Phillip Island, Australia

2008 Phillip Island MotoGP Preview - A Southern Romance

Submitted by Kropotkin on

There can hardly be a greater contrast between Motegi, the track where MotoGP spent last weekend, and Phillip Island, where they are headed next. Motegi is pretty much a state-of-the-art facility, with spacious pit garages, excellent spectator facilities and an air-conditioned press area. Phillip Island, on the other hand, is like a trip back to the 1950s: The pit garages are about as sturdy as your average garden shed, the spectator seating consists mostly of grass, and the commentary positions sway gently in the winds which sweep across the Bass Strait and buffet the circuit.

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Provisional 2009 MotoGP Calender Announced

Submitted by Kropotkin on

As expected, the Chinese round of MotoGP at Shanghai is off the calendar, and as predicted earlier this week, the Hungarian Grand Prix will take place in late summer. But the calendar has a lot of significant shakeups: Motegi moves from late September to the spring, June is a lot less busy, with only 2 lots of back-to-back races in 2009, rather than three pairs which we saw this year. The British Grand Prix moves from June to late July, and Estoril switches back to October.

DateGrand PrixCircuit
April 12th*QatarLosail
April 26thJapanMotegi
May 3rdSpainJerez
May 17thFranceLe Mans
May 31stItalyMugello
June 14thCatalunyaCatalunya
June 27th**NetherlandsAssen
July 5th***United StatesLaguna Seca
July 19thGermanySachsenring
July 26thGreat BritainDonington Park
August 16thCzech RepublicBrno
August 30thIndianapolisIndianapolis
September 6thSan Marino & Riviera di RiminiMisano
September 20thHungaryBalaton
October 4thPortugalEstoril
October 18thAustraliaPhillip Island
October 25thMalaysiaSepang
November 8thValenciaRicardo Tormo - Valencia

* Evening race
** Saturday race
*** Only MotoGP class

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Hopkins To Miss Testing At Phillip Island After Crash

Submitted by Kropotkin on

Any hope John Hopkins may have had of getting his 2008 season off to a better start than in 2007 were dashed today, after Hopper crashed in damp conditions during the second day of testing in Phillip Island. The American Kawasaki rider suffered a torn abductor muscle in his groin, after a highside at turn one flicked him off the bike.

The only consolation for Hopper is that the injury, while painful, is less serious than the broken hand he suffered testing at Qatar prior to the 2007 season. Hopkins was scheduled to fly back to California as soon as possible, to receive treatment from the renowned sports physiologist Dr Ting.

Hopkins will hope to return to testing at the official IRTA test at Jerez in mid-February.

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At Long Last: 2006 Sepang, Phillip Island and Motegi Race Reports

Submitted by Kropotkin on

Pacific Triptych

Three weekends. Three races. Three winners. The story of the flyaway races seems simple, put like that. But like so many simple tales, this does the story no justice: There is so much more to tell.

Sodden Sepang

It all started at Sepang on Friday. From the start, Loris Capirossi seemed set to continue the dominance he had shown in Brno and impose his will at Malaysia, as he had done the previous year. The only person who looked capable of getting close was Dani Pedrosa. But then, during the second qualifying practice, Pedrosa suffered what looked at first a fairly innocent fall, catching his knee on the curbstones, and sliding off into the gravel. But it transpired that in catching his knee, he had badly gashed it, and broken his toe to boot. His injuries were so serious that there was some doubt that he would be able to make the race, dealing his title aspirations a severe blow.

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FIM To Examine Yellow Flag Procedures After Phillip Island Incident

Submitted by Kropotkin on

As a result of the yellow flag controversy at Phillip Island, the FIM has announced it will be reviewing procedures for dealing with yellow flags during the race (PDF file). This will include investigating the use of "new technology" to respond to incidents.

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2006 Three In One - Sepang, Phillip Island and Motegi Preview

Submitted by Kropotkin on

The Power Of Numbers

Numerologists, and others who seek deeper meaning in numbers, of which there are many inside the MotoGP paddock, will be delighted this weekend. For, after a 3 week break, MotoGP returns for 3 races in 3 weekends, traveling 9000 miles to do so, in a series of races spread around the Pacific, calling at Sepang in Malaysia, Phillip Island in Australia, and Motegi in Japan.

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