MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 11/12/2009
Althea Ducati has announced that Shane "Shakey" Byrne will team with Carlos Checa on the squad in the World Superbike championship in 2010. Althea ended a relationship with Honda at the end of the 2009 season that had lasted the last two years in favor of the Bologna based manufacturer. Byrne brings extensive experience with the 1098 Superbike to Althea, having won the 2008 British superbike...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 11/01/2009
Silly season for the 2010 MotoGP rider line up may be all but completed, but for technicians and engineers, it has only just begun. It started out in Australia, where it emerged that Pete Benson, Andrea Dovizioso's crew chief, and Daniele Romagnoli, Jorge Lorenzo's team manager, would both be leaving their positions at the end of the year. The attrition is continuing now, and most of the damage seems...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 10/21/2009
After a wild rumor appeared last night that Paul Bird was about to sign Scott Redding to join Chris Vermeulen at the factory Kawasaki squad in World Superbike - a rumor that appears to have been a piece of deliberate misinformation from the Bird camp, after promising an exclusive to Britain's Motorcycle News, and was quickly scotched by a look at the FIM regulations, which confirmed that Redding is...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 10/11/2009
British racing site Bike Sport News is reporting that soon-to-be ex-Yamaha rider Tom Sykes will partner with Chris Vermeulen at Paul Bird Kawasaki in 2010. Sykes, who currently lies 8th in the point standings, has had a creditable year but has had the misfortune of being paired with the best pure rookie in recent times, Ben Spies, and has perhaps unfairly suffered in comparison. Paul Bird, interviewed...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 10/10/2009
A variety of sources are reporting that Max Neukirchner will make a shocking jump to ride alongside Jonny Rea on the Ten Kate Honda team in 2010. Although the young German rider had a contract with Alstare Suzuki for 2010, it is believed that the pact was terminated as early as the first of October by the team due to fitness concerns based on injuries incurred at the mid-summer Imola test. Rumor has...
SPEED (Free subscription) | 10/05/2009
Chris Vermeulen, one of the few riders to win both MotoGP and World Superbike races, will join the Kawasaki World Superbike Racing Team for the 2010 season.
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 10/02/2009
As reported here yesterday, Chris Vermeulen and Paul Bird Kawasaki were on the verge of inking a deal that would see the personable Australian race the Green Machines for the next two years. According to Colin Young, writing on the SpeedTV website, the deal is done, the contracts signed and will be announced later today.
SPEED (Free subscription) | 10/02/2009
Chris Vermeulen looks headed back to World Superbike to help Kawasaki breathe new life into their Superbike program and develop an all-new machine for 2011.
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 09/25/2009
Ten Kate Racing announced this morning that 22 year-old Ulsterman Jonathan Rea has been signed to ride with the Dutch team in the World Superbike series for another 2 years. Rea, a former standout in British superbikes and World Supersport had been widely tipped to retain his ride. The recent switch by Ten Kate to Ohlins suspension components has apparently complemented Rea's style, resulting in his...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 09/18/2009
The influx of young talent into MotoGP may be an exciting prospect for the fans, but it is bad news for some of the current incumbents. With as many as five new riders due to enter the class next season, the older hands are having to find alternative destinations. Fortunately for former World Superbike riders like James Toseland and Chris Vermeulen, the teams in the production-based series are ready...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 08/27/2009
As widely expected, Suzuki today announced that Loris Capirossi would be staying with the Rizla Suzuki team for 2010. Capirossi himself had dropped hints over the past couple of weeks that he would be renewing his contract with Suzuki, tacitly acknowledging that he had signed in both the Italian and English-speaking press. Capirex' new contract is just for a single year, to act as the lead development...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 08/22/2009
Despite the continuing uncertainty over perhaps half the grid in MotoGP, as the world awaits the fallout from Jorge Lorenzo's decision on his future, some seats are starting to fill up. And as those seats fill up, some riders are finding themselves still running in a circle while the music continues to play. Alvaro Bautista's completely unsurprising announcement that he would be joining Suzuki, coupled...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 08/16/2009
After much dithering and dallying, and pretending that nothing had been settled, Alvaro Bautista finally came clean after the MotoGP race at Brno and announced that he will after all be joining Suzuki in MotoGP. In a press conference, the Spaniard confirmed that he has signed a two-year deal with Suzuki, as had been widely leaked and reported in the run up to the Brno race. Bautista's hand was forced...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 08/14/2009
Yesterday, Dorna released a list of engines presented to MotoGP's Technical Director Mike Webb to be officially sealed. The seals are placed to comply with the engine limit which comes into effect at Brno, which stipulates that each rider is only allowed to use 5 engines until the end of the season. The teams only needed to submit 1, or at most 2 engines to be sealed before practice started, but instead...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 07/18/2009
The first batch of images are in from Scott Jones, here at the Sachsenring, and once again, they are real gems. There'll be plenty more to come over the next few days. Valentino Rossi, not looking through the corner Nicky Hayden and Chris Vermeulen on damp German asphalt In case Marco forgets what number he runs Casey Stoner may be ill, but that doesn't stop him from being fast read more
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