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Ellison to join Parkalgar Honda in WSS?

04 November 2010 by Michael Guy

Ellison to join Parkalgar Honda in WSS?

James Ellison has put the World Supersport rumour mill into overdrive after he was seen by MCN testing a Parkalgar Honda at Mallory Park on Wednesday. Ellison competed in the British Superbike...

Valentino Rossi banned from Ducati comments

04 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi banned from Ducati comments

Valentino Rossi has apparently been gagged by Yamaha and is unable to make any public comments about his factory Ducati debut in Valencia next week. One of the conditions of Rossi’s early release from...

Suzuki silent on one-bike plan

04 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki silent on one-bike plan

Suzuki has so far ignored requests from Dorna to clarify its position on the number of bikes it will field in the 2011 MotoGP world championship. The Japanese factory first informed the Spanish rights...

Ducati feared Valentino Rossi Valencia test ban

04 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Ducati feared Valentino Rossi Valencia test ban

Ducati feared Valentino Rossi was going to be banned from testing for the Bologna factory in Valencia next week. Ducati only got confirmation of Rossi’s release from his Yamaha contract at the recent...

Ben Spies fit for final race

04 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies fit for final race

Ben Spies will ride in this weekend’s final MotoGP race at the Valencia circuit in Spain. The Texan has declared himself fit to ride his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine despite dislocating his...

Davide Brivio quits Yamaha

03 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Davide Brivio quits Yamaha

When Valentino Rossi opted to join Ducati in 2011 back in early July, it was widely expected that he would decimate his side of Yamaha’s factory’s garage by taking all of his crew with him. That...

Jorge Lorenzo shrugs off Estoril boo boys

03 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo shrugs off Estoril boo boys

Jorge Lorenzo brushed off a chorus of boos that greeted his third straight MotoGP victory at the Estoril circuit in Portugal last weekend. The Spaniard, who was recently crowned world champion in...

Scott Redding: ‘I made more moves than Michael Jackson’

03 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding: ‘I made more moves than Michael Jackson’

Scott Redding had boasted prior to an epic Estoril Moto2 race last weekend that he would need to pull off more moves than Michael Jackson having qualified in a dismal 25th. So it was perhaps fitting...

Italian Moto3 bike breaks cover

03 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Italian Moto3 bike breaks cover

This the new Ioda Racing project, the first bike being prepped for the new Moto3 four-stroke series in 2012 to break cover in public in Estoril last weekend. The prototype TR 001 features a 250cc...

My wife and Michael Dunlop

02 November 2010 by wullum

My wife and Michael Dunlop

My wife with Michael Dunlop and my Bruce Anstey tattoo on my leg.

Video: Haslam working hard at Aragon WSB test

02 November 2010 by Michael Guy

Video: Haslam working hard at Aragon WSB test

Leon Haslam completed his second test for the BMW factory squad last week in Aragon. The 2010 WSB runner-up endured a tough test before making a break through during the final two hours of day three...

2011 MotoGP grid to be finalised in Valencia

02 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

2011 MotoGP grid to be finalised in Valencia

The full line-up for the 2011 MotoGP world championship will be finalised in Valencia this weekend with a flurry of announcements expected. A resolution to the political saga between HRC and Repsol...

Scott Redding to test 1000cc BMW MotoGP bike

02 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding to test 1000cc BMW MotoGP bike

Rising British star Scott Redding will begin plans for a MotoGP future later this month when he tests a BMW-powered Suter machine designed for new 1000cc rules in 2012. But it is unlikely the...

Casey Stoner backs Ducati’s Screamer engine plan

02 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner backs Ducati’s Screamer engine plan

Casey Stoner reckons Ducati should seriously consider reverting back to its more powerful Screamer engine for Valentino Rossi in 2011. The Aussie selected a smoother but less powerful Big Bang engine...

Valentino Rossi denies V8 Supercar deal is close

02 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi denies V8 Supercar deal is close

Valentino Rossi has denied he is close to agreeing a deal to test drive a V8 Supercar in Australia. Rossi was approached about a test and a possible race opportunity by more than one team at the...

Martin signs for Relentless Suzuki

01 November 2010 by Gary Pinchin

Martin signs for Relentless Suzuki

Guy Martin has signed tor race for the Relentless by TAS Suzuki team in next year’s major road races. The deal was finalised late on Sunday night and MCN was there at the team’s Moneymore-based...

Moto2 to boast 40-rider field in 2011

01 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Moto2 to boast 40-rider field in 2011

Next year’s Moto2 world championship will be contested by a bumper entry of 40 riders after final selection meetings took place in Estoril last weekend. The field will be made up 22 teams, of which 18...

Estoril MotoGP: Valentino Rossi bemoans set-up gamble

01 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Estoril MotoGP: Valentino Rossi bemoans set-up gamble

Valentino Rossi blamed a wrong set-up gamble for his failure to end 2010 world champion Jorge Lorenzo’s domination of the Estoril MotoGP race yesterday. The Italian led for a long spell in the 28-lap...

Estoril MotoGP: Ben Spies aims to ride in final round

01 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Estoril MotoGP: Ben Spies aims to ride in final round

Ben Spies is determined to ride in this weekend’s final MotoGP round in Valencia, despite the American aggravating an old left ankle injury in Estoril yesterday. The Texan’s Estoril debut ended in...

Estoril MotoGP: Andrea Dovizioso ‘gap to Yamaha too much’

01 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Estoril MotoGP: Andrea Dovizioso ‘gap to Yamaha too much’

Andrea Dovizioso’s delight at snatching a last-gasp third place from compatriot Marco Simoncelli in Estoril yesterday was tempered somewhat by the heavy defeat suffered at the hands of Yamaha. The...

Interwetten Honda confirm 2011 withdrawal

01 November 2010 by Matthew Birt

Interwetten Honda confirm 2011 withdrawal

Hiroshi Aoyama’s Interwetten Honda squad confirmed in Estoril last night that it would be quitting the MotoGP world championship at the end of the season. The withdrawal of the Swiss-based squad has...

Toni Elias signs LCR Honda deal

31 October 2010 by Matthew Birt

Toni Elias signs LCR Honda deal

New Moto2 world champion Toni Elias has signed a deal to join Lucio Cecchinello’s satellite Honda squad in 2011. It marks a quick return to the premier class for the Spaniard, who claimed a historic...

Tech 3 boss delighted with Bradley Smith signing

31 October 2010 by Matthew Birt

Tech 3 boss delighted with Bradley Smith signing

Tech 3 Racing Moto2 boss Herve Poncharal has spoken of his delight at capturing British prospect Bradley Smith for 2011. The current Aspar Aprilia rider 125GP rider signed a deal with the French-based...

Bradley Smith signs Tech 3 Moto2 deal

31 October 2010 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith signs Tech 3 Moto2 deal

Bradley Smith has signed a deal to ride for the Tech 3 Moto2 squad in Estoril today, as was first reported by MCN last week. The 19-year-old will partner French rider and 2008 125GP world champion...

Estoril MotoGP: Marquez takes dramatic win

31 October 2010 by Liam Marsden

Estoril MotoGP: Marquez takes dramatic win

Marc Marquez took victory in the 125GP race at Estoril despite having to start from the back of the grid as the race was red flagged. Marquez got a good start and by the end of the first lap was in...

Estoril MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo takes Portugal hat-trick

31 October 2010 by Matthew Birt

Estoril MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo takes Portugal hat-trick

Jorge Lorenzo remains undefeated at the Estoril track in Portugal after he claimed his eighth victory of 2010 this afternoon. After a weekend dominated by appalling weather that badly disrupted...

Estoril MotoGP: Scott Redding fourth in Moto2 thriller

31 October 2010 by Matthew Birt

Estoril MotoGP: Scott Redding fourth in Moto2 thriller

Scott Redding came close to a stunning Moto2 podium at a windswept Estoril today when he missed third place in a pulsating encounter by just 0.012s. Starting from 25th on the grid after torrential...

Estoril MotoGP: Bradley Smith not concerned about team orders

31 October 2010 by Matthew Birt

Estoril MotoGP: Bradley Smith not concerned about team orders

Bradley Smith dodged the tricky issue of team orders after he claimed his third 125GP pole position of the season at a rain-lashed Estoril circuit in Portugal. Gusting winds and heavy rain saw Race...

Estoril MotoGP: Fuel consumption worry for Casey Stoner

31 October 2010 by Matthew Birt

Estoril MotoGP: Fuel consumption worry for Casey Stoner

Casey Stoner reckons fuel consumption will play a massive role in Estoril tomorrow if the Grand Prix of Portugal is staged in dry conditions. Stoner will start the penultimate round of the season from...

Estoril MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo claims landmark pole position

30 October 2010 by Matthew Birt

Estoril MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo claims landmark pole position

Jorge Lorenzo claimed a milestone 42nd career pole position today after severe weather forced the cancellation of today’s qualifying session at the Estoril track in Portugal. Torrential rain and...

Estoril MotoGP: Nicky Hayden thrilled with second

30 October 2010 by Matthew Birt

Estoril MotoGP: Nicky Hayden thrilled with second

Nicky Hayden was thrilled to find out he’d start second on the grid for tomorrow’s Estoril MotoGP race after he suffered a heavy crash in treacherous conditions morning. With grid positions decided by...

Scott Redding to test FTR chassis

30 October 2010 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding will test a British-built FTR chassis at the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain on Monday. The Gloucestershire rider will use the frame in a back-to-back comparison with the current Swiss manufactured Suter chassis he has campaigned throughout the inaugural Moto2 world championship. The Marc VDS Racing rider is likely to continue to race the Suter frame in 2011 having been chosen as...

Ducati confirm Valentino Rossi crew for Valencia test

30 October 2010 by Matthew Birt

Ducati confirm Valentino Rossi crew for Valencia test

Ducati has confirmed that all of Valentino Rossi’s crew have been released to work with the Italian when he makes his much-hyped Bologna factory debut in Valencia next month. Rossi was released from...

Qualifying cancelled after Estoril monsoon

30 October 2010 by Matthew Birt

Qualifying cancelled after Estoril monsoon

Strong winds and heavy rain that battered the Estoril circuit saw qualifying for all three Grand Prix classes abandoned this afternoon. Torrential rain started to fall shortly after midday and with...

Monsoon conditions cause havoc in Estoril

30 October 2010 by Matthew Birt

Monsoon conditions cause havoc in Estoril

Monsoon conditions that battered the Estoril track caused havoc this afternoon with qualifying for all three Grand Prix classes postponed. Torrential started to fall shortly after midday and gradually...

Biaggi sets the bar again at Aragon

30 October 2010 by Michael Guy

Biaggi sets the bar again at Aragon

Max Biaggi saved his best until last by posting a blistering 1m.58.0s best lap during the final 30 minutes of the Aragon test today. The 2010 world champion had already posted a 1.58.2 to eclipse...