Simoncelli Given Warning Over Mugello Idiocy

Okay - well in a minor victory for common sense, the FIM has handed Simoncelli a warning over his riding today.
Whether it'll make the slightest bit of difference to someone so unfeasibly ignorant we will have to wait and see, but it's a start...
Here is the wording in full:

"On Sunday 31st May, during the 250cc race, rider Marco Simoncelli (ITA) rode in an irresponsible manner, causing danger to rider Alvaro Bautista (SPA), which is an infringement to the Art. 1.21.2 of the 2009 FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations. The Race Direction has decided to penalize rider Marco Simoncelli with a warning as to his future conduct, which means any further incident of the same nature this year may result in a suspension and to impose him a fine of USD 5,000.
No appeal has been lodged.
The decision of the Race Direction is final."

Mugello GP: Alvaro, Post-Race Quotes In Full

"It started to rain on the grid, and we had to change bikes. The goal was to get more confidente in the wet, because we hadn't practiced in it all weekend. I saw that I could chase Marco, so I got to work and caught him. I couldn't see anything because of the rain, and decided to pass him then. Later on the corner he touched me and we ran off track, and I lost a lot of ground. I traed again, but then made a mistake in the chicane and lost my chance of the victory. I am happy to have kept on the podium and gone round fast in the wet, but annoyed at the way in which I lost the chance of the win."

Mugello GP - 250cc - Results In Full

Pos | Rider | Bike | Time
1. Mattia Pasini Aprilia 45m38.391s
2. Marco Simoncelli Gilera + 0.117s
3. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia + 1.293s
4. Thomas Luthi Aprilia + 24.557s
5. Hector Barbera Aprilia + 27.014s
6. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda + 30.037s
7. Alex Debon Aprilia + 31.325s
8. Hector Faubel Honda + 35.178s
9. Raffaele De Rosa Honda + 44.856s
10. Roberto Locatelli Gilera + 46.483s
11. Alex Baldolini Aprilia + 49.521s
12. Mike di Meglio Aprilia +1m00.539s
13. Karel Abraham Aprilia +1m23.730s
14. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda +1m25.519s
15. Imre Toth Aprilia +1m30.397s
16. Balazs Nemeth Aprilia + 1 lap
17. Axel Pons Aprilia + 1 lap
18. Bastien Chesaux Honda + 1 lap
19. Valentin Debise Honda + 1 lap
20. Daniel Arcas Aprilia + 3 laps


Retirements:

Shoya Tomizawa Honda 6 laps
Lukas Pesek Aprilia 5 laps
Vladimir Leonov Aprilia 4 laps
Jules Cluzel Aprilia 0 laps

Alvaro Takes "Sensible" Third Behind Complete Tool

The quotes aren't in from Alvaro and the team yet, but I'm guessing there'll be some guarded hostility in them somewhere, following a pretty sure-looking first place being crapped on by Sideshow Bob's inept and frankly dangerous riding style. There's 'aggressive' and there's 'hard' (both of which are fine) - but there comes a point where "f***ing stupid" is one of the few way left to adequately describe it.
Simoncelli himself confessed to making "a mistake" when his ludicrously optimistic move (made impossible by the atrocious wet conditions) predictably failed and he forced Alvaro way off into the gravel.
That they both made it back up to the rear of eventual winner Pasini was amazing.
That Alvaro didn't deck Simoncelli in the pitlane was a bloody miracle.
(In fact he seemed remarkably composed and adult about the whole thing, which makes him a far better person than me!)

Bati had pulled in Sideshow's initial 9 second lead and got a great pass on him, but it was the oaf trying to pass back in his own trademark RECKLESS way that caused the trouble.
At least - following some frantic "Calm Down!" gestures from the pitwall, and a worrying moment when Bati nearly came loose, he decided to eventually settle for third and a continued lead in the Championship.
An investigation into the incident left it as just a 'racing incident' - ensuring that once again Simoncelli just carries on, feeling that absolutely anything goes.
I'll continue to admire the 'hardest' of racers, but I can never admire a complete tool like Simoncelli. He's always involved in some incident or other. And it's not because he's hard; it's because he's shit. And he's always sorry. Apparently.
And because, despite all of this he never seems to learn a thing, he is also a tragic accident waiting to happen... Probably to someone else sadly.

Alvaro Bautista: Post-Qualifying Quotes, Mugello

"The truth is that the times are very close! Things didn't go well this morning and I wasn't comfortable on the bike. I didn't have a good feeling with the front and couldn't brake well or get into the turns as I like. We stiffened the front up a little for the afternoon and it felt like a different bike. I immediately recovered the good feeling I was missing this morning and felt I could do a low 1'52, which I managed. I think we've done a great job and our pace is good.
All of the riders on the front row are going to want to win at all cost, each of us for their own reasons, so it will be tough. I'll try to get a good start and stay with the lead group but I'm sure it's going to be a close battle like Jerez. It is highly satisfying to set pole but the gap between the front three is tight so the important thing tomorrow will be to stay focused."

Alvaro Takes Mugello Pole

Alvaro took pole for tomorrow's Mugello GP in a close-fought qualifying session, where he was happier with his bike's front end setup than during the morning's free practice session.
He shares the fron row with Aoyama, and Dumb & Dumber again - so it'll be interesting to see what happens at the start. Hopefully Bati can get clean away, although his starts have not necessarily been the strongest so far this season.
Nonetheless, we know how he can come good during a race anyway, so let's wait and see...

Suerte Alvaro :-)

Here's the full Qualy roster...

Pos | Rider | Bike | Time
1. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1m52.804s
2. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1m52.818s + 0.014
3. Hector Barbera Aprilia 1m52.842s + 0.038
4. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 1m53.050s + 0.246
5. Alex Debon Aprilia 1m53.573s + 0.769
6. Thomas Luthi Aprilia 1m53.702s + 0.898
7. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda 1m53.811s + 1.007
8. Mattia Pasini Aprilia 1m53.875s + 1.071
9. Raffaele de Rosa Honda 1m53.941s + 1.137
10. Roberto Locatelli Gilera 1m53.988s + 1.184
11. Karel Abraham Aprilia 1m54.052s + 1.248
12. Jules Cluzel Aprilia 1m54.211s + 1.407
13. Hector Faubel Honda 1m54.351s + 1.547
14. Mike di Meglio Aprilia 1m54.363s + 1.559
15. Lukas Pesek Aprilia 1m54.375s + 1.571
16. Shoya Tomizawa Honda 1m54.992s + 2.188
17. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1m55.461s + 2.657
18. Imre Toth Aprilia 1m56.201s + 3.397
19. Axel Pons Aprilia 1m57.574s + 4.770
20. Valentin Debise Honda 1m57.699s + 4.895
21. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia 1m58.464s + 5.660
22. Balazs Nemeth Aprilia 1m59.132s + 6.328
23. Daniel Arcas Aprilia 1m59.513s + 6.709
24. Bastien Chesaux Honda 1m59.617s + 6.813

Pics Of The Day: Italian GP, Mugello, Friday

Italian GP, Mugello - Alvaro, Friday Quotes

"It is only the first session, but it is obviously always better to be up at the front. I think that we had a good practice, and at the end I was putting in a string of pretty fast laps. The last lap of the session saw me clock my quickest time, without even changing tyres, something that shows that we can go even faster.
The confidence that knowing that we have been working well since preseason means that I can go much faster and concentrate more.
Being the series leader also takes the heat off, but it is still too early to say what will happen on Sunday. In any case, we've started well and I am going to try and win at all cost. My mentality is a winning one, and we want to fight for victory at every race. I love the track, but it is demanding because you have to unlock the secret to three or four parts to go fast."

Alvaro Leads Friday Free Practice

We'll have more details and quotes later, but for now - good news is that a confident and ever-improving Alvaro was top of the timesheets this afternoon. A great start to the weekend....


Pos | Rider | Team | Lap | Time Gap

1 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 1'53.814
2 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1'54.058 0.244
3 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 1'54.272 0.458
4 Alex DEBON Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 1'54.374 0.560
5 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1'54.584 0.770
6 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1'54.661 0.847
7 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 1'54.712 0.898
8 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 1'54.845 1.031
9 Mattia PASINI Team Toth Aprilia 1'55.120 1.306
10 Hector FAUBEL Valencia CF - Honda SAG 1'55.442 1.628
11 Thomas LUTHI Emmi - Caffe Latte 1'55.519 1.705
12 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 1'55.581 1.767
13 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 1'55.978 2.164
14 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly - CP 1'56.104 2.290
15 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 1'56.299 2.485
16 Alex BALDOLINI WTR San Marino Team 1'56.591 2.777
17 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto - GP250 1'57.242 3.428
18 Imre TOTH Team Toth Aprilia 1'58.473 4.659
19 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto - GP250 1'59.652 5.838
20 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 2'01.677 7.863

Out of limit time
8 Bastien CHESAUX SWI Racing Team Germany Honda
56 Vladimir LEONOV RUS Viessmann Kiefer Racing Aprilia
37 Daniel ARCAS SPA Milar - Juegos Lucky Aprilia
11 Balazs NEMETH HUN Balatonring Team Aprilia

Italian GP - Mugello - TV Schedules (UK)

Friday May 29th

Live MotoGP British Eurosport 2, Fri 29 May, 11:40 - 12:45
Live coverage from Mugello of the practice laps in the 125cc class at the Italian MotoGP meeting.

Live MotoGP British Eurosport 2, Fri 29 May, 12:45 - 14:00
Live coverage from Mugello of the practice laps in the MotoGP class at the Italian MotoGP meeting.

Live MotoGP British Eurosport 2, Fri 29 May, 14:00 - 15:00
Live coverage from Mugello of the practice laps in the 250cc class at the Italian MotoGP meeting.


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Saturday May 30th

MotoGP British Eurosport 2, Sat 30 May, 11:15 - 12:00
Coverage of the practice laps for the Italian MotoGP, from Mugello.

Live MotoGP British Eurosport 2, Sat 30 May, 12:00 - 12:45
Live coverage from Mugello of the qualifying in the 125cc class at the Italian MotoGP meeting.

Live MotoGP British Eurosport 2, Sat 30 May, 12:45 - 14:00
Live qualifying action from the Italian MotoGP meeting at Mugello.

Live MotoGP British Eurosport 2, Sat 30 May, 14:00 - 15:00
Live coverage from Mugello of the qualifying in the 250cc class at the Italian MotoGP meeting.

MotoGP British Eurosport 2, Sat 30 May, 18:00 - 19:30
Qualifying action from the Italian MotoGP meeting at Mugello.

MotoGP British Eurosport 2, Sat 30 May, 23:00 - 00:30
Qualifying action from the Italian MotoGP meeting at Mugello.


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Sunday May 31st

MotoGP British Eurosport 2, Sun 31 May, 09:30 - 09:45
Warm-up for the Italian MotoGP at Mugello.

Live MotoGP British Eurosport 2, Sun 31 May, 09:45 - 11:00
Live coverage of the opening race at the Italian MotoGP in Mugello, the 125cc event.

Live MotoGP British Eurosport 2, Sun 31 May, 11:00 - 12:25
Live coverage of the 250cc race at the Italian MotoGP meeting in Mugello.

MotoGP 2009 BBC2 London, Sun 31 May, 12:30 - 14:00
Round 5 - Mugello (Live)

MotoGP British Eurosport 2, Sun 31 May, 14:30 - 15:30
Highlights of all the Grand Prix action from Mugello, Italy.

MotoGP British Eurosport 2, Sun 31 May, 17:15 - 18:15
Highlights of all the Grand Prix action from Mugello, Italy.


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Source: Tioti.com

Alvaro Looks Ahead To Italian GP At Mugello

"Arriving at Mugello on the top of the championship gives us a sense of calm because we know we can run up front and we can work without feeling under pressure. We have a good base set-up, this is a fast and fun track - the kind I like - so I'm hopeful of a good result. In 2007 I won my first 250 race here and I started from pole so that is further evidence that we can run at the front this weekend.
The Italians will be trying to win this one at all cost, especially Simoncelli, who is in good form after his win at Le Mans. My plan is the same as any other race - to work as hard as possible during practice to be in the best possible shape for the race. If the bike is 100 per cent for Sunday we'll be going out to give our best and if possible take the win, and if not we'll take as many points as we can."

French GP - Alvaro Bautista Post-Race Quotes

"That was a really difficult race because the track was so slippery. I tried to gradually get a feel for the track because the bike was moving around a lot and wouldn't hold the line. At the start I was trying to weigh up the race but the guys at the front pushed really hard and escaped. I gradually got into my rhythm and got faster and more comfortable. There were a lot of guys falling off in front of me so I decided the best option was to take it steady, finish the race and get some solid points on the board. Fourth place isn't the result I was hoping for but under the circumstances scoring points was the most important thing here at Le Mans. If we keep going like this then I'm sure we can maintain our consistently good form over the next races."

French GP - 250cc Report & Results

Well, in the end I suppose it wasn't too bad a race.
The way Alvaro shrugged when he got back to the pits pretty much mirrored my feelings about how it had all gone.
It could certainly have gone better (especially with the end result being a top points haul for Sideshow Bob) but, to be fair, it could also have gone a lot worse.
It started out a lot worse of course, with Bati dropping places left right and centre throughout the first lap, crossing the line into lap 2 way down in 11th place.
And it was a happy mix of some top dicing in mixed conditions, coupled with a degree of attrition, that saw Alvaro back up in 4th spot by the end of the race.

And although Sideshow gets 25 points, it's nonetheless kind of nice to see that Hiro Aoyama was way down and that the 4th spot actually sees Alvaro slip into the lead of the overall Championship table ahead of Aoyama.

Alvaro never seems to have really got it together at Le Mans - and certainly not in the wet; so let's chalk it up as a decent if not brilliant day.
Here's the results in full...


Pos | Rider | Bike | Time
1. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 49m07.591s
2. Hector Faubel Honda + 18.128s
3. Roberto Locatelli Gilera + 21.642s
4. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia + 31.087s
5. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda + 50.497s
6. Raffaele de Rosa Honda + 56.366s
7. Lukas Pesek Aprilia +1m16.025s
8. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda +1m22.882s
9. Imre Toth Aprilia +1m35.556s
10. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia +1m47.990s
11. Hector Barbera Aprilia + 1 lap
12. Karel Abraham Aprilia + 1 lap
13. Valentin Debise Honda + 1 lap
14. Toby Markham Honda + 1 lap


Retirements:
Alex Debon Aprilia 21 laps
Alex Baldolini Aprilia 18 laps
Thomas Luthi Aprilia 18 laps
Mike di Meglio Aprilia 10 laps
Mattia Pasini Aprilia 4 laps
Axel Pons Aprilia 3 laps
Aitor Rodriguez Aprilia 3 laps
Angel Rodriguez Aprilia 2 laps
Shoya Tomizawa Honda 1 lap
Bastien Chesaux Honda 0 laps

French GP - Alvaro Post-Qualifying Quotes

"It was quite windy during qualifying but the track conditions were good. If it doesn't rain or something strange then I guess the race will be between the same guys that were fighting for pole today. This is quite a short circuit so I can't see anybody escaping and I'd expect a group race. Hopefully it can be as much fun as Jerez but with a win at the end of it!
The important thing will be to get a good start because it is more difficult to pass here than at a lot of other tracks and it will be crucial to be on the pace over the early laps so as not to lose touch with the lead group.
This circuit is more favourable to the Hondas but we'll try and fight for victory. It is obviously important to be consistent but if I see an opportunity to go for the win then I will do so, I won't be holding back. My pole time today was better than last year which shows that we have a good package."