MOTOGP: Rossi Scores First Ducati Podium

Valentino Rossi was satisfied as he not only put the Ducati on the box for the first time, but also beat former teammate/rival Jorge Lorenzo for the position.

The French Grand Prix saw Valentino Rossi score his first podium finish aboard a Ducati, following a race that was noticeable by excitement and surprises. Nicky Hayden started from the fourth row, but higher to seventh place by the finish.

The Italian renowned his third-place finish after a weekend of hard work and constant improvement, during which he and his crew increasingly improved the bike’s setup until finding a good compromise for the race. Sixth at the end of the first lap, Rossi stayed just a few tenths from Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso, who fought over fourth place until an event between Pedrosa and Simoncelli with ten laps remaining. At that point, the trio began battling over second place, and in the end, Valentino finished third, behind Dovizioso and winner Casey Stoner.

Nicky Hayden fought over sixth place with Ben Spies, and although he had to grant the position to his compatriot in the end, he was pleased with the development made over the course of the weekend.

In two days, on May 17, Valentino Rossi will be in action at Silverstone Circuit aboard a Ducati 1198, as the English track inaugurates a new paddock wing.

Valentino Rossi (Ducati Marlboro Team) 3rd

“We’re very satisfied with this podium because we’re on the right path, and especially because I had fun today. I rode the Desmosedici well, I was fast in the technical parts of the track, I felt good from start to finish and I had good lap times. This morning we made a last change to the surroundings together with Jeremy and the guys from Ducati, and it helped cut another couple of tenths. I knew I could beat Lorenzo, so that was my goal. I also passed Dovi at one point, but I got a little puzzled and made a move on the penultimate lap instead of the last one. I lost my concentration momentarily, but in short, he got me again. Anyway, it’s fine like this; I’m happy for myself, for my team, for Filippo (Preziosi), and for all the boys at Ducati. This result boosts our morale. We still have to keep working and civilizing though, because there’s more to be done. I also have to get better and keep adapting my style to the Ducati, because I’m still not riding it as I should, but in the meanwhile, we’ll enjoy today’s nice race and podium.”

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 7th

“We didn’t do ourselves any favors by starting 10th, but actually, we made a little step forward with the bike today. I got a polite start but was just really tight and lost some time. As the race got going, I was able to move up a bit and slowly bring back Spies and Colin. Colin edwards crashed, but once I got in front of Ben, I wasn’t really able to get down in the 34s and get away like I needed to. Seventh isn’t a great result for us, but I would say that overall, it’s almost certainly been our best weekend yet. When the track was cold, I was able to go quite fast—always in the top five in those conditions. I hoped for better in the race, but I’m looking onward to the next stretch; we’re about to really get into the season.”

Vittoriano Guareschi (Team Manager)

“We’re pleased with this weekend because we’ve already benefited from the first changes that we’ve made according to Vale’s requests. We had a nice race, maintained a good pace and took part in a nice battle. The team worked very well on the setup, which we changed every sitting and took a step forward each time—including one in the morning warm-up. We still have work to do, because this is only the start; there’s still a gap to make up, but anyway, we’re going in a promising direction. Nicky also confirmed that his feeling with the motorcycle has enhanced, and he made good progress on the bike over the course of the weekend.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

Overview Of New Bajaj Pulsar 220 F

Bajaj India has come up with one more facelift, this time it is their flagship bike - Pulsar 220. The new Bajaj Pulsar 220 F is reported to the fastest Indian bike ever built. Bajaj team has productively reached the top speed of 144 kmph and thus made the bike as the fastest bike in the country . New Pulsar 220cc's gear ratio is optimized to achieve the top speed. Also Pulsar 220 F has been priced very competitively to its main rivals - Yamaha R15 & Karizma ZMR.

Bajaj has also launched the Street description of Pulsar 220 which has been priced around Rs. 3000/- than the Faired verison. 

 Though Pulsar is not theoretically advanced like R15 & ZMR but if you compare the price then Pulsar 220 F is much better option. Pulsar 220 F is also more powerful with 21 Bhp on tap in assessment to Karizma ZMR's 17.6 Bhp and Yamaha R15's 17 Bhp. So, if you wanna pay fewer for more power then simply go for New Pulsar 220 F.

Engine Of New Bajaj Pulsar 2200 F

New Bajaj Pulsar 220 F gets all new 220cc oil cooled carburetored engine with 21 Bhp of power at 8500rpm and 19 NM of torque. Other changes to the engine insides comprise new combustion chamber, all new port geometry for optimized thermodynamics, new regulator coat material to eliminate cardon formation, new design short skirt lower friction piston, an all new camshaft and 33% larger oil cooler.

Pulsar 220 F gets the performance boost with 32 venturi carburettor, the bigest ever used in India. In addition, the intake port in the cylinder head has been customized, along with higher lift and duration cam. A larger resonator and catalytic convertor is also used to augment performance. It also uses temperature based explosion mapping system through which the ignition timing is optimized to acheive good startability, quick warm up and outstanding torque. Pulsar 220 F features the typical five speed gearbox with one down and four up pattern.