March

Year: 2014

Month: March

Pedrosa: Open class soft tyre a key advantage

19 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

Factory Honda rider Dani Pedrosa believes the crucial advantage for the likes of Aleix Espargaro in the new Open category in MotoGP is access to the range of softer compound Bridgestone...

Norton sign Cameron Donald to race TT

19 March 2014 by Stephen Davison

After originally planning to sit out 2014, former Isle of Man TT winner Cameron Donald has instead signed a deal to compete at the event on Norton’s Aprilia powered SG2 machine. With a huge amount of...

John McGuinness breaks scaphoid in off-road crash

18 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

20-time Isle of Man TT winner John McGuinness has broken his wrist in an offroad training accident, just eight weeks before the start of his 2014 road racing campaign. McGuinness is a keen offroader...

Sylvain Barrier seriously hurt in car crash

18 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

French World Superbike racer Sylvain Barrier has been badly hurt in a road traffic collision in his native France. Details are still emerging, but French media are reporting that the former double...

Valentino Rossi delighted with new crew chief

18 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

When Valentino Rossi rocked the MotoGP paddock in Valencia last November by axing long-serving crew chief Jerry Burgess, many questioned the wisdom of his ruthless decision. Burgess had been at...

Aleix Espargaro aims for ‘dream’ top five in 2014

18 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

Aleix Espargaro has set his sights on a ‘dream’ top five finish in the MotoGP world championship this season after the Spaniard was the major surprise package of winter testing. Riding the new Forward...

Honda expecting stronger Stefan Bradl in 2014

18 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

Honda is expecting German rider Stefan Bradl to close the gap to dominant Spanish trio Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa in his third MotoGP campaign this year. The former Moto2 world...

Forward Racing expect exposure surge in Open class

18 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

Forward Racing boss Giovanni Cuzari believes the new Open class will present his Italian-based squad with a great opportunity to drastically increase its profile in MotoGP. Ever since it joined MotoGP...

Optimistic Valentino Rossi more confident for 2014

17 March 2014 by Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi is convinced he will pose a stronger threat to dominant Spanish trio Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa when the new MotoGP campaign kicks off in Qatar this weekend. The...

Tito Rabat plays down Moto2 favourite tag

17 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

Marc VDS Racing’s Tito Rabat has played down suggestions he is the overwhelming pre-season favourite for this year’s Moto2 world championship. With compatriot Pol Espargaro and British rider Scott...

HRC confident Marquez will be close to full fitness in Qatar

17 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

Honda is confident reigning world champion Marc Marquez will be close to 100% fitness to begin the defence of his MotoGP crown in Qatar this weekend. The 21-year-old has missed pre-season tests in...

Milwaukee Yamaha have fun in the sun with five day test

17 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Milwaukee Yamaha have completed the first of their pre-season testing, with Tommy Bridewell and Josh Brookes completing three days at Cartagena followed by a further two days at Alcarras to make the...

Moody joins ITV 4 BSB team

16 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

ITV Four have announced their commentator line-up for their midweek highlights package, with James Haydon continuing to host the hour-long show that airs on a Wednesday night on the Freeview...

Westmoreland competes shakedown at home circuit

16 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

James Westmoreland has completed his first test of 2014 for the Buildbase BMW team, taking to the track at Mallory Park, the circuit now co-managed by team boss Stuart Hicken, to shake down the team’s...

Pirelli to offer free BSB tickets to customers

16 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Prielli have launched a deal that will give customers the opportunity to attend the 2014 MCE British Superbike Championship, where Pirelli are the official tyre supplier, for free, simply by...

Triumph Tristar R&G Triple Challenge ready to rock for 2014

15 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

The Triumph Triple Challenge will be back for 2014, with the Daytona 675 one-make series officially set to be launched at London’s iconic Ace Café on the 5th April, with organisers T3 Racing also...

Lowes' Philip Island damage much worse than initially thought

15 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Alex Lowes has returned to the UK after an enforced stay in Australia after the opening round of the World Superbike championship. The reigning British Superbike Champion was originally set to return...

Kirkham returns to track in Valencia test

15 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Jon Kirkham has returned to track for the first time in 2014, as he completed his first test of the year for the Tsingtao WK Kawasaki team at Valencia, alongside National Superstock 1000 teammates...

Oversubscribed TT entries close

14 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Entires have now closed for the 2014 Isle of Man TT, with the event once again oversubscribed in almost every class as riders from around the world now battle simply to get a race start at the iconic...

Hutchinson completes hundreds of laps in Spanish testing

14 March 2014

Ian Hutchinson has had a successful return to two wheels for the first time since winning the Macau Grand Prix in November, and only his second time on a bike since the onslaught of surgery and...

Miller fastest Moto3 on final day; McPhee 6th, Kent 7th

14 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Jack Miller has taken the top spot on the final day of the 2014 preseason at Jerez, holding off the Estrella Galicia Honda of Alex Marquez by 0.1 to take the top sport with a 1:46.259 lap of the...

Coghlan looking forwards to Aragon after Oz podium

14 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Scotsman Kev Coghlan says that his performances at the opening round of the World Supersport championship last month in Philip Island is proof that he can run at the front in the 600cc class, and that...

Nakagami takes top spot in final Moto2 test

14 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Moto2 preseason testing has concluded for 2014, with Honda Asia rider Takaai Nakagami taking the top spot in the absence of the Marc VDS and Aspar teams of Tito Rabat and Mika Kallio and Jordi Torres...

Lowes sits out Jerez test with tendonitis

14 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Reigning world supersport champion Sam Lowes has been forced to sit out most of the final three-day Moto2 test that concluded yesterday at Jerez, after a bout of tendonitis in his right wrist meant he...

Miller fastest as Kent remains top three in Moto3 testing

13 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Jack Miller was fastest on day two of the final Moto3 preseason test, but British teammate Danny Kent was able to put in another strong performance to finish third, separated by the Calvo KTM machine...

Lowes sits out day two with mystery injury

13 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Takaai Nakagami was again fastest on day two of Moto2 testing at Jerez, topping the timesheets by a slim 0.015 from Swiss rider Thomas Luthi and former Moto3 world champion Sandro Cortese. However,...

Suzuki: Rossi not a candidate for 2015 ride

13 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

Suzuki boss Davide Brivio has admitted it will be highly unlikely for the Japanese factory to convince Valentino Rossi to spearhead its MotoGP return in 2015. Suzuki is currently extensively testing...

Aspar: No shock at Aleix Espargaro’s speed

13 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

Aleix Espargaro’s impressive performances in winter testing might have surprised a few MotoGP observers, but one of them is not the Spaniard’s ex-Aspar team boss Gino Borsoi. Espargaro has been the...

Braking stability still a concern for Yamaha

13 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

Braking stability is still a key area for Yamaha to improve on its factory YZR-M1 once the new MotoGP world championship campaign gets underway in Qatar on March 23. Honda has taken a huge step...

Meet the riders for North West 200 launch

12 March 2014 by Stephen Davison

The launch of the Vauxhall International North West 200 will have a new look for 2014 with the announcement that there is to be a special “meet the riders” event on Monday March 31. Following the...

Was Ducati’s move to the Open Class in MotoGP inspired thinking or lunacy?

12 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Last week Ducati made the shock decision that they would be running in the Open Class in MotoGP for 2014. Some have called the move inspired, and less controls on engine development plus sticky tyres...

Dall’Igna delighted with Ducati line-up for 2014

12 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

New Ducati boss Gigi Dall’Igna reckons Ducati could not have better riders than Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow to revive its fortunes in MotoGP. Ducati has endured a torrid recent history in...

Colin Edwards: Teaching an old dog new tricks

12 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

Having just turned 40 and been racing motorcycles for longer than Marc Marquez has been on the planet, you’d think if anybody would find it difficult to embrace a new riding technique it would be...

Smith and Espargaro impressed with new Yamaha gearbox

12 March 2014 by Matthew Birt

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 duo Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro have both hailed the benefits of Yamaha’s seamless shift gearbox ahead of the start of the 2014 MotoGP campaign. Smith and Espargaro tested...

Lowes third as Nakagami tops day one at Jerez

12 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

Takaai Nakagami has topped the timesheets on day one of the final Moto2 and Moto3 pre-season test at Jerez, but the surprise performance of the day was British rookie Sam Lowes, who finished the day...

ITV to show MotoGP in 2014

11 March 2014 by Simon Patterson

ITV have confirmed to MCN that, contrary to reports that BT Sport would be the exclusive right holders for MotoGP in the UK, they will also be showing a delayed highlights package on ITV Four during...