Gustav Bernuar Note's

Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo got his third victory of 2009 at Indianapolis, as his team-mate Valentino Rossi and Spanish rival Dani Pedrosa both crashed in the 28 lap Brickyard contest.

The battle for the 2009 World Championship was blown wide open on Sunday at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix as Jorge Lorenzo scored a great win and his Fiat Yamaha colleague Valentino Rossi suffered his first DNF of the year.

Lorenzo eventually crossed the line with a 9.5s winning margin to cut Rossi’s championship lead in half, as the deficit dropped from 50 to 25 points, with five races remaining.

Behind Lorenzo there was a great ride from San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alex de Angelis who did his quest to remain in MotoGP no harm at all in second place, gaining his first ever premier class podium from fourth on the grid.

Nicky Hayden also rode brilliantly after qualifying sixth, repeating his 2008 Indianapolis podium, this time in third position – his best result to date with Ducati. Hayden got the better of Andrea Dovizioso, despite a stiff challenge from the man who replaced him in the Repsol Honda team, the Italian yet again having to settle for fourth on the last lap.

World Champion Valentino Rossi hit the ground on lap nine when battling for the race lead with Lorenzo, the Italian able to remount and try to continue only to have to retire a couple of laps later due to the damage his M1 machine sustained. It was the first time Rossi has failed to finish a race since Valencia in 2007.

Earlier in the race there was also a crash for Dani Pedrosa on the fourth lap when the pole man was leading the race. He bravely picked up his RC212V and rejoined in last place, doing well to finally finish in 10th position.

Adding to the American representation towards the front Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) finished in fifth place, whilst there was a late crash from Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing) when battling with James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) for sixth. Melandri’s mishap left the Englishman to again equal his best ever MotoGP result.

The top ten also featured Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki), Mika Kallio (Ducati) and Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini). A special mention must go to Pramac Racing’s temporary replacement rider Aleix Espargaró who earned three points in 13th place on his MotoGP debut.

source : motogp.com

Jorge Lorenzo qualified in second place at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, just ahead of his team-mate and championship rival Valentino Rossi.

It was another double front row for Fiat Yamaha riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi at Indianapolis on Saturday, with the Spaniard claiming his 12th straight row one start of the season, in second position on the grid, and Rossi his seventh consecutive front row in third place.

Lorenzo pushed hard in the final stages but was not quite able to edge his compatriot Dani Pedrosa off pole position, finishing the session 0.5s adrift of the Honda man.

Rossi meanwhile was consistently in the top three until he was edged out by Alex de Angelis with a little over ten minutes remaining. The standings leader was able to make a last-minute improvement to move back onto the front row with his final lap, but feels he is still lacking rhythm and pace.

Jorge Lorenzo – 2nd

“I’m happy about this qualifying session because we made a big step with our setting from this morning and even from the start of the session. Unfortunately we couldn’t improve any more in the final laps and it’s now six or seven races since I’ve been on pole which is strange for me, because doing one fast lap is usually one of my strong points! The important thing however is that we’re on the front row, we have a good race pace and we are ready to challenge for the win.”

Valentino Rossi – 3rd

“We’re on the front row and this is important but honestly we don’t have enough pace at the moment and I can’t ride how I want to. We don’t have quite enough grip to enable us to push at the maximum. We did a lot of work this afternoon but we’re still not at our best and so now we all need to work to find a way to make another step for tomorrow. We have the warm-up still to use and we will try to be competitive for the race.”

RED BULL INDIANAPOLIS GRAND PRIX

MotoGP Qualifying Practice Classification

Pos.	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Motorcycle	Lap time	Km/h	Gap
1	3	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	1′39.730	318.266
2	99	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Fiat Yamaha Team	Yamaha	1′40.236	314.855	0.506
3	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Fiat Yamaha Team	Yamaha	1′40.609	315.870	0.879
4	15	Alex DE ANGELIS	RSM	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	1′40.620	315.870	0.890
5	5	Colin EDWARDS	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	1′40.961	311.186	1.231
6	69	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Ducati Team	Ducati	1′41.067	313.846	1.337
7	24	Toni ELIAS	SPA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	1′41.283	314.181	1.553
8	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	1′41.309	315.531	1.579
9	33	Marco MELANDRI	ITA	Hayate Racing Team	Kawasaki	1′41.530	318.266	1.800
10	52	James TOSELAND	GBR	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	1′41.620	312.843	1.890
11	65	Loris CAPIROSSI	ITA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	Suzuki	1′41.742	313.511	2.012
12	14	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	LCR Honda MotoGP	Honda	1′41.773	313.511	2.043
13	88	Niccolo CANEPA	ITA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	1′41.910	313.176	2.180
14	7	Chris VERMEULEN	AUS	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	Suzuki	1′42.038	312.178	2.308
15	36	Mika KALLIO	FIN	Ducati Team	Ducati	1′42.250	316.551	2.520
16	44	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	1′42.577	309.873	2.847
17	41	Gabor TALMACSI	HUN	Scot Racing Team MotoGP	Honda	1′42.736	311.516	3.006

source : motogp.com

After months of speculation, Jorge Lorenzo has signed a new MotoGP contract with Yamaha.

With Lorenzo’s two-year contract expiring at the end of this season, the 22-year-old’s future has been the subject of intense speculation since rumours of a shock Honda switch first emerged at round two in Japan.

Honda announced at Brno that it would stick with Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso, but Yamaha’s hopes of quickly concluding negotiations were dashed by Ducati which - against the backdrop of uncertainty over Casey Stoner’s future - made a big money offer to Lorenzo.

Some reports even suggested that a Lorenzo-Ducati deal was as good as done, but a source close to Lorenzo told Crash.net that the rumours were untrue and a new one year deal with Yamaha has now been officially announced.

“I am very happy!” said Jorge Lorenzo. “Today is a good day because I have decided to remain with the Yamaha Factory Team in 2010. It was a very important decision and that’s why I have had to take the last few weeks to make it, but I think that this is the best decision for me in this moment. I want to thank Yamaha because they have always done everything that they have promised, and I especially would like to say thank you to Lin Jarvis and Masao Furusawa.”

Graduating to MotoGP as a double 250cc world champion in 2008, Lorenzo took his first victory at round three before accidents and injuries blunted his challenge. A late-season resurgence confirmed Lorenzo as the rookie of the year and he began 2009 with a bang by winning two of the first four races.

A run of six consecutive podiums was broken when he fell from the lead at the British Grand Prix, and another fall while at the front in Brno has left Lorenzo 50 points behind team-mate and reigning six time champion Valentino Rossi heading into this weekend’s twelfth round at Indianapolis.

“We are obviously delighted that Jorge has decided to stay at Yamaha for the next season and we hope that he will remain at Yamaha for many years to come,” stated Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing. “Jorge has shown his talent, his ability to learn and to compete at the highest level with many excellent performances in 2008 and 2009.

“We have no doubt that he has the ability and drive to become MotoGP world champion and we are proud that he has decided to remain with Yamaha, despite having received some very serious approaches from some of our competitors. This timely decision now allows us to focus on the present championship, where our riders are currently first and second, and to make definitive plans for our 2010 MotoGP program.”

What hasn’t been mentioned is any kind of new concessions Lorenzo may have got out of Yamaha in his new contract.

Despite speculation about his likely pay increase - Yamaha was rumoured to be willing to double Lorenzo’s wages from 2 to 4 million euros (compared with 6-8 million that Ducati is said to offered and the 14 million that Rossi earns) - Lorenzo had insisted that his main focus in terms of 2010 was on-track performance.

The YZR-M1 is the class of the field, but Lorenzo had wanted assurances that his world championship aspirations are best served by continuing as team-mate to Rossi, rather than becoming a number one rider for another factory.

Lorenzo’s decision means that other seats, such as those at Ducati and Tech 3 Yamaha, are likely to fall into place, while Honda will be even more confident of converting its ‘basic agreement’ with Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso into new contracts.

source :crash.net

Valentino Rossi opened up a 50 point advantage in the MotoGP World Championship as Jorge Lorenzo crashed out in Brno when battling for the race lead with the Italian star.

Valentino Rossi got the best of his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo again at the Cardion AB Czech Republic Grand Prix on Sunday with the young Spaniard crashing out with five laps to go, as the pair battled for the race lead, handing Rossi a 50 point title advantage with six races to go.

In front of a crowd of nearly 140,000 fans the Fiat Yamaha duo had built up a ten second lead over the rest of the field but with Lorenzo desperate for points after his Donington DNF but the 22 year-old from Mallorca pushed too hard again and slid out, with Rossi eventually finishing more than 14 seconds ahead of second placed Dani Pedrosa.

Behind Pedrosa, two more Honda riders, Toni Elías and Andrea Dovizioso, dueled for the final podium slot, with San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Elías just outdoing Repsol Honda’s Dovizioso. Repeating his 2008 Brno podium was a perfect reaction from Elías as he learned he has lost his Gresini ride for next year.

Just over a tenth of a second behind his compatriot Dovizioso there was a morale-boosting result for Loris Capirossi in fifth place for the Rizla Suzuki team. Nicky Hayden, meanwhile, bolstered his confidence in sixth, from eighth on the grid.

Hayden’s countryman Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) will be disappointed to have ended up seventh after qualifying fifth and both Americans will be looking for top five results at the next round in Indianapolis.

The Brno top ten was completed by Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini), James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda).

Mika Kallio and Marco Melandri were left bickering in the gravel after the pair crashed out when Kallio braked too late on the penultimate lap and both riders hit the deck.

Source : motogp.com

A rare qualifying crash for the MotoGP World Champion at Brno did not prevent him from securing pole position for Sunday’s eleventh race of the 2009 season.

Valentino Rossi survived a late crash during qualifying at the Cardian ab Czech Republic Grand Prix to take his fifth pole position of the season, in clear and sunny conditions at the undulating Brno track.

At one of his favourite venues on the calendar Rossi took his Yamaha M1 round the circuit in 1’56.145 on the 21st of his 23 laps after a battle for supremacy with his team-mate and closest World Championship rival Jorge Lorenzo – who trails him by 25 points in the standings and was 0.05s behind the Italian in this session.

Lorenzo has looked good throughout the weekend and will be confident of pushing Rossi hard in Sunday’s race. Perhaps the Spaniard will take heart from Rossi’s late crash as he keeps the pressure on from the other side of the Fiat Yamaha pit-box.

In the absence of Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa could be the biggest threat to Rossi and Lorenzo, with the talented Repsol Honda rider having qualified in third place, just under four tenths down on Rossi.

Toni Elías, meanwhile, reacted well to the news that he will not be riding for the San Carlo Honda Gresini team next year, placing himself at the front of the second row on his RC212V.

With Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) qualifying in fifth to seventh respectively the top seven was dominated by Yamaha and Honda.

De Angelis will be joined on the third row by Ducati’s Nicky Hayden and Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi, who survived a scary moment to qualify ninth. There was a crash for temporary factory Ducati stand-in Mika Kallio who placed tenth, whilst Randy de Puniet ran off track at one stage and qualified 13th.

source : motogp.com

MotoGP title-chaser Jorge Lorenzo was on the pace again in FP2 at Brno.

The Saturday morning MotoGP outing in pleasant conditions at the historic Brno circuit in the Czech Republic saw Jorge Lorenzo keep up his good form from Friday as he lapped in a superb time of 1’56.331s to state his intentions to his rivals.

The Spanish star is looking to bounce back from a Donington DNF having crashed out in the UK and he appears to be in good shape at Brno, as he seeks to cut Valentino Rossi’s 25 point championship advantage this weekend, with seven races remaining, including tomorrow’s Czech contest.

Lapping the 5.4km track with his own best time of 1’56.787 Rossi was the third quickest participant in this session, whilst another strong podium candidate Dani Pedrosa was sandwiched by the Fiat Yamaha pair in second place, with a lap just over a tenth of a second down on Lorenzo’s best.

As he was on Friday afternoon Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards was fourth fastest, joined by fellow veteran Loris Capirossi of the Rizla Suzuki team in the top five, Capirossi lapping around a second off Lorenzo and Edwards seven tenths down on the Spaniard’s pace.

The top ten also featured Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), Mika Kallio (Ducati Marlboro), Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro).

MotoGP qualifying at the Cardion ab Czech Republic Grand Prix takes place at 1.55pm local time and can be followed live here on motogp.com.

source : motogp.com

Spanish star Jorge Lorenzo was the quickest rider on Friday at Brno as MotoGP returned following the summer break.

As the Cardion ab Czech Republic Grand Prix got underway it was Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo who lapped the historic Brno circuit fastest on Friday afternoon, enjoying the warm, clear conditions on his factory M1 as he went round in a best time of 1’56.595.

The young Spaniard has a good record at Brno from his time in the smaller World Championship classes and he will aim to keep up his good Friday pace as the weekend progresses and maintain the pressure on standings leader and MotoGP title-holder Valentino Rossi, who was second fastest in this session by a 0.4s margin.

Riding at close to 100% fitness at present, something which has far too infrequently been the case over the last year, Dani Pedrosa will be aiming to at least get on the podium in the Czech Republic and he started the weekend in third place with a best time of 1’57.584, around a second behind Lorenzo.

The in-form Colin Edwards picked up where he left off before the summer break, in good shape in fourth, taking his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine around less than two tenths off Pedrosa’s pace.

Pedrosa’s Italian team-mate Andrea Dovizioso – who scored his maiden MotoGP win before the break at Donington Park - was fifth fastest on his factory Repsol Honda RC212V, albeit a second and a half behind former 250cc rival Lorenzo.

San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Spanish rider Toni Elías, who finished second in last year’s Czech MotoGP contest, was just behind Dovizioso, to make it three Hondas and three Yamahas in the top six.

The top performing Ducati rider on track was the impressive rookie Mika Kallio, who made use of his temporary factory Desmosedici GP9 ride to lap seventh fastest.

Crasher Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Italians Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing) completed the FP1 top ten.

source : motogp.com

Looking back over the ten rounds of the 2009 World Championship to date, as MotoGP begins its short summer break, Yamaha’s dominance has been an evident trend thus far.

With MotoGP’s two main protagonists thus far in 2009 on their books it is no surprise to see the Fiat Yamaha team sitting 140 points clear at the head of the Teams’ World Championship standings.

Indeed, last weekend’s final visit to Donington Park for the British Grand Prix was the first time that neither Valentino Rossi or the young pretender to his premier class crown Jorge Lorenzo have finished on the podium this year, whilst the talented pair have stepped onto the rostrum together on seven occasions already in 2009.

Yamaha have an strong chance of repeating 2008’s triple crown of Rider, Team and Constructors’ World titles and with Rossi pulling 25 points clear of team-mate Lorenzo at Donington the Italian has the edge over his Spanish colleague. Whether or not the deadly duo will still be team-mates in 2010 remains to be seen, but for now the picture is rosy for Yamaha Motor Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis and the Fiat Yamaha squad.

The current Yamaha M1 has been the strongest bike on the MotoGP grid this year in terms of all-round competitiveness and the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team have put it to good use as the highest performing satellite team in the championship in fourth place overall. Colin Edwards got the first ’09 podium in England on Sunday for Herve Poncharal’s team, as the American rider once again outperformed his British team-mate James Toseland.

Second in the Teams’ World Championship standings are Repsol Honda who have had a rollercoaster season so far with both their riders, Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso, who have each achieved one ‘09 victory. Pedrosa started the season injured, fought back steadily to eventually end the team’s long win drought by round eight at Laguna Seca on the constantly evolving RC212V, but could only manage ninth place at Donington.

The man making the headlines in the UK was Dovizioso, meanwhile, who bounced back from three consecutive DNFs to claim a superb first premier class win. Honda will hope for more consistency from their two riders as the season concludes and they attempt to close the gap on Yamaha.

For Ducati the challenge is to get Casey Stoner 100% fit and encourage continued improvement from the Australian’s fellow former World Champion and new team-mate this year Nicky Hayden. Stoner’s two wins and five podiums have helped the Ducati Marlboro team to third in the standings and the Italian factory sit third in the Constructors’ classification.

Rizla Suzuki’s attempts to push forward in 2009 with Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen have hitherto failed to materialise, despite the introduction of a new, re-designed GSV-R prototype at the beginning of year. They sit fifth in the Teams’ standings and fourth in the Constructors’ championship, having seen Capirossi suffer a pair of costly DNFs and Vermeulen thus far fail to repeat either of his ’08 podium visits.

Behind San Carlo Honda Gresini in the Teams’ table, as the highest performing single-rider outfit in seventh place, a special mention must go to the Kawasaki-equipped Hayate Racing team who have done an excellent job in assisting Marco Melandri to regular top ten finishes and a surprise rostrum result at Le Mans.

souce : motogp.com