2010 Japanese GP (Motegi): Fiat Yamaha MotoGP Race Recap
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Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo put on a brilliant show for the Japanese fans at Motegi today, fighting it out for the final podium position in a battle that went down to the wire. Rossi just prevailed over his team-mate to take third, his sixth podium of the season, while Lorenzo's fourth place sets up his first Championship match-point at Sepang next weekend.
The excitement between the pair started at turn one, when Lorenzo pulled an audacious move on Rossi, passing him around the outside and exiting the second corner in third place, with the Italian in fourth. As the eventual-winner and runner-up Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso moved clear in front, Rossi was determined not to let his team-mate escape and stuck close behind, looking for every occasion to pass him. He tried a few times before he was able to make it stick and the reigning World Champion eventually passed the current championship-leader on the sixth lap of 24, going on to set the fastest lap of the race on the next lap.
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Rossi and Lorenzo then settled into a rhythm with a gap of a few tenths between them, although they were unable to make much headway on the leaders, who were nearly two seconds ahead of them by that point. As the race sped towards its climax Rossi's tyres began to slide a little and Lorenzo took the fight to him, making his first move on lap 18 but unable to stay in front. On the penultimate lap an incredible passing sequence led to the pair touching fairings on more than one occasion and the excitement did not end there, as they swapped positions several more times before Rossi just gained the advantage in the final few corners and crossed the line half a second in front.
Lorenzo is now 69 points ahead of the injured Dani Pedrosa and needs to be at least 75 ahead of his fellow Spaniard after the Sepang race to seal the win there. Rossi has slipped back to fifth in the championship but he is only three points off Dovizioso and has fourth firmly in his sights. The MotoGP paddock now packs up and moves straight to Malaysia for the next round in one week's time at Sepang.
Valentino Rossi Position: 3rd Time: +5.707
"What a great race! Of course I would have preferred to be battling for the win but anyway it was a great feeling, a real show and I want to congratulate Jorge because he was very strong and didn't give up! Unfortunately I lost time at the start when he passed me so Stoner and Dovizioso got away, and by the time I passed him again they were too far ahead. At the end I was tired and my tyre was sliding a lot, it was a bit softer than I would have liked, so I knew I was going to be in trouble but I wanted the podium so much. Jorge came back at me and we had a great battle, proper racing - I think everyone watching enjoyed it. It's been a great weekend because we expected it to be difficult but in fact we've been strong in every session and worked very well on our bike. The shoulder is okay at the moment so let's go to Malaysia and see if we can continue like this, or better!"
Jorge Lorenzo Position: 4th Time: +6.221
"This was a big battle between Valentino and I, two warriors with the killer instinct. I have to say that at some points I do not think he was completely fair, we were both on the limit but some of his moves were maybe a bit too much and he touched me and pushed me wide when I don't think it was right. We are team-mates, I am fighting for the Riders' Championship but we are both fighting for the Teams' and Manufacturers' Championship as well and we have to remember this. I am disappointed to miss the podium of course because I wanted one at Yamaha's home, but this is racing. We chose to ride with the old engine to be safe and then I wasn't getting the best feeling from the front tyre, so things weren't perfect for me, but anyway we took some good points. We are very close to getting our dream and I really hope we can do it next weekend in Sepang."
Davide Brivio Team Manager
"The podium was our main target and it's been a very good weekend. Valentino was fast since Friday afternoon and I think the team did a great job today. We had to change our tyre choice after warm-up and make some small adjustments to make it work properly, but he made the fastest lap and had a very good pace throughout. Then we had this exciting battle in the last laps, which was thrilling. When two strong riders have the chance to fight like this it is always going to create a lot of enjoyment and Jorge didn't give up, but it was better for Valentino this time! We hope to see more of this for the fans and everyone watching."
Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager
"We just need a few more points! This wasn't a perfect race for us and we struggled a bit when the track changed after Moto2, especially at the hard braking in turn one, but our target was to play it safe and take points so we are happy. Of course the end of the race was exciting, but Jorge is a winner and even with the situation with the championship he was never going to give up on the final podium spot easily. It was a great battle between the two strongest riders in the world but they are team-mates and Valentino took too many risks and touched Jorge a couple of times, which should not have happened when Jorge is fighting for the championship. Anyway, considering the front-end issues and the fact that we chose not to run the new engine, we have to be very happy with these points and now we are all just focused on Sepang and the possible championship victory there."
Results
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 43'12.266
2. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team + 3.868
3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team + 5.707
4. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team + 6.221
5. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 27.092
6. Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini + 30.021
Valentino Rossi has criticised the decision to put back the start time of Sunday's Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang.
The race will now begin at 1600 local time (0900 BST), two hours later than normal, to avoid a clash with the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix.
"We know that here after a certain time, generally 1530, it almost always rains," said reigning champion Rossi.
"At 1400 there's a 90% chance it won't rain - at 1600 it's the same percentage that it will rain. It's really stupid."
The Italian, who is on the verge of relinquishing his title to Yamaha team-mate and arch rival Jorge Lorenzo, added: "We always bend over backwards to the F1 superpower."
Mr Wonderful
Seven-time champion Rossi topped the timesheets in Friday practice with a fastest lap of two minutes and 2.724secs - 0.109 ahead of Repsol Honda's Andrea Dovizioso.
Spaniard Lorenzo, who was third fastest, needs a top-10 finish on Sunday to clinch his first elite class crown with three races to spare with nearest challenger, Dovizioso's team-mate Dani Pedrosa, sidelined by a broken collarbone.
"The most important thing is to finish the race," commented 23-year-old two-time 250cc world champion Lorenzo. "You will see me riding calmly, but it's difficult because I always give the maximum."
2010 Malaysian GP (Sepang): Bridgestone MotoGP Qualifying Recap
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Oct 09, 2010 - 07:39 AM
MotoGP
2010 Malaysian GP (Sepang): Bridgestone MotoGP Qualifying Recap
Bridgestone slick tyre compounds available: Front: Hard, Extra Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard
After qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix, the first opportunity for Jorge Lorenzo to seal his first premier class world title, it was the Spaniard who came out on top after just getting ahead of Nicky Hayden on his penultimate lap. With Pedrosa absent from this grand prix, all Lorenzo needs is a top nine finish to clinch the title but with his first pole since Laguna Seca in July he starts tomorrow in the best shape.
Track conditions today had improved since yesterday, as the laptimes demonstrate, and the top seven riders were all under the existing lap record but Lorenzo’s pole time was one second shy of the benchmark last year, set on exactly the same compound Bridgestone tyres, indicating that the track surface is still not ideal.
With one minute to go of the hour-long session, Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden was running strongly in provisional pole, before Lorenzo’s penultimate effort left the American just 0.1seconds adrift. It is Hayden’s best qualifying result of the season. Starting tomorrow’s race from the outside of the front row is Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso, who has qualified in the top three for the third time this season and for the second race in succession after his pole position in Japan. Ben Spies, Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi make up the second row of the grid.
The top three riders all used the softer option rear Bridgestone slicks but Lorenzo used the softer front whereas Hayden and Dovizioso favoured the harder option. Race tyre choice is still looking mixed for tomorrow with both front and rear options offering good performance at Sepang. Again the temperature and humidity were high today, making it very demanding for the riders, the bikes and the tyres, and whilst the harder option slicks provide more durability and stability in these conditions, the softer option also seems viable for the race.
Masao Azuma – Chief Field Engineer, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
“We can see from the improvement in times that track conditions were much better today than yesterday and the field is really quite close, much closer than last year, although it seems that the surface is still more slippery than in the past. The top 15 riders are within 1.4seconds today, whereas last year only the top five were covered by the same gap. Also, in the middle of the session, when many riders were using the harder specs they are likely to use in tomorrow’s race, the top 14 riders were within one second which is a good sign for a close race. In this morning’s practice session some riders conducted long runs on both the harder and softer slicks and consistency was good. If it stays dry, I think both will be suitable for the race tomorrow with riders choosing between the improved durability of the harder option and the enhanced peak grip of the softer spec. so I hope for an exciting 150th race for Bridgestone.”
Top ten from qualifying (Saturday 13:55 – 14:55 GMT+8)
Pos Rider Team Fastest lap Gap Compounds – Front, Rear 1 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 2m01.537s Hard, Medium
2 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 2m01.637s +0.100s Ex. Hard, Medium
3 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 2m01.829s +0.292s Ex. Hard, Medium
4 Ben Spies Monster Yamaha Tech3 2m01.993s +0.456s Hard, Medium
5 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 2m02.023s +0.486s Ex. Hard, Medium 6 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 2m02.030s +0.493s Hard, Medium
7 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 2m02.097s +0.560s Hard, Medium
8 Alvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2m02.394s +0.857s Hard, Medium
9 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2m02.522s +0.985s Hard, Medium
10 Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini 2m02.624s +1.087s Ex. Hard, Medium
Weather: Dry. Ambient 34-36°C; Track 50-54°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Jorge Lorenzo has been crowned MotoGP world champion after finishing third in the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.
The Fiat Yamaha rider came home behind Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso, which was enough for him to secure the title with three races to go.
Reigning champion Rossi started sixth, slipped down to 11th but worked his way back up and into the lead on lap 10.
Rossi, whose season was disrupted by a broken leg, held on for his first win since the opening day of the season.
Going into Sunday's race, the world title was already Lorenzo's to lose.
New MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo
Lorenzo has dominated the season and never finished lower than fourth in a race this year
He only need finish in the top 10 to be crowned champion in succession to team-mate and rival Rossi, and with the Spaniard's worst finish this year having been fourth, that was never in serious doubt.
Before Sepang, Lorenzo had taken control of the world title race with seven wins.
Defending champion Rossi's season never recovered after he broke his leg at the German Grand Prix in Sacshsenring, meaning Lorenzo's fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa was his only serious rival for the title.
But hopes of an end of season battle between the pair were dashed when Pedrosa crashed in practice for last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, breaking his collarbone and putting him out of the races in Japan and Malaysia, although he hopes to return next week in Australia.
Malaysian MotoGP result:
1 V Rossi (Ita) Fiat Yamaha 41:03.448
2 A Dovizioso (Ita) Repsol Honda 3 J Lorenzo (Sp) Fiat Yamaha
4 B Spies (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha
5 A Bautista (Spa) Rizla Suzuki
6 N Hayden (USA) Ducati
7 H Aoyama (Jpn) Interwetten Honda
8 M Simoncelli (Ita) Gresini Honda
9 M Melandri (Ita) Gresini Honda
10 R de Puniet (Fr) LCR Honda
11 H Barbera (Sp) Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati
12 M Kallio (Fin) Pramac Ducati
World championship standings:
1 J Lorenzo (Sp) Yamaha 313 2 D Pedrosa (Sp) Honda 228 3 V Rossi (It) Yamaha 181 4 C Stoner (Aus) Ducati 180 5 A Dovizioso (It) Honda 179 6 B Spies (US) Yamaha 152 7 N Hayden (US) Ducati 139 8 R de Puniet (Fr) Honda 94 9 M Simoncelli (It) Honda 92 10 M Melandri (It) Honda 86 11 C Edwards (US) Yamaha 81 12 H Barbera (Sp) Ducati 74 13 A Bautista (Sp) Suzuki 69 14 A Espargaro (Sp) Ducati 52 15 H Aoyama (Jpn) Honda 44 16 L Capirossi (It) Suzuki 41 17 M Kallio (Fin) Ducati 38 18 A de Angelis (SM) Honda 11 19 RL Hayden (US) Honda 5 20 K Akiyoshi (Jpn) Honda 4 21 W Yoshikawa (Jpn) Yamaha 1
After taking pole and being fastest at warm-up Sunday morning, the Australian Casey Stoner took his fourth consecutive-home win after leading every lap Phillip Island, Round 16 of the 2010 MotoGP Championship.
Joining him on a surprisingly sunny podium were the Fiat Yamaha pair of 2010 Champion Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. With their podium MotoGP finishes, Yamaha clinched the 2010 Manufacturer's Championship with two rounds remaining.
As for the Ducati Team rider Stoner, he bumped Rossi in the MotoGP championship, taking over the third spot. He has now won three races out of the last four after taking the Iveco Australia Grand Prix before a crowd of over 41,000 fans.
When Jorge Lorenzo returned to his native Mallorca on Tuesday, he arrived as the Spanish champion, the one who conquered the 2010 MotoGP Championship aboard his Fiat Yamaha M1.
And with champion status comes much notoriety, which could be observed on the streets of Mallorca as Lorenzo made his grand appearance. Hundreds of fans and fellow countrymen flocked to greet Lorenzo during a parade for his homecoming, the capital city of Palma de Mallorca turning into a Spanish Mardias Gras.
The parade culminated at the Illes Balears Presidential Palace, where the MotoGP Champ presented his special "Astronaut" helmet to President Frances Antich. In true celebrity style, Lorenzo then joined his family on the palace balcony to wave to the thousands below as everyone sang "We are the Champions."
Jorge Lorenzo says: "I have achieved my dream and this title should be celebrated to the max."
Lorenzo will now spend some time with his family and friends before MotoGP returns at Estoril in Portugal for the penultimate round on Oct. 31.
After achieving podium finishes in 13 out of 15 rounds, including seven wins, Jorge Lorenzo walked away from the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix with the 2010 MotoGP Championship. He then added another podium finish to his MotoGP record last weekend at Phillip Island, the 23-year old finishing behind race winner Casey Stoner on the Ducati GP10.
Lorenzo, who is only the second Spaniard to win a GP title since Alex Criville in 1999, only needed a ninth-place finish or better at Sepang to clench the MotoGP title. In his championship-clinching race, he finished third at Sepang behind Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso, and his teammate and race-winner Valentino Rossi.
This is Lorenzo's debut MotoGP title, and he also has two in the former 250cc Class aboard an Aprilia.
As you will all know by now, at the end of this season I will be saying goodbye to Yamaha and moving on to a new place in the (MotoGP) paddock.
This was not an easy decision to make and I want to take this opportunity to thank you, all of the racing fans, for making it such a special seven years with Yamaha.
I have won four (MotoGP) world championships and many races and it has been a truly beautiful partnership. I will never forget falling in love with my (Yamaha) M1 for the first time in Welkom when I won the first race with Yamaha; memories like that will stay with me forever.
Next week I will travel to the Yamaha headquarters in Japan to say goodbye to everyone at the factory and I am sure it will be a very emotional day for me!
Recently we had a very sad day when we lost Shoya Tomizawa (Moto2), a fanstastic talent and a truly nice guy - simpatico, as we say in Italy.
Unfortunately, despite the very best safety gear, we are always at risk from fluke accidents like this and there really was nothing to be done.
The safety commission meets at every race to discuss how to constantly keep improving the safety of our sport so of course we had a big discussion in Aragon, but we know that everything that could have been done, was.
All of our thoughts are with Shoya's family and friends and we will miss him a lot in our MotoGP family.
Even if the end of the season isn't going to be exactly how I imagined it, because of the problems with the shoulder, I still want to do the best I can for Yamaha until I leave.
Jorge has done an amazing job this (MotoGP) season, he's been so strong and consistent and he really deserves this title, so if there is anything I can do to help of course I will be happy.
FIAT YAMAHA LOOKS TO TRIPLE CROWN AS MOTOGP RETURNS TO EUROPE
2010-10-25
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Having wrapped up the Riders' and Teams' titles already this season, the victorious Fiat Yamaha Team returns to European shores this weekend for the penultimate round of the season at Estoril in Portugal. New MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and his team-mate Valentino Rossi are eager to end the season on a high and hopeful that good results in the final two races will help Yamaha wrap up the coveted Triple Crown.
Lorenzo has swept all before him the season and the 23-year-old has a flawless record at Estoril, having won from pole position in both his MotoGP appearances at the track. The track was the scene of his first premier-class win and he was equally dominant last year, taking his fourth win of the season. This year he has taken seven victories but, having not won since Brno, the 23-year-old is keen to stand on the top step of the podium at least once more before the circus shuts down for the winter.
Rossi is still the most successful rider in history at Estoril and has taken five wins there. Last year was the first time in his ten visits to the track when he finished off the podium and he will be determined to return to it this year. The flyaway races saw an upturn in his fortunes and he took three podiums, including his stunning win in Malaysia, which have somewhat put the gloss back on a difficult season. With just two races left with Yamaha, the Italian hero is hopeful of ending on a high and will be going for the maximum this weekend.
Newly crowned 2010 MotoGP Champion Jorge Lorenzo stamped his authority on today's free practice session at the penultimate round at Portugal's Estoril track by nearly .200s.
The Spaniard has sent his rivals a warning shot that although he has this year's championship in the bag, he will give his maximum this weekend and at the final round in Valencia next week.
"I love this track! I have won here both times in MotoGP so I am very happy to be here," said Lorenzo. "Unfortunately the weather was terrible this morning and there was no point in riding, then this afternoon it was still very difficult, with a lot of water on the track and you had to be very careful."
Lorenzo topped the time sheets with his best lap of 1'48.522 on his Yamaha YZR-M1. Factory Ducati rider Nicky Hayden followed closely with a time just 0.135s from Lorenzo while his outgoing team mate Valentino Rossi in third. Race winner at Estoril for the last two years, Lorenzo is eyeing up a hat trick of wins and if he continues this pace into to Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race then it looks likely he will achieve his goal.
Monster Yamaha Tech 3's and soon to be factory Yamaha rider for next year, Ben Spies again asserted his position of top rookie in fifth while San Carlo Honda Gresini's Marco Melandri found some form to grab the last slot on the second row in sixth.
Conditions for today's free practice sessions was not good with the first one canceled after an thunderstorm came into play during the session and it was red flag and then canceled. Later in the afternoon, conditions were very tricky with a wet track for most of the session. There were four crashes in total coming from Hector Barbera (Paginas Amarillas Aspar), Factory Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso, Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Alvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki).
Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) was fast out of the box once more and led the session early on and finished seventh with a 1'50.043 and he was followed by Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and veteran Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) rounding off the top ten. Dani Pedrosa once again showed his guts and determination finishing in 13th despite still recovering from a fractured collarbone.
Returning from World Superbikes, Carlos Checa struggled to get to grips with his Pramac Racing Ducati finishing 17th while rookies Aleix Espargaro (Pramac Racing) and Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP) finished 14th and 15th fastest respectively.
In other news, Capirossi will start his 10th season in the MotoGP with Pramac Racing which will see the Italian back on a Ducati. His first time with the team will be at the November test at Valencia for the 2011 season preparations.
"This return on a Ducati bike makes me feel like a child! I do not feel 37 years old! I have a great desire to start this new adventure, I'm enormously pleased about this new agreement with the Pramac Racing Team which will allow me to ride and be part of an Italian team," beamed Capirossi.
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