Pedrosa on the hunt as Repsol Honda prepares for Aragón GP


Tuesday, 25 September 2012




The Repsol Honda Team travels to Motorland Aragón this weekend in preparation for the fourteenth round of the season and the third visit of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship to Spain.

Motorland Aragón welcomes the MotoGP family for the third consecutive year and has been a successful venue for the Repsol Honda Team in the past, with both Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa topping the podium in 2010 and 2011, two victories for the Australian rider and two second-places for the Spaniard.

Dani Pedrosa, who will celebrate his 27th birthday on Saturday, arrives confident and ready to put the issues he had Misano behind him - the first race this season without points due to an incident on the first lap. Pedrosa, currently second in the standings 38 points off Jorge Lorenzo, is in great form and the results of the test held at Aragón at the beginning of this month will give him high motivation.

Aragón will be the second race for Jonathan Rea as substitute rider for Casey Stoner, who continues his rehabilitation in Australia. Fresh from Portimão, with a 6th and a 2nd place in the two races of the World Superbike Championship, the British rider is looking to make another step forward on the RC213V at a circuit where he also tested with the Repsol Honda Team.

"Aragón is a very good race and the circuit is impressive. We went there with the team for a two-day test at the beginning of this month and we did a good job. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing the Spanish crowd again, it would be great to see the circuit full of people like we had in the previous years. The bike is working well and I'm feeling good; we go there with the same determination as always and motivated to continue riding well and have another good race."

Lorenzo looking for first Aragón win


Tuesday, 25 September 2012



Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies head back to Spain this week for round 14 of the 2012 season, the Grand Prix of Aragón on the 30th September.

Championship leader Lorenzo prepares for his penultimate home race of the year bolstered by the recent Aragón test which saw both he and his team mate make big improvements to their set up for the Motorland circuit. A win has so far eluded him in Aragón, scoring a third place podium finish in 2011 and just missing the podium by less than a tenth of a second in 2010. A convincing victory at the last round in Misano puts Lorenzo 38 points clear of closest rival Dani Pedrosa as the Championship heads into the final five races of the season.

Team mate Spies arrives in Aragón looking to build on his fifth place finish in Misano following a trouble free weekend for the incident dogged Texan. With two fifth place finishes at the Motorland circuit from 2010 and 2011 already achieved, Spies will be looking to capitalize on the recent testing to fight for the strongest result possible.

"Aragon has not been the strongest track for us in the last two years, but I think we have found something in recent testing which will help us to be more competitive here. We will try to make a good show for all the Spanish fans who come to see us and we will try to win."

Lorenzo aiming to extend lead at Misano


Tuesday, 11 September 2012



Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies return to Italy this week for the Grand Prix of San Marino at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

After a successful two-day test in Aragón last week the riders are relaxed and positive about their chances this weekend. Championship leader Lorenzo arrives with a 13 point gap to closest rival Dani Pedrosa at a circuit which witnessed a faultless victory for him last year and three prior consecutive second place podium finishes preceding that.

Teammate Spies has always performed for the crowd at the Misano circuit, taking two sixth place finishes after multiple overtakes in both 2010 and 2011. The Texan also has a World Superbike victory under his belt here from his 2009 Championship winning season.

 “We arrive at Misano now which is a track I like very much, we had a great victory here last year and many podium finishes. We are still leading the Championship so we must work hard this weekend to keep it and if possible to increase it. We will aim for the podium and if it is possible, the victory.”

Dovizioso narrowly misses out on home podium in Misano


Sunday, 16 September 2012


Andrea Dovizioso finished a dramatic MotoGP race at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in fourth position, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider putting up a fantastic race long fight for the podium in hot and sunny conditions.

Dovizioso, who was looking for a second podium on home soil in 2012 after finishing third in Mugello back in early July, started the final lap 0.493s behind Bautista. Unfortunately he ran wide on the exit and after a photo finish he was awarded fourth position, with Bautista taking third by just 0.003s.

British rider Cal Crutchlow was also in the hunt for a second successive podium after he made a solid start from the front row of the grid. The 26-year-old was running a comfortable and consistent pace when he crashed at the first corner on lap five. He walked away unhurt but he was unable to continue after his YZR-M1 suffered a bent right handlebar in the spill.

"It is a pity to finish so close to the podium in my home race because I really wanted to make the top three for the first time in Misano. It was a difficult race right from the start because I had a problem with the front and could not brake hard and enter the corners like during the practice. That meant I had to change my lines and I was not as fast as I expected and I could not catch Valentino and I could not push. I just had to ride smooth and at the end my feeling improved a bit because I could at least fight for the podium. It is a pity I couldn't take third from Alvaro but I ran wide exiting the final corner. I did my best and the good thing is that despite a difficult race I was still battling for the podium right to the very end. We still scored some very important points for the Championship and hopefully with a better feeling with the bike I can be back on the podium at the Motorland Aragón."

Rossi speaks openly about Ducati woes and Yamaha switch


Wednesday, 12 September 2012


In an exclusive video with motogp.com, Ducati Team’s Valentino Rossi speaks openly about his troubled time with the Italian outfit, his disappointment at leaving the team, and his much anticipated return to Yamaha.

Rossi commented: "This experience, this adventure with Ducati was very difficult already from the start. And unfortunately we were not able to fix our problem during this year and a half, and I was never competitive with this bike."

He also revealed his motivation behind the switch: "For me to take the decision for next year was very hard, because in Ducati I know a lot of great people….I made my decision because at this point in my career I think I have to try to have the more competitive bike, or the best bike for me."

Rossi summed up why he was not able to replicate his winning ways on the Desmosedici: "We are not able to create enough grip from the front tyre and enough contact on the ground. This was the biggest problem from the Valencia test in 2010, and unfortunately after almost two years we have more or less the same problem."

An on his future challenge and renewed partnership with old foe Jorge Lorenzo the Italian said: "I’m not sure I can be as fast as Lorenzo with the Yamaha. I think we will have less problems than in the past. Lorenzo was very fair with my comeback……The important thing is to have fun riding the bike, and have the chance to fight for the good positions."

Rossi lines up on second row at Brno


Saturday, 25 August 2012




Under a grey sky, with a constant threat of rain that never materialized during the sessions, Valentino Rossi made the second row in Brno for the Czech GP, enjoying his best qualifying performance of the season so far.

In addition to posting the sixth-best time overall, the Italian has steadily improved his own performance over the course of the weekend, riding consistently and at a good pace in every session.

Valentino Rossi

“Since Friday morning, things have gone better here at Brno. We've managed to be faster and more competitive than normal and, most importantly, to work on the bike well, improving session by session. This afternoon we managed to do a good ‘time attack,’ so we’re generally pretty pleased. It’s important that we’ll be able to start from the second row in the race because it makes things a little easier. The times in our group are very close, but we’ll have to see what conditions we’ll have tomorrow and what our race pace will be. Anyway, I like the track a lot, and if we can manage to perfect a couple more details with the setup, we can try and have some fun.”

Casey Stoner undergoes successful surgery


Thursday, 30 August 2012




Today in Australia, Repsol Honda Team's Casey Stoner received surgery to his ankle, which was damaged after his crash in qualifying for the Indianapolis GP 12 days ago.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Lam's team in Sydney's North Shore Private Hospital. Doctors are pleased with how the operation went, and now must wait during this initial recuperation period to see how the ankle is healing.

With no complications or need for Stoner to stay in hospital, he has returned home and HRC will endeavour to share information on Casey's recovery as it is known.

Stoner confirmed with fracture and torn ligaments in right ankle


Sunday, 19 August 2012



After yesterday's crash during qualifying practice for the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner has been confirmed with a fracture and torn ligaments in his right ankle, which put him in doubt for today’s race.

Stoner had X-rays and an MRI scan on the right tibia and fibula, right ankle and right foot. It was confirmed he had suffered several small chipped bone fractures, a 10mm fracture on the talar dome below the tibia and fibula, contusions to the anterior tibia, posterior tibia and medial malleolus, and soft tissue swelling around the ankle. He has also torn his deltoid, anterior talofibial, calcaneal and fibular ligaments in addition to a high ankle sprain.

Hospital staff strapped the ankle for protection through the night and Stoner left the hospital at midnight. He will consult with the medical team before the race to assess the situation and decide if he is able to ride the machine safely.

Casey Stoner

"It's the first time in my career that I haven't been able to get up and walk away from an accident myself. As soon as I stood up, I looked down and saw my foot was at a strange angle to my leg. I had a shooting pain in my lower leg, then I felt a crack as my ankle popped back in. It was very painful and I was sure I had broken something. The local staff at the circuit Medical Centre were all very helpful and after taking some initial x-rays they agreed I should go to hospital for further checks. The team that looked after me at the Methodist Hospital were fantastic, so professional, attentive and incredibly helpful, I'd like to thank them all for taking good care of me. They confirmed that I had some chipped bone around my ankle and a small fracture, but I was concerned about the damage done to any ligaments so we did an MRI scan. This showed that I had torn almost every ligament in my ankle and heavily bruised my tibia. I need to see how I feel tomorrow morning to understand if I'm able to race. I am really disappointed as I felt we had the package for pole in this race and a strong chance for the win. Many other riders came off today, I hope they are ok. We'll see how we feel in the morning and will do all we can to be on the grid."


Spies heads rain-hit first day at Aragón


Friday, 28 September 2012



On a wet first day at the Gran Premio Iveco de Aragón it was Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies who laid down the benchmark by setting the fastest time of the day in the afternoon practice session ahead of Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo.

After a near-wasted morning session with a part-wet surface, riders were greeted with rain for their second run out where Spies’ time of just over two minutes relegated Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa into second, who left it late to post his best time. Third place went to Yamaha’s championship leader Jorge Lorenzo, although the Spaniard was almost half a second off the front.

Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden finished the day fourth fastest, with the American benefiting from the wet condition as his right hand continues to heal from injury. In fifth, Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso led the satellite machines, yet was over a second off Spies’ best time.

LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl ended the day in sixth, after looking strong all session on his RC213V machine. Seventh place went to Dovizioso’s teammate Cal Crutchlow, who had his fastest time cancelled at the end due to cutting the track. In eighth, Ducati’s Valentino Rossi couldn’t capitalise on his prowess in the wet, seemingly not finding a setting he looked comfortable with. He finished ahead of Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham in ninth, who will be pleased at having finished narrowly behind his factory counterpart.

The top ten was completed by San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista, with the Spaniard hoping to try out some new Showa suspension before qualifying tomorrow. Power Electronics Aspar’s Randy de Puniet put in a solid performance to finish as top CRT machine in 12th, ahead of his teammate Aleix Espargaró. Turn 1 turned out to be a tricky spot for many of the riders, with numerous running off at the end of the straight as they pushed to improve their lap times.

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