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MotoGP: Veterans, Rookies, & Replacements Send-off the 800cc Era at the Valencian GP

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After a somber tribute to Marco Simoncelli, racing at Valencia commenced Sunday under ominous skies. While the weather has been variable throughout the Valencian GP, Sunday’s forecast was especially treacherous, as the off-and-on drizzle was neither damp enough for a full-wet setup, nor dry enough for race slicks. Nothing better highlighted this fact than a blitzkrieg lap by American Josh Hayes, which saw the AMA Superbike Champion on slicks dust the rest of the rain-shod MotoGP field by three seconds on the closing Warm-up Session lap.

With the wetter weather favoring the struggling Ducatis of Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi, the chance of rain equated to a chance for a Ducati Corse podium. The RC212V of Casey Stoner of course stands in their way as always, as does the Repsol Honda of Dani Pedrosa. Also fast this race weekend has been Alvaro Bautista, the Spaniard surely encouraged by a local crowd, as well as the prospect that his results in Valencia could help sway a very reluctant Japanese management into racing in MotoGP next year.

Randy de Puniet is also worth mentioning, as the Frenchman has been one of the fastest Ducatis all weekend, and missed a front-row start by only .06 seconds. With four manufacturers starting in the top five grid spots, the 2011 MotoGP Championship and the era of 800cc GP bikes, concluded with some of the most diversity it has ever seen on starting line.

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MotoGP: Malaysian GP Cancelled

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After a tragic accident involving Marco Simoncelli, Colin Edwards, and Valentino Rossi, MotoGP has decided not to resume the Malaysian GP. The decision came down as Marco Simoncelli battled for his life at the track-side medical center, with Race Direction stating that it would be inappropriate to restart the race while Simoncelli was in such a precarious position medically. Succumbing to his injuries shortly after the cancellation was announced, heartbreak swept the paddock with the news that Marco Simoncelli died at the age of 24.

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MotoGP: Honda Dominates Qualifying at Sepang

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With just two rounds left in the season, MotoGP comes to Sepang this weekend for the Malaysian GP. Dominating the Free Practice sessions, Honda clearly has the Asian track’s number, while the rest of the field shows signs of a long season. Hector Barbera leads the walking-wounded, as the Spanish rider has fought through the race weekend, nursing his stapled shoulder through each session. Barely able to complete a few laps at a time, there are serious doubts about the Mapfire Ducati rider’s ability to ride the full-race distance, though no one is questioning his determination.

While Barbera will likely give the race his best effort, Rizla Suzuki wild card John Hopkins has already thrown in the towel, as the extreme physical demands have aggrivated Hopper’s hand injury beyond his tolerance. In the Yamaha tent, Jorge Lorenzo is of course absent, after his traumatic finger injury in Phillip Island. Replaced by Yamaha test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Lorenzo’s absence and an ailing Ben Spies have made Sepang another forgettable race weekend for Yamaha Racing. Still sore from his high-speed crash in Australia, the American Spies has noticeably not been himself, with his chest and ribs still bothering him considerably. The one glimmer of hope for Yamaha in Malaysia has been Colin Edwards, who has been one of the few riders able to mix things up with the four factory Hondas.

Though grip issues from the intense heat have plagued the field throughout the weekend, Sepang has otherwise provided MotoGP with perfect weather for the Malaysian GP. The heat has been a mixed bag for Ducati Corse, as Valentino Rossi and his crew have noticeably been off the pace, and not able to capitalize on the team’s off-season testing at Sepang. Meanwhile, Nicky Hayden has been shining on the Ducati Desmosedici GP11.1, as the American and former-World Champion has been the Italian bike to beat, and have been showing strong second row potential. How would everyone sort out in qualifying though? You can find out after the jump.

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Photo of the Week: Hail to the King

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It seems to have been inevitable now, and what other words could there be to say? Casey Stoner has been head & shoulders above the rest of the MotoGP class, a trait that is not too dissimilar from how Jorge Lorenzo, his rival all season long, won the Championship in 2010. The bike to beat this season, being on the Repsol Honda certainly didn’t hurt Stoner’s chances, but he did more on his factory Honda RC212V than the three other very talented riders who had similar equipment. Congratulations to Casey and his HRC team for a well-deserved 2011 World Championship title.

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MotoGP: Qualifying Shows Some Surprises at Phillip Island

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With suspicious skies, qualifying for MotoGP’s Australian GP got underway today. With the weather always variable at Phillip Island, riders saw sun, clouds, and a light spitting of rain before taking to the qualifying session. Normally a favorite track with the GP riders, Phillip Island has been plagued with a bumpy and torn-up surface, which dominated the discussion after Friday’s debriefings. With the Australian track announcing that the GP circuit would be resurfaced before the 2013 season, there is at least a remedy on the way, though it doesn’t bode well for the 2012 Australian GP.

Despite the surface conditions, Casey Stoner primarily lead the charge through the Free Practice sessions, though not in as dominant of a fashion as one would have expected. Finishing FP3 just over half a second quicker than Lorenzo, Stoner is still the paddock favorite to win tomorrow’s race, though his chances of clinching the Championship here at home seem slim. Able to keep the Australian within their reach, Jorge Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli have given Stoner chase, though none of them have been able to take the top position on the timesheet from the Aussie.

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Dovizioso Signs with Monster Tech 3 Yamaha for 2012

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Another seat in the silly season game of musical chairs has been snatched, as Andrea Dovizioso has signed a contract with the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha squad for the 2012 season. Shit out of luck, in more common vernacular, Dovizioso found himself the odd-man out after Honda announced that it would only have three factory riders for the upcoming season. With Stoner and Pedrosa still under contract through that term, this news meant a tough choice between Dovi and rival Marco Simoncelli. Though consistently placing higher than his fellow Italian, Dovizioso lost out to SuperSic’s bold track moves and likable off-track demeanor.

While bad news for Dovi, the falling-out from Honda meant good news for the rest of the MotoGP teams who were anxious to retain the services of the potently quick Repsol Honda rider. Hervé Poncharal’s Monster Tech 3 Yamaha team seemingly won the battle of the offers, as it’s being reported that the French team has signed Andrea Dovizioso for the 2012 season, beating out the many other offers Dovi had on the table, including a reportedly factory-spec Honda at LCR Honda.

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MotoGP: Japanese GP Proves to be Worth the Hype

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A less well-known MotoGP factoid is that Honda owns the Twin Ring Motegi circuit, though to the casual observer HRC clearly had a dominate presence at Motegi this weekend, with eight bikes on the grid throughout the race weekend. As the Yamahas struggled throughout the week, and with Ducati still hunting for a setup that will allow them to compete near the front, Honda continued to make a point of national unity at the Japanese GP going into Sunday’s race, a fact that has been further underlined by the company’s continued dominance in the 2011 season.

After a dominant finish in Aragon, Casey Stoner had all but won the 2011 MotoGP Championship, though few expected the Australian to take things easy in Japan this weekend. No longer nipping on Stoner’s Championship heals, Lorenzo came to Japan with a tall order to defend his #1 plate, though mathematically the reigning-World Champion hasn’t been ruled out of the Championship. Expected to push hard for the rest of the season, Lorenzo’s fate this season rested on the hopes for a mistake from the seemingly unstoppable Stoner.

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Simoncelli Re-Signs with Gresini – Factory Honda for 2012

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Ahead of the Japanese GP at Motegi, Team San Carlo Honda Gresini has announced the re-signing of Marco Simoncelli to the satellite Honda team, with SuperSic once again riding on a factory Honda motorcycle. Hoping that the factory Honda RC213V will yield even more positive results for Simoncelli, HRC has thus also renewed their support for the Italian rider, who will join Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa as confirmed factory riders for 2012.

With HRC stating all silly season it would have only three factory riders, two in Repsol Honda, for 2012, this announcement is just as much about Marco Simoncelli as it is about Andrea Dovizioso. Though Dovi has beaten Sic on paper all year long, it would seem the other Italian Honda rider will end up in a satellite squad, either with Tech3 (Team Boss Hervé Poncharal has hinted at Dovi being his #1 choice) or LCR Honda. An announcement on Dovizioso’s 2012 plans outside of a factory HRC contract is expected at Motegi as well.

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Photo of the Week: Mastermind

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In August, I sat across the aisle from Livio Suppo on a connecting flight to Indianapolis, and found the HRC Communications & Marketing Director weary at the end of his journey from Italy. Though cordial as ever, he was not in the mood to chat as he yawned, stretched and endured the last leg of a transcontinental flight.

So I kept to myself, and thought back to when Casey Stoner joined Ducati in 2007, the year he’d go on to win the world title on the new 800cc formula. As Ducati’s MotoGP Project Leader, Suppo was often asked what Ducati had done to make the GP7 so dominant? What had they gotten so right that Stoner was running away with the title?

Again and again Suppo told the media that it was really Casey who was performing the miracles, not the bike. Again and again that statement was dismissed as an attempt to deflect attention from whatever secret mojo Ducati had come up with. And once again in 2011, hindsight has shed an interesting light on Ducati’s past. It turns out Suppo was right when he said it was Casey, not the bike.

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Honda to Field Eight Riders at the Japanese GP

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Make no doubts about it, Honda is set to make a statement at the rescheduled Japanese GP on October 2nd. After much hemming and hawing over whom would and would not race at Motegi, virtually every rider in the MotoGP paddock has been confirmed to be in attendance at Japan early next month, including Casey Stoner (according to Honda at least).

Whether it is because the riders have begun to believe the bevy of reports that Motegi and the Fukushima nuclear plant are safe, or the fact that the Twin Ring Circuit has already played host to several high-profile events, or even if it is the simple reality that Japanese companies like Honda and Yamaha have enormously long memories regarding issues of pride and honor, the fact of the matter is that not only will the MotoGP grid be as full as possible (there are question marks regarding Loris Capirossi’s shoulder), but Honda will field two more riders for the Japanese GP.

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Photos: Special Repsol Honda MotoGP Livery from Aragon

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If you’ve already watched the Aragon GP, you may already have noticed the fact that the Repsol Honda team was using special livery for MotoGP’s penultimate European round. Decked out in special starred race livery created by Spanish designer Davidelfin, Repsol’s riders sure were the stars of the weekend, helping the Spanish company celebrate its 100th Grand Prix victory.

Achieving their first premier-class win at the 1995 Australian GP with Mick Doohan, Honda and Repsol’s partnership in GP racing has been a fruitful one to say the least. Looking for at least one Championship win during the 800cc era of MotoGP, Repsol Honda seems well on its path after this weekend at Motorland Aragon. Check out Davidelfin’s special Repsol Honda livery after the jump.

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