Here’s another motorcycle safety video from Australia and very original because it uses MotoGP footage (hopefully Dorna gave their permission) and has The Thunder from Down Under, Mick Doohan who is already involved in SMART (Safer Motorcycle Advanced Rider Training) doing the talking.

Continue reading: Mick Doohan and Motorcycle Safety (w/video)

Mick Doohan was one of several athletes that was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame last Thursday evening in a lavish 25th anniversary gala dinner in Melbourne.

Doohan, who last year he opened a nightclub the CatHouse Restaurant and Lounge at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, will become just the third motorcycle racer to be inducted into the hall of fame, behind Kel Carruthers and once rival and teammate Wayne Gardner.

Carruthers was world 250 GP champion in 1969, Gardner was 500cc champion in 1987, and Doohan who was 5 times GP World Champion from 1994 to 1998.

When recently asked by Australia’s Herald Sun why Aussies have made such an impact in motorcycle racing at an international level, Doohan replied:

“The motorsport capital is Europe and that’s a long way to go for Australians, so there’s no point in doing it half-heartedly. If you’re going to go you’ve got to give it your best shot - I think that’s the attitude most Australians have when they go overseas for anything. It’s a big effort to get there and a long, lonely journey back if you haven’t succeeded.”

Source | bikenews

Continue reading: Mick Doohan inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame

With the Moto GP kicking off in Qatar, and the Superbike underway, it looks like it will be a season of record making and breaking. And the names to beat will be Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi, as both in their respective disciplines, will look to be the best (Italian) rider of the year.

In the ranking of most poles won in the three classes, Rossi is third on 51, preceded by Max Biaggi (56) and Mick Doohan (58). The possibility of Rossi beating Biaggi is at hand, but in Yamaha, Rossi has never achieved more than five poles in any one season.

If Rossi should win a fourth title with Yamaha, he would beat the likes of Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and Kenny Roberts all on three titles with the company. Rossi is also first in the ranking of most points ever won, with 3,720, ahead of Loris Capirossi on 2,993 and Max Biaggi 2,892. If Rossi gets 400 points (he reached 373 last year) he could hit the 4,000 mark.

Continue reading: The season for records: Valentino Rossi vs history and Agostini, Doohan and Biaggi

Remember the same wiggle that Mladin and Spies did at Road Atlanta? How about simultaneous highsides like what happened to Mick Doohan and Pierfrancesco Chili during the German GP at the Nürburgring circuit in 1990?

Continue reading: Simultaneous Highsides

“Most people don’t get the chance to compete in actual Moto GP racing, so I joined together with Dreamworld to create a ride that allows everyone to experience the rush of motorcycle racing” said Mick Doohan.

Located at the Dreamworld theme park on the Queensland Gold Coast in Australia. The ride consists of sitting on full size replica MotoGP 500cc race bikes with a launch speed of 72 kilometres and riders are held on through a unique restraint system.

Original, even if the ride looks pretty tame.

Continue reading: Mick Doohan's Motocoaster

Visordown.com and Jon Urry give us this great interview with Jeremy Burgess, who speaks of his history in motorcycling, including championships won with Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi.

Burgess is a man who always sits in the background, but like many of this type, his important role is not to be underestimated, both for the team and the riders. Below we give you some extracts from the interview, but I’ll come out and say that for me the most fascinating part in his comparison of Rossi and Doohan.

So how did you get to being a crew chief?
I used to race. I worked on all of my own race bikes and I enjoyed that side of it very much. I spent many hours tinkering in the shed at night dreaming about going faster. I think it helped me a lot to get a job at Suzuki in 1980. Suzuki knew me from when I raced in Australia and I had an RG500, and mine was always fast and ran all weekend at race meetings.

Continue reading: Interview with Jeremy Burgess: Rossi vs Doohan and championship satisfaction