MotoGP News | Positive weekend for Rossi and Hayden at Czech GP
MotoGP News
The riders’ finishing positions were the same as in the previous round at Laguna Seca, but both reduced their gaps to the front considerably, the Italian by well over half. After he and his team made steady progress with the setup of his GP11.1 for the entire weekend.
Rossi had a competitive pace for most of the race, chasing the front group all the way to the finish. Working exclusively on the GP11, Hayden’s team experienced challenges throughout the weekend but persevered with a respectable performance. Tomorrow both riders will take part in a day of testing that the Ducati Team will use to continue the work on the 800.
Valentino Rossi:
“I’d say we are pleased, as we took a step forward. I must say that Filippo and Ducati has been intelligent, because just with some small changes, we were able to get a good result, improving in both wet and dry conditions and in both qualifying and the race. Now I’m able to ride the bike better under braking and on corner entry, and I can use the front tyre better. We started with the goal of fighting with the group ahead of us, but unfortunately we made a small mistake with the start procedure for heating the tyres and the first two laps were difficult, without enough grip. It’s a lesson that we’ll remember next time. I didn’t have a great start like I did at Laguna, for example. That would have helped a lot, because from the third lap to the finish, I had the same pace as the two Yamahas, and even ‘Sic’ wasn’t so far ahead. It’s sixth place, but it’s a sixth place that’s much more important than our other results. The gap is much smaller, although I backed off in the final laps since there was nothing else I could do. Otherwise, I would’ve been just ten seconds from Stoner and much less than that from the podium. Now we must focus and take another step. We’ll try the 800 tomorrow, and it will be a very important test for confirming other new details and for continuing work on the setup. We’ll probably take a couple of final runs with the GP11, but we’ll definitely be continuing with the GP11.1. Finally, I’d like to compliment ‘Sic’ for a podium that he really deserved, for today’s race but also for what he has shown this season.”
Nicky Hayden:
“It’s been a really tough weekend right from when we got the bikes out of the crates from Laguna, but we chipped away at it. The guys have worked extremely hard, and we got better and better. We even made a change after the morning warm up that actually helped a bit, although I didn’t really understand it the first few laps, and the group was already gone. I held on and got seventh, which isn’t fantastic. Still, the gap to the front is the closest it’s been this season, which is positive. The bike was really good in a few places, but I was slow in change of direction and couldn’t get the bike to finish the corner and was spinning the tyre a lot. We also need to understand why I had the slowest top speed. It would’ve been nice to hang onto that front group a bit longer, but Colin pushed me all the way to the end. The work’s far from over for this weekend, because we’ve got a big day tomorrow. Valentino tried some new parts on the front that they seem real happy about, so hopefully I can try those tomorrow. Test days are so important, and we really need a dry day tomorrow to try to make a big step.”
MotoGP News Online | Nicky Hayden fourth, difficult sixth for Rossi | MotoGP News
Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi finished the AirAsia British Grand Prix race fourth and sixth, respectively, with the Italian limiting damage in a challenging weekend, while the American posted the fastest lap of the race and finished just off the podium.
With the help of his team, Nicky Hayden found a good setup for the wet race, the only deterrent causing him to lose contact with the battle for the podium were the particularly treacherous conditions of the early laps, when he came close to crashing his GP11 on a couple of occasions.
Despite starting from the last row and not being completely comfortable with his bike’s setup, Valentino Rossi made up several positions and rode a controlled race, collecting ten precious points to retain fourth place in the series standings.
Nicky Hayden:
“To be honest, I really liked my chances for a podium in the rain today; if you’d have told me before the race that I could have fourth, I’d have said, ‘No thanks, I can do better,’ but I’m not disappointed with my ride. I didn’t get a great start because the clutch was jumpy, and for the first few laps, it was hard to see and to get heat in the tyres. I had a big moment on the exit of Turn 1 and actually jarred my shoulder pretty good, but I tried to hang in there. I saw Colin in front of me for the podium, and I really pushed. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever had the fastest lap on a Ducati, which is kind of cool even if you don’t get points for it. Full respect to Colin a week after breaking his collarbone, but I still don’t like him beating me for the podium! Thanks to the team. It hasn’t been an easy weekend for us, but we kept trying and got a pretty good chunk of points. We’ll take it and move on.”
Valentino Rossi:
“Without a doubt, this weekend was the most difficult so far this season, but we at least managed to do a good job of limiting the damage. Considering how we came into the race, sixth place is a fairly positive result that helps us to stay not too far from the top of the standings in fourth, which isn’t bad. We knew that my lack of experience here compared to the others would hurt us, but it’s also true that we haven’t managed to improve our setup as well as we should have. In fact, today Nicky managed to have a nice race and rode well, even setting the fastest lap, which demonstrates that the Ducati is competitive in the wet. We didn’t improve enough though, and that made it hard for me, as the bike was difficult to ride and I couldn’t push hard. We’re all responsible – me, the bike, and the team – so together we’ll try to improve and return to the level we were at in Le Mans and Catalunya as soon as possible, and then take another step forward.”
Source:http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2011/Ducati+team+Silverstone
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
Valentino Rossi On MotoGP Podium with Ducati | MotoGP NEWS
After the move from Yamaha to Honda Valentino Rossi vans have been eagerly waiting for the first MotoGP race podium.2011 has been a challenging year for Valentino Rossi and his Malbro Ducati MotoGP team, with regular starts from the third row.Progression has been made in every race with Rossi being very positive and giving all the info needed to push the Ducati to the front.
The push came in the most recent MotoGP race, Monster Energy Grand Prix held in France. Rossi had a good start from the third row of the grid and managed to secure 6th place for most of the race. With Pedrosa crashing and a ride through penalty for Marco Simoncelli third place was recurred by Valentino Rossi.
Rossi commented “ For sure the Ducati is good motion, my fitness seems very better. I think we can move forward.”
Words: Donovan Denoon #33
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?
