Musical chairs

[denill]

The 2008 and 2009 Marlboro Ducati MotoGP team is set.

Minutes after Casey Stoner won the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the team announced that Marco Melandri would be joining the team for the next two years. The news didn’t come as a total surprise, but the timing was interesting.

Part of it was down to Loris Capirossi. Sensitive to criticism that they might be discarding the rider who guided the team for its entire five year existence, Ducati has offered Capirossi a third bike for next year. The meeting is expected to take place in Bologna this coming Thursday.

It’s likely Capirossi will decline. He’s expected to move to the Rizla Suzuki team, where he’ll join Chris Vermeulen. After finishing second in the USGP, Vermeulen announced he’d signed with the team for next year.

[Masterchop]

Melandri should do well on the Ducati, he is a very good rider and deserves the factory ride.

[denill]

Team Suzuki Press Office - July 23, 2007.

Suzuki and Chris Vermeulen are pleased to announce that they have agreed terms to continue with their partnership into the 2008 MotoGP season and beyond.

Vermeulen joined Suzuki at the end of 2005 and has been heavily involved in the development of the Suzuki GSV-R during the past two seasons. The 25-year-old scored a podium for the team in his rookie season and has followed that up this year with Suzuki's first-ever four-stroke MotoGP victory.

The ever-improving Australian has decided that he wants to stay with Suzuki despite attempts from other manufactures to tempt him away. Team Manager Paul Denning has been in negotiations with Vermeulen for some time and the number 71 racer put pen to paper shortly after today's American Grand Prix, which saw Vermeulen take a stunning second position.

Chris Vermeulen:

"I am very excited to be staying with Suzuki. I really enjoy working with the whole team, especially my Chief Mechanic Tom O'Kane. The involvement of the Factory staff has also been a big factor in my decision, in particular Sahara-san and our Racing Group Leader Oonishi-san. The way the development has gone since I first rode the GSV-R in 2005 is incredible! I am sure if we can continue in that direction we will be pushing up to the front every weekend. That has got to be the goal; I want to be World Champion and if I can do it with Suzuki I will be so happy!"

Fumihiro Oonishi - Suzuki Racing Department Group Leader:

"Suzuki is very please to have signed Chris to race in MotoGP for the future. We had strong competition from other teams but Chris had a desire to stay with Suzuki and we have done all we can to make sure he did so.

"Chris is a very professional rider and his help in improving the GSV-R has been invaluable to the team and we know he will continue to do that in the future."

Paul Denning - Team Manager:

"Suzuki introduced Chris to MotoGP as a full-time factory rider and is pleased to retain his partnership. He is a no-nonsense, straight forward character and fits in with Suzuki's and the team's attitude at all levels. I don't think we have yet seen Chris' true potential, he's a winner and next year we are expecting great success together."

ENDS

[denill]

Yamaha has signed 250cc World Champion Jorge Lorenzo to a two-year deal, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of Colin Edwards’ tenure with Fiat Yamaha.

The announcement said that the “20-year-old Spaniard will make his MotoGP debut in 2008 aboard a YZR-M1, with direct factory support.” Lorenzo wouldn’t comment on his future at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix where he was working as a television analyst for Spanish television.

"Yamaha has been watching Jorge's career with interest for some time and we are delighted that he will be joining our MotoGP line-up from next season” - commented Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing. “We are sure that he will be a valuable asset for the future and we look forward to the commencement of his MotoGP career with Yamaha.”

But the release goes on to state that the “exact structure of Yamaha’s team and rider organization is still under consideration at the present time,” and that more details will be released later.

Though he’s publicly said he has no problem with Lorenzo, Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi wants to keep Edwards as his teammate. And many believe that Rossi would rather not have Lorenzo on his team, which is why the Spaniard may run in a separate team with separate sponsorship. Speculation centers on him retaining the backing of Fortuna cigarettes, his current sponsor. That deal is thought to be part of a settlement of the lawsuit Altadis, Fortuna's parent company, brought at the end of the 2005 season when Yamaha dropped Gauloises for Camel. Yamaha has a two-year deal with Fiat to back the main factory team.

Edwards had a 6:00 p.m. meeting with Yamaha following Sunday’s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, but nothing was decided. If he isn’t kept on the factory team, the most likely destination would be the Tech 3 Yamaha team. That team is funded by Dunlop tires this year, but it’s likely they’ll move to Bridgestone next year with series rightsholders Dorna stepping in with additional backing.

[denill]

<a href=http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2007/Jul/070725-ce2.htm>Edwards Considers His Options:</A>

[denill]

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies says he’ll be racing in a world championship in 2009.

“One way or another I’ll be over there,” the protégé of Kevin Schwantz said at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, and his preference is to be in the MotoGP World Championship.

Spies has a contract with American Suzuki in 2008, “but worse case scenario I know I’ll be doing a few wild cards and in ’09 probably going over there. ’09 is 100% and next year is kind of 50-50 right now.” And it would only be with the factory team, he said.

Spies recently hired a manager to investigate his international options and some believe he could be moving overseas in 2008, but only with Suzuki's blessing. Rizla Suzuki's Chris Vermeulen announced at the U.S.GP that he'd been retained for 2008. With the departure of John Hopkins to Kawasaki, the team needs a second rider. It's believed Loris Capirossi is close to a deal, though he was to be offered a third bike at Marlboro Ducati in a meeting in Bologna, Italy today.

Should he stay in the U.S. in 2008, Spies said he would do have two to four wild card rides.

“My scenario would be, I’d like, I’d probably like to do one wild card this year and I’d love to do both American rounds next year and Valencia," he said. "But it’s so far off, that’s what I’d like. It rarely ever happens for the riders. We’ll see. But it’s a good bike, and the tires are working really good and it’s a good team. I’m kind of itching to get on it.” He doesn’t want to race World Superbike, but would if it gave him leverage for 2009.

“Any test that I can get over there and get on it, I’m sure their arms will be open to come ride it. They seem really open and really interested. They want to kind of work me into it. Like I said, I think, basically any test that they test and I’m not riding, I could probably go ride the thing. So it’s kind of a good deal.”

Spies has a known aversion to flying, which he believes he can conquer.

“I mean, there’s no getting around it. I don’t really like it, but I think when I spend about 400 hours in a plane in a year I’m going to get over that pretty damn quick. Yeah, I don’t really like it, but if I want to go try to be the rest or race with those guys I’ve got to do it. And I don’t want to be 35-years-old kicking myself in the teeth because I didn’t go do it. If I get the chance, I got to go.”

[Cajun]

Ben Spies in gp would be awsome, he is running away with the ama champship from madlin this year,

[denill]

Toseland, currently leading World Superbike points, is teamed with reigning BSB champ Ryuichi Kiyonari for HRC at Suzuka. Both will ride Honda's traditional lead bike, the #11 CBR1000RR. In the past, HRC has reserved that number for the biggest of big guns -- the likes of Valentino Rossi, Colin Edwards, Daijiro Kato, Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan, Doug Polen, and Tad Okada.

The Suzuka 8 Hours still holds a lot of importance to the Japanese manufacturers and Toseland is still lobbying for a MotoGP ride next year. He's publicly stated he wants to make the transition to Grand Prix on a competitive bike.

The problem is the seats on bikes considered capable of winning races are filling rapidly. Ducati has locked up their factory team with the announcement Marco Melandri will join them next year. Honda has Nick Hayden already in the fold and Dani Pedrosa will likely re-up for another tour. Suzuki has re-signed Chris Vermeulen and is rumored to be close to a deal with Loris Capirossi. Yamaha has Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo signed up and it's likely Colin Edwards will be back. Kawasaki may run three bikes next year and may be an option. But they have inked John Hopkins, plus riders Randy De Puniet, Ant West, and even Roger Hayden have impressed on the ZX-RR.

With Melandri gone to Ducati, Gresini Honda may be an option for Toseland. Dorna are keen to get a competitive English rider in the series, but how many viable options are left?

[k14]

Ben Spies in gp would be awsome, he is running away with the ama champship from madlin this year,
Sorry but that is impossible to say. The AMA is such a crock with only 2 guys capable of winning (cause the suzuki's are so much faster than everyone else its crazy) that its impossible to actually get a feel for how good they actually are. Yeah he's better than Maladin but he's never raced in any world championships either.

[denill]

Suzuki has re-signed Chris Vermeulen and is rumored to be close to a deal with Loris Capirossi.

Dunno why Suzuki would go with Cappo ??
Maybe they reckon he can help with developement??

[BarryG]

It's shaping up to there being a few more bikes on the grid for '08, which can only be a good thing. Maybe one extra Yamaha, Kawasaki and Ducati (altho this would only be for Capirossi by the sound of it, if he doesn't take it, I doubt they'd be all that keen on an extra bike). Hopefully Dunlop will be back, even tho' they've made little progress this year. A few new riders to liven up the back end of the field. Gresini would look like an obvious place for Toseland, for which Dorna would likely provide some funding to have a Pom in GP.
It is hard to say how someone like Spies would go, but Roger Hayden's showing at Laguna has to have a few people looking over here. I would hope someone sees Jamie Stauffer, too, and what he's done this year.
One is never sure of the politics that go on, but he likely has more chance of a WSB ride than GP, altho' good WSB rides are as hard to come by as GP, in reality. The private WSB teams have little chance when they don't have factory blessing, even tho' the control tyre was supposed to even it all out. I'd say it hasn't from that aspect, (not that the racing hasn't been excellent and results less in doubt on the day than GP) the occasional flash of brilliance from Xaus and Fabrizio notwithstanding.
Cheers
Barry

[Cajun]

'This just in from Yamaha:

Tech 3 Yamaha would like to announce that it has secured the services of James Toseland for the 2008 season. The British rider will begin his MotoGP career with the Yamaha factory supported organisation next year.

Toseland - who is currently leading the Superbike World Championship by 43 points - has already proved his racing credentials. He was the youngest ever World Superbike Champion in 2004 and is aiming to secure the title once again this season.

"I am delighted to have secured a rider of James' calibre and am looking forward to working with him," says Team Principal Herve Poncharal. "Procuring James is a major coup for Tech 3 Yamaha and for the MotoGP championship in extending our reach into Northern Europe. It is an exciting time for us all and I am certain that he will be an integral part of the team's future."

Further details, including James' team structure will be announced in due course. '

[denill]

Well, well, that's going to be interesting. That'll teach to crash a Honda!
Here's a bit more info on that:

HANNSPREE Ten Kate Honda's James Toseland will leave the World Superbike Championship to race for the Tech 3 Yamaha MotoGP team in 2008, the team announced today.

Soon after the Tech 3 announcement, Toseland issued his own statement, which said, “I would like to thank the team for all of their help and support. I have enjoyed two of the best years of my racing career with Ten Kate and Honda, and HANNspree has been a fantastic sponsor this year. I could not have achieved as much as I have without the team’s assistance and expertise and I remain 100 per cent committed to securing the title for them this year. I would like to wish them the best of luck for the future.”

Toseland will likely be the only Briton in the premiere class next year.

The 2004 WSB champion, who is currently leading this year's World Superbike Championship by 43 points, was widely expected to eventually move to a Honda MotoGP team, but goes to Yamaha instead, though with at least a few unknowns.

First among them is his teammate. It's believed that Fiat Yamaha's Colin Edwards may be asked to move to the Tech 3 team, though Edwards has said he won't have an answer on his future until the end of August. Toseland's arrival means the end for either or both of the two current riders, Makoto Tamada or Sylvain Guintoli.

Second among the unknowns is tires. Dunlop has funded the team until now, but there have been strong hints that the French team will move to Bridgestone in 2008, giving Yamaha a chance to test the Japanese rubber which has dominated this year's championship. Both Dunlop and Tech 3 have been mum on the subject.

If Tech 3 does leave Dunlop it would have to find sponsorship. Dorna, the series rightsholders, has pledged extra financial help for the private teams in the future and would welcome the addition of a premiere class rider from Great Britain.

Toseland's most recent appearance was in the Suzuka 8-Hours, where he crashed one of the factory Hondas.

[BarryG]

It also leaves a bit of an unknown in WSB, like who do Ten Kate want to ride for them next year.
I just wonder if Neil Hodgson isn't suddenly in the frame. He had a great run at Laguna last week, after being out of a racing seat since Ducati pulled out of AMA last year and sort of screwed him. He's making noises about something in the works with (a) Honda - I wonder now if a WSB Honda wouldn't be an answer? I know he's enjoyed his time in the US, but I doubt he'd rather race here than Europe if he had a decent ride over there.
I can't see Edwards back in WSB, he just doesn't sound keen at all, says he'd rather just go fishing if he can't get a ride he wants on his own terms.
Ah, the silly season - I love it :yes:
Cheers
Barry

[denill]

It also leaves a bit of an unknown in WSB, like who do Ten Kate want to ride for them next year.

Yeah. Wouldn't it be interesting to see the Texan breeze back in WSB and it could jiust be back on a Honda, again?
And he could get another wind as did Troy B and remember the match ups they had. :yes::yes:

[k14]

Well now that Toseland is in Tech 3 and the rumours suggest that either michelin or bridgestone will be supplying their tyres. So I'd say he'll be going to fill their second seat. Tamada will be a goner, not sure about Guintoli might go back to 250's, might get another seat.

In WSBK at ten kate I'd put my money on Suofoglu going up to the superbikes, maybe Charpentier too? I doubt Rolfo (although I think he brings a heap of $$ to the team) will continue there. But surely at least one of their supersport champions will get a superbike ride.

[denill]

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies is getting a head start on his MotoGP experience.

The two-time AMA Superbike Champion flew to Japan on Wednesday to get fitted for, then do exploratory laps on, the Suzuki GSV-R800 that he’ll formally test in Sepang on the Monday after the October 21 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Spies, who was flying to Japan for the first time, is to meet the Suzuki brass at the company’s headquarters in Hamamatsu before testing the GSV-R at Suzuki’s Ryuyo Testing Grounds. He returns to Texas on Sunday.

Spies will ride John Hopkins’ bikes in Sepang and work with Hopkins’ crew chief, Stuart Shenton, who guided Kevin Schwantz to his 1993 500cc World Championship, Rizla Suzuki team manager Paul Denning said at the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Sepang test may or may not be the only time Spies rides the GSV-R this year. Both Spies and Denning said it was unlikely that he’d ride it again at the tests following the Valencia season finale in early November. The team has a day and a half to test and plenty to accomplish. Loris Capirossi, the newest Rizla Suzuki rider, will be making his debut on the 2008 GSV-R, which Chris Vermeulen will also be anxious to test.

Denning said it “could be difficult, simply because of the crews available. If you’re going to do the job, it has to be done properly. And it’s something we have been looking into, but it may be difficult to facilitate at Valencia.”

[denill]

Take a clean sheet of paper, a set of coloured pencils, and draw a map of the London Underground. Substitute team names for stations – and you get the picture of a much-changed MotoGP rider line-up in 2008!

Actually, a man who is staying right where he is kick-started the jockeying for position that has gone on all year in the MotoGP ranks. As early as the first day of February we learned that Valentino Rossi would not be buying any tickets to ride: the maestro had renewed his Yamaha deal through to the end of 2008.

“The atmosphere in our garage is always relaxed and happy,” said Rossi, “and I think that this is something very special and very difficult to find.” For Yamaha team boss Davide Brivio it was all a matter of trust: “To extend the contract for a further year at the end of a difficult season like the last one (2006) is the greatest demonstration of the trust Valentino has placed in this team,” said Brivio. The five-time premier-class World Champion then became the still point in a rapidly turning world as riders assessed their options for the years ahead.

While one Italian master’s world view was stable, another’s was about to undergo rapid change. If you had felt, before the 2007 season began, that Loris Capirossi would be playing the lead role for Ducati and passing on the accumulated wisdom of 18 years in Grand Prix racing to new arrival Casey Stoner, you would not have been in a minority of one. By the mid-season break, ‘Capirex’, the man who flew the flag for the Italian marque in MotoGP, had seen his Ducati prospects wrecked as the young Aussie streaked towards their first MotoGP title.

So Loris hopped on the blue line: he’s joining Suzuki, an announcement made on August 16. “The moment has come for change, and to try new challenges,” said Capirossi – although that was after his Ducati outfit had confirmed that Marco Melandri was already on the red line – headed for Ducati alongside Stoner in 2008.

So we have two thrilling Italian-Australian partnerships to look forward to as Chris Vermeulen joins forces with Capirossi in the drive to develop the GSV-R into a title-winning machine. Vermeulen was confirmed at Suzuki again in July, with an option for 2009 as well. “The way the development has gone since I first rode the GSV-R in 2005 is incredible,” enthused Vermeulen. “I am sure if we can continue in that direction we will be pushing up to the front every weekend.” Vermeulen’s brilliant maiden win in France this year, and Capirossi’s scintillating win at Motegi in the last round before Phillip Island, confirm there’s a lot to look forward to at the blue station.

By that stage we had already heard that Jorge Lorenzo had got on the blue-and-white line. The Spanish 250cc title-holder announced late in July that he was joining Yamaha in a two-year deal. Described by Yamaha’s Lin Jarvis as ‘a valuable asset for the future’, Lorenzo is still actively engaged in the defence of his 250 title as they head to the Island.

A month later came the news that our own Anthony West was on the green line – given a ticket for 2008 by Kawasaki, for whom he made his MotoGP debut at Donington Park in mid-year as a substitute for Olivier Jacque. “A huge weight off my shoulders,” said Westy, whose unusual tale we shall tell in a later addition to this series. The other man on the green line for next year is Anglo-American John Hopkins, who is quitting Suzuki to partner West at Kawasaki.

That’s because France’s Randy de Puniet is heading the other way. In August De Puniet announced that he is making a return journey on the multi-coloured line to LCR Honda, where he really kick-started his Grand Prix career in the 250cc ranks in 2003-04.

Looking at other main-line stations, there will be no change at the Honda works team: outgoing World Champion Nicky Hayden is contracted through 2008, while Dani Pedrosa, the man up-staged by Stoner as MotoGP’s new young gun, announced last month that he’s staying put for another two years. “Although this year things have not turned out quite as we wanted,” admitted former 125cc and 250cc World Champion Pedrosa, “Honda and I have the spirit to come back next year with renewed motivation and be stronger than ever.”

It’s when we get to the outlying stations that the picture becomes a little fuzzier. Former Superbike World Champion James Toseland has a ticket for Yamaha Tech 3, whose boss Herve Poncharal calls the Englishman’s signing ‘a major coup’. Will Colin Edwards leave the main-line Yamaha outfit to team up with Toseland at Tech 3?

Tech 3 are losing Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli to the satellite Ducati team at Pramac D’Antin. The French rider raised eyebrows with a first-day stand-out performance in Brno earlier this season. “It’s always important to do well, but especially now that contracts are being talked about,” he laughed. A Ducati ride is no joke, and Guintoli has since confirmed his growing confidence with a personal best fourth place at Motegi last time out.

But who will arrive at the satellite Ducati team to work alongside Guintoli? They didn’t wait till season’s end to start making changes: Alex Hofmann’s already gone, thrown off the train after a dismal performance at Estoril, and now we wait to see if another Brit, Chaz Davies, can make the second saddle his in the last three outings of 2007.

Honda Gresini have lost Melandri to Ducati: might they also be on the brink of losing Spain’s Toni Elias? He’s also in the frame for the other Pramac D’Antin ride. On the plus side, Fausto Gresini has already announced a splendid new arrival as he continues his tradition of encouraging young Italian talent. Alex de Angelis is on his way to the Honda team for his own MotoGP debut in 2008.

Lorenzo, De Angelis – and the other man in the top three in the quarter-litre class as we speak, Andrea Dovizioso, is also moving up. Exactly what his final destination will be is unclear at the moment: ‘Dovi’ announced in mid-September that he will definitely join the elite class in 2008, with Honda backing, and possibly with the help of Gianluca Montiron of Konica Minolta Honda.

As the youngsters arrive on their express train, some old-established names may be heading for a slightly slower mode of transport. Alex Barros is not glued to his Pramac D’Antin seat, nor Carlos Checa at Honda LCR. Might the Spaniard replace Toseland on the Superbike stage? What happens to Japanese riders Makoto Tamada and Shinya Nakano? All we know is that anyone who wants one of the few remaining tickets had better get in the queue right now…

[roogazza]

I have great respect for Capirossi, it's been a tough year for him. I can't help but wonder if becoming a dad affected his performances ? With some people it relaxs them but it could have done the opposite ? G.
ps. Thanks again for the info Bill , saves me a lot of surfing.

[denill]

Another article on the subject:

Australia now has three full-time factory-backed MotoGP riders. They all followed different paths to the pinnacle of their sport– and in the case of Ant West, it was a long and winding road indeed.

When Kawasaki signed Anthony West in mid-season, and later confirmed him as a MotoGP rider for 2008, the Japanese outfit’s Competitions Manager Michael Bartholemey observed: “His route to a factory team in MotoGP was not an orthodox one.” You can say that again, Mr. Bartholemy…

The itinerary seems familiar enough at the outset. Young West, born in 1981, cut his teeth on dirt tracks in the early 90s, finishing third in the Australian 100cc championship in 1994. By 1996 he was a dual national champion, in 125cc dirt track competition and 125cc long-track to boot.

A year later he was a winner on foreign soil, too, taking out the 80cc Bronze Cup at Suzuka in Japan before 1998 took him into quarter-litre racing back at home. In 1998 West won the Australian 250cc Production title, and took third overall in the 125s for good measure, earning the award as ‘Australian-based Rider of the Year’.

It seems hard to believe, but that – nine years ago – was also when ‘Ant’ first flung the leg over a Grand Prix bike. Check the Phillip Island 125cc Entry List for that year and you will see his name against the #46 Christopher West Plumbing Honda. Ant qualified it on the seventh row but came off at the halfway mark of the race.

In 1999 West, with some help from Australia’s multiple World Champion Mick Doohan, got a crack at the World Championship with the Australian-supported Shell Advance team on a Honda NSR250, finishing the season in 12th place. Next year he had climbed six places in the World Championship standings, and for 2001 the big-time beckoned: Ant took the plunge and tried the 500cc World Championship (as it was in those pre-MotoGP days), again on a privateer Honda with Dee Cee Jeans Racing..

Six minor points-scoring finishes took ‘Westy’ to 18th place overall, but it was not the springboard to greater things. In fact he was out of the World Championship scene altogether in 2002. There was nothing for it but to go back to the quarter-litre ranks for 2003 – and when Italy’s Zoppini Abruzzo team offered him a lifeline on their 250cc Aprilia, this became the year of Ant’s first real break-through.

In a three-race mid-year spell from Spain to Holland to England, West was never off the podium. At the track known as ‘The Cathedral’, Assen in the Netherlands, West posted his first World Championship victory aboard an Aprilia, heading home Franco Battaini and Sylvain Guintoli – himself now a member of the MotoGP ranks. He said at the time it was his father, Chris, who had spurred him on: “He told me to stop whining and reminded me how I used to ride the bike – like a real Aussie.” West thrilled a lot of other real Aussies with a splendid second place at the Island from 11th on the grid.

Yet despite a seventh-place finish overall, no factory ride emerged for 2004. And unlike 2003, his season back on the 250 Aprilia ended in dramatic fashion at his home track with what some observers called ‘the crash of the century’. It happened at Turn One on Friday morning, when West was travelling at around 265 km/h. One broken arm, one fractured wrist and multiple cuts and bruises later he was out for the rest of the year.

It looked as if a new dawn had come for West’s Grand Prix hopes when he got the offer to campaign a 250cc KTM in 2005. The Austrian company was moving up the ranks after a successful entry into the 125cc World Championship – after all, Casey Stoner had given them a maiden 125 victory in Sepang and finished on the Phillip Island podium late in 2004.

But West waited… and waited… and the 250 project scarcely got off the ground. A frustrated Ant accepted one-off rides on an Aprilia at Le Mans and a Honda at Assen before finally getting his hands on the KTM at Assen – and promptly planted it on the podium in second spot, ahead of Stoner himself, by now on the LCR Aprilia. Four fairly dispiriting races later, he’d had enough and for 2006 he joined Kiefer Bos Racing on a privateer Aprilia. Best result seventh, overall position 11th: not the stuff World Championship dreams are made of…

With no MotoGP offer in sight, Ant accepted the inevitable and started 2007 on a Matteoni Aprilia in the quarter-litre class. But his road took an unexpected turning when compatriot Kevin Curtain was injured and West was called in to deputise for Yamaha in the World Supersport Championship.

West came through to finish third at Monza in his first race for the team. He won his second, at Silverstone – and his third, at Misano! When Olivier Jacque stepped down from his Kawasaki MotoGP ride in mid-year, West got the chance to test the green machine at Barcelona and impressed Kawasaki so much the ride was offered to the Australian for the rest of the year.

“It was a fun experience,” West said of his first taste of the Ninja ZX-RR800. “Not as difficult as I thought it would be and much less aggressive than what I had expected. The sliding was predictable, and it was just a lot easier than riding the 250cc – but so fast down the straight that you don’t have time to wave at the crowd!”

The rest, as they say, is history. Fastest in warm-up for his debut race at Donington Park, West got up to fourth, came off but re-mounted to finish 11th. He earned high praise from Bartholemy for his performance next time out at Assen – a favourite place of West’s – where Ant finished ninth. “Anthony rode a fantastic race,” said the Kawasaki man. “He’s only had a matter of hours on the bike in the dry but he’s a fighter, battling with Checa, Hofmann and Melandri. It was a fantastic job.”

West has never been out of the points since, and at Motegi he led the race only to be called in for a drive-through for jumping the start. “I could have done so much better,” West lamented. “It was great to lead the race but I'm angry I jump-started. The ride through lost me a lot of time and then I didn't know about changing the bikes because I've never done it before. When I did come in, I stalled and that lost me even more time. I didn't know what was going on and it was pretty nerve-wracking. But the bike felt great today and I felt strong, too, which is why I was able to get to the front. Considering I had to stop twice and stalled the bike, I guess seventh's not too bad!"

No indeed. Just like the news in late August that West would be riding the Kawasaki in 2008 as well. “This is definitely something I’ve been stressing about: whether I can stay in MotoGP and if so, for which team,” he admitted. “But this really is the best opportunity for me, to stay with Kawasaki, as I’m really happy here.” At last… And for 2008, West is looking forward to working with a new team-mate: “It will be cool to be in a team with John Hopkins, too, as I know him pretty well and we get along together. He’s riding really well at the moment, so hopefully I can push him next year.”

For now, though, there’s unfinished business at Phillip Island, and the thrill of being one of three Aussies on ‘works’ bikes in front of a patriotic crowd – and maybe with time to give them a wave. “I’m just so glad I kept trying and stuck at it,” said West back in August. So are we, Ant, so are we…

[denill]

The following release is from Hannspree Ten Kate Honda:

HANNspree Ten Kate Honda reveals 2008 dream team

Following weeks of speculation, HANNspree Ten Kate Honda is pleased to announce its full rider line-up for the 2008 World Superbike and Supersport Championships.

The Netherlands-based team will run a three-man squad in the Superbike class to include MotoGP contender Carlos Checa, current World Supersport Champion Kenan Sofuoglu and defending British Superbike Champion Ryuichi Kiyonari.

Checa has had a consistently successful career in the 250cc, 500cc and MotoGP championships. The Spaniard has 24 podium finishes under his belt and hopes to add to this tally in the World Superbike series.

Sofuoglu has already proved his riding talent by claiming the 2007 World Supersport crown. The Turkish rider had his first taste of victory on the Honda CBR1000RR when he clinched a race win in the Dutch Superbike Championship at Assen in September.

Kiyonari is already more than familiar with the 1000cc machine, having ridden for the factory-supported HM Plant Honda team in the British Superbike Championship since 2005. The 2006 champion is leading this year's series with one round remaining.

The 2008 HANNspree Ten Kate Honda World Supersport team will consist of Australian rider Andrew Pitt and current British Superbike star Jonathan Rea.

Former World Supersport Champion Pitt will return to the series with the aim of reclaiming the title and securing a seventh consecutive Supersport win for Ten Kate Honda.

Ulsterman Rea will join HANNspree Ten Kate Honda from the British Superbike Championship - where he is the youngest ever rider to secure a pole position, podium and race win.

Following the incredible feat of winning the 2007 World Superbike and Supersport Championships, HANNspree has made the decision to renew its title sponsorship deal with Ten Kate Honda until 2010. With such impressive talent on board, HANNspree Ten Kate Honda looks set for a successful 2008 season.

Ronald ten Kate - Team Manager

"After such a successful 2007 season, we wanted to build a team that brings the same kind of success for 2008 and beyond. This is why we have chosen to go with some very young riders in both the Superbike and Supersport class. We are confident that we can do well in developing these riders. We are really happy that after one year working with HANNspree they are confident enough in the team's work and ability to renew the contract for three years. We share the same goals and ambitions and are very much looking forward to 2008."

Fabio Scatola - Vice President of HANNspree Europe

"I am pleased that we have such great talent signed up for 2008. We have had an incredible first year with Ten Kate Honda and we are looking forward to achieving similar success in the years to come."

[roogazza]

Checa finally fading ? Bill, I read somewhere he brings lots of money with him ? The Turk is hot property though.
I'm surprised they aren't calling some of the hot talent from the KB site, if you read the racing forum ???? !!! (Tui Ad.) G.

[denill]

Checa finally fading ? Bill, I read somewhere he brings lots of money with him ? The Turk is hot property though.
I'm surprised they aren't calling some of the hot talent from the KB site, if you read the racing forum ???? !!! (Tui Ad.) G.

Yerah Gaz. It's looking like WSBK is the grazing paddock where the old MotoGP riders are turned out to. Bit of a shame really as it stops young talent coming thru.

But. How long before the Turk goes to MotoGP?? :clap:

A bit before any kiwi hot talent from the KB site will - I'm afraid :dodge: :dodge:

[denill]

From - www.mcnews.com.au/

Chris Vermeulen took some time out from his appearances this weekend at the Australian Motorcycle Expo to chat with Stuart Sykes.

Q & A with Chris Vermeulen

Last year Chris Vermeulen took his first MotoGP podium finish at Phillip Island. This year at Le Mans the Aussie achieved his maiden MotoGP victory. Next target: the world title…

Q: Chris, it’s not hard to pick the main highlight from 2007 so far: when you climbed up on the top step of the podium in France, did it feel like you belonged there?

CV: Yes, definitely! I was so excited to be up there, not just for me but for Suzuki – it had been such a long time for them. (Chris’s Le Mans victory was the first by a Suzuki rider since Sete Gibernau won in Valencia in 2001.)

Q: Twice this season you have been the ‘2’ in an Aussie 1-2 finish behind Casey Stoner, in the USA and at the San Marino Grand Prix. At that Misano race you said you felt you could catch him, but added that perhaps you were kidding yourself. Can you catch the new World Champion in the next couple of years?
CV: Yes, I really think we can – and hopefully Phillip Island is the first place where we can prove it.

Q: When you re-signed for Suzuki, you described the development of the GSV-R since you started with the team as ‘incredible’. Taking the start as Everest base camp, how high up the mountain are you now – and what will it take to get to the top?

CV: We’re three-quarters of the way up the mountain, I think – but getting to the top is the hardest bit. For us it’s a question of exiting the corners: there are a few different ways of achieving that. We’ve got the horsepower with the GSV-R but getting it all down to the ground is what we’re working on.
Q: Yet it seems, from the outside, as if you’ve taken a backward step in the last couple of races. Anything to worry about?

CV: We had a problem with the bike in Portugal, a really big vibration we just couldn’t get rid of. But we didn’t have that in Japan. At Motegi, on the start line, it was a really strange thing: the ECU just failed before the start. It was strange, but it’s something Suzuki won’t allow to happen again.

Q: We’re near the end of the first 800cc season. Has it helped Suzuki and Chris Vermeulen? Has it been good for the sport?

CV: Suzuki prepared for the change very early – the last 990cc bike I rode was made to go into the 800 era, it was just a matter of dropping an engine in, so in that sense it didn’t help. Me? Not really: I really enjoyed the 990 bikes and their brute horsepower. And the sport? I personally think it’s been a step backwards. I know a lot of people don’t agree with me, but in my view there were different ways to ride a 990 bike, and when, say, the tyre had gone off you could change your style of riding to get round that. With the 800 there’s only one way to ride and that’s with a lot of corner speed.

Q: The MotoGP World Championship is a prototype series where it’s all about the competitive edge – yet we are in the midst of a debate about switching to a control tyre. What’s your view?

CV: Should we switch to a control tyre? No, for the sake of the sport, we shouldn’t. Michelin, Bridgestone and Dunlop are competing, trying to develop tyres as best they can to pass on to road users. With a control tyre that development is lost.

Q: In 2008 you lose ‘Hopper’ – John Hopkins - but gain Loris Capirossi as a team-mate. Will that make any difference, and how do you view the multiple rider switches for next season?

CV: I get on really well with John, he’s been a great team-mate for two years and together we’ve developed the Suzuki a lot. But having said that, Loris coming on board is a huge positive both for me and the team. He’s been involved in the development of that Ducati for years and he will bring information with him to the team. And for me, he’s got so much experience that I can’t think of anyone better to learn from. I was expecting wholesale changes because a lot of people were on two-year deals and once a couple moved that freed everything up.

Q: We can’t let you go without asking about the Island. What difference will there be on an 800cc machine – and can you climb one step higher than last year?
CV: That’s the first aim, to go one step higher! We tested at Phillip Island in January with a number of other teams and on the 800 I lapped consistently quicker than on the 990. It doesn’t have as much speed down the straight but the pure lap times were faster. That’s down to the corner speed, especially on the last part of the lap. I’m really looking forward to going back.

Chris Vermeulen:
• Aged 25
• MotoGP debut Phillip Island 2005 (Honda): qualified 14th, finished 11th, and finished 11th again in his only other ride that season in Turkey.
• Full-time in MotoGP with Suzuki in 2006; two pole positions in Turkey and the USA; 13 points-scoring finishes in 17 starts that year, including his first podium, 2nd at Phillip Island
• Stayed with Suzuki for 2007; maiden win at Le Mans; pole position at Assen; currently 5th in World Championship, 4 points behind team-mate Hopkins.
• Next weekend’s race will be his 35th MotoGP start
• His Le Mans win this year made Chris the first rider to score race victories in all three four-stroke racing disciplines – Superbikes, Supersports and MotoGP.

The 2007 GMC Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix • Phillip Island • 12 – 14 October.

[denill]

From www.superbikeplanet.com

Rossi's Ultimatum
by dean adams
Saturday, October 13, 2007

Reportedly, Valentino Rossi has recently laid an ultimatum at the feet of Yamaha: Build a more competitive bike or he'll ride elsewhere in 2009.

The BBC quoted Rossi as saying, "Yamaha have to show me something now, make a good bike for 2008. If nothing changes, I can look for another opportunity."

Rossi's current Yamaha contract is up at the end of the '08 season. Will Ducati's dominance of the title continue?

To be honest, it isn't just Yamaha that has grossly underestimated the capabilities of the Ducati MotoGP machine in 2007. Nearly all of the Japanese manufacturers have stood trackside and watched Ducati and Casey Stoner pull yards on them any time the bikes leave the pit lane. In a nutshell, what relatively tiny little Ducati has done is build a screamer 800cc engine that has both terrific power and the ability to do race distance on the small fuel allotment now given MotoGP bikes. Neither Yamaha or Honda have been able to pull this off in 2007.

Rossi seems to feel that Yamaha have been too conservative, telling the Beeb: "If we want to win the title again then we need the people in Japan to put in more effort. We need to be more aggressive and brave in the development decisions."

The last eighteen months have been an interesting period of Rossi watching. He's gone from winning multiple titles in a row, recognized as the best rider in racing (and quite possibly the best of all time) to losing the 2006 title to Honda and Nick Hayden, surprisngly crashing out in the final race of the season. And—what's worse—he's now had to concede the 2007 title to Stoner with three races remaining. This is not a trend curve Rossi wants to see continue.

To be honest, it isn't just Yamaha that has grossly underestimated the capabilities of the Ducati MotoGP machine in 2007. Nearly all of the Japanese manufacturers have stood trackside and watched Ducati and Casey Stoner pull yards on them any time the bikes leave the pit lane.
Certainly his home-country pals at Ducati tearing the title away and their exploits being splashed across Italian television and newspapers, while his troubles slide into 'and in other MotoGP news ...' territory hasn't gone down well with Rossi. In his book, What If I'd Never Tried It?, Rossi dismissed Ducati Corse as a mini-HRC; too antiseptic, too concerned with engineering and not focused on building a team around a rider. That faint sound you now hear in the background is Ducati race boss Claudio Domenicali chuckling.

On the plus side, Yamaha have done an admirable job of introducing their pneumatic-valve engine mid-season this year--with very limited in-season testing available to them. This bodes well for Yamaha being able to unleash the hounds and chase down Ducati next season.

[denill]

Biaggi is gone - Again.

The following is from the Alstare Suzuki World Superbike team...


“With reference to the current situation Team Alstare is facing regarding sponsorship, it is with regret and sadness that the team announces that it will not renewing its contract with Max Biaggi for 2008.

Suzuki and Team Alstare would like to thank Max Biaggi for his great performances and results achieved during the 2007 season, and also for his technical contribution.

Suzuki and Team Alstare would like to wish Max Biaggi all the best for the future.”

[Cajun]

Biaggi is gone - Again.

The following is from the Alstare Suzuki World Superbike team...


“With reference to the current situation Team Alstare is facing regarding sponsorship, it is with regret and sadness that the team announces that it will not renewing its contract with Max Biaggi for 2008.

Suzuki and Team Alstare would like to thank Max Biaggi for his great performances and results achieved during the 2007 season, and also for his technical contribution.

Suzuki and Team Alstare would like to wish Max Biaggi all the best for the future.”

damn that sucks, he just getting to know the bike and tracks, did pretty well really in his first year, and he gone already

[denill]

damn that sucks, he just getting to know the bike and tracks, did pretty well really in his first year, and he gone already


Yeah, it will take a lot of interest away from SBK.
I am not a Biaggi fan but I always enjoyed seeing him fall on his face - if he did. It wasn't that often though. He made a bigger dick of himself in MotoGP.

[roogazza]

He might have just hung on too long Bill ? Hanging out for just a little bit too much dosh !! Great rider , but there lots of others who probably will do the job for less..... where to now ???? Gaz.

[denill]

He might have just hung on too long Bill ? Hanging out for just a little bit too much dosh !! Great rider , but there lots of others who probably will do the job for less..... where to now ???? Gaz.

Looking a bit like the scrap heap Gaz??

[denill]

www.superbikeplanet.com

Biaggi: Where Now?
by dean adams
Thursday, October 18, 2007

This morning's not terribly unexpected announcement from Alstare Suzuki that they will not be working with Max Biaggi in 2008 brings with it an interesting question. Where now for Biaggi?

It would seem most of the good WSBK slots are full for 2008. Does this mean Biaggi will return to MotoGP? Biaggi to Kawasaki rumors have run rampant all Summer.

Biaggi on a customer Ducati in WSBK is where some feel he will end up. Biaggi could certainly drum up the money in Italy to run such an effort but one has to wonder if team ownership is a role Max is interested in.

[James Deuce]

Gresini Honda are talking with Biaggi at the moment.

[denill]

UPDATE: WSBK:
Last Minute Problems Halt Biaggi-GSE Deal
Written by: Dennis Noyes

Borrego Springs, CA – 10/24/2007
Max Biaggi

Word from Ducati Corse is that the plans to put Max Biaggi on a works-supported Ducati with the GSE squad have been abandoned. The Italian source of the original story linking Biaggi to the GSE team of Great Britain says that the problem is due to a conflict of interest that would make it impossible for Darrell Healey, owner of the GSE team, to field a team in opposition to the factory team of Troy Bayliss and Michel Fabrizio. Healey is the personal manager of Troy Bayliss.

Efforts are now being made to place Biaggi in the Sterilgarda Ducati team owned by Marco Borciani. At present the Borciani team has signed Spaniard Rubén Xaus who will have a factory supported Ducati 1098R.

Further developments are expected during the next 24 hours.

The following is the original story: - posted prior to the last-minute halt to what would have been a blockbuster shakeup in both the World Superbike and British Superbike championships:

SpeedTV.com has learned from reliable Italian sources that Max Biaggi, 36, will return to the World Superbike Championship in 2008 riding a works-supported Ducati for the British GSE Ducati team.

The GSE Airwaves team announced on October 15th that it was pulling out of the British Superbike Championship because the new BSB technical regulations will not allow Ducati to change the pistons of the 1098R (expected to displace 1198cc). GSE team owner Darrell Healey (who is also the personal manager of two times World SBK Champion Troy Bayliss) was told by the Ducati factory that the bike could only be raced with the replacement pistons as allowed under more permissive World Superbike regulations.

When Honda HRC told Fausto Gresini that they did not support his intention to sign Biaggi to ride for the Italian team on an RC212V in MotoGP, conversations between Ducati Corse, GSE, and Max Biaggi were initiated by World Superbike promoters FGSport.

No other details are available at this time, but Biaggi has agreed to ride for GSE. Ducati Corse will supply the British-based team with two factory machines with the same Magneti Marelli electronics supplied to the works Ducati Xerox team of Troy Bayliss and Michel Fabrizio.

Biaggi, a four times World 250 champion, has scored a total of 45 wins at the world championship level, 29 in 250, 13 in 500/MotoGP, and three in his first season of WSBK. The Roman has made 128 podium appearances, and, in addition to the four 250 titles, he has finished runner-up three times in 500/MotoGP, third three times in 500/MotoGP, and was third in his first year in SBK.

Biaggi made the adjustment from MotoGP to World Superbike in 2007, winning three races and making a championship-leading 17 podium appearances for the Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki team. Despite the successful series debut, Biaggi and team owner Francis Batta were unable to reach an agreement for 2008.

Biaggi left the HRC Repsol Honda team at the end of the 2005 season and HRC then refused to supply the Camel Honda Pons team with machines for Biaggi in 2006. As a result Camel moved their sponsorship to the Yamaha factory team and Team Pons, one of the most successful private teams in Grand Prix history, was forced to retire because without the Italian superstar the team was unable to find a major sponsor.

Biaggi had many offers from MotoGP teams for 2006, but for one reason or another (probably because the other Japanese factories joined Honda in boycotting the rider who was openly critical of HRC) none of the MotoGP teams were able to obtain bikes for the Italian.

Biaggi’s teammate may be Leon Camier, 21, who broke his femur and pelvis in a crash at Cadwell Park toward the end of the season. In spite of missing the final six races of the season, Camier finished eighth in his rookie BSB Superbike season.

The two riders who took the Airwaves Ducati team to third and fourth in this year’s BSB, Leon Haslam and Gregorio Lavilla, are currently without teams. Haslam is expected to join the HM Plant Honda team for the British series, while Lavilla is talking to the PSG-1 Kawasaki team in World Superbike and with undisclosed teams in the BSB.

At present the top seven World Superbike teams are complete:

Ten Kate Honda: Carlos Checa and Ryuichi Kiyonari
Santander Yamaha: Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser
Alstare Suzuki: Yukio Kagayama, Fonsi Nieto and Max Neukirchner
Ducati Xerox: Troy Bayliss and Michel Fabrizio
GSE Ducati: Max Biaggi and, probably, Leon Camier
Sterilgarda Ducati: Rubén Xaus and, possibly, Lorenzo Lanzi
PSG-1 Kawasaki: Regis Laconi and a second rider to be confirmed, possibly Alex Barros, unless the Brazilian retires

[denill]

The following is from Gresini Honda...


Fausto Gresini and Shinya Nakano are pleased to announce that they have reached an agreement for the 2008 season. The experienced Japanese rider, Shinya Nakano, 30 years old, along side the Italian Alex De Angelis, 23 years old, at his debut on Motogp, complete the Gresini Honda riders line up.

Fausto Gresini: "I'm happy to announce Shinya Nakano, that together with Alex De Angels will be the colour bearer of out team on a Honda RC212v with Bridgestone tyres. Shinya is a rider with a great potential, so far expressed only in part. We strongly believe in him as also Honda HRC and Bridgestone do. We have signed with the Japanese rider a one year contract with an option. We will start to prepare the new season immediately after the Valencia GP in an important session where our riders can start to get confidence with the Honda rc212v with Bridgestone tyres.

Shinya Nakano: it's my pleasure to work with the Honda Gresini Team. I know Fausto, he was a rider before becoming a Team Manager and he has worked very well with Honda HRC for many years. I will be pleased to learn something from the team and to work with my new team mate Alex de Angelis. I believe we can have a good season together. I also look forward to work with Bridgestone tyres as well, I have good memories with them".

[Cleve]

Nakano at Gresini. With a Japanese rider next year it might mean they get better parts than this year from HRC.

[denill]

Elias to Ride Pramac D’Antin Ducati Next Season

The Pramac-Dantin Team and Toni Elias have reached an agreement that sees both parties committed to working together next year.

The young pilot of 24 years, native of Manresa, already has nine years of experience racing in the World Championship, and for the 2008 season he will ride a Ducati GP8 for the Pramac-Dantin Team.

Toni Elías began his professional career in 1998 racing a 125cc in the Spanish Championship, and after only one year jumped directly to the mecca of motorcycling, the MotoGP World Championship. During his three years in the eighth liter class, Elias obtained several victories and pole-positions, demonstrating that despite his youth he was able to fight with the best riders of that day. From 2002, when he moved up into the 250cc category, he proved himself to be a very fast and consistent rider, competing in the top group from his very first season. In his three years riding 250's, he was able to fight for the Championship and achieved 20 podiums. In 2005 Elias took his first steps in the MotoGP class, thus far notching 3 podiums and a breathtaking, breakthrough win in 2006 at the Gran Prix of Portugal.

The Pramac-Dantin Team will charge into 2008 with two young, fierce, and competitive pilots: TONI ELIAS and SYLVAIN GUINTOLI.

[denill]

Read somwhere that the KR will be Ducati powered in '08.
It won't make a lot of difference what powers it if Kurtis is riding it. :nono:

So what DID REALLY happen to Kenny - the chip of the old man's block, who went AWOL during the season?? :confused:
Anyone know?? :confused:

[roogazza]

Dad probably told him to pull his finger out !
From what I've heard, Dad swears a lot, so you could imagine ???? Gaz.

[BarryG]

Officially "If I can't be competitive, I'm not risking my neck to finish last", so dad said take a break, we'll get Kurtis on it. To be fair, it really does seem to be the bike, not the rider(s), this year, and must have been hugely frustrating for everyone after being at the sharp end a lot last year.

If KR does get Duc motors (unlikley by the sound of it with them having the factory team and the satellite team to supply stuff to) I'd have to wonder if either of the kids would be back, he may get someone who will give it a bit less science and a lot more thoughtful passion. I'm not sure who KR rates, it'll have to be someone who won't be cowed by the Roberts manner but will take full advantage of his forcefulness.
Cheers
Barry

[Cajun]

Italian Max Biaggi signed with the Sterilgarda Ducati team this afternoon, insuring that Biaggi will be in the '07 WSBK championship.

The Sterilgarda team ran Ruben Xaus, Marco Borciani (and for a brief period, Giovanni Bussei) in 2007 and their bikes were among the fastest in terms of top speed at the ultra-fast Monza.

Biaggi says he is happy to finally be on a Ducati and looks forward to testing.

[denill]

Italian Max Biaggi signed with the Sterilgarda Ducati team this afternoon, insuring that Biaggi will be in the '07 WSBK championship.

The Sterilgarda team ran Ruben Xaus, Marco Borciani (and for a brief period, Giovanni Bussei) in 2007 and their bikes were among the fastest in terms of top speed at the ultra-fast Monza.

Biaggi says he is happy to finally be on a Ducati and looks forward to testing.

And a bit more on the Max subject:

Max Biaggi will stay in World Superbike after being denied the opportunity to ride on a Honda satellite team in the MotoGP World Championship.

The Italian, who was let go by the Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra team at the end of the World Superbike season, has signed a deal to ride for Team Sterilgarda Ducati. The team, which ran Ruben Xaus this year, will expand to two riders in 2008.

In a posting on his website, Biaggi said, "It seems me a good opportunity, the team has guaranteed that we will have high-level technicians, the structure is growing considering that next year we will be two pilots. Unfortunately we won't be testing at the end of November in Qatar, but we hope to be on track within the first week of December in Vallelunga or Valencia. I am motivated for this new adventure and then…ride a Ducati is always been my dream!"

Biaggi returns to the World Superbike paddock after Honda refused to let him join one of their MotoGP satellite teams. Biaggi was hoping to return to MotoGP with the Gresini Honda team, but senior Honda officials made it clear that the rift that developed after the 2005 season hadn't healed and that he would not be welcomed back.

[BarryG]

Doesn't say whether Xaus will be re-signed. I think Rueben would be pretty likely to ignore Max on the same team, he seems to be pretty self-believing. I just wonder if Max won't require too much attention. He seems to need the setup to be closer to perfect than a lot of racers, and if it's not, doesn't seem to ride around it. Xaus seems to just hop on and go - not that he doesn't bin it more than most! He was the only 'non-works' rider to take a WSB leg this season, I think.
Someone made the observation that when Ducati let him (Xaus) go, the carbon shop went back on to single shift!
Max on a Duc could be fun.
Cheers
Barry

[denill]

Doesn't say whether Xaus will be re-signed. I think Rueben would be pretty likely to ignore Max on the same team, he seems to be pretty self-believing. I just wonder if Max won't require too much attention. He seems to need the setup to be closer to perfect than a lot of racers, and if it's not, doesn't seem to ride around it. Xaus seems to just hop on and go - not that he doesn't bin it more than most! He was the only 'non-works' rider to take a WSB leg this season, I think.
Someone made the observation that when Ducati let him (Xaus) go, the carbon shop went back on to single shift!
Max on a Duc could be fun.
Cheers
Barry

Well said Barry. Have to concur with all the above. (Like the bit about the single shift.)

[roogazza]

Being a bit of a Rossi fan my partner has just bought me my second book on Vale. In one of the chapters it discusses the different styles and needs of his oposition. Biaggi does seem to need things more finely set up but in saying that so does Vale, as compared to Sir Mick , who didn't mind riding around things if they weren't quite spot on. Gaz.

[denill]

At Valencia Pramac d’Antin Ducati’s Alex Barros, announced on Thursday he was 90 percent certain to retire after this race. Bugger. :mad:

He was at times brilliant. Saw him dicing with Rossi at PI in 2004 just to overshoot at Honda. Still finished 2nd.

[denill]

Fiat Yamaha Team finalises 2008 line-up

Following the conclusion of the 2007 season, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd and Yamaha Motor Racing Srl are pleased to be able to confirm the final line-up of their 2008 Factory Team.

Seven-time World Champion Valentino Rossi and two time 250cc World Champion Jorge Lorenzo will contest the 2008 MotoGP World Championship as team-mates in the Fiat Yamaha Team.

Yamaha can also confirm its plan to run Valentino Rossi on Bridgestone tyres in 2008, while Jorge Lorenzo will be racing with Michelin tyres.

In order to facilitate the use of both Michelin tyres and Bridgestone tyres within the Yamaha Factory Team and to ensure confidentiality of data for each tyre company, Yamaha will organize separate rider pit boxes, but the Fiat Yamaha Team will continue to operate and race as one team.

As a consequence, the organization of the Team for 2008 will be as altered.

[Cajun]

interest so rossi got his way in the end.

[denill]

interest so rossi got his way in the end.

Yeah. But he could have egg and lots of it on his face if Stoner beats him up again in 08.

Already he must be wondering after Pedro ran away at Valencia. On Michelins :Oops:

Talk this year about a 'Tyre War' is crap. It's always been a tyre war - except B/Stone normally lost it. :crazy: :crazy:

[roogazza]

Talk this year about a 'Tyre War' is crap. It's always been a tyre war - except B/Stone normally lost it. :crazy: :crazy:

Rossi has a one year contract doesn't he Bill ? Going to Bridgestones may be a gamble just for 08 and a bit of a mind game for Jorge too ? I don't doubt he's tried his heart out this year, but I'm betting he's done his homework.. Gaz. :shifty:

[denill]

Rossi has a one year contract doesn't he Bill ?

Yeah - Rossi's contract with Yamaha runs out after the 2008 season and he said: "Yamaha have to show me something now, make a good bike for 2008. If nothing changes, I can look for another opportunity." :rolleyes:

[slowpoke]

Talk this year about a 'Tyre War' is crap. It's always been a tyre war - except B/Stone normally lost it. :crazy: :crazy:

The big thing in the past has been only also rans went with Bridgestones, while all the main combatants were on Michelins so effectively the battle for the title was evenly tyre matched.
Ducati were on Bridgestones in 2006 and were very competitive but the results were skewed by that nasty mid-season pile up that took out several riders and lost Capirossi a swag of points as he struggled to recover. But for that incident he would have been right in the mix for the title and 2007 wouldn't have come as such a suprise.
Then the rules were changed with the tyre allocation and this suited Bridgestones' manufacturing system better than it did Michelin. Until that point the "war" was actually pretty even but Michelin have struggled to adjust and been non the back foot all season.
The pendulum seems to have swung back to a more neutral point for 2008 so it's game on...we've just got to hope that Yamaha can lift their game. Edwards is probably a fairer reflection of where the bike is at the moment so Rossi is taking a knife to a gunfight.

[denill]

Dunno how many it was - but the tyre allocation will go up to 40 next year; 18 front and 22 rear.

Dunno what or how much difference it will make?

[BarryG]

It's gone from 31 to 40.
I think it will mean tyre compounds suited for smaller temperature variations, which could obviate Bridgestones main advantage last year, they apparently weren't as sensitive as the Michelins, and would work better for longer. The Michelins tended to go off a lot faster as more heat was put into them.
You know, for all the twittering about it, Pedrosa and Rossi, on Michelins, were still 2 and 3 in the championship, and won races, so Michelin must have got it close to right a fair bit of the time.
Cheers
Barry

[denill]

You know, for all the twittering about it, Pedrosa and Rossi, on Michelins, were still 2 and 3 in the championship, and won races, so Michelin must have got it close to right a fair bit of the time.
Cheers
Barry

Yeah. Good point Barry.
It's just that the Stoner/Ducati/Bridgestone package was SOOOO much better.

So is the 'Tyre War' thing is about not wanting to admit the package was much better than they (all the others) could come up with - until the Pedrosa/Honda/Michelin combo did the biz in the last round??

[roogazza]

That tiny little fella did the biz didn't he ! But I still can't see him winning a straight fight with Rossi, I mean a real scrap on good equipment.
I will reserve any judgement on Stoner in that scenario when they meet on equal terms maybe next year. We've seen Rossi overcoming odds to outride Stoner several times this year only to fade because of equipment.

ps. Guess who I'm a fan of ?????? gaz.

[k14]

That tiny little fella did the biz didn't he ! But I still can't see him winning a straight fight with Rossi, I mean a real scrap on good equipment.
I will reserve any judgement on Stoner in that scenario when they meet on equal terms maybe next year. We've seen Rossi overcoming odds to outride Stoner several times this year only to fade because of equipment.

ps. Guess who I'm a fan of ?????? gaz.
Hello!!! Did you watch the cataluyna race? Line astern, stoner, rossi and pedrosa. Stoner beat him fair and square that day, nothing better about either riders bikes, purely on skill.

[denill]

That tiny little fella did the biz didn't he ! But I still can't see him winning a straight fight with Rossi, I mean a real scrap on good equipment.
I will reserve any judgement on Stoner in that scenario when they meet on equal terms maybe next year. We've seen Rossi overcoming odds to outride Stoner several times this year only to fade because of equipment.

ps. Guess who I'm a fan of ?????? gaz.

Yeah Gaz, call me fickle but I'm with K14 on this.

That said - bring on 2008 :2thumbsup :2thumbsup

[roogazza]

Hello!!! Did you watch the cataluyna race? Line astern, stoner, rossi and pedrosa. Stoner beat him fair and square that day, nothing better about either riders bikes, purely on skill.

You could well be right on that one K14, but I choose a faulty memory on that one (one eyed Vale supporter)... I'll still be wearing my Rossi underpants and hat all summer waiting for 2008 to start !
ps. I will admit that they're all bloody great riders and look even faster in the flesh. gaz.

[denill]

Sepang Test - November 15
Day One - Unofficial Times

1. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 2’03.033
2. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) 2’03.357
3. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 2’03.406
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 2’03.607
5. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) 2’03.748
6. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 2’04.068
7. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2’04.164
8. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 2’04.316
9. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2’04.433
10. James Toseland (Yamaha) 2’05.438

[roogazza]

Sepang Test - November 15
Day One - Unofficial Times

1. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 2’03.033
2. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) 2’03.357
3. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 2’03.406
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 2’03.607
5. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) 2’03.748
6. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 2’04.068
7. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2’04.164
8. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 2’04.316
9. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2’04.433
10. James Toseland (Yamaha) 2’05.438

Early days Bill, but Randy de Puniet will be out to prove something by the looks and I reckon Dovizioso could just surprise a few now, with horsepower to match the opposition ? Gaz.

[denill]

Early days Bill, but Randy de Puniet will be out to prove something by the looks and I reckon Dovizioso could just surprise a few now, with horsepower to match the opposition ? Gaz.

Yeah and although you can't read TOO much into it, as it is early days and they are just testing but there are some interesting times there. See that Hopkins is quite a bit down on his team mate, the Vermin.

[denill]

How they finished in Sepang:

Sepang Test - November 17
Day Three - Unofficial Times

1. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2’00.592
2. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 2’01.811
3. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) 2’02.047
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 2’02.128
5. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) 2’02.447
6. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) 2’02.587
7. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2’02.643
8. Anthony West (Kawasaki) 2’02.659
9. Randy de Puniet (Honda) 2’02.700
10. Yamaha Test Team 2’03.269
11. James Toseland (Yamaha) 2’03.550
12. Yamaha Test Team 2’05.755
13. Yamaha Test Team 2’05.879

[denill]

Makoto Tamada has signed with Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse to contest the 2008 World Superbike Championship alongside Regis Laconi.

[denill]

The following is from Paul Bird Motorsports...

Gregorio Lavilla on a factory-supported Honda in the fifteen round WSBK series:

Following on from their announcement last month regarding the team contesting the 2008 World Superbike Championship, Paul Bird Motorsport have confirmed that they will field a single rider on board factory-supported Honda machinery in the fifteen round series.

2005 British Superbike Champion, Gregorio Lavilla is the rider who has been entrusted to ride for the Cumbrian businessman and the Spaniard will return to the World Championship full time after a four year break.

Bird has secured the necessary backing from his sponsors, although it has yet to be decided as to what branding Lavilla’s bikes will run when the opening round gets underway in Qatar on February 23rd and an announcement will follow in due course.

Paul Bird:

“It’s back to our tried and tested formula of a one rider team and that’s where we’ve had most of our successes in the past. The team will be geared around Greg and he’ll get everything he needs to make sure we have the best chance possible. It’s a new venture for us but it’s one that the whole team is very excited about and we aim to start testing very soon in readiness for the opening round in Qatar.”

Gregorio Lavilla:

“It has always been my aim to get back into the World Superbike Championship on a competitive bike and I’m very grateful to Paul Bird and his team for this opportunity. I have enjoyed my time in BSB very much and I’m sad to be leaving as I have made many good friends and it has been a good time for my career. I’d like to say thank you to my fans and not only do I have a home race in Spain next season, but I have two more ‘home’ races in England and I’m very much looking forward to it.”

[denill]

2008 MotoGP Provisional Riding Numbers:

No - Rider - Nationality - Team - Machine
1 Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Ducati
3 Alex De Angelis RSM Honda Gresini Honda
4 Andrea Dovizioso ITA JIR SCOT Honda
5 Colin Edwards USA Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha
7 Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki Suzuki
13 Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Kawasaki
14 Randy De Puniet FRA Honda LCR Honda
21 John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Kawasaki
24 Toni Elias SPA Team Alice Ducati Ducati
26 Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Honda
33 Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Ducati
46 Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Yamaha
48 Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Yamaha
50 Sylvain Guintoli FRA Team Alice Ducati
52 James Toseland GBR Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha
56 Shinya Nakano JPN Honda Gresini Honda
65 Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki Suzuki
69 Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Honda
TBA TBA TBA Team Roberts TBA
TBA TBA TBA Team Roberts TBA

[denill]

From MCNews.com: F1 legend Michael Schumacher is set to make his GP debut on two wheels... Apparently the German will race at Jerez, Sachsenring and Catalunya, three circuits he knows well from his F1 days. Schumacher will ride a Ducati and is currently training for his three wildcard MotoGP outings. :pinch::pinch:

[BarryG]

It is in Spain !

Cheers
Barry