MotoGP Mugello Qualifying Reports…

31/05/2014

…Are online now!

Want to know who made the front row for some fine racing in the Tuscan hills on Sunday in Moto2 and Moto3? Here is all the information:

My Moto3 race report at crash.net can be found here, and Moto2 here.

For a brief summary of the two there is also my shorter combined round up for both classes over at Paddock Chatter, something for everyone – just follow the links!

Moto2 was especially exciting for Sam Lowes stellar performance…

I also appreciate much tweeting, liking and commenting, so get involved! (Thanks all!)

MotoGP: Rossi’s Mugello helmet – a first look

31/05/2014

Mugello always means special helmet time for the Italian riders, with Valentino Rossi’s generating the most interest and for his 300th Grand Prix start we have…Pasta!

#MotoGP A first glimpse at @ValeYellow46 Rossi's special 2014 Mugello helmet as FP3 commences pic.twitter.com/MCWcZXPxFj

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 31, 2014

 

Hopefully he won’t be tempted to overcook it! (The text “non scuoce mai” translates form Italian as never overcook).

Any updates on an exact meaning or a quote from Rossi on his helmet design will mean an update to this post later.

"Pasta italiana non scuoce mai" #UniversMotoGP @MugelloCircuit @totgira #Rossihelmet pic.twitter.com/NAhi4Z8jWg

— Damià Aguilar 🎙️ (@damCR) May 31, 2014

MotoGP: Rossi’s Turtle Tartaruga Mugello 2013 helmet due in December

Back at the Mugello MotoGP race, before Valentino Rossi crashed out he was frantically waving around his most recent special helmet design for his home GP in Mugello, one of his best of recent years.

As expected after proving to be a popular design – despite the unpopular result for his fans – AGV have made a customer limited Corsa edition of the helmet which is due for release in early December, priced at £649.99 in the UK.

Rossi shows us his turtle themed helmet – available soon! Image for editorial use only under fair use act

From his toy ninja turtle as a child (which he fixed to his helmet in his mini moto days) to the one in the same style seen tattooed on his hip or the decal on his helmet visor the Italian has developed a long association and love for the turtle,  so it seemed likely that one day it may feature as the main design for one of Rossi’s helmets.

The design he chose for the Italian Grand Prix turtle helmet featured a cartoon turtle with two huge manga styled eyes. It was as always designed by long time collaborator Aldo Drudi.

The limited edition Tartaruga Mugello 2013 also features all the usual graphics on Valentino’s race helmet (except for sponsor logos and visor components and accessories) and has Rossi’s number 46 on the back as well as his two trusty bulldogs Cesare and Cecilia who  also wear turtle shells to keep in with the theme.

Here’s the technical bit:

The Corsa combines the performance of the Pista GP with road-going characteristics such as adjustable ventilation and improved comfort without having to forgo the performance standards of the GP version.

Fitted with a Double D retention system, the outer shell is made SSL layers (aramid and glass fibres) and is available in 4 sizes.

The design is intended to cut to the minimum any interference with the racing suit and protective hump and to optimise safety even at high speed.

The spoiler has been designed to detach from the helmet in the event of an accident to increase the passive safety of the helmet

The visor can easily be removed as can the washable inner components.

For further information and more images of the helmet ahead of it’s release visit the AGV website here, which also includes a link at the top of the page to contact your nearest dealer for those interested in purchasing.

Image of the GP: when Rossi’s dream ended in a ‘racing incident’

There was really only one image to go for and unfortunately it came early in the race –  the moment Valentino Rossi’s dream Mugello comeback was ended by contact from Alvaro Bautista.

Willing to be partially to blame after finding himself further down the field than expected after a poor start from clutch issues, Rossi also stated it was entirely possible Bautista hadn’t seen him, which happened to be the Spaniards take on things.

Race Direction concluded it was a racing incident and released the following statement:

“Regarding the incident between Valentino Rossi (ITA) and Alvaro Bautista (ESP) in the MotoGP race of Mugello on 2 June. The Race Direction has reviewed the incident and held a hearing with both riders where all available evidence was reviewed. Based on this evidence the Race Direction decision is that it was a racing incident and no further action will be taken.”

Rossi and Bautista’s Racing Incident in Mugello

Moto3 and Moto2 round-up: well timed wins for Salom and Redding

Time for an update on the Moto2 and Moto3  support classes did at the Mugello Grand Prix!

I’ll focus on the front podium places here, with more detail available in my full race round-up at Paddock Chatter or the detailed race reports available for Moto3 and Moto2 at crash.net, just click on the orange links!

Scott Redding celebrates his historic win at Mugello.
Image Via Marc VDS Press

Moto3 round up:

Luis Salom moved to the front of a pack of six riders who made a big fight of the Mugello Moto3 Grand Prix.

 

 

The Spaniard led an all Spanish, all KTM podium with his second win of the season for his Red Bull Ajo team, though all six in the leading group – Salom,Rins,Oliveira,Folger,Vinales and Marquez – were in with the chance of a win in a closely fought race.

 

 

It was Alex Marquez who made the difference when an overconfident move on his Estrella Galicia machine by the younger Marquez brother caused most of the opposition to need to sit up or move, leaving a gap clear for Salom who took full advantage to break at the front.

 

 

Team Mate Alex Rins, who look to be holding something in reserve had to settle for second, Team Calvo’s Maverick Vinales was happy to keep his consistent run of podiums, like Salom he has been on the rostrum every race so far this season, was third.

Moto3 Italian Grand PrixTop 15 :

 

 

1.Luis Salom SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 39m 53.827
2. Alex Rins SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 (KTM) 39m 53.926
3. Maverick Viñales SPA Team Calvo (KTM) 39m 54.130
4. Miguel Oliveira POR Mahindra Racing (Mahindra) 39m 54.584
5. Alex Marquez SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 (KTM) 39m 54.646
6. Jonas Folger GER Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 (Kalex KTM) 39m 55.260
7. Niccolò Antonelli ITA GO&FUN Gresini Moto3 (FTR Honda) 40m 10.291
8. Niklas Ajo FIN Avant Tecno (KTM) 40m 12.454
9. Eric Granado BRA Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 (Kalex KTM) 40m 12.784
10. Jack Miller AUS Caretta Technology – RTG (FTR Honda) 40m 12.853
11. Zulfahmi Khairuddin MAL Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 40m 12.974
12. Alexis Masbou FRA Ongetta-Rivacold (FTR Honda) 40m 12.981
13. Isaac Viñales SPA Ongetta-Centro Seta (FTR Honda) 40m 14.640
14. Brad Binder RSA Ambrogio Racing (Suter Honda) 40m 15.068
15. Jasper Iwema NED RW Racing GP (Kalex KTM) 40m 22.409

Moto2 race round up:

The history books were once again being re-written by Marc VDS rider Scott Redding in Moto2.

 

 

His win came after Aspar rider Nico Terol decided to allow the Brit to pass as he was struggling with his tyres and bike. Redding took the opportunity and gave him no hope of retaking the lead as he stamped his authority on the race and moved away from the Spaniard.

 

 

Redding now leads the championship by a huge 43 points. The 20 year old Kalex rider is the first person to win two races this season, and it was the first time he has won from a pole start.

 

 

He also becomes the first British rider to take back-to-back wins since Rod Gould in 1971 and the youngest to achieve that feat taking the record from legend Barry Sheene.

 

He is also only the third Brit to win at Mugello, joining Barry Sheene who won in 1976 in the 500cc class and Bradly Smith who won the 125cc race in 2009.

 

 

Terol’s second place was his second podium visit of the year after his win in Austin. Joining them on the rostrum was Johann Zarco for Came Iodaracing Project, his first podium appearance in Moto2.

Moto2 Italian Grand Prix Top 15:

1.Scott Redding GBR Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 39m 53.942
2. Nicolas Terol SPA Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 (Suter) 39m 56.117
3. Johann Zarco FRA Came Iodaracing Project (Suter) 39m 58.329
4. Pol Espargaro SPA Tuenti HP 40 (Kalex) 40m 3.729
5. Mika Kallio FIN Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 40m 3.793
6. Jordi Torres SPA Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 (Suter) 40m 4.586
7. Simone Corsi ITA NGM Mobile Racing (Speed Up) 40m 4.660
8. Alex De Angelis RSM NGM Mobile Forward Racing (Speed Up) 40m 4.786
9. Thomas Luthi SWI Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Rac (Suter) 40m 4.842
10. Dominique Aegerter SWI Technomag carXpert (Suter) 40m 6.108
11. Toni Elias SPA Blusens Avintia (Kalex) 40m 6.115
12. Marcel Schrotter GER Desguaces La Torre SAG (Kalex) 40m 9.813
13. Esteve Rabat SPA Tuenti HP 40 (Kalex) 40m 21.861
14. Sandro Cortese GER Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) 40m 22.630
15. Randy Krummenacher SWI Technomag carXpert (Suter) 40m 22.915

 

 

 

Moto2 and Moto3 Qualifying Round-Up

This is still a Moto2 and Moto3 based blog so here’s an update on how the support classes did in Mugello qualifying!

I’ll focus on the front rows here, with more detail available in my full qualifying round-up at Paddock Chatter or the detailed race reports available for Moto3 and Moto2 at crash.net, just click on the orange links!

Folger in action at Mugello, before stalking Vinales!
Image via Mapfre Aspar Team Press

 

Maverick Vinales looked to be heading for pole for Team Calvo until Jonas Folger took a leaf out of his boss’ book, Jorge “Aspar” Martinez, and followed him around the track glued to the Spanish rider and had the slipstream to snatch first, with a new pole position record.

 

 

Third and once again making for an all KTM front row was one of the seasons regular frontrunners Estrella Galicia rider Alex Rins.

 

 

Fourth was taken by Jack Miller for Caretta Technology. The Australian was the highest placing Honda on the grid and in achieving that he also equaled his own best previous qualifying position.

The Marc VDS rider timed his runs well to finish on top and will be looking to win two races in a row after his victory last time out in Le Mans.

 

 

He achieved this despite a major crash in FP3, from which the Gloucestershire rider walked away unharmed but demolished his bike, leaving some serious rebuilding to be done by the team.

 

 

Once again finding himself pipped to pole was Italtrans rider Takaaki Nakagami. The Japanese rider held the spot with a time set on just his third lap, which he failed to improve on.

 

 

Pol Espargaro also set his best time on his third lap but that left the Pons Tuenti rider down in tenth on the grid.

 

 

A surprising third place came from the ever improving Marcel Schrotter. The Desguaces La Torre SAG rider scoring a career best qualifying to do so.

Moto3 Mugello Qualifying Top Ten

 

 

1.Jonas Folger GER Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 (Kalex KTM) 1m 57.603
2. Maverick Viñales SPA Team Calvo (KTM) 1m 57.669
3. Alex Rins SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 (KTM) 1m 58.046
4. Jack Miller AUS Caretta Technology – RTG (FTR Honda) 1m 58.056
5. Luis Salom SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 1m 58.129
6. Miguel Oliveira POR Mahindra Racing (Mahindra) 1m 58.480
7. Niccolò Antonelli ITA GO&FUN Gresini Moto3 (FTR Honda) 1m 58.724
8. Jakub Kornfeil CZE Redox RW Racing GP (Kalex KTM) 1m 58.799
9. Danny Webb GBR Ambrogio Racing (Suter Honda) 1m 58.910
10. Alex Marquez SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 (KTM) 1m 59.211

 

 

Moto2 Mugello Qualifying Top Ten

 

1.Scott Redding GBR Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 52.958
2. Takaaki Nakagami JPN Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 53.123
3. Marcel Schrotter GER Desguaces La Torre SAG (Kalex) 1m 53.221
4. Johann Zarco FRA Came Iodaracing Project (Suter) 1m 53.278
5. Nicolas Terol SPA Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 (Suter) 1m 53.368
6. Esteve Rabat SPA Tuenti HP 40 (Kalex) 1m 53.383
7. Xavier Simeon BEL Desguaces La Torre Maptaq (Kalex) 1m 53.459
8. Alex De Angelis RSM NGM Mobile Forward Racing (Speed Up) 1m 53.466
9. Jordi Torres SPA Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 (Suter) 1m 53.611
10. Pol Espargaro SPA Tuenti HP 40 (Kalex) 1m 53.678

 

 

 

Petrucci rides MotoGP bike on the streets of Rome!

Italian rider Danilo Petrucci becomes the first man to ride a MotoGP bike in the streets of Rome to help launch new Ioda initiative.

Came IodaRacing Project rider Danilo Petrucci became the first rider to take a MotoGP bike for a spin in Rome last weekend with hundreds of onlookers keen to get a closer look at his CRT in action as in took on some of the city sights.

Petrucci said of the experience: “It was very exciting to ride through the centre of Rome! It was like riding for the first time all over again, as I usually go through the centre of Rome on foot! This is something I’ll be able to tell my grandchildren in the future: that I was the first MotoGP rider to take his own bike through the city.”

Danilo Petrucci In Rome aboard his Came IodaRacing project CRT
image : iodaracing.com

If it had turned out to be an illegal move the Italian could always have arrested himself as he is a fully qualified policeman in his home country!

Also present for the event was fellow MotoGP Ioda rider Lukas Pesek and the teams Moto2 man Johann Zarco.

The initiative launched by the squad, ‘Ioda Your Project’, allowing followers to gain closer access to the outfit while earning their chance to place name on the Suter fairings. 10 euros gets your name on the bike for the duration of the season with additional exclusive prizes and surprises for those who choose to sign up and get involved with the team.

The idea of allowing fans to interact in this way has been approached in a similar way by Yamaha, who in 2010 ran a special livery at Laguna Seca made up of  500 fans to celebrate the U.S. launch of the Fiat 500 and also by the Gresini team who at Valencia last season who had fans names on their bike for ‘Super Message to Sic’ where 2 Euros per message were donated to the Marco Simoncelli Foundation.

This will be Petrucci’s second season in the championship on CRT machinery. At the end of last season he achieved a career-best result in Valencia, where he ended an action filled race in eighth position.

For more information on IodaRacing and the ‘Ioda Your Project’ scheme visit www.iodaracing.com

 

Simoncelli News Round Up – Marco’s Museum,Sic Supermoto, auction,helmet and even a mastercard!

The character that was Marco Simoncelli is still rarely out of the news as his fans, family and friends continue to keep his memory  alive through a whole host of events for their charity foundation, here is a round up of Supersic happenings since the end of the season.

The 8th of December saw the opening of the Marco Simoncelli monument and museum in hometown of Coriano, Italy, with a huge attendance considering there was a snowstorm. The museum gives a detailed history of Simoncelli and  is a permanent reminder of his desire to race containing his bikes, leathers and a photographic history of his time on two wheels.

Marco Simoncelli Monument at the Coriano Museum
picture via twitter from a selection at the website http://www.motociclismo.it/

During the final race of the 2012 season at Valencia Alvaro Bautista’s Gresini Honda fairing had a special livery containing messages from fans sent to San Carlo who ran a ‘Super Message Sic’ text message promotion with each SMS donating two Euros to the Marco Simoncelli Foundation to help with their project to build a centre for disabled children in Coriano. One half of the fairing now resides in the museum while the other half was auctioned on ebay.it, with the entire winning bid of EUR 2,520.00 going to the foundation too.

Bautista’s auctioned Honda Gresini Simoncelli fairing Valencia 2012
picture from the listing at ebay.it

The opening days of December saw Simoncelli’s rider friends salute his memory in the most suitable manner- by fighting it out to the line during Sic Supermoto day – the two day event raising over 90,000 euros for the Simoncelli Foundation and had over 5,000 people attend.

The 58 lap endurance race was won by Simoncelli’s biggest rival Andrea Dovizioso and his partner Mauno Hermunen, second across the line by just half a second was the pairing of Wintanley and Iddon and eternal crowd favourite Valentino Rossi and his partner Theirry Van Den Bosch were third.

Marco’s father Paolo handed out the trophies during an emotional podium celebration.

AGV have also announced a new Simoncelli tribute GP Tech helmet now available in the USA direct from agv.com at http://store.agv.com/p/gp-tech-replica-marco-simoncelli.

Notable differences from the previous version include his number 58, the Dainese and San Carlo logos and the addition of a small heart in the Japanese flag that Simoncelli added to his own helmet to commemorate the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

While the helmet retails at around 749 Euros/$680 a more affordable scooter helmet has also been made available for around 149 Euros.

AGV Marco Simoncelli Tribute helmet (from agv.com)

Finally and more unusually a prepaid Mastercard has also been created to help raise money for the Marco Simoncelli Foundation.

Accompanied by  the message “thanks for your visit,every time you use your Sic card you give support to projects that the foundation carries to help the most vulnerable in the name and in memory of Marco -Paolo and Rossella Simoncelli” so endorsed by his family, the card, available at www.siccard.it allows users to make a small donation to the foundations charity work while benefiting from the safety of a prepay card and  additional discounts available to holders, it is usable worldwide and on the internet.

 

pay your way with Simoncelli !

For more information on the Marco Simoncelli Foundation and their work visit:

http://www.marcosimoncellifondazione.it/?IDC=5&ID=58&page=1&lang=eng

Moto2: Ant West – “My seat fell off the bike!”

QMMF’s Ant West reports a rather unusual reason for finishing down in 23^rd place in the Mugello Moto2 race.

Australian Ant West revealed that during Sunday’s Moto2 round at Mugello the reason he needed to enter the pits, eventually resulting in a 23^rd place finish was that his seat had come away from the bike, resulting in him attempting to ride at speed on top of a slippery carbon fibre framework.

West said: “ It came loose in a corner and I almost slid off the bike. I threw it off on the straight and kept going, but under this cushion is just carbon. You slide all over the place and you are also 20 millimetres lower without the cushion, which hurts the set-up. I thought I was able to continue and I rode on for two laps…the guys put a new seat on, but it was a different one and wasn’t perfect. But once you stop, that’s it anyway for the race.”

The former Kawasaki MotoGP rider went on to explain how he had been making good progress with his changed set-up before the unusual issue arose:

“It’s a bit of a shame because before that happened, I felt good. I was strong and I passed heaps of people. We made a big change to the set-up from yesterday, and on the first laps, I was not very aggressive because I was still a bit unsure of the bike. But I still caught up with the group in front of me and I could definitely have taken world championship points!”

West echoed this enthusiasm to his Twitter followers and looked forward to beyond the Moto2 class summer break, posting: “unfortunately my seat fell off the bike during the race so I had to stop in the box and fix it. I think I could have been in points today.. but I’m really happy with the new Speed Up bike and I can’t wait to improve in the next races!”

Now also available here in full at crash.net: http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/181989/1/moto2_ant_west_my_seat_fell_off.html

Moto2: Iannone on fire for home Mugello win

Italian Andrea Iannone took victory today at the Mugello Moto2 race resplendent in his ‘Joe the fireman’ livery. It was a close fought race with a sore Pol Espargaro in second for the Pons 40 HP Tuenti team while Tom Luthi also made the podium in third.

Johann Zarco made it to 10th despite his grid penalty for the Espargaro collision, while the action continued after the race when Toni Elias, who failed to finish the race, split from the Mapfre Aspar team. His replacement appears to be Jordi Torres.

Check out my full report on the race action and find out where your favourite riders finished here:

http://www.crash.net/motogp/race+report/181950/1/moto2_iannone_on_fire_for_home_mugello_win.html