South Carolina Motor Sports Racing News

Monday, September 06, 2010

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Ø ARCA Nation News

Ø Closer & Closer: Just 6 Points Separate Joey Saldana and Steve Kinser in Points with Jason Meyers Third Only 25 Markers Back

Ø Dillon Motor Speedway

Ø Florence Motor Speedway

Ø FOXSports.com News for NASCAR

Ø Lanigan Ends Years Of Frustration At Tri-City Speedway With Convincing Victory In ‘Oil Region Labor Day Classic’

Ø NASCAR.COM - Sprint Cup Series Headlines

Ø NASCAR.COM - Nationwide Series Headlines

Ø Nicky Hayden

Ø Road Racer X

Ø Wiles Rolls in AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Singles Championship with Springfield ST Victory

Ø Yahoo! Sports - NASCAR News

Nicky Hayden

TOUGH DAY AT MISANO FOR CASEY STONER, NICKY HAYDEN AND THE WHOLE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

September 05, 2010, 12:44:57 PM

Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden endured a difficult race at Misano the Australian again struggling with front-end problems and the American crashing out at the second corner after making contact with Loris Capirossi.

Their disappointment at the race was nothing, however, compared to their sadness and that of the whole paddock at the news that Shoya Tomizawa had passed away following an incident in the Moto2 race.

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati MotoGP Team) DNF

“This hasn't been a great track for me over the last couple of years. I got quite a good start and made up some positions but on the exit of turn two when I got on the gas and opened up for the next turn I touched with Loris, who was closing his line a little. I'm sorry but it was a racing incident that can happen at any time and when you start so far back you tend to cross lines. The shifter was damaged and I had to come back in. All this is irrelevant though compared with what happened to Tomizawa. I am really sad, we have lost two riders in two weekends. My thoughts are with his family and his team but I think the whole paddock has been hit hard by this tragedy. At the end of the day we are all brothers here. We have lost a talented kid with a great personality. I loved his style, his determination and the smile he always wore.”

CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) 5th

“I am very, very disappointed with our performance today considering the feeling we found yesterday after a few modifications. The feeling today was completely different from warm-up this morning. I tried to stay with Jorge in the race but I started to make mistakes because the front kept closing. It became a challenge just to make it to the end of the race and hold my position. This is not important today though considering what has happened. I am deeply saddened for Tomizawa, his family and everybody who worked with him. It is something truly terrible and it left me breathless, like a week ago. It was a pleasure to watch him ride and I was looking forward to see him have a great career."

VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team manager

"This was a very difficult weekend for a lot of different reasons. Firstly we are all feeling the pain and sadness from the loss of Shoya Tomizawa and on behalf of the whole team I would like to pass our condolences to his family and to his team. The race result obviously wasn't good for us but it is secondary on a day like this. Casey started well but after a couple of laps he had to contend with a bike that did not allow him to run at the front because of a problem that has dogged him all year - front end feel. There's not much to say about Nicky, he got a good start but unfortunately collided with Loris and his race was over in the second corner.”

TOUGH DAY AT MISANO FOR CASEY STONER, NICKY HAYDEN AND THE WHOLE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

September 05, 2010, 12:44:57 PM

Their disappointment at the race was nothing, however, compared to their sadness and that of the whole paddock at the news that Shoya Tomizawa had passed away following an incident in the Moto2 race.

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati MotoGP Team) DNF

CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) 5th

VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team manager

Stoner on front row, touch day for Hayden at Misano

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 12:40:19 PM

Casey Stoner will start from the front row of the grid in the San Marino Grand Prix after qualifying third fastest at Misano, the Ducati home circuit.

Stoner felt comfortable on his GP10 since the beginning of the session ad set immediately a fast lap which was his best for long even if he suffered a front end crash at the midway stage. He then was able to improve it again with the bike he felt les comfortable with and to secure his front row start for the tomorrow race. Nicky Hayden, after a positive second free practice session in the morning, encountered several little problems in the qualifying session and faces an uphill battle from fourteenth on the grid.

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati MotoGP Team) 14th (1’35.303)

“Qualifying didn’t go well from the start - we had a few problems we couldn’t fix and the lap time didn’t just come this afternoon. This morning we gained a second from yesterday and reduced the gap to the front quite a lot and I was quite confident for the afternoon. Unfortunately from the beginning it wasn't good, we had a couple of problems here and there. But regardless the bike is much better than fourteenth - Casey is on front row. I apologize to the team because the bike was better than me and at Ducati's home race it's terrible to start so far back and I take responsibility for that. I was on the front row a week ago and even here in some parts of the track I’m really okay, like in the second section I’m third fastest but then I lose a lot. Starting at the back is never good but the race is long so we'll give it our best shot.”

CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) 3rd (1’34.397)

“We definitely found something for the bike today. This morning we went back to the old fork and immediately we knocked a second off the lap time and then we worked even better this afternoon. We tried something different in bike one, which I didn’t feel comfortable with, but bike two in general felt better and I immediately made a fast lap. When I wanted to try to improve my lap time a little bit I was trying to carry a bit more corner speed and lost the front in a small corner. Anyway, I’m not worried - we just have to improve the front feeling, especially with the number one bike because I had a better feeling with the second one today even though I crashed it. In general the bike is working a lot better here than it was at faster tracks so we are more comfortable for the race tomorrow and we will see what we can do. We don’t know how the weather is going to be but we are looking for a podium.”

Stoner on front row, touch day for Hayden at Misano

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 12:40:19 PM

Casey Stoner will start from the front row of the grid in the San Marino Grand Prix after qualifying third fastest at Misano, the Ducati home circuit.

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati MotoGP Team) 14th (1’35.303)

CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) 3rd (1’34.397)

Ducati MotoGP riders begin set-up search at Misano

Friday, September 03, 2010, 12:06:45 PM

The Ducati MotoGP Team returned from their exertions on the other side of the Atlantic and went straight back to work today as the twelfth round of the MotoGP World Championship got underway at Misano, just five days after packing up at Indianapolis.

The challenge for the teams and riders lies as much in adapting their machine set-up to the demands of the Italian circuit as it does to dealing with jetlag and physical tirednes, Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner clocking up 45 laps between them in today's opening free practice session as they searched for a suitable base setting. The Ducati MotoGP pair ended up seventh and eighth fastest respectively, separated by just 0.044 seconds.

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati MotoGP Team) 7th (1’36.028)

“That wasn’t the smoothest session we ever had and I’m losing a lot on T3. I hoped to start out a bit closer to the top than that. We need to look for some tenths, maybe by finding some better turning in the front and also adjusting the gearbox a bit better. To be honest it's not one big area we have to improve very much but small improvements in a few different areas. We also had a little issue with the fairing, which came a bit loose and my leathers got caught on it so I had to get back to the pit. We were trying something and after that I had basically one chance to make a good lap so we are not sure it is the right direction, which was a bit of a bummer. We are going to try it again tomorrow morning but this is a big weekend for us and we will try to move up the order.”

CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) 8th (1’36.072)

“That was a difficult session for us, basically because we didn't have any information from last year because I didn't race here. The characteristics of the current engine are very different to the one we used in 2008 so it requires a completely different gearbox set-up and obviously that affects a lot of different things. We took a bit of a shot in the dark with what we thought would work but unfortunately it wasn't quite right and we had to spend a lot of time today making adjustments. Hopefully the data we gathered can give us a much better idea of where to start from tomorrow and I'm sure we can quickly close the gap to the guys at the top. It is too early to worry but we need to make a lot of progress in the sessions that remain before what is a very important race for everybody at Ducati.”

Ducati MotoGP riders begin set-up search at Misano

Friday, September 03, 2010, 12:06:45 PM

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati MotoGP Team) 7th (1’36.028)

CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) 8th (1’36.072)

Riding the Indy mile

Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 2:55:01 AM

Check out this great video of Nicky riding the Indy Mile...here

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Road Racer X

SLIDESHOW: Misano MotoGP

September 05, 2010, 6:01:42 PM | admin

DANI PEDROSA

◄ Back -Next ► Picture 1 of 13

A strong case can be made that Misano winner Dani Pedrosa is currently the fastest racer in MotoGP. • Andrew Northcott photo

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TEAM-SPEAK: AMA Pro NJMP, Sunday

September 05, 2010, 5:28:29 PM | admin

Releases will be added at top as they arrive.

Rockstar/Makita Suzuki

Millville, New Jersey – September 5, 2010 – Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s AMA American SuperBike duo of Tommy Hayden and Blake Young put together great performances aboard their championship-winning GSX-R1000s on Saturday. Hayden finished the race in second place, and Young marked his return to the track with a great fourth-place finish.

Tommy Hayden • Courtesy Suzuki

Hayden set the fastest time in qualifying and got the pole position, the first pole point he’s earned. With a smooth start, Tommy found himself fighting for the lead throughout the 23-lap race. As the white flag came out, Tommy made his move from second to take over the lead. He was rolling on the power of the GSX-R1000 and looking to keep himself out front until the checkered flag, but instead the race got red flagged when another racer crashed on the course. Due to AMA rules, the racer who led the last complete lap is awarded the win, putting Tommy second on the podium.

“This is a rhythm track and I started feeling pretty good after a few laps,” Hayden said after the race. “I thought, ‘I think I can keep this up to the end and see what happens.’ In the last lap I could tell it was going to come down to a last-lap battle like it has so many times this year, and then the red flag came out. It’s very frustrating, but that’s racing. I won’t have any trouble putting it behind me and getting ready for the race on Sunday. Let’s forget it and move on…that’s my plan, anyway.”

Tommy’s teammate Blake Young made his comeback on Saturday in New Jersey after missing three rounds of action due to a back injury. Young was confident in his ability but wasn’t sure where he’d stack up against the competition. Blake traded sixth and fifth place before finally moving his way into fourth and making it stick until the end of the race.

“I knew what I needed to do and I knew what I was capable of doing,” Young said. “This is, out of all the races I’ve ran this year, the one I’ve been most consistent and smooth. I wasn’t in the lead group where I wanted to be but I think fourth place is pretty decent. I don’t think I thought about my back at all the whole race, and I came into the weekend thinking about it a lot. I’ve turned my focus from my back to what I’m doing out on the racetrack. Overall I feel about 85 percent. I think if we can do what we did Saturday on Sunday, maybe just a couple tenths quicker pace, I think that’s going to be pretty respectable.”

The second race of the Round 9 doubleheader at the New Jersey Motorsports Park kicks off on Sunday at 3:15 pm. Look for Tommy Hayden and Blake Young to put down some impressive lap times aboard their GSX-R1000s.

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RRX RACE REPORT: NJMP American Superbike Race 2

September 05, 2010, 5:09:58 PM | CJ

Despite having a cold all weekend, Josh Hayes maintained his perfect win record at New Jersey Motorsports Park by topping this afternoon’s race and stretching his points advantage over Tommy Hayden with one round remaining.

Hayden led off the start, but Hayes dispatched him on lap three, only for the race to be red-flagged two laps later after Ben Bostrom high-sided out of fourth place coming out of Turn 1 and left his bike stranded on the track. “The break probably helped me a little bit,” admitted Hayes, who said he had felt “pretty rough” at the start of the race.

Hayden again led off the restart, and Hayes again took over, this time three laps later with a late-braking move that carried him from third to first entering Turn 1. “I couldn’t believe I got it stopped and still had the lead when we got to Turn 2,” said Hayes, who had missed his braking marker.

Hayden stayed close, with Hayes’ advantage not exceeding .503 seconds before the Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider began chasing him down. With five laps remaining in the twenty-three-lap contest, Hayden out-braked Hayes into Turn 1, the most popular passing spot on the track. Hayes went back by in the same spot two laps later, and although Hayden returned the favor at the start of the last lap, he ran wide and allowed Hayes back by. “You could pretty much tell it was going to come down to the last lap,” Hayden said.

Hayden made another actually got by again later in the lap but ran wide again and was left finishing as the runner-up to Hayes. “In the end, I just couldn’t get it done,” Hayden said. “It’s a little frustrating, but at the same time, I did the best I could.”

The fight for the final podium position was intense, with John Hopkins—who had run off the track on lap four before the restart—taking it in the end by drafting by getting by Blake Young in Turn 1 and then holding him off to the stripe. “First and foremost, it’s just god to be back on a motorcycle,” Hopkins said. “Three-and-a-half months ago, I had three doctors and the one that’s done most of my surgeries tell me to retire…. I’m hoping this is the start of good things to come.”

Brett McCormick made up for yesterday’s last-lap crash by taking fifth.

The win was Hayes’ seventh of the season and his fourth at this track. Going into the last round at Barber Motorsports Park, Hayes has a fairly comfortable twenty-two-point lead over Hayden in the title chase.

Results
1. Josh Hayes (Yam)
2. Tommy Hayden (Suz)
3. John Hopkins (Suz)
4. Blake Young (Suz)
5. Brett McCormick (Suz)
6. Jake Zemke (Suz)
7. Geoff May (Bue)
8. Taylor Knapp (Suz)
9. Chris Ulrich (Suz)
10. Shane Narbonne (Suz)

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RRX RACE REPORT: NJMP Daytona SportBike Race 2

September 05, 2010, 3:15:38 PM | CJ

There was a lot of action in the Daytona SportBike racing at New Jersey Motorsports Park’s AMA Pro Road Racing doubleheader, but at the end of the weekend, the title fight was about where it had been coming in. After losing ground to title-rival Josh Herrin in yesterday’s race, reigning champ Danny Eslick used an aggressive last-lap move on Herrin to take the win and stretch the points lead back out slightly.

Eslick took the lead off the start and led the first two laps of the twenty-three-lap contest, but with a ten-rider lead pack for much of the race, nothing would be certain until the checkered flag flew. Eslick said he had planned to use an uncharacteristic conservative approach, but said that “from the green flag, that was out the window.”

Tommy Aquino took over the point to start the third lap, when the top seven were all still within one second. Eslick and Aquino traded the lead a couple of times until lap nine, when the RMR/Geico Suzuki rider established a grasp on it.

In the meantime, Herrin had worked his way up from a mediocre start that had him ninth at the end of lap one, and the Graves Yamaha rider was up to third by the end of lap seventeen. “There was a lot of picking off to do, but I was just trying to be patient,” Herrin said. That approached paid off two circuits later, when Herrin powered by both Aquino and Eslick on the front straight to take the lead for the first time.

Yesterday’s winner, Martin Cardenas, had also advanced from a sub-par start, and with two laps left, he made a daring late-braking maneuver in Turn 1 that saw him jump briefly from fourth to first, though he ran wide and left Eslick at the front to start the final lap. “I thought I could pull it off, but I went a little too deep and it wasn’t possible,” Cardenas admitted.

Herrin got by going into Turn 1, and when Bobby Fong and Dane Westby crashed together on the last lap, it seemed that the valuable first-place points would go to Herrin. However, Eslick tried an inside pass on him that knocked Herrin off his line and relegated him to second. “That’s the last real opportunity to pass,” Eslick explained. “I pretty much knew three or four corners before that I was going to try that.”

“I thought I’d built a little gap, but I guess I didn’t,” Herrin said. “Danny got us—he outsmarted us…. It was good, clean racing.”

With just a couple of turns remaining, there was no time for Herrin to retaliate, and Eslick collected his third victory of the season.

Results
1. Danny Eslick (Suz)
2. Josh Herrin (Yam)
3. Martin Cardenas (Suz)
4. PJ Jacobsen (Suz)
5. Tommy Aquino (Yam)
6. Dane Westby (Yam)
7. Bobby Fong (Duc)
8. Paul Allison (Yam)
9. Michael Beck (Duc)
10. Russ Wikle (Suz)

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Yamaha Signs Melandri for World SBK

September 05, 2010, 1:38:31 PM | admin

The Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team has signed an agreement with Italian MotoGP rider Marco Melandri to join the World Superbike Championship for the 2011 race season. 28yr old Melandri will replace current Yamaha Superbike rider Cal Crutchlow who stays within the Yamaha family, moving to MotoGP to replace Ben Spies on The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1 bike.

Melandri is a former 250cc GP World Champion and has finished as highly as 2nd in the MotoGP Championship with five MotoGP race victories to date in his career and a further 10 250ccGP victories.

“I’m very happy with this new challenge, it’s a big change and I want to fight for world superbike wins,” said Marco Melandri. “It’s nice to be back with Yamaha; I know many people there; I was very young when I rode with them before, now I’m much more mature. As the reigning 2009 champions The Yamaha Sterilgarda Team have proved to have a very competitive package and are one of the top teams in World Superbike. I realise Superbike is not easy and I know I have to work hard. I’m looking forward to feeling the adrenalin again and fighting for the championship.”

“Marco is a great signing for the World Superbike Team. He has massive experience at the pinnacle of motorcycle racing and is extremely motivated to have the opportunity to challenge for race wins again. Whilst it is sad to see Cal leave us to move on up in the Yamaha family we are excited to have a serious title contender such as Marco joining us.” Said Yamaha Motor Europe Racing Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp.

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Gresini Parting Ways with Melandri

September 05, 2010, 1:30:30 PM | admin

The last round of the current season at Valencia will also mark the end of the collaboration between Marco Melandri and Team San Carlo Honda Gresini. The two parties will go their separate ways following a difficult season that owes much to Melandri’s unfortunate accident at the Dutch TT. After enjoying fantastic seasons together in 2005, 2006 and 2007 Marco Melandri and Fausto Gresini were reunited this year through a strong friendship that they hoped would translate into equally strong results on the track. Team San Carlo Honda Gresini would like to thank Marco Melandri and wish him the very best for his next challenge, with the hope that this current adventure can finish in the best way possible.

“I would like to thank Marco for this season on behalf of myself, our sponsors and everybody who works with the team,” Fausto Gresini – “I’m glad that we were able to spend another season together because we are great friends and I hope that we can achieve the results that have eluded us so far in what remains of the championship. I encourage him to take on his next challenge with great determination and I am sure he can be as successful there as he was with us in 2005, 2006 and 2007.”

“It was a difficult decision because this is the best team I have worked with in my career,” said Marco Melandri. “But I felt that I needed a new challenge and the genuine opportunity to be back fighting for wins and podiums led me to make this choice. It will be a big change for me but I would like to thank Fausto and everybody else at Team San Carlo Honda Gresini for the opportunity they gave me this season. Unfortunately it hasn’t worked out as we hoped but there are still plenty of races left this season and we will be doing our best. I want to give my heartfelt thanks to the team because they have given 100% to the job and always believed in me – the guys at the track, back at home, in the hospitality and obviously the sponsors who always back us up. They have all helped me grow and taught me a lot of things. I have learnt a lot about the important values of this sport and above all of life. I am sure we will stay close friends and maybe one day with my new business venture I can come back to sponsor them!”

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Tech 3 Signs Crutchlow

September 05, 2010, 1:17:18 PM | admin

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team is delighted to announce the signing of British rider Cal Crutchlow to contest the MotoGP world championship for the next two years.

Crutchlow will extend his successful collaboration with Yamaha having won the World Supersport championship at the first attempt in 2009 with five victories and ten pole positions.

Crutchlow has demonstrated his world-class pedigree again in 2010 after a series of blisteringly fast performances in World Superbikes on board Yamaha’s YZF-R1 machine.

He has claimed five pole positions so far in 2010 but the highlight of his impressive campaign was undoubtedly a majestic doub le victory in his home race at Silverstone in early August.

Cal Crutchlow

“It is hard for me to explain how excited I am about the prospect of riding in MotoGP next season with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. Joining MotoGP is like a dream come true for me, and I want to thank Yamaha and Herve Poncharal for giving me such a wonderful opportunity. Yamaha have been fantastic to me and without their incredible support I wouldn’t be where I am today. And I’m really looking forward to working with the Tech 3 Team. They are a very professional team with a lot of experience and I’m sure they will be able to help me develop even more as a rider. I am under no illusions about how difficult this challenge will be. But I have always loved a challenge and I’m relishing this one. To think I will be racing against the likes of Valentino Rossi, who I grew up being a massive fan of, is a really ex citing prospect and I can’t wait for 2011.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager

“I am delighted that a rider of Cal’s calibre will ride for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. He has shown with his World Supersport success in 2009 and with a series of outstanding performances in World Superbikes this year what an exciting prospect he is for the future. I think he is ready to test himself against the very best in the world and I’m really looking forward to working with him. He is a very talented rider and he has an unbelievable desire to succeed. Ben has proven this year that with talent, hard work and determination you can make a successful switch from World Superbikes to MotoGP. I have no doubt that Cal has the potential to emulate Ben’s success in the future. I am sure the combination of Cal, Yamaha and Tech 3 will be a strong one and I can’t wait to start this exciting new ad venture in our history.”

Yamaha

Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team rider Cal Crutchlow will move up to join the Monster Energy Tech 3 Team at the end of the 2010 World Superbike season to fight in the MotoGP Championship in 2011. Crutchlow rejoined the Yamaha family in 2009, successfully taking the World Supersport Championship on the R6 before joining the World Superbike team in 2010. The 24yr old British rider has fought competitively over the season for podiums and race wins, taking a double victory at Silverstone for his home race.

Following in the footsteps of reigning 2009 World Superbike Champion Ben Spies, Crutchlow is another rider nurtured through the Yamaha family, progressing to the pinnacle of motorcycle racing through the various race classes and benefiting from the Japanese manufacturer’s policy of developing and supporting racing talent.

“Being part of the Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team has been fantastic,” said Cal Crutchlow. “When I first signed with Yamaha for the 2009 World Supersport Championship we went on to win the World Championship and the natural progression was to move to World Superbike. It was an honour to be asked to be part of the team and to remain as part of the Yamaha family. Now I’m again taking another step and I am being brought through to the Tech3 Team as they have done with other riders such as Ben Spies in the past. I first rode for Yamaha in 2003 in the R6 Cup so have a great history with them. Moving to MotoGP is a great opportunity for me, it was an honour to be asked by Herve Poncheral and for Yamaha to back me. I intend to do the best job I can with the team next year, be humble, learn and enjoy the experience.”

“I’m delighted we had the opportunity to work with Cal to take the World Supersport title last year and compete this year in World Superbike,” said Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Yamaha Motor Europe Racing Manager. “On one side we would have liked to go for the World Superbike title in 2011 but given the opportunities at this moment for Yamaha and Cal it is a great move. Again we are showing that our policy of bringing young riders up through the various racing classes to the top tier in MotoGP is proving successful. Cal deserves this opportunity, he is a highly professional racer and completely dedicated to training for success. We believe he has what it takes to fight for success at the highest levels.”

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Wiles Tops Springfield TT

September 05, 2010, 12:25:16 PM | admin

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (August 5, 2010) – The AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com returned to the Illinois State Fairgrounds for rounds 13 & 14 on Labor Day Weekend. The opening race would be a GNC Singles short track at the beautiful Rodeo Arena. The short track would be the sixth and last race of the GNC Singles portion of the series.

It was no surprise the defending Singles Champion and current points leader #1 Henry Wiles pushed his Monster Energy / Kawasaki / Jones Bros Racing backed Kawasaki to an easy win.

“I wasn’t really nervous about tonight, I knew I just had to do my job,” said Wiles. “I had to take my time and get around Chad (Cose), but then it was a matter of concentrating on the track.”

Digger Helm / Lightshoe / Arlen Ness’s Chad Cose had got the hole shot and led the first lap, but Wiles had the point by lap two and it quickly became a race for second. Cose, Latus Harley-Davidson / Moto Concepts’ #3 Joe Kopp and Bettencourt’s Honda’s #2 Kenny Coolbeth were locked in that battle.

After a slow start Zanotti Racing’s Jake Johnson was on the move and he took second on lap seven. Cose was now under attack from Coolbeth, Kopp Mack Daddy Racing’s #20 Matt Weidman and Kopp.

On lap fifteen of the twenty five lap race, Cose fell coming off turn two, shaking up the running order. Rookie #95C JD Beach, making his first Grand National appearance was suddenly in third on his Red Bull / Top 1 Oil / Rockwall Performance backed Honda.

Beach just got smoother and smoother as he pulled away from the gaggle behind him. Kopp was now fourth with fast qualifier Chris Carr Racing / Dallas Fort Worth Honda’s #4 Chris Carr working his way up to fifth.

Carr had been forced to his back up bike and started on row four after his primary mount had failed in the Dash for Cash. In the Dash, Wiles rode to a convincing win gaining $1000 and five points, enough to lock up the 2010 Grand National Singles Series Title.

Mack Daddy Racing / Alpinestar’s #80 Stevie Bonsey moved up to sixth over Coolbeth, Kawasaki / Monster Energy’s #42 Bryan Smith, Rockysonline.com / Lucas Oil’s #21 Jared Mees and Weidman.

Rod Lake Racing / Mike Velasco’s #1 Brad Baker pulled out the win in the Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Grand National Championship Main, his fourth of the year. Mack Daddy Racing / RHC Products’ #33E Mike Avila was a solid second, but the best battle of the race was for the final spot on the podium.

Shoe Racing / Sportland Motorsport’s William Cato came out on top of a race long battle with Scott Powersports’ #55A Jake Shoemaker and Series points leader Van’s Yamaha / Woody Kyle Racing’s #24PJeffery Carver.

ILLINOIS STATE FAIRGROUNDS
SPRINGFIELD, IL
RESULTS: September 4, 2010

GNS DASH FOR CASH (4 laps; 6 riders): 1. Henry Wiles (Kaw); 2. Joe Kopp (Hon); 3. Jake Johnson (Hon); 4. Chad Cose (Hon); 5. Matt Weidman (Hon); 6. Chris Carr (Hon).
Time: 0:39.472

AMA PRO MOTORCYCLE-SUPERSTORE.COM PRO SINGLES MAIN (12 laps; 18 riders): 1. Brad Baker (Hon); 2. Mike Avila (Hon); 3. William Cato (Hon); 4. Jake Shoemaker (Suz); 5. Jeffery Carver (Yam); 6. Chaz Springsteen (Kaw); 7. Mike Martin (Hon); 8. Ryan Foster (Hon); 9. Jeremy Hamilton (Hon); 10. Shayna Texter (Hon); 11. Hunter King (Hon); 12. Gerit Callies (Hon); 13. Conner Anderson (Hon); 14. Jason Isennock (Hon); 15. Jake Cunningham (Yam); 16. Tyler O’Hara (Hon); 17. Kurtis Lee (Hon); 18. Andrew Smith (Hon).
Time: 5:06.313.

AMA PRO MOTORCYCLE-SUPERSTORE.COM PRO SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 13 of 17 rounds): 1. Jeffery Carver (241 pts / 4 wins); 2. Brad Baker (219 / 4 wins); 3. Mike Avila (162); 4. James Rispoli (160); 5. JD Beach (118 / 4 wins); 6. Mike Martin (111); 7. Mike LaBelle (101) ; 8. Chaz Springsteen (94); 9. Jake Shoemaker (81); 10. William Cato (59).
AMA PRO K&N GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED by MOTORCYCLE-SUPERSTORE.COM MAIN (25 laps; 19 riders): 1. Henry Wiles (Kaw); 2. Jake Johnson (Hon); 3. JD Beach (Hon); 4. Joe Kopp (Hon); 5. Chris Carr (Hon); 6. Stevie Bonsey (Hon); 7. Kenny Coolbeth (Hon); 8. Bryan Smith (Kaw); 9. Jared Mees (Hon); 10. Matt Weidman (Hon); 11. Sammy Halbert (Yam); 12. Scott Baker (Hon); 13. Brandon Robinson (Hon); 14. Jethro Halbert (Yam); 15. Raun Wood (Hon); 16. Rob Pearson (Yam); 17. Don Mullen (Hon); 18. Mick Kirkness (Suz); 19. Chad Cose (Hon).
Time: 6:20.533

AMA PRO K&N GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED by MOTORCYCLE-SUPERSTORE.COM POINT STANDINGS (After 13 of 17rounds): 1. Joe Kopp (240 pts / 3 wins); 2. Jake Johnson (229 / 2 wins); 3. Sammy Halbert (217 / 1 win); 4. Henry Wiles (215 / 5 wins); 5. Jared Mees (208); 6. Kenny Coolbeth (191); 7. Chris Carr (149); 8. Bryan Smith (138 / 1 win); 9. Matt Weidman (91); 10. Rob Pearson (84).

AMA PRO K&N GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED by MOTORCYCLE-SUPERSTORE.COM SINGLES POINT STANDINGS (After 6 of 6 rounds): 1. Henry Wiles (141 pts / 4 wins); 2. Joe Kopp (111); 3. Jared Mees (100); 4. Jake Johnson (98 / 1 win); 5. Sammy Halbert (81 / 1 win); 6. Kenny Coolbeth (78); 7. Johnny Lewis (68); 8. Bryan Smith (52); 9. Chris Carr (50); 10. Jethro Halbert (48).

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TEAM-SPEAK: Nurburgring World SBK, Sunday (Pics)

September 05, 2010, 12:04:44 PM | admin

Releases will be added at top as they arrive.

Alstare Suzuki

Leon Haslam defied the pain barrier in today’s second Superbike World Championship race at the Nurburgring in Germany, taking a podium despite a dislocated right thumb and damaged knee ligaments.

(From left) Jonathan Rea, Noriyuki Haga, and Leon Haslam. • Courtesy Suzuki

The Team Suzuki Alstare rider crashed at the start of race one when he was highsided and it was fortunate that the race was red-flagged and he and the other fallers were able to make the restart. His bike was too badly damaged to take part in the restart, so he was forced to use his spare bike – one that he had only used for a handful of laps in practice and qualifying. The set-up and feel of the bike were different to that of his number one bike, but he rode superbly to take a very creditable sixth place. That was impressive enough, but in race two he surprised everybody with his grit, determination and fighting spirit to take third place.

Sylvain Guintoli qualified on the front row of the grid for the first time this season but the Frenchman was taken out by Troy Corser on the opening lap of race one and was forced into the gravel. He rejoined the action second last, but then fought his way up through the field to take eighth place.

In race two, he was unable to capitalise on his front-row grid slot and found himself in eighth at the end of the first lap. Once again, he powered his way through the pack and slotted in behind Biaggi in fifth.

Leon Haslam – Race 1: 6th, Race 2: 3rd:

“My crash in race one was a highside and I am sorry that it caused Troy to crash also. Luckily the race was stopped and everybody was able to have another go. I had hurt my right thumb and left knee and they were very sore, but I was determined to get out there and give my all. Once the race started, the adrenaline kicked in and I think I would’ve been much faster and more competitive if it had not been for the fact that I was on my number two bike. The mechanics weren’t able to repair my number one bike in time for the restart. I had only done a few laps on the spare bike and so the set-up wasn’t as good and it was that which prevented me challenging the front guys, not my injuries.

“The team repaired my number one bike in time for race two and I felt much happier. They and the Clinica Mobile staff did great jobs and it was thanks to both of them that I was able to get on the bike and take a podium. I’m sure I’m going to be pretty sore tonight and although I would’ve wanted a couple of wins I was happy to get on the podium and with 100 points possible in the next two rounds, anything can happen.”

Sylvain Guintoli – Race 1: 8th, Race 2: 6th:

“Well I’m happy and not happy. I’m happy that I got on the front row in qualifying and that my race pace was good. If Troy had not have forced me out on lap one of the first race, the ending might’ve been a different story. Once I got back on the track, I felt I was lapping as fast as anybody really and I suppose eighth was a pretty good result, considering. I was angry with Troy because I honestly felt I could get on the podium.

“We changed the rear tyre for race two, but I didn’t make a good start and that gave me a lot of work to do early on. It took me about half race distance to get close enough to Max Biaggi and I then spent the rest of the race trying to pass him. I could match him on the brakes and in the turns, but his bike had much better acceleration out of the corners and that’s where I was losing out. I attacked as best I could, but he’s a very experienced rider and didn’t make any mistakes. It was a big pity because if I could’ve passed him, that would’ve helped Leon and I wanted to do it for him and the team.”

Yamaha Sterilgarda

Yamaha Sterilgarda rider Cal Crutchlow kept his head down and got straight to business in today’s two World Superbike races at the legendary Nurburgring circuit in Germany. Despite a challenging grid start position of tenth Crutchlow fought through in both races, taking a well earned podium with third in race one and finishing just off it in fourth in race two, a mere four tenths of a second behind third placed rider Leon Haslam. The first race started with some drama and a red flag, a big crash by other riders forcing both Crutchlow and Toseland off the track to avoid further incident.

Crutchlow’s team mate James Toseland initially started well from his relegated eighth position on the grid following yesterday’s Superpole penalty where he jumped the session start by several seconds. Unfortunately following the restart in race one the British rider crashed out whilst attempting to catch the leaders. Race two saw Toseland battling for grip and also suffering from a small brake issue. Despite this he held off the advances of Ruben Xaus to hold onto eighth position at the line.

The Yamaha Sterilgarda team leaves Germany and heads towards Imola in three weeks for the penultimate round of the 2010 World Superbike Championship with Crutchlow still in fifth having closed down the gap to Carlos Checa in fourth to just seven points from the previous gap of 16. Team mate James Toseland drops a place to seventh, fifteen points behind Noriyuki Haga in sixth.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (3rd, 4th)
“Race one was really good, I was happy to be on the podium again, especially starting from tenth and considering we spent a lot of the weekend working through some different set up issues; it was a credible finish. I was also happy with the second race, I was disappointed not to be on the podium but I think if we had a better tyre we could have challenged for it, I did the best job I could. It was still good for the championship, we are pulling up on Checa a little bit so hopefully we can go to Imola and build on this.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (DNF, 8th)
“When race one restarted I got a decent get away and was coming up behind Tom Sykes and accidentally lost the front. Not being on the front row makes it really difficult here, after the first few corners it gets really spread out and it’s difficult to catch up. It was very frustrating to be relegated to the second row, I don’t really think the punishment matched the crime in this instance. I seemed to struggle with braking power in the start of the second race and also struggled with the rear grip from the softer rear tyre. We will regroup and go to Imola and give it 100% as always.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“It’s been an ok weekend for us in Germany. Cal proved that he can always stay in the top five and showed great intelligence in his racing to bring home points. James again had a difficult weekend. I think the crash in the first race compromised his results in the second. After yesterday afternoon the expectation was higher for today but we have to accept today’s results; that is racing. The next race will be Imola, we go there with good motivation as we were fastest there on both of the test days in the summer.”

Circuit Length: 4556
Weather: Sunny

BMW Motorrad

Weather conditions: Light clouds.
Temperature: Air: 11 – 19 °C, Track: 11 – 34 °C
Number of riders participating: 21 from 13 teams
Fastest lap Race 1: Jonathan Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 1:55.392 min
Fastest lap Race 2: Jonathan Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 1:55.502 min

The 11th round of the 2010 FIM Superbike World Championship at the Nürburgring (GER) was the home event for Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport and today’s second race marked the 50th race for the young team in the series. But today lady luck was not on the team’s side.

In the first race both riders had a good start and gained lots of positions, but unfortunately during the first lap Troy Corser (AUS) was the innocent victim of a crash and fell. The race was red flagged. Troy was able to take the second start, but had to withdraw after six laps due to a painful arm as a result of the crash. The injury also hindered him in the second race and he came in 12th . Ruben Xaus (ESP) put in a convincing performance with consistent lap times and finished seventh and ninth. In the championship standings, Troy is 11th with 159 points, while Ruben improved to 13th with 85 points. In the manufacturers’ standings, BMW is sixth (190 points).

In the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup the new champion Ayrton Badovini from Team BMW Motorrad Italia STK continued his winning streak. The Italian celebrated his eighth victory in the eighth race of the season. He had already secured an early title victory in the series five weeks ago at Silverstone.

Ruben Xaus:
Bike: BMW S 1000 RR
Result Race 1: 7th , Gap to 1st: 00:19.613 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1:56.448 min
Result Race 2: 9th , Gap to 1st: 00:21.040 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 1:56.178 min
“It has been a really tough day for us. In both races I fought really hard. In race one with Leon Haslam and race two with James Toseland. I was pushing on every lap, but unfortunately I was having some issues on the first section of the lap. I just couldn’t keep them behind me. But the team have done a great job yet again for me this weekend. All we need to do now is work on a few minor things with the bike, just to find that half second, and then I think we can really challenge the front guys. I am hopeful we can do this for the next race in Imola.”

Troy Corser:
Bike: BMW S 1000 RR
Result Race 1: DNF
Result Race 2: 12th , Gap to 1st : 00:22.746 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1:56.143 min
“In the first race I crashed in an incident with Leon Haslam and I went down on my elbow pretty hard. But I felt I was able to go out for race two despite the pain. Everything felt pretty good for the first ten laps, but after that the pain got worse and I had issues with the feeling in my arm. So I decided to settle for my position and just bring the bike home. I didn’t want to risk further injury by challenging the riders in front. Of course I am disappointed because I am sure under normal circumstances I would have been on the podium. But we are looking forward to the next race now in a positive manner.”

Berthold Hauser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director):
“Our home event started very well, but the final outcome is not what we expected. We were on top until Saturday before the Superpole started, but then we were followed by bad luck. Troy had a brilliant start in the first race today and moved up to ninth, but then was hit from behind. He was hurt in that crash and that also hindered him in the second race. Hats off to Troy for riding despite the pain. I am really happy for Ruben: he put in a superb performance achieving the best possible results. We had the potential for more this weekend, but now we are determined to show that in the next races.”

World SBK

Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) each got back to winning ways this weekend in front of a 45,000 crowd at the Nurburgring, as Rea posted his fourth and Haga his second win of the 2010 championship campaign. It was a frustrating weekend for the two top riders in the World Superbike Championship, as they had to watch others take the glory, as Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) had his championship lead over Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) cut, despite Haslam suffering a dislocated thumb and knee injuries. Biaggi now leads the series by a slightly trimmed 58 points, with two full rounds to go.

(From left) Carlos Checa, Jonathan Rea, and Cal Crutchlow. • Courtesy World SBK

Rea’s win and then a second place, combined with a luckless race two for Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) sees the Honda man in third overall, 64 points ahead of the Spanish rider. Rea also took a new lap record, 1’55.392, in race one. Cal Crutchlow is only seven points behind Checa, in fifth place, having scored a third and a fourth place in Germany. Haga’s win sees him sixth, 15 points clear of James Toseland (Yamaha Sterilgarda) who fell in race one and was only eighth in race two. Strong rides from Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki Alstare) put him eighth overall, ahead of injured rider Leon Camier and Michel Fabrizio.

Race 1

Jonathan Rea took an early lead in the re-started first race, and rode at full pace to lead Carlos Checa home and record his fourth win of the 2010 season. Third place went to Yamaha Sterilgarda rider Cal Crutchlow, ten seconds back on Rea. Championship leader Max Biaggi was fourth, and Kawasaki Racing Team rider Tom Sykes was a more than creditable fifth. Leon Haslam, one of the riders involved in the crash that caused the race to be stopped and then completely re-run, was sixth. Ruben Xaus was first BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider home in Germany, seventh.

Jonathan Rea: “A great race and a great weekend for the team. Already on Friday we were right on the pace, we came out with a bike that was good, really pushed hard, I felt comfortable on it and turned it into a good result so I’m really proud of my team.”

Carlos Checa: “We had a good start and fought with Haga who then fell in front of me. Then I tried to follow Jonathan but he was very strong and nothing happened to the end. We did our best and are quite satisfied with the pace and the work we did this weekend.”

Cal Crutchlow: “Nice to be back up here. Tenth on the grid is not so good into the first corner but I did the best job I could for Yamaha Sterilgarda. I thought right through that third place on this track is incredible for our bike and it was going to be difficult.”

Results (with Pirelli front/rear race tyre selection): 1. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 38′42.640 (159,243 kph) (C/A); 2. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1.126 (A/A); 3. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 10.006 (C/A); 4.Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 10.716 (B/C); 5. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 17.391 (C/A); 6. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 19.301 (A/C); 7. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 19.613 (B/C); 8. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 19.880 (A/C); 9. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 21.176 (C/A); 10. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 29.752 (B/A); 11. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 30.156 (A/C); 12. Lowry I. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 53.622 (B/C); 13. Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 58.820 (B/A); 14. Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′25.906 (A/A)

Race 2

Noriyuki Haga, a race one faller, was an impressive winner of race two, the Japanese rider shining strongly in the German sunshine. He was an eventual 3.061 seconds ahead of Jonathan Rea. Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) rode through the pain barrier to go third, with Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Sterilgarda) ending up fourth. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) managed to keep Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki Alstare) behind him at the flag for fifth, in a tense 20-lap race for the championship’s top men.

Noriyuki Haga: “I’m very happy with this result and very sorry for the first race. When I had a crash, I wasn’t getting information from the front tyre and for race 2 I made just a little modification for the front suspension and that was working much better. I was able to keep a high pace until the flag. Next round is Imola, our home track and I have much pressure but I hope to do my best.”

Jonathan Rea: “The pace was similar to race 1 but Nori was fantastic, he rode an unbelievable race. It’s quite frustrating when you see someone ride away from you like that. A great job for my team this weekend, 45 points overall and I’m really very happy. I’m very consistent now but it’s so frustrating when I see my mid-season form.”

Leon Haslam: “Race 1 was a bit frustrating, it was completely my fault when I high-sided and Troy had nowhere to go, so luckily the race was red-flagged. In the second race, I only had one bike but the boys did a great job and the Clinica did a fantastic job with my knee and my thumb so thanks to them. Getting on the podium is not exactly what I wanted but we’ll take it this weekend. Anything can happen, there are four more races still to go so roll on Imola!”

Results (with front/rear race tyre selection): 1.Haga N. (JPN)Ducati 1098R 8′43.565 (159,18 kph); 2.Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 3.061; 3. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 8.060; 4.Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 8.457; 5. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 9.392; 6. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 9.556; 7. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 16.819; 8. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 20.564; 9.Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 21.040; 10. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 21.168; 11.Smrz J. (CZE) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 21.734; 12.Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 22.746; 13.Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 24.526; 14. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 28.218; 15. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 38.406; 16. Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′08.039; 17. Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′21.294; 18. Lai F. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1′21.362; 19. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′38.427

All riders on same solutions with the exception of Guintoli and Lanzi who changed to the “A” rear and Hayden who changed to the “C” rear for Race 2.

Points (after 11 rounds of 13): 1. Biaggi 397; 2. Haslam 339; 3. Rea 288; 4. Checa 224; 5. Crutchlow 217; 6. Haga 202; 7. Toseland 187; 8. Guintoli 69; 9. Camier 164; 10. Fabrizio 160. Manufacturers: 1. Aprilia 409; 2. Suzuki 360; 3. Ducati 342; 4.Honda 299; 5.Yamaha 285; 6. BMW 190; 7. Kawasaki 77

World Supersport

A close race at the front saw Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) take a win by only 0.058 seconds from Gino Rea (Intermoto Czech Honda), only for Rea to be disqualified because of a technical infraction with his machine. Laverty set the best time of the race on lap 17 to hold off the battling Rea. Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was eventually second and thus Sofuoglu leads the championship fight by a still comfortable margin of 12 points. Top Kawasaki rider was the returning Broc Parkes (Kawasaki Motocard.com) who was finally awarded a podium place, ahead of Fabien Foret (Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki).

Results: 1.Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 37′52.893 (154,592 kph); 2.Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 5.072; 3.Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 15.890; 4.Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 16.911; 5. Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 28.380; 6.Salom D. (ESP) Triumph Daytona 675 28.495; 7.Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 28.578; 8.Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 28.787; etc.

Points (after 11 rounds of 13): 1. Sofuoglu 223; 2. Laverty 211; 3. Lascorz 168; 4. Davies 137; 5. Salom 90;6.Harms 87;7. Rea 83; 8.Pirro 66; 9. Foret 65; 10.Lagrive 65. Manufacturers: 1. Honda 270 (2010 champions); 2. Kawasaki 185; 3. Triumph 146; 4. Yamaha 22

Superstock 1000

Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia STK) took his eighth successive win of the season at a sunny Nürburgring, posting a perfect 200 points total so far. Winning in BMW’s home country, Badovini was almost a second up on Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Race Junior) with Andrea Antonelli (Team Lorini) in contact and in the final podium place. Sylvain Barrier (Garnier Junior Racing) won a close fight with Loris Baz (MRS Racing) and Michele Magnoni (Bevilacqua Corse).

Results: 1. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 22′02.582 (153,809 kph); 2. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 0.906; 3. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 3.058; 4. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 12.078; 5. Baz L. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 12.328; 6. Magnoni M. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 12.849; 7. Giugliano D. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 14.395; 8. La Marra E. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 15.560;

Points (after 8 rounds of 10): 1. Badovini 200; 2. Berger 106; 3. Magnoni 94; 4.Antonelli 89; 5. Giugliano 71; 6. Baz 65; 7. Barrier 60; 8. Petrucci 46; 9. Mahr 42; 10. Beretta 38. Manufacturers: 1. BMW 200 (2010 champions); 2. Honda 149; 3. Suzuki 87; 4.Yamaha 67; 5. Ducati 59; 6. Kawasaki 49; 7.KTM 30; 8. Aprilia 18

Pirelli Official Tyre Supplier

“It was a pleasurable weekend for racing for Pirelli at the Nürburgring with clear skies and air temperatures around 15°C, although track temperatures varied from 25°C in Race 1 and 37°C in Race 2. Pirelli made available 4 front and 4 rear tyre solutions for the SBK grid. Of these, the new SC1 special compound “A” rear was popular with 80% of the grid, with SBK teams opting between the SC1 compound “A” or new SC2 special compound “C” on the front. The SSP class was given a choice between 3 front and 2 rear tyres, of which the new “A” rear tyre was selected by 100% of the grid. From the first qualifying sessions, the SBK lap times proved an excellent performance of the new DIABLO SUPERBIKE solutions, with Checa (Ducati) registering a new best lap, broken on Saturday with Biaggi’s (Aprilia) Superpole time of 1’54.595, nearly a second below the time set two years before. Rea (Honda) was the fastest in race scenario, beating his own lap record from 2009 by a second and taking the Pirelli Best Lap award in both races. The versatility of the new solutions were evident: 7 manufacturers in the top 7 positions for Race 1 and 5 manufacturers in the first 5 for Race 2, with a strong performance by Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes who tied his best finish of the year (5th). Impressive improvements also with respect to overall race time, with Race 1 finishing 22 seconds faster than the previous year and 18 seconds faster in Race 2. Local Pirelli Superstock Series winner from Heidelberg, Jan Bühn (Yamaha), was awarded a wildcard in the Superstock 600 and managed to qualify and finish in tenth position.” – Giorgio Barbier, Racing Director, Pirelli Moto

Pirelli Performance Awards:

SBK Race 1 – Pirelli BEST LAP

Jonathan Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda), 1′55.392 (Lap 5)

SBK Race 2 – Pirelli BEST LAP

Jonathan Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda), 1′55.502 (Lap 2)

Total BEST LAP (SBK): Checa C. (Althea Racing): 6, Crutchlow C. (Yamaha World Superbike): 6, Rea J. (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda): 5, Biaggi M. (Aprilia Alitalia Racing): 2, Haslam L. (Suzuki Alstare): 1, Guintoli S. (Suzuki Alstare): 1, Fabrizio M. (Ducati Xerox Team): 1

WSS – Pirelli BEST LAP

Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda), 1′59.027 (Lap 17)

Total BEST LAP (WSS): Sofuoglu K. (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda): 5, Laverty E. (Parkalgar Honda): 3, Lascorz J. (Kawasaki Motocard.com): 2, Pirro M. (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda): 1

Stk1000 – Pirelli BEST JUMP FORWARD

Loris Baz (MRS Racing), from 13th to 5th (8 positions)

Alitalia Aprilia

Nurburgring (Germany), 5 September 2010 – At the end of a bright and dark weekend, in any case brightened by yesterday’s fantastic, track record setting Superpole, Max Biaggi comes home from the Nurburgring solidly at the top of the world championship standings. The four time world champion now has a 58 point advantage over his closest pursuer, Brit Leon Haslam (Suzuki).

Max Biaggi • Courtesy Aprilia

From a championship point of view, the German round came down to the two riders, and by now the only riders – even according to the maths – competing for the title: in the first race Biaggi rode his Aprilia RSV4 to fourth place leaving Haslam behind (sixth) and thus earning three points. In race 2 Haslam (third) made up five points on Max.

In race 1, which Rea (Honda) won, Max had some trouble at the start and then mounted a fantastic comeback which brought him to fourth place. In race 2 Max stayed among the front riders the entire way and, in spite of his fifth place finish, just barely missed a spot on the podium.

To summarise, these were two strong races which solidify both Max Biaggi’s top spot in the rider rankings (Biaggi 397, Haslam 339) and Aprilia’s lead in the manufacturer standings (Aprilia 409, Suzuki 360, Ducati 342). The final result: the 60 point advantage Max had at the beginning of the weekend turned into 58 and this will be the advantage as we go into the last two rounds which will decide this fascinating World Superbike 2010 season.

“A shame – confesses Max Biaggi at the end of race 2 – We battled all weekend with grip and chattering problems. I know that I can be decisively faster. In fact, in Superpole with the soft tyre we were making excellent times. But the important thing is to know how to deal with the difficulties. We took home some important points from a championship point of view and now there are just two more rounds and we’re out front. The finish line is close, but we cannot make the mistake of underestimating our rivals who, even showed their determination to exploit every false move we make”.

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Teams Express Condolences on Tomizawa Tragedy

September 05, 2010, 10:41:44 AM | admin

Releases will be added at top as they arrive.

Gresini Racing (Moto2)

Victory for Toni Elias in today’s Moto2 race overshadowed by the death of a rider, a rival, a friend.

Toni Elias (1st): “All I feel is sadness right now and my victory today is irrelevant. I was talking and joking with Tomizawa only yesterday in the Clinica Mobile and to think that he is no longer with us is truly awful. Even today we were out there racing together when he was in front of me before this incredible tragedy. He has left an indelible mark on my life.”

Tatsuya Yamaguchi (25th): “I have so much sadness in my heart. That is the only thing I can bring myself to say.”

Fausto Gresini: “Today is a very sad and very tough day, when racing doesn’t feel like it should. I know just how hard it is to lose a rider in these circumstances and I know the pain that his family and all the guys on the team who worked with him are feeling right now. There is little more to say. This is an extremely sad day. We knew immediately that the incident was serious but you always hope at times like this that there will be a miracle and the rider will get to his feet. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case today.”

San Carlo Honda Gresini

All talk of racing is irrelevant today following the loss of a rider, which leaves a feeling of great sadness amongst us all.

Marco Melandri (10th) “There is nothing I have to say about today’s race. It is a tragic day.”

Marco Simoncelli (14th) “There is not much to say – it’s been a tough day and the race is insignificant. Two tragedies in a week is too much. Last Sunday a boy of just thirteen and today Tomizawa, who was only nineteen. Unfortunately this is the risk of racing motorcycles but when something like this happens it is simply terrible and I feel so sorry.”

Fausto Gresini “Today is a very sad and very tough day, when racing doesn’t feel like it should. I know just how hard it is to lose a rider in these circumstances and I know the pain that his family and all the guys on the team who worked with him are feeling right now. There is little more to say. This is an extremely sad day. We knew immediately that the incident was serious but you always hope at times like this that there will be a miracle and the rider will get to his feet. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case today.”

Pramac Racing

The Pramac Racing Team gives its deepest condolences to the family, Team and friends of Shoya Tomizawa.

Aleix Espargarò – Pilota Pramac Racing Team

“There is nothing to say on a day like this. One of our family is gone.”

Mika Kallio – Pilota Pramac Racing Team

“Is a sad day for everyone.”

LCR Racing

Misano, 5th September 2010: Randy de Puniet, Lucio Cecchinello and the whole LCR Honda MotoGP Team are thinking of Shoya Tomizawa’s family, friends and the whole Technomag-CIP Team in this tragic moment.

De Puniet: “I do not want to speak about me and my race. This week end ended in the most horrible way. My thoughts go to Shoya and his family”.

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Tomizawa Killed at Misano Grand Prix (Updated)

September 05, 2010, 9:49:04 AM | admin

UPDATE: On Sunday 5th September during the Moto2 race at the Misano World Circuit, rider Shoya Tomizawa aged 19 suffered a serious crash and subsequent cranial, thoracic and abdominal trauma.

Given the seriousness of his condition – especially for the thoracic and abdominal trauma – Tomizawa was immediately treated at the Misano World Circuit medical centre and put under artificial respiration.

The rider was taken by ambulance to the Riccione hospital accompanied by two doctors – helicopter was not used in order to allow for the proper respiratory support to be administered. Despite various attempts to resuscitate him Shoya sadly succumbed to his injuries at 14.20.

Everybody involved in MotoGP extends its deepest condolences to Shoya’s family and friends at this tragic loss.

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On Sunday 6th September during the Moto2 race, rider Shoya Tomizawa aged 19 suffered a serious crash and subsequent cranial, thoracic and abdominal trauma. Tomizawa was taken to the Hospital of Riccione for immediate treatement but succumbed to his injuries at 14.20.

All the MotoGP family wants to express its depest condolences to his family and friends.

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TEAM-SPEAK: Misano MotoGP, Sunday (Pics)

September 05, 2010, 9:46:12 AM | admin

Releases will be added at top as they arrive.

Kenny Noyes (Moto2)

The weekend of the San Marino Moto2 Grand Prix took a very strange turn for Kenny Noyes and his Jack&Jones By Antonio Banderas Racing team, and would be capped by the tragic death of Noyes’ fellow competitor Shoya Tomizawa.

Kenny Noyes • Courtesy Noyes

The team was split into two halves for the weekend, with Kenny’s teammate Joan Olive trying a different chassis to the Promoharris bike that the team has been using so far. The test certainly produced interesting results: Olive finished ahead of Kenny for the first time this season, but the change meant the garage was divided into two sides.

Putting this to the back of his mind, Noyes focused on trying to get the best from the chassis he’s been using all season. After going back to using the older swingarm on Saturday morning, Kenny immediately dropped two seconds off his best time from FP1, but there was no more room for improvement during qualifying.

His grid position became irrelevant, though, as the clutch cable popped out of its retainer on the warmup lap, leaving Noyes to start from pit lane, and negotiate Misano’s armco-lined chicane which marks pit lane exit. A typically tenacious performance saw the American grit his teeth and slash his way forward through the field: from 39th at the end of the first lap, Noyes went on to finish 24th.

24th, fast lap 1′42.013

Kenny said: “It’s been an unusual weekend with everything that’s been going on, and with my teammate running a different chassis, there have been two sides to the garage. We just tried to stay focused on what we were doing and figure out why we’re dropping behind the other guys a little bit with our bike’s performance.”

“Basically we’ve had to go back to base settings, to the sweetest spot we’ve found on this bike. Saturday morning was OK, we got back on the pace, but I couldn’t improve any more in qualifying. It’s kind of frustrating not being able to get where we want to. I think we had a decent base at the beginning of the year but it hasn’t improved, we’re riding basically the same bike we had at Qatar. I know the team’s working hard, and I’m sure we’ll find a solution one way or the other.”

Shoya Tomizawa’s tragic death in a crash on lap 12 cast a pall over the aftermath of the race, and helped Noyes put his tough weekend into perspective.

“I was feeling kinda sorry for myself, but then finding out what happened with Tomizawa puts things in perspective. Right now our thoughts and prayers go out to Tomizawa’s friends and family. On the track he was a real fierce competitor, a real fast guy, but round the paddock he was really nice, always joking and friendly. I got to do a few Arlen Ness events with him, and though I didn’t know him very well, it’s just terrible. What happened with Peter Lenz at Indianapolis and Tomizawa here at Misano reminds us all that this is a dangerous sport; it’s beautiful but dangerous also, and this is the darker side of it.”

Fiat Yamaha

The Fiat Yamaha Team gained their first double podium since Laguna Seca when Jorge Lorenzo finished second and Valentino Rossi third behind Dani Pedrosa at Misano. The day was overshadowed however by the tragic news that Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa had passed away following an accident in the Moto2 race. Yamaha would like to express its deepest condolences to his family, friends and team.

Lorenzo lost one place at the start and dropped to third but before the first lap was over he had got back past Casey Stoner to retake second position. Despite pushing hard in the early stages, it was soon clear that the championship leader was not able to run the same pace as Pedrosa today and he was forced to settle for an uneventful ride to second, importantly taking another 20 points for his title challenge and continuing his flawless record of a podium in every race this season.

Italian hero Rossi was hopeful of a return to the podium and he made a good start, keeping his fourth position and holding on to the leaders over the first few laps. He gradually began to close down Casey Stoner and made the pass stick on his second try, on lap eleven of 28. In the latter part of the race he came under pressure from fellow countryman Andrea Dovizioso but he was able to hold him off, putting in his fastest lap of the race three laps from the end and coming home just over a second behind his team-mate.

Lorenzo leads the championship by 63 points after today’s race and Rossi has moved to fourth in the standings; on identical points to Stoner but ahead on race wins. The next round comes at the new track of Motorland Aragon in two week’s time.

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 2ndTime: +1.900
“I don’t have many words for the race on such a sad say. I made a good start but I couldn’t keep close to Pedrosa. Second is good, we weren’t fast enough but for the championship it’s another very important result and that is our target. The podium is our goal in all races, although we hope we can still improve our M1 a bit more. As for Shoya, it’s a huge pity because he was a good guy and a strong rider. I am so sad and I just want to say how sorry I am for his family and his friends. When this happens nothing else matters.”

Valentino Rossi – Position: 3rdTime: +3.183
“This was a great result for us, more than just for the podium but for the way that the result arrived. I was very fast at the end of the race and this shows how much we’re improving because I was able to keep pushing right to the end. I think we did a good job this weekend. But when something so sad like this happens everything else goes to zero and the result doesn’t matter. I’m so sorry for Shoya because he was a strong rider but above all he was very ’sympatico.’ He was very funny, always smiling and he always had nice things to say to everyone. He was also very young with a great career ahead of him so we are all very sad.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager
“Today was frustrating for Jorge because he is a winner but he knows he can’t afford to take risks, thinking about the championship. Pedrosa was very strong and we couldn’t catch him, so we will be working hard to try to find a way to get back to fighting with him at the next race. As usual Jorge kept his head and rode a sensible race to get as many points as he could and we are still on target for our goal. We would like to say how sorry we are about Tomizawa, he was clearly a huge talent who was destined to be here in MotoGP one day. This is the nature of our sport but today has reminded us all what can happen.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“It’s a very sad day for our sport, our thoughts go out to Tomi and to his friends, his family and his team. He was a very good guy. The race was very positive because Valentino was able to increase the pace and he was very fast and very consistent at the end of the race. The bike was working well, we did a good job and Valentino was happy which gives us good confidence for the next races. His pace was very close to the top and his physical condition seems to have improved. We’re looking forward to him being back to his very best. This was an important step for the bike and for the rider on our way to being back in contention for victories.

Repsol Honda

Dani Pedrosa rode a flawless race today to take his second MotoGP win in as many weekends and claim the first back-to-back victories of his MotoGP career. The Repsol Honda rider led for all 28 laps of the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano, recording his fourth win of 2010 and the twelfth of his MotoGP career. His team-mate Andrea Dovizioso put on a fighting performance moving from eighth on the grid to challenge Valentino Rossi for much of the race for the last spot on the podium, eventually finishing fourth.

The racing at Misano today was overshadowed however by the death of Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa following an accident in the Moto2 race. Coming after the fatality of Peter Lenz in a support race at last weekend’s Indianapolis Grand Prix, both Repsol Honda riders were deeply saddened by today’s events.

DANI PEDROSA – 1st – World Championship Position 2nd 208 points

“There are no words to say how it feels after this victory – it feels like nothing. I arrived at parc fermé very happy with the win and I immediately felt that the atmosphere among my mechanics was really strange, everybody was serious. Still with my helmet on they told me about Tomizawa and I couldn’t react. It was a big shock, a big contrast for me. I asked three times if it was true because I couldn’t believe it. It’s so sad, terrible, and these things should never happen. As a person I can only say that he was a very funny boy, always happy and making jokes, and as a rider he earned respect from everybody in a very short time, he was fast and brave. To lose two riders in a week is terrible. I believe everybody in the World Championship is feeling the same now and I want to send my condolences to the family. When you are born, life gives you the chance to ch oose what you want to do. Tomi chose to be a rider and in fact he was doing great. I just want to think that he’s been happy making his dream come true. Concerning the race, I want to say thank you again to my team for doing a great job. The whole weekend has been perfect: good practices, a very high pace during the race, and the second win in a row and the fourth of the season. I want to keep my feet on the ground though and just concentrate on one race at a time. The feeling on the bike is very good now and my goal is to continue in this way. But to be honest I’m not really thinking about that at this moment.”

ANDREA DOVIZIOSO – 4 – World Championship Position 3rd 139 points

“My thoughts are with Shoya Tomizawa. I was informed after the race and the news is like a slap in the face. Two tragic accidents in two races is so terrible and it reminds us how dangerous is our job. The safety commission has improved safety levels so much that we often forget this aspect. I’m so sorry for Tomizawa’s family. Having become a father I can understand that this is the worst thing that can happen for a family. Unfortunately we couldn’t do anything: these were two casualties, two accidents with a similar dynamic where the track-side barriers were not touched. This can happen and this is why our job is so risky. Concerning the race, we did the maximum. The race weekend was so complicated but we succeeded in turning the bad results from qualifying into a good race. I’m not happy with the 4th position though because our target was the podium. Today the bike was working better and I also improved my riding – I rode differently from qualifying. We could race with a high pace and this is the important point. I was pushing so hard and, especially in the middle of the race, me and Valentino were putting in really fast lap times. I tried to catch Rossi but in the end I couldn’t make it. We will start for the next race from here: we were fast and now we need concrete results.”

TOSHIYUKI YAMAJI – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER

“Dani and Andrea did a good job but today’s result is completely insignificant next to the events in the Moto2 race. The thoughts of all in the team and Honda go out to Shoya Tomizawa’s family and friends. May he rest in peace.”

MotoGP

Dani Pedrosa took his fourth win of the season in MotoGP today at the Gran Premio Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, however there was a black cloud hanging over the whole Misano paddock after the tragic news of the death of Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa in the preceding Moto2 race.

Tomizawa, 19, and from Chiba in Japan, was riding in third place in the Moto2 event when he crashed and brought down Alex de Angelis and Scott Redding. The CIP Technomag rider was immediately transferred to the nearby Riccione Hospital by ambulance, before succumbing to his injuries at 2.20pm local time.
motogp

In the MotoGP race, Pedrosa went on to claim his first back-to-back premier class victories on Sunday, finishing first at Misano ahead of Championship leader and rival Jorge Lorenzo and home favourite Valentino Rossi.

Repsol Honda rider Pedrosa set a stunning pace from the start and was almost 1.5s clear of Lorenzo by only the third lap, as he set a lap record early on in the 28-lap contest. Before the action had even begun to unfold however there were two fallers at turn one as Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) went down together. The American rejoined the race but later had to retire.

With Pedrosa pulling away and Lorenzo riding a relatively lonely race in second position the real battle was for the final podium spot, with Rossi attacking Casey Stoner as he sought a result that would please the home crowd. The pair swapped positions a couple of times before the Italian made a move stick, with Andrea Dovizioso also passing the Australian later on.

Rossi and Dovizioso pulled away as they contended for the honour of highest placing Italian rider, and it was a battle the reigning World Champion eventually won comfortably. Pedrosa by that stage had crossed the finish line in first position and exactly 1.9s clear of Lorenzo, with Rossi just over a second behind his Fiat Yamaha teammate.

“There are no words to say how it feels after this victory – it feels like nothing,” declared Pedrosa. “Still with my helmet on in Parc Ferme they told me about Tomizawa and I couldn’t react. It was a big shock, a big contrast for me. It’s so sad, terrible, and these things should never happen. As a person I can only say he was a very funny boy, always happy and making jokes, and as a rider he earned respect from everybody in a very short time, he was fast and brave. To lose two riders in a week is terrible.”

“Concerning the race, I want to say thank you again to my team for doing a great job. The whole weekend has been perfect: good practices, a very high pace during the race, my second win in a row and the fourth of the season.”

Following Dovizioso and Stoner in fourth and fifth respectively were Monster Yamaha Tech 3 pair Ben Spies and Colin Edwards, with Álvaro Bautista, Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar) and Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) completing the top ten. Melandri’s team-mate Marco Simoncelli crashed but rejoined the race to finish 14th, whilst Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) was forced to retire late on.

Lorenzo’s lead at the top of the standings is now 63 points over Pedrosa, with Rossi moving into fourth overall at nine points behind Dovizioso.

“I don’t have many words for the race on such a sad day,” declared Lorenzo. “I made a good start, but couldn’t keep close to Pedrosa. Second is good, we weren’t fast enough but for the championship it’s another important result and that is our target. As for Shoya, it’s a huge pity because he was a good guy and a strong rider. I am so sad and I just want to say how sorry I am for his family and friends. When this happens nothing else matters.”

Reigning World Champion, Valentino Rossi, echoed his teammate’s sentiments.

“This was a great result for us, but when something so sad like this happens everything else goes to zero and the result doesn’t matter. I’m so sorry for Shoya because he was a strong rider but above all he was very ’sympatico.’ He was very funny, always smiling and he always had nice things to say to everyone. He was also very young, with a great career ahead of him, so we are all very sad.”

Moto2

Toni Elías won from pole position at Misano on Sunday in the Moto2 Gran Premio Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini to extend his Championship lead to 83 points, achieving his sixth victory of the season and his fourth in a row. Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) moved into second place in the standings with second position in the race, whilst Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Moriwaki) made a return to the podium.

Andrea Iannone led from the off but a jump start meant the Fimmco Speed Up rider had to take a Ride Through penalty early on, and that allowed the trio of Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing), Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team) and Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP) to run at the front.

Pole starter Elías was not far off however and after just six laps the Gresini Racing man assumed the lead, with Simone Corsi (JiR Moto2) keeping tabs on him.

Tomizawa’s tragic crash, which also brought down Alex De Angelis (JiR Moto2) and Redding, left a gap in the field that was quickly filled by Simón.

As the battle continued at the front Simón went through on Corsi to move into second, whilst wild card Mattia Pasini and Sergio Gadea’s races ended early with crashes. Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3 Racing) was another faller as he pushed hard to maintain fifth position.

As Elías continued to lead comfortably the impressive Lüthi reeled in Corsi and passed him having been over six seconds adrift at one stage, and also having started from 15th on the grid. Iannone’s day was then capped off with a mechanical fault that forced his retirement as he sought a points-scoring finish further back. Xavier Simeon, a replacement for the injured Fonsi Nieto, crashed when flying high in seventh.

Elías crossed 1.969s clear of Simón with Lüthi securing his fifth podium of the campaign in third, and Elías now stands on 211 points in the Championship with Simón moving up to second on 128 and Lüthi remaining in third on 124.

“All I feel is sadness right now and my victory today is irrelevant,” declared Elias. “I was talking and joking with Shoya Tomizawa only yesterday in the Clinica Mobile and to think that he is no longer with us is truly awful. He has left an indelible mark on my life.”

Corsi took fourth, with Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing), Cluzel, Gabor Talmacsi (Fimmco Speed Up), Dominique Aegerter (Technomag-CIP), Claudio Corti (Forward Racing) and Roberto Rolfo (Italtrans STR) completing the top ten.

125cc

Marc Márquez (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) took his sixth win of the season – his first since Sachsenring – at Misano on Sunday as he opened up a nine-point advantage over Nico Terol in the 125cc title race, with the Bancaja Aspar rider crossing the line in second position.

A poor start off the front row for Terol saw the Spaniard drop down to 12th as the race got underway, but he soon regained ground and within a few laps had recovered to slot into second behind early race leader Márquez.

Pol Espargaró had made a good start and led for a short while at the front, with Tuenti Racing teammate Efrén Vázquez aiding his cause by getting in front of Márquez. However, by only the third lap it was Márquez and Terol who were the leading two and they swapped first position for much of the 23-lap contest.

Espargaró, who had trailed Márquez by just five points going into this race, looked to be keeping up in third but the leading pair upped the pace midway through the race with Terol and then Márquez setting new lap records as they pulled away. Meanwhile Espargaró began to drop down the order.

With four laps remaining Márquez had opened up over a second on Terol and he maintained a healthy distance until crossing the finish line in first, 2.185s ahead of the Bancaja Aspar rider. A fine scrap for the final podium spot was won by Vázquez for his first top-three result since the opening round in Qatar.

Missing out on the podium having been involved in that battle were pole sitter Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar) who came in fourth, Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo) in fifth and Espargaró, who eventually crossed the line sixth as his title hopes were dealt a significant blow.

Márquez now has 197 points at the top of the standings with Terol on 188 and Espargaró 20 off the leader on 177.

Riders failing to finish the race were Khairuddin Zulfahmi (AirAsia – Sepang International Circuit Team), Luis Salom (Stipa-Molenaar Racing), Alexis Masbou (Team Ongetta), Giovanni Bonati (Junior GP FMI), Lorenzo Savadori (Matteoni C.P. Racing), Sturla Fagerhaug (AirAsia – Sepang International Circuit Team) and Luca Marconi (Team Ongetta).

Paginas Amarillas Aspar

The MotoGP premier class riders began the San Marino Grand Prix in the knowledge that Moto2 rider Shoya Tomizawa was in a critical condition, following an in-race accident earlier in the day. The Japanese rider was pronounced dead at 2.20pm local time, and as such the competitors only learned of his tragic passing after the race had ended. Dani Pedrosa won the contest at Misano after leading from start to finish, taking off from pole and leaving Stoner and Lorenzo in his wake. The two Spaniards and their Australian counterpart were out in front for the majority of the race, until Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso joined in the battle for the podium and added some excitement to the fight. Pedrosa came home first with a solid gap between himself and Lorenzo -also riding solo, whilst Rossi rounded off the rostrum at his home circuit.

Hector Barbera • Courtesy Aspar

Comeback after comeback, Páginas Amarillas Aspar rider Héctor Barberá continues to learn in his rookie year as a MotoGP rider. The Spaniard showed that Misano is a good circuit for him, once again living a great performance. He took off from sixteenth on the grid, and had to face a tough battle with Randy de Puniet and then Marco Melandri for ninth place. He now looks forward to his third home race of the season, at Motorland Aragon, in two weeks time, although at the moment he is understandably shaken by the terrible events of today and is thinking firmly of colleague Shoya Tomizawa.

9th Héctor Barberá:

“I would have had fun in the race, as I was enjoying riding. We go home with a good result and have continued to improve. However, right now, after learning about what has happened to Tomizawa, I am speechless. I was told about it as soon as I got off the bike, and it is very difficult to take something like that in. Today’s result doesn’t really matter anymore. Shoya was a great rider who always gave his all on the bike. He was also a great person who was always smiling and with whom I got on well. I want to send my thoughts to his family and friends.”

Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Ben Spies continued his excellent form in the MotoGP world championship in Misano this afternoon, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider ending with a richly deserved sixth position.

The 26-year-old recovered superbly having lost four places in a frantic jostle for track position at the tight second corner on the opening lap.

Dropped down to 10th place, the Texan showcased his overtaking prowess once again, passing both Marco Melandri and Randy de Puniet on lap six to take seventh place.

That put Spies firmly on the trail of Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Colin Edwards, who had made a blistering start to end the first lap fifth.

Spies quickly closed down on Edwards and made his attack on lap 12 and then expertly moved clear of his fellow Texan to finish top non-factory rider again.

Today’s result was the eighth time in 12 races that Spies has finished inside the top six and he remains firmly in contention for third place in the overall rankings with six races on the calendar left.

Edwards rode another strong race to finish in seventh position for the third time in the last four outings. The 36-year-old is confident he could have given Spies more of a challenge for sixth had he not encountered some small front-end issues.

Edwards though moved into the top ten in the standings with his latest positive result and is just one-point behind Marco Melandri heading to round 13 at the new Motorland Aragon track in Spain.

Today’s race was overshadowed by the passing of Japanese Moto2 rider Shoya Tomizawa following a tragic accident earlier in the afternoon. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 would like to express its deepest condolences to family, friends and team.

Ben Spies 6th – 120 points

“It was a tough race after I got shuffled back at the second corner. I struggled a little bit with front-end feeling but I had a good pace and by the time I got through everybody into sixth everybody else was ten seconds ahead. There was no sense in doing anything stupid but looking at the lap times I’m sure I had the pace to fight closer with Casey. My goal was top six and that’s what I achieved so I can’t be too disappointed. I had top five pace and that’s better than being in the top six but not fast enough to be any higher. I want to express my sadness at the passing of Shoya Tomizawa. My thoughts a re with his family and friends. It’s another sad loss for our sport.”

Colin Edwards 7th – 66 points

“It was a good race and another seventh has put me back in the top ten in the championship. I made a good start and managed to avoid any trouble at the first corner and I had a good early battle with Simoncelli. But I had the same problem I had all weekend and I was losing the front a bit on the brakes. I was trying to ride aggressively and I was happy with my lap times but honestly, I thought the outcome was going to be a little better than seventh. When Ben came by he was able to just pull away from a little bit every lap. I tried my hardest to stay with him but once he’d gone I just settled for seventh. The race doesn’t count for much though when you hear the news about Tomizawa. My thoughts go out to his family and friends at this difficult time.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager

“Firstly, on behalf of everyone at Tech 3 Yamaha, I’d like to send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Shoya Tomizawa. He was a great talent and a really good guy who will be missed by all of us in the racing community. Looking at the race, what happened to Ben early on the first lap was crucial. Unfortunately he lost some places but once again he showed fantastic determination to recover even though this track is difficult to pass on. He got back to sixth but unfortunately he had no chance to catch Casey and that it is shame because without what happened on the first lap, I think Ben could have had a good race with him. But he scored another top six and again he was the best non-factory by a long way. I’m also really happy with Colin because he has been making a lot of progress recently and riding back to his best.”

Bridgestone

Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard

Fresh from winning last weekend at Indianapolis, Dani Pedrosa completed his impressive weekend in Misano by scoring his second consecutive victory, and his fourth of the season. The Repsol Honda rider led from the start and didn’t look back, setting a new lap record in the process. Second position went to championship leader Jorge Lorenzo, whilst his Fiat Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi fought off Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso for the final step of the podium at his home grand prix.

As the weather remained dry, every rider chose the softer option rear tyre for the race as it provided more grip than the harder option whilst also having good consistency over race distance. With the exception of Alvaro Bautista who used the softer front, all riders opted for the harder front slick for its increased stability under braking.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director, Bridgestone Motorsport
“I’d like to congratulate Dani and Repsol Honda today for their victory; they have really hit their stride at this point in the season and are very strong indeed. “But today is a very sad day as we lost a great young Japanese rider, a wonderful character and a shining light who was so young in his motorcycle racing career. Our thoughts and prayers are with Tomizawa-san’s family and friends at this tragic time. His memory shall remain bright in our hearts.”

Tohru Ubukata – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
“I am pleased with tyre performance this weekend as Dani set a new lap record, the top four riders were all faster than the existing record and the total race time was ten seconds faster than the previous best. But I am deeply saddened, as are we all, about the passing of the young and talented Tomizawa-san today. It was a terrible accident and a tragic loss of life and our hearts go out to those who knew him and loved him.”

Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Race Winner
“We had very good race pace and my first back-to-back victory and the fourth of the season is great for me and the team. We are working good and getting stronger. Shoya was a very funny guy, always making jokes, and on the bike he was very great too so this is a very sad time.”

Top ten classification (Sunday 14:00 GMT+2)
Pos. Rider Team Race time Gap Front spec Rear spec Tyres
1 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 44m 22.059s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick
2 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 44m 23.959s +1.900s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick
3 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 44m 25.242s +3.183s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick
4 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 44m 28.513s +6.454s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick
5 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 44m 40.538s +18.479s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick
6 Ben Spies Monster Yamaha Tech3 44m 50.444s +28.385s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick
7 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 44m 56.993s +34.934s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick
8 Alvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 45m 00.216s +38.157s Medium Medium Bridgestone slick
9 Hector Barbera Paginas Amarillas Aspar 45m 03.002s +40.943s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick
10 Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini 45m 04.436s +42.377s Hard Medium Bridgestone slick

Weather: Dry. Ambient 28-26°C; Track 40-34°C (Bridgestone measurement)

Marc VDS (Moto2)

Scott Redding was lucky to escape serious injury after a huge crash in today’s Moto2 race at Misano, but was left devastated by the news that fellow competitor, Shoya Tomizawa, sustained fatal injuries in the same race.

Redding was treated in the circuit medical centre immediately after the crash, receiving ten stitches in a laceration to his back. Redding’s teammate, Hector Faubel, completed the race, bringing his Marc VDS liveried Suter MMX machine home in 16th position.

Everyone in the Marc VDS Racing Team would like to pass on their sincere condolences to the family and friends of Shoya Tomizawa, who will be greatly missed in the Moto2 paddock.

Michael Bartholemy: Team Manager
“Hector did a good job today in difficult circumstances. Scott’s crash was a big one, so we are thankful that the only injury he sustained was a minor laceration on his back. We were deeply saddened by the news that Shoya Tomizawa succumbed to the injuries sustained in a crash during today’s Moto2 race. He was a respected rival and will be sorely missed in the paddock. Like everyone in the Marc VDS Racing Team, my thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”

Rizla Suzuki

Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista rode a fantastic race at Misano in Italy today to bring his GSV-R home in eighth place after a hard-fought race.

Alvaro Bautista • Courtesy Rizla Suzuki

Bautista started from 16th on the grip and was lucky to avoid a first corner incident that caused him to lose time on the pack of riders in front of him. He quickly regained his composure and set about chasing the field. Bautista caught and passed a number of riders as he made his way up to eighth on lap 18, he then tried to catch Colin Edwards who had a large gap between himself and Bautista, but the Rizla Suzuki man was unable to bridge the distance – even though he made huge in-roads into the American’s lead.

Loris Capirossi 200th race in the premier class of motorcycle racing was over almost as soon as it had begun, when he was knocked off on the second corner of the first lap. Capirossi got a good start and had made up a number of places from 11th on the grid, before Nicky Hayden ran into him and knocked him off his machine. Capirossi suffered an injury to his right-hand little finger that will require surgery in San Marino tomorrow, but he is hopeful that he will make the next round of the MotoGP championship.

Today’s race was won by Spaniard Dani Pedrosa with World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo in second. Sadly today’s race was overshadowed by tragic events in the Moto2 race earlier in the day. Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa was fatally injured in an accident that involved two other riders. The 19-year-old was taken to hospital, but was pronounced dead upon arrival. The thoughts and prayers of the whole Rizla Suzuki team are extended to Tomizawa’s family, friends and team during this traumatic period.

Rizla Suzuki will next be in action at a brand new racetrack to the MotoGP calendar, as it travels to the Aragon circuit in Spain for the round of the season on Sunday 19th September.

Álvaro Bautista:

“It has now become a very difficult day and I don’t really know what to say. I had a good race, even though I had to avoid Loris and Nicky after they crashed and I lost my position. I tried to get in my rhythm as quick as I could because I knew I had a good pace. When I was catching the group in front of me I made a mistake and put the bike into neutral – so I lost some more distance on them. I concentrated hard and pushed to the limit and I managed to go faster than I had in practice and I caught the group up. Once I was with them I knew I was faster so I got past them and pulled away. Today nobody crashed in front of me during the race so it was a true eighth position and I was very pleased with that. I was happy at the end of the race because the position was good and I was happy with the race-pace, but when we had finished the race I heard the news about Tomizawa and I am just so sorry for him and all his family. It is a hard day for all riders, I am sure he will stay with us always and I hope he is now in a better place.”

Loris Capirossi • Courtesy Rizla Suzuki

Loris Capirossi:

“I am very angry at what happened today because I was feeling very confident and the bike was good, so I thought we could have a competitive race. Now I have to have an operation and I hope I can be back for Aragon, but this is nothing compared to what happened in the other race. I want to send my condolences to Tomizawa’s family, this is a great tragedy and something that you never like to hear about.”

Tom O’Kane – Álvaro Bautista’s Crew Chief:

“Firstly I want to say to Tomizawa’s family and friends that we all send our deepest sympathies – it’s a terrible thing that has happened and Álvaro was very upset when he heard the news at the end of the race. With regards to the race, he got a very good start off the line, but took a few laps to find his rhythm. Then it looked like he had a really fun race, he was chasing guys down and passing them with what looked like ease. His fastest lap in the race is the fastest one he has done all weekend and we as a team will be doing all we can to move him up in qualifying to see what he can do from the second or third row.”

Tech 3 (Moto2)

Raffaele de Rosa claimed his best ever Moto2 result on home soil in Misano this afternoon after a determined ride to 13th position for the Tech 3 Racing Team.

Starting down in 27th position on the grid after a troublesome weekend, de Rosa embarked on an exciting charge towards the top 15 right from the start after the 39-strong field successfully negotiated the tight and tricky first and second corners. The Italian was able to make several passes as the 26-lap race unfolded and he moved into the points with an overtake on Hector Faubel on lap 18. He secured his season best 13th with a fine overtake on Michael Ranseder with three laps remaining.

It was his second top 15 finish in the last three races, boosting confidence that he can continue his excellent recent form when the world championship makes its first visit to the Motorland Aragon circuit later this month. The Tech 3 Racing Team tested at the Spanish venue in early July and de Rosa is confident he’ll have a competitive set-up for round 12 of the 2010 campaign.

Japanese rider Yuki Takahashi’s hard efforts looked like being rewarded with at least a top five finish. He had produced a gritty display to come through from 13th on the grid but crashed unhurt on lap 22 while trying to chase down Thomas Luthi, who eventually finished on the podium.

Today’s race was overshadowed by an incident on lap 12 involving Shoya Tomizawa, Scott Redding and Alex de Angelis.

Japanese rider Tomizawa succumbed to his injuries and the Tech 3 Racing Team wishes to express its deepest condolences to his family and friends.

Raffaele de Rosa 13th – 4 points

“This is my best result of the season and I’m really happy because not only was it in front of my home crowd, but until the race it has been a very difficult weekend. I want to thank my team because they did a fantastic job all weekend and this result gives us something to build on for the remainder of the season. Of course this result is not the target we set ourselves before the start of the season but it was a good race and I learned a lot. It is clear we need to adjust the weight distribution for the next races and I’m now looking forward to the Motorland Aragon race. I had a good test there earlier this year and if we can get the bike more suited for me, then I’m sure that first top ten is not too far away.”

Yuki Takahashi DNF &# 8211; 72-points

“It was a good race for me until I made the mistake. We made a small adjustment to the front-end after the warm-up this morning and this helped me get into the low 1.40s. The lap times I was able to do in the race were very fast and at the time I crashed I was not far behind Luthi and he finished on the podium. I’ll be looking to recover at the next race at the Motorland Aragon track. I did well in the test there and I really liked the track, so I’m determined to get the season back on track and finish strongly.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager

“Yuki was having a very strong race and he’d made several good overtakes to get himself in contention for a podium. It looked like he was going to score some valuable points but having done all the hard work he made a mistake and that is unfortunate. Those points t oday would have put us back in the fight for the top five in the championship and it is a shame. Raffaele rode a determined race and scoring points again is a good reward for all the hard work made by his team. We’d like to see him higher up but in the last races he has made some progress and that is pleasing. But today means nothing after the news of Shoya Tomizawa. He was an extremely exciting character and a great hope for the future and he was already somebody who was part of our world. Everybody loved him and we all feel devastated by what happened. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Bancaja Aspar (125)

Misano provided a treat for spectators at 11am Sunday morning, with one of the best 125cc races of the season so far kicking off in style. It was a group race -for the opening laps. A super-speedy breakaway at the end. It was won by Marc Márquez, who continually traed to shake off Nico Terol throughout the contest. Five contenders for the victory were reduced to three Spanish stars in Márquez, Terol and Espargaró, who upped the pace to below the 1′43 mark. Terol eventually lost out after his rival gained a two second advantage on the final laps.

(Left to right) Nico Terol, Marc Marquez, and Efren Vazquez. • Courtesy Aspar

Nico Terol was after his third win on the trot, despite stalling on the startline and losing ground. He was able to claw his way back into the battle for victory, and led the race on lap six. From lap twelve he played a waiting game, waving Márquez on and looking to follow him. Unfortunately for Terol, his rival proved too fase and he himself had tyre problems on the closing laps, resulting in his settling for second place and twenty valuable points in the title chase.

Bancaja Aspar teammate Bradley Smith also lost positions at the start, and came close to a podium finish at Misano. He took off from pole but was swallowed up by the pack, losing three places on the opening lap and a further two in the early going. At the midway point he began to find his feet, fighting back to match up with the group in contention for third. He picked up a pair of places, but just missed out on another trip to the rostrum.

2nd Nico Terol:
“My tyres nearly didn’t make it to the end of the race, and the bike nearly threw me off on a couple of occasions. When we were riding as a group at the start I tried to break free a few times, but Marc hung on behind me and I could hear the sound of his engine. I let him past in the hope of overtaking him on the last lap, but he pushed very hard right to the end of the race. His bike was sliding around a lot less and he looked more at ease. I am satisfied with second, even though I missed the chance to take my third consecutive win. They are still twenty very important points. Marc really surprised me because I was expecting him to ride a couple of tenths quicker than me -not half a second quicker than the circuit record. Especially not when the tyres were going off at the end. I think that I had a great race and I’m satisfied with second.”

4th Bradley Smith:
“The chassis setting that we had chosen prior to the race worked well and gave me confidence in the front end. I made a mistake on the tyre choice and was losing grip on some angles, but as the temperature picked up it worked better. Today has been one of the hardest races that I have ever ridden, and up to the tenth lap the engine was not working as it should have. From then on I put down faster laps and tried to pick up positions. Today I gave 120% and I think that fourth was the best result that we could have got today. I want to thank the team, because they worked tirelessly to get onto the podium. I am convinced that in Aragon we will be able to improve. I’ve heard that it’s a fantastic track, so I can’t wait to ride there.”

Tuenti Racing Derbi (125)

Efrén Vázquez has scored his second pódium of the season with third position at the Grand Prix of San Marino while Pol Espargaró could not finish higher than sixth and saw his 125cc world championship hopes take a small dent. The Tuenti Racing rider from Bilbao made a great start and covered the rear Wheel of ‘Polyccio’ for several laps until he was able secure his trophy after fending off the attacks of Bradley Smith and Sandro Cortese. In the wake of several near misses, including accidents caused by other riders as in Silverstone and Brno, ‘Efrentxu’ was able to toast an overdue second success after his maiden ‘podium-walk’ in Qatar at the start of the year. Pol Espargaró, for his part, circulated with Marc Márquez and Nico Terol in the first half of the race but a decrease in engine performance denied him the chance of defending his position and he crossed the line in sixth place.

Efren Vazquez • Courtesy Tuenti

3rd EFRÉN VÁZQUEZ

“I’ve been hunting my second podium of the season for quite a while and for one reason or another it didn’t happen until now. Finally all the work we have done throughout the year so far has borne some fruit and I am on the box after a hectic race and one with a very high speed. I started well again and crossed swords with Pol for a few laps. After a while the first three escaped and I didn’t think the podium would be possible but then Pol started to slow and I faced the threat from Cortese and Smith so I battled as hard as I could to keep third place until the flag. I am really happy with this result and I’m sure it will give me a boost ahead of the last races of the season.”

6th POL ESPARGARÓ

“I’m disappointed because when you are fighting for the title then sixth place cannot be considered a good result. I was strong at the start of the race and by taking a few risks in the corners I could eventually make up for a lack of acceleration but when I lost touch with Terol it was impossible to follow them. It is clear that this is not a decent result and the whole team must work hard to get in the best shape possible for the next races. I am returning home relaxed in the knowledge that I gave everything I had throughout the whole weekend and we did the best we could. There are six races to go and we will keep pushing until the very end to try and reach our objective.”

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TEAM-SPEAK: NJMP AMA Pro Racing, Saturday

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 11:20:30 PM | admin

Releases will be added at top as they arrive.

LTD Racing

Millville, NJ, (September 4, 2010) – LTD Racing’s Huntley Nash finished second in today’s AMA Pro SuperSport race at New Jersey Motorsport Park, earning his 11th podium of the season. Teammate Tomas Puerta took sixth place in the 19-lap race. Nash and Puerta, who hold second and third in AMA Pro SuperSport East points, once again qualified second and fifth for this weekend’s races.

Huntley Nash • Courtesy LTD

Nash led on the start, once again getting the holeshot. Nash, winner of two races so far in 2010, and eventual winner Joey Pascarella traded the lead in the first two laps before Pascarella earned a gap.

After surviving a near-highside, Huntley battled Eric Stump for position in the middle of the race. Nash dropped back to third after his mishap, but Nash soon passed Stump and consolidated second place. Nash did his best to close the gap to the front and finished 4.704 seconds out of the lead. After victories at Road America and Laguna Seca this year, Huntley was happy with another podium finish but also a little disappointed not to have earned another win in his breakthrough season.

“I tried to give Joey a good fight at the beginning. It was good to see Eric up there, so congrats to him. He did really well. Joey was definitely on pace today and he rode great,” said Nash. “We’re still struggling with front-end feel, and it definitely got worse as the race went on. I just tried to hold down second for the race, which is solid but we wanted a little more. I’m hoping that we’ll be able to improve things and put in a good result tomorrow.”

Tomas Puerta held third position in the early going of the 19-lap race, but a grip issue slowed his pursuit of another podium finish. The high-effort Colombian eventually finished sixth but was less than one second from fourth place. “I got a good start to the race and was behind Huntley and Joey on the first lap, but I kept losing grip and lost some positions,” said the rider from Medellin, Colombia. “I’m not really happy with sixth but we’ll think about it tonight and come out fighting hard on Sunday.”

The second SuperSport race of the weekend is set for 1 PM on Sunday.

M4 Monster Suzuki

Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas registered yet another brilliant come-from-behind victory today at New Jersey Motorsports Park to close to within striking distance in the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Championship fight.

Martin Cardenas • Courtesy M4 Monster Suzuki

Starting from the outside of the front row after qualifying fourth fastest at 1:23.683, Cardenas opened the contest running in the midst of a deep lead freight train typical of the unpredictable class.

Cardenas survived an early scare when a rival crashed out of the race at speed just in front of him, bringing out the red flag. A cautious restart saw the Colombian shuffled down to eighth position as the race began to take shape again, but Martin systematically worked his way up through the field aboard his GSX-R600 racebike, ultimately arriving at the front on lap 17 of 23.

Showing a superior capacity to lay down fast laps on worn tires, Cardenas put his head down and managed to open a small amount of breathing space en route to victory.

The win is his seventh of the season, most of any rider in the category, which also equals his class-leading mark of 2009.

Martin said, “On the first start I made a good launch. I was in second but lost some positions on the way and was in something like sixth place when a rider crashed in front of me. I was very close to him and lucky not to hit him or his bike. I didn’t make a good start after the red flag because I was very cautious as it’s very easy to crash in the opening turn.

“I started to work my way up to the front and I moved into the lead around six or seven laps from the end. I tried to put in a good rhythm and ride fast and maybe try to put a little bit of gap to second guy. It was a small gap but it was good enough to win today.

“My bike worked really good. My rear tire was sliding a bit too much early in the race, but I think when the race went on and the grip went off for everyone it leveled off the race, which was good for me. Thanks to M4 Monster Energy Suzuki and all the guys that helped me.”

Cardenas’ stunning performance saw him make a major move in the developing title fight. He made up 12 points on the leader and now sits second in the championship, just two points shy of first with just three races left in the 2010 season.

Meanwhile, John Hopkins backed up his promising American Superbike front row qualifying position (fourth, 1:21.048) with a strong ride in the race. Getting away in sixth position, ‘Hopper’ guided his GSX-R1000 up to fourth position by lap 13 before coming home with a top-five result in the end, taking the checkered flag in fifth.

It was a more difficult day for Chris Ulrich. Ulrich qualified 11th fastest at 1:22.316 but expected a considerably better race result after displaying encouraging race pace. Looking capable of meeting those expectations, Chris battled up to seventh position but suffered a scary 125-mph crash out of the race on lap nine. After the contest Chris was transported to a local hospital to be checked out for precautionary reasons but apart from plenty of bruising and soreness, proved to have no further damage. He will try to race again tomorrow.

“I got a rippin’ start to the race and we had a good pace,” said Ulrich. “I found myself behind John Hopkins and another rider and I was looking to make a move for position. I had a big crash when I hit the curb and it overloaded the tire. I went down and it flipped me into the air when I hit the other curb. It wasn’t a good place to crash.

“I was happy to be wearing my Dainese chest protector and I was happy to walk away,” continued Ulrich. “I am really sore but we’re going to give it a shot on Sunday. The pace of the first eight laps was encouraging. We’ve been consistent all year but I’m really encouraged we could stick with the lead group.”

Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki will fighting for additional honors at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Sunday.

AMA Pro Road Racing

MILLVILLE, N.J. (September 4, 2010) – A full day of racing took place here at the 2.2 mile New Jersey Motorsports Park at the AMA Pro SuperBike Weekend.

Today’s AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike race had a surprise ending that may have major ramifications for the overall season championship. Josh Hayes and his Team Graves Yamaha took a fortunate victory over Tommy Hayden with Ben Bostrom third. That all sounds pretty straightforward but it doesn’t actually tell the story of how and why Josh won his sixth race of the 2010 SuperBike season and also what it means for the championship.

Hayes grabbed the lead early and basically drove off into the distance. Behind him, first Jake Zemke on his National Guard Jordan Suzuki grabbed second from Hayden and his Rockstar Makita Suzuki with Bostrom on his Pat Clark Motorsports Palms Casino Yamaha having his own battle with John Hopkins on his M4 Monster Energy Suzuki.

Tommy’s Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Blake Young was making a welcome return to the series and was running well in his first race since Road America in June. Bostrom was able to get by Zemke and set off after Hayes but the gap stabilized at around two second as Hayes rode the perfect race, very similar to his last win at VIR.

As the race neared its conclusion, Tommy Hayden once again dug deep and began a charge to the front. First, he passed Bostrom and then as quick as that, he and Ben caught Hayes who had a moment that threw his concentration off and allowed Hayden and Bostrom to catch up. By lap twenty of twenty three, they were less than a second behind Josh and closing fast.

As the three started the last lap, Hayden was right on Hayes’ tail and they were side by side as they went over the start/finish line. Going into turn one, Hayden was able to make a solid pass for the lead and even though there were about 2 miles to go and Hayes had not conceded victory, Hayden looked liked he had stolen this race from Hayes with a perfectly judged last minute pass for the win.

But, it was not to be, in a flash, Brett McCormick had a big fall at turn 13 as he was coming up to begin his final lap and he went down with his Jordan Suzuki ricocheting back into the middle of the racetrack where officials had no choice but to immediately red flag the race. By rule, the scoring reverts to the previous completed lap therefore Josh Hayes took the win and the valuable points that went with it.

Hayden began the race ten points back, having taken his career first Pole Position in a year that has also seen him capture his first AMA Pro SuperBike victory back in March and subsequently add three more wins to his career total. He now trails Hayes by 16 points but if this year’s form is anything to go by, Hayden will bounce back stronger than ever tomorrow in the second race of the New Jersey Motorsports Park SuperBike weekend.

Hayes rode a deserving race today also and is a perfect three for three at this racetrack. He has a little more in store for tomorrow and it should be another chapter in what is a classic year in AMA Pro SuperBike as these two very accomplished and deserving champions fight to the finish for the title. Check out SPEED TV’s broadcast of the Daytona SportBike and National Guard SuperBike races tonight, beginning at 10:00 PM EDT.

In the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike race, the championship battle tightened up even closer as Martin Cardenas, on his M4 Monster Energy Suzuki won for the seventh time this year. Team Graves Yamaha rider Josh Herrin took a hard fought second place from a resurgent Dane Westby on his Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha.

Championship points leader Danny Eslick led the early stages of the race and also the second stage of the race following a red flag period on lap six for an accident involving Tommy Aquino and his Team Graves Yamaha. Tommy had a fall on the front straight and although it looked worse than it was, the race was stopped to insure safe removal of his motorcycle and to attend to a quickly recovered Aquino.

On the restart, Eslick really extended his lead over Cory West, Westby and Martin Cardenas with Herrin in close pursuit. Slowly but surely, the group reeled Danny in and in a flash, Herrin was by and then Martin made a big move and the order was reshuffled with Martin taking the lead from Herrin with Bobby Fong moving into third as Herrin fell to fifth. Josh fought his way back to second by the end as Martin was able to pull out a slight gap back to Herrin and Westby.

West, on his Vesrah Suzuki ended up sixth ahead of P.J. Jacobson again having a good result with his Celtic Racing Suzuki. Bobby Fong ended up fourth on his DNA Energy Drink Ducati ahead of Eslick on his GEICO Powersports Suzuki. Eslick maintains a two point lead over Cardenas who is only three points ahead of Herrin. As with every race this year in Daytona SportBike, the action was taking place all over the racetrack, at one point there was a six to seven bike train at the front and many more battles back through the field. Tomorrow will be race two for the Daytona SportBikes and if today was anything to go by, there will be action galore as Danny Eslick, Martin Cardenas and Josh Herrin continue their championship battle right down to the wire.

The AMA Pro SuperSport race was dominated by East Division Young Gun Champion Joey Pascarella on his DNA Energy Drink Yamaha. Joey, in taking his fourth win of the season, took the lead from Huntley Nash before the end of the first lap and disappeared off into the distance. Huntley Nash, riding his LTD Racing Yamaha battled to stay with Joey and then had his hands full fighting off a fired up Eric Stump but persevered to take his seventh podium finish of the 2010 season.

Stump, riding his Mark Built Yamaha ran quick from the start and moved up to second place from fourth by lap six and raced with Nash until Huntley re-passed him for second place on lap 12. Behind the first three there was some great racing with Austin DeHaven, James Rispoli, Tomas Puerta, Daniel Guevara and Elena Myers having spirited battles throughout the 19 lap race. Stefano Mesa and Travis Wyman rounded out the top ten in the first of two SuperSport races this weekend. Twenty four riders took the green flag today under sunny, warm and windy conditions and tomorrow will be even nicer.

Please visit www.njmp.com for further information.

Please visit www.amaproracing.com for the series information. The full AMA Pro Road Racing SPEED schedule can be found at http://www.speedtv.com/schedule/filter/program/948061.

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.

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Jake Gagne: Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 9:58:39 PM | admin

Jake Gagne won the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup by finishing second to Danny Kent in a fantastic close to the 2010 season. Daijiro Hiura, the 16 year old Japanese finished third in both race and Cup. Californian 17 year old Gagne started from back on the 3rd row of the grid while 16 year old Briton Kent was on pole but Gagne made a nonsense of his qualifying position by jumping into 5th almost from the start and finishing the first lap in 4th place with Kent leading.

Jake Gagne • Courtesy Red Bull

Gagne had gone into the race with an 11 point advantage over Kent and while the Briton clearly had the pace to win he soon realised that he needed to also try and influence what happened behind as Gagne moved into 3rd on lap 2 behind 17 year old Australian Josh Hook.

In a string of masterful moves Kent slowed the race down so that others could join the battle and hopefully push Gagne out of that essential third. It worked as Alessio Cappella, Kevin Calia, Daijiro Hiura, Daniel Ruiz, Brad Binder and Harry Stafford all joined the battle at the front.

“I realised what he was trying to do,” said Gagne. “He’s clever and he needed to try and get the other guys between us. I gust kept my head down and knew that as long as I was close to him I had a good chance of getting the points I needed.”

Kent tried everything. “I knew that I needed to get some other guys between us, just 2 was enough so I played it every way I could but Jake was just too good today and all credit to him he rode a great race. I did everything that I could, won the race but it wasn’t enough. It’s been a great season with a lot of great battles.”

Hiura was a little frustrated with 3rd. “We were all so close that I didn’t see my pit board and didn’t realise it was the last lap. I really wanted to win the last race of the year.”

It was an incredible win after a tough weekend for Gagne who’s engine stopped in the 1st qualifying session meaning that he went out on an unfamiliar spare bike for 2nd. “It just didn’t feel right and I couldn’t do better than 10th in the 2nd session. They put a good engine in my bike for the race and that was a lot better. I wasn’t too worried I was pretty sure that if I made a good start I could run with the guys and do what I needed to take the Cup.”

It could so easily have turned out differently though if any of the top group got tangled together as was demonstrated when Hook highsided on lap 8 and 15 year old South African Binder fell swerving to avoid him. They were just behind the lead trio at the time, neither were hurt but were out of the race.

While 15 year old Italian Kevin Calia had been towards the front from the start after qualifying 3rd an impressive charge came from 18 year old Spaniard Ruiz who charged through from 15th on the grid to join the lead battle by lap 8.

Calia made great use of the slipstream through the ultra fast right handers down the back ’straight’ and led 8 of the 17 laps across the line. “I enjoyed the race and did everything I could. It really was a great race, slipstreaming and everything but in the last lap Hiura and I just touched a bit and I was 4th, that’s racing.”

Ruiz made it all the way to lead briefly and was in the hunt for the podium right up to the last lap. “In Practice there was something wrong in my head and I was just trying too hard. For the race I freed myself up and enjoyed it, it was so much fun fighting my way through. Only at the end I was a little cautious because I didn’t want to bump into Jake and Danny. Then on the last lap I got pushed a bit wide but 5th is not a bad end to the weekend and it’s been a great year.”

Stepping down from the podium with his FIM Cup medal Gagne spoke of what the Rookies Cup has meant to him. “Just about all my roadracing experience has been in the Rookies Cup,” explained the ex motocrosser. “I started with the Rookies Cup in the US 3 years ago and then with these 2 years in the Rookies Cup in Europe I have learnt so much, not just the great GP tracks I’ve ridden on but so much about riding from the great coaches, Gustl (Auinger), Kevin (Schwantz) and Raul (Jara) and talking to the media, just everything to help me with my career.”

Race Classification

1. Danny Kent (GBR) 30 minutes 59.551 seconds (139.082)
2. Jacob Gagne (USA) +0.060
3. Daijiro Hiura (JPN) +0.401
4. Kevin Calia (ITA) +0.577
5. Daniel Ruiz (ESP) +1.006
6. Harry Stafford (GBR) +1.055
7. Alessio Cappella (ITA) +1.363
8. Niccolo Antonelli (ITA) +2.189
9. Xavier Pinsach (ESP) +2.258
10. Alan Techer (FRA) +2.753

Final Cup Standings

1. Jacob Gagne (USA) 170 points
2. Danny Kent (GBR) 164
3. Daijiro Hiura (JPN) 125
4. Daniel Ruiz (ESP) 115
5. Brad Binder (RSA) 109
6. Kevin Calia (ITA) 97
7. Harry Stafford (GBR) 79
8. Niccolo Antonelli (ITA) 56
9. Alessio Cappella (ITA) 53
10. Alexander Kristiansson (SWE) 52

Jake Gagne

Misano (Sept. 4 2010) — American Jake Gagne won the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup at Misano on Saturday. The 17 year-old Californian charged on the last lap to earn second place in the season’s final race and assure ownership of the 2010 season title.

Danny Kent (left) and Jake Gagne. • Courtesy Gagne

Gagne, winner of four Rookies Cup races this season, started the final lap in fourth place while his only remaining title challenger Danny Kent led the race. Knowing that particular ending would have resulted in Kent winning the championship, Jake rocketed up two positions to clinch his title.

The race saw as many as a half-dozen riders going for the lead in the late going. Jake was a factor near the front for the entire contest, even though he could only qualify in tenth place due to machine difficulties.

“Friday didn’t go to plan,” said Jake after becoming the series champion. “Practice was good but we lost a crankshaft. It couldn’t be fixed in time so I had to go out on the spare bike. It isn’t the same, so the best I could do was tenth place. I was still confident for the race because I liked how my bike was working.”

Gagne, who won from deep in the field in the second Czech Republic race, was set on improving his starting position. Gagne led the championship by 11 points going into the race. He knew before the race that a third place finish or better would guarantee his crown.

“I got a good start and I was in the top five by the end of the first lap,” said the Ramona, California resident. “I knew I didn’t need to win but I needed to ride a smart race. Danny Kent needed to win and have me find some trouble.”

After a wild race that saw plenty of passing and shuffling at the front, Gagne found himself in fourth place on the last lap. Jake gained the needed spots to become Red Bull Rookies Cup champion as he moved into second place, just behind Kent. He set the fast lap of the race on the final time around the Misano circuit.

“My plan was to stick to the back of the lead group until the end. I wasn’t really worried about how the race was going. I knew I could outbrake the guys but I didn’t want to set myself up to get stuffed,” said Jake. “I didn’t want to make the passes until the right time. I got up into second with a few corners to go and that was it.”

Jake’s final tally in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup was 170 points, six ahead of Kent. The talented teen was excited after wining his first roadracing championship in just his third season on the pavement after a stellar career in youth motocross.

“We ended up pulling it off and I’m super stoked at how the year went,” concluded Gagne. “I want to thank everyone who helped me this year. It’s been fantastic.”

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RRX RACE REPORT: American Superbike Race 1

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 4:40:43 PM | CJ

In a turn of events that could prove to be a factor in the championship, Josh Hayes was credited with the win in Saturday’s American Superbike race at New Jersey Motorsports Park, but only after the race was red-flagged on the last lap, after title-rival Tommy Hayden had passed him.

Hayden had taken the lead from the start, but he was quickly displaced by Hayes, who pulled ahead to an advantage of 2.5 seconds by the sixteenth of the scheduled twenty-three laps. Meanwhile, second place was held by Hayden, then Jake Zemke, then Ben Botrom, then Hayden again on lap fifteen. While being dogged by Bostrom, Hayden began to close in on Hayes, who appeared to be lacking grip in the latter stages. As the lead pack flashed across the line to begin the final lap, Hayden was just .014 seconds behind Hayes, and he moved by as they entered Turn 1.

The win appeared to be Hayden’s, but an incident further back in the pack changed that. As he navigated the final corner, Brett McCormick lost control of his bike (he appeared to be reaching across to his right side with his left hand), which slid into a trackside obstacle and ricocheted back onto the track. Officials waved the red flag, and with scoring reverting back to the twenty-first lap (the last one that all rides had completed), Hayes scored the win.

The incident represented a costly eleven-point turnaround for Hayden, and instead of closing in on Hayes, he lost ground to the points leader. Despite having caused the red flag, McCormick was credited with seventh place, though he’ll presumably be moved down in the results.

Results

1. Josh Hayes (Yam)

2. Tommy Hayden (Suz)

3. Ben Bostrom (Yam)

4. Blake Young (Suz)

5. John Hopkins (Suz)

6. Jake Zemke (Suz)

7. Brett McCormick (Suz)

8. Larry Pegram (Duc)

9. Geoff May (Bue)

10. Taylor Knapp (Suz)

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RRX RACE REPORT: NJMP Daytona SportBike Race 1

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 3:04:36 PM | CJ

While Martin Cardenas rode to a come-from-behind win in the first Daytona SportBike race of New Jersey Motorsports Park’s AMA Pro Road Racing weekend, Josh Herrin kept his title hopes alive with a runner-up finish, and title-chase-leader Danny Eslick finished fifth.

After the first couple of laps, it had looked like a sleeper, as Eslick bolted into the lead and pulled out a gap, but things soon got interesting. First Eslick was swallowed up by Bobby Fong, and then Herrin’s Graves Yamaha teammate Tommy Aquino low-sided off his bike on the front straight, leaving him sliding along on his back and his YZF-R6 ghost-riding several hundred yards before it crashed into a tire barrier. The race was red-flagged in order to tend to the stunned Aquino, who proved to have no serious injuries and even reentered the race.

After the restart, Eslick once again grabbed the top spot and pulled ahead to a lead of 1.6 seconds before the pack fighting over second reeled him in. Herrin—who had been well back prior to the restart—motored by Eslick to start lap fifteen of twenty-three, and a six-man battle for the lead ensued. Eventually, M4 Monster Suzuki’s Cardenas took control and rode to a lead of .796 seconds. Herrin was second, moving closer to Eslick in the points chase, and Dane Westby completed the podium. Bobby Fong and Eslick rounded out the top five.

Results
1. Martin Cardenas (Suz)
2. Josh Herrin (Yam)
3. Dane Westby (Yam)
4. Bobby Fong (Duc)
5. Danny Eslick (Suz)
6. Cory West (Suz)
7. PJ Jacobsen (Suz)
8. Chris Fillmore (Suz)
9. Paul Allison (Yam)
10. Steve Rapp (Duc)

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SLIDESHOW: Nurburgring World SBK

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 1:14:13 PM | admin

MAX BIAGGI

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Max Biaggi only qualified twelfth in today's Superpole session at the Nurburgring World SBK round. • Graeme Brown photo

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TEAM-SPEAK: Nurburgring World SBK, Saturday (Pics)

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 12:24:29 PM | admin

Releases will be added at top as they arrive.

Alstare Suzuki

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Sylvain Guintoli had his best Superpole of the season and will start tomorrow’s pair of 20-lap World Superbike races at Nurburgring in Germany from the front row of the grid.

Sylvain Guintoli • Courtesy Alstare

The Frenchman was in tremendous form particularly in Superpole 2, when he ended up the fastest. It took a record lap from Max Biaggi (Aprilia) to knock Guintoli down the order, but he held on to third quickest, just behind Carlos Checa (Ducati).

Haslam had struggled a little in regular practice and qualifying, but dug deep and improved in Superpole. He was the fastest rider in Superpole 1, fifth in Superpole 2 and that’s where he ended up also in Superpole 3.

Sylvain Guintoli – 3rd, 1:54.934:

“After going fastest in the second Superpole I thought I could go even better in Superpole 3 but I had no more qualifying tyres left. I had burned one getting stuck behind people, so I had to put on a used one for the last part of the last session. But I am happy because I have a good pace and I like this track.

“This circuit is fantastic! I just love the whole speed thing and, considering that this is my first time here, I’m very happy with how things have gone so far. The first corner is more technical, but the rest of the track – with all the blind approaches and fast corners – is brilliant. At the moment, I do not know what my race tyres will be because I have done similar times with each main tyre. So, before making the final choice, we’ll analyse things and work out which ones we’ll use. I think tomorrow is going to be a good day and I can’t wait for races to start.”

Leon Haslam – 5th, 1: 55.16:

“The tyres that we have here are the same concept as the tyres we had in Brno and Misano and we struggled with them there. Ultimately I feel that the new tyre has more grip and lasts longer but, at the moment, the problem is that the extra grip on the rear is hampering the way the bike is steering. That’s something we found in Brno and Misano and it is something we just have to work hard at trying to find a solution. Sylvain is getting the tyres to work well and that has helped us.

“I am quickest on a race tyre set-up, on the old 625 tyre. To compete against everyone else on race tyres like I did in Superpole was good. We have made some headway with the new tyre and have one more chance to make it work. Overall though, our bike works well here and I like the track. I’m sure tomorrow will be a good battle and I’m really looking forward to it.”

World SBK

Points leader Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) slammed in a record 1’54.595 in the final run to take only his second career Superpole win and lead tomorrow’s race grid for the German Round at the Nurburgring. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) was the early pace setter and remained second, but original third place man James Toseland (Yamaha Sterilgarda) was demoted to eighth, after leaving pitlane too early in Superpole 3. All the riders behind him, down to eighth place, were thus promoted one spot on the grid.

Max Biaggi • Courtesy World SBK

Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki Alstare) is now in third on the revised grid, with Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) moving up to fourth. Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) is one step closer to Biaggi in fifth, and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) is now sixth, not seventh. Tom Sykes had a great ride throughout Superpole, and slotted his Kawasaki Racing Team four-cylinder into seventh place, one up on the luckless Toseland.

Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad), who has been one of the main protagonists throughout the weekend, had a luckless Superpole, this time high-siding, and landing hard, his third crash in around an hour of track action. He was out of Superpole from that point, finally qualifying 14th.

Max Biaggi:
“After my crash I had a pain in my back and my left arm but nothing broken, just a big crash. We did a lot of work in set-up on the bike and our race pace is not so bad. For the race tyres, we are not so bad and after a few laps there should be even better grip. I am happy for me and my team, and all my sponsors.”

Carlos Checa:
“Everything has worked well here with our bike and we have been quick to find a competitive pace. We were fast in Superpole but then Max did an even faster lap and we went second. We are on the front row and satisfied with our pace. I hope we can finish the season well and bring Ducati to the top.”

Sylvain Guintoli:
“After going fastest in the second Superpole I thought I could go even better but I had no more qualifying tyres left. I had burned one getting stuck behind people so I had to put a used one in for the last part of the last session. But I am happy, have a good pace and this track is so nice, brilliant.”

Times: 1. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′54.595; 2. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1′54.621; 3. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1′54.934; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1′55.138; 5.Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1′55.161; 6.Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1′55.276; 7. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1′55.378; 8. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1′54.909; 9. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′55.264; 10. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1′55.295; 11. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1′55.375; 12. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′55.524; 13. Smrz J. (CZE) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1′55.577; 14.Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1′55.599; 15.Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 1′55.735; 16. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′55.908

World Supersport

Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) headed the qualifying list after setting a 1’58.415 lap, heading off his great championship rival Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) in the process. Broc Parkes (Kawasaki Motocard.com) was third in his return to the WSS class, one place up on his team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara. Gino Rea (Intermoto Czech Honda) fired himself into fifth place, ahead of leading Triumph rider, David Salom.

Times: 1. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1′58.415; 2. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1′58.557; 3.Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′58.617; 4. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′58.654; 5. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1′59.110; 6. Salom D. (ESP) Triumph Daytona 675 1′59.277; 7. Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1′59.374; 8. Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1′59.381; 9. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1′59.492; 10. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1′59.895

Superstock 1000

Crowned champion at the previous round in Silverstone, Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia STK) took pole in BMW’s back yard, with a 1′59.181 lap. The top five riders were all under the previous record, with Ducati rider Lorenzo Zanetti (SS Lazio Motorsport) second, and two Honda men, Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Race Junior) and Andrea Antonelli (Team Lorini), third and fourth respectively. Sylvain Barrier (Garnier Junior Racing) was also under the two-minute mark, in fifth place on his BMW. Michele Magnoni (Bevilacqua Corse) 2′00.067 rounded out the top six.

Times: 1. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1′59.181; 2.Zanetti L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1′59.337; 3.Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1′59.676; 4. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1′59.858; 5. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 1′59.863; 6. Magnoni M. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2′00.067; 7.Lammert D. (GER) BMW S1000 RR 2′00.257; 8. Giugliano D. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 2′00.361; 9. Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2′00.660; 10. Mähr R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2′00.770

Superstock 600 – Race

Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Racing) took another step towards the championship title today in Germany after he earned yet another victory, his fifth of the year. The Frenchman now sits on 177 points compared to his countryman Florian Marino’s 134, a gap of 43 points. Tony Covena (Econocom) was second, Romain Lanusse (MRS Racing) was third and Berardino Lombardi (Martini Corse Yamaha) fourth. Lombardi sits third in the championship on 83 points. Pole winner Marc Moser (Sport-Evolution Triumph) was fifth in the race at his home circuit. Marino (Ten Kate Junior Honda) was only eighth today.

Results: 1. Guarnoni J. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 18′47.113 (147,668 kph); 2. Covena T. (NED) Yamaha YZF R6 0.877; 3. Lanusse R. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 2.512; 4. Lombardi B. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 7.595; 5. Moser M. (GER) Triumph Daytona 675 10.297; 6.Karlsen F. (NOR) Yamaha YZF R6 10.404; 7.D’Annunzio F. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 11.180; 8. Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 11.453;

Points (after 8 rounds of 10): 1. Guarnoni 177; 2. Marino 134; 3. Lombardi 83; 4.D’Annunzio 79; 5. Fanelli 71; 6.Karlsen 6; 7.Lanusse 60; 8.Calero Perez 51; 9. Covena 48; 10.Le Coquen 42

Pirelli: Official Tyre Supplier

Stk600 – Pirelli BEST JUMP FORWARD

Richard De Tournay (Team ASPI), from 17th to 11th (6 positions)

Sterilgarda Yamaha

The second day of qualifying at the Nurburgring saw Yamaha Sterilgarda riders James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow deliver grid positions for tomorrow’s races that did not reflect the impressive performance of the British duo through the sessions. Toseland made quick progress from improving his set up to finish 12th in the second qualifying session. The subsequent Superpole heats saw him on the pace immediately, passing through the first heat easily in fourth with a 1′55.486 on a race tyre. Toseland then used both qualifier tyres in the second heat, passing through in seventh to the final stage. Superpole three saw an impressive run as he took his second front row start of the season with a third position on the grid. Unfortunately Toseland left the pit lane several seconds before the start of the final session so was penalised and dropped to eighth on the second row of the grid for the races.

Team mate Cal Crutchlow had also shown consistent fast pace through today’s sessions and also passed through the first Superpole heat easily in third, just in front of his team mate with a 1′55.442 on a used race tyre. Midway through the second heat Crutchlow switched to his qualifier but was unable to get the performance needed from it to graduate through to the final stage. As a result he will start from tenth on the grid tomorrow.

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (8th, 1.’54.909)

“I’ve really enjoyed riding around the Nurburgring, it’s pretty new to me as I’ve not been here for eleven years. Unfortunately I exited the pit lane apparently on a red light, I didn’t do that intentionally but I’ve been penalised so my third position grid start has been taken away and I’ve been put back to eighth on the second row of the grid. The first two rows are really important here because the first corner is very tight. I’m obviously disappointed about that but the officials have taken that stance, I can’t really argue with it I just have to comply, that’s the rules. I’m still looking forward to two good races tomorrow.”

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (10th, 1′55.295)
“We struggled a bit today with the lack of grip from the tyres. I seemed to go faster on my race tyres than my qualifiers which was frustrating. I think we are up there with top five race pace, but it’s not easy to pass here so getting through the field is difficult, everyone is on the same sort of line and times are really similar. It’s going to be difficult to make some moves so I’m hoping for a good start off the line.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“The weekend is a typical weekend for us . probably due to the long break we lost some time in setting up the bike as the riders got back onto their pace again. Today both the riders and the bikes were better and better but unfortunately things outside of our control prevented us from achieving more. For Cal his Qualifier didn’t seem to perform well and I’m very sorry for James as he achieved the first row for the second time this season but a little mistake leaving the pits a few seconds before the start of the final Superpole heat means he has to start from the second row. The pace that both riders showed in free practice today was ok so tomorrow I am expecting both of them to be up there.”

Alitalia Aprilia

Nurburgring, 4 September 2010 – His advantage in the rankings doesn’t seem to have sated Max Biaggi’s competitive “hunger” as he gives the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team yet another gift on the German Nurburgring track. Max took on the Superpole with grit and determination, coming through the first two sessions without much of a problem. But it was in the battle of the top eight that the four time world champion reared his head, squeezing maximum power from his RSV4. The clock speaks clearly: 1′54.595, a new Nurburgring track record and the second Superpole of his WSBK career for Max.

Max Biaggi • Courtesy Aprilia

His team mate, Leon Camier, victim of a bad fall unfortunately had to watch Superpole from the pit. The fracture to his right wrist scaphoid will have to be operated on in England at the beginning of next week. Due to the rather delicate nature of the injury, a recovery time cannot yet be defined with any certainty.

“Our goal was to stay on the front line – commented Max Biaggi – starting from the pole is a nice change, maybe even a bit unexpected. In fact, to be quite honest, after a few problems in the previous laps, I didn’t think that I was that fast. But I found the right grip and traction conditions and I managed not to let the opportunity get away from me. My compliments also go to the team which evidently made the right choices.

Now we need to maintain focus and avoid any distractions which our rivals may be able to exploit. Tomorrow will be an entirely new day. The two races will be anything but simple with the twin-cylinders which do very well here, favoured by the many mixed-slow sections and with weather conditions which can have quite a bit of influence on track grip. As always I’ll be looking for the best position and the best results possible. It isn’t my style to keep track of numbers, nor do I aspire to do so”.

BMW Motorrad

Weather conditions: Mostly cloudy.
Temperature: Air: 13 – 21°C, Track: 18 – 30°C
Number of riders participating: 19 from 12 teams
Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:55.232 min
Fastest lap Superpole 3: Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing) 1:54.595 min

The Saturday of the FIM Superbike World Championship at the Nürburgring (GER) started in a more than promising way for BMW Motorrad Motorsport. Troy Corser (AUS) topped the timesheets in the second Qualifying Practice and then again in the Free Practice, setting the fastest time of the whole weekend so far, before crashing out in the first corner. But in the Superpole the team’s fortunes turned. All of a sudden Troy was struggling and crashed two more times, finishing 14th . Ruben Xaus (ESP) was on course for a good qualifying for the final Superpole session, but also crashed when another rider in front of him suddenly slowed. This meant Ruben could not improve his time and finished 11th . The most important thing is that both drivers escaped unhurt, and all that bad luck only gives the team even more motivation for tomorrow’s races.

Ruben Xaus:
Bike: BMW S 1000 RR
Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:55.804 min / Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:56.583 min /
Fastest lap Superpole 2: 1:55.375 min
“I have been struggling today with grip. Going into Superpole I thought I could make it onto the second row, but sadly I have to settle for a row three start. The bike feels good, so we just need to work on a few things to ensure the grip levels are consistent. All in all I am happy with the progress we have made so far. I am not setting any goals for the races tomorrow, am just going out there to do my best and hopefully the setup we have for the race will work well. I am certainly looking forward to the races.”

Troy Corser:
Bike: BMW S 1000 RR
Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:55.429 min / Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:55.081 min /
Fastest lap Superpole 3: 1:55.599 min
“In the first two crashes I just lost the front going into the first corner – without warning. With the qualifying tyre we had no rear grip compared to what we had on the race tyre. There was nothing I could do. It is a little disappointing because I feel we had a good balance for the bike, a good setting and I could have easily finished on the first row. But we never give up. The lap times we can do are fast enough, so we will just try to have a good start and make our way through the field.”

Davide Tardozzi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Team Manager):
“We were convinced we would be in the last Superpole session with both riders, and that we would even be in contention for the Superpole with Troy. There is not much to say. But we are still optimistic for tomorrow because Troy proved that the bike is good and he can manage a podium.”

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Aspar Re-signs Barbera

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 10:52:40 AM | admin

The Aspar Team and Héctor Barberá will continue their project together in 2011. With seven races still remaining of the 2010 MotoGP season, the Aspar Team are pleased to use the San Marino Grand Prix as the venue for the announcement that Barberá will continue a long term project with the team and Ducati. This leaves him free to concentrate on a successful conclusion to the current campaign and on gathering more experience ahead of a more competitive 2011. The Spaniard joined the Aspar Team for the 2010 season ready to tackle the biggest challenge of his career as he stepped up to the premier class. Even though it is his learning year Héctor has exceeded expectations and in a field of thirteen World Champions he currently lies twelfth overall on 54 points.

Aspar Team and Héctor Barberá have scored points in ten of the eleven races so far with a best result of eighth in France. The rookie has four top ten finishes to his name and with the team and rider both entering the final phase of their debut season in the premier class they have decided to mae this announcement now so that they can focus on the remainder of the campaign.

Jorge Martínez ‘Aspar’: “Even though this is a learning year Héctor is doing a very good job in MotoGP, considering the quality of the field. With the pace he has set he would have been in the top five two years ago and it is hard to find another rider with the same level of performance and potential. As well as being a good rider, as he has shown on the track, he is an even better person and he has a very similar view of this world to us. His potential and youth, combined with the fact he is from Valencia, is also a fundamental part of our project. Ducati have supported us ever since we began this project and they agree that Héctor is an excellent rider with a long career ahead. So after announcing that we will be continuing with the Italian factory next year we were keen to confirm that we’ll be sticking with Héctor too. It is a subject that has been on the table practically since the start of the season but we decided to make it public here in Misano considering the good form he has shown in recent races.”

Héctor Barberá: “I am really pleased that we will continue to take this project forward. I was calm and confident that I would stay for another year but once the contracts are signed and sealed that helps you to concentrate better and focus purely on racing. I want to thank Jorge again for his continued support and for the opportunity to race for him again. We are doing our job well, the team is helping me a lot and you know when you are part of a winning team. When I talk about the team I mean every single member, from the hospitality staff to the last mechanic. Each and every one of them do an outstanding job every day and that is why things are working well for us. This is the most difficult project I have ever been involved with because MotoGP is the highest level but I am satisfied that we are working in the right direction. Now we head to some circuits where I went well last year so we’re looking to end the season on a high. I am also sure that Valentino’s move to Ducati will bring a lot of experience and improve the bike.”

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TEAM-SPEAK: Misano MotoGP, Saturday (Pics)

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 10:46:38 AM | admin

Releases will be added at top as they arrive.

KTM

American Jake Gagne rode across the line in second place on the Misano circuit in San Marino on Saturday to steal the title glory from rival Danny Kent of Britain who succeeded in winning the final race in the Red Bull Rookies 2010 series. Only Gagne and Kent were in the running for the title going into the final race.

The two young riders put on a masterful show of riding and tactical skills as they went into the final round separated by 11 points. Gagne of California was in the championship lead and Kent, who took the all-or-nothing approach and landed on pole for the final scrap knew his only chance was to win the race. In a typical Red Bull Rookies dogfight, Danny did cross the line in first place but he needed Jake to place no better than third and the Californian slipped into second going into the final curve.

Kent had gone out hard and controlled the race well, slowing down the pace from time to time to ensure that the leading bunch remained intact. He knew there were many of the other riders looking to go out in a high note and on the podium and he hoped that this would make it harder for Gagne to finish up the order. But Gagne too had his tactics well under control. Although he started back at 10th on the grid after having some problems in qualifying, he had already rocketed into fourth place before the riders had completed one lap. He then stuck with the front runners, sitting at third, fourth and even second as the race progressed. Then just going into the final corner he made his move. He slipped into second place leaving no space for anyone to overtake him and coasted over the line knowing the title was his. Gagne finishes the season with four victories from the nine race series and saw a significant improvement in form as the season progressed.

Jake Gagne: “I realized what he (Kent) was trying to do. “He’s clever and he needed to try and get the other guys between us. I gust kept my head down and knew that as long as I was close to him I had a good chance of getting the points I needed.”

It was always going to be hard for the 16-year old Briton to stop Gagne in the last race but he made a superb effort and almost pulled it off. He can be well satisfied with his second place finish. Although he won only one race (the season opener in Jerez, Spain) he was a model of consistency and was on the podium on no less than seven times.

Danny Kent: “I knew that I needed to get some other guys between us, just 2 was enough so I played it every way I could but Jake was just too good today and all credit to him he rode a great race. I did everything that I could. I won the race but it wasn’t enough. It’s been a great season with a lot of great battles.”

Red Bull Rookies all rider identical KTM 125 machines. The series is designed as a stepping stone to a fully-fledged racing career and a major vehicle for grooming the road racing champions of tomorrow.

MZ (Moto2)

After two nerv-wrecking practice sessions in which Anthony West found it impossible to go even near the limit with his MZ Moto 2 prototype racer, his team eventually found the reason for his problems with the clutch, and fixed his bike for the qualifying session.

Anthony West • Courtesy MZ

From that point on, the lap times of the 29-year-old Australian improved dramatically, and he was able to avoid disaster and to gain a few positions on the starting grid. However, 34th place on the starting grid was far less than West and everybody in the team had hoped for after his impressive fifth place in qualifying at Indianapolis one week ago.

“We managed to avoid the worst case scenario“, said MZ CEO Martin Wimmer. „We had severe clutch problems in both free practice sessions, and we checked and double-checked all components of the clutch itself without finding the reason. In the end, it turned out that we had left a special bolt from the Suter clutch with our old engine and used a standard Honda clutch bolt when we received our new motor. This messed up the pre-load of a certain spring, and the bike became unrideable. We fixed the problem for the qualifying session and Anthony was able to ride normally again, but with two wasted practice sessions, there was obviously no chance of scoring a top result. We are all disappointed and we all feel terribly sorry for Anthony since expectations were very high after our good race in Indianapolis. But we’ll fight on and we will try to put this set-back behind us with a strong performance tomorrow!”

Gresini Racing (Moto2)

Team Gresini rider Toni Elias’ march to glory remains unstoppable, the Spaniard today overcoming his ongoing physical problems to dominate qualifying practice and secure pole position for the San Marino Grand Prix. After a largely unproductive morning the Spaniard took to the track with great determination this afternoon and set himself up perfectly for another challenge for honours in tomorrow’s race.

Toni Elias (left) and Fausto Gresini. • Courtesy Gresini

Toni Elias ( 1st 1´ 38″ 911)
“I’m delighted. I still haven’t fully recovered from the virus at Indianapolis and I’ve been on antibiotics for the last five days. I did everything I could in each session and we have got through our work programme despite a difficult practice this morning. In the afternoon we did a great job and for the second time this season I’m on pole, which is fantastic. I am not Italian but Misano is like a home race for me, the team’s headquarters are just a few kilometres away and I’ll be doing my very best to win this race.”

Tatsuya Yamaguchi (29th 1´ 41″ 074)
“I went a lot better today and improved my lap time. I’m some way back on the grid but tomorrow I’ll try to make up positions.”

Fausto Gresini
“I am really happy to be celebrating a pole position here at Misano, just walking distance from our headquarters. I’m pleased to see that Toni is a little better – I was worried yesterday but he looked on form today. He did an incredible lap time that I never thought would be possible on a Moto2 and it could have been even better but that is good enough! It will be important to get a good start tomorrow and not make mistakes because it is always difficult in the first corner of a Moto2 race. He usually gets away well so hopefully he can do so again starting from pole, which is definitely an advantage.”

Jake Gagne

Danny Kent (left) and Jake Gagne. • Courtesy Gagne

“We ended up pulling it off and I’m super stoked at how the year went,” concluded Gagne. “I want to thank everyone who helped me this year. It’s been fantastic.”

Mapfre Aspar

The top three from Indianapolis – Toni Elias, Julian Simón and Scott Redding look set to repeat their podium dominance at Misano tomorrow after controlling proceedings in qualifying this afternoon. Italian riders are sure to launch a bid for glory at their home circuit and the tight chicane at the end of the main straight is sure to see some action as 39 riders jostle for position when the lights go out at 12:15.

Julian Simon • Courtesy Aspar

Mapfre Aspar rider Julián Simón continued an excellent run of form that has seen him move to the sharp end of the Moto2 World Championship, the Spaniard qualifying third fastest. His best lap was his 20th of 21 and was just three tenths short of pole but his pace throughout the session suggests that he has the speed to run at the front over 26 laps tomorrow. Mike Di Meglio was forced to combat the worsening effects of tonsillitis and a rising temperature today. The Frenchman also suffered a problem with his rear brake during the session but still managed to qualified nineteenth fastest and is targeting a return to the points-scoring positions.

3rd Julián Simón 1.39.280 (21 laps):
“I am happy with the result because we have met with our primary objective, which is to qualify on the front row. It will be a tight start tomorrow so it’s important to be starting from third on the grid. I would have liked to put up a stronger challenge for pole because we had the pace this morning but I struggled more in the afternoon. We tried the harder rear tyre but it hasn’t worked well for us here so we went back to the softer option and a softer shock. As soon as we made the changes I got back on the pace but we ran out of time to set a better lap. Anyway, I’m satisfied with how we worked. Tomorrow we’ll have to watch out for Elías, Redding and the Italians, who I am sure will be up front. I’ll be using the hard front and the soft rear for the race – we know they’ll go race distance because I did 28 laps on them this morning at a good pace. My objective is to go for the win but above all run at the front and continue to learn about this category.”

Mike di Meglio • Courtesy Aspar

19th Mike Di Meglio 1.40.201 (17 laps):
“This afternoon wasn’t easy because we had problems with the rear brake, which was a shame because I lost a lot of time trying to fix it and up to that point I was comfortable in tenth position. As well as the mechanical problems I have had swollen tonsils all weekend and a fever. I’ve been able to control it with some medication but it was hard to focus. I start 19th but I think I can still come through like I did at Indianapolis.”

Suter Racing (Moto2)

Three Suter MMX riders conquered the front row of the starting grid for the San Marino Grand Prix in the Moto2 category. British teenager Scott Redding of Team Marc VDS confirmed his great shape after celebrating his first podium finish in the Moto2 category one week ago in Indianapolis with an impressive second place, missing out on pole position by just 44 thousandths of a second. Reigning 125 cc world champion Julian Simón from Mapfre Aspar team was third, closely followed by Frenchman Jules Cluzel from Team Forward Racing in fourth position. Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP) in eighth and Italian wild card entry Mattia Pasini (Italtrans S.T.R.) in ninth place added to a successful day for Suter Racing Technology that saw all 14 Suter MMX riders within the first 27 positions.

Jules Cluzel • Courtesy Suter

“We must be doing something right – five MMX riders in the top nine and eight MMX riders in the top 14 confirm that we are on track with our recent chassis update“, smiled Eskil Suter, CEO of Suter Racing Technology. “We established a new base set-up for the race at Indianapolis last week, and this set-up seems to be working well wherever we go. We just needed some minor adjustment for the Misano circuit, and then our riders were ready to go.“

“Redding’s learning curve in this category is impressive. We took him under our wings for a private testing session prior to the Indianapolis Grand Prix, which was great for his riding and also for the understanding of our bike. We talked with him not only about the bike’s technology, but also about the approach to practice sessions and to racing in general. I’d like to say that we were able to contribute a little bit to his recent break-through.“

“Mattia Pasini joined Team Italtrans as a wild card entry for this race, and we all know what a fast and determined rider he is. It’s no surprise that he was challenging the top runners straight away, and we all wish him best of luck for the race.“

San Carlo Honda Gresini

Marco Simoncelli put in a determined performance at the end of qualifying today to move up to ninth place on the grid and secure a third row start for tomorrow. “Super Sic” had a difficult start to the session and didn’t manage to improve until twenty minutes had already passed. The situation was reversed for Marco Melandri, who made a strong start but ran into difficulties in the closing stages. However, the Italian remains optimistic about the race tomorrow.

Marco Simoncelli • Courtesy Gresini

Marco Simoncelli (9th 1´ 34″ 934):
“We were having problems yesterday and they continued for the first twenty minutes of qualifying this afternoon. Then we went back to an old set-up because we had made some changes to the bike to suit Indianapolis. It was a step backwards in one way but with a few modifications we were able to set a good lap time. I am fairly happy right now because up until this morning we were not in good shape but now we have seen the light.”

Marco Melandri (10th 1´ 35″ 018):

Marco Melandri • Courtesy Gresini

“That was actually a positive session. Unfortunately we made some changes at the end to the forks and they had a negative effect, which meant I couldn’t improve my lap time. However, my pace is pretty good and the target for tomorrow is to get a good start and set a strong pace. I am in better shape than in recent weeks and I hope we can have a decent race tomorrow.”

Fausto Gresini:
“I honestly thought we could have had both riders higher up the grid. We’re not far off the top in terms of lap times but Simoncelli struggled tr the start of the session and Melandri was unable to capitalise on the good work he’s done so far. I really thought that a second row start was not beyond the realms of possibility for him today. The race is tomorrow and even though we know we won’t be racing at the very front we are hopeful of a good showing.”

LCR Honda

Misano, 4 September: LCR Honda MotoGP rider Randy De Puniet rode his Honda RC212V no. 14 to 6th place today (1’34.751) in a hot qualifying session at the 4.226 km Misano circuit in readiness for tomorrow’s 28-lap race that will get underway at 14:00 local time. Today’s both premier class sessions were held in warm and sunny conditions with air temperatures of 26°C and track temperatures in the high 40s with Dani Pedrosa on the top of the timesheet.

Randy de Puniet • Courtesy LCR

After yesterday’s 12th place, De Puniet worked with his crew to find the right machine balance for the Italian track and thanks to the adjustments the Frenchman made solid progress placing his bike on the second row after the gruelling Indianapolis week end. The San Marino and Riviera di Rimini GP 60-minute qualifying session saw de Puniet in strong form again after the injury of the left leg six weeks ago.

De Puniet – 6th – 1’34.751

De Puniet: “It is good to be back up there with the guys! After the bad week end in Indy I knew that I could bounce back here in Misano because I like this track very much and my leg is getting better day by day. This morning we struggled with the front end in the entry of some corners but we reduced the problem quite a lot. Honestly we are not at 100% yet but I am delighted with this performance. Hopefully if we could take a good start tomorrow we will be able to fight for another positive result. I want to forget the crash, the fracture and the bad luck… ”.

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Jake Gagne • Courtesy Red Bull

Hiura was a little frustrated with 3rd. “We were all so close that I didn’t see my pit board and didn’t realise it was the last lap. I really wanted to win the last race of the year.”

Marc VDS (Moto2)

Scott Redding will start tomorrow’s 26- lap Grand Prix San Marino Riviera Di Rimini from the front row of the grid, after qualifying in second place during this afternoon’s 45-minute timed session at the Misano circuit. Hector Faubel also put in a solid qualifying performance and will start tomorrow from the third row of the grid.

Redding threw down the gauntlet early on, taking advantage of a clear track ahead of him to take provisional pole position just five minutes into the session. The 17-year-old Briton continued to lap consistently throughout qualifying, but efforts to improve his time were hampered by slower riders and, as he returned to the pits for fresh tyres 30 minutes into the session, Redding was lying third on the timesheet.

The Marc VDS rider reclaimed the top spot on the timesheet with just two minutes of qualifying left to run, but lost out in the dying moments as current championship leader, Tony Elias, bettered his time by just 0.044s to deny the Gloucestershire teenager his first ever pole position. Redding will start tomorrow from second place on the grid; his second front row start in succession.

Set-up changes to his Suter MMX ahead of this afternoon’s qualifying session didn’t lead to the improvements expected for Hector Faubel and he was disappointed to end the session 11th fastest overall. The 27-year-old Spaniard is, however, confident that a switch back to the set-up that worked so well during this morning’s free practice session will allow him to chase a top ten finish in tomorrow’s race.

Scott Redding #45: 2nd – 1′39.035
“We’ve had good pace throughout practice, so I knew the only thing that would stop me qualifying well today would be the traffic. I got in a good lap early on, when a gap appeared on track, but I was pretty confident I could go faster. Right at the end of the session I managed to reclaim second, but I was a bit concerned about towing Cluzel around the next lap and having him leapfrog me at the line. I had a quick check behind me and, when I saw he’d dropped off slightly, I just got my head down and went for it. I was a bit disappointed to get pipped for pole by Toni Elias right at the end, but a front row start will do for me. Going full gas worked well for me in Indianapolis a week ago, so why change a successful formula!”

Hector Faubel #44: 11th – 1′40.045
“We had a fairly good set-up for practice this morning, but we made a few small changes to improve the balance of the bike ahead of qualifying. Unfortunately they didn’t give the improvement we expected, which made qualifying harder than it should have been. I’m not so happy with 11th position on the grid, but I know a switch back to this morning’s set-up will allow us to run a good pace in the race. If I can get a good start then a decent result is possible. I’m aiming for top ten, but it might well be possible to do a little better than that, depending on how things go in the early laps.”

Jean-Michel Delporte: General Manager – Marc VDS Racing Team
“We were racing in the GT1 World Championship round at Nurburgring last weekend, so we missed seeing Scott and Hector claim the team’s first front row starts in Indianapolis. To be here at Misano to see Scott claim his second front row start in succession, and Hector putting in another solid qualifying performance, goes some way to making up for it. Nobody is prouder of our Moto2 team and their achievements in such a fiercely contested championship than our President, Marc van der Straten. Marc was on the phone to congratulate the team before Scott had even returned to pit lane after watching the qualifying session on television! Now I am looking forward to tomorrow’s race, and the real possibility of a second podium finish for the Marc VDS Racing Team.”

Tuenti Racing Derbi

An exciting qualification session took place today for the Grand Prix of San Marino, at the Misano circuit, with four riders in the circuit record bracket of a 1.43, lap-time; headed by Bradley Smith and followed by the three riders tussling for the 125cc World Championship: Marc Márquez, Nico Terol and Pol Espargaró. Efrén Vázquez set a good rhythm through the day and placed seventh – on the second row – and is hoping for a good start to plant himself in the group pushing for the podium. Pol Espargaró lowered his Friday effort by 0.9 of a second and his speed through yesterday and today means that Tuenti Racing Derbi can be optimistic for the race tomorrow.

Pol Espargaro • Courtesy Tuenti

4th POL ESPARGARÓ, 1.43.809

“I have a good rhythm here and I’m satisfied to be fourth because I think we are in good shape for the race and will be competitive. I lowered my time from yesterday by almost one second and I feel quick and comfortable on the bike. I started the morning riding strong and continued in the afternoon even if the track was in slightly worse condition. I still think we can raise our game a little for the race and I hope we can fight for podium places and keep pace with the push for the championship. We have seven rounds left and the three of us are so close, so it will be vital to give everything we have but being careful not to make any errors.”

7th EFRÉN VÁZQUEZ, 1.44.479

“We are going at a good level; this morning we were under the track record but the afternoon didn’t go so well so we are sure about what road we have to follow. Deep in the session we decided to make a couple of modifications to the suspension looking for an even better solution but we made a mistake and the front row of the grid eluded us. With the setting we tried in the morning I think we have the ingredients to fight for a podium place. I don’t think the race rhythm will be higher than the pace we saw in the free practice this morning.”

Pramac Racing

Bad day for the Pramac Racing Team. The riders, Aleix Espargarò and Mika Kallio, have in fact completed the qualifying session valid for the starting grid of the Grand Prix of San Marino and Riviera di Rimini, respectively, in the fifteenth and seventeenth position. The Spaniard had finished this morning free practice in fourteenth position complaining grip problems, but still having a good lap pace. Mika Kallio was able to improve by almost two seconds his fastest time recorded during yesterday’s morning free practice, but this was not enough to climb the ranking, so he will start the race from the sixth row. Unfortunately the track conditions did not allow Pramac Racing Team riders to obtain a better lap time than the one achieved this afternoon. Both will have to considerably improve their position tomorrow to get a positive result in the race that will begin at 14 local time.

Aleix Espargaro • Courtesy Pramac

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director

“Unfortunately we have not fully resolved the problems we had yesterday during the first free practice. Both riders have significantly reduced their lap time but they were not able to get the final speed lap necessary to allow them to climb the rankings. During qualifying we were able to identify a couple of changes that we will try during tomorrow warm up. Qualifying session have been difficult for several riders who usually occupy important positions, while many others usually in the rear, are now occupying positions in front of us. Tomorrow we will start the race from the back, but I’m sure that they will both work hard to recover important positions.”

Aleix Espargarò – Pramac Racing Team – the 15th best time in 1′35 .438

“I feel very good and I still like this track very much, unfortunately I have not been able to use in the best way the wake of other riders as many of my colleagues have done, that did not allow me to make a good lap time. However I have a great confidence in tomorrow’s race where, thanks to changes that the Team will make on my bike, I will try to recover good positions right away. I want to get a good result on this track which is one of my favorites.”

Mika Kallio • Courtesy Pramac

Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing Team – the 17th best time in 1′35 .724

“Although I have reduced my yesterday’s best lap time by almost two seconds, I did not get a good position on the starting grid. Starting in last position is not the best for me, but I hope to gain some positions from the start so that I can be able to retake positions after positions since the first laps. With my Team we have identified some changes to make on my bike to make it more powerful in all sectors of the track. I will try to give my best tomorrow to conquer a significant position in the race. “

MotoGP

Dani Pedrosa’s impressive form continued on Saturday at Misano as the Repsol Honda rider took his fourth pole position of the season for tomorrow’s Gran Premio Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini. A blistering final lap of the hour-long MotoGP qualifying session saw the Spaniard duck under the 1’34” barrier – the only rider to do so – with a best time of 1’33.948 cementing his place at the top of the timesheet.

After having taken victory just six days ago in Indianapolis, Pedrosa is doing everything he can to claw back Jorge Lorenzo’s 68-point advantage in the championship and a win tomorrow would undoubtedly put a little bit more pressure on his compatriot.

With ten minutes of the session remaining Lorenzo had actually taken the lead, but the Fiat Yamaha rider eventually ended up 0.308s off Pedrosa after his rival pushed back in front. Lorenzo maintains his record of having started every race this season from the front row.

Completing the front row was Ducati rider Casey Stoner after the Australian capped off an eventful session with the third quickest time. Stoner had taken the lead 20 minutes into the session but crashed immediately after at turn four, remounting his Desmosedici GP10 following some rapid front-end work from his crew. He improved his time to finish up just under half a second off Pedrosa with a best time of 1’34.397.

Valentino Rossi will head up the second row in his home race after the reigning World Champion set the fourth fastest time of the hour on his Fiat Yamaha M1 machine, whilst Ben Spies will be the highest satellite rider on the grid after placing his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine in fifth spot. A commendable effort from the recovering Randy de Puniet saw the LCR Honda rider secure sixth place.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and San Carlo Honda Gresini pair Marco Simoncelli and Marco Melandri completed the top ten in the hour.

The only crash of the session other than Stoner happened just ten minutes in when rookie Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar) fell at turn four, and he eventually qualified in 12th on his Ducati.

Moto2

Toni Elías secured his second pole position of the 2010 season – his first since the opening round in Qatar – on Saturday, as he primed himself for an attempt at a sixth win of the season this weekend at Misano. The Spaniard’s best time of 1’38.991 was enough to beat young Brit Scott Redding to pole by 0.044s in the Gresini Moto2 team’s home GP.

Redding took his second successive front row position for the Marc VDS Racing Team having finished on the podium from third in Indianapolis, with Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) third at just over two-tenths behind. Jules Cluzel of the Forward Racing team will complete the front file of the grid for tomorrow’s race.

Andrea Iannone’s session was cut short by a mechanical problem but the Fimmco Speed Up rider still managed to hold onto fifth position at 0.435s off Elías’ time, and he will head up a second row that also includes JiR Moto2 duo Simone Corsi and home rider Alex de Angelis along with Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP).

Mattia Pasini qualified in ninth as he continued his impressive weekend as a wild card for the Italtrans STR team, with Gabor Talmacsi (Fimmco Speed Up) completing the top ten.

There were crashes in the session for Dominique Aegerter (Technomag-CIP) who qualified in 12th, Michael Ranseder (Vector Kiefer Racing) in 22nd and Raffaele de Rosa (Tech 3 Racing) in 28th – all three avoided any lasting injuries as a result of their falls.

125cc

Bradley Smith will start the 125cc race from pole position on Sunday, after setting a hot lap of 1’43.329 on his final lap of the session. That delivered the Bancaja Aspar rider his second pole of the 2010 season, as he continues his quest for a first win of the campaign.

Smith beat Championship leader Marc Márquez (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) – who had led until the dying moments of the session – to top spot on the timesheet by 0.158s, with the Brit’s team-mate Nico Terol, who was second in last year’s race, third. Pol Espargaró (Tuenti Racing) will complete a strong front row as he was the final rider to get within half a second of Smith’s time.

Row two of the 125cc grid will be comprised of Tomoyoshi Koyama (Racing Team Germany), Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo), Efrén Vázquez (Tuenti Racing) and Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX), whilst Danny Webb (Andalucia Cajasol) and Johann Zarco (WTR San Marino Team) completed the top ten.

There were crashes during the session for Marcel Schrötter (Interwetten Honda 125), Randy Krummenacher (Stipa-Molenaar Racing) and wild card Alessandro Tonucci (Junior GP).

Tech 3 (Moto2)

The Tech 3 Racing Team remain confident of a strong showing in tomorrow’s Misano Moto2 race after a tough qualifying session for Yuki Takahashi and Raffaele de Rosa.

A fantastic last lap attack from Takahashi catapulted the Japanese rider over ten places up the grid in a qualifying session that saw less than 1.3s split the top 20.

Takahashi’s best lap of 1.40.075 will see him start round 11 of the inaugural Moto2 world championship from 13th, the Catalunya race winner less than half-a-second away from the top six after he recovered from an early crash.

It was a tough afternoon for de Rosa, who was hoping t o draw on the support of a passionate home crowd to inspire him to a second successive top ten starting position.

But pushing hard to fight his way into the top 20 in the final stages, de Rosa crashed unhurt and will start the 26-lap race from 28th position. He set a best time of 1.40.930 and was less than 0.5s away from the top 20.

Yuki Takahashi 13th 1.40.075 – 19 laps

“It has not been an easy weekend at all and my problem is a lack of feeling with the front-end. I have not been able to push like I know I am capable of but in the qualifying session I think we made some good progress. I had a small crash in the first run and the team did a fantastic job to repair the bike. But I didn’t have a front brake adjustor and that made it difficult for me in the final run. I have to be satisfied because sometimes after a crash it can take a while to regain some confidence and be immediately back on the same pace. But I was able to do this and to be in 13th is not a bad result, but obviously I know we have the potential to be much higher. I need a good start to avoid what is likely to be a hectic first corner and I’ll try and be aggressive in the first few laps to get away with the leading group.”

Raffaele de Rosa 28th 1.40.930 – 18 laps

“It is very disappointing to be so far down the grid for my home race and 28th makes the job of trying to score points very difficult. At the moment we just can’t seem to find an improvement with the bike for how I like to ride. I want to brake deeper but each time I try and be stronger in this area the bike doesn’t allow me to do it and I crash. We have tried many different solutions to help in this area but nothing is working and we can’t change the character of this bike to s uit my style, so I have to keep working on myself. My grid position is not good and it will be difficult at the first corner with so many bikes in Moto2, but I will try and get a positive result.”

Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Ben Spies produced another inspired qualifying performance in Misano the American just missing out on a third successive front row start by the narrowest of margins.

The Texan was able to capitalise on numerous set-up tweaks made from practice to finish just 0.075s from the front row in a closely contested qualifying session that saw less than one second cover the top nine riders.

Spies was once again leading non-factory team rider in fifth position, his quickest lap of 1.34.472 just 0.002s behind reigning world champion and Misano crowd favourite Valentino Rossi.

Spies made big progress in his quest to find a more comfortable front-end setting with his YZR-M1 machine this afternoon and the 26-year-old is confident he can mount a strong challenge for his third podium finish of the season in tomorrow’s race.

Colin Edwards further boosted his confidence that he can claim a first top six finish of the 2010 campaign after storming to seventh place on the grid.

Edwards’ growing confidence in a front-end setting he first used in Brno last month was evident again after he finished fourth overall in free practice.

Edwards missed claiming a place on the second row of the grid for only the second time in 12 races by just 0.031s, his best time of 1.34.782 leaving him to start from the front of the third row.

The 36-year-old plans to make more overnight front-end tweaks ahead of the 28-lap race as he looks to strengthen his bid for a top ten world championship position.

Ben Spies 5th 1.34.472 – 32 laps

“We made some changes to the bike overnight that didn’t really help this morning and then made more changes before qualifying and they made a big improvement. Everything went smooth and it was a good qualifying session. The first goal is to be on the second row at least and I’ve done that, but I think I should have had another front row. I got caught up with Capirossi and that was a little annoying. I wasn’t too upset at the time because I didn’t think it would be a front row lap, but looking back I was on my best lap and I’m pretty sure I would be sitting on the outside of the front row. But I’m a lot happier and more confident with the bike than I was this morning and I know we can make some more changes to make us stronger for the race. We can make the bike easier to ride towards the end of the race and I’m looking forward to it. My confidence is really high after the last couple of races and there’s no reason why I can’t be challenging for a top position again tomorrow.”

Colin Edwards 7th 1.34.783 – 29 laps

“I’ve felt good on the bike all weekend and that showed with fourth position overall in practice. I really felt I had the speed to get on the second row, but de Puniet just got sixth from me by less than a tenth. But I’m happy with the way things have been going this weekend. As the temperature came up today it felt like I was pushing the front a bit but I know we can make a minor adjustment to fix that and my race pace has been pretty strong all weekend. I doubt I can do mid-34s the whole race but I think a top six is definitely within my grasp. After what happened last year I just want to make it through the first corner and at lea st get the chance to put up a fight. But there’s no reason why the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team shouldn’t have a double top six finish tomorrow and that would be a great result.”

Bridgestone

Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard

After dominating yesterday’s proceedings, Dani Pedrosa repeated his strong form to seal pole position for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of San Marino. On his final lap of the hour-long session the Repsol Honda rider forged ahead by 0.3seconds, the only rider to dip below the 1m34s mark.

The final times belie the closeness of the qualifying session though as at one point in the closing stages, the top four were separated by less than one tenth of a second as they all opted for the softer rear tyre for their hot laps.

Completing the front row are Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo, who continues his record of a top-three start for every grand prix this season, and Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner who recovered well from a crash early on and who for a time topped the timesheets. Valentino Rossi, Ben Spies and Randy de Puniet make up the second row.

Every rider set their fastest times on the harder option front slick tyre and the softer option rear, favoured for its additional level of grip, apart from Nicky Hayden who used a softer front tyre at the end of the session.

Conditions again were fine and dry, and a little warmer than yesterday which contributed in part to the laptimes being faster, however rain is forecast for the race.

Tohru Ubukata – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
“The times have got faster in every session and in qualifying the top five riders all lapped faster than the existing lap record so clearly I am pleased with overall performance. Dani’s time was particularly impressive as he was 0.4seconds faster than last year’s pole time which is encouraging for a good race tomorrow. The harder front slick is looking preferable for the race, but both rear tyre specs have proved their performance and consistency over race distance so tomorrow’s rear race tyre choice will come down to rider preference and machine setup.”

Top ten from qualifying (Saturday 13:55 – 14:55 GMT+2)
Pos Rider Team Fastest lap Gap Compounds – Front, Rear
1 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1m33.948s Hard, Medium
2 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1m34.256s +0.308s Hard, Medium
3 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 1m34.397s +0.449s Hard, Medium
4 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1m34.470s +0.522s Hard, Medium
5 Ben Spies Monster Yamaha Tech3 1m34.472s +0.524s Hard, Medium
6 Randy de Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 1m34.751s +0.803s Hard, Medium
7 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 1m34.782s +0.834s Hard, Medium
8 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 1m34.826s +0.878s Hard, Medium
9 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m34.934s +0.986s Hard, Medium
10 Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m35.018s +1.070s Hard, Medium

Weather: Dry. Ambient 27-28°C; Track 40°C (Bridgestone measurement)

Repsol Honda

Dani Pedrosa put his Repsol Honda RC212V on pole position for the San Marino Grand Prix in a commanding display at the Misano circuit today. The 24-year-old Spaniard was in total control for the whole session and, despite the best efforts of his rivals to steal pole in the last few minutes of qualifying, Pedrosa unleashed a final lap which put him 0.308s clear of his nearest challenger, Jorge Lorenzo. With the next ten riders behind him covered by only one second, Pedrosa’s margin for pole position is all the more impressive and bodes well for his chances in tomorrow’s race.

This was Pedrosa’s fourth pole position of 2010 and his second in three races, having last qualified at the front of the grid two races ago at the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno. It is his 17th pole in MotoGP, and the 35th of his Grand Prix career. When the lights go out tomorrow, Pedrosa will be going for his first ever back-to-back MotoGP victories follo wing his win last weekend in Indianapolis.

On the other side of the Repsol Honda garage, Pedrosa’s team-mate Andrea Dovizioso had a less fruitful qualifying session and will start his home Grand Prix from the middle of the third row. After finishing in a promising second place behind Pedrosa in yesterday’s practice, the 24-year-old Italian struggled to find a good front-end feeling today and, although he improved his pace in every session, Dovizioso’s time of 1m 34.826s this afternoon put him in eighth place. It wasn’t the grid slot Dovizioso wanted but he and he crew will put their heads together to analyse the set-up options available and target improvements in the 20-minute warm-up session.

Round 12 of the MotoGP World Championship starts tomorrow at 14.00 local time (GMT +2 hours).

DANI PEDROSA – Pole Position – 1m 33.948s

“I’m happy to be on pole position because we were strong throughout practice and things have gone according to plan so far this weekend. We are doing a very good job at the moment, improving at every round and now we have the chance to have another good race. I’ve never won two MotoGP races in a row and this is a good challenge for me – I really want to go for it. Today went well especially because this was a very tight qualifying session and, as I said it was crucial to be on the first row of the grid to have the best chance of getting through the first corners cleanly, because they are very tight. It’s a quite a tricky circuit and tomorrow it will be important not to make any mistakes – particularly on the brakes – in order to keep a high pace for the whole race distance. I think it will be very difficult to make a gap, but we’ll wait and see what t he strategy is for the race. Hopefully we can get through the first corners cleanly, and then we will simply need to push very hard to win. We have a good opportunity.”

ANDREA DOVIZIOSO – 8th – 1m 34.826s +0.878s

“We made a big change to the set-up of the bike in terms of weight distribution to get a better feeling with the front end, but it didn’t work for us. I was struggling a lot with the front and at the end of the session I almost crashed – like in Brno. It is very difficult to improve your lap time when you don’t have the confidence with the front. Now we have to decide whether to keep going in this set-up direction with something more radical or go back to what we had before. I’m disappointed to have qualified this far back for my home race, so we have some work to do tonight to find a setting that can improve things for warm-up and in the race. We’ve made it quite tough for ourselves, but we’ll aim to get a good start and make up as many positions as possible early on.”

TOSHIYUKI YAMAJI – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER

“Dani has been very fast so far at Misano and this pole position today reflects the pace he has shown all weekend. The sessions have gone smoothly for him and he is riding very well at the moment after his win in Indianapolis. There’s no way we will relax yet, but from this position he has a good chance in tomorrow’s race. Andrea has had some issues with front-end grip and we will be working to make improvements for him in the warm-up. We know he can be strong in the race and, although he is disappointed he can still have a strong home Grand Prix if he makes a good start.”

Rizla Suzuki

Rizla Suzuki team-mates Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista were both left to think what might have been as they were held-up on their final lap in qualifying at Misano this afternoon.

Loris Capirossi • Courtesy Rizla Suzuki

Capirossi (P11, 1’35.096, 30 laps) was on a flying final lap and looked certain to break into at least the second row of the grid, but a slower moving train of riders got in his way and forced the Italian to lose vital tenths-of-a-second. He was disappointed with the position, but realistic enough to know that he has a good set-up and a strong pace ahead of tomorrow’s 28-lap race.

Bautista (P16. 1’35.629, 29 laps) was extremely annoyed that he had been baulked on his final fast lap, which would almost certainly have given him a much improved time and seen him move up the grid. He had made huge steps today with his Suzuki GSV-R as he shaved almost two-and-a-half-seconds of his lap-time from yesterday. Bautista was extremely unlucky not to be rewarded with a much better qualifying position after his impressive efforts today.

Today’s qualifying was held in very warm conditions as air temperatures got up to 26ºC and the track heated up to 42ºC. Spaniard Dani Pedrosa took his fourth pole position of the season on his factory Honda, with World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo in second.

Tomorrow’s race is the 12th round of the season and will see Capirossi, Bautista and the rest of the field head off for 28 laps of action at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).

Loris Capirossi:

“Today has been a good day, but again the position is not what we want or deserve. On my best lap I caught up with a group of three or four riders in the last section and I lost three or four tenths-of-a-second. If that hadn’t have happened I think I could easily have been on the second row. I am really positive for tomorrow’s race because the bike is working very well here at Misano. I need to make a good start and do my best because the setting of the bike is good. We are still losing a bit on the exit of the corners and we need to do something about that – as it makes it difficult to overtake. Our potential is much more than this qualifying position and we will be trying as hard as we can tomorrow to prove it.”

Alvaro Bautista • Courtesy Rizla Suzuki

Álvaro Bautista:

“This morning we improved the bike a lot from yesterday and I was able to get a good pace. In the qualifying it was a bit difficult at the start because I used the hard front tyre and I didn’t get the feel from it under braking. At the end of the session we put in the softer compound and that was much better. Unfortunately on the last lap some riders slowed me up and I couldn’t improve my lap-time – which I am sure I would have done. I feel good with the bike here and if I can get a decent start tomorrow I have a strong enough rhythm to be able to battle my way into the top 10.”

Stuart Shenton – Loris Capirossi’s Crew Chief:

“We’re disappointed with the grid position, but it has been a good effort so far this weekend from Loris and the whole team. It would have been nice to be well inside the top 10 for the start of the race, but it was not to be. I think it was getting quite competitive out there at the end of qualifying – not just between other riders, but also between team-mates. It looks like Loris has a good race pace and his times are consistently in the 35s, so let’s just see what we can do tomorrow.”

Repsol (125)

Marc Márquez ended just 158 milliseconds away from a new pole position –he has taken 7 out of a possible 11 this season – in a thrilling last ten minutes of the qualifying for the Grand Prix of San Marino and Riviera di Rimini. After registering the best time in this morning’s free practice and second yesterday afternoon, today Márquez has again secured a place on the front row of the grid, the main objective on this track where the first turn is very close to the start, from which he will start second.

Marc Marquez • Courtesy Repsol

In Misano, it is especially important to start from the front row if you want to be a contender in the battle for victory or at the least, a podium finish. The first turn, as well as being narrow, is very close to the start, so in order to avoid the usual and dangerous mass of riders at the start of the race, it is best to start from the front row. Therefore, it is mission accomplished for Marc Márquez, who will be accompanied by Smith, with the best time, and his two rivals in the fight for the title – fellow Spaniards Terol and Espargaró –.

The young Repsol rider was the fastest in this morning’s practice, smashing the circuit record, which he left at 1 minute, 43 seconds and 77 milliseconds. In the qualifying, Márquez again started off setting the pace and topped the timesheets in the first few laps, although still a long way off the times set in the practice session. In the second half of the session, the young Spanish rider was the first to ride at under one minute and 44 seconds, demonstrating a good race pace for tomorrow. He did a series of fast laps, which Terol and Smith responded to by lowering their times, but without managing to beat his.

Finally, in the last minute, Bradley Smith did a fast lap, beating Márquez by 158 milliseconds, who ran out of time to respond to the British rider. Despite not taking a new pole, Emilio Alzamora’s protégé showed that he was satisfied with the result of the qualifying and although he will finish defining the set-up in tomorrow’s warm-up after analysing the data collected he trusts that he will be able to have a good race tomorrow.

Marc MÁRQUEZ >> 1’43.487 sec, 33 laps, 139 KM.

“I think that starting from the front row, in the 125cc category, is good. At the end, we didn’t want to risk it too much so as not to fall. We have a good set-up, although perhaps I felt a bit more comfortable in this morning’s free practice. It was obvious that Nico [Terol] was also struggling a bit, so perhaps the track conditions were not the same.

Anyway, we have our ideas quite clear for the race and I think that if we continue along the same line in the warm-up tomorrow, we’ll be able to resolve these details. You never know if it will be a group race or if some riders will break away because if you get caught up with a rival at the start, others can break away, but it seems clear that here we are all on a similar level”.

STIPA-Molenaar (125)

The qualification session of the GP Aperol di San Marino e Riviera di Rimini for the STIPA-Molenaar Racing GP didn’t satisfactory. Luis Salom just could keep the third starting row and will start the race from a twelfth position. Randy Krummenacher rode nearly the same lap time as his teammate and will start from the fourth row at a thirteen position.

Randy Krummenacher • Courtesy STIPA

In the free practice on Saturday morning Luis Salom had a good session. The Spaniard rode a lap that was 1.8 seconds faster than his lap of the Friday afternoon. Salom clinched the eighth time in the morning session and didn’t had too give in a lot to the top. Randy Krummenacher had more difficulties driving fast lap times and ended this session as twelfth.

The qualifying session, the STIPA-Molenaar Racing GP team didn’t achieve the desired result. After the fast lap times of Luis Salom in the morning session, the Spaniard couldn’t equel this times in the qualifying session. In the last minutes of the session Salom rode a very good first section but made a mistake in the second section. The Spaniard even made up some time in the third section, but couldn’t improve his lap time because of the mistake.

Randy Krummenacher couldn’t find his rhythm and pushed really hard to run fast times. With only two minutes on the clock the Swiss youngster was allowed the Swiss to have two fast laps. Unfortunately, Krummenacher crashed in the first lap form these two laps. The 20-year-old Swiss was able to bring the bike back home. Krummenacher will start tomorrow form a thirteen place.

Randy Krummenacher (13th, 1:45,103):

“It is unfortunate that I had a little crash at the end of the session. I wanted in the final laps to ride a very fast la time and I know I was able to do that. There was no time left and I had to be satisfied with a thirteen position. I had great difficulties in finding a good rhythm in the qualifying session. The race I’ll have to start off with a good start and want to fight for a top 8 result. Indianapolis was also successful starting from the third row, so we have to do this trick once again. “

Luis Salom • Courtesy STIPA

Luis Salom (12th, 1:45,020):

“The last lap was my fastest lap but I made a mistake. I lost a lot of time by breaking too late and I had to settle for twelfth place. I’m much faster than this twelfth position but I was a bit unluckily today. My race pace is good enough for a top eight place. My plan for tomorrow is a good start with the right and be up there in the second group battling for a sixth or better position. I want to finish the race at least on an eighth place! “

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Yates Out for Season

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 10:38:46 AM | admin

CHICAGO, IL (September 3, 2010) – Michael Jordan Motorsports’ (MJM) Aaron Yates will miss the remaining two rounds of the 2010 AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship. Yates had hoped to participate in the last two events of the series after an encouraging attempt to compete at the last round at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Alton, VA. After practice and qualifying eighth at VIR, Yates felt he wasn’t quite ready to compete at race distances and pulled out of the event. His rehabilitation seemed to be going well until he recently experienced some pain in his leg while walking.

“I’d been exercising and feeling good all last week,” said Yates. “Then, at the beginning of this week, I was just walking down the sidewalk and heard a pop and felt something in my leg. Apparently, the plate separated from the bone or something like that and it looks like I’m going to need some more surgery. I’m real bummed because I was feeling pretty good at VIR and thought that with the extra time, I should be able to ride pretty decent at the last couple of races. I really wanted to be out there with my team and fans and finish off the season.”

Yates is scheduled to see a specialist to determine exactly what additional surgery will be required. In the meantime, Michael Jordan Motorsports’ Brett McCormick will continue to fill in for Yates at the last two events of the season.

The 2010 Michael Jordan Motorsports team’s next event begins today and continues through the weekend at the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ.

ABOUT MICHAEL JORDAN MOTORSPORTS:

Legendary NBA star Michael Jordan formed Michael Jordan Motorsports (MJM) in 2004 as a result of his passion for motorcycle racing. His mission is to bring a new level of excellence and style to the motorcycle racing industry.

For more information on MJM, please visit www.23race.com, www.twitter.com/23race and http://www.facebook.com/23race.

Michael Jordan Motorsports is proud to partner with: Jordan Brand (a division of Nike), National Guard, American Suzuki, Upper Deck, Hanes, Gatorade, Bazzaz, MMI – Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, Vortex Racing Components, Gemini Racing, K-Tech Suspension-Orient Express Racing, Maxima Racing Oils, K & N Air Filters, Dainese Leathers, AGV Helmets, Ancra Tie-downs, Chicken Hawk Racing Tire Warmers, Armour Bodies, DID Chains, Factory Pro Dyno, Roclun International, STAR Motorcycle School, Motion Pro Tools, Zero Gravity Windscreens, with transportation provided by Eastside Trucking.

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Yamaha Wins Environmental Award

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 10:36:45 AM | admin

This morning on the pit-lane at Misano, Yamaha Motor Racing was presented by Cer.To, the Piedmontese agency, with the prestigious “Environmental Management System” certificate, a milestone in the process undertaken by Yamaha Motor Racing in its compliance with the UNI EN ISO 14001 standard.

The EMS certificate shows the continued improvement of Yamaha Motor Racing’s activities and the ongoing research into materials and instruments to achieve outstanding technical results, along with remarkable environmental performances. It confirms the importance given to environmental matters since 1990, when the Yamaha Motor Company group’s environmental activities started, concentrating on the pursuit and sharing of unyielding values; a passion for motors as well as a respect for people and the environment.

This morning the Fiat Yamaha Team succeeded in achieving another goal in becoming the first MotoGP Team to obtain the “Environmental Management System” certificate. No other team before has managed to achieve this highest level of competitiveness and expertise in terms of environmental protection.
The success of Yamaha Motor Racing’s achievement is another important milestone for Yamaha Motor Company’s worldwide activities reflecting the Group’s sensitivity to environmental issues through Yamaha’s Corporate Social Responsibility Program.

The process was characterised by several different aspects ranging from the voluntary enrolment of the Yamaha Team in this certification project to the proactive participation of all team members (on-field technicians, office employees, venue managers in charge of hospitality) who, after the necessary training, consistently and appropriately used Airbank’s devices and equipment while working together and seeking new ideas for ongoing improvements, thus adhering to the company mission statement.

Yamaha Motor Racing asked the competent bodies (including Dorna) for the documents of the various racetracks at which the Team would compete in order to arrange for the best solutions in terms of correct environmental policies.

Marco Riva, General Manager of Yamaha Motor Racing ,said: “After a year of hard and interesting work, involving our partners and staff, we have reached this important objective, the ISO 14001/2004 environmental certification, but we consider it more as a starting point, rather than the end of our efforts. In the coming months we will be very busy with the application of the environmental management system in our working environment. I am sure that all our staff will not hesitate to understand the acquired information and adopt this system every day, bearing in mind that the environment, health and safety are key factors for Yamaha’s success “.

Mr Vito Ippolito, FIM President ,said: “On behalf of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, I would like to congratulate Yamaha Motor Racing for being awarded the ISO 14001 certification, which reflects a great achievement in the field of environmental management. We believe that the motorcycling world is becoming more and more aware of the importance of including sustainability in its sport and such an important step taken by Yamaha Motor Racing shows the world that we are not only talking but also acting. The FIM, through its Ride Green campaign and various environmental actions already taken in the field of environmental protection, strongly supports and promotes sustainable projects and we hope that other teams will follow the example set by Yamaha Racing Team. ”

On behalf of CerTo, Mr. Alessandro Ferracino, General Manager , added: “Once again, the activity Yamaha Motor Racing has carried out has highlighted the usefulness of a management system within already strongly structured companies. At the basis was a firm involvement of the whole staff, which was easily verifiable throughout the auditing process. The predictable initial skepticism was enthusiastically overcome by all those involved and they were able to emphasise the organisational improvement in carrying out crucial and nonstandard tasks “.

Ms. Gloria Mazzoni, General Manager of Airbank , (Yamaha Motor Racing’s Premium Partner for environmental affairs) said: “We were glad to help Yamaha Motor Racing in achieving the ISO 14001 environmental certification. Thanks to their strong attention towards people’s safety and the protection of the environment, and also thanks to Airbank’s products and advice, the target has been reached far in advance. “To establish this Environmental Management System, Airbank has offered Yamaha Motor Racing a team of skilled workers headed by Giovanni Piazza – owner of Business Solution Srl.- as well as a wide range of diversified and custom-made products and services, in order to meet every kind of demand. In this range we can find first aid kits for accidental spillage, which contain absorbent material and devices for individual safety, tanks and cans to carry flammable materials and collect exhausted oil, super-imposable custom-made transport cases for waste selection, containers to stock drums and dangerous material, and a hood for fuel fumes suction designed by our experts “.

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TEAM-SPEAK: Misano MotoGP, Friday (Pics)

Friday, September 03, 2010, 11:56:02 PM | admin

Releases will be added at top as they arrive.

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Danny Kent took a firm hold on the final race of the 2010 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup with a sensational performance in qualifying for Saturday’s Misano race. The 16 year old Briton bathed in the sunshine of the San Marino Grand Prix weekend while arch rival and Cup leader Jake Gagne struggled with technical problems and qualified 10th.

Danny Kent • Courtesy Red Bull

Only Gagne and Kent can win the Cup and the 17 year old Californian holds an 11 point advantage going into the final 17 laps so needs to at least finish 3rd if he is to stop Kent snatching the Cup by winning the race. Just 3 tenths slower than Kent is 16 year old Australian Josh Hook who was in a front row spot towards the end of the session then got a tow from Kent in the final laps to grab 2nd position on the grid.

Unusually for a Rookies Cup race the 3rd fastest, Kevin Calia is almost 8 tenths slower with his time from the 1st Qualifying session and Daijiro Hiura is a full second slower and completes the front row.

Kent is looking forward to the race in the most determined fashion. “I can’t be beaten for second in the Cup so I’ve just got to go out, put my head down and go for the win, nothing else will do and I’ve got to hope that a couple of other guys can also beat Jake.” So is it a case of ‘win or crash’? “Something like that,” Kent answered with his trademark grin. “The bike’s great and I am enjoying the track, I’ve never ridden here before, it’s a bit bumpy, like British tracks so I’m feeling at home here.”

Gagne may be down in 10th but he has already won 4 races this year and previously also made a nonsense of his qualifying position. “We had a bit of trouble in practice, in the first session the engine just got slower and slower then stopped. So for the second they put me out on a spare bike but that felt completely different to mine, so we’ve struggled a bit to get it to work for me. I like the track though, it’s got a good mixture of slow and fast corners so I’m sure the race will be fine, I’ve just got to get a good start, get with the front guys and check out where Danny is I guess.”

Hook is obviously one of those likely to get in middle of the battle that decides the Cup and was thrilled with his superb qualifying. “The first timed session wasn’t good at all, I was pushing too hard, making mistakes and down in 12th place. I was cool for the second session, just did my own thing and was 4th fastest. I would have been happy to be on the front row so stopped at the pits, thought about it a bit and went out again. Danny was just ahead so that was a good mark for me to aim at and I got the time right there at the end of the session.”

Calia was happy with 3rd even if not with the 2nd qualifying session. “I don’t know why but I just could make a good lap time like I did in the 1st session but the bike is great, I enjoy the track. I have not been here that much it’s just my 4th race here and I think it will be a very hard and close race, just like the Sachsenring and a lot of our other races.”

There are plenty of other riders with thoughts of getting on the podium and even winning the race and Hiura is one of them. “I came here determined to win so even though I am 4th on the grid I am not happy because I am 1 second slower than Danny. The bike is fine, it is down to me to improve, I don’t know where I can find a second, that is what I have got to think about.”

Cappella heads the second row and even though he might be considered to have a home track advantage in fact he has never raced or even tested at the track before. He was a little frustrated not to have been quicker as he finished the session in the pits. “I pulled in to change the rear suspension because it was moving around a lot on the gas. Then I found there was only a minute to go so it was too late. I don’t know if I will change it for the race, I will have to think about it but I am having fun here, it’s a great track.”

Saturday’s final race of the Cup season can be seen live either on TV stations or on www.redbull.com/tv starting at 16.30 CET.

Official Qualifying Classification

1. Danny Kent (GBR) 1 minute 47.532 seconds (187.2 kph)
2. Joshua Hook (AUS) +0.305
3. Kevin Calia (ITA) +0.772
4. Daijiro Hiura (JPN) +1.073
5. Alessio Cappella (ITA) +1.338
6. Xavier Figueras (ESP) +1.404
7. Alejandro Pardo (ITA) +1.428
8. Brad Binder (RSA) +1.437
9. Xavier Pinsach (ESP) +1.583
10. Jake Gagne (USA) +1.763

MotoGP

Dani Pedrosa was the leading light in the first practice at Misano as the Repsol Honda rider found an immediate pace that was substantially faster than that of the rest of the MotoGP field. A best effort of 1’34.772 made Pedrosa the only rider under 1’35” in the hour-long session, and saw him just over six-tenths of a second faster than teammate, Andrea Dovizioso.

The Italian was second as he began his preparations for what he hopes will be a home GP to celebrate and, with a best time of 1’35.384, was 0.060s ahead of championship leader Jorge Lorenzo. The Fiat Yamaha rider was just in front of his teammate and race winner at Misano for the past two years, Valentino Rossi, who was the final rider to get within a second of Pedrosa’s time.

The grouped teammate theme continued with Monster Yamaha Tech 3 pair Colin Edwards and Ben Spies in fifth and sixth respectively. Edwards was just under three-tenths behind Rossi, whilst Spies trailed his fellow American by just under six-hundredths.

Ducati Team duo Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner completed the top eight in the session. Hayden had a minor run off at the very end whilst Stoner endured a difficult practice, struggling to find a satisfactory set-up on his Desmosedici GP10 that he hopes will be remedied in tomorrow’s second practice ahead of qualifying.

Italians Marco Melandri and Loris Capirossi, who is set to make his 200th premier class start in Sunday’s race, rounded out the top ten.

Moto2

Alex de Angelis was on form on his return to Moto2 action setting the fastest time in the first practice of his home round, the Gran Premio Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini. Riding as a substitute for the injured Yusuke Teshima on the JiR Moto2 team, De Angelis posted a best lap of 1’40.064 on the Motobi chassis.

Julián Simón and Shoya Tomizawa followed in second and third, both within three-tenths of De Angelis, with Claudio Corti of the Forward Racing team staking an early claim for prominence in a weekend in which all Italian riders will be hoping to do well.

Championship leader Toni Elías completed the top five just 0.424s adrift of De Angelis, with another impressive return to action coming from Mattia Pasini in sixth. The Italian is riding as a wild card for the Italtrans STR team this weekend and was in bullish mode as he squeezed his Suter machine through gaps that would have left other riders hesitating!

Héctor Faubel, Jules Cluzel, Simone Corsi – who had a mechanical issue towards the end – and Gabor Talmacsi completed the top ten, with the Hungarian’s teammate, Andrea Iannone, 11th despite problems with a troublesome wrist.

Scott Redding, fresh off the back of his first Moto2 podium last time out at Indianapolis, was 12th, with wild card Ferruccio Lamborghini a notable 14th.

125cc

Nico Terol was the quickest 125cc rider off the mark in the opening practice session at Misano as the Bancaja Aspar rider set the best time of the hour on his Aprilia. A lap of 1’44.229 from the Spaniard was enough to take top spot on the timesheet by a margin of 0.252s ahead of championship leader and title rival Marc Márquez.

Terol is going for his third consecutive win this weekend whilst Márquez is aiming for his first victory since Sachsenring, with the two separated by just four points in the standings. The Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider, who leads the title chase, was just over two-tenths faster than Pol Espargaró, who trails Terol by a single point going into the weekend. He was the final rider under 1’45”.

Efrén Vázquez had led the session briefly and his time of 1’45.007 placed him fourth, despite a minor technical glitch towards the end. Podium finisher at Indianapolis Sandro Cortese was fifth, with Esteve Rabat and Bradley Smith sixth and seventh respectively. The British rider will be aiming to considerably reduce the 1.209s gap that stood between him and his teammate in first tomorrow.

Completing the top ten for the session were Racing Team Germany’s Tomoyoshi Koyama, Andalucia Cajasol’s Danny Webb and Stipa-Molenaar Racing’s Randy Krummenacher.

San Carlo Honda Gresini

Team San Carlo Honda Gresini’s two riders put in an intensive shift on the opening day of free practice at the Misano Adriatico circuit with Marco Melandri finally reaping some of the fruit of all his recent hard work. The Italian finished the opening session of a Grand Prix with a smile on his face for the first time since switching to the new electronics package, whilst his team-mate Marco Simoncelli is looking for a more positive day tomorrow after running into problems.

Marco Melandri • Courtesy Gresini

Marco Melandri (9th 1´ 36″ 126):
“Finally we have started out with a good session without major problems. We managed to set a consistent pace and gradually improve throughout the session so now it’s just a case of picking our tyre for the race and working a little more on the engine management. However, we’ve found a good base point and I am satisfied. It will be important to have a good qualifying session tomorrow.”

Marco Simoncelli (13th 1´ 36″ 533):
“That was a tough and demanding session, we tried a lot of things. Some things worked well and some not so well and at the end of the session I tried a different tyre, which was quite interesting. I am a little down on the time sheets but confident that I can improve tomorrow and close the gap to the top, although maybe not Pedrosa. We have some ideas about what to change and we’ll experiment tomorrow. “

Fausto Gresini:
“This Grand Prix is within walking distance from our racing headquarters and it is always very special for us. It is never easy to start out on the right foot in the first session but I am confident that our riders are on the right path to make up positions tomorrow. Melandri is in better shape and also Simoncelli is not too far off the better laps times, apart from Pedrosa who set an extraordinary time. Obviously it won’t be easy and even though we might not be going out to win this one I would like to see positive performances from both riders.”

Paginas Amarillas Aspar

The MotoGP World Championship returned to Europe this afternoon following its transatlantic trip to Indianapolis, the riders back on track for the first practice session of the San Marino Grand Prix. Local riders are expected to put up a strong fight on Italian soil but today it was the Spaniard Dani Pedrosa who dominated, with his compatriot Jorge Lorenzo third fastest and home favourites Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi second and fourth respectively.

Hector Barbera • Courtesy Aspar

Héctor Barberá was satisfied with his first session here on the Ducati, the Spaniard making a strong start to figure amongst the top five on the time sheets in the opening twenty minutes. Hector worked throughout practice on improving his engine management system and progressively improved his times to clock a 1′36.293 with his final lap, enough for eleventh place on the overnight time sheets.

11th Héctor Barberá 1.36.293 (29 laps):
“Misano is a circuit I always seem to have taken well to and today was the same. I enjoyed myself during the first session and I’m happy with how we’ve started. It is a small circuit and in the corner exits the front wheel was lifting so we had to modify the power delivery. We took a little power away, adjusted the traction control and I also worked on my riding. We didn’t need to make any adjustments to the geometry of the bike today because it worked quite well as it was. I finished eleventh, a second and a half off the top, and I’m happy with that but we want to close the gap tomorrow. I think we’ve worked well and tomorrow we’ll try to continue in the same way. I know I am capable of a good result here and I’ll do everything possible to achieve it.”

Rizla Suzuki

Rizla Suzuki racer Loris Capirossi had a constructive first practice session at the San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Grand Prix today.

Loris Capirossi • Courtesy Rizla Suzuki

Capirossi (P10, 1’36.277, 29 laps) was able to complete a lot of work with his crew as they compared his two Suzuki GSV-Rs and evaluated both compounds of Bridgestone rear tyres around the 4,226m Misano circuit. Capirossi was pleased with the day’s work as he prepares for Sunday’s race which will see him compete in his 200th premier class motorcycle race, on either a 500cc two-stroke bike or a modern day four-stroke MotoGP machine.

Álvaro Bautista (P17, 1’37.900, 27 laps) had quite a contrasting day compared to his team-mate. He struggled to generate the rear grip from his GSV-R as he tried to come to terms with the Misano circuit. He made small steps with the set-up of his bike through the session, but will be looking to make marked improvements tomorrow as he continues to prepare for Sunday’s race.

Today’s practice was held in warm and sunny conditions with air temperatures reaching 25ºC and track temperatures getting up to 37ºC. Spaniard Dani Pedrosa on his factory Honda recorded the fastest time of the day.

Rizla Suzuki has one more practice session tomorrow morning to prepare for the qualifying session in the afternoon and Sunday’s 28-lap race. The 12th round of the season gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT) on Sunday 5th September.

Loris Capirossi:

“It has been a long time since we have had a Friday like that. I am not happy about the position, but I am very happy with the bike today. We did a really good job with the bike and didn’t have to make too many changes from the original setting, but what we did change also seemed to work well. The base settings for the electronics was also better it’s not perfect and we still need to do a bit more work on it, but for now it is fine. I am happy for the whole team because it has been a much better day and we hope that we can keep this up for the whole weekend. We need decent weather on Saturday and Sunday and if we get that I am sure we can have a good weekend.”

Alvaro Bautista • Courtesy Rizla Suzuki

Álvaro Bautista:

“It has not been a good practice for me because I have had a problem entering the corner as I didn’t have a lot of rear grip and I cannot enter as quickly as I want to. I started with the harder compound rear tyre, but on the second run I used the softer option, because with the harder one it was almost impossible to get any grip. We tried to do some changes in practice, but the improvements were not that big, so we will need to work on the data for the rest of the day to find a solution to that and hope we can work it out for tomorrow.”

Stuart Shenton – Loris Capirossi’s Crew Chief:

“That was a good session for us today and we have got a lot of work done. Loris got off to a good start and that set the tone for the rest of the session. We were able to compare both bikes, and assess the two rear tyre options, and from that it looks like we have a good direction for the rest of the weekend. All-in-all it has not been a bad start to the weekend here at Misano.”

STIPA-Molenaar (125)

Less than a week after the Grand Prix in Indianapolis today was the first day of practice of the GP Aperol di San Marino e Riviera di Rimini. The TIPA-Molenaar Racing GP-rider Randy Krummenacher and Luis Salom ended the first day respectively in tenth and twelfth.

Randy Krumenacher (33) and Luis Salom. • Courtesy STIPA

After the high temperatures in Indianapolis it’s here in San Marino not much cooler, with temperatures at 30 degrees. Randy Krummenacher was in the beginning of the first free practice not in the top 10. The Swiss was particularly concerned with the adjustment of his Aprilia and came in the final phase of the session to the front. Krummenacher climbed from thirteenth to tenth place position on the timesheets.

Luis Salom was running since the start of the session competitive times and started with a seventh position. Halfway through the session the Spaniard climbed to sixth place but finished the session in twelfth position. Salom only had to give in 0.2 seconds off the eight position.

Randy Krummenacher (10th, 1:45,922):

“The first free practice I mostly used to create a good set-up. It was getting better but we’re not there yet. For the first day of the weekend to start with a tenth place, is not bad. There’s more to get and I will show this tomorrow in qualifying. “

Luis Salom (12th, 1:46,051):

“I’m not really satisfied. At the beginning of the session it went excellent and I managed to ride to sixth position. Then I couldn’t really improve my lap time and did not tackle a good slipstream. We will have some adjustments to the suspension and gearbox for tomorrow and I will go for a top eight qualifying as in Indy. “

Repsol Honda

Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso finished in first and second places at Misano today as the first MotoGP practice session for the San Marino Grand Prix took place in warm sunshine. Fresh from his victory in Indianapolis only five days ago, Pedrosa picked up where he left off and topped the timesheets for most of the session this afternoon.

Improving with every exit from the pits, the 24-year-old Spaniard’s fastest lap time was an impressive 0.612s quicker than the rest of the field – a hefty margin which sent an ominous sign to his rivals for victory this weekend. Looking fully committed from the outset, Pedrosa was the only rider to go under 1m 35s today and set four laps that were quicker than any of his rivals. Pedrosa’s fastest lap of 1m 34.772s was only fractions behind the race lap record from last year of 1m 34.746s, set by Valentino Rossi.

Dovizioso was also on fast form today at the circuit whe re he made his motorcycle racing debut back in 2000. The 24-year-old Italian was born and lives just 70kms from the Misano track and took inspiration from his home support to get his weekend off to a strong start. Near the top of the timing screens throughout, his best time came on his final lap of the session, Dovizioso stopping the clock at 1m 35.384s to edge ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi in third and fourth.

The track action continues tomorrow with a further practice session in the morning followed by qualifying in the afternoon to decide grid slots for Sunday’s 28-lap race.

DANI PEDROSA – 1st – 1m 34.772s

“It’s been really a good start here in Misano compared to last year and I’m very happy about that. We are coming from a strong result at the last race and it’s important to keep the momentum going, which we have done so far. But we need to remain very concentrated and focused because we still have some areas to improve, and I’m sure our rivals will also go quicker tomorrow. Our pace has been quite fast today and Andrea is close to the front as well, so this is a good sign for the team. Here the grid positions are very important again because the first corner is close to the start and it’s a tight bend. Because of this we need to make sure we have a good pace tomorrow so that we can qualify well, and also so that we are ready for another long and tough race. I can say this was one of my best Friday practices, but I’m not going to relax at all.”

ANDREA DOVIZIOSO – 2nd – 1m 35.384s +0.612s

“I’m happy with the work done during this session and I’m satisfied to be second. Six tenths from Dani is quite a big gap but I think we have the opportunity to close this. At the end I was able to improve my lap times with the tyres I used for the whole session, so I’m confident we can move forward tomorrow. I think everyone was struggling for grip today and it was easy to lose the front, but we found a set-up solution that was effective to help with this so we’ll continue working in that direction tomorrow. Tyre selection for the race will be very important, and both the harder and softer option Bridgestones look like possible choices at the moment. I think there are many riders who can be strong this weekend so we have to work hard tomorrow and do a good job in qualifying.”

TOSHIYUKI YAMAJI – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER

“It’s good to see both Repsol Hondas at the top of the times today and we’ve made a good start to the weekend. Of course the work has only just begun and today’s session is just the beginning, so we won’t relax in any way. Dani is clearly looking very confident and also consistent after his win in Indianapolis and his target is to continue in the same vein. Andrea and his crew have also done a good job and I think he can have a strong weekend at his home circuit. We’ll be working towards replicating this result tomorrow afternoon.”

Monster Yamaha Tech3

Colin Edwards and Ben Spies made an encouraging start to the Misano MotoGP weekend the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team pairing able to secure top six places in the opening free practice session.

Edwards spent the entire session evaluating the endurance potential of Bridgestone’s soft compound rear tyre option in warm but breezy conditions.

The experienced American was delighted with the consistent performance of the softer option, Edwards posting his best time of 1.35.834 on his 26th lap as he ran a full race distance of 28-laps on the same set of soft tyres.

Edwards finished top non-factory ride r today and is now confident he can sustain his early form to fight for a first top six finish of the campaign in Sunday’s race.

Fresh from the best weekend of his MotoGP career in Indianapolis, Spies was in impressive form again this afternoon.

Spies arrived in Italy brimming with confidence after he claimed a stunning career first pole position in Indianapolis, which he followed with a best ever second place behind Dani Pedrosa in the race.

And he maintained the momentum gained on home soil with another classy performance the 26-year-old finishing in sixth position just 0.058s behind Edwards.

Spies is confident that overnight changes to improve rear stability and front-end feeling with his YZR-M1 machine will help him challenge for a third successive front row start in tomorrow’s qualifying session.

Colin Edwards 5th 1.35.834 – 28 laps

“That was a good start to the weekend and I’m really happy with the bike. We had a bit too much weight on the front at the start of the session and a little adjustment to get more weight on the rear really helped my confidence. I kept the same rear tyre for the whole session and it felt really good. It was the softer option but it already looks like that’s going to be the race tyre. It performed really well over a long distance and my fastest lap was on lap 26, so we’ve got no worries about it being good for the whole race. And I didn’t really have any spinning issues and I told my guys it felt like the best grip I’ve had all year, so a big thanks to Bridgestone. I think we can only make the bike better and I feel like my first top six of the season is definitely attainable on Sunday.”

Ben Spies 6th 1.35.892 – 30 la ps

“I’m happy with today and it’s another decent start. Like Colin, I stayed on the soft tyre for the whole session and while I’m happy with the lap times, I know we can find some more time. We can make the rear better because I was just missing a bit of grip and stability that would allow me to go that little bit faster. And we can definitely make the front-end better. It wasn’t a big problem but I wasn’t as comfortable as I can be in the session. We’ve had a look at that already and know what we’ve got to try to make that better for tomorrow. So with a couple of minor issues I’m happy it was a solid session. There’s definitely not one second we can find in the bike but there’s definitely a few tenths we can find with some different settings we’ll try tomorrow.”

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Honda Road Racerhead #36

Friday, September 03, 2010, 7:08:27 PM | CJ

Hurricane Earl has been downgraded, but there’s still a perfect storm this weekend in the world of motorcycle road racing, with MotoGP going in Misano, Italy; World Superbike taking place at Germany’s Nurburgring; and AMA Pro Road Racing meeting in Millville, New Jersey. I’m at New Jersey Motorsports Park, where I arrived after taking a red-eye flight into Baltimore and making the two-hour drive over this morning, but most of the photos accompanying this column are from Misano. Three race series in one weekend is a lot to keep track of, but at least I’m not Earl Hayden!

Sixth today at Misano, Ben Spies has his work cut out to top his MotoGP experience last week in Indy. • Andrew Northcott photo

This trip comes following a few days in California after spending last weekend at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP, which was really a great time—for most people who made it, but especially for Ben Spies. Every rider hopes for a good showing at his home race, but being confirmed to the factory Yamaha team for next year, qualifying on pole, leading the early part of the race, and posting your best MotoGP finish (second place) is too good to expect. The only thing better would have been a win on Sunday, but there’s plenty of time to work up to that. He has two podiums so far, and he’s already the top rookie, the top satellite rider, and the top American. Perhaps more importantly, he has the confidence and the momentum that comes with consistently solid performances.

As is his style, Spies was happy but even-keeled on Sunday evening. “We can’t complain,” he said at the post-race press conference. “We came in and did better than I thought we were going to do…. We had a good start today and led some laps. Didn’t set the world on fire, but we had a good pace. I just wasn’t fast enough when Dani came by…. I tried as hard as I could and didn’t make too many mistakes. I saw that we had a good gap to third, and I just tried to manage it as good as I could.”

Deeply saddened by the death of his young friend Peter Lenz last week, Colin Edwards was fifth-quickest in Italy today. • Andrew Northcott photo

The last couple of years, the four “aliens” have taken on an aura of invincibility, but Spies is doing what he can to blur the line between them and the rest of the pack. “I think I can see now that it’s attainable, but we’re not there yet, for sure,” he said. “It’s not impossible.”

The first part of this season was dominated by speculation as to who would race where next year, but now that most of those questions are answered, the second half looks to be ruled by the shrapnel resulting from those decisions. Spies’ strong result and factory Yamaha announcement, combined with Valentino Rossi’s Brno announcement that he’s going to Ducati, have led many to conjecture that some of the Italian’s special parts are being fed to the Texan. Ben was emphatic in his insistence that this wasn’t the case, saying in the post-race press conference, “Our bike is the same bike we started at Laguna with. We received a small upgrade at Laguna, and that’s the bike I’m on now. I think it’s a little bit of me letting go of the brake. It makes me know that the gap between my bike and the factory bike—yeah, there’s some differences, some better things, maybe some worse things. You never know—the old stuff can be better than the new stuff sometimes. There’s not that big of a difference. It’s what [Jorge Lorenzo] has been doing and what Valentino has been doing. Yamaha gives the satellite team good bikes, and I think it’s showing.”

Nicky Hayden put on a show at the Indy Mile, and posted a strong time to boot. Let Nicky Slide, indeed! • Andrew Northcott photo

That doesn’t mean, however, that Rossi is getting all the good stuff, and there’s some friction in his camp over both that and the question of whether or not he’ll be allowed to ride the Ducati during the post-season testing this year. As if that weren’t enough, Valentino and Casey Stoner took some shots today in Italy, the former saying that #27 isn’t riding hard this season, and the latter saying that #46 is being schooled by his own teammate. Meanwhile, GP One reports that Marco Melandri and Loris Capirossi got into it about their racing futures yesterday during Misano’s traditional DediKato tribute to the late Daijiro Kato.

Some have criticized Rossi’s performance at the last couple of races, speculating that age may be catching up to him, but the Doctor had a reasonable explanation asked at Indy for why he wasn’t his old self. “Because a bone was sticking out of my leg two months ago—I think that’s why!” Rossi laughed. “After the crash, I was supposed to return for Misano. I was able to come back earlier, but it takes time—you have to be patient.”

These drain covers proved the undoing of Nicky Hayden's Red Bull Indy GP effort. The Kentucky Kid was seventh-quickest today. • Andrew Northcott photo

Another of the weekend highlights was Nicky Hayden doing a four-lap exhibition aboard a Lloyd Brothers Ducati dirt tracker at the Indy Mile, shortly after the announcement was made that he’ll be back with Ducati Marlboro next year (that part was expected, though the two-year term was a nice touch). Johnny Goad’s wife is known in the pits for being good with a stopwatch, and according to several people who should know, her times showed Nick’s best lap being good enough to have qualified him twentieth. That’s amazing considering that 1) Nicky last race a flat tracker in 2002; 2) he only had two hot laps to post times; 3) he didn’t get to practice; and 4) he was starting a MotoGP race on the front row the next day! It wasn’t exactly what we were shooting for with our Let Nicky Slide! campaign in the spring, but it does give one hope that the chances of a Grand Slam aren’t yet gone for #69. (I had figured they wouldn’t get Nick off the bike until the tank was dry.)

Just days after winning the Red Bull Indy GP, Dani Pedrosa was quickest on Day 1 at Miano. • Andrew Northcott photo

“To be honest, I was having fun and not tip-toeing around or anything, but I also knew if I put it in the fence, I was going to be in the doghouse and look like a complete clown. So I was surprised to be on pace. When Tom told me what time he got me at, I thought maybe he was off because he just did it on his phone, but after Kenny Tolbert told me what they had and Sarah Goad had, it made me wish I could line up for the heat race.”

Unfortunately, Nicky’s MotoGP race was sabotaged early on by a loose knee slider, which in turn was caused by a plastic drain cover in a trackside curb. Casey Stoner had hooked his own puck on a drain on Friday, and when I ran the track on Saturday, I stopped and checked out one of the covers. Though they were flush with the surface, they flexed under weight, so it’s easy to see how a knee could be caught in the heat of battle. Hopefully, those and the Turn 6 bump can be eliminated before next year’s race.

Making a 1-2 Repsol Honda punch, Andrea Dovizioso was second-quickest in today's free-practice session at Misano. • Andrew Northcott photo

By the time the race went down, the track had been enveloped in an atmosphere of gloom, as word had quickly spread that 13-year-old Peter Lenz had lost his life that morning when he fell and was struck by another rider during the warm-up lap for USGPRU’s second Moriwaki MD250H support race. I’ve communicated with Peter’s father Michael several times in the past few years (we did a short feature on a very trick CRF150R-powered min road racer aboard which Peter regularly embarrassed older riders on larger machines. Although he’s always been very enthusiastic about his son’s young career, I’ve never found him to be pushy or obnoxious, as can be the case with some parents of talented young athletes. Peter’s death

It was a tragic, frustrating incident, and many people have opinions about the sensitive topic of children on high-speed road race machines. Rather than add my voice to the mix, I’ll transcribe the words of a couple of professional road racers who got their start at a very young age:

Fourth-quickest Valentino Rossi isn't concerned that he hasn't won since breaking his leg. • Andrew Northcott photo

“I told myself before the race I was riding my heart out for him today,” Ben Spies said in the post-MotoGP-race press conference. “I lost a teammate in the past—my best friend [Ryan Smith, whose #19 Ben used while in World Superbike last year]—and he was at an age where he knew what he was doing. He knew how dangerous it could be, and it’s an unfortunate accident. There’s nothing that can be done right now.”

One local journalist asked Spies if he felt the IMS circuit could be partly to blame for the tragedy. “No, I wouldn’t say that at all,” Spies replied. “It’s a normal racetrack. Racing incidents happen, and it’s unfortunate. It’s a horrible thing. I didn’t know him really well, but I spoke to him once on the phone and said some things to him. From what I understand and what I hear, it’s a pure racing accident. It’s happened before to people, and the fact is it’s going to happen again at some point to somebody. We hate it, but we know what’s going on when we put on a helmet.”

Still yet to finish off the podium this year, Jorge Lorenzo was the third-quickest rider today in Italy. • Andrew Northcott photo

After the official conference, Spies has the following to say to a small group of journalists: “I’ve been racing since I was 8 years old, and you know it can happen. When I was 14, I lost my best friend that was a teammate, and there was about two days where I thought, What am I doing? Should I be doing this? My mom told me at that point, she’s like, ‘If you want to quit right now, even being $70,000 in debt, we’ll find a way to survive, and we’ll stop. It’s your choice.’ She kind of wanted me to stop…. When you’re racing motorcycles, if you’re over 10 years old, you know what can happen. Yeah, you’re not 18 years old, you’re not 21. Obviously, we’re talking about what happened and it’s unfortunate, but it’s racing, it’s life. You never want to see it happen, but he knew what he was doing. I think it’s honestly a little bit not cool some of the questions that can come up and the way they’re coming up. I think he knew exactly what he was doing, and he was having fun. It’s the number-one thing he probably wanted to do in his life, and it’s just unfortunate.”

This was grand marshall Jay Leno's ride to the race last weekend. • Courtesy Red Bull

That same afternoon, Valentino Rossi had the following to say outside of his motor home: “I’m very sorry. Unfortunately, that’s the worst thing that can happen in our sport. When you slip and someone else hits you, it’s a big problem. It’s something we’ve talked about. Two years ago, we asked to delay by one year both the permission to race a MotoGP bike and to race in the world championship. In fact, now, it’s 16, because before that is a little early.”

As for whether younger kids should be allowed to participate as a support class at a MotoGP round, Rossi said, “I don’t really know what to say. Anyway, it happened, so there’s not much anyone can do about it in this case.”

That much is definitely true. Rest in peace, Peter.

Nicky's knee slider was in bad shape after last weekend's race. • Courtesy GP One

I guess I’m at the point now where I can be called a veteran motojournalist, but that wasn’t the case when I got a call from the-Cycle News editor Jack Mangus back in 1982. At the time, I was working in San Diego, where Acerbis USA had been kind enough to give me a temporary job while I got my start in the professional world. I’d sent out unsolicited resumes all over the motorcycle industry several months earlier when I graduated college, but I’d gotten almost no response, but when Mangus had an opening, he pulled my file out of his desk and dialed me up. I came into the Long Beach office for an interview, where he asked me if I wanted to be a beat rider on the national motocross and supercross series, and the only hard decision I had was whether to immediately and enthusiastically accept, or play it cool for a night before taking the job.

I had been a CN reader almost for life, borrowing my dad’s copies to follow the ongoing adventures of “Motocross Cat,” and later “Team Smitty.” By the time I was riding bikes myself, I’d actually read the articles, though I’d still cut out every photo the newspaper printed of Bob Hannah and tape it on my bedroom wall. Later, I’d look for my name in the results section, and then CN published my first freelance stories, as I’d earn free entries to District 37 enduros by writing up race reports for the locals section. To be offered a job at Cycle News was quite literally a dream come true, and the following ten years (off and on) were formational for me as a journalist and even as a person. I even made the cover a few times (though only as an anonymous test rider piloting some shiny new offering for a photographer’s lens). Even after I left (for the third and final time) to take this job back in 2002, I continued to read CN every week and remained friends with many of my former co-workers. All of which is a long way of saying that I was extremely disappointed when I heard this week that Cycle News is closing up shop after forty-five years.

Technically, the publication hasn’t missed an issue yet, and the website is not only still up, but still offering subscriptions and even still showing a couple of fresh press releases. Journalist Henny Ray Abrams is sitting next to me here in the NJMP pressroom, but he also does stuff for other publications. Perhaps one could argue that CN is in a state of suspended animation, but although one never knows what the future may bring, a blog written by my old boss Paul Carruthers (who was let go as editor last week) makes it pretty clear this ship has sailed. The industry has lost an iconic publication of record, and I’m sad it won’t be in my mailbox next week. More importantly, I sympathize for the magazine’s erstwhile employees.

R.I.P., Peter Lenz • Brian J. Nelson photo

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Monster MotoGP Theater: Indy

Friday, September 03, 2010, 3:21:54 PM | admin

Commissioned by Monster, Monster MotoGP Theater delivers two super-slick, high-definition 2-minutes videos from each and every MotoGP round, featuring Monster athletes Valentino Rossi, Ben Spies, Colin Edwards, and Toni Elias. Road Racer X is the exclusive media carrier of Monster MotoGP Theater, so check back in the days following each of the eight remaining MotoGP rounds for more.

Monster MotoGP Theater: Indy – Race

Monster MotoGP Theater: Indy – Interviews

For more Monster MotoGP news and video, visit Monster Energy at www.monsterenergy.com or MotoGP at www.motogp.com.

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Umbrella Girls of the Week: Red Bull Indy GP

Thursday, September 02, 2010, 11:59:25 PM | admin

RED BULL INDY GP • PHOTO BY ANDREW NORTHCOTT

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Idaho’s Big Nasty Hillclimb

Thursday, September 02, 2010, 12:20:11 PM | admin

The 8th annual Chaos Energy, Big Nasty Hillclimb is set for September 17-19, 2010, and will once again be held on the 1,000 acre Pence Ranch, in an area known locally as the White Cliffs, 4 ½ miles north of New Plymouth, Idaho. It is Idaho’s largest motorcycle event, and will pull in over 12,000 spectators, and over 600 amateur and professional entries from across the Western United States, as it is the only professional motorcycle hillclimb in the entire Northwest.

The Big Nasty Weekend is a unique, eclectic event, sort of a Burning Man meets NASCAR kind of thing, but first and foremost, it is one of the premier motorcycle hillclimbs in the world, and many have referred to it as “The toughest hillclimb on earth.” In 2009, almost 600 entries ran throughout the weekend, and the best riders and machines from across the U.S. will return again in 2010, from the 250-horsepower, nitro Harley’s, to the stretched-out, fuel-injected Yamaha’s, these are wild, noisy, exotic machines that you can’t see anywhere else in the Northwest.

The pro hill is over 600 feet long and starts right in the middle of the spectator area, before jumping the road and heading straight up over jumps, turns and cliff sections. Friday and Saturday’s amateur and pro qualifying hills are shorter, but are nearly as steep and sinister as their bigger brother. A total of 27 trophy classes will run on Friday and Saturday, for stock dirt bikes ranging from 50cc minis to 450 motocross units, to old, vintage bikes.

Expect to see a few daring riders claw their way over the top, and many more stall out or flip over, as brave men with big ropes and hooks, called catchers, try to grab bikes and riders before they flip and tumble toward the bottom of the hill. Over 600 camping passes were sold last year, and the gates open to campers at 9am on Friday morning. Amateur competition then begins at noon on Friday and runs continuously until about 11pm on Friday evening, finishing under lights. Pro qualifying starts at 9am on Saturday, with a combination of pro, semi-pro and amateur competition running all day until ending at about 11pm, when the Big Nasty fireworks show will take center stage on Saturday night. The pro finals start at 9:30 on Sunday morning and will wrap up at about 4pm.
Hillclimbing is just part of the adventure at the Big Nasty. Other entertainment includes ATV Adventure rides and mud bog competition, live music, pumpkin shooting, freestyle shows, helicopter rides, a new, motorcycle dual sport ride, a kids bouncy, air boat rides in the river, a Sunday morning service, and overnight camping in the surrounding hay fields.

As always, all kinds of food and beverages will be available on site, from funnel cakes to breakfast burritos.

Ticket prices range from $12 per day (advance) to $15 per day at the gate, children ages 6- 12 are $5 per day, and kids 5-under are free. Discount coupons are available at all 25 Treasure Valley Stinker Stores, and all 24 Southern Idaho Les Schwab Tire Stores and NAPA Parts Stores are selling tickets, as are Edge Performance Sports in Ontario, Cycle City of Mountain Home, and the Double Diamond and EZ-Mart in New Plymouth. For more information please contact Ron Dillon at (208) 573-4255, or visit the website at: www.bignastyhillclimb.com.

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Backmarker: Revisiting the Icarus myth. Really, that’s what this is about

Thursday, September 02, 2010, 9:00:25 AM | Mark Gardiner

In the late ’90s, I lived in a small town in the Canadian Maritimes called Sackville. Despite its prosaic name, Sackville was a picturesque and occasionally picaresque spot that had much to endear itself to an amateur motorcycle racer. The cost of living was low, leaving lots of disposable income to, uh, dispose of at the track. There was nothing to do at night, or all winter for that matter, but work on bikes. There was a motorcycle junkyard nearby where a lot of needed bits could be scrounged, and there were bike shops within fifty miles where new bits could be ordered. There was great terrain to train on, including an abandoned quarry. Last but not least, there was Cap’n Dan’s lobster shack. Sure, it was a pretty long drive to my “home” track down in Loudon, New Hampshire, but the scenery was great and the ad agency where I worked didn’t seem to mind if I made every race weekend a long weekend.

After getting frustrated with the film business, Jeff Buchanan drifted into motorcycle journalism. His work has appeared in Road Racer X. • Courtesy Buchanan

It was such a small town that everyone picked up their mail at the post office, over the counter. The first time I ever did that, the clerk saw me enter the post office and without any questions grabbed a small bundle of mail and handed it to me. “How did you know who I was,” I asked. “Well,” said the clerk, “you’re the new guy.”

The highlight of any week’s worth of mail, back then, was my copy of Cycle News. Although the Internet was gaining momentum and there was lots of information to be found there, Cycle News was American motorcycling’s newspaper of record. The arrival of a new issue—God knows they’d often come looking as if Canada Post had chucked them into the automated shredder, not the sorting machine—meant an immediate detour to the coffee shop where I sat and read it from cover to cover. As the post office staff got to know me better, they’d ask if I was mentioned in it, and thanks to Cycle News‘ comprehensive box scores I often was, albeit in pretty fine print. Finding my own name was always extra fun.

By the time I left Sackville on a roundabout migration to the Isle of Man, then returned to North America via France, and got a job at Motorcyclist, all the magazines realized that the straight-up news function had been usurped by the web. Still, it was a bit of a shock to read yesterday morning that Cycle News has shut down. I have to admit, I’m part of the problem, not part of the solution; I haven’t had a subscription for years.

Although once in a while I ran into Paul Carruthers at some launch or other, the last time I really had anything to do with Cycle News was when Paul courteously invited me to come into their offices to do some research in the Cycle News archive. They’ve got a beautiful, full bound set of past issues going right back to the early ’60s. I sure hope that those are well taken care of, and that they aren’t just preserved but are preserved somewhere that researchers and historians of our sport will be able to see them. The Cycle News archive is historically significant, and a minor treasure. It’s the kind of thing that, once it went into storage, might never come out, and that would be a shame. (George Barber, are you reading this? Those volumes would make a nice addition to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum’s library.)

On the same day that I read about Cycle News, the second shoe dropped when I learned that Harley-Davidson and its longtime agency-of-record Carmichael-Lynch had split up. Holy cow, had that been a productive relationship. Back when Harley had just emerged from the dark (AMF) ages, Carmichael-Lynch’s legendary “Would you sell an unreliable motorcycle to these guys?” print ad set about establishing H-D’s new-and-improved quality control, but added a stroke of pure advertising genius: it overtly linked the H-D brand to a “biker” image that the company had hitherto avoided.

You can love or hate Harley-Davidson—and regular Backmarker readers will know that I alternate from one position to the other—but Harley’s got the strongest brand in the industry and that brand has, largely, been the creation of Carmichael-Lynch. In my expert opinion, the work the agency’s been doing of late is still strong. I just saw the latest “Find the 1” commercial on TV, and it was a nice piece of work—well-crafted, on target, seeking to expand markets without looking so far afield that it will just alienate Harley’s base.

Harley-Davidson, like so many other advertisers of late, basically said, “We don’t want a one-size-fits-all ad solution, so rather than have one main agency, we’ll split the work up among a bunch of hip specialists.” I guess the sheer momentum of Carmichael-Lynch’s work will keep the brand strong for a while, but the old ad agency creative director in me will wait to see whether the brand adapts and evolves as Harley hopes, or splinters and erodes.

Now, after realizing that the number of opportunities to write about motorcycles is inversely proportional to the amount of money you can earn doing it, Jeff has taken matters into his own hands. • Courtesy Buchanan

It wasn’t that long ago that Hachette-Filipacchi announced changes at Cycle World, too. David Edwards was evicted as editor in chief a some time ago, and then Larry Little, who had last held the title of chief brand officer (aka publisher), was replaced by Andy Leisner with the new title of vice president of integrated sales and marketing. Leisner’s a real motorcycle racing guy, someone most Backmarker readers would endorse as CW’s head honcho. It was interesting to note that along with that last personnel switch, CW (along with Road & Track and Car and Driver) were moved into Hachette’s Jumpstart Automotive Group, a subsidiary had previously emphasized web-based business models.

It’s a sobering time to be in motorcycle journalism, and one motorcycle journalist friend of mine has taken a (cine)novel approach to this dilemma. Rather than chase faster and faster for a piece of a shrinking pie, Jeff Buchanan has invented an entirely new medium, the CineNovelTM.

Besides being a motorcycle journalist whose work has appeared in Road Racer X and Ultimate Motorcycling (and who was on staff in the early days of The Robb Report’s glamorous moto-mag), Jeff worked in the film business, writing all manner of stuff and directing TV commercials. A couple of years ago, when we were commiserating about the way it was getting harder and harder to make a living writing about motorcycles, he mentioned that he was at work on a new concept: something he called a CineNovel. A few weeks back, he sent me some sample pages of the first CineNovel title, and I was knocked out.

The story, which he wrote as well as produced, is called The Plunge of Icarus. It’s a war story set in an alternative near future, on the island of Crete. Icarus is an F-16 ace; part of an elite warrior race, raised from birth to fight an enemy they’ve been told is evil and bent on their own race’s destruction. As a fighter ace, he lives luxurious-to-the-point-of-decadence existence. He doesn’t question it until he momentarily comes face-to-face with one of his enemies. Bear in mind that Jeff first wrote Plunge as a screenplay about ten years ago., so this is a case of life imitating art, not the other way around.

Here’s Jeff’s story about how it came together:

I came home from another Hollywood meeting, totally depressed, and on the forty-five-minute drive to my house, I suddenly thought, What if I went out and photographed stills, and made a really advanced picture book? I’d never really cared for graphic novels, but they were coming on really strong, and this would be different. I thought about defying logic and making a really luxurious, expensive coffee-table book, written for adults on an adult theme.

After eighteen years of struggle in the film industry, I’d still never gotten to [direct] a feature. This [project] blended a lot of the things I loved: the written word, fine paper, visual storytelling… and it promised to be something over which I could retain creative control. A friend put up an initial investment, enough to allow me the time to completely storyboard it, and then for us to shoot the photos.

We shot all the background plates for the interiors at the Frank Lloyd Wright “Ennis” house just below the Griffith Observatory in L.A. They shot some of Blade Runner there. Since my original version of Plunge had been approved by the U.S. Air Force, we shot the fighter jet stuff at Edwards AFB. All the actors were green-screened.

My photographer was Matt Mindlin; he has also worked as Madonna’s lighting director. We shot something like 20,000 images in ten days flat. It was all a big experiment; I knew where we were headed, but had no idea how we were going to get there! But the actors, who were all 20-somethings who’ve grown up online, really loved the idea that the end result was going to be a beautiful book.

As we were working on it, the whole e-reader business really started to take off. At one point, I was working with my CGI artist, and we were choosing between two shots of one of the key actors. The artist was toggling between the shot he liked and the shot I liked, and we suddenly realized, in an e-book, that’s exactly what the reader can see.

For a while, that kind of depressed me again, because I’m still at least six to eight months away from having a product. But a good friend who’s a marketing genius told me, “Your timing’s perfect. Let a lot of those readers get out into circulation and wait until a lot of people are thinking, These things are great, but there’s no content for them.”

Anyway, the plan now is for CineNovel’s main platform to be e-readers, supported by very high-end coffee-table books. I’ve got a guy that actually does stuff with recycled F-16 parts, so for example The Fall of Icarus coffee-table version could have a titanium bookmark made from one of the planes seen in the book.

So, where Jeff’s at right now is that The Fall of Icarus, the first CineNovel, has been written and shot, and a few sample pages have been laid out. He’s now seeking his next round of investment to finish the huge Photoshop job involved in compositing hundreds of illustrations, and laying out and designing the e-book and book. “I’ve been to endless meetings with hedge-fund managers and venture capitalists,” he told me. “So now, I understand the problem our country is in. They’re right-brain thinkers who can understand we’ll sell x units at y price… but as soon as you ask them to use their imaginations, their eyes glaze over.”

Buchanan has created an entirely new e-lit genre, the CineNovel. The first title's a fighter-jock opera entitled “The Plunge of Icarus.” • Courtesy Buchanan

He hasn’t given up though, and he’s also turning to some novel (no pun intended) ways to search for independent financing. Within a couple of weeks, there will be a website devoted to explaining and promoting both the CineNovel concept and his first title. If he’s right, ten years from now there could be hundreds of CineNovel titles available—a sort of killer app for e-readers. I’ll let Backmarker readers know as soon as that website’s up.

Lastly:

I had a strange sense of foreboding last week that I attributed to knowing they were racing on the Mountain Course on the IoM (the Manx Grand Prix was on). I always bate my breath until a race meeting on the island is over, breathing a sigh of relief if the casualty count’s held to a minimum. This morning I Skyped my friend Steve Hodgson, who manages the Padgett’s motorcycle dealership on the island, and we were unable to separate truth from rumors, but it’s been rough few days. What I didn’t expect was a fatality on the relatively safe IMS road course. It just goes to show you that no matter what you do to make motorcycle racing safer, you’ll never succeed in making it safe. The Peter Lenz incident made the front page of The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper, and the coverage was conspicuously balanced. I didn’t know that Michel Mercier, who taught me to ride, recently lost a teenaged son in a racing incident. My buddy Chris Van Andel, through Motion Pro, had been a longtime sponsor of Peter Lenz—or at least as “longtime” a sponsor as you can be of a 13-year-old. He’s posted a sensitive remembrance of one of his youngest racers.

Next week, Backmarker will be all good news, I promise. In the meantime, live and love each day is if it could be the last. That means get out and ride.

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SLIDESHOW: Umbrella Girls of the Week, Red Bull Indy GP!

Thursday, September 02, 2010, 9:00:08 AM | admin

Red Bull Indy GP • Photos by Andrew Northcott

red bull indy gp • photo by andrew northcott

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Ducati Launches “Fall Opportunity” Promotion

Thursday, September 02, 2010, 1:55:48 AM | admin

Cupertino, Calif. (1 September 2010) – Ducati is delighted to announce the “Fall Opportunity,” a sales event that gives people a reason to ride through fall on the Ducati they’ve always wanted.

Running September 1st through November 30th, Ducati celebrates its two most iconic model families with its best offer of the year: Your choice of 3.99% APR Financing or up to $1500 in store credit at your local Ducati dealership with the purchase of any 2009 or 2010 Ducati Monster or Superbike.

The most iconic motorcycles in the Ducati lineup- the Monster and Superbike- share the same Italian racing heritage, L-twin engines, Desmodromic valves, trellis frames and unmistakable sound. However, their styles and personalities are uniquely their own.

The purpose-built Superbikes have a history of winning races that can only be described as legendary. The Ducati Monster defined the Naked Sportbike segment upon its introduction in 1993 and has come to be known as an Urban Icon. Both are performance focused machines with iconic styling and the soul of a Ducati.

With the purchase of any new 2009 or 2010* Ducati Monster or Superbike from an authorized US dealership, a proud new owner can choose between aggressive finance rates with payments at low as $150 per month; or up to $1,500 worth of in store credit. The in store credit can be used for anything from an extended warranty to a set of new riding gear, and everything in between.

For more information about this exceptional offer, and to pick out the Ducati of your dreams please visit www.ducatiusa.com.

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Between the Races: Bill Savino

Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 4:51:08 PM | Jesse Cecil

One of the busiest teams at this past weekend’s Red Bull Indy GP was the American Honda Moriwaki wildcard effort that fielded Roger Lee Hayden in his Moto2 debut. The project was supported by droves of fans sporting fresh team gear (the proceeds from which benefited Ride for Kids and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation) and what looked like the bulk of American Honda’s racing division, all showing their team spirit. We pulled American Honda PR manager Bill Savino aside prior to the race for a few quick questions under the red glow of the Honda Powersports tent. To read the RRX Race Report on the Indy Moto2 contest, click here.

Roger Hayden (34) battles with fellow American Kenny Noyes in the Moto2 race at Indy. • Andrew Northcott photo

RRX: Why did American Honda decide to take on this project? What benefits are there to a one-shot ride?
Bill Savino: Well, there are multiple things, I think, that we hope to gain from it. One is that we had this opportunity to get into this class that we feel is a superior class to anything here, and Moto2 is such a huge world stage. Obviously [American Honda] isn’t road racing right now, so this is a perfect opportunity for us to get into something. We got granted the wildcard, Roger [Hayden] fell into place, Kevin [Erion] fell into place, Kevin Schwantz fell into place, and it all kind of locked up and went together. We just want to come out and do the best we can racing, but also—and not to underplay the racing—how important this was to put Ride for Kids and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation into this, and to raise money for something that is so important. So we were able to sort of do two things with this whole opportunity to have this wildcard team.

Can you talk about the budget? It’s got to be pretty sizable….
It is; I mean it’s definitely not a small amount of money, but I don’t think we’re at liberty to talk about how much we spent. I can tell you this: Kevin Erion and Kevin Schwantz and Roger are doing it not just for money, but they are doing it because they want to do it. It’s not about how much money can I spend to go racing, to get you to do this, it’s about everyone wanting to do it. It’s what makes this team jell so well.

American Honda went top-shelf when staffing its Moto2 project, not only with Hayden, but also with the Erion crew and crew chief Kevin Schwantz. • Andrew Northcott photo

The project has gotten a lot of attention, and from the number of fans wearing team shirts this weekend, it seems to have captured the enthusiasm of many U.S. road race fans. Did you expect that?
I think you’ve kind of hit the nail on the head. We didn’t think it would get this much media attention, and everywhere you look they’re talking about Moto2, Roger Lee Hayden, American Honda, and Moriwaki, and all the parties that are in this, like Kevin Schwantz. I think it just shows how much of a need there is for better racing in America, and hopefully this will drive that! We’d like to see some changes, and hopefully this will drive that and we will possibly get American Honda get back into road racing in the future. That’s really what it’s all about.

So you’re leaving the possibility open for a return to AMA Pro Road Racing in the future?
I don’t think I can comment today if we are or we aren’t. I don’t think that the decision has been made yet, but obviously racing is in our DNA. Honda races, and we have a fabulous Honda Red Bull Racing Team with the supercross and motocross, and we kind of have this naked spot now with road racing. We don’t feel that there is a place to do what we want to do right now in American road racing, but as things evolve and change, I’ll never say we won’t be back in. But when it will happen? I can’t say for sure.

Does American Honda's Moto2 wildcard project suggest a return to American road racing. Bill Savino couldn't say. • Andrew Northcott photo

So just how long has this project been in the works?
Well, I think that from the time we said we were doing it, which was in May, to being here, you’re only talking a couple of months. I think we made the final decision that we were doing it in May, when that first press release went out. From that time to when the bike came in July 4, it was a pretty short window. It hasn’t been one of those things where we said, “Yeah, We’re gonna do it, we’re gonna do it!” because we had to be offered the wildcard spot, so we had to wait for someone to come to us and say that they wanted us to do it.

Have you had any difficulties during the project?
You know, believe it or not, we talk about it a lot. When you do something in such a short time you can run into a lot of problems, but from the first test at Chuckwalla to the second test at Barber to this last test, everything has gone so flawlessly, almost scary flawless. The tests were good, we didn’t have any issues, things started to work well and we started to get some good feedback.

After qualifying 29th in the hard-fought Moto2 class, Roger Hayden and American Honda raced to a 17th-place finish on Sunday.

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TEAM-SPEAK: AMA Pro New Jersey, Preview

Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 2:39:46 PM | admin

New releases will be added at top as they arrive.

AMA Pro Road Racing (SuperBike)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (September 1, 2010) – After 15 rounds of racing, from Daytona Beach to the last race in Virginia, only 11 points separate AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike points leader Josh Hayes and his Team Graves Yamaha team from his challenger Tommy Hayden aboard his Rockstar Makita Suzuki. At every turn, when one of these world class riders would look to have the upper hand, the other would just as quickly strike back and even things out. That was the case at the most recent race in Virginia when in race one of the traditional doubleheader weekend, Tommy Hayden took a well judged victory. But, the very next day Josh Hayes reasserted himself with a dominant win of his own to counter Hayden once again. Heading into this weekend’s AMA Pro Racing SuperBike Weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park it will be must-see racing as these two continue the fight for the overall AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike title.

The 2.5 mile, 14 turn Thunderbolt course will be the scene for the continuing battle between these two racers and their very capable teams. After Tommy Hayden took his career first AMA Pro SuperBike win at Auto Club Speedway back in March, he has added three more wins to his total. And once Josh Hayes started putting wins up on the board, he and Tommy have virtually traded victories, keeping the other in check as they both compiled valuable points towards the championship. It began at Road America when Hayes won on Saturday and Hayden won on Sunday. The pattern repeated itself again at the next race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and again at the latest race at VIR with Hayden winning first and then Hayes fighting back on Sunday.

Last year at NJMP, Josh Hayes took both race wins but in race one, it was Tommy Hayden who finished second so we can certainly expect these two to be right at the front this coming weekend. One factor that may come into play this year is a couple of other riders that have wins this year and may influence the outcome of the championship. Ben Bostrom won recently at Laguna Seca and featured prominently during the VIR races. His Pat Clark Motorsports team with valuable support from Palms Casino and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway have continued to develop their Yamaha motorcycles into regular front runners, joining Hayes’ Yamaha in setting the pace. Hayden might have his Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate, Blake Young back to support his efforts this coming weekend. Blake has been sidelined since a testing accident back in June. The plan is for Blake to test at NJMP and if he is declared fit enough to compete, he will rejoin the team and add one more element to the championship battle. Blake won his career first AMA SuperBike races earlier this year.

Jake Zemke and his National Guard Jordan Suzuki can also impact the proceedings at NJMP. Jake won the opening races of the season and remains in third place overall in the points. He will have to raise his game if he wants to stay in third with Ben Bostrom coming on so strongly. Another rider who posted a win this year is the popular Larry Pegram and his Foremost Insurance Ducati. Larry won at Auto Club Speedway and has posted four second place finishes as well.

But the real action will be at the front. Years ago, Josh Hayes and Tommy Hayden battled for the AMA Pro SuperStock championship and history is repeating itself once again as these two champions go head to head for the AMA Pro SuperBike title. The quality of the competition has never been better and the character and respect between the key participants is also outstanding which will most certainly provide some of the best racing seen in many a year in AMA Pro Road Racing.

The action starts on Friday, September 3rd with practice and first round qualifying. Saturday, September 4th will have final qualifying in SuperBike and then race one of two of the AMA Pro Racing SuperBike Championship Weekend doubleheader weekend. Race two will be on Sunday, September 5th. Don’t miss the Pit Lane Fan Walk and Autograph session on both Saturday and Sunday, featuring all riders and teams. SPEED TV will be broadcasting the SuperBike race one on Saturday night, September 4th at 11:00 PM EDT and the second AMA Pro SuperBike race on Sunday, September 5th at 10:00 PM EDT. Please visit www.njmp.com for further information.

Please visit www.amaproracing.com for the series information. The full AMA Pro Road Racing SPEED schedule can be found at http://www.speedtv.com/schedule/filter/program/948061.
AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.

AMA Pro Road Racing (Vance & Hines XR1200)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (September 1, 2010) – -With two races remaining in the inaugural season for the new AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series, the question is whether points leader and winner of three out of three races, Danny Eslick, can go on to complete the perfect season. Along with winning every race, Danny has also qualified on the pole position at each race.

Eslick, the reigning AMA Pro Daytona SportBike champion and current points leader in that class again this year is on quite a roll. Riding for the RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing Team with important support from GEICO Powersports and Lucas Oil, Danny has won twice in Daytona SportBike in addition to his perfect record in the XR1200 series. The two disciplines couldn’t be more different from the outside but to Danny, riding a motorcycle fast is just something he does, and he does it well, no matter what type of motorcycle he is riding. In the Vance & Hines XR1200 series, Danny is riding the legendary Harley-Davidson XR1200 with a series of special modifications that is provided in kit form from famed motorcycle accessories company Vance & Hines.

“I love riding the XR1200,” said Eslick. “It is just plain fun. It is fast and slides around and gives great feedback, I’m having a ball and I like winning too.”

A number of other riders have taken their best shots at Eslick and his teammate Jake Holden, riding another RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing GEICO Powersports Lucas Oil XR1200 has given Danny the most trouble on his way to one second place and two third place finishes. Jake and Danny put on an amazing demonstration of power and control at the very first race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, racing side by side around the four mile road course in the home state of Harley-Davidson.

Two young riders have taken commendable podium finishes this year. Eric Stump, riding the Absolutecycle.com Rapidemanage.com XR1200 finished third at Road America. Eric also races in the AMA Pro SuperSport class and is one the sports up and coming riders. Eric will be racing in both classes again this weekend at the Thunderbolt track at the New Jersey Motorsports Park. Joining Eric doing double duty is Travis Wyman. Travis also competes in SuperSport and in the Vance & Hines XR1200 class aboard the Harv’s Harley-Davidson AB-1 Motorsports XR1200. Travis took his first podium result at the last XR1200 race at the Virginia International Raceway with a second place ahead of Holden.

Kyle Wyman will also be racing in the XR1200 class at NJMP. Kyle is the oldest of the three Wyman brothers and he is a regular competitor in the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike class. Kyle will be riding another RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing XR1200. Another rider racing in a couple of classes at NJMP will be Michael Corbino. Michael races in the SuperSport class and he will make his XR1200 series debut this weekend on the RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing XR1200.

Journalist Steve Atlas will be making his Vance & Hines XR1200 series debut also this weekend at the 2.25 mile NJMP Thunderbolt circuit. Steve will be aboard the HOG Racing/HOG Magazine Harley-Davidson XR1200 which, earlier this year, was rode to a second place finish at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course by Shawn Higbee.

Paul James has raced in each of the three XR1200 races so far this year and will be back again for the New Jersey round riding his James Gang-Hoban Brothers Racing XR1200 with support from Harley-Davidson of Appleton, Wisconsin. Paul currently sits seventh in points. Just ahead of Paul in the points is Joseph Rozynski who is riding another RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing XR1200 following his season best fourth place finish at VIR. Rounding out the ten bike entry is Mathew Heidel who is making his second consecutive start on his Shar Tuff Uniforms XR1200. Mathew took a fine sixth place finish in his last race.

Harley-Davidson owners can support their brethren as they ride the great looking and sounding XR1200s around the 14 turn Thunderbolt track at the palatial New Jersey Motorsports Park track. There will be plenty of AMA Pro Racing action as all of the major road racing classes compete this weekend. Join the many fans coming out to enjoy the Labor Day weekend. Meet and greet the AMA Pro riders on both Saturday and Sunday during the Pit Lane Fan Walk and Autograph sessions and also take a few laps of the track during the NJMP Fan Laps that his year, will benefit the Rett Syndrome Research Trust with $5.00 of the $20.00 Fan Lap Ticket price going to the Rett Syndrome Research Trust. Please visit www.njmp.com for further information.

AMA Pro Road Racing (Supersport)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 31, 2010) – - This year’s AMA Pro SuperSport competition has seen two divisional champions crowned and a number of other exciting things happen. Joey Pascarella took the West Division title on the strength of his three early season victories and J.D. Beach ran off seven wins in an eight race span to lock in the East Division crown. And along the way, Elena Myers made history with her well-earned victory earlier this year and also there were first-time AMA Pro wins for Huntley Nash and Cameron Beaubier in this exciting class for 16 to 21 year old Young Gun riders.

But, heading into the September 3-5 AMA Pro Racing SuperBike Weekend at the 2.25-mile New Jersey Motorsports Park, there is more to the story. Right behind the aforementioned riders is another group of key participants that have greatly contributed to the excitement that is the SuperSport class. Among these riders are Miles Thornton who currently sits fifth in the East Division standings on his Arai Held USA Yamaha. After missing the Daytona season opener, Miles has accumulated two fourth, two fifth and two tenth place finishes along with an eighth and seventeenth on his way to 107 points.

Another strong competitor who is pulling double duty as he rides in the SuperSport class and also the new Vance & Hines XR1200 class is Eric Stump. Eric has a couple of sixth place finishes as his highest result in SuperSport aboard his Markbilt Race Bikes Yamaha and he has also posted three other top ten results. With support from Larry Pegram, Eric is getting great advice and is one to watch. Eric also took a third place finish in the XR1200 class at Road America. Ryan Kerr is another rider with great potential. Riding his MJ USA 614 Paintcraft Kawasaki, Ryan has finished every race this year with a high finish of ninth at Road America.

Travis Wyman is one of the three Wyman brothers who are racing in various classes of AMA Pro Racing. Travis rides a Harv’s Harley-Davidson AB-1 Motorsports Yamaha and is coming off his second fourth place finish of the season at VIR, matching his fourth place from earlier in the year at Road Atlanta. Travis’ younger brother, Cody is riding a Harv’s Harley-Davidson RevisionMusic.com Suzuki and has only competed in four races this year. Their oldest brother Kyle is racing in the Daytona SportBike class. This group of young but experienced riders is what’s great about motorcycle racing as their hard working parents keep the boys and machines all pointed in the right direction week in and week out. The obvious talent of each Wyman brother will be on display or a long time in AMA Pro motorcycle racing

James Rispoli is another rider that participates in many different types of AMA Pro Racing disciplines. James runs his share of Flat Track races and like the Wymans, he also races in the SuperSport series to further his considerable skills.

James, out of Attica, NY didn’t start the season until round two at Road Atlanta and after posting a seventh place finish; he took a solid third place result at Road America on his ANT-Racing.com Suzuki. James has added two fifth place finishes and a seventh before he encountered a run of bad luck in recent races. But James and another rider, Daniel Guevera on his Roadracingworld.com Suzuki are part of the next group of riders to star in SuperSport.

These riders have been just out of the headlines this year and it’s not hard to see why. The lead group of riders, J.D. Beach and Cameron Beaubier from Rockwall Engineering Yamaha, the LTD Racing Yamaha team which featured Joey Pascarella (before he moved over to the DNA Energy Drink CNR Motorsports Yamaha team) along with LTD Racing’s two time winner this year, Huntley Nash and his extremely quick teammate Tomas Puerta as well as Elena Myers, who, riding her Lucas Oil Roadracingworld.com Suzuki, made history with her dramatic and convincing victory at Infineon Raceway earlier this year created enough headlines to fill a large barrel of Sunoco 260 GTX racing fuel.

All in all, there will be plenty of action on and off the track this weekend, make sure you stop by and say hi to this great group of young riders that will be racing in this sport for many years to come. Every one of them has tremendous talent and a great story to tell…

Don’t miss the SuperSport action this weekend, AMA Pro Racing have a full lineup of races including the National Guard SuperBIke, Daytona SportBike and the Vance & Hines XR1200 series. New Jersey Motorsports Park’s Thunderbolt circuit will be the center of all the action. Both Saturday, September 4th and Sunday, September 5th will feature Pit Lane Fan Walks and Autograph sessions featuring all the riders and motorcycles from each class. And also, the popular Fan Laps will be benefitting Rett Syndrome Research Foundation Trust. $5.00 out of the $20.00 Fan Lap cost will be donated to this worthy cause spearheaded by Carrie Aquino, mother of AMA Pro racer Tommy Aquino. Check the NJMP website for further information or purchase the Fan Laps at the track at the Program Booth by the Media Center in the Paddock. Please visit www.njmp.com for further information.

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Two Riders Killed at Manx Grand Prix

Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 12:02:41 PM | admin

The Manx Motorcycle Club, organisers of the Manx Grand Prix, regret to announce the death of a second rider at today’s Manx Grand Prix. Both riders were involved in a racing accident at Alpine Cottage on the second lap of the Junior race shortly before 11am. The race was later abandoned.

Chris Bradshaw, 39, a Traffic Police Officer from Tamworth in Birmingham was taken to Nobles Hospital by airmed but was declared dead at the Hospital. Chris first competed on the Isle of Man in 2004 and finished 37th in last year’s Senior MGP race.

James Adam, 28, a serving officer in the Royal Navy, from Prestwick in Scotland who was also involved in the incident was attended to by the air med team but was declared dead at the scene. James first competed on the Isle of Man in 2009, finishing 9th in the Newcomers race and 27th in the Senior MGP.

The next of kin of both families have been informed. The Manx Motorcycle club extends their deepest sympathy to the family and friends of both men.

The incident is now being investigated by the Isle of Man Constabulary who are preparing a report for the Coroner of Inquests.

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SLIDESHOW: The Red Bull Indy GP, by Andrew Northcott

Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 10:30:03 AM | admin

MotoGP start • Photo by Andrew Northcott

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Moto Moments WALLPAPER: Ben Spies at the Red Bull Indy GP

Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 9:00:47 AM | admin

With Ben Spies having scored the best MotoGP finish of his career at the Red Bull Indy GP, there was only one rational option (from our perspective, at least) for this week’s Moto Moments. Because while Spies looked right at home on the second tier of the Indy podium, we happen to think he looks even better at the front of the pack. Photo by Andrew Northcott.

IMPORTANT: Click the thumbnail below (whichever is the appropriate size for your monitor) and use the expanded photo, not the thumbnail, as your wallpaper. Widescreen, full screen, and horizontal/vertical iPhone wallpapers—now higher resolution to accommodate iPhone 4s—available.

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VIDEO: The Peoria TT!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 4:30:05 PM | admin

A look back at the Peoria TT thanks to RRX reader Tyler Porter, who’s also the owner of www.fightfordirttrack.com. Check out Tyler’s site, and enjoy his video below.

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Tuesday Conversation: Ben Spies

Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 3:51:20 PM | admin

Ben Spies came close to having the perfect weekend at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP. The Texan started on Friday with the official news that he’d be taking Valentino Rossi’s seat on the factory Yamaha next year, followed with a pole position on Saturday, and then topped it off with his best-ever MotoGP result on Sunday—a strong runner-up after leading the early part of the race. Afterward, he talked about it in a press conference and a smaller journalist scrum. Following are excerpts:

Ben Spies had a near-perfect weekend at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP. • Andrew Northcott photo

On his performance:
First time to lead a GP race, really—I think I led for about 10 feet at Brno—but here I actually led for a few laps. The pace wasn’t fast enough to lead for half the race or anything like that, but I don’t think I made any too-big mistakes when I was out front. We were consistent; I just wasn’t fast enough, but I was comfortable, so that was key. When Dani came by, it was a combination of his bike being quite good on the straightaway, but he was also riding really well and not making any mistakes, and getting the bike off the corner really well, which was difficult with the grip. A couple of those key factors, we couldn’t follow him too, too close, but I just tried to let him pull me away as much as I could to get away from third and then manage as much as I could. I think once he got out to his gap, he could manage it too. I’m happy with how we rode. It wasn’t fast enough, but we think we were quite fast with not too many mistakes, and that was important with the way the track was today.

Spies says that Tom Houseworth (right) will be coming with him "at some level" to the factory team, though it's not yet known if he'll be crew chief. • Andrew Northcott photo

On whether his training helped with the conditions:
A lot of people put a whole lot into that, when honestly—yeah, I train a lot; I train way more than I probably need to to be a motorcycle racer. Obviously it didn’t make me win the race today. I felt good with it, and yeah, I was tired at the end of the race, but it’s more, you can only ride these bikes so hard. You have a setup, and you’re riding basically 90 percent, 95 percent of the setup; if you put more into it, you’re going to crash. I don’t think just because I can go ride a [bicycle] for five hours, that really does a whole lot. These races are only 45 minutes, so they’re kind of sprints. It’s not so much that it was so hot; it’s just the conditions, with the bumps and the greasiness, the heat—everything kind of goes into it. I think this track kind of benefits a little bit, just being a bigger guy, throwing the bike around, but then it’s not the fastest thing down the straightaway, either…. The whole fitness thing, yeah, I like to work out and do a lot of stuff, but it’s not like I’m Superman, either.

For the first time in his career, Spies led several laps of a Grand Prix race. • Andrew Northcott photo

On the heat:
It’s hot, but it’s different because it’s a different heat. Back where I’m from, this is like a cold front, basically. But yeah, it was hot. I sweated a lot, but I think just a culmination of different pavements, the bumps, the bike sliding—it’s just hard. You’re fighting a lot of wheelies through a lot of corners. [Sunday] was the hardest day, for sure. It was the hottest one, and the bikes were sliding the most, but it was fun too.

On leading early:
We had to be [aggressive]. We knew the tire choice we made [soft, compared to Pedrosa’s hard], which we knew most the people were on softs anyway, but we had to be aggressive. I was happy; it was my first time to lead a GP race. We didn’t have the fastest laps in the world, but I was out front, and we weren’t making big mistakes. Everybody was behind us, so I think we did a good job. It wasn’t perfect, but we’ve got to take small steps.

Spies now has two podium finishes in MotoGP--a third-place and a runner-up. Only one step left to climb.... • Andrew Northcott photo

On closing the gap to the “aliens”:
It’s a tough one, because a lot of these bikes are a lot of confidence. When they’re working good—look at Valentino at Brno. He won the race and basically made Lorenzo crash last year, because he was riding so good. When you’ve got these bikes working and you’ve got a heedful of confidence, you can be super-fast on them. When you don’t have confidence on them, you can be not at the front and make a mistake pretty easily. You’ve got to have talent, but you’ve got to have the bikes working good and have good engineers behind you they can set the bikes up. I think I can see now that it’s attainable, but we’re not there yet, for sure. It’s not impossible.

On whether Pedrosa won because his bike was faster:
It’s a combination—you can’t just say the bike’s best. Definitely, I thought he had a 1000 in there when he passed me, but it’s another thing when he’s got the bike working good. You can’t take anything away from Dani—he rides what he’s given. He rode great, the bike’s fast, and also when you have a fast bike like that, you can ride the corners a lot different—you don’t have to stay on the side of the tire. You can basically carry 5k less roll-speed, stop the bike, stand it up, and fire on out. It’s a combination: he had the bike working good, his bike was super-fast, and he was able to ride it like he needed to ride it with these conditions to save the tire. It wasn’t just because he was on the fastest bike; he made use of it too, and it showed.

On his crew for 2011:
Tom [Houseworth] is going to be going with me, and working at some level. We don’t know 100 percent what yet, but the rest of the crew, that’s to be decided probably in the next couple of weeks.

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SLIDESHOW: Red Bull Indy GP, EW-Style

Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 3:24:15 PM | admin

Red Bull Indy GP • Photos by Evan Williams

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Racer X Illustrated Gets Interactive—Special Issue on Stands Now!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 3:04:11 PM | admin

Racer X Illustrated’s “Interactive Issue” Hits Newsstands

Morgantown, W.Va. (August 31, 2010) – Filter Publications is pleased to announce that the first Interactive Issue of its industry-leading motocross publication Racer X Illustrated hits newsstands today.

The October 2010 issue of Racer X features more than thirty 2D barcodes, each of which can be scanned by camera-equipped smartphones to access exclusive content. The i-nigma app, which is free and works on hundreds of different handheld devices, can be installed by navigating the device to www.i-nigma.com/mobi.

Many of the issue’s editorial features, as well as the cover, include bar codes that link readers to video, audio, photo outtakes, an interactive motocross quiz, and more.
Advertisers also took advantage of the issue’s interactivity by including bar codes that bring up content directly related to their print ads, as well as links to their Facebook and Twitter profiles.

This groundbreaking issue, which features San Manuel Yamaha superstar James Stewart on the cover, can be found on newsstands worldwide for the normal cover price of $4.99. It’s also available to new digital subscribers at www.racerxonline.com.
About Filter Publications Inc.
Filter Publications, Inc. is a leading motorcycle-related publishing company that publishes twenty-nine books per year, as well as various websites, including the industry-leading RacerXOnline.com. The company is based out of Morgantown, West Virginia, and has been publishing in the motorcycle industry for more than twenty years.

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NASCAR.COM - Sprint Cup Series Headlines

Notes: Smith expands on 'North Cuba' comments

September 06, 2010,

Speedway Motorsports Inc. chairman Bruton Smith didn't exactly defend his comments about Homestead-Miami Speedway, but he did put a unique spin on the remarks Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Stewart pulls away for first victory of season

September 06, 2010,

In a statement race for each of the top three finishers, Tony Stewart made perhaps the loudest noise with a convincing win in Sunday night's Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Biffle, Bowyer close in on final two Chase spots

September 06, 2010, 8 hours ago

It wasn't the prettiest seventh-place finish in NASCAR history but Clint Bowyer was more than happy to accept it and move on to Richmond.

Hamlin looks for momentum after Atlanta pole

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 11:25:33 PM

Late qualifier Denny Hamlin was the only driver between Ryan Newman and a record eighth pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Notes: Hendrick confident about '11 sponsorships

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 9:35:59 PM

Quaker State Motor Oil, which has been under the hood of Hendrick Motorsports cars since 1996, will be on top of a hood for four races next year.

Earnhardt, McGrew staying together, for now

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 7:27:55 PM

Rick Hendrick has made a crew chief change before when one of his drivers has failed to qualify for NASCAR's season-ending Chase. But right now, the car owner said Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Lance McGrew will remain together on the No. 88 team.

Happy Hour: Menard looking to continue strong runs at Atlanta

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 5:22:42 PM

Atlanta Motor Speedway has always had a reputation for being tough on tires, and that should hold true again in Sunday night's Emory Healthcare 500. But factor in a different tire composition for this weekend -- and practice and qualifying during the day -- and teams find themselves having to make their best guesses at the correct setup.

Preview: Bowyer out to increase lead, not just hold on to it

Friday, September 03, 2010, 2:17:08 PM

Before getting a job offer over the phone from Richard Childress as he worked at his job in a body shop in his hometown of Emporia, Kan., Clint Bowyer was a champion at one of the Midwest's top dirt short tracks.

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Yahoo! Sports - NASCAR News

Amid the chaos, Johnson remains a constant (NASCAR.com)

Today, September 06, 2010, 8 hours ago

Amid the chaos, Johnson remains a constant

Lap-by-Lap: Atlanta (NASCAR.com)

Today, September 06, 2010, 9 hours ago

Lap-by-Lap: Atlanta

Another disappointing race for Denny Hamlin (AP)

Today, September 06, 2010, 9 hours ago

Denny Hamlin wanted to get an early start on the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Hamlin wins pole for Atlanta NASCAR (AP)

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 8:15:35 PM

Denny Hamlin showed signs of turning around his midseason slump by claiming pole position Saturday for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

Hamlin wins pole for Atlanta Cup race (PA SportsTicker)

Saturday, September 04, 2010, 7:30:44 PM

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Writer

NASCAR Trucks Series to hold 2 races in Kentucky (AP)

Friday, September 03, 2010, 8:15:00 PM

The NASCAR Trucks Series will make two visits to Kentucky Speedway in 2011.

Carpenter on the pole, Power 2nd at Kentucky (PA SportsTicker)

Friday, September 03, 2010, 5:09:39 PM

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer

Preview: Bowyer out to increase lead, not just hold on to it (NASCAR.com)

Friday, September 03, 2010, 2:17:08 PM

Preview: Bowyer out to increase lead, not just hold on to it

Splash 'N' Go: List of drivers has plenty of heartthrob potential (NASCAR.com)

Friday, September 03, 2010, 1:45:39 PM

Splash 'N' Go: List of drivers has plenty of heartthrob potential

Weekend Preview: Gordon a danger to snap winless streak at Atlanta (NASCAR.com)

Thursday, September 02, 2010, 5:03:53 PM

Weekend Preview: Gordon a danger to snap winless streak at Atlanta

Track Smack: With Chase looming, can Bowyer be caught? (NASCAR.com)

Thursday, September 02, 2010, 2:52:34 PM

Track Smack: With Chase looming, can Bowyer be caught?

Numbers: Drivers poised to battle on the bubble at Atlanta (NASCAR.com)

Thursday, September 02, 2010, 12:32:25 PM

Numbers: Drivers poised to battle on the bubble at Atlanta

Road Warrior's Ramblings: Johnson's struggles for real, or just subterfuge? (NASCAR.com)

Thursday, September 02, 2010, 12:29:16 PM

Road Warrior's Ramblings: Johnson's struggles for real, or just subterfuge?

By the Numbers: If history holds, looks for Bodine in Victory Lane (NASCAR.com)

Thursday, September 02, 2010, 10:52:30 AM

By the Numbers: If history holds, looks for Bodine in Victory Lane

By the Numbers: On hot streak, Busch hopes to break through at AMS (NASCAR.com)

Thursday, September 02, 2010, 10:50:59 AM

By the Numbers: On hot streak, Busch hopes to break through at AMS

Emory Healthcare 500 (Yahoo! Sports)

Thursday, September 02, 2010, 10:02:00 AM

Kurt Busch has won two of the last three races at Atlanta, but Carl Edwards has momentum on his side.

Newman on outside of Chase spot (AP)

Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 6:12:03 PM

Ryan Newman is about out of time to make the Chase field.

Malaysian teenager youngest driver to test F1 car (PA SportsTicker)

Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 2:44:56 PM

A 16-year-old Malaysian has become the youngest person to drive a Formula One car in an official test session.

Webber stakes claim as Red Bull No. 1 over Vettel (PA SportsTicker)

Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 1:38:38 PM

By PAUL LOGOTHETIS AP Auto Racing Writer

Fantasy Preview: At Atlanta, trust the numbers to set a lineup (NASCAR.com)

Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 1:05:19 PM

Fantasy Preview: At Atlanta, trust the numbers to set a lineup

Chase Watch: History on Bowyer's side (Yahoo! Sports)

Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 10:14:00 AM

No driver has ever made the Chase after trailing by more than 90 points with two races to go.

Race promoters reveal 1st details of Austin track (PA SportsTicker)

Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 2:07:22 AM

By JIM VERTUNO AP Sports Writer

Rahal to drive for Fisher at Kentucky (PA SportsTicker)

Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 12:08:38 AM

Graham Rahal is re-teaming with Sarah Fisher Racing for this weekend's IndyCar Series race at Kentucky.

NASCAR on BET? Drive for Diversity goes reality TV (AP)

Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 6:51:21 PM

Jessica Brunelli is a fan of "Jersey Shore" and "The Real World," so the 17-year-old race car driver knows just how addictive reality TV can be. Addictive enough to draw in viewers who don't know Jeff Gordon from Jeff Burton? That's the gamble behind "Changing Lanes," a new show that airs not on a sports network but BET.

Gant to make appearance at Darlington festival (NASCAR.com)

Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 2:00:35 PM

Gant to make appearance at Darlington festival

1on1: SMI's Smith talks up business of selling tickets (NASCAR.com)

Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 1:35:49 PM

1on1: SMI's Smith talks up business of selling tickets

Tracy to drive for Dreyer & Reinbold (PA SportsTicker)

Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 12:59:19 PM

IndyCar veteran Paul Tracy has signed a two-race deal to drive for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. He will drive the No. 24 car at Kentucky on Saturday and in the race in Motegi on Sept. 18.

Grand Prix proposal rejected in Okla City (AP)

Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 12:09:26 PM

The Oklahoma City Council has rejected a plan that would have committed $7 million in city money to land a Grand Prix race. The council voted 6-2 against the proposal Tuesday. Opponents said they did not feel comfortable committing the money in the current economic climate. The proposal by Oklahoma City Grand Prix LLC called for an American Le Mans Series race during the Fourth of July weekend next...

Topics of the week: Kyle, Brad and … IndyCar? (Yahoo! Sports)

Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 11:59:00 AM

Readers put the focus on parity, the handcuffs on Brad Keselowski and comparing NASCAR to IndyCar.

Head2Head: These Chase drivers shouldn't be overlooked (NASCAR.com)

Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 10:37:19 AM

Head2Head: These Chase drivers shouldn't be overlooked

One Menz Opinion: Petty shrugs off idea of Busch-Keselowski feud (NASCAR.com)

Monday, August 30, 2010, 2:29:39 PM

One Menz Opinion: Petty shrugs off idea of Busch-Keselowski feud

NASCAR driver Kyle Petty honored at LLWS (PA SportsTicker)

Sunday, August 29, 2010, 4:00:36 PM

By GENARO C. ARMAS AP Sports Writer

Hamilton wins Belgian GP to take F1 lead (PA SportsTicker)

Sunday, August 29, 2010, 12:01:59 PM

By PAUL LOGOTHETIS AP Auto Racing Writer

Ambrose wins Nationwide pole (PA SportsTicker)

Saturday, August 28, 2010, 8:01:49 PM

By JOHN KEKIS AP Sports Writer

Ambrose wins Nationwide pole (AP)

Saturday, August 28, 2010, 7:12:41 PM

Marcos Ambrose has won the pole for the Nationwide race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Robby Gordon back in Montreal to make amends (PA SportsTicker)

Saturday, August 28, 2010, 3:25:29 PM

By JOHN KEKIS AP Sports Writer

Mercedes drivers Schumacher, Rosberg get penalties (PA SportsTicker)

Saturday, August 28, 2010, 12:39:59 PM

By PAUL LOGOTHETIS AP Auto Racing Writer

Inside Line: In NASCAR, always a place for the longer race (NASCAR.com)

Saturday, August 28, 2010, 10:36:33 AM

Inside Line: In NASCAR, always a place for the longer race

Busch holds off Bodine, wins Chicagoland trucks (AP)

Saturday, August 28, 2010, 12:11:26 AM

Considering just how well his previous weekend went, the last thing Kyle Busch wanted was a week away from racing.

Sheltra wins ARCA race at Chicagoland (PA SportsTicker)

Friday, August 27, 2010, 9:55:17 PM

Patrick Sheltra has won the ARCA race at Chicagoland Speedway, his second straight victory in the stock car racing series.

Power holds points lead, but Dario strong on ovals (PA SportsTicker)

Friday, August 27, 2010, 6:30:32 PM

By CHRIS JENKINS AP Sports Writer

Four Wide: Ambrose aims for Montreal … again (Yahoo! Sports)

Friday, August 27, 2010, 5:44:00 PM

After three near-misses, Marcos Ambrose looks for redemption at Montreal's Nationwide stop..

Splash 'n' Go: 'Papa's Car' gives Ella chance to create for father (NASCAR.com)

Friday, August 27, 2010, 11:35:48 AM

Splash 'n' Go: 'Papa's Car' gives Ella chance to create for father

Regan Smith gets new 2-year deal (AP)

Friday, August 27, 2010, 10:59:19 AM

Regan Smith has signed a contract extension with Furniture Row Racing through the 2012 season to drive the team's No. 78 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Crawford ready to make return behind wheel (NASCAR.com)

Friday, August 27, 2010, 9:14:51 AM

Crawford ready to make return behind wheel

Nationwide Preview: Ambrose intent on shaking bad Montreal luck (NASCAR.com)

Friday, August 27, 2010, 8:53:46 AM

Nationwide Preview: Ambrose intent on shaking bad Montreal luck

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Lanigan Ends Years Of Frustration At Tri-City Speedway With Convincing Victory In ‘Oil Region Labor Day Classic’

FRANKLIN, PA - Sept. 5, 2010 - Tri-City Speedway is no longer a thorn in Darrell Lanigan’s side.

The red-hot driver from Union, Ky., finally ended years of World of Outlaws Late Model Series frustration at the half-mile oval, driving to a convincing victory in Sunday night’s 50-lap Oil Region Labor Day Classic A-Main.

Lanigan, 40, roared off the outside pole to assume command at the initial green flag and never looked back in his GottaRace.com Rocket car. He controlled the entire distance, keeping Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., at bay en route to his seventh win of the season on the national tour and his long-awaited first-ever at Tri-City.

Smith, 45, settled for second place, steering his Rocket mount under the checkered flag 1.547 seconds behind Lanigan. Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., finished third in his Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket to maintain his WoO LMS points lead by a scant two points over Lanigan, Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., placed fourth in the RSD Enterprises Rocket and polesitter Jeremy Miller of Gettysburg, Pa., was fifth in his own MasterSbilt car.

“We’ve been good here and we’ve been close (to winning), but we’ve just had a lot of bad luck,” said Lanigan, whose bouts with misfortune at Tri-City include a last-lap tangle with a lapped car while leading in 2006 and a time-trial problem that prompted him to angrily pull out of the 2007 Classic finale without racing. “Tonight we had an awesome car and got ‘er done.”

Lanigan allowed himself no flashbacks to his especially heartbreaking loss in 2006 – even as he dealt with slower cars with the white flag flying.

“I was kinda concentrating out there,” said Lanigan, who earned $10,600 for his 19th career triumph on the WoO LMS. “I thought I felt Clint closer than he was, so I was just worrying about making my best lap at the end. I didn’t have any time to think about what happened in the past here.”

Smith never did, in fact, draw close enough to seriously challenge Lanigan. He stayed within sight of the leader and even cut the gap late in the race, but the veteran needed a bit more speed from his machine to end his long absence from Victory Lane.

“I made just one slight chassis adjustment wrong and it made me too tight across the middle (of the corners),” said Smith, whose winless streak on the WoO LMS reached 110 races since his last score, on June 17, 2008, at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway. “That’s where I was getting beat.

“At the end the track slicked up enough where I could charge in the corners and I came back to (Lanigan), but then those lapped cars came into play. I couldn’t get by them fast enough to make a run at him.”

The $5,500 outing didn’t disappoint Smith, however. It was his second runner-up finish in the last four WoO LMS events, pointing to an upswing in his program.

“We’re tickled to death with the way we’re running,” said Smith, who has three bridesmaid finishes this season. “We’re going in the right direction. We just have to keep at it.”

The 22-year-old Richards, meanwhile, escaped an early tangle and pulled off a dramatic final-lap pass to keep himself atop the WoO LMS points standings. He entered the weekend with an eight-point advantage over Lanigan after winning his first-ever 100-lap A-Main on Sept. 1 at Mohawk International Raceway in Akwesasne, N.Y.

Richards, who started eighth, nearly was swept up in a chain-reaction pileup on lap two that occurred after Ron Davies of Warren, Pa., and Robbie Blair of Titusville, Pa., tangled and spun between turns three and four while battling for fourth place. The defending WoO LMS champion managed to slither away from the accident scene and restarted in fourth place.

It appeared that Richards was headed toward a fourth-place finish that would have left him tied for the points lead with Lanigan, but he slid around the outside of Clanton rounding turns three and four on the last lap to steal the show position.

“There was a lapped car there and Clanton was on the bottom behind it (on the last circuit),” said Richards, who is once again tied for the 2010 WoO LMS win lead with Lanigan. “I decided to just banzai it in there on the outside and see if it would stick. It did, and I was able to roll around Clanton and beat him back to the flagstand.

“I’m just happy to get all I could get. Maybe I should have gone up there and tried that outside earlier.”

The lap-two incident that dive-bombed the efforts of Davies and Blair – both pitted after the accident and later dropped out – also brought an early end to the nights of Watertown, N.Y., drivers Tim Fuller and Tim McCreadie. Fuller, who slammed the right side of his car into the tractor tire in front of the turn-three wall, retired on lap nine while McCreadie, who couldn’t avoid Davies and Blair, was lapped on the 19th circuit and pulled out on lap 24 after blowing a right-front tire due to the mangled front bumper on his car.

McCreadie’s 22nd-place finish dealt a crushing blow to his WoO LMS championship hopes. He remained third in the points standings but fell 86 points behind Richards with just four events left on the 2010 schedule.

Nick Dickson of Lewistown, Pa., finished sixth, earning the $500 ‘Bonus Bucks’ cash for being the highest-finishing driver who hasn’t won a WoO LMS A-Main and wasn’t ranked among the top 12 in the points standings. Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., advanced from the 16th starting spot to place seventh; Rick Eckert of York, Pa., quietly moved up from the 12th starting position to finish eighth; 14th-starter Gregg Satterlee of Rochester Mills, Pa., was ninth; and 17th-starter Jason Covert of York Haven, Pa., rounded out the top 10.

Blair was quickest of 34 cars in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials with a lap of 17.766 seconds. It was the second time he’s registered a WoO LMS fast-time honor during the Oil Region Labor Day Classic but first since 2006.

Heat winners were Blair, Lanigan, Smith and Davies. The B-Mains were captured by Covert and Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del.

The WoO LMS will be idle until traveling to the Midwest for the Pepsi Nationals on Sept. 18 at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Results of WoO Late Model Series ‘Oil Region Labor Day Classic’ (Finishing Position/Start/Driver/Laps Completed/Money Won):

1. (2) Darrell Lanigan/50 $10,600
2. (4) Clint Smith/50 $5,500
3. (8) Josh Richards/50 $3,600
4. (5) Shane Clanton/50 $3,000
5. (1) Jeremy Miller/50 $2,000
6. (11) Nick Dickson/50 $2,200
7. (16) Steve Francis/50 $2,000
8. (12) Rick Eckert/50 $1,800
9. (14) Gregg Satterlee/50 $1,200
10. (17) Jason Covert/50 $1,100
11. (13) Dan Stone/50 $1,050
12. (7) Russell King/50 $1,500
13. (20) Mike Knight/50 $950
14. (18) Austin Hubbard/50 $1,650
15. (24) Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs/49 $850
16. (21) Chub Frank/48 $1,300
17. (22) John Garvin/48 $770
18. (23) Jill George/47 $750
19. (19) Jared Miley/46 $730
20. (6) Robbie Blair/34 $700
21. (15) Brent Rhebergen/30 $700
22. (10) Tim McCreadie/24 $1,300
23. (9) Tim Fuller/9 $1,200
24. (3) Ron Davies/7 $700

* Earnings include Winners Circle program and cash contingency award bonuses

Time of Race: 29 Mins., 26.626 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 1.547 Secs.
Yellow Flags: 3 (Laps 2, 2, 26)
Lap Leaders: Lanigan (1-50)
Provisional Starters: George, Briggs
Rookie of the Race: Hubbard ($250)
WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ Winner: Nick Dickson ($500)

Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position/No./Driver/Hometown/Best Lap):

1. won11-Robbie Blair/Titusville, PA 17.766
2. 29-Darrell Lanigan/Union, KY 17.931
3. 19H-Austin Hubbard/Seaford, DE 18.001
4. 1M-Jeremy Miller/Gettysburg, PA 18.077
5. 21d-Dan Stone/Thompson, PA 18.132
6. 1-Josh Richards/Shinnston, WV 18.152
7. 44-Clint Smith/Senoia, GA 18.223
8. 71d-Ron Davies/Warren, PA 18.224
9. 25-Shane Clanton/Fayetteville, GA 18.256
10. 39-Tim McCreadie/Watertown, NY 18.261
11. 56-Russell King/Bristolville, OH 18.287
12. 24-Rick Eckert/York, PA 18.326
13. 19-Tim Fuller/Watertown, NY 18.379
14. 21L-Matt Lux/Franklin, PA 18.382
15. 56B-Denton Boyer/Punxsutawney, PA 18.398
16. 15-Steve Francis/Ashland, KY 18.476
17. 99B-Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs/Bear Lake, PA 18.484
18. 33-Chris Hackett/Erie, PA 18.525
19. 07R-Brent Rhebergen/Clymer, NY 18.552
20. 9K-Mike Knight/Ripley, NY 18.554
21. 43A-Jason Covert/York Haven, PA 18.580
22. H1-Jared Miley/South Park, PA 18.598
23. 17-Nick Dickson/Lewistown, PA 18.654
24. 29x-Garrett Krummert/New Castle, PA 18.785
25. 1*-Chub Frank/Bear Lake, PA 18.816
26. 22s-Gregg Satterlee/Rochester Mills, PA 18.854
27. 53-John Volpe/Lakewood, NY 18.868
28. J4-John Garvin/Sarver, PA 18.877
29. 16*-Dereck Frank/Jamestown, NY 19.110
30. 8L-Scott LeBarron/Dover, PA 19.198
31. 9G-Scott Gurdak/Bear Lake, PA 19.280
32. 22-Jill George/Cedar Falls, IA 19.284
33. 03-Doug Eck/Corry, PA 19.293
34. J19-Jason Fosnaught/Creighton, PA 20.078

Heat No. 1 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Blair, Clanton, Fuller, Stone, C. Frank, Covert, Eck, D. Frank, Briggs

Heat No. 2 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Lanigan, Richards, McCreadie, Satterlee, Miley, Lux, Hackett, Fosnaught, LeBarron

Heat No. 3 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Smith, King, Dickson, Rhebergen, Hubbard, Boyer, Volpe, Gurdak

Heat No. 4 (10 laps – Top 4 Transfer): Davies, Miller, Eckert, Francis, Knight, Garvin, George, Krummert

B-Main No. 1 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Covert, Miley, C. Frank, Lux, Briggs, Eck, D. Frank (DNS) Hacket, Fosnaught, LeBarron

B-Main No. 2 (12 laps – Top 3 Transfer): Hubbard, Knight, Garvin, Boyer, Volpe, Krummert, Gurdak, George

2010 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of Sept. 5 – 40 A-Mains completed (rank/driver/points/deficit to leader):

1. Josh Richards 5352
2. Darrell Lanigan 5350 (-2)
3. Tim McCreadie 5266 (-86)
4. Steve Francis 5138 (-214)
5. Shane Clanton 5058 (-294)
6. Rick Eckert 5042 (-310)
7. Austin Hubbard 4984 (-368)
8. Tim Fuller 4926 (-426)
9. Chub Frank 4836 (-516)
10. Clint Smith 4800 (-552)
11. Russell King 4462 (-890)
12. Brent Robinson 3470 (-1882)
13. Jill George 3236 (-2116)
14. Brady Smith 2992 (-2360)
15. Rick 'Boom' Briggs 1820 (-3532)

FOLLOW THE ACTION ON TWITTER: Fans can now keep up-to-date with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series online and through text messages on cell phones via Twitter, the internet’s fast-growing social-networking and micro-blogging website. Updates are provided to Twitter ‘followers’ of the WoO LMS throughout each race night, and fans also receive breaking news and interesting notes from the tour.

To sign-up as a WoO LMS ‘follower’ on Twitter to receive updates anywhere at anytime, visit http://twitter.com/WoOLateModels.

LISTEN ONLINE: If fans can’t get to a track to see the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, they can experience the excitement of the nation’s premier tour live on DIRTvision.com through the DIRT Radio Network.

To listen to the free audio broadcasts, log on to www.dirtvision.com and click on the DIRT Radio Network logo.

Listeners will need Windows Media Player 9 or higher to listen to the DIRT Radio Network. For technical support or questions, e-mail customerservice@dirtvision.com.

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser), VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel), DirtonDirt.com (Hard Charger Award) and Chizmark Larson Insurance; in addition to contingency sponsors Eibach Springs, MSD Ignition, Ohlins Shocks, Pink Carburetors, Pro Power Engines, Quartermaster, Rocket Chassis, R2C Performance and Wrisco Aluminum.

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AMA Pro Racing New Jersey Motorsports

Park Day Three Report

MILLVILLE, N.J. (September 5, 2010)-

Sunday's action at the New Jersey Motorsports Park had a little something for everyone. In AMA Pro SuperSport, James Rispoli took his first AMA Pro Road Racing win after a thrilling battle with Tomas Puerta. In the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series, Jake Holden was able to post his first victory in the class while in Daytona SportBike, Danny Eslick made a dramatic last lap pass to take his third win of the season and maintain his slim points lead with two races remaining. In the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike series, Josh Hayes remained unbeaten at the 2.2 mile New Jersey Motorsports Park racing complex, beating his championship rival Tommy Hayden to extend his points lead to 22 points with two rounds remaining.

The day began under clear and sunny conditions with some wind and low humidity. First up was the Vance & Hines XR1200 series and in the absence of the undefeated Danny Eslick, RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing GEICO Powersports XR1200 rider Jake Holden took a dominant win over series newcomer P.J. Jacobson on the Celtic Racing XR1200 and Kyle Wyman on another of the RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing Harley-Davidson XR1200 motorcycles. Eslick, who is in the thick of the championship chase in the Daytona SportBike class, elected to focus exclusively on that series and missed his first XR1200 race of the year after winning the first three. Jake promptly took up Danny's position at the front and after a somewhat truncated start, Jake was able to run away and win for the first time in this new spec Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson exclusive class. Jacobson and Wyman had their own private battle for a while but P.J. was able to break away and consolidate his second place in his first attempt in the class.

In AMA Pro SuperSport, James Rispoli took his first AMA Pro Road Racing win after an event filled race that saw two of the four riders to lead the race crash out while leading! After yesterday's dominant victory, Joey Pascarella and his DNA Energy Drink Yamaha was the one to beat but at the start, Huntley Nash and his LTD Racing Yamaha teammate Tomas Puerta shot to the front to lead lap one from Joey in third, Eric Stump in fourth and Rispoli on his ANT-Racing.com Suzuki. Puerta shot by Huntley to lead lap two but then Pascarella moved into the lead and it appeared he might repeat his winning performance from Saturday. But on lap eight, everything changed as Joey went down in turn nine, he was quickly back up and continued but his chances of victory were gone. Now it was Huntley Nash that looked set for another win.

Nash has taken two wins in SuperSport this year and he was looking set to add to his total. Behind him, James Rispoli was coming up fast from his eighth starting position. He was fifth on lap one, fourth by lap two, third by lap four and in second by lap five. Amazingly enough, on lap 12, Huntley Nash became the second leader of the race to go down and now James Rispoli was in front. He still had his hands full with Tomas Puerta and the two went back and fourth, Tomas actually led lap 17 of nineteen but it was Rispoli who took his first win, and he was excited and emotional at the same time, "This win means so much, I can't thank everyone enough, my crew, AMA Pro, so many people but I really want to dedicate this win to my Mother who passed away a couple of years ago," said James after the race.

Finishing third was Austin Dehaven on his Dehaven Racing Yamaha. Austin tried to race up to James and Tomas but just couldn't get close enough to join the battle up front and he took his second podium finish of the season after his second place finish at Laguna Seca in July.

Danny Eslick took his third win of the season after another typical epic AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Presented by AMSOIL race. From the start, there was a solid, ten motorcycle group battling tooth and nail for the lead. Lead by Eslick on his GEICO Powersports Suzuki, the pack consisted of Tommy Aquino on his Team Graves Yamaha, Cory West on his Vesrah Suzuki, Dane Westby, Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha; Bobby Fong, DNA Energy Drink Ducati; Steve Rapp, Team Latus Motors Ducati; Martin Cardenas on his M4 Monster Energy Suzuki, Chris Fillmore on his Vesrah Suzuki, Josh Herrin, Team Graves Yamaha and Paul Allison on the Chronic Motorsports Yamaha. The action was hectic as the tension started to mount.

The first to exit the stage was Steve Rapp, he had an unfortunate fall on lap 14 and ended up retiring his Ducati. Dane Westby had a big save the next lap and he was part of the now nine that were covered by less than one second. After his dramatic crash in yesterday's race, Tommy Aquino showed his courage and skill by not only running up front, but he lead a number of laps. On lap seventeen, Cory West, who had been right in the thick of things, running second for a number of laps, had a mechanical problem going into turn one on lap 17 and without impeding anyone else, he calmly drove his Vesrah Suzuki off the track, and parked his bike in the sand, ending his good day.

Championship contender Josh Herrin had worked his way to the front again after starting eleventh. He was ninth after one lap and by lap seventeen, he was right up front fighting for the lead. He then made a big move on lap twenty to take the lead and he looked like he was again going to rebound with another Sunday win. The third rider in the thick of the championship battle, Martin Cardenas also took a shot at the front on lap 21 in turn one but couldn't hold his line and was quickly re-passed after the ambitious move. On the same lap, Chris Fillmore went down in turn three. On the last lap, Bobby Fong and Dane Westby collided and fell but both were quickly back up and continued to finish sixth and seventh.

But it was up front where the real action was and Eslick totally committed himself to a pass on Herrin in turn nine and there was nothing Josh could do to hold Danny back. Eslick took the position with a clean but decisive pass and won by only 0.510 of a second. Cardenas was a fortunate third after the incident between Fong and Westby and the championship battle will now be settled at the final doubleheader race weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, September 24-26.

In the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike race, Josh Hayes kept his perfect New Jersey Motorsports Park record intact with his second win of the weekend and his fourth at NJMP after his two race sweep in 2009. Hayes, who benefitted from a timely red flag at the very end of Saturday's race, took a more clear cut victory today and in a way, again benefitted from a red flag period, this time on lap five when Ben Bostrom crashed out on his Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha.

Hayes said he was feeling a little rough and when the race was stopped, he regrouped and felt better after the restart. His championship rival, Tommy Hayden had two great starts on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki and led both race segments. After things settled down, it was a two horse show with Hayes taking over the lead on lap nine and he and Tommy rode away from the interesting third place battle between Jake Zemke and his National Guard Jordan Suzuki, Hayden's Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate, Blake Young, M4 Monster Energy Suzuki rider John Hopkins and Brett McCormick on the second Jordan Suzuki.

Watched by owner Michael Jordan, Zemke held off Young and Hopkins and was in second in the early stages of the first segment of the race. By lap sixteen, both Blake Young and Hopkins passed Zemke and had their own private battle to the flag which Hopkins won by 0.015 of a second to take his first podium finish of the season.

Hopkins has had a long road back this year, being sidelined by a wrist injury that he finally corrected after one diagnosis indicated that he should retire form motorcycle racing. Fortunately for his team and the many fans in attendance today, Hopkins had another Doctor virtually rebuild his wrist and he is finally completely fit and showed it with his great race today. At the front, Hayden took the lead back from Hayes on lap 19 and although he was in front, he couldn't shake off Josh. On lap 21, Josh retook the lead but it was the same situation, Hayden was still right there, waiting to pounce.

On thefinal lap, with Josh still in front, Hayden took a shot at the lead in turn one but couldn't hold the line and Josh stayed in the lead. Twice more on the last lap, Hayden bravely dove into corners to try and wrest the lead from Josh but after the last attempt, Josh was able to take the win by 0.325 of a second for his seventh race victory of the year. Josh pushed his points lead to 22 points but with two races and sixty-three points to play for, the championship is far from over. Behind Hopkins and Young, Brett McCormick took fifth ahead of his teammate Zemke followed by Geoff May on his Erik Buell Racing Buell.

Privateer

Taylor Knapp rode his RidersDiscount .com Suzuki to eighth and behind Taylor was Chris Ulrich on his M4 Monster Energy Suzuki. Chris had an accident early in Saturday's race and after a precautionary check up at the local hospital, Chris bravely returned to the track. With the help of his physical therapist, Chris raced in today's race and soldered on to a very worthy and courageous ninth place. Shane Narbonne rounded out the top ten on the Celtic Racing Suzuki.

Theseason finale at Barber Motorsports Park will be the title decider in both National Guard SuperBike and also Daytona SportBike. Check out the SPEED TV broadcasts of today's SuperBike and Daytona SportBike races tonight at 10:00 PM and 11:00 PM.

Please visit www.amaproracing.com the series information. The full AMA Pro Road Racing SPEED schedule can be found at http://www.speedtv.com/schedule/filter/program/948061.

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Closer & Closer: Just 6 Points Separate Joey Saldana and Steve Kinser in Points with Jason Meyers Third Only 25 Markers Back

Concord, NC-September 5, 2010- The World of Outlaws championship standings got even tighter following the two-day event at Skagit Speedway in Washington this weekend, as Joey Saldana's lead over 20-time series champion Steve Kinser is down to just six points, with Jason Meyers third, only 25 markers out of the top spot. A total of 14 points paying events remain in 2010 at 10 tracks in nine states.

Kinser used his eighth win of the season in the $20,000 finale at Skagit coupled with a fourth-place performance in the opener to get to within single digits of Saldana for the eighth time this year. Kinser leads the series with 50 Top-10 finishes in the 56 A-Feature events that have been contested in 2010, and is tied with Saldana for the series lead with 34 Top-Five finishes.

Meyers finished fifth on Saturday night after a ninth-place effort in the opener at Skagit to remain third in points, just 19 markers behind Kinser for second and 25 out of the lead as he chases his first series title. The California native has 44 Top-10 finishes on the season with 28 of those being Top-Five performances. He earned five bonus points on Friday night for setting fast time, which was his ninth quick time of the year, tying him with Paul McMahan for the lead in that department, and followed that up by turning the second quickest lap on Saturday night to earn four bonus points. Meyers has earned the most qualifying bonus points of any driver this season.

Saldana rebounded from a 17^th-place finish on Friday night to lead 23 laps on Saturday and finish second to earn his 34^th Top-Five finish of the season which is tied for the series lead with Kinser. Saldana has led the World of Outlaws championship standings after 44 races this season and has held the top spot since a win in the Knight Before the Kings Royal on July 16 as he seeks his first title.

Donny Schatz, the four-time and defending World of Outlaws champion, remains fourth in points, following a third-place finish in the opener at Skagit before getting caught up in a couple of accidents in the finale, relegating him to a 15^th-place finish. The North Dakota native has 43 Top-10 finishes this season with 29 of those being Top-Fives. He set fast time in the finale at Skagit to earn five bonus points.

Jason Sides finished second in the opener at Skagit and was sixth in the finale to remain fifth in points. The veteran has racked up 44 Top-10 finishes on the season with 23 of those being Top-Five runs.

Paul McMahan used a podium finish on Saturday night along with an 11^th-place run on Friday to remain sixth in points. He has 39 Top-10 finishes with 22 of those being Top-Fives.

Craig Dollansky is currently seventh in points on the strength of 29 Top-10 finishes with 16 Top-Fives, while Lucas Wolfe is eighth having 25 Top-10's and 14 Top-Fives.

Danny Lasoski finished fifth on the first night at Skagit and was ninth in the finale and is currently ninth in points. The 2001 series champion has 29 Top-10 finishes with seven Top-Fives, including his first win of the season last Wednesday night at Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon.

Kraig Kinser finished eighth each night at Skagit to remain 10^th in points on the strength of 26 Top-10 finishes.

The World of Outlaws return to action on Monday, September 6 at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Washington.

2010 World of Outlaws Championship Standings through September 4

2010 STAT ATTACK

There have been 56 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature events this season.

A-Feature winners (18 Different Drivers) Driver, Hometown - Wins

1- Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana- 12

2- Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 9

3- Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 8

4- Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee - 4

5- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota - 3

Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio - 3

Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 3

6- Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, Pennsylvania - 2

Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW, Australia - 2

Sammy Swindell, Germantown, Tennessee - 2

7- Dale Blaney, Hartford, Ohio - 1

Doug Esh, Lancaster, Pennsylvania - 1

Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, Pennsylvania - 1

Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri - 1

Chad Layton, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - 1

Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee - 1

Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, Pennsylvania - 1

Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania - 1

Lap leaders, Driver, Hometown - Total laps led (25 Different Drivers)

1- Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana - 333 laps

2- Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 203 laps

3- Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 193 laps

4- Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 116 laps

5- Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee - 104 laps

6- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota - 101 laps

7- Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio - 77 laps

8- Dale Blaney, Hartford, Ohio - 62 laps

9- Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas - 61 laps

10- Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania- 59 laps

11- Sammy Swindell, Germantown, Tennessee - 50 laps

12- Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri - 44 laps

13- Kerry Madsen, St. Mary's, NSW, Australia - 42 laps

14- Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania -43 laps

15- Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, Pennsylvania - 38 laps

16- Doug Esh, Lancaster, Pennsylvania - 37 laps

17- Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee - 35 laps

Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW, Australia - 35 laps

18- Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana -33 laps

19- Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 31 laps

20- Chad Layton, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - 19 laps

21- Brian Leppo, New Oxford, Pennsylvania - 13 laps

22- Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, Pennsylvania - 5 laps

Tyler Walker, Los Angeles, California - 5 laps

23- Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, Pennsylvania - 2 laps

Time trial leaders (17 Different Drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Quick times

1- Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee - 9

Jason Meyers, Clovis, California - 9

2- Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana - 5

Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee- 5

3- Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania -5

Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas - 4

4- Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota - 3

5- Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio - 2

Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana - 2

Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri - 2

6- Dale Blaney, Hartford, Ohio - 1

Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, Pennsylvania - 1

Ben Gregg, Phoenix, Arizona - 1

Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 1

Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, Washington- 1

Brian Leppo, New Oxford, Pennsylvania - 1

Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa- 1

Track Records established in 2010 World of Outlaws events (9)

*Tim Kaeding, March 5, Thunderbowl Raceway (1/3-mile), Tulare, California, 12.651 seconds at 94.759 mph

*Lucas Wolfe, March 13, Houston Raceway Park, (1/4-mile), Baytown, Texas, 11.561 seconds at 77.848 miles per hour

*Kasey Kahne, March 19, Volunteer Speedway (4/10-mile), Bulls Gap, Tennessee, 10.258 seconds at 140.378 mph.

*Sam Hafertepe Jr., May 1, Jackson Speedway (1/2-mile), Jackson, Minnesota, 15.601 seconds at 115.377 mph.

*Joey Saldana, May 22, I-96 Speedway (1/2-mile), Lake Odessa, Michigan, 14.834 seconds at 121.343 mph.

*Lucas Wolfe, June 25, Junction Motor Speedway (3/8-mile), McCool Junction, Nebraska 14.184 seconds at 95.178 mph.

*Lucas Wolfe, July 27, Autodrome Drummond (4/10-mile), Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, 13.788 seconds at 104.439 mph.

*Kraig Kinser, July 30, Ohsweken Speedway (3/8-mile), Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada, 12.047 seconds at 112.061 mph.

*Sam Hafertepe Jr., August 3, Fulton Speedway (3/8-mile), Fulton, New York, 13.240 seconds at 101.964 mph.

Dash Winners (18 Different Winners) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Dash Wins

1- Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota - 8

2- Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana - 6

Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee - 6

3- Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee- 5

4- Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio - 3

Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana - 3

Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania - 3

5- Dale Blaney, Hartford, Ohio - 2

Doug Esh, Lancaster, Pennsylvania - 2

Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas - 2

Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 2

Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 2

Jason Meyers, Clovis, California - 2

Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, Pennsylvania - 2

Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania- 2

6- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota - 1

Chad Layton, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - 1

Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW, Australia - 1

Pole Positions (18 Different Drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Poles

1- Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 8

2- Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana - 6

Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee - 6

3- Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee- 5

4- Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio - 3

Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana - 3

Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania - 3

5- Dale Blaney, Hartford, Ohio - 2

Doug Esh, Lancaster, Pennsylvania - 2

Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas - 2

Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 2

Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 2

Jason Meyers, Clovis, California - 2

Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania- 2

6- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota - 1

Chad Layton, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - 1

Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, Pennsylvania - 1

Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW, Australia - 1

Last Chance Showdown Winners (30 Different Winners) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Wins

1- Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio - 4

2- Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas - 3

Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 3

Kerry Madsen, St. Mary, NSW, Australia - 3

3- Brian Ellenberger, Butler, Pennsylvania- 2

Ben Gregg, Phoenix, Arizona - 2

Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California - 2

Toni Lutar, White Rock, British Columbia - 2

Wade Nygaard, Fargo, North Dakota - 2

Evan Suggs, Scotts Valley, California- 2

4- Jonathan Allard, Chico, California - 1

Dale Blaney, Hartford, Ohio- 1

Brian Brown, Grain Valley, Missouri - 1

Steve Buckwalter, Royersford, Pennsylvania - 1

Rob Chaney, Wooster, Ohio - 1

Cale Conley, Vienna, West Virginia- 1

Randy Hannagan, San Jose, California - 1

Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio - 1

Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana - 1

Brad Knab, Arcade, New York - 1

Alan Krimes, Denver, Pennsylvania - 1

Ed Lynch Jr., Apollo, Pennsylvania - 1

Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa - 1

Greg Nikitenko, Minot, North Dakota - 1

Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania - 1

Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee - 1

Tyler Walker, Los Angeles, California - 1

Rick Wilson, Joyceville, Ontario - 1

Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, Indiana - 1

Zach Zimmerly, Portland, Oregon - 1

KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award

1- Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana - 6

Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota - 6

Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania- 5

2- Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana - 4

3- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota - 3

Brian Ellenberger, Butler, Pennsylvania - 3

Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio - 3

Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio- 3

Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 3

Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania - 3

4- Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, Pennsylvania - 2

Sammy Swindell, Germantown, Tennessee - 2

5- Danny Dietrich, Aspers, Pennsylvania - 1

Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, North Dakota - 1

Doug Esh, Lancaster, Pennsylvania - 1

Ben Gregg, Phoenix, Arizona - 1

Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas - 1

Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana - 1

Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 1

Toni Lutar, White Rock, British Columbia - 1

Daryn Pittman, Owasso, Oklahoma - 1

Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, Pennsylvania - 1

Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, California - 1

Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award Standings

Ben Gregg 5826

Toni Lutar 5558 -268

Engine Builder Challenge

Speedway Engines 228

Don Ott 208 -20

Shaver Specialties 191 -37

Kistler 143 -85

Chassis Builder Challenge

Maxim 263

J&J 209 -54 XXX 187 -76

The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Chizmark & Larson Insurance , Goodyear Tires (Official Tire), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser), VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, Jake's Custom Golf Carts, KSE Race Products, Penske Shocks , R2C Performance, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo; Engine Builder's Challenge participants Don Ott Racing Engines, Kistler Engines, Shaver Specialties and Speedway Engines; and Chassis Builder's Challenge participants J&J Auto Racing, Maxim Racing and XXX Race Company.

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Wiles Rolls in AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Singles Championship with Springfield ST Victory SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (August 5, 2010) - The AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com returned to the Illinois State Fairgrounds for rounds 13 & 14 on Labor Day Weekend. The opening race would be a GNC Singles short track at the beautiful Rodeo Arena. The short track would be the sixth and last race of the GNC Singles portion of the series.

It was no surprise the defending Singles Champion and current points leader #1 Henry Wiles pushed his Monster Energy / Kawasaki / Jones Bros Racing backed Kawasaki to an easy win.

"I wasn't really nervous about tonight, I knew I just had to do my job," said Wiles. "I had to take my time and get around Chad (Cose), but then it was a matter of concentrating on the track."

Digger Helm / Lightshoe / Arlen Ness's Chad Cose had got the hole shot and led the first lap, but Wiles had the point by lap two and it quickly became a race for second. Cose, Latus Harley-Davidson / Moto Concepts'

#3 Joe Kopp and Bettencourt's Honda's #2 Kenny Coolbeth were locked in that battle.

After a slow start Zanotti Racing's Jake Johnson was on the move and he took second on lap seven. Cose was now under attack from Coolbeth, Kopp Mack Daddy Racing's #20 Matt Weidman and Kopp.

1 Oil / Rockwall Performance backed Honda.

Beach just got smoother and smoother as he pulled away from the gaggle behind him. Kopp was now fourth with fast qualifier Chris Carr Racing / Dallas Fort Worth Honda's #4 Chris Carr working his way up to fifth.

Mack Daddy Racing / Alpinestar's #80 Stevie Bonsey moved up to sixth over Coolbeth, Kawasaki / Monster Energy's #42 Bryan Smith, Rockysonline.com / Lucas Oil's #21 Jared Mees and Weidman.

Rod Lake Racing / Mike Velasco's #1 Brad Baker pulled out the win in the Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Grand National Championship Main, his fourth of the year. Mack Daddy Racing / RHC Products'

#33E Mike Avila was a solid second, but the best battle of the race was for the final spot on the podium.

Shoe Racing / Sportland Motorsport's William Cato came out on top of a race long battle with Scott Powersports' #55A Jake Shoemaker and Series points leader Van's Yamaha / Woody Kyle Racing's #24PJeffery Carver.

ILLINOIS STATE FAIRGROUNDS SPRINGFIELD, IL

RESULTS: September 4, 2010

GNS DASH FOR CASH (4 laps; 6 riders): 1. Henry Wiles (Kaw); 2. Joe Kopp (Hon); 3.

Jake Johnson (Hon); 4. Chad

Cose (Hon); 5. Matt Weidman (Hon); 6. Chris Carr (Hon).

Time: 0:39.472

Jeremy Hamilton (Hon); 10. Shayna Texter (Hon); 11. Hunter King (Hon); 12.

Gerit Callies (Hon); 13. Conner Anderson (Hon); 14. Jason Isennock (Hon); 15.

Jake Cunningham (Yam); 16. Tyler O'Hara (Hon); 17. Kurtis Lee (Hon); 18. Andrew Smith (Hon).

Time: 5:06.313.

AMA PRO MOTORCYCLE-SUPERSTORE.COM PRO SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 13 of 17 rounds): 1. Jeffery Carver (241 pts / 4 wins); 2. Brad Baker (219 / 4 wins); 3.

Mike Avila (162); 4. James Rispoli (160); 5. JD Beach (118 / 4 wins); 6. Mike Martin (111); 7. Mike LaBelle (101) ; 8. Chaz Springsteen (94); 9. Jake Shoemaker (81); 10. William Cato (59).

AMA PRO K&N GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED by MOTORCYCLE-SUPERSTORE.COM MAIN (25 laps; 19 riders): 1. Henry Wiles (Kaw); 2. Jake Johnson (Hon); 3. JD Beach (Hon); 4. Joe Kopp (Hon); 5. Chris Carr (Hon); 6. Stevie Bonsey (Hon); 7. Kenny Coolbeth (Hon); 8. Bryan Smith (Kaw); 9. Jared Mees (Hon); 10. Matt Weidman (Hon); 11. Sammy Halbert (Yam); 12. Scott Baker (Hon); 13. Brandon Robinson (Hon); 14. Jethro Halbert (Yam); 15. Raun Wood (Hon); 16. Rob Pearson (Yam); 17. Don Mullen (Hon); 18. Mick Kirkness (Suz); 19. Chad Cose (Hon).

Time: 6:20.533

Kenny Coolbeth (191); 7. Chris Carr (149); 8. Bryan Smith (138 / 1 win); 9.

Matt Weidman (91); 10. Rob Pearson (84).

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