The Champion and the Apprentice

The Fiat Yamaha team have been surrounded by hype this past few weeks. Not, as an outsider might expect, caused by a battle to re-sign the reigning champion: Rossi’s contract ends at the end of the 2010 championship, and he looks settled, happy, and at one with the bike he helped shape and tune into [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/motogpblog/postfeed/~3/PNl7Srzdr9I/1189

Roger Beaumont Leandro Beccheroni Hans Becker Alex Bedford

Ducati GP11.1: Two Parts Different To The GP12

While much of the focus at Assen this weekend has been on how different Valentino Rossi's new Ducati Desmosdici (dubbed the GP11.1) is from it predecessor, the GP11, perhaps the more intriguing question is how close the GP11.1 is to the GP12. The differences between the GP11 that Rossi was riding two weeks' ago at Silverstone and the GP11.1 he has at Assen are huge: when asked by reporters what parts from the GP11 were used for the GP11.1, Ducati team boss (and head of the test team) Vito Guareschi reeled off a very short list: "The wheels, the brakes and the front forks." Everything else, he said, was different.

The GP12, on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish altogether. The difference between the 2012 machine tested by Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi last week at Mugello and the 2011 machine which Rossi is riding this weekend is just two parts: a modified crankshaft and longer conrods, which give the engine a shorter stroke, bringing it inside the 800cc maximum capacity. Everything else, Guareschi revealed, was identical, the bike being an adaptation of the GP12 which Rossi had tested and been so pleased with at the Jerez test.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/6rr7EMCa5Fo/ducati_gp111_two_parts_different_to_the_.html

Douglas Beasley Daryl Beattie Roger Beaumont Leandro Beccheroni

The Champion and the Apprentice

The Fiat Yamaha team have been surrounded by hype this past few weeks. Not, as an outsider might expect, caused by a battle to re-sign the reigning champion: Rossi’s contract ends at the end of the 2010 championship, and he looks settled, happy, and at one with the bike he helped shape and tune into [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/motogpblog/postfeed/~3/PNl7Srzdr9I/1189

Youichi Yamamoto Morisuka Yamashita Kazuaki Yamashita Fuyuki Yamazaki

Rossi?s opinion of the Lorenzo negotiations

This quote comes from the Spanish language website elmundodeportivo.es. The message and the sentiment are clear: “You aren’t worth what I get paid Jorge”. From elmundodeportive.es, translation by Fans.Moto.GP (Thanks!): What Jorge is looking for seems presumptuous to me: Arrive at Yamaha, and in his second year ask that he be given the same treatment [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/motogpblog/postfeed/~3/39bD3COH8Vo/1151

Graham Bailey Steve Baker Peter Balaz Romolo Balbi

Repsol Honda Team reigns at Silverstone

The Repsol Honda team leaves the Silverstone circuit with another victory for Casey Stoner, second place on the podium for Andrea Dovizioso and with the Australian rider leading the MotoGP World Championship, 18 points clear of Jorge Lorenzo.

Source: http://www.zimbio.com/MotoGP/articles/obYHrXmldMe/Repsol+Honda+Team+reigns+Silverstone

Jack Ahearn Mitsuo Akamatsu Takashi Akita Kousuke Akiyoshi