MotoGP- Laguna Seca - FP1

Video: the Yamaha boys (Rossi, Lorenzo, Edwards and Toseland) star in hilarious 'The Office’ spoof

this is so funny- you have to see it again and again

Laguna action gets underway with Rossi leading the way

Friday, 03 July 2009

The hour-long first MotoGP free practice session at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix concluded with Valentino Rossi in front of his World Championship rivals on Friday.

In perfect conditions at the Laguna Seca circuit on Friday afternoon, with blue skies, Californian sunshine and temperatures of 24°C, the MotoGP riders got the eighth race weekend of the year underway – the World Champion Valentino Rossi putting down the fastest time late in FP1.

The current MotoGP ‘big three’ were on top again as the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix commenced, Rossi followed on the timesheet by his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo and Ducati’s Casey Stoner.

Rossi’s 1’21.981s lap around the shortest track on the MotoGP calendar, on the last of his 32 laps, was enough to put him 0.112s ahead of the young pretender to his crown Lorenzo.

A first lap crasher in the 2008 race on his Laguna Seca debut, Lorenzo will aim to put the memories of last year’s contest behind him and already looks comfortable around the picturesque American track.

Stoner was just 0.189s down on Rossi’s pace himself as he tested his condition following the severe exhaustion he has experienced in recent weeks. The 2007 Laguna race-winning Australian is out for revenge over Rossi this weekend following their epic 2008 battle which Rossi won in such style.

In fourth place was Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa. The Spanish rider is still fighting back to 100% fitness this weekend, although he is already in far better shape than last year when he went home after the Friday practices due to injuries he sustained at Sachsenring.

There was a good start to the weekend for San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Toni Elías who immediately benefitted from the introduction of the new chassis on the Honda RC212V to lap fifth quickest.

Italian pair Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing) were sixth and seventh, respectively 0.899s and 1.159s down on the pace.

Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen crashed at the beginning of the session but soon got back out on track to complete 27 laps in total and still managed to go round eighth fastest.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) rounded out the top ten, whilst Edwards’ compatriot Nicky Hayden made a sluggish start to his American Ducati debut in 14th place.

Rossi satisfied but with improvements still to make

Friday, 03 July 2009 motogp.com

World Champion Valentino Rossi spoke to motogp.com on Friday after starting the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix in good form.

In search of GP victory 101 this weekend in California the sensational winner of last year’s Laguna Seca race Valentino Rossi was the fastest man at the track on Friday as the round eight action got started.

Topping the FP1 timesheet ahead of his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo and Ducati’s Casey Stoner by 0.112s and 0.189s respectively, with a 1’21.981 lap, Rossi knows he needs to stay on the pace and to improve his setting on Saturday in order to keep in front of his young rivals.

“It was a good first practice because I’m in first place and also because we worked well on the bike,” said the iconic Italian rider. “We checked some interesting things, we tried to improve the feeling with the bike and we gathered important data in order to improve on Saturday.”

The 30 year-old continued, “Already the lap time is not too bad. We are very close together again with Stoner and Lorenzo but it looks like we are competitive and our Yamaha is good here at this track.”

Asked about the specifics as to where he will focus on Saturday, Rossi replied, “We have to improve the setting still, because on certain corners it is possible to make it better. We are also working a lot on the electronics so that we control the ‘wheelies’ because on this track there are lots of bumps and jumps, so tomorrow we will continue to work in this way.”

Marathon man Lorenzo relearning Laguna Seca

Friday, 03 July 2009 motogp.com

Extended sighting mission for Fiat Yamaha rider in opening Laguna Seca session

38 laps –the fastest of which a 1’22.093- was all it took for Fiat Yamaha Jorge Lorenzo to make up for any lack of track time at Laguna Seca. The current second-placed rider in the MotoGP World Champion crashed out of his U.S. debut last year before even crossing the start/finish line once, although on Friday in 2009 he quickly reacquainted himself with the technical circuit.

“I was very fast today and I feel good here at this track in the California sunshine! I know that this is a very complicated circuit to get used to and that you have to make a lot of laps to learn it, but I did have some time on it last year and I feel great here now,” said the Spaniard, once again edged out at the last moment by teammate Valentino Rossi in the Friday run by just a tenth of a second.

“Today I stopped after a few laps and changed the tyre to the harder Bridgestone one and then I felt even better; I was having a lot of fun riding the bike and I was able to do more or less race distance with consistent lap times. We will work on further improving our setting tomorrow and I hope that I can continue in the same way again.”

Lorenzo is riding this weekend without Team Manager Daniele Romagnoli accompanying him on his side of the garage, the Italian attending to a family matter back in Europe.

Stoner expecting Assen/Barcelona-like fatigue at Laguna

Friday, 03 July 2009 motogp.com

Third in Friday’s free practice session, Casey Stoner was frank about his continued lack of fitness when talking after the run-out.

2007 racewinner Casey Stoner opened up this year’s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix weekend with the third fastest time of the first free practice session, with a 1’22.170 lap of the Laguna Seca circuit belying his still-fragile physical state. The Australian has been battling a mystery virus over the past pair of races and, unfortunately for the Ducati man, is predicting just as hard a fight this Sunday.

“The bike’s working well, which is once again a disappointment for me because I don’t think that we can really keep up for the race this weekend,” a downbeat Stoner acknowledged on Friday afternoon.

“Everything’s been working well these past three races, and I feel like we should have been fighting at the front -even if we finished in the same positions. It looks like it’s going to be a similar weekend to the last two, but at least this time we are kind of expecting it, whereas at Assen I thought that all my problems were over.”

Stoner was experiencing fatigue as early as the midway point of the session, causing him to make running modifications to his riding style in order to conserve his energy. In order to maintain his endurance for the session, the former MotoGP World Champion is having to make sacrifices to his lap strategy.

“Braking is one of the hardest points for me at the moment. I’m taking the corners however I can at the moment, which is what you do when you get fatigued. My braking points are getting way too early though, so it all just combines to give a slower lap time,” he lamented, before giving credit to those who he believes have been the driving force behind his recent podium damage limitation.

“For me it’s been the bike these past two races. If it wasn’t working so well I wouldn’t have been on the podium. The bike can still do quick lap times even when I’m backing off.”

epsol Honda riders fourth and sixth

In Laguna FP1 moto-live.com

04/07/09 11:09

Dani Pedrosa The first Free Practice session for the US Grand Prix took place at Laguna Seca today with Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso finishing the one-hour period in fourth and sixth places. Under sunny skies at the highly-technical Californian circuit, the factory Honda pair began the intricate process of tailoring their RC212V machines to the unique challenges of Laguna's flowing corners and relentlessly undulating layout. Pedrosa made continuous steady progress today as he and his crew continued to familiarise themselves with the improved feeling from the RC212V's modified chassis. Though he missed last year's race here due to injury, the 23-year-old Spaniard looked comfortable and relaxed on track today and steadily climbed the timesheets, setting his fastest time on the last of the 31 laps he completed this afternoon. With a gap of 0.656s to today's fastest time, set by Valentino Rossi, and with a further i ncrease in pace expected in tomorrow's practice and qualifying sessions, Pedrosa looks on course for a competitive weekend. “I'm quite happy with how this session went on my return to Laguna Seca after missing most of last year's race meeting. I took my time this afternoon, getting familiar with the layout again before working up to full pace later in the session”, he said. “We did a lot of laps and at the end of the session my hip was a little bit painful, but it wasn't too bad and I was able to ride the bike as normal. That's important here because this is a circuit where the machine wheelies and shakes quite a lot so you need to be able to control it. We have to work a little more to get the correct gearing and to improve the set-up so I think tomorrow morning's session will be very important to prepare for qualifying. I'm feeling confident for tomorrow.” Dovizioso took a more direct approach to today session than his Repsol Honda team-mate, almost instantly appearing towards the top of the timesheets and holding first place early in the hour.It's only the second time Dovizioso has ridden at the Laguna circuit - after his impressive debut in last year's race when he finished fourth - but once again he showed his immediate grasp of the peculiar demands of the track, ending the session in a competitive sixth place and just 0.243s behind Pedrosa. The Italian will work with his crew to improve the feeling from the front of his RC212V, and when that's achieved Dovizioso too is destined for a strong showing in qualifying tomorrow. “The lap times came easily today and I'm quite happy with the pace we were able to achieve. We did three runs with the soft Bridgestone tyres and then the last run with the hard tyre option and the results were promising”, he said. “It took a while for the hard tyres to warm up though, so in the end I couldn't push as hard as I wanted to improve my lap time. Because of that I'm confident we have room to go quicker tomorrow. Despite the fact that it was quite easy to get the rhythm, I'm not totally happy with my feeling from the front of the bike in the middle of the turn so we will need to work on that and try a few options tomorrow. I like the challenge of this track and the atmosphere here, so I'm looking forward to getting back out there in the morning.” Melandri relieved to be on the pace By Matt Beer from autosport.com Saturday, July 4th 2009, 05:22 GMT Marco Melandri believes Hayate Kawasaki is back on the pace at Laguna Seca after a run of poor events. The Italian took seventh place in Friday practice and hopes to maintain that form in qualifying. "It's been a good day for me," Melandri told the official MotoGP website. "I really like this track and it looks like the bike is working quite well, so we've had a good start to the weekend. "Now we've got to keep working hard and see what's going on for the race, because 32 laps on this track is going to be very, very tough." After a very promising start to the season for the new team formed in the wake of Kawasaki's departure, Hayate and Melandri's fortunes have declined in recent weeks. Melandri took three straight top six finishes, including an incredible podium at Le Mans, but for the past three races he has been unable to get into the top ten, apart from some brief heroics during the wet part of the Italian Grand Prix. Given those frustrations, he said he was relieved to only have minor issues to attend to after practice at Laguna Seca. "We have to improve the turning a little bit, especially when the tyre drops off a little bit. Also rear grip can be not so bad for us," he said. "Just normal things, so I'm quite happy because compared to the last three races, where we've been struggling a lot, this is a good step forward for us." Tech3 riders confident of big improvements In Laguna Seca moto-live.com 04/07/09 10:48 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team duo Colin Edwards and James Toseland are confident they can make big improvements in Laguna Seca after an encouraging start to the American Grand Prix this afternoon. Home favourite Edwards and British rider Toseland were both challenging for the top five in the early stages of a session run in gloriously sunny California conditions. Brimming with confidence after equalling his best result of the season with fourth place in Assen just six days ago, Edwards eventually finished ninth with a best time of 1.23.285. Looking to score his 100th point-scoring Grand Prix finish in Sunday's 32-lap clash, Edwards is confident he can drastically improve his pace having encountered some front and rear suspension issues today. The 35-year-old though was only 0.6s away from fourth place. “It wasn't the great start to my home race I was looking for and the bike feels just way too stiff. The main problem is in the hard braking because I've no feeling with the bike bouncing around on me. There's just not enough movement from the suspension”, he explained. “When you've got the handlebars moving and up and down and the seat moving up and down it's obvious the suspension is not absorbing the bumps enough. There are some huge bumps out there and today it felt a bit like motocross. So we'll soften it up for tomorrow and make the suspension react faster and let it move more freely rather than having a jerky and bouncing sensation. It feels like there's a second waiting right in front of me but I'm a bit handcuffed at the moment. Once we fix these issues, and I know we will because my guys at Tech 3 are awesome, I'm not going to have to push and hang it out to find the time. I know it will come immediately as soon as we get the bike working. I'm confident we can find what we need and put on a good show for the American fans and for Monster's home race.” Boosted by his season best sixth place in Assen last weekend, Toseland finished in 13th place with a best time of 1.23.690s, though he was less than a second off sixth in another close session. With Fiat Yamaha Team Director Masahiko Nakajima again helping the 28-year-old this weekend, Toseland will work hard with his team tonight to find a setting to improve rear grip ahead of title sponsor Monster's all-important home race on Sunday. “The position isn't that great but I feel like it was a pretty decent session. We've got a bit of work to do but there is no need to panic. We're just missing a bit on the set-up really”, he said. “I'm lacking a bit of edge grip on the harder rear tyre, and that is the one we're going to have to race with looking at the temperature. This track isn't quite as good for grip as Assen and we know what we've got to do to get more grip from the rear but we just ran out of time at the end of the session. And I'm still adapting to the new set-up we had in Assen because that changed the balance of the bike quite a lot. With the tighter corners and the undulation it just takes a bit of getting used to being so different to Assen. I'm confident with the bike a bit more comfortable that I can go quite a bit faster and be up there challenging for a good result for Monster in what is a massive race for our sponsor.” Elias made an impressive start and was in the 1'23s on his first run, making two pit-stops as he adjusted the base setting of his factory spec. RC212V machine and briefly leading the time sheets as he eventually broke into the 1'22s. “We're happy to have started the weekend in this way. We know everybody will go faster tomorrow and we'll have to wait and see how much margin for improvement we have but for now it is important to start like this because so far this year at every circuit we've had a bad first practice”, he said. “We've made some pretty major adjustments to the suspension here because this is a very aggressive circuit in that respect, in terms of the elevation changes, the bumps and the hard-braking areas, and we need to improve it even more tomorrow if we are to keep pace with the others. Tomorrow I'll be working with two identical chasses for the first time and that will be important if we want to try something radical because we can quickly revert to a setting we know is working. Hopefully that can help us improve more than usual in the time available.” Elias and De Angelis make positive start moto-live.com De Angelis worked diligently on ironing out front-end problems suffered during the race at Assen before himself breaking into the top ten with a lap made all the more impressive by the fact that it was set on a used front tyre and a hard compound rear.As such, the San Marino rider is confident that a few set-up tweaks overnight can help him make an even stronger challenge in tomorrow's final free practice and qualifying sessions. “I did my fastest time at the end of the session on the harder tyre and the track temperature today probably wasn't as hot as it could be, so I'm really pleased. We have worked a lot today on the problem I had in the race at Assen, which was with the front folding, and I think the fact I spent the whole session today on the same front tyre without virtually any trouble shows that we've made some good decisions”, he explained. “We still have to work the set-up of the bike around the intricacies of this circuit but to have set the tenth fastest time on a used front tyre and a hard rear – I have to be happy with that. We've also worked a lot on rear traction since the Barcelona test and whilst the front guys clearly have a bit more than us in this aspect we're getting closer. This circuit in particular is a place that gets grippier as the weekend goes on so hopefully we can make more improvements tomorrow.” Vermeulen frustrated by early crash By Matt Beer from autosport.com Saturday, July 4th 2009, 05:28 GMT Suzuki ended Friday practice for the United States Grand Prix frustrated after Chris Vermeulen's early accident spoiled the team's plans for the afternoon. Vermeulen had high hopes for the weekend given his excellent record at Laguna Seca, having taken pole on his MotoGP debut at the track in 2006 and finished on the podium for the past two years. But he fell at Turn 2 within the first few minutes of the opening practice session and was unable to get his primary bike back to the pits. He was eighth fastest on his spare by the end of the afternoon, but was unable to complete the team's planned programme. "I was really looking forward to coming back to Laguna as it is obviously a track I enjoy, but it wasn't the start I wanted," Vermeulen admitted. "On the fourth or fifth lap I was just starting to build up my pace and as I entered Turn 2 I locked the front wheel and went down. Unfortunately the bike was on the outside of the circuit so I was unable to get it back for the rest of the session. "I got back to the pits and went out on the other bike but it was set up very differently - geometry wise - and it didn't quite work as well as we'd hoped around here." Vermeulen's team-mate Loris Capirossi was also unhappy, having ended the day in 12th. "We tried to do something big with the setting today and we started with two very different bikes," he said. "We never really found the best solution with either bike and went back to the first one and modified that a bit to try and find the best settings for this track. "On the last run we did improve a bit but we still need to work harder and improve a lot more tomorrow." Randy de Puniet – 11th “In the beginning I faced some front end problems but we quickly fixed them with the guys. After that I came in on a harder rear tyre but struggled with the rear grip on the maximum angle in the corners so I could not go faster. Unfortunately my machine no. two had some brake problems so we could not really use that bike to adjust our problems. However we knew our issues and we’ll try to fix them for tomorrow’s qualifying. Obviously I expected a better base set up but we still have track time to improve the grip."

MotoGP is coming to Assen

Alice TT Assen racing numbers

Wednesday, 24 June 2009 - motogp.com

A selection of Grand Prix statistics ahead of the World Championship’s visit to The Netherlands.

156 – Following the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya, Valentino Rossi has made 156 Grand Prix starts in the premier-class, the same as Jack Findlay whose career spanned from 1958 to 1978. Only five riders have started more races in the premier-class: Alex Barros (245 premier-class starts), Carlos Checa (192), Loris Capirossi (177), Kenny Roberts Jnr (167) and Sete Gibernau (158).

106 – Three riders currently share the MotoGP championship lead with 106 points each. Never before has there been a three way tie at the top of the championship table after six races. Since the current point scoring system was introduced in 1993, the closest previous title race in the premier-class after six races was in 1998 when the top three riders were separated by just 8 points; Criville – 103, Biaggi – 98 and Checa – 95, with eventual Championship winner Doohan trailing in 4th place on 90 points.

61 – This will be the 61st World Championship Grand Prix event to be held at Assen, which is the only venue that has hosted a Grand Prix event every year since the motorcycle World Championship Grand Prix series started back in 1949.

50 – Casey Stoner’s 3rd place finish at Barcelona was the 50th time he has stood on a Grand Prix podium. This makes him the 31st rider to reach the milestone of 50 Grand Prix podium finishes.

49 – Jorge Lorenzo’s second place finish in Catalunya was the 49th time he has stood on a Grand Prix podium.

45 years – Race day at Assen will be the 45th anniversary of Jim Redman (Honda) winning the 125cc, 250cc and 350cc races at the 1964 Dutch TT – the first rider to have won three GP races on the same day. The total combined distance for these three races was 392 km covered in a time of 2hrs 48 minutes.

28 – The rider with most Grand Prix appearances at Assen is Phil Read, who started a total of 28 races across the various classes at the Dutch TT, winning five times and appearing on the podium on 18 occasions.

0.095 seconds – Valentino Rossi’s winning margin at the Catalunya race was the smallest in the MotoGP class since Casey Stoner beat Rossi at the same circuit in 2007 by just 0.069 seconds.

10 – Colin Edwards’ 3rd place finish last year at Assen was the 10th time he stood on a podium. New Zealand rider Graeme Crosby is the only other rider to score 10 podium finishes in the premier-class without having stood on the top step.

Rossi and Lorenzo planning rematch in Assen

Valentino Rossi - “A special track”
“Assen is a very special track for all riders and it is a wonderful place to ride a MotoGP bike, even if it was better before they changed the layout. Last year I had my worst point of the season there so I want to make up for that with a good performance, because the fans are very passionate and they deserve a good show. After Barcelona we know how strong we are but also our rivals are strong too so we can’t afford to relax, we have to keep pushing. Montmeló was fantastic, one of my best wins ever, but the championship is very close between the three of us and so we have to try to win again to take the lead. There is still a long way to go but we have to remain consistent.”

Jorge Lorenzo - “My favourite track”
“I could never have imagined after the crash in Jerez that I would have the opportunity to become leader again so quickly, but here we are at the front with Casey and Valentino! The last three races have been fantastic and almost unbelievable, and now for the three of us it’s almost like we’re starting the championship all over again. Assen is my favourite track and I am going there feeling very confident in my bike and my Bridgestone tyres and with all the team feeling very motivated. Last year I was sixth so the most important thing is to improve on that, but of course I am aiming for another podium, because consistency is the way to remain close to the top of the standings. We had a positive test in Barcelona and now I will hope to show our improvements with an even better performance in Holland.”

Stoner: Old is best at Assen

“I really enjoyed the old circuit, the same opinion as I think all the riders,” said Stoner, who starts the 2009 event tied at the top of the world championship standings with Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo.

“The last [old] part of the circuit is still a lot of fun, it flows really well and has some of the banked turns,” he continued. “The main disappointment is that all the new corners they put in have no banking, there is no flow with the land. They are very flat.

“That makes it a little dull and there is not a lot of overtaking on the first part of the track either, it is all done on the [old] part of the track.”

Stoner won last year's race by over eleven seconds for Ducati, but is taking nothing for granted.

“We had a fantastic race last year, the bike was working well, but we have a new bike this year so we'll have to wait and see on Thursday,” he said.

Pedrosa plans to ride without painkillers

By Matt Beer

Monday, June 22nd 2009, 11:48 GMT

Dani Pedrosa says he plans to try riding without painkilling injections in this weekend's Dutch TT after encouraging progress in his recovery from hip and leg injuries.

The Spaniard struggled throughout the Catalunya weekend after damaging his hip in the previous race at Mugello, and exacerbating the pain with crashes in the Italian race and in qualifying in Spain.

He sat out the post-race Catalunya test and says he now feels ready to compete at Assen.

"Since the race in Barcelona I've basically been resting, trying to give my hip as much chance to improve as possible," said Pedrosa.

"Obviously there hasn't been a lot of time - just over one week - but I certainly feel a lot better now than immediately after the last race when I was totally exhausted."

The Honda rider feels he will be better off trying to compete without the painkillers he used at Mugello and Barcelona.

"I'm feeling positive about the weekend and we'll just have to see how it goes when riding starts on Thursday," Pedrosa said.

"My intention would be to ride without receiving any painkilling injections because gradually they lose their effectiveness and they are not something I want to rely on - we'll see how the feeling is when I start to ride."

Prior to the latest injury Pedrosa was a title contender, as despite having not yet won in 2009 and having been hampered by constant physical problems for almost a year, he was within nine points of the championship lead four rounds into the season.

But the hip drama has been a major blow to his title hopes as he has now slipped to fifth in the standings, behind his Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, and 39 points away from the leaders.

autosport.com

Melandri to clear up fitness doubts on Thursday

Wednesday, 24 June 2009

Hayate Racing rider Marco Melandri will test the condition of his right hand in The Netherlands on Thursday in free practice, following his Barcelona test crash.

Currently placed seventh in the general standings after six races, Marco Melandri will be in the hunt for more good points at the Alice TT Assen, arriving in the paddock on Wednesday not overly concerned by the knocks he took at the Catalunya circuit at the beginning of last week – but stating he will need to test the condition of his right hand in free practice.

The Italian star crashed his Hayate Racing Kawasaki machine right at the end of the day in the Monday post-race Barcelona test, sustaining wrist and ankle blows, but other than some bruising and swelling the injuries were not serious and he is close to full fitness for round seven.

Speaking to motogp.com, Melandri commented, “I’m quite good actually. The crash was pretty bad, pretty tough, but the ankle was bad because of an old injury and after three or four days it was good again. The hand is not too bad, but until I ride I’m not sure because I have some pain there, it is my right hand and there are a lot of right hand corners at this track. It is going to be tough, but we will do some work with Clinica Mobile and I feel confident.”

Having ridden a Lorenzo Pasolini 1968 Benelli replica at the MotorDreamEvenTT at the TT Museum next to the Assen circuit, Melandri stated, “It was nice because I have only seen this type of bike in pictures or old films. It thought it would be more difficult but it was ok! This was a good experience and it will be nice to put up the pictures of the event on the wall in my house! motogp.com

Rizla Suzuki ready for an Assen attack

The MotoGP ‘Cathedral' of Assen in the Netherlands awaits Rizla Suzuki this coming Saturday, as the MotoGP field descends upon the famous circuit for the Dutch TT.

Chris Vermeulen heads to the land of his ancestors determined to return a good result at the 4,555m Assen circuit.

He has had some promising performances at the Dutch track - including pole position in 2007 - but has yet to break into the top-six in a MotoGP race. Vermeulen had a successful post-Catalunya test and will be using many of the improvements he took from there as he prepares his assault for glory.

"I really look forward to going to Assen. Holland is where my family came from so there are always people around that remember my Grandfather and tell me how they are related to me - so I feel like a bit of me is coming home!”, he said. “We had a good test after the Catalunya race and if we can translate that into the forthcoming weekend then I am sure we can be competitive. I enjoy riding at Assen and I have won there in World Superbikes, but I have never quite got the results I think I've deserved - or certainly wanted - in MotoGP. I hope this will be the weekend when that all changes!"

Loris Capirossi will be planning to build upon the form that has seen him take successive fifth places at the last two events. Capirossi is eager to get back on track and carry on from where he left off at Catalunya, believing that a lot of the data collected at the Spanish track will stand him in good stead at Assen. Capirossi will also be determined to extinguish the memory of the crash he suffered at last year's Dutch TT that kept him out of the race and forced him to miss the next MotoGP event.

"I am still very happy from my performance in Catalunya, but this is a whole new race and we have to begin again. We used the new engine specification in Spain and then did a lot of testing with new parts on the Monday so we have a lot of data to use for this weekend”, he said.“We hope we'll use the new spec engine again at Assen but it is still being developed and Suzuki needs to check everything, so we will just have to wait and see. I really want to carry on with the good progress we are making, especially at Assen because I didn't get the chance to race there last year. I also want to do well for Rizla - they deserve a good result at what is really their 'home' racetrack."

Assen is one of the most famous circuits in Grand Prix racing, and although the venue has altered considerably from the original road track, it is the only location on the current calendar that has staged Grand Prix races since the inception of the championship in 1949. Although numerous changes were made to the present circuit layout in 2007 for safety reasons, it still retains its magic and most riders look forward to racing there.

Rizla Suzuki takes to the track for the first free practice session on Thursday afternoon, followed by the second - and final - free session on Friday morning. Vermeulen and Capirossi will be out in the Friday afternoon qualifying session to challenge for the best grid positions for Saturday's race. moto-live.com

Gresini Team looking for improvements

Zoom Alex de Angelis For more than a decade the final Saturday in June has meant only one thing for the San Carlo Honda Gresini Team – the Dutch TT at the legendary Assen circuit. Known in Europe as ‘The Cathedral' of motorcycle racing, Assen is the only circuit on the MotoGP calendar that has hosted a round of the World Championship since its inception back in 1949. This weekend's Grand Prix is the first of four in just five weekends for the MotoGP class, with races at Laguna Seca, Sachsenring and Donington Park set to follow before a well-earned summer break. It promises to be a crucial period for the San Carlo Honda Gresini Team riders Alex De Angelis and Toni Elias, who have the opportunity to make up ground on their rivals after a crucial day of testing following the last race in Barcelona. Both riders have been troubled all season by a lack of rear grip and currently lie 13th and 14th respectively in the championship standings, but they are optimistic of climbing the table thanks to progress made with the set-up of their machines in the one-day session. " I love Assen because it's so fast, as is Laguna Seca, so I'm looking forward to the next two races with optimism. I know the results this season are not as good as the same stage one year ago but the races are much closer and I truly believe that with some small steps forward with the setting of the bike we can make up a lot of positions on the guys in front of us”, said De Angelis. “It is vital that we keep this in mind, stay positive and continue to work because if you drop your guard in this series you can suddenly find yourself behind. I have a great record at Assen in the 250cc class but I crashed out of my first MotoGP race here last year on the opening lap so I want to make up for that with a solid performance this time around." “Assen has always been my favorite circuit because it is technical, fast and flowing, although it hasn't always been kind to me”, said Elias. “I missed the race completely in 2005 because of injury and then the year after that I crashed after just two laps of free practice and broke and dislocated my left shoulder.Then in 2007 I crashed again in free practice and broke my leg! Last year was the first time I had raced on the modified circuit and I finished twelfth, so hopefully that ended the jinx and we can look forward to a much better result this time around. We have been struggling for rear grip this season but we made some progress in the test at Barcelona after the race. It will be very interesting to see how these improvements transfer to Assen because I really feel like we deserve a top result after all the hard work the whole team is putting in.” “Our results so far this season have not been good enough but the positive thing is that the whole team has shown their resilience and desire to continue working hard, as was evident in the test at Barcelona”, commented Team Manager Fausto Gresini. “We are working within our means and that is all I can ask of my staff. The goal for the rest of the season is to build and improve so that is all I am looking for in Holland. This is a legendary event and we have some great memories of this circuit, so hopefully a little bit of the magic can rub off on us again this weekend.” Over the years since the first running of the Dutch TT, which began much earlier than the World Championship, in 1925, the original road circuit was gradually altered, initially reduced some 59 years ago from 16km to 7.7km. In 1984 it was reduced further, to a little over 6km, before more alterations in 2006 saw it adapted to its current configuration, with the removal of the North Loop bringing the total length down to just 4.5km. moto-live.com Ducati will keep working to help Hayden By Matt Beer Monday, June 22nd 2009, 09:31 GMT Ducati says it will continue working to get Nicky Hayden up to speed on the GP9 in addition to pushing forward with developments to help Casey Stoner's title challenge. Stoner is now tied for the points lead with the two Yamaha riders, but team boss Livio Suppo said Ducati had no intention of devoting all its resources to the Australian's title bid at the expense of its efforts to help Hayden acclimatise. "We need to continue to give our maximum both to Casey, who is fighting in one of the closest championship battles for years, and to Nicky, who has shown that he has the ability to adapt to the characteristics of our bike, which is more difficult for him than it is for other riders because he had spent so many years on the same machine before this," said Suppo. Hayden, who has struggling to adapt to the Desmosedici after joining from Honda, was hugely encouraged to set the sixth fastest time in Catalunya practice, although he slipped back down the order in qualifying and was only able to finish 10th. Nevertheless, he believes the Spanish event was the start of a resurgence. "We know we have a lot of work to do but myself and the team are hoping that the Catalunya race was the start of a major turnaround that we can continue to build on until the end of the season," said the former world champion. Suppo believes Ducati took a big step forward with both riders at Catalunya, but that the bike's progress was masked by the illness that hampered Stoner all weekend. He finished third, but could not keep pace with Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo's incredible lead battle. "The weekend in Barcelona was really important for us," said Suppo. "We started to see the fruit of all the hard work being done by [technical director] Filippo [Preziosi] and his guys, as well as [test rider] Vitto [Guareschi], and it looks like the development route we're taking with the GP9 promises to make it even more competitive." autosport.com Takahashi to ride Assen race despite finger fracture Tuesday, 23 June 2009 Japanese rider also relaxed about having missed testing time. Yuki Takahashi has confirmed a return to action at the Alice TT Assen, despite having had to skip the post-race test in Barcelona with a hand injury. The Scot Racing rider was unable to participate in one of just two permitted days of mid-season testing following a first lap crash on race day, although the Japanese star needed no operation on his injured digit. The micro-fracture to his finger may cause difficulties for Takahashi this week, although he is relaxed about missing the track time at the Spanish circuit last time out. “It is not going to affect my performance,” says the Honda satellite man. “We brought forward the testing of some potential solutions to Saturday in Spain, so I still had the chance to express my opinions to Emanuele (Ventura, Scot Racing Technical Director). We know what we want.” The Assen track has not been an especially successful one for Takahashi, with a best result of sixth in the 250cc class back in 2006. MotoGP is a different cylinder class, however, and the change to 800cc machinery could see him more at ease with the legendary circuit. “I never liked Assen too much when I was a 250cc rider. I didn’t like Barcelona either though. But I have to say that with a MotoGP bike things are different, and I have begun to also feel good on layouts like these.” Scot Racing will undertake their second Grand Prix as a two-rider team this weekend, after Gabor Talmacsi signed up for the team in a permanent capacity just moments before practice for the Barcelona round. Added intrigue for the team comes in the form of the changeable conditions typical of the Assen circuit, which customarily brings at least a token amount of rainfall to make the riders’ lives difficult. The team have just two bikes in their garage to split between Takahashi and Talmacsi, and have yet to confirm either a game plan for a flag-to-flag race nor the progression of their request to Honda for an additional pair of RC212V machines. motogp.com Simoncelli’s MotoGP entry for 2010 confirmed Wednesday, 24 June 2009 San Carlo Honda Gresini confirm Italian as part of 2010 project, as renewed deal with title sponsor is announced simultaneously. Reigning 250cc World Champion Marco Simoncelli will make his MotoGP debut next season with the San Carlo Honda Gresini team in 2010, the satellite outfit announced on Wednesday in the Assen paddock. The team have also announced that San Carlo are to remain as their principle sponsor next year. The deal will see the quarter-litre category star replace one of either Toni Elías or Alex de Angelis in the team. Simoncelli had rejected offers of a MotoGP move for the current season in order to defend his title, but will finally make the switch after the present campaign. Team owner and manager Fausto Gresini commented: “We're extremely happy to be able to make this important announcement: renewing our agreement with San Carlo, who have shown great belief in us and continue to support our targets for next year, and the agreement with Marco Simoncelli to race with us in MotoGP.” motogp.com “Marco has shown over the past couple of years that he has the ability to be a major force in the premier class, as well as being a great communicator. We have established a good feeling with him already and that facilitated negotiations over a contract that we have signed for 2010. Also, Honda rate Simoncelli highly and believe he is a rider with great potential for the future, so Honda is very pleased that we are welcoming him aboard next season.” Simoncelli himself added, “Next year I will be a member of the Honda Gresini team and I am very happy because it is an Italian team. I think they are a very strong team. I am very happy to be with Honda and with Fausto. As many people know I am friends with Valentino Rossi and we sometimes go motocross training together, but I would like to be fighting against him next year because that will mean I am doing very well.”

Marco Melandri #33

Marco Melandri #33

Personal opinion: a nice guy and a good rider, had a very though year last year, he had a lot of problems with the Ducati, lets hope this year will be better for him even due I expect this year not to be to easy with a new bike and a new team without the full support of the factory.

MCN Sport: Melandri

reveals thoughts on

2009 season

Marco melandri drift

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nationality Flag of Italy Italian
Date of birth August 7, 1982 (1982-08-07) (age 26)
Place of birth Ravenna, Italy
Website marcomelandri.co.uk
MotoGP Record
Current team Hayate Racing Team
Bike number 33
World Championships 250cc - 2002
Race starts 173
Race Wins 22
Podium finishes 61
Pole positions 9
Fastest laps 16
Championship Points 1885
2008 Championship position 17th (51 pts)

Marco Melandri (born August 7, 1982 in Ravenna Italy) is a MotoGP road racer currently racing for the factory Kawasaki Team. Melandri is also a former 250cc World Champion in 2002. Melandri currently lives 2 miles away from the famous race track, Donington Park, Leicestershire, England.


Early days

Marco Melandri was born in Ravenna. He was introduced to racing by a former rider Loris Reggiani at the age of six. He came through the ranks from minibikes, motocross and then the Italian and European 125cc championship.

In 1997, Melandri won the Italian 125cc championship, also finishing 4th in European 125cc championship. In addition to his European success, he made his debut in 125cc world championship at Brno, Czech Republic as a wild card rider.

125cc (1998-1999)

After impressing in Italian and European championship in 1997, Melandri finally got his chance to compete in 1998 125cc world championship as a regular. He rode Honda 125cc bike under Benetton Honda Team. He went on to impress many as he earned his first podium in the fourth race of the season, where he finished second in his home Grand Prix at Mugello, Italy. His brilliant debut season continued when he won his first grand prix at Assen TT, Netherlands. He won this race at the age of 15 years and 324 days which made him the youngest ever Grand Prix winner, at the time. Since then, Scott Redding has become the youngest winner, having won the 2008 British motorcycle Grand Prix. Overall, he won two Grand Prix in his debut season and therefore he finished the season at 3rd position in overall standings behind champion Kazuto Sakata and runner-up Tomomi Manako.

He remained on the same bike and team in 1999, where he bid to win the 125cc world championship. He went on to win 5 Grand Prix but failed to win the championship, finishing second behind Emilio Alzamora with just a single point difference. Failure in securing his first world championship did not stop his rise to 250cc world championship in 2000.

250cc (2000-2002)

Melandri was signed by Aprilia in 2000 to replace another Italian Valentino Rossi who left the team and 250cc class for 500cc class. He was highly expected to take over Rossi's shoes and to win the 250cc world championship. However, his debut season did not start as well as the expectation. He struggled to adapt to bigger bike and higher competition. He failed to win any Grand Prix in 2000, managing only 4 podiums, all came late in the season. Despite these problems, he still finishes the season at 5th position overall.

In 2001, his performances were improving. He managed to win his first 250cc Grand Prix at Sachsenring, Germany. However, it was his only win in 2001. Despite managing to appear on the podium on 9 occasions, he never really challenged for the championship. He finished the season in 3rd position behind champion Daijiro Kato and runner-up Tetsuya Harada.

2002 proved to be Melandri's chance to shine. With 2001 champion and runner-up, Kato and Harada moved to MotoGP class, he became the strongest contender for the championship. He dominated the season by collecting 9 wins and 3 additional podiums. After challenging for world championship for years, he finally won the 250cc world title. He became the youngest 250cc world champion at the age of 20 years and 74 days until Dani Pedrosa broke his record in 2004.

MotoGP (2003-present)

After securing the 250cc world title in 2002, Melandri moved up to MotoGP class to spearhead Yamaha factory team alongside Carlos Checa in 2003. Unfortunately he had with the Yamaha a worse Bike than Honda and Ducati, and struggled to succeed for the season. He finished the season in 5th position without collecting any wins and only two third Places.

He joined Yamaha satellite team, Tech 3 in 2004 alongside Carlos Checa again. This season, he again struggled to get top results. However, he managed to collect 2 consecutive podiums, but a series of crashes and retirements kept him out of top 10 in overall standings. He finished the season in 12th position.

Released from his Yamaha contract after the 2004 season, Melandri was the surprise choice of boss Fausto Gresini to join Sete Gibernau in the Movistar Honda team for the 2005 MotoGP campaign. Melandri was remarkably successful with Movistar Honda in 2005, with a consistent run of podium finishes early in the season, ultimately taking his first two wins in the final two races of 2005 to clinch second place in the championship. In doing so, he was the first Honda rider to win back-to-back races for nearly two years, winning round 16 of the MotoGP Championship at Istanbul, Turkey, as well as the 17th and final race at Valencia. Although he never really challenged his best friend Valentino Rossi for the title, he finished the season strongly as runner-up, with a total of 2 wins and 5 additional podiums.

Melandri rode for Gresini's Fortuna Honda team alongside Toni Elías in the 2006 season. With Rossi struggling to find consistency, he was a major challenger, along with Ducati's Loris Capirossi and Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa. He again won at Istanbul, despite starting from 14th on the grid. He managed further wins at Le Mans, France and Phillip Island, Australia. He finished the season in 4th position, just 1 point behind Capirossi.

In 2007, Melandri and Elias remained in the Honda Gresini team, now sponsored by Hannspree. Honda's 800cc machine was not competitive. As of the race at Laguna Seca in which he finished third, Marco lies sixth overall, with an additional podium at Le Mans . After these 10 races, works rider Dani Pedrosa is the only Honda ahead of him in the standings - he and Pedrosa the only Honda riders with multiple podiums.

Immediately after Melandri's 3rd place finish in the 2007 USA's MotoGP round, Ducati announced that he will join its factory team alongside Casey Stoner for 2008 and 2009 . But 2008 proved disastrous, with a run of uncompetitive runs often leaving him behind the semi-works Alice Team bikes of Toni Elías and Sylvain Guintoli. At Assen he qualified last and ran there throughout. Due to the poor running in the season, speculation persisted with Melandri tipped to move to Kawasaki after the summer break in 2008 to form a three bike team alongside John Hopkins and Anthony West, while his current seat was said to be taken over by Sete Gibernau for the second half of the 2008 season. However, on July 27th Ducati Marlboro team boss Livio Suppo confirmed that Marco Melandri would race at Brno, the first race after the 2008 summer break. On 19 August, however, Melandri confirmed he will be joining Kawasaki Racing Team for the 2009 MotoGP season to ride alongside his new teammate John Hopkins. He then ended the season in a lackluster 17th position.
The factory’s decision to scale down their MotoGP operation left the Italian in limbo over the winter. An agreement was eventually found, with the Hayate Racing team now running Melandri in a single-rider effort for the 2009 campaign.

Career summary

* 1996: 13th in 125cc Honda Trophy with Honda
* 1997: 1st in 125cc Italian Championship with Honda, 1st in 125cc Honda Trophy with Honda, 4th in European 125cc Championship with Honda
* 1998: 3rd in 125cc World Championship with Benetton Playlife (Honda)
* 1999: 2nd in 125cc World Championship with Benetton Playlife (Honda)
* 2000: 5th in 250cc World Championship with Blu Aprilia Team (Aprilia)
* 2001: 3rd in 250cc World Championship with MS Aprilia Racing (Aprilia)
* 2002: 1st in 250cc World Championship with MS Aprilia Racing (Aprilia)
* 2003: 15th in MotoGP World Championship with Fortuna Yamaha Team (Yamaha)
* 2004: 12th in MotoGP World Championship with Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 (Yamaha)
* 2005: 2nd in MotoGP World Championship with MoviStar Honda MotoGP (Honda)
* 2006: 4th in MotoGP World Championship with Fortuna Honda (Honda)
* 2007: 5th in MotoGP World Championship with Honda Gresini (Honda)
* 2008: 17th in MotoGP World Championship with Ducati Marlboro Team (Ducati)
* 2009: MotoGP World Championship with Hayate Racing Team (Kawasaki)

MotoGP Official Test for premier class riders- Day 1

Rain in Spain hits MotoGP morning again

Saturday, 28 March 2009 (from: motogp.com)

Wet track greets opening day of MotoGP Official Test for premier class riders.

The first day of MotoGP testing at Jerez opened with less-than-ideal conditions for the premier class riders, with heavy early rainfall leaving the track wet. The skies had held out for the previous three days of 125cc/250cc action at the Spanish circuit.

Two days of 800cc riding conclude the visit to Jerez, commencing at 10am on Saturday and ending on Sunday afternoon, and present a final opportunity for teams and riders to fine-tune their bikes before the season-opening race in Qatar on April 12th. Sunday also sees the first head-to-head clash of the year, the annual BMW M Award, from 2.05pm.

Teams will also be unveiling their new liveries and garages throughout Saturday, with pictures available soon on motogp.com

Lorenzo fastest ahead of Sunday’s live BMW M Award session

Saturday, 28 March 2009 (from: motogp.com)

Preparing well for Sunday’s BMW M Award session – which will be broadcast live on motogp.com – Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo was the fastest rider on the first day of the Official MotoGP Test at Jerez.z.

Saturday’s action concluded in southern Spain with a Spaniard at the top of the timesheet, Jorge Lorenzo leading the way with a 1’39.791s hot lap to put him 0.070s ahead of his team-mate Valentino Rossi, who was the second fastest participant in the session.

At a circuit where he started in pole position in just his second MotoGP race last year, Lorenzo registered his best time on the 97th turn of a marathon 99 lap workout, setting himself up nicely for Sunday’s BMW M Award session, in which he is sure to face stiff competition from Rossi and Ducati Marlboro’s Casey Stoner.

Behind the factory Yamaha pair at the top of the timesheets, Stoner was third fastest on Saturday, the Australian lapping within 0.115s of Lorenzo. Stoner’s compatriot Chris Vermeulen was fourth, the Rizla Suzuki man continuing his good preseason form with a best effort 0.781s down on Lorenzo’s pace.

The experienced pair of Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) ended up fifth and sixth respectively, both within a second of topping the timesheet.

Completing the top ten were Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro) and Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini). De Angelis suffered a crash in the afternoon, despite conditions improving as the day proceeded after a wet start, but he was unhurt.

James Toseland was eleventh fastest, the Englishman looking much more comfortable on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1 machine after a nightmare preseason so far.

Hayate Racing’s Marco Melandri will be pleased to have lapped twelfth fastest, even though he was 1.369s down on Lorenzo’s best time. The Italian was not lapping in podium pace but will still be satisfied to have discovered a relatively competitive rhythm.

Meanwhile, although returning veteran Sete Gibernau was 16th overall and nearly two seconds off the pace, he was positive at the end of the day having managed to complete 39 laps despite his ongoing shoulder problem.

Get to know the grid: MotoGP- Loris CAPIROSSI #65

Loris CAPIROSSI #65

Personal opinion: a very experienced rider, been racing for a long time, had some good years, and some not so good years, well, some one needs to teach the young guys at the back of the grid how the game is played.

Mugello 2005 - Melandri vs Capirossi

(from MotoGP.COM)

	65
	Place of birth: Bologna
	Date of birth: 04/Apr/1973
	Weight: 59Kg.
	Height: 165cm.

The oldest rider on the MotoGP grid, Loris Capirossi has a wealth of experience and a pedigree in Grand Prix racing that few can match.

‘Capirex’ was 125cc World Champion by the age of 17, and went on to defend the title before moving up to the 250cc class in 1992. The Italian picked up 16 podiums, including 7 victories, during his time in the quarter-litre category, and switched to 500cc with Honda in 1995, where he was named Rookie Of The Year.

A first 500cc triumph came on a Yamaha at Eastern Creek in his second premier class season, but after 1996 Capirossi chose to move back down to 250cc with Aprilia. Two years later he was lifting the title in the quarter litre class, once more attracting interest from MotoGP team bosses.

Signed by Sito Pons to ride a Honda NSR500 in 1999, Capirossi picked up 15 podiums and a race win in three seasons on the Japanese two-stroke, before switching to Ducati for 2003 to ride the four-stroke Desmosedici. A surprising victory at Catalunya, along with five podiums and fourth place overall, confirmed his quality ahead of a difficult sophomore season.

In 2005 the Ducati team had a hesitant start, but the final third of the campaign marked a new phase in which Capirossi performed at an extremely high level. After a second place finish in Brno, the Italian racked up two successive victories in Japan and Malaysia as he looked to improve his championship position, although a practice crash at Phillip Island cut short his fine run of form.

Capirossi took third in the championship in 2006, and won at Jerez, Brno and Motegi. He was level on points with Nicky Hayden at the head of the leaderboard before he suffered a crash in Catalunya in the first of three consecutive races, robbing him of the chance to fight for the title.

Although 2007 was a comparatively poor year for the Italian, his final season with Ducati did see the man synonymous with the team’s MotoGP project help them to the team and constructors titles. Four podiums, including a win at Motegi and a one-two with Casey Stoner in Australia, salvaged something from the opening 800cc season supposed to bring the elusive world title to the Capirossi household.

Still probably best know for his time on the red bike, Capirossi switched to Suzuki for 2008, placing tenth in the overall standings after a difficult year. Crashes in Catalunya and Assen contributed to a run of three consecutive non-finishes, and also left a sore Capirossi at less than 100%. The highlight of his first season with Suzuki, with whom he continues in 2009, was a solitary podium in Brno.

Career

Summary

	MotoGP	250cc	125cc	All
First Grand Prix	95 - AUS	92 - JPN	90 - JPN
First pole position	00 - NED	93 - AUS	91 - AUS
First race fastest lap	00 - ITA	93 - JPN	91 - AUS
First podium	95 - CAT	93 - AUT	90 - NAT
First Grand Prix victory	96 - AUS	93 - NED	90 - GBR
Grand Prix victories	9	12	8	29
2nd Positions	14	12	8	34
3rd Positions	19	13	4	36
Podiums	42	37	20	99
Poles	13	23	5	41
Race fastest lap	10	18	4	32
World Championship wins		1	2	3

Statistics

Season	Category	Starts	1st	2nd	3rd	Tot.	Poles	Bike	Points	Pos.
2008	MotoGP	16			1	1		Suzuki	118	10
2007	MotoGP	18	1	2	1	4		Ducati	166	7
2006	MotoGP	17	3	4	1	8	2	Ducati	229	3
2005	MotoGP	15	2	1	1	4	3	Ducati	157	6
2004	MotoGP	16			1	1		Ducati	117	9
2003	MotoGP	16	1	2	3	6	3	Ducati	177	4
2002	MotoGP	14			2	2		Honda	109	8
2001	MotoGP	16		4	5	9	4	Honda	210	3
2000	MotoGP	16	1	1	2	4	1	Honda	154	7
1999	250cc	15	3	2	4	9	2	Honda	209	3
1998	250cc	14	2	4	3	9	8	Aprilia	224	1
1997	250cc	14			3	3	1	Aprilia	116	6
1996	MotoGP	15	1		1	2		Yamaha	98	10
1995	MotoGP	12			1	1		Honda	108	6
1994	250cc	14	4	2	3	9	5	Honda	199	3
1993	250cc	14	3	4		7	7	Honda	193	2
1992	250cc	13						Honda	27	12
1991	125cc	13	5	5	2	12	5	Honda	200	1
1990	125cc	14	3	3	2	8		Honda	182	1

After the Qatar Practice- conclusions and comments

The testing in Qatar has ended, and now is time for summarys, conclusions and of course.... Gossip.

Back in Barcelona following his Qatar test crash, Dani Pedrosa will need an operation on his left arm on Wednesday to fit a screw in a fractured radius bone, with his injured left knee also in need of surgery.

Winner of the last two MotoGP races at the Losail International Circuit, including last year’s historical first ever floodlit Grand Prix, Casey Stoner showed his strength around the 5.38km desert track again on Tuesday night.

The night time practice visit to Qatar, the second preseason test for the 2009 MotoGP field, ended with Stoner setting the pace just as he did in the opening test of the year in Malaysia in February.

Stoner’s best effort of 1’55.744 was recorded shortly after 9pm on the 22nd of his 31 turns under the floodlights, the Australian completing far fewer laps than any of his rivals. The test saw him successfully debut a new carbon fibre swingarm on the Desmosedici GP9, though he was unable to undertake a race simulation and kept to short bursts on track as he rebuilds the strength in his left wrist, which was operated on over the winter.

Stoner crashed without consequence on turn two around ten minutes after setting his best time, but was back out on track within an hour.

Casey Stoner was relieved that his injured wrist was less of an issue during this week's Qatar test, but does not believe the problem is behind him yet.

Last year’s Qatar poleman Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) got closest to Stoner on the timesheet, though he was nearly a full second (0.989s) behind the Ducati rider, with his best time registered late in the evening. Lorenzo’s colleague Valentino Rossi completed the top three with a 1’56.972 effort as the only other rider to go round under the 1’57 mark, the Italian satisfied with a new electronics system on the Yamaha M1.

The top five was rounded off by Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen, his best time arriving on the last of his 70 laps, and Stoner’s new team-mate for 2009 Nicky Hayden who is steadily improving on the Ducati, who knew maybe this year he will be competitive again, one can only hope.

A major redevelopment of the Suzuki GSV-R has shown major improvements for the factory’s riders in 2009 testing, with times in Qatar confirming the step forward taken in the run-up to the upcoming season.

Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi were both amongst the fastest six riders of the test, separated by 0.029 on a speedy final night under the lights. The duo were pleased to continue with the progression made at last month’s visit to Sepang –typically a strong track for Suzuki- but urged further improvement in engine speed in time for the first race of the year.

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards continued his impressive winter testing form after a successful night test session in Qatar.

A best time of 1.57.515 left Edwards ninth on the final timesheets, though he was consistently in the top three for the majority of the test as he continued an impressive switch to Bridgestone tyres.

After a short rain shower severely disrupted the first night and windy conditions made lap times slower than normal race pace on the second evening, Edwards was able to lap at a consistent pace on the final night as he experimented with a range of chassis settings on his YZR-M1 machine.

With the first race back at the Losail International Circuit on April 12, Edwards also took advantage of the improved track conditions to complete a full 22- race simulation in readiness for the opening round. He was able to maintain a fast and consistent pace throughout thanks to the impressive endurance of Bridgestone tyres. His best lap in the race simulation of 1.57.932 was set on his last lap.

There were also crashes for Capirossi on turn six, Niccolo Canepa at turn 13 and Yuki Takahasi at turn three, but all three riders were reportedly unhurt.

With a new bike and the least testing time of all the MotoGP riders, it was almost inevitable that Marco Melandri would be part of the trailing pack at the Qatar night sessions as he got acquainted with the Hayate Racing machine. The Italian propped up the timesheet at the conclusion of the three-night test, three seconds down on former teammate Casey Stoner, although it would be deceiving to read too much into the time discrepancy.

Stoner was a second in front of any other rider, whilst the difference between Melandri and fourth-placed Chris Vermeulen was just over 1.5 seconds. His 1’58.851 time is a point on which to build at his next expected test in Jerez and race return at the Losail circuit.

“It was an ok three days. We are pretty far away with the rear grip and traction, so we really have to improve and make some big changes to understand our true potential,” reviewed Melandri on his first test of 2009.

The next outing for the MotoGP riders is the Official MotoGP Test at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain which takes place on 28th & 29th March. They will then return to Qatar for the first Grand Prix of the year on 10th-12th April.

Qatar Night Test, Day 3
1. Casey Stoner, Ducati Marlboro Team - 1'55.744 (31)
2. Jorge Lorenzo, Fiat Yamaha Team - 1'56.733 (82)
3. Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha Team - 1'56.972 (75)
4. Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki MotoGP - 1'57.224 (70)
5. Nicky Hayden, Ducati Marlboro Team - 1'57.225 (53)
6. Loris Capirossi, Suzuki MotoGP - 1'57.253 (42)
7. Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda MotoGP - 1'57.401 (77)
8. Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda - 1'57.449 (74)
9. Colin Edwards, Monster Yamaha Tech3 - 1'57.515 (46)
10. Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini - 1'57.591 (61)
11. Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini - 1'57.804 (66)
12. Mika Kallio, Pramac Racing - 1'57.938 (54)
13. Niccolo Canepa, Pramac Racing - 1'57.946 (50)
14. Yuki Takahashi, Scot Racing Team - 1'58.412 (61)
15. James Toseland, Monster Yamaha Tech3 - 1'58.786 (51)
16. Marco Melandri, Hayate Racing Team - 1'58.851 (73)

Bridgestone has revealed that it hopes to complete the majority of its 2010 preparations during this year's pre-season MotoGP tests because of the reduction in testing mileage during the championship.

In previous years many races were followed by one or two day tests at the grand prix circuits, but under the recent regulation changes these sessions have been slashed, with just two single day tests at Catalunya and Brno now scheduled. Practice time during GP weekends has also been substantially reduced.