MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that the winter is now officially over for racing fans

Lorenzo Likely To Test In Qatar

David Emmett — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:49:03 +0000

Jorge Lorenzo is almost certain to take part in next week's final MotoGP test at Qatar. The Spaniard's participation in the test had been in doubt since Lorenzo broke his wrist during a motocross accident in early February. The injury had already caused Lorenzo to skip the second test at Sepang, and with testing limited to just six days before the season starts in April, Qatar would be the final chance for the Fiat Yamaha rider to test before the championship commences.

Lorenzo has spent a lot of time in physical therapy since his injury, squeezing it in between a full program of personal appearances for several sponsors, as well as appearing on a Spanish TV show. But his recovery has gone better than expected: On Thursday, Lorenzo announced on his Facebook page that he would make a decision on whether to ride at Qatar on Monday, but after physiotherapy on Friday, he announced that he thinks he will be able to take part at Qatar.

Hungarian MotoGP Round Uncertain After Bank Withdraws Loan

David Emmett — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:45:35 +0000

The future of the Balatonring circuit near Hungary's Lake Balaton is once again uncertain, after the Hungarian Development Bank MFB refused to underwrite a loan needed for completion of the project, according to the Hungarian business news service MTI-ECO. The loan of 15.3 billion Hungarian Forints HUF (around 57.6 million Euros or 79.3 million dollars) was part of a total package of of over 35 billion HUF in government subsidy needed to complete the 40 billion HUF project.

The MFB refused to underwrite the loan after undertaking a due diligence process. Under the terms of the loan, the state would be providing 70% of the financing of the project, while receiving a 30% stake in the Balatonring circuit. Due diligence revealed that no calculations had been done on the return on investment of the project, making it impossible to judge the value of investing in construction of the circuit. A statement issued by the MFB said that the bank had negotiated with investor about the business risks, but that the investor could not accept the conditions which the MFB had put on the loan.

Rossi: "I Would Feel Like A Traitor Going To Ducati"

David Emmett — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:51:27 +0000

Just over a month ago today, Valentino Rossi vowed to stop talking about his future in the press. But like everyone who has vowed to give up smoking or lose weight at the start of a new year, Rossi has found that such resolutions can be incredibly difficult to maintain. For at the ceremony on Thursday night where Rossi was presented with the "Winning Italy Award" in recognition of his work in improving Italy's public image abroad, Rossi was once again tempted into making statements on where he will be riding next season.

In response to questions about how much longer he will stay in MotoGP, the Italian living legend put the fears of MotoGP fans and organizers to rest: "I am again enjoying the sport and the desire to compete, so I think I will continue for some more years," Rossi told the press. Rossi could not avoid the question on all of Italy's mind, either. When asked about a potential switch to Ducati, Rossi was very clear: "An Italian on an Italian bike would be nice, yes. But I think I want to stay with Yamaha, which is also a little bit Italian. I would feel like a traitor if I acted any other way, because I feel very good with them."

Suzuki Reveal 2010 MotoGP Livery

David Emmett — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:31:27 +0000

After Yamaha and Ducati revealed their 2010 bikes, today it was the turn of the smallest of the manufacturers, Suzuki. The Rizla sponsorship remains, with the brand strengthened by having the livery designed by the famous American firm of Troy Lee Designs. The traditional Rizla powder blue remains, but the darker elements make the bike look squatter and rather more brooding. Much more like a MotoGP should look.

Suzuki also released the specifications of the bike, but like the specs provided by every manufacturer in MotoGP, they do not reveal any real information of note, such as bore, stroke, V angle, etc. The engine has received significant upgrades over the winter, to produce more horsepower and better engine characteristics, an improvement which saw both Loris Capirossi and Alvaro Bautista leap up the timesheets during the last test at Sepang. Suzuki has a strong record of testing at the Malaysian track, but they tend to start slipping backwards as the season goes on. With the veteran/rookie pairing of Capirossi and Bautista, perhaps this is the year that Suzuki turns the corner.

Here's Alvaro Bautista's bike:

Riders For Health Auctioning Exclusive Paddock Passes For Every MotoGP Race

David Emmett — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:01:27 +0000

The one place that everyone wants to be at a MotoGP race is in the paddock. Simultaneously, it is one of the most difficult places to get into, as, quite simply, Dorna does not sell passes into the paddock. The usual way - other than in a professional capacity, or working as a marshal - is to purchase a VIP package through one of the very few specialist travel companies authorized to issue paddock passes, such as our friends over at Pole Position Travel.

But now, MotoGP's (and MotoMatters.com's) official charity organization Riders For Health are providing an extra route into the paddock. Today, the charity announced that they will be auctioning off pairs of paddock passes for each of MotoGP's 18 races this season, with the money raised going towards Riders' outstanding work providing primary health care in Africa. If you want to get into the paddock and have a chance of meeting your own personal hero (be it Valentino Rossi, Bradley Smith or even Jerry Burgess), then read the press release below carefully, and dig deep for Riders.

Exclusive MotoGP paddock pass auction for Riders

James Toseland Video Interview: On Portimao, British Riders And WSBK

David Emmett — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:12:13 +0000

Whenever fans talk of their dreams of being a world famous motorcycle racer, they have in their minds the image of travelling from circuit to circuit, and focusing on nothing but racing. Of course, life isn't like that, and one of the duties of a factory World Superbike rider is to turn up at motorcycle shows, corporate PR events and a host of other occasions to help market the brand helping to pay their wages. James Toseland understands this, and performs this task admirably, taking advantage of the situation to practice his second passion, playing the piano, at such affairs.

Toseland is currently in Rome for the MotoDays exhibition, helping Yamaha to launch their brand new FZ8 naked bike. While he was there, our friends over at GPOne.com took the opportunity to catch up with him, and did a short video interview with the Sterilgarda Yamaha rider. In the interview, Toseland talks about the transition from MotoGP to World Superbike, his expectations of Portimao, and why so many British riders are in the World Superbike series. Here's the video from GPOne.com:

Freddie Spencer's Championship Bikes For Sale

David Emmett — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:40:37 +0000

Ask some of the veterans of the MotoGP paddock who the greatest racer of all time was, and you'll get a fairly short list of names, usually including Valentino Rossi, Giacomo Agostini, Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson and Kevin Schwantz. But the answer to that question is almost always followed up by the words "And then there's Freddie Spencer, of course..." Spencer's career was cut short by a wrist injury, but before he was forced to retire, the young American shocked the world by being the only man to win both the 500cc and 250cc World Championships in the same year. Fast Freddie was precocious, sensitive and blindingly, mind-bogglingly fast.

Since retiring from racing, Spencer's fortunes have been very mixed. The Louisiana native ran a successful riding school and was the motorcycle racing commentator for the US SpeedTV channel, but both of those ventures have gone sour. Spencer's riding school was forced to shut down at the end of 2008, after financial problems saw the instructors go unpaid and the bikes repossessed. Spencer's commentary work also dried up, with Daytona legend Scott Russell taking his place in the commentary booth.

Passing The Torch

Rusty Bucket USA — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Since the rumblings began emanating from the machinations of Colin Edwards’, Hervé Poncharal’s, and Lin Jarvis’ closed-door meetings to figure out how to get Ben Spies and Tom Houseworth into MotoGP in 2010, and the subsequent announcement last Fall, one of the most popular ways to cast the story (and indeed, one of the few speculative avenues that doesn’t automatically involve Silly Season 2011) is to suggest that the tensions between Colin Edwards and James Toseland will somehow be amplified in the arrival of the superior abilities of Ben Spies. I realize magazines and newspapers need to manufacture material in the off-season to sell copies, and we who post on The Web need to draw traffic when potential advertisers don’t care that the sport is on hiatus. But I am here to tell you that this particular road is a dead end street. Headlines of “Tension at Tech 3”, “Monster Battle Brewing”, and “Trouble in Paradise” (a city in Texas, but not home to either rider), can be summarily ignored.

AMA: Daytona 200 Report -- The worst of times, the best of times

Mike Walt — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:17:25 +0000

The classic conundrum asks:"If a tree falls in the forest and there's no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?" Without settling too deeply into the mire of philosophical speculation, this axiom relates to the idea of objects ceasing to exist when there's nobody around to perceive them. That's the situation that the AMA found themselves in at the running of the Daytona 200 on Friday night. A poor economy, fan indifference and the coldest weather that this reporter has ever seen in northern Florida during bike week conspired to make this year's race the most sparsely attended in, well, maybe ever.

The audience wasn't the only group missing in action. The field was, by some estimates, one of the smallest to take the grid. Eventual winner Josh Herrin said that he didn't have much trouble overtaking backmarkers because the the field was about half of what it was in 2009, the first night running of the 200. Some non-American readers are probably wondering just who the heck Josh Herrin is. This points to another group that was conspicuous by it's absence -- the top riders in America. The greatest rider in the history of the series, Mat Mladin, retired at the end of last season to his Australian home, emerging only to toss barbed tweets into the Twittersphere and the other "name" riders are confining themselves to the Superbike series.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Always something of an oddball race, even by American standards, the 200 is the sole endurance type race on the AMA calendar and requires special tactics and equipment not used during the rest of the schedule. In bygone days, that wouldn't stop the best of the best from appearing at the spring kick-off. The 200 was one of the premiere spectacles in motorcycle racing and world champions would make special pains to appear. People who knew nothing about motorcycle road-racing knew that the Daytona 200 was something special.

Moto2/125 Test Jerez Day 3 - Another Day Lost To Rain

David Emmett — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:32:49 +0000

Rain once again ruined testing for the Moto2 test at Jerez, the bad weather chasing the class all over Spain throughout its off-season testing program. Hopes that the weather might brighten up for Monday's session were dashed, the rain falling on and off all day. "These three days at Jerez have been pretty much a waste of time," Tech 3 boss Hervé Poncharal told MotoMatters.com, "Even on Sunday, the track was never really dry, there were wet patches still in places."

Ant West took advantage of the wet conditions in the morning to set the fastest time of the mixed session, ahead of Alex de Angelis and Mike di Meglio, but in the 50 minute qualifying simulation at 4pm, De Angelis moved easily ahead of the rest of the field, ending the session and the day with three quarters of a second advantage over his competitors. Toni Elias confirmed his role as favorite for the title, finishing the day in second spot, the Gresini rider having been at or near the top at every test held so far.

Moto2/125 Test Jerez Day 2 - Elias And Marquez Make The Most Of The Dry

David Emmett — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:28:10 +0000

Testing continued for the Moto2 and 125cc class at Jerez today under considerably better conditions than prevailed yesterday. The morning saw the best of the weather, the sun coming out to dry a still damp track, but the afternoon saw intermittent rain making the track damp from time to time, and complicating testing.

Toni Elias was the rider who best used the conditions to his advantage, setting a strong lap in the early afternoon of 1'45.024, about 1.7 seconds off the fastest time set during last year's 250 race here, in much sunnier, hotter conditions. Elias was half a second faster than the Colombian Yonny Hernandez, and nearly seven tenths quicker than American Kenny Noyes, who had led during the morning. Alex de Angelis continued his strong form from yesterday, setting the 4th quickest time, ahead of the Forward Racing Team of Jules Cluzel and Claudio Corti. Julian Simon, the fastest man at the previous test at Valencia, crashed early in the session, but walked away unhurt, and could manage only the 10th fastest time.

Video: Wayne Gardner - The Lone Rider Documentary

David Emmett — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:13:19 +0000

Here's a treat for the many fans nostalgic for the days of the 500cc two strokes: A three-part documentary about Wayne Gardner's 1986 season in the then 500cc Grand Prix class. It features much to enjoy: A much younger and bearded Jerry Burgess, a much younger and slimmer Stuart Shenton, and interviews with Randy Mamola and Eddie Lawson. It also serves to remind the viewer just how much more dangerous racing was back then: Note the armco and lack of runoff at many of the tracks shown in the documentary. A fascinating look back at the past in 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Moto2/125 Test Jerez Day 1 - De Angelis And Vazquez Lead In The Wet

David Emmett — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:36:43 +0000

After a brief respite at Valencia, the rain was back in full force at the Jerez test for the Moto2 and 125cc class, so bad that it was causing flooding in the nearby towns of Cadiz, Conil and Chiclana. The handful of kilometers that separated the Jerez circuit from the flood-affected areas were sufficient to spare the assembled riders most of the problems, other than being cold and wet for much of the session.

The rain dried up in the afternoon, though the track remained tricky, and by the end of the day it was Alex de Angelis who proved best at mastering the difficult conditions for the Moto2 riders, his time of 1'55.835 still over 13 seconds off track record pace. De Angelis finished the day ahead of Tech 3's Raffaele de Rosa and Gresini's Toni Elias, with Swiss rider Thomas Luthi in 4th position.

De Rosa's 2nd place is remarkable turnaround for the Italian, as at Valencia and Barcelona he had been outclassed by his teammate Yuki Takahashi. De Rosa wasn't the only rider whose relative standing changed on a wet track: Heroes of the previous test at Valencia Julian Simon and Kenny Noyes dropped down to 10th and 12th respectively in the wet, two seconds off the pace set by Alex de Angelis.

Jerez Moto2 Test Live Timing - Rain Keeps Riders In Pits

David Emmett — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:21:42 +0000

The weather gods, having given the Moto2 class its first break at Valencia, have struck back with a vengeance at Jerez. The first morning of the three-day test has so far been rained off, with only Toni Elias and Sergio Gadea having braved the conditions, and lapping well over the 2 minute mark, over 20 seconds off the pace. With the wet weather expected to continue for the remainder of Saturday at least, not much is likely to happen today, and the teams will have to hope for better conditions tomorrow.

When the riders are out on track, you can follow the action via live timing, which is available online, and shown embedded below:

AMA: Daytona -- Daytona 200 Results

Mike Walt — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 11:34:47 +0000

Results of the Daytona 200:

AMA: Dayona -- American Superbike race II notes and results

Mike Walt — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:51:33 +0000

American Superbike Race II Results and Notes

AMA: Daytona -- American Superbike Warm-up

Mike Walt — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:03:17 +0000

Warmup Times from Daytona

McCoy To Test FB Corse On March 15th And 16th

David Emmett — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:58:17 +0000

The status of the FB Corse project has been shrouded in mystery ever since the Italian team announced they would be contesting the 2010 MotoGP season. Though the bike has been officially presented, and details about the three-cylinder MotoGP machine widely circulated, the bike has yet to turn a wheel in public, and no one knows whether the bike is even capable of achieving race speeds. This latter point has caused some concern inside IRTA, the organization representing the race teams and charged with ensuring the quality of the teams involved. IRTA boss Mike Trimby told MCN last week that FB Corse would not be allowed to take part in MotoGP until the bike had demonstrated its competitiveness, by lapping at a Grand Prix circuit within three seconds of race pace.

FB Corse has now risen to that challenge. Today, the team issued a press release stating that Garry McCoy is to test the FB01 at Valencia on the 15th and 16th of March, before running a timed test in front of Franco Uncini, who will be watching the test on behalf of Dorna. A representative from IRTA will also be present to monitor the test, to ensure the team is proficient enough to be allowed into the MotoGP paddock.

AMA: Daytona American Superbike Race 1 Results

Mike Walt — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:24:08 +0000

Results of American Superbike Race 1

AMA: American Superbike Daytona Final Qualifying

Mike Walt — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:35:22 +0000

It's always good to make the boss happy. Jordan Suzuki's Aaron Yates made his boss, Michael Jordan, very happy by taking the inaugural American Superbike pole of the 2010 season and the team's first pole ever at Daytona International Speedway. Jordan, who was perched on the pit wall surrounded by his entourage, smiled broadly and fist-bumped every one in his proximity when the session ended with his rider on top. Second place qualifier Larry Pegram claimed to have a traction control problem that sabotaged his session in the waning moments. Pegram was also a bit irritated at 4th place qualifier Blake Young 's supposed following tactics. Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Tommy Hayden merely had his brother, former MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden, in his pit to consult with when he took the third slot. Jake Zemke had to qualify on his back-up bike after the motor on his National Guard Suzuki blew late in the last practice session.

American Superbike Final Qualifying