1.
2015 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix
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The 2015 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix was the seventh round of the 2015 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It was held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló on 14 June 2015, in the MotoGP category, Suzukis Aleix Espargaró took the manufacturers first pole position since returning to MotoGP, but he crashed out of the race with 5 laps remaining. Jorge Lorenzo took his fourth win in succession, ahead of Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa, only 16 riders finished the race as amongst others, Marc Márquez, Andrea Dovizioso, Cal Crutchlow, Pol Espargaró, Yonny Hernández and Nicky Hayden retired from the race. Stefan Bradl took his first win in the Open category finishing in eighth place
2.
Finland
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Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland, Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finlands population is 5.5 million, and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region,88. 7% of the population is Finnish people who speak Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, the second major group are the Finland-Swedes. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe, Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, from the late 12th century, Finland was an integral part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In the spirit of the notion of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns, nevertheless, in 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the nation in the world to give the right to vote to all adult citizens. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent, in 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Reds supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the Whites, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla and Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era, Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity, however, Finnish GDP growth has been negative in 2012–2014, with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, a large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, though freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution. The first known appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three rune-stones. Two were found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have the inscription finlonti, the third was found in Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It has the inscription finlandi and dates from the 13th century, the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, which is mentioned first known time AD98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, in addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian
3.
Valkeakoski
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Valkeakoski is a town and municipality in Finland. Valkeakoski is located 35 kilometres south of Tampere and 150 km north of Helsinki in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of 21,305 and covers an area of 271.92 square kilometres of which 100.06 km2 is water, the population density is 78.33 inhabitants per square kilometre. Valkeakoski is best known for its industry and domestically highly successful football team. The town and the industry have both grown by the Valkeakoski rapids between the lake Mallasvesi in the north and the lake Vanajavesi in the south. The Valkeakoski area is known to have inhabited since the iron age. More than a thousand years ago, the ridges on the served as a foundation of the Rapola fort. In the following Middle Ages, the mill town Sääksmäki was the center of the area, however, industrialization towards the end of the 19th century increased the importance of what became the contemporary town of Valkeakoski. The channel of Valkeakoski was opened in 1869, and the first paper mill was completed in 1873, the municipality of Sääksmäki, from which the town of Valkeakoski was detached in 1923 was consolidated with Valkeakoski in 1973. Valkeakoski is notable for the football team FC Haka and also other Haka sections, the skiing Haka is one of the most successful skiing teams in Finland. The other major sports organization Koskenpojat has also been really successful
4.
KTM
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KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG is an Austrian motorcycle manufacturer owned by CROSS Industries AG and Bajaj Auto Limited. KTM was formed in 1981 but traces its foundation as early as in 1934, in 1992 the company was spun off from its parent company KTM when it ran into financial troubles. KTM was split into four companies, all of which shared the same KTM branding, however, KTM-Sportmotorcycle is most commonly associated with the KTM brand, because it still continues the flagship business of its parent company. In 1934 an Austrian engineer Johann Trunkenpolz set up a metal working, in 1937 he started selling DKW motorcycles and Opel cars the following year. His shop was known as Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, but the name was unregistered, during the Second World War his wife took care of the business which grew mainly of diesel engine repairs. After the war, demand for repair works fell sharply and Trunkenpolz started thinking about producing his own motorcycles, the prototype of first motorcycle, the R100 was produced in 1951. All of the components of the motorcycle were produced in house, in 1953, businessman Ernst Kronreif became a sizable shareholder of the company which was then renamed and registered as Kronreif & Trunkenpolz Mattighofen. KTM started serial production of R100 in 1954, with just 20 employees, motorcycles were built at the rate of three per day. The company’s first title was secured shortly thereafter with the 1954 Austrian 125 national championship, KTM first made an appearance at the International Six Days Trials in 1956 where Egon Dornauer secured a gold medal. Racing continued to be a ground for production technology, but next in line was its first scooter. It started providing a team for the ISDE in ’64. As the company continued to expand, the workforce totaled 400 in 1971, in 1955 Tourist 125cc model was developed. In 1957 KTM built the first sports motorcycle Trophy 125cc, KTMs first moped, called Mecky was launched in 1957, followed by Ponny I in 1960 and Ponny II in 1962. The 1960s saw the beginning of the bicycle production, beside, KTM was also able to produce motorcycles for the racing industry. Two years later in 1982 Hans Trunkenpolz also died of a heart attack and its name was changed back to Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen. At that time, KTM had about 180 employees and a turnover of €3. 5m, in 1988, US subsidiary KTM North America Inc. was founded in Lorain, Ohio. International business then amounted to 72% of the company turnover, in 1990, it was renamed KTM Motorfahrzeugbau AG. Scooter and moped turnover sank rapidly, and production had to be halted in 1982, Erich Trunkenpolz died in 1989 and in 1991 KTM applied for insolvency
5.
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
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The FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier class of motorcycle road racing, held since 1949. Grand Prix motorcycles are purpose-built racing machines that are available for purchase by the general public nor able to be ridden legally on public roads. The championship is divided into three classes, MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3. All three classes use four-stroke engines, in 2010 the 250cc class was replaced by the new Moto2600 cc four-stroke class. After that, MotoGP gave the four-strokes a 490cc advantage over the two-strokes, a 2 stroke engine produces power with every rotation of the crank, where as the 4 stroke engine produces power every fourth rotation. In theory, a 500cc 2stroke produces the power as a 1000cc 4 stroke. Carburation vs fuel injection, engine mapping, power/torque curves, practice showed the 4 strokes generating 10 to 15 more Hp and turning in much faster lap times then their 2 stroke counterparts. 4 stroke engines would be the choice for years to come. Moto2 and 3 are four-stroke only, a FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix was first organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme in 1949. The commercial rights are now owned by Dorna Sports, with the FIM remaining as the sanctioning body. Teams are represented by the International Road Racing Teams Association and manufacturers by the Motorcycle Sport Manufacturers Association, rules and changes to regulations are decided between the four entities, with Dorna casting a tie-breaking vote. In cases of technical modifications, the MSMA can unilaterally enact or veto changes by unanimous vote among its members and these four entities compose the Grand Prix Commission. There have traditionally been several races at each event for various classes of motorcycles, based on engine size, and one class for sidecars. Classes for 50 cc,80 cc,125 cc,250 cc,350 cc, and 500 cc solo machines have existed at some time, up through the 1950s and most of the 1960s, four-stroke engines dominated all classes. In part this was due to rules, which allowed a multiplicity of cylinders, in the 1960s, two-stroke engines began to take root in the smaller classes. In 1969, the FIM — citing high development costs for non-works teams — brought in new rules restricting all classes to six gears, by this time, two-strokes completely eclipsed the four-strokes in all classes. The 50 cc class was replaced by an 80 cc class, then the class was dropped entirely in the 1990s, after being dominated primarily by Spanish, the 350 cc class vanished in the 1980s. Sidecars were dropped from world events in the 1990s, reducing the field to 125s, 250s
6.
2009 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
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The 2009 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 61st F. I. M. Valentino Rossi won his sixth MotoGP title, seventh in the top class, in the final 250cc championship, Hiroshi Aoyama became the third Japanese rider to win that title, after Tetsuya Harada and Daijiro Kato. In the 125cc class, Julián Simón won the title after taking seven victories during the season, the MotoGP season was marked by dominance by the Yamaha duo Rossi and Lorenzo, with occasional wins for Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner. Riding the factory Ducati,2007 champion Stoner won the opener in Qatar as well as a race in Italy to open up a championship lead after six rounds. As announced during 2008, MotoGP class switched to a single-tyre manufacturer, the move was made to try to improve safety by reducing cornering speeds, and in a marginal way for cost reasons, the winner was decided by bid. Michelin, one of the two tyre suppliers in 2008, decided not to bid for the supply, effectively declaring Bridgestone the winner, Bridgestone will be the sole tyre supplier from 2009 to 2011. Only race spec tyres will be provided to the teams, eliminating qualifying tyres, other cost-cutting manoeuvers were made during the winter prior to the season, to try to contain the rising costs of the sport, especially during a period of economic downturn. FIM was especially concerned, fearing that defections among private and factory teams could leave the grid with 14 bikes only, after negotiations between FIM, Dorna and MSMA, new measures were adopted. The team ran under the Hayate Racing banner, as announced on 1 March 2009, the 2009 revised race schedule was released on 24 October 2008. A Hungarian round was scheduled for 20 September 2009 but the organizers asked Dorna to postpone the event to 2010 due to delays in the construction of the Balatonring circuit. Due to adverse conditions, the Qatar MotoGP race was postponed until 13 April. ‡ = Night Race Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers, rider has to finish the race to earn points. Riders marked with blue background are eligible for Rookie of the Year awards. Rounds marked with blue background were under wet race conditions. † Half-points awarded in Qatar, as the riders did not complete the sufficient distance for full points, † Half-points awarded in Qatar, as the riders did not complete the sufficient distance for full points. All entries taken from the official MotoGP site, note 1, Mika Kallio replaced Casey Stoner in Czech GP, Indianapolis GP and San Marino GP. Note 2, Michel Fabrizio replaced Mika Kallio in Czech GP, note 3, Aleix Espargaró replaced Mika Kallio in Indianapolis GP and San Marino GP. He also replaced Niccolò Canepa in Malaysian GP and Valencian GP, with the exception of Japanese wildcard riders, who use Bridgestone, all entries use Dunlop tyres
7.
2010 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
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The 2010 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 62nd F. I. M. It was the first season for the new Moto2 class, jorge Lorenzo was crowned MotoGP World Champion for the first time, after he finished third in the Malaysian Grand Prix on 10 October. Second in the championship was Dani Pedrosa,138 points behind Lorenzo, the only other rider to win races during the season was Casey Stoner, who finished fourth in the championship. Stoner won three races in the half of the season, winning the inaugural race in Aragón, as well as the races at Motegi. Second place went to Julián Simón, who despite not winning a race, third place in the championship went to Andrea Iannone, who achieved three victories but lost out on runner-up in the championship to Simón by just two points. Other riders to win races were Jules Cluzel, Yuki Takahashi, Roberto Rolfo, Alex de Angelis, Stefan Bradl and Karel Abraham. Spanish riders once again dominated the 125cc championship, with a 26-race winning streak for Spanish riders only being broken by Bradley Smith at the race of the season in Valencia. The top three championship placings went to Spanish riders as Marc Márquez won the championship ahead of Nicolás Terol and Pol Espargaró. With ten victories, Márquez became the second youngest World Champion ever at the age of 17 years,263 days, Smith was best non-Spanish rider, in fourth place. A number of changes were enacted for the 2010 season. Despite this, two Friday practice sessions were held in Aragón and the two races. From 2010 on, rookies in the MotoGP class are permitted to sign only with privately owned teams, suzuki are exempt from this rule, as they only run one factory team and have no satellite teams. The Moto2 class replaced the 250cc class for 2010, the original intention was for Moto2 bikes to run alongside the existing 250cc machinery, however the entry list consisted of Moto2 machines only. The new class aimed to be economical, with such as limiting electronics, the ban of carbon-fibre brakes. All Moto2 bikes use a mandatory 600 cc Honda engine, which are prepared by Hondas European specialized tuner Ten Kate, control tyres for the new series were provided by Dunlop only, despite early intentions of leaving tyre specifications free. The provisional calendar was announced on 10 November 2009, in case a circuit was not able to hold a scheduled Grand Prix, a reserve race would take place on the same day at the Motorland Aragón circuit. This was updated six days later, with a change for the Czech round. On 19 April 2010, it was announced that the Japanese Grand Prix would be moved to 3 October, † = Night Race †† = Saturday Race ‡ = MotoGP class only Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers
8.
2016 MotoGP season
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The 2016 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 68th F. I. M. Jorge Lorenzo was the world champion, having secured his third MotoGP title. Márquezs title marked a return to the top step for Honda after a difficult 2015 campaign for its factory team, Márquez ultimately won the championship by 49 points. Rossi was the most consistent title challenger, yet he crashed out of three races up until Márquezs decisive victory in Japan, the Yamaha team suffered a severe win drought from June onwards, going eight races without a win before Márquez clinched the title. The drought reached ten races before Lorenzos Valencian triumph, in his race for the manufacturer before his move to Ducati in 2017. Rossi clinched the position by 16 points from Lorenzo, while their performances earned Yamaha the teams championship. Interenstingly, the rookie in this season was only Tito Rabat – who clinched a rookie of the year award. LCR Honda rider, Cal Crutchlow, achieved the top independent rider award, the 2016 season saw numerous records in regards to race winners. Cal Crutchlow, Jack Miller, Andrea Iannone and Maverick Viñales won their first races in the premier class, the following Grands Prix took place in 2016. The 2016 season saw the return of the Austrian Grand Prix to the schedule after 19 years absence. The race was held at the Red Bull Ring, which was the venue of the last Austrian Grand Prix, having been on the calendar since 2008, the Indianapolis round has been discontinued. For the first time in the history of the Dutch TT, a provisional entry list was announced on 7 November 2015. Notes Marc VDS Racing expanded to enter a second bike, after entering two bikes in 2015, Team LCR reverted to a single entry in 2016. The Aspar Racing Team ended their association with Honda and returned to Ducati, forward Racing left MotoGP, as they announced a new partnership with MV Agusta in the Superbike World Championship and Supersport World Championship in 2016. AB Motoracing left MotoGP as Karel Abraham moved to the Superbike World Championship, ioda Racing announced that they would leave MotoGP and compete in the Superbike World Championship. Their constructor, ART, also left MotoGP, esteve Rabat, the 2014 Moto2 World Champion, made his MotoGP debut with Marc VDS Racing, the team he won the Moto2 title with. Yonny Hernández did not have his contract with Pramac Racing renewed, and moved to Aspar Racing to replace Nicky Hayden, having competed in MotoGP since 2011, Karel Abraham switched to the Superbike World Championship. Loris Baz moved to Avintia Racing to replace Mike Di Meglio who moved to the World Endurance Chamipnship, scott Redding left Marc VDS Racing at the end of the 2015 season to join Pramac Racing
9.
Ducati
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Ducati Motor Holding S. p. A. is an Italian company that designs and manufactures motorcycles. Headquartered in Bologna, Italy, Ducati is owned by German automotive manufacturer Audi through its Italian subsidiary Lamborghini, in 1935 they had become successful enough to enable construction of a new factory in the Borgo Panigale area of the city. Production was maintained during World War II, despite the Ducati factory being a target of Allied bombing. Meanwhile, at the small Turinese firm SIATA, Aldo Farinelli began developing a small engine for mounting on bicycles. Barely a month after the liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine. In 1950, after more than 200,000 Cucciolos had been sold, in collaboration with SIATA and this first Ducati motorcycle was a 48 cc bike weighing 98 pounds, with a top speed of 40 mph, and had a 15 mm carburetor giving just under 200 mpg‑US. Ducati soon dropped the Cucciolo name in favor of 55M and 65TL, when the market moved toward larger motorcycles, Ducati management decided to respond, making an impression at an early-1952 Milan show, introducing their 65TS cycle and Cruiser. In 1953, management split the company into two entities, Ducati Meccanica SpA and Ducati Elettronica, in acknowledgment of its diverging motorcycle. Ducati Elettronica became Ducati Energia SpA in the eighties, dr. Giuseppe Montano took over as head of Ducati Meccanica SpA and the Borgo Panigale factory was modernized with government assistance. By 1954, Ducati Meccanica SpA had increased production to 120 bikes a day, in the 1960s, Ducati earned its place in motorcycling history by producing the fastest 250 cc road bike then available, the Mach 1. In the 1970s Ducati began producing large-displacement V-twin motorcycles and in 1973, in 1985, Cagiva bought Ducati and planned to rebadge Ducati motorcycles with the Cagiva name. By the time the purchase was completed, Cagiva kept the Ducati name on its motorcycles, in 1999, TPG issued an initial public offering of Ducati stock and renamed the company Ducati Motor Holding SpA. TPG sold over 65% of its shares in Ducati, leaving TPG the majority shareholder, in December 2005, Ducati returned to Italian ownership with the sale of Texas Pacifics stake to Investindustrial Holdings, the investment fund of Carlo and Andrea Bonomi. In April 2012, Volkswagen Groups Audi subsidiary announced its intention to buy Ducati for €860 million, Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piëch, a motorcycle enthusiast, had long coveted Ducati, and had regretted that he passed up an opportunity to buy the company from the Italian government in 1984. Italian luxury car brand Lamborghini was strengthened under VW ownership, AUDI AGs Automobili Lamborghini S. p. A. subsidiary acquired 100 percent of the shares of Ducati Motor Holding S. p. A. on 19 July 2012 for €747 million. Since 1926, Ducati has been owned by a number of groups, AUDI AG acquired 100% of the voting rights of Ducati Motor Holding S. p. A. via Audis Automobili Lamborghini S. p. A. MotoTranss most notable machine was the 250 cc 24 Horas, Ducati is best known for high-performance motorcycles characterized by large-capacity four-stroke, 90° V-twin engines, with a desmodromic valve design. Ducati refers to this configuration as L-twin because one cylinder is vertical while the other is horizontal, modern Ducatis remain among the dominant performance motorcycles available today partly because of the desmodromic valve design, which is nearing its 50th year of use
10.
Pole position
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In motorsport the pole position is the position at the inside of the front row at the start of a racing event. This position is given to the vehicle and driver with the best qualifying time in the trials before the race. This number-one qualifying driver is referred to as the pole sitter, historically, the fastest qualifier was not necessarily the designated pole-sitter. Different sanctioning bodies in motor sport employ different qualifying formats in designating who starts from pole position, often, a starting grid is derived either by current rank in the championship, or based on finishing position of a previous race. In contrast to contemporary motorsport, where only a participant is designated pole-sitter, prior to World War II. The term has its origins in horse racing, in which the fastest qualifying horse would be placed on the part of the course. Originally in Grand Prix racing, grid positions, including pole, were determined by lottery among the drivers, prior to the inception of the Formula 1 World Championship, the first instance of grid positions being determined by qualifying times was at the 1933 Monaco Grand Prix. Since then, the FIA have introduced many different qualifying systems to F1, between 1996 and 2006, the FIA made 6 significant changes to the qualifying procedure, each with the intention of making the battle for pole more interesting to an F1 viewer at home. Traditionally, pole was always occupied by the fastest driver due to low-fuel qualifying, the race-fuel qualifying era between 2003 and 2009 briefly changed this. Despite the changing formats, drivers attempting pole were required between 2003 and 2009 to do qualifying laps with the fuel they would use to start the race the next day. An underfuelled slower car and driver would therefore be able to take pole ahead of a better, in this situation, pole was not always advantageous to have in the race as the under-fueled driver would have to pit for more fuel before their rivals. With the race refueling ban introduced, low-fuel qualifying returned and these decisions are no longer in play. Since the reintroduction of the rule in 2011, this applies to the quickest first session time. Since 2014, the FIA has awarded a trophy to the driver who wins the most pole positions in the season, indicates that the driver won the World Championship in the same season. IndyCar uses four formats for qualifying, one for most oval tracks, one for Iowa Speedway, one for the Indianapolis 500, and another for road and street circuits. Oval qualifying is almost like the Indianapolis 500, with two laps, instead of four, averaged together with one attempt, although with just one session. At Iowa, each car takes one qualifying lap, and the top six cars advance to the race for the pole position. The result of the race determines positions 1–10
11.
2011 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
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The 2011 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 63rd F. I. M. The 2011 season was also the season for 125cc machinery. Casey Stoner was crowned as MotoGP World Champion for the second time, the Moto2 title was decided before the final race of the season at the Valencian Grand Prix. The season was marred by the death of Marco Simoncelli at the Malaysian Grand Prix, an 18-race provisional calendar was announced on 30 September 2010. The Japanese Grand Prix, originally scheduled for 24 April, was moved to 2 October due to the effects of the Tōhoku earthquake, footnotes Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. Rider has to finish the race to earn points, riders marked with light blue background are eligible for Rookie of the Year awards. Rounds marked with blue background were under wet race conditions. ‡ – Marco Simoncelli was fatally injured during the Malaysian Grand Prix, a 17-rider provisional entry list was released on 24 January 2011. Seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi rides for the factory Ducati team, whilst Casey Stoner, winner of the MotoGP championship in 2007, jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa & Andrea Dovizioso retained their seats at the factory Yamaha and Honda teams respectively. Former World Superbike champion Ben Spies moved from the Tech 3 Yamaha team to the factory Yamaha team. Moto2 champion in 2010, Toni Elías returned to the MotoGP class with Team LCR, while Karel Abraham also moved up from Moto2 and he was still shown as #65 in official timing documentation. Hiroshi Aoyama will move from Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team to San Carlo Honda Gresini, Ben Spies will be promoted by Yamaha from Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team to the factory team. Randy de Puniet will join Pramac Racing Team, coming from LCR Honda MotoGP, Karel Abraham will move up from Moto2 with his familys team, riding a Ducati. Moto2 reigning champion Toni Elías will return to MotoGP category, joining team LCR Honda MotoGP, Casey Stoner will leave the Ducati factory team to join Repsol Honda Team. Cal Crutchlow will debut in MotoGP with Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team, after seven seasons, Valentino Rossi will leave Yamaha Factory Racing to enter the Ducati Team. Loris Capirossi will return with Ducati, riding for Pramac Racing Team from Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, on 31 October 2010, a list of 22 teams was accepted by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, Dorna Sports and IRTA to compete in the 2011 championship. A 38-rider provisional entry list was released on 24 January 2011, a 32-rider provisional entry list was released on 24 January 2011. The official website of Grand Prix motorcycle racing
12.
2015 Moto2 Series season
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The 2015 Moto2 season was a part of the 67th F. I. M. Marc VDS Racing Team rider Esteve Rabat started the season as the defending riders champion, Rabat had been trailing by 78 points going to the Japanese Grand Prix. However, he had to withdraw from the event with a fractured left radius, therefore, Johann Zarco became World Champion – the ninth different world champion in the intermediate class in as many years. Rins won two races at Indianapolis, and Phillip Island, while Rabat added his Valencia success to wins at Mugello and Motorland Aragón. The seasons only other winners were Jonas Folger, who won at Losail and Jerez for the AGR Team, and Xavier Siméon. Kalex comfortably won the championship, they won 17 of the seasons 18 races. Speed Up finished second in the championship, with 209 points to Kalexs 445, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme released an 18-race official calendar on 26 September 2014. The British Grand Prix had been scheduled to return to Donington Park for the first time since 2009, however, Donington Park pulled out of hosting the event on 10 February 2015, citing financial delays. The following day, it was announced that Silverstone would host the British Grand Prix in 2015 and 2016, a provisional entry list was released by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme on 23 October 2014. An updated entry list was released on 2 February 2015, the official website of Grand Prix motorcycle racing
13.
2007 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
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The 2007 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 59th F. I. M Road Racing World Championship season. Casey Stoner won the MotoGP title, winning 10 of the 18 races to finish with a lead of 125 points over second placed Dani Pedrosa, jorge Lorenzo won his second 250cc title, and Gábor Talmácsi won the 125cc title. Stoner had a breakthrough season on the Ducati, the team winning its first world title on the Grand Prix scene. It was also the first time since 1973 that the category had not been won by a Japanese constructor. The new 800 cc Ducati engine had a significant advantage over the manufacturers in straightline speed but was tricky to ride through corners for Stoners experienced teammate Loris Capirossi. Up to the end of 2006, speculation suggested that Honda would have the advantage of the new 800cc engines, in practice, Honda suffered the most from the regulation change, with only Dani Pedrosa and Marco Melandri making any impression on the leaders. Stoner scored a string of wins for Ducati, Suzuki saw Chris Vermeulen take their first win since the advent of four-stroke regulations, the Kawasaki team also made progress with improved results. In addition to the capacity reduction, MotoGP teams were restricted to 31 tires per race weekend per rider. This change seemed to have favored the Bridgestones wider performance range over the more temperature-, pressure from top riders and declining viewership led Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta to propose a single-tire manufacturer for MotoGP. Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers, rider has to finish the race to earn points. Riders marked with blue background were eligible for Rookie of the Year awards. Each manufacturer got the amount of points as their best placed rider in each Grand Prix. † Ilmor withdrew before Spanish race, on 15 March 2007, Mario Illien of Ilmor announced that the team would be taking a break from the Moto GP series as a result of funding issues. During practice for the Chinese GP, Olivier Jacque injured his arm in a practice crash and he missed his home race, at Le Mans, and was replaced by Fonsi Nieto. Team Roberts announced that they would expand to a bike from the Mugello race onwards. Kenny Roberts, Jr. withdrew from the series in June, in those rounds the sole KR212V was ridden by his brother Kurtis. On 21 June, it was announced that Anthony West would be replacing Olivier Jacque at Kawasaki for the remainder of the season, during practice for the Dutch TT, Toni Elías broke his left femur. He was replaced by Michel Fabrizio at the German Grand Prix, chaz Davies was invited to take his ride for the remainder of the weekend despite having no experience on any MotoGP bike or Bridgestone tyres
14.
2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
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The 2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 60th F. I. M. The MotoGP class opened with the historic Qatar Grand Prix, the first night race held in the World Championship history. The race was won by Ducatis Casey Stoner ahead of rookie Jorge Lorenzo, who started on pole in the first race in the top class, and Dani Pedrosa. In Spain Pedrosa won his first race of the year, ahead of Rossi and Lorenzo, while Stoner struggled with problems on his bike. At the Portugal GP, Lorenzo started on pole and won his first MotoGP race, ahead of Pedrosa, Stoner won the three consecutive races in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany, also obtaining pole position and the fastest lap in all three. The United States race at Laguna Seca was the biggest turning point of the season, before the race Stoner trailed Rossi on the standings by only 20 points. The Australian took pole position and started the race in first position, however, Rossi passed Stoner in the middle on the first lap, and Stoner could never make a decisive pass, and he stayed behind until the 24th lap, where he fell at the last corner. He re-mounted, but finished in place while Rossi caught the first of five consecutive wins. In the next two races, Czech Republic and San Marino, Stoner fell off while leading from Rossi, as Rossi began to pull a gap, heavy winds began to blow and the race was ended early with Rossi leading. Two weeks later, in Japan, Rossi clinched his sixth premier class title with three races to go, by winning the race ahead of Stoner, the Australian then won his home race and in Valencia, while Rossi won in Malaysia. After the initial problems, though, Simoncelli had a run of 7 consecutive races on the podium and he started the season on a semi-works Aprilia LE, but his performances led Aprilia to give him a works Aprilia RSA, making him a de facto works rider. After his strong start, Kallio couldnt keep the pace of Simoncelli, bautista got into shape well into the season, after a series of bad races and retirements due to problems with his bike and rider errors. Reigning champion Gábor Talmácsi stayed in the class, unlike other top names from last year who moved into 250cc category, among the pre-season favourites were also Bradley Smith, Simone Corsi and Mike di Meglio. Talmácsi had dismal start to the season, with reliability problems on his new bike, Corsi won three of first six races and despite few bad results, looked good in the championship. However, Mike di Meglio won also multiple races, and having escaped without retirement until Misano and he clinched the championship two races before the end. Corsi took second ahead of Talmácsi and Bradl who failed to finish the final race, the season was completely dominated by the Piaggio bikes, as Spanish Marc Márquez was only other rider to achieve podium place with his 3rd place in Donington. The 2008 race schedule was released on July 2007, the schedule was later revised, with Japan held before Australia, because of the original Australian date had a conflict with the AFL Grand Final. Portugal was moved from 20 April to 13 April and the Grand Finale in Valencia was on 26 October instead of 2 November
15.
2001 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
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This article recaps the 2001 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. 2001 was the end of the 500 cc era in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, in 2002 the premier class would be renamed MotoGP, however,2001 was the beginning of another era, that of Valentino Rossis run of championships in the top class. His learning year past him, he won 11 races in 2001, far outdistancing his nearest competitor, rossi would win that race and sew-up the championship with two rounds to go. The 500 cc Rookie of the Year award went to Shinya Nakano, as of 2015, it was the last year where a single constructor won the championship in all three categories. Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers, rider had to finish the race to earn points. Results as follows Result as follows Result as follows The Official MotoGP website
16.
2006 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
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The 2006 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 58th Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme Road racing World Championship season. The 2006 MotoGP season was one of the closest battles in recent years, the victory was Haydens first World Championship. Seven different riders claimed Grand Prix victories including first time winners Dani Pedrosa, Toni Elías, yamahas Valentino Rossi fought back from a 51-point deficit to lead the championship going into the final rounds. Haydens fortunes took a dip when he was out by his team-mate Pedrosa at the penultimate round in Portugal. Hayden only won two races to Rossis five, but the Yamaha suffered a number of issues which led to more retirements. Also, the win of Elias in Portugal, with a margin of just 0.002 second over Rossi. Rossi had given up five points in round, the same amount by which he was behind Hayden in the final standings. Had there been a tie, Rossi would have been crowned World Champion due to more victories than Hayden. In the 250 class, Aprilias Jorge Lorenzo won his first championship taking 8 victories, another Aprilia rider took the 125 crown with Álvaro Bautista also taking 8 wins. † = MotoGP class only †† = Saturday Race According to the website, www. motogp. com According to the official website
17.
Honda
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Honda Motor Co. Ltd. is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles, aircraft, motorcycles, and power equipment. Honda became the second-largest Japanese automobile manufacturer in 2001, Honda was the eighth largest automobile manufacturer in the world behind General Motors, Volkswagen Group, Toyota, Hyundai Motor Group, Ford, Nissan, and PSA Peugeot Citroën in 2011. Honda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a luxury brand, Acura. Aside from their automobile and motorcycle businesses, Honda also manufactures garden equipment, marine engines, personal watercraft and power generators. Since 1986, Honda has been involved with artificial intelligence/robotics research and they have also ventured into aerospace with the establishment of GE Honda Aero Engines in 2004 and the Honda HA-420 HondaJet, which began production in 2012. Honda has three joint-ventures in China, in 2013, Honda invested about 5. 7% of its revenues in research and development. Also in 2013, Honda became the first Japanese automaker to be a net exporter from the United States, exporting 108,705 Honda and Acura models, throughout his life, Hondas founder, Soichiro Honda had an interest in automobiles. He worked as a mechanic at the Art Shokai garage, where he tuned cars, in 1937, with financing from his acquaintance Kato Shichirō, Honda founded Tōkai Seiki to make piston rings working out of the Art Shokai garage. After initial failures, Tōkai Seiki won a contract to supply piston rings to Toyota, Honda also aided the war effort by assisting other companies in automating the production of military aircraft propellers. The relationships Honda cultivated with personnel at Toyota, Nakajima Aircraft Company, with a staff of 12 men working in a 16 m2 shack, they built and sold improvised motorized bicycles, using a supply of 500 two-stroke 50 cc Tohatsu war surplus radio generator engines. When the engines ran out, Honda began building their own copy of the Tohatsu engine and this was the Honda A-Type, nicknamed the Bata Bata for the sound the engine made. In 1949, the Honda Technical Research Institute was liquidated for ¥1,000,000, or about US$5,000 today, at about the same time Honda hired engineer Kihachiro Kawashima, and Takeo Fujisawa who provided indispensable business and marketing expertise to complement Soichiro Hondas technical bent. The close partnership between Soichiro Honda and Fujisawa lasted until they stepped down together in October 1973, the first complete motorcycle, with both the frame and engine made by Honda, was the 1949 D-Type, the first Honda to go by the name Dream. Honda Motor Company grew in a time to become the worlds largest manufacturer of motorcycles by 1964. The first production automobile from Honda was the T360 mini pick-up truck, powered by a small 356-cc straight-4 gasoline engine, it was classified under the cheaper Kei car tax bracket. The first production car from Honda was the S500 sports car and its chain-driven rear wheels pointed to Hondas motorcycle origins. Over the next few decades, Honda worked to expand its line and expanded operations. In 1986, Honda introduced the successful Acura brand to the American market in an attempt to ground in the luxury vehicle market
18.
Finns
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Finns or Finnish people are a Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland. Also, some of these may be classified as ethnic groups. These include the Kvens and Forest Finns in Norway, the Tornedalians in Sweden, the most notable autochthonous group is the Finnish-speaking population of Sweden, who trace their origin to Second Swedish Crusade after which Finland came under Swedish rule. Finnish, the language spoken by most Finnic people, is related to other Finnic languages. The Finnic languages are a subgroup to the Uralic family of languages and these languages are markedly different from most other languages spoken in Europe, which belong to the Indo-European family of languages. Native Finns can also be divided according to dialect into subgroups sometimes called heimo, the Population Register Centre maintains information on the birthplace, citizenship and mother tongue of the people living in Finland, but does not specifically categorize any as Finns by ethnicity. The majority of living in the Republic of Finland consider Finnish to be their first language. According to Statistics Finland, of the total population of 5,300,484 at the end of 2007,91. 2% considered Finnish to be their native language. It is not known how many of the ethnic Finns living outside Finland speak Finnish as their first language, Finns have been traditionally divided into sub-groups along regional, dialectical or ethnographical lines. These subgroups include the people of Finland Proper, Satakunta, Tavastia, Savo and these sub-groups express regional self-identity with varying frequency and significance. Historically, there were three dialects, the South-Western, Tavastian, and Karelian, the Sweden Finns are either native to Sweden or have emigrated from Finland to Sweden. An estimated 450,000 first- or second-generation immigrants from Finland live in Sweden, the majority moved from Finland to Sweden following the Second World War, taking advantage of the rapidly expanding Swedish economy. This emigration peaked in 1970 and has been declining since, there are also native Finnish-speaking minorities in Sweden, e. g. the Tornedalingar and the Finns of Dalecarlia. The Finnish language has official status as one of five minority languages in Sweden, the term Finns is also used for other Finnic peoples, including Izhorians in Ingria, Karelians in Karelia and Veps in the former Veps National Volost, all in Russia. Among these groups, the Karelians is the most populous one, according to a 2002 census, it was found that Ingrians also indetify with Finnish ethnic identity, referring to themselves as Ingrian Finns. The Finnish term for Finns is suomalaiset and it is a matter of debate how best to designate the Finnish-speakers of Sweden, all of whom have migrated to Sweden from Finland. Historical references to Northern Europe are scarce, and the given to its peoples and geographic regions are obscure, therefore
19.
Motorcycle sport
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Motorcycle sport is a broad field that encompasses all sporting aspects of motorcycling. The disciplines are not all races or timed-speed events, as several disciplines test a competitors various riding skills, Motorcycle racing is a motorcycle sport involving racing motorcycles. Motorcycle racing can be divided into two categories, tarmac-based road disciplines and off-road, track racing is a motorcycle sport where teams or individuals race opponents around an oval track. There are differing variants, with each variant racing on a different surface type, a road rally is a navigation event on public roads whereby competitors must visit a number of checkpoints in diverse geographical locations while still obeying road traffic laws. Speedway is a sport in which the motorcycles have one gear. Land speed is where a single rider accelerates over a 1 to 3-mile long straight track and is timed for top speed through a trap at the end of the run. The rider must exceed the top speed record for that class or type of bike for their name to be placed on the record books. The courses are run over thick wooded terrain, sometimes with large obstacles such as logs, ditches. A competition based upon points for acrobatic ability on an MX bike over jumps, known in the US as Observed Trials, it is not racing, but a sport nevertheless. Trials is a test of skill on a motorcycle whereby the rider attempts to traverse an observed section without placing a foot on the ground, the winner is the rider with the least penalty points. Time and observation trials are trials with a time limit, the person who completes the route the quickest sets the standard time and all other competitors must finish within a certain amount of time of the standard time to be counted as a finisher. One of the most famous time and observation trials is the Scott trial held annually in North Yorkshire, indoor trials held in stadiums which by their very nature use man-made artificial sections in contrast to outdoor trials which rely heavily on the natural terrain. Similar to car Autocross, Motorcycle Gymkhana is a time trial sport round cones on a paved area. The winner is the competitor who completes the course in the shortest time, time penalties are incurred by putting a foot down, hitting a cone, or going outside the designated area. Similar to football, but all players are riding motorcycles, Motorcycle Polo first began as an officially-organized sport in the mid-1930s. In France, there are organized competitions, and the sport was included in the inaugural Goodwill Games. In the United States the completions are usually held on off-road courses, in some cases, few riders actually complete the course and results are judged on the distance that they manage to achieve. Of those that do complete the course, the rider to reach the top with the shortest elapsed time wins, the motorcycle of choice in the early decades was the Harley-Davidson 45 cubic inch model due to its high torque at low rpms, similar to farm engines
20.
Ajo Motorsport
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The teams leader is former racer Aki Ajo. The team debuted in 2001 and took its first win in 2003, the teams debut at a world championship race was at Sachsenring in 2001, where the team entered Mika Kallio as a wildcard rider. The team and Kallio also took part in the competition in Valencia later in the year and their best result that season was fifth place in Jerez, and Kallio was named Rookie of the Year, beating riders such as Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo. In 2003, the team expanded to two bikes, with Kallio being joined by the Japanese competitor Masao Azuma, Kallio then left the team in August after receiving an offer from KTM. He was replaced by Andrea Ballerini, in Australia, the team achieved a 1–2 victory, with Ballerini in first place and Azuma in second. Ajo attributed a portion of their success to the combination of wet conditions and Bridgestone tyres. For the 2004 season, the team had two new riders in Lukáš Pešek and Danish Robbin Harms, the season was a disappointing one for Ajo, as Pešek crashed repeatedly and as Harms suffered several injuries. Pešek moved to the Derbi team for the next season, Japanese Tomoyoshi Koyama and French Alexis Masbou were Ajos riders in the 2005 season. Koyama won the Rookie of the Year title, the second in four years. His best results were second place in Australia and third in Turkey, the team kept the same riders for the following year but obtained new bikes from Malaguti. Both riders suffered many injuries which affected their season, Masbou was only able to ride eight races and did not score any points. Koyamas best result was sixth in Estoril, and he ended in 15th place in the championship standings, in 2007, the team raced with Derbi bikes, driven by Michael Ranseder and Robert Mureșan. Ranseder finished in the points 13 times, while Mureșan failed to score, Ajo Motorsport continued with Derbi for the 2008 season, with Mike Di Meglio and Dominique Aegerter as their riders. Di Meglio won four races and clinched the championship in Australia. Sandro Cortese accompanied Dominique Aegerter in 2009, the team scored several podiums this season but did not manage to win any races. In the 2010 season, Ajo Motorsport fielded Marc Márquez, Sandro Cortese, the season was a big success for the team. Márquez scored twelve poles and ten victories, and brought the team its second title in three years
21.
Red Bull
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Red Bull is an energy drink sold by Austrian company Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987. Red Bull has the highest market share of any drink in the world. Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an energy drink named Krating Daeng. He took this idea, modified the ingredients to suit the tastes of Westerners, in Thai, daeng means red, and krating is the large bovine called gaur in English. Red Bull is sold in a tall and slim blue-silver can, the two are different products, produced separately. The Red Bull company slogan was Red Bull gives you wings, the product is marketed through advertising, events, sports team ownerships, celebrity endorsements, and music, through its record label Red Bull Records. Energy drinks have the effects caffeine and sugar provide. In 1976, Chaleo Yoovidhya introduced a drink called Krating Daeng in Thailand and it was popular among Thai truck drivers and labourers. While working for German manufacturer Blendax in 1982, Dietrich Mateschitz traveled to Thailand and met Chaleo, during his visit, Mateschitz discovered that Krating Daeng helped cure his jet lag. In 1984, Mateschitz co-founded Red Bull GmbH with Yoovidhya and turned it into an international brand, each partner invested US$500,000 of savings to found the company. Yoovidhya and Mateschitz each held a 49 percent share of the new company and they gave the remaining two percent to Yoovidhyas son, Chalerm, but it was agreed that Mateschitz would run the company. The product was launched in Austria in 1987, in Thailand, energy drinks are most popular with blue-collar workers. Red Bull repositioned the drink as a trendy, upscale drink, pricing was a key differentiator, with Red Bull positioned as a premium drink and Krating Daeng as a lower cost item. In many countries both drinks are available, dominating each end of the price spectrum, in 1992, the product expanded to international markets, Hungary and Slovenia. It entered the United States via California in 1997 and the Middle East in 2000, in 2008, Forbes magazine listed both Chaleo and Mateschitz as the 250th richest people in the world with an estimated net worth of US$4 billion. Red Bull GmbH is headquartered in Fuschl am See, an Austrian village of about 1,500 inhabitants near Salzburg, the company is 51 percent controlled by the Yoovidhya family, who for technical reasons own the trademark in Europe and the US. In Southeast Asia, Red Bull and Krating Daeng are often confused for one another as Krating Daeng uses the Red Bull name in their packaging and they are two separate entities marketing for different markets. The main differences are that Red Bull is in a blue silver tall can packaging while the Thailand Red Bull or Krating Daeng is in a smaller gold packaging and they differ in terms of tastes as well
22.
Ducati Desmosedici
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Ducati Desmosedici is the name of the series of four-stroke V4 Prototype Motorcycles developed by Ducati to compete in the MotoGP World Championship. GPx indicates the version of the bike, where x corresponds to the year the bike raced, Ducati abandoned the Grand Prix racing scene at the start of the 1970s. For many years the 500 class was essentially a class for two-stroke motorcycles, technical rules changed in 2002, giving priority to four-stroke machinery and turning the 500 class of World Road Racing into the MotoGP Championship. This convinced Ducati to make a return to the track in the new MotoGP class. Ducati history is based on 90° V-twin engines, using desmodromic valve technology. However, analysis indicated that an engine would not have been able to produce the required amount of power, more than 230 hp. A twin would have had to rev at over 17000 rpm, but this would require a short stroke. The basis of the design of the Desmosedici engine therefore is two classical Ducati L-twins next to other, making a Double L-twin with two-cylinder Stroking at the same time. With four valves per cylinder, the number of valves is sixteen - Desmosedici means desmodromic distribution with sixteen valves shortened in Italian. Design had started in 2001, the bike was unveiled at the 2002 Italian GP at Mugello, vittoriano Guareschi, the Ducati Corse test-rider, followed every phase of the Desmosedici’s development process from early testing to track debut and the project’s evolution. In 2007, Ducatis pilot Casey Stoner, riding a Desmosedici, while still fully committed to Superbike racing, the Ducati Marlboro Team of Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss would compete in all rounds of the 2003 MotoGP championship. The Desmosedici GP3 quickly scored a series of results with Loris Capirossi, a large part of the season went by before the bike became competitive, but the season concluded with both riders on the podium. At 989 cc, the GP4s top speed record of 347.4 km/h was set by Loris Capirossi at IRTA Tests in Catalunya, the GP5 version lined up for Ducati’s third season in MotoGP, with Bayliss replaced by the Spanish rider Carlos Checa. Thanks to an agreement with Bridgestone, Ducati could finally contribute to the development of new tyres. Bridgestone found that hard tyres suited the more than softer tyres to create grip - simply put. Involving better aerodynamics and a fuel tank position, most importantly, although more powerful. This made the bike slower on top speed, but quicker into, around, the new rider with Capirossi was Spanish rider Sete Gibernau. After encouraging winter tests, the Desmosedici GP6 took its first win of 2006 in the opening GP at Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, followed by a podium in Qatar
23.
Pramac Racing
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Pramac Racing is a motorcycle racing team currently competing in the MotoGP World Championship. The team was created in 2002 by Italian company Pramac, in 2005 Pramac Racing joined forces with dAntin MotoGP to form Pramac dAntin and in 2007 the team became part of the Pramac Group. After dAntin left the team in 2008, the became known as Pramac Racing. The dAntin MotoGP Team was set up in 1999 by Spanish former motorcycle racer Luis dAntin and was based in Madrid, beginning in 1999 the team raced in the 250 cc Spanish and World Championships with Yamaha bikes and Spanish riders Fonsi Nieto and David García. In the same season the team ran in the 500 cc class with Japanese rider Norifumi Abe aboard a Yamaha YZR500, Abe took a win in 2000 at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. José Luis Cardoso joined the team in 2001 as second rider alongside Abe, a podium finish was the teams best result. In 2002 the 500 cc class became MotoGP and the DAntin team continued with the same riders, the 500 cc 2-stroke motorcycle was not able to compete against the more powerful 990 cc 4-strokes and top 10 finishes were the teams best results. DAntin got the new Yamaha YZR-M1 in 2003, with Shinya Nakano as the only rider. The team switched to Ducati motorcycles in 2004 using the previous seasons Desmosedici GP3 and signing 2003 Superbike World Champion Neil Hodgson, the team ran into financial difficulties mid-season and was not able to run a test program, the best result was a third place for Xaus. Pramac Racing entered MotoGP in 2002, taking over the activities of Hardwick Racing, relocating to Italy, in September 2002 Pramac signed a three-year deal with Max Biaggi and Honda Racing Corporation to enter a Honda RC211V. Two months later Pramac and Pons Racing reached an agreement whereby Biaggi would have competed for Pons while still under contract with Pramac, in 2003 Pramac also entered his own team with a Honda RC211V for Makoto Tamada, being the only Honda team to use Bridgestone tyres. A podium in Brazil was the teams best result, while Biaggi scored two wins and finished the championship in third place, for 2004 Pramac Racing ran alongside Pons Racing under the name Camel Honda. Tamada and his team, led by Luca Montiron, joined Sito Pons structure, Tamada still raced on Bridgestone tyres while Biaggi used Michelin tyres. Tamada finished the season two wins and sixth place in the final championship standings, Biaggi clinched a win and the third place overall. In 2005 dAntin MotoGP and Pramac Racing merged to form Pramac dAntin, the team used the previous seasons Desmosedici GP4 with Italian Roberto Rolfo as a rider. The team used Dunlop tyres and usually finished races near the back of the grid, for 2006 the team was given use of the Desmosedici GP6. The same motorcycles the factory team was using, Alex Hofmann and José Luis Cardoso were the teams riders. The Dunlop tyres the team used were not competitive and once again the team finished races near the back of the grid, prior to the start of the 2007 season, Pramac and dAntin reached an agreement that saw the dAntin team becoming an integral part of the Pramac Group
24.
Marc VDS Racing Team
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Marc VDS Racing Team is a Belgian motorcycle racing team founded by Marc van der Straten, although it is composed of several smaller teams all operating under the Marc VDS banner. The team currently competes in two disciplines of motorsport, motorcycle racing in the MotoGP World Championship and the Moto2 World Championship and it has also formerly competed in many auto racing championships, such as the Blancpain Endurance Series and the European Le Mans Series. Based in Gosselies, Belgium, Marc VDS began competing in the Belcar series as part of the program for the Gillet Vertigo. Despite continued development for years, the Gillet program ended in 2008. Marc VDS also expanded their program through the purchase of a Volkswagen Touareg Rally raid for the 2009 Dakar Rally. After their year of development in FIA GT, Marc VDS was one of twelve teams granted entry in the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship in 2010, where they would retain their Ford GT. The 2010 GT1 program also included an entry in the Le Mans Series 1000 km of Spa as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Marc VDS also added a program to 2010 by co-developing a Ford Mustang with Multimatic Motorsports of Canada for use in the FIA GT3 European Championship. In July 2015, Bas Leinders announced he has parted ways with the team, in October 2015, Marc van der Straten announced that the sportscar racing programme would end at the conclusion of the 2015 season. Official website Marc VDS Racing Team on Twitter
25.
2012 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
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The 2012 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 64th F. I. M. Casey Stoner started the season as the defending World Champion, while Honda was the defending Manufacturers Champion, Moto2 champion Stefan Bradl joined the MotoGP grid with LCR Honda and 125cc champion Nicolás Terol entered Moto2, racing for Aspar. In the premier MotoGP class, the championship battle revolved around Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo and Honda pairing Dani Pedrosa, in the next race, Stoner crashed out of the German Grand Prix on the final lap and allowed Pedrosa to take his first win of the season. Stoner struggled in the few races – despite a victory at the United States Grand Prix – with his championship challenge ended by a qualifying crash at Indianapolis. After ankle surgery, he returned to the series and won his race of his career at his home race. Pedrosa went on a run of five victories in six races, with the streak being interrupted by a crash at Misano. Lorenzo finished second to Pedrosa on each occasion that he had won, Lorenzo ultimately won the title with a second-place finish to Stoner in Australia, after Pedrosa had crashed out of the lead early on. Márquezs result was enough to give Suter the constructors title for the class, Cortese also became the first rider to win any Grand Prix title for the Austrian manufacturer KTM. KTM also won the championship at the Australian Grand Prix. The MotoGP class changes to allow up to 1,000 cc in capacity, with a limit of 4 cylinders, the 2012 season will see the introduction of four-stroke bikes in the new Moto3 class. In 2012 the MotoGP class saw the introduction of Claiming Rule Teams to allow for participation by independent teams with lower budgets, the sports governing body received applications from sixteen new teams looking to join the MotoGP class. However, Interwetten Paddock, Marc VDS, and Kiefer Racing were absent from the revised grid released by FIM in January 2012, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme released an 18-race provisional calendar on 14 September 2011. Another provisional calendar was released three months later, with the Qatar Grand Prix moved forward by a week, notes, ^1 — Races held at night. ^2 — Races held on Saturday, rather than Sunday, ^3 — Only MotoGP race held. A provisional entry list was released by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme on 13 January 2012, notes ‡ — Gresini Honda nominated to run Michele Pirro on a Honda-powered FTR chassis under CRT regulations. Andrea Dovizioso left Repsol Honda Team to join Monster Yamaha Tech 3, colin Edwards moved from Monster Yamaha Tech 3 to NGM Mobile Forward Racing. Stefan Bradl moved up from Moto2, joining LCR Honda MotoGP, Héctor Barberá still rode a Ducati, but he moved from Aspar Racing Team to Pramac Racing Team. 2011 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup runner-up Danilo Petrucci debuted in the MotoGP category with Came IodaRacing Project, randy de Puniet exchanged with Barberá, entering Power Electronics Aspar from Pramac Racing Team
26.
2013 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
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The 2013 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 65th Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme Road racing World Championship season. Jorge Lorenzo started the season as the defending World Champion, while Honda was the defending Manufacturers Champion, Moto2 champion Marc Márquez joined the MotoGP grid with Repsol Honda and Moto3 champion Sandro Cortese entered Moto2, with Intact GP. The three championships were won by Spanish riders, with Márquez winning in MotoGP, Pol Espargaró winning in Moto2. Spanish riders dominated the overall, with 47 of the 52 races across all classes won by a Spanish rider. In the premier MotoGP class, Lorenzo, along with Repsol Honda team-mates Marc Márquez, Lorenzo won the opening race of the season in Qatar, before rookie Márquez became the youngest premier class winner, as he claimed victory in the inaugural Grand Prix of the Americas in Texas. Márquez and Pedrosa finished second and fourth respectively, as Valentino Rossi took his first race victory since 2010, Márquez went on to beat Lorenzo to victory, and after Pedrosa won in Malaysia, Márquez held a 43-point lead in the championship with three races to go. After battling Pedrosa and Lorenzo in the stages of the race, Márquez finished third in the race to become the youngest premier class champion. Pedrosas second place, behind Lorenzo, was enough for Honda to clinch the constructors championship, in Moto2, Pol Espargaró became champion in the class, after overhauling Scott Redding towards the end of the season. With six race victories, Espargaró won the championship by 40 points ahead of Redding, nicolás Terol, who finished seventh, was another three-time race winner, with other victories taken by Mika Kallio and Jordi Torres, who was tenth in the championship. In the constructors championship, Kalex won thirteen of the seventeen races to win the title by almost 100 points from Suter, in Moto3, the championship was dominated by three Spanish riders, all riding KTM machinery. With Salom only making it back up to fourteenth, Rins finished as runner-up ahead of Salom, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme released a 19-race provisional calendar on 19 September 2012. On 23 November 2012, the calendar was updated following confirmation that the return of the Argentine Grand Prix would be postponed to 2014. The Grand Prix of the Americas held at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, United States, replaces the Portuguese Grand Prix, which had been run at Estoril since 2000. The United States will host three races, the two being the United States Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and the Indianapolis Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Notes, ^1 — Races held at night, ^2 — Races held on Saturday. A provisional entry list was released by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme on 28 November 2012, an updated entry list was released on 12 February 2013. Hiroshi Aoyama will return to MotoGP full-time after competing in just one event in 2012 and he will ride an FTR Moto prepared by Avintia Racing. Héctor Barberá will leave Pramac Racing at the end of the 2012 season, when his departure was confirmed in September 2012, he had not secured a ride with any other team, but confirmed his intentions to race for team competing under Claiming Rule Teams regulations
27.
2014 Moto2 Series season
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The 2014 Moto2 season was a part of the 66th F. I. M. Pol Espargaró was the series champion, but did not contest the season as he joined the series premier class. Scoring a record tally of points for the class, with 346, Marc VDS Racing Team rider Esteve Rabat wound up as the series champion. Rabat also set records for pole positions with 11, and tied the record for podiums with 14 – including 7 wins – matching Marc Márquez in the 2012 campaign, both riders retired from the race as a result of the incident, giving Kallio the position by 15 points. He finished just ahead of compatriot Dominique Aegerter, who for the Technomag carXpert team, having scored his first pole position in qualifying, Aegerter took his maiden victory in his 129th start, fending off Kallios advances in the closing stages. The only other race victor was Anthony West for the QMMF Racing Team, winning a wet race at Assen, it was his race win at the track. Riding a Speed Up, it was the time a Suter or Kalex did not win a race throughout the season. Kalex dominated the championship, amassing 430 points out of a maximum total of 450. The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme released a 19-race provisional calendar on 2 October 2013, the calendar was updated on 13 December 2013 and again on 24 February 2014, resulting in an 18-race calendar. The 2014 calendar originally saw the addition of two South American races, the series first visit to the continent since 2004, the round at Motorland Aragón was also moved back a week, filling the date originally scheduled for Brazil. A provisional entry list was released by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme on 20 November 2013, an updated entry list was released on 14 January 2014. The final entry list was released on 28 February 2014, scoring system Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points, the official website of Grand Prix motorcycle racing
28.
Road racing
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In North America, road racing is motor racing held on a paved closed circuit with both left and right turns. Road racing is therefore distinct from both off-road racing and oval racing, the latter is common in North America and involves turning in only one direction. Road racing may be on purpose-built race tracks or on circuits, such as closed-off airport runways and public roads. A roval is a road course incorporating parts of a track and its infield. Some officially-sanctioned races are held on roads, that are closed for the duration of the event. This form of racing was banned in Great Britain in 1925 due to an accident at the Kop Hill Climb. The North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix races are popular, the ban in Great Britain does not extend to the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland. Sometimes the term real road racing is used to distinguish this form of racing from that which takes place on purpose-built paved circuits. Global road-racing series such as Formula One, FIA WEC and MotoGP are almost always conducted on dedicated tracks, such as Spa-Francorchamps, Suzuka, Monza. Expansion of these series has resulted in dedicated tracks being built in Qatar in the Middle East, Sepang in Malaysia, events for many types of motorized vehicles are held at road racing tracks. There was a tradition of road racing on real streets in North America. The terms definition has shifted over time, however, with the dominance of Oval racing. A permanent, purpose-built, road racing circuit, is described as a natural or proper road course in the U. S. After a few decades of such events three sons of Barron Collier—Barron, Miles, and Samuel—founded the Automobile Racing Club of America in 1933 and that organization became the Sports Car Club of America in 1944. Throughout its history, American race car drivers such as Briggs Cunningham, Lake Underwood, Carroll Shelby, the Road Racing Drivers Club was formed and invited members by nomination alone. Its presidents have been, Walt Hansgen, Dolph Vilardi, John Gorden Benett, Robert Grossman, Lake Underwood, Mark Donohue, Bob Sharp, Skip Barber, Dave Ammen, Bob Akin, Brian Redman, and Bobby Rahal. Additionally, racing over public streets is making something of a comeback, other famous street circuits in North America include events held in Saint Petersburg, Florida, Montreal, Québec, Detroit, Michigan, and Toronto, Ontario. More recently, the Edmonton Indy is held on the runways of Edmonton City Centre Airport in Edmonton, Oval track Roval Dragstrip Traditional Road Racing 944 Cup
29.
Nordic countries
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The Nordic countries or Nordics are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic, where they are most commonly known as Norden. They consist of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, the population of the Nordic countries are mainly Scandinavian or Finnish, with Greenlandic Inuit and the Sami people as minorities. Of todays native languages, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, the non-Germanic languages spoken are Finnish, Greenlandic and several Sami languages. The main religion is Lutheran Christianity, the Nordic countries have much in common in their way of life, history, their use of Scandinavian languages and social structure. Politically, Nordic countries do not form an entity. Especially in English, Scandinavia is sometimes used as a synonym for the Nordic countries, Scandinavian Peninsula on the other hand covers mainland Norway and Sweden as well as the northernmost part of Finland. At 3,425,804 square kilometers, the area of the Nordic countries would form the 7th-largest country in the world. Uninhabitable icecaps and glaciers comprise about half of area, mostly in Greenland. In January 2013, the region had a population of around 26 million people, the Nordic countries cluster near the top in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, and human development. Although the area is linguistically heterogeneous, with three unrelated groups, the common linguistic heritage is one of the factors making up the Nordic identity. The North Germanic languages Danish, Norwegian and Swedish are considered mutually intelligible and these languages are taught in school throughout the Nordic countries. Swedish, for example, is a subject in Finnish schools. Danish is mandatory in Faroese and Greenlandic schools, as these states are a part of the Danish Realm. Iceland also teaches Danish, since Iceland too was a part of the Danish Realm until 1918, there is a high degree of income redistribution and little social unrest. The Nordic countries consists of historical territories of the Scandinavian countries, areas that share a common history and it is meant unambiguously to refer to this larger group, since the term Scandinavia is narrower and sometimes ambiguous. The Nordic countries are considered to unambiguously refer to Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The term is derived indirectly from the local term Norden, used in the Scandinavian languages, unlike the Nordic countries, the term Norden is in the singular. The demonym is nordbo, literally meaning northern dweller, especially outside of the Nordic region the term Scandinavia is often used incorrectly as a synonym for the Nordic countries
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Ice racing
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Ice racing is a form of racing that uses cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, or other motorized vehicles. Ice racing takes place on frozen lakes or rivers, or on groomed frozen lots, tracks in North America vary from 1/4 mile long ovals to several mile-long road course designs. Tracks used for ice racing include ovals and road courses, some tracks are dirt track racing tracks with the snow plowed off them. When there is no snow, an icy surface may be created by spraying the dirt surface with water when the temperature is below freezing. Artificial ice tracks are used where it is not possible to construct natural ice tracks, some tracks are made by plowing the snow off an area of a frozen lake. Spectators frequently park their cars around the outside of the track on a frozen lake, in the UK ice meetings have been staged at ice rinks. The longest running event, at Telford, features riders using conventional machines with spiked tires, in the late 1960s ice racing was staged at a number of rinks in Scotland but the machines used were rally based machines with all season tires. Ice racing tires are either studded or non-studded, studded tires have a stud such as a screw or bolt to provide better traction and increased speed. Some studs are sharpened to increase penetration, tires cannot be purchased with studs, so the pit crew needs to attach the studs to the tire. Through 2008, Menards Racing in Wisconsin manufactured and sold studded racing tires for cars, cars with studded tires are generally required to contain a roll cage and increased safety equipment since they achieve much more speed with the greater cornering abilities. The sanctioning bodys rule book generally specifies the length and/or type of stud, aggressive studs can cause enough damage to be a safety concern as they wear through the ice on successive laps, particularly during door-to-door auto racing. Non-studded tires are standard production snow tires, as used on passenger cars in colder climates. Favorites among ice-racers include the Bridgestone Blizzaks and Nokian Hakkapeliittas, Ice racing includes a motorcycle class which is the equivalent of Speedway on ice. Bikes race anti-clockwise around oval tracks between 260 m and 425 m in length, the race structure and scoring is similar to Speedway. The bikes bear a resemblance to those used for speedway, but have a longer wheelbase. The sport is divided into classes for full-rubber and studded tires, the use of these spikes in this discipline necessitate the addition of special protective guards over the wheels which extend almost to the ice surface. The spiked tyres produce an amount of traction and this means two-speed gearboxes are also required. As with speedway, the bikes do not have brakes, czech made 4-stroke Jawa motorcycles have been the dominant force in this sport
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Dani Pedrosa
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Daniel Dani Pedrosa Ramal is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Pedrosa grew up in a village near Sabadell called Castellar del Vallès and he is the youngest world champion in 250cc Grands Prix. Pedrosa is 1.58 m tall and weighs 51 kg, in spite of never being MotoGP world champion, Pedrosa has won races in eleven consecutive seasons in the championship. He has also finished as championship runner-up on three occasions, born in Sabadell, Catalonia, Spain, Pedrosa started riding bikes at the early age of four, when he got his first motorcycle, an Italjet 50, which had side-wheels. His first racing bike was a replica of a Kawasaki, which he got at the age of six. The next year, Pedrosa entered the championship, but health problems prevented him from improving his results. In 2001, Pedrosa made his World Championship debut in the 125cc class after being selected from the Movistar Activa Cup, a series designed to promote fresh racing talent in Spain, back in 1999. Under the guidance of Alberto Puig, Pedrosa scored two podium finishes in the first season and won his first race the year, when he finished third in the championship. In 2003, he won five races and won the championship two rounds remaining, scoring 223 points. In his first championship winning year, Pedrosa scored five victories, a week after winning the championship, eighteen-year-old Pedrosa broke both of his ankles in a crash during practice at Phillip Island, ending his season. After winning the 125cc Championship, Pedrosa moved up to the 250cc class in 2004 without a proper test on the new bike because his ankles were healing during the off-season. Going into the season unprepared, Pedrosa won the first race in South Africa and went on to clinch the 250cc World Championship title, in his first season in 250cc class, Pedrosa scored 7 victories and 13 podium finishes. Pedrosa decided to stay for one season in the 250cc class. In 2005, Pedrosa won 8 races and scored 14 podium finishes, Pedrosa made the move to 990cc MotoGP bikes in 2006, riding for Repsol Honda. Critics said that Pedrosas tiny stature was not strong enough to handle a big, heavy MotoGP bike, proving critics wrong, he finished second in the opening round at Jerez on 26 March 2006. At his fourth ever MotoGP appearance, on 14 May 2006, during the Chinese Grand Prix and this win made him the equal 2nd youngest winner in the premier class, behind Freddie Spencer. He won his second MotoGP race at Donington Park and became a candidate for the MotoGP Championship. It was a victory for Pedrosa, who shared the podium for the first time with Valentino Rossi in 2nd place
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Qatar
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Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a sovereign country located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its surrounded by the Persian Gulf. A strait in the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the island country of Bahrain, as well as sharing maritime borders with the United Arab Emirates. Following Ottoman rule, Qatar became a British protectorate in the early 20th century until gaining independence in 1971, Qatar has been ruled by the House of Thani since the early 19th century. Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani was the founder of the State of Qatar, Qatar is a hereditary monarchy and its head of state is Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Whether it should be regarded as a constitutional or a monarchy is a matter of opinion. In 2003, the constitution was approved in a referendum. In early 2017, Qatars total population was 2.3 million,313,000 Qatari citizens and 2.6 million expatriates, Qatar is a high income economy and is a developed country, backed by the worlds third largest natural gas reserves and oil reserves. The country has the highest per capita income in the world, Qatar is classified by the UN as a country of very high human development and is the most advanced Arab state for human development. Qatar is a significant power in the Arab world, supporting several rebel groups during the Arab Spring both financially and through its globally expanding media group, Al Jazeera Media Network. For its size, Qatar wields disproportionate influence in the world, Qatar will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Arab country to do so. A century later, Ptolemy produced the first known map to depict the peninsula, the map also referenced a town named Cadara to the east of the peninsula. The term Catara was exclusively used until the 18th century, after which Katara emerged as the most commonly recognised spelling, eventually, the modern derivative Qatar was adopted as the countrys name. In Standard Arabic, the name is pronounced, while in the local dialect it is, Human habitation of Qatar dates back to 50,000 years ago. Settlements and tools dating back to the Stone Age have been unearthed in the peninsula, Mesopotamian artefacts originating from the Ubaid period have been discovered in abandoned coastal settlements. Al Daasa, a settlement located on the western coast of Qatar, is the most important Ubaid site in the country and is believed to have accommodated a small seasonal encampment. Kassite Babylonian material dating back to the second millennium BC found in Al Khor Islands attests to trade relations between the inhabitants of Qatar and the Kassites in modern-day Bahrain, among the findings were 3,000,000 crushed snail shells and Kassite potsherds. It has been suggested that Qatar is the earliest known site of shellfish dye production, in 224 AD, the Sasanian Empire gained control over the territories surrounding the Persian Gulf
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Slipstream
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A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid is moving at velocities comparable to the moving object, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is moving. The term slipstream also applies to the region adjacent to an object with a fluid moving around it. Slipstreaming or drafting works because of the motion of the fluid in the slipstream. A slipstream created by turbulent flow has a lower pressure than the ambient fluid around the object. When the flow is laminar, the pressure behind the object is higher than the surrounding fluid, the shape of an object determines how strong the effect is. In general, the more aerodynamic an object is, the smaller and weaker its slipstream will be, for example, a box-like front will collide with the mediums particles at a high rate, transferring more momentum from the object to the fluid than a more aerodynamic object. A bullet-like profile will cause turbulence and create a more laminar flow. A tapered rear will permit the particles of the medium to rejoin more easily and quickly than a truncated rear and this reduces lower-pressure effect in the slipstream, but also increases skin friction. The term slipstreaming describes an object traveling inside the slipstream of another object, if an object is inside the slipstream behind another object, moving at the same speed, the rear object will require less power to maintain its speed than if it were moving independently. In addition, the object will be able to move faster than it could independently. In recreational cycling, on the hand, members of a group can take turns at the leading position. On inclines, however, the benefit of drafting is relatively less, as speeds are slower, the flat or hilly nature of a route has consequences for both racing and recreational cycling, with different types of routes favouring different types of cyclists. Following in the slipstream of another vehicle, or drafting. Truck convoys are an example, travelling highways in a single-file queue several vehicles long. In tests, this has shown to produce significant fuel savings. A related effect used for rather than drag reduction is vortex surfing for airborne objects. The extended formations or skeins in which many migratory birds fly enable the birds to use vortex surfing to take advantage of one anothers vortices, other birds that typically fly in close formation, even on short journeys, are probably also exploiting this effect. Using wingtip vortices has been tested for aircraft, and could save 10%-29% fuel, spiral slipstream is a spiral-shaped slipstream formed behind a rotating propeller on an aircraft
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Circuit Ricardo Tormo
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Circuit Ricardo Tormo, also known as Circuit de Valencia and officially named Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo, is a motorsport race track located in Cheste and built in 1999. It has a capacity of 120,000 and a straight of 876 metres. It is often used as a test track by the Formula One teams, anthony Davidson holds the unofficial lap record, set in 2006 while testing a Honda RA106, with a time of 1 m 08. 540sec. The track hosts the MotoGP Valencian Community Grand Prix, also, the FIA GT Championship had a race there in 2000 and 2004, the World Touring Car Championship from 2005 to 2012, the European Le Mans Series in 2007, and the DTM from 2010 to 2012. The track is named after Spanish, two-time world champion Grand Prix motorcycle racer Ricardo Tormo, the track has been recreated in the videogames Tourist Trophy and Gran Turismo PSP. The track also appears in video games like GTR Evolution. Circuit de Valencia – Official website Official Page tickets MotoGp Circuit Comunidad Valenciana Trackpedias guide to driving the Circuit de Valencia
35.
World Enduro Championship
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The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes, along with separate categories for junior and female riders, the WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists of 16 races based on eight two-day events. All rounds include an enduro test, a motocross test and an extreme test, the World Enduro Championship began in 1990, replacing the FIM European Enduro Championship, which had been contested since 1968. The European championship was restarted by the Union Européenne de Motocyclisme in 1993. The WEC had six classes from 1990 to 1993, after which the 80 cc and 500 cc 2-stroke championships were discontinued. The series continued with four classes,125,250,350 and 500 cc, until the 1998 season, which saw 250 cc 4-stroke as a new class, in 1998, all rounds also counted towards an overall championship, which was continued until 2004. The competition classes of the WEC were revised for the 2004 season, the number of classes was reduced to three, and 2-stroke and 4-stroke machines were now competing in the same classes. The new classes were named Enduro 1, Enduro 2 and Enduro 3, the 2005 season saw a new addition, the Enduro Junior class. The age limit in the class was originally 21 years. A class for riders, Enduro Women, was started in 2010. The points system of the WEC originally awarded points for 15 best riders in each class, since the 2004 season, the twenty fastest riders have received points, with 25 going to the winner of each class,22 for the second fastest and 20 for the third-placed rider. The 2007 championship included six events in Europe, one in the United States, in the 2008 season, all eights rounds were held in Europe. The current main broadcaster of the championship is Eurosport 2, in South America and Oceania, the series is broadcast on ESPN and Fox Sports, respectively
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Samuli Aro
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Samuli Aro is a Finnish enduro rider. He is a five-time World Enduro Champion and has won the International Six Days Enduro World Trophy with Team Finland five times. Aro debuted in the World Enduro Championship in 1998, and took his first world title in 2002 with Husqvarna in the 250 cc class, after moving to KTM for the 2003 season, he placed second in the championship behind Hondas Stefan Merriman. He went on to win the World Enduro Championship three times in a row, in 2004 in the Enduro 3 class, and in 2005 and 2006 in the Enduro 2 class. In the 2008 season, after a place to Honda rider Mika Ahola in 2007. He retired from the championship after the 2009 season, during which he placed fourth in the standings
37.
World Rally Championship
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The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The drivers world championship and manufacturers championship are separate championships. The series currently consists of 13 three-day events driven on surfaces ranging from gravel and tarmac to snow, each rally is split into 15–25 special stages which are run against the clock on closed roads. The World Rally Car is the current car specification in the series and it evolved from Group A cars which replaced the banned Group B supercars. World Rally Cars are built on production 1, the production car, super 2000 and junior entrants race through the stages after the WRC drivers. The 1973 World Rally Championship was the season of the WRC. The first drivers championship was not awarded until 1979, although 1977 and 1978 seasons included an FIA Cup for Drivers, won by Italys Sandro Munari. Swedens Björn Waldegård became the first official champion, edging out Finlands Hannu Mikkola by one point. Fiat took the title with the Fiat 131 Abarth in 1977,1978 and 1980, Ford with its Escort RS1800 in 1979. Waldegård was followed by German Walter Röhrl and Finn Ari Vatanen as drivers world champions, the 1980s saw the rear-wheel-drive Group 2 and the more popular Group 4 cars be replaced by more powerful four-wheel-drive Group B cars. FISA legalized all-wheel-drive in 1979, but most manufacturers believed it was too complex to be successful, however, after Audi started entering Mikkola and the new four-wheel-drive Quattro in rallies for testing purposes with immediate success, other manufacturers started their all-wheel-drive projects. Group B regulations were introduced in the 1982, and with only a few restrictions allowed almost unlimited power, Audi took the constructors title in 1982 and 1984 and drivers title in 1983 and 1984. Audis French female driver Michèle Mouton came close to winning the title in 1982,1985 title seemed set to go to Vatanen and his Peugeot 205 T16 but a bad accident at the Rally Argentina left him to watch compatriot and team-mate Timo Salonen take the title instead. Italian Attilio Bettega had even a severe crash with his Lancia 037 at the Tour de Corse. However, the season took a dramatic turn. At the Rally Portugal, three spectators were killed and over 30 injured after Joaquim Santos lost control of his Ford RS200, at the Tour de Corse, championship favourite Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto died in a fireball accident after plunging down a cliff. Only hours after the crash, Jean-Marie Balestre and the FISA decided to freeze the development of the Group B cars, more controversy followed when Peugeots Juha Kankkunen won the title after FIA annulled the results of the San Remo Rally, taking the title from fellow Finn Markku Alén. As the planned Group S was also cancelled, Group A regulations became the standard in the WRC until 1997, a separate Group A championship had been organized as part of the WRC already in 1986, with Swedens Kenneth Eriksson taking the title with a Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V
Finnish
