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

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

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

MotoGP: 2009 Valencia 250GP Results - Aoyama is Champion!

Hiroshi Aoyama did not win the race at Valencia, but he did win the 2009 Championship by finishing seventh on the day. Hector Barbera won what is the last race for 250c.c. two-strokes in fine style ahead of second place by almost 4 seconds. That second place rider was Alvaro Bautista, with Raffaele de Rosa bringing it in in third. Sadly, Marco Simoncelli crashed out with seven laps remaining - that handed the championship to Aoyama and second overall to Barbera. Also of note is the performance of Thai rider Ratthapark Wilairot landing in fifth! If you missed the race, make sure to catch it in rerun as it is worth watching.

http://tinyurl.com/yfdg9o6

http://tinyurl.com/yzyauyn

http://tinyurl.com/yk7y2j2

End of season standings: http://tinyurl.com/yfttmlv

More on Hiroshi Aoyama: http://tinyurl.com/y85nx96

P.S. Remember that this is the end of the 250c.c. two-stroke era; next year it will become Moto2, which will eb run with Honda 600c.c. engines in custom frames.

Valencia MotoGP: 250GP World Championship Qualifying

Some interesting qualifying in the 250c.c. World Championship class - Simoncelli is in second and Hiroshi Aoyama sitting in fifth! Of course, Aoyama only needs to finish in front of eleventh place to take the crown for the last two-stroke 250c.c. GP event. Alex Debon took pole position for the race, with Hector Barbera holding down the third position. It looks like - as long as we don't see any nasty get-offs - Aoyama will be the final champion in this class...

http://tinyurl.com/yzp848k

http://tinyurl.com/ygvf45c

Marco Simoncelli Wins at Phillip Island and Keeps Title Hopes Alive

Simoncalli worked his way past Alex Debon during a crash-infested race and took the win on the day. Of course, the race was red flagged due to a massive crash by Roberto Locatelli, which left his 250 bike in the middle of a turn. Thus, we had to wait a few moments for the officials to set the final order. After Simoncelli, Hector Barbera finished second and - believe it or not - Raffaele de Rosa finished third after starting from pole position. Championship leader Hiroshi Aoyama was classified as seventh. it was an eventful race and something I am glad I got to see (on TV)...

http://tinyurl.com/yhpg79d

http://tinyurl.com/yfnub53

Results from 2009 Phillip Island Grand Prix Practice

From the 125c.c. class, we see that Pol Espargaro has not lost any speed and is on his way to claiming a pole position in qualifying...

http://tinyurl.com/ykvo9jw

Out of the 250c.c. Grand Prix Championship, Hector Barbera was fastest on the Phillip Island track. Simoncelli - who is still hoping to get his second consecutive championship - was way back in 10th position. I hope we see some faster times in the qualifying practice!

http://tinyurl.com/yzercjd

For Rossi fans, today's MotoGP practice gives some hope! He had a bad outing at Estoril due to setup issues, but he and his team have apparently addressed those sufficiently as he topped this session. Lorenzo, Pedrosa and then Stoner fill the three spots under Rossi...

http://tinyurl.com/yhu7z8n

Results from 250 Race at Portuguese Grand Prix

The 250c.c. race had a very tight second place finish. The timing screen showed a difference between riders Hector Barbera and Mike Di Meglio to be less than .001 seconds from each other - upon further review, though, it was declared that they tied! Read the link for the final designation. Marco Simoncelli, however, dominated the race; he was in sixth place at one point, but managed to take the lead and hold it by more than 6 seconds through the rest of the race...I sure hope it is shown on TV here!

http://tinyurl.com/ycqfrkb

Basic results: http://tinyurl.com/yazf2hh

More on Simoncelli's 2009 title hunt: http://tinyurl.com/y96onyg

Hector Barbera Leads 250 Practice on Friday at Portugal

Barbera, who will be in MotoGP in 2010, did very well in Friday's practice. Oddly, Hiroshi Aoyama only managed to be 10th fastest on the day - very odd for the Championship leader...

http://tinyurl.com/ybjovkm

Interview With Jorge Martinez 'Aspar'

This interview was provided by the Aspar team, but it is rather informative. As you probably know, he will be entering the MotoGP class with a satellite Ducati in 2010 and Hector Barbera. He will continue to run a 125c.c. and Moto2 team as well. Should be interesting in 2010!

http://tinyurl.com/ye3r54a

Hector Barbera Takes Victory in 250 Class at Misano

Barbera managed to get past fellow Aprilia rider Mattia Pasini after a hot battle at the front for the final half of the race. Simoncelli had been up there with them until he crashed out on lap 13. So, it is an Aprilia 1-2-3 for the 250 results at the San Marino Grand Prix, and it was a close finish.

http://tinyurl.com/mhssw8

MotoGP Riders' Circus Summary to Date

Have a look at a nice piece on the confusing world of 'who will ride where' in MotoGP.

http://tinyurl.com/luwt7s

Confirmed - Barbera to Ride Aspar Ducati in 2010

One of the best performing 250c.c. riders in the paddock - Hector Barbera - will be taking a ride on a Team Aspar Ducati in 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/mq99uj

Brno 250 Practice Times - Barbera Leads

Here they are: http://tinyurl.com/potmxv

Even More MotoGP Riders' Circus - Bautista and Barbera

So, though Alvaro Bautista had been talking about moving to the Aspar Ducati team, it seems that Jorge Martinez 'Aspar' has signed Hector Barbera to ride the Ducati. Bautista is now in talks with Suzuki for his MotoGP ride.

Have a read and add it to the fun!

http://tinyurl.com/qyr6q7

MotoGP - Randy de Puniet in Talks with Tech 3 Yamaha Owner

De Puniet may be after the seat of James Toseland or Colin Edwards...

However, Ben Spies, Hector Barbera and Chris Vermeulen are also linked to Tech 3 presently, so who knows what will happen.

Short blurb on MCN (UK): http://tinyurl.com/qgxbk4