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MotoGP TV Ratings Continue to Drop Without Rossi

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TV ratings for the Dutch TT at Assen are in for the Italian TV market (one of the largest markets for MotoGP), and once again they show a decline in MotoGP’s allure without Valentino Rossi. With 2,579,000 viewers, making up 16.79% of the total television audience, MotoGP in Holland attracted only half the audience from last year’s event (5,249,000 viewers, 31.69% of the total television audience). With a similar trend in 125GP and Moto2, some in the Italian press are calling for Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta’s resignation, as these ratings are surely a sign of the sport’s demise.

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Rumors

Moto3 Coming to Replace 125GP in 2012?

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MCN is reporting that the days of 125GP may be numbered as Dorna and the FIM get ready to replace the small displacement GP series with what’s being called the new Moto3 race class. Drawing from the formula found in Moto2, Moto3 features prototype bikes with 250cc four-stroke single-cylinder motors. However instead of a single-spec motor rule, as found in Moto2, Moto3 appears to be open to multiple engine manufacturers.

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Racing

Twitegi Circuit Gets Ready for the TwitGP

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By now you’ve surely heard the news that the Japanese GP at Motegi has been cancelled because of the volcanic ash the continues to spew out of an unpronounceable mountain in Iceland. With teams unable to fly out of Europe and into Japan, Dorna had no choice but to postpone the event until much later in the season.

Leaving MotoGP fans with nothing to do this weekend except watch the confirmed WSBK stop at Assen, some clever individuals have turned to the internet to get their GP fix. Enter TwitGP, the first virtual sporting event, that’s being hosted on twitter. With a bevy of twitter-based wordplay, TwitGP has seen a number of tweeps get on-board with the concept, which hopes to bring racing action straight to 4,000 or twitter followers come Sunday.

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Racing

MotoGP and WSBK Battle Over Valencia Exclusivity

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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.

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Racing

Volcano Postpones Japanese GP Round

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While Icelandic volcanic ash from Eyjafjallajökull grounded flights all over the world (most noticeably in northern Europe), the impact to motorcycling seemed negligible. However with the Japanese GP at Motegi scheuled for this weekend, Dorna quickly realized that teams would not be able to leave European airspace to setup camp in Japan for the next round of MotoGP. As such Dorna and the IRTA have postponed the Japanese GP, and rescheduled the event for Octoberd 3rd, between the Aragon and Malaysian GP’s.

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Opinion/Editorial

New Media Meets the Old Guard in MotoGP

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Editor’s Note: This guest post by David Emmett was originally posted on his site MotoMatters under the title of “Editor’s Blog: Old And New – How Media Is Changing”. We thought Emmett was so on-point with his assessment of the use of the internet and social media in motorcycle racing, and the industry as a whole, that we asked him to reproduce his post here on Asphalt & Rubber. To put his post in complete context, Emmett just finished working this weekend as Fiat-Yamaha’s live blogger during the Qatar GP, where he wrote, tweeted, and hustled his way around the MotoGP paddock as the only online journalist with a permanent Dorna press pass. For more of an account of his time in Qatar, and for all your other racing news needs, you should visit his site at MotoMatters.com (after first reading Asphalt & Rubber first of course).

The comment that I have probably received most since I started this blog was “I want your job!” And frankly, I have to pinch myself to see if this is still all really happening, so it is a sentiment I can completely understand. Being allowed to work in the MotoGP paddock and up in the press room feels like a genuine privilege, and being surrounded with people who share the same passion is truly remarkable.

I often wonder at how this all came about. Just over four years ago, I posted a season preview on the Adventure Rider motorcycle forum, and now, I learned today, I am the first journalist from an online publication ever to receive a permanent pass from Dorna. In the intervening years I have worked hard both to keep learning as much as I can about racing, and communicate my passion for the sport to a wider audience. It has cost me blood, sweat, tears, and more money than I like to think about, but all these would have been to no avail if it wasn’t for one factor: The Internet.

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Racing

Dorna Slaps FB Corse on the Wrist for Overstatement

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It’s refreshing to see that the Dorna is about as amused as we are here at Asphalt & Rubber over FB Corse’s “extremely positive” press release after the Italian MotoGP-hopeful team was denied entry into the premiere motorcycle prototype racing class. At the request of Dorna delegates, FB Corse has issued a second press release that rescinds their previous statement of being admitted into MotoGP, and now clarifies the situation with some prose that’s a little bit closer to the reality and truth of the matter.

The big takeaway from the situation is that FB Corse must now prove the FB01 in a race simulation test, which would have the race bike complete a race distance at race pace to show not only the bike’s competitiveness, but also its reliability. FB Corse’s new press release follows after the jump.

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Racing

Hungarian GP Officially Cancelled – MotoGP Adds 4th Spanish GP to 2010 Schedule

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For those following the construction of the Balatonring in Hungary, the news that the Hungarian GP has been officially cancelled by Dorna and the FIM should be of little surprise. After having a myriad of problems, especially finding funding, the Hungarian track was a dealt a death blow this Monday when the Hungarian Development Bank declined to underwrite a loan for the track. With no money in sight, Dorna and the FIM had no choice but to officially cancel the venue, and implement Plan B, which sees MotoGP stopping at four, yes four tracks in Spain for 2010. Read more after the jump.

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Racing

FB Corse Denied Entry into MotoGP

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Hopes were dashed in Valencia today as FB Corse was denied the opportunity to enter the 2010 MotoGP series with the rest of the field at Qatar on April 11th. The FB Corse team was at the Spanish track the past few days testing their FB01 race bike with Garry McCoy at the helm. Today being the final day of testing, representatives from Dorna and the IRTA were on hand to assess the condition of the FB Corse team and bike, and to make a determination as to whether they would be included in the 2010 series. Despite all of the media hype, Dorna’s Franco Uncini’s determined the team was not ready for MotoGP, but could maybe enter the series midway through if they where then ready.

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Racing

FB Corse To Prove Its Mettle at Valencia Test

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The day has come for FB Corse to make its big track debut, and also to prove to Dorna and the IRTA that they have what it takes to race in MotoGP. This March 15th thru 17th will see the Italian team take to the track at Valencia, where they will have their first track shakedown.

In attendance March 17th will be Dorna’s Franco Uncini and an IRTA representative. The purpose of these men is to assess the FB01’s competitive ability, during what is being called a “timing test’. Intially this has been reported to mean that Dorna and the IRTA are interested in seeing as to whether or not Garry McCoy can take the FB01 around the course within three seconds of last season’s slowest qualifying MotoGP lap time. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case now.

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Racing

GP Commission Hammers Out 2012 MotoGP Rules

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The GP Commission (FIM, Dorna, IRTA & MSMA) met this week to discuss and further refine the rules that will be implemented in the 2012 MotoGP season, namely the return to the 1,000cc format. The new rules lock in the amount of gas a bike can carry, as well as other details pertinent to GP racing, but the rule everyone is talking about is the 1,000cc switch. Interestingly enough, the 2010 rules allow for motors “up to 1000cc”, but provide different bike weight for bikes under and over 800cc. Check out the details after the jump.

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