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Friday, 31 March 2006 |
After free practice next Thursday a few riders will be staying a little later than normal to do a few floodlit laps of the Qatar circuit.
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Tuesday, 28 March 2006 |
The MotoGP teams remained at the Jerez circuit on Monday for a brief test session. It concluded with Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden going fastest, but perhaps more interesting was the fact that Yamaha ended the day saying that they had 'found some solutions' to their recent problems with the M1.
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Monday, 27 March 2006 |
John Hopkins was one of several riders to get caught up in Valentino Rossi's first corner fall yesterday which undid a lot of the benefit of a good start. As the race continued, the Anglo-American suffered from arm pump which slowed his progress. Teammate Chris Vermeulen came a respectable 12th in his first race as a full-time MotoGP rider.
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Monday, 27 March 2006 |
Casey Stoner achieved an excellent sixth place finish in his debut GP having started in fifteenth. Even more impressive was the fact that the Australian missed the tail end of the winter tests due to a shoulder injury, so few would have expected him to have anything like this kind of pace so soon.
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Monday, 27 March 2006 |
Team KR's KR211V finished in eighth yesterday in its first MotoGP race. Kenny Roberts Jr gradually worked his way up the order on the honda-engined bike, overtaking ex-teammate John Hopkins just as the race was coming to an end.
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Monday, 27 March 2006 |
The first race of the season did not get off to a great start for Toni Elias, who missed his braking point trying at the first corner whilst trying to avoid Shinya Nakano. The Spaniard then clipped Valentino Rossi's rear wheel which sent the world champion tumbling onto the floor and very nearly under the wheels of Elias' Honda RCV.
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Monday, 27 March 2006 |
After an impressive showing in qualifying on Saturday Shinya Nakano lined up on the grid at the end of the front row, but after losing ground in the first corner accident he finished the race in with a solid result in seventh.
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Monday, 27 March 2006 |
It seemed to be Ducati's weekend - they'd look good in free practice and qualified in first and second. Unfortunately though for Sete Gibernau, his run of bad luck does not yet seem to be over. On the second lap he had to retire as his GP6 had an electrical problem, while Loris Capirossi took the race win.
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Monday, 27 March 2006 |
Dani Pedrosa got his MotoGP career off to a great start by coming second in his first ever race in the big class. The ice-cool 2005 250cc champion at one point looked as though he could take the race win in front of his home crowd, but 'gave up' and settled for second ahead of his teammate Nicky Hayden.
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Monday, 27 March 2006 |
The Spanish GP weekend started badly for the Camel Yamaha team on Friday with rain in the morning a barrier to some sorely needed testing time, which could have helped with the chatter problems the M1 has been suffering. From then on things only got worse.
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Sunday, 26 March 2006 |
Loris Capirossi was a man on a mission this weekend. The Ducatis had looked good in testing and qualified well, but today was what mattered and Capirossi once again proved that on a good day he is very hard to beat.
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Saturday, 25 March 2006 |
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We take a look at what the riders have to say after a somewhat chaotic qualifying session in Jerez. Quote of the day has to go to Colin Edwards with 'I suppose you could say we are up the creek but the important day is tomorrow so we still have a paddle!' |
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Saturday, 25 March 2006 |
Loris Capirossi will be starting the Jerez MotoGP tomorrow at the front of an all Bridgestone front row. The little Italian completed a stunning lap in the closing moments of the session which improved further on an earlier lap that already placed him in first.
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Friday, 24 March 2006 |
We take a look at what the riders have to say after day one of the 2006 season. For Rossi it's been the 'perfect way to start'.
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Friday, 24 March 2006 |
Valentino Rossi has started his 2006 season by going overall quickest during the Friday free practice sessions in Jerez. Rain in the morning meant that relatively few laps were completed in the first session - Rossi opted not to go out at all. By the time the MotoGP riders were ready to go out again for FP2 the track was almost completely dry, although lap times were still around 2 seconds slower than in the Jerez test a couple of weeks ago.
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Thursday, 23 March 2006 |
Earlier this week the European Commission granted the sale of Formula One to a private investment firm called CVC. This news would be on the wrong website were it not for the fact there was a condition to the sale. CVC also own Dorna who in turn own MotoGP. And the condition is: You can have F1 or you can have MotoGP, but not both.
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Thursday, 23 March 2006 |
After hundreds of laps over months of testing it's finally time to go racing. The 2006 MotoGP season kicks off tomorrow with the start of the Jerez Grand Prix weekend, which could well define the season as it did last year. We take a look at who's riding what and how the teams are shaping up for the season ahead.
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Monday, 20 March 2006 |
With the first race weekend of the season just a few short days away, Camel Yamaha riders Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi have shared their thoughts on the Jerez season opener, who they'll be looking out for this year and the problems with grip that the team suffered during the Jerez test last weekend.
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Friday, 17 March 2006 |
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Valentino Rossi has responded to the F1 world champion Fernando Alonso's remarks that he could achieve similar results in MotoGP to those which Rossi could in Formula One. The Italian told Motorcycle News that 'I read that if Alonso is able to make some practice then he can put a MotoGP bike on the podium with me. Well, I think we should drive a Formula One car, a World Rally car and a MotoGP bike, add the times together and then we will see who is the fastest.' |
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Monday, 13 March 2006 |
After a long and busy period of pre-season testing in which Kawasaki have topped the timesheets on more than one occasion, Harald Eckl believes that that the team are 'ready to go' and in 'excellent shape'. On Sunday Shinya Nakano and Randy de Puniet were third and fifth fastest respectively.
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Monday, 13 March 2006 |
Makoto Tamada, like several other riders, is still having problems with chatter on his Honda RC211V. The sole Konica Minolta Honda rider believes he needs to improve his lap times by half a second to be competitive at the season opener on the 26th of this month.
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Monday, 13 March 2006 |
Having been thrust into the role of 'development rider' it's been a busy pre-season for Nicky Hayden, who's now looking forward to the 'fun part' - racing. Teammate Dani Pedrosa would perhaps prefer a little more testing time to get used to the upgrade to an RCV, but his times throughout this test and over the course of the winter have been impressive. But can he keep it up over a race distance?
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Monday, 13 March 2006 |
Ducati have regularly featured in the top three throughout all of the pre-season tests, and Jerez was no different. Using qualifying tyres Loris Capirossi went fastest with a 1'39.411 and Sete Gibernau was second with a 1'39.663. On race tyres Capirossi would have still been around the top of the timesheets but Gibernau's best time with a race tyre would probably have seen him a fair bit lower.
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Monday, 13 March 2006 |
Fortuna Honda riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elias finished the Jerez test in 12th and 8th places respectively. The excellent weather conditions meant it was possible to spend the entire day lapping the Spanish circuit, with both riders completing over 80 laps.
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Monday, 13 March 2006 |
John Hopkins spent his final day of pre-season testing trying out a completely new chassis on his GSV-R. The Anglo-American was 13th fastest overall, using race tyres, with a 1'41.305 - around one and a half seconds faster than his fastest race lap last year.
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Monday, 13 March 2006 |
Carlos Checa has been a regular fixture at the top section of the timesheets during the winter, but a crash during a hot lap meant a trip to hospital and no further progress from eleventh position. Fortunately no serious harm was done and the Spaniard will be fine for the opening race of the season later this month.
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Monday, 13 March 2006 |
The Jerez test has been a stark contrast to Catalunya just a week ago for the Camel Yamaha team. A vibration problem has become the focus of the weekend, but despite that a fix could not be found.
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Monday, 13 March 2006 |
The Ducatis of Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau went fastest on Sunday in Jerez, as a busy winter of pre-season testing drew to a close. With many riders opting to go out on qualifiers towards the end of the session the final timesheets are arguably even less meaningful than normal although, in Capirossi's case at least, the pace seemed genuine based on times with race tyres.
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Sunday, 12 March 2006 |
'Super Shinya' topped the timesheets on Saturday in Jerez by almost half a second, albeit after a quick outing on a qualifying tyre. The Kawasaki was followed by Loris Capirossi in second and John Hopkins in third, with just one Honda in the top 10 in the form of Spaniard Dani Pedrosa.
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Friday, 10 March 2006 |
The Ducati riders have started the final pre-season test in Jerez on top, with Loris Capirossi going quickest, followed by Sete Gibernau. Shinya Nakano helped the Kawsaki team 'bounce back' from their truck crash earlier this week and went third fastest.
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Friday, 10 March 2006 |
There are some strong rumours currently of a Porsche MotoGP bike which could be lining up on the grid as early as 2007. Little is known yet about Porsche's venture into motorbike racing but a working prototype has apparently been built and already undergone some preliminary testing.
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Thursday, 09 March 2006 |
After leaving the Barcelona circuit one of Kawasaki's transport trucks toppled over at speed due to windy conditions. Fortunately nobody was seriously injured, although passenger and race mechanic Jason Corney suffered injuries to his right foot and Josef Buchner, also a race mechanic and driver of the truck, suffered a dislocated shoulder.
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Wednesday, 08 March 2006 |
In the past week the MotoGP teams have been busy in Catalunya and are now on their way to Jerez for the final pre-season test. Despite the apparent lack of any actual races, there are still plenty of rumours flying around the paddock.
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Monday, 06 March 2006 |
After struggling with cornering on his Honda RCV all weekend, the final day of testing was fairly unsuccessful for Makoto Tamada, as the varying weather conditions made working on development difficult. In the main session of the weekend Tamada came 12th, although he did opt to conclude his session early in order to focus on testing in the afternoon.
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Monday, 06 March 2006 |
Kenny Roberts briefly looked as though he could challenge for first place during the main session of the IRTA test, but a low speed crash put an end to his chances. Nonetheless, the American was pleased with his weekend, saying 'there's lots more to come'.
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Monday, 06 March 2006 |
After a fairly generic weekend of testing for the Fortuna team, Melandri came 6th and Elias was 15th. Oh, and Melandri spent Sunday riding around in a modified version of his usual helmet which had a heart on the side - it'll be on eBay as part of a charity auction next week, if that's your kind of thing.
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Monday, 06 March 2006 |
It was a tricky weekend across the board for the Honda riders, who couldn't quite seem to get the right setup for the Catalunya circuit. Fortunately for the Repsol team, Nicky Hayden managed to put in some fast laps towards the end of the main session and came second. For teammate Pedrosa this was the first experience of a MotoGP bike in the wet, and he says he's pleased with his progress.
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Monday, 06 March 2006 |
It couldn't have been a much better weekend for the Tech3 team, with Carlos Checa right at the top of the timesheets on Friday and Saturday and James Ellison coming fourth in the wet main session on Sunday.
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Sunday, 05 March 2006 |
Sete Gibernau achieved the fastest lap of the day at the Circuit de Catalunya, but unfortunately for him his time was set after the main qualifying session (in which he came 16th) had finished. Loris Capirossi, who has been struggling with illness during the weekend, came 14th in the main session of the day.
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Sunday, 05 March 2006 |
Despite a big crash on Friday, Randy de Puniet ended Saturday sixth fastest and teammate Shinya Nakano was up to second place. Unfortunately for the Kawasaki team, their performance today in the wet qualifying session was not so successful, with de Puniet coming 10th and Nakano 11th.
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Sunday, 05 March 2006 |
The Suzukis looked strong in the wet conditions of the main Catalunya IRTA test session, with John Hopkins briefly going fastest before a small crash ended his afternoon and Vermeulen taking fifth on his first outing in the wet on the GSV-R MotoGP bike.
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Sunday, 05 March 2006 |
The Camel Yamaha team have been at the top of the timesheets for most of the weekend and although wet weather usually shakes things up a bit, both riders ended the 40 minute 'M Award' session in the top three, with Edwards taking home the car despite Rossi's best efforts.
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Sunday, 05 March 2006 |
Colin Edwards beat his Camel Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi to take the keys of a new BMW Z4 at the official Barcelona IRTA test today. The 40 minute session took place on a soaked Circuit de Catalunya and saw many riders, including Rossi, sliding their way into the gravel traps.
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Saturday, 04 March 2006 |
Here are the various comments from the riders at the Catalunya test today, in no particular order.
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Saturday, 04 March 2006 |
Todays testing at the Circuit de Catalunya ended with similar results to yesterday, with Rossi going fastest and Checa continuing to lap at a pace beyond anyone's expectations.
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Friday, 03 March 2006 |
Valentino Rossi has dominated the first day of the official MotoGP test at the Catalunya circuit. The 7 time champ has been at the top of the timesheets for most of the day and by the end of the session was almost half a second up on his nearest rival of the day, teammate Colin Edwards.
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Friday, 03 March 2006 |
The International Road Racing Teams Association (IRTA) held their annual general meeting at the Catalunya circuit earlier this week, during which Herve Poncharal, the Tech 3 Yamaha team principal, was elected president. The previous president, Sito Pons, opted to step down from the position, probably because his own Honda Pons team has not made it onto the grid for 2006.
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Wednesday, 01 March 2006 |
After a mixed test in Sepang, which was less than successful for Sete Gibernau, the Ducati MotoGP team look ahead to the official start of the 2006 season - the Catalunya IRTA test.
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