2009

Goodbye Donington

Goodbye Donington

So how do we sum up the riders at the Donington MotoGP 2009? Valient, riveting, outlandish, scintillating, sizzling and incredible. The atmosphere was electric, sell out crowd numbers and fans young...

Rossi & Toseland

Rossi & Toseland

Whilst standing on a barrier and clinging to a fence on the exit of Coppice at the 2009 Moto GP at Donington, I managed to get this shot of Rossi lining up Toseland on the last lap. What a race!

British MotoGP: BBC gets record 2.9 million viewers

British MotoGP: BBC gets record 2.9 million viewers

The BBC had a record audience for yesterday’s dramatic British MotoGP race at Donington Park. Audience figures peaked at 2.9 million viewers as an enthralling 30-lap race unfolded, with the BBC...

British MotoGP: Ducati tyre gamble ends in humiliation

British MotoGP: Ducati tyre gamble ends in humiliation

Ducati suffered a disastrous British MotoGP at Donington Park after Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden shocked the paddock by opting to run wet tyres for the 30-lap race. The gamble spectacular backfired...

Racing results round-up: July 25-26

Racing results round-up: July 25-26

MOTOGP, DONINGTON PARK, LEICS, SUNDAY WORLD SUPERBIKES, BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC, SUNDAY SUZUKA 8 HOURS ENDRUANCE RACE, SUZUKA, JAPAN, SUNDAY FAUGHEEN, CO TIPPERARY, SUNDAY BRITISH MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,...

British MotoGP: Andrea Dovizioso thrilled at maiden win

British MotoGP: Andrea Dovizioso thrilled at maiden win

Andrea Dovizioso topped one of the most unlikely MotoGP podiums in recent memory to win his maiden premier class race at Donington Park yesterday. The former world 125GP champion kept his nerve under...

Silverstone Sells £50,000 Worth of Tickets!

Silverstone Sells £50,000 Worth of Tickets!

Less than 24 hours after the finish of the final British MotoGP race to take place at Donington Park, Silverstone announced that it had already sold £50,000 worth of tickets for the 2010 event. Next...

British MotoGP: Crash ends Valentino Rossi’s victory hopes

British MotoGP: Crash ends Valentino Rossi’s victory hopes

Valentino Rossi blew his hopes of winning the last British MotoGP race at Donington Park when he crashed out of the lead in a dramatic race. The Italian had already seen title rival and Fiat Yamaha...

British MotoGP: James Toseland close to career best

British MotoGP: James Toseland close to career best

A brilliant last lap performance by reigning world champion Valentino Rossi denied James Toseland the chance to score a career best MotoGP in front of a massive home crowd at Donington Park. Toseland...

British MotoGP: Colin Edwards second after stunning fightback

British MotoGP: Colin Edwards second after stunning fightback

Colin Edwards produced arguably his best ever MotoGP performance at Donington Park after he clawed his way from the back of the field to claim his first podium in 13 months in a thrilling British...

British MotoGP: Randy de Puniet toasts ‘dream’ podium

British MotoGP: Randy de Puniet toasts ‘dream’ podium

French rider Randy de Puniet hailed only his second MotoGP podium as a ‘dream’ after he claimed third in a dramatic Donington Park clash. After an exciting 10-lap battle with Repsol Honda rider Dani...

British MotoGP: Braking blunder costs Jorge Lorenzo

British MotoGP: Braking blunder costs Jorge Lorenzo

Jorge Lorenzo’s world title hopes suffered a big setback at Donington Park yesterday when the Spaniard crashed out of the lead in the British MotoGP race. Having passed Andrea Dovizioso on lap five at...

Silverstone promises ‘cheaper and better’ MotoGP experience in 2010

Silverstone promises ‘cheaper and better’ MotoGP experience in 2010

Just a day after the last British MotoGP round at Donington Park, the 2010 venue Silverstone has promised a cheaper, better day out for race fans next year with a full weekend of...

Toseland passing Pedrosa

Toseland passing Pedrosa

James Toseland passing Pedrosa on his way to a great 6th place

Yoshimura Suzuki win storm-lashed Suzuka eight hour

Yoshimura Suzuki win storm-lashed Suzuka eight hour

The Yoshimura Jomo Suzuki team won this weekend’s Suzuka Eight Hour that was battered by storms. Rain and high winds reached typhoon proportions, necessitating deployment of the safety car periods on...

Tech Blog: A question of weather

Tech Blog: A question of weather

Warm –up today was wet, wet enough to mean that everyone got a handle on what would be needed set-up wise if the weather stayed miserable.  Bridgestone tyres seem to work better after they have been...

Fans: Keep Toseland in MotoGP

Fans: Keep Toseland in MotoGP

Rain soaked James Toseland fans hope his sixth place finish at Donington will be enough to keep him on the MotoGP grid next year. The Tech 3 Yamaha rider has failed to deliver the results this year,...

Casey Stoner on his third bike

Casey Stoner on his third bike

Casey Stoner on his 3rd bike during qualifying.

British MotoGP: Andrea Dovizioso takes surprise win

British MotoGP: Andrea Dovizioso takes surprise win

Andrea Dovizioso takes his first MotoGP race victory. Colin Edwards finishes second and Randy de Puniet is third. What odds would you have got on that result for today’s Donington MotoGP race podium?...

British MotoGP: Aoyama takes 250GP win

British MotoGP: Aoyama takes 250GP win

Hiroshi Aoyama strengthened his grip on the 250cc World Championship with a start-to-finish victory in difficult conditions at Donington Park today. With the track still wet from earlier rainfall, the...

British MotoGP: Redding third in five-lap GP125 dash

British MotoGP: Redding third in five-lap GP125 dash

Scott Redding claimed his first 125cc World Championship podium of the season on the Blusens Aprilia in today’s five-lap dash to the flag. Even though Redding won the race last year, he was more than...

WSB promoters issue warning to Dorna

WSB series promoter Infront Motor Sports has issued a press statement, effectively a shot across the bows, telling Dorna to ditch any idea of introducing production-based 1000cc machinery alongside the existing MotoGP machinery. The reaction comes in the wake of a proposal last week by Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta, suggesting manufacturers might lease 1000cc production-based engines to privateer...

Prince Harry rides Ducati MotoGP bike

Prince Harry has just completed the ride of a lifetime with a flying lap of the Donington Park circuit as pillion to Randy Mamola on Ducati’s two-seater MotoGP bike. The Prince, who bought an £8000 Triumph Daytona last year shortly after passing his test, looked thrilled after his experience, despite the track being soaked after earlier rain. Prince Harry rode in the 1000 mile Enduro Africa...

Brno WSB: Biaggi takes first win on Aprilia RSV4

Brno WSB: Biaggi takes first win on Aprilia RSV4

Italian Max Biaggi has taken the first race win on the new Aprilia RSV4 at the first WSB race in Brno. American Ben Spies was leading the race on the fourth lap, ahead of Xerox Ducati rider Michel...

Good morning Donington Park: Picture gallery

Good morning Donington Park: Picture gallery

The last MotoGP race at Donington Park will take place later today before the series moves to Silverstone. Check out our picture gallery to see preparations for the final MotoGP race at the...

Donington MotoGP Sunday Guide

Donington MotoGP Sunday Guide

This is Valentino Rossi’s fourth pole at Donington on a MotoGP machine. His three previous MotoGP poles at Donington have all ended in victory. If Valentino Rossi finishes in the top three he will set...

British GP Tech Blog: Playing catch-up

British GP Tech Blog: Playing catch-up

After Friday’s rain-hit free practice, the MotoGP teams faced a race against time to fine the perfect set-up for Sunday’s race. There were two dry sessions on Saturday. Free practice in the morning it...

Brits top ten in Red Bull Rookies

Brits top ten in Red Bull Rookies

For the second time in eight days Jakub Kornfeil produced a perfect victory and with Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup rival Sturla Fagerhaug crashing out again, the 16-year old Czech goes into his home...

British MotoGP: When Harry met Nicky

British MotoGP: When Harry met Nicky

MCN captured the moment when Prince Harry smiled and chatted with a relaxed Nicky Hayden on the MotoGP pitwall. Ducati rider Hayden sprinted out of his garage when he saw Prince Harry walking towards...

Brno WSB: Spies on pole

Brno WSB: Spies on pole

WSB rookie Ben Spies continued his good form to qualify on pole for the two WSB races at Brno tomorrow (Sunday). Yamaha rider Spies dominated all three superpole sessions on his Yamaha YZF-R1. Factory...

Queue chaos at Donington MotoGP

Queue chaos at Donington MotoGP

There were chaotic scenes at Donington Park as the number of fans arriving for MotoGP qualifying took organisers by surprise. Fans collecting or buying tickets at the venue faced massive queues at the...

Pedrosa makes wish come true

Pedrosa makes wish come true

Spanish MotoGP star Dani Pedrosa helped provide a sick child with the most memorable day of his life. Bike mad Dillon Chapman, 7, was overwhelmed when he met Repsol Honda rider Pedrosa in the paddock...

British MotoGP: Valentino Rossi expects tough title chase

British MotoGP: Valentino Rossi expects tough title chase

Valentino Rossi reckons his bid to win a ninth world title in 2009 will be one of the toughest of his illustrious career. The Fiat Yamaha rider starts tomorrow’s 30-lap British GP with a slender...

British MotoGP: Crashes blunt Casey Stoner challenge

British MotoGP: Crashes blunt Casey Stoner challenge

Casey Stoner admitted two crashes hit his confidence after he missed the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s British MotoGP race by just 0.044s. Stoner had already suffered a slow speed tumble at the...

British MotoGP: Bradley Smith talks home pole position

British MotoGP: Bradley Smith talks home pole position

Bradley Smith has spoken of his relief at snatching a stunning pole position for tomorrow’s British 125GP at Donington Park. The Oxfordshire rider feared he was going to be facing a tough day when he...

British MotoGP: Valentino Rossi surprised at Donington pole

British MotoGP: Valentino Rossi surprised at Donington pole

Valentino Rossi said he was ‘surprised’ to have claimed his fourth pole position of 2009 at Donington Park this afternoon. A best lap of 1.28.116 set in the final three minutes of today’s qualifying...