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Eugene Laverty in MotoGP with Team Aspar

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Another piece of the MotoGP puzzle has been fixed into place. It was widely known that Eugene Laverty would be riding a production Honda for the Drive M7 Aspar team in MotoGP next year, but official confirmation of the fact only came today.

Laverty is to line up alongside Nicky Hayden aboard the uprated production Honda, now called the RC213V-RS, taking the place of Hiroshi Aoyama.

Laverty’s path into the Aspar team was far from straightforward. The Irishman had been in talks with Aspar, who at the time were also talking to replacement rider Leon Camier and Frenchman Loris Baz. Aspar then signed a precontract with both Baz and Laverty, subject to the condition that Aspar could not secure the services of Scott Redding.

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Bikes

Ducati Owners: You Are Not Ready for the 1299 Superbike

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You would have to be living under a rock not to know about the upcoming Ducati Scrambler, Bologna has made certain of that. But as we surmised in our analysis of Scrambler’s marketing, Ducati is due to update the Panigale as well for the 2015 model year. That educated guess, it seems has been proven correct, at least in part.

While Borgo Panigale will continue to sell its namesake Ducati 1199 Panigale, the Panigale R model will be replaced for 2015 by the new 1299 superbike.

As such, the 1299 will be Ducati’s consumer-facing machine for its World Superbike program — a project that has been greatly affected by WSBK’s intake restrictions for v-twins — thus race teams can expect an upgraded RS15 as well to be coming forth.

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MotoGP

Eugene Laverty Moving to MotoGP – For Aspar, Maybe?

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It is no secret that Eugene Laverty is keen to move to MotoGP for the 2015 season. The Irishman has been present at the last three MotoGP rounds, touting his services around the teams in the hope of securing a ride. He has been in talks with Forward, Pramac, and Aspar about a ride in 2015, but as yet, no deal has been announced.

It is certain that one has been signed, however. Today, the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki team – his team in World Superbikes – issued a press release wishing Laverty well on his step up to MotoGP. No details were given of where Laverty is headed, other than that he will not be in World Superbikes in 2015, but will be racing in MotoGP.

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WSBK

No Compensation for Lost World Superbike Rounds

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The loss of the South African round of World Superbikes, when the safety improvements to the Welkom circuit could not be completed in time for homologation, meant that the WSBK calendar had lost two rounds from its 2014 calendar, with both South Africa and the Moscow Raceway event having been scrapped.

Two rounds meant the loss of two World Supersport races and four World Superbike races, a total of 50 points for WSS and 100 points for WSBK.

The loss of those points left both championships much closer to being decided. Tom Sykes leads the World Superbike championship by 44 points with 150 points still at stake, while Michael van der Mark is even closer to the World Supersport championship, leading Jules Cluzel by 53 points with just 75 points left.

The teams, but most especially the riders, felt that they had had a chance to try to reopen the championship races taken away from them.

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MotoGP

Yamaha USA’s Awesome Video Tribute to Colin Edwards

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In two weekends from, now grand prix motorcycle racing will be at Silverstone, and while the MotoGP Championship marches on, its progression means that soon we won’t have the color that Colin Edwards brings to the GP paddock.

Beloved by British motorcycle racing fans, Silverstone is sort of the last stop on the Texas Tornado’s farewell tour. But before we release Colin back into the wild (perhaps with a warning label), the motorcycle community has some goodbyes to make.

Our first chance will be on the Thursday of that race weekend, as Edwards will open the bidding at the Riders for Health Day of Champions auction (an awesome event, you should all attend if possible)…it’s surely going to be entertaining. Sunday’s race should be memorable as well.

And speaking of memories, Yamaha USA has compiled a very touching and well done video of Edwards’ career on two wheels. It’s after the jump, and worth watching…maybe twice.

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WSBK

WSBK: Tom Sykes Signs for Two More Years with Kawasaki

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Tom Sykes will be staying on with Kawasaki for two more seasons. Kawasaki today announced that the Yorkshireman has signed a contract to remain with the Japanese factory in World Superbikes for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

The announcement does not come as a surprise. Sykes has known great success with Kawasaki since leaving Yamaha after his first year in World Superbikes. All of Sykes’ wins in the class have come aboard a green machine, and the Yorkshireman won his first World Superbike title with Kawasaki last year.

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WSBK

Bimota Fails to Meet Homologation Quotas, Out of WSBK?

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Despite the small size of the company, Bimota has shown itself to be a strong contender in the EVO class of the World Superbike Championship. And though none of the company’s results have counted to date, as the Italian brand had failed to meet the initial 125 quota by the start of the 2014 season, Bimota has kept forging ahead.

This is because Bimota got a special dispensation to race the first part of the 2014 WSBK season, as the FIM allowed the company four months from its first race day to meet World Superbike’s initial homologation standards, which is 125 street bikes.

Unfortunately however, even with that extra time, Bimota has been unable to meet the 125 unit volume (only 40 or so machines have been built), and thus is not expected to continue racing the rest of the season.

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MotoGP

Leon Camier Explains The Difference Between Turning a WSBK Pirelli and a MotoGP Bridgestone Tire

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Leon Camier turned a lot of heads at Indianapolis in his first ride on the Drive M7 Aspar Honda production racer. The Englishman was drafted in to replace Nicky Hayden while he recovers from surgery, but despite it being the first time he rode a MotoGP bike, the Bridgestone tires, carbon brakes, and the Indianapolis circuit, Camier was very quickly up to speed with the other Open class Hondas.

Having a fast rider come in to MotoGP from World Superbikes allows a number of comparisons to be made. Among the most interesting is the difference in technology and tires.

At Brno, Camier explained the difference in feel and cornering between the World Superbike Pirellis and the MotoGP Bridgestones. The front tire, especially, is a completely different kettle of fish, requiring a different style, and therefore different set up.

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WSBK

WSBK: South Africa Out, Qatar Confirmed on 2014 Calendar

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The 2014 World Superbike calendar has been updated once again. The South African round of WSBK has been canceled, after the Phakisa Freeway track failed homologation. Work was being carried out on the circuit to allow it to meet requirements, but the work will not be finished on time.

Dorna and the FIM are looking at finding a replacement for the dropped South African round, but at such short notice, and with attendance at WSBK events being disappointing, that will be difficult.

While the South African round was canceled, the Qatar race was confirmed. The racing at Qatar is to be held at night under the floodlights, just as MotoGP is.

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