July

Year: 2009

Month: July

Brno WSS: Crutchlow takes comfortable pole from Laverty

25 July 2009 by Michael Guy

Cal Crutchlow completed his domination of Free Practice and Qualifying by securing pole position for tomorrows 18 lap World Supersport race. Onboard the factory Yamaha R6 Crutchlow came within...

Riders for Health auction highlights

25 July 2009 by Gary Pinchin

£77,000 raised in the auction for Riders For Health in the Day of Champions at Donington on Thursday 75 lots auctioned in four hours Rizla Suzuki ultimate VIP package: £7600 Colin Edwards leathers and...

Brno WSB: Biaggi stays on top in second qualifying

25 July 2009 by Michael Guy

Max Biaggi retained his position at the top of the leader board after second qualifying despite not improving on his day one lap time. Biaggi’s 1m59.982s lap from Friday afternoon was enough to hold...

British MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa continues impressive Donington form

25 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa continued his impressive form at the British MotoGP this morning, the Spaniard topping the timesheets in the second practice session. Pedrosa, who won at Donington in...

Brno WSS: Crutchlow continues to lead the way in second free practice

25 July 2009 by Michael Guy

Cal Crutchlow retained his position at the top of the time sheets during second Free Practice session ahead of this afternoons qualifying session. Crutchlow’s blistering 2m 02.292s lap was a new...

British MotoGP: Brits outside top ten in 125GP practice

25 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith, Danny Webb and Scott Redding were all outside of the top ten in this morning’s final 125GP practice session at Donington Park. Oxfordshire rider Smith’s best lap of 1.39.188 was only...

British GP Blog: The British love of the Norton

24 July 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Mike Nicks and I wandered over to the Loop to watch – and hear – the two Nortons in practice for Sunday’s GP1 15-lap sprint race, part of the Thundersport GB support programme at this year’s Donington...

British GP Tech Blog: The trauma of wet Friday practice

24 July 2009 by Gary Pinchin

First practice is important. Mess up and it can mean playing catch-up all weekend, chasing a set-up for race day. A crew chief needs to get a quick idea whether the initial set-up ideas that he’s...

British MotoGP: Casey Stoner to undergo more medical checks

24 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner will return to Australia during the short summer break for further medical checks aimed at getting to the bottom of the Ducati rider’s on-going mystery physical issues. Recent assessments...

British MotoGP: Casey Stoner searching for wet improvement

24 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

Former world champion Casey Stoner conceded he will need to make significant improvements to the wet set-up of his factory Ducati if there’s a repeat of today’s fast changing weather conditions at...

British MotoGP: Valentino Rossi satisfied with third

24 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi’s hopes of bowing out at Donington Park in style got off to a good start today, the reigning MotoGP world champion claiming third place in a rain-hit opening practice session. As a dry...

Brno WSB: Biaggi the dominant force after first qualifying

24 July 2009 by Michael Guy

Max Biaggi saved his best until last by snatching provisional pole position from fellow Roman Michel Fabrizio in the final seconds of the opening qualifying session at Brno. The factory Aprilia man...

Brno WSS: Crutchlow’s domination starts early

24 July 2009 by Michael Guy

World Supersport championship leader, Cal Crutchlow destroyed the opposition in the opening free practice session today with a lap time that would have seen him qualify 22nd on the WSB grid onboard...

British MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa ‘Great to be on top’

24 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

Dani Pedrosa made the perfect start to the final British MotoGP race at Donington Park today, the Spaniard topping the timesheets at the end of opening practice. On a virtually dry track at the end of...

British MotoGP: Fuel mix-up costs James Toseland

24 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

Confusion over the amount of fuel James Toseland’s Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine was carrying cost the British rider a chance to claim a morale-boosting top six finish in today’s weather-hit...

British MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa fastest at rain-hit Donington

24 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

Spaniard Dani Pedrosa topped an opening British MotoGP practice session dominated by constantly changing weather conditions at Donington Park today. The session started under grey and gloomy skies on...

Brno WSB: Haga targets points despite pain

24 July 2009 by Michael Guy

Noriyuki Haga has vowed to fight like he does on any other race weekend in Brno despite riding with a recently plated forearm and broken Scapula sustained at Donington Park three weeks ago. Haga...

Brno WSB: Strong start to the weekend by Hopkins

24 July 2009 by Michael Guy

American John Hopkins underlined his potential by claiming second position in the opening free practice session at Brno. Onboard the Stiggy Honda CBR1000RR, Hopkins made a significant set-up change to...

Brno WSB: Biaggi tops Free Practice after intense battle with Fabrizio

24 July 2009 by Michael Guy

Max Biaggi made an impressive start to the Brno race weekend by topping the timesheets in the opening Free Practice session this afternoon. On board the factory Aprilia RSV4 the Italian clearly...

British MotoGP: Downpour disrupts 125GP practice

24 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

A torrential downpour after less than three minutes badly disrupted today’s 125GP practice session at Donington Park. Most riders had only completed an out lap and one quick lap on a dry track when...

British MotoGP: Kevin Schwantz backs Valentino Rossi for title

24 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

American Kevin Schwantz believes Valentino Rossi’s experience will be vital as the Italian chases a ninth world title in 2009. Rossi is currently locked in an enthralling title fight with Fiat Yamaha...

Donington MotoGP stats: Facts and figures

24 July 2009 by Dr Martin Raines

Valentino Rossi has had seven victories at Donington; the 125cc race in 1997, the 250cc race in 1999 and in the premier-class in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005. He also crossed the line first in...

British MotoGP: Casey Stoner – ‘Britain helped my career’

24 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

Former world champion Casey Stoner reckons he could not have enjoyed his premier class success had it not been for the British championship helping to launch his bid for stardom. Stoner cut his teeth...

British MotoGP: Bradley Smith to race Jenson Button - at triathlon!

23 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP will clash with Formula One in London next month with Bradley Smith and Jenson Button poised to take each other on in the London Triathlon. Oxfordshire rider Smith, who has won two races in...

British MotoGP: Casey Stoner eyes end to frustrating spell

23 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner has admitted he is getting increasingly frustrated that his mystery health issues are preventing him from mounting a stronger challenge to Fiat Yamaha rivals Valentino Rossi and Jorge...

British MotoGP: Valentino Rossi – ‘Weather to play vital role'

23 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

Reigning MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi reckons the temperamental British weather could play a decisive role in his bid to win a sixth premier class race at Donington Park. The Italian’s last...

British MotoGP: Marco Melandri expecting Hayate withdrawal

23 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

Italian Marco Melandri has confirmed he is expecting the Hayate team to quit MotoGP at the end of the season. Branded Hayate, Melandri’s team is run by Kawasaki and he’s currently riding a 2009...

British MotoGP: Toni Elias unsure of future

23 July 2009 by Matthew Birt

Spaniard Toni Elias has admitted he has no idea whether he will be riding in MotoGP in 2010. Elias looks certain to lose his ride in the San Carlo Gresini squad with reigning 250GP champion Marco...

Donington stats: GP racing by numbers

23 July 2009 by Dr Martin Raines

150 The number of premier-class Grand Prix races that have taken place since the last time a British rider finished on the podium in the class – Jeremy McWilliams at Donington in 2000. 100 At the British GP, Lukas Pesek is scheduled to make his 100th Grand Prix start. He will be only the second Czech rider to reach this milestone – the other being Jaroslav Hules who made exactly 100 GP starts...

MotoGP stats: The Donington Park legacy

23 July 2009 by Dr Martin Raines

Next year the British Grand Prix will return to Silverstone, after being held at Donington every year since 1987. Below are some facts and figures from the GP events which have been held at the...

Donington GP250 stats: Facts and figures

23 July 2009 by Dr Martin Raines

Championship leader Hiroshi Aoyama finished third at Donington in both 2006 and 2007. In 2006 Alvaro Bautista did the clean sweep in the 125cc class at Donington of race win, pole position and new...

Donington GP125 stats: Facts and figures

23 July 2009 by Dr Martin Raines

Julian Simon’s only Grand Prix win prior to this year was the 125cc race at the Donington circuit in 2005 riding for KTM in very wet conditions. Sergio Gadea has finished fourth for the last two...

Kawasaki WSB factory team at Brands Hatch BSB

23 July 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Makoto Tamada and Broc Parkes will ride their factory WSB Kawasakis in the Brands Hatch BSB triple-header on August 8/9. Their appearance marks a return of Vent-Axia, Kick Energy-backed Paul Bird...

Bumper 13th year for UK Supercross

23 July 2009 by Gary Pinchin

The Future West ACU/FIM British Supercross Championship reaches its 13th birthday this year. The long-running British Supercross Championship that usually kicks off at Sheffield will this year fire up...

A lesson in AMA Superbikes diplomacy – not

23 July 2009 by Gary Pinchin

And you thought tensions were running high at the BSB Mallory round last week, following the Josh Brookes incident! Check out this video clip shot after the first American Superbike race at Mid Ohio last Saturday! WARNING: This video contains strong language What we have here is the series tech boss, and former Miguel Duhamel crew chief, Al Ludington (the official in the orange shirt) tearing a...

Steve Plater slates Josh Brookes ban

23 July 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Steve Plater can be counted for one thing, his straight –talking attitude – so regardless of which team’s race shirt he’s wearing, you can bank on his honest assessment of a situation. After talking...