In a pleasant turn of events, we just came to know that a newly formed Indian team is gearing up for participating at the World Superbike Championship next year, in the Supersports category.

Apparently, this new team, called Kawasaki MSD R-N Team India, has already made their debut at Brno with Florian Marino on the Ninja ZX-6R and will now be joined by Dan Linfoot at Silverstone in the next round. Judging by Merino’s 13^th place finish at Brno – the team’s debut, mind you – it certainly bodes well for the future.

We poked around the reasons behind the rather enigmatic team name and came to learn that the ‘MSD’ stands for cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who happens to be the director of the team while ‘R-N’ would have connections with Southern filmstar Nagarjuna, another director in the team. The team is being led by Team Principal, Amit Sandill, an electronics and communications engineer while Andrew Stone is the Technical Director.

The official announcement of the team’s plans will happen very soon and we are as eager as you are to hear more on this exciting new Indian step into the world of motorsports. Stay tuned to bikeindia.in for more news on the same!

In a pleasant turn of events, we just came to know that a newly formed Indian team is gearing up for participating at the World Superbike Championship next year, in the Supersports category.

Apparently, this new team, called Kawasaki MSD R-N Team India, has already made their debut at Brno with Florian Marino on the Ninja ZX-6R and will now be joined by Dan Linfoot at Silverstone in the next round. Judging by Merino’s 13^th place finish at Brno – the team’s debut, mind you – it certainly bodes well for the future.

We poked around the reasons behind the rather enigmatic team name and came to learn that the ‘MSD’ stands for cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who happens to be the director of the team while ‘R-N’ would have connections with Southern filmstar Nagarjuna, another director in the team. The team is being led by Team Principal, Amit Sandill, an electronics and communications engineer while Andrew Stone is the Technical Director.

The official announcement of the team’s plans will happen very soon and we are as eager as you are to hear more on this exciting new Indian step into the world of motorsports. Stay tuned to bikeindia.in for more news on the same!

Team Yamaha rider Ben Spies has dropped a bombshell by revealing that he will leave Yamaha after the conclusion of the current season.

The former AMA and WSBK champion tweeted,”u can say next year will be a bit diff I’d say. Excited at all prospects stay tuned.”, sending the twitter-sphere went into a frenzy. Spies’ future has always been the talk of the town in MotoGP circles with less than par performances through the first half of the current season, it is increasingly becoming quite possible that we may see Spies ply his trade elsewhere.

Spies’ Twitter feed which was earlier on Tuesday had a link to an article on Superbike Planet. The article clearly stated that Ben Spies has mentioned that he won’t be a part of Yamaha at the end of the current season. The American rider recently tweeted, ‘I’m extremely happy to push for the rest of the season to my fans and myself, next year starts a new chapter. And yes I’m pumped!’

Rumor-mongers are said to believe that Valentino Rossi might reunite with Yamaha and Spies could take his place at Ducati. All we can say is that these are just plain rumors, and as of now we just have to play the waiting game.

Team Yamaha rider Ben Spies has dropped a bombshell by revealing that he will leave Yamaha after the conclusion of the current season.

The former AMA and WSBK champion tweeted,”u can say next year will be a bit diff I’d say. Excited at all prospects stay tuned.”, sending the twitter-sphere went into a frenzy. Spies’ future has always been the talk of the town in MotoGP circles with less than par performances through the first half of the current season, it is increasingly becoming quite possible that we may see Spies ply his trade elsewhere.

Spies’ Twitter feed which was earlier on Tuesday had a link to an article on Superbike Planet. The article clearly stated that Ben Spies has mentioned that he won’t be a part of Yamaha at the end of the current season. The American rider recently tweeted, ‘I’m extremely happy to push for the rest of the season to my fans and myself, next year starts a new chapter. And yes I’m pumped!’

Rumor-mongers are said to believe that Valentino Rossi might reunite with Yamaha and Spies could take his place at Ducati. All we can say is that these are just plain rumors, and as of now we just have to play the waiting game.

Well, marketing techniques usually take a strange turn off affairs when it comes to getting hold of their target market and then again they usually leave no stone unturned.

So, in such an endeavour, Silverstone teamed up with BMW Motorrad rider Leon Haslam for quite a ‘bare race preview’. Haslam was stripped down to the waist and had his team BMW Motorrad colors painted onto his upper body torso by world body painting champion, Carolyn Roper.

Haslam like a good sport, stood there semi-naked for almost 3 hours as body paint wizard Carolyn worked her magic replicating the BMW team’s colors. The body paint was over-the-top and unbelievably too realistic, the attention to detail was right down to the wire, even the sponsors badges were too good to be true. Haslam played the perfect model when it came to posing for pictures for the forthcoming Silverstone round of the WSBK on the 3-5th August this year.

Leon later added,” The shoot was good fun though and all-in-all, it was a great experience. I’m always up for trying new things, so was more than happy to say ‘yes’ when Silverstone approached me with this idea”.

This amazing marketing gimmick and Haslam’s amazing body-art can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HezxG3JCIU

Well, marketing techniques usually take a strange turn off affairs when it comes to getting hold of their target market and then again they usually leave no stone unturned.

So, in such an endeavour, Silverstone teamed up with BMW Motorrad rider Leon Haslam for quite a ‘bare race preview’. Haslam was stripped down to the waist and had his team BMW Motorrad colors painted onto his upper body torso by world body painting champion, Carolyn Roper.

Haslam like a good sport, stood there semi-naked for almost 3 hours as body paint wizard Carolyn worked her magic replicating the BMW team’s colors. The body paint was over-the-top and unbelievably too realistic, the attention to detail was right down to the wire, even the sponsors badges were too good to be true. Haslam played the perfect model when it came to posing for pictures for the forthcoming Silverstone round of the WSBK on the 3-5th August this year.

Leon later added,” The shoot was good fun though and all-in-all, it was a great experience. I’m always up for trying new things, so was more than happy to say ‘yes’ when Silverstone approached me with this idea”.

This amazing marketing gimmick and Haslam’s amazing body-art can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HezxG3JCIU

HRC, Honda’s factory racing team, has announced that Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez will be riding for the Repsol Honda team for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

The announcement has laid to rest all speculations that Valentino Rossi might be returning to the Repsol Honda team next year.

Speaking on the ocassion, Shuhei Nakamoto HRC team principal, stated, “We are very pleased to renew our contract with Dani and welcome Marc Marquez to the Repsol Honda Team. Dani is enjoying a very strong season and currently fighting with Casey and Lorenzo for the Championship, we are very pleased with his performance. Marc has already proved how fast he is in 125cc and Moto2, and we believe that, giving him the right time to adapt to the new class, he will also be able to show his talent in MotoGP in the future.”

Official Press Release:

Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) is pleased to officially announce Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez as the two factory Honda riders for 2013 and 2014.

Dani Pedrosa, who currently lies 2nd in the World Championship as the season reaches the halfway point, will extend his contract with Honda, whom he has raced with his debut in the World Championship in 2001. Dani is a three time World Champion (2003 in 125cc, 2004 and 2005 in 250cc) and made his debut in MotoGP in 2006, claiming the Rookie of the Year title and fifth position in the Championship. He has been runner up twice and has also finished third in the premier class on two occasions. After celebrating his maiden win of the 2012 season last weekend in Germany, Dani has shown he is certainly one of the contenders for the title in the premier class this year.

Marc Marquez, born on 17th of February 1993, will make his debut in MotoGP with the Honda factory team at just 20 years old. Already recognised as one of the biggest young talents in the World Championship, Marc has signed for two years with HRC. He was 125cc World Champion in 2010, runner up on his debut year in Moto2 and is currently leading the Moto2 World Championship by 43 points.

HRC, Honda’s factory racing team, has announced that Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez will be riding for the Repsol Honda team for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

The announcement has laid to rest all speculations that Valentino Rossi might be returning to the Repsol Honda team next year.

Speaking on the ocassion, Shuhei Nakamoto HRC team principal, stated, “We are very pleased to renew our contract with Dani and welcome Marc Marquez to the Repsol Honda Team. Dani is enjoying a very strong season and currently fighting with Casey and Lorenzo for the Championship, we are very pleased with his performance. Marc has already proved how fast he is in 125cc and Moto2, and we believe that, giving him the right time to adapt to the new class, he will also be able to show his talent in MotoGP in the future.”

Official Press Release:

Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) is pleased to officially announce Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez as the two factory Honda riders for 2013 and 2014.

Dani Pedrosa, who currently lies 2nd in the World Championship as the season reaches the halfway point, will extend his contract with Honda, whom he has raced with his debut in the World Championship in 2001. Dani is a three time World Champion (2003 in 125cc, 2004 and 2005 in 250cc) and made his debut in MotoGP in 2006, claiming the Rookie of the Year title and fifth position in the Championship. He has been runner up twice and has also finished third in the premier class on two occasions. After celebrating his maiden win of the 2012 season last weekend in Germany, Dani has shown he is certainly one of the contenders for the title in the premier class this year.

Marc Marquez, born on 17th of February 1993, will make his debut in MotoGP with the Honda factory team at just 20 years old. Already recognised as one of the biggest young talents in the World Championship, Marc has signed for two years with HRC. He was 125cc World Champion in 2010, runner up on his debut year in Moto2 and is currently leading the Moto2 World Championship by 43 points.

Honda has announced its intention to participate as a works team in the motorcycle class of the Dakar Rally to be held in January 2013 in South America, travelling north to south through Peru, Chile and Argentina.

Honda competed nine times in the motorcycle class in the forerunner of the present Dakar Rally, the Paris-Dakar Rally, from 1981 through to 1989, and was a winner five times during that period. It has been 23 years since it last participated in the Rally.

The Honda team, to be called Team HRC, will include Portuguese rider Helder Rodrigues, who took third place in the 2012 Dakar Rally, Brazilian Felipe Zanol, who brings a wealth of experience in motocross and enduro race events, as well as Sam Sunderland (United Kingdom) and Javier Pizzolito (Argentina). They will ride a prototype machine developed and produced by the Motorcycle R&D Center at Honda R&D. The prototype machine is based on the CRF450X, the popular worldwide enduro racing model that combines ease of handling with superior competitive strength. Kit parts designed for use on the standard CRF450X model have also been developed and will be supplied to a limited number of teams. Tetsuo Suzuki, Senior Managing Officer and Director, Chief Operating Officer, Motorcycle R&D Centre, Honda R&D Co., Ltd. commented: “The Dakar requires competitors to cover several hundred kilometers per day for more than two weeks. It needs a totally different type of vehicle from events such as motocross, trials and road races. Honda has put a great deal of effort into designing and building a powerful and winning machine. We are aiming for the championship from this first year.”

via newspress.co.uk

Honda has announced its intention to participate as a works team in the motorcycle class of the Dakar Rally to be held in January 2013 in South America, travelling north to south through Peru, Chile and Argentina.

Honda competed nine times in the motorcycle class in the forerunner of the present Dakar Rally, the Paris-Dakar Rally, from 1981 through to 1989, and was a winner five times during that period. It has been 23 years since it last participated in the Rally.

The Honda team, to be called Team HRC, will include Portuguese rider Helder Rodrigues, who took third place in the 2012 Dakar Rally, Brazilian Felipe Zanol, who brings a wealth of experience in motocross and enduro race events, as well as Sam Sunderland (United Kingdom) and Javier Pizzolito (Argentina). They will ride a prototype machine developed and produced by the Motorcycle R&D Center at Honda R&D. The prototype machine is based on the CRF450X, the popular worldwide enduro racing model that combines ease of handling with superior competitive strength. Kit parts designed for use on the standard CRF450X model have also been developed and will be supplied to a limited number of teams. Tetsuo Suzuki, Senior Managing Officer and Director, Chief Operating Officer, Motorcycle R&D Centre, Honda R&D Co., Ltd. commented: “The Dakar requires competitors to cover several hundred kilometers per day for more than two weeks. It needs a totally different type of vehicle from events such as motocross, trials and road races. Honda has put a great deal of effort into designing and building a powerful and winning machine. We are aiming for the championship from this first year.”

via newspress.co.uk