The Grand Prix Commission has released a new set of regulations for disciplining riders who consistently commit offenses such as endangering other racers or assaulting marshals and race officials. The new disciplinary rules were among a number of other new regulations announced for MotoGP as well as the Moto2 and Moto3 World Championships.

Effectively immediately, riders will be subject to a point system for penalties. Race Direction may issue anywhere from one and 10 points for various infractions, in addition to other sanctions. Points will accrue through the season and, when a rider’s penalty point total reaches certain thresholds, additional sanctions will be automatically applied.

When a rider receives four points through a season, the rider will be penalized by having to start from the back of the grid for the next race. At seven points, a rider will have to start from pit lane for the next race. Should a rider receive 10 points through the season, that rider would be automatically disqualified from the following round, and the points would reset to zero. Points will also reset at the end of a season and do not carry forward to the next season. Continue Reading »

Last week, we wrote about retired Formula One racer Michael Schumacher taking part in a track day at France’s Paul Ricard circuit on a Ducati 1199 Panigale. The event’s sponsor, Monster Energy, has released a video offering a behind-the-scenes look at the event.

The seven-time F1 champion was joined by TT racer John McGuinness, retired MotoGP racer Randy Momola, Moto2 racer Pol Espargaro and Keith Flint, a musician from the group Prodigy and a racer in the U.K.’s  Hottrax Endurance Championship.

Schumacher rode on a Panigale dressed in the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team’s gray color (perhaps a bit awkward considering Ducati‘s new owner Audi). As expected, McGuinness rode on his Honda TT Legends team’s CBR1000RR, and Espargaro on his FTR Kalex Moto2 bike. Mamola rode a Yamaha YZF-R1,while Flint rode his Suzuki GSX-R1000 endurance racer to complete the varied collection of sportbikes.

Check out the video after the jump, and especially the shot of the four riders pulling wheelies just after the 3-minute mark. Continue Reading »

The International Motorcycling Federation has suspended Moto2 racer Anthony West for testing positive for methylhexaneamine, substance considered a stimulant and prohibited under the FIM’s anti-doping code.

West will be ineligible for competition organized by the FIM or its affiliated federations for a month, starting from Oct. 30, effectively ruling him out of the Moto2 season finale Nov. 11 at Valencia. West, who races for the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation team, still has the right to lodge an appeal before Nov. 3.

Methylhexaneamine, also known as 1,3-dimethylamylamine or DMAA, was originally developed as a nasal decongestant but more recently has been commonly used as a dietary supplement. Since Aug. 1, methylhexaneamine has been banned in Australia, West’s native country. The positive test however occurred on May 20 during the MotoGP round at Le Mans, and as a result, the FIM has also stripped West of his seventh-place finish at the French Grand Prix Moto2 race. 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 »

LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl took to the streets of San Francisco on his MotoGP race bike for a video promoting the upcoming U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca.

Bradl, the runaway favorite to take home MotoGP rookie of the year honors this season, took his Honda RC213V out for a spin on San Franciscio’s Treasure Island before going for a ride down the city’s iconic Lombard St., no doubt using the steep, winding road as practice for Laguna Seca’s Corkscrew.

Later in the day, Bradl and LCR team owner Lucio Cecchinello were guests in a conference at Stanford University titled “Embracing Risk in the Pursuit of Victory”. Bradl, the 2011 Moto2 World Champion, is still looking for his first MotoGP podium but with three top-five finishes including a fourth-place result at Mugello, it may be just a matter of time before his pursuit of victory becomes a success. Continue Reading »

Former Moto2 World Champion Toni Elias is back in the premiere MotoGP class, albeit on a temporary basis. The Pramac Racing satellite Ducati team has signed Elias to race at the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca in place of Hector Barbera who is sidelined with a broken leg.

Barbera, pictured above, broke his left fibula and tibia in a training accident on July 21 in Spain. Barbera underwent surgery to have a titanium plate and several screws inserted into the leg and is expected to be out four to six weeks. The Spanish rider will miss this week’s U.S. Grand Prix and likely the Aug. 19 Indianapolis Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

For Elias, this marks a return to MotoGP and a quick end to his recent unemployment. Elias started the season racing for the Aspar Racing Moto2 team but the two sides agreed to part ways after the July 15 Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. Aspar has replaced Elias with reigning Spanish National Moto2 Champion Jordi Torres. Continue Reading »

As expected, MotoGP organizers have officially lifted the rule barring rookies from racing for factory teams, but the Grand Prix Commission also tweaked some other regulations including a cap on factory prototype machines.

We’ve discussed the lifting of the rookie rule already, with the main impetus being to allow a manufacturer such as Honda to sign up-and-coming Moto2 star Marc Marquez when he is expected to move up to the premiere class next season.

As of Jan. 1, 2013, manufacturers will be restricted to two entries on their factory teams and up to an additional two entries operated by satellite teams. Essentially, there will only be at most four prototype race bikes per manufacturer next season. Continue Reading »

Former AMA Daytona Sportbike racer Tommy Aquino is coming back to the U.S. to compete as a wild card entry in the Moto2 race at the 2012 Indianapolis Grand Prix.

The California native has been racing in Spain’s CEV Moto2 class this season for Canadian-owned FOGI Racing this year. Aquino has been riding a Moto2 bike with a chassis by FTR, a combination he’ll repeat Aug. 19 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“It has been a lot of hard work over the past nine months to get the team where it is today. We worked tirelessly to get the proper rider, equipment and infrastructure together to put us in a position where we could take advantage of an opportunity such as this,” says Andrew Murray of FOGI Racing. “We still have a lot of work to do to find a team sponsor for this event, but we are confident this opportunity will open up new organizations in North America who want to partner with a successful team and take advantage of the enormous market reach found in MotoGP / Moto2 / Moto3 for their products and services.” Continue Reading »

Italian manufacturer Bimota is looking to return to racing, with plans to compete in the 2013 World Superbike Championship as either a wild card or full time entry.

Helming Bimota’s racing project is its sporting director and former WSBK racer Ruben Xaus. Speaking with Italian website Motoblog.it at the Motor Bike Expo in Verona, Italy, Xaus says the team would like to race full time in 2013 but may start as a wild card before fielding a full entry in 2014.

“We are developing a bike for 2013, when they should change the rules which should lean towards more stock specs,” says Xaus.

Continue Reading »

If you’re a fan of motorsport on both two and four wheels like me, then you should be familiar with the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. Here, Belgian native Xavier Simeon, the 2009 FIM Superstock 1000 champion and current Moto2 competitor, does a couple flying laps around his home track aboard a Honda CBR600RR at what appears to be a trackday. The speed he carries and the smoothness of his riding are simply extraordinary.

Continue Reading »