Moto GP
 

Casey Stoner proves too slick for Valentino Rossi in Qatar MotoGP

April 14, 2009

Australian 2007 World MotoGP champion Casey Stoner has started the new season in style, storming to his third successive Qatar Grand Prix victory.

Torrential rain delayed the desert showdown by 24 hours but it didn't slow Stoner, who eased home on his Ducati ahead of 2008 reigning champion Valentino Rossi on a Yamaha. Rossi's team-mate, Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, was third.

The 23-year-old victor professed himself to be happier with his overall physical condition than he was last year.

"I'm not quite there yet but I am almost at 100 per cent fitness," Stoner said.

"However, I am not surprised by winning here as I felt great physically and definitely better than last year."

For his part Rossi was satisfied enough with his first race.

"We have made worse starts to a season than this, so I have to be content with the performance,'' said the charismatic Italian.

"The second-half of the race wasn't great but I am still happy.''

Stoner led from the start with Rossi dropping back to third, though the latter's compatriot Marco Melandri paid for trying to overdo it at the corner of the home straight after the first lap and ended up ploughing into the dirt.

He rejoined the race but found himself at the back of the 18 rider field.

Rossi moved into second with 20 laps remaining and with a two second deficit on Stoner.

The Australian managed to keep it around the two-second mark for the next three laps while Italians Andrea Dovizioso and Lorenzo had their own duel for third and were a further second adrift.

Loris Capirossi came to grief in spectacular fashion with 14 laps remaining.He crashed and bounced several metres into the gravel, picking himself up gingerly to walk back to the pits.

Rossi brought the gap between him and Stoner down below the two second mark for the first time after nine laps of the 22 as the duo looked to have put enough distance between themselves and the rest of the field.

Indeed with 12 laps remaining Rossi in second had an eight second advantage over third-placed Lorenzo but Stoner was not allowing the vibrant Italian to close any further on him and with 10 laps to go he had almost a three-second lead over him.

He was up by three second with seven laps remaining and Rossi seemed powerless to do anything to reduce it but the Italian known as 'The Doctor' was safe and sound in his runner-up spot as Lorenzo was well back nearly 15 seconds adrift.

From then on Stoner had no problems in extending his overall lead as with three laps remaining it stood at over five seconds and he cantered home to victory.



Qatar MotoGP Results

1. Casey Stoner (AUS/Ducati) 42min 53.984sec
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) at 7.771sec
3. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) 16.244
4. Colin Edwards (USA/Yamaha) 24.410
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Honda) 27.263
6. Alex De Angelis (SMR/Honda) 29.883
7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS/Suzuki) 33.627
8. Mika Kallio (FIN/Ducati) 34.755
9. Toni Elias (ESP/Honda) 39.481
10. Randy De Puniet (FRA/Honda) 42.284
11. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 48.526
12. Nicky Hayden (USA/Ducati) 48.883
13. Sete Gibernau (ESP/Ducati) 52.215
14. Marco Melandri (ITA/Kawasaki) 56.379
15. Yuki Takahashi (JPN/Honda) 1min 00.286sec
16. James Toseland (GBR/Yamaha) 1:14.978
17. Niccolo Canapa (ITA/Ducati) 1:15.028
Did not finish: Loris Capirossi (ITA/Suzuki)

Season Standings

1. Casey Stoner (AUS/Ducati) 25pts
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 20
3. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) 16
4. Colin Edwards (USA/Yamaha) 13
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Honda) 11
6. Alex De Angelis (SMR/Honda) 10
7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS/Suzuki) 9
8. Mika Kallio (FIN/Ducati) 8
9. Toni Elias (ESP/Honda) 7
10. Randy De Puniet (FRA/Honda) 6
11. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 5
12. Nicky Hayden (USA/Ducati) 4
13. Sete Gibernau (ESP/Ducati) 3
14. Marco Melandri (ITA/Kawasaki) 2
15. Yuki Takahashi (JPN/Honda) 1

Chris Vermeulen is looking good for the season. He should be able to get closer on his Susuki this year.

coops

Put Rossi on Stoner's bike and he wins every race.

Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi claim Yamaha one-two in Japanese MotoGP
 

April 26, 2009

Spain's Jorge Lorenzo led home a Yamaha one-two finish at the Japanese Grand Prix, finishing ahead of reigning world champion Valentino Rossi.

The win was the 2008 rookie of the year’s second MotoGP win and his first ever win in any class at the Motegi Circuit.

Rossi, also runner-up in the season opener in Qatar two weeks ago, took an early advantage after starting on pole. But Lorenzo was able to pass the Italian and finish 1.304 seconds ahead. Honda's Dani Pedrosa finished in third, a further 3.763 seconds back.

"It was a difficult race because I didn't make a good start," said Lorenzo, whose first MotoGP victory came in Portugal a year ago.

"I passed Rossi and he followed me very hard. I had to ride as fast as I could to grab the victory."

Qatar race winner and 2007 world champion Casey Stoner re-grouped from a bad start, where he lost four places in the opening lap, to storm home to finish fourth.

Australia's other rider in the top class, Suzuki's Chris Vermeulen finished in 10th position.

Rossi said his second place was very important for the overall MotoGP championship.

"I think this championship will become very interesting because four riders are ready to battle for the win at the end."

"It was a great race, long and difficult," Rossi said. "In the last part of the race, I was able to take my pace and take my line. I made a good lap time and came back. But Lorenzo was too far."

The win put Lorenzo, in only his second year of MotoGP, at the top of the 2009 MotoGP rankings with 41 points, one point ahead of Rossi and three ahead of Stoner.

Rossi started on pole after rain washed out qualifying and he clocked the fastest time in free practice on Friday. The Italian led the pack around the first corner, with Stoner (who was second on the grid), dropping to sixth.

Lorenzo overtook Rossi on the ninth lap, widening his lead to more than a second after 15 laps and two seconds after 17. Stoner meanwhile was trapped behind Pedrosa and Italian Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso.

Pedrosa overtook Rossi on the 18th lap but the Italian quickly regained the second spot on the next lap. Stoner passed Dovizioso to claim the fourth spot in the next-to-last of the 24 laps.

Stoner said he heard a lot of chatter from the front brakes on the warm-up lap and "I wasn't confident over the first five or six laps."

"I spent too much time battling to get past," said the 23-year-old. "When I got close to the front, it was too late, unfortunately."


Motegi MotoGP Results

1. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP-Yamaha) 43:47.238
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA-Yamaha) +1.304sec
3. Dani Pedrosa (ESP-Honda) +3.763
4. Casey Stoner (AUS-Ducati) +5.691
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA-Honda) +9.207
6. Marco Melandri (ITA-Kawasaki) +30.555
7. Loris Capirossi (ITA-Suzuki) +32.756
8. Mika Kallio (FIN-Ducati) +39.416
9. James Toseland (GBR-Yamaha) +43.106
10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS-Suzuki) +43.245


2009 MotoGP Standings

1. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP) 41
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 40
3. Casey Stoner (AUS) 38
4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) 22
5. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) 21
6. Colin Edwards (USA) 17
7. Mika Kallio (FIN) 16
8. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) 15
9. Alex de Angelis (SMR) 13
10. Marco Melandri (ITA) 12

Valentino Rossi claims Jerez MotoGP race with Casey Stoner in third
 

May 03, 2009

Reigning world champion Valentino Rossi has clinched his first MotoGP race of the year and the championship lead, with victory in in front of 120,000 fans in Jerez.

Local Dani Pedrosa took the lead for the first half of the race, but Rossi was able reel him in to take a comfortable win.

Australia’s Casey Stoner finished in third place, for his best ever result at the Jerez track in southern Spain.

The win was Fiat Yamaha rider Rossi's 98th of his career and he now leads the championship from Ducati's Stoner by 11 points.

However the Italian admitted it should be a fight to the death for this season's crown.

"There's been three winners in three races, so it looks like the championship will be very tight this year. I will have to stay very concentrated at each and every race," said Rossi, who was surprised with his victory.

"It's been a strange weekend. On Friday (free practice) I was very fast then Saturday I had a lot of problems with the bike. We then made a few technical changes before the race and things seemed to work better as of this morning."

Starting fourth on the grid behind teammate Jorge Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Stoner, Rossi overtook the Australian on the sixth of the race's 27 laps before then trying to chip away at Pedrosa's advantage.

The Spaniard had led for the first 17 laps of the 4.423km circuit but on the 18th he could only watch as Rossi slipped past him and into the race lead.

Lorenzo, championship leader after the Motegi race, crashed with four laps remaining as he lost the front end of his bike. He was forced to go back into the pits after pushing too hard to snatch third position from Stoner.

Australia's Chris Vermeulen finished a disappointing 10th on board his Suzuki.

Spaniards Lorenzo and Pedrosa sit third and fourth respectively in the championship after three of 17 races.

The MotoGP now moves to France for the fourth race of the season in two weeks time.


Jerez MotoGP Results
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA-Yamaha) 45min 18.557sec
2. Dani Pedrosa (ESP-Honda) +2.700sec
3. Casey Stoner (AUS-Ducati) +10.507
4. Randy de Puniet (FRA-Honda) +31.893
5. Marco Melandri (ITA-Kawasaki) +33.128
6. Loris Capirossi (ITA-Suzuki) +34.128
7. Colin Edwards (USA-Yamaha) +34.421
8. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA-Honda) +34.625
9. Toni Elias (ESP-Honda) +42.689
10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS-Suzuki) +45.183

MotoGP Standings
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 65
2. Casey Stoner (AUS) 54
3. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP) 41
4. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) 41
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) 30
6. Colin Edwards (USA) 26
7. Randy de Puniet (FRA) 24
8. Marco Melandri (ITA) 23
9. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) 21
10. Loris Capirossi (ITA) 19

Jorge Lorenzo wins French MotoGP from Marco Melandri and Dani Pedrosa
 

May 17, 2009

Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo won the French MotoGP at Le Mans just a year after he finished second despite riding with two broken ankles.

The 22-year-old - a two-time 250cc world champion - enjoyed a trouble-free ride on his Yamaha to coast home ahead of Italian Marco Melandri on a Kawasaki while pole sitter Dani Pedrosa of Spain was third on a Honda.

Casey Stoner finished fifth after suffering a slight problem on his Ducati mid-race.

Fellow Australian Chris Vermuelen was sixth for Suzuki.

Lorenzo's joy was the reverse of Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi who had a nightmare as he sought his 99th career victory but in the end trailed in without scoring a point.

Lorenzo took the lead off his compatriot Pedrosa after the first lap, passing both him and Australia's former world champion Casey Stoner in an audacious manoeuvre.

Stoner was suffering the most of the contenders as he then was passed by Rossi with 26 of the 28 laps remaining and the Italian great then overtook Pedrosa.

Lorenzo - who has a difficult relationship with Rossi - held a lead of just over two seconds on the Italian.

However, disaster struck for Rossi with 23 laps remaining. Having just come into the pits to change bikes and go on to dry tyres he came to grief on a corner, and with his bike damaged, he guided it back to the pits to get on a new one.

His day went from bad to worse as he was then penalised for speeding in the pit lane.

French MotoGP finish
1. Jorge Lorenzo, (ESP), Yamaha, 47 minutes, 52.678 seconds.

2. Marco Melandri, (ITA), Kawasaki, 48:10.388.

3. Dani Pedrosa, (ESP), Honda, 48:12.571.

4. Andrea Dovizioso, (ITA), Honda, 48:13.133.

5. Casey Stoner, (AUS), Ducati, 48:23.217.

6. Chris Vermeulen, (AUS), Suzuki, 48:30.140.

7. Colin Edwards, (USA), Yamaha, 48:32.869.

8. Loris Capirossi, (ITA), Suzuki, 48:38.099.

9. James Toseland, (GBR), Yamaha, 48:42.985.

10. Toni Elias, (ESP), Honda, 48:45.896. Overall

Standings (After 4 of 17 races)

1. Jorge Lorenzo, (ESP), Yamaha, 66 points.

2. Valentino Rossi, (ITA), Yamaha 65.

2. Casey Stoner, (AUS), Ducati, 65.

4. Dani Pedrosa, (ESP), Honda, 57.

5. Marco Melandri, (ITA), Kawasaki, 43.

5. Andrea Dovizioso, (ITA), Honda, 43.

7. Colin Edwards, (USA), Yamaha, 35.

8. Chris Vermeulen, (AUS), Suzuki, 31.

9. Loris Capirossi, (ITA), Suzuki, 27.

10. Randy De Puniet, (FRA), Honda, 26.

Stoner take MotoGP championship lead after winning Italian Grand Prix
 

May 31, 2009

Casey Stoner held off the fast-finishing Jorge Lorenzo to win the Italian Grand Prix and bring to an end Valentino Rossi's seven-year reign at Mugello.

The Australian also took over the lead in the world championship standings with his second win of the season having also triumphed in Qatar in the opening race of the season.

He now leads Lorenzo, who started on pole on Sunday, by four points in the championship standings with Rossi third, a further five points back.

In a dramatic race that began in wet conditions, Stoner seized the advantage when switching bikes after 10 laps for a change of tyres.

He was the fastest man on the track by some margin in those first few laps after the switch and although Yamaha pair Lorenzo and Rossi were quickest at the end, they had both lost too much time and too many places to hit back.

Stoner completed the 23 laps in 45min 41.894sec to win by just over a second to Spaniard Lorenzo.

In an exciting race the pole-sitter got off to a terrible start in the wet and immediately dropped to eighth.

Quickest off the mark were Australian Chris Vermeulen, who started 11th, and Andrea Dovizioso, who began seventh but Stoner passed them both on the long straight at the beginning of the second lap.

Vermeulen quickly started heading backwards, eventually finishing 10th, as Rossi started to move up from fifth.

However Italian Marco Melandri on a Kawasaki, who started 15th on the grid, was clearly fastest in the wet.

Rossi took the lead from Dovizioso, who had got back past Stoner, on the seventh lap and two laps later he lost that to Melandri.

However, on the 10th lap all the front runners came into the pits for a change of bikes and when they came out, Stoner was quickest to find his pace.

Melandri immediately started heading backwards, eventually finishing 11th and 35sec back, while Loris Capirossi propelled himself into race contention with Stoner and Dovizioso.

Lorenzo and Rossi initially struggled with their bikes down in fifth and sixth and the time they lost over those first three laps coming out of the pits, essentially cost either of them a chance of victory.

While Stoner had soon taken the race lead, both Yamaha riders had to then pass Melandri, Capirossi and Dovizioso and by the time they had done so, Stoner was over a second ahead and with only a couple of laps remaining.

Meanwhile former Superbikes champion James Toseland from Britain got his best finish of the season in seventh, benefitting from being the first man into the pits to change his bike.

It meant that his tyres were warm and he was flying as the fastest man on track for a few laps when everyone else was simply trying to get temperature into their new tyres.

Italian Grand Prix results MotoGP
1. Casey Stoner (AUS-Ducati) 45:41.894
2. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP-Yamaha) +1.001
3. Valentino Rossi (ITA-Yamaha) +2.076
4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA-Honda) +2.129
5. Loris Capirossi (ITA-Suzuki) +3.274
6. Colin Edwards (USA-Yamaha) +24.451
7. James Toseland (GBR-Yamaha) +25.621
8. Randy de Puniet (FRA-Honda) +26.046
9. Niccolo Canepa (ITA-Ducati) +31.815
10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS-Suzuki) +34.814

Overall Standings
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) 90
2. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP) 86
3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 81
4. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) 57
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) 56
6. Marco Melandri (ITA) 48
7. Colin Edwards (USA) 45
8. Loris Capirossi (ITA) 38
9. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) 37
10. Randy de Puniet (FRA) 34

Dani Pedrosa wins US MotoGP ahead of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo
 

July 06, 2009

The US MotoGP turned into a one-man show at Laguna Seca in California, and the star was an unlikely winner - Spaniard Dani Pedrosa

Pedrosa led from first lap to last on his Honda for his first MotoGP victory of the year, holding off Italian Valentino Rossi on a dramatic final lap.

Pedrosa's winning time was 44min 1.58secs for 32 laps on the 3.61-kilometre track.

Rossi, who increased his margin atop the championship standings, was second on his Yamaha, 0.344 seconds behind Pedrosa.

Pole starter Jorge Lorenzo from Spain was third on a Yamaha despite painful shoulder and foot injuries suffered in a qualifying crash that nearly knocked him out of the race.

Pedrosa, who now has seven career grand prix wins, had failed to finish two of the previous three races and finished sixth in the other - and has struggled all year with a series of injuries.

"It's been a long, tough year for me. I'm happy to be back and win a race," Pedrosa said.

Pedrosa jumped into the lead on the first lap despite starting fourth on the grid and gradually built his lead to three seconds halfway through the race. He maintained that lead until the final lap, when Rossi nearly overtook him on the final turn.

"Perhaps the only mistake was on the last lap when I was too slow," Pedrosa said. "I thought I had more of an advantage."

Rossi, who earned his 100th career win last weekend at the Dutch MotoGP, was seeking his third straight victory.

"I didn't expect Dani to be so strong today," Rossi said. "I was pushing a lot on the final lap and I saw Dani slow down. I got close, but not close enough."

Australian Casey Stoner was fourth on a Ducati and his teammate, American Nicky Hayden, was fifth.

It was the first MotoGp race this season not won by Rossi, Lorenzo or Stoner, who have dominated the class all year.

Lorenzo, who appeared to struggle in the morning warm-up and gingerly got off his bike after 13 laps in that morning session, said he had trouble sleeping the night before because of pain.

He briefly caught Rossi for second place with four laps to go, but wobbled while making the pass and fell back to third for good.

"I did very close to my best," he said. "I did one of the best races of my career. My physical condition was very poor."

The second-place finish allowed Rossi to increase his lead atop the championship standings as he seeks a ninth world title and seventh in MotoGP. Rossi now has 151 points, followed by Lorenzo on 142, Stoner on 135 and Pedrosa on 92.

Rossi matched a record with his 158th consecutive grand prix start. Rossi, who has never missed a GP race since moving up to that class in 2000, equalled the record set by Alex Barros in 1992-2003.

The 250cc and 125cc categories had the weekend off.

The withdrawal of Yuki Takahashi from motorcycling's premier class this past week made the Laguna Seca race the first MotoGP without a Japanese rider since 1991.


US MotoGP results
1. Dani Pedrosa (ESP-Honda) 44:01.580
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA-Yamaha) +0.344
3. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP-Yamaha) +1.926
4. Casey Stoner (AUS-Ducati) +12.432
5. Nicky Hayden (USA-Ducati) +21.663
6. Toni Elias (ESP-Honda) +22.041
7. Colin Edwards (USA-Yamaha) +30.201
8. Chris Vermeulen (AUS-Suzuki) +32.857
9. Randy de Puniet (FRA-Honda) +40.325
10. Marco Melandri (ITA-Kawasaki) +48.028

Overall standings
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 151
2. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP) 142
3. Casey Stoner (AUS) 135
4. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) 92
5. Colin Edwards (USA) 76
6. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) 69
7. Marco Melandri (ITA) 61
8. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) 61
9. Randy de Puniet (FRA) 58
10. Loris Capirossi (ITA) 56

Italian rider Valentino Rossi wins German MotoGP ahead of teammate
 

July 19, 2009

Valentino Rossi held off Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo to win a thrilling German MotoGP race here on Sunday, for his 101st career victory.

The Italian series leader, who started in pole position, finished ahead of Spaniard Lorenzo, with Honda's Dani Pedrosa, also of Spain, taking third place ahead of Ducati rider Casey Stoner.

“It's an important win at this stage of the season,” said championship leader Rossi.

“It was another fantastic battle with (Casey) Stoner until the last lap. I knew that on this circuit it's very difficult to pass so I stayed ahead on the final lap.”

Early on during the race, French rider Randy De Puniet suffered a dramatic tumble when pressing in third position behind Rossi and Pedrosa, sliding off the track as his bike bucked.

Australian Stoner, last season's winner here, took advantage to move swiftly past Rossi and Pedrosa to take the lead on the seventh lap.

Stoner forced the pace, with only the final podium finishers able to stick to him. By the 11th lap there were already five seconds between the Australian and fifth place occupied by Alex De Angelis of San Marino.

Rossi retook the lead on the 16th lap, with Lorenzo and then Pedrosa overtaking Stoner, who finished fourth.

The two Yamahas then edged away, with Lorenzo taking the attack to Rossi and assuming the lead with five laps to go.

In a nail-biting climax, Rossi moved back into the lead with one lap to go and held off Lorenzo as the Spaniard tried one last desperate pass on the final bend.

Rossi has 176 points after nine races with Lorenzo on 162 and Stoner, 148.

Italian rider Andrea Dovizioso wins British MotoGP at Donington Park
 

July 27, 2009

Italian rider Andrea Dovizioso won the British MotoGP here on Sunday on its farewell appearance at the track.

The 23-year-old Honda pilot beat home American Colin Edwards on a Yamaha while Frenchman Randy de Puniet was third on a Honda.

Overall championship leader Valentino Rossi failed to make the podium after crashing whilst in the lead, but still extended his advantage in the standings as he finished fifth while Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo went out early on.

Australian Casey Stoner had a disappointing day in finishing 14th, one spot behind compatriot Chris Vermeulen, but he remains third on the standings.

Dovizioso was ecstatic to have given the team a much-needed victory.

“I won on the wet here in 2007 in the 250cc class, so I knew the conditions well,” said the Italian.

“The emotion this tine is very different as it is in another class. The start of the season has not been easy so it gives me great pleasure to get this victory for the team,” added Dovizioso, who was crowned world 125cc champion in 2004.

Edwards for his part bemoaned the fact that having changed tyres, they took too long to warm up which could have made a difference to between breaking his MotoGp duck after over a hundred races.

“I am too old for this s*&#!” joked the 35-year-old.

“My tyres were too cold towards the end after I changed them (because it was raining). There was just not enough warmth in the tyres.”

De Puniet was over the moon to have got onto the podium.

“It was a very good race for me,” beamed the personable 28-year-old.

“It was pretty difficult. I had a big fight with Dani Pedrosa then Colin (Edwards) came up to me. It was very slippery out there but it is fantastic for me and the team to get onto the podium.”

With both Lorenzo gone, and 2007 champion Casey Stoner struggling - he was to finish 14th - it left Rossi well out in the lead.

But holding a comfortable advantage, with 11 laps to go, the Italian came a cropper as he slid and crashed.

He was able to remount the bike and keep it going but returned to the fray in 11th and last position some 20 seconds down the field to new leader Dovizioso while de Puniet was in second.

The rain started to come down with eight laps remaining and several riders scrambled to change their tyres.

De Puniet really put his foot down and with four laps remaining he reduced the Italian's lead by three seconds whilst Rossi had moved up to sixth.

With three laps to go Dovizioso's lead was down to less than two seconds over de Puniet and Edwards but was able to stabilise it and hold on for a landmark victory.

Earlier Japanese rider Hiroshi Aoyama won the 250cc race to record his third victory of the season and extend his lead in the overall standings.

Aoyama was an easy winner ahead of Spaniard Alvaro Bautista while Mattia Pasini of Italy was third.

Spanish rider Julian Simon had started off proceedings by winning the 125cc Grand Prix. The Aprilia rider beat home Italy's Simone Corsi and Scott Redding of Great Britain.

Results
1. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Honda) 48min 26.267sec,
2. Colin Edwards (USA/Yamaha) at 1.360sec,
3. Randy de Puniet (FRA/Honda) 1.600,
4. Alex de Angelis (SMR/Honda) 8.958,
5. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 21.622,
6. James Toseland (GBR/Yamaha) 22.465,
7. Marco Melandri (ITA/Kawasaki) 35.284,
8. Niccolo Canepa (ITA/Ducati) 38.769,
9. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 42.112,
10. Mika Kallio (FIN/Ducati) 45.845,
11. Loris Capirossi (ITA/Suzuki) 53.190,
12. Gabor Talmacsi (HUN/Honda) 1min 12.315sec,
13. Chris Vermeulen (AUS/Suzuki) 1:20.398,
14. Casey Stoner (AUS/Ducati) at one lap,

Virus sidelines Australian rider Casey Stoner for three races
 

August 11, 2009

Casey Stoner's world title hopes have been dashed by a mystery virus that has ruled the 2007 champion out of the next three MotoGP races, the Australian's Ducati team announced.

Stoner, 23, was feeling unwell at the Catalonian and Dutch races and received treatment after Laguna Seca.

He said he had taken what he described as “this difficult decision” after consultations with his medical team back in Australia.

“The doctors believe I was already suffering from a virus in Barcelona and that in continuing to ride I pushed my body too far which led to a state of extreme fatigue,” he explained.

He will be replaced by Finland's Mika Kallio for this month's Grand Prix in the Czech Republic and Indianapolis and San Marino on September 6 with a return expected in Portugal.

Stoner was lying third in the overall standings behind Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi of Italy and Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo.

The battle for the world title will now focus on Rossi and Lorenzo with the Italian having a 35-point advantage with eight races left.

Rossi stretches championship lead after winning Czech MotoGP
 

August 16, 2009

Italy's Valentino Rossi on a Yamaha won the Czech Grand Prix meeting to extend his overall championship lead and move a big step closer to clinching a ninth world title.

After a thrilling head-to-head duel with Spanish stablemate Jorge Lorenzo, Rossi profited from the latter's fall five laps from the finish to extend his lead to 50 points going into the final seven races, starting with Indianapolis on August 30.

Lorenzo had passed Rossi three laps earlier but his spectacular tumble - from which he emerged unscathed although he angrily threw his gloves down and kicked out at his machine - handed Rossi a clear run through to the finish and a 102nd career victory.

The 30-year-old Rossi, nicknamed The Doctor, is now closing in on Giacomo Agostini's all-time mark of 122 race wins.

After crossing the line exuberantly on one wheel in 43min 08.991sec he leapt over the barrier to celebrate with his crew, warmly embracing them in turn.

Afterwards, he had time to offer a word of sympathy to Lorenzo - while insisting that he could not think of putting yet more title champagne on ice.

"It's really a shame for Jorge," said the Italian, noting that, despite his handsome lead "there's a long way to go. I have to stay focused."

Dani Pedrosa of Honda placed second 11.766ec adrift of Rossi while fellow Honda rider Toni Elias, who predicted a tough future despite his first season podium as he is looking for a new team for 2010, completed the podium.

Rossi, Lorenzo and Pedrosa shot out of the blocks and had put more than 2sec between themselves and the chasing pack led by Elias.

Rossi, who had gone into the race on pole for the 56th time, was furiously jousting for the lead with Lorenzo with the Italian just in the ascendency as the Yamaha pair left the rest trailing with Pedrosa third at 2.6 sec and the gap then 9sec on Elias and company.

The 14th lap saw Lorenzo make his all-or-bust move for the lead as he set the fastest lap time of 1:56.674, a time he then bettered by 0.004sec on lap 16 before nipping through the gap into the lead.

But his 18th-lap fall brought his brave challenge to naught as Rossi stayed doggedly with him before his rival's misfortune allowed him to breeze home in the knowledge that Pedrosa was trailing by a huge 14.772sec.

There was further drama in the penultimate lap when Finland's Mika Kallio ran into the back of Italian Marco Melandri, dragging both men down although neither appeared to have suffered injury.

Italy's Marco Simoncelli of Gilera won the 250cc race as the world champion beat out compatriot Mattia Pasini with Spain's Alvaro Bautista taking third place.

The win means the Italian can still retain legitimate hope of overhauling Honda's Hiroshi Aoyama, who currently leads the standings with 172 points to Aprilia racer Alvaro Bautista's 160 and 140 for Simoncelli, who now has three wins this campaign and won off pole Sunday.

Pasini missed out at the death after coming through from seventh on the grid to give Simoncelli a fine run for his money.

Nicolas Terol of Spain won the 125cc race at the Czech Grand Prix meeting ahead of compatriot Julian Simon and Andrea Iannone of Italy.

Terol grabbed the lead from the start and was never headed after that as he recorded his first win of the year.

Czech Grand Prix Results

1. Valentino Rossi, (ITA), Yamaha, 43:08.991
2. Dani Pedrosa, (ESP), Honda, 43:20.757.
3. Toni Elias, (ESP), Honda, 43:29.747.
4. Andrea Dovizioso, (ITA), Honda, 43:30.409.
5. Loris Capirossi, (ITA), Suzuki, 43:30.529.
6. Nicky Hayden, (USA), Ducati, 43:34.535.
7. Colin Edwards, (USA), Yamaha, 43:34.667.
8. Alex De Angelis, (SMR), Honda, 43:43.100.
9. James Toseland, (GBR), Yamaha, 43:44.608.
10. Randy De Puniet, (FRA), Honda, 43:48.815.

Casey Stoner claims pole at Phillip Island on final qualifying lap
 

October 17, 2009

Casey Stoner clinched pole position for Sunday's Australian MotoGP then revealed he had been battling ill-health since last year.

Stoner won a head-to-head battle for top spot with Yamaha's world champion Valentino Rossi as he continued his remarkable return to competition.

The Australian rebuffed Rossi, who had clocked the fastest lap in the last few minutes, to regain top spot with a time of 1m30.341s, five hundredths of a second better that the Italian. Honda's Dani Pedrosa survived a fall to take third place.

Stoner, Ducati's 2007 world champion, recently made his comeback from a 10-week layoff to take second spot in the Portuguese Grand Prix and is now ideally placed to win his third straight Australian race.

He took his first pole position since the season-opener in Qatar, which he won, but his title hopes evaporated in a ``torrid'' season of poor health.

He became exhausted towards the end of races from the sixth round in Catalunya, Spain, but his team now believe his problems can be traced back to 2008.

"To be honest we're actually starting to realise the more we're getting back to my fitness that we've had this problem longer than even I thought," Stoner said after his qualifying battle.

"It is definitely longer than Catalunya. We've had it all season once we started thinking back about it - how hard training was compared to how it used to be.

"We're actually starting to think it started last year, no where near to a degree what we've got now but I haven't trained properly in almost 12 months.

"I had the wrist operation so I couldn't train properly then.

"But the level my fitness is coming back up so I hope it's going to surpass anything we've done so far and hopefully next year we're going to be fitter and stronger.

"It's great to come back. We've had a torrid season - it's been disaster.

"It's nice to come back in these two races and be competitive again. It's nice to be back up front again."

Erratic weather, with intermittent rain, wind and sunshine, affected all riders Friday and Saturday but Stoner said he was prepared for anything on Sunday.

"This is to be expected at Phillip Island, it's like this almost every year. The weather's up, it's down, it can be hot, it can be cold in a few minutes difference.

"But luckily we've been fast in every session - we still need to definitely make some improvements before the race tomorrow but in general the bike's been good in all conditions."

Rossi, who Spanish teammate Jorge Lorenzo by 18 points in the series, said a small error cost him pole position.

"We are on the front row which is the most important thing and I think we can definitely have a good race tomorrow," Rossi said.

"I have a good setting and with the last modification we made I was able to make another step and we were quite fast.

"The pole position was possible today but unfortunately I made a mistake in the last session of my flying lap and Stoner was able to go a little bit faster than me."

Lorenzo, who was suffering from food poisoning on Friday, said he still felt weak because he had not been able to eat a lot.

Phillip Island Qualifying Times
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati 1min 30.341sec
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha at 0.050
3. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) Honda 0.729
4. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP) Yamaha 0.730
5. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 0.755
6. Alex de Angelis (RSM) Honda 0.919
7. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati 0.984
8. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Honda 1.039
9. Mika Kallio (FIN) Ducati 1.043
10. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Honda 1.131
Also 15. Chris Vermuelen (AUS) Suzuki 1.997

Casey Stoner holds off Valentino Rossi to claim Australian MotoGP
 

October 18, 2009

Casey Stoner delivered a stirring win and a stern rebuke to his critics when he romped to his third straight Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix victory.

The 24-year-old Ducati wizard held off world champion Valentino Rossi, who hounded him throughout the race, to cross the line 1.9 seconds ahead of the Italian with Honda's Dani Pedrosa a distant third.

Stoner continued his remarkable comeback from a mystery illness which prompted a 10-week break from the series.

He returned two weeks ago in Portugal and finished second to the surprise of his rivals.

But Sunday's victory, where he led virtually from the drop of the flag, was one of his sweetest under the circumstances.

Throughout his layoff the Australian had had to put up with rumours he was retiring, was sick of racing, was in dispute with his team - but he produced the perfect answer today.

"At the start of the season we were competitive enough to fight for the championship but by the time we got halfway through we were just collecting points, we weren't fighting for anything," Stoner said.

"That's why we decided to take that decision to take time off - and this is the result of it.

"I think without taking that time off we wouldn't be anywhere near the podium step today, things would have been too difficult for me and, physically, definitely I wouldn't have been able to last the race.

"It's just been fantastic to come back and get a second in Portugal and (have) almost enough pace to win it and here have the pace to win ... I can't ask for more.

"We definitely made the right decision to take that time off and find our way."

Stoner said he remained wary after his weakening illness, waiting for his "arms to start buckling" every time he went under brakes "but it just never came".

"I was definitely a little bit more exhausted in Portugal - of course the weather was a little hotter and we hadn't done any physical training," he said.

"We've done a little bit this last week just to get myself back up there a little bit and there were no problems through the race."

In fact, Stoner said he could have stepped up the pace and was able to pull away from Rossi every time the Yamaha rider closed.

"I thought the track conditions were good enough to go a little bit faster than what we were," Stoner said.

"We were struggling with rear-end grip - I think everybody was to a certain point - but that's something we struggle with in general with our bike at the moment.

"We tried to go every which way with our settings ... but we just can't get grip out of the corners at most of the circuits we go to.

"When we solve that I think things will come along a lot better and it will work a lot more smoothly."

Stoner's win was his third this year, after victories in the season-opener in Qatar and in Italy, and it moved him to third place in the world championship, despite missing three rounds.

It was also his 19th MotoGP victory, moving him one spot ahead of Australia's first world champion, Wayne Gardner.


Australian MotoGP Results
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati 40 minutes 56.651 seconds
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha at 1.935
3. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) Honda 22.618
4. Alex de Angelis (RSM) Honda 32.702
5. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 35.885
6. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Honda 38.482
7. Marco Melandri (ITA) Kawasaki 44.461
8. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Honda 44.941
9. Mika Kallio (FIN) Ducati 54.345
10. Toni Elias (ESP) Honda 1:01.205
11. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki 1:05.417
12. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Suzuki 1:05.950
13. Gabor Talmacsi (HUN) Honda 1:17.951
14. James Toseland (GBR) Yamaha 1:17.985
15. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati 1 Lap
Failed to finish: Jorge Lorenzo (ESP) Yamaha 1st lap

World Championship Standings
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 270pts
2. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) 232
3. Casey Stoner (AUS/Ducati) 195
4. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 189
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Honda) 152
6. Colin Edwards (USA/Yamaha) 145
7. Alex de Angelis (RSM/Honda) 101
8. Randy de Puniet (FRA/Honda) 101
9. Loris Capirossi (ITA/Suzuki) 101
10. Marco Melandri (ITA/Kawasaki) 100