OPTIMUM PROCUREMENT IN SPORT VIDEO
The video in which Nick hosted the Optimum Procurement in Sport forum at Old Trafford cricket ground is now available at http://www.optimumprocurement.co.uk/
The video in which Nick hosted the Optimum Procurement in Sport forum at Old Trafford cricket ground is now available at http://www.optimumprocurement.co.uk/
2012 Iveco Grand Prix of Aragon
ROUND FOURTEEN 2012 MotoGP™ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 30
CRUTCHLOW FIGHTING TO HOLD ONTO FIFTH IN ARAGON
Cal Crutchlow is fighting to hang onto fifth place in the MotoGP™ World Championship at the Iveco Grand Prix of Aragon in Spain on Sunday. The Isle of Man – based Midlander crashed out of the previous round in Misano just two weeks after securing his first ever MotoGP podium finish. Riding the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha he is involved in a tremendous fight for fifth place in just his second MotoGP season.
Breathing down his neck with just five rounds remaining is nine times World Champion Valentino Rossi fresh from his second place on the Ducati in Misano. The Italian is just two points adrift while Alvaro Bautista, who grabbed his first ever MotoGP podium at Misano and Moto2 World Champion Stefan Bradl are four and seven points respectively behind the British rider.
Twenty five year old Ulsterman Jonathan Rea continues to replace the injured World Champion Casey Stoner on the Repsol Honda after an impressive MotoGP debut at Misano. In a chaotic race he kept his head to finish eighth and he returns to Aragon where he tested for two days earlier in the month.
It’s a sad race for Cumbrian James Ellison following the death of his father last week. He will have a new Aprilia ART engine in his Paul Bird Motorsport CRT machine.
Gloucestershire teenager Scott Redding is also fighting to hang onto fifth place in the Moto2™ World Championship. Riding the Marc VDS Kalex machine he has a five point advantage over team-mate Mika Kallio and will be looking to capitalize on good qualifying performances in the last two grands prix where he’s taken front row starts.
Twenty one year old Bradley Smith has only missed out points scoring once this season riding the Tech 3 Mistral machine. He has a good record in Aragon with a 125 cc podium finish in 2010 and sixth in the Moto2 race last year. Londoner Gino Rea must have a change of fortune in the last five races with a blown engine his latest tale of woe at Misano.
Wiltshire teenager Danny Kent could be moving up to Moto2 next season and will want to end his Moto3 career on a high riding the Red Bull KTM Ajo machine. He currently lies eighth in the World Championship, 11 points behind Fahmi Khairuddin and the injured Alexis Masbou who share sixth. Danny Webb hopes to sign of his time with the Indian Mahindra team with some points scoring rides after a disappointing and unlucky season so far.
McPHEE TO RIDE IN FINAL FIVE GRANDS PRIX
Scottish teenager John McPhee is set to replace the injured Frenchman Alexis Masbou for the remaining five rounds of the Moto3™ World Championship, starting at the Iveco Grand Prix of Aragon in Spain on Sunday. Caretta Technology rider Masbou, who is currently sixth in the Moto3 World Championship, broke his femur in a private test at Vallelunga in Italy earlier this month.
Eighteen year old McPhee, from Oban, Argyll, will join the Turin-based Caretta squad at Aragon and will compete on his KRP M3-01 chassis which has been re-liveried in Caretta Technology colours and is to be fitted with the Italian squad’s Geo Technology Grand Prix spec Honda engine.
McPhee, whose regular ride is with the Racing Steps Foundation-backed KRP team in Spain’s CEV Moto3 Series, will wrap up his hectic end-of-season schedule with a return visit to Valencia for the final round of the Spanish Championship. McPhee heads to Aragon having already picked up three world championship wildcards so far this year including last month’s Grand Prix at Brno where he eventually finished 15th after running as high as third place in the early stages.
There is also good news for Kent-based Danny Webb who has signed a deal with the World Wide Communications Ambrogio Next Racing team to compete in next year’s Moto3 World Championship.
John McPhee:
“It’s fantastic to be given the opportunity. To get more experience at world level with a Grand Prix team like Caretta should give a boost to my prospects of getting a full-time World Championship ride in 2013. Naturally I have a lot of sympathy for Alexis and wish him all the best for a speedy recovery. He’s clearly had a strong working relationship with the team to get the results he has, so hopefully I will be able to pick up where he left off.”
LATER BRITISH GRAND PRIX DATE AT SILVERSTONE
The 2013 British Grand Prix at Silverstone will be staged in September next year. The new Silverstone circuit will stage its fourth consecutive MotoGP event on September 1 in the provisional 2013 MotoGP calendar which was issued last week.
At the moment there are 19 races on the calendar with two races thought to be in Texas, USA and Argentina still to be confirmed. (Provisional calendar attached)
LORENZO DEFENDS COMFORTABLE LEAD IN ARAGON
Jorge Lorenzo arrives in Aragon on Sunday defending a 38 point championship lead over the luckless Dani Pedrosa with just five rounds of the 18 round MotoGP Championship remaining. Pedrosa is desperate to close that gap on the Yamaha rider at the Iveco Grand Prix of Aragon but the odds are stacked against him following his first lap crash at the previous round.
Lorenzo secured his sixth win of the season at Misano and knows that virtually podium finishes in those last five rounds would enable him to regain the title he lost to Casey Stoner and Repsol Honda last year. Stoner, who has won the first two grands prix at the 3.155 mile circuit situated between the Mediterranean coast and Zaragoza, is still recovering from his broken right ankle. The Australian will again be replaced by Ulsterman Jonathan Rea but may return for the next round at Motegi in Japan.
While the battle at the front on Sunday is expected to feature Lorenzo and Pedrosa once again nine times World Champion Valentino Rossi could be a threat after his second place in Misano. Ducati and Rossi appeared to have made some definite steps forward and Aragon will be the perfect test for the pair who go their separate ways at the end of the season.
Andrea Dovizioso replaces Rossi at Ducati next year and the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider still has ambitions to finish third in the championship before leaving Yamaha. The Italian is fourth, 23 points behind the absent Stoner while his team-mate Cal Crutchlow is fighting to hand onto fifth place after his crash in Misano.
Just seven points separate Crutchlow in fourth and Stefan Bradl in eighth. Rossi is just two points behind the Englishman while Alvaro Bautista, fresh from his first MotoGP podium at Misano, is just another two points adrift with Bradl just three points behind the Spaniard.
Ben Spies has five more rides with the Yamaha factory team before joining the Ducati ‘Junior’ team next season and will surely grab a podium finish before the end of the season while countryman Nicky Hayden continues his recovery from a hand injury. The American brought Ducati a third place in the first Aragon Grand Prix two years ago.
The CRT battle between Power Electronics Aspar team-mates Randy De Puniet and Aleix Espargaro continues. Frenchman De Puniet leads the Spaniard by just three points after finishing ninth in Misano where Espargaro crashed.
Nineteen year old Marc Marquez is getting closer to the Moto2 World title before joining MotoGP next year. The Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol rider has an impressive 53 point lead in the championship over Pol Espargaro after his seventh win of the season in Misano. He won the Moto2 race at Aragon last year and should clinch the title long before the final round in Valencia. The big fight is for second place where Espargaro has a 20 point advantage over Andrea Iannone, who joins Spies at MotoGP Ducati next year, with former 125 cc World Champion Tom Luthi just four points behind.
German Sandro Cortese also looks odds on favourite to win the inaugural Moto3 World title following his win at Misano. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider increased his championship lead to 46 points after his third win of the season. It’s much closer for second place with just ten points separating the Spaniards Maverick Vinales and Luis Salom.
ARAGON FACTS AND FIGURES
The 3.155 miles Aragon circuit is the newest addition to the MotoGP calendar having staged its first MotoGP race just two years ago. Situated in the beautiful unpopulated area between the Mediterranean coast and Zaragoza the undulating and long circuit is popular with both riders and spectators. It features seven right and ten left corners and a back straight well over half a mile long.
Circuit Length: 5.078kms
Width: 15 m
Pole Position: Right
Longest Straight: 968m
Left Corners: Ten
Right Corners: Six
Pole Position Record:
Casey Stoner/Honda
1.48.451 (2011)
Lap Record:
Casey Stoner/Honda
1’49.046 (2011)
TELEVISION TIMES
BBC/BRITISH EUROSPORT
Friday 28 September
1210 – 1500 British Eurosport – Live Practice Moto3, MotoGP, Moto2
Saturday 29 September
1150 – 1505 BBC Red Button & British Eurosport – Live Qualifying Moto3, MotoGP, Moto2
Sunday 30 September
0955 – 1205 BBC Red Button – Live Moto3 and Moto2 races
0945 –1200 British Eurosport – Live Moto3 and Moto2 races
1230 — 1400 BBC2 Live MotoGP race
CONTACTS
Nick will be available at the circuit from Thursday lunchtime until Sunday night. Please note Nick will not be available to answer the phone during qualifying or the races.
Email nick@nick-harris.co.uk
Mobile 07785 224 596
Time Schedule is attached
McPhee has already raced strongly in Moto3 this year as a wildcard
McPhee is looking forward to Aragon this weekend
ROUND THIRTEEN 2012 MotoGP™ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 16
REA MAKES GRAND PRIX DEBUT ON WORLD CHAMPION’S HONDA
Ulsterman Jonathan Rea makes his MotoGP™ debut riding World Champion Casey Stoner’s Repsol Honda at the Aperol Grand Prix of San Marino and the Riviera of Rimini at Misano on the Adriatic coast of Italy on Sunday.
The 25 year old will replace the injured Stoner at Misano on Sunday and at Aragon in Spain in two weeks’ time after just two test sessions on the Honda RC213V machine at Brno and Aragon. In between the two tests he competed in two World Superbike races at the Nurburgring in Germany at the weekend riding the Honda Fireblade machine.
Last month Rea helped Honda win the prestigious Suzuka Eight Hour race in Japan and also tested the 800cc Honda MotoGP machine in Malaysia a couple of years ago. He has racing experience at both Misano and Aragon in the World Superbike Championship.
Jonathan Rea:
“I’m happy with the test we did in Aragon. Now we’re not looking at the lap times so much, but the gap to the front which is decreasing every test, so I’m happy with that. On the first day we did a lot of work with the base setting and we confirmed that the next morning. I’m still not completely happy finishing the corner, but on the final afternoon I did a long run and my fastest lap came at the end, so I need to push these tyres much harder and it’s a question of trust.
It’s been a good opportunity to test before the race; the Repsol Honda Team gave me the best opportunity, knowing the bike and the circuit and I am constantly learning. I raced in Germany at the Superbikes this weekend, so it will be a busy period for me but I will try to take advantage of it and enjoy it as much as I can. I’m grateful to Honda for giving me this opportunity. I don’t underestimate the challenge.”
CRUTCHLOW TO CONTINUE WHERE HE LEFT OFF
Cal Crutchlow can’t wait for the 28 lap race at Misano on Sunday after re-writing the history books in the previous round at Brno in the Czech Republic. The Isle of Man –based Midlander became the first British rider to finish on a MotoGP podium for 12 years with a brilliant third place finish behind championship leaders Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo riding the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha.
Crutchlow in just his second MotoGP season lies fifth in the championship and has plenty of experience at the 2.262 miles Misano circuit in MotoGP and World Superbikes. He trails team-mate Andrea Dovizioso by 28 points in their battle for fourth place with six rounds remaining. Cumbrian James Ellison continues his fight for CRT honours. Riding the Paul Bird Motorsport ART machine he’s 18th in the championship three points behind Colin Edwards.
Gloucestershire teenager Scott Redding wants to forget the previous Moto2™ round in Brno where he started from the front row of the grid but crashed the Marc VDS machine at the third corner. He held onto fifth place in the championship two places in front of his great British rival Bradley Smith. The 21 year old Oxfordshire rider recovered from a bad qualifying session to finish eighth in Brno riding the Tech 3 machine. He’s desperate for a strong finish to his Moto2 career before joining MotoGP next season. It was also a tough Brno weekend for Londoner Gino Rea who crashed in the early stages but remounted to finish 24th.
Kent-based Danny Webb has recovered from his hand and wrist injury to return to the saddle of his Mahindra machine in the Moto3™ race. He will be joined by Wiltshire teenager Danny Kent who needs some more podium finishes to push on from eighth place in the championship. His one podium finish was a third place in Holland and he trails KTM team-mate Zulfahmi Khairuddin by ten points in their battle for seventh.
PEDROSA CHASING HATRICK TO KEEP THE PRESSURE ON
Dani Pedrosa chases a hatrick of MotoGP victories to close the gap on championship leader Jorge Lorenzo in the Aperol Grand Prix of San Marino and the Riviera of Rimini at Misano on Sunday.
The Repsol Honda rider arrives at the 2.626 miles Misano circuit on the Adriatic coast of Italy after winning the last two rounds at Indianapolis and Brno to close the gap to just 13 points on Lorenzo with six rounds of the 18 round championship remaining. It promises to be another head to head confrontation between the two bitter Spanish rivals who have both won at Misano in the last couple of years. Lorenzo brought Yamaha victory last year with Pedrosa on the top step of the podium the previous year.
World Champion Casey Stoner, who won at Misano five years ago, will miss the race recovering from the operation on his fractured right ankle. He will be replaced by Suzuka Eight Hour race winner Jonathan Rea who makes his grand prix debut.
Stoner’s third place in the championship is coming under threat from Italian Andrea Dovizioso who in turn is involved a battle with his Monster Tech 3 Yamaha team-mate Cal Crutchlow for fourth. It was a big weekend for the pair of them in Brno with Dovizioso agreeing a two year deal with Ducati and Crutchlow securing his first ever MotoGP podium.
Valentino Rossi will be replaced by Dovizioso at Ducati next year as he makes a much publicised return to Yamaha. It will be a bitter sweet weekend for the nine times World Champion at his home track. The Italian lives just five miles from the circuit where he won in 2008 and 2009 but will be making his last appearance for Ducati in Italy. He’s involved in a tremendous battle for sixth place in the championship with World Champions Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista. The trio separated by just five points with Rossi’s team-mate Nicky Hayden in ninth place and likely to return after missing both Indianapolis and Brno through injury. Spaniard Hector Barbara is also expected to return riding the Pramac Ducati following his practice crash at Indianapolis.
Power Electronics Aspar team-mates Aleix Espargaro and Randy De Puniet are separated by just four points as they continue their battle for top CRT honours while David Salom replaces Ivan Silva in the Avintia Blusens BQR team for the remainder of the season. Italian Danilo Petrucci will ride a BMW Suter machine replacing his Came Ioda.
Spanish teenager Marc Marquez is a clear favorite to win the Moto2 race on Sunday and the World title before the final race of the season. The Catalunya Caixa Repsol Suter rider chases his seventh win of the season at the circuit where he has won both 125 and Moto2 races to increase that impressive 48 point championship lead. Nothing is ever clear cut in Moto2 racing and the likes of this year’s other grand prix winners Pol Espargaro, Tom Luthi and Andrea Iannone will make life as tough as possible for Marquez before he departs to MotoGP next year.
German Sandro Cortese has been almost as impressive in the Moto3 Championship building up a 32 point lead with a combination of consistency and aggression. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider may have only won two grands prix but has only finished off the podium in one of the 11 rounds. In contrast second placed Maverick Vinales has won five grands prix but then produced just one more podium finish. Vinales must win on Sunday and hope for a rare Cortese mistake in the mayhem of a Moto3 Championship that has also brought wins for Jonas Folger, Luis Salom, Romano Fenati and Louis Rossi.
MISANO FACTS AND FIGURES
REVERSED MISANO RETURNED IN 2007
The 2.626 miles Misano circuit returned to MotoGP action in 2007 after a 14 year absence but running the opposite way round. The circuit, which is situated near to Riccione on the Adriatic coast of Italy, stopped hosting MotoGP events following the serious accident of the 500cc World Champion Wayne Rainey in 1993. It returned in 2007 running the opposite direction and with a number of safety changes.
The original circuit was built in the mid seventies to replace the sea front road circuit which staged early season international meetings.
MARCO MEMORIES
The Misano circuit was the home track for the late Marco Simoncelli and his San Carlo Gresini team. Consequently there will be a number of special events to celebrate the career of Marco who lost his life at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang last year.
The 1993 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz has led a cycle ride relay, The Cycle of Wishes, from Donington Park in England to Misano. On Thursday evening all competitors’ in the grand prix this weekend will cycle a lap of honour of the Misano circuit to celebrate the life of the former 250 cc World Champion.
Circuit Length: 4.226kms
Width: 14 m
Pole Position: Left
Longest Straight: 565m
Left Corners: Six
Right Corners: Ten
Pole Position Record:
Casey Stoner/Honda
1.33.138 (2011)
Lap Record:
Jorge Lorenzo/Yamaha
1’33.906 (2011)
TELEVISION TIMES
BBC/BRITISH EUROSPORT
Friday 15 September
1210 – 1500 British Eurosport – Live Practice Moto3, MotoGP, Moto2
Saturday 16 September
1150 – 1505 BBC Red Button & British Eurosport – Live Qualifying Moto3, MotoGP, Moto2
Sunday 17 September
0955 – 1205 BBC Red Button – Live Moto3 and Moto2 races
0945 –1200 British Eurosport – Live Moto3 and Moto2 races
1230 — 1400 BBC2 and HD Live MotoGP race