When Colin Edwards busted his collarbone during Friday practice at Catalunya, he just wanted to go home to his wife and three kids, but then changed his mind and wanted to try to race at Silverstone and it was the right decision, because he scored a third place podium on the treacherous conditions of the British circuit.

After qualifying eighth on Saturday, Edwards took to the stage and gave one of his highly entertaining, no holds barred performances for British fans and thankfully some kind souls decided to post the videos on Youtube for everyone who wasn’t there to enjoy.

One of Edwards statements got him into hot water with his wife that he explained with: “Honey, I’m a comedian. I was just looking for a laugh, if you know what I’m saying. I had no aspirations to do anything I was saying. It was just cracking a joke.”

Check out the second video which is more complete and Jorge Lorenzo’s reply after the jump.

Continue reading: Colin Edwards one man show at Silverstone (w/videos)

....

0 comments

After all the paddock girls that have helped you through the day, we’ve finally gotten around to the main event, a super gallery of pictures from the weekend’s AirAsia British Grand Prix at Silverstone for you to enjoy.

Just click on one of the smaller pics and you’ll find another 83 images to pour over.

Continue reading: MotoGP Silverstone picture gallery

....

0 comments

To think it was only last year that we had an interview with a couple of Silverstone paddock girls. Here are more pics from this year’s Silverstone MotoGP round over the weekend and the lovely English lasses had to brave some classic chilly weather while doing their thing. It turns out brollies aren’t just for leaning on and getting the weight off those heels - they will also keep you dry.

Continue reading: MotoGP Silverstone paddock girls

....

0 comments

We’ve go the final round-up rider quotes from today’s MotoGP race at Silverstone and we have to admit that we were pretty impressed by how strong Alvaro Bautista and rookie Karel Abraham looked all this weekend, whether it was wet or dry.

Alvaro Bautista - 5th

“For sure I am very happy today, because we have been able to finish the weekend with a great result. I have to say thank-you to my team, they have so much passion for what they do and have helped me get back to my maximum level. With all their help, this has been the first race that I have been able to feel competitive since the injury and I was nearer my limit than I have been all season - so a really big thanks to all of them! In the wet warm-up I felt very strong and had good feedback from the whole package, so I was feeling confident for this afternoon. In the race it was important make a good start, I did that and I think I was maybe fifth or sixth, but it was difficult to see because I was splashed a lot by other riders and I couldn’t see too much and had to drop back a bit. I tried to get into a good rhythm and as the race wore on I started to ride more comfortably. I saw that a couple of riders crashed due to all the water that was making it very difficult, but I just carried on and did my own thing. I had to have lots of feeling with the brakes and the gas because it was really very difficult conditions and towards the end I saw that Valentino was trying to catch me. I pushed a bit more and started to close on Nicky, but he responded and kept the gap, but by then I had increased on Valentino and I then just wanted to finish. Fifth is a good result and now I’m looking forward to getting to the next race and have the same level of confidence and feeling - if not even better!”

Karel Abraham - 7th

“My start wasn’t very well. I am sorry that I wasn’t able to stay with Rossi, who was faster than me in every lap, but despite that I am very satisfied with this result. I would like to thank all the team members, especially the mechanics who did a great job.“

Continue reading: More rider quotes from the Silverstone GP

....

0 comments

It was one of the most horrid weekends that Valentino Rossi has ever had and Silverstone proved to be a bête noire for the Italian and his team, who were counting on better results after the Catalan GP. Finishing in sixth, which could have been even worse if three riders (Lorenzo, Spies and Simoncelli) in front him hadn’t crashed. The Italian struggled from Friday all through today without finding the right set-up that would allow him to ride as he wanted to. Lacking in grid and never getting his tires into temperature, Rossi cut his losses hoping for a better race at Assen on June 25th and that he doesn’t end up more than an embarrassing minute adrift from Casey Stoner.

“Without a doubt, this weekend was the most difficult so far this season, but we at least managed to do a good job of limiting the damage. Considering how we came into the race, sixth place is a fairly positive result that helps us to stay not too far from the top of the standings in fourth, which isn’t bad. We knew that my lack of experience here compared to the others would hurt us, but it’s also true that we haven’t managed to improve our setup as well as we should have. In fact, today Nicky managed to have a nice race and ride well, even setting the fastest lap, which demonstrates that the Ducati is competitive in the wet. We didn’t improve enough though, and that made it hard for me, as the bike was difficult to ride and I couldn’t push hard. We’re all responsible: me, the bike, and the team, so together we’ll try to improve and return to the level we were at in Le Mans and Catalunya as soon as possible, and then take another step forward.”

Nicky Hayden actually outshone his more titled team mate, in all the practice sessions and in qualifying something that no one would have expected heading to Silverstone this weekend, finishing in the same position as he did last year.

Continue reading: Valentino Rossi limits damage with 6th, Nicky Hayden happy enough with 4th

....

0 comments

We know that Colin Edwards would never had been on the podium at Silverstone today if Jorge Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli hadn’t binned it under torrential rain showers, but he was running a very solid fifth, much better than more titled riders considering that he had his collarbone plated just last week. Heroic and stoic are probably the best words to describe the Texas Tornado this weekend.

“That was an unbelievable race and to finish on the podium feels amazing. I was happy to qualify eighth but never in a million years did I think I’d be on the podium just over a week after breaking my collarbone. I need to thank Dr Xavier Mir for the repair job he did on my shoulder and also my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 because they gave me a phenomenal bike today. My shoulder felt great and it was the muscle damage around my ribs that caused me the most pain. But the rain definitely helped because it was a lot less physical than in the dry. I just gritted my teeth and got on with it, just trying to stay smooth and not make any mistakes. Conditions were pretty bad and it was a case of working out when and where you could push. I’d have been happy to fin ish the race and then go home to think about Assen. But I saw a few people succumbing to the conditions and I saw P3 on by board and I couldn’t believe it. At that time though there were still eight or nine laps to go and I couldn’t feel my hands or my feet because it was so wet and cold. It was difficult but it was a good way to the end the weekend for the Team after what happened to Cal. Nobody wants to get hurt, but being injured for your home race is really tough to take, so I wish him a quick recovery and hope to see him back in Assen.”

Team mate Cal Crutchlow who broke his left collarbone in three places on Saturday during qualifying, is still in the John Radcliffe Hospital with no decision having yet to made if the surgery he’ll need will be carried out in Oxford or in Manchester, where the doctor who did his previous shoulder surgery is. The Brit is also being assessed for a neck injury.

....

0 comments

From today Silverstone should really be dubbed SilverStoner. The Repsol Honda rider put on a masterful display of riding in treacherous conditions that one could only applaud his skill and wonder how he could manage to stay on and find his way around such a soggy track. Oh yeah, he was also so fast that he lapped Randy De Puniet and Hector Barbera who were swimming around in the back of the field.

“At the beginning of the race we didn’t have a great start and I needed to wait for the tyres to get up to temperature,” said Stoner. “In the first few laps when I was behind the other riders I got a lot of spray up inside the visor and it was hard for me to see, or for me to push. At this time I was being careful, trying to cover my lines to stop them coming inside, then after five laps my visibility got clearer and the water drained away from my visor and I was able to start doing the lap times we were looking for and started to open a gap. I was just happy to stay up on the bike, it was incredibly cold and I was so nervous, because in these conditions it’s so easy to crash! We had a great race today in very tough conditions where anything could have happened, but to come away with a win is fantastic.”

Andrea Dovizioso took an excellent second place podium in today’s race. While Italian may not be considered one of the ‘aliens’ (even Valentino Rossi has lost that status this year) and not as fast as team mates Stoner and Dani Pedrosa and much less spectacular to watch than Marco Simoncelli, but you can always count on him to keep a cool head, be very constant and know his limits.

Continue reading: Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso make it 1-2 for Repsol Honda at Silverstone

....

0 comments

Today’s race day at Silverstone was a day to forget for the Yamaha factory riders. Both Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies crashed out within seconds of each other, and the Spaniard not only dropped precious points he also dropped the lead in the standings to a seemingly unstoppable Casey Stoner, who now has 116 points to Lorenzo’s 98.

“I feel disappointed because the crash was my own mistake. It’s a shame for the team because they did a very good job all weekend and also my Fan Club who come here to support me. I was riding with confidence, but I had to wait my moment to overtake Andrea,” said the disappointed Lorenzo. “I think I could have fought for the victory with Casey. I wasn’t worried that Simoncelli was catching me; I was worried because Casey was going if I didn’t overtake Andrea… then I crashed! Before Casey was chasing me, like a greyhound with a hare but now the situation has reversed. Now we have to go for the victory in Assen! I want to say congratulations to Colin; it has been a good weekend for him. He deserves it after last week”.

If this was Lorenzo’s first race crash since 2009, this weekend makes it three DNF’s for Ben Spies so far this season, something the American wasn’t counting on after taking a podium last week at Catalunya and having recently extended his contract with Yamaha for another year.

Continue reading: Silverstone GP: a race to forget for Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies

....

0 comments

The weather conditions at Silverstone were prohibitive, a soaking wet track and cold temperatures conditioned the race for all the riders except for Casey Stoner, who took his fourth win of this season.

As expected the Repsol Honda rider who dominated all weekend, in the dry and the wet and did the same in today’s race, and was so fast and sure that he ended up lapping back markers Hector Barbera and Randy de Puniet, but it was the crashes of high profile riders that changed the face of today’s race.

Andrea Dovizioso took the second spot podium, showing excellent form and often holding off hard charging Jorge Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli on the brakes, until both crashed out. First Lorenzo who destroyed his M1 and then Simoncelli who slid out of almost of a sure 3rd place podium on lap 11, and in the same turn as the Yamaha rider.

But today’s hero was Colin Edwards. Just nine days after undergoing collarbone surgery in Barcelona, the Texas Tornado brought in the only Yamaha and a satellite one to boot, to the podium with his third place after both factory Yamaha riders crashed out. First Ben Spies and then Jorge Lorenzo who did the same just a half lap later, thus breaking not only his long run of finishes that dated back to Phillip Island 2009, but also relinquishing the leadership of the championship to Casey Stoner.

Continue reading: MotoGP Silverstone: Casey Stoner cruises to comfortable and dominating win

....

0 comments

It was a super wet warm-up practice at Silverstone and the weather forecast for this afternoon’s races is predicting more of the same, and the riders gingerly took to the track to fine tune their wet set-ups and it was again Casey Stoner who set the best time of 2.19.071 in the 20 minute session and looking unstoppable.

Stoner was followed by Jorge Lorenzo who was just a little less than five tenths of second adrift and by Silverstone’s new favourite rider Marco Simoncelli who was a big 1.528 from Stoner. The gaps were even bigger from Simoncelli down, ranging from more than 2 to 14 seconds, and if Stoner continues his incredible form we might even see riders lapped by the Australian during the race.

Valentino Rossi was 8th, but lost the front of his Ducati and crashed out at the Club Corner adding to his already miserable British weekend, Randy de Puniet also crashed out at the same turn.

Continue reading: MotoGP Silverstone: Casey Stoner dominates in wet warm-up

....

0 comments

Even if you missed out watching today’s MotoGP qualifying action at Silverstone, you can find out what the riders had to say about it, right here.

Casey Stoner - 1st

“Everything has gone really well this weekend. We were lucky it stayed dry for qualifying, but it doesn’t look so good for tomorrow. We’ve been competitive in each session and in various weathers, so I hope we have prepared ourselves for the race, whatever the conditions. We haven’t changed too much from the set-up we had in
Barcelona, and this afternoon was important for us to see what we could get from the hard tyre, what our pace is and if we can find some more edge grip, and we definitely found some more traction so I’m very happy with how everything is working at the moment. For pole position we changed the set-up and balance of the bike a
little and on my best lap I lost the front a few times and wasn’t so confident with the balance, so I feel lucky to have got the pole, but for sure it’s the best way to start a Grand Prix. We’ll see what the weather does tomorrow, but I love this track and I love this part of the UK and I’m really happy to be here!”

Marco Simoncelli - 2nd

“I didn’t get pole position today, but I am happier than I was last weekend because at Barcelona it was only my last lap of qualifying that was really fast. This time my race pace is better on both hard and soft tyres, and I feel
confident I can be fast in the dry and in the rain.”

Continue reading: Rider quotes from MotoGP Silverstone qualifying session

....

0 comments

If last year it was broken legs in MotoGP, this year it’s fractured collarbones, with three MotoGP riders breaking them in less than four weeks. Dani Pedrosa in May and still out of action, a heroic Colin Edwards who broke his right one eight days ago, but it’s his ribs that are hurting him the most and none the less he was able to qualify 8th today and now Cal Crutchlow.

The British rider crashed out during his third lap in this afternoon’s qualifying session at Silverstone probably due to a cold tire and sustained a left collarbone fracture and a concussion and will be undergoing surgery at the Oxford Hospital later this evening or early tomorrow.

Hopefully plating Crutchlow’s collarbone will not create any problems to his left shoulder as the Yamaha Tech3 rider underwent shoulder surgery last December to repair damaged ligaments and tendons.

Continue reading: Cal Crutchlow to undergo surgery

....

0 comments