The 2013 MotoGP season kicks off this weekend at the Grand Prix of Qatar, and like many of you, we can’t wait to see how this season plays out. There are a number of plot twists this year, with Rossi, Marquez, Pedrosa and Lorenzo all grabbing headlines. Here, we’ll highlight the top 10 storylines to watch this year.
As we count down the days until 2013, it’s time for a look back at the year that was in motorcycles. Here now, is our top ten motorcycle news stories of 2012. Check back for three separate lists, our top off-beat motorcycle news stories of the year, ten news stories to look forward to next year, and the hottest bikes for 2013.
Spanish oil company and noted motorcycle racing sponsor Repsol recently gathered its cadre of riders from MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and the Spanish CEV championship for a special race – on electric minimotos.
Honda MotoGP riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa were joined by Moto2 racer Marc Marquez, his brother Alex Marquez and his fellow Moto3 racers Miguel Oliveira and Alex Rins and CEV racer Maria Herrera in the minimoto race. Hijinks ensued as racers grappled for position in the low-speed race. Continue Reading »
American Honda announced a number of returning 2013 models with new color options but the most eye-catching of the new paint jobs is the Repsol-edition CBR250R.
Dressed to resemble Casey Stoner‘s and Dani Pedrosa‘s Honda RC213V MotoGP race bikes, the 2013 Repsol edition Honda CBR250R sports the Spanish petroleum company’s orange with red and white colors, the Honda Racing Corporation logo and the “One Heart” motto of Honda’s Indonesian joint venture which also sponsors the MotoGP team. Completing the look are the Repsol-orange wheels. Continue Reading »
Casey Stoner has withdrawn from the Brno, Czech Republic MotoGP round to undergo surgery on his injured ankle. Trailing Yamaha‘s Jorge Lorenzo by 39 points and Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa by 21 points with seven rounds to go, Stoner’s hopes of repeating as MotoGP champion before retiring at the end of the season are all but dashed.
The Repsol Honda rider injured his ankle in a high side crash in last weekend’s Indianapolis Grand Prix. Stoner still managed to compete on The Brickyard, finishing fourth despite his injury. Stoner traveled to Brno intending to compete in the upcoming Czech Republic Grand Prix but made the decision to return to his native Australia for surgery to avoid permanent damage to the ankle. Continue Reading »
Honda Racing Corporation announced it has signed rising Spanish talent Marc Marquez to a two-year contract on its factory team. He will race alongside Dani Pedrosa who signed a two-year contract extension with Honda to race in the 2013 MotoGP Championship.
Marquez currently leads the Moto2 Championship by 43 points for the Catalunya Caixa Repsol team after finishing second in the series in 2011. The year before that, Marquez won the 125cc World Championship.
The 19-year-old was a natural fit to replace the retiring Casey Stoner on the Repsol Honda team after series organizers decided to lift its rule banning rookies from signing with factory teams. Many believed Marquez would have made the jump to the premiere class this season had the rookie rule not existed. Continue Reading »
Two-time MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner has announced he will retire following the end of the 2012 season.
Rumors of Stoner’s impending retirement plans have been floating around for weeks with the 26-year-old Repsol Honda racer saying he will continue racing until he no longer enjoyed it. That seems to be the case now as the 2007 and 2011 MotoGP Champion announced he will retire at a press conference ahead of this weekend’s French Grand Prix at Le Mans.
“After a long time thinking, a lot of time talking with my family and my wife, this has been coming for a couple of years now but at the end of this 2012 season I will be not racing in the 2013 Championship,” Stoner said at the press conference. “I will be finishing my career at the end of this season in MotoGP, and go forward in different things in my life.” Continue Reading »
Missing a day of testing didn’t appear to have a negative effect on Honda riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa. After missing the second day of testing because of a potential engine problem, the Repsol Honda riders were back on the track for Day 3 where they regained the top two spots on the time sheets.
Honda held back Stoner and Pedrosa as well as satellite team riders Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl yesterday to investigate an engine warning light that lit up on the dash of Pedrosa’s RC213V on Day 1. Continue Reading »
A red warning light prevented Honda riders from taking part in the second day of MotoGP testing at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit.
While its competitors were hitting the track, Honda was forced to wait for analysis on the engine of Dani Pedrosa‘s RC213V. A red warning light on the RC213V’s dash came on late in the first day of testing, indicating a potential failure.
It’s been about a month since Casey Stoner last tested the Honda RC213V racebike at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit but the defending World Champion remains the man to beat, setting the fastest lap at the first day of MotoGP’s February Sepang test.
Heavy rain limited teams’ testing and Stoner only completed 16 laps but still managed to set a time of 2:01.761. Stoner was the only rider to lap under 2:02, though his Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa came close with a time of 2:02.005 while completing 36 laps.
Honda released onboard video of Stoner lapping the 3.44 mile circuit (look for it after the jump). Continue Reading »
