Some More MotoGP Post-Qatar Test Stories

Well, it seems that Dani Pedrosa is not too happy with where his team is at present. Much more needs to be done before the racing can start for Repsol Honda.

http://tinyurl.com/yzff56f

In other Repsol Honda news, Andrea Dovizioso is more than happy to face his first race in 2010. Dovizioso has been the top Honda rider through the testing and his season looks on track.

http://tinyurl.com/ygzqrlu

Gresini Honda riders Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli had a bad test at Qatar as well. The team has now called on Honda to help them out and discover why these two could not break the top 10 during practice...something is not right.

http://tinyurl.com/yk8pjt5

And, well, Valentino Rossi is quite happy with the Yamaha YZR-M1 so far this year. After all, he has led just about every preseason test so far...

http://tinyurl.com/yj2xgcp

MORE Morning Moto News - Marco Simoncelli gets Sponsored & Racing Insider

Italian denim clothing brand Rifle has signed MotoGP rookie Marco Simoncelli. Rifle will sponsor the young Italian's efforts in the MotoGP World Championship through the 2010 season. They will also produce a special line of branded products called 'Supersic' which will bear Simoncelli's signature. Nice!

http://tinyurl.com/yaqjpmu

From Down Under, we get this week's edition of Racing Insider by Alex Gobert. As usual, he dishes on the various big events dealing with motorcycle racing worldwide. He covers the Australian Superbike series, World Superbike, MotoGP, AMA Supercross and Australian Motocross. Most of the stories you may have already heard, but it is worth a quick read to catch the things we missed...

http://tinyurl.com/yd9veu3

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 Morning News - Suzuki All-Star, British Supercross & Gresini Honda

The Suzuki All-Star events have now been scheduled all over the U.K. Anyone with any model of Suzuki GSX-R is invited to come out and tackle the track with their machine. The track day events will be held after the British Superbike rounds at Brands Hatch, Snetterton and Cadwell Park. For more information, please take the link...

http://tinyurl.com/yh989od

Paul Bird Kawasaki man Gordon Crockard has won the British Supercross Championship on a Kawasaki KX250. He actually had a hard fought race which he finished in fourth position to achieve his overall victory. In the International Supercross event, he carried home a second place finish. As usual, take the link for more details.

http://tinyurl.com/yh6w9rl

Gresini Honda has picked up another sponsor for their MotoGP team - Airdale Group. Airdale is a business which provides all sorts of services for buildings of all sorts throughout the United Kingdom. For more on the arrangement, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/ykbquxp

Friday Morning Moto News - Biaggi, Jakub Smrz & Gresini Honda

Apparently, last year Max Biaggi and his Aprilia team attempted to appeal and FIM decision as to his punishment for cutting a chicane during the first race of the season. Well, the FIM has now declined the protest and the ruling will stand...as if we did not expect that.

http://tinyurl.com/yek9g7e

In more World Superbike news, the B&G Racing group has released their livery for the 2010 season. On that team is Jakub Smrz and he will be riding a Ducati 1198. The B&G name comes from the owners of the team Borciani and Guandalini. See the article for more and the photo.

http://tinyurl.com/yarhseg

Gresini Honda has picked up another sponsor for the 2010 - 2011 MotoGP Championship. Printer company Prink has signed on to be a sponsor of their effort and will provide all printing services for the entire Gresini team - all the way up to their HQ office. This is very good news - more sponsorship.

http://tinyurl.com/y9hjez3

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

Your Tuesday Moto News Part 2 - Mostly Race-Related Information

Most of this is race-related...

Marco Simoncelli has stated his goal in his first year in the 2010 MotoGP Championship - he wants to land top 5 at worst! That is an ambitious goal considering he is a rookie in the class and will be running on satellite machinery. They say that he is aware of the challenge he faces in that paddock, but he is a very good rider and a potential threat on any weekend...

http://tinyurl.com/ygdqp54

Chris Vermeulen is ready to race now! He was out training on both Christmas and New Year's Day - just to show that he has two more days than other riders - as he is preparing for the 2010 World Superbike Championship. It is good to know that all is going well for his ride in WSBK as he is most certainly a talented motorcycle racer who does have a chance at another title or two before he is done.

http://tinyurl.com/yg9jne8

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

Monday Morning Racing News - MotoGP and More!

We also have news that the South African TT Revival will be taking place in late February and British Supersport Champion Steve Plater will be taking part. Several other notable British classic bike racing personalities will also be there, though none have been yet named. To get a better picture of the event, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/ycs82l2

Rossi has said that he will not be participating in the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours. He was going to ride with Jean Alesi in a Ferrari 430 GT2, but has decided not to join the event. He wants nothing to distract him from MotoGP in 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/y85b6kn

Of course, Rossi has also said that Ben Spies will be a tough competitor in the 2010 MotoGP championship, but I think we already knew that.

http://tinyurl.com/ybsvsx7

Marco Melandri is looking for some stability in his racing career. Given his recent contract issues with Ducati and Kawasaki (who prematurely withdrew from MotoGP in 2009), his new spot at Gresini Honda is something he hopes will endure. Honestly, I am in complete agreement; I hope he has a wonderful 2010!

http://tinyurl.com/y8mk2sp

So far, that is the news on motorcycle racing this morning. If I get more, so will you!

Marco Simoncelli Is Happy to be Testing in Malaysia

At the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia, Simoncelli is having his rookie test on the Honda RC212V he will be racing next year in the MotoGP Championship. His Gresini team is there with him for this rookie test and he really seems to be enjoying himself on the track. It will certainly make him a threat in 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/yddhec4

Filipino Marlou Acedera Won ASEAN Mechanic Contest 2009

I say won, because it actually happened earlier this year, but it was only today that something was written about it in the press (at least that I could find). It turns out that this mechanic is a very soft spoken man, but he did win the chance to work with the Castrol-sponsored San Carlo Gresini Honda team at the Sepang MotoGP round - he had a great time! Acedera is going to be a great mechanic, but he is already the best one in Asia!

http://tinyurl.com/yeppq8f

Simoncelli Testing in Sepang With San Carlo Honda Gresini

Marco Simoncelli will be testing with the Gresini Honda team in Sepang during 21 - 23 December 2009. Again, nothing has been officially released from the MotoGP bosses (Dorna and FIM) about rookie testing time, but many are out testing their new machines during this off season. Well, the more time these newbies get on their MotoGP bikes, the better for everyone...

http://tinyurl.com/yf86atn

De Puniet Has Screws Removed from Ankle

The simple operation as successful and de Puniet is doing fine. He had the screws put into his ankle after an August injury; he wanted to finish the season, so he had his ankle fixed with some hardware to allow him to race. Given his 2009 performance compared to 2008, it seems to have helped. Let's see how much better he can be in 2010!

http://tinyurl.com/y9oey83

More From Valencia MotoGP Testing - Simoncelli and Melandri

Marco Simoncelli was astounded by the power of the Honda RC212V MotoGP bike during his first practice aboard the machine. He really liked what it had to offer, but he also sees a long learning curve ahead. On the other hand, Marco Melandri also liked the RC212V, but it was something he knew at least a little since he rode with Honda back in 2007; still, the bike had changed since he last threw a leg over it. He did outdo his best time on the Kawasaki during Sunday's race. Aoyama and Barbera also participated in this test...

http://tinyurl.com/yb3vksm

Some good photos from the event: http://tinyurl.com/ylbl9f6

Alex de Angelis Gets Help with MotoGP Contract from San Marino

Some of you may know that the Most Serene Republic of San Marino is actually its own nation within Italy. Alex de Angelis is a citizen of that nation. He has lost his ride on the Gresini Honda team, but the Secretary of Sport and Tourism of San Marino is working hard to secure him a ride at Scot Honda, which is also based in, you guessed it, San Marino. The state is promising to assist financially if necessary...

http://tinyurl.com/ykfe5zf

San Carlo Gresini Racing is Doing Well in 2009, Can it Continue at Phillip Island

Toni Elias and Alex de Angelis have had some differing fortunes recently; Elias has been improving most of the year and is sitting in 7th place in MotoGP Championship points. De Angelis, though, has had two DNFs in the last two races, yet he did score points in every race up to Misano. Both riders are competitive at Phillip Island, at least their past would indicate this. So, again, we are in for good racing!

http://tinyurl.com/yldmxql

Fausto Gresini Speaks About MotoGP and His Team

Gresini was at the World Superbike round at Imola, Italy, and took some time to answer questions about his teams future in MotoGP. See what he has to say about his two current and his two new riders for 2010...

http://tinyurl.com/ye7z27f

MotoGP Portugal Grand Prix Preview

Before the MotoGP race this weekend, it is useful to get up-to-date on the happenings in the paddock between the last race at Misano. And, there is much going on; Dovizioso running new suspension, Stoner returning to action, Rossi starting his 100th race with Yamaha, and much more. Take the link and read it before the weekend get here!

http://tinyurl.com/yd69uw5

Additionally, Bridgestone has never won a MotoGP race at the Portuguese Estoril circuit. They will this year as they are the sole tire supplier to the series...

http://tinyurl.com/yahf5np

Tony Elias and Gresini Honda Return to Portugal

Elias won the Portuguese Grand Prix back in 2006 - it was hist first win in the premier class and the last time a satellite team won a MotoGP race. With only one podium so far this season, Elias is looking to change this on a track with which he is incredibly familiar and comfortable...

http://tinyurl.com/y8jspa5

Honda Improves Satellite Team's Chances in MotoGP

Honda has moved ahead in at least one aspect of racing. They are going to allow their satellite efforts to 'buy in' to the top of the line improvements to their RC212V during the MotoGP season. This will allow those teams to be more competitive in the MotoGP Championship. This is largely responsible for de Puniet signing with LCR again for 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/llmb6e