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.

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.

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...