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Official: Dani Pedrosa Out for Sepang

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After breaking his collarbone during practice at the Japanese GP, Dani Pedrosa’s chances of racing at Sepang for the Malaysian GP were held highly in question. With some close to the team suggesting Pedrosa would attempt to race in Malaysia, a press release this morning seemingly confirms that the Spaniard is out for the weekend’s races, instead intending to focus on a return at Phillip Island next week. This announcement is big news for Jorge Lorenzo, who is trying to lock up the 2010 MotoGP Championship. With only Dani Pedrosa having a mathematical chance of stealing the crown from his fellow Spaniard, Lorenzo now only has to finish 9th in Sunday’s race to claim his crown. Press release after the jump.

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Dani Pedrosa Signs Two-Year Contract with HRC

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From the Aragon GP today comes news that Dani Pedrosa has signed a two-year contract renewal with Honda, which will see the Spaniard on a factory-backed bike for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The news has been expected for some time, so it’s hardly surprising to see HRC tap Pedrosa for another stint of racing, and Spanish sponsor Repsol is expected to be along for the ride with another one-year extension added to their sponsorship.

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Marco Melandri All But Confirmed to Replace Xaus in BMW World Superbike Team

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Rumors are intensifying about Marco Melandri’s possible switch to World Superbike next season, as BMW Team Manager Davide Tardozzi told Italian news site GPone, “we don’t have the signature, and that is the most important part, but I received a very positive impression from Melandri.”

As is the case with many riders leaving MotoGP for WSBK, money seems to be less of an issue, than returning to a racing format where non-alien riders can be competitive again. Continuing in his statement, Tardozzi said, “We never talked about money, only about how competitive we would be. Marco wants to win and show that he is still a top rider, and I think this is the right philosophy for Superbike.”

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Racing

Silly Season: Dovizioso to Gresini, Melandri to WSBK

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Just because Ducati won’t announce that they’ve signed Valentino Rossi, doesn’t meant that silly season in the MotoGP paddock can’t continue. The latest rumors coming out of GP racing is the departure of Marco Melandri to World Superbike, supposedly to a BMW ride, and Andrea Dovizioso finding himself riding with Gresini Honda, on a factory supported Honda RC212V. The move apparently comes because of Honda’s obligation to Dovizioso, and desire to keep the currently #2 rider in the world: Dani Pedrosa.

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News

Stoner Making His Honda Debut after Valencia

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It would seem all the OEM’s are playing nice with each this year, as all four of the aliens are up for contract renewal. In past years we’ve seen teams hold their riders to the full extent of their contract limits, rather than letting testing begin after the last GP races, as is the established custom. As such, we’ll see Valentino Rossi testing at Valencia after the final GP race, per Yamaha and Ducati’s gentlemen’s agreement, and now MCN‘s Matthew Birt is reporting that we’ll also get to see Casey Stoner begin testing with HRC after the Valencian GP round as well.

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BREAKING: Stoner Confirmed to Repsol Honda – Three Man Team with Pedrosa & Dovizioso

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It didn’t take long for the other shoe to drop, and now it is official that Casey Stoner will race with HRC in 2011, after it was announced moments ago that the Australian would be leaving the Ducati MotoGP team. Perhaps the most unexpected development in this announcement is HRC’s intentions of keeping both Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso for the 2011 season.

The likely result of this will be a two-man Repsol Honda team, and a second single-bike team, which is likely to be sponsored by Red Bull. Rumors have pegged the continuance of a Pedrosa/Dovi Repsol Honda team, which puts Stoner on the single-bike Red Bull team. However, a Stoner/Pedrosa rumor has also persisted, and makes more sense given Dovi’s current Red Bull sponsorship. But at this point nothing is certain.

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BREAKING: Stoner Officially Leaving Ducati at the End of the Season – HRC Announcement Imminent

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UPDATE: HRC has announced that they have signed Casey Stoner for the 2011 season, and that he will likely ride with both Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso.

Now officially official, Ducati has officially announced what we’ve known for months: that the Australian rider would be leaving the Marlboro Ducati team at the end of the 2010 season.

The relationship was first marred last season when Stoner came under a mysterious illness (too mysterious for some commentators), missed a number of races, and since then has been seemingly the bond between Stoner and Ducati has been unsalvageable. Compounded by poor results so far this season, rumors intensified as links between the Australian and HRC became evident.

While Stoner has not mentioned where he will ride for the 2011 season, an announcement about his move to Repsol Honda is expected later today.

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Stoner’s Mechanics Given Notice

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GPweek.com is reporting that Casey Stoner’s mechanics in the Marlboro Ducati garage have been warned “that they may have to seek new employment for next season.” If true, this is a strong indication that Ducati does not expect the Australian GP Champion to return to the Italian team for the 2011 season. While many sources are quick to make the link that this means Rossi is inbound to the Ducati team, we’re still hesitant to subscribe to that faulty logic.

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Rumors

Silly Season: Stoner to HRC for €5 Million?

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As silly season continues, rumors continue to persist that Casey Stoner has signed a deal with HRC. It was first reported by Italian news station Sportmediaset, and given it’s appropriate grain of salt, but now the German-language publication Speedweek is announcing the deal as well, and even claiming a contract price of €5 million to see the former World Champion ride a Honda in 2011.

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Silly Season: Italian Press Says Stoner Signed with Honda – Rossi Offered Deal by Ducati

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UPDATE: GPOne.com (probably the most reliable source in the Italian Media) has gotten word from Livio Suppo that “no one has signed anything yet”, which probably confirms that Stoner is talking to HRC, but obviously hasn’t made his mind up about anything.

Silly season is officially underway starting today as the Italian press is full of accounts (all penning their source as being from Sportmediaset) that Casey Stoner has signed with the Repsol Honda MotoGP team, with a sub-headline that Valentino Rossi has been offered a two-year contract with Ducati. Sportmediaset cites the deciding reason for Stoner jumping ship as being the Australian rider’s disappointment in how Ducati backed him during his mysterious illness last year.

Despite headlining Stoner’s move, the bulk of their article concerns Rossi’s switch to Ducati, which may be a tip-off on the validity of the news, as the Italian press loves to pair the two marquee names together. We wade through the silly season possibilities further after the jump.

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Rumors

Silly Season: Stoner to HRC for 2011 MotoGP?

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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.

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