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 - XDL Championships, FB Corse & Colin Edwards

The XDL Championship Series was also running an event at Daytona Bike Week in Florida this week. The event went well even if the weather was not cooperating. They have even expanded the women's series of the Championship and put them right up there with the males in the sport. Another change was to the format - allowing two runs versus one in previous years. So, who won - well, none other than reigning champion Yamaha-mounted Bill Dixon. Dena Sodano took the win on the women's side.

http://tinyurl.com/y9stg73

The FB Corse MotoGP team will begin testing in a few weeks - in mid-March - with Gary McCoy. They will be at the Valencia circuit from 15 - 17 March. It has to show that it is competitive against the current MotoGP machines before it will be allowed to race alongside them. They had better get this test right...or, they will be in for a long fight to get into the Championship.

http://tinyurl.com/ydyt2c3

http://tinyurl.com/yf7h3tr

Colin Edwards is very happy with the current state of the Yamaha YZR-M1 machine. He believes that Yamaha is doing a good job of developing the machine to be competitive in the MotoGP series. They seem to have done him right for a change...the season will tell us more.

http://tinyurl.com/ye6vas3

More Morning Moto News - FB Corse MotoGP, CCS Series at Daytona & Jordan Szoke

The FB Corse MotoGP team has been told by the MotoGP Safety Commission that their FB01 must be competitive to be allowed to race in the MotoGP series this year. They will be taking the machine out for some testing and Safety Commmission delegate Franco Uncini will be along with them to determine if they meet the standard. They are worried that the new team may pose a safety hazard by not being fast enough around a track...so, we will wait to hear if they are given the seal of approval before we see them line up on the MotoGP grid.

http://tinyurl.com/yjxqlfr

We did get some early returns from the Championship Cup Series (CCS) motorcycle races held at Daytona over the weekend, but we were not able to see all of them in one post. Well, now I have a link here which will tell you every result in all 28 classes which were held at Daytona International Speedway. There are also some press releases form the series and some teams. If you want to know how it all went down, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/ygvjjqt

In the Canadian Superbike Championship it is shaping up to be a privateer's dream as only one factory has even committed to racing in the series for 2010. However, it was recently announced that Honda will likely support Jordan Szoke in the series next year. They say this is only 99% sure at this point, so that 1% could expand in the coming days...but, for Szoke's sake, I hope they do support him fully in 2010!

http://tinyurl.com/ylfxn4d

More Morning Moto News - AMA Pro Racing, FB Corse & Ducati Motologic

AMA Pro Racing (part and parcel of the Daytona Motorsports Group) has now hired a Race Director - David McGrath. He has over 25 years of experience with motorcycle road racing; he was a racer, team manager and then went on to work with many motorcycle-related companies. McGrath is well-positioned for the new job and we hope that he brings some consistency and stability to the sport...and, maybe, cleans up some of the current mess.

http://tinyurl.com/yd8u74q

Future MotoGP competitor FB Corse has released the three-cylinder MotoGP machine which they hope to use in the series. It is called the FB01 and was designed and built by Italian company Oral Engineering. They do not yet know if they will be able to contest any of the 2010 events, but we should find out as testing continues.

http://tinyurl.com/ykgyx7c

The Australian Superbike Championship bound Ducati Motologic team unveiled their new livery and their new rider, Jordan Burgess, at Phillip Island this past Monday. Jamie Stauffer will also be racing with the team and he was also present for the testing. This is the first time that both riders have tested together. Where will they end up at season's end? No one can even remotely guess at this point...take the link and see for yourself.

http://tinyurl.com/ykotnqu

More Morning Moto News - FB Corse, VFR800RR Bioblade & MCN Motorcycle Show

FB Corse has officially announced that John Hopkins will no longer be their rider for the select rounds of the MotoGP series in 2010. Instead, they have selected another high-profile rider whose name we have yet to know. They insist that all is still on track for their first race, so they should be getting to testing very soon.

http://tinyurl.com/ybscz92

Could the replacement be Garry McCoy: http://tinyurl.com/ydy53fb

So, the VFR1200F was not as spectacular as we all expected it would be - Honda missed the mark a bit with that one. But, some Belgians have brought to us something Honda should have considered a rather long time ago. A 1999 VFR800 has been modified with Fireblade (CBR1000RR) suspension and a special engine adaptation which allows the bike to run on bio-fuel. Bio-fuel! And, it still turns out a respectable 134 HP and only weighs 212 kg (full of fuel). Honestly, if it is ever built and sold, I will buy one! Take a look at the VFR800RR Bioblade.

http://tinyurl.com/yazx7gt

At the upcoming MCN London Motorcycle Show, iconic race bikes from seasons past will be on display. These include Valentino Rossi's 2009 YZR-M1, Barry Sheene's Yamaha OW53, Kevin Schwantz's 1993 RGV500 and more. For all of the information, take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/y87f6cx

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

Monday Morning Moto News - Phillip Island, John Hopkins and Gresini

Down Under in Australia, Motorcycling Australia is looking for corner workers for the 2010 World Superbike Championship round at Phillip Island. It is the opener for the season and will take place from 26 through 28 February 2010. You will need your own transport to the track, but everything else is provided - though, you must camp at the event or pay for your own lodging. See the link for more.

http://tinyurl.com/ycnvdr3

FB Corse, who expect to compete in select MotoGP events in 2010 on their way to a full season, says that John Hopkins is still their rider no matter what the news reports have suggested. Apparently, FB Corse has said that they allowed the M4 Suzuki test in order to keep Hopper sharp. They have stated that he will be riding their three-cylinder MotoGP machine in 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/yeenonb

Gresini has announced their rider line-up for the 2010 Moto2 World Championship. They will field Toni Elias and a Russian rookie named Vladimir Ivanov. Elias was not expecting to end up here, but he will give it his best and hope to get back to MotoGP. Elias should be a good mentor for the newbie rider Ivanov due to his huge amount of experience. It should be a good team.

http://tinyurl.com/y8ugwpu

A Busy Wednesday Morning - Moto Race News from All Over, Part 4

Valentino Rossi has accepted another offer to drive in a Ferrari Formula 1 machine. He will be testing the Ferrari F2008 at Barcelona during 20 - 21 January 2010. It was promised to him if he picked up the 2009 MotoGP championship, so they are now delivering. Must be nice to get such promises...

http://tinyurl.com/yjjyopt

Further Rossi news involves an Italian sports poll. The poll found that Rossi tops a list of athletes, also containing Michael Schumacher and Sébastien Loeb, as the leading athlete of the decade (of course, we all know that the decade is yet to be over). That is huge as he is placed well above the two mentioned here and another very long list of incredible sports personalities...Go Rossi!

http://tinyurl.com/ydtpzjd

On 17 March 2010, the newly minted FB Corse racing team will be attending the Qatar MotoGP test. They will not make the Sepang test, but they will certainly be ready for Qatar in March. (Some of this was in a previous post about the rider selection.) It appears that FB Corse is sure to compete in the 2010 MotoGP Championship - I hope you will join me in telling them 'Good Luck!'

http://tinyurl.com/yeeyq3r

Marco Simoncelli will not be making nice with Alvaro Bautista or Hector Barbera in the MotoGP paddock this season. Given all of the feuds between them in the 250 World Championship series, he has stated that they are still behaving the same way towards him, so he will return the attitude their way by ignoring them. Sounds a bit childish, but racers have to be competitive and maybe this will help drive Simoncelli harder in MotoGP...

http://tinyurl.com/ychwv8y

It's Sunday Morning, Do You Know Where the News Is? Right Here!

We will start with some racing news coming out of FB Corse - the new MotoGP entrant who may or may not have signed John Hopkins to ride for them - who have made it official that they will be participating at the 17 March Qatar test this year. They will also have a test during the February Sepang test, but they will stay closer to their engineering base while testing - so, Europe. We should have an official unveiling of the team on 21 January 2010. For more, take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/ybabo2b

Next we have news of Anaheim 1 - the return of AMA Supercross for 2010. James Stewart has taken the first win in the Supercross class. Unfortunately, Chad Reed had to leave the race after a big crash damaged his front wheel too much to continue. In the Supercross Lites class (West), Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer took victory. For more, take the link...

http://tinyurl.com/y8tculy

And, in other AMA Supercross news, Monster Energy has renewed as the title sponsor for the event. It is a multi-year agreement which will see Monster's logo everywhere at every event on the calendar.

http://tinyurl.com/y8daxoe

Tuesday Morning News from the Moto World - Part 2

Now, we head on over to the second part of this morning's news...

First story here is an interview with current Rally Dakar champion Marc Coma. He is getting ready for the 2010 running of the event and the author caught up with him to ask him how it is all going. The 450c.c. limit - and the restriction of bikes with larger displacements - is a major area of discussion. Have a good read...

http://tinyurl.com/ylx8p2h

Apparently, earlier reports of John Hopkins joining the MotoGP FB Corse team are not accurate. His manager has now related that Hopper is considering many options and he is working with FB Corse now, but has signed nothing.

http://tinyurl.com/yg9jbzx

We also hear from some of his companions (Cal Crutchlow and Troy Corser) in the World Superbike Championship for 2010, James Toseland will enjoy and prosper in the series. They state that the culture there is much better suited to Toseland, even if it has changed since the last time he raced there.

http://tinyurl.com/ygx3v4j

Marco Simoncelli and Hiroshi Aoyama have finished up with their testing at the Sepang track in Malaysia. The first days of testing were hampered by bad weather, but the remaining time was very useful for both riders as they prepare for their first year in MotoGP in 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/yfp75d8

John Hopkins Will Return to MotoGP in 2010

He will be joining the FB Corse (FB Racing) team in the 2010 MotoGP riding their prototype triple, which is rumored to be the BMW engine which was left-over from their MotoGP attempt. Hopper will be very welcome back in the premier series, and is lucky to be avoiding time in the AMA paddock next season.

http://tinyurl.com/ya4btjx