2009

Year: 2009

Month: ALL

Qatar MotoGP: Valentino Rossi hoping for exciting racing

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Reigning world champion Valentino Rossi has told MCN he hopes the new MotoGP season will deliver the excitement and thrills craved by fans. But the 30-year-old Fiat Yamaha rider, who starts the...

Qatar MotoGP: James Tosland ready for ‘massive year’

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

British MotoGP rider James Toseland has admitted that 2009 is the biggest year of his career as he prepares for the season opening race in Qatar on Sunday night. The double World Superbike champion is...

Qatar MotoGP: Casey Stoner assured by wrist assessment

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Aussie Casey Stoner has laid to rest any lingering pre-season nerves about the lengthy recovery of his left wrist injury ahead of this weekend’s crunch first MotoGP race in Qatar. Ever since the...

Qatar MotoGP: Jerry Burgess confident in 2009 Yamaha

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha’s 2009 factory YZR-M1 is good enough to withstand a fresh onslaught from Ducati’s impressive new GP9, according to Valentino Rossi’s crew chief Jerry Burgess. After a nightmare first season in...

Qatar MotoGP: Jerry Burgess assesses Casey Stoner threat

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi’s legendary crew chief Jerry Burgess has inevitably marked Ducati’s Casey Stoner as the biggest threat to the Italian’s hopes of clinching a seventh MotoGP title in 2009. Assessing the...

Qatar MotoGP: Casey Stoner confident in carbon fibre gamble

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Former world champion Casey Stoner is confident that he can show Ducati’s gamble on radical carbon fibre chassis technology can be a major success when he starts the new MotoGP season in Qatar this...

Qatar MotoGP: Bradley Smith names 125GP title threats

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith has named Aspar Aprilia team-mate Julian Simon as his biggest threat in the 2009 125GP world championship. Get all the latest MotoGP news The Spaniard has dominated winter testing and...

Qatar MotoGP Danny Webb aims for 125GP podiums

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

British teenager Danny Webb believes he can be a regular podium contender when the new 125GP world championship campaign kicks off on Sunday night in Qatar. Webb has secured a factory RSA Aprilia...

Qatar MotoGP: Suzuki eye return to 2007 form

09 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki boss Paul Denning believes a successful season for the Japanese factory will be to emulate its success of the first year of the new 800cc era in 2007. Get all the latest MotoGP news Suzuki...

Qatar MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa to ride in first race

08 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Spaniard Dani Pedrosa will ride in this weekend’s opening MotoGP of 2009 at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. The 24-year-old will fly to the Middle East despite fears that left arm and leg...

Qatar MotoGP: Valentino Rossi backs Suzuki for success

08 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Reigning MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi has backed Suzuki to be the major surprise of 2009 ahead of the first race in Qatar this Sunday. The Fiat Yamaha rider, who won nine races last year to...

Qatar MotoGP: Bradley Smith quickest in warm-up test

08 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

British teenager Bradley Smith posted the fastest time on the opening night of 125GP testing in Qatar as part of a warm-up for the first race of 2009 this weekend. Smith, who claimed pole position at...

Qatar MotoGP: Yamaha boss targets top three for Jorge Lorenzo

07 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo’s Fiat Yamaha team boss is confident the Spaniard can cut the gap on dominant duo Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi in 2009 to claim a top three MotoGP world championship finish. Lorenzo...

Qatar MotoGP: No secrets at Repsol Honda

07 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso will have an open working relationship where both will be able to access each other’s data during the 2009 MotoGP world championship. New Honda MotoGP boss Shuhei...

Qatar MotoGP: Nicky Hayden looking to improve communication

07 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden says it is crucial that he learns to communicate more clearly with his new Ducati squad ahead of his debut for the Bologna factory in Qatar this weekend. Get all the latest MotoGP...

Qatar MotoGP: Eurosport expert backs Valentino Rossi

07 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Eurosport’s expert summariser James Haydon has backed Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi to retain his MotoGP world championship crown in 2009. Italian Rossi kicks off the defence and his crown and his...

Qatar MotoGP: Casey Stoner refusing to single out Valentino Rossi challenge

06 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner has refused to single out Valentino Rossi as his big title threat ahead of the first MotoGP clash of 2009 in Qatar this weekend. Aussie Stoner has been in scintillating form during winter...

Qatar MotoGP: Suzuki optimistic ahead of 2009

06 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Factory Suzuki boss Paul Denning has told MCN of his optimism at the prospects of Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen becoming regular podium challengers in the 2009 MotoGP world championship. The new...

Qatar MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo vows to cut out mistakes

06 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo has vowed to cut out the big mistakes in 2009 that cost him so dearly in his rookie MotoGP world championship campaign. Large parts of his maiden campaign were spent...

Qatar MotoGP: Nicky Hayden backs Casey Stoner’s title tilt

06 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden has backed new factory Ducati team-mate Casey Stoner to mount a serious challenge to regain the MotoGP world crown in 2009. Looking ahead to the season’s opening race under Qatar’s...

Qatar MotoGP: Colin Edwards confident for 2009

06 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards has backed himself to become a regular top six threat when the new MotoGP season kicks off in Qatar this weekend. The Texan has set consistent and competitive...

Qatar MotoGP: Bradley Smith hails Randy Mamola influence

06 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

British 125GP world championship hopeful Bradley Smith believes the influence of mentor and former MotoGP star Randy Mamola will be crucial ahead of his 2009 campaign. The Aspar Aprilia rider has...

BBC releases 2009 MotoGP schedule

03 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

The BBC has released the schedule of its live and exclusive coverage of the 2009 MotoGP world championship. Three races will be screened live on BBC 1, including coverage of the British GP at...

MotoGP test at Jerez

02 April 2009 by Philip Bowman

We have just returned from Moto GP testing in Jerez (26-29 March 09). We had an amazing time and met lots of riders including Casey Stoner who was tucking into a chinese meal in a local restaurant.

Jorge Lorenzo bemoans loss of qualifying tyres

01 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo has spoken of his sadness at the loss of qualifying tyres under the new single tyre rule in MotoGP. The Spaniard was one of the best performers on super-soft qualifying...

Casey Stoner questions Honda competitiveness

01 April 2009 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner has cast doubt on Honda’s ability to threaten in the early part of the 2009 MotoGP world championship. The Aussie has dominated this year’s pre-season testing schedule by topping the...

James Toseland hails fans support

31 March 2009 by Matthew Birt

James Toseland has thanked his army of British fans for their support after his latest massive pre-season MotoGP crash in Jerez last weekend. The 28-year-old is recovering at his Isle of Man home...

James Toseland breaks bone in right foot

30 March 2009 by Matthew Birt

James Toseland has confirmed to MCN that he suffered a broken fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot during yesterday’s massive high-side crash in Jerez. The British rider also has a badly sprained...

Casey Stoner confident in wrist for Qatar opener

30 March 2009 by Matthew Birt

Former world champion Casey Stoner is adamant his recovering left wrist will not cause him any problems when the new MotoGP season gets underway in Qatar later this month. Despite movement still being...

Loris Capirossi boosts confidence in Jerez

30 March 2009 by Matthew Birt

Italian Loris Capirossi said his pre-season confidence that Suzuki could spring a major surprise in 2009 has increased after his impressive third place in the final winter test in Jerez. The new...

Bradley Smith challenges Lewis Hamilton

30 March 2009 by Matthew Birt

British 125GP world title hopeful Bradley Smith has tried to challenge Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton to a motocross battle. The Aspar Aprilia rider met the McLaren driver during a recent...

MotoGP Friday practice to remain in 2010

30 March 2009 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi claims that MotoGP races will not switch to a two-day format from the 2010 world championship campaign onwards. The scrapping of all practice on Friday’s was one of several measures...

Tech 3 boss relieved at James Toseland’s escape

30 March 2009 by Matthew Birt

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 boss Herve Poncharal has spoken of his relief that British rider James Toseland will be fit to start to the new MotoGP season in Qatar. The British rider suffered his second...

MotoGP star rides streetfighter

29 March 2009 by STEVEACER

Can you name the Moto GP rider on my streetfighter, also can you recognise the original bike?

James Toseland released from hospital

29 March 2009 by Matthew Birt

British rider James Toseland has been given the all-clear following precautionary head scans after his massive high-side crash in Jerez earlier today. Toseland has been discharged from a hospital in...

Casey Stoner fastest at Jerez testing

29 March 2009 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner produced a dominant performance to win the keys to a BMW sports car in Jerez this afternoon. The Aussie posted a stunning best time of 1.38.646 on his 12th lap to outclass his MotoGP...