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Big news today regarding Pierer Mobility (the parent company to KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas) and MV Agusta, as the Austrian company is set to take a 25.1% ownership stake in the Italian manufacturer.

The news comes just a couple weeks after it was announced that KTM North America would takeover distribution of MV Agusta's motorcycles in the United States, and quells rumors that have been circling about KTM's interest in the Varese brand.







Through a terse press release, the two companies have released few details on their strategic alliance, but it does seem that the ownership stake in MV Agusta comes with a lifeline of capital to keep Italian factory churning out exotic sport bikes.

The press release also explains that Pierer Mobility will takeover the supply chain and purchasing for MV Agusta, and that KTM et al will handle distribution for MV Agusta in certain unnamed markets - like what has already been announced in the USA.

Source: MV Agusta







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The MotoGP calendar continues to expand. Today, Dorna announced in an unusually brief press release that the Sokol International Racetrack, 50 kilometers north  east of Almaty in Kazakhstan, is to be added to the MotoGP calendar for 2023 for a five-year period.

The Kazakh track is still in the process of being built, and so will face homologation and safety checks before the race will be confirmed as happening in 2023.

The race in Kazakhstan will take the slot vacated by the now defunct Kymiring in Finland, which failed due to its business case collapsing when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Petroleum brand Valvoline struck a deal this week with Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, which sees the American company selling its global products business for $2.65 billion.

The deal sees Aramco taking ownership of Valvoline’s products used globally, while Valvoline would retain its global rights to the brand name itself for use in retail services, except in China and certain countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Episode 88 of the Brap Talk motorcycle podcast is out with another “weekly” episode, for your two-wheeled listening pleasure.

In this episode, we talk a bit about the media-side of the motorcycle industry, and some of the things Jensen has noticed in his 13-year career at Asphalt & Rubber, as Shahin conducts his “exit interview” from the space.

We talk a bit about life, motorcycles, and everything – and we think you will find the conversation not only entertaining but also informational…with plenty of rabbit holes along the way.

As the paddock packed up after the Jerez test on Monday, held after the Spanish GP at the circuit, the bombshell news emerged that Suzuki is to withdraw from MotoGP at the end of the current season.

Motorsport.com‘s Oriol Puigdemont was the first to break the news, which I have since had confirmed by multiple sources in the MotoGP paddock.

The team was told on Monday morning, before the test, with an official announcement expected on Tuesday.

It has been a busy day for everyone involved in MotoGP. A large section of the paddock was sat either behind a computer or staring at a mobile device frantically refreshing their flight tracker app of choice, watching the exploits of Aerostan aircraft EX-47001, as it finally made its way from Mombasa in Kenya to Lagos in Nigeria to Salvador in Brazil.

As I write this, it has taken off from Salvador and is winging its way to Tucuman, where it is due to land some time after 9pm. At Salvador, the flight number changed from BSC4042 to BSC4043.

A sign? I leave it up to the reader to decipher the letters BSC in the flight number.

Can-Am isn’t the first name when you think of motorcycle manufacturers, but the Canadian brand has a rich tradition in the two-wheeled world, especially when it comes to off-road racing.

They are getting back to their roots now though, albeit with a modern twist, as Can-Am has announced that it will return to the two-wheeled space, brining a lineup of electric motorcycles by the year 2024.

After three years of shopping it around, Investcorp has finally sold the Dainese group of brands, with The Carlyle Group (an American private equity firm) purchasing the Italian apparel manufacturer for a reported €630 million.

That number represents a nearly 5x return from the €130 million that Investcorp spent when it purchased 80% of Dainese SpA from founder Lino Dainese in 2014 – making the venture quite a profitable one for the Bahraini firm.