MotoGP Archives - Page 349 of 357

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Donington at Risk to Losing MotoGP, WSBK And BSB In 2009?

By Jensen Beeler 04/28/2009 No Comments

Trouble has surrounded Donington Park since in began redesigning the track to make it suitable for Formula One. First, the track had to reschedule and postpone a number of events after complaints about the construction. Then the run off area between Macleans and Coppice was severely compromised when the new paddock access tunnel was being built. Now, Donington seems to have legal trouble brewing as the owner of the track, Tom Wheatcroft, has started proceedings against Donington Ventures Leisure Limited for unpaid rent.

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MotoGP: Motegi Race Results

By Jensen Beeler 04/26/2009 No Comments

The rain gods smiled down on Motegi, Japan today and provided a timely start to the second GP race of the season, after rainy conditions forced race officials to cancel the GP’s qualifying session on Saturday. The Japanese GP wasn’t without incident however, as several riders failed to finish the race due to various incidents and events. This is of course code for you to read further, and to help us curb spoilers for those who haven’t sat down with their Tivo yet. Needless to say, continue reading to see a full race report on the Polini Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi.

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Rain at Motegi Forces Japanese GP Qualifying to be Cancelled

By Jensen Beeler 04/25/2009 No Comments

Heavy lunchtime rain at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit led to the cancellation of all qualifying sessions for the Polini Grand Prix of Japan, leaving grid positions in all three World Championship categories to be decided according to Free Practice positions. Initially, the decision was to wait for an hour, and then assess if the weather conditions would improve enough for qualifying to be run later in the day. However with the rain being unrelenting, there was nothing left for Race Direction to do but to cancel the qualifying sessions for all three classes. As such, Valentino Rossi will start at the Japanese GP’s pole position for the first time in his career.

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Hayden is Nearly 100% for Japanese GP

By Jensen Beeler 04/23/2009 No Comments

Nicky Hayden is a go for Friday’s practice session for the Polini Grand Prix of Japan, although the American will not be fully recovered from his Qatar highside. Hayden still has several stiches from his practice session crash at Qatar, but they should not affect his ability to ride hard on Sunday.

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MotoGP Practice Sessions Back to One Hour Format Again

By Jensen Beeler 04/21/2009 No Comments

When the cost-saving measures were passed down this year for MotoGP, it reduced the time riders could lap around the track during practice sessions from one hour to 45 minutes. When the rule was put into practice for the first time at Qatar, the reduced practice time came under a lot of criticism from teams, who found themselves scrambling to setup bikes properly, and making bad decisions. Thus based on the feedback they received, the Grand Prix Commission is due to meet prior to the Motegi Grand Prix in Japan, where they are expected to restore the sessions back to their one hour format again.

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Petronas Sponsorship Worth $24 Million to Fiat Yamaha

By Jensen Beeler 04/20/2009 No Comments

You may remember that , sponsoring the Rossi/Lorenzo duo in MotoGP. While Petronas has worked with Yamaha for eight years in a variety of fields, this marks their first collaboration with them in MotoGP, and it is costing them a pretty penny: $24 million for three years, or $8 million a year. For this sum, Petronas branding will appear on the Fiat Yamaha team’s bikes, equipment, and uniforms. Looking closer at the deal we see how large of a deal this is when compared to other similar sponsorships in MotoGP, while also at the same time, how the actual sum paid might be much less than $24 million.

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Spoiler Alert: Hiccup to Its Start, But the Qatar GP Is In The Bag

By Jensen Beeler 04/13/2009 No Comments

After being rained out yesterday, the Qatar GP, at the Losail International Circuit, finally got its green flag today. There was however a good omen to the start of the season, question mark riders Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden made it onto the starting grid and finished a respectable result. We don’t want to give away anymore of the MotoGP season opener, so continue reading for all the spoilers.

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Rain In The Desert Postpones MotoGP Until Monday

By Jensen Beeler 04/12/2009 No Comments

If you tuned into SpeedTV today (or whatever your local channel may be), you may have noticed only a few laps of 125cc & 250cc racing, and noticeable absence of any MotoGP action. This is because a rare rainstorm at the Losail International Circuit this evening scrubbed the first MotoGP race of the season. Because of the rain-soaked tracks and heavy use of flood lights, the circuit became almost mirror like and was too treacherous for the riders to compete on safely. The season opener for MotoGP has been pushed back to Monday at 9pm Qatar time, with an additional warm-up session beforehand at 6.30pm.

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Nicky Hayden Injured in Qualifying, Doubtful To Race Sunday in Qatar

By Jensen Beeler 04/12/2009 No Comments

The unluckiest man of the weekend has by far been Nicky Hayden. In the first Free Practice, he suffered a clutch problem, followed by an electrical problem, which cost him testing time in the session and forced him to use his backup bike. The next day in the second Free Practice, Hayden had an engine blow up on his Desmosedici, forcing him one again onto his backup bike. Lastly in the Qualifying Session, Nicky Hayden took a huge highside just a few minutes from the end of the session, and now his participation in the season opener at Qatar is questionable.

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No Surprises in the Qatar Qualifying

By Jensen Beeler 04/12/2009 No Comments

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that’s been visiting A&R for the past few days when you read that Casey Stoner has won the pole position for the Qatar GP tomorrow. The Australian has been dominating the week and holds nearly half a second over second place rider, Valentino Rossi, who with Stoner, Lorenzo, and Dovizioso are the only riders to break into the 1:55’s this week.

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Stoner Leads Free Practice 2, But The Field Catches Up

By Jensen Beeler 04/11/2009 No Comments

Casey Stoner continues to be the man to beat in Qatar this weekend, but the rest of the MotoGP field is getting wise, and starting to encrouch on the Australian’s lap times in Free Practice 2.

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