Racewatcher

Di Resta and Sutil to drive for Force India

2011-01-26T23:05:00.002Z

Paul di Resta has been handed the Formula One opportunity he has long craved with a full-time race seat with Force India. The 24-year-old Scot has stepped up from the test and reserve role he enjoyed last year, and for the forthcoming Formula One campaign will partner Adrian Sutil. Force India confirmed their driver line-up at the headquarters of one their partners, whisky giant Whyte & Mackay, in Glasgow. Nico Hulkenberg, who last year drove for Williams, has taken on the test role, with Vitantonio Liuzzi the driver ousted to accommodate Di Resta. Di Resta, cousin of two-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti, said: "Naturally I am thrilled to be making my race debut this season. Becoming an F1 driver has been a long-held ambition of mine, something I've wanted to do since I first stepped into a kart, and to finally realise it feels amazing. "I've worked really hard for this opportunity throughout my career and to get it with Force India, a young team that has ambitions as big as mine, is genuinely exciting. "I can't wait to be on the grid in Bahrain (for the opening grand prix of the season on March 13). It can't come soon enough." After finally resolving contractual issues surrounding Liuzzi, who had another year on his deal, team owner Vijay Mallya believes he now has "one of the strongest line-ups on the grid". Mallya added: "Adrian has matured into one of F1's most consistent and highly-rated young drivers, while Paul is, I believe, a real star of the future. He has won in every category in his career, and this base speed was in evidence when he got in the car on Fridays last year. "With Nico, signing him was too good an opportunity to let by. He showed a good racing head and talent, and I was amazed by his control in Brazil last year (when he secured pole position). "Together I think they are a formidable partnership and will help take us to the next level of performance."

Ferrari confirms 2011 car name

2011-01-26T23:03:00.002Z

Ferrari's 2011 Formula One car will be called F150, the famous Italian team has announced. The car, to be launched and given its track debut on Friday at Ferrari's headquarters, is named in tribute of the 150th anniversary of Italian unification. "All the men and women who put so much effort and passion into their work at Maranello share the pride and responsibility of representing our country around the world and it is in this spirit that we chose to dedicate this car to an event that is so important for the whole of Italy," said Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo. A statement issued by the Maranello based team also said Giorgio Napolitano, the president of the Italian Republic, "took the opportunity to wish the Scuderia the best of luck for the forthcoming season" after being told of the 2011 car's name. Last year's Ferrari was called the F11. Until now, the codename for the 2011 project was 288. F150 is also known as a model of Ford's famous series of full-size pickup trucks.

New Hispania car set for final test

2011-01-26T23:00:00.002Z

Hispania boss Colin Kolles says that his team will run last year’s car in the first three tests of the winter in Spain, but will have its new model for the final session in Bahrain, which takes place the week before the first GP. Kolles insists that the F111 is an all-new car, contrary to early suggestions that HRT would have to update its 2010 chassis, which was built by Dallara. Kolles had hoped to use Toyota technology this year, but the deal fell through. “The 2010 car will be utilized at the first tests, and as soon as the 2011 car is ready, we will implement it,” said Kolles in a team release. “The plan is to use the 2011 car at the Bahrain test. The 2011 car will be a completely new car, and will be called F111. “The F111 is being made by Hispania Racing with several groups of engineers. At the moment, there are approximately 40 designers finalizing the first spec, under the leadership of Geoff Willis as technical director and Paul White as chief designer." Kolles says that there is no firm news on the second driver alongside Narain Karthikeyan. “Let´s see. In the next few days there will be several announcements," he said. "The second driver has not been decided yet, because we have to make sure that we are making the best choice. We are making progress in all areas, which is positive, working very hard, and the results will be shown and be announced very soon.”

Group Lotus confident about its case against 1MRT

2011-01-24T22:56:00.000Z

The High Court in London decided on Monday that the dispute over the use of the Lotus name in F1 racing will go to a full trial starting on 21 March. Car company Group Lotus and F1's Team Lotus are quarreling over the use of the Lotus name. Mr Justice Peter Smith ruled that the case needed to be resolved quickly, as the dispute has been going on for too long. He has ordered that the case go to a full trial. Initially he said the case should be heard before he start of the season on 13 March, but the two sides then agreed to the later date. The case consists of a number of issues that include licensing of the Lotus name, intellectual property, branding and ownership of history and legacy. The hearing today involved Group Lotus's decision to terminate the five-year licensing agreement for Tony Fernandes's 1Malaysia company to use the Lotus name in F1 when the team entered last season. Group Lotus had asked for a summary judgement, but the judge decided that the trial should cover all the pending cases, in order to resolve all the outstanding issues at once. The two sides can still reach a settlement out of court before the trial begins, but it is likely that the naming row will still be an issue as the F1 season starts.

Kimi Raikkonen: I don't miss F1 at all

2011-01-11T19:48:00.002Z

Kimi Raikkonen will return to the World Rally Championship this year after his entry for the season-opening Rally Sweden was lodged on Tuesday. Raikkonen has agreed terms to compete in a Citroen DS3 WRC for 2011 - although the deal has not yet been officially confirmed. While the lack of an official announcement has prompted speculation about his future, Raikkonen's plans were made clearer on Tuesday when his entry in a Citroen was submitted ahead of the final deadline. Raikkonen's best result during his debut campaign in the WRC was fifth place on the Rally of Turkey - while he won his first ever stage on the Rallye Deutschland.

Sordo to race for new MINI WRC team

2011-01-10T12:58:00.002Z

The new MINI Countryman WRC will have Daniel "Dani" Sordo in their World Rally Championship debut with today's announcement by David Richards, Chairman of Prodrive who said, "I believe with the new MINI WRC and in the right environment, he can now take the next step and add to his 29 podiums with victories on WRC events and become a challenger for a WRC title." Sordo will team with Kris Meeke who marks his return to the WRC. While neither driver has yet to earn a WRC win, both Sordo and Meeke have earned championships. Sordo won the Junior World Rally title in 2005 and Meeke earned the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge championship. "Dani may only be 27, but he is already one of the most experienced drivers in the WRC and has been competing at the very highest level for the last five years," Richards said. The Spaniard joined the Irishman in a test session in Sardinia, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, this past November and is looking forward to his new adventure. Sordo said, "There has been a great deal of excitement surrounding MINI's return to the WRC, so to be part of this new team is a fantastic opportunity for me. I'm sure MINI has a big future in the sport. I'm looking forward to working with Kris Meeke, having completed a very successful test with him in Sardinia last November." Sordo and the MINI Countryman WRC, prepared by Prodrive, are tentatively scheduled to attend six or more WRC events in 2011 before fully entering the series in 2012.

Phillip Island risks losing MotoGP race

2011-01-10T12:47:00.003Z

Phillip Island MotoGP circuit risks losing their MotoGP round if Dorna's passive aggressive quotes are to be believed. Carmelo Ezpeleta the CEO of MotoGP promoter Dorna has said that although next year's event will run its normal October date, further rounds must move to a date where the weather offers more hospitable conditions. Speaking to the press, Ezpeleta said: "It was clear that to move for next year was very complicated. We have spoken to them and for next year the calendar will be as the provisional one already printed but for 2012 it will be at the beginning of the season. It must be at the beginning of the year because I think it is too risky later in the season." Ezpeleta followed up with a quote that ought to shake the bones of Phillip Island's owners: "For 2012 it will be compulsory and the FIM will not homologate the circuit unless the race is at the beginning of the year. There can be no excuses in 2012." However, Dorna won't get their way without a fight: Andrew Westacott, Chief Exec of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation said: "There's a contract that Dorna have got that exists with us that says the race will be in September-October until 2016. Carmelo has been suggesting this for a while on and off but we've never had a delayed race, never had a cancelled race. The vagaries of the weather exist all around the place at various times of the year - It's not as easy as saying we'll just slot it in in March. Marshalls and emergency services would also be doing potentially World Superbikes (in February), MotoGP testing at Phillip Island and the Formula One event." In 2010, Valentino Rossi complained about the conditions at Phillip Island and has stated that riders have long pushed for an easrly season slot for the Austrlian GP but have been told it's too close to the F1 GP in Melbourne in March: "It is very difficult because the conditions mean we are very close to the limit. The rain is okay but the main problem is the temperature. It is three or four years that we want Phillip Island at the beginning of the season. But they say the problem is Formula One. From our side we have pushed hard every year."

Helmut Marko: Vettel won't join Ferrari with Alonso there

2011-01-10T11:26:00.003Z

Sebastian Vettel may dream of racing for Ferrari but Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko says it won't happen as long as Fernando Alonso is with the Scuderia. Vettel became F1's youngest World Champion in 2010 when he pipped Ferrari driver Alonso to the crown in the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP. The German's achievements once again sparked rumours that Vettel could be on his way to Ferrari in the not-too-distant future with the Italian outfit reportedly wanting him to replace Felipe Massa in 2012. And although Marko admits all drivers want to race for Ferrari, he believes Vettel won't make the move while Alonso is still there. "It's a natural thing that a race-car driver dreams of Ferrari and Ferrari would want a great driver like Sebastian," Marko told The Bild. "Sebastian will not forsake us just for the Ferrari legend. He is smart enough to know that the circumstances would have to fit. "He will not swap to Ferrari as long as Fernando Alonso is there - otherwise he would be stupid." He added: "We are the World Champions, and as long as we offer Sebastian a package that is better than the others, he's not going to leave just because of a mythical history." But it is not just Red Bull's World Champion whom Ferrari want. Already the team has signed Red Bull's Neil Martin, who will take charge of the new Operations Research department. "Ferrari made a great effort to take our technical people but the main actors have remained," Marko said. "This is important because we have a unique spirit within the team. I almost feel that Ferrari want to poach our team spirit." Looking ahead to this year's Championship, Marko is adamant that Vettel can retain the title, just as long as Red Bull cut down on their mistakes. "Last year, Sebastian lost 66 points because of technical issues. And these points we gave to Fernando Alonso. "If, this year, we get rid of the bad luck and mistakes we will defend the title. "There then there is Sebastian himself - the World Champion. He is a year more mature and it will show on the track."

Maldonado to demo Williams FW33 in Caracas

2011-01-08T17:32:00.003Z

The AT&T Williams team has announced that it will run a 2010 Williams Cosworth FW32 race car in Venezuela on Friday 14 January in an event staged to mark Venezuelan born Pastor Maldonado’s recent confirmation as an AT&T Williams race driver for the 2011 Formula One season. The demonstration will be held just outside of Caracas around one of the country’s most renowned national monuments, Los Proceres, in front of an anticipated capacity crowd. President Chavez is also expected to attend the show.
Pastor Maldonado:
“I’m so happy the team are coming to Venezuela. To be given the opportunity of driving a Formula One car in front of my fellow countrymen is going to be something very special. We will definitely put on a good show for everyone who attends. Now that I am a confirmed race driver for AT&T Williams, this feels like giving something back to the people who have supported my career and put their faith in me over the years.”
Frank Williams - Team Principal:
“Away from the race track, we have demonstrated our cars in many prestigious locations around the world. It is always a pleasure to do so, and a privilege to share with the public the sheer power of a Formula One car. We are therefore delighted that Pastor has invited us to Venezuela, and for him to be driving our car in his home country.”

Banker arrested over F1 sale

2011-01-08T17:07:00.003Z

A former bank executive has been arrested in Germany for allegedly accepting a 50 million dollar (£32 million) bribe in the 2006 sale of a stake in the company which holds the rights to Formula One. Prosecutors in Munich said in a statement the former risk manager of regional public-sector bank BayernLB was taken into custody on charges of corruption and tax fraud. Gerhard Gribkowsky was in charge of managing the sale of the bank's F1 stake. But prosecutors say he led the bank to sell it to CVC Capital Investment "without evaluation of its current value" which, in turn, earned him "two consultancy contracts totalling 50 million dollars" that were paid to accounts in Austria. The statement alleged Gribkowsky failed to pay taxes on the additional income.

Sebastien Loeb wins Wales Rally GB

2010-11-14T18:17:00.002Z

Citroen's Sebastien Loeb has won Wales Rally GB today - and perhaps fittingly the seven-time world champion, who has dominated so much of the WRC car era, took victory on what was the swansong for the current generation of cars. The much anticipated final day battle failed to really materialise with Loeb beating Petter Solberg on all four of the day's stages. But at the end of the final stage, Margam Park 2, the Frenchman was quick to pay tribute to his rival: “Petter was going very fast with nearly no mistakes. That old guy is still really fast,” Loeb said. “I enjoyed this rally a lot and had a lot of pleasure on the stages.” Solberg meanwhile, conceded he had other priorities apart from winning the event: “For us it was more important to claim third in the WRC standings than an overall victory. I must give a special thank you to my family for putting up with me for past two years,” said the privateer. “It's been great. I don't know where I will be next year but I wherever I am I want to take the fight to Loeb.” That third place in the vhampionship could have been second if BP Ford Abu Dhabi's Jari-Matti Latvala had not got ahead of his team-mate Mikko Hirvonen on the penultimate stage of the event: “I am so, so pleased with second in the championship. It's like a dream to finish here as runner-up in the WRC,” said the Crash.net columnist. “The victories this year have been a bonus. Mikko was pushing hard this morning so I had to take some risks to beat him today.” Fourth placed Hirvonen was in reflective mood at the end of the event: “For sure it has been a hard year,” he conceded. “It will be sad to say goodbye to the current generation of cars. We have had a lot of good results. But I am looking forward to the future now and all will be new next year. I am looking forward to a better season.” After setting fastest time on the final stage of the event, fifth placed Dani Sordo was also more interested in looking at what, for him, is an uncertain future: “Next year I don't know,” he replied when asked about his plans for 2011. “Why not the Mini? It won't be competitive at the start but with BMW behind it, it will improve.” Henning Solberg took his Stobart Ford Focus to sixth place while seventh placed Matthew Wilson felt it hadn't been his finest event: “It has not been the best of weekends after the mistakes I made on Friday,” said the Englishman. “Since then I've kind of been in no-man's land. It's been so hard to push.” F1 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen was pleased to bring his Citroen Junior Team-run C4 WRC home in one piece but confirmed that nothing has yet been decided for next year: “I would tell you if I knew, but I don't know myself,” said the Finn. “There are a few options and hopefully they will come up with something. I would like to stay on.”

Results:

Pos	Driver	Time
1.	S. LOEB	3:14:54.0
2.	P. SOLBERG	+19.1
3.	J. LATVALA	+1:35.3
4.	M. HIRVONEN	+1:53.3
5.	D. SORDO	+2:12.2
6.	H. SOLBERG	+6:26.5
7.	M. WILSON	+8:37.8
8.	K. RÄIKKÖNEN	+10:27.9
9.	M. ØSTBERG	+12:13.7
10.	A. MIKKELSEN	+14:01.2
11.	K. AL QASSIMI	+16:08.8
12.	C. BREEN	+20:03.9
13.	X. PONS	+20:16.7
14.	P. SANDELL	+20:21.9
15.	M. KOSCIUSZKO	+22:20.1
16.	D. KUIPERS	+23:14.8
17.	O. TÄNAK	+23:37.0
18.	A. ARAÚJO	+26:52.8
19.	H. PADDON	+28:04.9
20.	J. PRITCHARD	+30:41.4

Vettel victory secures 2010 world title

2010-11-14T17:48:00.002Z

Sebastian Vettel was crowned as the youngest drivers champion in Formula One history on Sunday when he outstripped all his rivals and won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for the outstanding Red Bull team. At 23 years and 106 days, Vettel took the title with a faultless drive from pole position to the chequered flag, resisting a strong challenge from Briton Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, who in 2008 had achieved the same feat at the age of 23 and 307 days. Hamilton came home second after a long period of frustration behind Pole Robert Kubica's Renault and was followed home by his team-mate and compatriot Jenson Button, the outgoing 2009 champion. Pre-race series leader and two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Ferrari and Vettel's Australian team-mate Mark Webber fell out of contention for the title when they emerged down the field after early pit-stops. An emotional Vettel wept both in his car on his slowing down lap and also on the podium as the German anthem was played. His team chief Briton Christian Horner told him: "Sebastian, you are the world champion." Vettel replied with screams and sobs. "I love you," he shouted. Germany's Nico Rosberg came home fourth for Mercedes on a day when his 41-year-old team-mate and compatriot Michael Schumacher had been forced to retire following a big accident on the opening lap. Kubica came fifth ahead of his team-mate Russian Vitaly Petrov of Renault with Alonso back in seventh place. Vettel ended up with 256 points to take the title ahead of Alonso on 252, Webber on 242, and Hamilton on 240. It was a crushing win by Vettel and swept away any controversy about team orders or Alonso's validity to be champion following the row over Ferrari's use of team orders at the German Grand Prix. Horner said: "It's unbelievable! It's been a very emotional week for this team. It's the first time Sebastian has led the world championship and he's done it when it counted, at the last race of the year. "Mark (Webber) can also be very proud of his efforts this season. We're double world champions -- it's unbelievable!" Vettel made a clean start from his 10th pole of the season, leading away ahead of Hamilton and Button, who took advantage of a cautious start from Alonso to take third place. The rest stayed in order at the front of the field with Massa ahead of Barrichello, but there was drama almost immediately at Turn Six where Schumacher spun, under pressure from Rosberg, and was left facing the wrong way as he recovered. Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi could do nothing to avoid him as he rounded the corner and drove into the German's car, the impact lifting the Force India off the circuit and across Schumacher's cockpit, narrowly missing his head. The Safety Car was called for immediately and the race ran in procession for the opening five laps until it resumed for lap six with Vettel ahead of Hamilton, Button, Alonso and Webber. The Australian gave the barriers at Turn 19 a warm kiss on lap eight, sending the sparks flying, but underlining his determination to fight to the end of the 2010 season. The impact caused some damage and three laps later, Webber swept into the pits after complaining he was "losing the rear tyres." When he rejoined it was in 16th place, in heavy midfield traffic, with his prospects for glory dimmed - Alonso pitted on lap 15. Alonso's pit stop was seemingly calculated to make sure he could baulk Webber's progress in a pragmatic tactical contest but it was to rebound badly. At the front, it remained unchanged with Vettel leading, chased by Hamilton and Button in close support, but the various pit-stops behind them had left Alonso 11th and Webber 12th as they worked through the field - and both men out of the title fight in those positions. There was clear alarm on the Ferrari pit wall at this scenario and, on lap 21, they reminded Alonso to push. "I know you are trying your best," he was told. "But it is critical that you pass Petrov." Vettel had pitted, at phenomenal speed, after 24 laps. Vettel rejoined ahead of Hamilton on the road and after clocking a fastest lap himself was second nearly 15 seconds behind Button. Hamilton was locked in a frustrating battle to find a way of passing Kubica while Vettel reeled off two fastest laps in pursuit of Button, trimming his lead to 11.6 seconds. The young German set another fastest lap on lap 34 as he cut Button's lead to 8.4 seconds while Hamilton complained, to his team, that his front left tyre was badly worn. "We cannot afford any more stops," he was told. Button pitted finally after 39 laps, giving Vettel the lead and a grip on both the race and the championship with 15 laps remaining and he never let go.

Results:

Pos	Driver	Team	Time
1	S.Vettel	RBR	1:39:36.837
2	L.Hamilton	McLaren	+10.1 secs
3	J.Button	McLaren	+11.0 secs
4	N.Rosberg	Mercedes	+30.7 secs
5	R.Kubica	Renault	+39.0 secs
6	V.Petrov	Renault	+43.5 secs
7	F.Alonso	Ferrari	+43.7 secs
8	M.Webber	RBR	+44.2 secs
9	J.Alguersuari	STR	+50.2 secs
10	F.Massa	Ferrari	+50.8 secs
11	N.Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+51.5 secs
12	R.Barrichello	Williams	+57.6 secs
13	A.Sutil	Force India	+58.3 secs
14	K.Kobayashi	BMW Sauber	+59.5 secs
15	S.Buemi	STR	+63.1 secs
16	N.Hulkenberg	Williams	+64.7 secs
17	H.Kovalainen	Lotus	+1 Lap
18	L.di Grassi	Virgin	+2 Laps
19	B.Senna	HRT	+2 Laps
20	C.Klien	HRT	+2 Laps
21	J.Trulli	Lotus	+4 Laps
Ret	T.Glock	Virgin	+12 LAps - Gearbox
Ret	M.Schumacher	Mercedes	+55 LAps - Accident
Ret	V.Liuzzi	Force India	+55 LAps - Accident

Vettel win sets up four-way title showdown

2010-11-07T22:46:00.002Z

Red Bull Racing team wins the Brazilian GP as Vettel and Webber finish the race in the first two positions. Alonso and Hamilton follow them. While, they will compete each other in the deciding race in Abu-Dhabi. Right now, Ferrari’s Alonso leads the Driver’s Championship while Webber, Hamilton and Vettel successively keep their chances alive for being the contender of “World Champion 2010″. While McLaren’s defending champion Button is out of the mathematical equation, which means he is out of the race for contending for the “World Championship Title.” The anti-clockwise circuit of Brazil had made some drivers worried as they faced premature tire wear, because of which Hamilton had to take an additional pit-stop and Adrian Sutil lost his place from 8th to 12th. Force India’s other driver Liuzzi understeered wide going into the Senna S’s and had a big crash after 51st lap which brought the safety car on track. Ferrari’s Alonso could catch Webber due to the safety car, but could not do much harm as the two Red Bulls were fantastically quick. Alonso leads the driver’s championship with 231 championship points, whereas Webber with 220 points, Hamilton with 210 points and Vettel with 206 championship points follows the table. The RBR-Renault team leads the table of constructor’s championship with 426 points whereas McLaren-Mercedes with 399 championship points and Ferrari with 374 championship points follows the table. Thus consequently, Redbull won the 2010 Constructors Championship. So, the next race will decide who will take the “World Champion 2010″ title. Alonso got his opportunity when RBR’s Webber crashed out in inaugural Korean GP and Vettel had engine failure. He needs to finish the final race at least in the third position to claim the victory, provided if Webber finishes first. Lots of drama to come in the last and deciding race in 14th November, till then we have to hang on tight to see who will be holding the Cup of Championship Title whether it can be Mark Webber or Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel.

Results:

Pos	Driver	Team	Time
1	S.Vettel	RBR	1:33:11.803
2	M.Webber	RBR	+4.2 secs
3	F.Alonso	Ferrari	+6.8 secs
4	L.Hamilton	McLaren	+14.6 secs
5	J.Button	McLaren	+15.5 secs
6	N.Rosberg	Mercedes	+35.3 secs
7	M.Schumacher	Mercedes	+43.4 secs
8	N.Hulkenberg	Williams	+1 Lap
9	R.Kubica	Renault	+1 Lap
10	K.Kobayashi	BMW Sauber	+1 Lap
11	J.Alguersuari	STR	+1 Lap
12	A.Sutil	Force India	+1 Lap
13	S.Buemi	STR	+1 Lap
14	R.Barrichello	Williams	+1 Lap
15	F.Massa	Ferrari	+1 Lap
16	V.Petrov	Renault	+1 Lap
17	N.Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1 Lap
18	H.Kovalainen	Lotus	+2 Lap
19	J.Trulli	Lotus	+2 Laps
20	T.Glock	Virgin	+2 Laps
21	B.Senna	HRT	+2 Laps
22	C.Klien	HRT	+6 Laps
NC	L.di Grassi	Virgin	+9 Laps
Ret	V.Liuzzi	Force India	+22 Laps - Accident

Lorenzo breaks points record with home win

2010-11-07T19:14:00.000Z

Jorge Lorenzo ended his MotoGP title-winning season on a high as he picked up a ninth win of the year in Valencia. The Spaniard, who won his first title last month, saw off Australia’s Casey Stoner and Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi, taking the win from Stoner by 4.576 seconds. “Coming here to Valencia, I really wanted to win one more time in this fantastic season, in front of my home fans,” Lorenzo said.

Results:

Pos.	Rider	Team	Time
1	J.LORENZO	Fiat Yamaha	46:44.622
2	C.STONER	Ducati	+4.576
3	V.ROSSI	Fiat Yamaha	+8.998
4	B.SPIES	Yamaha Tech 3	+17.643
5	A.DOVIZIOSO	Repsol Honda	+19.160
6	M.SIMONCELLI	Honda Gresini	+20.674
7	D.PEDROSA	Repsol Honda	+26.797
8	H.BARBERA	Aspar	+29.288
9	A.BAUTISTA	Rizla Suzuki	+29.451
10	R.DE PUNIET	LCR Honda	+29.860
11	A.ESPARGARO	Pramac Racing	+31.761
12	C.EDWARDS	Yamaha Tech 3	+33.604
13	M.MELANDRI	Honda Gresini	+36.622
14	H.AOYAMA	Interwetten Honda	+38.968
15	C.CHECA	Pramac Racing	+56.169
NC	L.CAPIROSSI	Rizla Suzuki	+17 Laps
NC	N.HAYDEN	Ducati	+28 Laps

Lorenzo wins third consecutive Portuguese MotoGP

2010-10-31T21:23:00.000Z

Jorge Lorenzo took his first MotoGP victory since wining the 2010 world championship at Estoril on Sunday, when Yamaha completed a clean sweep of all three titles – Riders', Teams' and Constructors' - for the third year running. The achievement marks the first time since the Triple Crown's inception that any manufacturer has won it three times in a row. Lorenzo's eighth victory of the season, but first since Brno in mid-August, also continued a perfect personal record at Estoril, where he has won from pole on all three MotoGP appearances. But the victory was far from straightforward, being on an 'unknown' dry track after a weekend of rain. Lorenzo made a strong start from pole, taking the lead into the first corner before briefly relinquishing it to Ducati's Nicky Hayden. Lorenzo's Fiat Yamaha team-mate Rossi made a play for the lead on lap four, relegating the Spaniard to second until lap 17 of 28, where a decisive out-braking manoeuvre saw Lorenzo retake the lead. The 23-year-old then pulled a massive 8.629sec advantage over Rossi, making it the biggest victory margin of the year. "On the warm-up lap I could see there were still a few wet parts and I knew that I was going to have to be careful at the beginning," recalled Lorenzo. "I got a great start and was in the lead but eventually Valentino overtook me and then off he went. He had a better pace than me then and I couldn't go with him. "As the track got drier I found my pace improving and then step-by-step I closed the gap and was able to get past him. At that point I felt really good and I am so happy to win for the third time here at Estoril. "It was a long time since I have won but my confidence has remained high and I haven't been worried. I knew I could win here at my favourite track. We also confirmed the Triple Crown for Yamaha today so well done to the whole team for this victory." "This is victory number eight and after a few races of not winning we are happy to be first again!" added team manager Wilco Zeelenberg. "We need to keep our focus for Valencia because it would be great to finish this fantastic season with one more win." The Valencia finale takes place this Sunday.

Results:

Pos.	Rider	Team	Time/
1	J.LORENZO	Fiat Yamaha	46'17.962
2	V.ROSSI	Fiat Yamaha	+8.629
3	A.DOVIZIOSO	Repsol Honda	+26.475
4	M.SIMONCELLI	Honda Gresini	+26.534
5	N.HAYDEN	Ducati	+27.154
6	R.DE PUNIET	LCR Honda	+28.297
7	C.EDWARDS	Yamaha Tech 3	+30.109
8	D.PEDROSA	Repsol Honda	+44.947
9	M.MELANDRI	Honda Gresini	+1:13.649
10	H.BARBERA	Aspar	+1:17.721
11	A.BAUTISTA	Rizla Suzuki	+1:17.908
12	H.AOYAMA	Interwetten Honda	+1:33.025
13	L.CAPIROSSI	Rizla Suzuki	+1:39.752
-	C.CHECA	Pramac Racing	+15 Laps
-	C.STONER	Ducati	+24 Laps
-	A.ESPARGARO	Pramac Racing	-
-	B.SPIES	Yamaha Tech 3	-

Alonso remains calm after F1 triumph

2010-10-25T20:44:00.000+01:00

After a delay, some laps behind the Safety Car, a further wait of an hour and still more laps following the Safety Car around track, racing at Seoul finally kicked off. With Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber starting on the front of the grid, things were looking good for Red Bull Racing. Unfortunately for them, thanks to the rain, it didn't quite turn out like that. When the race started in earnest, it was Sebastian Vettel who pulled ahead of Mark Webber, opening up a gap of 2.8 seconds. On the next lap though, Webber ran wide a little on a right hander, spun into the wall, bounced across the track and collected Nico Rosberg's Mercedes GP. Bad luck for Rosberg who'd managed to pass the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton and had taken third place. With the Red Bull and Mercedes GP cars blocking a part of the track, there were a few more laps behind the Safety Car. Once the race restarted, Sebastian Vettel took off into the distance, opening up a gap to Alonso. Vettel continued in the race lead until lap 46. After that though, his Red Bull Racing car's Renault engine gave up. Alonso moved into the lead, with Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa right behind him. Michael Schumacher was the best of the rest, taking a fairly impressive fourth place finish, while Renault's Robert Kubica took fifth. This means Fernando Alonso moves into the lead of the championship standings with a total of 231 points. Mark Webber, with 220 points is second. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton is third with 210 points.

Results:

Pos	Driver	Team	Time
1	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	2:48:20.810
2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+14.9 secs
3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+30.8 secs
4	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+39.6 secs
5	Robert Kubica	Renault	+47.7 secs
6	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+53.5 secs
7	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+69.2 secs
8	Kamui Kobayashi	BMW Sauber	+77.8 secs
9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+80.1 secs
10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+80.8 secs
11	Jaime Alguersuari	STR	+84.1 secs
12	Jenson Button	McLaren	+89.9 secs
13	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus	+1 Lap
14	Bruno Senna	HRT	+2 Laps
15	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT	+2 Laps
Ret	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+9 Laps - Accident
Ret	Sebastian Vettel	RBR	+10 Laps - Engine
Ret	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+16 Laps - Accident
Ret	Timo Glock	Virgin	+24 Laps - Accident
Ret	Sebastien Buemi	STR	+25 Laps - Accident
Ret	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin	+30 Laps - Accident
Ret	Jarno Trulli	Lotus	+30 Laps - Hydraulics
Ret	Mark Webber	RBR	+37 Laps - Accident
Ret	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+37 Laps - Accident

Loeb wins 6th straight Catalunya Rally

2010-10-25T19:40:00.000+01:00

The dynamitic duo of Sebastien Loeb and navigator Daniel Elena did it again, they easily won the Rally Catalunya (Rally de Espana). The victory gives them a total of 61 wins in the World Rally Championship and their sixth consecutive victory in Spain. "It was another very good result for us in Spain and I'm very happy," said Loeb. "We had no pressure for the championship on this event, so we were just able to drive as we wanted. We pushed hard on the gravel on Friday and from then it was a little bit easier to control the advantage." The 12th event on the calendar offered the return -- the first since the 1996 Rallye Sanremo -- to a mixture of gravel and asphalt. The most challenging day for the factory Citroen WRT C4 was Friday with the mix of the two elements. Adding to leg one's challenge was Loeb had the role of being the sweeper. Yet at the end of the day, the seven-time consecutive champion held the lead and with Leg 2 on aspahlt only only, Loeb excelled and dominated on Saturday. "I was really motivated when I arrived, I know I can try and I know if I make a mistake, it's not that bad." Loeb smiled, "it's really fun to drive like that and the stages were good. I would say it was nice to drive one day on gravel and two on tarmac, maybe not everybody agrees..." For the final leg on asphalt roads, Loeb did not push but still ended with a 35.3-second gap to the two Citroens fighting for second! When the day ended with a 1-2-3 Citroen finish led by Loeb, another record was set: the C4 has not lost an event that included or was only tarmac since its debut in 2007. "It's always enjoyable to win, so yes," said Loeb in the post-race interview. "It has been nearly my first rally at the end of the season without any pressure. I knew the first day would be difficult with the road cleaning. I tried really hard from the start and made good times on the gravel. We didn't lose the time we thought we might. Then we came to the tarmac leading the rally and made no mistakes." Loeb did not win a single stage today; instead, the two behind him took the four stage wins. Daniel Sordo was trying hard in his factory Citroen Junior team C4 to unseat Petter Solberg in last year's C4. Sordo won three stages today but it was not to be enough. The 2003 WRC champion took the final stage win and the now-privateer team owner and driver finished second, beating Sordo by 5.8 seconds. "I went really sideways on the final stage: maybe too much," said Solberg. "Our second place today feels really good," continued the Norwegian. "This is a great result for both the team, and us and makes it extremely exciting for Wales in a couple of weeks. I had everything under control today, and drove on the split-times that was send to me in the car. Lost a few seconds when I didn't get two of the splits, but caught up with that on the next one. Now we will look ahead to Wales, and make sure we are fully prepared, as I really want to win there!" Sordo had to settle for third in his homeland rally but the show between him and Solberg will be one to remember. "I think I was trying a bit too much," admitted Sordo. "But today has been a really nice day. I'm very grateful to all the spectators: I got a lot of support and so this third place is for everyone who came out to watch." The two Ford team drivers were fourth and fifth as they struggled throughout the event, Jari-Matta Latvala was 38 seconds out of a podium finish while Mikko Hirvonen was fifth. The two Finns leave Spain with the hope for a better performance in the United Kingdom. Latvala fought hard all day to gain ground on Sordo and Solberg but the good news is his closing up on second in the overall points. The Finn is now 11 points behind Sebastien Ogier. "It's been another good weekend for me on asphalt," said Latvala. "I had a good feeling with the car, I enjoyed it and I felt relaxed in my driving. I had good confidence and my speed on this surface continues to improve, but unfortunately I couldn't match the guys ahead to reach the podium. "Since yesterday I've been thinking a little about the championship and the points situation going into the final round in Wales next month. It will be interesting there now, we will be in an exciting fight," added the Finn. Stobart's Matthew Wilson had no chance of catching Hirvonen but he did keep his position, finishing sixth in his Ford Focus. Taking the final four points paying positions were a gaggle of Fords plus one main Citroen Junior team driver. Khalid Al Qassimi was seventh followed by Henning Solberg (in the Fiesta). American Ken Block was ninth and after a crash on Friday, Ogier had to fight back to finish 10th in his C4. Ogier maintains second in the standings. In the Junior World Rally (JWR) support class, the title has now been secured for 2010 by Aaron Burkart. An amazing turn of events today due to the fact that he had to use the SuperRally allowance and when the day started, Hans Weijs Jr. was 13th overall and second in class. "Of course at the moment, it's crazy," said the surprised title winner Burkart. "It's for me, it's amazing. It's a crazy weekend. We crash the car on Monday [in the test], the guys have a lot of work to do and then we retire on Saturday. It's been a crazy weekend." Yeray Lemes was the event winner, despite a tire puncture and Weijs Jr. aiming for the victory but Weijs Jr. slowed down on the 15th stage due to a crankshaft sensor problem on his Citroen C2, the door was opened for the Suzuki Swift driver. Burkart ended 26th overall and fourth in class to land him his crown. "I just had to fix the car, the sensor and drive. I did my best to keep the car running," said Weijs. "Now, it's like this. I just hope somebody will invest in me for next season." Lemes said, "This is a fantastic result for me. It's been a long year, but I have learned so much. I am sorry for Hans and congratulations to Aaron. What a rally!" The penultimate WRC event is now in the books but the fight for sub-champion has heated up. The Wales Rally Great Britain will end the season on November 14th. Even though Loeb has the title, the event will determine the final points outcome. On a side note, today's victory was not Loeb's only win this weekend. The Frenchman showed off his karting skills on Thursday, October 21st, besting his rivals, including Sordo and Latvala.

Overall Results:

Pos	Driver	Time
1.	S. LOEB	3:32:59.7
2.	P. SOLBERG	+35.3
3.	D. SORDO	+41.1
4.	J. LATVALA	+1:19.5
5.	M. HIRVONEN	+6:32.9
6.	M. WILSON	+8:17.6
7.	K. AL QASSIMI	+13:05.7
8.	H. SOLBERG	+13:11.2
9.	K. BLOCK	+16:01.2
10.	S. OGIER	+17:24.1
11.	D. KUIPERS	+18:31.8
12.	Y. LEMES	+22:58.3
13.	H. GASSNER JR	+27:11.0
14.	T. SLAVOV	+28:42.8
15.	F. VILLAGRA	+31:42.5

Stoner secures home win

2010-10-17T17:31:00.002+01:00

Casey Stoner, riding a Ducati, brushed aside his rivals to easily win his fourth consecutive Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island on Sunday in front of his home fans. Stoner blew away newly crowned world champion Jorge Lorenzo by 8.598 seconds in completing the 27-lap race in 41 minutes 09.128 seconds. Lorenzo's Fiat Yamaha teammate and seven-time world MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi fought off Nicky Hayden to take third placing. It continued Stoner's domination of his home MotoGP and he is closing in on Rossi's five straight wins at Phillip Island from 2001 to 2005. Stoner leapfrogged Rossi into third place in the MotoGP world championship following his third win of the season. Stoner powered away off pole and opened a 1.5sec gap on Lorenzo in the first lap and kept building on his lead. The Australian was three seconds clear of Lorenzo by the seventh lap as Rossi worked his way from eighth to third place early in the race. Stoner progressively pulled away to make it a one-act affair. Stoner's Ducati teammate Hayden made for a lively final lap when he slipped beneath Rossi to snatch third spot with three laps to go, only for the Italian to retrieve it with daredevil riding inside the final lap. Italian Andrea Dovizioso lost ground in the race for third place in the world championship when he retired with trouble to his Repsol Honda bike on the fourth lap.

Results:

Pos.	Rider	Team	Time
1	C.STONER	Ducati	41:09.128
2	J.LORENZO	Fiat Yamaha	+8.598
3	V.ROSSI	Fiat Yamaha	+17.997
4	N.HAYDEN	Ducati	+18.035
5	B.SPIES	Yamaha Tech 3	+22.211
6	M.SIMONCELLI	Honda Gresini	+25.017
7	C.EDWARDS	Yamaha Tech 3	+35.168
8	A.ESPARGARO	Pramac Racing	+46.194
9	M.MELANDRI	Honda Gresini	+46.294
10	R.DE PUNIET	LCR Honda	+59.635
11	M.KALLIO	Pramac Racing	+59.664
12	A.BAUTISTA	Rizla Suzuki	+59.732
13	H.AOYAMA	Interwetten Honda	+1:05.029
14	H.BARBERA	Aspar	+1:05.053
-	A.DOVIZIOSO	Repsol Honda	+24 Laps

Stoner takes pole in Australian MotoGP

2010-10-16T17:13:00.003+01:00

Casey Stoner has claimed pole position for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix, boosting his chances of winning his home Moto GP event for the fourth straight year. The Ducati rider sealed the 21st pole of his career with a fastest lap time of 1 minute 30.107 seconds around the Phillip Island circuit on Saturday , edging newly crowned world champion Jorge Lorenzo, on a Yamaha, by six tenths of a second. Ben Spies of the United States, also on a Yamaha, was third and Italian Marco Simoncelli was fourth on a Honda. Seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi will start from eighth place after a best lap of 1 minute 31.627 seconds, 1.5 seconds off the pace. Stoner, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Saturday, had a slow start to the 2010 season but won two of the past three races, in Spain and Japan, before crashing in last week's Malaysian Grand Prix. The Australian will be riding for Ducati for the last time in Australia following his decision to switch to Honda next year. Earlier on Saturday, Rossi was among a group of riders who criticized the timing of the Australian Grand Prix after Friday's first practice session was delayed by two hours because of heavy rain and cool temperatures. Rossi said the Phillip Island surface did not generate enough heat in October conditions to allow tires to reach optimum performance. Riders have called for the Australian race to be moved closer to the start of the season in March when conditions are warmer. Temperatures for Friday's practice session hovered around 10 degrees Celsius, lessening the grip gained by tires. "The rain is okay but the main problem is the temperature," Rossi said. "If it is this temperature though, maybe it is better that we have rain because with dry tires that we have, with ten degrees I don't know how we can manage this. It will be very dangerous for the race. "If it is dry we need a minimum of 16 or 18 degrees for the tires." Stoner agreed that the timing of the Australian race was critical. "We've all discussed that in the Safety Commission of putting this race earlier on in the season," he said. "It would be nice if we can put it in a time of year when we'd get some more consistent weather."

Qualifying results:

Pos.	Rider	Team	Time
1	C.STONER	Ducati	1:30.107
2	J.LORENZO	Fiat Yamaha	+0.668
3	B.SPIES	Yamaha Tech 3	+1.279
4	M.SIMONCELLI	Honda Gresini	+1.295
5	C.EDWARDS	Yamaha Tech 3	+1.308
6	N.HAYDEN	Ducati	+1.423
7	R.DE PUNIET	LCR Honda	+1.447
8	V.ROSSI	Fiat Yamaha	+1.520
9	A.DOVIZIOSO	Repsol Honda	+1.911
10	M.MELANDRI	Honda Gresini	+2.260
11	A.ESPARGARO	Pramac Racing	+2.435
12	M.KALLIO	Pramac Racing	+2.709
13	H.AOYAMA	Interwetten Honda	+3.083
14	A.BAUTISTA	Rizla Suzuki	+3.117
15	D.PEDROSA	Repsol Honda	+3.277
16	H.BARBERA	Aspar	+3.283
17	L.CAPIROSSI	Rizla Suzuki	+4.162

Rossi wins in Sepang, Lorenzo takes MotoGP title

2010-10-10T18:37:00.002+01:00

On a day when team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was confirmed as the new MotoGP champion, former champion Valentino Rossi reminded Yamaha of what they will be missing next year as he charged from 11th to 1st. The victory - the closest of the year, by just 0.224sec over Honda's Andrea Dovizioso - was Rossi's first victory since round one in Qatar. Rossi had missed four of the 14 races since Losail after breaking his leg at Mugello, and his Sepang win had extra significance as it was his 46th win for Yamaha. "This is a wonderful moment for me, I am so happy to win like this and take my 46th win with Yamaha on ‘my' M1," said Rossi. "It was one of my worst starts and for a moment I was really worried, but within a few corners I understood that I could go for it, because my bike felt great today thanks to a small change we made in warm-up, Jeremy's idea really worked! "I rode so well and it was a fantastic race, one of the best of my career I think. I wanted this 46th win so much because as everyone knows it's a special number for me! "Thanks to my team because everyone worked so hard this weekend and I think this is a great repayment for everyone. To win like this, from 11th at the first corner, is a great feeling. "Finally I want to say congratulations to Yamaha and to Jorge; he has been fast all season, at all tracks and in all conditions and he deserves to be the World Champion." Rossi's victory brought to an end his longest losing streak in the premier-class and Fiat Yamaha team manager Davide Brivio is hoping for further M1 wins in the three races that remain in 2010. "What a race! It was a fantastic race and great weekend because we had a difficult day yesterday and could only qualify sixth, but the team did a great job to change the bike and Valentino felt very comfortable in the race," said Brivio. "He rode very well, making the fastest lap in the race and coming from 11th position and 2.5 seconds down on the leaders on the first lap. "This milestone 46th win was a great way to celebrate Valentino's amazing time with Yamaha. It's a wonderful day for Yamaha all round because Jorge is the World Champion so we say congratulations to him, he's been very strong this year. All of our team are very happy today! Now we're looking forward to Australia, another great track for Valentino, and we hope his victories are not over with yet with Yamaha." The win moves Rossi up to third in the championship, one point ahead of Casey Stoner, who crashed out of the race.

Results:

Pos.	Rider	Team	Time
1	V.ROSSI	Fiat Yamaha	41:03.448
2	A.DOVIZIOSO	Repsol Honda	+0.224
3	J.LORENZO	Fiat Yamaha	+6.035
4	B.SPIES	Yamaha Tech 3	+13.676
5	A.BAUTISTA	Rizla Suzuki	+15.402
6	N.HAYDEN	Ducati	+18.826
7	H.AOYAMA	Interwetten Honda	+20.218
8	M.SIMONCELLI	Honda Gresini	+23.574
9	M.MELANDRI	Honda Gresini	+23.964
10	R.DE PUNIET	LCR Honda	+31.850
11	H.BARBERA	Aspar	+38.579
12	M.KALLIO	Pramac Racing	+38.849
Ret	C.EDWARDS	Yamaha Tech 3	+6 Laps
Ret	A.ESPARGARO	Pramac Racing	+14 Laps
Ret	L.CAPIROSSI	Rizla Suzuki	+16 Laps
Nst	C.STONER	Ducati	+20 Laps

Sebastian Vettel wins in Japan

2010-10-10T16:35:00.002+01:00

Sebastian Vettel has won his second Japanese GP in a row with a commanding drive from pole position. Teammate Mark Webber completed a 1-2 finish for Red Bull and extended his championship lead over Fernando Alonso, who finished third today. Webber now has 220 points, 14 ahead of Vettel and Alonso at 206 each with three races to go. McLaren fell further in both championships as Jenson Button finished fourth (189 points) while Lewis Hamilton (192 points), who suffered a gearbox problem (he lost third gear), ended up fifth. Michael Schumacher had a good day at the office at sixth and Kamui Kobayashi was seventh. The daredevil Japanese driver overtook so many cars that we lost count – he’s my man of the match. The top ten was rounded off by Nick Heidfeld (Sauber), Rubens Barrichello (Williams) and Seb Buemi of Toro Rosso. It was an exciting race, and we didn’t have to wait too long for drama. Even before the lights turned green, Virgin’s Lucas di Grassi had a big crash at the famous 130R high speed corner and didn’t make the start. When they turned green, Renault’s Vitaly Petrov cut in too early after “passing” Nico Hulkenberg and was slammed into the wall. Both men were out before Turn 1, which saw Felipe Massa crash into Force India’s Tonio Liuzzi. Five cars out already! The safety car was called into action, and something bizarre happened behind the Gullwing. Robert Kubica, who started from third after Hamilton was demoted five spots for a gearbox change, had split the Red Bulls and was looking good in second.

Results:

Pos	Driver	Team	Time
1	S.Vettel	RBR	1:30:27.323
2	M.Webber	RBR	+0.9 secs
3	F.Alonso	Ferrari	+2.7 secs
4	J.Button	McLaren	+13.5 secs
5	L.Hamilton	McLaren	+39.5 secs
6	M.Schumacher	Mercedes	+59.9 secs
7	K.Kobayashi	BMW Sauber	+64.0 secs
8	N.Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+69.6 secs
9	R.Barrichello	Williams	+70.8 secs
10	S.Buemi	STR	+72.8 secs
11	J.Alguersuari	STR	+1 Lap
12	H.Kovalainen	Lotus	+1 Lap
13	J.Trulli	Lotus	+2 Laps
14	T.Glock	Virgin	+2 Laps
15	B.Senna	HRT	+2 Laps
16	S.Yamamoto	HRT	+3 Laps
17	N.Rosberg	Mercedes	+6 Laps
Ret	A.Sutil	Force India	+9 Laps - Oil leak
Ret	R.Kubica	Renault	+51 Laps - Mechanical
Ret	N.Hulkenberg	Williams	+53 Laps - Accident
Ret	F.Massa	Ferrari	+53 Laps - Accident
Ret	V.Petrov	Renault	+53 Laps - Accident
Ret	V.Liuzzi	Force India	+53 Laps - Accident
DNS	L.di Grassi	Virgin	+53 Laps - Accident

Rossi sets fastest time in first practice at Sepang

2010-10-08T19:56:00.002+01:00

Valentino Rossi got a taste of the podium last time out in Motegi, and it seems like the Italian racer is hungry for more. Rossi set the pace today during the first MotoGP free practice session in Malaysia, beating out Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo by more than a tenth of a second. Rossi set a 2'02.724 time around the Sepang track, .11 seconds ahead of Dovizioso. Doviziso had led the session, but couldn't match Rossi's quick time around the track. Dovizioso is the sole Repsol Honda rider on the track this weekend, as his teammate Dani Pedrosa watches from the pits with a healing collarbone injury. With Pedrosa out, Lorenzo could clinch the championship with a finish of ninth or higher. Lorenzo has yet to place below fourth, and is confident that he will walk away with the title this weekend. Casey Stoner crashed early in the session, but recovered to capture fourth. Stoner has won the last two races, and will be looking to Malaysia to make it three in a row. Stoner was followed by Alvaro Bautista, Collin Edwards, Marco Melandri, Alex Espargaro, Ben Spies, and Randy de Puniet.

Free Practice Nr. 1:

Pos.	Rider	Team	Time
1	V.ROSSI	Fiat Yamaha	2:02.724
2	A.DOVIZIOSO	Repsol Honda	+0.109
3	J.LORENZO	Fiat Yamaha	+0.174
4	C.STONER	Ducati	+0.436
5	A.BAUTISTA	Rizla Suzuki	+0.614
6	C.EDWARDS	Yamaha Tech 3	+0.669
7	M.MELANDRI	Honda Gresini	+0.714
8	A.ESPARGARO	Pramac Racing	+0.747
9	B.SPIES	Yamaha Tech 3	+0.753
10	R.DE PUNIET	LCR Honda	+0.815
11	M.SIMONCELLI	Honda Gresini	+0.956
12	L.CAPIROSSI	Rizla Suzuki	+0.993
13	H.BARBERA	Aspar	+1.036
14	H.AOYAMA	Interwetten Honda	+1.045
15	N.HAYDEN	Ducati	+1.223
16	M.KALLIO	Pramac Racing	+1.299

Red Bull drivers dominate free practice for Japanese F1GP

2010-10-08T18:27:00.002+01:00

Sebastian Vettel went fastest in both practice sessions for this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix. The German finished four-tenths of second ahead of Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber, with Renault man Robert Kubica a similar distance back in third. Ferrari duo Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa were fourth and fifth respectively, with reigning world champion Jenson Button back in sixth in his McLaren. Button's team-mate, fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton, crashed out of the first session and could only manage five laps in the second period, posting the 13th-quickest time. Although the evidence suggested that the Red Bulls are well placed for the weekend, rain is forecast for Suzuka tomorrow, which means qualifying could be reduced to a lottery. However, Vettel, who currently sits 21 points behind championship leader Webber, claimed that he is not too concerned about the potentially hazardous conditions. He said: "The car was reliable and I had a good feeling, the pace looks OK too. The forecast suggests rain, but there's no reason why we shouldn't be competitive in the wet. "The conditions have been quite inconsistent during all the wet races that we've had so far this year, so it's hard to know what everyone's pace will be." Vettel will also feel confident about his chances as he took the chequered flag at Suzuka last year ahead of Jarno Trulli's Toyota, with Hamilton finishing third.

Free Practice 2 Results:

Pos	Driver	Team	Time
1	S.Vettel	RBR	1:31.465
2	M.Webber	RBR	1:31.860
3	R.Kubica	Renault	1:32.200
4	F.Alonso	Ferrari	1:32.362
5	F.Massa	Ferrari	1:32.519
6	J.Button	McLaren	1:32.533
7	V.Petrov	Renault	1:32.703
8	M.Schumacher	Mercedes	1:32.831
9	A.Sutil	Force India	1:32.842
10	N.Hulkenberg	Williams	1:32.851
11	N.Rosberg	Mercedes	1:32.880
12	K.Kobayashi	BMW Sauber	1:33.471
13	L.Hamilton	McLaren	1:33.481
14	R.Barrichello	Williams	1:33.564
15	N.Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:33.697
16	S.Buemi	STR	1:34.005
17	J.Alguersuari	STR	1:34.055
18	V.Liuzzi	Force India	1:34.310
19	H.Kovalainen	Lotus	1:36.095
20	J.Trulli	Lotus	1:36.333
21	L.di Grassi	Virgin	1:36.630
22	T.Glock	Virgin	1:36.834
23	B.Senna	HRT	1:37.352
24	S.Yamamoto	HRT	1:37.831

Free Practice 1 Results:

Pos	Driver	Team	Time
1	S.Vettel	RBR	1:32.585
2	M.Webber	RBR	1:32.633
3	R.Kubica	Renault	1:33.129
4	A.Sutil	Force India	1:33.639
5	L.Hamilton	McLaren	1:33.643
6	R.Barrichello	Williams	1:33.677
7	N.Hulkenberg	Williams	1:33.707
8	M.Schumacher	Mercedes	1:33.739
9	N.Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:33.791
10	N.Rosberg	Mercedes	1:33.831
11	F.Massa	Ferrari	1:33.929
12	J.Button	McLaren	1:34.042
13	F.Alonso	Ferrari	1:34.169
14	K.Kobayashi	BMW Sauber	1:34.271
15	V.Petrov	Renault	1:34.373
16	V.Liuzzi	Force India	1:34.379
17	S.Buemi	STR	1:34.991
18	J.Alguersuari	STR	1:35.684
19	H.Kovalainen	Lotus	1:36.949
20	T.Glock	Virgin	1:37.329
21	J.Trulli	Lotus	1:37.388
22	J.d'Ambrosio	Virgin	1:37.778
23	B.Senna	HRT	1:38.814
24	S.Yamamoto	HRT	1:39.443

Loeb wins record seventh world title

2010-10-03T20:04:00.002+01:00

Sebastien Loeb secured an emotional win on home soil to claim his seventh World Rally Championship title with two rounds remaining. The Citroen driver had dominated the Rally of France from start to finish, maintaining a healthy lead through the final day to claim his sixth win of the season, and 60th in total, by a 37.5 second margin over team-mate Dani Sordo. Sordo's second place also ensured that the French marque cannot be caught in the race for the manufacturers' title, handing Citroen their sixth triumph. Loeb started the day with a 43-second lead and just four stages to go, although that number was reduced to three when the second scheduled run through Bitche Camp was cancelled due to the high number of spectators, and he was untroubled as he completed the final four-kilometre stage through his home town of Haguenau to seal his success. "This is fantastic," said Loeb. "This has been a very impressive rally. It has been very difficult and I didn't expect so many people to be here. This is the best result for me to win the championship here in France." Sordo was pleased with his second place, and congratulated Loeb and his team.. "I'm really happy for Sebastien," he said. "And I'm really happy for Citroen. There have been so many people watching from the roadside, this is a good result for them." Petter Solberg was third in his privateer Citroen with the Fords of Jari-Matti Latvala and Mikko Hirvonen fourth and fifth respectively. Sebastien Ogier, who had been the only man with a genuine chance of beating Loeb to the title, finished sixth after his event was ruined by a suspension problem yesterday. Federico Villagra and Britain's Mathew Wilson were seventh and eighth with Henning Solberg and Patrik Sandell rounding out the points-scoring positions.

Overall Results:

Pos	Driver	Time
1.	S. LOEB	3:05:49.3
2.	D. SORDO	+35.7
3.	P. SOLBERG	+1:16.8
4.	J. LATVALA	+1:29.3
5.	M. HIRVONEN	+3:43.8
6.	S. OGIER	+11:55.9
7.	F. VILLAGRA	+14:15.4
8.	M. WILSON	+14:26.9
9.	H. SOLBERG	+16:48.9
10.	P. SANDELL	+17:12.3
11.	J. KETOMAA	+19:08.3
12.	K. BLOCK	+19:45.2
13.	K. AL QASSIMI	+19:46.2
14.	M. KOSCIUSZKO	+20:19.3
15.	X. PONS	+20:20.3
16.	A. ARAUJO	+22:58.8
17.	D. KUIPERS	+23:07.6
18.	A. MIKKELSEN	+24:09.8
19.	O. TÄNAK	+25:25.4
20.	E. BRYNILDSEN	+26:48.4

Casey Stoner wins in Japan

2010-10-03T19:52:00.002+01:00

Casey Stoner won the Japanese Grand Prix Sunday, grabbing his second straight victory despite frustrating problems setting up his Ducati throughout the weekend. The 2007 world champion clocked 43min 12.266sec at the Motegi Twin Ring, 3.868sec ahead of pole-position starter Andrea Dovizioso and 5.707sec faster than reigning champion Valentino Rossi, both of Italy. Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo only came fourth, after losing a nail-biting battle with Rossi in the final stages of the race, a physical duel that the Spaniard complained as "a bit too much." Stoner, fresh from winning the Aragon Grand Prix last month, called the victory an "upset" after his team struggled to find the best setup for his machine in "a disaster weekend". "It's obvious the bike really isn't perfect for this track. And to come out and still win this was just awesome for me and for the team and for everybody," he said. "This was one of my most memorable wins," he said, after fending off challenges from Dovizioso, who had his first career pole start. The Honda rider lamented his accumulation of small mistakes that prevented him really threatening the Australian, but said he was happy to take second. "I wasn't precise 100 percent," the Italian said. "To come back on the podium was so important." The true highlight of the race came as the two Yamaha riders staged a brilliant duel with two laps remaining. Riding side by side, their bikes touched as they overtook each other at successive corners during the final lap. But Rossi, still suffering shoulder pains, had the final say. "It was funny," the nine-time world champion said. "We had some overtaking. But you know, in the last lap... to take a place on the podium, you have to never give up." But Lorenzo questioned Rossi's tactics. "I have to say that, at some points, I do not think he was completely fair," he said. "We were both on the limit, but some of his moves were maybe a bit too much and he touched me and pushed me wide when I don't think it was right," he said. Stoner's victory, however, did not change Lorenzo's strong position in the overall championship standings. With only four races remaining Lorenzo can secure the season title by placing ninth or better in the Malaysian Grand Prix next weekend if second-ranked Dani Pedrosa misses the event. Pedrosa, the only racer with a chance of overtaking Lorenzo, pulled out of Motegi after crashing during practice on Friday, when he broke a collarbone into four pieces. He immediately flew home to Spain and underwent a successful operation Saturday, but it remained unclear exactly when he would be able to return to racing, his physician said in Barcelona. In other races at the Grand Prix, Toni Elias on a Moriwaki won the Moto2 category to extend his season championship lead. The Spaniard grabbed his seventh victory of the season, clocking 43min 50.930sec, followed by pole-starter Julian Simon on a Suter, who came in 0.315sec later. Czech rider Karel Abraham on an FTR earned his first podium finish, coming in third, off 9.839sec. In the 125cc race, Marc Marquez on a Derbi won, followed by Nicolas Terol and Bradley Smith, both on Aprilias.

Results:

Pos.	Rider	Team	Time
1	C.STONER	Ducati	43:12.266
2	A.DOVIZIOSO	Repsol Honda	+3.868
3	V.ROSSI	Fiat Yamaha	+5.707
4	J.LORENZO	Fiat Yamaha	+6.221
5	C.EDWARDS	Yamaha Tech 3	+27.092
6	M.SIMONCELLI	Honda Gresini	+30.021
7	A.BAUTISTA	Rizla Suzuki	+31.826
8	B.SPIES	Yamaha Tech 3	+35.572
9	R.DE PUNIET	LCR Honda	+47.564
10	H.AOYAMA	Interwetten Honda	+49.598
11	M.MELANDRI	Honda Gresini	+49.999
12	N.HAYDEN	Ducati	+50.703
13	H.BARBERA	Aspar	+51.422
14	A.ESPARGARO	Pramac Racing	+52.843
15	M.KALLIO	Pramac Racing	+1:14.668
Ret	L.CAPIROSSI	Rizla Suzuki	3 Laps

Japan MotoGP: First pole for Dovizioso

2010-10-02T23:41:00.002+01:00

Repsol Honda's Andrea Dovizioso couldn’t have picked a better time to have his best ever qualifying performance. With teammate Dani Pedrosa back in Spain and about to undergo surgery for his fractured left collarbone, Dovizioso had his best day in MotoGP qualifying, speeding to his first ever pole position on a hot and sunny Saturday afternoon at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit north of Tokyo. Dovizioso is such a notoriously slow qualifier that he’d only ever been on the front row once before, at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. But he was strong throughout the hour, first taking the top spot near the mid-point, on race tires, and later clocking a number of fast laps on the softer Bridgestone rear tire. Dovi lost the spot to Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo for about 15 minutes, then regained it with 13 minutes to run. As this was happening, Ducati Marlboro’s Casey Stoner found speed at the end of the session by making a geometry change and went from fifth fastest to the pole with just over six minutes to run. Then, about 23 seconds later, Dovi lowered the mark again, and he’d need every tenth. There were still nearly six minutes to go and he was vulnerable to attack. But no one was able to challenge the Italian and he had his first pole at the race track owned by Honda. "I'm so happy and surprised about this practice," Dovizioso said. "We start very well from yesterday, but I thought I can't go under '47, but we work really hard and so happy about the bike. We improve a lot, also with the electronic system we improve the anti-wheelie. I'm so happy about the bike. The power is so strong. So I think we have a really good pace for the race, because normally my style is to don't go too fast in the practice, so I think we can make a good race." Though Dovi wasn’t under attack, others were, including Lorenzo. Using the new power-up motor, and not feeling any pain in his damaged right shoulder, Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi knocked teammate Jorge Lorenzo back to the second row with a very late lap of 1:47.055 mins. Even though Dovi had the pole, the session wasn't over. After time had expired, Fiat Yamaha's Valentino Rossi lapped within .054 secs. of Dovizioso to finish second. It was his first front row start since he was on the pole in Le Mans on May 22. Rossi broke his leg at Mugello in the next race and hadn’t been among the top three since. "Yes, is first a technical difference, because we improve a lot the setting of our bike," Rossi said. "And the new engine from Yamaha push more, so we are also faster on the straight.” Stoner clocked the fastest trap speed, but Lorenzo, who also had the new motor, was second and Rossi third. “And also here we have a harder tire compared to Aragon, because for me in Aragon also the hard was too soft, so I was a little bit in trouble. "But about the shoulder, I expect to suffer a lot more, because here have a lot of hard braking. But also from yesterday afternoon I feel quite good. When I brake from straight I don't have a lot of pain, so I can push.” Stoner finished third after a session in which he spent considerable time in the pits trying to find a solution for a number of handling issues. The team had made a breakthrough in Aragon by changing the geometry, but those settings didn’t work at Motegi, a track of very different characteristics. So he spent the hour consulting with his crew until they finally hit on a solution very late. The work paid off as he clocked the third fastest time of 1:47.464 mins. "Definitely, we started out with something very similar to Aragon and we're still using the general geometry, but we had to drop the bike quite a bit because we're having a lot of problems under braking and on the exit of the corners, wheelying too much," Stoner said. "So we dropped the bike, tried to make it a little more stable in as many places as we could. And the more stable we got it under braking, the better turning and everything like that "Unfortunately it kept losing grip. So no matter we did, I was getting more confident on the track and riding harder, and we just kept getting slower and slower and we couldn't really understand it that much. We knew we were in a bad situation with grip, but not that bad. So we just decided to go back somewhere in the middle. Try and get a bit more weight over the rear and try and get it pushing a little bit more, but had to put up with the wheelying a little bit more. And immediately we found an improvement, the bike started to feel a lot better and the lap times started to tumble. So from there we put a soft tire on and managed to pull ourselves a little bit way up the grid and away from the clutches of the third row, so we're happy about that." Lorenzo hadn’t been off the front row since last year’s race in Phillip Island nearly a year ago. Since he only needs 20 points between now and the end of the race in Malaysia to clinch the title, he’s under considerably less pressure. And he’s certain to be a factor in Sunday’s 14th race of the MotoGP World Championship. The Majorcan was joined on the second row by Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teammates Colin Edwards and Ben Spies, in fifth and sixth, respectively, with the fifth equaling Edwards' best qualifying performance of the season from Mugello. Randy de Puniet wasted what might have been his best lap by running off the track at the end of the hour. He had to settle for seventh on the row three pole in front of San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Marco Simoncelli and Alvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki). Loris Capirossi, Bautista's teammate, is on the row four pole in front of Nicky Hayden. Ducati Marlboro's Hayden never got going and spent much of the session in the bottom half of the field, where he’d finish. Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) is the final rider on row four.

Qualifying results:

Pos.	Rider	Team	Time
1	A.DOVIZIOSO	Repsol Honda	1:47.001
2	V.ROSSI	Fiat Yamaha	+0.054
3	C.STONER	Ducati	+0.104
4	J.LORENZO	Fiat Yamaha	+0.205
5	C.EDWARDS	Yamaha Tech 3	+0.463
6	B.SPIES	Yamaha Tech 3	+0.647
7	R.DE PUNIET	LCR Honda	+0.751
8	M.SIMONCELLI	Honda Gresini	+0.913
9	A.BAUTISTA	Rizla Suzuki	+1.001
10	L.CAPIROSSI	Rizla Suzuki	+1.067
11	N.HAYDEN	Ducati	+1.181
12	M.MELANDRI	Honda Gresini	+1.237
13	A.ESPARGARO	Pramac Racing	+1.370
14	H.AOYAMA	Interwetten Honda	+1.395
15	H.BARBERA	Aspar	+1.534
16	M.KALLIO	Pramac Racing	+2.479
-	D.PEDROSA	Repsol Honda	-

7th title on the way for Sebastien Loeb

2010-10-02T19:24:00.002+01:00

Sebastien Loeb has stretched his Rally of France lead to 42.9 seconds, with a stunning performance on the event's longest stage pulling him comfortably clear of his rivals. Amid varying grip from both rainfall and mud being pulled onto the roads, the reigning champion beat nearest rival and Citroen team-mate Dani Sordo by 18s on the 35-kilometre Pays d'Ormont, the third of this morning's four stages. Loeb admitted he had put on a charge to try and give himself a safety margin this afternoon, when the stage conditions are expected to even worse. "It was a good morning, we were pushing hard in some stages, but it's so tricky," he said. "Also I think in some parts I'm putting some mud on for other cars, so there is time from that. I've tried to make a difference in the morning because I know this afternoon will be difficult." Sordo lost a little time when he stalled at the start of Pays d'Ormont, but he benefited from the pursuing Sebastien Ogier going off the road on the same stage. The Citroen Junior driver continued having fallen 17s behind Sordo. "I made a mistake - I lost control of the car on the brakes, I went straight and I hit a tree," said Ogier. "But it's okay, luckily there was not a lot of damage on my car. "It's a shame because I had very good speed and I was able to come close to Dani. Now it's a big gap. But the rally is still long." Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala also went off course on Pays d'Ormont, and had already lost fourth place to Petter Solberg (Solberg Citroen) on the previous stages. But he took a commanding win on the Salm stage and moved back to within 7.5s of Solberg. "It's because we are driving on gravel on tarmac tyres, so I think that's helping me," said Latvala of his Salm performance, which saw him half a second per kilometre faster than anyone else. "We took a few risks, because Petter is pushing very hard now." His team-mate Mikko Hirvonen remains sixth, with Munchi's Ford driver Federico Villagra up to seventh after Kimi Raikkonen went off on SS10 and lost nearly 40 minutes. Stobart Ford's Matthew Wilson was closing on Villagra for a while but is now 33s behind again. With Ken Block (Monster Ford) delayed by a hydraulic issue in service this morning and Khalid Al Qassimi losing time with an incident on SS11, the leading S2000 cars of Henning Solberg and Eyvind Brynildsen are now running in the overall top 10.

Overall results:

Pos	Driver	Time	Diff
1.	S. LOEB	2:46:39.2	0.0
2.	D. SORDO	2:47:22.0	+42.8
3.	P. SOLBERG	2:47:53.4	+1:14.2
4.	J. LATVALA	2:48:13.4	+1:34.2
5.	M. HIRVONEN	2:50:02.7	+3:23.5
6.	S. OGIER	2:57:53.3	+11:14.1
7.	F. VILLAGRA	3:00:06.2	+13:27.0
8.	M. WILSON	3:00:09.1	+13:29.9
9.	H. SOLBERG	3:01:37.0	+14:57.8
10.	P. SANDELL	3:02:17.6	+15:38.4
11.	E. BRYNILDSEN	3:02:31.6	+15:52.4
12.	J. KETOMAA	3:04:08.5	+17:29.3
13.	K. AL QASSIMI	3:05:06.2	+18:27.0
14.	M. KOSCIUSZKO	3:05:07.0	+18:27.8
15.	X. PONS	3:05:11.5	+18:32.3
16.	K. BLOCK	3:05:11.9	+18:32.7
17.	A. ARAUJO	3:06:48.3	+20:09.1
18.	D. KUIPERS	3:07:32.8	+20:53.6
19.	O. TÄNAK	3:09:12.9	+22:33.7
20.	A. MIKKELSEN	3:09:35.7	+22:56.5

Fernando Alonso wins Singapore GP

2010-09-26T16:56:00.002+01:00

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso held off Sebastian Vettel in a thrilling finish to the night time Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday and moved to within 11 points of the Formula One championship lead. The Spaniard led from start to finish but was pressured throughout by Red Bull's Vettel, who closed markedly over the final two laps to almost snatch a win, with the final margin being just two tenths of a second.

Results:

Pos	Driver	Team	Time
1	F.Alonso	Ferrari	1:57:53.579
2	S.Vettel	RBR	+0.2 s
3	M.Webber	RBR	+29.1 s
4	J.Button	McLaren	+30.3 s
5	N.Rosberg	Mercedes	+49.3 s
6	R.Barrichello	Williams	+56.1 s
7	R.Kubica	Renault	+86.5 s
8	N.Hulkenberg	Williams	+112.8 s
9	F.Massa	Ferrari	+113.3 s
10	A.Sutil	Force India	+122.4 s
11	V.Petrov	Renault	+1 Lap
12	J.Alguersuari	STR	+1 Lap
13	M.Schumacher	Mercedes	+1 Lap
14	S.Buemi	STR	+1 Lap
15	L.di Grassi	Virgin	+2 Laps
16	H.Kovalainen	Lotus	+3 Laps
Ret	T.Glock	Virgin	+12 Laps
Ret	N.Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+24 Laps - Accident
Ret	L.Hamilton	McLaren	+25 Laps - Accident
Ret	C.Klien	HRT	+30 Laps - Hydraulics
Ret	K.Kobayashi	BMW Sauber	+31 Laps - Accident
Ret	B.Senna	HRT	+32 Laps - Accident
Ret	J.Trulli	Lotus	+34 Laps
Ret	V.Liuzzi	Force India	+60 Laps - Accident damage

Casey Stoner dominates in Aragon

2010-09-19T17:53:00.001+01:00

Ducati’s Casey Stoner has claimed his first win of the season, taking the checkered flag from pole position, after a first lap scrap with championship leader, Jorge Lorenzo. The Australian finished a full 5 seconds ahead of Honda’s Dani Pedrosa. The third step on the podium when to Stoner’s teammate Nicky Hayden, who had a stunning ride to claim the final step on the podium. Stoner bolted from the line as the lights when green, but the biggest surprise was the usual quick starter Pedrosa slipping back to 5th by the first corner. After fighting through the crowd, Pedrosa was able to start closing the gap to Stoner, but ws unable to get close as the former World Champion was able to match the Spaniards speed, eventually stretching the lead to the flag. As battles were taking place throughout the field, none were more close than the one between Hayden and Lorenzo. After swapping positions throughout the race, the Ducati pilot put in a do or die move on the final lap to claim 3rd, breaking Yamaha’s run of 47 podium finishes, leaving Lorenzo languishing in 4th, and seeing his championship lead shrink to 56 points. Monster Yamaha Tech3′s Ben Spies put in another impressive performance to claim 5th, even after being put under immense pressure from Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso, before the Italian crashed out on the final lap, leaving Valentino Rossi to claim 6th, while rookies, San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Marco Simoncelli and the sole Rizla Suzuki rider Álvaro Bautista placing in a solid 7th and 8th place. The top 10 was rounded out by Marco Melandri on the other San Carlo Honda Gresini machine and Pramac Racing’s Aleix Espargaró. LCR Honda’s Randy de Puniet escaped injury when he crashed out on lap 16.

Results:

Pos.	Rider	Team	Time
1	Casey STONER	Ducati	42:16.530
2	Dani PEDROSA	Repsol Honda	+5.148
3	Nicky HAYDEN	Ducati	+9.496
4	Jorge LORENZO	Fiat Yamaha	+9.580
5	Ben SPIES	Yamaha Tech 3	+13.771
6	Valentino ROSSI	Fiat Yamaha	+27.330
7	Marco SIMONCELLI	Honda Gresini	+28.511
8	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Rizla Suzuki	+35.254
9	Marco MELANDRI	Honda Gresini	+35.393
10	Aleix ESPARGARO	Pramac Racing	+35.467
11	Hector BARBERA	Aspar	+35.522
12	Colin EDWARDS	Yamaha Tech 3	+45.360
13	Hiroshi AOYAMA	Interwetten Honda	+48.319
14	Mika KALLIO	Pramac Racing	+58.047
Ret	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	Repsol Honda	+22 Laps
Ret	Randy DE PUNIET	LCR Honda	+15 Laps

Sebastien Ogier clinches Rally Japan win on last stage

2010-09-12T17:45:00.001+01:00

Sebastien Ogier of France won Sunday's Rally Japan to deny compatriot Sebastien Loeb a chance to win his seventh consecutive world title. Ogier, driving a Citroen, started the final day in third place but moved ahead of overnight leader Petter Solberg of Norway on the 20th special stage and finished Sunday's race with a time of 3 hours, 10 minutes, 26.4 seconds for his second victory of the season. Solberg experienced a steering problem on the 23rd stage that dropped him a further six seconds behind Ogier and the Citroen driver finished second, 15.7 seconds back. Loeb, who needed to win Sunday's race to have any chance of winning the World Rally Championship title, ended in fifth, 53.3 seconds behind Ogier.

Overall results:

Pos	Driver	Time	Diff
1	S. OGIER	3:10:26.4	0.0
2	P. SOLBERG	3:10:42.1	+15.7
3	J. LATVALA	3:10:52.4	+26.0
4	D. SORDO	3:11:01.6	+35.2
5	S. LOEB	3:11:19.7	+53.3
6	M. HIRVONEN	3:11:39.9	+1:13.5
7	H. SOLBERG	3:13:29.5	+3:03.1
8	F. VILLAGRA	3:20:44.3	+10:17.9
9	J. KETOMAA	3:25:13.5	+14:47.1
10	M. PROKOP	3:25:47.2	+15:20.8
11	P. FLODIN	3:31:08.3	+20:41.9
12	H. PADDON	3:33:54.1	+23:27.7
13	E. IWASHITA	3:42:19.1	+31:52.7
14	G. NAGAYOSHI	3:45:09.9	+34:43.5
15	G. LINARI	3:46:15.1	+35:48.7
16	K. KAMATA	3:48:18.6	+37:52.2
17	A. MASUMURA	3:50:25.4	+39:59.0
18	T. NIIHORI	3:52:04.0	+41:37.6
19	R. WANG	3:53:07.8	+42:41.4
20	F. TAKAHASHI	3:53:35.9	+43:09.5