Testing 2008 - 250s: KTM top Jerez test

Eurosport - Mon, 28 Jan 12:34:00 2008

Mika Kallio and Hiroshi Aoyama ensured that KTM topped the timesheets at the first 250cc world championship test of the year at Jerez.

Finn Kallio, 25, who won twice in his rookie season last year, ended the three days at the Spanish Grand Prix venue with the quickest time of 1:43.303 on the final day, while Aoyama was two tenths of a second slower.

The results of the test though, remain inconclusive as, on full fuel loads and with race tyres over the first two days, the duo found themselves a tenth or two behind the pace set by Alvaro Bautista and Tom Luthi.

Third overall was the Toth Aprilia of Hector Barbera with Bautista's Aspar bike and Alex Debon's Lotus Aprilia next up.

Luthi's Caffe Latte bike, Marco Simoncelli on the best of the Gileras and the Aspar Aprilia of Hector Faubel completed the top eight and were the only other riders to dip under the 1:44 barrier during the three days.

Czech rider Karel Abraham was surprisingly high up the order in ninth place, while Debon's new team-mate Aleix Espargaro completed the top ten.

Gilera rider Roberto Locatelli had crashes on both days two and three, with the former accident coming at the Peluqui corner - the scene of the crash that saw him almost lose both feet last year. He was unhurt.

Lukas Pesek and 2003 champion Manuel Poggiali both came off their Aprilias on day two while Russell Gomez also had a light fall.

After sampling a 2008-spec Aprilia for the first time on day one, Irishman Eugene Laverty found five seconds worth of pace during the test and ended up 15th fastest.

Honda unveil Button challenger

Eurosport - Tue, 29 Jan 19:42:00 2008

Honda unveiled their brand new car, the RA108, at their Brackley headquarters in England, and declared their intention to put the disappointments of last year behind them.

2007 saw Britain's Jenson Button and Brazilian veteran Rubens Barrichello struggle outside the top ten for most of the season, with Button only managing 15th in the championship and Barrichello failing to score for the first time in his 15-year career.

Yasuhiro Wada, the general manager of Honda Motorsports said: "2007 was very disappointing, but we have put that behind us now.

"It is not good to have a season like that, but I will only allow it to happen once."

The new car, which had its track debut at Valencia last week, keeps in line with its predecessor in having a livery based on Honda's 'Earth-dream' philosophy. The black base colour is now white, but the image of the earth is retained.

But the big changes have come in the aerodynamic department, which has seen a staff overhaul and a totally new wing package.

New team principal Ross Brawn, who was influential in steering Michael Schumacher to seven world titles with Benetton and Ferrari, said that this was the main area that needed improvement.

"Last year's car generated a lot of downforce," said Brawn. "The problem was it was very aggressive downforce, which meant it was pretty difficult for the drivers to drive the car.

"This year we've concentrated on making the downforce as useable as possible. Doing this will have all sorts of effects. The car will slide less, that will save tyres, and that makes a big difference."

Brawn also confirmed that the car will change considerably before the first race of the season in Australia.

The car will again be raced by Barrichello and Button, who, with 384 Grand Prix starts between them, are the most experienced paring in the sport.

They have a new test driver in the shape of Austrian veteran Alex Wurz, who will have his first run in the car in Spain this week and also confirmed that Luca Filippi and Britain's Mike Conway will also test sporadically this season

Arsenal go top with victory over Newcastle

LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) -

Arsenal beat Newcastle United 3-0 for the second time in four days on Tuesday to edge ahead of Manchester United in the Premier League title race.

Goals from Emmanuel Adebayor, Mathieu Flamini and Cesc Fabregas underlined Arsenal's superiority and took the Gunners three points above champions United, who can regain top spot with a win at home to Portsmouth on Wednesday.

Newcastle, beaten by the same score at the Emirates in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, are still looking for their first goal since Kevin Keegan returned as manager earlier this month and remain just seven points above the relegation zone.

"The players were genuine tonight and kept chasing the ball even when they were 3-0 down," Keegan told the BBC. "3-0 looks bad but we didn't deserve to lose 3-0.

"Michael Owen was wrongly flagged offside when it was only 1-0, Flamini scored a wonder goal and their third goal was definitely offside."

The three other matches on Tuesday all involved teams fighting to stay in the top flight.
Sunderland gave their survival hopes a huge boost, beating Birmingham City 2-0 at home to move out of the relegation zone and up into 14th place.

Wigan Athletic drop into the bottom three after losing 1-0 at Middlesbrough while Fulham stay second from bottom after a 0-0 draw at fellow strugglers Bolton Wanderers.
Newcastle, without a league goal this year, looked solid for 40 minutes against Arsenal but did not pose any attacking threat.

Adebayor then headed in a cross from the outstanding Flamini for his 16th league goal of the season and there was no way back for shot-shy Newcastle.
Flamini struck with a powerful right-foot shot after 72 minutes and Fabregas rounded off the victory after being put clear by Nicklas Bendtner.

The closest Newcastle came to scoring was a Nicky Butt free kick that struck the bar late on.
Midfielder Joey Barton came on as a substitute for Newcastle, his first appearance since being charged with assault and affray last month. He was cleared to play after his bail conditions were changed.

Debutant Rade Prica scored for Sunderland to seal a crucial victory over Birmingham after Daryl Murphy opened the scoring. That took Sunderland to 23 points, three above the bottom three.
Middlesbrough are five points clear of the drop zone after former Arsenal striker Jeremie Aliadiere got the winner against Wigan who drop into the relegation places on goal difference.

(By Martyn Herman)

Indonesia's John retains WBA featherweight title by stopping Panama's Caballero in 7th

January 26, 2008

Indonesia's Yohannes Christian John retained his WBA featherweight title by stopping Roinet Caballero of Panama in the seventh round Saturday.

The 28-year-old John (40-0-1) was making his ninth title defense since winning the belt in 2003.

The scheduled 12-rounder was the first fight outside Panama for Caballero (22-8-1).

FA Cup - Keegan's Newcastle thrash Stoke

Eurosport - Thu, 17 Jan 00:28:00 2008

New boss Kevin Keegan's presence was enough to inspire ten-man Newcastle to a 4-1 win over Stoke in their FA Cup third round replay.

Michael Owen put the home side ahead and, just after Emre was sent off, Cacapa doubled their lead. James Milner and Damien Duff added in the second half, while Liam Lawrence grabbed a late consolation.

The last time Keegan, who was watching from the stands after being confirmed as Sam Allardyce's replacement, took on Stoke with Newcastle it was also in the third round of the FA Cup but a repeat of that 4-0 win would have been a coincidence too far.

Before the match the former Englandmanager referred to his delighted at having returned 'home' and if that is what he is calling St James Park these days then Newcastle were anything but hospitable to their guests, taking only eight minutes to break the deadlock.

It came against the run of play, Ryan Shawcross failing to get Shay Given's parry on target and the Ireland keeper saving from Ricardo Fuller after he outsmarted the Newcastle defence to force a near-post shot.

But with plenty of end-to-end action it was not long before Newcastle threatened the visitors and their best attempts both fell to Owen. The England international sent a long range effort marginally over the crossbar before he eventually scored his first goal in the FA Cup for four years. Duff whipped the ball into the far post and, having seen Mark Viduka head the ball down, Owen slotted it through a mêlée of Stoke legs.

Stoke captain John Eustace and Newcastle's Emre then clashed when they both went in for a tackle, but the Turkish defender protested that Eustace has shown his studs when going to ground. The incident provoked an almost instantaneous response from the Turkey midfielder, who exacted reputation with a knee-high reducer after returning to the pitch following treatment.

Referee Uriah Rennie showed him a straight red and, with only 29 minutes on the clock, Tony Pulis' men sensed blood. But it was Newcastle who went in for the kill, Cacapa doubling their lead with a header from a near-post corner only two minutes after the dismissal.

In the second half Milner chested the ball down and then cut outside his defender before firing a low shot beyond Steve Simonsen. Only moments earlier Rory Delap had Stoke's best effort when he looked to have beaten Given from a close-range header, only to be inches short.

Milner was involved in the fourth goal too, his wide ball to Charles N'Zogbia moved onto Duff who finished well.

Lawrence grabbed a late consolation for Stoke with a superb long-range effort and - despite the scoreline - Stoke may take heart from the fact that they did not look out of their depth in Premier League company as they return to their promotion campaign in the Championship.

Newcastle's emphatic victory has secured them a trip to the Emirates Stadium in the next round. Incidentally Arsene Wenger began his reign in North London when Keegan was last at the helm and since then the Frenchman has seen ten different faces take charge of St James Park.

Season 2008 - Manning stays with Foyt

Eurosport - Fri, 21 Dec 08:27:00 2007

Britain's Darren Manning will remain in the IRL IndyCar Series next year after re-signing for Foyt Racing.

Manning, 32, had a promising return to the series this year after 18 months out of a full-time drive, finishing in the top ten five times for the cash-strapped team and taking 13th overall in the points standings.

"Last year we came away most weekends wishing we could start the weekend over because we had learned so much about the car, and what I want in a car," Manning, whose team is owned by US racing legend AJ Foyt, said.

"With the compressed schedule, we were doing most of our development work on race weekends. We now have a baseline to work from for all of the tracks which will help tremendously.

"Last year was my first year working with AJ and driving the Dallara chassis with Honda power. There was a lot that had to be learned: AJ learning what I want, me learning how the Dallara reacts to changes and then the overall communication within the crew.

Prior to moving to Foyt, Manning spent 18 months with Ganassi Racing. In all, he has started 41 races with four fourth places, including one at Detroit this year, his best results.

In his junior career he claimed both the Japanese Formula Three title and the Macau Grand Prix victory in 1999 and has also finished on the podium in A1 GP for Team Great Britain and in ChampCar.

Ducati explains the GP8.

Wed 16 Jan, 04:00 PM

"Our 2008 bike is an evolution of the 2007 model, how could we have done otherwise? There was so very little wrong with that bike..."

One day after the Desmosedici GP8's official launch on the snowy slopes of Madonna di Campiglio, Ducati Corse CEO and product director of Ducati Motor Holding, Claudio Domenicali, has revealed the technical changes made for the new bike - with which Casey Stoner will aim to defend his MotoGP crown.

But first, Domenicali looked back on 2007, when Ducati won 11 of the 18 races (ten for Stoner, one for Loris Capirossi) en route to a clean sweep of the riders', manufacturers' and teams' world championships.

"The very special feeling created in 2007 between our rider and our bike and tyres resulted in a fantastic season for all of us," said Domenicali, speaking at the 'Wrooom' MotoGP Press Ski Meeting. "I could sum it up by saying that Casey was able to perfectly interpret our GP7, which had been impeccably built and maintained high levels of competitiveness and excellent reliability throughout the season. The Bridgestone tyres also took a step forwards in terms of performance consistency, thanks to our successful joint efforts which had begun in 2005 and allowed us to basically close the gap with Michelin."

"Our 2008 bike is an evolution of the 2007 model, how could we have done otherwise? There was so very little wrong with that bike," stated Domenicali, before analysing the new bike's technical characteristics. "We worked on all areas. In terms of chassis set-up, the new frame is lighter with optimised torsional and flexural rigidity to solve the rather minimal 'chattering' that we experienced on a few occasions last year.

"The rear suspension geometry is also different to reduce the 'pumping' effect observed in certain tracks and in special conditions. As for the engine, we worked on two areas. First of all, performance. We introduced a number of modifications to minimise friction and obtain a small power increase without affecting fuel consumption. Secondly, we worked on rideability, in other words, engine response proportional to the rider's torque requirements. We tackled this aspect to obtain a 'fuller' engine response especially mid-range and maintain peak power for longer.

"Finally, with regards to electronics, we modified a few sensors and actuator details to increase reliability and consequently, safety. One of the main reasons of our presence in racing is to develop technology to be transferred to production bikes, improving safety and making them even more fun to ride.

"Electronics play an important role in all this. An example of this is our new 1098 R, which is equipped with exactly the same traction control system used in Ducati racing bikes," Domenicali revealed, "making it the first bike in the world to feature a system able to combine safety with high performance."

Domenicali concluded his presentation by thanking the team's sponsors for their contribution to the factory's MotoGP success.

"We would like to thank Phillip Morris who made it possible to reach these goals. Without them, all this would have been very hard to achieve. Our contract with them runs until 2011 which gives us the peace of mind needed to continue our work," said Domenicali. "Just today, we've renewed our contract with Shell, a technological partner extremely important to us, given the decisive role played by fuel consumption in our championship regulations."

Domenicali also thanked other Ducati partners, among whom Alice, a long-standing sponsor, San Disk, the contract with whom has been renewed until 2009, and Riello UPS. Finally, he mentioned the newly acquired, important partner Enel, now in a two-year agreement with Ducati.

Italian Marco Melandri will ride along Stoner in 2008.

Raikkonen upbeat after test

Eurosport - Wed, 16 Jan 18:22:00 2008

Kimi Raikkonen has warned his title rivals Ferrari are firmly on track to deliver a championship-defending car.

In the first official test of the new year at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain, Raikkonen and Ferrari already appear strong.

Traditionally, there is a certain degree of posturing throughout a test and it can be hard to gauge the true level of any car.

But a straight-talking Raikkonen could not be happier with what he has seen so far from his Ferrari ahead of the forthcoming season.

Following the final day of the three-day test in Jerez, in which Raikkonen was eighth-quickest behind the Toyota of Timo Glock, he said: "Overall we're happy with how everything has gone.

"The first impression is good. There is a good feeling in the car, but we can improve in many areas. There's certainly more to come.

"Although the car already feels good, this is not the final spec. We're getting more new parts, and once we get the final car, it's going to be very good.

"We will obviously have to wait to see what the others are doing, but I think we are already in a good position.

"We've improved on the areas we wanted to from last year, and so far everything is running well. Hopefully we will keep going in that direction.

"As for winning the title again, you never know what is going to happen, but we should have a good package, so at least we'll have a chance."

Ferrari and McLaren are again expected to be out in front, while it remains to be seen what Fernando Alonso can achieve following his return to Renault.

The French marque were not the force last year as in the previous two seasons when Alonso and the team won back-to-back titles prior to his ill-fated defection to McLaren.

Although Alonso does not take delivery of the new Renault until the end of this month, Raikkonen is sceptical the Spaniard will be amongst the frontrunners this season.

"We'll see what happens in the races," added the Finn, who won his first F1 title in dramatic circumstances in the final race of last season.

"I don't think they (Renault) have improved so much suddenly after last season with the old car, but let's wait and see."

Melandri ready to go

Eurosport - Thu, 10 Jan 17:29:00 2008

New Ducati rider Marco Melandri is eagerly awaiting the season-opener in Qatar although he hopes it will not be too chilly during MotoGP's first night race.

"It will be awesome. An amazing event for everybody. I can't wait to test the weekend before the race," Melandri said at Ducati's winter ski retreat in northern Italy.

"I'm just a bit worried about the weather. Maybe at night time it might be a bit cold. The track will be cold."

Melandri's new team mate, world champion Casey Stoner, is less excited about the March 9 event despite racing under lights as a 10-year-old dirt track rider.

"We will not be able to know (how it works out) until we have done it. It is a lot different with the lighting.

"As long as it is fine to race it is no problem. If it was in another country you would have dew coming down getting on the track," the said.

Some commentators have criticised the night race as a gimmick with MotoGP continuing to battle for audiences with the Superbikes championship.

However, Melandri believes the two disciplines can live side by side.

"They still are two different championships. MotoGP fans are looking for the riders. The Superbike fans are looking at the bikes they have in their garages," the Italian said.

Melandri finished fifth last season and hopes riding for the famous Italian team alongside world champion Stoner will make him more competitive this year.

"Everyone says it is so bad to be his team mate but for me it's perfect. There is a big motivation for me to improve every day," he said.

"This has been my dream for a long time. Now I'm part of the project. So I have to work on myself as the team is very good and the bike is beautiful."

Melandri has enjoyed the ski retreat and is not worrying about getting injured ahead of the season.

"I haven't skied for a long time. We have a good teacher with us so we go very carefully. It is very safe as there are not so many people around us. Everything can be dangerous," he said.

Ferrari fear McLaren the most

Eurosport - Thu, 10 Jan 13:50:00 2008

Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa think McLaren will be their main challengers again this year despite the loss of Fernando Alonso to Renault.

Raikkonen won last season's world championship by one point from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Alonso with Ferrari claiming the constructors' title after McLaren were stripped of all their team points in a spying scandal.

Alonso fell out with McLaren after one season and has returned to Renault, who struggled last year having powered the Spaniard to the world title in 2005 and 2006.

"For sure McLaren will be challenging us like last year. But we need to wait for the first two races to get exactly the right idea," Raikkonen said.

"(With Alonso) it all depends on how good a car Renault can make. For sure he can drive fast."

Alonso has been replaced at McLaren by former Renault driver Heikki Kovalainen before the season-opening race in Melbourne on March 16.

Raikkonen believes his Finnish compatriot can compete but hinted it might be better for McLaren to avoid a repetition of last season where team mates Hamilton and Alonso had a bitter battle for the title.

"I think for sure Kovalainen will be good. I'm happy for him. At McLaren last year they were both fighting for the championship which made it a bit more complicated," he said.

Raikkonen left McLaren for Ferrari before the start of last season and the Finn was coy about his reasons for moving and the differences between the two teams.

"The biggest difference is this is an Italian team. Everyone has a different way of working. But for sure where I am now I am happy. I probably don't want to get into those things as some people might get upset," he added.

Brazilian Massa, who finished fourth in the standings last season, is intrigued to see how Hamilton fares after the Briton led the championship for much of his rookie season last year before inexperience cost him in the final races.

"His first year in Formula One he went very fast. Based on what he learnt, I don't know what happened in the last two races. It was not good to have an incredible season and finish in the way he did," Massa said.

2008 Testing - Hamilton back in the saddle

Eurosport - Thu, 10 Jan 18:51:00 2008

Lewis Hamilton finally turned in his first laps of 2008 as he put McLaren's new MP4-23 through its paces at Jerez in Spain.

Having been forced to watch from the sidelines as Heikki Kovalainen and Pedro de la Rosa gave the car its first day of testing, the 23-year-old Briton, who narrowly missed out on last year's world title by one point, put the McLaren through its paces.

Hamilton's best of 103 laps was 1:19.132, which was faster than de la Rosa's day one best by half a second, delighting him.

"It was fantastic to get my hands on the MP4-23 this morning in Jerez. I saw the completed car for the first time on Monday at the team's launch in Stuttgart and I have been pretty impatient since then!

"My first run was at 09:10 and my first impressions are encouraging. I covered over 103 laps, which is 456kms, today. Considering this is only the second day the car has been on track, I am pretty happy with that.

"We have a lot of work to do, but now we have a real understanding of where we are starting from."

His new team-mate Kovalainen had his second day of running, completing 101 laps and ending up three tenths of a second slower than Hamilton.

"Today was my second day with the MP4-23 and I have now been able to complete over 447kms in total," Kovalainen said. "We are all still spending time learning about the car and starting to get used to it.

"That we were on track for 204 laps in total today is definitely helping us to learn and progress with the car.

"For me in particular the car is very different from last year, and I have been focusing on that side of things. Settling into the team has been very easy, and I am looking forward to continuing our preparations for Melbourne.

Hamilton and Kovalainen will both test for one more day at Jerez before continuing for three more days next week.