MORIWAKI BLOG_ENG

Press Release from Team Gardner Racing 29th September, 2011

Team Gardner Racing on the move


In January 2012 Team Gardner Racing will relocate to Barcelona Spain in order for junior riders Remy and Luca Gardner to seriously pursue their motorcycle racing. “We’ve been talking about it for a while,” said World 500cc Motorcycle Champion Wayne Gardner whose sons Remy and Luca started their first full season of road racing at the beginning of this year.  “Remy has been commuting to Spain to compete in the Mediterranean Championship (CMV) and his results to date have far exceeded our expectations.  They’ve both also competed in Australia in the National Motorcycle Road Racing Development Association (MRRDA) Championship, and dirt track events.  The real competition is overseas and if the boys want to improve it’s the move we need to make,” Wayne added.

Ending their Australian road racing season, Team Gardner Racing competed in their last Australian based event on the weekend at Broadford Victoria.  In the final round of the MRRDA Remy finished 3rd behind Matt Barton and Zac Zanesco in the 80cc 2-stroke class, while his younger brother Luca secured 4th in the 70cc ‘Nippers’ class behind Troy Gunther, Lawson Walters and Mitch Simpson.  “I rode some of the toughest races of my life last weekend.  We were riding consistently under the lap record all weekend but I kept over-riding my Moriwaki 80, crashing once because I really wanted to win,” said Remy.  “In the end I realised I couldn’t compete with the newer bikes without riding dangerously and I thought it was more important to go to Spain without any injuries today for my CMV race next weekend,” he added.

Luca displayed his fighting spirit in the last two races of the weekend.  After perfecting his starts he was able to mix it with the top four, all producing exciting racing for the spectators.  “I had so much fun in those races.  They were all 12 laps this time and so it was really good to get a lot of time on the track and get more experience.  The battles in the last races were really fun and I can’t wait to get to Spain next year and start training with Dad on a Moriwaki 250,” said an excited Luca.

Both Remy and Luca finished a respectable season in the MRRDA National Championship considering they were unable to make all the 2011 rounds, missing out on valuable points.  The races they did compete in however saw them both at the pointy end of the field in most events.   

“Our Australian season wouldn’t have been possible without the generous donation of two beautiful Moriwaki race bikes which we modified to suit the junior classes. Western Australian industry identity Neil Dunn had no hesitation in offering me the use of his bikes when I was searching for two training machines.  The Moriwaki/Hondas have been an invaluable tool in the boys’ development. The hard work and dedication of engineer Tony Hatton who rebuilt the bikes with Honda parts and supported us at all the races has also been a major contribution to the team’s success, “ said Wayne.

Team Gardner Racing still has a number of important races to concentrate on this year, including three more rounds of the CMV in Spain at Alcarras, Albacete and Valencia circuits where Remy is currently running 2nd in the championship.  Luca will also compete in the NSW Dirt Track Championships in September and both boys will contest the Australian Dirt Track Championships in October.   

Wayne said, “we’re currently working on some really exciting opportunities in Europe next season but our focus is still on finishing the year strong in all our current race programs.”

For further information, to organise an interview with Wayne, Remy or Luca Gardner, or arrange photographs, please contact Toni Gardner: email toni.c.gardner@gmail.com
mobile: +61 (0) 414 5742 228

    

2011 MotoGP World Championship Series round12, RED BULL INDIANAPOLIS GRAND PRIX / Race report

Two third of the season has finished and 6 more rounds remains, the MotoGP went to Indianapolis, for its 12th round.  The circuit just received a repair work on the track surface which used to be quite bumpy.  It got better in bumpy-wise but got slippery.
Desguaces La Torre G22 brought back their MD600 to make total of 5 MD600s in the race.

The Qualifying Practice was blessed with good weather.  MD600 riders were: Michele Pirro 13, Ricard Cardus 14, Yuki Takahashi 20, Carmelo Morales 28 and Mashel Al Naimi 37.

Another fine day on Sunday the race day, 26 degree air and 45 degree ground, totally dry.  26 lap race started at 12:17 local time.  The race progressed rather smooth in the early section while MD600 riders were racing around mid position battling for point gaining positions.  Morales was out at lap11, retired.  Other stayed to complete the race.  Cardus 19, Pirro 20, Takahashi 25 and Al Naimi 35.

--------------------------

MD600 Qualifying Practice result:

--13th
　TEAM　/　Gresini Racing Moto2
　RIDER /　No.51 Michele PIRRO
  TIME　/  1'45.047

--14th
  TEAM　/　QMMF Racing Team
  RIDER /　No.88　Ricard CARDUS
  TIME　/  1'45.060

--20th
　TEAM　/　Gresini Racing Moto2
　RIDER /　No.72 Yuki TAKAHASHI
  TIME　/  1'45.184

--28th
  TEAM　/　Desguaces La Torre G22
  RIDER /　No.31　Carmelo MORALES
  TIME　/  1'46.059

--37th
  TEAM　/　QMMF Racing Team
  RIDER /　No.95　Mashel AL NAIMI
  TIME　/  1'47.343

---

MD600 Race result:

--19th
  TEAM　/　QMMF Racing Team
  RIDER /　No.88　Ricard CARDUS

--20th
　TEAM　/　Gresini Racing Moto2
　RIDER /　No.51 Michele PIRRO

--25th
　TEAM　/　Gresini Racing Moto2
　RIDER /　No.72 Yuki TAKAHASHI

--35th
  TEAM　/　QMMF Racing Team
  RIDER /　No.95　Mashel AL NAIMI

Not Classified

  TEAM　/　Desguaces La Torre G22
  RIDER /　No.31　Carmelo MORALES

------------------------------------

World Championship Classification

----
CONSTRUCTOR CHAMPIONSHIP

MORIWAKI MD600 RANKING  / 6th / 86point

---
RIDER POINT RANKING

--  8th /　 No.72 Yuki TAKAHASHI  / 62point

-- 15th /　 No.51 Michele PIRRO  / 43point

-- 30th /　 No.88 Ricard CARDUS  /  2point

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The Moto2 goes to Republic of San Marino for next round on September 4.
Thank you for your continuous support to MORIWAKI riders!!

-----------
MotoGP official website
http://www.motogp.com
http://www.motogp.com/en/Moto2

Result
http://www.motogp.com/en/Results+Statistics

Press Release from QMMF Racing Team - 28th August, 2011

Tough race for QMMF riders: Cardús down on topspeed, Al-Naimi struggles with chassis problems

QMMF Racing Team riders Ricky Cardús and Mishal Al-Naimi had a tough race day in Indianapolis. Cardús, who started from 14th place on the grid and who was determined to score points, didn’t have enough topspeed to defend himself against faster bikes and dropped back to 19th position, which still meant the best result of all participating Moriwaki riders. Team-mate Al-Naimi, who had his best qualifying of the season the day before, encountered strange chassis problems in the race and dropped back to 35th.

Mashel Al-Naimi – 35th
“For sure the result is not what I wanted. In all practice sessions and in qualifying I had a lot of confidence in the bike and I managed to push. But this morning in the warm-up session, something changed and I didn’t feel as good with the bike any more. Things didn’t get better in the race either, where I felt too much movement in the bike, so much that after five laps I even thought the rear tyre was finished. When I checked after the race though, everything was okay, so I don’t understand where all this movement in the bike was coming from. I hope I can get a better result at the next race in Misano. I want to thank my team because we worked very well together in all practice sessions. I just don’t understand what changed today!”

Ricky Cardús – 19th
“All weekend long, I started to have tyre problems after about ten laps, but my team did a great job of fixing the set-up and in the race I could have been much higher up. But for some reason, I was clearly down on speed on the main straight and also in the topspeed list. I give the team not only a ten out of ten but a 15 because they have done a great job. But for whatever reason, my bike didn’t run well here. Even my team-mate was seven kilometres per hour faster than me. I tried to make up in the corners what I was losing on the straights, but this was very difficult. Congratulations to my three Spanish friends on the podium who were just exceptional!”

Press Release from GRESINI RACING TEAM - 28th August, 2011

GP of USA - INDIANAPOLIS - Race - 28/08/2011

DISAPPOINTMENT AT INDIANAPOLIS
Unfortunately there were no surprise results for Team Gresini in the Moto2 race today as both Michele Pirro and Yuki Takahashi endured a disappointing afternoon. Overall it has been a weekend to forget, wielding zero points, as the team now hope for better fortunes in their home race and beyond.

Michele Pirro (20th)
“The bike was practically unrideable today and it was a struggle just to stay with the others. It is hard for us to come up with an explanation. One thing for certain is that we will all work tirelessly to make sure we turn the situation around.”

Yuki Takahashi (25th)
”Needless to say this was a disastrous race. Myself and the team have to reflect on this and come up with the solutions to change thing around. I want it, the team wants it and we simply have to find something.”

Fausto Gresini
“We need a complete reset and restart. Together with the riders we need to find a solution because today was not acceptable.”

Press Release from QMMF Racing Team - 27th August, 2011

Cardús and Al Naimi keep improving and celebrate best qualifying of the season

On the second day of practice for the Indianapolis Grand Prix, QMMF Racing Team riders Ricky Cardús and Mishal Al-Naimi kept improving steadily and finished the day with their best qualifying performance of the season so far. 23-year-old Cardús took 14th place on the starting grid, with a gap of just one second to Marc Márquez on pole position. For 27-year-old Al-Naimi, the position on the grid was not as important as the fact that he finally overcame the difficulties with his bike and that he was a strong part of the contest rather than trailing the field like on previous occasions.
“The last minutes of qualifying were amazing. Many riders improved dramatically, and it was difficult for Ricky to keep up with the rapidly dropping lap times. But his 14th place on the grid is still encouraging and we are in a position to have a good race and to achieve the result we are looking for”, said team coordinator Luis Solano. “Mishal is having his best race weekend of the season, because he improved in every session and he finally left other riders behind him. That will boost his motivation, and I am sure he will ride a good race as well!”

Mashel Al-Naimi – 36th in 1.47,343
“I am happy because we worked very well within the team and I managed to improve my lap time every time I went out, session by session. My bike works better on this track than at previous races and it is the first time that I have been able to stay ahead of some other riders, which gives me a good feeling for tomorrow. I hope I can ride in the race the way I did in qualifying. The problem is that we don’t know which will be the right tyres for the race. Both the soft and the hard tyres are finished quickly, on the front and the rear. Maybe we will race with the softer compound because with the hard one, I am sliding too much!”

Ricky Cardús – 14th in 1.45,060
“On one side, I am satisfied because we scored our best qualifying result this season so far. On the other side, I am not completely happy because I wanted to achieve even more. Now I am 14th, and all I can hope for is a good start and to be able to hang on and battle with the group in front of me. It will be a hard race, especially since the tyres will be dead after 12 or 13 laps. That worries us a bit, but it is almost the same for everybody. Depending from the set-up, the tyres last seven laps on some bikes and 15 on others. Let’s hope I’ll be one of those riders that can do 15 laps without getting into trouble!”

Press Release from GRESINI RACING TEAM - 27th August, 2011

GP of USA - INDIANAPOLIS - Qualifying - 27/08/2011

LITTLE TO SHOUT ABOUT FOR TEAM GRESINI MOTO2

Team Gresini Moto2 riders Michele Pirro and Yuki Takahashi were unable to make a strong challenge for optimum grid positions in qualifying at Indianapolis today, the Italian lapping 13th fastest and the Japanese down in 20th. It was another frustrating day for the team as the struggle to regain the pace and performance of the early stages of the season continues. Tomorrow's warm-up will be import ant as the pair chase a miracle in the race.

Michele Pirro (13th 1’45”047)
“The first part of the session today wasn't going too badly and maybe if we had another tyre available I would have been able to make up some more positions. It's a shame but we will try and make up for it tomorrow, although it will be tough from the fifth row.”

Yuki Takahashi (20th 1’45”184)
”I just couldn't ride like I wanted to today. I don't have any feeling with the bike and I think it is going to be difficult for us to make up positions in the race tomorrow.”

Fausto Gresini
“There is not much I can say. I am not happy with the current situation – it is like a nightmare we can't seem to wake up from and I can't understand why we are not as competitive as we were at the start of the season. I am disappointed and hope we can turn the situation around as soon as possible.”

Press Release from QMMF Racing Team - 26th August, 2011

Cardús seventh, Al Naimi 33rd: QMMF riders celebrate their best practice result so far

QMMF Racing Team riders Ricky Cardús and Mishal Al-Naimi started with a bang into the Indianapolis Grand Prix and celebrated their best practice results this season so far.
23-year-old Cardús from Barcelona, Spain, was up to speed immediately and finished the first free Moto 2 practice session in the morning in eighth position. In the afternoon, he improved by another one and a half seconds per lap and climbed to seventh in the rankings, less than four tenths of a second behind Italian Simone Corsi on provisional pole position.
The performance from Al-Naimi was no less impressive considering the difficulties the 27-year-old from Doha, Qatar, had experienced during the first half of this season. In the first practice down in 36th place, Al-Naimi crashed early on the second session, but bounced back immediately and finished in 33rd place, having improved his lap time by a massive four seconds from the morning to the afternoon.

“We found the right settings for Mishal and he definitely made the biggest improvement today. This result will boost his confidence and help him to be ready when it counts in qualifying tomorrow”, said QMMF Racing Team coordinator Luis Solano. “To have Ricky in seventh position is a fantastic result for us and shows that self-confidence and motivation can make a big difference. Now our job is to confirm this result tomorrow. A good qualifying practice is the key to a strong race result!”

Mashel Al-Naimi – 33rd in 1.48,669
“I am happy because I scored my best result this season so far! When I started in the first free practice session, I didn’t feel good on the new asphalt of this track at all, but I also saw that the other riders had the same problem. We needed more rubber on the track to improve grip. When I went out for the second session on old tyres, I already felt some improvement, but early on in the session, I went off line and got on a part of the track that was dirty with now grip at all and crashed. I kept on pushing for better times after that and when I went out in the last five minutes with a new rear tyre, I made a good lap. After that, there was just enough time for another flying lap, and I managed to improve again. As it turns out, we had the right settings for the second and third section of the track with new tarmac. I hope we can keep the momentum going and improve again tomorrow in qualifying!”

Ricky Cardús – 7th in 1.46,654
“For me, it’s like a second start into the championship because I am back on tracks that I know. This new era started in Germany, where I rode with lots of motivation. Then in Brno, I made some mistakes, but here things finally seem to come together. We corrected lots of things that were missing and we made a big step in the right direction, as far as the work of the team and as far as my own riding is concerned. Here, the real Ricky has started! I changed my attitude and have more self-confidence now. There used to be a lot of fast riders with more experience ahead of me and I was always in the shadow, but now we can look ahead with confidence. From now on, there are no excuses for me left – I need to make further progress, preferably as soon as tomorrow in qualifying!”

Press Release from GRESINI RACING TEAM - 26th August, 2011

GP of USA - INDIANAPOLIS - Free Practice - 26/08/2011

POSITIVE START FOR TEAM GRESINI MOTO2 DESPITE CRASH FOR TAKAHASHI AT INDIANAPOLIS

Michele Pirro made an impressive start to his first ever weekend at the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Despite the tricky conditions due to a brand new track surface the Italian gradually improved throughout the day to finish up in the top ten. Yuki Takahashi was two positions behind his team-mate after crashing out of the afternoon session when lapping second quickest.

Michele Pirro (10th 1’46”865)
“Indianapolis is a new circuit for me and with the strange track conditions this morning, which took a lot of wear out of the front tyre, I just focused on getting used to the layout without taking any risks. With more rubber on the track this afternoon I was able to push harder and set a decent lap time, even though I am still losing my references at some points on the circuit.  Even so I am sure we are on the right path to improve our result from Brno. Thanks to the team for all their help – hopefully I can repay them with a good result.”

Yuki Takahashi (12th 1’47”000)
”This morning was a disaster but the afternoon was going much better. I was riding hard and improving my time lap after lap. I was searching for the limit and maybe should have come in when I started to lose a little feeling. I am disappointed but I will have chance to make up for it tomorrow.”

Fausto Gresini
“We have to be happy with today despite the crash for Takahashi, especially considering how things went in practice at Brno. This morning wasn't easy but in the afternoon up until the crash Takahashi was amongst the fastest riders on track and Pirro has done very well on his first visit here. The prospects for tomorrow are good and I am sure we will be fighting at the front again.”

2011 MotoGP World Championship Series round11, CARDION AB GRAND PRIX CESKE REPUBLIKY / Race report

After a short summer break, MotoGP is now starting its second half of the season at Brno, Czech Republic.
It started in dry on day1, got some rain in the morning on day2 but the wet track started drying out during FP3 session.  Everyone on the circuit was preparing for the Qualifying Practice in the afternoon of day2.
The QP session was completely dry one and Yuki Takahashi was 17, Michele Pirro 22, Recard Cardus 26 and Mashal Al Naimi 37.

Then the race stared on Sunday 12:16 local time in dry with 24 degree air and 35 degree ground.
All the riders safely passed the first corner but some crashes were to be seen later.
4 MD600 riders completed lap1, Takahashi in 22, Pirro 23, Cardus 24 and Al Naimi 37. They were gradually moving up while top 5 riders leading the race, Takahashi was 16, Cardus was 18, closing to point gaining finish.  Takahashi continued to improve his position, 15th at lap9, 12th at lap13 and stayed until the checkered flag, gained 4 points.
Other MD600 riders: Pirro 18th, Cardus 22nd and Al Naimi 29th.

--------------------------

MD600 Qualifying Practice result:

--17th
　TEAM　/　Gresini Racing Moto2
　RIDER /　No.72 Yuki Takahashi
  TIME　/  2'03.849

--22nd
　TEAM　/　Gresini Racing Moto2
　RIDER /　No.51 Michele Pirro
  TIME　/  2'04.153

--26th
  TEAM　/　QMMF Racing Team
  RIDER /　No.88　Ricard Cardus
  TIME　/  2'04.488

--37th
  TEAM　/　QMMF Racing Team
  RIDER /　No.95　Mashel Al Naimi
  TIME　/  2'07.505

---

MD600 Race result:

--12th
　TEAM　/　Gresini Racing Moto2
　RIDER /　No.72 Yuki Takahashi

--18th
　TEAM　/　Gresini Racing Moto2
　RIDER /　No.51 Michele Pirro

--22nd
  TEAM　/　QMMF Racing Team
  RIDER /　No.88　Ricard Cardus

--30th
  TEAM　/　QMMF Racing Team
  RIDER /　No.95　Mashel Al Naimi

------------------------------------

World Championship Classification

----
CONSTRUCTOR CHAMPIONSHIP

MORIWAKI MD600 RANKING  / 6th / 86point

---
RIDER POINT RANKING

--  8th /　 No.72 Yuki TAKAHASHI    / 62point

-- 14th /　 No.51 Michele PIRRO  / 43point

-- 30th /　 No.88 Ricard CARDUS  /  2point

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The Moto2 goes to US for next round on August 28.
Thank you for your continuous support to MORIWAKI riders!!

-----------
MotoGP official website
http://www.motogp.com
http://www.motogp.com/en/Moto2

Result
http://www.motogp.com/en/Results+Statistics

Press Release from GRESINI RACING TEAM - 15th August, 2011

GP of CZECH REPUBLIC - Race - 14/08/2011

A GRAND PRIX TO FORGET
A disappointing weekend finished with four measly points for Team Gresini Moto2 at Brno, thanks to a twelfth place finish for Yuki Takahashi. With his team-mate Michele Pirro out of the points in eighteenth it has been a Grand Prix that has failed to meet the expectations raised at Misano in a positive test last week. The team leave the Czech Republic in despondent fashion but with the determination to return to the fight for honours in the second half of the season.

Yuki Takahashi (12th) “We have had so many problems this weekend and not been able to come up with an explanation for any of them so now we have to all work together and recover ground because this is not the kind of result we expect. We have to get back to the front as quickly as possible to prevent this season turning into a disaster.”

Michele Pirro (18th) ”We have changed the bike so many times over the course of the weekend without coming up with the solutions we were looking for. All I can tell you is that this is not the position for me or the team to be in so hopefully we can be competitive again quickly.”

Fausto Gresini “I am disappointed with these results because they do not represent the expectations of the team. We have to understand why this happened from a technical point of view because we have been doing pretty well in the past but here was no good at all. Together with the riders, the technicians and the rest of the team as well as the Moriwaki engineers we will try to get back on the pace as soon as possible.”

Press Release from GRESINI RACING TEAM - 13th August, 2011

GP of CZECH REPUBLIC - Qualifying - 13/08/2011

DISAPPOINTING QUALIFYING FOR TEAM GRESINI MOTO2
All the positivity surrounding the team after the Misano test has been quite simply wiped away here at Brno, where results have been markedly below par so far. Neither Takahashi nor Pirro were able to improve their performance in qualifying this afternoon and they both face an uphill battle and a lot of hard work in tomorrow's race.

Yuki Takahashi (17th 2’03” 849) “We have really struggled a lot here. It has been a tough day and I'm struggling to explain why. The bike was practically unrideable and had no grip whatsoever. It is all very strange because last week at Misano we were really happy with the progress we made but now we are praying for a miracle.”

Michele Pirro (25th 2’04”153) ”There is not much to say. We are bitterly disappointed and can't explain it. We have to roll our sleeves up and work hard to make up as much ground as we can. Everything was looking so good at Misano but here nothing has worked.”

Fausto Gresini “All we can do is work hard and stay calm. It has been one of our worst ever sessions in Moto2 and we should not and cannot find ourselves in this position. We simply have to get back to where we should be as pacesetters in Moto2. ”

Press Release from GRESINI RACING TEAM - 12th August, 2011

GP of CZECH REPUBLIC - Free Practice - 12/08/2011

PIRRO IN TOUCH BUT DISAPPOINTING START FOR TAKAHASHI
Hopes were high for the Team Gresini Moto2 outfit at Brno today following a positive test at Misano during the summer break but they were dashed today , with Miche Pirro just about staying in touch with the lead group in thirteenth place but Yuki Takahashi enduring one of his worst practice sessions of the season. After progressing throughout the day Pirro remains confident of further improvements although for Takahashi it could require a miracle.

Michele Pirro (13th 2’04”306) “My position could be better but overall I am satisfied. I have confidence with the bike and I think with some small adjustments we can make further improvements tomorrow and be fighting for a good grid position. We are on the right lines and we will do our best to stay on them.”

Yuki Takahashi (25th 2’05”003) ”It has been a strange day. I didn't have confidence with the bike and the positive test at Misano feels like a long time ago. We will look at the data together with the team and try to understand what didn't work. They are a good crew and I am confident that by this time tomorrow 25th place will be a distant memory.”

Fausto Gresini “I am happy for Pirro, who is within the second group and chasing the top guys. He is on the right lines and I am sure that he will improve his position tomorrow. It was a bad day for Takahashi and to be honest I am struggling for an explanation. We are not losing hope and I am sure that by working together with the team he can find a way to improve tomorrow.”