MotoGP Class

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins has been evaluated by on orthopaedic specialist in England following his heavy crash in Qatar on Thursday, with encouraging results.

The first Official Test of 2007 came to a close today in Qatar, with the MotoGP riders bringing their 'A-game" on the last of three sessions. Although rain did not directly affect the riders during their time on track, light rainfall overnight after day one left the track in difficult conditions, but still enabled them to put on qualifiers and push to leave the Losail International Circuit at the top of the timesheets.

The final day of MotoGP testing in Qatar today saw the times tumble yet again, as several riders opted to try qualifying tyres and three of them, Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi included, dipped under the 1’55 mark. As usual on the final day of a test, both Rossi and team-mate Colin Edwards tried their 800cc Yamaha’s on a long-run, enabling them to gather crucial information about tyre performance and fuel consumption ahead of the first race here in three week’s time. Edwards’ was in fact forced to do two extended sessions after his initial long-run, started towards the end of the morning, was red-flagged when Suzuki rider John Hopkins crashed, breaking a bone in his foot.

AMP Motorsiklo will hold its first ever 400cc Club race on February 25 at the Batangas Racing Circuit. The Club competition is strictly for Novice and Beginner riders only and is aimed to encourage club road racing in the country among amateurs, enthusiasts and hobbyists by keeping the cost to compete at very low levels and providing a relaxed friendly club racing atmosphere. There will be no cash prizes but maximum track time at minimal cost is guaranteed.

The 2nd MON ILAGAN Invitational Circuit Racing will be held on March 4, 2007 (Sunday) at the Cainta Municipal Compound. Brgy. Sto. Domingo Cainta, Rizal Race classes will be OPEN 125, 100, 125, 100, POCKETBIKE and ALL Cainta Class

CEBU---REIGNING Rider of the Year of the MS Motosuit Motocross Series, Irwin
Ramas-Uypitching started the MS Series’ second edition with a bang after posting
another impressive result in the kick-off leg at the Wagas racetrack in Lilo-an,
this province.

TAGPUAN SA VILLA ESCUDERO, the newest commercial and terminal center in Quezon, is holding a major promotional and interactive event. This is going to be a bikers’ meet and competition activity which will be open to all motorbike enthusiasts nationwide.

Contact Joseph Espedido of 1224 Events Specialists at 02 658-2211 or 09178967942.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP travels to the scorching heat of the Qatari desert for the first
Official MotoGP Test of the season next week, looking to fine tune the new GSV-R800
and ensure its race competitiveness.

Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi proved they are more than ready for the challenge ahead with their new 800cc Yamahas by clocking some outstanding times today, on the third and final day of testing in Sepang. Both took the chance to try new Michelin qualifying tyres and Edwards stunned his crew by dipping well under the current pole position record, set by Rossi at last year’s race on the old 990cc Yamaha, with a lap of 2’00.248. Rossi also came close to his own pole record with a time of 2’00.793. Both riders spent the day continuing to work on set-up and tyre-testing before completing long runs, enabling them to see the benefits of their latest developments under race-like conditions.

Puerto Princesa City eyes another record high as it gears up for the country’s biggest motorsports event, the 2007 Puerto Princesa City Motocross Masters of Asia FIM-UAM Asian Motocross Championships, set March 4 at the sprawling FIM-compliant permanent motocross racetrack adjacent to the Puerto Princesa City Hall.

Yamaha Motor Company Ltd and Valentino Rossi will continue to race together until the end of the 2008 season.

MotoGP’s Australian preseason excursion drew to a close today, as the majority of the premier class teams concluded their three-day test at the Phillip Island circuit. Riders from Ducati, Honda, Team KR and Suzuki have been putting the new 800cc bikes through their paces since Tuesday, aiming to gather vital new data and experience before the 2007 season kicks off on March 10th in Qatar.

First Suzuki 3S Shop in Davao Inaugurated-in the picture are: (L-R) Jose Siy Cha, president, Trans Cycle Motors, Lyn Calderon, general manager for finance and administration, Suzuki Philippines Inc and Dennis Soriano, assistant sales and marketing manager for motorcycles, Suzuki Philippines during the inauguration of the Suzuki 3S Shop Davao .

MotoGP Testing Day 1/3 - Phillip Island, Australia - Tuesday 30th January

Only ten days after the lifting of the six-week testing ban, the majority of
the MotoGP teams are already well underway with their 2007 preseason
preparations. After last week's near full house of premier class outfits
testing at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia, the 800cc machines were put
through their paces once again at Australia's Phillip Island Circuit.

Q+A with Hiroshi Yamada - Bridgestone Motorsport - Manager Motorcycle Racing

The first test of the 2007 season concluded at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia on Wednesday with several Bridgestone-shod riders frequenting the top half of the timesheets throughout the three-day session. Bridgestone Motorsport’s Manager of Motorcycle Racing, Hiroshi Yamada, reviews the opening week of Bridgestone’s sixth year of participation in MotoGP and looks ahead to the coming season with cautious optimism.

Valentino Rossi concluded the first test of 2007 by clocking the fastest lap of the three-day visit to Sepang in Malaysia. The five-time MotoGP World Champion clocked a blistering 2’00.936 lap on the 800cc Yamaha M1, in an ominous sign for the rest of the grid.

The hot temperatures ( 34° degrees C the air temperature and the 53° degrees C the tarmac ) made the third and last day of testing more difficult for the Honda Team riders busy at Sepang in preparation of the 2007 Championship. Tomorrow riders and team will fly to Australia for the second testing session scheduled at Phillip Island starting from the 30th of January.

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda
2m 01.884s – 64 laps.
“We definitely learnt a lot about the bike at this test and got some valuable information for my crew chief Pete Benson and the boys to work with. And myself, I felt like I rode the 800 better than I did here in November. It would have been nice to have been closer to the front and I know we didn’t set the world on fire, but we’ve definitely got some positive stuff to take away. We found some Showa forks I liked and some good settings, plus we tried the new 16 inch Michelin front which felt good. On the straight I feel like I’m a little bit out in the wind and that’s where I’m losing time - towards the end of the straight. I don’t know if it’s partly engine performance and partly aerodynamics. It’s definitely good that we’re going to Phillip Island because we can check the things we tested here at a completely different track next week. I would have liked to have done a long run here but I didn’t really have the strength in my shoulder. The most I did was ten laps in a row because the doc didn’t want me getting carried away here because shoulders sometimes take a while to heal. I’m looking forward to Phillip Island where there’s not so much hard braking.”

The third and final day of testing in Malaysia came to a close today in stifling heat, with Loris Capirossi successfully completing set-up work on his Desmosedici GP7, both on an engine and suspension level and with the tyres. Loris in fact completed an eleven-lap race simulation at an excellent pace, similar to his record time set last year. The Italian ace recorded his quickest time on race tyres, 2m02.146s, on the final lap of his long run, a performance that gave great satisfaction to himself, the Ducati team and to Bridgestone. Like most of his colleagues, Loris then bolted on a qualifying tyre to set the third quickest time of the day.