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In the calendar circles (yes apparently these groups exist), receiving the Pirelli Calendar is a sort of holy grail. Intended for friends and VIPs of the tire company, Pirelli employs elite fashion photographers and models for its annual, mixing the shine and gloss of high fashion with with dirt and grime motorsports, with a few naked women thrown in for good measure. Going with a Greco-Roman theme for 2011, Pirelli has tapped Karl Lagerfeld to shoot the calendar, with actress Julianne Moore playing the role of Hera. In total there are 21 models (16 female, 5 male) in 36 photos throughout the calendar’s pages. Because we know A&R readers are really into Greek mythology, a full cast list and some safe for work images are after the jump.

After releasing a provisional calendar that left some venues to be determined, World Superbike has finally released its official schedule for the 2011 season. Leaving the European and Italian rounds empty back in October, we see Donington Park and Imola now official added to the roster. While the addition of the two historic circuits is certainly not the most surprising news, it atleast completes the WSBK calendar.

Good news for British motorcycle racing fans, as Donington Park has secured a spot on the 2011 World Superbike calendar. But the real good news for the Brits is that WSBK will come to both Donington and Silverstone next year, giving the sometimes rainy island a double-helping of production-based international motorcycle racing.

The announcement signals the rescue of the British track from what seemed like certain death, after planned renovations fell through and the track was unable to secure a Formula 1 bid, leaving the Donington Park leasees without a dime to spend, and without a track circuit to run (construction had begun to make the track conform to Formula 1 standards).

The World Superbike season may be over, but testing for 2011 is about to get underway, and Infront Motorsports has released its official testing schedules. Leading into the 13-round 2011 Superbike World Championship, the first official testing session will be at Portimao. For WSBK and WSS, tesing will start on Wednesday January 26th, while the the 1000 & 600 Supertock series will start Tuesday January 27th. Testing will conclude for everyone on Friday the 28th.

The second testing session will be held at Phillip Island, which will also be the first venue of the 2011 season. Testing at Phillip Island for all the series will start Monday February 21st, and end Tuesday the 22nd. These dates are in addition to the unofficial testing sessions, which have been scheduled by the teams themselves.

Now that MotoGP has finished its provisional calendar, World Superbike can release its dates for the 2011 season. With two tracks yet to be determined (one in Europe, and the other in Italy), the word provisional is very literal for this schedule. The April 17th date is traditionally done at Valencia, but rumors suggest that Dorna has strong-armed the circuit into disallowing World Superbike to race there in 2011.

Where WSBK will go in its stead remains a big question mark, as surely Infront Motors Sports would like an additional round in the ripe Spanish market (WSBK will be at Aragon June 19th as well). The other tentative venue is in Italy, which traditionally is the round at Imola. With budget and safety concerns surrounding the track, it’s again a country WSBK absolutely wants on its schedule, but finding the right host will be an issue.

MotoGP’s official but tentative 2011 Provisional Calendar has finally been released, and it is very different from two weeks ago. With races appearing in different orders, and scheduled on different weeks, the new calendar seems to be a fairly substantial departure from the typical MotoGP program. Despite these changes, the calendar confirms rumors that the Qatar GP would be moved up by three weeks to compete with the World Superbike opening, and that the Aragon GP would remain in place, taking the spot of the beleagured Hungarian GP. Lastly, the schedule also confirms the news that the Spanish GP at Jerez would move to the front of the schedule, leaving the penultimate MotoGP stop for Sepang. Check the full calendar after the jump.

While the official Provisional 2011 MotoGP Calendar isn’t expected to go public until later this week, we’ve gotten an inside look at the relatively unchanged MotoGP schedule for next season. Our right and honorable friends at MotoMatters were on the ball this morning when travel agents for MotoGP trips got the provisional calendar in their hands, with some already publishing it to the web (travel agents typically get the calendar before the paddock does, since their industry depends on knowing the schedule as early as possible).

There aren’t too many surprises in the 2011 calendar, but the most noteworthy change is the Qatar GP being moved up three weeks to March 20th, to better compete with the start of World Superbike Championship series. The Portuguese GP at Estoril also moves toward the front of the calendar, which seems to happen every other year now. Lastly, Motegi is on the docket, barring any unforeseen volcanic eruptions. We have yet to see when the TwitGP is scheduled for in 20011. Check the full provisional 2011 MotoGP Calendar after the jump.

Rumors have been swelling for the past few months about the state of MotoGP in the United States, as both Laguna Seca and Indianapolis Motor Speedway were up for contract renewal with Dorna and the FIM. Laguna Seca has always been the more popular American venue for MotoGP, and during the Red Bull US GP stop, the famous Californian track and the premiere motorcycle series again solidified their relationship, extending the GP’s presence at Laguna Seca into 2014. But what fate bestills IMS and the timing of the US GP weekends after 2010?

The provisional MotoGP schedule is out. New to the line-up (well sort of), is the stop in Hungary at the Balatonring (yet to be built). And also, the British GP will be held at Silverstone instead of Donington Park. Donington will host Formula1 instead for the foreseeable future.That shouldn’t be a surprise to you if you’re a A&R regular, but for you newcomers…umm, gee…well, SURPRISE!

Dorna doesn’t seem convinced that the Balatonring will be completed in time. So they’ve hedged their bets with a “reserve circuit” in Spain, the Motorland Aragon Circuit. Motorland is a brand new facility that is just outside of Alcañiz, about a hundred miles inland from Barcelona. If the reserve circuit is used, it will mean 4 Grand Prix’s in Spain for 2010.

That might be good news for the rabid motorcycle racing fans of Espana, but it’s even better news for Motorland, which has been trying to establish itself as a premiere venue, by courting Formula1 and MotoGP. Full listing of the schedule after the jump.

The 2009 MotoGP Calendar has been released, 18 races in all. The night opener at Qatar returns again for another season, and it looks like fun in the sun for all the other races (except Assen, where the sun rarely shines in the land of Mayo). Joining the line up is a new race in Hungary that was purpose built for GP and Formula 1 racing. Get the full schedule after the jump.