Honda Moto GP in no rush to upgrade new RCV1000R 2014

Honda will not be rushed into an overhaul of its new production RCV1000R machine, despite pleas from the likes of Nicky Hayden and Scott Redding for more power.

Honda’s new Open class bike doesn’t feature pneumatic valve technology or a seamless shift gearbox like the Factory spec RC213V ridden by Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa.

But it is the lack of horsepower that has been the biggest complaint from the Aspar and Gresin teams that are running the new bike in 2014.

There has been a glaring 11mph speed gap on fast tracks like Sepang and Qatar and while Honda is committed to upgrading the RCV1000R, it won’t panic to rush out modifications.

With the first three races all flyaways, no new parts will be made available until the first European round in Jerez at the earliest, but HRC boss Livio Suppo told MCN: “We need to wait and see a bit more. We have been struggling a little bit to match our machine with the new Magneti Marelli software, so I don’t think we need to panic.

"We are going to keep an eye on it but it is a bit early to panic and say we must do something urgently. And I don’t think anybody was expecting to have a machine that was going to win races.”

Redding enjoyed an encouraging MotoGP debut in Qatar last weekend when he finished seventh to lead the RCV1000R quartet. motorcyclenews.com

Moto GP 2014 Ducati vision

The former Aprilia chief is at Valencia and spoke about how he intends to change the organisation of Ducati Corse before he looks at the technical areas of company - but confirmed there would be a 'completely different' bike by the time the Sepang tests come around in February.

"It is not an easy job. Ducati come from two or three really difficult years so we have to change a lot to improve everything. I will start with the organisation because when I came here I realised there are two completely different units inside Ducati Corse - the racetrack unit and the people that work in Bologna," said Dall'Igna, speaking at Valencia.

"The first job is to join those properly so the information flows from the track to the people in Bologna well and fast to improve the bike as soon as possible. We will re-organise Ducati Corse and give to people at the track important job in Ducati, so it is easy to share information between parts.

"Ducati have a lot of racing knowledge in general. That means not only electronics or engine but the chassis also. I hope we will improve in the chassis and I hope we can find a way to put Ducati in the position everyone wants.

"I want to check the problems the bike have at the moment and I have to work to improve that. We can check if something different is better than the systems we use now.

"We have to improve the bike we are using now and the bike that will on the track at Sepang will be completely different. If we have to produce something completely different in the future, then we will do that.

"It seems the most important problems are in the chassis but improvements on the engine will also count. For me, the Desmodromic is a good system so I don't see any reason to change it.

"MotoGP is the most important class in racing. For sure we would like to improve that as soon as possible, but on the other hand the Superbike is part of the history of Ducati so we have to work also in that area."

Read the original article on bikesportnews.com

Repsol Honda 2013

Repsol Honda rookie, Marc Marquez, has won the 2013 MotoGP World Championship by taking 3rd place in the final race of the season in Valencia. Teammate Dani Pedrosa took second to complete the team's eleventh double podium of the season and claim Honda's 62nd


Constructor's Championship in the premier class. The race began with Lorenzo taking the lead and trying to bunch up the field. Dani pursued him and attempted several passes, but was unable to make them stick. At the beginning of lap 10, Dani and Lorenzo touched briefly and this allowed Marc to come through and take the lead with Dani dropping to 5th. Lorenzo would not give up so easy and on lap 11 he re-passed Marc. By lap 14 Dani was back up to 3rd and closing in on Marc. Dani recorded a new lap record on lap 22 with 1'31.628 and passed the young rookie on lap 26.

 With just 4 laps remaining Marc, showed maturity and patience, knowing that his position was enough to claim the Championship. He passed the line in 3rd place and took his first MotoGP crown on his maiden year, becoming the youngest rookie at 20 years 266 days to win the Championship. 　

 Comment

DANI PEDROSA – 2nd - World Championship Position: 3rd with 300 points "The race was difficult at the start because of the overtaking moves between myself and Jorge. However, we fought to the limit until I was taken a little off the track and lost ground as a result. Above all, I want to congratulate Marc today. He has done an excellent job this season and had a great campaign. We should take our hats off to him because he has achieved something historic; to win the MotoGP title as a rookie is incredible"


 MARC MARQUEZ – 3rd - World Championship Position: 1st with 334 points "It was a really long race, maybe the longest of my career! At the start I was very nervous, I know I said I wasn't but if I'm honest I really was. Jorge had a very good start, as usual, and I wasn't sure which tactic to take. I followed Jorge and Dani and began to settle into the race. Then towards the end, I decided not to push as I knew my position was secure and safe to take the Championship. It has been a fantastic year, I am still in a dream! I really didn't expect this at the beginning and I am really so very happy. So thank you to all my team, my family and of course Honda and all our sponsors. The support from everyone and all my fans around the World has been incredible and I dedicate this Championship to you all!"

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Superbike Phillip Island 2013 Q1

A close battled Qualifying 1 put an end to the first World Superbike day of 2013. The session was held under the clear skies of Phillip Island, with perfect temperatures and average winds blowing inland. Michel Fabrizio (Red Devils Roma Aprilia), after being the fastest rider of Free Practice 1, topped once again the timesheets thanks to a 1’31.317 lap-time, ahead of works Aprilia rider Eugene Laverty.

Michel Fabrizio: “We are working very well. I’m not fully satisfied yet because we still need to find the perfect set up for the race distance. Hopefully we’ll get it sorted tomorrow, and we’ll be ready for Sunday. Conditions were a bit more difficult during the afternoon compared to the morning, due primarily to the wind that made changing direction harder. Last Monday I was hit by a seagull on my arm while I was on the straight and I am still feeling the pain. I can say though, that we’re on the right direction. We’re planning on doing some small adjustments for tomorrow and these will hopefully make us improve further.”

Eugene Laverty: “This morning we weren't extremely fast, but in the afternoon we made some changes on my RSV4 to adapt it to the conditions and we took a big step forward. My single lap is good, but the key is to maintain consistency for the entire race. There are a lot of riders who don't stand out in the single lap but they've got an excellent race pace, and we're also doing well in that department. I don't have any particular problems and even when I'm lapping fast I'm careful not to wear the tyres quickly so that helps me to be consistent”.

The session was characterized by very competitive and balanced performances on track, considering the top-13 riders within a second and the five brands in the first seven positions. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) showed good form by finishing third, followed by Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki), his team mate Chaz Davies, Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike) and 2012 runner-up Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team).

Carlos Checa (Ducati Team Alstare) was on track this afternoon despite the spectacular crash he had in Free Practice 1 at Turn 5. The Spaniard ended the session in 12th position - after completing only 7 laps – ahead of Max Neukirchner (MR-Racing Ducati).

Times:1. Fabrizio (Aprilia) 1'31.317 average 175.236 kph; 2. Laverty (Aprilia) 1'31.392; 3. Melandri (BMW) 1'31.539; 4. Camier (Suzuki) 1'31.608; 5. Davies (BMW) 1'31.638; 6. Haslam (Honda) 1'31.687; 7.Sykes (Kawasaki) 1'31.754; 8. Giugliano (Aprilia) 1'31.793; 9. Guintoli (Aprilia) 1'31.863; 10. Rea (Honda) 1'31.884; 11. Stauffer (Honda) 1'31.984; 12. Checa (Ducati) 1'32.063; 13. Neukirchner (Ducati) 1'32.243; 14. Allerton (BMW) 1'32.352; 15. Baz (Kawasaki) 1'32.497; 16. Badovini (Ducati) 1'32.540; 17. Clementi (BMW) 1'32.757; 18. Cluzel (Suzuki) 1'32.801; 19. Sandi (Kawasaki) 1'32.898; 20. Iannuzzo (BMW) 1'33.082; 21.Lundh (Kawasaki) 1'33.305.

World Supersport - Lowes makes the difference today at Phillip Island

An astonishing 1’32.545 lap-time was set today by Sam Lowes in World Supersport Qualifying 1, that put the Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha rider on top of the timesheets and set a new standard for the recently resurfaced Phillip Island Circuit. As a difference from today’s first session, Kenan Sofuoglu (MAHI Racing Team India Kawasaki) could not nearly match the superb performance of Lowes and finished once again with a solid 2nd place, with a 1.119 gap from his rival.

ParkinGO MV Agusta Corse Roberto Rolfo makes a big step forward by finishing QP1 on third place, ahead of rookies Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport) and Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda).  Andrea Antonelli (Team Goeleven Kawasaki) and van der Mark’s team mate Lorenzo Zanetti enter the top-10 as sixth and seventh respectively, followed by Massimo Roccoli (Team Pata by Martini Yamaha) and the two British riders Kev Coghlan (Kawasaki DMC-Lorenzini) and Christian Iddon (ParkinGO MV Agusta Corse).

The session started with some drops of rain falling on parts of the track, temperatures were overall ideal with 28° C in the air and 43° C on the track.

Times:1. Lowes (Yamaha) 1'32.545 average 172.910 kph; 2.Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 1'33.664; 3. Rolfo (MV Agusta) 1'34.081; 4. Vd Mark (Honda) 1'34.106; 5. Kennedy (Honda) 1'34.143; 6. Antonelli (Kawasaki) 1'34.359; 7. Zanetti (Honda) 1'34.465; 8. Roccoli (Yamaha) 1'34.466; 9. Coghlan (Kawasaki) 1'34.484; 10.Iddon (MV Agusta) 1'34.551; etc.

Communication Worldsbk - www.worldsbk.com -

Márquez back on track at Albacete

The Albacete circuit welcomed Marc Márquez for two days of Moto2 testing this week —the Spaniard’s first time on track since the October 21st crash that ended last year’s title challenge. After an assessment run at Alcarrás at the beginning of the week, the Repsol rider and his team headed to Albacete for a private test.

Greeted by sun and warm temperatures, Márquez was able to start his testing at midday on Thursday. He put in a series of short runs in order to check on his physical condition, which had obviously improved considerably. There is still room for improvement, but the Moto2 runner-up from last season was just happy to be back riding again after nearly five months out.

The two days had a long finale as Márquez remained in the saddle until mid-afternoon, steadily progressing and picking up kilometres in order to be ready for the Qatar GP on April 8th. His next testing date comes in ten days, when the MotoGP Official Test starts at Jerez on March 19th.

Marc Márquez : "Thanks to the fitness check in Alcarrás it was possible to come here to Albacete and make this test a reality. It really has been incredible to get back on the bike again. These two days of testing have been useful for getting laps under my belt, getting my feel back onboard the Suter and for convincing myself that I can ride at Jerez.

I still have a little way to go, but this is a big first step in my preseason. I thank the team for their patience all this time, to the sponsors and the fans for their support and best wishes". FIM.com

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Dani Pedrosa calls in on the FIM

MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa met Stéphane Desprez, the new CEO of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, when he dropped in at the Federation’s headquarters, for a meeting with Ignacio Verneda (FIM Sports Director).

Dani will be cheering on the world’s top Trial riders when they compete at the Geneva Arena next Saturday, and especially his friends and fellow Spaniards Toni Bou, Adam Raga, Albert Cabestany, Jeroni Fajardo and Alfredo Gomez.

On 21 January for the second year running, the FIM is organising the Swiss round of the FIM X-Trial World Championship just a few kilometres from its headquarters.  Fim.com

2012 PATA Racing sign Zanetti

Lorenzo Zanetti will step up to World Superbikes in 2012 after PATA Racing confirmed the Italian's signing. 

Zanetti, who shone in last season's Superstock 1000 championship, will replace Noriyuki Haga and ride an Aprilia RSV-4.

PATA ran a bike for the Japanese rider in 2011 but have opted to go with Zanetti this time out after the 24-year-old won his first race in Superstock at Monza and impressed on his way to a third-placed finish overall.

Haga remains just one of two full-time WSBK competitors without a ride for 2012.

Eurosport

Bimota Motor set to Re-launch racing plans

In the early days of WSBK racing Bimota was a famous name with many victories to their credit thanks to Davide Tardozzi, Giancarlo Falappa and Stephane Mertens, and the most recent being with Anthony Gobert in a wet race at Phillip Island in 2000. Launched in the 1970s, the brand has always been a protagonist introducing new technologies that were later incorporated into the design of its own models.

Bimota today has officially set up the Bimota Research Development Department, thanks to a joint venture with EDO Racing that will manage the marketing and development area. This is a first step for what concerns the SBK project as well, since the brand is willing to work on a World Superbike machine in the near future and is absolutely open to the possibility that in the not too distant future, the bike could arrive at one round. Obviously the Rimini-based company must first reach the production numbers stipulated in the FIM regulations and request homologation. 

WSBK legend and recent competitor Ruben Xaus is the new team manager, and he said of the whole initiative, "I've been part of Bimota for a few months and I'm trying to bring my whole experience as a world-known rider. I decided to create a development project, a joint venture with Edo Racing that could allow more flexibility and a faster service so the company can fully concentrate on the planning and prototyping. SBK is at its beginnings. In our recent test at Almeria, we just had to check different solutions about the chassis and from the next step forward we'll get to know better which is our project-competitiveness level."　　　www.worldsbk.com

Lorenzo boss: ‘＃27 Stoner took Honda to another level’

The talent of Casey Stoner lifted the performance of Honda’s factory RC212V machine to a new level in 2011, according to Jorge Lorenzo’s Yamaha boss Wilco Zeelenberg.
Zeelenberg reckons Honda’s 2011 bike changed very little from the RC212V that ended the 2010 campaign but it was the Australian’s skill and raw speed that made the HRC contender the dominant force last season.

Stoner won his second premier class world title with 10 race wins and frequently outclassed Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso, who were riding identical machinery.
In a recent interview with MCN, Spaniard Lorenzo explained the three main reasons he felt had contributed to him surrendering his world title in 2011.

He said: "The first one is that Honda made a big step at the end of last season (2010) and this year they have this new gearbox system, which makes them very competitive. Then Honda took Casey and I can't say anything new that I have not said about him. He is very talented and he can ride the bike to the limit in every situation.

"Casey's presence made all the other Honda riders stronger because the limit they must reach is now higher. There is more pressure so they get faster. Yamaha made a big effort to improve the bike but we couldn't improve so much, so these three things makes us a little bit slower with less options to win races."

Zeelenberg though believes Stoner’s impact at HRC was pivotal and he told MCN: "The big change was that Casey on the Honda took it to another level. We knew the Honda had made a step last August in Brno because Jorge even then was saying ‘mayday, mayday’ and urging Yamaha to make a step. To make that step we have our own philosophy and you can’t change too much otherwise you’re jumping in the same boat as Ducati. We didn’t want to jump in that boat so it looks simple that we didn’t do enough work.

"But that is not the case. The bike was still capable of fighting for the championship but sure the Honda was strong this year with Casey. For me at the moment the two guys that are a step up from everybody are Casey and Jorge. Dani sometimes is spectacularly fast but the two guys for me in MotoGP are Casey and Jorge. That’s quite clear and with the difference in our bikes, Jorge is able to beat the rest."        www.motorcyclenews.com