The FIM has ‘ruled’ (big laugh here) regarding the actions of the marshals at Jerez after ‘The Incident’ when Casey Stoner complained about the marshals playing favourites and not helping him as much as they did Valentino Rossi to try to restart the race.

The FIM has come to the following conclusion:

“After reviewing various videos of the incident between Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner during the race of the Grand Prix of Spain on 3 April 2011 and hearing the explanation from Juan Alvarez, Director of the Circuito de Jerez, the Race Direction has decided that the behaviour of the track marshals was safe and appropriate.”

“The Race Direction recommends the current rules be reviewed by the Grand Prix Commission in order to study possible solutions that may results in better procedures.”

Stoner has decided that he’s not going risk again what happened in Jerez, so Honda has modified the slipper clutch so that the bikes can now be bump-started.

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MotoGP riders weren’t the only ones to get the lowdown on anti-doping, the Superbike, Supersport and Superstock riders also got briefed during the Assen round last weekend.

The FIM’s Medical Director, Dr David McManus and Evelyne Magnin, the FIM Medical & Anti-Doping Coordinator, gave the same info to these riders, “This is another important opportunity to meet with the riders at the highest level of our sport because we are aware that there is concern, anxiety and uncertainty about aspects of anti-doping. It is an opportunity for us to clarify a lot of the issues, provide explanations and reassurance about what is the FIM anti-doping programme”. said McManus.

As the FIM has an obligation to comply with the WADA World Anti-Doping Code, it was neccessary to explain the policies to riders, and to allow them to ask questions, adding that it is important to have frequent contact with the riders so that everyone is comfortable, informed, and safe.

Continue reading: World Superbike, Superstock and Supersport riders get the dope on anti-doping

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The FIM must be trying to flex its weakened muscles with the Jerez Race Direction, because they’ve decided to organize a hearing with the Clerk of the Course and the Chief Marshal in order to review the Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner incident and to hear the explanation of the officials in charge.

The Rossi/Stoner crash became even more controversial when the marshals ‘apparently’ aided more Rossi than Stoner and after being blasted for their behaviour by Stoner, that included a terrific and very Italian umbrella gesture on his part, Livio Suppo (on TV), Marco Simoncelli and his team manager Fausto Gresini (we’d sure like to hear Randy de Puniet’s take on the matter, because he too was left to fend for himself).

However the FIM’s statement also stated, “Due to the fact that the final decision of the Race Direction will not affect the result of the race, the hearing will be organized on Thursday April 28 in Estoril, Portugal.”

You guys want to know what the outcome of this hearing will be? The marshals will be judged as Rossi boppers and incompetent, and the guys who volunteer for the next year’s event will get a big debriefing on how to and how not to act in these particular occasions. Case closed, end of story.

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Last season, the FIM ((Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) intensified its anti-doping controls in all its racing series and since riders are almost always riding injured in some form or other (we’d like to see the level of painkillers in their blood) they need pertinent information, so the FIM held anti-doping briefings ahead of Sunday’s races at Jerez.

The briefings were given to the 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP riders by Dr David McManus, Director of the FIM International Medical Commission, Evelyne Magnin, FIM Medical & Anti-Doping Coordinator and Dr Monica Lazzarotti, FIM Medical International Commission member.

The briefings covered many aspects of anti-doping, including: FIM Anti-Doping Programme, FIM Anti-Doping Code, List of the Prohibited Substances, Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) (which probably interested everyone the most), FIM Anti-Doping Control Procedures, FIM Registered Testing Pool, ADAMS programme, Sources of information and Education. All riders had the opportunity to ask questions and were given anti-doping educational and information material.

Continue reading: GP riders get the facts on anti-doping at Jerez

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Every since Dorna announced in December 2009 the new 2012 rules that would allow modified production based motorycles to race alongside the pure prototypes, Infront Motorsports who run the World Superbike Championship has been grumbling and publicly voicing their displeasure.

This past year has seen statements from Maurizio and Paolo Flammini who have called on the FIM to address the issue on production based motorcycles in MotoGP (the FIM has often been accused of being pro-Dorna), as their series has the exclusive on this type of racing. Adding that chassis makers are simply wasting their time and money designing and building a Moto1 and they could legally try to stop them if they start competing, citing what happened to the WCM-Yamaha MotoGP effort.

So we sort of wonder if yesterday’s joint press release (after the jump) from the FIM and Infront, is the Federation’s attempt to take a stand and defend the SBK series when words like “the only Road Racing World Series for production motorcycles,” or “unique” are used, and are they sending a warning shot to Dorna or are they just caressing Infront’s ruffled feathers. You decide.

Continue reading: Infront and FIM still together

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The Grand Prix Commission (Dorna, FIM, IRTA, MSMA) met yesterday at Brno to further discuss the MotoGP rules for 2012, confirming the previous technical specifications for the new 1000cc class and clarifying the rules regarding the Claiming Rule teams.

Admission of a CRT will be only by unanimous decision of the GP Commission,which should prevent other manufacturers trying to enter MotoGP with an unofficially backed CRT team and benefitting from the 12 engine rule and the 24 liters fuel capacity. The Commission has also decided they can eventually modify the status of a CRT based on season performances.

As expected the Commission has saved Suzuki (even if they are not specifically mentioned) the ignominy of having to take off from the pitlane by confirming that any MSMA team who hasn’t won a dry race in the past 2008 and 2009 seasons will be able to use 9 engines instead of 6 and this rule will go into effect immediately.

Continue reading: FIM Rules: Moto3, CRT, Suzuki saved, extra practice session

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Matthew Birt of MCN ha revealed that the 125cc format may be on it’s way to extinction and the final species will probably exhale their last exhaust breathe at the end of the 2011 season.

The new series to be named Moto3 (what else could we expect after Moto2 and the 2012 1000cc series called Moto1) is now being discussed by Dorna and the FIM and it should be based on a 25occ four stroke single cylinder motor to replace the current 125cc two strokes. The bikes would be pure prototypes and would not have a single spec engine (powered by Honda) and a single clutch manufacturer (Suter) as in Moto 2.

As usual Honda has already had a head start on manufacturing a 250cc four-stroke single motor and have fitted it into a RS125 chassis and has tested it on the Motegi track where, according to rumours, is running 1.5 seconds faster than the current two stroke 125 GP bike.

Carmelo Ezpeleta has been talking about changing the feeder class ever since they brainstormed Moto2, but now several 125 teams want to make the jump to Moto2 where they would have more exposure and relatively lower costs and a cheaper 250cc four stroke championship could keep them from making the move to an all ready overcrowded and not so cheap as it seemed Moto2.

Source | asphaltandrubber.com

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You may remember the red flagged Moto2 race at Jerez that saw 8 riders go down when Shoya Tomizawa who was tangling with Simone Corsi, fell and his crank case cover was damaged causing oil to spill across the track that caused the pile-up.

The FIM had now ruled that crank cases in Moto2 have to be better protected:

In the Moto2 class, lateral engine covers containing oil and which could be in contact with the ground during a crash, must be protected by a second cover made from composite materials, e.g. type carbon or Kevlar. Plates and/or bars from aluminium or steel are also permitted. All these devices must be designed to be resistant against sudden shocks and abrasion and must be fixed properly and securely.

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The teams had said that doing an entire season with only six engines would be difficult, so the Grand Prix Commission with the FIM have once again modified the rules, announcing that the penalty for infringing the engine durability rule of six engines, the rider will now be start from the pitlane 10 seconds after the start of the race, instead of 20 seconds that was previously ruled.

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Last month we reported that Dorna was extremely interested in holding another MotoGP race on the Gulf Coast, in the very rich United Emirates and were already in talks with the Abu Dhabi Yas Marina Circuit management.

We’ve found out from the Gazzetta dello Sport that after Sunday’s race in Qatar, Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta along with Dorna’s safety delegate Franco Uncini and FIM’s Claude Denis all flew to Abu Dhabi to visit the mega race track and that accompanying the bigwigs were top riders Casey Stoner and Loris Capirossi, who are both part of the Rider’s Safety Commission.

Apparently this visit is to check out what the two rider’s and Uncini think about the safety standards and if the circuit configuration meets the strict standards that MotoGP racing now requires.

If the Stoner and Capirossi should give their stamp of approval we could actually see Abu Dhabi on the calender in 2011 and we may loose one of the too many Spanish rounds, because we doubt that the Hungarian Balatonring circuit will be ever find the necessary funds to be completed in time for the 2011 season.

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A Mavizen bike will appear at the 2010 TT Zero event, despite Isle of Man organisers setting up this rival event after shunning the TTXGP, founded by Azhar Hussain, owner of Mavizen. The TT Zero was established by FIM and Isle of Man as a rival to the TTXGP series and it was originally reported that Hussain would think twice about selling Mavizen bikes to run in the competitor event.

Carbon fibre manufacturer 666 Road Racing has announced that it wants to use a Mavizen electric bike in the Isle of Man TT Zero race, making it the first to purchase a Mavizen bike for use other than in the TTXGP series. The company makes the carbon tray that holds the electrical components of the Mavizen bike. Riding for 666 will be Keith Amor who won two podium spots at the 2009 TT, and who recently split with the JMF/Millsport team, leaving him without a spot at this year’s race. The Mavizen bike used will have a KTM chassis, Mavizen electric parts and 666 components.

Source | Asphalt and Rubber

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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

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