2008

Year: 2008

Month: ALL

Magny Cours WSB: Haga wins, Bayliss crowned champion

05 October 2008 by Liam Marsden

Magny Cours WSB: Haga wins, Bayliss crowned champion

Yamaha Italia rider Noriyuki Haga has won the first superbike race at Magny Cours, while Troy Bayliss brought it home in third to become the 2008 World Superbike champion. Bayliss got the holeshot...

Valentino Rossi surges from 12th to second

05 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi surges from 12th to second

Valentino Rossi produced a heroic display in Phillip Island today to surge from the fourth row of the grid to claim second. Riding with a muscle strain in his neck and a big headache after his huge...

Birthday boy James Toseland claims stunning sixth

05 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Birthday boy James Toseland claims stunning sixth

James Toseland celebrated his 28th birthday in style today with a stunning ride to sixth place in an enthralling Australian MotoGP race. The British rider produced easily the best performance of his...

Bradley Smith signs for Aspar Aprilia

05 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

British teenager Bradley Smith will ride for the Aspar Aprilia squad in the 2009 125GP world championship. As was first reported by MCN, the 17-year-old has clinched a deal with Spaniard Jorge Martinez after he was told his Polaris World Aprilia squad didn’t have the funding to continue in 2009. Smith, who had a disastrous Australian GP today when he crashed on the first and last lap, told MCN:...

Phillip Island MotoGP: Casey stoner runs away with victory

05 October 2008 by Liam Marsden

Phillip Island MotoGP: Casey stoner runs away with victory

Reigning MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner has taken victory at his home Grand Prix at Phillip Island ahead of a valiant Valentino Rossi. Casey Stoner ran away at the front of the pack from the...

Phillip Island MotoGP: Simoncelli wins 250GP race

05 October 2008 by Liam Marsden

Metis Gilera rider Marco Simoncelli has continued his dominance of the 250GP series with a win at Phillip Island. Simoncelli – currently leading the championship – had opened up a slight gap from Alvaro Bautista during the race but Bautista managed to put in some fast laps and catch up with the Italian. The two then enjoyed a scrap which saw Bautista eventually lose out when he nearly touched...

Magny Cours World Superbikes: Noriyuki Haga takes pole

04 October 2008 by Liam Marsden

Magny Cours World Superbikes: Noriyuki Haga takes pole

Yamaha Italia rider Noriyuki Haga has taken pole at the penultimate round of the championship in Magny Cours. Noriyuki Haga continued his recent run of good form, snatching pole position from Suzuki...

Nicky Hayden still looking for more speed

04 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden still looking for more speed

American Nicky Hayden reckons he still needs to improve his pace to have a chance of challenging for victory in tomorrow’s Australian GP. The Repsol Honda rider secured his second successive front row...

Jorge Lorenzo disappointed to miss pole position

04 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo disappointed to miss pole position

Jorge Lorenzo admitted he was disappointed not to have claimed his fifth pole position of the season in Australia today. The Spaniard was pipped to pole by home favourite Casey Stoner as he missed out...

Michelin explains MotoGP quit decision

04 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Michelin explains MotoGP quit decision

Michelin has explained why it didn’t try and win the tyre supply deal for the 2009 MotoGP world championship. The French factory let a deadline pass without submitting a bid to win the contract, with...

Valentino Rossi 12th after massive crash

04 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi 12th after massive crash

Valentino Rossi’s hopes of extending his remarkable Phillip Island record suffered a huge blow to day today after he was fortunate to escape injury in a massive qualifying crash. The Italian ran off...

James Toseland gets early birthday boost

04 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

James Toseland gets early birthday boost

British rider James Toseland gave himself a pre-birthday boost in Australia today as he claimed a stunning fifth position on the grid for the Phillip Island clash. The Tech 3 Yamaha rider, who will...

Bradley Smith on 125GP front row despite crash

04 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith on 125GP front row despite crash

British teenager Bradley Smith will start tomorrow’s Australian GP from the front row of the grid after he claimed second in a crash strewn final qualifying session. The Polaris World Aprilia rider...

Phillip Island MotoGP: Marco Simoncelli smashes 250GP lap record

04 October 2008 by Liam Marsden

Phillip Island MotoGP: Marco Simoncelli smashes 250GP lap record

Metis Gilera rider Marco Simoncelli has taken pole in the 250GP at Phillip Island after destroying the previous lap record. Championship leader Simoncelli posted a fastest lap of 1.32.075 to smash the...

Phillip Island MotoGP: Casey Stoner shrugs off wrist injury to take home pole

04 October 2008 by Liam Marsden

Phillip Island MotoGP: Casey Stoner shrugs off wrist injury to take home pole

2007 MotoGP champion Casey Stoner has taken pole position at his home Grand Prix of Phillip Island, smashing the lap record in the process. His best lap of 1.28.665 saw him smash the previous record...

Phillip Island MotoGP: Mike Di Meglio takes 125GP pole

04 October 2008 by Liam Marsden

Phillip Island MotoGP: Mike Di Meglio takes 125GP pole

Ajo Motorsport Derbi rider Mike Di Meglio has taken his second successive pole position of the year at Phillip Island, ahead of Briton Bradley Smith. The young Frenchman was two tenths faster than...

Cal Crutchlow and Tom Sykes

03 October 2008 by Dawn Beeby

Cal Crutchlow and Tom Sykes

I would like to say a great big thank you to Cal Crutchlow. He gave me and my son his bottle of champagne after coming off the podium at silverstone. We have it in a display cabinet in our living...

Magny Cours World Superbikes: Noriyuki Haga on top in rain hit qualifying session

03 October 2008 by Michael Guy

Magny Cours World Superbikes: Noriyuki Haga on top in rain hit qualifying session

Yamaha Italia rider Noriyuki Haga claimed provisional pole position at Magny Cours with a best lap of 1m 41.012s before rain brought a premature end to proceedings. Haga completed just seven laps in...

Magny Cours World Supersport: Rea tops first session at Magny Cours

03 October 2008 by Michael Guy

Magny Cours World Supersport: Rea tops first session at Magny Cours

Briton Jonathan Rea claimed provisional pole position for Sunday’s penultimate round of the World Supersport championship at Magny Cours. In bitterly cold conditions, Rea posted a best lap of...

Valentino Rossi leads calls for Phillip Island date change

03 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi leads calls for Phillip Island date change

Valentino Rossi has made another plea to MotoGP bosses to get the Phillip Island race moved to an earlier slot in the calendar to avoid bad weather disrupting the Australian GP. For the third year in...

Valentino Rossi looking to improve in wet and dry

03 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi looking to improve in wet and dry

New world champion Valentino Rossi reckons he has plenty of room for improvement in wet and dry conditions after a day of mixed weather conditions at the spectacular Phillip Island circuit. Get the...

Nicky Hayden hoping for more rain in Australia

03 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden hoping for more rain in Australia

Nicky Hayden reluctantly admitted he would pray for a wet Australian GP on Sunday after he topped the timesheets in a rain-soaked second practice session at Phillip Island today. Get the latest...

James Toseland ‘shocking’ in rain conditions

03 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

James Toseland ‘shocking’ in rain conditions

British rider James Toseland admitted his performance in this afternoon’s wet practice session was ‘shocking’. Get the latest MotoGP news The Tech 3 Yamaha rider’s dwindling confidence in wet...

Barry Sheene honoured at Phillip Island

03 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Barry Sheene honoured at Phillip Island

British legend Barry Sheene has been honoured in a special awards ceremony at the Phillip Island circuit today. Get the latest MotoGP news with MCN As part of the 60th anniversary celebrations for...

Danny Webb claims impressive provisional front row

03 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Danny Webb claims impressive provisional front row

British teenager Danny Webb shrugged off the continuing discomfort of a broken right collarbone to claim second place on the provisional grid for Sunday’s Australian 125GP. Get the latest MotoGP...

Casey Stoner needs wrist op to ‘save career’

02 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner needs wrist op to ‘save career’

Former world champion Casey Stoner reckons he must undergo surgery on his troublesome left wrist injury or risk ending his career. Get the latest MotoGP news The Aussie is expected to have an...

Valentino Rossi looking to extend winning run

02 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi looking to extend winning run

Valentino Rossi is confident he can extend his brilliant current form and his incredible record at Phillip Island in this weekend’s Australian GP. Get the latest MotoGP news Rossi clinched his...

Tyre choice crucial admits Nicky Hayden

02 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Tyre choice crucial admits Nicky Hayden

American Nicky Hayden believes tyre choice will play an even more important factor in this weekend’s Australian GP at Phillip Island. Get the latest MotoGP news Hayden is hoping that Michelin...

Honda confirm factory bike for Toni Elias

02 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Honda confirm factory bike for Toni Elias

Honda management have confirmed that Toni Elias will receive a factory spec RC212V in 2009 after his deal to re-join the Gresini Honda squad in Australia today. Get all the latest MotoGP news HRC...

Toni Elias joins Gresini Honda

02 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Toni Elias joins Gresini Honda

Spaniard Toni Elias will make a return to the Gresini Honda squad for the 2009 MotoGP world championship. Having rejected the chance to stay with the Alice Ducati squad and also to ride a third...

Troy's replacement

01 October 2008 by phil hutchins

Troy's replacement

When I asked troy who he thought his replacement with team ducati would be when he hangs his boots up, he made this face and said ‘have a guess’.

BSB & MCN in Barbados

01 October 2008 by Kerry Green

BSB & MCN in Barbados

We couldn’t do without MCN whilst in Barbados, so Joseph and Laurence made sure we stashed a copy in the suitcase. We were delighted to discover that we were able to log onto the MCN website using...

Ben Spies signs with Yamaha WSB for 2009

01 October 2008 by James Keen

Ben Spies signs with Yamaha WSB for 2009

American rider Ben Spies has signed with the Yamaha factory WSB Team to partner 23 yr old British rider Tom Sykes for the 2009 season. The 24yr old American rider from Dallas is fresh from a record...

Suzuki deny considering Michelin switch

01 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki deny considering Michelin switch

Suzuki has denied wanting to be part of a mass exodus from Bridgestone as Japanese factory bosses shunned any possibility of switching to Michelin to avoid a one-make tyre rule being introduced next...

Kawasaki refute tyre claims

01 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Kawasaki refute tyre claims

Kawasaki management have expressed surprise at the Japanese factory being made a scapegoat in some quarters for the failure of last-minute talks to avert a one-make tyre rule being introduced in...

Andrea Dovizioso: ‘I seriously considered Suzuki and Kawasaki’

01 October 2008 by Matthew Birt

Andrea Dovizioso: ‘I seriously considered Suzuki and Kawasaki’

Italian Andrea Dovizioso has told MCN he did seriously consider moves to Kawasaki and Suzuki’s factory MotoGP teams for 2009 before signing a deal to partner Dani Pedrosa in Honda’s official...