Nicky Hayden #1

MotoGP 2007 season haven't been already started but the number of rider have been released by FIM. Nicky "the kentucky kid" Hayden has confirmed using #1, unlike Valentino Rossi used # 46 when he was the champion in 2002 - 2006. The rider number in 2007 session are listed below :

* 1. NICKY HAYDEN USA Repsol Honda Team Honda
* 4. ALEX BARROS BRA Pramac d’Antin Ducati
* 5. COLIN EDWARDS USA Yamaha Factory Racing Team Yamaha
* 6. MAKOTO TAMADA JPN Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha
* 7. CARLOS CHECA SPA Honda LCR Honda
* 10. KENNY ROBERTS Jr USA Team Roberts KR211V
* 17. RANDY DE PUNIET FRA Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki
* 19. OLIIVIER JACQUE FRA Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki
* 21. JOHN HOPKINS USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki
* 24. TONI ELIAS SPA Honda Gresini Honda
* 26. DANI PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda
* 27. CASEY STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati
* 33. MARCO MELANDRI ITA Honda Gresini Honda
* 46. VALENTINO ROSSI ITA Yamaha Factory Racing Team Yamaha
* 50. SYLVAIN GUINTOLI FRA Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha
* 56. SHINYA NAKANO JPN Konica Minolta Honda Honda
* 65. LORIS CAPIROSSI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati
* 66. ALEX HOFMANN GER Pramac d’Antin Ducati
* 71. CHRIS VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki
* TBC JEREMY McWILLIAMS GBR Ilmor SRT Ilmor X3
* TBC ANDREW PITT AUS Ilmor SRT Ilmor X3
Note:
TBC = To Be Confirmed

McWilliams, Pitt confirmed as Ilmor riders for 2007

Despite his crash in Jerez back in November where he suffered a fractured left femur McWilliams is well on the way to recovery, both he and ex-Kawasaki rider Pitt spent time today at the teams engineering facility in Northampton discussing plans for 2007.

Both riders are familiar with the Ilmor X³ SRT having tested the bike in Jerez and in Valencia after the final of the MotoGP World Championship. The riders were selected for not only their proven riding skills but the invaluable experience they will bring to the team.

At 42 Irishman McWilliams is one of the sports most experienced riders and his team mate 30 year old Australian Pitt has clocked up a decent amount of miles with Kawasaki back in 2004. At this early stage in the X³’s development, the team believe it’s essential to have riders who have the ability to assist with perfecting the ultimate race set-up of the bike.

Jeremy McWilliams: “I’m very pleased to be part of a new team and obviously I’m delighted to be back in MotoGP. Now, with Mario and Ilmor it’s a very different situation – having spent some time with him and the team his passion and dedication is evident everywhere, especially at the facility in Northampton – you can see that he’s not a man who’s used to coming second. He takes his racing incredibly seriously, he’s a legend and whilst I know his expectations in terms of hard work are high he’s realistic about what we can achieve over the next year.”

“We have a brand new bike and very little testing time – I think we have a very good product to work with but there is a lot of developing that needs to be done. It’s going to take time and it’s going to be hard but I’m really looking forward to it, at the end of the day, that’s what MotoGP is all about – it’s hard work – if it was easy, everyone would be doing it!”

Andrew Pitt: “I’m delighted that everything is confirmed now – I can’t wait to get back out on the track – I really feel like I wasn’t able to reach my potential before and now I’m lucky enough to get another opportunity with a new team on what promises to be a great bike. You only need to take a quick look around the Ilmor headquarters to see how seriously these guys take things, it dwarves everything I’ve ever seen before.”

Mario Illien, Team Owner: “As a fledgling team, the main reason behind signing McWilliams and Pitt was for their skills in further developing the overall bike package and making us more competitive as a team. Both riders come well equipped with a huge amount of experience to bring to the team as we start out. I’ve said since the beginning of this project that we are on a steep learning curve and I believe that McWilliams and Pitt will really help us begin to make our mark on the grid.” (dailyracer.com)

RC212V Specification

Nicky Hayden (1), Daniel Pedosa (26), Marco Melandri (33), Toni Elias (24), Sinya Nakano (56), and Carlos Checa (7) will ride Honda RC212V in MotoGP session 2007. Technical specification of RC212V is shown below :

RC212V - Technical Specifications:
Weight & Dimension
Weight (kg) : over 148kg
Overall length : 2050mm
Overall width : 645mm
Overall height : 1125mm
Wheelbase : 1440mm
Road clearance : 125mm

Engine Specification
Engine type: liquid-cooled four-stroke DOHC 4 valve V-4
Displacement : 800cc
Maximum power : N/A
Frame type : twin-tube
Front Wheels (inch) : 16.5
Rear Wheels (inch) : 16.5
Front Suspension : Telescopic fork
Rear Suspension : New Unit Pro-link
Fuel tank capacity : 21 litre

Yamaha ends partnership with Camel

Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards rode the bikes sponsored by Camel during the 2006 season and while they’ll both continue riding with the team in 2007, Yamaha is searching a new title sponsor for the new 800cc bikes.

"Following Camel’s recent announcement, Yamaha Factory Racing would like to express its thanks to Camel and Japan Tobacco International for their partnership and support over the 2006 MotoGP season," a statement issued by Yamaha read.

"Our thanks go out to all those involved in the project; they have formed an important part of our team over the past year. It has been a great honour for Yamaha to work with such an experienced sponsor and Camel’s enthusiasm throughout the season has been greatly appreciated by the entire Yamaha Factory Racing Team and the Yamaha Motor Group." (dailyracer.com)

Selama musim 2006, Valentino Rossi dan Coilin Edwards berlaga di MotoGP dengan motor yang dponsori oleh Camel. Pada musim 2007 ini, kontrak kedua pembalap diperpanjang oleh team Yamah, sedangkan yamaha sendiri saat ini sedang mencari sponsor pengganti setelah Camel mundur dari kancah MotoGP 2007.

“Berdasarkan pernyataan pihak Camel, Yamaha Factory Racing mengucapkan terimakasih kepada camel dan Japan Tobacco International atas kerjasama dan dukungannya selama musim 2006”, ungkap pihak Yamaha.

“Terimakasih kami ucapkan kepada semua yang terlibat dalam proyek ini, mereka merupakan bagian penting dari team kami dalam melewati musim 2006 ini. Hal ini merupakan penghargaan terbesar Yamaha untuk bekerja sama dengan sponsor yang sangat berpengalaman serta antusiame Camel dalam melewati musim ini sangat dihargai oleh Yamaha Factory Racing Team dan Yamaha Motor Group” (dailyracer.com)


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Nicky Hayden expects a long way to go to retain his title

Honda, alongside other MotoGP teams, is testing its 800cc bike at Sepang and the reigning MotoGP champion Nicky Hayden has already warned there is much work to do if he is to successfully defend his maiden crown in 2007.

"We have a lot of work to do. Today we moved the swinging arm pivot both up and down to check the feedback looking for better rear grip and a good feeling."

"We also tried a new shock but that was not really what we were looking for, we need something in-between. I tried some changes on the mapping and other electronic stuff."

"Basically we just need to understand the bike better than we do right now, but I didn’t really give my best today. My brother Tommy crashed testing his US Superbike and what with running to the phone to check out his condition the day could have been much better. Luckily Tommy’s ok so I will go into tomorrow in better shape."

The Last Action of Sete Gibernau (2006)

Team : Ducati Marlboro Team
Teammate : Loris Capirosi (65)
Final Result : 13th

Remembering Sete Gibernau (2001 - 2005)

Team : Movistar Honda
Teammate : Marco Melandri (33)
Final Result : 7th


Team : Telefonica Movistar Honda
Teammate : Colin Edward (45)
Final Result : 2nd


Team : Telefonica Movistar Honda
Teammate : Daijiri Kato (74) / Ryuichi Kiyonari
Final Result : 2nd


Team : Suzuki Telefonica Movistar
Teammate : Kenny Robert Jr (21)
Final Result : 16


Team : Suzuki Telefonica Movistar
Teammate : Kenny Robert Jr (21)
Final Result : 9th

Remembering Sete Gibernau (1996 - 2000)

Remembering Sete Gibernau (1990 -1995)

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Gibernau retires

Former double MotoGP World Championship runner-up and nine-times grand prix winner, Sete Gibernau, has announced his retirement from racing.

An emotional Gibernau confirmed the conclusion of his ten-year MotoGP career during a press conference in Barcelona, saying:

"I have decided to retire from world championship motorcycling. It has been an incredible experience and given me many unforgettable moments. I'm proud of what I've achieved, I dreamt of being world champion and went through some difficult moments, but those just made me appreciate the good times more. I'm very pleased to have won races in both 500cc and MotoGP, to have led the world championship on several occasions and to have fought to the end to become a world champion."

Gibernau added that he had turned down the chance to continue in MotoGP on less competitive machinery next year:
"I'm leaving at the top. To continue just for the sake of it would not have made me happy, especially if I was just doing it for the money," explained the #15, who said he was offered a ride by Kawasaki, Sito Pons and Ilmor. "I don't yet know exactly what I'll do in the future, but I've got other projects to concentrate on."

The 33-year-old Spaniard was Honda's leading rider - and Valentino Rossi's closest title rival - during the 2003 and 2004 seasons, but the pressure of fighting the dominant Italian seemed to take its toll and Sete was left winless in 2005, despite five pole positions, prompting him to leave the satellite Gresini Honda team (with whom he took all but one of his race wins) for a new start at the factory Ducati Marlboro Team.

But his 2006 season began with a mechanical failure while amongst the lead group in Jerez and further misfortune followed - highlighted by a huge accident at turn one in Catalunya, when he tangled with team-mate Loris Capirossi under braking. Gibernau broke his collarbone in the fall, forcing him to miss the next three rounds then, just two races after his return, required a further operation after the plate inserted to heal the break weakened, forcing him to miss another race.

Gibernau made his second comeback for the three flyaway events in Malaysia, Australia and Japan - finishing fifth, fourth and fourth as he regained fitness - but had a fighting chance of a breakthrough victory when he took the lead of the rain interrupted Australian Grand Prix. However, as the weather improved, Sete's wet tyres deteriorated and he went on to lose what would have been his first, and only, Ducati podium to Rossi at the very final corner. (www.crash.net)