MotoGP: Looking Ahead to the 2011 Season

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MotoGP: Looking Ahead to the 2011 Season
By
Alistair Hunter
March 19, 2011


DOHA, QATAR - MARCH 17:

Casey Stoner in practice for the 2011 season in Qatar.


In 2010, injuries and a wonderful performance by Jorge Lorenzo handed the title to the Yamaha motorcyclist.

His main competitors, such as Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa, suffered injuries that took them out of crucial races and out of the title race.

However, 2011 looks as if it will be completely different.

The Italian legend Valentino Rossi has finally moved to the Italian team Ducati, while Casey Stoner moved to Honda and Ben Spies moved into the Yamaha team.

The balance of power has shifted from Yamaha to Honda, after Stoner, Pedrosa and Dovizioso performed strongly in preseason testing.

Meanwhile, Rossi appears to be falling back after joining Ducati, as his bike looks nowhere near as impressive as the Yamaha he rode in 2010.

In the final test, he finished 13th overall after two days in Qatar, where the 2011 Qatar Grand Prix starts this weekend, behind his teammate Nicky Hayden, who finished 10th.

Ben Spies seems to be learning his way well at the main Yamaha team for the first time, and is likely to perform well this season.

Despite this, I suspect that Lorenzo's experience will probably allow him to get ahead of Spies.

A number of midfield names such as Simoncelli, Aoyama, De Puniet and Edwards are likely to push towards Ducati and Yamaha, but they are unlikely to beat the best teams.

However, even Ducati and Yamaha seem to be blown away by Honda's outstanding pace so far, but expect them to launch an epic comeback to be able to battle with Stoner and Pedrosa.

And if Honda continue their impressive pace, they are likely to win the manufacturers championship, as they have three bikes in their main team compared to two for the other main teams.

Personally, I am predicting a championship victory for Casey Stoner, with Pedrosa, Spies and Lorenzo fighting for second place.

But as last season showed, anything could happen. We'll just have to wait and see.

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The field for Sunday's race was reduced to 16 after Rizla Suzuki's only rider Alvaro Bautista crashed in practice on Friday and broke his left thigh bone.

Starting grid

1. Casey Stoner (Aus) Honda 1min 54.137sec
2. Dani Pedrosa (Esp) Honda at 0.205
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Esp) Yamaha 0.810
4. Marco Simoncelli (Ita) Honda 0.851
5. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha 0.958
6. Hector Barbera (Esp) Ducati 1.086
7. Andrea Dovizioso (Ita) Honda 1.092
8. Cal Crutchlow (GB) Yamaha 1.441
9. Valentino Rossi (Ita) Ducati 1.500
10. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 1.510
11. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Ducati 1.519
12. Hiroshi Aoyama (Jpn) Honda 1.587
13. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati 1.744
14. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 2.186
15. Karel Abraham (Cze) Ducati 2.528
16. Toni Elias (ESP) Honda 3.855

3:00P-4:00 SPEED
FIM MotoGP World Championship, Losail International Racetrack, Doha, Qatar, HD, L

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Bridgestone extends MotoGP deal

Sat, 19 Mar 2011


Bridgestone has extended its deal to supply MotoGP tyres for a further three years, securing the championship's supply of control rubber through 2014.



The Japanese firm has supplied the whole MotoGP field since the sport decided to go to a single tyre brand at the start of the 2009 season.

Mikio Masunaga, vice president and senior officer member of Bridgestone's board responsible for motorsport, said: "I am proud that we are able to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to MotoGP by extending our participation as 'official tyre supplier' to the premier class with a new three-year deal. Bridgestone has a very rich heritage in the leading motorsport categories across the world, and MotoGP represents a significant part of this heritage."

Series boss Carmelo Ezpeleta added that he was pleased to have tyre continuity as MotoGP heads into its new 1000cc engine era from next year.

"I am very pleased that we can continue to work closely with Bridgestone for another three years after this season, and I would like to thank them for their continued commitment to MotoGP," he said.

"Bridgestone has a great track record in all forms of motorsport, in particular MotoGP, and has done a great job since they were appointed the championship's first ever 'official tyre supplier' so we all know they are up to the task this season and over the following three years.

"Their ongoing commitment at this early point is important in allowing us all to plan for the future, especially for the teams as they are already underway with their development plans for next year and the new 1000cc era, and I believe it also demonstrates the value of MotoGP as a business platform."

Bridgestone stays in MotoGP despite pulling out of Formula 1 at the end of last season. Its Firestone arm recently announced that it would leave the IndyCar Series, but had a change of heart after intense lobbying from the teams.

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Stoner steals victory in season opener

Sunday, 20 March 2011
Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) had a titanic tussle with his Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar in the first round of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship to snatch 25 points on his debut ride with Repsol Honda. Stoner finished 3.440 seconds ahead of second placed Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing).
Stoner steals victory in season opener

It had been eight years since a Honda rider won the opening round of the MotoGP season, the last rider to do so was Valentino Rossi in 2003 at Suzuka. Stoner has an impressive record at the Losail International Circuit after winning here in 2008 and 2009. The Australian claimed his 31st win of his career here this evening and his 24th in MotoGP.

The riders observed a one minutes silence in honour of the victims of the Japan earthquake ahead of the MotoGP race. The 22 lap race was run in the best conditions of the weekend with fairly high temperatures without the strong winds that had been feared. It produced a thrilling race with close encounters throughout the pack.

Pedrosa took the lead from the start of the race and then it was the reigning World Champion, Lorenzo who took up the mantle as race leader. What followed was fierce between the two Spaniards and Stoner, with the Repsol Honda’s eventually pulling an advantage. Stoner and Pedrosa swapped position for the lead on several occasions and at the midway point, the pole sitter, increased his pace and set off for the chequered flag. This left the two championship rivals from 2010 dueling it out for second place and it was the Yamaha rider who picked up the 20 points.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) were involved in a close battle for fourth place throughout the race and it was the Repsol Honda who took the first position off the podium. Dovizioso finished 5.942 behind Stoner.

There was much anticipation surrounding the debut of Valentino Rossi with the Ducati Team. The Italian finished seventh after racing Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing), after swapping places with the American, the Yamaha got the advantage over the Ducati to take sixth place.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was eighth, with Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) and Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) completing the top ten. Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) managed to take 11th place on the last lap ahead of Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar Team). GP debutant Karel Abraham (Cardion ab Motoracing) was the final rider to pass the chequered flag and earned himself three points, with just 13 riders finishing the first race of the season.

It was not the MotoGP return that Toni Elías (LCR Honda) had been hoping for. After languishing in 14th place at the back, he suffered a strange crash towards the end of the race which cost him two points.

It was a nightmare start for the Pramac Racing team after Randy de Puniet had a nasty highside on lap on causing his race to end early. His team-mate Loris Capirossi was hit by the Frenchman’s bike, crushing his hand and therefore had to retire from the race.





COMMERCIALBANK GRAND PRIX OF QATAR

MotoGP Race Classification 2011

Doha, Sunday, March 20, 2011

Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Bike Km/h Time/Gap

1 25 27 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 166.5 42'38.569
2 20 1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 166.3 +3.440
3 16 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 166.2 +5.051
4 13 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 166.2 +5.942
5 11 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 166.1 +7.358
6 10 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 165.9 +10.468
7 9 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 165.5 +16.431
8 8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 164.8 +26.293
9 7 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 164.8 +27.416
10 6 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 164.7 +28.920
11 5 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 164.3 +34.539
12 4 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 164.3 +34.829
13 3 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 164.1 +37.957
Not Classified
24 Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 162.8 4 Laps
65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 142.4 21 Laps
14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 0 Lap

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