Photos: Fiat-Yamaha
Italy was abuzz yesterday as Valentino Rossi took to the track, testing at Misano, after nearly a month long hiatus. Breaking his shin during a highside at Mugello, Rossi was able to get back in the saddle this week partly because of his extensive use of a hyperbaric chamber, which super-saturated his body with oxygen and increased his body’s healing power, but it is also because the Italian World Champion is just that dedicated to racing.
One lucky spectator at Misano was able to catch a number of Rossi’s laps on video, as the Italian completed 26 laps, over two sessions, on the 2010 Yamaha YZF-R1 World Superbike. Rumors peg the carbon-clad WSBK R1 as being one of Cal Crutchlow’s bikes. Crutchlow is a favorite candidate to move into MotoGP (with Monster Tech3 Yamaha) next season, if Yamaha loses Rossi to Ducati in 2011. Check the videos out after the jump.
Photo: La Stampa
Valentino Rossi completed 26 laps of testing today at Misano, while on-board a World Superbike spec 2010 Yamaha YZF-R1. After being off a motorcycle for nearly a month, Rossi and Fiat-Yamaha hoped to assess today how the Italian rider’s broken right leg has progressed since its injury on June 5th at Mugello. Rossi did an initial run of 11 laps on the R1 late in the afternoon, with a best time of 1’41.00. An hour later, the Champion did a second session of 15 laps, improving on his time by 3 seconds, with a best time of 1’38.200. Although pleased with the test, there’s still some debated on when Rossi will return to MotoGP racing.
Hot World Superbike racing continued under the Italian summer sun as Race 2 was underway at Misano on Sunday. The home track for Aprilia looked for Max Biaggi to try for another weekend double, but BMW and Troy Corser set themselves as the team to beat all weekend long. With Corser on the pole, The Emperor had his work cut out for himself, not to mention the fact that the majority of the top WSBK teams had tested at Misano, and brought their A-game this weekend. Check after the jump for all the spoilers, results, and video highlights.
Max Biaggi turned a year older yesterday, making the Italian rider 39 years-old, but he isn’t the only rider on the World Superbike grid that’s whose a bit weathered with age. Battling for Race 1 at Misano this weekend, the old duffs came out of the woodwork, and showed that you can teach an old dog new tricks after all. Get out your walked, and check out all the race spoilers after the jump.
World Superbike hits Italy again this season, with WSBK stopping at Misano for its racing action. Sunday’s race should be a good one as there was a surprise result in Saturday’s Superpole qualifying event. Mixing it up on the front row is a glimpse of faces of old, some newcomers, and the usual suspects, which could sort itself out very interestingly in Sunday’s races. Find the full results after the jump.
Troy Bayliss may not be making a comeback to World Superbike racing, but he showed he still has what it takes to out-pace the current Xerox Ducati factory squad during testing at Misano. Bayliss showed strong riding at the Mugello test a few weeks ago, but at Misano he was half a second faster than Fabrizio, and nearly a full second ahead of Noriyuki Haga’s best time.
Troy Bayliss has dashed the hopes of Ducatisti around the world by denying any intention of coming back to World Superbike racing. After rumors were rife last month that we could see the Australian rider make a wild card entry this year, Bayliss has said in a press conference at Misano that he is still in retirement, and plans to stay that way indefinitely.
Launching at the 2010 World Ducati Week at Misano on June 10th-13th, Ducatisti will soon be able to enjoy the official story about their favorite Bologna brand on DVD. Ducati: The Story covers the heritage of Ducati from 1926 to 2007, and features numerous personal accounts from the people that shaped the Italian company into what it is today. Although set to be unveiled at Misano, the DVD is now available at the Misano World Circuit, the Ducati Museum bookshop and Factory Store, and will be available in Ducati Stores around the world. Trailer after the jump.
Nearly two years after the Australian threw in the towel on motorcycle racing, Troy Bayliss has found a way to return to motorcycling headlines by his rumored intention to re-enter the World Superbike racing series. After recently testing for Ducati at Mugello (Bayliss is still on the Italian payroll as a test rider), Troy made it clear that he missed racing, and would like to return to the sport. While many sites are pegging a 2011 season for the Australian rider, we could see him as a wild card entry as early as Misano…if Bayliss goes through on his desires to race again.