South African Kalahari 400 & Speed Dating

The Kalahari 400 is one event in the South African Off-Road Motorcycle and Quad series. Currently, the season is going well, but the championship is still wide open. This next event, held 19 - 20 March 2010 in the Vryburg area, will be one which the current leaders may have some trouble with. It's simply that this race is very tough and anyone who has the endurance has a chance at the win. For all the news, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/yd3wohp

Road Racer X's 'Speed Dating' column comes to us again this week, so let's have a look. First up are birthdays: Chad Reed, Robert Pandya, Simone Sanna, Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler, Peter Clifford, Johan Stigefelt, Tomoyoshi Koyama, John Kocinski, and Hitoyasu Izutsu. Also of importance, Moto Guzzi was formed this week in 1921 and Mike Hailwood won the\his second 500cc USGP riding MV Agusta at Daytona.

http://tinyurl.com/yb3po9a

Hodgson to Launch Motorpoint BSB Team & SA Superbikes

On 26 March 2010, World Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson will be launching the Motorpoint Yamaha British Superbike Team in the town of Derby. Hodgson has been picked to win the BSB championship this season and he will be teamed with another great rider in Dan Linfoot. They will be riding Yamaha YZF-R1 machine very close to the Leon Camier's championship winning machine of last year. For all the details, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/yzlpkty

In the South African Superbike championship races, which were held at the Killarney Circuit, were a very close affair. The top five qualifiers were only .75 second apart, so you knew it would be tight. However, no one expected it to be as close as it was. Honda's Lance Isaacs had the best weekend - overall - but Aprilia's Sheridan Morais, Honda's Greg Gildenhuys and Dan Hellyer were all close to the leaders in each of the two races - very close! In 600 Supersport Yamaha's Dylan White had a great 1 - 1 finish on the weekend. For the very detailed finishing order, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/yllakrf

Sunday Evening Moto News - Wayne Gardner & SA Historic Racing

Seventeen years after he retired from professional motorcycle racing, Australian Wayne Gardner is now taking the reins at the National Road Safety Council - also in Australia. He plans on working very hard to reduce the number of fatalities and accidents among motorcyclists on the roads of his home country. Gardner was also a Honda safety Ambassador previously, which helped him in landing his new job. Let's hope the World Champion can win again and again in his new office! Give him a good luck toast at the end of your next ride.

http://tinyurl.com/ylghnvs

At Killarney, a circuit in Cape Town (South Africa), the annual International Historic - a leg of the local Springbok Series - some very well known and rather notable racers took some exceptional machines around the track. There are too many to list here and too much to cover without doing a full story about it. So, please take what the very good author who published the article after the link says and you will feel that you were there.

http://tinyurl.com/yhhurwd

More Afternoon Moto News - Day of the Champion & Ducati Hypermotard

The "Day of the Champion" event held this past weekend at South Africa's Zwartkop Raceway turned into a perfect race day for all who attended. Steve Plater was on hand and was even launching a limited edition Honda of South Africa "Steve Plater" Fireblade (or CBR1000RR in the US) for sale in the African nation. For all the details and one nice photo, take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/yacje6j

The new top-model Ducati Hypermotard has the designation EVO SP, while the standard model is now Hypermotard EVO. That is supposed to represent how much the new model has changed - evolved - with customer feedback and new techniques. They are very different from their forbear in many ways. It is a detailed review and one which you should read if you are planning on investing in one of these machines.

http://tinyurl.com/yfbuqn7

More Afternoon Moto News - Erik Buell Racing and Day of the Champions

Erik Buell Racing may survive the demise of the Buell marque after all! That is good news for motorcycle design and racing. He has sold two machines - the first sale for the new company - to a German racer who will use it to defend his 2009 championship in the Europe's Sound of Thunder Series. Nice news to receive for all of us...

http://tinyurl.com/ydcdy7f

In South Africa, on 31 January 2010, the 2010 Castrol/Honda Day of the Champions will take place at the Zwartkop Raceway. Around 18 foreign professional racers - from all over - from the 'golden age motorcycle racing' will attend and compete in the event. Luminaries such as Phil Read, Mick Grant, Alan Walker, Sir Alan Cathcart, John Chapman and Tony Salt will be racing against some of South Africa's best all time riders. It is an event worth attending, but it is very far from most everywhere. So, if you can, go, have fun and meet some of your motorcycling heroes.

http://tinyurl.com/ybwlh84

Another report on the Day of Champions: http://tinyurl.com/yzcq9xs

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

Rally Dakar Update from Day 1 in Argentina

Day one is finished in the Rally Dakar and we have an interesting finish on our hands. David Casteu, who is running the Rally with his own Sherco-based team, took victory in the first race of the two week event. Behind him were the KTMs of Frenchman Cyril Despres and Spaniard - and 2009 champion - Marc Coma. So far, the event has had no major problems and it all seems to be going smoothly, at least from the spectator side of things. We will see more results throughout the Dakar and I will post all I see.

http://tinyurl.com/y9cwv8t

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!

Results from South Africa's All-Bike Race Day

Held in Cape Town every year, the All-Bike Race Day invites several riders from around the area to try their hand at any number of races - there are several! There was also some awesome racing and some very odd issues which seriously effected the outcomes. So, take the link and have a look at a race series we rarely hear about in the Northern Hemisphere.

http://tinyurl.com/yc5bqz9

Former GP Racer and South African Champion Erroll Cowan Dies

Sad news out of South Africa - Erroll Cowan has passed away quietly at home. He had been fighting a brain tumor- nasty business, that. He was a true racer's racer and was well-liked by everyone who met him. He own the South African Championship many times and raced in the Grand Prix circuit in the 1960's and 1970's. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

http://tinyurl.com/ylqyjwu

EICMA: Detail on Moto Guzzi's Award-Winning V12 Concept Motorcycles

Pierre Terblanche is someone with whom most of us are familiar - at least those of us who have a leaning towards Italian motorcycles. He was the principal - but not only - designer for the Moto Guzzi V12 series of concepts which we saw at EICMA. These machines did win a coveted design award at the show there in Italy, but how much do we know about them? Not too much, actually. We certainly gleaned some details from previous reports, but if you take the link below, you will learn much more about these potential production prototypes...

http://tinyurl.com/ydnj2qo

Sheridan Morais Will Ride Aprilia in South African Superbike Championship

Morais won the South African Superbike Championship in both 2008 and 2009 - plus, he won the 600c.c. Supersport in 2009 as well - and he rode for Paul Bird Motorsport in the final event at Brands Hatch in BSB. All of that was done on a Kawasaki, but he has now signed to ride and Aprilia in the South African Superbike series for 2010. He simply likes his chances on the Aprilia and will work with his father on the EmTek Racing team. Makes sense to me...

http://tinyurl.com/ykpv32q

South Africa's National SuperMoto Championship Series Wrap-Up

The last race is over and the championship is decided; Michael Kok took first place overall with Brian Capper in second. But, this was the first season for Riaan Neveling to be riding the Aprilia SXV - and he ended the year in a solid third place. He started the season very well by winning the first race, but then ran into several problems leaving him in fourth place going into the last event of the season. There, he managed to have an awesome weekend giving him the third place ranking. Neveling will continue into 2010 with the Aprilia, and that means that he has a chance to win it all.

http://tinyurl.com/yjn5vys

More Praise for the 2010 Aprilia RSV-4 - from UAE Sportbike Championship Winner

Arushen Moodley did very well in Dubai - he won the first race of the season. The really interesting part of this is that he did it on an almost stock Aprilia RSV-4! His teammate brought another of the Aprilias home in second place, and the bike is only going to get faster as the team tunes and modifies it...

http://tinyurl.com/ygyz3a7

South Africa's First Historic Motorcycle Museum Opens

In the sleepy village of Deneysville in South Africa, the Historic Motorcycle Museum has set up shop. It is the first of its kind in South Africa and, most likely, the only one on the entire continent. Given the large number of racers, tuners and motorcycle fanatics from the region, the new museum should not be missed if you travel or live in the area!

http://tinyurl.com/lf24u7

The Story of BMW Motorcycle Club Pretoria

Most of us will belong - either officially or un-officially - to a motorcycle club during our riding life. This is the story of a club which started and grew fast in South Africa.

http://tinyurl.com/kpz94b

BMW Serious About Roof of Africa Race in South Africa

The 2009 Baboons Lesotho Sun Roof of Africa event is an extreme endurance event - perhaps the most extreme in southern Africa. BMW is very serious about its efforts here and will send their best team to compete in the event. It should be a great showing and a very tough competition!

http://tinyurl.com/meuerg

A South African Adventure on a BMW

Wow, this guy is very lucky - or, just very good at getting what he wants. Neale Bayly flew down to South Africa at the invitation of BMW Motorrad for the F800GS launch, but BMW also provided the attendees with an Edelweiss three-day tour...

http://tinyurl.com/m76zbb