On a day that saw all three classes of the MotoGP™ World Championship come up against the worst weather condition seen so far this season at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans, it was Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo who retook the championship lead as he dominated in tricky conditions. He finished ahead of Ducati Team’s Valentino Rossi, who recorded his and the Italian outfit’s best result since joining them last season.

At the start of the race it was however Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa who got off to one of his trademark starts followed closely by teammate Casey Stoner. Their lead was short lived, as Lorenzo charged past the pair and instantly pulled out a gap. Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow also made a good start in fourth, followed by a surging Rossi in fifth.

It was heartache for the French fans from the beginning as Power Electronics Aspar’s local rider Randy de Puniet dropped his bike on the grid, and had to head out on his spare one. Near the front, Rossi soon moved past Crutchlow to take fourth, with Dovizioso following suit almost instantly. Avintia Blusens’ Iván Silva’s race was ended early as he fell foul of the wet conditions, crashing out of the race in the opening stages.

With Lorenzo building a three second lead, Stoner pushed past Pedrosa to chase down his championship rival. Pedrosa seemed to struggling on the wet surface, with Rossi capitalising on this to take third with 21 laps left. The Tech3 pair passed Pedrosa even further down the order as they looked to hunt down Rossi.

Towards the back, Lorenzo’s teammate Ben Spies was struggling and had a wobble at the end of turn two, shortly after which he entered the pits. Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham retired with 17 laps to go, with NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s replacement rider Chris Vermeulen also having to come in for a helmet change.

As Lorenzo was maintaining his lead around the three-second mark ahead of Stoner, it was the ensuing tussle for third between Crutchlow, Dovizioso and Rossi that was providing some breath-taking overtaking in horrific conditions. Ten laps before the end it was misery for Crutchlow as he lost the front in the first chicane, leaving the two Italians to fight it out for the final podium spot, with Rossi taking third just two corners later. The Brit managed to restart his bike and re-join in eighth. Meanwhile, Lorenzo had extended his lead to six seconds at the front with Stoner a further four seconds ahead of Rossi.

With five laps to go Stoner was held up slightly by Avintia’s Yonny Hernandez, who was being lapped, allowing Rossi to get to within half a second of the Australian world champion. Two laps later, Dovizioso crashed out of fourth tying to stick with the pair, while down the field Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci crashed out of 11th.

The last three laps gave MotoGP fans a racing delight, as old adversaries Stoner and Rossi swapped positions throughout. It was however Rossi who looked back to his old self as he passed Stoner in the first chicane on the last lap, after which he pulled out a lead big enough to secure second.

At the end it was Lorenzo who took the chequered flag to take an eight-point lead at the top of the championship ahead of Stoner, who came home in third. Pedrosa managed fourth, while LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl recorded his best ever result in fifth, ahead or Rossi’s teammate Nicky Hayden. Dovizioso, who managed to re-join after crashing, finished seventh ahead of his teammate Crutchlow, while Pramac Racing’s Héctor Barberá and San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista completed the top ten. Paul Bird Motorsport’s James Ellison put in a great performance to finish as top CRT in 11th.

Moto2

Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi put in a tremendous ride to take his season-first victory at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans amid difficult conditions in a dramatic Moto2™ race.

Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Pol Espargaró got the best start as he stormed into the lead along with Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding. The first chicane proved difficult as Came IodaRacing Project’s Simone Corsi was bucked off his bike, with the trio of NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Yuki Takahashi, GP Team Switzerland’s Randy Krummenacher and S/Master Speed Up’s Mike Di Meglio taking each other out a few corners later.

Espargaró was trying to pull away at the front, but Lüthi and Redding were closely on his heels, with Tech 3 Racing’s Bradley Smith and Federal Oil Gresini Moto2’s Gino Rea in tow. Takahashi’s teammate Alex de Angelis survived a scare as he slid back onto the track after coming off his bike, with the Moto2 pack doing tremendously well to avoid the rider.

Just as Rea looked to making headway, JiR Moto2’s Johann Zarco went up the inside, clipping the Brit’s front wheel, and sending him into the gravel, putting an end to his first race on the new Suter chassis. Meanwhile, Italtrans Racing Team’s Claudio Corti joined the front five, with Speed Master compatriot Andrea Iannone surging up the field as well.

With 17 laps to go, Espargaró ran wide, handing the lead to Lüthi and dropping into ninth in the process. Smith also had a run off track, but managed to re-join in 14th. Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Márquez, who did not have a terrific start, was fighting his way up to the front five, as he tussled with rain-specialist Zarco.

Drama followed shortly after as the Spanish championship leader went down after loosing control of his bike, and being unable to re-join. This left Zarco to challenge for a podium, and the Frenchman soon pushed past Redding into second, followed by Corti, who put in a bold move on the Brit. With 13 laps to go, Lüthi had pulled out a lead of just over three seconds.

Arguiñano Racing Team’s Ricard Cardús suffered a heavy high-side half way through the race, yet fortunately walked away unscathed. Further down the field, Espargaró was struggling to make up positions, as he was overtaken in eighth place by QMMF Racing Team’s Anthony West, who was showing his usual prowess in the rain.

Di Meglio, who had re-joined the race after his early crash, lost control of his bike once again with nine laps to go, putting an end to his race. He was followed shortly by Corti’s teammate Takaaki Nakagami who had a high-speed crash heading into the back chicane. With six laps left, Zarco had cut the lead to Lüthi to under a second, whilst West went past Blusens Avintia’s Julián Simón into sixth. West’s teammate Elena Rosell was not faring as well as the Australian, as she crashed out of the race.

French heartache soon followed, as Zarco lost the back-end of his bike as he continued to push hard in the wet, handing second place to Corti and third to Redding. The main tussle in the pack was for sixth place with Redding’s teammate Kallio, West, Espargaró, Simón and Smith swapping positions in the final few laps. The unpredictability of the race was to continue until the final corner as Smith dropped his bike in the last turn, and Simón having to push his bike across the finish line due to an electrical fault.

It was however Lüthi who put in a stunning ride to take the chequered flag ahead of Corti, who recorded his first ever podium, and Redding in third, recording his first podium for 22 races. Rounding out the top ten were Iannone, Kallio, Espargaró, West, Kiefer Racing’s Max Neukirchner, Thai Honda Gresini’s Ratthapark Wilairot as well as Smith, who managed to salvage a few points.

Moto3

In the Moto3™ race of the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans, it was Frenchman Louis Rossi who kept his nerve to take his first ever win in treacherous conditions in front of his home crowd.

In a race that started in extremely wet conditions, it was Blusens Avintia’s Maverick Viñales who got away best, with AirAsia-SIC-Ajo’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin also making a tremendous start from 10th into second. JHK T-Shirt Laglisse’s Efrén Vázquez, who was second on the grid, suffered mechanical issues on the out-lap and was unable to start the race.

There were crashes early on as RW Racing GP’s Brad Binder took out TT Motion Events Racing’s Niklas Ajo, which was followed up shortly after with IodaRacing Project’s Jonas Folger and local rider, Caretta Technology’s Alexis Masbou, sliding off into the gravel.

Back at the front it was Bankia Aspar Team’s Héctor Faubel and RW Racing GP’s Luis Salom that went into the lead, as Viñales dropped off the pace slightly. However the conditions continued to take their toll, as Team Italia FMI’s Romano Fenati suffered a similar fate to last race as he also lost control of his bike, putting an end to his first French race. Technomag-CIP-TSR’s Kenta Fujii repeated his morning warm-up crash, rounding out a less than ideal day for the Japanese rider.

With 18 laps to go, a five-some of Faubel, Salom, Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta’s Jakub Kornfeil, Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Miguel Oliveira and Viñales were involved in an entertaining battle for podium positions. In the following laps, further casualties of the weather were Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Danny Kent, Mahindra Racing’s Danny Webb, Ambrogio Next Racing’s Simone Grotzkyj and Caretta Technology’s Jack Miller, while Fenati’s teammate Alessandro Tonucci had to retire to the pits with a mechanical problem.

With 11 laps to go there was drama at the front as Faubel crashed out of first position, with Kornfeil crashing out of third a few seconds later, handing the first three places to Oliveira, Viñales and Rossi. Half a lap later, Salom followed suit as he slid off into the gravel in ever worsening conditions.

As a thrilling fight for fourth ensued between Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Sandro Cortese and Khairuddin, there was further turmoil at the front, as the surging Oliveira crashed out of the lead, handing the reigns to Viñales, who was being hunted down by Rossi.

This lasted for a lap only, as Viñales threw himself of his bike in the final corner, followed shortly by Khairuddin. The Malaysian managed to keep his bike going, while the race was over for the Spaniard. This left Frenchman Rossi in the lead by over 20 seconds, much to the delight of the home crowd, with Cortese and Bankia Aspar’s Alberto Moncayo in podium positions. Three laps before the end Cortese lost the front going into the first chicane, yet managed to keep the bike going to re-join in sixth, with Oliveira’s teammate Alex Rins slipping into third with San Carlo Gresini Moto3’s Niccolo Antonelli on his tail.

In the end it was Rossi who made the Le Mans grandstands cheer with delight as he took his first ever victory by a margin of 28 seconds in front of Moncayo and Rins. Antonelli could not quite challenge for the podium finishing fourth, in front of Red Bull KTM Ajo duo of Arthur Sissis and Cortese and Moto FGR’s Jasper Iwema.

Source: motogp.com

MotoGP

MotoGP™ returns this weekend at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, where Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner will look to extend his lead at the top of the championship standings.

He will face stiff competition from his teammate Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo, who have been the only three racers to stand on the podium this season. They have already cemented themselves as one of the greatest rivalries in the 64-year history of the sport, having shared the podium a record 16 times – four more than any other trio in the past.

Le Mans, which will host the Grand Prix for the 55th time this weekend, also sees Stoner chasing his 19th successive podium. Having won the last two races, and showing clear signs of recovery from his arm pump problem, he remains the man to beat. Lorenzo, only one point behind the Australian in the standings, has been the most consistent challenger so far and will be looking to get one over on the current World Champion at a track where he has won twice already in the premier class.

Pedrosa on the other hand, who recorded his 100th podium finish last time out at Estoril, will be looking to get his first win of the season at a track where he has not yet won in the top category. Monster Yamaha Tech 3 pair Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso have so far provided some great inter-team battles and will be aiming to not only out-do one another once again, but to find that extra bit of pace to catch up to the front three.

Ducati Team pair Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden, who both had mixed fortunes last time out, will be heading to the French track with optimism after Rossi recorded his best Ducati result this season in seventh. Having finished 26 seconds behind race winner Stoner, this was the closest any Ducati rider has finished to the race winner since Rossi’s seventh place finish at Misano last year. The Italian will also hold fond memories of the French track, as Le Mans was the setting for Rossi’s sole podium last year.

Honda satellite riders, San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista and LCR Honda MotoGP’s rookie Stefan Bradl will look to build on their solid performances so far this year, while Pramac Racing’s Héctor Barberá on-board his satellite Ducati will look to improve on his 10th place at Estoril. Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham has not finished a race this season so far and will hope to turn his fortunes around.

After suffering a broken left collarbone in Estoril qualifying, NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards will be replaced by 2007 Le Mans race-winner Chris Vermeulen, making his first MotoGP appearance since 2009. Power Electronics Aspar pair Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaró will be gunning for top CRT honour once more, with de Puniet having the added motivation of Le Mans being his home track.

San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Michele Pirro and Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci will once again hope for a solid performance, while Speed Master’s Mattia Pasini, Paul Bird Motorsport’s James Ellison and Avintia Blusens pair Yonny Hernandez and Iván Silva will look to reverse their fortunes this time out and complete the race.

Moto2

Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Márquez will continue his quest at the top of the Moto2™ championship at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans this weekend, a track where he took his first ever intermediate-class victory last year, as Toni Elías makes his 200th GP start.

Márquez, who has so far won two out of three races, will once again be looking to hold off the challenge from Pons 40 HP Tuenti compatriot Pol Espargaró, who has been in tremendous form this season, providing one of the most thrilling last-lap battles ever with Márquez last time out in Estoril.

Hot on their heels will be Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi, who has been consistently on the pace, yet not quite able to pip the Spanish pair to a win. However, all eyes will be on JiR Moto2’s French rookie Johann Zarco, who has shone since entering the class this year. His performances in the wet, and a fourth place finish at Estoril will no doubt have the crowd hoping for that next step onto the podium.

One Frenchman who knows about winning at Le Mans in S/Master Speed Up’s Mike Di Meglio, who was the last French winner at the track in 2008 aboard a 125cc Derbi machine. After crashing out in the last race, Di Meglio will be hoping to recapture some of that 2008 form.

2010 Moto2 World Champion, Mapfre Aspar Team’ Toni Elías, will be setting a significant milestone this weekend, as the race marks his 200th GP start, while Tech3 Racing’s Bradley Smith will reach 100. Both riders have not been as high up the order as they had hoped so far this season, but with a seventh for Elías and a 10th place for Smith at Estoril, both will be looking to build on those results.

Others to watch will be Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone, who has had mixed performances since his close second at the opening round in Qatar, as well as Marc VDS Racing Team pair Scott Redding and Mika Kallio, NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex de Angelis and Tech3’s Xavier Simeon.

Moto3

After taking KTM’s first ever win in the Moto3™ class last time out at Estoril, Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Sandro Cortese will look to increase his lead at the top of the championship with another strong showing at this weekend’s Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans.

Having been the strongest qualifier this season, and having come off best in a fairing to fairing contest with title rival Maverick Viñales, Cortese is in buoyant mood ahead of the French round. However, Blusens Avintia’s Viñales will look to snatch back the lead at a track where he took his first ever Grand Prix win in the 125cc class last year.

RW Racing GP’s Luis Salom, who has finished twice on the podium this year, equalling the number of podium finishes in his 43 previous race starts, will once again be setting out to stay with the leading pack, and perhaps secure his first race win. He will most likely have another strong rider to compete with in the form of Team Italia FMI’s Romano Fenati, who after starting the season with a second place and a race-win, failed to finish in Estoril due to a crash.

AirAsia-SIC-Ajo’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin, who made Malaysian motorcycle racing history with his fourth place in Estoril, will once again be looking to take his career to the next step and secure that first ever podium finish. Having only missed out on third place by a fraction, he is no doubt in a confident mood.

JHK T-Shirt Laglisse’s Efrén Vázquez, who finished third at Le Mans last year, has been in solid form, and will be hoping to repeat his previous feat. San Carlo Gresini Moto3´s Niccolo Antonelli, who has improved significantly throughout the season will be one to watch after his sixth place at Estoril, while the French contingent made up of Caretta Technology’s Alexis Masbou, Racing Team Germany’s Louis Rossi and Technomag-CIP-TSR’s Alan Techer will look to put on a show in front of their home crowd.

Source: motogp.com

MotoGP

Following an enthralling race weekend at the inaugural European round in Jerez, the MotoGP™ World Championship heads across the border to contest the Gran Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril.

With all three races going right down to the wire, the riders have just four days to recover before testing their machines on the Estoril track, which combines a long straight, some tyre-punishing corners, heavy braking zones, and a tricky chicane in between. Challenging enough as it is, riders and teams will be hoping for greatly improved weather conditions compared to the Spanish round, which provided different track conditions for almost every session.

Championship Leader Jorge Lorenzo, who won three years in a row at the Portuguese circuit between 2008 and 2010, will be looking to replicate that kind of form on board his Yamaha Factory Racing machine, as he looks to hold off the challenge from Repsol Honda Team pair Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa.

For Stoner, who won last weekend´s Jerez round just fractions ahead of Lorenzo, this is now the only track on the current MotoGP calendar where he has not yet recorded a premier-class win. As well as wanting to make it a full house, taking the championship lead off his Yamaha rival will be top of the agenda for the Australian. Teammate Dani Pedrosa took the win at Estoril last year ahead of Lorenzo and Stoner. Despite not running with the pair at the front in Jerez, Pedrosa is looking in good form.

Monster Yamaha Tech3´s Cal Crutchlow, who continues to be the revelation of the season after almost getting the better of Pedrosa in Spain, will be seeking his first ever podium finish in the premier class. Coy about his performances so far, the Britain will no doubt be boosted by his latest showing. His team mate, Italian Andrea Dovizioso, is still getting to grips with the Yamaha, yet will be buoyed by his fourth place finish at the Portuguese track last year.

Lorenzo´s team mate Ben Spies, who has endured two tricky first rounds, will not want to finish last Yamaha for a third time in a row, and has vowed to bounce back in the next race, after showing much promise in pre-season testing aboard his bike.

San Carlo Honda Gresini´s Álvaro Bautista and LCR Honda MotoGP´s Stefan Bradl have been consistently fast on their satellite Hondas in the first two rounds of the season. Last year at this point, Bautista was still recovering from a broken femur and finished last, while Bradl won the Moto2 race.

Ducati Team pair Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden have not had an easy start to the season, yet have been boosted by some glimpses of hope in Jerez; Hayden by putting his Ducati on the front row of the grid, and Rossi by discovering some good form in the wet. Tyre wear and handling continues to be an issue, yet the team feels it is now heading in the right direction.

Pramac Team´s Héctor Barbera, who has tussled with Rossi the previous two races will be looking to get one over the Italian in Portugal. Second satellite Ducati rider, Cardion AB Motoracing´s Karel Abraham, has had a disappointing start to the season and will be looking to turn his fortunes around this time out.

The new Claiming Rule Teams (CRT) did not have it easy in Jerez, having to adapt to the ever-changing weather and track conditions with little previous data to go on. The coming round will not prove and awful lot easier, as Estoril is a track which is renowned for providing set-up complications due to its highly varied nature. Power Electronics Aspar´s Aleix Espargaró finished top CRT last weekend, after his teammate Randy de Puniet retired towards the end. Paul Bird Motorsport´s James Ellison and San Carlo Honda Gresini´s Michele Pirro suffered a similar fate, whilst Came IodaRacing Project´s Danilo Petrucci recorded a positive 13th place for his team. Joining them will be Speed Master´s Mattia Pasini, NGM Mobile Forward Racing´s Colin Edwards, as well as Avintia Blusens pair Yonny Hernandez and Iván Silva, who will once again be gunning for top CRT spot.

The Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril takes place from May 4-6th, and the MotoGP bikes will be on track for the first practice session at 10.10am local time on Friday morning.

Moto2

After another classic Moto2™ thriller in Jerez, during which Spanish youngster Pol Espargaró took his maiden victory in the Moto2 class, the riders are set to continue their battle at the Gran Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril this weekend.

Moto2 was the only class to be affected by rain during the Spanish GP, cutting the race short after 19 laps, after which Espargaró was declared the winner. Championship leader, Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol´s Marc Márquez, who finished the race in second, will be hoping to continue his strong form so far this season. Estoril was a race for him to forget last year, as he finished in 21st. Yet with the pace he has shown so far, he is no doubt one of the favourites.

Interwetten-Paddock rider Tom Lüthi has not managed to get the better of Marquez yet this season, though continuously strong performances and a third place in Jerez will see him in high spirits for the Portuguese round. Marc VDS riders Scott Redding and Mika Kallio were in the hunt for podiums as well, and are starting to gel with their new Kalex bikes. With Kallio recording a DNF last year and Redding far down the order, both will be looking to make amends this time out.

Pons 40 HP Tuenti´s Espargaró, now second in the World Championship, has not only his maiden win to give him a boost, but also a sixth place last year at the difficult track. Estoril´s 2011 podium contenders, Avintia Blusens’ Julián Simón and NGM Mobile Forward Racing´s Yuki Takahashi have both not fared particularly well this year, but a new chassis for Simón from the last round may see a reversal in fortunes for the Spaniard.

JiR Moto2 rookie, Johann Zarco, who impressed with some stunning wet weather performances in Jerez practice sessions, will undoubtedly be hoping for rain this weekend, as he placed his bike first in both wet sessions. Speed Master´s Andrea Ianonne, who shone in Qatar with a very close second, yet fell under the radar in Spain, is still fifth in the championship and will be looking for a strong showing to get his title challenge back on course.

Moto3

After a Moto3™ race in which almost half the field failed to finish and Italian youngster Romano Fenati confirmed himself as a talent to be watched for the future, riders and teams will be hoping for a somewhat more normal race when they head out on track at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril.

Team Italia FMI rider Fenati is the first rider since Noboru Ueda in 1991 to have finished on the podium on his Grand Prix debut and then followed this up with another top three finish at the next Grand Prix. At the top of the leader board, the young Italian was aided by title rival Maverick Viñales having an off day at Jerez, finishing sixth on board his Blusens Avintia bike. However Viñales, who was beaten to third in last year´s 125cc race by only 0.002 seconds, will be looking to make amends and get back to winning ways.

Estrella Galicia 0,0 rider Miguel Oliveira will be the talk of the town as the only Portuguese rider on the grid. Oliveira, who is also considered as one of the title contenders has shown some good form already, having led the Jerez GP before crashing out after half way. He will be aiming for the kind of consistency shown by Red Bull KTM Ajo´s German rider, Sandro Cortese, who is currently lying fourth in the championship, just one point off Spanish rider Luis Salom. The RW Racing GP rider has also impressed from the off, and will be one of the riders to watch as the riders take to the track.

Caretta Technology rider Jack Miller will hope to be fit enough to race after fracturing his collarbone in Jerez, while TT Motion Events Racing rider Niklas Ajo has been banned by the FIM from the Portuguese round after an altercation with a track official.

Source: motogp.com

The British rider finished fourth for the third MotoGP race in succession having been in podium contention right from the start of a 27-lap race that started under grey skies that threatened rain and finished in arguably the best conditions of a weather disrupted weekend.

Having had only one dry session all weekend, Crutchlow’s decision to race with the ha rd compound front Bridgestone tyre was fully vindicated and his fantastic surge towards the top three began with 19 laps remaining when he passed Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden in quick succession.

The 26-year-old then embarked on a relentless pursuit of Pedrosa for the remainder of the race, with Crutchlow exerting immense pressure on the Spanish rider to try and secure his maiden MotoGP rostrum.

The engrossing battle captivated a crowd of over 103,000 fans and went right down to the last lap but despite his best efforts, Crutchlow was unable to find a way to make a pass on Pedrosa, who was having to showcase all his talent to keep the former World Supersport Champion at bay.

At the chequered flag, Crutchlow was just over 0.4s behind Pedrosa and only 2.465s away from race winner and reigning World Champion Casey Stoner. He also set the fastest lap of the race with a 1.40.019 on the 15th lap, which was over 0.3s quicker than factory Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo’s personal best.

Cal Crutchlow 4th – 26 points: “That was a seriously hard race but I really enjoyed it and I am really happy to have finished so close to the podium. One of the pleasing aspects is that I don’t really like Jerez that much. It’s a little bit twisty for my riding style and it is only the second time I have raced here, so to come away with a fourth and been within touching distance of my first MotoGP podium is fantastic. The Yamaha YZR-M1 was working incredibly well today and I can’t say enough about my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew. It has been a difficult weekend with the weather but they gave me a great bike today and our decision to run the hard front was definitely the right one. I was fourth in Qatar but today I could actually see the winner and there is no reason why I can’t be up there battling for the podium from now on. There will still be some races where I won’t be that close to the podium but now I know we can be there. I gave it everything I had to pass Dani but there was nothing I could do. He is phenomenal round this track, so I’m happy to have challenged him so closely. But he was the better rider today and it was really hard to stay with him. I set the fastest lap of the race though, so that proves the progress I’ve made since last season.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager: “What more can you say about Cal? Considering this was only his third time at Jerez and how much experience Pedrosa has riding here, he did a phenomenal job. When you finish right behind a rider of Pedrosa’s calibre in his home race, you know you have delivered an outstanding performance and Cal did that. He never gave Pedrosa one moment to relax and there is nothing more he could have done to try and get on the podium. There are so many positive points when you think that he was less than 2.5s behind Casey at the front and he set the fastest lap of the race. This shows he’s made incredible progress since last season and I’m sure we are going to be seeing a lot more of Cal challenging at the front in the future. We have made a brilliant start to 2012 and confidence is very high, so we are looking forward to Cal and Andrea fighting for the podium in Estoril in a few days time.”

Source: Team Tech3

MotoGP

After the season-opening spectacle in Qatar MotoGP™ lands in Europe this weekend for the Gran Premio bwin de España at Jerez, the second round of the 2012 season. Provided with an excellent curtain raiser at Losail expectations will be high for another tight battle for points, pride and progress in the south of Spain as Jerez – one of the Championship’s best-attended GPs year after year – celebrates its 26th successive year of hosting a Grand Prix event just a week after its place on the 2013 calendar was confirmed.

A perfect start to the 2012 campaign was had by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) in Qatar, where the Spaniard kicked off his season with victory thanks to a first win in the premier class at Losail. Winner at Jerez for the past two seasons, the stage is set for another intense battle with Repsol Honda pair Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa.

Reigning World Champion Stoner has not finished off the podium since last year’s Jerez race, when he and Valentino Rossi famously clashed and which resulted in the Australian being unable to complete the distance, and the Spanish track is one of just two on the current calendar where he has not tasted victory in the premier class. Third in Qatar after an arm pump issue hampered him through the final laps, Stoner will be determined to get one over on Lorenzo on the Spaniard’s home soil.

On the other side of the Honda factory team garage Pedrosa will be highly motivated for his home round, and he has never finished off the podium at Jerez in the MotoGP category. Confident after a strong ride to second in Qatar, he will also be making his 100th premier class start on Sunday.

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mates Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso enjoyed a close battle in Qatar, eventually finishing fourth and fifth respectively as the Brit equalled his best-ever MotoGP result after a first-ever front-row start while the Italian got his Yamaha career off to a solid start.

Nicky Hayden scored a podium in last year’s Jerez race and was sixth in Qatar a few weeks ago, and the American fell foul of the weather at Mugello where he attended a private Ducati test in an attempt to make up for time lost during pre-season. His Ducati Team colleague Valentino Rossi will hope for much better than tenth which he recorded in Qatar after a frustrating weekend and race. The Italian is the most successful rider at Jerez with eight GP wins to his name (six in the premier class), and on race day the nine-times World Champion will become only the third rider in history to have made 200 premier class starts.

Álvaro Bautista’s new partnership with the San Carlo Honda Gresini team began well in Qatar where he finished seventh, and after missing last year’s Jerez GP due to injury the Spaniard is set to make his 150th Grand Prix start across all categories this weekend.

Aiming to continue what was a very impressive introduction to the MotoGP class in Qatar, LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl will push on with his adaptation to the RC213V at a track where he finished fifth in last year’s Moto2 race. After a disappointing result in round one, Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) will expect to be back to full capacity at Jerez as he seeks to challenge the frontrunners.

Colin Edwards (NGM Mobile Forward Racing) was the highest-placing CRT last time out and his team undertook a private test on his BMW-Suter machine in Italy last week, with Moto2 rider Alex de Angelis working on electronics developments, some of which are expected to be used by the American at Jerez. Frenchman Randy de Puniet (Power Electronics Aspar Team) will not have been satisfied with finishing behind his rival in Qatar and will aim to engage in another fierce battle, with other CRT riders such as Yonny Hernández (Avintia Racing MotoGP) and Aleix Espargaró (Power Electronics Aspar Team) keen to challenge too.

Moto2

With fans hopeful of as gripping and eventful a race as that witnessed in round one, the Moto2™ World Championship lands in Spain with Marc Márquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol) leading the early standings.

Victory for the Spaniard was his eighth in the Moto2 category, making him the rider with the most wins in the class, and to extend that statistic he will have to finish a race for the first time since 2009 at Jerez this weekend.

Andrea Iannone (Speed Master) was beaten to victory by just 0.016s in Qatar by Márquez, and the Italian won last year’s Moto2 race at Jerez after starting from 11th on the grid. The two will go head-to-head once more at Jerez, where a highly-motivated Pol Espargaró (Pons 40 HP Tuenti) will aim to build on his third-placed finish from round one. The Spanish rider won the 2010 125cc race at Jerez, and will be more confident than ever of taking a first Moto2 victory this time around.

Espargaró’s team-mate Esteve Rabat rode a solid race in Qatar and will be one of those expected to challenge at the front in Spain, and Thomas Lüthi’s (Interwetten Paddock) response to his Qatar disappointment will be keenly observed. The Swiss rider finished fifth after starting from pole position and going head-to-head with Márquez on the final lap. He will line up for his 150th Grand Prix start on Sunday, and has a good record at Jerez where he has finished on the podium for the last two seasons.

Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team) and Mike di Meglio (S/Master Speed Up) both made good starts to the season and will want to make further improvements, while Simone Corsi (Came IodaRacing Project) would be delighted with a repeat of his Jerez performance from last season when he stepped on the podium after qualifying down in 18th.

Bradley Smith (Tech 3 Racing) and Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team) also got off to promising starts in 2012, as did rookies Johann Zarco (JiR Moto2) and Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team), whilst 2010 World Champion Toni Elías (Mapfre Aspar Team) won the Jerez GP in his title year. Julián Simón (Blusens Avintia) will also be eager to improve as he continues to adapt to the FTR.

Moto3

Jerez was where the Moto3™ riders did much of their learning on the new 250cc four-stroke machines but they will face a very different prospect this weekend, as they return to race there.

With round one in Qatar complete and a clearer idea on where everybody stands, there is still much room left for development, improvement and change as the competition intensifies. One thing which was confirmed in Qatar however was that Maverick Viñales (Blusens Avintia) will be the man to catch in the category this year. Victory at Jerez would make the Spaniard the youngest rider ever to have taken four consecutive Grand Prix wins.

A dazzling debut from Romano Fenati (Team Italia FMI) in second position made the Italian rookie the first rider since 1998 to step onto the podium in his very first Grand Prix, and he was fast in testing at Jerez. Sandro Cortese (Red Bull KTM Ajo) will want to close the gap to the top after opening the season with third place in Qatar, and after registering pole position at Jerez last season will be confident of mounting a challenge for victory in round two.

Luis Salom (RW Racing GP) just missed out on the podium in round one and will be desperate to rectify that in front of a home crowd, and Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira (Estrella Galicia 0’0) appears to have settled well in his team and will be another rider whose progress at Jerez will be monitored closely.

One of the many riders who impressed in Qatar was Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Airasia-SIC-Ajo), whose sixth place was the best result by a Malaysian rider in the history of the World Championship. He will be fighting with rookie Arthur Sissis (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Danny Kent (Red Bull KTM Ajo) to improve on that at Jerez – the British rider scored his best GP result to date at the track in last year’s 125cc race when he placed fourth.

Louis Rossi (Racing Team Germany), Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0’0) and Alan Techer (Technomag-CIP-TSR) will all be confident after their starts to the season, but Bankia Aspar Team duo Héctor Faubel and Alberto Moncayo will want better results at their home GP.

Two wildcard riders will add to the Moto3 field, with Alex Márquez (Monlau Competición) and Josep Rodríguez (Wild Wolf BST) gaining experience.

Source: motogp.com

Photo: Sean Gleason for Spashion.com

If Bradley Smith wanted to change careers sometime into the future, he’d do very well as a motivational speaker. The guy can sure spin a line (he says things like “My low-point actually turned out to be a high point”) but Smith’s enthusiasm for motorbikes and “going faster” is so palpable I can help but get into it.

“I think it’s about striving to be good at everything that you need to be good at,” Smith continues. “It’s about having a fearlessness to take all the risks and beyond to do that ultimate lap time or to get the ultimate result. If you ride in your comfort zone, you don’t get to a world championship. You’ve got to be willing to put everything on the line. For every race, from the start to the finish line, you have to put in 105%,” Smith says. “Sometimes that means you’ll crash because you’re going beyond your limit but unless you go above your limit you’re not going to be fast enough.”

This makes me think back to a conversation that Smith was having with our photographer earlier on set about how Bradley’s mother won’t let him have a road bike. (“Because your slow is everybody else’s super fast,” says Bradley, repeating his mother’s words.) So I ask him what she thinks of him racing around a racetrack at 160 miles an hour.

“I’m lucky, my mum has grown up in a racing world,” Smith says. “She sees I have so much passion for racing that she could never take it away, even though I’m sure she wanted to at times.” The baby-faced Bradley was born with racing in his blood. His father, now his number one fan and supporter, is a keen motocross rider who owns and runs a motocross track in Oxfordshire.

“I grew up from the age of three on the motocross track. I’d go out with my dad on the digger and working on the track,” says Bradley. “Every Wednesday and weekend there was a race going on. The rack was only 50 metres from my house so I really grew up around bikes. It was always something that I really wanted to do.”

“I was told that until I was six I wasn’t allowed [to ride a motorbike] so as soon as it was nearly my birthday I slipped it into conversation, “I’m nearly six, can I have a motorbike?”” says Bradley with his get-anything smile. “Suddenly there was shear panic on my dad’s face. But by Christmas I had one.”

Which gets us to racing. For thrills, I ask Smith what it feels like to be out on the track and, possibly for my benefit, his explanation is back to the basics. “It feels like the nerves you have when you go for your driving test. It’s the same kind of pressure,” he says. “Basically when you’re on that start line it feels like being on the driveway about to drive away for your first driving lesson.”

Once the chequered flag waves them off, the race itself “is a high speed game of chess,” says Smith. “You’ll go in bar-to-bar, sometimes even arm-to-arm with people – but at 100 plus miles an hour. It’s like driving down the motorway and starting to turn into people. That’s basically what we’re doing out there. It’s like bumper cars but with bikes.”

Photo: Sean Gleason for Spashion.com

For his current bike – the one he entered the British record books on at Moto2 in 2011 – is a collaborative effort between himself and the Tech3 mechanical engineers. “We’re very hands on with my machine – everything you see on the track is our work,” says Smith with animated enthusiasm. “The only thing that is going to relate it to a bike on the road is the fact that it has a throttle and two wheels.”

The bike Smith will ride next year for the MotoGP is something else again. “Next year I’ll get a brand new bike which is a 1000cc from Yamaha, which I’ll have less input into,” says Smith. “Yamaha came second in the World Championship last year and I’ll be on one of the four factory bikes. So yeah, pretty cool. [Our Tech3] mechanics actually have to go to Japan to learn how to assemble it. It’s the elite of the elite. It really is like a NASA project.”

Racing such powerful machines requires a fine balance between physical strength and lightness (“It’s a trade-off,” says Smith. “You have to be strong enough for racing but light enough to be competitive.”). And, perhaps in response to the sheer danger of his sport, Smith takes extra care with his fitness to ensure his body is able to withstand as much metaphorical and literal heat as humanly possible.

“There’s only so much you can do with a machine. The rest of it has to come down to the rider and what he can do,” says Smith who keeps in race shape by partaking in triathlons. “You’re a movable object on a bike, the bike is fixed,” continues Smith. “So your input into the bike actually makes a difference. If you start to get tired and your movements start to get slower or less reactive, then your bike gets less reactive. If you’re getting tired when you’re racing at 160 miles an hour around other bikes, it’s dangerous. It just is.”

And true to form, Smith is aiming high for the 2012 season. “My goal is to be the world champion this year. To sign off on that chapter on my racing career and then go onto MotoGP,” he says.

And when he gets to MotoGP? “I just have to see where it goes,” says Smith leaning back in his seat. “The first year of MotoGP is really a learning year, second year you find your feet and the third and forth years you get an idea as to whether you’re going to be competitive or not. I would like to think that I could be a podium finisher and my objective is to win a race.”

Interview: Sally Hunwick
Source: Spashion.com

The full episode of “After the Flag can be watched here.

How are you feeling after the race in Qatar?
“Good! It was nice to finish really and get the first one out of the way. I don’t want to think that just because I finished fourth it means suddenly we’re near the front. There’s a long way to go and you never know, the next race you could finish tenth. I’m not saying it’s close, because obviously there’s a big gap from me and Dovi (Andrea Dovizioso) to the guys behind but things can change so quickly. We could easily be back in that battle or we could easily be a bit nearer to the front battle, so you don’t know. I just think it’s a nice way to start the year, that’s the way I look at it.”

What was the reaction like back at home?
“It was good. I had some good press and people were happy to see it. You always have people who are not very happy to see it obviously, like fans of other riders, which I fully appreciate because it’s like you supporting Liverpool, which is rubbish, and me supporting someone else, like Blackburn! Some people like to see me at the front which is nice. I had something like 2,500 messages on my Twitter. I couldn’t scan them all but most of them said well done, which is nice. Better than them saying it’s rubbish.”

Even though winter testing went so well for you, a lot of people were still surprised by your performance in Qatar. Were you?
“After the testing I think I expected to be in the top six but I didn’t expect that Dovi and I would be so far ahead of that group behind but I also never expected that we’d be so far behind the front three. But it’s a good way to start the year. We’re not on factory equipment and the only bikes that beat me in the race were factory equipment. But even if I was on factory equipment would I beat the guys in front? No, probably not. Not at the first race of the year, so I’ll just chip away. I think we expected to be stronger than what we were last year but to finish fourth in a solid ride at the first round was good, but I don’t know if it was to be expected. I expected to do better than what I did last year but that’s it.”

Looking at your lap times it seems you could have been fighting up there if you’d have gone past Dovi earlier.
“I made a mistake in the race no doubt. I got a bad start and then I should have passed Dovi earlier. If I had passed him on lap three when I caught him I probably could have got across to the other guys. But with the new Bridgestone tyres if you really hammer them for a lap you won’t last the race and I was panicking more that if I hammered the tyres for a lap and didn’t finish the race or got caught at the end, I’d be in a worse situation than I would have been if I could still go fast at the end of the race. We had the third fastest lap on the last couple of laps and the guys that were leading the race weren’t going that much faster than I was at the end of the race. So, I should have just gone earlier and got across with them, but I think if I had a decent start and went with them three I would have been a lot closer to them at the front. I still don’t think I would have been on the podium so it doesn’t matter if I finish fourth and really close to them, or fourth far behind them, I was happy enough anyway.”

Do you think the M1 package has stepped up for the 1000s?
“What you have to consider for Dovi and I is that we’re not on the same bike as Jorge and Ben. I really hope it doesn’t happen – it happened last year and normally happens every year to be honest – that Qatar and the tests are the closest we ever are to the factory team, with machinery. Because they have an endless budget and can keep developing. We all seem to start the year with very similar stuff. They’re already a little bit ahead of us, which is fair enough as they are the factory team but I hope that they don’t keep developing and we don’t get it, because then the gap just gets bigger and bigger and we have to ride harder and harder.”

Do you think then that’s its important for you to get results in the first few races while the machinery is more equal?
“I think so but not many people understand that that’s what sometimes happens – that the gap gets a little bit bigger because of that. But the people in the know, know it. There’s nothing really you can do about it.”

What do you think has contributed to your great start this year?
“I think that coming into this year I was more confident. I had a good race at the last race last year and the 1000cc suits me a little bit better, and I have a little bit more experience with the tyres sliding around than maybe the other guys do. I also think it’s my second year, I want to be in MotoGP next year and my contract is up at the end of this year. I feel that I’m riding better because of that as well. I’d like to not necessarily prove people wrong, but I’d like to show what I can do if I really need to as well. There’s a lot at stake for this year so I think all in all with everything put together – I had a good off-season – that’s why we’re going a little bit quicker this year. But if we were on 800s I still think I’d be nearer the front than what I was last year. Anyway, yes, 1000s seem to be a little bit better.”

Did you step up your training over winter for the 1000s?
“I’ve always trained hard. I like cycling, that’s a big passion of mine but it’s just in everything, I think that I’ve not got rid of stuff in my life, but concentrated more on racing the bike and not complaining about it. I’ve got what I’ve got and that’s it and I will ride what I’ve got as hard as I can ride it. There’s no point saying ‘I want this, I need that’, you’ve just got to do the best job you can on what you’ve got and I took that attitude in my life as well, not just for racing a motorcycle. I’m a lot more calm this year. I think last year was a tough year because I started the year so well, especially the second and third races. And then obviously I crashed and had a few bad races, and then in the middle of the year it was just a disaster. So I think I needed to regroup myself and get my confidence back as well because I know that when I’m at the top of my game, when I won World SuperSport, was winning World Superbike races and was the fastest guy out there, I felt it was all about confidence and I never had it at the end of last year and I’ve never had that so it was a big wake up call for me. Not confidence in a cocky or arrogant way, just confidence as in knowing that I can do it and I feel that I’ve got that back again now. Not to say it went away, I just think I needed a little bit of time. And maybe I needed that result at Valencia to know that it’s still there, I’m not far away. Then obviously we tested the 1000cc after and I tested well on the 1000 as well. I think we just need to keep building on what we’ve started this year. I think this year with a little bit of a different attitude there’s no reason why we can’t be challenging up near the front for a lot of the year.”

Do you think podiums are possible this year?
“Yes, I’d like to think so. Where and when I don’t know but I’ve always said that my aim or goal is to be at the front of the guys on privateer bikes and if I can beat some factory guys now and again I’ll be very happy. You cant do much more than that. Is it possible to beat some of the factory guys now and again? Yes I think it is but you have to just do the best on what you’ve got and that’s what I’m looking at doing. Andrea finished third overall last year and there were only two guys that beat him, which are the two best guys in the world who have won the title last year and the year before, so being anywhere near Andrea is… I’m not saying I’m happy with that, obviously if Andrea’s tenth I don’t want to be ninth or eleventh, but I think with his calibre of how good he is, I’m happy to be around near that sort of area.”

Do you see Dovi, as your team-mate and potential rival for a 2013 seat with Tech 3, as the first guy to beat?
“No, not at all. People will obviously think that way but if I’m there or there about I’m not expecting to beat Andrea, that’s the thing for me. As I said he finished third last year in the world title, I finished a lot further down. He’s won a MotoGP race and had many podiums but at the end of the day, it’s not just me out of contract this year, there’s a lot of riders out of contract, nearly every single one of them. So I’ve just got to do the best job I can and hopefully something will come. It’s a long way off yet and I’m just concentrating on doing my job which is to finish as high as I can finish.”

Maybe there’s even a possibility for you to go into the factory team?
“Well Yamaha have got two fantastic riders there and in all honesty, if you ask me now, I can’t see them changing. So I’m not necessarily just looking at that, I’m just looking at doing what I can do now and proving to people that I’m fast enough and that this year I’ll be consistent and try my best. At the minute I think I’ve done that because last year at this point in the season I’d crashed about seven times with testing and stuff, but this year I’ve crashed once so far since Valencia. So I obviously feel more comfortable and more confident. I’m happy with the team, the team have done a great job over the winter and it’s good that I’ve got the second year with them. This is the first team that I’ve been with for six years where I’ve stayed with the same team twice. So it’s a little bit of continuity and the same bike essentially, a Yamaha MotoGP bike.”

It must be good to be going back to Jerez where you tested so well while you have the momentum from Qatar?
“Jerez is a hard track, it’s a very difficult track for me because I’ve only been there twice, I raced there last year and I tested there earlier on in the year. Testing obviously went okay but it’s a little different, I think the race will be tougher than the test was. It’s about knowing the tracks well and when those boys have been there for 10 years it’s difficult. I think Estoril will be a good one for me, I liked that circuit when I was there last year. Not to say I didn’t like Jerez particularly but it wasn’t my best track. I felt Estoril was good and I think we’ll be a little bit closer at Estoril than we will in Jerez, but you never know what’s going to happen. People ask how do you plan the race but you can’t plan anything in motorcycle racing because it never goes the way that you planned it. So I’ll just do my best at both races and see how we go from there.”

How are you dealing with the weight of British expectation?
“The British crowd are great, I’ve always said, when I won in World SuperSport and World Superbike in Britain, the crowd are phenomenal and they always back you but the problem is that sometimes they’re the first ones to jump on you if you don’t do very well, which is difficult. But the thing is we don’t have the Spanish and Italian breed of winning, how much they’re winning Grands Prix. But that’s only because we’re not brought up on Grand Prix bikes. But when it comes it will be good because it’s been a long time waiting with Jeremy [McWilliams] being the last one and that was in 2000. I’m not saying that I’m gonna get on the podium but I hope so and I hope it for the British fans as much as myself as well.”

Source: motogp.com

Bridgestone will introduce a new specification front tyre for the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship, giving the twenty-one riders taking part in this year’s competition access to the very latest in tyre technology.

This new front tyre is the latest evolution of the 2012 specification MotoGP™ front tyre. This latest specification front tyre features a revised construction that further enhances rider feel and warm-up performance and was developed following analysis of performance data and rider feedback acquired in pre-season testing.

Due to the overwhelmingly positive appraisal this new front tyre received when tested by riders, Bridgestone, after consultation with Dorna, the FIM and IRTA, has agreed to replace the current front tyre with the new 2012 specification front tyre from the Silverstone round while also making a limited number of the new front tyre available for the Jerez, Estoril, Le Mans and Catalunya rounds.

Starting from Jerez, riders will be allocated two of the new specification front tyres to increase their total allocation for the race weekend to eleven front tyres. The new specification tyre will only be made available in the harder compound option, as the greater durability this option provides makes it better suited for race use. At Silverstone, when the new specification front tyre becomes the standard, the front tyre allocation will return to nine tyres.

Certain circuits may be designated as Special Case by agreement between Bridgestone, the Safety Commission and organisers where, due to weather or track conditions, the availability of a third specification of front tyre is not necessary (i.e. only two front options will be made available) as the soft front compound is part of the standard allocation. For 2012, circuits designated as Special Case are Estoril, Le Mans, Silverstone, Assen, Phillip Island, Sepang and Valencia.

Bridgestone proposes change to Wet Tyre Allocation

Following a request from the Safety Commission, Bridgestone has proposed a revision to the wet tyre allocation for each race. Riders are currently allocated four rear and four front wet tyres in a single compound option, or in the case of all practice sessions being wet, five front and rear wet tyres.

Currently, riders have access to only one compound option of wet tyre per race. Under the new proposal, after the first wet practice session, Bridgestone, in consultation with the Safety Commission and organisers may agree to provide wet tyres with an alternative compound option to ensure rider safety in wet conditions. In this case, each rider may choose to replace a maximum of two of their front and/or rear wet tyres with the alternative compound.

To expedite the revisions to the front tyre and wet tyre allocation, the FIM will propose changes to the tyre allocation regulations to members of the Grand Prix Commission. Should the proposals presented be accepted by the commission members, they will be implemented with immediate effect.

The introduction of a new specification front tyre, and the revision to the wet tyre allocation are the latest in a series of initiatives implemented by Bridgestone to improve rider safety. At Mugello last year, Bridgestone proposed bringing softer rear slick tyre options to six of the remaining races in the 2011 season and a revision to the rear tyre allocation to provide riders with greater flexibility in choosing their final rear tyre allocation. Additionally, Bridgestone increased the number of front tyre compounds available to three from the Brno round, ensuring the availability of a softer front compound at each race.

Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department
“Last year we set out with a clear set of technical objectives for our 2012 specification tyres and since they were first tested, we received very good feedback on our path of development. Though rider comments on our original 2012 specification front tyre were positive, we haven’t rested on our laurels and brought new specification front tyres to the pre-season tests as part of our ongoing tyre development programme. One of these new front tyres was met with such an encouraging appraisal from the riders that we proposed to make it available as soon as possible. Due to logistical constraints, we are unable to supply a full allocation of this new specification front tyre until Silverstone, but we have changed our production schedule and made every effort to provide a limited allocation of the new front tyre to riders from the next race.

“I would like to thank all the riders and teams for their commitment to evaluating during pre-season testing and also Safety Advisor to Dorna Loris Capirossi for his ongoing efforts in collating feedback from the riders. I look forward to Jerez with great interest as not only will riders be using our latest specification front tyre in a race setting for the first time, they will also be showcasing the very latest in Bridgestone tyre technology to the world.”

Carmelo Ezpeleta – CEO, Dorna Sports
“Dorna is pleased that Bridgestone will make their new specification front tyre available to riders from the second round of the season at Jerez. During the regular meetings during pre-season testing between Bridgestone and Safety Advisor to Dorna Loris Capirossi, it became apparent that this new specification tyre provided even greater levels of front-end feel to the riders and so we welcome the decision to make the tyre available as soon as possible.

“I would like to thank Bridgestone for continuing to equip MotoGP riders with their latest tyre technology and sharing in Dorna’s commitment to continually improve rider safety.”

Source: Bridgestone Motorsport

Starting from the front row of the grid for the first time in his MotoGP career, 26-year-old Crutchlow and experienced Italian Dovizioso were locked in an enthralling battle for the entire 22-lap encounter, which took place under the spectacular Losail International Circuit floodlights.

Crutchlow di dn’t get the best start from third place on the grid but he brilliantly found a quick rhythm and his best lap of 1.55.984 on lap three was the second fastest of the race and quicker than eventual winner Jorge Lorenzo.

By the end of the first lap he was in fifth place and right on the tail of Dovizioso, who made a lightning start from the second row of the grid to move into fourth spot.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders were never apart for more than 0.3s for almost the entire race, with Dovizioso expertly fending intense pressure from Crutchlow with some superb aggressive riding.

Crutchlow though displayed outstanding consistency and never gave Dovizioso a moment to relax and the British rider made his decisive attack for fourth on lap 17.

Dovizioso remained in hot pursuit but despite his best efforts he could not find a way to recover fourth from a determined Crutchlow, who maintained an impressively fast and consistent as the grip from his Bridgestone tyres decreased.

Tonight’s outstanding team result ensured Crutchlow finished leading non-factory rider and the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team occupies third position in the Team World Championship standings heading to the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez at the end of April.

Cal Crutchlow 4th – 13 points: “That was a great way to start the season but it was a really tough race. I didn’t make a great start and lost a few positions and that is a bit disappointing because I’m sure I could have been much closer to the top three. I wouldn’t have been fighting with them but I lost a bit of time and the gap to them could have been halved. It was a great battle with Andrea and I enjoyed it. I learned a lot as well because he has a lot of experience and it was a game of cat and mouse for a long time. I knew I could pass him but I also knew that he would be able to sit right on my tail, so I just waited for the right moment and made a good move on Andrea. After that I just got my head down and concentrated on being consistent and not making a mistake so I didn’t give him a chance to pass me back. The good thing about tonight is I backed up all the good performances in winter testing and being close to the front with my best MotoGP race. I know I was fourth in Valencia last season but the conditions were tricky and not everybody finished. This was a true result and I am delighted too for my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew. They have given me amazing support and this result gives us all a lot of confidence to take to Jerez.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager: “That was a fantastic way for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team to start the 2012 season and Cal and Andrea both did a fantastic job. To watch them both fighting so hard together for the whole race meant I was quite nervous and there was never more than three-tenths between them. I have to congratulate both of them because they treated each other with a lot of respect and neither of them even looked like making a mistake that could have changed the outcome for the Team. To see Cal and Andrea in fourth and fifth is a result I would have signed for before the start of the race and this gives everyb ody a big boost for the next few races. Both of them tonight were able to show the potential of the Yamaha YZR-M1 1000cc machine and I want to congratulate Yamaha’s technical staff. All through the winter we have been confident the new M1 is very competitive but tonight really proved that. Jorge once again did an incredible job and with Cal and Andrea both in the top five, it was an excellent way to start the season for Yamaha. All of us in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team will fly home happy and that is a great reward for all of their hard work.”

Source: Team Tech3

Photo: Gold and Goose

Ellison, a former World Endurance champion and double European Superstock champion, has spent much of the winter helping the Penrith-based squad develop the bike which is the start of a long-term MotoGP project and will see an all-British bike and team set to take on the world in future years.

However, in the meantime, they go into Sunday’s race under the floodlights at the Losail track with work very much in progress and looking to match the pace of the leading CRT bikes at the opening round of the 18-race championship.

James Ellison: “I’m really excited to be back in Qatar as I love the circuit and it’s even more special that I’m here to be part of MotoGP. Being honest I never thought it possible to get a second chance so of course I am extremely grateful to Paul Bird and the whole PBM UK team for this opportunity and I can promise that I will give no less than 100% in every session and hope that I can repay them in some way. It will be a tough battle for sure with the relative lack of time we’ve had on the bike to date but we are a strong team and I’m sure we’ll fight hard to make up for lost time. One request though: dim the lights please!”

Paul Bird: “This is an historic time for us as we embark upon the latest phase of the team’s development in MotoGP and one which we are very excited about. We have raced as wild cards in GPs on many occasions in the past but to be part of the MotoGP elite is very special for us. This year is all about learning for us and James has done a great job with the team so far, but we know we have a very long way to go yet. The idea is to become more competitive as the season progresses and to challenge the front-running CRT bikes.”

Source: Paul Bird Motosport