With an official press release MotoGP team, Grupo Francisco Hernando have announced that they are pulling out of MotoGP without finishing the 2009 season due to economic problems, prefering to concentrate their finances on their core business, development and real estate construction.

Sete Gibernau who returned to racing after a two year retirement and joined the Francisco Hernando team run by Pablo and Gelete Nieto to ride a private Ducati is surprised about the decision:

“We fought to see this project born, it’s a pity now that we achieved our objective and struggling to get results, we have to abandon everything. In this moment I can only thank the team and my personal sponsors, Arai, Spidi, Air Europa and AC Hotel, the fans and all the media who welcomed me back to MotoGP after a two year absence. With your help I was happy to return to racing. I will now have to concentrate on another possibility to finish the championship. It won’t be easy but I’m going to try will all my strength.

Source | lastampa

Continue reading: Sete Gibernau's Team pulls out of MotoGP

An update on Sete Gibernau’s injury:

Gibernau was examined by Doctors Xavier Mir and Nacho Ginebreda at the Clínica Dexeus, with Dr Mir commenting:

“We have undertaken various scans and they confirm just one new fracture on the left collarbone which has nothing to do with previous injuries in this area. The rider also took a slight knock to his spine and another on his right heel but they are not serious injuries.”

It is expected that Gibernau will have surgery on Monday to insert a titanium plate into his left shoulder supporting the collarbone.

With Gibernau out for the Italian GP, speculation has already begun on who will replace the Spanish rider at the Mugello and another Spanish rider’s name has come up and he’s got the same name as those two brothers who run the Grupo Francisco Hernando MotoGP team.

Source | motogp.com

Continue reading: Update on Sete Gibernau

With less that 20 minutes to go in this morning’s MotoGP free practice at Le Mans, Sete Gibernau of Team Grupo Francisco Hernando highsided and unfortunately fractured his left collarbone in two places.

Gibernau who returned to racing after two years of retirement has always been troubled by collarbone and shoulder injuries. Last December the Spanish rider had a metal plate removed but during training suffered from ligament problems that forced him to miss the Qatar pre-season test.

Gibernau will now fly back to Barcelona and will probably be visited at the famous Dexeus Clinic to see if he will require surgery.

The Clinica Mobile is now reporting that Gibernau will try to take part at his home Catalan Grand Prix on June 14 and will probably miss the next GP at Mugello.

Continue reading: Sete Gibernau injured and out of Le Mans GP

In yesterday’s pre-race media conference for the Gran Premio bwin.com de España at Jerez de la Frontera, the Spanish Armada of MotoGP riders, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, Toni Elias and Sete Gibernau were present along with reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi.

The questions from the press eventually returned to the famous 2005 race and the controversial pass that Rossi did on Gibernau on the last lap. Asked if he would put the same move on teammate Lorenzo under the same circumstances, Rossi was hesitant but eventually answered : “Yes”

“With Sete, that race was unforgettable from the first lap we start to fight, but especially the last lap and a half it all happened. I was able to overtake on the last time and I took a small advantage but I made a small mistake on the back straight. Sete came back on me and we nearly touched at the hairpin before two or three overtakes to the last hairpin so it was not just one braking (manouvre). It was a very hard fight. If with Lorenzo it happens the same, then….. Yes.”

“I want to say that time with Sete, I didn’t enter in the corner to touch him. I entered to try and overtake and win the race, but fortunately Sete doesn’t crash and anyway he finished second. But anyway we are ready for a battle and we wait for the battle and if it’s possible for a race with a rival at the same level like that time with Sete with three or four overtaking in the last lap. It was great. In the last lap - it was great. I think it was our sport. If you look at the races of ten years ago it happened 100 times in one race. I like to run like this. Sometimes you win sometimes you lose.”

According to Italian website gpone Lorenzo had this to say:

Continue reading: Fightin' Words, Rossi: I'd do a Gibernau to Lorenzo

Sete Gibernau and his Ducati Desmosedici GP9 showed up at Jerez della Frontera IRTA test with an all new livery. Gone is the elegant white-gold-and black color scheme used during winter testing, his bike is now sporting a white- green-red and blue colored livery.

The Grupo Francisco Hernando Onde 2000 Team has now become Nuova Edificacion 2000 and also missing is the the name of their second sponsor, Equatorial Guinea, however the new color scheme is exactly the same as the flag of the former Central African Spanish colony .

There were a lot of rumblings and grumblings in the Spanish press, including several important and influential political newspapers who were questioning this strange and unusual union and many MotoGP fans from around the world found it extremely distasteful that a country run by dictator Teodor Obiang Nguema, who rates 11th in the list of the World’s Worst Dictators was sponsoring a MotoGP bike.

Continue reading: Sete Gibernau's New D16 Livery

Veteran rider Sete Gibernau, who came out of retirement this year to ride with new satellite team, Francisco Hernandez Onde 2000, has been forced to withdraw from the upcoming Qatar test session, after aggravating an old shoulder injury that will require a period of complete rest.

Gibernau, who was recovering from a recent shoulder operation, visited doctors on Thurday at the Institut Universitari Dexeus in Barcelona where Doctor Ginebreda Marti diagnosed a slight ligament tear in his left shoulder due to the accumulation of physical exertion at the recent MotoGP tests in Malaysia and his demanding training programme

Source | motogp.com

Continue reading: Sete Gibernau to miss upcoming Qatar test

Last Sunday we showed you the first video of the Italian show Matrix celebrating Valentino Rossi, this week its Rossi’s rivalry with Manuel Gibernau –Bultò, better known to the racing world as Sete “Hollywood” Gibernau.

Some of Gibernau’s best racing was done against Valentino Rossi .

Valentino Rossi described the 2003 season in his career as “the year of Gibernau, it was hard until the end”. Gibernau riding Fausto Gresini’s Movistar Honda finished second in the championship that year with 4 race wins. In 2004 he again finished second always with four wins. With the media hyped Rossi curse on his back, the Spaniard finished his 2005 season 7th overall with no race wins.

Gibernau retired after the 2006 season, that saw him involved in one of MotoGP’s most terrifying accidents, but has decided to return to MotoGP next year and will be riding for the new Onde2000 Ducati team managed by the Nieto brothers.

Continue reading: A Valentino Rossi Celebration – Part 2

Does anyone remember Valentino Rossi ‘s famous “curse” against Sete Gibernau during the 2004 Losail race? The Doctor or maybe I should say witch doctor said that Gibernau would never win another race and after looking at this video that puts together most of Gibernau’s 2005 season, it seems like it really worked.

Sete finished the championship 8th, while team-mate Marco Melandri finished 2nd in the overall 2005 standings, however Gibernau did take both BMW awards that year.

Sete Gibernau has now come out of a two year retirement and will return to MotoGP racing with the new Ducati Onde 2000 team in 2009 and hopefully for him the Rossi curse has worn out by now.

Continue reading: Sete Gibernau's 2005 Season

This great video is from the past but is still great to watch again. It takes us back to the MotoGP battles between Sete Gibernau and Valentino Rossi. The video is a short compilation of some tough fights that we hope to see again in next year’s races as Sete returns. Rossi has given his comments on Sete’s return and we’ll see if the team, including Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner, will be strong enough to give us all thrilling races.

Continue reading: Video: Rossi versus Gibernau

Sete Gibernau returns to MotoGP next year and has admitted to not being in good shape. He will start an intensive training programme to build the fitness level needed to ride the Ducati Desmosedici in the new Onde 2000 team.

Sete said:“In Valencia I was sore all over. I am still in good shape but you can do whatever you want at home, but being bike fit is completely different. You use muscles you haven’t used for two years. I got tired quite tired but mentally I think I’m good. It is a huge challenge for me to come back, but I want to prove to myself and maybe to other guys around my age that we can still do it at this level.”

For Ducati, Sete Gibernau could prove to be very important for Ducati next year, giving feedback to other Ducati riders from his experience.

Source | mcn

Continue reading: Fitness programme for Sete Gibernau

The MotoGP 2009 looks like it could be an exciting season, with plenty of expectations about riders, a new world champion and some new challengers looking for their moment of glory, too. Former World Championship rider Randy Mamola has discussed his point of view regarding Nicky Hayden, Sete Gibernau and Ducati.

Randy is sure that Nicky has still got a long way to go in making a smooth transition to the Ducati Desmosedici 09. He said: “Basically the Desmosedici works by getting it to full throttle as soon as possible and letting the electronics do the rest. [Everybody has] enjoyed seeing Nicky light the Honda up around that long left-hander but you only had to see him through there on the Monday to see that the Ducati doesn’t allow him to do it, because it has a much more narrow power band.”

Mamola also believes that Ducati needs to make their bikes easier to ride otherwise they will have all four riders struggling. The position from Sete Gibernau in giving feedback could be crucial in getting the bike to fit the different rider styles. It will be interesting to see how Ducati’s fortunes develop next year.

Source | motogp

Continue reading: MotoGP: Randy Mamola on Ducati riders

Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau might battle again in 2009. The season will see Valentino riding his Fiat Yamaha MotoGP bike, while Sete will ride the Ducati Onde 2000 bike.

Rossi and Gibernau had some great battles during the 2004 season and at the Spanish MotoGP in 2005, in Jerez, one battle ended at the dramatic final corner with Sete finishing on the gravel.

Rossi is happy with the return and is looking forward to racing again against Sete. He said: “I am sorry I didn’t see Sete on the track when we tested in Valencia because I think it’s quite a big emotion for us to be together on the track again after all our great battles. I am happy to see him back. We spoke a little bit in the summer when he was thinking about coming back and I’m looking forward to racing him again.”

Rossi will defend his world title and said his biggest treat will come from Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and his team mate Jorge Lorenzo.

source | mcn

Continue reading: Valentino Rossi happy with the return of Sete Gibernau