Earlier, we looked back at some of the most notable motorcycle news stories of 2012, ten tales that helped define the motorcycle industry this past year.
It’s probably safe to say that none of the items in this top ten list will do that. This is a compilation of some of the strangest, dumbest, and funniest oddball stories we’ve seen this year.
Here’s to a great 2012. We can only hope 2013 will be just as entertaining.
A contrite Maverick Vinales has returned to the Blusens Avintia Moto3 team days after his brash, and admittedly hasty departure at this past weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.
The FTR Honda rider quit the Blusens team on Oct. 10, returning home from Sepang without once hitting the track. At the time, Vinales accused the team of failing to provide technical improvements to remain competitive, even though he was second overall in the Moto3 championship going into Malaysia with more wins than anyone else in the series.
But with two more years to go on his contract and no doubt his lawyers explaining the consequences of breaching a contract, Vinales will race at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island for the Blusens Avintia team. Vinales issued a statement on MotoGP’s official website apologizing to his team, his sponsors, his technicians and racing fans.
Maverick Vinales seems to be living up to his name, announcing he is leaving the Blusens Avintia team despite sitting second in the Moto3 World Championship with three rounds to go. Vinales traveled with the team to Sepang for the upcoming Malaysian Grand Prix but did not take part in Free Practice and later announced the split.
You may remember Vinales from last season when he raced in the former 125cc Grand Prix World Championship for the Paris Hilton-sponsored Blusens-BQR team. While the notorious socialite team owner created headlines, Vinales proved himself to be a rising star, winning four races and finishing third overall in the championship.
This year, he has been even better, winning five races on Blusen’s FTR Honda racebike (#25 above) and trailing KTM‘s Sandro Cortese (#11) by 56 points. Cortese’s lead is daunting but not insurmountable with three races and a potential 75 points up for grabs, so Vinales’ sudden departure points to some serious issues with the team. 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.
Reality show star, socialite and racing team owner Paris Hilton made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last week to promote some of her projects including her 125cc Grand Prix Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Team.
Hilton arrived on the Tonight Show set riding pillion on a GSX-R painted white, pink and blue.
The celebutante’s appearance comes on the (pink) heels of racer Maverick Viñales winning his first 125cc GP race at Le Mans. Viñales sits sixth in the championship standings. Beside the win in Le Mans, Viñales missed out on the final podium position at the Estoril round by just 0.002 seconds. With the next round taking place at the Catalunya Circuit, a track Viñales knows from his time in the Spanish CEV series, there’s a good chance he’ll put up another strong result.
“Maverick won. He’s 16 and incredibly talented,” Hilton told Leno. “Racing is so exciting. It’s such an amazing sport.”
When news of Hilton’s new racing team first broke earlier this year, the reaction from racing fans was pretty mixed, with some welcoming any mainstream attention to the sport while other decrying Hilton for her reputation and lack of any real motorcycle knowledge. Watching her trying to dismount the Gixxer showed the latter argument has some merit, but as we wrote back in February, Paris’ race team might actually be good.
Watch video of Hilton’s Tonight Show appearance after the jump (at least, until NBC pulls the plug).
Related Reading
Paris Hilton Starting 125GP Team
Paris Hilton’s Race Team Might Actually Be Good
When news first emerged that Paris Hilton was getting into the Grand Prix racing business, the response from fans of the motorcycle racing ranged from utter disdain to hope that the celebutante’s involvement would raise the profile of the sport.
Whether you dread the image of a sparkly pink carbon fiber fairing or welcome any infusion of funding and support for racing, the one thought that may not have crossed your mind was “what if the team turns out to be pretty good?”
