MotoGP

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sedihnya....dunia kehilangan seorang bekas pelumba GP yg ternama

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Chance to meet MotoGP heroes

PETALING JAYA: MotoGP fans will be able to meet their heroes at a meet-the-fans session on Oct 20 at the Welcome Centre, the administrative block of the Sepang International Circuit and next to the Main Grandstand entry point.

The session is held in conjunction with the 2007 Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.  

The International Racing Teams Association has confirmed that all the MotoGP riders will be there.  

In the first session, from noon, fans will get to meet seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi, Colin Edwards, Alex Barros, Shinichi Ito, Marco Melandri, Toni Elias, Randy De Puniet, Anthony West, Shinya Nakano and Kurtis Roberts.

In the second session, between 12.15pm and 12.30pm, fans will get to meet newly-crowned 2007 champion Casey Stoner, Loris Capirossi, Carlos Checa, Nicky Hayden, Dani Pedrosa, Chris Vermeulen John Hopkins, Nobuatsu Aoki, Sylvain Guintoli and Makoto Tamada

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Checa moves up to superbike

LONDON: Spanish rider Carlos Checa will leave MotoGP at the end of the season to ride for the Honda Ten Kate team in the World Superbike series, he announced on his website (www.carloscheca.com) on Tuesday.

揑'm looking forward to this new challenge,

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Sepang Circuit gets the nod for next week抯 MotoGP

PETALING JAYA: The Sepang Circuit, which will host the 2007 Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix next weekend, has been given the nod to stage the prestigious race by the world抯 governing motorcycling body, FIM.  

揥e are happy to announce that FIM have given the 憃kay

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Stoner terlalu hebat

PHILLIP ISLAND, Australia - Juara dunia, Casey Stoner mendahului saingan dari awal hingga akhir untuk merangkul kejuaraan MotoGP Grand Prix Australia buat kali pertama di Litar Phillip Island, semalam.

Penunggang Ducati berusia 21 tahun itu memulakan perlumbaan dari petak ketiga, namun dia bermula bijak dengan memintas Dani Pedrosa dan Valentino Rossi pada selekoh pertama.

Selepas diberikan tentangan oleh juara dunia 2006, Nicky Hayden, Stoner memecut laju pada setiap pusingan untuk memenangi perlumbaan di litar sejauh 4.5 kilometer itu dengan kepantasan 41 minit 12.244 saat - 6.763 saat di depan rakan sepasukan, Loris Capirossi dari Itali.

Juara dunia lima kali, Rossi yang menunggang Yamaha menamatkan saingan di tangga ketiga dengan 10.038s di belakang juara, manakala pelumba Honda, Pedrosa yang bermula dari petak depan menduduki tangga keempat.

Ia kemenangan kesembilan Stoner musim ini, sekali gus menambah kecemerlangannya selepas mengesahkan gelaran dunia di Jepun, dua minggu lalu.

Bagi Stoner, memenangi perlumbaan di negara sendiri meninggalkan memori yang paling manis buatnya.

Masalah mekanikal yang dialami Hayden selepas 10 pusingan menyebabkan pelumba Amerika Syarikat itu mula ditinggalkan sedikit demi sedikit oleh Stoney. Hayden gagal meneruskan perlumbaan ketika masuk pusingan ke-12.

Ia membolehkan Rossi mengambil alih kedudukan kedua, namun pelumba Itali itu gagal merapati Stoner selepas dia mengalami masalah tayar yang membolehkan Stoner terus menjarakkan diri.

Pedrosa pula memintas Rossi untuk menduduki tempat kedua di pusingan ke-17, namun pada dua pusingan kemudian, kedua-dua pelumba itu dipintas oleh Capirossi untuk kemenangan 1-2 Ducati.

Menurut Rossi, dia yakin mengejar Stoner sebelum tayarnya mengalami masalah, sekali gus membenarkan juara dunia itu lebih mudah menguasai perlumbaan.

Stoner muncul pelumba Australia pertama menjuarai perlumbaan di Phillip Island sejak Mick Doohan memenangi Grand Prix Australia di sini pada 1998.

Sementara itu, penguasaan pelumba Aprilia, Jorge Lorenzo bagi kelas 250cc berterusan apabila dia muncul juara.

Pelumba Sepanyol itu, yang turut memenangi perlumbaan di sini tahun lalu menewaskan rakan senegara dan sepasukan Alvaro Bautista dengan 19.634s, sekali gus mengukuhkan kedudukan di tangga teratas kejuaraan dunia.

Penunggang Honda, Andrea Dovizioso dari Itali menamatkan perlumbaan di tempat ketiga, diikuti Hiroshi Aoyama, yang menunggang KTM.

Dalam kelas 125cc, Lukas Pesek dari Republik Czech (Derbi) mengetepikan cabaran tiga pelumba Aprilia untuk merangkul kejuaraan. Pesek, mengalahkan Joan Olive, Hector Faubel dan Simone Corsi.

Pendahulu kejuaraan dunia, Gabor Talmacsi juga dari Aprilia menduduki tangga kelapan.

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Stoner storms to ninth win of the season

PHILLIP ISLAND (Australia): World champion Casey Stoner delighted his home fans with a dominant victory in the Australian MotoGP yesterday.

The 21-year-old Australian started third on the grid but he surged into the lead on the first lap and never lost it, easing to his ninth win of the season and becoming the first home winner of the Australian Grand Prix since Mick Doohan in 1998.

Stoner crossed the line in 41:12.244, over six seconds ahead of his Ducati team-mate Loris Capirossi with Yamaha抯 Valentino Rossi in third.

揑t抯 a dream for me really, the race worked out perfectly. We had a great start and I just had to bring it home,

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Thousands mourn racer Norick

TOKYO: Thousands of fans attended the funeral of Japanese motorcycle racer Norifumi 揘orick

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Stoner chasing unique treble

PETALING JAYA: The chase for the MotoGP world title is over but the Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix in Sepang this weekend presents champion Casey Stoner the opportunity to achieve a unique treble in Sepang.

The Australian won the 125cc title in 2004 on a KTM bike and kept up the winning act the following year in the 250cc category astride an Aprilia machine.

Having taken a ninth win this season at the Australian GP in Philip Island on Sunday, Stoner would certainly want to win the premier class race on a Marlboro Ducati in the penultimate round of the 17-leg world championships.

The event director of the Malaysian GP, Datuk Azmi Murad, sees Stoner as the favourite to win the race.

揑t would indeed be something great for Stoner and his fans if he achieves the feat of winning all three classes of races in Sepang,

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Farique bags double win in Japan to open up 10-point lead

PETALING JAYA: Petronas Syntium抯 Mohd Farique Hairuman opened up a 10-point lead in the Asian Touring Car Championships (ATCC) after securing his third double win of the season at the Autopolis International Racing Circuit in Japan over the weekend.

  

Standing tall: Mohd Farique Hairuman (centre) of Petronas Syntium Team celebrates on the podium after winning Round 8 of the Asian Touring Car Championships at the Autopolis International Racing Circuit in Japan on Sunday. With him are second-placed Masaki Kano (left) and third-placed Cheung Chi Sing.

The Malaysian started sixth on the reverse grid order in Round 8 on Sunday and won the race in 21:28.074. Farique had won Round 7 on Saturday in 21:23.856.

The 23-year-old is certainly on track to winning the championships for the first time.  

He has won six of the eight races thus far and has 100 points.  

His other double victories were achieved in Sepang and Chengdu.

The blot on his record this season was gaining only 10 points (a third place) from the two races in the third-leg in Sentul, Indonesia. The last two races of the championships will be held in Zhuhai on Nov 3 and 4.

揥inning two races in Japan is a good feeling. I have to thank the guys in the team for the great job over the weekend.  

揑 am looking forward to Zhuhai and I hope to repeat the great results we got here,

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Spaniard Lorenzo set to seal 250cc world title in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Motorsport fans can look forward to a world title celebration from Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo in the 2007 Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix in Sepang on Sunday.

Australian Casey Stoner has already bagged the MotoGP crown while the battle for the 125cc world title looks set to go down to the wire in the season finale in Valencia next month.

  

Rev it up: Jorge Lorenzo jumps in joy after winning the Australian Grand Prix title in Phillip Island on Sunday which virtually handed him the 250cc crown.

But the stage is set for the crowning of Lorenzo as the 250cc world champion for the second consecutive year in the penultimate round of the championships.

The flamboyant Spaniard, who celebrates with a lollipop in his mouth each time he wins a race, leads the standings on 287 points

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Ratthapark the Thai flavour at Malaysian GP

PETALING JAYA: There will be no local interest on the track for the Malaysian Grand Prix races at the Sepang Circuit this weekend.

However, fans from Thailand will get to cheer their local hero, Ratthapark Wilairot, who competes in the 250cc class. The 19-year old rider from Chonburi represents Team Thai Honda PTT-SAG and he is in 16th place in the standings on 29 points.

Ratthapark competed in the Japanese GP as a wild card last year and did well to finish 10th. He was the runner-up in the Japanese national championships last year.

The region will have a second rider in the 250cc class in Indonesian Doni Prata Pradita. He competes in the Asian Grand Prix Series and has earned a wild card from the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) for the world championships round in Sepang.

  

Young star: Indonesia抯 16-year-old Doni Tata Pridata (centre) helping to set up his 250cc bike at the garage ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend.

The Sepang International Circuit senior general manager, Datuk Azmi Murad, hoped the entries of the two riders would help them achieve the targeted attendance of 50,000 fans.

揟heir entries have generated a lot of interest among fans in Thailand and Indonesia.  

揑 expect a large turnout of fans from the two countries in Sepang this weekend.

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Rossi loses his aura

New colours: Valentino Rossi showing off the new graphics on his helmet. His dominance in Sepang will come under threat from the new generation of riders.

SEPANG: Valentino Rossi has been the most successful rider at the Sepang circuit but the younger brigade will be out to put a stop to his dominance in the Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix on Sunday.

Rossi has been dominating the premier class of motorcycle racing for the last five years after the retirement of Australian legend Mick Doohan.

But the torch has been passed on to the younger generation. Rossi relinquished his MotoGP world title to American Nicky Hayden last season.

This year, Rossi has had another season littered with disappointments on his Yamaha bike and it paved the way for Australian Casey Stoner to secure the world title with three races to spare at the Japan GP in Motegi last month.

The 21-year-old Stoner went on to chalk up his ninth victory of the season in the Australian GP last Sunday.

While Rossi has an impeccable record in Malaysia, having finished on the podium for the last six years, including four victories, American John Hopkins from the Rizla Suzuki team does not think that the Italian can prevail this time.

揑t has not been a good year for Rossi. He has a very good record in Sepang but I don't think it will be the Rossi show again,

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Moto GP (Sepang F1 Circuit)

THE PROGRAMMES

TOMORROW

9.00-9.45am: 125cc free practice I

10.00-11.00am: MotoGP free practice I

11.15am-12.15pm: 250cc free practice I

1.05-1.35pm: 125cc qualifying I

1.50-2.50pm: MotoGP free practice II

3.05-3.50pm: 250cc qualifying I

4.05-4.25pm: Production bikes and Kawasaki free practice

4.30-4.50pm: Aprilia Cup free practice

4.55-5.15pm: National Superbikes and Super Sports free practice

5.20-5.40pm: Production bikes and Kawasaki qualifying

5.45-6.05pm: Aprilia Cup free practice

6.10-6.30pm: National Superbikes and Super Sports qualifying

SATURDAY

9.00-9.45am: 125cc free practice II

10.00-11.00am: MotoGP free practice III

11.15am-12.15pm: 250cc free practice II

12.20-12.50pm: VIP Village pit lane walk

12.20pm: Ducati two-seater bike demo

1.05-1.35pm: 125cc qualifying II

1.50-2.50pm: MotoGP qualifying

3.05-3.50pm: 250cc qualifying II

4.00-4.45pm: Pit Walkabout

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Racing facilities will reduce Mat Rempit numbers, says Azalina

KUALA LUMPUR: State governments must step in to provide special venues for motor racing to promote the sport among Malaysians and also to identify budding talents, said Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

She said that there were many complaints from the rakyat of the lack of affordable and adequate racing facilities in the country.  

Azalina hoped that there would be a boom of proper racing circuits in every state to help turn their hobbies into a passion for the motor racing arena.  

She added that there were many talented young Malaysians who had the potential to take motor racing to international standards, just like 14-year-old racing prodigy Jazeman Jaafar.

She admitted that the Mat Rempit menace was still a huge problem, however she believed that their numbers would dwindle significantly given the appropriate and adequate racing facilities.  

"When we had the Batu Tiga racing track there were less of these Mat Rempit as it was considered more "manly" for them to race on the tracks rather than on the road, and it was also not that costly.  

"However, for each state to promote the motor racing a certain approach of safety education and racing knowledge must be ingrained before just jumping in and building racing tracks," she said.

During a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) here Thursday, she also challenged Mat Rempits to take their racing to the tracks.  

Earlier, the minister had opened the inaugural Asian International Motorcycle Expo 2007 here which saw more than 50 exhibitors taking part in the four-day event.  

Among the exhibitors are leading bike builders Kenji Nagai (2006 AMD All Japan Custom Bike Champion), Matt Hotch (Biker Build-off Champion), Russell Mitchell (Exile Motorcycles president) and Brett Smith (S&S custom engines president).

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Tyre war decision on Saturday

SEPANG: The decision on whether to use a single tyre supplier for next season will be made on the sidelines of the Malaysian Grand Prix here on Saturday.

The MotoGP world championships organisers, Dorna, have proposed a switch to a single tyre supplier for the 2008 season.

Their chief executive officer, Carmelo Ezpeleta, said on the official MotoGP website that the proposal was made because some factories believed that they were not able to have tyres that were competitive enough.  

The situation arose this year after Honda and Yamaha teams, who are on Michelin, failed to match the Bridgestone-shod Ducatis.

Ducati have already secured the constructors

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Rossi aims to be the first to reach century of podium finishes

SEPANG: Italian Valentino Rossi has lost the world title fight for the second consecutive time but he can achieve what no one has done before

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Chance to have names printed on Roberts

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Checa all set to bid adieu to MotoGP

SEPANG: Spaniard Carlos Checa is bidding farewell to MotoGP after 15 years of racing in the World Motorcycle Championships.

The 35-year-old Checa, who rode for Team Honda LCR managed by Lucio Checchinello this season, has signed up with Ten Kate team to race in the World Superbike series.

揑抦 really looking forward to this new challenge. It抯 an interesting step in my career. I抦 very upbeat about it and I am sure I can get good results and be competitive. Riding for Honda and Ten Kate is a good guarantee and I am proud of the fact that the factory team have placed their faith in me,

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Mad Max may return to MotoGP action

  

Max Biaggi

ROME: Max Biaggi may return to MotoGP next season after the struggling Alstare Suzuki Superbike team announced yesterday they had to drop the Italian rider.

揥ith reference to the current situation Team Alstare are is facing regarding sponsorship, it is with regret and sadness that the team announce they will not renew their contract with Max Biaggi for 2008,

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Mad Max may return to MotoGP action

  

Max Biaggi

ROME: Max Biaggi may return to MotoGP next season after the struggling Alstare Suzuki Superbike team announced yesterday they had to drop the Italian rider.

揥ith reference to the current situation Team Alstare are is facing regarding sponsorship, it is with regret and sadness that the team announce they will not renew their contract with Max Biaggi for 2008,