MotoGP News | Tragic Death of MotoGP Rider Marco Simoncelli | Due to Injuries
Marco Simoncelli’s body arrived at Fiumicino airport this Tuesday morning. The 24 year old rider was killed in a very tragic accident on Sunday at the MotoGP race in Sepang.
Simoncelli’s compatriot and long time friend, Valentino Rossi accompanied Simoncelli’s father, Paolo as well as Marco Simoncelli’s casket on the same Alitalia flight from Kuala Lumpur.
At the Rome airport facilities a large crowd of fans and representatives from various sporting organizations awaited the late rider’s casket. The arrival was greeted with prolonged applause.
Marco Simoncelli’s funeral will take place in the church of Santa Maria di Coriano on Thursday, October 27 at 3:00pm. A public viewing of Marco’s body was planned for Wednesday in the Coriano City Theatre. Simoncelli will be buried in a cemetery near Riccione where he was born.
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A very sad day at the Malaysian MotoGP in Sepang 
The Honda rider, Marco Simoncelli sadly passed away after a very tragic crash at the Malaysian MotoGP in Sepang.
The 24 year old rider first entered MotoGP for the 2010 season and won his first pole position at the Catalunya race in June this year.
When Simoncelli’s bike veered across the track at turn 11, he crashed and passed the path of Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards. As Simoncelli fell and slid across the track he was hit by both, Rossi and Edwards. The race was red flagged immediately when Simoncelli’s helmet got knocked off.
After qualifying in fifth he ended up forth at the end of lap one.
Our hearts and thoughts go out to all of his family members and loved ones. Rest in peace Marco Simoncelli.
MotoGP News | Yamaha complete second successful 1000cc test in Misano
Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies had their second opportunity to ride the 2012 1000cc YZR-M1 today (Monday) at the Misano circuit in San Marino. The test followed Lorenzo’s flawless Grand Prix win on Sunday, his second Italian victory of the season. The bikes tested were the same as first used in Brno in August, with minor changes to set up and electronics for the tighter Misano circuit. Jorge Lorenzo, 60 laps, 1’33.7: “It’s been a little bit more difficult here than Brno, which is a very fast track. Misano is a little bit slower so the difference between the 800 and the 1000 is much smaller. It’s difficult to understand the riding style you must use straight away. We’ve made a lot of progress in a couple of hours and the bike has a lot of potential. I’m very excited about the future. We’ve been working on the electronics to help in the braking area but mainly I’ve been getting used to the riding style of the bike and also adapting the bike to my riding.” Ben Spies, 74 laps, 1’34.3: “We rode the same bike as we did in Brno but we changed a bunch of things and started working on a lot of electronics. Misano is a much more physical track; it’s quite tight so there’s a lot of wheelies and rear spinning. It’s fun to ride but very physical compared to the 800. I enjoyed it a lot and we went quite fast on it, getting some pretty good lap times. We’ve got a lot of data now for the engineers to go away and work on the next step for our next test. I think next year is going to be really good and I’m looking forward to racing the thousand!”
Yamaha Factory Racing press release -SOURCE: www.motogp.com
MotoGP NEWS | Unpredictable weather boosts Hayden & affects Valentino Rossi
Cold temperatures in the morning and rain in the afternoon made life difficult for Valentino Rossi on the first day of practice at the AirAsia British Grand Prix, as he rode the complicated Silverstone circuit for the first time on a MotoGP bike in conditions that were far from perfect.
Twelfth at the end of the first session, the Italian improved slightly during the wet afternoon session, but much of the setup work for the GP11 remains to be carried out tomorrow, weather permitting. On the other hand, Rossi’s teammate Nicky Hayden put his experience from last year to good use on the English circuit, posting the fourth-best time in the dry, third-best in the wet.
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 4th (2’04.778) :
“This was our best Friday of the season so far. The conditions were difficult, especially this afternoon, with different surfaces and different amounts of water, but the bike worked quite well. We know it’s great in the wet, but we were also competitive in the dry this morning. We had to be careful not to destroy the rain tyres this afternoon, because we only have four sets for the whole weekend. You really need to save two for qualifying and one for the race, so this might be the only set we have for practice. I hope today sets us up for a good weekend. The team expects better than what we’ve been doing, and so do I. There’s a long way to go until Sunday, but we’re off to a good start. I’m very happy with the bike and the team today.”
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 12th (2’07.075) :
“Today was a bit difficult. The weather was bad for the most part, and that didn’t help us. We knew we were beginning with a handicap, because compared to the others I lack the experience of last year. We’re a little bit behind. We’re currently trying to find a good balance for the bike, but considering that we still take time on the tracks that we know well, of course it’s even more challenging in these conditions. We even had trouble in the wet, where normally we’re immediately quite strong, so there’s obviously still much work to be done. We know that the bike can go well because today Nicky was fast in both conditions, and that’s positive. I like Silverstone a lot. It’s a great track—a little old-school, beautiful and fast. We hope we can have more fun riding here tomorrow.”
Press release courtesy of Ducati Team
MotoGP News | Casey Stoner cruises to Catalunya MotoGP win | MotoGP news
Despite missing out on pole position, Repsol Honda rider Stoner took the lead in the second corner and faced no challengers for the entire 25-lap race. Reigning MotoGP World Champion Lorenzo finished just under two-and-a-half seconds behind him across the finish line, cutting the Mallorcan’s championship lead over the Australian to just seven points.
Lorenzo got a great start and was first into turn one, but he could not hold off Stoner, who passed the reigning World Champion in the second corner and held the lead. Ben Spies started from fourth and quickly moved in to third position, where he remained until he crossed the finish line for his first podium finish for Yamaha Factory Racing this year.
With 12 laps to go, drops of rain hit the track under threatening skies and the white flag was produced, allowing riders the option to change bikes for the anticipated downpour, though the rain drops stopped shortly after and none of the riders left the track.
Stoner’s teammate Andrea Dovizioso passed Ducati Team Valentino Rossi early in the race to pursue Spies, but remained in fourth position until the finish, where he crossed just under a second behind the American.
Valentino Rossi crossed the line in fifth place. The seven time premier class Champion last won at the Montmeló circuit in 2009, when he beat his then team mate Lorenzo with a memorable pass on the Spaniard at the very last corner.
Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) started from his first pole in his MotoGP class career, but was unable to sustain the previous day’s momentum and finished in sixth.
Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow had a good race after a solid weekend. The British rookie passed Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) on the brakes going into the first corner on lap 10, and eventually finished the race in seventh, in front of the Kentucky Kid. The veteran Loris Capirossi (Pramac Racing) crossed the line in ninth, in front of Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing), who completed the top ten finishers.
Hiroshi Aoyama of the San Carlo Honda Gresini Team and Frenchman Randy de Puniet of Pramac Racing both crashed out of the race in the same corner early on. Both walked away from the tangle unharmed.
Both Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) and Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) were absent due to injuries that prevented them from lining up on the grid for the race. Edwards wanted to make the start so as not to put an end to his 141 consecutive premier class start run, but was denied after a medical exam declared him unfit to race.
Source:http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2011/motogp+report+catalunya+race
MotoGP News | Ducati Team duo hoping for sunshine in Portugal | Moto GP News
Following a three week break brought about by the postponement of the Motegi GP, the Ducati Team of Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden are prepared for this weekend’s bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal and are ready for changeable weather conditions. MotoGP series returns to action at a track that is very demanding and full of contrasts. Despite it having the lowest average speed of the tracks on the calendar, the Estoril circuit also includes very fast sections, including one of the longest straightaways of the year.Valentino Rossi has won five times in his eleven premier-class visits to the track, and he has finished on the podium on five other occasions, whilst the best result of his team-mate Nicky Hayden is a fourth place in 2007. The American will be looking to build on his rostrum finish last time out in Jerez.
Source:www.motogp.com/en/news/2011/ducati+team+portugal+gp+preview
Valentino Rossi is back | Challenging Stoner for the podium | Moto Gp
Valentino Rossi | Just misses out on a podium after a Spectacular come back.
Moto GP primer class rider and star Valentino Rossi once again did the unbelievable this weekend at the Sachsenring international race track this past weekend.
It was his first time on the grid since his crash just 6 weeks ago breaking his right Tibia (shin). Rossi did some testing recently on a WSB Yamaha R1 but no one expected him to challenge Stoner the way he did in the race. It is easy to see that Vale is not yet fully recovered as he was using a crutch to walk when off the bike. His relaxed riding style this weekend also suggests that the Moto GP star is not fully recovered. The question is, will Rossi be challenging Lorenzo when he is fully fit?
