2008 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix
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2008 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2008 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix was the sixteenth round of the 2008 MotoGP Championship. It took place on the weekend of 3–5 October 2008 at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. Race report The premier class MotoGP race was won by Casey Stoner from pole position. Stoner rode a lights to flag victory ahead of a fast and charging Valentino Rossi who started the race from 12th position on the grid. Nicky Hayden rounded out the podium finishing in a respectable third place. In the early stages of the race, Stoner and Hayden had a battle that lasted many laps with the two pulling away from the chasing pack, trading fast laps between them. Casey Stoner gradually began to pull away as Hayden's tyres appeared to wear out slightly. Meanwhile, Rossi was charging through the midfield, getting up to 8th position after only the first lap. Rossi quickly disposed of a number of riders in the first few laps, but lost vital time while attempting to overtake his teammate Jorge ...
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Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is a motor racing circuit located near Ventnor, on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. The current circuit was first used in 1956. History Road circuit Motor racing on Phillip Island began in 1928 with the running of the 100 Miles Road Race, an event which has since become known as the first Australian Grand Prix. It utilised a high speed rectangle of local closed-off public roads with four similar right hand corners. The course length varied, with the car course approximately per lap, compared to the motorcycle circuit which was approximately in length. The circuit was the venue for the Australian Grand Prix through to 1935 and it was used for the last time on 6 May 1935 for the Jubilee Day Races.John B Blanden, A History of Australian Grand Prix 1928–1939, Volume 1, 1981, p. 123 A new triangular circuit utilising the pit straight from the original rectangular course was subsequently mapped out and first used for the Austra ...
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Andrea Dovizioso
Andrea Dovizioso (born 23 March 1986) is an Italian former professional motorcycle racer. He raced with WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team for the 2022 season but announced his intended-retirement after the Misano round in September. Dovizioso was the 125cc World Champion, but is best known for his time with the Ducati Team in the MotoGP class, finishing championship runner-up to Marc Márquez for three consecutive seasons in , and . Dovizioso is one of the most successful modern MotoGP riders with 15 victories and 62 podiums. Dovizioso first came to prominence by winning the 125 cc World Championship in . He then finished third in the 250 cc World Championship in and was twice a runner-up to Jorge Lorenzo in and . He made his debut in MotoGP in 2008 and immediately finished 5th in the standings as the top satellite rider earning a move to the Factory Honda team in 2009. In his three seasons with Repsol Honda, he scored 15 podiums, including a maiden MotoGP win at ...
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Dani Pedrosa
Daniel Pedrosa Ramal (born 29 September 1985) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the season. He grew up in Castellar del Vallès, a village near Sabadell. He is a three-time World Champion being the List of 125cc/Moto3 Motorcycle World Champions, 125cc world champion in 2003 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, 2003, List of 250cc/Moto2 Motorcycle World Champions, 250cc world champion in 2004 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, 2004, the youngest ever to win it and repeated it in 2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, 2005. Pedrosa is a test and development rider for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. In 2021, he returned to race for KTM as a Wild card (sports)#Motorcycle racing, wildcard rider in Austria at the 2021 Styrian motorcycle Grand Prix, Styrian Grand Prix. In addition to his testing duties with KTM, Pedrosa also competes in Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe, driving for FFF Racing Team. Pedr ...
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Alex De Angelis
Alex de Angelis (born 26 February 1984) is a Sammarinese retired motorcycle road racer. Career 125cc World Championship Born in Rimini, de Angelis made his debut at world championship level in 1999 in the 125 cc class; his first full season was in 2000, when his best results were two sixth places. He rode a total of four full seasons in the 125cc category. His best season in the 125 class came in 2003 when he claimed six podium finishes and finished second to Dani Pedrosa, despite not recording any wins. 250cc World Championship He moved to the 250cc category in 2004, when he scored two podiums and was fifth overall. Next year he had four podiums and was seventh overall. 2006 turned out to be real breakthrough, as he finished third in the championship. He took his first victory at the season finale in Valencia, after 9 second and 14 third places and 8 pole-positions beforehand. In 2007 he finished 3rd overall with 235 points and eight podiums, including four successive second pl ...
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Marco Melandri
Marco Melandri (born 7 August 1982) is an Italian retired motorcycle road racer who is a five-time premier class race winner. He is the 2002 250 cc World Champion and runner-up in 125 cc, MotoGP and Superbike World Championship. He competed in the MotoGP class from 2003 to 2010 and then a brief return with Aprilia in 2015. Melandri's best years in MotoGP came in and with these two seasons being the only seasons he won races in MotoGP, the same as title rival Nicky Hayden. Melandri finished runner-up in to Valentino Rossi with two wins. The season is regarded as his best ever as he won three races and finished 24 points behind eventual champion Nicky Hayden. In both these seasons he won more races than title rival Hayden, finishing ahead of Hayden in 2005 and just behind him in 2006. Melandri has 22 race wins in Grand Prix motorcycle racing including five in MotoGP. Melandri switched to the Superbike World Championship in 2011, earning 22 wins in his first six sea ...
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Chris Vermeulen
Chris Vermeulen (born 19 June 1982) is a retired Australian motorcycle racer who last competed in the World Superbike Championship for the works Kawasaki team, perhaps best-known for winning the 2007 French Grand Prix in MotoGP. Vermeulen was born in Brisbane. He first raced in the Superbike class in 2004 and 2005 for the Ten Kate Honda team, finishing as series runner-up in 2005. He also won the World Supersport Championship for Ten Kate in 2003. From 2006 season he joined the elite MotoGP series, for the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Team. On 28 August 2009 Suzuki confirmed Vermeulen will leave the team at the end of the 2009 season. During his career, Vermeulen was regarded as a wet-weather expert and is affectionately nicknamed 'Vermin' on account of his last name. Career Early career In 1999 he raced in the Australian Superbike Championship, despite only having participated in a handful of professional races beforehand. He took his Yamaha to 8th in the championship, with a best re ...
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Sylvain Guintoli
Sylvain Guintoli (born 24 June 1982 in Montélimar) is a French professional motorcycle racer. He was FIM World Superbike Champion in 2014. He is contracted to the Suzuki MotoGP team as a test rider with occasional race entries, as a wild card or replacement rider. In 2017, he competed in the British Superbike Championship with the new Suzuki GSX-R1000. He spent the early years of his career in 250cc Grand-Prix World Championship on private bikes. He was a 500cc 2 stroke test rider for Yamaha and made a single MotoGP start in 2002. Best MotoGP rookie in 2007 for Yamaha, he raced for Ducati MotoGP in 2008. After a serious leg injury in 2009, he recovered and became World Superbike Champion in 2014 for Aprilia. In 2021 he was the winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race on Suzuki together with Xavier Simeon and Gregg Black, followed by the Bol d'Or and finally the Championship.
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John Hopkins (motorcyclist)
John "Hopper" Hopkins (born May 22, 1983) is a former motorcycle road racer based in the United States. During 2017 he raced in the British Superbike Championship aboard a Ducati 1199 Panigale for Moto Rapido Racing, but suffered injuries from a crash at the season-finale race meeting in October, meaning he could not participate during 2018. He has not made a full recovery, which has so far precluded hopes of a comeback, but he has become involved in rider coaching. From 2020, Hopkins became a rider-coach for American Racing team helping Joe Roberts and Marcos Ramirez in Moto2. In a 2007 interview, he was questioned about being regarded as ''Anglo-American'', with the interviewer commenting: "A lot of people don't understand your being British. As I understand it, your entire family moved over here from England, and you were raised here as a British family in America". After riding a Ducati in the British Superbike Championship during the 2015 season, in 2016 he raced a Ya ...
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Kawasaki Heavy Industries
(or simply Kawasaki) is a Japanese Public company, public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, Heavy equipment (construction), heavy equipment, aerospace and Military, defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Chūō-ku, Kobe, Chūō, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is also active in the production of industrial robots, gas turbines, pumps, boilers and other industrial products. The company is named after its founder, Kawasaki Shōzō, Shōzō Kawasaki. KHI is known as one of the three major heavy industrial manufacturers of Japan, alongside Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI Corporation, IHI. Prior to the World War II, Second World War, KHI was part of the Kobe Kawasaki ''zaibatsu'', which included JFE Holdings, Kawasaki Steel and K Line, Kawasaki Kisen. After the conflict, KHI became part of the DKB Group (''keiretsu''). History Kawasaki Shōzō, Shōzō Kawasaki, born in 1836, was involved with the marine indu ...
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Anthony West (motorcyclist)
Anthony "Ant" Keith West, (born 17 July 1981 in Maryborough, Queensland), is an Australian motorcycle road racer. He most recently raced in the 2019 Brazilian Superbike Championship for the Kawasaki Racing Team. West was suspended from participating at any FIM sanctioned events for 24 months due to testing positive for banned substances from 8 July 2018 to 14 September 2020. In 2018 he competed in the Supersport World Championship, aboard a Kawasaki ZX-6R and in the Asia Road Race SS600 Championship, aboard a Yamaha YZF-R6. During 2017 he has raced in the Supersport World Championship (600 cc) and the Asia Road Race SS600 Championship initially aboard a Yamaha YZF-R6 followed by a Kawasaki ZX-6R, and also selected events in the Superbike World Championship on a Kawasaki ZX-10R as a stand-in rider for Puccetti Kawasaki. West has won two races in Grands Prix, the 2003 Dutch TT in the 250 cc class, and the 2014 Dutch TT in the Moto2 class. He is known as "The Rain ...
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Toni Elías
Antonio "Toni" Elías Justícia (born 26 March 1983) is a Spanish professional motorcycle racer and inaugural champion of the Moto2 World Championship. He is the third member of the Elías family to compete in motorcycle racing. He currently rides a Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the MotoAmerica AMA Superbike Championship, where he finished 3rd in the 2016 season, with 6 wins out of 18 and 304 points, 7 less than champion Cameron Beaubier. He won the championship in the 2017 season. In 2018 he finished as runner-up behind champion Cameron Beaubier and in 2019 he finished as runner-up, 5 points behind championship winner, once again Beaubier. Career Born in Manresa, Catalonia, Spain Elías started racing in the 125cc World Championship in 2000 at the age of 17, finishing 3rd in 2001 and taking his first win in the Dutch TT at the prestigious Assen circuit. He went to 250cc for 2002, finishing 4th that year, 3rd a year later, and 4th in 2004. In 2005 he entered MotoGP for Fortuna Yamaha. I ...
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Suzuki
is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines. In 2016, Suzuki was the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, eleventh biggest automaker by production worldwide. Suzuki has over 45,000 employees and has 35 production facilities in 23 countries, and 133 distributors in 192 countries. The worldwide sales volume of automobiles is the world's tenth largest, while domestic sales volume is the third largest in the country. Suzuki's domestic motorcycle sales volume is the third largest in Japan. History In 1909, Michio Suzuki (inventor), Michio Suzuki (1887–1982) founded the Suzuki Loom Works in the small seacoast village of Hamamatsu, Japan. Business boomed as Suzuki built loom, weaving looms for Japan's giant silk industry. In 1929 ...
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