Sunday Morning Moto News - Early Daytona Returns & WSBK Results from Phillip Island

Bike Week has kicked off in Daytona, Florida, this weekend and the first results have come back from the Michelin Team Challenge. It seems that an Australian rider, Aussie Dave Anthony, brought home first place in the GTO class with his Suzuki GSX-R1000 (I think). For the results of the GTU and GT Lites class, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/yb2km4h

That's right, the World Superbike Championship round at Phillip Island is over, and we have several posts which detail the events in Australia and tell us who ended up where when the checkered flag was dropped at the end of both races. In race one, the finish was Haslam, Fabrizio and Haga; in race two, it was Checa, Haslam and then Fabrizio. As you can see, Ducati and Suzuki had great weekends. Aprilia had a good outing, but not a perfect race. For all the details, please take the links below.

Race 1: http://tinyurl.com/yd4mxod

Race 2: http://tinyurl.com/y9ogyce

Both Races: http://tinyurl.com/ycp6xkr

Both Races: http://tinyurl.com/y8m4jov

Aprilia's Races: http://tinyurl.com/yaer9tj

More Morning Moto News - Phillip Island WSBK, Guy Martin and Stephen Thompson

We have another report from World Superbike Practice at Phillip Island in Australia. This time is is Carlos Checa who led the field in testing yesterday. Behind him was Michel Fabrizio, and sitting in third was day one's fastest rider Leon Haslam. If I find more of these reports, I will place them in this post.

http://tinyurl.com/y8j82u9

http://tinyurl.com/yb6lxy5

http://tinyurl.com/ybzll5w

WSS: http://tinyurl.com/ydmfy6j

The BBC likes to follow a single rider during their preparation for the North West 200 real roads race held in the United Kingdom on 16 May 2010. They started the project, as far as I can tell, last year with James McCann. This year they will be taking on two racers - fan favorite Guy Martin and Stephen Thompson. The project has just started, but if you want to follow it, you should take the link below.

http://tinyurl.com/ybnr6tc

More Morning Moto News - RSV-4 Recall, WSBK and Leon Camier

The Aprilia RSV-4 Factory is being recalled on a global basis - we already heard about the Australian and the US recall, now we get one from Great Britain. It appears that the total number of machines which this recall concerns is right around 300 bikes. Only 30 are being pulled from the U.K., and the rest are elsewhere in the world. It all goes back to that conrod failure at the RSV-4R intro. Aprilia is usually rock-solid for reliability, so this is an odd start of a new model for them...

http://tinyurl.com/ye39qrh

Over in the World Superbike paddock, there are some teams which had planned on taking another practice at Valencia after the Portimao official test. Well, the weather seems to be working against them. So far, only two riders - Haga and Fabrizio - have even ventured onto the track.

http://tinyurl.com/ydcps8a

Leon Camier is rather sure that he has a good handle on his Aprilia WSBK machine, even though he ended the Portimao test in 12th position. He says that it does not look good on paper, but that his team is making good progress. He also stated that his low lap times could be attributed to the fact that he was not after fast laps, not yet.

http://tinyurl.com/ybxfa5n

Thursday Evening Moto News - Ducati Xerox and More

Ducati Xerox is getting ready for the first World Superbike test of 2010 at Portimao, Portugal on 22 January 2010. Well, now that their team manager is working for BMW, they have had to make some organizational changes. Of course, Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio are still the team's riders, so that part is still in its place. For the rest, go ahead and take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/yz5wogq

Two otherwise wealthy and successful guys decide to ride in an extreme enduro event in South Africa for five charities. They even managed to raise some £17,000 on their own for the causes. Dale Norton and Peter Coles, of a real estate company (property agents) known as Romans, took on this challenge together and had the time of their lives. The link takes you to a short article.

http://tinyurl.com/yfqxneb

Thursday Morning Moto News - Dakar and More...

Some interesting Rally Dakar news as Aprilia mounted Francisco Lopez Contardo (and the various authors change his name around constantly) wins a stage during the fifth day. This is huge as it brings Lopez into second place overall for now. Frenchman David Casteu crashed hard and is now out of the race due to tearing a muscle. For more information, take the following links - there are plenty.

http://tinyurl.com/yforzzj

http://tinyurl.com/yl5z6kj

In some very good news from Asia, we hear that the Sepang International Circuit has reached an agreement with Dorna to hold the Malaysian Grand Prix until 2015. That will help many Malaysian wildcard riders get a better chance of making it to the series full-time. Plus, the area around the track will enjoy the economic shot in the arm that the MotoGP Championship brings with them.

http://tinyurl.com/yfux2cu

In the World Superbike Championship, Ducati's factory team has made some personnel changes. Of course, you already know about the team manager moving over to BMW (Tardozzi). Well, now the whole team organization has changed in order to replace him and move other personnel into key positions. For a comprehensive guide to the new arrangement, take the link and have a read.

http://tinyurl.com/yzjmz75

Ultimate Superbike Test Ride in Portugal at Portimao

This writer from MotorcycleUSA online was fortunate enough to get invited to this unbelievable test in Portugal presented by the rights holders to World Superbike, Infront Sports. The author seems to have an attitude to match his skill level, but he does a good job of describing what it is like to ride these WSBK machines: Troy Corser's BMW S1000RR, Fabrizio's Ducati 1098F09, Rea's Honda CBR1000RR, Tamada's Kawasaki ZX-10R, Spies' Yamaha YZF-R1, Kagayama's Suzuki GSX-R1000, and Biaggi's Aprilia RSV-4. That is a full day's worth of testing, eh? Lucky guy...

http://tinyurl.com/yjkzgvj

Ducati Xerox Riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio at EICMA

Haga and Fabrizio are on a media tour now and so came out to see their fans and enjoy the show at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Italy. Both riders came up and visited the Ducati stand and looked over the motorcycles, then went on to some radio interviews there at the show. Fabrizio came up on Thursday and Haga stopped in on Friday. Both signed plenty of autographs and even chatted with the show attendees. Very good PR Ducati!

http://tinyurl.com/ybrsagf

Michel Fabrizio Talks About Tardozzi Departure from Ducati

Fabrizio was criticised for his performance at the end of the season - some say he stole 10 points from Noriyuki Haga causing him to lose the title to Spies. However, most people who know him know that he is a good guy with a sense of humor. He spoke today about Tardozzi leaving the Ducati World Superbike team at the end of 2009. Though, if you watch the video, you may be forgiven for thinking that Fabrizio and Tardozzi are not exactly friends...

http://tinyurl.com/ylsyxcd

Haga and Fabrizio Test Their Ducati World Superbikes at Portimao

Each of them was out on the track for both days - so far- and both enjoyed the perfect testing weather. Both of them tried various new bits of technology and had mixed reactions to them. Their times stayed about the same, but they are among the fastest riders on the track.

http://tinyurl.com/yl7fftc

http://tinyurl.com/yhhx93l

Did Ducati Xerox Strategy - or Lack of - Loose the Title for Haga?

I would say, probably not, but there are some good arguments when you consider that it was Fabrizio won the second race of the weekend - if Haga had won and Spies finished in the same spot, only one point would separate them. But, this is all just a theory, as it is how it is and it is racing...Spies is World Champion.

http://tinyurl.com/yh2zb7c

2009 Portimao World Superbike Championship Round Preview

Will it be Haga or Spies? Who can win the weekend in Portugal? Well, the advantage rests with Haga, but he and Spies both have about the same knowledge of the track, so it could be anyone's race. Of course, there are spoilers as well - Fabrizio is a certain front-runner, Max Biaggi is riding well on an almost completely-sorted Aprilia, and Jonathan Rea is always ready to take a win or push someone off of the podium. It will be a race weekend worth watching!

http://tinyurl.com/ykmddkv

http://tinyurl.com/yzrzmld

http://tinyurl.com/yg5wtx5 - link will be updated periodically

And, another article asking the question, can Noriyuki Haga win the World Championship title? Well, yes he can!

http://tinyurl.com/yh8o9fe

Friday at Magny-Cours World Superbike Round

News, news , news; we just can't get enough of it. So, for your reading pleasure here are notes from Friday's practice runs at the Magny-Cours circuit where the 14th and penultimate round of the World Superbike Championship is being held this weekend.

http://tinyurl.com/yfzs8wa

http://tinyurl.com/yhvruoe

http://tinyurl.com/yjgjxvq

World Superbike Imola Superpole Results

Fabrizio managed to keep himself at the front in the Superpole qualifying at the Imola circuit in Italy. American Ben Spies is right behind him on the grid and Fabrizio's teammate Noriyuki Haga is in fourth. This should make for very interesting and fun racing tomorrow. If you can watch it, don't miss it!

http://tinyurl.com/yedhmgd

Fabrizio Takes Pole at WSB Imola Round

The free practice and qualifying were both delayed due to rider complaints about the track surface - it was too slick. So, the track worked out this issue and the free practice became qualifying. Michel Fabrizio took pole while riding his Ducati, which put Honda's Carlos Checa in second and Yamaha's Ben Spies in third. One more provisional qualifying will set things up for Superpole.

http://tinyurl.com/ybbo7wa

The Gates Have Opened at Imola for World Superbike Weekend

For the first time in three years, the Imola circuit has welcomed the World Superbike Championship. On Thursday, the track held 'free Thursday' and allowed anyone to come on out and see the series setting up and getting ready for the races over the weekend. A press conference was also held which many top riders attended...

http://tinyurl.com/y8txonb

The State of World Superbike, MotoGP and Even Troy Bayliss

This is actually a good wrap up of the state of play between World Superbike, MotoGP, Moto2 and the rider and team circus we will see on the way to the 2010 season. Plus, there is even news here about Troy Bayliss and his V8 Supercar effort...

http://tinyurl.com/mdnx5x

Ducati Xerox Team Finished Testing at Mugello

Ducati World Superbike rider Noriyuki Haga was testing with his team in order to assess his fitness for this weekend's race at the Nurburgring; the testing let him get comfortable on the 1198 again. Michel Fabrizio was also on hand to join in the work.

http://tinyurl.com/lwbc5a

More on their race prep: http://tinyurl.com/n2893e

Nurburgring to Sing Song of World Superbike Championship

The summer break is over for World Superbike and the next round is set to go off this weekend at Germany's famed Nurburgring. It is to be seen! Ben Spies, "Nitro" Noriyuki Haga, Max Biaggi, Michel Fabrizio, etc, etc. How will it all end? Only four more tracks left to determine a champion!

http://tinyurl.com/ktk2g4