Andy

Italian Grand Prix at Mugello Sunday June 3, 2007 Crowd figures: race day 85,000, weekend total 128,000. Weather: Morning overcast, afternoon sunny. Temperature: 24 degrees. DANI PEDROSA RIDES HARD FOR SECOND AS ROSSI WINS IN ITALY What promised to be a barnstormer of a MotoGP race in the earlier stages of this 23-lap race proved to be ultimately less tight than imagined as Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) led Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) to the flag with Alex Barros (Ducati) third. With a capacity crowd of 85,000 enjoying sunshine after rain threatened to appear but held off, the field left the line in a blur of noise and colour to begin one of the more celebrated events on the 18-race calendar. Casey Stoner (Ducati) led from pole position into turn one with Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) on his tail and Alex Barros in the mix with Stoner

HONDA RACING INFORMATION Italian Grand Prix at Mugello Saturday June 2, 2007 WET WEATHER PLAYS HAVOC WITH QUALIFYING IN ITALY The MotoGP grid was almost washed out here at a sopping wet Mugello, but in semi-wet and then tough, slippery conditions it was Casey Stoner (Ducati) who took his first pole position of the season, with Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) qualifying second fastest and Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) completing the front row. As the hour long MotoGP qualifying session got underway the track was still damp after a thorough downpour earlier and riders emerged on wet tyres to cope with the soaking track. The early pacesetters were Stoner, Vermeulen and home rider Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V). The track began to dry as the sun emerged, then halfway through the hour the heavens opened again to further compromise grip levels at this tricky 5.254km track. With water cascading across the difficult cambers of this roller-coaster circuit, staying on was as hard as setting a lap time decent enough for the front row. And Stoner was the only man to dip below the two-minute mark today. The Australian was in command on his Ducati and his time of 2m 00.359s is more than a full second quicker than Vermeulen

Interesting little story (quite possibly an exclusive) here I have my own thoughts on this, but let's see what others think...

HONDA RACING INFORMATION Isle of Man TT Festival June 2

This is something I've never seen or been to, but something I'd really like to take in. Can anyone recommend a good Championship event, preferably not too far South (Yorkshire/Lancashire, that sort of area is best for me) that I could cover over this summer?

Italian Grand Prix at Mugello 1, 2 and 3 June 2007 HONDA RIDERS AIMING HIGH AS SEASON INTENSIFIES If it wasn

Having just returned from said venue I have to admit it's pretty amazing. The French are so lucky to have that kind of terrain available to them without the UK-type whingers and tree-huggers complaining. The scenery is stunning and, even as a non-rider, it looks like some great Trials terrain. Don't know where you stay when you're there, but we stayed in Castellane about 20k south of the venue. Beautiful little town - very traditional old world France with a nice restaurant in the town square and a few good bars to fill your evenings.

Makes my effort look a bit gay

I should point out that the security on Trials Central was not breached. This was most likely due to a weak password.

He never did order a print of this one

As far as I know, the names of Alexz Wigg and Shaun Morris on the truck are just that - only names. I could be wrong, but understand they are not allowed to use the Gas Gas truck or it's facilities so yes, it would appear Gas Gas are focusing solely on Raga. Seems like a massive expense to ship that truck around Europe to support one rider.

After section 3 on the first lap Dibs was actually leading the Trial. He's really come on leaps and bounds. He's looking so confident these days and it's showing in his riding. Being ahead of Doug and tied with Raga after the first lap is no mean feat. Time pressure got to him in the second lap and mistakes were made, but it's all a learning process. The combination of bike, Jack as his minder and a good, solid team behind him along with him maturing as a rider has worked wonders. It's only a matter of time till he breaks through. Now, when we going to see Wiggy on that TRW 125?

Thanks Jack It was a good one for photos. Most sections out in the open and not in trees - makes all the difference. Also some fantastic backdrops. Working on the video now. Some cool crashes

The sixth round of the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship, the Grand Prix of Japan at the Sugo circuit today, May 27 saw Billy Mackenzie take the GP win but CAS Honda's Mike Brown clinched victory in the second moto and scored the first podium result of the season for the CRF450R with runner-up position overall. The veteran celebrated his first moto victory since Red Bud 2005 (AMA Nationals) and his first in the World Championship since 2000 and the German Grand Prix at Gaildorf. In front of 24,000 spectators at the rough, hard and technical course close to Sendai city Brown, on his maiden visit to Sugo, placed fifth in the first moto behind a runaway Mackenzie while Jonathan Barragan was second, Josh Coppins third and David Philippaerts fourth. Mackenzie was leading the second race ahead of Brown but an untimely crash let the American, who again started so well in both sprints, through to own the chequered flag. The 35 year old gave the British CAS team their first silverware since Ken de Dycker's appearance in the top three at the Grand Prix of Northern Ireland last August. De Dycker, who claimed his debut World Championship podium at Sugo twelve months ago, qualified in third position but was unable to capitalise on some early decent speed. An average start left him just outside the top ten and he was able to reach a highest placing of sixth. In the second outing of 35 minutes and 2 laps duration he gave chase to Mackenzie and led his team-mate but some rear brake fade forced his retirement; delivering thirteenth overall. Reigning Japanese national champion Yo****aka Atsuta was the next highest placed Honda rider with a very noteworthy sixth position in only his second Grand Prix appearance in two years. Team HRC's Atsuta, who rode for CAS Honda for three seasons in Europe, taking a highest finish of sixth on two occasions in 2004, the first year of MX1, was eighth and fifth in the strung-out battles occurring behind the leaders. Multitek's James Noble registered yet another top ten finish with seventh - just behind Atsuta - and his results of tenth and eighth assisted towards a 24 point haul. It was a decent day's work for the Briton as he had been suffering with a cold. He almost gained the holeshot in the second race. The MX2 Grand Prix slipped through the hands of Tony Cairoli for the first time this season as his unbeaten run came to an end due to World Champion Christophe Pourcel's first and second positions for a better total score. The Italian won the second race but his third spot from the first moto meant that he missed out on the top step of the rostrum by just two points. Tommy Searle, only seventeen years old, toasted his third podium of the season with third. Pascal Leuret was sixth overall in the face of adversity and had to work hard in the second moto especially after crashing on the first corner and having to carve his way through the pack for a decent sixth place finish. The Frenchman did not start well in the first race but fought through the field setting a bench mark sixth finish to aim at in the second moto. Although a little under-whelmed, the Martin Honda rider is currently fifth in the World Championship standings, two points behind Searle and the manufacturer's best placed rider by far. In the MX1 World Championship De Dycker forms part of a tight five rider group vying for fourth position and currently stands sixth, eight points away. Brown is eighth and just ahead of Noble. Martin Honda will have a new MX1 representative in the form of Julien Bill. The Swiss rider finished joint second in the 2005 MX3 World Championship and happily accepted the chance to steer Antoine Meo's CRF450R for the remainder of the season; his first Grand Prix in red colours will be next week in France. Meo has already had another injection into his troublesome left knee and will see a specialist next week. Further examination needs to be made into the extent of the ligament damage but the Frenchman has broken a piece of his meniscus and will certainly have surgery to correct this. The World Championship fraternity will now head back to Europe take a one week break before contesting the seventh round of fifteen at the track of St Jean d'Angely for the French Grand Prix. Mike Brown, CAS Honda: "This feels great. I have been making decent starts all year but then getting arm-pump and going backwards. Today was different. When the temperatures are warm I don't seem to get arm-pump so bad. It is great to win a moto and it feels like a long time since the last one. I was satisfied with the top five in the first race. I worry about my arms every week but this weekend they were fine and I felt like I had energy left for the second moto. I hope I can climb up the championship now. If I keep getting starts like that and riding well then it will happen but I am just looking to do my best each time." Ken de Dycker, CAS Honda: "In the first moto I did not get a good start but was then riding quite well and reached sixth which wasn't too bad. In the second moto I came through quickly to second and after maybe ten or fifteen minutes the rear brake started to go and the last lap I did I had no brake at all. It is disappointing because my riding was good but I have had some bad luck and some poor results this year and I was hoping for better." Yo****aka Atsuta, Team HRC: "It was very exciting to be here because I have a good bike and an excellent team. The second moto was better for me because I had a nice start and I could race inside the top five; I enjoyed that one. It was a great feeling to make a decent race for the fans here. I could push hard in the first few laps and then settled into a comfortable rhythm. I have not been doing too badly in the Japanese Championship this year but the tracks are quite small and I have been struggling to win; I hope it gets better. I hope I can ride some more GPs in the future, maybe next year." James Noble, Multitek Honda: "I am relatively happy considering that I have had a bit of a cold this weekend and was struggling yesterday. I was aching a lot today and it was a matter of just getting out there and seeing how well I could do. I was pleased that I could go the distance through the motos. I had an awful start in the first race but picked up some places early on and then settled into a rhythm to take tenth. In the second moto I got a mega start but nearly hit the gate because Gordon Crockard next to me went too early. The tow helped though and I hopped over the gate as it was falling. I came out in second and then had a bit of a moment half a lap into the race and a few people passed me. I was following Philippaerts and couldn't find a clean way through when Leok nipped past and smashed my helmet peak with his roost. It was flapping around and annoying me and I more or less ran out of steam by that stage and was happy to settle for eighth." Pascal Leuret, Martin Honda: "Not a bad day today. My start in the first race was horrible and I pushed hard to come back and passed maybe around ten riders to finish sixth and in the second moto I started really well but on the first corner I lost the front wheel and crashed. One guy ran over my elbow and I had no feeling in my hand and arm for at least half a lap. I started to ride strong after that and again overtook a lot of people. I restarted 29th and finished 6th, which wasn't so bad but without the crash at the start it might have been better." Results Motocross MX1 Race 1 (20 laps = 30.52 Km) Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time 1 / MACKENZIE Billy / GBR / KAWASAKI / 39:31.947 2 / BARRAGAN Jonathan / ESP / KTM / 39:40.886 3 / COPPINS Joshua / NZL / YAMAHA / 39:45.555 4 / PHILIPPAERTS David / ITA / KTM / 39:59.316 5 / BROWN Mike / USA / HONDA / 40:03.563 6 / DE DYCKER Ken / BEL / HONDA / 40:12.235 7 / POURCEL Sebastien / FRA / KAWASAKI / 40:14.793 8 / ATSUTA Yo****aka / JPN / HONDA / 40:15.138 9 / RAMON Steve / BEL / SUZUKI / 40:18.213 10 / NOBLE James / GBR / HONDA / 40:33.422 11 / PRIEM Manuel / BEL / TM / 40:37.507 12 / STRIJBOS Kevin / BEL / SUZUKI / 40:41.358 13 / MASUDA Kazumasa / JPN / HONDA / 41:20.223 14 / NEMETH Kornel / HUN / SUZUKI / 41:21.252 15 / NAGL Maximilian / GER / KTM / 41:23.699 Fastest Lap: MACKENZIE Billy in 1:48.846 on lap 2 MX1 Race 2 (20 laps = 30.52 Km) Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time 1 / BROWN Mike / USA / HONDA / 40:20.363 2 / MACKENZIE Billy / GBR / KAWASAKI / 40:23.429 3 / COPPINS Joshua / NZL / YAMAHA / 40:28.359 4 / RAMON Steve / BEL / SUZUKI / 40:47.595 5 / ATSUTA Yo****aka / JPN / HONDA / 40:56.628 6 / PHILIPPAERTS David / ITA / KTM / 41:00.637 7 / LEOK Tanel / EST / KAWASAKI / 41:08.462 8 / NOBLE James / GBR / HONDA / 41:13.735 9 / PRIEM Manuel / BEL / TM / 41:27.240 10 / STRIJBOS Kevin / BEL / SUZUKI / 41:29.000 11 / POURCEL Sebastien / FRA / KAWASAKI / 42:05.417 12 / NAGL Maximilian / GER / KTM / 42:14.450 13 / THEYBERS Danny / BEL / SUZUKI / 42:23.986 14 / NEMETH Kornel / HUN / SUZUKI / 40:25.643 15 / TODA Kuraudo / JPN / SUZUKI / 40:30.106 Fastest Lap: MACKENZIE Billy in 1:50.885 on lap 3 MX1 World Motocross Championship Standings Pos Rider Total 1 Coppins, J. 274, 2 Strijbos, K. 211, 3 Ramon, Steve 186, 4 Pourcel, S. 154, 5 Philippaerts, D. 148, 6 de Dycker, Ken 146, 7 Barragan, J. 143, 8 Brown, Mike 141, 9 Noble, James 128, 10 Leok, Tanel 126, 11 Mackenzie, B. 120, 12 de Reuver, M. 115, 13 Priem, Manuel 103, 14 Nagl, M. 95. MX2 Race 1 (20 laps = 30.52 Km) Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time 1 / POURCEL Christophe / FRA / KAWASAKI / 39:45.553 2 / RATTRAY Tyla / RSA / KTM / 39:51.077 3 / CAIROLI Antonio / ITA / YAMAHA / 40:24.534 4 / SEARLE Tommy / GBR / KTM / 40:35.638 5 / SWANEPOEL Gareth / RSA / KAWASAKI / 40:54.319 6 / LEURET Pascal / FRA / HONDA / 41:06.475 7 / BOISSIERE Anthony / FRA / KAWASAKI / 41:14.761 8 / HAMBLIN Sean / USA / SUZUKI / 41:18.284 9 / CHURCH Tom / GBR / KAWASAKI / 41:19.479 10 / SEISTOLA Matti / FIN / HONDA / 41:37.821 11 / DOUGAN Jason / GBR / SUZUKI / 41:48.227 12 / GUNDERSEN K. / NOR / YAMAHA / 39:49.374 13 / AUBIN Nicolas / FRA / YAMAHA / 40:01.618 14 / VERBRUGGEN Dennis / BEL / YAMAHA / 40:02.720 15 / KOJIMA Youhei / JPN / SUZUKI / 40:11.995 Fastest Lap: POURCEL Christophe in 1:51.180 on lap 5 MX2 Race 2 (20 laps = 30.52 Km) Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time 1 / CAIROLI Antonio / ITA / YAMAHA / 40:44.387 2 / POURCEL Christophe / FRA / KAWASAKI / 40:50.054 3 / SEARLE Tommy / GBR / KTM / 40:53.394 4 / SWANEPOEL Gareth / RSA / KAWASAKI / 41:15.254 5 / RATTRAY Tyla / RSA / KTM / 41:29.115 6 / LEURET Pascal / FRA / HONDA / 41:32.143 7 / BOISSIERE Anthony / FRA / KAWASAKI / 41:48.253 8 / NUNN Carl / / GBR / YAMAHA / 41:51.408 9 / GUNDERSEN K. / NOR / YAMAHA / 41:56.423 10 / KOJIMA Youhei / JPN / SUZUKI / 42:01.588 11 / GUARNERI Davide / ITA / YAMAHA / 42:04.381 12 / BARR Martin / GBR / YAMAHA / 42:10.924 13 / VERBRUGGEN Dennis / BEL / YAMAHA / 42:16.963 14 / SIMPSON Shaun / GBR / KAWASAKI / 42:18.813 15 / DOUGAN Jason / GBR / SUZUKI / 42:19.824 Fastest Lap: CAIROLI Antonio in 1:51.767 on lap 9 MX2 World Motocross Championship Standings Pos Rider Total 1 Cairoli, A. 292 2 Pourcel, C. 228 3 Rattray, Tyla 218 4 Searle, Tommy 175 5 Leuret, Pascal 173 6 Swanepoel, G. 147 7 Gundersen, K. 139 8 Aubin, Nicolas 134 9 Seistola, M. 115 10 Boissiere, A. 95 11 Schiffer, M. 90 12 Nunn, Carl 69 13 Church, Tom 65 14 Verbruggen, D. 62 15 Frossard, S. 58

Working on the SSDT photos and videos, it's amazing how many people ride tongue-out. Does it help concentration or something?!

Obviously this is a subject I have quite major opinions on. I'm going to post something on the front page, but just back from t'pub so probably not a good idea tonight. I'm sure somebody once had a sig about saying and doing things after drink

Shame it ain't on the front page.

He'll want a pink one - guaranteed

Let me know when you two are done with the photos and I'll add linkys to the front page article - assuming that's okay with you.

French Grand Prix at Le Mans Sunday May 20, 2007 MELANDRI COLLECTS USEFUL POINTS HAUL IN DELUGE This was a rain-sodden MotoGP showdown that put nerve and skill at a premium and it was Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) who showed the required credentials to win from Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) with Casey Stoner (Ducati) third. With rain threatening, the lights on the grid went out and a crowd of 74,000 watched with some trepidation as the field barreled into turn one with specks of moisture dotting the competitors

It will be signposted on the A465 Hereford to Abergavenny road.

It is 30km south of Krakow. One tip - get the strongest insect repellent you can get hold of and smear yourself in it before going near any of the sections. God knows what they are, but they're about the size of wasps and bite even through clothing.

French Grand Prix at Le Mans 18, 19 and 20 May 2007 DANI GOING ALL OUT TO REPEAT HISTORY IN FRANCE The MotoGP season now enters its most intense phase with seven races over the next ten weeks and no one will be more focused on getting the most out of this gruelling period of racing than Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V). Dani has triumphed here at Le Mans on a 125cc machine in 2003 and the Spanish idol achieved two 250cc wins at the Bugatti circuit in 2004 and 2005. He also set the pole position here with a lap time of 1m 33.990 seconds in his debut MotoGP season and will be looking to achieve even more this weekend as he starts his 100th Grand Prix He currently lies third in the overall points standings after achieving two podium finishes and a fourth place so far. He was deprived of a finish in Turkey after getting knocked off in a first lap incident. Amazingly, he has now gone 12 races without a win

Not right now as inital demand is high and it could kill bandwidth. Maybe once things quieten down I could maybe offer them as a single ZIP or on a DVD for cost plus a bit of a mark-up going to SSDT Charities. I'll see how things go.

Thanks guys. The plan was to do this last year, but with covering all the world rounds, I didn't have enough holidays left from work to do the full SSDT. John & Matt were out last year, but the World stuff got on top of me and things didn't happen when they should have. This year I'm rectifying that