leg and ankle fractures after slamming feet-first into the barrier.The Hopper started the season injured after crashing at Phillip Island tests, then hurt his back again crashing at Catalunya, although he kept riding.The Assen crash was expected

-forces are much stronger in an F1 car, both in braking and lateral G in cornering. Casey Stoner broadly agreed. “In 2003 when I slightly broke my collarbone after breaking it earlier, I had to do 10 push-ups to show I was strong enough. “But maybe

Ben Spies...ready for more in MotoGPBEN SPIES made a quick adaptation to riding a MotoGP bike in the rain, placing eight for a third-row start in the streaming qualifying session in his outing as substitute for the injured Loris Capirossi.The day

straight, several of whom went home with souvenirs. It took their first win in 12 races the next day to help the hapless HRC men regain some face.The way the injured Alex Hofmann was treated at Laguna Seca is a shameful stain on MotoGP, and on a US track

Anybody else remember the UJM? Described in the late 1970s by a moribund Norton, this feeble insult to the Japanese conquerors stood for Universal Japanese Motorcycle - the by then ubiquitous inline four.In racing engineering also, the more things

ceremony in Spain, after failing to secure anything better than second-string rides for 2007.Unfortunately Sete had become rather a figure of fun in racing, the hair being a contributory factor. Also that he kept getting beaten by Rossi. This is surely

to the final race. The last time that happened was in 1992, when Wayne Rainey snatched the crown from an injured but bravely struggling Mick Doohan.With five races left, there were five candidates: Hayden, Pedrosa, Rossi, Melandri and Capirossi. Then Pedrosa

at the last race.How will Ducati respond? Why not take a tip from World Superbikes, and get the rules changed. In the production-based series Ducati’s twins now have a potential 200cc capacity advantage over the 1000cc fours. Why not the same in MotoGP? Just