January

Year: 2013

Month: January

No quick fix to help make Ducati competitive

16 January 2013 by Matthew Birt

The journey to return Ducati to winning ways in MotoGP will be a long one, with new race boss Bernhard Gobmeier admitting no miracle cure exists to help the Bologna factory end its winless streak in the premier class world championship. Gobmeier, who replaced ousted Filippo Preziosi as head of Ducati’s MotoGP project in 2013, said the forthcoming season will be dedicated to development of the...

Dakar Stage 9: Cyril Despres Interview

16 January 2013

Dakar Stage 9: Cyril Despres Interview

Michael Guy caught up with Dakar master Cyril Despres after stage nine of this year’s rally. Still out of breath from 12hrs on the bike, the Frenchman gives us his rundown of the day.

Ducati confident in old bike strategy

16 January 2013 by Matthew Birt

Ducati confident in old bike strategy

Ducati is confident its surprise strategy to kick off preparations for 2013 using an old version of its factory Desmosedici machine is the right approach to help it threaten Honda and Yamaha’s...

New Ducati boss to call on Preziosi’s experience

16 January 2013 by Matthew Birt

New Ducati boss to call on Preziosi’s experience

Long-serving Ducati MotoGP boss Filippo Preziosi will not be completely cut out of the Bologna factory’s world championship project, despite being axed at the end of last season. Preziosi was the...

Dakar Stage 10: Watt stays in top 30 despite riding with dislocated shoulder

16 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 10: Watt stays in top 30 despite riding with dislocated shoulder

Stan Watt rode through the pain barrier on stage ten of the 2013 Dakar to claim a more than respectable 45th position to maintain a top 30 spot in the overall standings. Watt suffered a high speed...

Dakar Stage 10: Barreda wins stage as Despres moves into overall control of the race

16 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 10: Barreda wins stage as Despres moves into overall control of the race

Speedbrain Husqvarna rider Joan Barreda showed once again he is among the very fastest Rally riders in the world by winning stage ten– his fourth stage win of the 2013 Dakar. The 29 year old Spaniard...

Ducati unveils new 2013 MotoGP contender

15 January 2013 by Matthew Birt

Ducati unveils new 2013 MotoGP contender

This is the new Ducati GP13 Desmosedici machine that the Bologna factory hopes will help it bounce back from a nightmare two-year spell with Italian icon Valentino Rossi. The new bike was unveiled by...

Ben Spies and Andrea Iannone reveal new Pramac Ducati livery

15 January 2013 by Matthew Birt

Ben Spies and Andrea Iannone reveal new Pramac Ducati livery

Ben Spies and Andrea Iannone have unveiled their new 2013 Ducati livery at the Madonna di Campiglio ski resort in Italy tonight. The red and white livery was notable for carrying different title...

Andrea Dovizioso confident he can make Ducati competitive

15 January 2013 by Matthew Birt

Andrea Dovizioso confident he can make Ducati competitive

Andrea Dovizioso has backed himself to succeed where fellow Italian’s Valentino Rossi and Marco Melandri failed by making Ducati’s factory Desmosedici contender a consistent front-runner in MotoGP.

Nicky Hayden seeks solution to understeer issue

15 January 2013 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden seeks solution to understeer issue

Ducati must try and find a cure for the chronic understeer issue that has plagued its factory Desmosedici to have any hope of challenging Yamaha and Honda’s domination of the MotoGP world...

Nicky Hayden reflects on Rossi and Ducati spell

15 January 2013 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden reflects on Rossi and Ducati spell

Nicky Hayden spent most of his press briefing at Ducati’s 2013 MotoGP launch in Italy this morning looking forward to what he hopes is a brighter future after a tough campaign last year. But...

No brand new Ducati for Sepang test

15 January 2013 by Matthew Birt

Hopes that Ducati could mount an instant recovery from a disastrous two-year spell with Valentino Rossi have suffered an early blow after Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden confirmed they wouldn’t be...

Andrea Dovizioso: Stoner retirement a big loss to MotoGP

15 January 2013 by Matthew Birt

Andrea Dovizioso: Stoner retirement a big loss to MotoGP

New factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso believes Casey Stoner’s absence from the track in 2013 will be a big loss to the MotoGP world championship. The Aussie retired at the end of last season after...

Andrea Dovizioso swayed by Ducati’s future plans

15 January 2013 by Matthew Birt

Andrea Dovizioso swayed by Ducati’s future plans

Andrea Dovizioso has admitted that Ducati’s ambitious plans to bounce back from a disastrous two-year spell with Valentino Rossi convinced him to become the latest high profile rider to try and tame...

Dakar Stage 9: Poskitt jumps up the order as Watt, Forman and West suffer big crashes

15 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 9: Poskitt jumps up the order as Watt, Forman and West suffer big crashes

Lyndon Poskitt made the absolute most of his top ten starting position for stage nine of the 2013 Dakar to post the 37th fastest time and move up to 46th in the overall standings. In what was an...

Dakar Stage 9: Despres pulls the pin to dominate stage as Casteau hits a cow

15 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 9: Despres pulls the pin to dominate stage as Casteau hits a cow

Cyril Despres backed up his rest day quote that he had nothing to lose by dominating the ninth stage of the Dakar to move to within 5m 23s of the overall lead. The factory KTM rider chose the longest...

10 MotoGP wishes for 2013

14 January 2013 by Matthew Birt

10 MotoGP wishes for 2013

By now you’re probably growing weary of the daily regime of hoovering up millions of fallen Christmas tree needles, so looking forward to the 2013 MotoGP world championship campaign, what can we hope...

Dakar Stage 8: Casteau takes overall lead as Pain gets lost. Despres back in contention

13 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 8: Casteau takes overall lead as Pain gets lost. Despres back in contention

The overall standings of the 2013 Dakar were thrown on their head after complicated stage eight saw the majority of the top men get dramatically lost causing them to lose huge amounts of time during...

Stage eight: Poskitt secures first British top ten for a generation

13 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Stage eight: Poskitt secures first British top ten for a generation

Lyndon Poskitt became the first British rider to finish a stage of the Dakar inside the top ten since the late John Deacon in 2001. The 34 year old Brit competing in his first ever Dakar was unfazed...

Dakar Exclusive - Despres set for engine swap after breaking gearbox

11 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Cyril Despres will be spending this evening in the marathon stage bivouac changing his engine after suffering major gear box issues on the seventh stage of the Dakar today. With the race entering the marathon stage, Despres and all the other motorcyclists will be spending the night in a completely separate bivouac 150km from the main sight, where no outside assistance is allowed. Despres, a...

French rider Thomas Bourgin killed on-route to stage seven on Dakar

11 January 2013 by Michael Guy

French rider Thomas Bourgin killed on-route to stage seven on Dakar

Frenchman Thomas Bourgin was the victim of a fatal traffic accident on the liaison stage on-route to stage seven’s timed special this morning. The 25 year old from Saint Etienne in France collided...

Dakar Stage 7: UK based riders pushing on as Dakar enters critical stage

11 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 7: UK based riders pushing on as Dakar enters critical stage

Stage seven of the 2013 Dakar proved to be another strong day for the Welsh, Irish, English, British and adopted Australian riders with all six men well placed as the race enters its half way...

Dakar Stage 7: Despres in trouble as American Casseli takes stage win

11 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 7: Despres in trouble as American Casseli takes stage win

Stage seven of the 2013 Dakar could be pivotal in this year’s epic race after favourite Cyril Despres slumped to 34th on the stage after losing a massive 13m 08s on the relatively short 218km timed...

Dakar Stage 6: Michael Guy's latest blog

11 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 6: Michael Guy's latest blog

Check out Michael Guy’s latest report from stage 6 of the 2013 Dakar Rally, recorded from an army Huey helicopter while overflying the stage! Michael also caught up with some of the Brit stars of the...

Five minutes with Alex Lowes

11 January 2013 by Gary Pinchin

Five minutes with Alex Lowes

Alex Lowes became one of the biggest talking points of 2012 in BSB after his strong end-of-season charge that saw him not only make the Showdown, but also win both races at Silverstone, beating his...

Stage 6: Brits continue to battle their way through longest day of Dakar

11 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Stage 6: Brits continue to battle their way through longest day of Dakar

Today’s 4.30am start was made even worse after the Dakar switched time zones from Peru to Chile which meant that everyone in the Bivouac lost two hours sleep. The sleep depravation was compounded by...

Dakar Stage 6: Lopez wins again as Despres ups the pace, Pain leads overall

11 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 6: Lopez wins again as Despres ups the pace, Pain leads overall

Local hero Francisco Lopez rewarded the thousands of Chilean fans that turned out to support him by securing his third stage win of the 2013 Dakar. The Copec KTM rider won the demanding 455km timed...

Dakar Stage 5: Mixed fortune for the Brits – Forman flying, Bounds injured

09 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 5: Mixed fortune for the Brits – Forman flying, Bounds injured

The 136KM timed special on stage five of the 2013 Dakar may have been short, but it proved to be seriously eventful for the UK’s riders. At the front of the field Welshman Tim Forman excelled on the...

Dakar Stage 5: Veteran Casteau secures stage win, Despres solid, Barreda in trouble

09 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 5: Veteran Casteau secures stage win, Despres solid, Barreda in trouble

Frenchman David Casteau secured his first Dakar stage win since 2010 to close in on compatriot Olivier Pain at the top of the overall standings. Casteau is a vastly experienced Dakar veteran renowned...

Dakar Stage 4 – Mixed fortune for Brits in tough 720KM day

09 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 4 – Mixed fortune for Brits in tough 720KM day

Stage four of the 2013 Dakar threw up some of the biggest challenges of the race so far with the riders having to race through the timed 290KM special before completing a massive 430KM liaison...

Stage 4: Barreda wins, Despres furious

08 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Stage 4: Barreda wins, Despres furious

Cyril Despres has hit out at his rivals for their tactics during the fourth stage on day fours testing 290km special. The four time Dakar champion aimed some telling words towards a number of riders...

Monster deal for Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo

08 January 2013 by Matthew Birt

Monster deal for Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo

Yamaha’s factory MotoGP squad, featuring Valentino Rossi and reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo in 2013, has signed a two-year sponsorship agreement with US energy drink giant Monster. Monster...

WSB 2012 – a year to remember

08 January 2013 by Michael Guy

WSB 2012 – a year to remember

The 2012 WSB season will be remembered for a multitude of reasons. After 14 rounds and 27 races (Monza race two was cancelled) the championship fight came down to the wire. In fact it was the closest...

Dakar Stage 3: Lopez bounces back to take stage win, Despres secures overall lead

07 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 3: Lopez bounces back to take stage win, Despres secures overall lead

Francisco Lopez bounced back after his disastrous day two to win stage three today which saw the Dakar leave Pisco and arrive in Nazca. The Chilean rider had the advantage of starting a long way...

Dakar Stage 3: Watt leads the way with six remaining Brits all in top 100

07 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 3: Watt leads the way with six remaining Brits all in top 100

Irishman Stan Watt secured another strong result on stage three of the Dakar to finish 37th fastest at the end of the timed 242KM special. The KTM rider now sits 37th overall in the standings and is...

Dakar Stage 2: Barreda wins stage as all the top men get lost

07 January 2013 by Michael Guy

Dakar Stage 2: Barreda wins stage as all the top men get lost

Husqvarna man Joan Barreda Bort secured a convincing victory in stage two of the Dakar to o the overall lead of the race. The 29 year old Spaniard showed his sheer pace to win by 3m 16s despite making...