Take the FIM Speed World Record Holder Leslie Porterfield, Livia Lancelot the FIM’s Women’s Motocross World Championand Laia Sanz, FIM’s Women’s Trial World Champion put them on a video called “Women Ride”as role models to encourage more women to take to two wheels.

It was about time that the FIM decided to promote female riding considering the rising number of women that are taking to motorcycles, but unfortunately in Italy, the FMI (Italian Motorcycling Federation) is going in the opposite direction and female racers are up in arms against the FMI.

The Federation has unilaterally decided the Women’s 2010 GP Championship will consist of one single race and the title assigned on the basis of that one race.

It looks like big league doesn’t know what little league is doing … wrong.

Source | asphaltandrubber.com

Continue reading: FIM Promotes Female Riders (w/video)

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

The Gran Prix Commission (Dorna, IRTA, FIM, MSMA) met in Barcelona today and have released a series of technical details regarding the return of MotoGP to the 1000cc displacement.

We already know about the displacement, the number of cylinders, the 81mm maximum bore and it has been officially confirmed that the existing 800cc bikes will be allowed to race alongside the new 1000cc prototypes (something similar to what happened when the 500cc two strokes were phased out) .

The new 1000cc machines will carry an extra 3 kilos, from 150kg to 153kg, while the 800cc’s will remain the same, as will the six engine per season rule and the 21 liter tank capacity for both displacements.

More interesting is that the Commission has come up with the Claiming Rules Team (CRT) which according to the FIM will be defined in May, but it has already been outlined that private teams will be permitted to use 12 engines and a 24 liter fuel tank.

The CRT is probably another step to cut operating costs for private teams and fatten up the grid with eventual newcomers (FB Corse, Inmotec or Aprilia and BMW) to the championship, but until May does come around we’ll probably reading some pretty good theories around.

You can read the press release here.

Continue reading: MotoGP: More 2012 Rules Revealed

The FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) has announced they will further update their anti-doping controls.

Starting this year, the FIM to better follow the rules set out by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) that the Federation adopted back in 2003, will establish a registered testing pool of riders who compete in 5 different FIM World Championships (Road Racing, Motocross, Trial, Enduro and Track Racing) who will have to provide the Federation with their whereabouts using the on-line ADAMS (Anti-Doping Administration & Management System).

Those riders who are not part of the program will still be subject to random testing, as the tests done last March in MotoGP and and at the Imola round of the the WSBK Championship where all the riders resulted negative.

The last rider that we know who tested positive was Spanish 2008 Supersport Champion Angel Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was caught out last July for using recreational drugs and not performance enhancing substances and had his license suspended for two years, but appealed requesting a DNA test and the court provvisionally suspended the sanction.

Source | fim

Continue reading: FIM to Intensify Anti-Doping Controls

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

The FIM has revealed still another provisional entry list for the 2010 MotoGP, Moto2, and 125cc championships.

In MotoGP there will be 17 riders. We’ve lost Hayate Racing, Scot Honda that pulled out at the end of the 2009 season, while Grupo Francisco Hernando pulled out in mid season and have gained two new teams: Interwetten Honda and Aspar Ducati, while FB Corse and Inmotec, MotoGP newbies are absent from the list.

Dani Pedrosa has dropped his #3 to go back to his original #26, while Marco Melandri has changed his trademark #33 to take up #24.

2010 MotoGP Rider Lineup:

Continue reading: FIM Reveals Entry Lists for MotoGP, Moto2 and 125cc

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

The world’s first international enduro race for zero emission electrical motorcycles (no CO2 and no noise) will take place December 11th to 13th, while the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) takes place in Copenhagen.

The event include two days of racing around the wooded countryside south of Copenhagen, followed by a big finale in the center of the city.

The racing has already attracted several international star names who think it is exciting that help to show the world that it can indeed be fun to be environmentally sound and include Motocross World Championship and Rally Dakar like 5 times World Champion Joël Smets, former World Champion Pål Anders Ullevålseter, Winner of Central Europe Rally, David Casteu (4th in Dakar 2009) and Danish Grand Prix winner Brian Kjær Jørgensen.

The International Eco Enduro is approved by the FIM and supported by Danish Year of Sports 2009. The event will be covered by Eurosport, RTL and French TV, among others.

Source | fim and ecoenduro

Continue reading: International Electric Enduro Race

The FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) has announced that the penalty for breaking the new MotoGP engine change limit, which allows a maximum of five engines changes the last seven rounds has been revised.

Instead of a ten point penalty that would have created problems especially in a close championship, the rider will start the race in last place at the back off the grid, while the constructor will have 10 points deducted from its championship classification.

The rule change has come after criticism from the MotoGP riders, especially Valentino Rossi.

In a cost saving measure in 2010 MotoGP will use only six engines for the entire 18 race series.

Continue reading: MotoGP Engine Penalty Revised

After the Andrea Iannone and Pol Espargaro incident at Misano that left fans wondering where sportsmanship has gone, Vito Ippolito, the FIM President has decided to action with this open letter to all the riders.

When you’ve read the letter, you’ll wonder why Ippolito has decided speak out only now, when in these last couple of seasons we’ve seen all sorts of wild behaviour on and off track, with media trashing of rivals and even team mates.

Race with Fair Play!

Ladies and gentlemen,

Following many incidents between riders that have taken place during races since the beginning of the season and comments made by riders that were published by the media, as FIM President, I would like to make the following remarks:

Continue reading: FIM President Vito Ippolito Scolds Riders

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?