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Lorenzo edges Stoner for MotoGP pole, Rossi 4th in Germany

Jorge Lorenzo squeaked out another pole position in MotoGP qualifying today, just besting Casey Stoner at qualifying for the MotoGP German Grand Prix. Lorenzo’s time of 1:21.82 was only .02 seconds faster than Stoner, and just .13 seconds quicker than fellow countryman, Dani Pedrosa.

Strangely, Lorenzo’s leaky motorcycle was nearly the demise of Ben Spies and Randy de Puniet who both crashed out after hitting an oil slick left on track by his Yamaha. Both are OK to race tomorrow, but Spies will start deep in the field, with de Puniet starting seventh.

Valentino Rossi made a spectacular return after suffering a broken leg just six weeks ago. Despite needing a cane to mount his bike, he qualified fifth in a demonstration of intestinal fortitude.
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Lorenzo’s super season continues, takes Silverstone pole

Jorge Lorenzo will start from pole postion for the MotoGP British Grand Prix after setting the best time in today’s qualifying at Silverstone. Lorenzo has rocketed to two wins this year, and is poised to take control of the MotoGP championship if he can win from pole again this weekend.

Randy De Puniet’s run to P2 was surprising as he used is LCR Hond to beat both Repsol Hondas and Both Ducatis.

Nicky Hayden continues to gain confidence on his new Ducati machine, this time edging Casey Stoner for the fifth starting sport. Stoner expressed his nervousness about finding the limit on some of the bumps on the older part of the Silverstone circuit.

“The layout of the track is simply fantastic”, said Stoner after Friday practice. “It is great fun to ride and some of the corners are awesome. Unfortunately there are a few bumps on the ‘old’ part of the track where the asphalt hasn’t been relaid but when they get around to doing it I think we can safely say it will be one of the best circuits in the world. We’ve worked hard on the set-up today and for the moment we are still looking for the right solution. The bike was a little too stiff for the bumps and it was difficult to find the limit or understand how fast we can really go. We’ll make some changes tomorrow and hope the weather is good to us.”

Perhaps those bumps feel a little bit more treacherous to Stoner who has done a lot of crashing this season, and needs to regroup and find his pace in 2010.
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MotoGP Spanish GP an instant classic as Lorenzo charges to victory

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If you saw the MotoGP race this morning on SPEED, you probably won’t need coffee to get amped up for your Sunday activities. Jorge Lorenzo came out of nowhere in an adrenalin-pumping ride to win the Spanish Grand Prix with a thrilling last-lap pass on fellow countryman Dani Pedrosa.

The buzz around this race was huge, with over 120,000 fans packing into the Jerez circuit. This race is the Super Bowl of motorcycle racing for Spain, and it was an instant classic. As the field took the green light, Dani Pedrosa defended his pole position starting spot to take the early lead. He was followed by Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, and Jorge Lorenzo as the field accelerated out of turn one. Ben Spies also had a good start as he improved from his eighth starting position to sixth with some brilliant moves.
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Hayden happy to be in one piece after a big tumble in Spain

Earlier today I joked in a post that the Ducati boys are getting familiar with the gravel in the early part of the 2010 season after Nicky Hayden took a spill in Saturday morning practice. What I didn’t realize until late in the day (due to lack of coverage available here in the United States), is the accident was pretty major, and Hayden was very fortunate to have walked away with just abrasions and bruises.

It is remarkable that after taking a fall at 130 mph that Hayden got up and rode again to a fifth place grid position only two hours later.

Hayden talked about his crash with SpeedTV.com. “I was bouncing and rolling and thinking man, stay awake, stay awake with every tumble,” Hayden said. “I hit my head pretty hard and my helmet is trashed. Every time I hit my head I thought OK, I’m awake.”

That comment really brings a reality to the dangers these guys face every time they get on the bike.

More on Hayden’s take on the accident: Hayden Talks About Terrifying 132-mph Crash

Pedrosa surprises field and thrills crowd in MotoGP Spanish GP qualifying

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Dani Pedrosa provided his countrymen a thrill today at Jerez with a brilliant pole position performance in qualifying for the MotoGP Spanish GP. His lap of 1:39.202 was almost three-tenths faster than Jorge Lorenzo’s best effort.

“It’s always nice to get pole position and especially here because it is my home race and the support from the fans is amazing, so I’m very happy for them”, said Pedrosa after qualifying. “I really didn’t expect this pole to be honest, but I was pushing very hard so I’m very pleased about it.”

Casey Stoner qualified third after posting fast time in practice yesterday despite a Friday practice fall. The Ducati team made some changes to Stoner’s bike that didn’t work out so well and put him out of pole contention.
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Stoner fastest and crashy-est again during Jerez practice

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So what’s up with Casey Stoner? The wickedly fast Ducati rider and former world champ is becoming more familiar with the various type of gravel found in the runoff areas of tracks all over the world. Stoner found the gravel today in Jerez, Spain during Friday practice at the MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix. This follows a similar crash during the race a few weeks ago in Qatar, a miscue that cost him a podium finish and quite possibly a win.

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MotoGP Notes - Volcanos, semi-production bikes and FIAT’s pushing of Rossi to Ferrari F1

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MotoGP finds itself in an off week, but not because of an empty weekend in the 2010 calendar, but due to the fallout of volcano Eyjafjallajökull. Who could have predicted this? An ash cloud the size of Valentino Rossi’s trophy case disrupted air traffic so much that MotoGP had no choice but to postpone the Japan round scheduled for this weekend. But this turn of events hardly leaves us without anything to talk about.

The buzz lately in MotoGP revolves around the push by FIAT to see Valentino Rossi in an F1 car next year. The thinking behind this crazy idea is that Ferrari will somehow lobby F1 to allow a third car, because current regulations require 2-car teams in the constructors’ championship. I can’t see the FIA bending the rules for this situation in a manner that would fit FIAT’s wishes.
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Ben Spies turns the Donington Double

Ben Spies looked like he was riding in the wrong class today at Donington Park as he blasted away from the field to win both races in World Superbike action. The Texan took the pole and Saturday, and led the entire duration of both races on Sunday to take two victories.

In Race #1 Spies took the holeshot and was followed by Biaggi who dogged him for the entire race. This was good news for Spies who is trying to catch Haga in the points standings. In the first race, Spies was setting a blistering pace, setting the track record during the race. In the end, Biaggi ran short on fuel and Spies ran away with a huge win in race #1.

In Race #2, Spies obliterated the field and finished without a contender in his mirrors. This rookie has found his stride in the mid season, and has tightened up the points standings tremendously, cutting Haga’s lead to 14 points.

Eurosport: Spies closes gap at the top

Bike news - Spies wins Donington pole in SBK, MotoGP results

The MotoGP race at Assen was run on Saturday, and the results are all over the web.  Be careful about *SPOILERS*, because they are all over the web, and in this post below.

You’ve been warned.

Spies takes eight pole of 2009 in World Superbike
While not the most consistent rider in WSBK this year, Spies has proven that he’s quickest by taking eight of nine possible poles to date. He ran the course at Donington Park in 1:37.6, just beating Jakub Smrz to the line.

Last week’s first-time winner, Jonnie Rea, qualified 11th.   The steady-but-quick Noriyaku Haga qualified fourth, and is riding on a nice points curshon atop the championship.

UK Sun:  Spies does it again as rain falls at Donington

Top 10 Qualifiers - Donington Park

Pos 	Time	 Rider
1	01:37.6	Ben Spies
2	01:37.8	Jakub Smrz
3	01:38.1	Leon Haslam
4	01:38.2	Noriyuki Haga
5	01:38.2	Michel Fabrizio
6	01:38.4	Max Neukirchner
7	01:38.6	Carlos Checa
8	01:38.8	Tom Sykes
9	01:38.3	Yukio Kagayama
10	01:38.4	Max Biaggi

MotoGP Assen - A milestone win for Rossi
Valentino Rossi captured his 100th career win in MotoGP on Saturday at the Alice TT Assen. The race is tape delayed here in the states, so there’s not much to comment on. Speedtv.com has a full report of the big day for Valentino.

SpeedTV.com: Results Dutch TT

The races from the MotoGP Dutch TT will air on Speed tomorrow at 5 p.m. ET.

Rea gets first WSBK win, splits with Spies at Misano.

Ben Spies was the best in the wet and in the dry to win Race 1 at Misano on Sunday.  Spies took the early lead on a very wet track that was in the process of drying.   The race took a bit of an unusual turn as the track dried mid-race and riders came in to exchange their rain bikes for those set up for the dry.

The lead of the race was exchanged several times as Spies and other leader headed to the pits early to get on faster tires.  But as the pit stops cycled through, Spies was again on top and easily rode to victory.   The WSBK rookie seems to be unstoppable if his machine holds together, and he doesn’t find himself off track.  

Unfortunately for him, things didn’t go quite as well as planned in Race 2.

Jonny Rea gets exciting first WBSK win in Race 2
Jonathan Rea won race two, his first career win in the World Superbike Series.  Nori Haga got off to an early lead with a brilliant start.  Rea sat third behind Ben Spies, but quickly took the second spot and gave chase to Haga as Spies fell out with a mechanical issue.

According to WSBK TV commentators, Rea ran a softer front tire than Haga, and it paid off.  On lap 4 of 24, Rea took the lead from Haga, but was far from cruising from an easy win.  Michel Fabrizio dogged Rea for the entire duration, and the pair put on a great show for the fans.  Fabrizio was able to get past Rea for a number of laps, with Nori Haga sitting in third waiting to pounce.   But Fabrizio looked to have the edge and on his way to a win.  But Rea fought back, riding on the absolute edge, and outbraking Fabrizio on the last lap to take an incredible win.

The Times:  Spies and Rea share wins

Haga extended his points lead while Fabrizio cozied up a bit more to Spies who is second in points.  Spies has had a few weekends where he has won one race, and lost big in the other while Haga has had more consisten performances.   Spies may not be able to overcome the deficit with time running out in the season.