It doesn’t seem like a topic that really needs that much explaining, but after suffering through this weekend’s MotoGP race coverage here in the United States, it would seem there is some confusion on how to properly pronounce “Lorenzo”, as in Jorge Lorenzo’s last name. Continue reading if you want to see a leviathan description of Spanish language and how it relates to motorcycle racing in an admittedly over-the-top and pretentious sort of way.
A crash caused by Shoya Tomizawa and Simone Corsi sent riders tumbling yesterday in the Moto2 race at Jerez. Colliding in the apex of the corner with Corsi, Tomizawa’s Moto2 race bike spilled oil onto the Spanish track, which saw eight other riders hitting the tarmac. With nine bikes in all falling victim to the oil slick, the Moto2 race had to be red flagged and restarted. Watch the bikes fall like dominos in the video after the jump.
Dorna (MotoGP) and Infront Sports (WSBK) are to battle over the exclusive rights to race at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, Spain. Home to the Valencian GP, the venue has also played host to the World Superbike Championship since 2000. As one of the larger and most popular venues, the track is the cornerstone for both races series, and in one of the most fruitful motorcycle racing markets…and Dorna wants it all to itself.
After an early race crash that saw the red flagging of Race 2, the second race at Valencia had to be restarted and decided under aggregate time. With only a few hundreths of a second deciding the race winner, there certainly was plenty of race drama finishing out the Spanish stop in the WSBK tour. With some surprise finishers in this race, you’ll be disappointed if you didn’t see it yourself.
World Superbike headed to Valencia, Spain this weekend for the third round of the WSBK season. With a strong Superpole by Cal Crutchlow, all eyes were on the Sterilgarda Yamaha to see if a surprise victory would occur. With the Championship heating up as riders are vetted into place, Valenica would prove to be a battlefield this weekend with more than one rider firing a warning shot across the proverbial bows of their competitors, signaling their intention to compete.
While the MotoGP season kicks off this weekend, World Superbike is making its third stop of the 2010 season, this time at Valencia Spain. Winning his second Superpole of the season, Cal Crutchlow from Yamaha Sterilgarda put his Yamaha R1 into the #1 position. Followed by town favorite Carlos Checa (2nd) and Max Biaggi (3rd). The trio of riders have been very strong so far this year, which the same cannot be said for the factory-backed Xerox Ducati team. Both Haga (11th) and Fabrizio (10th) found themselves knocked out of qualifying after Superpole 2.
After discovering his knee injury to be more extensive than previously though, Christopher Vermeulen will miss World Superbike’s stop at Valencia this weekend, but is expected to be back on the saddle at Assen. Vermeulen injured his knee during a bad highside at Phillip Island, and was unable to rejoin the series at Portimao despite making an attempt during the free practice. As such, it looks like the Australian rider will be replaced this weekend at Valencia.
The day has come for FB Corse to make its big track debut, and also to prove to Dorna and the IRTA that they have what it takes to race in MotoGP. This March 15th thru 17th will see the Italian team take to the track at Valencia, where they will have their first track shakedown.
In attendance March 17th will be Dorna’s Franco Uncini and an IRTA representative. The purpose of these men is to assess the FB01’s competitive ability, during what is being called a “timing test’. Intially this has been reported to mean that Dorna and the IRTA are interested in seeing as to whether or not Garry McCoy can take the FB01 around the course within three seconds of last season’s slowest qualifying MotoGP lap time. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case now.
Moto2 testing was underway in Catalunya this week, but rain sidelined a substantial portion of that testing event. For the Moto2 teams, this meant a rare opporunity to get familiar with thier machinery was lost, but for the roving eye of Italian site GPone.com, it was an opportunity to take a gander at some very beautiful race motorcycles.
Despite all the teams having the same Honda-sourced, 600cc, four-cylinder, four-stroke motor, there is a large variety in body styling and chassis approach. Check the RSV, Moriwaki, BQR, Kalex, Tech3 Mistal, and Suter MMX bikes out after the jump.
Spanish moto manufacturer Derbi appears to have built an all electric race bike based on their GPR 125 (shown above). A mysterious YouTube user uploaded a grainy video of a red cloth being ceremoniously pulled from a Derbi sportbike in front of a Derbi branded backdrop. The bike was then shown not-so-silently navigating the tight switchbacks of Parc Motor De Castelloli in Barcelona, Spain and doing it fairly quickly. Video and more after the jump.
Ben Spies is gearing up for a weekend in the Spanish city of Valencia, as MotoGP makes its last stop of the 2009 season. Appropriately, Yamaha is also getting ready for the addition of Ben Spies into the Tech3 Yamaha garage. Since Spies isn’t officially on the Tech3 team yet, special racing livery is needed for the weekend, and Yamaha has released his full racing kit ahead of the weekend’s races.