Cycle Torque eMag issue 1 v2

DIGITAL MAGA ZINE • ISSUE 1

STONER LANDS FIRST BLOW AUSSIE WINS IN THE DESERT

SWC: Haga takes a giant lead Consistency at last

Reed v Stewart

AMA SX coming down to the wire

And more inside!

Delayed 2009 MotoGP-Round 1 Qatar

IT’S HARD to believe that a race in the desert could be postponed by rain, but this is just what happened at the opening round of the MotoGP season at Qatar. For anyone who saw the MotoGP grid at the scheduled time realised there would be no racing as torrential rain and high winds made it impossible for a night race to be held. 24 hours later, it was a different story however as the MotoGP field took their places on the grid.

Marlboro Ducati rider, Casey Stoner starting from pole, took the holeshot, leading the field out from the first lap where by the end of lap 1 gapped the field by almost 2 seconds. Stoner who has won the previous two races at Qatar, looked focused on making it three in a

row and didn’t disappoint, as his lap times were consistently fast and even the great Valentino Rossi was unable to match it with him on the desert circuit.

As the laps wound down, it was Stoner who continually extended his lead over

Rossi, with Jorge Lorenzo further behind in third. Stoner finished as strongly as he started winning the opening round of the 2009 MotoGP season at Qatar over Valentino Rossi by over 7 seconds, with Lorenzo coming home in third place,

revenge making it a 2-3 finish for Fiat Yamaha. Aussie rider Chris Vermeulen on the Rizal Suzuki made a a reasonable start to the year coming home in seventh place. Round two of MotoGP will be held at the Montegi Circuit in Japan over April 24-26.

The 250 cc class race, which was held on the Sunday night was shortened due to rain, but still made for exciting racing, and it was 125 recruit Gabor Talmacsi on the Balaton Aprilia, who took the honours for the opening round. Alvaro Bautista finished second by mere hundreths of seconds with Mattia Pasini coming home

in third less than .3 of a second behind race winner Talmacsi. Although riding for different teams, it was an all Aprilia podium in the 250cc class, which is sure to be exciting if race one was anything to go on.

The 125cc race was also effected by the wet weather with only a handful of laps under race conditions being made, and due to this saw riders only receiving half race points allocated. In a very shortened race it was Andrea Iannone who took the win over Julian Simon, with Sandro Cortese coming home in third.

Haga dominates Superbike World Championship

ROUND three of the Superbike World Championship was held in Valencia, Spain and it was Ducati Xerox rider Noriyuki Haga which showed his dominance at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit. Notching up his 35th and 36th race victories, Haga was never seriously challenged during either race.

Race one, Haga virtually led from start to finish except for some resistance by American rider Ben Spies which ended up in him crashing out of the race. Michel Fabrizio, team-mate to Haga settled into second place and battled with Max Neukirchner right to the flag, but the german had to settle with third after a Ducati one-two finish.

Race two saw more of Haga showing a clean set of heals after the opening laps, however Ben Spies was able to keep the Yamaha on track and Haga honest as he finished in second place. Third place went to Michel Fabrizio, who rode a very consistant second race. After three rounds Haga leads the championship on 135 points over Spies

on 95 and Neukirchner on 65.

In the World Supersport Class, a three way battle between Cal Crutchlow, Anthony West and Kenan Sofuoglu was the real highlight of the race. Current World Champion, Andrew Pitt was back in the field and unable to make any ground on the three front runners that were right on the pace. As the laps wound down, Crutchlow and West distanced themselves from the rest of the field making it a two way battle for the win. West leading in the final stages of the race was being shadowed by Crutchlow, who made his move entering the last lap. West rode valiantly but was unable to keep the British rider from taking the win. West finished in second by a whisker with Sofuoglu coming home in third.

With every point earned being treated like gold, the World Supersport ladder sees Cal Crutchlow and Kenan Sofuoglu leading on 54 points, with Eugene Laverty, Andrew Pitt and Anthony West all on 43 points.

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Reed still leading AMA SX review

ROUND 13 of the AMA Supercross Series was held in Toronto, Canada and the battle continued against Chad Reed and James Stewart for the top step of the podium. It was to be Stewart that gained the upper hand over Reed as he posted his ninth win for the season. Reed being the ever consistent rider came home in second place keeping his slender lead in the championship still alive. Coming home in third place was Josh Hill, who posted his best result for the year.

In the Pro Lites, Eastern Championship, it was Christophe Pourcel, who came from behind to take the win in fine fashion. Posting his fourth win of the season along with top placing was enough for the Kawasaki rider to take the title with one round remaining. Austin Stroupe kept his consistent season going with a second place finish, while Broc Tickle recorded his first podium for the year coming home in third.

Back on US soil, Round 14 of the AMA Supercross was held at Jacksonville, Florida and it was James Stewart who notched up his tenth

win of the year and closed in to be only five points shy of Chad Reed in the title chase. Reed once again remained consistent as he recorded another second place finish. Kevin Windham found his way back onto the podium after spending some time mid pack in the points chase.

With only three rounds remaining and five points between Reed and Stewart, the battle could undoubtedly come down to the final race of the year to see who gets crowned champion.

Andrew Short lies in third place, but lies 90 points behind Reed .

Round 8 of the Pro Lites class could almost be considered a dead rubber as Christophe Pourcel has already clinched the title in Canada. In true form however he took the checkered flag posting his fifth win from eight races. Second place saw a new face on the podium, with KTM rider Wil Hahn, posting his best result of the season. Third place went Austin Stroupe, who also finished in second in the championship, while Nico Izzi finished third overall.