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Monster Energy Drink to Sponsor Valentino Rossi, Instead of John Hopkins

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With all the back-and-forth going on whether Kawasaki would be in MotoGP or not this season, Monster Energy Drink wasn’t willing to take the season to chance. They have decided to drop John Hopkins from their payroll, and have added Valentino Rossi instead. In a few days we are expecting to hear a formal announcement of the agreement, but the terms have already been leaked. Monster will sponsor Rossi for 2 years, to the tune of 2.5 million euros, plus a bonus of another half a million euros if he wins the Championship.

This news is a devastating blow to John Hopkins who’s ride for 2009 is still up in the air. Monster’s sponsorship of the American rider helped defray the cost a team had to incurr to have Hopper riding with them. Now without the help from Monster, Hopkins is going to have  to take a massive pay-cut, or find a team willing to pay him more than he’s probably worth at this point.

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Ezpeleta Holds Kawasaki to 2009, But Not 2010 and 2011

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Really, we’re trying to think of a way that the 2009 MotoGP season could become less of a soap opera, but it continues to act like one. Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, has shed some more light on the back-and-forth between his organization and Kawasaki.

“I’ve already said that I would not accept the breakdown of Kawasaki’s contract signed with us until 2011. I have proposed that they run in 2009, and in exchange, to allow them to withdraw in 2010 and 2011. They told me that they had an engine for only four or five races of the season. So I looked for a company in France able to help develop the bike. The last obstacle for the Japanese is to meet these people and accept their program.” 

This meeting is scheduled for early next week, and Ezpeleta is pushing for Kawasaki to honor its contract with its riders as well as Dorna, “The team will be led by Michael Bartholemy, and I think it is important to keep the two pilots under contract, John Hopkins and Marco Melandri.” Ezpeleta finished by reiterating that he would take Kawasaki to court if it defaulted on their commitment with Dorna Sports.

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Kawasaki Back Testing for 2009 MotoGP

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Reports are showing that Kawasaki is about to resume its testing, with Olivier Jacque taking laps at Phillip Island on the 2009 ZX-RR. The French rider is at the Eastern Creek circuit near Sydney for a test on the ZX-RR, which was being developed for John Hopkins and Marco Melandri for the 2009 season. Jacque will be testing an all new in-line four-cylinder motor and revised chassis at the Eastern Creek test, starting this Saturday.

After Eastern Creek, the test team will then move down to the Phillip Island for further testing and development. This news and commitment from Kawasaki adds further credence to the reports that we will see them, in some form or another, on the grid during the 2009 season. Kawasaki MotoGP manager, Michael Bartholemy, has been strongly linked with the rescue package, though he has yet to make any official comment on the future plans of Kawasaki and its withdrawal late last year.

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How Much Does it Cost to Race in MotoGP?

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MotoGP is a special animal. Like how Formula 1 is for automobiles, MotoGP is supposed to embody what the cutting edge of technology can bring to the sport of motorcycling. The talent is the pinnacle of its field, and the bikes are rolling R&D platforms.

This also means of course that the costs are exuberant, and instead of an instant applicable payoffs, the value of racing instead comes down the road many years later as the technology trickles down to the production-level bikes.

This makes MotoGP unlike the racing other series, whereas in World Superbike for instance, teams are working with a bike that is actually sold en masse to the consumer, costs for product line development can be absorbed, and the fabled “Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday” marketing buzz phrase has some bearing on reality.

Because of the intangible returns on investments, and escalating environment of prototype racing, it is not surprising to see the semi-departure of Kawasaki for 2009. So how much money are teams really losing by racing at the top of the sport?

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FIM Worries About MotoGP Grid for 2010 and Long-term Sustainability in the Racing Series

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The International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) started MotoGP in 1949 with the idea to establish a premiere prototype racing series. In 1992, FIM transfered the commercial rights to Dorna Sports, who have since been the business end of the racing series. This however, does not mean that the FIM is content to standby idly while the economic brouhaha plays havoc with MotoGP’s championship status. Continue reading to see FIM President Vito Ippolito response, and outlook on the future of MotoGP.

 

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Privateers Pick-up Where Kawasaki Leaves Off

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UPDATE: It looks like Alex Debon could be the Spanish rider that Jorge Martinez could tap to be one of his MotoGP riders.

You would think that Kawasaki’s announcement to leave MotoGP put’s to rest whether or not they will be racing next year in MotoGP, but you’d be wrong….at least sort of wrong. There has been if someone else would come along and direct/finance a Kawi MotoGP effort, and many people have pointed that finger at Jorge “Aspar” Martinez. That rumor would appear to have gained new credence today with the latest comment from Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, continuing reading for more.

 

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Kawasaki Officially Pulls out of MotoGP

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Straight from the horses mouth, and about 5 days later than we expected…It’s the rumor everyone already knew was truth…at least they bothered releasing a press release. Kawasaki has officially announced their leaving of MotoGP for the 2009 season.

 

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. announced today that it has decided to suspend its factory MotoGP racing activities from 2009 season.

Amid quickly changing business environment, Kawasaki has been promptly taking countermeasures to cope with the situation. As the world economy is not likely to recover in a short period due to the major impact of the financial crisis, Kawasaki decided to suspend its MotoGP racing activities from 2009 season onward and reallocate management resources more efficiently.

Kawasaki will continue racing activities using mass-produced motorcycles as well as supporting general race-oriented customers.

Kawasaki would like to thank all the fans and all those who have forwarded us great help.

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2009 MotoGP line-up

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While we have yet to hear an official announcement from Kawasaki about its 2009 season in MotoGP, and there looks to be a fair bit of dust still left to settle; as of now, this is what the 2009 MotoGP grid will look like without Marco Melandri and John Hopkings:

Repsol Honda – Dani Pedrosa
Repsol Honda – Andrea Dovizioso

San Carlo Honda Gresini – Toni Elias
San Carlo Honda Gresini – Alex de Angelis

LCR Honda – Randy de Puniet

Scot Racing Honda – Yuki Takahashani

Rizla Suzuki – Loris Cappirossi
Rizla Suzuki – Christopher Vermulean

Ducati Marlboro – Casey Stoner
Ducati Marlboro – Nicky Hayden

Alice Ducati – Mika Kallio
Alice Ducati – Niccolo Canepa

Onde 2000 Ducati – Sete Gibernau

Fiat Yamaha – Valentino Rossi
Fiat Yamaha – Jorge Lorenzo

Tech 3 Yamaha – Colin Edwards
Tech 3 Yamaha – James Toseland

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Honda Says No to Melandri, Dorna Holds Kawasaki to Contract

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Avenues to ride in MotoGP for the 2009 season are becoming dead-ends for Marco Melandri. In case you haven’t read A&R the last few weeks, Kawasaki’s pull-out from MotoGP has sent the young Italian scrambling for a ride this coming season, with his latest stop being in the Honda camp.

Lucio Cecchinello, manager for LCR Honda, admits to having been approached by friends of Melandri to see if the team would be interested in sponsoring a second bike alongside Randy de Puniet.

Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.

Employing the classic “It’s not you, it’s me” line, the LCR boss issued the statement: “I was asked by the manager of Melandri to run in 2009, but this will not happen for the following reasons,” said Lucio. “First, we can not afford to include a second driver. The current economic situation does not allow us to consider an investor can pay Melandri, especially given his last season. ” 

“Secondly, even if I talked to Honda, I am almost certain they would be against the idea of providing a new motorcycle. This would HRC to new engines, to invest in new parts and another crew. We are in a period where Honda wants to save rather than spend even more money. Finally, it is too late to hire staff and new mechanics. There is therefore no chance to see Melandri join my team. ” 

There is still some speculation that a white knight might step in to take over the Factory Kawasaki effort, this possibility earned further credence today as Carmelo Ezpeleta from Dorna released the fact that Kawasaki has a signed contract to run in MotoGP until 2011. 

Ezpeleta stated that “Once they [Kawasaki] informed me of their desire to stop, I began negotiations with them, arguing the contract they had signed and I asked them to reconsider their best decision, or at worst of postponing…The possibility of two Kawasaki on the grid in 2009, in one form or another, can not be ruled out. They signed a contract and a contract can not be ignored in a day.”

Get the popcorn folks, its only going to get more interesting from here on out.

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The Curious Case of Marco and Hopper

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The dust has settled, and the boys in green are officially out of MotoGP. With Kawasaki withdrawing from MotoGP just a few months after the end of the 2008 season, there are few, if any, opportunities for Marco Melandri and John Hopkins in motorcycle racing. Typically by January all teams are well settled on their plans for the coming season, and the addition/replacement of a new rider is almost entirely out of the question. With MotoGP out of the realm of possibilities, what options are there for these two rider? Continue reading after the jump to find out.

 

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