MotoGP announces 2013 line-up

MotoGP News

Date: 26/November/2012

MotoGP plans to expand from 21 to 24 full time riders next season. However the growth will come not from factory participants, but increased privateer entries.

The provisional line-up announced by the FIM contained few surprises, with the twelve manufacturer machines - divided equally between Honda, Yamaha and Ducati - known well in advance.

The only new information was the naming of the two Paul Bird Motorsport riders. PBM joined MotoGP under the new privateer ‘Claiming Rule Team’ regulations this season and is expanding to two entries for 2013.

Rumours linking Columbian Yonny Hernandez to PBM have proved correct, with the former Avintia rider listed on the English team’s Aprilia motorcycle, while the biggest surprise of the entry list is the appointment of Ulsterman Michael Laverty for the second seat.

Laverty, 31, is the older brother of World Superbike race winner Eugene and finished fifth in this year’s British Superbike Championship. He is to ride a ‘PBM’ bike - expected to compose of an Aprilia engine in a British designed chassis.

The only place still to be confirmed is a second IodaRacing entry, alongside Danilo Petrucci. Speed Master, which suffered funding problems during this season, is the only team not returning in 2013.

World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) intends to race with his #99 instead of the #1.

The 2013 MotoGP calendar is also close to completion, with the planned return to Argentina having been postponed by a year due to a travel warning issued by the Spanish government for Repsol employees.

Repsol is one of the biggest sponsors in the MotoGP paddock, but in dispute with the Argentinean government. Just two days after the calendar deadline, the Spanish government removed the travel warning - but it was too late to reinstate the event.

The season-opening Qatar round has been delayed by one week to help fill the gap. The 2013 calendar will now remain at 18 rounds, with Estoril in Portugal dropping away and being replaced by a new event in Austin, Texas.

2013 MotoGP entry list

Manufacturer riders:

#4        Andrea Dovizioso       ITA     Ducati Team (Ducati)

#6        Stefan Bradl                GER    LCR Honda MotoGP (Honda)

#11      Ben Spies                    USA    Pramac Racing Team (Ducati)

#19      Alvaro Bautista           SPA     Go & Fun Honda Gresini (Honda)

#26      Dani Pedrosa               SPA     Repsol Honda Team (Honda)

#29      Andrea Iannone*        ITA     Pramac Racing Team (Ducati)

#35      Cal Crutchlow             GBR    Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (Yamaha)

#38      Bradley Smith*           GBR    Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (Yamaha)

#46      Valentino Rossi           ITA     Yamaha Factory Racing (Yamaha)

#69      Nicky Hayden             USA    Ducati Team (Ducati)

#93      Marc Marquez*           SPA    Repsol Honda Team (Honda)

#99      Jorge Lorenzo             SPA     Yamaha Factory Racing (Yamaha)

Privateer (CRT) riders:

#5        Colin Edwards                       USA    NGM Mobile Forward Racing (FTR Kawasaki)

#7        Hiroshi Aoyama          JPN     Avintia Blusens (FTR)

#8        Hector Barbera            SPA     Avintia Blusens (FTR)

#9        Danilo Petrucci           IA        Came IodaRacing Project (Ioda-Suter)

#14      Randy de Puniet         FRA    Power Electronics Aspar (ART)

#17      Karel Abraham            CZE    Cardion AB Motoracing (ART)

#33      Michael Laverty*        GBR    Paul Bird Motorsport  (PBM)

#41      Aleix Espargaro          SPA     Power Electronics Aspar (ART)

#67      Bryan Staring*            AUS    Go & Fun Honda Gresini (FTR Honda)

#68      Yonny Hernandez       COL    Paul Bird Motorsport  (ART)

#71      Claudio Corti*                        ITA     NGM Mobile Forward Racing (FTR Kawasaki)

#??       ‘To Be Confirmed’     ???       Came IodaRacing Project (Ioda-Suter)

* Rookie.

2013 MotoGP Calendar

7 April             Qatar               Losail*

21 April           Americas         Austin

5 May              Spain (STC)    Jerez

19 May            France                         Le Mans

2 June              Italy                 Mugello

16 June            Catalunya        Catalunya

29 June            Netherlands     Assen**

7 July               Germany         Sachsenring

21st July          United States  Laguna Seca***

18 August       Indianapolis    Indianapolis

25 August       Czech Rep.      Brno

1 September    Great Britain   Silverstone

15 September San Marino      Misano

29 September Aragon            Aragon

13 October      Malaysia          Sepang

20 October      Australia          Phillip Island

27 October      Japan               Motegi

10 November Valencia          Valencia

* Evening race

** Saturday race

*** Only MotoGP class

(STC) = Subject to Contract

Vettel denies Alonso after ‘incredible’ F1 showdown

F1 News

Date: 26/November/2012

One of the most unpredictable seasons in F1 history came to a dramatic conclusion at Sao Paulo, Brazil - when Sebastian Vettel survived 71 laps with a damaged car to clinch his third title by just three points over Fernando Alonso.

The Championship see-sawed back and forth in favour of Vettel or Alonso several times during the race, with the tension raised by intermittent rain showers that tormented tyre choice, plus two safety car periods.

Vettel began with a healthy 13 point advantage over Alonso, but made a slow start and was then struck into a spin by Bruno Senna at turn four.

Amazingly, Vettel was able to continue - despite visible damage to the right-rear section of his car - finishing the first lap 22^nd and last, with Alonso moving from seventh to fifth.

The Ferrari star needed a podium even if Vettel didn’t finish and soon moved into third behind the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

The pressure was on Vettel, but with his Red Bull holding together he moved rapidly through the field and was sixth by the time of his first pit stop.

The middle stages saw Vettel and Alonso circulating together in fourth and fifth, but Vettel - having lost his radio - surrendered time and places when he was forced to pit twice in the space of four laps due to the worsening rain.

To make matters worse, Nico Hulkenberg - who had emerged as a surprise victory challenger to the McLarens - lost control of his Force India and wiped out race leader Hamilton.

With Hamilton out and Hulkenberg penalised, Alonso reached second place with less than ten laps to go.

Vettel was seventh and couldn’t afford to lose another place, but the German held his nerve and collected sixth position by passing countryman Michael Schumacher.

The race then ended with another safety car period - the first having been to clear debris in the middle stages - confirming Button as winner from Alonso and team-mate Felipe Massa.

Vettel thus becomes the youngest ever triple F1 World Champion, at the age of just 25, having won his three titles in a row.

“That was incredible,” said Vettel. “Everything that could happen, happened!

“I was hit at turn four for no reason. I don’t know what happened, but usually when you have an accident like that it's the end of the race. I was just rolling backwards down the road to try and avoid the other cars that were driving straight at me.

“The car was clearly damaged. In the wet I could make up some time, but in the dry we were nowhere on the straights and our tyres were suffering.

“We lost the radio, which is so crucial in these conditions, and stopped a lap too early for the second pit stop and fitted dry tyres, then the intermediate tyres were not ready when I came back in because there was no radio.

“And then to finish under the safety car - at that moment I didn't know if I had done enough to be Champion. I had seen the crash between Nico and Hamilton, and I knew Fernando was ahead of me, so I wasn’t sure. To be told I was Champion felt unbelievable.

“I think everybody got to see a great show today and we had to really fight until the end.

“To win a third title, especially here in Sao Paulo, the place where one of my heroes Ayrton Senna was born and is buried, is difficult to put into words. I was crying in the car, so I'm maybe happy that the radio wasn’t working!”

For Alonso, 31, the quest for a third crown continues, having been made to wait since 2006.

“I feel good. It was very frustrating in Abu Dhabi two years ago because we had the title in our hands and we lost it. Here is the completely the opposite. I’m so proud and happy to fight until the last lap with the package we had.

“That is the best thing for me, to feel proud of myself, it was by far the best season of my career and I will remember 2012 like some dream season. Obviously we didn’t achieve the points to win the title but I won so many things this year: so much respect from everybody.

"The race was more or less what we wanted. Mixed conditions and very, very difficult. One of the most difficult races we ever drove. I think with the conditions out there and you feel that you are with the wrong tyre every lap but everyone is in the same position so you keep fighting.

“The team told me that Sebastian had spun and was last at the start. But it was not a big drama at that time. It was more a message to calm down and stay cool because we needed to keep it in the track.

“Obviously you are not in control of what your rivals do. Second for us meant we needed Sebastian eighth, which is a very strange combination of results. So we were hoping for a little miracle, as we have been all year really.

“We had this little present to fight for the Championship until the last race. So we enjoyed the race, we did our job and the dream continued until today.”

Vettel failed to score in three of the 20 rounds and Alonso twice. However Vettel - who won just once in the first 13 races – was then able to win four of the final seven events.

“At the start of the season we were fighting with the car, I couldn't use my tricks or my style to make it work,” explained Vettel. “I didn't have enough rear stability to work with the brakes and get the car into the corners the way I like.

“We tried everything and eventually we did a step that was big enough and in the right direction that allowed me to do more of what I like, so naturally things came in our direction.”

Ferrari by contrast never made a significant performance breakthrough.

Alonso took all three of his wins in the first half of the season, then battled valiantly to stay in the title hunt by turning poor qualifying performances into podiums on race day.

“I think we have the best team in terms of preparing for the races. Zero mechanical problems, good pitstops, good starts, good strategy. But we were too slow,” he declared.

“We were behind the Red Bulls and the McLarens and now in the last couple of grands prix, behind Williams and Force India as well. This is something we must improve next year because we cannot fight for a World Championship if we are too slow.”

The final words on F1 2012 go to Button, who finished fifth in the Championship with three wins.

“It’s pretty obvious it was quite an unusual season, especially at the start of the year, having seven different winners from so many different teams,” said the Englishman.

“I think a lot of it was down to the way we were getting the tyres working or not working. Some of the teams that aren’t normally at the front also did a very good job over the winter.

“But during the year the bigger teams worked out how to use the tyres and had more resources for development, so you saw a difference towards the end of the season. Not as big as some might have thought though. I don’t think we expected a Force India to be leading the race today.

“So, I think it shows Formula One is a lot closer than it used to be; in terms of regulations it’s a lot tighter and also with not many regulation changes, it brings the field very close - and I think we’ll see that again next year.”

Button will be joined by new team-mate Sergio Perez next season, with Hamilton switching to Mercedes in place of Schumacher.

The 2013 season will begin in Melbourne, Australia on March 17.

Hamilton pole, Alonso plays down rain gamble

F1 News

Date: 25/November/2012

Lewis Hamilton will start his final F1 Grand Prix for McLaren from pole position at Interlagos, Brazil on Sunday.

The Englishman, moving to Mercedes for 2013, edged out team-mate Jenson Button by just 0.055s at the end of a qualifying session that began in the wet and finished in the dry.

“I’m grateful to be able to put the car on the front row and have the last one-two in qualifying with Jenson in the same team,” said Hamilton. “I hope that we can turn it into something really positive in the race.

“I think the weather is going to be tricky so it's definitely going to make it more of a lottery, but we've put ourselves in a really good position and we are just going to do the best job we can.”

Watching the weather especially closely will be title fighters Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.

Both were out-qualified by their team-mates on Saturday, Red Bull’s Vettel managing fourth on the grid - alongside Mark Webber - with Alonso just eighth quickest.

That also left the Ferrari driver, who needs to outscore Vettel by 14 points, three places behind local team-mate Felipe Massa.

Alonso insisted it had been a normal qualifying, given Ferrari’s lack of one-lap pace, and played down rumours that they have gambled on a wetter set-up in the hope of exploiting the forecast rain in the race.

“Obviously, I am hoping for a chaotic race and so the rain could be an important factor even if, in the wet, it is riskier for everyone,” said Alonso, adding: “The car is not particularly set up for the wet.”

Ferrari technical director Pat Fry clearly believes there is a high chance of rain and it seems hard to imagine that the team would not therefore have taken some measures to optimise the car for such conditions.

“All the forecasts are predicting rain in the coming hours and there’s a high chance of having a wet race,” he said. “We will therefore have to be ready to manage a race that looks like being incident packed, as is the tradition in the Brazilian Grand Prix.”

A post-qualifying penalty for Pastor Maldonado (Williams) will move Alonso up to seventh on the grid.

That could become sixth if Ferrari repeats its decision to trigger a deliberate grid penalty for Massa, but it seems the Brazilian will be allowed to keep fifth for his home race - perhaps with the expectation of trying to mix it up with Vettel just ahead of him.

Vettel, chasing a third title in a row at the age of just 25, heads into the race in confident mood: “We’re in good shape and have been quick all weekend, so let’s see what we can do in the race - we will try our best.”

Alonso won his previous titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006.

Hamilton heads ‘final Friday’

F1 News

Date: 24/November/2012

Lewis Hamilton continued the momentum from his US GP victory by leading both Friday practice sessions for the Brazilian season finale, his last event before moving from McLaren to Mercedes.

The Englishman, who won the 2008 title by just one point at the Interlagos circuit, finished the day 0.274s ahead of Championship leader Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton said: “We’re certainly looking strong, but this place can be so tough on tyres that it’s hard to make any accurate predictions at this stage. The track and ambient temperatures were so high today that it felt almost as though I was sliding around the track with the tyres melting!

“It’s great to have such a positive final Friday with the team - it’s been one of the best Fridays we’ve had for a long, long time, in fact. I’m savouring every moment of this weekend, and I’ll be taking photographs of my engineers and mechanics through each day.

“The car feels really good - thanks, guys - and it would be the perfect Saturday if I could take pole tomorrow.”

Vettel, who holds a 13 point lead over Fernando Alonso heading into Sunday’s title showdown, said there had been no surprises.

“It was alright today, it was very slippery for everyone. It was quite hot today and in terms of track conditions not that easy, so I think everyone suffered the same kind of problems looking for traction and stability.

“So far we can be happy, we have to do our homework now, first comes tomorrow morning and we go from there.”

Alonso set the fifth fastest time, 0.566s behind Hamilton and a fraction slower than Ferrari team-mate and home star Massa in the hot and dry conditions. However rain is forecast for later in the weekend.

“The predictions are for very different conditions from Saturday to Sunday,” confirmed Alonso. “It’s hard to say if we prefer rain or the dry: as I said before, it is vital to be prepared to tackle both situations.

“We know we have to score 14 points more than Vettel for the Championship and not lose the same number to McLaren to maintain our second place in the Constructors’. Our targets are clear, but also difficult to achieve.”

Michael Schumacher, the driver Hamilton is replacing at Mercedes, was seventh fastest on a day when the top nine drivers were covered by less than one second.