In order to use footage from a Dorna-sanctioned MotoGP test session — say, for marketing or promotional reasons — a team must receive approval from Dorna. The process is tedious, and even if permission is granted, there are strict limitations as to what the material may or may not be used for. So when Honda decided to conduct its own private test (which Yamaha also joined), at the Circuit of the Americas, it was free from any and all Dorna mandates.

Rest assured, Honda took full advantage.  Continue Reading »

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.

Repsol Honda revealed the livery off its RC213V racebikes and leathers of riders Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez for the 2013 MotoGP season. The livery is again dominated by the colors of the team’s top sponsor, Spanish oil giant Repsol, but with more white and less black, particularly along the bottom of the fairing.

The Repsol logos on the sides now slope downward toward the swingarm whereas the previous design had them rising up toward the seat. The new design keeps the Honda wing motif, but instead of running along the fuel tank like in last year’s livery, the wing tips extend along the side fairings under the seat.

Honda also announced some changes to the team’s structure, with Livio Suppo being promoted to team principal. Suppo joined Honda in 2009, leaving Ducati to head the Honda team’s marketing efforts. Though his previous role was officially to help attract sponsors, Suppo played a strong role in the racing side of things and may have been instrument in luring the now retired Casey Stoner to Honda from Ducati. Continue Reading »

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 »

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 »

MotoGP organizers are re-opening discussion for the series’ rookie rule which prevents new riders from entering the series with factory teams.

Introduced following the 2009 MotoGP season, the rule was designed to give satellite teams the chance to field young up-and-coming talents  they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to sign. The theory was the rule would protect the satellite teams and spread out the talent pool.

The rule came into effect the same time Ben Spies made the jump to MotoGP after winning the 2009 World Superbike Championship, leading some to call it the “Ben Spies Rule”. Instead of joining a factory team right away, Spies spent the 2010 season with the Tech3 Yamaha squad before joining the factory Yamaha team the following season.

Other riders affected by the rule include 2009 250cc Champion Hiroshi Aoyama, 2011 Moto2 Champion Stefan Bradl and the late Marco Simoncelli. The lone exception was Alvaro Bautista who was allowed to join the factory Rizla Suzuki team. That exception was made in part to convince Suzuki to remain in the series, and because there were no satellite Suzuki teams.

So why re-visit the rule now? Continue Reading »

Spanish oil company and frequent racing sponsor Repsol has reportedly close to signing 15-year-old Red Bull Rookies Cup racer Maria Herrera to its stable of riders.

Herrera, the 2011 Mediterranean PreGP Champion, is the first female racer to be selected to compete in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, a youth racing series held jointly with the MotoGP tour. Herrera also trains with MotoGP racer Alvaro Bautista. Baustista backs Herrera financially and the two share the same manager, Armando Guerrero.

According to Spanish sports publication Marca, Repsol will sponsor Herrera in Spain’s CEV Moto3 Championship, with a potential move to the Moto3 World Championship in 2013.

Continue Reading »

KTM announced it will return to Grand Prix road racing in 2012 with a new racebike for the new 250cc four-stroke Moto3 class.

The Austrian manufacturer discontinued its Grand Prix road racing program in 2009, withdrawing from the 125cc class (pictured above is current Moto2 racer Marc Marquez racing for the KTM factory team in the 2009 125cc class). With the Moto3 class set to replace the 125cc class in 2012, KTM will return with a new racebike. KTM also announced an exclusive partnership to supply Moto3 engines to Kalex Engineering, which produces Moto2 racebikes.  Current Moto2 points leader Stefan Bradl rides a Kalex.

“We approach our entry into the Moto3 class with confidence,” says Pit Beirer, head of KTM Motorsports. “Our own plans are right on schedule for a racing bike completely developed in Mattighofen (Austria), while at the same time we have also found the best possible partner, who will present our engine at a very high and professional level. Kalex Engineering is well positioned for this in every way and just like KTM is highly motivated to develop a bike capable of winning in the new Moto3 category.”

Related Reading
KTM Quitting 125cc Grand Prix

Press release after the jump.

[Photo by Kim F.]

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