MotoGP News
We’re first for the latest MotoGP news. Motorcycle racing’s elite competition is a fast paced, ever-evolving beast and here you’ll find all of the MotoGP news you could wish for. We cover everything from interviews with the major players, updates on machine reveals, team news and more. See brand new content from MotoE and insightful ‘first look’ features showing the forthcoming MotoGP season’s riders in their new colours.
250: Shuhei Aoyama takes debut pole.
An unusually slow session saw Mika Kallio's Friday pole unchallenged until the very final minute, when reigning champion and dominant 2007 title leader Jorge Lorenzo toppled the Finn by 0.288secs.
Honda explains Pedrosa delay.
Pedrosa has been a Honda rider for his entire grand prix career, while Valentino Rossi is the only rider in recent history to have walked out of a factory Honda ride by choice, making the Spaniard's contract extension widely expected - particularly when factory seats at rival teams were all taken
Hofmann sacked.
Hofmann, who had to start from the pit lane on his spare bike, withdrew from last place with 17 of the 28 laps remaining, saying, "I don't have the motivation to fight for the last positions."
Help Honda! This is ridiculous...
The American again qualified 19th and last for Sunday's Portuguese GP, then retired after just two laps with a slipping clutch.
Rossi wins as racing returns.
Heading into the Portuguese Grand Prix, the previous four races had seen relatively dull start-to-finish processions by Pedrosa, in Germany, then world championship leader Casey Stoner at Laguna Seca, Brno and Misano.
<B>Crash.net`s Portuguese GP Blog:</B> Saturday
Saturday pm - Biaggi Talks MotoGP, But Will Probably Remain a Superbike Man
<B>Crash.net`s Portuguese GP Blog:</B> Sunday.
Sunday pm - Checa Joins Ten Kate - the Team He's Never Met
250: Lorenzo loses pole.
Dovizioso, so desperately disappointed at his home race in Misano when his bike broke down, was a focused man coming out for the second quarter litre qualifying session.
Hayden exorcises Estoril demons.
Last year the Repsol Honda rider lost his world championship lead at the same circuit, then the penultimate round, when he was taken out by team-mate Dani Pedrosa during a bungled overtaking manoeuvre.
Yamaha clarify Lorenzo status, 2008 tyres.
The Italian stated that reigning 250cc world champion Jorge Lorenzo will be a full factory rider, with Valentino Rossi as his team-mate, and thus directly replace Colin Edwards.
Stoner: Anywhere will do.
The young Ducati Marlboro star heads into the Portuguese Grand Prix needing to score 15 points more than Valentino Rossi to wrap up his first ever world championship, and Ducati's first MotoGP crown.
Chaz talks Ducati test, Stoner to watch.
After turning his back on uncompetitive machinery in the 250cc World Championship, the 20-year-old has revived his career in the AMA Supersport and Formula Xtreme championships this season - then was propelled into the MotoGP spotlight when d'Antin Ducati asked the Briton to replace the injured A
Suzuki fills the void.
After a strong start Hopkins slotted into second behind the dominant Ducati rider, but Vermeulen was soon on a charge and - after overtaking both Valentino Rossi and Hopkins within five laps - closed to within a second of Stoner.
Stoner soars as Rossi stops at Misano.
Casey Stoner is on the brink of clinching the 2007 world championship after handing Ducati its first MotoGP victory on home soil with a dominant performance at Misano - while Valentino Rossi failed to finish.
Rossi out!
The home hero, who grew up just ten miles from the Misano circuit, suddenly sat up and began cruising back to the pits while holding fourth position. Rossi was using the new Yamaha engine with pneumatic valves.
MotoGP gets double time.
The 125cc riders will now take to the track at the earlier time of 8.00am, with an extended two hours of MotoGP action - instead of the usual single hour - starting at 9.00am. The remaining Saturday schedule remains as normal, with MotoGP qualifying at 2pm local time.
Has Rossi `lost it`?
Valentino Rossi's latest poor performance, a seventh place finish in the Czech Republic Grand Prix, has dropped the Italian a massive 60 points behind Casey Stoner with six rounds of the 2007 MotoGP World Championship remaining.
New fairing as Stoner form continues.
Stoner tested a new fairing - believed to offer more agility - and was fastest on both qualifying and race tyres, before rain put an early end to the test at 4:00 pm. The Australian was a fraction shy of his pole position pace on the soft rubber, but beat his best lap on race tyres.
Yanagawa back for Kawasaki at Motegi.
"Obviously, as a Japanese factory team, the grand prix at Motegi is an important race for us.
Pedrosa admits frustration.
After qualifying third, then leapfrogging team-mate Nicky Hayden at the start, Pedrosa looked well positioned to challenge Casey Stoner for victory. Instead, the 21-year-old struggled to generate heat in his tyres and slipped quickly back to fifth.
Warm-up delayed by Sekiguchi smash.
Marco Simoncelli fell without harm from his Gilera after running wide over some kerbing, but his bike - hidden in a cloud of dust - then slid back across the track, where it was hit flat out by the unsighted Sekiguchi.
Hayden heats up with first front row.
The Repsol Honda rider was on form from the start of the afternoon session, heading the times on race tyres at the beginning of hour then closing to within 0.280secs of the Ducati star on qualifying tyres.
`Part time` Stoner strolls to pole.
The Ducati Marlboro star suffered some form of mechanical problem during the opening part of the hour, but preferred to wait patiently for it to be fixed rather than ride his spare bike.
Hopkins in the hunt.
The outgoing Rizla Suzuki rider was effectively MotoGP World Championship leader Casey Stoner's nearest rival in both sessions - since Sylvain Guintoli used a qualifying tyre to go fastest in the afternoon hour.