Category: Moto GP

1. World GP Bike Legends sponsors Remy Gardner at Jerez MotoGP‏

   Posted on 12:00pm Saturday 2nd May 2015

   Rising star in Moto3 and son of racing legend Wayne Gardner backed by upcoming classic GP extravaganza.

   World GP Bike Legends will be in the international spotlight this weekend at the MotoGP World Championship, Jerez, as it teams up with Remy Gardner and team CIP Moto. Remy, son of 1987 World Champion Wayne Gardner, is now carving his own path in grand prix motorcycle racing in the fiercely competitive proving ground of Moto3.

   About Remy Gardner and CIP Moto
   
   Remy has been riding bikes since he was four years old and was introduced to road racing aged eleven. After competing in the Spanish CEV championship, Remy is ambitious and dedicated to developing a successful GP career. For 2015 he signed with the CIP Moto team to become the only Australian riding full time in Moto3 – Remy's Mahindra MGP30 is one of nine Mahindra bikes competing in the current season. Remy is the eldest son of 1987 500cc motorcycle World Champion Wayne Gardner and has already shown plenty of that same courage and talent that took the Wollongong Whiz to the pinnacle of the sport.

   In 1987 Wayne was the first Australian to win the premier motorcycle racing class aboard a brutal 500cc Honda – he also won the first ever GP at Jerez in the same year. Now he will be racing in the first ever World GP Bike Legends festival, also at Jerez on 19-21 June.

   World GP Bike Legends is a full three-day motorcycle festival not only featuring an incredible line-up of former world champions and race winners competing against each other on classic machinery, but also a host of off-track entertainment too. Live music from Bonnie Tyler, Toseland and some of the best-known tribute acts will close the show on Friday and Saturday nights, whilst live action displays, classic and modern bike displays, a classic auction and a shopping village will keep fans entertained from dawn to dusk.

   Nick Wigley, CEO of World GP Bike Legends organiser, Goose Live Events, is delighted to have Remy riding under the WGPBL banner, and said: “We've come to know Wayne really well recently and we believe that Remy has it in his blood to do well. It’s fantastic to be able to back a budding young talent at World Championship level, whilst at the same time looking back and appreciating the path riders like his father carved to bring racing to where it is today. We hope that the MotoGP fans making the pilgrimage to Jerez will feel the same way and book another trip to the famous circuit in June and see Wayne racing again.”
   
   Wayne Gardner, rider ambassador for the event, and one of the many legends taking to the track to compete said: “It’s brilliant to be able to share my racing with my boys. It’s Remy’s first full season in Moto3 and he’s learning so much every event – hopefully he’ll be able to give me some tips after the Jerez Moto3 round before I line up on the grid in June! I’m so excited about getting out and racing with my rivals again, and to have World GP Bike Legends supporting Remy is fantastic.”
   
   Remy Gardner, CIP Moto team rider in the 2015 Moto3 World Championship, said: “There are going to be two awesome weekends at Jerez this year – one now and one when my Dad races in June! Everyone knows how hardcore those 500cc 2-strokes were, so I think it’s a great chance for MotoGP fans to go along and check it out. Hopefully we can keep moving forward this weekend and get some strong results for CIP Moto – a big thanks to World GP Bike Legends for supporting me!"

   For more information about World GP Bike Legends including ticket details, rider line-up, entertainment, live music and all the latest news about this three-day motorcycle festival, head to www.worldgpbikelegends.com

2. MOTOGP HEADS TO EUROPE FOR THE JEREZ ROUND

   Posted on 10:58am Wednesday 29th Apr 2015

   Bautista and Melandri are keen to confirm the progress demonstrated during the last race in Argentina
   
   Jerez (Spain), 28 April 2015 - Aprilia Racing Team Gresini comes to the first European round to confirm the initial progress demonstrated by the RS-GP bikes in the American rounds. At Austin the first point was earned thanks to Bautista's placement and in Argentina the gap behind the leaders and the central pack of bikes and riders was reduced significantly with Melandri almost catching his team mate up.

   The classic round on the Jerez track is just around the corner to confirm and consolidate this growth process which is the primary goal of the 2015 season for the Italian team. The first set of European races should also allow the team to work more on the bikes and accelerate development.
   
   
   ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
   "The first three races showed us just how big a challenge we accepted by entering MotoGP a year ahead of schedule. It's no surprise but rather it confirms that the level of bikes and riders, grown compared to recent seasons, is very high. For this reason we are looking at our initial progress as a positive and important sign. In particular in Argentina both riders crossed the wire, reduced the gap behind the leaders and finished just a few seconds (just over four) behind that central pack which is our goal at the moment. Marco has also come much closer to Alvaro in confirmation of his improved feeling with the bike. These are all important indications that we need to confirm. The next few weeks will also let us to speed up development on the RS-GP, an operation which is quite complex during non-European rounds, following the indications that can out of this first part of the season."
   
   FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
   “At Jerez the long European season of the Championship begins on a track where we have already tested. It would be nice to be able to take a few more steps forward. After all, in Argentina we already showed that we can fight for positions from twelfth on, which is in line with our expectations. We'll keep working to grow step by step, determined and strongly motivated.”
   
   ALVARO BAUTISTA
   "Like every year the Jerez round is a special occasion for me. There will be a lot of fans there to support me. We'll keep working hard on developing the bike like we did both in Austin and in Argentina, hoping to be able to identify new valid solutions. The track is very difficult with all kinds of turns so it will be important to work well on the setup and on power distribution as well because there are a lot of sections where the bikes restart at low speeds where good grip is needed.”
   
   MARCO MELANDRI
   “The Jerez track is really nice but it is also quite difficult and complete from a technical point of view with both slow turns and fast turns. Restarting after the slow curves is a particularly demanding situation where we need to improve but I'm counting a lot on the technical changes that Aprilia has prepared for this round. I hope that they will let us take another step forward. We'll be putting forth our best effort as always.”

3. THIRD ROUND IN ARGENTINA FOR MOTOGP

   Posted on 9:00pm Friday 17th Apr 2015

   Bautista and Melandri, even on dodgy asphalt, worked hard in free practice developing the RS-GP bikes
   
   Termas de Rio Hondo (Argentina), 17 April 2015 - Just a week after the American round in Austin, which brought Aprilia Racing Team Gresini their first point thanks to Alvaro Bautista's placing, MotoGP begins practice for the Argentinian GP. The first two sessions on the Termas de Rio Hondo track were conditioned by the condition of the tarmac. The quite dirty and not very rubberised surface create a particular tyre wear situation.
   
   Even in these conditions Bautista (11th in the morning and 22nd in the second session) and Melandri (19th in FP1 and 24th in FP2) moved forward working on the evolution of the RS-GP bikes. In particular Marco, who tested some brand new solutions on his bike, found a better riding feeling compared to all the previous outings.
   
   ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
   "After the first laps with the best performance tyre we are losing a lot of traction straight away. Alvaro could also have improved on his flying lap but clearly that cannot be our primary goal. We need to work on this tomorrow although a lot depended on the track which is really destroying the soft tyres quickly in these conditions. Even with the asphalt situation we had Marco made some encouraging progress in terms of his general riding feeling."
   
   FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
   "This track gave us these problems last year already. Until it gets rubberised it creates problems for the tyres in just a few laps. I think tomorrow things will change. We'll wait for the next sessions to see what the real values are on the track."
   
   ALVARO BAUTISTA
   "The track was very hungry today and it ate up all the tyres. Already from this morning we had to use two sets of tyres and in the afternoon I went out with a used tyre. By the end I really didn't have any rubber left to try and improve on my time. Tomorrow we'll have to work hard to improve our grip anyway. But I also think that a better asphalt grip situation will be a great help since such poor traction particularly penalises us."
   
   MARCO MELANDRI
   "For the first time I had a decent session. The team did a great job trying some different ideas and implementing some setups that we had never tried before, catering to my needs, and I found a bike that I was able to ride better. Naturally there is still a lot of work to do but it is an improvement. The track conditions will change gradually as it gets more rubberised, so we'll have to wait until tomorrow."

4. Grand Prix of the Americas, Qualifying

   Posted on 9:00am Sunday 12th Apr 2015

   SATURDAY MOTOGP QUALIFIERS AT AUSTIN. BAUTISTA ENDS THE DAY IN 23rd PLACE, 25th FOR MELANDRI
   
   Austin (USA), 11 April 2015 - In the final free practice sessions (FP3 and FP4) and in the qualifying session that determines the starting grid order, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini continued working on development of the RS-GP bikes.

   After finishing in 19th place in FP3, Bautista had to forego the bike he had used for that time due to a technical problem. I wasn't able to find that feeling and he had to settle for a time of 2'05,595, taking 23rd place which places him on the eighth row of the starting grid tomorrow.
   In the decisive session Marco Melandri improved his time (2'07,267) compared to the free practice sessions, but not enough to move up from 25th place which puts him on the ninth row for tomorrow's race.
   
   ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
   "We used Alvaro's second bike for a few tests on various settings but a problem with the first bike toward the end of FP4 forced him to take the bike that he had less of a feeling with onto the track. For the race we need to go back to the standard we had in the free practice sessions, which will definitely give us better results than what we did in the qualifiers."
   
   FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
   "We are working hard and obviously in this period it isn't a simple thing to translate our efforts into performance straight away. In any case, we were able to get a glimpse of a hint of improvement from Alvaro during the weekend. Of course we want to begin making more progress, but we knew that in these rounds so far from Europe it wouldn't be easy because there isn't much time to react and make significant changes. Tomorrow we want to finish the race to rack up some more miles and precious experience."
   
   ALVARO BAUTISTA
   "We worked a lot on the electronics to have better power management, trying a lot of solutions that will also be useful for the future. But for the qualifiers I was forced to take out the other bike with a different setup and I wasn't able to take advantage of all the work we had done up to that point. It's a shame because I'm sure I would have been able to lap faster. For tomorrow the unknown is the weather. If we have a wet race it will be important to set a good pace straight away. In any conditions, and considering how things went in Qatar, the important thing will be to finish the race."
   
   MARCO MELANDRI
   "Until we get back to Europe and can count on more consistent developments we'll just have to grit our teeth and try to learn from each session. Only when I'm completely at ease in the saddle will I be able to push the way I'd like to."

5. BMW Motorrad España partners with World GP Bike Legends‏

   Posted on 9:39am Saturday 11th Apr 2015

   For bikers the journey is in the destination. It’s about experiencing the here and now. But it’s more than that. It’s a way of life. It’s our attitude.

   World GP Bike Legends is pleased to announce BMW’s latest destination – Jerez Circuit. The 19-21 June 2015 will see the inaugural weekend festival aimed at reliving the Golden Era of grand prix motorcycle racing.

   BMW Motorrad España is partnering with the festival to offer visitors the opportunity to compare classic icons to the present day models. The full range of BMW motorcycles will be on display complemented by an extensive exhibition of motorsport machinery from decades passed. Successfully competing in World Championship series since 1924, BMW’s have won everything from Superbikes and Grands Prix to the Dakar Rally!

   Nick Wigley, CEO of Goose Live Events Worldwide, the event promoter, remarked “We are hugely excited to announce the involvement of BMW Motorrad España in the first ever World GP Bike Legends – it’s an iconic brand with over 90 years of motorcycle racing history. Visitors will no doubt enjoy the opportunity to get up close to both the classic and current BMW models on display.”

   BMW Motorrad has had an emphasis on sophisticated design and clever functionality throughout its history – be sure to read up on its development of pre-war supercharged boxer engines that went on to dominate sidecar grids. Today, reliable and powerful engines complemented by sublime suspension create a ride so enjoyable they inspire adventure and it’s now the focus message. MAKE LIFE A RIDE.

   World GP Bike Legends. 19-21 June 2015 Jerez Circuit, Spain.

   How will you get there?

   Visit www.worldgpbikelegends.com for all information on the Legendary riders, support grids, live music and festival entertainment.