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

Welcome to Wednesday! More Rally Dakar News for All of Us

It is a rather news-filled morning, so not all of it will make it into the first post - there will be more news in the next one or two.

Starting out, of course, you will probably want to get updated on the Rally Dakar. They have entered Chile now. First of all, let's look at the raw results:

http://tinyurl.com/yfq2cke

Next, on the same site, we have a story about the Aprilia contingent, Team Aprilia Giofil. Apparently, they are starting to get some good results - at least with Francisco Contardo Lopez, who sits in seventh overall. But, they keep running out of fuel - not good in the Dakar.

http://tinyurl.com/yb7f5ro

And, of course, KTM's Marc Coma has finally won his first stage of the event by beating out Sherco's David Casteu.

http://tinyurl.com/y853nzw

That's about it for the Dakar information for today. If there are more stories which come in during the day, I will add them here.

Monday Morning Moto News - Back to Work Edition

Yep, the holiday season is now over - we have to face it and get back to work. Some of us worked over the holiday anyway, but it is always evident that normalcy has returned when the e-mail inbox gets full by 7 AM.

In the first story of the first work week of 2010, we get yet another spy shot of the forthcoming MV Agusta 3-cylinder 675c.c. machine (rumored), which may be known as the F3. It may be just the same as the shot we have from the Euro magazines, so expect no more.

http://tinyurl.com/y9juqmf

How about some more updates from the 2010 Rally Dakar in South America. There are a few here, so take your time in reading them. Coma has been assessed a penalty which could see him lose his chance at the title this year, but the 450 machine of Sherco rider David Casteu put him in second with Yamaha WR450 rider Frenchman David Fretigne taking the victory on the second day. There is much more beyond the links.

http://tinyurl.com/ycgdxrl

http://tinyurl.com/y8kkpnp (English needs work on this site)

Valentino Rossi will be showing up at the Auto Expo in New Delhi, India, 5 - 11 January 2010. He will be there representing Yamaha Motors for the event. It will certainly add to the attendance at the show!

http://tinyurl.com/y8nm2ke

A short piece on the World Superbike 2009 season and what we might expect in 2010. After all, Ben Spies won fully half of the races lats season, so who will take his place on the podium? Hopefully, it will finally be Haga's year!

http://tinyurl.com/yauaxmh

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

Eco Enduro - Environmentally Friendly Enduro in Denmark

Funny how this snuck up on me...The Eco Enduro will be held in Denmark this coming weekend, 11 - 13 December 2009. The line-up is HUGE and I will do a disservice to it to put them all here. Plus, my 'tags' section only allows so many entries. Such is the life of a broke blog person (BBP).

http://tinyurl.com/yc8lpyu

Team Elf Sherco - All French Team - Ready for Rally Dakar

The team met in the French Riviera, David Casteu presented his Rally Dakar team to the public. They were shown before a group gathered at the local newspaper which consisted of dignitaries, politicians and many sports celebrities. The team immediately went to work planning for the rally and began practice the very next day.

http://tinyurl.com/yzz4vjy

http://tinyurl.com/yl5vt74