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Moto GP 2008 Round 4 Preview

Thu, 2 May 2008 07:19:42 GMT

posted by chinavasion

Well fans they’re back! It’s Moto GP time again as the championship heads to China and the magnificent Shanghai circuit. A true test of man and machine, the track features a range of different corners and of course that long long back straight into a full hairpin. This is the fourth year that the Chinese Grand Prix has been run with Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner all having tasted victory. Sadly, it looks as though the race will be dropped from the calendar in 2009 with the race reportedly going to Hungary or Turkey.

FP1 this morning saw a real battle between Rossi and Stoner as both riders seemed determined to see the session out on top of the time sheets. It was Rossi though who triumphed while Fiat Yamaha team mate Jorge Lorenzo seemed to struggle during the first half of the session. Unfortunately for the young rookie he suffered a vicious high-side ( see below ) in the latter part of practise and was taken to hospital with a suspected fractured right ankle, cut heel to that foot, damage to the left knee and ankle. Not the start to the weekend he would have been hoping for to say the least. However, signs are good he will be relatively fit to ride in Sundays race.

FP2 was all Stoner with the Australian all but dominating the session. Valentino Rossi challenged the young Australian throughout the session and finished second fastest while title rival Pedrosa claimed third spot.

1- Casey Stoner ( Australia ) 2′00″163

2- Valentino Rossi ( Italy ) 2′00″215

3- Dani Pedrosa ( Spain ) 2′00″361

The injuries to Jorge Lorenzo were confirmed as a chipped left ankle and general bruising and other minor injuries to the lower body. Yamaha in a statement said that he will take part in FP3 and qualifying tomorrow.

Valentino Rossi: The first time…

Wed, 8 May 2008 18:01:00 GMT

posted by battleaxe1973
The Doctor remembers some of his firsts...With his first victory of the season at the recent Chinese MotoGP at the Shanghai circuit, Rossi is finally happy, and after a long time, hopeful of doing well in the championship this year. Speaking to Gazzetta, the five-time MotoGP world champ recently recounted some of his ‘firsts,’ which we found on Motoblog. Here are some of those: The first

Moto GP 2008 Round 3 Race Review.

Sun, 14 Apr 2008 06:26:58 GMT

posted by chinavasion

Wow what another amazing Moto GP race! As usual the magnificent Estoril Circuit in Portugal produced amazing racing and all the drama you could wish for with it’s changing weather and challenging undulating layout. Rain affected the free practise sessions with all teams losing valuable time in their pursuit of the perfect dry set-up.

Another stunning effort from rookie Jorge Lorenzo put him on pole for the race making it 3 poles from 3 attempts from the ultra-talented young Spaniard. Compatriot and arch rival Dani Pedrosa qualified in second with Valentino Rossi completing the front row. Curiously, this was Rossi’s first front row start on Bridgestone tyres with the next Bridgestone shod bike being Casey Stoner back in 9th spot. Stoner had a pre-race to forget as Ducati continue to struggle with set-up issues.

Jorge Lorenzo takes his maiden Moto GP win!

With all eyes on the weather light rain began to fall as the riders were making their way around for the warm-up lap with Rossi pointing to the sky. With the mechanics in the pits frantically preparing wet set-up spare bikes Loris Capirossi managed to line up in Casey Stoner’s grid spot causing both riders to dismount their machines and push their bikes to the correct position while the whole field waited. After Casey Stoner’s latest string of woes he must have been wondering what else could go wrong!

When the lights finally went out it was Dani Pedrosa who led the pack into the first lap with Lorenzo and Rossi hard on his tail. A cracking battle raged between the trio with Dovizioso in tow in fourth. The Honda rider was soon taken by both Yamahas with Rossi leading briefly until Lorenzo made an audaciously brave move at the uphill chicane to take Rossi. The Doctor had no remedy for Lorenzo’s pace and dropped back to be hauled in and passed by Pedrosa soon after and fading to a distant third.

The action was fast and furious.

Pedrosa mounted challenge after challenge on Lorenzo but the rookie had an answer for every gain his bitter arch rival made. Pedrosa would pull Lorenzo back by a tenth and Jorge would reply by setting new fastest laps and pulling out 2 tenths. He went on to comfortable victory with Pedrosa second and Rossi third. Dovizioso crashed out of fourth as did Nicky hayden with Colin Edwards taking that spot.

It was an eventful race for Casey Stoner for all the wrong reasons. Something had come loose on the bike around the left handlebar and was flapping in the wind with Stoner seen grabbing it several times and stuffing it back into the bodywork. It was later reported to be one of the onboard cameras that all bikes are obliged to carry by Dorna. Stoner clearly unhappy said later that the loose component was getting caught up in his clutch lever and was interfering with the bikes steering. Not what you need while racing at over 300 kph! He finished a credible 6th after languising around in 11th for most of the race. Needless to say Stoner and the Ducati team will be hoping for better fortune for the next round.

The patience of a saint. Casey Stoner must be wondering what else can go wrong!

So with Lorenzo and Pedrosa joint leaders in the championship and Rossi in third the Moto GP circus heads to Shanghai in China. A fantastic sweeping track with that 1.2 km back straight will perhaps suit the Ducati more than the last two venues. Will Lorenzo continue his dream run? Will The Doctor regain his winning ways or will Pedrosa and Honda top the podium? We’ll find out on May 4th when hopefully we here at Gadget Freaks will have recovered sufficiently from last nights race!

Get used to this! Jorge Lorenzo celebrates his “Dream” victory.

MOTO GP PORTUGAL. SPANISH RIDERS DOMINANT & JORGE LORENZO WINS FIRST GP

Sat, 13 Apr 2008 16:07:00 GMT

posted by Striker
It was a great day for Spanish riders in all 3 catagories at todays
Moto GP at Portugal. The big winner, which has taken all the
headlines is JORGE LORENZO, who won his first GP race after
already doing history as the youngest rider in history to grab 3
pole positions in a row.

The Spanish rider Lorenzo was outstanding as he took his bike to the
limits & was full on to dare do things no one else would. From the start
he battled with his sporting rival Dani Pedrosa & his teammate
Valentino Rossi to the very edge in an exciting race that finished with
Lorenzo taking the race & his first ever GP win. This win puts Lorenzo
ahead of the World Championships points table, an amazing achievement
for the "rookie" ( Lorenzo pictured below)
Race Result:1. J.Lorenzo; 2. D.Pedrosa; 3.V.Rossi

World Champions Table: 1.J.Lorenzo 61pts; 2.D.Pedrosa 61pts;
3.Rossi 47pts

The 250cc catagory saw another Spaniard at the Top of the podium
with ALVARO BAUTISTA winning comfortably & getting back some
joy after losing in the last race with a fall in the last lap. The 2º place
went to Simoncelli & the 3ºrd place to current World points leader Mika
Kallio.

World Champions Table: 1.M.Kallio 57pts; 2.M.Pasini 45pts; 3.H.Barberá
39pts...5.A.Bautista 35pts

(Bautista)

In the 125cc catagory Italian CORSI avoided Spaniards winning all
3 catagories, after snatching the win from two Spanish raiders
JOAN OLIVÉ & NICOLAS TEROL, 2º & 3ºrd respectively.

World Championship Table: 1.S.Corsi 59pts; 2.N.Terol 42pts;
3. J.Olivé 40pts

NEXT RACE - CHINA GP

Sandisk Ducati Must Haves!

Tue, 2 Apr 2008 09:25:22 GMT

posted by chinavasion

Over the past decade or so there has been a sharp decline in tobacco company sponsorship in all sports globally. Bans on tobacco advertising in all forms of media and motorsport have all but closed off the last avenue for the tobacco industry to parade its brands to the public en mass. An increasing number of countries have outlawed public tobacco branding even in the form of sponsorship in Formula One and Moto GP. This has pushed most companies to abandon these sports in droves and leaving with them are their huge investment dollars.

A quick look at todays F1 car and Moto GP bike reveals a whole new generation of sponsors picking up the huge bill involved. In exchange their brands are proudly displayed on the machine’s livery and plastered over just about anything involved with the teams. In fact there is more diversity among the sponsor companies with IT, financial management, airlines and even power drink corporations occupying the wings and wheels of the world’s most glamourous and dangerous sports.

One such company is SanDisk which has been a sponsor of the Moto GP Ducati Team. To celebrate, or maybe even cash in on their investment, they have released a series of computer accessories with a Ducati Moto GP theme. Boasting ‘Ultra High Performance’ the gadgets come in the style of the Ducati Moto GP team colours and are even styled like the machines and feature imagery of their #1 rider Casey Stoner.

CF Card Ducati Moto GP USB SD Card

Being the Moto GP fanatics that we are here at Gadget Freaks, we want these gadgets so bad it hurts! Considering that Casey Stoner is current World Moto GP Champion and one of the most exciting and popular riders in the sport and the huge international following the historic Italian motorcycle marque enjoys, we think SanDisk are on a winner.

World Moto GP Champion Casey Stoner