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Hungary GP Might Be Cancelled

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Motorcycle News is reporting that the , after funding problems have struck construction of the brand new Balatonring circuit. Rumors of the tracks financial problems have been circulating since the end of last year, but MCN is now claiming to have received information from “senior MotoGP officials”. MCN is also reporting that a move to the brand new Portimao circuit in Portugal was mooted, as a replacement for the Balatonring round, but that this was discounted because it would be too close to the official Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril in early October. Given the current calls for cost-cutting in MotoGP, the more popular choice might be for the round to be canceled altogether. Skipping a whole weekend would cut down on expenditure significantly.

 

Source: MotoGP Matters

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Racing

Europe Starts Hypermoto Racing Series

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Bikes like the Ducati Hypermotard, KTM SuperDuke, and Aprilia Dorsoduro have been gaining in popularity not only in the United States, but also abroad. It is only a logical progression then that there would be some desire to start a formal racing series for these big-bore “hypermotards”, and Europe’s UEM European Supermoto Championship has that answer with a new “Hypermoto” racing class. The Hypermoto class will be open to motorcycles of 600cc and larger, with 1 or 2 cylinders, and can be either 2-strokes or 4-strokes. Races will take place on the same tracks as the Supermoto Championship (S1), minus the dirt sections. All riders will use Dunlop tires (eight tires per weekend), and have to be over the age of 16.

Source:

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Racing

Suzuki Contemplated Pulling Out of MotoGP

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Around the time that Kawasaki pulled out of MotoGP, rumors persisted that Suzuki could also be on the verge of pulling out of the racing series as well. Indeed at the time, , and the company seemed to be either circling the wagons or preparing to depart from the sport all-together. A number of sources inside Japan spoke of Suzuki withdrawing, but the Suzuki MotoGP team consistently denied the rumors. Those rumors now seem to be more than idle chatter around the water-cooler, and were in fact grounded in substantial truth. In an interview with Spanish site GPOne, Shinichi Sahara, head of Suzuki’s MotoGP team, makes it clear how close the team was to throwing in the towel.

 

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News

Bimota Eyes Return to Racing with Moto2 Entry

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The addition of the new Moto2 class, which is set to replace the 250cc 2-stroke GP class, has caused a number of interested parties to begin work on their entry into the mini-MotoGP. While we expect the Hondas, Suzukis, etc to be in the new series, some of these companies are outside the list of the usual suspects, such as the possible Triumph entry, and now news comes that Bimota may be working on a Moto2 contender. Bimota is focusing their interest specifically on the chassis development side of the 600cc prototypes, and supposedly the boutique firm is ready to produce key components for the inception of the new class.

A return to the World Championship would see Bimota come full circle in their focus as a company. In the early 1970’s, Bimota was focused solely on producing parts for Grand Prix bikes. Renowned for their work with frames, shock absorbers, and chassis development, Bimota worked in collaboration with most of the top motorcycle producers of their time, sourcing power plants from them. We can’t wait to see what they come up with now, its about time we saw Bimota on the premiere circuits again.

Bimota will be revealing more details on their intended Moto2 involvement on their website, .

Source: MotoGP

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Bikes

BMW S1000RR SBK Race Bike Photo Shoot Teases

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How do you drive motorcycle journalists crazy? Run a feature photo shoot with WSBK race bike, a helicopter, and a hot blonde model. Its not that we don’t like these things, it’s just that we like answers more. BMW seems to have an endless supply of photos that keep us perpetually guessing what the production S1000RR will look like. Sure the carbon fairings and tasty race bits are nice and pleasing, but we want to see some OEM ABS plastic, horrible CAFE compliant exhaust pipes, and maybe a blinker here and there. Lately, it seems like only the race bike seems to be getting love from Mr. Nikon and Mr. Canon…and it keeps us up at night.

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News

Yamaha Unveils M1 for 2009 MotoGP

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Yamaha has unveiled its YZR-M1 for the 2009 MotoGP season in a special online presentation. On-hand for the event at Yamaha-Italy HQ were riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. Yamaha’s rider line-up remains unchanged of course, and the 2009 bike is pretty much indistiguishable on the outside from the 2008 variant. However, its what’s underneath that counts. According to Tech3 team manager Poncharal, “Not one part of new M1 is the same as 2008 bike”. Continue on for pictures, specifications, and unveiling video.

 

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Racing

Honda Withdraws from Suzuka 8 Hours, Re-Commits to MotoGP

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Yesterday, Honda announced that they would be cutting back on their motorcycle racing program, most notably withdrawing their factory team from the Suzuka 8 Hour race. Additionally, motocross and other off-road events will be dropped in order to cut costs, but we’ll miss Suzuka the most. The 8 Hour Suzuka race is a big deal for the Japanese Four. Each year Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki rope in their top riders from around the world to compete in the prestigious race, much to the chagrin of the riders who are usually enjoying their off-season time. Last year the race was won by Carlos Checa and Ryuichi Kiyonari.

Honda’s withdrawal does not mean that there will be a lack of Hondas on the grid. Only the factory team won’t race this year, but the Honda spokeswoman told the press that they would still help the remaining Honda privateers.

The one piece of good news from the announcement was confirmation of Honda’s commitment to MotoGP. Honda “won’t quit the MotoGP,” she said, adding that though Honda would be scaling back its support for motorcycle racing in general, the one series this would not affect would be MotoGP.

Source: 

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Norton to Return to the Isle of Man TT for 2009

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It was only a few months ago that Norton Motorcycles had the spark of life breathed back into it. A UK businesman named Stuart Garner bought the rights to the Norton brand, and set up a factory and officespace for the company near the famous Donington race track.

Rumors place Norton as currently developing a streetbike called the Commando for the 2009 model year. Likely as a part of that product launch, Norton has announced that they will be entering into the Isle of Man TT in 2009 as well with 20-year-old Michael Dunlop taking the helm. More on this and the NRV588 with pictures after the jump.

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News

Argentina-Chile Dakar Rally 2009

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On January 13th, 2009, the Dakar Rally will for the first time, not involve trekking to Africa. Instead the venue will be held in Argentina and Chile. The change comes after the rally was cancelled last year for the first time since its inception in 1979 due to concerns over security. This coming rally will cover 5600 miles of varying terrain, just like the original rally. 530 teams will take off from Buenos Aires to start their six-day journey, of which there will be 230 motorcycless, 30 quads, 188 cars, and 82 trucks, from 49 nations.

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