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April 2015

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MotoGP

Dani Pedrosa Having Surgery for Arm Pump, Hiroshi Aoyama Will Race at Austin & Argentina

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Dani Pedrosa is to undergo surgery on his right forearm, to treat the arm pump that has plagued him for the past year. The Spaniard is to be treated in Spain, by Dr. Angel Villamor, who has treated many other racers for the same problem.

Surgery is scheduled to take place on Friday morning, with a recovery period of four to six weeks afterwards, meaning that Pedrosa is certain to miss both the Austin and Argentina rounds of MotoGP.

As such, Hiroshi Aoyama will replace Pedrosa for the two upcoming rounds.

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News

2015 April Fools Motorcycle Pranks Round-Up

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Another year, and another April Fools Day is in the bag. I am fairly certain that for journalists, April 1st is better than Christmas, as it marks the one day where media outlets make the news the wish they could report on daily. And as usual, the imaginations of the motorcycle media pool didn’t fail to disappoint.

David had a timely piece on Dani Pedrosa going back to Moto3 with KTM, in order to win his fourth championship. Drawing on the Spaniard’s recent news about having severe arm-pump and needing to take a break from racing — the story caught out more than a few readers.

For those of us still working on our 2014 tax returns, and have deductions on the brain, we ran a story that the IRS would be allowing tax deductions, up to $500, on new helmet purchases — something we wouldn’t mind having occur in reality.

Our last story for the day on A&R was about Honda on the verge of releasing an autonomous motorcycle for the mainstream, a story we hope won’t come to reality for a very, very, very long time — if not ever.

How about from the rest of the industry though? In case you missed them, the highlights of April Fools Day are after the jump.

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Columns

#WheelieWednesday – A Night to Forget

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Before the start of the Qatar GP, Marc Marquez was again the odds favorite to win the 2015 MotoGP Championship; but a first-lap mistake, coupled to some very powerful Ducatis and potent Yamaha riders has the entire Championship up in the air, for whomever wants it most.

Marquez still rode an impressive race, coming from the back of the grid to finish 5th. Perhaps only Alvaro Bautista and his broken brake line were unimpressed with the reigning champion’s performance.

As for Marquez, he views the race as salvaging 11 points. In less than two weeks though he’ll be at The Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas — a track he has absolutely dominated from Day 1. Will his Championship bid start there, or be fraught with more resistance? Only time will tell.

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Bikes

April Fools: Honda Reveals Early Autonomous Motorcycle Design

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We have talked a great deal about autonomous vehicles here at Asphalt & Rubber, but usually the focus of that discussion has been about how autonomous four-wheel vehicles will interact with non-autonomous two-wheeled vehicles.

The time was sure to come though when a motorcycle OEM played with the idea of autonomous motorcycles, and that time is now.

Releasing early details about its autonomous motorcycle program, Honda Motor Corp. is staggeringly close to making the act of riding a motorcycle as simple as selecting a destination, and holding on tight.

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News

April Fools: IRS Makes Helmets Tax Deductible on 2014 Return

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If you’ve already filed your 2014 tax return, you might want to make an addendum before April 15th, as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has made several last-minute exemption to the US Tax Code, one of which allows motorcyclists to claim up to $500 on a new helmet purchase as tax deductible.

The move comes about after a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study that suggested billions of dollars could be saved if all motorcyclists wore helmets.

Citing the efforts of groups like the  American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) whose anti-helmet political agenda has resonated the most with the same anti-tax libertarians who routinely fail to pay federal income taxes, the IRS has finally decided to fight fire with fire, and believes it has effectively found a way to bring a non-compliant tax group in line with the law.

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MotoGP

April Fools: Dani Pedrosa Switching to Moto3 with KTM for 2016

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The cause of Dani Pedrosa’s shock announcement that he will be withdrawing from racing temporarily to seek treatment for arm pump has finally been unearthed.

We have learned that in addition to seeking treatment for the medical condition, Pedrosa is headed to Austria, where he is to test KTM’s Moto3 machine ahead of a shock return to the junior class in 2016, in pursuit of a fourth world championship.

Pedrosa believes racing the lighter Moto3 bikes will allow him to avoid arm pump, and thus prolong his Grand Prix career.

Alongside racing for KTM in Moto3 in 2016, Pedrosa will help develop the Austrian manufacturer’s MotoGP prototype, ahead of its debut in 2017.

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