2010 MotoGP season buzz

With half the MotoGP 2009 season already underway, its that time of the year now when the interesting buzz about the 2010 rider-shifts starts erupting. The first bit came in the form of the brave rumor indicating FIAT Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo's shift to the Repsol Honda factory team for 2010. But that seems to be over now, with Lorenzo most likely continuing alongside Valentino Rossi - making sure he has atleast the same (if not better) equipment levels as Rossi to continue their battle for supremacy.

The second bit of news comes in the form of Bautista's confirmed seat for the Rizla Suzuki team. The 250cc championship contender will take advantage of the fact that Suzuki have received a dispensation from the rookie rule which usually forces new entrants to sign with satellite teams. This will earn him a factory seat - something that he has been desiring for quite some time now. Since his current partners, Aspar, are trying in vain to convince him to join their MotoGP operations, it seems that their two bikes would find the reins under Tony Elias and Hector Barbera!

Tony Elias' Gresini seat on the other hand will be filled 250cc category's racing wonder Marco Simonchelli. His team mate will be none other than Macro Melandri - who will make a comeback to the Gresini team after having spent the last two years at Ducati and Kawasaki respectively. In spite of losing factory support this year, the Italian rider has proved his worth in almost each and every race he has participated in, and hence, looks forward to a successful comeback with the San Carlo Gresini outfit.

Stay tuned to the Motoroids Blog as we bring you more exciting news from around the paddock. For other interesting news, reviews and features, download the absolutely free Motoroids2 e-magazine for www.motoroids.com now!

Image Credits: MotoGP Press

MOTOGP: Stoner to go underground!

Casey Stoner - one of the vital contenders for this year's MotoGP Championship, has been diagnosed of a secret illness which has been leading to his chronic fatigue for the past few races. The Australian will hence take a break from the MotoGP championship for at least the next three races.

While addressing the media, Ducati Boss Livio Suppo said: “Casey is very sorry that he is not able to race, especially as he feels the bike is very competitive. But he said he needs to fix this problem and come back at full strength for Estoril. It is one thing to stop if you are struggling but even more difficult when you know you are capable of winning.”

With Stoner's temporary retirement, Ducati satellite rider Mika Kallio will be promoted to race for the factory team, alongside Nicky Hayden for the next three races of Brno, Indianapolis and Misano. His current team mate Niccolo Canepa on the other hand will be joined by Ducati's WSBK rider Micheal Fabrizio.

Image Credits: Motogp.com

Yamaha MotoGP bikes now as powerful as the Ducatis - says Rossi

Valentino Rossi thinks that the performance of his MotoGP YZR-M1 engine is at par with the Ducatis now. The Ducatis have been having a massive advantage over their Japanese rivals in terms of straight line performance ever since the 800cc bikes were introduced in 2007.

While the previous season was a bit of a struggle for Yamaha, this year the Rossi-Lorezo duo of the Japanese firm have managed to win six out of ten races. Rossi says that the Yamaha team has become very strong this season. The key reason for that, according to Rossi was largely down to Yamaha making big improvements to the power delivery and acceleration of this year’s YZR-M1.

The eight-times world champion told UK based MCN "We have improved the engine a lot but we have really made big progress with improving the acceleration. It looks like the Ducati might still be a little bit faster, but we are more or less on the same level. Last year was different, and especially two years ago it was a lot different."

Brilliant Save by Raffaele de Rosa

Scale Models: New Collection

The MotoGP madness continues as Maisto has assembled together 2 new GP bikes to their 1:18 scale model collection. These are Pedrosa's No.2 Honda RC212V and Capirossi's No.33 Ducati GP8.
Here are the pics: