After seeing Ducati’s photo shoot of the new GP9 with Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden, we couldn’t help but make the association.
Really, we’re trying to think of a way that the 2009 MotoGP season could become less of a soap opera, but it continues to act like one. Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, has shed some more light on the back-and-forth between his organization and Kawasaki.
“I’ve already said that I would not accept the breakdown of Kawasaki’s contract signed with us until 2011. I have proposed that they run in 2009, and in exchange, to allow them to withdraw in 2010 and 2011. They told me that they had an engine for only four or five races of the season. So I looked for a company in France able to help develop the bike. The last obstacle for the Japanese is to meet these people and accept their program.”
This meeting is scheduled for early next week, and Ezpeleta is pushing for Kawasaki to honor its contract with its riders as well as Dorna, “The team will be led by Michael Bartholemy, and I think it is important to keep the two pilots under contract, John Hopkins and Marco Melandri.” Ezpeleta finished by reiterating that he would take Kawasaki to court if it defaulted on their commitment with Dorna Sports.
Ducati has officially unveiled its 2009 GP9 MotoGP race bike, with the most noticeable change being the switch to a carbon fiber frame, which is Ducati’s first departure from its iconic stell-trellis frame. Pictures and Claudio Domenicali’s response after the jump.
Reports are showing that Kawasaki is about to resume its testing, with Olivier Jacque taking laps at Phillip Island on the 2009 ZX-RR. The French rider is at the Eastern Creek circuit near Sydney for a test on the ZX-RR, which was being developed for John Hopkins and Marco Melandri for the 2009 season. Jacque will be testing an all new in-line four-cylinder motor and revised chassis at the Eastern Creek test, starting this Saturday.
After Eastern Creek, the test team will then move down to the Phillip Island for further testing and development. This news and commitment from Kawasaki adds further credence to the reports that we will see them, in some form or another, on the grid during the 2009 season. Kawasaki MotoGP manager, Michael Bartholemy, has been strongly linked with the rescue package, though he has yet to make any official comment on the future plans of Kawasaki and its withdrawal late last year.
Source:
MotoGP is a special animal. Like how Formula 1 is for automobiles, MotoGP is supposed to embody what the cutting edge of technology can bring to the sport of motorcycling. The talent is the pinnacle of its field, and the bikes are rolling R&D platforms.
This also means of course that the costs are exuberant, and instead of an instant applicable payoffs, the value of racing instead comes down the road many years later as the technology trickles down to the production-level bikes.
This makes MotoGP unlike the racing other series, whereas in World Superbike for instance, teams are working with a bike that is actually sold en masse to the consumer, costs for product line development can be absorbed, and the fabled “Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday” marketing buzz phrase has some bearing on reality.
Because of the intangible returns on investments, and escalating environment of prototype racing, it is not surprising to see the semi-departure of Kawasaki for 2009. So how much money are teams really losing by racing at the top of the sport?
Harley-Davidson () shares dropped 12% Monday as financial analysts grew bearish over motorcycle purchases in 2009. Sparking the plummet, Goldman Sachs downgraded Harley’s shares to sell, lowered its target price to $11, and cut its 2009 profit outlook by 50%. Goldman analyst Patrick Archambault said he expects Harley’s retail bike sales to fall by 30% this year, making it the worst year for new registrations since 1982.
Part of the reason for the downgrade is becauset Harley-Davidson CEO, James Ziemer, said last month that he plans to retire from his 40 years of service with Harley in 2009, and on Thursday last week, Sy Naqvi stepped down as interim president Harley’s finance unit.
Another concern has been Harley-Davidson’s financial services division. The division is expected to make less revenue in 2009 off of sales, lose more money on delinquent loans, and be stuck with loan obligations because of a frozen LBO and secondary loan markets.
Source: Visordown
Not content to let KTM and Ducati play in the big displacement motard segment by themselves, Aprilia is bringing their Shiver based SMV 750 Dorsoduro motard state-side for 2009. The Dorsoduro’s 90°, 750cc, 8-valve, v-twin makes 92 hp (at 8,750 rpm) and 61 lb•ft of torque (at 4,500 rpm), and with a claimed dry weight of 409lbs, it would seem to be an ideal hooligan machine. Read more for the full details on the Dorsoduro with pictures.
The International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) started MotoGP in 1949 with the idea to establish a premiere prototype racing series. In 1992, FIM transfered the commercial rights to Dorna Sports, who have since been the business end of the racing series. This however, does not mean that the FIM is content to standby idly while the economic brouhaha plays havoc with MotoGP’s championship status. Continue reading to see FIM President Vito Ippolito response, and outlook on the future of MotoGP.
Ben Spies will be racingon a factory Yamaha R1 in World Superbike for 2009. The young American has shown that he has more than it takes to race against the best in the AMA, and accordingly is testing his mettle against the best in the world, in World Superbike. Unlike other rides though, Ben does this move with a purpose set beyond the confines of showroom bike racing. He’s picked his move so he can move into the “right” MotoGP team in the future, opting for the bike and team that would best shoot him up the ladder into a competitive GP contract. Continue reading for more about the Ben’s future plans.
British based Visordown is reporting that an inside source has revealed that Silverstone will host the 2010 British GP instead of Donington Park. All is not lost for Donington fans, as it looks like they will be hosting Formula 1 instead.
Source:
UPDATE: It looks like Alex Debon could be the Spanish rider that Jorge Martinez could tap to be one of his MotoGP riders.
You would think that Kawasaki’s announcement to leave MotoGP put’s to rest whether or not they will be racing next year in MotoGP, but you’d be wrong….at least sort of wrong. There has been if someone else would come along and direct/finance a Kawi MotoGP effort, and many people have pointed that finger at Jorge “Aspar” Martinez. That rumor would appear to have gained new credence today with the latest comment from Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, continuing reading for more.