2011 Yamaha Zuma 125 on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Suzuka Eight Hour capers

Chatting to TT legend John McGuiness recently about his first Suzuka Eight Hour experience got me thinking of a few capers the boys and me managed a few years back at what is still Japan's most important race of the season. It is a unique event that starts at 11am and finishes at 7pm making  it a pukka endurance race as the last hour is run with headlights on in the dark. It is essentially an eight hour sprint that showcases the trickest endurance machinery and manufacturer’s sales can be affected the following year depending on who wins or loses.

Stoner to Miss Brno for Surgery – Title Defence Likely Over

Casey Stoner has withdrawn from the Brno, Czech Republic MotoGP round to undergo surgery on his injured ankle. Trailing Yamaha‘s Jorge Lorenzo by 39 points and Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa by 21 points with seven rounds to go, Stoner’s hopes of repeating as MotoGP champion before retiring at the end of the season are all but dashed. The Repsol Honda rider injured his ankle in a high side crash in last weekend’s Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Official: Rossi Leaving Ducati for Yamaha Return

In a pair of carefully-timed press releases, Ducati announced it will part ways with MotoGP star Valentino Rossi at the end of the season and Yamaha announced it has signed Rossi to a two-year contract. The arrangement had been in the works for some time now and the two manufacturers had reportedly wanted to wait until Aug. 15 to make their announcements.