Austin MotoGP 2016

Le Mans MotoGP: Marco Simoncelli defends controversial overtake

16 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Marco Simoncelli has defended himself against a renewed barrage of criticism after he was involved in a controversial incident in yesterday’s Le Mans MotoGP race that left Dani Pedrosa with a broken...

Le Mans MotoGP: Cal Crutchlow bemoans first DNF

16 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow was left to rue a small mistake early in yesterday’s French MotoGP race that he believes cost him the chance to score his first premier class top six in Le Mans. The British rider was...

Le Mans MotoGP: Stoner secures second victory of the season

15 May 2011 by Tom Cambio

Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) secured his second victory of the season at Le Mans. After starting from pole Stoner reclaimed first from team mate Dani Pedrosa in the second lap, where he then stayed for...

Le Mans MotoGP: Casey Stoner fined after de Puniet punch

15 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner has been hit with a 5000 Euro fine (£4350) fine after he punched French rider Randy de Puniet following an incident in the MotoGP Warm-up session at Le Mans this morning. Stoner was on a...

Le Mans MotoGP: Márquez takes first Moto2 victory

15 May 2011 by Tom Cambio

Marc Márquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol) battled from sixth to take his first Moto2 victory at Le Mans in the first race of the season that the reigning 125GP champion has completed. The top five...

Le Mans MotoGP: Viñales snatches his first 125GP win from Terol

15 May 2011 by Tom Cambio

Maverick Viñales (Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Team) snatched first place from Nicolas Terol (Bankia Aspar Team) in the final corner of the last lap at Le Mans after a race long battle between the...

Le Mans MotoGP: Valentino Rossi ninth again in qualifying

14 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi qualified his factory Ducati GP11 machine in ninth position for the third time in four races today in Le Mans, the Italian conceding he faces another tough race to claim a top...

Le Mans MotoGP: Casey Stoner impressed with Honda domination

14 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner said he was thrilled to see Honda dominating practice and qualifying for tomorrow’s French MotoGP clash at the famous Bugatti circuit in Le Mans. The French venue has traditionally been a...

Le Mans MotoGP: Classy Cal Crutchlow claims top six

14 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow produced another outstanding performance this afternoon to claim a career best sixth position on the grid for the French MotoGP race at Le Mans. The 25-year-old, who has been a...

Le Mans MotoGP: Marco Simoncelli ‘I just need to finish’

14 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Italian Marco Simoncelli came within 0.059s of claiming a stunning maiden MotoGP pole position in Le Mans today. The San Carlo Gresini rider produced a brilliant final lap of 1.33.212 to come...

Le Mans MotoGP: Stefan Bradl takes fourth consecutive Moto2 pole

14 May 2011 by Tom Cambio

Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) took his fourth consecutive Moto2 pole this season in qualifying at Le Mans. Swiss rider Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) took second place in the final...

Le Mans MotoGP: Stoner takes pole position

14 May 2011 by Tom Cambio

Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda Team) continued his run of consistently fast laps at Le Mans to take pole position in qualifying, finishing the session 0.059s ahead of Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda...

Le Mans MotoGP: Terol secures 125GP pole

14 May 2011 by Tom Cambio

Nicolas Terol (Bankia Aspar Team) continued his dominance in qualifying to secure his third pole position of the season at Le Mans. The championship leader will start ahead of team mate Hector Faubel,...

Le Mans MotoGP: Stoner continues to lead in FP3

14 May 2011 by Tom Cambio

Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) maintained his lead at Le Mans this morning, setting the fastest time in his final lap of the last practice session. The Australian led a Honda top four, pushing Marco...

Le Mans MotoGP: Valentino Rossi bemoans slow pace

13 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

A new chassis failed to move Valentino Rossi closer to the top of the timesheets in Le Mans today as the factory Ducati rider ended the opening day of practice in a disappointing ninth position. Using...

Le Mans MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo urges Yamaha improvement

13 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo has repeated his demands for Yamaha to improve its factory YZR-M1 after he was powerless to stop Honda dominating the opening day of practice in Le Mans today. The Spaniard, who is...

Le Mans MotoGP: Casey Stoner shocked at Yamaha slump

13 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner admitted he was shocked to see Yamaha struggle so much on the opening day of practice for the French MotoGP race in Le Mans. The Aussie led a Honda domination of today’s sessions with HRC...

Le Mans MotoGP: Braking error costs Cal Crutchlow top ten

13 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

A braking mistake in the final stages of this afternoon’s second MotoGP session at the Le Mans circuit cost Cal Crutchlow his chance of a top ten finish on the opening day of practice for the French...

Colin Edwards’ crew chief to face ‘involuntary manslaughter’ charge

13 May 2011 by MCN Sports desk

Colin Edwards’ Tech 3 Yamaha crew chief Guy Coulon has been released pending further enquiries after being accused of accidentally killing a motorcyclist in France. The chief technician for Tech 3’s...

Le Mans MotoGP: Stoner maintains pace in FP2

13 May 2011 by Tom Cambio

Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner maintained the pace he set in this morning’s practice session to finish the second free practice session fastest at Le Mans, setting a 1m 33.782s lap. Stoner was 0.404s...

Casey Stoner denies blocking Valentino Rossi in Estoril test

12 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner has denied accusations from Valentino Rossi that he deliberately blocked the factory Ducati rider during the recent MotoGP test at the Estoril circuit. Rossi has been quoted in the...

Le Mans MotoGP: Valentino Rossi pushes Ducati for more upgrades

12 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi has urged Ducati to make further improvements to its factory GP11 machine after the Italian was boosted by a positive recent test session in Estoril. The nine-times world champion...

Le Mans MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa expects tough weekend

12 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Dani Pedrosa has conceded he faces another physically gruelling weekend in Le Mans as he battles back to full fitness after recent surgery on his right shoulder. Pedrosa produced a startling display...

Dani Pedrosa eager to assess new Honda 1000cc bike

12 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Dani Pedrosa is hoping that Honda’s new 1000cc MotoGP contender will be fast straight out of the crate as he prepares for his debut on the 2012 machine in Jerez next week. The triple world champion,...

Cal Crutchlow to assess arm recovery after Le Mans

10 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow will wait until the short break after this weekend’s French MotoGP clash in Le Mans to assess the recovery of his right arm after recent surgery. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider had...

Casey Stoner excited by Honda 1000cc debut

10 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner says he’s keen to gauge the performance of Honda’s new 1000cc prototype MotoGP bike he will debut in Jerez after this weekend’s French Grand Prix at Le Mans. The Aussie will complete a...

Marco Simoncelli believes maiden MotoGP podium is close

10 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Marco Simoncelli believes his maiden MotoGP podium and victory is getting ever closer as he looks to bounce back to form in Le Mans this weekend. The Italian is looking to end a disastrous recent run...

Randy de Puniet hopeful on home race fitness

09 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Randy de Puniet is facing a race against time to be fully fit for his crucial home race in Le Mans this weekend. The Pramac Ducati underwent further medical checks on his left knee last Thursday to...

Ben Spies backs Yamaha to close Honda advantage

06 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies is confident Yamaha can improve its factory YZR-M1 machine and bridge the gap to Japanese rivals Honda. Although Spanish team-mate Jorge Lorenzo is currently leading the 2011 world...

Dani Pedrosa explains Spanish success

06 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo, Toni Elias and Marc Marquez’s historic achievement in winning all three Grand Prix classes in 2010 was proof that best road racers in the world are Spanish. Never before in the history...

Portimao won’t replace under threat Japanese MotoGP race

06 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Portimao will not join the 2011 MotoGP calendar as replacement for the under threat Japanese round scheduled to take place in early October. The Twin Ring Motegi race, which was postponed for April 24...

Honda against bike/rider weight limit in MotoGP

05 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Honda will fight any bid to introduce a combined bike and rider weight limit currently under discussion in MotoGP. Marco Simoncelli is at the forefront of a campaign to introduce a combined bike and...

New clutch boost for Andrea Dovizioso

05 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Andrea Dovizioso has hailed a new clutch tested in Estoril earlier this week as Honda continues a long-running battle to cure a corner entry stability issue with its factory RC212V machine. Although...

Alvaro Bautista expects to be much stronger in France

05 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Alvaro Bautista is hoping a period of rest and recuperation will help bring him closer to 100 per cent fitness after the exertion of racing and testing in Estoril last weekend. The factory Suzuki...

Moto3 grid could feature 40 bikes

05 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Moto3, the new 250cc four-stroke class that will replace the current 125GP series in 2012, looks like attracting a bumper entry of 40 bikes. Interest in the new class is booming and MotoGP bosses...

Tech 3 kick off Yamaha talks

04 May 2011 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow’s Tech 3 Yamaha squad kicked off talks over a new deal in Estoril that will see the French team lease YZR-M1 bikes for 2012 and ’13. Herve Poncharal met senior Yamaha management in...