2011

Year: 2011

Month: ALL

Valentino Rossi thrilled with Ducati progress

22 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi’s confidence that he will be challenging at the front on the Ducati GP11 machine in the early part of the new MotoGP season grew in Sepang today, despite the Italian finishing the...

Casey Stoner unsure of best chassis choice

22 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner might have dominated the opening day timesheets at the second Sepang test in Malaysia today, but it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Repsol Honda star. The 2007 world champion is still...

Cal Crutchlow crashes twice in Sepang

22 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow had a forgettable opening day of MotoGP testing at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia today after the British rider suffered two crashes in searing hot conditions. Severely weakened by a...

Honda dominates Sepang test first day

22 February 2011

The Repsol Honda team has dominated the opening day of MotoGP testing in Sepang, with Casey Stoner posting the fastest time of the day, followed by team-mate Dani Pedrosa. At the end of the morning...

Jorge Lorenzo man to beat, says Ben Spies

21 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo will start the 2011 as a big favourite to retain the MotoGP crown, according to new factory Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies. Lorenzo was unstoppable in 2010 and ended a memorable season with...

Ben Spies: Pressure is less in factory team

21 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies believes he is under less pressure to perform in MotoGP now he has secured a ride in Yamaha’s factory team for 2011. Spies denied there would be greater expectation on him to deliver top...

Jorge Lorenzo: Spies is title threat

21 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo reckons new factory Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies will emerge as a serious title threat in 2011. Spies was Rookie of the Year in 2010 after a stellar first...

Honda unveils new Moto3 bike

21 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Honda has taken the wraps of its 2012 Moto3 machine by unveiling the new NSF250R in Japan. The bike has already undergone extensive testing in Japan ahead of the inaugural Moto3 series next year when...

Win the chance to ride the Snetterton 300 with MCN and Kiyonari

21 February 2011 by MCN

MCN will complete the exclusive first laps of the all-new Snetterton 300 circuit and we are giving one lucky reader the chance to join Editor Marc Potter and reigning BSB champion Ryuichi Kiyonari on...

Yamaha unveils 2011 factory YZR-M1

21 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

This is the new factory YZR-M1 machine Yamaha hopes will maintain its unrivalled domination of the MotoGP world championship in 2011. Unveiled at a press conference at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia...

Phillip Island WSB test: First blood to Checa

21 February 2011 by Michael Guy

Carlos Checa reiterated his credentials as a championship contender in 2011 by dominating the first day of official testing at Phillip Island. The Spanish rider stunned his rivals with an impressive...

Reed takes the glory in San Diego

20 February 2011 by Paul Harris

Not to overdo the hyperbole or anything, but has there ever been a supercross season like this one? The San Diego event was round seven in the series, the race saw the fourth different winner of the season, and reigning champion Ryan Dungey still isn’t among their number. There are 23 points covering the top five – there’s still a long way to go, but the indications are that this one’ll go all the...

Bradley Smith satisfied with Moto2 progress

18 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Atrocious weather conditions might have severely disrupted this week’s three-day Moto2 test in Estoril, but British rider Bradley Smith was still happy with progress made in the limited track time...

Scott Redding thwarted by bad weather in Estoril

18 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding’s hopes of building on his excellent Valencia Moto2 test performance recently were dashed by appalling weather at the second official test in Estoril this week. The three-day session was...

Yamaha to defend MotoGP crown with no sponsor

18 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha will kick off the defence of its 2011 MotoGP crown without a title sponsor. Yamaha has struggled to replace Italian car giant Fiat following the departure of Valentino Rossi to Ducati at the...

Hill joins MCN for first look at Snetterton

18 February 2011 by Gary Pinchin

New Swan Yamaha BSB signing Tommy Hill took an R1 around the all-new Snetterton 300 circuit last week and was absolutely raving about the layout. The final top dressing of tarmac had only been...

Andrews signs For PR Racing

18 February 2011 by Gary Pinchin

Simon Andrews has signed to ride for PR Racing in the 2011 MCE British Superbike Evo class on a Kawasaki ZX-10R. The deal maintain Andrews link with Kawasaki, after previously racing for the official...

Rea upbeat despite heavy crash at Phillip Island test

17 February 2011 by Michael Guy

Jonathan Rea underwent a CT Scan at Wonthaggi Hospital following a high speed crash at Phillip Island today. The 23 year old crashed his Castrol Honda in wet conditions this morning, on the second...

Video: Gino Rea talks about 2011 WSS campaign

16 February 2011 by Michael Guy

MCN caught up with World Supersport sensation Gino Rea at the recent MCN show for an insight into the 2011 season. In 2010 Rea ran at the front of the class, securing a third place podium finish at...

Suzuki MotoGP wild card unlikely for John Hopkins

16 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki is unlikely to offer John Hopkins a chance to run as a wild card in selected races during the 2011 MotoGP world championship. The American will be given the chance to return to MotoGP action...

Yamaha WSB to run in corporate colours - no title sponsor in 2011

16 February 2011 by Michael Guy

Yamaha have unveiled their official livery for the 2011 World Superbike Championship. Like the factory Yamaha MotoGP squad who are so far unable to secure a title sponsor, WSB men Eugene Laverty and...

Colin Edwards happy to see Castrol Honda colours again

16 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards reckons the return of Castrol to the World Superbike championship brought good memories flooding back. The Texan enjoyed the biggest success of his long career while riding for the...

Randy de Puniet thrilled with Ducati support

16 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Randy de Puniet has praised the technical support he is getting from Ducati as the Bologna factory seeks to win its first MotoGP title since 2007. Ducati has started the 2011 testing season with all...

Tunstall Switches To BSB Evo

16 February 2011 by MCN Sports Desk

Tom Tunstall is raring to take his place on the BSB grid in 2011 after adding his name to a growing list of Evo riders. Competing in “a race within a race” the Evo specification bikes run to the same...

Shorttrack UK on TV

15 February 2011 by MCN Sportsdesk

British flattrack racing comes to Motors TV in February with full coverage of one of Shorttrack UK’s most prestigious events, the Indoor Shorttrack Championship. The year’s races from Braintree’s...

New era for Duke road race rankings

15 February 2011 by MCN Sportsdesk

The Duke Road Race Rankings enters a new era in 2011. Not only will the 10th winner of the annual series be crowned, there will also be a brand new trophy awarded. This year there will 26 events on...

Casey Stoner steps into Phillip Island date debate

15 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner has joined the debate raging about the future of the Australian MotoGP race at the Phillip Island circuit. The 2007 world champion, who has won every MotoGP race on home soil since 2007,...

Heavy rain disrupts Estoril Moto2 test

15 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Heavy rain has already disrupted the start of the Moto2 and 125GP test at the Estoril track in Portugal this morning. The track was supposed to open at 9am this morning but the coastal circuit close...

Scott Redding launches new website

15 February 2011

British Moto2 star Scott Redding has just launched a new website ahead of the 2011 world championship campaign. The new site – www.scottredding45.com – features all the latest news from the...

Yamaha developing Moto3 project

14 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha is making a surprise bid to enter the new four-stroke Moto3 class in 2012. The Japanese factory revealed to MCN in Sepang earlier this month it is developing a concept bike for the new 250cc...

Scott Redding makes fast start to 2011

14 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding made an impressively fast start to his preparations for the 2011 Moto2 world championship when he finished the Valencia test last weekend sharing the quickest time with Marc Marquez. The...

Video: Castrol Honda - "Past, Present, Future"

14 February 2011 by Dan Aspel

Castrol Honda has released the following video as the team gears up for the 2011 WSB season. Celebrating the brand’s racing heritage and the possibilities for this year’s competition, the two minute...

Canard breaks SX duck

13 February 2011 by Paul Harris

Goodness me, if it wasn’t such a cliché, I’d think that scriptwriters were at work fashioning the 2011 AMA Supercross championships. It looked last week like James Stewart was finally getting into his stride, but things took an intriguing turn at the Houston Supercross – he was there on pace (second fastest, behind Davi Millsaps, would you believe), but he didn’t make the podium, wasn’t even...

Stewart in a class of his own at Anaheim II

12 February 2011 by Paul Harris

Anybody ever doubt James Stewart’s ability? The one guy to give Ricky Carmichael a hard time never really had a straight run without injury to show what he’s capable of, Chad Reed and Ryan Dungey popping along to give Stewart plenty to think about, with a charged Ryan Villopoto having plenty for Lil’ James to cope with so far this season. That all changed at Anaheim II this weekend. If you’ve got...

Stewart victorious as Supercross returns to the Coliseum

12 February 2011 by Paul Harris

The 2011 Supercross season continues the excellent form it showed in the first three rounds as for the first time, all the major protagonists managed to gate well in the main event. Heading into the final, Ryan Villopoto looked like the man in charge, the series leader in outstanding form during practice and the qualifying heats whilst runner-up James Stewart was super-quick but took some heavy...

Villopoto unbeatable in LA

12 February 2011 by Paul Harris

Well, well, well – look what we’ve got here. It’s round three of the AMA Supercross championship and all the contenders are still right in it – what’s more, although it’s still early days, it seems like no-one is able to establish a clear advantage. Rub your hands with glee, friends and neighbours, 2011 is showing every sign of being an epic. Aussie import Brett Metcalfe was quickest out of the...