Valentin Debise

Just a few days after the end of the first International Road Racing Teams Association privateer teams test at Valencia, the WTR San Marino Team returned to testing; this time in the rain at Jerez.

The first day, Saturday, was characterized by strong rain, which made it impossible to enter the track until 2pm, when, fortunately, the rain let up.  Both 125cc rider Johann Zarco and Moto2’s Valentin Debise gave the best of themselves, with Zarco finishing 2nd with a time of 1′57.479 – just 8 tenths off the pace -  and Valentin Vazquez finishing with the sixth-best time of 1′57.92; less than two seconds behind the Moto2 class leader, Alex De Angelis.

During the day Sunday, bursts of rain disturbed almost every session, forcing teams to withdraw almost every hour. The track remained wet and did not help either rider, who both posted their best times during the morning sessions. Debise finished 18th with a time of 1′46.821, and Zarco finished 11th with a fastest time of 1′50 .795.  Zarco also crashed twice during the day; once in the morning and once during the afternoon session.

Rain continued into Monday, and rather than risk injury to its riders and damage to its machines, the WTR San Marino Team called an end to their testing. IRTA testing continues at Jerez from March 27-29.

Johann Zarco
“These tests were a bit unstable, ruined by [lack of] time and by the heavy rain which fell. We could not try everything we wanted, but at least we managed to test a new engine, on which my mechanics have worked hard all winter and was really going strong.  We were therefore very happy about it. Saturday we rode until the afternoon because the morning was impossible for the wet track. I felt very good and the bike felt good. In fact, I finished in second place – positive for me and for the team.
Sunday we rode in both wet and dry conditions, but I didn’t feel as good as on the bike as I did at Valencia and I had no confidence. I should have stopped in to make more adjustments, but I kept racing, knowing that I had some problems, but it was a mistake because they continued, and I fell and ended my day. Throughout the evening the mechanics worked hard to fix the bike and to recover the lost time, but the weather wanted something else
I wanted to thank the mechanics for the work that they did on the bike and thank them for their efforts.
They are real fans and push me to always do better. I’m really happy because the bike is competitive and I have competent mechanics. I just have to relax and focus on my riding to catch up. ”

Valentin Debise
“Jerez is a circuit that is very different than Valencia, and we had to change the setup of the bike because it was all new to us. In Valencia there were only tight corners, whereas here they are very wide: so it was very, very different. Now I think we can be ready for the next test, here at Jerez later this month. “

“A country as dependent on tourism as is the Republic of San Marino can gain important benefits from large, international sporting events like [the MotoGP Championship],” said San Marino Secretary of Tourism and Sport, Fabio Berardi.  The Most Serene Republic of San Marino (its official name) Office of State for Tourism held a press conference to announce the small country’s continuing partnership with WTR that will see its teams contest MogoGP’s 125cc and Moto2 classes

Now in its seventh consecutive season, the WTR San Marino Team will be managed by Loris Castellucci. Frenchman Johan Zarco – the 2007 MotoGP Red Bull Rookies Cup champion – will pilot the team’s 125 Aprilia, as he did last year when he finished in 20^th position as a class rookie.  Fellow countryman Valentin Debise makes his move from the 250 CIP Honda team to lead WTR San Marino’s Moto2 charge.

Originally written in German by Maximilian Kroiss and translated very poorly by Dave

Spain’s Alvaro Bautista is convinced his move to the 800cc class came at the right time.

Since Suzuki has no satellite squads, Alvaro Bautista will start immediately with a factory ride in MotoGP

After three less-than-successful attempts at a 250cc world title, 2006 125cc champion Alvaro Bautista is making his move to MotoGP’s Rizla Suzuki factory team. Before the season starts; however, the 25-year-old, eight-time 250cc race winner and his MotoGP classmates head to the highly anticipated pre-season test at Sepang.

“The 2009 season was extremely difficult for me,” said the new Suzuki factory rider. “I was pretty confident at the start of the season.  Positive results came right away, and I felt very comfortable with my machine. But the crash at Assen cost us important points, and I was unable to come back as a result.”

As the season progressed, Bautista found himself faltering in practice and qualifying as well as during the races. “In some races, I had to risk even more [to get to the front] because the other riders had qualified so well.”  For the last four grands prix, Bautista mounted a final attack.  ”When we arrived in Portugal in early October after the long break, I prepared myself to go on the offensive,” says the young man from Talavera de la Reina, near the Spanish capital of Madrid.

“I did very well in Estoril, Sepang and Phillip Island – races where I like the circuits very much – but the technical malfunction in Portugal probably thwarted my last chance to win the title,” continues Bautista. “I was very annoyed because I was very fast the entire weekend in Estoril.  After that race, there was only one option for me: I would have to win all remaining races. But in the next race I wanted too much. After the slip in Australia, I still finished tenth, but by the Sepang race, I knew my season was over. The 2009 season was very strange for me! ”

In both of the past two seasons, Bautista finished second in the points standings, first to Marco Simoncelli in 2008 and then to Hiroshi Aoyama last year.  ”Even at the start of the 2008 season, I was fixated on winning the championship,” he says “Although the opening few races of the season went disastrously [with a series of crashes and mechanical failures], in the closing races, I stood on the podium.” (Alvaro’s podium streak lasted from Catalunya to Malaysia, but he was already too far back in the points race to catch Simoncelli).

“In 2009, we thought if we approach the season calmly and regularly finish near the top, nothing should really go wrong. But at mid-season, the conditions had changed. Sometimes it was really hard for us to fight for the win, since we had come with the bike noticeably in trouble and I lacked the confidence I had at the beginning of the season. I also lacked confidence in the bike, especially since we were having problems getting it set up correctly. ”

The reasons for the set-up problems, Bautista believes, were the constant changes within his mechanical crew. “Every year in the 250cc class, I had a different crew,” he said.  ”In 2007, I worked with my team from previous years, but before the 2008 season my team was completely changed and again at the beginning of last season. It’s not necessary to have every team member back again, but it takes some time before everything begins to come together. ”

Bautista became accustomed to the Suzuki during testing at Estoril

Bautista is full of emotional turns, but he quickly cheers up when asked about his first impressions with the factory Suzuki GSV-R after the tests last November in Valencia and Estoril. “I am very happy about my move to MotoGP.  It’s exactly the right time for me. Riding the current generation of MotoGP machine is comparatively easier than the 250cc. At first go I had a good feel for the machine. Also, turning into the corners is much easier than with a 250 motorcycle. ”

The Iberian is most impressed with the bike’s traction control. “Even in the 250s, we had electronic riding aids. But, compared to MotoGP, that system offered little help. When you rolled the throttle, the bike would slide wildly. The MotoGP bike almost runs by itself; it’s just unbelievable: Twist the throttle and ‘wrrrrrr,’ the bike takes full control on the exit! ”

If you have any corrections or comments about my translation capabilities (that means you, David Emmett), please include them in the Comments section. Thanks.

Join the Motourage Fantasy Riders Race League.

It’s simple. Just visit FantasyRiders.com and Create a New Team.

Once you have a team name, login and password, go to Join Personal League.

The league number is 80033, and – if needed – the password is veryfast.

There’s plenty of time to choose your riders, but make sure your picks are locked in by Feb 26 as no more changes will be allowed until after the first round.

As always, we’ll have a really cool prize for the league winner at the end of the season.

Good Luck!

-Dave

Today’s Motourage Video of the Day features testing of the Inmotech GPI 10 MotoGP machine. Spanish designed and built, the 800cc, pneumatic-valve, 80-degree V4 is scheduled to make its first MotoGP appearance at the Catalunya Grand Prix in July. Test rider Ivan Silva, who has competed in MotoGP, the World Superbike Championship and – most recently – the CEV Buckler Spanish Championship, is expected to pilot the motorcycle. Inmotech plans to run five races in 2010 before becoming a full-time competitor the following season.

Yamaha Motor Racing Srl is pleased to announce the appointment of Wilco Zeelenberg as Team Manager for Jorge Lorenzo in the Fiat Yamaha Team.

Dutchman Zeelenberg joins the team from Yamaha’s World Supersport Team, where he won the World Championship in 2009 with Cal Crutchlow.

Zeelenberg previously had a successful career as a rider, contesting 100 Grands Prix from 1986 to 1995, racing with three different manufacturers including Yamaha. From 1995 to 2000 he then raced in the World Super Sport championship.

Wilco Zeelenberg takes the reins of Jorge Lorenzo's half of the Fiat Yamaha MotoGP team

On retirement from racing he joined Yamaha Motor Europe as Technical Coordinator and Test Rider until 2008, when he took over the role of Team Manager for the Yamaha World Super Sport Team.

Zeelenberg lives in Holland and is married with two children.

Lin Jarvis, Managing Director for Yamaha Motor Racing Srl, added, “I would like to congratulate Wilco on his appointment and wish him every success in his new challenge. I am confident that the Team and Jorge will benefit from Wilco’s long experience as a rider, a Yamaha racing technician and more recently as a successful Team Manager. We look forward to integrating him into the Fiat Yamaha Team working alongside Davide Brivio, both Team Managers being under the supervision of Team Director Masahiko Nakajima.”

“After nine years working for Yamaha I am very proud to be joining the official Yamaha MotoGP team,” said Zeelenberg. “It’s a big reward and I am very excited about this new challenge. Jorge is a fantastic rider and I cannot wait to start working with him and the crew. The team is already a well-oiled machine and I am thrilled to be fitting into it. It’s clear that there are four main contenders for the title and Jorge is one of those four. I am a very competitive person, I will do everything I can in the team to create the right atmosphere and fight for the championship title.”

Loris Capirossi’s Rizla Suzuki GSV-R was recently present at the Silverstone circuit in England to celebrate the announcement that the Northamptonshire circuit has secured the long term future of the FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix to sit alongside the return of MotoGP to the famous British circuit in 2010.

MotoGP rookie Alvaro Bautista joins veteran Loris Capirossi on the Rizla Suzuki team for 2010

Staff based at Silverstone’s Northamptonshire headquarters were celebrating the fact that the circuit will host not one, but two British Grands Prix in 2010. In addition to securing the new 17-year F1 deal with Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula One Management (FOM), the motorcycle Grand Prix will also be returning to the home of British motor racing in 2010 – the first time in more than 20 years.

To mark the occasion, the #65 Rizla Suzuki GSV-R was joined at Silverstone by dignitaries from the local councils, government officials and Lewis Hamilton’s 2009 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 car.

Capirossi and the Suzuki GSV-R will be joined at Silverstone by new Rizla Suzuki signing Álvaro Bautista and the rest of the MotoGP paddock for the sixth round of the MotoGP World Championship on Sunday 20th June, with F1 heading to Silverstone on Sunday 11th July.

Motourage will never pass up the chance to include an extra Alvaro Bautista photo

The Sterilgarda Yamaha Team have unveiled the special one-off livery for 2009 World Superbike Champion Ben Spies ahead of his wildcard ride at the final MotoGP race in Valencia this weekend. Spies will be riding the Yamaha YZR-M1 prior to joining the Tech3 Yamaha Team next Monday to start testing for the 2010 season.

The American rider has achieved astonishing success in his rookie year in World Superbike, bringing the first ever World Superbike Championship victory for Yamaha. Over the 2009 season he scored 14 race wins and 11 pole position starts in the class, becoming the all-time greatest rookie in the process.

“I’m really excited for the opportunity to race at Valencia this weekend,” said Spies. “I’m fully aware that MotoGP is a big step up from World Superbike and realize it’s not going to be possible to achieve the same results in my first year there. I see this weekend as an opportunity to spend some time on the bike and start learning it for next season, and to have some fun as well!”

Yamaha Setup Report – Valencia

Fiat Yamaha Team aiming to confirm triple crown at Valencia season finale

The highs and lows of another stunning MotoGP season draw to a close this Sunday at the traditional season-ending finale at Valencia in Spain. The Fiat Yamaha Team of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo have swept all before them this year, dominating the season by taking ten race wins between them and putting on some of the most entertaining racing displays of recent years. Rossi clinched his ninth World Championship title last time out in Malaysia and, with the Teams’ title already in the bag and Yamaha looking odds-on to confirm the Manufacturers’ title this weekend, the Japanese marque is hoping to take its second consecutive ‘Triple Crown,’ the third since Rossi joined in 2004.

A ninth world title shows that Rossi’s star shows no sign of waning yet but the 30-year-old admitted in Sepang that this season has been one of his toughest, due largely to his determined young team-mate. His six wins this year are less than he has taken in any of his other eight championship-winning seasons but he will be determined to try to increase that by one and round off the season on the highest possible note this weekend by finishing on top of the podium. The Italian hero admits that the tight and twisty track is not one of his favorites but he has two wins to his name there and a further three podiums, including third place last year.

Lorenzo’s second season in MotoGP has been even more spectacular than his first, with four wins and some stunning battles with his much older and more experienced team-mate. The 22-year-old has never won at the Ricardo Tormo circuit but has some great memories from the track, having finished as runner-up in 2005 before clinching the first of his two 250cc titles there in 2006. The Mallorcan needs just one point from this last race in order to confirm second place in the championship, which he says will be more than enough of a prize for him in just his second MotoGP season, but he, too is determined to end the year on a high note and will be aiming for the podium at the very least.

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