| Selasa, 29 April 2008 |
| Kimi Raikkonen leads Spanish Grand Prix |
BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) - Reigning champion Kimi Raikkonen led the Spanish Grand Prix in his Ferrari on Sunday at the halfway stage which also saw compatriot Heikki Kovalainen exit in a spectacular crash.
Raikkonen was leading on lap 33 of 66 ahead of stablemate Felipe Massa while British pilot Lewis Hamilton - team-mate of Kovalainen - was in third and the 132,000 mainly Spanish crowd's hopes of a home victory ended with 32 laps remaining as two-time champion Fernando Alonso had to pull out when in fifth place.
Kovalainen was the most spectacular of the casualties as something appeared to come off his McLaren and he drove straight onto the gravel and into the protective tyre barrier.
The safety cart came out but more worryingly the medical car also came onto the track to attend to the Finnish driver.
Thankfully Kovalainen, who is in his first season at this level, was seen being stretchered away but was able to give a thumbs up sign to register that he was alright.
McLaren said that he was conscious and stable.
The first lap was marred when German driver Sebastien Vettel in his Torro Rosso exited with his third collision of the season - which also involved David Coulthard and Adrian Suttil - leaving him still to complete a Grand Prix on four outings.
Nelson Piquet Junior, son of the former world champion, was moving smoothly in 10th when he made an error and went off but managed to regain the circuit having lost several places.
Piquet Junior never recovered from that error and stopped after just five laps of the race having baulked French driver Sebastien Bourdais, who had to come into the pits for serious repairs and also had to eventually call it a day.
Label: F1 |
posted by ipank @ 21.02  |
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| Double Dutch for Bayliss |
 Eurosport - Mon, 28 Apr 12:39:00 2008
Troy Bayliss secured a double race win at Assen to stretch his World Superbike championship lead to 70 points.
The Australian had put his Xerox Ducati on pole position and also took both race wins in the Netherlands as he continued to dominate his final series before retirement. Bayliss took his points total to 178 as Spaniard Carlos Checa moved up to second in the standings after two podium finishes at Assen on the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda.
Bayliss was delighted with his perfect weekend which saw him add his second double race win of the season to pole position.
"It's been an incredible weekend, taking pole and two race wins is a great way to finish it off," he said.
Bayliss won the first race after Japanese rider Yukio Kagayama made a mistake while leading at one third distance.
Bayliss took over at the front and from that point was able to control the race to take the victory.
Checa waited patiently before easing past Kagayama's Alstare Suzuki team-mate Max Neukirchner to take the runner-up spot, with Kagayama back in fourth ahead of Troy Corser on the Yamaha Motor Italia machine.
A relieved Bayliss, who saw the condition of his tyres deteriorate late in the race, said: "I'm very happy with the way it turned out.
"I made a really good start but it's a long time to be out there [in the lead] by yourself.
"I was looking around more than normal but I wanted to see where Carlos was."
Checa had taken out Neukirchner at the previous round in Valencia with a desperate late pass and did not want a repeat at Assen.
"I have thought about what happened in Valencia," the Spaniard said. "My front tyre was not so good but when I saw a place where I could pass Max I went past him."
Race two was a four-way battle at the front with Bayliss leading Japan's Nori Haga on the Yamaha Motor Italia machine, German Neukirchner and the Sterilgarda Ducati of Ruben Xaus.
Bayliss and Haga broke away and it was the Australian who held off his rival to complete his double race win.
Xaus had got the better of Neukirchner but his hopes of a podium spot were dashed in the closing stages as Checa closed in and grabbed third place.
In the Supersport class, Briton Jonathan Rea missed out on victory by just one hundredth of a second as Ten Kate Honda team-mate Andrew Pitt claimed a narrow victory.
Parkalgar Honda's Craig Jones led the race briefly before fading, and had to settle for a ninth-place finish.
Superbike Race one results
1. Troy Bayliss (Aus) Ducati 36:50.907;
2. Carlos Checa (Esp) Honda 36:53.039;
3. Max Neukirchner (Ger) Suzuki 36:53.086;
4. Yukio Kagayama (Jpn) Suzuki 37:01.826;
5. Troy Corser (Aus) Yamaha 37:01.958;
6. Jakub Smrz (Cze) Ducati 37:02.886;
7. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Jpn) Honda 37:06.091;
8. Makoto Tamada (Jpn) Kawasaki 37:09.302;
9. Gregorio Lavilla (Esp) Honda 37:09.541;
10. Max Biaggi (Ita) Ducati 37:11.606;
11. Regis Laconi (Fra) Kawasaki 37:16.666;
12. Kenan Sofuoglu (Tur) Honda 37:16.971
Race two results
1. Troy Bayliss (Aus) Ducati 36:46.238;
2. Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Yamaha 36:46.320;
3. Carlos Checa (Esp) Honda 36:52.574;
4. Ruben Xaus (Esp) Ducati 36:53.813;
5. Max Neukirchner (Ger) Suzuki 36:54.249;
6. Yukio Kagayama (Jpn) Suzuki 37:00.237;
7. Gregorio Lavilla (Esp) Honda 37:01.453;
8. Jakub Smrz (Cze) Ducati 37:02.614;
9. Makoto Tamada (Jpn) Kawasaki 37:03.507;
10. Troy Corser (Aus) Yamaha 37:04.618;
11. Fonsi Nieto (Esp) Suzuki 37:05.164;
12. Max Biaggi (Ita) Ducati 37:07.690
Championship standings
1. Troy Bayliss (Aus) Ducati 178pts;
2. Carlos Checa (Esp) Honda 108;
3. Troy Corser (Aus) Yamaha 89;
4. Fonsi Nieto (Esp) Suzuki 85;
5. Ruben Xaus (Esp) Ducati 81;
6. Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Yamaha 67;
7. Max Neukirchner (Ger) Suzuki 66;
8. Max Biaggi (Ita) Ducati 54;Label: SBK |
| posted by ipank @ 20.56 |
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| Motorsport Power Rankings |
 Eurosport - Mon, 28 Apr 14:38:00 2008
There is a new pacesetter at the top of the Motorsport Power Rankings as Troy Bayliss continues to dominate the World Superbike championship.
The Power Rankings are our attempt to establish who is the best driver or rider across the wide world of motorsports. We rate competitors from 13 different events - seven cars, six bikes - and pit them against each other based on their results. See below for a full explanation of the system. A fantastic World Superbike double in Assen has seen Troy Bayliss take a commanding lead at the top of the pile. Sebastien Loeb is off the top and plummets to seventh after his retirement from the Rally of Jordan. Kimi Raikkonen moves into second after a dominant performance in Barcelona, easing well clear of F1 rivals Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton. WRC championship leader Mikko Hirvonen is a new entry at 10, while Andrew Pitt and Dan Wheldon also make their first appearance. Chris Atkinson, Jari-Matti Latvala and IRL contender Graham Rahal drop out of the top 20. MOTORSPORT POWER RANKINGS
1 (2) Troy Bayliss (World SBK) - 7.8
2 (7=) Kimi Raikkonen (F1) - 6.5
3= (3=) Shane Byrne (BSB) - 6.4
3= (3=) Cal Crutchlow (BSB) - 6.4
5= (5=) Jorge Lorenzo (MotoGP) - 6.3
5= (5=) Dani Pedrosa (MotoGP) - 6.3
7 (1) Sebastien Loeb (WRC) - 6
8 (7=) Simone Corsi (125cc) - 5.3
9 (11) Rickard Rydell (WTCC) - 4.5
10 (-) Mikko Hirvonen (WRC) - 4.4
11= (12=) Mika Kallio (250cc) - 4.3
11= (12=) Mattia Pasini (250cc) - 4.3
13= (9=) Scott Dixon (IRL) - 4
13= (-) Andrew Pitt (WSS) - 4
13= (17=) Felipe Massa (F1) - 4
16 (12=) Joan Lascorz (WSS) - 3.8
17 (16) Fabrizio Giovanardi (BTCC) - 3.5
18 (17=) Casey Stoner (MotoGP) - 3.3
19= (17=) Lewis Hamilton (F1) - 3.3
19= (20=) Gabriele Tarquini (WTCC) - 3.3
19= (20=) Tiago Monteiro (WTCC) - 3.3
19= (-) Dan Wheldon (IRL) - 3.3 HOW IT WORKS Drivers and riders can only score points by finishing on the podium. Win = 10pts
Second = 6pts
Third = 3pts Points are then divided by the number of races to leave an average score.
For Tier 1 events, the average is the final score.
For Tier 2 events, the average is multiplied by 0.8 to find the final score.
TIER 1 EVENTS: Formula 1, WRC, WTCC, Nascar, IRL, MotoGP, World Superbikes.
TIER 2 EVENTS: IRC, BTCC, 250cc, 125cc, World Supersport, British Superbikes. Example: Jorge Lorenzo
1 x win, 1 x second, 1 x third = 10 + 6 + 3 = 19 points.
19/3 races = 6.3 average.Alex Chick / Eurosport |
| posted by ipank @ 20.42 |
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| Selasa, 22 April 2008 |
| Ramon takes maiden MX1 win at rain hit Bellpuig-Van Dijk wins Veterans |
 BELLPUIG (SPAIN), 20 April 2008 Today the Spanish Grand Prix was one of the toughest races ever seen by the Motocross circus; it started to rain in the middle of the night and it carried on during the entire day, making the competition even tougher than it would have been.
On a very wet and muddy course, Steve Ramon took his first career MX1 class victory while Davide Guarneri sealed his second MX2 GP win. A strong Toine van Dijk won the opening round of the FIM Veterans Motocross World Cup.
MX1
Defending MX1 World Champion Steve Ramon of Teka Suzuki WMX1 took his maiden MX1 overall win at the end of an extremely hard first moto; the second moto was cancelled after the Event Management’s decision due to the weather conditions. Yamaha Monster Motocross’ David Philippaerts was second on today’s podium, stepping on the rostrum for the first time since he mounted on the factory Yamaha machine. The podium was completed by current series leader Ken de Dycker of Teka Suzuki WMX1, while Yamaha Motocross’ Josh Coppins and Kawasaki Racing’s Tanel Leok completed the top five.
Top five overall: 1. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 25 points; 2. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 22 p.; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 20 p.; 4. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 18 p.; 5. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), 16 p.
MX1 RACE 1
Home rider Jonathan Barragan took the lead in the opening laps, then was passed by Ramon with the Belgian pulling away from the rest of the field. A solid Philippaerts crashed out in the early stages but rejoined the race very quick to climb up to an eventual second; also third placed De Dycker crashed twice, once at the start and once again before the end of the opening lap. Though the Belgian giant worked his way up from the back of the pack to collect a positive top three finish. Coppins was a solid third when he stalled the bike on a jump and eventually dropped down to fourth ahead of Estonian Tanel Leok. Marc de Reuver was disqualified as he started outside of his gate position.
Top five: 1. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 40:49.290; ; 2. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:35.461; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), +0:49.535; 4. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +1:22.141; 5. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), +2:03.530
MX2
Ricci Racing Yamaha’s Davide Guarneri proved an incredibly strong competitor today, by winning his second Grand Prix despite a broken ligament in his right collarbone. The Italian was followed by countryman and Yamaha fellow rider Manuel Monni of 3C Racing, with the latter collecting his second career podium after his first appearance in Gaildorf 2005. Molson Kawasaki Racing’s Stephen Sword was another rider coming back to the podium in third after he spent most of the 2006 and 2007 seasons off racing due to injuries. Reigning MX2 Champion Tony Cairoli of Yamaha Red Bull De Carli and current series leader Tyla Rattray of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing completed the top five.
Top five overall: 1. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 45 points; 2. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), 37 p.; 3. Stephen Sword (GBR, Kawasaki), 32 p.; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 32 p.; 5. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), 29 p.
MX2 RACE 1
Rattray rode a perfect heat, taking victory with a dominant gate to flag performance. A solid Steven Frossard was a comfortable second until he had a problem with his brakes, dropping down to twelfth. Cairoli took an eventual second place after a difficult start, as he was in the middle of the pack in turn one, while Guarneri ended an unexpected third; the latter was actually doubtful for this Grand Prix after last week’s collarbone injury. Marvin Musquin was quick in the early stages, holding a promising third before dropping down to eighth after a mistake. Fourth placed Sword rode a solid heat, coming back up from the bottom of the top ten, while Jeremy Tarroux completed the top five ahead of Monni.
Top five: 1. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), 41:43.976; ; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), +1:03.972; 3. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), +1:11.984; 4. Stephen Sword (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:16.976; 5. Jeremy Tarroux (FRA, KTM), +1:26.602
MX2 RACE 2
Holeshotter Tommy Searle crashed in the first corner to hand Nicolas Aubin the lead. The latter crashed as well and Guarneri found himself leading the MX2 group. Despite the slippery conditions and his injury, Guarneri kept a decent pace until the race was stopped. Winning the final heat, the Italian took also the overall ahead of Monni, who finished a distant second in the moto. 2007 EMX2 European Champion Gautier Paulin ended a positive third ahead of Rui Goncalves, while Joel Roelants completed the top five. Cairoli brought home a hard fought eleventh while Rattray ended seventeenth.
Top five: 1. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 31:35.087; ; 2. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), +2:32.695; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +2:41.294; 4. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +3:40.695; 5. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), -1 lap(s)
IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS
Ken de Dycker still holds the red plate with team mate Ramon following in second, just seven points behind. David Philippaerts has moved up to third ahead of team mate Josh Coppins. Billy Mackenzie dropped down to fifth.
Top five: 1. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 70 points; 2. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 63 p.; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 55 p.; 4. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 47 p.; 5. Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Honda), 46 p.
In the MX2 class Tyla Rattray keeps the leadership but Cairoli has shortened up the gap which is now three points. Guarneri jumped up to third courtesy of today’s victory while team mates Tommy Searle and Rui Goncalves round off the top five.
Top five: 1. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), 79 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 76 p.; 3. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 61 p.; 4. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), 60 p.; 5. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 51 p.
FIM VETERANS MOTOCROSS WORLD CUP
Courtesy of his win in the second heat, Dutchman Toine van Dijk took the overall victory of this first round of the 2008 FIM Veterans Motocross World Cup. Ending a disappointing tenth in heat one, Van Dijk went out for revenge in the second moto, leaving 2007 World Cup winner Dave Thorpe behind in second.
Second on the podium was British Scott Eastwood, who ended second in heat one and sixth in heat two, to collect his first podium finish in the series.
2006 World Cup winner Thierry Godfroid made a stunning comeback to racing after he injured himself at Donington Park last year. After several months off the bike, the Belgian came back to action ending the moto’s in sixth and fourth.
Poleman Peter Iven ended fourth overall while first moto winner and sole CCM rider Greg Hanson ended right behind in fifth, as his second moto was compromised when another rider hit him.
Dave Thorpe was ninth after a difficult opening moto; he was second behind Iven when the latter crashed and Thorpe could not avoid him.
Ending 20th, former GP winner Charles Sun had a tough debut on a difficult track where he never rode before while 2007 World Cup winner Cooksley ended 25th.
Top five overall: 1. Toine van Dijk (NED, Suzuki), 36 points; 2. Scott Eastwood (GBR, Honda), 35 p.; 3. Thierry Godfroid (BEL, Kawasaki), 33 p.; 4. Peter Iven (BEL, Kawasaki), 32 p.; 5. Greg Hanson (GBR, CCM), 31 p.
AT THE END OF THE DAY
At the end of this second of fifteen rounds of the FIM Motocross World Championship, FIM/CMS President Dr. Wolfgang Srb said: “The situation was very difficult, everyone tried their utmost to run this event but what we finally learnt is that the nature is always stronger, there is nothing we can do against it. We have done all we could, everyone has worked extremely hard to make it happen but the nature was stronger than all our efforts. The decision taken by the event management was good, the riders’ safety always comes first.”
Youthstream President Mr. Giuseppe Luongo stated: “This was a wise decision; we have all the experts on the race track, such as the track designer, the race director, the clerk of the course and so on. It was very difficult out there and it was right to take this decision.”
Label: Motocross |
| posted by ipank @ 00.28 |
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| Jumat, 18 April 2008 |
| Lorenzo wins maiden GP in Portugal |
 Eurosport - Sun, 13 Apr 17:56:00 2008
Rookie Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo won the Portuguese GP at Estoril from Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa. It was a maiden victory for the 20-year-old whose team-mate Valentino Rossi was third.
Briton James Toseland finished down in seventh as Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden crashed out ahead of him.
Toseland's Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Colin Edwards took fourth spot from John Hopkins on the Kawasaki, while reigning world champion Casey Stoner fought back from early problems to finish sixth.
Lorenzo had taken three pole positions in the opening three races of the season, yet finished second and third in each respectively.
However the Spaniard, the youngest rider in the entire field, looked comfortable after exchanging the lead with Rossi in the opening laps.
Dovizioso looked determined to show what he could do by rising immediately to fourth, from seventh on the grid, while Rossi went to the head of the field.
Stoner had problems and dropped to 10th when Toseland passed him after six laps and soon after Randy de Puniet helped himself to another place at the Australian's expense.
With Edwards fifth behind Dozizioso, Pedrosa put a move on Lorenzo to go second - only for the rookie to reverse their position on the next lap.
He did not stop there, next taking on Rossi. He did not surrender the lead again for the remaining 16 laps.
Dozizioso went off with 13 laps left, followed two laps later by Hayden - which put Toseland sixth.
Stoner had worked his way through the field and passed the Sheffield native, who immediately stuck himself back on Stoner's wheel. He did not get a chance to pass him though and lost pace, allowing De Puniet to pass him too.
However then De Puniet leaned over too far and crashed, recovering to trail in 15th for a solitary championship point.
The gaps between the front three had widened steadily and Stoner had little chance of catching Hopkins either.
Lorenzo coasted home for a tremendous victory, signalling his championship credentials with Pedrosa and Rossi completing the podium.
Label: Moto-GP |
| posted by ipank @ 19.49 |
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| Bautista takes Estoril victory |
 Eurosport - Sun, 13 Apr 17:54:00 2008
Aprilia's Alvaro Bautista won the 250cc class race at the Portuguese GP at Estoril from Gilera rider Marco Simoncelli and Mika Kallio on the KTM.
Kallio (57) now leads the world championship standings from Polaris World Aprilia's Mattia Pasini (45) and Aprilia Toth's Hector Barbera (39), who crashed out and finished eighth respectively.
Spaniard Bautista was a comfortable victor after passing pole-sitter Simoncelli on the first lap, extending his lead throughout much of the 26 laps.
Simoncelli held on for second as his soft-compound tyres wore down. Finn Kallio almost passed him at the finish line but contact between them just allowed the Italian to retain the runner-up spot.
Thomas Luthi got faster as the race went on and managed to work his way past Japanese riders Hiroshi Aoyama and Yuki Takahashi for fourth after Pasini and Lotus Aprilia's Alex Debon crashed out.
Bautista was pleased to continue his excellent record at the Portuguese track and move from 11th to fifth in the championship standings.
"This is a special circuit for me. I have won here for the last three years in the 250s and 125 class," he said.
"To win here today is very special because in the first two races we had a lot of bad luck.
"We are back fighting for victory now. This win at Estoril is also meaningful because there are lots of fans here pushing me.
"The race was difficult. I tried to get my rhythm and managed to increase the distance with respect to Marco, and continued that to the finish line."
Simoncelli reflected on a first podium finish of his 250 career, as well as a debut podium for Gilera.
"I started to have problems towards the end of the race," he said. "It was very close on the final lap with Mika behind me, but I held on.
"In the end I am happy to be on the podium - absolutely delighted to take my first podium in the series."
Kallio thought that his rival should not have drifted across the track on the home straight.
"It's good to be in the points, but second place was so close," he commented. "In the beginning I had problems and could not push hard. After some laps I began to feel better and managed to catch Simoncelli.
"He had more problems with his tyres but I could not find a place to make a move. Then I went for it on the straight and it was not nice for me when we touched, he should not have come across.
"Without it I'd have had a second place finish, for sure."
Label: 250s: |
| posted by ipank @ 19.42 |
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| Minggu, 13 April 2008 |
| 125s: Corsi wins as Smith crashes out |
 Eurosport - Sun, 13 Apr 17:53:00 2008
Simone Corsi won the 125cc class Portuguese GP on his Jack & Jones Aprilia ahead of Joan Olive on the Belson Derbi to extend his lead at the top of the championship standings to 17 points.
Corsi's team-mate Nicolas Terol was third while Briton Danny Webb ended in fifth and countrymen Bradley Smith and Scott Redding crashed out and retired respectively.
Aprilia Aspar's Sergio Gadea - who finished ninth - slips from second to fifth in the standings with 32 points, as he is overtaken by Terol (42), Olive (40) and Aprilia Kiefer's eighth-placed Stefan Bradl (37).
Italian Corsi's win capped a weekend when he won pole and also set the fastest lap in the race.
A rampant Smith fought from 13th to fourth on the first lap as Degraaf Aprilia man Webb went from fourth to second.
Soon after that Polaris World rider Smith passed Corsi, who had suffered in a chaotic first lap, with Terol holding on to first.
Olive was on their tail and took advantage of a coming together to go ahead of all of them, but Terol hit back by retaking the lead on the following lap.
With a dozen laps left Olive capitalised as Terol ran wide and went ahead again before Smith left the track as he bore down on Corsi. The youngster ended in the gravel but walked off with stewards, seemingly unhurt.
Hungarian Gabor Talmacsi of Bancaja Aspar and American Stevie Bonsey - a team-mate of Webb - were up to fourth and fifth as a result and a problem that sent Webb back to seventh and ruined his chances of a podium; he managed to rectify it and get back up to speed.
Corsi passed Spaniard Olive on lap 17 to extend his championship lead after his second win in three races at the start of the 2008 season.
Label: GP-125cc |
| posted by ipank @ 19.41 |
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| Alonso: McLaren are not winners |
 Eurosport - Sat, 12 Apr 19:05:00 2008 Fernando Alonso> has claimed that he did not leave McLaren-Mercedes at the end of the 2007 campaign because of his public fall-outs with both team-mate Lewis Hamilton and team principal Ron Dennis, but rather because he deemed the highly successful British outfit to be 'not a winning team'.
The Spaniard cut short his three-year McLaren contract to return to Renault - with whom he claimed both his world drivers' championship successes in 2005 and 2006 - and even if his current R28 mount has proven to be a distinct disappointment in terms of its pace and potential, he argued he believed there was more chance of winning with the Régie in the years to come than had he stayed at Woking.
"McLaren seem like a winning team, but they are not," he is quoted as having said by Dutch website f1today.nl. "Some teams are able to produce good cars [and] seem like winners, but in fact they are not, like McLaren.
"They haven't won any titles in years, so I would rather be with Renault, who in the same period collected two drivers' and two constructors' championships."
Whilst there have been a good many rumours linking the 26-year-old to a switch across to Ferrari in 2009, Alonso also stressed that Renault was the right place to be for him at the moment - though he would only remain there beyond the end of the current season, he added, should he be given a winning car next year.
"I could have gone to a couple of other teams," he acknowledged, "but ultimately Renault seemed like the right ones, with the experience, to make a good car and win races.
"Next year I want to be with a team that can win. At the moment I think it will be Renault, because by the end of the season we will have made up a lot of our deficiencies and then we can make a small further step for next season."
Label: F1 |
| posted by ipank @ 19.20 |
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| Jumat, 11 April 2008 |
| Di Meglio pencils name on 125cc pole spot |
A renowned wet weather specialist, Mike di Meglio showed his dry skills in the opening qualifying session for the 125cc race in Estoril. The Frenchman recorded a time of 1´47.990 to give him the early advantage of a provisional pole at the Portuguese track, nearly four tenths ahead of Nico Terol. Two weeks on from his first ever front row and podium, Jack&Jones WRB rider Terol continued to shine as the Estoril circuit dried out, with the second fastest time of the afternoon in the class. Michael Ranseder pencilled his name on the grid sheet for the front row onboard his I.C. Team Aprilia, with series leader Simone Corsi joining teammate Terol on the frontline. Tomoyoshi Koyama heads the provisional second row, but his fast times came at a cost. The Japanese rider suffered a huge highside late in the session, flinging him into the gravel. Sandro Cortese and the Bancaja Aspar duo of Sergio Gadea & Gabor Talmacsi also put themselves on an initial second row. The rider who has taken pole position at the opening two races, Bradley Smith was off the pace in the first qualifying run. The Polaris World man could only clock the 23rd fastest time, and the Briton will be praying that the rain stays away from Estoril tomorrow as he looks to make a significant improvement. Label: GP-125cc |
| posted by ipank @ 19.30 |
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| Pedrosa takes practice top spot |
Dani Pedrosa rose from sixteenth to first in the free practice standings after the Estoril Circuit dried out, concluding the opening sessions of the bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal in positive fashion. The Repsol Honda rider and winner of the last round in Jerez, Pedrosa laid down a fastest time of 1´38.507 to lead the way, edging out Fiat Yamaha´s Valentino Rossi by under a tenth of a second.
Rossi was the sole Bridgestone rider in a Michelin-dominated top six, in direct contrast to the wet morning session where Japanese rubber reigned supreme. The disparity between the two manufacturers under different conditions could make the weather one of the crucial factors of both Saturday´s qualifying session and Sunday´s all-important race. Thankfully for Rossi, he showed no after-effects from a morning crash which flung him from his Yamaha M1, and he was able to run a respectable pace over the course of his 26 lap stint on track. The second fastest Yamaha was just under four tenths of a second slower, that of Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards. The Texan has some new firepower at his disposal this weekend, namely the pneumatic valve engine given to both he and teammate James Toseland at Estoril. Edwards´ countryman and 2007 Portugal poleman Nicky Hayden was fourth fastest, despite taking a couple of wide lines in the afternoon session. He was in turn just quicker than Jorge Lorenzo, the Fiat Yamaha rookie who has taken pole position for the first two races of the current season. Andrea Dovizioso was once again the fastest satellite Honda rider, onboard his JiR Team Scot RC212V, whilst there were problems for reigning World Champion Casey Stoner as he languished in seventh place.
The Australian had a few wobbly moments onboard his Ducati Desmosedici GP8, including an innocuous lowside on his opening run.
San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda´s Shinya Nakano, LCR Honda´s Randy de Puniet and Kawasaki star John Hopkins were the final riders to go round within a second of Pedrosa´s time, with Loris Capirossi completing the top ten with his Suzuki GSV-R. De Puniet ran off track during the session, whilst there were bigger problems for Toni Elias. The Alice Team rider had steam pouring out of his satellite Ducati down the home straight, and was unable to complete any more than 10 laps of the circuit at which he took his only MotoGP victory to date in 2006. Alex de Angelis is suffering from a bout of flu this weekend, and his condition won´t have been helped by a highside during the afternoon session. Label: Moto-GP |
| posted by ipank @ 19.22 |
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| Selasa, 08 April 2008 |
| Lanzi and Haga claim wins |
Eurosport - Mon, 07 Apr 12:40:00 2008
Lorenzo Lanzi and Noriyuki Haga claimed victory in the two World Superbike races at Valencia, while Troy Bayliss consolidated his position as championship leader with a pair of second-place finishes.
RACE ONE Lanzi (pictured) inherited an extraordinary victory after the front two riders crashed on the final corner. Suzuki's Max Neukirchner had led the entire race after starting on pole, but was taken out as Ten Kate Honda man Carlos Checa attempted a heroic last-gasp overtaking manoeuvre.
The move failed and both men ended in the gravel, handing victory to the disbelieving Lanzi, who led home fellow Ducati Troy Bayliss and Yamaha's Troy Corser.
Checa remounted to claim fifth place, sandwiched between Fonsi Nieto and Karl Muggeridge.
The German Neukirchner appeared destined for an easy win after building a commanding lead, but was reeled in by Checa, who was roared on by a partisan Spanish crowd.
The track claimed a large number of victims, with Haga, Ruben Xaus, Yukio Kagayama and Sebastien Gimbert, heavily, among those crashing out, while Max Biaggi's hopes were ended after running wide.
Ducati have been threatened with a weight penalty if their dominance of the series continues, and the Italian manufacturer somehow managed a one-two despite being outclassed for most of the race.
1 - Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati)
2 - Troy Bayliss (Ducati) +2.987
3 - Troy Corser (Yamaha) +7.287
4 - Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) +11.992
5 - Carlos Checa (Honda) +12.824
6 - Karl Muggeridge (Honda) +13.125
7 - Gregorio Lavilla (Honda) +13.191
8 - Regis Laconi (Kawasaki) +13.906
9 - Makoto Tamada (Kawasaki) +17.254
10 - Roberto Rolfo (Honda) +18.606
RACE TWO
Having fallen earlier, Haga finally kicked his 2008 season into gear with a pulsating win in the second race.
The Japanese Yamaha rider was expected to contend for the title but managed no better than ninth in the first five races of the year.
However, he finally showed his pedigree, holding off Bayliss, while Checa made partial amends for his earlier indiscretion by finishing third. Neukirchner, however, did not even make the grid for race two.
Ryuichi Kiyonari, Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama completed the top six, while Ruben Xaus managed to hold off Max Biaggi in an entertaining battle for seventh.
Although the veteran Australian Bayliss was unable to add to his tally of three wins from the first four races of the season, he extended his championship lead to 48 points over Nieto.
1 - Noriyuki Haga (Honda)
2 - Troy Bayliss (Ducati) +1.551
3 - Carlos Checa (Honda) +2.903
4 - Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +7.277
5 - Troy Corser (Yamaha) +8.051
6 - Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) +9.223
7 - Ruben Xaus (Ducati) +10.164
8 - Max Biaggi (Ducati) +10.614
9 - Regis Laconi (Kawasaki) +17.234
10 - Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) +18.100
Label: SBK |
| posted by ipank @ 02.23 |
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| Minggu, 06 April 2008 |
| Massa leads Ferrari one-two in Bahrain |
MANAMA (Reuters) - Brazilian Felipe Massa led Ferrari to a one-two victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, with team mate Kimi Raikkonen seizing the championship lead from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. Massa's sixth career win brought him his first points of the Formula One season and came at the same Sakhir desert circuit where he fired up his title challenge last year with a pole-to-flag victory. "Finally, after a start to the championship under dark clouds, I can see the sunshine again," he said. World champion Raikkonen collected the 50th podium finish of his grand prix career and the Finn took over at the top with 19 points, three clear of BMW Sauber's German Nick Heidfeld, after three races. Hamilton was 13th, the lowest placing of his career, and lapped by the Ferraris after making a rare mistake at the start and then running into the back of former team mate Fernando Alonso's Renault. That second lap collision, passed off as a racing incident, forced the Briton to pit for a new front wing and left him struggling in 17th place with a damaged car. "It was a very poor performance. I sort of let the team down today," said the downcast Briton, now level with team mate Heikki Kovalainen and Poland's Robert Kubica on 14 points. "As a professional when you start off badly, you need to pick the pieces up and at least deliver some points, but I didn't do any of that for the team.  BMW TOP McLaren were leapfrogged at the top of the constructors' standings by BMW Sauber, the only team to have finished all three races on the podium. Kubica came third, after becoming the first BMW Sauber driver to start a grand prix from pole position, with Heidfeld a close fourth. BMW Sauber have 30 points to Ferrari's 29 and McLaren's 28. Kovalainen was fifth, ahead of Toyota's Italian Jarno Trulli and Australian Mark Webber in a Red Bull. Germany's Nico Rosberg took the final point for Williams. Massa made a faster getaway from the front row than Kubica while Hamilton was engulfed by the field, and took the chequered flag 3.3 seconds ahead of Raikkonen. "The race was really difficult at the beginning, there was a lot of oil on the track," said the Brazilian. "Then during the race the car was just very good and I didn't push to the limit. "I had a not very easy few weeks, but that's life," he added in a reference to the pressure on him after retiring in Australia and Malaysia. "It's not the first time and it won't be the last. I had a two bad days in the first two races but I always knew that we were quick." "I wanted to win but we've been a bit off the pace all weekend," said Raikkonen. "But I'm leading the championship so if we can score second places on the bad weekends, I'm not too disappointed. "Kubica said he had been hampered by wheelspin at the start and then struggled with the oil on the track, with Raikkonen barging past on lap two. "It's very good to be on the podium for the second race in a row but without the problems on the second lap, I might have been able to fight with Kimi," said the Pole. In a relatively incident-free race, Britons Jenson Button and David Coulthard collided on lap 18 while Germany's Sebastian Vettel was shunted out at the start.
Label: F1 |
| posted by ipank @ 21.21 |
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