2011

Year: 2011

Month: ALL

BSB Brands Hatch: Hill takes pole

06 August 2011 by MCN

Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) took pole position in qualifying at Brands Hatch this afternoon, setting the fastest lap early on in the final session. Samsung Crescent Suzuki rider John Hopkins put in a...

Valentino Rossi didn’t underestimate Ducati challenge

05 August 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi didn’t underestimate the size of the challenge to win MotoGP races at Ducati. But Ducati did underestimate the extent to which rivals Honda would improve in 2011, according to Rossi’s...

Ben Spies satisfied with 2011 progress

05 August 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies has declared himself satisfied with the progress he’s making in the second year of his MotoGP career. Spies was Rookie of the Year in 2010 and made an immediate impact for the Monster Yamaha...

Kevin Schwantz: Stoner can be better than Doohan

05 August 2011 by Matthew Birt

Kevin Schwantz has backed Casey Stoner to better Aussie legend Mick Doohan’s winning record in MotoGP. The Repsol Honda rider has won 28 races, including a stunning success in the last round at Laguna...

Marco Simoncelli wants Honda offer in Brno

04 August 2011 by Matthew Birt

Marco Simoncelli has told Honda he wants a new contract offer by the next race in Brno as speculation mounts that Ducati is preparing to launch an audacious raid for the Italian. Simoncelli has no...

Andrea Iannone cagey on MotoGP switch

04 August 2011 by Matthew Birt

Andrea Iannone has played down intense speculation that he will move to MotoGP in 2012. The highly rated Italian made his MotoGP debut on a Pramac Ducati GP11 during a brief test at Mugello last...

Andrea Dovizioso closing on LRC Honda deal

04 August 2011 by Matthew Birt

Andrea Dovizioso is edging closer to a switch to the LCR Honda squad for 2012. Talks are at an advanced stage with the 2009 British Grand Prix winner as HRC gets set to slash its factory-backed Repsol...

72 bikes planned for Moto2 and Moto3 in 2012

04 August 2011 by Matthew Marsden

Almost 75 bikes are expected to contest the 2012 Moto2 and new Moto3 world championships. Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta has confirmed to MCN that a maximum of 36 bikes will race in the 600cc Moto2...

Badovini's crash at Silverstone

03 August 2011 by neil dethirdge

Here’s a picture of Badovini’s crash from Silverstone WSB.

Hudson Bemsee Rookie 600 champion

02 August 2011 by James Sharpe

Scott Hudson wrapped up the British Motorcycle Racing Club’s Rookie 600 championship this weekend at Brands Hatch, with a double win on Saturday. The 23 year old took the two wins needed to seal his...

Yamaha pulls out of WSB

01 August 2011 by MCN

Yamaha Motor Europe has decided to withdraw their official Yamaha World Superbike Team at the end of the current season from the FIM Superbike World Championship. This announcement follows a full...

Dunlops Reign at Armoy

01 August 2011 by Scott Carson

I was reminded of the old days of road racing on Saturday when the top riders were not in the main paddock at Armoy. They were in fact situated in a farm yard up a laneway opposite the start. Michael...

Silverstone WSB: Checa extends championship lead with double win

31 July 2011 by Austin Lindberg

Carlos Checa did the double at today’s round of World Superbike action from Silverstone. The Althea Ducati rider moved past Yamaha’s Eugene Laverty early in the race and was able to slowly eek out a...

Silverstone WSS: Davies wins in front of home crowd

31 July 2011 by Austin Lindberg

Chaz Davies extended his World Supersport championship lead to nearly two races worth of points after taking the win in today’s race from Silverstone. Davies, who’d spent most of the weekend outside...

Silverstone WSB: Checa cruises to victory in race one

31 July 2011 by Austin Lindberg

Carlos Checa cruised to a race one victory in today’s World Superbike round from Silverstone, claiming Ducati’s 300th win in the class for the Althea team. Checa worked his way up from his fourth...

Silverstone WSS: Salom takes pole, Lowes and Rea lead Brit charge

30 July 2011 by Austin Lindberg

Motocard.com Kawasaki’s David Salom will start from pole for Sunday’s World Supersport race, but will be joined on the front row by Brits Sam Lowes and Gino Rea. Lowes spent the session perfecting...

Silverstone WSB: Hopkins secures maiden Superpole

30 July 2011 by Austin Lindberg

John Hopkins took pole positions for Sunday’s World Superbike races from Silverstone after the Samsung Crescent Suzuki man put in a 2.04.041 in the third round of Superpole. Hopkins’ time broke last...

Silverstone WSS: Lowes raises the bar in Saturday’s free practice

30 July 2011 by Austin Lindberg

Sam Lowes asserted his dominance Saturday morning in the second free practice session in this weekend’s World Supersport races from Silverstone. Lowes put in a 2.09.019 on his Parkalgar Honda, more...

Silverstone WSB: World Superbike returns to normal as Checa takes provisional pole

29 July 2011 by Austin Lindberg

Carlos Checa closed out Friday as the fastest man at Silverstone, clocking the fastest time in the afternoon’s World Superbike qualifying session. With less than 10 minutes gone from the session,...

Silverstone WSB: Rea tops opening Supersport qualifying practice

29 July 2011 by Austin Lindberg

Gino Rea finished on top of Friday afternoon’s World Supersport qualifying session with a 2.09.362 on his Step Racing Honda, 0.228 seconds ahead of Parkalgar Honda’s Sam Lowes. Rea, who was fourth...

WSB kicks off at Silverstone

29 July 2011 by MCN

The British round of the World Superbikes championship kicks off today at Silverstone, with Free Practice at 11.30am and Qualifying Practice at 3.30pm. The season so far belongs to three men, Carlos...

Casey Stoner revelling in career best podium run

29 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner says he’s revelling in the best form of his MotoGP career in 2011 having extended his podium streak to eight successive races in Laguna Seca last weekend. But the Australian admits his...

Aspar to remain biggest squad in MotoGP paddock

29 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Spain’s high-profile Aspar squad will retain its status as the biggest squad in the Grand Prix paddock next season having confirmed plans to enter the new Moto3 four-stroke series in 2012. The team,...

Loris Capirossi not interested in World Superbike switch

28 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Loris Capirossi is expected to retire at the end 2011 rather than follow the likes of Max Biaggi, Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri from MotoGP into World Superbikes. The Italian veteran will shun the...

Stefan Bradl’s Moto2 squad still keen on MotoGP switch

28 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Stefan Bradl’s current Moto2 squad is not yet ready to abandon ambitious plans to move to the MotoGP world championship in 2012. The Viessmann Kiefer Racing squad had a self-imposed deadline of the...

Silverstone WSB 2011 Preview

27 July 2011 by MCN

Inside this week’s MCN (Wednesday 27 July), we preview this weekend’s British round of the World Superbikes championship at Silverstone. To get you up to speed with all the action we’ve spoken to the...

Nicky Hayden not giving up on GP11.1

27 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden is likely to switch back to Ducati’s radically revamped GP11.1 machine in the near future, despite opting to stick with the older GP11 version in last weekend’s US Grand Prix. The...

Valentino Rossi cautious on aluminium chassis switch

27 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi has once again played down the prospect of Ducati switching to an aluminium frame, despite Loris Capirossi’s admission that the Bologna factory is working on a radical new...

Valentino Rossi predicts intriguing title fight

27 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi might not be competing for the 2011 MotoGP world championship crown, but the Italian says he’s still intrigued and excited to watch the scrap between Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo...

Crammed schedule worry for John Hopkins

27 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

The risk of burnout and loyalty to Suzuki and his British Superbike title commitments were the reasons why John Hopkins knocked back the chance to ride a Honda RC212V machine in Laguna Seca last...

MotoGP teams always committed to race in Japan

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

None of the current MotoGP teams had threatened to boycott the Japanese Grand Prix in early October because of radiation fears in the area surrounding the Twin Ring Motegi. Dorna and the FIM confirmed...

Casey Stoner standing firm on Japanese Grand Prix boycott

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner has hinted he won’t back down on his refusal to attend the re-scheduled Japanese Grand Prix, despite being told by Honda management they expect him to honour his contract and race at the...

Japanese Grand Prix gets go ahead

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

The Twin Ring Motegi MotoGP round, rescheduled for October 2 after a devastating earthquake struck Japan earlier this year, will go ahead as planned. Fears over radiation contamination in the area...

US MotoGP: Front-end woes continue for Valentino Rossi

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi admitted that an on-going front-end issue with Ducati’s factory Desmosedici prevented him from improving on a distant sixth position in the US Grand Prix yesterday. The Italian got the...

US MotoGP: Casey Stoner roars back to winning form

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner rediscovered his winning touch in stunning fashion at Laguna Seca yesterday to claim his fifth win of 2011. Stoner bounced back from a difficult practice and qualifying...

US MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo takes brave second

25 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Battered and bruised Jorge Lorenzo had to play second fiddle to Repsol Honda again in Laguna Seca yesterday after he was powerless to stop Casey Stoner from surging to a fifth win of 2011. Riding with...