The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Pedrosa again fastest in Sepang testing
- Ligety shocks field to win super-G title
- Hamilton spins out on first Mercedes drive
| Pedrosa again fastest in Sepang testing Posted: 06 Feb 2013 04:04 AM PST SEPANG, Malaysia: Spaniard Dani Pedrosa of Honda fought hard to set the quickest lap on Wednesday, the second day in pre-season MotoGP testing at Malaysia's Sepang circuit which saw rainfall towards the end of the session. Pedrosa was first on the timesheet with a fastest lap of 2 minutes 00.549 seconds, while reigning double champion Jorge Lorenzo of Yamaha was 0.019 seconds slower, and Honda's star rookie Marc Marquez was 0.254 seconds off the pace. Italy's nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi, who is back with Yamaha after two dismal seasons with Italian team Ducati, again ended the day fourth, 0.489 seconds behind Pedrosa. It was the Honda and Yamaha foursome that continued to top the timesheet although the gap to the rest of the field is narrowing. Pedrosa continued to test parts for engine durability, while Lorenzo was close on his tail with his new chassis and engine upgrades. Spain's Marquez continued to impress as is Rossi, who is also putting in consistent times as he gets reacquainted with his Yamaha machine after a two-year absence. Pedrosa, a three-time championship runner-up who is still looking for his first world crown, told reporters at the end of the day that he concentrated on the weight balance settings on his bike. "Yes, lap time is okay. (But) the bike is not ready for maximum push. It is not done yet but we are on it. I did one lap in the afternoon and the rain came," he said. Meanwhile a smiling Marquez who managed to stay ahead of Rossi for two straight days said that he was happy to set constant lap times. "Today I tried to understand the electronics control on the bike. The Honda team tried to help me. Sure it is a surprise to be in front of Rossi," he said. "But we are in the pre-season testing. The position is not important. This is only the first test." Lorenzo, who is in the hunt for another successful MotoGP year, was worried about his acceleration out of corners. "Well I am happy today," he said but "we still could not solve the problem with the acceleration." Lorenzo, however, said the strong point of the Yamaha was its powerful braking, resulting in the bike being competitive with his rival Pedrosa. The first test session ends on Thursday. The second test session will be held at Sepang from February 26 to 28. The third session will be held in Jerez from March 23 to 25. The opening round of the MotoGP world championship will be in Qatar under floodlights on April 7. Malaysia will host round 15 on October 13.-AFP |
| Ligety shocks field to win super-G title Posted: 06 Feb 2013 03:37 AM PST SCHLADMING: Ted Ligety handed the US team the boost they needed after losing starlet Lindsey Vonn to injury with a shock victory in the men's super-G at the World Ski Championships on Wednesday. Just a day after Vonn's season was brought to a premature halt when she ruptured knee ligaments in a horror crash in the women's super-G, Ligety's perfect mix of accuracy and aggression saw him pip a handful of pre-race favourites. The 28-year-old clocked 1min 23.96sec down the 1.8km-long Planai course, with late French call-up Gauthier De Tessieres taking silver at 0.20sec, and Olympic champion Aksel Lund Svindal claiming bronze, a further 0.02sec adrift. "I'm really happy," Ligety beamed, saying he had not dwelt on Vonn's crash. "You can't let those races affect you. It's too bad for Lindsey." The result was "pretty crazy", he said. "I was trying not to slide any turns. I couldn't really see the snow that well." It was, on paper, a startling result for Ligety, a giant slalom specialist with not a single World Cup super-G victory to his name in 10 seasons on the global ski circuit. His sole podium in the event came on the notorious Bellevarde piste in Val d'Isere in 2010. But the Planai course here was not anywhere in the same category as that, although there was a tricky roll six gates from the end that ensured many skiers were 'bumped' into losing valuable time by skiing wide on the next gate to compensate. Ligety, with his familiar low, crouched racing position, mastered the slope magnificently as he touched speeds of 83kph, and importantly maintained his control through the final, testing roll to give himself a clean line into the finish. It bodes well for Ligety's medal hopes in the giant slalom and combined events, the American the reigning world champion in the former and Olympic gold medallist in 2006 in the latter. It was also some result for De Tessieres, called up to replace Johan Clarey in the French team at the last moment. Norwegian colossus Svindal saw his bid to add the world title to his Olympic crown slip away within sight of the finish, a horrendous error going wide into the final schuss losing him valuable tenths of a second. Svindal, who already has four gold medals to his name (super combined (2), giant slalom and downhill), started the race as outright favourite, having won three of the four super-G races on the World Cup tour this season, including the last two. Defending world champion Christoph Innerhofer of Italy, who also won on the Planai slope here at the World Cup finals last year, finished in seventh at 1:25.05, 1.09 sec off the pace.- AFP |
| Hamilton spins out on first Mercedes drive Posted: 06 Feb 2013 03:14 AM PST JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA, Spain: Britain's former world champion Lewis Hamilton had a minor accident on Wednesday during his first day of testing for his new team Mercedes in Spain. The 28-year-old, 2008 champion, was on his 15th lap of timed testing when he drove the brand new car straight off the track and piled into a barrier of tyres without sustaining any noticeable injuries. The session was immediately brought to a halt, while German teammate Nico Rosberg was only able to complete 14 laps before calling it a day on Tuesday, following electrical problems that caused a minor fire. Despite the problems which are possibly linked to a faulty front suspension, Hamilton has high hopes for the upcoming season that begins on March 17 in Melbourne. "There is no company with a longer history in Grand Prix racing than Mercedes-Benz and it is an honour for me to tread in the footsteps of legends like Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss and Michael Schumacher." Hamilton told the Mercedes website. "It's the start of a new chapter for me, a new adventure Rosberg who has just one victory on the circuit in 128 starts says he is also well prepared for the new season in his fourth year with the English-based team. "I've been working really hard over the winter on my physical preparation, both in the mountains - climbing to over 2,000 metres with ski boots - and also in the Mediterranean, training on my bike, swimming and running. "The atmosphere in the team is very positive and the people are highly motivated to succeed. And, of course, I have a new team-mate with Lewis (Hamilton). "It's his first time in the Silver Arrow and I look forward to working together and pushing each other hard, to make this the best team in Formula One." Germany's Sebastian Vettel will be gunning for a fourth straight driver's crown as the campaign begins in Australia and will feature 19 races until the final Grand Prix on November 24 at Sao Paulo, Brazil.-AFP |
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