laps had an advantage of a couple of seconds over his rivals, a group composed of Toseland, Corser, Bayliss and Kagayama. Bayliss however dropped off soon: he opted for a softer compound that gave him traction problems. Troy was forced to race in the middle of the pack and in the closing stages Lanzi gave him the eighth place for an extra point in the World Championship standings. Among Haga's pursuers Kagayama was in a class of his own: he passed Toseland and Corser and on the fifteenth lap he started chasing Noriyuki. It took him only a couple of laps to recover his 2.5 seconds deficit and when he arrived on his back, Haga waved him past: he was in trouble with his tyres and he wasn't able to fight for the win. Kagayama then took the double and on the last lap there was a spectacular fight for second place that saw Haga, Corser and Fabrizio involved. The Italian was behind his more experienced rivals but in the last couple of turns he was able to pass them and score his best career result, a second place.

2007 - Biaggi came to Brno for the first time in the World Superbike Championship as the king of the circuit, boasting a scoreboard of seven wins collected in the 250 and MotoGP classes and he confirmed his state of form by qualifying in second. He was beaten only by a spectacular Haga, the only man to go below the two minutes mark in the history of the circuit with an incredible lap in Superpole. In race 1 after a few laps Toseland, Biaggi, Haga and Kagayama formed a group that fought for the lead. Haga maintained the lead until traction problems sent him back and thus Toseland remained in front, followed closely by Biaggi. Everyone expected Biaggi to attack in the last laps, but his rival was perfect and Max couldn't make his move, Toseland won, Biaggi behind him and further back Kagayama and Haga. A memorable moment involved Troy Bayliss: the Aussie had setup problems and was fighting for a lowly tenth place when he was rammed by Muggeridge and both ended their run on the gravel trap. Troy right after the collision went to Muggeridge and... thanked him because he wasn't having much fun so far back in the pack.

The start of race 2 was delayed for a few drops of rain, the race was declared wet, but the tarmac was practically dry (everyone was on slicks). Biaggi was not so sure about the conditions, he didn't take any risks in the first laps and he fell in seventh place, while out in front the two Yamahas of Haga and Corser were able to make the difference and set off in formation, pulling away from the rest. After five laps however Corser's engine expired and Haga was left alone with a couple of seconds over Toseland and Biaggi; the Italian had recovered the positions he lost at the start and sat behind the Honda Ten Kate machine, which he was able to pass on the eleventh lap. Haga's pace was good and everyone expected a win by the Japanese rider, but after ten laps a problem that often afflicted the Yamahas hit Noriyuki: lack of traction. His lap times increased dramatically and he was passed by Biaggi and then Toseland. Soon afterwards Max changed pace and pulled away, winning by a good margin over Toseland. Behind them was Fabrizio, who passed Haga four laps from the end. Biaggi won the race with three stitches in his left hand, after he had been hit by a stone raised by Toseland's bike in race 1 that pierced the fairing of his Suzuki.

2008 - Going into Brno very few people would have placed their bets on the Ducati Xerox squad, given the hard times they had had in the past at the Czech track, but the 1098 worked wonders and was also able to turn the tables in Brno. Bayliss took pole in front of Corser, Fabrizio and Biaggi, and with three Ducatis in the four top spots, the outcome of the race seemed pretty clear. In race 1 Biaggi took the lead at the first corner, only to be repassed by Corser soon afterwards. The duo kept on changing places in front with Bayliss right behind, overlooking the whole affair. After a handful of laps Biaggi managed to hit the front for good, just as Neukirchner joined the company, but he wasn't a factor as he started dropping back after ten laps or so. The tyres started to tell and after a couple more laps also Biaggi had trouble with his front and on the twelfth lap both Bayliss and Corser passed him. Bayliss had saved his tyres and recorded some impressive laps leaving Corser behind. The Ducati rider had so much in reserve that he was even able to set the fastest lap of the race three laps from the finish, when pretty much everybody else was struggling for front-end grip. Corser came home second, while Biaggi eventually fell into the clutches of Fabrizio and Kiyonari and was passed by his fellow countryman at the penultimate corner, losing third place.

Race 2 was a repetition of race 1, with Biaggi taking a cautious approach: he changed the front compound to a harder one and stayed on Bayliss' and Corser's tail to save his rubber. Corser led the first laps, then Bayliss took the lead by lap 9 and led the group of the front runners, who included Corser, Biaggi and Neukirchner, the German after ten laps dropped back like in race 1. Bayliss five laps from the end accelerated abruptly and left Corser and Biaggi to fight for second. The Roman was able to pass on the penultimate lap, but on the last lap Fabrizio came from behind and again pipped him completing the Ducati Xerox 1-2. Biaggi was third confirming that the 1098 had no rivals on this track. Compared to the 999 the new 1200 cc engine had more grunt that helped Bayliss & Co. considerably out of the corners and up the hills of the Czech track. The four cylinders were left powerless and Bayliss' lead in the Championship became huge: the Australian left Brno with 79 points over Neukirchner and 91 over Corser. The leitmotiv of the season continued as the rivals of Bayliss kept on having highs and lows: Checa was never in the game, soundly beaten by Kiyonari and also suffering a traction control failure in race 2, while Haga wasn't able to match Corser's pace in the races. In race 2 he came into the pits before the start claiming that the engine was not working properly and swapped bikes starting thus from the back. That maybe was a case of paranoia as the team said afterwards that there weren't any problems on his bike.

Yamaha head to Brno looking for more points before the summer break

Yamaha World Superbike Team riders Ben Spies and Tom Sykes head to Brno this weekend for their first race on the Czech Republic circuit. Both Spies and Sykes are on confident form having given their 2009 R1 race bikes a thorough shakedown and test at the official World Superbike test at Imola last week. Spies comes to Brno just 14 points behind championship leader Noriyuki Haga with everything to play for whilst team mate Sykes has his eyes fixed firmly on the top five with five rounds left to run in the 2009 championship.

The Automotodrom Brno is a 5.403km circuit that features constant elevation changes and the fastest chicane in WSB. The uphill straight towards the last chicane features an incredible power sapping 7.5% gradient, which will test the strongest engines on the grid.

"We had a good test at Imola last week so I'm in a confident mood," said Ben Spies. "Brno is yet again another new track for us so I'm really looking forward to running around the circuit this week and then getting out on the bike on Friday to get a feel for it. We only have ten races left now to the end of the championship so we need to make every one count. Everybody is going to be working hard to be up front this weekend so it's going to be a tough race but I'm excited about it." "I'm really looking forward to showing some more of my recent pace," said Tom Sykes. "I've been getting faster and faster all year as we've resolved some issues with the set up and now I feel we've got a package I can use to challenge and stay with the front pack. I haven't ridden Brno before but I think we can pick it up quickly on Friday and get cracking on the bike set up."

Kagayama goes solo for Suzuki this weekend

Thursday, 23 July 2009 12:44.worldsbk.com

After the very unfortunate injury to Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Max Neukirchner in his comeback at the Imola tests last week, Yukio Kagayama will be the teams sole rider in Brno this coming weekend. Max suffered damage to four of his vertebra when he fell in Imola and faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines as he recovers from his injuries. With Brno so soon after Maxs crash, the team have decided not to replace him this weekend, preferring to consider their future plans in a calm and considered manner, especially as there is a five week break after this weekend.

"I feel very sorry for Max. It is a great pity that he hurt himself in the first time back on the racebike. This season has not been a lucky one for our team and also we have not found it so easy getting the bike to where we would like it. The bike seems very sensitive and finding a good base set-up at every track has been difficult sometimes. We tried many things in our recent tests, but I do not think we found a good solution or direction. Brno circuit is a flowing track, so I am hoping that it will suit our K9 GSX R1000 better. I like the track and I will fight my hardest for the best possible results - as usual."

Biaggi and Aprilia advantaged by Brno tests

Thursday, 23 July 2009 11:36.worldsbk.com

Aprilia's new RSV4 machine should not be at much of a disadvantage against its rivals on the Czech track, according to Italian Max Biaggi, who returns to a circuit where he has won many times in his career. During private testing at Brno, Aprilia's designated test-track, on July 1 and 2, riders and team engineers managed to establish a good base setting with which to begin the Brno weekend, as well as testing new components for the development of the four-cylinder machine.

Brno is a magic track for Biaggi, who has won eight times there, 4 in 250, 3 in 500/MotoGP and once in SBK in 2007 in race 2, while last year he picked up a fourth and a third place. In the tests, which Biaggi tackled with a cracked bone in his right foot from Donington, he recorded a best time of 2'00.75 over 122 laps.

Shinya Nakano, who ran a total of 135 laps in testing with a best time of 2'00"78, won at this circuit in 2000 in 250 GP, while last year in MotoGP he finished in fourth place in his first race on a factory Honda.

"We come from an excellent second place in Britain, where the team did a great job on the bike" declared Biaggi. "We continued the work at Brno a few days later in two days of testing during which we tested several components for the development of the RSV4 and we found a good starting base for the race. In this way we are at less of a disadvantage against our rivals. I really like this track, for me it's the best in absolute, I've always had excellent results and it adapts itself well to the characteristics of our bike. We've done a lot of work in the last few weeks and I think we can get some good results".

Rea thrilled to return to Brno

Wednesday, 22 July 2009 18:56 .worldsbk.com

Last year Jonathan Rea's initial promise in the WSS class came to real fruition with his first ever race win at Brno. Unsurprisingly, the venue holds a special place in the heart of the 22-year-old rider, and he cannot even think about Brno without breaking into a smile. He has already won a race in the Superbike class since he made his step-up in the winter, and sees Brno as the perfect place to go for a second swim in the pool of victory.

Being fastest rider in the most recent test session at Imola also buoys his confidence. He said, "That test was good for us - not just the result and the progress that we were able to make, but because of the way we went about it. It showed how well everyone is working as a team now and how motivated we all are to get the kind of results that we know we can achieve. Brno was good on the Supersport bike last year and I think the track should suit the Superbike even better. We've got a good setting with the new package now and we'll be pushing on as hard as we can to get some more good results this weekend."

Sachsenring - Germany- The race and other news

Rossi pips Lorenzo for German win

Report - Rossi extends lead at Sachsenring news.bbc.co.uk

Valentino Rossi extended his lead over Jorge Lorenzo in the championship standings to 14 points after edging out his team-mate to win the German MotoGP.

The Yamaha duo were involved in a cat-and-mouse duel but Rossi pounced with two laps left to win at Sachsenring by nine-hundredths of a second.

Lorenzo had to settle for second, with Dani Pedrosa third ahead of Casey Stoner, who had tyre problems.

Britain's James Toseland came home in 10th place.

Rossi, who claimed his 101st victory, was thrilled to have held on for such an important victory over his closest rival, which also saw him equal Giacomo Agostini's record of 159 podium finishes.

"It was a great race. I made a good start and had to fight at the beginning with Casey which was funny," he told BBC Sport.

"But our two Yamahas worked very well and it was another great battle with Jorge. It was fantastic, we enjoyed it, and it was perfect for me.

"I braked so deep on that corner [to overtake Lorenzo]. I didn't make a mistake at a crucial point and it was an important victory for the championship."

Rossi led from pole position on an eventful first lap which saw Randy de Puniet crash out of third position following a fine start.

Stoner had worked his way past Pedrosa before taking over the lead from Rossi on lap six as the four main riders in the championship pulled clear of the field.

Rossi delighted after German win

Stoner, who has been suffering recently with anaemia and gastritis, seemed a rider rejuvenated but it soon became clear he was holding up the Yamaha duo, allowing Pedrosa to keep in touch.

Rossi and Lorenzo both got past the Australian and that left the team-mates with a third of the 30 laps remaining to battle it out.

With five laps to go, Lorenzo took over the lead into turn one but Rossi managed to return the compliment with two laps remaining, and held off the Spaniard's attempts at a late challenge.

---

German MotoGP result:

1 V Rossi (It) Fiat Yamaha 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!" yamaha-racing.com

2 J Lorenzo (Sp) Fiat Yamaha 41:21.868

"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." yamaha-racing.com
3 D Pedrosa (Sp) Honda 41:24.668

“A podium is good, but I think that we could have won. We were strong enough to win, but I had a front tyre problem when I was going fast,” said the Spaniard on the same difficulty that forced Andrea Dovizioso out of the race.

“My teammate seemed to have a big problem with it, so I’m happy to have got on the podium, but anyway I thought that today we could have been faster.”

Pedrosa raced with a new Honda engine this weekend as the Japanese factory look to beef up their 2009 machine, and Sunday saw his most extensive run yet with the new motor. Reviewing his feeling with the latest novelty, he added that “we have some experience now for the next round with the new spec.” motogp.com

4 C Stoner (Aus) Ducati 41:31.995

"I wasn't too confident at the start of the race because we were losing ground and my feeling with the bike wasn't great but it quickly improved so we decided to hit the front as soon as possible – if nothing else just to hold everybody up and stay in there with a shout,” said the Ducati star.

“I started to lose the front end a few times so I decided to back off a bit. That allowed Valentino, Jorge and Dani to come past but then, as the fuel load lightened, the front fell more secure and I was able to pick up the pace again,” he revealed. “Dani came up with an unbelievable lap that was about half a second quicker than any of his others.

“After he passed me I tried to push and stay with him but I actually lost the rear at the bottom of the hill and had to let off the brakes, which almost forced me to run into the gravel.

“All in all with the way things have been going lately I'm happy with today's race because it's the first time in a while I feel I've been really involved and I think if it wasn't for that problem with the rear I may have been able to dig deep and given Valentino Jorge and Dani something to think about at the end.

“I'm excited about going to Donington now and I want to thank the team for sticking by me over the last few weeks because it hasn't been fun for any of them,” he concluded. crash.net
5 A de Angelis (SMR) Honda 41:43.291

“We definitely did the maximum we could in this race and in general because the top four are difficult to beat for a lot of reasons. So this is a fantastic team result”, commented Team Manager Fausto Gresini. “I'm happy for Alex, who had an excellent race, and also for Toni who could not possibly have done more from last place on the grid. The whole team is working so hard and we needed a result like this to give everybody a boost.”

“After showing my pace in the wet during qualifying yesterday I knew I could go fast in the dry as well and that proved to be the case”, he said. “Obviously this is a circuit I like a lot but I was also fast in practice at Laguna Seca - unfortunately we had a technical problem there and I wasn't able to back it up with a good result. This time it was nice to carry my form through to Sunday and to stay close to the guys at the front for the first time this season. I really enjoyed attacking and passing (Andrea) Dovizioso, it was a great feeling. This is the result we have been looking for – we have made some important technical progress and I think that at Donington, a circuit I like with its fast corners, I can produce a similar result.” moto-live.com

6 T Elias (Spn) San Carlo Honda 41:52.621

“To be honest I was expecting a battle just to finish in the top ten today but it ended up being much better than I could have imagined! It was a tough race and physically I still wasn't feeling very strong but I managed to get into my rhythm and start passing riders. Once I caught up with Marco I found it difficult to get past him and my stomach pains started. I thought, ‘please no, not now!'”, he explained. “I fought through the pain and over the last few laps we had a great battle, which I was able to win. I want to thank the team because they've been doing a great job and we are starting to see the fruit of our hard work. If we hadn't started from the back of the grid the result today could have been much better so that is something for us to think about for Donington, where we can go in high spirits.” moto-live.com

7 M Melandri (It) Kawasaki 41:53.070
8 N Hayden (US) Ducati 41:53.495

Hayden told motogp.com, “Things were not as good as we had hoped after such a strong weekend and unfortunately we ended up in eighth place. Turn one was not good to me, I got in hot and then everyone was just there. I probably didn’t do the right thing in certain places and I blew all the hard work from qualifying.”

“I am disappointed in the result for sure, but the weekend as a whole we can take some positives from. I had another crash this morning because I got too excited having seen I could go a lot faster, after being towards the back all year. I apologised to the team for making some mistakes but I don’t apologise for trying so hard.”

9 C Edwards (US) Tech 3 Yamaha 41:54.634

"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." yamaha-racing.com
10 J Toseland (GB) Tech 3 Yamaha 42:05.695

"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." yamaha-racing.com
11 L Capirossi (It) Suzuki 42:19.144

"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." motogp.com
12 N Canepa (Ita) Pramac Racing 42:22.308

“I had a lot of pain in my left ankle, but I had to grit my teeth until the end of the race. It has been a positive race considering the physical condition I was in. I took too much time to overtake Gabor Talmacsi and this made me lose the group of riders in front of me, but with persistence I made it to reach and overtake some other riders. For sure my objective isn't 12th position, but because of the way it went yesterday and considering that this is my first GP here I can be satisfied. I have to thank the Clinica Mobile doctors as they allowed me to race today.” motogp.com
13 C Vermeuluen (Aus) Suzuki 42:25.414

"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." motogp.com
14 M Kallio (Fin) Ducati 42:25.924

“Everyone saw what our potential was at this circuit. In every session, including this morning warm up, we remained in the first ten and this was our very lowest aim this afternoon. In the race we started well, but after only five laps I felt something wasn’t working properly on the front of the bike: the tyre suddenly deteriorated. I could have easily finished in sixth or seventh position, but bad luck hit us. I tried everything possible to stay with the riders near me, but after ten laps the situation got even worse. I hope that better luck will be on our side next Sunday at Donington.” motogp.com
15 G Talmacsi (Hng) Scot Racing + 1 lap

Championship standings:

1 V Rossi (Ita) Yamaha 176 points
2 J Lorenzo (Spn) Yamaha 162
3 C Stoner (Aus) Ducati 148
4 D Pedrosa (Spn) Honda 108
5 C Edwards (USA) Yamaha 83
6 M Melandri (Ita) Kawasaki 70
7 A Dovizioso (Ita) Honda 69
8 C Vermeulen (Aus)Suzuki 64
9 L Capirossi (Ita) Suzuki 61
10 R de Puniet (Ft) Honda 58
11 A de Angelis (RSM) Honda 47
12 T Elias (Spn) Honda 47
13 N Hayden (US) Ducati 46
14 J Toseland (GB) Yamaha 45
15 M Kallio (Fin) Ducati 28
16 N Canepa (Ita) Ducati 20
17 S Gibernau (Spn) Ducati 12
18 Y Takahashi (Jpn) Honda 9
19 G Talmacsi (Hng) Honda 1


And the other big drama of the last couple of way eeks- where wil Lorenzo be next year
Will he stay with Yamaha or will he move to Honda

Lorenzo: Yamaha offer not good enough

By Michele Lostia and Pablo Elizalde

Monday, July 20th 2009, 09:23 GMT

autosport.com

Jorge Lorenzo says he is ready to delay a decision on his future, claiming he is worth more than what his Yamaha team is offering him.

The Spaniard is currently fighting for the title with team-mate Valentino Rossi, who is 14 points ahead after the first nine races of the season.

Yamaha rival Honda has expressed an interest in Lorenzo, but the former 250cc world champion said his main priority is staying with his current team.

Lorenzo, however, said after yesterday's German Grand Prix that he feels Yamaha's offer is not good enough.

"I don't know, I think that we need to wait some more," Lorenzo told Italia1 television when asked about his future.

"I feel very proud that people are interested in me. But I think I'm one of the riders who can beat Valentino in the future.

"I'm fighting with him at the moment, and I think my worth is greater than what Yamaha is offering me at the moment. We'll see what happens in the future."

Rossi, meanwhile, said he was not sure if it was better to have Lorenzo as a team-mate or not.

"I've thought a lot about it, whether it's better to have him in Yamaha or in Honda," he said. "I don't know. There are pluses and minuses each way. In any case I think he will be a tough rival to beat whether he rides either with our bike or with another team."

Rossi also denied Lorenzo did not get the same bike upgrades as him.

"That's not true, the bikes are identical," he told Gazzetta dello Sport. "In any case, it's normal that I have with Yamaha a relationship he doesn't have: when I arrived in 2004 I found a bike that hadn't won for 12 years and it was crap.

"Now we have the best bike. Lorenzo can't pretend to arrive, win, and in two years be as important as Valentino."

He added: "It's easy to be in his conditions: he fights against Valentino Rossi, one of the strongest riders ever, so he goes for it and if he loses he tries again. Meanwhile, this year we are 6-3 in my favour. Good, I like that. He's a tough nut with enormous talent."

How The Lorenzo - Honda Deal Would Work: Separate Teams Inside Repsol

Submitted by David Emmett on Sun, 2009-07-19 23:23.

at motogpmatters.com

Over the past few weeks, the motorcycle racing press has been set ablaze by the rumors of Jorge Lorenzo's future. The talented Mallorcan's contract with the Fiat Yamaha team runs out at the end of this year, and although Yamaha have offered Lorenzo a new contract - rumored to be around the 3.5 million euro mark - Lorenzo has been holding out for more. He has some very serious leverage to help his side of the argument: Lorenzo says that all of the current manufacturers have offered him a contract.

The only realistic prospect for Lorenzo is of course Honda - Ducati is too much of a risk, and the chances of Suzuki meeting Lorenzo's rumored 5 million euro salary demand are very slim indeed, given the somewhat parlous state of the factory's MotoGP program. The elephant - nay, the brontosaurus - in the room in any discussion of a Lorenzo move to Honda is of course the fate of Dani Pedrosa. The two Spanish title rivals have been bitter enemies since a series of incidents during the 2005 250cc Championship season, and the prospect of the two men on the same team has usually been seen as almost impossible.

Things were made a little easier between the two after Lorenzo fired his long-time manager Dani Amatriain at the end of last season, as the rivalry between Amatriain and Pedrosa's manager Alberto Puig was even more intense than that between the two riders. But now, according to GPOne.com, a solution has been found by HRC which would help remove any last obstacles to securing the services of both Lorenzo and Pedrosa.

The idea would be for Jorge Lorenzo to join the Repsol Honda team, but to split the team into two separate parts, each with its own manager. Unsurprisingly, Alberto Puig would manage the Pedrosa half of the garage, but the big surprise comes in the name of person selected to manage Lorenzo's half of the team. GPOne is saying that Aprilia boss Giampiero Sacchi, currently manager of the Aprilia World Superbike racing team, is in talks with HRC to run Lorenzo, as part of a wider cooperation between the two factories. Sacchi and Lorenzo already know each other well, as Sacchi managed the Derbi team that Lorenzo made his debut in at the tender age of 15. With a name like Giampiero Sacchi at the helm, Lorenzo would have faith in receiving equitable treatment inside the team.

Speaking after the race at the Sachsenring, Lorenzo refused to be drawn on his future, saying only, "the most important thing is to be in a good team with a good bike." When asked about Yamaha, he told reporters, "I don't know what Yamaha wants. I know what I want." This saga still has some way to run yet.

Sachsenring - Germany- QP

Rossi fires back for first Sachsenring pole

Saturday, 18 July 2009

Italian tops timesheets for first time in German weekend for maiden pole at Sachsenring.

Valentino Rossi added a third pole position to enviable haul from 2009 at Sachsenring on Saturday, coming out on top in a drenched qualifying session for the Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. Rossi’s last gasp 1’32.520 lap was not only enough to head the timesheet by over six-tenths of a second, but it was also sufficient to give him a first ever MotoGP pole at the German track.

Rossi relegated Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo to second on the grid, and the two share the front row for the sixth time this season. Joining them in the first line of attack will be fellow title contender Casey Stoner, a further six-tenths down on Rossi’s marker in the qualifying run.

Lorenzo and Stoner had experienced big crashes at Laguna Seca last time out, but this time they were two of the few riders not to have experienced a moment in preparation for the Sachsenring race. The area at and ahead of turn eight proved costly for a number of riders on Saturday afternoon, with falls for Marco Melandri, Toni Elías, Randy de Puniet, Alex de Angelis, Nicky Hayden and Niccolò Canepa adding to Chris Vermeulen’s Friday hit and James Toseland’s morning moment. Canepa first hit the gravel of his own accord, then later became involved in Hayden’s crash when the American speared him off track.

Hayden took his best qualifying result as a Ducati Marlboro rider to date with fifth place, ahead of San Carlo Gresini Honda’s De Angelis and LCR Honda man De Puniet on the second row.

The Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland begins at 2pm local time on Sunday.

MotoGP Qualifying Practice Classification PDF
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'32.520 269.326

“I’m really happy for this pole because it means I’ve already got more than in the whole of last year!” beamed the Italian. “Getting the pole position here is very important for the race because it’s such a hard place to overtake, so I’m really happy. We’ve done some good work today and my team has done a great job to set-up the bike. We’ve made a few small modifications, which have improved the feeling for me and I felt very confident today despite the bad conditions.” motogp.com
2 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'33.160 269.595 0.640

“Yesterday I was quite worried about my injuries but I am happy to say that today I feel a lot better and I was able to ride much more strongly and brake much later,” said the Spaniard, who leads the BMW M Award competition for qualifying results. “I was really fast in the dry this morning and then this afternoon I did a lot of consistent laps, improving all the time, which is very good because often I struggle in the wet. At the end it was very easy to crash so I didn’t want to push too much or take too many chances, it was important to be careful!” motogp.com
3 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'33.759 264.835 1.239

“That was a crazy session because of all the standing water on the track and the grip levels were minimal,” said the Australian. “There were riders crashing all over the place so once we knew we had a decent lap time in the bag I decided to sit out the last few minutes of the session because the last thing I needed was a crash.
“I'm still feeling the effects of the qualifying crash at Laguna two weeks ago so to be honest the first thing I'm pleased about is to have stayed upright today, the second thing is to be on the front row!” he admitted.
“I have to take my hat off to Rossi and Lorenzo today because whilst everybody else was sliding around all over the place those two looked like they were on rails," said the 2007 world champion. "They are clearly the guys to beat again tomorrow in wet or dry conditions although to be honest I'd prefer it to be wet – at least that way I know I am physically fit enough to be strong to the end of the race!" crash.net

4 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'34.404 266.140 1.884

“The session was actually a bit of a disaster, I went out on the first bike and going into turn one the gearbox locked up, I thought I was down there. It stayed in second gear so I rolled all the way back in like that. I got on the second bike and didn’t feel that comfortable as I knew I only had one bike so I was going quite cautiously, then once I got going I felt alright.”

He continued, “Then we made a couple of changes and I got right on the pace. On the last run I went out, I knew I was a bit on the limit but I felt I had a chance to maybe do something special. I was going for it, I was setting my best time going through T1, then in the downhill the rear went away and there was nothing I could do. I’m sorry for Niccolò because it was just a case of ‘wrong place, wrong time’.”

Asked whether he felt he could be competitive in Sunday’s race in the event of more rain, Hayden replied, “I have felt pretty good all year in the wet. Sometimes this bike works quite well in the wet but it doesn’t give a lot of feedback. It is stiff and sometimes it is hard to know what it is going to do, but it still goes well overall in the wet, so I’m pretty happy.” motogp.com

5 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'34.490 256.288 1.970

“We started out really well and my lap times were good in the early part of the session, when we were using a tyre that we already put a few laps on yesterday. With a new tyre it was really hard to generate the heat to get it working at optimum temperature but gradually I started to feel better. Then unfortunately I crashed in the corner where everybody else went down too. It is never a nice feeling to crash but especially when I know that I could have made an attack at least for the front row. Anyway, fifth place is a fantastic result for us and if it rains again tomorrow then we’re ideally placed. Even if it is dry we know we have a good starting position and good pace for what I hope can be my best race of the season.” motogp.com
6 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'34.564 266.337 2.044

“We have got a good grid position and I am quite satisfied but it has not been easy as a wet session is always a gamble. Everybody pushed to find the limit but sometimes we push too much and we crash. I was very fast in the first run (12 laps) and my machine's wet setup was almost perfect. Unfortunately I crashed on turn seven because I opened the throttle too much and the asphalt was like an ice-skating rink! After that I went out on my second bike but it took me some time to find the right pace. When I started to push I had some engine brake issues and at two laps to go I went out in the gravel. The guys must work hard to repair both bikes for tomorrow but I feel confident as we made a good performance in both conditions." motogp.com
7 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'34.607 261.311 2.087

“It was a bit of a struggle to be honest, so to be as high as seventh, I'm not going to complain too much. I thought we'd made a big step with the wet set-up yesterday but the rain was much harder this afternoon and the track temperature was a lot cooler. I knew two laps into it that I'd got no feeling from the rear. We made a couple of changes and the lap times were getting a bit better but each time I wanted to push the rear would just come round on me. The Bridgestone front rain tyre is just awesome and you can do what you want with it. If I could chop the bike in half and just ride the front around here it would be fantastic. But as soon as I load the rear tyre it comes round on me and picks me up. I want to push and go faster, but the faster I go the more load I'm generating and that just pushes the rear out even more. The balance isn't quite right because I feel like I'm riding well in the rain. Tomorrow is all about getting a good start with it being hard to over take. And the start pretty much determines which group you're going to be battling in. The new electronics I've got though are unbelievable. I don't want to curse myself but my starts have been phenomenal and I need to thank Yamaha because the new electronics have helped me massively.” motogp.com
8 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'34.725 262.263 2.205

“Qualifying in eighth isn’t ideal, so I’ll be trying to make another good start tomorrow. That’s going to be important here because the first turn is quite close to the start line, plus it’s difficult to overtake at this track. The conditions were quite difficult this afternoon, they were changing all the time and I was struggling to get into a good rhythm. There were a lot of riders crashing out there and I don’t have a lot of experience on this year’s wet tyres because I missed some testing earlier in the season. This was why I wasn’t going so quickly this afternoon. It wasn’t because of my crash in last year’s wet race. It was good that we had a dry practice session this morning and of course I’d prefer a dry race tomorrow. The forecast is not certain so we’ll aim to improve our set-up for both wet and dry conditions.” motogp.com
9 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'34.741 268.056 2.221

"Overall the practice has not been too bad because we were able to work on getting a good wet setting. We made a few changes half-way through to improve engine-braking and control, but the biggest problem was the amount of rain on the track in the last 15 minutes of the session”, he explained. “I did quite a good lap and then on what felt like my best lap I lost some time behind Melandri, so I decided I had to go for it on the next lap, but in turn seven as I opened the throttle to accelerate out, the rear tyre just let go and I flew a long way off the bike. The good thing for us though is that the feeling in the bike is good in the wet and this will help us if it is like this tomorrow." /www.moto-live.com/
10 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 1'34.771 267.062 2.251

"A very intense day”, he commented. “This morning we have done really well with a dry surface keeping really close to the first positions. Then, in the afternoon with really wet surface, we stayed in the top ten and conquered the fourth row. Any weather condition there will be tomorrow we are trustful to be able between the fastest. I am sorry for Niccolò because he was having a good qualifying session and I hope he will be ok for tomorrow's race." .moto-live.com
11 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'34.892 268.256 2.372
12 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'34.937 266.666 2.417

"I am quite disappointed with qualifying because we struggled to get the bike working well for me. That was probably due to my lack of track time at speed today, but we did make some steps during the session. Right at the end, when there was a lot of standing water, we struggled to get good grip from the rear of the bike and that is something we'll look at tonight so we can be ready if it is wet tomorrow”, he said. “With my injuries it will be a bit easier for me physically if it is wet tomorrow, but if it's dry I'm expecting it to be a tough race. My shoulder and my hip are both hurting from the crash on Friday, but I'll be ok to race and trying as hard as I can!" /www.moto-live.com/
13 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1'34.938 260.052 2.418
14 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'35.005 264.641 2.485

“I'm gutted. I felt like I was riding really well, so to come in and see myself four-tenths of sixth is hard to swallow. If I wasn't riding well and not putting in the effort I know I am, I wouldn't be so frustrated. I had my best feeling in the wet for a long time and I knew I was riding well, but each time I came across the line I was seeing P12 or P13. And then to find out I'm so close to a top six is really frustrating. We kept one set of tyres through the whole session and just as I did my quickest lap time the rain started coming again and there was a little bit more water. I'd used the best grip of my tyre and I couldn't go any quicker. So instead of sitting here in sixth or seventh with a big smile on my face and feeling confident of a good result, I'm fourteenth and that makes it a tough race with it being so hard to overtake. But my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 have done an amazing job to give me a good bike for the wet and build my confidence. We kept going softer with the set-up because the edge grip on the Bridgestone rain tyre is amazing. It will be a tough race with overtaking so difficult on this track, but as always I'll be giving it my all.” motogp.com
15 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1'36.012 256.106 3.492

"What a hit ! I didn't understand what happened until I saw the replay while I was in the mobile clinic. When I was on the ground after the accident I saw and heard Hayden saying to me "Sorry, sorry, sorry", but I didn't understand why”, he said. “He doesn't have to worry because this sort of things can happen and the most important is that both of us are ok and ready to race tomorrow. I suffered a hard contusion ad my back, head and ankle, but nothing is broken. I felt a lot of heat in my lower back but everything seems back to normality now. I want to thanks the mobile clinic doctors who have helped me to relax and will do all possible to put me back in top form for tomorrow's race." .moto-live.com

16 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'36.055 265.878 3.535
17 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'36.531 264.705 4.011a

“I didn’t feel as comfortable today as I did yesterday in the wet or the dry. Track temperature was 15ºC lower and I really felt the difference. It was taking too long to get any heat into the tyre and even when I did the feeling wasn’t there. It wasn’t a good day and it finished off with a crash, which I was lucky to come away from without any injury. I’d had a few warnings beforehand, the bike was sliding around in a lot of places, and then I lost control and the next thing I knew I was laying on top of the bike like I was sunbathing or something! It’s funny to watch on television but I can assure you it wasn’t so funny for me. Hopefully the fans get chance to sunbathe tomorrow because we need a dry race. I’m starting from last place so it will be a tough race for sure. My only option is to fight and pass as many people as I can. Let’s hope we have the conditions and a set-up that allows me to do so.” motogp.com

FP2 Times

1. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 1min 21.882 sec
2. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 22.258 sec
3. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 1min 22.311 sec
4. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 22.340 sec
5. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 1min 22.357 sec
6. Marco Melandri ITA Hayate Racing Team 1min 22.441 sec
7. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 1min 22.721 sec
8. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 1min 22.738 sec
9. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 1min 22.892 sec
10. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 22.899 sec
11. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1min 23.041 sec
12. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1min 23.205 sec
13. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1min 23.374 sec
14. James Toseland GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1min 23.655 sec
15. Niccolo Canepa ITA Pramac Racing 1min 23.897 sec
16. Gabor Talmacsi HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 1min 24.579 sec
17. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 24.718 sec