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MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 11/20/2009
The first round of extra testing for MotoGP's bumper crop of rookies has concluded, with Alvaro Bautista wrapping up a three-day test at Estoril in Portugal. The young Spaniard put in over 200 laps at the circuit, eventually lapping consistently in the 1'38.5s, according to the Suzuki press release . That pace would have put him around 12th place in the race, despite the conditions being cooler and...
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MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
Yet another unmissable charity event with a MotoGP connection, but this time in the dirt rather than on tarmac. Valentino Rossi is helping to organize a charity motocross event to be held on November 15th at the Crossodromo di Cavallara, in Mundavio, not far from Pesaro on Italy's Adriatic Coast. The event is due to feature a host of big names from the MotoGP world, including Andrea Dovizioso, Marco...
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MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 10/14/2009
Newly sacked German rider Max Neukirchner has quickly found gainful employment, signing a deal that will see him partnering with Jonny Rea on a Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR in the World Superbike series in 2010. This year, Neukirchner has battled injuries incurred at Monza and Imola and his contract with Alstare Suzuki was terminated in late September by team owner Frankie Batta, allegedly over concerns...
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MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 09/24/2009
The MotoGP silly season is just about played out. With four races left in the season, the rider line up for 2010 is almost complete. As expected, once Jorge Lorenzo finally made up his mind, the remaining pieces in the puzzle fell into place, leaving just a few gaps to fill. All of the factory seats are now full, and largely unchanged, with Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo back at Yamaha, Casey Stoner...
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MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 09/10/2009
No motorcycle has acquired quite such a fearsome reputation as the Ducati Desmosedici GP9. Though there are no doubts about the speed of the Ducati - Casey Stoner has proved the bike is fast over and over again - there are huge question marks about its ridability. Loris Capirossi went from being a title candidate to an occasional podium visitor on the 800, Marco Melandri turned from podium regular...
Explore : Alvaro Bautista,
Casey Stoner,
Gabor Talmacsi,
James Toseland,
Jorge Lorenzo,
Marco Melandri,
Marco Simoncelli,
Niccolo Canepa,
Nicky Hayden,
Pol Espargaro,
Randy de Puniet
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MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 08/29/2009
Ducati are in trouble, and they know it. Just how deep that trouble is has become apparent from the factory's actions over the past couple of weeks: First, there was the monster salary offered to Jorge Lorenzo to make the switch, then came news that Ducati had approached both Dani Pedrosa and Loris Capirossi, asking them to ride the Desmosedici. Casey Stoner's absence has made it painfully clear just...
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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...
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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...
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MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 08/17/2009
The rain brought proceedings to an early end at the final day of testing for the MotoGP class for this season. It started to rain shortly after lunchtime, and though it rained only briefly, by the time the track had started to dry out a fresh shower arrived to drench the track again. Only in the final hour did the riders venture back out onto the track again, and then, it was only Valentino Rossi...
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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...
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MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 08/15/2009
Jorge Lorenzo once again topped the timesheets at Brno during the second session of free practice, but unlike yesterday afternoon, when it was all but a runaway for the Spaniard, the competition was a lot tighter on Saturday morning. Lorenzo took an early lead, cracking straight into the 1'56s, before setting the bar at 1'56.458. Only team mate Valentino Rossi could follow at first, and the closest...
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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...
Explore : Alex De Angelis,
Andrea Dovizioso,
Casey Stoner,
Chris Vermeulen,
Colin Edwards,
Gabor Talmacsi,
James Toseland,
Jorge Lorenzo,
Marco Melandri,
Mika Kallio,
Niccolo Canepa,
Nicky Hayden,
Randy de Puniet,
Toni Elias,
Valentino Rossi
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MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 08/12/2009
Now that the paddock at Brno is starting to fill up with teams and riders, as they prepare for the Czech Grand Prix this weekend, silly season is starting to get back into full swing. Already, news is starting to break of Alvaro Bautista's impending announcement of a deal with Suzuki for the next two years, as team mate to Loris Capirossi for 2010, and that move has precipitated a bit more reshuffling....
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MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 08/12/2009
Although most of the MotoGP world is awaiting the decision of Jorge Lorenzo, currently the largest log jamming up the 2010 rider reshuffle, a smaller block could soon find itself being shifted. The Spanish website Motocuatro is reporting that Alvaro Bautista has signed a two-year deal with Suzuki, and that he will be making an official announcment on Thursday. According to Motocuatro, the deal will...
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MotoGPMatters.com (Free subscription) | 07/24/2009
Saying goodbye is one of the hardest things to do. At the end of a relationship, no matter how badly it ends, it is all too easy to look back at the good things, the happy memories, and gloss over the cracks and flaws that caused it all to end. So it goes with Donington, which hosts the MotoGP series for the last time this year, for at least five years and probably longer. The track, located on the...
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