The facts seem a little confusing at the moment, from what I gather he was conscious and OK after the fall, whilst taking him for check-ups he took a turn for the worse so they then induced a coma and ran tests which showed no damage. Now they are waiting until he comes round to see how he is...

If I have mis-translated this from the Italian news then someone can put me right.

Rossi warns Simoncelli over Mugello move

By Michele Lostia Saturday, June 7th 2008, 17:12 GMT

Valentino Rossi and the Riders' Safety Commission warned 250cc rider Marco Simoncelli after a controversial accident at last week's Mugello race. While running on the Tuscan track's long straight at the beginning of the last lap, Simoncelli swerved suddenly to try and prevent rival Hector Barbera from catching his Gilera's slipstream, without noticing that the Spaniard's front wheel was so close to his own rear.


The unprotected front brake lever on the Aprilia clashed with the Italian and sent the former in a high-speed cartwheel that threw Barbera tumbling down the straight and hitting the right-hand side barriers, luckily with no consequences.


Simoncelli, who was not reprimanded by race control, got a verbal warning today at Barcelona after the Riders' Safety Commission met yesterday to discuss the accident, as explained by Rossi.


"Together with the other riders and the race directors we said that it is not permissable to move like this on the straight," said the seven-time champion.


"They gave Simoncelli a warning because if you change line on the straight and touch another guy, it's very dangerous. The other riders, like Loris (Capirossi), (Casey) Stoner and everyone else, were agreed on this. So they spoke to Simoncelli and gave him like a yellow card, a warning.


"After the race they decided it was okay, (but) everybody agreed that they had to speak to Simoncelli. It was important to speak to him in time before the next race.


"It's a problem especially in 125cc and 250cc because in MotoGP with the speed and the downforce it's not possible to change line on the straight."
A similar accident happened in MotoGP at Barcelona two years ago, when the brake lever on Sete Gibernau's Ducati was accidently hit in a clash at the start of the race, sending the Spaniard crashing heavily and breaking his shoulder.


Rossi added that, in order to prevent such accidents from happening, it would be useful if the bike manufacturers build devices to protect the brake levers from being accidently hit in clashes.


"They'll have to speak another time with the manufacturers about the protection of the brake lever," said the Italian.


Stoner, who also takes part in the Safety Commission, was unwilling to comment on the warning.


"We've spoken about things, but I think what's said in there can stay in there," said the Australian. "I'm not really willing to discuss anything that goes on. We don't just talk about one thing, so if you ask me something about safety, we speak about a lot of things and not just one subject."



I use to say the same if I fell asleep during a meeting...

It's acceptable if he fell asleep. What if he doesn't fall asleep but his brain doesn't compute on discussion that took place that made him answered that way.

In other words KC has no clue as to what went on in the meeting!! What a dumbo..

You didn't ever do that did you?

It does make you wonder whether he is telling the truth here or if he really did not hear or did not understand.

He is not exactly known for holding back on his criticism of other riders is he?

its good that the safety issues are discussed immediately after such an incident... so that the rider in question will be more carefull next time...

and yes KC was not paying attention... he was thinking about how he will manage his bike in the race... you see he can process only one thing at a time

ow I hope shanghai will stay. it's a good track. max back? umm..could be interesting. I read on crash about sete testing dukes..

Casey Stoner confident with new electronics

By Matthew Birt
MotoGP
19 June 2008 17:19
Reigning world champion Casey Stoner is confident new electronic settings will help his bid for a second successive victory in the British MotoGP.
The Aussie is chasing a first win since the opening race in Qatar at Donington Park on Sunday, confident a revised electronics set-up he first tested in Catalunya earlier this month will boost his victory hopes.
The 22-year-old, who did not attend a Riders for Health charity auction today after being booed by a minority of fans on stage a year ago, said: “The bike is moving lot less coming off the corners and is easier to ride and a lot easier to do the times I was much faster than I managed in the race.
“It’s a lot smoother coming off the corners, which makes it easier going into the next corner because it is not moving. In Catalunya we struggled for traction.
“I had no grip and the bike was moving all over the shop and it was very, very difficult to ride. But with the engine management changes we tried we dropped nearly one second off my lap times.
“It is the same electronics system just a new setting and it smoothes the engine out and doesn’t make it quite as peaky so it drives a bit harder rather spin.”

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TO CONTINUE AT MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA
THROUGH 2014

Contract Extended for Five Additional Years

MONTEREY, Calif. (June 19, 2008) - The sound of MotoGP race bikes will
continue to reverberate from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca at least through
2014, as Dorna Sports, organizers of the MotoGP World Championship,
agreed to a five-year extension of the contract previously slated to end
after the 2009 race.

The Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix featuring the MotoGP World Championship is
Northern California's largest motorsports event since it debuted in
2005. MotoGP bikes are purpose-built prototype race bikes made by
competing manufacturers Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, and Ducati.
Last year's race winner, Australian Casey Stoner, also went on to win
the World Championship. The "Kentucky Kid," American Nicky Hayden, won
the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix in 2005 and 2006.

"This is tremendous news on so many levels," said Gill Campbell, CEO of
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. "MotoGP is the world's premier motorcycle
racing series, and we now have the pleasure of hosting it for the next
six years. Everyone from the fans, to the track, to the local community
will benefit greatly from this extension."

"We couldn't have this contract extension without the assistance of our
major sponsors including Red Bull, Parts Unlimited and, of course,
Yamaha, who funded the major track improvements that have allowed us to
continue hosting MotoGP," said Campbell.

"We are pleased to continue the relationship between the MotoGP World
Championship and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca," said Carmelo Ezpeleta,
Dorna CEO. "The facility has gone to great lengths to improve the
experience for both fans and riders, and we look forward to continuing
to racing on the Monterey Peninsula for years to come.

The biggest event on Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca's 2008 schedule - the Red
Bull U.S. Grand Prix - attracted more than 140,000 fans in 2007. This
year's race takes place July 18-20 and includes support races from AMA
Superbike, Supersport and Red Bull U.S. Rookies Cup.

Tickets for next month's Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix are available by
calling 1-800-327-SECA during normal business hours (8am-5pm PDT) or
logging onto www.laguna-seca. com or www.ticketmaster.com. Event
information is also available at www.redbullusgrandprix.com.

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was established in 1957. The world-renowned
raceway has been operated since its inception by the Sports Car Racing
Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP), a not-for-profit 501C(4)
corporation. Each race season, SCRAMP donates its net proceeds to the
volunteer groups that help put on the races.

Gibernau to Ducati at Sachsenring?

Sunday, 22nd June 2008

Former MotoGP World Championship runner-up Sete Gibernau to replace struggling Marco Melandri at Ducati?

By Mike Nicks

Rumours persist in the MotoGP paddock that former world No 2 Sete Gibernau will return to the grid this year on a Marlboro Ducati GP8 - possibly as soon as the German GP at Sachsenring on July 13.

Gibernau, 35, completed three days of tests in Barcelona earlier this week on the carbon-fibre-framed GP9 prototype, and it is believed that next week he will test the current GP8 machine, that so far only Casey Stoner out of four Ducati riders has proved capable of handling.


"I'm not going to be Melandri's hangman, or anyone's," Gibernau told a radio station in his native Catalunya yesterday, referring to Marco Melandri's horrific season on the GP8.

But it is hard to imagine that Melandri will last the season on a bike on which he feels no confidence.

Gibernau is most often remembered by fans as the man who crumbled under Valentino Rossi's pressure, but the fact is that Gibernau would have become a double world champion - he finished runner-up to Rossi in 2003-04 on a satellite Gresini Honda - if he hadn't happened to come up against possibly the greatest motorcycle racer since the 1960s legend Mike Hailwood.

Gibernau rode for Ducati Marlboro in 2006, but retired with injuries at the end of the year.

Meanwhile, check the performance of the other three Ducati riders - Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli on the Alice bikes, as well as Melandri - in today's MotoGP race, because each of them has available the modified software that has transformed Casey Stoner's performance.

The Alice duo have used the software throughout the weekend, but don't expect Stoner-style miracles. They're reporting to their technicians that, for them, it doesn't make a lot of difference.



Gi