2011 | Page 11

Valentino Rossi’s Ducati struggle surprises rivals

10 August 2011 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP world championship title contenders Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo have said they are surprised at Valentino Rossi’s failure to be a more competitive force on Ducati’s factory Desmosedici...

LCR Honda looking at 2012 expansion plan

10 August 2011 by Matthew Birt

LCR Honda could expand to a two-rider effort in 2012 by running Andrea Dovizioso and rising German star Stefan Bradl. Lucio Cecchinello is currently working on two separate projects for next season,...

Valentino Rossi didn’t underestimate Ducati challenge

05 August 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi didn’t underestimate the size of the challenge to win MotoGP races at Ducati. But Ducati did underestimate the extent to which rivals Honda would improve in 2011, according to Rossi’s...

Ben Spies satisfied with 2011 progress

05 August 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies has declared himself satisfied with the progress he’s making in the second year of his MotoGP career. Spies was Rookie of the Year in 2010 and made an immediate impact for the Monster Yamaha...

Kevin Schwantz: Stoner can be better than Doohan

05 August 2011 by Matthew Birt

Kevin Schwantz has backed Casey Stoner to better Aussie legend Mick Doohan’s winning record in MotoGP. The Repsol Honda rider has won 28 races, including a stunning success in the last round at Laguna...

Marco Simoncelli wants Honda offer in Brno

04 August 2011 by Matthew Birt

Marco Simoncelli has told Honda he wants a new contract offer by the next race in Brno as speculation mounts that Ducati is preparing to launch an audacious raid for the Italian. Simoncelli has no...

Andrea Iannone cagey on MotoGP switch

04 August 2011 by Matthew Birt

Andrea Iannone has played down intense speculation that he will move to MotoGP in 2012. The highly rated Italian made his MotoGP debut on a Pramac Ducati GP11 during a brief test at Mugello last...

Andrea Dovizioso closing on LRC Honda deal

04 August 2011 by Matthew Birt

Andrea Dovizioso is edging closer to a switch to the LCR Honda squad for 2012. Talks are at an advanced stage with the 2009 British Grand Prix winner as HRC gets set to slash its factory-backed Repsol...

72 bikes planned for Moto2 and Moto3 in 2012

04 August 2011 by Matthew Marsden

Almost 75 bikes are expected to contest the 2012 Moto2 and new Moto3 world championships. Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta has confirmed to MCN that a maximum of 36 bikes will race in the 600cc Moto2...

Casey Stoner revelling in career best podium run

29 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner says he’s revelling in the best form of his MotoGP career in 2011 having extended his podium streak to eight successive races in Laguna Seca last weekend. But the Australian admits his...

Aspar to remain biggest squad in MotoGP paddock

29 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Spain’s high-profile Aspar squad will retain its status as the biggest squad in the Grand Prix paddock next season having confirmed plans to enter the new Moto3 four-stroke series in 2012. The team,...

Loris Capirossi not interested in World Superbike switch

28 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Loris Capirossi is expected to retire at the end 2011 rather than follow the likes of Max Biaggi, Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri from MotoGP into World Superbikes. The Italian veteran will shun the...

Stefan Bradl’s Moto2 squad still keen on MotoGP switch

28 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Stefan Bradl’s current Moto2 squad is not yet ready to abandon ambitious plans to move to the MotoGP world championship in 2012. The Viessmann Kiefer Racing squad had a self-imposed deadline of the...

Nicky Hayden not giving up on GP11.1

27 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden is likely to switch back to Ducati’s radically revamped GP11.1 machine in the near future, despite opting to stick with the older GP11 version in last weekend’s US Grand Prix. The...

Valentino Rossi cautious on aluminium chassis switch

27 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi has once again played down the prospect of Ducati switching to an aluminium frame, despite Loris Capirossi’s admission that the Bologna factory is working on a radical new...

Valentino Rossi predicts intriguing title fight

27 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi might not be competing for the 2011 MotoGP world championship crown, but the Italian says he’s still intrigued and excited to watch the scrap between Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo...

Crammed schedule worry for John Hopkins

27 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

The risk of burnout and loyalty to Suzuki and his British Superbike title commitments were the reasons why John Hopkins knocked back the chance to ride a Honda RC212V machine in Laguna Seca last...

MotoGP teams always committed to race in Japan

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

None of the current MotoGP teams had threatened to boycott the Japanese Grand Prix in early October because of radiation fears in the area surrounding the Twin Ring Motegi. Dorna and the FIM confirmed...

Casey Stoner standing firm on Japanese Grand Prix boycott

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner has hinted he won’t back down on his refusal to attend the re-scheduled Japanese Grand Prix, despite being told by Honda management they expect him to honour his contract and race at the...

Japanese Grand Prix gets go ahead

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

The Twin Ring Motegi MotoGP round, rescheduled for October 2 after a devastating earthquake struck Japan earlier this year, will go ahead as planned. Fears over radiation contamination in the area...

US MotoGP: Front-end woes continue for Valentino Rossi

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi admitted that an on-going front-end issue with Ducati’s factory Desmosedici prevented him from improving on a distant sixth position in the US Grand Prix yesterday. The Italian got the...

US MotoGP: Casey Stoner roars back to winning form

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner rediscovered his winning touch in stunning fashion at Laguna Seca yesterday to claim his fifth win of 2011. Stoner bounced back from a difficult practice and qualifying...

US MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo takes brave second

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Battered and bruised Jorge Lorenzo had to play second fiddle to Repsol Honda again in Laguna Seca yesterday after he was powerless to stop Casey Stoner from surging to a fifth win of 2011. Riding with...

US MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa fades to third

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Dani Pedrosa’s impressive return to MotoGP action continued at Laguna Seca yesterday after he claimed his fifth podium finish of the season. The Spaniard looked like challenging for a second victory...

US MotoGP: Launch control issue proves costly for Ben Spies

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies fought back superbly from a nightmare first lap to score fourth place in front of his home crowd at the Laguna Seca circuit in California. Spies dropped back from fourth on the grid to...

US MotoGP: Poor run continues for Cal Crutchlow

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow suffered another bitterly disappointing MotoGP weekend after he crashed out in the early stages of yesterday’s US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. The British rider was trying to stay in touch...

US MotoGP: Stoner steals victory from Lorenzo

24 July 2011 by Tom Cambio

Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) stole an impressive fifth win of the season from Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) at Laguna Seca. Lorenzo made a strong start and led for the majority of the race,...

US MotoGP: Huge crash fails to slow Jorge Lorenzo

24 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

A huge high-side after the end of final practice failed to prevent Jorge Lorenzo from claiming a stunning pole position for today’s US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. The reigning world champion suffered a...

US MotoGP: ‘I was a one-lap wonder’ admits Casey Stoner

24 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner fears he doesn’t have the race pace to fight MotoGP world championship rival Jorge Lorenzo at Laguna Seca later today. The Australian qualified his Repsol Honda RC212V machine in second...

US MotoGP: Ben Spies rues late qualifying crash

24 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies saw his hopes of starting his home race at Laguna Seca later today from pole position ruined by a late crash in qualifying. Spies briefly held top spot to the delight of a large and...

US MotoGP: Valentino Rossi equals best qualifying in 2011

24 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi equalled his best qualifying result of the season in Laguna Seca, but the nine-times world champion says he’s still got work to do to compete for a top six finish in today’s 32-lap...

US MotoGP: Lorenzo bounces back to claim pole

23 July 2011 by Tom Cambio

Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) bounced back from crashing out of the final practice session at Laguna Seca to claim pole for tomorrow’s race. Unshaken by a big highside suffered at turn 5 after...

US MotoGP: Nicky Hayden expects to race old Ducati

23 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden made his debut on Ducati’s new GP11.1 machine in Laguna Seca yesterday, but the American is unlikely to race the revamped Desmosedici in his home race. The Kentucky rider clocked a best...

US MotoGP: Valentino Rossi perseveres with new Ducati

23 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi has opted to continue riding Ducati’s radically revamped GP11.1 at Laguna Seca, the Italian resisting the temptation to revert back to the older GP11 model. Rossi had requested the...

US MotoGP: Ben Spies confident big gap can be reduced

23 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies is confident he can get closer to the fastest pace in Laguna Seca after he finished the opening day of practice for his home MotoGP round in fifth position. Spies finished over half-a-second...

US MotoGP: Cal Crutchlow stuck in 13th

23 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow finished 13th fastest in both MotoGP practice sessions at the Laguna Seca track in California yesterday. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider, experimenting with a radically revised...