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Kev Goghlan takes provisional pole alongside Andrea Antoneli, showing once again that they have skill and speed in the wet.

Results:

Rain held riders back from the super-fast times, with riders not even touching 290km/h on the wet tyres. This allowed Jonathan Rea to make the best of his slower bike and record the fastest time of the morning.

Results:

Wet practice at Monza meant times were down, several riders didn't even head out and the session was red-flagged mid-way through the session. After the restart, this didn't stop our regular fast qualifier Sam Lowes recording the best lap of the session, with a 2'01.016, an unsurprising 13 seconds off lap record pace.

Results:

Press releases from the World Superbike and World Supersport teams ahead of this weekend's WSBK round at the iconic Monza circuit:

Ducati Corse issued the following press release, after factory riders Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden joined Michele Pirro and Franco Battaini of the Ducati test team at Mugello. The test team were at the Italian circuit for a three-day test, which ended today.

Ducati Team completes setup test at Mugello

Fresh off of last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix and Monday’s post-race test at Jerez, Ducati Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden were back on track Wednesday and Thursday, this time at Mugello. As the Tuscan circuit is one of the team’s selected test tracks, this was an opportunity to carry out important setup work with the Desmosedici GP13, with an eye toward the Italian Grand Prix, set to take place at Mugello 31 May - 2 June.

Thanks to perfect weather conditions—similar to those that accompanied last year’s Grand Prix at Mugello—the team was able to take full advantage of the planned day and a half of track time, with Dovizioso riding 42 laps on Wednesday and 54 on Thursday, and Hayden turning 29 and 60, respectively. Both riders rode with hard and soft versions of the Bridgestone tyres that will be used at the GP.

Dorna Sports issued the following press release on the acquisition of the broadcast rights for MotoGP in the United Kingdom for the next five years. More information and full commentary will be released soon, but there are a few key details which are already known. Firstly, for details on how to receive BT Sport, see the BT Sport website. Secondly, although the commentary team is as yet unknown, the names of Julian Ryder and Keith Huewen are circulating, though this could of course be wishful thinking. Thirdly, it seems almost certain that British Eurosport will no longer provided delayed broadcast of the MotoGP races, as that deal was tied up with the BBC contract.

Below is the press release from Dorna:

BT Sport to bring MotoGP™ to British audiences from 2014

Dorna Sports announces today an agreement with BT Sport for the exclusive broadcast rights to the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship, starting from the 2014 season, to be shown across all its platforms in the UK and Ireland.

MotoMatters.com is delighted to feature the work of iconic MotoGP writer Mat Oxley. Oxley is a former racer, TT winner and highly respected author of biographies of world champions Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi, and currently writes for Motor Sport Magazine, where he is MotoGP correspondent. We will be featuring sections of Oxley's blogs, posted in full on the Motor Sport Magazine website, over the coming months.

It’s not often these days that one is moved to thank those in charge, but MotoGP’s Race Direction need a big thank you for their unanimous decision not to sanction Marc Márquez for his last-corner move on Jorge Lorenzo at Jerez.

If they had dragged him into their office and punished him, I think I might have given up on motorcycle racing and got into something different. I note that the BBC’s MotoGP show was preceded by a gardening programme. If tough overtaking manoeuvres are to be banned in MotoGP then gardening might make a pleasant alternative for Sunday afternoon entertainment.

Bridgestone issued their usual post-race press release after the Jerez round of MotoGP, explaining their choice of tires for the Spanish race. The race weekend had raised many questions over tire compounds and low grip, such as why the Yamahas could only use the soft rear tire, while the Hondas could also use the hard rear to some extent, and how the hard front had only barely managed to cope with the conditions. Azuma gives a clear explanation of the differences, and of why Bridgestone made the choices they did. The press release appears below:

Spanish MotoGP™ debrief with Masao Azuma
Wednesday 8 May 2013

Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft & Medium; Rear: Extra-soft, Soft & Medium (Symmetric)

This year’s Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez took place under resplendent sunny skies and saw local hero Dani Pedrosa ride to victory ahead of his Repsol Honda teammate Marc Marquez and Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo in third place.

The warm and sunny conditions presented the hottest track conditions at Jerez in years, with a peak track temperature of 53°C during the race providing a stern test for the riders, machines and tyres.

Q&A with Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department

After Andrea Iannone underwent surgery to relieve problems  has been having with arm pump, the Pramac Ducati team issued the following press release, pronouncing the surgery a success:

Positive prognosis for Iannone

Andrea Iannone underwent surgery yesterday, 7 May, at the Dexeus clinic in Barcelona. The Italian will remain under observation for all of Wednesday, and although recovery time is still uncertain, his prognosis is positive. Staples that were applied to the wound are scheduled to be removed before the Mugello GP, and in the meantime, Iannone is expected to be back in the Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team garage for the French Grand Prix on 19 May.

Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team

At the post-race press conference, as he fielded question after question of his last-corner clash with Marc Marquez, and refused to give an answer, Jorge Lorenzo eventually came out with the slightly exasperated quip: "Now a lot of questions to me, and when I won in Qatar, no questions for me. It's a little bit strange." It is a common occurrence in sporting journalism, and makes clear that while the athletes believe they are involved in a purely sporting endeavor, the media understands that what they are involved is actually show business. The big story of the weekend is not necessarily who stands on the top step of the podium.

Which is a shame, as Dani Pedrosa's victory at Jerez was both well-deserved and deeply impressive. The Hondas has come to the track with a disadvantage from testing, and were expected to struggle against the mighty Yamahas. It did not quite turn out that way, the Hondas - and especially Pedrosa and his crew chief Mike Leitner - found the grip they needed to beat Jorge Lorenzo and the rampaging Yamaha hordes, despite the horribly greasy conditions of the hot Jerez track.

Press releases from the MotoGP teams after the one-day test at Jerez:

Ben Spies' long road to recovery from the shoulder injury he suffered at Motegi last year has gotten a little longer. Today, Ducati boss Bernhard Gobmeier told reporters at the Jerez post-race MotoGP test that Spies had been advised to skip the Le Mans round of MotoGP in France, and only return two weeks later at Mugello.

Spies is still recuperating from shooting pains in his chest caused by overcompensating at COTA in Austin, when he raced there two weeks' ago. The Texan received medical advice that he should miss one more race before attempting a return. Ducati test rider Michele Pirro will ride the Ignite Pramac Ducati as a replacement for Spies. As a replacement rider, Pirro will have to use the bike fielded by Pramac, rather than the laboratory machine he raced as a wildcard in Jerez.

Below is the official press release from the Ignite Pramac team:

Ben Spies back on track at Mugello.

Following today’s additional medical check in Dallas, the doctor supervising Ben Spies recommended that the Texan undergo a period of extended rehabilitation.

Despite his wish to return to the track as soon as possible, Spies will miss the French Grand Prix and will join the team again at the end of May, at Mugello.

Marc Marquez topped the timesheet at the end of the one-day test at Jerez, the Repsol Honda man setting his fastest time of the weekend as his team solved some of the front-end issues which had been dogging the Spaniard. Marquez' lead was very slim, however: less than a tenth of a second faster than Monster Tech 3 Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow, and a little more than a tenth quicker than Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa. Fourth fastest man was Valentino Rossi, but the Italian was nearly six tenths slower than Marquez.

While Honda focused on suspension and electronics - only a partial success, judging by the body language in Dani Pedrosa's pits, the Repsol Honda man gesturing that the rear was still moving around too much for his liking - Yamaha tested a new chassis, Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi alternating between the 2012 and 2013 chassis, and Bradley Smith testing the same chassis which Cal Crutchlow has been using this year (the one used by the Factory Yamaha team from Aragon onwards). Smith pronounced himself pleased, finding a clear improvement in braking stability which helped with his consistency. Rossi and Lorenzo, however, were still undecided between the two chassis, both versions offering improvements in some areas, but losing out in others. Lorenzo came down largely in favor, but Rossi is still not convinced of the benefits.

Test times at 2pm:

We'd been wondering how long it would last. Nobody had started a formal pool yet, but we knew that at some point in the season, Marc Marquez would try something which would generate a mountain of controversy. The question was not if, but when, surely.

It took three races, which is positively restrained measured by the standards of his 2012 Moto2 season. Then, he managed to embroil himself in controversy in the very first race when he ran Thomas Luthi off the track at the end of the straight at the beginning of the final lap.

Yet while Marquez' pass on Jorge Lorenzo is already generating enough print copy to wipe out a small forest, it is totally different from his move at Qatar in 2012. That was a cynical slide to the left which saw him edge Luthi off the track and out of contention. This was a dive up the inside of a gap left by Lorenzo in the final corner of the final lap, after Marquez had spent the previous five or six laps making it perfectly clear to Lorenzo that he was hell-bent on finishing ahead of him.