Sepang test report

The first test of the 2009 MotoGP season was successfully concluded today with all 17 riders in attendance using Bridgestone tyres under the single tyre ruling that has come into effect for this season.

After three days of uninterrupted running in the Malaysian heat, Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner finished fastest, followed closely by Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi and Suzuki Team’s Loris Capirossi. With every machine equipped with the same tyres, the top five riders were separated by just 0.5seconds.

As per the new single tyre supplier regulations, Bridgestone brought two compounds of its slick tyre to the test - medium and hard. Each rider was supplied with a total of ten sets of tyres during the course of the three days, as well as an additional three tyres (one front and two rears) for Bridgestone’s testing purposes.

On the opening day of the test every rider was allocated two medium sets and two hard sets of tyres. A further three sets of tyres were provided per additional day with each rider selecting his combination of compounds.

The test gave Bridgestone an excellent opportunity to continue working closely with all this year’s teams and riders and also to introduce two different specifications of extra hard compound rear tyre, under development for races later in the season such as the Sachsenring and Phillip Island. Each rider was offered one of each specification, along with an additional hard compound front tyre for the testing runs, and the performance of each closely monitored.

Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager Motorcycle Race Tyre Development
“The test has been very successful for us as all the teams responded positively to the performance and durability of our tyres, and we have gathered some valuable data relating to our extra hard compound rear tyres. This will allow us to determine the best way to develop these for races later in the season. The test has also given us a lot of information that will allow us to ensure we select the correct tyre compound choices for future hot races.”

Hiroshi Yamada – Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager Motorcycle Sport Unit
“We are very pleased with the performance of our tyres following the first test of this season. Of course we have good relationships with many teams from previous years, but there are also new teams that we have recently started working with and the test has allowed us to continue to build these relationships. I’d like to thank all the teams and riders for their cooperation in this first test of the year as we look forward to the first race in Qatar. We have had very positive feedback from all the teams over the last three days and the times at the front are very close which is exciting for competition this year.”

Source:
http://www.bridgestonemotorsport.com

Melandri to start 2009 season in one-rider Kawasaki team

Kawasaki have announced that after constructive talks between themselves, Dorna and additional third parties, a new one-rider team will participate in the 2009 MotoGP World Championship.

The decision was made after negotiations which followed Kawasaki’s January 2009 announcement to suspend its factory supported MotoGP activities, due to the global economic downturn.

The rider for the new MotoGP team will be the Italian 26 year-old Marco Melandri. The team will be equipped with Kawasaki motorcycles and supporting materials.

That Kawasaki has arrived at this new team approach is the result of both the need for a significant reduction of MotoGP racing investments and the simultaneous necessity to come to a constructive solution for all related parties.

The new team will disclose more details about its 2009 season plans shortly.

Elias fit and ready for Qatar test

Preparing for his fifth season in the premier class, Toni Elias has been working as hard as ever on his physical fitness ahead of the Official MotoGP Night Test in Qatar.

Making his final preparations for the 2009 FIM MotoGP World Championship Toni Elias this week invited motogp.com to join him for some cycling and motocross training sessions close to his home town of Manresa, on the outskirts of Barcelona.

In his fifth year in the MotoGP class, Elias this year returns to the Honda Gresini team he rode for in 2006 and 2007 having spent last season on Ducati satellite machinery. He has been given a factory RC212V for 2009 and started the preseason as the fastest Honda rider at the Malaysia test having worked hard on his fitness over the winter – following an operation in December.

He has kept the pace up since then with various forms of training and explained his regime saying, “I try to vary my fitness work as much as possible and do something different every day so that it doesn’t get boring. I go to the gym and go cycling and running and do motocross.”

“This year the Championship will be as intense as ever and we won’t have much time to come home and train,” continued the Catalan. “The most important training sessions are the races themselves so between the GPs it is just keep fit, whereas now we are really working hard to increase fitness levels. I’m actually still coming back from my operation, so I haven’t reached 100% yet.”

Summarising the winter scene for the MotoGP riders as a whole he added, “During the break all the riders take maximum advantage to get over old injuries and have any surgery required like Dani Pedrosa, Casey Stoner and myself have done this time. It’s tough to be back at 100% for the first test, but I think everyone will be totally ready for the first race of the year.”

The San Carlo Honda Gresini Team rider also made reference to the recent cost reduction moves in MotoGP which have seen testing and practice sessions reduced, saying of the three preseason tests at Sepang, Losail and Jerez, “As there are less tests we have to plan things differently, almost treating them like Grands Prix weekends. You have to be completely organised in order to get things done properly in the three days. With these three tests we have to be ready for the first race. If it helps to make things less expensive then it is a good thing.”

Elias, who has one GP win to his name at Estoril in 2006, previewed the 2009 season, revealing, “I don’t want to get ahead of myself but I realise I have a big chance this year. I have set myself certain goals to aim for and I only have myself to answer to.”

LG GB130

Specifications
LG GB130
Network2G
3G
GSM 900 / 1800
SizeDimensions
Weight
Display
103 x 47 x 15.6 mm (4.06 x 1.85 x 0.61 in)

TFT, 65K colors
120 x 160 pixels, 2.0 inches (~100 ppi pixel density)
MemoryPhonebook
Call records
Internal
Card slot
Yes, Photocall
20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls
64 MB
DataGPRS
EDGE
3G
WLAN
Bluetooth
Infrared port
USB
Yes





Yes
FeaturesOS
CPU
Messaging
Alert
Browser
Radio
GPS
Games
Camera
Video
Colors
Java


SMS
Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic, MP3 ringtones, composer
WAP 2.0/xHTML
FM radio

Yes


Black
MIDP 2.0
- Loudspeaker
- Mini-SIM
- MP3 player
- Organizer
- Predictive text input
- Clock
- Calendar
- Alarm
Battery
Stand-by
Talk time
Standard battery, Li-Ion 950 mAh
Up to
Up to

Image: http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_gb130-pictures-2699.php

LG KT770

Specifications
LG KT770
Network2G
3G
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
HSDPA 850 / 2100
SizeDimensions
Weight
Display
111 x 51.5 x 15.8 mm (4.37 x 2.03 x 0.62 in)

TFT, 256K colors
240 x 400 pixels, 2.8 inches (~167 ppi pixel density)
MemoryPhonebook
Call records
Internal
Card slot
Yes
Yes
120 MB
microSD, up to 16 GB
DataGPRS
EDGE
3G
WLAN
Bluetooth
Infrared port
USB
Yes
Yes
HSPA 7.2/0.384 Mbps
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
v2.0

microUSB v2.0
FeaturesOS
CPU
Messaging
Alert
Browser
Radio
GPS
Games
Camera
Video
Colors
Java
Symbian OS 9.3 Series60 rel. 3.2.3

SMS, EMS, MMS, IM
Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic, MP3 ringtones, composer
WAP 2.0/xHTML MP 1.1, HTML 4.01

Yes
Yes
5 MP, autofocus, LED flash
480p@30fps
Black
MIDP 2.1
- Loudspeaker
- Mini-SIM
- Touch-sensitive navigation keys
- Geo-tagging, face, smile and blink detection
- VGA videocall camera
- WMV/RV/MP4/3GP player
- MP3/WMA/WAV/RA/AAC/M4A player
- Organizer
- Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF)
- Voice memo
- Predictive text input
- Clock
- Calendar
- Alarm
Battery
Stand-by
Talk time
Standard battery, Li-Ion 950 mAh
Up to
Up to

Image: http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_kt770-pictures-2701.php

Kubica is Poland's richest sportsman

BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica is, according to Super Express, Poland's richest sportsman.

The Polish tabloid revealed that the country's only Grand Prix driver so far earned just under three million euros in 2008, placing Kubica firmly at the top of Poland's equivalent of The Times Richlist in the UK.

Kubica topped the list, well ahead of Manchester United's second goal keeper Tomasz Kuszczak and Sebastian Janikowski, player in American football.

Source:
http://f1.gpupdate.net

Williams's Parr expects another team to go

By Pablo Elizalde
Williams's CEO Adam Parr believes another Formula One team will leave the sport before the start of the 2009 season.

"I had expected one or two teams to pull out of Formula One imminently," Parr told Reuters in an interview.

"And I also said that it was not necessarily going to be just independent teams that were involved.

"I believe that we probably will lose another team before the beginning of next season and there is a very high chance it will be a manufacturer."

Japanese manufacturer Honda announced last week that it was withdrawing from Formula One with immediate effect due to the world's financial crisis.

The Brackley-based squad have been put up for sale and their chiefs are trying to find a buyer before the start of the season in Melbourne in March.

Parr said Honda's decision came as a consequence "of unlimited and unrestrained spending."

"Honda didn't have to leave Formula One, it chose to," added Parr. "Williams would never choose to leave Formula One. So long as we can rub together a few pennies and put together a half-decent budget, we are going to go racing.

"If we have to tailor what we spend to a lower income, then we'll do that. To me, it's just completely illogical to talk about Williams leaving Formula One."

He added: "We believe that our position is pretty much different to all the other teams because every other team in Formula One is primarily dependent on one of its shareholders that is providing either all or a very high proportion of the income for the team.

"That shareholder is in Formula One primarily for marketing reasons. They can at any time decide that the cost-benefit ratio of leaving Formula One makes sense.

"The difference with Williams is that we don't have a choice about being in F1, that is what we do."

Source:
http://www.autosport.com

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