Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso renew HRC contracts

HRC is delighted to confirm that Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso have re-signed for the factory Honda MotoGP team.

After the basic agreement announced by Honda Racing Corporation at Brno last month, the details of the contracts have duly been finalised and both riders have signed the agreements at Misano during the Gran Premio Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini weekend.

Pedrosa has agreed a one-year extension to his contract which will see the 23-year-old Spaniard riding for the factory Honda squad for a fifth consecutive season. Dovizioso has signed a deal with HRC for 2010 with options to extend for 2011. With this young and talented pairing, HRC is convinced it has the rider line-up needed to recapture the MotoGP World Championship title.

Tetsuo Suzuki, HRC President

“We are very pleased that both Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso have re-signed for the factory Honda team and we have total confidence that these two riders possess the talent to help us fight for the MotoGP World Championship. They both have long and successful careers with Honda in Grand Prix racing and we are happy this partnership will continue. Although we have struggled this season, we will continue the challenge until the very last Grand Prix. Since this year is the 50th anniversary of the start of Honda’s participation in the World Championships, we must remind ourselves once again that Honda has been striving to compete at the top level in the world since the day of its founding. As HRC we will, of course, reinforce the development of our machine, and together with every team member, we will continue to fight with Honda’s challenging spirit in our hearts.”

Dani Pedrosa

This new agreement with HRC is great news for me and I’m very pleased to be staying with the team that I’ve ridden for since 2006. We have now established an effective way of working and I’m confident that we can become even more competitive in the future. The target has always been to win the World Championship and that of course stays the same. We have proved before that we can be the fastest and beat the best in the world, and I still believe we can get to a level where we are challenging for that at every race. That is what the whole team must work towards. HRC has a very impressive racing heritage and I still have confidence that they can produce a bike that can win the World Championship.

Andrea Dovizioso

I’m very happy to be continuing with HRC in the factory Honda team. The experience of being involved with such a prestigious team has been very important for me and, as soon as we began discussing the future, my target was to continue with Honda. My first year as a factory rider has taught me a lot. I’m confident that with the direction we’ve agreed for machine development we can reach a level where we are fighting for victory every Sunday. Honda is a company that has achieved huge racing success and there are a lot of very talented and passionate people behind this effort. I’m sure we have the potential to fight for the world title.

Successful end to busy weekend for Andrea Dovizioso

Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso had an eventful time at his home Grand Prix, which ended with him moving up to fifth place in the championship.

The Gran Premio Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini was an important weekend for Andrea Dovizioso, with the highly gifted young Italian being confirmed as a Repsol Honda rider for 2010 before Sunday’s race - in front of a passionate Italian crowd.

Dovizioso’s hometown of Forli is a one hour drive (75km) drive from the Misano circuit and he had plenty of friends and family members looking on from the stands as he successfully battled with another popular Italian in the final stages, eventually outpacing the veteran Suzuki rider on the final lap to take fourth place by two-tenths of a second.

Dovizioso had worked diligently over the course of the weekend to incorporate his new Ohlins suspension system onto the factory RC212V, meaning that he appeared not to be riding at 100% until the race itself, having qualified down in eighth place.

Dovizioso seems to be a specialist a finishing fourth, having now done so on six occasions this year, thrice in the last three races, but this time the result was enough to lift him above crasher Colin Edwards in the standings into fifth position overall.

Summarising his home GP, Dovizioso stated, “I’m reasonably happy with this weekend. This was the first time with Ohlins and of course we couldn’t have the perfect set-up but this is just the start and I’m very confident for the future. I’m happy too because I renewed my contract with Honda. This is my first year in the factory Honda team and I feel that I still haven’t shown my full potential. I know the machine better now and we are working together in preparation for next year.”

Describing his race, he commented, I pushed 100 per cent in the first laps. I had a good feeling with the bike but unfortunately on lap seven I made a mistake at turn 11 and I lost contact with the front riders. This mistake compromised the race as after that I couldn’t stay with the leaders. In the last laps I had quite a battle with Capirossi for fourth place. He was braking very hard but in the end I passed him and closed every gap so that he couldn’t get past again.

MotoGP trio react to costly crash

Colin Edwards, Nicky Hayden and Alex de Angelis all gave their reactions to the first lap crash at Misano which immediately ended their quests for points on Sunday.

There was drama early in the MotoGP contest on Sunday at Misano when home rider Alex de Angelis hit Colin Edwards at the start of the first lap, with the crash also taking Nicky Hayden into the gravel and instantly ending the race for all three riders.

Following their good performances in practice and qualifying each of the talented trio had looked well set to earn a decent points total at round 13, but it was not to be – with De Angelis accepting the blame for the crash and later apologising to both Americans.

However, Edwards was in no mood for sympathy and described De Angelis’ riding as unacceptable. The Texan fumed, “I thought I had the pace to easily be fourth and maybe fight with Dani Pedrosa for a podium but we are in Italy and occasionally you have to deal with an Italian rider who wants to be a hero and today that was De Angelis. Turn one at the start with 17 bikes is not the place to be going at race pace and he was never going to make through there. Today De Angelis is the guy who needed to be wearing Valentino’s donkey helmet.”

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider continued, “I didn’t know what had happened until I was sliding through the gravel. Turn one is the most dangerous time to crash with so many bikes around you, it is unacceptable. I’ve been fighting with Andrea Dovizioso in the championship most of the season and now he has ten points on me with four races to go. That’s racing.”

Hayden, meanwhile, was similarly disgruntled and was particularly dismayed to have missed the chance to give the thousands of Ducati supporters at Misano something to shout about. The Kentuckian competitor remarked, “It’s easy to say it now but I just know I was set for a good race so I’m extremely disappointed. Maybe I wasn’t going to win but at least I could have run with the front guys for a while and given all the Ducatisti something to cheer, as well as picking up some vital experience and data for this machine.”

He added, “To be honest I had a feeling De Angelis might create some drama here. He’s at home and fighting for his job and when I saw him in the corner of my eye I just tried to gas it and get out of his way. Unfortunately he slightly clipped my rear wheel and that was the last I knew about it. I know in racing people can make mistakes and I have done plenty in my life but I’m not happy with Alex because this wasn’t racing - it was just stupid to try and pull a move like that on cold tyres, on the first lap. Anyway, we’re all okay and looking forward to Portugal.”

For his part it was a highly costly error and De Angelis has now failed to finish the race on both occasions he has ridden in his home event as a MotoGP rider, having also crashed out last year.

He ruefully stated, “I got a decent start and thought I could make some more ground up on the inside on the turn but I went in too deep. Colin cut in front of me and I braked as hard as I could to avoid him but the front folded and I hit him. Unfortunately Nicky was hit as well and I apologise to both of them. Unfortunately these things happen in racing and I am desperately disappointed because this is my home race, there were a lot of people here supporting me and I wasn’t able to deliver a good result. It is especially frustrating because we had the potential to put a really good race together here after another excellent weekend, but we’ll take the positives out of it and try to continue with our recent progress at Estoril.”

Valentino Rossi comments on 2011 Ducati rumours

MotoGP World Champion and Misano winner Valentino Rossi was asked about a potential move to Ducati in 2011 after Sunday’s race, but says he is still to decide on his future.

Speculation in the press linking Italian national hero Valentino Rossi with a move to Italian factory team Ducati resulted in the World Champion inevitably being asked about the subject following yet another victory in Italy, but the MotoGP title holder insists the rumours are just paper talk at present.

The 30 year-old rider took another step closer to what would be a fourth premier class title with his current Fiat Yamaha team and a seventh premier class crown in total on Sunday, and when asked about the 2011 Ducati rumours he replied, “I haven’t decided yet about my future, I will decide in the next year. I have a contract signed already with Yamaha (for 2010). For sure it is a great dream for everybody, to see Valentino with Ducati. We will see, I don’t know.”

Commenting on the superb atmosphere at Misano, which is situated close to his hometown of Tavullia, Rossi enthused, “It is fantastic. This year I really feel like this is my home Grand Prix. Before it always felt more like Mugello was home, but here with all this crowd it is brilliant. It is great for MotoGP to have so many fans and to see everyone with their 46 flags was amazing.”

On whether he had expected a harder battle with his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo during the race he stated, “Jorge is always strong but we saw in the practice that we had a little bit of an advantage, so we were able to go a bit faster than him.”

Loris Capirossi disappointed to lose fight with Dovizioso

Capirossi unhappy with fifth
An all-Italian battle between Loris Capirossi and Andrea Dovizioso for fourth brought the crowd to their feet in the final stages at Misano, but there was ultimately frustration for the veteran Suzuki rider.

Rizla Suzuki’s Loris Cpairossi produced another excellent performance at Misano on Sunday, crossing the fifth, having started tenth on the grid, but the ultra-competitive Italian was not happy after the race as he had lost out in a duel for fourth place with Andrea Dovizioso on the last lap.

Indeed, there were just two-tenths of a second separating the pair as they crossed the line, prompting Capirossi to say afterwards, “"I am very disappointed and quite upset to lose fourth place on the last lap, I think we deserved it and it would have been a great result for the whole team, Suzuki and all the sponsors. Dovizioso was a little bit faster than me on the last lap and although I tried to close the door he overtook me quite fast. I tried to get him back but just didn't do it.”

Summarising the Gran Premio Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini overall, Capirossi also remarked, “We got better all weekend and it was a great race for us today and although I am upset at losing out on fourth, because that would have been the best result this year, we are certainly getting closer all the time and I think very soon we will be right up there.”

Dani Pedrosa describes tough Misano race

Dani Pedrosa interview after race in Misano
Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa gave it all he could at round 13 but he could not match the pace of his Fiat Yamaha rivals.

On the day he officially renewed with HRC to continue in the factory Honda team in 2010, Dani Pedrosa gave it his best shot at the Gran Premio Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, but could only manage third place at Misano.

The former 250cc and 125cc World Champion made one of his signature superb starts and led the race in the early laps, but was eventually hunted down by title chasers Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, who appeared to have an advantage in terms of lap times on their Yamaha M1 machines.

Explaining what had occurred Pedrosa stated, “I gave it my maximum in the race. I tried to do everything I could and I wanted to stay with them (Rossi and Lorenzo) at the beginning, but in the middle of the race I started to go slower and they were just faster. They were braking better and cornering better, so I couldn’t keep up with them.”

At the end of the race the Barcelona rider had to be brought back to the pits by fellow Catalan Toni Elías after his machine cut out on the warm down lap. Pedrosa commented, “From the beginning I had some misfiring on a couple of corners and in the end I was very lucky because my bike stopped on the ‘in-lap’ and it was very strange. I don’t know if it was lack of fuel or something else, but I think I was lucky to finish the race and get third! Anyway, thanks to my team and the people around me.”

Jorge Lorenzo acknowledges Rossi competitiveness

Jorge Lorenzo interview after race in Misano
Jorge Lorenzo believes second place at Misano was a good result considering Valentino Rossi’s form throughout the weekend.

Having lapped sixth fastest in the Sunday warm up Jorge Lorenzo said he knew there was a very tough race ahead of him, also considering the pace of his team-mate and title rival Valentino Rossi throughout the weekend, and that proved to be the case once the real action got underway.

Lorenzo rode steadily after an early scare when Alex de Angelis, Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden crashed out next to him, the Spaniard then hunting down Dani Pedrosa and chasing Rossi for the lead, but eventually falling two and a half seconds short.

The Majorcan rider is the only rider to have been on the podium every time he has finished a race this year and the Misano contest took him onto the rostrum for the tenth time in 2009.

Afterwards he said, “After the pace in warm up I knew it was going to be a difficult race. I had a not bad start, but then I almost crashed on the second corner, because (Alex) de Angelis was going so fast and his bike touched me. Fortunately I didn’t go down and I wanted to relax, so that I could recover, without taking too many risks.”

“I think today was the day to finish second and not to win, because Valentino had the best pace all through the weekend. So I had to concentrate on getting second place because I didn’t have the perfect set-up for my bike and I couldn’t brake so late. Because of that it was difficult to get around Dani (Pedrosa), as the Honda was accelerating very well. Anyway, second place is good.”

Valentino Rossi: ‘It was a perfect weekend’

Valentino Rossi interview after race in Misano
Valentino Rossi will make the short drive home to Tavullia from Misano with a 30 point advantage in the title race ahead of a three week break, with four rounds to go.

A fantastic performance this weekend at the Gran Premio Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini from standings leader and reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi allowed him to put the disappointment of Indianapolis firmly behind him in the Italian sunshine.

The ideal response from Rossi to his Indy DNF was a dominant display of his competitiveness and talent over the three days of the GP, climaxing in a solid race victory in front of his home fans, to wedge a 30 point gap between himself and runner-up Jorge Lorenzo.

Afterwards a delighted Rossi stated, “I am so happy because this victory is more important than normal, coming after a bad mistake in Indianapolis just seven days ago and especially because my team and I did a great job, from Friday afternoon. It was a perfect weekend, we were always very fast in all the practices and we are always proud of all the fans here in Misano. Thanks to them for all their support.”

Describing how the race had worked out from his perspective, Rossi also commented, “I hoped to make a better start and get to the front but Dani (Pedrosa) and Toni (Elías) overtook me on the first corner and then Jorge at the end of the first lap, so I was fourth and in a little bit of trouble. I had a full fuel load and wasn’t 100% confident.”

“I decided to find my rhythm and get the right temperature into the tyres, then I started to push and it was a great race. It was a great battle with Toni, Jorge and Dani. When I got in front I couldn’t see everything behind me but I saw Jorge overtake Dani. I had three or four corners where I was very fast so I tried to use that advantage to the maximum.”

Valentino Rossi hits back with Misano triumph

Misano 2009 - MotoGP Race Highlights
It took Valentino Rossi just one week to bounce back from his Indianapolis disappointment with brilliant win at Misano on Sunday.

World Champion Valentino Rossi delighted the home crowd at Misano on Sunday with his second successive victory at the Italian circuit, to reassert his authority in the MotoGP title race.

A 2.4s win at the Gran Premio Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini over his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was the perfect response to his Indy DNF and Rossi now leads the Spaniard by 30 points in the standings, with four rounds to go.

Lorenzo did his very best to stay with his illustrious team-mate over the course of the 28 lap contest, having overtaken Dani Pedrosa after a short battle, but The Doctor was unstoppable in the Italian sunshine.

Having held the lead in the early stages Repsol Honda’s Pedrosa could not match the pace of the powerful Fiat Yamaha pair, eventually crossing the line ten seconds behind Lorenzo to complete the podium.

Early in the race there was drama - and heartbreak – when Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) appeared to misjudge the first corner and crashed out, with American pair Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro) unfortunately sliding out with him.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) had a fierce fight behind the rostrum finishers, with Dovizioso eventually coming out on top by two-tenths of a second for his third fourth place finish in a row.

The top ten was rounded off by early race leader Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Mika Kallio (Ducati Marlboro), Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing), Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) and James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), whilst temporary Pramac Racing representative Aleix Espargaró did very well in eleventh place in just his second MotoGP race.

Valentino Rossi stays on top on Sunday morning

As the MotoGP riders made their final preparations for battle at Misano on Sunday morning it was Valentino Rossi’s name which appeared at the head of the timesheet again.

World Champion Valentino Rossi warmed up for his home race with the best practice time on Sunday morning at Misano, with a 1’34.894s best effort keeping him ahead of the pack.

Below him on the timesheet Dani Pedrosa was three-tenths of a second behind in second place, whilst the Spaniard’s Repsol Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso was third fastest courtesy of a lap around half a second slower than Rossi’s.

Americans Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden completed the top five, whilst Jorge Lorenzo was down in sixth place on this occasion.

Pramac Racing's young Spanish replacement rider Aleix Espargaró crashed during the session and ended up 16th on the timesheet, but is expected to be fit to race.

Toni Elias hoping for luck in Misano race

Elias on second row result
San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Toni Elías believes he needs some good fortune to get on the podium on Sunday having qualified fourth at Misano.

Battling to secure a future in MotoGP at present, Toni Elías was going the right way about things on Saturday at Misano, as he placed his San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V fourth on the grid.

The Spanish rider was just 0.099 off the front row at a circuit where he finished third in last year’s MotoGP race and he was philosophical about how Saturday’s proceedings had panned out when he spoke to motogp.com after qualifying.

“Yesterday we started badly, with a lot of problems, but we improved the bike overnight and made some more improvements for this afternoon,” Elías explained. “I feel much better today on the bike and we lost out on the front row in the final moments because Valentino Rossi took the pole late on.”

Previewing Sunday’s 13th race of the season, Elías added, “We are still happy because the second row is perfect. We’ll try to start well in the race and follow the best riders. We know it will be difficult but our target will be to lead the second group, try to beat them and if it is possible and we get some ‘presents’ arrive like in Brno, we could get on the podium. It depends on luck a little bit.”

Valentino Rossi delighted with pole for home race

Rossi over the moon with home pole
The MotoGP title holder, standings leader and 2008 Misano race-winner Valentino Rossi was highly satisfied with his qualifying performance on Saturday afternoon.

Having taken his sixth pole of 2009 on Saturday at Misano a delighted Valentino Rossi thanked his Fiat Yamaha crew for their nimble work which allowed him to make late dash to secure top spot on the grid.

A final effort on a new tyre paid off for the Italian who was under pressure again from his Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa and his own team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who also ended up on the front row.

Afterwards an excited Rossi commented, “I am very happy to get the pole position here in Misano. I was able to do a great lap on my final tyre and that was enough for pole, and the team changed the tyre in the time of an F1 pit stop so thanks to them! We know that it's going to be a very tough race tomorrow, but we are in good shape.”

Describing his general Saturday work he added, “We expected it to be a bit cooler today but in the end it wasn't so different from yesterday and it's still very hard work for all the riders. This afternoon the grip wasn't great and we found it a bit harder with the race pace, but then we made a second round of modifications and everything felt very good.”

In his typically self-deprecating manner, Rossi explained the new helmet he is sporting this weekend, stating, “I have the donkey on it because in Italy, if you make a stupid mistake we say that you are a donkey. I made a mistake in Indy so this is why!”

Nicky Hayden on second row for important race

Hayden feeling good on Ducati in Italy
Ducati Marlboro’s Nicky Hayden had a decent day in front of the Ducatisti at Misano on Saturday.

Temporary Ducati team-mates until the return of Casey Stoner, permanent factory rider Nicky Hayden and Stoner’s replacement Mika Kallio are confident of putting on a strong performance in Sunday’s Misano race, after qualifying sixth and eleventh respectively in Saturday’s qualifying session.
Nicky Hayden – 6th

“This morning I had a really good feeling with the bike and put together a good rhythm – I was fastest in T4 and that’s the first time this year I’ve been fastest at anything in the dry! I’d hoped to improve and do my best dry qualifying of the year this afternoon but to begin with the track was a little warmer and I didn’t get that same level of feeling, so we had to make some tweaks to the set-up. Like I say, I’d hoped to do better than what I did but we got on the second row and our focus turns to tomorrow. I need to get a great start because those first two or three turns are going to be harsh – everybody will be fighting for positions and there’s a good chance of some drama there! We want to get through that cleanly and as high up the order as possible in the early stages. From there it’s a case of giving my maximum for all the Italian fans and trying to put their bike up front. It is great to have their support here and all the staff from Bologna – Claudio (Domenicali), Filippo (Preziosi), Vitto (Guareschi), Alan (Jenkins)… It’s fun and I’m enjoying having them around so hopefully we can celebrate a result together tomorrow.”

Mika Kallio – 11th

“We have improved by eight tenths of a second on yesterday, which isn’t bad but clearly isn’t enough because the other guys have improved more. We’ve tried many things this weekend to try and get a better feeling with the front but we’re still not getting the feedback we would like and we’re struggling to work out why that is. Now we need to think carefully about what we try in the morning because confidence is a big issue and if we go completely in the wrong direction it can be damaging. We’ll make some small modifications that I hope can be enough to help me push more and get more out of the bike in the race.”

Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo on hot first session

Rossi happy despite Friday heat
In the heat at Misano on Friday afternoon Valentino Rossi made an immediately good start to the weekend and was just ahead of his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo on the timesheet.

Both Fiat Yamaha riders, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, mentioned the heat at Misano on Friday afternoon after they successfully got the Gran Premio Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini weekend underway.

In uncomfortably hot and humid conditions local favourite Rossi set his best time right at the end of the session, with a 1’35.304 lap, to put him just over a tenth of a second ahead of Lorenzo – who had registered his fastest time a few minutes earlier.

Having scored the first psychological blow of the weekend, Rossi stated, “Today was unbelievably hot. The first session was much better than in Indy though and I am quite happy. We did a few experiments with different settings and then at the end when we put everything together with the right tyre, I was able to do three fast laps and finish first.”

The legendary Italian added, “It’s a good sign to be in this shape already on Friday and now we just have to improve a bit more tomorrow because it’s very important here to be on the front row. It’s quite a tricky track and you have to be quite careful in some places, but my bike felt good today.”

Lorenzo provided his perspective, remarking, “Today was very hot which meant it quite hard to ride, and also the track is quite slippery here. I felt comfortable on my bike from the start and I was able to be quite fast, which is always encouraging, but I think we have some more work to do because we’re not perfect yet and the front could be better, especially on the entry to the corners.”

“Tomorrow we will try to work on this and especially on T2 and T3, because these are the areas where we are losing some time. Valentino is very strong, as I expected because it’s his home and he won last year, so we will have to be at the maximum to be able to fight with him.”

Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo ready to hunt down Valentino Rossi

Pedrosa hoping to improve race pace
Spanish pair Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo will both try to prevent another Valentino Rossi victory at Misano on Sunday.

Having qualified on the front row for the fourth GP in succession Dani Pedrosa will try to spoil Valentino Rossi’s party at Misano on Sunday as he goes in search of his second victory of 2009.

Pedrosa looked to have snatched pole position from the illustrious Italian at the end of Saturday’s Gran Premio Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini qualifying session, but the Italian immediately grabbed it back with a late lap which was just over two-tenths of a second quicker than that of the Repsol Honda rider.

Reflecting on the session Pedrosa commented, “It’s great to get a front row start here and we weren’t far away from pole position which is a good result from this afternoon because our rivals are very strong again here. During the session we were working on race set-up and we still have a little way to go to improve my race pace and consistency compared to the others. In qualifying I was able to up my speed towards the end and I was pushing really hard because it’s very important to get on the front row here and give yourself the best chance of a clean getaway.”

“It’s sure to be an exciting race tomorrow and I hope we can find that little bit extra so we can challenge for the win again.”

Meanwhile, continuing his incredible run of starting on the front row at every round so far this year, this time in third place, Lorenzo added his perspective, stating, “Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough with the soft tyre right at the end, but we are still on the front row once again and this is the most important thing. My race pace is very good and I did some consistent runs, even though we still have some areas that we need to improve a bit because our setting isn’t perfect yet.”

"I think the race tomorrow is going to be quite painful in this heat and the physical condition is going to be very important! It will be a long race but we are in good shape and I am looking forward to the challenge".

Kurtis Roberts Profile

KURTIS ROBERTS
Born: November 17th, 1978
Residence: Turlock, California

2006 Competed in World Superbike Championship
2005 Two podium finishes in Formula Xtreme
2004 Rode for Proton KR Team, MotoGWorld Championship
2003 Three AMA Superbike wins & one AMA Supersport win
2001 Three AMA Superbike podiums. Four top five finishes in Supersport
2000 AMA Supersport Champion and Formula Xtreme Champion
1999 AMA Formula Xtreme Champion
1998 Three AMA 250 Grand Prix Race wins
1997 Raced in World 250cc Grand Prix Series

Andrew Pitt Career

2008 Rides for Hannspree Ten Kate Honda in the World Supersport championship.

2007 Returns to MotoGP with Ilmor, for what should be the team's first full season of racing - only for it to withdraw from competition after the opening round due to 'financial problems'. Pitt reappears as a stand-in for the injured Sebastien Charpentier at Ten Kate Honda's World Supersport team and as a Michelin MotoGP test rider. Impresses Ten Kate with two second place finishes, securing a full time ride for 2008.

2006 Remains with Yamaha Motor Italia in WSBK, alongside Noriyuki Haga, and enjoys his best season yet - taking his first WSBK win, and Yamaha's first of the season, at Misano. Haga finishes higher in standings due to consistency but also wins one race. Pitt, who scored six podiums during the season, is expected to keep his seat but is shocked to find out, at the Magny Cours season finale, that he will be replaced by countryman Troy Corser. With few top WSBK seats left, Pitt grabs the chance to test for the new Ilmor MotoGP team and subsequently signs to ride alongside Jeremy McWilliams.

2005 Moves to WSBK with the official Yamaha Motor Italian team. Just misses out on a podium as he finishes debut season in a solid, if unspectacular, 7th.

2004 12th World Supersport Championship Yamaha Italia, 27th MotoGP championship Moriwaki Honda.

2003 Starts first full MotoGP season with Kawasaki.
2002 5th World Supersport Championship and makes MotoGP debut with Kawasaki at Sepang and races in final three rounds claiming 4 points.
2001 World Supersport Champion.
2000 10th World Supersport Championship.
1999 Australian Supersport Champion. 2nd in Australian Superbike championship.
1998 2nd Australian Supersport Series. Winner of the Shell Advance 6 Hour. Winner of the South African Superbike International Challenge.
1997 1st NSW State 250 Production Series.
1996 2nd NSW State 250 Production Series.
1995 2nd NSW State 250 Production Series.

Nobuatsu Aoki Biography

Nobuatsu Aoki, born August 31, 1971 in Sumaga) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Aoki began his Grand Prix career in 1990 and won his first and only Grand Prix at the 250cc Malaysian Grand Prix. His best season was in 1997, when he finished third in the 500cc world championship behind Mick Doohan and Tadayuki Okada . He is the oldest of three Aoki brothers who have competed in motorcycle Grand Prix races.



Grand Prix motorcycle racing career
Active years 1990 - 2008
Teams Honda, Suzuki, Proton
Grands Prix 167
Championships
Wins 1
Podium finishes 7
Career points 1005
Pole positions 1
Fastest laps 1
First Grand Prix 1990 250cc Japanese Grand Prix
First win 1993 250cc Malaysian Grand Prix
Last win 1993 250cc Malaysian Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix 2008 MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix

Michel Fabrizio

Name: Michel Fabrizio
Nationality: Italian
Birth Date: 9/17/1984

Fabrizio had a pretty good rookie season, finishing 11th overall, providing a youthful balance on the 2006 D.F.X. team alongside Frankie Chili. With the popular Chili now retired, Fabrizio is partnered up with another veteran in Martin. During his rookie year in WSB, the former MotoGP backpacker tallied perhaps the most unexpected double-podium of the season at Brno (the same crazy round which saw Kagayama's double victory).

In 2007 Fabrizio was respectable aboard the D.F.X. Honda. Impressive enough to get tapped out by the factory Xerox Ducati squad for 2008. After a solid 8th place finish in 2008 Fabrizio returns in 2009 with the Ducati Xerox team partnering with Noriyuki Haga after Bayliss' retirement.

Career Highlights:
2008 - 8th WSB
2007 - 11th WSB
2006 - 11th WSB

Jeremy McWilliams Biography

Jeremy McWilliams (born 4 April 1964 in Belfast, Northern Ireland), is a motorcycle road racer. Until Scott Redding's win at the 2008 125cc British Grand Prix, he remained the only British rider to win a race or pole in an FIM MotoGP World Championship class in the 2000s.

For 2007, he was to race in the MotoGP series for the Ilmor team,despite a heavy crash in testing in late 2006. He had to miss the first race of the season in Qatar, due to another crash, near the end of the Losail International Circuit. After this round the team suspended its racing operations and has not returned. He is currently involved in development work for motorcycle and tyre manufacturers and also in coaching young riders through his Masterclass race schools.

Shane Byrne Biography

Full Name: Shane Byrne
Nickname: 'Shakey'
Date of Birth: 10th December 1976
Place of Birth: Lambeth, London
First Race: 1996
British Superbike Debut: 1999
Grand Prix Debut: 2004

Shane Brown was born on the 10th December 1976 in London, although he now lives in Zurich, Switzerland. He was the British Superbike Champion in 2003 riding for Monstermob Ducati.

Shane began his career in 1988 winning one event out of four in his trails riding debut year. In 1993 he had four wins in five months on Schoolboy motorcross. It wasn't until 1996 when Shane had his road racing debut with a Kawasaki. He won his race first time out but ended the season with a broken wrist.

By 1997, Shane was the Supersport 600 Champion and won his first national race on a Supersport Honda at Cadwell Park. He competed in the British Supersport Championship in 1998 finishing in 6th place on a Yamaha Thundercat, winning at Snetterton in the same season.

Shane started the 1999 season on a Honda in the Supersport class but moved up to riding a Kawasaki in the British Superbike Championship for the first time. He scored several point-scoring finishes including two 7th places and two 8th places. At Donington Park for the final round, Shane finished in 5th and 6th places and ended the season with 67 points, 15th place overall.

Injury in 2000 meant that Shane missed several mid season races, although he did finish in 14th place with ten top ten results scoring 80 points.

Three 5th and 4th places at both Oulton Park and Brands Hatch were some of the highlights from Shane's 2001 season. In fact he had twenty finishes in the top eight. He rode his GSX-R750 to 22 class wins out of 26 races. Scoring 204 points put him in 8th place overall, and won him the Superbike Cup.

Riding his first year for Team Renegade Ducati on a full works Superbike in 2002, Shane became a regular front-runner on the 998R TestaStretta. His first win was at Donington in round three. This season he also won at Knockhill and Thruxton, and was in the top five at no less than sixteen races. Shane also had the three fastest laps, making his final points tally 294 1/2 points and giving him 4th place overall. He also raced a Ducati in the British World Superbike rounds with results of 5th place, 9th place and two 10th places.

2003 saw Shane's best year. He was riding for MonsterMob Ducati, taking over the reigning titleholder, Steve Hislop's, machine. He started the season with nine wins in eleven races, and by the sixteenth race he had achieved six 2nd places. Shane was now 135 points in front of Suzuki's John Reynolds. When he won at Cadwell Park his total was sufficient to take the title. He also recorded three pole positions and seven fastest laps on his way to the BSB title.

During 2003 he also raced for Ducati in the Brands World Superbike round as a wildcard and won both races, placing him in 15th place after nine rounds.

Joining fellow Brit Jeremy McWilliams in 2004 in MotoGP with Aprilia, he missed several races again through injury and made headlines accused of stealing a fan's girlfriend. Most of 2005 Shane raced for Kenny Roberts' team on a MotoGP bike, but unfortunately the team was forced to pull out due to the internal dispute between the chassis and engine manufacturers. He finished off 2005 by racing in Malaysia and Qatar for Camel Honda but his results did not earn him a ride in 2006.

Returning to the British Superbike Championships in 2006 saw Shane now riding for Rizla Suzuki. Although suffering from a severe stomach bug he managed a podium place in the 7th race. After a brake failure causing a crash at 187mph he missed races 11 and 12, although he wasn't seriously hurt. The team's bikes were stolen and dumped in a barn next to horse manure a week before Knockhill. He qualified in 2nd place and followed this with a 2nd place finish in race one, with the team's first win of the season in race 2. In the season's final round, Shane was in 3rd place when he highsided and was knocked unconscious at Paddock Hill bend at Brands Hatch. Again, the injuries were not serious but prevented him racing in the final race which meant he ended up dropping to 6th place overall in the championship.

Byrne was not retained by Suzuki for 2007 and instead was signed by Paul Bird for the Stobart Honda team in British Superbikes. Some strong results for the satellite team, including a win at Mallory Park, ensured that Byrne remained at the sharp end of the Championship table. Unfortunately he was not able to match the pace of the two factory Hondas and Ducatis and it was those that finished in front of him.

Caught up in the merry-go-round at the end of the season which saw most riders switching teams, Byrne was signed by Airwaves Ducati. The team had lost Lavilla to World Superbikes (and coincidentally, Paul Bird's team) and Haslam to HM Plant Honda. Byrne was happy to sign on, with Leon Camier, to race the new Ducati 1098R for 2008.

The move proved a good one on Byrne's part as his proved his detractors wrong and romped away with the title. Leon Haslam finished as his closest rival on 357 points but he was a long way adrift of the 474 points which Byrne amassed aboard the Ducati 1098R. The larger capacity bike was subjected to much scrutiny and even had a 10kg weight penalty imposed on it mid season (briefly prompting Airwaves Ducati’s threat to withdraw on safety grounds).

When left to compete on the track Byrne never looked likely to be caught. He won 9 out of the opening 14 races and it was only a bad crash at Knockhill which gave him his first non-podium finish. By that time his dominance was such that the rest of the field was fighting for second place. He went on to claim his second BSB title, finishing the season with a double win at Brands Hatch.

Having never disguised his wish for a World Superbike ride, he was signed by the Sterilgarda Ducati team to partner Alex Polita for 2009.

Career Highlights
2008: 1st - British Superbike Championship
2007: 5th - British Superbike Championship
2006: 6th - British Superbike Championship
2005: 24th - MotoGP World Championship
2004: 20th - MotoGP World Championship
2003: 1st - British Superbike Championship
2002: 4th - British Supersport Championship
2001: 1st - British Superbike Cup
2000: 14th - British Superbike Championship
1999: 15th - British Superbike Championship
1998: 6th - British Supersport Championship
1997: Club Supersport Champion

Neil Hodgson Biography

British-born Neil Hodgson worked his way through the ranks of the European club racing series before eventually catching a ride on the Harris Yamaha Grand Prix team in 1995. After a year of crashing and getting beat up on the burly 2-strokes he made the switch to Ducati World Superbike in 1996.

During the next decade, Hodgson would become one of the more successful Superbike racers in Europe. Starting with his British Superbike Championship in 2000 and ending with his World Superbike Championship in 2003, Neil had secured his place as one of the greatest Superbike riders of all time.

Highly skilled both as a racer and as a development rider, Hodgson becomes a member of the Honda Racing team at an ideal time. With Honda's rollout of the all-new CBR1000RR, he joins teammate Miguel Duhamel in the role of adapting the street bike into a winning Superbike platform.

Career Highlights:
2008 - 6th AMA Superbike
2007 - Did not race
2006 - 5th AMA Superbike
2005 - 6th AMA Superbike
2004 - 17th MotoGP
2003 - World Superbike Champion
2002 - 3rd World Superbike
2001 - 5th World Superbike
2000 - British Superbike Champion
2000 - 12th World Superbike
1999 - 4th British Superbike
1998 - 11th World Superbike
1997 - 9th World Superbike
1996 - 10th World Superbike
1995 - 11th 500 Grand Prix

Kenny Roberts Jr Biography

Number: 10
Nationality :American
Birth place: Modesto, California
Birthday: 25.07.1973.
Team: Kenny Roberts Jr in action
Residence: Modesto, California
Height: 170cm
Weight: 67kg
Championship points(2009): 0

Kenny Roberts Jr-250ccm
Kenny Roberts Jr made his racing debut in 1988, but on motocross bike. Year later, in 1989, Roberts got first taste of road racing on Mini Bikes. Once Kenny Roberts Jr got on the tarmac, he continued racing on it until these days. In 1990, he raced full season in Willow Springs, riding in 250cc category and managed to take 5 victories.

In following season, 1991, Kenny Roberts Jr contested WERA Formula II championship on Yamaha, and finished this season in 2nd place. Being American, Roberts had to try his skils in AMA 250cc GP championship, again with Yamaha, and manages to finish 1992 season in 4th place.

In 1993, Roberts gets first taste of MotoGP championship, as he gets wild card ride at Laguna Seca for Yamaha Team Roberts, and finishes this race in 10th. In this year, he also contests Spanish Ducados Open 250cc championship, where he finishes in 2nd place.

In 1994 Kenny Roberts Jr rode last four races of the season, finishing three of them and scoring 23 points, which was enough to finish season in 18th place overall.

In 1995 Roberts stayed with Marlboro Team Rainey, this time full season, and finished season in 8th place. Best result for Kenny Roberts in this season was 4th place in Germany.

Kenny Roberts Jr-500ccm
In 1996, Kenny Roberts moved to royal class, riding for team owned by his father: Marlboro Yamaha Roberts. In this season, Roberts started racing from third race, and managed to gather points to finish season as 13th overall. Not bad result for rookie season.

In 1997, Roberts Senior decides to build his own bike, KR3, and was joined by his son Jr in this adventure. Despite fact that he rode brand new bike, Roberts managed to finish this season in 16th, picking up 37 points. Kenny stayed with same team in 1998, this time picking up 59 points. More points was not result of improved machine but Kenny's consistency, which put him to 13th place in championship.

Suzuki offered competitive ride to Kenny in 1999, who didn't think twice and accepted offer which made his career rise balistic. From the start of the season, Kenny Roberts started hard, winning first two races in front of dominating Criville-Doohan duo. Until end of the season, Roberts won 4 races in total, but at the end finished season in 2nd place.

In 2000, Kenny Roberts won his first MotoGP title with Suzuki, scoring 4 victories and 9 podium finishes. His greatest rival in this season vas Valentino Rossi, who made MotoGP debut in this season. However, Kenny's conistency was the key for the title, as he managed to gather 258 points and bring another title in Roberts family.

After best ever season, Roberts started series of dissapointing results in 2001, which lasts until these days. In 2001, when he should defend his title, Roberts barely managed to make one podium result. In this season, Roberts picked 97 points, which placed him to 11th place in championship.

Kenny Roberts Jr MotoGP
Suzuki prepared GSV-R racer for 2002 season, which was outpaced by Honda and Yamaha, but has shown some promissing performance as Roberts picked one 4th place and one 3rd, and gathered 99 points to finish in 9th place in the MotoGP championship.

In 2003 season, Suzuki GSV-R project has not made any progress, and fact that team sponsor Telefonica Movistar left the team did not help either. With best result of 9th in Australia, Roberts finishes this season demoralized in 19th place, with only 22 points.

Suzuki stayed unreliable in 2004 season, in which Roberts was able to finish only 6 of 16 races and pick 37 points, enough for 18th place in the championship. Despite beeing team first rider, Kenny Roberts Jr was shadowed by promissing performance of the John Hopkins, young American team-mate. In off-season, some reorganization is done in the Suzuki MotoGP team, which led to promissing results in testing.

In 2005, Kenny stays in Suzuki, but in off season friendly warning wrapped in sweet words was issued to him that he must find motivation in this season. So far, Roberts finished 2 of 4 races and lays in 18th place in championship, 2 places behind team-mate. Scenario of Suzuki's failure stayed the same in 2005 so far: early lead in opening laps, soon followed by engine troubles...

Ruben Xaus Biography

Number: 11
Nationality :Spanish
Birth place: Barcelona (Spain)
Birthday: 18.02.1978
Team:
Residence: ST.CUGAT DEL VALLES (Barcelona)
Height: 183
Weight: 76
Championship points(2009): 0

Ruben Xaus-125ccm
Ruben Xaus started racing in 1992 in national championship of Catalonia in 125ccm class. In year 1993, Xaus took title in Supermotard 80cc Championship of Catalonia and raced in the Solo Moto 125cc Criterium.

Ruben Xaus-250ccm
Ruben Xaus got first taste of World Motorcycle racing championship in 1995 with Honda Fortuna Pons team on NSR Honda 250cc. This year he took four races in this class, making debut in British GP.

Ruben Xaus-Superbike
Ruben Xaus gathered his four-stroke expirience mainly in SuperSport racing, where he was mainly riding Honda CBR 600. He made debut in 1994 in Open Ducados Supersport Championship, and finished this season 17th. In following years, he has become high profile Supersport rider:
1995. 12th - Fim Thunderbike Trophy - Team Dhoda Wanty
1996. Thunderbike Trophy - Team Rumi Honda
1997. 12th in World Supersport series - Team Rumy Honda
1999. World Supersport Championship - Yamaha Dee Cee Jeans Racing - Team/Yamaha R6 600cc
Ruben Xaus Also had succesful Superbike career, where he built high profile in four seasons:
1998. 6th - German Pro-Superbikes Championship - Team Alpha-Technik - Suzuki GSX R 750cc
2000. 7th - World Supersport Championship - Team Ducati Infostrada
2001. 6th - World Superbike Championship - Team Ducati Infostrada
2002. 6th - World Superbike Championship - Team Ducati Infostrada

Ruben Xaus-MotoGP
In his Debut season in MotoGP championship, Ruben Xaus took rookie of the year title and managed to get first podium finish in Qatar, where he took third place. On the same track, Xaus got his best grid position, 7th. In satelite Ducati team he completely outperformed his team-mate Neil Hodgson and currently is 10th in championship standings.

Alex Barros Biography

Number: 4
Nationality :Brazilian
Birth place: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Birthday: 18.10.1970.
Team:
Residence: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Height: 174
Weight: 68
Championship points(2009): 0

Alex Barros-125ccm
Alex Barros started racing in Brazilian moped championship in age of 8, in 1988. In his second season, 1989, he won title in this category, as well as next year. In 1991, Alex Barros became 50ccm Brazilian champion. His 125ccm career started in 1982, when he finished season in 4th place, advancing to second championship position in 1983.

Alex Barros-250ccm
Alex Barros moved to 250ccm Brazilian championship in 1984 to finish his first season in this class as 4th, before winning Brazilian 250ccm championship title in 1985. In 1986 and 1987 Barros made international appearance in 80ccm world championship, finishing seasons in 16th and 17th, respectively. He returned to 250ccm class in 1988 in Latin-American 250ccm Championship with Yamaha, and finished season 3rd overall. In 1989, Alex Barros entered 250ccm world championship with Yamaha, and finished his debut season 18th.

Alex Barros-500ccm
Alex Barros got factory Cagiva 500ccm ride in 1990, and stayed here for three seasons, finishing 12th, 13th and 12th, riding two years as team-mate of Eddie Lawson. In 1993 he changed Cagiva for Suzuki, and scored first 500ccm win in same year, finishing season in 6th place. Barros stayed one more season with Suzuki to finish 8th in general standings. From 1995 Barros moved to Honda, where he had constant problems with lack of founds for 5 years, finishing those seasons 7th, 4th, 9th, 5th and 9th, and taking podium finishes in more occasions. In year 2000 Alex Barros entered Sito Pons team, and finished 4th in 2000, 2001 and 2002, taking five victories.

Alex Barros-MotoGP
After encouraging debut on Honda RC-211V in 1992, Alex Barros decided to go to Yamaha, where he struggled all season and finished 9th in championship standings, before returning to Honda in 2004 for factory team. Much was expected from Barros in this season, but he managed to get only four podium finishes, with even three non-scoring races. Barros finished three races in third place: Spain, Portugal and Malaysia, and once he finished in second place, in Germany. At the end of the 2004 season, Barros was 4th in general standings with 165 points, almost twice less than 2004 Champion, Valentino Rossi.

2005 MotoGP Season
Barros once more changed team in this year, this time riding for Camel Honda. Start of the 2005 MotoGP season was not bad at all for Alex Barros, as he finished first race in 4th place, and next one in Portugal with a victory. However, promissing start of the season did not transformed to title chase, as he only once more finished on podium in Britain. Barros ended season 2005 in 8th place in general classification, with total 147 points.

2006 Season
At the end of the 2005 season, Alex Barros was not offered MotoGP ride, so he switched to World Superbike series with Klafi Honda Team. Even though Barros had to found his ride in WSBK team, he shown great performance in his debut season in Superbike series. He did not wait too long to get onto podium, as he got pair of them (2nd and 3rd place) in second round of the Superbike championship that took place at Phillip Island circuit. After starting success, Barros also picked two second places in Italy and San Marino, before crowning his superbike season with victory at race 1 and second place at race 2 in Imola.

Carlos Checa Biography

Number: 7
Nationality :Spanish
Birth place: Barcelona, Spain
Birthday: 15.11.1972.
Team:
Residence: Yorkshire, England
Height: 174
Weight: 69
Championship points(2009): 0

Carlos Checa-125ccm
Carlos Checa started his racing career in 80ccm class of Spanish championship in 1990, and finished his first season as 7th. It took only one year for him to adapt before becoming champion in this class in 1991.
Carlos Checa entered 125ccm European Championship in 1992, and finished his season as 8th. In 1993, Checa entered 125ccm World Championship, and raced in this category to middle of the season, when he switched to 250ccm category. He was 27th in 125ccm world standings this year. Checa also contested in Spanish national 125ccm championship this year and finished 3rd overall.

Carlos Checa-250ccm
Carlos Checa started racing in 250ccm world championship in mid-season of 1993, and finished his first season in this category as 23rd. 1994 was his first full season in 250ccm, and he manages to finish it in 12th place. In 1995, Carlos Checa raced in 250ccm until the middle of the season, before switching to 500ccm. In this season he finished 13th overall.

Carlos Checa-500ccm
Carlos Checa switched to 500ccm World Championship in middle of 1995 season, and finished this season as 16th. Season 1996 saw Checa picking his firs podium and win in 500ccm class, and finishing 8th overall. Year 1997 had not brought any improvement in Checa`s classification in World Championship standings, he finished 8th again. 1998 was last season Checa has ridden the Honda, and was his best in premier class, when he finished 4th in overall standings. Carlos Checa switched to Yamaha in 1999, and finished this season in 7th place. Following two seasons, Checa was 6th in general standings.

Carlos Checa-MotoGP
In 2002, Checa gets Yamaha brand new M1 four-stroke, and in strong Honda dominance finishes season 5th overall. Season 2003 saw Checa finishing 7th in world championship standings, after increased Honda dominance. Carlos Checa got Valentino Rossi as team-mate in 2004, but so far was unable to transform M1 progress to some decent results, except one 2nd place in France.

James Haydon Biography

James Haydon
nationality • English
born • 2 November 1974
grand prix début • 1992
world superbike début • 1997

James Haydon is still one of the fastest and most committed men in British championship racing, and with plenty of wider experience, even if he is also known for over-stepping the mark a bit too often. But the crashes appear to be mostly in the past now, and when given the right equipment he is a dependable performer, and someone who several teams have turned to in their hour of need. He has ten British Superbike race wins to date, but there could easily be more in the future.

1986-1990
Schoolboy motocross

1990
Road racing début at Mallory Park in 125cc Ministocks Clubmans championship, finishing second; first win at Snetterton; won the title

1991
9th in British 125cc championship, with Team Cotoni Honda - 5th at Donington Park, one pole; 9th in MCN Superteen championship, with Suzuki RGV 250 - two wins; British Supersport 400, with Suzuki RGV 250 - 10th at Cadwell Park

1992
6th in National 250cc championship, and 8th in British 250cc Supercup, with Team Great Britain Yamaha - first race win; won EMRA 250cc title; 250cc Grand Prix début as wildcard at Donington

1993
2nd in British 250cc Supercup championship, with Team Great Britain Yamaha - three wins; won EMRA 250cc title; 500cc Grand Prix début as wildcard - youngest ever British points scorer with 11th at Donington on a ROC-Yamaha; British Superbike début with Fast Orange Yamaha

1994
17th in British Superbikes - selected rounds with the Medd Racing Honda RC45, including the bike’s first ever win worldwide, in the wet at Snetterton; selected rounds of the British 250cc championship - wins at Brands Hatch and Donington, two lap records; won EMRA 250cc title; four 250cc Grands Prix for Team Beckett, best result of 16th on the Honda RS; 500cc GP wildcard at Donington, with Team Elit ROC-Yamaha

1995 Harris Grand Prix, number 69 Harris-Yamaha
In a full 500cc Grand Prix season as a privateer, James scored points in three races, with a best finish of tenth in the European round in Barcelona. His best qualifying efforts got him onto the back end of row three at Donington, but he crashed there when racing in the top six, and his eleven-point tally placed him 24th overall

1996 W.C.M., number 18 ROC-Yamaha
A second year in 500s saw an improvement to sixteen points and joint 20th place, but James also managed a few crashes. The last of these gave him a broken leg, and put him out for the final three races. His best result was ninth at Paul Ricard in France

1997 Team Gio.Ca.Moto, number 14 Ducati
For 1997 James moved into World Superbike racing, but his chances of success were not helped by an excess of mechanical problems with the bike, some of which caused him to crash, and he ended up leaving the team with two rounds still to run. Nineteen points left him 25th overall, with best results of twelfth three times, and eleventh in San Marino’s race two

1998 Team Sony Suzuki, number 8 Suzuki
Haydon’s next move was to return to British competition, riding the GSX-R Superbike for Crescent Racing. He started off with third in race one, and secured a run of top five results in the first six rounds, including second and third at Donington. A bit of a lull followed, but he bounced back with victory in the first Silverstone race, and in the final table he was seventh, on 228 points, and with two fastest laps
Also raced as a World Superbike wildcard, with bike number 38, scoring seven points in the UK rounds

1999 Team Clarion Suzuki, number 8 Suzuki
Staying with Suzuki and the GSX-R, James had an even better 1999. After four races he was at the top of the table, thanks to two wins, a second and a fifth. He would add five more podium results, two of them wins, but would drop to fifth overall behind four all-conquering Ducati V-twins. His final points score was 289, and he added another five fastest laps
Also raced as a World Superbike wildcard, with bike number 42, getting ninth and eleventh at Brands

2000 Rêve Red Bull Ducati Team, number 5 Ducati
Haydon’s success continued on the 996 as he joined the Rêve Ducati outfit. The team had been set up around lead rider John Reynolds, but James wasn’t about to play the role of dutiful second rider, and it wasn’t an entirely harmonius relationship. In addition, he was afflicted with a neck injury picked up as a passenger in a car accident. Nevertheless, three wins were added to another seventeen top five results, and four fastest laps, and 341 points placed him fourth overall
Also raced as a World Superbike wildcard at four meetings, with bike number 45 - was sixth twice at Donington, and added four points in Germany; did some BBC commentary in the same series

2001 Virgin Mobile Aiwa Yamaha, number 4 Yamaha
The next move took James to Yamaha’s R7 in BSB, where again successful outings were counterbalanced by the odd crash, not least when leading. There were no actual race wins, but four seconds and eight thirds helped him to fourth overall, and there were also three fastest laps. 316 points put him just ten behind Sean Emmett, making an engine failure in the penultimate race quite costly
Also raced as a World Superbike wildcard, with bike number 70, but scored no points

2002 Foggy Petronas, number 44 Foggy
James signed on as Carl Fogarty’s second World Superbike rider, for the new team’s Petronas-backed FP1 machine. The plan was to have enough bikes homologated ready to join the series mid-season, but in the event neither Haydon nor lead man Troy Corser got to race, and their activity was limited to testing duties

2003 Foggy Petronas Racing, number 8 Foggy
2003 marked the début proper for the FP1, but the season didn’t work out too well for Haydon. Although he scored the bike’s first points with 12th in the very first race, most subsequent outings proved less productive. Where Corser got onto the first two rows a few times, and broke into the top eight with race results, James struggled. This led to a few crashes, and he consequently missed meetings through injury. The high point was a solitary ninth place in Japan, but no more points followed. Twelve points in total left him way behind Corser, and he was not retained.

2004 ETI Racing / Virgin Mobile Samsung
Without a ride, James started the year as the BBC’s World Superbike co-commentator, but soon found himself substituting for ETI Racing’s Stuart Easton at Snetterton in the British series, with the number 19 Ducati 998 F02. He finished tenth and fourteenth, which led to a more permanent role. This time he filled in for Steve Plater at Virgin Mobile Samsung, on the number 36 Yamaha YZF-R1. James’ experience started to pay off in his third meeting on the bike, when he was twice in the top six. Wet conditions at the following Knockhill round were opportune as he recorded second and first places. He was retained to the season’s conclusion, even after Plater’s return, ending up eighth overall with 181 points - top in the four-man Virgin team
Also raced in MotoGP, with three late season outings for Proton Team KR - 12th in Qatar.

2005 Airwaves Ducati / Rizla Suzuki / Virgin Mobile Samsung
The current season has evolved into another round of ‘super-sub’ musical chairs. A pre-season hand injury delayed James’ début for GSE with the 36 Airwaves Ducati 999 F04, and then he stepped aside for substitute Gregorio Lavilla to continue. He went on to fill in for injured riders at Rizla Suzuki (Reynolds) and Virgin Yamaha (Emmett), before being signed to partner ‘JR’ on the number 18 GSX-R1000, as replacement for the disappointing Scott Smart
Also carries on his commentary role in WSB

Anthony West Biography

Name: Anthony 'Ant' West
Nationality: Australian
Birth Date: 7/17/1981

Australian, fast, young, need we say more? Well Mr. Doohan believs that this kid is on his way up and should be contending in the GP ranks very soon. He began his career racing dirt track where he earned two national titles by age 15. At that point his roadracing career began.

West's big break came in 2007 when he was tapped out by Kawasaki midseason to replace Olivier Jacque on the ZX-RR. The Aussie impressed and gets a full season aboard the 2008 machine.

Career Highlights:
2007 - 15th 250 MotoGP (only 11 races)
2006 - 11th 250 MotoGP
2005 - 7th 250 MotoGP
2004 - 11th 250 MotoGP
2003 - 7th 250 MotoGP
2001 - 18th 500 MotoGP
2000 - 6th 250 MotoGP
1999 - 12th 250 Moto GP
1998 - Australian 250 Production Champion
1998 - Australian Rider of the Year

Solid seventh for battler Capirossi

Loris Capirossi worked extremely hard in Sunday’s MotoGP race at The Brickyard to earn seventh place, despite an early incident which left him down in 14th place on lap one.

The Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix weekend started with Loris Capirossi’s future in MotoGP being confirmed for at least one more season when his 2010 contract with Suzuki was announced - and it ended with the tough Italian securing another solid top ten result for his team. However, there were some considerable obstacles to overcome in between.

The Suzuki team did not appear to be able to find a competitive setting at the famous American venue and Saturday concluded with Capirossi and his colleague Chris Vermeulen qualifying 11th and 14th respectively, only for things to get worse when the race started.

In incident on the second corner saw both Rizla Suzuki riders run off track, with Capirossi running in 14th place at the end of lap one, but the 36 year-old battled back brilliantly over the subsequent 27 laps to eventually finish seventh.

“The final position is not too bad, but I am disappointed with my start because it was not very good and on turn two I was involved in a big mess with some other bikes! I kept up a good pace and I overtook a lot of guys, I had a good rhythm throughout the race and if I'd had that rhythm without the incident early on and the bad start I think I could have challenged for a top five place.”

“I want to thank all my guys for another good job this weekend and they are all working hard to discover the best performance for the new chassis, I already think it is a lot better than the old one, but we still don't know its full potential. We got good data from the race and it was a better result than the grid position, but we expect more and we will be pushing hard in Misano!”
source:motogp.com

Rossi 'dirty' fall

Valentino Rossi was left disappointed after crashing out of victory contention on lap 10 of Sunday's Indianapolis Grand Prix.

The Italian, who inherited the lead after Dani Pedrosa fell just in front of him on lap four, dropped out of a close second behind Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo when he lost the front into turn two (see below for more pictures).

The 30-year-old hit the asphalt hard with his right shoulder before sliding onto the grass. A stunned Rossi attempted to continue but his M1 was too badly damaged and he was eventually forced to accept his first DNF (and second non-score) of the season.

“Today is a disappointment of course,” said Rossi. “We struggled here with the setting all weekend, but we made an improvement today and I got a good start and was able to stay in touch with Pedrosa.

“Once he fell, I knew it would be between Jorge and I but I honestly don't know how it would have finished, because Jorge was very fast today. Of course, it would have been better to have finished second than not to finish at all!”

Upon returning to the pits, Rossi immediately began checking the telemetry to try and find out what he had done wrong. The answer, it seems, is that the six time MotoGP champion had been a little off-line.

“Unfortunately I ran wide on to a dirty part of the track at turn one and lost the front,” confirmed Rossi. “I tried to carry on but there was a problem with my throttle and it wasn't possible.”

“It was a bit of a strange crash, and this is why as soon as Valentino got back he wanted to check the data,” added team manager Davide Brivio. “It seems he just found himself on a dirty part of the track and so when he braked he lost the front and that was it.”

Rossi's surprise error has halved his world championship lead to 25 points over Lorenzo heading into Misano, just a few miles from Rossi's home town.

“I want to congratulate Jorge for his victory and now we look forward to coming back to the front at Misano. We are still leading the championship and this is the most important thing,” Rossi concluded.

Lorenzo wins Indianapolis MotoGP

Spain's Jorge Lorenzo gave his slim hopes of catching Yahama teammate Valentino Rossi for the Moto GP world championship a big boost Sunday with a triumph in the Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Spain's Jorge Lorenzo gave his slim hopes of catching Yahama teammate Valentino Rossi for the Moto GP world championship a big boost Sunday with a triumph in the Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Before the race the 22-year-old said making up a 50-point deficit on Rossi was "impossible."

It looked a little more feasible after Lorenzo, who had crashed in his last two races, recorded his third victory of 2009 and Rossi failed to score a point after crashing early in the race.

"His misfortune was good for me. It makes a difficult thing for me a little more possible," said Lorenzo, who has five more races to catch his teammate.

"This is fantastic for me," he added. "I've had two crashes in a row, but now I've won and my closest rivels have crashed instead. I'm sorry for them, but these are the highs and lows of racing and it is an amazing result for me."

Lorenzo, who was the series rookie of the year in 2008, won the 28-lap, 118.104 km race by more than nine seconds over runner-up Alex De Angelis of San Marino.

American Nicky Hayden, who finished second in the inaugural Indianapolis race last year, was third, fending off the late challenge of Andrea Dovizioso.

Lorenzo averaged 149.976 km/h on his Yamaha to win in 47min 13.592sec.

De Angelis was 9.435 seconds behind the leader as he earned his first podium finish on the circuit.

Eight-time world champion Rossi of Italy, Lorenzo's Fiat-Yamaha teammate and the current points leader, had his bid for a second consecutive Indianapolis victory come to a premature end when he crashed and slid onto the grass on the 10th lap.

He managed to remount, but soon pitted and walked away.

Pole sitter Dani Pedrosa of Spain pulled away at the start and led Rossi after the first four laps with Lorenzo third.

Pedrosa slid out of the lead with a crash in Turn 15 and eventually finished 10th.

Rossi and Lorenzo then dueled for the lead with Lorenzo in front when Rossi went down.

"A disappointment of course! We struggled with the settings all weekend, but we made an improvement today and I got a good start," Rossi said. "I knew it would be between Jorge and I, but I honestly don't know how it would have finished because Jorge was very fast."

Rossi, seeking his seventh world championship in the premier MotoGP class, said he "ran wide onto a dirty part of the track" and lost the front of his motorcycle.

"I tried to carry on, but there was a problem with my throttle and it wasn't possible."

Despite his fall, Rossi retains his overall lead in the standings with 212 points, but Lorenzo reinforced his position as the only rider with any realistic chance of catching him with five races remaining.

Lorenzo halved his deficit from 50 to 25 points as he took his total to 187.

Australian Casey Stoner, who missed his third straight race with a mystery illness, is third with 150 points.