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2008

John Hopkins confirms Kawasaki quit bombshell

31 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

John Hopkins confirms Kawasaki quit bombshell

American John Hopkins has confirmed Kawasaki has notified him of its intention not to compete in the 2009 MotoGP world championship. The bombshell news was communicated to the 25-year-old on December...

Kawasaki silent on MotoGP withdrawal

31 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Kawasaki silent on MotoGP withdrawal

Kawasaki is remaining silent on shock plans to quit MotoGP with immediate effect. News of the withdrawal broke yesterday (Tuesday) and threatens to plunge the MotoGP world championship into a major...

Kawasaki quits MotoGP?

30 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Kawasaki quits MotoGP?

Rumours are circulating that Kawasaki has shut down its factory MotoGP squad with immediate effect. The move would leave Marco Melandri and American John Hopkins without a ride for 2009 and the...

How the single tyre rule will work in MotoGP

22 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

How the single tyre rule will work in MotoGP

Details of the single tyre rule that will be introduced in MotoGP for the first time in 2009 have finally been confirmed. The new rule, which was exclusively revealed by MCN back in August, will see...

Valentino Rossi leads prestigious sports poll

19 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi leads prestigious sports poll

MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi is currently leading a poll by the Telegraph newspaper in its search for the most important sports star of 2008. The Fiat Yamaha rider, who won nine races to...

MotoGP stars help Red Cross

18 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP stars help Red Cross

Spanish MotoGP duo Jorge Lorenzo and Sete Gibernau were among a star-studded line-up that took part in a special charity sporting event this week. 250GP rider Alvaro Bautista joined the pair as world...

Cash injection not answer to improving Suzuki GSV-R

18 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Cash injection not answer to improving Suzuki GSV-R

Factory boss Paul Denning doesn’t believe Suzuki has to increase its budget to compete with the likes of Yamaha, Ducati and Honda in the 2009 MotoGP world championship. Chris Vermeulen and Loris...

Yamaha hoping to remain dominant in 2009

18 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha hoping to remain dominant in 2009

Top Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis is confident the 2009 YZR-M1 will remain the dominant brand in MotoGP next season. The Japanese factory had a phenomenal return to form last season by collecting a clean...

Yamaha play down Valentino Rossi/Troy Bayliss WSB scrap

17 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha play down Valentino Rossi/Troy Bayliss WSB scrap

Yamaha has again played down persistent reports linking star rider Valentino Rossi with a sensational one-off World Superbike clash against Troy Bayliss. Ever since Rossi claimed that World...

Maxtra 125GP boss happy with progress

17 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Maxtra 125GP boss happy with progress

Maxtra 125GP team boss Garry Taylor has declared himself satisfied with progress so far on the Chinese-backed world championship venture. The former factory Suzuki MotoGP team chief though admits...

James Toseland eager to test 2009 Yamaha

17 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

James Toseland eager to test 2009 Yamaha

British rider James Toseland is confident that reigning world champion Valentino Rossi will make Yamaha’s factory YZR-M1 an even more formidable package in 2009. Rossi has been conducting in-depth...

Ducati boss confident in Mika Kallio

17 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Ducati boss confident in Mika Kallio

Factory Ducati boss Livio Suppo believes Finnish rider Mika Kallio could be one of the surprise packages of the 2009 MotoGP world championship. The Pramac Racing rookie was in dazzling form at the...

MotoGP confirms 19-rider field for 2009

16 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP confirms 19-rider field for 2009

Valentino Rossi will head a 19-strong field in the 2009 MotoGP world championship after next year’s provisional entry list was announced today. The only addition to the 2008 grid will be Spanish...

No Brits in 2009 250GP class

16 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

No Brits in 2009 250GP class

In what is expected to be the last season in which the two-strokes 250s will race exclusively on their own at Grand Prix level, no British rider will compete in the quarter-litre class in 2009. MCN...

Matt Hoyle joins 125GP ranks in 2009

16 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Matt Hoyle joins 125GP ranks in 2009

Emerging British star Matt Hoyle will ride for the new John Surtees-inspired Maxtra team in the 2009 125GP world championship. Although there has been no official announcement from the Chinese-backed...

Lucio Cecchinello: Honda won’t quit MotoGP

16 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Lucio Cecchinello: Honda won’t quit MotoGP

LCR Honda team boss Lucio Cecchinello has told MCN he is convinced that the Japanese factory will honour its commitment to supply six bikes in the 2009 MotoGP world championship. Honda’s involvement...

Suzuki’s MotoGP future safe

15 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki’s MotoGP future safe

Suzuki’s factory MotoGP squad will remain largely unaffected by the current global economic crisis, MCN can reveal. The Japanese factory has announced it is to quit the world rally championship after...

Marco Melandri looking for Kawasaki engine boost

15 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Marco Melandri looking for Kawasaki engine boost

New Kawasaki rider Marco Melandri says it is imperative that the 2009 ZX-RR takes a big step in engine performance for next season. The Italian has tested the ’08 spec ZX-RR twice in Valencia and...

The new doctor?

14 December 2008 by Annwen Barrie

The new doctor?

This is Loris my little boy. No prizes for guessing that my husband and I are MotoGP fans!

Picture perfect for Scott Redding

12 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Picture perfect for Scott Redding

Scott Redding’s historic British GP success earlier this year is the subject for top motorcycle artist Steve Whyman’s latest work of art. The Gloucestershire teenager became the youngest rider in...

600s to compete against 250GP bikes in 2010

12 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

600s to compete against 250GP bikes in 2010

New four-stroke 600cc bikes will be phased into MotoGP a year ahead of schedule to race against 250 two-strokes for one season in 2010, MCN can exclusively reveal. The new bikes, which will form part...

MotoGP boss gets Honda assurance

11 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP boss gets Honda assurance

Honda has told MotoGP bosses that it does intend to compete in MotoGP next season with six bikes, despite the global economic crisis forcing the Japanese factory to quit Formula One. Although no...

Moto2 600cc four-stroke rules unveiled

11 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Moto2 600cc four-stroke rules unveiled

Rules for the new 600cc class that will replace the 250cc two-stroke world championship in 2011 have been finalised, with the new series to be called Moto2. Details of the new class were confirmed at...

Casey Stoner: No big changes for 2009 Ducati

10 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner: No big changes for 2009 Ducati

Former world champion Casey Stoner reckons he isn’t expecting any big changes to Ducati’s factory GP9 machine when winter testing resumes in February. Stoner gave his impressions and feedback on the...

Hard work key to Valentino Rossi’s success

10 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Hard work key to Valentino Rossi’s success

Valentino Rossi’s incredible work ethic played a fundamental part in the Italian winning back the MotoGP world crown for the first time since 2005 last season. That’s the view of his Fiat Yamaha team...

Loris Capirossi wary of single tyre rule

09 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Loris Capirossi wary of single tyre rule

Italian veteran Loris Capirossi believes the new single tyre rule won’t inject any new excitement into MotoGP next season. The factory Suzuki rider believes that some of the boring races that have...

Honda considering 2009 MotoGP cuts

09 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Honda considering 2009 MotoGP cuts

Honda has refused to confirm it will maintain its current level of involvement in MotoGP next season after the Japanese factory’s shock move to quit Formula One. CEO and chairman Takeo Fukui dropped a...

Rossi's GB Rally race suit!

08 December 2008 by Shaun Middlemore

Rossi's GB Rally race suit!

Look what I found at Rally GB Wales- Valentino’s Stobart Motorsport race suit!

Video: Marco Melandri reveals thoughts on 2009 season

08 December 2008

Marco Melandri took time out of his winter training schedule to drop in on the last day of the NEC show on Sunday. The MotoGP racer talked about his hopes for the forthcoming season and about the difficulties of building a relationship with his newKawasaki team. He also revealed that helmet maker Nolan is working on some special new colour schemes for the 2009 season. See the full interview here.

John Hopkins begins four-week rehab

05 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

John Hopkins begins four-week rehab

John Hopkins has started a four-week recovery period after he underwent successful surgery in California yesterday (Thursday). The factory Kawasaki rider had metal plates removed from his left ankle...

Bradley Smith gets early confidence boost for 2009

04 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith gets early confidence boost for 2009

Bradley Smith is confident his bid to break his 125GP victory duck in 2009 has already been given a major boost. The Oxfordshire rider, who celebrated his 18th birthday last week, made his Aspar...

Suzuki still waiting on Rizla decision for 2009

04 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki still waiting on Rizla decision for 2009

Suzuki’s factory MotoGP team is still awaiting a decision on whether Rizla will remain as its title sponsor in next year’s MotoGP world championship. The Japanese factory has yet to finalise its...

MCN Awards: Man of the year as voted by you

03 December 2008 by Liam Marsden

MCN Awards: Man of the year as voted by you

Eight times MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi received the Man of the year award at the MCN Awards. The award was voted for by users of motorcyclenews.com and included such stars as Troy Bayliss, James...

Yamaha boss: Criticism stung Valentino Rossi

03 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha boss: Criticism stung Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi’s Yamaha team boss Davide Brivio believes the Italian was driven to new levels of determination and desire last season by the stinging criticism he received at the end of 2007. After a...

KTM deny 600cc GP assault

03 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

KTM deny 600cc GP assault

KTM management have again denied the shock decision to quit the 250GP class at the end of 2008 was to focus on a new factory effort for the future 600cc four-stroke class. A controversial new 600cc...

Nicky Hayden sad to lose qualifying tyres

02 December 2008 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden sad to lose qualifying tyres

American Nicky Hayden reckons one of the most exciting aspects of riding in MotoGP has been sacrificed because of the introduction of the single tyre rule for 2009. The factory Ducati rider, who...