Ben Spies gets a taste of the Premier Class

First off, congratulations to Valentino Rossi (and his fully-geared chicken) for securing his NINTH World Championship title in Sepang.





Priceless...

Now on to the final race of the season in Valencia. The championship may have been decided in Sepang, but the last race still holds a lot of excitement - in the form of one Ben Spies. Sterilgarda Yamaha have prepared a fine-looking one-off livery for Ben and are about to shove him out amongst the sea of seasoned MotoGP riders for his first trial-by-fire in the Premier Class. He was originally scheduled to sign on in 2011, however his contract was bumped up, and he will be competing in the 2010 season. Once again, MotoGP has snagged some incredible talent.



2010 will no doubt be another exciting year

Until Next Time.....

Rubb'er Down!

MotoGP News - Estoril qualifying and 2010 Teams

The boys of MotoGP are back in action this weekend in Estoril - even Casey Stoner who appears to be in top form after his "medical leave".

The qualifying session this morning went swimmingly, leaving us with the comfort of the usual front row qualifiers, Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner - Pedrosa took first chair in the second row. Just as it should be.

Fiat is taking brilliant advantage of it's sponsorship of the top two riders in the world by running a one-off livery design to announce the unveiling of it's new 2010 Evo Punto car.


The bikes (as well as Rossi and Lorenzo) are clad in a classy silver and white design, inspiring Lorenzo to top it off with a special helmet painted in the theme of Neil Armstrong's astronaut helmet.






Now on to the line-up for 2010....

Every season's end brings surprises, disappointments and smatterings of hope for MotoGP fans, teams and riders, and this year is no exception. Although not quite as cliff-hanger-esque as the last couple of seasons, there are a few surprises and indeed, a few disappointments.

One surprise that played out a little earlier than planned is Ben Spies step-up to MotoGP. Originally sited for the 2011 season, Ben and Tech 3 Yamaha have bumped up the timeline and signed a contract for the 2010 season. But, Ben will not wait until 2010 to make his first appearance in the premier class. He will ride as a Wild Card in the Valencia race, the last race of the year, and he will be racing on track with James Toseland.... the man he is poised to replace. Juicy... I know :)

James Toseland will cross back over to SBK for 2010 along with Chris Vermeulen, who's Rizla Suzuki ride is being taken over by Alvaro Bautista.

San Carlo Honda Gresini has given both of their 2009 riders the boot. Alex de Angelis and Toni Elias are floating at the moment without a confirmed ride for next year. Toni seems to be calling his own shots thus far and is waiting to decide his own future in MotoGP. He will reportedly wait until after Sepang and Philips Island to pin-down plans for next year. According to him, top six finishes in both sessions will mean MotoGP for 2010, and sub-top-six will result in a switch to Moto2. His options for a ride in MotoGP are down to Scot Racing and Pramac Ducati.

San Carlo will have a fresh pair of riders in their camp next year - Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli.

FB Corse is reportedly working on a bike for a new MotoGP team next year. This looks to be Alex de Angelis' best bet for a ride. The team is building a bike around the engine designed by BMW for their MotoGP efforts... which turned into a SBK campaign, and the engine was thus abandoned. Being an all-Italian effort, FB Corse will likely seek an Italian rider. Alex fits the bill.

Pramac Ducati has confirmed Mika Kallio for 2010, and I believe Aleix Espargaro has signed with them as well. Niccolo Canepa has made this his first and last year in MotoGP. He will not race the premier class next year. He is allegedly entertaining several offers from SBK as well as the Moto2 series.

Here it is in a less-confusing layout:

Repsol Honda

• Dani Pedrosa
• Andrea Dovizioso

Tech 3 Yamaha

• Ben Spies
• Colin Edwards

Rizla Suzuki

• Loris Capirossi
• Alvaro Bautista

LCR Honda

• Randy De Puniet

San Carlo Honda Gresini

• Marco Melandri
• Marco Simoncelli

Ducati Marlboro

• Casey Stoner
• Nicky Hayden

Pramac Ducati

• Mika Kallio
• Aleix Espargaro (not confirmed)
  

Fiat Yamah

• Valentino Rossi
• Jorge Lorenzo

Scot Racing

• Not confirmed

Until next time.....

Rubb'er Down!!!!

Kristen

San Marino dominated by "The Donkey"

Valentino Rossi, in a characteristic show of humility, wore a special lid for the Misano race today, with a big donkey painted on the top - his opinion on crashing out at Indianapolis. In a fantastic show of support, his crew greeted him in the winners circle, wearing gigantic donkey ears..... which Rossi confiscated at proceeded to wear during the podium presentation.

Jorge Lorenzo landed the one-two punch for fiat Yamaha today, following Rossi over the line to take second place. Dani Pedrosa took third, and in a surprising show of humor after his Repsol machine ran out of gas and left him stranded on the track, thumbed a ride from Toni Elias back to the garage.

Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards were savagely taken out in the first turn of the first lap by an over-zealous Alex de Angelis - extremely disappointing for them. Nicky was clearly upset as he picked himself up and took a couple of shots at Alex. A short while later, he was interviewed back at the garage, and had simmered down and returned to his diplomatic, southern gentleman demeanor.

Other than that, it was an uneventful race with Rossi taking the lead by midway and maintaining a comfortable 2 second lead until the end.

Until Next time

Rubb'er Down!

MotoGP Indianapolis extravaganza

An astounding race in Indianapolis this afternoon. Pedrosa snagged pole for the start of the race, and came into it on fire after breaking the track record in qualifying. He led the race for the first couple of laps, and looked as though he was poised to give Rossi and Lorenzo a run for their collective money..... right up until he crashed. He did recover, and ended up with a well-earned post-crash 10th place spot. Several laps later, it was Lorenzo leading Rossi after a smooth overtaking by the Spaniard. Rossi was left to do what Rossi does best.... pressure from behind. This time however, it backfired on him. He tried to make up the gap with a hard drive into the corner and tapped the brake - I was a little - nay, a LOT - surprised to see him make such a rookie mistake. He went down hard, but managed to get back on his faithful Yam and return to the track..... only to retire a few laps later after being passed by Pedrosa, due to the effects of the crash on the bike. The irony was palpable as we viewed Rossi and Pedrosa swapping licks for 16th position not 2 minutes after they were swapping for the lead - and off rode Jorge Lorenzo with a 10 second lead over the rest of the pack... to victory.

Nicky Hayden did very well as he carried not only himself, but the weight and nerves of his entire family and gaggle of friends that attended this race with him. He made us all proud as he held up under the pressure of Dovizioso's barrage of attacks and ended up with a 3rd place spot on the podium. By the way, props to Nick who wore a specially designed "Make a Wish" helmet that will be auctioned off after the race for the benefit of the Make a Wish Foundation - solid charity and a solid show of character from Nicky.

Alex de Angelis claimed second place and ran a fine race indeed. Marco Melandri - who by the way snagged a contract with Gresini Honda for next year - suffered a spectacular crash near the end of the race. He made a fine mess of his Hayate machine and was not able to rejoin the race. His moment of enlightenment was clearly visible as he walked up to his bike and discovered that he did such a thorough job of crashing it, the back tire came off. Niccolo Canepa did not finish the race either. It appeared that he had a mechanical problem with his Ducati.

All in all, a very good race with very unexpected results.... just the way I like 'em :) A couple of last-minute mentions before I conclude my ramblings, Chris Vermeulen is now seeking a ride after Rizla Suzuki confirmed the signing of 250cc super star Alvaro Bautista for the 2010 season, and Jorge Lorenzo put rumors to bed about his contract, by signing another year with Fiat Yamaha.

That'll do it for me.

Until Next time

Rubb'er Down!

Incredible Donington finale lands Dovizioso his first premier class victory

In an incredible farewell to the Donington circuit, the men of MotoGP put on a show that will not soon be forgotten. The final podium order is void of the top three riders, and yields the first ever MotoGP victory for Andrea Dovizioso as well as the first podium finishes for 2009 for Colin Edwards and Randy De Puniet.

The race was declared wet as the riders were set up on grid. The only team to strap their bullets with a wet set-up was Ducati, all other riders were strapped with slicks. As the lights ticked off, Toni Elias rocketed to the head of the pack and held an impressive lead for the first two laps.

By lap 3, Andrea Dovizioso had taken over the top spot trailed closely by Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. By the end of lap 3, Rossi had fallen into 5th position, behind Dani Pedrosa and Toni Elias who he immediately overtook to claim 4th position. Confusing?? Well, brace yourself because this will conitnue for the remianing 27 laps of the race!

Lap 4 - Lorenzo, Dovizioso, Pedrosa, Rossi, Elias.....

Lap 7 - Lorenzo, Rossi, Dovizioso, Elias, Pedrosa.... Tonis Elais crashes out when he nicks the white paint of the rumble strip.

Lap 8 - Lorenzo crashes out after nicking the white paint of the rumble strip

Lap 11 - Rossi, Dovizioso, De Puniet, Pedrosa - Pedrosa and De Puniet swap positions several times during this lap..... where's Casey Stoner? He has just been passed by Nicky Hayden who overtook him for FOURTEENTH position.

Lap 12 - Seizure-inducing game of leap frog between Pedrosa and De Puniet... leaving De Puniet ahead as they move into lap 13

Lap 13 - Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden have become lap traffic as Rossi and Dovizioso pass them while continuing the battle for first place.

Lap 14 - Rossi and Dovi find themselves 13 seconds ahead of the volley for 3rd - which is still being masterfully played out between De P and Pedrosa.

Lap 19 - ROSSI CRASHES OUT and Dovizioso takes the lead leaving De P and Pedrosa to now battle it out for 2nd. Rossi manages to pick up his bike and get back out on track.

Lap 22 - Loris Capirossi and Marco Melandri and Chris Vermeulen give in to the wet conditions and switch to their "water bikes" which have been warming up in the pits since lap 12.

Lap 24 - Mika Kallio trades his slicks for the wet-set. The running order is now Dovizioso, De Puniet, Edwards, de Angelis. Rossi has clawed his way back up into 6th place and settled in behind James Toseland.

Three laps to go and Colin Edwards and Randy De Puniet begin the battle for 2nd which ends up being an absolutely brilliant display of wet weather riding talent - on slicks. Randy doesn't want to give it up, but Edwards manages to overtake him in the last turn before the flag to finish the podium order - Dovizioso, Edwards, De Puniet.

Rossi manages to overtake Toseland for an overall 5th place finish... which still increases his points lead in the championship standings.

This was certainly an edge-of-your-seat race - for all 30 laps. MotoGP bids farewell to the Donington circuit for at least 5 years, as Silverstone will take over hosting the British round in the mean time. The riders will enjoy an extended 3 week break before resuming the season in Brno on August 18th. I will personally use this time to un-scramble my brain after what I have seen today!

1	A. Dovizioso	Honda
2	C. Edwards	Yamaha
3	R. De Puniet	Honda
4	A. de Angelis	Honda
5	V. Rossi	Yamaha
6	J. Toseland	Yamaha
7	M. Melandri	Kawasaki
8	N. Canepa	Ducati
9	D. Pedrosa	Honda
10	M. Kallio	Ducati
11	L. Capirossi	Suzuki
12	G. Talmacsi	Honda
13	C. Vermeulen	Suzuki
14	C. Stoner	Ducati
15	N. Hayden	Ducati

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

Rossi eeks out 0.099 second win over Lorenzo in Germany

The boys of MotoGP did not disappoint today in Germany. The race was a battle among the top four riders in the championship series - and there is no doubt why they are the 4 fastest men on two wheels. With only 28 points seperating first from third in the standings and half a season of racing to go, the claws are coming out.

Casey, Jorge and Rossi each shared the pressure of leading the race today at some point. Rossi led off the start and was eventually overtaken by Stoner, who volleyed the lead back to Vale, only to have Jorge Lorenzo swipe it again. Dani Pedrosa held his ground like a champ and ended up with the third place position over the line. Casey was remanded to fourth.

The last three laps of the race were a balls-out battle between Rossi and Lorenzo which ended in Rossi claiming victory with Jorge only 0.099 seconds behind him - or next to him as it were. It was indeed 30 laps of full-on entertainment.

Nicky Hayden got shut out and swallowed up at the start, backing him up to 13th position at the end of the first lap. He battled his way up to 8th by race end.... with some very impressive riding and aggressive overtakes.... looks like the Nikcy of yore may be on his way back. Yesterday during a wet qualifying session, Nicky suffered a tremendous high side and took Nicola Canepa out from behind.... with body to body contact. If you can find the clip, it's worth watcing. Canepa said later that he had no idea what hit him - I guess not!

Randy De Puniet made a brilliant start, finding himself in 4th position for nearly a whole lap before he duffed it. If you blinked, you missed it... one second he was right there behind Pedrosa, and the next second there was nothing but sparks and parts.... no Randy. Amazingly enough he didn't take anyone out with him.... and everyone else remained on two for the rest of the race. Andrea Dovizioso retired from the race early due to a tire problem.

The drama will continut next weekend in Donington followed by a short summer break. After the first half of the season, these guys will certainly be looking forward to that.... if for no other reason than to heal their wounds.

It's RUMOR season!!!

Mid season for MotoGP is here which means we are ushering in the Festival of the Signing of Contracts. This is the time of year when rumors start to circulate through the paddocks about who's riding for who next year and who will not be riding at all.

This morning's discussion during the first free practice session at Sachsenring proved to be interesting indeed. Practice, by the way, went swimmingly - except for Chris Vermeulen who suffered a devastating high side after hitting a wet patch on the track. He clearly injured his left foot/ankle, but left on the back of a moped as opposed to in the back of an ambulance, so hopefully he'll be alright and back on track tomorrow.

Anyway, on to the meat of the post.... First off, Grupo Francisco Hernando has terminated it's season with MotoGP, leaving Sete Gibernau rideless and MotoGP with only 17 bikes and riders. The "economic crisis" is to blame for the abandonment of their MotoGP program, according to them. It was good to see the Gibbers come out of retirement - therefore, it goes without saying, it sucks to see him go.... again.

Gresini Honda has it in the works to make some big changes for 2010, starting with signing on 250cc superstar Marco Simocelli. It appears they are eyeing up Marco Melandri as well to complete the team.

Jorge Lorenzo is rumored to be suffering from a case of the wandering eye... and contract. It seems he has expressed some discontent over the amount of money he feels he is worth as opposed to what Fiat Yamaha is actually paying him. There have been talks between he and Repsol Honda over a possible contract for 2010. Recent press releases may have come off as a little humiliating to him as well, as team Fiat stated in more than one publication that they need Rossi to race and help develop the bike, and Lorenzo.... they just need him to race. Telefonica Movistar is contemplating a comeback to MotoGP, and there has been spotty chatter leading some to believe that they too may entertain Lorenzo for a contract.

So, if he leaves, who will take his place? Possibly Colin Edwards (again). Ben Spies is eyeing up MotoGP for 2010, or adversely, MotoGP is eyeing up Ben Spies.... in either case, a new rule that prevents rookies from riding for factory teams their first year out would seat Ben with Tech 3 Yamaha. The possibility of Colin moving into Fiat in the case of Lorenzo moving to Repsol would leave a spot in Tech 3 for Ben. Even if Colin doesn't make a move, the possibility of a Spies Tech 3 ride exists through the further rumor that if James Toseland doesn't produce better results at Sachsenring and the upcoming Donnington race that he's going to get the boot. On the other hand, Dorna is enjoying the representation of a British rider in the championship series - their holding interest could indeed be a feather in Toseland's cap.

De Angelis will most likely not be riding MotoGP next year, and lastly, Toni Elias looks to be planning to leave the Honda camp.

My head is spinning with all the swaps, cuts and rumors of new rookies. It will be very interesting to see how this all pans out. In my personal opinion, the biggest mistake to be made at this point will be with Fiat and Lorenzo. I don't think they should let him go to Repsol just yet. I say get off your wallet, Yamaha, and show him some support.... at least for another year.

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

Technorati

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Pedrosa breaks dry spell for Repsol

Very uncharacteristic of the European flat circuit terrain, the Mazda Raceway succeeded in tossing a lot of riders over the weekend. Many that rode on Sunday were riding injured from their tangles with the track during free practices and qualifying. Several riders feel victim to the track during the race on Sunday as well. Andrea Dovizioso, Sete Gibernau and fresh-meat G. Talmacsi all went skittering off into the gravel traps. Loris Capirossi didn't finish the race, however, his DNF was chalked up to mechanical problems, and James Toseland was "excluded" from competition for a refusal to take a ride-through as a penalty for jumping the start (which even on the replay.... in slow motion.... I did not see).

Dani pulled well away early after a perfect start, and maintained his lead throughout. There was a fantastic last-lap rally by Rossi, who ALMOST overtook him on the last turn before the line. In the post race interview, Dani admitted to being a little too comfortable with what he thought was a formidable lead - until he heard Valentino's bike. As he came to the realization that Rossi was a fraction of an inch off his six, he tipped his Honda in a hair earlier than necessary to close the gap and ran like hell for the line. I must say, it was amusing to see his reaction - equivalent to that of a fourth grader that got caught napping in class. Nice save Dani - and a well-deserved win.

Nicky Hayden with his fantastically festive Ducati and leathers, once again bettered his best, finishing 5th. He rode a spectacular race - who knows.... we may even see him back on the podium before season's end. Mika Kallio did not participate in this weekend's race due to a severely injured finger as a result of last week's untimely crash on the last turn at Assen. He will be back for Sachsenring.

Over all, it was a good race. Aside from the crashes, Jorge's hail Mary pass-attempt on Rossi (which damn near took them both out of the race) and Rossi's last minute sneak attack on Pedrosa kept it interesting. In two weeks, everyone should be healed from the beating inflicted by the infamous US circuit and back in form to entertain us with what will no-doubt be a close race at Sachsenring.

1	D. Pedrosa	Honda
2	V. Rossi	Yamaha
3	J. Lorenzo	Yamaha
4	C. Stoner	Ducati
5	N. Hayden	Ducati
6	T. Elias	Honda
7	C. Edwards	Yamaha
8	C. Vermeulen	Suzuki
9	R. De Puniet	Honda
10	M. Melandri	Kawasaki
11	A. de Angelis	Honda
12	N. Canepa	Ducati

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

Flawless victory in Assen marks 100 Grand Prix wins for Rossi

Valentino Rossi, once again, gave the master class in Grand Prix racing, as he dominated the Assen TT and brought home his 100th GP victory in classic Rossi style. The first two laps saw 3 different race leaders with Rossi, Stoner and Lorenzo teasing us with another epic battle, but it was not to be. Rossi pulled ahead and enjoyed a pressure-free race leaving Lorenzo and Stoner well spaced-out to claim 2nd and 3rd respectively. A full 23 seconds separated Rossi and Stoner - evidence of the total domination displayed by the Italian uber-racer.

The real action today was the race for 6-12. James Toseland, Randy De Puniet, Mika Kallio, Nicky Hayden, Toni Elias and Loris Capirossi absolutely battled for position - bumping, grinding, swapping paint and pushing one another off track several times. I think every rider in that group suffered an off-track excursion at some point during today's race. The biggest disappointment was Mika Kallio who rode an outstanding race, swapping licks with James Toseland for 6th place, which would have been his best finish yet in his MotoGP career..... had he not crashed out on the last turn before the finish line. Nicky Hayden bettered his best by finishing 9th this session - maybe he's finally getting a handle on that big red Duc.

Repsol Honda had a disastrous day starting with Dani Pedrosa crashing out on the third lap and finding themselves out of the points all together as Dovizioso followed suit several laps later. Bad luck for Repsol, but no injuries reported so we will be seeing them next week at Laguna.

All-in-all, it was a race for the books - not a head-to-head battle, but a smooth, effortless, landmark victory for Valentino Rossi - a man that has landed himself amongst the ranks of the legends and proven himself the best Grand Prix racer the world has ever seen.

1	V. Rossi	Yamaha
2	J. Lorenzo	Yamaha
3	C. Stoner	Ducati
4	C. Edwards	Yamaha
5	C. Vermeulen	Suzuki
6	J. Toseland	Yamaha
7	R. De Puniet	Honda
8	T. Elias	Honda
9	N. Hayden	Ducati
10	L. Capirossi	Suzuki
11	A. de Angelis	Honda
12	M. Melandri	Kawasaki
13	S. Gibernau	Ducati
14	N. Canepa	Ducati
15	Y. Takahashi	Honda
16	G. Talmacsi	Honda

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

Epic shoot-out yields victory for Rossi at Catalunya

In a race that will no doubt be included in highlight reels for years to come, Valentino Rossi eeked out a win over Jorge Lorenzo at Catalunya in a last second, last corner overtaking that had over 90,000 fans on their feet and at least two announcers on the floor of the booth.

Today is what MotoGP racing is all about. Lorenzo and Rossi put on a superb show that will not soon be forgotten. Veteran Valentino swapped licks with rookie Jorge Lorenzo until the bitter end - landing Rossi in the top spot with only .095s of a margin over Lorenzo - and making his 99th premier class victory well-earned and hard fought.

Casey Stoner who had been ill over the past few days, nearly rode himself to death wrestling the big red Duc over the line for a third place finish. Visibly weak from what was reported later to be severe dehydration, Casey stepped off the bike and was immediately escorted to the garage and tended to by the circuit physician. I believe it took all the strength he could muster to make it to the podium ceremony.... where he looked like he could drop at any moment. Good on ya Casey..... once again, a lesser rider would have hung it up or not even started in his condition, and he still pulled out a third place finish. The list of adversity this kid rides through seems to grow with every race, and yet he has not fallen out of the top three in the overall standings. Impressive.

Andrea Dovizioso ran a superb race and found himself right on the heels of the big dogs again, coming in fourth. Teammate Dani Pedrosa ran a brave race on painkiller injections for his hip, in which he has seperated the muscle from the bone. He finished an extremely respectable 6th.

Loris racked up another top ten spot for Rizla Suzuki finishing 5th with teammate Chris Vermeulen rolling in just outside in 11th. Colin Edwards finished a solid 7th followed by De Puniet in a slightly-better-than-typical 8th postition. Mika Kallio smacked down some talent and found himself reaping the satisfaction of a 9th place finish, and Nicky Hayden scored his best finish so far this season for Marlboro Ducati rounding out the ten fastest riders on the track.

Yuki Takahashi had another disappointing DNF after crashing out on the first lap. There are whispers of concern over his fate with Scot Racing Honda Team - especially after the last-minute addition of Hungarian rider Gabor Talmacsi to their paddock. Gabor is apparently quite the accomplished 125cc rider (7 years if I remember correctly - and yes, I am too lazy to look it up right now) who landed in the 250 class and was subsequently sh*t canned a month ago by Balatonring. Although further chatter reveals that Honda is not likely to release it's only Japanese rider, me thinks Yuki better nail it down for a few races.

Bridgestone debuted their first line of asymmetrical, dual compound "tyres" at Catalunya. Very interesting concept and apparently quite effective as well. The circuit has 8 right hand turns, and only 5 left hand turns, which prompted Bridgestone to wow us with a crooked tire that would result in more consistant wear. Genius in it's simplicity.

Okay, this is getting out of hand, and it's nearly Beer : 30 - feast your eyes on the results. If you haven't already watched the race, watch it... then watch it again... and I bet you'll wanna see it one more time after that (consecutively of course...cause it was that good!).

The Assen TT will run on June 27th - with a THREE WAY TIE for first place in the championship standing among Rossi, Lorenzo and Stoner - we will no longer be on speaking terms if you miss it.

1	V. Rossi	Yamaha
2	J. Lorenzo	Yamaha
3	C. Stoner	Ducati
4	A. Dovizioso	Honda
5	L. Capirossi	Suzuki
6	D. Pedrosa	Honda
7	C. Edwards	Yamaha
8	R. De Puniet	Honda
9	M. Kallio	Ducati
10	N. Hayden	Ducati
11	C. Vermeulen	Suzuki
12	A. de Angelis	Honda
13	J. Toseland	Yamaha
14	M. Melandri	Kawasaki
15	S. Gibernau	Ducati
16	N. Canepa	Ducati
17	G. Talmacsi	Honda

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

Wet - Dry Victory for Stoner in Mugello

Mugello began as what looked like a nightmare repeat of Le Mans as the sign was held up at the flag stand declaring it a wet race. However, it seems the Kings learned their lessons two weeks ago and were much better prepared for what was to come.

Jorge Lorenzo suffered the idignity of crashing out on the sighting lap, so he began his race on his back-up bike with quite a shot to his confidence (and dirty leathers). Dani Pedrosa was riding with yet another physical compromise as he somehow managed to tear ligaments in his hip resulting in a sudden loss of feeling at one point yesterday, and a subsequent crash during the race today. He was rendered completely immobile after becoming unseated and was removed from the gravel trap on a stretcher.

The race was indeed an exciting one. The switch to dry set ups went rather smoothly (as opposed to Le Mans) however the conditions created quite an interesting mix of race leaders. We even saw Loris Capirossi lead the way after overtaking Valentino in a power-move that seemed to stop the Suzuki garage in it's tracks - it's entertaining to see a team surprise themselves. Marco Melandri was podium bound for several laps too as he made a triumphant come back from a 15th place start. Ultimately, my favorite pseudo-Saki jockey was swallowed up by the pack and remanded to 11th place by race end.

Andrea Dovizioso put on quite the show by taking the lead for several laps as well. He turned out to be quite the formidable opponent, running with the "big dogs" for enough laps to prove he meant it, and finally just missing the podium as he crossed the line a hair off Rossi's back tire - fantastic effort by the rookie!!

Jorge Lorenzo found his confidence, his pace and his way back to the podium finishing second. But it was Casey Stoner who stole the show in Italy giving Ducati their first win in the Mother Land - and making it all happen with a burned out clutch. Dammit boy!!

Feast your eyes on the results posted below and get ready for some hard core racing in Catalunya in two weeks time. Casey is back on top in the championship standings after today's win. With Rossi and Lorenzo nipping at the heels of his Alpinestars, nobody is running away with the championship so far..... which means it only gets better from here!!

1	C. Stoner	Ducati
2	J. Lorenzo	Yamaha
3	V. Rossi	Yamaha
4	A. Dovizioso	Honda
5	L. Capirossi	Suzuki
6	C. Edwards	Yamaha
7	J. Toseland	Yamaha
8	R. De Puniet	Honda
9	N. Canepa	Ducati
10	C. Vermeulen	Suzuki
11	M. Melandri	Kawasaki
12	N. Hayden	Ducati
13	M. Kallio	Ducati
14	T. Elias	Honda
15	A. de Angelis	Honda

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

Pedrosa snags pole at Le Mans

Dani Pedrosa will start closest to the finish line in tomorrow's Grand Prix De France. Joining him on the front row are Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo and Ducati Marlboro superstar, Casey Stoner. Where's Rossi?? Never fear, he qualified fourth and will share his second row start with Andrea Dovizioso and former teammate Colin Edwards - who by the way was brilliant in both FP rounds as well this week.

FP1 was marred by rain on Thursday and ironically cut short after being bumped back up to an hour-long session. FP2 was run for the full hour, and probably very exciting, although I missed it, so I can only report to you that Sete Gibernau suffered yet another collar bone fracture as a result of a one-for-the-books high side and is subsequently out of the race tomorrow . Here's to the fast and flawless [recovery] Gibbers - we'll miss you tomorrow!

Randy DePuniet qualified in the 10th position as a result of today's round. He is coming in strong after a fourth place finish in Motegi, and may have pushed just a little too hard amidst the cheers from his hometown crowd. He lost the front end of his Honda coming out of the finish line stretch into the fastest corner on the Le Mans circuit. They estimated he went down at nearly 160 mph. His bike was reduced to confetti, but his recovery was amazingly graceful. He never stopped his forward motion from the slide, got his feet under him, ran for the bike, abandoned the bike (after a .0005 second assesment of the damage), jumped the tire wall and made his way back to the garage where his back-up bike was waiting for him.

Marco Melandri washed out in the same corner on his pseudo-Kawasaki Hayate racing machine. He too got back on and finished the round, resulting in a 9th place start for tomorrow. It sucks to see man and machine hurdling off the track at triple digits - what sucks worse is the fact that Melandri and his pit crew have to salvage as many parts as possible from the downed machine in order to be able to continue racing - due to lack of factory support. I'll stop there before this gets ugly :)

Rizla Suzuki's pair, Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi made the top ten today and will start 7th and 8th respectively. Mika Kallio slapped down some very impressive times early on in the session, but was only able to finally eek out a 14th place start on the grid - still watching that kid (I'm sayin'..... mad skillz.... seriously).

Nicky Hayden is working with a new crew chief. The paddock chatter reveals that this should lead to better communication and overall improvement for Nick - aaaaand GO!

Okay - before this write-up shotguns itself any further into the depths of asshattery, here is the official starting order for tomorrow. I'm off to find some trouble to get into - cause that's what I do best!

1	D. Pedrosa	Honda
2	J. Lorenzo	Yamaha
3	C. Stoner	Ducati
4	V. Rossi	Yamaha
5	A. Dovizioso	Honda
6	C. Edwards	Yamaha
7	C. Vermeulen	Suzuki
8	L. Capirossi	Suzuki
9	M. Melandri	Kawasaki
10	R. De Puniet	Honda
11	T. Elias	Honda
12	J. Toseland	Yamaha
13	N. Hayden	Ducati
14	M. Kallio	Ducati
15	Y. Takahashi	Honda
16	N. Canepa	Ducati

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

Jerez qualifying results

It was an interesting finish to a wind-swept qualifying practice in Jerez. Nothing too drastic in the crash-and-burn department - no devastating agricultural excursions to speak of. I guess we can start with the absence of Valentino Rossi on the front row for tomorrow's race. He will be starting on the second row of the grid with Randy DePuniet (YAY Randy!) and MotoGP veteran Loris Capirossi bringing it home for Rizla Suzuki.

Tomorrow's battle will begin as a duel between the Spaniards Jorge Lorenzo (pole) and Dani Pedrosa - not the "best of friends" as it were. Casey Stoner and his Ducati complete the front row line up as teammate Nicky Hayden sits back in 16th position. The next fastest qualifyer for Ducati was Sete Gibernau who will start 12th - the rest of them 16th (Nick), 17th (Kallio), and 18th (Canepa) - che cosa succede Ducati???

Casey's bike did appear to be all over the place this morning, rowing violently out of the corners. He's certainly not opposed to riding a spastic machine, exciting, yes, but it does not usually bode well for winning races.

Randy DePuniet gave a smashing performance hitting the board in 5th - as Randy many times does - during QUALIFYING. When do we get to see him repeat the performance on race day? With Le Mans coming up in a couple of weeks, it would be nice to see him buff up his race-day performance for a shot at the podium at home.

Once again, we are in for an interesting race tomorrow. Hopefully by then the winds will have died down so we can see a race unchallenged by weather conditions - hell, the 125's were drilling holes in their fairings to keep from being blown off track.

Here are the full results of qualifying -

1	J. Lorenzo	Yamaha
2	D. Pedrosa	Honda
3	C. Stoner	Ducati
4	V. Rossi	Yamaha
5	R. DePuniet	Honda
6	L. Capirossi	Suzuki
7	C. Edwards	Yamaha
8	A. Dovizioso	Honda
9	T. Elias	Honda
10	C. Vermeulen	Suzuki
11	M. Melandri	Kawasaki
12	S. Gibernau	Ducati
13	Y. Takahashi	Honda
14	J. Toseland	Yamaha
15	A. de Angelis	Honda
16	N. Hayden	Ducati
17	M. Kallio	Ducati
18	N. Canepa	Ducati

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

MotoGP News - Motegi Results

This is what MotoGP racing is all about! What a fantastic showing by the Kings... hard-core, exciting racing. I decided not to run a spoiler on this race - only because it deserved to be watched first hand. If you watched it, I'm sure you'd agree - and, you're welcome :)

Yuki Takahashi bulldozed Nicky Hayden on the first lap... tragic!!! It was a rookie mistake by Takahashi, and Nicky took a righteous hit. He suffered a concusion and both were (obviously) out for the rest of the race. Colin Edwards' crew spent the race in "Time Out" after incorrectly mapping the bike.... oops. He ended up claiming the 12th spot at race end.

Honda!! There you are! After some initially dismal performances, the Honda paddocks have returned to the boards - two in the top 5, led by Dani Pedrosa who turned in a brilliant performance earning himself a well-deserved podium spot. Andrea Dovizioso pulled off a 5th place finish - solid display of skills.

Casey Stoner - out of the top three!?!? It boiled down to a problem with the front brakes - a setback that may have seen a lesser rider out of the top ten or retiring from the race all together, but Stoner soldiered on and pulled off an impressive 4th place finish.

Jorge Lorenzo.... WOW! He was on fire! He turned in an absolutely flawless performance and helped to make this one of the most exciting races we've seen in a long time. He and teammate Valentino Rossi held on to the top two spots for Fiat Yamaha. Good luck pulling this guy into the Repsol camp, Honda. There's no doubt that if he keeps on turning out races "Motegi Style", Fiat is not going to be willing to part with him.

Of course, I have to mention Marco Melandri and Hayate Racing. He finished a strong 6th with glimpses of the podium along the way. Good things will come to him - and so it is written :) I also have to throw in Mika - he finished a very respectable 8th this weekend - seriously, keep your eye on this kid.

One more thing.... John Hopkins, former Rizla Suzuki rider, turned World Superbike Stiggy Racing jockey, suffered a wicked high side in his Assen practice session this past weekend. He sustained a dislocated hip as a result (ouch!!). Here's wishing you a quick and flawless recovery Hopper!!

Okay, that'll do it for this round of crap-spewing by Kristen.... here are the results of Motegi. The Gathering of the Bullets will continue this weekend in Jerez

1	J. Lorenzo	Yamaha
2	V. Rossi	Yamaha
3	D. Pedrosa	Honda
4	C. Stoner	Ducati
5	A. Dovizioso	Honda
6	M. Melandri	Kawasaki
7	L. Capirossi	Suzuki
8	M. Kallio	Ducati
9	J. Toseland	Yamaha
10	C. Vermeulen	Suzuki
11	R. De Puniet	Honda
12	C. Edwards	Yamaha
13	A. de Angelis	Honda
14	N. Canepa	Ducati
15	T. Elias	Honda

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

MotoGP News - Motegi FP1 and a dirty rumor

I entertained myself in the wee hours of the morning this morning by watching the Kings zip around the Twin Rings for their first free practice. I know what you're thinking.... "Kristen, how do you do it? With your schedule rivaling that of the social elite.... where do you find the time?" It's just one of those sacrifices that are made for the love of the sport - the good of the regime, if you will. But I digress... (mostly because we all know that I only do it because I am that much of a dork).

I love the airing of the FP's!! This morning was no disappointment. Casey Stoner lit out of the paddock and laid down some unbelievable lap times. Each time he tripped the lights he was a little faster - as was Rossi. Stoner made a few mistakes which were evident in his wide turns and one trip to the gravel pit. That's what FP is for though. Jorge Lorenzo snuck in to the top 3 by the end of the 45 minute play-date. He was definitely on his game - solid riding indeed. The top 5 was rounded out by Chris Vermeulen and Colin Edwards.... nice to see them back at the top of the time sheets.

Surprisingly absent from the leaderboard was Honda. The best showing from them was Dovizioso who struggled into 7th - the closest runner-up was Toni Elias, in 9th. What's happening Honda? For years they have been one of the top rides in the paddock. It appears lately that they are slipping, while Suzuki has rifled up the boards, keeping company with the Yams and Ducs.

Marco Melandri did a splendid job with his Kaw finishing up in the top 10 (eighth) - I can't help but to smile for him after all the crap he's been through. Dani Pedrosa - well, Dani, I understand there are still some unhealed wounds there - further aggravated by your little brush with de Angelis in Qatar, so we'll consider 11th a small victory. Nicky, your still riding with stitches in your chest after your righteous bin in Qatar, so there's your free pass for your 12th place spot. Even though you seem to be struggling with your Duc (holy typo!! If not for the backspace key and proofreading that little statement could have been a disaster!).

Mika Kallio - I like this kid!! - wiped out hard during practice. The camera didn't catch the entire episode, but it was a wicked high side, and almost looked as if his legs got tangled in the wheel. He refused the stretcher and walked (limped) off on his own and was back on track by the end of practice... scuffed leathers and all. There is a certain quiet confidence about Mika that I like. I'm keeping my eye on him this season.

James Toseland just eeked into the top ten aboard his Monster Tech3 machine. I have not followed James' career up until he made his appearance in MotoGP, so this is purely off-the-cuff (in other words, no throwing rotten fruit) but his riding style appears to be a bit scattered. He is very twitchy on the bike - almost like high-speed ADD.

As for the rumor, it was whispered that Repsol is winking at Jorge Lorenzo from a dark corner, looking to him as a possible replacement for Dani Pedrosa. I personally think that Jorge has a pretty solid seat and a world of opportunity with Fiat Yamaha (even with the pit wall in place). Who knows? The "Shifting of the Contracts" is just another one of those things that keeps this sport interesting.

Okay, enough of my yammering.... below are the results of FP1. I will once again shift my chaotic social schedule around so that I can feast my eyes upon qualifying around 1 tomorrow morning. I just made me laugh.

1	V. Rossi	Yamaha
2	C. Stoner	Ducati
3	J. Lorenzo	Yamaha
4	C. Vermeulen	Suzuki
5	C. Edwards	Yamaha
6	L. Capirossi	Suzuki
7	A. Dovizioso	Honda
8	M. Melandri	Kawasaki
9	T. Elias	Honda
10	J. Toseland	Yamaha
11	D. Pedrosa	Honda
12	N. Hayden	Ducati
13	Y. Takahashi	Honda
14	S. Gibernau	Ducati
15	A. de Angelis	Honda
16	R. De Puniet	Honda
17	M. Kallio	Ducati
18	N. Canepa	Ducati

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

MotoGP News - Qatar results

The first MotoGP race of the 2009 season in Qatar is now history. It was a good race, not a great race. Casey Stoner rode a brilliant race from grid to flag. He was never even challenged by Rossi, who finished second - over 7 seconds off Casey's pace. Another 3+ seconds behind Rossi, his teammate, Jorge Lorenzo crossed the line in 3rd.

Marco Melandri, riding for team Hayate was well into the action until he ran wide and off the track. He caught up to the tailers of the race, and claimed a few positions before the end of the race. James Toseland was a victim of the same mistake, running wide and taking an unplanned agricultural excursion, but he stayed astride and finished as well - although out of the points. The only rider to crash out was Loris Capirossi who suffered a spectacular low side mid-race.

Dani Pedrosa, who is still healing from his winter surgery on his left knee, was nailed by Alex DeAngelis during a corner pass. He clung to his bike like a champion, recovered his composure, banged his lever back into place and finished his race like a true professional. Obviously spooked by the close call, and most likely re-injured from the concussion that pinched his injured leg between the two bikes, Pedrosa was overtaken several more times, finishing just ahead of his former teammate, Nicky Hayden, 11th and 12th respectively.

DeAngelis made his way to 6th before the crossing the finish line, Dovizioso landed 5th, and Colin Edwards, who rode an absolutely solid, clean race on his Monster sponsored Yamaha (which, I might add, is sporting a rockin' paint scheme this year!) finished 4th.

All in all, a good race, worth the extra 22 hour wait. It can only get better from here!! 13 days from today, the boys will hammer out the Twin Rings of Motegi. Here are the finalized results from Race one in Qatar:

1	C. Stoner	Ducati
2	V. Rossi	Yamaha
3	J. Lorenzo	Yamaha
4	C. Edwards	Yamaha
5	A. Dovizioso	Honda
6	A. De Angelis	Honda
7	C. Vermeulen	Suzuki
8	M. Kallio	Ducati
9	T. Elias	Honda
10	R. De Puniet	Honda
11	D. Pedrosa	Honda
12	N. Hayden	Ducati
13	S. Gibernau	Ducati
14	M. Melandri	Kawasaki
15	Y. Takahashi	Honda

Until next time....

Rubb'er Down

Kristen

Qatar Canceled

The first race of the 2009 season in Qatar has been canceled due to weather conditions. The 125 class ran only 4 laps before it was red flagged for rain. The result was a half-point race. 45 minutes later, the kings of MotoGP were on the grid, 2 minutes from starting the first race of the season, and the rains came. Qatar is in the middle of the desert, where it rains only 4 or 5 days a year. The races there are run under the lights in order to escape the extreme desert heat of the day. Because of the primarily dry conditions, there is no drainage on the track. On top of that, the lights that are required for the racers to run at night, reflect on the wet track and create a white-out effect. So, ultimately, it was an impossible race to run.

Nicky Hayden, who was injured yesterday during qualifying, did show up for the race, appeared relieved, as did Dani Pedrosa, who is still healing from his winter-break surgeries on his knee.

As it stands now, the officials are discussing possibly running the race tomorrow. This is posing a problem with riders and team members who have flights booked to leave Qatar tomorrow and head for Japan for race 2. Updates will be posted as they become available.

Until next time ....

Rubb'er Down :)

Kristen

MotoGP News - Rough Day for Dani and Nicky

Qualifying proved interesting indeed yesterday. The end result found Casey Stoner and his Ducati Marlboro machine taking pole, followed closely by Valentino Rossi aboard his Fiat Yamaha beast. The top three was rounded off by Vale's teammate, Spaniard, Jorge Lorenzo. The second row starters will be Loris Capriossi, dropping the hammer for Rizla Suzuki, Colin Edwards, piloting the newly sponsored Monster Yamaha (Tech 3) and Randy dePuniet on his as-of-yet-unrashed LCR Honda, sponsored by Playboy.

Repsol Honda's anchor rider, Dani Pedrosa, struggled through qualifying, landing in 14th. Dani is still healing from the surgeries he had over the winter break. His knee is not 100% healed, and it showed. Nicky Hayden was not entirely on his game. As he tried to wrestle his Duc into submission towards the end of the QP session, he had a horrific high speed high-side. He was carted off track on a stretcher and is undergoing a round of x-rays due to the extreme back pain he is experiencing. His participation in the premier race this afternoon has not yet been decided.

Until next time ....

Rubb'er Down :)

MotoGP News - Pedrosa, Stoner and Monster

Dani Pedrosa has flown home to Spain after a fairly serious crash at Qatar during testing. His injuries will require surgery; a screw for the fractured radius bone in his left arm, and surgery/ skin graft for his now further damaged left knee. I know I poke fun at the Pud a lot, but I hate to see a rider down.... so here's wishing you a fast and flawless recovery Dani. You are a formidable opponent on track and make for some interesting races.

In other Qatar-related news (that's about all there is now anyway), Stoner topped the timesheets early and maintained his standing even though he completed fewer laps than any of the other riders, proving he has not lost his edge through the winter break despite his recent wrist surgery. Valentino rolled in just under Casey. The top five was rounded out by Nicky Hayden on his new Duc (appears to be settling in quite well!), Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki.. GET IT old man!!!) and Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) respectively. Marco on his last-minute-Kawasaki-effort machine ended up 16th on the sheets for Hayate Racing, over 3 seconds off of Casey's pace.

Monster Energy Drink has agreed to sponsor Tech 3 Yamaha for the 2009 season (and beyond). They have now been dubbed Monster Yamaha Tech3, and the infamous M Claw will adorn the rockets piloted by Colin Edwards and James Toseland. They also scored a small sticker on Rossi's helmet in a personal sponsorship deal - which is relatively old news, but I thought I'd throw it in here anyway as fodder.

Ducati ran the first tests on their new swing arm design, and got the basic thumbs-up. They admit it's going to take some fine tuning, but judging by the lap times for both Nicky and Casey, I don't think it will need much. Valentino reports that he is generally happy with his machine in these early stages, as is his teammate Jorge.

April 12th is right around the corner (but still can't frickin come fast enough for me) and with all the drama, rule changes, last minute seatings (ah hem... Kawasaki) and rookies in the field, this will no doubt be a fantastically entertaining season.

Until next time ....

Rubb'er Down :)

Kristen

MotoGP News - Redemption for Kawasaki

My last entry, in response to Kawasaki pulling the plug on MotoGP (a claimed financial decision) and effectively shit-canning Marco Melandri (who they had just spent 9 months negotiating OUT of the Ducati camp) ended like this....

"So, here's hoping that things will turn around... and Marco... you best be straddling a bullet in some last-minute contract signing, and lead us all to believe that this was just a bold PR stunt.... cause I DON'T LIKE IT!!!"

Until next time ....

Shortly after I posted this, Kawasaki made big news by posting the largest contigency in road-racing history.... 1.8 Million. This announcement was followed by a press release jam-packed with compliments and ass-patting from the road-racing world, showering Kawasaki with praise of their superior dedication to racing and rock-hard support. WHAT???? Not one word was mentioned about them jumping ship on MotoGP and Marco. This made sense (thank you captain obvious) as an internally written press release would never highlight a BAD move. But seriously, let us not rub salt into an open wound.

Tuesday evening I was blinded by trickery and fooled into watching Superbikes on SpeedTV. Not a big fan of the show to begin with, I watched with little to no enthusiasm. My attention was caught when the highlight of the next segment showed a track trial. I know!!! I didn't believe it either, but they were actually riding... really riding.. no endos or wheelies, no deflated tires or hubcap sized sprockets. They were on a track, draggin' knees and opening up down the back stretch..... ON KAWASAKIS. There was a pounding in my head equivalent to waking after a three day drinking binge 6 inches from an operational jackhammer under an F-16 engine at full thrust... or it may have been a mild stroke. Tomato - Tomahhto.

They fed Melandri to the wolves after talking him out of his solid contract with Ducati to put him on a sub-par machine. Then made history with the gobs of money they put up for contigency, patted themselves on the back with their own cleverly disguised press release.. then Superbikes airs with it's tribute to Kawasaki... who paid to fly in/accomodate easily a dozen test riders from various publications.... to Japan. The hole just kept getting deeper.

Today..... redemption. They came to their senses and negotiated for a one-man team to ride in MotoGP in '09. Marco Melandri. The negotiations were reportedly prompted by "the simultaneous necessity to come to a constructive solution for all related parties." ..... that and the severed horse head with the anonymous love letter stapled to it.

I think it was very diplomatic of them to word that so gently. Good for you Kawasaki.....

Until next time ....

Rubb'er Down :)

Kristen

General update and some finger wagging!

MotoGP riders and rockets have been resting up during the winter ban, and are now ready to begin again for the first test session of 09 in Sepang on Thursday.

Yamaha will officially unveil their new livery of YZR-M1's on Monday for all the world to see.

Kawasaki... you SUCK!! I am indeed wagging my finger of shame at you! Last month, it was announced (after torrents of rumors) that Kawasaki was pulling out of MotoGP. Okay, I get it, the economy sucks, it's expensive to run a MotoGP season, the particular bikes that are run in MotoGP are not marketable to the public (as opposed to the AMA bikes).... you have many viable reasons for evaporating from the competition.

The reason you are getting the finger of shame is Marco Melandri. For nine months, Kawasaki wheeled and dealed to pull Marco from his Ducati contract, only to pull the plug on MotoGP a couple of months after they signed him. WTF?? Randy deP found his way into the Honda paddock and secured a ride for this season, but Marco... CLEARLY a world-class rider has been thrown to the wolves!! Not cool Kawasaki... not cool.

Not only does this unseat one of the better riders in the circuit, but it narrows the field down to 17 riders... which, according to the rules, are not enough riders to warrant a racing season. No doubt, nerves are a little frazzled, but I don't think for a second that they can't scratch up another bike for a satellite team and perch a rider on it to fill in the gap and complete the necessary 18 rider field.

STILL!!! How bad does this suck?? Honda has already pulled out of F1, and at least one of the other teams (which escapes me at the moment) has cut less-popular sanctioned events from their itinerary (such as Motocross and Motorcycle Trials) all in the interest of the dwindling budget.

I find it all very disturbing. I must admit, I felt extremely defeated for a moment when I learned of the 18 rider rule and discovered that as-of-yet there are only 17. I would go NUTS without my season of MotoGP!

So, here's hoping that things will turn around... and Marco... you best be straddling a bullet in some last-minute contract signing, and lead us all to believe that this was just a bold PR stunt.... cause I DON'T LIKE IT!!!

Until next time ....

Rubb'er Down :)

Kristen