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December

WSB's Defining moment number 2 - Biggest surprise and underdog

03 January 2010 by Michael Guy

WSB's Defining moment number 2 - Biggest surprise and underdog

Ben Spies’ ability to turn up and win the World Superbike crown at his first attempt is was the biggest single surprise of the year. In terms impressing against the odds though, Leon Haslam and his...

Five race winners in 2009 - how many will there be in 2010?

03 January 2010 by Michael Guy

Five race winners in 2009 - how many will there be in 2010?

Despite a grid full of world class riders and arguably the most competitive season in WSB history there were only five race winners in the 2009. American sensation and new champions Ben Spies was...

MotoGP 2009: Most promising rider

01 January 2010 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP 2009: Most promising rider

Spies’ record-breaking rookie season in World Superbikes, in which he ended with a 50 per cent winning record, meant he was the hottest property in world racing in 2009.  His outstanding performances...

MotoGP 2009: Best race

01 January 2010 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP 2009: Best race

It’s already being hailed as the greatest last lap in history and one of the most thrilling MotoGP races witnessed in living memory. And there is no doubt that June’s unforgettable Catalunya race will...

MotoGP 2009: Best bike

01 January 2010 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP 2009: Best bike

At the end of the first year of the 800cc era in 2007, Valentino Rossi was so disgusted by the woeful performance of Yamaha’s YZR-M1 that he threatened to quit unless the in-line four-cylinder was...

MotoGP 2009: Biggest under-achievers

01 January 2010 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP 2009: Biggest under-achievers

In 2007, Suzuki had been the major surprise of the first 800cc campaign, yet had struggled to emulate its impressive form in 2008. This year though was to be an even bleaker campaign for the Japanese...

MotoGP 2009: Best ride

01 January 2010 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP 2009: Best ride

Marco Melandri’s brilliant second on the unfancied Hayate (a re-branded factory Kawasaki ZX-RR) in a rain-hit Le Mans clash struck a blow for the underdog, as did Dovizioso’s maiden win at Donington...

MotoGP 2009: Biggest disappointment

01 January 2010 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP 2009: Biggest disappointment

Kawasaki’s withdrawal was a massive disappointment, while Andrea Dovizioso’s failure to capture no other podium apart from his British GP win on a factory Honda rider raised questions about his...

MotoGP 2009: Unluckiest rider

01 January 2010 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP 2009: Unluckiest rider

Nicky Hayden was taken out at the first corner in three races and Marco Melandri and John Hopkins thought they had rock solid deals with Kawasaki until the Japanese factory quit in early...

WSB’s Defining moment number 5 – Biggest crash

01 January 2010 by Michael Guy

WSB’s Defining moment number 5 – Biggest crash

First corner crashes are never pretty, but the first race, first corner crash at Monza turned into a real horror show.  Front row qualifier Max Neukirchner gained the hole shot and tipped into the...

WSB’s Defining moment number 6 – Turning point of the year

01 January 2010 by Michael Guy

WSB’s Defining moment number 6 – Turning point of the year

The turning point of 2009 came at the Nurburgring in Germany. Heading into the meeting, Noriyuki Haga still enjoyed a seven point over Spies, but that was all about to change.  From the start of the...

MotoGP 2009: Best rider

01 January 2010 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP 2009: Best rider

Valentino Rossi might have won the least number of races ever in a season in which he won a world title, and uncharacteristically the Italian legend crashed in three races to prove he is human after...

WSB’s Defining moment number 7 – Best rider

01 January 2010 by Michael Guy

WSB’s Defining moment number 7 – Best rider

It wasn’t just Ben Spies’ domination of Superpole and his 15 race wins that made him so special. In 2010 Spies had to deal with adversity and fight his way back from an enormous 88 point deficit...

MotoGP 2009: Best Brit

01 January 2010 by Matthew Birt

MotoGP 2009: Best Brit

Not since the heady days of late legend Barry Sheene have British fans witnessed home talent enjoying as much success in Grand Prix racing as Bradley Smith did in 2009. It was a year in which the...

WSB's Defining moment number 1 - Race of the year

31 December 2009 by Michael Guy

WSB's Defining moment number 1 - Race of the year

With 28 WSB races in 2009 it’s hard to single out the best on track battles of the season. As far as stand alone rides go, the winner has to be Jonathan Rea taking his first WSB victory at Misano...

WSB’s Defining moment number 4 – Under rated and unlucky riders

31 December 2009 by Michael Guy

WSB’s Defining moment number 4 – Under rated and unlucky riders

Yes, he’s on the best bike in the championship and yes he has unconditional support from Ducati, but Michel Fabrizio was the clear winner of ‘best of the rest’ after finishing a comfortable third...

Fun with speech bubbles

30 December 2009 by adysmith

Fun with speech bubbles

You can have great fun with pictures you take at race meetings!

BSB's defining moments: 4

30 December 2009 by Gary Pinchin

BSB's defining moments: 4

4. Biggest disappointment Sylvain Guintoli – on so many levels. First off, the French ace was sidelined by the Donington crash. Up to that point Guintoli looked capable of giving Camier a good run for...

BSB's Defining moments: 5

29 December 2009 by Gary Pinchin

BSB's Defining moments: 5

5. Biggest under-achievers There’s no denying Chris Walker and the Motorpoint Yamaha team failed to live up to the promise shown in testing. Apart from a solitary third place in the second Donington...

BSB's Defining moments: 6

29 December 2009 by Gary Pinchin

BSB's Defining moments: 6

Two. The Guintoli incident at Donington Park. The seven-rider pile-up at Mallory Park. Both triggered by HM Plant Honda’s Josh Brookes. At Donington he t-boned Guintoli at the Melbourne Loop on the...

BSB's defining moments: 7

29 December 2009 by Gary Pinchin

BSB's defining moments: 7

7. Most promising rider Ian Lowry clinched fifth place in the points chase to cap an impressive rookie year on the Relentless Suzuki. Lowry didn’t just have to learn how to ride a 200bhp superbike, or...

BSB’s Defining moments: 8

29 December 2009 by Gary Pinchin

BSB’s Defining moments: 8

8. Best race Stuart Easton had a pretty fantastic season, taking the privateer Hydrex Honda to third in the championship. He had chalked up his first ever BSB race win at Croft but that was after...

BSB’s Defining moments: 9

29 December 2009 by Gary Pinchin

BSB’s Defining moments: 9

9. Best bike Without a doubt the Airwaves Yamaha R1 was the bike to beat in BSB 2009. It may have been down on power compared to its rivals and was very physical to ride but for Leon Camier got his...

BSB’s 2009 bikes

29 December 2009 by Gary Pinchin

BSB’s 2009 bikes

1 Airwaves Yamaha GSE Racing showed why they gained factory Yamaha backing when they finished 1-2 in the series. They started the year with virtually stock bikes but quickly switched to full factory...

Engineer defection no concern to Valentino Rossi

28 December 2009 by Matthew Birt

Engineer defection no concern to Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi has brushed off the impact of two key Yamaha engineers defecting to Honda in 2010. Christian Battagglia and Andrea Zugna will move to HRC with intimate knowledge of the YZR-M1 that...

Valentino Rossi expects big threat from Ben Spies

28 December 2009 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi expects big threat from Ben Spies

Reigning world champion Valentino Rossi has told MCN he expects new Yamaha recruit Ben Spies to pose a major threat in the 2010 MotoGP series. The Italian was impressed with Spies’ eye-catching...

Marco Melandri looking for stable future

28 December 2009 by Matthew Birt

Marco Melandri looking for stable future

Marco Melandri is hoping he can impress in 2010 to secure a long-term future with the Gresini Honda squad. The Italian has endured a torrid time in MotoGP recently having been released from a factory...

Ben Spies looking forward to Colin Edwards partnership

28 December 2009 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies looking forward to Colin Edwards partnership

Ben Spies reckons Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards will be an invaluable ally in helping the reigning World Superbike champion be an instant success in MotoGP next season. Spies and Edwards will form an...

Jorge Lorenzo satisfied with single tyre rule

28 December 2009 by Matthew Birt

Jorge Lorenzo satisfied with single tyre rule

MotoGP runner-up Jorge Lorenzo reckons the single tyre rule was a big benefit for world championship racing in 2009. Lorenzo, who won four races on board the factory Fiat Yamaha YZR-M1 last season,...

WSB 2010 UK VOTE

24 December 2009 by adysmith

WORLD SUPERBIKE 2010 IN THE UK If donnington is out of the picture for the 2010 BSB season this could mean there will be no uk race for the WSB next year,I think the fans should have a chance to post votes for a pole on which circuit they would like to see the WSB at next year. There are only two possibilties silverstone & brandshatch the later of which being the firm favourite of race fans even...

Hiroshi Aoyama beats Marco Simoncelli in Sepang

23 December 2009 by Matthew Birt

Hiroshi Aoyama beats Marco Simoncelli in Sepang

Reigning 250GP world champion Hiroshi Aoyama has finished close to a second faster than highly-rated Italian Marco Simoncelli during a special rookies test in Sepang. Aoyama, who beat Simoncelli in a...

Young guns threaten Valentino Rossi’s record bid

23 December 2009 by Matthew Birt

Young guns threaten Valentino Rossi’s record bid

Valentino Rossi believes the emergence of a new wave of hot young MotoGP talent will make it harder for him to beat Giacomo Agostini’s all-time winning record. Italian legend Agostini won 122 races in...

Red Bull Rookies top two clinch 125GP switch

23 December 2009 by Matthew Birt

The rivalry that blazed all the way to the final lap of the last Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup race of 2009 will be repeated in 2010 after Jakub Kornfeil and Sturla Fagerhaug signed 125GP deals. Kornfeil, the 16-year-old Czech rider who won the Rookies Cup by just 2 points, has signed for Racing Team Germany, cementing a relationship with team owner/manager Dirk Heidolf that started back in June. “I...

Jerry Burgess expects Casey Stoner backlash

22 December 2009 by Matthew Birt

Jerry Burgess expects Casey Stoner backlash

Valentino Rossi’s crew chief Jerry Burgess says he is anticipating a backlash from Aussie Casey Stoner in 2010. Stoner, who won the first ever 800cc title in 2007, had a torrid last season and a major...

No more money to transform Honda’s fortunes

22 December 2009 by Matthew Birt

No more money to transform Honda’s fortunes

Honda will not spend more money to try and claim a rare MotoGP world championship victory in 2010. Severely affected by the impact of the global economic crisis, Honda will have no budget increase to...

Wife of WSB boss Paul Bird in horrific attack

22 December 2009 by Phil West

Wife of WSB boss Paul Bird in horrific attack

The wife of Kawasaki WSB racing team boss Paul Bird has been burned with bleach during a horrific attack by intruders who broke into the Birds’ home. Lindsey Bird, 31, was at home near Penrith,...