Texas lands MotoGP from 2013

Tuesday, 12 April 2011

Ten-year deal signed for new Circuit of the Americas™ in Austin includes the three classes of the MotoGP World Championship.

Dorna Sports, S.L., 3FourTexasMGP, LLC and Full Throttle Productions, LP are pleased to announce the historic signing of a ten-year contract bringing MotoGP to the new Circuit of the Americas™ facility in Austin, Texas, from 2013.

This agreement includes the three categories of the World Championship; the MotoGP class - the pinnacle of motorcycling - Moto2 and Moto3.

The addition of a ten-year MotoGP deal is coupled with the already scheduled ten-year deal to host the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™, for which the Circuit of the Americas™ in Austin, Texas is currently under construction.

Mr. Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, S.L. said: “We are delighted to be adding the Circuit of the Americas™ to the MotoGP calendar. It’s an honour to expand our Championship to Texas, which has a rich history of producing World Championship riders. We have had a wonderful and special relationship with Kevin (Schwantz) for 20 years and often talked about a mutual dream of increasing the popularity of MotoGP in the U.S. and raising our already successful worldwide profile. Now, with what Tavo Hellmund (Managing Partner of Full Throttle Productions) is doing in Austin, we have realised that situation and are looking forward to this new venture together. The ten-year agreement is a sign of our confidence and commitment to the future success of MotoGP racing in Austin.”

“For me this is a dream come true, that the MotoGP World Championship will be in my home state of Texas. I am such a believer in the sport and know how popular motorcycling is in Texas. I am sure that this will be a resounding long term success,” stated Mr. Kevin Schwantz, Manager of 3FourTexas MGP and LLC, and the 1993 FIM MotoGP World Champion.

Mr. Hellmund, who has worked hard to bring MotoGP to Texas, stated: “We are extremely pleased to add the best motorcycle World Championship to our annual schedule. This is a fantastic opportunity for the State of Texas and this region and I believe it is the first time in American Motorsports history that both the car and motorbike World Championships are held at the same facility annually. We are very proud of becoming the United States international facility for motorsports.”

“Kevin and I have been close friends for a long time and I enjoy a great relationship with Carmelo. I respect so much what they (Dorna) and the FIM have done for MotoGP globally. It’s going to be great for the State, the product is fantastic and you never know, we may even have a reigning Texan in Ben Spies as World Champion for our first event… that would be icing on the cake” concluded Mr. Hellmund.

Construction of the new facility is progressing well and is scheduled for completion sometime in mid 2012, in time for the first Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™.

Hayden completes GP12 Test at Jerez

The Ducati Team rider participated in the first track Test of the Desmosedici GP12, riding on Saturday after team-mate Valentino Rossi had done so the previous day.

Nicky Hayden first run with the Ducati Desmosedici GP12

The final day of testing at Jerez de la Frontera did not get started until 1pm local time on Saturday, due to unfavourable weather conditions that greeted the Ducati Team on its arrival at the circuit. High humidity that bordered on rain made riding on the track impractical until lunchtime, when the sun came out and thoroughly dried the asphalt.

Nicky Hayden was therefore able to try the GP12, just as his team-mate Valentino Rossi had done on Friday, and he quickly made up for lost time, lapping almost continuously until he had completed 61 laps.

“When I woke up this morning, the sky was really grey and the track was completely wet,” said Hayden. “I was pretty disappointed. I didn’t think we’d be able to do anything because it wouldn’t have made sense to waste a day testing in those conditions. The situation got better and better though, and after lunch I was able to put on my leathers. I couldn’t wait to ride, and it was worth the wait.”

“It’s an honour to be able to participate in the first track test of the GP12 because it doesn’t happen very often that you get to ride a bike on the track for the first time: it’s a special feeling. Everything went well, and we didn’t have a single problem. The motor is really nice to use, and I had a lot of fun riding the bike. I hope I gave some useful feedback to Filippo and the boys. I know they’ll be working on this bike while we go back to focusing on the next race, because this season has just started.”

“First of all, I’d like to thank everyone at Ducati,” said Filippo Preziosi. “Thanks to their hard work and expertise, it was possible to carry out three days of trouble-free testing and complete nearly a thousand kilometres with the GP12 on its track debut. Having received consistent feedback about the bike from four different riders puts us in a position to efficiently continue the development process, because we can prioritise the work we have left to carry out.”

Excerpt Permintaaf Sorry Rossi To Stoner After Racing At Jerez

Sport News - Casey Stoner reap failure rates in Jerez is not free from mistakes made ​​by Valentino Rossi. Both were involved in a conversation after the race. What?

In the race in Jerez, a reporter witnessed the entire process detikSport Andi A Sururi of locations on Sunday (03/04/2011), Stoner and Rossi involved duel on lap 8.

It was Rossi tried to overtake Stoner from the inside corner, to occupy the second position.However, the effort was not perfect and Rossi fell off the motorcycle.

The incident was then negatively affect the right to Stoner is on the left side of Rossi. Join Stoner fell off the bike.

After the fall, Rossi was able to continue the race and even finish in the top five positions. While Stoner's fate is far worse because they can not continue so that the hollow figure.

Immediately after the race, the Ducati rider who feel guilty and then search for Stoner to the Honda pit. There Rossi was involved in talks with Stoner, after both seen shaking hands.

Cal Cruthclow : Balapan Terhebat Sepanjang Hidupnya

Sport News - Cal Crutchlow baru melakoni dua seri dalam kariernya di MotoGP. Namun, dia merasa MotoGP Spanyol akhir pekan lalu adalah balapan "tergila" sepanjang hidupnya.

Crutchlow adalah debutan dalam kompetisi MotoGP musim ini. Dia direkrut oleh tim Monster Yamaha Tech 3 untuk menggantikan posisi Ben Spies yang hijrah ke tim utama Yamaha.

Start dari posisi kesembilan, Crutchlow sempat masuk lima besar, namun terjatuh pada lap ke-12. Dia tak menyerah dan mampu melanjutkan balapan. Kegagalan Ben Spies dan Colin Edwards melanjutkan balapan akhirnya membuat pembalap Inggris ini finish di peringkat kedelapan.

"Ini adalah balapan tergila yang pernah saya ikuti selama hidup saya," cetus Crutchlow, di situs resmi MotoGP.

"Itu adalah balapan yang panjang, 27 lap. Itu sangat menghibur karena semuanya terjadi," sambung pembalap 25 tahun itu.

"Saya terjatuh tapi juga finish kedelapan, di mana itu satu tingkat lebih baik daripada saatstart. Itu tak terlalu buruk," ujarnya.

Crutchlow mengakui bahwa dirinya, juga para pembalap lain, berjuang keras untuk tetap melaju dengan ban basah Bridgestone dalam kondisi lintasan yang mulai mengering.

"Dengan kondisi basah pada awal balapan, itu sempurna. Tapi saat (lintasan) mulai mengering, itu lebih licin," urai mantan pembalap Superbike itu.

"Saya lebih memilih hujan terus berlangsung sepanjang balapan. Tapi, dengan motor MotoGP dan ban Bridgestone ini, mereka membersihkan permukaan air begitu cepat. Tapi itu sama untuk semua orang," tambahnya.

"(Seri selanjutnya di) Estoril akan bagus sepanjang saya bisa mempelajari sirkuit seperti yang saya lakukan (di Jerez), dan kita akan lihat apa yang bisa saya lakukan," simpulnya.

Operasi Pedrosa Sukses

Barcelona - Operasi yang dijalani Dani Pedrosa untuk memulihkan lengan kirinya berlangsung sukses. Rider Honda itu akan istirahat di rumah sakit selama 48 jam ke depan.

"Dani Pedrosa telah menjalani operasi di Teknon Medical Centre di Barcelona untuk dekompresi terhadap arteri subklavia sebelah kiri dan diharapkan proses pemulihannya bisa berjalan dengan memuaskan," demikian keterangan dari Honda di situs resmi MotoGP, Rabu (6/4/2011) sore WIB.

Operasi ini dilakukan untuk memulihkan kekuatan lengan kiri pembalap Spanyol tersebut. Seperti diberitakan sebelumnya, Pedrosa dididagnosis mengalami kompresi intermiten pada pembuluh darah subklavia yang menyebabkan dia kehilangan kekuatan pada lengan kiri.

Ini bisa jadi merupakan efek samping dari patah tulang selangka yang dialami Pedrosa akibat kecelakaan dalam latihan MotoGP Jepang tahun lalu. Meski dia sudah dioperasi pada bulan Oktober 2010 silam, kondisinya belum 100 persen pulih.

"Dalam rangka menghilangkan kompresi arterial, plat titanium dan screw yang dipasang di tulang selangka Pedrosa kami lepas. Di bagian subklavia juga dilakukan pemisahan dari jaringan fibrosis yang mengelilingi ruang costoclavicular. Pada saat yang sama, angiografi intraoperatif dengan pendekatan transfemoral minimal invasif mengkonfirmasi kembalinya aliran subklavia," demikian keterangan Honda.

Operasi tersebut dipimpin oleh dr César García-Madrid ahli bedah vascular dan dr Joaquim Casañas yang merupakan ahli bedah ortopedis dan spesialis menangani trauma.

Pedrosa punya cukup banyak waktu untuk memulihkan diri pasca operasi. Dia diuntungkan dengan ditundanya MotoGP Jepang akibat bencana gempa dan tsunami. Setelah MotoGP Spanyol di Jerez, seri berikutnya adalah MotoGP Portugal di Estoril pada 1 Mei 2011.

"Dani Pedrosa akan tetap berada di rumah sakit untuk 48 jam ke depan untuk melanjutkan perawatan dengan analgesia dan anti-pembengkakan. Pekan depan dia akan bertemu dokter untuk memutuskan seperti apa proses rehabilitasi yang haruis dijalani, terkait dengan persiapan menuju GP Portugal di Estoril pada 1 Mei."

Abu Dhabi Siap Menjadi Tuan Rumah MotoGP 2013

Sport News - Abu Dhabi menyatakan siap menggelar balapan MotoGP pada tahun 2013. Fasilitas di sirkuit Yas Marina sudah memenuhi syarat dan tinggal menunggu otoritas yang berwenang memberikan jadwal balapan kepada mereka.

Setelah dua musim terakhir menjadi tempat adu cepat 'Jet Darat', sirkuit Yas Marina semakin serius berniat jadi tuan rumah gelaran MotoGP. Hal tersebut diungkapkan oleh bos sirkuit Richard Cregan, November silam.

Ketika itu sirkuit Yas Marina dikritik lantaran kurang memberikan ruang cukup untuk menyalip lawan. Cregan mengatakan bahwa pembenahan terus dilakukan demi tersajinya balapan yang seru di sana.

Dalam perkembangan selanjutnya, Cregan mengatakan bahwa Sirkuit Yas Marina sudah siap untuk menggelar MotoGP dan hanya tinggal tunggu penetapan waktu saja dari otoritas yang berwenang.

"Kami aktif berdiskusi dengan MotoGP seperti yang sudah kami katakan sebelumnya. Keputusan paling besar adalah kami bisa menggelar balapan MotoGP tahun 2012 atau 2013," ujar Cregan seperti dikutip dari media online Uni Emirat Arab, The National, Selasa (7/4/2011).

Cregan mengatakan bahwa pihaknya ingin menggelar MotoGP di tahun 2013. Pasalnya sepanjang tahun ini dan tahun depan, mereka masih memiliki agenda lain seperti mengembangkan sekolah balap dan juga gelaran drag race.

"Jujur saja, kami mengincar MotoGP musim 2013. Kurun waktu tersebut memberi kami 'ruang untuk bernapas' bagi kegiatan yang sudah kami mulai seperti sekolah balap dan juga drag race, serta lisensi NHRA (National Hod Rod Association)."

"Kegiatan-kegiatan itu berlangsung dengan baik. Kami membutuhkan waktu lagi untuk mengembangkan kegiatan tadi, dan kemudian di tahun 2013 kami bisa menggelar MotoGP. Idealnya seperti itu," tuntas dia.