Piaggio is laying off nearly 150 Derbi workers in Barcelona after failing to find a partner to acquire the Spanish motorcycle brand’s factory. Derbi, which the Piaggio Group acquired in 2001, has been based in Spain’s Catalan region since it was founded in 1922, but the fate of its Spanish staff was left up in the air after Piaggio announced plans to move production to Italy in 2011.

Workers gained a bit of a reprieve as Piaggio sought buyers for Derbi’s facilities. A deal was thought to be in the works last summer between Piaggio and Swiss investment company Giba that would see the firm invest 100 million euros to produce automobiles at the facility.

Negotiations fell through however and Giba withdrew its interest, leading Piaggio to file a record of employment regulation (ERE), a procedure in Spanish law allowing a company to terminate labor relations. Continue Reading »

The digital ink is still wet on news of American Suzuki declaring bankruptcy and shutting down its car business to focus on powersports and marine products, and now there’s more bad news for the Japanese manufacturer.

Suzuki announced it will close its motorcycle factory in Gijón, Spain, in March, 2013, shutting the company’s sole European production plant. The factory has been producing motorcycles and scooters for Suzuki since 1984, with the manufacturer taking 100% ownership of the factory.

According to Spanish site Motoworld.es, the factory has been bleeding money, accumulating more than 30 million euros (US$38.4 million) in losses over the last four years as Spain’s economy as a whole also took a tumble. Continue Reading »

Former Grand Prix World Champion Wayne Gardner is turning to a familiar team to help his sons’ racing careers.

In 1981, then 22-year-old Australian racer Gardner teamed up with Moriwaki Engineering, competing in the United Kingdom as well as racing in the Daytona 200.

For Gardner, Moriwaki opened the door to an international racing career that produced 18 Grand Prix victories and the 1987 500cc World Championship.

30 years later, Gardner is reuniting with Moriwaki to support his two sons, Remy and Luca Gardner. The Gardner family is relocating from Australia to Spain, as the two brothers will form Moriwaki’s official European factory team.

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Honda announced it will begin a trial program for its EV-neo electric scooter in Barcelona, Spain.

Already available in Japan under a lease sale program, the Honda EV-neo is designed to be a commercial delivery vehicle, with performance said to be on par with an under 50cc scooter.

The electric scooter will make its European debut as Honda is providing Barcelona City Council with 18 EV-neo scooters at the beginning of July for a one-year trial.

“We are delighted to bring Honda’s EV technology to Europe for the first time,” says Yukitoshi Fujisaka, President of Montesa Honda. “Testing the EV-neo in European conditions is an important step as we develop our EV activities.”

According to Honda, the EV-neo has a range of 21 miles, when traveling at a constant speed of 18.6 mph. Honda claims a charge time of 3.5 hours for the lithium-ion battery with the regular (and portable) charger, but just 30 minutes with the rapid charger.

Gallery and press release after the jump.

Related Reading
Honda EV-neo Ready for Lease Sales
Honda EV-neo Electric Scooter Announced

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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.

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Stay up to speed with the 2009 MotoGP season – Get full race coverage as the Grand Prix of Spain waves the checkered flag with MotoGP: 2009 Jerez Results. As Motorcycle.com continues to cover all the 2009 MotoGP racing news, The Sidecar stays focused on the tracks of this years GrandPrix season.

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