Ducati Team duo hopeful for sunshine in Portugal
MotoGP series proceeds to action at a track that is very demanding and full of contrasts. Despite it having the lowly average speed of the tracks on the calendar, the Estoril circuit also includes very fast sections, counting one of the longest straight aways of the year.
Valentino Rossi has won five times in his eleven premier-class visits to the track, and he has ended on the podium on five other occasions, whilst the best result of his team-mate Nicky Hayden is a fourth place in 2007. The American will be looking to erect on his rostrum finish last time out in Jerez.
Valentino Rossi, Ducati Team
“We’ve had three weekends without a race so I was clever to unwind for a while following the GP12 test at Jerez, although I sustained training to help my physical recovery. Now we go to Estoril, a track I quite like, where we’ll carry on working on the GP11’s setup, particularly during the test on Monday. The conditions are often changeable at Estoril because the area is very windy and close to the ocean, making for variable weather. We saw at Jerez that we’re already spirited in the wet, however we’re hoping for sun in Portugal, so that we can make the most of our time on the track. We still have to understand the bike better and to work on the setup, with the goal of being faster in the dry in time for the mainly intense phase of the season, when we’ll have six races in eight weeks initial in June.”
Whitmarsh: Lewis will remain at McLaren
With McLaren stressed at the start of this year's Championship, rumours emerged claiming that Hamilton is allowing for looking elsewhere for a race-seat.
While in one breath he affirmed that "loyalty has its limits" in the next he insisted that he is "committed to them. I want to try and help them as well as becoming one of the most winning drivers myself."
Whitmarsh, though, believes it's only a matter of time before Hamilton commits his long-term prospect to the Woking team.
But, having said that, he's in no rush to start contract talks.
"Lewis has a long career ahead of him and I think he's intelligent sufficient to realise that the environment he has here is good for him and plays to his strengths," said the McLaren team boss told the Daily Mail.
MotoGP action back on at Estoril
After an comprehensive break in the MotoGP calendar the premier class returns to action at the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal this weekend, and there is bounty to watch out for at Estoril in Round 3.
Almost four weeks after the Jerez round – the extensive break being due to the postponement of the Japanese GP until October – the MotoGP World Championship returns to action at Estoril this weekend, where the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal hosts Round 3 of the 2011 season. This will be the 14th time that there has been a Portuguese GP.
Yamaha Factory Racing rider Lorenzo has a frightening recent record at the Estoril track, having won for the past three consecutive seasons from pole position. The Spaniard has now finished within the top four for 22 straight races, and leads the early Championship standings by nine points in front of rival Dani Pedrosa. The Repsol Honda man arrives in Portugal hopeful that surgery right away after Jerez will have eased the discomfort caused in his left arm, and in spite of that he secured a 90th GP podium in the last round making him only the tenth rider to arrive at the milestone in the World Championship’s 63-year history. .
Pedrosa eager to get back to exploit in Portugal
The Repsol Honda rider underwent a custom medical check on Monday, and gave an update on his recovery from his latest surgery in his blog.
Dani Pedrosa had a custom medical check on Monday to assess the status of his getting better left arm, following surgery a fortnight ago. The Repsol Honda rider – who cracked his left collarbone last October in Japan – had the titanium plate and screws fixed to the bone in the result of the injury removed following the Jerez round at the start of the month, after he had begun to skill a compression of his left subclavian artery.
Writing in his blog on Monday following a check-up, Pedrosa discussed the revival process following his surgery at the start of April. “The truth is that it went well and in the days that have followed I’ve familiar my custom to the recommendations made by the medical team, so that the recovery goes as well as it probably can. Today (Monday) I had a custom medical check and it seems that things are going well, even though we have to be cautious until I get back on the bike in Portugal.”
The Repsol Honda rider is now eager to get back on his RC212V and test out his fitness, although he will have to wait until the opening day’s practice at the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal on April 29th.
“I’m eager and aggravated to return to competition to test the feeling I have on the bike, and to see if I can forget about these problems as soon as possible,” he continued. “The past few days I have been calming at home, getting in the rest recommended by the doctors. Even though a break in the calendar has coincided with the healing I have a lot of motivation to return to competitive fitness, operational with the team and above all getting on the bike.”
Race - Hamilton takes sensational Shanghai win
Lewis Hamilton scored a tremendous victory for McLaren in a Chinese race of excellent drives, catching and passing Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel on the 52nd of the 56 laps as the reigning world champion's risk on a two-stop strategy - and a 25-lap run on Pirelli's hard rubber - just failed to pay off.
It was an unusual race, that began with Button and Hamilton leading from Vettel, before Vettel repassed them as the first pit stops were made. He jumped Hamilton just previous to his stop on Lap 13, but admitted he was somewhat confused when leader Button initially drove into the Red Bull pit before anxiously being waved through to McLaren next door!
Rosberg had stopped on Lap 12 and then had a curse in the lead for Mercedes from Lap 17 until he stopped again on Lap 25. That put Vettel back in the lead awaiting he stopped for the second and last time on Lap 31, whereupon Massa had a spell in front. The Brazilian was right back on form, contentedly outpacing team mate Fernando Alonso this day.
Rins, Torres, Barragán and Alarte win in CEV Buckler starter at Jerez
A incredible day of racing was witnessed at the Jerez Circuit on Sunday, where just two weeks after the MotoGP race the first surrounding of the 2011 CEV Buckler was attended by 15,500 spectators.
The day’s events got off to a spectacular start in the morning with a exciting Moto2 race, in which Jordi Torres won following an intense duel with his team-mate Carmelo Morales. The pair repeatedly swapped positions at the front of the race, and on the final lap Torres launched what was to be the deciding attack – one which Morales waited until the last turn to respond to but, due to a yellow flag following an accident, was unable to execute. The battle for third position was just as absorbing, with up to five riders fighting for the final spot on the podium. It was lastly taken by Iván Moreno, ahead of the experienced Japanese rider Tomoyoshi Koyama – making his Moto2 debut – American rider and Red Bull Rookies Cup Champion Jake Gagne, and Román Ramos.
Vettel Rolls In Shanghai P1
Carrying the energy of wins in both of the season's first two races, Sebastian Vettel looked every bit as strong in gap practice Friday at Shanghai International Circuit.
Vettel, chasing the rare feat of initial a season with three straight wins, posted a quick lap of 1:38:739 to easily beat out coworker Mark Webber in the sister Red Bull RB7.
Webber, at 1:39:394, was the only other driver to eclipse the one minute, 39 second fence as third-place Lewis Hamilton (1:40:845) was more than two full seconds back of Vettel.
Jenson Button, who reported throughout the practice that his KERS system wasn't working, and Nick Heidfeld finished the top five.
The 90-minute session didn't turn out to Heidfeld's liking, however, as the German stopped his Lotus Renault GP entry on a wet track below overcast, hazy skies.
Heidfeld went over the curbs at Turn 10 and lost power, damaging his car.
Rookies Pastor Maldonado and Paul di Resta also spun, in that order, at different times.
Lorenzo presents new book in Barcelona
The reigning World Champion discussed the Rossi/Stoner incident from Jerez, the future third round at Estoril and the 2012 Yamaha M1 at the appearance of his new photo-based book on Wednesday.
Different to the biography available about the 2010 MotoGP World Champion three years ago, his new book recounts his career through the medium of photos, with some 400 having been chosen from a collection of more than 1,000. The majority of the photos were taken by well-known photographer Mirco Lazzari, with the BBC’s Matthew Roberts having written the supplementary captions which annotate each picture.
“I think there’s still a lot for my fans to know about me and this book has a lot of images inside it that they will never have seen before,” said Lorenzo. “We’ll see in the future if there are more things to narrate, I think there will be, and we still have a long time in which we can achieve many more things.”
Fielding questions from eager reporters at the press conference which accompanied the open of the book, Lorenzo spoke on a range of topics counting that of his time alongside Valentino Rossi in the Yamaha box.
“Valentino has been a very significant rival in my MotoGP career, a very tough one, but I admiration all rivals in the same manner and as generation and I don’t idolise anyone,” said Lorenzo. “All the riders who line up on the preliminary grid are capable of beating you on any given day. I don’t give any greater or lesser significance to Valentino than I do to any other rider.”
Valentino Rossi tests 2012 Desmosedici GP12 Ducati 1000cc MotoGP bike at Jerez
Labelled the Desmosedici GP12, Rossi finished 50 laps on the Friday morning following the Spanish Grand Prix and the second round of the MotoGP championship where he notably collided with Australian rider Casey Stoner.
As always the Italian was excited and smiling after completing the test at the Jerez circuit.
"In my opinion, it’s more pleasurable, more fun to ride. It was the first time we had it on the track, so we had some job to do, but the engine is nicer.
"It’s a lot of fun, and you can do some pleasant slides. It’s the bike we’ll ride next year, so it was very significant—and also very nice—to be among the first to take it on the track."
Ducati technical boss Filippo Prezios Filippo Preziosi was also happy with the early hitout on the GP12.
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"To be able to work with Vale for a full day is more than any technician could ask,” he said.
"We gathered substantial feedback that we’ll translate into further design and development for next year’s bike.
"We know that our competitors are also working hard and rising their 2012 bikes, but that just makes the challenge better.”
Practice One - Webber sets strong Sepang standard
Mark Webber sent shivers down the spines of rivals here in Sepang this morning as he lapped his Red Bull RB7 1.665s faster than anyone else. Lewis Hamilton got neighboring in his McLaren, but his 1m 39.316s best was light years behind Webber’s 1m 37.651s.
Jarno Trulli gave Lotus a major fillip with 16th fastest 1m 41.620s, which put him ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who was clearly not looking for lap times in his Red Bull on 1m 41.627s. Sergio Perez was 18th in the second Sauber on 1m 41.642s, then Timo Glock took his Virgin round in 1m 42.154s for 19th with team mate Jerome D’Ambrosio close on 1m 42.540s. Davide Valsecchi made his official F1 debut in Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus, which he lapped in 1m 44.054s for 21st.
Renault were in the wars. After Heidfeld had set the early pace with that 1m 40.525s, his R31’s right front wheel detained due to a suspected brake problem and he limped the entire lap back to the pits from which he did not emerge again. Later, Vitaly Petrov’s attempt to better 1m 47.932s was aggravated when his car was pitched off the road in Turn Nine by what at first appeared to be the breakdown of its front left Pirelli; the Russian, however, suggested that there had perhaps been a brake disc problem which devastated the wheel and precipitated the tyre bang. Heidfeld ended the session seventh, with Petrov 24th.
Successful operation for Pedrosa
The Repsol Honda rider had the titanium plate and screws set to his collarbone removed during surgery in Barcelona.
Dani Pedrosa has undergone victorious surgery at Teknon Medical Centre, in Barcelona, to decompress his left subclavian artery and is expected to recover satisfactorily. The involvement was performed by the Dr. César García-Madrid, vascular surgeon, and Dr. Joaquim Casañas, trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, both specialists at Teknon.
In order to release the arterial density, the titanium plate and the screws fixed to the collarbone have been detached. The subclavian artery has also been estranged from the fibrotic tissues that surrounded costoclavicular space. At the same time, intraoperative angiography by plainly invasive transfemoral approach confirmed the return of the subclavian flow.
The medical checks performed last week at Institut Vascular Sala Planell, counting several physical tests and four dimensional CT with contrast in specific positions, established that the symptoms of pain, numbness and lack of strength in Dani’s left arm were due to compression of the subclavian artery secondary to the collarbone fracture.
Dani Pedrosa will remain in hospital for a further 48 hours to carry on treatment with analgesia and anti-inflammatories. Next week he will visit the doctors again to decide his rehabilitation, in order to contribute in the Grand Prix of Portugal, to be held in Estoril on May 1st.
Rossi 'sorry' for Stoner clash, lost chance
Valentino Rossi made a expensive mistake in Sunday's Spanish MotoGP at Jerez, which robbed the Italian of a possible first Ducati victory and knocked Casey Stoner out of the world championship lead.
Rossi, seventh on his Ducati debut in Qatar, was far more spirited in the wet Jerez conditions and quickly worked his way ahead from twelfth on the grid - after a crash in qualifying - to catch leaders Marco Simoncelli, Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo after 7 of the 27 laps.
The seven-time MotoGP champion exhausted no time in overtaking former Yamaha team-mate Lorenzo, putting him directly at the back new Repsol Honda rider Stoner, winner from pole in Qatar and on pole again at Jerez.
As the pair headed for turn one at the start of lap 8 Rossi abruptly pulled to the inside and made an unexpected move on Stoner from a long way back. Rossi later claimed he hadn't been trying to pass Stoner, but simply avoid him.
Either way, Rossi dived within Stoner and was half-a-bikelength ahead when his front Bridgestone cried enough and deserted him on the asphalt at the apex of the corner. Rossi and his sliding Desmosedici then wiped out the unfortunate Stoner.
Rossi and his bike came to rest with Stoner's RCV on top of them, but it was Rossi who was able to rejoin and in the end finish fifth in the crash-packed race, while Stoner was forced to retire.
The #46 apologised to Stoner straight after the race.
Later in the evening Rossi, who set the best lap of the race, explained the day's events from his point of view.
“Today in the wet we had a great possibility for me to make my first podium with Ducati, or even to get my first win,” Rossi admitted.
“I felt good, both with the bike and my shoulder, because I could brake where I required to rather than where I'm required to in the dry, since I still don't have the necessary strength.
“The bike is very fast in the wet. I was advancing really well, and I'm sorry to have made that error and thrown away such an opportunity.
Massa says Ferrari have a lot of work to do
Felipe Massa has admitted that Ferrari have 'a lot to do' after their unsatisfactory weekend in Melbourne - suggesting there was a major difference between how the car had performed in difficult and how it had fared during the grand prix.
Ferrari looked like Red Bull's closest challenger through the winter, but in Australia they were leapfrogged by McLaren
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Fernando Alonso and Massa were only fifth and eighth on the grid, and fourth in seventh in the race.
"The Australian Grand Prix did not go the way for my part and the team had predictable, as we were not as competitive as we had thought we would be, based on the winter performance," Massa admitted in a blog on the Ferrari website.
"If there is one lesson we take away with us after the gap round is that we have a lot of work to do.
"We immediately need to find out exactly what happened in Australia, understanding what we did and what the other teams did.
"We did not come away with as many points as we thought we could score in the first race, so we have to get back to where we want to be by the next race."
He was puzzled by why Ferrari had under performed in Australia and keen that the team rediscover their testing form by Sepang next weekend.
"Our car is better than it looked in Melbourne and it is hard to clarify exactly why we failed to deliver, which is why we have to arrive in Malaysia with the car we really built, not the car we raced last weekend," said Massa.
The Brazilian also admitted that Red Bull's pace had come as a shock to him, as Sebastian Vettel took pole by 0.8s and then forbidden the race from the outset.
"I was asked many times over last weekend what astonished me most, the pace of the Red Bulls or of the McLarens," Massa said.
Rossi and Hayden positive after Friday practices
Valentino Rossi posted the third-fastest time overall during the first day of practice in the Gran Premio bwin de España. The Italian set his quickest lap of 1’40.077 in the morning session, when situation were slightly cooler and not as windy. Nicky Hayden on the other hand, was among one of the riders who improved in the afternoon, when he finished ninth, a little less than a second off his team-mate, in the mutual results from both sessions. His fastest lap time was 1’41.058.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team)
“I’m happy because this morning I did the third-fastest time. In the afternoon when the senior temperature hurt us a little, I was fifth. Anyway, most of the riders went a bit slower in the second session. Apart from the two Hondas at the front, we’re earlier to everyone else, which was our goal. It was a good day. There’s still work to do; we’re trying to find the right balance, and that’s why we’re trying two settings that are a little dissimilar from each other as we work on weight distribution. We have to improve the feeling with the front a little, the bike that I prefer still doesn’t turn like we want it to, which means we’ll have to find a compromise flanked by the two set-ups. As for my shoulder, I don’t have much strength, but in terms of endurance, it’s a little better.”
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team)
“We’re basically riding the same bike as in Qatar. Obviously with a couple of small tweaks for this track, you need a stiffer front spring and a few other modest differences. We feel closer than we were in Losail. We made a little step forward this afternoon and it’s good because only a few riders improved in the afternoon sitting, though the wind was a lot worse. It’s the same for everybody, but the wind was really brutal today, particularly around here where you’re leaned over in a lot of long corners. We’re still almost a second off of the front riders, but at least we’re inside a second, which wasn’t the case at Round 1. We’re not over here jumping up and down with joy, but we’re positive, and we’ll keep improving. There are a few places I’m lacking, but we’re trying to just make small gains and not make too numerous big changes.”
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