MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

At a dramatic press conference at the Barcelona race track, Sebastian Porto, Repsol Honda's 250 cc class rider, announced his retirement from motorcycle racing with immediate effect. The 27 year old Argentinian has had a dismal season so far, his best result a 7th place in Qatar, a severe disappointment for the man who came a very close second in the championship in 2004.

Crash.net is reporting that the Taupo Motorsports Park, which has just received a $2 million funding boost, is in negotiations with Dorna for a five year contract to host a MotoGP round. With the calendar already crowded, you have to wonder which of the GPs would disappear.

Dutch racing website Racesport.nl is reporting that not James Ellison, but French 250cc rider Silvain Guintoli, rode James' Tech 3 Yamaha during the Mugello post-race testing session. Guintoli set a testing time of 1:52.1, faster than Ellison's 1:52.224 race lap. Speculation is rife that Guintoli will step in to replace the British rider, who has failed to live up to his pre-season form, or match team mate Carlos Checa's results. In James' favor is the fact that he is the only British rider in the championship, which could be important to the BBC, who broadcast MotoGP in the UK.

The news is also over on MotoGP.com

Motorcycle racing is a sport haunted by injustice. Chance lies waiting at every corner, turning a dream race into a nightmare, where engines can blow, tires can tear themselves apart, or an overcooked corner can end in the gravel traps. But sometimes, Fate takes a step aside, and races turn into a direct reflection of the real strengths in the paddock. That this should happen at Mugello seemed only fitting: great races belong at great racetracks.

It should come as no surprise that the Italians are highly motivated at Mugello this weekend. Valentino Rossi had already jumped up the qualifying rankings at Le Mans, after setting some very poor practice times in earlier races, and had dominated both Free Practice sessions on Friday. Not to be outdone, Ducati's Loris Capirossi had set the fastest time in Saturday morning's free practice session, slashing a second off Rossi's time. The only Italian missing from the party was Marco Melandri, who seemed to settle for running around 7th or 8th place.. So all eyes were on the Italians before qualifying, with much pressure on them to get a pole in front of their home crowd.

As qualifying opened, just about everyone took to the track to try and set a semi-respectable time, yesterday's semi-wet FP2 session still fresh in their memories. The weather seems destined to be a factor this season, and with this in mind, no one was taking any chances. It was clear that the Italian riders were serious right from the start, with Loris Capirossi setting the weekend's fastest time so far at 1:50.133 with over 53 minutes of the session left. Four minutes later, Capirossi broke into the 1:49s, setting a 1:49.819. Most riders having set a time they were comfortable with, the session quietened down, riders concentrating on finding tires and a bike setting to last the distance of tomorrow's race.

Ducati has used their home GP to announce the Desmosedici RR, a roadgoing replica of their gorgeous Desmosedici racer. Specs are very impressive, with over 200 bhp claimed (with a 102 dB racing exhaust fitted) for the desmodromically operated 16 valve V4. No weight or price is given, but expect the former to be low, and the latter to be sky high. You'll also have to wait until July 2007 before you take delivery of your shiny new Duc. It will be exclusive, though, as only 400 are to be produced a year.

You can see a flashy version of the introduction over at the Ducati Website (click on the Desmosedici bar at the top of the page), or a more readable text-based version over at Mike Werner's Motorbiker.org blog.

One interesting question about this bike: The FIM rules for MotoGP state categorically that all bikes running must be prototypes:

Four stroke motorcycles participating in the Motogp class must be prototypes. Those that are not entered by a member of MSMA must be approved for participation by the Grand Prix Commission.

The question is whether the other MSMA manufacturers will refrain from submitting complaints about the racing Desmosedici if Ducati start winning a lot. So, if, for the sake of argument, Rossi went to Ducati in 2008, and won 8 Grand Prix, how would Honda, or Yamaha, react?

Well, I touched upon this in my Mugello round preview, and I'm starting to think I might just be psychic. According Crash.net, Dorna has announced that the San Marino Grand Prix will be run at Misano in 2007. It's not clear whether one of the existing GPs will be dropped, or whether the season will have 18 races, but my money is on either Shanghai or Qatar being dropped to make way for Misano.

The race is to be run on a "heavily modified" version of the track, in the reverse direction.



~~~ UPDATED ~~~

Since I posted this story, Dorna have announced the official calendar for next year. You can find it here.

After last week confirming that he would not move to Formula 1, Valentino Rossi has confirmed that he will be staying with Yamaha for 2007. This will be the first year of the new 800cc bikes, and Rossi is keen to stay with the team that has brought him so much success. You can find the official Yamaha Racing press release here.

Updated

Crash.net have an interesting quote from Rossi: 

"In the future I'm sure that I will do car racing, but maybe not Formula 1."

The other car which Rossi tested this winter was a works WRC Subaru. My money is on The Doctor going to WRC Rallying in 2009.