MotoGP on MCN

Here at Motor Cycle News we deliver bespoke MotoGP news from expert reporters on the ground at every major event. We get everything that's new in MotoGP before anyone else.

Year: ALL

Tech 3 confirm Mattia Pasini Moto2 talks

14 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Tech 3 confirm Mattia Pasini Moto2 talks

Tech 3 Yamaha boss Herve Poncharal has confirmed his interest in 125 and 250GP race winner Mattia Pasini as a top option for the new Moto2 600cc world championship in 2010. The French team will run...

James Toseland’s crew chief to move to Moto2

14 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

The departure of James Toseland from MotoGP has proved costly for the crew chief at the centre of a bust-up between the British rider and Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Colin Edwards last winter. Gary Reynders, who left Texan Edwards at the end of the 2008 MotoGP world championship to make a controversial switch to work with Toseland, will move to the new Tech 3 Moto2 squad. The arrival of Ben...

James Toseland to test R1 WSB bike in Portimao?

14 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

James Toseland to test R1 WSB bike in Portimao?

James Toseland looks certain to make his Yamaha World Superbike debut before the end of the month, MCN can reveal. The British rider is hotly-tipped to make a shock R1 appearance at the Portimao test...

Australia MotoGP: Casey Stoner targets home hat-trick

12 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Australia MotoGP: Casey Stoner targets home hat-trick

Casey Stoner is confident he can claim a third successive victory on home soil at Phillip Island this weekend. All eyes will be on the 23-year-old in only his second race since his comeback from...

Australia MotoGP: Valentino Rossi looking to bounce back

12 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Australia MotoGP: Valentino Rossi looking to bounce back

Valentino Rossi is aiming to bounce back from his bitterly disappointing performance in the recent Estoril MotoGP when his title fight with Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo resumes in Australia...

Australia MotoGP: Bradley Smith looks to extend podium run

12 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Australia MotoGP: Bradley Smith looks to extend podium run

Bradley Smith is targeting a fourth successive podium to continue his recent impressive 125GP form in Australia this weekend. After a dip in from at the halfway stage in the world championship, the...

Australia MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa aims for strong finish

12 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Australia MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa aims for strong finish

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa is confident he can finish a disappointing 2009 campaign on a high. The Spaniard has again failed to mount a serious world title threat this season but goes into the...

Harris Promo Racing Moto2 tested

10 October 2009 by Gary Pinchin

Harris Promo Racing Moto2 tested

Brit-based Harris Performance has completed the latest development tests of its Moto2 race machine and announced that it is ready to accept orders from confirmed Moto2 teams and other interested...

‘I’ll help Ben Spies’, vows Colin Edwards

09 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

‘I’ll help Ben Spies’, vows Colin Edwards

Colin Edwards has vowed to do all he can to help fellow Texan Ben Spies become an instant success in the MotoGP world championship in 2010. Both hailing from Texas, Edwards and Spies are good friends...

Suzuki deny engine crisis

09 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki deny engine crisis

Suzuki has denied it will be the first factory to fall foul of new engine reliability rules in the MotoGP world championship. Factory boss Paul Denning denied rumours that both Loris Capirossi and...

Honda boss angry at new engine penalty

09 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Honda boss angry at new engine penalty

Honda boss Shuhei Nakamoto has spoken of his ‘disappointment’ at recent changes to MotoGP engine durability rules. Cost-cutting rules introduced for the final seven races of 2009 meant riders could...

Suzuki delay Chris Vermeulen’s Kawasaki WSB debut

09 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki delay Chris Vermeulen’s Kawasaki WSB debut

Suzuki will not give special permission for Aussie rider Chris Vermeulen to make his Kawasaki World Superbike debut before the end of the MotoGP season. Kawasaki will test immediately after the final...

Another member of the Rossi fanclub

08 October 2009 by sean13

Another member of the Rossi fanclub

My 3 month old daughter Natalia already gearing up for next year’s Silverstone MotoGP

Colin Edwards: 'Electronics have extended my career’

08 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards: 'Electronics have extended my career’

Colin Edwards reckons the huge advances in electronic rider aids have helped extend his career after the popular American signed a new MotoGP deal for 2010. The double World Superbike champion has...

Valentino Rossi impressed with Ben Spies

08 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi impressed with Ben Spies

Valentino Rossi has told MCN how impressed he has been with World Superbike sensation Ben Spies in 2009. The 30-year-old Italian, who is chasing a seventh MotoGP world title in 2009 as the paqddock...

Chris Vermeulen admits Ducati concern

08 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Chris Vermeulen admits Ducati concern

Chris Vermeulen has admitted he was worried about joining Ducati in MotoGP next season because of the difficulty in matching compatriot Casey Stoner’s results. Confident he would not be another...

Hayate eye Moto2 move

08 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Hayate eye Moto2 move

Hayate’s hopes of retaining its MotoGP status in 2010 appear doomed. A frantic fund-raising mission to find a £5m budget to lease Yamaha YZR-M1 engines and build and develop a new chassis has...

FTR Moto unveil Moto2 race bike

07 October 2009 by Gary Pinchin

FTR Moto unveil Moto2 race bike

These are the first pictures of the new Moto2 machine built by FTR Moto, unveiled today at the Sports Bar and Grill, Marylebone Station in London. The bike is known as FTR Moto M209 and has been built...

Title race still in Valentino Rossi’s hands, says Jerry Burgess

07 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Title race still in Valentino Rossi’s hands, says Jerry Burgess

Valentino Rossi’s quest for a seventh MotoGP crown is still firmly in the Italian’s hands, despite the setback of last weekend’s Estoril clash in Portugal. That’s the belief of Rossi’s legendary...

Toseland: “Ben and Colin deserve the ride”

07 October 2009 by Michael Guy

Toseland: “Ben and Colin deserve the ride”

Despite the obvious disappointment of losing his Tech 3 Yamaha MotoGP ride, James Toseland has given his backing to Ben Spies and Colin Edwards for next years championship. Toseland accepts that his...

Toni Elias heads Tech 3 Moto2 wish list

07 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Toni Elias heads Tech 3 Moto2 wish list

MotoGP winner Toni Elias tops a Tech 3 wish list for the French team’s new Moto2 600cc world championship project. The Spaniard has lost his MotoGP ride after being axed by the Gresini Honda squad,...

Aleix Espargaro seals Ducati MotoGP switch

07 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Aleix Espargaro seals Ducati MotoGP switch

Aleix Espargaro has secured the second Pramac Ducati GP9 ride after his recent impressive performances in the Indianapolis and Misano. The Spaniard’s dramatic upturn in fortunes mean he will partner...

Suzi Perry: James Toseland's MotoGP exit 'hugely disappointing'

06 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Suzi Perry: James Toseland's MotoGP exit 'hugely disappointing'

Suzi Perry reckons James Toseland’s MotoGP departure is ‘hugely disappointing’ for British race fans. The 28-year-old will make a swift return to WSB to try and reclaim the title he last won in 2007...

Cal Crutchlow’s WSB move sets back Gresini Moto2 project

06 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow’s WSB move sets back Gresini Moto2 project

Italian race boss Fausto Gresini reckons Cal Crutchlow’s decision to partner James Toseland in Yamaha’s factory World Superbike team has set his Moto2 rider search back by two months. Crutchlow held...

Jorge Lorenzo: "I can win the title"

06 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo: "I can win the title"

Jorge Lorenzo has told MCN his hopes of inflicting a shock MotoGP title defeat on Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi are back on track after a tedious but precious win in Estoril last...

Valentino Rossi curious to see Ben Spies race in Valencia

06 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi curious to see Ben Spies race in Valencia

Reigning world champion Valentino Rossi says he’s curious at seeing the level of performance from Ben Spies when the American make his Yamaha MotoGP debut in Valencia next month. The Texan, who will...

Ben Spies to race number 11 in MotoGP

06 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies to race number 11 in MotoGP

Ben Spies will revert back to his favoured number 11 when he moves to the MotoGP world championship in 2010. Spies opted to run 19 in his rookie World Superbike campaign because factory BMW rider Troy...

Estoril MotoGP: Astronaut Jorge Lorenzo ‘over the moon’

05 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Estoril MotoGP: Astronaut Jorge Lorenzo ‘over the moon’

Dressed in astronaut leathers and helmet, it was hardly surprising that Jorge Lorenzo declared himself over the moon after he dominated yesterday’s Portuguese MotoGP race at Estoril. A superb...

Aleix Espargaro to land permanent Ducati deal?

05 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Aleix Espargaro to land permanent Ducati deal?

Spaniard Aleix Espargaro looks certain to be rewarded with a permanent Ducati MotoGP deal for 2010 after impressing as a replacement rider in Indianapolis and Misano earlier this season. Espargaro is...

Estoril MotoGP: Traction issue blunts Valentino Rossi’s challenge

05 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Estoril MotoGP: Traction issue blunts Valentino Rossi’s challenge

Rear traction issues cost Valentino Rossi his hopes of inching closer to a seventh MotoGP world title after he could only finish in a distant fourth in Estoril. The Italian was never in contention in...

Estoril MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa looking for Honda consistency

05 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Estoril MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa looking for Honda consistency

Dani Pedrosa believes Honda’s factory RC212V machine must find a more consistent level of performance to be regularly challenging for victories in MotoGP. The Spaniard claimed his eighth podium finish...

Estoril MotoGP: Bradley Smith breaks Portugal jinx

05 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Estoril MotoGP: Bradley Smith breaks Portugal jinx

Bradley Smith ended his Estoril jinx with a brilliant third place finish in a dramatic Portuguese 125GP yesterday. After crashing out of last year’s race and never coming close to a top six finish at...

Hiroshi Aoyama secures 2010 MotoGP switch

04 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Hiroshi Aoyama secures 2010 MotoGP switch

Hiroshi Aoyama, current leader of the 250GP world championship, will move to MotoGP in a new Honda team in 2010. The Japanese rider, who heads into the final three races of 2009 with a commanding...

Estoril MotoGP results: Lorenzo wins, Stoner takes second

04 October 2009 by MCN

Estoril MotoGP results: Lorenzo wins, Stoner takes second

Team mates Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi started the race together but Lorenzo soon opened up a gap between the two riders. Rossi finished 23 seconds behind Lorenzo which left the Italian off the...

Estoril MotoGP: 125 Results - Bradley Smith third

04 October 2009 by MCN

Estoril MotoGP: 125 Results - Bradley Smith third

Championship leader Julián Simón crashed out of the race on the 16th lap leaving Pol Espargaró to take the race. Sandro Cortese took second place with Bradley Smith third. Results: 1 Pol ESPARGARO SPA...

Estoril MotoGP: Moto2 entry list unveiled

03 October 2009 by Matthew Birt

Estoril MotoGP: Moto2 entry list unveiled

The first Moto2 600cc world championship in 2010 could be contested by nearly 40 bikes after the final selection of teams invited into the new series was unveiled in Estoril today. Teams comprising a...