Produsen perlengkapan balap motor Dainese tahu benar bagaimana memanfaatkan setiap momen untuk menaikkan citra merek. Meski peristiwa “jelek” sekalipun, seperti jebolnya sarung tangan Jorge Lorenzo.

Seperti kita tahu, pembalap Spanyol pembela panji Tim Fiat-Yamaha itu terjatuh beberapa saat setelah start. Dia terpental dari motornya ketika bersenggolan dengan Ducatinya Nicky Haiden. Saat itu kecepatan motor Lorenzo 200 km/jam dengan daya dorong hingga 10G.

Akibatnya cukup parah, bahu, collar bone, dan kelingkingnya retak.  Baju balapnya sobek-sobek, begitu pula sarung tangannya.

Disinilah produsen asal Italia, itu, jeli melihat peluang marketing. Foto-foto ketika Lorenzo terjatuh, sarung tangan koyak, dan kelingking yang retak diunggah dalam situs perusahaan. Di situs tersebut dijelaskan, berkat racing gear komplit Dainese mampu mencegah Lorenzo dari cedera fatal.

Seolah Dainese menegaskan, sarung tangan berfungsi sempurna menahan benturan tingkat tinggi hingga jebol pating prothol.

Kabar anyar, seperti yang diungkapkan Bambang Asmarabudi, Manajer Umum Promosi dan Motorsport PT Yamaha Motor Kencana Indonesia (YMKI), di sela-sela preview New Jupiter Z bersama narablog dan komunitas motor, salah satu lawan terberat Valentino Rossi ini bakal berkunjung ke Jakarta pada 28-30 November besok. Menurut rencana, Lorenzo didaulat YMKI untuk meluncurkan  Yamaha Jupiter Z terbaru.

Penggemar pilates ini, mengutip berita di MotoGP, juga akan ke Bali untuk liburan. OK, Wellcome again Lorenzo.

Siap-siap heboh lagi!

El equipo Rizla Suzuki ha aprovechado al máximo el tramo final de 2009 para realizar un último entrenamiento en el circuito luso de Estoril. Durante tres días Álvaro Bautista y Nobuatsu Aoki rodaron sin parar acumulando un gran número de kilómetros a sus espaldas.

Álvaro sumó más de 200 vueltas al circuito portugués con un ritmo que fue mejorando jornada tras jornada. Bautista consiguió rodar a un ritmo de 1′38″5, tiempo muy cercano al de los pilotos del equipo durante su actuación en el GP de Portugal. Teniendo en cuenta las bajas temperaturas y el poco agarre del asfalto, con lluvia incluída el primer día, Álvaro probó nuevas especificaciones y componentes de motor, nuevas piezas aerodinámicas y nuevos sistemas de escape Akrapovic.
Para Paul Denning, manager del equipo, Álvaro ha estado “impresionante a lo largo de estos tres días, completando 212 vueltas sin ningún error. Su ritmo al final del entreno ha sido muy respetable, especialmente si tenemos en cuenta que sólo habían dos Motos en pista y que las condiciones eran muy frías, sin ser tan buenas como en la carrera del mes pasado. Ha congeniado muy bien con todo el equipo y se lo está tomando con mucha calma. A los mecánicos también les cae muy bien porque sus salidas son muy largas, un mínimo de 12 vueltas, así tienen la oportunidad de descansar!”

Fuente: http://www.dailymotos.com/noticias-motos/alvaro-bautista-acumula-212-vueltas-test-estoril/33681/

Jenson Button’s credentials to wear the world drivers’ crown were praised on Wednesday by a man who won three Formula One titles – Niki Lauda.

Lauda brushed aside suggestions that Button did not deserve the honour after limping to the title without a win in the second half of the season.

The 60-year-old Austrian told the sport’s official website: “Worthy or unworthy is the wrong approach. A world champion is a world champion. You might argue about the manner in which he won, but history has shown that in some years you have guys who win everything, and then you have guys – and I count myself among these – who win with a half point lead in the last race.

“There are many ways to win a championship. He put in a good season: starting very strong at the beginning to forge ahead and then keeping the lead through difficult times of constantly losing points, but still staying in front. Yes, the 60th Formula One world champion is a worthy champion.”

With Button quitting Brawn GP for a seat alongside his compatriot Lewis Hamilton at McLaren reports have surfaced about a possible return by seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.

The German Formula One legend has been linked to Button’s vacant seat at Mercedes GP, formerly Brawn, alongside recently signed up German Niko Rosberg, but Lauda was dismissive of a Schumacher comeback in 2010.

“I don’t believe that there is one single grain of truth in them (the rumours),” he said. “There was a window of opportunity after Felipe’s (Massa’s) accident and had Michael been fit he would have taken up that chance to race for three or four races – to prove himself, get the adrenaline rush, and see where he stood in the pecking order, but I cannot believe that he would be up for a full season. Why then he did stop racing in the first place?”

Former Renault chief Flavio Briatore’s appeal against a lifetime ban for ordering Nelson Piquet junior to crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix began in the High Court in Paris on Tuesday.

The flamboyant Italian, who is also seeking one million euros in damages from motorsport’s governing body the FIA, did not appear in person at the hearing before the Tribunal de Grande Instance.

Pat Symonds, Renault’s former chief engineer who is appealing his five year ban from Formula One, was also absent on day one of the case.

A verdict is expected on 5 January.

Briatore and Symonds were targeted as the main culprits in the affair that rocked F1 when the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council met in Paris to rule on the case in September.

The scandal centered on former Renault driver Piquet junior’s claims that he had been ordered to deliberately crash at Singapore last year to enable teammate Fernando Alonso, who started from 15th, to win the race.

Briatore’s lawyer, Philippe Ouakrat, told the court: “My client vigorously and utterly contests having been aware of such a conspiracy. The FIA has to overturn its decision… because it’s an illegal order in terms of its results and the manner in which it was carried out.”

Jean-François Prat, representing the FIA, countered by insisting there was a definite link between Piquet’s crash, and Briatore.

“He (Piquet) accepted to do it (crash) because he wanted to see his driver’s contract renewed for the next season and it was Flavio Briatore who was in charge of these questions.”

Briatore’s responsibility was therefore “obvious”, Prat told the court.

In a statement released last month when Briatore announced he was challenging his ban he described his punishment as “a legal absurdity” and expressed confidence that the High Court in Paris would find in his favour. Spelling out the main grounds for his action Briatore listed the FIA’s “deliberate breach of rights of the defence, a breach of the rules of natural justice and the FIA’s manifest excess and abuse of power.” Briatore is challenging what he claimed was the FIA’s lack of impartiality and the disproportionate and illegal nature of an indefinite boycott.

He said: “In this case the FIA has been used as a tool to exact vengeance on behalf of one man. This decision is a legal absurdity and I have every confidence that the French courts will resolve the matter justly and impartially.”

Seconda vittoria stagionale per lui e 2009 che va in cantiere non senza colpi di scena. Daniel Pedrosa vince il GP della Comunità Valenciana davanti a Valentino Rossi e a Jorge Lorenzo.
E’ la seconda vittoria stagionale per lui sopo il successo di Laguna Seca; vittoria sicuramente resa più semplice dal grossolano errore di Casey Stoner nel giro di allineamento, nel quale ha esagerato con il gas a gomme fredde, cadendo e dicendo addio ai sogni di (probabilissima) vittoria.

Durante le qualifiche Stoner aveva messo in riga tutti e tutti si aspettavano che anche in gara Casey potesse fare un altro sport; dopo la caduta nel warm up lap però la vittoria è tornata in gioco e Pedrosa è stato il più lesto di tutti nell’approfittare di ciò.
In partenza Dani non si fa pregare e parte a fionda mentre Rossi e Lorenzo vengono sopravanzati da Elias; i due yamahisti impiegano un paio di giri nel risorpassarlo ma intanto Pedrosa è già scappato.
Il suo ritmo è insostenibile sia per Rossi che per Lorenzo il quale, dopo un rischio in uscita di curva, salta sulla moto e sbatte violentemente sul serbatoio andando per un attimo in confusione.
Una volta passato il male Jorge riprende il ritmo e si riavvicina a Rossi ma Valentino riesce a rispondere e a garantirsi cosi la seconda posizione.

Dietro a Pedrosa Rossi e Lorenzo la gara ha visto un paio di lotte interessanti; la prima quella tra Edwards e Hayden per la quarta posizione e la seconda la risalita nel gruppo di Ben Spies, Campione del Mondo Superbike qui a bordo della Yamaha M1.
Edwards per concludere in campionato davanti a Dovizioso doveva assolutamente raccogliere un risultato di rilievo e proprio come ha detto lui “arrivare primo degli umani”; Hayden nonostante ami Valencia non è riuscito a tenere il passo di Colin ma ha comunque corso una buona gara giungendo quinto precedendo Toni Elias, disoccupato di lusso per il 2010.
Spies invece, dopo il nono posto in griglia, è partito cauto, prendendo il ritmo a mano a mano che i giri passavano e le lotte con i colleghi si facevano sempre più intense.
E’ riuscito a sopravanzare piloti vecchi e nuovi, fino a riprendere e a fulminare con una bellissima staccata Dovizioso, conquistando cosi la settima piazza finale.
La sensazione è che ci troviamo di fronte ad un grande pilota, uno di quelli che nel 2010 dirà la sua nella lotta per il podio in svariate occasioni, anche se per pensare di infilarsi fra i fantastici quattro forse è ancora un pò presto.

Pabrikan Italia yang sering mendominasi balapan kelas 250CC ini dipastikan tidak akan mengikuti ajang Moto2 yang merupakan pengganti seri 250cc di MotoGP. Hal tersebut diutarakan dalam press release yang diselenggarakan kemarin waktu stempat. Alasan yang mendasari ketidakikutsertaan Aprilia adalah penggunaan mesin tunggal (Honda) dan memang Aprilia tidak mencari gelar di kelas 600cc.

Sebelumnya Aprilia berencana menyediakan Chassis untuk empat tim yang telah memesan yaitu Mapfre Aspar, Speedup Aprilia, Ajo Motorsport dan Cardion AB Motoracing. Aprilia meninggalkan tim-tim tersebut tanpa chassis dan tes yang seharusnya dijadwalkan bulan depan di Valencia.

Penggunaan mesin tunggal memang membuat beberapa pabrikan lain tidak mau turun ke ajang Moto2. Tampaknya DORNA perlu mereview kembali perarturan penyelenggaraan Moto2 sehingga dapat membuat tim pabrikan masuk ke ajang Moto2 dan akhirnya dapat membuat balapan semakin menarik.

Aprilia ke MotoGP

Rumor kembalinya MotoGP ke 1000CC disambut baik oleh Aprilia. Pabrikan ini tidak menutup kemungkinan untuk turun ke kelas MotoGP. Hal tersebut dikarenakan Aprilia sudah memiliki basis mesin 1000cc yang selama ini sudah dipertandingkan di ajang WSBK. Di kelas Superbike sendiri, Aprilia dengan pembalap Max Biagi, musim lalu mampu mengganggu persaingan lini depan yaitu Yamaha dan Ducati.

Britain’s Paul di Resta, the cousin of IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti, will test for Force India in Spain next week along with young American J.R. Hildebrand, the Formula One team said on Tuesday.

Team owner Vijay Mallya said both were being considered for a permanent role as test and reserve driver next season.

Di Resta, 23, competes for Force India’s engine partners Mercedes in the German touring car championship. The Scot has also twice tested for McLaren.

Hildebrand, 21, is the Indy Lights series champion and the Californian will be the first American to test a Formula One car since Scott Speed was at Toro Rosso in 2007.

Mallya said both had stood out in tests in the McLaren simulator.

“We will be looking at their performance on track very closely and should they perform well, as we are confident they will, we will look at a permanent role for one within the team in 2010, potentially as a test and reserve driver,” he added.

“As a young team we are looking for drivers who can grow with us. As we’ve always said, nationality isn’t the primary selection criteria — it’s talent and dedication to the cause and we have seen enough to know that these two have both.”

The Jerez tests will be the first since the season ended this month and are designed to give young drivers more experience.

“F1 has always been my dream and I feel this is taking me one step closer to achieving it,” said Di Resta.

“I’m realistic that I’ve got a lot to prove and that I need a bit more experience of the cars and the F1 environment before getting a permanent seat but this is just the beginning of what I hope will be a very bright future with Force India.”

Hildebrand said he was up for the challenge.

“As an American we don’t necessarily have the culture of F1 but anything that’s so impressive and cutting-edge demands respect. I hope I can do the car and myself justice,” he added.

The Mercedes GP Formula One team (formerly Brawn GP) named former Williams driver Nico Rosberg as one of their 2010 drivers on Monday.

Rosberg, son of Finland’s 1982 world champion Keke, will be the first German to race for a factory Mercedes team since Karl Kling and Hans Herrmann competed for the old ‘Silver Arrows’ in 1955.

The 24-year-old has spent the last four seasons at Williams, with second place in Singapore last year his best result in 70 starts.

Mercedes has been the engine supplier to McLaren, who will have an all-British line-up next year with Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, since 1995, but has now taken over British-based champions Brawn GP.

Brawn, which emerged from the remains of the Honda team, won both titles in its debut 2009 season with Button and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, who has taken Rosberg’s place at Williams.

“It’s quite a special thing,” Rosberg told reporters. “It’s about time that a German was in a Silver Arrow again.”

Rosberg, whose signing was an open secret in Formula One circles, expects to win races next year.

“I am going to have a great car and I really believe that I am going to be able to take them (Hamilton and Button) on,” he said, also naming Red Bull and Ferrari as leading rivals.

Team principal Ross Brawn, who worked with Keke, described Nico as a great talent and “a driver who will be able to make a valuable contribution to our team right from the outset.”

Mercedes has yet to name its second driver, amid persistent rumours that former champion Michael Schumacher could come out of retirement at the age of 41 to fill the vacancy left by Button. Asked to rule out the possibility, Mercedes motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug and Brawn chief executive Nick Fry both failed to do so.

“We are here today to talk about Nico and I think we should stick to that subject,” said Fry.

“I fully understand that these speculations are ongoing as long as we did not announce who is driving the other car, but that’s what we have to live with at the moment,” added Haug.

Schumacher’s spokeswoman said at the weekend that she considered a return “highly unlikely at the moment”.

Rosberg said he did not mind who Mercedes signed, providing he was a team player, but would not comment on Schumacher.

Finland’s 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen, who has announced plans to take a year out after leaving Ferrari, could be another option while Germany’s Nick Heidfeld is also available.

Fry said the approach to Rosberg had been made during the season and before Mercedes expressed an interest in buying the team.

Nico was due to join Brawn under any circumstance,” he said. “We are extremely pleased that the circumstances have worked out as they have done but the negotiation was done principally with the Brawn team and myself and Ross.

]]> http://geeketto.com/2009/11/24/calendario-motogp-2010/ Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:43:00 +0000 geeketto http://geeketto.com/2009/11/24/calendario-motogp-2010/

11 Aprile
Qatar
Doha/Losail

25 Aprile
Japón
Motegi

02 Maggio
España
Jerez

23 Maggio
Francia
Le Mans

06 Giugno
Italia
Mugello

20 Giugno
Gran Bretaña
Silverstone

26 Giugno
Holanda
Assen

04 Luglio
Cataluña
Cataluña

18 Luglio
Alemania
Sachsenring

25 Luglio
Estados Unidos
Laguna Seca

15 Agosto
Rep. Checa
Brno

29 Agosto
Indianápolis
Indianápolis

5 Settembre
San Marino
Misano

19 Settembre
Hungría
Balatonring

10 Ottobre
Malasia
Sepang

17 Ottobre
Australia
Phillip Island

31 Ottobre
Portugal
Estoril

07 Novembre
Valencia
Ricardo Tormo

Jeda musim yang panjang adalah waktu yang tepat buat pembalap untuk memulihkan kondisi badannya. Setelah minggu lalu Lorenzo melakukan operasi untuk mengambil logam yang tertanam di tulang selangkanya, kali ini giliran Randy de Puniet melakukan operasi untuk melepas skrup yang mengikat tulang kakinya. Skrup-skrup tersebut di pasang setelah de Puniet mengalami kecelakaan hingga membuatnya mengalami patah tulang.

Валентино Росси продолжает пробовать свои силы на четырёх колёсах. В минувшие выходные семикратный чемпион мира MotoGP дебютировал в кольцевых автогонках…

Титулованный итальянец вместе со своим близким другом Алессио «Уччио» Салуччи, который сопровождает его на всех этапах MotoGP, и пилотом европейского первенства FIA GT3 Андреа Чеккато принял участие в ежегодной  шестичасовой гонке в Валлелунге. Прежде опыт Вале в автоспорте ограничивался участием в ралли и тестами за рулём Ferrari Формулы-1 и Mercedes C-Class серии DTM. Так что выступление в «Шести часах Валлелунги» стало для «Доктора» дебютом в кольцевых автогонках.

Росси вышел на старт за рулём подготовленной командой бывшего гонщика Формулы-1 Лориса Кесселя Ferrari F430 под своим традиционным №46. В квалификации его экипаж показал десятое время в абсолютном зачёте, а гонку завершил 11-м, став бронзовым призёром класса GT3.

Причём в начале марафона, старт которого был отложен из-за повисшего в окрестностях Рима густого тумана, Валентино даже сражался за лидерство в своей зачётной категории с такими опытными автогонщикам как Эммануэле Пирро и Эмануэле Наспетти. Увы, шансы на победу экипаж Росси потерял из-за проблем со стартером на одном из пит-стопов. Но и третье место для дебюта – результат весьма достойный!

Первое выступление Росси в кольцевых автогонках высоко оценили опытные гонщики. «Когда я догнал его на круг, – рассказал победитель гонки в «абсолюте» Томас Бьяджи, – то решил немного проехаться следом, чтобы оценить его пилотаж. И знаете, я был очень впечатлён! Он ехал действительно здорово». 

Первый шаг к «Ле-Ману» сделан?

Ea zer egiten duen hurrengo denboraldian, konpetitiboa izango al da?

The day of the race was as overcast and windy as the previous two. Rather than heading up to my seat at Lukey Heights I decided to walk around the track during practice. There really isn’t a bad part of the circuit, every corner has a fantastic view.

My personal favourite part of the track was probably Siberia, watching the bikes power up the hill before dropping back into the Hayshed. At this part of the circuit you can really appreciate the power of the MotoGP bikes. Even with incredibly sophisticated traction control trying to improve their behaviour the bikes buck and squirm around on the track, almost as if they are trying to throw the riders into the gravel.

Casey Stoner had a customised paint job featuring the Australian flag on his bike and a new set of matching leathers, which was a nice touch for his home GP. Despite the fact that he led from very early in the race Stoner was rarely far from Valentino Rossi. Each lap we’d see them coming over the hill from Siberia and try to judge the gap between them, then a few seconds later they’d blast past us on the hill at Lukey Heights giving us another glimpse of how close they were.

After Stoner clinched the win I took the opportunity to wander across the track and infield before leaving. One of the things that shocked me was the construction of the ripple strips, there was a step down of about an inch at the outside edge between each section, with the step becoming less pronounced towards the inside of the strip. Riding over this on a normal bike, while cornering would be fairly disconcerting, to do so on a MotoGP bike at over 200km/h is simply a frightening thought.

The following morning we left Phillip Island around 6am, and finally saw some sunlight. After stopping for breakfast at Healesville my riding companions headed towards the Hume Freeway, while I continued back the way we had come. It was a beautiful day, and one of those rides where everything just seemed to click, smooth and fast. The roads were filled with bikes returning from the GP, I’d follow along at the back of a group for a while before going my own way again. The ride was mostly uneventful, the only thing upsetting my trip was my luggage rack working its way out of the brackets that hold it onto the bike when I was about 70km from home. Thankfully, apart from a few scrapes on the outside of my bag, there wasn’t anything damaged.

A 900km round trip, my first visit to Philip Island and the MotoGP, it was all intensely satisfying. There is something very special about being out on a bike, even more so when you have the chance to travel with others. My Ducati is by no means a touring bike, no windscreen, an uncomfortable seat and no paniers are good clues to figuring that out, but that’s partly what makes it so much fun to take it on this sort of trip. Sadly Mrsdave doesn’t share my enthusiasm for discomfort and no luggage, so there will need to be a change or addition to the garage before she agrees to come along with me, I’m hoping for the latter.