Stoner not concerned by championship deficit

Following Jorge Lorenzo's British MotoGP win the Spaniard has opened a commanding 25 point championship guide over Casey Stoner.

With six races concluded in the season, and 12 remaining, it is far from what had been predictable from the reigning world champion - but Stoner was eager to stress that it was far too early to view the championship momentum as having swung determinedly in Lorenzo's favour.

“It's too early [to worry about the championship.] I'm more concerned about our pace to be honest,” said the 26 year old Repsol Honda rider. “That's the thing that has dissatisfied me a lot.

“Championships can turn just about in one race. Definitely the way Jorge is going it's not going to occur, but one DNF and a win for myself and we're equivalent on points and it's game on again.

"So we don't know what can occur later on in the season, but we have got to keep fighting and moreover try and close the gap or not let it enlarge too much."

With the Silverstone weekend having been run in unreliable weather conditions, Stoner was keen to stress that second place was a strong result.

“Today might have gone either way and I could have lost a lot more points than we did so I'm happy to have held on for second. Things could have disappeared a lot better too so we've got to turn ourselves around,” concluded the Australian.

Stoner led laps 5-10 of the 20-lap race, ahead of being passed by Lorenzo. Stoner then spent the left over laps holding off team-mate Dani Pedrosa.

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Nicky Hayden gets MotoGP test time at Mugello

This Wednesday and Thursday, Ducati MotoGP star Nicky Hayden will join the factory's Test Team during the last two days of a three-day test at Mugello.

The aim of the test is to permit the American, who finished sixth and top Ducati at round one in Qatar, to make up for time lost during winter testing due to injuries at the 2011 Valencia Grand Prix and then in a December training event.

Hayden is thus predictable to use the time as an opportunity to carry out set-up tests that he wasn't able to complete prior to the start of the season. The 2006 world champion will join official test rider Franco Battaini, who is previously on track today (Tuesday) as he continues his development work on the GP12.

Those updates will be tried by Valentino Rossi and Hayden during future tests.

Round two of the 2012 MotoGP season takes place at Jerez, Spain, from April 27-29.

Stoner and Pedrosa geared up for Qatar

The 2012 MotoGP™ World Championship publicly starts this weekend in Qatar, the small Peninsula off the Persian Gulf, noted for hosting the only race of the calendar under floodlights. The Commercial bank Grand Prix of Qatar is, without any doubt, one of the most impressive races of the season.

Months of development, testing and hard work have gone into the training for this season which sees a switch to 1000cc bikes. In adding up to this change the Repsol Honda Team faces another challenge; defending the Triple Crown they achieved in 2011 when they won the rider, team and constructor titles.

Casey Stoner, the current MotoGP World Champion, has also been the man to beat in pre-season, dominating both tests in Malaysia and Jerez, where his team-mate, Dani Pedrosa, also established himself as one of the fastest riders in the top class.

Stoner’s record at the Losail circuit is impressive: he is the main position with four pole positions and four wins out of six in the MotoGP class. Pedrosa has visited the podium three times in MotoGP and will be fighting, like the Australian, for a strong start to the season.

Casey Stoner:

“After good pre-season Tests in both Sepang and Jerez, we head to Qatar feeling positive, but still have some work to do. This will be the first time with the new bike on this circuit so we will need to expend some time on the set-up to put ourselves in the best position. We've constantly enjoyed good results at the Losail circuit but this is a new season and there are more competitors contesting for victory this year. I'm keyed up to get the season started and fight for another World Championship.”

Dani Pedrosa:

“Each year is different and there are always a variety of obstacles to go through during a season. I’ve had good and bad races in the past, but a big part of these results are resolute by how you have prepared yourself in the winter. I’ve worked very well this year, I had a good pre-season with the bike and with my physical training; I hope that luck is on my side this time, so we can have a good championship. Qatar is significant because it’s the first race of the season, but you have to minimize risks. If you don't win this race you can at rest win the championship, but on the other side, a mistake can make difficult the year. I’m ready. Let’s see how everything goes and where each person is.”

MotoGP: Filling the grid

While the new group of privateer 'Claiming Rule Teams' has arrived just in time to fill the 2012 grid, discussions are underway to point MotoGP in a clearer way for 2013 and beyond.

Following Suzuki's departure and a decrease in satellite entries, full prototypes have been abridged from 17 to 12 for this season - each of the remaining manufacturers (Honda, Yamaha and Ducati) supplying two factories and two satellite bikes.

But the network will still rise to 21 courtesy of the nine new CRT entries, running Superbike-based engines in a prototype chassis.

Extra fuel and engine concessions will be obtainable to help the CRTs compete and the controversial Aprilia project has set lap times that propose its top riders will be in touch with slowest satellite machines.

However other CRTs have far less possessions and the difference in technology between the front and back of the 2012 grid might be greater than at any point in premier-class history. As a result, track performance is likely to be just as wide-ranging.

“The concept of CRT we agree with… but the lap time difference is too big at this instant,” said HRC executive vice president Shuhei Nakamoto, who has previously stated that Honda test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi was only one second slower on a Superbike than on an 800cc RC212V at Suzuka.

But none of the three factories are next to the CRT concept. After all, where would the 2012 MotoGP World Championship be without it? Nevertheless, this season is very much middle, with May targeted as the deadline for agreeing the full set of proposals for 2013 and beyond.