The other motorsports thread (Nascar, Indy, WTC, BTCC, etc)

NASCAR turning right at Sonoma today, should be a great race.XSamFisherX

Those double-file restarts were crazy! :o Can't wait to see it at WG.

Rossi claims 100th GP win at Assen

Valentino Rossi reached yet another milestone in his astounding career as he claimed his 100th victory at grand prix level with a dominant performance in the Assen TT.

The reigning champion led a Yamaha one-two for the second successive race, but unlike Catalunya two weeks ago, no late heroics were required to beat his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, for Rossi had this race totally under control from very early on.

Dani Pedrosa had jumped into the lead from second place at the start, and although Rossi repassed the Honda further around the opening lap, Casey Stoner slipped his Ducati past them both as they diced.

Stoner's time up front was brief, though, as he ran just wide enough for Rossi to sneak ahead at the first corner next time around. Once ahead, there was no stopping Rossi, who soon started disappearing into the distance and duly secured victory and took sole possession of the championship lead.

Having lost several positions at the start, Lorenzo soon moved up to second, but could not catch Rossi, while Stoner had no answer to the Yamahas' pace and finished over 20s adrift in third.

Pedrosa stayed with Stoner in fourth until crashing out at the first corner after four laps. Honda's frustration then doubled six laps later as Andrea Dovizioso went out at the same spot while also chasing Stoner.

Colin Edwards therefore ended up in fourth for Tech 3 Yamaha, after passing fast-starter Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki), who produced his best performance of 2009 so far to take fifth.

The muscular six-bike battle for sixth was the highlight of a large uneventful race. James Toseland equalled his career best result by emerging on top of this incredible dice, but only after Mika Kallio crashed his Pramac Ducati on the final lap when seemingly on course for sixth.

Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) recovered from several incidents to take seventh, followed by the charging Toni Elias (Gresini Honda), Nicky Hayden (Ducati) - who had earlier run as high as seventh - and Loris Capirossi (Suzuki), who never got back into contention after losing ground on the first lap.

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 42m14.611s 
2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha + 5.368s 
3. Casey Stoner Ducati + 23.113s 
4. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha + 29.114s 
5. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki + 33.605s 
6. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha + 39.347s 
7. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda + 39.543s 
8. Toni Elias Gresini Honda + 39.774s 
9. Nicky Hayden Ducati + 39.823s 
10. Loris Capirossi Suzuki + 40.673s 
11. Alex de Angelis Gresini Honda + 46.100s 
12. Marco Melandri Hayate Kawasaki + 57.777s 
13. Sete Gibernau Hernando Ducati +1m05.366s 
14. Niccolo Canepa Pramac Ducati +1m09.897s 
15. Yuki Takahashi Scot Honda +1m09.930s 
16. Gabor Talmacsi Scot Honda +1m25.099s 
Retirements: 
Mika Kallio Pramac Ducati 25 laps 
Andrea Dovizioso Honda 10 
laps Dani Pedrosa Honda 4 laps 

Source: Autosport

Ed; If anyone can find it would they post the banner Rossi had at the end of the race as it is well worth 
a look at as it depicts all of Rossi's 100 wins

KALLIO TO MISS LAGUNA SECA

Mika Kallio will miss the next round of the MotoGP world championship at Laguna Seca on Sunday after suffering a nasty hand injury in the last race at Assen.

The Finn crashed on the final corner and cut the ring finger of his left hand down to the bone, an injury which will require a skin graft.

The nail has been lost for good but he has not suffered any nerve damage.

His Pramac Racing team have decided against using a substitute so Niccolo Canepa will race alone.

"Mika's condition is better than what we thought straight after the race, but still we preferred to give him a weekend off to recover, " said team technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini.

"This would have been the first time at Laguna Seca for him and with his precarious physical condition we preferred not to take any more risks and we hope he will be at his best in three weeks time at Sachsenring.

"Mika will not undergo surgery before the German GP, but will continue to take medication and have the injured finger cleaned daily to avoid infection and further complications."

SOURCE: BBC Sport

STONER MYSTERY ILLNESS DIAGNOSED

Casey Stoner is to battle on in the MotoGP championship after being diagnosed with anaemia and an inflamation of the stomach lining.

The Australian has been plagued by illness recently but has stayed in the title race, and currently lies third.

"I'm still not 100% but my biggest problem now is my ribs are painful after crashing in qualifying at Laguna Seca," said the former world champion.

"It'll probably be another hard weekend in Germany but we'll do our best."

The Ducati rider was clearly in distress and discomfort after the recent races at Catalunya, Asssen and Laguna Seca, but still managed to finish third, third and fourth respectively.

"This is a delicate time for Casey but we know he is made of stern stuff," said Ducati team chief Livio Suppo.

"He will continue to fight like a lion, as he has done in the past few races, even though the crash at Laguna left its mark on him and that certainly won't help."

The 23-year-old has also been plagued by a recurring problem with his left wrist, which he broke in 2003 and which required further surgery last year after it failed to heal properly.

Stoner is now 16 points behind championship leader Valentino Rossi of Italy, with Jorge Lorenzo second.

The next round of the championship takes place at Sachsenring in Germany on 19 July.

SOURCE: BBC Sport

Just when you think Rossi accepts defeat, he goes and snatches it again from Jorge!

It must be eating Lorenzo inside that Rossi keeps doing that to him...

Also today, four Audi drivers were excluded from the DTM race, whilst there are also ongoing investigations regarding the Audi drivers potentially utilising team orders during the race.

Does anyone know the Latest from the NASCAR sprint cup?kipi19

Thats a such a ripoff, .11 mph? Jesus... I'm sure he'll try again for it next year.

Raikkonen crashes out of the WRC Finland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aha0RS4ny9A

Badass.

Jorge Lorenzo cannot handle Rossi. FACT.

Leads for one lap and the moment Rossi puts pressure on Lorenzo for that first place, he falls off. 50 points off the lead now, no chance of catching Rossi methinks unless Valentino himself takes a few tumbles.

Tony Stewart looks good going into the Sprint Cup Chase (aka playoff).

Also, Ryan Newman will attempt to drive 1100 laps/586 miles over 4 days this weekend racing in 4 NASCAR series in Bristol, Tennessee (Whelen Modifieds, Trucks, Nationwide Series, and Sprint Cup Series.)

I think everyone in the top 6 of the chase cutoff is good for it atm, Juan Montoya has seemed really impressive this season have been keeping a close eye on him, Real shame about him at the Brickyard though.

Ryan Newman is gonna be shattered by sunday I reckon XD

Well he did walk out of an interview for a news channel before they even got started (Video in the library here) :lol:Redders1989

So, to bring back this topic.

Dude, where's my co-driver?

Mini are in WRC next season and apparently more manufacturers such as Saab, Volkswagen, and Toyota are interested in a return. With Kimi Raikonen and Ken Block in the sport bringing in more bucks, I hope this is the revival of the sport. I loved it back in the day with Hyundia, Skoda, Mitsubish, Ford et al competing for the manufacturers title.

Yay!

Thoughts go to the friends and family of Shoya Tomizawa, who was tragically killed in a Moto2 incident today. Alex de Angelis walked away uninjured, whilst Scott Redding is also in hospital but concious and talking.