Mugello MotoGP 2016

No GP12 unveiling at Ducati team launch

10 January 2012 by Matthew Birt

The centrepiece of Ducati’s lavish MotoGP team launch in the picturesque Madonna di Campiglio ski resort will be conspicuous by its absence this week. The new GP12 Desmosedici will not be officially...

Guy Coulon to crew chief for Andrea Dovizioso

09 January 2012 by Matthew Birt

French engineer Guy Coulon will work as Andrea Dovizioso’s MotoGP crew chief in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad in 2012. The Italian rider had initially wanted former Team Roberts and Suzuki crew...

Andrea Dovizioso to undergo surgery on broken collarbone

06 January 2012 by Matthew Birt

Andrea Dovizioso has joined Nicky Hayden on the MotoGP pre-season injury list after he broke his right collarbone while training on a motocross bike in Italy yesterday (Thursday). The Italian is now...

Nicky Hayden suffers fresh injury blow

30 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden is facing a race to be fit for the first MotoGP test of 2012 in Sepang at the end of January after he suffered another injury blow while training two days after Christmas. The American...

Valentino Rossi has no regrets over Ducati switch

23 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi says he has no regrets about moving to Ducati after a tough debut season with the Bologna factory saw the Italian icon fail to claim at least one victory in a season for the first time...

Casey Stoner happy to silence Rossi and Burgess criticism

23 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner has said his domination of the 2011 MotoGP world championship was made sweeter after the criticism he faced from Valentino Rossi and Jerry Burgess when he was riding for Ducati. Stoner...

New contract for Jorge Lorenzo top priority for Yamaha

21 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

Signing Jorge Lorenzo on a new contract will be a key priority for Yamaha at the start of the 2012 MotoGP world championship campaign. The 2010 world champion is out of contract at the end of next...

Tough to let Colin Edwards leave, admits Tech 3 boss

21 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 boss Herve Poncharal has said the decision not to offer a new deal to popular American Colin Edwards for 2012 was one the toughest he’s ever had to make. The 37-year-old left...

Jerry Burgess welcomes new MotoGP testing rules

19 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

New MotoGP testing rules that allow factories to use their contracted riders much more in 2012 will be a major boost for Ducati, according to Valentino Rossi’s crew chief Jerry Burgess. Under previous...

Dorna gauging factory opinion on future MotoGP rules

16 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta is in the process of staging individual meetings with senior management from Honda, Yamaha and Ducati over plans to introduce radical changes to technical rules in...

21 bikes on 2012 MotoGP grid

16 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

At least 21 bikes, including nine 1000cc machines featuring tuned production-based engines with prototype chassis, will contest the 2012 MotoGP world championship. Next year’s grid will be made up of...

Casey Stoner energised Honda, says HRC boss

16 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner’s blistering speed from the moment he made his factory Honda debut at the end of 2010 injected fresh drive and motivation inside the Japanese factory, according to HRC boss Livio...

New date for 2012 MotoGP season opener

14 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

The 2012 MotoGP world championship campaign will kick off one week earlier than anticipated after the Qatar night race was moved to April 8. The traditional season opening clash at the Losail...

Bradley Smith: ‘Marquez not unbeatable’

14 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith believes overwhelming 2012 Moto2 world championship favourite Marc Marquez won’t be unbeatable next season. The Spaniard will go into next season as a red-hot favourite after he won...

Ducati will be stronger in 2012, vows Nicky Hayden

13 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden believes Ducati will bounce back stronger next season after a tough 2011 saw the Bologna factory score just two podium finishes all year. Ducati’s campaign fell well below expectations...

Lorenzo boss: ‘Casey Stoner took Honda to another level’

13 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

The talent of Casey Stoner lifted the performance of Honda’s factory RC212V machine to a new level in 2011, according to Jorge Lorenzo’s Yamaha boss Wilco Zeelenberg. Zeelenberg reckons Honda’s 2011...

Burgess: Valentino Rossi still fast enough to win in MotoGP

09 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi has not lost his winning touch and with a competitive bike could still be challenging Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo at the front in MotoGP. That’s the view of the 32-year-old’s...

FTR-Honda MotoGP bike ready for February

09 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

A new 1000cc MotoGP bike using a British-built FTR chassis and a tuned Honda CBR1000RR engine will be ready for shakedown testing in February. But the bike that is being raced by Fausto Gresini’s...

Marc Marquez: “I’d love to race Rossi.”

07 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

Teenage Spanish star Marc Marquez hopes Valentino Rossi doesn’t walk away from MotoGP at the end of 2012. Marquez will stay in Moto2 next year having been linked with a Honda MotoGP ride at the end of...

Tech 3 to build MotoGP chassis

06 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

Cal Crutchlow’s Tech 3 MotoGP squad will design and build a chassis for a new 1000cc MotoGP bike that could be raced as early as 2013. The French-based squad will commence work on developing its own...

Michele Pirro to ride Gresini-FTR 1000cc MotoGP bike

05 December 2011 by Matthew Birt

Fausto Gresini has confirmed that Michele Pirro will be promoted from his Moto2 squad to ride a new Honda CBR1000RR-powered MotoGP machine in 2012. The new machine will form part of the new CRT rules...

Colin Edwards experience vital for Suter/BMW project

30 November 2011 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards and his wealth of experience will be an invaluable asset to help the new Suter/BMW 1000cc MotoGP project develop at a fast rate. That’s the opinion of Swiss chassis designer Eskil Suter,...

Aspar confirms Aprilia deal for 2012

28 November 2011 by Matthew Birt

Spain’s high-profile Aspar squad has officially confirmed it plans to race in the 2012 MotoGP world championship with an Aprilia RSV4-powered 1000cc project. The team has also confirmed the signing of...

Scott Redding thrilled with Kalex race simulation

28 November 2011 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding might have topped the Moto2 timesheets in Jerez last week but the highly-rated British teenager was also thrilled with a final day race simulation on the new Kalex chassis. A best lap of...

Gone, but never forgotten

25 November 2011 by Russell Hunter

British GP, Silverstone 2011. I was cold, I was wet and felt a touch miserable. Then, coming down the Wellington Straight was a white screaming blur. The rider’s head was down, his throttle was wide...

Colin Edwards: “We’ve got a huge to do list”

25 November 2011 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards ended his debut test on the Forward Racing Suter/BMW in Jerez yesterday admitting the new 1000cc project needs major improvements ahead of the 2012 world championship campaign. The Texan...

Scott Redding remains on top in Jerez

25 November 2011 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding continued his fast form at the Jerez Moto2 test yesterday when he remained on top of the timesheets at the end of the second day. The 18-year-old matched his best lap of 1.42.9 set on...

Colin Edwards makes Suter/BMW debut

24 November 2011 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards made a low-key debut on the Suter/BMW 1000cc MotoGP bike in Jerez yesterday when he ended the opening day one second slower than Scott Redding’s fastest Moto2 pace. The vastly...

Scott Redding sets Jerez pace after early crash

24 November 2011 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding bounced back from an early crash during the opening day of Moto2 testing at the Jerez circuit in Spain yesterday to set the fastest pace on board the Kalex frame he has switched to for...

Tribute to Marco Simoncelli

22 November 2011 by pencilking

After the tragic accident in Sepang I was contacted by a large number of people asking if I would be producing a painting of Marco as a tribute to him. My first thought after the event was “I never...

Colin Edwards set for Suter/BMW debut

22 November 2011 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards will get his first chance to understand the performance potential of the new Suter/BMW 1000cc machine when he makes his debut for the Forward Racing squad in Jerez tomorrow...

Bradley Smith excited to assess 2012 Tech 3 bike

22 November 2011 by Matthew Birt

Bradley Smith is looking forward to completing his first laps on the new Tech 3 Moto2 machine tomorrow (Wednesday), as the British rider kicks off his 2012 preparations in Jerez. Bad weather prevented...

FTR to debut new Moto3 bike with Maverick Vinales

21 November 2011 by Matthew Birt

FTR will give its new Moto3 machine its first serious track test with Spanish sensation Maverick Vinales at the Almeria circuit on Wednesday (November 23). The M311 chassis will be tested with Honda’s...

Stefan Bradl: “I had to take this chance”

21 November 2011 by Matthew Birt

Moto2 world champion Stefan Bradl said the chance to move to MotoGP on a two-year deal with the LCR Honda squad was simply too good to turn down. Bradl’s dream of switching to MotoGP in 2012 appeared...

Remy Gardner to race in Spanish Moto3 with Moriwaki

21 November 2011 by Michael Neeves

13-year-old Remy Gardner will race a Moriwaki MD250GP3 (Moriwaki Dream 250cc GP3) in next year’s Spanish CEV Buckler Moto3 national championship. It will be a 30-year old Gardner/Moriwaki reunion –...

Suzuki boss speaks on MotoGP withdrawal

18 November 2011 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki MotoGP boss Paul Denning has spoken of his disappointment at the Japanese factory’s decision to withdraw from MotoGP until at least the 2014 world championship campaign. Suzuki Motor...