After seeing numerous crashes during qualifying and practice sessions, the rider grid for Sunday’s French GP is finally set, with a 1-2 qualifying position by Fiat-Yamaha. Valentino Rossi will lead the pack from the pole position, likely to be followed closely by teammate Jorge Lorenzo. Rounding out the top four are the other two aliens, Dani Pedrosa (3rd) and Casey Stoner (4th). More and full qualifying results after the jump.
UPDATE: GPOne.com (probably the most reliable source in the Italian Media) has gotten word from Livio Suppo that “no one has signed anything yet”, which probably confirms that Stoner is talking to HRC, but obviously hasn’t made his mind up about anything.
Silly season is officially underway starting today as the Italian press is full of accounts (all penning their source as being from Sportmediaset) that Casey Stoner has signed with the Repsol Honda MotoGP team, with a sub-headline that Valentino Rossi has been offered a two-year contract with Ducati. Sportmediaset cites the deciding reason for Stoner jumping ship as being the Australian rider’s disappointment in how Ducati backed him during his mysterious illness last year.
Despite headlining Stoner’s move, the bulk of their article concerns Rossi’s switch to Ducati, which may be a tip-off on the validity of the news, as the Italian press loves to pair the two marquee names together. We wade through the silly season possibilities further after the jump.
Yes silly season is well upon us now for MotoGP, and rumors are swelling after Livio Suppo spent time with Casey Stoner and his father during the MotoGP testing at Jerez, Spain. Suppo, who moved to HRC after 11 years with Ducati, is rumored to have met with Stoner in order to have the Australian rider make a switch of teams in 2011. The Honda marketing manager made it clear when he jumped ship from Ducati that he would be back for Stoner, a rumor that’s been confirmed by Loris Capirossi, and passed around the paddock more than a few times.
MotoGP action is finally back and the 2010 season was underway at Qatar this weekend. With three-time Qatar GP winner Casey Stoner sitting on the pole position, and all eyes were on the Australian for a fourpeat. But with the Fiat-Yamaha contingency on front row with Stoner, the Ducati was sure to have some competition. Stoner would find pressure from all corners though, as riders from the second and third row would shine under the Losail circuit lights during this season opener. Click through for a full race report.
The 2010 MotoGP season is officially underway as riders took to he track tonight to qualify for tomorrow’s race. Under the lights, riders enjoyed weather that had noticeably less humidity than at the track’s pre-season testing just three weeks ago. With a bevy of new riders, many were curious to see how these MotoGP rookies would fare in the big show, but it was the usual suspects who took all the spotlight.
Nobody in MotoGP has the Losail Circuit’s number better than Casey Stoner. The Australian rider has won the last three races at the Qatar track (read: has won half of all of the GP races at Qatar), and once again seems to be leading the field this year as Free Practice for the MotoGP opener has just concluded. Sitting down with a track diagram in hand, Stoner takes us through some of his notes on the track.
Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner have lobbied Dorna to start the season opener at Qatar at least an hour earlier than was previously scheduled. Scheduled to start at 11pm local time, MotoGP’s night race at Qatar benefits from hitting the European market during prime time television hours, and hits American shores during reasonable daylight hours.
The evening start also means that riders don’t have to compete during the hot daytime desert weather, but the downside with that is the evening temperatures rapidly change as the night progresses and evening dew forms on the Losail track. With riders crashing later in the Qatar testing times this past week, Rossi and Stoner think the MotoGP race would be better served starting earlier in the evening.
MotoGP testing has concluded at the Losail International Circuit just outside of Doha, Qatar, and sees Casey Stoner making a late push to take the top spot at what has become one of his top tracks in the past years. There was some doubt with Stoner though, as Rossi lead almost all of Thursday’s sessions, and was biting on Stoner’s heels today. Surprise appearances from the test come in the form of Ben Spies, Andrea Dovizioso, and Randy de Puniet. Spies finished Thursday third quickest, and was the fourth quickest rider overall. Dovi took the honors as the fastest Honda, but was challenged by de Puniet on Thursday for that spot. Thursday the French rider was 5th quickest, and managed to keep his shirt on despite the hot weather in Doha.
Friday saw Nicky Hayden make progress with the Ducati Desmosedici, while Colin Edwards slipped down the overall grid Friday, despite his strong numbers Thursday and consistent runs during both test days. Lorenzo and Pedrosa were both present for the track test, but not in spirit. Both riders were suffering from injuries, and it showed in their performance under the hot desert lights. Check past the jump for a full timing sheet.
The last qualifying session of the year is in the bag, as the gorgeous sunshine of Valencia, Spain bore down on the MotoGP paddock. With the Championship sealed up, all eyes were not on this season, but the next. With more than a few MotoGP riders finding their way into new venues for 2010, we bid them goodbye, yet also welcome the new talent that’s pouring into the premiere class next year. Qualifying results after the jump.
After providing three days of sunshine for the Sepang race track, the heavens opened up today with a downpour of rain 30 minutes before the commencement of the Malaysian GP. The change in weather caused the penultimate MotoGP race to be delayed by 45 minutes as everyone waited for the monsoon to abate to a drizzle. With riders having no reference for the wet Malaysian course, it seemed like all bets were off. Click past the jump for spoilers and more.
On its second to last stop of the season, MotoGP heads to Sepang, Malaysia for the 2009 running of the Malaysian GP. Looking to clinch the MotoGP Championship is Valentino Rossi, who really only needs to finish in the top 10 of the next two races to keep his Championship status alive. The situation is more dire for Jorge Lorenzo, who needs to grab as many points as he can this weekend, and hope that Rossi makes a mistake along the way. More on this, after the jump.