MotoGP
Stoner wins MotoGP, Rossi puts on a display to take second
Image Gallery (2 images)
Last year's world champ Casey Stoner led from pole to clinch victory in the Australian MotoGP today, but most of the excitement lay behind him as Valentino Rossi cut a swathe through the field from his 12th-place grid position, slipping past Nicky Hayden on the final lap to finish second. Read More
MotoGP stars launch the all-new 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 in Vegas
Image Gallery (8 images)
Yamaha's superstar MotoGP team, including Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Colin Edwards and James Toseland, have assembled to throw their star power behind a completely reworked 2009 R1 launch in Vegas - but the magnificent machine barely needs any help to stand out on its own. One hundred and eighty two horsepower (before ram air kicks in) and 206 kilgorams dripping wet, for less than US$15,000 - aren't these magnificent times for motorcycle fans to live in? Read More
MotoGP night race testing begins
Image Gallery (14 images)
February 28, 2008 For all the thrill of attending a Formula One (F1) or MotoGP event, the majority of the live spectators view the races on TV, and the majority of both sports’ income comes from television rights. F1 and MotoGP are both broadcast to more than 200 countries with Formula One attracting television fees of around US$380 million annually for a cumulative season audience of around 580 million unique viewers. In order to “optimize” television rights revenues, both sports are now moving to night Grands Prix in some time zones so the races can be broadcast live in prime time in the key European markets. The first night “test” begins today in Qatar and presents some interesting logistical problems for the teams. Read More
Yamaha unveils Rossi’s 2008 YZR-M1 MotoGP machine
Image Gallery (11 images)
January 19, 2008 Yamaha unveiled its 2008 YZR-M1 MotoGP machine this week in a large event held in conjunction with sponsors Fiat in Turin, Italy. Last year the M1 was one of the slowest machines on the grid and played a major role in Valentino Rossi’s worst season for a decade, prompting Rossi to roundly criticise the machine publicly and Yamaha to test a V4 configuration and pneumatic valves in the hope of closing the horsepower gap to Ducati’s desmodromic valve system. With Honda employing a pneumatic valve system in its 2008 machine, Yamaha will be the only contender relying on traditional valve springs to close its valves this year. Despite this, Yamaha’s frightfully expensive throttle control system (Rossi) shares favouritism for the title with Ducati’s Casey Stoner (both 6/4). Read More
Ducati reveals 2008 Desmosedici GP8 MotoGP machine
Image Gallery (11 images)
Ducati this week unveiled its 2008 MotoGP machine at its annual Wrooom - MotoGP Press Ski Meeting at Madonna di Campiglio. The new GP8 Desmosedici is understandably based on the GP7 which won the 2007 MotoGP title, with small but important changes in the area of the frame, rear suspension geometry, motor and electronic system. The Desmosedici is equipped with exactly the same traction control system used on the new 1098 R road bike which swept all before it in motorcycle magazine awards around the world. No doubt Ducati’s test rider Vittoriano Guareschi was thankful for the traction control as he rode the new machine before the press for the first time – the ice floor he had to contend with could easily have caught out any rider.
Ducati’s Desmosedici RR almost sold out before production begins
Image Gallery (3 images)
October 12, 2007 Ducati didn’t believe punters would jump at their US$70,000 MotoGP replica motorcycle – how wrong they were. With production still yet to begin, less than 250 units remain to be pre-ordered of what is surely the most extreme production motorcycle on the planet, the Desmosedici RR. If you want one, you’d better move fast. Read More
2008 MotoGP teams begin to emerge
Image Gallery (3 images)
October 10, 2007 This year's World Champion Casey Stoner, as well as Rossi, Vermeulen and the Honda team are staying where they are for season 2008 – but beyond that, MotoGP has been a huge game of musical chairs as riders jump from team to team hoping to secure the best bikes for next year. With teams finally settling, here’s what we know. Read More
Aprilia’s upcoming V4 engine to deliver up to 220hp
Image Gallery (4 images)
October 8, 2007 Aprilia tell us their much-anticipated V4 engine is currently undergoing durability testing in four states of tune – from a huge 185 horsepower up to an eye-watering 220 horsepower. Which one will we see in the road-going superbike they’re building? Read More
Landmark night Grand Prix to be held in Qatar 2008
Image Gallery (3 images)
September 4, 2007 Whispers of a night-time MotoGP event first reached Gizmag in early 2006 and now it’s official – the season opening Grand Prix of Qatar on March 9th next year will be held under lights to allow for better synchronization with European television schedules. The staging of the unprecedented night race will involve what is believed to be the biggest lighting project in the world for any sporting event – almost four thousand lights will be used to ensure visibility and remove shadowing from the track. Read More
MotoGP 800cc Round 1 – Ducati draws first blood
Image Gallery (67 images)
March 10, 2007 Ducati drew first blood in the 2007 version of MotoGP with 800cc engines at the first round of the 18-race series in Qatar today. Australian 21 year-old rising star Casey Stoner made a perfect start with the Ducati Marlboro Team, riding to a magnificent victory aboard his Desmosedici GP7. Stoner rode a perfectly judged race, leading the first lap and then battling with former World Champion Valentino Rossi throughout. The pair swapped positions several times, separated by just a few tenths for most of the 22 laps, Stoner crossing the finish line 2.8 seconds ahead after setting a new track record on the final lap. One of the highlights of the race was the speed of the four Ducati-engined machines in the field, sometimes with a margin of 20 km/h over the fastest of the others at the end of the kilometre-long Qatar front straight. Rossi’s Fiat Yamaha M1 was a clear second and Dani Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda RC212V was a narrow third ahead of the Rizla Suzuki of John Hopkins, indicating at least four different makes of machinery will be capable of winning a race this season. Stoner's odds dropped from 0/1 to 5/1 overnight on world betting markets. Read More
800 MotoGP bikes already faster than last year’s 1000s
Image Gallery (38 images)
February 26, 2007 It’s ironic indeed that the premier motorcycle roadracing class MotoGP decided to cut its engine capacities to 800cc from 1000cc for safety reasons. The need to develop new machinery for the 2007 season has seen manufacturers dig deep into their technological bag of tricks, and culminated yesterday when the first shots were fired under the new 800cc engine format. Each year the riders finish testing and are given one 40 minute session to post the fastest time, with the fastest walking away with the BMW M award, in this case in the form of vehicle. This year testing finale was held yesterday at the Spanish circuit of Jerez. In the closing stages of the session Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi lapped in 1’38.394, almost seven-tenths of a second faster than Capirossi’s 2006 pole time on the Ducati 1000cc Desmosedici with both Honda’s Dani Pedrosa and Rossi’s Yamaha teammate Colin Edwards bettering Caprirossi’s time too. Lap records can only be set in a race, not in practice, but the lap record on a 1000cc MotoGP bike was set in 2005 when Rossi lapped in 1’40.596 – yesterday, 15 riders on six different makes of 800cc machines lapped faster than the 1000cc lap record. Read More
MotoGP Season underway for Ducati at Wrooom
Image Gallery (5 images)
January 16, 2007 The Wrooom - MotoGP Press Ski Meeting 2007 starts each new racing year at Madonna di Campiglio in the beautiful Trentino region of Italy. Every year this traditional appointment sees the Ducati Marlboro Team riders get their season underway in the Italian mountains and it’s happening right now for a week, with the highlight being the unveiling of the new Ducati Desmosedici GP7 built for the new era of 800cc MotoGP tomorrow. The week is the first appearance in Ducati colours for new rider and newlywed Casey Stoner, alongside his new ontrack teammate, three time World Champion Loris Capirossi. One obvious component of the Ducati week was the Superbike team - while the MotoGP team is in the snow, the Ducati Superbike team is topping the leaderboards in Australia in roasting heat. The bookies rate Valentino Rossi as an odds-on favourite to reclaim his crown in 2007 with Hayden, Pedrosa and Capirossi as the most likely to stand in his way, with Stoner on the next rung of betting. Bayliss is odds-on favourite to take the crown for Ducati again in 2007.
HONDA unveils RC212V – 2007 MotoGP machine
Image Gallery (9 images)
December 7, 2006 Having wrestled the World MotoGP Riders and Manufacturers Championships away from Valentino Rossi and Yamaha, Honda’s next big challenge is to keep them and next year with the rules changing to an 800cc limit, suddenly everything is up for grabs again and in post-season testing of the new 800 machines Honda, Yamaha, Ducati and Suzuki have all shown they will have competitive machinery next year . We’ve already done a complete technical rundown (with pics) of the RC211V 1000cc MotoGP bike which Honda is leaving behind – herewith is the official Honda unveiling of its 800cc, V4 replacement with a stunning all-new chassis built with mass centralization and ultimate handling in mind. Welcome to the future… Read More
Ilmor 800 snares MotoGP championship point
Image Gallery (7 images)
October 20, 2006 The goal was quite simply to finish the race for the first-time MotoGP team Ilmor SRT, but the Sultan of Slide, Garry McCoy, went one better putting in a consistent performance to bring the team its first Championship point. Given that it was the first 800cc capacity bike (built for 2007 regs), it suggests the 800cc MotoGP series next year might be even closer again. It’s a long way from challenging for the win, but such an impressive first up showing suggests the fledgling team will be a lot further up the field by the time the 2007 championship begins next year. Read More
Ilmor MotoGP Project set to debut
Image Gallery (5 images)
October 11, 2006 A completely new MotoGP machine is set to be unveiled tomorrow and although it doesn’t have the name of a well known motorcycle manufacturer behind it, there’s some quiet money being wagered that the new team will make a significant mark. MotoGP’s newest team, Ilmor, will unveil the X3 at the Estoril circuit in Portugal prior to the Portuguese MotoGP round at which the bike will compete for the first time. Though it is not expected to be competitive in its first race, the 800cc V4 with air valve springs is designed for the 2007 MotoGP rules, where it is expected to be highly competitive. The project is the brain child of the Swiss engineer Mario Illien (Ilmor) and Eskil Suter. Illien is better known for his many four-wheeled achievements in Formula One and Indy racing, his engine designs have won two F1 championship titles with McLaren-Mercedes plus the Indy 500 race 11 times. Read More
Honda wins MotoGP Constructors World Championship and reveals the secrets of its RC211V
Image Gallery (45 images)
October 3, 2006 With five riders on three different brands of machinery still capable of winning the World MotoGP riders championship, it has gone almost unnoticed that Honda has taken its 17th Constructors’ Championship and eclipsed MV Agusta’s 16 Constructors’ titles. With 203 premier class victories since it first competed at the highest level in 1966, Honda now dominates the history of MotoGP by almost any measure. Astoundingly, at the Japanese GP, it called a press conference and in an unprecedented move it revealed the complete engine internals of its RC211V, the bike which had won 47 (58.75%) of the 80 races since the 1000cc formula was introduced. Our image gallery for this story contains imagery of many of the famous riders who have tasted World Championship success with Honda such as Hailwood, Spencer, Rossi, Lawson, Gardner and Doohan, plus the bikes they rode from the RC181 of the sixties to the NSR500 V4 and high res imagery of the internals of the RC211V – clearly Honda feels that the internals of the V4 800 of next year with its hydraulically operated valves are so far removed from the V5 1000 that it has nothing to fear. But if you’re a lover of fine engineering, feast your eyeballs on the Honda’s internals. Read More
Major factories reveal new 800cc MotoGP machines
Image Gallery (21 images)
September 26, 2006 Images of next year’s MotoGP bikes and reports on the new bikes began to filter in yesterday as the major factories returned to action at the Motegi circuit for an afternoon of testing the next generation of machinery following Sunday’s Grand Prix of Japan. Repsol Honda team riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa were present with Hayden testing newly developed parts for his ‘New Generation’ RC211V while Pedrosa gave the newly announced V4 800cc MotoGP machine its first public viewing. At the same time Suzuki tested its 2007 V4 800cc machine with domestic test riders and Ducati rolled out the 800cc Desmosedici for both Capirossi and Gibernau to try. Pneumatic valves are likely to be run by all the machinery with realistic chances next year. The image agllery is a ripper, with detail pics of the Suzuki, Honda and Ducati machinery. Read More
Ducati 800cc MotoGP bike tests
Image Gallery (9 images)
August 23, 2006 With the World MotoGP championship at its most exciting for more than a decade, progress is continuing behind the scenes for the radical restructuring of the class next year to an 800cc capacity limit. The day after his superb win at Brno on the weekend, Loris Capirossi made his track debut with the new 800cc Ducati Desmosedici and the Italian was immediately impressed right from the start. “The first impression was positive,” said Capirossi. “The bike's handling has improved a lot and that's important. This bike has to be ridden in a different way to the GP6, it's actually very enjoyable, a bit like a 250 machine and testing it now was interesting and useful so we can immediately start to work on it. The engine is different, obviously less powerful but it makes a great noise!” Read More
Ducati to auction 2005 MotoGP-winning bike
Image Gallery (7 images)
June 10, 2006 In an extraordinary move, Ducati has released one of its 2005 MotoGP-winning race bikes for sale by public auction. The Desmosedici GP5 with which Loris Capirossi won the Grand Prix of Malaysia last September will go to auction in Monterey during the weekend of the US GP at Laguna Seca. One wonders just exactly who might roll up with a chequebook on the day given that the Ducati was the horsepower king of MotoGP in 2005 and both Honda and Yamaha would no doubt love the chance to have a look inside the 190kW (255 bhp) Desmosedici which redlined at 16,550 rpm and regularly topped the best they could build by several km/h at the speedtraps. We are unaware of any precedent for the auction. See the image gallery for images of the actual bike to be auctioned.
Ducati's US$70,000 Desmosedici RR MotoGP replica for the road
Image Gallery (46 images)
Ducati became the first manufacturer to release a roadgoing version of a MotoGP race machine yesterday, when it showed the prototype version of the Desmosedici RR which will go on sale as an extremely limited edition next year – only 400 machines a year will be built and the price will be around US$70,000. Ducati chose the magical atmosphere of the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello to launch the RR production prototype and it was a fitting venue at which to show the first-ever road-going MotoGP motorcycle. You can put your name on the list to own one here and it should be noted that if you own a Ducati 999R, you get priority. Unlike the V-twin bikes which have made the Ducati name famous, the Desmosedici RR uses an L-four layout. That’s the replica and the original racer together. Full details and extensive photo gallery inside.
Night MotoGP racing on the agenda
Image Gallery (9 images)
April 25, 2006 As television plays an ever greater role in the globalization and monetization of sport, sport is evolving. Once upon a time a time difference meant just delaying the telecast on the TV, but as the internet has hastened deadlines and live sport means “when it’s actually” happening, time-shifting events is now being considered. One such innovation on the horizon is night racing, a regular and ever more frequent autoracing fixture in recent years but until now not tried in the pinnacle sports of either car or motorcycle racing. Earlier this month the three permanent riders on the MotoGP Security Commission (Valentino Rossi, Kenny Roberts Junior and Loris Capirossi) tried out the Losail circuit in Qatar during full darkness to evaluate the feasibility of holding races at night. MotoGP points leader tried the circuit on a Ducati 999R, the headlamps of which proved to be indispensable for those parts of the track without the benefit of artificial lighting. Similarly, Rossi rode a Yamaha sports bike and Roberts rode a Honda CBR1000RR sports bike in their respective determinations. Read More
Rd 2 MotoGP: Rossi fights back
Image Gallery (18 images)
April 9, 2006 Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi returned to the top step of the podium after a stunning ride in yesterday’s Grand Prix of Qatar. Rossi’s 54th career MotoGP victory was sealed with a perfectly timed run in the second half of the race, passing early leader Casey Stoner (Honda) on lap 10 of 22 and holding off a late attack from Nicky Hayden (Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Ducati), who completed the podium. The win brings Rossi’s premier-class tally level with that of Mick Doohan, with only the legendary Giacomo Agostini now ahead of him on 68 victories. Casey Stoner's pole position in only his second Grand Prix, followed by leading for the first ten laps indicates MotoGP has unearthed yet another potential star - though Stoner was eventually fifth, he already looks capable of winning a race when he gets some riding condition capable of sustaining his speed for an entire race. Read More
MotoGP Round 1: Ducati leads the world
Image Gallery (28 images)
March 26, 2006 Ducati’s Loris Capirossi won today's season-opening Spanish GP to put the Ducati Marlboro Team at the top of the MotoGP points table for the first time in history. The race could prove to be a pivotal moment in MotoGP history, as it saw reigning champ Valentino Rossi knocked off on the second corner, and the coming of age of two of Rossi’s much younger rivals in Danni Pedrosa and Casey Stoner. Pedrosa incredibly challenged for the lead in his first MotoGP race and headed a Honda RC211V freight train that stretched from second (Pedrosa) through sixth place (Hayden, Elias, Melandri, Stoner). Stoner was almost as impressive, as his sixth came after missing the pre-season meaning he started his first race on a bike that was well behind in development. With Kawasaki now competitive with race leading machinery and more promise from Suzuki, it’s clear that 2006 will be a far more evenly balanced year of competition. In true never-say-die fashion, Rossi remounted after his first lap crash and finished the race to grab 14th place and two championship points – perhaps a pointer to just how valuable points will be over coming months. Read More
Super-Fast Ducati MotoGP Team tops leaderboard in final pre-season MotoGP tests
Image Gallery (12 images)
March 14, 2006 A few months is a long time in motor racing and Ducati enters the 2006 season with realistic optimisim considering the poor shape its race effort was in just over six months ago. At that time the company’s perpetual superbike crown was all but lost and the MotoGP race machine had not yet blossomed in the way it did in the final races of 2005 before a Capirossi injury ended a string of poles, fastest laps and race winning efforts. Now the company’s fortunes are following on from that showing with continued speed and now two riders capable of challenging Valentino Rossi for a win. Troy Bayliss has put the factory superbike back on top after four races in the 2006 championship and the two MotoGP riders have finished first and second in the final official tests prior to the commencement of hostilities. Both riders are fit and fast and the bike is “smoking.”
Even better news is that Kawasaki’s big spending is paying off (Nakano was third fastest), Suzuki is running at the front with two good riders and a slew of promising new Honda riders have all showed race leading pace. Everyone is in great shape to attempt the impossible, or at very least highly improbable – beating Valentino Rossi and his Yamaha in what everyone accepts will be his last year of MotoGP. Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards experienced tyre difficulties in the final test, but Rossi clearly has what he needs to continue his winning ways. But the big news on the final day of testing was the pace of the Ducati Desmosedici which put Capirossi and Gibernau ahead of everyone, both on race and qualifying tyres, on the final of the three MotoGP test days.
Ducati 2006 MotoGP bike unveiled - 235bhp, 148 kg
Image Gallery (24 images)
January 20, 2006 – At the beginning of each racing season, just before the engines fire in anger for the first time after the Christmas lull, Ducati’s MotoGP team and Ferrari’s Formula One team share an annual appointment on the mountains of Madonna di Campiglio in Trento with a media and ski get-together - the formula of the event revolves around skiing in the mountains together with a round of press meetings and conferences. This year Ducati took the opportunity to pull the wraps off the Desmosedici GP06, the new MotoGP machine that Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau will be campaigning this season. A rare insight into a new MotoGP machine - 235 bhp at 16,500 rpm and a dry weight of just 148 kilograms Read More
Young Guns Set To Load MotoGP Bullets
Image Gallery (29 images)
November 10, 2005 Elite motorcycle racing has many similarities to Formula 1 but it also has many differences, and perhaps the starkest contrast became evident on the Valencia racetrack in Spain yesterday just three days after the last race of the 2005 season. Formula 1 driver changes are major announcements in exotic locations. In MotoGP, all of the rider changes that had been rumoured and spoken of in hushed terms for the previous three months were suddenly on display as the first official test session for 2006 got underway. Honda’s big hope for 2005, Spaniard Sete Gibernau, was riding a Ducati. More significant though was the absence of many of the senior names which have monopolised the key factory rides for the last five years and in their place a half dozen or more new riders who have surfaced though 125, 250 and superbike – Pedrosa, Vermeulen, Stoner, Divizioso, Luthi, De Punier, Kiyonari and Neukirchner were among those who got their first chance on the ultimate racing machines yesterday as the Japanese factories (primarily Honda) made it clear they were seeking the next Valentino Rossi. Extensive image library Read More
MotoGP Qatar: Rossi’s tenth victory secures team title for Gauloises Yamaha
Image Gallery (26 images)
October 2, 2005 Just six days after lifting the MotoGP title with Valentino Rossi in Malaysia, the Gauloises Yamaha Team were celebrating again today as Valentino Rossi’s record-breaking tenth victory of the season secured the Teams’ World Championship at the Qatar Grand Prix. Yamaha is likely to secure the trifecta by winning the constructor’s title at the Australian GP in a fortnight’s time. Once again, Spaniard Sete Gibernau was the front-runner for most of the race, relenting once more when the chequered flag grew near to finally finish fifth. Gibernau has led 111 (32%) of the 347 laps in this year’s 14 races compared to Rossi’s 87 laps (25%) yet Rossi has won ten Gps and a championship compared to Gibernau’s zip and eighth place in the standings. The Spaniard remains the most obviously capable rider other than Rossi and is reportedly negotiating a move from Honda to Ducati for next year. Read More
Rossi takes fifth MotoGP title but Ducati wins
Image Gallery (25 images)
September 26, 2005 Complete report and image library: Valentino Rossi won his fifth consecutive World MotoGP title yesterday afternoon, though the race was won by Ducati-mounted Loris Capirossi who won his second Grand Prix in a week, giving Ducati its best ever MotoGP result when his team-mate Carlos Checa finished third. Having won a 125 and 250 title prior to his string of five consecutive MotoGP titles, Rossi’s championship t-shirt featured a Barry Sheene-style 7, for seven world titles, and a white commemorative helmet was created by AGV for the moment, also with the number 7 on it. Read More
MotoGP Japan: Rossi crashes, Ducati wins
Image Gallery (28 images)
September 18, 2005 Loris Capirossi took the Ducati Desmosedici to its second Grand Prix win at Motegi here today, winning at Honda’s own circuit, and relegating the Honda RC211Vs of Max Biaggi (Repsol) and Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta) into second and third place in front of 68,000 fans. The race was one of massive attrition with nine of the 20 starters failing to finish, among them championship leader Valentino Rossi, and leading contenders Marco Melandri, Alex Barros, Sete Gibernau and Shinya Nakano. For Capirossi, it was a dream weekend – he qualified on pole, half a second faster than anyone else in the field, and a full 1.2 seconds faster than Rossi, prompting the champion elect to pay the ultimate compliment to his friend and countryman when he said after practice, “I think all the riders can only dream about the pace Capirossi had today.” In the race, Capirossi and the Ducati were the best combination on the day and unlike his prior win where he was clearly not as quick as Rossi, this time he would have won the race regardless of Rossi's crash. Congratulations to Loris and Ducati. Read More
MotoGP Brno: Rossi and Yamaha again
Image Gallery (24 images)
August 29, 2005 Gauloises Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi became the first rider in the history of the MotoGP World Championship to score nine wins for five consecutive seasons, as he clinched victory in the eleventh round of the 2005 campaign at Brno yesterday. Rossi’s record-breaking ride featured an intense battle with Sete Gibernau (Honda) that again came down to a dramatic finale, with Rossi making his definitive pass at the end of the penultimate lap. Gibernau tried to fight back but as Rossi edged clear through the final series of sweeping corners, the Spaniard’s slim hope of a victorious response disappeared completely as he suffered a “fuel starvation” problem and was forced to retire. Read More
Team KTM and Team Roberts acrimonious MotoGP split
Image Gallery (10 images)
August 21, 2005 Sadly, black litigious clouds have formed over the MotoGP paddock, specifically directly over the pits of KTM and Team KR, whose interpretations of what their relationship has been until now differ enormously. KTM announced a dissolution of the relationship on August 12, stating it was no longer intending to provide engines for the team’s grand prix effort and was cancelling all its activities with the team. Though it had been no secret that KTM was on the verge of pulling out for some time, Team Roberts has subsequently issued a statement refuting a number of KTM’s claims and claiming that it had been informed of the decision simultaneously with the public announcement. Read both parties' conflicting statements inside. Photo: O.Bergamaschi
MotoGP: Yamaha and Rossi sign for 2006
Image Gallery (21 images)
August 2, 2005 Yamaha Motor and Valentino Rossi signed a contract extension yesterday, ensuring that Valentino will stay with Yamaha for the 2006 MotoGP World Championship. Rossi won the 2004 MotoGP World Championship with Yamaha and is currently competing in his second season with the Japanese manufacturer's factory team. The Italian leads the 2005 MotoGP World Championship by 120 points, following his 8th victory of the season at last weekend's German Grand Prix. Significantly, it was Rossi’s 76th Grand prix victory and moved the 26-year old into equal third place in the all-time victory list alongside the late Mike Hailwood. Rossi rode his victory lap with a flag that read, “Rossi 76, Hailwood 76, I'm sorry Mike,” in deference to Hailwood. Only the greats Angel Nieto (90) and Giacomo Agostini (122) remain for “The Doctor” to conquer should he be able to remain focused for that long given the constant enticements to move to four wheeled motorsport. That said, Rossi’s 76th win last weekend had all the hallmarks of Rossi magic. Read More
British MotoGP: Rossi in a class of his own
Image Gallery (18 images)
July 24, 2005 Gauloises Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi extended his advantage at the top of the MotoGP World Championship to 104 points, with his seventh victory from nine races this season in the British Grand Prix today. The Italian splashed his way through several centimetres of standing water and lashings of torrential rain to clinch his fourth MotoGP win at Donington Park after a treacherous race that saw no fewer than eleven riders crash. Read More
US MotoGP: Hayden leads American 1-2
Image Gallery (21 images)
July 10, 2005 Americans Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards struck a major blow for the sport of motorcycle road racing when they finished 1-2 and demoted the world’s best rider into third spot at the Red Bull United States Grand Prix here today. In showcasing the world’s best motorcycle racing event to the American public, Hayden and Edwards did their home country proud and will surely have enhanced the prospects for greater acceptance and coverage of MotoGP in the world’s biggest and most important motorcycle marketplace. For Hayden, with a career just beginning and a rockstar’s good looks and persona, his first MotoGP win is expected by many to move him into the elite and make him a regular contender for the win. For Rossi, it was business as usual because although he finish in third place, he extended his points lead to 79 points, giving him a three race lead (at 25 points for a win) with nine races remaining in the title chase. Read More
MotoGP: Dutch TT to Rossi and Yamaha
Image Gallery (29 images)
June 26, 2005 Valentino Rossi claimed another win, another record and staked another claim to being the greatest ever when he won the 75th anniversary Gauloises Dutch TT at the famous Assen circuit on Saturday afternoon. In doing so, he became the first Yamaha rider ever to win five consecutive premier-class races and fought off a new challenger to his crown in the form of an ever-improving Marco Melandri. Rossi has always had the ability to find something extra when it counts, but he seems to be regularly performing remarkable feats this year, coming up with several stunners on the weekend to increase his points lead in the 2005 title to 63 points – a buffer of more than two race wins. Read More
