Capirossi to join Suzuki in 2008

Veteran MotoGP rider Loris Capirossi will race for Suzuki next season with an option to stay on in 2009.

The 34-year-old Italian is being replaced at current team Ducati by Marco Melandri next year.
Capirossi held talks with Ducati about staying on but was unhappy with the way the team handled Melandri's signing.

"The moment has come for a change and to try new challenges," said Capirossi, who will ride alongside Australian Chris Vermeulen at Suzuki.

There are eight rounds to go in this season's MotoGP championship, beginning with this weekend's Czech GP.

Capirossi, who is in his 18th season in world championship motorcycling, is eighth in the overall standings.

Stoner cruises to Czech victory

World championship leader Casey Stoner led from start to finish as he eased to victory at the Czech MotoGP in Brno.

John Hopkins came a career-best second after a superb start from fourth on the grid, with defending champion Nicky Hayden third and Dani Pedrosa fourth.
Valentino Rossi, who lies second behind Stoner in the standings, had a miserable day as he finished seventh.

Stoner's championship lead over Rossi is now 60 points, with Pedrosa just 18 points behind Rossi in third place.

The victory at the undulating 5.4-km Masaryk Ring was Stoner's seventh in 12 races this season.

"Everything worked perfectly today, the bike, the tyres. I was fast at the beginning ... so I could relax slightly towards the end," said the 21-year-old.

American John Hopkins, who started from the front row, led his Suzuki unchallenged to claim second place.

"Casey's pace was unreal, he didn't make a mistake the whole race so it was tough to catch him," said Hopkins.

Hamilton sees no end to Alonso feud

LONDON (AFP) - Lewis Hamilton admits he cannot see an end to his feud with Fernando Alonso because the McLaren duo are so competitive.

Hamilton's sensational debut season in Formula One has reportedly left Alonso feeling unwanted by McLaren and the Spaniard is not speaking to his colleague after a turbulent Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session last week.

The Britain refused to let Alonso by at the start of the final qualifying session on Saturday before the Spaniard ignored team orders and did the same.

Alonso was hit with a five-place grid penalty for his actions, while Hamilton went on to win the race and extend his lead at the top of the drivers' championship.

McLaren were also punished with a 15 point deduction for their drivers' behaviour, but Hamilton, who acknowledges the battle with the double world champion will not help team morale, is not surprised there has been friction.

"When you have two very competitive people in a team, probably the two most competitive people around, and who both want to win, it puts the team under pressure," Hamilton said.

"It's just extremely hard for everyone to play fair and make it easy. That's why sometimes it appears one driver is favoured over the other. That's why sometimes I feel he is favoured and vice versa."

Hamilton, 22, is seven clear in the drivers championship and he is determined not to let the off-track rows distract him from his goal of replacing Alonso as world champion.

"Because of the problems we are having with the FIA and Ferrari, it's just more pressure on the team," Hamilton said.

"The comforting thing is we have all this stuff going on, even at the weekend, and yet we weren't distracted from our job.

"I learned a lot from the weekend, about my team, how strong they are to deal with all the issues that are going on right now.

"It's daunting for all of us, but I don't believe any other team could cope with it better.

"It's a tough time for the whole team, but it's not distracting us, which is the main thing."

Rossi faces tax evasion probe

Wednesday, August 8th 2007, 13:08 GMT

Italy's tax agency is investigating former world motor cycling champion Valentino Rossi for suspected tax evasion, an agency spokesman said on Wednesday.

The spokesman said the agency was examining possible tax evasion on undeclared revenues of 60 million euros ($82.61 million) from 2000 to 2004.

The investigation is linked to Rossi's decision in 2000 to take up residence in Britain to take advantage of favourable tax conditions.

Rossi's Yamaha team and spokeswoman were not immediately available for comment.

Casey leads MotoGP chase

Australia's next world champion is likely to take the form of a baby-faced kid who left school at the age of 12 and left Australia at 14 to race bikes on the world stage. Now a 21-year-old man, Casey Stoner is on the verge of winning the 2007 MotoGP championship.

And although Stoner is reluctant to be drawn into speculation about this year's championship, those closest to him have no doubt he is about to fulfill his destiny.

Of 11 Moto GP rounds this season Stoner has won six. And he has beaten the man revered in Europe as being one of the greatest - Valentino Rossi - and beaten him in his own backyard.

Stoner now has a 44-point lead over Rossi in the MotoGP championship with just seven rounds to race as Rossi's chances - undoubtedly because of a slow bike - seem to diminish with every round.

Understandably, no one took much notice when Casey Stoner and his family left Australia to conquer the world. Just another kid with dreams.

Two years later he was back and held a press conference in a Sydney pub to announce the dreams were on track. As the reporters drank their schooners, Stoner was still two years too young to even be allowed in the pub. The baby face was a dead give-away but the publican, as enthralled as the journalists by the kid's story, turned a blind eye.

"It's going well," Stoner said, "but I've got a lot to learn. That's why I am there.

"I've got to learn to stay on for a start," he said, tenderly manipulating a wrist.

Stoner started riding a motor bike at the age of four. He won his first championship at five. He was helped by his father Colin, a painter by trade, who had dabbled in racing in his youth.

By the time Stoner was 12 the family was planning to live and travel in Europe. Instead of learning English at home, young Stoner was learning Italian and Spanish, the languages of the sport.

The Stoners bought an old caravan in the UK and off they went. Only blind faith kept them going in the early days. Colin Stoner worked in a motor bike shop in England during the week. Casey picked up prize money here and there at weekends. Mum, Bronwyn, made the caravan as much a home as was possible.

When Colin Stoner came back for that first press conference he knew he had made the right decision. That blind faith had been rewarded. But he did quip: "If I had known how much those tolls cost on the European motorways we probably would never have gone!"

Casey Stoner returned to Europe to his first big break. The former Spanish rider Alberto Puig spotted him and guided his early career through the 125cc and 250cc classes opening doors which otherwise might have been closed forever.

By the start of the 2006 season Stoner was a known identity in European motorcycling with a fulltime ride in the Moto GP class with Honda. At last he was chasing Rossi. But several spills made him an easy target for the European press which idolised the Italian rider.

"The Rolling Stoner" jibed one headline. Stoner, normally unflappable, was annoyed. He didn't think he fell off that often.

"I have to push the bikes hard. Sometimes I push too hard," he said.

Between 2002 and 2004 Stoner had fallen off 39 times.

For all that, 17 years of racing in probably the most dangerous sport in the world have resulted in only two broken collarbones and a broken wrist. "Casey wouldn't be where he is today if he didn't crash as much," Colin Stoner said earlier this year. "He needed to find out how far he could push. It was a leaning curve."

Stoner's big break came at the end of 2006. Despite his stumbles, Stoner had been anointed by Rossi as a future champion and offers came to lure him away form Honda. Ignoring a good deal from Yamaha, Stoner signed with Ducati. It proved to be a masterstroke.

After Stoner's win in the United States this season, he again signed with Ducati until the end of 2009.

With the future secure Stoner can now concentrate on the present. He knows Rossi will never give up. That story has some thrills and spills to go.

But the championship dream which started 17 years ago remains just that; Stoner is taking nothing for granted.

"I'm just interested in racing. I go out with the same attitude in every race - to finish in the highest possible spot I can. That's the way it was when I was a kid. Nothing much has changed."

Well, that's not quite right. With a salary of more than $A1 million a year rolling in, the old caravan has been replaced by a luxury apartment in Monaco. And there's a new woman in the family. Stoner this year married Adriana Tuchyna, an 18-year-old Adelaide girl whom he met four years ago when she asked him to autograph her stomach.

Ducati treatment angers Capirossi

Ducati rider Loris Capirossi says he is "disgusted" by the way the team handled the signing of his replacement for next season, Marco Melandri.

The 34-year-old said he only found out the news had been made public when he saw a copy of the press release, rather than being told personally.

"I don't think they've treated me well, and all that has happened has disgusted me," he told La Stampa newspaper.

"Ducati's given me a lot, I can't deny, but I've offered a lot in return."

Capirossi said the team had made some effort to make room for him next season on a third factory bike, in addition to the first-choice pairing of Melandri and championship leader Casey Stoner, but he was not happy with the offer.

"Team chief Livio Suppo offered me a third bike identical to the factory team's machines, but my engineer Christian Populin would be moved to work with Melandri and I would be part of the d'Antin satellite team," he said.

"The truth is I was expecting something different."

Capirossi has been linked with Kawasaki and Suzuki so even if he leaves Ducati he should remain in MotoGP.

"I will be riding next year if all goes well, and possibly even in 2009," he said.

Lewis Hamilton

Born: 7/1/85

Nationality: English
Team: McLaren
First GP: Australia 2007
Wins: 3
2006 position: N/A
Previous teams: N/A

Lewis Hamilton has set the sporting world on fire with the greatest debut Grand Prix season in history.

McLaren broke a long-held policy not to employ novice drivers with Hamilton and now it is clear to see why.

Expected to spend the season learning from team-mate Fernando Alonso, the 22-year-old has been a revelation.

Astonishingly, he could win the title in his first season, and it already seems inevitable that he will grow into one of the all-time greats.

Button chances are over - Mansell

Jenson Button's hopes of becoming a serious contender in Formula One are over at the age of 27, according to former world champion Nigel Mansell.

Button continues at Honda next year but he has already failed, Mansell says, because he did not get the most out of a competitive car when he had one.

"Jenson should have won more races, he has under-performed and that is down to him," said Mansell, 54.

"He had the opportunity and he didn't take it; there won't be any more."
Button reached a career-high with Honda last season, clinching a first Grand Prix victory in Hungary in his 113th race.

But the Briton was not able to push on, finishing sixth in the drivers' standings and going backwards this season with a car that has not been able to match the pace of its rivals.
And he failed to win a race in 2004, the most consistently competitive season so far for his team, which was then called BAR-Honda.

Button has only claimed a single point for the team and is languishing down in 16th place.

However, Mansell says Button, hailed as one of the most talented active drivers behind Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton, must accept some of the blame for his failure to live up to his potential.

"Jenson is a great talent," said Mansell, who won the F1 crown with Williams in 1992.

"But he was far better years ago than he is now because he was hungry then.

"He's got a great reputation for partying and that's taken the edge off it. He's a typical example of too much, too soon.

"He'll have a great lifestyle but he's had his opportunities and it hasn't happened for him."

We Can't Relax, Says BMW's Rampf

BMW Sauber technical director says that the team will not get complacent despite the fact that it has in effect put third place in the World Championship beyond the reach of rival Renault.The team’s consistent scoring has seen it open up 28 points with just six races remaining. Although Renault has managed to score in every race this season, it has often just scraped home with an eighth place, as in Hungary.“Renault made one point today and we made 10 points,” Rampf told SPEEDtv.com in Hungary. “So the gap is quite big. We can be comfortable, but it doesn’t mean that we should relax, because whatever we learn this year can be useful next year as well.”However, Rampf says the team will not be more aggressive with car development now that it can afford to take risks.“We could be more aggressive, but it doesn’t make sense. I think we’ll concentrate on next year’s car, and for this year we will still have continuous improvement, small steps this year, because we should not be too relaxed. And also it keeps the whole team a bit under pressure basically to go to a race and fight for position instead of preserving the overall position in the World Championship.”

Ferrari broke the rules, say McLaren

August 02, 2007 11:16 IST
Formula One leaders McLaren have accused rivals Ferrari [Images] of running an illegal car at the start of the season and making 'grossly misleading' statements in a spy controversy overshadowing the championship.

In a long and detailed letter to the head of the Italian Automobile Club (ACI) published on the McLaren Web site (www.mclaren.com), team boss Ron Dennis took issue with Ferrari's allegations.

The governing FIA ruled last week that McLaren, 27 points clear of Ferrari in the standings before Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix, had been in unauthorised possession of Ferrari data but imposed no penalty because there was inconclusive evidence they had gained from it.

The matter will now go to appeal after protests from Ferrari and the Italian body.

Dennis referred to two incidents involving McLaren and Ferrari data, one of which he said was a clear case of whistleblowing.

He said Ferrari employee Nigel Stepney, since dismissed by the team, had tipped off McLaren's chief designer Mike Coughlan in March that the Italian team's car was in breach of the regulations.

"Specifically, he told Mr Coughlan about a floor attachment mechanism and a rear wing separator, both of which could be and were seen on the Ferrari car prior to the Australian Grand Prix," said Dennis.

ILLEGAL DEVICE

He said the governing body declared the rear wing separator to be legal but not the floor device.

"As far as we are aware, Ferrari ran their cars with this illegal device at the Australian Grand Prix, which they won," said Dennis.

"In the interests of the sport, McLaren chose not to protest the result of the Australian Grand Prix even though it seems clear that Ferrari had an illegal competitive advantage."

Dennis said Stepney had "acted properly and in the interests of the sport" in bringing the matter out into the open.

"It is in the interests of Formula One that whistle-blowing is encouraged and not discouraged," he said.

Dennis said McLaren had instructed Coughlan to cease contact with Stepney but they met in Barcelona on April 28.

In July, two computer discs with Ferrari material were found in a search of Coughlan's house carried out on the orders of the Italian team.

"As it is now in the public domain, Mr Coughlan has admitted that Mr Stepney gave him a dossier of Ferrari documents in Barcelona which he took for his own private reasons," wrote Dennis.

"He kept these documents at his home and later with the assistance of his wife copied (them) onto two CDs at a shop near their home before shredding the originals using a home shredder and burning them in his back garden."

Dennis said Ferrari had gone to "extraordinary length to try to maximise the damage to McLaren, no doubt hoping to gain some advantage for the world championship" since that discovery.

He again ruled out anyone else at McLaren being aware of the documents or of any Ferrari details finding their way into the design process.

"McLaren's reputation has been unfairly sullied by incorrect press reports from Italy [Images] and grossly misleading statements from Ferrari," said Dennis.

"It would be a tragedy if one of the best world championships in years was derailed by the acts of one Ferrari and one McLaren employee acting for their own purposes wholly unconnected with Ferrari or McLaren."

Title Hopes Dimming, Todt Admits

Ferrari team boss Jean Todt admits that the math is getting more complicated for his drivers in terms of the World Championship, as the Ferrari drivers are now 21 and 20 points behind Lewis Hamilton. However, he insists that the team has not given up on its title aspirations.

“Yes, it’s complicated,” he said. “I’m always worried and of course, I would prefer to have both drivers with 20 points ahead. Saying that, you know that makes a very intense and interesting challenge, if we are able to be on the podium with both drivers, both cars, for the six remaining grands prix of the season, which is possible, I still think that we have a chance to achieve what we want.”

Todt admitted that he was particularly frustrated at the way Felipe Massa could not make much progress from 14th on the grid in Hungary.

“I don’t want to say it was a good feeling, because I’m not very happy about the result today. You cannot always pretend that you’re not happy if you don’t win, even if what you always aim for is trying to win a race. But it was very disappointing to see Felipe behind cars which… again, I respect the cars, I respect the drivers, but they are not in the same league at the moment and he could not pass them.

“Due to his starting position, we put the car full of fuel, having to guess, but it’s never good in this business if you start to guess. It didn’t work properly for him. For Kimi it was much better. We had a competitive car but we did not do the best job for reasons we need to understand in qualifying and we paid the price. It’s not pleasing but you have to accept it.

“I’m not happy about that but the same people have been winning a lot of races, a lot of championships and mistakes remain human, so that’s it. We have to try to understand why we did not have a good procedure to avoid that and hopefully make sure that it won’t happen again.”

Todt also admitted that he was looking forward to stating Ferrari’s case when the FIA’s Court of Appeal delves into the spy story.

“We were not happy…we have been writing about that officially, about what Ferrari does feel after the decision of the World Council, because for us, if you are guilty, you must be penalised and very important thing is that our competitor was judged guilty and that’s why the national automobile club of Italy asked the president of the FIA to reconsider which the president accepted.

“We will have the opportunity of presenting the case – hopefully properly, clearly – and it’s up to the international Court of appeal to make the decision. Of course we will accept the decisions, but we feel that what happened was simply unacceptable, so we don’t accept it.”

Frustrated Alonso Eyes Return to Renault

Fernando Alonso has been discussing the possibility of returning to Renault next season after just one season at McLaren.

A source close to the Renault team told SPEEDtv.com. “It’s not a rumor, they [the Alonso camp] are desperate to come back.”

The same source added that ironically as of last weekend the Hungaroring qualifying fiasco had given Alonso a fresh reason to stay at McLaren because Lewis Hamilton was now seriously out of favor at Woking.

Renault has yet to confirm either of its drivers for next year, although its assumed that Heikki Kovalainen has done more than enough to retain his place. Flavio Briatore said in Hungary that a decision on Giancarlo Fisichella will be due around the time of Monza, but the Italian is believed to have a very slim chance of retaining his seat for another season.

On Sunday, Ron Dennis made it very clear that he was well aware of the possibility that one of his drivers might be tempted away: “There is an inevitability that these things are rumored and discussed in other teams. We have two drivers contracted for several years into the future. We will respect our part of that situation. We hope that the drivers respect theirs, because that is what a contract is about. That is our position.”

Intriguingly, when discussing the challenge of juggling two top drivers he added that “anybody” would have the choice to leave if they felt they didn’t fit in at McLaren.

“It is extremely challenging for me, emotional and stressful. I know I’m not alone in having to carry that burden, but nevertheless we will continue to function as a Grand Prix team with specific values. And if anybody does not want to be part of those values, irrespective of where they fit in the organization, then ultimately they will have choice. But we will not deviate from our values.”

McLaren tell F1 driver Alonso 'you can leave'

LONDON (AFP) - Fernando Alonso, who is at daggers drawn with his McLaren co-driver Lewis Hamilton, has been told by boss Ron Dennis that he can leave McLaren at the end of the season, a report claimed Tuesday.

The double world champion's future is up in the air as his relationship with Hamilton broke down at the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend when he was penalised for his part in trying to prevent the Briton from starting in pole.

The Times quoted what the paper described as a 'well-placed' source as confirming Alonso may quit the team two years ahead of schedule.

"My understanding is that he's been told he can go because they're so fed up with him. Ron is just very pissed off with both of them (Alonso and Hamilton)," the unnamed source said.

These comments follow Alonso's confirmation that his future at the British team was uncertain.

The unsettled Spaniard, asked by sports daily Marca if he was planning to stay with McLaren, replied: "I don't know."

Two likely destinations for Alonso if he were to sever his ties with McLaren are Renault, with whom he won his two world titles, and BMW, who are yet to contract German Nick Heidfeld for 2008.

The F1 rumour mill began to work overtime following a controversial weekend's racing in Hungary with Hamilton emerging the winner after replacing Alonso on pole position following a steward's enquiry.

Alonso, who trails Hamilton by seven points in the race for the 2007 drivers' crown, was penalised five grid positions for blocking Hamilton and preventing him completing a final qualifying lap.

McLaren said the delay at the pit-stops in qualifying was Hamilton's fault, for causing confusion in the team by disobeying an order to let Alonso pass him ahead of the pit stops.

But the FIA, Formula One's governing body, did not agree, and imposed a penalty on Alonso, as well as docking McLaren the 15 constructors' points they earned from the race.

Hamilton wins Hungarian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday for his third Formula One victory of the year, extending his standings lead in a race in which his McLaren team was hit with a penalty.

Hamilton was followed by Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari and Nick Heidfeld of BMW-Sauber. Defending F1 champion Fernando Alonso of McLaren was fourth.

Hamilton's team was penalized after it was deemed to have hindered his qualifying efforts. With six races to go, Hamilton leads Alonso 80-73 in the points standings. The next race is the Turkish GP on Aug. 26.

Hamilton was jubilant after he crossed the finish line, pumping his arms in the car during the victory lap and then on the podium, where he was the sole McLaren representative. The team was not awarded the trophy because of the penalty by the governing body.

"I learned a lot about my team. How strong they are and how they deal with all the distractions. I don't believe any other team could cope with it better," Hamilton said. "It is a tough time for the whole team."

Alonso was penalized five places from the pole position Saturday after stewards ruled McLaren had delayed Hamilton on the final pit stop in qualifying. Alonso was timed at being stationary more than 30 seconds after the tires were changed before heading out while Hamilton waited behind him in the pits.

"It's been an eventful weekend and quite emotional for all the team," Hamilton said. "With all the drama all weekend it would have been easy to lose focus."

Ferrari and McLaren have won all 11 races this season, with Alonso, Hamilton and Raikkonen having three wins apiece. Raikkonen has 60 points for third place in the standings.

McLaren and Ferrari are also embroiled in a bitter legal dispute concerning leaked information and sabotage.

McLaren leads the constructors' standings with 138 points while Ferrari has 119. McLaren stayed at 138 because any points it won would not count. McLaren is appealing that ruling although it cannot appeal Alonso's relegation on the starting grid.

Hamilton didn't give up hope while sitting in his car Saturday waiting for Alonso to leave the pits.

"It's always important to remain positive. You have to stay controlled mentally," Hamilton said.

Asked after the race about his relationship with Alonso, Hamilton said he respects the Spaniard.

"He doesn't seem to have been speaking to me since yesterday, so I don't know if he has a problem," Hamilton said.

At the start of Sunday's race, Hamilton moved away easily while Raikkonen tucked in behind. They essentially stayed that way during the rest of the race, with Heidfeld third, except for pits stops.

"It was quite a boring race just staying behind," Raikkonen said.

Hamilton went in on the 50th lap and stretched his lead to more than four seconds but immediately started losing ground. By lap 55, he was ahead of Raikkonen by just 2.2 seconds and by only a half-second by lap 57. With 13 laps remaining, that was as close as it got.

"When I was in traffic, he was getting closer and closer," Hamilton said, referring to Raikkonen. "Then when I was able to get a clear lap, I was able to maintain the gap."

Alonso never made a real run at Heidfeld after struggling with Ralf Schumacher. Robert Kubica of BMW-Sauber had another strong finish for fifth place with Schumacher of Toyota in sixth, his best of the season.