April

Year: 2011

Month: April

Estoril MotoGP: Turning issue slows Casey Stoner

30 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner’s perfect qualifying record for Honda ended in Estoril today as the Australian was left off the front row in fourth position on the grid. Having been on pole position in Qatar and Jerez,...

Estoril MotoGP: Valentino Rossi upset with ninth

30 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi didn’t hide his frustration after the Italian could only qualify his factory Ducati in ninth position for tomorrow’s Portuguese MotoGP race. Bouyed by his fourth position in...

Estoril MotoGP: Simoncelli and Lorenzo in public bust-up

30 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo became embroiled in an incredible war of words with Italian rival Marco Simoncelli earlier today during the post qualifying press conference in...

Estoril MotoGP: Cal Crutchlow narrowly misses top six

30 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow was less than two-tenths-of-a-second away from claiming a stunning maiden top six grid position for tomorrow’s Portuguese MotoGP race at the Estoril circuit. A lap of 1.38.190 elevated...

Estoril MotoGP: Stefan Bradl snatches Moto2 pole

30 April 2011 by Tom Cambio

German rider Stefan Bradl (Viessman Kiefer Racing) snatched his third pole in a row in the last lap of qualifying at Estoril from Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) who was 0.163s behind.

Estoril MotoGP: Lorenzo takes pole position

30 April 2011 by Tom Cambio

Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo took his first pole position of the season in the last five minutes of qualifying at Estoril, ahead of Marco Simoncelli who had been consistently fast...

Estoril MotoGP: Terol takes 125GP pole

30 April 2011 by Tom Cambio

Spaniard Nicolas Terol (Bankia Aspar Team) will start from pole position for tomorrow’s 125GP race at Estoril after beating Sandro Cortese who qualified second and Portugese rider Miguel Oliveira who...

Estoril MotoGP: Capirossi on top in FP3

30 April 2011 by Tom Cambio

Loris Capirossi (Pramac Racing Team) set the fastest time in the final practice session this morning on the drying track at Estoril. The Italian finished ahead of Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge...

Estoril MotoGP: Rossi and Stoner clash again

29 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

The on-going intense rivalry between Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner continued on and off the track today in Portugal. Back on track for the first time since Rossi caused a controversial collision...

Rossi/Stoner marshals acted correctly in Jerez

29 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

The action of marshals in the immediate aftermath of Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner’s collision in the recent Jerez MotoGP race has been deemed safe and appropriate after a review in Estoril...

Estoril MotoGP: Cal Crutchlow baffled by arm issue

29 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow told MCN he is struggling to understand why he was struck by a chronic arm pump issue during his first appearance at the Estoril circuit in Portugal today. Crutchlow underwent surgery to...

Estoril MotoGP: Simoncelli consistently fastest in FP2

29 April 2011 by Tom Cambio

San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli was consistently fastest in the second practice session at Estoril, despite finding the limit of the front end of his Honda and crashing at turn...

Estoril MotoGP: HRC modify clutch after Jerez controversy

28 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner has confirmed that Honda has modified the clutch on its factory Honda RC212V machine after he was unable to re-join the recent Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez. Stoner battled in vain to...

Rossi and Hayden boosted by Ducati GP12 shakedown

28 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden have both spoken of their excitement and anticipation for 2012 having recently completed a shakedown test on Ducati’s new 1000cc machine in Jerez. Rossi and Hayden...

Estoril MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa anxious to check shoulder recovery

28 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Dani Pedrosa says he’s anxious to understand whether surgery on his left shoulder during the recent MotoGP break has completely cured a numbness issue that plagued him in the opening two races of the...

Ducati unlikely to show true potential until mid-season

28 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi’s crew chief Jerry Burgess believes it is unrealistic to expect the Italian legend to be consistently challenging for MotoGP race wins until the second half of the season. A chronic...

Alvaro Bautista passes medical in Estoril

28 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Factory Suzuki rider Alvaro Bautista has passed a medical examination this morning giving him the all-clear to ride in this weekend’s Estoril MotoGP race. The Spaniard will be back on board his...

MotoGP needs wider global appeal, says Yamaha boss

26 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP needs a wider global appeal to help attract vital new sponsorship and investment to safeguard the future of the sport. The premier class is now too heavily biased towards Spain and Italy,...

Suzuki: John Hopkins not considered for Estoril

26 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

John Hopkins was never considered as possible injury cover for Alvaro Bautista at this weekend’s Portuguese MotoGP race in Estoril. Bautista plans to race his factory Suzuki GSV-R machine in Estoril...

Casey Stoner supports Dani Pedrosa in weight debate

21 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner has thrown his support behind Dani Pedrosa in the combined bike and rider weight debate currently raging in MotoGP. Pedrosa has strongly opposed plans to introduce a combined bike and...

Ducati GP11 won’t become a Yamaha M1, vows Valentino Rossi

21 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi has denied that imminent changes to his factory Ducati GP11 machine suggest he’s trying to make the Desmosedici more like the Yamaha YZR-M1 he rode last season. Rossi will try a...

Alvaro Bautista back in training for Estoril return

21 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Alvaro Bautista has resumed training and told Suzuki he intends to ride in next weekend’s Estoril clash in Portugal. The Spanish rider has been able to cycle and swim as part of his recovery from the...

Burgess says Honda must win in 2011

20 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Honda will never have a better chance of winning the MotoGP world championship than in 2011, according to Valentino Rossi’s legendary crew chief Jerry Burgess. The winter addition of Aussie Casey...

Cal Crutchlow targets big step after mid-season

20 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow has tipped himself to be much more competitive in the second half of his rookie MotoGP world championship campaign in 2011. The British rider was an impressive 11th on his Monster Yamaha...

Bradley Smith relishing Tech 3 challenge

20 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith reckons he’s loving the challenge of trying to make the Tech 3 Racing Moto2 project a consistent top six contender in 2011. The Oxfordshire rider has been one of the revelations of the...

Yamaha won’t expand MotoGP effort in 2012

19 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha will not increase its involvement beyond four bikes when the new 1000cc four-stroke MotoGP class is introduced in 2012. The Japanese factory has no plans to increase its entry beyond its...

2011 results no influence on Suzuki's MotoGP future

19 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki’s decision whether to quit MotoGP completely or return with a fully-fledged two-rider factory effort in 2012 won’t rely heavily on early season results this year. The Japanese factory blamed...

Leon Haslam won’t test BMW-powered MotoGP bike

19 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Leon Haslam will not be called upon to help develop a new BMW-powered MotoGP bike being readied for the 2012 MotoGP world championship campaign by Scott Redding’s Marc VDS Racing squad. The factory...

Honda angered by illegal clutch rumours

15 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Honda boss Shuhei Nakamoto has vented his frustration again at suggestions earlier this season that the new factory RC212V machine was using an illegal dual clutch system. Rumours appeared in Italy...

John Hopkins eyes Suzuki MotoGP wild cards

15 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

John Hopkins was already plotting a dramatic return to the MotoGP world championship in 2011 before Alvaro Bautista’s cruel injury blow saw him a make a shock comeback in Jerez earlier this month. The...

Dani Pedrosa criticises weight limit plan

14 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Dani Pedrosa has launched a scathing attack on proposals to introduce a combined rider and bike weight limit in MotoGP. The Spaniard, who is a massive 21kg lighter than the heaviest rider in MotoGP,...

Bridgestone tyre deal best for MotoGP

14 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Booming costs would have made it impossible to ditch the single tyre rule in favour of a return to multi-brand competition in MotoGP. Bridgestone signed a new three-year deal to be the sole tyre...

Andrea Dovizioso defends Pedrosa over shoulder problem

14 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Andrea Dovizioso has jumped to the defence of factory Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa as the Spaniard faces a race to be fit for the next race in Portugal early next month. Pedrosa underwent surgery on a...

No parts issue for factories after Japan earthquake

13 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

Japan’s devastating recent earthquake and tsunami won’t impact on forthcoming races in the MotoGP world championship. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent deadly tsunami was one of the biggest...

Rossi/Stoner Jerez inquiry not a blame game

13 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

An inquiry into the immediate aftermath of the controversial recent Jerez MotoGP crash involving Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner will not be a blame game or witch hunt against marshals caught up in...

Texas on MotoGP calendar from 2013

13 April 2011 by Matthew Birt

A MotoGP race will take place at the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas from 2013 onwards. The circuit has signed a ten-year deal with MotoGP rights holders Dorna and the event will feature...