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Welcome to MotoGP Online, a fansite for all 3 FIM World Championship classes - MotoGP, 250cc and 125cc.
Make sure to check out our definitive 2008 entry lists for all 3 classes.
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| Biaggi would consider testing Ducati MotoGP bike |
 Max Biaggi says he would be happy to test for the Ducati team after revealing he is already in talks with the Italian squad.
Ducati boss Livio Suppo said yesterday that the team are looking for an experienced rider that could help them with the development of their GP8 bike.
MotoGP teams are not allowed to test with their racing riders on championship tracks, except on the day after a race.
Ducati's official tester Vittoriano Guareschi is out of action after injuring himself in a crash during testing at Mugello.
Suppo said they were considering Biaggi and also Troy Bayliss, who last raced for the team in one grand prix in 2006.
Both riders race for Ducati in Superbikes.
Biaggi, who left MotoGP at the end of 2005, is currently racing in Superbikes, but the former 250cc champion admitted he would be willing to work with Ducati.
"If I can help I'll be happy to," the Italian told Gazzetta dello Sport. "I've spoken with Suppo about it, and there's the will to do the test, let's see when and what kind of work they're thinking of. Even a two-day test can be useful.
"Mugello is a selective track, where Ducati have a lot of reference points. And for me it wouldn't be tricky to familiarize again with a MotoGP bike, I don't think it's so different from the ones I used to ride."
Biaggi, however, has ruled out returning to the top category, as speculation increases about Marco Melandri's future at Ducati following a disastrous start to the season.
"I've never thought about it. I'm in Superbikes and I enjoy myself there. I have no regrets about MotoGP," said Biaggi.
Melandri, who has joined Ducati this year, has an 11th place as his best result so far this season.
Suppo admitted Melandri's situation is bad, but he has vowed to help the Italian rider bounce back.
"I don't think it can get any worse, but I don't want to think we won't be able to solve the problem: we are fully confident that Marco can go quick and that the engineers will find the solutions to help him out of this situation." |
| Pedrosa tops post race Estoril test |
Dani Pedrosa topped the timesheets in the testing session that took place on Monday following the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril.
The Repsol Honda rider, who finished in second place in Sunday's race, posted a best time of 1:36.455 to finish ahead of Yamaha's Valentino Rossi.
Pedrosa and teammate Nicky Hayden were unable to test the pneumatic valve engine they were scheduled to sample at Estoril, as Honda continue with its development. The team tested the new power unit during the winter but they are yet to race it.
Despite that, Pedrosa finished over two tenths ahead of Rossi, with Andrea Dovizioso in third and Hayden down in fourth. Colin Edwards completed a positive weekend at Estoril by posting the fifth quickest time on his Tech 3 Yamaha.
World champion Casey Stoner continue to be far from the top of the timesheets, the Ducati rider finishing as seventh fastest, nearly a second off Pedrosa's time. The Australian was nonetheless pleased with his work.
"I'm happy with the work we've done today," said Stoner. "We modified a few things that made the bike a little less nervous over the bumps and allowed me to lap in 1:37s with more consistency than I managed yesterday. We also tried a few new tyres and found some interesting things.
"At the end of the day I tried two qualifiers but I preferred not to try a third one because it had been a long day and it was pointless taking risks when I was tired.
"I'm really happy with the work we've done and the pace we found. I'm sure the improvements will help us when we get to China but now I'm just looking forward to heading back to Australia and spend some time relaxing with the family."
Portuguese Grand Prix winner Jorge Lorenzo was absent from the test after travelling to Barcelona to have surgery in his arm.
MotoGP teams will have now a three-week break before the next race in China.
Today's times:
Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1:36.455
2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1:36.707
3. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1:36.791
4. Nicky Hayden Honda 1:36.928
5. Colin Edwards Yamaha 1:37.145
6. Randy De Puniet Honda 1:37.146
7. Casey Stoner Ducati 1:37.330
8. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1:37.617
9. Shinya Nakano Honda 1:37.725
10. James Toseland Yamaha 1:37.767
11. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1:37.781
12. Alex De Angelis Honda 1:37.782
13. John Hopkins Kawasaki 1:38.023
14. Toni Elias Ducati 1:38.695
15. Anthony West Kawasaki 1:39.065
16. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati 1:39.223
17. Marco Melandri Ducati 1:39.725
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| Lorenzo opts to undergo surgery in Spain |
Portuguese Grand Prix winner Jorge Lorenzo on Monday underwent surgery to relieve the carpal tunnel syndrome he has been suffering from.
The syndrome caused Lorenzo to lose strength on his arm by end of the races.
The Spaniard, making his debut in MotoGP this season, was operated in Barcelona by doctor Xavier Mir and is expected to be able to leave the hospital in 24 hours.
Lorenzo will have three weeks to recover from the operation, as the Chinese Grand Prix takes place on 4 May. |
| Rossi remains hopeful of changing swing of momentum |
Valentino Rossi is still hopeful he will be able to turn the tables and start winning races again following a start to the season dominated by his rivals.
Rossi has not won for seven races now, his longest win-less streak since joining the top category.
Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix was won by Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo, making his debut in MotoGP this season, while Rossi had to settle for a distant third place.
Rossi reckons Lorenzo's Michelin tyres were better suited for Estoril than his Bridgestones, but the Italian still believes he can turn his fortunes around.
"I hope so, because the bike is quick: Lorenzo didn't win by chance," Rossi told Gazzetta dello Sport. "This time around we had to defend ourselves and we did it well. We'll now wait for the moment to attack. Shanghai is a very different track, we can do well.
"With the way the Bridgestones are, this type of surface is not great. The tyres were sliding a bit too much in the race. In fact, it was me winning here last year with the Michelins.
"Michelin should go better at Mugello, but the situation is constantly evolving. In the test we'll have more things to try out and let's hope we can further improve."
Rossi decided to switch to Bridgestone tyres for this season after being unhappy with the performance of Michelin last year.
The seven-time champion admitted he has been surprised by the French manufacturer's improvement.
"To be honest, the real change is the step forward Michelin has done in such a short time. I didn't expect it, and it gives me a lot of doubts regarding the treatment we received last year.
"Maybe they took a one-year vacation. But I don't regret having decided to switch. The math is done at the end."
Ross is currently in third place in the standings, 14 points behind Lorenzo and Honda's Dani Pedrosa. |
| Ducati eyeing up two experienced testers |
Ducati team boss Livio Suppo says the Italian squad are considering using former world championship riders Troy Bayliss or Max Biaggi as test riders this season.
MotoGP teams are only allowed to test with the race riders on tracks that are part of the calendar on the two days following a grand prix. The rest of the time they must use test riders.
Suppo, whose team have endured a disappointing start to the season after dominating in 2007, says the Italian outfit are looking for experienced riders to help develop their bike.
"For sure our bike can be improved, and we need to understand how," Suppo told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Considering that the regulations ban testing with the race riders on tracks on the season's calendar, we are thinking of having Troy Bayliss and Max Biaggi - our rather experienced Superbike riders - testing our GP8.
"Nothing has been organized, but it could be a solution."
Bayliss last competed in a MotoGP race for the Ducati team in 2006, winning in his only outing.
Former 250cc champion Biaggi left MotoGP after the 2005 season and currently races in Superbikes. |
| Kawasaki bosses downplay links to Rossi |
Kawasaki team boss Michael Bartholemy has played down suggestions that the Japanese squad are trying to hire Valentino Rossi for 2009.
Rossi's contract with Yamaha expires at the end of this season and the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper on Saturday quoted Bartholemy as saying Kawasaki were trying to hire the Italian rider after that.
"We are interested in Valentino, even though I've never spoken either to him or his manager. But I'd like to and soon, because this would be the perfect time," Bartholemy was quoted as saying.
The team boss, however, says Kawasaki have not considered going after Rossi.
"There was a story in an Italian magazine recently after a journalist came to me and asked me if we have any interest in Valentino," Bartholemy told the official MotoGP website.
"I said we would have to be stupid not to be interested because he is the rider in the world championship.
"But we have never spoken to him and there is no contact between Kawasaki and Valentino Rossi."
He added: "We look for riders who can get results. That's the most important thing, we are involved in MotoGP to get results, so we are looking for somebody for our future." |
| Lorenzo to decide over operation |
Portuguese Grand Prix winner Jorge Lorenzo will decide if he is going to have surgery on his arms to relieve the carpal tunnel syndrome that affects the Spaniard towards the end of a race.
The syndrome causes nerves around Lorenzo's wrist to compress, due to the strain of holding on to a MotoGP bike under the intense braking of a prototype machine.
Many racers have the operation, which relieves the pressure on the sheath enveloping the tendons that open and close the hand.
The most recent was Alice Ducati rider Sylvain Guintoli, who had the surgery last summer.
With a three-week break before the next race in China, there is now an opportune window for Lorenzo to undergo, and recover from, the operation. |
| Hayden: I pushed too hard |
Nicky Hayden accepted responsibility for his crash in the Portuguese MotoGP.
The former world champion had just moved up to fourth place when Andrea Dovizioso went off, only to make a race-ending error of his own just one lap later.
Hayden said he had lost touch with the leaders initially as his harder Michelins struggled during the early shower.
"The first few laps were certainly not easy, some parts of the track were a little wetter than others and I had on a pretty hard tyre," he said.
"I had been choosing between that tyre and another a little bit softer, but with the way the weather's been this weekend we really hadn't got to do a lot of endurance on the harder one. I got settled in, and the warmer I was getting the tyres the better they were working and I was able to start moving up, so things were feeling pretty good."
He admitted that he could have settled for a safe fourth place, but preferred to push to catch Valentino Rossi for third.
"I made a few passes, I'd just got into fourth, and felt like I wanted to close the gap on the guys in front of me," Hayden said.
"I got fourth place at Jerez and I certainly didn't want to settle in there and ride around, so I had to push hard and you know when you push hard you make mistakes.
"It's not a parade you can't just cruise around. The bike was working good, the tyres were working good, I felt pretty comfortable, so I was pushing.
"Turn 7's downhill, certainly a trick corner, the front let go pretty early and down I went. It's unfortunate because the bike was working good and we were hungry for a good result, so my own mistake. We just have to step it up a bit." |
| Conditions frustrated Edwards |
Colin Edwards believes the early rain shower at Estoril cost him a chance to take his first podium for Tech 3 Yamaha.
The American rider eventually finished fourth, but explained that his chosen Michelin tyre struggled in the cool and damp conditions of the opening laps.
"When you are sitting on the grid with big rain spots on the visor, it is the worst feeling because you just don't know what to expect," Edwards said.
"I actually got a good start but then somebody was out of the seat in Turn 1 in front of me and then somebody else did the same at the second corner. I thought, 'it must be real slick because of the rain.'
"And it was a bit like being on ice. I just got my head down but it seemed they were just driving away from me. I was on it and the electronics were kicking in and working but I wasn't really going anywhere.
"Basically I couldn't build any heat in the tyre early on. Running that different tyre from Michelin for acceleration grip instead of maximum corner speed, for those conditions it didn't really work.
"Had it been dry from the start we'd have been good to fight for the podium. But with a bit of moisture I couldn't get any heat in the side of the tyre and no edge grip in the middle of the corner.
"Once I got heat into it I was motoring, which proved had it been dry, I'd gone for a good direction with Michelin."
The result was Edwards' highest finish since the Sachsenring last July, and he hopes it will be a springboard for better things now that Tech 3 have Yamaha's latest pneumatic valve engine.
"I wanted to be on the podium but I'll settle for fourth," he said.
"It's something to build on and now we have got the new engine we can look forward with a lot of confidence. It was my best result for a long time so thanks to Tech 3 Yamaha and Michelin for that." |
| 4th was possible for de Puniet |
Randy de Puniet reckons he could have finished fourth in the Portuguese MotoGP had he not lost several places at the start.
The LCR Honda rider had qualified eighth, but fell back to 14th on the first lap. He recovered to seventh before crashing on the penultimate lap when battling with James Toseland. The Frenchman dragged his bike out of the gravel and rejoined to take 15th.
"I am very disappointed," de Puniet said. "After my third bad start of the season I knew that I could go faster and catch the first five positions so I began to lap consistently fast.
"The bike set-up and the tyres were pretty good therefore I felt comfortable for the rest of the race and was able to pass several riders including Toseland. Then, on the second-last lap at Turn 4, I closed too much the angle in the middle of the corner and lost the front.
"I went out in the gravel but was able to rejoin the race getting the 15th position which is not the result we expected."
De Puniet was more frustrated by his poor start than his later error, and believes he would have beaten top five finishers Colin Edwards and John Hopkins had he stayed with the leaders at the start.
"Honestly with a better start I would have been able to catch Hopkins and probably Edwards," he said. |
| Doviziozo remains upbeat despite crashing |
Andrea Dovizioso was upbeat despite crashing out of fourth place in the Portuguese MotoGP.
The Italian rookie kept pace with the leaders until falling just after half-distance, and reckoned the speed he had demonstrated was more significant than his error.
"I did a very good race and this makes me happy," Dovizioso said. "I was able to maintain an astonishing rhythm and was half a second under my pace from the practice sessions.
"I never give up, as I want to try to stay with the lead group and get a good result for the team and myself.
"The crash was only because I was pushing at the very maximum, entering the corner so very hard and so I lost grip at the front. With my performance I don't think I can blame myself, these things happen."
His JiR Team Scot bosses also had no complaints about Dovizioso's ride.
"What Andrea did today in Portugal has to be considered a good day - despite the crash – as it shows he's able to stay with the top riders," said team director Luca Montiron.
"He showed skill and a lot of determination for more than half the race and with everyone riding in very tricky conditions he was able to display a rhythm that only the other three riders ahead were able to maintain.
"I'm sure this will be a race very important for the experience of Andrea in MotoGP and he was able to demonstrate a lot of character and determination to the other riders."
Team manager Cirano Mularoni agreed.
"From the start Andrea was able to maintain a good rhythm and stick with the leading group," he said. "At this point we had two chances: to try harder and go for the podium or maintain position and keep a safe fourth place.
"I agree with Andrea's tactics. He was always pushing, trying hard to get a big result and the crash is just something that has changed the names on the results sheet. Up until that point it was still a fantastic race for us."
Dovizioso added that the team now had to improve the bike's performance so that he didn't have to push so hard to stay with the leaders.
"To be behind the top three riders was a great experience and I understood and learned a lot of things," he said.
"We have to use at the maximum the potential of our Honda and find the correct chassis and engine tuning to keep this quick rhythm during whole race without being at the complete limit, which I was at today." |
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