2007 Brno FP3 Times - Day 2

By Kropotkin | Sat, 18/08/2007 - 09:15

Casey Stoner and John Hopkins were once again far and away the fastest riders on the track at Brno this morning, leading the timesheets within the first 10 minutes of practice, and staying there all the way to the end. Stoner was fastest by a small margin for most of the session, until 2 minutes from the end, the Australian Ducati man destroyed the existing lap record, set by Loris Capirossi last year. Suzuki's John Hopkins was the only man who could stay within range of Stoner, and the only other man capable of consistently running 1'58 second laps, which looks like being race pace.

Melandri Looking Doubtful For Race

By Kropotkin | Sat, 18/08/2007 - 08:20

With Saturday's morning session of free practice under way, Marco Melandri's name is once again missing from the timesheets. It seems that the Italian is still suffering as a result of the trapped nerve we reported yesterday, and is still in too much pain, and lacking too much strength to take much part in the proceedings. It's conceivable that Melandri is saving himself for this afternoon's qualifying practice session, but if he doesn't set at time in qualifying, his weekend is effectively over.

Trapped Nerve Sidelines Melandri At Brno

By Kropotkin | Fri, 17/08/2007 - 13:48

Marco Melandri was conspicuous by his absence from this afternoon's free practice session, and only afterwards did we find out the reason. The Dutch site Racesport.nl is reporting that a trapped nerve is causing considerable pain and a lack of feeling in Melandri's left arm, leaving the Italian incapable of riding during FP2, after he was unable to remove his own helmet at the end of the first free practice session.

2007 Brno FP2 Times - Day 1

By Kropotkin | Fri, 17/08/2007 - 13:18

The day's second free practice session took place under overcast skies, though it stayed dry throughout. And the fastest two men of the morning's practice were fastest once again for most of the afternoon. But this time, Casey Stoner didn't dominate the session like he had in the morning. In fact, it wasn't until 10 minutes from the end that Stoner finally managed to better the time set by Suzuki's John Hopkins. Once faster, though, he proceeded to set a series of blistering laps within half a second of the existing lap record set by Loris Capirossi during last year's race.

2007 Brno MotoGP Preview - Long Time Coming

By Kropotkin | Thu, 16/08/2007 - 22:27

When it comes to racetracks, the most damning accusation that MotoGP fans can make is that a particular circuit is a "cookie cutter track." What they mean by this is that the track consists of a bunch of symmetrical, computer-designed turns stuck together to resemble something which has just rolled off a production line, rather than grown organically with the landscape to seamlessly become one with its environment, and the tracks they point to when using this term of abuse are places like Shanghai in China and Sepang in Malaysia.

Official: Capirossi Signs With Suzuki

By Kropotkin | Thu, 16/08/2007 - 14:36

It's finally official: Loris Capirossi has finally announced that he has a one year deal to ride for Suzuki for 2008, with an option for 2009. The Italian veteran held a press conference at Brno today, remarkably enough in the Ducati hospitality area, at which he made his decision public. "I have a good feeling about Suzuki: They have a lot of 500cc titles, and it means I will still be riding for a factory team, which was important," Capirossi said. He also confirmed that he had offers from both Kawasaki and from the satellite Pramac d'Antin Ducati team, which he rejected.

The Deal Is Done: Capirossi To Announce Suzuki Signing At 3pm CET

By Kropotkin | Thu, 16/08/2007 - 10:21

For weeks now, ever since Marco Melandri signed with Ducati, effectively pushing Loris Capirossi out of the picture at the Bologna factory, speculation has been rife that the Italian veteran would turn his back on the factory with which he had become virtually synonymous. Many teams were named, but it became increasingly clear that there was only one destination which Capirex could realistically arrive at.

Melandri And Elias Pass Fitness Test

By Kropotkin | Tue, 14/08/2007 - 10:05

Finally, a little better news for the Gresini Honda team. Both Marco Melandri and Toni Elias passed fitness tests on Monday, and have been cleared to ride at Brno. Elias is still recovering from a broken femur and Melandri is still suffering with a broken ankle he suffered at Laguna Seca. The Gresini duo spent two hours riding Honda CBR 600 sports bikes around the Misano circuit, to test their condition, which revealed that they are both capable of riding, albeit with some pain.

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