MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 11/18/2009
Niccolo Canepa had a very tough rookie year in MotoGP. The Italian joined the Pramac Ducati team after a year as Ducati's test rider, having won the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup a year before. But once he made the switch from test rider to MotoGP rider, he has struggled badly, circulating close to the back of the field for much of the season. So it was no surprise that the likable Italian lost his MotoGP...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009
Testing has finally concluded for the MotoGP class for this year - or rather, almost, as Alvaro Bautista will be testing in Estoril next week, while Hiroshi Aoyama will have a test in Sepang a few days before Christmas, the two rookies being allowed extra tests to acclimatize to the MotoGP bikes. But the regulars go home with plenty to think about. Fastest of the three-day test was the man who had...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
The Moto2 grid is slowly starting to fit together. Today came the announcement from the Tech 3 team that they had signed 250cc star Raffaele de Rosa and former MotoGP rider Yuki Takahashi to ride the team's Moto2 bike, built and designed by Tech 3's technical guru Guy Coulon. As team mate to the last ever 250cc World Champion Hiroshi Aoyama, De Rosa did very well indeed, winning the rookie of the...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009
Alex Debon went out for a test lap, but was in too much pain. So the final 250 race ever will start with a different polesitter. Debon qualified on pole, but because he won't be starting, Marco Simoncelli will be starting from pole, alongside Hector Barbera, Ratthapark Wilairot and Hiroshi Aoyama, who moves up onto the front row. Results: read more
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
Mike di Meglio topped the timesheets in the second session of free practice for the 250cc class, relegating the Valencian riders into a battle for 2nd. Alex Debon was the fastest of the local boys, edging out Hector Barbera by just fifteen hundredths of a second. Championship leader Hiroshi Aoyama finished the session in 4th, in good shape for this afternoon's qualifying. Marco Simoncelli, the only...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
Hector Barbera won the battle of the Valencians on the first day of practice for the 250cc class. The local hero relegated Alex Debon to 2nd place, Barbera leading Debon by over three tenths of a second. Alvaro Bautista was another three tenths behind in 3rd, ahead of championship leader Hiroshi Aoyama. Aoyama usefully put his team mate Raffaele de Rosa between himself and the only man capable of...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 10/27/2009
The 2010 MotoGP season is set to be a bumper year for rookies, with a grand total of 6 newcomers entering the class. Hiroshi Aoyama, Hector Barbera, Alvaro Bautista, Aleix Espargaro and Marco Simoncelli are all moving up to MotoGP from the 250cc class, while Ben Spies is parachuting in from World Superbikes. The influx of new blood into the class - including some of the most eagerly-awaited names...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 10/24/2009
Hiroshi Aoyama topped the time sheets in the second session of free practice, continuing the work he started on Friday. After his salary holdout on Friday, Hector Barbera was back on the front row, ahead of Marco Simoncelli, who was back up to speed. Mattia Pasini was 4th fastest. Result read more
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 10/23/2009
Hiroshi Aoyama struck the first blow in the battle for the 250cc championship at Sepang, the Japanese rider setting the fastest time of the day in the dying seconds of first session of free practice. It had taken much of the session until Aoyama was up to speed, though. For the first 40 minutes, Aoyama languished mid-pack with his main title rival Marco Simoncelli, but with 20 minutes to go, the Scot...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 10/22/2009
Both MotoGP and World Superbikes are in action this weekend, and a grand total of four titles could be wrapped up on Sunday. At Sepang, Valentino Rossi could secure his 7th MotoGP title on Sunday, while Hiroshi Aoyama could clinch the last ever 250cc world title. Several hours later, at the last WSBK round at Portimao in Portugal, the World Superbike title is likely to go down to the wire, with little...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 10/17/2009
Mattia Pasini set the fastest time in the final session of free practice for the 250 class, keeping ahead of the team mates of the title contenders. Scot Honda's Raffaele de Rosa and Mapfre Aspar's Mike di Meglio finished the session in 2nd and 3rd, well ahead of their championship-chasing team mates Hiroshi Aoyama (7th) and Alvaro Bautista (10th). Jules Cluzel was once again at the front, setting...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 10/16/2009
Hector Barbera was the fastest man on track for the 250cc class at Phillip Island, but the Spaniard paid a heavy price for his efforts, falling heavily on his back and badly bruising it. Barbera finished over half a second ahead of 2nd place man Raffaele de Rosa, the Scot Honda rider carrying on the strong form he showed at Estoril. Both Jules Cluzel in 3rd and Mike di Meglio in 4th did much the same,...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 10/15/2009
With the announcement at Estoril that Hiroshi Aoyama is to ascend to the MotoGP class aboard a Honda RC212V in a team run by Daniel Epp, the man behind the current Caffe Latte team in the 250 class, the number of Hondas on the grid for 2010 increased from six to seven. The team is to be sponsored in part by the Swiss iced coffee company Caffe Latte, but the effort is also to be heavily supported by...
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 10/04/2009
Marco Simoncelli was fastest in this morning's warm up session for the 250cc class, powering through the morning's sea mist to lead by half a second. Hiroshi Aoyama is in good form in 4th, while his title rival Alvaro Bautista had a more troubled session, ending the warm up in 17th spot. Results: read more
MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 10/03/2009
When Yuki Takahashi was dropped from Team Scot at the Laguna Seca round, it saw a period of over 17 years in which a Japanese rider had been in the premier class come to an end. Since then, speculation has raged about how long the Japanese factories - and Honda in particular - would be willing to tolerate this state of affairs. The situation was made worse by the current outstanding form of Hiroshi...
Videos