2009 MotoGP World Championship Standings After Round 8, Laguna Seca, USA

David Emmett — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:07:54 +0000

2009 Laguna Seca MotoGP Race Result - Last Corner Lunge Fails To Take Win

David Emmett — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:49:38 +0000

Results of the Laguna Seca MotoGP race:

Free Live Video Of Laguna Seca Build Up On MotoGP.com

David Emmett — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:58:13 +0000

If you're sitting around waiting for the Red Bull US Grand Prix from Laguna Seca to start, you could do worse than to head on over the official MotoGP.com website. MotoGP.com will be showing free live coverage of the pre-race build up to the race, getting you in the mood and up to speed for the Laguna Seca race. Coverage does not include footage of the race - you'll either have to switch on your TV or ante up for a MotoGP.com subscription - but it's a nice way to kick of race day. You can watch the race build up on the Live Video page of MotoGP.com.

Sunday Morning Warm Up Pics From Laguna Seca

Scott Jones — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:39:34 +0000

More images from Scott Jones at Laguna, this time of the warm up session prior to the race.

Nicky Hayden had a special paint job, stars 'n' bars style

Valentino Rossi saves his front tire

Jorge Lorenzo took part in warm up, and got up to speed slowly

2009 Laguna Seca MotoGP Warm Up Result - Casey Stoner Edges Valentino Rossi

David Emmett — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:05:08 +0000

Casey Stoner was fastest in this morning's warm up session at Laguna Seca, seemingly unhampered by the injuries he suffered in the highside during yesterday's qualifying practice. Stoner hobbled to his bike, looking very stiff, but once aboard, was flying. He took the fastest time within the first ten minutes of practice, then went back into the pits and did not emerge again.

The other of the walking wounded, Jorge Lorenzo, was clearly much less comfortable than Stoner. Lorenzo had great difficulty walking, but still managed to ride the bike for 13 laps, setting the 5th fastest time in the process, just under 0.6 seconds behind Casey Stoner's time. The question of whether Stoner and Lorenzo will race looks settled, though it remains to be seen whether they can actually last for 32 laps round Laguna's physically exhausting circuit.

Valentino Rossi was 2nd fastest, just 0.08 off Casey Stoner, but that belies the real difference between the two men. Rossi was blistering in the first three sectors, over a tenth faster in each, but losing out big time in the final sector, running through Rainey back to the finish line. Rossi was between a quarter of a second to nearly half a second slower through those final turns, offering an interesting confrontation between the Australian and the Italian once again. Rossi will need some more of Jeremy Burgess' magic to find another tenth or two in T4.

Dani Pedrosa finished the session in 3rd place, ahead of a promising Colin Edwards on the Tech 3 Yamaha. Andrea Dovizioso was 6th fastest, ahead of Nicky Hayden.

The session saw a number of crashes, with Marco Melandri crashing heavily in Turn 6, while Toni Elias took a trip through the gravel at Turn 2.

Results:

Laguna Seca MotoGP Race Live On Fox, And Live On Eurosport

David Emmett — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:18:40 +0000

A reminder for all our American readers wondering why the Laguna Seca MotoGP race hasn't shown up on their DVR. While normally, MotoGP is shown on SpeedTV, today's race is to be shown live on network TV, broadcast by Fox. The race starts at 2pm local time (PDT) at Laguna Seca, which equates to 5pm EDT (there's a list converting the race start time into the correct time all around the world on this website). You can also check the starting time on the excellent TV Racer website.

So remember, if you're based in the US, the MotoGP race at Laguna Seca is on Fox, not Speed, live at 2pm PDT.

Viewers based in the UK have a choice of viewing. The race is scheduled to be shown live on BBC2 at 10pm BST, but it will simultaneously be broadcast live on British Eurosport with the fabulous voices of Toby Moody and Julian Ryder. So people capable of receiving both the UK and British Eurosport have the luxury of choice. For most of the rest of Europe, however, the MotoGP race will not be shown on Eurosport, so consult your local TV provider.

Saturday Laguna Photos - Monterey Celebrates July 4th Loudly

David Emmett — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:34:47 +0000

It's Saturday, and Scott Jones has his eye in. Here are more of his fantastic shots from Laguna Seca. Click on the photos for hi-res versions:

Up the hill towards Terrifying Turn 1. That media center used to be right where the run off is.

Casey Stoner. Just because you're ill, it doesn't mean you can't be fast.

This is how hard you have to work just to ride around in 16th place in MotoGP

2009 Laguna Seca MotoGP Qualifying Practice Report

David Emmett — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:12:36 +0000

Qualifying practice turned out to be one of the most dramatic sessions we have seen for a long time at Laguna Seca, and not in a good way. By the end of the session, two of the three men leading the championship had suffered violent highsides and been stretchered off, though both Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo are expected to race tomorrow.

It all started off much as expected, with Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo leading the way, Stoner the first into the 1'22 bracket, followed shortly after by Lorenzo. The two young championship protagonists were soon joined by Andrea Dovizioso, and as the first quarter of the session ended, the Repsol Honda man and his team mate Dani Pedrosa took charge, Pedrosa taking over pole.

The Repsol Honda resurgence would be short-lived. Within a couple of minutes, Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner were playing leapfrog with provisional pole again, Stoner getting down into the low 1'22s and then Lorenzo cracking the 1'21s with a lap of 1'21.950. Valentino Rossi, who until that point had been well down the order, soon chipped away at his best time and was soon up to 3rd, a quarter of a second off Lorenzo's pole time.

As the 20 minute approached, Jorge Lorenzo suffered the first of the two crashes he was to have during qualifying, folding the front in Turn 10 and sliding off relatively unhurt into the gravel, his main concern how to get back to the pits in time to improve his time. In the meantime, Casey Stoner took back pole, shaving hundredths off first Lorenzo's time, and then his own, with a lap of 1'21.910. Minutes later, Valentino Rossi joined Stoner and Lorenzo in the 1'21s with a lap of 1'21.958, then another of 1'21.954.

Laguna Highside Update - Stoner Fit, Lorenzo Likely To Race

David Emmett — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 22:37:44 +0000

News is starting to seep in of the injuries suffered by Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner, both of whom suffered nasty highsides in the final minutes of qualifying at Laguna Seca. The good news is that both men are likely to be able to race tomorrow, but the bad news is that they are both pretty banged up.

Casey Stoner escaped with the least damage. According to reports on GPOne.com, Stoner only suffered a badly bruised hip, and should be able to race without problems tomorrow. Of course, Stoner is still suffering with the mystery virus which has plagued him at the last couple of Grand Prix, though some of the color seemed to have returned to the Australian's face today, and Stoner looked a good deal better than he did yesterday.

Jorge Lorenzo came off the worst of the pair. In another huge highside, resembling all too starkly the kind of crashes Lorenzo was prone to last season, Lorenzo fell heavily on his shoulder, and banged up his knee. According to reports on both GPOne.com and Roadracing World, Lorenzo has suffered a dislocated collarbone and a badly bruised metatarsal in his right foot. Lorenzo has also been pronounced fit to ride, though by Dr. Claudio Costa, who places more faith in the riders mental resilience rather than their physical health. If Lorenzo does ride, he will be far from at full strength.

UPDATE

The official MotoGP.com website is reporting that no decision will be made on whether Jorge Lorenzo will race until tomorrow (Sunday).

2009 Laguna Seca MotoGP Qualifying Practice Result - Drama In Crash-Strewn Session

David Emmett — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 21:56:58 +0000

Results of MotoGP Qualifying Practice at Laguna Seca:

Friday Photos From Laguna - Riding

Scott Jones — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:48:50 +0000

MotoGPMatters.com's Scott Jones is at Laguna, and sending back more of his fantastic photographs. Here's a selection from Friday.

Warming up a Honda

JT's M1, ready and waiting

CEII gets busy with the T-shirt cannon

2009 Laguna Seca MotoGP FP2 Result - Lorenzo Squeezes Out Stoner

David Emmett — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:02:40 +0000

Jorge Lorenzo set the fastest time of the second session of free practice on Saturday morning at Laguna Seca, with a couple of lightning laps in the final seconds of practice. Lorenzo had swapped the lead with Fiat Yamaha team mate Valentino Rossi for the first half of practice, before Casey Stoner barged his way to the top of the timesheets with 25 minutes to go, and cracking into the 1'21 bracket. The pace of practice slackened a little for a while after that, only picking up again in the final 5 minutes or so.

Lorenzo and Stoner were the only men to get into the 1'21s, less than 4/100ths of a second separating the pair. Valentino Rossi is 3rd, but nearly 4/10ths behind his team mate, and not far ahead of Toni Elias. Andrea Dovizioso is 5th quickest, fractionally ahead of his team mate, Dani Pedrosa.

On the day that the US celebrates Independence Day, the Americans had varying fortunes. Nicky Hayden started slowly, then hit a strong patch in the middle of the session, climbing up as high as 5th at one point, before dropping to end the session in 9th, still a better result than he has had since the first session at Barcelona. Colin Edwards highsided early on in the session, and spent a long time in the nether regions of the timesheet, climbing up to finish in 7th spot.

Result of MotoGP FP1:

Marco Melandri Interview - "My Goal Is A Good Bike For 2010"

Scott Jones — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:11:56 +0000

After a dismal year in 2008, where he struggled woefully with the Ducati Desmosedici, Marco Melandri has taken last year's Kawasaki and turned in some remarkable results. MotoGPMatters.com caught up with Melandri at Laguna Seca, to ask about the year so far, and what he expects for the future.

MGPM: After your difficult year in 2007, you've exceeded everyone's expectations this season with Hayate. Do you feel you're once again showing people what Marco Melandri is capable of?

Melandri: Yes, it has been a very tough 2008, and for sure I signed up for a difficult challenge with Kawasaki. After the winter we knew we would have a very tough season, but then we had some very good races, which no one expected, including me. I expected to have some good races, actually, but not to do as well as we've done. After that we had some difficult races, and I had a small injury in Barcelona, but now that's getting better. I'm quite happy with the season so far.

Ben Spies: World Superbikes In 2010, MotoGP In 2011?

David Emmett — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:25:41 +0000

In all the discussion of silly season, there are a few names which keep cropping up and are starting to form the bottleneck preventing the rider line-up from shaking itself out. One of those names, Marco Simoncelli, cleared his part of the deck by announcing he had signed for Gresini Honda for 2010. That move also cleared the way at Yamaha, as both the Gresini and the Tech 3 Yamaha rides are the most keenly sought after in the paddock.

With Simoncelli out of the way, that leaves Ben Spies and Alvaro Bautista as the other main stumbling blocks. Spies had previously told the press that he already knew where he would be going next year, but declined to share that information with the press. But the Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport is now claiming to know just what Spies has signed up to.

According to a story in today's edition of the paper, Ben Spies has signed a new two-year deal with Yamaha. Under the terms of the deal, Spies will stay in World Superbikes for one more season, and will then move up to MotoGP in 2011. According to La Gazzetta, Spies has a guarantee of a ride in MotoGP for 2011, but also has an option to move up earlier, if he wins the World Superbike title this year, or if Jorge Lorenzo leaves Yamaha. The new rookie rule prevents Spies from going straight to the factory team, but the deal is said to guarantee full factory support for Spies in any satellite structure, making a mockery of the rookie rule, as has been predicted here and elsewhere.

2009 Laguna Seca MotoGP FP1 Result - Rossi Leads Close Top Three

David Emmett — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:08:31 +0000

Valentino Rossi was the fastest man on day 1 of the Red Bull US GP weekend at Laguna Seca, though he didn't secure that spot until the end of the session. As ever, it was Casey Stoner who was fastest in the early running, being the first rider into both the 1'23 and 1'22 bracket, and holding the top spot for most of FP1.

With just over 10 minutes to go, Jorge Lorenzo, who had been closing in on Stoner's time for the past 10 minutes, finally shot ahead of Stoner to take the top spot, but his lead would not stand. As the flag fell, Valentino Rossi crossed the line to set the fastest time, and the only man to crack into the 1'21s.

There is little to choose between Rossi, Lorenzo and Stoner, though. All three men were setting consistently fast times, and lapping within a few hundredths of each other. The only worry is that Stoner's health problems have not gone away: The Ducati rider looked pale and shaky as he got off his bike at the end of the session, clearly still unwell. Stoner is obviously fast enough to match the pace of Rossi and Lorenzo, but at an intensely physical track like Laguna, it is doubtful he will be able to maintain that pace for 32 grueling laps.

Dani Pedrosa is in 4th place, but over 6/10ths behind Rossi, and only just ahead of a rejuvenated Toni Elias, much preferring the 2008 chassis he now has to use on the factory-spec Honda RC212V.

Honorable mentions have to go to Marco Melandri and Gabor Talmacsi. Melandri was 7th fastest, on a bike that has not changed since the start of the season, while Gabor Talmacsi finished the session ahead of Niccolo Canepa at just his third event on a MotoGP bike. As tragic as it is to lose a Japanese rider from the MotoGP series, Yuki Takahashi having been forced out to make way for the Hungarian, Talmacsi's results are starting to back up the financial reasons behind that decision.

Results of MotoGP FP1 at Laguna:

First Fantastic Photos From Thursday's Superkart Race At Laguna Seca

David Emmett — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:30:28 +0000

MotoGPMatters.com is once again fortunate to have Scott Jones live at Laguna Seca, shooting some more of his superb photos. The first of his shots come from Thursday's Day of Stars Superkart challenge, where champions young and old took each other on around Laguna Seca, in anticipation of this year's Red Bull US Grand Prix.

Right helmet, wrong suit.

Fast Eddie's hat

That Yamaha Office Video - Valentino Rossi's New Career?

David Emmett — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:34:35 +0000

The aim of Public Relations is to generate publicity for the brand you are representing. Some PR firms are better than others, and in motorcycle racing, Yamaha certainly seem to be gaining the upper hand. Their latest offering is a rather silly but nonetheless entertaining look at what Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Colin Edwards and James Toseland do in between races. Colin Edwards in a uniform? Who knew?

"No Kawasaki On The Grid In 2010" Says Hayate Team Manager

David Emmett — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:54:39 +0000

At Laguna Seca, Hayate Team Manager Andrea Dosoli confirmed what we all already knew. Kawasaki is history, and won't be back in MotoGP in 2010. According to reports in the Italian press, Dosoli said that he didn't expect Kawasaki to return next season. "I don't think that Kawasaki will be here [in MotoGP] next year: The decision to pull out was taken at a very high level, and coming back into MotoGP would be an admission that they made the wrong decision," GPOne.com reports Dosoli as saying.

Dosoli was proud of what the Hayate team has achieved with limited means: "With a budget of 25% of what it was last year, I think we've done pretty well," he said. Members of the team are doubling up - Dosoli is both team manager and crew chief to Marco Melandri, for example - and the savings even go so far as not to produce and distribute press releases. Meanwhile, the team has a mass of equipment which is surplus to requirements and up for sale, including a hospitality unit, transporters and a host of other items.

With Hayate / Kawasaki definitely out of the series for 2010, the MotoGP grid will once again be reduced to under the magic 18 rider mark. Dorna have an almost indefinite contract with the FIM to organize the series, but it is believed that one of the stipulations in that contract is that Dorna will ensure there is a minimum grid of 18 riders. Kawasaki's withdrawal would reduce the grid to 17, and question marks remain over the future of Sete Gibernau's Grupo Francisco Hernando effort. Former championship runner-up Gibernau must find it hard to remain motivated to run around at the back of the field, while the construction company that is funding the team has taken some severe financial blows from the collapse of the Spanish housing and construction market.

2009 MotoGP Laguna Seca Preview - Return To The Scene Of The Crime

David Emmett — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:12:16 +0000

At heart, every motorcycle race starts fundamentally the same: A group of riders of similar talent on similar equipment line up on the grid with the intention of crossing the line ahead of their rivals at the end of the race. Yet despite its simplicity of concept, once the flag drops, each race develops in a unique direction, taking on a distinctive character all of its own.

That character is often dictated in large part by the nature of the class: in recent years, MotoGP races have tended to resemble a high-speed version of chess, each move carefully considered and rehearsed and several laps in the preparation. World Superbike races, on the other hand, often look more like a bar room brawl than a motor race, with riders wading in wildly more in hope than in expectation, and emerging surprisingly unscathed. And more often than not, races in the 125cc class turn into the nearest thing to a pack of hyenas fighting over a bone, bikes and bodies shooting in every direction, with no order or decorum, and even less chance of making any sense of the fight.

Sometimes, though, a motorcycle race can transcend the ordinary limitations of the class imposed by the nature of the bikes involved, and take on a uniqueness of character that leaves it burned into the collective memory of race fans for many, many years to come. The 2008 Red Bull US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca was just such a race. No high-speed chess here, no careful premeditation or long-rehearsed moves, the race between Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner was a fight to the death, mortal combat between two highly-trained assassins using any and every means at their disposal to inflict a fatal blow on their opponent.

Stone Cold Killers

Their combat was assisted, perhaps even encouraged, by the nature of the Laguna Seca track itself. For the first 24 laps of the race, both Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi used every inch of the track to gain an advantage over the other. Along Laguna's short front straight, it was Stoner's Ducati that had the edge, its better drive and horsepower allowing Stoner to catch Rossi.

But too often, it was not quite enough to get past Rossi before heeling over for the most terrifying corner on the track, the 170mph left kink of Turn 1. Rossi got caught out there a couple of times, but on most laps, as they rolled the bikes left over the crest of the hill, The Doctor held the perfect line, in the middle of the track and drifting right. Rossi was leaving the door open for Stoner, but the route it led to was the hardest route of all, the outside line over the rumblestrip, as dangerous as the North Face of the Eiger. Brave as a mountaineer, Stoner accepted the challenge, even passing there on lap 24.

1	ROSSI Valentino	ITA	151
2	LORENZO Jorge	SPA	142	-9
3	STONER Casey	AUS	135	-16
4	PEDROSA Dani	SPA	92	-59
5	EDWARDS Colin	USA	76	-75
6	DOVIZIOSO Andrea	ITA	69	-82
7	MELANDRI Marco	ITA	61	-90
8	VERMEULEN Chris	AUS	61	-90
9	DE PUNIET Randy	FRA	58	-93
10

MotoGPMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that highsides suck

Laguna Seca Race Photos