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Catalunya Bridgestone MotoGP Debrief
14 June 2008
The first set of back-to-back races in this season’s enthralling MotoGP championship saw Bridgestone-shod riders secure four podium positions from a possible six with Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner making podium trips in both Mugello and Catalunya. Rossi took his third consecutive win of the season in Mugello, but had to push hard right up to the chequered flag to fend off a competitive Stoner, who set the fastest lap of the race on his way to second place ahead of Dani Pedrosa. In Catalunya, it was Pedrosa who took race win honours, but Rossi and Stoner enjoyed another closely-fought battle, with Rossi taking second and Stoner third.
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Positive End To Testing For Ducati Marlboro
11 June 2008
The second and final day of testing at Catalunya concluded today, with the teams getting their final opportunity to run back-to-back tests with a Grand Prix until the end of August at Brno. It has been a crucially important test for the Ducati Marlboro Team, with both their factory riders getting the chance to try technical developments aimed at the 2009 season. It has also been a hugely positive tyre and set-up test for Casey Stoner with his current machine, the GP8. In spite of less-than-perfect track conditions caused by light but intermittent rain showers, the Australian was able to try some new electronic solutions and set an excellent pace, clocking the fastest time of the day with a 1'42.180 lap on race tyres.
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Positive Day Of Testing For Dovizioso Despite The Rain
11 June 2008
Yesterday with the good weather and a full afternoon of work completed, the plan for today was to use the whole day to finish the test schedule. Unfortunately the variable weather has disturbed today’s programme with flashes of rain. Eventually the team needed to stop early because of the poor conditions on track. Andrea Dovizioso dedicated the few hours of dry conditions to test qualifying tyres, without looking for a quick time. Instead Andrea worked also on the electronic management of the engine to find an optimum balance on the bike. Eventually, the time recorded was in line with that done in qualifying for last Sunday’s Catalan Grand Prix. Andrea Dovizioso finished the test to return to London to prepare for the next round at Donington Park.
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Better Feeling for Hayden With Pneumatic-Valve RCV Engine
11 June 2008
Repsol Honda RC212V rider Nicky Hayden completed his second afternoon of testing at Catalunya today, working between the rain showers. The American continued back-to-back tests with the pneumatic-valve RC212V engine and the conventional valve-spring RCV engine. He rode a promising race simulation using the pneumatic-valve engine, averaging high 1m 42s and low 1m 43s, a second faster than he had managed in Sunday’s Catalan Grand Prix, for which he used the valve-spring engine.
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Injured Hopkins Fights for Top Ten
11 June 2008
John Hopkins demonstrated true grit and determination today at the Grand Prix of Catalunya to bring his Ninja ZX-RR home in 10th position, despite carrying a back injury sustained in Friday’s practice. Hopkins got a steady start to the 25-lap race and pushed as hard as possible, despite being unable to move around easily on his race machine, to make up positions around the 4.727km circuit. The 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot settled into a rhythm and circulated on his own for most of the race, riding through the pain barrier, to cross the line with a very creditable top ten finish.
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More Progress for Dovizioso After Catalan Race
10 June 2008
The JiR Team Scot squad, following on from yesterday’s Catalunya Grand Prix where they finished in fourth place, stayed on at the Spanish circuit to continue the development of their Honda RC212V. The Montmelo track was only accessible in the afternoon so rider Andrea Dovizioso used the track until the very last minute. At the end of the day the result was very positive and performance has been improved compared to the team’s performance in practice and the race. Both team and rider tomorrow will continue to test the new settings of the chassis and suspension and the new Michelin tyres.
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Positive Test at Montmelo' Sests Rossi Up For Next Run of Races
10 June 2008
After claiming an important 20 points in yesterday's Grand Prix of Catalunya, Valentino Rossi and his crew were back at work today for a half day test at the Montmelo circuit. Rossi shared the track with the large majority of the MotoGP grid, although his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was still absent as he continues his recovery from Friday's crash. Having experienced some set-up problems during the weekend, the team concentrated largely on working through those issues during today's test and improving their package with Donington in mind. As usual there were also plenty of tyres to test with Bridgestone and Rossi set his best lap of 1'41.857 on a qualifying tyre, a time considerably better than his time from Saturday's official qualifying session. The Italian completed 61 laps and set the second fastest time of the day, behind Casey Stoner.
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Positive Debut for Desmosedici GP9 with Casey Stoner
10 June 2008
The day following the Grand Prix of Catalunya gave the MotoGP riders the chance to start a two-day test, with the Ducati Marlboro Team bringing forward a first outing for the Desmosedici GP9 - which was originally scheduled for Casey Stoner tomorrow. With uncertain weather forecasts for tomorrow, Stoner and test riders Vittoriano Guareschi and Niccolò Canepa put the machine through its paces, whilst Marco Melandri spent the day focusing on his GP8 and will test it tomorrow. It was a positive debut for the machine in the hands of the World Champion, so much so that the Australian set the best time of the day with a 1'41.533 on qualifying tyres.
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Race Comeback for Takahashi at Catalan GP
10 June 2008
After two days of practice during which Yuki Takahashi has shown continuous progress and qualified on the second row of the Grand Prix, during the warm-up this morning with a damp track thanks to overnight rain, the JiR Team Scot rider showed with rain tyres a very good pace. The race under a blazing sun saw the Japanese rider start well and he was fourth into the first turn but half way through the first lap he contacted with Roberto Locatelli, forcing the Japanese rider off the track, leaving him in 23rd and last position. Yuki didn’t surrender and he started his inexorable fight-back to finish at the flag in 12th place. This was a race that showed the combative character of Yuki Takahashi that now already looks to the next race in Great Britain.
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Pedrosa the Main Michelin Man at Catalunya
10 June 2008
Michelin man Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) left the rest of the pack racing for second place at Catalunya this afternoon, the local hero smashing lap and race records during his awesome start-to-finish victory. Pedrosa was Michelin’s top performer in a great day for the French tyre brand, four of the first six finishers using Michelin tyres. Local hero Pedrosa – who grew up in Sabadell, less than 20km from the track – chose hard-compound front and rear Michelins for this aggressive track and yet was able to set a stunning pace from the very beginning that quickly left his pursuers behind. At one point he had built an eight-second advantage, finally crossing the line 2.8 seconds ahead after easing his pace during the final laps. Nonetheless Pedrosa broke the Catalunya race record by more than 14 seconds. His performance was particularly impressive because the track has not been in great shape this weekend with riders complaining of a lack of grip. Lap records were not broken in the 125 and 250 GPs.
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Elias Unlucky in Home GP, Guintoli 13th
10 June 2008
Hard day for the Alice Team on the Montmelò circuit in the seventh MotoGP round. Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli, who started respectively from thirteenth and fifteenth position, had found themselves in the last two positions after the first lap. After eight laps the Spanish rider, who was concentrated in the fight with Melandri, West and his team-mate, has seen the pit-board with the penalty for jump start too late, shown at lap five, and during the ride through he had to stop at the end of the pit lane as he was disqualified.
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Great Race for Dovizioso with a Fine 4th at Catalan GP
10 June 2008
The Spanish weekend ended in satisfaction for the JiR Team Scot squad. The huge amount of work done by the team during the previous days brought a superb final result of a fighting fourth place for the silver Honda in a great race, the same result as he did in first race of the year in Qatar. In the race Andrea showed a high degree of maturity against the best riders in the world. Fast straight away from the third row of the grid, Andrea was in second position at the end of lap one, just behind Dani Pedrosa who began to pull away leaving the other riders behind.
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Vermeulen Fights Back as Capirossi Suffers Cruel Blow
10 June 2008
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen raced to a close seventh place finish at the Catalan Grand Prix near Barcelona today, as team-mate Loris Capirossi’s race came to an abrupt end when another rider crashed into him.
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Rossi & Stoner Take Catalan Podiums
10 June 2008
Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi and Ducati Corse’s Casey Stoner both claimed podium results at the Circuit de Catalunya this afternoon after a gruelling 25-lap race which was won in dominant fashion by Spanish Honda rider Dani Pedrosa. Rossi, starting from ninth on the grid, made his way up through the field in the first third of the race and enjoyed a close battle with Stoner for the rest of the event. Both riders took turns to hold second place, setting consistent and quick lap times, but it was Rossi who ultimately took the runner-up position behind Pedrosa, sneaking past Stoner on the penultimate lap of the race.
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Tough Day for Hopkins as West Sees Improvements
07 June 2008
The opening day of practice for Sunday's Grand Prix of Catalunya was one of mixed fortunes for the Kawasaki Racing Team, with Anthony West finishing 18th fastest, and John Hopkins setting the 14th fastest time, despite a crash that sidelined him for most of the afternoon practice session. Overnight rain meant that track conditions were far from ideal for the opening practice session this morning, but the situation had improved considerably by the time the MotoGP riders took to the track for their second hour of practice this afternoon.
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Lorenzo to Miss Home GP
07 June 2008
Jorge Lorenzo will miss his home Grand Prix at Barcelona this weekend after a crash in this afternoon’s free practice. The Spaniard lost the front of his M1 at turn 11 just four laps into the afternoon session and slid into the gravel, before being stretchered off and taken to the circuit clinic. After undergoing an initial check-up at the track, which confirmed that there were no further injuries to the ankles which he fractured in China, the decision was made to take him to hospital in Barcelona for further examination.
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Challenging Day for Alice Team at the Montmelo’
06 June 2008
First day of work with some complications in Barcelona for the Alice Team riders. Toni Elias has slipped in the third lap of the day. He slighted hit his right leg but the bike has suffered many damages. For this reason the Catalan rider has basically work today with only one bike at his disposal. The other Alice Team rider, Sylvain Guintoli, has worked a lot completing 43 laps in the two hours of work at his disposal today. The French rider has worked well improving his best lap time by almost a second in the afternoon session. The atmospheric condition seems to change in the last hours, in fact the chances of rain are increasing for Tomorrow and Sunday.
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A Tense Day at the Catalunya GP for Dovizioso
06 June 2008
The seventh round of the MotoGP season was welcomed to the Catalunya circuit on Thursday with heavy rain, which only ended last night. Practice today started with a very cold racetrack and lap-times weren’t at all representative of what can be expected this weekend. This afternoon the track conditions improved and Loris Capirossi was able to set a new lap record, beating Nicky Hayden’s previous record set during 2006. Capirossi was also second at the end of the session and only Dani Pedrosa did a better lap, but unfortunately the Spaniard crashed after setting a 1’43”017 lap-time.
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Capirossi on Podium Pace During First Day in Catalunya
06 June 2008
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Loris Capirossi was the second quickest rider during today’s free practice sessions at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona in Spain. Capirossi led the way for a large part of the afternoon session as he made long runs on his Suzuki GSV-R to test the durability of his Bridgestone race tyres. He was the busiest rider on track today completing 53 laps around the 4.7km circuit as he worked hard with his crew to find the most consistent set-up for his machine for Sunday’s 25-lap race. Capirossi’s best time of 1’43.023 was only bettered by 0.006 seconds by local star Dani Pedrosa, towards the end of the session.
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Rossi The ‘AZZURRO’ Gets Catalan Challenge Underway
06 June 2008
Just five days after his thrilling home victory at Mugello, Valentino Rossi was back on board at the Montmelo circuit in Catalunya today, running a one-off livery on his M1 in celebration of the Italian national football team, the ‘Azzurri’, and their impending European Championship campaign. Rossi’s bike was complemented by his leathers, which have been designed to make him look like an ‘Azzurro’ himself, complete with football shorts, shirt and socks. After heavy rain overnight the track was still wet in places this morning, especially on the long start/finish straight, which is overshadowed by the huge Montmelo grandstand. The rain meant that the notoriously slippery track had even less grip than usual and Rossi spent the day testing Bridgestone tyres and refining the setting of his M1 to suit the demands of the circuit, with improving traction a priority.
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