The circuit is now selling tickets Catalunya GP

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Grand Prize entries Aperol de Catalunya MotoGP to be held from 1 to June 3, 2012 at the Circuit de Catalunya, and are available in the usual channels with a 10% discount on the official rate if purchased before March 30.

The pre-sale discount has increased, in 2011 was 5%, and in 2012 is 10% on prices that are stable, with no increases. In this way, you can buy tickets Grand Prix of Catalunya MotoGP Aperol for 45 euros in Pelouse, and from 54 euros (Tribuna N) and up to 108 euros (Tribuna F), as long as they take advantage of the period pre-sales.

Children 5 to 14 years have a 50% discount on the purchase of tickets. Other discounts for holders of Carnet Jove, 20% on any pre-and modality, and for holders of Master RACC, a 10% discount on any pre-and mode up to 4 inputs.

There is also the possibility of funding the inputs of the Gran Premi de Catalunya MotoGP Aperol no interest at 3, 6 or 12 months. Fans interested in applying for funding, may do so by calling 902 810 010.

Channels available for the purchase of tickets

Grand Prize entries Aperol de Catalunya MotoGP can be purchased on the website of Circuit ( www.circuitcat.com ) in ServiCaixa, El Corte Ingles, on Ticketmaster (Carrefour and FNAC) in the offices of the RACC and French channel France Billet and Ticketnet.

New 2012: Platform for Valentino Rossi Fan Club

One of the new Grand Prix will be the "Fan Club Valentino Rossi" has a reserved area in the Tribune C. All Ducati fans can purchase tickets to be in the "Fan Club Valentino Rossi", in areas 5 through 13 of the Tribune C. Circuit de Catalunya. The purchase can be made online through the website of the Circuit.

The fifth of a World full of changes

The Circuit de Catalunya will host the Grand Prix of Catalunya, 2012 fifth round of the MotoGP World, after the Grand Prix of Qatar (Losail), Spain (Jerez), Portugal (Estoril) and France (Le Mans). It will be the first year with all categories renovated under the impulse of Dorna, so to bring more bikes, more riders and more show in the previous categories, the chance to see Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP in action.

The Circuit de Catalunya renewed this contract with Dorna 2011 for the Grand Prix of Catalunya MotoGP until 2016.

source: motocuatro

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Top 10 for Crutchlow at MotorLand Aragón

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The British MotoGP rookie passed Rossi and Aoyama on lap 18 and despite coming under intense pressure from the more experienced duo, he managed to keep them at bay to claim his best result since the Catalunya race in early June. The seven valuable points collected today moved Crutchlow two places up the World Championship rankings into 13th position and he moved back ahead of Karel Abraham in the coveted Rookie of the Year classification.

The race proved to be a difficult affair for Edwards, who struggled to find the right set-up to give him the rear grip he needed to push with his normal confidence. He made more weight distribution modifications to his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine ahead of the race, but the tweaks didn't have the desired effect and he finished in 13th.

Cal Crutchlow:

“I'm really pleased with how the race went today because I was back inside the top and having an enjoyable fight with two of the best riders on the grid, who have had a lot of success in Grand Prix racing. It's a shame I lost a couple of places at the first corner because I'm sure with a better start I could have been battling with Bautista and Hayden. I got on the inside on the dirty part of the track and when I braked, I locked the front wheel and nearly crashed. What pleases me the most is that I could make up for the lack of speed on the straight in the corners because the Yamaha handles brilliantly and my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team gave me a really good bike today. But to hold off Valentino and Hiroshi at the end took a massive effort. I think if they'd started the final lap in front of me on the straight it would have been hard for me to slipstream. There are a lot of positives to take from this weekend because I've got back in the top 10 on a track I'd never seen before and beaten two guys with a lot more experience than me. I gained a lot of experience today riding with Valentino and that has given me a lot of confidence for the next few races.”

Colin Edwards:

“That certainly wasn't a great way to celebrate my 150th race in MotoGP. We tried to get the bike right all weekend but we were pretty much chasing our tails the whole time. We were trying to improve the rear grip to compensate for the speed we lose on the straight and for the race we altered the weight distribution again. We put a lot of weight on the rear but it never really worked. After about five laps the grip just went down and I wasn't expecting it to drop off that quickly. Once that happened I couldn't stay in that group I was in and I just went backwards. If somebody gave me 10 million Euros to do a 1.51 right now, there is no way I could do it. The last two races have been pretty tough, so we'll get our heads together and try and come up with a solution for Japan and aim to be fighting back in the top 10 where I have been all season.”

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team press release

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Lorenzo takes his first Aragón Grand Prix podium

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After dropped from fourth on the grid in the early laps, the reigning World Champion gradually picked up the pace, running well under his qualifying time to gradually reel in the front runners. By lap 10 he had caught both his team mate Ben Spies and Marco Simoncelli, passing them both to take third which he held to the line. The results mean the gap to Championship leader Stoner has now increased again to 44 with four races remaining of the season.

Fellow Yamaha Factory Racing rider Spies had probably his best start of the season so far, shooting off the line to outride both Stoner and Dani Pedrosa for the lead into turn one. Having then dropped to third the Texan was maintaining a gap to fourth, scoring the third fastest lap of the race on lap four with a 1’49.593. A dramatic drop off in grip on the sixth lap then affected his pace. He was passed by team mate Lorenzo and then Simoncelli, dropping to fifth place. The result sees Spies retain fifth in the Championship standings, now 24 points behind Pedrosa in fourth as they head to Motegi next week.

Jorge Lorenzo: 

“We struggled a lot from the beginning of the race, losing positions and having to recover step by step. We couldn’t get more than a podium; that is the best result we could get today! I didn’t have confidence in the rear and it is impossible to catch Dani on this track. It's a pity, but at least I got the podium I couldn't get last year. We are still fighting for the Championship and that's the most important thing, we are going to Japan with hope still alive."

Ben Spies: 

“I knew the start wasn’t going to last long the way Casey and Dani were riding but I felt pretty good in the beginning. Even when we got to the fourth or fifth lap I thought our advantage to fourth place was growing. I felt really comfortable and thought we had a podium fight in us. Then the sixth or seventh lap the tyre just made a huge drop and just kept going down. Usually they make one drop then stay consistent. I had no confidence in the rear and no grip. I’m frustrated as before that we were riding well and the bike was working great.”

Massimo Meregalli - Team Director: 

“The drop in temperature this afternoon probably compromised the work we’ve done up to this morning in set up. Ben really couldn’t do more because the rear tyre was really bad after just a few laps. Jorge achieved the best result possible, I think he did good job and thinking about the final championship standings, third place is still a good result. For sure it doesn’t make it so easy but we’ll keep going to the end.”

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

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Determined ride seals fourth for Simoncelli

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Marco Simoncelli faced a difficult task in today's race at Aragon from the moment his tyre performance began to drop after ten laps, up to which point “Super Sic” had put together what looked like a strong podium challenge. A subsequent mistake also hampered his cause but Marco was able to fight back and repeat his excellent result from Misano two weeks ago. Hiroshi Aoyama produced a stirring performance in hand to hand combat with Valentino Rossi and Cal Crutchlow, which should fill him with confidence ahead of his home round in Japan.

I am pleased with this result – we had to grit our teeth and I'm sure that even without the mistake I wouldn't have been challenging for the podium anyway. Lorenzo was faster than me on used tyres so no complaints there. I didn't get a great start but I managed to get into my rhythm quickly and make some passes to get up to third place. From the tenth lap onwards the tyres really dropped off and then again after another five laps, although Spies was in even worse shape than me so I was able to fight back to fourth.”

Marco Simoncelli: 

I am pleased with this result – we had to grit our teeth and I'm sure that even without the mistake I wouldn't have been challenging for the podium anyway. Lorenzo was faster than me on used tyres so no complaints there. I didn't get a great start but I managed to get into my rhythm quickly and make some passes to get up to third place. From the tenth lap onwards the tyres really dropped off and then again after another five laps, although Spies was in even worse shape than me so I was able to fight back to fourth.”

Hiroshi Aoyama: 

It was a nice race and a fun battle with Rossi and Crutchlow. The final position isn't great but I am happy with the way I rode in difficult conditions, with much less grip than yesterday which made it tough. Valentino, Cal and I passed each other a few times and it was great fun. Now I am hoping to put up a much stronger performance at our home GP.”

San Carlo Honda Gresini press release.

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Abraham taken for checks after bike hits helmet

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MotoGP rookie Karel Abraham was taken to hospital for checks after a nasty accident on the first lap of Sunday's Aragon Grand Prix (see below for further pictures).

The Cardion AB Ducati rider, eighth and the top non-factory bike rider in qualifying, fell after contact with another competitor and was then struck on the helmet by the rear wheel of his Desmosedici.

Conscious but complaining of a headache, the 21-year-old was taken to hospital, where he passed a series of medical checks. 

Nevertheless, Abraham will remain under observation in hospital.

source: crash

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Bautista battles to an exciting sixth at his home Grand Prix

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Starting from 11th on the grid, Bautista got boxed in on the first corner and was lucky to avoid a crash between two other riders, but by the end of the first lap the hard-charging Spaniard had moved up to eighth position. He then got involved in a nearly race long battle with the Ducatis of Hector Barbera and Nicky Hayden as the three of them traded places many times throughout the race, before Bautista got the better of the pair and made a break in the latter stages to secure sixth place.

Álvaro Bautista: 

“Today we had very different conditions from the practice and the temperature was much lower. I wanted to have a good race in front of my home fans, so I pushed as hard as I could to make the bike and tyres work right from the beginning, but I didn’t get a good start and other riders got in my way in the first corner and it was quite difficult to overtake early on. I got up to Hector and Nicky we had a big battle and fought a lot between us and when I got into sixth the riders in front were very far away and I was still fighting with the other two, so I couldn’t get a good rhythm. In the last laps I made a break from the other two and was able to ride more consistently and smoother and pull away to secure the sixth place. It was a good result, but I think if the conditions had been the same as qualifying we had the potential to be with the group fighting for podium positions. I am happy with all we have done this weekend and looking forward to the next race and to continue with this work.”

Rizla Suzuki press release.

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Faultless race for winning Stoner

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Casey Stoner claimed another victory at the MotorLand circuit on Sunday, giving the Australian his eighth win of the season and Repsol Honda their 100th win. The important vicoty puts the Australian 44 points clear of defending World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing). Dani Pedrosa finished the round in second place behind his team mate, while Lorenzo made his way to the final podium spot.

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) finished 6 seconds behind Lorenzo to take fourth, a strong finish for the Italian considering he ran off the track on his first attempt at passing the YZR-M1 of Ben Spies on lap 9. The Yamaha rider had a great start off the outside of the first row, leading into turn one in front of fellow front row starters Stoner and Pedrosa, but the two Honda riders got past him by lap two, and the American finally finished the race in fifth place.

Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) finished in sixth off an eleventh place start, passing Hayden (Ducati Team) on lap 10 and holding the position to the finish line. The American and Héctor Barberá had a scrap for seventh, with the Hayden passing the Mapfre Aspar ride on the penultimate lap.

Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) finished ninth, ahead of Valentino Rossi who started his Ducati Team machine from pit lane, and Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) in 11th.

Randy De Puniet started from tenth, then ran off the track on the first lap, finally finishing in 12th position, ahead of the final finisher of the race, Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3)

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) crashed out of the race on the first lap, as did eight place starter Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing), while Loris Capirossi (Pramac Racing) and Toni Elías (LCR Honda) collided on lap 15.

source: motogp official website

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Aragon MotoGP: Team orders not a factor, says Ben Spies

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Ben Spies says he doesn’t expect team orders to come into play during tomorrow’s Motorland Aragon race after he outpaced factory Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo in qualifying.

Spies will start tomorrow’s 23-lap race from third place on the grid, with a lap of 1.49.155 securing him his fourth front row start of 2011.

Lorenzo though was only fourth fastest and he’s struggled all weekend to match the pace of championship rival Casey Stoner, who will start from pole position for the ninth time this season.

Lorenzo clocked a best time of 1.49.270 to finish 0.819s behind Aussie Stoner, as he missed the front row for only the fourth time in 14 races.

The Spaniard goes into tomorrow’s race trailing Stoner by 35-points with only five rounds remaining, but Texan Spies said team orders had not even been discussed at Yamaha.

Controversial team orders have not been enforced at Repsol Honda after Dani Pedrosa passed Stoner late in the last race in Misano to take four points away from the 2007 world champion.

Spies also caught and passed Lorenzo for third in Indianapolis last month and the 2009 World Superbike champion said: “For me there’s been no team orders. We saw that at Indy when I passed Jorge. In Misano, Dani (Pedrosa) was able to pass Casey at the end and that’s racing and the way it should be.

"When a championship is won because somebody let somebody else beat them then I don’t like it so much. But I haven’t heard anything and I don’t plan on riding any differently. Whoever is in front of me I’ll be trying to pass them.”

source: MCN

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Aragon MotoGP: Valentino Rossi to start from pitlane

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Valentino Rossi will start tomorrow’s Motorland Aragon MotoGP race from the pitlane having opted to go over his engine allocation after a disastrous qualifying session.

Rossi will use a seventh engine tomorrow after qualifying in 13th place, a decision which means he will have to start the race from the pitlane, 10 seconds after the red lights have gone out to start the race.

Rossi has been forced to exceed his allocation of six engines for the entire season because of his decision to run a new aluminium frame this weekend.

The frame required modifications to the engine because if the way it was mounted differently to the carbon fibre chassis Rossi has been using.

The Desmosedici bike Rossi started practice on this morning was already his sixth of the season.

He then crashed in the early stages of qualifying, though he waited for his mechanics to repair that bike instead of going out on his spare GP11.1

Had he done so, that would have meant him using his seventh motor. But having only qualified in a lowly 13th place with a best time of 1.49.960, Rossi has decided to use the extra engine and incur the penalty here rather than at a future race.

The 32-year-old, who was 1.509s behind pole-setter Casey Stoner, said: “We expected more from this afternoon because this morning wasn't so bad. With the race tyre at the start of the practice I wasn't so far from the other guys.

"I don't think I deserve the 13th place because we were also unlucky because I had a crash unfortunately.

"I was one metre more on the inside and unfortunately when I touched the throttle I lose the front. That’s happened a lot of times this year and we have to understand something in the weight distribution to avoid this problem.

"With the softer tyre I was a little bit faster in T1 and maybe I can make a better lap time but I made a mistake unfortunately. Now we have to start from 13th and the seventh position is very close. This was reachable.

"For tomorrow we can use the seventh engine and start from the pits. Unfortunately to have two bikes in aluminium we have to use another engine because the aluminium parts was suitable for the engine of Misano, but the other bike had an older engine and it is not possible.

"I think to understand and for development for next year, it's better to have two bikes the same. It becomes more difficult, and it is a pity because with the race tyre we are not so far behind.

"We waited because we wanted to understand if we could reach a good position on the grid, but starting 13th or from the pits doesn't change a lot for me.”

source: MCN

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Bautista with work to do at home Grand Prix

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Rizla Suzuki’s Spanish racer Álvaro Bautista has a lot of work to do at the start of tomorrow’s Aragon Grand Prix in Spain after qualifying 11th this afternoon.

Bautista (1’49.883, 26 laps) will start from the middle of the fourth row after he was unable to capitalise on the promise that he showed in the early stages of this afternoon’s qualifying session. He had been as high as fourth in the classification with about a quarter of the session left, but was unable to maintain that position and will now have to make a good start tomorrow to get up amongst the front pack in the early part of the race.

Today’s qualifying was held in mixed weather conditions, from bright sunshine to overcast and humid, with track temperatures reaching 41ºC. Current World Championship leader Casey Stoner recorded his ninth pole position of the season, a feat that equals the record of the most poles in a season by an individual rider in the current MotoGP four-stroke era – currently held by Stoner in 2008 and Valentino Rossi in 2003.

Tomorrow’s race is the 14th round on the 2011 calendar and the 23-laps of action will get underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).

Álvaro Bautista:

“I am not happy with the position because we are too far back, but all the lap-times are very close and I am only just over three tenths from the second row, so that shows how close it is. I did a lot of laps on the harder tyre and after I had done a race distance it started to slide a little bit, but I think this was the same for most of the riders. At the end with the softer tyre I improved my lap-time, but I made a mistake on the last two laps and couldn’t improve enough to get a better position on the grid. Tomorrow I will try to make a good start and get past as many riders as possible in the first laps. I think if I can get a good start and stay with the second group – Stoner and Pedrosa are very strong and will probably pull away – then I think I can battle with that group. I will push to the limit to get a good position and fight all the way tomorrow!”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:

“Eleventh is below our expectation and also below the potential of the bike and rider package, and we still need to find a little bit of an extra spark in qualifying to get up towards the second row. That all said, we’ve had some of our best races from the fourth row of the grid and tomorrow is going to be a big challenge for all the riders to maintain a consistent rhythm over race distance. I think we are in good shape to put in a strong performance and improve dramatically over the qualifying result in tomorrow’s race.”

source: Rizla Suzuki press release

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Poor top speed hurts Tech 3 riders

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The long back straight at Aragon proved particularly punishing for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 riders Cal Crutchlow and Colin Edwards, who were slowest in terms of top speed during Saturday's qualifying session.

Although just a few KPH slower than factory Yamaha riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies, Crutchlow and Edwards were respectively 10.5 and 10.2km/h slower than Hector Barbera's Ducati (321 km/h).

Rookie Crutchlow qualified in 12th place and, despite the disadvantage, was only 0.2sec from seventh on the grid Nicky Hayden (Ducati).

“I don't think 12th place on the grid really reflects just how well myself and the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team have been performing this weekend," Crutchlow said. "I've come to a new track and pretty much lost a session with all of yesterday's power problems and yet another couple of tenths would have put me in the top six on the grid.

"It is going to be difficult because we've got a bit of a speed issue on the straight," he confessed. "I'm really strong in three sections of the track but in the last sector I'm a long way down the split times and that makes it quite difficult. It is not going to be easy to pass people but I'll get my head down and push as hard as I can to do the best job possible."

Edwards will start just 15th on the grid, having been 0.2sec slower than Crutchlow.

“That was a hard session to say the least and starting my 150th MotoGP race from 15th on the grid certainly wasn't in the plan," said the Texan. "We've gone from qualifying seventh in Misano to 15th, so it is clear we've had a few issues this weekend. One is the bike isn't the fastest out there and I've not got a lot of rear grip. 

"The moment I touch the throttle the rear tyre spins, and that combined with the engine means we simply aren't fast enough. I guess we've got to back to the drawing board tonight and see if we can come up with something, but it is going to be a tough race."

source: crash

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Barberá confident race pace will produce results

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MAPFRE Aspar rider Hector Barberá made an improvement of six tenths from one session to the next despite struggling with rear grip issues in some sections of the circuit. The Spaniard lines up fourteenth on the grid despite lapping just 1.525 seconds off Stoner's pole record time.

With ideas for further improvements to make to his Ducati before tomorrow's warm-up and minimal differences between the riders' best laps today, Barberá knows he is more than capable of a strong showing at his third home race of the 2011 campaign.

Héctor Barberá:

"Qualifying did not go as well as we'd hoped. MotorLand was a good circuit for me last year and we have improved our lap times in comparison, but a lot of other riders made massive strides. I was struggling a little bit in the changes of direction and the bike was sliding around quite a lot under acceleration. It is a shame because I am only a couple of tenths off seventh place but I'll be lining up in fourteenth. The lap times are close and we'll keep working tonight to try and improve the set-up for the race. It is a bittersweet taste and I don't like to be so far back, but on the other hand I am satisfied that I gave it my all. The race pace looks good, I was just missing a quicker lap to get me further up the grid."

MAPFRE Aspar press release.

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Valentino Rossi breaks engine limit, pit lane start

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Valentino Rossi will start Sunday's Aragon Grand Prix from the pit lane after exceeding the six engines (per rider) limit for the 2011 MotoGP season. 

Rossi has been forced to take the penalty not because of reliability problems with his Ducati engines, but because the numerous chassis developments introduced to try and improving the GP11's handling have required different engine mountings. 

Unlike the Japanese bikes, the Ducati engine is a fully 'stressed' part of the bike - the front and rear chassis sections literally bolt onto the engine itself. That means the mounting points are especially important in terms of handling. 

The GP11 has undergone several major modifications, culminating in a change from carbon-fibre to aluminium for the front section of Rossi's bike at Aragon. 

Some of those chassis 'steps' have been incompatible with previous engines, forcing Ducati to keep 'opening' new engines well before the mileage limit has been reached. 

Having qualified just 13th after a crash at Aragon, Rossi and Ducati have decided to take the penalty for opening a seventh engine now - for use on his spare bike - rather than risk having to abandon a more competitive qualifying at a future event. 

The penalty means Rossi will start the Aragon Grand Prix from pit lane, 10 seconds after the official start of the race. 

“I must say that we were a little unfortunate today, because I think we had good potential and that we deserved something better," said Rossi of qualifying. 

"However, I'm 13th, and at this point we'll use our seventh engine and start from pit lane, as the new [aluminium] front chassis part only works with the engine we used at Misano. 

"Unfortunately, although we have two engines that are nearly new and probably would have let us make it to the end of the season, we aren't able to use them.

"Anyway, we made this decision looking forward, and we've started working in what we think is a good direction, though of course we're on our first step, with a lot more left to do.” 

The seven time MotoGP champion will not face another penalty unless he opens an eighth engine. 

After Sunday's race there are four more grands prix before the end of the 2011 season, which has turned ever more into an extended test session for Rossi and Ducati. 

The only other rider to have been penalised for exceeding a MotoGP engine limit is Loris Capirossi, at Phillip Island in 2009, when he was a Suzuki rider 

The tail-end of the 2009 season was used as a trial run for the rules that exist today, with a maximum of five engine changes allowed for each rider during the final seven rounds. 

At that time, the punishment for any extra engines was different: Capirossi was demoted to the back of the grid, while Suzuki incurred a ten point penalty in the constructors' championship. 

For 2010 the punishment was changed to a delayed pit lane start - of which Rossi is the first to suffer. Suzuki are now allowed nine engines per year, rather than the six per rider for all other manufacturers. 

source: crash

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Second and third row for Simoncelli and Aoyama at Aragón

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It was a positive session overall for the Italian rider, although there is still work to do if he is to stand any chance of chasing Stoner and Pedrosa at the front. There is no shortage of confidence in the team, with Aoyama qualifying in an encouraging ninth place.

Marco Simoncelli: 

“I’m sure I could have gone faster but on my best lap I was held up by Pedrosa, who had just come onto the track. It's a shame, and then I wasn't quite able to improve with the second soft tyre because of a couple of mistakes. The front two are a little far ahead at the moment, but with a couple of small changes we can be fighting for third place. We slightly improved the grip issues we encountered yesterday but I think this is a common problem from everybody. The thing that is setting us back the most at the moment is fuel consumption because of my size and we need to find something to reduce this problem for the race. I have faith in the guys and I am sure they will do a good job tomorrow.“

Hiroshi Aoyama: 

”I am happy with ninth place in qualifying because it represents our best grid position of the season. We improved the bike from this morning and had a good balance and feeling this afternoon. Obviously the race will be different to qualifying but I am confident it can be a good one for us. Now I just want to focus on the race and make the right choices together with the team, especially regarding the predicted lower track temperatures.”

San Carlo Honda Gresini press release.

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Stoner shatters lap record to take pole, Pedrosa second, Dovizioso fifth

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After a difficult day yesterday at the Alcañiz track, when FP2 was cancelled due to an electrical short, all three Repsol Honda riders made the most of today's longer morning session. In the afternoon when track temperatures were 12 degrees higher than the morning, Stoner, Pedrosa and Dovizioso fine tuned their machines for an intense final twenty minutes of qualifying.

Following a cautious first lap on the softer tyres, Stoner narrowly escaped impact with the safety barrier. He was able to return to the pits in time and on his second bike he recorded a new lap record of 1'48.451 almost five tenths faster than his record set here in 2010 of 1'48.942. It is Stoner's ninth pole of the season and second year in succession at the Aragón circuit.

Alongside him on the front row is team mate Dani Pedrosa who set a time of 1'48.747. Pedrosa, fresh from his second place finish in Misano two weeks ago will be looking to continue his strong end to the season. Dovizioso, starting from the second row, wasn't able to put together a perfect flying lap, but he is confident with his race pace he will be able to fight for the podium.

Tomorrow at the circuit, the Repsol Honda bikes and riders will have a special 'look' created by Spanish designer David Delfin. The new design has been inspired by superheroes and supermen and incorporates David Delfin's trademark typography to give the team a unique personality for the Aragón GP which will start at 14:00 local time.

Casey Stoner:

"It was a very eventful qualifying session for us! Everything has been going very well this weekend, we have a good feeling with the bike and I'm feeling great. At the end of the session we put on the soft tyre and on the first lap I was a little too cautious in Turn 1 as I wasn't sure if the tyres were warm enough, then I pushed on the second lap and I had a lot more grip than I expected so I went through the corner much faster and I wasn't able to slow down, I pulled the bike up but it was difficult to reduce the speed and I ended up needing to lay the bike down to avoid the wall. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to restart the bike which is a shame as I was happier on that one, but even on the second bike we were able to improve our time. Now we need to see what the weather brings for tomorrow but we're feeling good and I hope for a good race.”

Dani Pedrosa:

"I'm happy with the first row on the grid. I've pushed to the limit to get a good position and we achieved it, but to be honest we still need to tune the set up of the bike a little, especially in front because I don't feel as comfortable as I'd like to and I'm struggling a little under braking. For the race pace, Casey is quicker than us, he is riding very fast and smooth, so I guess he will set the pace tomorrow and we will need to stay close from the beginning of the race. I'm still not 100% sure about the tyre choice; the tyres are suffering especially on the left side. In principal, the medium compound should be the right one for the distance, but we need to wait and see how the weather is. Let's hope we can find something else on the setting tonight and have a good race in front of the Spanish fans."

Andrea Dovizioso: 

"I’m quite satisfied with this qualifying session as we have a good race pace but Casey is so strong and seems unbeatable. We’ll do our best to strengthen our position in the Championship and we want to fight Dani’s comeback and gain some points on Lorenzo. During qualifying I didn’t do a perfect fast lap, but starting from the second row is not so bad. We will continue working on the set up because the main issue remains the tyre wear on the rear. The key point of the race will be managing the tyres because with these hot temperatures and this kind of asphalt, the tyres suffer a lot; I expect that we’ll all race with the hard tyre. Concerning the race I aim to make a good start and maintain the contact with the front group.”

Repsol Honda press release.

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Spies secures front row in Aragón

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Spies improved consistently over the weekend, coinciding with an increase in grip level on the Spanish circuit. A small crash in the extended final practice this morning resulted in no injuries, the Texan finishing in sixth place 1.104 seconds from first. A set up change mid-qualifying brought another step, enabling him to deliver third place and close the gap to pole to 0.704 seconds.

Reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo left his fastest times to later in the session, battling a lack of rear grip to deliver fourth place for tomorrow’s race, 0.819 seconds from Championship rival Casey Stoner on pole. The Mallorcan rider was less then happy with the final result and will continue to work overnight with his crew to make another step for morning warm up.

Ben Spies: 

“The whole weekend has been pretty good for me, I’m pretty happy with it. We struggled a little bit this morning but the bike’s working really well. We looked over a bit of data and tried to find the best compromise. We found it with 30 minutes to go in qualifying and with the race tyres we were about third or fourth quickest. When we put the softer tyres on we were able to go quicker and get on the front row. The crew has done an amazing job to get the bike where it is, we’re just lacking a bit of speed from the front two guys. We’re going to try and challenge for the podium tomorrow.”

Jorge Lorenzo: 

“We struggled here last year and we are here struggling again this year, maybe even more. We have many problems with rear grip; we are not getting enough traction to be really fast. Tomorrow I think the maximum we can get is third place on the podium unless something very strange happens so that is the goal we have. The long straight is not the best for us but in the corners we are also a bit slower than the others so we must find something.”

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

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De Puniet just misses third row after promising run

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A frustrated Randy De Puniet will start from tenth position, after seeing third on the time sheet just a few laps from the end of the qualifying session. The Frenchman posted a 1’49.826 using a hard compound tire, but wasn’t able to improve on that time after switching to a softer tire.

Loris Capirossi continues to gain confidence at the Motorland circuit, having improved his best time in the first free practice by more than three seconds .The MotoGP veteran will start the race on Sunday from the sixth row.

Marco Rigamonti - Randy De Puniet Track Engineer:

“It’s a pity, because we did a good time with the hard tire. Randy made a few mistakes with the soft tire and then told us he could have cut off at least three tenths. We could have started from the third or even the second row! Anyway, the important thing is to start well tomorrow, in the race. The race pace is good, as is the rider’s feeling with the bike.”

Randy De Puniet:

“It’s a shame how things went, but that’s how it goes. I gave my all both this morning and this afternoon. I’m tenth, just a few tenths from the sixth and seventh positions. I wasn’t able to do a lap like I needed with the soft tire - my best time was set with the hard compound. I would have liked to start from the third row, but anyway, my starting spot isn’t so terrible. I’m convinced that I can have a good race.”

Loris Capirossi:

“What a nice track, and even if the results suggest otherwise, I was able to improve my time quite a bit. Having one less session hurt us a little more than the other riders, who already knew the track. I’m sure that tomorrow I’ll manage to further lower my time, and since we’re all very close, anything can happen. For being here for the first time, it didn’t go so badly.”

Pramac Racing Team press release

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Stoner blitzes Aragón qualifying

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With the afternoon warming up at the Motorland circuit, the MotoGP field set out into the one hour qualifying with Repsol Honda taking the first two spots on the grid.

Casey Stoner broke the 1’49 barrier and set a new lap record with 13 minutes to go to before running off into the gravel and tipping over - a minor get off, but causing enough problems to warrant the Australian using his second bike for the remaining minutes of the qualifying. With 5 minutes remaining, the Championship leader took two more tenths out of his provisional pole lap to seal the front row spot with a 1’48.451.

A late push from Pedrosa to challenge for the pole position ended with him running off the track and unable to better his time of 1'48.747, though that time set on his penultimate lap was quick enough to grant him a front row start next to his team mate.

Yamaha Factory’s Ben Spies was unfazed by a crash he had in the morning session and posted a lap four tenths off that of Pedrosa to take the last spot on the front row, while defending World Champion Jorge Lorenzo followed just a tenth off his team mate to head up the second row.

The third Repsol Honda man, Andrea Dovizioso, ranked fifth in the outing and was the last rider within a second of leading man Stoner, with Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) again following his fellow countryman and rival in times, this outing by a margin of 0.156 seconds.

Nicky Hayden, who was on the podium here last year with Ducati, landed seventh on the grid, ahead of rookie Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) and San Carlo Honda Gresini man Hiroshi Aoyama completing the third row.

Randy De Puniet, who had jumped to the third spot in the timings just before running off into the gravel, finished the session in tenth position, while Valentino Rossi crashed 15 minutes into the session, returning to the outing with 30 minutes to go and setting a best time of 1'49.960 to start 13th on the grid.

source: MotoGP official website

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Stoner leads the way at Aragón

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The Saturday morning outing at the Motorland circuit began in cooler temperatures than the extreme heat of the day before, a difference that was especially welcome since the session was extended to 75 minutes following the cancellation of the premier class’ second session on Friday.

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) was the fastest rider out of the box, but it was Casey Stoner who quickly overtook the top spot to move under the lap record with an hour still remaining in the session. The Australian’s best time of a1’49.272 was a second and a half faster than his time set in the single practice session of the day before.

Pedrosa, who had been the quickest rider on Friday, followed his team mate with a time of 1’49.334, a nine tenths improvement for the Spaniard. Pramac Racing’s Randy de Puniet followed up his good performance of the day with an even better performance to rank third in the session, his time of 1’50.003 making him the fastest Ducati of the weekend yet.

In fourth was Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), who followed De Puniet by a margin of 0.136s, while Simoncelli ended the session 0.058s behind his fellow compatriot.

Yamaha Factory’s Ben Spies ranked sixth in the meet, and despite a crash in turn 2 with 20 minutes remaining, the American returned to set a time of 1’50.376 on his third to the last lap. Álvaro Bautista followed in seventh with a 1'50.422, nearly a two second improvement for the Rizla Suzuki rider, while Jorge Lorenzo only made a three tenths improvement on his time with a 1'50.444 to rank him eighth.

Valentino Rossi advanced by over a second with a time of 1'50.484 to put him ninth, with team mate Nicky Hayen taking the tenth spot with a time of 1'50.567, a margin of 1.295s over leading man Stoner.

source: motogp official website

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Ducati Team with extra work to do

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Valentino Rossi will continue with the updated front frame he tested in the morning session, using the extended Saturday morning session - taking place from 9:35 to 10:50 - to set up his GP11.1 with the new part. The Italian was eighth in the first practice of the weekend, while team mate Nicky Hayden finished the day in seventh. The American lost some time in the morning session, but despite the set back, is optimistic that he can continue working in the promising direction that he and his team found with his setup.

Nicky Hayden: 

“We had a little problem at the start of this morning’s session, and I had to come directly back to the garage and lost a bit of time. I started well behind the others, but actually, compared to the last few races, it wasn’t bad once we got going. I think I was the only guy who used the same rear tyre the whole session, and I was able to click off three 51s there at the end. I was looking forward to riding this afternoon, but unfortunately it was cancelled. I hope they get it sorted out overnight, as it wasn’t good for anybody, but there’s no need to dwell on it. Hopefully we can keep it rolling tomorrow, because it’s a nice track. It’s definitely a little bit bumpier than last year, and not really grippy, but I like the layout.”

Valentino Rossi: 

“I don’t think it’s ever happened before that we couldn’t do a session because the electricity was out! Joking aside, it’s really a shame. For us it was important to test normally instead of just having a long session tomorrow, because you still lose a quarter of an hour in total, and the type of work that you can do is different, more limited. Anyway, we’ll continue with the bike with the updated front frame because the feeling is the same as when I tried it the first time, so it’s worthwhile to continue down this path. We don’t know this track as well as Mugello, and that means we have extra setup work to do, although it’s nothing too major. We must also find more rear grip because it was sliding a lot today.”

Ducati Team press release

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