Following in the footsteps of reigning 2009 World Superbike Champion Ben Spies, Crutchlow is another rider nurtured through the Yamaha family, progressing to the pinnacle of motorcycle racing through the various race classes and benefiting from the Japanese manufacturer’s policy of developing and supporting racing talent.

“Being part of the Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team has been fantastic,” said Cal Crutchlow. “When I first signed with Yamaha for the 2009 World Supersport Championship we went on to win the World Championship and the natural progression was to move to World Superbike. It was an honour to be asked to be part of the team and to remain as part of the Yamaha family. Now I’m again taking another step and I am being brought through to the Tech3 Team as they have done with other riders such as Ben Spies in the past. I first rode for Yamaha in 2003 in the R6 Cup so have a great history with them. Moving to MotoGP is a great opportunity for me, it was an honour to be asked by Herve Poncheral and for Yamaha to back me. I intend to do the best job I can with the team next year, be humble, learn and enjoy the experience.”

“I’m delighted we had the opportunity to work with Cal to take the World Supersport title last year and compete this year in World Superbike,” said Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Yamaha Motor Europe Racing Manager. “On one side we would have liked to go for the World Superbike title in 2011 but given the opportunities at this moment for Yamaha and Cal it is a great move. Again we are showing that our policy of bringing young riders up through the various racing classes to the top tier in MotoGP is proving successful. Cal deserves this opportunity, he is a highly professional racer and completely dedicated to training for success. We believe he has what it takes to fight for success at the highest levels.”

The only official game available on the iPhone for 2010, the fantastic 3D experience features the 17 MotoGP riders including Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa, and comes with the official bikes and all 18 tracks which make up this year’s calendar. There are a host of other excellent features too which make this a must-have for the dedicated MotoGP thrill seeker.

Championship mode allows players to compete for the 2010 World Championship, with two camera angles giving amazing views and acceleration controls that replicate the lean angle of the bikes through accessible handling. Racing like a professional allows players to unlock all 18 circuits, and the game’s iPod library support function allows an individual soundtrack to be created.

“MotoGP is the world’s premier motorcycling championship and one of the most exciting racing series in motorsports,” said Tony Leamer, Vice President of Marketing at I-play. “Fans of the sport, championship series and racing alike will be impressed with the thrilling realism MotoGP 2010 brings to the palm of your hand.”

Dorna Sports S.L. Managing Director Pau Serracanta said: “The launch of the MotoGP 2010 Game for iPhone and iPod Touch is excellent news! Many of our fans are also users of these devices and we are confident this launch will be very well received by them. We have launched MotoGP console games on PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii with great success in the past. With this new game we will be fulfilling the demands of our fans worldwide.”

The game is available now for $3.99/£2.39/€2.99 from the iTunes App store – click here for a direct link. To celebrate the launch of the game two replica Valentino Rossi helmets will also be given away on I-play’s Facebook page

REV’IT! is raffling off a MotoGP VIP package for two. The winner will not only be their VIP guest for the weekend to the MotoGP in his or her own country, but can bring a friend too. The two of you will get to see the races from a very good position, take a walk through the paddock and meet the REV’IT! riders in person. And you will also receive a complimentary stay in a quality hotel, compliments of REV’IT!.

What are you waiting for? To enter the contest, you only need to sign up for the REV’IT! digital newsletter before June 30th 12:00 o’clock. So visit www.revit.eu/en/win and sign up now!

Correspondence about the result of the contest is not possible. The winner will be notified through an e-mail.

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Saturday 19 June
09.00 – 09.40 :: 125cc Free Practice 2
09.55 – 10.55 :: MotoGP Free Practice 2
11.10 – 12.10 :: Moto2 Free Practice 2
13.00 – 13.40 :: 125cc Qualifying
13.55 – 14.55 :: MotoGP Qualifying
15.10 – 15.55 :: Moto2 Qualifying

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Sunday 20 June
09.00 – 09.20 :: Moto2 Warm Up
09.30 – 09.50 :: MotoGP Warm Up
10.00 – 10.20 :: 125cc Warm Up

11.15 :: Moto2 RACE (18 laps)
13.00 :: MotoGP RACE (20 laps)
14.30 :: 125cc RACE (17 laps)

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In 2010 MotoGP fans are able to enjoy an amazingly detailed experience on their iPhone and iPod Touch thanks to the new Official Live Timing Application by Soft Pauer. This new application ensures that fans will not miss a minute of the action from any of the rounds on the 2010 calendar, regardless of where they are.

The App offers an unprecedented level of information to consumers, which can be immediately taken in with the unique dynamic/interactive track map which provides users with a clear illustration of all the gaps between riders. Users are also able to access the same live timing information and in the same format as that which is used by the teams at each Grand Prix venue to track the progress of a session or particular team or rider. Uniquely, all the data from the whole season will be retained on the user’s device to enable them to look back at and re-run the sessions whenever they want.

After the successful launch last year of the F1 Timing and Track Positioning App, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch users can now get their hands on Soft Pauer’s brand new MotoGP 2010 Official Live Timing Application – Premium Pass, and never miss a lap of this year’s Championship.
The App is available in English, Spanish, Italian, French and German at a cost of just €14.99 for the whole season. Support and service information is constantly updated at www.twitter.com/motogptimingapp.

The application is available from the iTunes App Store, and you can also download it now by visiting the official MotoGP website.

Good luck if you’re entering the competition – it’s a superb App, perfectly suited to the amazing iPad device and you couldn’t wish for a better prize really if you’re a full-on MotoGP fan!

Click here to find out more about the prints and to purchase one – this is a fantastic opportunity to get into a very special event; and a great prize for any MotoGP fan!
Don’t forget these prints are a fab A3 in size and are personally signed by Scott himself.

Scott Redding:
“After the disappointment of Qatar I’m looking forward to getting to Jerez, especially after the successful test we had there back in March. We know it’s possible to get the bike working well around Jerez, as long as the track conditions aren’t too different to those we had during the test. I would say I’m fairly confident going into the second race of the season. A top ten finish is a realistic goal, but we should really be able to get into the top five if everything goes according to plan. However, as we saw in Qatar, things don’t always go according to plan. Hopefully we’ll have better luck in Jerez and we’ll get the chance to show our true potential in the race.”

Bradley Smith:
“I love racing at Jerez and nothing would have stopped me getting there. I’ve spent hours of my life racing and practicing round there from my earliest days of road racing. Of course last year was highlight when I won my very first grand prix in front of that massive crowd. It’s a day me and the family will never ever forget and it will be hard to repeat that very special memory.
In pre-season testing Pol Espargaro and Marc Marquez set the pace and they will be quick throughout the weekend. They were lapping under the lap record but I know I can match those times if we can sort out the top speed. It promises to be a great weekend and I’m looking for at least a podium finish to prevent the Qatar winners getting away in the points table.”

Source: danny webb offical site

Jorge Lorenzo is the latest sporting celeb to get involved, and with well over four thousand followers now onboard and counting, the story is getting picked up not only by MotoGP and motorsport websites, and the always awesome MCN, but also other blogs and tech magazines, including T3.

In an effort to ensure newcomers to the TwitGP phenomenon are filled in with all the background info in a more complete, extended and digestible format than the ongoing dialogue on Twitter itself, TwitGP have set up a blog here to fill in the gaps. This will continue to be updated with details and downloads as things move forward.
It’s here that you can find things like the TwitGP logo, and “press passes” etc – all building a fun ‘virtual’ environment to get fans in the mood. Also on the site is the circuit guide and layout as designed by Tiff Needell.

The main focus of activity of course is Twitter itself, and if you’re not already on Twitter then you should sign up and follow @TwitGP – many posts relating to the event are also tagged with #twitgp – so keep an eye out for that too.

Suzi Perry explained a little more about the genesis of the whole TwitGP idea in a message to T3 magazine:

“My crazy friend was so upset that the Japanese MotoGP had been postponed that he came up with the idea of having a ‘virtual’ race. After a hilarious conference call with him and another deluded buddy, the three of us set to work to make it happen. It is a bit of fun really that has turned into a full time job! We will have practice on Friday, Qualifying on Saturday an the Race on Sunday. In less than 2 days almost 3,500 folk are following including actual riders, press, teams, bands (Stereophonics) and celebs (Ross Noble) We have an official logo, media passes and pit passes being displayed by some of our followers, special tyres have been provided by Twitstone and of course there will be a rousing party to celebrate on Sunday night which is sure to rival Live Aid, virtually. We are @TwitGP and we will be the first ever virtual sporting event on Twitter.”

Throughout the week @TwitGP will be updating its followers about how the virtual riders will virtually prepare for the race – there will be practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday, then the main event on Sunday. It will all unfold before the followers’ eyes in sentences containing no more than 140 characters…

Fans are interacting in increasingly inventive ways, supplying virtual logos, passes, programmes and even VIP party tents.

This is being done entirely for fun – while a few people have asked if it’s “real”, the vast majority completely understand the concept and have thrown themselves into the spirit of things.
So don’t miss this opportunity to get involved in something very special – get onto Twitter now and join in the fun. If you’ve not used Twitter before and fancy a few people to follow and chat with then why not also add our sites and staff to your list: @batifans , @teamaspar , @garethbouch , @scottredding45 , @peretutusaus

Amongst the followers from across the globe are former BBC MotoGP host Suzi Perry, The Stereophonics, comedian and bike fan Ross Noble, the Fiat Yamaha Team of Valentino Rossi, Valentino Rossi’s mechanic Alex Briggs, BBC MotoGP reporter Matt Roberts and Eurosport MotoGP commentators Toby Moody and Julian Ryder.
The Fiat Yamaha Team have even donated a signed Valentino Rossi team shirt as a competition prize to help generate interest in the “event”. @TwitGP has also confirmed Max Biaggi and Mick Doohan as wildcard riders, showing exactly the spirit of the whole idea.

As well as solid contributions such as that, the whole thing continues to be approached in a great spirit of fun, with Eurosport confirming that it is in advance negotiations over the HD Tweet rights!
Many ordinary punters are also getting involved, with Twitterers posting logos and lid designs – such as the special race helmet for Valentino Rossi from @suzannehutton (pictured).

According to Suzi Perry, “It’s just a bit of fun for next weekend, but it’s growing into a monster!” But there’s nothing wrong with that – it’s a genuine piece of grassroots action and participation, engaging real people with a particular need, and that’s exactly the kind of thing that the web should be doing. It’s a wonderful notion that in the face of a sadly empty race weekend, some inspired individuals and a vast wave of people power could choose to make an event happen after all, on their own, completely fun terms.
Updates will continue throughout the week on Twitter; so don’t forget to get on there and follow @TwitGP – and the event will unfold in real time across the weekend with practice and quali sessions, and of course the race itself.

If you’ve not used Twitter before and fancy a few people to follow and chat with then why not also add our sites and staff to your list: @batifans , @teamaspar , @garethbouch , @scottredding45 , @peretutusaus