Pedrosa storms to pole in Malaysia

Following a crash on just his fifth lap, Dani Pedrosa, who missed the Malaysian GP last year while recovering from a collarbone injury, clawed his way back to the top of the timings after fighting off both his Repsol Honda team-mates to take pole position with a time of 2'01.462.

Pedrosa’s time was still two-tenths behind the scorching lap he set in FP2, but a margin of 0.029s put him ahead of Casey Stoner, denying the new World Champion his 12th pole of the season. Andrea Dovizioso landed a further 0.175s back to claim the final spot on the front row for the Italian’s third front row start of 2011.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) put in a lap of 2'02.010 to put him at the head of row two for Sunday’s race. The American sits in fourth by a margin of 0.095s over Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) in fifth and just over a tenth ahead of the top Ducati qualifier, compatriot Nicky Hayden.

Hiroshi Aoyama heads up the third row, with Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista beside the Japanese rider and Valentino Rossi (Ducati team) completing the row after crashing during the session. The Italian quickly made it back out on track to post a lap of 2’02.395 on his final of 22 laps.

Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) made it into the top ten for the first time this weekend, while a recovering Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar), after a bit of fairing contact with Hayden in the session, completed 17 laps to land 14th on the grid.

An already sore Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing), who is still recovering from a highside crash in Australia last week, suffered a second fall of the day after retiring early from FP3 in the morning following a crash in that session. The Texan closed the session in 16th.

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MotoGP community pay tribute to Marco Simoncelli

Factory Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo, who was not present at the Malaysian GP following a surgery on his finger, published via Twitter: "I don’t know what to say on a day like today ... Only that you will be missed - rest in peace Marco."

Lorenzo’s team mate, Ben Spies, shared: "Super Sic rest easy..."

Nicky Hayden posted: "Sometimes life just don't make sense... RIP #58 you were a star on & off track we all going to miss you."

Cal Crutchlow’s post: "RIP Marco Simoncelli! A great rider and all round nice guy. My thoughts are with all his family & friends. I will never forget today... #58"

Former full time and two time wild card entry this year, John Hopkins, said: "God Speed #58 Simoncelli... Your fighting spirit will live on forever!"

Two time replacement rider this year, Damian Cudlin, shared via Titter: “Terrible news. Marco’s gone. Sad day for motor racing and all the llives he touched along the way. Won’t forget you, mate.”

Kenny Roberts and his family sent the following sentiment: "The entire Roberts Family is deeply sadden by the news about Marco. We wish to send our condolences to his family, friends, fans and MotoGP. We will never forget him!"

Jeff Belskus, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer, shared: "We are deeply saddened at the passing of Marco Simoncelli. He was one of the most charismatic figures in the World Championship and had a fantastic future ahead of him in MotoGP.”

“Marco was one of the most popular riders at the MotoGP event at Indianapolis, as his talent on the motorcycle and his ability to connect with fans both were very special. We extend our sincere sympathies to his family, team and fans."

Fellow MotoGP rider Héctor Barberá said: "I am in shock. We are bike riders and we are aware that there are risks involved with what we do, but we also know that every day our safety is looked after more and more by the organisers. These past few years have seen a huge amount of work done to try and make our job even safer. Despite this, there are moments in which misfortune can lead to tragedy -and we saw this happen today with Marco Simoncelli.”

“Today is another tough day for motorcycle racing. We have lost a great companion, and I will remember Marco as a great rival with whom had some fantastic battles in the past."

Team owner Jorge 'Aspar' Martínez, shared: "What has happened today is immensely sad. It should be said that every Friday before a Grand Prix, the Safety Commission convenes at 5pm with all the MotoGP riders to evaluate safety issues at all Grand Prix circuits. Marco lost the front end and attempted to save the crash, but unfortunately the inertia of the bike took him onto the inside of the corner just when Edwards and Valentino were passing. There was nothing that they could do to avoid him. Today is a tremendously sad day for the entire paddock and for those who love motorcycle racing."

Toni Elías tearfully stated in an interview: “There is nothing I can say…Marco was a unique person – but above all, he was a good guy.”

Karel Abraham and his team released a statement: "The Cardion AB Motoracing team extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Marco Simoncelli, who succumbed to injuries he received in the race at the Sepang International Circuit."

Taka Horio, General Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport Department, released the statement: “Today we are left devastated. Our thoughts and prayers are with Marco’s family at this terrible, terrible time, and with his team. Words can do no justice to the emotion we are all feeling. The MotoGP family has lost one of its bright stars, a genuine character whose larger-than-life persona, charisma and unstoppable spirit were infectious, and we’ve all lost a great friend."

"We worked closely with Marco for his first two years in MotoGP and it was clear that he was a true racer, something he proved again and again this season. Determined to the end, and a great showman. His ascent through the field in just two seasons has been fantastic to watch, testament to his raw talent, ability and dedication to the sport he so loved."

"We remember fondly the tenacity and spirit with which he raced, and he will be sorely, sorely missed.”

Long time friend Valentino Rossi refrained from earlier media interviews, to later publish via his Twitter account: "Sic for me was like a youngest brother. So strong on track and so sweet in the normal life. I will miss him a lot."

Read tributes from Honda Here.

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Hopkins forced to withdraw from Malaysian GP

Hopkins was due to make a wild-card appearance for the Rizla Suzuki team this weekend, but the third finger on his right-hand that he broke in the Czech Republic – also as a wild-card entry – has re-broken at the knuckle. The finger is swollen and seized overnight, making it impossible to ride a MotoGP machine competitively or safely.

Hopkins will stay for the remainder of the weekend to give his full support to team-mate Álvaro Bautista and the Rizla Suzuki squad, before he returns to America for further surgery and convalescence to repair the damage to his hand and enable him to make a full recovery in time for next season.

John Hopkins:
“I knew my hand was sore after yesterday afternoon, because it was hurting when I was riding. It is definitely a lot more painful riding a MotoGP bike than it was the British Superbike, mainly due to the immense braking forces on the GSV-R. I woke up just before six this morning and I had quite a bit of pain so I tried to loosen it up and bend it, but that wasn’t an option."

"The screws and the plates in the finger have come apart and there’s just no movement in the knuckle at all, so I cannot bend the finger. If I get any further damage to the injury it could result in amputation and certainly don’t want that! My Doctor is totally confident that he can fix it, but I just haven’t been able to rest it and give it the proper time needed to repair it over the last six weeks. I thought it would be fine to ride this weekend and had every hope of it working, but I didn’t expect the amount of force that goes into riding a GP bike would cause such a problem."

"I am so sorry for the team and Rizla Suzuki, because they have given me such a great opportunity again and now I can’t ride past the Friday - it’s heartbreaking and I can’t express my disappointment. It’s such a shame and I couldn’t be more upset, but the priority now is to get it fixed and get myself ready for the 2012 season.”

Press release courtesy of Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

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Ducati team takes to the slippery Sepang asphalt

Both Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi struggled, finishing the first day of practice in eleventh and twelfth positions, respectively. Both riders will work tomorrow to improve the bike’s behavior in the fast corners, where today they weren’t able to be as competitive as they would like.

Nicky Hayden:
“Conditions are very different from what we just had at Phillip Island. It’s pretty warm and sticky, though it can definitely be even hotter here. This is a completely different bike than we had here at the test, so it takes a little extra time to get a rhythm, and we only used two different sets of tyres the whole day. We’ve fixed some of the steering issues, which is good, but at the same time we’ve lost rear grip, which we really miss here on both corner entry and corner exits. We’ll try to sort that out tomorrow. We made a pretty good step from this morning, but we definitely need to try to do another step about like that tomorrow morning and go from there.”

Valentino Rossi:
“The track conditions are very different, worse actually, than when we tested here during the winter, because the asphalt was very slippery today. It was really bad this morning, just a bit better in the afternoon. That makes it difficult to make a comparison between then and today, but we certainly weren’t as fast as we’d like to be. We changed something with the rear suspension at the end of the session that helped to improve the feeling with the bike, but we haven’t made enough progress in terms of lap times. Tomorrow we’ll see if we’re able to do better with a bit more grip. It wasn’t bad under braking today, but I’m not able to be fast in the corners, especially the fast ones. I really hope to be able to use the hard tyres because that would be the right choice for the race.”

Ducati Team press release

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Pedrosa continues pace in Sepang

Repsol Honda’s Pedrosa led the third and final practice before the afternoon qualifying a half second off his untouchable time set on Friday, though the Spaniard was still a comfortable 0.265s clear of Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) who was runner-up in the session with a time of 2'02.034.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) ranked third in the field for as many times this weekend, 0.047s adrift of Simoncelli. Newly crowned World Champion team mate Casey Stoner cruised to fourth position with a time of 2'02.169 to complete a top four Honda sweep.

Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden made big strides to improve after ranking 11th of the day on Friday lapping over a second quicker to land fifth with a time of 2'02.249 on Saturday morning. Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) followed by 0.094s in sixth, with Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) landing seventh ahead of Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team), the Italian eight tenths behind the leading session time set by Pedrosa.

Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) was ninth followed by Pramac Racing’s Loris Capirossi who rounded out the top ten times. Katsuyuki Nakasuga, who replaces Yamaha Factory Racing’s injured Jorge Lorenzo, made progress after crashing twice on Friday to post a time of 2'04.629 ending the session 17th.

A recovering Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) crashed in turn one with 13 minutes remaining, the Texan was back on his feet immediately though opted not to rejoin the session.

John Hopkins, who participated in both practice sessions yesterday, was entered as a wild card for the Rizla Suzuki team for the second time this season, but the finger he broke during his appearance at the Czech Republic in August has re-broken, forcing the Anglo-American to withdraw from participation this weekend.

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Indian route crowned the world's ultimate riding wonder at the 2011 Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix

Sunday, 23 October 2011

After several months of searching, Shell Advance, the leading motorcycle lubricant brand, unveiled Coorg to Munnar via Ooty, India, as the world's ultimate Riding Wonder at an exclusive event held at the 2011 Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

In Sepang, Shell Advance guests joined a panel of experts from Ducati, Dorna, Shell Advance and the Sepang International Circuit, as well as selected media from China, India and Indonesia, in a discussion to decide which route would be crowned the world's ultimate Riding Wonder from the list of the top 7 Riding Wonders voted for by the public.

The panellists' votes were combined with the public votes from 8 countries to reveal Coorg to Munnar via Ooty, India as the winner. It received many public votes and was chosen by two of the seven panellists because of its varied scenery, mixture of mountain climbs, twisting corners and diverse wildlife along the route.

One lucky guest, Alessandro Donadello from Italy, also won the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit India and the Ultimate Riding Wonder.

Tanmay Jaswal, Shell Advance Global Marketing Manager: "When Shell Advance launched the 7 Riding Wonders of the World campaign, we were asking biking enthusiasts to help us find the riding roads, tracks and routes around the world that best complement our ethos of Responsiveness, Control and Enjoyment.

We were overwhelmed with the response that we received and the results across all 22 routes were so close throughout the competition, but unfortunately there can only be one winner.

We would like to congratulate Alessandro on winning and look forward to giving them the chance to experience the world's ultimate Riding Wonder in India."

Panellist Nicky Hayden, Ducati Corse rider, said: "I' m really pleased that Coorg to Munnar via Ooty, India has been named the world's ultimate Riding Wonder. There are so many great rides out there and I love the tracks, but think it was a good choice"

Alessandro Donadello "I can't believe that I've won, I have never won anything in my life before. Thanks to Shell Advance I am here in Malaysia, and now my first trip trip to India It's like a dream come true. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'll never forget!"

Shell has been a key player in motorcycle racing for over a century. Since accompanying Ducati Corse into MotoGP in 2003, Shell Advance and Shell V-Power have powered and protected the Ducati Desmosedici GP-series en route to 31 wins and the clean sweep of the Riders', Manufacturers' and Teams' MotoGP World Championships in 2007.

Press release courtesy of Shell Advance MotoGP Press Office 

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Gresini Team to attend Valencia GP

The Italian team will assemble its usual box at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, and will display the bike holding number 58 in tribute to rider Marco Simoncelli. The team has yet to decide if Hiroshi Aoyama and the Moto2 riders will compete in the final GP of the season.

As preparations continue for the funeral of the late rider Marco Simoncelli continue (see additional information here), the San Carlo Honda Gresini team confirmed on Tuesday its intention to attend the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana, where the MotoGP community is planning a tribute in memory of the late Italian rider who died in Malaysia.

Team sources have ensured that the majority of the team’s members will travel to the Valencian circuit and the customary team box will be assembled, in which the Honda RC212V holding the number 58 will be present in tribute to their rider Marco Simoncelli.

Team owner Fausto Gresini has not yet decided if Hiroshi Aoyama and Moto2 riders Michele Pirro and Yuki Takahashi will take part in the Grand Prix. The team may make an announcement on Wednesday morning or might wait until after the funeral services on Thursday for Marco Simoncelli are held.

In a press release issued Tuesday, the Italian team thanked the countless messages of sympathy received since Sunday with a message that read: "Thanks for the love shown to Marco. The star of "Super Sic" will shine forever in heaven! From Marco’s family and the team, thank you."