Rossi And Hayden To Test Ducati GP12 At Jerez

Anyone wondering when the first of the 2012 MotoGP bikes would make their first public (or almost public) appearance finally has their answer: Today. On Thursday, Ducati Corse's test team - consisting of test rider Franco Battaini and Vito Guareschi - took the GP12 out for a shakedown test prior to handing the bike over to the Marlboro Ducati factory riders, Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden. Rossi is due to put his first laps on the GP12 on Friday, while Hayden will take the new bike out for a spin on Saturday.

Normally, all testing by contracted riders - that is, riders who are currently participating in the MotoGP class - is banned under the regulations, outside of the official tests after the Estoril and Brno MotoGP rounds. However, the rules also make one exception: Rule 1.15.11 allows for "any activity authorized by Race Direction." With the capacity changing for 2012, a gentlemen's agreement almost certainly exists between the factories to allow the factory riders to test the 1000cc bikes outside of the regular schedule. An extra test for the 1000cc bikes has already been planned for the day after the Mugello MotoGP race, but it is conceivable all of the factories will schedule extra tests with their factory riders.

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Marcel Ankone Hans Georg Anscheidt Alessandro Antonello Haruchika Aoki

2011 MV Agusta Brutale 1090R Outed in Canada ? Replaces the MV Agusta Brutale 920?


UPDATE: According to CMGonline, the MV Agusta Brutale 1090R will replace the Brutale 920 only in the Canadian market. The Canadian importer of MV Agusta motorcycles has once again outed a new model from the Italian company. First it was the entry-level (if you can call it that) 2011 MV Agusta Brutale 920 that broke cover because of our neighbors to the north, and now the Canadians have let slip news of the 2011 MV Agusta ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AsphaltandRubber/~3/DHgomvC_6GI/

Jacques Bolle Pierre Bolle Maurice Bolwerk Gianfranco Bonera

Barry Veneman To Replace James Toseland At Assen

James Toseland has had a difficult start to the 2011 World Superbike season. The BMW Italia rider broke his wrist after just one round of the 2011 season, after falling at a test session at  the Motorland Aragon track. Toseland underwent emergency surgery to correct the problem immediately afterwards, but the crash meant that the double World Superbike champion was forced to miss both his home round at Donington Park 10 days ago, as well as the Assen round on April 17th.

After not fielding a replacement for Toseland at Donington, the BMW Italia team have turned to former World Supersport veteran Barry Veneman to take Toseland's place at Assen. The Dutchman is no stranger to the World Superbike paddock, having contested the World Supersport championship on a Honda and a Suzuki between 2003 and 2009. He is also no stranger to the BMW S1000RR, campaigning the bike both last year and this year in the German IDM Superbike championship. Veneman has also been involved in the development program for BMW's World Superbike team, riding the S1000RR a number of times throughout 2010.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/UaMHat8jxew/barry_veneman_to_replace_james_toseland_.html

Brian Ball Andrea Ballerini Kork Ballington Hans Baltisberger

Infographic: Electric vs. Gasoline Motorcycles


If you’ve been out of the motorcycling loop for the past couple of years, and want a quick primer on what’s going on with electric motorcycles, this infographic by Family PowerSports may be of some help. The graphic focuses mostly on the Brammo Enertia, but most of the information crosses over to other electric models. There’s a lot of interesting points made on the infographic, but we take a little issue with the sales figures ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AsphaltandRubber/~3/DV9NZ-bDcyw/

Kenichi Yoshida Lewis Young Paul Young Yasuharu Yuzawa

2011 Jerez MotoGP Race Day Round Up: The Feeding Frenzy

I'm sure I can take a pretty good guess at what you'd all like me to write about, but with your permission, I'll come to that in a minute. Valentino Rossi's excessively optimistic dive up the inside of Casey Stoner, and the ensuing fallout in its many varied forms will generate many millions of words in the future. It may even end up being the decisive moment in the championship, though we won't know that until November. But that crash will overshadow a few stories which deserve a little limelight of their own.

The rain at Jerez was the worst kind, the kind that makes the track greasy and wet, without providing a nice layer of water to help keep tires cool. The rain started early, a few spots appearing at around 8am, becoming gradually heavier over the course of the day, only stopping once the racing was done.

The conditions made the already slippery track absolutely treacherous, and though it produced a bizarre crashfest spectacular, those conditions also revealed an intriguing insight into the art of motorcycle racing. Grip was minimal, tires - especially the soft-compound Bridgestone wets - ran hot and stripped rubber, and mistakes and arrogance were punished mercilessly, intelligence, tire management and racecraft rewarded all the more.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/sSUtWcIWfao/2011_jerez_motogp_race_day_round_up_the_.html

Chris Anderson Fergus Anderson Hugh Anderson John Anderson