MotoGP shock as Simoncelli dies in Malaysia

LESS than a week after the tragic crash in IndyCars that claimed the life of British racing driver Dan Wheldon, motorcycling has its own shock to deal with.  Promising Italian rider Marco Simoncelli died from injuries sustained in a crash during the penultimate round of the championship this morning in Malaysia.

Marco Simoncelli: 20 January 1987 - 23 October 2011

     Simoncelli, 24, was riding for the Gresini Honda team when he came off his bike on the second lap.  The incident happened on turn 11 of the Sepang International Circuit.  He bounced back onto the road, only to be collected by two other riders; Yamaha’s Colin Edwards and the Ducati of Valentino Rossi.  Edwards also tumbled into the gravel and fractured his shoulder, whilst Rossi nursed his machine back to the Ducati pit.  The impact with the other bikes saw Simoncelli’s helmet ripped off and it soon became clear that this was a serious incident.  The race was stopped.

      Paramedics got the scene quickly to attend to the Italian, who is thought to have been in cardiac arrest when the medics got to the crash scene.  It soon became clear that the race was going to be abandoned.  Recently crowned champion Casey Stoner told the BBC of his fears when seeing the crash back on the world feed;

     “As soon as I saw the footage of it, it just makes you sick inside.  Whenever the helmet comes off, that’s not a good sign.” 

      When announcement of the decision to abandon the race came through, the crowd reacted with frustration and annoyance, although the organiser’s decision to postpone the event was hailed by many insiders within the paddock.  Simoncelli succumbed to his injuries around an hour later.  His fatality is the first in MotoGP since Japanese rider Dajiro Kato died at an event in Suzuka in 2003.

     Tributes have poured in from around the racing world to the charismatic Italian; MotoGP fan and Red Bull Racing F1 driver Mark Webber tweeted; “RIP Marco.  A special talent that will be missed.  Thinking of your loved ones and all the MotoGP paddock.”  Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, who was on pole position for the shortened event had a publicised run-in with Simoncelli earlier this season in France; an incident that fractured the Spaniard’s collarbone.  However, he also was in severe shock at what happened to his colleague;

    “Many times, we ourselves forget how dangerous this sport can be and, when you lose people on the way, nothing has any meaning.  It’s clear we all do what we like, what we love, but on days like today, nothing matters.”

     Marco Simoncelli was one of the brightest stars in motorcycle racing, who seemed destined for great things.  He won the 250cc championship in 2008, claiming the title in of all places, Malaysia.  He joined the premier class of motorcycling in 2010 and had already achieved success this season; lying sixth in the standings before this event.  Marco took a pole position in Catalunya and two podium results.  That included a career best second place finish in the Australian round only last weekend.  He had just signed with the Gresini team again for next season in a factory deal and was expected to launch a severe championship assault to the likes of Stoner, the absent Jorge Lorenzo and Pedrosa in 2012.  Despite some criticism for his riding style from his fellow riders this season, Simoncelli had put aside the errors of judgement he made in Jerez, Estoril and Silverstone and was putting together a string of consistent points finishes. 

      At just 24 years of age, Marco Simoncelli had everything going for him.  The world of motorsport has lost another colourful and flamboyant figure for the second Sunday running and MotoGP will be a poorer place without the flair and style he brought to the class. 

Thoughts go out to his family and everyone in the MotoGP paddock.

Marco Simoncelli – 20 January 1987 – 23 October 2011, RIP

Aragon MotoGP 2011: Clinical Casey edges closer

ANOTHER Spanish event in the 2011 MotoGP championship happened at the weekend and it was another win for Casey Stoner.  The Australian’s eighth win of the season moves the Australian 44 points clear of the gallant Jorge Lorenzo, as he edges closer to his second title.

DOMINANT: Stoner took another victory to edge closer

      Stoner took his ninth pole position of the season in qualifying, but made a poor getaway and was overwhelmed by Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa and the second Yamaha of Ben Spies.  Further back, Karel Abraham had a nasty looking accident, as his bike flipped and hit his back.  Luckily, Abraham walked away from the gravel pit, whilst the unlucky Randy de Puniet did extremely well to miss the flying machinery.  Unfortunately, his evasive action meant a trip through the gravel, which ruined his race efforts.

     However, Stoner was back in the lead by the end of the first circuit and a silly error from Spies in the final corner handed Pedrosa second spot.  Meanwhile, the third Repsol Honda of Andrea Dovizioso crashed out early on; his first retirement since another Spanish event, in Jerez back in March.  The early passing was produced by Marco Simoncelli, who seems to have calmed down from his early season antics.  He overhauled Nicky Hayden, Lorenzo and Spies in quick succession to snatch third position.  However, his good work came to nought two laps later, when the Italian ran wide and allowed both Yamaha’s past him.  After a fairly lacklustre race, Lorenzo woke up and finally got on terms with his team-mate Spies to claim third place with ten laps to go.  However, it was too late to get on terms with the dominant Honda’s. 

     Having announced his retirement from motorcycling at the end of the season, the enigmatic Loris Capirossi certainly wants to leave the sport on a high, but he is having a nightmare swansong.  He crashed into the back of Toni Elias and took both riders out.  In the process of crashing out, Capirossi picked up a shoulder injury, which rules him out of next weekend’s rescheduled MotoGP event in Motegi, Japan.

     Having started from the pitlane following an engine change, Valentino Rossi fought upto ninth position, but was passed by Britain’s Cal Crutchlow in the closing stages.  It left Rossi down in tenth; his worst finish of the season.  Despite his pitlane start, he will be disappointed to finish behind team-mate Hayden, who was seventh and the customer Ducati of Hector Barbera in eighth. 

     Out infront, Stoner cruised to another victory, seven seconds clear of Pedrosa.  Lorenzo finished third, ahead of Spies and Simoncelli.  However, he knows victory in Motegi is now imperative if he wants to maintain any hope of producing a remarkable comeback as this MotoGP season enters the finishing straight.

San Marino MotoGP 2011: Lorenzo keeps the battle alive

OFF: Lorenzo speeds into the distance from the go in Misano

WORLD champion Jorge Lorenzo showed supreme quality to defeat the Repsol Honda's and win Sunday's round of the MotoGP season, at Misano.  Held under the title of San Marino, Lorenzo took the lead from the start and was never headed to lead home Dani Pedrosa and championship leader Casey Stoner in a fairly processional race.

     Stoner started on pole position for the eighth time this season and looked odds-on favourite for a fourth successive win, which surely would put any thoughts of back-to-back championships for Lorenzo out of any thought.  However, recent races seemed to take their toll on the Australian, who produced his weakest race since finishing a distant third in Portugal at the beginning of May.  The build-up to the weekend was dominated by the news that Colin Edwards is to leave the Tech 3 Yamaha team at the end of the season, whilst the likeable Loris Capirossi will stop racing altogether at the end of the season.

     At the start of the race, Lorenzo jumped straight into the lead, with Stoner backing off, clearly thinking of championship implications.  Pedrosa made an average start and only just held off a forceful Ben Spies on the opening lap.  Meanwhile, Marco Simoncelli began to recover from a poor start, as he produced a rude pass on 'The Doctor,' Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso to take fourth place.  At half-distance, Lorenzo started to pull away, with a series of blistering fast laps to pull away from Stoner.  

     By now, Stoner was struggling with his fitness levels and a dodgy tyre choice.  Pedrosa reeled him in and last year's Misano winner went through with six laps to go.  With the top three positions sewn up by the closing stages, the fans were thrilled to watch a three-way dice for fourth between Simoncelli, Dovizioso and Spies.  They were three abreast at one point on the final lap, with Simoncelli hanging onto fourth.  Seventh place was the best Rossi could achieve on one of his home circuits and Cal Crutchlow got another much-needed finish.  Crutchlow finished tenth, three places ahead of team-mate Edwards.

      With a 35 point lead and five races remaining, it is still Casey Stoner's championship to lose, but Jorge Lorenzo isn't giving up without a fight and Misano proved just why he is world champion. 

Indianapolis MotoGP 2011: Supreme Stoner marches on

CASEY Stoner continued his seemingly supreme routine march towards the 2011 MotoGP championship, with another dominant victory at Indianapolis last weekend.  It was his seventh win from 12 starts, his third in a row and extended his point’s advantage over his only title rival, Jorge Lorenzo to 44 points.

     On a baking day at the home of American motorsport, Stoner began on pole position and showed his supreme machinery advantage over the Yamaha of Lorenzo.  Unsurprisingly, he fell behind team-mate and traditional fast-starter Dani Pedrosa into the first corner.  Lorenzo briefly took second, but the first lap was a nightmare for American hero Ben Spies.  Spies, starting on the front row of the grid bogged down and got squeezed out of the first few bends, first by fellow American Nicky Hayden and then by Marco Simoncelli.  Spies dropped to tenth and his victory hopes were dashed from there.

     The Honda power of Stoner saw him coast past Lorenzo on lap three and four laps later, had reeled in Pedrosa, completing the pass into the first corner.  After that, it was a demonstration performance from the two Repsol Honda bikes.  Meanwhile, Spies provided most of the overtaking action as he recovered to produce forceful passes on Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso.  With 11 laps to go, the local man was fourth and closing in on a lonely Lorenzo.  Team-mates they may be and Lorenzo might be the one going for the championship, but nothing was going to deny Spies, as he overhauled the reigning champion to take the final spot on the podium.

DOMINANT: Casey Stoner continues his rich vein of form

    With pole position and the lap record to boot, Stoner secured his 30^th MotoGP victory to win by over four seconds.  Further back, both Hayden and Simoncelli fell back drastically with tyre problems.  Hayden had to retire, whilst Simoncelli slipped from a promising fourth to an unwelcome twelfth.  Dovizioso had a clean race on the third of the works Hondas to finish fifth and there was a very encouraging performance from Alvaro Bautista to record a sixth place finish for Suzuki.  Valentino Rossi finished a very distant tenth for Ducati and there was a long overdue finish for Britain’s Cal Crutchlow, who came home in eleventh.

     With only six events remaining, it is looking more and more difficult for Jorge Lorenzo to close the gap, which is becoming more like an avalanche.  Casey Stoner is looking impossible to beat, and now has one hand on the MotoGP crown.  Can anyone stop him in the remaining races?  On the evidence of Indianapolis, it’s hard to see how anyone can.

US MotoGP 2011: Stoner surges clear

CASEY Stoner increased his lead at the top of the MotoGP standings to 20 points last night, with victory in the United States Grand Prix.  The Repsol Honda rider, 25, took his fifth win from ten outings in 2011, to move further clear of his only title rival of the championship, defending champion Jorge Lorenzo.

     On an absolutely gorgeous day in California, the Laguna Seca played host to the final event before the summer break.  Lorenzo, suffering from a big practice crash which meant he could barely walk, started on pole position.  He made the most of it, by making a belting start and leading the three Honda’s of Dani Pedrosa, Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso into the Andretti bend.

     As Lorenzo zoomed into the distance, others were finding the tight and twisty circuit harder to cope with.  Britain’s Cal Crutchlow lasted only four laps, before suffering another expensive accident on his Tech-Speed Yamaha bike.  After a promising start to his rookie season, Crutchlow has now only scored two points in his last five outings.  Moments later, American wildcard Ben Bostrom retired with a brake problem and Marco Simoncelli made his customary exit.  The Italian slid off on the way upto the undulating Corkscrew bend, to record his fourth crash already of an error-prone season. 

MEMORABLE: Stoner's passes deserved his glory

     Back at the front and as in the German Grand Prix a week earlier, Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Stoner had managed to gap the rest of the chasing pack.  At half-distance, Stoner decided to make his move on Pedrosa, forcing his team-mate to concede position or crash at the Corkscrew.  Sensibly, Dani chose the latter and as his fitness levels dropped off, so did his pace and it meant no repeat of his Sachensring success seven days earlier.  Casey, who was worried about his lack of race pace going into the event, hunted Lorenzo down successfully and bravely passed him on the outside of the start-finish straight with just six laps to run.  Lorenzo left minimal space and the Australian was lucky not to end up in the back of the Yamaha’s exhaust. 

     After that, Stoner cruised away into the distance, to win by nearly five seconds.  Lorenzo’s ride to second was heroic and keeps him right in the thick of the title battle, with eight races still to run this season.  Pedrosa held onto third, whilst home hero Ben Spies recovered from a bad start to pip Dovizioso for fourth.  Sixth and seventh for the Ducati’s of Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden was the best they could hope for, although Alvaro Bautista’s Suzuki had a chance of beating both Italian bikes, if he hadn’t chucked his bike into the dirt.

     Brno is the next event in three weeks time and for Stoner, it is the perfect response to some increased Lorenzo pressure.  The second half of this MotoGP season promises to be spellbinding!  

France MotoGP 2011: Stoner romps to French glory

CASEY Stoner romped home to his second victory of the 2011 MotoGP season on Sunday.  However, his dominance was overshadowed by a contentious collision between his team-mate Dani Pedrosa and Marco Simoncelli, which has left the luckless Pedrosa with a broken collarbone.

    The controversial incident happened with 11 laps to go in Le Mans.  Simoncelli had caught up to second-placed Pedrosa and passed the Repsol Honda rider into the tight Garage Green bend.  Pedrosa got the run out of the corner and pulled alongside the Grissini Honda rider approaching the next tight chicane at the French Grand Prix.  Under-braking and it seemed that Pedrosa had the racing line.  However, Simoncelli, who has few friends in the paddock anyways, refused to budge and turned across Dani at a very late stage.  Consequently, contact was inevitable.  Simoncelli, subject to an official complaint about his riding style from Stoner and world champion Jorge Lorenzo before the race began, survived with a trip across the grass.  Unfortunately, Pedrosa wasn’t so lucky.  He crashed out of the race and walked away, wincing in pain.  He suffered a broken collarbone for the second time in seven months, having just fully recovered from a similar injury that finished his championship hopes during practice for last year’s Japanese Grand Prix.  His participation in next month’s Catalunya Grand Prix in Barcelona is now in severe jeopardy.

     Although the accident was more the fault of young Italian Simoncelli, many observers thought it was a racing incident.  Race stewards took matters into their own hands and handed Simoncelli a barbaric and ridiculous ride-through penalty with five laps to go.  Reviewing the incident after the race would have been far fairer, and when you consider that Valentino Rossi escaped scot-free from his move that took Stoner out of last month’s Spanish Grand Prix, it shows the deep inconsistency that is plaguing the world’s premier bike series when it comes to steward’s decisions.  It cost Simoncelli a shot at his first ever MotoGP podium finish.

WHEELIE: Stoner shows off after cruising to success in France

     Stoner was in formidable form all weekend.  The Australian was fastest in every single session and grabbed his third pole position from four races.  Although Pedrosa got the jump on him at the start, Stoner made his move on the third circuit and disappeared into the distance, winning by 15 seconds.  Andrea Dovizioso held off a late attack from Rossi to make it a Honda 1-2.  However, it was Rossi’s first podium for Ducati and will give the under pressure Italian team some fresh encouragement.  Lorenzo had a quiet ride to fourth, nursing a damaged hand from a practice crash earlier in the weekend, whilst Simoncelli battled back past Ben Spies on the last lap to claim fifth.  Britain’s Cal Crutchlow crashed out early on, as did french favourite Randy de Pruniet.  However, it will be ‘that’ move that will dominate the talking and the harsh words will no doubt roll into Barcelona.

Portugal MotoGP 2011: Proud Pedrosa scores amazing tactical triumph

SUCCESS: Pedrosa records victory at Estoril

SPAIN’s Dani Pedrosa sent a warning to his closest challengers for the MotoGP title, after recording an impressive tactical victory in the Portuguese Grand Prix.  Pedrosa, 25, rode past Estoril master Jorge Lorenzo with four laps to go and surged clear on his Repsol Honda to record his first win of the season.  Despite ultimately finishing a distant second, Lorenzo holds on to a slender championship lead.

     After all the controversy and drama of the last race in Jerez four weeks ago, Estoril produced a calm and quiet race, possibly something the paddock needed after all the drama and squabbling behind the scenes.  This continued in the Saturday evening qualifying press conference, which saw Lorenzo and fellow front-row starter Marco Simoncelli, almost come to blows over Simoncelli’s aggressive riding style.  Although it was a funny disagreement, it did feel a bit silly, especially as Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi are still sniping at one another after their confronton in Spain last time out. 

     On a bone dry track, Lorenzo made the best start from pole position and led Pedrosa into the first corner.  As the tyres weren’t at their optimum temperatures, both Simoncelli and Stoner had massive moments exiting the first corner.  At turn four, Simoncelli had another twitch, but this time – his mistake was costly.  He ended pitching off the bike stage right into the gravel pit.  That was bound to put a smile underneath Lorenzo’s crash helmet.  His closest challenger for most of the weekend was out already.  Marco wasn’t the only one, as Hector Barbera joined him in the sandpit and rookie Karol Abraham was soon out of the proceedings too.  Lorenzo led Pedrosa, Stoner, a fast-starting Valentino Rossi and the second Yamaha of Ben Spies.

     American Spies was soon out of the equation though, as he ran wide at turn nine and lost four places.  In his desperation to move up the order, he clashed with the Ducati of Nicky Hayden.  Hayden survived the incident to finish a tame ninth, but Spies ended out of the event again.  Britain’s Cal Crutchlow produced another strong performance and finished a very creditable eighth, on a circuit he had never seen before Friday practice. 

     Out infront and Lorenzo seemed to be making lightweight work of the Portuguese track.  Although Pedrosa stayed in his two throughout, he never looked likely to pull off a move.  However, Dani turned up the heat with four laps to go and surprised the world champion with a brilliant out braking pass into the first corner.  Lorenzo had nothing left and feel back rather rapidly, allowing Pedrosa to rattle in some blistering laps in the closing stages and win as he pleased.  Stoner was mysteriously off the pace all weekend and finished a lonely third.  There was an exciting tussle for fourth between Italians Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso.  Dovizioso mugged the Ducati on the very last corner by two hundredths of a second to seal a 1-3-4 for the Honda team.  Texan Tornado Colin Edwards was a solid sixth on his customer Yamaha bike.

     A rather mundane race then, but a dramatic conclusion as the MotoGP circus heads to the historic Le Mans circuit in France, in a fortnight’s time.

Spain MotoGP 2011 - Lorenzo survives in the Spanish rain

WORLD MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo survived an attrition-packed Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez to claim the points lead.  Lorenzo beat countryman Dani Pedrosa, on a Honda by nearly 20 seconds with Ducati’s Nicky Hayden finishing third.  However, it was clash between Pedrosa and Hayden’s team-mates that made all the headlines after the event.

     At a grey and damp Jerez, Casey Stoner got off the line perfectly from pole position to lead Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli in the early exchanges.  Team-mate Pedrosa had an awful lap.  He slipped from second to tenth, as he struggled with a bugging arm injury.  After starting a dismal 12^th, Valentino Rossi took full advantage of the dismal conditions to move quickly into fourth place, showing his formidability on a wet track.  Meanwhile, countryman Simoncelli was right at home, as he managed to usurp a careful Lorenzo and Stoner to snatch the lead.  Rossi eased past Lorenzo for third before the moment of the race.

TANGLE: Rossi's ambitious move took Casey Stoner out

     The Italian attempted a move on Stoner for second spot.  It was ambitious to say the least and the result was Rossi went down at the first corner, and took the unfortunate Stoner with him.  It was an unbelievable moment and shows that even world champions can make a hash of overtaking attempts.  Rossi was pinned under the bikes, whilst Stoner got up quickly, ready to remount.  However, the Repsol Honda team were furious that the marshals only seemed interested in helping Rossi and not their Australian championship leader.  The Ducati of Rossi rejoined well down and field and Stoner had been cruelly eliminated through no fault of his own.

     Pedrosa started to move his way back through the field, having now got a feel for the equipment he had underneath him.  He sliced his way back upto third, but that was to become second on lap 11 when disaster struck Simoncelli.  He was pulling away from Lorenzo and the race was his for the taking, until he got a high-side on at Turn One and dropped the bike.  He was out and Lorenzo had been gifted the lead.

     Britain’s Cal Crutchlow had been having a good run and was keeping Hayden in his sights, when he became another victim of the tricky conditions.  He was fifth before falling off his Tech Speed Yamaha, eventually remounting to finish ninth.  With four laps to go, American Ben Spies passed Pedrosa to make it a Yamaha 1-2.  Pedrosa had no response, as his tyres were absolutely finished.  Luckily for him, Spies went into the gravel on the very next lap and out of the race.  This allowed the likeable Colin Edwards onto the podium, but the Texan Tornado’s bike packed up and left Colin stranded on the last lap.  

ODD: Lorenzo's celebrations seem to get more strange with each race

     Ahead of all the drama, Lorenzo took the chequered flag at the end of a thrilling race.  Pedrosa and Hayden completed the rostrum, whilst Rossi somehow recovered to fifth, before going to apologise to Stoner for their crash afterwards.  This was the case of last man standing in Jerez and Jorge Lorenzo came out on top.  If this is anything to go by, MotoGP 2011 has all the ingredients to be a very special season.

Qatar MotoGP 2011 - Searing Stoner makes winning bow

AUSTRALIAN Casey Stoner made a winning start to life at Honda in the opening MotoGP event of the 2011 season.  Stoner, who switched from Ducati to the Repsol Honda squad in the winter, took the honours in the Qatar Grand Prix at the Losail circuit.  The 2007 champion beat reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo and his team-mate Dani Pedrosa under the lights.

WINNING: Stoner made a great start with Honda

     Stoner started on pole position, as he confirmed Honda’s blinding pre-season testing pace.  However, he lost the lead off the line to the fast-starting Pedrosa and Lorenzo, who led over the line for the first time.  The Spaniard was eventually overwhelmed by the Honda boys and Stoner and Pedrosa swapped themselves around on several occasions in the early exchanges.  Stoner was saving his tyres up and made the move stick at around half-distance.  Pedrosa fell back rather rapidly, and then got engrossed into a brutal battle with his countryman Lorenzo.  Eventually, the Yamaha rider prevailed and whilst Stoner and Lorenzo looked delighted with their opening efforts, Pedrosa was annoyed, confirming he had a problem with his left arm, which harmed his chances in his battle with Lorenzo.

     Honda dominated the first race, with the third Repsol Honda rider, Andrea Dovizioso finished fourth, ahead of Marco Simoncelli, who gave Dovizioso some headaches during the race.  Ducati were off the pace badly here, but Valentino Rossi still managed a creditable seventh on his opening bow for the Italian team.  Rossi also produced the save of the race, when he took his legs off his bike when Ben Spies overtook him to stop the frontend sliding away from him.  On his debut in the premier motorcycling class, Cal Crutchlow finished a creditable 10^th.  It was a miserable evening for the Premac Honda team, with Randy de Puniet crashing on the first lap, and Loris Capirossi injuring himself as he attempted to miss his team-mate.  At least they started, which is something Alvaro Bautista couldn’t do.  He crashed on Friday and broke his left leg.  With John Hopkins unable to get out to Qatar in time, it meant that Suzuki were without a rider in the top class for the first time since 1974.

     On this indication, Casey Stoner looks like he will be the man to beat in MotoGP this year, but he has never been very competitive at the next track in Jerez.  Throw in the lack of straights and it being Lorenzo and Pedrosa’s home event, Casey will do extremely well to produce his Qatar dominance again in a fortnight’s time.

Pedrosa's Practice Spill Hands Jorge Lorenzo The MotoGP Title

Dani Pedrosa broke his collarbone in a bad crash during practice for Sunday’s MotoGP event in Japan.  It all but hands the 2010 world championship to fellow compatriot Jorge Lorenzo.  Lorenzo, who rides for Fiat Yamaha in the series, has seen his once invincible lead being slowly whittled away by the consistent Pedrosa, who has beaten Lorenzo in the last three events. 

However, Pedrosa came off his Repsol Honda bike just five minutes into the first practice session for this weekend’s race, held at the Motegi circuit, a rescheduled event as it was cancelled in April due to the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud.  As soon as Pedrosa, who was standing 56 points behind Lorenzo in the title race, had ended up in the gravel, it could be seen to everyone in the paddock that he was in grave pain.  Although he scrambled to the edge of the gravel bed, marshals spotted his discomfort and he was carried away on a stretcher, realising that his brave, if vain title challenge for 2010 was well and truly over. 

The diagnosis was later confirmed as a broken collarbone for Pedrosa, and although reports also suggested that he has fractured his left ankle in the crash, this was denied by medics at the circuit and by his Honda team.  At Honda’s home circuit, this is bound to be a bitter pill to swallow.  Pedrosa is being flown home back to Spain for surgery on the injury and is definitely out of this race, and next weekend’s event in Malaysia.  With Australia being just one more week afterwards, it looks increasingly likely that he will have to miss three races, with a possible return in Portugal being lined up at the end of October.

Although it isn’t official yet, this confirms Lorenzo’s name as the 2010 champion, which has been almost been in clear writing ever since his team-mate and great rival, Valentino Rossi fractured his ankle at June’s Italian Grand Prix in Mugello.  Although Rossi has made a significant and remarkable recovery, he still doesn’t look 100% fit.  Neither does Randy de Pruniet, who fractured his leg in a multiple smash at the following month’s German Grand Prix.  With this in mind, it is best that Pedrosa rests up and recovers fully for next season.  With Rossi and Pedrosa’s injuries and Casey Stoner not getting on with the Ducati, it has meant that Lorenzo has had a fairly untroubled ride to this season’s championship, having only missed the podium once in thirteen occasions.  However, his championship glory will be tainted, largely because of these cruel injuries to two of his rivals.  Consequently, he will have to win another title next year before anyone can class him in the legends of bike racing. 

I wish Dani Pedrosa a speedy recovery and congratulate Jorge Lorenzo on a deserved championship, though no-one would want to win it this way.  The message to Jorge for next year:  Prove how good you really are against a rejuvenated Stoner, a charged-up Rossi and a fully recovered Pedrosa.