It was always a gamble introducing 7 new privateer teams into next seasons moto gp. They were mainly introduced to add more riders and teams into the campaign as they felt last season lacked in depth of riders.
So seven more teams and riders have been introduced to the fray with a majority of them having been promoted from the moto 2 class. Teams such as Keifer racing, Marc VDS, Interwitten, BQR Blusens, Forward racing and Speed master have all been promoted with a completely new brand called Paul Bird Motoracing making the 7th team. A majority of them have already signed on riders for the oncoming campaign with experienced faces such as Anthony West, James Ellison and Colin Edwards joining this new and extraordinary project thats aiming to blow Moto GP completely out of the water.
But however these new teams are already well off the pace in practice test times at Jerez. Edwards spoke out about its lack of power and needs major development as he was only allowed to ride it at 60%, therefore not allowing it to reach its full potential. He blasted saying at this rate he's going to finish dead last in the condition the bike is in, but he did go on to say the bike's got alot of potential to do well towards the end of the season even if he's predicting one way traffic for the season starters. His best test lap was a whole 4 seconds off the pace from leader Dani Pedrosa and it was even slower than the fastest Moto 2 rider which was Brit Scott Redding. Which clearly signals that the Forward team still have a mountain to climb in terms of development and ironically take massive steps forward.
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Engines roaring and ready to go!
Its only been a month ago since the 2011 Moto gp season was completed and yet everyoens raring to go ready for the new season which kicks off on the 8th of April at the traditional season opener in Qatar.
Testing for the 2012 campaign has already kicked off with several changes in store for the season ahead. For example, in Moto GP they will revert back to 1000cc engines rather than the 800cc engines they had last year, there will also be more privateer team entries with some moto 2 teams being promoted to the top tier on new chassis. Plus the late 125cc class will make its long awaited change to moto 3 with new 250cc bikes being run and newer chassis and teams being run in this new class.
The expected front runners for the new Moto GP season will be current world champion Casey Stoner, team-mate Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo and 9 time world champion Valentino Rossi. Rossi's fate will depend on whether Ducati have finally compiled a new bike which will actually be able to compete with the title contenders, last season Rossi's bike was surprisingly nowhere near competative enough to keep up with the very best. The dark horse for next years crown will be Ben Spies, he had a few moments of magic during last season and if he can keep these moments consistant then he could be there or thereabouts. He has the bike to do it and he just needs to keep injury free for the season. It will be interesting to see how last years Moto 2 champion Stefan Bradl fares on being promoted to the top tier on the LCR honda, if he's able to re-capture his form from last year then he could go places in his rookie season.
In the Moto 2 class, there's a vast range of riders who could win the championship this year round. The favourite for the title will be Marc Marquez, the young 19 year old rider who in his rookie season came so close to winning another title, a year after he won the 125 title but injury prevented him from sustaining a challenge. Other main front runners include Toni Elias te 2010 Moto 2 winner, Andrea Iannone, Nico Terol and Brit Bradley Smith. But the exciting prospect to next year is that almost anyone can win it. Plus this will potentially be the best chance for Brit's Bradley Smith and Scott Redding to really come of age this year. They have both been electric in testing for next year and Redding has fallen in love with his new Kalex frame and he's topped both Jerez and Valencia testings. Nico Terol will be the dark horse of the class as he finally got round to winning the last ever 125cc series and he's now teamed up with the ever reliable Mapfre Aspar team alongside Toni Elias, which should be a very hard team to beat in this category.
Testing for the 2012 campaign has already kicked off with several changes in store for the season ahead. For example, in Moto GP they will revert back to 1000cc engines rather than the 800cc engines they had last year, there will also be more privateer team entries with some moto 2 teams being promoted to the top tier on new chassis. Plus the late 125cc class will make its long awaited change to moto 3 with new 250cc bikes being run and newer chassis and teams being run in this new class.
The expected front runners for the new Moto GP season will be current world champion Casey Stoner, team-mate Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo and 9 time world champion Valentino Rossi. Rossi's fate will depend on whether Ducati have finally compiled a new bike which will actually be able to compete with the title contenders, last season Rossi's bike was surprisingly nowhere near competative enough to keep up with the very best. The dark horse for next years crown will be Ben Spies, he had a few moments of magic during last season and if he can keep these moments consistant then he could be there or thereabouts. He has the bike to do it and he just needs to keep injury free for the season. It will be interesting to see how last years Moto 2 champion Stefan Bradl fares on being promoted to the top tier on the LCR honda, if he's able to re-capture his form from last year then he could go places in his rookie season.
In the Moto 2 class, there's a vast range of riders who could win the championship this year round. The favourite for the title will be Marc Marquez, the young 19 year old rider who in his rookie season came so close to winning another title, a year after he won the 125 title but injury prevented him from sustaining a challenge. Other main front runners include Toni Elias te 2010 Moto 2 winner, Andrea Iannone, Nico Terol and Brit Bradley Smith. But the exciting prospect to next year is that almost anyone can win it. Plus this will potentially be the best chance for Brit's Bradley Smith and Scott Redding to really come of age this year. They have both been electric in testing for next year and Redding has fallen in love with his new Kalex frame and he's topped both Jerez and Valencia testings. Nico Terol will be the dark horse of the class as he finally got round to winning the last ever 125cc series and he's now teamed up with the ever reliable Mapfre Aspar team alongside Toni Elias, which should be a very hard team to beat in this category.
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Paid tributes towards a born leader
Its been a week now since the tragic death of the late welsh manager Gary Speed. Proud, professional and passionate were three words that were typical of his overall personality.
Its only just kicked in to the footballing world that we have lost not only a footballing hero but a genuine guy. He was one of the most recognisable faces in football and was known by almost everyone around the world for his leadership on and off the field of play.
He played and scored in every season in the Premier League up until he dropped down a level to finish his playing career at Sheffield United which was where he kickstarted his managerial career. Then only three months later, he became the Welsh national team manager which seen a rapid rise in fortune within a short space of time. Bringing out the new found confidence in the welsh team signify's the type of effect he gave as a whole. He is still the all-time appearance maker in the premier league after having playing spells at Leeds Utd, Everton, Newcastle Utd and Bolton Wanderers.
Over this weekend there has been either a minutes silence or a minutes applause in memory of this great man over every major footballing fixture which shows what impact this hard hitting news has given us. There have been tributes pouring in from ex team mates and current football players. In yesterdays Tottenham - Bolton game, when Gareth Bale scored he took off his boot which had Gary Speeds name engraved into and showed it to the fans who then applauded his gesture. His ex clubs are also laying wreaths in memory of him and there has been scarfes, shirts and flags left by the stands to pay their respects.
Its only just kicked in to the footballing world that we have lost not only a footballing hero but a genuine guy. He was one of the most recognisable faces in football and was known by almost everyone around the world for his leadership on and off the field of play.
He played and scored in every season in the Premier League up until he dropped down a level to finish his playing career at Sheffield United which was where he kickstarted his managerial career. Then only three months later, he became the Welsh national team manager which seen a rapid rise in fortune within a short space of time. Bringing out the new found confidence in the welsh team signify's the type of effect he gave as a whole. He is still the all-time appearance maker in the premier league after having playing spells at Leeds Utd, Everton, Newcastle Utd and Bolton Wanderers.
Over this weekend there has been either a minutes silence or a minutes applause in memory of this great man over every major footballing fixture which shows what impact this hard hitting news has given us. There have been tributes pouring in from ex team mates and current football players. In yesterdays Tottenham - Bolton game, when Gareth Bale scored he took off his boot which had Gary Speeds name engraved into and showed it to the fans who then applauded his gesture. His ex clubs are also laying wreaths in memory of him and there has been scarfes, shirts and flags left by the stands to pay their respects.
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