Quote:
Originally Posted by tha_jackal
@ Jackal ............. And Shinya speaks so highly of you :D
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tha_jackal
@ Jackal ............. And Shinya speaks so highly of you :D
Quote:
Originally Posted by tha_jackal
Keifer is working a lot at this moment to get the 125GP team working for next year. They will get the RSA125 aprilia. Dirk Heidolf is looking to go to WSS with Yamaha Germany next year.
Honda is not having a "works" bike in 125GP/250GP since 2003, I think. The only "works/fabric" team there is in 125GP and 250GP is KTM. There was a oral agreement, before KTM come to GP, that there will be no factory bikes in the lower classes. This classes was meant for independent team. It was to big different before when there was fabric teams and privateers team. It was also to keep the cost down for the team. The bike Honda use now are evolution of the production race bikes RS125R and RS250R. There is no more NSR's. What they call "fabric" now is only that some riders do have development contract to get the newer part earlier and to test them. This kit, A-kit/HRC special kit, was for the privateers before.Quote:
Originally Posted by mx311
Possibility of Aprilia and BMW in wsbk too in a couple of years time.Quote:
Do you really think WSB is a bit light-on for manufacturers? I see Ducati, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha all fighting for wins and podiums, and Kawasaki by all accounts are planning to ramp up their efforts. And we have MV Agusta on the way... or are you referring to overall numbers? in which case I agree that a few more would be quite welcome.
That would give a potential total of 9 manufactures racing, not many other series have that sort of diversity in machinery.
Hey, good to see you back on the forum axxexs, it's been a while :)Quote:
Originally Posted by axxexs
re: KTM, they are nominally a 'works' team but that's not strictly true. When they first came in I wasn't a fan because of the idea of a factory squad coming in and messing things up by dominating, so was against them for some time. But after I while it came to me that it's not The Might Of Massive Manufacturer KTM, it's really just Harold Bartol and his small crew designing a bike (like he did for Derbi in recent years, and others in the past) and it being marketed under the KTM name. Apparently the facility for designing the GP bikes is more like a small shed than a massive megastructure. So I feel happier about them being here now :D . And there being a few more KTMs with other teams will be interesting, too.
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crash.net has some speculation about Jonny Rea's future, with apparently possiblities at Xerox Ducati in WSB or Ten Kate in WSS. Seems a bit far-fetched to me at first glance, but...with JT over to MotoGP, there currently aren't any Brits confirmed for WSB next year, and FGSport will want some in there with three British rounds of the championship. Stranger things have happened.
I'll tell you what, considering it's only just September, an incredible amount of the MotoGP grid for next year is already sorted...
This relates to a comment I made in the Misano GP thread. As fireblade1000 and others have mentioned, in the next couple of years (if all the rumors prove true) WSBK will have no shortage of manufacturer participation. From what I've heard, we could have:Quote:
Originally Posted by fireblade1000
Ducati
Honda
Yamaha
Suzuki
Kawasaki
MV Agusta
Aprilia
KTM
BMW
That is a VERY IMPRESSIVE list! It's the kind of manufacturer diversity that MotoGP, as the pinnacle of motorcycle road-racing, badly needs...but unfortunately is not getting.
Some SBK news
Regis Laconi will ride the PSG-1 Kawasaki for the third year running. The French rider has been re-signed for 2008
Negotiations are still in progress with Fonsi Nieto. An announcement is expected at Lausitz on September 9th.
Speculation from this weekend (British Eurosport) has Shinya on a third Konica-backed Kawasaki, Dovi on the JiR bike with Kopron/Scot sponsorship, Alex de Angelis on the second Gresini bike alongside Toni, and D'Antin Ducati open to speculation.
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MCN online today reports that Neil Hodgson has signed for Honda America for AMA for 2008 with official confirmation to follow shortly.
I thought that too. The downside of it is that instead of battles for minor placings, we'll just see skirmishes - no need to impress potential teams now...Quote:
Originally Posted by patnicholls