2010 Indianapolis Moto2 Warm Up Result - Iannone Back On Top

Results:
read more

Leighton Meester Leila Arcieri Lena Headey Leonor Varela

Nicky Hayden Signs Two-Year Extension With Ducati

As widely expected, and anticipated here just a couple of days' ago, Nicky Hayden announced an extension of his contract with Ducati at the Indy Mile flat track race on Saturday night. The good news for Hayden is that the deal is for two years, with Hayden signed up for 2011 and 2012. Hayden told the crowd at the Indy Mile "Next year I'll be teamed with some guy named Rossi, who knows a little something about bikes."
With both Hayden and Valentino Rossi signed up for two years, Ducati is clearly playing it safe over the formula switch back to 1000cc, due to take place at the end of the 2011 season. This allows both Hayden and Rossi to test and develop Ducati's MotoGP bike for the new formula, maximizing testing without running the risk of losing knowledge should one of their riders want to leave at the end of the 2011 season. But with Hayden having made a huge leap forward this year, and his public profile in the US helping to sell Ducatis in large quantities both at home and abroad, Ducati also felt that signing Hayden was a safe bet.
Below is the text of the official press statement:

DUCATI ANNOUNCE A TWO-YEAR DEAL WITH NICKY HAYDEN
read more

Laura Prepon Lauren Bush Lauren Conrad Lauren German

Valentino Rossi: "MotoGP Is Very Boring, We Need Less Electronics"

After Sunday's MotoGP race at Indianapolis, in which he finished 4th, Valentino Rossi spoke to reporters for his usual post-race press debrief. During the conversation, Rossi talked about how his biggest problem is a lack of fitness, as he is still unable to run on his broken leg. He also told the press he still wasn't sure about what his legendary crew chief Jerry Burgess was going to be doing next year. And he went on to attack the role electronics plays in the sport, speaking of his hope that measures would be taken to reduce the importance of electronics when MotoGP returns to 1000cc in 2012. Here's what Rossi told reporters:
Question: How was the day? It was hot out there.
Valentino Rossi: Yes, is very difficult. I expected to be in trouble, because also during the practice after 8 or 9 laps, I started to lose strength. And in fact is very, very difficult. So for me, it was a positive race because for one part of the race, I could make the same lap time as Lorenzo and Spies, and I made also a little bit faster time than Lorenzo and same as Ben.
read more

Summer Glau Sunny Mabrey Susan Ward Susie Castillo

Indianapolis Post-Race Notes And Quotes

The press office of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway continue to do an outstanding job, collecting the following notes and quotes from the riders in today's MotoGP race. For quotes from the podium riders, see the separate news item.
MotoGP POST-RACE NOTES:
read more

Kelly Hu Kelly Monaco Kelly Ripa Kelly Rowland

2010 125cc Championship Standings After Round 11, Indianapolis, Indianapolis

1
MARQUEZ Marc
SPA
172
 


2
TEROL Nicolas
SPA
168
-4


3
ESPARGARO Pol
SPA
167
-5


4
SMITH Bradley
GBR
115
-57


5
CORTESE Sandro
GER
96
-76


6
RABAT Esteve
SPA
90
-82


7
read more

Aubrey O\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Day Audrina Patridge Autumn Reeser Avril Lavigne

2010 Indianapolis Moto2 Warm Up Result - Iannone Back On Top

Results:
read more

Elisabeth Röhm Elisha Cuthbert Eliza Dushku Emilie de Ravin

MotoGP: Indy Race Notes: Third Time Lucky

 
read more

Robin Tunney Rosario Dawson Rose Byrne Rose McGowan

2010 MotoGP Championship Standings After Round 11, Indianapolis, Indianapolis

1
LORENZO Jorge
SPA
251
 


2
PEDROSA Dani
SPA
183
-68


3
DOVIZIOSO Andrea
ITA
126
-125


4
STONER Casey
AUS
119
-132


5
ROSSI Valentino
ITA
114
-137


6
SPIES Ben
USA
110
-141


7
read more

Catherine Bell Chandra West Charisma Carpenter Charli Baltimore

2010 Belgian Grand Prix ? the complete F1 Fanatic race weekend review

Spa served up another classic race and could prove a turning point in the world championship as Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber pulled away from their nearest rivals.
Find all the F1 Fanatic Belgian Grand Prix coverage in one place below ? from Friday practice to the post-race review and our live comments on every session. [...]

Eva Longoria Eva Mendes Evangeline Lilly Eve

Interview with Rick Broadbent

MotoGPBlog was lucky enough to catch up with Rick Broadbent, Times journalist and author of Ring of Fire. You can also read our review of his book, and while you’re there, pick up your copy though our Amazon store - see links at the end of the articles.

Drea de Matteo Drew Barrymore Ehrinn Cummings Elena Lyons

2010 MotoGP Championship Standings After Round 11, Indianapolis, Indianapolis

1
LORENZO Jorge
SPA
251
 


2
PEDROSA Dani
SPA
183
-68


3
DOVIZIOSO Andrea
ITA
126
-125


4
STONER Casey
AUS
119
-132


5
ROSSI Valentino
ITA
114
-137


6
SPIES Ben
USA
110
-141


7
read more

Rozonda Thomas Saira Mohan Salma Hayek Samaire Armstrong

F1 Fanatic round-up: 31/8/2010

Today is Luca di Montezemolo’s birthday – the Ferrari president is 63 years old. What sort of present could you possibly buy for the man who has unrestricted access to any Ferrari he chooses? Anyway, happy birthday to him!
Here’s today’s round-up:
Links
F1 teams to have more pre-season tests in 2011 (Reuters)
Martin Whitmarsh: “We’ve agreed there will [...]

Shannyn Sossamon Shiri Appleby Sienna Guillory Sienna Miller

Indianapolis Post-Race Notes And Quotes

The press office of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway continue to do an outstanding job, collecting the following notes and quotes from the riders in today's MotoGP race. For quotes from the podium riders, see the separate news item.
MotoGP POST-RACE NOTES:
read more

Ehrinn Cummings Elena Lyons Elisabeth Röhm Elisha Cuthbert

2010 MotoGP Championship Standings After Round 11, Indianapolis, Indianapolis

1
LORENZO Jorge
SPA
251
 


2
PEDROSA Dani
SPA
183
-68


3
DOVIZIOSO Andrea
ITA
126
-125


4
STONER Casey
AUS
119
-132


5
ROSSI Valentino
ITA
114
-137


6
SPIES Ben
USA
110
-141


7
read more

Carol Grow Carrie Underwood Cat Power Catherine Bell

Notes And Quotes From Indianapolis MotoGP Qualifying

The industrious folks in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway press office have done part of our job again, collecting quotes from fifteen of the seventeen MotoGP riders for tomorrow's MotoGP race. Even better, they came up with a selection of fascinating statistics from today's qualifying session as well. Here's the official IMS press notes and quotes:

MotoGP QUALIFYING NOTES:
read more

Deanna Russo Denise Richards Desiree Dymond Diane Kruger

Ferrari?s practice pace disappears on Sunday (Ferrari race review)

Fernando Alonso was tipped for victory after topping both practice sessions on Friday.
But Ferrari’s pace seemed to desert them on Saturday morning. And, as far as the drivers’ championship is concerned, it was the ‘wrong’ driver who brought home points.Felipe Massa
Fernando AlonsoQualifying position
6
10Qualifying time comparison (Q3)
1′46.314 (-1.127)
1′47.441Race position
4Average race lap
2′01.648 (+3.268)
1′58.381Laps
44/44
37/44Pit stops
2
3You need to [...]

Donna Feldman Drea de Matteo Drew Barrymore Ehrinn Cummings

2010 Indianapolis 125cc Race Result - Crashes Shake Up Championship

Results and summary of the 125cc race at Indianapolis:
read more

Vitamin C Vogue Whitney Able Whitney Port

Spa chaos claims Button, spares Hamilton (McLaren race review)

Having been miles off the pace in Hungary, McLaren were back in contention for victory in Spa.
Hamilton showed a great touch in the damp conditions most of the time – especially at the start of Q2. But he nearly lost his win when he went off at Rivage near the end of the race.
Button was [...]

Lisa Marie Lisa Snowdon Liz Phair Lokelani McMichael

2010 MotoGP Championship Standings After Round 11, Indianapolis, Indianapolis

1
LORENZO Jorge
SPA
251
 


2
PEDROSA Dani
SPA
183
-68


3
DOVIZIOSO Andrea
ITA
126
-125


4
STONER Casey
AUS
119
-132


5
ROSSI Valentino
ITA
114
-137


6
SPIES Ben
USA
110
-141


7
read more

Alecia Elliott Alessandra Ambrosio Alexis Bledel Ali Campoverdi

Rossi: "I Think Lorenzo Has His Own Jorge Beside Him Next Year"

Valentino Rossi was far from happy with his qualifying position at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, his worst position since Valencia 2008. His attempt to improve his qualifying position had been hampered by a crash with just a few minutes left in the session, the Fiat Yamaha rider going down at Turn 6, a corner that has caught out a lot of riders so far this weekend.
Speaking to the Italian press after qualifying, Rossi complained about the surface of the track in that corner, saying "if it hadn't have been for that hole in Turn Six ... We asked for that hole to be filled in two years' ago in the Safety Commission." The crash was Rossi's second of the day, something that hadn't happened since his first season back in 1996, Rossi claimed. The cause, Rossi explained, was the rear suspension being set too hard, making it impossible for Rossi to catch the bike once it started to slide.
read more

Jennifer Gimenez Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Morrison Jennifer O\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Dell

Recovery drives (Mercedes race review)

Despite starting from what was by far their worst grid positions of the year – 14th and 21st – the Mercedes duo scored 14 points.Michael Schumacher
Nico RosbergQualifying position
21
14Qualifying time comparison (Q2)
1′47.874 (-0.011)
1′47.885Race position
7
6Average race lap
2′01.814 (+0.072)
2′01.742Laps
44/44
44/44Pit stops
1
1You need to upgrade your Flash Player
var so = new SWFObject("http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/amline.swf", "amline", "470", "400", "8", "FFFFFF");so.addVariable("path", "charts/");so.addVariable("settings_file", encodeURIComponent("http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/201013rl34set.xml"));so.addVariable("data_file", encodeURIComponent("http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/201013rl34dat.xml"));so.write("flashcontent13");
Open [...]

Trista Rehn Tyra Banks Uma Thurman Vanessa Hudgens

Sachsenring tipping contest scores

A quiet week at the top of the standings, with @daveminella just inching away from the pack by a single point. Shouts out to @Brian_GP, @danzero and @ducatinewstoday for pulling off their Minellas. Had you guys been around earlier you would be pushing the top spots. The good news is, there is plenty of time [...]

Gwen Stefani Halle Berry Hayden Panettiere Haylie Duff

Who was the best driver of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend?

Which driver did the best job during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend?
See below for my pick of the best drivers in the Belgian Grand Prix.
Review each driver’s race weekend in detail below and vote for who you thought was the most impressive driver.
For your consideration
Here are some of the drivers who impressed me during [...]

Aisha Tyler Aki Ross Alecia Elliott Alessandra Ambrosio

2010 Indianapolis 125cc Warm Up Result - Marquez Storms It Again

Results: 
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Giulianna Ramirez Grace Park Gretha Cavazzoni Gwen Stefani

2010 Indianapolis Moto2 Warm Up Result - Iannone Back On Top

Results:
read more

Audrina Patridge Autumn Reeser Avril Lavigne Bali Rodriguez

2010 MotoGP Championship Standings After Round 11, Indianapolis, Indianapolis

1
LORENZO Jorge
SPA
251
 


2
PEDROSA Dani
SPA
183
-68


3
DOVIZIOSO Andrea
ITA
126
-125


4
STONER Casey
AUS
119
-132


5
ROSSI Valentino
ITA
114
-137


6
SPIES Ben
USA
110
-141


7
read more

Tyra Banks Uma Thurman Vanessa Hudgens Vanessa Marcil

Who was the best driver of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend?

Which driver did the best job during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend?
See below for my pick of the best drivers in the Belgian Grand Prix.
Review each driver’s race weekend in detail below and vote for who you thought was the most impressive driver.
For your consideration
Here are some of the drivers who impressed me during [...]

Zoe Saldana Zooey Deschanel Aaliyah Abbie Cornish

Notes And Quotes From Indianapolis MotoGP Qualifying

The industrious folks in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway press office have done part of our job again, collecting quotes from fifteen of the seventeen MotoGP riders for tomorrow's MotoGP race. Even better, they came up with a selection of fascinating statistics from today's qualifying session as well. Here's the official IMS press notes and quotes:

MotoGP QUALIFYING NOTES:
read more

Sara Foster Sara Spraker Sarah Gellman Sarah Michelle Gellar

Cspeedphotos from Laguna Seca

MotoGPBlog has been following Dan Lo of CornerSpeedPhoto, (Twitter: @cspeedphoto) for a while now. He’s a talented photographer based in the States, and we’re honoured to feature some of his shots from this year’s Laguna Seca MotoGP round. In particular, the shot of Canepa at turn 2 is awesome. Thanks Dan!
Dan used the following kit [...]

Dido Diora Baird Dita Von Teese Dominique Swain

Ferrari?s practice pace disappears on Sunday (Ferrari race review)

Fernando Alonso was tipped for victory after topping both practice sessions on Friday.
But Ferrari’s pace seemed to desert them on Saturday morning. And, as far as the drivers’ championship is concerned, it was the ‘wrong’ driver who brought home points.Felipe Massa
Fernando AlonsoQualifying position
6
10Qualifying time comparison (Q3)
1′46.314 (-1.127)
1′47.441Race position
4Average race lap
2′01.648 (+3.268)
1′58.381Laps
44/44
37/44Pit stops
2
3You need to [...]

Estella Warren Esther Cañadas Eva Green Eva Longoria

Spa yields nothing (Williams race review)

A crash for Barrichello and car trouble for H�lkenberg left Williams point-less in Spa while Force India pulled further ahead of them in the championship.Rubens Barrichello
Nico H�lkenbergQualifying position
7
9Qualifying time comparison (Q3)
1′46.602 (-0.451)
1′47.053Race position14Average race lap2′04.774Laps
0/44
43/44Pit stops
0
2You need to upgrade your Flash Player
var so = new SWFObject("http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/amline.swf", "amline", "470", "400", "8", "FFFFFF");so.addVariable("path", "charts/");so.addVariable("settings_file", encodeURIComponent("http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/201013rl910set.xml"));so.addVariable("data_file", encodeURIComponent("http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/201013rl910dat.xml"));so.write("flashcontent13");
Open lap [...]

Kate Mara Kate Moss Kate Walsh Katharine McPhee

Rossi Waiting to Hear if Burgess Will Retire

Talking after the Indianapolis GP, Valentino Rossi explained that he is waiting to hear from Jeremy Burgess as to whether the Australian Crew Chief will retire next season. Assured of the fact that Burgess would not stay behind at Yamaha, and would not work with another rider, Rossi stated the buzz around whether Burgess would [...]

Vitamin C Vogue Whitney Able Whitney Port

Ben Spies Takes Position for Indianapolis GP

Photo: � 2010�Jason Yu /�Asphalt & Rubber ?�Creative Commons ? Attribution 3.0

Cat Power Catherine Bell Chandra West Charisma Carpenter

Rossi Waiting to Hear if Burgess Will Retire

Talking after the Indianapolis GP, Valentino Rossi explained that he is waiting to hear from Jeremy Burgess as to whether the Australian Crew Chief will retire next season. Assured of the fact that Burgess would not stay behind at Yamaha, and would not work with another rider, Rossi stated the buzz around whether Burgess would [...]

Paris Hilton Patricia Velásquez Paula Garcés Paulina Rubio

Nicky Hayden Signs Two-Year Extension With Ducati

As widely expected, and anticipated here just a couple of days' ago, Nicky Hayden announced an extension of his contract with Ducati at the Indy Mile flat track race on Saturday night. The good news for Hayden is that the deal is for two years, with Hayden signed up for 2011 and 2012. Hayden told the crowd at the Indy Mile "Next year I'll be teamed with some guy named Rossi, who knows a little something about bikes."
With both Hayden and Valentino Rossi signed up for two years, Ducati is clearly playing it safe over the formula switch back to 1000cc, due to take place at the end of the 2011 season. This allows both Hayden and Rossi to test and develop Ducati's MotoGP bike for the new formula, maximizing testing without running the risk of losing knowledge should one of their riders want to leave at the end of the 2011 season. But with Hayden having made a huge leap forward this year, and his public profile in the US helping to sell Ducatis in large quantities both at home and abroad, Ducati also felt that signing Hayden was a safe bet.
Below is the text of the official press statement:

DUCATI ANNOUNCE A TWO-YEAR DEAL WITH NICKY HAYDEN
read more

Marisa Tomei Marla Sokoloff Marley Shelton Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Mixed Responses from Riders over Indianapolis Motor Speedway?s Renewal with MotoGP

In an announcement made before today’s Indianapolis GP, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway published that it will host MotoGP again next year, as Dorna has renewed The Brickyard with a one-year contract. This announcement puts an end to the immediate chatter that surrounded the MotoGP venue before this weekend, as it was speculated that IMS would [...]

Ananda Lewis Angela Marcello Angelina Jolie Anna Faris

2010 Indianapolis Moto2 Warm Up Result - Iannone Back On Top

Results:
read more

Ali Larter Alice Dodd Alicia Keys Alicia Witt

Kovalainen?s bad start (Lotus race review)

A good result for Kovalainen in qualifying was the highlight of Lotus’s weekend.Jarno Trulli
Heikki KovalainenQualifying position
15
13Qualifying time comparison (Q1)
2′01.491 (+0.148)
2′01.343Race position
19
16Average race lap
2′05.741 (+0.519)
2′05.222Laps
43/44
43/44Pit stops
1
3You need to upgrade your Flash Player
var so = new SWFObject("http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/amline.swf", "amline", "470", "400", "8", "FFFFFF");so.addVariable("path", "charts/");so.addVariable("settings_file", encodeURIComponent("http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/201013rl1819set.xml"));so.addVariable("data_file", encodeURIComponent("http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/201013rl1819dat.xml"));so.write("flashcontent13");
Open lap times interactive chart in new windowJarno Trulli
Had to run wide to [...]

Carla Campbell Carla Gugino Carmen Electra Carol Grow

2010 Indianapolis Moto2 Qualifying Practice Result - Another Surprise Front Row At Indy

Results of qualifying for the Moto2 class at Indianapolis:
read more

Julie Berry K. D. Aubert Karen Carreno Karolína Kurková

Ben Spies Takes Position for Indianapolis GP

Photo: � 2010�Jason Yu /�Asphalt & Rubber ?�Creative Commons ? Attribution 3.0

Shiri Appleby Sienna Guillory Sienna Miller Simone Mütherthies

Notes And Quotes From Indianapolis MotoGP Qualifying

The industrious folks in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway press office have done part of our job again, collecting quotes from fifteen of the seventeen MotoGP riders for tomorrow's MotoGP race. Even better, they came up with a selection of fascinating statistics from today's qualifying session as well. Here's the official IMS press notes and quotes:

MotoGP QUALIFYING NOTES:
read more

Drea de Matteo Drew Barrymore Ehrinn Cummings Elena Lyons

Front Row Press Conference Transcript From Indianapolis

MODERATOR: Ben, quite a weekend for you. Up and down, as it has been for I think most people here at Indianapolis. First of all, congratulations, pole position. Two weeks ago was the first front row, and now you've gone one better in pole.
BEN SPIES: Yeah, it's a dream, I mean to have a pole position at any time in MotoGP and to be able to do it in the first season on the Monster Tech 3 bike in front of the American crowd, it's great and add Indianapolis to it. It's kind of ticked all the boxes this weekend. We just got to, you know, not get ahead of ourselves, so it gives us some common edge for tomorrow but got to kind of live the moment right now. You know, it kind of took the pressure off the announcement on Friday and just knowing what's going on and am I'm really wanting to repay the Tech 3 team because they've helped put me in a place to be there and, you know, to be able to get a pole for them and hopefully can end the season good and keep being consistent and progress. But, you know, today we'll just savor the moment right now and go in tomorrow and try to put a hard 45 minutes and see what happens.
MODERATOR: It's been an interesting weekends, I think, for everybody in MotoGP, grip level has been a problem. You've crashed yourself, and the weather conditions also seem to be getting a little bit hotter.
read more

Minka Kelly Minki van der Westhuizen Miranda Kerr Mischa Barton

Donington MotoGP tipping contest prizes

Great news! Enter the Donington round of the Tipping Contest to have a chance of winning a copy of Ring of Fire, The Inside Story of MotoGP by Rick Broadbent.
Prizes will be awarded as follows:
Top three scorers for the round (not overall) will win a copy of Ring of Fire.
The top two scoring Minellas will [...]

Georgina Grenville Gina Carano Gina Gershon Gina Philips

2010 125cc Championship Standings After Round 11, Indianapolis, Indianapolis

1
MARQUEZ Marc
SPA
172
 


2
TEROL Nicolas
SPA
168
-4


3
ESPARGARO Pol
SPA
167
-5


4
SMITH Bradley
GBR
115
-57


5
CORTESE Sandro
GER
96
-76


6
RABAT Esteve
SPA
90
-82


7
read more

Jodi Lyn O\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Keefe Jolene Blalock Jordana Brewster Josie Maran

2010 Indianapolis Moto2 Race Result - Perfect Pass Wins Incident-Ridden Race

Results and summary of the Moto2 race at Indianapolis:
read more

Virginie Ledoyen Vitamin C Vogue Whitney Able

World Superbike Responds to Ducati Exodus

Infront Motor Sports, rights holder to the World Superbike Championship series, has responded to the news that Ducati Corse will be leaving the series in 2011. Responding with an official press release, IMS’s message essentially boils down to poking holes in Ducati’s statement about technical regulations.
Stating that the 2009 season was dominated by the Ducati [...]

Charlie\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Angels Charlize Theron Chelsea Handler Cheryl Burke

Vettel apologises for Button crash

Sebastian Vettel apologised for taking Jenson Button out of the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver lost control of his car while trying to pass the McLaren and crashed into Button’s sidepod. Button had to retire immediately afterwards.
Vettel said he didn’t mean to hit Button:
I’m sorry, obviously it was not my intention to destroy his [...]

Mýa Nadine Velazquez Naomi Watts Natalie Imbruglia

Alguersuari loses point after penalty

Belgian Grand Prix in picturesJaime Alguersuari has lost his tenth place finish in the Belgian Grand Prix after being given a 20-second time penalty by the stewards.
They decided he had gained an advantage by going off the chicane late in the race and keeping Vitantonio Liuzzi behind.
Alguersuari’s 20-second penalty relegates him from tenth to 13th [...]

Vinessa Shaw Virginie Ledoyen Vitamin C Vogue

Indy tipping contest scores

In another lean week top scorers, two names shot ahead from the pack to challenge the leaders - @tailzer and @harleymac1. Pulling off an impressive Brit-centric Minella to gain 6 points, @tailzer took second place in the overall standings. Well done sir! @harleymac1 also made impressive gains with his 6 point Minella.
Honorable mention goes to [...]

Emilie de Ravin Emma Heming Emma Stone Emma Watson

Belgian Grand Prix in pictures

The Belgian Grand Prix was scarcely short of incidents with crashes, overtaking and two appearances from the safety car.
As is so often the case the Ardennes weather provided all four seasons in one race. Take a look back at the action with this collection of pictures from Sunday at Spa.
2010 Belgian Grand Prix
Browse all [...]

Michelle Rodriguez Michelle Trachtenberg Mila Kunis Milla Jovovich

Norton MotoGP Racer Imagined by Oberdan Bezzi

Oberdan Bezzi has seized on the news that Norton intends to field a MotoGP bike in 2012, and came up with a drawing of what that British-born race bike could look like. The Italian designer sees Norton using a carbon-framed chassis to house its four-cylinder motor with pneumatic valves, and of course with a British [...]

Taryn Manning Tatiana Zavialova Taylor Swift Teri Hatcher

Indianapolis MotoGP Press Conference Transcript, Courtesy of IMS

MODERATOR: OK, ladies and gentlemen, riders are on their way. In third place, Jorge Lorenzo here at Indianapolis. (Applause) Jorge has a 68-point lead in the championship over Dani Pedrosa, of course, who won the race.  In second place, Ben Spies. (Applause) And the race winner, his third Grand Prix victory of the season, Dani Pedrosa.
Dani, you look absolutely shattered, I've got to say. I think that was, all three of you look absolutely shattered but that was a pretty tough afternoon's work.
read more

Marla Sokoloff Marley Shelton Mary Elizabeth Winstead Megan Ewing

Sachsenring tipping contest scores

A quiet week at the top of the standings, with @daveminella just inching away from the pack by a single point. Shouts out to @Brian_GP, @danzero and @ducatinewstoday for pulling off their Minellas. Had you guys been around earlier you would be pushing the top spots. The good news is, there is plenty of time [...]

Zoe Saldana Zooey Deschanel Aaliyah Abbie Cornish

Rossi Waiting to Hear if Burgess Will Retire

Talking after the Indianapolis GP, Valentino Rossi explained that he is waiting to hear from Jeremy Burgess as to whether the Australian Crew Chief will retire next season. Assured of the fact that Burgess would not stay behind at Yamaha, and would not work with another rider, Rossi stated the buzz around whether Burgess would [...]

Magdalena Wróbel Maggie Grace Maggie Gyllenhaal Majandra Delfino

MotoGP: Indy Race Notes: Third Time Lucky

read more

Lily Allen Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Price Lisa Marie

Mixed Responses from Riders over Indianapolis Motor Speedway?s Renewal with MotoGP

In an announcement made before today’s Indianapolis GP, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway published that it will host MotoGP again next year, as Dorna has renewed The Brickyard with a one-year contract. This announcement puts an end to the immediate chatter that surrounded the MotoGP venue before this weekend, as it was speculated that IMS would [...]

Drew Barrymore Ehrinn Cummings Elena Lyons Elisabeth Röhm

Reintroduction.

Victoria Pratt Victoria Silvstedt Vinessa Shaw Virginie Ledoyen

Rossi: "I Think Lorenzo Has His Own Jorge Beside Him Next Year"

Valentino Rossi was far from happy with his qualifying position at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, his worst position since Valencia 2008. His attempt to improve his qualifying position had been hampered by a crash with just a few minutes left in the session, the Fiat Yamaha rider going down at Turn 6, a corner that has caught out a lot of riders so far this weekend.
Speaking to the Italian press after qualifying, Rossi complained about the surface of the track in that corner, saying "if it hadn't have been for that hole in Turn Six ... We asked for that hole to be filled in two years' ago in the Safety Commission." The crash was Rossi's second of the day, something that hadn't happened since his first season back in 1996, Rossi claimed. The cause, Rossi explained, was the rear suspension being set too hard, making it impossible for Rossi to catch the bike once it started to slide.
read more

Anna Faris Anna Friel Anna Kournikova Anna Paquin

Reintroduction.

Katharine McPhee Katharine Towne Katherine Heigl Katie Cassidy

MotoGP: Indy FP2 Notes -- Slip Sliding Away

Casey Stoner battled back from a crash midway in the second MotoGP practice session to set fast time overall  on a already scorching, both literally and figuratively, morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The track surface, uneven and slippery even in the best of conditions, made the morning session an exercise in controlled sliding, if you were lucky and crashing if you weren't. Joining Stoner in the kitty litter were Hector Barbera and Valentino Rossi, who has been complaining all weekend about a lack of grip.
Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa set his fast time after the checkered flag had flown ending the session, followed milliseconds later by Stoner, who took the top spot away from the Spaniard by a mere .058 seconds.  The duo displaced Pedrosa's team mate Andre Dovizioso, who had taken the top spot with a bit over 6 minutes left in the session.
Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo had his late flying lap impeded by Gresini Honda's Marco Melandri and had to settle for fourth.
The final rider in the 1:40's, Marlboro Ducati's Nicky Hayden, lanquished in the bottom half of the standings for the majority of the session and vaulted into fifth with eleven seconds left.
read more

Michelle Malkin Michelle Obama Michelle Rodriguez Michelle Trachtenberg

Cspeedphotos from Laguna Seca

MotoGPBlog has been following Dan Lo of CornerSpeedPhoto, (Twitter: @cspeedphoto) for a while now. He’s a talented photographer based in the States, and we’re honoured to feature some of his shots from this year’s Laguna Seca MotoGP round. In particular, the shot of Canepa at turn 2 is awesome. Thanks Dan!
Dan used the following kit [...]

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Hayden to Ride at Indy Mile!

Nicky Hayden revealed at the post-qualifying press conference that, because he qualified on the front row for the Indy MotoGP race, the Marlboro Ducati team are allowing him to take a few demonstration laps around the historic Indy Mile dirt track this evening. Despite not having "strapped on the steel shoe" since 2002, Hayden, a former national class dirt-tracker, is looking forward to the experience. There are a few Ducati-based flat track machines currently competing in the AMA series, but it wasn't divulged which one Hayden would ride. Maybe this won't be quite a epic as when Kenny Roberts rode the TZ750 bike last year, but it will be certainly worth watching.

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Norton MotoGP Racer Imagined by Oberdan Bezzi

Oberdan Bezzi has seized on the news that Norton intends to field a MotoGP bike in 2012, and came up with a drawing of what that British-born race bike could look like. The Italian designer sees Norton using a carbon-framed chassis to house its four-cylinder motor with pneumatic valves, and of course with a British [...]

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2010 Indianapolis Moto2 Qualifying Practice Result - Another Surprise Front Row At Indy

Results of qualifying for the Moto2 class at Indianapolis:
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Friday at Indianapolis with Jason Yu

Photos: � 2010�Jason Yu /�Asphalt & Rubber ?�Creative Commons ? Attribution 3.0

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Interview with Rick Broadbent

MotoGPBlog was lucky enough to catch up with Rick Broadbent, Times journalist and author of Ring of Fire. You can also read our review of his book, and while you’re there, pick up your copy though our Amazon store - see links at the end of the articles.

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Ducati Pulling Out of WSBK in 2011

After being unable to achieve the racing regulations in World Superbike that it desires, Ducati has announced that it has officially pulled out of WSBK racing in order to focus its technical efforts on MotoGP racing, and bringing new technology to its street motorcycles. While Ducati Corse will continue to provide motorcycles and support to [...]

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Fuel problem holds Kubica back

A fuel pick-up problem prevented Robert Kubica from being able to complete his second run in qualifying.
The Renault driver claimed second place with his first lap before he ran into trouble – and was powerless to keep himself from falling to third:Belgian Grand Prix qualifiyngin picturesThe car cut out just before the pit lane on [...]

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Ducati Pulling Out of WSBK in 2011

After being unable to achieve the racing regulations in World Superbike that it desires, Ducati has announced that it has officially pulled out of WSBK racing in order to focus its technical efforts on MotoGP racing, and bringing new technology to its street motorcycles. While Ducati Corse will continue to provide motorcycles and support to [...]

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Notes And Quotes From Indianapolis MotoGP Qualifying

The industrious folks in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway press office have done part of our job again, collecting quotes from fifteen of the seventeen MotoGP riders for tomorrow's MotoGP race. Even better, they came up with a selection of fascinating statistics from today's qualifying session as well. Here's the official IMS press notes and quotes:

MotoGP QUALIFYING NOTES:
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Sachsenring 2009 MotoGP race analysis

While the weather had produced torrential downpours thoughout the preamble to this GP, it stayed dry for the action in Germany. As the riders lined up on the grid, there was a real feeling of anticipation as Rossi and Lorenzo, so close through practice until that awesome final qualifying lap from Valentino, pulled up next [...]

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Ben Spies Takes Position for Indianapolis GP

Photo: � 2010�Jason Yu /�Asphalt & Rubber ?�Creative Commons ? Attribution 3.0

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Tipping contest winners: Donington 2009

It was a freakish race - one which I am still trying to get my head around, let alone write up!
Because of the unusual podium, points were scarce this week with many people striking out. Only one person scored podium points: @leighberwick with his 3rd place for de Puniet. How you picked him out Leigh, [...]

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Ben Spies Takes Position for Indianapolis GP

Photo: � 2010�Jason Yu /�Asphalt & Rubber ?�Creative Commons ? Attribution 3.0

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Aspar Confirms Ducati Extension For 2011, Hints At 2012 Deal

The Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix has unleashed a veritable avalanche of official press releases about the future of the sport. The latest release is from the Aspar team concerning the extension of their contract with Ducati for 2011, but the release also hints at further developments in the future. The press release mentions Jorge Martinez' desire to field a two-man team on Ducatis for the 2012 season as well, which would appear to contradict rumors linking Aspar to Aprilia. 
For rumors in the Spanish and Italian press have linked the Aspar to a deal with Aprilia to race a heavily modified version of their RSV4 bike in MotoGP in 2012, entering under the guise of a CRT team. Such a suggestion is plausible given Aspar's strong historic connection to the Noale factory, having raced and won many titles for Aprilia in the 125 and 250cc championships. However, given Aspar's strong ties to the Italian manufacturer, the chances of the Grand Prix Commission granting Aspar CRT status should he apply to race Aprilias seems rather slim. A deal with Ducati to race factory prototypes seems a much more likely chain of events.

ASPAR TEAM AND DUCATI TO CONTINUE IN 2011
Excellent relationship between Spanish team and Italian factory leads to fresh deal
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Indy tipping contest scores

In another lean week top scorers, two names shot ahead from the pack to challenge the leaders - @tailzer and @harleymac1. Pulling off an impressive Brit-centric Minella to gain 6 points, @tailzer took second place in the overall standings. Well done sir! @harleymac1 also made impressive gains with his 6 point Minella.
Honorable mention goes to [...]

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Webber and Hamilton set for Spa showdown (Belgian GP pre-race analysis)

The Belgian Grand Prix is looking very promising with an interesting grid, a chance of rain and, of course, the best circuit in Formula 1.
Both Red Bull drivers will be looking over their shoulder at the McLarens starting right behind them – and Robert Kubica is right in the mix in his upgraded Renault.
We also [...]

Denise Richards Desiree Dymond Diane Kruger Dido

Alonso urges calm after qualifying tenth

Fernando Alonso played down concerns over his fifth row grid position for tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver said:Belgian Grand Prix qualifiyngin picturesObviously, I can?t be pleased with this result, but it has to be said that if there is one track where grid position is less critical than others, then it is this one, [...]

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MotoGP: Indy Qualifying Notes -- Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

 
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Buemi and Glock get grid penalties

Sebastien Buemi and Timo Glock have each been handed penalties for impeding other drivers during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Buemi was given a three-place penalty for impeding Nico Rosberg and Timo Glock got a five-place penalty for holding up Sakon Yamamoto.
However the stewards decided against punishing Jarno Trulli or Lucas di Grassi for their [...]

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Friday Indianapolis Rider Quotes, Courtesy Of The Speedway

The impressively efficient press department at Indianapolis Motor Speedway collected and provided the following collection of quotes from fourteen of the seventeen MotoGP riders after the first session of free practice. Thanks to Paul Kelly and his staff for doing our job for us:

CASEY STONER (No. 27 Ducati Team, first): (Since you didn't run here last year, how hard was it to set up the motorcycle?): "We know genuinely the layout of the circuit. We know how the bike is going to react on a certain type – whether it's fast corners, slow corners, heavy braking or not. We had enough data from '08 just to start with, in general. There will be three or four different groups of circuits that we go to that we know what setup works. So we start with that rough idea; that's how we start every weekend. We'll know from previous years what roughly works on this style of circuit and then we just go from there. Out of the box it (the motorcycle) wasn't great. We tried one setting and completely went the wrong way, and it felt horrible. We came back and tried going a different direction and made another step and made it feel a little better, and we tried the last thing to make another improvement and sort of went backward again. We just have to go back and forth until we find that point where we're getting all aspects of the bike working."
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Bombshell! Ducati Withdraw From World Superbikes From 2011

Ducati have announced that they are to withdraw from World Superbikes for the 2011 season as a factory team. More detail to follow, but here's the text of the press release:

DUCATI WILL FOCUS ITS TECHNICAL RESOURCES ON PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE 2011 WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP WITH A FACTORY TEAM
Borgo Panigale (Bologna - Italy), 27 August 2010 - Ducati, having participated with a factory team in every edition of the World Superbike Championship since it began in 1988, winning 16 Manufacturers' world titles and 13 Riders' world titles along the way, has decided to limit its participation to the supply of machines and support to private teams.
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MotoGP: Indy FP2 Notes -- Slip Sliding Away

Casey Stoner battled back from a crash midway in the second MotoGP practice session to set fast time overall  on a already scorching, both literally and figuratively, morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The track surface, uneven and slippery even in the best of conditions, made the morning session an exercise in controlled sliding, if you were lucky and crashing if you weren't. Joining Stoner in the kitty litter were Hector Barbera and Valentino Rossi, who has been complaining all weekend about a lack of grip.
Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa set his fast time after the checkered flag had flown ending the session, followed milliseconds later by Stoner, who took the top spot away from the Spaniard by a mere .058 seconds.  The duo displaced Pedrosa's team mate Andre Dovizioso, who had taken the top spot with a bit over 6 minutes left in the session.
Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo had his late flying lap impeded by Gresini Honda's Marco Melandri and had to settle for fourth.
The final rider in the 1:40's, Marlboro Ducati's Nicky Hayden, lanquished in the bottom half of the standings for the majority of the session and vaulted into fifth with eleven seconds left.
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2010 Indianapolis MotoGP FP1 Result - New Forks Give Stoner Fresh Hope

Casey Stoner's gamble on using the 2011 spec Ohlins forks looks to have paid off, the Marlboro Ducati rider getting off to a strong start at Indianapolis by topping the timesheets with nearly a quarter of a second advantage over Jorge Lorenzo. The Fiat Yamaha rider had dominated the early part of the session, picking up where he left off at Brno. But once Stoner got the new forks dialed in, there was no stopping him, the Australian the only rider to dip into the 1'40 bracket. Lorenzo was forced to settle for 2nd, but given his advantage over his championship rivals, Lorenzo will not be too unhappy.
Nicky Hayden's special Indianapolis helmet has worked out for the Marlboro Ducati rider, Hayden setting the 3rd fastest time half a second behind his teammate, despite a crash in the last quarter of the session. Hayden finished ahead of Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa and Fiat Yamaha's Valentino Rossi, though both Pedrosa and Rossi had to put in a late charge to claw their way up the field. Colin Edwards finished in 6th place, the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha just edging out Repsol's Andrea Dovizioso and his teammate Ben Spies. Like Hayden, Spies had also crashed late in the session, but neither man was hurt in the crash.
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Indy tipping contest scores

In another lean week top scorers, two names shot ahead from the pack to challenge the leaders - @tailzer and @harleymac1. Pulling off an impressive Brit-centric Minella to gain 6 points, @tailzer took second place in the overall standings. Well done sir! @harleymac1 also made impressive gains with his 6 point Minella.
Honorable mention goes to [...]

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Interview with Rick Broadbent

MotoGPBlog was lucky enough to catch up with Rick Broadbent, Times journalist and author of Ring of Fire. You can also read our review of his book, and while you’re there, pick up your copy though our Amazon store - see links at the end of the articles.

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Donington MotoGP tipping contest prizes

Great news! Enter the Donington round of the Tipping Contest to have a chance of winning a copy of Ring of Fire, The Inside Story of MotoGP by Rick Broadbent.
Prizes will be awarded as follows:
Top three scorers for the round (not overall) will win a copy of Ring of Fire.
The top two scoring Minellas will [...]

Mía Maestro Michael Michele Michelle Behennah Michelle Branch

2010 Indianapolis125cc FP1 Result - Marquez Edges Espargaro

Marc Marquez appears to have recovered well from the dislocated shoulder he suffered two weeks ago at Brno, the Red Bull Ajo Derbi rider topping the timesheets in the first session of practice for the 125cc class at Indianapolis. Marquez edged out Tuenti Derbi's Pol Espargaro for the top spot, with Bancaja Aspar's Nico Terol finishing the session in 3rd. Marquez' Ajo Derbi teammate Sandro Cortese ended up in 4th spot, ahead of Terol's teammate Bradley Smith.
Results: 
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MotoGP: Indy FP1 Notes

Casey Stoner was the lone rider in the 1:40's in the first practice seesion of the weekend on a beautiful Friday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Stoner, who is taking advantage of the new Ohlins forks that the team tested at Brno,  took over 1st on the timesheets with about 20 minutes to go in the session from Jorge Lorenzo who had dominated practice until that point. Lorenzo, resplendent in his "Iron Man" themed helmet and Fiat 500 leathers that had finally made  it through customs,  looked comfortable the entire session.
Third place man Nicky Hayden crashed heavily in turn thirteen with about 15 minutes remaining but returned on his back-up Desmosedici to turn a couple of laps at the end of the session. Hayden went down on his injured left wrist, the arm of his Alpinestars leathers heavily scuffed, and looked to be flexing the offending limb, but team management said that the Kentuckian did not suffer further injury.
Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa lanquished in mid-pack until ten minutes to go, when he went 4th, a position he held at the end of the session.  Fellow lanquisher Valentino Rossi put in his fastest lap late in the session to come fifth.
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OnTheThrottle Video Interview: Spies Talks Germany, Laguna, Brno, And Factory Bikes

After a long and busy summer, the guys from OnTheThrottle caught up with Ben Spies once again, to talk about Spies' last three races. In conversation with David Williams, Spies covers finding himself in Jorge Lorenzo's oil patch at the Sachsenring, the differences between setting up a MotoGP bike and a Superbike at Laguna Seca, and his first front row start at Brno. Along the way, the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha talks about testing the 2011 factory machine at Brno, the differences between the factory bike and the satellite Yamaha, and just how good Jorge Lorenzo is at the moment. Spies almost - but not quite - lets slip that he'll be on the factory Yamaha next year, the second-worst kept secret after Rossi's defection to Ducati, and reveals that Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis is pretty pleased with the way Spies has been riding this year. So spend a worthwhile 25 minutes hearing Spies talk Yamaha, past, present and future.
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Jaime King Jaime Pressly Jamie Chung Jamie Gunns

OnTheThrottle Video Interview: Spies Talks Germany, Laguna, Brno, And Factory Bikes

After a long and busy summer, the guys from OnTheThrottle caught up with Ben Spies once again, to talk about Spies' last three races. In conversation with David Williams, Spies covers finding himself in Jorge Lorenzo's oil patch at the Sachsenring, the differences between setting up a MotoGP bike and a Superbike at Laguna Seca, and his first front row start at Brno. Along the way, the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha talks about testing the 2011 factory machine at Brno, the differences between the factory bike and the satellite Yamaha, and just how good Jorge Lorenzo is at the moment. Spies almost - but not quite - lets slip that he'll be on the factory Yamaha next year, the second-worst kept secret after Rossi's defection to Ducati, and reveals that Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis is pretty pleased with the way Spies has been riding this year. So spend a worthwhile 25 minutes hearing Spies talk Yamaha, past, present and future.
read more

Tara Reed Tara Reid Taryn Manning Tatiana Zavialova

Indy tipping contest scores

In another lean week top scorers, two names shot ahead from the pack to challenge the leaders - @tailzer and @harleymac1. Pulling off an impressive Brit-centric Minella to gain 6 points, @tailzer took second place in the overall standings. Well done sir! @harleymac1 also made impressive gains with his 6 point Minella.
Honorable mention goes to [...]

Paz Vega Penélope Cruz Pink Piper Perabo

Sachsenring 2009 MotoGP race analysis

While the weather had produced torrential downpours thoughout the preamble to this GP, it stayed dry for the action in Germany. As the riders lined up on the grid, there was a real feeling of anticipation as Rossi and Lorenzo, so close through practice until that awesome final qualifying lap from Valentino, pulled up next [...]

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Laguna 2009 tipping contest prizes

Thanks to all our competitors last week - it was a week that was particularly scare on points with Dani Pedrosa hardly featuring in the picks - only four of you had him on the podium at all, and only @rumblestrip as high as second. Elsewhere, he was mentioned but generally only as a crash [...]

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OnTheThrottle Video Interview: Spies Talks Germany, Laguna, Brno, And Factory Bikes

After a long and busy summer, the guys from OnTheThrottle caught up with Ben Spies once again, to talk about Spies' last three races. In conversation with David Williams, Spies covers finding himself in Jorge Lorenzo's oil patch at the Sachsenring, the differences between setting up a MotoGP bike and a Superbike at Laguna Seca, and his first front row start at Brno. Along the way, the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha talks about testing the 2011 factory machine at Brno, the differences between the factory bike and the satellite Yamaha, and just how good Jorge Lorenzo is at the moment. Spies almost - but not quite - lets slip that he'll be on the factory Yamaha next year, the second-worst kept secret after Rossi's defection to Ducati, and reveals that Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis is pretty pleased with the way Spies has been riding this year. So spend a worthwhile 25 minutes hearing Spies talk Yamaha, past, present and future.
read more

Julie Berry K. D. Aubert Karen Carreno Karolína Kurková

2010 Indianapolis125cc FP1 Result - Marquez Edges Espargaro

Marc Marquez appears to have recovered well from the dislocated shoulder he suffered two weeks ago at Brno, the Red Bull Ajo Derbi rider topping the timesheets in the first session of practice for the 125cc class at Indianapolis. Marquez edged out Tuenti Derbi's Pol Espargaro for the top spot, with Bancaja Aspar's Nico Terol finishing the session in 3rd. Marquez' Ajo Derbi teammate Sandro Cortese ended up in 4th spot, ahead of Terol's teammate Bradley Smith.
Results: 
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Infront Motor Sports Responds To Ducati WSBK Withdrawal

After the shocking revelation that Ducati is to pull out of the World Superbike championship for the 2011 season, the WSBK organizers Infront Motor Sports were quick to respond. CEO Paolo Flammini was quick to point out that the series has always been open to helping the Italian manufacturer maintain parity with the four-cylinder bikes through balancing the regulations, a response to Ducati's hints that the World Superbike regulations made it difficult for the company to compete. Flammini points out in the press release that just last season, the Ducati was battling for supremacy in the championship in the hands of Noriyuki Haga, the Japanese rider losing out to Yamaha's Ben Spies at the final round in Portimao. Here's the full text of the Infront Motor Sports press release on the Ducati situation.

Infront Motor Sports has learnt with disappointment of Ducati's decision not to participate with a factory team in the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship.
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Unthinkable! -- Ducati Dropping Out of WSBK?

With 13 rider's  and 16 constructor's championships, the name Ducati is virtually synonymous with World Superbike. In good times and bad Ducati has exemplified the hoary racing aphorism "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday." Indeed, there were years that the Italian marque's presence was so pervasive in the series that wags called it the Ducati Cup.
A variety of sources are reporting that this active participation will come to an end at the finish of the 2010 season when the factory team will cease to compete in WSBK. A plethora of factors are said to have contributed to this decision, perhaps foremost the recent signing of Valentino Rossi to the MotoGP team and the attendant salary and developmental costs that will presumably entail.  Ducati has alao apparently decided that, with the Doctor on board, their PR lira would make more of an impact being spent in GPs.
Another factor is that the 1198 platform, which then team manager Davide Tardozzi had said reached it's developmental apogee in 2009, is long in the tooth and will be replaced by a radical new platform that doesn't really resemble its 916/999/1098 forebearers much at all.
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Caption this Photo: Sweet Nothings

Scooters are the preferred mode of transport in the MotoGP paddock, and if you stand still in the MotoGP paddock, it won’t be long before you see one of your GP heroes whisk by on their way to the next press event. With his personal manager riding shotgun, we can only imagine the conversation that’s [...]

Kelly Brook Kelly Carlson Kelly Clarkson Kelly Hu

Win F1 prizes by making your Belgian Grand Prix prediction

Think you can predict the top five finishers in the Belgian Grand Prix?
Name your top five and the pole sitter below for your chance to win from a selection of great prizes including tickets to the 2011 British Grand Prix, new F1 Fanatic T-shirts and loads more.
The prizes
This year we’re giving away a pair [...]

Eva Mendes Evangeline Lilly Eve Fergie

Ben Spies to Factory Yamaha Team

As expected, Ben Spies and Yamaha have announced that the current World Superbike Champion and MotoGP rookie will move up to the factory Yamaha team (noticeably not called Fiat-Yamaha in the press release) for the 2011 season. Spies’ move to the factory squad has lovingly been referred to as the “second worst-kept secret in MotoGP,” [...]

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2010 Indianapolis125cc FP1 Result - Marquez Edges Espargaro

Marc Marquez appears to have recovered well from the dislocated shoulder he suffered two weeks ago at Brno, the Red Bull Ajo Derbi rider topping the timesheets in the first session of practice for the 125cc class at Indianapolis. Marquez edged out Tuenti Derbi's Pol Espargaro for the top spot, with Bancaja Aspar's Nico Terol finishing the session in 3rd. Marquez' Ajo Derbi teammate Sandro Cortese ended up in 4th spot, ahead of Terol's teammate Bradley Smith.
Results: 
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Gabrielle Union Garcelle Beauvais Genelle Frenoy Georgianna Robertson

Win F1 prizes by making your Belgian Grand Prix prediction

Think you can predict the top five finishers in the Belgian Grand Prix?
Name your top five and the pole sitter below for your chance to win from a selection of great prizes including tickets to the 2011 British Grand Prix, new F1 Fanatic T-shirts and loads more.
The prizes
This year we’re giving away a pair [...]

Ana Paula Lemes Ananda Lewis Angela Marcello Angelina Jolie

Ben Spies All But Confirms Factory Announcement

Another one of the worst-kept secrets in the MotoGP paddock is the graduation of Ben Spies from the Monster Tech3 Yamaha team to the factory Yamaha squad. With Valentino Rossi now officially out of the Yamaha picture, Spies’ opening in the factory squad is finally vacant.
With Spies testing the 2011 Yamaha YZR-M1 at Brno two [...]

Naomi Watts Natalie Imbruglia Natalie Portman Natalie Zea

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Close To Extending MotoGP Deal

MotoGP's history at Indianapolis got off to a tempestuous start, quite literally. The inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix in 2008 took place in the shadow of Hurricane Ike, but despite the storm, and the global financial meltdown, the race has had a fairly strong attendance for the past two years, with 91,000 paying customers in '08, dropping to just over 75,000 last year, in the midst of the global recession. 2010, however, is the last year of Indianapolis' three-year contract to stage a MotoGP event, and as yet, no announcements about the future of the race have been made.
That could all change over the next few days. The Indianapolis Star is reporting that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is close to signing an extension with Dorna to continue to stage a MotoGP event in 2011, and maybe beyond. According to the Indy Star, IMS CEO Jeff Belskus believes that there are "a couple of unresolved issues" to overcome, but Belskus is confident that a new deal will be announced before the end of the weekend.
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Epsilon Euskadi begin wind tunnel tests

Joan Villadelprat, president of 2011 F1 team candidates Epsilon Euskadi, has confirmed they have begun testing a wind tunnel model of the car they hope to race in Formula 1 next year.
Villadelprat told the team’s website:
The model was designed, CFD tests were carried out and, finally, a few weeks ago the model was built. We [...]

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Things To Do At Indy, Part 1: Hear The Greats Talk Racing

No doubt many of MotoMatters.com's readers will be heading to the Brickyard, to attend the Red Bull Indianapolis GP. Obviously, the main reason to go to Indy is having the chance to see all three classes (125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP) racing in the US, but beyond the racing, the folks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway put on a lot more to hold the interest of race fans during the weekend. Here's two more reasons to head to Indianapolis, taken from press releases provided by IMS: The Cycle World Seminar and Yamaha Stars On Stage:

Cycle World Seminar
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Indy tipping contest scores

In another lean week top scorers, two names shot ahead from the pack to challenge the leaders - @tailzer and @harleymac1. Pulling off an impressive Brit-centric Minella to gain 6 points, @tailzer took second place in the overall standings. Well done sir! @harleymac1 also made impressive gains with his 6 point Minella.
Honorable mention goes to [...]

Elisabeth Röhm Elisha Cuthbert Eliza Dushku Emilie de Ravin

Sachsenring tipping contest scores

A quiet week at the top of the standings, with @daveminella just inching away from the pack by a single point. Shouts out to @Brian_GP, @danzero and @ducatinewstoday for pulling off their Minellas. Had you guys been around earlier you would be pushing the top spots. The good news is, there is plenty of time [...]

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Things To Do At Indy, Part 1: Hear The Greats Talk Racing

No doubt many of MotoMatters.com's readers will be heading to the Brickyard, to attend the Red Bull Indianapolis GP. Obviously, the main reason to go to Indy is having the chance to see all three classes (125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP) racing in the US, but beyond the racing, the folks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway put on a lot more to hold the interest of race fans during the weekend. Here's two more reasons to head to Indianapolis, taken from press releases provided by IMS: The Cycle World Seminar and Yamaha Stars On Stage:

Cycle World Seminar
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Engine List From Brno 2010 - Suzuki Struggles, Honda Dominates

The latest engine lists released by IRTA at Brno paint a revealing picture of the state of play with regards to engine reliability. Top of the class is Honda, whose reliability is not so much legendary as utterly intimidating. In fact, it might even be fair to say that Honda have done too good a job: The factory Honda riders have still only used three engines, despite the fact that Brno was the 10th race of the season. Of the 22 engines which have been used by the six Honda riders, just two have been withdrawn, a testament to HRC's engineering. Add this to the fact that the Honda is clearly the fastest bike on the grid, and you can see that Honda's competitors will be troubled.
Contrast Honda's fortunes to those of Suzuki. With just two riders on the grid, the Rizla Suzuki squad already has four retired engines and a total of 11 in play. Alvaro Bautista took his 6th engine at Brno, the engine extension permitted by the Grand Prix Commission coming just at the right time. Of the other riders, only Ben Spies looks to be in engine trouble, the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider having taken his 5th engine at Brno, but then Spies' last two new engines coincide with rumors of upgraded parts, rumors bolstered by Spies' run close to the podium in the Czech Grand Prix.read more

Dania Ramirez Danica Patrick Daniella Alonso Danneel Harris

Things To Do At Indy, Part 2: Walk The Pits, Bag Memorabilia At the Riders For Health Auction, Celebrate Downtown

Yesterday we told you about two must-see events taking place during the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, today, we have more events making a trip to Indy worth your while. If you're looking for something to do either before the bikes hit the track or after they're done, then here's a few ideas: You can get a close-up view of the bikes during the pit walk on Friday morning; you can bid on some of the best motorcycling memorabilia available during the Riders for Health auction, also on Friday morning; and you can kick off the race weekend with the downtown event and bike parade at Monument Circle on Thursday. Details of the events below, from Indianapolis Motor Speedway press releases.
But if there's one thing you really shouldn't miss when you're at Indy, it's the Indy Mile, to be run at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. No matter what your taste in racing, there is nothing quite like the sight of 40 big V-twins thundering round mile oval track with no brakes. If you want to see racing at its best - and a paddock full of stunned MotoGP stars awe-struck by the racing - get to the Indy Mile on Saturday night. To get a taste of the Mile, check out Scott Jones' photos from last year.
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Rachel Weisz Radha Mitchell Raquel Alessi Rebecca Mader

2010 Brno Post-Race Test Times 1pm - Lorenzo Fastest By Half A Second

The rain that had threatened to make the mid-season Brno MotoGP test a washout did not materialize on Monday morning, and the first part of the test took place under clear skies and bright sunshine. When the bikes took a break for lunch, it was Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo who was clearly fastest, beating Marlboro Ducati's Casey Stoner by nearly six tenths of a second. Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi were 3rd and 4th fastest respectively, a couple of tenths apart.
The test gave us a number of clues as to the work going on for 2011. Jorge Lorenzo is riding a 2011 prototype Yamaha M1, while Valentino Rossi - now officially confirmed as riding with Ducati next season - is testing 2010 suspension upgrades and trying to solve the grip problems he suffered yesterday. He is already over a second faster than on Sunday, so presumably they've found the problem.
If Valentino Rossi is not riding the 2011 Yamaha, Ben Spies is. Spies had two bikes in his garage - one Tech 3 machine, and one kept permanently under a cover, which when removed revealed an all-black carbon-fiber fairing, hinting at confirmation of his future in Yamaha. Yamaha Racing MD Lin Jarvis said that the team is very close to announcing their rider lineup for 2011, but that they still had a few details to work out.
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Alexis Bledel Ali Campoverdi Ali Larter Alice Dodd

Colin Edwards ? ?I?m going fishing. Screw this sh*t.?

No one makes the MotoGP media center come alive with emotion more so than Colin Edwards. A veteran of the sport, and born with no filter between his brain and mouth, the Texan Tornado captured the spotlight during the pre-race press conference at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP. A stark contrast to the polished veneers [...]

Maria Menounos Maria Sharapova Mariah Carey Mariah O\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Brien