UAE National Race Day 6 Preview & Anthony West Rides MZ in Moto2

Well, in the UAE Sportbike Championship, Arushen Moodley is in a commanding lead and heading for the 2010 title. However, the first runner-up position is still up for grabs. Moodley is riding an Aprilia and the two rider fighting for second place are riding another Aprilia and a Yamaha...should be very interesting. And, it looks like Yamaha's YZF-R6 will be conquering the Sportbike 600 Class...unless pretender to the throne Jason Burnside can take his Honda to the top...For all the details, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/yleuonq

Anthony West is back on the World Championship circuit, although it will be in the supporting Moto2 class. He will ride for a newly announced MZ team, which only recently gained permission to join the championship. This is big news for MZ as they have wanted to join the racing for quite some time. They should learn a great deal from this and I am hopeful that West will have a good season!

http://tinyurl.com/yhmx6bz

Sunday Morning Moto News - Gulf Bike Expo, AMA Team Sponsorship & Husaberg

Over in the UAE, the Gulf Bike Festival started last Thursday and Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA Vice President and President of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE), also announced two more motorcycle models which will be sold in the Gulf Coast nation this year. They presented models from BMW, Kawasaki and Honda, which have never been sold in the UAE previously. The show goes through the weekend and will attract thousands of attendees.

http://tinyurl.com/ykpxq8p

Two AMA Pro Racing teams have just signed sponsorship deals this past week. First up is Crozier Roberson Motorsports has signed with DNA Beverage Corp for the 2010 season. They will field two Duacti 848 bikes in the DMG/AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike class. In American Superbike, the Jordan Motorsports team has signed another agreement to use Chicken Hawk Racing products in their garage.

http://tinyurl.com/yz7m9qm

Husaberg's riders in the 6th annual Hell's Gate event in Italy - the toughest one-day extreme off-road event in the world - took on some heavy competition. Xavi Galindo and Alessandro Botturi rode in the main event for the Husaberg Factory team, with Galindo finishing in sixth and Botturi crashed hard and could not finish. Another Husaberg rider, Erich Brandauer, managed to come home in 29th position.

http://tinyurl.com/yzdfc2c

More Morning Moto News - WSBK, UAE Sportbike & Ben Townley

The Valencia testing of some World Superbike teams is now moving along just fine. In fact, Carlos Checa managed to get his Althea Ducati to the top of the lap charts. Aprilia, BMW and Ducati are there testing, with factory Ducati finishing up on Thursday, and the privateer Althea team still at the track. Aprilia left early dues to the weather earlier in the week and BMW was at the bottom of the timesheet.

http://tinyurl.com/yhrydmx

Now, just a bit south and east of the WSBK racers we have the UAE Sportbike Championship. On Friday, all the motorcycle racing was held. In the premier class, Aprilia-mounted Arushen Moodley took both victories available to him. In the 600c.c. class, Yamaha man Jussi Hoikka took a hard-fought victory. For the rest, take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/yhx9zy3

New Zealand native Ben Townley will be joining the European MX1 Championship for three rounds as he has now recovered from his 2008 injury. He already won the New Zealand Championship title and will return to US competition after his stint in Europe.

http://tinyurl.com/ybaja8m

More Morning Moto News - UAE Sportbikes, Gino Rea & Ducati 848 Challenge

Yep, over in the UAE, they do have a motorcycle racing championship much like many other nations. You have seen it mentioned here before, and the last coverage we had was just after the UAE National Race Day at the Dubai Autodrome. Well, the second race of the season is upon us, and many competitors there are getting serious about the title. For more information, take the link and scroll down to the 'UAE Sportbikes Championship'. There are some very fast riders there now...

http://tinyurl.com/ydc6jjr

Gino Rea is quite ready for the World Supersport Championship to begin. He will be riding for the Intermoto Honda team in the series, and Honda is a big part of his past, present and future now. He is already European Superstock 600 Champion, and now he wants to take the World Championship. We wish him luck!

http://tinyurl.com/yeyvxlt

R&G Racing has signed on to be a sponsor of the Ducati U.K. 848 Challenge for 2010. They will offer a 50% savings on crash protection for participants of the series. If you need more details, just check past posts and/or take the link below.

http://tinyurl.com/ye2fztz

Dubai MotorSport Festival Qualifying at the Dubai Autodrome

The UAE Sportbike Championship 1000 Class had South African Champion Arushen Moodley (Aprilia) take pole position from Scott Smart (Kawasaki) for today's race. There was precious little information on the 600 Class, though. But, UAE champion Rod Scott (Yamaha) qualified in fourth for the 1000 Class with Abdul Aziz Binladin (Aprilia) in fourth. In any case, the race itself will be interesting due to the large number of foreign riders in the event...

http://tinyurl.com/ya2gd4u

Dubai MotorSport Festival Coming Soon to Dubai Autodrome

As part of the various automotive and motorcycle racing series, the Dubai Motorsport Festival will take place from 12 - 13 November 2009 at the - you got it - Dubai Autodrome. It will feature several car classes, but the most prominent event for us will be the 2009/2010 UAE Sportbike Championship. There are two classes which will be contested at this event, 1000 and 600. There have even been racers plucked from other nations to come and compete at this event. The really cool part of it, though, has to be the free admission and free paddock access!

http://tinyurl.com/yeqmemh

Abu Dhabi Looking for Talented Racers

Many people have complained about the lack of 'soul' at the new Yas Marina Circuit near Abu Dhabi in the UAE. So, the local government is putting together a plan to bring up local riders - for MotoGP - and drivers - for IRL-type racing. They feel that if they can get local racers onto the circuit, they will be able to build some spirit and history into the track. If it gets more people into racing at those levels - especially MotoGP - it can't be a bad thing...

http://tinyurl.com/yad3zg7

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

UAE National Race Day Sees Aprilia Take the Two Top Spots on Podium

In the UAE Sportbike 1000 Class, South African Aprilia rider Arushen Moodley won both races in the class; second place in both races went to Saudi Aprilia rider Abdulaziz Binladen. That puts Aprilia in both first and second place for both races! Yamaha dominated the UAE 600 Class, with riders Pascal Grosjean - who won both races - and Jussi Hoikka - who finished second place in both races. Sounds like a fun event!

http://tinyurl.com/ygpp87m

The UAE Sportbike Championship at the UAE National Race Day

Over in Dubai at the Dubai Autodrome will see the first race of the UAE Sportbike Championship on Friday, 16 October 2009. Manufacturers competing consist of Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati, Aprilia and Triumph (for the first time). Apparently, it is a tough race where riders trade paint and practically fight to the race win. If you are there, it is free to attend and you get full paddock access!

http://tinyurl.com/ygkzxqn