MotoGP - Qatar Grand Prix

[Rory Phoulorie]

Free practice times (1) - Losail.

Full MotoGP first free practice session times from the Qatar Grand Prix at Losail, round one of the 2007 world championship.


1. Colin Edwards USA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 56.665 secs
2. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 56.745 secs
3. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 56.787 secs
4. Carlos Checa SPA Honda LCR (M) 1min 57.095 secs
5. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 57.270 secs
6. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 57.281 secs
7. Marco Melandri ITA Gresini Honda (B) 1min 57.443 secs
8. Shinya Nakano JPN Konica Minolta Honda (M) 1min 57.491 secs
9. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 57.705 secs
10. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 1min 58.021 secs
11. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 58.238 secs
12. Toni Elias SPA Gresini Honda (B) 1min 58.262 secs
13. Alex Barros BRA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 1min 58.315 secs
14. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 58.559 secs
15. Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts (M) 1min 58.774 secs
16. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 58.924 secs
17. Olivier Jacque FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 59.598 secs
18. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 1min 59.679 secs
19. Andrew Pitt AUS Ilmor GP (M) 2min 0.587 secs
20. Makoto Tamada JPN Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 2min 1.495 secs
21. Jeremy McWilliams GBR Ilmor GP (M) 2min 1.767 secs

Qatar Test � 16/02/2007 (800cc):
Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 55.471secs

2006 Qatar Grand Prix � 8/04/2006 (990cc):
Pole position: Casey Stoner AUS Honda LCR (M) 1min 55.683secs

http://www.crash.net/news_View~cid~6~id~144180.htm

Looks like Colin Edwards and Valentino "Monkey Boy" Rossi are off to a good start. Nicky Hayden looks like he has some work to do, but last year, he used to be in a similar position during the practices and then pull something out of the bag for qualifying. The Ducatis look strong. If Casey Stoner can keep himself on the seat this year, then he should be challenging for race wins. It would be good to see KR Jr. move up the grid. Last year, he performed quite respectably with his father's independent team.

[Rory Phoulorie]

Free practice times (combined) - Losail.

Full MotoGP free practice times (1 and 2 combined) from the Qatar Grand Prix at Losail, round one of the 2007 world championship.

1. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 56.464 secs
2. Colin Edwards USA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 56.665 secs *
3. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 56.745 secs *
4. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 56.972 secs
5. Carlos Checa SPA Honda LCR (M) 1min 56.981 secs
6. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 56.990 secs
7. Marco Melandri ITA Gresini Honda (B) 1min 57.112 secs
8. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 57.247 secs
9. Toni Elias SPA Gresini Honda (B) 1min 57.382 secs
10. Shinya Nakano JPN Konica Minolta Honda (M) 1min 57.491 secs *
11. Alex Barros BRA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 1min 57.620 secs
12. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 57.636 secs
13. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 57.686 secs
14. Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts (M) 1min 57.738 secs
15. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 57.922 secs
16. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 1min 58.021 secs *
17. Olivier Jacque FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 58.523 secs
18. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 1min 58.720 secs
19. Andrew Pitt AUS Ilmor GP (M) 1min 59.930 secs
20. Jeremy McWilliams GBR Ilmor GP (M) 2min 0.125 secs
21. Makoto Tamada JPN Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 2min 0.188 secs

* time set in FP1.

Qatar Test � 16/02/2007 (800cc):
Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 55.471secs

2006 Qatar Grand Prix � 8/04/2006 (990cc):
Pole position: Casey Stoner AUS Honda LCR (M) 1min 55.683secs

Fastest race laps (by manufacturer):
Yamaha: Valentino Rossi ITA Camel Yamaha (M) 1min 57.305secs
Honda: Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (M) 1min 57.381secs
Ducati: Sete Gibernau SPA Ducati Marlboro (B) 1min 57.523secs
KR211V Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts (M) 1min 58.202secs
Suzuki: John Hopkins USA Team Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 58.765secs
Kawasaki: Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 58.913secs

http://www.crash.net/news_view~cid~6~id~144193~pid~0.htm

The Doctor is in the house!

[Rory Phoulorie]

Free practice times (3) - Losail.

Full MotoGP free practice times (3) from the Qatar Grand Prix at Losail, round one of the 2007 world championship.

1. Colin Edwards USA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 56.057 secs
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 56.272 secs
3. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 56.540 secs
4. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 56.569 secs
5. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 56.686 secs
6. Marco Melandri ITA Gresini Honda (B) 1min 56.690 secs
7. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 56.844 secs
8. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 56.918 secs
9. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 56.940 secs
10. Carlos Checa SPA Honda LCR (M) 1min 56.996 secs
11. Alex Barros BRA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 1min 57.027 secs
12. Shinya Nakano JPN Konica Minolta Honda (M) 1min 57.158 secs
13. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 57.316 secs
14. Toni Elias SPA Gresini Honda (B) 1min 57.444 secs
15. Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts (M) 1min 57.600 secs
16. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 1min 57.716 secs
17. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 1min 57.849 secs
18. Olivier Jacque FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 58.393 secs
19. Makoto Tamada JPN Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 1min 58.979 secs
20. Jeremy McWilliams GBR Ilmor GP (M) 1min 59.266 secs
21. Andrew Pitt AUS Ilmor GP (M) 2min 0.045 secs


Fastest Friday time:
Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha (M) 1min 56.464secs

Qatar Test � 16/02/2007 (800cc):
Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 55.471secs

2006 Qatar Grand Prix � 8/04/2006 (990cc):
Pole position: Casey Stoner AUS Honda LCR (M) 1min 55.683secs

Fastest race laps (by manufacturer):
Yamaha: Valentino Rossi ITA Camel Yamaha (M) 1min 57.305secs
Honda: Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (M) 1min 57.381secs
Ducati: Sete Gibernau SPA Ducati Marlboro (B) 1min 57.523secs
KR211V Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts (M) 1min 58.202secs
Suzuki: John Hopkins USA Team Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 58.765secs
Kawasaki: Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 58.913secs

http://www.crash.net/news_View~cid~6~id~144234.htm

I really hope they (FLOW) televise this race. It looks like Yamaha have come out with all guns firing.

[Rory Phoulorie]

Qualifying times - Losail.

Full MotoGP qualifying times from the Qatar Grand Prix at Losail, round one of the 2007 world championship.

1. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 55.002 secs
2. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 55.007 secs
3. Colin Edwards USA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 55.233 secs
4. Toni Elias SPA Gresini Honda (B) 1min 55.358 secs
5. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 55.361 secs
6. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 55.833 secs
7. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 55.851 secs
8. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 55.933 secs
9. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 56.041 secs
10. Marco Melandri ITA Gresini Honda (B) 1min 56.222 secs
11. Shinya Nakano JPN Konica Minolta Honda (M) 1min 56.306 secs
12. Carlos Checa SPA Honda LCR (M) 1min 56.609 secs
13. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 56.639 secs
14. Olivier Jacque FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 56.754 secs
15. Alex Barros BRA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 1min 56.814 secs
16. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 1min 57.257 secs
17. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 1min 57.274 secs
18. Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts (M) 1min 57.495 secs
19. Makoto Tamada JPN Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 1min 58.024 secs
20. Jeremy McWilliams GBR Ilmor GP (M) 1min 59.606 secs
21. Andrew Pitt AUS Ilmor GP (M) 1min 59.725 secs

Fastest free practice time:
Colin Edwards USA Fiat Yamaha (M) 1min 56.057secs (FP3)

Qatar Test � 16/02/2007 (800cc):
Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 55.471secs

Qualifying times - Losail.

2006 Qatar Grand Prix � 8/04/2006 (990cc):
Pole position: Casey Stoner AUS Honda LCR (M) 1min 55.683secs

Fastest race laps (by manufacturer):
Yamaha: Valentino Rossi ITA Camel Yamaha (M) 1min 57.305secs
Honda: Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (M) 1min 57.381secs
Ducati: Sete Gibernau SPA Ducati Marlboro (B) 1min 57.523secs
KR211V Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts (M) 1min 58.202secs
Suzuki: John Hopkins USA Team Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 58.765secs
Kawasaki: Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 58.913secs

http://www.crash.net/news_View~cid~6~id~144244.htm

Bets anyone as to who's going to win? Looks like Yamaha are going to walk the talk.

[Rory Phoulorie]

Race results - Losail.

Full MotoGP race results from the Qatar Grand Prix at Losail, round one of the 2007 world championship.

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 43min 2.788 secs
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 43min 5.626 secs
3. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 43min 11.318 secs
4. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 43min 11.859 secs
5. Marco Melandri ITA Gresini Honda (B) 43min 20.221 secs
6. Colin Edwards USA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 43min 21.435 secs
7. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 43min 25.704 secs
8. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 43min 25.845 secs
9. Alex Barros BRA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 43min 28.749 secs
10. Shinya Nakano JPN Konica Minolta Honda (M) 43min 31.244 secs
11. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 43min 37.817 secs
12. Olivier Jacque FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 43min 45.736 secs
13. Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts (M) 43min 45.765 secs
14. Toni Elias SPA Gresini Honda (B) 43min 45.777 secs
15. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 43min 54.427 secs
16. Makoto Tamada JPN Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 44min 0.641 secs


Did not finish:

Andrew Pitt AUS Ilmor GP (M) 30min 31.009 secs
Carlos Checa SPA Honda LCR (M) 15min 53.958 secs
Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 13min 56.908 secs
Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 11min 53.279 secs


Did not start:

Jeremy McWilliams GBR Ilmor GP (M)

http://www.crash.net/news_view~cid~6~id~144309.htm

Thank you ESPN for the blackout free coverage. Yamaha and Honda seemed to have no answer to the Ducati's power on the straights. Very good and mistake free ride by Stoner.

[Plex]

Ducati's Marlboro rider Casey Stoner grabbed his first victory in the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix (MotoGP) in the opening round for the new era with the bikes of 800cc in the Grand Prix of Qatar disputed at the Losail International Circuit of Doha.

"We couldn't ask for much more, it was my first time racing with Ducati and Bridgestone, a perfect start. I couldn't be happier with the weekend, the team worked perfectly and the bike and tyres were perfect in the race," said the Aussie.

After a fight of 22-laps, the podium was completed by Valentino Rossi for the Fiat Yamaha Team and Dani Pedrosa with the Repsol Honda. Stoner started from second on the grid, but set the tone of the race when he pulled a cheeky move on Rossi at the end of the first lap of competition.

"We had a bit of a speed advantage and though we had some dramas in other parts of the track I played to the strengths of the bike and was able to do some pretty fast lap times," Stoner offered about his race.

From that point, a three rider pack formed what would become in the exclusive dispute for the victory between Stoner, Rossi and Pedrosa, breaking away from the rest of the field.

Rossi attempted to take a more permanent lead on lap 18, and it seemed that he was on course for a third consecutive victory at Doha. However, Stoner proved his talent and maturity in his debut on a Ducati and pull away by nearly three seconds before taking the chequered flag.

"Valentino and I had a good battle, it was nice riding up front again. When he came by later on I decided to see how much further the bike can go and I was able to break a bit of an advantage. On the last lap I didn't realize I had a gap and rode the fastest lap, which shows how well the Bridgestones worked," commented Stoner. "I'm really happy with the way things are going and think we'll get stronger and stronger, but we'll have to see how the season pans out. I'm leading the championship which feels a little strange but it's only the first race of a very, very long year."

For Rossi it was a good result thinking in his aim of getting back the championship he lost last year. "It was a great race today and a good battle, although of course we would have preferred to start the season with a win!"

"After the practice this morning we were a little bit scared because we had some problems with the tyre, but we understood what to do and I definitely made the right tyre choice with Michelin, so I am happy for that. I got a great start and my M1 worked very well, I could ride it how I wanted on the limit and keep pushing. I wanted to push Casey and try to take the fight to him more, but in fact he was perfect today. He didn't make a single mistake as far as I could see and he rode very well; he deserved to win so congratulations to him," recognized the Italian on a great race with Stoner.

Pedrosa took third place and important points for the title battle, but it wasn`t just another podium for the Spaniard, who by crossing the line in third, the Repsol Honda rider took his ninth MotoGP podium in only his second season in the premier class.

Adding to his 17 podiums in the 125cc class and 24 podiums in 250s, Pedrosa notched up 50 Grand Prix podiums at the tender age of 21 years and 162 days. The previous holder of this record was Valentino Rossi, who was 22 years and 93 days old when he took his 50th GP podium at the French GP in 2001.

"I'm happy with the result today and to start the season with a third place is pretty useful. We had a fair few problems this weekend, so to finish on the podium is good for us." Pedrosa said. "I made a great start which I was happy with because my practice starts this weekend weren't as good as this. In the race I was trying to ride at the maximum and then I made a mistake in the last corner and lost the slipstream to the riders in front. Anyway I was not able to follow them in the corners because I was having some wheelspin and I lost my rhythm a little."

About what`s coming next after this season opener in Qatar, Pedrosa added: "This season is going to be a tough competition between the bikes, tyres and the riders and it should be very interesting. The next race is very important and Jerez is a great track, so I hope we can move on from the good result today and do great job there."

John Hopkins had a steady pace with the Rizla Suzuki to take home a fourth followed by Marco Melandri on a Honda Gresini and Colin Edwards with the second Fiat Yamaha.

2006 World Champion, Nicky Hayden, finished an eighth place behind Chris Vermeulen and ahead Alex Barros -- in his return to MotoGP -- and Shinya Nakano.

"I tried to learn as much as I could in the race. I really felt like I rode my hardest and had some good dices with a few of the guys - I just about caught Vermeulen on the last lap and I got faster as the race went on. The biggest problem is confidence in the front and getting the bike to steer how I want it to. We'll stay here to test tomorrow and try to figure out some improvements, and hopefully be a lot closer when we get to the next race at Jerez," Hayden explained.

Never in the weekend did Hayden prove to be competitive with the Repsol Honda and will have a lot of work to do before round two will be held in Jerez de la Frontera on March 25th.

Motorsport

[Rory Phoulorie]

Like I said before, once Stoner keeps himself on the bike, he will win. It looks like the racing is going to be good this year. Let's see how deep The Doctor can dig into his talent to get himself back on top.

The Ducatis should only have the power advantage on tracks with long straights. Rossi was able to keep up with Stoner in the curved sections of the track.

It would be interesting to see if Hayden can also rebound in the next race. One redeeming quality about Hayden is that he accepts the blame for when his results are poor and does not find excuses about the bike.

Marco Melandri's peformance was also good, given that he is riding a satellite bike. Honda should give the Gresini Team some more support. It is rumored that the Repsol (Factory) Team has access to performance upgrade parts that the satellite teams are not given.

[Rory Phoulorie]

Bridgestone crack sixth circuit.

Casey Stoner's victory in last Saturday's season-opening Qatar Grand Prix means that tyre supplier Bridgestone has now won at six of the 18 tracks included on the 2007 MotoGP World Championship calendar.

That may not sound like much, but remember that Nicky Hayden won the 2006 title with just two victories - and also that all of those different circuit wins have come from just one team, Ducati Marlboro, with four by Loris Capirossi (at Jerez, Brno, Motegi, Sepang) adding to Troy Bayliss' Valencia 2006 victory and now Stoner's debut triumph.

Like Capirossi, Makoto Tamada has also won for Bridgestone at Motegi, riding a Honda in 2004. The Japanese won at Rio as well, but the Brazilian circuit is no longer on the calendar.

"We took particular satisfaction from the year-on-year improvements made at Qatar, which became the sixth track on this year's calendar where a rider on Bridgestone tyres has taken victory," confirmed Bridgestone Motorsport motorcycle manager Hiroshi Yamada.

"Qatar was one of a handful of circuits where our tyres have struggled for consistency and competitiveness in the past. Although Loris Capirossi finished in third place on the podium last year, the characteristics of the track have often caused us some durability issues, so we set out to improve the situation through a detailed test programme at the Qatar test in February," he revealed. "We noticed that there had been improvements to the grip levels at the circuit compared to last year, which in turn seemed to benefit our new generation tyres. We left the test in a positive frame of mind, but the level of competition is so high in MotoGP, race wins are never easy to come by."

But that positive test then allowed the Bridgestone teams to concentrate their efforts on bike set-up - a significant advantage.

"The biggest advantage we saw from running on Thursday was that there were no major issues with tyre performance," said Yamaha. "That allowed our teams to get straight on setting up the bikes without changing the tyre variable. In both sessions, most riders used only one set of tyres and the lap times were still quite respectable. With more than a race distance on the same tyre, we could see that the durability trouble that we have seen in the past had been greatly reduced. I think by focussing on bike set-up, the teams were in good shape by Friday."

It seems that the only real glitch in Bridgestone's Qatar weekend came during Sunday's post-race test, which was badly disrupted by poor weather.

"We had planned quite an extensive tyre test in Qatar with some of our teams on Sunday in preparation for the forthcoming GPs, but heavy wind prevented us from completing most of the programme," confessed Yamaha, "Our riders reported that although there was a lot of sand blowing on to the track, that the grip level was okay, it was just too difficult to ride. We were able to acquire some useful information for compound development in the morning, but the remaining test items will be carried out in the post-Jerez GP test, including further work on qualifying tyres."

Michelin riders Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa finished second and third in Qatar, with the Bridgestone-shod Rizla Suzuki of John Hopkins a fraction behind Pedrosa in fourth.

http://www.crash.net/news_view~cid~6~id~144530~pid~0.htm