So many others have said it more eloquently than we could say it here. People who knew the man, knew the racer, knew what made him fast and knew what made him fly.
Ciao, Marco.
Pramac Racing riders had a good start in yesterday’s MotoGP Grand Prix of Japan. After six laps, Pramac regular De Puniet and fill-in rider Damian Cudlin were in eighth and thirteenth places, respectively. By lap seven, however, De Puniet had been reached and passed by Honda men Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli, two of the three riders penalized with a ride-through penalty for jumping the gun on the race start. From there, it was a race of containment for the Frenchman to finish in the top ten to increase his points in the world championship rankings. His teammate, Cudlin, riding a GP bike for the first time, was sitting in twelfth position until lap 13 when a small mistake in a late braking made him lose the front sliding into the gravel. Despite the error, it was a good weekend overall for the Australian who quickly learned the new bike and the track. The Pramac Racing Team will now return to headquarters before heading to Phillip Island in two weeks for the Grand Prix of Australia.
Fabiano Sterlacchini, Pramac Racing Technical Director:
“Disappointing weekend, despite the tenth place conquered by Randy can be considered a good result, but with all the falls and penalties views on the track today we thought to be able to finish at least in seventh or eighth place. A pity. Cudlin was doing a good race, being his debut on a MotoGP bike, but just as he was monitoring the situation to then fight for the eleventh position in the last few laps, he felt for a late braking a bit over the limit. However thanks to him, he has worked very well throughout the weekend.”
Randy De Puniet, Pramac Racing, 10th, 16th in the Championship:
“I’m not very happy, today we had the potential to enter the top eight. I was behind Aoyama, Elias and other riders, but when I saw the ride through sign I thought I would be there too. I looked at the sign at every lap when it was exposed and once I tried to see well all the numbers to look for mine, so I’ve slowed down a bit in the straight but I used the brakes too late and made a mistake in the upcoming turn loosing contact with the group. I tried to recover but the bike did not react as I wanted. A pity because if the bike at Aragon was very good, but in the first turn I was forced to go off track to avoid a rider who had fallen, here I just did not have the right feeling. We hope to find it back in Australia to gain a better position.”
Damian Cudlin, Pramac Racing, DNF:
“I made a good start, I felt good and thought I could overtake in the first lap both Colin and Randy, but I didn’t want to create accidents that would not be something very smart as a rookie. As time went on I got more and more feeling with the bike and managed to achieve and maintain the pace with Akiyoshi. I was planning to stay with him until the end, then try to overtake him in the last few laps, but in a tight left corner I braked too late and lost the front finding my self off track. I am very sorry for how it ended this weekend, before today I had fallen only once in the other categories that I have raced this year, and to conclude this experience like this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I hope to have similar opportunities in the near future to be able to improve. However, I thank the Pramac Racing Team that has allowed me to live this wonderful experience.”
On Saturday, the Motourage crew took a three-hour roadtrip north to Hampton, VA for round 10 of the ICE Speedway Championship.
Featuring Manufacturers Cup Motorcycles, Outlaw Quads, Big Dogs Pit Bikes, Nitro X-Karts, ATCs (which, as someone pointed out, haven’t been manufactured for 20 years) and other featured classes, ICE Speedway definitely delivered on it’s tagline, “The Greatest Spectacle on Ice.”
The Motourage video of the day features the first heat race of the Manufacturers Cup Motorcycle class with 2009 AMA Flat Track Grand National champion and 2010 ICE Speedway champion, Jammin’ Jared Mees.
Photos from Saturday’s event can be found on the Motourage Flickr page.
Enjoy.
The 2011 World Supersport Championship will witness thereturn of the Yamaha YZF-R6 to the grid with the Yamaha ParkinGO Team. In 2009 the Yamaha YZF-R6 was the track weapon of choice, dominating the World Supersport Championship in the hands of 2011 rookie MotoGP rider Cal Crutchlow. The pairing proved unbeatable with Crutchlow using the full potential of the Yamaha Supersport machine to score ten pole position starts and ten podiums, including five race wins, on his way to the title. The Yamaha World Supersport Team was withdrawn by its owner Yamaha Motor Europe from the championship during 2010.
For the 2011 season Yamaha Motor Europe will provide the 2009 championship winning Yamaha R6 race bikes along with Yamaha genuine racing parts to the privately owned ParkinGO Team, for 2011 to be named Yamaha ParkinGO Team. The race bikes will be refreshed and bought up to 2011 level at Yamaha’s racing workshop in Germany before being delivered. Yamaha technical staff will provide behind the scenes support on an ongoing basis throughout the season while the team itself will take responsibility for organization, rider selection and race entry. The Yamaha ParkinGO Team will continue partnerships with some of its own technical partners, although Yamaha Motor Europe will also support negotiations with it’s former technical partners and the team for the season ahead.
The ParkinGO Team entered the last three seasons of the World Supersport Championship with Triumph, performing strongly in 2010 with four podiums by rider Chaz Davies and a victory at Imola snatched away by technical problems. The season end saw a top-five finish for the team with Davies fourth in the standings and teammate David Salom just behind in fifth. The 2011 line up sees British rider Davies remain with the team, joined by new Italian teammate Luca Scassa who impressed in 2010 as one of the top privateer World Superbike riders.
Team owner Giuliano Rovelli, Chief Executive Officer of Oasi S.r.l. Servizi Aeroportuali, was a rider himself in the early nineties and is involved in a number of activities including the ParkinGO Company, the first network of airport parking facilities in Italy.
Yamaha Motor Europe Racing Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp:
“This is a great opportunity for officially supported R6 machinery to return to the World Supersport Championship. The R6 is a winning machine which, after taking the World Supersport Championship in 2009, has continued in 2010 with many national titles alongside the European Superstock 600 Championship title, despite not competing at world level. It is our belief and our vision that in today’s circumstances supporting a private team with the materials needed to compete is the appropriate involvement in World Supersport for a manufacturer.
I have known Giuliano for a few years now; in the past we could not find the possibility to do something together. The respect for each other has continued however and when the opportunity became available we were able to come to an agreement within a very short time. It is definitely a challenge to start at this late stage with the preparations, but the team and riders are professional and they will have full access to our information database for setup to progress quickly into the season. We consider the test in Portimao this week mainly as a shakedown for both bike and riders.”
Yamaha ParkinGO Team owner Giuliano Rovelli:
“We managed to reach a mutually satisfying agreement with Yamaha Motor Europe in just ten days time. Having the opportunity to work with a manufacturer that has racing in its philosophy makes a big difference. I shared this important decision with the whole team. Chaz Davies and Luca Scassa are professional riders and are looking forward to having the chance to win the World Supersport Championship with a very competitive Yamaha R6!”
Latus Motors' Joe Kopp
The 2010 AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com will conclude tomorrow at Yavapai Downs in Prescott Valley, AZ. The climax of the series at the Budweiser Arizona Mile is expected to be one of the best in the history of the sport as Jake Johnson, Joe Kopp, Jared Mees and Henry Wiles all have a shot at carrying the coveted AMA Number One plate in the 2011 season.
In 1954, the AMA announced the establishment of a Grand National Championship series consisting of 18 points-paying races. While the AMA Grand National Championship format was predominantly made up of flat track events, a number of road race nationals were included to show the versatility of machines and riders. As the sport grew and machinery became more specialized, the AMA recognized the need to separate these two disciplines. In 1986, flat track and road racing became two distinct AMA Championship series.
In 2006, the AMA Flat Track Championship was restructured to consist of two series: AMA Grand National Twins Championship events held on mile and half-mile courses best suited for the power output of twin-cylinder motors; AMA Grand National Singles Championship races held on TT and short track courses where the power range of single-cylinder motors is preferable.
This year, AMA Pro Racing went back to the original format with points accumulated from short track, TT, 1/2 Mile and Mile races to determine the AMA Pro Grand National Champion. Included in this traditional format is a $50,000 points fund paying back 10 places in the final point standings. AMA Pro Racing still recognizes a Singles and Twins Champion with a $2,500 bonus to each champion; however, the only rider to carry the AMA Number One plate in 2011 will the overall Grand National Champion.
In 2009 AMA Pro Racing added the Dash, pitting the first and second place riders in the three expert heat races for a four-lap race not only paying $1,000 to win, but more importantly five championship points for the winner, four points for second, three points for third, two points for fourth position and one point for fifth.
How important is the Dash? The Dash at the Arizona Mile may very well be the most important four laps of the entire series. Going into the Arizona Mile Jake Johnson is leading the series with 265 points, Kopp 255, Mees 246 and Wiles 239. Kopp has earned the most Dash points this season with a total of 41 Dash points, Johnson 30, Wiles 23 and Mees 22.
AMA Grand National Flat Track top riders:
Jake Johnson, 2006 & 2008 AMA Pro Singles National Champion – 265 points (2 wins)
Joe Kopp, 2000 AMA Pro Racing Grand National Champion – 255 points (3 wins)
Jared Mees, 2009 AMA Pro Twins National Champion – 246 points
Henry Wiles, 2009 AMA Pro Singles National Champion – 239 points (5 wins)
The Ace Cafe in London, England will welcome two Worx Suzuki British Superbike riders on August 22, as GSX-R Day takes place as part of the motorcycle model’s 25th anniversary celebrations.
With support from Suzuki Great Britain, GSX-R Day is a not-to-be-missed event for any fan, with a host of attractions including Tommy Hill and Yukio Kagayama in attendance to meet fans and sign autographs.
With test rides on the latest GSX-R models, prizes and a £5.00 breakfast voucher for the first 100 people to register at the Suzuki exhibition unit, the Ace Cafe’s usual electric atmosphere is set for a real boost on GSX-R Day.
For more information on the Ace Cafe visit ace-cafe-london.com and for more information on GSX-R 25th anniversary celebrations log on to imgsx-r.com.
Rossi takes pole with Lorenzo hot on his heels in FranceReigning World Champion Valentino Rossi took the 59th pole position of his career and his first of the season today with an authoritative performance in sunny Le Mans. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was just five hundredths of a second off his time, as the Fiat Yamaha pair put up a commanding display ahead of tomorrow’s French Grand Prix.
After topping the time sheets yesterday, Rossi was third this morning with Lorenzo ahead of him in second. This afternoon temperatures once again soared into the high twenties and both riders looked in menacing form, having already found excellent base settings for their M1s yesterday. Both had spent time at the top of the standings before the session entered its final quarter and with ten minutes to go Lorenzo went top again, becoming the first man to dip into the 1’33s. The Mallorcan held out for a few minutes before Casey Stoner and then Dani Pedrosa took over but it was Rossi who had the most still hidden up his sleeve, the 31-year-old maestro pulling out a brilliant lap in a time of 1’33.408, a target that proved unassailable in the final two minutes.
Rossi is still worried about his damaged shoulder over race distance tomorrow but he will be doing all he can to take a second win of the year, as will his championship-leading team-mate Lorenzo, when the third round of the season gets underway at 1400 CET tomorrow.
Valentino Rossi – Position: 1st, Time: 1’33.408Laps: 30
“This weather is really making me very happy, because for once in Le Mans we have been able to use all of the sessions properly and now here we are on pole. My setting is good, I feel comfortable on my M1 and Bridgestone tires and my race pace is not bad either so everything is working out. It’s a great pleasure to be on pole and when I looked and saw the lap time I was very pleased with my performance and with how well we had worked, so thanks to all my team. I am still worried about my shoulder because sincerely today after ten or fifteen laps I started to lose power, but I hope adrenaline will take over in the race and that I will be able to arrive fast right to the end.”
Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 2nd, Time: 1’33.462Laps: 31
“This was another good session and we are very strong, although there are quite a few riders here who are fast with a good race pace. Today I was consistent and I can ride happily at around 1’34.5 so if I can keep this up during the race then we have a good chance. I need to try to get a good start tomorrow and be stronger during the first few laps, then I think I can fight for victory.”
Read more…
Considering the total disregard for motorcycle events in the US, we have a relatively full week of television coverage coming up.
Plenty of chances to catch this past weekend’s American Superbike and Daytona Sportbike races from the AMA Pro Racing West Coast Moto Jam at Infineon Raceway are on the menu, as well as Isle of Man TT Senior and 600 Superstock races (there’s usually a few seconds of sidecar coverage thrown in for good measure).
If you haven’t checked out the Supersport Class race of the FIM World Superbike Championship from Kyalami, South Africa, make a point to set your DVR for 2pm on Tuesday, as it marked a brilliant performance by former AMA Aprilia and Attack Kawasaki rider Chaz Davies.
One of the most well-produced motorcycle programs on television, Twist the Throttle on Discover HD Theater, covers Ducati motorcycles this week. The episode is a must-see for any desmo enthusiast.
If we’re missing coverage on one of the lesser-known channels, or if you’d like to add any non-US television schedules, please shoot us a message at info@motourage.net.
Thanks for watching, and please, if you’re planning on sitting down to catch a race in front of the tube, grab the phone and invite a friend who’s never seen a race. If we can add one more fan this week, we’re on our way to accomplishing our mission.
This Week’s Motorcycle TV Listings:
Monday, May 17
Isle of Man TT, Isle of Man
Pokerstars Senior TT Race
9:00pm-10:00pm
Discovery HD Theater
Tuesday, May 18
Isle of Man TT, Isle of Man
Pokerstars Senior TT Race
12:00am-1:00am
Discovery HD Theater
Twist the Throttle, Ducati
1:00am-2:00am
Discovery HD Theater
AMA Pro Road Racing, Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA
3:00am-4:00am – Daytona Sportbike
4:00am-5:00am – American Superbike
Speed
Isle of Man TT, Isle of Man
Pokerstars Senior TT Race
4:00am-5:00am
Discovery HD Theater
Twist the Throttle, Ducati
5:00am-6:00am
Discovery HD Theater
AMA Pro Racing, Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA
American Superbike
1:00pm-2:00pm
Speed
FIM World Superbike Championship, Kyalami, South Africa
2:00pm-3:00pm – Supersport
Speed
Isle of Man TT, Isle of Man
600cc Supersport Race 2
2:00pm-3:00pm
Discovery HD Theater
Sunday, May 23
MotoGP World Championship
Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, Le Mans, France
2:00pm-3:00pm – MotoGP
3:00pm-4:00pm – Moto2
Speed
With just two days rest from the Monza round of the World Superbike Championship, the Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team have shipped out to South Africa for the next race of the season, round six at the Kyalami circuit. The team are looking to make up for the bad luck that struck in race two last weekend at Monza where both riders were unable to finish the race, having performed strongly all weekend and both being on the podium in race one. Toseland escaped unhurt from a big crash at the start of the race, a trip to hospital and two scans revealing no damage following his fall although still a bit bruised. Teammate Crutchlow was also blighted by bad luck, having a stone flicked up from the bike in front strike his oil cooler and force his retirement from the race.
“I just want to get back on the bike as soon as possible and race again,” said Cal Crutchlow. “I couldn’t believe how unlucky we were at Monza to get a stone in the oil cooler when we were running so well. I enjoyed racing at Kyalami last year in Supersport, I fought hard for a good second place on the podium, so this year I want to win in Superbike!”
“I think we’ve definitely had our share of bad luck for the season now!” said James Toseland. “Last weekend was very frustrating for me, the team have worked so hard and we now have an extremely competitive bike to take the fight to the front with, so to crash out on the opening lap was disappointing. It’s made it tougher to bridge the gap to the lead of the championship, but there are still sixteen races to go so I’m going to keep my head down looking for podiums.”
Kyalami technically speaking according to Frankie Carchedi, James Toseland’s Crew Chief
“Kyalami is a high altitude circuit so all bikes are down on power. It’s quite a tight and twisty track so no six gear long straights as in Monza so we’ll modify the gearbox again for this. It’s a very bumpy track so the front forks and rear shock have to be able to follow the bumps to get good traction which makes it smoother for the rider. We need a good qualifying result as it is a difficult place to pass. We tried some different settings at the Misano test purposely for this circuit, we weren’t so fast in Misano with them but we’re confident they will be perfect for here in absorbing bumps and giving good traction. The main changes are a different link and different fork and shock settings.”
Kyalami technically speaking according to Marcus Eschenbacher, Cal Crutchlow’s Crew Chief
“After the Monza race we saw that we had reached a good level of performance with Cal to bring here. We know the circuit is difficult because of the grip levels, the altitude and the bumpy track conditions. We will try to make the bike suit this by working on changing the suspension set up to be more comfortable over the bumps, we also need to find a better grip level, maybe we will have to compromise a bit of steering sharpness to get the best out of the bike for this conditions. We’ll probably go for a softer chassis set up and softer damping than normal to start with and see how we get on in the first session on Friday.”
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“This circuit was one of the more difficult ones for our bike last year. I’m confident that in one year we have made enough improvements and developments to be even better this time. We intend to start the weekend as we finished the first race in Monza. I’m really happy that James will be ready for Friday, we are lucky that he received no serious injuries last weekend. We proved in Monza with both riders that we were one of the strongest teams in the paddock, we are confident that the development undertaken over the year means we are capable of fighting at the front for race wins, every race.”
US television listings for the week of May 10 – May 17
Monday, May 10
2009 Isle of Man TT
600cc Supersport Race 2
9-10pm
Discovery HD Theater
Tuesday, May 11
2009 Isle of Man TT
600cc Supersport Race 2
Midnight-1am
Discovery HD Theater
2009 Isle of Man TT
600cc Supersport Race 2
4-5am
Discovery HD Theater
World Superbike Championship, Monza, Italy
Superbike Race 2
1-2pm
Speed
World Superbike Championship, Monza, Italy
600cc Supersport
2pm-3pm
Speed
2009 Isle of Man TT
1000cc Superstock Race
Sidecar Race 1
2-3pm
Discovery HD Theater
FIM Speedway Grand Prix Series, Poland
3-4pm
Discovery HD Theater
Saturday, May 15
AMA Pro Racing, Infineon, California Day 1
10pm-Midnight
Speed
Sunday, May 16
World Superbike Championship, Kyalami, South Africa
Superbike Race 1
3pm-4pm
Speed
World Superbike Championship, Kyalami, South Africa
Superbike Race 2
3pm-4pm
Speed
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