MotoGP: Pedrosa’s Shoulder Not 100% Fit, Doctors Rule Out Any Complication

Dani Pedrosa underwent further medical checks after recurring from Doha to seek an answer to the discomfort that returned to his left arm throughout the Grand Prix of Qatar last weekend. 

The Repsol Honda Team rider, who despite the pain managed to take a third place finish at Losail, suffered from lack of feeling and lack of strengh in his left arm during the race and suspected that the injury he suffered in Japan last October had not completely disappeared, which encouraged him to re-visit specialists.

Dani passed several tests, consisting in a three-dimensional CAT scan with difference and MRI. The results showed that there is no vascular or nerve compression in the canal of the collarbone, but there is a small stretch in the plexus, which is gradually civilizing but will need more time to finish healing

DANI PEDROSA

“I honestly didn’t expect my arm would respond in this way because during pre-season I didn’t feel too much trouble and I consideration the problem was solved. However, I felt really bad in the Qatar race and was aware that the injury is not totally healed. It was a shame because in Qatar I had a good feeling and until the second half of the race - which is when the pain started - I was really strong and I saw a sensible chance of winning. I would be lying if I said I’m not disappointed because this year the bike is working very well and physically I feel good, but unluckily this complication has arisen and I have nothing else to do but give my best until the wound heals completely”.

Webber fine with being the 'underdog'

Having clinched the crown last year, many are predicting Vettel will be the man to beat in 2011 while there are some nay-sayers who reckon last year's title brawl was Webber's one shot at achieving F1's ultimate prize.

The 34-year-old, though, is determined his detractors' comments won't get him down - rather, he says, they'll inspire him.

"I do like to be the underdog to a degree. On the ropes a little bit. And of course there are plans you can use to fire yourself up. But you can only take that so far," said the Aussie.

"Don't worry; I'll be opposing this year again. Very, very hard. And sometimes that will be against Sebastian."

Webber urged Red Bull to bring out their 'A' game as several moments last season, such as their early dependability issues and the intra-team tension between himself and Vettel, played into their rivals' hands.

"There is every reason to suggest we can do well again," Webber told The Telegraph, "but we have learned to deal with convinced situations a little bit better so that we don't help our rivals."

Edwards and Crutchlow make optimistic start in Qatar

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team made a bright start to the 2011 MotoGP World Championship in Qatar, Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow both concluding with points in the season opening night race.

Edwards made a sweltering start from the 10th position on the grid and was looking to force his way into the fight for the top six when he lost time by organization slightly off line at the second corner. Dropping back into 10th behind team-mate Crutchlow, he rapidly moved up to ninth to launch a pursuit of 2010 team-mate Ben Spies.

He closely followed his compatriot for the opening five laps, the 37 year-old setting a time and again fast pace in the mid-1'56" bracket. He shadowed the fast starting Hector Barbera until lap nine when he moved into eighth position. But he had lost too much time trying to pass the Spaniard to maintain the pressure on Spies and he finished eighth.

Crutchlow made an imposing MotoGP debut at the Losail International Circuit having started in front of Valentino Rossi and Edwards on the grid. Hampered again by the nasty left little finger wound he suffered during the pre-race test in Qatar less than a week ago, Crutchlow rose to the occasion brilliantly, fighting for the top ten for most of the 22-lap race.

He was right on the back of a group battling for ninth that was headed by Nicky Hayden, Hiroshi Aoyama and Barbera. But like Edwards previous in the race, Barbera proved tough to overtake and Crutchlow lost contact with Hayden and Aoyama with three laps remaining. He was satisfied for his determined performance when he swept by Barbera on the final lap to finish a enormously encouraging debut in 11th.

Simoncelli shines in Qatar FP1

The San Carlo Honda Gresini rider was fourth fastest in FP1 at Losail on Thursday, with coworker Hiroshi Aoyama 12th.

Marco Simoncelli carried his preseason form into the first official session of the MotoGP World Championship this afternoon in the surreal surroundings of the Losail circuit. The Team San Carlo Honda Gresini rider was fast and consistent and worked intensely throughout a satisfactory 45 minutes to find an improved set-up for his machine. It was a optimistic evening for Hiroshi Aoyama even though he was further down the time sheets, the Japanese rider clearly working on the right lines with his team and set-up, which will hopefully lead them to a better position tomorrow.

Marco Simoncelli (4th 1’ 56” 441):

“I am really happy because it is always hard during testing to know exactly where you are but that changes when things get serious and we are able to make more a real analysis. I am satisfied because we struggled to get the hard tyre working during the tests but we found amazing tonight. It may be that the conditions are somewhat different but it is an important step towards making our choice for the race. We managed to make two changes to the set-up that better things further and now it is just a case of confirming what we already know and getting ready for Sunday. In universal I am feeling confident.”

Hiroshi Aoyama (12th 1’’ 56” 987):

”This was the first sitting of the season s o I was keen to do well. We in progress work on finding the best set-up for Sunday and the best feeling with the bike, working from what we learned in testing. We also tried to get closer to a decision on what tyre to use for the race. The conditions are improved than they were in testing and tomorrow we will try to improve on today's position, which is in fact not that significant because our focus for the day was not specifically on the lap time.”

Schumacher: 2011 Mercedes could be a winning package

Michael Schumacher is now hopeful that the Mercedes W02 can be the car that takes him back to the top of the Formula 1 podium after the team's late surge at the end of winter testing.

Mercedes had been enduring a tough pre-season until its full 2011 package was introduced for the final two days and domed it to the front.

That has left Schumacher feeling confident that he can at least get back on the podium in 2011 - and maybe add to his record tally of 91 victories.

"My feeling is a good one," he said.

"The team has been functioning very hard over the winter to shape our car in all of the areas which had been recognized by us as needing improvement.

"The data I have seen over the winter had been quite hopeful, but then we all know that the realities of data and the race track can be quite different.

"As a driver, you clearly hope for a good step forward and I think this is what we have achieved.

"I am confident that we can fight for podium finishes, and I am hopeful we can fight for victories at some of the races.

"Saying that, we will only see the truth once the season gets underway, so I can barely wait to go to Melbourne to lastly see what the real picture is."

The German myth added that he felt far more at home back in F1 with a year of his comeback under his belt.

"This year feels very different certainly," he said.

"Last year everything was new again; the difficult situation, the car, the team, the structures.

"It was very thrilling but it was still something you had to find your way through.

"Now, one year later, I know much better which areas to work in.

"I am much more recognizable with the team and we have a great group of very skilled and devoted people.

"I enjoy what I do, I enjoy working with Mercedes, and I have never regretted my choice to return."

Lorenzo and Spies set for Qatar

The Factory Yamaha Racing duo are keen to get out on track for the opening round of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship, the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar.

This weekend marks the end of a long winter of coming up as the hugely anticipated 2011 MotoGP season bursts into life on the floodlit Losail International Circuit in Qatar. Reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo steps up to the grid to confront for a second title at the controls of his YZR-M1 with nothing less than victory in his sights. Joining him in the garage and carrying out Yamaha Factory Racing's line up for this season will be 2010 MotoGP Rookie of the Year Ben Spies.

The 2010 season saw Lorenzo resolutely cement his place as one of the Grand Prix elite. The 23 year-old Mallorcan stormed through the 18-round season to take an impressive nine race wins and a premier class record breaking 383 point tally on his way to title victory. The Yamaha Factory rider has started every MotoGP race in his premier class career at Qatar from the front row, taking a pole position in his 2008 MotoGP debut and has always ended on the podium, although a race win has so far eluded him.

Spies, the Texan Factory newcomer, is no stranger to Yamaha having taken the Yamaha Factory Superbike to conquest in the 2009 World Superbike Championship. He went on to amaze in his debut season in MotoGP in 2010 on the Tech3 Yamaha M1, securing sixth in the Championship standings as the highest placed non-factory rider, scoring two podiums and a stunning pole position start for his home race at Indianapolis in the process. The 2010 season opener at the Losail circuit saw the 25 year-old push on from a fourth-row grid start location to finish the race in fifth, just 3.9 seconds from the race winner.

Vettel to stay at Red Bull until 2014

Red Bull have announced on Monday that Sebastian Vettel will carry on to drive for the team until the end of the 2014 season. Last year, at just 23 years-old, Vettel became the sport’s youngest-ever world champion after scoring 10 pole positions, five victories and 256 points in the team’s RB6.

"The reason why I'll stay until 2014 with Red Bull Racing is that I feel very contented in the team," he told Red Bull's official website on Monday morning. "I am proud to be part of the team, and I am proud of what we have archived so far and will attain together in the future."

The German has been supported by Red Bull since 1998 and is a divide up of the Red Bull Junior Team. After spells in Formula Three and Formula BMW, Vettel made his Formula One debut in 2007, standing in for an upset Robert Kubica at BMW Sauber, before securing a full-time Toro Rosso race seat later that season.

During his first full season with Toro Rosso in 2008 he became the sport's youngest winner with a dramatic victory at the Italian Grand Prix. The following year he switched to Red Bull's 'senior' RBR team for 2009. He took four wins that year to finish second in the drivers’ championship, before taking the title in 2010.

Vettel will once again team up with Australian driver Mark Webber in Red Bull's line-up for the 2011 season.

Rossi satisfied with Qatar improvement and shoulder

The Ducati Team rider was pleased with day one at the MotoGP Test in Qatar, despite a minor fall on his GP11. Team-mate Nicky Hayden was also in a optimistic mood after Sunday's session.

With the opening round of the MotoGP World Championship just around the corner, the Ducati MotoGP Team made steady development during the first half of a two-night pre-season Test at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit, where temperatures were around 23°C and track circumstances decent. Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden both completed the evening firmly inside the top ten, and they look onward to taking further steps on Monday.

Valentino Rossi, 8th, 1'57.038:

“It wasn’t terrible for a first day. I was able to ride the bike better, and I enjoyed myself. Although I was just eighth, my times aren’t too far from the top: seven tenths is still a big difference, but anyway it’s progress, bearing in mind that I did my best time with a very used tyre. We worked well on the settings, even if in a couple parts of the circuit I’m still not fast sufficient, and we’ll have to try some more solutions tomorrow. As for the shoulder, I’m happy because I have a little more strength, and that enables me to ride better. Today I also had my first crash on a Ducati, which I naturally did deliberately because after a while, you have to do a little fall… All joking aside, I entered too quickly and lost the front: I was able to pick it up and avoid deafening while I was on the track, but I dropped it in the gravel – no big deal though.”

Nicky Hayden, 9th, 1'57.137:

“Right out of the gate, it wasn’t too bad, and then we were up against a wall for a while. The team made one little change with ride height and I was able to get a polite lap time and get reliable. In parts of the track I felt pretty good, but there are spots where the navigation still needs to improve. If we can do better in those areas, we should be able to drop the lap time. I feel a little bit closer than Malaysia, but we certainly need to go earlier tomorrow.”

Pedrosa: "This year will be very spirited"

The Repsol Honda rider, satisfied with the official Tests held at Sepang, faces the last meeting in Qatar before the start of the Championship.

The start of the Championship is future and Dani Pedrosa as well as his team-mates of the Repsol Honda Team, Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso, have shown that they are the MotoGP competitors in shape during the pre-season. The Repsol Honda rider is certain of his and his bike’s chances, after winter Tests in which he has suffered none of the bodily or technical problems he had had in previous years.

From the first test in Valencia in November 2010 until the last tests held at Sepang, where have you enhanced the most with your bike?

“Basically, the bike has not changed so much, so what we have tried to do is to get better it in the most critical areas, such as the braking or the electronics.”

What is your assessment of the last tests in Sepang?

“The best thing is that this year we have better foundations, opposing to what happened in the previous years, when we had to develop and improve the bike during the Championship. This season we start with a very positive training that will allow us to face the first race of the Championship with a good level of presentation.”

Is there something still to be done in the next Qatar test or will it just be used to get ready the first race of the Championship?

“There are always things to be done, but the main aim of the Qatar test will be to learn to make the most of the set-up we will use in the race. If the track situation are good, we will be able to take advantage of it.”

Rizla Suzuki reveals 2011 GSV-R livery

The updated 2011 Rizla Suzuki GSV-R which Álvaro Bautista will ride this period has been unveiled by the MotoGP team.

The machine which Álvaro Bautista will be riding in this season’s MotoGP World Championship is the final generation of the 800cc GSV-R four-stroke example Grand Prix bike, due to the alter in capacity limit to 1000cc next season. The latest – and most technologically advanced – version of Suzuki’s MotoGP challenger features an engine that has enhanced on its horsepower, driveability and toughness through many comprehensive development changes throughout winter and pre-season testing. It also features improved acceleration characteristics – especially out of slower corners – to assist Bautista in his challenge for MotoGP glory.

To praise the upgraded engine specifications, Suzuki’s Factory Engineers have also better the chassis performance by important developments to the stiffness balance of frame and swing-arm and have optimised the weight balance geometries from last season’s machine. These updates to the chassis have been paired with the most higher ECU software ever used on a Suzuki Grand Prix machine, to give Bautista more exact traction and wheelie control without losing direct machine control or power, adding to the adaptability of the GSV-R in all conditions.

The 2011 Rizla Suzuki GSV-R also skin a revised Troy Lee Designs inspired livery, incorporating a new, modern and dynamic Rizla logo that will be launched by the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team. The 2011 Rizla Suzuki GSV-R will make its official first appearance during this weekend’s final pre-season test at Qatar, before making its racing debut – also at Qatar – on Sunday 20th March.

Barcelona day one - Webber sets the normal for Red Bull

Red Bull’s Mark Webber topped the timesheets as the last pre-season test began at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on Tuesday. Webber’s best time, a 1m 22.544s, was approximately four tenths of a second earlier than the quickest lap from McLaren's Jenson Button in second.

The weather made life difficult for the eight teams in action, with lower-than-expected temperatures and a windy wind hampering their programmes at the Spanish circuit. Most, though, enjoyed productive days, with Webber managing to whole almost 100 laps in the RB7.

Renault’s Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld broken the day in third and fifth respectively, with Sauber’s Sergio Perez separating the duo in fourth. Force India were in sixth place with Paul di Resta at the helm of the VJM04. The team’s tester Nico Hulkenberg was in act before lunch and ruined the day in ninth.

Seventh slit went to GP2 driver Davide Valsecchi in the Lotus. Valsecchi’s AirAsia team friend Luiz Razia also enjoyed a drive in the T128 and finished in 10th. Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi was eighth, even as Virgin’s Jerome D’Ambrosio was the day’s final runner in 11th.

Testing continues at Barcelona on Wednesday, when Mercedes, Williams, Ferrari and HRT are predictable to join proceedings.

Unofficial Tuesday test times from Barcelona:

1. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:22.544, 97 laps

2. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:22.910, 74

3. Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:22.937, 27

4. Sergio Perez, Sauber, 1:24.117, 90

5. Nick Heidfeld, Renault, 1:24.735, 20

6. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:25.039, 38

7. Davide Valsecchi, Lotus, 1:25.406, 50

8. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:26.004, 48

9. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:26.030, 31

10. Luiz Razia, Lotus, 1:26.723, 29

11. Jerome D’Ambrosio, Virgin, 1:32.060, 57

Edwards: “We’ve got a good shot this year”

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider was in high spirits following the second pre-season Test at Sepang last week.

Colin Edwards stopped up the Sepang Test in Malaysia last week in fine form, both on the track and off it. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider was left flattering the overall presentation of the M1 and its off-season improvements, having enjoyed his three days of work.

Edwards spent the bulk of the Test configuring the chassis of his machine and came away extremely satisfied with an better front-end feeling, as well as a better corner exit and rear grip.

The American was also in certain mood about the 2011 season with the gap race in Qatar on March 20th, and said in the attached video interview: “I think we’ve got a good shot this year so I’m excited. I’m really happy with the package. To get in the top five this year I think will be a tall order for anybody. You have a lot of fast factory guys up there and there should be some entertaining racing.”

Edwards concluded: “I’m sure in 2011 Jorge would like to repeat what he did in 2010, but we’ll see. There’s a lot of stiff competition out there and there should be some good racing when it gets happening.”

Rossi: We are quite worried

Valentino Rossi couldn't hide his dissatisfaction at concluding the second Sepang MotoGP test in eleventh place, almost two-seconds from the top.

After feeling 'quite confident' following Tuesday's opening day, when he was ninth (on hard tyres) and one-second from the front, Rossi was then forced to miss the whole second day due to fever.

The seven time MotoGP world champion returned today eager to try and make up for lost time - and rode for 59 laps in the very tiring Malaysian heat. But there was to be small reward.

Rossi struggled with cornering and lost a further 0.8sec relative to fastest man Casey Stoner. There are now just two more days of difficult, at Qatar, before his first race as a Ducati rider.

“The first day was not so bad, because I was previously on the lap time of the first test [earlier this month] and we were one-second from the top,” said Rossi.

“We were quite certain for day two because we had a lot of things to try, like a dissimilar setting for the rear, some swingarm link, different suspension.

“I was quite hopeful to improve our lap time, then unluckily yesterday I could not ride so we lost one day and that made things more difficult.

“Anyway today I felt okay. I made nearly 60 laps and worked a lot on the bike, but unluckily we didn't fix our problem.

“We are not fast enough in the corners. We have a problem for rotating the bike, so I always have to slow down too much to make the first-class line. I cannot ride the Desmosedici in the right way.