With a new contract with Ducati in hand, Nicky Hayden returned to his home in Owensboro, Ky., for the MotoGP’s mid-season break. So what has the Kentucky Kid been doing on his time off? Riding his own Ducati 848 Nicky Hayden edition bike, of course!

Check out the clip as Hayden takes his first ride on his namesake 848.

Ever wonder what it’s like to drive the world famous Laguna Seca race track?  Apparently the folks at Google were curious and so they sent out one of the Google street view cars onto the track.

For some reason the Google street view doesn’t include a whole lap of the track, just from around turn five to turn 10.  That portion does include the famous Corkscrew but the Google street view car doesn’t seem to capture it, which does make sense to anyone who’s taken the corkscrew before.  One of the things that makes the Corkscrew so challenging is the fact that it’s so steep you don’t even know where the road is until you’re going down it (or, if you’re unlucky, driving down the dirt).  Likely the Google street view camera was filming the sky at that point.

The filming appears to have been done during a practice session at last year’s ALMS race, as you can see the black and yellow GT1 Corvette and one of the Flying Lizzard Motorsports Porsches.  Ride along with the Google street view car at Laguna Seca here:

Google Streetview Drives Laguna Seca

The 2009 MotoGP season keeps rolling along and we’re keeping up to pace. The Barcelona, Spain stop at Circuit de Catalunya has been wrapped up. Get the low-down of the finish-line frenzy from our MotoGP: 2009 Catalunya Results article. As far as the tracks of MotoGP go.. The Sidecar Blog has got your back, B. Track Facts will bring a quick look at each track of the ‘09 MotoGP Season. Some of the things you can find from track facts are; a track map, an onboard lap video, track facts and links. Keep Reading, doit-doit.

Using two J402-CA-702 Model 373 turbine engines that were developed for cruise missiles, the bike took only 7.887-seconds to reach 200mph.  According to techblog, this vehicle is the world’s fastest jet motorcycle.

Hit the jump to watch the video.

As Motorcycle.com continues to cover all the 2009 MotoGP racing news, The Sidecar stays focused on the tracks of this years GrandPrix season. Read more about the results of the MotoGP at Motegi on Motorcycle.com – MotoGP: 2009 Motegi Results.

Want more? Keep reading

This year’s MotoGP is back in the swing of things for the 2009 calendar. We’ll be keeping up with the latest race news on Motorcycle.com (See: MotoGP: 2009 Motegi Preview).  While you’re here, check out a few details and a video of the Losail Circuit.  Enjoy.

The terms ‘high-performance’ and ‘scooter’ usually fit together about as well as pickles and peanut butter but Stuart Owen has customized his 1970 Lambretta to be among the fastest in the world. Owen, a former fish wholesaler who now runs a scooter customizing business, currently holds the fastest speed achieved by a Lambretta on British soil at 117.3 mph.

A total of $8,200 in speeding fines were issued in Australia in a single weekend earlier this month to 41 motorcycle riders.

That doesn’t sound so remarkable until you learn the 41 riders were World Superbike and Supersport racers and the highly effective speed trap is located along pit lane on the Phillip Island Circuit in Victoria, Australia.

A Feb. 2 report from Roadracingworld.com states that American Honda has found Neil Hodgson a place to race in the 2009 AMA American Superbike Championship. This new place should feel a lot like his former American Honda home.

2008 was an interesting year in the world of motorcycles. But the biggest stories of 2008 have left some big questions for 2009. What’s in store for the New Year? We’ll soon find out. Here are some of the top news stories for 2008.