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Your one and only place to get the latest updates and information, rider profiles and all the news in the Moto GP. Click here for the latest news on the Moto GP Catalunya GP | British GP | Assen GP | German GP | Casey Stoner | United States Moto GP MOTO GP CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Alice Motorrad GP Deutschland:Round 10 of the Moto GP world championship took place under the sweltering summer sun in Germany at the Sachsenring track on the 15th July. Many feared that tyres would be a deciding factor as the excessive heat might cause the tyres to break up over the 30 lap race. On pole started the Australian chamipionship leading Ducati rider Casey Stoner out to prove that being on pole is not cursed as many fear and the only way he could do that was to win. Starting in a very good 2nd position on the grid was Dani Pedrosa on his Repsol Honda and alongside him closing out the front row was Marco Melandri on his Gresini Honda. Randy de Puniet started in 4th place on his Kawasaki, lining up next to him was the American John Hopkins on his Rizla Suzuki and aside him the ever-threatening Valentino Rossi on his Fiat Yamaha. Following these top 6 riders from qualifying was, in order, Loris Capirossi, Alex Barros, Sylvain Guintoli, Shinya Nakano closing out the top 10 and Chris Vermeulen started in 11th. Nicky Hayden started way down in 14th place, his team having already apologised to the Texas Tornado for not providing him with a decent bike for the weekend as he had struggled with various problems since Friday. Dani Pedrosa got off to a good start and led into turn one, Casey Stoner in 2nd place and bringing up 3rd was Marco Melandri, coming out in 4th after the 1st corner was John Hopkins. On lap 2 Marco Melandri got passed Stoner who didn't seem to put up too much of a fight. Casey Stoner re-passed Melandri at the end of lap 2 and then got passed Dani Pedrosa as well, but only for a few metres as Pedrosa came straight back at him to re-take the lead of the German Moto GP. With 3 laps gone Carlos Checa went down but was able to eventually get his bike back up and into the pits. There his team changed his gear lever which had broken and he went back out onto the track with his race obviously over. Valentino Rossi found himself stuck behind the green Kawasaki of Randy de Puniet and not being able to find a way past the Frenchman. Chris Vermeulen's race was effectively over as it was announced that he needed to serve a "driver-through" penalty for jumping the start of the race. Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli's race came to an early end as he crashed out with 26 laps to go. Then came one of the most important parts of the race. Valentino Rossi pushed too hard into a corner trying to pass on the inside of Randy de Puniet and he and his bike went down sliding across the asphalt and into the gravel trap. Rossi struggled with his bike to try and get back into the race but simply couldn't; his handlebars were broken in the fall. With a full 22 laps left in the race Dani Pedrosa was already starting to pull away from Casey Stoner and his Ducati with his lead being extended to slightly more than 0.8 seconds. On lap 10 Alex Barros crashed out on his Ducati, his race over immediately while he clutched his injured right hand tightly to his chest to avoid further injury to it. With 14 laps to go Nicky Hayden passes fellow American Colin Edwards while the gap from Pedrosa's Repsol Honda to Aussie Stoner's Ducati had grown to as much as over 2.5 seconds. With 12 laps left of the race not only was Stoner falling further and further back from away from the Spaniard Pedrosa, who was now lapping the German track 2 seconds faster than the Australian, but he was now comeing into the clutches of the chasing Marco Melandri and Loris Capirossi. Into corner one of the Sachsenring gp track Stoner became the center of a Capirossi and Melandri sandwich as they both tried to pass him, Melandri taking the outside line and Capirossi the inside. Melandri ran wide though and had to abort the pass while Capirossi went through and up into 2nd place. While Dani Pedrosa rode unchallenged at front heading to his first win in over a year, the rest of the pack were fighting for the final positions and points. With 9 laps left in the race Marco Melandri managed to pass the defending Stoner who was clearly just trying to hang on with his tyres having fallen away drastically by now. He now was in damage limitation mode with both Nicky Hayden and John Hopkins closing in on the current championship leader. On lap 23 the flying Texas Tornado was able to get passed both John Hopkins and Casey Stoner, Hayden's compatriot Colin Edwards was also able to pass the other American John Hopkins. With 6 laps to go Nicky Hayden even managed to pass Marco Melandri for the final podium spot, having started way down in 14th place. With 4 laps left Casey Stoner passed Marco Melandri for 5th position. So, the final race positions: 1) Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) MOTO GP ASSEN30th June 2007: The legendary race track gave us a good show in the race, it is after all the only race circuit on the calendar that has been there since the inception of the championship. Qualifying was very tricky in the wet and through up a couple surprises on the starting grid. On pole we had Chris Vermeulen with fellow Australian Casey Stoner (showing all once again he's good in the wet) lining up in 2nd place and starting from 3rd place was Frenchman Randy De Puniet. Marco Melandri tried something a little different by using the 16 inch rear tyres instead of the normal 16.5 inch tyres, this proved not such a good idea as he fell back from the start of the race. Casey Stoner had a great start and led into the first corner at the Netherlands track and immediately pushed home his advantage and started to pull away from John Hopkins. Another rider that started extremely well was current Moto GP champion Nicky Hayden on his Repsol Honda who having qualified way down the order in 13th made his way up to 6th by the end of the 1st lap and then on to 4th by lap 2. Valentino Rossi fell backwards from the start and ended up in 9th by the end of lap 1. Nicky Hayden was having a great race already with some excelent late braking seeing him do well. Marco Melandri's wider rear tyre choice saw him drop down to 10th place by lap 6. On the same lap Valentino Rossi (rider of the day) set the fastest lap of the race so far, clearly beginning his charge to catch front-runners. On laps 7 and 8 he passed both Dani Pedrosa and his team mate Nicky Hayden respectively. With 16 laps to go in the Assen race things seemed to settle down into some kind of order. John Hopkins could not catch Casey Stoner at the front but was keeping in touch with the gap keeping steady at around 1.5 seconds. Valentino Rossi was coming to the fore the more his tyres seemed to wear down, and he set 2 consecutive fastest lapa of the race and closed the gap between himself and John Hopkins. With 15 laps left Rossi seemed to pass Hopkins pretty easily and then the race started to look extremely good with the front-runners in the championship (Rossi and Stoner) fighting each other for the race win again. Just as the race seemed to be settling down behind the 2 leaders Randy De Puniet clashed with Chris Vermeulen and both left the track. Chris Vermeulen was able to get back on his bike but De Puniet not able to. With 14 laps to go Valentino had closed the gap to 1st place Casey to just 0.5 seconds and the next lap he was right on the rear tyre of the Ducati and had a look to pass Stoner down the inside, the Aussie closed the door though but that was definitely not the last try the Italian was going to have. With 9 laps left Rossi had another look at passing Stoner, who politley obliges by shutting the door again. While this was going on at the front of the pack Loris Capirossi retired from the race from 15th place on the sister Ducati. On lap 20 Nicky Hayden put the hammer down to open up the gap between himself and Pedrosa to start securing the final podium position for himself. With just 3 laps to go Valentino Rossi passed Casey Stoner and made it stick, leading the way to the finish line with Casey Stoner seeming to have settled for 2nd to keep his lead in the 2007 Moto GP championship on 21 points and Nicky Hayden finally coming good and getting his first podium finish of the season. Just after the finish line Stoner had some sort of trouble and his Ducati didn't make it to parc ferme. ASSEN MOTO GP TOP 10:1) Valentino Rossi
BRITISH MOTO GP24th June 2007: As the riders lined up for the warm up lap of this exciting Grand Prix, there must have been a conference going on to decide the conditions of the track - and it was declared a Wet Race. No kidding, the track was flooded. "New Kid on The Block" Anthony West made a fantastic start. In his debut race for Kawasaki the 25 year old Australian rider stormed past the pack passing all the "big" names in the sport of Moto GP to get as high up the order as fourth. Excitement must have got the better of him because soon after getting into fourth place (by passing no less than Valentino Rossi) he succumbed to the treacherous conditions and came off his bike. He jumped up and was soon racing again, trying to recover as best he could and still coming a credible 11th. Enough about him, we'll have to see what else he can do under "normal" conditions... The day clearly belonged to one driver and one driver only - Casey Stoner. The main Aussie of the Moto GP show silenced all his critics. Unusually for the 21 year old team Ducati rider he had a bad start. Slipping down the order to seventh position. This never seemed to phase the guy aptly described as "a genius" by his project manager Livio Suppo. Instead of tip-toeing around the drenched circuit and waiting for things to unfold ahead of him, Stoner went ahead and in the next 3 laps worked his way up to third place. By halfway through the race he'd passed the race leader Colin Edwards (who had led the race from pole position up to that point) and from there on in he never looked in the slightest discomfort with riding in the changing conditions, changing conditions because the track had started drying out to the point that a clear dry racing line had formed on the track. Chris Vermeulen (are the Aussies taking over?) had to repay his team because he had crashed his bike 3 times over the weekend, so finishing 3rd was good enough for him. Having started way back in 12th position he had an excellent start and managed to pass Valentino Rossi in the closing stages of the race. Rossi brought his bike in to 4th place to at least keep the fight for the championship between himself and Stoner more than alive. Rossi had a difficult race firstly not having the pace of Casey Stoner and also tearing his tyres up in the latter half of the race due to the track drying out. John Hopkins caught Rossi at the end but couldn't put in a decent passing move on the 7 times Donington winner so had to settle for 5th. The rest of the top 10 finishers were Randy de Puniet on his Kawasaki in 6th, still recovering from his knee surgery. Alex Barros passed Dani Pedrosa for 7th place on the last lap of the race. Pedrosa started well on his Honda but slipped down the order and seemed a bit easy for the other riders to get past. Behind Dani Pedrosa were Alex Hoffman and Marco Melandri, with Melandri seeming to have made an incorrect tyre choice since he came to the party in the latter stages as the track dried out. As mentioned above Anthony West did extremely well to end up in 11th place. All in all a great British Moto GP, take a bow Mr. Stoner. MOTO GP CATALUNYA10th June 2007: One of the most exciting races in Moto GP ever, Casey Stoner fought for long parts of the race with Valentino Rossi, swapping first and second place with the 5 times world champion many times with either able to be the winner right up till the chequered flag. Watching them closely was local boy Dani Pedrosa, who led the race on lap one, but he was never able to get involved in the fight for first place, seeming to lack that extra bit of speed. Casey Stoner not only helped Rossi put on a spectacle under the hot Barcelona sun for all to see, but he worked out his weaker points that Valentino Rossi was trying to take advantage of and managed to cut off the overtaking lines to keep first position. A clever bit of riding for someone who's only at the tender age of 21, and he only just finished in front of Rossi by 0.069s with Dani Pedrosa only 0.390s behind the young race winner. Only one non-finisher out of the entire field and as a result of an engine failrue not a crash, Toni Elias. Fourth place went to John Hopkins, the same result as last year for him at the same track. Kawasaki rider Randy de Puniet amazinlgy finished fifth while riding with an injured collar bone and knee, the latter being given a knock for good measure by another bike after a slight coming together just after he went wide in a corner. So the top 5 places were all different manufacturers with first place Casey Stoner on a Ducati, second place man Valentino Rossi on a Yamaha, third place Dani Pedrosa on a Honda, fourth place John Hopkins on his Suzuki and as just mentioned Randy de Puniet on a Kawasaki. An excellent race overall, the action at the front mesmerising and the type of action hard to beat in any other form of motorsport. Grand Prix motorcycle racing refers to the premier category of motorcycle road racing, currently divided into three distinct classes: 125 cc, 250 cc and MotoGP. Grand prix motorcycles are purpose-built racing machines that are neither available for general purchase nor can be legitimately ridden on public roads; this contrasts with the various production categories of racing, such as World Superbike, that feature modified versions of road-going motorcycles available to the public. A World Championship for motorcycle racing was first organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) in 1949. The commercial rights are owned by Dorna Sports. There have traditionally been several races at each event for various classes of motorcycles, based on engine size, and one class for sidecars. Classes for 50 cc, 80 cc, 125 cc, 250 cc, 350 cc, and 500 cc solo machines have existed over time, and 350 cc and 500 cc sidecars. Up through the 1950s and most of the 1960s, four-stroke engines dominated all classes. In the 1960s, two-stroke engines began to take root in the smaller classes. By the 1970s, two-strokes completely eclipsed the four-strokes. In 1979, Honda made an attempt to return the four-stroke to the top class with the NR500, but this project failed, and in 1983, even Honda was winning with a two-stroke 500. The 50 cc class was replaced by an 80 cc class, then the class was dropped entirely in the 1990s, after being dominated primarily by Spanish and Italian makes. The 350 cc class vanished in the 1980s. Sidecars were dropped from World Championship events in the 1990s (see superside), reducing the field to 125s, 250s, and 500s. MotoGP, the premier class of GP motorcycle racing, has changed dramatically in recent years. From the mid-1970s until 2002 the top class of GP racing allowed 500 cc with a maximum of 4 cylinders, regardless of whether the engine was a two-stroke or four-stroke. Consequently, all machines were two-strokes, due to the greater power output for a given engine capacity. Some two- and three-cylinder two-stroke 500s were seen, but though they had a minimum-weight advantage under the rules, typically attained higher corner speed and could qualify well, they lacked the power of the four-cylinder machines. In 2002, rule changes were introduced to facilitate the phasing out of the two strokes, probably influenced by what was then seen as a lack of relevance: the last mass-produced 500 cc 2-stroke model had not been available to the public for some 15 years. The rules permitted manufacturers to choose between running two-strokes engines (500 cc or less) or four-strokes (990 cc or less). Manufacturers were also permitted to employ their choice of engine configuration. Despite the significantly increased costs involved in running the new four-stroke machinery, given their extra 490 cc capacity advantage, the four-strokes were soon able to dominate their two-stroke rivals. As a result, by 2003 no two-stroke machines remained in the MotoGP field. The 125 cc and 250 cc classes still consist exclusively of two-stroke machines. In 2007, the MotoGP class had its maximum engine displacement capacity reduced to 800 cc. In the smaller classes it is also intended to phase out two strokes from around 2010. The 125 and 250 classes eventually being replaced by 4-strokes of around 400- & 600 cc capacity. The current racing calendar consists of 18 rounds in 16 different countries (Spain which hosts 3 rounds, Qatar, Turkey, China, France, Italy, Great Britain, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, San Marino, Portugal, Japan, Australia and Malaysia). Exclusive to the MotoGP class, there is also a USA round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The grid is composed of 3 columns (4 for the 125 cc class) and contains approximately 20 riders. Grid positions are decided in descending order of qualifying speed, the fastest on the 'pole' or first position. Races last approximately 45 minutes, each race a sprint from start to finish without pitting for fuel or tyres. Tyre selection is critical, usually done by the individual rider based on bike 'feel' during practice, qualifying and the pre-race warm-up laps on the morning of the race, as well as the predicted weather. The typical compromise is between grip and longevity--the softer and 'grippier' the tyre, the more quickly it wears out; the harder and less grippy, the more likely the tyre is to last the entire race. Special 'Q' or qualifying tyres of extreme softness and grip are typically used by riders during grid-qualifying sessions, but they last typically no longer than one or two laps, though they may deliver higher qualifying speed. For wet conditions, special tyres ('wets') with full treads are used, but they suffer extreme wear if the track dries out. New tire regulations introduced in 2007 limited the number of tires any rider could use over the practice and qualifying period, and the race itself, to a maximum of 31 tires (14 fronts and 17 rears) per rider . This introduced a problem of tire choice vs. weather (among other factors) that challenges riders and teams to optimize their performance on race day. This factor was greeted with varying degrees of enthusiasm by participants. In 2005, a flag-to-flag rule for MotoGP was introduced. Previously, if a race started dry and rain appeared, riders or officials could red-flag (stop) the race and begin again on wet tyres. Now, if it begins to rain there is no red flag, though riders can pit to change their tyres at their discretion (and if a white flag is waved by officials). When a rider crashes, track marshals wave a yellow flag, prohibiting passing in that area; one corner back, a stationary yellow flag is shown and passing in this area of the track is prohibited; if a fallen rider cannot be safely evacuated from the track, the race is red-flagged. Motorcycle crashes are usually one of two types: lowsides and the more dangerous highsides, though increased use of traction control has made highsides much less frequent. According to one estimate, leasing a top-level motorcycle for a rider is about 3 to 3.5 million dollars. Riders The premier class in past seasons has been dominated by Italian Valentino Rossi, winner of the 2001 to 2005 titles. In an effort to beat Valentino's amazing consecutive victories, other companies have signed younger riders on newly designed machines. Honda in particular have taken this approach, with their 2006 racing plans being specific about winning with 'next-generation' teams, signing Toni Elias, Marco Melandri, Dani Pedrosa, and Nicky Hayden, all of whom are under 25. The 2006 championship was the first in 14 years to be decided at the final race, with Valentino Rossi starting the race with an 8 point lead. Hayden finished 3rd with Rossi finishing 13th after crashing on lap 5 to give Nicky Hayden his maiden MotoGP World Championship title. Challenges for the Designer Examples of this include sophisticated electronics, including telemetry, engine management systems and traction control, carbon disk brakes, and advanced engine technology such as those seen on Honda's V5 RC211V and Aprilia's RS3 Cube. The latter employs the Cosworth-designed pneumatic valve actuation system, used in Formula One cars. The latest addition to the MotoGP grids, the Ilmor/SRT X3 machine, seen at the Estoril (Portugal) and Valencia (Spain) events in 2006, reportedly uses a similar valve-actuation design, not surprising considering Ilmor Engineering's background in Formula One. While MotoGP motorcycles are only raced at world championship level, the lighter and significantly less powerful 125 cc and 250 cc bikes are available at relatively reasonable cost. A basic production 125 cc bike costs about the same as a small car. These bikes are raced in national championships around the world as well as in the world championship, though their two-stroke technology is irrelevant in context with production machines. These two smaller classes are considered excellent training for future MotoGP riders. One of the main challenges that confronts a MotoGP motorcycle rider and designer is how to translate the machine's enormous power - over 240 horsepower (179 kW), through a single tyre-contact patch roughly the size of a human hand. For comparison, Formula 1 cars produce up to 750 bhp (560 kW) from their 2.4 litre engines, but have 10 times the tyre-contact surface. Because of this difficulty, MotoGP is perhaps unique in modern motor sport in that teams will often deliberately detune their engines to allow their riders a chance to control them. In the two-stroke era, many of the 500 cc machines were not making more than the 180 to 190 bhp (135 to 140 kW) although their maximum potential power output was higher. In recent times this has begun to change with the advent of traction control. Part of the rider compromise, significantly affected by ECU (Engine Control Unit) technology, is that explosive torque at lower RPM may cause the rear tyre to spin unless modulated, causing riders to use higher RPM where torque changes are less severe. This consideration also affects gear selection for the individual circuit, which comprises an essential element in setup before and during practice and qualification. Specifications 125 cc and 250 cc Classes MotoGP Class MotoGP class motorcycles are not restricted to any specific engine configuration. Rather, the motorcycle's minimum weight is restricted depending on the number of cylinders. This is because an engine with more cylinders for a given capacity is capable of producing more power more easily. The greater the number of cylinders for a given capacity translates to less capacity per cylinder. As a result, the piston for the resulting smaller cylinder is also smaller, weighing less. Less recriprocating mass (such as pistons) require less energy to move and this aids to the engine being capable of achieving higher revolutions per minute and, hence, greater power. For this reason, the weight limit is increased as a form of handicap. In 2004 motorcycles were entered with three-, four-and five-cylinder configurations. A six-cylinder engine was proposed by the Blata, but did not reach the MotoGP grids. The FIM has become concerned, much as the FIA in Formula One, at the advances in design and engineering that result in higher speeds all around the race track since 2002. The current MotoGP speed record of 347.4 km/h (215.864 mph) was set by Loris Capirossi on a Ducati Desmosedici GP4 at IRTA Tests in Catalunya in 2004 with a 990 cc bike, while the speed record for a 800 cc bike is held by Casey Stoner on a Ducati Desmosedici GP7 at Grand Prix of China warm-up with top speed of 337.2 km/h (209.6 mph). By way of comparison, the current Formula One speed record of 369.9 km/h (229.8 mph) was set by Antonio Pizzonia of the BMW Williams F1 team, at Monza in 2004. To ensure safety, they have agreed upon a set of regulation changes to reduce motorcycle speeds. These include changes in weight, fuel and engine capacity. In 2005, fuel tank capacity was reduced by 2 litres to 24 litres Movies about MotoGP include: Faster, a documentary film about MotoGP, was released in 2003 and is now available on DVD. The film features appearances by MotoGP's biggest stars, including Valentino Rossi. Narrated by Ewan McGregor and directed by Mark Neale. PC GP500 (Microprose)
MotoGP (THQ) MotoGP '06 (THQ) PlayStation 2: MotoGP (Namco) PlayStation Portable: MotoGP (Namco) The above is taken from Wikipedia.org I could become top F1 driver, says moto champ Rossi (TODAYonline)Moto GP world champion Valentino Rossi (C) talks with tecnicians before a test session with a Ferrari F2008 at the Mugello Track. Rossi impresses in Ferrari F1 test (AFP via Yahoo! News)Moto GP world champion Valentino Rossi showed he is almost as quick on four wheels as he is on two as he impressed while testing a Ferrari on Thursday. Rossi: I could have been a good F1 driver (People's Daily)MUGELLO - MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi said on Thursday he could have been a good Formula One driver if he had made the switch three years ago. Rossi tried out Ferrari's 2008 F1 car at the Mugello circuit as a gift from the Italian team after his eighth motorcycling world title. He had serious tests for Ferrari in 2005 and 2006 but decided to stick with two wheels. &$ &$Moto GP World ... I could become top F1 driver, says moto champ Rossi (AFP via Yahoo! News)Motorcycling world champion Valentino Rossi said he believed he could become a top Formula One driver after impressing while testing a Ferrari on Thursday. Rossi impresses on four wheels (Adelaide Now)MOTOGP world champion Valentino Rossi said he believed he could become a top Formula One driver after impressing while testing a Ferrari yesterday. Number 46 on the F2008! (Auto Moto 365)There is a special test session being conducted at the Mugello circuit at the moment with a very special driver behind the wheel of the F2008... I could become top F1 driver, says Rossi (The West Australian)Motorcycling world champion Valentino Rossi said he believed he could become a top Formula One driver after impressing while testing a Ferrari on Thursday. The Italian has previously tested a Ferrari F1 plans partner programme to rival Olympics (Pitpass)F1 plans partner programme to rival Olympics Hang on, Tests against India are not a one-way street (Guyra Argus)AUSTRALIA have won two Test series in India in the past 40 years. We have won seven Tests in India in the past 40 years of Test cricket in India. India, equally, have never won a Test series in Australia. India have lost the past two series they've played before this one against Australia. The Griso 8V can walk the walk (The Japan Times)Many motorcycle manufacturers are larger than Moto Guzzi, but few have as rich a heritage. Founded in 1921, the legendary Italian marquee has been continuously producing motorcycles longer than any other European maker. Moto Guzzi has a number of major motorcycle engineering innovations to its credit, including the first single-sided rear swing-arm suspension, the first cartridge fork, the first ... Capirossi and Vermeulen in wind tunnelRizla Suzuki MotoGP racers Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen are on their way to Suzukis factory in Japan to conduct all-important wind tunnel testing as the team prepares for its assault on the 2009 MotoGP World Championship. Capirossi makes successful rally debutRizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Loris Capirossi had a successful rally debut yesterday as he drove his Suzuki Swift to third place in the Swift Sport Cup, and ninth position overall in the two-wheel drive section of the Tempest Rally. Capirossi started the day steadily in his Group N car as he came to terms with the demanding 80km of special stages held in the forests and Military training grounds around the Hampshire town of Aldershot in England. Capirossis MotoGP Team manager Paul Denning was also competing in the rally, but he had a less successful conclusion than his Italian rider. Denning was in close touch with Capirossi and the leaders in the early stages, but a mistake at the end of a fast straight on stage four saw the Englishman slide off the road and into a ditch. Valencia test - day 1 - claims and timesFirst day of MotoGP testing in Valencia finally brought to us expected rider-team switches, so we were able to see what some riders may do on different machinery. One of the riders in spotlight was Nicky Hayden, who had first chance to ride Ducati Desmosedicis GP8 and GP9, setting time that was slightly off his time on Honda. Another rider that was in spotlight was Marco Melandri, who quickly adapted to Kawasaki and set impressive time, just 0.2 seconds of his new team-mate, John Hopkins. Read rider claims after first day in Valencia. Post-Valencia rider claimsLast race of the season did not brought anything new, we once again saw main players being in the top places. As in previous races, main battle was not for the race victory, but rather for 4th place, where Andrea Dovizioso once again outgunned his rivals. Read rider impressions after MotoGP season finale. Casey Stoner season 2008 with victoryCasey Stoner sealed 2008 MotoGP season with another dominant victory, finishing about 3.5 seconds in front of Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa was initial race leader, but he lost first place after just few corners, and from that point never really had chance to regain it. Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi had lot of work to do starting from 10th place on the grid, so after number of passes he settled in 3rd. Casey Stoner gets 2008 final pole positionCasey Stoner rode hard on cold but dry Ricardo Tormo circuit to get pole position for final MotoGP race in 2008. Pole position record set by Valentino Rossi in 2006. stays untouched, as cold track conditions did not allowed riders to up the pace. Dani Pedrosa was just 0.053 seconds behind Stoner, while Nicky Hayden completed fist row on the grid after being on the top of the time sheets most of the session. Hayden dominates rainy day 1 in ValenciaNicky Hayden shown determination to leave Honda on high note, setting fastest times of the both free practice sessions that took place in rainy conditions in Valencia. Dani Pedrosa, who was not known as best rider in the rain, managed to set second time of the day, just 0.087 seconds of the time of his team-mate. Jorge Lorenzo, featuring special livery for Valencia race, managed to set third time of the day. Sepang rider impressionsThis weekend at Sepang we saw some great racing, in some parts of the race for the firs place, in other parts for third. Andrea Dovizioso finally managed to get first podium after outracing Hayden, proving once again that he was right choice for Repsol Honda. Dani Pedrosa continued to improve on Bridgestone tyres, proving that next season he will be even stronger. Read rider thoughts after the Malaysian Grand Prix. Rossi wins in Sepang heatValentino Rossi took another brilliant victory, 9th this season, i a scorching heat of Sepang. Dani Pedrosa, who took holeshot from pole position, led first part of the race, while Rossi dropped to third position few corners after the start. However, Rossi found his rhythm and quickly managed to return to second position, trailing Pedrosa in first half of the race. After he found his way through, Rossi pooled away and finished race 4 seconds in front of Pedrosa. Andrea Dovizioso, who has shown some great rides so far this season, this time managed to defend his third position in race long battle with Nicky Hayden, taking his first ever MotoGP podium. Dani Pedrosa takes Malaysian poleDani Pedrosa brought his Honda RC212V to the pole position in last seconds of the Sepang qualifying, stealing it from Valentino Rossi who looked like almost certain poleman. Despite exciting qualifying session which saw many changes on top of the qualifying time sheets, pole position record set by Valentino Rossi in 2006 stayed untouched. Rossi had to settle in second position on the grid for tomorrow's race, while Jorge Lorenzo once again shown strong form by taking 3rd spot. Colin Edwards leads day 1 at SepangColin Edwards set fastest time of the day in second free practice at Sepang, improving his time from first free practice session. Edwards set time if FP2 that was just few hundredths of the second better than time set by Rossi in FP1. Casey Stoner was 3rd fastest in both free practice sessions. Phillip Island rider claimsDespite domination of Casey Stoner in today's race, we had chance to see some great action and to enjoy exciting race. Hayden was back on the sharp edge of racing once again, while Valentino Rossi made great comeback from 12th on the grid. We also had chance to see great battle for 4th place involving 4 riders, so for sure everyone is full of impressions you may read here. Casey Stoner takes home victoryCasey Stoner finally managed to return to top step of the podium at his home soil at Phillip Island, taking dominant victory. Casey Stoner led race from the start to the end, being followed by Nicky Hayden in first part of the race, but then disappeared in the distance and finished 6 seconds in front of Rossi, who made his way to second position from the 12th place on the grid. Nicky Hayden lost second position in last lap, completing Phillip Island podium on the final step. Rider claims after Phillip Island qualifyingExcept for the pole position, Michelin has returned to front rows in Phillip Island qualifying, showing once more that one-tyre rule is not something that we need in MotoGP. Stoner got pole position once again, and Rossi's 12th position on the grid will maybe give us the chance to see different scenario at Phillip Island. Read rider impressions after qualifying. Casey Stoner takes home poleCasey Stoner took pole position on his home soil for the first time in his career, setting new Phillip Island qualifying lap record of 1:28.665. Stoner denied Jorge Lorenzo chance to take second consecutive pole position, while Nicky Hayden continued string of good qualifying results and completed front row of Phillip Island qualifiers. Anthony West expects more luck at home soilKawasaki's John Hopkins and Anthony West arrive in Australia determined to build on the promising results last time out in Japan, with West in particular looking to put on a good show at his home race after a difficult season so far. Rizla Suzuki expects podium repeats from Phillip IslandRizla Suzuki MotoGP's Australian star Chris Vermeulen is confident of a good result on home soil when he takes to the track for this weekend's race. Vermeulen will certainly be looking for a repeat of that performance - on a track that he says is his favourite in MotoGP - not just for the pleasure of performing well in front of many friends and family, but also to put the disappointment of last weekend's retirement in Japan firmly behind him. Loris Capirossi will be making his southern hemisphere race-debut for Rizla Suzuki at the 4,448m circuit, but the Italian has enjoyed success on the Island including a second place last year. Casey Stoner takes team homeThe Ducati Marlboro Team return to Phillip Island this weekend with high hopes and memories still fresh of a stunning one-two there last season for Casey Stoner and Loris Capirossi. The Australian is not in top physical shape this time around but he was able to fight for victory in Japan less than a week ago and he is hopeful of doing so again in his home race. More things to do for Honda riders at Phillip IslandDani Pedrosa, fresh from a podium last Sunday at Motegi, is set to squeeze even more speed from his RCV this weekend as he gets more experience on Bridgestone rubber and gathers more data on the pneumatic-valve engine. With the World Championship already in the hands of Valentino Rossi Dani is locked in combat with last year's title winner Casey Stoner for second place overall in this season's points table. Fiat Yamaha heads to Australia to meet new challengesValentino Rossi has not won in Phillip Island for the past two seasons and he is determined to end that run in the next stage of his quest to equal his record of eleven victories in a single season, set with Yamaha in 2005. Jorge Lorenzo still has a mathematical chance of clinching the runner-up spot, with 51 points separating him from the incumbent Casey Stoner. Read more abut expectations of Fiat Yamaha team members.
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