MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

~~~ UPDATED ~~~

Since I posted this, Dorna and the FIM have announced the official 2007 MotoGP calendar. You can read about it in this post.

Valentino Rossi heads the timesheets after FP2 at Brno, after putting in a blistering time on qualifiers. The big surprise is Randy de Puniet on the Kawasaki in 2nd. The Bridgestones must be working well, as both 2nd place de Puniet and 3rd place Loris Capirossi are using them. The Dunlops aren't doing too badly either, as Carlos Checa put in a very respectable time in 7th. Title contenders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa on the Repsol Hondas are way down in 8th and 11th respectively. But looking at the lap charts, it's clear that neither Pedrosa nor Hayden used qualifiers, electing to run a lot of laps on race tires instead.

Crash.net is reporting that Honda will wait until after the Japanse at Motegi to test its 800 cc prototype of next year's bike. Several manufacturers are rumored to have their new 800cc prototypes sitting in their garages waiting to be tested after this weekend' race at Brno, and Honda's decision not to test could be seen as a sign that they want to focus on the 2006 championship, rather than the 2007 championship.

After three weeks of enforced idleness after the thrills of Laguna Seca, the MotoGP circus goes back to work this weekend at Brno in the Czech Republic, refreshed and relaxed from their mid-season break. At least, that's the official story. Unofficially, the MotoGP circus goes back to work frazzled and frayed from three weeks of intense negotiation, speculation, contemplation and insinuation. Mobile phone bills are astronomical, keypads are worn down to the bare metal from frantic dialing, and Dr Costa's Clinica Mobile is awash with irritated ears, inflamed thumbs and chronic hoarseness, as the 2007 MotoGP season commences.



For the summer break is traditionally the start of what journalists tend to call the silly season, but if you're a rider, team owner, sponsor, mechanic, PR guru or even catering kitchen staff, it's deadly serious. With no races to interrupt, and everyone away from their teams, negotiations about who wants to be where, or even just somewhere next season are in full swing. And this year's round of rumors and speculation is just as wild and surprising as the season's races have been.

In yet another blow for the troubled Sete Gibernau, the Spaniard will have to miss out on this weekend's Brno Grand Prix, after a scan of his collarbone showed it was still not strong enough to hold up to the strains of racing. This will be the third race the corner incident at Catalunya has caused the luckless Spaniard to miss, as previous surgery kept him away from the Assen and Donington rounds. The only bright point for Gibernau is that he has another three weeks to recover, as the race after Brno is at Sepang in Malaysia on September 10th.

Pramac d'Antin Ducati rider Alex Hofmann will once again replace Gibernau at Brno. Crash.net has more details of the story.

The Spanish motorcycle magazine is reporting that Nicky Hayden is to star in his own TV show on MTV. The magazine claims that Hayden was due to make a pilot of the show for the global music channel, but that they decided to go straight to production after the Kentucky Kid won the Laguna Seca US Grand Prix last month. Negotiations are currently underway between International Racers and MTV about the show. Dorna will also be involved in the project.

The online version of the Spanish sports newspaper AS.com is reporting that Max Biaggi is negotiating with Ducati for a MotoGP ride in 2007. His contract with Suzuki for the World Superbike ride which never happened is said to have finished as of July 31st, leaving him clear to negotiate with other teams as of now.

Superbikeplanet.com (or Soup, as it is known in the vernacular) has a great set of comparison images of the Michelin tires at the end of the Laguna Seca race. What is really obvious is that the Yamaha uses its rear a lot harder than the Honda does. Either they have traction control working better, or they have a smoother torque curve. Well worth a look.

You can find the images here.

The official Ducati Racing website is reporting that Sete Gibernau is to undergo more surgery on his collarbone. He found he was having problems with the titanium plate put in after his monster pile up at the first corner at Catalunya, as his shoulder was weaker than it should have been, though he felt little or no pain. X-rays taken after returning home from Laguna Seca revealed the titanium plate had weakened, causing complications for the Spanish rider. The doctors treating Sete will strengthen the screw holding the plate in and administer bone growth injections, to speed up the growth of bone around the plate.

Ducati say that Gibernau is "probable, but not certain" to race at Brno on August 20th.