Italian MotoGP: Race results from Mugello

Valentino Rossi celebrates his win at the 2008 Italian MotoGP at Mugello!

Stoner took second place behind Rossi, Pedrosa was in third and de Angelis in fourth place. Scroll down for more hi-res pics...

2008 Italian MotoGP race results:
1. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 42min 31.153 secs
2. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 42min 33.354 secs
3. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 42min 36.020 secs
4. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 42min 37.466 secs
5. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 42min 43.683 secs
6. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 42min 44.959 secs
7. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 42min 45.600 secs
8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 42min 46.472 secs
9. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 42min 46.480 secs
10. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 43min 1.938 secs
11. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 43min 10.774 secs
12. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 43min 21.174 secs
13. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 43min 21.593 secs
14. Tady Okada JPN Repsol Honda Team (M) 43min 30.002 secs
15. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 43min 31.889 secs

DNF:
Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 9min 25.989 secs
Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 9min 26.358 secs
John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 11min 17.629 secs
Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 11min 11.489 secs

Full race report

Here's a BIG collection of hi-res wallpaper from the 2008 Italian MotoGP and some other MotoGP races of this season. Enjoy...!

Big screen Sundays

Just heard the most interesting radio advert I've ever had the pleasure of allowing my ears to tune into. For the record, I hate radio. Well, no, actually, I'd love to listen, but I cannot handle the utterly banal chatter that the RJs seem to specialise in. Add the inane callers and the amout of time they take away from music (not to mention the Bollywood-jhankar beat fixation) and radio, basically, sucks.

However, today, on Radio 1 (I think), the ad went something like, 'Why do you need to go out to watch MotoGP?' Er... MotoGP? Well, yes, the good folks at Sports Bar are showing MotoGP live in the Andheri place on a big screen. There's some contest which will send three people to a race at some point, but more importantly, here's to the first attempt to make MotoGP a mainstream social event. Now, to dig out that yellow 46 shirt and spend Sunday productively...

World Superbike Comes To Town

The World Superbike Championship is the ultimate competition for motorcycles derived from standard production models, and today it is one of the most spectacular and exciting forms of motor sport. Thanks to its exclusive format that sees riders compete in two races in one afternoon, spectators get twice as many chances to experience the thrills of the racing.

A Superbike is a machine that, in many aspects, is similar to the one you see on the road or in your local bike dealer’s showroom. However, to make sure it can reach racing speeds while maintaining a high level of safety, many modifications have to be made to the bike. And, although the bike is production-based, it can easily reach speeds up to 325kph and lap the track only slightly slower then a full-race MotoGP bike.

In 2007, for the third year running, Mexican brewer Corona Extra is the title sponsor of the World Superbike Championship as well as title sponsor of Team Alstare Suzuki, home of Japanese rider Yukio Kagayama together with Max Biaggi - one of the most popular and talented riders the world of motorcycle racing has ever seen.

As part of this sponsorship program, Corona Extra organises a wide array of promotional events before and during the race weekend in all the European countries where a round of the World Superbike Championship is held - that is to say the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic, Germany and France.

Be it in a nice bar or in a trendy club, the London area will be teeming with activity during the whole week, with various events aimed at raising the profile and visibility of Corona Extra, the World Superbike Championship, and Brands Hatch circuit hosting the round being organised. This is the “Corona Extra’s” campaign.

A team of Corona hostesses will start to visit various locations in central London where they will promote the WSBK Brands Hatch event and let customers win tickets for the weekend’s race as well as Corona Extra/World Superbike freebies.

Back at Brands Hatch, the Corona Stage will be set up, with bands performing all night long on Saturday August 4th. Once again, expect the thrills of a live concert, a warm and friendly atmosphere and the sounds of some of the most famous tunes in the history of music…

The promotional campaign culminates on the eve of the race - that is on Saturday August 4th - with the installation in the Sports Café (80 The Haymarket, London SW1Y 4SP) of the Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra race simulator. This is the “Corona Race Experience”: it allows Superbike fans to experience the thrills of a race in a paddock-like atmosphere. Contestants are given the opportunity to get close to the champions' bikes, ride them, feel what it's like to own the racetrack and compete against friends in a virtual race. Needless to say, the fastest rider will be rewarded with a gift equal to his or her skills.

F4CC World's Most Expensive Production Motorcycle

In true Motorcycle Art form, MV Agusta is recognised as the world’s most premium motorcycle brand which stems back to the glory days (1950’s/60’s/70’s) with the marque winning 18 premier class MotoGP riders Championships, the highest number in history to date.

Since then the brand was reignited with a stunning unveiling at the 1997 Milan Show with the release of the F4 750. The F in F4 stands for Ferrari, symbolically acknowledged by the fact that Piero Ferrari, son of Enzo designed MV’s unique radial valve four cylinder engines.

The evolution of the F4 range throughout the last decade has been an impressive process with the inclusion of the 1000cc engine as well as a number of exclusive limited edition models.

History tells us that MV Agusta is certainly a special brand and now it claims another milestone as the most expensive production motorcycle in the world, with the F4 CC master piece.

The F4 CC is the ceation of Claudio Castiglioni, Managing Director of MV Agusta and is the bike that bears his initials. This is a motorcycle that is something truly special, something so unique that it has re-written the benchmark in terms of quality, styling and especially performance compared to any production motorcycle that has preceded it. With that comes an exclusive price tag of $120,000 and limited build of 100 units.

The F4 CC features an up-spec engine to 1078cc, 200hp, rated to 315km/h (195 mph) and an abundance of technical upgrades.

The CC is available by order only and comes with an exclusive limited edition Girard-Perregaux watch which only 100 have been produced and numbered as the customers bikes. There is also a superior quality Turussadi Italian leather jacket and both extras carry a total value of $25,000.