samedi 2 août 2014
Moto GP : Iannone prendra la place de Crutchlow chez Ducati en 2015, Crutchlow signe avec CWM-LCR Honda / Iannone to replace Crutchlow at Ducati Team for 2015
Ducati Corse a annoncé samedi le départ du Britannique Cal Crutchlow, qui sera remplacé l'an prochain par Andrea Iannone aux côtés de son compatriote Andrea Dovizioso.
Cal Crutchlow avait rejoint Ducati pour la saison 2014, en prenant la place laissée par Nicky Hayden, le Champion du Monde MotoGP™ 2006, passé chez Drive M7 Aspar. Arrivé dans la catégorie reine en 2011, avec Monster Yamaha Tech3, Crutchlow avait été annoncé chez Ducati pour une deuxième saison en 2015 le 19 juillet dernier, avant que la marque italienne n'annonce son départ le 2 août.
Son départ permettra au pilote satellite Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) de rejoindre le team officiel pour courir aux côtés d'Andrea Dovizioso.
Le communiqué de Ducati Corse :
Ducati annonce aujourd'hui avoir trouvé un accord avec son pilote officiel Cal Crutchlow pour mettre un terme au contrat qui liait le pilote britannique au team italien en MotoGP pour 2014 ainsi que pour la saison prochain.
Les deux pilotes du team officiel de Ducati pour 2015 seront Andrea Dovizioso et Andrea Iannone.
Le pilote britannique disposera l’an prochain d’une Honda RC213V Factory avec l’équipe de Lucio Cecchinello.
LCR Honda a le plaisir d’officiellement annoncer que Cal Crutchlow rejoindra l’équipe de Lucio Cecchinello l’an prochain pour disputer la saison MotoGP™ 2015 sur Honda RC213V Factory. Le Britannique effectuera en 2015 sa cinquième saison en catégorie reine et profitera du soutien du HRC ainsi que du nouveau sponsor-titre de LCR, CWM.
Lucio Cecchinello (CEO de LCR) : « Nous tenons à remercier Cal pour sa confiance en notre projet pour 2015 et nous sommes excités à l’idée de revêtir nos nouvelles couleurs grâce à notre partenariat avec CWM. D’ici là, nous allons continuer à travailler dur pour finir la saison en cours du mieux que possible. »
Anthony Costantinou (CEO de CWM) : « La saison MotoGP 2015 s’annonce très excitante et chez CWM-LCR Honda, nous sommes très heureux et ravis d’avoir Cal Crutchlow sur notre nouvelle moto et avec nos nouvelles couleurs. Cal est un professionnel, il est fiable et très performant, tout comme CWMFX.com. C’est une synergie parfaite. »
Ducati Corse has announced on Saturday that it will be parting company with rider Cal Crutchlow at the end of the 2014 MotoGP™ season, as Andrea Iannone joins the factory outfit to become team-mate to Andrea Dovizioso in 2015.
Great Britain’s Crutchlow joined Ducati Team for 2014, taking the place of 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden who switched to Drive M7 Aspar. This season is Crutchlow’s fourth in the premier class, having debuted with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 outfit in 2011 as the 2009 World Supersport title. Saturday’s news comes despite it having been announced on 19 July that Crutchlow would be remaining with the Italian factory next year.
For 2015, Andrea Dovizioso’s new Ducati Team partner will be Andrea Iannone, making an all-Italian line-up as the latter switches from the Pramac Racing satellite outfit.
Saturday’s short communique from Ducati Corse reads as follows:
‘Ducati Corse announced today that it has reached an agreement with its factory rider Cal Crutchlow to terminate, ahead of time, the contract that ties the British rider to the Italian team in MotoGP for 2014 and also for next season.
‘Ducati Corse announced today that it has reached an agreement with its factory rider Cal Crutchlow to terminate, ahead of time, the contract that ties the British rider to the Italian team in MotoGP for 2014 and also for next season.
The two factory Ducati Team riders for 2015 will now be Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone.’
The LCR Honda Team is pleased to officially announce that British rider Cal Crutchlow will join Cecchinello's squad in 2015 MotoGP campaign riding the Honda RC213V Factory Spec.
The 29-year-old from Isle of Man will compete in the premier class for the fifth year counting on Honda HRC support and the brand-new LCR Main Sponsor CWM.
Lucio Cecchinello (LCR CEO): "We want to thank Cal for his trust in our 2015 racing project and we are excited to line up with new Team colours thanks to the cooperation with CWM. In the mean time we will keep working hard to end the current season in the best way”.
Anthony Costantinou (CWM CEO): “The 2015 MotoGP season is looking to be a very exciting one, CWM-LCR Honda are very happy and pleased to have Cal Crutchlow on our new bike and new team colours. Cal is a professional, reliable, and top performer as CWMFX.COM is. Perfect synergy”.
Welcome to FIA WTCC Termas de Rio Hondo!
PRACTICE 1 - LÓPEZ TOPS TIMES ONCE AGAIN
Local hero José María López offered another show of strength during this morning’s first practice session at Termas de Río Hondo.
Local hero José María López offered another show of strength during this morning’s first practice session at Termas de Río Hondo.
The Argentine driver was consistently the fastest and eventually topped the time sheet with a lap of 1:43.889, leaving his Citroën team-mate Sébastien Loeb (1:44.149) more than two tenths behind.
Loeb commented: “We tried to perform the scheduled working plan, trying different set-up solutions, but it’s difficult to get a clear idea because the track is still very green and conditions keep changing, making it difficult to find reliable parameters. Still, the car feels good.”Mehdi Bennani created a surprise in the Proteam Honda Civic car, posting the third fastest lap (1:44.288), four tenths off the leader’s pace. The Moroccan beat Yvan Muller by one hundredth of a second, demoting him to fourth.
“It’s a good start. It seems the circuit suits well the Honda cars. I think the chassis characteristics of the Civic make the car quite agile on this track, and that despite the long straight, we are not too penalized in top speed. Third-fastest is a good result, especially on used tires and not having the latest spec updates that the works Honda cars have, so I am happy,” said Bennani.
The Honda Castrol duo of Gabriele Tarquini (1:44.528) and Tiago Monteiro (1:44.719) ranked fifth and seventh respectively, as they were split by the Zengö Motorsport Civic of Norbert Michelisz (1:44.675).
ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Chilton was the fastest of the Chevrolet RML drivers in eighth position (1:45.259), ahead of Hugo Valente (1:45.302) and the first LADA Granta of Rob Huff (1:45.541).
Franz Engstler set the fastest lap in the TC2T class (1:50.133), one-and-a-half second faster than John Filippi. Engstler’s team-mate Camilo Echevarría was not able to post any significant lap time due to a turbocharger failure.
The Argentine driver was consistently the fastest and eventually topped the time sheet with a lap of 1:43.889, leaving his Citroën team-mate Sébastien Loeb (1:44.149) more than two tenths behind.
Loeb commented: “We tried to perform the scheduled working plan, trying different set-up solutions, but it’s difficult to get a clear idea because the track is still very green and conditions keep changing, making it difficult to find reliable parameters. Still, the car feels good.”Mehdi Bennani created a surprise in the Proteam Honda Civic car, posting the third fastest lap (1:44.288), four tenths off the leader’s pace. The Moroccan beat Yvan Muller by one hundredth of a second, demoting him to fourth.
“It’s a good start. It seems the circuit suits well the Honda cars. I think the chassis characteristics of the Civic make the car quite agile on this track, and that despite the long straight, we are not too penalized in top speed. Third-fastest is a good result, especially on used tires and not having the latest spec updates that the works Honda cars have, so I am happy,” said Bennani.
The Honda Castrol duo of Gabriele Tarquini (1:44.528) and Tiago Monteiro (1:44.719) ranked fifth and seventh respectively, as they were split by the Zengö Motorsport Civic of Norbert Michelisz (1:44.675).
ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Chilton was the fastest of the Chevrolet RML drivers in eighth position (1:45.259), ahead of Hugo Valente (1:45.302) and the first LADA Granta of Rob Huff (1:45.541).
Franz Engstler set the fastest lap in the TC2T class (1:50.133), one-and-a-half second faster than John Filippi. Engstler’s team-mate Camilo Echevarría was not able to post any significant lap time due to a turbocharger failure.
PRACTICE 2 – THE FIELD GETS CLOSER
Although Yvan Muller and José María López have placed their Citroën cars on top, the second free practice session saw the eight fastest drivers covered by only half second.
Halfway through the session, Muller posted the fastest lap for good, stopping the clock at 1:44.214 that was only four hundredths of a second faster than López’s 1:44.244. The Argentine tried to improve, but spoiled his chances by driving wide in one of the corners.
Behind the Citroën duo, Tom Chilton posted the third fastest lap (1:44.285) in his ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze, demoting Sébastien Loeb to fourth (1:44.364). Chilton said: “We changed everything in the car and it worked well! The behavior is completely different, the car is very good in the corners and consistent throughout the entire lap. I am very happy and now that things are much better, I’m starting to enjoy the track.”Gabriele Tarquini (1:44.472) and Tiago Monteiro (1:44.525) were the best Honda drivers in fifth and sixth, with gaps 0.258 and 0.311 respectively. Hugo Valente (1:44.647) and Norbert Michelisz (1:44.737) lied only one and two further tenths behind.
Rob Huff drove his LADA Granta to the ninth fastest lap (1:44.981); and his gap of seven tenths was the smallest for the Russian car so far in the season. Mikhail Kozlovskiy explained: “We are closing the gap and this is positive. I was in the top-ten for most of the session, despite being without my sixth gear. There are still a number of things to improve to get the right set-up, but it seems the LADA is enjoying low grip conditions like we have here.” Tom Coronel completed only four laps before the turbocharged blew and forced him to the pit.
In the TC2T class, Franz Engstler posted the fastest lap once again (1:50.781), but John Filippi managed to close the gap to five tenths. Argentina’s newcomer Camilo Echevarría is still struggling with mechanical problems on his BMW car.
Behind the Citroën duo, Tom Chilton posted the third fastest lap (1:44.285) in his ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze, demoting Sébastien Loeb to fourth (1:44.364). Chilton said: “We changed everything in the car and it worked well! The behavior is completely different, the car is very good in the corners and consistent throughout the entire lap. I am very happy and now that things are much better, I’m starting to enjoy the track.”Gabriele Tarquini (1:44.472) and Tiago Monteiro (1:44.525) were the best Honda drivers in fifth and sixth, with gaps 0.258 and 0.311 respectively. Hugo Valente (1:44.647) and Norbert Michelisz (1:44.737) lied only one and two further tenths behind.
Rob Huff drove his LADA Granta to the ninth fastest lap (1:44.981); and his gap of seven tenths was the smallest for the Russian car so far in the season. Mikhail Kozlovskiy explained: “We are closing the gap and this is positive. I was in the top-ten for most of the session, despite being without my sixth gear. There are still a number of things to improve to get the right set-up, but it seems the LADA is enjoying low grip conditions like we have here.” Tom Coronel completed only four laps before the turbocharged blew and forced him to the pit.
In the TC2T class, Franz Engstler posted the fastest lap once again (1:50.781), but John Filippi managed to close the gap to five tenths. Argentina’s newcomer Camilo Echevarría is still struggling with mechanical problems on his BMW car.
Rally Finland, ES21 : Tout est relancé ! / Ogier back in the frame!
Il reste deux spéciales à parcourir aujourd’hui. Jari-Matti Latvala (VW/Michelin) est toujours leader, mais il connaît des soucis de freins et Sébastien Ogier est revenu à 12s8 ! Kris Meeke est toujours sur le podium provisoire.
Suspension cassée sur la Ford de Mikko Hirvonen, problèmes de freins sur la VW du leader Latvala, pare-chocs endommagé sur celle de Mikkelsen, gros impact sur la Citroën de Meeke… Les pistes jonchées de pierres et de trous de Jukojärvi (ES20) ont relancé le Neste Oil Rally Finland 2014.
Le leader Latvala a perdu d’un coup près d’un-tiers de son avance sur Sébastien Ogier (11s), puis de nouveau 7s3 dans l’ES21. « On n’a plus de frein à l’avant droit et on ne peut rien faire avant l’assistance », expliquait le Finlandais à l’arrivée. « Il reste deux spéciales à parcourir ainsi. » De 31s1 à l’issue de l’ES19, Sébastien Ogier est revenu à 12s8 de la 1ère place. Kris Meeke (Citroën) est toujours 3e, à 34s8 du leader.
Mikko Hirvonen (5e, Ford) a perdu tout espoir de reprendre Andreas Mikkelsen (4e, VW) après avoir cassé sa suspension avant droite en passant dans un trou après 4 km dans l’ES20. Son pneu Michelin LTX Force a résisté à l’impact. Mads Ostberg (Citroën) n’est pas reparti du parc d’assistance (arceau endommagé).
Pour son 1er Rallye de Finlande au volant d’une World Rally Car, le Néo-Zélandais Hayden Paddon est 6e sur sa Hyundai i20 WRC/Michelin et résiste crânement à son équipier Juho Hänninen, toujours pointé à une trentaine de secondes.
En WRC-2, le nouveau leader Karl Kruuda a connu une alerte de pression d’huile à l’arrivée de l’ES20, mais l’Estonien poursuit sa route. Son compatriote Ott Tanak (3e) a remporté six des huit spéciales disputées aujourd’hui. Belle série aussi pour Stéphane Lefebvre en WRC-3 avec quatre meilleurs temps consécutifs. Martin Koci est toujours solide leader. En Drive DMack Fiesta Trophy, les deux leaders (Cave et Tempestini ont abandonné). Sander Pärn a pris la relève.
With two stages remaining today. Jari-Matti Latvala (VW/Michelin) continues to lead in Finland, but brake problems for the Finn have enabled Sébastien Ogier to close to within 12.8s! Kris Meeke is still third.
A number of incidents on the rough and rocky 20th stage of this year’s Neste Oil Rally Finland have thrown the fight for the top places wide open again. Mikko Hirvonen broke his Ford’s suspension, Latvala suffered from brake trouble, Andreas Mikkelsen’s VW showed signs of front-end damage and Meeke’s Citroën was also in the wars!
Latvala lost almost one-third of his advantage over Ogier on the ill-fated stage and then dropped a further 7.3s to his rival on SS21. “The front-right wheel isn’t braking anymore and there’s nothing we can do before tonight’s service halt. There are two more stages to go…” grimaced the rally leader whose cushion has melted from 31.1s after SS19 to just 12.8s. Kris Meeke (+34.8s, Citroën) is still third.
Hirvonen (5th, Ford) lost all hope of catching Mikkelsen (4th, VW) when he broke his front-right suspension in a pothole four kilometres after the start of SS20, although his Michelin LTX Force tyre held up to the impact. As reported earlier, Mads Ostberg (Citroën) failed to re-start after the lunch break because of damage to his roll cage.
Hayden Paddon, who is contesting Rally Finland for the first time in a World Rally Car, follows in sixth spot. The New Zealander is valiantly resisting the charge of his Hyundai i20 WRC/Michelin team-mate Juho Hänninen who is still around half-a-minute back.
In WRC-2, Karl Kruuda had a scare with his oil pressure at the end of SS20 but was able to continue, while fellow Estonian Ott Tanak (3rd) has won six of the eight tests visited so far today. Stéphane Lefebvre has also produced an impressive run with four straight WRC-3 stage victories to his name, although the class is still led by Martin Koci. With both Cave and Tempestini both out of the running, the Drive DMack Fiesta Trophy classification is currently topped by Sander Pärn.
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