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The rumors of Tom Sykes leaving WorldSBK for the British Superbike paddock have come true, as the former World Champion has signed up with the Paul Bird Motorsports crew for the 2022 season.

Sykes will lineup alongside Josh Brookes, and ride the PBM Ducati Panigale V4 R in the British domestic series, which is sure to make him a BSB Superbike favorite, as PBM hunts for its 9th BSB title.

The check boxes are getting ticked by the Ducati Panigale V4 R. WorldSBK race winner? Check! British Superbike race winner? Check! Road Racing winner? Not just yet.

The Ducati Panigale V4 R was designed and developed to dominate, and Gigi Dall’igna has said that the goal is to make the bike the most sought after Superbike in every paddock.

Last year the Italian spoke about how important it was to win the North West 200 because this was a race that Ducati had never won. Breaking new ground was important 12 months ago, and it’s even more important now.

The new bike is one that can, in theory, be a contender at the Suzuka 8 Hours, and finally give Ducati a reliable platform to compete at races such as that. The North West 200 is also a potential precursor to once again seeing Ducati on the roads of the Isle of Man.

This bike has the potential to be a real challenger, but it will take success this weekend to really show just how good the Panigale V4 R can become.

To find out what goes into making a bike into a contender on the roads Asphalt & Rubber talked with Paul Bird Motorsport to find out exactly what it takes.

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Though most of the contracts were settled some time ago, there were still a few question marks on the 2014 MotoGP grid. The official entry list released by the FIM today answers some of those questions, but the answers it gives may yet turn out to be wrong.

The list features 11 entries to be run under the Factory rules, which means 20 liters of fuel, 5 engines per season and the freedom to use proprietary software on the spec Magneti Marelli ECU. The remain 13 bikes will be run as Open entries, which gives them 24 liters of fuel and 12 engines per season, but forces them to use the Dorna-controlled spec software on the Magneti Marelli ECU.

The 2014 season looks set to follow the pattern established in 2013, with Marc Marquez, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo likely to dominate.

Of interest is the fact that Marc Marquez has been entered with number 93, rather than the number 1 which the world champion is allowed to use, but this may yet change before the start of the season. Marquez would dearly like to retain 93, but Honda is keen to see him run the number 1 plate.

As the end of the season approaches, the punishment which the riders have taken is starting to take its toll. With several riders out or moved, replacements are being sought to complete the season, or at least fill in for the next race.

In the MotoGP class, the knock on effect of Ben Spies’ extended absence means that a vacancy arose at the PBM team. With Michele Pirro unable to race in the overseas triple header, dedicating himself to testing for the remainder of the year, Yonny Hernandez has been moved to the Ignite Pramac squad for the last five races of the year, as was announced after the Misano test.

That meant that Hernandez’s spot at PBM needed filling, preferably by a rider with some kind of Grand Prix experience. That rider has now been found, and Damian Cudlin is to take the place of Hernandez at the next round of MotoGP at Aragon.

As the 2013 MotoGP season heads into its final five races, negotiations for 2014 are coming to a head. While the seats on the factory and satellite machines were filled some time ago, the next level of competitiveness, both in terms of riders and bikes, is now up for grabs. Two names and two teams were the focal point of the negotiations, and the log jam behind which many other riders were waiting.

It was up to Aleix Espargaro to make a decision on whether to stay at Aspar, or pay off his contract and head to the NGM Forward squad, and up to Nicky Hayden to decide whether his future lay in MotoGP with Aspar or Forward, or if it was time to head over to World Superbikes, and become the first rider to win a title in both series.

Jonathan Rea may be the latest rider to move out from World Superbike Championship and into the elite ranks of the MotoGP paddock, as according to MCN the Northern Irish rider has confirmed that he is in talks via HRC to move into the premier class for next season.

Currently riding for Ten Kate’s factory-backed Pata Honda team in WSBK, Rea has been virtually the only rider in World Superbike able to ride the Honda CBR1000RR race bike with any success, as Honda struggles to make its race package more approachable for other riders, and more competitive against the competition.

Carrying a torch for Honda’s WSBK effort, it looks like Rea’s efforts will finally be rewarded, if all goes according to plan, with a bump into MotoGP being the ultimate prize — likely on a Honda Production Racer.

Yonny Hernandez looks set to miss the final round of MotoGP at Valencia, as the Colombian continues his recovery from injury. Hernandez suffered a dislocated collarbone in a crash during the race at Motegi, an injury which forced him to miss both the Malaysian and the Australian rounds of MotoGP.

The place of Hernandez in the BQR Avintia team is to be taken at Valencia by Hiroshi Aoyama. The last ever 250 World Champion suffered a difficult 2012 season in World Superbikes with the Ten Kate Honda squad, Aoyama never getting comfortable with the Pirelli tires used in WSBK.

Aoyama has been looking to return to MotoGP since the latter part of this season, the Japanese rider spotted in serious talks with a number of teams at the Aragon round of MotoGP at the end of September. Aoyama now looks set to take the place of Hernandez in the BQR Avintia team permanently in the 2013 season, according to Spanish website Motocuatro.com.

After taking bids from teams to obtain factory backing for the 2012 World Superbike season, Kawasaki has narrowed the choices down to two teams, and will likely announce its decision next week. This season the embattled Paul Bird Motorsports team has had factory backing for riders Chris Vermeulen, Joan Lascorz, and Tom Sykes, though the results have not been spectacular, and Vermeulen has spent much of the season recovering from injuries.

With Kawasaki second to last in the Championship, the factory entertained bids from satellite Team Pedericini, the current Alstare Suzuki squad, the Supersonic Ducati team, British Superbike team MSS Colchester, and Kawasaki factory World Supersport’s Provec Motocard team. Now, the process has been narrowed down to two of those bids.

With news coming out that the Kawasaki World Superbike team that is run by Paul Bird Motorsports had a large amount of cocaine, amphetamines, and marijuana seized from two of the team’s trucks while entering the United Kingdom, Paul Bird Motorsports has released a statement addressing the issue on how such a large quantity of drugs found its way onto the team’s vehicles.

While the team is not sure how the drugs came on-board the team trucks, Paul Bird Motorsports was quick to point out that it was confident that none of its team members were involved, and that no one from the WSBK squad has been detained since the initial seizure. You can read the full press statement after the jump.

According to the UK’s Telegraph, the Kawasaki World Superbike trucks of Paul Bird Motorsport were stopped by the UK Border Agency (UKBA), and found drugs and a gun with 35 rounds. Now, we know what you’re thinking, someone forgot to hide their stash, and the media is making a mountain out of a molehill, right?

However crossing by ferry into England, presumably for the Donington Park round, the UKBA allegedly stopped and searched a pair of Kawasaki trucks, finding 157 lbs (71kg) of amphetamine tablets, more than 220 lbs (100kg) of marijuana, and enough cocaine to kill a small elephant (18 lbs/ 8kg).

Kawasaki, along with most of the WSBK grid, it at Aragon this week testing for the 2011 World Superbike season. Confirming that they’ll run a three-man team next year, Kawasaki has been testing with Joan Lascorz and Tom Sykes, while the injured Christopher Vermeulen has been spotted around the paddock. Kawasaki has retained Sykes and Vermeulen from the 2010 season, while bringing up Lascorz from the World Supersport class. The team, which is being managed by Paul Bird Motorsports, will of course will be running the all-new 2011 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. Rider quotes after the jump.