Ridiculously Early 2006 MotoGP Sachsenring Preview

By Kropotkin |

Whenever riders or followers of MotoGP refer to a "Mickey Mouse racetrack", the example which always gets cited is the Sachsenring. This is a rather cruel jibe for a track so steeped in history. Racing has taken place in the area since 1927 over public roads, like Assen, until a new circuit was built here in the 1990s, after German reunification. The track is short, and just under 2.3 miles, so speeds are not high, but the track is situated among the rolling German hills, surrounded by woods.

2006 MotoGP Donington Race Report - The Once And Future King

By Kropotkin |

The Once And Future King



At the beginning of the season, motorcycle racing followers all over the world viewed the arrival of Dani Pedrosa with great anticipation, but also some regret. Finally, it was felt, here was a rider who could challenge the dominance of the MotoGP class by Valentino Rossi. Pedrosa's record in the 125 and 250 classes was superlative, better than Rossi's, winning the 250 championship at the first go, where Rossi took a year to learn. And yet it was feared that we would be robbed of the epic battles which must surely ensue between these two champions, as it would take Pedrosa at least a year to master riding a MotoGP bike, by which time, Rossi would be firmly ensconced in the seat of a Ferrari F1 car.


2006 Donington MotoGP Round - Qualifying Practice

By Kropotkin |

Dani Pedrosa confirmed his dominance at Donington after qualifying on pole for Sunday's race. Pedrosa's name was near the top of the standings for over half of the qualifying session, first behind fellow 250 rookie Casey Stoner, before taking over the lead with 15 minutes to go. With just over a minute to go of qualifying, the diminutive Spaniard then smashed Valentino Rossi's lap record by over 2/10ths of a second.



Michel Fabrizio Breaks Collarbone at Donington

By Kropotkin |

Michel Fabrizio, replacement rider for Toni Elias at Fortuna Honda, has broken his collarbone during the third Free Practice session at Donington, meaning he won't be able to take place in the race. Fabrizio was to partner the already injury-plagued Marco Melandri. The team may need another replacement rider for the German GP at the Sachsenring in 2 weeks time.

2006 FP3 Donington Results

By Kropotkin |

The two MotoGP rookies led the timesheets again on Saturday morning. Casey Stoner quickest , ahead of Dani Pedrosa, who lead yesterday's practice sessions. Times are extremely fast, in the low 1:28 seconds bracket, but what is more impressive is that Pedrosa's 1:28.478 was set in the middle of an 11 lap run, which included 7 sub 1:29 second laps. The odds are good that the Donington lap record will fall tomorrow, possibly by a large margin.

2006 FP1 and FP2 Donington Round

By Kropotkin |

Dani Pedrosa dominated both of Friday's free practice sessions at Donington. His last run during FP2 was particulary impressive, going out for ten laps and setting consistent low 1:29s. The only person to be able to match that kind of consistency was his former 250 rival Casey Stoner.
In injury news, Marco Melandri seems to have staged a near full recovery, as his times were also consistently fast, while Valentino Rossi is obviously a lot more comfortable than last week, but is still suffering a little, and may find it hard to ride a full race. Loris Capirossi went out during the morning session, but did not appear during the afternoon's session, as he was experiencing too much pain from the internal injuries sustained at Catalunya.
As for times, Pedrosa dominated, John Hopkins put in a couple of good laps to come second, with Stoner third. Checa put in a surprising display, setting the 11th time on the Dunlops which have been so poor so far this season. The times are also pretty close, as the top 12 are covered by less than a second.

WCM To Return To MotoGP in 2007

By Kropotkin |

In another stroke of synchronicity, in the weekend that former WCM rider Michel Fabrizio is to return to MotoGP for a race, his former team, WCM, have announced that they will once again return to MotoGP in 2007, with a two bike team. For more details, see the BBC news item. No news on what bikes they will be riding, but with a possible shortage of bikes on the grid as a result of the move to 800 cc next year, this can only be good news for MotoGP.

UPDATE

2006 MotoGP Donington Round Preview

By Kropotkin |

An English Summer Afternoon

Donington Park is a quintessentially English circuit. Located just a few miles from the geographical center of England, it sits among rolling green hills, the very picture of the ideal English countryside. And what a circuit that English country idyll produces: the track snakes across the hillsides in a mixture of sweeping fast off-camber bends and short harsh hairpins, demanding the utmost of rider and bike. Its demanding nature is what makes it a firm rider favorite, matched only by Phillip Island, and the old, and sadly lamented, Assen.

Michel Fabrizio To Replace Elias At Donington

By Kropotkin |

DFX Honda World Superbike rider Michel Fabrizio is to replace Toni Elias, who was injured in a fall at Assen last week, on the Fortuna Honda for this weekend's Donington Grand Prix. Fabrizio is no stranger to MotoGP, having run last year on the WCM Harris bike as team mate to James Ellison. The Honda RC 211V is a different proposition to last year's WCM bike, which was loosely based on a Yamaha R1 engine, before being totally rebuilt under pressure from the MSMA. Fabrizio's ride will only be for one Grand Prix, as Elias is expected to return for the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring on July 16th.

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