2012

Year: 2012

Month: ALL

Three Brits to do battle in 2012 Moto2 series

13 January 2012 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding, Bradley Smith and Gino Rea will lead the British challenge in the 2012 Moto2 world championship. Redding is poised for his third attack on the 600cc four-stroke class and remains with...

32 bikes on inaugural Moto3 grid

13 January 2012 by Matthew Birt

A 32-strong field, including British duo Danny Kent and Danny Webb, will contest the inaugural Moto3 world championship in 2012. The 250cc four-stroke single-cylinder class replaces the 125cc...

Rossi gives Hayden a Ducati MotoGP pillion ride – on snow!

13 January 2012 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden experienced a career first in Italy yesterday when he took a pillion ride on a Ducati MotoGP bike with team-mate Valentino Rossi – on snow! The special ride took place during Ducati’s...

Dakar Stage 11 – Despres wins stage to extend overall lead, Watt 33rd

12 January 2012 by Michael Guy

Factory KTM rider Cyril Despres moved a step closer to his fourth Dakar victory after winning stage 11 of the race and extending his lead over rival and team-mate Marc Coma. The 37 year old Frenchman secured the 534km stage win by 1m 39s from Spanish KTM rider Gerard Farres Guell as the event moved across the border of Chile in to Peru for the first time and now leads closest rival, Coma overall...

Ducati uncomfortable with Aprilia CRT project

12 January 2012 by Matthew Birt

Aprilia’s decision to supply a new 1000cc MotoGP bike based on its RSV4 World Superbike machine is not in the spirit of new CRT rules introduced for 2012, according to senior Ducati boss Claudio...

Ducati coy on FTR link with new GP12

12 January 2012 by Matthew Birt

Ducati technical boss Filippo Preziosi has again refused to confirm whether British chassis specialists FTR are heavily involved in the conventional twin spar aluminium frame that Valentino Rossi and...

Rossi and Hayden keen to check CRT performance

12 January 2012 by Matthew Birt

Factory Ducati duo Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden are both keen to gauge the performance potential of the new production-based 1000cc MotoGP machines (CRT) in 2012. Nine of the 21 bikes that will...

MotoGP boss pledges cheaper bikes and closer racing in 2013

12 January 2012 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP boss Carmelo Ezpeleta has laid out his vision for MotoGP in 2013 and beyond by pledging to get manufacturers to supply cheaper bikes while cutting the gulf in performance between factory...

Jorge Lorenzo backs India MotoGP bid

12 January 2012 by Matthew Birt

Former world champion Jorge Lorenzo has thrown his support behind plans to stage a MotoGP race in India in the future after he visited the Buddh International Circuit. The Spaniard was in India to...

Dakar stage ten - Bort takes historic Husqvarna win, Despres and Coma separated by 21 seconds overall

11 January 2012 by Michael Guy

Speedbrain Husqvarna Rally rider Joan Barrda Bort took a historic victory for the Husqvarna in stage 10 of the 2012 Dakar today. The 28 year old Spaniard who is only competing in his second ever Dakar...

Ducati braced for challenging recovery in 2012

11 January 2012 by MCN

Ducati boss Filippo Preziosi has conceded the Bologna factory faces a huge challenge to try and compete with Japanese rivals Honda and Yamaha in the 2012 MotoGP world championship. Valentino Rossi and...

Ducati cagey on GP12 changes

11 January 2012 by Matthew Birt

Ducati technical guru Filippo Preziosi did a great job of revealing very little about the radical new GP12 Desmosedici that Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden will debut when winter testing kicks off at...

GBmoto field Quigley and Palmer in BSB

11 January 2012 by Gary Pinchin

Luke Quigley joins Tristan Palmer in the GBmoto Honda BSB team for this year. Both are very respected superstock racers and could become the new breed of superbike star – their careers regenerated by the 2012 BSB regulations that will curb horsepower and ban the majority of electronic rider aids to produce bikes that demand a lot more throttle control and smart tyre conservation. Those are the...

Dakar stage nine - Despres fights back to win stage and lead overall, Watt up to 41st

10 January 2012 by Michael Guy

Following his nightmare on stage eight of the race where he got bogged down in mud, Cyril Despres bounced back in spectacular fashion on stage nine of the event. The Frenchman led throughout the...