2013 Yamaha Yz250 (2-stroke) on 2040-motos

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Moto blog

I can die happy!

As an eighteen year old Kenny Roberts was my bike racing God.  I loved Barry Sheene but as a Yamaha FS1E rider I always wanted the little American to win simply because his bike resembled mine.  The coverage of Grand Prix in the late seventies was sketchy but I clearly remember watching the epic Sheene/Roberts battle unfold at the Silverstone GP on my council estate telly.  The Dutchman, Wil Hartog was hanging in there for a while but as the laps unfolded it became a two way battle with Sheene looking favourite to win.  Sheene lost the most time as the pair lapped a certain George Fogarty so my hero Roberts eventually won by just three hundredths of a second.  I’m not sure what happened next but being a Sunday we would no doubt be skidding around later in the day at the Pines chippie pretending to be Roberts and Sheene.  Fast forward thirty four years and a boyhood fantasy came true as I headed out on Chris Wilson’s 1980 Roberts machine for the Barry Sheene tribute laps at last weekend’s Moto GP.  It crackled into life instantly and felt as sharp as any of the more modern 500s I used to race.  The temperature gauge had a maximum marker on 60 degrees so to begin with I was nervous as it didn’t move but being a hot day (although still keeping my hand on the clutch) I convinced myself it wasn’t working.    The bike felt tiny, not helped by the fact I only just squeezed into my 1989 Marlboro Yamaha leathers.  It still felt rapid though as I played out the 1979 classic in my head while getting tucked in down the Hanger straight.  Steve Parrish was also out there on one of Barry’s 500cc Heron Suzukis so we did our best to copy the famous last lap at Woodcote Corner where Sheene came so close to winning his home GP. As a lad I would have said the chances of me riding round Silverstone on a GP winning Kenny Roberts machine were zero, but in the words of Gabrielle, dreams can come true!

The Japanese oddity to naming teams

Whenever the calendar shifts to a major Japanese race, such as the Suzuka 8hr, one of the more amusing things to do is glance down the team sheet This years highlight for me has to be team Moto Bum, with other stand outs including aprilia D.D.BOYS, Team Etching Factory Yamaha and MITO MOTO & e'freaks Honda. Looking back through the ages some of the great Japanese team names have been Burning Blood Racing Team, Dog Fight Racing and Team Moto Space amongst others. Credit to a member of the Twitterati @temalive

Meet the 2010 Motorpoint Yamaha BSB squad

THE 2010 Motorpoint Yamaha unveil their new team riders and bikes to the public next Friday 26th March.From 6.30pm, Neil Hodgson and Dan Linfoot will pull the wraps of their new Motorpoint livered Yamaha YZF R1 Superbikes at the Motorpoint HQ in Derby.Come and meet both Neil and Dan, get close to the Motorpoint Yamahas and ask the boys about their chances for the 2010 British Superbike Championship.Visordown's Niall Mackenzie will unveil the Motorpoint Node 4 junior team, a two rider youth development programme competing in the 125 GP British Championships with two of the most exciting young prospects in the series and they are both called Mackenzie!Taylor and Tarran Mackenzie go head to head in the most competitive class in the series. Tarran starts the season as a series rookie at 14 yrs and Taylor at 17 a genuine championship contender.Rob Mac Team principal“We are the only team who open up the doors and welcome our fans to come and see our team launch. There is a real buzz about the team this year, a great winter testing programme.