2014

Year: 2014

Month: ALL

Colin Edwards to retire at end of 2014

10 April 2014 by Matthew Birt

Colin Edwards has announced on the eve of his home MotoGP race in Texas today that 2014 will be his final season in motorcycle racing. The 40-year-old used the pre-event press conference at the...

Yamaha: No doubt Lorenzo ‘back on it’ in Austin

10 April 2014 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha has no doubt that Jorge Lorenzo will be able to bounce back from the bitter disappointment of his early exit from the opening race of the season in Qatar when the world championship continues...

Electronics main focus for Suzuki in Austin and Argentina tests

10 April 2014 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki will not have a raft of new parts for Randy de Puniet to assess during forthcoming post race tests in Austin and Argentina, with the Japanese factory concentrating on development of the latest...

Byrne blows away lap record at Snetterton

09 April 2014 by Simon Patterson

Shane Byrne has dominated the final pre-season test of 2014, setting a time below the outstanding lap record at Snetterton on the final day of two ahead of next week’s opening round of the MCE British...

Smiths' Triumph head to TT with Rutter and Johnson

09 April 2014 by Simon Patterson

British Supersport team Smiths’ triumph will make their first journey to the Isle of Man TT in 2014, securing the services of two former winners to spearhead their supersport campaign, as Gary Johnson...

New look for Padgetts' Honda as Valvoline join team

09 April 2014 by Stephen Davison

Flying Kiwi Bruce Anstey will have an eyecatching new livery on his Padgett’s Hondas as he chases down his tenth win at the Vauxhall North West 200 in May. The Batley based squad have announced a new...

Walker third fastest despite 'tough' day at Snetterton

09 April 2014 by Simon Patterson

Chris Walker had a ‘tough’ opening day of testing at Snetterton, despite finishing third only to Shane Byrne and Jakob Smrz, with windy conditions at the Norfolk track being less than perfect for the...

Kiyonari pleased with pace despite lack of track time

08 April 2014 by Simon Patterson

Ryuichi Kiyonari has been able to return some of the form that took him to three MCE British Superbike titles on the first day of the Donington test, with the Japanese rider ending the day third...

Byrne tops day one as rivals close gap

08 April 2014 by Simon Patterson

Shane Byrne has once again topped the day in pre-season testing for the MCE British Superbike Championship, finishing the day at Snetterton 0.4 ahead of Jakub Smrz as his rivals slowly close down the gap. Smrz was impressive on the Millsport Ducati Panigale, finishing 0.4 behind Byrne but almost a second clear of third placed man Chris Walker, who had another fast day on the GBmoto Kawasaki to...

Shock speedway GP winner as Brit world champ suffers

05 April 2014 by Tony Hoare

German racer Martin Smolinski took a shock victory in the opening round of the 2014 speedway world championship Grand Prix in New Zealand. It was Smolinski’s first-ever appearance in the Grand Prix after making it through the qualifying rounds, and there’s not likely to be a bigger surprise this season than his win in his GP debut. The 29-year-old was in fine form throughout the 20 qualifying...

Bimota BB3 makes first appearance ahead of Aragon

05 April 2014 by Simon Patterson

Bimota’s new BMW-powered BB3 machine has finally appeared ahead of next week’s second round of the World Superbike Championship, where British rider Christian Iddon will join Italian Ayrton Badovini...

Yamaha eager to secure Rossi and Lorenzo deals

04 April 2014 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha says it is poised to kick off detailed contract renewal discussions with Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. With Honda admitting last month that it plans fresh talks to lure Lorenzo off a...

Aspar not expecting imminent RCV1000R upgrade

04 April 2014 by Matthew Birt

Nicky Hayden’s Aspar squad has conceded that its underpowererd new production Honda RCV1000R is unlikely to receive a motor upgrade until the fourth race of 2014 at the earliest. A lack of...

Mugen reveal McGuinness and Anstey's TT Zero challenger

03 April 2014 by Simon Patterson

Mugen have unveiled the Shinden San that John McGuinness and Bruce Anstey will compete in this year’s electric TT Zero race at the Isle of Man in June, with the machine gaining a more aerodynamic...

Rain For Final Day In Jerez

02 April 2014 by Gordon Ritchie

The expected poor weather at Jerez arrived for a time at the start of the last day and conditions proved changeable for the most part, with only a few riders able to get anywhere near a normal lap...

Brookes continues to adjust riding style

02 April 2014 by Simon Patterson

Josh Brookes, having found a comfortable setting early in testing for the 2014 MCE BSB season on the Milwaukee Yamaha, is now struggling to adapt his riding style to suit the smoother power delivery...

Second fastest Brookes 'out-performed Shakey'

02 April 2014 by Simon Patterson

Josh Brookes admitted after the first MCE British Superbike test of the year in the UK that he was dissatisfied to walk away only second fastest to Shane Byrne, finishing some 0.2 seconds off the...

Walker impressed with GBmoto bike at Donington

02 April 2014 by Simon Patterson

Veteran MCE BSB racer Chris Walker says he’s come away from the first ‘proper’ test of the year against the majority of his season rivals feeling impressed with the GBmoto Kawasaki, and believing he...

Yamaha boss: Rossi a title contender in 2014

02 April 2014 by Matthew Birt

Valentino Rossi’s brilliant victory challenge in the season’s opening MotoGP race in Qatar proves that the Italian is a genuine title contender in 2014, according to Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis. The...

Factory bike a must for Scott Redding in 2015

02 April 2014 by Matthew Birt

Scott Redding must be on a prototype Honda RC213V machine in 2015 to show off his full potential in the MotoGP world championship. That’s the view of his personal manager Michael Bartholemy, who came...

Giugliano Lights Up The Times On A Qualifier

02 April 2014 by Gordon Ritchie

Davide Giugliano (Ducati World SBK) set a spectacular 1’40.166 lap of Jerez after fitting a qualifying rear tyre on the second day of private testing. His time was half-a-second under the track best...

Byrne fastest as BSB returns to home soil

01 April 2014 by Simon Patterson

Shane Byrne has topped the sheets at the first BSB test of 2014 on British soil, after coming out on top of a ferocious battle with title rival Josh Brookes at the end of the final session of the day...

Giugliano On Top As SBK Testing Gets Started At Jerez

01 April 2014 by Gordon Ritchie

A strong contingent of five top Superbike teams lined up in fair weather conditions on the first day of a planned three-day test at Jerez. Marco Melandri set the early test pace, but at the end the...

Rutter and Muff at new-look Bathams BMW

31 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Bathams IWR have announced that Michael Rutter will be remaining with the squad for the 2014 MCE British Superbike season as they make the switch from Honda to BMW machinery, as he’s joined by Swiss...

Dunlop gets first ride on BMW

31 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Michael Dunlop has at last made his debut on the Hawk Racing BMW, joining Ryuichi Kiyonari and James Westmoreland for a day-long test at a wet Mallory Park last week. The Northern Irishman, making the...

Kiyo makes Buildbase BMW debut

31 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Ryuichi Kiyonari has tasted a British circuit on a bike other than a Honda for the first time, completing his first pre-season shakedown at Mallory Park on the Buildbase BMW alongside teammate James...

Tinmouth kicks off 2014 campaign

31 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Ellsemere Port-based Jenny Tinmouth has begun pre-season testing, as she starts her 2014 MCE British Superbike campaign ahead of official testing tomorrow (Tuesday) at Donington Park. Testing her TWR...

Stuart Easton to race Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki at North West 200

31 March 2014 by Stephen Davison

Reigning British Supersport champion Stuart Easton is the latest high profile entry for May’s International North West 200 on a Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki superbike. The diminutive Scot announced his...

Yamaha explain Open M1 test refusal for Jorge Lorenzo

28 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

Yamaha denied Jorge Lorenzo’s pre-season request to test an Open class spec YZR-M1 because it made no sense in letting the Spaniard evaluate a bike they had no intention of him racing. MCN exclusively...

Kevin Schwantz and COTA amicably end dispute

28 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

Kevin Schwantz thought he would need to face the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in a bitter legal fight over promotional rights to the Austin MotoGP round. But after the row was ended amicably, the...

Leon Camier Set To Ride For BMW Motorrad Team Italia In Spain

28 March 2014 by Gordon Ritchie

Leon Camier (27) is getting ready to return to the WSB paddock at the second round of the championship in Aragon on April 13th, as a replacement for BMW Motorrad Team Italia SBK EVO regular rider...

Despres retires from Dakar bike class to join official Peugeot car team

27 March 2014 by Michael Guy

Five time Dakar winner Cyril Despres will leave the Dakar bike category he has dominated for the last decade, alongside Marc Coma, to make a shock switch to a new official Peugeot car team. The 40...

Honda in no rush to upgrade new RCV1000R

27 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

Honda will not be rushed into an overhaul of its new production RCV1000R machine, despite pleas from the likes of Nicky Hayden and Scott Redding for more power. Honda’s new Open class bike doesn’t...

MCN at the TT

27 March 2014 by MCN

MCN will once again be represented by our very own senior road tester Adam Chad Child as he takes on the demanding 37 ¾ mile mountain course for the third year in a row. Adam will be competing in both...

Byrne fastest on return to BSB at Almeria

25 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Shane Byrne has topped the opening day of the first official MCE British Superbike Championship test of 2014, with the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider lucky to avoid gusting winds that caused teammate...

Team WD-40 to race in three classes in 2014

25 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Team WD-40 have revealed their 2014 MCE British Superbike lineup, with a three strong team across three different classes, as Barry Burrell joins the team on Superbike, Canadian Ben Young in...