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WSBK: Dry Conditions Prevail for Cold Qualifying at MMP

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Encircled by the gorgeous Wasatch and Oquirrh mountain ranges, Miller Motorsports Park has some of the most dramatic backdrops out of all the World Superbike venues, though coupled with the track’s 4,000+ foot elevation, the weather can be wet and cold at times. Such words were probably an understatement for the conditions on Sunday, as frigid temperatures and rain prevailed in the day’s earlier sessions. Realizing that some Superpole qualifying was scheduled for later though, the weather gods appeased the American crowd, who had been braving the conditions, and quickly dried the track for World Superbike qualifying.

Down on power at the very fast track, the Ducatis of Smrz and Checa surprised everyone with their dominance on the time sheets. Of course, Tom Sykes could not be counted out from the qualifying fun, as the Englishman has taken four of the past five pole positions. One of only two stops on the WSBK calendar that is outside of Europe, American fans were treated on this Memorial Day weekend to some fine qualifying, which included some upsets. Results after the jump.

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MotoGP: Saturday at Estoril Round-Up: On Sunday Looking Good For Some Racing

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The rain, which has been chasing motorcycle races around this season, finally got bored and moved off on Saturday, giving the track at Estoril a chance to dry. The final corner, which proved so treacherous on Friday, was greatly improved – and made even better by the addition of a cone on the inside of Turn 13, marking where the wet patches were so the riders could take a line inside them. But the wet patches were still there, with water apparently seeping up from the ground to be sucked to the surface. The repairs to the track had been half the problem; the new asphalt was still so fresh that the bitumen was sucking up water from below. Not a lot the track can do about such a problem, and rather cruel to be punished for trying to fix the track in the first place.

While their resurfacing attempts may not have paid off as intended, the circuit management’s bargain basement approach to ticket pricing made a huge difference. The track was busier on a Saturday than any time I have ever been here, with many fans deciding that for the price of a tank of gas and a cheap hotel, they would head for Estoril. With tickets selling for between 2 euros for the cheapest single-day entrance to 20 euros for a three-day grandstand pass, the entertainment is also a little limited. Jumbotrons around the track are few and far between, the only one I have seen has been opposite the main grandstand. But for 2 euros, and with some great seating around Estoril, who is going to complain?

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WSBK: Qualifying at Monza Provides Another Wet Superpole

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Declared a wet session by Race Direction, Superpole at Monza brought an interesting change of events at the historic Italian track. With horsepower being the name of the game during dry conditions, all eyes were trained to see if the damp weather could be the great equalizer for the Ducati contingency hoped for.

With the horsepower of the BMW S1000RR’s creating 1-2-3 advantage during the provisional pole session that was lead by the BMW Italia of Michel Fabrizio, Carlos Checa and the rest of the Ducatis had to contend with significantly slower trap speeds down the main straight. Getting some help from the weather, that seemed all to change though Saturday afternoon at Monza.

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MotoGP: Red Flag Interrupts Congested Qualifying at Estoril

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With mixed weather at the Portuguese track, MotoGP riders headed out for their last qualifying session at Estoril for the foreseeable future. With the rain making a brief appearance, riders had to contend with changing conditions, though the biggest disruption to the qualifying session was the red flag stoppage for an injured rider.

With a congested track at Estoril, lapped bikes played a crucial element for riders trying to get in a flying lap. As such, the order for Sunday’s racing grid has some surprises from GP fans. Spoilers and qualifying results for the 2012 Portuguese GP are after the jump.

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MotoGP: Saturday at Jerez Round Up: Of Fresh Excitement and Fallen Heroes

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Writing about MotoGP is hard at the moment. There are so many great stories to tell – the astonishing rise of Romano Fenati out of nowhere in Moto3, the legion of Kalexes taking on Marc Marquez in Moto2, the frenetic pace of development among the CRT machines, the ascendancy of Dani Pedrosa as a challenger for Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner, the rebirth of Cal Crutchlow as a serious force to be reckoned with, the HRC design gaffe that left the RC213V seriously afflicted by chatter, just to name a few – but it is hard to get around to telling them. Because the vast majority of fans only want to read about one single subject: the enigma of Valentino Rossi’s continuing battle with the Ducati Desmosedici, and his fall from championship contender to mid-pack straggler.

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MotoGP: Mixed Weather for Qualifying at Jerez

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With rain in all three of MotoGP’s Free Practice Sessions at Jerez, qualifying for the Spanish GP was unsurprisingly shaped by the weather. Getting a dry track with damp sections, riders were able to go out initially on slicks, though mid-way through it looked like rain could cut short the chance for lap-time improvements. The weather more or less cooperated though, only interrupting the qualifying briefly, though it did help make for some interesting results, with more than a few riders caught sliding along the asphalt.

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WSBK: “Wet” Superpole Qualifying at Assen

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With the rain playing a factor during the Qualifying Practice sessions, riders like Max Biaggi were caught out, and left high and dry during an otherwise water-filled build up to today’s Superpole qualifying. As the Roman Emperor watched from the sidelines, World Superbike Race Direction deemed the Superpole a wet session, reducing the qualifying event to two twenty-minute sessions, with only the top eight riders going onto the second round. With the track actually dry for Superpole 2, all eyes were on Tom Sykes, to see if the Kawasaki rider could make a hat trick out of his qualifying streak.

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2012 Bol d’Or Final Qualifying Results

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Concluding its second day of qualifying, the grid for the 2012 Bol d’Or remains essentially in the same order, as the times on Friday at Magny-Cours were slower than yesterday’s qualifying session. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team’s legacy of FIM World Endurance Championship domination remains intact, which lead SERT Team Principal to say, “I don’t understand what the competition is doing!” during the press debrief. SERT’s Vincent Philippe was the only rider to break into the 1’39 time bracket. The 76th running of the Bol d’Or 24 Heures starts tomorrow at noon, local time.

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2012 Bol d’Or First Qualifying Results

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The Bol d’Or 24 hours endurance race is this weekend, and is the first stop on the FIM World Endurance Championship (EWC) calendar. With the FIM averaging the qualifying laps for each teams’ riders, which is usually three riders to a team, it should come as no surprise that the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT) is once again on top of the time sheets for the first day of qualifying.

With 33 years of experience and 11 Championship wins, SERT has been the dominate factory team in (EWC), and the all French crew considers the Bol d’Or its home race. Campaigning a 2012 Suzuki GSX-R100 with a Yoshimura-built motor, SERT will have to contend with some stout-looking Yamahas, as well as the ever-learning Honda TT Legends squad. Checkout the full results after the jump.

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