We’ve got the usual rider quotes from the team’s press releases after last night’s final pre-season test in Qatar, but a couple of Italian journalists picked up some gossip from the garages that the releases don’t tell.

Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi who are both senior and founding members of the Safety Commission, believe that the Qatar race should be put ahead by at least an hour because of the humidity that makes the track dangerous. Marco Melandri was so angry with the performance of his 2010 Honda RC212V that he actually compared it to the Ducati GP bike he rode in 2008.

The MotoGP season opener kicks off April 11th in Qatar.

Casey Stoner - 1st 1′55.352 (51 laps)

“I am really happy with the test and the work we have done right up to tonight. In the first Sepang test we had a few things to work out but we have made constant progress. The latest big step forward with the GP10 came last night and today I was able to set a consistently fast pace. I have been able to work with the tyres without putting too much stress on them and I was able to keep my pace on used rubber. I like the new engine a lot, it is more manageable and I am pleased to see the other Ducati riders, especially Nicky confirming that with fast times.”

Valentino Rossi - 2nd 1′55.860 (57 laps)
“This has been another good day. We’ve concentrated mostly on the race preparation and it feels like we’re now ready for the first race. We did a long run at the end of the session and we got some good information, which will help us in the race. Now that testing is over I am very excited about the season. We’ve been strong throughout the six days of practice and it feels good to have been fast here also, where we have struggled in the past. We have only tested at two tracks so we need to wait for another different one to fully understand the new bike, but we’re in good shape. My M1 feels great and I’m looking forward to racing!”

Continue reading: MotoGP Qatar Day 2 - Rider Quotes

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Julian Simon, the reigning 125cc World Champion and one of the hotly tipped riders to rule in Moto2, got the chance to test an evo version of Ducati Desmosedici GP10 the other day at Jerez.

With Vitto Guareschi in Qatar with the Ducati team for the final pre-season test and new test rider Franco Battaini out due to a wrist injury, the Ducati management decided to contact Julian Simon’s team manager Aspar Martinez to ask if the Spanish rider could carry out two days of testing. The test was overseen by Filippo Preziosi who wanted to prove once again that the Ducati isn’t a one rider bike.

Simon did 115 laps and a race simulation with a best lap of 1′41.4, only 1.6s from Valentino Rossi’s lap record on this track.

The Aspar Mapfre rider will be back on track with his RSV always at Jerez for the official Moto2 test scheduled for March 27-29th.

Source | as.com

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While the rumors regarding that private equity firm KKR could be taking over Harley Davidson with a leveraged buyout continues to put a spin on the Milwaukee based company’s stock, which which jumped big 6% on Tuesday, Italy is continuing with it’s own rumors on the sale of MV Agusta.

After the rumors of a consortium of Italian entrepreneurs led by Geox’s Mario Moretti Polegato that could take over MV Augusta from Harley Davidson, the name of Paolo Berlusconi, brother of Italy’s Prime Minister, has come up as another buyer interested in buying out the Italian company who makes such high performance and expensive bikes as the Brutale and the F4.

Berlusconi is no stranger to the two wheel world having bought out historic Garelli brand name back in 2006, which produces scooters made in China for the European market.

Sources | motociclismo and hellforleather

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It was a crucial day for FB Corse today at Valencia, they were to find out if they could get permission from Dorna’s Franco Uncini to compete in this year’s MotoGP season after undergoing a timing test and examined for reliability and safety.

While Uncini judged FB Corse’s “project interesting” the team was deemed not ready to compete in the MotoGP season opener in Qatar, but added they could be ready for a couple of wild card races in Europe later in the season after they put the FB01 through more development, more testing sessions and more kilometers on track.

For those who are interested in lap times according to Sportmediaset.com, Garry McCoy’s best laps were around the 1’40’s and tomorrow the team will continue working on electronics and then head home to analyze all the data and then off to Misano for more track time, as McCoy has been given a further dispensation for testing.

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Seven times AMA Champion, the legendary Mat Mladin has mellowed out since he retired last season. In a multi-part series by On The Throttle TV called Mat Mladin, Inside with the Champ, the Aussie rider has nothing but praise his former rival and team mate Ben Spies.

Mladin who is known for his prickly character and no nonsense attitude, when asked what he thought about Ben Spies as a racer his answer was: “one of the best motorcycle racers in the world … maybe the best and if not the the best, not far behind the best, who we know is Rossi.”

We suggest that you head over to the excellent OTT website and watch part 13 of the series because you’ll get some insight on what makes Spies tick.

Source | asphaltandrubber.com

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The inaugural Moto2 season hasn’t even started yet and we’ve already had the first pull out due to financial reasons. The Spanish Kino Racing team who was to compete in the new series on the BQR chassis with 21 year old Argentinean rider Fabricio Perren, have been forced to withdraw after their sponsors backed out.

With the Kino Racing pull out, MZ Racing run by Martin Wimmer and former 250cc rider Ralf Waldmann have been called up from the reserve list and have confirmed that they will compete in the 2010 season with Anthony West as their sole rider.

The German team has already taken part in the private tests at Catalunya and in the recent official tests at Valencia and Jerez.

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A vintage Max Factor lipstick commercial that shows that back in 1978 women could ride bikes wearing wearing full make-up without it running and could they take off their lids and not have helmet hair.

I don’t know about you other ladies, but when I take off my full face helmet after a long ride I look like something that the cat dragged in.

Source | oliepeil

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On Monday, Garry McCoy and the FB Corse team began their three day private test at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia. This important test is the first official outing of the FB01 machine on a race tack and by the end of tomorrow’s testing, we’ll know if the team will be given a place on the MotoGP grid this season.

The three cyclinder bike designed by Oral Engineering will undergo a timing test on Wednesday that will be overseen by Dorna’s safety delegate and former racer Franco Uncini and and an IRTA delegate who will check the work of the team.

The timing test, contrary to what we stated previously, does not forsee that McCoy reach a minimum lap time and so the test will not be based solely on the FB01’s track performance, but according to Uncini on the bike’s reliability and safety.

No lap times have been revealed from these last two days of testing.

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LCR Honda is one of the privateeer MotoGP teams that often changes it’s liveries during the season depending on the sponsors that they have.

Last season we saw the Playboy livery which was a big hit, along with the grid girls decked out as Playboy bunnies, Radio Montecarlo, GIVI, and ELF liveries. While eye catching liveries won’t make you win, they are important to fans and sponsors who pay to see their product’s name on the TV screen and changing the graphics on a bike isn’t just slapping on a couple of stickers, the process is complex and as team owner and manager Lucio Cecchinello confirms in this interview:

“After having set the contracts with our supporters, we usually start working on the bike layout fixing the logos dimensions and positioning together with a main colour which will stand out our bike image amongst the others. In 2006 we created a special Australian livery for Stoner and that was a very successful feedback for us. Recently we have focused our work on the number plate using the fluo colour and last year we have prepared a special layout for the wheels colour. Together with the Graphic Department we study several combinations to make the bike more attractive and more visible on TV.”

Continue reading: How LCR Honda Liveries are Created

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The Motodays show in Rome was officially opened yesterday by two times World Superbike champion James Toseland and Italian actress Martina Stella (longtime Valentino Rossi fans will certainly remember her) and the above video won first prize as the best original video to showcase the event that has more than 260 exhibitors.

Continue reading: MotoDays Winning Video

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