Photo: © 2011 Scott Jones Photography – All Rights Reserved
After losing the top joint to his pinky finger in a crash during the Monday night testing session at Qatar, Cal Crutchlow has had to have some special gloves from Spidi made in order to accommodate his injured finger and its bandages. Luckily Spidi, the Italian glove manufacturer and Crutchlow sponsor, has been able to rush produce a glove with a larger pinky finger sleeve that incorporates a lycra panel and special reinforcements.
We’re live here in Doha for the next 10 days, covering the last pre-season MotoGP test and the Qatar GP. The skies seem perpetually hazy, with the sun poking through every now and then. That’s just fine by us, as it’s keeping daytime temperatures in the low 80F’s, with nights being a pleasant 60-70F. As usual we’ll have our Twitter feed going on the site, keeping you up-to-date with the latest happenings in the MotoGP paddock.
[twitter-widget username=”Asphalt_Rubber” title=” ” items=”5″ hiderss=”true” targetBlank=”true”]
Photo Feed from MotoGP’s Warm-up at the Qatar GP:
With the MotoGP season about to begin, all eyes are on Rossi and what he and Jeremy Burgess have been able to accomplish with the Ducati GP11. Will Valentino be thinking of his glory days under the lights on his beloved Yamaha M1? This image, from 2009, shows Valentino in peak form as he began his final championship season with Yamaha. Though Casey Stoner won by almost eight seconds, Rossi began his title chase with a strong second in the first ever Monday night race after a rare desert rain storm ruined the Sunday night schedule.
In this photo Rossi’s bike wears the Forza Abruzzo logo on its tail section, representing Rossi’s contribution to the relief effort to help L’Aquila recover from a devastating earthquake that struck the city on April 6th, 2009. Of all the bikes braking for Turn 1 after Losail’s long front straight, Rossi’s showed the brightest brake discs, glowing hot like fire in the desert.
After his race as a fully-inducted MotoGP racer, OnTheThrottle got a chance to talk to Ben Spies about his first race under the lights of Qatar and as a full-fledged GP racer. Spies talks about qualifying etiquette, the difference in style between WSBK and GP bikes, and how he feels he’s stacking up against the competition. See Ben explains all this and take questions from OTT’s live audience in their video interview after the jump.
MotoGP action is finally back and the 2010 season was underway at Qatar this weekend. With three-time Qatar GP winner Casey Stoner sitting on the pole position, and all eyes were on the Australian for a fourpeat. But with the Fiat-Yamaha contingency on front row with Stoner, the Ducati was sure to have some competition. Stoner would find pressure from all corners though, as riders from the second and third row would shine under the Losail circuit lights during this season opener. Click through for a full race report.