Casey Stoner’s retirement announcement shook the world and opened a whole new can of worms for the 2013 silly season. Speculation of who is going where is starting to pop up left and right. We’ve heard rumors that Ducati is taking a good hard look at Cal Crutchlow - to replace whom is left up to your imagination. MCN has a story of why Crutchlow could end up in Repsol Honda on its cover. Valentino Rossi could wind up on either a Yamaha factory bike or back to where it all began for him in MotoGP, on a Honda, with Yamaha’s Lin Jarvis and Honda’s Shuhei Nakamoto no longer counting out the Italian, something that would have been impossible for either of them to imagine just a few months ago.

Spanish website ‘AS’ has published this interview with Livio Suppo - the man behind Casey Stoner’s arrival in Honda - who now will have find a new top rider to replace his beloved Australian. Here’s the translation of the interview that we hope you’ll find interesting.

Mela Chercoles: Will you renew with Pedrosa?
Livio Suppo: “We are only beginning to talk now.”

MC: In a month, Repsol Honda has gone from holding three titles to navigating in a sea of doubts about the future, and this because of Stoner’s retirement ..
LS: I don’t see it in these terms: the immediate future is this year, with two riders who can win races and also the MotoGP world title.”

MC: Could Stoner be influenced somewhat by the fact that he will retire end of the year ?
LS: No, he wants to win another title, and other races: at Le Mans we didn’t win because Yamaha was better than Honda. Dani has had the same rear grip problems as Casey, but in the dry things would have turned out differently. ”

MC: Without Stoner, will Lorenzo will be the strongest rider on the grid in 2013?
LS : The last year seems to confirm it, but in 2010 before his Motegi accident Pedrosa was still faster than he was.

Continue reading: Livio Suppo: "Rossi ending his career in Honda would be a nice story"

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As usual, in the aftermath of a major race, we present to you a load of nice pictures taken at the event while the engines were switched off. The last MotoGP round at Le Mans saw Spanish star Jorge Lorenzo flying away on the wet tarmac to clinch his second win of the season, while Valentino Rossi scored his best result ever on a Ducati getting a well-deserved second place and making his return on the podium exactly one year after his last appearance. To see how they celebrated the result - among other things - take a look at our huge photo gallery.

View the full MotoGP 2012 - Le Mans Paddock photo gallery

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Casey Stoner’s retirement announcement has thrown contract negotiations into a tizzy, with the teams now having to start negotiations much sooner than they expected and the focal point of the riders market is now Jorge Lorenzo, whose contract is up at the end of the season.

Once Stoner made his decision, Honda’s Livio Suppo went straight to Dani Pedrosa to talk contract extension as did Yamaha’s Lin Yarvis did with Jorge Lorenzo wanting him to sign for another two years. Lorenzo again said that he wants to finish his career with Yamaha, but it was those extra three little words “for the moment” that sent small cold shivers down Yarvis’ spine.

Talking to the Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport, Javis said, “I’m not going to say anything regarding the ongoing negotiations, but it is clear that it our object is to keep Lorenzo for a long period. He’s 25 and has the possibility to ride five more years at an extremely high level so we want to extend his contract for another two seasons. “

However the Yamaha manager doesn’t seem that afraid that Honda will poach Lorenzo from them offering him a much higher salary - even if the risk is that Lorenzo could play the Japanese manufacturers against each other in a bidding war. “You can think to ask to ask any amount, but if there aren’t any resources, you can’t ask for more. Honda a dangerous competitor? I don’t think Stoner’s salary is very different from Jorge’s. We don’t have a written agreement with the other manufacturers, but the common denominator is to keep costs in an acceptable limit. And money isn’t everything, there’s the technical development and the assurances that we can give. Yamaha has already a five year program for GP racing and the next two have already been completely planned.”

Lorenzo’s signing on the dotted line with Yamaha could be very soon, admitted Jarvis, “At the present nothing has changed in respect from two days ago, even if I can’t exclude that in the next two weeks it could happen.”

Asked about a return of Valentino Rossi to the Yamaha factory team, Yarvis hinted that if Rossi lowers his demands it could be feasible, as he believes that in this moment the Italian needs a competitive bike rather than an important salary, “Since he left us we haven’t had any contact, but his farewell wasn’t traumatic. In this world anything is possible. If we can spend the amount of money to have Rossi ? I know what we offered him to stay in 2011, but I think that at the moment he’s just looking for a bike that will permit him to be competitive and win.

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Finding the right adjectives to describe Jorge Lorenzo’s victory at Le Mans is almost impossible, let’s just say he had one hell of race and he was ‘magnifique’ (paying tribute to France here), and maybe he should even thank Valentino Rossi for taking off some championship points from Casey Stoner, as he now leads in the standings by eight points.

“It was really difficult to hold concentration today, in the dry it’s complicated but in the wet it’s even more,” said Lorenzo. “The race feels much longer and you have to remember where the corners are slippery every lap. If you forget one you can crash very easily. I started the race determined to be in first position from the beginning and managed to keep my concentration even when Casey was catching me. It would have been easy to push a bit more and make a mistake at that moment but I waited for a few more laps to see what happened then opened the gap again to win this fantastic race. A big thank you to my team who worked very hard in difficult conditions to make a set up that worked for me.”

With all respect to Ben Spies, but the American has to change helmet manufactuer, this is the second time that he’s had problems with a visor that has hampered him in a race. In 2010 at Laguna Seca, a flapping visor stopped him from mounting a challenge on Valentino Rossi, now this.

“That was a rough race. We actually got off to a good start at the beginning then had a very big moment on the line, something happened because then I had quite a lot of water coming in through my helmet and couldn’t see much on the first five laps. I hoped it would get better but I couldn’t see anything and decided to come in because I need to see where I am going. I knew the race was gone by then so went back out to try and get some data and get better working with the bike in the rain. Circumstances meant it wasn’t a good day, said Spies.

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It took Jorge Lorenzo less than a few corners on lap one to pass both Repsol Honda riders, Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner in one single overtaking pass to grab the lead on a wet and difficult Le Mans track. The Yamaha rider then cleared out and dominate the entire race with a highly spectacular pace and completely uncaring of the tricky conditions that caught so many riders out in the previous classes to fly under the chequered flag with a massive almost ten second margin and also taking an eight points lead in the standings.

Sharing the podium with Lorenzo was a resurgent Valentino Rossi who took his Ducati Desmosedici to second place and taking his best finish since he’s been with the Bologna manufacturer, while beating his long time arch rival Casey Stoner.

If Lorenzo cleared out it in a race of his own, it was Rossi who reminded everyone who had forgetten him, why MotoGP racing can still be exciting as the former 9 time world champion had a strong start. The Italian battled it out first with the Yamaha Tech3 duo Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso, and managed to break clear of them once the problems with his foggy visor cleared and began to chase after Stoner and then caught him. For the final five laps Rossi would be all over the Repsol Honda rider. He tried twice to pass Stoner only to be immediately overtaken, but on the final lap he dived down the inside at the first chicane and closing all the doors leaving an apparent struggling Stoner the third place on the podium, and unable to retaliate.

Dani Pedrosa who lead the race for the first corners started to fade as one by one the riders started passing him, but he inherited fourth after Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso who had both battled with Rossi for third, crashed out. First Crutchlow at the Dunlop when he came in hot and just a few laps later Dovizioso, both were able to remount and finish 7th and 8th respectively.

Continue reading: Jorge Lorenzo takes superb victory at Le Mans

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Here is a huge photo gallery of some of the most exciting moment from the last MotoGP race in Estoril. The Portugal GP saw yet another impressive display from reigning champion Casey Stoner, who led the race from the green light to the chequered flag imposing an unbelievable pace that left little or no hope to his chasers, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa. Check the whole lot out.

View the full MotoGP 2012 - Estoril photo gallery

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Jorge Lorenzo may have lost the battle to Casey Stoner today at Estoril, but the Yamaha rider is more than satisfied with his second place podium considering it was a ‘nightmare’ weekend until his crew managed to solve the set-up problems he was having and a burnt clutch in the first laps didn’t help. Despite everything he ‘almost’ caught the Repsol Honda rider who proved to be be too strong as his energy waned and settled for some precious points and is just one point behind Stoner in the standings.

“I’m happy with this second position because I was expecting to fight for third or fourth and not the victory,” said Lorenzo. “The bike improved a lot from the practices so it was possible. I had two problems, at the start I used a lot of clutch and burnt it so for two or three laps it was burning and I lost a lot of distance from Casey. Also at the end Casey was very strong. After this everything was working well and I made a fastest lap, which is not very common for me. We are just one point behind Casey, hopefully we can improve something on the bike tomorrow and be in front again.”

If team mate Lorenzo is happy, Ben Spies can only be satisfied that MotoGP no longer be racing at Estoril, a track that he doesn’t like as he as never finished a race at this particular Portughuese circuit. After finishing 11th in the last two races, the American says an 8th place after some major mistakes in the race is a ‘confidence builder.’

Spies definitely needs to get his mojo back as soon as possible, because Yamaha isn’t going wait very much longer before starting negotiations with other riders for the 2013 season and everyone wants to re-see Elbowz back in the thick of things.

“Very mixed emotions today, this is actually the first time in three years that I’ve finished a race here. As I told the team, I made four or five big mistakes during the race, they cost me time and places. It was a rough race but I’m continuing to build my confidence, I don’t enjoy Estoril so I’m happy to have finished,” said Ben Spies.

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During yesterday’s MotoGP race at Jerez, where everyone was still jockeying for positions in an action packed first couple of laps, Jorge Lorenzo pushed Andrea Dovizioso wide at the Dry Sac and then threw out his arm in what appeared to be an apology, however it turned out it wasn’t an apology, but a warning sign towards the Yamaha Tech3 rider aggressiveness.

Lorenzo in an video interview with Sportmediaset said, “It was a sign to warn him to wait until maybe halfway through the race or at the end before making a pass, especially on the first laps. In theory I’m racing for the championship title and he’s on the same manufacturerer’s bike … so he has to wait a little and not try to pass me at 100%, always at the limit, risking that we could both fall and get zero points. I think you should wait to do it at halfway in the race or at the end rather than risks at the beginning, in MotoGP you have to learn how to take calculated risks … that’s why I signalled Andrea not now. Experience has taught me this.”

Asked about Cal Crutchlow, the current points leader laughingly said, “He kind of scares me a little, I hope that if he’s intelligent and if he’s faster than me then he passes me, but at the beginning of the race in MotoGP you have to be more patient.”

What did Dovizioso have to say about Lorenzo’s early warning? “Let’s say we were both wrong, the blame is 50-50, He tried to pass me, but I had a little more margin and let the brakes go. He had room to turn. I think he did it on purpose to touch me and give me a warning, but it wasn’t anything special. “

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Jorge Lorenzo despite his never-give-up attitude could do nothing to stop Casey Stoner at Jerez due to what he considers a wrong tire choice - even if the majority of the riders made the same choice - and despite his silky smooth and perfect riding style he wore out his front tire faster than he expected.

“Today I knew it would be a very important decision on the grid to choose the right front tyre. Finally we chose the soft one, unfortunately we were wrong and had a lot of problems during the race, I wasn’t as confident as in practice. Without good feelings to finish second is not so bad, we are still leading the Championship and have good motivation for Estoril,” said Lorenzo.

Ben Spies may have snapped at the journos who after just one race, suggested that Andrea Dovizioso may be taking his seat in the Yamaha factory team next season, but Spies will have to worry more about Cal Crutchlow taking his place after another disappointing and this time unexplainable performance in today’s race at Jerez. The Texas Terror faded to a lowly 11th and again was the last MotoGP prototype rider on the grid (not counting Karel Abraham who crashed and then rejoined) and not showing any of the form he had in pre-season.

“I don’t really know what happened, I got off to a pretty good start from the line but after that I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike, it was a pretty pathetic race really for me. I’ve apologized to the team and we’ve had a long meeting about what I was feeling with the bike. I just wasn’t comfortable, I rode as hard as I could but the speed just wasn’t there. We need to find something because we can see the Yamahas are working well but my feeling with the bike is not great. It was a bad day at the office today,” said Spies.

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Today’s MotoGP qualifying session at Jerez went down to fierce battle for the pole position between two rival Spaniards, Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo and Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa who were completely above the rest of the field for the entire session.

Despite the difficult conditions, with scattered wet patches along the circuit, Lorenzo was able to take his first pole position of the season (his 20th in MotoGP) on his last flying lap with a best time of 1′39.532 and 0.2sec under the race lap record that left Pedrosa in second and 0.135s adrift.

When we say that the two Spaniards were a cut above the rest of the field, you just have to look at an excellent Nicky Hayden, took third place on the grid, but he was a little more than one second adrift. If Hayden was the best Ducati rider. the worst was Valentino Rossi who qualified in a lowly 13th. It was a disastrous session for the Italian, who was a massive 3.4 seconds from the top of the timesheets, but even worse, he was 2.4 seconds from his team mate and was behind Ducati satellite riders Karel Abraham and Hector Barbera, but CRT also rider Randy de Puniet finished ahead of all three Ducati’s in 10th.

Opening the second row will be Tech 3 Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow. The Briton the fastest rider until the halfway mark, but a crash at the Expo 92 turn (that also caught out Colin Edwards and Michele Pirro) forced him out on second bike, but his lap time was good enough for a fourth spot. Reigning Champion Casey Stoner could only manage a fifth position on what he considers his bogey track. Ben Spies came out of his free practice slump with his 6th position, but he was more than 1.5 seconds from his team mate.

Continue reading: MotoGP Jerez: Jorge Lorenzo takes thrilling pole position

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Jorge Lorenzo admitted that he was sort of worried when he saw the pace that the Repsol Honda riders had during the warm-up practice in Qatar, but says his victory is due to his never give up attitude.

The Yamaha rider spent more than three quarters of the race between Stoner and Pedrosa, with the Spaniard pushing him all the way wondering when Pedrosa would blast past him on the long Losail straight, but the tide turned for the Yamaha rider when Stoner started to fade.

“What an amazing race! I put everything I have, all my energy on the track, into this victory is because I never gave up, kept pushing and trying,” said Lorenzo. “Casey was very strong at the beginning and opened a gap. Fortunately for us he struggled at the end and dropped his pace where I could keep mine so I managed to pass him. I am very grateful to Yamaha because they have made a big step this winter on the YZR-M1,”

Ben Spies finishing in 11th confounded many fans who couldn’t understand why he faded so fast, thinking it was some sort of bad set-up, instead the reason was that dreaded vibration that riders call chatter.

“A tough race but sometimes that’s just the way it goes. I tested my airbag twice this weekend; good to know it works well! We’ll go back to Jerez now and hopefully have the bike issue sorted. It was good that Jorge won, we can see the Yamaha is going well, we just had a big problem with chatter so we have to work out what it was,” said Spies. He also added on his Twitter page “That’s what happens when u ride a bike that’s been crashed twice.”

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After the thrills in Moto3 and Moto2 we settled in expecting a MotoGP snooze fest in Qatar especially when Casey Stoner took off leaving Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa behind him, instead it turned into another race thriller with Jorge Lorenzo taking an amazing victory over Dani Pedrosa and Stoner

Jorge Lorenzo led the race from the start, but on the third lap Stoner overtook his team mate at the end of the straight and then set his eyes on the Yamaha rider. Just one lap later the reigning World Champion reeled him in and with a furious overtake at the pits straight took the head of the race and started to put an almost two second gap from the two Spaniards.

With just four laps to go Stoner suddenly seemed to have problems as unexpectedly he started to fade and Lorenzo and Pedrosa suddenly had him in their sights, with Pedrosa trying an overtaking manouver but Lorenzo retaliated immediately and then latched onto Stoner and passed him with just three laps to go with Stoner trying to slipstream on the straight, but Lorenzo got the better exit at turn 1 and then ran away. The Australian then had his hands full with his team mate who got the best of him and he too speeded away to take second, despite nursing a big cold.

Stoner ended up a very safe third and while everyone was thinking that chattering and tire problems had gotten him, it was instead a physical problem, arm pump that weakened him, but Livio Suppo said that his rider had problems with his new gloves.

It was an all in-house almost 20 lap race battle between Yamaha Tech3 riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow for fourth place, with the Brit rider finally getting the best of the Italian on lap 17 and defending his position to the chequered flag.

Moto2 champion and MotoGP rookie Stefan Bradl was up to sixth for most of the race, before being hunted down by Nicky Hayden, Alvaro Bautista and Hector Barbera who exchanged places several times and left Bradl down in 8th after Hector Barbera ran wide into the gravel pit.

Continue reading: Jorge Lorenzo is the new King of Qatar

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