Stoner held a lenthy press conference for the press ahead of tomorrow’s frist Free Practice session where he talked about his experience at Honda, as well as commenting on Ducati’s performance this season.

Watch the press conference below:

Yesterday we featured Dani Pedrosa’s official Repsol mid-season interview, and today it is Andrea Dovizioso’s turn.

What are your plans for these free days?
“Family holidays, five days in Sardinia, resting at the beach with my family and my friends to relax and gather energy for Brno”.

Are you satisfied with your third overall position?
“With the third position, yes, but not with the difference to Casey and Jorge. Fifty points are too many, but there is nothing impossible”.

What is your assessment of this first half of the season?
“I want to see the positive side and we are third of the championship, I had never been so strong in all races as this year. So I am very happy with the job of the team and of the feeling of the bike, but naturally, our aim is to fight for the championship and right now, we are not competitive enough to set up an strategy to do it. Anyway, we are well placed in the championship and there are still eight races ahead, so we have to believe. We will see which result we get in the end”.

We have seen you in the second and third steps of the podium. What does Andrea Dovizioso need to fight for victory?
“It is very difficult because the level is very high. Lorenzo is having a great season, Casey [Stoner] is very strong and Dani [Pedrosa], when he is in good form, sets the difference. It is really very difficult to try and beat them. I mean, beating all of them at the same time, because sometimes one and sometimes the other is in front”.

Which race do you prefer of the rounds held with Repsol Honda until now?
“I think the Mugello race this year was beautiful. To ride in Mugello, fighting for victory and achieving the second position after a battle in front of the Italian fans was something important. Feeling their support was such a great feeling that I will always remember it”.

If you could go back in time, is there a decision of the ones you took during the first half of the season, both out or in a race, that you would change?
“No. I think that we have achieved the maximum we could do with what we had, except in Laguna Seca, where the max was to be fourth and we did not get it. But until then I did all I could. It is not enough, because we want to fight for the Championship, but I believe we could do nothing more”.

How do you see Pedrosa, Stoner and Lorenzo at this moment and what do you think it can happen in the fight for the title between Stoner and Lorenzo?
“It will undoubtedly be very difficult to reduce the distance to Lorenzo and Casey, because when they go well, they win, and if not, they are on the podium. It is very difficult, but I want to believe in my chances and we will see. I think Dani is in a better situation, because he has less pressure and he is very fast, so he can fight for victory in all races”.

Of the races left, which one you are most looking forward too?
“Probably Malaysia. The Sepang circuit is one of my favourite tracks. It is amazing to ride there with a MotoGP bike”.

Repsol Honda have been taking advantage of the MotoGP summer break to get their riders to sit down and take part in a series of intereviews.

The full Dani Pedrosa interview can be read below, where he reflects on his return from his collar-bone injury, and talks about his aims and goals for the rest ofthe season.

Dani Pedrosa Interview:

Laguna Seca is always the halfway point of the season and the start of the short summer break. Will you be able to switch off? What are your plans?
“My plan is to recover, because my muscles are very stiff, so I will try to rest a bit to allow them to relax. When I feel better, I intend to train in order to avoid feeling so weak in the second half of the races”.

This season you had very high expectations, but you had a really difficult first half. Despite that, you nearly did more wheelies than ever, in Jerez, Estoril and Sachsenring. What is your assessment of this first half of the season?
“My opinion of these races is that I competed well, but I was unlucky”.

They say that after falling, the important thing is to pick yourself up. You really picked yourself up in style! You had unexpected victories in Portugal and Germany. Do your wins of this year have a special flavour?
“These victories have a very special taste indeed. Especially after the injuries I suffered, as I was never at 100%. These wins give me a high level of confidence. My rivals are in full form, so I am eager to recover my form too so that I can fight against them on equal terms”.

The end of your bike’s life cycle is approaching, but until the end of the season, in which areas should it be improved?
“The stability and the entrance of the corners are always complicated matters; especially in the tracks with more bumps. Anyway, the bike is responding very well for now”.

This year we have seen some falls in the first minutes of the practices, due to the difficulty to warm and feel the tyres. Have you gone backwards in that area?
“Yes, undoubtedly. Now the tyres, both the front and the rear, when they are cold they are a bit more dangerous. In this first half of the season we saw that nearly all crashes occurred when the tyres were new”.

How do you see your main rivals?
“They are doing a good job. I have been out of competition, which made it a bit easier for them. The competition is very close. There is a very high level, but we could say that none of us is at 100%. Jorge made some mistakes and only Stoner has been the most consistent”.

What aims do you set for yourself in the rest of the races?
“My aim is to recover my full form and thus be able to win some races”.

How do you feel both physically and mentally for these eight Grand Prix?
“Right now I am not at 100%, but I hope to recover progressively race after race and let’s hope that I will be able to fight back in the end”.

Rossi is quizzed on his life so far at Ducati, his leg and shoulder injuries, his plans for the 2012 season when MotoGP returns to 1000cc engines, and which riders he manages to maintain friendly relationships with (hint – the Italian ones).

Also, special praise goes out to Gavin Emmett for managing to keep a straight face throughout with those girls randomly placed behind him in a hot-tub by the Monster Energy promotional team. Although he does seem to be smirking.

Watch the video interview with Valentino Rossi below:

Hayden will get the chance to do a parade lap and will take a Ducati 1198 SP on a circuit of the Mountain Course. Hayden will be joined on the lap by Mick Doohan and road-racing legend Ian Hutchinson (who last year set a record by sweeping five solo wins at the TT)

Nicky Hayden said:
“I’m really looking forward to going to the Isle of Man,” said Hayden, who recently gave Ducati its first podium finish of the season, in Jerez, Spain. “I’ve been to pretty much every kind of motorcycle race you can imagine-the Daytona 200, the Jerez MotoGP, the Anaheim Supercross, the Namur World Motocross-but I’ve never been to the Isle of Man or any other real street race. People have always told me, ‘You need to go to the TT,’ and now I’m finally going to get my chance. I’m really looking forward to meeting the riders, and I want to see what they do and how they do it. I’m not sure what to expect, but I do know it takes a brave rider, which is something I respect.”

A quick Nicky Hayden interview from Ducati on what they Kentucky Kid has been up to for the last month:

InTentsGP is a relatively new idea from a company that wants to make it easier for fans to camp at MotoGP races in Europe.

The basic premise is simple – they take the pain out of the race weekend by providing affordable camping accommodation for race-fans. All you need to do is show up – no need to lug along all your camping equipment, no need to set-it all up, just arrive and relax.

Currently, prices range from £249 all the way up to £849 (with various options in-between), depending on the size of tent you want. For the remainder of the 2011 MotoGP season they are offering the service at Silverstone and Assen (and potentially Mugello, and Sachsenring). FIND OUT MORE

InTentsGP have been getting some great feedback (and now cover F1 as well as MotoGP) so we caught up with Len from the company to find out a bit more about what these guys are up to.

Q: How long have you guys been running InTentsGP and how did it all come about?
A. We started in 2009 at the Valencia MotoGP although the idea had been gelling in our minds for a few years. We had been riding to MotoGPs all over Europe and got thoroughly hacked off with lugging all our camping gear around with us. There was just no one else doing what intentsGP do now so we thought let’s give it a go.

Q: Do you sell race tickets as well, or is it just the accommodation that you provide?
A: Accommodation and all the extras for now. We may well sell race tickets next season.

Q: What can customers expect when they arrive?
A: Very good quality tents, inflatable airbeds and all the bedding they want, tables, chairs, crockery and cutlery, coolboxes and ice, BBQ and bits to go with it, night light, electrics. Oh and a marquee with tv.

Q: What do race fans need to bring with them – it looks like you guys cover most things (cooking equipment etc…) – anything that fans should come prepared with?
A:. The only extra thing they need is to buy their race tickets. Everything else is sorted for them. Because we stay on established campsites close to the circuit, there are lots of additional facilities if they need anything else important…….beer for example.

Q: What safety measures are in place for when customers are out at the track? Are the tents watched over when the race is on?
A: Each of the campsites has its own security and in addition we are around a lot of the time but we do recommend customers keep their valuables on them.

Q: How close to the track are the campsites usually set-up?
A: We want to be as close as possible to the circuit as long as the campsite is of an acceptable quality. For example, at the Silverstone MotoGP we are at Litchlake Farm which is literally opposite the circuit entrance. Susie and the team there do a great job.

Q: Is the intentsGP experience suitable for families, or is it mostly aimed towards adults and hardened race fans?
A: Everyone. We have had both large families and groups of hardened race fans. We love it how everyone mixes in.

Q: I presume all InTentsGP customers camp in the same area? Does this mean there is scope to pick apart the day’s action over a beer or a BBQ in the evening with fellow race fans?
A: Yes we arrange it with the campsite that we have our own area. It’s really a mini-community which is great. When we started out we did not really know what customers would want to do in the evenings. What happens now is most of us sit around the BBQs and discuss the day’s events and anything else that comes to mind. We have customers from all walks of life but they all have at least one thing in common which is bike racing….actually two things……I forgot beer!

Q: What MotoGP rounds are you covering this year, and what plans have you got to expand your events coverage?
A: At the moment we are covering the Silverstone and Assen MotoGPs although we are looking at a couple of extra races right now. The key is finding a good campsite with acceptable facilities which is close to the circuit and of course a race that people want to go to. If anyone wants to let us know their thoughts they are most welcome. We also cover the British and Belgian F1 Grand Prix as well by the way. For 2012, we are very keen to cover more races.

Q: Atmosphere wise, what have been your most memorable races where InTentsGP have set up?
A: Silverstone MotoGP last year was brilliant. Fantastic race and superb atmosphere. Very much looking forward to it this year. An evening with professional snowboarders and some Belgian Royalty (incognito – yes really!) was ace but a nondisclosure agreement and the Belgian Official Secrets Act prevents me from saying any more…….

Q: Any predictions for the 2011 MotoGP season?
A: Phew. That’s a difficult one. I will take the easy way out and say it will be a vintage season. We’ve had great racing already and there is so much of the season still to come. I do think the class act Rossi will be in the mix perhaps more than people thought initially.

If you want to find out more and want to check out the events and prices that are being offered by InTentsGP then check them out HERE

Speed have an interesting interview with Wilco Zeelenberg who talks about his second season with Jorge Lorenzo and what pressures and challenges come with being team manager for the World Champion.

What are you looking for on the track when you watch Jorge riding?
I’m looking to see what difficulties Jorge has in certain sections of the track compared to other riders. If he’s fast and also faster than the rest then it’s easy to see that he’s going well, when he is struggling I can easily pick that up to and come back to the pit to input my thoughts to the discussion.

How do you physically see those things on the track?
You see everything together but it’s quite hard to explain. You listen to the RPM of the bikes as they go through corners, You look at the lean angle which they have to do to make the corner, if Jorge needs the whole track to make the corner with the speed he is doing, is he able to improve with the same set up / package? That’s what we struggled with a little bit at the beginning at the Qatar Test, the Saturday or Sunday was quite ok but he was at the limit of the package and riding well. But when the wind came up which didn’t help him a lot he had to turn the bike more but it wasn’t possible so then he started to struggle; I could see on the track that he needed a better turning bike. We figured that out on the last day of testing on the Monday. So, we made some changes in the first free practice on the Thursday night and Jorge was straight up there on the time sheets. He felt a lot better on the bike so from there on we looked forward.

Full Interview

Crutchlow:
“It is just an unbelievable leve. The bikes are so much different to what I’ve been used to and the riders are so, so fast. I know in the fullness of time I can try and conquer the challenge.

‘The first year is a big learning curve. I’ve got 10 circuits I don’t know. If we can continue to learn everytime we get on the bike then hopefully it’ll come good towards the end.’

Read more

This is a two part interview that has been released by Yamaha Japan featuring a conversation between Valentino Rossi and Masao Furusawa interviewing each other on their past 7 years together as a team at Yamaha.

Check out the video in 2 parts below:

ONE on ONE : Valentino Rossi and Masao Furusawa [Part-1]

ONE on ONE : Valentino Rossi and Masao Furusawa [Part-2]

Both riders touched on a variety of topics in response to the questions from the audience, composed of Italian and international journalists from all over the world. Naturally, there was great interest in the Rossi’s physical condition following his shoulder operation last November, and in his first impressions of the Desmosedici GP11, while Hayden spoke as the experienced Ducati veteran as he embarks on his third season with the team.

Nicky Hayden:
“This my third year with Ducati. The start was a little bit difficult, but it’s gotten better and better since I’ve been on this team and on this bike. We’ve grown a lot, the bike has improved, and my relationship with the team has improved. We made a big step from the first year to the second, and I’d like to do the same this year. We know we have a good bike. We’ve made a couple of little tweaks for next year by adding some staff and a few engineers to help me. I have a strong team around me. I know being teammates with Rossi won’t be easy, but I really don’t get too caught up in that. I focus on my job, and that’s why I think it’ll work with us. I’m looking forward to having Valentino’s information and feedback. He’s been around a long time and has a lot of experience. I think it’ll be fun. I know our team; the motivation is really high, and the excitement with the fans in Italy is high as well. I can’t imagine what the atmosphere will be like when get to Mugello.”

Valentino Rossi:
“Honestly, I had hoped to be a little better by this time but instead, it’s going to be quite a race to have decent fitness in time for the first test. My recovery is exactly on schedule, but it’s long: we’re working hard to at least recover mobility in my shoulder, which I’ll need to ride the bike well and to be able to fit behind the windscreen. I won’t be able to be in top form for the first test in Malaysia, because it will be impossible to regain full strength, but I hope to be able to have a good seating position. The doctors assured me that the shoulder will return to 100% in a few months. Obviously, it would’ve been better to be in shape now, because we’ve got a lot of work to do and not much time to do it: three tests before the championship to make the Desmosedici not only very fast—it already is—but also a little easier to ride. We’ll have to meet each other halfway: make the bike like I like, and as for me, adapt my riding style a little to try and make the most of the bike. It will be an emotional challenge; it will be difficult, but I’m happy because there’s a lot of extra motivation. They’re very excited at Ducati; they believe in me, and we’ll do our best!”