Sultan of Slide Garry McCoy has been dismissed from the factory Triumph WSS team this week. While the team issued a press release saying that the move was mutual, McCoy tells a different story, and is quick to point out salary wasn’t the issue. Whatever the case may be, the late departure by McCoy means a tough road ahead for the Australian in finding a 2010 ride, and his best option seems to be Moto2.
Moto2 entries are overflowing at this point in time, with 40 teams on the provisional provisional list (not a typo) that was supposed to contain onl7 37 brave entrants. The overbooking doesn’t seem to be an accident though, as while many teams jumped on-board with the pocketbook friendly GP series, the reality of funding a new racing effort in this economy has become apparent.
Moto2 teams are scrambling to make the bottom-line turn from red to black, and for many this means finding riders with personal sponsorships. There are only so many riders who can fit this bill, suggesting that this number of 40 could be dropping radically in the near future as teams realize that their ends won’t meet. Entry list after the jump.
Italian apparel manufacturer Dainese, (who also owns Mavet and AGV) is shutting down its Molvena, Italy plant, and moving the bulk of its production to Tunisia. The move is presumably to help lower costs to the Italian brand, as sales have slumpped during the industry-wide economic slowdown. It’s unclear whether Dainese will open a new factory in Tunisia, or add the capacity to one of its two factories already in the North African country.
Bikes in the Fast Lane is running a piece on a impressive collection of 35 BMW motorcycle ads from around the world, which shows how the German has branded itself across the globe. BMW’s marketing efforts run the gammet from very good to utterly bizzar. We grabbed a few of the good, bad, and ugly to share with you after the jump, but you’ll have to head to Bikes in the Fast Lane to see the rest.
It doesn’t seem to matter where the Dakar Rally is located, or what restrictions race officials place on the motorcycle class, KTM continues its dominance of motorcycling’s most grueling and infamous race. After battling with Marc Coma and Aprilia’s Chilean secret weapon Francisco Lopez for stage wins and overall supremacy, Despres took his third Dakar victory, and continued a KTM tradition.
Hoppergate continues on as it would seem MotoGP upstart, FB Corse, has their kneepucks in a bunch about the press they’ve been recieving lately from “websites on the other side of the ocean.” This would seem to be a poke in the eye to publications like RoadRacing World (and others), who have cast some doubt on John Hopkins’ commitment to FB Corse, as the former MotoGP rider has yet to sign a contract with the Italian team.
For MotoGP fans, Mark Neale’s Faster is probably the pinnacle of portraying two-wheels on the big screen (or in your living room). It chronicles the progression from two-stroke 500cc GP racing to the birth of MotoGP and four-stroke prototypes. Neale’s newest work, Charge, carries on with this same vein, and documents the world’s first electric motorcycle race, the TTXGP, at the Isle of Man TT last year.
Ewan McGregor is back narrating along with plenty of on-bike footage and candids with all your favorite e-moto personalities. Available in Spring 2010, this movie is sure to take up a spot on your DVD rack…we certainly can’t wait to see it. Trailer after the jump.
After just recently setting up shop at their new facility, Erik Buell Racing has made their first sale with a pair of 1190RR Euro-spec race bikes no less. The two 1190RR’s were bought by the Pegasus Race Team who will campaign the Buells in the 2010 European Sound of Thunder Series.
Motus Motorcycles has trickled out a bit more information about its Made in America MST-01 sport-tourer, giving CycleWorld their obligatory first look. What do they have to report? A 1650cc V4 motor with two valves per cylinder that features direct injection, which sums up to equal 140hp. More on that and photos after the jump.
Alongside the release of the Bimota DB8, the company from Rimini has also taken the wraps off its Bimota HB4 Moto2 race bike. We caught the HB4 out testing a couple weeks ago, and were under-impressed with the looks of the matte black bike (the name Bimota sets such a high standard after all).
Moto2 is supposed to be the perfect fit Bimota and its jaw-dropping chassis designs, where were the exercises of Italian sex appeal in the metal work? Now with some better lighting and some higher quality shots, we can see that the Bimota HB4 is a stunner after all. Photos and more after the jump.
Bimota has pulled a fast one on us all with their unveiling of the new Bimota DB8 sportbike. Instead of releasing what was expected to be a naked version of the DB7, the Italian brand has instead taken the DB8 in a new direction.
With a biposto (two-seat) configuration, and cheaper price tag, Bimota hopes the DB8 will serve as the brand’s entry level motorcycle instead of the Ducati Streetfighter killer we thought it would be. Pictures, technical specs, and more after the jump.