Moto GP

Brno Wrap-Up

Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden of Repsol Honda received yet another batch of updates for their RC212V's to try out for the Czech GP at Brno. The Repsol riders' packages included both chassis and engine updates. Hayden was somewhat disappointed with the updates at first, claiming that the new power was causing the bike to slip and spin up on corner exit.

But over the course of the weekend he and his crew made some changes to get the new package dialed in and lo and behold Nicky qualified second for the race with Dani Pedrosa right behind him in third. Unfortunately Marco Melandri was not able to partake in the race as he was sidelined with severe pain caused by herniated discs in his neck. He is expected to return to action next week at Misano.

At the start of the race the Repsol Hondas looked lively but Casey Stoner and John Hopkins cleared off into the distance to take the first two steps on the podium. Nicky finished a distant third in the race and Dani a distant fourth. Dani perhaps made an incorrect tire choice as he was the only Michelin runner to choose a hard front and soft rear tire. After the race he said that it took him a while to get his tires to operating temperature and by that time he could not make up any ground to his rivals.

Czech GP at Brno Results

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 43min 45.810 secs
2. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 43min 53.713 secs
3. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 43min 58.910 secs
4. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 44min 1.610 secs
5. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 44min 3.113 secs
6. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 44min 5.173 secs
7. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 44min 8.295 secs
8. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 44min 8.883 secs
9. Alex Barros BRA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 44min 18.102 secs
10. Carlos Checa SPA Honda LCR (M) 44min 20.963 secs
11. Toni Elias SPA Honda Gresini (B) 44min 23.558 secs
12. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 44min 24.060 secs
13. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 44min 29.504 secs
14. Shinya Nakano JPN Konica Minolta Honda (M) 44min 42.879 secs
15. Kurtis Roberts USA Team Roberts (M) 44min 55.413 secs
16. Ivan Silva SPA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 45min 7.220 secs
17. Makoto Tamada JPN Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 45min 11.614 secs

Casey Stoner is now a whopping 60 points ahead of Valentino Rossi. Stoner seems set to clench the championship before the last race of the season at Valencia. With 6 rounds to go Stoner could seal the deal in 3 races time with 3 wins, being crowned world champion at Motegi. That would certainly be a significant place to win the championship since it would be in the backyard of the Japanese manufacturers as well as the home of Bridgestone, the tire that has dominated the championship.

Tremendous Crash in the 250GP Race

In the 250GP race Taro Sekiguchi suffered a gruesome-looking crash as he t-boned the fallen machine of Marco Simoncelli. This type of accident tends to always be a big one as it sends the t-boning rider flying high into the air, often somersaulting. Sekiguchi broke some ribs, his pelvis and his hip but as of now he is out of intensive care and is recovering.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia3Syd8kpeU

Post Brno Test

While it doesn't look like the Hondas will be back to dominating just yet, the Brno post race test went reasonably well for both Repsol riders as they finished 3rd and 4th both days. Unfortunately the test was dampened with inclement weather on both days but both riders were able to get in a fair bit of testing. Nicky seemed fairly happy with what he was able to accomplish in the test:

"It's been a positive test and a decent weekend as a whole for us. We've been towards the sharp end most of the time and, considering where we've been at times this year, that's a definite improvement," stated Hayden. "Today we tried some shock and fork settings, a few little changes in the engine and also did quite a lot of tyre testing with Michelin. We didn't find any major breakthroughs but it was worth our time here and I'd like to say a big thanks to the team because it's been five days in a row and the boys have been working really hard."

Brno Post Race Test Times Day 1

1. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) 1:56.901
2. John Hopkins Suzuki (B) 1:57.660
3. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) 1:58.420
4. Nicky Hayden Honda (M) 1:58.425
5. Daniel Pedrosa Honda (M) 1:58.550
6. Loris Capirossi Ducati (B) 1:58.767
7. Randy de Puniet Kawasaki (B) 1:58.840
8. Carlos Checa Honda (M) 1:59.070
9. Alex Barros Ducati (B) 1:59.100
10. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (M) 1:59.200
11. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) 1:59.407
12. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) 1:59.640
13. Shinya Nakano Honda (M) 1:59.760
14. Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha (D) 1:59.820
15. Ivan Silva Ducati (B) 1:59.910
16. Makoto Tamada Yamaha (D) 2:00.060
17. Taddy Okada Honda (M) 2:00.340
18. Nobu Aoki Suzuki (B) 2:00.730

Brno Post Race Test Times Day 2

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 57.92 secs
2. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 58.40 secs
3. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 58.50 secs
4. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 58.70 secs
5. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 58.74 secs
6. Alex Barros BRA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 1min 58.84 secs
7. Colin Edwards USA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 58.86 secs
8. Carlos Checa SPA Honda LCR (M) 1min 59.13 secs
9. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 59.23 secs
10. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 59.30 secs
11. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 59.35 secs
12. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 59.62 secs
13. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 2min 0.80 secs
14. Makoto Tamada JPN Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 2min 1.92 secs

British Superbike

Ryuichi Kiyonari Scores Another Double

HM Plant Honda's Ryuichi Kiyonari added another double win race weekend to his resume in the 10th round of the 2007 British Superbike championship. Kiyo did not check out in either race but instead he got to the front early and controlled the gap, winning by less than 2 seconds in both cases. Rea was the man who finished second in both races but he could never seem to close enough on Kiyo to make a pass attempt. His second place finishes do however keep him alive in the title hunt.

It is now crunch time in the championship chase. There are 3 rounds, 6 races, and 150 points left in the 2007 title chase. Kiyo is in a great position to take his second consecutive title, but anything can change here in the final stretch. For the most part it will be a two horse race between Kiyo and his teammate Rea but if either of them crash it could open the door for the Leon Haslam and Gregorio Lavilla of Airwaves Ducati.

BSB Croft Race 1 Results (Top 10)

1 Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN HM Plant Honda
Racing 26mins 51.398 secs
2 Jonathan Rea GBR HM Plant Honda Racing 1.301 secs
3 Tom Sykes GBR Stobart Vent-Axia Motorsport 1.488 secs
4 Cal Crutchlow GBR Rizla Suzuki 1.758 secs
5 Leon Haslam GBR Airwaves Ducati 2.124 secs
6 Gregorio Lavilla ESP Airwaves Ducati 7.165 secs
7 Leon Camier GBR Bike Animal Honda 12.752 secs
8 Chris Walker GBR Rizla Suzuki 18.487 secs
9 Shane Byrne GBR Stobart Vent-Axia Motorsport 18.744 secs
10 Tommy Hill GBR Virgin Mobile Optoma Loans Yamaha 24.845 secs

BSB Croft Race 2 Results (Top 10)

1 Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN HM Plant Honda Racing 26mins 51.188 secs
2 Jonathan Rea GBR HM Plant Honda Racing 1.763 secs
3 Tom Sykes GBR Stobart Vent-Axia Motorsport 2.157 secs
4 Gregorio Lavilla ESP Airwaves Ducati 2.583 secs
5 Leon Camier GBR Bike Animal Honda 4.305 secs
6 Leon Haslam GBR Airwaves Ducati 4.628 secs
7 Shane Byrne GBR Stobart Vent-Axia Motorsport 8.964 secs
8 Michael Rutter GBR Isilon MSS Discovery Kawasaki 35.969 secs
9 Simon Andrews GBR Jentin Racing 39.549 secs
10 Chris Walker GBR Rizla Suzuki 39.6 secs

British Superbike Championship Points Standings (Top 5)

1. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 348pts
2. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 322pts
3. Leon Haslam (Ducati) 288pts
4. Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) 269pts
5. Shane Byrne (Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport Honda) 244pts

AMA Superbike

For the 3rd to last weekend of the 2007 AMA Superbike championship the American Honda superbike team found themselves one man short with Miguel Duhamel still recovering at his home in Montreal from his massive crash at Road Atlanta that left him with broken ribs, a punctured lung, a lacerated liver, and a broken ankle. Duhamel will be traveling to California to get surgery on his ankle from the same sports surgery specialist who fixed Nicky Hayden's shoulder injury at the end of last season.

Jake Zemke did not have a particularly great weekend as he chased the setup most of the weekend and both of his bikes suffered a mysterious misfiring problem. In race one his rear tire deteriorated too much before the end of the race, relegating him to 8th. In race two things were going pretty poorly but a bit of attrition helped him out and he finished 6th. While obviously disappointed Jake didn't seem to be too down after the race:

We had a little trouble with our rear tire Saturday. We blistered it pretty bad all the way around the right side of the tire. It was basically just slipping and sliding all the way to the end. That was really about it. Just trying to keep Tommy (Hayden) at bay, keep Tommy behind us. And earlier in the race I thought we were OK, but the thing lost grip pretty quickly and started throwing chunks of rubber. Towards the end of the race the boys said they heard my bike missing, but I never felt it.

AMASBK at VIR Race 1

1 Mat Mladin American Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000
2 Ben Spies American Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000
3 Jamie Hacking Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX-10R
4 Aaron Yates Jordan Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000
5 Roger Lee Hayden Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX-10R
6 Eric Bostrom Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1
7 Jason Disalvo Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1
8 Jake Zemke American Honda Honda CBR1000RR
9 Tommy Hayden American Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000
10 James Ellison Corona Extra Honda Honda CBR1000RR

AMASBK at VIR Race 2

1 Mat Mladin American Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000
2 Ben Spies American Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000
3 Aaron Yates Jordan Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000
4 Jamie Hacking Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX-10R
5 Tommy Hayden American Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000
6 Jake Zemke American Honda Honda CBR1000RR
7 Luca Scassa Fast by Ferracci MV Agusta F4-1000R
8 Matt Lynn Fast by Ferracci MV Agusta F4-1000R
9 Jake Holden Jordan Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000
10 Roger Lee Hayden Kawasaki Kawasaki ZX-10R

AMA Superbike at VIR Wallpaper

Silly Season

World Superbike

HRC Managing Director Satoru Horiike was confirmed to be at Croft as was Ronald and Gerritt Ten Kate, the owners of Ten Kate Racing. Ronald Ten Kate was apparently at the race to meet with Horiike-san to discuss the 2008 CBR1000RR and presumably what support HRC will provide to the Dutch-based team. Ten Kate also met with defending BSB champion and points leader Ryuichi Kiyonari. If Ten Kate can sign both Kiyonari and Hodgson to his team next year they will be an even more formidable force in the 2008 season. Ron Ten Kate certainly has the pick of the litter when it comes to riders for next year.

In yet another episode of the marvelous misadventures of HRC Human Resources, it is rumored that HM Plant Honda sophomore sensation Johnny Rea is talking to Xerox Ducati about a ride aboard the 1098R in WSBK for the 2008 season? Why? Because Honda is trying to get him to stay in the British championship while young Rea desires to move up to the world stage. Ducati has already made him a verbal offer and could be signing the young gun from the UK as we speak. Hopefully Honda won't repeat the mistake it made with James Toseland and Chris Vermeulen with Johnny Rea.

Dani Pedrosa Still Unsigned and Considering...Kawasaki?

Dani Pedrosa of Repsol Honda is the only big player in Moto GP that has yet to sign a contract for next season. The international media reports that Pedrosa wants to sign a one-year deal with Honda to see if HRC can turn things around and deliver him a package that he can use to challenge for the title next season. If the RC212V doesn't improve enough for his liking Dani would presumably switch teams in 2009.

Naturally it seems that HRC is not keen on this idea and have issued an ultimatum to the young rider to sign a contract with them. At this late point in the season Repsol Honda's options are very limited since all of the other big names have already been signed.

A rumor that has received considerable attention is that Pedrosa's manager Alberto Puig has approached Kawasaki about Dani's services. However, Toby Moody of Autosport.com, and an announcer on the Eurosport TV team, reports that Kawasaki denies talking to Dani and Puig and are actually trying to lure Shinya Nakano (of Konica Minolta Honda) back to the team.

For Shinya this move would make a lot of sense because right now he is not high on the Honda pecking order of factory updates and the Kawasaki ZX-RR is a much better bike than when he left it last season. Certainly riding a factory ZX-RR would be better than riding a satellite RC212V.

This would leave Konica Minolta Honda to scramble for a new rider but they could always pick up Hiroshi Aoyama from the 250cc championship. Right now Konica Minolta's contingency plan if Nakano leaves is to sign Andrea Dovizioso in a hybrid deal that would see his Scot Honda team move up with him. However, if Kawasaki signs Pedrosa instead of Nakano it could throw a wrench in that deal.

Moto GP Silly Season Wish List

As of right now the only riders for Honda that are certain are Nicky Hayden, and now Randy DePuniet who will be riding for LCR Honda. There's been a flurry of activity with the 250GP graduate duo of Andrea Dovizioso and Alex DeAngelis still yet to be signed. For the most part Toni Elias seems set to stay with Gresini Honda but who knows how everything else will unfold. For now it seems that Andrea Dovizioso is the front runner for Konica Minolta Honda. Whether that is contingent upon whether Shinya Nakano leaves is not clear.

Currently there has been no word on Team KR's fate for 2008. They may just decide to call it quits because it has been such a monumental challenge for the small team to develop their custom Honda-powered KR212V with only one rider.

Gresini Honda
1. Andrea Dovizioso
2. Toni Elias (tie)
2. Alex DeAngelis (tie)
3. Sylvain Guintoli
4. Hiroshi Aoyama

Konica Minolta Honda
1. Andrea Dovizioso
2. Shinya Nakano
3. Alex DeAngelis
4. Hiroshi Aoyama

Team KR
1. Johnny Rea
2. Leon Haslam
3. Kurtis Roberts
4. Andrew Pitt

World Superbike Silly Season Wish List

The departure for James Toseland has sparked a veritable gold rush for his coveted seat on the Ten Kate Honda squad. Veterans and rookies alike are all contending to join the Dutch team that in just 5 short years has emerged as a World Superbike power house.

Next season Ten kate will be running at least one more machine (for a total of 3 bikes) so that will leave room for them to put together a truly strong lineup. It has not been divulged yet but most do not expect Roberto Rolfo to continue with the team next season. Ron Ten Kate has said he will announce the new team lineup at Lausitzring in 2 weeks time.

Ten Kate Honda

1. Neil Hodgson
2. Ryuichi Kiyonari
3. Johnny Rea
4. Kenan Sofuoglu
5. Leon Haslam
6. Ruben Xaus
7. Michel Fabrizio
8. Carlos Checa
9. Andrew Pitt

AMA Superbike Silly Season Wish List

For 2008 American Honda will be campaigning the all-new CBR1000RR and both of their rider's contracts are up. Some seem to be of the opinion that Honda should secure the services of new riders too but that seems rather unlikely at this point. However, they very well could add a third bike to their in-house effort.

As for their satellite teams, Erion Honda could use some new young guns to lead the way in the Supersport class should Josh Hayes move up to Superbike. Corona Honda has had a decent season with Moto GP refugee James Ellison but ideally it would be good to see them step up with a second rider.

American Honda
1. Miguel Duhamel
2. Jake Zemke
3. Josh Hayes

Erion Honda (Supersport and FX)
1. Chaz Davies
2. Aaron Gobert
3. Geoff May
4. Martin Cardenas

Corona Honda (Superbike)
1. Josh Hayes
2. James Ellison
3. Geoff May

Soichiro's Heroes

Josh Hayes - 2 classes, 2 poles, 2 wins

Josh Hayes is pretty much a lock to win the Formula Xtreme championship this year but in Supersport his back is against the wall with only 2 more rounds left to try and steal the championship from Roger Lee Hayden and Jamie Hacking of Kawasaki.

Hayes delivered big-time in the Supersport by taking the extra point for pole position and outscrapping 17 year-old phenom Josh Herrin and 250GP refugee Martin Cardenas to take the win. Championship leader Roger Hayden finished 4th which means that Hayes very well could win the title if he runs the table in the last two rounds and some other riders can get between him and Hayden.

Ryuichi Kiyonari - Doubling Up

Kiyonari has stacked up an impressive win count in the last 3 years of BSB and with strong tactical riding at Croft he secured a double win over his closest title rival and teammate Johnny Rea. With only three rounds to go Kiyo is in prime position to back up his 2006 championship. Furthermore, with Kiyo winning the British Superbike championship and James Toseland on his way to winning the World Superbike championship, the CBR1000RR will receive a proper send off with two major superbike titles.

Honda Racing on TV

Saturday, August 25, 2007

7:00 am Formula One Qualifying Turkish GP (SPEED)

Sunday, August 26, 2007

7:30 am Formula One Turkish Grand Prix (SPEED)
3:00 pm American Le Mans Series Mosport (SPEED)

Saturday, September 1, 2007

1:00 pm Speed Touring Car Championship Mosport (SPEED)

Sunday, Septermber 2, 2007

1:00 pm AMA Superbike Championship Road Atlanta - Race 1 (SPEED)
2:00 pm AMA Supersport Road Atlanta (LIVE - SPEED)
3:00 pm AMA Superbike Championship Road Atlanta - Race 2 (LIVE - SPEED)
4:00 pm MotoGP World Championship San Marino GP (SPEED)