Todt: I never would have bet on Kimi

Eurosport - Sun, 28 Oct 20:17:00 2007 :

Ferrari boss Jean Todt says he would never have bet on Kimi Raikonen becoming world champion when the Italian team were struggling with reliability earlier in the season.

Finn Raikkonen took the drivers' title by one point from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso after winning the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix last Sunday.

"To tell the truth, I would not have bet on this victory," Todt said at a title-winning party at the Tuscan track of Mugello.
"For us, 2007 was a year of transition in many ways. The team was not cemented and we paid for it with the reliability but I hope we will not repeat this next year."

Raikkonen must wait until a hearing on Nov. 15 to be sure he is world champion after McLaren launched an appeal against the decision not to penalise three drivers in Sao Paulo because of fuel irregularities.

Should the three drivers have their results nullified, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton would win enough points to be crowned champion instead.

"The drivers' standings are not yet definitive. But for us what is more important is to have won the world championship on the track and no one can take that away from us," Todt added.Ferrari wrapped up the constructors' title last month after previous leaders McLaren were stripped of all their team points when they were found guilty of benefiting from the possession of Ferrari secrets

Euro 2008 - Mourinho: I don't want England job

Jose Mourinho has ruled himself out of the running to replace under-fire England manager Steve McClaren.

There is speculation that McClaren's tenure as national team boss could be coming to an end after England's Euro 2008 qualification hopes were taken out of their own hands with a 2-1 defeat by Russia in Moscow.
England now need Russia to slip up against Israel or Andorra, or for Macedonia to shock group leaders Croatia if they are to retain any hope of reaching the finals in Austria and Switzerland.
Former Chelsea manager Mourinho has been strongly linked with the post, should it become available, but the Portuguese insists he is more interested in club football and the only international side he would manage is his home nation.
He told the News of the World: "I couldn't see myself coaching any national team other than Portugal. If I were coach of another team and had to face Portugal, it would be wrong.
"I think there are those who adore me in England. I adore English football. But I won't go back there for now. I'd like to come back later.
"I'd like to continue in club management, perhaps in Italy where I can test myself against their tacticians. The national team would be for later. The Portuguese national team is an ambition but not for the Jose Mourinho of today.
"Being the coach of a national team is not the same as being coach of a club. It's a job for someone who doesn't like working much."
And Mourinho insists that bringing in coaches from overseas to lead international sides is wrong.
He added: "I'm completely against having foreigners with national teams, not because I doubt the professionalism with which they do it, but I think that a national team should bring together the best players and the best coach from each country."The national team is an obsession for me but it will be at the end of my career. Let there be no doubt about that."

Kimi Raikkonen snatches the ultimate prize!

It has been a real roller coaster of a season and the finale in Brazil was a fitting climax to a year that has enthralled fans both on and off the circuit. Kimi Raikkonen has achieved what seemed all but impossible and he overcame a seven point deficit by winning the this afternoon at Interlagos while Lewis Hamilton suffered his own problems.

The start of the 71 lap Grand Prix saw pole-sitter Felipe Massa sprint in the lead with Kimi Raikkonen making a good getaway and slotting into second. One man not making a good start was Lewis Hamilton who dropped from second to fourth and then compounded his problems by running off track and losing another four positions.
At that point Hamilton will have been frustrated but he was still in the race and the championship race was very much still on. Lap seven however saw the McLaren Mercedes slow dramatically with a gearshift issue. Hamilton dropped from sixth position to 18th and while he was able to reset the electronic systems and get back under power, his title hope were in tatters. Out front Raikkonen shadowed Massa and seemed content to bide his time behind his Ferrari team-mate. The turning points for Raikkonen came in his second round of stops as he was able to stay out a few more laps and once he had made his final pit stop, emerged in the lead of the race. Fernando Alonso at this point ran in a lonely third and was not able to mount a serious challenge

Raikkonen took the chequered flag by just over a second from 2006 race winner Massa and with 110 championship points on the board, takes the title by one point from Hamilton who battled back to seventh position on track and Alonso who finished third.
"I always believed we could recover from our poor results and do a better job than our rivals," Raikkonen said. "So I never gave up and it was a great result for me and the team. "I wasn't really 100 per cent sure of what was happening at the end as we were still waiting for still to finish - I had to wait a long time to hear that I had finally won it. I waited and waited. It was amazing for me that after all the last races we have had such a good finish to the season and I am very happy now."
Nico Rosberg put in a great drive in his Williams Toyota and finished in fourth position after a rather hectic battle with the BMW Sauber’s of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld who finished fifth and sixth. With Hamilton seventh, the final point went to Jarno Trulli who put in a strong performance for Toyota to claim a much needed championship point.

David Coulthard found himself spinning late in the race after contact with Kazuki Nakajima. The Red Bull racer would finish in ninth position while Mark Webber ran fifth early in the race only to retire with a drive train issue. Nakajima had an eventful debut in his Williams, arriving too fast into his pit box and knocking down several members of his team. Still, the Japanese rookie finished the event in tenth position.

Ralf Schumacher was 11th in the second Toyota in what is his final drive with the team while Takuma Sato finished 12th for Super Aguri Honda ahead of Tonio Liuzzi and Anthony Davidson. There was plenty of incident and accident with eight drivers failing to go the distance. Giancarlo Fisichella cut across the grass at turn one and rejoined the circuit right in front of Sakon Yamamoto. The Spyker racer had no where to go, making heavy contact and eliminating both cars from the race. Heikki Kovalainen suffered a failure on his Renault and crashed heavily at turn three, ending a nightmare weekend for himself and the team. Jenson Button’s Honda failed early in the race while Rubens Barrichello’s car lasted a little longer before suffering a massive engine failure. Adrian Sutil was up to his old tricks again in his Spyker as he hit Anthony Davidson’s Super Aguri Honda while battling for position and would retire a few laps later as a result. A fitting end to a dramatic season as Kimi Raikkonen has won the championship with his sixth win of the season. Lewis Hamilton will be most disappointed having been the firm favourite heading into the race while Fernando Alonso will be looking to the 2008 season. There can only be one winner, so congratulations to Raikkonen and his team, commiserations to Hamilton, Alonso and their respective crew members and team.

Malaysian GP - Stoner wins again

Casey Stoner took a commanding victory in sweltering conditions at the Malaysian Grand Prix, recording his tenth win of the season in the process.

The 22-year-old Australian, who has been unbeaten since clinching the world title two races ago, led into the first corner on his Ducati and was never headed.
A late charge from Gresini Honda rider Marco Melandri was unable to eat in much to his margin as he won by 1.718 seconds. Dani Pedrosa completed the podium.
Stoner's win marked the first time anybody had won at the Sepang circuit in three classes of Grand Prix racing and also tied Colin Edwards' record of 17 points finishes in a season.
Stoner got the jump on polesitter Dani Pedrosa at the start, but was unable to pull away in the early stages, instead leading a four-bike train of the Spanish Repsol Honda rider, Randy de Puniet's Kawasaki and Melandri.
Melandri was already in trouble with a tube leading to his drinks bottle becoming detached and spraying liquid in his eyes, but he did not let it slow him down and passed de Puniet for third on lap five.
Next up was Pedrosa, who, despite having more horsepower from his latest engine upgrade, could not contain the Bridgestone-tyred Melandri and was forced to concede second four laps later.
Melandri tried hard to put Stoner under pressure, and reduced the leader's advantage to just under a second with four laps to go, but was unable to eke out the final few tenths when it counted and settled for second.
Pedrosa and de Puniet were next up, with the Frenchman lucky to reach the finish as his Kawasaki broke down on the warm-down lap.
Fifth was Valentino Rossi, who dropped to 11th off the start, but took his finishing position on lap four when he barged past Anthony West, before the Kawasaki man was handed a jump-start penalty that dropped him to the tail end of the points by the finish.
Nicky Hayden and Toni Elias had a great battle for sixth, mirroring that of their team-mates Pedrosa and Melandri.
Hayden looked to have grabbed the spot from the Gresini man at the final turn on lap 12, but missed his braking point and had to ride through the gravel before re-joining in tenth.
That promoted the Suzukis of Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins, who were tied to each other all race long, to seventh and eighth, with Hayden finishing ninth after passing Colin Edwards' Yamaha with two laps left.
Britain's Chaz Davies came home 17th on his d'Antin Ducati, the rookie passed by West with a few laps left as the Australian eventually made it to the flag in 15th.
Kurtis Roberts finished 20th and last, the KR rider having a trip through the gravel of his own at turn seven early in the race.

Premier League - Arsenal takeover denied - for now

Eurosport - Tue, 02 Oct 19:35:00 2007
Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov insists he has no immediate plans to takeover Arsenal - for now.
Usmanov's company Red and White Holdings has increased its stake in the Gunners to 23 per cent, leading to speculation about a buyout by the David Dein-fronted consortium and forcing Arsenal to publicly state their opposition to such a takeover.
"We want to have a large stake in Arsenal," Usmanov told the London Evening Standard. "Up to now we have acquired 23 per cent, maybe we will have to increase that to 25 percent.
"We have no intention of bidding for the club but this is business life and things can change. Something we may not be able to do today but we can maybe do tomorrow."
There have been rumours that the Uzbek-born metal magnate may launch a hostile bid for the club, leading to much mudslinging from Arsenal fans questioning the credentials of the man.
"I do not want to set any intentions other than those set by the shareholders," he continued.
"I do not want to buy to sell. I want to be a shareholder in Arsenal. I have always been a fan of the club and I could see that as well as getting immense pleasure from the investment, it could also be a useful addition to my portfolio."
Regarding accusations from Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood that his past is "murky" - Usmanov once served prison time for alleged corruption in the old USSR, although political imprisonments were commonplace under the Soviet regime and he was pardoned by Mikhail Gorbachev - the latest foreign investor in the Premier League was defiant.
"It is beyond my dignity to respond to the allegations," he declared. "My father worked hard in the Uzbek judicial system and my mother was a wonderful human being.
"These people could not have brought up what one European politician called a gangster and racketeer. I will leave that one to his conscience."
If Usmanov passes the 25 per cent shareholder mark he will be able to veto certain board decisions and may force an aggressive buyout.

Champions League - Ferguson praise for match-winner Rooney

Eurosport - Tue, 02 Oct 23:48:00 2007
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson praised match-winner Wayne Rooney after his first goal of the season earned them a 1-0 win over Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday
Rooney's 70th-minute strike took United clear at the top of Group F and confirmed his return to form after recovering from a broken bone in his foot which kept him out for more than a month earlier this season.
"It was only his fourth or fifth match and he is still trying to get his rhythm and real match fitness," said Ferguson.
"It will do him good. Goals always do players good, particularly when goals are expected of them, so I'm pleased with that."
Ferguson felt United deserved their victory on the back of their second-half performance, although they had to ride their luck late on as Roma missed a number of chances.
He added: "Maybe the first half was a bit more tactical and we played with far too much caution. In the second half I think we improved and the goal was a fabulous goal.
"It was great movement and good passing which gave us the penetration we were looking for and created the opening for Wayne's excellent goal.
"We controlled most of the match. We tired a little bit towards the end when they started to take risks going for an equaliser but in the main I think we deserved the result."
Ferguson's side now have maximum points and face the prospect of qualifying for the knockout stages ahead of a return trip to Rome.
"Ten points will take us through and we have got six. Winning the first two matches gives us confidence and that controlling position (in the group)," Ferguson said.
"Our next two games are against Kiev and hopefully we will add to those points. We did not want to go to Rome looking for points in our last game. That would be difficult but hopefully we won't have to worry about that."
United finished the game with 10 men after Cristiano Ronaldo left the field with a head wound but there never any threat of a repeat of the off-the-field violence which marred United's game in Roma last season.
"I didn't see it but he said he was elbowed," Ferguson said.
"He's had four stitches in his eyebrow. It's unfortunate because I think the game was played in good spirit. There was never really anything untoward in the match.
"The game was well refereed and well played by both teams with a good atmosphere about the players which was excellent because there was always the possibility in a match of this kind, given what happened last year, could set off a series of problems. But congratulations to both sets of players."
Roma coach Luciano Spalletti was disappointed to leave empty handed but happy Roma restored their reputation following their 7-1 beating at Old Trafford in April.
He said: "I think the team showed what happened in April was a blip. Tonight's performance showed there was a huge difference between what happened then and what happened now.
"When a team puts in a display like that it should not be a beaten side. If anyone deserved to score more goals it was us, rather than Manchester United."Spalletti added that midfielder Alberto Aquilani, who was carried off on a stretcher, sustained a serious muscle injury.

Champions League - Group B: Drogba eases pressure

Eurosport - Wed, 03 Oct 22:24:00 2007
Didier Drogba netted the winner as under-fire Chelsea recorded a well-earned 2-1 win over Valencia at the Mestalla on Wednesday.
The Ivorian striker put last weekend's red card firmly behind him with a well-taken strike with just under 20 minutes remaining to add to Joe Cole's equaliser after David Villa had opened the scoring for Valencia early on.
The result came as a welcome relief for Chelsea manager Avram Grant, for whom the performance proved beyond doubt that his newly-acquired squad of players are more than willing to fight for him in the same way they once did for a certain Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea were put under pressure for large parts of the match, but the Blues dug in when in mattered and showed a fighting spirit that augers well for the future under the Israeli coach.
The match started badly for Chelsea, with Villa displaying just why he is considered to be one of the hottest young talents in Europe at the moment. He finished clinically after unwittingly playing a rather fortuitous wall pass with Michael Essien before bursting through on goal, leaving the onrushing Petr Cech helpless to prevent the hosts taking the lead with just nine minutes played.
And it threatened to get worse for Grant's side as Valencia put their foot on the gas and began to put the Chelsea back line under a degree of pressure. The Spanish side's record signing Joaquin nearly doubled their lead on 20 minutes, but his first touch was poor when played in on goal and Cech was out quickly to narrow the angle and make the save.
But despite the pressure Chelsea were being put under, Joe Cole managed to haul the visitors back into the game a minute later, tapping in from close range after Florent Malouda had raced onto a clever Drogba pass to the byline.
Drogba then saw a quick turn and shot fly inches over the bar, but the rest of the opening period was largely bossed by Valencia, who went close to taking the lead again through Villa; his first time effort on 26 minutes after good work from the impressive Joaquin went just over Cech's bar.
Drogba had pulled up clutching his hamstring just before half-time, and the apparent injury looked like making Chelsea's second half task all the more difficult, But the Ivorian emerged for the second half and was to deliver the telling blow on 71 minutes.
The finish was cool under pressure from Raul Abiol, but it was all about Joe Cole's pass through to him. There was a hint of hand ball when the England winger first received the ball in midfield, but his perfectly weighted pass with the outside of his boot was nothing short of exquisite. It fell perfectly into Drogba's stride and the marksman did the rest.
Earlier, Villa had seen an effort ruled out for offside, and Italian defender Emiliano Moretti had headed inches wide of the post from a corner.
And after Chelsea's second, the pressure mounted in the closing stages, Villa squandering a great chance on 86 minutes by completely missing the ball when it was teed up nicely for him on the edge of the area and substitute Ruben Baraja fluffing his lines deep into injury time.
But Chelsea managed to hold on, with a little bit of help from the versatile Drogba, who by that time was employed as a fourth centre back, to record their best performance and result under Grant.
Rosenborg 2-0 Schalke
Second-half goals steered Schalke to a 2-0 victory over Rosenborg in the other Group B on Wednesday.
Midfielder Jermaine Jones broke the deadlock at the Lerkendal Stadium in the 62nd minute with a left-foot shot off a pass from Ivan Rakitic.
Striker Kevin Kuranyi sealed the victory in the 89th minute, breaking free, evading defender Christer Basma and putting the ball past Rosenborg goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld.
Rosenborg, who had held Chelsea to a surprise 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago, paid the price for failing to take their chances in the second half.
Schalke, who got their first points on the board, are third in the group

Season 2007 - Rossi in legal action against Ryanair

Eurosport - Fri, 28 Sep 12:48:00 2007
Valentino Rossi has launched legal proceedings against budget airline Ryanair over a controversial advert they are currently running in Italy.
The poster campaign, which is to advertise free flights, carries an image of five-time world champion Rossi, saying: "I can come back for free, I only pay the taxes," a joke referring to the 40 million Euro tax evasion scam he is currently being investigated over in his homeland.
The 28-year-old Italian though is understandably unhappy as they began to run the campaign without his permission and has instructed his lawyers to begin action immediately against the airline.
"I don't see this. It's a strange, strange idea because they don't say nothing to me."
"Maybe they want to help us pay the fee. I think this is a good way for it," said Rossi, who would be forced to pay back all the money he owes if found guilty of any wrongdoing.Rossi lies second in the world championship and can confirm himself as runner-up if he wins next time out in Australia with Dani Pedrosa failing to score. Casey Stoner confirmed the world title at the last race in Japan

Japanese GP - Capirossi wins, Stoner takes title

Eurosport - Thu, 27 Sep 11:25:00 2007
Loris Capirossi claimed his first win in a year after gambling on slick tyres early on at the Japanese Grand Prix, but his joy was nothing compared to his team-mate Casey Stoner, who became world champion by finishing sixth.
Stoner's title, his first, capped a sensational win for Ducati and Bridgestone, who also took their inaugural crowns.
On a damp track it was polesitter Dani Pedrosa who assumed an immediate lead on his Repsol Honda from Toni Elias and Valentino Rossi into the first corner.
By the end of the lap though it was wet-weather specialist Anthony West who was the Spaniard's biggest threat, and the Australian nailed him for the lead on lap three into turn 11 after ducking out of the slipstream to make the move.
His joy was to be short-lived though as he was given a ride-through penalty for jumping the start, dropping him to the back of the field.
West's departure from the lead battle gave the lead to Stoner, who had also passed Pedrosa over the start/finish line on lap four.
Pedrosa began falling back on his Michelin wets, being passed by both Marco Melandri and Valentino Rossi inside the first seven laps, and Melandri then shocked Stoner by edging inside him at the V-corner to take the lead.
And that was how it looked like it would stay, but as the track began to dry out, the teams were all faced with a dilemma; do they leave their riders out on wets and risk the tyres collapsing if it dries, or do they bring them in for a slick-shod machine?
The first front-runner to decide to take the latter choice was Capirossi, who had been running seventh at the time. It proved a momentous decision as he immediately began lapping six seconds faster than the leaders.
While he was doing that, Rossi was busy making the most of his Yamaha's Michelin tyres, which were holding up far better than the Bridgestones on Stoner's Ducati and Melandri's Gresini Honda.
Stoner was despatched for second place on lap 13 with Melandri losing the lead to his countryman two laps later, and immediately pitting himself.
Rossi followed a lap later and emerged fifth, still ahead of Stoner, but that became fourth two corners later as he passed Pedrosa, who had crashed out of the lead on his wet rubber.
That handed Capirossi a ten-second lead over Frenchman Randy de Puniet and the pair, both on Bridgestone slicks, duly reeled off the final nine laps to finish first and second.
For Capirossi, the win was his first since the same race last season and was his third in as many years at Motegi. In all it was his ninth Moto GP win.
De Puniet's second place was just as noteworthy as it was his first podium finish, Kawasaki's first for over a year and the first for a Frenchman since Olivier Jacque in China in 2005.
After his pit-stop Rossi immediately became embroiled in a battle between Elias' Gresini Honda and the Dunlop-shod Tech-3 Yamaha of Sylvain Guintoli.
But he was back in the pits just a lap later, dropping him to 15th place as he weaved his Yamaha towards his team's garage with what appeared to be a loose wheel.
The problem elevated Elias to third and Guintoli to fourth, which was where they finished, just half a second apart, giving Guintoli the best finish of his career.
Melandri re-passed Stoner for fifth late in the race, but with Rossi now well behind, the Australian was able to back off and duly came home sixth to become the first Ducati rider to win the world title and, at 21 years old, the second-youngest in Moto GP history.
His result also gave Ducati Moto GP the team's title for the first time, but Ducati themselves still need a few more points to confirm the manufacturers' crown.
Seventh, after his early penalty, was a just reward for West, although it only came after the late retirement of impressive Suzuki wildcard runner Kosuke Akiyoshi.Alex Barros' d'Antin Ducati, Nicky Hayden's Repsol Honda and the Suzuki of John Hopkins completed the top ten with Rossi eventually 13th

Japanese GP - Ferrari rule out Alonso switch

Eurosport - Mon, 01 Oct 08:23:00 2007
Ferrari team chief Jean Todt has re-buffed claims that Fernando Alonso will move to his team for next year's Formula One season.
With the Spaniard currently not on good terms with either his McLaren boss Ron Dennis or his championship-leading team-mate Lewis Hamilton, rumours have grown that he could quit the team at the end of the year.
But Todt said that even if the double world champion, who is less than a third of the way into a three-year contract, does leave McLaren, he will not be on his way to Maranello.
When asked how likely a swoop for Alonso, was, Todt said: "Zero percent!
"We have two fantastic drivers in Kimi (Raikkonen) and Felipe (Massa). We are very happy with them and they are under contract.
"I would respect a contract for a guy cleaning the floor, so you can imagine that I will respect a contract with them. If we have a contract, we respect it."
Alonso's situation at McLaren took a turn for the worse when he publicly slated the team after the North-American double-header in June for not getting preferential treatment over Hamilton.
And with the Hungarian Grand Prix debacle and McLaren's $100 million fined over Formula One's spy scandal, he is said to be looking for an exit, although the driver denies this.
Todt admitted that he was alerted to Alonso while he was racing in Formula 3000 in 2001, but was not impressed by what he saw, but said his attitude has changed since then.
And he even stated that he would welcome the chance to sign Alonso in the future, even though next year was not a possibility.
"I didn't like the way he acted with me. But since then he has won two world titles and he's now fighting for the third," said the Frenchman.
"He's got a lot better. He's strong physically and mentally. As a driver I have great respect for him so I say 'never say never'."
"People have said that while I'm at Ferrari, Alonso can't come. That's not true." If at some point I knew Ferrari was interested in signing Alonso, I'd say okay."

Season 2007 - Renault want Alonso back

Eurosport - Mon, 01 Oct 14:54:00 2007
Renault are desperate to re-sign Fernando Alonso if he walks out on McLaren at the end of the season.
The world champion is frustrated at not being given preferential treatment over his rookie team-mate Lewis Hamilton and could be looking for a quick exit strategy at the end of the season.
If he does leave the British team then Renault boss Flavio Briatore, who steered the 26-year-old Spaniard to successive world titles in 2005 and 2006 (pictured), would love to have him back.
"I told Fernando that the moment he is free from McLaren, we would be pleased to have him back," Briatore told Gazzetta dello Sport. "It would be stupid to deny that."
Briatore said that he would not make the same 'mistake' as McLaren chief Ron Dennis and would make it clear that Alonso would be the undisputed number one driver should he return.
"If before signing the contract they [McLaren] told Fernando: 'come with us but you won't have any sort of advantage', he wouldn't have gone.
"If you hire a world champion, then you must give him the number one status. Look at Michael Schumacher."
Briatore's comments came on the same day that Ferrari team chief Jean Todt publicly denied that he would be prepared to off-load Felipe Massa in a bid to get Alonso into the Italian team for next season.
He thinks that the Brazilian will be a much better team-mate for Kimi Raikkonen than Alonso would.
"I wonder: would it be positive to team up Alonso and Raikkonen? The time when you could have two strong drivers in the team are over.
"Now it's important that the roles, number one and two, are clear, otherwise you risk to destabilise the team."
Alonso's frustrations within McLaren became clear when he held up team-mate Hamilton in the pits during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, preventing the Brit from having a final lap while he took pole position.
The bad feeling that emanated from his five-place grid penalty and McLaren's banning from scoring constructors' points in that race soon manifested itself in an ugly episode as Formula One's spy scandal unfolded.
Dennis said that Alonso had tried to bribe him into giving him number one status by threatening to give emails that proved McLaren had knowledge of Ferrari technical secrets leaked to the team, to investigators the FIA.
Dennis did not budge and informed the FIA himself that the information existed, further straining relations between himself and the driver, who has won four races this year and trails Hamilton by 12 points in the championship.
Alonso continues to insist that he is happy to stay at McLaren next year even though Hamilton has publicly said: "It would be better if he left."Any move for the world champion would mean either Giancarlo Fisichella or Heikki Kovalainen leaving the team.

Season 2007 - Davies seals d'Antin ride

Eurosport - Sun, 30 Sep 15:22:00 2007
Britain's Chaz Davies will race in the final three Moto GP races of the season after signing a deal with the d'Antin Ducati team.
Davies, 20, was prevented from racing for the team in Japan after suffering a bad reaction to a tetanus jab he was given following a testing crash, but he has now been given the all-clear to replace veteran Shinichi Itoh for the events at Phillip Island, Sepang and Valencia.
"I am very excited to have another opportunity to race in MotoGP with Pramac D'Antin," said a delighted Davies. "I am also very grateful to the team and Ducati for giving me this opportunity.
"Phillip Island has been kind to me in the past with the 250cc so I hope this will transfer onto the MotoGP bike although I expect to have to learn many more things. Of course I will try my best and I hope to have a lot of fun!"
Davies, who has raced full-time in the American-based AMA Supersport and Formula Xtreme championships this year, was thrust into the spotlight when he was chosen by d'Antin to replace Alex Hofmann at the US Grand Prix in July after the German injured his hand in first practice.
Despite being informed he was wanted just 20 minutes before second practice, the former 125cc and 250cc tail-ender performed well, closing his lap-time deficit to team-mate Alex Barros from 1.5 seconds in that first session to just 0.2 in the race.

Chinese GP - Hamilton confident as clash looms

Eurosport - Wed, 03 Oct 22:11:00 2007
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton will become Formula One's first rookie champion, as well as the youngest, if he wins in China.
The 22-year-old Briton is 12 points clear of double world champion and team-mate Fernando Alonso with just Brazil to come after Shanghai.
One more victory, following on from his stunning performance at a wet Fuji in Japan last weekend, would be enough for Hamilton to emerge as Britain's ninth world champion and first since Damon Hill in 1996.
However the rookie is taking nothing for granted.
He also knows that a crash, like Alonso had in Japan on Sunday, could change everything.
"Anything is still possible but I am feeling confident and very determined," he said.
"There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of days about the championship, but I just push that to the back of my mind.
"I am only focused on the next two races and doing the best I can in China and Brazil with the team."
Shanghai and Brazil are tracks that Hamilton has never seen before but that should not faze him. He won at Indianapolis, Montreal and Fuji without any previous experience of them either.
Alonso, whose hopes of a third title in a row now depend largely on some "miracle" of misfortune striking his bitter rival, started on pole position in Shanghai last year with Renault and won in 2005.
"My retirement in Japan has not made it easy for me in the championship," said the Spaniard, who will use the team's spare car from Japan with another being flown out from Britain as backstop, with some understatement.
"But there are still 20 points to be won and I am going to fight hard for each one of them.
"There is always a lot of talk of pressure and distractions at this time of the year, all I think about is racing and winning at Shanghai and Interlagos."
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, the only other driver still mathematically in the championship hunt but 17 points adrift of Hamilton, can complicate matters by taking Ferrari's 200th grand prix win.
Shanghai suited the Ferraris last year, with now-retired Michael Schumacher roaring from sixth on the grid to take the 91st and final win of his stellar career and grab the championship lead for one last time.
Raikkonen can count on the support of his Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa, who is out of the reckoning, while the McLaren drivers will be showing each other no favours.
That could play into the Finn's hands and he is certainly not about to throw in the towel.
"It looks like Hamilton has wrapped it up, but we will not give up," he said.
"At least we will try to make it more difficult for them by winning these last two races."
Ferrari have won the constructors' championship after McLaren were stripped of all their points and fined $100 million last month for having the Italian team's technical information in their possession