Ducati is definitely back in the competition, winning the Spanish leg of the 2010 MotoGP season. And they did it with an additional bonus too, bagging third place in the race. The race was held at the Motorland Aragon circuit in Aragon, Spain on September 19th.
Australian rider Casey Stoner was the hero of the hour for the Italian motorcycle manufacturer, beating hometown hero Dani Pedrosa to the checkered flag. Pedrosa came in a full five seconds behind Stoner in the finish. Completing the victory for Ducati is American Nicky Hayden, who came in third.
With the win, Stoner cut down Ducati’s losing streak in the current MotoGP season. Prior to his win, Ducati was able to get a second place finish at the United States Grand Prix held at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The second place finish also came courtesy of Stoner. However, Ducati still remains third in the manufacturer’s standings with 105 points.
Fans of popular MotoGP racer Valentino Rossi might not get to see him in action at the last two rounds of the 2010 MotoGP season. Apparently, Rossi has to undergo surgery in order to treat a shoulder injury he received in an accident last April 15th while doing motocross training in Pesaro Italy. The injury came just four days after he won the the first race of the season in Qatar. Rossi still managed to race for the second round in Jerez, Spain, placing third overall. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo won first place in that round.
Unfortunately for Rossi, this accident wasn’t the only one that would end up affecting him during this racing season. Rossi ended up being involved in another accident just two months after the first one when he was practicing in Mugello for the Italian Grand Prix. He suffered a broken leg and subsequently missed that race and the next three races that followed. It was the first time in his career that he was not able to start for an event.
When it comes to motorbikes, one of the most popular names to come up in everyone’s minds would probably be Yamaha. Indeed, the Japanese brand has, to a large extent, been closely associated with motorcycles (though, they are also known for their musical instruments). And it seems that Yamaha is bent on cementing on that one.
We say that because Yamaha has finally unveiled its lineup of bikes for next year. And looking at the list, it seems that this one is indeed a fierce roster. Here’s a quick peek at the new set of wheels that the company is offering for the new year. Go see for yourself which one’s going to be on your wish list.
Hit the jump to see some information on a couple of your future toys.
September 5th of this year was a sad day for MotoGP fans all over the world. On this date, Technomag-CIP rider Shoya Tomizawa died after crashing into a corner in the Misano World Circuit in Italy. Tomizawa was only 19 at the time of the accident.
The young rider was competing in the inaugural San Marino Grand Prix race for the newly created Moto2 class. Tomizawa was approaching the Curvone corner on lap 12 when he lost control of his bike and was thrown onto the track. He was then hit by the the bikes of riders Scott Redding and Alex de Angelis, who were right behind him when the accident happened. Tomizawa was immediately rushed to the circuit’s medical center then to a hospital in nearby Rccione where he died due to severe cranial, thoracic, and abdominal trauma.
Last Sunday, two weeks after Tomizawa’s death, the MotoGP Paddock paid him a tribute in a special ceremony held at the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain. The Technomag-CIP team rolled his bike onto the starting grid and a minute of silence followed, in his honor. Riders attending the tribute also placed the #48 (Tomizawa’s number) onto their uniforms, helmets, and bikes as a sign of respect. Tomizawa was laid to rest in his hometown of Asahi, Chiba in Japan on Sept. 15.
MotoGP also announced that the number 48 will be retired from the Moto2 races as one of the tributes to him. Furthermore, Tomizawa will be posthumously awarded the Michel Metraux trophy, given the best rider in the category. The award was given after Tomizawa’s fellow riders unanimously voted for him upon the suggestion of current Moto2 leader Tom Elias. His family will receive the trophy in the next Grand Prix in Japan this November.
Yamaha fans everywhere can rejoice as Colin Edwards will be joining the team again for the 2011 MotoGP season. Edwards has confirmed that he has resigned for a new one year contract with his team Monster Yamaha Tech 3. The new contract is an extension of his current contract with the team.
The 36-year-old Edwards made the announcement after completing his 100th race at the Gran Premio A-Style de Aragon in Spain last Sunday. He joined the Yamaha team in 2008 and has since become one of the most prominent riders of the team. He had an outstanding stint with Yamaha last year, winning the top non factory rider award. Edwards started in the MotoGP circuit in 2003, riding for Aprilia.
Edwards is currently number 11 in the world rankings, with his best start at seventh position at Laguna Seca, Brno, and Misano. And despite having a disappointing 12th place finish in last Sunday’s race, he was still able to maintain his current position.
David Philippaerts of Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team will be unable to race for the incoming 64th Motocross of Nations due to an injury he sustained while showing off raging speed during the 2nd Moto race. Apparently, Philippaerts twisted his right knee and was unable to complete the race securing a third position in the FIM MX1-GP World Championship on the factory YZ450FM. The rider immediately went back to his home in Milan for a medical check-up that revealed that, although it was not serious enough to need surgery, his knee would require adequate rest for a period of twenty days before the 2008 world champion could begin light cycling routines.
On the other hand, luck comes to Gautier Paulin as Team Yamaha chose him to represent France in the MX1 category with a YZ450FM. "While I am sorry for Christophe this is an exciting news for me and I am proud to represent France as part of a strong team. There is not much time to prepare but we are working hard now to get ready on the bike and be as fast as possible for Thunder Valley”, Paulin said.
Prepare to skip meals and lose sleep because BMW Motorcycle Magazine, a new website and US-based publisher, has come out with a new and exciting way to spend your spare time. They’ve recently launched a free Beemer Trivia App available for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. Apparently, while preparing to expand its issues to four per year, BMW MM needed to find a way to create a little downtime.
This boredom killer application is a trivia game designed by and for the BMW Motorcycle fans. Test your BMW motorcycle knowledge and learn something new while playing this multiple-choice quiz game. According to Sandy Cohen, the editor of BMW Motorcycle Magazine, “BMW riders appreciate the latest in technology, and this new app is a fun way to learn about their favorite brand of motorcycle”.
The Beemer Trivia App is an exciting quiz where players can test their Beemer knowledge with the application’s extensive collection of trivia. Players will definitely learn sufficient details regarding BMW Motorcycles as they play this game, and they can even challenge their friends with its online leader board (optional). You can also submit your own Beemer Trivia through this application. Plus, to make it more exciting, a bonus feature was created: For a limited time, if a player reaches 2500 miles, he will be able to unlock a promo code allowing him to have a discounted BMW Motorcycle Magazine subscription.
This new Beemer Trivia app is definitely a great way to spice up your day. For game lovers and BMW die-hard fans, this app will enhance your BMW riding experience by learning more of the features and history behind your favorite motorcycle brand. Go ahead, show the world what you know. You know you want to.
Team Yamaha Sterilgarda seems to be geared up and well-prepared for the upcoming 2011 World Sportbike with the finalization of their line of superb riders competing for the much-awaited match. Along with MotoGP rider Marco Melandri fighting for the title, Yamaha has also enlisted World Supersport rider, Eugene Laverty, to ride for the team. For the 2011 season, the 24-year-old Irish rider, who was last year’s WSS runner-up, will ride Yamaha Sterilgarda’s YZF-R1 Superbike.
In 2009, Eugene Laverty was racing for Parkalgar Honda when he trailed Yamaha Sterilgarda rider, Cal Crutchlow, to finish in second place. Currently, Laverty trails Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Kenan Sofuoglu by 12 points in the 2010 World Supersport Championship. He currently holds seven wins this year in 11 races.
This isn’t Eugene Laverty’s first ride with Yamaha. The young rider was famous for greatly showing off at the 250cc MotoGP Championship while enjoying two wild card World Supersport rides in 2008 due to an injury sustained by Fabien Foret. Laverty was noted to be very impressive during those times by finishing third in his second outing at Vallelunga.
The summer is over for the Aprilia Alitalia team as they will be heading back for the 11th German round at the Nurburgring World Superbike Rider’s battle. Three more rounds to go wherein the Aprilia Alitalia team has to defend 2 leaderships; the rider class with Max Biaggi and the manufacturer class. This all-Italian squad is surely a great way to end the season.
The 2010 German season seemed to a boom for the Aprilia Alitalia team with nine unexpected wins by four-time world champion Max BIaggi and seven more podium finishes with three credited to Britain’s Leon Camier. These winnings granted ranking leader Max Biaggi with 373 points which is 60 more than Suzuki’s second-placed Leon Haslam. Aprilia has 385 points in the Manufacturers’ chase against Suzuki’s 334 and Ducati’s 297.
Points leader Max Biaggi said, "I can’t wait to get back on the track! The holidays are important and pleasant of course but the appeal of the track is always irresistible. The Nurburgring is a great track, and not as difficult as Silverstone for our RSV4. We’re now into the decisive part of the season. Of course I’m happy with what we’ve achieved so far, but the day of reckoning is at the end, so don’t talk to me about strange strategies and settling for points. We’ve got two leaderships to defend and it’s not that easy: you can see how easy it is to lose points, our rivals are ready to capitalize on every wrong move we make. There are still six races left, that’s 150 points, so the maths show that anything is possible. For the team, it’s time for all of us to buckle down again, from here on every race will be decisive."
Eric Buell Racing is back in the saddle again. A couple of days ago, EBR released it’s first ever teaser image announcing their newest street-legal bike, the EBR 1190RS. This image was made to pave the way for the production of the street-legal sportbike in 2011.
The new motorbike is probably the first Buell streetbike that was produced since Harley-Davidson shut down the Buell Brand last year. Limited details were announced during the bike’s public introduction, but we did learn that the EBR 1190RS was based off the 1190RR race bike. Its most obvious similarity is that it will utilize a 1190cc V-Twin engine with 185 hp and 93 ft-lb. of torque. This was a shock in itself as no one was expecting that Erik Buell was planning a street bike based on the 1190RR. The bike is expected to weigh 161kg/355lbs (dry) which will help it become a strong competitor against its rival, the Ducati 1198 which weighs 377lbs/171kg (dry) and produces 170bhp.
