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Norton Returning to MotoGP Racing

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German magazine Speedweek is reporting that Norton will be back in GP racing for the 2012 season with a two-man team. Speedweek‘s highly respected Austrian journalist Gunther Wiesinger has received word that Norton has requested two spots on the 2012 MotoGP grid, and has signed a request to join the series when it returns to the 1000cc format. It’s unclear at this time if Norton will be entering as a claiming rule team (CRT), or be listed as a factory prototype, which could have a dramatic affect on the team’s success in the series.

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Suzuki to Stay in MotoGP Through 2011

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With the factory Suzuki team flailing near the bottom of the pack, many have expected the ill-fated teal team to withdraw from the series. However Suzuki has a contract with Dorna through 2011, which would prevent the team from leaving MotoGP, but as we saw with Kawasaki in the 2009 season, even Dorna can’t force a manufacturer to race. Putting the issue to bed during the British Superbike round at Brands Hatch, Suzuki Team Boss Paul Denning said that the Suzuki GP team would “100%” be in MotoGP next year.

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Aspar Linked Again to Factory Aprilia MotoGP Team

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Jorge “Aspar” Martinez has once again been linked with being a part of Aprilia’s alleged entry into MotoGP racing. Reportedly working with Aprilia to develop a 1000cc motor based off the RSV4 Superbike powerplant that’s dominating World Superbike right now, Aspar and Aprilia have denied any intention to go racing together in MotoGP.

For his part, Aspar currently has his hands full racing in all three of the GP series, while Aprilia has voiced that its priority right now is winning in WSBK. The final nail in the coffin for this rumor is its timeframe of a 2011 entry, which barring another rule change from the GP Commission, is still an 800cc rule year.

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Suter Working on S1000RR Based MotoGP Bike

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Eskil Suter is a popular man in the Moto2 paddock. Not only is his Moto2 chassis one of the cheapest, but it’s also one of the best performing units. It should be no surprise then that his Moto2 solution (shown above) is one of the most popular in the race series, and Suter sees that as a great jumping off point to enter back into the MotoGP fray (Suter helped engineer the Kawasaki ZX-RR, the Ilmor X3, and the Petronas FP1 SBK race bikes).

With the MotoGP rules in 2012 to allow for claiming rule teams, the door has been opened for a Moto2 styled team (production motor in a prototype frame) to play with the big boys. Suter for his part is looking to draw on his current chassis success, and base his design around the very potent BMW S1000RR motor. The result should be a fairly inexpensive solution to a high-performance race bike as the S1000RR has been popping up on the internet with 190hp stock.

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