Friday Night Moto News - Daytona AMA Pro Racing Update

It was another close finish in the second race of the AMA Pro Racing American Superbike series at Daytona International Speedway. And, Jake Zemke pulled it off again! Two wins, two days. Two very close finishes again. I wish I would have been there...Please, take the link below to learn more about the race.

http://tinyurl.com/yhtkmdn

In the world famous Daytona 200 Yamaha notched their dominance of the class with Team Graves rider Josh Herrin taking the victory. I knew this would happen, and you likely did as well; this guy is good. Dane Westby pulled in second place and Ducati 848 rider Steve Rapp rounds out the podium. A past acquaintance, Ricky Orlando finished up in 14th...a solid accomplishment for a privateer effort. Take the link to see the full list of finishers - it is preliminary, so it could change slightly after verification.

http://tinyurl.com/yzs4rzt

More news: http://tinyurl.com/yhntt4s

Post-race press conference: http://tinyurl.com/ygdhase

More Afternoon Moto News - Daytona American Superbike Race Results

In the first race of the 2010 AMA Pro Racing American Superbike Championship, a certain rider with a three-year winless drought came through to secure the win - National Guard Suzuki's Jake Zemke. He won in a very close finish; Rockstar/Makita Suzuki's Tommy Hayden came in second (only .238 of a second from first place) and Foremost Ducati's Larry Pegram held on for third (just .259 of a second behind Zemke). The finish was actually very close among the top five finishers - only .307 of a second between first and fifth! For all the details, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/y8bcea5

More Morning Moto News - Ducati Concept Trike, BMW in AMA & CPSIA, again

This design - the one you will see when you take the link - is from a French designer who decided he wanted something a bit more stable from the Ducati Desmosedici. He grafted a two-wheel front end onto the machine, believe it or not, and has turned it into a sort of street-quad, except that it is more like the Spyder RS. It may never be built, but at least the kid is thinking...

http://tinyurl.com/yfsjfxf

Liberty Waves Racing will be the first team to take the new BMW S1000RR racing in the AMA Pro paddock. The team is sponsored by Dairyland Cycle Insurance and they have some solid resources behind them. Eric Pinson, team boss, simply cannot wait to get the BMW on the track in the American Superbike series.

http://tinyurl.com/yew927s

Two rather well-known motorcycle personalities - Ben Spies and Kevin Schwantz, along with Robbie Maddison - have come together to help the fight against the CPSIA and what it has done to youth motorcycles and ATVs. If you are not familiar with this, you really need to take this link and brush up. If you are, then you know that having more celebrity behind the move to allow our children to ride bikes and ATVs their size is something we can make good use of!

http://tinyurl.com/yknn53z

Wednesday Evening Moto News - Brett McCormick & Ride for Haiti

2009 Canadian Superbike Champion Brett McCormick will be racing with the Picotte Performance team, riding a Suzuki GSX-R1000, in the AMA Pro Racing American Superbike Championship for 2010. His team in Canada was just hit too hard by the economy to be able to support him in his home nation. So, he has decided to race in the US with his own money and some help from his new team. Let's wish him well!

http://tinyurl.com/ygwovtx

Out in Los Angeles, Jimmy Jean-Louis (someone in NBC’s TV show "Heroes"), and several other organizations are bringing a Ride for Haiti event to the city on 27 February 2010 - just a over a week away. The event will kick off from Glendale Harley Davidson. There is a plethora of information about the ride, the people involved and the people who will be helping Haiti with your donations. Please take the link and do something to help; the people of Haiti need whatever we can get to them...

http://tinyurl.com/yafakwd

More Afternoon Moto News - Larry Pegram & WSBK

As if we did not expect this news, Larry Pegram will continue to ride a Ducati in the AMA Pro Racing American Superbike series. The good news that we just now learned is that Foremost Insurance has stepped up their support for the relative privateer (Ducati's factory is not supporting him, but Ducati North America is bending over backwards to assist his effort). With his finishes last season - fourth overall - he will have a real chance of taking the title in a field of what are essentially other privateers.

http://tinyurl.com/ydmqp7b

Want to know who will be sitting on the grid in the 2010 World Superbike Championship? If so, this link will help you. It has each team, each rider and some history on some of the racers in this year's series. Given the stacked grid, it will be an awesome racing season in 2010!

http://tinyurl.com/y8mkx5h

Friday Night Moto News - Monash University and HART & Jake Zemke

From the southern side of the globe - the relaxed and cool part - we hear that Australia's Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) and Honda Australia Rider Training (HART) are looking for riders (in Oz, obviously) who have been away from riding for five or more years and are just now returning to the sport. They are conducting motorcycle safety research and they will pay you AUS$70 for one hour of your time. Not only do you help your fellow riders, you get money to take another safety course...since you have been away for a while. There are qualifications, so please click the link to learn more...

http://tinyurl.com/yj478q8

As most of you probably know, Jake Zemke just recently wrapped up testing at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Well, there is much to tell about his time on the National Guard Suzuki GSX-R1000 race weapon. All went rather well, but there is more to do; just take it from the man himself and take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/yc9gsta

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

MORE Afternoon Moto News - Taylor Knapp & Pit Pass Radio

Taylor Knapp will get the opportunity to ride the Yoshimura Suzuki which Mat Mladin rode to the AMA Championship last year. Knapp did finish in ninth in American Superbike and eleventh in Daytona SportBike last year. The 22-year-old also has the support of Ridersdiscount.com and Yoshimura.

http://tinyurl.com/yjbtacv

Well, it is actually after the fact, but I only just now picked up the link. Anyway, you may download tonight's Pit Pass Radio in MP3 format if you wish, but the show is now over. Tonight's guests are Jason DiSalvo (WSS), Jared Mees (Dirt Track Racer), Dan Krick (Co-owner Fusion Graphixx), Broc Tickle (Supercross Lites), and - finally - PJ Larsen (Supercross Lites). That is in no order of importance you understand...Anyway, get over there and get yourself a copy and listen up!

http://tinyurl.com/ydsc2pw

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

Even More Afternoon Moto News - DMG/AMA Pro Racing

Where will AMA Pro Racing be tomorrow? Has the Daytona Motorsports Group killed American Superbike racing for all of us? Well, some would certainly agree that DMG has screwed things up pretty good, but other would argue that we have yet to give it enough time. Still, no Honda, no Ducati, no Yamaha, no Kawasaki will receive factory support in 2010, so what are we left with? Not much but private and some pseudo-factory teams. It should make for some interesting results, but at what cost? Will anyone even watch the sport in 2010? And, I suppose the most important question is will it ever improve, or can it be saved? Maybe the racers will find a way to save the sport we all know and love, but they have their work cut out for them...

http://tinyurl.com/y8sgbna

Big Moto News - AMA CEO Ron Dingman Interview!

Yep, Roadracingworld.com managed to get the interview of the year/decade in AMA Pro Racing circles, AMA CEO Ron Dingman. Why is this interview with the boat-rocking new AMA leader? Well, he finally explains the deal which let Daytona Motorsports Group take over their professional racing series. The short answer which everyone has been waiting for is as follows:

"...US$10,000,000...plus membership fees for AMA Pro Racing credential holders of about US$180,000 a year." Oddly, though, DMG is keeping lifetime membership fees for itself.

Check this out. It is only Part 1, so I will post Part II here when it is available.

http://tinyurl.com/yht9kd8

Part 2: http://tinyurl.com/yct2x7e

Part 3: http://tinyurl.com/yackysp

More Morning Moto News - Hopper, Mark Neale & Ben Spies

More news comes to us about John Hopkins and his dual role in 2010 with both the FB Corse MotoGP outfit and the M4 Suzuki AMA Pro Racing team. It seems that both options are a possibility - he may ride in two series this year. The FB Corse team, though, will only participate in select MotoGP rounds, but M4 will contest the entire American Superbike season. For more, take the link...

http://tinyurl.com/yf22uvd

More Hopper news: http://tinyurl.com/yd2gd89

Mark Neale is at it again! Remember the documentaries Faster and The Doctor, The Tornado and the Kentucky Kid? Well, he has now made on about last year's Isle of Man TTXGP race with the electric motorcycles - it is called, appropriately, Charge. Take the link and learn more...

http://tinyurl.com/yzqcrtd

It seems that Ben Spies will be one of the heaviest riders on the MotoGP circuit in 2010. He has given serious thought to losing some weight, but he also had some great success at Valencia while being at his current weight. Given how fit he is, I have to think that his weight is only a minor concern for his team, so nothing important to think about there...he is very talented and his size will not change that.

http://tinyurl.com/yz4pqh3

Casey Stoner is Happy and Ben Bostrom is Testing

A couple of articles here are about former MotoGP champion Casey Stoner. In the first one, he is quite happy with the switch from Donington Park to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. Stoner simply believes that the track is better, the speeds higher, and the racing will be better at Silverstone. We all hope he is right. Next, we hear that Stoner is also in favor of the new engine limitations in MotoGP for 2010 (number of engines used during the season). Funny, because his factory team had to work very hard to get their engines up to spec for this purpose...I wonder if he will like the rule come round 12 or so...

http://tinyurl.com/yl94bpn

http://tinyurl.com/yh7rolt

Ben Bostrom will be testing his new Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1 at Las Vegas today and tomorrow. It is now set that Bostrom will ride for the team in the DMG/AMA Pro Racing American Superbike Championship in 2010. He is happy to be back in racing, and who wouldn't be? He will be teamed with the 18-year-old son of Pat Clark, Chris Clark, for the season.

http://tinyurl.com/yddglc2

Rumor: Ben Bostrom Signs with Pat Clark Motorsports

The rumor is that Bostrom has signed for the Yamaha-supported team of Pat Clark Motorsports to contend in the DMG/AMA Pro Racing American Superbike. The rumor continues with the possibility of both Jake Zemke and John Hopkins joining the same team for 2010. That would mean that Hopper will not be riding in World Superbike as he thought he might next year. Of course, this is only rumor for now, so who knows...

http://tinyurl.com/yhbkcwl

Josh Hayes' Yamaha YZF-R1 from 2009 AMA Pro Racing Season

At least I believe it to be from 2009, the author does not specify exactly. But, it is a very good up close look at the YZF-R1 motorcycle which Josh Hayes rode in the DMG/AMA Pro Racing American Superbike Championship. You know, the one which took Hayes to seven class wins during 2009. Have a look and I bet you will be as impressed as I was...and, the author gets to take it on the track!

http://tinyurl.com/yjfoq67

Erik Buell Not Only Lives, He Thrives

Buell is now announcing that Erik Buell Racing will be providing race-spec 1125R for DMG / AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike and 1125RR for racing in American Superbike. Such good news to know he is doing what he loves again. I hope it all works well for him...it will not be easy, but he is used to that. There will also be a Euro-spec 1190RR - not sure for what series, exactly, but it may fit in many.

http://tinyurl.com/yzupe28

Purses Lowered Significantly for DMG/AMA Pro Racing Series

The economy is hitting AMA Pro Racing hard - and you can see that from this article. They have drastically reduced the amount of the purse in American Superbike - from US$73,500 to $6500. And, in the Daytona SportBike class, they have cut it more than half - from US$73,500 to $30,500. At least it demonstrates which series the organizers hope will become the premier class, even though the rules it uses are rather different than any other racing series in the world. This will reduce the privateer effort even more...

http://tinyurl.com/y8pmwkg

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

First Ride: Mat Mladin's 2009 AMA Superbike Championship Suzuki GSX-R1000

Two Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbikes - twisted and tuned into the way Mat Mladin rides a racebike. However, they did put softer fork springs in (read the story), but it was otherwise the exact setup Mladin used at the final round in New Jersey. It was apparently a real handful on the track - and only five laps were allowed on each machine. It's a neat story...

http://tinyurl.com/yzqerac

2010 AMA/DMG Pro Racing Schedule Released - Big Changes

There will only be nine rounds in next year's AMA Pro Racing series. The biggest change, though, will be no AMA racing at Laguna Seca's Red Bull USGP. In fact, the AMA series will not visit to Laguna next year. Every race except the Daytona opener will be a double-header, but that still makes for a relatively short year for the riders. This is subject to change, of course, as they may add one more date. But, I have no idea how Laguna will be able to have their normal USGP weekend with only one race, though...

http://tinyurl.com/ygnuand