23 March 2011

Edwards and Crutchlow make positive start in Qatar

Edwards and Crutchlow make positive start in Qatar - Edwards made a blistering 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 running slightly off line at the second corner. Dropping back into 10th behind team-mate Crutchlow, he quickly 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 consistently 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 overtake the Spaniard to maintain the pressure on Spies and
he finished eighth.

Crutchlow made an impressive 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 injury 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 earlier in the race, Barbera proved tough to overtake and Crutchlow lost contact with Hayden and Aoyama with three laps remaining. He was rewarded for his determined performance when he swept by Barbera on the final lap to finish a hugely encouraging debut in 11th.

Colin Edwards, 8th:
"That was the best I could do and I'm happy with the way I rode and my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 gave me a good bike as always. A top eight is pretty good considering the speed of the guys in front of me and I was pretty much where I thought I'd end up based on practice. I got a good start and thought the only way I've got any chance of getting a top six is to take a few early risks. I went round the outside at the first corner and made up a couple of places. But I had a couple of moments, one when I nearly ran into Ben, which wouldn't have been a good move. I thought I might have had something for Valentino early on but even when he's not 100 per cent he can still ride pretty good. I'm never happy with eighth but we got some decent points and we can move on to Jerez with confidence."

Cal Crutchlow, 11th:
"I'm pretty happy with that and honestly I'd have liked to have got a top ten after how well qualifying went. I couldn't keep up with the group that included Nicky and Aoyama because it was tough to pass Barbera. They passed Barbera and I then overtook him to chase them, but he got me back immediately and let them get away because his pace dropped off quite a bit. But he's got a fast bike and that makes it hard to make a pass and stay in front of him. I was happy to be in the fight for the top ten for as long as I was and the experience gained is invaluable to help me progress in MotoGP. I wanted to finish and get a race under my belt, so it was mission accomplished. The next couple of races will be tough because I don't know the circuits but I'll be doing my best for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad."

14 March 2011

Rossi satisfied with Qatar progress and shoulder

Rossi satisfied with Qatar progress and shoulder - The Ducati Team rider was satisfied with day one at the MotoGP Test in Qatar, despite a minor fall on his GP11. Team-mate Nicky Hayden was also in a positive mood after Sunday's session.
With the opening round of the MotoGP World Championship just around the corner, the Ducati MotoGP Team made steady progress 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 conditions decent. Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden both completed the evening solidly inside the top ten, and they look forward to taking further steps on Monday.

Valentino Rossi, 8th, 1'57.038:
“It wasn’t bad 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, considering 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 enough, 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 intentionally 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 crashing 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 decent lap time and get consistent. In parts of the track I felt pretty good, but there are spots where the steering 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 quicker tomorrow.”

13 March 2011

Live Audio Commentary now available on the Official 2011 MotoGP Live Timing App

Live Audio Commentary now available on the Official 2011 MotoGP Live Timing App . Soft Pauer, the maker of the official Live Timing App for the FIM MotoGP World Championship, today launched its new and improved App on the App Store, with a version also available for Android.*

The 2011 MotoGP™ Live Timing App includes a series of new and exciting innovations, designed to offer users an added-value service over any given race weekend. Key amongst these is the introduction of live and official audio commentary*, brought direct to the user straight from the circuit by the official MotoGP race
commentators as the action unfolds. This means fans can listen to all the action on-track* while enjoying a huge variety of data on screen.

In addition to this, for the first time this year, fans will also be able to benefit from a pause and replay feature, designed to allow live pause and re-run throughout each session, including the race itself.

More timing data has also been added to the App in 2011, meaning the live timing screens and leaderboards display a vast amount of data, including best speeds. 3D track navigation means that the map can now be panned easily so that you can position the track exactly where you want it and corner names and numbers have also been added for ease of use. As ever, wireless is not needed to enjoy the App, which also runs on GPRS, so it can be used anywhere.

The App still offers users hours of racing action brought direct and in perpetuity from the track straight to the handheld as it all unfolds. Real time track positions and data stream directly from the track to the phone, with a fully interactive 3D map giving a view of the entire circuit, complete with rider positions, gaps and pitstops throughout any given lap.

Zoom in to follow a specific rider or out to get a view of the entire lap; Split the screen to see the timing screens alongside the on-map action, or follow the live leader board as the race unfolds; Follow the live commentary or review the action again and again. For the MotoGP fan, this really is an App to bring all the detail and minutiae of each and every session in MotoGP, Moto2 and 125 to life. There’s also a wealth of video content available via the site, giving users plenty of exclusive and thrilling action footage, whole ,cool shows like “After the Flag”, re-wind features from each race and much more.

Commenting on the 2011 MotoGP™ App, Soft Pauer COO Alex Powell said; “We are very excited to bring live audio commentary to our iPhone customers. This works in conjunction with our new live replay feature so that the fan never need miss a moment of the action."

04 March 2011

King of Spain, Don Juan Carlos, greets 2010 World Champions

King of Spain, Don Juan Carlos, greets 2010 World Champions - King Don Juan Carlos of Spain welcomed the three Spanish riders to his residence the Zarzuela Palace, where he personally congratulated MotoGP World Champion Lorenzo, Moto2 title holder Elías and 125cc Champion Márquez in front of an audience which included former rider Ángel Nieto.

After official photographs were taken Don Juan Carlos discussed the trio’s accomplishments with them, in the presence of Spanish Secretary for Sport, Jaime Lissavetzky.

Also in attendance at the palace for the event were
Sporting General Director Albert Soler, Motorcycling Federation President Joan Moreta, Catalunya Motorcycling Federation President Ángel Viladoms, and Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta.

Both the King and the Prince of Asturias followed the three riders’ respective seasons with great interest, Don Juan Carlos attending the Aragón GP last September whilst Don Felipe took in the season finale at Valencia in November.

03 March 2011

MotoGP riders support Sepang Circuit fundraising

The MotoGP riders and members of their teams present at the Sepang International Circuit for the current Test showed their full support on Wednesday for the charity fundraising campaign organised by the venue.
For the duration of the Test so far and until its conclusion on Thursday, SIC has been encouraging all those attending the circuit to contribute a small donation to help raise funds for the victims of the recent floods in Malaysia.
“On behalf of Sepang International Circuit, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to all the MotoGP riders and team members for supporting our ‘RM2 or More’ Campaign for Malaysia Flood Relief Fund,” said SIC CEO Dato Ahmad Razlan Ahmad Razali, who posed