2011

Year: 2011

Month: ALL

Suzuki set sights on top six challenge

01 March 2011 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki set sights on top six challenge

Suzuki is aiming to become a more consistent threat for the top six when the new MotoGP world championship kicks off in Qatar later this month. Alvaro Bautista has impressed during winter testing so...

Loris Capirossi: Phillip Island must move in 2012

01 March 2011 by Matthew Birt

Loris Capirossi: Phillip Island must move in 2012

Italian veteran Loris Capirossi is adamant there will be no climb down from the powerful MotoGP Safety Commission over demands to move the date of the Phillip Island race in Australia next year. A...

Tech 3 rules out Moto3 bid

01 March 2011 by Matthew Birt

Tech 3 rules out Moto3 bid

Cal Crutchlow’s Tech 3 Racing squad will not expand its Grand Prix effort to be involved in all three world championship classes in 2012. The French-based squad already competes in MotoGP with...

Scott Redding shows off 2011 Moto2 livery

28 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding shows off 2011 Moto2 livery

This is the first look at the new livery British rider Scott Redding will use in his bid to become Moto2 world champion in 2011. Unveiled at a launch in Belgium by the Marc VDS Racing squad, Redding...

Casey Stoner: I could have gone faster!

24 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner: I could have gone faster!

Casey Stoner extended his golden run of form on board Honda’s 2011 factory Honda RC212V today, the Aussie completing his domination of the Sepang MotoGP test in stunning fashion. The track had barely...

Cal Crutchlow boosted by last day progress

24 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow boosted by last day progress

After a nightmare start to this week’s second Sepang test in Malaysia, Cal Crutchlow enjoyed a much more positive ending to finish in 14th place on the final timesheets. Struck by food poisoning on...

Valentino Rossi ‘worried’ as Ducati struggles in Sepang

24 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi ‘worried’ as Ducati struggles in Sepang

Not even Valentino Rossi could put a positive spin on his Sepang MotoGP test struggle after the Italian was left outside of the top ten and nearly two seconds off the pace in Malaysia. The 32-year-old...

Dani Pedrosa: Don't write off Rossi

24 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Dani Pedrosa: Don't write off Rossi

Dani Pedrosa warned against dismissing the early threat from Valentino Rossi in 2011 after another impressive winter testing display from the Repsol Honda rider in Sepang this week. The Spaniard set a...

Ben Spies undaunted by Honda dominance

24 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies undaunted by Honda dominance

Ben Spies reckons he’s not fazed by Honda’s domination of this week’s Sepang MotoGP test in Malaysia. The Texan is confident in full race conditions that Yamaha’s factory YZR-M1 is competitive enough...

Stoner and Honda finish Sepang test on top

24 February 2011

Stoner and Honda finish Sepang test on top

Respol Honda riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa have underlined their dominance of the Sepang MotoGP test by both recording laps under the 2 minute mark on the final day of testing. Third quickest...

Ben Spies shrugs off late crash

23 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies shrugs off late crash

Ben Spies shrugged off a late crash on his factory Yamaha YZR-M1 as the Texan ended day two of the Sepang MotoGP test in fourth position. The 2009 World Superbike champion crashed in the final stages...

Casey Stoner super-fast in Sepang

23 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner super-fast in Sepang

Casey Stoner was the star of the show again in Sepang today as Honda’s sensational start to the 2011 MotoGP world championship campaign picked up further momentum at the Sepang circuit. The Aussie led...

Illness forces Valentino Rossi to miss second day in Sepang

23 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Illness forces Valentino Rossi to miss second day in Sepang

A flu bug forced Valentino Rossi to miss the whole of the second day of MotoGP testing action at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia today. The Italian arrived at the circuit this morning complaining of...

Valentino Rossi thrilled with Ducati progress

22 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi thrilled with Ducati progress

Valentino Rossi’s confidence that he will be challenging at the front on the Ducati GP11 machine in the early part of the new MotoGP season grew in Sepang today, despite the Italian finishing the...

Casey Stoner unsure of best chassis choice

22 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner unsure of best chassis choice

Casey Stoner might have dominated the opening day timesheets at the second Sepang test in Malaysia today, but it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Repsol Honda star. The 2007 world champion is still...

Cal Crutchlow crashes twice in Sepang

22 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow crashes twice in Sepang

Cal Crutchlow had a forgettable opening day of MotoGP testing at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia today after the British rider suffered two crashes in searing hot conditions. Severely weakened by a...

Honda dominates Sepang test first day

22 February 2011

Honda dominates Sepang test first day

The Repsol Honda team has dominated the opening day of MotoGP testing in Sepang, with Casey Stoner posting the fastest time of the day, followed by team-mate Dani Pedrosa. At the end of the morning...

Jorge Lorenzo man to beat, says Ben Spies

21 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo man to beat, says Ben Spies

Jorge Lorenzo will start the 2011 as a big favourite to retain the MotoGP crown, according to new factory Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies. Lorenzo was unstoppable in 2010 and ended a memorable season with...

Ben Spies: Pressure is less in factory team

21 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies: Pressure is less in factory team

Ben Spies believes he is under less pressure to perform in MotoGP now he has secured a ride in Yamaha’s factory team for 2011. Spies denied there would be greater expectation on him to deliver top...

Jorge Lorenzo: Spies is title threat

21 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo: Spies is title threat

Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo reckons new factory Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies will emerge as a serious title threat in 2011. Spies was Rookie of the Year in 2010 after a stellar first...

Honda unveils new Moto3 bike

21 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Honda unveils new Moto3 bike

Honda has taken the wraps of its 2012 Moto3 machine by unveiling the new NSF250R in Japan. The bike has already undergone extensive testing in Japan ahead of the inaugural Moto3 series next year when...

Win the chance to ride the Snetterton 300 with MCN and Kiyonari

21 February 2011 by MCN

Win the chance to ride the Snetterton 300 with MCN and Kiyonari

MCN will complete the exclusive first laps of the all-new Snetterton 300 circuit and we are giving one lucky reader the chance to join Editor Marc Potter and reigning BSB champion Ryuichi Kiyonari on...

Yamaha unveils 2011 factory YZR-M1

21 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha unveils 2011 factory YZR-M1

This is the new factory YZR-M1 machine Yamaha hopes will maintain its unrivalled domination of the MotoGP world championship in 2011. Unveiled at a press conference at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia...

Bradley Smith satisfied with Moto2 progress

18 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith satisfied with Moto2 progress

Atrocious weather conditions might have severely disrupted this week’s three-day Moto2 test in Estoril, but British rider Bradley Smith was still happy with progress made in the limited track time...

Scott Redding thwarted by bad weather in Estoril

18 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding thwarted by bad weather in Estoril

Scott Redding’s hopes of building on his excellent Valencia Moto2 test performance recently were dashed by appalling weather at the second official test in Estoril this week. The three-day session was...

Yamaha to defend MotoGP crown with no sponsor

18 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha to defend MotoGP crown with no sponsor

Yamaha will kick off the defence of its 2011 MotoGP crown without a title sponsor. Yamaha has struggled to replace Italian car giant Fiat following the departure of Valentino Rossi to Ducati at the...

Suzuki MotoGP wild card unlikely for John Hopkins

16 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki MotoGP wild card unlikely for John Hopkins

Suzuki is unlikely to offer John Hopkins a chance to run as a wild card in selected races during the 2011 MotoGP world championship. The American will be given the chance to return to MotoGP action...

Colin Edwards happy to see Castrol Honda colours again

16 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards happy to see Castrol Honda colours again

Colin Edwards reckons the return of Castrol to the World Superbike championship brought good memories flooding back. The Texan enjoyed the biggest success of his long career while riding for the...

Randy de Puniet thrilled with Ducati support

16 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Randy de Puniet thrilled with Ducati support

Randy de Puniet has praised the technical support he is getting from Ducati as the Bologna factory seeks to win its first MotoGP title since 2007. Ducati has started the 2011 testing season with all...

Casey Stoner steps into Phillip Island date debate

15 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner steps into Phillip Island date debate

Casey Stoner has joined the debate raging about the future of the Australian MotoGP race at the Phillip Island circuit. The 2007 world champion, who has won every MotoGP race on home soil since 2007,...

Heavy rain disrupts Estoril Moto2 test

15 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Heavy rain disrupts Estoril Moto2 test

Heavy rain has already disrupted the start of the Moto2 and 125GP test at the Estoril track in Portugal this morning. The track was supposed to open at 9am this morning but the coastal circuit close...

Scott Redding launches new website

15 February 2011

Scott Redding launches new website

British Moto2 star Scott Redding has just launched a new website ahead of the 2011 world championship campaign. The new site – www.scottredding45.com – features all the latest news from the...

Yamaha developing Moto3 project

14 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha developing Moto3 project

Yamaha is making a surprise bid to enter the new four-stroke Moto3 class in 2012. The Japanese factory revealed to MCN in Sepang earlier this month it is developing a concept bike for the new 250cc...

Scott Redding makes fast start to 2011

14 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding makes fast start to 2011

Scott Redding made an impressively fast start to his preparations for the 2011 Moto2 world championship when he finished the Valencia test last weekend sharing the quickest time with Marc Marquez. The...

Ben Spies can improve Yamaha

11 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies can improve Yamaha

Ben Spies has the technical and development skills to maintain Yamaha’s status as the dominant force in MotoGP, according to former team boss Herve Poncharal. Spies has moved to Yamaha’s factory squad...

Casey Stoner: Honda and Ducati difference is extreme

11 February 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner: Honda and Ducati difference is extreme

Casey Stoner reckons it is impossible to make a direct comparison between the Ducati he rode last season and the factory Honda RC212V he will campaign in 2011 because the differences are so...