A Glimpse of Mugello’s Golden History

This weekend MotoGP is coming to Mugello, Italy that has been hosting the GPs since 1976 and on Sunday it will be the 29th time that a Grand Prix will be taking place at the circuit. Interesting thing about Mugello circuit is that its layout has been same since 1976, as official length of the track that is 5.245km is still unchanged. In this period numerous teams had won races at the Italian circuit, but the most successful manufacturer on this track is Yamaha, as so far it has remained victorious in eight races. Of these eight victories, five came in quick succession from 2004 to 2008. Then, from 2011 to 2013 Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo won three races in the premier class racing at Mugello.

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Repsol Honda Team, on the other hand, had managed to won just one race at the Italian circuit from 2004 to 2013, when DaniPedrosa finished first in 2010. Ducati Team has also been able to win a race at Mugello, but that was in 2009 when Casey Stoner took them to the podium. When it comes to the most successful rider then, no one has been able to beat the home boy Valentino Rossi, as till this day he has won nine races at this venue of which seven were in MotoGP class, while one each in the 250 and 125cc classes.

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However, it’s been five years now since Rossi has won a race at his home circuit, so it remains to be seen how well he will perform on this Sunday, June 1. Still one can say that Rossi’s chances of winning the Italian Grand Prix are not too bad, as he has been performing well during this season. He reached the podium in three of the five previous races. Nonetheless, he still failed to beat Pedrosa’s maximum speed record at Mugella, as the Honda rider achieved 349 kilometres per hour (217 mph) speed during the free practice session of 2009 MotoGP.

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In fact, no other rider has able to break this record because it was the maximum official speed that was achieved by any MotoGP rider at any venue. That’s not all Mugello also hold the record of hosting the shortest Grand Prix in the history of motorcycle racing, when in 2004as a premier class race was limited to few laps after rain. The rain rules used to be effectiveat that time. However, you will not have to cancel your programme due to rain, as J&S Accessories offers a decent range of water resistant jackets at its store along with other motorcycle accessories and clothing.

Bradley Smith Says Pol Espargaro’s Fourth Position is Irritating Him

The Monster Yamaha Tech3 team’s Pol Espargaro put up a solid performance at Le Mans, when he finished in the fourth place gave his team some valuable points. Indeed, those were truly valuable points as Espargaro had really fight hard with top riders, including Stefan Bradl, in order to secure fourth place. However, Pol’s teammate Bradley Smith was not able to impress the fans too much, as he finished 10th in the race. Reviewing his performance in the last race, Smith has written in his latest column that one gets to learn a lot from poor results rather than from good results.

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Bradley also wrote that he believe that he will be able to improve his game by learning a lot from his colleague Espargaro, who made a superb effort at Le Mans. The 23-year old rider added that they also need to go through all the data. In order to find out why he is having grip issues and finished 10th, whereas his teammatewas able to have a great weekend. The British rider admitted that of course Espargaro’s fourth position annoys him because they both are using the same machines. The rider from Oxford said that he knows that both he and his bike have the capability to be competitive, but at the moment they are little off the track.

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Thus, they need to make things right quickly because its already two weekends now that he has not been able to finish well, said Bradley in his column. Smith said having a fast partner gives you the advantage to see what exactly is going wrong with you. The Yamaha Tech3 rider said he needs to be on track, so they can have at least four good races before the break in the summer. These thoughts clearly reflects that Bradley is not pleased with his performance and he knows what he needs to do in order to make things right.

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DaniPedrosa Successfully Emerges from Arm Pump Surgery

The 2014 MotoGP World Championship has remained extremely successful for the Repsol Honda Team, as its star rider Marc Marquez won all four races of the season. The best thing that had happened for Honda team is that Marquez’s teammate DaniPedrosa was also able to show solid performance in the current season. The dynamic rider managed to reach the podium in all four Grand Prix and now he has successfully emerged from arm pump surgery. Pedrosa underwent the knife on Tuesday May 6, 2014 to address the problem with is right forearm. The operation was performed by Dr. Xavier Mirat the QuironDexeus University Hospitalin Barcelona.

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Pedrosa went for the surgery after he started feeling arm pump effects a few days ago. Now after the successful operation Dani will take a few days off in order to get fully fit before the fifth round of 2014 MotoGP that will take place in France on Sunday, May 18, 2014. The 28-year old Spanish rider has a great run in the 2014 season, as he was one of the front leaders in all four rounds of the MotoGP. The solid performance from Pedrosa showed that he had started the season from where he left in 2013, as he reached the rostrum in Malaysia in last October.

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Dani is also right behind his teammate Marquez in overall standings with 72 points. The Honda rider finished third in Qatar, second in Austin and Argentina, while in Jerez, he again managed to cross the chequered flag in third place. In fact, before undergoing the surgery, Pedrosa took part in the first post-race test session in Jerez on Monday, May 5, 2014 along with his partner Marquez. The two Honda riders had a busy time in that test session, as they worked really hard on testing programmes that were conceived by HRC.

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During the session, Marquez focused on the electronics of his bike and also tried out different suspensions. Pedrosa, on the other hand, also tested various suspensions apart from bringing changes to the chassis of his machine. According to Dani, they had made all these changes to gain better balance so they can give better performance in the upcoming races. Pedrosa also said that though they had done some good testing in Jerez, but they will only be able to confirm whether the changes are positive or not only after arriving at La Mans in France.

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Adding to it, the Spaniard said that they have to see whether the changes that they had made in Jerez can acclimatize on different track and weather condition, as it was quite hot in Spain. Whereas in France the temperature is pretty cold, so they will see how well the tyres will do in Le Mans, said Pedrosa. His colleague Marquez was also pretty pleased with the testing session, as according to him they were able to draw some positive conclusions from the session.

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Marc Marquez Says He Knows Pedrosa and Lorenzo are Solid at Jerez

The youngest MotoGP World Champion and Repsol Honda Team rider Marc Marquez is still unbeatable in the 2014 season of Grand Prix, as he goes to the south of Spain to take part in the fourth round of competition. The 21-year old Spaniard has already made it clear after winning his third consecutive race of this season that now he is aiming to continue his winning streak in Jerez. That will be Marc’s 100th Grand Prix, but this does not mean that Marquez is underestimating his challengers at the Gran Premio bwin de España. The Honda rider said that last weekend was pretty good for him, as he secured another valuable 25 points for his side, but now they are going to Jerez where his teammate DaniPedrosa and Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo have shown solid performances.

Marquez said so because Pedrosa won the last race which he competed in Jerez. Lorenzo, on the other hand, gave Marc a tough time in the same race, but eventually Marquez end up outstripping Jorge.Therefore, the young champion realizes that both Pedrosa and Lorenzo can again give him a good run in Jerez this year as well. Given that both riders have a good track record at this Europeancircuit. Particularly, Dani as he had managed to reach the podium every time he had race at Gran Premio bwin de España. More importantly, Marquez has not won a race at Jerez during World Championship.

Besides talking about his rivals, Marquez also shared his thoughts on the Spanish circuit, as he said that both atmosphere and crowd at Gran Premio bwin de España are always exceptional, which extraordinarily motivates a rider to give his 100 percent. Adding to it, Marc said that after winning three races he is feeling great to arrive again in Europe for some ‘normal’ races and he will try to take some rest before getting prepared for the FP1 on this Friday.

Pedrosa also shared his thoughts on the third and upcoming round of MotoGP, as he said that he had a great time in Argentina though he would love to get involved in fight for victory, but he enjoyed the trajectory and the race. In addition, he also said that there is no gap between the third and the fourth round, so they have race in Jerez. That is his favourite track, as it’s a treat for him to watch all the racing and fans in Spain again.

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Marc Marquez Wins Third Straight MotoGP Race in a Row

The current MotoGP World Champion and Repsol Honda Team star rider Marc Marquez wins his third consecutive race in a row after an enthralling competition at Argentina circuit. With this win Marquez has gained another 19 points for his team to keep them at the top of the standings in 2014 season. However, unlike Circuits of The Americas (COTA), things were not one sided at de la Republica Argentina, as Marquez did not get a perfect start. The reigning World Champion got stuck in the crowd right in the very first lap when the race kicked off. That forced him to fall back to sixth in the second lap.

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The 21-year old Honda rider, however, did not give in and patiently picked off his rivals, which enabled him to achieve second position. Right behind Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo, who at that point in time was leading the herd. The skirmish between Lorenzo and Marquez remained interesting, as the Movistar Yamaha rider gave Marc a good run. However, with just eight laps to go the young Spaniard made the winning move and left Lorenzo behind. After which Marc did not look back and went on to win his third straight race in 41:39.821s that was 1.827s before his teammate DaniPedrosa crossed the chequered flag.

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Marquez admitted after the race that the first lap was tough for him, as he lost ground, but with great focus he managed to bonus back in the race. Marc also said that he won this race because he was able to manage the tyres well, particularly the rear tyre. According to him, his riding style puts a lot of pressure on the rear tyre, so he tried his best to save tyres till the end. Adding to it the Spanish rider said that he knows that they still have to go a long way as season has just started, but he will try his best to win in Jerez too, but one never knows what will happen next.

Appreciating, his teammate Marquez said that Dani showed a solid performance and he is just 19 points behind him and now they are going to circuit which he really likes. Alike Marquez, Pedrosa also struggled at the start of the race, but eventually he managed to outstrip the herd to reach behind Lorenzo, who was going strong at second. Dani, then surpassed Lorenzo in the penultimate lap and finished second.

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Talking about his performance, Pedrosa said that he was unlucky that he failed to show pace at the start of the race, as he got caught by the group, but at end he managed to pull forward because it took him some time to gain the rhythm. Dani said that he enjoyed the race but hated it too as he spend a lot of time alone in third during much part of the race. Nevertheless, Pedrosa said he is pleased with the result and next week they going to his favourite track.

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On the other hand, Jorge’s teammate and Movistar Yamaha star rider Valentino Rossi missed the podium once again, as he ran wide on two occasions and fall back at seventh. Before he gained the momentum and fought his way back up to finish fourth.LCR Honda MotoGP’sStefan Bradl also showed a solid performance as he finished fifth, while Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannoneremained fifth. The two riders were just 15 and 19 seconds respectivelybehind Marquez.

Monster Yamaha Tech3 team’s Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro were also able to end up in the top ten, as they finished seventh and eighth. While, Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso, who was third in Austin, finished ninth in Argentina and Drive M7 Aspar’sHiroshi Aoyama achieved tenth by crossing the finish line 0.73s before his teammate Nicky Hayden.

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Suzuki All Set to Make a Comeback in MotoGP 2015 as Kevin Schwantz Test its Machine

After withdrawing from the competition at the end of the 2011 MotoGP season, Suzuki is now looking to return in the Grand Prix. The confirmation came from none other than the Manager of Suzuki MotoGP Test Team, Davide Brivio himself, who said that the house of Hamamatsu is making a comeback in 2015 season of MotoGP, as Factory team. In fact, Suzuki team has already involved in testing its machine along with current Grand Prix teams on different circuits like Sepang, Brno, Aragon and Catalunya in the last 12 months. Now the next circuit where Suzuki was planning to test their machine was Austin, Texas. So finally on Tuesday, April 15th they got500cc world champion of 1993 season, Kevin Schwantz, who rode the MotoGP machine of Suzuki at the Circuit of the Americas for his first laps. 

According to RoadRacingWorld.com during the test session best lap time that 49-year old Schwantz managed to achieve was 2m 12.7s. That is 9.2s more than MotoGP’s fastest race lap record that was set by Marc Marquez and 4.1s more than Broc Parkes record that set the slowest race lap time. The Suzuki MotoGP Test Team will continue testing on Wednesday as well, as it’s a two-day test that is a part of their preparation for 2015 season comeback. Therefore, Schwantz has another chance to improve his time, but on Wednesday full time development riders of Suzuki Nobuatsu Aoki and Randy de Puniet will also be present on the track. Schwantz, who previously had legal differences with the Austin circuit, has now settled the issue with COTA and now he is an ambassador of the facility. 

Brivio already mentioned in a recent interview to MotoGP.com that they will focus on the upgrades of their internally developed electronics software in the next test sessions. The reason for testing the upgrades is that Suzuki’s Test Team has adapted up to date standard championship ECU hardware. Therefore, in the upcoming test sessions the team will ensure that the new hardware works fine. It is anticipated that Suzuki can make a wild-card entry in the last round of the season in Valencia, whereas start rider of Crescent Suzuki WSBKEugene Laverty will also get the opportunity to ride the MotoGP bike in the coming days.

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On the other hand, Repsol Honda Team’s Marquez is leading the standings with most points, while his teammate Dani Pedrosa is right behind him on the charts. However, Valentino Rossi of Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, who finished second in Qatar failed to reach the podium in COTA, as he had a technical issue with his bike during race. As a result, now Rossi is number in overall standings. Now remains to be seen whether the Italian rider will be able to bounce back in the next round of the Grand Prix.

Riders Looking to Catch Marc Marquez as Next Round of MotoGP Draws Near

The first round of the MotoGP remained quite thrilling for the fans, as Repsol Honda Team’s rider Marc Marquez and Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi showed some great skills in Qatar. Now MotoGP fans are hoping to see another intense battle between the Spanish and Italian rider, when they will come face to faceagain at the Circuits of The Americas on this weekend.Marquez has already said in his recent interview that this year he is feeling more confident before going on to the circuits, as now he has a good one year experience behind him. On top of it, winning the title has boosted his confidence sky high. This can be judged from the fact that the 21 year old Repsol Honda Team rider had won the opening Grand Prix race despite breaking his leg just seven weeks before the start of first round of the 2014 season.

Though, Marquez looked in great shape after injury and it was at Circuits of The Americas (COTA) where he achieved his first victory during last season, but this does not mean that Rossi has no chance of reaching the top step of the podium. The Italian rider has already made it clear that he is looking to renew his contract with Yamaha in 2015, as he is satisfied with his performance in the opening race. There is no doubt that Rossi has made an brilliant effort in the first round, as the 35 year old rider managed to lead all the racers after he improved his pace from number ten position. In fact, Rossi gave Marquez a goodtough time till the second last lap of the race, so it is likely that the veteran rider will look to even the scores with his arch rival in the next round.

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On the other hand, Marquez’s teammate DaniPedrosa, who finished third in Qatar, is hoping to further improve his performance in the upcoming round, as the track in Austin had favoured Honda during last year. Also, the 28 year old Respol Honda rider had some good memories of the track because he was pretty close to outstrip Marquez at the circuit in the previous season. In contrast to Pedrosa, Rossi’s colleague Jorge Lorenzo did not have pretty good memories of the opening race, as he crashed out after leading the riders for a short while. However, now he will be looking to make up for the crash, as Lorenzo’s unusual mistake in the last race will only fire him up to do well at COTA. MotoGP fans can find superior collection of motorcycle clothing and accessories at JS Accessories that is one of the best motorcycle stores when it comes to offering high quality and low price.

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Aside from these riders,MotoGP fans in America will also get to see some other exciting talent at the circuit, who have the potential to give Marquez, Rossi, Pedrosa and Lorenzo a good run. These sensational riders are Alvaro Bautista of GO&FUN Honda Gresini, Stefan Bradl of LCR Honda MotoGP and Bradley Smith of Monster Yamaha Tech3. It is anticipated that if these factory riders were able to maintain their respective pace during the contest, they can become serious threat for the front-runners.

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Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow are two other talented riders, who will represent Ducati Team in the next round that has tremendously improved its race-pace and looking to go further up in the ranks when they will compete on the US soil. Nevertheless, American fans will most probably be cheering for very own riders Nicky Hayden of Drive M7 Aspar and Colin Edwardsof NGM Forward Racing, who managed to end the first round with solid 8th and 9th positions and are now looking to enhance their performance in the upcoming challenge.