2012 Ducati 848 on 2040-motos

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Moto blog

Mystic Mac's 2014 MotoGP predictions

There is no real off season in Moto GP.  Although we complain about being starved of racing, for those at the sharp end, in little more than two months they have new bikes to assemble, team staff to put in place and sponsors to nail down that will pay for it all.  This time frame is also tight for riders, as it seems more every year go straight under the surgeon’s knife after the last round and spend the short winter recuperating for the season ahead. The 2014 Moto GP championship looks like a cracker as apart from the ten full factory riders we now have at least eight non factory riders with properly competitive machinery.  We also have five Brits on the grid, two with podium potential.  Whatever happens though (providing you have BT Sport) you can just sit back and enjoy watching the incredible Marc Marquez do things that shouldn’t be possible. Speaking of whom, I didn’t believe a Rossi replacement would come this soon.  And when I say replacement, I mean a rider that is the full package.  Although in some ways quite different to Vale, he’s an equally phenomenal talent plus a very likeable character that appeals to the masses and although respectful to his rivals off track, deadly competitive in the heat of battle.  Being young and good looking he’s obviously a dream for sponsors and the sport in general.  Marquez has evolved in his own way but thankfully into a perfect replacement for our sport when the VR steps down.

848 Challenge official race report: Assen

Robbie Brown shared the race wins with a resurgent Darren Fry at Round Two as the Ducati 848 Challenge visited the Assen TT circuit, the first of its two overseas rounds this year.Championship leader Brown (Ducati Manchester) was on imperious form all weekend, but Fry (Hirebase/JHP Racing), still not back to full fitness following an illness that left him in doubt about riding this year, put in a performance that was reminiscent of the form that took him to the Challenge title in 2010.With a win and a second place this weekend Brown extended his lead at the top of the table, but in also picking up a win and second Fry is back in the game in second with six rounds still to go. Sam Coventry (Moto Rapido), new to the Challenge this season and quickly getting back up to speed racing a twin after his year away in Spanish CEV championship, bagged third in both races to leapfrog to third in the championship.A number of other riders were able to put in solid performances over the two dry race days to do themselves no harm in the championship; in particular Jack Keen (Team Havoc Racing) with a fourth and fifth, and another championship newcomer Sean Neary (MotoCorse UK Racing) who scored a seventh and sixth.Race 1 was something of a dramatic affair with a number of fallers on the first lap, including front-runners Mike Edwards (OHLINS@P&H Motorcycles), Mark Cheetham (Hunt Pie Machines) and James Folkard (Win43.com) who came together at the first left-hander while battling for second place behind Brown. That left Coventry and Fry a clear track to chase down Brown, with Keen and Ed Smith (Ultim8 Racing) pushing hard through the field to close the gap.

Mugello: Track Facts

With the record setting MotoGP of Mugello finishing up this past weekend, Motorcycle.com takes a look at the high speed action on the track. Just as always, as Motorcycle.com continues to cover all the 2009 MotoGP racing news, The Sidecar stays focused on the tracks of this years Grand Prix season. Admittedly I don’t know that much about Italy.