2013 Yamaha Raider S on 2040-motos

Moto blog

And it's goodbye from him

THIS IS Valentino Rossi's farewell letter to his Fiat Yamaha team following the announcement the flambouyant Italian is to head to Ducati MotoGP in 2011.The hand-written letter, mistakes and all, is written in almost a 'my first romance' kinda way. It's touching, if a little bizarre. Some of the letter reads:“Unfortunately even the most beautiful love stories finish, but they leave a lot of wonderful memories, like when my M1 and I kissed for the first time on the grass at Welkom, when she looked straight in my eyes and told me ‘I love you!'"Somehow, we can't see Casey Stoner gushing quite as freely when he leaves Ducati for Repsol Honda.

AMA Pro Racing Announces Tommy Aquino Spirit Award

The sudden and tragic passing of Tommy Aquino has hit the entire motorcycling community hard. In order to preserve and honor the spirit and positive attitude of the late Tommy Aquino, AMA Pro Racing announced today that a “Tommy Aquino Spirit Award” will be granted to an AMA Pro Road Racing rider who best embodies the spirit of the paddock during the 2014 season. The paddock will vote for the rider who exemplifies qualities mirroring those of Tommy including passion for the sport, fan engagement and team interaction. The award will be presented on behalf of Cortech and Shoei at the conclusion of the 2014 AMA Pro Road Racing season. “Over the past eight years we have had the pleasure of working with Tommy Aquino, but he was much more than just another Shoei athlete,” said Hiro Mizushima, President of Shoei Safety Helmet Corp.

MotoGP to Re-Visit Rookie Rule

MotoGP organizers are re-opening discussion for the series’ rookie rule which prevents new riders from entering the series with factory teams. Introduced following the 2009 MotoGP season, the rule was designed to give satellite teams the chance to field young up-and-coming talents  they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to sign. The theory was the rule would protect the satellite teams and spread out the talent pool.