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OK, so I do like to say, "...told you so." And, I do it often. I guess that means that one more time won't be adding too much fuel to any fire of hatred anyone has for me...
Casey Stoner is the FIM MotoGP World Champion once again! On board the mighty Honda RC212V, he fought the best on the surface of this planet and beat all comers to the title. Vale, though, is not doing so well this season. It turns out that the Ducati is a bit more of a handful than many thought. I wonder how things would be different if Hayden were to jump into another factory's machinery; Yamaha, or Suzuki anyone?
http://tinyurl.com/3b3d476
P.S. Congratulations Honda, too. After all, the engineers there built the bike.
There are more stories from the recent night-time Qatar preseason test this past Thursday and Friday, and they will be posted here for your perusal. We all know that Casey Stoner finally took the top spot on the final day of practice, but he was only a few hundredths of a second ahead of Valentino Rossi, and Rossi is well-known to sand-bag. So, let's have a look...
More on Casey Stoner: http://tinyurl.com/yhm6wtx
If you head to this landing page today, you will get all the MotoGP team reports on the Friday practice: http://tinyurl.com/yznyogq
Randy de Puniet: http://tinyurl.com/yfogl7n
Valention Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo (flew from Spain; not at testing due to his injury) again stopped in Indonesia on their way out from the testing at Sepang in Malaysia. It was yet another PR move, but it sure delighted fans in the huge Asian nation. The main purpose was to pay a visit to one of the Fiat Yamaha team's sponsors. Take the link to learn more.
http://tinyurl.com/yjwhr9k
Loris Capirossi is rather pragmatic about his work on the Suzuki GSV-R. He feels that the team and his machine are actually in a good situation after the second test of the preseason. He did finish the test in sixth position, so he is in better shape than he was at the beginning of 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/ygq5k3m
Looks like Ben Spies and Casey Stoner have taken to each other quite well. The two share some activities off the track and Stoner has been giving advice to Spies about riding in the MotoGP Championship. It is nice to hear that these guys that have so much money at stake can still be good friends. 2010 will be a good year for MotoGP.
http://tinyurl.com/ykgnh79
The MotoGP testing is continuing on the Malaysian Sepang International Circuit - and Valentino Rossi is still leading everyone in lap times at the practice. Behind him this time were Casey Stoner, Nicky Hayden, Colin Edwards and Ben Spies. This speaks volumes on what we may see when the first race is complete...Hayden and Edwards are both improving greatly. We may actually see larger groups at the front this year. Either way, 2010 will be a wonderful year for motorcycle racing!
http://tinyurl.com/y8g47ct
Marco Simoncelli is not having such a good test, though, as he had a huge get-off during the practice sessions. He high-sided his Gresini Honda about three laps into his session; everyone was horrified at the accident as Simoncelli landed directly on his head. He was taken in for a CAT scan and all came back clear, but it still caught the attention of every ride and tech in the paddock.
http://tinyurl.com/yc49g7s
Take the link below to the MotoGP section of the Paddock Talk website where you will find several press releases from the MotoGP teams. There are several test 'recap' stories for you to peruse. So, take the link and click on your favorite team's report to see how they think the testing is going for them...
http://tinyurl.com/yznyogq
Chris Vermeulen is having trouble getting his Kawasaki World Superbike machine to agree with him. At the most recent WSBK tests he has been a bit off the pace, but no one is worried. Kawasaki does not expect as much as Vermeulen expects of himself, but that sure won't stop Vermeulen from pushing hard to finish high in the order. Again, the 2010 WSBK series will be very entertaining!
http://tinyurl.com/ybrkp8t
The Desmosedici GP10 has a host of changes from the 2009 model; Ducati is looking to get their edge back and take the 2010 title - as you would expect. Casey Stoner did well on the machine at the Sepang test, finishing second to Rossi. But, Nicky Hayden struggled a bit and only finished as high as eighth. But, the bike is better than last year's, or so the riders say, and that means something as it is they who must race it.
http://tinyurl.com/y8t3qyl
And, in even better news, Air Asia has signed on with Dorna to be the title sponsor at the British Grand Prix. That event will be held at the Silverstone Circuit 18 - 20 June 2010. Since they already sponsor some riders in the paddock, this is a natural fit. Let's hope it continues...
http://tinyurl.com/ykqr9as
Continuing from the last post, we have more on that MotoGP test in Malaysia.
Next up is the story of Aleix Espargaro, who will be in his first full year in the MotoGP series in 2010. His practice went very well; of course, it helped that he had those three appearances last year on a similar machine. He will be another great rider in the top world series, so keep an eye on him.
http://tinyurl.com/y8jrkhd
Marco Simoncelli crashed hard at Sepang, and this hampered his testing at the circuit. He had bike setup problems and had some tough work to get his machine working as he wanted it. They did finally make some positive movements towards the end of the test, though, so it could be much better the next time he takes it to the track.
http://tinyurl.com/yaxm52y
Casey Stoner is not worried about the performance of the Yamaha YZR-M1 at the Sepang test. As he says, it is only the first official test and his team is working on many aspects of the Ducati Desmosedici. Plus, no one ever notices an advantage of one machine over another until some racing has been done. So, we will wait to see whether the M1 is even better than 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/ya6y4b8
The Malaysian MotoGP test has now concluded - at least according to reports - and Valentino Rossi once again took the fastest lap time at the track. Stoner was right behind him, with the usual Lorenzo and Pedrosa - but, Ben Spies held fifth place! We are in for a phenomenal race year in that series in 2010!
http://tinyurl.com/yddydwx
More on the Day 2 testing: http://tinyurl.com/yagfyhd
More on the Day 3 testing: http://tinyurl.com/yc5qsr6
Leon Camier is convinced that he will be able to learn a great deal from riding with Max Biaggi on the Aprilia factory team in WSBK. It makes sense as Biaggi does have a long career in motorcycle racing at all levels and he knows the RSV-4 race machine even better. There really is little doubt that Camier will be a high-level competitor and will only make the WSBK paddock more fun to watch.
http://tinyurl.com/yb7b8el
And, in other Aprilia news, word is that Giampiero Sacchi will be leaving the company comes out. Word is that he is fed up with the direction that Aprilia is taking following the decision to drop their Moto2 project. Of course, this is all hear-say right now...
http://tinyurl.com/yejh6yf
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
Ducati has officially discounted any talks with Rossi about a future with their factory MotoGP team. It seems that they are quite happy with Casey Stoner and his ability to win races and championships. For 2010, it seems that Stoner may be over his mystery illness and is ready to take on the challenge. Given the work done on the Desmosedici, he will certainly have to work just as hard this year as he has all through his career. Will he make it to the top? Only the season will tell us. And, Rossi has already stated that he would like to retire with Yamaha.
http://tinyurl.com/yjrvqdp
Even Nicky Hayden understands this and he will be doing what he can to assist Stoner in his bid for a second championship. He also rejects the current belief that the Desmosedici favors Stoner's riding style, saying that the bike was not built for Stoner, he just knows how to get to the limits of it.
http://tinyurl.com/ykevyfs
At the Wrooom event at the Madonna Di Campiglio ski resort in Italy, there were several fun competitions between the various MotoGP and Formula 1 athletes at the event. First up was a skiing race which was started by (evil dictator) Bernie Ecclestone. In this event, Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner, Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso and test driver Giancarlo Fisichella, who won the downhill race, all competed - only one photo on the link.
http://tinyurl.com/yd66nfe
Next, it was on to ice racing in Fiat Panda cars and karts; in the auto race, Felipe Massa took the victory. In the kart race, it was Nicky Hayden who stood atop the podium. It was certainly a fun and entertaining event, but only the Formula 1 and MotoGP teams attended the event, though there were plenty of special guests. It is also nice to know that Massa is fully recovered from that horrible F1 accident last year.
http://tinyurl.com/ydzgxff
http://tinyurl.com/ydsba2d
http://tinyurl.com/ybr9alv
This is the first report I have come across from the Las Vegas Mid-America vintage motorcycle auction. Apparently, the number of bikes in the auction was less than previous events by about 100 consignments. However, there were plenty of great historic motorcycles to get your hands on if you had the money. About 20% were Triumphs, so the linked article focuses on this more than the others. Enjoy!
http://tinyurl.com/yjcmlut
Finally, more news: http://tinyurl.com/yh6nnvh
And, about Day 3: http://tinyurl.com/yb4pzcn
Another design which did not make it into the previous post. This is something really out of this world! It is a one-wheel 'motorcycle' from the mind of Japanese designer Yuji Fujimura. He calls it the Yamaha Wheel Rider. Really, you owe yourself a look...
http://tinyurl.com/yc5pd68
And, finally for this post, we get the press release from Ducati about the Wrooom 2010. There are plenty of bits about the new GP10 bike, Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner. Since it is a PR, just have a read and learn what Ducati wants us to know about the huge (and very expensive) event held in the Italian ski resort of Madonna di Campiglio.
http://tinyurl.com/yd2lsqb
We have now heard that Davide Tardozzi - former Ducati WSBK team manager and now BMW WSBK team manager - believes that Casey Stoner is the best rider in MotoGP. I would have to say that he is a bit biased coming, as he did, from many years working for the Bologna-based company. Of course, history will show the truth as Rossi has 7 premier class championships compared to only one for Stoner.
http://tinyurl.com/yc76r89
Wildcard rider Muhammad Zulfahmi Khairuddin in 2009 is now a full-time 125GP racer for 2010. It is unbelievable, but the sponsors got behind him and now he has a ride on the Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. team and his biggest sponsor is Air Asia. Since he only started racing in 2008, this is an amazing turn of events for the young rider. What's next, a championship? It would be the first for a Malaysian!
http://tinyurl.com/yem9ab3
http://tinyurl.com/yc95nmu
http://tinyurl.com/yka8p4z - Some more background on the series which got him this far
Another MotoGP story is that Nicky Hayden is looking for even more improvements in 2010 on the Ducati. If that proves to work well for him, we should see him on many more podiums this year. He has shown that he can ride that bike and ride it well, but we do need to see some consistency (and tell the other riders to stop crashing into him!). We will all be watching closely, I bet.
http://tinyurl.com/ybwmj89
A neat little story about Nicky Hayden's background and dirt track past. He only has to win on a mile track to be added to the Grand Slam list...
http://tinyurl.com/yjdm7sc
First we hear from Colin Edwards and how he believes that Ben Spies will be a real challenge in the 2010 MotoGP Championship. He really thinks that Spies will be a solid force in his new role at Tech 3 - and who can argue with him after Spies took the WSBK Championship in his first year there. Of course, the MotoGP motorcycle is very different from the Superbike.
http://tinyurl.com/yh4prbd
Next, it the new is from Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 chief - about 2010 and how much they want a victory in 2010. He, too, believes that Spies will be a threat to win once he gets the YZR-M1 sorted...
http://tinyurl.com/ylkautj
And, Poncharal wants Edwrads to stay with the team even long after he stops racing - that's an indication of just how much the team respects Edwards.
http://tinyurl.com/yckenyr
Even Casey Stoner believes that Spies will be a real force when he joins the Tech 3 team in MotoGP in 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/ya3ql8t
I would say 'tell us something we don't know,' but Jarvis is right in his opinion here. It will be very tough for Yamaha to win the rider's, constructor's, and team MotoGP championships in 2010. There are many newcomers, some rearranging of teams, and the usual four are all closely matched on the track. I have said it before and I will say it again - 2010 will be a great year for motorcycle racing!
http://tinyurl.com/yjtw4fu
The book is finally available - the 2009 MotoGP Series Review - and it nicely wraps up the crazy season which 2009 was for the MotoGP teams and fans. Of course, as you would expect, the focus falls on the top four or Rossi, Stoner, Lorenzo and Pedrosa. However, the smaller events of the season are also well-covered and you will not regret buying and reading this book. If you are a fan, this is a highly useful and entertaining read.
http://tinyurl.com/y9nnenv
The 2010 MotoGP season was the 60th anniversary of the racing series - it all started in 1949. So, what happened during the season. Well, we all know that Rossi took the championship. Casey Stoner was ill throughout most of it, missed three races completely, and still managed fourth place overall. Colin Edwards was the best of the rest and placed in 5th overall. Jorge Lorenzo came on very strong and Dani Pedrosa came out of nowhere to win two events! It was an interesting if economically depressed year of racing...
http://tinyurl.com/yk5znzv
Ben Spies isn't waiting for an invitation to go fast - he is already fourth fastest in the 2010 paddock. Of course, it is only a test and not everyone is there, but it still shows how good he actually is on a motorcycle. In other interesting news, Lorenzo ended the testing in first place - two positions ahead of third-place Rossi. Stoner was right in between them on the list. For the rest of the data, take the link...
http://tinyurl.com/yfm3jh7
Tuesday testing reports from each team attending: http://tinyurl.com/yz8elyp
Champion Australian bicycle rider Stuart O'Grady passed out while being shown around the paddock by Casey Stoner. It turns out that this is the third time it has happened since he was mugged and beaten in France in 1999. He bit his tongue and smashed his head when he fell at the Spanish track, and he is still in hospital in Spain while they evaluate his condition. Wow, talk about after-effects of injury! I hope he gets better very soon.
http://tinyurl.com/ya5vvjj
http://tinyurl.com/yep859m
Casey Stoner lapped the fastest on the new Ducati for 2010; he said that the engine is smoother and the bike is much more controllable. Lorenzo was out testing the new chassis on the YZR-M1 and was quite impressed. Rossi has let us know that the new Yamaha engine will not be ready for testing until the Sepang test next year. For the rest of the news, please take the link and have a read:
http://tinyurl.com/yb8sm68
