Moto 2...

There are many reasons to mourn the loss of the 250cc class in next years Moto GP season. Never again will you hear the wonderful sound of a full-on 2-stroke 250cc Grand Prix spec race bike bouncing off the limiter, never again will you smell that wonderful aroma (Which may cause lung damage and other nasty respirartory problems in later life but trust me, it's well worth it) that only a 2-stroke can provide.

Another reason to mourn the loss of the 250 strokers is that in next years "Moto 2" class there will be a single engine manufacturer (Honda Racing Corporation) and a single tyre manufacturer (Dunlop) which means curtains for fans of Aprilia (Who made possibly the finest 250 bike ever, imho, the RS250) and Gilera.

However, there is reason to be cheerful as the single engine manufacturer HRC has built a bike that is a more than adequate replacement. Here's the specs as stated on the official Moto GP site.

Powered by a one-make 600cc 4-stroke engine, producing around 150hp, the Moto2 class will continue the 250cc series' pursuit of developmental excellence with the running of a prototype chassis -free from limitation.

No production bike parts will be permitted for the frame, swing arm, fuel tank, seat or cowling, meaning that these aspects of the machine will be left to the manufacturer and designers. discretion.

However, electronic systems will be more limited than those currently permitted in 250cc, which has seen select factories bringing in traction control in recent years. Moto2 rules will allow for data loggers, ECU and timing transponders supplied by the organiser, with a maximum total cost of the ECU's components set at 650 euros. No other electronic control, nor datalogging systems, will be present on the bikes.

So, with limited money spent more teams will be more competitive and will therefore have an equal chance of winning races. The added advantage of the four stroke is that it runs cleaner than the current 250cc bikes and are easier on the environment. Plus, they sound amazing as this video, featuring former 500cc World Champion, Kevin Schwantz, shows.

Afterwards Kevin spoke about the bike...

"It’s a new project, it needs a little bit of work with settings as far as suspension goes, but as far as how nicely the bike goes and the power it delivers I think it is an amazing package right now. I’m convinced Moto2 is going to be great for the sport. For me it was all just for fun, but the new Moto2 bike should make for some interesting racing. I think whether you are a bigger guy like me, or whether you are smaller like Dani Pedrosa or Marco Melandri, if you are good enough you can make up for your size on a bike like this."

Like the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining.

Motorcycle Wallpapers...

Yet another post of my favorite wallpapers. To get the full size image click on the thumbnail.

Ducati 1098 on the track.



Valentino Rossi on board the Honda NSR 500



Mick Dohhan sliding the Honda NSR 500



MV Augusta F4



Kevin Schwantz on the Lucky Strike Suzuki



Barry Sheene leads the way.



Barry Sheene painting.



Nori Haga on the Yamaha world super bike.



Kenny Roberts on board the Yamaha 500cc



Shelby Mustang



Shelby Mustang



Shelby Mustang.

Moto GP season build up begins...

A new generation of riders will take to the tarmac when the new season of moto gp starts next month in sunny Qatar and to all intents and purposes it promises to be a season to remember if form is anything to go by.

World champion Casey Stoner is still the man to beat but fans favourite Valentino Rossi has shown his intention in the latest pre season test in Sepang by posting the fastest laptime with an impressive 2:00.300, albeit on qualifying tyres.

Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa continue the factory Honda attack with an updated version of the HRC RC 212V but look to be struggling after Nicky Hayden complained the engine is down on horsepower, due to it being designed around the lighter and smaller Dani Pedrosa, and was unable to better last years laptime in Sepang.

New boy Jorge Lorenzo, team mate to Valentino Rossi, has shown promise in pre season tests posting the second fastest laptime on the final lap of three days of testing in Sepang despite chronic front end problems that prevented him from pushing as hard as he would have liked.

Ducati still look like the champions elect but as Stoner seems to be the only rider who can tame the wild power of the bike the problem of an injury to Stoner must surely be a worry to the Italian factory.

A promising test in Sepang must be encouraging for the Honda Gresini team and new boy Alex De Angelis’ 2:02.194 time in Sepang, which was fifth fastest, must be a boost for the much improved team.

American rider John Hopkins will ride for the Kawasaki team this year alongside Aussie wild boy Anthony West who is surely one to watch for the future.

This season also sees reigning world superbike champion James Toseland attempting to make his mark in the premier class of motorcycle racing alongside Colin Edwards in the Yamaha Tech 3 team. Edwards, a five year veteran of Moto GP and a former World Superbike World Champion should be able to provide good feedback to Toseland and give hints and tips on the difference between a World Superbike and a GP bike.

Rizla Suzuki could produce a shock or two with their paring of the experienced Loris Capirossi and relative youngster Chris Vermeulen both of which have the pace and the talent to win races.

Just for Crimbo...

Here's a little video of some spectacular crashes from the world of Motorcycle racing.



In the words of a wise man; Pain is temporary, humiliation lasts forever.

Normally...

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

One thing is for sure...

I'll never ride a Moto GP bike.

But at least I can say I have had my name on one after I signed up for Team KR's "get your name on a GP bike" thang.

Moto GP - Round 2 - Jerez.

This morning saw the riders take to the tarmac at Jerez for the second round of the Moto GP season. First place was taken by Valentino Rossi with Dani Pedrosa taking second ahead of Colin Edwards in third place. Current World Champion Nicky Hayden struggled to a seventh place finish as his development woes continued with the Honda RCV 212v.

Hayden's main problem seems to be that he is struggling to adapt his riding style to the new 800cc motor which has less outright power than last years 900cc bike. Because of the lack of horsepower the riders are having to maintain a higher corner entry speed and this doesn't suit Nicky's style of slamming on the brakes as late as possible, squaring off the corner and relying on the engine torque to accelerate out of the turn.

The winner of the first round, Casey Stoner, battled well to finish fifth behind Toni Elias after poor handling on the Ducati caused him to drop off the pace early in the race.

The next race weekend in the Moto GP begins in Turkey on the 22nd of April.

For race fans...

Trackpedia is a wiki that covers racing circuits around the world.

If you've got a passion for racing then haul yourself over to this site and share knowledge of your local track with other fans. Fully editable, after you've signed up, Trackpedia has the potential to become a great forum for the racing community.

The excitement and the drama...

Were somehow lost on me during the F1 race in Australia during the night.

With the exception of probably 10 to 15 seconds when the winner may have turned out to be different to the person who got his car into turn one before anyone else did, it was just as I thought it would be. Worse than how I'd feel if I was forced to watch a group sex scene starring Anne Widdicombe, Theresa Jowell, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, but not by much.

It might as well have been contested over one lap instead of having it drag out over fifty eight of the buggers.

Maybe it's me but I don't see how F1 can even qualify as a race. A race to my mind is something like this... One set of tyres, one tank of gas, one car and one driver battling against the rest of the pack. Another part of racing to me is overtaking. Proper overtaking, you no doubt know what I mean, two cars hurtling into a corner with both drivers attempting to outbrake the other guy.

What do you get in F1? Overtaking when one guy goes into the pits to get new tyres or fuel. I'm exaggerating slightly there, to be fair the backmarkers do get overtaken but where's the challenge in passing someone who has been told to get out your way.

I remember the good old days of F1; Days when colorful characters like James Hunt and Jackie Stewart physically fought their cars to get it to point in the right direction; Days when a car would tie itself in knots on the exit of a corner and the driver would have to use their skill to keep it on the racing line; Days when it was a race and not a life sized version of scalextric.

As far as I'm concerned F1 is a shadow of its former self. Gone are the days of high drama and excitement to be replaced by a bunch of primadonnas playing in their go carts. It's the fans I feel sorry for. Do yourself a favour folks and watch any Moto GP race of the last twenty years and see what racing should be about.

It's all in the name of...

Comparative science.

The F1 season kicks off during the night in Australia and in the name of science I'll be staying up to watch it. I say science because, as regular readers of this blog know, I'm a big fan of Moto Gp (which is the premier class of motorcycle racing and the two-wheeled version of F1 but with more excitement, closer racing and a hell of a lot more overtaking.) and would like to be able to compare the two on a level keel.

Due to a lack of TV coverage of Moto GP during the late eighties/early nineties there are people in the world... Strange lonely people who wear Kappa shell suits over Manchester United tops and think Carl Fogarty was the best motorcyclist ever to sling a leg over a bike... Who think that World Superbikes is the premier class of racing when it comes to Motorcycle racing. They're wrong. Very wrong.

The difference between a World Superbike and a GP bike is light years apart. For example I could walk into a motorcycle dealership tomorrow and buy a fully tooled road legal version of a World Superbike and get change from £50,000. I couldn't walk into a showroom and buy a GP bike even if I was in Japan, at the Honda Racing Corporation headquarters and snaffle up an RCV 212v even if my name was Valentino "Faster than light" Doohan. Which it's not.

Essentially the difference between a GP bike and a World Superbike is this... A World Superbike will let you know you're pushing its limits by sending you a polite letter informing you if you don't stop wringing its neck there are going to be recriminations; A GP bike will send a get well soon card.

So in order to be able to rip the piss out of F1 with the same informed authority as I rip the piss out of World Superbikes I'll be staying up late to watch the F1 procession, whoops, I mean race...

Moto GP. Round 1. Qatar.

Yesterday saw the first race of the season in the premier motorcycling world when the Moto GP grid lined up on the starting grid at the Losail international circuit in Qatar.

The young Australian rider Casey Stoner took first place on the 800cc Ducati Desmodeci followed by Valentino Rossi on the Yamaha M1 with third place being taken by Dani Pedrosa on the Honda RCV.

Today...

Sees the beginning of the season in Moto GP with the Qatar GP taking place in Losail.

My prediction for the championship is as follows.

1. Valentino Rossi.
2. Colin Edwards.
3. Casey Stoner.

Nicola Hayden will self destruct under the pressure of having to develop a motorcycle as the season progresses. As Barry Sheene said of Steve Parrish "He couldn't develop a cold."

This weeks desktop...

Is a picture of Valentino Rossi on the Yamaha M1 during pre-season testing.



To grab a copy for yourself just click on the picture and save a copy.