Stoner Wins Another One - 2011 MotoGP Champion

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.

FB Corse Will Join MotoGP & Julian Simon Test Ducati Desmosedici GP10

FB Corse has been given approval to join the MotoGP Championship starting at the Jerez round - round 3 - with their incredibly talented rider Gary McCoy. Dorna representatives looked at the lap times (unreleased as of yet) and the make-up of the team and decided to let them join in the challenge. Given that Franco Uncini said that he would look at the overall picture, and not just lap times, we cannot say that the FB Corse machine is the equal of the other manufacturers but we should know that it is competitive - otherwise, it would not be in the series at all.

http://tinyurl.com/yfk8fyf

Ducati test rider Franco Battaini is injured, so the Ducati team asked if Julian Simon could take some test laps on the GP10 at Jerez for the marque. Well, it turns out that Simon seems made for the Ducati machine - or, maybe it seems made for him. He ran some 115 laps and actually came within 1.6 seconds of Valentino Rossi's lap record at the track!

http://tinyurl.com/yepxkxf

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

MORE Afternoon Moto News - Jessica Patterson & MotoCzysz in the Movies

Jessica Patterson has now signed with DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing/Yamaha for the 2010 WMA season. Patterson is currently ranked number 2 in the world of women's motocross, so the team has accomplished a real coup to get her on-board their machines. She will be riding on a Yamaha and will most certainly be a factor in every AMA Motocross event this year.

http://tinyurl.com/yask7te

In the upcoming release (maybe remake?) "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps", you will see both a Ducati Desmosedici and the MotoCzysz C1 competing against each other. I am not sure, but even Michael Czysz might make an appearance in the film as he rides the C1 in the film for the movie. For a little more detail and a linked video preview of the film, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/ydukvht

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 Morning Moto News - Chris Vermeulen, Ducati MotoGP & Air Asia Sponsorship

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

More Afternoon Moto News - Latus Racing & Ducati Desmosedici II

George Latus, a Portland (Oregon) Harley-Davidson dealer, could not race a Buell in the AMA Daytona SportBike Championship, so he went to local dealer MotoCorsa and picked up a Ducati 848. He has also signed Steve Rapp to ride the machine in the series, and that will give him an advantage. Of course, as H-D always has done (see V-Rod, Aermacchi, MV Agusta, etc.), they went to Europe for help and it just may pay off this time.

http://tinyurl.com/yehe8ob

Ducati is actually considering whether to release an updated model of the Desmosedici RR street MotoGP replica. Considering that they initially were only to make 300 of the first version, yet ended up selling 1500 of them, they will likely take the jump and produce the new model. One major difference between the old and the new version, though, will be a full carbon fiber frame! I am looking forward to the new version...

http://tinyurl.com/yhhvjjh

MORE Morning Moto News - MotoGP Sepang Testing: Espargaro, Simoncelli & Stoner

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

Even More Monday Morning Moto News - Ducati and Nicky Hayden

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

Thursday Has Even More Moto News for Us - Historic Auction, Desmosedici and AHRMA

Coming up at a Bonhams auction in Stafford, England, on 25 April 2010, a model from the very first production motorcycle batch will be auctioned off. The 1895 (circa) Hildebrand & Wolfmüller is considered by experts to be the first motorcycle built on a production line and it was also the first two-wheeled vehicle to be called 'motorcycle' - actually, it was the German 'motorrad'. The estimate is between £110,000 to £300,000!

http://tinyurl.com/ylhwzgd

Ducati has now decided to explain why they have changed the firing order of the cylinders of the Desmosedici GP10. It is often referred to as a 'big bang' engine and Ducati has done it to make their MotoGP bike easier to ride and, thus, race. They have also had to update almost all parts of the engine internals to improve the engine life to meet the new 6 engine limit for the season.

http://tinyurl.com/ylnbuxx

The AHRMA has selected Bubba Blackwell to be Grand Marshall for the 2010 Road Racing Events at Daytona International Speedway. Blackwell has a long list of race victories, was "AMA/CCS Heavyweight Superbike National Champion" and then went into doing stunts around the US on a H-D XR-750. You can be a part of the events 1 - 2 March 2010 at the Speedway.

http://tinyurl.com/ychnbmw

Tuesday Afternoon Moto News - Mid-America Auction, A Yamaha Wheel and Wrooom!

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

More in Moto News for Tuesday - Birthdays, Hayden and Rossi

From the mag Road Racer X we get our weekly dose of significant birthdays - and some death-days - in the world of motorcycle racing. This week it belongs to Steve Hislop, David Pingree (of RRX magazine), Ben Thompson, Simon Crafar, Craig Jones, Alberto Puig, and Mike di Meglio. Not a busy week for birthdays, but some very good racers and personalities in this list.


http://tinyurl.com/yd5amlu

It also appears that Nicky Hayden was rather embarrassed at revealing the Ducati Desmosedici GP10 via his mobile phone camera a week or so ago. He posted the photos to his website and it was picked up by the moto press immediately. I think he will be OK...

http://tinyurl.com/yju5prr

Valentino Rossi's visit to India has ignited a storm of publicity from the nation's populace. They are simply mad about the MotoGP Champion and they are filling the Internet with posts about the visit and about the people who were lucky enough to actually meet the race hero.

http://tinyurl.com/yjdzppy

Friday Morning Moto News - Racing News - Part 2

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

Monday Morning Moto News - Back to Work Edition, Part 3

Even more...

Hiroshi Aoyama has been testing with his electronics package switched off on his MotoGP machine. Someone thought to ask why, and we now have an explanation from his technical director, Tom Jojic. In short, they are doing it to allow Aoyama to explore the potential of the motorcycle first - afterwards, they may go right back to the electronics to aid him in gaining the extra he needs to win. Makes some sense...

http://tinyurl.com/yekxw8f

And, finally (for this morning, anyway) we have an exclusive interview with Nicky Hayden from MotorcycleUSA. Mostly, this deals with last season, but there is some good news for 2010 as well. Nicky improved on the Desmosedici almost every race in 2009, so 2010 should be a good year for him now that he will also have more practice with the machine and team.

http://tinyurl.com/ycnhpwc

Wednesday Morning Moto News from Around the Industry

A steampunk MV Agusta comes to us from MCN (UK), but it is not yet complete. So, I can only send you to the MCN article with just one photo. However, they link directly to the blog where the builder is posting his build photos as he completes his work. A rather interesting idea which would be cool to see finished.

http://tinyurl.com/yatgbng

Remembering the Aprilia Falco from 2000 to 2003; the bike was actually a great bargain for a well-made Italian road-burner. It made an excellent sport-tourer and is still available on the second-hand market for a good price.

http://tinyurl.com/ycwb4ug

A trip through Texas Hill Country on an Aprilia Caponord is well worth your time. The countryside is lovely, the weather tolerable, and the roads are fantastic. Of course, the bike is a real winner as well!

http://tinyurl.com/y9n83ty

Nicky Hayden accidentally unveiled an image of the Ducati Desmosedici GP10 machine on his website. It's not as big of a deal as some are making out of it, but it is cool to have technology which provides us with rare inside looks like this.

http://tinyurl.com/ybtfcjj

The top two riders in the 2009 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup have now signed with their respective 125 World Championship teams for 2010 - where they will renew their rivalry. Jakub Kornfeil and Sturla Fagerhaug have joined the Racing Team Germany and the I.S.P.A. Ongetta, Worldwide Race Team, respectively. Again, 2010 is shaping up to be one incredible race season!

http://tinyurl.com/ydcuhmb

Bradley Smith is looking to win the 125c.c. World Championship in 2010 - and we hope he does have a good year - and he is hoping to help two up and coming racers in the Relentless British 125GP Championship. Riders Wayne Ryan and Fraser Rogers will be helped through the Racing Steps Foundation - the first time it has ever done this. They can thank John Surtees as well! The real mission is to get another Brit into the championship lists - not since Barry Sheene in the 1970's has someone from the U.K. been there.

http://tinyurl.com/ycaf75o

Ducati Motologic have signed Australian Jamie Stauffer to ride for them in the 2010 Australian Superbike Championship. He will be riding a 1198 in the same series where his brother, Dan, is riding an Aprilia.

http://tinyurl.com/yfru82n

And, finally, the end of this morning's news comes in the form of Pit Pass Radio's show tonight. They will feature Chris Blose - Supercross Racer, Donnie Emler Jr. - FMF Marketing, Jesse Harris - National Film Festival for Talented Youth, Jason Disalvo, and Tyler O'Hara - Pro Flat Track,Road Race,and Supermoto Racer-Team Livin' The Life Racing. It's an incredible line-up, so do not miss it!

http://tinyurl.com/yg9e8z8

Several Nicky Hayden Stories - MotoGP & Ducati News

First of all, we hear that Hayden is happy about the MotoGP switch to a 1000c.c. displacement. That is expected as the larger machines are better for his style of riding. With the change, we will probably see him climb further up the results charts in 2012 - but, he has already improved significantly on the Ducati over the 2009 season. Whichever way it goes, he is a talented rider who is only getting better.

http://tinyurl.com/ykcq5yh

Next, Hayden was in India to open the second Ducati showroom in the nation. This one is based on a working agreement between Ducati and distributors Precision Motor India Private Limited and Radiant Motorcycles. And, this one is located in Gurgaon.

http://tinyurl.com/yzmhmr7

Before he flew off to India, he stopped by Ducati Corse to have a look at the Desmosedici GP10 for his 2010 MotoGP season.

http://tinyurl.com/ylbmctz

Video: 203HP Ducati Desmosedici RR on the Track

This is a very high-powered machine - 203 horsepower at the rear wheel! It has some modifications from the stock Desmosedici produced by Ducati, but nothing out of the ordinary for someone with the money to purchase one of these in the first place. Of course, this one may be street-legal, but the exhaust noise would probably get you in trouble anywhere but Iraq.

http://tinyurl.com/yepkgf7

Hector Barbera and Ducati Testing Goes Well for Rookie MotoGP Rider

Barbera was very happy with his rookie test aboard the Ducati Desmosedici; he had at least one day of good weather in which to test. He was not there to hit good lap times, but to work on the traction control and engine management. However, he still turned in respectable lap times when compared to all riders on the Ducati machine, except for Casey Stoner - who has a very fast lap time. So, overall, the testing was very good for the rookie MotoGP rider...

http://tinyurl.com/ybfvtqb

Rain Hampers Ducati Testing for Hector Barbera

The testing for Barbera at the Jerez circuit in Spain started out very wet. This limited time on the track just a bit, but Barbera was also spied testing on the 2010 Desmosedici, rather than the GP9 version. He was joined by Guareschi and Franco Battaini at the private test. Marc Marquez was also there testing his new Ajo Derbi motorcycle.

http://tinyurl.com/yjasrsb

Hector Barbera and Ducati Testing Today at Jerez

Barbera, who won the final 250c.c. race ever, and Ducati test riders Vittoriano Guareschi and Franco Battaini are all at the Spanish Jerez track today doing some off-season testing. It is Barbera's second time aboard the Ducati as he also tested at the Valencia final (after the race) test with the Aspar Ducati MotoGP team. This is part of the unofficial rookie testing allowed by MotoGP.

http://tinyurl.com/y9wv2ju