MotoGP: Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Preview

Drew Phillips — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:03:00 EST

2009 MotoGP Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix - Click above for a high-res image gallery

Since 2005, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca has played host to the MotoGP race series, and this year Autoblog is happy to be in attendance at this year's Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. So far, it's been quite an entertaining weekend, with plenty of excitement both in the practice and qualifying sessions. Nicky Hayden, the fan favorite and winner of the 2005 and 2006 races, put his bike into the dirt during the practice session on Saturday morning and managed to only qualify eighth in his Ducati.

Dominating the weekend so far is the Fiat Yamaha duo of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. Lorenzo was fastest in both sessions and captured the pole, but crashed twice during qualifying and was taken to the medical center with a dislocated shoulder and a bruised right foot. With Lorenzo in doubt for the race and third place qualifier Casey Stoner suffering a crash as well, it looks as though Rossi is likely to defend his win from last year and extend his points lead in the championship. Be sure to browse through our high-res gallery below, and check back for more updates from the race weekend.

Gallery: MotoGP: 2009 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Preview

MotoGP: Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Preview originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kawasaki to stay in MotoGP after all?

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 07:59:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Government/Legal, Motorcycle

To quote Mark Twain, "The rumors of Kawasaki's death in MotoGP may be greatly exaggerated." Fine, so it's not an exact quote, but the point is the same. Despite Kawasaki's assertion that it was indeed suspending its factory support from MotoGP, the threat of lawsuit may cause the team to change its mind. According to Carmelo Ezpeleta, who heads Dorna, the company that holds the rights to MotoGP, Kawasaki is contractually obligated to stay in MotoGP through 2011 and must ensure that its two ZX-RR race bikes take part in the series in 2009. Assuming this happens, Dorna will release the team from its commitment for the final two years. If Team Green chooses not to comply, Dorna will seek financial compensation. Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that Kawasaki has indeed been testing its bikes in Australia, seemingly in preparation to race in the first event of the season on April 12 in Qatar.

[Source: 2 Wheel Tuesday]

Kawasaki to stay in MotoGP after all? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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