Sunday, February 28, 2010

Super quick Rossi beats pole record at Sepang

Friday, 26 February 2010

The final day of the Sepang test concluded with Valentino Rossi not only faster than his pole position time from the 2009 GP, but also extremely happy with the “great shape” of the M1 prototype.

The close of the second pre-season test at Sepang on Friday saw Valentino Rossi at the head of the timesheet once again, and this time the Italian was faster than his own pole position record set at the circuit for the 2009 Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

A fastest lap of 2’00.271 was almost three-tenths of a second quicker, as Rossi spent the final day of the test trying electronic packages, a new tyre for Bridgestone, and evaluating the overall work done so far on the M1.

“I'm really happy to have beaten my pole record, it's a good feeling to be this fast in testing,” said Rossi. “I did this with an old tyre but we also got the chance to try a very good new tyre from Bridgestone today, which I hope we will use from the first race. Our bike is in great shape; we need to do a bit more work on the electronics but in general everything is better, especially the rear grip and the engine. Yamaha have been very clever in developing this new bike whilst keeping the best parts of the old one.”

Rossi also did a few laps on the Yamaha test team’s bike, providing important feedback for future developments of the M1, and he is now looking forward to the final pre-season test in Qatar from March 18-19.

“It was good to get the chance to try the Japanese test bike, hopefully the feedback I gave them will help us in the future,” added Rossi. “Now we go to Qatar and then we will see our level because it is not one of mine or Yamaha's best tracks! But we're in great shape and this is very important at this stage of the season. I'm really looking forward to it.”

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Calendar & Circuits

2010 Season


GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN
25 April Motegi | Japan

JPNGRAND PRIX OF JAPAN





TT ASSEN
26 June Assen | Netherlands

NEDTT ASSEN



RED BULL U.S. GRAND PRIX
25 July Laguna Seca | United States

USARED BULL U.S. GRAND PRIX




GRAND PRIX OF HUNGARY
19 September Balatonring | Hungary

HUNGRAND PRIX OF HUNGARY





PDF
Download 2010 MotoGP calendar


Carmelo Ezpeleta visits Inmotec

Tuesday, 23 February 2010

The CEO of Dorna Sports sees first hand the details of the development of the GPI 10 bike, which is due to debut at the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya on July 4th.

Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of MotoGP rights holders Dorna Sports, visited the headquarters of Inmotec in Pamplona on Monday to view the progress being made by the Spanish company on their GPI 10 machine.

Mr. Ezpeleta, who is attending a Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Congress in Pamplona on Tuesday, viewed at first hand the progress of the development of the Inmotec GPI 10 machine which is set to participate in a selection of MotoGP World Championship races this year. Upon its debut at the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya on July 4th it will become the first Spanish bike to run in the MotoGP World Championship, with Catalán rider Iván Silva on board.

Inmotec, led by Óscar Gorría, has maintained its development programme throughout the winter. In early February the team worked on new aerodynamic solutions in a wind tunnel, and combined with the tests completed at circuits Inmotec is now assembling its second MotoGP bike with different evolutions.

Those behind the ambitious project believe the presence of the GPI 10 prototype in the World Championship will be the best assessment of its strengths and possibilities, although results obtained from tests so far have been evaluated as outstanding.

Monday, February 1, 2010

“No rush” at Sepang Test for Spies

Monday, 01 February 2010

Malaysia will be the Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider’s first outing on a bike since the Valencia Test last November, and he is looking forward to adjusting to the new M1.

Ben Spies will return to action this week in the first official MotoGP Test of the year at Sepang, having not ridden a motorcycle for over two months.

With a second Test at the same circuit three weeks later the primary aim for Spies when he takes to the track on Thursday will be to find his initial feeling with the bike he will ride for the 2010 season.

“The good thing is that we go back again three weeks later, so I’m not in a rush at all to prove anything in the first test,” explained Spies. “Time-wise I’m not so concerned, I just want to put laps in and mess with the bike so I’m actually changing things. After the test at Valencia we didn’t change anything with the bike, so really I’ll just get a solid set-up and then we’ll go back there again in three weeks and that’s where I’ll really start trying to get down to my business, doing the best I can and getting up to speed. This first test is more just a shakedown. I’ve not ridden a motorcycle since the Valencia race, I haven’t ridden a motocross bike – I haven’t done anything. I’ve just been lying low, so I have to knock the dust off and start working with the new team and see how that goes.”

When asked what he could say about the M1 he will ride this season, Spies replied: “Honestly I don’t know! I’m going to ride it as hard as I can whatever I’m given. I would like to say that with the new engine rules and things like that, that I feel that a satellite team bike from any manufacturer is going to be closer than it has been in recent years, just because it’s a lot cheaper on a manufacturer to produce. But I really can’t tell you what I’m going to be on compared to what the factory guys will be on, or if it’s going to be the same identical bike. I have no clue right now but I’m just going to show up in Malaysia and start clicking off laps, and start that learning process.”

Spies’ pre-season preparations have followed his usual routine which involves lots of fitness work and plenty of cycling, and he has competed in races to maintain a competitive outlet.

“I’ve been doing a lot of physical preparation. My training during the season will be a little bit different because I’ll be doing one race in a day instead of two: I’ll have to consult with my trainer,” he said. “So far though I’ve just been putting in a lot of miles and getting my pace up, so that when we start the hard part of the season I’ll then be working on the high-end part of my fitness. I’ve been doing a lot of cycling and a little bit of racing, and I’ve had a pretty good off-season so far.”