Simoncelli tests 1000cc Honda

Simoncelli tests 1000cc Honda

A week after signing a new contract with HRC, Marco Simoncelli got his first taste of the 1,000cc Honda that he will ride next season during a test in Motegi.
Simoncelli, who will have full factory support next season with the Gresini team, put the new RC213V through its paces in Japan following Sunday's Grand Prix.

The Italian was able to maintain a consistent times pace over the 50 laps, recording times comparable to those set on this year's 800cc RC212V.

"The big day finally arrived and I was able to test the bike I will be riding in Team San Carlo Honda Gresini colours next year," said Simoncelli. "It was a fantastic experience to get out on the RC213V and I would like thank HRC for the opportunity.

"I completed 50 laps and quickly felt confident with the new bike, setting similar lap times to the RC212V. At the end of the day I gave my feedback and suggestions, which I hope will be important to development of the bike from here."

The Gresini rider now heads to the Philippines for a short break before the next round of the MotoGP World Championship at Phillip Island in Australia.
.

Sent from my BlackBerry®
powered by TwitterFeeds.blogspot.com

Twitter Feeds Update

Read more »

2011 Japan GP: Bridgestone MotoGP Race Debrief With Hirohide Hamashima

2011 Japan GP: Bridgestone MotoGP Race Debrief With Hirohide Hamashima

Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix was a dramatic event with three riders penalised for jump-starts and being given ride-through penalties, five riders crashing out in separate incidents and another four recovering and rejoining after running off-track. All weekend the pace was very quick, as a combined result of partial resurfacing work to repair damage inflicted by the earthquake earlier this year, machine development over the past 12 months and the selection of softer compound rear slick tyre options for Motegi this year. On Saturday a new pole position record was set by Casey Stoner and in the race Dani Pedrosa set a new lap record. Pedrosa took his first premier class victory at the Honda-owned Motegi circuit ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, whilst Stoner recovered from running off track to finish third. With three round remaining in the championship, Stoner holds a 40 point lead over Lorenzo and mathematically has his first chance to seal his second World title at his home round in Australia next time out.

Hirohide Hamashima – Assistant to Director, Motorsport Tyre Development Division

Why were the laptimes so much faster at Motegi this year?
"It is true that the laptimes were quite a lot faster this year – Casey's pole time was 1.8seconds faster than last year and Dani's new lap record was one second under the previous record and also 1.3seconds faster than last year's fastest race lap.

"Although of course it is very difficult to quantify exactly, I believe the main reason for this improvement is the partial resurfacing of the circuit that was conducted to repair the damage caused by the March earthquake. Approximately 75 per cent of the circuit's surface is new and there have been many races since the tarmac was laid, including most recently the IndyCar series race two weeks ago, so the grip level is very good. It is also very smooth which adds to its advantage.

"I think there are two other factors too – the hard work of the teams and the development of the machines since last year, and secondly we selected softer rear tyre options for Motegi this year and I believe this contributed, specifically on Saturday during qualifying.

"Last year, all riders raced on the medium compound rear that showed good performance and had no problems at all, which was then the softer of the two options. This year, Dani won using the same medium compound rear, but because we have gone one step softer, it was the harder of the two available options. On the same tyres, his fastest race lap was 1.3seconds faster than the best from last year, which shows combined bike and track improvements, but in qualifying when most riders recorded their best laps on the newly-allocated soft rear, the improvement over last year was 1.8seconds, so I believe this is the difference made by the softer rear tyre allocation. Based on this, we can see that bringing the soft compound rear here was worth around 0.5seconds a lap."

Softer rear slicks were selected this time after rider requests for better warm-up – what was the feedback?
"Using the soft compound rear slicks for the first time at Motegi meant that the qualifying times in particular were faster, as I said above, but also it meant that race tyre choice was more mixed. Last year, everyone used the medium compound rear tyre for the race, but this year six riders used the medium and the remaining 12 starters chose the soft compound, which provided an interesting comparison of performance. Warm-up performance was certainly improved, even when race-day track temperature was only 26 degrees Celsius, the lowest of the weekend. But I am also happy that so many riders could get it to work consistently over race-distance, and the fact that so many used it tells me that it was right decision to revise our allocation for this year, and in doing so directly answer rider calls this year for softer compounds that reach their optimum working temperature more quickly."

PaddockTalk Perspective

.

Sent from my BlackBerry®
powered by TwitterFeeds.blogspot.com

Twitter Feeds Update

Read more »

MotoGP Japan | Inside Line from Motegi

MotoGP Japan | Inside Line from Motegi

Despite the havoc wreaked by the earthquake in Japan just months ago MotoGP at Motegi put on a fine show. Our man behind the scenes gives us the paddock scoops and funny asides you won't have heard about.

A triumph in the face of adversity
Just a two-and-a-half-hour drive north of Tokyo the Japanese MotoGP has taken place at Motegi for seven years. The last two however have not been without their challenges. In 2010 the event was delayed due to the dust clouds from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull stopping all the Europe-based teams from getting to the circuit in time for the original date. This year the earthquake tsunami and subsequent nuclear accident all led to the postponement of the event from April to October. The decision to go ahead with the race situated as it is just 120km from the stricken nuclear power plant at Fukushima was not without controversy and some team and press personnel decided they did not want to take any risks. All the important people did attend however and we saw some brilliant racing!

Yamaha's half-century
Yamaha celebrated 50 years of world championship racing by bringing along some of their more important bikes. Above you see Norick Abe's YZR500 Kenny Roberts TZ750 and Giacomo Agostini's monoshock 500. All in superb running condition they were paraded around the circuit just before the race.

No beef with the beef
Yakitori beef skewers - beef marinated in soy sauce onions garlic sesame seeds and lemon juice then grilled in front of you - are a popular snack in Japan and this guy always has his mobile stand in the paddock... unsurprisingly as he had his usual regular stream of addicts getting their annual fix.

Get your kit off (the bus)
Japan is the home of a lot of cool motorcycling gear and the big players all had their own shops in the paddock. Arai even brought their bus and at one time or another all their GP riders were in the shop picking up the latest kit.

Motegi: a circuit with character
Motegi has a theme park feel to it and indeed it's owned by Mobilityland a company that also own Suzuka circuit and it exists to show how people vehicles and nature interact. There's everything from a racing school to a nature park called 'Hello Woods'. There are even Mobility Land characters for you to be pictured alongside like the above. How cute.

The next generation of rider?
There are many young fans of motorcycle racing but not everyone has their own made-to-measure Dani Pedrosa Repsol leathers complete with used knee sliders when they are less than a metre tall. This young man was staking out the rear of the Repsol garage looking for someone to go eye to eye with! (The diminutive Dani P is nevertheless somewhat taller than this.)

On the road to recovery
Much of the earthquake damage has been repaired but the aftershocks are still occurring regularly and there is evidence everywhere of damage and ongoing work to rebuild shattered homes and communities. The above house has suffered some damage to its ridge tiles and was awaiting repair while many of the hotels used by the teams had damaged wallpaper showing where the big aftershocks of four months ago had moved the walls underneath.

Monkey business
It might be a reference to the three famous 'Hear no evil see no evil speak no evil' monkeys that are carved into the front of a temple in nearby Nikko but whatever the reason it's an unusual way to sell flowers!
.

Sent from my BlackBerry®
powered by TwitterFeeds.blogspot.com

Twitter Feeds Update

Read more »

Marco Simoncelli (Honda) tested the 2012 1000 MotoGP bike at Motegi

Marco Simoncelli (Honda) tested the 2012 1000 MotoGP bike at Motegi - Superbike Magazine

Marco Simoncelli (Gresini Honda) recently re-signed with the Honda Racing Corporation to ride with Fausto Gresini's team in MotoGP and, as a reward for his loyalty and ability to generate publicity, he was given a few laps to test the new 1,000cc Honda RC213V after the MotoGP race at Motegi (in which he finished fourth) where the bouffant haired crash machine managed 50 laps without launching himself or his bike into the scenery.

"Finally I managed to get a test ride on the bike I'll be riding next year – and in Gresini colours," said Simoncelli, "I want to thank Honda for giving me the chance to ride it, it was a fantastic experience. I did a total of 50 laps and it after I got a feel for the bike and some confidence, I managed to get down to the same times I was running on the 800cc bike in the race. It was good fun to ride – it wheelies in fifth and sixth gear! And, of course, after the riding I was able to give the Honda technicians my feedback."

Since HRC decided to bump Andrea Dovizioso from its roster for 2012, Simoncelli will now have additional pressure on his broad shoulders and the needle that exists between him and Dovi – who he has effectively replaced at HRC – will be a joy to watch as the season winds to a close.

Read more »

Motegi MotoGP Insider: Honda

Motegi MotoGP Insider: Honda

Casey Stoner might have one hand on the 2011 MotoGP world title but a 13th consecutive podium in Japan yesterday did little to disguise the Australian's disappointment at failing to win the Twin Ring Motegi clash. When Stoner hit the front from pole position on the opening lap, many expected the 25-year-old to streak away to record a ninth win of the season. But an uncharacteristic mistake on the brakes at the end of the back straight on the fifth lap saw Stoner plough into the gravel trap at high speed.

Stoner managed to keep his factory Honda RC212V machine upright but dropped down to seventh before he recovered superbly to keep his proud record of scoring a podium in each race he has finished in 2011. With Jorge Lorenzo in second, Stoner only surrendered four points in the title hunt and he can still clinch the title on home soil at Phillip Island if he scores ten or more points than his Spanish adversary.

The 2007 world champion said: "It could have been worse, but not a lot worse. Everything felt good all weekend and the bike has been fantastic and it was the same for the race. We got a gap quite easily, so we sort of wanted to manage that. Then I saw Andrea (Dovizioso) pull a few tenths back and I knew he was on the softer tire, so we thought we can go a little bit quicker here because I didn't want to push too much in those early laps to struggle too much with the hard tire. Then I had the issue on the brakes and I couldn't make the corner. I'm disappointed because in some ways we're lucky we still ended up on the podium, but I feel we should have been fighting for that win and it's disappointing."

Casey Stoner: "I'm disappointed because in some ways we're lucky we still ended up on the podium, but I feel we should have been fighting for that win and it's disappointing." Asked what he thought had upset his bike in the braking zone when he ran off he added: "It's not one bump, there's a lot. But I hadn't had any kind of reaction off the bike all weekend and as I came over there I had the slightest movement before the bigger bump, because there's a few small ones before it and as the front came down it just shook. I have no idea why it did that but I'd gone over it a lot of different ways during the weekend. It was just a bit surprising that we had that problem during the race."

Dovizioso's 2012 Plans Still Unclear

Andrea Dovizioso is close to reaching a final decision on whether he will ride for LCR Honda next season or partner Cal Crutchlow in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad. The Italian says his decision on whether to continue his long association with Honda or move to rivals Yamaha would be taken before the end of this week.

The former 125GP world champion has spent his entire Grand Prix career with Honda and admitted after finishing fifth in an incident-packed Japanese round at the Twin Ring Motegi that leaving would be a big wrench.

He said: "It is difficult because my feeling with Honda now is the best compared to the last nine years because now I am fighting for the victory. It is hard but it depends on a lot of situations and right now I haven't decided anything."

Andrea Dovizioso is still deciding between riding for LCR Honda or Monster Yamaha Tech 3 next year. Dovizioso said there was a big temptation to move to Herve Poncharal's Tech 3 squad to try and build a relationship with a different manufacturer. The Italian would sign a one-year deal with Tech 3 with the hope of impressing in the inaugural 1000cc world championship to secure a move to Yamaha's factory squad in 2013.

He said: "Sure I think about this. When you're fast you have a lot of possibilities and if I am fast with Yamaha next year then sure I will have the chance to be in the factory team and this is the target of every rider."

Dovizioso saw a great chance of claiming victory at the Twin Ring Motegi race ruined by a jump start. He led after a mistake by Casey Stoner but had to complete a pitlane ride through and he eventually finished fifth after failing to hold off compatriot Marco Simoncelli, who was also guilty of a jump start.

HRC Says No Rush for Marquez in MotoGP

Rumors are circulating that Marc Marquez will ride a Honda RC213V in the upcoming season. Marc Marquez has been warned not to rush coming into MotoGP as speculation mounts the emerging Spanish star will ride a new Honda RC213V machine in 2012. The reigning 125GP world champion's Repsol-backed Moto2 squad has asked HRC to reserve a bike in case he defeats Stefan Bradl to the 600cc four-stroke crown. Marquez trails the German by just six points after he won the recent Motorland Aragon race to claim a sixth victory in seven races.

Honda has confirmed it would supply a bike if Marquez's squad had the budget to lease an RC213V.
But HRC boss Livio Suppo said: "It is a question of money. Sooner or later it will be too late to order a bike. We are getting very close to the deadline in which we can supply two bikes. There is a lot of speculation about it because Marquez is doing an unbelievable job but as far as I know everything is in place to have another year in Moto2. I don't see why he should rush. He is doing a great job, he is still young and he has great talent and one more year in Moto2 shouldn't be a big problem."
.

Sent from my BlackBerry®
powered by TwitterFeeds.blogspot.com

Twitter Feeds Update

Read more »

Motegi MotoGP Insider: Suzuki

Motegi MotoGP Insider: Suzuki

Suzuki's home race in Japan ended in better disappointment after Alvaro Bautista threw away a golden chance to claim a career best MotoGP finish at the Twin Ring Motegi. The Spaniard was pushing in fourth position to keep a hard charging Andrea Dovizioso at bay when he lost the front-end of his factory GSV-R machine at the penultimate corner on Lap 14.

The chaotic early stages of the 24-lap race had seen former 125GP world champion Bautista run in third place for six laps. Valentino Rossi and Ben Spies had collided on the first lap, Casey Stoner ran off track while leading and Marco Simoncelli and Andrea Dovizioso were both penalized with a ride through penalty for jumping the start.

Stoner took third from Bautista on Lap 12 as the Aussie surged back through the field but Bautista had a healthy advantage of seven seconds over Dovizioso's Repsol Honda when he tumbled out.

It was the third time in the last six races that Bautista has crashed with a top six finish on the cards and factory team boss Paul Denning said: "He made a mistake basically pushing too hard in the wrong place. He hadn't had a single movement of the front tire for the whole race. We gave him a signal the lap before of Dovi +7 and he knew full well what the potential speed of Andrea had been earlier in the race and therefore he was going to have to push to the maximum to keep fourth. His mindset was he's had a fifth and a sixth and he wanted a fourth and you have to admire that. But
Alvaro Bautista is still awaiting news from Suzuki on whether it will participate in the 2012 MotoGP Championship. unfortunately he just pushed too hard in the wrong place to try and pick up the lap time. The data showed he was pushing a lot harder than the lap before and that's it."

Bautista is still hoping to get a clearer indication of Suzuki's future MotoGP strategy. The Spaniard confirmed earlier in Japan that he has no clear information whether Suzuki will remain in the premier class in 2012, with the Japanese factory's future the subject of constant speculation.

If Suzuki does decide to continue racing, it will almost certainly start the inaugural 1000cc campaign using its current 800cc GSV-R machine. It is hoped that Suzuki would clarify its future plans during its home race in Japan this weekend, but the former 125GP world champion Bautista, who has a firm contract offer to partner Cal Crutchlow in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad in 2012, said: "I hope to have some news from Suzuki for next year but still nothing is clear. I hope to make a good race here in Suzuki's home and maybe they take some motivation from this to have a good bike for next year. At the moment nothing is clear and I have to wait to take a decision for 2012."

Suzuki race boss Shinichi Sahara declined to answer any questions about 2012 and beyond in the Twin Ring Motegi paddock.

.

Sent from my BlackBerry®
powered by TwitterFeeds.blogspot.com

Twitter Feeds Update

Read more »

Motegi MotoGP Insider: Ducati

Motegi MotoGP Insider: Ducati

Nicky Hayden says Ducati's factory GP11.1 has already reached the ceiling of its potential, even though he's only raced the updated Desmosedici three times. Ducati first rolled out the GP11.1 back in late June at the Assen round for Valentino Rossi, who was struggling to make any significant progress on the GP11 model.

The GP11.1 features a new seamless shift gearbox, new rear suspension system, swingarm and 1000cc motor modified to comply with current 800cc regulations.

Hayden rode the new bike in practice for his home round at Laguna Seca in late July before deciding to delay his race debut on the bike until he'd got more time to test the bike. He started to use the GP11.1 from the Indianapolis race onwards but in three races he's only scored 11-points. And Hayden said that the GP11.1 had already peaked at its maximum level of performance.

"Yes, it seems this bike is at the top of its potential already. They are certainly testing some stuff and we know we got to make a big change because we're a long way off."

Rossi raced a new aluminum concept to 10th at the Motorland Aragon but it wasn't a full conventional twin spar frame like the one used by Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki. It appears that Rossi has completely lost faith in the carbon fiber project but Hayden said he didn't think it was the material involved that was the crucial factor.

Valentino Rossi believes riding positon is to blame for some of the front-end troubles he's been having on the GP12. He added: "They've tested aluminum and I don't think it is a matter of material I think it is more stiffness and flex. You can make carbon softer or stiffer so I don't think that's the situation. I tested a lot of aluminum swingarms and carbon fiber swingarms and you can get either one to do what you want it to do."

Rossi Thinks Riding Position Critical to Solving GP12

Valentino Rossi believes his riding position on Ducati's 2012 Desmosedici could be pivotal to solving some of the vague front-end problems he's experienced in a nightmare debut season for the Bologna factory – which most recently includes a DNF result at the Twin Ring Motegi courtesy of an opening lap crash. Rossi and Ducati tested the GP12 again in Jerez last week but both denied the latest session had seen the nine-times world champion debut a full deltabox aluminium frame manufactured by British experts FTR.

Rossi said the chassis he tested for one-day in Jerez a week ago was just a further evolution of the aluminum frame he raced to a disappointing 10th place at the Motorland Aragon track earlier back in September.

Valentino Rossi: ""We tried to work on the weight distribution and especially move my position on the bike [at Jerez]. Rossi ditched the carbon fibre concept for the Aragon race having struggled to score just one podium in the opening 13 races. Rossi said at the Twin Ring Motegi that test was primarily to experiment with different weight distribution settings, particularly moving his body around on the GP12 to put more weight on the front tire.

Said Rossi: "We tried to work on the weight distribution and especially move my position on the bike. This was the biggest work we did in Jerez because we think that this is the main problem of this bike. I want to be more forward. I don't like my position on the bike and it is for a long time since I say this to Filippo (Preziosi). We need time to build a new part and I hope that it arrive as soon as possible and we have to understand if it makes the difference. With carbon or aluminum, I don't know if it would make such a big difference. For me it is more important the weight distribution and the position of all the things on our bike. I think we have to work on these things. We started on this in Jerez but the work is long and we have to build some other parts to move all the things."

.

Sent from my BlackBerry®
powered by TwitterFeeds.blogspot.com

Twitter Feeds Update

Read more »

Motegi MotoGP Insider: Yamaha

Motegi MotoGP Insider: Yamaha

Jorge Lorenzo kept his slim world title hopes alive after he finished one place in front of main championship rival Casey Stoner in a gripping Japanese Grand Prix. But the Spaniard fears his title hopes have all but disappeared as he faces the thankless task of trying to overturn a 40-point deficit on Stoner with just three races remaining.

Lorenzo clawed four-points back on Stoner in the action-packed 24-lap race after the Aussie had made a shock error while leading in the early stages. The pre-race favorite ran off track on Lap 5 but recovered to salvage a brilliant third, which was just one place behind Lorenzo, who couldn't take full advantage of Stoner's blunder.

Lorenzo was unable to fight with compatriot Dani Pedrosa for the victory and later said: "It's too late because there are only three races to the end and it's too late because of the bike we have. We don't have any big chances coming. Maybe I can win some races from now until the end of the season but I don't see me winning three races in a row in normal conditions. And even if I won the last three races it doesn't give me the world title. Casey must finish further back than second and I can't see this situation in my mind, I don't see it happening unless there is something strange."

Ben Spies mounted a brilliant fight at Motegi MotoGP to claim his ninth successive top six finish in Yamaha's home race. The Texan's podium hopes were wrecked after just three corners when he was caught up in a tangle with his factory Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo and the Ducati of Valentino Rossi.

Spies was nudged into the gravel at high speed by Rossi's falling Desmosedici and despite his best efforts to keep control of his YZR-M1 machine, he toppled over at slow speed having avoided making contact with the trackside barrier.
The 2009 World Superbike champion lost almost 25 seconds in the incident and re-joined the 24-lap race in dead last before he recovered superbly to salvage sixth with a late overtake on compatriot Nicky Hayden.

Ben Spies: "If we had a clean race we could have battled for the podium. But that's racing and we got the short end of the stick." Spies said: "At the end of the first lap the gap to the first person in front of me was 15 seconds. I knew there was a couple of wild card guys that were going a little bit slower and I knew we could get some points. I knew Dovizioso had jumped the start and somebody had crashed behind me. I didn't know who it was so I was just going to ride as hard as I could and see what happened. Then I saw people coming back and a big group in front of me. That's when I thought the top ten was possible. And then when I was in tenth I saw a big group of people in front of me, so I just kept pushing and pushing and didn't give up. It would have been nice to complete the first lap with no problems because the bike felt good and looking at the times and how the other riders experienced problems, if we had a clean race we could have battled for the podium. But that's racing and we got the short end of the stick. Nobody wants to knock anybody off the track and crash. I was actually in a good position that turned out to be bad and that's just how it goes, but I'm happy with how the race turned out."
.

Sent from my BlackBerry®
powered by TwitterFeeds.blogspot.com

Twitter Feeds Update

Read more »

Shinichi Ito proud to race for HRC, bringing hope to East Japan

Shinichi Ito proud to race for HRC, bringing hope to East Japan

In an action packed race today at the Motegi circuit, HRC test rider Shinichi Ito finished thirteenth and very proud with his achievement.
Ito rode a strong race in front of his home crowd at Motegi, and took this opportunity as training for testing the 1000cc machine to be ridden by HRC factory riders in 2012.

HRC would like to thank Ito san and congratulate him on his performance in the Japanese Grand Prix.

SHINICHI ITO - 13th
"First of all, I'd like to say big a very big thank you to Honda. They gave me this possibility to race a MotoGP machine again and through this I hope I brought courage to the victims of the East Japan disaster. My target for this race was to simply take the checkered flag and I achieved this. Considering that today was no ordinary race, I'm very happy with the result! I had a physical problem after Friday's crash, so the first part of the race was difficult for me. I reminded myself the main reason for participating and I knew I could not give up. After that, in the last part I managed faster laps and I'm happy with this. The experience of today will contribute towards my training for the 1000 machine test. At this moment I don't have any plans to participate in another Motorcycle race, but if I take part in another race category, such as GT300 Japanese Car Championship, I would like to do so with a Honda Machine".

Race Result - Round 14
1 Dani Pedrosa42'47.481 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo+7.299 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
3 Casey Stoner+18.380 AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Marco Simoncelli+23.550 ITA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
5 Andrea Dovizioso+23.691ITAHONDA Repsol Honda Team
6 Ben Spies+37.604 USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
7 Nicky Hayden+39.167 USA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team
8 Colin Edwards+45.023 USA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
9 Hiroshi Aoyama+49.074 JPN HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
10 Randy De Puniet+59.022 FRA DUCATI Pramac Racing
11 Cal Crutchlow+1'13.964 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
12 Kousuke Akiyoshi+1'21.709 JPN HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
13 Shinichi Ito 1'26.381 JPN HONDA Team HRC
14 Toni Elias DNF SPA HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
15 Alvaro Bautista DNF SPA SUZUKI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
16 Damian Cudlin DNF AUS DUCATI Pramac Racing
17 Hector Barbera DNF SPA DUCATI Paginas Amarillas Aspar
18 Valentino Rossi DNF ITA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team
19 Karel Abraham DNS CZE DUCATICardion AB Motoracing
Championship standings
1 Casey Stoner 300 pts AUS HONDARepsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo260 pts SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
3 Andrea Dovizioso196 pts ITA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Dani Pedrosa195 pts SPAHONDA Repsol Honda Team
5 Ben Spies156 pts USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
6 Valentino Rossi139 pts ITADUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team
7 Nicky Hayden123 pts USADUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team
8 Marco Simoncelli119 pts ITA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
9 Colin Edwards98 pts USA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
10 Hiroshi Aoyama94 pts JPN HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
11 Hector Barbera77 pts SPA DUCATI Paginas Amarillas Aspar
12 Alvaro Bautista67 pts SPA SUZUKI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
13 Cal Crutchlow57 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
14 Karel Abraham50 pts CZE DUCATI Cardion AB Motoracing
15 Toni Elias47 pts SPA HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
16 Randy De Puniet39 pts FRA DUCATI Pramac Racing
17 Loris Capirossi29 pts ITA DUCATIP ramac Racing
18 Kousuke Akiyoshi7 pts JPN HONDALCR Honda MotoGP
19 John Hopkins6 pts USASUZUKI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
20 Shinichi Ito3 pts JPN HONDA Team HRC
21 Sylvain Guintoli0 pts FRA DUCATI Pramac Racing

Circuit information
First race1999
GPs held13
Laps24
Race distance115.224km / 71.592miles
Track length4.801km / 2.983miles
Track width12-15m
Longest straight0.762km / 0.473miles
Corners14 (8 right, 6 left)
Pole positionLeft
120-1 Hiyama, Motegi-machi,
Haga-gun, Tochigi Pref. 321-3597, Japan

T: +81-285-64-0001
F: +81-285-64-0009

Website : http://www.twinring.jp/
Email : english-info@twinring.jp

Circuit records
Pole position1m45.267s (164.188Km/h) Casey Stoner (Honda, 2011)
Race lap1m46.090s (162.914Km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2011)
Race time42m47.481s (161.561km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2011)
MotoGP Wins3 (Loris Capirossi 2005-07)
2010 WinnerCasey Stoner (Ducati)
.

Sent from my BlackBerry®
powered by TwitterFeeds.blogspot.com

Twitter Feeds Update

Read more »