MOTO GP RIDERS!

JORGE LORENZO

NUMBER: 1

COUNTRY: SPAIN

ANDREA DOVIZIOSO

NUMBER: 4

COUNTRY: ITALY

COLIN EDWARDS

NUMBER: 5

COUNTRY: USA

HIROSHI AOYAMA

NUMBER: 7

COUNTRY: JAPAN

HECTOR BARBERA

NUMBER: 8

COUNTRY: SPAIN

BEN SPIES

NUMBER: 11

COUNTRY: USA

RANDY DE PUNIET

NUMBER: 14

COUNTRY: FRANCE

KAREL ABRAHAM

NUMBER: 17

COUNTRY: CZECH REPUBLIC

ALVARO BAUTISTA

NUMBER: 19

COUNTRY: SPAIN

TONI ELIAS

NUMBER: 24

COUNTRY: SPAIN

DANI PEDROSA

NUMBER: 26

COUNTRY: SPAIN

CASEY STONER

NUMBER: 27

COUNTRY: AUSTRALIA

CAL CRUTCHLOW

NUMBER: 35

COUNTRY: GREAT BRITAN

VALENTINO ROSSI

NUMBER: 46

COUNTRY: ITALY

MARCO SIMONCELLI

NUMBER: 58

COUNTRY: ITALY

LORIS CAPIROSSI

NUMBER: 65

COUNTRY: ITALY

NICKY HAYDEN

NUMBER: 69

COUNTRY: USA

MOTO GP HISTORY!!!

HAVING 60 YEARS OF HISTORY, MotoGP IS THE OLDEST OF ALL MOTORSPORTS WORLD CHAMPION SHIPS - IT'S FIRST ANNUAL COMPETITION HAVING BEEN HELD IN 1949.
FROM THE EARLY 1900s MOTORCYCLE GRANDS PRIX WERE HELD IN VARIOS COUNTRIES AND IN 1938 PREDECESSOR TO THE CURRENT FIM, THE FICM ANNOUNCED A EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP. HOWEVER, THE START OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR INTERRUPTED THE COMPETITION AND IT THEN TOOK SOME TIME FOR FUEL TO BECOME AVAILABLE, BEFORE A TRULY INTERNATIONAL SERIES COULD BE CREATED.

EARLY RACING

When the first World Championship was held in 1949 Grand Prix racing made four solo classes, with the  ‘premier class’ 500cc title being won by British rider Leslie Graham on AJS machinery. Another Brit, Freddie Frith (Velocette) took the first ever 350cc World title, while Italians Bruno Ruffo (Moto Guzzi) and Nello Pagani (Mondial) were the first 250cc and 125cc World Champions.

A 600cc sidecar championship in the same season was won by Britons Eric Oliver and Denis Jenkinson with Norton machinery, though the sidecar category became a 500cc competition in 1951.
The Italian manufacturers such as Mondial and Moto Guzzi firms, along with companies such as Gilera and MV Agusta, dominated the World Championships during the 1950s, reflecting the strength of the country’s motorcycle industry at the time. MV Agusta were particularly good late in the decade, taking a clean sweep of World titles across all four categories for three seasons from 1958 to 1960 – while their dominance in the 500cc class was unbroken for 17 years from 1958 until 1974.

THE SIXTIES

During the ‘60s the Japanese motorbike industry began to boom and during that decade many of the manufacturers that participate in modern day MotoGP racing, such as Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha, arrived to pick up their first World Championship title wins across the 125, 250 and 500 categories, as they announced themselves in Grand Prix racing. Suzuki in particular enjoyed great success in a new 50cc class which was introduced in 1962.
The late ‘60s brought the start of the glory days for MotoGP Legend Giacomo Agostini – the most successful rider in the history of World Championship competition. Up until the modern era riders regularly competed in two or three classes simultaneously and Agostini took 10 of his 15 titles in five successive seasons as double champion in 350cc and 500cc - in a golden period commencing in 1968, riding for MV Agusta.
At this time the escalating costs associated with Grand Prix racing had reached such a level that several Japanese firms withdrew from competition - with only Yamaha left at the end of the ‘60s. In response the FIM introduced rules which limited the bikes to single cylinder engines in the 50cc class, two cylinders in 125cc and 250cc, and four cylinders in 350cc and 500cc.

The 1980s and 1990s saw some superb quality racing in the premier class in particular with fierce competition between Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha and some great battles between American stars such as Eddie Lawson, Randy Mamola, Freddie Spencer, Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz. Meanwhile in the 125cc and 250cc categories European factories such as Derbi, Garelli and later Aprilia were fighting for the honours with the Japanese giants.

The long association that sidecars had with Grand Prix racing came to an end after the 1996 season, when the class evolved into the Sidecar World Cup in 1997.
In the late 1990s the 500cc class was utterly dominated by Honda hero and MotoGP Legend Mick Doohan who took five consecutive titles, before a combination of racing injuries brought the Australian’s career to a premature end in 1999.

MODERN RACING

Before the revision of regulations which brought about the move to 990cc 4-stroke competition in the premier class - in line with modern engineering and production trends - a young Italian rider called Valentino Rossi took the last ever 500cc title in 2001 on Honda machinery, having won the 1997 edition of the 125cc championship and the 1999 quarter litre crown with Aprilia.
After the re-branding of the World Championship as MotoGP in 2002 and the introduction of 990cc racing, Rossi went on to win four further consecutive titles, two with Honda and two after a sensational move to Yamaha.
In recent seasons the lower cylinder categories have been ruled by young European riders preparing for MotoGP on Aprilia and Honda bikes, with Dani Perdosa epitomising the trend with three successive titles – one in 125 in 2003 followed by two in 250 – riding for Honda before moving into the premier class. In his first season in MotoGP Pedrosa shared the Repsol Honda pit-box with American rider Nicky Hayden, whose aggressive but consistent riding earned him the 2006 title and ended Rossi’s annual procession to glory.
At the start of the 2007 season, new rules restricting the number of tyres used on Grand Prix weekends and a reduction in engine size from 990cc to 800cc again levelled the playing field in MotoGP – with Bridgestone-equipped Ducati Marlboro rider Casey Stoner emerging as the first standout rider of the new era, as the runaway 2007 World Champion. In 2008, however, Rossi returned to the pinnacle, taking his sixth premier class title, with Stoner a distant runner-up in the standings.

The 2009 season saw the introduction of a single-tyre rule, as Bridgestone were named the sole suppliers for the MotoGP class. Rossi took his seventh title in the premier class after a battle with team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, taking him to within one more of equalling Giacomo Agostini’s all-time record of eight.


MOTO GP LEGENDS
Since the launch of the MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2000, a series of riders who have each been key protagonists throughout more than half a century of Grand Prix racing have been inducted as MotoGP Legends. The first rider to become a MotoGP Legend was Australia’s aforementioned five-time World Champion Mick Doohan, who was honoured at Mugello, in May 2000.
Since then several additional illustrious names from different eras of CK racing have been inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame, as listed in full here:

GIACOMO AGOSTINI      (Italy)
MICK DOOHAN               (Australia)
JEFFORY DUKE               (GB)
MIKE HAILWOOD           (GB)
DAIJIRO KATO               (Japan)
WAYNE GARDNER          (Australia)
EDDIE LAWSON             (USA)
ANTON MANG                (Germany)
ANGEL NIETO                (Spain)
WAYNE RAINEY            (USA)
PHIL READ                    (GB)
KENNY ROBERTS          (USA)
KEVIN SHWANTZ          (USA)
BARRY SHEENE            (GB)
FREDDIE SPENCER      (USA)
JOHN SURTEES            (GB)
CARLO UBBIALI         (Italy)    

MOTO GP OVER VIEW!!

Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of MOTORCYCLE ROAD RACING currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class use a TWO STROKE engine while Moto2 and MotoGP uses FOUR STROKE ENGINES. In 2010 the 250cc was replaced by the new Moto2 600cc four-stroke class. Grand Prix motorcycles are purpose-built racing machines that are neither available for purchase by the general public nor can be ridden legally on PUBLIC ROADS. This contrasts with the various production categories of racing, such as the SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, that feature modified versions of road-going motorcycles available to the public.

LATEST MOTO GP RESULTS

 HEY, IT'S ME AGAIN, JUST PASSING ON THE RESULTS FROM THE LATEST MOTOGP RACE AND QUALIFYING.
AND SOME PICTURES.................

2011 MotoGP
For the second time since Catalunya MotoGP, San Carlo Honda Gresini's Marco Simoncelli will start from the pole position.
The Italian edged out Yamaha Factory Racing's Ben Spies Friday at Assen qualifying by a mere 0.009 of a second, with the current MotoGP points' leader, Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner, a further 0.290 of a second behind Simoncelli.
This makes Simoncelli the fastest rider so far in Assen; on Thursday, he held off Ducati Team's Valentino Rossi in Free Practice 1, then the current MotoGP leader, Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner, in an extended Free Practice 2 due to the original session being canceled due to rain and oil on the track Thursday.
The second row for Saturday's Assen TT MotoGP race will be headed by the reigning MotoGP Champion, Jorge Lorenzo on the Yamaha Factory Racing M1. Joining Lorenzo on the second row will be Repsol Honda's Andrea Dovizioso, who was 0.101 of a second behind the Spaniard, and Monster Tech 3 Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow, who is still healing from breaking his shoulder at Silverstone two weeks ago.
Qualigying seventh was Cardion AB Motoracing's Karel Abraham, followed by Colin Edwards (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha), Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) and Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing).
As for Rossi, the Italian couldn't find a a proper setup for the new GP11.1 in the dry conditions. Valentino Rossi will start from 11th on the grid.
As for crashes, Pramac Racing Ducati's Loris Capirossi and LCR Honda's Toni Elias both crashed during Assen MotoGP qualifying.
The race action gets underway at 3 p.m. local time; stay clicked to UltimateMotorCycling.com for the results and team reports.

Pos.	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time	Gap 1st/Prev.
1.	58	Marco SIMONCELLI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	291.0	1'34.718
2.	11	Ben SPIES	USA	Yamaha Factory Racing	Yamaha	293.1	1'34.727	0.009 / 0.009
3.	27	Casey STONER	AUS	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	298.7	1'35.008	0.290 / 0.281
4.	1	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Yamaha Factory Racing	Yamaha	300.7	1'35.143	0.425 / 0.135
5.	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	295.0	1'35.244	0.526 / 0.101
6.	35	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	291.3	1'35.329	0.611 / 0.085
7.	17	Karel ABRAHAM	CZE	Cardion AB Motoracing	Ducati	291.7	1'35.742	1.024 / 0.413
8.	5	Colin EDWARDS	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	294.5	1'35.818	1.100 / 0.076
9.	69	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Ducati Team	Ducati	302.1	1'35.866	1.148 / 0.048
10.	14	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	Pramac Racing Team	Ducati	300.2	1'36.435	1.717 / 0.569
11.	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	301.2	1'36.564	1.846 / 0.129
12.	7	Hiroshi AOYAMA	JPN	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	293.5	1'36.580	1.862 / 0.016
13.	8	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP	Ducati	293.2	1'36.590	1.872 / 0.010
14.	19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	Suzuki	300.1	1'36.820	2.102 / 0.230
15.	65	Loris CAPIROSSI	ITA	Pramac Racing Team	Ducati	290.9	1'37.130	2.412 / 0.310
16.	24	Toni ELIAS	SPA	LCR Honda MotoGP	Honda	282.2	1'37.651	2.933 / 0.521
17.	64	Kousuke AKIYOSHI	JPN	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	281.3	1'39.006	4.288 / 1.355

A DETAILED SUMMARY OF DOWNHILL MTB!!

MANY SKI AREAS ARE CONVERTED INTO BIKING VENUES DURING SUMMER, HOWEVER THERE ARE ALSO MANY OTHER HILLS WITH DOWNHILL MTB, TRACKS ON THEM.
ALL RIDERS GET "SHUTTLED" TH THE TOP OF THE HILL.
COURSES USED IN COMPETITION TYPICALLY FEATURE SEVERAL LINES THROUGH OR AROUND THE MOST DIFFICULT OBSTACLES. FOR EXAMPLE THE "A LINE" MIGHT BE A VERY DIRECT COURSE WITH A LARGE JUMP LANDING ON ROCKS, "LINE B" MIGHT BE A SMALLER JUMP WITH A CLEAR LANDING, AND "C LINE" MIGHT COMPLETELY AVOID THE OBSTACLE BUT WILL TAKE MORE TIME.
IN SIMPLE TERMS IT MEANS, THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL LINES YOU COULD TAKE DOWN A TRACK, IT JUST SIMPLY POINTS THEM OUT TO YOU WHILST YOUR RIDING.

DOWNHILL MTB IN AUSTRALIA

DESPITE BEING THE FLATTEST CONTINENT ON EARTH, AUSTRALIA HAS PRODUCED A LARGE NUMBER OF INTERNATIONALLY SUCCESSFUL RIDERS.
AUSTRALIA'S CAPITAL CITY CANBERRA, HOSTED THE WORLD CUP ROUND IN 2008, AND ALSO HOSTED THE 2009 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS AS PART OF THE MTB WORLD SERIES!

THE HISTORY OF DOWNHILL!

THE FIRST DOWNHILL TIME TRIAL RACE TOOK PLACE IN FAIRFAX, CALIFORNIA ON OCTOBER 22, 1976 ON A FIRE ROAD NOW KNOWN AS REPACK ROAD, DUE TO THE NEED TO REPACK A SINGLE REAR HUB AFTER EACH DESCENT.
THE BIKES USED WERE BEACH CRUISERS THAT HAD A SINGLE REAR BRAKE THAT WAS OPPERATED BY PEDDALING BACKWARDS. THE RIDERS DESCENDED 1300 FEET DOWN REPACK IN ABOUT FIVE MINUTES!!
THE FIRST BIKES USED TO DESCEND WERE KNOWN AS "KLUNKERS" OR "PAPER BOY BIKES"; COASTER BRAKE CRUISERS USING BALLOON TIRES THAT WERE FIRST IMPORTED TO AMERICA BY IGNATZ SHWINN.
BY 1979 TWO ORGANISERS AND COMPETITORS OF THE REPACK DOWNHILL RACE, CHARLIE KELLY AND GARY FISHER FOUNDED THE COMPANY WHICH NAMED THE SPORT "MOUNTAIN BIKES".
PURPOSE MADE BIKES WEREN'T MADE PROPERLY TIL' THE 90s. SOME OF THESE INNOVATIONS INCLUDE DUAL CROWN SUSPENSION FORKS AND DISC BRAKES, AS WELL AS VERY ELABORATE FRAME SUSPENSION DESIGNS.
LATER RIDERS FROM ALL DICIPLINES OF CYCLING BEGAN FOCUSING ON DOWNHILL. PARTICULARLY MANY BMX RACERS MADE THE CROSSOVER, INCLUDING CHAMPIONS SUCH AS JOHN TOMAC AND BRIAN LOPES. THEIR INFLUENCE IS SEEN IN THE INCREASED DIFFICULTY OF MOST COURSES, ESPECIALLY THE BIG JUMPS AND DROPS ASPECT OF DOWNHILL.
THE COMING OF AGE FOR DOWNHILL, WAS IT'S INCLUSION AT THE FIRST UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE CHAMPIONSHIPS, HELD IN 1990 IN DURANGO, COLORADO