International Female Ride Day & Hungarian MotoGP Officially Cancelled

International Female Ride Day is scheduled for 7 May 2010. The special day has been accepted by many countries around the world and many more are joining up. The day is the brainchild of Vicki Gray, a longtime motorcyclist and advocate for women riders. Momentum has built up and many of the member countries will be hosting special events for women riders. To see what all of the fuss is about, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/yhydau3

With all the problems building the Hungarian Balatoning circuit - finance issues, political issues, etc. - the FIM has decided to cancel the MotoGP race which was on the calendar for 2010. Now Spain will have four rounds this season with the new race to be held at Motorland Aragon. What an interesting turn of events...

http://tinyurl.com/ykzy9h9

TTXGP Changes Racing & Hungarian MotoGP in Doubt

The Azhar Hussain series, the TTXGP, will be a race to own series. Yes, it sounds a bit odd as it is a new way to handle racing management. Each team will earn shares in the TTXGP series as the race and the teams are all involved in the rule making and racing decisions. This is called Trust.eGrandPrix.Org (TEO) and it is all Hussain's idea. It's a very good plan for keeping your series relevant and I would hope it would encourage more teams to join up. For your details, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/yevykc4

The Balatonring circuit in Hungary may never get finished now after a huge Hungarian bank has refused to give the operating group any more funding. This all went down on Friday and the principals involved said the bank refused due to some problems found while doing due diligence...This could mean a huge delay, or the end, of top-level racing in the nation of Hungary...

http://tinyurl.com/yevpp2h

More Morning Moto News - Balatonring Circuit, Interwetten Honda & Kawasaki Z1

The Hungarian circuit of Balatonring looks to be on course for the 2010 Hungarian Motorcycle Grand Prix. However, we did read earlier reports on how some local civic groups are quite upset at how much taxpayer money is going into the track - and how little profit will be coming back to state coffers. So, there will probably be some political bullying - hopefully, it will be more compromise and working together - to get this track ready for the MotoGP circus to setup and play. 19 September 2010 is the date to watch for...

http://tinyurl.com/y9pujfq

Interwetten Honda is following in the footsteps of the Aspar Grand Prix team and will have riders in all three classes, MotoGP, Moto2 and 125GP. They have signed on Marcel Schrotter for their 125cc effort; he is a young up-and-coming German rider who looks to be a competitive rider in the series. Even though it seems most teams are strapped for cash, it seems that these two teams are hedging their bets.

http://tinyurl.com/y8oqany

Looks like someone has a lovely, un-restored and healthy 1974 Kawasaki Z1 for sale on eBay. The price is close to US$9K right now, but it is worth every penny. You will have a very hard time trying to find one which has not been restored in this condition - it is almost perfect. Owning a piece of motorcycle history is simple, just take the link and then place a bid!

http://tinyurl.com/ydul33m

MORE Afternoon Moto News - Hungary's Balatonring & Jeremy McWilliams

Some Hungarian civic groups have raised concerns about the Balatonring Circuit soon to be built in the nation (for F1 and MotoGP as well as other national race series). Apparently, these groups believe that the public expenditure on this track far exceeds the amount the government should expect from revenues at the facility. Apparently, global accounting firm KPMG produced a feasibility study on Balatonring and it was not made public - they are asking that it is produced so every citizen can see for themselves whether this is a wise investment at this time...Honestly, I do hope they build the track, but they may need more private investment...

http://tinyurl.com/ygkh3yj

Jeremy McWilliams has signed on to ride in the inaugural season of the Harley-Davidson XR1200 Trophy series, which is now a part of the British Superbike Championship. He will be riding for Warr's Harley-Davidson on a bike which barely makes 60 hp. This comes after a great deal of experience with some much more powerful machines - MotoGP, AMA Pro Superbike and Formula Xtreme. It will be a tough road for the 45-year-old racer, but he has the skills to pull it off!

http://tinyurl.com/yg5zbag

More Morning Moto News - Dávid Juhász, BMW & Husqvarna & Worx Crescent Suzuki

Dávid Juhász, from Hungary and only 17 years old, will be joining the MAR Kawasaki outfit in the 2010 British Superbike Championship. He will be the youngest rider on the Superbike grid, but he already has a Hungarian Superbike Championship to his credit. So, you can expect him to be a little green, but he should adapt quickly.

http://tinyurl.com/yhonkgw

BMW and their new purchase Husqvarna are using their new combined company to pursue synergistic racing teams. In that vein, BMW Motorrad is entering the E2 class of the FIM Enduro World Championship as the BMW Husqvarna Motorsport. This arrangement will give them access to the right technology, experience and people to succeed in their venture.

http://tinyurl.com/yhezwg3

Worx Crescent Suzuki has been at Portimao in Portugal doing some shake-down testing with their 2010 British Superbike Championship team. Riders Tommy Hill and Yukio Kagayama managed to complete some very important testing and get the information they were seeking ahead of the season start. They needed to time and it will go a long way to getting their team ready for 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/yg8ns6j

Ducati Monster Art Club Contest Winners Announced

After months of entries and lots of voting, the winners of the Ducati Monster Art Club Contest have been announced. In first place is the Ducati Trapani Club of Italy with their creation, "Star Glitter." Second place is Magyar Ducati Klub of Hungary with the oddly named "Foodster." And, coming in in third is DOC Ducati Hellas of Greece with their stunning "El Greco", which is my favorite Monster here. Go on over to the site and have a look around; there are some amazing pieces of artwork there and it is worth every minute of drooling (of course, there are also several questionable designs, but that is the nature of imagination)!

http://tinyurl.com/yda9nk8

The Government of Hungary Gives Support for Balatonring MotoGP Round

The Balatonring circuit was supposed to be finished in time for a 2009 event, but the economic climate was so bad that the bank supporting the track construction had to delay financing. So, the Hungarian government has issued guarantee on a loan from the Hungarian Development Bank and €74.7 million for the race to run from 2010 through to 2019. They are very determined to get the MotoGP World Championship racing in Hungary!

http://tinyurl.com/yjurcsf