MotoGP 2011 review - A season to forget for many

THE 2011 MotoGP season came to a conclusion in Valencia during last weekend and for many, it will be a season to forget.  Casey Stoner’s sensational domination will be remembered, as will the surprising struggles of Valentino Rossi at Ducati, but it was tragedy that will sadly be the overriding memory of the season.

LOST: The life of Marco Simoncelli will not be forgotten

       Marco Simoncelli’s death at the penultimate race in Malaysia brought worldwide shock to the paddock and the whole of motorsport.  His accident was a freakish one and it is a sight that no-one will want to see again for a long time.  The Italian was a flamboyant rider, a charismatic man who was full of flair and nothing was the ordinary for him.  He was coming into his prime within the sport, putting together a string of consistent finishes.  Let’s be honest, he didn’t do quiet.  His first podium in Brno was one of the highlights of the season and his ride to second place in Phillip Island a week before the fateful events in Malaysia underlined his quality.  The early season madness of Jerez, Estoril and Silverstone was nothing more than a distant memory.  The sport has been denied one of its greatest talents, but Marco’s legacy will remain for a long time.  Ciao Marco!

     However, sport moves on and a broken Gresini team have gone onto name Alvaro Bautista as Simoncelli’s replacement for next season.  Bautista has ended a two year stint at Suzuki, which was plagued by far too many injuries and accidents.  When he stayed on the bike, he showed his potential as a young talent coming through, underlined by a fifth place finish at Silverstone, but he made too many rash mistakes this campaign.  Bautista wasn’t the only rider to end up disappointing this campaign.  The Premac Ducati team had a nightmare season, with Randy de Puniet often finishing in the gravel and Loris Capirossi sadly soldering on through his final season in motorcycling.  At times, Hector Barbera outperformed the works Ducati’s with some excellent qualifying performances, but at other occasions, he disappeared into thin air.  Ultimately, his campaign will have to go down as a major disappointment.

     To be honest, Ducati had a miserable season altogether.  The team only managed two podiums all season.  Nicky Hayden came a fortunate third in the rain-affected Jerez event, whilst Valentino Rossi benefited from a controversial clash between Dani Pedrosa and Simoncelli in Le Mans to also net a third place result.  Their season ended miserably; both riders in the gravel in turn one in Valencia and Hayden missing the final season test through a fractured wrist.  Hayden’s season was a struggle, but he outqualified Rossi more often than not and got the bulk of Ducati’s strongest results, as third in Jerez and fourth at Silverstone would underline.  I was very surprised by Rossi’s struggles this season.  The Ducati is a very hard machine to set up and riders such as Marco Melandri and Hayden have struggled in the past, but Rossi really couldn’t seem to adapt as much as I thought he would.  Taking Stoner down in Jerez was one of the most dramatic moments of the season, but showed the issues he had with the frontend of the bike.  Plus, similar incidents later in the season would point that fact out.  Seventh place in the final standings is his worst performance since 2000 and The Doctor has a lot of soul searching to do over the course of the winter.

     Rossi’s replacement at Yamaha was the American, Ben Spies.  Spies produced a dominant performance in Assen to register his first MotoGP victory.  He also was a fine third at his home event in Indianapolis and nearly recorded another triumph in the final event at the weekend, but for poor traction off the final corner.  However, he will be glad for the break, having been battered and bruised throughout.  Spies crashed out in Portugal, Silverstone and Jerez and practice accidents ruled him out of the Australian and Malaysian events.  On his day, he proved his worth as a top rider, but was missing the consistency that Yamaha required.  Defending champion Jorge Lorenzo put up a brave fight throughout the season, on a bike that was nowhere near the fastest.  He won three times in 2011 and although he inherited the Jerez win, when Stoner and Simoncelli crashed, he put in some memorable performances to win against the odds, most notably in Mugello, on a Honda powered circuit.  However, his crash in the rain of Silverstone saw him lose the early advantage he built up in the championship and he would never regain it.  A nasty crash in warm-up for the Australian event saw Lorenzo’s finger needing surgery to prevent amputation and ended his charge three races early.  His class in 2011 did show through, and he will be keeping his remaining fingers crossed that Yamaha produce a better package for him next season.  On the customer Tech-3 bikes, Colin Edwards claimed a memorable podium at Silverstone, only eight days after breaking his collarbone in a practice accident for the Catalunya round.  Sadly, he was involved in the accident that claimed Simoncelli’s life and only time will tell next season to see how the Texan Tornado has been affected.  Rookie Cal Crutchlow was another rider to have his fair share of spills, but raced brilliantly at the final event in Valencia to secure fourth place, his best finish of a solid year, even if his promise was at times, unfulfilled.

     This leaves us with the Repsol Honda riders.  Dani Pedrosa suffered another injury-hit season and mysteriously disappeared from the action when he tangled with Simoncelli at Le Mans.  He broke his collarbone, but seemed to take longer than what was needed to return to racing.  Then, it was the same old story from Pedrosa, producing some stunning performances which brought victories in Portugal and Germany, along with times where he didn’t look interested such as Australia.  Although he didn’t win a round, Andrea Dovizioso produced a very consistent season, with many podiums and very few accidents.  He might have been the slowest of the works Honda riders, but fully deserved third place in the championship.  He has been dropped for 2012, but Honda’s loss will be Tech-3 Yamaha’s gain and Crutchlow will know that he must raise his game against the talented Dovizioso next season.

     However, the final word belongs to the dominant champion.  Casey Stoner left Ducati behind, as he was convinced that they didn’t have the necessary equipment to fulfil his needs.  The way Rossi has struggled to handle the bike suggests that the Australian must have been doing minor miracles in recent seasons.  On a Honda, he looked totally at ease and incredibly formidable.  From the moment he cruised to victory in the Qatar season opener, there was never any doubt he was going to end up as the no.1 at the end of the season.  When he could win, he would win and when the points were needed, he took the points such as second in Assen and third places in both Mugello and Portugal.  He is a deserved champion and a brilliant rider and the rest have a lot to do if they are to match him in 2012.

FINAL POINTS

Casey Stoner - The 2011 MotoGP world champion

Casey Stoner 350, Jorge Lorenzo 260, Andrea Dovizioso 228, Dani Pedrosa 219, Ben Spies 176, Marco Simoncelli 139, Valentino Rossi 139, Nicky Hayden 132, Colin Edwards 109, Hiroshi Aoyama 98, Hector Barbera 82, Cal Crutchlow 70, Alvaro Bautista 67, Karel Abraham 64, Toni Elias 61, Randy de Puniet 49, Loris Capirossi 43, Katsuzuki Nakasunga 10, Josh Hayes 9, Kousake Akiyoshi 7, John Hopkins 6, Shinchi Ito 3

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

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.

2010: A year in sport

IT HAS been an extraordinary year in sport, which saw some pleasant surprises, favourites fall flat on their faces and intriguing battles that went down to the wire.

UNLUCKY: Andy Murray came so close, yet so far in the Australian Open

The year began with a hard luck story for Andy Murray.  The Scot performed brilliantly to reach the final of the Australian Open, including a quarter-final success over Rafael Nadal.  Sadly, it ended in heartache, as Roger Federer swept him aside in straight sets in the final.  For both, this was to be their highlight of 2010.  In rugby union, France overpowered the feeble competition from the Northern Hemisphere to win a poor Six Nations championship.  They sealed the Grand Slam with victory over inconsistent England in the final match of the championship in Paris.  The New Orleans Saints completed a famous win in the NFL, defeating huge favourites Indianapolis Colts 31-17 to win Superbowl XLIV.  The Winter Olympics were held in the cold chill of Vancouver in Canada.  The games were overshadowed by poor weather, dismal organisation and the tragic death of a male Georgian competitor in the Luge competition on the eve of the event.  However, there was gold success for Britain, as Amy Williams showed she was the Queen of Speed.  She clinched gold in the women’s skeleton, Britain’s first solo gold in the Winter Olympics for over 40 years.  Manchester United beat Aston Villa 2-1 to win the first silverware of the football season.  They came from behind to lift the Carling Cup at Wembley, but that was Sir Alex Ferguson’s only taste of silverware in 2010 for the Red Devils.

SHOCK: Imperial Commander was the surprise winner of the Gold Cup

The F1 season began with an absolute stinker in Bahrain.  Fernando Alonso inherited victory on his Ferrari debut, after Sebastian Vettel encountered technical problems on his Red Bull.  Little did we know then of the later drama in the Grand Prix season.  It was dubbed the greatest horse racing showdown battle, but it never materialised at the Cheltenham Gold Cup.  Imperial Commander was the shock winner, taking full advantage of a shock fall for the pre-race favourite Kauto Star and the lack of fitness from his stablemate, Denman.  If Cheltenham upset the odds, Phil Micklelson’s victory by three shots in the US Masters at Augusta wasn’t so much of a surprise.  Tony McCoy may have guided Denman to runner-up in the Gold Cup, but he went one better at the Grand National, riding Don’t Push It to glory and finally, winning the world’s greatest steeplechase event at the 15^th attempt of asking.  This success helped him land the coveted title of 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.  In Jerez, Jorge Lorenzo passed countryman Dani Pedrosa on the last lap to win a thrilling Spanish MotoGP and set the tone for the motorcycling season to come.

GLORY: Chelsea lift the Barclays Premiership title in a double-winning year

As damaging allegations about former world champion John Higgins came to light, Australian Neil Robertson kept his nerve to win the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible.  Chelsea thrashed Wigan Athletic 8-0 on the final day of the Premiership season to clinch their third title in six years.  A week later, Carlo Ancelotti guided his side to a historic league/cup double, as Didier Drogba’s brilliant free-kick was good enough to defeat a brave and debt-ridden Portsmouth side 1-0 at Wembley in the FA Cup final.  There was more success for Australia on the streets of Monaco, as Mark Webber took the leadership of the Formula One world championship, leading home Sebastian Vettel to a Red Bull 1-2 in the principality.  A fortnight later, the two Red Bulls took each other off as Istanbul Park, handing Lewis Hamilton his first win of the season, as he won the Turkish Grand Prix for McLaren.  Blackpool joined Newcastle United and West Brom in the promise land of the Premiership.  The Tangerines sealed their shock promotion to the top flight, beating Cardiff City 3-2 in a pulsating Championship play-off final at Wembley.

CELEBRATION: Paul Collingwood lifts afloat the World 20:20 trophy

Argentine Diego Milito scored twice as Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League final in Madrid, the perfect going away present for departing manager Jose Mourinho, who was heading for Real Madrid.  There was agony for Fulham, as they were cruelly beaten in the inaugural final of the UEFA Europa League, 2-1 by Atletico Madrid.  Diego Forlan scored the winner in the dying stages of extra-time and it was to be Roy Hodgson’s final game in charge of the West London side.  He took over the Liverpool job, after Rafa Benitez was sacked.  Benitez turned up at Inter, but might be sacked again before the year is out.  In cricket, Paul Collingwood captained England to a surprise and fantastic victory in Cricket’s 20:20 World Cup.  6-1 shot with the bookies, Workforce won the Epsom Derby and Rafael Nadal claimed back the world no.1 spot after overcoming Robin Soderling in the final of the French Open at Roland Garros.  Italy’s Francesca Schiavone was the shock winner of the ladies singles in France. 

PAIN: Valentino Rossi is treated after his horror MotoGP crash

Valentino Rossi’s hopes of retaining his MotoGP title were shot, when he broke his leg in a serious practice accident for his home event in Mugello.  A week later, the greatest show on earth kicked off with the 2010 FIFA World Cup beginning in Soccer City.  A colourful opening ceremony was followed by hosts’ South Africa drawing 1-1 in the opener with Mexico.  Siphiwe Tshabalala scored one of the goals of the tournament for the hosts.  Twenty-four hours later, England drew their opening match in Rustenberg against the USA.  The 1-1 draw stood out for a glaring error from goalkeeper Robert Green and millions of ITV HD viewers missing the England goal from Steven Gerrard, enjoying a Hyundai car commercial instead!  There was success for Northern Ireland, when Graeme McDowell won the US Open at Pebble Beach, becoming the first European since Tony Jacklin in 1970 to win the prestigious event.  Meanwhile, Mark Webber was very lucky to walkaway unscathed from a terrifying 196mph shunt with Heikki Kovalainen at the European Grand Prix in Valencia. 

AGONY: Steven Gerrard feels the pain of an early exit for England

England’s World Cup dreams were blown apart in Bloemfontein.  Fabio Capello’s flat Three Lions losing 4-1 to bitter rivals Germany in the last 16.  Despite having a clear goal disallowed, when Frank Lampard’s shot bounced over the line, the younger German side had far more passion and the scoreline didn’t flatter them.  It was another dismal major tournament performance from England, but Capello somehow managed to hang onto his job.  England weren’t the only ones to make an embarrassing exit, as 1998 winners France and defending champions Italy also making desperate early departures.  In the quarter-finals, Ghana got denied a semi-final place by Uruguay in a gripping quarter-final in Soccer City.  Luis Suarez’s blatant handball handed the Africans a last minute penalty in extra-time, which Asamoah Gyan missed.  Suarez’s celebrations left a bitter taste with many fans afterwards.  The final of the World Cup was a bruiser; with English referee Howard Webb dishing out 14 yellow cards.  Spain won the bad-tempered final in Soccer City, with Andreas Iniesta striking the decisive goal in extra-time against a Holland side that seem to be more interested in playing kung-fu.  At Wimbledon, John Isner beat Nicolas Mahut in the longest game ever in tennis.  Their first round match ended in Isner’s favour, 70-68 in the fifth and deciding set.  Watched on by David Beckham amongst others, Andy Murray failed in his quest to become SW19 champion, beaten by the inspirational Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals in straight sets.  Nadal went on to win the final, cruising past the conqueror of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, Tomas Berdych in straight sets.  In the women’s game, Serena Williams regained her title, thrashing Russia’s Vera Zvonareva in less than an hour.

WINNER: Mo Farah achieves a brilliant double in Barcelona

South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen ran away with the Open Championship at St. Andrews, finishing on 16 under par, seven strokes clear of Lee Westwood, who would end the year as the world no.1.  In the Tour de France, Britain’s Mark Cavendish finished with an impressive five stage wins and Bradley Wiggins ended the event in fourth place.  The winner was Spain’s Alberto Contador.  Ferrari received a $100,000 fine for their use of team orders at the German Grand Prix.  Felipe Massa controversially handed a deserved victory over to his team-mate, Fernando Alonso at Hockenheim.  Formula One wasn’t the only sport in the dock in the summer, as cricket was faced with some tough questions, over match-fixing and ball-tampering allegations involving some of Pakistan’s key cricketers.  It made for savoury front page headlines and overshadowed a dominant summer series victory for England.  Happier times came out of the European Athletics Championships, which were very successful for Britain in Barcelona.  Mo Farah starred with two long distance wins in the 5,000m and 10,000m.  Phillips Idowu added to his world championship gold in the men’s triple jump and there was also gold for Jessica Ennis in the heptathlon and Andy Turner in the men’s 110m hurdles.  Britain left the event with 19 medals and puts us in great stead for London 2012.

REGAIN: McDowell played a key role in the Ryder Cup

The Warrington Wolves surprised the odds to defeat the Leeds Rhinos 30-6, to win the Rugby League Carengie Challenge Cup at Wembley.  In Super League, Wigan Warriors overcame Leeds in the final at Old Trafford, to win their first title since 1998.  The Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor turned into a rain-hit affair and a tense battle for supremacy.  In the first ever Monday finish to the tournament, Europe came out on top in Wales, with Graeme McDowell sinking the crucial put to see off America by one point, and regain the trophy for Europe, guided by the fantastic Colin Montgomerie.  After a dismal build-up and the withdrawal of several top-class athletes, the Commonwealth Games went ahead in India very successfully.  The starring role was from Tom Daley, as the young 16-year old won a double diving gold, despite having missed most of the season through injury.  After his closest challenger Dani Pedrosa fractured his knee in a practice crash for the Japanese MotoGP in Motegi, Jorge Lorenzo was practically assured of his first championship, which he buttoned up in Malaysia with a podium finish.

SOAKING: Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button give the new champ a shower

The closest ever F1 world championship battle went down to the wire in Abu Dhabi.  Four men still had the chance of clinching the jewel in the crown and it was Sebastian Vettel who became the youngest ever Grand Prix champion, with victory in the season finale.  Championship favourite Fernando Alonso was penalised by a poorly timed pitstop and wound up a frustrated 7^th, three places lower than what was required.  Mark Webber (8^th) and Lewis Hamilton (2^nd) were the other men in with a shout at the finale.  Hamilton may have missed out, but Dario Franchitti’s domination of the American scene continued, winning the Indy 500 for the second time in his career and the IndyCars title in the season finale in California, overhauling long-time leader Will Power in the final reckoning.  David Haye retained his world heavyweight championship title, after a comfortable stoppage of the woeful Audley Harrison in Manchester.  In the pick of the autumn rugby internationals, England beat Australia at Twickenham and Scotland stunned the world champions South Africa and the Ashes is currently tied at 1-1, after Australia levelled the series with an easy rout of England in the third test in Perth.    

That was 2010, a spectacular year and 2011 is bound to promise more of the same.

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.

Tomizawa Tragedy At MotoGP Meeting

Motorcycling is in shock tonight, after the tragic death of promising 19-year old Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa.  Tomizawa died in hospital from fatal head injuries, suffered during a Moto2 event on the Misano circuit in San Marino. 

Moto2, which is the class below the premier MotoGP circuit, was hosting the twelfth round of the season and Tomizawa was 7^th in the championship standings, having won the season opening event in Qatar.  He was in the leading bunch when he came off his bike on Lap 15.  Tragically, he was then hit by Italian Alex de Angelis, an experienced MotoGP rider and Britain’s Scott Redding.  Both Redding and de Angelis were propelled into the gravel trap and though Redding suffered minor concussion, both riders escaped serious injury.

When medics got on the scene though, it was quite clear that Tomizawa was in an awful state, with reports circulating that he had hit his head on the track, before being struck at full speed by the other riders.  He was rushed into hospital and quickly got placed into an induced coma, but a statement on the MotoGP website confirmed his death at 1.20pm UK time from “subsequent cranial, thoracic, and abdominal trauma.”

The Moto2 race was stopped and restarted, won by Spain’s Toni Elias.  Despite the reluctance of some MotoGP riders, it was agreed that their race went ahead, which was comfortably won by Honda’s Dani Pedrosa.  Jorge Lorenzo finished second to keep a comfortable championship lead, with his Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi on the podium at his home event.  Despite all the top-class riders knowing that the accident was bad, none of them knew the severity of Tomizawa condition until after the race.  As a mark of respect, celebrations were muted and no champagne was sprayed on the podium.

This is the second death at motorcycle events in two weeks, after 13-year old Peter Leinz was killed in a warm-up event for the Indianapolis MotoGP event last Sunday.  Like Tomizawa, Leinz was also hit by another rider.  It is the first death on the proper MotoGP circuit since Dajiro Kato lost his life two weeks after a smash in the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Like the rest of the MotoGP paddock, my thoughts go out to the family and friends of Shoya Tomizawa.  A promising talent, whose dreams of success will turn out to be tragically unfulfilled.

SHOYA TOMIZAWA (December 10^th 1990 – 5^th September 2010) RIP