2009 Suzuki Tetap Pertahankan Capirossi dan Vermeulen

Jumat, 22 Agustus 2008

Quote:

Komposisi pembalap MotoGP Suzuki untuk musim depan tak akan berubah dari formasi sekarang yakni Loris Capirossi dan Chris Vermeluen.


Keduanya dianggap manajemen telah mampu membalap dengan baik di musim ini. Tapi meski posisi Capirossi aman namun dilain pihak Vermeulen juga diminati oleh team SUperbike Ducati Xerox yang akan mencari pengganti pembalapnya Troy Bayliss yang pensiun.

Di klasemen sementara Vermeulen menempati posisi ke-7 dengan 99 angka sementara Capirossi di peringkat ke-10 dengan 77 angka setelah kemarin di Brno naik podium untuk kalipertama di posisi ke-3.

2009 Suzuki Tetap Pertahankan Capirossi dan Vermeulen

Jumat, 22 Agustus 2008

Quote:

Komposisi pembalap MotoGP Suzuki untuk musim depan tak akan berubah dari formasi sekarang yakni Loris Capirossi dan Chris Vermeluen.


Keduanya dianggap manajemen telah mampu membalap dengan baik di musim ini. Tapi meski posisi Capirossi aman namun dilain pihak Vermeulen juga diminati oleh team SUperbike Ducati Xerox yang akan mencari pengganti pembalapnya Troy Bayliss yang pensiun.

Di klasemen sementara Vermeulen menempati posisi ke-7 dengan 99 angka sementara Capirossi di peringkat ke-10 dengan 77 angka setelah kemarin di Brno naik podium untuk kalipertama di posisi ke-3.

Casey Stoner reveals Brno bad luck

By Matthew Birt
MotoGP
21 August 2008 16:31
Reigning world champion Casey Stoner has revealed a cruel bout of bad luck prevented him from salvaging some points in last weekend’s Brno GP.

Quote:

The Aussie crashed out of the lead in the 22-lap race and was unable to rejoin despite efforts to get his factory Ducati GP8 going again.
But Stoner has revealed a stone jammed in a throttle buttefly was the reason why he couldn’t at least salvage a few points in the Czech Republic.
“I wasn’t meant to have that bike going again. There was a stone caught in the butterflies that could not be a more perfect shape to fit in there, “Stoner told MCN at the conclusion of a two-day test session in Brno.
“If it was another shaped stone - smaller or bigger - it would not have been a problem but it just perfectly jammed itself in there. It was a half-moon shape so that was it, race over.. You couldn’t go through that gravel trap and find the right sized stone again. I could have got back on and got some reasonable points.”
Stoner’s first DNF for Ducati in 30 races left him trailing series leader Valentino Rossi by a massive 50 points with just six races remaining.

Post-race press conference footage from Brno

Thursday, 21 August 2008
Coverage of Valentino Rossi, Toni Elias and Loris Capirossi´s thoughts in the aftermath of the Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceske republiky.

Quote:

motogp.com presents a special bonus video for fans this week, with the Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceske republiky post-race press conference in its entirety. Racewinner Valentino Rossi was joined by runner-up Toni Elias and third-placed Loris Capirossi as they completed their final duties of the day, with all three understandably in high spirits.
Capirossi explained how his condition had improved after some recent crashes, and how he was expecting the chance of more rostrum finishes in the remaining races of the year. Elias also talked about his resurgence, a consequence of a change in structure for the Alice Team and the introduction of some new parts.
However, the most notable quote came from World Championship leader Rossi, when quizzed on whether his extended advantage at the top of the classification was going to be enough to hold off challenger Casey Stoner.
`Six races with a rider like Stoner, who is fast in any conditions…50 points is not enough. But it is better than 25!´ grinned the five-time MotoGP World Champion.

Gravel stone stopped Stoner Brno restart

Thursday, 21 August 2008
A `perfectly-sized´ piece of gravel stopped Casey Stoner´s chances of rejoining the race at Brno.

Quote:

Casey Stoner´s chances of retaining his MotoGP World Championship in 2008 could come down to a piece of Czech gravel, with the Australian revealing the extent of his bad luck at Brno in post-race testing.
The Ducati Marlboro star had experienced a rare crash whilst leading the latest round of the series but, unlike at Laguna Seca where he was able to rejoin the race, his attempts at getting back into the fight for valuable points proved unsuccessful this time around. The determining factor? A souvenir from his slide into the gravel trap.
`It was a perfectly-sized stone that got stuck in the carboration,´ explained Stoner on the reasons for his having to park up the Desmosedici GP8. `You could search all the gravel traps in the world and you wouldn´t find one like it. We were just that unlucky.´
Stoner could at least leave Brno confident that he hadn´t lost his touch, with the fastest times of the post-race test and a solution to the cause of the crash itself. The big breakthrough came on the Tuesday, with the reigning World Champion believing that he will become ever more stable as a result.
`We made a big change which would have taken away the element of what caused the crash in the race. We´ve been leaning this bike over a long way, always scraping the footpegs. We took out that factor by changing the setup and the overall geometry.
`Now we can ride more on the bigger part of the tyre, which is safer and should give us more feedback,´ added Stoner in his post-test analysis.
`In any case, I´m a bit disappointed with the weekend but it is my only crash with a Ducati in a race. We´ve got to be pretty happy with how things have gone up to now.´

Kebahagiaan Ganda Kawasaki

TOKYO - Kegembiraan ganda tengah dialami pabrikan Kawasaki. Setelah Kawasaki Racing Team memastikan akan mendapatkan Marco Melandri musim depan, kini berita gembira lainnya menyusul. Si Hijau dikabarkan akan mempunyai tim satelit musim depan.

Adalah Jorge Martinez, bos Tim Aspar, yang mengaku tertarik menjadi tim satelit Kawasaki musim depan. Nama Martinez sebenarnya tidak terlalu asing di dunia balap. Pasalnya, ia juga telah mempunyai pengalaman di balapan MotoGP kelas 125cc dan 250cc.

Tak hanya itu, Italian newspaper Motosprint, Kamis (21/8/2008), juga melaporkan bahwa perusahaan telekomunikasi Spanyol mengaku bersedia menjadi sponsor utama bagi tim satelit Kawasaki itu.

Martinez sendiri berjanji akan menggunakan pembalap asli Spanyol. Saat ini dua nama yang dikaitkan dengan tim satelit Kawasaki itu adalah Toni Elias dan Alvaro Bautista.

Pasalnya, Elias memang menjadi pembalap Spanyol yang terbilang sukses. Bahkan di Sirkuit Brno lalu, ia mampu finis di urutan kedua di belakang Valentino Rossi. Sedangkan Bautista sendiri merupakan kandidat kuat jawara 250cc.(tok)

sourcekezone.com

Struggling Melandri signs new contract

'IT'S A BIG CHANGE FOR ME'


August 21, 2008

Marco Melandri will race for the Kawasaki MotoGP team in 2009.

Melandri joined Ducati at the beginning of 2008 but has had a poor season and is 15th in the standings following Sunday's Czech MotoGP'I hope to get good results in the last six races of 2008'
.

He said: "I hope to get good results in the last six races of 2008 and after that I am moving to another team. I will ride for Kawasaki next year so it's a big change for me."

Melandri's agent announced in July 2008 the former 250cc World champion would be leaving Ducati.

Yamaha's Valentino Rossi, winner of seven World titles in all classes, leads the MotoGP standings by 50 points with 2007 World champion Casey Stoner (Ducati) second. - Reuters

Hopkins injured again.

John Hopkins sustains a rib injury at Brno, but is expected to race at Misano.
John Hopkins has more injury woes to contend with after hurting his rib in fall during the Czech Republic Grand Prix weekend, a problem that went on to force him out of the two-day test at Brno.
Hopkins has been at the behest of various problems this season but came to the latest round of MotoGP ready to put them behind him as the embarked on his comeback round having missed the last three races due to a leg injury.
However, while a couple of falls during practice don't appear to have aggravated the leg anymore, they have seemingly caused a further rib injury for the popular Anglo-American, forcing him to end his testing exercise after only a few laps.
As such, Olivier Jacque was called upon to complete a second day of testing aboard the Kawasaki Ninja, alongside Anthony West. Producing the ninth fastest lap of the day, 2.6secs behind pace setter Casey Stoner, the Frenchman was pleased with the progress made.
"The last two days have been very useful to us and we've gathered a lot of data. We firstly worked with our base chassis setting to see where we could make adjustments to improve the stability and balance of the machine. We also had a new swing-arm and some electronic components to test today, which have both brought interesting results.
"This track is quite grippy so it's difficult to see exactly where this puts us with regards to some of the other circuits, but I am confident that we've made many forward steps. We now need to spend time reviewing the data to assess fully everything we've evaluated in the last two days."
West meanwhile, whose career-best fifth place finish at Brno on Sunday appears to have not saved him the axe ahead of 2009, was the slowest of the 11 runners, but believes he has a more predictable bike beneath him now.
"I didn't test yesterday because Olivier was evaluating various different parts on my machine, however we have managed to achieve quite a lot during today's track time. We focused mainly on setting up the bike to suit a front tyre option that we've not used so much but has been put to good use by a few other Bridgestone riders recently.
Previously we've not been able to make this tyre work effectively, but with the changes in chassis set-up we've made, it is now a viable option for us to use. In the race this weekend I had to push hard every lap to be fast, but with the advances we've made at this test, the bike feels much more rideable. I'm now really looking forward to furthering our improvements next time out."

Nakano Puas dengan RC212V

Kamis, 21 Agustus 2008 - 08:00 wib

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BRNO - Kepercayaan tinggi sedang diperlihatkan Shinya Nakano. Pembalap San Carlo Gresini itu mengaku dirinya sangat optimis akan meraih hasil bagus setelah mendapat motor baru dari Honda.

Pembalap Jepang itu pun langsung menargetkan hasil bagus di enam balapan tersisa. Nakano juga mengaku siap tampil habis-habisan guna mewujudkan ambisinya itu. Terlebih, Nakano juga memperlihatkan grafik meningkat di sesi uji coba selama dua hari ini.

Nakano memang mengaku tampil lebih pede dengan motor RC212V baru dari Honda itu. Menurutnya, motor anyarnya itu juga sesuai dengan gaya membalapnya. Terbukti, di balapan Republik Ceska lalu, Nakano juga tampil mengesankan dengan motor barunya itu. Ia mampu finish diurutan keempat dibelakang Loris Capirossi.

Nakano dan Gresini Honda terpilih untuk mengembangkan motor balap Honda. Dia memupuskan harapan Nicky Hayden yang sebelumnya diperkirakan akan mendapat kepercayaan dari Honda.

"Hari ini kami mampu tampil meningkatkan performa RC212V, meskipun belum sempurna. Di trek kering kemarin dan hari ini kami mampu menambah kepercayaan diri dengan motor anyar kami. Saya mempunyai balapan bagus di Brno namun kami belum cukup waktu beradaptasi," beber Nakano seperti dilansir crashnet, Kamis (21/8/2008).

Selain menguji performa RC212V, Nakano dan timnya juga melakukan tes terhadap beberapa jenis ban dengan bantuan ahli dari Bridgestone langsung. Dalam tes di Brno kali ini Bridgestone membawa dua tipe ban.

Rossi Tinggalkan Kenangan Indah di Brno

Kamis, 21 Agustus 2008 - 08:00 wib

BRNO - Valentino Rossi akhirnya meninggalkan Republik Ceska dengan dada membusung. Pasalnya, di Sirkuit Brno, Minggu (17/8/2008) lalu, pembalap Fiat Yamaha itu mendulang poin sempurna.

The Doctor akhirnya meninggalkan kenangan indah di Brno setelah sebelumnya juga menyelesaikan tes selama dua hari dengan sukses.

Torehan yang dicapai pembalap kelahiran Urbino itu membuatnya unggul 50 poin dari pesaing terdekatnya, Casey Stoner yang dibalapan itu gagal finis setelah terjatuh. Di sesi uji coba selama dua hari itu, Rossi bersama Tim Fiat Yamaha lebih menitikberatkan pada bagian ban dan elektronik.

Hasil gemilang di Brno itu juga membuat Rossi semakin percaya diri menyelesaikan enam seri balapan MotoGP yang tersisa.

"Hari ini terasa menjadi hari yang panjang namun kami telah menemukan beberapa kemajuan di beberapa area yang sangat bermanfaat dan saya akan meninggalkan tempat ini dengan bahagia," ujar Rossi seperti dilansir crashnet, Rabu (20/8/2008).

Dalam kesempatan itu Rossi juga menegaskan bahwa selama tes dua hari di Brno, timnya telah membuat kemajuan dalam akselerasi motornya. Selain itu, Rossi juga menjajal beberapa komposisi ban Bridgstone.

"Tes ini sangat bagus untuk membuat kami memenangkan pertarungan enam seri yang tersisa," tambahnya.

Keyakinan yang sama juga ditunjukkan Manajer Tim Davide Brivio. Menurutnya, para teknisi Fiat Yamaha telah menemukan solusi terhadap beberapa masalah yang dialami pembalapnya.

"Kami telah menjalani tes selama dua hari dan setiap orang bekerja dengan keras, dan tentu dengan hasil yang bagus," ujar Brivio.

"Kami telah menjalani pekan yang lama di Brno namun balapan dan tes kami berjalan dengan sukses dan kami sekarang menatap ke Misano," tutup Brivio.

New direction continues for Kawasaki

Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Kawasaki continued their upward momentum at Brno with a pleasing post-race test from riders Anthony West and John Hopkins.

Quote:

Kawasaki will reflect positively on their visit to the Czech Republic, with their best collective result of the season, a new direction confirmed with the Ninja ZX-RR and –according to Marco Melandri- their rider lineup for 2009 sewn up. `Team Green´stayed on for testing on Monday and Tuesday, with positive developments that the MotoGP outfit feel will aid further improvement this season.
`We have mainly evaluated different engine and chassis settings at this test, along with some new specification components for the Ninja ZX-RR,´ explained Kawasaki Technical Manager Naoya Kaneko after Tuesday´s final laps of the Brno circuit.
Aside from five laps on Monday, the team were testing without rider John Hopkins due to the Anglo-American having displaced an intercostal muscle in a weekend tumble. Hopkins´condition does not put his participation at the next round at Misano in doubt, and most of his work could be handled by regular rider Anthony West and tester Olivier Jacque.
`It was unfortunate that John was unable to ride because of the injury he is carrying, but we've gathered a lot of data from both Olivier and Anthony,´ continued Kaneko. `We´ve definitely got a new direction with the machine and both riders have seen improvements with the set-up of their bikes throughout the time they were on track. Anthony made adjustments to his chassis set-up and adapted his riding style to suit a particular front tyre, which hopefully will now be an option for us to use in the future. We will now refer all of the information we have gathered back to the factory, so we can continue with our development.´
Whilst West focused his attention on a rarely-used Bridgestone front tyre, Jacque worked on base chassis settings, a new swing arm and electronic parts. The former 250cc World Champion and MotoGP competitor has been evaluating the ZX-RR in a number of testing opportunities this season, and is the only Kawasaki rider to have undertaken laps of the new Indianapolis circuit that debuts on the MotoGP calendar this year.

Kawasaki close in on Melandri deal and third bike for 2009

Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Kawasaki´s Michael Bartholemy has provided an update on the proposed recruitment of Italian MotoGP rider Marco Melandri.

Quote:

Following Marco Melandri´s comments on Tuesday, on the final day of testing at Brno, that he is set to join Kawasaki at the end of this year, the Japanese manufacturer´s MotoGP Competition Manager Michael Bartholemy has confirmed that a deal is on the table – with final confirmation from Japan currently being awaited.
Bartholemy told motogp.com on Wednesday that the stamp of approval from his own bosses at Kawasaki Heavy Industries was still required, commenting, `We have reached an agreement with Marco Melandri meaning that he would join us for the next two years, but the deal still has to be approved by Kawasaki in Japan.´
Explaining what Melandri´s arrival would mean for current Kawasaki rider Anthony West, Bartholemy declared, `With regard to Anthony he will not be part of the main Kawasaki MotoGP team next season but we want to offer him a contract to remain as a Kawasaki factory rider, because we have invested a lot in him to bring him up a level since he joined us last year. That could mean that Anthony rides for us in another World Championship series.´
Meanwhile, Bartholemy is also still finalising plans to bring a third Kawasaki machine onto the MotoGP grid on a permanent basis next season and is positive about such a project taking place. For West that could mean a chance to remain in the premier class of motorcycle competition depending on sponsorship demands.
As Bartholemy explained, `If we do run a third bike it would be up to the sponsors and the management who the rider is, but Anthony West could be part of the package that we offer. In Misano we should be able to confirm that Melandri has joined us and we should be able to clarify the situation with the third bike.´

Nakano concludes positive test

At Brno
20/08/08 11:21



Team San Carlo Honda Gresini completed their second and final day of testing at Brno yesterday, with only Shinya Nakano taking to the track - Alex De Angelis having completed his test programme on Monday.

The Japanese rider has made the most of two days of sunshine to accumulate experience on the new Honda RC212V, the satellite version 2009 machine that he debuted during the Czech Republic Grand Prix.

After completing 67 laps on Monday, Shinya clocked up another 27 today and ended the session fifth fastest overall with a best lap of 1'57”559.

“Today we were able to carry out more set-up work on the RC212V, which we still don't completely know. The dry track time yesterday and today has allowed me to build up my confidence with the bike – I had a good race here at Brno on Sunday but we hadn't had enough time to adapt it completely to my riding style. The objective of this test was to find something more suited to our demands and we managed that – everything went as planned”, he commented. “At the end we were able to do some tyre tests with the

Bridgestone technicians, testing two new types of compound.
I didn't do as many laps
today because after the race weekend and a long first day of the test the tiredness started to kick in. Other than that I'm happy and confident about the next race at Misano!”

Melandri bakal ke Kawasaki tahun 2009

Melandri confirms Kawasaki move



20/08/08 09:18

Although he still remains focussed on completing the 2008 campaign with current employees Ducati Marlboro, former 250cc World Champion Marco Melandri has revealed that he is to join Kawasaki at the end of this season.

Following his move to the Ducati factory team from satellite outfit Honda Gresini last winter Melandri has experienced an abrupt downturn in form and it was confirmed last month that he would not stay with the Italian manufacturers beyond 2008.

Since then Melandri has been in discussions with other teams and has made his mind up that Kawasaki is the right move.

Speaking on the second and final day of the post-Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceske republiky test on Tuesday Melandri commented, “I hope to get good results in the last six races of 2008 and after that I am moving to another team. I will ride for Kawasaki next year so it´s a big change for me.”

“For the time being I want to think about this season but it will be a big challenge next year. I will keep working hard though and I am quite confident.”

Explaining why he had chosen Kawasaki in particular he added, “(John) Hopkins is a very good rider and maybe he needs a stronger team-mate to be a little bit more motivated. Maybe I also need this kind of company to be motivated a little bit more because I really

want to work closely together with a team-mate, so it will be a good experience anyway.
”

Commenting on the possibility of a return to Honda Gresini, a rumour that had circulated in the MotoGP paddock, Melandri also said, “Yes it would have been a very nice option to go back to Fausto (Gresini). I had a very good time with him and he has always helped me a lot. Also this year we have been talking together, but for me, I have been looking at Kawasaki and they always seem very good. The engineers and the people give me a good feeling just to talk to them, so that is what I want to do.”

Melandri Menuju ke Kawasaki
Mohammad Yanuar Firdaus - detiksport
Brno - Tak cukup berprestasi bersama Ducati musim ini, Marco Melandri bersiap-siap hijrah ke pabrikan asal Jepang, Kawasaki, tahun depan.

Kemungkinan untuk transfer pembalap ini cukup besar mengingat kedua tim sudah melakukan negosiasi panjang dalam beberapa waktu terakhir. Melandri sendiri juga sudah menyatakan kesediannya hijrah.

"Saya akan mewakili Kawasaki tahun depan, jadi ini merupakan perubahan besar bagi saya," ujar Melandri dalam situs resmi MotoGP, Rabu (20/8/2008).

"Kadangkala saya ingin hanya memikirkan musim ini, tapi bakal ada tantangan besar musim depan. Saya akan terus bekerja keras dan saya cukup percaya diri," tandasnya lagi.

Pernyataan Melandri dan semua spekulasi itu sekaligus menggugurkan kabar dirinya akan mengulang romantisme masa silam bersama Honda Gresini, tim yang pernah membawanya sukses di musim 2005.

( ian / din )

Rossi confident for final push

20/08/08 11:25

Valentino Rossi left the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic this evening after a busy but successful two days of testing, alongside most of his fellow MotoGP competitors.

The Italian, who won Sunday's race to go fifty points clear at the top of the championship, set the second fastest time once again today and looks in good shape as he heads to his home race at Misano in ten day's time.

Rossi continued with a programme of Bridgestone tyre testing today, as well as working on electronics and general set-up. He did try some qualifying tyres but his best time of the day, a lap of 1'56.613, was set on a race tyre and was well inside the best lap from Sunday's race.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd Time: 1'56.613 Laps: 66
"It's been a long day today but we've found some important improvements in a few different areas so it's been worthwhile, and I am leaving here feeling very happy. We've worked on electronics and it seems we've found some improvements under accelleration, then of course we've worked a lot with Bridgestone on both front and rear tyres. We've definitely found some good things in this area as well, helping our agility and stability in the

corners and we are faster with these new tyres.
It's been a good test and now we are
looking forward to the final six battles!"

Davide Brivio - Team Manager
"We've had a full couple of days testing and everyone has worked very hard, with great results. This is probably our last test of the season so it's been very important for us to have this chance to check many small things, especially tyres, electronics and setting. We have had a long week here in Brno but both the race and the test have been very successful and now we're looking forward to Misano."

MOMENT RACE MOTOGP

Masalah Pedrosa pada Ban

BRNO - Gagal mendapatkan ban yang kompetitif membuat pembalap Repsol Honda Dani Pedrosa tak tenang. Pedrosa juga terpaksa menjalani tes lanjutan pascabalapan di Brno guna menemukan formula ban yang tepat. Namun di tes tersebut Pedrosa dan Repsol Honda juga belum mendapatkan hasil yang positif.

Ya, di GP Republik Ceska, Minggu (17/8/2008) lalu, pembalap Spanyol itu mengalami balapan terburuknya sepanjang karirnya. Pedrosa menganggap kurangnya daya cengkram ban depan dan belakang Michelin menjadi biang kerok kegagalannya di Brno lalu.

Hal itulah yang membuat Pedrosa dan timnya Repsol Honda lebih memfokuskan tesnya kali ini pada masalah komposisi ban. Sayang ketidakpuasan ternyata juga terlihat dari hasil tes selama dua hari yang dilakukan Repsol Honda di Brno kali ini.

"Kami mencoba beberapa ban depan berbeda yang dibawa Michelin dalam tes kali ini. Namun hingga tes ini berakhir kami belum menemukan perkembangan berarti," ujar Pedrosa seperti dilansir crashnet, Selasa (19/8/2008).

"Kami gagal mendulang poin dengan mesin pneumatic-valve karena ban tidak bekerja dengan cukup baik," tambahnya.

Kegalalan mendapatkan stelan terbaiknya, membuat Pedrosa dan Repsol Honda berencana menggelar sesi latihan lagi di Grand Prix San Marino nanti.

"Kami akan mengatur ulang tes ini di Misano, pada hari Senin setelah GP San Marino," ujar pembalap kelahiran Sabadell itu.

Dalam sesi latihan itu turut serta pembalap HRC Tadayuki Okada yang dipanggil untuk menggantikan posisi Nicky Hayden yang sedang cedera. Mantan pembalap 500GP, yang diberikan motor RC212V pneumatic-valve sedang menjalani tes pada bagian mesin dan elektronik motor Repsol Honda.

"Hari ini kami telah melakukan beberapa langkah baru dalam pengembangan mesin dan elektronik. Di Jepang kami telah melakukan pengembangan baik pada mesin spring-valve maupun pneumatic-valve," ujar Tady, julukan pembalap Jepang itu.

"Sejak penampilan terakhir saya di MotoGP Italia, saya dapat mengatakan bahwa motor dengan mesin pneumatic-valve lebih baik," tutupnya.

No improvement for Pedrosa as he cuts Czech test short

After eleven laps on Monday, Dani Pedrosa decided against any further participation in the post-race test at Brno.

Quote:

Dani Pedrosa undertook a bare minimum of laps on the opening day of post-race testing in Brno - after just eleven turns the Spaniard was ready to write off the entire weekend and leave the Czech Republic. His last lap came at 12.30pm, and there will be no more activity from the Repsol Honda rider on Tuesday.
Initially scheduled to use the pneumatic valve RC212V engine with which he is still yet to perform an extensive test, Pedrosa - who sensationally slammed tyre manufacturer Michelin after an `embarrassing´ Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceske republiky - decided that the rubber at his disposal would not have permitted any useful assessment of the motor.
`We tried some different front tyres that Michelin brought here for this test, but we finished after a few laps because we couldn´t find any improvement,´ said the 2007 MotoGP World Championship runner-up.
`We tested the tyres with my current race bike; there was no point using the machine with the pneumatic-valve engine because the tyres weren't working well enough. We have rescheduled this test for Misano, on the Monday after the San Marino GP.´
Pneumatic valve engine work was instead continued by Tadayuki Okada, Repsol Honda´s test rider standing in for the injured Nicky Hayden. With the backing of the 2006 World Champion´s crew, Okada rode 67 laps of the Brno circuit as he looked to further develop Hayden´s preferred version of the RC212V.
`Today we tested some new steps in development concerning both engine and electronics. In Japan we are working on the development of both the spring valve engine and the pneumatic valve engine,´ explained Okada, the first Repsol Honda rider to score World Championship points with the pneumatic valve version in a wildcard appearance at Mugello.
`Since my last appearance at the Italian race I can say that the bike with the new engine has improved a lot. I think that the bike has reached a satisfactory level of development, I hope that Dani will be able to test it soon.´

Melandri Mendekat ke Kawasaki

Rabu, 20 Agustus 2008

Quote:

Setelah rumor didepak dari Ducati makin mengkristal pembalap Italia Marco Melandri kemungkinan besar akan membalap untuk tim hijau Kawasaki di musim 2009 mendatang.

Kini tengah berlangsung negosiasi antara Melandri dan Kawasaki dan keduanya tampaknya tertarik dengan proposal yang diajukan, sebelum petinggi Jepang memutuskan untuk mencapai kata sepakat.

"Saya akan membalap untuk Kawasaki musim depan dan ini adalah pilihan tepat bagi saya," kata Melandri ke website MotoGP.

Meski demikian Melandri tak menampik saat dirinya dikabarkan juga balik ke Gresini, baginya Gresini adalah team yang sangat baik dan dan telah banyak membantunya dalam karir balapnya.

Melandri confirms Kawasaki move for 2009

Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Italian MotoGP star Marco Melandri has told motogp.com that he will ride for Kawasaki next season.

Quote:

Although he still remains focussed on completing the 2008 campaign with current employees Ducati Marlboro, former 250cc World Champion Marco Melandri has revealed that he is to join Kawasaki at the end of this season.
Following his move to the Ducati factory team from satellite outfit Honda Gresini last winter Melandri has experienced an abrupt downturn in form and it was confirmed last month that he would not stay with the Italian manufacturers beyond 2008.
Since then Melandri has been in discussions with other teams and has made his mind up that Kawasaki is the right move.
Speaking to motogp.com on the second and final day of the post-Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceske republiky test on Tuesday Melandri commented, `I hope to get good results in the last six races of 2008 and after that I am moving to another team. I will ride for Kawasaki next year so it´s a big change for me.´
`For the time being I want to think about this season but it will be a big challenge next year. I will keep working hard though and I am quite confident.´
Explaining why he had chosen Kawasaki in particular he added, `(John) Hopkins is a very good rider and maybe he needs a stronger team-mate to be a little bit more motivated. Maybe I also need this kind of company to be motivated a little bit more because I really want to work closely together with a team-mate, so it will be a good experience anyway.´
Commenting on the possibility of a return to Honda Gresini, a rumour that had circulated in the MotoGP paddock, Melandri also said, `Yes it would have been a very nice option to go back to Fausto (Gresini). I had a very good time with him and he has always helped me a lot. Also this year we have been talking together, but for me, I have been looking at Kawasaki and they always seem very good. The engineers and the people give me a good feeling just to talk to them, so that is what I want to do.´

MISTERI NO BALAP '1' DI MOTOGP

Juara MotoGP 2007, Casey Stoner baru saja memeperkenalkan tunggangan barunya, Ducati Desmosedici GP8. Sebagai juara dunia bertahan, tentu saja dia berhak atas motor berplat nomor 1. Uniknya, di bagian bawah nomor 1 tersebut tertulis nomor 27, yang merupakan nomor motor kesayangannya sejak masih berlaga di kelas 125 cc. Ada apa gerangan?

Kalau dirunut, ada dua kemungkinan. Yang pertama, bagi yang tidak percaya takhyul, bisa jadi Stoner ingin memberi "penghargaan" kepada nomor 27 yang telah mengantarkannya menjadi juara dunia.

alasan kedua yang sedikit berbau mistis, bisa jadi Stoner ingin menghindari "kutukan ". Ya, sejak tahun 1999 di ajang balap motor kelas 500cc/MotoGP tak ada pemilik motor bernomor 1 yang sanggup mempertahankan gelarnya. Tahun 1999, sang juara bertahan, Mick Doohan bernasib naas mengalami kecelakaan yang membuat dia harus rela pensiun. Juara akhirnya direbut rekan satu tim-nya Alex Criville

Tahun 2000, gantian Criville, hanya sanggup memenangi satu seri dan harus rela gelarnya direbut Kenny Roberts, Jr. Nasib sial kemudian dialami Roberts Jr di tahun 2001, di mana ia tidak sanggup memenangi satu seri sama sekali dan juara dunia direbut oleh Valentino Rossi.

Rossi kemudian memilih cara unik dengan mempertahankan nomor 46 daripada menggunakan nomor 1, dan ia bertahan menjadi juara hingga tahun 2005. Di tahun 2006, gelar diraih oleh Nicky Hayden, yang memutuskan mempertahanhakn tradisi nomor 1 untuk juara bertahan. Nah, apesnya ia juga gagal mempertahankan gelarnya di tahun 2007.

Mungkinkah Stoner ingin menghindari kutukan nomor 1 tersebut dengan memasang nomor 27 di bagian bawah nomor 1 agar ia dapat mempertahankan gelarnya?Mungkin hanya Tuhan dan Stoner sendiri yang tahu.Aliim

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Melandri going green?

Tue 19 Aug, 05:14 PM

Marco Melandri expected to ride for Kawasaki during the 2009 MotoGP season.

Crash.net understands that Marco Melandri is increasingly likely to ride for Kawasaki in MotoGP next season, but that no deal has yet been done.

Whilst negotiations between Melandri and Kawasaki are a long way down the line, with both team and rider happy with the proposal on offer, the new partnership still needs to be discussed at Kawasaki's headquarters in Japan before it can be finalised. That process is now ongoing.

Melandri, whose 2008 move to the factory Ducati team has yielded just two top ten finishes from twelve race starts, was first linked with Team Green earlier in the year, when it seemed likely that he would leave Ducati midway through a desperately disappointing season.

That switch to a third ZX-RR never materialised, and Melandri - whose only other option was to sit out the remainder of the season - soon stated his intention to see out the rest of the year with Ducati, although the second year of his contract was annulled by mutual consent.

In recent weeks, Melandri's 2009 destination seemed to have swung in favour of a return to the satellite Honda Gresini outfit - with whom Melandri took all five of his MotoGP race wins and finished second in the 2005 world championship.

But Melandri now looks on course to retain factory MotoGP status by riding alongside John Hopkins at Kawasaki in 2009, at the expense of Antony West.

Kawasaki, the only MotoGP manufacturer yet to win a race since the switch to four-stroke machinery in 2002, has long stated its determination to field two 'proven' front-running riders.

Smith column: The gambling man.

Tue 19 Aug, 05:00 PM

In the latest of his Crash.net columns, brought to you by Mitsubishi Motors UK, Bradley Smith looks back at the 125cc Czech Republic Grand Prix and ahead to the San Marino Grand Prix…

It was so disheartening on Sunday to watch the other riders' race past me and disappear after I'd led the way from the start of the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic at Brno but I promise you there was nothing I could do. At the end, the best I could have hoped for was that sixth place to retain my seventh place in the World Championship.

The race was always going to be a lottery after so much rain in practice and qualifying. The set-up of the bike in the dry had to be a gamble but after we'd led the morning warm-up we were very confident.

I made a great start from the front row of the grid and led for a couple until the others found their feet and raced past me. They were lapping half a second faster than me and every time I tried to stay with them I was in trouble getting the bike to stop and turn.

One thing I've learned this season in this situation is to not make any mistakes and ride your own steady race. That's exactly what I did and picked up some valuable points which after the problems with the weather resulting in lack of dry track time was the best we could do - not that I'm happy about it.

Brno is a great track and there were nearly 150,000 people there on Sunday but the weather left a lot to be desired. The new track surface was dirty on Friday morning and it rained in the afternoon. It rained on Saturday morning and there was little point going out in the afternoon, once again on the wet track.

After so much rain it was always going to be dry on race day. We gambled a bit with the set-up for the warm-up in the morning but it worked because I was half a second quicker than anybody else. However, some of the other teams obviously gambled even more in the race and took a risk with their dry weather setting but it paid off. Perhaps they kept their cards close to their chests in the warm-up but nobody expected them to be lapping in two minutes eight seconds. We thought lap times would be around two minutes nine seconds but we were wrong and the winner Stefan Bradl certainly seemed to have the perfect set-up as he raced to his first grand prix win.

Of course I envied him but I still really believe my first win will come very soon and in these final six races. At the start of the year I was not riding hard enough at the start but I've kracked that particular problem. We keep ticking the right boxes, it's just getting them all ticked on the same day.

It's hard not to get frustrated but the team and everybody around me are very focused and very positive. The next race at Misano in Italy is a massive event for my Polaris World Aprilia team. It's their home grand prix and Mattia Pasini won the race for them last year and there is nothing more I could hope for than winning again to thank them for everything they do for me.

I was eighth last year in a difficult weekend when it rained so hard on Friday, everything was cancelled. I'm going to spend the week with the team to get prepared for the biggest race of the year for them.

It would be the perfect venue to win that first grand prix. I'm so confident that victory will come but it's just taking longer than we all expected.

Smith column: The gambling man.

Tue 19 Aug, 05:00 PM

In the latest of his Crash.net columns, brought to you by Mitsubishi Motors UK, Bradley Smith looks back at the 125cc Czech Republic Grand Prix and ahead to the San Marino Grand Prix…

It was so disheartening on Sunday to watch the other riders' race past me and disappear after I'd led the way from the start of the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic at Brno but I promise you there was nothing I could do. At the end, the best I could have hoped for was that sixth place to retain my seventh place in the World Championship.

The race was always going to be a lottery after so much rain in practice and qualifying. The set-up of the bike in the dry had to be a gamble but after we'd led the morning warm-up we were very confident.

I made a great start from the front row of the grid and led for a couple until the others found their feet and raced past me. They were lapping half a second faster than me and every time I tried to stay with them I was in trouble getting the bike to stop and turn.

One thing I've learned this season in this situation is to not make any mistakes and ride your own steady race. That's exactly what I did and picked up some valuable points which after the problems with the weather resulting in lack of dry track time was the best we could do - not that I'm happy about it.

Brno is a great track and there were nearly 150,000 people there on Sunday but the weather left a lot to be desired. The new track surface was dirty on Friday morning and it rained in the afternoon. It rained on Saturday morning and there was little point going out in the afternoon, once again on the wet track.

After so much rain it was always going to be dry on race day. We gambled a bit with the set-up for the warm-up in the morning but it worked because I was half a second quicker than anybody else. However, some of the other teams obviously gambled even more in the race and took a risk with their dry weather setting but it paid off. Perhaps they kept their cards close to their chests in the warm-up but nobody expected them to be lapping in two minutes eight seconds. We thought lap times would be around two minutes nine seconds but we were wrong and the winner Stefan Bradl certainly seemed to have the perfect set-up as he raced to his first grand prix win.

Of course I envied him but I still really believe my first win will come very soon and in these final six races. At the start of the year I was not riding hard enough at the start but I've kracked that particular problem. We keep ticking the right boxes, it's just getting them all ticked on the same day.

It's hard not to get frustrated but the team and everybody around me are very focused and very positive. The next race at Misano in Italy is a massive event for my Polaris World Aprilia team. It's their home grand prix and Mattia Pasini won the race for them last year and there is nothing more I could hope for than winning again to thank them for everything they do for me.

I was eighth last year in a difficult weekend when it rained so hard on Friday, everything was cancelled. I'm going to spend the week with the team to get prepared for the biggest race of the year for them.

It would be the perfect venue to win that first grand prix. I'm so confident that victory will come but it's just taking longer than we all expected.

Pedrosa cuts test short

Tue 19 Aug, 03:10 PM

Repsol Honda RC212V rider Dani Pedrosa and HRC test rider Tadayuki Okada took to the track at Brno yesterday, following the Repsol Honda team's difficult Czech GP weekend.

Weather conditions were perfect, allowing both riders to start testing at 10.30am, with Pedrosa riding his RC212V with spring valves while Okada rode the pneumatic-valve machine usually ridden by Nicky Hayden, who missed Brno due to a foot injury.

Pedrosa stopped testing at 12.30pm, while Okada continued for the rest of the day. The Japanese rider, who gave the pneumatic-valve RC212V its race debut at June's Italian GP, tested updated engine parts and electronics.

The Repsol Honda team next outing is at Misano for the San Marino GP on August 29/30/31.

Dani Pedrosa

“We tried some different front tyres that Michelin brought here for this test, but we finished after some laps because we couldn't find any improvement. We tested the tyres with my current race bike, there was no point using the machine with the pneumatic-valve engine because the tyres weren't working well enough. We have rescheduled this test at Misano, on the Monday after the San Marino GP.”

Tadayuki Okada

“Today we tested some new steps in development concerning both engine and electronics. In Japan we are working on the development of both the spring-valve engine and the pneumatic-valve engine. Since my last appearance at the Italian MotoGP I can say that the bike with pneumatic-valve engine has improved a lot. I think that the bike has reached a satisfactory level of development, I hope that Dani will be able to test it soon.”

De Puniet out of luck at Brno

Tue 19 Aug, 10:37 AM

After Saturday's good qualifying session result on the wet, LCR Honda MotoGP racer Randy De Puniet made a good start from the 7th place for the 22-lap race at Brno track but crashed out on lap six.

Luckily the Frenchman aboard the Michelin-shod Honda RC212V escaped unhurt from the incident and rejoined the twelfth round of the season ending 16th.

De Puniet qualified 11th in the morning warm up session which was held in dry conditions with the 27-year-old struggling a lot for front-end feel. After a good start from the third row Randy tried to set his rhythm but after few laps he started to loose the front again.

“Honestly I am very angry”, he said. “I made a good start but could not race as I would like because struggled a lot for front-end feel. Many riders passed me in the corner entry and in the first laps I lost the front a few times. So I decided to slow down but the feeling with the front was very bad. When I tried to pass Pedrosa in the chicane I crashed out in the gravel but rejoined the race. I suffered the same crash of Friday afternoon and, although my crew worked hard to find a solution, we did not solve the problem with the front tyre. I want to forget this bad week end”.

Fantastic first Suzuki podium for Capirossi

Tue 19 Aug, 10:08 AM

Loris Capirossi raced his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R to his maiden podium for the team - and 99th overall of his career - at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno on Sunday.

Starting from ninth on the grid Capirossi lost a couple of places early on, but he fought back to regain them by the end of the first lap.

He then set about hunting down the riders in front of him and was involved in numerous battles before making his way up to a podium position on lap seven. He then became involved in a fight with team-mate Chris Vermeulen until the experienced Italian finally got the better of his colleague on lap nine, after the two had overtaken each other a number of times.

Capirossi held on to second place briefly before being passed by Toni Elias, but from then on a podium position never looked in doubt and Capirossi crossed the line in third place to the delight of his team.

“I want to say what a fantastic day this is for me today!”, he said. “After the injury in Barcelona I have not had the opportunity to go quick due to my condition, but all the people around me - including the whole team and Suzuki - stayed really close to me and gave me great support so I am really happy to pay them back with this podium - it actually feels more like a win for me because it means so much! After the break following Laguna, I was able to get some rest and start training again to get myself back in the best condition, and although I am still not 100% I am nearly there and I was able to challenge all weekend. My dream this weekend was to fight for a podium, after Friday I felt I could do that and today I started with a good focus to do my best. This result is for all the team and everybody working with me, because when we make a great result I am really happy, and today I am certainly really happy!”

Vermeulen had a strong start to the race and was up into third on the fifth lap, and was then promoted to second when early race-leader Casey Stoner crashed out. Unfortunately, Vermeulen couldn't hold on to a podium position as he started to suffer with some front grip issues and was relegated down to seventh. He battled on for the rest of the race and fought his way back to sixth at the end to leave him in seventh place overall in the World Championship.

“I got a good start and was scrapping with the Kawasakis – which seemed like they were surprisingly fast today – and got held up by them a bit. I managed to get past Ant West and then started to catch John Hopkins, but I started to have some issues with front grip and had to change the way I was riding the bike”, said the Australian. “Once I got past John it felt like I had nothing left and the situation was getting worse – which was awful as the race was only about seven laps old! I kept my head down and worked out the best way to ride and how to try to preserve the tyre. At one stage I thought about coming in, but I worked it out and managed to get home in sixth place to get some points. I'd like to congratulate Loris on his podium today. It was good to see him come back like that after his injury and I'm very happy for him!”

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now remains in Brno for a two-day test where it will evaluate many new parts for the ever-improving Rizla Suzuki GSV-R. The team will then travel to Misano for the San Marino Grand Prix which will be held on Sunday 31st August.

Career best West flies to fifth at Brno

Tue 19 Aug, 09:37 AM

Kawasaki's Anthony West achieved a MotoGP career best finish on Sunday, with a determined ride to fifth place aboard his Ninja ZX-RR at the Czech Republic Grand Prix.

With a complete contrast in weather conditions following Saturday's rain-soaked qualifying, West made a strong start to the 22-lap dry race from sixth position on the grid. Fourth into the first corner, the Australian rider immediately came under attack from the pursuing pack and, despite doing everything in his power to keep them at bay, the Kawasaki pilot dropped back to settle into a steady rhythm in sixth place.

By the halfway mark West's confidence had grown considerably. Casey Stoner's crash at the front of the race left West in fifth place, but he quickly moved up to fourth after passing his Kawasaki teammate, John Hopkins, who was starting to struggle with a lack of rear traction. The 27-year-old Australian fought to maintain quick and consistent lap-times before losing out to a resurgent Shinya Nakano in the closing stages at the 5.403km track.

West rode determinedly to the flag to achieve his best ever result in the premier class, crossing the line in an impressive fifth position aboard his Bridgestone-shod Ninja ZX-RR.

“To finish fifth is a really great feeling and it just shows exactly what we are capable of achieving”, he said. “I got a good start to the race, but I dropped down to sixth after a few laps and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to fight back, especially after not having much dry time on the bike here. However, my confidence grew as we went on and I was able to catch up with John and pass him for fourth at the halfway point. The grip levels dropped off towards the end, so there was nothing I could do about Shinya other than to continue lapping consistently to the flag. I felt so much more comfortable on the bike than I have done previously and the Bridgestone tyres definitely had an advantage over some of the other riders. I had to ride really hard today, in fact I didn't even look at my pit board until halfway through, so there's still more work to be done as we had to push a lot to get out of the turns fast enough. Thankfully it paid off and fifth place is my best result yet in MotoGP, so I'm really happy.”

Hopkins started the race well from the front row of the grid and battled throughout the opening laps for third position with the Suzukis of Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi.

The 25-year-old Anglo-American dropped back to settle into seventh place but, despite looking almost certain for a strong result on his return to racing from injury, a disappointed Hopkins was struggling for rear grip and got ambushed by a succession of riders in the closing stages, pushing him back to 11th position at the chequered flag.

“It's obviously disappointing to finish the race in 11th place, especially after feeling so confident and strong early on. We took a gamble with our tyre choice today and used a rear tyre that nobody else had in their selection”, he commented. “I got a great start to the race and I sat behind the Suzuki riders while they battled things out for third. Unfortunately the tyre began to drop off and at the end of the race the left side just didn't have any grip. Usually I can ride around a problem like this, but with the knee injury I'm carrying, I couldn't prop the bike up to compensate for this lack of traction. The positive thing is that we were strong while the tyre was working well, and we achieved a front row start, so we have a goal to aim for in testing over the next few days. During the next two days of testing I'm looking forward to catching up on a lot of the riding I've missed through injury, improving the bike further and finding a solution to the problem we had today. I'd also like to congratulate Anthony; it's great to see him riding like that again and he really deserved the result he achieved.”

"I am happy with this weekend as we've had a good pace right from the start, which shows the potential results we can achieve”, added Michael Bartholemy. “Anthony has really impressed me today because I wasn't really expecting him to achieve a result like this in the dry and he rode a fantastic race throughout. I am sorry for John because he was strong early on in the race, but there was little he could do when the grip dropped off. We now have two days testing where John has some important track time to catch up on the races he's missed in the last few weeks. We have some more parts to evaluate and we will also be working closely with Bridgestone to make improvements with the tyres. Overall I am pleased and I hope we can continue with this kind of form in the future.”

Lorenzo finishes tenth

Tue 19 Aug, 09:14 AM

Fiat Yamaha Team rookie Jorge Lorenzo finished a creditable tenth in Brno on Sunday, making up seven places after starting last on the grid.

The Spaniard made the most of the tools he had available to pass several riders, including two on the last lap, and hangs onto his fourth place in the championship as a result.

His team-mate Valentino Rossi won his fifth race of the season and was saved another tense battle with Casey Stoner after the Australian crashed out of the lead on the seventh lap.

Lorenzo was able to pass Colin Edwards early on and he then gradually settled into a rhythm and passed both James Toseland and Dani Pedrosa to take 12th. During the middle part of the race his lap times gradually improved and brought him closer to the next group and he was rewarded with an exciting final lap, which saw him pass first Sylvain Guintoli and then John Hopkins on the line to take tenth.

“This race is a bit sad for me because we have the potential to do a lot better. However considering what has happened this weekend and, above all, the problems with the front tyre, I think we have done almost as much as we could”, he commented. “At the start I didn't want to take too many risks and I could feel that the front tyre was getting worse on each lap, but on the other hand the rear tyre was getting better each lap! I know that we have had had problems this weekend but I know that Michelin are working very hard, so now we will try to use the test to make some improvements. I want to say thank you to all of my team for their hard work, congratulate Valentino for his victory and finally also Toni Elias for his podium.”

“Today we couldn't have done any better than this, but we can't be satisfied to finish tenth”, added Team Manager Daniele Romagnoli. “But overall Jorge did a great job and a good race, and he was able to find a good rhythm in the middle part of the race, continue until to the end and pass many riders, plus he was able to score some valuable points. Motivation in our team is still high because we have many more races to do and tomorrow at the test we will start again to work very hard with Michelin, look at the problems we have had here and try to find a way to improve things for the remaining races.”

Six points for Lorenzo see him stay ten points ahead of Andrea Dovizioso in fourth place in the championship, whilst Rossi is now 50 points clear of Stoner.

The Fiat Yamaha Team now have two days of testing before they head to the next round at Misano in Italy in two week's time.

Monday MotoGP test times - Brno.

Mon 18 Aug, 06:51 PM



Casey Stoner, who fell from lead of Sunday's Czech Republic Grand Prix, fastest on the first day of post-race testing at Brno.

Full lap times from day one of the post-race MotoGP test session at Brno in the Czech Republic.

Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa abandoned a planned appearance on Honda's pneumatic-valve RC212V after finding no improvement in grip from some new front tyres brought to the test by Michelin.

Pedrosa, who limped home a furious 15th in Sunday's race, decided there was 'no point' in riding the pneumatic under such circumstances and halted testing after just eleven laps. Honda test rider Tady Okada, brought in to replace the injured Nicky Hayden, rode 67 laps on the pneumatic-valve bike, but was slowest of all.

A second and final day of testing is available on Tuesday.

Round 13 of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship takes place at Misano on August 31.


1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 56.261 secs

2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 1min 57.332 secs

3. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 1min 57.457 secs

4. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 1min 57.652 secs

5. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 57.742 secs

6. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 1min 57.756 secs

7. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 1min 57.826 secs

8. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 1min 57.859 secs

9. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 57.979 secs

10. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 58.177 secs

11. Niccolo Canepa ITA Bridgestone/Ducati Test Rider (B) 1min 58.2040 secs

12. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 58.325 secs

13. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 1min 58.568 secs

14. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 59.067 secs

15. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 1min 59.130 secs

16. Olivier Jacque FRA Kawasaki Test Rider (B) 1min 59.1300 secs

17. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 1min 59.228 secs

18. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 2min 0.414 secs

19. Tady Okada JPN Honda Test Rider (M) 2min 0.735 secs



2008 Czech Republic Grand Prix:

Pole position:

Casey Stoner SPA Ducati Marlboro (B) 2min 11.657secs (wet)


Fastest race lap by manufacturer:

Ducati: Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro (B) 1min 57.199secs

Yamaha: Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha (B) 1min 57.228secs

Honda: Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 1min 58.174secs

Suzuki: Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki (B) 1min 58.497secs

Kawasaki: Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing (B) 1min 59.136secs

Tech 3 Yamaha show fighting spirit

Mon 18 Aug, 03:26 PM

Tech 3 Yamaha's James Toseland and Colin Edwards raced to top 15 results in today's Czech Republic GP.

In front of a record crowd of over 146,000 fans at a cool and cloudy Brno, the 22-lap race proved to be a tough challenge for Toseland and Edwards, who both gave their maximum effort in difficult circumstances to claim 13th and 14th places respectively.

Starting from the back row of the grid, Toseland made his customary good start, gaining two places on the first lap. The 27-year-old once again showed his never-say-die attitude, despite some traction issues as he scored points for the ninth time in 11 races.

Edwards was one place further back as he too encountered some grip issues in an effort to maintain his pursuit of Toseland, as the Tech 3 duo fought closely in the opening stages. The American still remains firmly in the hunt for fourth place in the world championship, lying 18-points behind fellow Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo with six races remaining.

Tech 3 Yamaha also remains in contention for a top four finish in the Team World Championship, and is still the leading non-factory team in the standings heading to the Misano round on August 31.

James Toseland 13th – 75 points

“It was a difficult race and the result is clearly not where we want to be. I don't want to be fighting at the back of the top 15, and neither does my team or Yamaha and it is disappointing. All I can do is go out there with whatever I have got underneath me and give it my maximum and I did that. But this team and Yamaha deserve to be higher up and today wasn't good enough. It would be easy to let my head drop but I have never been that type of rider and I am not going to start now. I was reasonably happy with my start but I had a few moments with the front tyre on the first couple of laps and I soon realised that I was at my maximum and that I wasn't going to be able to do much more. It is disappointing because I have slipped out of the top ten in the standings and that was one of my big goals before the start of the season. We have got to keep working hard as a team and hope that Michelin can quickly turn it around for the rest of the season so we can try and get back into that top ten and keep the morale up of the team. Colin had even had more problems than me so it must have been tough for him, but this is the situation we are in. We will all keep pushing hard and see what we can do.”

Colin Edwards 14th – 102 points

“I could see straightaway behind James that he was having some issues with the front tyre, which we expected. I still thought I could put a good pace together but it never happened. I just didn't have the confidence I needed to push harder with the tyres and the more I pushed I didn't seem to go much faster. James was able to leave me pretty easily as my issues started to get worse but I wanted to stay out there and try my best for my guys at Tech 3 and Yamaha, who as always have been working like crazy to help me this weekend. I thank them for that, but there was nothing else I could do. Towards the end I just decided to take a few more risks and I went a bit quicker, but there was no way I was going to catch anybody. I've had a bad run lately but I'm still in contention for fourth in the championship, and I'll keep fighting. But we need big improvements from Michelin. The good start we had to the season seems like a long way away now, and we have to work with Michelin to try and solve some of the issues because I didn't enjoy today at all.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager

“We thought the disappointment of Laguna Seca would be forgotten after the summer break and we would have a positive weekend in Brno. Unfortunately from the very beginning of the weekend we understood it was going to be another tough weekend. Clearly we couldn't challenge the tyre opposition. We have been trying a lot of different settings to try and cope with that, but it was difficult. The most difficult was qualifying in the rain conditions and we were far behind. We knew starting from the last two rows it would be a tough race but James and Colin still tried as hard as they could and they stayed on track and scored a few points. But this is not how we started the championship and today was a really difficult day. To see the chequered flag with a few points is a relief but for sure there will be a lot of meetings and a lot of thinking of what to do for the future because we keep on losing ground in the championship and this is avery disappointing.”

Tech 3 blast Michelin.

Mon 18 Aug, 01:00 PM

Tech 3 Yamaha's James Toseland and Colin Edwards finish 13th and 14th - and they blame it all on the tyres.

Tech 3 Yamaha duo James Toseland and Colin Edwards have called upon Michelin to make a drastic improvement in their tyre's performance after suffering a dismal afternoon of racing at Brno.

While the Bridgestone-shod Yamaha of Valentino Rossi surged to victory more than a minute up the road, Tech 3 appeared to suffer particularly badly from the tyre problems that have prompted universal criticism from teams and riders alike.

Unsurprisingly, neither Toseland nor Edwards had a particularly nice word to say about the situation, with the Brit adding that the team and Yamaha do not deserve to have their pace restricted by their tyre supplier.

"It was a difficult race and the result is clearly not where we want to be," Toseland, who finished 13th and at least had the joy of beating Edwards for the first time since Barcelona, said. "I don't want to be fighting at the back of the top 15, and neither does my team or Yamaha and it is disappointing. All I can do is go out there with whatever I have got underneath me and give it my maximum and I did that.

"But this team and Yamaha deserve to be higher up and today wasn't good enough. It would be easy to let my head drop but I have never been that type of rider and I am not going to start now. I was reasonably happy with my start but I had a few moments with the front tyre on the first couple of laps and I soon realised that I was at my maximum and that I wasn't going to be able to do much more.

"It is disappointing because I have slipped out of the top ten in the standings and that was one of my big goals before the start of the season. We have got to keep working hard as a team and hope that Michelin can quickly turn it around for the rest of the season so we can try and get back into that top ten and keep the morale up of the team.

"Colin had even more problems than me so it must have been tough for him, but this is the situation we are in. We will all keep pushing hard and see what we can do."

Edwards was equally scathing as he ambled across the line in 14th place for his worst result of the season. Still sixth in the standings, although his closest rivals for fourth, Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso, were equally affected, the American has urged Michelin to improve quickly.

"I could see straightaway behind James that he was having some issues with the front tyre, which we expected. I still thought I could put a good pace together but it never happened. I just didn't have the confidence I needed to push harder with the tyres and the more I pushed I didn't seem to go much faster.

"James was able to leave me pretty easily as my issues started to get worse but I wanted to stay out there and try my best for my guys at Tech 3 and Yamaha, who as always have been working like crazy to help me this weekend. I thank them for that, but there was nothing else I could do. Towards the end I just decided to take a few more risks and I went a bit quicker, but there was no way I was going to catch anybody.

"I've had a bad run lately but I'm still in contention for fourth in the championship, and I'll keep fighting. But we need big improvements from Michelin. The good start we had to the season seems like a long way away now, and we have to work with Michelin to try and solve some of the issues because I didn't enjoy today at all."

Lorenzo gripped by tyre woes.

Mon 18 Aug, 12:08 PM

While Valentino Rossi wins on the same bike but with a different tyre, Jorge Lorenzo has to settle for a frustrating tenth.

Jorge Lorenzo compounded Michelin's highly publicised woes as he finished the Czech round of MotoGP down in tenth place, 40 seconds behind his Bridgestone-shod team-mate Valentino Rossi.

An exceptionally tough weekend for the young Spaniard as he continues to recover from his injury, Lorenzo had to get a special permission to even compete after tyre woes prevented him from qualifying inside the necessary time.

Unsurprisingly, things didn't improve much overnight and Lorenzo was hamstrung in a race that saw the French tyre manufacturer embarrassed by a distinct lack of grip from their rubber.

Although Lorenzo coped better than most as he forged his way up to tenth to score some points and be classified as the second best of the Michelin competitors, he was still almost two seconds off the pace of race winning team-mate Rossi.

Nonetheless, while a number of riders have come out in criticism of Michelin, Lorenzo was relatively philosophical about the situation and has vowed to do all he can to get back to competitiveness.

"This race is a bit sad for me because we have the potential to do a lot better. However considering what has happened this weekend and, above all, the problems with the front tyre, I think we have done almost as much as we could.

"At the start I didn't want to take too many risks and I could feel that the front tyre was getting worse on each lap, but on the other hand the rear tyre was getting better each lap! I know that we have had had problems this weekend but I know that Michelin are working very hard, so now we will try to use the test to make some improvements."

There was some consolation for Lorenzo though as his closest rivals in the championship, Andrea Dovizioso and Colin Edwards, were unable to do much better on similar rubber allowing the Yamaha rider to hold onto fourth in the standings.

Lorenzo gripped by tyre woes.

Mon 18 Aug, 12:08 PM

While Valentino Rossi wins on the same bike but with a different tyre, Jorge Lorenzo has to settle for a frustrating tenth.

Jorge Lorenzo compounded Michelin's highly publicised woes as he finished the Czech round of MotoGP down in tenth place, 40 seconds behind his Bridgestone-shod team-mate Valentino Rossi.

An exceptionally tough weekend for the young Spaniard as he continues to recover from his injury, Lorenzo had to get a special permission to even compete after tyre woes prevented him from qualifying inside the necessary time.

Unsurprisingly, things didn't improve much overnight and Lorenzo was hamstrung in a race that saw the French tyre manufacturer embarrassed by a distinct lack of grip from their rubber.

Although Lorenzo coped better than most as he forged his way up to tenth to score some points and be classified as the second best of the Michelin competitors, he was still almost two seconds off the pace of race winning team-mate Rossi.

Nonetheless, while a number of riders have come out in criticism of Michelin, Lorenzo was relatively philosophical about the situation and has vowed to do all he can to get back to competitiveness.

"This race is a bit sad for me because we have the potential to do a lot better. However considering what has happened this weekend and, above all, the problems with the front tyre, I think we have done almost as much as we could.

"At the start I didn't want to take too many risks and I could feel that the front tyre was getting worse on each lap, but on the other hand the rear tyre was getting better each lap! I know that we have had had problems this weekend but I know that Michelin are working very hard, so now we will try to use the test to make some improvements."

There was some consolation for Lorenzo though as his closest rivals in the championship, Andrea Dovizioso and Colin Edwards, were unable to do much better on similar rubber allowing the Yamaha rider to hold onto fourth in the standings.

Nakano fourth on factory debut.

Mon 18 Aug, 11:23 AM

Shinya Nakano claims a season's best fourth place on his factory Honda debut at Brno.

Shinya Nakano justified Honda's somewhat controversial decision to hand him a factory spec RC212V for the remainder of the 2008 MotoGP season by charging from twelfth to fourth in Sunday's Czech Republic Grand Prix.

The Honda Gresini rider, who had taken a best finish of eighth prior to Brno, has been given the same specification (valve-spring) motorcycle as Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa, in order to 'help develop Honda's 2009 satellite machine'.

However, many believe Honda also wants to see how its 2008 factory bike performs on Bridgestone tyres - compared with the Michelin rubber used by the official team. Some even suggest that HRC is so sure it will switch brands next season that Nakano is being used to provide design data for a 2009 Bridgestone-shod factory RC212V.

Whatever the motives in handing Nakano a factory ride, he certainly proved it wasn't wasted on him; the Japanese veteran finishing third at the end of only his first hour on the machine, during Friday morning free practice at Brno.

A wet qualifying saw Nakano line-up a slightly disappointed eighth on the grid, and first lap contact knocked him back to twelfth, where he remained for the first three of the 22 laps.

But Shinya rose constantly through the field thereafter, setting the third fastest lap of the race - behind only Ducati's Casey Stoner and Yamaha's Valentino Rossi - on lap 15, and snatching fourth from Anthony West on lap 18. Pedrosa finished in 15th position, over one minute behind Nakano.

"We took another step forward with the new bike today although I have to say that it has not been easy to get this result," said Nakano. "We came to Brno without any test data but the team did a great job with the set-up.

"I want to thank Honda and Team Gresini for giving me the chance to ride this bike, which represents a great opportunity for me to improve on the results we've managed so far.

"I'm just disappointed that I lost positions at the start because I made contact with another rider but at the same time satisfied to have recovered and finished the race in fourth - a result I can be pleased with."

"Shinya showed that he could step up the pace on the new bike and I'm sure this fourth place will be a much-needed boost to his confidence," added team manager Fausto Gresini. "Now we have more time available to us to get to know this bike better, with the objective of making further improvements on what has been an excellent debut."

Rookie team-mate Alex de Angelis finished as the top satellite RCV rider, in eighth position, after plummeting from fifth on the grid to 13th at the end of lap one.

"Even though I finished the race as the best of the RC212V satellite riders, today's result isn't too satisfying because we were expecting to finish in the top six," said the San Marinese.

"We weren't too far off that target but this wasn't the race we'd imagined. Unfortunately after the first lap, when I lost several positions, I made several passes but lost the position to other riders who were faster down the straights.

"[On Monday] we'll make the most of the test here at Brno to continue to improve ahead of the San Marino Grand Prix, which is of special importance to me," Alex concluded.

"I want to congratulate Alex because he rode well today - aggressive and fast," praised Gresini.

Nakano fourth on factory debut.

Mon 18 Aug, 11:23 AM

Shinya Nakano claims a season's best fourth place on his factory Honda debut at Brno.

Shinya Nakano justified Honda's somewhat controversial decision to hand him a factory spec RC212V for the remainder of the 2008 MotoGP season by charging from twelfth to fourth in Sunday's Czech Republic Grand Prix.

The Honda Gresini rider, who had taken a best finish of eighth prior to Brno, has been given the same specification (valve-spring) motorcycle as Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa, in order to 'help develop Honda's 2009 satellite machine'.

However, many believe Honda also wants to see how its 2008 factory bike performs on Bridgestone tyres - compared with the Michelin rubber used by the official team. Some even suggest that HRC is so sure it will switch brands next season that Nakano is being used to provide design data for a 2009 Bridgestone-shod factory RC212V.

Whatever the motives in handing Nakano a factory ride, he certainly proved it wasn't wasted on him; the Japanese veteran finishing third at the end of only his first hour on the machine, during Friday morning free practice at Brno.

A wet qualifying saw Nakano line-up a slightly disappointed eighth on the grid, and first lap contact knocked him back to twelfth, where he remained for the first three of the 22 laps.

But Shinya rose constantly through the field thereafter, setting the third fastest lap of the race - behind only Ducati's Casey Stoner and Yamaha's Valentino Rossi - on lap 15, and snatching fourth from Anthony West on lap 18. Pedrosa finished in 15th position, over one minute behind Nakano.

"We took another step forward with the new bike today although I have to say that it has not been easy to get this result," said Nakano. "We came to Brno without any test data but the team did a great job with the set-up.

"I want to thank Honda and Team Gresini for giving me the chance to ride this bike, which represents a great opportunity for me to improve on the results we've managed so far.

"I'm just disappointed that I lost positions at the start because I made contact with another rider but at the same time satisfied to have recovered and finished the race in fourth - a result I can be pleased with."

"Shinya showed that he could step up the pace on the new bike and I'm sure this fourth place will be a much-needed boost to his confidence," added team manager Fausto Gresini. "Now we have more time available to us to get to know this bike better, with the objective of making further improvements on what has been an excellent debut."

Rookie team-mate Alex de Angelis finished as the top satellite RCV rider, in eighth position, after plummeting from fifth on the grid to 13th at the end of lap one.

"Even though I finished the race as the best of the RC212V satellite riders, today's result isn't too satisfying because we were expecting to finish in the top six," said the San Marinese.

"We weren't too far off that target but this wasn't the race we'd imagined. Unfortunately after the first lap, when I lost several positions, I made several passes but lost the position to other riders who were faster down the straights.

"[On Monday] we'll make the most of the test here at Brno to continue to improve ahead of the San Marino Grand Prix, which is of special importance to me," Alex concluded.

"I want to congratulate Alex because he rode well today - aggressive and fast," praised Gresini.

Race results - Brno.

Sun 17 Aug, 01:57 PM
Full race results from the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno, round twelve of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship.Casey Stoner crashed out of the race lead on lap six, leaving Valentino Rossi to ride to a 15 second victory...
1. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 43min 28.841 secs
2. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 43min 43.845 secs
3. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 43min 50.530 secs
4. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 43min 54.700 secs
5. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 43min 58.306 secs
6. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 43min 59.449 secs
7. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 44min 5.294 secs
8. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 44min 5.591 secs
9. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 44min 7.663 secs
10. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 44min 8.414 secs
11. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 44min 8.451 secs
12. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 44min 9.733 secs
13. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 44min 40.331 secs
14. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 44min 49.974 secs
15. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 45min 5.879 secs
16. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 45min 7.248 secs
DNF:Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B)

Doohan and Criville recall Brno battle

17 August 2008

Former World Champions Mick Doohan and Alex Criville are in the paddock at the Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceske republiky and both found time for a chat with motogp.com this weekend.
Quote:
Working for American television network CBS, five-time World Champion Mick Doohan is a welcome visitor to the Brno paddock this weekend, while his old rival and fellow former premier class title-winner Alex Criville is also in attendance in his regular role with Spanish broadcasters TVE.The pair enjoyed several tight battles during their racing days, though the closest of all was at the Czech circuit, venue for this weekend´s Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceske republiky, when Criville outdid his Australian foe by just 0.002s on the finishing line.Recalling that famous race Doohan commented, `I was pretty disappointed in myself, I remember that much! Because I had lost by such a small margin. I could have possibly won, had I kept my head down, instead of trying to win at the slowest possible speed! But I didn´t and that was the race I chose to run. When I did try to make my move he came with me and on the day he won because he rode better than me and crossed the line just in front of me.´Providing his memories of that special day, Criville meanwhile, said, `It was a fantastic race, very close. Before Brno I beat Mick in Austria and here was the closest race of my career. I won by two thousandth of a second, just by three feet and with a photo finish. I think Mick still doesn´t believe what happened in that race! It was so close and I really enjoyed the battle.´When asked about the current battle between Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner, in particular their duel at Laguna Seca which caused Stoner to question Rossi´s tactics before the Australian admitted he may have over-reacted, Doohan provided his own unique insight.The MotoGP Legend and former Honda star declared, `I think that was just racing. Casey had been winning for a few races and I think he went in thinking it would be another clean-cut contest. Valentino just did what he had to do. Most of the passes were stuffing it underneath Stoner and if anything they put Valentino in danger when he was out there in the dirt occasionally!´

MotoGP » Brno - Warm-up times.

Warm-up times.
Sunday, 17th August 2008
Full warm-up times from Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno, round twelve of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship.
1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 57.204 secs
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 1min 57.679 secs
3. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 59.126 secs
4. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 1min 59.163 secs
5. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 1min 59.210 secs
6. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 1min 59.288 secs
7. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 59.334 secs
8. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 1min 59.422 secs
9. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 1min 59.495 secs
10. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 59.523 secs
11. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 1min 59.687 secs
12. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 59.715 secs
13. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 59.973 secs
14. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 2min 0.148 secs
15. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 2min 0.452 secs
16. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 2min 0.670 secs
17. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 2min 1.229 secs

Brno - MotoGP Sunday GuideSunday

17 August 2008
The grid positions are analysed for the Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceske republiky premier class contest.
Quote:
- The top five places on the grid are taken by five different manufacturers.- Casey Stoner is starting from pole at the sixth successive race, which is the longest sequence of successive poles during the four-stroke MotoGP era. Stoner has finished on the podium on the last eight occasions he has started from pole – a run which includes six victories.- Valentino Rossi starts from the front row for the seventh time in 2008. Rossi will be aiming for his fourth win in the premier-class class at Brno.- John Hopkins starts from the front row for the first time since he was second on the grid in China last year. This is the first front row start of the year for Kawasaki. Hopkins finished second last year at Brno – his best ever Grand Prix result.- Chris Vermeulen will be aiming to become the first rider to have three successive podium finishes on Suzuki´s four-stroke MotoGP machine.- Alex de Angelis is starting from his best grid position since moving up to the MotoGP class.- Anthony West is starting from his best grid position since he was fifth fastest qualifier in Malaysia last year. Kawasaki are the only manufacturer to have two riders qualified on the front two rows.- Randy de Puniet is the top qualifier from the riders using Michelin tyres.- Shinya Nakano and Valentino Rossi are the only two riders in the MotoGP class to score points at every race in 2008.- Loris Capirossi is starting at his 276th Grand Prix event, equalling the record currently held by Alex Barros. Capirossi has finished in the top six nine times from his ten races in the premier-class at Brno, including a victory two years ago.- Marco Melandri´s eleventh place on the grid is his best qualifying result since joining the Ducati factory team.- Dani Pedrosa will be starting from his lowest grid position since he was 16th fastest qualifier in his third appearance on a MotoGP machine at the GP of Turkey in 2006.

MotoGP » Michelin plays safe, Bridgestone adapts.

MotoGP » Michelin plays safe, Bridgestone adapts.

Wednesday, 13th August 2008

Michelin responds to US GP misery by returning to 'proven' tyre construction at Brno this weekend, Bridgestone chasing third Czech GP win in a row.

Quote:

After a humiliating US Grand Prix weekend, caused by overly hard tyres ill suited to the Laguna Seca circuit, Michelin aims to rebuild confidence in its product by returning to what it knows works at this weekend's Czech Republic Grand Prix.

"We will return to the types of construction that we used at places like Qatar and Catalunya, these are constructions that deliver a much wider working range than those which we used at Laguna Seca," says Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin's chief of motorcycle racing. "So we will use the type of construction that has already brought us success this year, with front and rear compounds adapted to Brno."

Clouding the issue of tyre choice for this weekend's twelfth round of the world championship is a full resurfacing of the Brno circuit since last year's event. To help both Michelin and Bridgestone - which has won the last two Czech Republic GPs with Ducati - provide effective rubber a test session, for non-MotoGP riders, was held in June.

"Brno has been resurfaced since last year's event so we have had to revise our approach to the weekend," confirmed Bridgestone's Tohru Ubukata. "Even if we have been competitive in recent seasons, we have had to produce different tyre compounds for this year's event compared to the usual Brno-spec in order to adapt to the new surface. In accordance with the sporting regulations, and thanks to IRTA, tyre manufacturers were permitted to test at the circuit for two days back in June, and this allowed us the chance to acquire data from this new asphalt, which appears less grippy than before."

Michelin offered a more detailed opinion of the grip characteristics:
"We tried out the new surface at Brno on 17th and 18th of June with our test riders Erwan Nigon [Honda RC212V] and William Costes [Yamaha YZR-M1]," said Weber. "Those tests told us that the track is really aggressive on the front tyre but not so aggressive on the rear tyre, which means that the new tarmac isn't particularly aggressive but that the combination of the layout and the new tarmac does work the front very hard.

"The resurfacing job seems to have been done well, but we will have to wait and see what our MotoGP riders make of it, because they'll be going even quicker. We certainly think the new surface will make the track considerably faster than it used to be because the old surface was in quite a bad state.

"It will be the first time that MotoGP riders have used the new surface, so it will be important to have a wider range of tyres, with a bigger step from, say, tyre one to tyre five than we might have at some other tracks," Weber confirmed.

Bridgestone heads into the final third of the 2008 season with two of its riders at the head of the championship classification: Valentino Rossi's win in Laguna Seca extended his lead of the series to 25 points, while reigning title holder Casey Stoner continued his championship revival to claim second in the table.

"We have two very formidable riders at the top of the table with Valentino and Casey, but there are still 175 points available over the next seven races, so the championship is far from over," said Bridgestone manager Hiroshi Yamada. "This weekend's race has the added complications of a new track surface, but I am sure we will see a competitive battle at the front, especially with our rivals more determined than ever to renew their championship challenge."

Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa is the highest placed Michelin rider, holding third position, 41 points from the top, after being forced to withdraw from the US Grand Prix due to injury.

Pedrosa had been leading the championship standings prior to his accident at the wet German Grand Prix, one week before Laguna Seca.