Fresh from it’s unveiling in Milan, DailyMotos has posted a video to YouTube on the Official presentation of the FB Corse MotoGP team and FB01 race bike. Garry McCoy was on hand to help take the wraps off the MotoGP contender, which has a three-cylinder 800cc motor that was originally intended for a BMW MotoGP entry. Check the unveiling after the jump.
After debuting the 2010 Fiat-Yamaha MotoGP team and the new(ish) YZR-M1, news came out that the Fiat-Yamaha team, like many other teams before them, will not be sharing data between its two riders, effectively erecting a wall in the Fiat-Yamaha garage. The news was confirmed by Masahiko Nakajima, MotoGP Group Leader and Fiat Yamaha Team Director, that there will be no sharing of data between the two riders this year as they battle for the MotoGP Championship once again. The issue has already made its first divide, as Lorenzo and Rossi have expressed very different sentiments on the topic.
There seems to be a shuffle going on in the Fiat Yamaha camp, as a slew of Yamaha’s engineers will be headed to HRC for the 2010 MotoGP season.
With most of the technical talent coming out of Jorge Lorenzo’s side of the paddock, Daniele Romagnoli, Lorenzo’s former team manager, may have familiar faces if he does end up with the factory Honda team.
After much back and forth, Kawasaki has finally announced that Tom Sykes will be joining Christopher Vermeulen on its factory World Superbike team, riding the 2010 Kawasaki ZX-10R. Sykes, who is currently Ben Spies’ partner at Sterilgarda Yamaha, will be making the switch to Team Green, where he will once again be playing second fiddle.
It looks like Kenny Roberts will be returning to premiere motorcycle racing, this time in the upcoming Moto2 series. The new Moto2 series is almost a replay of Roberts’ earlier endevours into MotoGP, a honda motor and a custom chassis.ÊRoberts bowed out of MotoGP in 2007 after money dried up for his Proton backed team, and they were not able to remain competitive.
However, with the expected lower costs of running in the Moto2 series, Roberts may have found the perfect fit for his tight budget, and custom chassis making experience. Also, with Robert’s team already in place loosely, working on a 600cc track bike, the conversion over to the Moto2 should be fairly painless.
It seems that the Kawasaki drama is finally about to come to a close. Marco Melandri has announced that he has decided to sign with the new Hayate Racing Team (the official name of the 1 bike Kawasaki MotoGP bid). Not wanting to be left out, John Hopkins has also made a statement about his situation and plans for the 2009 season.
Rumors are about that Antonio Banderas has dropped some coin to buy the 125cc and 250cc World GP team, Motomondiale. It will cost the Spanish actor to the tune of €6MM to play in the upcoming 2009 GP season. Banderas isn’t the first celebrity to enter into the sport of motorcycling by purchasing a team, but he is the first masked avenger. Sorry, there’s no way this article was going to make it without a Zorro reference.
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Jorge Lorenzo has gone on the record that he doesn’t like the idea of the wall that divided the two Yamaha riders in 2008 will continue to stand in the 2009 season. Read more for clever responses by Valentino, and off-the-cuff Cold War references by myself.
The 2008 season is barely out of our memories, and the news for 2009 begins. You’ve gotta love this sport!
List updated: 11/20/2008