September

Motegi MotoGP: Eighth 'nothing fantastic' admits Valentino Rossi

30 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi admitted his lowly eighth place finish at the end of opening practice for the Twin Ring Motegi MotoGP race was ‘nothing fantastic.’ The nine-times world champion clocked a best time of...

Andrea Dovizioso gets LCR Honda offer

30 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Andrea Dovizioso can begin the process of working out where he will ride in the 2012 MotoGP world championship having received a formal offer from the LCR Honda squad in Japan last night. The Italian...

Motegi MotoGP: Casey Stoner satisfied with second

30 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner declared himself satisfied with the start of his preparations for the Japanese Grand Prix today after he finished a close second to Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa in practice. The...

Motegi MotoGP: Food poisoning slows exhausted Ben Spies

30 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Factory Yamaha rider Ben Spies had to stop after just five laps of this afternoon’s second MotoGP practice at the Twin Ring Motegi as he continues to struggle with a bout of chronic food...

Motegi MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa sets practice pace

30 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Dani Pedrosa cast aside some of his Twin Ring Motegi demons earlier today to clock the best time on the opening day of practice for the Japanese MotoGP round. It was at the Japanese track 12 months...

Riding position crucial to Ducati front-end issue, says Valentino Rossi

29 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi believes his riding position on Ducati’s 2012 Desmosedici could be pivotal to solving some of the vague front-end problems he’s experienced in a nightmare debut season for the Bologna...

Motegi MotoGP: Alvaro Bautista still in dark over Suzuki future

29 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Alvaro Bautista is hoping to get a clearer indication of Suzuki’s future MotoGP strategy during this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix at the Twin Ring Motegi. The Spaniard confirmed earlier today in...

Motegi MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo concedes title hopes fading

29 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo has admitted his MotoGP crown is slipping away as he attempts the tricky mission of trying to claw back a huge 44-point deficit on dominant Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner with just four...

Marco Simoncelli to test Honda 1000cc bike in Japan

29 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Italian rider Marco Simoncelli will make his debut on Honda’s new 1000cc RC213V machine at the Twin Ring Motegi on Monday. The former 250GP world champion, who announced he’d signed a new one-year...

Marco Simoncelli signs new Honda contract

28 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Marco Simoncelli has agreed a new contract with Fausto Gresini’s Honda squad and he will retain his factory rider status with HRC in 2012. The controversial Italian, who has scored just one podium...

Jerez back on MotoGP winter testing schedule

27 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Jerez will be back on the winter testing schedule in 2012, while the night test session leading up to the first race of the season in Qatar has been axed from the pre-season programme. The MotoGP grid...

No rush to get Marc Marquez in MotoGP, says HRC boss

27 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Marc Marquez has been warned not to rush coming into MotoGP as speculation mounts the emerging Spanish star will ride a new Honda RC213V machine in 2012. The reigning 125GP world champion’s...

John Hopkins lands Sepang wild card ride

27 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

John Hopkins will be back on a factory Suzuki MotoGP bike in the Malaysian round next month, MCN can reveal. The American, who is currently leading the British Superbike championship for Paul...

LCR Honda confirm Hopkins and de Puniet talks

23 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

British superbike championship contender John Hopkins and French rider Randy de Puniet could land an LCR Honda ride in 2012 if Andrea Dovizioso fails to agree a deal with Lucio Cecchinello’s...

Loris Capirossi ruled out of Japanese Grand Prix

22 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Loris Capirossi will miss next weekend’s Japanese MotoGP race at the Twin Ring Motegi after suffering a dislocated right shoulder during Sunday’s Motorland Aragon round in Spain. After initial...

HRC confident Andrea Dovizioso will sign for LCR Honda

22 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

HRC management are confident satellite team boss Lucio Cecchinello can successfully conclude lengthy negotiations with Andrea Dovizioso to prevent the Italian moving to rivals Yamaha. Speculation is...

Nothing left from GP11.1, concedes Nicky Hayden

22 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden says Ducati’s factory GP11.1 has already reached the ceiling of its potential, even though he’s only raced the updated Desmosedici three times. Ducati first rolled out the GP11.1 back in...

MotoGP teams warned against food shipments to Japan

22 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP teams were warned off packing their own food and water in shipping crates for next week’s Japanese MotoGP race. Several teams had asked whether they could pack provisions for the Twin Ring...

Yamaha ready for team orders to help Jorge Lorenzo

21 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha will have no hesitation in implementing controversial team orders if required to help Jorge Lorenzo successfully defend the MotoGP world title in 2011. The Spaniard trails Honda rival Casey...

Suter delays Moto3 project

21 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Swiss engineering specialist Suter Racing Technology, designers of the most popular chassis in Moto2, has shelved plans to build a complete machine for the new Moto3 class in 2012. A 250cc...

Casey Stoner: ‘Winning title at Phillip Island would be fantastic’

20 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner says winning his second MotoGP world crown in front of his home fans at Phillip Island next month would be ‘fantastic.’ The Repsol Honda rider dominated the Motorland Aragon race last...

Valentino Rossi to test deltabox aluminium frame

20 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi will test a conventional deltabox aluminium chassis on Ducati’s factory GP12 machine in Jerez later this week after the Italian’s woeful 2011 continued at the Motorland Aragon. The new...

Ducati to take radiation experts to Japan

20 September 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ducati will dispatch Italian experts to next week’s Japanese MotoGP to constantly monitor radiation levels in and around the Twin Ring Motegi circuit. MCN obtained a communication issued by the...