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Gabor Talmacsi

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Team Pedercini announced today that Australian Mark Aitchison would partner Roberto Rolfo for the 2011 season, in what may finally be an end to the drama regarding their second rider. It was thought that former MotoGP/Moto2 rider Gabor Talmacsi would contest the 2011 World Superbike championship on a Pedercini Kawasaki, a move reinforced by Talmasci testing with the team at Sepang.

However then came the news that after Sepang he was still thinking about the team’s offer, then that Bryan Staring would be entered as a wild card for the team at the season-opener at Phillip Island. That decision presumably came because Talmacsi was either still considering, or had rejected, the offer from Pedercini. Now, it seems Aitchison is in, Staring is out, and Talmacsi has nowhere to go.

Gabor Talmacsi ended his trial with Team Pedercini at the Sepang Kawasaki test on Friday by informing the team that he would let them know if he would race for them in 2011 in a few days. According to the team, he “sampled a Superbike for the first time in Sepang, with a view to a possible switch to the world championship with Pedercini team. Talmacsi was impressed by the team’s skill and the Kawasaki new Superbike’s performances and potential.”

Team Pedercini has had Roberto Rolfo signed to contest the 2011 World Superbike championship since late November. He was given the most time on the bike when Sepang’s afternoon rain was not falling. There is a note on what appears to be Talmacsi’s official Facebook page (here at A&R we are not, regrettably, fluent in Hungarian) that suggests that Talmacsi was a bit upset by his lack of time on the bike.

Chris Vermeulen is finally back on a racing bike at the official Kawasaki test in Sepang this week, after only beginning to walk “a couple of weeks ago,” according to his personal Twitter account. According to Kawasaki on this first day of their week-long winter test, “Vermeulen had never ridden the new bike before today and was instantly impressed with it.” Both factory teammates Joan Lascorz and Tom Sykes had already ridden their Kawasaki World Superbike machines, but had not used the Sepang facility as Vermeulen has.

The factory team is joined by Team Perercini riders Gabor Talmasci and Roberto Rolfo, as posted at A&R last week. This is Vermeulen’s first time on his new WSBK ride after his knee surgery. He was quoted by the team as saying, “I eased into it today and only did a limited number of laps, over three separate runs…The last bike I rode around Sepang was a GP machine, so to be impressed with this motorbike already shows it is a very good start.” He also made a point of praising the team for their hard work and good development.

For kids too old for Santa, the beginning of racing season often brings about more excitement than a jolly man delivering presents. Winter testing often fills the gap for race fans. A long season of private and series-sponsored tests for World Superbikes get underway beginning next week, stretching until just days before the season opener at Phillip Island on February 27th.

The Kawasaki factory team and and satellite Team Pedercini get the season started off with their test, this coming Monday, January 10th through 14th, at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia, while Liberty Racing Ducati will be riding around at Guadix, Spain on Tuesday and Wednesday. Ten Kate will be at Motorland Aragon, which was highly praised at its MotoGP inaugural round last season, two weeks from now on January 20th and 21st.

After a moderately successful Moto2 season in 2010, Gabor Talmacsi has switched his focus to World Superbikes. Currently in talks with Team Pedercini, Talmacsi will be testing for Pedercini with a phalanx of other Kawasaki riders at the Sepang circuit in the middle of January. Though the Hungarian won a podium position at Motorland Aragon and finished the 2010 championship in sixth, he was left out in the cold after Speed Up pulled out of Moto2 for 2011, as did so many other teams with too few funds to go racing in 2011. Despite spending 2009 in both the 250 and premier GP classes, Talmacsi seems to have joined the list of riders unable to remain in MotoGP and looking for work in WSBK.

The masked crusader has left Moto2, as Antonio Banderas’ Jack&Jones team has lost its marquee sponsorship. With no way to fund the team, this move by Jack&Jones leaves Kenny Noyes and Gabor Talmacsi high and dry for a ride in the 2011 season. Unless Noyes can find another ride in the four months leading up to the start of next season, Moto2 will be out its only American rider. Noyes had mediocre results during the 2010 season, finishing 24th in the Moto2 World Championship, with some Moto2 commentators attributing that result to his Harris chassis, which wasn’t on par with the FTR, Moriwaki, and Suter packages.