Stoner and Hayden enjoy Wrooom 2010 opening

Monday, 11 January 2010

Ducati Marlboro riders set for a week of events in the Italian Alp ski resort of Madonna di Campiglio.

Stoner and Hayden kick off 2010 campaign in Madonna di Campiglio
Stoner and Hayden kick off 2010 campaign in Madonna di Campiglio

The Wrooom Press Ski Meeting 2010 officially opened on Monday, in a week that traditionally combines spectacle, sport and meetings with the international press in Madonna di Campiglio’s magnificent Dolomites.
Events will get underway on Tuesday, with press conferences with the two Ducati MotoGP Team riders, Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden.
On Wednesday it will be the turn of Claudio Domenicali, General Manager of Ducati Motor Holding, with another key moment being the official presentation of the Ducati Desmosedici GP 10.
The week will also include events dedicated to the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team, with drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa and test driver Giancarlo Fisichella all present, and proceedings will conclude on Friday.

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2010 MotoGP Rookies: Héctor Barberá

Monday, 11 January 2010

motogp.com gives you the lowdown on the Rookies who will be racing in the premier class next season, starting with the 2009 250cc World Championship runner-up.


Héctor Barberá will make the graduation from the quarter-litre category to MotoGP in 2010, returning to the Aspar structure with which he made his World Championship debut in 2002.
Riding on Ducati machinery in the premier class, Barberá will again be teamed with Jorge Martinez ‘Aspar’ as he enters the next stage in a career that has already spanned eight seasons at the age of just 23.
Barberá made his World Championship debut in Japan at just 15 years old, and after a promising first season he went from strength to strength. In only his second season in the single cylinder category in 2003 Barberá amassed an impressive five podiums; a first GP win at Donington amongst them.
Better was to come in his final year in 125cc in 2004, as second overall was the result of a fine season which produced four wins and a further three podiums, the final race of the season at Valencia a highlight as Barberá won in front of his home crowd.
A move up to the 250cc class followed and after a year of settling in, 2006 delivered a win from pole position in China as Barberá finished seventh overall. He improved by two places in 2007, and in 2008 was a favourite for the title after being given an official Aprilia RSA. However, a crash in a practice session at the Japanese GP ended Barberá’s season early as he sustained fractures in two of the vertebrae in his back.
Returning for the start of the 2009 season, Barberá produced his best ever final classification in the 250cc World Championship in the category’s last ever season.
Victory in the opening race of the season in Qatar started the year in fantastic style for the Spaniard, and an eighth podium of the year in Valencia in the final race – another win on his home track – sealed second place in the 2009 standings.
Barberá began his preparations for his debut season in MotoGP immediately after finishing the 2009 campaign, riding the Desmosedici GP9 at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in the post-season test. Jerez provided the setting a few weeks later as he again took out the 800cc prototype, this time in wet conditions, and his education aboard the machine will continue in the next scheduled MotoGP test in Sepang in February.

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Rossi v Lorenzo in Catalunya: A 2009 classic

Friday, 08 January 2010

In the final episode of a series looking at the best battles between riders, the sixth round of the 2009 season – the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya – is revisited.


Dubbed the ‘Battle of Catalunya’, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo’s fantastic fight for victory has been classified by many as the highlight of the 2009 season.
A contest between two team-mates, battling for the win until the very end, was an awesome spectacle which saw Rossi secure victory at the very last opportunity, and here you can experience all the gripping action once again.
The full race is available in High Resolution, and you can also see the duel from several different perspectives.
Bird’s Eye View offers you the opportunity to see how the race between Rossi and Lorenzo unfolded from an aerial viewpoint, captured by helicopter cameras, while Pure Track allows you to see the last three laps as they happened. OnBoard delivers a unique and thrilling camera angle from both riders’ bikes.
Finally, MotoGP Rewind gives you a free video highlights package of the race.

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Rossi v Biaggi: Bitter rivals

Thursday, 07 January 2010

One of the most memorable personal rivalries in the history of the premier class, motogp.com charts the intensity of the Italian duo’s volatile relationship.


Italian riders Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi brought excitement and a deep dislike of one another to the MotoGP scene in the early 2000s, as they fought in every sense for the right to be crowned World Champion.
Their rivalry began in the late 90s before they had even started to race in the same category, and by the time they competed against one another in the premier class in the 2000 season the battle lines had been drawn.
Completely different mentalities in both living and racing, Rossi and Biaggi divided fans as they rode for different teams in their individual quests to take the MotoGP crown.
MotoGP commentator Nick Harris sums up perfectly the tension that had been building between the pair, and continued to do so throughout their contests after the battle lines were drawn following an infamous incident at Suzuka in the 2001 Japanese Grand Prix.
“You knew the conflict that had been simmering, not so much on the track because they had not ridden together that much because Rossi had just arrived in the 500cc class the year before, but it transferred onto the track and you knew it was going to take off from that moment; it was brilliant!” explained Harris.
In the attached video you can watch interviews with Harris, Rossi and Biaggi and Carlo Pernat, former manager of both riders, as well as the best footage of their electrifying clashes.
Tomorrow, motogp.com relives the magnificent duel between Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo at the 2009 Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya.

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Jacque v Nakano: A title battle to the very end

Wednesday, 06 January 2010

The tussle for the 2000 250cc World Championship between the Chesterfield Yamaha Tech 3 team-mates was one which went down to the last lap of the last race, at Phillip Island.


Protagonists of one of the most exciting finishes ever to a World Championship, Frenchman Olivier Jacque and his Japanese team-mate Shinya Nakano took their fight for the quarter-litre title all the way to the final seconds of the 2000 season.
Separated by only a few points after 15 races of the campaign, the duo arrived for the final race of the year in Australia with tensions high. Jacque was the eventual victor as he slipstreamed Nakano and won the race by 0.014s.
““It was very risky. I could have overtaken him before but he’d had a very good season, a very good race and he also deserved the title, so I gambled. It was really risky, the last curve, the last straight,” said the Frenchman in an interview in 2006.
Jacque also remembered clearly the feelings before the start of the race.
“In Australia the winner of the Championship would be the one who finished in front of the other,” he added. “The pressure was very high, I remember, but it was very psychological. We were sharing the same room and changed in the same place. This was a hard time because you really needed somewhere to rest and concentrate.”
Nakano fought hard to compete with Jacque to prove himself, and pushed his team-mate all the way.
“The team were all French and so is Olivier, so if I was always behind him I couldn’t get anything. So that is why I tried to show my potential to the team staff, and that is why in every race and on every lap I pushed hard to finish in front of him,” said Nakano.
“This race I still remember,” he continued, turning his attention to the title decider. “Before the race my strategy was, of course to do my best, and push hard from the first lap. I did not pray, I just got out there and hoped that I would get the right result.”
In the attached video you can see both riders’ interviews as well as footage of their on-track contest. Tomorrow, motogp.com reviews the all-Italian rivalry between Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi.

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MotoGP 2009: Best of the Action


Friday, 01 January 2010

A compelling collection of the most unique moments from the MotoGP World Championship season.


High speeds, daring moves and courageous riders; all are here in this highlights video package from motogp.com which brings together the most breathtaking action clips of the 2009 season.

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