Got you!

MotoGP riders like to make sure people fall for jokes... 

Nice try Nicky, though it's been confirmed and finalised y'all are going! Tricked a lot of people though.

Airport boredom affects us all...

They'll all be there in Japan this weekend for the Grand Prix... if they don't grow another arm or head while their there!

Singapore lights

A near on perfect backdrop of Marina Bay lighting up the night sky, for the first and only night race of the season which could have seen the title won by Sebastian Vettel.

The flood lit lights were on, rain on delay and all 24 cars ready and waiting for the five red lights.

Sebastian Vettel was off to a good start (again) leading the pack while teammate Mark Webber got of to a slower start leaving the door open for Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso to overtake with Lewis Hamilton in fifth.

Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes was lucky to hang on to sixth after bumping over the kerb on Lap 1 however was confirmed over his radio he was ok to keep sixth position.

Lewis Hamilton made several clean cut passes gaining places in the first few laps while the battle for third was on between Webber and Alonso however Alonso was unable to maintain speed and tyre’s dropping off quickly, along with brake temperature problems.

Lap 12 and both Hamilton and Felipe Massa pit the lap before, the Ferrari managed to stay ahead though not for long as Hamilton attempted to overtake, misjudges and tears away the corner of his front wing and in turn puncturing Massa’s right rear tyre.

Hamilton, down in 16^th, was handed a driver through penalty for the incident to only see him fight back the positions for the rest of the race.

Rookie Paul di Resta had his best Grand Prix result of the season, who on Lap 16 was up to 3^rd but had to surrender his position to the faster car of Alonso however finished the GP in 6^th - the best of the cars outside the top three teams.

Schumacher had a frightening near take off from Sergio Perez Sauber as Schumacher tried to overtake, a close mirror image of Webber’s Valencia 2010 take off however Schumacher had a lucky escape not quite going airborne but a high impact crash hitting the barrier; he was ok and got out the car almost instantly.

Following the crash - we did make it to 30 laps - the safety car was out, usually a frequent appearance at street circuits especially in Singapore.

Four laps later and the safety car came in, Vettel was ahead of Button and it stayed that way for the rest of the race. Heikki Kovalainen narrowly missed shunting into Vettel in the pit lane after an unsafe release and towards the end of the race Button was catching Vettel however traffic made sure he ran out of laps and finished 2^nd behind the Red Bull in 1^st while teammate Webber finished 3^rd with Fernando settling for 4^th in front of Hamilton.

Jaime Alguersuari crashed out on Lap 56 colliding into the barrier, the safety car was needed at the race continued, other retirements from the race along with Alguersuari and Schumacher were Timo Glock on lap 9 and Jarno Trulli on Lap 47.

Fastest lap: Jenson Button: 1:48.454

Singapore 2011

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The podium

This is from after qualifying but switch Mark and Jenson round and we have the podium order (couldn't find a podium picture when i wanted to)

[Fireworks after the race]

The first fly-away has now passed and we move onto Japan, where, more thank likely, we will see Sebastian Vettel be crowned World Champion and a fitting place it will be... unless he finishes 11th or lower.

Let's hope the rain isn't like last year but if it is, Red Bull will win the boat races too!

Getting up in the early hours of the morning to watch it?!

Powers out in Aragon.

In the middle of nowhere in the country that is referred to as “sunny Spain” but really wasn’t all that sunny, the MotoGP paddock were at their next stop on the calendar - Motorland, Aragon.

In the 125’s Nico Terol won the race by 7 seconds from Johann Zarco who raced Hector Faubel for the majority of the laps, in bid to both be higher on the podium however on the last corner Faubel crashed out in an attempt to pass Zarco and gave Marverick Vinales 3^rd place on the podium.

Briton Danny Kent had a strong race at his first Aragon Grand Prix, he finished up 7^th, slip streaming along the start/finish straight he moved up from 9^th to 5^th but lost out on the last lap to Sandro Cortese.

Moto2 was another belter of a race. Spaniard and reigning 125 champ, Marc Marquez started from pole and carried out what he started into the race. Stefan bradl and Scott Redding challenged for the lead early on, meanwhile Andrea Lannone battled through the field from 10^th along with Simon Corsi and Alex de Angelis all up at the front, this saw a five-way battle for the lead.

Responding to his competitors, Marquez broke out from the pack on Lap 13 taking the lead and winning in Aragon.

On Lap 16 Bradl feel back and finished in 8^th after what appeared to be a mechanical problem. Lannone finished in 2^nd and joining in on podium celebrations was Corsi.

Another MotoGP, another Stoner victory, his dominance on the Repsol Honda is still evident, even if they changed the livery to what looked like a kid had scribbled on it in a off orange colour (it’s what we’ve all been thinking!)

From Lap 2 Stoner remained top dog, or should I say top kangaroo? He left the rest of the pack behind to take his eighth victory in the last 14 races!

Ben Spies on the factory Yamaha was off to a strong start taking an early lead into Turn 1, in front of Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa however by lap two the Honda’s had better speed and demoted him to 3^rd, he finished the race in 5^th. The Yamaha struggled with tyre wear Spies later said “[by the] sixth of seventh lap the tyre just made a huge drop and just kept going down.”

His teammate Jorge Lorenzo finished in 3^rd, after a slow start he crept up to 3^rd on the grid and held off Marco Simoncelli who finished in 4^th.

The race had thrills and spill’s, Andrea Dovizioso crashed the newly designed Honda on the first lap along with Karel Abraham who had a nasty crash on Lap 1, causing Randy De Puniet to run wide of the track to avoid him, RDP managed to rejoin safely and finished 12^th.

It didn’t end there with Loris Capirossi having a nightmare end of season, colliding with Toni Elias on Lap 15, dislocating his right shoulder in the fall - we hope to see him in Motegi!

Valentino Rossi who started from the pit lane finished in 10^th behind Cal Crutchlow while Rossi’s teammate had a scrap for 7^th, piping Hector Barbera on the last lap. 

Repsol Honda's Aragon livery... Hmm.

[MotoGP Podium - Dani Pedrosa, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo]

Next up is the fly away races, we head off to Motegi, Japan first where all the riders will be racing and a plus, Yamaha will be running their red and white livery! 

Motegi

Yep, back on the subject of Motegi circuit in Japan.

Yamaha have officially confirmed both drivers will be riding at Motegi in October.
That's right, Jorge Lorenzo after not liking the idea because of concerns about radiation levels is going to be racing! Like i said before, maybe he realises he needs to win as many races as he can to take the championship from Casey Stoner...

To add to the good news they will also be racing the 50th anniversary colours for what will be the 4h time this season!! If only they'd keep the red and white colour scheme, i would never get bored of how beautiful it is.

Only in Italia!

In the sweltering heat, the Tifosi were out in full force at the Italian Grand Prix. Surrounded by a sea of red the cars lined up on the grid ready for 53 laps at Monza.

Drama started on Lap 1 with what could have been a nastier crash caused by Tonio Liuzzi in his HRT, sliding along the grass run off and into mid fielders making their way around Turn 1, he swept up Nico Rosberg and Vitaly Petrov, with several others having to avoid the incident.

This saw the Safety car come out till Lap 4, where Fernando Alonso took an early lead -a great sight for the passionate Tifosi- over Sebastian and now had to fight to retain it.

On the restart Mark Webber was a little too eager on trying to overtake Felipe Massa and knocked off his front wing under his tyre’s, Massa spun but was able to rejoin with no obvious damage to the car meanwhile Webber soon crashed out, the first time a Red Bull retired this year.

Lap 12 and the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher was in full swing, both eager to beat each other, with Schumacher showing a flare of his old racing with a naughty two move block on Hamilton, receiving a radio message from Ross Brawn to “make sure you leave room at Ascari”

Through the pits and Vettel takes the lead from Alonso with both McLarens hot on his hooves (get it?)

Hamilton slips up unable to keep up the momentum and Button was able to pass him, next up, Alonso.

Lap 36, as Vettel pits for new tyres, Alonso was slow out of the corners where Button was able to take advantage and pass him for second. Five World Champions were in the top five.

The now permanent for 2011 Renault driver, Bruno Senna had a challenging but exciting race and was able to cleanly over take Sebastien Buemi for 9^th entering the points for him and the team.

The last few laps and Hamilton was closing the gap on Alonso however he wasn’t able to make anything of it and time ran out. Sebastian Vettel won again in Monza, 3 years since his first win driving for Toro Rosso, an emotional win for the German. Joining Vettel on the podium was Jenson Button in 2^nd and Fernando Alonso, pleasing the passionate Ferrari fans with a podium spot in 3^rd.

Retirements of the race: Both Saubers retired out of the race- Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez along with Adrian Sutil, Mark Webber, Jerome D’Ambrosio, Vitaly Petrov, Nico Rosberg and Tonio Liuzzi.

Although Daniel Ricciardo crossed the line as the chequered flag went out, he was +14 laps down, a great effort and good seat time but he wasn’t classified.  


Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton: 1:26.187

 RESULTS:

The Podium celebrations:

[l-r Jenson Button (2nd) Sebastian Vettel (1st) Fernando Alonso (3rd)]

This has to be the best podium celebrations on the calendar. Incredible.

So the European races have drawn to a close and won't be back till 2012, it's gone fast, it's been great and the races have been exciting.

We now (i say that like i'm actually going, i'm not but i can dream!) move on to the fly-away races, first up is Singapore. I love the night race, the location, the track and the atmosphere. F1 Rocks will also be special along with the prospect of the reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel possibly becoming double world champion! As much as i'd like the championship to go to the wire at Brazil, let's face it, it isn't going to happen, Vettel will be crowned.

Don't miss it!

One year, one year since the MotoGP world lost an incredibly talented young rider. 
At Misano last year in the Moto2 race Shoya Tomizawa lost his life after a horrific crash that will stay with everyone in the moto world forever. It was a sad day for his family, friends, the MotoGP Paddock and fans. 


Shoya was such a loveable character, he had a cheeky, upbeat personality, he constantly had the biggest smile on his face, was respected by everyone and was a massively talented rider, a star of the future. 
He made history as the first ever Moto2 winner at Qatar last year where he stormed to the victory and made his mark on the Moto2 world. His year was on the up with several top 6 finishes and pole positions until the fatal crash at San Marino. 


For me, the race yesterday was hard to watch, it didn't feel right and i couldn't help but think of Shoya for most of it. 
I miss seeing him line up on the grid, waving to the camera with his infectious smile and positive attitude that he always portrayed. 
I miss supporting #48 


Shoya, On the track and beyond, we will always follow your line ♥

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R.I.P Shoya Tomizawa, you'll never be forgotten #48.

Misano low down

The San Marino Grand Prix is a track, which brings up a lot of emotions. This weekend saw the return of Wayne Rainey after his career ending crash in 1993 and of course the remembrance of young Japanese star Shoya Tomizawa who lost his life after a horrific crash during Moto2 last year.

The 125’s saw a battle between Johann Zarco and Nicolas Terol to the end, where Zarco made a massive mistake of looking back as he was crossing the finish line, I don’t know what was running through his head at the time but maybe next time he’ll wait till he crosses the line…

0.022s gap between the two, still no idea what Zarco was doing.

Moto2 was another exciting race; the championship is a close dual with both Stefan Bradl and Marc Marquez in the running to becoming the 2011 Moto2 champion.

The start of the race saw Brit Scott Redding take an early lead after a strong weekend for him and the team, he later slipped back to 5^th behind fellow Briton Bradley Smith paving the way for a Marquez to take the win in Misano while Stefan Bradl finished in 2^nd.

[Moto2 podium]

With the black clouds rolling in and a few spits of rain the MotoGP got underway, all bikes opted for slick tyres.

Lorenzo made his intentions clear and took the lead from Stoner at the first corner, Pedrosa stayed in touch with Stoner through out the race and it was a battle based on which position the trio would be on the podium. Meanwhile another trio where all fighting for fourth, Andrea Dovizioso, Marco Simoncelli and Ben Spies fought till the end.

Six laps to go and Dani Pedrosa took 2^nd from Stoner, making it a Spanish 1-2 with Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo finishing 1^st closing in on the championship, 35 points adrift from Stoner.

Simoncelli put in a major last lap, intense, exciting racing from the Italian who is having a good run of races currently, he took 4^th with Repsol Honda’s Dovizioso in 5^th and Spies in 6^th.

Another reasonable performance from Valentino Rossi as he managed 7^th - not quite the podium feeling of last year but a good effort considering. Meanwhile his teammate Nicky Hayden had a consecutive retirement after crashing out of the San Marino Grand Prix

A disappointing end to Loris Capirossi’ last Italian GP as he retired due to mechanical problem.

The #46 Rossi supporters out in force at Misano...

Not forgetting the Ducati lovers...

And the podium...

Next up - Motorland, Aragon!

Bruno Senna

From the retirement of Capirossi in MotoGP to a young brazilian starting up his Grand Prix career again. Bruno Senna is officially a Lotus Renault driver with now teammate Vitaly Petrov! Nick Heidfeld got replaced by Senna at Spa but after being able to settle things out of court he is now officially being replaced by Bruno Senna for the rest of the season. While this could mean the end of Nick Heidfelds F1 career, i can't help but be very happy Senna got the seat, he didn't get the chance to show his talent last year in the HRT so after his positive qualyfying in Spa let's hope he has a good run of races.

[f1-gifs.tumblr.com] Couldn't help it!

Hopefully his start will be better in Monza!

Loris Capirossi

In Thursday's press conference at Misano a teary eyed Loris Capirossi announced his retirement from MotoGP at the end of the season...

[In action - FP1 Misano] 

He''s a popular face around the paddock and received a standing ovation at the press conference, we hope he enjoys the end of the season and particularly his last Italian Grand Prix. Good luck!

Indy...

I haven't had the time to do an Indianapolis low down from last weekend so seeing as the MotoGP circus has moved on to Misano i thought i'd do a slightly different Indy low down... in picture form!


Indianapolis aka The Brickyard with home boys, Nicky Hayden, Colin Edwards and Ben Spies. The chances of an American on the podium was looking up for Ben Spies keeping up a quick pace in practise and a strong qualifying however got off to a tough start getting caught up in the mid field, narrowly missing crashing out on Lap 1... we wouldn't want to see this beauty of a bike in the gravel! Everyone agree that Yamaha should keep the red and white livery, yes?!

In all honesty the Indy GP wasn't action packed, with mechanical failures popping up Rossi landed himself at the back of the grid... somewhere where we are slowly (and i mean snail pace, not really accepting that it's happening slowly) getting used to seeing him at the back of the field struggling with his Ducati.

His teammate Nicky Hayden didn't manage to finish the race, maybe it was the wedding helmet? Maybe not but either or he had to retire due to a mechanical failure.

It was a familiar sight when Casey Stoner crossed the line and won the Indy Grand Prix, like he has done so for the majority of the races this year.

The Aussie is well on his way to becoming World Champion!
Hector Barbera was so close but so far from finishing the GP, maybe he thought he was in a stunt movie for a minute?! Sorry Barbera but that doesn't count as finishing the race...

Dani Pedrosa finished in second and to round of the podium Ben Spies finished in 3rd, his first podium since his win in Assen!

[www.motorsport.com]

Onwards and upwards and across to Italy for Misano! 

What went down at Spa?

A (very) short low down....

Let’s face it, Spa is a circuit almost all of us look forward too, it’s a classic circuit with the famous Eau Rouge, the racing kicks up a lot of excitement over the weekend, this year’s Grand Prix was no different, there was one exception - rain!

Yep, with little raindrops we still had a cracker of a race.

Lining up in their grid positions, it was time for light’s out at the Belgium GP, with a worrying amount of smoke coming from Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes it was "Go, go, go"!

Mark Webber struggled with anti-stall, again, causing him to be slow off the mark, making room for Rosberg to fly past.

In the middle and the back of the pack, Turn 1 proved to be as incident packed as ever with newbie Bruno Senna setting off for his first race for Renault he collided in to Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari - the first retirement of the race - along with the most of the back runner's getting caught up in collision.

With Red Bull very concerned pre-race about blistering tyres causing a possible safety issue, Mark Webber pitted on Lap 3 along with Jenson Button who pitted for a new nose cone. Two laps later Sebastian Vettel pitted for new tyres as well.

With Alonso, Vettel, Massa and Hamilton all fighting for the top four, Bruno Senna’s first race of the season wasn’t off to a great start, having to pit for tyres he also received a drive through penalty for causing an avoidable accident at the start.

The most controversial retirement of the race went to Lewis Hamilton, after making a move on Kamui Kobayashi at Les Combes, Kobayashi fought for the place while Hamilton turned in to take the racing line, so did Kobayashi, Hamilton went straight in the barriers and continued to the tyre wall. In my opinion, and I am a Lewis Hamilton fan but I think he may have been more to blame as If he checked his mirrors and gave a little more room to Kobayashi then it could have been avoidable however the stewards saw this as a racing incident, with the safety car out and back in by Lap 16.

The Grand Prix saw some close over takes from the likes of Mark Webber taking on Fernando Alonso, while Michael Schumacher was overtaking king on his 20 years in F1 anniversary, starting from the back of the grid he managed to move up and finish 5^th.

Jenson Button had a smooth race, taking 3^rd position on the podium and although the fear of tyres weighed on Red Bull’s shoulders they achieved a 1-2 finish with Mark Webber in 2^nd and Sebastian Vettel in 1^st, cue huge sigh of relief for the Red Bull pit wall. 

Other retirements from the race along with Lewis Hamilton and Jaime Alguersuari were Toro Rosso teammate Sebastien Buemi, Hispania’s Daniel Ricciardo and Sauber’ Sergio Perez.

[www.motorsport.com]