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Pedrosa sets pace as Rossi blows up in Japan GP
MOTEGI (Japan): Closing in on his first MotoGP world title in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix, Australian Casey Stoner could finish only fifth quickest in practice yesterday.
However, the Ducati rider's only real challenger for the title, Italian Valentino Rossi, suffered engine failure and recorded just the 14th fastest time in Motegi.
Honda's Dani Pedrosa led the way in both morning and afternoon free practices, clocking the best combined time of 1:47.865.
 | Crowd favourite: Italian MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi (centre) signs autographs during the free practice session at the Japan Grand Prix in Motegi yesterday
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But the Spaniard is 99 points behind Stoner in the standings with just three races to go this season after tomorrow's race and would need a miracle to pinch the title.
Meanwhile, Pedrosa has inked a new two-year deal with current team Honda, the team announced yesterday.
Pedrosa, who has yet to win a world title in the GP category having claimed two crowns in 250cc and one in 125cc, will race for another two seasons with teammate and reigning world champion Nicky Hayden of the United States.
Rossi kept his mathematical hopes alive with victory in Portugal last week but still trails Stoner by 76 points.
Rossi needs to beat Stoner again this weekend but the four-time MotoGP world champion got off to a bad start when he pulled into the pit lane with smoke billowing from his Yamaha.
Rossi has never won a four-stroke race at Motegi, while Ducati have dominated at the 揟win Ring |
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Reply #243 mirage_46's post
race gila jugak la tadi...
aku suka... |
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congrat stoner.....the new world champ :pompom:
the doctor will be back next sezen.... |
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lobak_sawi This user has been deleted
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stoner moto laju boleh la..cube bg moto ducati ke rossi makan asap je la stoner |
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Stoner seals MotoGP world title in eventful race
MOTEGI: Australian Casey Stoner clinched a sensational first MotoGP world title by finishing ahead of Italy's Valentino Rossi in yesterday's Japanese Grand Prix.
The 21-year-old finished sixth with Rossi's mathematical hopes of halting the Ducati rider's championship charge ended as his Yamaha limped home in 13th on a wet Motegi track.
 | Dramatic: Combination picture shows Honda rider Dani Pedrosa of Spain falling off his bike during the Japanese Grand Prix in Motegi yesterday-
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Stoner became his country's first world champion since Mick Doohan won the last of his five 500cc crowns in 1998 and also the second youngest premier-class champion in the sport's history.
As Stoner pulled a wheelie on crossing the finish line the Ducati pit crew danced with delight as the Italian manufacturer celebrated their first MotoGP title.
Ducati also became the first non-Japanese team to win the premier-class title since MV Agusta won the 500cc championship in 1974.
揑t's a little bit overwhelming because we didn't really expect to get it at this race, |
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Reply #247 lobak_sawi's post
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buleh apa.....dah nasib rossi nak kena season ni nak buat macam mana....ducati memang laju tapi ada kelemahan kat tempat len jugak.... |
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abe rossi wut kambek taon depan...tungguuuu... |
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yeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaa |
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Alex retires after just eight laps in the feature race
PETALING JAYA: It was not the best of starts Malaysia's Alex Yoong was looking for in the opening round of the A1 Grand Prix championships at the Zandvoort Circuit in Holland yesterday.
Alex's hopes of fighting his way up from the back of the grid in the feature race was crushed when he retired after just eight laps due to mechanical problems.
Oliver Jarvis of of Great Britain won the 45-lap feature race.
 | Alex: Out due to mechanical problems.
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Zaugg finished second and garnered 28 points altogether to lead the standings after the first round.
The second round will take place at Brno in Czech Republic on Oct 14.
In the 12-lap sprint race held earlier, Alex finished out of the points in 16th place.
Under new regulations this season, points are awarded to the top 10 finishers in the sprint race.
The Malaysian driver had started on the wrong note, no thanks to a wrong rear set-up, which led to poor times in the free practice and qualifying sessions.
The situation was made worse by constant bad weather and Alex's outing was doomed from the start when he qualified in 20th place for both the sprint and feature races.
This season, separate qualifying sessions were introduced for the sprint and feature races. Previously, the results of the sprint race were used to determine the grid positions for the feature race.
Alex chalked up three race wins en route to finishing sixth in the championships last year.
South African Adrian Zaugg won the sprint race yesterday in what was a repeat of last year's results.
He finished ahead of France's Loic Duval and Jeroen Bleekemolen earned cheers from the home crown in third place.
RESULTS
Sprint: 1. South Africa (Adrian Zaugg) 18:01.087, 2. France (Loic Duval) 18:08.619, 3. Holland (Jeroen Bleekemolen) 18:09.184, 4. Mexico (Salvador Duran) 18:09.292.
Selected: 16. Malaysia (Alex Yoong) 18:36.982.
Feature: 1. Great Britain (Oliver Jarvis) 1'09:51.394, 2. South Africa (Adrian Zaugg) 1'09:57.136, 3. Switzerland (Neel Jani) 1'09:59.36, 4. Mexico (Salvador Duran) 1'10:02.91.
Selected: 21. Malaysia (Alex Yoong) 37 laps behind. |
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Motorsports: Proton gets its A1
PETALING JAYA: Proton has signed on with Team A1 Malaysia for another three seasons starting with the 2007/2008 season last Friday in Shah Alam.
The national car maker has been sponsoring the team, which competes in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsports, since the inaugural season in 2005/2006.
"As a national company we are proud to be able to support our homegrown talents and provide them with all the support they need to develop and grow. They have shown significant improvement over the years and are proving to be a force to be reckoned with," said Proton Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir at the signing ceremony.
"We have every confidence in their ability and our agreement to sponsor the team for another three seasons is proof of our commitment to their development."
Syed Zainal signed the sponsorship agreement on behalf of Proton while A1 Team Malaysia was represented by its commercial director Owen Leed.
"The team did very well last year and we抳e been working very hard to improve our performance for this season. It抯 going to be an exciting season all round, with a Malaysian round scheduled for Nov 25 at Sepang International Circuit," said Leed.
A1 Team Malaysia ended last season as the best Asian team when they, led by drivers Alex Yoong and Fairuz Fauzy and supported by rookie Aaron Lim, finished sixth overall in the standings. |
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The four girls to drive for Red Bull
PETALING JAYA: The search for the talented female drivers is over with the announcement of the four winners of the Red Bull Female Driver Search yesterday.
Norbaizura Ruslan, Leona Chin, Puteri Ayu Jasmin and Norlina Johor were selected after three stints of intensive driving programmes at the Sepang International Circuit, Port Dickson and Kuala Lumpur over the past two months.
The stints involved 12 Malaysian female drivers selected from a pool of 600 hopefuls to form a Red Bull race team for the Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race next year. AMN Motorsport co-coordinated the programme.
Fast girls: The Red Bull Female Driver Search winners (from left) Norlina Johor, Leona Chin, Puteri Ayu Jasmin and Norbaizura Ruslan.
Marketing director of AMN Motorsport Najmi Razak said: 揥e were pleasantly surprised with the level of talent out there. Choosing the final four from the 12 finalists was very tough. The winners demonstrated immense finesse and skill. |
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Proton sign up again as A1 Team sponsors for three years
 | A deal: A1 Team Malaysia抯 commercial director Owen Leed and Proton Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir signing the documents yesterday.
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PETALING JAYA: Proton have signed on as sponsors of the A1 Team Malaysia for another three seasons.
Proton Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said at a signing ceremony in Shah Alam on Friday that they would provide home grown talent with all the support they need to develop and grow.
揥e came on board as sponsors in the inaugural season (2005-06). We have enjoyed a good relationship with A1 Team Malaysia throughout this time and are optimistic of their growth and performance in this sport. |
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Proton sign up again as A1 Team sponsors for three years
| | A deal: A1 Team Malaysia抯 commercial director Owen Leed and Proton Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir signing the documents yesterday.
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PETALING JAYA: Proton have signed on as sponsors of the A1 Team Malaysia for another three seasons.
Proton Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said at a signing ceremony in Shah Alam on Friday that they would provide home grown talent with all the support they need to develop and grow.
揥e came on board as sponsors in the inaugural season (2005-06). We have enjoyed a good relationship with A1 Team Malaysia throughout this time and are optimistic of their growth and performance in this sport. |
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Motor Racing: Jazeman homes in on racing history
 | Race on: Jazeman Jaafar in full concentration before the start of Round 18 yesterday
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PETALING JAYA: Jazeman Jaafar is closer to his goal of winning the Formula BMW Asia Series title in his first season of participation after scoring a well-deserved second spot in Round 18 at the Shanghai International Circuit yesterday.
Although he finished behind Colombian Sebastian Saavedra, the 14-year-old Malaysian secured maximum points because the winning driver was not registered to score points in the Series.
The field will return to China for the last four races at the Zhuhai International Circuit on Nov 3-4 and Jazeman, with 660 points, holds a 66-point advantage in the championship standings.
Indonesian Zahir Ali moved up into second spot on 594 ahead of Thailand's James Grunwell, who failed to finish the the race yesterday.
Changing weather conditions made it difficult for the drivers. Jazeman, who won Round 17 on Saturday, started from pole and could have taken victory but for the misfortune of being rear-ended by Saavedra's car midway into the race.
However, the Malaysian managed to bring the car under control to finish the 10-lap race in 24:38.343.
Jazeman said that the effects of hard driving took a toll on his tyres.
揝ebastian soon caught up with me and I was quite surprised at how aggressive he was. He hit me quite hard and I nearly went into a spin. But the good thing was I was expecting it, |
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Norick Abe dies in accident
TOKYO: Japanese motorcycle racer Norifumi "Norick'' Abe, whose career in racing spanned 10 years, died in a traffic accident near his home in Kawasaki on Sunday. He was 32.
According to local police, Abe was riding his motorcycle when he collided with a truck that was making a U-turn.
Abe made his world championship debut in 1994 as a wild card at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The first of Abe's three wins in the world championship came in 1996 in Japan. He had a total of 17 podium finishes from his 144 grand prix appearances.
His last race in MotoGP was in 2004 at the Valencia Grand Prix.
Since leaving the world championship, Abe had been competing in Japan as part of the All-Japan Superbike Championship.
According to police, the truck made an illegal U-turn from the left lane of a four-lane road in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, colliding with Abe's motorbike, which had been coming up behind in the right-hand lane.
The police are questioning the driver of the truck on the case. |
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Post time 22-9-2007 04:17 PM
