MotoGP News
Date: 30/July/2012
Casey Stoner credited an ‘against the grain’ tyre choice for his third MotoGP victory at Laguna Seca in the USA on Sunday.
Unlike fellow front row starters Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, reigning World Champion Stoner selected the softer rear tyre - a decision that looked to immediately backfire when he dropped to fourth into turn one.
In order to make the soft tyre work, it was assumed Stoner would need to break away early and then cling on when the grip faded. But Stoner was still stuck behind race and title leader Lorenzo’s Yamaha as the halfway point came and went.
However Stoner was nursing his tyres and instead of a performance loss, Stoner got stronger - eventually blasting past Lorenzo out of the final turn with ten laps to go.
Stoner’s Repsol Honda took the chequered flag 3.5s ahead of Lorenzo.
Stoner said: “The tyre choice wasn’t a gamble but we had to be careful. We knew if we went out there and burnt it up at the beginning we would struggle later.
“My plan was to get a good start, use the extra grip at the beginning to pull a gap then relax the tyres. That didn’t work.
“I was fourth into turn one and had to pick my way back through. Jorge and Dani were running fast lines and especially Jorge. I wasn’t able to get through and I was using my tyres too much trying to overtake.
“So I backed off and started running my own lines. Then towards the end of the race we started going again, slowly eased the pace back up. We calculated everything right. It was against the grain. Nobody else really took the option and it paid off for us.
“I was confident it would work all along but we had to do everything right”
Despite his fourth win of the season, Stoner remains third in the championship, nine points from Pedrosa and 32-points from Lorenzo heading into the summer break.
“I need to do more than just chip away. Especially with these guys. It’s bloody hard work,” he said of his title chances. “We have to do something a bit extra.
“The mistake at Sachsenring really cost us, but at the same time it just gave back the points we gained from Jorge at Assen. I’m most disappointed with the points we lost [with eighth place] at Mugello. That’s what’s hurt us.”
Hamilton holds off Raikkonen in Hungary
F1 News
Date: 29/July/2012
Lewis Hamilton held off a feisty Kimi Raikkonen to record his second win of the 2012 F1 season at Hungary on Sunday.
Barring pit stops, the McLaren driver led from start to finish, completing a near perfect weekend for the Englishman.
Yet it was Raikkonen who arguably stole the show, the Finn overcoming a bad start and KERS problems to spend the final 15 laps tucked under Hamilton’s rear wing.
Raikkonen’s first victory since his F1 comeback, and first for the Lotus brand since Ayrton Senna in 1987, looked firmly on the cards. But Hamilton wasn’t to be denied and held firm to the finish.
A delighted Hamilton said: “The races you win like this - where you’re under intense pressure from great drivers like Romain and Kimi - feel great, because you have to have your mind 100 per cent focussed.
“The team didn’t flinch and neither did I.”
Hamilton revealed that he actually let Raikkonen close up in some corners in the hope that the ‘dirty air’ would accelerate the Finn’s tyre wear.
“Kimi was never really close enough to pass. I purposely allowed him to close up in certain corners, so that he may have problems with his tyres,” he said. “But I made sure I drew a big enough gap in the last three corners to try and keep clear of the DRS.”
Hamilton also had warm words for former McLaren driver Raikkonen, who sat out the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
“It's great to see Kimi up here with me. I've got a huge amount of respect for him. I remember watching him on TV before I even got to Formula One and when I used to play the computer games I would always play as him,” said Hamilton.
Victory was also the perfect response to criticism that Hamilton’s sometimes high-profile private life is a distraction.
“There always seems to be a lot of talk about me and my private life. Hopefully this will answer lots of the things that have been said. I am 100 percent focused this year, regardless of what people think.
“I've been on it all year, I've never been so committed but of course, I'm still in my twenties, I do want to enjoy my last bit of my twenties, because I've heard it's downhill from then on. I've got to strike a nice balance and I think I am.”
Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion for Ferrari at Hamilton’s expense, had spent the early part of the race in sixth place, but delivered excellent pace between pit stops to squeeze ahead of team-mate Romain Grosjean after his final tyre change.
The 32-year-old then quickly bridged the four-second gap to Hamilton, but confessed his only chance of a victory pass was if Hamilton’s tyres went over the edge.
“My only chance was that they would run out of the tyres - but that never happened, so we probably should have had 20 more laps,” he smiled.
“I didn’t win, so there’s no point to worry about it.
“Yeah, you would rather win than come second but it's a long season and I think we're improving all the time. If the win comes it's great, if not, we keep trying. I've been in the business long enough that I don't really worry about things too much.”
Raikkonen was joined on the podium by rookie Grosjean, underlining the race-winning potential of the former Renault team.
Hungary marked Raikkonen’s third podium of the year and he is now being linked to a possible Ferrari return alongside Fernando Alonso, who extended his title advantage despite a fifth place in Budapest.
Asked if he would consider a Ferrari comeback, Raikkonen replied: “I always said that I didn't have bad feelings against [Ferrari]. I had a good time with the team. I won my championship there but things probably could have gone a nicer way in the end.
“Life goes on and you never know what happens in the future but I'm happy where I am now and things are going pretty nicely. I don't come up with the rumours, so perhaps you have to ask the people who write them.”
Raikkonen is fifth in the championship, eleven places ahead of Alonso’s current team-mate Felipe Massa.
The Spaniard heads for the summer break with a sizable 40-point lead over Red Bull’s Mark Webber, who could only manage eighth place after a diff problem.
Hamilton is 47-points behind Alonso in fourth, but insists his title hopes are far from over.
Hamilton said: “This weekend shows that it's all to play for still. Bit by bit, if we can continue with this kind of performance then we can slowly catch him, but we know we need consistency and we need to improve the car.
“The team is doing a fantastic job. We've now usually got the quickest pit stops and today I got the best start I've had all year, I was really surprised by it.
“This is a really good stepping stone for us, especially after the last three tough races. It's great to come and end the summer on this high.”
Round 12 of 20 will begin at Spa, Belgium on August 31.
Date: 29/July/2012
Lewis Hamilton held off a feisty Kimi Raikkonen to record his second win of the 2012 F1 season at Hungary on Sunday.
Barring pit stops, the McLaren driver led from start to finish, completing a near perfect weekend for the Englishman.
Yet it was Raikkonen who arguably stole the show, the Finn overcoming a bad start and KERS problems to spend the final 15 laps tucked under Hamilton’s rear wing.
Raikkonen’s first victory since his F1 comeback, and first for the Lotus brand since Ayrton Senna in 1987, looked firmly on the cards. But Hamilton wasn’t to be denied and held firm to the finish.
A delighted Hamilton said: “The races you win like this - where you’re under intense pressure from great drivers like Romain and Kimi - feel great, because you have to have your mind 100 per cent focussed.
“The team didn’t flinch and neither did I.”
Hamilton revealed that he actually let Raikkonen close up in some corners in the hope that the ‘dirty air’ would accelerate the Finn’s tyre wear.
“Kimi was never really close enough to pass. I purposely allowed him to close up in certain corners, so that he may have problems with his tyres,” he said. “But I made sure I drew a big enough gap in the last three corners to try and keep clear of the DRS.”
Hamilton also had warm words for former McLaren driver Raikkonen, who sat out the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
“It's great to see Kimi up here with me. I've got a huge amount of respect for him. I remember watching him on TV before I even got to Formula One and when I used to play the computer games I would always play as him,” said Hamilton.
Victory was also the perfect response to criticism that Hamilton’s sometimes high-profile private life is a distraction.
“There always seems to be a lot of talk about me and my private life. Hopefully this will answer lots of the things that have been said. I am 100 percent focused this year, regardless of what people think.
“I've been on it all year, I've never been so committed but of course, I'm still in my twenties, I do want to enjoy my last bit of my twenties, because I've heard it's downhill from then on. I've got to strike a nice balance and I think I am.”
Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion for Ferrari at Hamilton’s expense, had spent the early part of the race in sixth place, but delivered excellent pace between pit stops to squeeze ahead of team-mate Romain Grosjean after his final tyre change.
The 32-year-old then quickly bridged the four-second gap to Hamilton, but confessed his only chance of a victory pass was if Hamilton’s tyres went over the edge.
“My only chance was that they would run out of the tyres - but that never happened, so we probably should have had 20 more laps,” he smiled.
“I didn’t win, so there’s no point to worry about it.
“Yeah, you would rather win than come second but it's a long season and I think we're improving all the time. If the win comes it's great, if not, we keep trying. I've been in the business long enough that I don't really worry about things too much.”
Raikkonen was joined on the podium by rookie Grosjean, underlining the race-winning potential of the former Renault team.
Hungary marked Raikkonen’s third podium of the year and he is now being linked to a possible Ferrari return alongside Fernando Alonso, who extended his title advantage despite a fifth place in Budapest.
Asked if he would consider a Ferrari comeback, Raikkonen replied: “I always said that I didn't have bad feelings against [Ferrari]. I had a good time with the team. I won my championship there but things probably could have gone a nicer way in the end.
“Life goes on and you never know what happens in the future but I'm happy where I am now and things are going pretty nicely. I don't come up with the rumours, so perhaps you have to ask the people who write them.”
Raikkonen is fifth in the championship, eleven places ahead of Alonso’s current team-mate Felipe Massa.
The Spaniard heads for the summer break with a sizable 40-point lead over Red Bull’s Mark Webber, who could only manage eighth place after a diff problem.
Hamilton is 47-points behind Alonso in fourth, but insists his title hopes are far from over.
Hamilton said: “This weekend shows that it's all to play for still. Bit by bit, if we can continue with this kind of performance then we can slowly catch him, but we know we need consistency and we need to improve the car.
“The team is doing a fantastic job. We've now usually got the quickest pit stops and today I got the best start I've had all year, I was really surprised by it.
“This is a really good stepping stone for us, especially after the last three tough races. It's great to come and end the summer on this high.”
Round 12 of 20 will begin at Spa, Belgium on August 31.
Spies to ride through the pain for US podium chance
MotoGP News
Date: 29/July/2012
Ben Spies isn’t sure if he fractured some bones in his heel during a crash at the end of qualifying for his home US MotoGP round at Laguna Seca.
But whatever the medical verdict the Texan, 28, will be back on track and chasing his first podium of the season after showing strong pace all weekend.
Spies said: “The weekend had been going pretty good, pretty smooth.
“I just got on the gas a little too early. I had a highside and came down pretty hard on my heel. It’s a bit complicated with heel injuries, because there are so many small bones.
“We’ll have to wait until the swelling goes down to see if there’s any fractures, but on the bike it should be no problem anyway. Other than that I hit my head pretty hard.”
Despite the accident, and lost track time, Spies will start his home round from fourth place and is confident he has the pace to turn around a torrid season.
“The bike is feeling good and I think we can have a strong race,” he declared.
“We have enough pace to think about getting on the podium, but not the win. We’ll look at the data and try and get some more speed for tomorrow.”
Tyre choice between the hard and soft rear is likely to be a last minute decision for the frontrunners and will depend heavily on the weather.
“Both tyres are working good. I’ve been fast on the soft and fast on the hard tyre. We’ve got to wait and see,” he said.
Spies’ starting position means he will be able to easy spot which tyres the top three of Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa choose.
“I’ve got the luxury of seeing what the front row do and I can change on the grid!” he confirmed.
Spies, who announced he is quitting Yamaha at the end of this year, refused to comment on rumours that he will return to World Superbike with BMW next year.
“I haven’t made a decision yet and it is still going to be some time until I do,” said Spies. “Like I said two days ago when I make a decision I will announce it.
“Right now I don’t know what I’m going to do. We have many offers from other people so we’ll wait and see.”
Team-mate and World Championship leader Lorenzo took his fourth consecutive US GP pole on Saturday.
Date: 29/July/2012
Ben Spies isn’t sure if he fractured some bones in his heel during a crash at the end of qualifying for his home US MotoGP round at Laguna Seca.
But whatever the medical verdict the Texan, 28, will be back on track and chasing his first podium of the season after showing strong pace all weekend.
Spies said: “The weekend had been going pretty good, pretty smooth.
“I just got on the gas a little too early. I had a highside and came down pretty hard on my heel. It’s a bit complicated with heel injuries, because there are so many small bones.
“We’ll have to wait until the swelling goes down to see if there’s any fractures, but on the bike it should be no problem anyway. Other than that I hit my head pretty hard.”
Despite the accident, and lost track time, Spies will start his home round from fourth place and is confident he has the pace to turn around a torrid season.
“The bike is feeling good and I think we can have a strong race,” he declared.
“We have enough pace to think about getting on the podium, but not the win. We’ll look at the data and try and get some more speed for tomorrow.”
Tyre choice between the hard and soft rear is likely to be a last minute decision for the frontrunners and will depend heavily on the weather.
“Both tyres are working good. I’ve been fast on the soft and fast on the hard tyre. We’ve got to wait and see,” he said.
Spies’ starting position means he will be able to easy spot which tyres the top three of Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa choose.
“I’ve got the luxury of seeing what the front row do and I can change on the grid!” he confirmed.
Spies, who announced he is quitting Yamaha at the end of this year, refused to comment on rumours that he will return to World Superbike with BMW next year.
“I haven’t made a decision yet and it is still going to be some time until I do,” said Spies. “Like I said two days ago when I make a decision I will announce it.
“Right now I don’t know what I’m going to do. We have many offers from other people so we’ll wait and see.”
Team-mate and World Championship leader Lorenzo took his fourth consecutive US GP pole on Saturday.
Hamilton back in the hunt with Hungary pole
F1 News
Date: 28/July/2012
Lewis Hamilton stands an excellent chance of clawing back lost ground in the 2012 F1 World Championship battle after scoring his first pole in nine rounds on Saturday in Hungary.
Hamilton’s title chances have gone into free-fall since he briefly took over at the head of the standings with his Canadian GP victory, the Englishman dropping 62-points from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in the three races since.
But recent upgrades helped McLaren team-mate Jenson Button get back on the podium last weekend in Germany and Hamilton has been the dominant force all weekend in Budapest.
By contrast, title leaders Alonso and Mark Webber (Red Bull) will start just sixth and eleventh on the grid, respectively.
“It’s been a really positive weekend so far,” said Hamilton. “To finally see the upgrades working this weekend, I’ve been able to put the car in places that I previously wasn’t able to do.
“This weekend we've obviously had the pace so I knew pole was possible, it was just a case of doing it and if I didn't, I would be quite disappointed.”
Hamilton will be targeting his third Hungarian GP victory on Sunday.
“There’s no real secret to victory here,” said the 2008 world champion. “You just have to keep your head cool and look after your tyres. Tyre strategy will be important tomorrow. Degradation will be interesting.
“I just hope for once we have a good start.”
In terms of his closest opposition, Lotus rookie Romain Grosjean finally put a strong qualifying together to claim a career best second on the grid, while Red Bull’s reigning champion Sebastian Vettel and defending event winner Button will form row two.
“I think we know the Lotus is very, very strong on long runs and so is the Red Bull, so we just need to focus on us and really hope we can improve this weekend with those upgrades,” said Hamilton.
“Jenson showed in the last race that it is an improvement, so hopefully I can show the same thing tomorrow.”
Alonso finished third in last year’s Budapest event, behind Button and Vettel. A one month summer break follows Sunday’s race.
Date: 28/July/2012
Lewis Hamilton stands an excellent chance of clawing back lost ground in the 2012 F1 World Championship battle after scoring his first pole in nine rounds on Saturday in Hungary.
Hamilton’s title chances have gone into free-fall since he briefly took over at the head of the standings with his Canadian GP victory, the Englishman dropping 62-points from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in the three races since.
But recent upgrades helped McLaren team-mate Jenson Button get back on the podium last weekend in Germany and Hamilton has been the dominant force all weekend in Budapest.
By contrast, title leaders Alonso and Mark Webber (Red Bull) will start just sixth and eleventh on the grid, respectively.
“It’s been a really positive weekend so far,” said Hamilton. “To finally see the upgrades working this weekend, I’ve been able to put the car in places that I previously wasn’t able to do.
“This weekend we've obviously had the pace so I knew pole was possible, it was just a case of doing it and if I didn't, I would be quite disappointed.”
Hamilton will be targeting his third Hungarian GP victory on Sunday.
“There’s no real secret to victory here,” said the 2008 world champion. “You just have to keep your head cool and look after your tyres. Tyre strategy will be important tomorrow. Degradation will be interesting.
“I just hope for once we have a good start.”
In terms of his closest opposition, Lotus rookie Romain Grosjean finally put a strong qualifying together to claim a career best second on the grid, while Red Bull’s reigning champion Sebastian Vettel and defending event winner Button will form row two.
“I think we know the Lotus is very, very strong on long runs and so is the Red Bull, so we just need to focus on us and really hope we can improve this weekend with those upgrades,” said Hamilton.
“Jenson showed in the last race that it is an improvement, so hopefully I can show the same thing tomorrow.”
Alonso finished third in last year’s Budapest event, behind Button and Vettel. A one month summer break follows Sunday’s race.
Hayden seals the deal at Ducati
MotoGP News
Date: 27/July/2012
Just two factory MotoGP seats remain available for the 2013 season after Nicky Hayden was confirmed on a new one-year deal at Ducati.
The American, 31 on Monday, has been with the Italian factory ever since leaving Honda at the end of 2008.
Hayden’s new contract was announced on the opening morning of his home US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca.
Haden said: “I’m very happy that I’ll be back with Ducati and back in MotoGP, racing at the highest level for a very important team. I love the guys I work with, I love the Ducati fans, and I love the brand.
“This is an important time for Ducati in a number of ways, and I’m excited that I’ll continue to be a part of it. I feel like I’ve got some unfinished business here, and hopefully we can get all the pieces into place and reap the rewards of the hard work we’ve put in the last couple of years.
“It’s nice to be able to make this announcement at Laguna and to share the moment with my fans, friends and family. If I can do a good result on Sunday, it could make for a pretty special birthday weekend.”
The 2006 world champion for Honda, Hayden has taken just three podiums since joining Ducati, where he has raced alongside Casey Stoner and now Valentino Rossi.
Speculation over Rossi’s future is reaching fever pitch with the struggling MotoGP legend considering a switch back to Yamaha in an attempt to regain his winning ways.
For continuity reasons, it is rare for a factory team to change both its riders and Hayden’s speedy deal - after earlier suggestions he could lose his seat to Cal Crutchlow - appears to reflect the uncertainly at Ducati over Rossi’s intentions.
Earlier this week Ben Spies announced that he will not continue at the Yamaha team beyond the end of this season, making the second M1 ride alongside 2012 championship leader Jorge Lorenzo officially available.
That seat, and Rossi’s present Ducati ride, are now the only 2013 factory vacancies. Honda has already named its future line-up in the form of Dani Pedrosa and rookie Marc Marquez, who replaces the retiring Stoner.
Date: 27/July/2012
Just two factory MotoGP seats remain available for the 2013 season after Nicky Hayden was confirmed on a new one-year deal at Ducati.
The American, 31 on Monday, has been with the Italian factory ever since leaving Honda at the end of 2008.
Hayden’s new contract was announced on the opening morning of his home US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca.
Haden said: “I’m very happy that I’ll be back with Ducati and back in MotoGP, racing at the highest level for a very important team. I love the guys I work with, I love the Ducati fans, and I love the brand.
“This is an important time for Ducati in a number of ways, and I’m excited that I’ll continue to be a part of it. I feel like I’ve got some unfinished business here, and hopefully we can get all the pieces into place and reap the rewards of the hard work we’ve put in the last couple of years.
“It’s nice to be able to make this announcement at Laguna and to share the moment with my fans, friends and family. If I can do a good result on Sunday, it could make for a pretty special birthday weekend.”
The 2006 world champion for Honda, Hayden has taken just three podiums since joining Ducati, where he has raced alongside Casey Stoner and now Valentino Rossi.
Speculation over Rossi’s future is reaching fever pitch with the struggling MotoGP legend considering a switch back to Yamaha in an attempt to regain his winning ways.
For continuity reasons, it is rare for a factory team to change both its riders and Hayden’s speedy deal - after earlier suggestions he could lose his seat to Cal Crutchlow - appears to reflect the uncertainly at Ducati over Rossi’s intentions.
Earlier this week Ben Spies announced that he will not continue at the Yamaha team beyond the end of this season, making the second M1 ride alongside 2012 championship leader Jorge Lorenzo officially available.
That seat, and Rossi’s present Ducati ride, are now the only 2013 factory vacancies. Honda has already named its future line-up in the form of Dani Pedrosa and rookie Marc Marquez, who replaces the retiring Stoner.
Spies out at Yamaha - Rossi in?
MotoGP News
Date: 27/July/2012
MotoGP talk at Laguna Seca on Thursday centred around Ben Spies’ announcement that he is to leave Yamaha at the end of this year - and the possibility that Valentino Rossi will take his place.
In a world where most major rider changes get leaked long before public confirmation, Spies caught everyone - including it seems the Yamaha team - by surprise.
Spies, 28, has raced for Yamaha ever since leaving the American AMA Superbike Championship.
The Texan won the World Superbike title with Yamaha at his first attempt in 2009 and was rewarded with a Tech 3 MotoGP seat the following year, before being parachuted into the Factory team as Rossi’s 2011 replacement.
Riding alongside Jorge Lorenzo, Spies took his first MotoGP win at Assen last season and came agonisingly close to a repeat victory at the Valencia finale.
A 2012 title challenge looked realistic on the improved 1000cc M1, but instead Spies’ has suffered the worst form of his grand prix career, slipping to tenth in the championship after a string of race day problems.
But his talent has never been in doubt and, with title leader Lorenzo locked into a new two-year Yamaha deal, Spies looked to have a fighting chance of remaining alongside the Spaniard - until his Tuesday announcement.
Speaking on Thursday in California, Spies said: “I’ve known for quite a bit what my personal decision was and I thought this was the right time to do it with all the contracts happening with other riders. To be out of the ball game with that.
“That’s basically it. There’s a litany of reasons behind it - just getting back to stress-free and doing what I want to do and finish out the season strong.
“For sure, we’re going to keep giving 100 per cent. Nothing changes from that standpoint. I just made a decision, something that I’d known for quite a while and that I wanted to get it off my chest and out of the way.
“Now that we’ve done that I feel like the weight of the world is off my shoulders and I can do what I set out to do.”
Attempts to find out where Spies will be racing next year were robustly deflected.
“That’s all that’s going to be said about it at this point until I’m ready to talk about the future,” said Spies.
The most popular suggestions are that Spies will return to WSBK with BMW and then spearhead a possible German MotoGP project for 2014, or that he will headline Suzuki’s proposed MotoGP comeback.
Spies won three AMA titles and made his MotoGP debut as a wild-card for Suzuki.
While Spies has stepped out of contention for the most competitive MotoGP ride still available - Repsol Honda has already named Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez for 2013 - the spotlight has turned more than ever onto Rossi.
Rossi quit Honda for Yamaha in 2004, lifting the company’s first premier-class crown since 1992 during an unforgettable debut season on the M1 - a bike that took just one podium the year before.
Four of Rossi’s seven MotoGP titles were won with Yamaha, but the arrival of double 250cc champion Lorenzo in 2008 meant the Italian faced his first real challenge from within the team.
Rossi didn’t like it, commenting that his efforts to improve the bike would only be helping his nearest rival.
A wall was built to separate the two sides of the pit garage and exchange of data was limited, but Lorenzo continued to get stronger and was leading the championship when Rossi broke his leg at Mugello in 2010.
The Doctor made the decision Italy had been dreaming of, to join Ducati, during the summer break, then claimed his 79th and most recent premier-class victory at Sepang that October.
However Rossi massively underestimated the challenge ahead, unaware - like most of the paddock - just how much of Ducati’s success had been down to the talent of Casey Stoner.
Ducati has made numerous major technical changes to try and suit Rossi, not least switching its frame from carbon fibre to ‘Japanese-style’ aluminium. But Rossi has only taken two podiums in one and a half seasons and the problems of understeer and lack of front-end feel remain unsolved.
The attraction for Yamaha is commercial. The Factory has been without a title sponsor since Rossi left and there are already rumours that major companies are ready to step in and fund a Rossi return.
Lorenzo has given no public opposition and, at Laguna Seca, Rossi confessed that he must choose between continuing the work so far done at Ducati - now owned by Audi - or taking what is surely a safer competitive bet with Yamaha.
Rossi, who avoided specific mention of Yamaha, explained: “I have spoken a lot with Ducati about next year, but still waiting about some important ties and some important things on the contract. And I also have some other options for next year.
“I think the situation will be clearer in the next weeks, and I think in the summer break I will decide about next year.”
By far the richest rider in MotoGP, the 33-year-old made clear that money is no longer a priority.
Rossi said: “Sincerely from my point of view, money is not very important. If it was I would already have decided! Everything has some positive and some negatives. So I have to make a clear balance and make the decision.
“From one side [Ducati] we have a lot of work to do, but good feelings for the future. Another choice [Yamaha] is safer and more sure that it is possible to be competitive in a short period.
“It is also a particular moment in my career, so I have to decide what is more important for the future.”
Lorenzo starts this weekend’s US GP with a 19-point lead over Pedrosa. Rossi, whose team-mate Nicky Hayden looks increasingly likely to remain at Ducati, is sixth in the championship.
Date: 27/July/2012
MotoGP talk at Laguna Seca on Thursday centred around Ben Spies’ announcement that he is to leave Yamaha at the end of this year - and the possibility that Valentino Rossi will take his place.
In a world where most major rider changes get leaked long before public confirmation, Spies caught everyone - including it seems the Yamaha team - by surprise.
Spies, 28, has raced for Yamaha ever since leaving the American AMA Superbike Championship.
The Texan won the World Superbike title with Yamaha at his first attempt in 2009 and was rewarded with a Tech 3 MotoGP seat the following year, before being parachuted into the Factory team as Rossi’s 2011 replacement.
Riding alongside Jorge Lorenzo, Spies took his first MotoGP win at Assen last season and came agonisingly close to a repeat victory at the Valencia finale.
A 2012 title challenge looked realistic on the improved 1000cc M1, but instead Spies’ has suffered the worst form of his grand prix career, slipping to tenth in the championship after a string of race day problems.
But his talent has never been in doubt and, with title leader Lorenzo locked into a new two-year Yamaha deal, Spies looked to have a fighting chance of remaining alongside the Spaniard - until his Tuesday announcement.
Speaking on Thursday in California, Spies said: “I’ve known for quite a bit what my personal decision was and I thought this was the right time to do it with all the contracts happening with other riders. To be out of the ball game with that.
“That’s basically it. There’s a litany of reasons behind it - just getting back to stress-free and doing what I want to do and finish out the season strong.
“For sure, we’re going to keep giving 100 per cent. Nothing changes from that standpoint. I just made a decision, something that I’d known for quite a while and that I wanted to get it off my chest and out of the way.
“Now that we’ve done that I feel like the weight of the world is off my shoulders and I can do what I set out to do.”
Attempts to find out where Spies will be racing next year were robustly deflected.
“That’s all that’s going to be said about it at this point until I’m ready to talk about the future,” said Spies.
The most popular suggestions are that Spies will return to WSBK with BMW and then spearhead a possible German MotoGP project for 2014, or that he will headline Suzuki’s proposed MotoGP comeback.
Spies won three AMA titles and made his MotoGP debut as a wild-card for Suzuki.
While Spies has stepped out of contention for the most competitive MotoGP ride still available - Repsol Honda has already named Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez for 2013 - the spotlight has turned more than ever onto Rossi.
Rossi quit Honda for Yamaha in 2004, lifting the company’s first premier-class crown since 1992 during an unforgettable debut season on the M1 - a bike that took just one podium the year before.
Four of Rossi’s seven MotoGP titles were won with Yamaha, but the arrival of double 250cc champion Lorenzo in 2008 meant the Italian faced his first real challenge from within the team.
Rossi didn’t like it, commenting that his efforts to improve the bike would only be helping his nearest rival.
A wall was built to separate the two sides of the pit garage and exchange of data was limited, but Lorenzo continued to get stronger and was leading the championship when Rossi broke his leg at Mugello in 2010.
The Doctor made the decision Italy had been dreaming of, to join Ducati, during the summer break, then claimed his 79th and most recent premier-class victory at Sepang that October.
However Rossi massively underestimated the challenge ahead, unaware - like most of the paddock - just how much of Ducati’s success had been down to the talent of Casey Stoner.
Ducati has made numerous major technical changes to try and suit Rossi, not least switching its frame from carbon fibre to ‘Japanese-style’ aluminium. But Rossi has only taken two podiums in one and a half seasons and the problems of understeer and lack of front-end feel remain unsolved.
The attraction for Yamaha is commercial. The Factory has been without a title sponsor since Rossi left and there are already rumours that major companies are ready to step in and fund a Rossi return.
Lorenzo has given no public opposition and, at Laguna Seca, Rossi confessed that he must choose between continuing the work so far done at Ducati - now owned by Audi - or taking what is surely a safer competitive bet with Yamaha.
Rossi, who avoided specific mention of Yamaha, explained: “I have spoken a lot with Ducati about next year, but still waiting about some important ties and some important things on the contract. And I also have some other options for next year.
“I think the situation will be clearer in the next weeks, and I think in the summer break I will decide about next year.”
By far the richest rider in MotoGP, the 33-year-old made clear that money is no longer a priority.
Rossi said: “Sincerely from my point of view, money is not very important. If it was I would already have decided! Everything has some positive and some negatives. So I have to make a clear balance and make the decision.
“From one side [Ducati] we have a lot of work to do, but good feelings for the future. Another choice [Yamaha] is safer and more sure that it is possible to be competitive in a short period.
“It is also a particular moment in my career, so I have to decide what is more important for the future.”
Lorenzo starts this weekend’s US GP with a 19-point lead over Pedrosa. Rossi, whose team-mate Nicky Hayden looks increasingly likely to remain at Ducati, is sixth in the championship.
All eyes on Alonso as F1 arrives in Hungary
F1 News
Date: 26/July/2012
Having travelled straight from the German Grand Prix, the F1 paddock reassembled in Budapest on Thursday in preparation for this weekend’s Hungarian round.
Despite an off-the-pace Ferrari at the start of the year, Fernando Alonso approaches round eleven of 20 as the only triple winner of the season so far.
The Spaniard holds a 34-point advantage over Red Bull’s Mark Webber after victory in Germany - meaning that whatever happens in Hungary, Alonso will still be leading the title chase when the summer break ends at Spa on August 31.
Having broken clear at the top, many are starting to talk of Alonso finally claiming his third title - after back-to-back championships for Renault in 2005-2006 - but the Spaniard refuses to be drawn on such speculation.
“We are in a good position, but we are only halfway. There remain another ten important races with the same possibilities for everybody,” he said. “The distance between the top five, top six is not a gap that is impossible to recover. One or two good races and you are up there.
“This year the grid is so tight, in one-tenth you have four or five cars. In the races we are more or less at the same performance, it’s not like last year when there were six cars and then a different group of cars and then a different group again.
“It’s a little bit more stress for all of us. We’ve been lucky in some moments of the Championship and we’ve been finishing all the races in the points, which obviously helps.
“Now we need to keep the concentration and keep maximising what we have in our hands every weekend - sometimes that can be a podium, sometimes maybe it’s a fifth or a seventh.
“But we cannot afford to make any mistakes or anything that we will regret.
“In terms of the Championship it’s obviously way too early to think about and McLaren, Red Bull, Lotus, Mercedes - everyone is still in contention.”
However Alonso did admit that it would be a dream to match the late Ayrton Senna’s title count.
“If it's this year, in two years' time or in six years' time, I don't know but the third one will be very important for me,” he said. “To have the same as Ayrton had - three World Championships - he was idol or my reference when I was in go-karts.
“Some other big names also have three, Lauda etc. So three is a pretty good number which I always dreamt of and hopefully it will arrive sooner rather than later.”
The last driver to win the World Championship for Ferrari was Kimi Raikkonen in 2007. The Finn, who ended a two-year F1 exile by joining Lotus this year, also thinks it’s too close to call at present.
“Fernando is definitely in the best position right now, but like he said you have one or two bad weekends and somebody else suddenly does well in those races and it changes very quickly,” said Raikkonen, who is fourth in this year’s championship with two podiums.
“There are too many races still to go to look into it too much, so we will see what happens.”
The tight and twisty Budapest circuit was the scene of Alonso’s first ever grand prix victory, in 2003. Last weekend at Hockenheim, the 30-year-old took his 30th F1 win.
Date: 26/July/2012
Having travelled straight from the German Grand Prix, the F1 paddock reassembled in Budapest on Thursday in preparation for this weekend’s Hungarian round.
Despite an off-the-pace Ferrari at the start of the year, Fernando Alonso approaches round eleven of 20 as the only triple winner of the season so far.
The Spaniard holds a 34-point advantage over Red Bull’s Mark Webber after victory in Germany - meaning that whatever happens in Hungary, Alonso will still be leading the title chase when the summer break ends at Spa on August 31.
Having broken clear at the top, many are starting to talk of Alonso finally claiming his third title - after back-to-back championships for Renault in 2005-2006 - but the Spaniard refuses to be drawn on such speculation.
“We are in a good position, but we are only halfway. There remain another ten important races with the same possibilities for everybody,” he said. “The distance between the top five, top six is not a gap that is impossible to recover. One or two good races and you are up there.
“This year the grid is so tight, in one-tenth you have four or five cars. In the races we are more or less at the same performance, it’s not like last year when there were six cars and then a different group of cars and then a different group again.
“It’s a little bit more stress for all of us. We’ve been lucky in some moments of the Championship and we’ve been finishing all the races in the points, which obviously helps.
“Now we need to keep the concentration and keep maximising what we have in our hands every weekend - sometimes that can be a podium, sometimes maybe it’s a fifth or a seventh.
“But we cannot afford to make any mistakes or anything that we will regret.
“In terms of the Championship it’s obviously way too early to think about and McLaren, Red Bull, Lotus, Mercedes - everyone is still in contention.”
However Alonso did admit that it would be a dream to match the late Ayrton Senna’s title count.
“If it's this year, in two years' time or in six years' time, I don't know but the third one will be very important for me,” he said. “To have the same as Ayrton had - three World Championships - he was idol or my reference when I was in go-karts.
“Some other big names also have three, Lauda etc. So three is a pretty good number which I always dreamt of and hopefully it will arrive sooner rather than later.”
The last driver to win the World Championship for Ferrari was Kimi Raikkonen in 2007. The Finn, who ended a two-year F1 exile by joining Lotus this year, also thinks it’s too close to call at present.
“Fernando is definitely in the best position right now, but like he said you have one or two bad weekends and somebody else suddenly does well in those races and it changes very quickly,” said Raikkonen, who is fourth in this year’s championship with two podiums.
“There are too many races still to go to look into it too much, so we will see what happens.”
The tight and twisty Budapest circuit was the scene of Alonso’s first ever grand prix victory, in 2003. Last weekend at Hockenheim, the 30-year-old took his 30th F1 win.
Vettel penalised for Button pass, slams Hamilton
F1 News
Date: 22/July/2012
Sebastian Vettel has been stripped of his second place finish in Sunday’s German F1 Grand Prix.
The reigning double World Champion received a 20-second post-race penalty, dropping him to fifth, for gaining an advantage outside of the track limits while overtaking Jenson Button on the penultimate lap of his home race.
Vettel, Button and race winner Fernando Alonso were covered by three seconds in the closing stages of the 67 lap grand prix. Button initially threatened Alonso for victory, but the Ferrari driver kept just out of reach and Button instead found Vettel’s Red Bull filling his wing mirrors.
The German eventually drew alongside under braking for the Turn Six hairpin, but Button clung to the inside and then allowed his McLaren to drift across to the outside kerb on the exit.
Vettel had better drive out of the corner and swerved around Button’s car to make the pass, but in doing so put all four wheels outside of the track limits.
“I wasn’t sure if he had given up the corner or not,” Vettel explained, prior to being told of his penalty.
“I wanted to leave him some space and obviously it’s difficult to know at that time where exactly he is. The last thing you want with one lap to go is to have a crash.
“So then I decided to go off the circuit to make it safe for both of us. As it turned out his rear tyres had no traction so even on the paint, which is quite a lot more slippery than the asphalt, I was able to stay ahead.”
Button had made his views immediately clear during a radio message and, expecting an investigation, refused to comment on the pass following the podium ceremony.
“There’s nothing to say really, I think the TV cameras say it all,” were his only words.
Earlier in the race, Vettel had been on the receiving end of controversial tactics by another McLaren driver, in the form of Button’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
The Englishman had suffered a puncture and rejoined the race a lap down, then later got mixed up in the lead battle - overtaking Vettel and almost passing Alonso.
“That was not nice of him,” said Vettel of Hamilton’s interference at the front.
“If he wants to go fast he can drop back, find a gap and go fast there. But it’s a bit stupid to disturb the leaders. He was a lap down so I don’t see the point.
“I think [Hamilton] potentially lost us the position to Jenson at the final pit stop.”
Vettel’s post-race demotion means second place for Button and a fourth podium of the year for Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen.
In the championship standings, Alonso’s third victory hands the Spaniard a 34-point lead over Vettel’s team-mate Mark Webber, who finished just eighth in Germany.
The size of Alonso’s lead means he will still be on top of the championship whatever happens at next weekend’s Hungarian GP, but he insists the advantage means little at this stage.
“We are very happy with the points that we have achieved in the first half but it means nothing, because there are still another ten races in which we need to improve the car,” he said.
“We need to be consistent and we need to keep finishing all the races. One or two drivers always don't finish the race because of mechanical problems or incidents or something, so we need to avoid these problems.”
While Red Bull’s race ended with a penalty, the team looked in real danger of starting the grand prix with some form of sanction. Red Bull were referred to the Stewards by F1 Technical Delegate Jo Bauer, who had spotted an irregularity with the team’s engine torque mapping after qualifying.
Part of Bauer’s statement said: “Having examined the engine base torque map of car numbers 01 and 02 it became apparent that the maximum torque output of both engines is significantly less in the mid rpm range than previously seen at other Events.
“In my opinion this is therefore in breach of article 5.5.3 of the 2012 Formula 1 technical regulations.”
The softening of the mid-rage torque curve could have been used as a potential form of traction control. However Bauer revealed there was also a potential aerodynamic gain:
“Furthermore this new torque map will artificially alter the aerodynamic characteristics of both cars which is also in contravention of TD 036-11. I am referring this matter to the stewards,” his statement added.
Ultimately, the Stewards decided no action would be taken, despite not accepting all of the team’s explanations for the non-linear relationship between throttle position and torque.
Part of the Stewards statement read: “While the stewards do not accept all the arguments of the team, they however conclude that as the regulation is written, the map presented does not breach the text of Art. 5.5.3 of the Formula One Technical Regulations and therefore decided to take no action.”
Rival teams are expected to seek further clarification in the coming days.
Date: 22/July/2012
Sebastian Vettel has been stripped of his second place finish in Sunday’s German F1 Grand Prix.
The reigning double World Champion received a 20-second post-race penalty, dropping him to fifth, for gaining an advantage outside of the track limits while overtaking Jenson Button on the penultimate lap of his home race.
Vettel, Button and race winner Fernando Alonso were covered by three seconds in the closing stages of the 67 lap grand prix. Button initially threatened Alonso for victory, but the Ferrari driver kept just out of reach and Button instead found Vettel’s Red Bull filling his wing mirrors.
The German eventually drew alongside under braking for the Turn Six hairpin, but Button clung to the inside and then allowed his McLaren to drift across to the outside kerb on the exit.
Vettel had better drive out of the corner and swerved around Button’s car to make the pass, but in doing so put all four wheels outside of the track limits.
“I wasn’t sure if he had given up the corner or not,” Vettel explained, prior to being told of his penalty.
“I wanted to leave him some space and obviously it’s difficult to know at that time where exactly he is. The last thing you want with one lap to go is to have a crash.
“So then I decided to go off the circuit to make it safe for both of us. As it turned out his rear tyres had no traction so even on the paint, which is quite a lot more slippery than the asphalt, I was able to stay ahead.”
Button had made his views immediately clear during a radio message and, expecting an investigation, refused to comment on the pass following the podium ceremony.
“There’s nothing to say really, I think the TV cameras say it all,” were his only words.
Earlier in the race, Vettel had been on the receiving end of controversial tactics by another McLaren driver, in the form of Button’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
The Englishman had suffered a puncture and rejoined the race a lap down, then later got mixed up in the lead battle - overtaking Vettel and almost passing Alonso.
“That was not nice of him,” said Vettel of Hamilton’s interference at the front.
“If he wants to go fast he can drop back, find a gap and go fast there. But it’s a bit stupid to disturb the leaders. He was a lap down so I don’t see the point.
“I think [Hamilton] potentially lost us the position to Jenson at the final pit stop.”
Vettel’s post-race demotion means second place for Button and a fourth podium of the year for Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen.
In the championship standings, Alonso’s third victory hands the Spaniard a 34-point lead over Vettel’s team-mate Mark Webber, who finished just eighth in Germany.
The size of Alonso’s lead means he will still be on top of the championship whatever happens at next weekend’s Hungarian GP, but he insists the advantage means little at this stage.
“We are very happy with the points that we have achieved in the first half but it means nothing, because there are still another ten races in which we need to improve the car,” he said.
“We need to be consistent and we need to keep finishing all the races. One or two drivers always don't finish the race because of mechanical problems or incidents or something, so we need to avoid these problems.”
While Red Bull’s race ended with a penalty, the team looked in real danger of starting the grand prix with some form of sanction. Red Bull were referred to the Stewards by F1 Technical Delegate Jo Bauer, who had spotted an irregularity with the team’s engine torque mapping after qualifying.
Part of Bauer’s statement said: “Having examined the engine base torque map of car numbers 01 and 02 it became apparent that the maximum torque output of both engines is significantly less in the mid rpm range than previously seen at other Events.
“In my opinion this is therefore in breach of article 5.5.3 of the 2012 Formula 1 technical regulations.”
The softening of the mid-rage torque curve could have been used as a potential form of traction control. However Bauer revealed there was also a potential aerodynamic gain:
“Furthermore this new torque map will artificially alter the aerodynamic characteristics of both cars which is also in contravention of TD 036-11. I am referring this matter to the stewards,” his statement added.
Ultimately, the Stewards decided no action would be taken, despite not accepting all of the team’s explanations for the non-linear relationship between throttle position and torque.
Part of the Stewards statement read: “While the stewards do not accept all the arguments of the team, they however conclude that as the regulation is written, the map presented does not breach the text of Art. 5.5.3 of the Formula One Technical Regulations and therefore decided to take no action.”
Rival teams are expected to seek further clarification in the coming days.
Alonso sails to Hockenheim pole
F1 News
Date: 21/July/2012
It wasn’t fun, but F1 World Championship leader Fernando Alonso claimed his second pole position of the season in a rain-soaked conclusion to qualifying for the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.
After a dry start, a heavy shower doused the circuit during qualifying two, with the final top-ten shootout taking place on a saturated track.
Visibility was heavily restricted due to the clouds of spray thrown up by the cars, while pools of standing water provided a constant aquaplaning threat.
“Not fun, that’s for sure,” said Ferrari star Alonso. “I think the problem is that you don’t know the track conditions. It’s very difficult to put a clean lap together and very easy to finish in the gravel, the grass or the wall.
“Those type of conditions are a little bit of a survival moment. You try to complete the lap, to avoid any problems, and then whatever the position is you are happy, because you felt that you were at the maximum.
“So when they tell you, you are on pole, it’s obviously a very happy moment.”
Despite the difficulties, Alonso finished qualifying with a best lap time 0.4s ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. Alonso credited a late tyre change for providing some of that advantage.
“I think it was a very good decision, because as soon as I put on the second set of wet tyres on, I found a little bit more grip in the car,” said the Spaniard. “I'm happy with the strategy today and I think it was the right call.”
Home hero Vettel didn’t follow the same tactic, but also admitted he didn’t get the most out of the car.
“Potentially Fernando’s [tyre] strategy was a little bit quicker - but nevertheless I think I could have gone a little bit quicker myself,” said the reigning double world champion. “Whether it would have been quick enough, we’ll never know.”
As he is being constantly reminded, Vettel will be fighting for a long-awaited first ever home win on Sunday. The 25-year-old is making few predications, although he does foresee a dry race.
“I think it should be dry,” he said. “Obviously I grew up more or less in this area and usually July is a nice month weather-wise.
“I hope for a good race tomorrow. With the weather conditions changing so much you can’t really test one thing against another. But I think the speed is there, we just need to find out how the car works best.
“Obviously now we can’t change anything, but I think the changes we’ve made should be a step forward, especially in the dry.”
Alonso leads the championship by 13-points over fellow double 2012 winner Mark Webber, whose team-mate Vettel is 29-points from the top in third.
Webber qualified third on Saturday, but will start eighth due to a penalty.
The Australian said of qualifying: “It was a challenge for us. There was extremely heavy aquaplaning, so when the cars are having wheelspin at 280km/h it certainly gets your attention.
“But in the end I was happy with my lap; happy to be up there again. Obviously every position I gained was better against the penalty that I have for the gearbox change - but eighth is still OK, we can race from there.”
Date: 21/July/2012
It wasn’t fun, but F1 World Championship leader Fernando Alonso claimed his second pole position of the season in a rain-soaked conclusion to qualifying for the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.
After a dry start, a heavy shower doused the circuit during qualifying two, with the final top-ten shootout taking place on a saturated track.
Visibility was heavily restricted due to the clouds of spray thrown up by the cars, while pools of standing water provided a constant aquaplaning threat.
“Not fun, that’s for sure,” said Ferrari star Alonso. “I think the problem is that you don’t know the track conditions. It’s very difficult to put a clean lap together and very easy to finish in the gravel, the grass or the wall.
“Those type of conditions are a little bit of a survival moment. You try to complete the lap, to avoid any problems, and then whatever the position is you are happy, because you felt that you were at the maximum.
“So when they tell you, you are on pole, it’s obviously a very happy moment.”
Despite the difficulties, Alonso finished qualifying with a best lap time 0.4s ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. Alonso credited a late tyre change for providing some of that advantage.
“I think it was a very good decision, because as soon as I put on the second set of wet tyres on, I found a little bit more grip in the car,” said the Spaniard. “I'm happy with the strategy today and I think it was the right call.”
Home hero Vettel didn’t follow the same tactic, but also admitted he didn’t get the most out of the car.
“Potentially Fernando’s [tyre] strategy was a little bit quicker - but nevertheless I think I could have gone a little bit quicker myself,” said the reigning double world champion. “Whether it would have been quick enough, we’ll never know.”
As he is being constantly reminded, Vettel will be fighting for a long-awaited first ever home win on Sunday. The 25-year-old is making few predications, although he does foresee a dry race.
“I think it should be dry,” he said. “Obviously I grew up more or less in this area and usually July is a nice month weather-wise.
“I hope for a good race tomorrow. With the weather conditions changing so much you can’t really test one thing against another. But I think the speed is there, we just need to find out how the car works best.
“Obviously now we can’t change anything, but I think the changes we’ve made should be a step forward, especially in the dry.”
Alonso leads the championship by 13-points over fellow double 2012 winner Mark Webber, whose team-mate Vettel is 29-points from the top in third.
Webber qualified third on Saturday, but will start eighth due to a penalty.
The Australian said of qualifying: “It was a challenge for us. There was extremely heavy aquaplaning, so when the cars are having wheelspin at 280km/h it certainly gets your attention.
“But in the end I was happy with my lap; happy to be up there again. Obviously every position I gained was better against the penalty that I have for the gearbox change - but eighth is still OK, we can race from there.”
Vettel surprised by home 'stat attack'
F1 News
Date: 19/July/2012
Reigning double World Champion Sebastian Vettel has achieved a huge amount in his F1 career, but there are two things he hasn’t yet managed.
None of the German’s 22 victories have been claimed in front of his home fans - and, it was revealed on Thursday at Hockenheim, he has also never won an F1 race held in July!
The Red Bull star is well aware of his home record, but didn’t expect the July stat.
“My goodness! Then if I don’t win this weekend we’ll move [the German GP] to August. Or June!” he joked.
“Obviously it would be very special to win here, I think first of all to have the chance to race in your home country is something that’s very special, and being able to win would be incredible.
“We try again – but I don’t believe in a bad month or a bad date in that regard.”
The statistical surprises didn’t end there, with Vettel then informed that he has scored a massive 104 points less than at the same time last year.
“104!” he repeated. “No, it's different, of course. Obviously we had an incredible year last year, good start, a lot of points, a lot of wins. This year we've had two DNFs and all in all, I think it has been a tricky season.
“Obviously a lot of guys and a lot of cars that are very competitive, so naturally I think it's a different season so far but feeling-wise, I feel as happy as last year really, so looking forward to this weekend, but I think we have a long season ahead of us.”
Vettel finished fourth in last year’s German round, held at the Nurburgring, marking his only non-podium aside from a retirement in Abu Dhabi.
The 25-year old starts this year’s event holding third place in the Drivers’ Championship, 29-points behind Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and 16-points from team-mate Mark Webber.
After nine unpredictable rounds, Alonso and Webber are the only double winners so far this year.
Date: 19/July/2012
Reigning double World Champion Sebastian Vettel has achieved a huge amount in his F1 career, but there are two things he hasn’t yet managed.
None of the German’s 22 victories have been claimed in front of his home fans - and, it was revealed on Thursday at Hockenheim, he has also never won an F1 race held in July!
The Red Bull star is well aware of his home record, but didn’t expect the July stat.
“My goodness! Then if I don’t win this weekend we’ll move [the German GP] to August. Or June!” he joked.
“Obviously it would be very special to win here, I think first of all to have the chance to race in your home country is something that’s very special, and being able to win would be incredible.
“We try again – but I don’t believe in a bad month or a bad date in that regard.”
The statistical surprises didn’t end there, with Vettel then informed that he has scored a massive 104 points less than at the same time last year.
“104!” he repeated. “No, it's different, of course. Obviously we had an incredible year last year, good start, a lot of points, a lot of wins. This year we've had two DNFs and all in all, I think it has been a tricky season.
“Obviously a lot of guys and a lot of cars that are very competitive, so naturally I think it's a different season so far but feeling-wise, I feel as happy as last year really, so looking forward to this weekend, but I think we have a long season ahead of us.”
Vettel finished fourth in last year’s German round, held at the Nurburgring, marking his only non-podium aside from a retirement in Abu Dhabi.
The 25-year old starts this year’s event holding third place in the Drivers’ Championship, 29-points behind Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and 16-points from team-mate Mark Webber.
After nine unpredictable rounds, Alonso and Webber are the only double winners so far this year.
New Honda engine gets thumbs up, Ducati delay
MotoGP News
Date: 17/July/2012
Monday’s MotoGP test session at the Mugello circuit saw the debut of a new bike from Honda and confirmation that Valentino Rossi will need to wait several more races for major Ducati upgrades.
The new Honda was handed to official riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa in an effort to try and cure their vibration problems with this year’s Bridgestone tyres.
Reigning champion Stoner, who has dropped 37 points from Yamaha’s title leader Jorge Lorenzo, didn’t like the chassis - but wants the engine as soon as possible.
Stoner said: “With the engine we found some improvements, a little smoother and some more power. As far as chassis goes I didn't find any real benefits, we tried many different things but couldn't get a better feeling.
“If we can have the new engine with the current chassis, it's the best combination, but we're not sure if we can have it in time for Laguna Seca.”
Pedrosa has now moved ahead of Stoner for second place in the championship. The Spaniard was more positive about the new chassis.
Pedrosa said: “I'm happy because we found some positives with the new engine and also with the new chassis that can help us in the second part of the season.
“Honda is working very hard and I'm sure they will do their best to be able to supply us the new parts for Laguna and the following races.
“The engine is better into the corner, the engine brake is smoother and the bike is not so sharp when you close the throttle, so this helps you to get into the corner.”
Lorenzo was again fastest at the test, with Pedrosa second (+0.114s) and Stoner third (+0.116s).
Over at Ducati, Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden had various updates to try - but the developments fell well short of the long-awaited new, smoother, engine.
Instead Rossi’s main focus was on the engine management system, an ‘intermediate step’, but the new ECU cut out and caused Rossi to crash, ending his test after just 23 laps.
The seven time MotoGP Champion, who is still chasing his first Ducati victory after one and a half seasons at the team, said:
“They had some things to try today, but it was mainly with an eye toward the future, as the substantial changes they’re working on at Ducati for the engine’s power delivery weren’t ready yet.
“So this was an intermediate step, an interim engine management system through a new ECU.
“We started testing it this morning, and the first feelings were good, as I immediately did a good time with a used tyre. However, when I started again after the break, the bike stalled at the Correntaio and I fell.
“In the interest of safety, we decided to stop because the engineers have to analyse the data to understand what happened.”
Ducati Technical Director Filippo Preziosi said that further updates will be available for the Misano test, in September, meaning the new engine may only be raced in the closing rounds of this season.
Round ten of the 2012 MotoGP Championship takes place at Laguna Seca, America at the end of this month.
Date: 17/July/2012
Monday’s MotoGP test session at the Mugello circuit saw the debut of a new bike from Honda and confirmation that Valentino Rossi will need to wait several more races for major Ducati upgrades.
The new Honda was handed to official riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa in an effort to try and cure their vibration problems with this year’s Bridgestone tyres.
Reigning champion Stoner, who has dropped 37 points from Yamaha’s title leader Jorge Lorenzo, didn’t like the chassis - but wants the engine as soon as possible.
Stoner said: “With the engine we found some improvements, a little smoother and some more power. As far as chassis goes I didn't find any real benefits, we tried many different things but couldn't get a better feeling.
“If we can have the new engine with the current chassis, it's the best combination, but we're not sure if we can have it in time for Laguna Seca.”
Pedrosa has now moved ahead of Stoner for second place in the championship. The Spaniard was more positive about the new chassis.
Pedrosa said: “I'm happy because we found some positives with the new engine and also with the new chassis that can help us in the second part of the season.
“Honda is working very hard and I'm sure they will do their best to be able to supply us the new parts for Laguna and the following races.
“The engine is better into the corner, the engine brake is smoother and the bike is not so sharp when you close the throttle, so this helps you to get into the corner.”
Lorenzo was again fastest at the test, with Pedrosa second (+0.114s) and Stoner third (+0.116s).
Over at Ducati, Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden had various updates to try - but the developments fell well short of the long-awaited new, smoother, engine.
Instead Rossi’s main focus was on the engine management system, an ‘intermediate step’, but the new ECU cut out and caused Rossi to crash, ending his test after just 23 laps.
The seven time MotoGP Champion, who is still chasing his first Ducati victory after one and a half seasons at the team, said:
“They had some things to try today, but it was mainly with an eye toward the future, as the substantial changes they’re working on at Ducati for the engine’s power delivery weren’t ready yet.
“So this was an intermediate step, an interim engine management system through a new ECU.
“We started testing it this morning, and the first feelings were good, as I immediately did a good time with a used tyre. However, when I started again after the break, the bike stalled at the Correntaio and I fell.
“In the interest of safety, we decided to stop because the engineers have to analyse the data to understand what happened.”
Ducati Technical Director Filippo Preziosi said that further updates will be available for the Misano test, in September, meaning the new engine may only be raced in the closing rounds of this season.
Round ten of the 2012 MotoGP Championship takes place at Laguna Seca, America at the end of this month.
Advantage Lorenzo after Mugello masterclass
MotoGP News
Date: 15/July/2012
The 2012 MotoGP title swung further back in Jorge Lorenzo’s direction after a daunting performance in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix at Mugello.
The Factory Yamaha rider put Saturday’s qualifying glitch behind him by overtaking pole sitter and title rival Dani Pedrosa at turn one, then delivering a pace that no other rider could match.
Lorenzo insisted it was harder than it looked: “I knew it was going to be a difficult because Dani also had a very good pace. So I tried to overtake him in the first corner to open a gap, because usually [the others] struggle a bit more than me with new tyres.
“But it wasn’t like that today. I couldn’t open the gap for the first ten laps. But then pushing, pushing and pushing - going into the 1m 47s lap times - I could open a little gap.
“I kept pushing and fighting the bike and the gap grew more and after that it was easier and I could ride more smoothly to the finish.”
Pedrosa clung on until the halfway stage, but feared for his tyres should he continue to try and match Lorenzo’s pace. The Repsol Honda rider subsequently backed off and was over five-seconds behind at the chequered flag.
Pedrosa said: “Once I got into the 1m 47s lap time I immediately started to spin a lot in the rear and have a lot of chatter. So I was worried for the rear tyre and decided to slow down a bit, because to catch Jorge I would have had to stay in the 1m 47s. He was riding so strong. But second is a good result for us.”
Home rider Andrea Dovizioso completed the podium in third place, marking his forth podium of the season for the Yamaha Tech 3 team. Dovizioso said: “For our team it is amazing. A dream. And I’m so happy to be on the podium in front of all the Italian fans.”
Lorenzo previously lost a 25-point title lead to Casey Stoner, following an Assen accident, but in the two races since Lorenzo has built his advantage back up to 19 points over new nearest rival Pedrosa.
Stoner, who fell in the previous German round, struggled throughout the Mugello weekend and finished only eighth in the race after running off-track.
Stoner said: “I had a shake from the bike and when I got to the next corner I had no brakes. I went into the gravel and it was ‘game over’ in terms of a good result. It was already a tough weekend, but I think we had the pace to be on the podium. We blew it.”
The reigning champion is now 37 points behind Lorenzo with half of the 18 rounds remaining. The MotoGP riders will remain at Mugello for a test session on Monday.
Date: 15/July/2012
The 2012 MotoGP title swung further back in Jorge Lorenzo’s direction after a daunting performance in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix at Mugello.
The Factory Yamaha rider put Saturday’s qualifying glitch behind him by overtaking pole sitter and title rival Dani Pedrosa at turn one, then delivering a pace that no other rider could match.
Lorenzo insisted it was harder than it looked: “I knew it was going to be a difficult because Dani also had a very good pace. So I tried to overtake him in the first corner to open a gap, because usually [the others] struggle a bit more than me with new tyres.
“But it wasn’t like that today. I couldn’t open the gap for the first ten laps. But then pushing, pushing and pushing - going into the 1m 47s lap times - I could open a little gap.
“I kept pushing and fighting the bike and the gap grew more and after that it was easier and I could ride more smoothly to the finish.”
Pedrosa clung on until the halfway stage, but feared for his tyres should he continue to try and match Lorenzo’s pace. The Repsol Honda rider subsequently backed off and was over five-seconds behind at the chequered flag.
Pedrosa said: “Once I got into the 1m 47s lap time I immediately started to spin a lot in the rear and have a lot of chatter. So I was worried for the rear tyre and decided to slow down a bit, because to catch Jorge I would have had to stay in the 1m 47s. He was riding so strong. But second is a good result for us.”
Home rider Andrea Dovizioso completed the podium in third place, marking his forth podium of the season for the Yamaha Tech 3 team. Dovizioso said: “For our team it is amazing. A dream. And I’m so happy to be on the podium in front of all the Italian fans.”
Lorenzo previously lost a 25-point title lead to Casey Stoner, following an Assen accident, but in the two races since Lorenzo has built his advantage back up to 19 points over new nearest rival Pedrosa.
Stoner, who fell in the previous German round, struggled throughout the Mugello weekend and finished only eighth in the race after running off-track.
Stoner said: “I had a shake from the bike and when I got to the next corner I had no brakes. I went into the gravel and it was ‘game over’ in terms of a good result. It was already a tough weekend, but I think we had the pace to be on the podium. We blew it.”
The reigning champion is now 37 points behind Lorenzo with half of the 18 rounds remaining. The MotoGP riders will remain at Mugello for a test session on Monday.
Lorenzo glitch hands Mugello pole to Pedrosa
MotoGP News
Date: 15/July/2012
Having set a record-breaking pace on his way to leading the three practice sessions prior to MotoGP qualifying at Mugello, Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo looked set to claim his 21st premier-class pole.
But Honda’s Dani Pedrosa stepped up to challenge the Yamaha rider during the one-hour session - and when a furious Lorenzo was forced to abandon his final lap due to a technical problem, it was Pedrosa that emerged with a surprise pole.
Pedrosa said: “We didn’t start the weekend as fast as Jorge, but we made some improvements. Jorge is riding so good here and has a very fast pace, so it will be difficult tomorrow to be this fast every lap. But we are trying to do more to improve the bike and I’m quite confident. We will give all we have.
“It’s so good to have dry sessions all weekend. It’s been so tricky to find the set-up and things on the bike in other races. Tyre choice will be very important tomorrow. We have two hard spec tyres, with only a little difference between them. So it is not 100 percent clear.”
Lorenzo, who had punched the fuel tank of his bike with frustration as he cruised down pit lane, explained that the electronic problem had been getting worse before his M1 finally gave up at the final turn.
“I’ve been quite fast all weekend. Always in first position and with a good pace. This is the important thing,” Lorenzo began.
“We had a problem with the electronics, it was getting worse every corner and so I couldn’t finish my best lap in qualifying. It wasn’t a perfect lap but was quick enough to have pole position.
“But in general, apart from this mistake, everything is going well. On the straight we are not losing any speed which is new for us! So we are optimistic for the race.”
Lorenzo added that he doesn’t expect the technical problem to be a factor in the race. “Yamaha told me there is no problem for tomorrow. They know what happened,” he said.
Pedrosa’s first victory of the season last weekend in German means he is now Lorenzo nearest challenger, sitting 14-points behind.
Pramac’s Hector Barbera will complete the front row after a MotoGP best of third, with Pedrosa’s team-mate and reigning champion Casey Stoner starting fifth on the grid, behind Ducati’s Nicky Hayden.
Stoner has slipped to third in the standings after his last-lap Sachsenring accident.
Date: 15/July/2012
Having set a record-breaking pace on his way to leading the three practice sessions prior to MotoGP qualifying at Mugello, Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo looked set to claim his 21st premier-class pole.
But Honda’s Dani Pedrosa stepped up to challenge the Yamaha rider during the one-hour session - and when a furious Lorenzo was forced to abandon his final lap due to a technical problem, it was Pedrosa that emerged with a surprise pole.
Pedrosa said: “We didn’t start the weekend as fast as Jorge, but we made some improvements. Jorge is riding so good here and has a very fast pace, so it will be difficult tomorrow to be this fast every lap. But we are trying to do more to improve the bike and I’m quite confident. We will give all we have.
“It’s so good to have dry sessions all weekend. It’s been so tricky to find the set-up and things on the bike in other races. Tyre choice will be very important tomorrow. We have two hard spec tyres, with only a little difference between them. So it is not 100 percent clear.”
Lorenzo, who had punched the fuel tank of his bike with frustration as he cruised down pit lane, explained that the electronic problem had been getting worse before his M1 finally gave up at the final turn.
“I’ve been quite fast all weekend. Always in first position and with a good pace. This is the important thing,” Lorenzo began.
“We had a problem with the electronics, it was getting worse every corner and so I couldn’t finish my best lap in qualifying. It wasn’t a perfect lap but was quick enough to have pole position.
“But in general, apart from this mistake, everything is going well. On the straight we are not losing any speed which is new for us! So we are optimistic for the race.”
Lorenzo added that he doesn’t expect the technical problem to be a factor in the race. “Yamaha told me there is no problem for tomorrow. They know what happened,” he said.
Pedrosa’s first victory of the season last weekend in German means he is now Lorenzo nearest challenger, sitting 14-points behind.
Pramac’s Hector Barbera will complete the front row after a MotoGP best of third, with Pedrosa’s team-mate and reigning champion Casey Stoner starting fifth on the grid, behind Ducati’s Nicky Hayden.
Stoner has slipped to third in the standings after his last-lap Sachsenring accident.
Honda sends 2013 motorcycle to Mugello test
MotoGP News
Date: 13/July/2012
Honda is leaving no stone unturned in its quest to win the 2012 MotoGP title and will bring a completely new RC213V motorcycle to Monday’s post-race test at Mugello.
Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner are currently 14 and 20 points respectively behind Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo, with the 18-round season reaching its halfway point in Italy on Sunday.
Both reigning champion Stoner, who will retire at the end of this season, and the newly re-signed Pedrosa have battled persistent ‘chatter’ vibration problems with the 2012 spec Bridgestone tyres.
With no cure in sight, Honda has made the radical decision to send a prototype version of next year’s RC213V to the Mugello test.
“On Monday we will have a completely new machine. We will bring two, one for each rider,” explained HRC Executive Vice President Shuhei Nakamoto.
“Originally this machine was next year's prototype, but we have to fix the chatter with the new tyre construction. If the riders are happy, we will race the new machine this year.”
Although featuring few cosmetic changes, Nakamoto made clear that the 2013 bike is significantly different from the present version, with which Stoner (3) and Pedrosa (1) have won half of this year’s eight races. Lorenzo has won the other four.
“The new bike looks very similar, but has many new parts. I can’t give details!” said Nakamoto. “Our priority is to solve the chatter and also stop the front tyre squashing too much.”
Lorenzo was fastest in both of Friday’s free practice sessions at Mugello. Pedrosa finished just 0.031s slower in second, with Stoner lacking 0.451s in sixth place.
Date: 13/July/2012
Honda is leaving no stone unturned in its quest to win the 2012 MotoGP title and will bring a completely new RC213V motorcycle to Monday’s post-race test at Mugello.
Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner are currently 14 and 20 points respectively behind Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo, with the 18-round season reaching its halfway point in Italy on Sunday.
Both reigning champion Stoner, who will retire at the end of this season, and the newly re-signed Pedrosa have battled persistent ‘chatter’ vibration problems with the 2012 spec Bridgestone tyres.
With no cure in sight, Honda has made the radical decision to send a prototype version of next year’s RC213V to the Mugello test.
“On Monday we will have a completely new machine. We will bring two, one for each rider,” explained HRC Executive Vice President Shuhei Nakamoto.
“Originally this machine was next year's prototype, but we have to fix the chatter with the new tyre construction. If the riders are happy, we will race the new machine this year.”
Although featuring few cosmetic changes, Nakamoto made clear that the 2013 bike is significantly different from the present version, with which Stoner (3) and Pedrosa (1) have won half of this year’s eight races. Lorenzo has won the other four.
“The new bike looks very similar, but has many new parts. I can’t give details!” said Nakamoto. “Our priority is to solve the chatter and also stop the front tyre squashing too much.”
Lorenzo was fastest in both of Friday’s free practice sessions at Mugello. Pedrosa finished just 0.031s slower in second, with Stoner lacking 0.451s in sixth place.
Honda replaces Stoner with teenager Marquez
MotoGP News
Date: 12/July/2012
Honda have confirmed the signing of Spanish teenager Marc Marquez to replace retiring MotoGP title holder Casey Stoner.
A joint announcement from HRC revealed a two-year Repsol Honda deal for Marquez and a two-year contract extension for countryman Dani Pedrosa.
Rising star Marquez, 19, is a former 125cc world Champion and currently leads the Moto2 World Championship. His success and long Repsol links meant he was always destined for the official Honda MotoGP team, although the 2013 ride only became technically possible following the recent removal of a ban on rookie riders joining a factory team.
Marquez said: “To reach MotoGP next season with Repsol Honda is a dream come true and I want to thank HRC for their confidence in me. I am very proud to be a part of the big Honda family for the future and I don’t want to forget all the people have helped me since I began to ride motorbikes. Now my focus is on Moto2 where my team and I are working very hard and we are excited to achieve our goal, which is to win the World Championship in 2012.”
Marquez thus follows in the footsteps of Pedrosa, who moved straight to Repsol Honda from the then 250cc class for 2006. Pedrosa has won races every year, and been the top Honda rider in all but two seasons.
Unfortunately for Pedrosa, those seasons - 2006 and 2011 - saw his team-mates (Nicky Hayden and then Stoner) win the MotoGP title. Pedrosa’s 16 wins make him the most successful rider without a premier-class crown, and there had been speculation earlier in the year that Marquez could replace him.
That speculation eased when Stoner made his shock retirement announcement, but Pedrosa’s place remained under threat until title leader Jorge Lorenzo turned down an offer from Honda and re-signed for Yamaha.
From then on, Honda’s priority was to retain Pedrosa, with the Valentino Rossi rumours appearing to have held no substance.
Pedrosa said: "It's been a very long relationship with Honda and I had a strong desire to stay here. The fight for the Championship this year is still open and the next two seasons will be very interesting for me.
“My whole career has been linked to Honda, since I entered into the World Championship in 125cc, then in 250cc and since 2006 in MotoGP. I'm perhaps one of the riders with the longest history with Honda, which makes me feel very proud.
“I want to thank HRC once again for their support; I'm sure that we have great things to do together".
Pedrosa took his first race win of the year last weekend in Germany, when Stoner crashed out while challenging for his fourth victory of the season at the penultimate turn.
Stoner’s mistake means Pedrosa is now second in the championship, 14 points behind Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo, with Stoner 20-points from the top.
The 18-round 2012 season reaches its halfway mark at Mugello in Italy this weekend.
Date: 12/July/2012
Honda have confirmed the signing of Spanish teenager Marc Marquez to replace retiring MotoGP title holder Casey Stoner.
A joint announcement from HRC revealed a two-year Repsol Honda deal for Marquez and a two-year contract extension for countryman Dani Pedrosa.
Rising star Marquez, 19, is a former 125cc world Champion and currently leads the Moto2 World Championship. His success and long Repsol links meant he was always destined for the official Honda MotoGP team, although the 2013 ride only became technically possible following the recent removal of a ban on rookie riders joining a factory team.
Marquez said: “To reach MotoGP next season with Repsol Honda is a dream come true and I want to thank HRC for their confidence in me. I am very proud to be a part of the big Honda family for the future and I don’t want to forget all the people have helped me since I began to ride motorbikes. Now my focus is on Moto2 where my team and I are working very hard and we are excited to achieve our goal, which is to win the World Championship in 2012.”
Marquez thus follows in the footsteps of Pedrosa, who moved straight to Repsol Honda from the then 250cc class for 2006. Pedrosa has won races every year, and been the top Honda rider in all but two seasons.
Unfortunately for Pedrosa, those seasons - 2006 and 2011 - saw his team-mates (Nicky Hayden and then Stoner) win the MotoGP title. Pedrosa’s 16 wins make him the most successful rider without a premier-class crown, and there had been speculation earlier in the year that Marquez could replace him.
That speculation eased when Stoner made his shock retirement announcement, but Pedrosa’s place remained under threat until title leader Jorge Lorenzo turned down an offer from Honda and re-signed for Yamaha.
From then on, Honda’s priority was to retain Pedrosa, with the Valentino Rossi rumours appearing to have held no substance.
Pedrosa said: "It's been a very long relationship with Honda and I had a strong desire to stay here. The fight for the Championship this year is still open and the next two seasons will be very interesting for me.
“My whole career has been linked to Honda, since I entered into the World Championship in 125cc, then in 250cc and since 2006 in MotoGP. I'm perhaps one of the riders with the longest history with Honda, which makes me feel very proud.
“I want to thank HRC once again for their support; I'm sure that we have great things to do together".
Pedrosa took his first race win of the year last weekend in Germany, when Stoner crashed out while challenging for his fourth victory of the season at the penultimate turn.
Stoner’s mistake means Pedrosa is now second in the championship, 14 points behind Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo, with Stoner 20-points from the top.
The 18-round 2012 season reaches its halfway mark at Mugello in Italy this weekend.
Webber stays at Red Bull for 2013
F1 News
Date: 10/July/2012
Just days after his second grand prix victory of the season at Silverstone, Mark Webber has inked a new deal that will see him remain with the Red Bull team for the 2013 Formula One season.
Webber, 35, has been a grand prix driver since 2002, joining Red Bull in 2007 and taking the first of his nine grand prix wins for the team in 2009.
The Australian is presently second in the World Championship, 13 points behind Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who is the only other double race winner this year.
Upon announcing his new deal, Webber said: “I’ve been with Red Bull Racing since 2007 and have achieved nine grand prix wins during that time. I’m high on confidence at the moment and firing on all cylinders.
“I know the Team well and I’m very comfortable here; we have grown together over the years and it feels like absolutely the right thing to stay with Red Bull for another season.”
However Webber also confirmed he had been in talks with Ferrari. "There were discussions with Ferrari, but my decision was to stay here,” he said.
2013 will be Webber’s fifth season driving alongside young German Sebastian Vettel, the reigning double world champion. Vettel is currently one place behind Webber in this year’s standings.
“There are not many team-mates staying together for that long in Formula One, but it’s proved to be a successful partnership with both of us working very hard with the key technical members of the team,” said Webber.
Webber admitted that the rivalry with Vettel has been tense at times.
“Last year there wasn’t much racing between Sebastian and I, but in 2009, 2010 and this year, there have been some great battles,” he said. “That’s been enjoyable for the team, sometimes stressful too as it’s not easy for both of us to be at the front and I can understand that.”
One of the oldest drivers in F1, although eight years younger than Michael Schumacher, Webber refuses to talk of retirement and intends to remain in the sport as long as he is fast enough to secure a front-running car.
“My answer remains the same. It’s a results-based sport at the front of the grid so the future lies in my own hands. It’s down to me to deliver the on-track results,” he said.
Date: 10/July/2012
Just days after his second grand prix victory of the season at Silverstone, Mark Webber has inked a new deal that will see him remain with the Red Bull team for the 2013 Formula One season.
Webber, 35, has been a grand prix driver since 2002, joining Red Bull in 2007 and taking the first of his nine grand prix wins for the team in 2009.
The Australian is presently second in the World Championship, 13 points behind Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who is the only other double race winner this year.
Upon announcing his new deal, Webber said: “I’ve been with Red Bull Racing since 2007 and have achieved nine grand prix wins during that time. I’m high on confidence at the moment and firing on all cylinders.
“I know the Team well and I’m very comfortable here; we have grown together over the years and it feels like absolutely the right thing to stay with Red Bull for another season.”
However Webber also confirmed he had been in talks with Ferrari. "There were discussions with Ferrari, but my decision was to stay here,” he said.
2013 will be Webber’s fifth season driving alongside young German Sebastian Vettel, the reigning double world champion. Vettel is currently one place behind Webber in this year’s standings.
“There are not many team-mates staying together for that long in Formula One, but it’s proved to be a successful partnership with both of us working very hard with the key technical members of the team,” said Webber.
Webber admitted that the rivalry with Vettel has been tense at times.
“Last year there wasn’t much racing between Sebastian and I, but in 2009, 2010 and this year, there have been some great battles,” he said. “That’s been enjoyable for the team, sometimes stressful too as it’s not easy for both of us to be at the front and I can understand that.”
One of the oldest drivers in F1, although eight years younger than Michael Schumacher, Webber refuses to talk of retirement and intends to remain in the sport as long as he is fast enough to secure a front-running car.
“My answer remains the same. It’s a results-based sport at the front of the grid so the future lies in my own hands. It’s down to me to deliver the on-track results,” he said.
Webber ‘over the moon’ with late Silverstone win
F1 News
Date: 8/July/2012
Mark Webber overtook Fernando Alonso for victory just five laps from the end of Sunday’s British F1 Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Red Bull driver Webber had spent much of the race struggling to catch Alonso’s Ferrari, but charged back into victory contention after the Spaniard made his final pit stop for the softer tyre.
Webber, who like most drivers had used the softer tyre at the start of the race, was able to hack chunks from the Spaniard’s four-second lead and made his victory pass around the outside on lap 48 of 52.
Alonso was powerless to respond and Webber joins the title leader as the only double winners of the season so far, with an advantage of three seconds at the chequered flag.
After soaking up the podium celebrations, Webber said that his second British GP win was among the most satisfying of his nine F1 victories.
The Australian, 35, said: “I’ve won a few races now, but this one is taking a little while to sink in.
“I knew Fernando would have to run a different compound towards the end of the race, while we got the [slower] tyre out of the way at the start.
“I thought in the first stint that Fernando was in very, very good shape to probably close the win out, but it came our way in the last stint and I am absolutely over the moon.
“I love racing everywhere but here it’s extra special. I won my first race at Silverstone in ’96 in a Formula Ford so the love affair continues.”
Alonso confessed he was helpless to hold off Webber.
“We were controlling the race more or less OK until the last stint, when we were not quick enough,” he said. “Mark overtook very easy and there was nothing we can do.”
However Alonso rejected suggestions that Ferrari had made a tactical error in saving the soft tyre for last.
“You either do first 14 or 15 laps the soft tyres or the last 14 or 15,” he said. “And if at any point it had rained and we had put on intermediates then we wouldn’t have needed to use the soft tyre at all.
“Felipe used the soft tyre in the first stint and did 14 laps with a heavy car and we did 15 laps at the end with a light car. So we were quite convinced the softs were gong to be OK but there was a little too much understeer, the balance changed and killed the performance.
“There is a feeling of losing victory, but it’s the same 18 points that you get if you overtake the guy in second on the last lap and you are happy. So I’m sure in one hour’s time I will appreciate it much more.”
There are rumours that Alonso and the yet-to-sign Webber might even be team-mates at Ferrari next year. Alonso jokingly avoided the speculation.
“I would need to put something in my shoes to be a little bit taller. That would be the only thing different if I changed team-mates,” he said. “For the rest, it doesn’t matter. I would be happy with any team-mate.
“I say again, I’m extremely happy with Felipe. Today, again, he showed the performance that he can do [fourth place], with a normal trouble-free race. We will see what the team decides for next year.”
Webber admitted that his present form certainly isn’t hurting his contract chances.
“It helps my situation to stay in Formula One,” he said. “I’m pushing to get a contract for next year. Going reasonably well, got a few points, a couple of wins and I will work very hard to try and stay in Formula One.”
Alonso and Webber remain first and second in the world championship, but with the gap between them reduced to 13 points.
Best of the rest is Webber’s team-mate and reigning double champion Sebastian Vettel, third at Silverstone and 29 points from the top.
Date: 8/July/2012
Mark Webber overtook Fernando Alonso for victory just five laps from the end of Sunday’s British F1 Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Red Bull driver Webber had spent much of the race struggling to catch Alonso’s Ferrari, but charged back into victory contention after the Spaniard made his final pit stop for the softer tyre.
Webber, who like most drivers had used the softer tyre at the start of the race, was able to hack chunks from the Spaniard’s four-second lead and made his victory pass around the outside on lap 48 of 52.
Alonso was powerless to respond and Webber joins the title leader as the only double winners of the season so far, with an advantage of three seconds at the chequered flag.
After soaking up the podium celebrations, Webber said that his second British GP win was among the most satisfying of his nine F1 victories.
The Australian, 35, said: “I’ve won a few races now, but this one is taking a little while to sink in.
“I knew Fernando would have to run a different compound towards the end of the race, while we got the [slower] tyre out of the way at the start.
“I thought in the first stint that Fernando was in very, very good shape to probably close the win out, but it came our way in the last stint and I am absolutely over the moon.
“I love racing everywhere but here it’s extra special. I won my first race at Silverstone in ’96 in a Formula Ford so the love affair continues.”
Alonso confessed he was helpless to hold off Webber.
“We were controlling the race more or less OK until the last stint, when we were not quick enough,” he said. “Mark overtook very easy and there was nothing we can do.”
However Alonso rejected suggestions that Ferrari had made a tactical error in saving the soft tyre for last.
“You either do first 14 or 15 laps the soft tyres or the last 14 or 15,” he said. “And if at any point it had rained and we had put on intermediates then we wouldn’t have needed to use the soft tyre at all.
“Felipe used the soft tyre in the first stint and did 14 laps with a heavy car and we did 15 laps at the end with a light car. So we were quite convinced the softs were gong to be OK but there was a little too much understeer, the balance changed and killed the performance.
“There is a feeling of losing victory, but it’s the same 18 points that you get if you overtake the guy in second on the last lap and you are happy. So I’m sure in one hour’s time I will appreciate it much more.”
There are rumours that Alonso and the yet-to-sign Webber might even be team-mates at Ferrari next year. Alonso jokingly avoided the speculation.
“I would need to put something in my shoes to be a little bit taller. That would be the only thing different if I changed team-mates,” he said. “For the rest, it doesn’t matter. I would be happy with any team-mate.
“I say again, I’m extremely happy with Felipe. Today, again, he showed the performance that he can do [fourth place], with a normal trouble-free race. We will see what the team decides for next year.”
Webber admitted that his present form certainly isn’t hurting his contract chances.
“It helps my situation to stay in Formula One,” he said. “I’m pushing to get a contract for next year. Going reasonably well, got a few points, a couple of wins and I will work very hard to try and stay in Formula One.”
Alonso and Webber remain first and second in the world championship, but with the gap between them reduced to 13 points.
Best of the rest is Webber’s team-mate and reigning double champion Sebastian Vettel, third at Silverstone and 29 points from the top.
Pedrosa wins, Stoner stumbles, Lorenzo ‘lucky’
MotoGP News
Date: 8/July/2012
The pressure that had been building on Dani Pedrosa’s shoulders to join team-mate Casey Stoner in standing on the top step of the 2012 MotoGP podium was finally released at the Sachsenring on Sunday.
Pedrosa took his first victory of the 1000cc era after a nail-biting finale that saw triple 2012 winner and title leader Stoner crash-out while sizing up a pass on Pedrosa with just two corners to go.
A beaming Pedrosa said: “Victory is a great feeling. It’s what we work for and it’s been a long time. I’ve been quick this year, but every race someone has been faster than me.
“I knew the win would be decided on the last lap, but I was confident because my braking was strong. I was just concerned where Casey would try, because I had been in front for a long time and couldn’t see where he was strong.”
Stoner later revealed that in order to execute a planned final corner pass, he was pushing a little harder in the corner before it.
Stoner said: “I wanted get a good run going into the final turn, where I was confident I could pass. But as soon as I went to turn the bike in a little bit harder, the front just went away from me and it was game over.”
The Australian then crisiticsed the marshals for not helping him rejoin the race as he suffered his first non-finish since Jerez last year.
“The most disappointing thing was the marshals. I’ve seen them help loads get going. There was nothing wrong with my bike, but there was no way they were going to help me,” he claimed.
Stoner’s tumble gave second place to a surprised Jorge Lorenzo, who was 15-seconds behind the Honda riders.
Lorenzo, tied on points with Stoner heading into the race, is now 14 points ahead of Pedrosa and 20 clear of Stoner as the season reaches its halfway point at Mugello next weekend.
Lorenzo said: “We’ve been lucky today with the crash of Casey, but we were unlucky at Assen. This weekend we’ve been uncompetitive. We were not fast with the hard tyre, which Bridgestone told us we had to use for the race.”
Free practice for the Italian Grand Prix will be held on Friday.
Date: 8/July/2012
The pressure that had been building on Dani Pedrosa’s shoulders to join team-mate Casey Stoner in standing on the top step of the 2012 MotoGP podium was finally released at the Sachsenring on Sunday.
Pedrosa took his first victory of the 1000cc era after a nail-biting finale that saw triple 2012 winner and title leader Stoner crash-out while sizing up a pass on Pedrosa with just two corners to go.
A beaming Pedrosa said: “Victory is a great feeling. It’s what we work for and it’s been a long time. I’ve been quick this year, but every race someone has been faster than me.
“I knew the win would be decided on the last lap, but I was confident because my braking was strong. I was just concerned where Casey would try, because I had been in front for a long time and couldn’t see where he was strong.”
Stoner later revealed that in order to execute a planned final corner pass, he was pushing a little harder in the corner before it.
Stoner said: “I wanted get a good run going into the final turn, where I was confident I could pass. But as soon as I went to turn the bike in a little bit harder, the front just went away from me and it was game over.”
The Australian then crisiticsed the marshals for not helping him rejoin the race as he suffered his first non-finish since Jerez last year.
“The most disappointing thing was the marshals. I’ve seen them help loads get going. There was nothing wrong with my bike, but there was no way they were going to help me,” he claimed.
Stoner’s tumble gave second place to a surprised Jorge Lorenzo, who was 15-seconds behind the Honda riders.
Lorenzo, tied on points with Stoner heading into the race, is now 14 points ahead of Pedrosa and 20 clear of Stoner as the season reaches its halfway point at Mugello next weekend.
Lorenzo said: “We’ve been lucky today with the crash of Casey, but we were unlucky at Assen. This weekend we’ve been uncompetitive. We were not fast with the hard tyre, which Bridgestone told us we had to use for the race.”
Free practice for the Italian Grand Prix will be held on Friday.
Stoner takes wet pole in 'hectic' Sachsenring session
MotoGP News
Date: 7/July/2012
Casey Stoner overcame an engine problem and slippery conditions to claim a wet MotoGP pole position at the Sachsenring in Germany.
The Repsol Honda rider won an exciting contest to take his fourth pole of the year on the very final lap of a frantic one hour session. Yamaha’s Ben Spies and Stoner’s team-mate Dani Pedrosa will join the Australian on the front row.
“We weren’t happy with the set-up at the start of the session on my number two bike, so we switched to my number one bike and immediately it was better,” Stoner explained.
“I matched my best lap time on the first lap. The next lap was going to be even better, but the engine just switched off. As far as we know it’s electrical, maybe to do with all the rain.
“By the time I got back to the garage to get back on the second bike it had started to rain really heavily again. I said to my chief mechanic, we’ll wait until the last ten minutes and see what we can do.
“We timed it well enough and got pole position right at the end there. We’re happy after quite a hectic session and it was nice to come out to top.”
Stoner will start round eight equal with Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo at the head of the standings. Lorenzo qualified fifth on the grid.
Looking to Sunday, Stoner said: “To be honest I’m really tired of my last season in MotoGP being full of wet sessions, so it’d be nice to have a dry race.
“This track dries quite quickly because it’s on a hill, but you also get a lot of streams running across the track. So it’s easy to aqua plane and crash if it is raining.
“We’ll wait and see for Sunday. It looks like we’ve got the same weather as the F1 at Silverstone!”
Date: 7/July/2012
Casey Stoner overcame an engine problem and slippery conditions to claim a wet MotoGP pole position at the Sachsenring in Germany.
The Repsol Honda rider won an exciting contest to take his fourth pole of the year on the very final lap of a frantic one hour session. Yamaha’s Ben Spies and Stoner’s team-mate Dani Pedrosa will join the Australian on the front row.
“We weren’t happy with the set-up at the start of the session on my number two bike, so we switched to my number one bike and immediately it was better,” Stoner explained.
“I matched my best lap time on the first lap. The next lap was going to be even better, but the engine just switched off. As far as we know it’s electrical, maybe to do with all the rain.
“By the time I got back to the garage to get back on the second bike it had started to rain really heavily again. I said to my chief mechanic, we’ll wait until the last ten minutes and see what we can do.
“We timed it well enough and got pole position right at the end there. We’re happy after quite a hectic session and it was nice to come out to top.”
Stoner will start round eight equal with Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo at the head of the standings. Lorenzo qualified fifth on the grid.
Looking to Sunday, Stoner said: “To be honest I’m really tired of my last season in MotoGP being full of wet sessions, so it’d be nice to have a dry race.
“This track dries quite quickly because it’s on a hill, but you also get a lot of streams running across the track. So it’s easy to aqua plane and crash if it is raining.
“We’ll wait and see for Sunday. It looks like we’ve got the same weather as the F1 at Silverstone!”
Alonso ends pole drought at soaking Silverstone
F1 News
Date: 7/July/2012
F1 World Championship leader Fernando Alonso claimed his and Ferrari’s first pole position since 2010 during a restarted qualifying session for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Extreme weather conditions in the UK have caused havoc both on and off-track this weekend.
Problems with car parking due to the torrential rain led to huge traffic delays on Friday, prompting circuit organisers to make the extraordinary request that anyone needing to use the temporary car parks on Saturday - thought to include as many as 30,000 fans - stay away in an effort to keep them functional for race day.
The F1 stars have not been immune from the severe weather either, running only a limited number of laps due to the conditions on Friday, before Saturday’s qualifying session was halted due to the amount of standing water.
Conditions fortunately improved during the unplanned interval and a switch from wets to intermediate tyres was ultimately required in the closing minutes of Q3.
Alonso, last year’s winner, went on to snatch pole from Red Bull’s Mark Webber by 0.047s on his very final lap.
“It’s nice to be on pole position after nearly two years,” said Alonso. “For Ferrari that’s a long time.
“In wet conditions you need to be in the right place in the right moment, with the circuit in the best conditions possible.
“You never know exactly the conditions of the next corner on a day like today. It can be a little bit drier than the lap before or wetter. You are gambling with the grip and when you find yourself in pole position, for sure it’s a little bit surprising.”
Pole completed a stunning turnaround for Alonso, who had spun in the wettest part of qualifying and been in danger of an early elimination.
“You have to be calm in some difficult moments. In Q2 we were at the red flag, position 15 and 16, Felipe [Massa] and me. I had a spin in Turn 13. It was a lot of aquaplaning there.
“It was impossible to run, to be honest it was a good decision,” he said of the stoppage. “And then also it was a good decision waiting until the circuit was in condition to run again”
Alonso dedicated pole to compatriot Maria de Villota, who suffered serious head injuries - including the loss of an eye - while testing for the Marussia team earlier this week.
“All of us are all racing with a little bit of sadness about the news at the beginning of the week,” said Alonso. “Anything we do this weekend hopefully will bring strength to her and her family, and we wish her a very good recovery.”
Looking ahead to Sunday, Silverstone is confident it will be able to accommodate all of the predicted 125,000 race day fans and Alonso hopes they can enjoy the show.
“The fans have been amazing all weekend with these weather conditions and they deserve a normal race tomorrow,” he said. “So even if it’s wet, no stopping the race or nothing like that, hopefully…”
Alonso will start the race with a 20-point lead over Webber. Third in the Championship Lewis Hamilton qualified as the leading British driver, in eighth place for McLaren.
Date: 7/July/2012
F1 World Championship leader Fernando Alonso claimed his and Ferrari’s first pole position since 2010 during a restarted qualifying session for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Extreme weather conditions in the UK have caused havoc both on and off-track this weekend.
Problems with car parking due to the torrential rain led to huge traffic delays on Friday, prompting circuit organisers to make the extraordinary request that anyone needing to use the temporary car parks on Saturday - thought to include as many as 30,000 fans - stay away in an effort to keep them functional for race day.
The F1 stars have not been immune from the severe weather either, running only a limited number of laps due to the conditions on Friday, before Saturday’s qualifying session was halted due to the amount of standing water.
Conditions fortunately improved during the unplanned interval and a switch from wets to intermediate tyres was ultimately required in the closing minutes of Q3.
Alonso, last year’s winner, went on to snatch pole from Red Bull’s Mark Webber by 0.047s on his very final lap.
“It’s nice to be on pole position after nearly two years,” said Alonso. “For Ferrari that’s a long time.
“In wet conditions you need to be in the right place in the right moment, with the circuit in the best conditions possible.
“You never know exactly the conditions of the next corner on a day like today. It can be a little bit drier than the lap before or wetter. You are gambling with the grip and when you find yourself in pole position, for sure it’s a little bit surprising.”
Pole completed a stunning turnaround for Alonso, who had spun in the wettest part of qualifying and been in danger of an early elimination.
“You have to be calm in some difficult moments. In Q2 we were at the red flag, position 15 and 16, Felipe [Massa] and me. I had a spin in Turn 13. It was a lot of aquaplaning there.
“It was impossible to run, to be honest it was a good decision,” he said of the stoppage. “And then also it was a good decision waiting until the circuit was in condition to run again”
Alonso dedicated pole to compatriot Maria de Villota, who suffered serious head injuries - including the loss of an eye - while testing for the Marussia team earlier this week.
“All of us are all racing with a little bit of sadness about the news at the beginning of the week,” said Alonso. “Anything we do this weekend hopefully will bring strength to her and her family, and we wish her a very good recovery.”
Looking ahead to Sunday, Silverstone is confident it will be able to accommodate all of the predicted 125,000 race day fans and Alonso hopes they can enjoy the show.
“The fans have been amazing all weekend with these weather conditions and they deserve a normal race tomorrow,” he said. “So even if it’s wet, no stopping the race or nothing like that, hopefully…”
Alonso will start the race with a 20-point lead over Webber. Third in the Championship Lewis Hamilton qualified as the leading British driver, in eighth place for McLaren.
Fans the ‘heroes’ during day one at Silverstone
F1 News
Date: 6/July/2012
The British fans are renowned for their dedication to F1, but even the staunchest supporter found their loyalty put to the test during Friday’s opening day of practice at Silverstone.
Traffic chaos, rekindling memories of past Silverstone problems, meant some fans didn’t even get into the circuit until after the two F1 sessions had finished.
But at least they were dry. Those already inside the circuit were soaked by the pouring rain, conditions which also restricted many drivers to less than 10 laps in each session.
"The heroes of today were the spectators,” said Mercedes-Benz Motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug. “It was impressive to see them sitting out there in the pouring rain and lots of them cheering instead of letting the weather get them down.
“Especially because it was quite a challenge for everybody to reach the circuit after huge traffic jams this morning - this was like Silverstone in the good ‘old’ days!”
Bob Fearnley, team principal of the locally-based Force India squad, admitted to feeling guilty for not putting on a better show.
“We have terrible guilt for the fans in not running [and] if they have had problems [getting in], obviously we sympathise with them,” he said.
“The teams can only try and put the cars out on the circuit and give the spectacle and I regret that we couldn’t do that. It’s to do the risk and the benefit and are we going to learn anything?
“Until the last half an hour of today, there wasn’t any benefit in running.”
Despite the adversity, many fans made it to trackside and then braved the conditions to see home star Lewis Hamilton finishing on top of the timesheets by 0.129s ahead of Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi.
“British Formula One fans are the best in the world!” said McLaren driver Hamilton. “I would like to have gone out and done even more laps - but we simply didn’t have enough tyres to do that. Perhaps that’s something we can look at for the future.”
Hamilton, third in the world championship, also gave a taste of the challenging track conditions, which look set to continue for the remainder of the weekend.
“There was a lot of standing water out there, and tons of aquaplaning. You’re aquaplaning almost all the time, to be honest, so you need to be very in tune with your senses or you’re very likely to lose control.
“I think the drivers can probably make more of a difference in the wet than we can in the dry, so I’m really looking forward to the rest of the weekend, which looks likely to stay chilly and wet.”
Title leader and last year’s British Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso skipped the morning session, then drove his Ferrari to the tenth quickest time in the afternoon.
Date: 6/July/2012
The British fans are renowned for their dedication to F1, but even the staunchest supporter found their loyalty put to the test during Friday’s opening day of practice at Silverstone.
Traffic chaos, rekindling memories of past Silverstone problems, meant some fans didn’t even get into the circuit until after the two F1 sessions had finished.
But at least they were dry. Those already inside the circuit were soaked by the pouring rain, conditions which also restricted many drivers to less than 10 laps in each session.
"The heroes of today were the spectators,” said Mercedes-Benz Motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug. “It was impressive to see them sitting out there in the pouring rain and lots of them cheering instead of letting the weather get them down.
“Especially because it was quite a challenge for everybody to reach the circuit after huge traffic jams this morning - this was like Silverstone in the good ‘old’ days!”
Bob Fearnley, team principal of the locally-based Force India squad, admitted to feeling guilty for not putting on a better show.
“We have terrible guilt for the fans in not running [and] if they have had problems [getting in], obviously we sympathise with them,” he said.
“The teams can only try and put the cars out on the circuit and give the spectacle and I regret that we couldn’t do that. It’s to do the risk and the benefit and are we going to learn anything?
“Until the last half an hour of today, there wasn’t any benefit in running.”
Despite the adversity, many fans made it to trackside and then braved the conditions to see home star Lewis Hamilton finishing on top of the timesheets by 0.129s ahead of Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi.
“British Formula One fans are the best in the world!” said McLaren driver Hamilton. “I would like to have gone out and done even more laps - but we simply didn’t have enough tyres to do that. Perhaps that’s something we can look at for the future.”
Hamilton, third in the world championship, also gave a taste of the challenging track conditions, which look set to continue for the remainder of the weekend.
“There was a lot of standing water out there, and tons of aquaplaning. You’re aquaplaning almost all the time, to be honest, so you need to be very in tune with your senses or you’re very likely to lose control.
“I think the drivers can probably make more of a difference in the wet than we can in the dry, so I’m really looking forward to the rest of the weekend, which looks likely to stay chilly and wet.”
Title leader and last year’s British Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso skipped the morning session, then drove his Ferrari to the tenth quickest time in the afternoon.
Alonso, Hamilton express shock, sympathy for de Villota
F1 News
Date: 5/July/2012
One of the main talking points on the eve of this weekend’s British F1 Grand Prix at Silverstone was the tragic accident suffered by Marussia test driver Maria de Villota.
The Spanish lady, 32, suffered serious head and facial injuries - including the loss of her right eye - during a freak accident while straight-line testing at the UK’s Duxford Airfield on Tuesday.
Witnesses report that de Villota, having concluded her first ever run in the car, was being approached by mechanics when she suddenly surged forwards and collided with the back of a nearby team truck at a speed of around 40mph (65km/h).
The extent of de Villota’s injuries appears to have been caused by striking the tail-lift of the vehicle.
de Villota - who has experience in single-seater, touring car and sports car racing - had completed one previously F1 test, with Renault in 2011. She remains in a serious condition at Cambridge’s Addenbrooke's Hospital.
“Obviously we are very worried for this situation because we are still waiting for some more news,” said fellow Spaniard and F1 World Championship leader Fernando Alonso. “We only know what you all know and there are still some difficult days until the situation is completely clear.
“Sad days, for sure, completely shock when you hear the news and how what happened is possible. Obviously we don’t know all the information it’s difficult to talk about the reasons etc until we know the official version but at the moment, it’s so difficult to imagine how this can happen.”
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton added: “I don’t know her personally, but when I read about it I was absolutely devastated for her and for her family. I think it’s very very tragic and myself and my team, we send on our warmest wishes her way and hope that she has a speedy recovery.”
de Villota is the daughter of former F1 racer Emilio de Villota.
Ferrari star Alonso, who became the first double-winner of the 2012 season last time at Valencia, will start Sunday’s race with a ten point lead over Red Bull’s Mark Webber, with Hamilton a further three-points behind.
Despite his position, Alonso continues to play down his title chances.
“It’s not a situation that maybe we were expecting because there are a few cars that are quicker than us at the moment and we need to close that gap in the next couple of races if we want to fight for the championship,” he said.
“If not, we know that sooner or later they will be in front. We are in race eight or nine of 20, so at the moment championship positions or points are important but it’s not our main priority. First thing is to improve the car.”
But nothing in F1 stands still and Hamilton confirmed that McLaren are to debut a range of new parts for their home event.
“We definitely have some upgrades, so I’m really, really excited to see how they behave on the car and if they actually deliver what we think they’re going to deliver,” he said.
Date: 5/July/2012
One of the main talking points on the eve of this weekend’s British F1 Grand Prix at Silverstone was the tragic accident suffered by Marussia test driver Maria de Villota.
The Spanish lady, 32, suffered serious head and facial injuries - including the loss of her right eye - during a freak accident while straight-line testing at the UK’s Duxford Airfield on Tuesday.
Witnesses report that de Villota, having concluded her first ever run in the car, was being approached by mechanics when she suddenly surged forwards and collided with the back of a nearby team truck at a speed of around 40mph (65km/h).
The extent of de Villota’s injuries appears to have been caused by striking the tail-lift of the vehicle.
de Villota - who has experience in single-seater, touring car and sports car racing - had completed one previously F1 test, with Renault in 2011. She remains in a serious condition at Cambridge’s Addenbrooke's Hospital.
“Obviously we are very worried for this situation because we are still waiting for some more news,” said fellow Spaniard and F1 World Championship leader Fernando Alonso. “We only know what you all know and there are still some difficult days until the situation is completely clear.
“Sad days, for sure, completely shock when you hear the news and how what happened is possible. Obviously we don’t know all the information it’s difficult to talk about the reasons etc until we know the official version but at the moment, it’s so difficult to imagine how this can happen.”
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton added: “I don’t know her personally, but when I read about it I was absolutely devastated for her and for her family. I think it’s very very tragic and myself and my team, we send on our warmest wishes her way and hope that she has a speedy recovery.”
de Villota is the daughter of former F1 racer Emilio de Villota.
Ferrari star Alonso, who became the first double-winner of the 2012 season last time at Valencia, will start Sunday’s race with a ten point lead over Red Bull’s Mark Webber, with Hamilton a further three-points behind.
Despite his position, Alonso continues to play down his title chances.
“It’s not a situation that maybe we were expecting because there are a few cars that are quicker than us at the moment and we need to close that gap in the next couple of races if we want to fight for the championship,” he said.
“If not, we know that sooner or later they will be in front. We are in race eight or nine of 20, so at the moment championship positions or points are important but it’s not our main priority. First thing is to improve the car.”
But nothing in F1 stands still and Hamilton confirmed that McLaren are to debut a range of new parts for their home event.
“We definitely have some upgrades, so I’m really, really excited to see how they behave on the car and if they actually deliver what we think they’re going to deliver,” he said.
Engine cloud hanging over Lorenzo
MotoGP News
Date: 5/July/2012
MotoGP Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo is facing the prospect of a pit lane start before the end of the 2012 season, following the loss of an engine in last weekend’s Assen accident.
The Factory Yamaha rider was wiped out by Alvaro Bautista at turn one of the Dutch Grand Prix, costing Lorenzo his 25-point title lead.
Lorenzo and reigning champion Casey Stoner (Honda) are thus level on points heading into this weekend’s German event - Lorenzo technical leads due to his 4-3 win advantage - but it is the engine loss that concerns him most.
A huge cloud of smoke emerged from Lorenzo’s M1 as it lay in the gravel and the Spaniard has confirmed it is beyond repair. Only six engines are allowed for each manufacturer MotoGP rider (privateer CRT riders can use twelve) and any additional engine triggers the pit-lane start penalty.
Lorenzo, 25, said: “The engine that blew up in Assen was new, only 150 kilometres, and it’s going to be difficult to finish the championship with the engines we have.
“I’m going to speak to my team to find out the strategy. I hope we can take part in all the practice sessions, but it’s going to be difficult for sure. Maybe we will need to miss some laps, some kilometres.
“The only way to recover this lost engine is if the other brands [Honda and Ducati] want to let me have another engine. I think that is quite difficult.
“But the rules are the rules, and I want to accept the rules.
“The championship situation is much more difficult than before Assen, but I like difficult things. Now I have even more motivation to keep working and to keep trying to win races.
“We will rise again.”
Of more immediate concern for Lorenzo this weekend will be an ankle injury sustained in the incident. Lorenzo was walking with the aid of crutches on Thursday.
“When I crashed in Assen I just felt some pain, but not too much, then after a few hours it swelled up, and then when I went to the doctor in Barcelona they told me my ligaments were stretched, and I still cannot put the foot on the ground,” he said.
“So I must wait some days. Anyway I hope tomorrow it will be ok on the bike, because you put less force on your feet when you are riding. We’ll have to see how I feel tomorrow.”
Opening free practice takes place at the Sachsenring on Friday morning. Heavy rain fell on Thursday afternoon.
Date: 5/July/2012
MotoGP Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo is facing the prospect of a pit lane start before the end of the 2012 season, following the loss of an engine in last weekend’s Assen accident.
The Factory Yamaha rider was wiped out by Alvaro Bautista at turn one of the Dutch Grand Prix, costing Lorenzo his 25-point title lead.
Lorenzo and reigning champion Casey Stoner (Honda) are thus level on points heading into this weekend’s German event - Lorenzo technical leads due to his 4-3 win advantage - but it is the engine loss that concerns him most.
A huge cloud of smoke emerged from Lorenzo’s M1 as it lay in the gravel and the Spaniard has confirmed it is beyond repair. Only six engines are allowed for each manufacturer MotoGP rider (privateer CRT riders can use twelve) and any additional engine triggers the pit-lane start penalty.
Lorenzo, 25, said: “The engine that blew up in Assen was new, only 150 kilometres, and it’s going to be difficult to finish the championship with the engines we have.
“I’m going to speak to my team to find out the strategy. I hope we can take part in all the practice sessions, but it’s going to be difficult for sure. Maybe we will need to miss some laps, some kilometres.
“The only way to recover this lost engine is if the other brands [Honda and Ducati] want to let me have another engine. I think that is quite difficult.
“But the rules are the rules, and I want to accept the rules.
“The championship situation is much more difficult than before Assen, but I like difficult things. Now I have even more motivation to keep working and to keep trying to win races.
“We will rise again.”
Of more immediate concern for Lorenzo this weekend will be an ankle injury sustained in the incident. Lorenzo was walking with the aid of crutches on Thursday.
“When I crashed in Assen I just felt some pain, but not too much, then after a few hours it swelled up, and then when I went to the doctor in Barcelona they told me my ligaments were stretched, and I still cannot put the foot on the ground,” he said.
“So I must wait some days. Anyway I hope tomorrow it will be ok on the bike, because you put less force on your feet when you are riding. We’ll have to see how I feel tomorrow.”
Opening free practice takes place at the Sachsenring on Friday morning. Heavy rain fell on Thursday afternoon.
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