Bad news for Ben Spies today, as the American rider finds himself a member of prestigious, yet dubious group of MotoGP riders. After losing a case over un-paid commissions, an arbitration panel has ruled that Speez Racing, LLC (the management company for Ben Spies) and Spies himself have failed to compensate Spies’ agent, and must pay Spies former agent, Doug Gond of Protac Inc., $1.9 million in damages and arbitration costs.
Crash.net is reporting that Casey Stoner has already made his mind up to leave Ducati, according to a high-ranking Marlboro Ducati team member. While rumors were rife a couple weeks ago that Stoner had signed a deal to ride with HRC in the upcoming season, parties were quick to correct that nothing had been signed, and this was still rumor. Rumor it might be, but the skinny in the MotoGP paddock is that Stoner has basically come to terms with riding with Honda in 2011, with the contract ready to go, but still sans signatures.
Yes silly season is well upon us now for MotoGP, and rumors are swelling after Livio Suppo spent time with Casey Stoner and his father during the MotoGP testing at Jerez, Spain. Suppo, who moved to HRC after 11 years with Ducati, is rumored to have met with Stoner in order to have the Australian rider make a switch of teams in 2011. The Honda marketing manager made it clear when he jumped ship from Ducati that he would be back for Stoner, a rumor that’s been confirmed by Loris Capirossi, and passed around the paddock more than a few times.
Fiat Chairman Luca di Montezemolo has thrown some more fuel on the never-ending fires about a Valentino Rossi’s rumored switch to Formula One racing. Fiat as you might remember is the title sponsor of the factory Yamaha MotoGP team, and also the parent company to Ferrari. In what he calls a “great idea”, di Montezemolo made it clear that he would like to see the seven-time World Champion driving for Corse Rosa.
Dorna (MotoGP) and Infront Sports (WSBK) are to battle over the exclusive rights to race at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, Spain. Home to the Valencian GP, the venue has also played host to the World Superbike Championship since 2000. As one of the larger and most popular venues, the track is the cornerstone for both races series, and in one of the most fruitful motorcycle racing markets…and Dorna wants it all to itself.
Kyalami Grand Prix circuit is likely to host its last World Superbike race for a while this season. Located in Gauteng, South Africa, the Gauteng provincial government has bought out the track’s remaining contract with WSBK in an effort to “re-prioritize” the local government’s budget of local programs. Kyalami was set to host WSBK through 2013, but instead it looks like this will be the South African’s track last season until the Gauteng government becomes financially stable again.
In the flurry of press releases sent out by TTXGP regarding what teams were signing up for its racing events, TTXGP mentioned that several teams had agreed to exclusive deals to compete only in the TTXGP series of races. At the time, this meant that the teams would be racing in their local TTXGP series events, the Isle of Man, and possibly at the Championship event in Spain. However with the announcement that TT Zero would replace TTXGP at the Isle of Man, teams that were hoping to race at the Isle of Man, may find themselves precluded from the event because of these prior obligations. Talking to a number of American electric motorcycle teams this past week, it is clear the first priority for all these teams is to race at the venues where the best competition will be…wherever that may be.
For many teams the Isle of Man represents the pinnacle of electric motorcycle racing. Having already run the Mountain Course before, there is a tangible baseline in electric racing that is defined by the historic course. On top of this, the Isle of Man offers an opportunity for teams around the world to compete against each other in a race that has gained a great deal of exposure over the past year, and is a known entity to everyday motorcyclists.
It would seem reports that John Hopkins will be back in MotoGP with FB Corse were premature. While confirming that Hopper has been talking to the Italian GP team, his manager Bob Moore has denied any news that the American rider has signed with the team. Moore goes on to say that Hopkins is still considering all options at this point in time, including a ride in the AMA Pro Racing series.
MotoGP new comer FB Corse has announced that they’ve signed John Hopkins to their 2010 season debut. When FB Corse first hit our radar back in September, the new MotoGP team stated that they had not secured a rider, but were keen on signing American John Hopkins to their racing efforts.
After things fell silent on the Italian front, we broke the news that John Hopkins has since been in talks about a possible ride in the AMA Pro Racing series with Pat Clark Motorsports. It would seem that PCM’s AMA Deathstar will have to go on hold for now, as FB Corse has officially announced that Hopper will be riding with them next year. Hopper will join the FB Corse team in Milan on January 21st for the team’s official presentation.
All the factory rides in MotoGP are now officially tied up as both Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso have signed contracts with Repsol Honda for next year’s MotoGP season. Specifically, Pedrosa has agreed to a one-year extension on his contract, while Dovizioso has signed a deal for 2010, with an option for the 2011 season.
Colin Edwards has announced he is close to inking a deal with Tech3 Yamaha to stay on for the 2010 MotoGP season. With today’s announcement of Ben Spies staying in World Superbike for next year, the prospect of possibly two seats at the most sought-after satellite team has surely gotten the silly season gears turning.