July

Year: 2011

Month: July

Casey Stoner looks to return to winning ways

20 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner might be enjoying the best run of podium finishes in his MotoGP career , but the world championship leader wants a quick return to winning ways in the face of mounting pressure from...

Ben Bostrom lands shock Laguna Seca MotoGP chance

20 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ben Bostrom has landed a shock chance to make his MotoGP debut at the age of 37 having been confirmed as a wild card for this weekend’s US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. Bostrom was given permission by...

Ducati working harder than ever, says Nicky Hayden

20 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden says Ducati is leaving no stone unturned in its bid to compete at the front again in MotoGP after a dismal opening half of the 2011 world championship. The Bologna factory has scored just...

Rossi and Hayden back in testing mode at Laguna Seca

20 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden will practically revert back to winter testing mode as both prepare for this weekend’s US Grand Prix at the spectacular Laguna Seca circuit. The factory Ducati duo are...

Valentino Rossi undecided on Japan participation

19 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi has said he will wait to hear the results of an independent investigation before making his final decision on whether he will race in the Japanese Grand Prix on October 2. Rossi has...

Loris Capirossi determined to ride in Laguna Seca

19 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Loris Capirossi will travel to California to try and compete in this weekend’s American Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. The Italian veteran withdrew from last weekend’s German round at the Sachsenring...

Ben Spies fired up for Laguna Seca, says Yamaha boss

19 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha is confident Ben Spies can win at least another two races in 2011 after the American broke his MotoGP victory duck in Assen last month. And factory boss Lin Jarvis has backed Spies to mount a...

Valentino Rossi expects Jerry Burgess back in America

19 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi expects trusted crew chief Jerry Burgess to be back pulling the strings in his factory Ducati garage at this weekend’s American Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. Burgess has been absent from...

German MotoGP: Valentino Rossi slumps at Sachsenring

18 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi admitted he could do nothing more after slumping to his worst finish for Ducati in 2011 at the Sachsenring yesterday. The Italian ended a dire weekend down in a lowly ninth position as...

German MotoGP: Casey Stoner: ‘I’m not ecstatic’

18 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner dropped from first to third for the second MotoGP race in a row yesterday when he failed to fend off Spanish duo Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo in a captivating German MotoGP race. The...

German MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa savours fairytale win

18 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Jubilant Dani Pedrosa put his injury heartache behind him in emphatic fashion yesterday, the Spanish rider storming to a surprise victory in an enthralling German MotoGP race at the...

German MotoGP: Arm pain slows Jorge Lorenzo

18 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo blamed an old habit he’s not shaken from his 125GP days for his failure to deny compatriot Dani Pedrosa a fairytale victory in Germany yesterday. The reigning world champion rides with...

German MotoGP: Slow start costs Ben Spies

18 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

A lack of edge grip in the early laps of yesterday’s German MotoGP race put paid to Ben Spies’ hopes of claiming his third rostrum of the season. The Texan was in sixth place for all but one corner in...

German MotoGP: Alvaro Bautista stuns Ducati duo

18 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista says he produced the best final lap of his MotoGP career to pass factory Ducati duo Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden. The Spaniard finished seventh in yesterday’s German...

German MotoGP: Pedrosa takes victory

17 July 2011 by Liam Marsden

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa has won at the Sachsenring in Germany in only his second race since breaking his collarbone. Current champion Jorge Lorenzo managed to decrease Casey Stoner’s...

German MotoGP: Marquez takes Moto2 win

17 July 2011 by Liam Marsden

Kalex rider Stefan Bradl was denied victory at his home Grand Prix after a race long battle with championship rival Marc Marquez. Marquez pulled away from thie field early on in the race, and looked...

German MotoGP: Faubel wins 125GP in photo finish

17 July 2011 by Liam Marsden

Aspar Aprilia rider Hector Faubel has won the 125GP race at the Sachsenring in Germany after a photo finish with Frenchman Johann Zarco. Even after studying the video of the pair, officials were...

Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo confirm Motegi boycott

16 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Current MotoGP world championship leader Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo have confirmed today that they won’t attend the Japanese MotoGP race in October, regardless of whether an independent inspection...

German MotoGP: Valentino Rossi poised to ditch new Ducati

16 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi could ditch Ducati’s radically revamped new GP11.1 following tomorrow’s German MotoGP race after the Italian finished in an embarrassing 16th place in qualifying earlier today. The...

German MotoGP: Valentino Rossi slump shocks rivals

16 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa have all expressed their surprise at Valentino Rossi’s dismal performance at the Sachsenring this weekend. Struggling to make the new Ducati GP11.1...

German MotoGP: Marquez takes Moto2 pole

16 July 2011 by Liam Marsden

125GP champion Marc Marquez starts tomorrow’s Moto2 rae from pole position ahead of championship leader Stefan Bradl, with Aleix Espagaro completing the front row. Pirro heads the second row, ahead of...

German MotoGP: Stoner steals pole

16 July 2011 by Liam Marsden

Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner will start tomorrow’s MotoGP race at the Sachsenring from pole position after taking pole position from free practice pace setter Marco Simoncelli. Team-mate Dani...

German MotoGP: Casey Stoner 'lucky' after big crash

15 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner believes this morning’s crash-strewn opening practice session in Germany should have been red flagged on safety grounds. The Australian said the cold track temperature and slow warm-up...

German MotoGP: Rider power forces Bridgestone action

15 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Bridgestone will succumb to rider power and make major changes to its MotoGP tyre supply deal after a spate of cold tyre crashes in 2011. The entire MotoGP grid apart from Czech Republic rider Karel...

German MotoGP: Cold front tyre caused Valentino Rossi’s big crash

15 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi blamed a cold front Bridgestone tyre for his high-speed crash in this morning’s opening practice session for the German MotoGP. The Italian lost the front as he tipped into the fast...

German MotoGP: Loris Capirossi nearing future decision

14 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Loris Capirossi has hinted 2011 might be his last in MotoGP as he nears a decision on his future plans. The Italian veteran, who holds the record for number of Grand Prix appearances at 321, confirmed...

German MotoGP: No new Ducati for Nicky Hayden

14 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden will not debut Ducati’s updated GP11.1 MotoGP bike in Germany this weekend. Hayden had been pushing Ducati management to have the new Desmosedici for this weekend’s Sachsenring race, but...

German MotoGP: Valentino Rossi motivated for milestone 250th race

14 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi insists he’s still motivated for the challenge of improving Ducati’s flagging fortunes as the Italian prepares to start his 250th Grand Prix in Germany this weekend. Rossi has scored...

German MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo aims to build on Mugello success

14 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo is confident he can mount a stronger challenge to Repsol Honda rival Casey Stoner in the coming weeks after his 2011 MotoGP title tilt gained vital momentum in Mugello recently. Lorenzo...

Ben Spies expects tougher challenge in Germany

14 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies believes this weekend’s German MotoGP round will pose a tougher challenge for Yamaha than the previous two races in Assen and Mugello. Spies and the factory Yamaha team go into this...

Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso against team orders

12 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

The Repsol Honda team should never contemplate controversial team orders, according to factory riders Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso. The issue of whether team orders should be considered arose...

Ben Spies convinced he can win more MotoGP races

11 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies reckons his stunning recent debut victory in Assen has given him the confidence and self-belief to go on and win more MotoGP races in the future. Spies joined an illustrious list of American...

Casey Stoner doubts 1000cc bikes will increase overtaking

11 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP world championship leader Casey Stoner fears the switch to a 1000cc format for 2012 will not increase overtaking and make racing a much more exciting spectacle than the current 800cc...

Sylvain Guintoli remains on standby for Pramac Ducati

11 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Sylvain Guintoli will still attend this weekend’s German MotoGP round, despite Loris Capriossi’s intention to make a shock return from injury. The Italian veteran looked like missing the Sachsenring...

Race Direction responds to Dani Pedrosa criticism

08 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Race Director Paul Butler has responded to criticism from Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa over the handling of his controversial collision with Marco Simoncelli in Le Mans. Pedrosa was left with a broken...

Casey Stoner plays down Yamaha recovery

07 July 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner doesn’t believe Yamaha has taken a big step forward in performance after Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo won the last two MotoGP races to halt Honda’s brilliant start to 2011. Before Spies...