Bradley Smith Is a Force to Watch in 2010 125GP

Smith was runner-up in 2009. He now knows all of the tracks, has the experience, has the skills and has the drive to be a champion in the 125c.c. World Championship. There were some offers for him to move into the new Moto2 series, but he remains in 125. One reason could be that the Moto2 series is just starting out and it would be better for him to stay with a known quantity. He is only 18, so he has plenty of time to progress through the classes to his goal in MotoGP.

http://tinyurl.com/yfcftsu

Mike di Meglio and Julian Simon Sign with Mapfre Aspar

Though they will be campaigning in the new Moto2 series in 2010, the same riders will be on the team. Simon and di Meglio have both signed contracts to stay with the Aspar team and ride the spec-Honda 600c.c. engines in the custom chassis. The two riders are both champions in the 125c.c. Grand Prix category, so watch out for the in 2010!

http://tinyurl.com/ybltjyq

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.

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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.

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