2010 MotoGP - IVECO AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

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2010 MotoGP - IVECO AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

Post by <T-K> » Fri Oct 15, 2010 12:59 am

I have been out of action for a little while, so maybe i will try to get this back up and running :) Thanks Mlittle for all the posts while i have been MIA... Now i see where the 10 000 posts came from ;)


IVECO AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

15 October 2010

125ccFP1
12:40 - 13:40
MotoGPFP1
13:55 - 14:55
Moto2FP1
15:10 - 16:10

16 October 2010

125ccFP2
09:00 - 09:40
MotoGPFP2
09:55 - 10:55
Moto2FP2
11:10 - 12:10
125ccQP
13:00 - 13:40
MotoGPQP
13:55 - 14:55
Moto2QP
15:10 - 15:55


17 October 2010


125ccWUP
09:40 - 10:00
Moto2WUP
10:10 - 10:30
MotoGPWUP
10:40 - 11:00
125ccRAC
13:00
Moto2RAC
14:15
MotoGPRAC
16:00

<T-K>
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Post by <T-K> » Fri Oct 15, 2010 1:16 am

Australia’s Phillip Island gives way to Round 16 starting this Friday on October 15 with the first free practice round. With one confirmed Premier Class World Champion and only a hand full of races to go, who will be the second in line for the World Championship?

Situated on the cliffs, overlooking the Bass Strait on the southern coast of Australia, Phillip Island will be the final and fastest of 3 back to back races, since Japan and Malaysia. With its fast and furious layout, Phillip Island has a reputation of being the most demanding as well as the most stunning of the MotoGP circuits. The down under track has seven left turns and five rights, a combination of fast and slow corners, elevation changes and unpredictable weather that creates an exciting experience for the fans, as well as the riders.

With the world championship title now decided in favour of Lorenzo, Pedrosa is determined to defen second place and the 47 point lead he has over third place Rossi.


Jorge Lorenzo:

"I am one of the happiest people in the world, we got it! I am very proud of my team, partners and sponsors, but it is not really 'game over' because we have to continue, we still have three more races. We have to focus in the same way as we have until now, fighting for the podium and without the pressure of the championship we hope to get some good results. I like Phillip Island; it's one of my favorite tracks and maybe the fastest on the calendar. It's always amazing to ride there, so close to the sea, but the weather is very different to Malaysia, always very cold."

Dani Pedrosa:

“I’m looking forward to getting to Australia and finding out how I feel on the bike. I will arrive at Phillip Island on Wednesday to have some time to recover from the flight and rest a little bit. I know it will be tough because Phillip Island is a very demanding track and also the weather conditions can play a big part, but I really believe it’s time to come back with my team and try to return to the high level of performance we had before the crash in Japan. After the operation I began rehabilitation immediately. The surgery was very successful and the plate was well fixed, so the main problem was not the collarbone but the stiffness in my neck and all around my shoulders. I’ve been having massage and doing exercises with my physiotherapist and I will keep this up in Australia. The championship is decided, but for us it’s still not over.”

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Re: 2010 MotoGP - IVECO AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 15, 2010 7:39 am

<T-K> wrote:I have been out of action for a little while, so maybe i will try to get this back up and running :) Thanks Mlittle for all the posts while i have been MIA... Now i see where the 10 000 posts came from ;)


IVECO AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

15 October 2010

125ccFP1
12:40 - 13:40
MotoGPFP1
13:55 - 14:55
Moto2FP1
15:10 - 16:10

16 October 2010

125ccFP2
09:00 - 09:40
MotoGPFP2
09:55 - 10:55
Moto2FP2
11:10 - 12:10
125ccQP
13:00 - 13:40
MotoGPQP
13:55 - 14:55
Moto2QP
15:10 - 15:55


17 October 2010


125ccWUP
09:40 - 10:00
Moto2WUP
10:10 - 10:30
MotoGPWUP
10:40 - 11:00
125ccRAC
13:00
Moto2RAC
14:15
MotoGPRAC
16:00
I did the best I could, my friend........with all the things I've been going through, medically & personally, everything started to back up and alll, but hopefully now that the bulk of the calendar is over with, we'll get this section back in shape. :up:
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Post by <T-K> » Fri Oct 15, 2010 5:48 pm

Agreed. :) We shall get this running smooth again for the new season :)

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News From Phillip Island...............

Post by mlittle » Sun Oct 17, 2010 11:05 am

Image


Races held during the rain season in Asia and Australia do cause delays and schedule changes as was witnessed last weekend when Formula One was in Japan. In Friday's scheduled practices for the MotoGP series in Cowes, Victoria, Australia, the heavy rains caused at least a two-hour delay at the Phillip Island Circuit. Part of the track was actually flooded and sand was washing up adding to the holdup due to the needed track cleanup.

Forecast for the rest of the weekend indicates more rain yet today plus an expected downpour during Saturday's qualifying. The one rider who might not be overly concerned is the newly crowned champion Jorge Lorenzo, except he wants to add to his podium and victory counts. The rest of the standings at the end of the season are still up for grabs.

Dani Pedrosa is back in action for the Australian Grand Prix after sustaining a fracture collarbone in the first practice for the Japanese GP. The Spaniard was able to do non-classified laps. His surgery took place in Barcelona, Spain and was released from the hospital on October 4th to begin his 'active-passive' rehabilitation.

"The plan today was simply to check my condition on the bike - in these conditions I didn't want to take any unnecessary risks," said Pedrosa. "What I can say is that I had some strength to move on the bike and put pressure on the handlebars which is good. However, I didn't feel very comfortable with the leathers because they were tight and there was pressure - but even with that I could do some laps and tomorrow I will try again - we will go step-by-step. Now it's quite painful but we will see how the pain goes through the night and tomorrow we will take another step. We knew it wouldn't be easy but I just hope that the effort is worth it in the end."

Pedrosa turned seven laps of a preliminary evaluation and his time of 1:51.210 was in the top 10 while the track was still wet. "To ride in wet conditions is more smooth than in the dry, but also more risky. The asphalt today was very very cold and here it's a problem because on the right hand turns you don't have any grip at all. The hardest point was braking, changing direction and in the right hand corners because I have to stretch my arms a lot - but I hope we can work a little bit on the leathers to make it more comfortable for tomorrow. Afterwards I went to the Clinica Mobile and they told me that now I need to relax the muscles. We'll see how it goes tomorrow," Pedrosa added.

The conditions for the riders was challenging especially when the rain returned but later as the track dried out, in part due to the windy conditions, Lorenzo was the fastest on his Fiat Yamaha with a 1:41.146.

"Today was the first day on the bike after we won the title and I am still very happy," said Lorenzo. "We can't stop now, we have to keep going and finish this season in the best way possible, working for the future. The conditions today were really hard - wet, cold and windy. I am very happy to be so fast in rain, because it didn't use to be this way, but we need to be prepared because it could be a hard weekend. I would like to ride in the dry, of course, but we will have to wait and see what happens."

The two Ducati team riders were second and third quick with Casey Stoner nearly two-tenths of a second ahead of his teammate's best lap. Stoner's 1:41.480 was three-tenths off the pace of Lorenzo.

"The conditions were difficult today and obviously we had the big delay too, which is not the ideal way to prepare," admitted Stoner. "Also we would prefer a fully wet session but it started to dry towards the end and that denied us the opportunity to confirm the settings or get a full understanding of the conditions. Other than the wind, which made things very difficult, it was quite a successful day. We made a couple of changes and I feel we made a little improvement with the bike but again because of the conditions we weren't able to get much of a direction. Hopefully tomorrow we get consistent weather, whatever it may be, so that we can get a proper idea of our set-up in either the wet or the dry."

Nicky Hayden clocked a 1:41.631. "Those were nasty conditions... I mean nasty. It wasn't so much the wet but the wind," stated the American. "It was really strong and for me it took a little while to get comfortable with being blown around so much. Other than that the bike worked well in the wet. We made a little bit of a change to help the bike turn, keeping some weight on the front, for the second run and I was able to go okay. My pace wasn't too bad. Obviously it could be all for nothing if the forecast is right and the conditions are dry from here on but at this track you have to be prepared for anything and take advantage of every situation. We're in the top three and very close in the wet so that's a good sign. Anyway, we'll see what the conditions are like tomorrow and try to take advantage of whatever they are."

Tomorrow calls for a dry track for practice but there is a good chance of more wet weather during qualifying. Six-time MotoGP premier series Champion Valentino Rossi commented, "This weather is unbelievable and it was really at the limit of what you can race motorcycles in today. It's even more amazing because yesterday was beautiful! I hope it will be better tomorrow but it doesn't look too hopeful. My setting here in the wet was okay and I feel quite happy on the bike, but I didn't want to push too hard in these conditions. I think we can improve it more, but we need to wait and see how the weather is tomorrow. We hope for sun!"
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Birthday Pole for Stoner in Australia...............

Post by mlittle » Sun Oct 17, 2010 11:07 am

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he predicted rain during the MotoGP series qualifying stayed away until the final minutes but neither it nor the 2010 champion could have stopped Casey Stoner from laying down a final blistering lap time to score his third consecutive Australian Grand Prix pole.

We have had two good sessions today, making progress in the last half an hour of this morning and another big step again in the last half hour of the afternoon." said Stoner. "With the last two soft tyres I was able to make a substantial improvement to the lap time and we're in the best possible position for tomorrow so I'm pretty happy so far."

Riding his Ducati to a 1:30.107 in the closing minutes on the Phillip Island Circuit guaranteed him not only his third pole of the season but a good chance to land his fourth consecutive victory in his home race.

At one point, 2010 champion Jorge Lorenzo put his Fiat Yamaha on the provisional pole by laying down the first sub 1 minute, 31 second lap. With 14 minutes remaining in the session, the Spaniard laid down a 1:30.775. Stoner replied back within four minutes. To ensure his 25th career pole on the same day he turned 25, the Aussie continued to turn hot laps and was 0.668 seconds faster than the new champion.

"I always seem to celebrate my birthday here at Phillip Island but I guess there are worse places to be!" smiled Stoner. "We have had virtually every single condition you could imagine thrown at us this weekend so we'll have to wait and see what happens tomorrow before we make any decisions on set-up but so far I think we have done the best possible job in every condition. I'm quite happy with the setting in the wet even though we haven't had a fully wet session, which made it difficult to get a good reading from the bike."

Lorenzo will start in the middle of the front row. "These conditions were really risky because it was so cold and also incredibly windy," said the new champion. "It was hard to stay on the bike sometimes! I'm happy with my race pace which is unusual for me here because I've never been so strong in MotoGP at this track, but I think we've done a good job.

"I wanted pole today but the weather and Casey stopped me - he is so quick here. We have the second best time so it is okay and I am feeling very calm after last weekend. We hope the weather is like this or better tomorrow, with no rain, and then we will go for it and see what happens in the race. I am ready for the race; I just want to enjoy it," added Lorenzo.

On the outside of the front row is Ben Spies for the Tech 3 Yamaha team. The American's best was a 1:31.386, six-tenths slower than Lorenzo and over one second off the pace of Stoner's pole winning time.

"I'm really happy to be on the front row again but a little bit surprised," Spies said. "I was really happy with my pace and the lap times earlier in the session but each time I tried to go quicker in the last part I'd have spots of rain on my visor. I'd warm up the tyres and see nothing but as soon as I'd push going into the first corner to start a fast lap, I was getting a lot of rain on my visor. I didn't want to take a big risk when I knew I was already pretty close to the front row."

Spies goal is not just to finish high up in the final standings before he makes his move to the factory team next year but he also has a good chance to clinch the Rookie of the Year title tomorrow.

"My qualifying time is a pace that I can run in the race, so I'm happy with that," added the American. "I'm confident because I haven't finished a session thinking I put in a great session. So if we can put everything together and ride really well and the bike is working good, maybe I can fight for the podium. I've got the lap time to make the podium but I just want to make the bike better for the last ten laps of the race. It would be nice to clinch the Rookie of the Year title tomorrow. It would be another box ticked in what has been a really positive season so far."

Marco Simoncelli had his best qualifying run with a 1:31.402 for the Gresini Racing team. The Italian nearly had his Honda on the front row missing third by 0.016 seconds.

"I am really happy because we have qualified on the third row for the last few races but today I managed it and with a little bit more I could have been on the front row!" beamed Simoncelli. "I'm really pleased with this although being honest I have to admit that Spies is probably a bit faster. We have made a good step this morning though and now all we have to do is look ahead to the race. The wind was a bit of a problem today, especially when I was on my fast lap. I was behind Stoner at that point and I honestly cannot understand how he manages to go so fast!"

The rest of he field was fairly close in time to fill out the grid. Tech 3's Colin Edwards turned a 1:31.415 followed by Nicky Hayden (Ducati) with a 1:31.530 to finalize the second row. Three riders who are more use to being in the top six ended up on the third row: LCR Honda's Randy de Puniet, Valentino Rossi who recently earned his 46th premier series victory on his No. 46 Fiat Yamaha and Andrea Dovizioso for Repsol Honda.

Two riders crashed during qualifying but both appeared to walk away okay: Rizla Suzuki's Loris Capirossi and Team Aspar's Hector Barbera. They sit 17 and 16 on the grid, respectively. Dani Pedrosa continues to hold down the sub-champion slot in the standings but the Spaniard missed two races due to a broken collarbone in Japan's first practice and his first ride on his Repsol Honda was yesterday in the rain. He qualified 15th.

"The plan today was simply to check my condition on the bike - in these conditions I didn't want to take any unnecessary risks," said Pedrosa. "What I can say is that I had some strength to move on the bike and put pressure on the handlebars which is good. However, I didn't feel very comfortable with the leathers because they were tight and there was pressure - but even with that I could do some laps and tomorrow I will try again - we will go step-by-step. Now it's quite painful but we will see how the pain goes through the night and tomorrow we will take another step."

[UPDATE FROM PHILLIP ISLAND]Capirossi appeared okay after his crash during qualifying and had planned to ride on Sunday even after MotoGP's Clinica Mobile diagnosed an injury to his left groin. However, further examination late Saturday showed that he an "a strain to the Adductor muscle at the top of the left thigh" per Rizla Suzuki spokesperson.

The Italian has withdrawn from the Australian GP to to return home for treatment. "I am so disappointed that I have had to withdraw from the race, I did not want to, but the doctors said that the strain would have made it difficult for me to hang on to the bike and control it for the whole race, so they had to declare me unfit," he said. "It was been quite a miserable three races for me and now I need to get back home and make sure I am as fit as possible for the last two races. I still have a lot to do this season and I want to end the year as competitive as possible."
The Sci-Fi Station Come by and visit when you get the chance. :)
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