Retired MotoGP ace Casey Stoner seems likely to make at least one race start with Ducati this year. (more…)
Retired MotoGP ace Casey Stoner seems likely to make at least one race start with Ducati this year. (more…)
The Sepang International Circuit (SIC) gears itself up for 2016 despite a challenging year in 2015. (more…)
KTM will make MotoGP debut this year on August 14 during Austrian GP. (more…)
A closer look into Jorge Lorenzo’s recent change of helmet sponsors from HJC to Shark. (more…)
Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo officially signs with Shark Helmets brand from 2016 season onwards. (more…)
In an effort to give thanks to its workforce and fans, Honda recently held its annual “Honda Racing Thanks Day” at the Motegi circuit in Japan.
The event saw Honda’s top stars being given opportunities to test some of the brand’s most iconic machines on the circuit, including both cars and bikes.
The biggest highlight of the event was of course, the presence of Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez, who had the chance to take Honda’s special NSR500 two-stroke Grand Prix machines to the track for the first time.
They were also given the chance to test Honda’s NSX supercar, as well as racing go-karts and CBR250s against other stars like F1 drivers Fernando Alonso, Takuma Sato, and Toni Bou, Suzuka 8-hour winner Takumi Takahashi, Hiroshi Aoyama and Kosuke Akiyoshi, as well as ten drivers from the Super GT series.
Speaking after testing the NSR500 Grand Prix bike, Pedrosa pointed out that his experience on the bike will be a special one, as this was the first time he had got his hands on one.
“It’s been a really good weekend! I had the chance to have some fun and behave like a kid once again, playing with some very special toys! We drove some great cars and also had a chance to ride the NSR500, whilst enjoying ourselves with other riders and drivers,” he added.
Marc Marquez, on the other hand, said, “It was good to hang out together, talk about our seasons and see drive Honda’s new and old vehicles! I’d like to take this final chance to wish all our fans a very Happy Christmas as well”.
It is bad enough that he could not extract the best out of Ferrari in the four years he was at the team, a feat Sebastian Vettel did so in just one year. Now the Spanish double world champion is having a torrid year at Mclaren.
There is news that he could take a sabbatical in 2016 or even race in the World Endurance Championship. But that may not be all.
Pictures have surfaced of Alonso taming the Honda RC213V, the same race bike that Marc Marquez raced in 2015.
But before you get all excited, you should know that it was all part of a program organised by Honda Japan as part of its annual end of season ‘Thanks Day’ at the Motegi race circuit. Alonso took on Marquez’s race bike, while Marquez straddled up to tame Honda’s new NSX Concept GT.
Also at the program was Indy Car winner Takuma Sato to drive Honda’s 1968 RA301 F1 car.
Alonso also drove Honda’s 1991 MP4/6, the same car driven by Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger.
There is no official video out yet, but the video below shows Alonso doing a great job on two wheels.
In its announcement, the firm confirmed that it would not be applying for a Moto2 constructor’s license for 2016.
For 2016, the firm did announce that all of its efforts would be concentrated on the development of the Mahindra Moto3 machine whilst supplying a range of parts for various outfits and factories in said junior class.
Suter’s withdrawal was a move many had expected after the firm declined to reveal as to how many bikes it would have supplied in the Moto2 class for 2016. This year saw just two bikes line up the Moto2 grid in the Qatar season-opener.
Suter has had several high points in the class starting with its three consecutive constructors’ titles won in 2010, 2011 and 2012, followed by one riders’ title claimed by Marc Mar quez in 2012. Despite this and several strong performances in 2014, the switch to Kalex bikes en masse by most teams was inevitable, leading to Suter’s decline and eventual resignation from the Moto2 class next year.
2016 will see just three constructors remain in Moto2, with the bulk of it comprised of Kalex bikes (26 entries in total) other alongside independent constructors Tech 3 and Speed Up.
Suter’s exit is in part down to its performance, however this is also a strong sign of the strong conservatism reigning within the paddock. It is more or less a clear case of most teams seeing other teams winning and trying to copy their success by acquiring the same, of not similar, equipment.
Another interesting thing to note here is how exactly will organisers and commercial rights holders Dorna intend to resolve the situation since the Moto2 class was conceived with the creation of a diverse environment in mind. A good reminder of that was back in 2010 when the class was held for the first time and saw up to 14 constructors that entered and scored points.
Sources: Suter Racing Facebook via Asphaltandrubber
Even though the cup is only two years old, it has already produced a world championship rider – Adam Norrodin.
2016 will once again see the championship contested over six rounds in five different countries each round hosting two races. Sepang will see the season kick off with two days of testing in February before the Cup heads to Thailand to race alongside the WSBK Championship.
Qatar will host races three and four from March, the Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup racing alongside the MotoGP World Championship. Mid-May will see the Cup riders return to Sepang for their first races at the Malaysian circuit, once again alongside the WSBK Championship before heading to the Zhuhai circuit in China. This race will run with the highly popular Pan Delta event.
The final two rounds of the 2016 Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup season will see the youngsters follow the MotoGP riders to Motegi and Sepang in October for last four races. 12 races and ample practice time offer riders a chance to learn the tracks and continue to improve their race craft.
The riders who will be participating in the 2016 Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup are:
Tom Stewart William Edwards (Australia)
Ahamed Kadai Yaseen (India)
Irfan Aradiansyah (Indonesia)
Dwiki Hardhiana Suparta (Indonesia)
Faldhan Novayaser Mardani (Indonesia)
Alif Akbar Utama (Indonesia)
Basyiruddin Samhan Mashuri (Indonesia)
Riku Sugawara (Japan)
Yuki Kunii (Japan)
Shogo Kawasaki (Japan)
Muhammad Izam Ikmal (Malaysia)
Muhammad Khairul Ikhwan Bin Ajis (Malaysia)
Amirul Hakim Bin Mohd Rizal (Malaysia)
| Date | Event Type | Coinciding Event | Circuit | Country |
| 9 th – 10 th February | Test | None | Sepang | Malaysia |
| 11th – 13th March | Races 1&2 | WSBK Thailand | Buriram | Thailand |
| 17th – 20th March | Races 3&4 | MotoGP Qatar | Losail | Qatar |
| 13th – 15th May | Races 5&6 | WSBK Malaysia | Sepang | Malaysia |
| 16th – 19th September | Races 7&8 | Pan Delta | Zhuhai | China |
| 14th – 16th October | Races 9&10 | MotoGP Japan | Motegi | Japan |
| 28th – 30th October | Races 11&12 | MotoGP Malaysia | Sepang | Malaysia |
The move was officially announced recently and sees the Australian reconnecting with the team that granted him his first MotoGP world champion’s title back in 2007.
Stoner’s move away from HRC test-riding duties was long rumoured in the past few months, but both the Australian and HRC opted to officially announce his departure sometime just last week. In the process, the folks at HRC also stated their thanks and gratitude towards Stoner and his contributions over the last few years as a HRC test-rider.
After retiring from MotoGP in 2012, Stoner continued as a test-rider for HRC, but only rode sporadically since then, spending no more than a couple of days annually astride a Honda GP bike. Sources report that the move was made for two reasons, the first of which being the fact that the Australian kept good ties with the Italian team even after leaving it for HRC and secondly was the timely arrival of Gigi Dall’Igna as the head of Ducati Corse that made a return to Ducati even more attractive.
Presently, Ducati confirmed that Stoner will mainly focus on private tests and not riding in any of the official 2016 pre-season test sessions in Sepang, Phillip Island or Qatar. Whilst the prospect of Stoner returning on-track astride a Ducati GP bike for a wildcard outing appears to be slim, Ducati fans can instead rejoice at the fact he will be reappearing at next year’s World Ducati Week 2016 festivities in Bologna, Italy.
Sources: Asphaltandrubber and Visordown
Malaysian rider will be in FIM Road Racing Moto3 World Championship 2016 (more…)
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