Just read on a Dutch MotoGP site that Marco is going to race with the Kawasaki team next year!!
Unfortionatly there wil be no more place for Ant West,he will stay with kawasaki but probably in the supersport competition!!

the only reason riders are crashing is because of that bloody shitty cheating ducati. remove all communication from the outside towards the bike, remove TC, and speed will level with skill. soon riders will think twice on openning the throttle than hoping for a shitty computer to do the automatic driving.

admit it or not, riders like lorenzo and pedrosa still cant comprehend why ducati is faster and come into believeing "if he is that fast so am i" and later on suffer from poor electronics.

so scrap electronics and move on with all the brawl and muscle of racing. god i missed the powerslides!!!

I believe that Kawasaki is thinking of fielding 3 bikes next year. So hopefully Ant West will still have a place.

Hopefuly yes, but did he deserved it? NO

Kawasaki and the third bike.

Thursday, 21st August 2008

Contrary to initial claims, Kawasaki are set to confirm a third entry for 2009, possibly for Anthony West.

This week has been a busy one for Kawasaki following their best combined result of the season in Brno and the news that they are almost certain to sign Marco Melandri to their team in 2009, but speculation still surrounds the prospect of them running a third bike.

The Japanese manufacturer has long been expected to run a third bike in the series so as to acquire crucial data and establish greater competitiveness alongside their rivals.

However, while a Kawasaki source this week told Crash.net that they have not been approached by a any party interested in sponsoring, or running, a third ZX-RR in 2009, their Competition Manager Michael Bartholemy has now confirmed that plans to expand the team are being finalised.


As for the finer details, there is no word as to who could run the bike, while there is little indication as to who will be riding it either. Alice's Toni Elias is an early candidate, as is 250cc rider Alvaro Bautista, although that will likely depend on whether his Aspar team get involved as they are rumoured to be.

However, there is also a strong possibility that Kawasaki's current rider Anthony West could be eased onto the third bike now that it has been confirmed he will not occupy one of the seats in the factory team next year.

“If we do run a third bike it would be up to the sponsors and the management who the rider is, but Anthony West could be part of the package that we offer,” Batholemy told MotoGP.com. “In Misano we should be able to confirm that Melandri has joined us and we should be able to clarify the situation with the third bike.”

West's future, however, is with Kawasaki regardless, with Bartholemy suggesting that he could make the switch to the World Superbike Championship in 2009, probably with the factory supported PSG-1 outfit.

“With regard to Anthony he will not be part of the main Kawasaki MotoGP team next season but we want to offer him a contract to remain as a Kawasaki factory rider, because we have invested a lot in him to bring him up a level since he joined us last year. That could mean that Anthony rides for us in another World Championship series.”

Gi

I read that Bautista is the possibly 3rd bike at Kawasaki.

Too many riders for few bikes...

Suzuki close to revealing riders for '09.

Thursday, 21st August 2008

Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen are likely to retain their rides at Rizla Suzuki next year.

Rizla Suzuki are expected to confirm that Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen will remain with the team through to 2009 after a run of good form of late for both riders.

Although Capirossi was always expected to have his contract extended, there were question marks about Vermeulen, who was having a patchy season up until his two consecutive podiums in Germany and the United States.

Coupled to Capirossi's third place finish at Brno last weekend, the riders are now classified a solid seventh and tenth in the overall standings, while both are in with an outside shot of fourth place in the championship.

As such, while Vermeulen has been courted by Xerox Ducati for a switch to World Superbikes, the Aussie rider could be confirmed alongside Capirossi as soon as the next round of MotoGP at Misano.

“We have always said that we are really happy with our riders and that we need to improve the level of our bike, then their level will automatically improve,” team manager Paul Denning told MotoGP.com. “We are very close to taking the right steps with both the guys, so we hope to be able to confirm that at Misano or just after.”

In addition, Suzuki could debut elements of the 2009-specification GSV-R800 early following a successful shakedown during collective testing at Brno this week. However, Denning played down those claims, by saying they are merely trying to get a head start on 2009.

“We have not been pushing so much for one-lap times. We have been looking to try and increase our front tyre durability. Bridgestone have done an amazing job with the tyres here, but at some racetracks we have had a bit of restriction towards the end of races.

“Our bike has been using the front tyre up more than the other manufacturers on Bridgestones. Now we have found some interesting solutions for that.

“We have also tried a new chassis which we hope will affect grip levels. This has also had good results. Really this test in Brno was not about results here, it is about trying to understand the best direction for the 2009 bike and this is the first step to get the information.”

Meanwhile, the impending announcement about riders looks set to freeze Ben Spies out of the Suzuki squad. The highly regarded American was eyeing a Rizla ride for 2009, but it remains to be seen now where he will fit in beyond another season in the AMA.

Gi

Michelin "Surprised" At Factory RC212V For Nakano

Submitted by Kropotkin
When HRC announced that they were to give the factory RC212V to a satellite team to test, very few people were surprised. Well behind in the points race, Dani Pedrosa needs all the help he can get . What did surprise almost everyone, however, was the fact that the bike was given not to Andrea Dovizioso, the rookie who has been most impressive on the satellite bike, and leads the satellite Hondas in the championship table, but Gresini Honda's Shinya Nakano.
Nakano has been mostly anonymous so far this year, riding around in the middle of the pack for the most part. The decision seemed at the very least, a little strange. HRC themselves stated that Nakano had been given the bike because he was Japanese, and he would be able to communicate with HRC's engineers in their native language.
Cynics and conspiracy theorists had another explanation. Pointing to Nakano's Bridgestone tires, they said it was a sign that the official Repsol Honda factory team is preparing a switch to Bridgestones for next year, after two years of problems with their current tire suppliers, Michelin. After all, the cynics said, both Dovizioso and the HRC engineers speak excellent English, and are used to working with riders for whom English is not their first language.

I've heard/read that somewhere too Angela.

President HRC: "Pedrosa will have the Bridgestone"



MILAN August 27, 2008 - Three consecutive races with the problem of coverages that have not grip have generated the violent reaction of the pilot HRC Daniel Pedrosa: "That Brno was the worst race of my life. I felt humiliated And are no longer prepared to go on like this. For fault of tyres I played the World Title, why not me you can get first. " Pedrosa had already been thinking about a solution that runs in some time: "If in the next season Dorna - which organizes the Grand Prix motorcycle racing editor's note -- Were to opt for monogomma Bridgestone, I would be favourable ". It was the same position Andrea Dovizioso, the best pilots in Brno Michelin and given increasingly close to signing with the HRC for 2009.

More diplomatic, but always decided, the chairman of the HCR Masumi Hamane, which in an exclusive interview granted to a monthly Spanish Only Moto was expressed by saying: "Pedrosa will have the Bridgestone", irrespective of whether the Dorna decides to monogomma or less . In an application to Motorcycles Only Hamane "What are the main problems of HRC at the moment?". The President answered dry: "The tires. We believe that Michelin work hard, but we had problems Sachsenring, Brno and Laguna Seca and are three times. We do not have the habit of making a mistake three times - a heavy burden for the Japanese way of thinking of muda or "nothing is wasted" editor's note -- And, frankly, as an engineer I will not explain how it can commit errors in three consecutive races. "

Only replies with: "Michelin is suffering from a rule imposed by regulation to limit the cost of tyres. Is it not time to seek to abolish that rule? ". Hamane, however, know the fact and his answers: "We have already discussed this aspect with Michelin, but we believe that this limitation is only part of the problem. However we do not know if the rule would be abolished. "

In the states also have a discussion on strategies Michelin in the tests pre-race, which could reinvigorate the French tires, particularly if it enables the norm limited to, but Hamane says convinced: "It is not a question of rules . Tests and the work Michelin have not convinced us. " The last question Only Moto is significant: "So your strategy for next year is to change supplier and switch to Bridgestone?" And the response of President HRC well: "Yes."