Thursday Morning Moto News - Vesrah Suzuki, Leon Haslam & Jorge Lorenzo

Vesrah Suzuki had a decent Daytona experience - well, at least rider Cory West as Jeff Wood was the victim of an unfortunate competitors engine oil which forced him to retire. West, though, took sixth place in the Daytona 200 after only having about a week to get ready for the event. They now have three times as much time to get ready for the next round...do you see a championship in their future?

http://tinyurl.com/yekwvb6

Leon Haslam, of the World Superbike series, says that the next event will be much tougher on all riders. Given that this was the first real race of the season in WSBK, there were teething problems for all teams as they adjusted to their new organizations and bikes. That means that by the next event, many teams will have things dialed in better. Look for it all to heat up even more as 2010 continues...

http://tinyurl.com/yev6j66

New rumors say that Jorge Lorenzo will be in good enough shape to participate in the final MotoGP pre-season test in Qatar next weekend (18 - 19 March 2010). Lorenzo and his team will use the time on the track to see how well his injuries have healed, thus telling them how well he can handle his race machine, the YZR-M1. Only some time on the track will allow them to judge it properly. This is good news as he was expected to miss this test entirely...

http://tinyurl.com/ybfxm2x

Thursday Afternoon Moto News - Steve Rapp Interview & Day in the Dirt

Yep, we get ourselves an interview with one of the fastest riders in the Daytona 200 practice, Steve Rapp. Just a few weeks ago he was at home with no ride. The Latus Ducati team signed him up and put him on their 848 machine and he took the reins and ran with it. So, what has he been up to? How does he see the 2010 AMA Pro Racing season? Well, take the link and read about it!

http://tinyurl.com/yaylhgh

For the 13th time, the Day in the Dirt race - they say 'the Burning Man of off-road racing' - was held back around Thanksgiving of last year. Too bad this is the first report from this year's even that I have seen. The author takes part with thanks to Troy Lee Designs, sponsor of the event, and gets to ride with some legends of the sport. The best part of the entire race, though, is that FUN is of utmost importance - everyone should have a great time while competing! Take the link and enjoy the story...

http://tinyurl.com/y9admlh

Tuesday Afternoon Moto News - Toni Elias Fastest & Celtic Racing Daytona 200

Toni Elias was the fastest Moto2 rider on the circuit at the recent Moto2 test session at Valencia in Spain. Elias is using, of course, the Honda spec engine and a Moriwaki chassis. On the first day of the three day event, Elias held the fastest lap and was the quickest around the track. He is picked as a favorite for the Moto2 Championship, but he has to get there first. Julian Simon, 125GP Champion, was a very close second to Elias.

http://tinyurl.com/yh3pgvw

Finally, we get a wrap-up of what the 2010 Celtic Racing team will look like. We have heard that American PJ Jacobsen and Bermudan Antoine Richards will both be racing for the team, but from different sources. Now we have confirmation that Jacobsen will be riding in the Daytona SportBike class and Richards will be riding in the East Coast Supersport class. The team will officially debut at Daytona this week. If you are going, you should already be there!

http://tinyurl.com/ylou8oh

MORE Afternoon Moto News - BMW S1000RR Impresses & Vesrah Suzuki

A BMW dealer in Arizona asked a local race shop to take out their demo model 2010 BMW S1000RR to a local track to see how it might fair in an AMA race. Well, the stock, just off the showroom floor S1000RR managed to set the lap record at a local track - beating a Suzuki GSX-R1000 in Superstock trim. The record was set by former AMA racer Chris Peris. Given the results, the dealer - Iron Horse BMW - and the shop - Evan Steele Performance (ESP) - have decided to contend the AMA Pro Racing Superbike race at Fontana...and see where this leads them from there...

http://tinyurl.com/ybx69rn

Vesrah Suzuki - of WERA Endurance racing - will enter the 2010 AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike series with two riders. Cory West and Jeff Wood will ride GSX-R600 bikes prepared by their team. They do have much of the same crew from previous seasons and will have the same sponsors. Looking good for the newcomer to the AMA series!

http://tinyurl.com/ylgeg36

More Night Moto News - Burmuda's Antoine Richards

This racer hails from a place used by huge American and multinational corporations to keep from paying taxes anywhere, the island nation of Bermuda. It is also a well-known, but a bit expensive, Caribbean getaway. His name is Antoine Richards and he will be competing in the AMA Pro Racing Daytona 200 event for the very first time. He says that he isn't intimidated...well, wait until near mile 160 when your tire starts to slide to and fro...At least he will get some good practice in at the coming weekend's CCS races at the same location. Stand with me, though, and wish him Good Luck! May you reach the podium because it would be a very interesting story and, of course, you will have the historic win!

http://tinyurl.com/yjonfde

Monday NIgth Moto News - CCS Florida & Danny Eslick

The 2010 CCS Florida started this season at Homestead-Miami Speedway last weekend. The three big winners were Jeff Wood, Andres Londono and Kevin Mendez. The racing started off with a couple of nasty red flag events, but it did get underway and all else went well. For all the details, you need to take the link; there really is a great deal of information located there.

http://tinyurl.com/yzl7fw7

Danny Eslick will be riding a Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600 in the 2010 AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike Championship, defending his title in the inaugural season. Most of this we already knew, but it is a good round-up, so take the link and enjoy.

http://tinyurl.com/yb4opw4

More Afternoon Moto News - Yamaha Slashes 1000 Jobs & Ducshop Racing

Yamaha Motor Company is having to take further cuts to their workforce due to their continuing financial woes - due to the worldwide recession. These lay-offs actually include the earlier announcement of 800 job cuts in Japan, but they are also taking 200 more away from their foreign operations. Yamaha will also close 12 parts factories in Shizuoka prefecture. Let's hope that their sales pick up this year and they can hire back some of the people they are losing now.

http://tinyurl.com/yevjnbm

Ducshop Racing will be fielding two Ducati 848 motorcycles in the 2010 AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike class. Their two riders will be Jake Holden and Ducati test rider Dario Marchetti. Of course, they are using many products from their own catalog to improve the bikes, but the rules only allow so much. They will be in Daytona for the Daytona 200 race weekend and will be participating in all race activities.

http://tinyurl.com/ykfl2zc

More Morning Moto News - Geoff May, Jorge Lorenzo & Nicky Hayden

Geoff may has made his way onto the entry list at the Daytona 200 for 2010. May has formed Geoff May Racing with which to compete in the AMA Pro Racing series this year. It is a full privateer effort, as you can see, and he will run his own Suzuki GSX-R600 in the Daytona SportBike Championship. His last position was as a rider for the Jordan Motorsports team, which dumped him at the end of last season.

http://tinyurl.com/ylfkh2d

Jorge Loranzo, Fiat Yamaha MotoGP rider, will miss the next big MotoGP test due to an injury he sustained while training on a motocross bike. He fell while riding the off-road machine on a course near Barcelona and fractured his hand in the process. Lorenzo is all patched up now, but he must wear something to protect his hand for the next four to six weeks.

http://tinyurl.com/yg77scz

Nicky Hayden recently had to have surgery on his arm to remove some scar tissue from a previous surgical procedure. He did this right after the Sepang MotoGP test, but his Ducati team is saying that he will be perfectly fit to ride in the next test at the end of this month. That's very good news as Hayden really needs any seat time he can get to dial that Desmosedici in to his liking.

http://tinyurl.com/ygrrcv7

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

Saturday Evening Moto News - James Stewart & Hopper

It turns out that the injury which James Stewart took at the Phoenix AMA Supercross round. The x-rays missed a broken bone in his hand, but an MRI picked it up. So, he must undergo surgery soon and Dr. Arthur Ting, well-known sports surgeon, completed the surgery on Friday. Stewart could be out for six weeks!

http://tinyurl.com/yf6qvao

It is FINALLY official; John Hopkins has signed with Team Hammer to campaign their M4 Monster Suzuki GSX-R1000. He has done it a few times before, and the field is much more limited than usual. It looks like Hopper will pick up another Championship in Daytona SportBike - could happen, right?

http://tinyurl.com/y8tcetk

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

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

Danny Eslick Will Race a Suzuki GSX-R600 in 2010 AMA Pro Racing

Eslick was left out in the cold when Buell was closed by Harley-Davidson - the motorcycle he rode in 2009 would no longer be available in 2010. So, he went back to Suzuki - where he has raced before - and managed to take his main sponsor and team with him. It's a good setup which should prove very competitive in 2010. At least it seems there will be some talented people remaining in the AMA/DMG racing series...

http://tinyurl.com/ydnyhyk

More Reason to Question How DMG is Running AMA Pro Racing

It seems there are still some questions about the officiating in AMA Pro Racing. People hoping for change in the ranks got much less than they hoped for, unfortunately. Someone at DMG needs to take a look at the series and do a very hard think!

http://tinyurl.com/yb5heqm

Chaz Davies to Race With Triumph in World Supersport for Final Rounds of 2009

It's all there in the title; Chaz Davies - after finishing the AMA Daytona SportBike competition in the US in 9th place overall - is moving on to World Supersport for the ParkinGO BE1 Racing team. He will be riding their Daytona 675 in the final three race weekends of the 2009 season.

http://tinyurl.com/kpwp72

The Buell 1125R Wins 2009 AMA Daytona SportBike Championship

Yes, it is true, a 1125c.c. machine which competes with 600c.c. (mostly foreign made) machines actually beat all of them to the championship. This has incited some serious controversy, and with good reason. Buell also supplies the 'pace bikes' for the AMA Pro Racing sanctioning body, a visible reason to ask why they are allowed to race against motorcycles which have about half their displacement. I guess that if they raced bikes closer in displacement, it would be 'unfair' to the Harley-Davidson ownership? As they say, "when idiots rule...cheaters have their way."

http://tinyurl.com/mxtaph

Daytona SportBike Race 1 Results - Herrin Takes Win

New Jersey Motorsports Park seems to have changed up the order a bit in AMA Pro Racing. Pole sitters have, so far, had some rather nasty luck. In Daytona SportBike, it was no different as pole position owner Jason DiSalvo started well - getting the holeshot - but ending up in 30th place by the end of lap 1. So, Yamaha's Joch Herrin takes the advantage and the win.

http://tinyurl.com/n99p4y

AMA Pro Racing Finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park

This is it! The final championships will be decided this weekend in Millville, NJ. September 4 thru 6, 2009 will see the AMA make the trip to NJMP to crown Daytona SportBike and AMA Pro SuperSport champions; and, it will be the penultimate round of Moto-GT. Six full races over the weekend!

http://tinyurl.com/nq396o

Local perspective: http://tinyurl.com/ns76bg