Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

Randy de Puniet

Browsing
Racing

There’s Never a Bunny Around When You Need One

By 3 Comments

God bless Randy de Puniet. For whatever reason, the French LCR Honda rider has wormed his way into our hearts here at Asphalt & Rubber. At first it was because de Puniet had a penchant for crashing, perpetually misplacing his shirt, and well…being French. As the leading satellite bike rider in the 2010 season though, Randy de Puniet has found a new consistency with the LCR Honda, and has even given the factory Repsol Honda boys a run for their money on more than one occasion. We have to admit, we’ve been impressed with de Randy 2.0 this season.

de Puniet has also stayed mostly out of the gravel traps for 2010, showing a new maturity. He’s still French, pompous, and generally comes across as a playboy, but we sort of like that in our French men. Afterall, if Parisians were courteous to American tourists, the city would feel a lot like Atlanta: hot, dirty, and full of people who talk funny.

So when Randy de Puniet broke his leg during the German GP, we were crushed to hear that our favorite rider in the paddock would be out until Brno, and miss the Laguna Seca round. Our concerns of course then immediately turned to Randy’s well-being as he was being carted off for examination at Clinica Mobile.

Was he ok? Did his broad shoulders fit through the clinic’s meager doorways? Who would hold his brave hand while Dr. Costa poked and proded him with his medical “science”? We now know those answers. Video after the jump.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Randy de Puniet Out for Seca – Roger Lee Hayden In

By 3 Comments

If you haven’t watched the German GP at Sachsenring yet, stop reading now. After crashing during Sunday’s race and breaking his tibia and fibia, Randy de Puniet will be out for the Red Bull US GP at Laguna Seca next weekend. The horrific crash leaves de Puniet in a similar situation as to what Valentino Rossi found himself in 6 weeks ago, which gives us a glimpse as to when we can likely see the shirtless Frenchman back in MotoGP racing. Who is to replace de Puniet at Seca? Why none other than Roger Lee Hayden.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Red Flag Interrupts Qualifying at Sachsenring

By 2 Comments

MotoGP qualifying was underway today in Germany, as riders took to Sachsenring with good weather abounding. With the return of Valentino Rossi to the series, the MotoGP paddock is buzzing with excitement, but the good vibrations would be cut short as the qualifying session was red flagged part-way through.

Seemingly grenading one of his six precious motors, Jorge Lorenzo dumped oil onto the German track, but before officials could the halt the session, Ben Spies and Randy de Puniet experienced a better understanding to what a mu coefficient is, and ended up in the gravel trap. While Spies was un-hurt, de Puniet was seen grabbing his ankle after the crash. The French rider did not participate in the restarted qualifying session, and spent his time in Clinica Mobile.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

MotoGP: Hat-Trick Win at Dutch TT

By 3 Comments

From the land of windmills, awkward late night television commercials, and mayonnaise covered French fries, comes MotoGP action at Assen. The only MotoGP race to start on Saturday instead of Sunday, Holland played host to its 80th Dutch TT this weekend. Assen saw a few riders making progress on their season, despite only 15 bikes taking to the grid. Check after the jump for race spoilers.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

MotoGP: Lorenzo on Poll at Assen – Spies Continues to Impress with 4th Place Qualifying Finish

By 1 Comment

Jorge Lorenzo continues to dominate in a Rossi-less MotoGP, taking his second pole this season while at Assen for the Dutch TT. Also making waves was American Ben Spies, who after taking a third place finish at Silverstone, finds himself fourth on the starting grid tomorrow for the Dutch TT’s Saturday race day start. Lastly, a big shirt-less high five goes to Randy de Puniet for taking his second second-place qualifying in a row. The Frenchman continues to make the Repsol Honda team look bad with his impressive season, and apparently hasn’t gotten the memo that satellite riders are supposed to be slow.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

MotoGP Qatar Test Results: Stoner on Top as Spies Finishes Qatar 4th Fastest Overall

By 3 Comments

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.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Randy de Puniet Re-Signs with LCR Honda

By No Comments

There’s no doubt that Randy de Puniet has had an amazing season this year. Finding his rhythm, and staying out of the gravel traps has allowed the sometimes shirtless frenchman to carry the flag for the Honda loyal…all while on a satellite spec machine. It therefore comes as no surprise that de Puniet has seen his contract with LCR extended to next year, and as an added bonus, he will compete in 2010 with a higher spec RC212V.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Randy de Puniet Breaks Ankle Training

By 1 Comment

Frenchman Randy de Puniet has broken his ankle while training on his motorcross bike. Riding with three-time World Champion Yves De Maria, de Puniet hit the ground while going through a turn. The injury required de Puniet to have an operation, and he now has screws in-place to hold the fracture. With only two weeks remaining in MotoGP’s little summer siesta, Randy will clearly not be 100% when MotoGP resumes at Brno on August 16th.

No word yet as to whether de Puniet was wearing a helmet, or if he had his shirt on.

Source: MotoGP Hotties

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Record Number of Crashes in the 2008 GP Season

By No Comments

There were 876 crashes this past GP season. That’s a lot.

Between free practices, qualifying, and races, the 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP series racked up 30% more crashes than last year, with an average of 48 crashes for each race weekend. It should be noted that this was the wettest season in the history of the series, with 16 out of 18 race weekends having at least one day of rain in the official three days of racing. While the rain certainly is a factor, it should also be noted that Randy de Puniet crashed 22 times this season, and only took his shirt off twice.

The crash numbers for the past seasons for the quant-jocks in the room:

1999 – 565
2000 – 633
2001 – 634
2002 – 646
2003 – 705
2004 – 706
2005 – 737
2006 – 647
2007 – 672
2008 – 876

Source: GPone

At least Randy looks really, really, really ridiculously good looking when he crashes.

Keep Reading
By