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Ilmor Could Return To MotoGP - With Team KR
2007-10-17 17:58:00
The arrival of the Ilmor 800 cc X3 bike was one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the last days of the 2006 season, and many people had high hopes for the outfit, with an engine designed by Formula 1 genius Mario Illien, and a chassis created by Eskil Suter, the man behind the original Kawasaki ZXRR MotoGP bike, as well as the MuZ 500 cc two stroke racer. And so the disappointment was great when Ilmor made the shock announcement that they would be withdrawing from the MotoGP series after only the first race of the 2007 season. Staff were laid off, and Mario Illien announced that although bike development would cease, for the most part, engine development would continue. Now, it looks like that choice is could pay off. The Italian site GPOne.com is reporting that Team KR are in talks with Ilmor to supply engines for the 2008 season. The news comes at a moment when the future of Team KR was looking more and more uncertain, after Honda refused to supply the team with enough en...
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2008 GSV-R Suzuki To Debut At Sepang
2007-10-17 14:05:00
In their usual pre-race press release, Rizla Suzuki announced today that they would be running a third motorcycle at the Sepang MotoGP round on a wildcard entry. Nothing unusual in that, as they have previously run wildcards at both Jerez and Motegi. But one look at the name of the rider is enough to pique any fan's interest: The third Suzuki will by ridden by official factory test rider Nobuatsu Aoki. And the machine he will be riding is the 2008 version of Suzuki's GSV-R 800. The Suzuki is the first of the '08 bikes to break cover, and sees Suzuki once again getting a head start on their rivals for bike development. Suzuki spent much of the 2006 season developing the bike for 2007, a strategy which has paid off with their best season of the four-stroke era. With work already well advanced on the 2008 machine, the 2008 season is getting off to a strong start. All eyes will be both on the machine itself, as paddock observers try to spot the technical differences between the ol...
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Five Riders To Test Floodlight Racing In Qatar
2007-10-16 18:41:00
Progress is being made on the night race due to be run under floodlights at Qatar in 2008, as the American company Musco Systems has been hard at work at the Losail track for the past month. Now, according to the Spanish motorcycle magazine Motociclismo.es, 5 riders, one from each manufacturer, have been selected to test the track conditions under the floodlights. The test will take place after the final Valencia round of MotoGP, and will see Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), Dani Pedrosa (Honda), Casey Stoner (Ducati), Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) and John Hopkins (Kawasaki) ride the track and evaluate the efficiency of the lighting, as well as ensure that they can ride without being blinded by any of the floodlights.
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Get Your Name On Team KR's Bike At Valencia
2007-10-15 18:43:00
While Team KR's results on the track have been disappointing, their innovative approach to sponsorship and marketing has really helped them stand out. So the news that Team KR will be printing the names of fans and supporters on their bike gives their marketing campaigns yet another interesting twist. The deal is that if fill in your name and e-mail, then the team will add your name, or a name of your choice, to the list which will be used to create the Team KR logo on the tailpiece of the KR212V at Valencia . The offer is free, the only price you pay is agreeing to let Team KR use your e-mail address for marketing campaigns. And if you were hoping to be able to see your name on the TV, you'll be needing a magnifying glass, as the Team KR logo will most likely be made up of hundreds of names in small print, at the very least. And Team KR reserve the right to refuse names, just in case someone decides to use the name Joseph Stalin. You can sign up for the deal over on the Team KR ...
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Mike's Sepang Preview (Sort of)
2007-10-15 17:35:00
Nicky Hayden's grenaded RC212V motor is barely cold and we are already talking about next weekend's meeting in the steamy jungles of Malaysia. This may be the only time that one hears the word cold in the same sentence as Sepang as the Malaysian track is synonymous with wretchedly hot and humid weather conditions. Valentino Rossi has done well here in the past as has Loris Capirossi. Recent results haven't much favored one tire brand over another, not that conjecture that one track or another commonly favors one brand or another has much relevance this year. We could talk endlessly about history, ancient and modern, and how it may affect the outcome of the race. We could speculate on who will win too, but who really cares. At this point in the season the really interesting stuff will be happening off the track and after the race. Quiet whispers that Valentino Rossi will race on Bridgestones next year have become a cacaphony and some are saying that the switch is a done deal. ...
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2007 Phillip Island MotoGP Race Report - The Gathering Storm
2007-10-15 04:01:00
As objects to look at, motorcycle racing tires are neither particularly impressive nor very interesting. They're round, black, shiny when new, matte when used. Some are wider than others, some are larger than others, some have a taller profile, some have a rounder profile. Some tires are covered in a system of grooves, to channel surface water away from the body of the tire, and allow it to grip, others are smooth as an eight ball. The only splashes of color on tires come from the manufacturer's
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2007 Phillip Island MotoGP Race Results
2007-10-14 10:54:00
Full results for the 2007 Phillip Island MotoGP race.
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What Will Replace The Single Tire Rule
2007-10-14 01:43:00
The tire issue just won't go away, and tonight, yet more news comes on the issue. Dennis Noyes of SpeedTV.com is reporting that a new consensus has been reached on the tire rules, which will avert the need to go to a single tire. According to Noyes, the new rules will be as follows: The number of tires made available to each rider will be raised from 31 to 40. Noyes has no details on how that will be split between front and rear, but it is likely to be either 17 fronts and 23 rears, or 18 fronts and 22 rears; Tire selection will no longer have to be made on Thursday afternoon, before anyone has set foot on track, but after the first free practice session, giving the riders and their engineers some data to base tire selection on; Michelin has agreed not to press for the right to fly tires in overnight; Tire makers will supply any team that asks them, and tires will be supplied at "a reasonable price," whatever that may mean. Noyes goes on to discuss some of the machinations whic...
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Rossi Could Switch To Bridgestone For 2008
2007-10-13 21:09:00
It seems that the tire issue is going to be with us for a long time to come yet. At the front row press conference, after qualifying at Phillip Island, Valentino Rossi hinted that he still had the option of switching to Bridgestone tires for 2008 . Rossi was highly critical of Michelin, whilst conceding that the French tire company is hard at work to correct the situation for next year. At the same time, he hinted that the decision to switch to Bridgestone tires for next season was up to him and his team. "So, we have to decide also, because we don't know exactly if it's possible to have Bridgestones. So the situation is in progress now, and also for us, we have to decide". Rossi's comments are remarkable, as Bridgestone has already ruled out being able to supply the Yamaha and Honda factory teams with tires. His words have reignited speculation that some kind of switch could be possible, with just Rossi running Bridgestone tires in the Fiat Yamaha garage next season, while hi...
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Dennis Noyes Explains The Background To The Single Tire Proposals
2007-10-13 20:21:00
The threatened introduction of a control tire in the MotoGP series has raised more commentary and debate, or should that be argument and invective, than any issue in recent history. The proposal's supporters have welcomed the prospect of closer racing, its opponents have denounced the switch as abandoning the principles of a prototype series and darwinian competition, and raised the specter of innovation grinding to a halt. So when the debate becomes so intensely heated, it is good to inject a little calm and reasoned analysis, and to place the move into some kind of context. For that, we can turn to Speed TV's Dennis Noyes. In a column over on the SpeedTV.com website, Noyes lays out some of the reasoning behind the proposed switch, and discusses the experience of World Superbikes once they moved to a control tire. But by far the most important part of the article, and the reason behind the move, is where Noyes talks about why such a move would even be considered. The answer, a...
More About: Background , Single , Prop , Tire

On, Then Off Again - Ezpeleta Was Just Kidding About Single Tire Rule
2007-10-13 19:17:00
With the championship sewn up, it seems that all the excitement in the MotoGP series now comes from "The Tire Issue." In frankly bizarre statements to the Italian sports daily Gazzetto dello Sport, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta admitted that he had only threatened to move the series to a single tire make to get the tire manufacturers to "put their own personal interests to one side in order to make the championship more interesting." Ezpeleta, it seems, was concerned that the excitement had disappeared entirely out of the MotoGP series, and decided that discussions between the tire makers needed a kick start to move the situation forward. His proposals, or rather, in the light of his comments to Il Gazzetto, his threat to move to a single, control tire was part of a strategy to shake things up, and get the companies to talk. And his strategy seems to have worked, according to Ezpeleta, as a single tire rule is now less likely than before. With the companies close to an agreement on th...
More About: Kidding , Single , Rule , Pele , Then

2007 Phillip Island Qualifying Practice Times - Day 2
2007-10-13 13:53:00
126Dani PEDROSAHONDA1'29.201 246Valentino ROSSIYAMAHA1'29.4190.2180.218 327Casey STONERDUCATI1'29.8160.6150.397 41Nicky HAYDENHONDA1'29.9320.7310.116 565Loris CAPIROSSIDUCATI1'30.0900.8890.158 614Randy DE PUNIETKAWASAKI1'30.1100.9090.020 74Alex BARROSDUCATI1'30.3251.1240.215 856Shinya NAKANOHONDA1'30.6121.4110.287 950Sylvain GUINTOLIYAMAHA1'30.6211.4200.009 1013Anthony WESTKAWASAKI1'30.6491.4480.028 115Colin EDWARDSYAMAHA1'30.6761.4750.027 1233Marco MELANDRIHONDA1'31.0781.8770.402 137Carlos CHECAHONDA1'31.2032.0020.125 1421John HOPKINSSUZUKI1'31.3862.1850.183 156Makoto TAMADAYAMAHA1'31.5952.3940.209 1671Chris VERMEULENSUZUKI1'31.8102.6090.215 1757Chaz DAVIESDUCATI1'32.0432.8420.233 1824Toni ELIASHONDA1'32.4423.2410.399 1980Kurtis ROBERTSKR212V1'32.9483.7470.506
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2007 Phillip Island FP3 Times - Day 2
2007-10-13 13:53:00
127Casey STONERDUCATI1'31.451 214Randy DE PUNIETKAWASAKI1'31.6880.2370.237 326Dani PEDROSAHONDA1'32.0560.6050.368 44Alex BARROSDUCATI1'32.1680.7170.112 565Loris CAPIROSSIDUCATI1'32.1760.7250.008 646Valentino ROSSIYAMAHA1'32.3170.8660.141 733Marco MELANDRIHONDA1'32.5231.0720.206 821John HOPKINSSUZUKI1'32.8171.3660.294 913Anthony WESTKAWASAKI1'32.9471.4960.130 105Colin EDWARDSYAMAHA1'33.0951.6440.148 1124Toni ELIASHONDA1'33.2761.8250.181 121Nicky HAYDENHONDA1'33.4982.0470.222 1371Chris VERMEULENSUZUKI1'33.7302.2790.232 1450Sylvain GUINTOLIYAMAHA1'33.7742.3230.044 157Carlos CHECAHONDA1'33.9392.4880.165 1656Shinya NAKANOHONDA1'34.2742.8230.335 1757Chaz DAVIESDUCATI1'34.2832.8320.009 1880Kurtis ROBERTSKR212V1'34.4032.9520.120 196Makoto TAMADAYAMAHA1'34.5633.1120.160
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2007 Phillip Island FP1 Times - Day 1
2007-10-12 11:48:00
127Casey STONERDUCATI1'31.132 214Randy DE PUNIETKAWASAKI1'32.4711.3391.339 346Valentino ROSSIYAMAHA1'33.4202.2880.949 421John HOPKINSSUZUKI1'33.8622.7300.442 5
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2007 Phillip Island FP2 Times - Day 1
2007-10-12 11:48:00
127Casey STONERDUCATI1'31.286 233Marco MELANDRIHONDA1'31.5550.2690.269 326Dani PEDROSAHONDA1'31.8020.5160.247 446Valentino ROSSIYAMAHA1'31.9340.6480.132 51
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Spies to Ride GSV-R in Japan
2007-10-04 17:12:00
Ben Spies , 2006 and 2007 AMA Superbike champion, is reportedly in Japan at to meet with top-level Suzuki executives and to test a GSV-R 800 similar to the one he will ride after the Sepang round. Spies will visit Suzuki headquarters in Hamamatsu and will test at Suzuki?s Ryuyo Testing Grounds. Purposes of the visit are to fit Spies to the bike and to generally familiarize him with the operation of it. It has been rumored that Spies will also test after the season-ending race at Valencia, but Paul Denning, Rizla Suzuki Team Manager, has downplayed those rumors citing a full agenda for the test including welcoming Loris Capirossi to the team.
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Hofmann Fighting to Keep Ride
2007-10-01 22:38:00
Alex Hofmann has issued a press release indicating that he intends to contest his sacking from the Pramac d'Antin team and "will fight this decision with all legal resources at my disposal." Hofmann goes on to outline why he thinks the team's action was unjustified and attempts to explain his actions at Estoril. Full text at: http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/? article=30410
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Kropotkin Visits Borgo Panigale, The Monday After That Sunday.
2007-09-30 21:06:00
Borgo Panigale. Monday , September 24th. The day after. I arrive at the gates of the Ducati factory, just two short streets from the main freeway which circles Bologna, at around 5:30pm, just as the day shift starts to head for home. I know I am close to the factory, as I see a grown man in a Ducati cap hurrying round a corner with the look of a child on Christmas morning on his face, his wife trailing indulgently behind. The groups exiting the factory gates in twos and threes look content, satisfied with another day's work done. No one looks frustrated, no one looks drained, and almost everyone is wearing or carrying something bearing the word DUCATI on it: A cap here, a shirt there, elsewhere a laptop bag. The name Bayliss features prominently, but some items, the colors faded with age, have the name Fogarty faintly legible upon them. Watching them leave, it's hard to believe that just the day before, together they had won the MotoGP World title, smashing the stranglehold t...
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Davies to Ride d'Antin Ducati
2007-09-28 20:43:00
Pramac d'Antin Duca ti has announced that British rider Chaz Davies will ride for the team in the final 3 races of the 2007 MotoGP season. Davies previously filled in for Alex Hofmann at the last minute at the Laguna Seca round and has tested the Ducati in Mugello this year. Chaz had to turn down a offer to ride for the team at Motegi because of complications from an elbow injury incurred during the testing session. Davies currently doesn't have a ride lined up for '08 but is thought to have opportunities as a test rider for Ducati and in America, where he raced this season in the AMA Formula Extreme and Supersport classes for Celtic Racing. It's also possible that Davies might wind up in MotoGP with d'Antin in 2008 as the team hasn't announced their choice to fill the second seat on the team. Rumors have abounded that Toni Elias would sign with the team but there has been no confirmation from either party. Recently, there has been speculation that Elias' current contrac...
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Mike's Motegi Mini Race Report
2007-09-23 20:49:00
Crazy, crazy stuff. Rain and a drying track scramble everything in the land of the rising sun. Capirossi rolls the dice and comes in early for dry tires. The gamble pays off and Capirex wins his 3rd Mote gi race in three years. DePuniet comes in second, his best result ever, then Elias. All the Bridgestone riders went back out on slicks. Guintoli nearly gets Dunlop on the podium. Rossi gambles and loses by staying out a bit too long on his wet tires.. First Michelin finisher Nicky Hayden, who said after the race that the intermediate "cut" slick the Repsol team sent him out on felt like it was "flat", ends up in 9th. Next, in 13th, is Rossi, who experienced the same symptoms as Hayden and came back into the pits to see what the heck was the matter. By time 'tino re-enters the race he is well back and when he runs off the track soon after rejoining the race for the second time his hopes for the championship have evaporated. Pedrosa, who was one of the l...
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Spec Tires in MotoGP?
2007-09-22 21:34:00
Press release from Dorna: In the Grand Prix Commission meeting Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta proposed the introduction of a single tyre rule for MotoGP in 2008, something which will be decided on at the forthcoming Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix. Mr. Carmelo Ezpeleta, Dorna CEO ?We have made a proposal in the Grand Prix Commission meeting today to reach an agreement between all the different tyre manufacturers for the use of tyres in 2008,owing to the situation in which some factories believe that they can?t have tyres which they think are competitive. We thought that the best possibility is to go to a one-tyre rule.? Editorial Comment: This announcement by Dorna has apparently caught everyone by surprise -- Teams, manufacturers and tire companies alike. There was supposed to be some sort of unified response from Michelin, Bridgestone and Dunlop, but according to various sources that isn't going to happen. The burning question that this proposal begs is who exa...
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Motegi Qualifying Times
2007-09-22 15:36:00
1. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 45.864 2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 46.255 3. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 46.575 4. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 46.643 5. Toni Elias SPA Honda Gresini (B) 1min 46.804 6. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 46.912 7. Colin Edwards USA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 46.997 8. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 47.047 9. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 47.121 10. Marco Melandri ITA Honda Gresini (B) 1min 47.136 11. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 47.163 12. Shinya Nakano JPN Konica Minolta Honda (M) 1min 47.295 13. Kousuke Akiyoshi JPN Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 47.316 14. Carlos Checa SPA Honda LCR (M) 1min 47.334 15. Alex Barros BRA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 1min 47.367 16. Makoto Tamada JPN Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 1min 47.714 17. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 47.914 18. Sylvain Gui...
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Repsol Tire Choice(s)?
2007-09-21 18:41:00
Very interesting article on the Repsol tire situation up on the Cycle News site. In a nutshell, Honda is saying that they don't know what brand they'll be using next year and Bridgestone is saying that they turned HRC down weeks ago. Hmmm.... Curiouser and curiouser, cried Alice.... http://www.cyclenews.com/ShowStory.asp?He adlineID=11389
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Little Dani, Happy at Last?
2007-09-21 17:25:00
HRC announced on Friday that Dani Pedrosa has re-signed with Repsol Honda for the next two years. This announcement has been a long time coming with rumors of Pedrosa's displeasure with Honda and Michelin widely circulated. It has been no secret that Pedrosa, the so-called "Future of Honda" has been very unhappy with the Honda RC212V that was reportedly designed with riders of smaller stature (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) in mind. Pedrosa was not the only rider openly critical of the RC's performance (or lack thereof) and top Honda brass, in an unprecedented public statement, admitted that that the company had misjudged the level of performance necessary to be competitive in the 800cc era. Coupled with Michelin's seeming inability to cope with the new restrictive tire regulations, the Repsol Honda team has (had?) been performing miserably. There have been reports of temper tantrums behind closed doors and Pedrosa walked out of a press conference with Spanish journalists. N...
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Motegi Friday Practice
2007-09-21 16:53:00
1. Pedrosa 2. de Puniet 3. Melandri 4. Hopkins 5. Stoner 6. Akiyoshi 7. Capirossi 8. West 9. Hayden 10. Tamada 11. Edwards 12. Nakano 13. Checa 14. Rossi 15. Elias 16. Guintoli 17. Barros 18. Vermeulen 19. Yanagawa 20. Ito 21. Roberts Free practices on Friday were dominated by riders on Bridgestone tires which confirmed Kawasaki test rider Olivier Jacque's observations that the 'stones developed for Mote gi were "incredible" and would be very strong at the Japanese track. The exception to Bridgestone dominance was Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa, who was .389 seconds clear of nearest rival Randy DePuniet. The next Michelin rider on the charts was Pedrosa's Repsol Honda teammate Nicky Hayden in ninth. In 5th position, championship leader Casey Stoner stated that the team was going "in circles" trying to find good settings for the GP07. Valentino Rossi, languishing in 14th position, blew an engine on his preferred M1 and couldn't come to terms with the set-up on his back-up machine.
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Davies out of Motegi?
2007-09-19 03:02:00
Toby Moody at Autosport.com is reporting that Chaz Davies has taken himself out of consideration to replace Alex Hoffman at Mote gi. Davies apparently had a bad reaction to a tetanus shot he recieved following an injury to his elbow during testing the d'Antin Ducati GP07 at Mugello last week. At Laguna Seca, Davies had to visit the hospital and his poor physical condition was exacerbated by two crashes over the weekend. It is not known at this time if d'Antin will be able to secure another rider for the Japanese round. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/ id/62539

Mike's Motegi Preview (updated)
2007-09-18 17:58:00
For Casey Stoner, this could be the week that was. That is, the week he is crowned MotoGP World Champion. The fact that it could be in the land of the rising sun, the home of the Japanese big 4 manufacturers makes it that much sweeter, if not for Stoner, then certainly for Ducati. The last time a non-Nipponese machine won the premiere class was in 1974, when an MV Agusta piloted by Englishman Phil Read prevailed. 33 years is an awfully long dry spell and it has built an powerfulful thirst for victory. How can Casey pull this off? Simple. Score more points than Rossi and the title is his. History suggests that Ducati and Bridgestone have the cards in their favor at Mote gi. Bridgestone shod machines have won every MotoGP race contested at the Twin Ring and have taken 5 out the 9 possible podium positions. Ducati has won the last two meetings with Loris Capirossi at the bars. Not that Valentino Rossi will roll over and die for the young Australian. 'tino will be brimming with ...
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Spies To Test GSV-R
2007-09-18 05:24:00
Ben Spies , fresh from his victory at Laguna Seca yesterday that saw him take his second consecutive AMA Superbike championship, has confirmed that he will test the Suzuki GSV-R800 this year. The test will occur on October 21 at Sepang the day after the MotoGP race. Spies also said that he does not know if he will be granted a wild-card ride at the season-ending Valencia race. Paul Denning, Rizla Suzuki team manager has commented that Suzuki very much wants to keep the 23 year-old Spies "in the fold". Spies is arguably the best young American roadracer since Nicky Hayden and is keen to test his mettle on the world stage.
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Davies to race at Motegi?
2007-09-17 23:44:00
MCN (It *must* be true!) is reporting that Chaz Davies has been approached by Pramac d'Antin Ducati to fill the seat recently unwillingly vacated by Alex Hoffman at the Mote gi MotoGP race. Davies, as well documented on this blog, has impressed d'Antin and Ducati management during his stints as an emergency fill-in rider for d'Antin at Laguna Seca and during a recent test at Mugello. This ride is reportedly for Japan only, with the rider for the remaining three races to be determined.
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DeAngelis to Gresini
2007-09-17 23:22:00
Gresini Honda has announced that 250 pilot Alex DeAngelis has been signed to contest the 2008 MotoGP series for the Italy based team. DeAngelis will be replacing Marco Melandri, who will be riding for Marlboro Ducati for the next two years. DeAngelis' deal is for one year with an option for another. DeAngelis, while undoubtedly a talented rider, has something of a reputation as not being able to seal the the deal and win, as evidenced by his one win and 15 second places in three years in the 250 class. Hopefully, under Fausto Gresini's wing, DeAngelis will be able to progress to the top step of the podium with more regularity. It is rumored that the second seat at Gresini in 2008 will be be occupied by Shinya Nakano, who will doubtlessly relish a return to Bridgestone tires after a season marked by an inability to come to terms with Michelin rubber.