Motorsport Update Sliding sideways through the world of motorsport.

Weekly round-up 20/08/2009

Time to have a quick look at what's happening in motor sport in the aftermath of the Czech Motorbike Grand Prix and this week's upcoming Formula 1 race on the Valencia street circuit.

Formula 1

• The fledgling USF1 team that is to enter F1 next season have announced that they have the backing of Youtube. What this will mean to Bernie's practice of having F1 footage removed from the website as a breach of copyright, will remain to be seen.
• Nelson Piquet Jr has been replaced by Roman Grosjean for the rest of the season. The Brazilian has launched a broadside against Renault boss Flavio Briatore, saying that he has no clue about racing. This is something that Briatore has been accused of before, having been nicknamed "the T-shirt salesman" in the early years of his involvement in the sport.
• For this weekends race, the Valencia street track has been modified, with the pit lane exit revised and walls moved back from the track on some corners. The pit lane exit did appear to be downright dangerous last year, so any improvement will be welcome, however moving walls from street circuits surely removes the challenge of this type track. Martin Brundle won't be pleased (The BBC commentator has been very critical of the changes to the Monaco circuit, which he feels has made it easier).

MotoGP

• Casey Stoner will miss out the next two Grand Prix as he continues treatment in Australia for the mysterious illness that has dogged him this season.
• Jorge Lorenzo's future still appears up in the air, with rumours appearing daily on the net concerning Ducati's overtures to the Mallorcan. It seems that the Italian team is worried that Casey Stoner's recovery could be long and they will need another top-line replacement. However, Lorenzo should be aware of the Desmosedici's career damaging reputation, as only Stoner has so far got to grips with it's handling characteristics.
• Despite his embarrassing accident while trying a wheelie on the slowing down lap at Brno, Alvaro Bautista will step up to the MotoGP class next year with Suzuki in place of Chris Vermulen.

DTM

• Four cars have been sealed for examination by the German Motorsport Authority in order be used as reference for the DTM development freeze. These cars will then be used to enforce the freeze for the next year and a half, before the technical regulations change in 2011.

Sportscars

• 1992 Formula 1 World Champion Nigel Mansell will be taking part in the Silverstone 1000kms in the Team LNT's Ginetta-Zytek LMP1 prototype next month. He will be one of three drivers, comprising himself, his son Greg and team owner Lawrence Tomlinson.