More Morning Moto News - AMA Pro Racing Test & Marco Lucchinelli

Over at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, some of the 2010 AMA Pro Racing teams were out practicing and working on setup. Well, Aaron Yates ripped off a screaming run at the track and left the test as the fastest of those running American Superbike machines. He and his team are all running last year's models, but they are not too upset by that as they have over a year worth of extra data to work with. Even Larry Pegram was at the event doing some testing - but all riders complained of being off of their mounts for far too long this winter...

http://tinyurl.com/yh6vml7

Marco Lucchinelli has had a colorful life, to say the least. Lucchinelli was a GP Champion in 1981 and went on to run the Ducati World Superbike team in the late 80's and early 90's. He also was a serious cocaine addict and lived a very party-filled life, with women and alcohol added to that mix. His life story is rather intriguing and it is well worth your time to take the link and have a read about the man and his life...

http://tinyurl.com/yjj8lu7

Monday Evening Moto News - Jordan to Stay With Suzuki

Michael Jordan Motorsports will continue to ride on Suzuki in the DMG / AMA Pro Racing American Superbike series. They will field both Aaron Yates and Jake Zemke, who will ride the Jordan brand and National Guard sponsored Suzuki GSX-R1000's, respectively. At least there will be some good riders and teams in the series in 2010. I will now certainly watch it with this team and these riders on those machines...

http://tinyurl.com/yb4raws

New Year's Day Moto News - First Edition of 2010

First of all Happy New Year! The year has changed again and I am very optimistic that 2010 will be a good year for the motorcycle industry - and I hope it will be great for you as well!

It seems that things have worked out to where Jake Zemke will be riding for Jordan Suzuki in 2010. He will compete in the AMA Pro Racing series, but the exact details have yet to be released. It also appears that Aaron Yates will remain with the team, but they will be letting Geoff May go; this is an odd development as May was always close with the team members. Anyway, it's all un-official for now, so the truth may be completely different.

http://tinyurl.com/ybvdago

A big off-road 450c.c. shootout is available from MotorcycleUSA already. I suppose that they had it ready to go when the date changed as I doubt anyone there is working today - almost everything is closed. But, if you would like to see how the 450 dirt motorcycles from the major manufacturers compare to one another, take a look here. Unfortunately, all they were able to test were the offerings from Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha and KTM (Suzuki has shuttered their press department due to the economy!).

http://tinyurl.com/yzuo8lk

Well, there are some updates for other stories, but that is about it for now, so take a look and get some reading done in this new year we have before us now...

This Week in Motorcycling History - Road Racer X Speed Dating

Yep, that time of the week again. In this week's history, we look at birthdays for Marco Borciani, Christian Kellner, Andrew Northcott (photographer), Jiri Mrkyvka, Kevin Allen, Shane “Shakey” Byrne, Jarno Saarinen (tragic life), Rob McElnea, Aaron Yates, and Michael Duff. That is some real history, so take the link and read about the people who have made this sport what it is today.

http://tinyurl.com/yajt6bm

Michael Jordan to Re-Sign With Suzuki for 2010

The rumors had Jordan speaking with Aprilia and BMW for the 2010 AMA Pro Racing season. However, now sources close to the negotiations are saying that it is an all-but-done deal with Suzuki for 2010. And, Aaron Yates' manager, Cliff Nobles, has at least confirmed the racer's intentions to sign with Jordan again for next season...Looks like it is coming together for them.

http://tinyurl.com/yer39lh

A No-Brainer - Michael Jordan to Attend NJMP AMA Pro Racing Finale

Those of you who follow AMA Racing know that Michael Jordan has had a competitive team in the series for many years now - even winning many races during that time. Now, as the final race of the season approaches, New Jersey is apparently very happy to see him come to cheer on his team.

http://tinyurl.com/mzypaf