Aragon - Qualifying times

Full qualifying times from the inaugural Aragon MotoGP, round 13 of the 2010 world championship.

A revised schedule for Aragon saw a second free practice session on Friday, but all MotoGP practice and qualifying sessions this weekend have been reduced from one hour to 45 minutes as a result.

Loris Capirossi is missing the event due to finger ligament damage sustained in his clash with Nicky Hayden on lap one in Misano.

Jorge Lorenzo is riding with a Shoya Tomizawa replica helmet...

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 48.942s

2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Fiat Yamaha Team 1m 49.251s

3. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team 1m 49.343s

4. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 49.506s

5. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 49.565s

6. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 1m 49.952s

7. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 1m 50.017s

8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1m 50.046s

9. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 50.088s

10. Hector Barbera ESP Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1m 50.323s

11. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 50.440s

12. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 50.523s

13. Aleix Espargaro ESP Pramac Racing 1m 50.537s

14. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 50.580s

15. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP 1m 50.836s

16. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 1m 51.490s

Fastest practice time:

Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro 1m 50.115s (FP3)

Source: http://www.crash.net/motogp/results/

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Andrea Iannone snatches Aragón Moto2 pole

A blistering final lap in Moto2 qualifying secured the Italian his fifth pole position of the season, ahead of Scott Redding, Alex de Angelis and Julián Simón who will all start from row one.

Andrea Iannone put in a fine last lap in the Gran Premio A-Style de Aragón qualifying session to take his fifth Moto2 pole position of the season on Saturday. The Italian’s effort of 1’55.148 delivered him top spot on the timesheet ahead of Scott Redding by a margin of 0.041s.

The 17 year-old Marc VDS Racing rider looked all set for his first-ever World Championship pole as he led for the final stages of the session, but a third successive front-row start will not be of any disappointment to the Brit. Following him was Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2) at just five-thousandths of a second behind, with Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) – currently second in the Championship standings – completing the front row of the grid.

A slow-speed fall for Simone Corsi (JiR Moto2) did little to dent his confidence and he closed the session in fifth position with another Italian, Claudio Corti (Forward Racing) following closely behind. Gabor Talmacsi (Fimmco Speed Up) was seventh and an impressive substitute ride from Michele Pirro for the Gresini Racing team saw the Italian secure a second-row start.

Championship leader Toni Elías (Gresini Racing) qualified in 12th place at 0.690s off Iannone’s pace and had a minor crash at turn one, whilst Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Moriwaki) who is currently third in the standings will start from 20th on grid. British wild card Kev Coghlan (Monlau Joe Darcey) qualified in 13th.

There were falls during the session for Axel Pons (Tenerife 40 Pons), Raffaele de Rosa (Tech 3 Racing) and Karel Abraham (Cardio ab Motoracing), all of whom were uninjured.

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/

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Suzuki to announce 2011 MotoGP plans at Motegi

Rizla Suzuki team manager Paul Denning has told British Eurosport that Suzuki will make an announcement about its 2011 MotoGP plans during it's forthcoming home Japanese round at Motegi.

Rumours suggest that Suzuki may cut back to a one-rider team next season, which would be for Alvaro Bautista, who is in the first year of a two-year contract.

Denning denied that Suzuki could withdraw from MotoGP altogether at the end of the season and the choice seems to be whether to run one or two riders next year.

Loris Capirossi is all but certain to leave, probably for a ride with Pramac Ducati. Denning confirmed that Randy de Puniet is a possible target to join Bautista if the two-rider format continues. 

Source: http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/

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Casey Stoner puts in stunning display to take Aragón pole

The Australian was in phenomenal shape in qualifying for the Gran Premio A-Style de Aragón as he took his second pole of the season, ahead of Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo and the in-form Dani Pedrosa.

Casey Stoner took his first pole since the season opener in Qatar with the top time in qualifying on Saturday at Aragón, setting a scorching pace on the Spanish track. The Australian became the first and only rider to get under the 1’49” mark so far this weekend on board his Ducati Desmosedici GP10, when he posted a best time of 1’48.942 on his penultimate lap of the session.

Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo will start from the front row of the grid for the 15th successive race after maintaining his fantastic qualifying record, which stretches back to the Malaysia round last year. The Fiat Yamaha rider was 0.309s off Stoner with a best time of 1’49.251.

Dani Pedrosa contended for pole throughout the session and the Repsol Honda rider appeared to be en route to taking top spot when he went through the second split on his final lap 0.215s up on Stoner, but the Spaniard was pushing hard and ran wide, eventually placing third at a fraction over four-tenths of a second off the top time.

Consistency has been Nicky Hayden’s strong point this weekend and he only missed out on a front row start by 0.163s, ending the session in fourth place. Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was impressive in fifth as he placed his M1 alongside his fellow American’s Ducati, whilst Randy de Puniet continued to go from strength to strength as he qualified his LCR Honda machine in sixth.

Heading up the third row after coming in seventh on the timesheet Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) was 1.075s from Stoner, with Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) both within a tenth of a second of the reigning World Champion. Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar) completed the top ten.

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/

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Saturday practice times

Full Saturday free practice times from the inaugural Aragon MotoGP, round 13 of the 2010 world championship.

A revised schedule for Aragon saw a second free practice session on Friday, but all MotoGP practice and qualifying sessions this weekend have been reduced from one hour to 45 minutes as a result.

Loris Capirossi is missing the event due to finger ligament damage sustained in his clash with Nicky Hayden on lap one in Misano.

Jorge Lorenzo rode with a Shoya Tomizawa replica helmet...

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 50.115s

2. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team 1m 50.452s

3. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 50.675s

4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1m 50.724s

5. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Fiat Yamaha Team 1m 50.764s

6. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 50.843s

7. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 1m 50.986s

8. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 51.242s

9. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 51.397s

10. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 51.444s

11. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 1m 51.64s

12. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP 1m 51.642s

13. Hector Barbera ESP Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1m 51.778s

14. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 51.833s

15. Aleix Espargaro ESP Pramac Racing 1m 51.962s

16. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 1m 52.141s

Fastest Friday time:

Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 1m 50.506s (FP1)

Source: http://www.crash.net/motogp/results/

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HRC announces new deal with Pedrosa

The Japanese factory and Spanish rider will continue their partnership in MotoGP for a further two seasons in 2011 and 2012.

Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) is pleased to announce that Dani Pedrosa will once again be a factory Honda rider in MotoGP for 2011 and 2012. The two-year deal extends Pedrosa’s career-long relationship with Honda which has brought three World Championships, 35 Grand Prix victories in all classes and 12 MotoGP wins - including victories at the last two races. Recent results show that Pedrosa and the Honda RC212V have evolved into one of the strongest combinations in MotoGP, and it is a partnership that both parties are determined will grow even stronger for the next two seasons.

Tetsuo Suzuki, HRC President:

"We are very pleased that Dani Pedrosa has re-signed to be a factory Honda rider, thus extending his longstanding and successful partnership with HRC. Dani is clearly at the peak of his powers and has gelled with the RC212V to create a formidable combination. We believe his relationship with the machine and the team will continue to grow and that he will mount an extremely strong challenge for the MotoGP World title over the next two seasons."

Dani Pedrosa:

“I’m really happy to be signing with Honda again. This has been the team of my dreams since I was a kid and that’s still the same feeling I have now. We’ve had a long and successful relationship already and we believe together we can have even more success in the future. Over many years we have built up a very strong relationship and have enjoyed the successes and faced the difficulties together. We are at a good moment now and we must try to continue in this way. Our goal of course is to fight for victories every weekend and win the MotoGP World Championship. I believe we have what it takes to do both of those things.”

Honda Racing Corporation press release

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/

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Casey Stoner leads wet second Aragon session

Casey Stoner saved his best for last to snatch the top spot from MotoGP championship leader Jorge Lorenzo at the end of a wet second free practice session at Aragon on Friday.

Dani Pedrosa had been fastest by 0.411sec from Nicky Hayden in the dry morning session - when Lorenzo was third and Stoner fourth - but heavy rain fell just before the start of the afternoon session and the track remained wet throughout.

Despite the total change in conditions, Pedrosa once again led the early stages of the afternoon - and was still leading at the halfway mark of the 45 minute session – but then dropped back to 13th by the chequered flag.

Stoner and Lorenzo were frontrunners throughout, and the pair exchanged the top spot during the final 20 minutes, with the Ducati rider jumping into first place for the final time by 0.568sec from the Fiat Yamaha rider as the chequered flag waved.

Like Lorenzo and Stoner, Hayden was quick in both sessions, finishing third in the wet (+0.7sec) and was just ahead of reigning seven time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi. As he had been in the dry, Rossi was just over one-second from the top.

Gresini Honda had the top satellite rider in both sessions, with rookie Marco Simoncelli fifth this morning, before team-mate Marco Melandri took over that same position in the afternoon.

Pedrosa's Repsol Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso was 8-6 in the two sessions, with LCR Honda's Randy de Puniet 12-7 and Ben Spies 10-8 for Monster Yamaha Tech 3.

Hector Barbera ran top three at several points during the wet session, but finished only ninth (he was seventh this morning) with Simoncelli tenth in the wet.

Today saw the return of two Friday practice sessions (of 45 minutes instead of the usual one hour) in a trial system which will be reviewed following the GP. Saturday's final practice session and qualifying will also be 45-minutes, to avoid extra strain on the engines.

Aragon was called up to replace the unfinished Balatonring circuit in Hungary. It is supposed to revert to reserve status after this year's event, but few will be surprised if Aragon remains on the MotoGP calendar for 2011 and beyond.

Aragon is the third of four MotoGP rounds in Spain this year.

Friday practice (2):

1. Stoner

2. Lorenzo

3. Hayden

4. Rossi

5. Melandri

6. Dovizioso

7. de Puniet

8. Spies

9. Barbera

10. Simoncelli

11. Edwards

12. Bautista

13. Pedrosa

14. Kallio

15. Espargaro

16. Aoyama 

Source: http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/

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