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.

Continue reading: MotoGP: FB Corse Testing in Valencia

MotoGP is hot item for track organizers and after Qatar whose night race now traditionally opens the championship season, Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE and largest of the seven Emirates Gulf Coast countries is also vying to host a MotoGP round.

Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management who wants to make Abu Dhabi a motorsport capital and runs the Yas Marina Circuit where they already have international events like Formula 1, GP2 Asia Series, Australian V8 Supercars, FIA World GT1, an International Drag Racing Festival and would like to add premier motorcycle racing to their calendar and have already talked with Dorna, as confirmed by AMM CEO Richard Cregan:

“MotoGP boss Carmelo Ezpeleta was here last year and the track designer Hermann Tilke will be coming up with a proposal in the next couple of weeks. But it will take time. We are looking at a time-frame of maybe two to three years when Abu Dhabi will be able to hold a MotoGP round.”

Ultra modern circuit, but will they able to fill the stands like they do at Mugello or Jerez de la Frontera?

Source | khaleejtimes.com via bikeracing.it

Continue reading: Abu Dhabi to Host MotoGP?

According to the FIM MotoGP rulebook, even riders for new teams are not allowed to test outside the official testing calendar decided by IRTA, and this was a big hurdle for FB Corse, who has yet to turn a wheel of their 3 cylinder bike designed by Oral engineer Mauro Forghieri, on a race track.

It was believed that Luca Cadalora would be giving the FB01 its first shakedown, however FB Corse after long talks with Dorna and the FIM, has received a waiver on this rule which will allow team rider Garry McCoy to put the bike on track.

The waiver is valid till the 28th of February, after which the team will have to fall back on Cadalora to bring the new machine up to a minimum of racing standards, and allow Dorna to judge, stopwatch in hand, if the bike can be safely and be competitive enough on track to test in the official Qatar tests that take place March.

Source | mediaset

Continue reading: MotoGP: FB Corse gets Waiver, McCoy to Test

We’ll not only see MotoGP track action at the Sepang test these next two days, but as Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta mentioned during the Wrooom Ducati launch last month, there should also be the first of two important meetings between Dorna, MSMA (Motorcycle Sport Manufacturers Association) and FIM to draft the new technical rules that will be the basis of the return to the 1000cc format.

We already now that the basic concept for MotoGP racing in 2012 will be a maximum displacement of 1000cc, a maximum of four cylinders and a maximum bore of 81 mm, so the outcome of this meeting should give us a little more technical info on what the manufacturers have decided.

Another matter on the agenda could also be the contract renewal between the manufacturers and Dorna that expires at the end of the 2010 racing season, that could see different scenarios in 2011, if the economic crisis should continue.

There’s also been speculation in the last few weeks that we could actually see the 1000cc class in action as early as next season, but we won’t hold our breathe on this one.

Continue reading: MotoGP Sepang Test: First Meeting for 1000cc Rules

FIM President Vito Ippolito and Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta finally confirmed after several months of speculation and discussions that MotoGP will run a 1000cc engine capacity from 2012.

MotoGP will go back to 1,000cc four-stroke engines, but with a maximum of four cylinders and a maximum cylinder bore measurement of 81 mm.

“At the beginning of next year we will produce the new rules in a more complete format but that is the basis; 2012 will be the year of a new era of MotoGP.” said FIM president Vito Ippolito.

“It was a very important meeting to decide the future of the MotoGP class. From 2012 the bikes will have an engine capacity of up to 1000cc, have up to four cylinders and the maximum bore will be 81mm. It’s a very important measurement because with this we can have all the characteristics of the engine. This has been approved and between now and the start of the 2010 season we will have another two meetings to define the rest of the specifications for this new class.” stated Carmelo Ezpeleta.

You can read the official document here and you can see that most of the rules regard Moto2, but the current MotoGP class has had some rules tweaked, including a weight increase for the bikes from 148kg to 150kg, and tires for the entire weekend will be reduced from 20 to 18.

After complaints by the manufacturers regarding the 10 point penalty on the constructors standings for infringing the engine durability rule (in 2010, 6 engines for 18 races) has been changed again with the brunt falling on the riders, who instead of starting at the back of the grid will now have to start from the pitlane 20 seconds after the start of the race or if an extra engine is used during the race the riders will get a ride through penalty.

Continue reading: MotoGP: Back to 1000cc in 2012

When FIM, Dorna and IRTA announced that they were changing the 250cc class to 600cc Moto 2, most fans turned up their noses and declared that it was the end of an excellent championship and that it would be an end as a learning school for riders that would be heading to the top class, that Dorna was making another bad mistake and most teams wouldn’t want anything to do with the new series, especially when it was announced that Honda would be the sole motor provider for the new Moto2 series.

After Friday’s official closing date FIM announced that they have received proposals from 47 teams for 91 entries, two of which are for the exsisting 250cc 2 stroke class that is still permitted to run in 2010 alongside the four-strokes, and those two will probably be Aprilia’s since the Noale based company is offering their RSA bikes free of charge to two teams.

Six satellite MotoGP teams, Tech 3 Yamaha, Gresini Honda, LCR Honda, Pramac Ducati and Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati and Scot Honda all submitted entries for two-rider teams as well as most of the 250 teams, with Jorge “Aspar” Martinez who wants three places on the grid.

Maybe the best news is that Kenny Roberts has also submitted an application to field a team in Moto2. Team Roberts last fielded a MotoGP bike back in 2007. Speaking to Cycle News, the three times World Champion said:

Continue reading: 47 Teams and 91 Entries for Moto2

Italian daily Il Resto del Carlino has reported that FIM’s Race Director Paul Butler has visited the Imola race circuit because it seems that Dorna is interested in bringing another MotoGP race to Italy.

Butler seemed to approve the track and has even said that the changes requested by Claude Danis for the WSBK race that takes place at the end of September would not be necessary.

The agreement could be in the works and Italians are already speculating if it could be actually done this year, so that it could eventually replace the Hungarian GP that was cancelled by FIM, because the Balatonring circuit will not be ready by September. The MotoGP calendar is down one race, from eighteen to seventeen and adding another race would make sponsors much happier.

For Italian fans it would be dream, but there is a down side. Italy already has two GP races and two SBK races on their season calendar and Imola promoters are worried that if another motorcycle race is added, would their be enough paying fans showing up for a 5th race. Another problem would be that the Balaton MotoGP race was scheduled the weekend of September 20th, but at Imola on that date the WTCC Italian round is programmed, while the week before it’s the Crame, it would be very difficult to organize and event the size of MotoGP without rescheduling Imola’s entire September event calendar.

Continue reading: MotoGP Interested in Imola Circuit?

The initial engine supplier for the Moto2 class, the 600cc prototype World Championship series which will run for the first time in 2010, has been confirmed as Japanese manufacturer Honda. After receiving offers from various potential suppliers, the Permanent Bureau of FIM President Mr Vito Ippolito and Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta made the unanimous decision to give the tender to the company.

The first Moto2 engine will run at over 150hp, housed inside chassis of the teams’ choosing. The prototype bikes will make their entrance to the World Championship against the current crop of 250cc machinery, which will run alongside the class in an arrangement similar to that made for the 500cc/MotoGP switch in 2002.

When Dorna decided to change the 250cc class to Moto2 and the one make engine regulation, did anyone really have any doubts that Honda wouldn’t be the engine supplier?

Source | motogp

Continue reading: Honda to Supply Engines to Moto2

In today’s press conference in Jerez, Vito Ippolito President of the FIM and Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta outlined the new rules that will be introduced for the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

2009:

1) From the Czech Republic GP in Brno and for the final seven races of the season riders will be allowed to use only five engines.

2) Two post race sessions will remain, Barcellona and Brno where official riders can partecipate and not only test riders as previously announced.

2010:

1) The number of engines to be used for the entire 18 race season will be 6 and they will be sealed and a remote monitoring system system will be put into operation and engines checked as a rider leaves the pitlane.

2) A 10 point penalty will be applied if teams are forced to change engines and will be applied to a rider’s championship standings and 10 points will also be deducted from manufacturers standings, which includes satellite bikes.

Continue reading: MotoGP: New Rules for 2009 and 2010

Balatonring Zrt, the event promoter for the Hungarian Grand Prix has spoken to MotoGP Rights Holders Dorna Sports requesting postponement of this year’s race until 2010.

The decision to move back the September 20th race owes to a delay in construction schedule for the new Balatonring Circuit which would mean that it would not be completed in time, a result of a harsh winter and the financial situation that has hit Hungary and affected the funding process. The track is still in the early stages of construction following the laying of the first stone late last year.

István Gyenesei, the Hungarian Sport Minister, said “I voiced my concerns a month ago about the decreasing probability that the Sávoly track would be finished on time. Unfortunately, the events of the past month have confirmed my fears that not very much has happened. I’ve done all I could to secure the Hungarian MotoGP race, and we are still looking at alternatives. We haven’t given up on the race being organized this year, and maybe we could run it at the Hungaroring.”

Continue reading: Hungarian MotoGP Round to be Cancelled

Marco Melandri will race in the 2009 MotoGP world championship as part of a one-man Kawasaki team.

Kawasaki confirmed its plans to quit MotoGP in January because of the global economic crisis, but after negotiations involving Kawasaki and Dorna, an agreement has been reached for the Japanese factory to field a one rider team.

Today Kawasaki’s European website has pubblished this press release:

Kawasaki announces that after constructive talks between Kawasaki, Dorna and other involved parties, a new one rider Team will participate in the 2009 MotoGP Championship season.

Source | kawasaki

Continue reading: Kawasaki - Back in MotoGP

Marco Melandri has written on his Facebook profile that he will be present at the official night test this weekend in Qatar and will be joining the other Motogp riders after his appearance at the SpeedCar Series in Dubai, the 27th and 28th of February.

Melandri will be riding the updated version Kawasaki ZX-RR, the same one he tested at Valencia and Phillip Island before Kawasaki’s pullout.

The Italian had previously excluded the idea of using this version of Kawasaku, but Melandri being Melandri, has changed his mind serveral times as the Kawasaki-Dorna soap opera has played out and obviously the rider would perfer not to sit out this season and hopes for better prospects for 2010.

According to his words this does not mean that Melandri will race at all costs :“ For the moment I’ll try the bike at Losail and we’ll then evaluate the situation after the test – if the bike is a disaster, then everyone will go home.

There is no news regarding John Hopkins and his future, his personal website has not been updated since New Year’s Eve and according to Marco Melandri Hopkins has chosen not to get involved and has given up and that the Anglo-American rider is more interested in money than racing for nothing.

Source | gpone and autosport

Continue reading: Marco Melandri to test in Qatar