Despite the fact that Suzuki will be sticking around in MotoGP for the 2011 season, veteran rider Loris Capirossi is seeing next season as his escape from the struggling factory team. In a move that seems all but signed, Capirex will likely take the #1 seat at Pramac Ducati next season, where Italian hopes to be more competitive with the pseduo-satellite Ducati team.
Two-stroke GP racing is expected to die next year, and the announcement of the Moto3 class is expected to occur during the GP Commission’s meeting at the Czech GP in a couple days. Scheduled to meet on Friday, the GP Commission has been hammering out the details on the 250cc single-cylinder four-stroke racing class that will replace 125GP in 2012, and will likely make an announcement after Sunday’s race.
Similar in concept to the Moto2 class, the most notable difference is the rumor that the Moto3 class will not be a spec-motor series, meaning any manufacturer can build a thumper and compete in the series. Considering the large number of manufacturers that already have experience racing 250cc singles, we can expect an array of bikes to be on the grid in 2012.
With the factory Suzuki team flailing near the bottom of the pack, many have expected the ill-fated teal team to withdraw from the series. However Suzuki has a contract with Dorna through 2011, which would prevent the team from leaving MotoGP, but as we saw with Kawasaki in the 2009 season, even Dorna can’t force a manufacturer to race. Putting the issue to bed during the British Superbike round at Brands Hatch, Suzuki Team Boss Paul Denning said that the Suzuki GP team would “100%” be in MotoGP next year.
We first reported on Elena Myers when she won the AMA Pro Racing Supersport race back at Infineon earlier in the season, becoming the first woman (or second) to win a professional US motorcycle race. Now the 16-year-old wonder is making waves again, after visiting the Rizla Suzuki pit box during the Red Bull US GP at Laguna Seca. Meeting the Rizla Suzuki team, Myers has been offered a chance to ride the Suzuki GSV-R during the testing session held after the MotoGP round at Valencia, Spain.
Emptying out the memory cards from the Red Bull US GP weekend, we came across a few blooper shots that we just had to share with you (like this one of Aleix Espargaró re-enacting “The Pass” that Rossi pulled on Stoner in the 2008 US GP). We often place MotoGP riders on a pedestal, looking to them as gods, but it’s good every now and then to remind ourselves that they are mortal men after all. Flip through this short series of photos after the jump for a couple of laughs.
It’s hard to remember sometimes that Rizla Suzuki is a factory team in MotoGP. Afterall with Rizla Suzuki often trumped by the top satellite riders, there is nary a Rizla rider in the Top 10 for the Championship standings. With Laguna Seca marking the middle-point of the MotoGP season, things are looking even more bleak for the folks at Suzuki, as both Loris Capirossi and Alvaro Bautista have nearly used up their six motor allotment for the 2010 season. As such, Rizla Suzuki is on its way to getting special dispensation from Dorna, and will see its motor allotment raised from six motors to nine, likely starting this weekend.
Alvaro Bautista found himself at the wrong end of a nasty highside during FP2 at Le Mans this race weekend. The Spanish rider was already suffering from a broken collarbone, an injury he had surgery on only a week ago, but looked ready to ride Le Mans despite this injury. However after crashing today, Bautista has now retired from tomorrow’s race, complaining of pain in his shoulder. Rizla Suzuki is not looking to replace Bautista for Sunday, and expects him to make be ready to race at the Mugello in two week’s time. Video of Bautista’s crash after the jump.
Veteran MotoGP rider Loris Capirossi is set to start his 300th GP at Qatar this weekend, a record for the most GP starts by any rider. The 37 year old Capirossi easily out paces his nearest rival in this regard, Alex Barros, who started 276 races during his GP career. Likely to be one of the few riders to make it to 300 race starts, Capirex would have hit the benchmark in 2009 had the Hungarian GP at the Balatonring not been cancelled. Known for being injury free (knock on wood), Capirossi will likely add another 17 starts to this number, with it being anyone’s guess when the Italian hangs up his leathers for good.
It’s not that new Suzuki MotoGP livery is bad, it’s just well…sort of what you’d expect from Suzuki’s factory racing team. When we first heard that Troy Lee Designs was going to give the old Rizla Blue the once over, we were excited to see what the talented company could come up with in the go fast/look good department.
Yet as we look at these pictures, we wonder what happened in the process. Powder blue? Check. Big Rizla Letters? Check. Nothing else that’s remote eye-catching? Check. We sure hope the Suzuki GSV-R performs better than it looks, but we’re not holding our breath. Check out the rest of the photos after the jump.
Rizla Suzuki has announced that it is teaming up with Troy Lee Designs, tasking the American design firm with the duty of making new race livery for the MotoGP race team. Troy Lee Designs will also be making the leather race suits for Loris Capirossi and Alvaro Bautista, along with the team’s pit-box, hospitality units, and team clothing and merchandise. Expect to see the new brand changes at the Qatar Test during March 17-19th.
The news we already knew was released today: Loris Capirossi will be continuing on with Rizla Suzuki for the 2010 MotoGP season. With Bautista already signed-up for the powder blue squad, this means Christopher Vermeulen is officially out of the game, and looking for a job.