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

More Afternoon Moto News - AMA Supercross, Glynn Kerr & Hyperleggera

Over in the AMA Supercross paddock, Monster Energy Kawasaki has decided to replace the injured Chad Reed with Nick Wey. Hopefully, he will be able to keep the podiums coming and give Reed a chance to get well and get back to work.

http://tinyurl.com/yb8gcju

From the online magazine world we bring you an interview with motorcycle designer Glynn Kerr. He has designed some iconic motorcycles and has a running column at MCN (US), so you are probably familiar to you by now. What does he think the secrets to design are? Well, he does talk about the direction of bike styling nowadays...

http://tinyurl.com/y8kbbex

sak_art design is back at it again. This time their design is known as the Ducati Hyperleggera (they love that 'Hyper' prefix, don't they!) and it is a twin based on the Ducati Monster 1100, but with an engine from either the Monster 696 or Hypermotard 796. It will be very light and it is designed to look fast just sitting there. Take a look and see if you want one...I bet you will!

http://tinyurl.com/y9sloht

Wednesday Afternoon Moto News - Design, Ninja 650R & Chad Reed

The man responsible for the jaguar-themed motorcycle custom - you remember it, it's the one with a huge faux jaguar body as the frame - Barend Massow Hemmes, is at it again. His next project, which is part of the same concept, is a bull. A very red bull acts as the frame and the forks with a seat tacked on to the bull's ass. Take a look. At least he is thinking creatively!

http://tinyurl.com/ydm7mxt

Now, we also finally get our hands on a riding impression of the 2010 Kawasaki Ninja 650R. The bike is billed as an entry-level machine for beginning riders, but it is also a light and quick canyon bomber for experienced riders. There are many changes to this machine, and all of them work towards making it an even better motorcycle. For the full review and some great photos, take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/yexcbqu

We also hear that AMA Supercross star, and Monster Kawasaki's lead rider, Chad Reed has broken his hand. He will be out of the series for up to six weeks! The incident happened at the Phoenix round when James Stewart and him collided in the race. This is not good news for the sport as he is one of, if not the, best racers out there now.

http://tinyurl.com/ydr2f9r

Sunday Afternoon Moto News - Kawasaki Announces Off-Road Team

Kawasaki has announced their 2010 US off-road motorcycle race team. Chad Reed and Ryan Villopoto will be riding the Kawasaki KX450F and in the 250c.c. Lites Class, they will run five riders total. Jake Weimer and Josh Hansen will ride in the Western series and Christophe Pourcel, Tyla Rattray, and Dean Wilson will tackle the East series championship. In the more hard core side of off-road racing, they will field Destry Abbott, Ricky Dietrich, and Justin Soule. This is just about all of the Kawasaki US contingent as they will not have a factory road race team due to the DMG / AMA Pro Racing issues we already know...

http://tinyurl.com/yam27xs

It's Sunday Morning, Do You Know Where the News Is? Right Here!

We will start with some racing news coming out of FB Corse - the new MotoGP entrant who may or may not have signed John Hopkins to ride for them - who have made it official that they will be participating at the 17 March Qatar test this year. They will also have a test during the February Sepang test, but they will stay closer to their engineering base while testing - so, Europe. We should have an official unveiling of the team on 21 January 2010. For more, take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/ybabo2b

Next we have news of Anaheim 1 - the return of AMA Supercross for 2010. James Stewart has taken the first win in the Supercross class. Unfortunately, Chad Reed had to leave the race after a big crash damaged his front wheel too much to continue. In the Supercross Lites class (West), Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer took victory. For more, take the link...

http://tinyurl.com/y8tculy

And, in other AMA Supercross news, Monster Energy has renewed as the title sponsor for the event. It is a multi-year agreement which will see Monster's logo everywhere at every event on the calendar.

http://tinyurl.com/y8daxoe

Friday Morning Moto News - Racing News - Part 3

In other news, the FIM has released more updates to the rules for the 2010 MotoGP season. The two areas of concern are the practice schedule and the medical code. For the changes themselves, please take the link.


http://tinyurl.com/yg6uxtk

From the world of off-road racing - specifically motocross and supercross - we have an interview with the incredible James Stewart. He is certainly a well-known athlete all across the world, and he did visit many places during the off-season to give those fans a chance to meet him. Well, how is he doing? What are his plans for 2010? Well, take a look at the interview and find out!

http://tinyurl.com/ylxjwtx

In that same vein is an interview with another Supercross star, Chad Reed. The Australian will be on the Monster Energy Kawasaki team in 2010 with teammate Ryan Villopoto. Reed has been on fire recently, taking the Australian Supercross championship and winning the AMA Outdoor Nationals title. It is shaping up to be a good year for Reed, so Stewart needs to look out!

http://tinyurl.com/ylj8n4q

Chad Reed Signs With Kawasaki for AMA Motocross and Supercross

There were rumors that he was thinking of the signing - especially when he rode a Kawasaki in the Australian Super X series. Well, now Reed will be riding alongside Ryan Villopoto on the Monster Energy Kawasaki team in both the AMA Motocross Championship and the AMA Supercross Championship. This should really shake things up when he goes up against James Stewart and the new Yamaha YZ450F - either way, both series are sure to be very good racing!

http://tinyurl.com/yhg2xxw

2010 Yamaha YZ450F - Press Intro Video!

While it is really just full of cool computer graphics and some pretty pictures, it still highlights most of the changes to the YZ450F for 2010. The imagery also demonstrates the changes from the 2009 model, but don't expect a great deal of detail, just fun to watch. Yamaha, I believe, wants to completely change the equation for winning at the top level of motocross.

http://tinyurl.com/lsbnzq

Motocross Practice Results from Moto-X 338

It was a bit wet today in Southwick, MA. So, only one session was run for each class - qualifying and practice together. Here are the results:

http://tinyurl.com/lrw8jx

AMA Motocross Results from Budds Creek

Looks like Chad Reed has taken another victory - that makes it five overall victories this season!

http://tinyurl.com/nlda97

Chad Reed and Christophe Pourcel Win at Unadilla

Reed - in the 450 Class - still leads the series points, and he managed to solidify that lead today. Pourcel, who rides in the 250 Class, just captured the lead this weekend against Ryan Dungey. Full results after the link.

http://tinyurl.com/q7tl4c