February

Year: 2007

Month: February

Steve Spray’s Norton demo

14 February 2007 by Gary Pinchin

Former British Superbike Champion Steve Spray was back in action recently – riding the ex-Steve Hislop 1992 Senior TT-winning Norton Rotary in New Zealand. Spray and the Norton starred in the Pukekohe...

World sidecars at Brands

14 February 2007 by Gary Pinchin

World Sidecars have clinched a championship round at Brands Hatch – sharing the billing with the DTM, the European-based touring car series. The meeting on June 10/11 gives Sidecar World Champions Tim...

Fuel limits hold the key

14 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi believes the new fuel capacity regulations for the 800cc MotoGP world championship will add an intriguing dimension to the season. Race bosses slashed fuel capacity from 22 litres to...

Bou! Antonio's fourth win

14 February 2007 by Gary Pinchin

Montesa HRC rider Antonio Bou continues to dominate the World Indoor Trials Championship. He won Saturday night’s round at Lisbon in front of a packed house of 6000 fans and now leads the championship...

Yamaha levels field

14 February 2007 by Mathew Birt

Yamaha bosses have given Colin Edwards cast iron assurances that his factory Yamaha 800cc machine will start the new season next month getting exactly the same treatment as Valentino Rossi. Edwards...

Rossi finds fitness

14 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi believes he is returning to his best fitness levels after he picked up the pace in Sepang this week as he continues to plot winning back the MotoGP crown in 2007. Rossi was 0.6s faster...

Rossi: No F1 distraction

14 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi has rebuked suggestions that a potential switch to Formula One with Ferrari was partly to blame for his shock MotoGP world championship defeat in 2006. This time last year Rossi was...

OJ to repay Kawasaki

13 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Former world 250 champion Olivier Jacque is confident he can repay the faith Kawasaki MotoGP bosses have shown in him after the French rider was plucked from the wilderness to make a full-time premier...

Improved Michelin rear

13 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards reckons Michelin’s aggressive winter development programme hasn’t only concentrated on the new impressive 16-inch front tyre. A batch of new spec rear tyres were tested at the Sepang...

Rossi on guard at turn one

13 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi admits he will be wary of potential first corners hazards in 2007 after his nightmare in the opening race in Jerez almost a year ago. Rossi’s wretched run of luck in 2006, which...

Kawasaki close the gap

13 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Factory Kawasaki rider Randy de Puniet reckons the Japanese factory’s new ZX-RR 800 will be competitive from the first race of the new MotoGP world championship. The French rider says the gap between...

Chatter relief for Edwards

13 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards believes Yamaha’s chronic chatter problems that dogged the YZR-M1 990cc machine at the start of last season also affected critical stability under braking. Braking stability was a...

Burgess stays with Rossi

13 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi said there is no doubt that he will continue his formidable partnership with Aussie crew chief Jerry Burgess in the MotoGP world championship. With Rossi announcing that he has...

Rossi: IRTA tests critical

13 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Former world champion reckons the final two pre-season tests in Qatar and Jerez will be absolutely critical in shaping the formbook in the early part of the new 800cc MotoGP world championship. Just...

800s better for Randy

13 February 2007 by Matthew BIrt

New Kawasaki number one Randy de Puniet believes the generation 800cc machines will help establish him more in the MotoGP world championship this season. The French rider has been one of the surprise...

Video: Rossi talks 800s

13 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

MCN caught up with seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi at this week’s Sepang MotoGP test, and he spoke with us about how the tests have gone, and how he is making the transition to the new 800cc...

OJ: 800s are easier

13 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Factory Kawasaki rider Olivier Jacque reckons riding in the MotoGP world championship is a much easier proposition than when he last raced full-time in 2003. Huge advances in electronics have made the...

Rossi deal no suprise

13 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards said he wasn’t surprised that team-mate Valentino Rossi signed a new contract with Yamaha that will keep him in the MotoGP world championship until at least the end of 2008. Yamaha’s...

Cal faster at Calafat

13 February 2007 by Gary Pinchin

Rizla Suzuki completed a two-day test at Calafat, Spain yesterday and Superbike rookie Cal Crutchlow lapped faster than his more experienced team-mate Chris Walker. Crutchlow was having his first real...

Edwards' desert storm

08 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards is looking forward to continuing his recent good form when the whole MotoGP grid tests together for the first time this winter in Qatar. The three-day IRTA test gets underway next...

Jezza to ride in Qatar

08 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

British hardman Jeremy McWilliams will try and ride the new Ilmor 800cc bike in next week’s Qatar IRTA test – just four days after undergoing surgery to remove a screw from his left leg. The...

Rizla's sunshine test

08 February 2007 by Gary Pinchin

While we’re shivering under the heaviest snowfalls in Britain for ten years Rizla Suzuki are testing at Calafat, Spain in ideal 24-degrees of sunshine. Chris Walker completed 90 trouble-free laps...

Desert run for Stoner

08 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner returns to the scene of his greatest MotoGP triumph of his short premier class career in Qatar next. And the Australian rider is hoping to make as big an impact at the IRTA test as he did...

Hayden wary of Qatar

08 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden said he doesn’t know what to expect from the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. The MotoGP champion has said this ahead of testing Honda’s new 800cc RC212V for the first time in the...

Dani waits on new parts

08 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa anticipates a batch of new performance upgrades for his RC212V 800cc machine when he returns to the track for the IRTA test in Qatar on February 13. It is no secret...

The Who play at TT

08 February 2007 by MCN

ROCK supergroup The Who have confirmed that they will open the Peel Bay Festival as part of the 100th TT party celebrations on the Isle of Man on May 30. The seven-day long festival is being held in a...

Rossi 'fully focussed'

08 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards has rubbished claims that factory Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi got distracted by a potential multi-million pound switch to Ferrari last season. Some have said that Rossi testing for...

Ilmor struggle in Sepang

07 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Andrew Pitt finished the Sepang test a massive 5.4s off the pace as it became apparent that the new Ilmor 800cc machine faces a massive task to be competitive for the start of the new MotoGP season in...

Kawasaki impress in test

07 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

French rider Randy de Puniet continued Kawasaki’s impressive start to the new 800cc MotoGP era in Sepang as he clocked the third best time overall. The former factory Aprilia 250 rider was third best...

Edwards on record pace

07 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards gave himself a massive pre-season confidence boost in Sepang today when he ended the three-day test session with the fastest time on race and qualifying tyres. The Texas Tornado was...

Rossi happy with second

07 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi’s quest to win back the MotoGP world title saw him play second fiddle for once to team-mate Colin Edwards in Sepang. The Italian finished second fastest in Malaysia, his best time on a...

Stoner: 800s harder

07 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner reckons the new generation 800cc machine are harder to ride than the old and more powerful 990cc MotoGP machines. The factory Ducati rider, who recently impressed in testing at his home...

Hayden wants drag cut

07 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden is hoping he can strike a new fairing of his Honda wish list when he returns to pre-season testing action in Qatar on February 13, 2007. The 25-year-old is hoping a new...

Rossi on top in Sepang

07 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Normal service was resumed today in Malaysia as former world champion Valentino Rossi clocked the fastest time on day two at Sepang. The 27-year-old, who was just beaten to the best time by factory...

De Puniet crashes

07 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

Randy de Puniet walked away uninjured after crashing Kawasaki’s new ZX-RR 800 for the first time on the second day of testing in Sepang. The French rider crashed at turn 10 on the 13th lap of a...

Hopkins to end Oz misery

07 February 2007 by Matthew Birt

American John Hopkins says he is determined to crack Phillip Island’s fast and flowing circuit when he goes to race Down Under in October. Hopkins shouldered some of the blame himself for his...