MotoGP News
Lorenzo lands Garmin GPS sponsorship
Mar 22nd
Jorge Lorenzo will sport Garmin sponsorship on the front of his helmet for the 2010 season. One of the world’s leaders in GPS navigation systems, Garmin has taken its first foray into motorsport sponsorship with the FIAT Yamaha rider. The company founded in the United States and based essentially out of the Cayman Islands for tax purposes is trying to expand more into the Spanish market. They see Lorenzo as a young and intelligent way to gain some market share in his home country. With Jorge being prevalent on the social networking sites of Twitter and Facebook, his fan base More >
Notes from Qatar
Mar 22nd
The 17 riders competing in the 2010 MotoGP World Championship
The two day Qatar test is done and dusted and for the first time in the 2010 offseason, Valentino Rossi was not the quickest rider in attendance. His quickest time around the Losail International Circuit on night one was eclipsed by the Ducati Marlboro of Casey Stoner. The Australian improved his time enough from the first night to beat Rossi, who had been quickest in five straight sessions of testing this year.
1. Casey Stoner-AUS-Ducati Marlboro-1:55.353: It is known throughout the paddock that Stoner loves the Qatar circuit, dominating the race three More >
Aspar’s MotoGP livery released
Mar 10th
Today was the official presentation of the rookie Aspar MotoGP program. The squad led by Jorge Martinez will be officially known as Paginas Amarillas Aspar Team and will use a satellite Ducati Desmosedici GP10. Hector Barbera, second in the 250cc championship last year will ride for the Valencian team. The Spaniard was born in Valencia, like Martinez, making for an all Valencian project in their inaugural year at the premier class level. To be expected, the bike livery is very yellow and has a striking resemblance to the 2010 Renault F1 car in my opinion.
The Spanish Yellow Pages, Paginas Amarillas More >
Rossi misses out on Laureus World Sportsman of the Year
Mar 10th
The Laureus World Sports Awards took place tonight in Abu Dhabi. The ceremony is often dubbed the “Oscars” for sports. Valentino Rossi has been denied the World Sportsman of the Year by Usain Bolt. The Jamaican sprinter beat also beat out favorites for the award, Leo Messi and Roger Federer. Rossi’s only win at the Laureus was in 2006 when the Italian received the Spirit of Sport Award for how gracious he was in defeat when Nicky Hayden took home the MotoGP championship that year.
Motorsports did receive some recognition during the ceremony in the United Arab Emirates. Jenson Button More >
Abu Dhabi to host MotoGP by 2012
Mar 10th
Jenson Button, Yas Marina Circuit 2009
MotoGP is on the verge of signing a contract to race under the lights in fabulous Abu Dhabi, the Dubai-based Khaleej Times reports. The capital city of the United Arab Emirates hosted the 2009 season finale Formula 1 race, won by Red Bull Renault’s Sebastian Vettel. The event was one of the highlights of the season for the sheer magnitude and awe factor of the venue, even if the racing was less than exciting around the Yas Marina Circuit. The GP2 series was there last month and had two fantastic races, showing that there is More >
Monster Energy announced as title sponsor of French Grand Prix
Mar 10th
Monster Energy drink continues to make their appearance felt within the MotoGP paddock. They will now be the title sponsor of the French Grand Prix for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The California based company with the now legendary lime green ‘M” will also be present on trackside banners around the Bugatti Circuit at the famous Le Mans Circuit. Continuing their expansion outside of the United States, the energy drink company continues to try to obtain some of Red Bull’s market share and is doing so through various motorsport sponsorships.
The crown jewel of Monster’s sponsorship program is that of More >
More problems in Hungary
Feb 26th
Lake Balaton, Hungary
According to reports in Hungary, the Balatonring grand prix circuit in Savoly is under pressure once again, this time due to three civic groups opposing the government spending on the track. The government is allegedly loaning $174 million to the track construction as well as paying a multi-million dollar fee to host the Hungarian round of the world championship. The three groups are asking the government to make public the feasibility study done on the track before they commit to such an expensive project. The government has yet to respond to the request of the three civil groups.
The Hungarian More >
The Valentino Rossi show continues
Feb 25th
All the premier class riders appeared on track today in Malaysia, with the exception of the injured Jorge Lorenzo. With the FIAT Yamaha rider forced to sit out this test and maybe the next in Qatar, it was up to his teammate to develop the new M1. Valentino Rossi did just that, completing 47 laps on his way to the fastest time of the day, a 2:01.068. This is only a couple tenths of a second outside his best time from the Sepang test earlier in the month. The Italian was happy with his session, claiming the Yamaha works well More >
