Maria Costello Dominates Vintage Racing in America

This is late, again...no excuses, but a significant list of reasons.

Maria Costello receives the MBE from Prince Charles

Maria Costello took the AHRMA by storm at two events - Barber Motorsports Park and Daytona. The first is the annual Barber Vintage Festival where Costello took two wins and one second place, and the next was a round at the Daytona Speedway where she picked up two more wins. This was a second trip across the Pond for the talented racer as she was invited here last year, too. Chance are, she will be here again...I only hope I get to see her race.

For a brief story from a local (in the U.K.) newspaper, take the link below:

http://tinyurl.com/67whrpd

More details to be found here: http://costelloracing.blogspot.com/

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

Thursday Morning Moto News - Vesrah Suzuki, Leon Haslam & Jorge Lorenzo

Vesrah Suzuki had a decent Daytona experience - well, at least rider Cory West as Jeff Wood was the victim of an unfortunate competitors engine oil which forced him to retire. West, though, took sixth place in the Daytona 200 after only having about a week to get ready for the event. They now have three times as much time to get ready for the next round...do you see a championship in their future?

http://tinyurl.com/yekwvb6

Leon Haslam, of the World Superbike series, says that the next event will be much tougher on all riders. Given that this was the first real race of the season in WSBK, there were teething problems for all teams as they adjusted to their new organizations and bikes. That means that by the next event, many teams will have things dialed in better. Look for it all to heat up even more as 2010 continues...

http://tinyurl.com/yev6j66

New rumors say that Jorge Lorenzo will be in good enough shape to participate in the final MotoGP pre-season test in Qatar next weekend (18 - 19 March 2010). Lorenzo and his team will use the time on the track to see how well his injuries have healed, thus telling them how well he can handle his race machine, the YZR-M1. Only some time on the track will allow them to judge it properly. This is good news as he was expected to miss this test entirely...

http://tinyurl.com/ybfxm2x

More Afternoon Moto News - Super-Superbikes & Daytona Review

MotorcycleUSA has done a special motorcycle comparo between a non-modified Aprilia RSV-4, a well-modified Suzuki GSX-R1000 and a US$70K Ducati 1098R. The results were predictable with the Ducati being fastest, the Suzuki in second and the Aprilia at the back. However, you could buy three-and-a-half Aprilia RSV-4 bikes for the one of the Ducati machines, so imagine if you bought the RSV-4 and used the US$50K to turn it into a true SUPERbike. Read the article and have a look for yourself...

http://tinyurl.com/ycdpkry

Did you miss the Daytona Bike Week event this past week? If so, you might want to catch up on the events, happenings, racing and other parts of the experience when traveling to this annual rally. Simply take the link below and you can read about what went on and see some of the notable events of the Daytona Bike Week experience!

http://tinyurl.com/yd9cbvm

Some photos from the AMA: http://tinyurl.com/ybpe42a

Friday Night Moto News - Daytona AMA Pro Racing Update

It was another close finish in the second race of the AMA Pro Racing American Superbike series at Daytona International Speedway. And, Jake Zemke pulled it off again! Two wins, two days. Two very close finishes again. I wish I would have been there...Please, take the link below to learn more about the race.

http://tinyurl.com/yhtkmdn

In the world famous Daytona 200 Yamaha notched their dominance of the class with Team Graves rider Josh Herrin taking the victory. I knew this would happen, and you likely did as well; this guy is good. Dane Westby pulled in second place and Ducati 848 rider Steve Rapp rounds out the podium. A past acquaintance, Ricky Orlando finished up in 14th...a solid accomplishment for a privateer effort. Take the link to see the full list of finishers - it is preliminary, so it could change slightly after verification.

http://tinyurl.com/yzs4rzt

More news: http://tinyurl.com/yhntt4s

Post-race press conference: http://tinyurl.com/ygdhase

More Afternoon Moto News - Ducati/Italwin & Daytona 200 History

We now hear that the Ducati e-bike, which is made by Italian bicycle manufacturer Italwin and simply branded Ducati, will soon be available for purchase. Worldwide distribution has begun for the City Pearl and the Cucciolo (named after the very first Ducati) and one should be at a bicycle or Ducati motorcycle dealer soon. To see more, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/y9pg58t

The Daytona 200 turns 69 tomorrow. That's a very long time to be in the motorcycle racing business these days - so many other historic races have disappeared. With that in mind, we should have a look back at the history of this American motorcycle road race and see why it is so important to us. So many great racers have pushed themselves to the limit at the event - both on the current track and on the old beachfront. And, many have lost their lives there too. Unfortunately, the linked piece is short, but at least you can have a quick read.

http://tinyurl.com/yej59wd

More Morning Moto News - Daytona Supersport & James Ellison and Stuart Easton

The AMA Pro Racing Supersport race was also held at the Daytona International Speedway and it was also a very close finish. Rockwall Honda's Cameron Beaubier won the race by only .001 of a second! Joey Pascarella was the second place man right next to him riding his LTD Racing R6. Elena Myers came in a close seventh in the event.

http://tinyurl.com/y8vkgb6

Swan Honda debuted their bikes at the Cartagena circuit where riders James Ellison and Stuart Easton are testing this week. The bikes are all painted in black with a huge 'Swan' written across the fairings and a rider number. So, we assume that this is just for testing and they will show their livery at some point later. In either case, both riders enjoyed their tests and they actually are a bit ahead of where they wanted to be...bodes well for the 2010 BSB season.

http://tinyurl.com/ydczew3

Friday Morning Moto News - Jordan Team Colors, John Hopkins & Jake Zemke

The Michael Jordan Motorsports AMA Pro Racing team has revealed the livery they will be using for the 2010 season, which started at Daytona this week. Since it is the 25th anniversary of the Air Jordan franchise, they have gone with silver as the base color. Even riders will be running with special silver boots recognizing the achievement. For the details, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/ydn6lzb

John Hopkins and John Ulrich are back together for 2010. Well, if you were paying attention, we already knew this. However, many may have forgotten that it was Ulrich who helped turn Hopper into a world-class motorcycle racer. Now Ulrich is running the team which Hopkins is racing for...how has it been having these two back together?

http://tinyurl.com/ybveycn

And, why not another story on yesterday's racing. It is especially apt since it was a Jordan Motorsports team member, Jake Zemke, who won the American Superbike race yesterday...you know most of it, but take a look anyway...

http://tinyurl/ya693ww

More Afternoon Moto News - Daytona American Superbike Race Results

In the first race of the 2010 AMA Pro Racing American Superbike Championship, a certain rider with a three-year winless drought came through to secure the win - National Guard Suzuki's Jake Zemke. He won in a very close finish; Rockstar/Makita Suzuki's Tommy Hayden came in second (only .238 of a second from first place) and Foremost Ducati's Larry Pegram held on for third (just .259 of a second behind Zemke). The finish was actually very close among the top five finishers - only .307 of a second between first and fifth! For all the details, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/y8bcea5

Thursday Afternoon Moto News - Steve Rapp Interview & Day in the Dirt

Yep, we get ourselves an interview with one of the fastest riders in the Daytona 200 practice, Steve Rapp. Just a few weeks ago he was at home with no ride. The Latus Ducati team signed him up and put him on their 848 machine and he took the reins and ran with it. So, what has he been up to? How does he see the 2010 AMA Pro Racing season? Well, take the link and read about it!

http://tinyurl.com/yaylhgh

For the 13th time, the Day in the Dirt race - they say 'the Burning Man of off-road racing' - was held back around Thanksgiving of last year. Too bad this is the first report from this year's even that I have seen. The author takes part with thanks to Troy Lee Designs, sponsor of the event, and gets to ride with some legends of the sport. The best part of the entire race, though, is that FUN is of utmost importance - everyone should have a great time while competing! Take the link and enjoy the story...

http://tinyurl.com/y9admlh

Wednesday Night Moto News - Elena Myers Realizes a Dream

Elena Myers, who spends most of her time in Stockton, California, will make her professional racing debut this weekend at the Daytona International Speedway. She will be riding a Suzuki GSX-R600 in TWO AMA races this weekend - starting tomorrow. At 16-years-old, that will make Myers the youngest female to ever race as a pro in an AMA Pro Racing series. She has even had to battle back from a serious injury to get to this point...a true mark of a professional. Look for her to start showing up at a paddock near you!

http://tinyurl.com/y8quhpz

Tuesday Night Moto News - Daytona Bike Week News

There will be many more of these this week, though you may only see a few more here. That is because Daytona Bike Week is the largest festival of its kind in the US. It has the most activities in the shortest time of any rally that I have seen (or known of). So, if you are not able to attend, please take some time and see what you are missing. You may find there is much more to it than the 'Spring Break' type party you may have imagined. The racing alone is worth the trip...Take some of the following links to see if it is worthwhile for your vacation time next year...

http://tinyurl.com/y9fofbz

Suzuki-related: http://tinyurl.com/ykjp4ny

Rockstar Makita Suzuki & Yoshimura: http://tinyurl.com/yg98tka

Even MORE News - Father and Son AHRMA Effort & Two Auctions!

Art Delor and his son, Alex, will be competing in the Daytona Bike Week AHRMA races in Florida this week (starting today, actually). Delor races a historic Indian and even takes it as far as wearing an authentic Indian racing uniform and keeping his 1939-40 Indian logbook. His 17-year-old son Alex is his pit crew, and he has over 9 years of experience with helping his father race. There is more after the links.

http://tinyurl.com/ycgtgh2

http://tinyurl.com/y9eea2b

With results from Monday: http://tinyurl.com/yd649ee

Bonhams managed to clean out the RAF Museum in Hendon, UK. However, they were selling motorcycles from history, not British aerial warfare artifacts. The Pampalona Collection was up for auction with over 100 machines, mostly pre-1950, and 88% of the items offered were sold. For some details about the event, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/y9gdoxu

The Daytona Antique and Classic Motorcycle Auction will be held on Saturday 6 March 2010 at Stetson University in Deland, Florida. There is not much detail beyond that after the link, but at least you can get the address.

http://tinyurl.com/yfzeub4

Early photos from the event: http://tinyurl.com/y8qj4zh

Tuesday Afternoon Moto News - Toni Elias Fastest & Celtic Racing Daytona 200

Toni Elias was the fastest Moto2 rider on the circuit at the recent Moto2 test session at Valencia in Spain. Elias is using, of course, the Honda spec engine and a Moriwaki chassis. On the first day of the three day event, Elias held the fastest lap and was the quickest around the track. He is picked as a favorite for the Moto2 Championship, but he has to get there first. Julian Simon, 125GP Champion, was a very close second to Elias.

http://tinyurl.com/yh3pgvw

Finally, we get a wrap-up of what the 2010 Celtic Racing team will look like. We have heard that American PJ Jacobsen and Bermudan Antoine Richards will both be racing for the team, but from different sources. Now we have confirmation that Jacobsen will be riding in the Daytona SportBike class and Richards will be riding in the East Coast Supersport class. The team will officially debut at Daytona this week. If you are going, you should already be there!

http://tinyurl.com/ylou8oh

More Morning Moto News - FB Corse MotoGP, CCS Series at Daytona & Jordan Szoke

The FB Corse MotoGP team has been told by the MotoGP Safety Commission that their FB01 must be competitive to be allowed to race in the MotoGP series this year. They will be taking the machine out for some testing and Safety Commmission delegate Franco Uncini will be along with them to determine if they meet the standard. They are worried that the new team may pose a safety hazard by not being fast enough around a track...so, we will wait to hear if they are given the seal of approval before we see them line up on the MotoGP grid.

http://tinyurl.com/yjxqlfr

We did get some early returns from the Championship Cup Series (CCS) motorcycle races held at Daytona over the weekend, but we were not able to see all of them in one post. Well, now I have a link here which will tell you every result in all 28 classes which were held at Daytona International Speedway. There are also some press releases form the series and some teams. If you want to know how it all went down, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/ygvjjqt

In the Canadian Superbike Championship it is shaping up to be a privateer's dream as only one factory has even committed to racing in the series for 2010. However, it was recently announced that Honda will likely support Jordan Szoke in the series next year. They say this is only 99% sure at this point, so that 1% could expand in the coming days...but, for Szoke's sake, I hope they do support him fully in 2010!

http://tinyurl.com/ylfxn4d

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 Night Moto News - Burmuda's Antoine Richards

This racer hails from a place used by huge American and multinational corporations to keep from paying taxes anywhere, the island nation of Bermuda. It is also a well-known, but a bit expensive, Caribbean getaway. His name is Antoine Richards and he will be competing in the AMA Pro Racing Daytona 200 event for the very first time. He says that he isn't intimidated...well, wait until near mile 160 when your tire starts to slide to and fro...At least he will get some good practice in at the coming weekend's CCS races at the same location. Stand with me, though, and wish him Good Luck! May you reach the podium because it would be a very interesting story and, of course, you will have the historic win!

http://tinyurl.com/yjonfde

More Afternoon Moto News - Yamaha Slashes 1000 Jobs & Ducshop Racing

Yamaha Motor Company is having to take further cuts to their workforce due to their continuing financial woes - due to the worldwide recession. These lay-offs actually include the earlier announcement of 800 job cuts in Japan, but they are also taking 200 more away from their foreign operations. Yamaha will also close 12 parts factories in Shizuoka prefecture. Let's hope that their sales pick up this year and they can hire back some of the people they are losing now.

http://tinyurl.com/yevjnbm

Ducshop Racing will be fielding two Ducati 848 motorcycles in the 2010 AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike class. Their two riders will be Jake Holden and Ducati test rider Dario Marchetti. Of course, they are using many products from their own catalog to improve the bikes, but the rules only allow so much. They will be in Daytona for the Daytona 200 race weekend and will be participating in all race activities.

http://tinyurl.com/ykfl2zc

Friday Evening Moto News - Daytona Bike Week

First up under this category is the AMA's call to all AMA motorcycle racers to be getting ready for Daytona Bike Week. At the event, one of the largest in the world, there will be plenty of racing in almost every class excepting ice-racing, there will be bike shows, custom bike shows, partying, music, dance...just about anything you can find to entertain you. However, if you are there to race, you had better begin focusing on the work ahead - Daytona International Speedway is nasty to tires, so be ready!

http://tinyurl.com/yj84jsq

Also, it seems that the less-than-stellar powers-that-be at the Daytona Motorsports Group \ AMA Pro Racing have come to some sort of sense and are increasing the purses for the various series participating at Daytona Bike Week. Honestly, I think that they just do not want to look like idiots if only some 25 racers or so show up for the events; thus, they are buying some participation. The sad part, though, is that the payouts are still relatively low compared to many other similar series...and probably always will be at a for-profit race company.

http://tinyurl.com/ygj9fol

Remember that the festivities will run 27 February (my birthday, also Colin Edwards) through 7 March 2010.

Monday Evening Moto News - Loveliness and Ricky Carmichael

The loveliness comes to us courtesy of Bubba Shobert's Honda RS750. It was designed and built to fight with the all-powerful Harley-Davidson XR750 on the flat dirt tracks of the US. The bike was an unqualified success and along with Ricky Graham, who won the 1984 season, it won four AMA Grand National Championships from 1984 through 1987; the last three of which went to Shobert.

http://tinyurl.com/ykmjnd4

MX Sports, the people who bring us the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships, have worked out a very cool new race and school - yes, school. Ricky Carmichael has joined with them to bring the Ricky Carmichael Amateur Supercross Championship, which will be held at Daytona International Speedway on 6 march 2010 (also Bike Week), and Ricky Carmichael University, held the following day. An amazing chance for any off-road racer, no? There is much more after the link...

http://tinyurl.com/ydnf3wf