Stefan Bradl has treated the locals of San Francisco to a promotional run through Lombard Street and Treasure Island. As part of a Red Bull promotional video and to prepare for the upcoming Red Bull United States MotoGP, Bradl showed his moves on his Honda RC213V on Tuesday.

In the afternoon he took part in a conference held at the Stanford University. He was joined by his LCR Honda Team Principal Lucio Cecchinello as they discussed the balance between risk and safety in motorsport. The conference was called ‘Embracing Risk in the Pursuit of Victory’.

Fernando Alonso has extended his World Championship lead by winning the German Grand Prix. He has again opened up the gap that Mark Webber tried to close. The Red Bull driver is right behind him, while teammate Sebastian Vettel is closing in on him.

The Formula 1 crew is now heading to Hungary. Though the Hungaroring has always been known as a circuit that does not allow overtaking, in 2011 the introduction of KERS and DRS seemed to have changed that.

DRS zone

For the Hungarian Grand Prix, the FIA has set only one DRS zone, which will be located at the start straight of the Hungaroring. The detection point will be located prior to turn 14 and the activation point will start 70 meters after the apex of that corner. The zone ends at the braking zone for turn 1.

Tires

For the Hungarian Grand Prix, Pirelli will provide the teams with the soft (yellow) and medium (white) compound tires. Every team will be provided with six sets of the harder compounds (also known as Prime tires) and five sets of the softer tires (known as Option). Also the intermediates (green) and full wet (blue) tires will of course be available in case of rainy weather conditions.

Remember 2011?

Last year, it was Jenson Button who won the Hungarian Grand Prix and claimed his second victory of the season on a track where he won his first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2006. The 2011 Hungarian Grand Prix marked the Brit’s two-hundredth Grand Prix start, which he was obviously able to enjoy. The podium was completed by Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. Button’s teammate Lewis Hamilton was leading most of the race and pushing for a podium finish, but as he got hindered by an incorrect tire strategy and drive-through penalty, he eventually had to settle for fourth.

Weather conditions

Warm and rainy weather conditions are predicted for the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend with temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius.

Event schedule Formula 1 Grand Prix of Hungary 2012 – local time

Friday, 27 July 2012

10.00 – 11.30: Practice 1
14.00 – 15.30: Practice 2

Saturday, 28 July 2012

11.00 – 12.00: Practice 3
14.00 – 15.00: Qualifying

Sunday, 29 July 2012

14.00: 2012 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix

Though many rumors are circulating Sergio Perez and linking him to a Ferrari seat, the driver said not to put any pressure on the team to actually give him a seat. The current Sauber driver is part of the Ferrari Young Driver Program and seems the most obvious choice as a replacement for the underperforming Felipe Massa. However, Perez is said to be not pushing it.

Perez: “It is not something that I will push. I have to see what the options are and then I will decide. If there is an opportunity with them [Ferrari] or another team then that is the time to know.”

“I think I have done a very good job this season and I have proved that I have the speed and the consistency as well. If you look at my whole season it has been up and down, but not because I have been inconsistent. Many things come into account and we cannot forget that we are still a midfield team. So I am comfortable with the position I am in. My target is to keep doing very good races and then I will decide very soon what my future is going to be.”

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Maria de Villota has been released from the La Paz Hospital in Madrid this week. She was recovering from several facial operations that she underwent in the Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. The test driver of Marussia F1 lost her right eye in a crash at the Duxford Airfield. Fortunately, she didn’t suffer from any neurological damage.

The accident happened after de Villota pulled up in front of Marussia’s mechanics and they approached to wheel the F1 car back for service. At this moment the car accelerated forwards and crashed into the stationary vehicle parked nearby. The front of the car was destroyed and that Maria’s helmet took the bulk of the impact. It was the first time that de Villota piloted the team’s 2012 car, and the fourth time that Maria was driving an F1 car in her career.

Marussia F1 has complete a detailed investigation of the crash and came to the conclusion that car related problems were not the cause of de Villota’s accident. Maria will continue her recovery at home with her friends and family aside her.

“The patient’s general conditions are good, which allowed us to release her yesterday,” read a statement from staff at the La Paz hospital. “In these six days, she has been treated by specialists of the plastic and neurological surgery services, and the ophthalmology department, who will continue to follow her, as she will need to undergo periodical checks and treatments.

“As communicated previously, the patient has lost her right eye, as a consequence of the serious trauma suffered, and she will be closely followed by the ophthalmology service. The specialists of the plastic surgery service will be responsible for following the serious injuries to her face and correcting the effects of those.”

Pata Racing Ducati has officially announced that Sylvain Guintoli will be a part of the team from the next round of the Superbike World Championship at Silverstone. He will become the teammate of Lorenzo Zanetti.

The French rider is very happy with his merge with Pata Racing. “I am delighted with this new collaboration, which enables me to look serenely to the future” Guintoli said. “I would like to thank Team Pata for the interest they have shown in me, as well as Ducati, the sponsors and all those who made this agreement possible. My desire to race and to do so in the best possible conditions has never been lacking and I can’t wait to show this starting with the next round of the season on August 5th.”

Also Team Manager of Pata Racing Ducati, Andrea Prando, is pleased with the new official rider. “The team has now been strengthened with the arrival of an expert and successful rider like Sylvain Guintoli. This new collaboration has come about thanks to the efforts of my main sponsor who strongly believe in the work and the commitment of the entire team to take part in the championship at the highest level. The arrival of a rider of the calibre of Sylvain will also help Lorenzo Zanetti, who as always enjoys our utmost support.” Prando said.

The 30-year-old Sylvain has achieved very impressive results so far. He currently lies eighth in the production-based Championship this season, with a total of 523 points. He has had six podiums, one win and pole position. Besides three fastest laps he also started from the front row six times.

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The Silverstone circuit has teamed up with British rider, Leon Haslam to make a great preview acticvity as the circuit is hosting the next round of the FIM Superbike World Championship. The Brit agreed on having his torso and arms painted in his BMW Motorrad Motorsport team leathers by double World Body Painting Champion, Carolyn Roper.

The World Champion in Body Painting needed three hours to replicate Haslam’s leathers on hus upper-body. However, by the time she was finished, the result was spectacular. It was almost impossible to distinguish where Haslam’s leathers stopped and the body paint started.

When the rider was fully painted, he was photographed by one UK’s leading portrait photographers, Gary Prios. The shoot took place in the Sivlerstone garages.

Haslam was amazed about his body paint experience. “It was frustrating having to stand in one place for three hours and not see what was going on, but I couldn’t believe it when Carolyn had finished applying the paint and I was finally allowed to look in the mirror. The body paint was unbelievably realistic and the attention to detail, right down to the sponsors’ badges, was incredible. Carolyn is amazingly talented.”

It has been revealed that Ben Spies will be leaving the Yamaha MotoGP team at the end of this season. He announced his departure through Twitter, but the Tweets in question were removed shortly after that. The announcement comes before an official announcement by Yamaha and ahead of his home race at Laguna Seca.

The 2009 World Champion Tweeted three messages which caused many rumours. “U can say next year will be a bit diff I’d say. excited at all prospects stay tuned” and then he added “I thought I’d be dramatic like all the sites and reporters are haha maybe nothing changes except to be back were we are meant to be!” and  concluded with “Big things are happening from the horses mouth! not the Internet sites haha. Gonna be fun that’s for sure Ill keep ya updated”

Later on, Spies gave a more official statement via email to the American website, Superbikeplanet.com. “I have chosen to leave Yamaha after this season for a litany of reasons,” he said. “I will explain more when I feel it is appropriate. I’m discussing my situation with my sponsors and they are behind me. There are a few people at Yamaha who I hate to leave and they know who they are. I wish Yamaha the best. I won’t make any further comments until the official announcement comes out.”

One of the persons who doesn’t  like to see Spies leave is teammate, Jorge Lorenzo. “It’s sad news to hear that Ben is not continuing. For Yamaha it’s really sad, because he has been a Yamaha rider for a long time. I think he has great potential, and I wish him good luck in the future. Now we have to see what is going to happen with the second rider in Yamaha.”

Ben Spies hasn’t been able to finish on the podium this season, while Lorenzo has won five Grands Prix and leads the World Championship.

Australian Grand Prix

The official start of the Formula 1 World Championship 2012 took place in Australia, Melbourne. Button had a very good start together with teammate Hamilton. Even though Grosjean surprised everybody with his good qualifying, he had to retire after a collision with Maldonado. Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes developed gearbox problems thus he had to retire as well. Pastor Maldonado had a marvellous race but crashed out of 6th place, leaving Williams without points. The race ended with a first place for Button followed by Vettel. The podium was finished by Hamilton.

Malaysian Grand Prix

The second race at Malaysia was one of the most surprising races so far. Heavy rainfall caused a 52 minute break during the race. There were many disappointments in the Malaysian Grand Prix for the drivers who are regularly seen in the top ten, but the drivers of the smaller teams showed their skills wonderfully. Vettel finished outside the top ten after a clash with Karthikeyan while Button ended up at fourteenth due to a problem with the same HRT driver. Also Senna, di Resta and Hülkenberg captured a top ten finish.  In the end the drivers on the podium were Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton.

Chinese Grand Prix

The Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit marked Mercedes’ first victory since the 1955 Italian GP. Nico Rosberg took the victory while his teammate Schumacher wasn’t able to finish due to a failed pit stop. McLaren duo Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton gave McLaren a double podium finish. Vettel fought hard for a podium spot but ended up in fifth place. Alonso disappointed his team by finishing ninth after having started from the same position. Senna and Maldonado of Williams finished seventh and eighth, which was a reasonable result for the team.

Bahrain Grand Prix

The Bahrain Grand Prix started after a long period of protests by the local residents. After a long, hard battle, Sebastian Vettel took his first victory of the 2012 season, starting from pole. Lotus drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean formed a huge threat throughout the race for Vettel and finished second and third. Räikkönen had an impressive run as he pulled himself op from eleventh on the grid. Ferrari was once again disappointed as Alonso and Massa finished seventh and ninth. Both McLaren drivers had a terrible race as Hamilton had two failed pit stops (one was 9.9 seconds) and Button finished eighteenth.

Spanish Grand Prix

Pastor Maldonado took his maiden Formula 1 victory in the Spanish Grand Prix and marked the first victory for Team Williams since 2004! In an amazing run, he fought with early race leader Fernando Alonso until the final laps and eventually left the Ferrari driver behind him. A very quick Kimi Räikkönen came in third and took his second podium victory since his comeback. Hamilton experienced another failed pit stop during the race and finished eight with his teammate behind him. The Red Bull team had a bad day as Vettel struggled to keep up with the drivers in front of him while Webber suffered from a horrible start which put him way down the order.

Monaco Grand Prix

Mark Webber took the victory in the Monaco Grand Prix after holding off a strong Nico Rosberg. Fernando Alonso came in third and with teammate Felipe Massa in sixth, it was a reasonable weekend for the Ferrari team. Grosjean was forced to retire due to a collision with Schumacher. Also Button and Räikkönen crashed together with Maldonado, Kobayashi and de la Rosa. This crash caused a safety car to come out. Button, Schumacher and Räikkönen were able to continue the race while the others retired. However, later on Schumacher had to retire as well due to fuel problems and on lap 72 Button had another crash with Kovalainen and left the race.

Canadian Grand Prix

The Canadian GP again was a race with surprising results. McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton came in first  and secured a seventh winner for the 2012 season. He was followed by Romain Grosjean of Lotus and Sergio Perez of Sauber. In the first couple of laps, the drivers mostly stayed in their grid positions. Only Massa passed Nico Rosberg but spun out of contention at Turn 2 several minutes later. Vettel, Rosberg, Webber and Räikkönen all finished lower. Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso was very disappointed about this results in the Canadian Grand Prix. He fell behind the leading pack as well and finished fifth.

European Grand Prix

Alonso became the first driver to win two races this season after he dominated the European Grand Prix at Valencia. It was a very exciting race. Alonso managed to pull himself up from eleventh on the grid to the top podium spot. He was followed by Kimi Räikkönen who took second place. Finally. Schumacher captured his first podium finish since his F1 comeback and finished third. At the start of the race Vettel took the lead and everybody assumed he would win again at Valencia. He opened a 20-seconds gap. However, on lap 27 Vergne crashed into Kovalainen which brought a safety car out. After the restart of the race, Vettel’s Red Bull stopped with a technical problem and he was forced to retire.

British Grand Prix

Mark Webber took a surprising victory in the British Grand Prix, after passing race leader Fernando Alonso with only four laps to go. The race was undecided until the end and Red Bull had a great day with a double podium finish as Sebastian Vettel came in third. But that did not spoil the fun for Ferrari as driver Felipe Massa had an amazingly strong pace and just missed out on a podium finish by coming in fourth. The battle between Red Bull and Ferrari had put McLaren and Lotus on the sidelines.

German Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso took the victory in the German Grand Prix. While Sebastian Vettel originally finished second, a twenty seconds penalty dropped him to fifth. He got penalized for an illegal overtaking attempt on Jenson Button where he overtook the McLaren driver by running off the sidelines. Fortunately, the penalty for Vettel left Button in (his probably rightful) second place. The podium was completed by Kimi Räikkönen, who finally seems to have broken his Hockenheim-curse which made him retire from the past five races at this track.

Former Indy 500 winner Danny Sullivan will be the FIA driver representative steward for this weekend’s  Hungarian Grand Prix.

In the German Grand Prix, the stewards had to deal with the torque map enquiry of Red Bull before the race and Vettel passing Button off track. The German driver was given a 20-second penalty for this move.

Sullivan has been F1 stewards two times before; in Singapore and Hockenheim in 2010. He is now 62-years-old and raced in F1 for Tyrrell in 1983. His best result was in Monaco where he finished fifth.

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Casey Stoner (L) and Dani Pedrosa (R)

MotoGP is heading to the United States for the 10th round of the World Championship. Repsol Honda Team is ready for the Red Bull US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca and comes with a new engine and chassis.

Dani Pedrosa will have the 2013 spec machine that features a new engine and chassis. His team-mate Casey Stoner will have a new engine as well, but with the standard chassis. The new parts were added on request of the riders. Both Pedrosa and Stoner tested their new parts on the Monday test.

Pedrosa is pleased about his new parts, and is confident that he will be able to get a good result at Leguna. “Honda has made a big effort to bring the new parts to Laguna, so we’ll have our standard bike, but we’ll also get the new engine and chassis we tested in Mugello and I hope we can take advantage of these improvements and have another good race.”

Also Casey Stoner is happy with his new parts and hopes for dry weather during the practice sessions. “We’ve had a nice short break since Mugello, and we’re looking to improve on our results from the last two races. HRC have worked hard in Japan to provide us with the new engine and some parts from the test, hopefully we can have three dry sessions to get some work done and be competitive for Sunday, but we’ll have to wait until we get on track.”

Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner are currently second and third in the rider’s Championship.

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Raikkonen at the British Grand Prix

Lotus Team Principal Eric Boullier has praised Kimi Räikkönen by saying there is no downside to having him in the team. The driver took his fourth podium finish of the season in Germany and currently stands fourth in the Drivers’ standings.

Boullier: “I do not see much of a downside to Kimi to be honest. He came back to his speed level very quickly and I would not be surprised if he wins very soon.”

Räikkönen however, did experience some difficulties with his car; primarily with the power steering. This might have been one of the things that held him back from taking a race victory when he was close to it. Boullier acknowledged that such car difficulties must be solved quickly. He said: “Going forwards, it is clear what we need to do for better results. Anyone who watches Formula 1 can tell us this. We need to do better in qualifying. It is clear that if we want to win the races we have to be top four or five on the grid.”

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Jenson Button of Great Britain and McLaren celebrates finishing third during the German Grand Prix, 2012.

Team Principal of McLaren, Martin Whitmarsh, is convinced that he is able to fight for the Championship once again with the new developments on both the cars. He also thinks that his drivers Hamilton and Button are strong enough to win.

The McLaren drivers are now 62 and 86 points behind Championship leader Fernando Alonso. Despite the great difference, Whitmarsh is confident that McLaren is able to make a comeback.

“We’re at the halfway point and we’ve got a lot of racing ahead of us,” Martin Whitmarsh said. “They can both do it. This season is going to go right until the very end and I believe we are going to be sat on the edge of our seats right until the final laps of the Brazilian Grand Prix. I hope that I’m in deep agony in those last few laps as that means we’re in contention to win.”

The Team Principal has the opinion that McLaren’s latest update has given the team the ability to start winning races again. “The car is good enough at the moment but we’ve still got half a season to go, so the onus is on us to keep developing it,” he said. “We’ve got a reasonable amount of momentum in the system at the moment so we will be making the car quicker, but our competitors will be trying to respond as well and I think that’s what makes Formula One as exciting as it is.”

Even though the confidence is there, Whitmarsh admits that he recognizes the competition. “Fernando is doing a great job and so is Ferrari,” he concluded. “They’re difficult to beat but it’s doable and we’re a motor racing team and we’re fighters. There are going to be some great races and what we have to concentrate now on race-by-race, trying to win and maximising points to see if we can erode that situation.”

The Formula One World Championship will continue this weekend with round 11 in Hungary.

The MotoGP premier class will have its first out of two USA rounds on the 2012 calendar this weekend at the Laguna Seca circuit in California. As Pramac Racing Team rider Héctor Barberá isn’t able to race in California due to his injuries suffered in the recent training accident, he will be replaced by Spanish rider Toni Elias.

The Pramac Racing Team rider Héctor Barberá underwent successful surgery in Barcelona, Spain. The rider had a fractured left tibia and fibula. Several screws and a titanium plate were inserted in the 25-year-old’s left leg. His Doctor, Xavier Mir, is pleased about the surgery and positive about the recovery. Barberá should be able to run a race again in 4 or 6 weeks.

Toni Elias already rode for the Pramac Racing Team  back in 2008, where he achieved two podiums at Brno and Misano. Elias’ first win was at the Dutch TT Assen circuit and he finished third in 2001. Earlier this year Toni was riding with the Aspar Racing Team but both sides announced that they were parting ways.

The MotoGP World Championship will continue this weekend for round 10 at the Mazda Raceway, United States.

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Race 1
Though Tom Sykes was the race leader throughout most of the session, a late stint of Marco Melandri had put him in the top position where he remained till the finish line. Sykes teammate Loris Baz closed a great first race for his Kawasaki team.

Melandri had fought fiercely for his victory as he started off in sixth and even dropped to eighth in the race. After winning a long fought battle with Leon Haslam, Jonathan Rea and Jakub Smrz, Melandri was able to pull himself up towards the top three. Meanwhile, Rea was battling Sykes for the lead. However, a collision between the two of them cleared the way for Melandri to take the lead in the closing stages of the race. While Sykes was able to recover from the incident and eventually finished second, Rea was sent to retirement. This had also cleared the way for Baz to fight with Carlos Checa (who was running third) for the final podium position. As the Kawasaki rider proved to be stronger, Checa was left in fourth.

Meanwhile, Eugene Laverty had pulled up to the front and was on Checa’s tail. Fortunately for the Althea racer, he was able to defend his position, leaving Laverty in fifth. Max Biaggi came in behind him after passing Haslam and the top ten was completed by Michel Fabrizio, Maxime Berger and Jakub Smrz.

View full results WSBK Brno 2012 Race 1!

Race 2
After his success in Race 1, Marco Melandri proved his worth once more in Race 2. Again Tom Sykes had to yield in the final lap and was left in second after having led almost the entire race. This time, Carlos Checa was able to get a podium finish and took the third spot.

Max Biaggi had a quiet run in fourth; a position he remained in throughout most of the race. He was followed by Eugene Laverty, who was unable to push for a better position following his great pace in Race 1. Behind him, Chaz Davies took sixth and left Leon Haslam in seventh. After a surprising good pace in the first race, Loris Baz did not show much of that in the second race, finishing only eighth. The top ten was completed by Leon Camier and Michel Fabrizio.

View full results WSBK Brno 2012 Race 2! 

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Lewis Hamilton has endured a very disappointing weekend in Germany as he was forced to retire from the German Grand Prix. Already at the start of the race, he got a puncture in his tire and though his team advised him to retire immediately, he decided to go through with the race. However, problems with the rear of his McLaren made him retire anyway.

Hamilton: “My second-lap puncture was incredibly unfortunate: there was debris scattered across the full width of the track and I did not have any option other than to drive straight through it. What is more frustrating is that, at the time, I was the eighth car through; so to be the one to get the puncture is just cruel luck. It was immediately clear that my car did not feel the same after the puncture. However, after a few laps, I was able to adapt my driving style and the car had good pace during the middle stint. However, with the damage to the rear, I think we were lucky to get that far, to be honest.”

After his second pit stop, Hamilton was able to un-lap himself from Sebastian Vettel after he rejoined the track. He is said to be looking forward to the Hungarian Grand Prix as the car proved to be rather competitive.

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Pramac Racing Team rider Héctor Barberá underwent successful surgery in Barcelona, Spain, following his training incident two days ago. The rider had a fractured left tibia and fibula.

Several screws and a titanium plate were inserted in the 25-year-old’s left leg. His Doctor, Xavier Mir, is pleased about the surgery and positive about the recovery. “The surgery had good result. We are confident that Héctor will be able to leave the hospital in 48 hours and can being light physical activity in seven days. It is difficult to say how long the post surgery rehabilitation will take. We need to evaluate the progress of the patient, but I think that we can reasonably think that he will able to run a race in 4 or 6 weeks, according to his feedback.”

Barberá is disappointed about his injury, especially now he is in the middle of his MotoGP 2012 season. However, he is aware that he needs to take it slow the next couple of weeks. “Doctor Mir and Doctor Jimeno have done a great job. I’m feeling quite good, still a dizzy from the anaesthesia, but it’s normal. Obviously I’m disappointed about the incident. It happened in the worst period possible. I had a great feeling both with my bike and with my crew. The last three races I was able to enjoy while I was riding and fighting with the Factory riders to achieve the best result possible. I could have gotten other brilliant results in the next round in Laguna Seca and Indy, but it’s the life and now I have to think only about my injury and my rehabilitation.”

The MotoGP 2012 World Championship will continue the 29th of July in Laguna Seca, United States.

The day started off well for McLaren as Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton led the way in the first free practice of the German Grand Prix. Button dominated the Hockenheimring from the start, while Hamilton put in a strong pace in the closing stages of the session. They were followed by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso.

The drivers had to cope with rainy weather conditions again, though it was less heavy than in Great Britain. Though the drivers returned to the pits several times, all were able to put in some good running. Button led the session from the start on his medium tires, while the others were trying out Pirelli’s new hard (silver) compound tire. Though Hamilton was running strong, he was unable to keep up with his teammate. Both their cars are fitted with new upgrades, amongst which modified sidepods. The McLaren team hopes to improve its recent poor results.

 Michael Schumacher set the fourth best time on his home circuit while another local favorite; Sebastian Vettel, was unable to post a good time. He eventually came in twelfth while teammate Mark Webber completed a slow run for Red Bull in twentieth. Schumacher was followed by Sergio Perez, who was seen inside the top three for most of the session and Nico Hülkenberg came in sixth.

The top ten was completed by Nico Rosberg, Felipe Massa, Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean. The latter one’s Lotus teammate was running with an upgraded car. Though the team prevented the cameras from getting a glimpse of the E20, it is probably running with a new DRS system that is almost similar to Mercedes’. While Kimi Räikkönen set a few laps, he did not do some serious running. He eventually came in fifteenth. Grosjean was not running with the new system.

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Giugliano set a rather good run as he held back at the start of the session, but pushed for the lead in the final stages. In a quick run, he had pulled himself up from the last position on the grid to the lead. He eventually set a time of 02:00.359 ahead of his two followers.

The fourth best time was set by Max Biaggi with long time pace setter Tom Sykes in fifth. Marco Melandri set the sixth best time ahead of Carlos Checa while Loris Baz set a promising eighth. The top ten was completed by Ayrton Badovini and Michel Fabrizio.

McLaren Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh said not to get his hopes up after Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton have lead the first free practice of the German Grand Prix. The team has upgraded its cars with the sidepods being the most notable change. Whether this will enhance the drivers’ performances during the race remains unsure.

Whitmarsh: “I think again this has not been a particularly clean session. I mean it is obviously nice to be topping the timesheets, but I think it is a bit early to be punching the air right now.”

“I think the car was balanced from the outset; today we tried a few other little changes so for us it has been a reasonable session given the sprinkling of rain throughout it. But a little too early yet to be saying it is a good step forward. I mean, the data looks reasonable, but I have not asked the drivers; I am about to listen to them in a minute and we will find out what they say.”

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A World Superbike press conference in a popular Czech shopping center, surprised the afternoon-shoppers on Thursday. The conference involving riders Max Biaggi, Marco Melandri, Carlos Checa, Jonathan Rea, John Hopkins and Loris Baz was held in the Galerie Vaňkovka, which is situated in the center of the second largest city of the Czech Republic.

After the riders, SBK General Manager Paolo Ciabatti and the Brno circuit managers were done answering the questions from journalists, it was time for an autograph and photograph session with the local shoppers who enjoyed the unexpected meet- and greet experience.