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For me it's not a moral dilemma. Indeed, another young racer has died on TV, cut down as millions watched, leaving those who love him with the kind of grief we outsiders can only conceptualize, not actually feel. Watching or not watching the crash that killed Marco Simoncelli (or Dan Wheldon) won't bring him back, and as human beings, we're hard-wired to a certain ghoulishness. It's who we are. That's not my issue. More »
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Marco Simoncelli, a rising star in the world of MotoGP, died Sunday at Sepang. He was just 24. Warning: Video of his gruesome crash, below. More »
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Oh, now THAT'S hawt. Paris Hilton's reportedly lending her name —and that of a famous Ibiza dance party — to a motorcycle racing team. Considering Spain and motorcycle racing are BFFs, this may not be the worst idea ever. More »
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In a fit of Italo-German cooperation not seen for over 60 years, Mercedes has announced AMG and Ducati will be partners. The target of evil plans of the new axis powers aren't clear, but could include MotoGP sponsorship. [HellForLeather, InsideLine] More »
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13-year old motorcycle racer Peter Lenz died Sunday after he fell off his bike and was run over by a 12-year-old motorcyclist at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He's the youngest competitor to die at the famous racetrack. More »
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I spent the weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca watching the fastest riders in the world tackling the Corkscrew, annoying cops, getting sunburned and pestering racers. Here's a mega-gallery of MotoGP action. More »
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BMW supplied one of its new X6 M's for the MotoGP race at Leguna Seca over the weekend, further attempting to brand the segment-blurring tire-shredding-crossover-wagon-hatchback as a racy option for the confused and monied. So how'd it perform? More »
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Typically when you see a rider get the tail wagging in MotoGP you expect to see a violent crash with bike and rider sliding down the track. Not so much at last weekend's 250cc MotoGP race in Mugello. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5278282&view=rss&microfeed=true MotoGP's Stoner completes first ride of 2009. [PaddockTalk] More »
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Schumi's got to have one of the busiest retirements we've ever seen. When the seven-time Formula One winner's not testing the 599 GTB on the Nordschleife, or spending time as the consigliere to the Ferrari F1 team, he's apparently having a go at other forms of racing. Like this past weekend when the legend of the prancing stallion brand took off two of his wheels to take some laps during a special guest ride on Casey Stoner's world championship-winning Ducati in Valencia. Although Schumacher's no stranger to MotoGP, he rode a 990cc Desmosedici at the Mugello circuit in Italy back in 2005, one still wouldn't expect the German F1 star-of-stars to have times approaching that of a MotoGP winner. Wrong. Schumacher completed 58 laps, including a fastest lap time of one minute, 37.89 seconds. That's just over five seconds outside Dani Pedrosa's new lap record, which the Spaniard set in winning the Valencia MotoGP on Sunday. Want to know what made Bo Jackson's Schumi's time so amazing? Hit the jump to find out. More »
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It's been the talk among kneedraggers since Aprilia announced its development last year. It's the moto maker's new, 1000 cc V4, and it's giving motorcycle- engine geeks a new reason to engage in cocktail-party speculation. The latest from Aprilia is that the V4 is undergoing durability testing in four tuning stages, from a spry 185 horsepower up to a hyperbole-defying 220. And the company says its first four banger will likely hit the track sometime in 2008. As for the street version, there's no word. But a 220-horsepower superbike for the street would skip right to the top of the class. Not to mention, the 2.0-liter V8 some joker is bound to build by fusing two of them together could be a bit of fun too. [Gizmag] More »
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With the crazed velocity that was MotoGP a wrap, we now bring you another sort of motorcycle spied at the big race. Getting around the pits is often as important as getting around the track. Shuttling tires, parts, and fuel around is often the task of the noble pit bike. Crew members spend countless hours in the off-season prepping their pit bikes for the show. Hustling among the pits are vintage Honda 50s, electric-powered contraptions, and few big ruckuses. More »
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Don't think for a second we forgot about booth and umbrella babes, or the needs of our readers while at the MotoGP. We just wanted to wait until Monday, so y'all could get in hot water for looking at squirt gun wielding bikini babes while at work. (This may not be safe for work!) More »
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Just when we though the deflating balloon of Valentino Rossi and the Yamaha team would give MotoGP a needed butt shot of nitromethane — and hand a few more victories to American homeboy Nicky Hayden — out pops 21-year-old Australian Casey Stoner to ride Ducati's labcoattails to superstardom. No surprises today at Laguna Seca, as Stoner broke a 12-race MotoGP pole-position curse to take the win — dominating the field and besting countryman Chris Vermeulen, who took second. Uncontested wins make us cranky, especially when we're braving the California sun, sidestepping sleeping drunks and barrel rolling atop spent air-horn canisters. Hayden's chances for a threepeat at Laguna were obliterated when the Kentucky Kid collided with fellow Yank John Hopkins on the first corner, an unfortunately pathetic cut-off display by Hopkins that Hayden really needed not to have happened. The incident sent a fissure through the field and sealed off those at the top of the grid from those below. Our hopes for a MotoGP renaissance now seem further away than ever. Yay, bikes! More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=281146&view=rss&microfeed=true Casey Stoner has won the 2007 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. We can't believe we typed out that many words, just for that. Vermeulen was second, Melandri third, and Mister Rossi took fourth. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=281141&view=rss&microfeed=true Pole-sitting Duc-mounted Casey Stoner put the knee pucks to the asphalt and dropped a Laguna Seca lap record in practice. The decimating digits? 1:21:975 [San Jose Mercury-News, Live lap timer at MotoGP.com] More »
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Qualifications were in yesterday and practice runs wrapped earlier this morning, West Coast time, for today's Cali motofest at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Post for the MotoGP US Grand Prix is 2:00 and the AMA Superbike at 3:45. The MotoGP field is as about as tight as eight guys could be without a class ring — with the top eight splitting one second among them. Bumbeck was there with his lens and a talent for subterfuge to capture a gallery of practice runs earlier today. We're heading out to a decent vantage point, loaded down with SPF 1,092 and a camel. Click through for qualifying sets. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=281119&view=rss&microfeed=true We're here for race day at the MotoGP US Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Riders are gearing up for practice laps this morning, before the Big Race(TM) kicks off at 2:00 pm West Coast. We'll be out taking proper photos and bugging the locals, but stay up to the minute with our MotoGP Happening cam. It's free, and it shows. More »
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After a couple days at the MotoGP we've talked to people who rode motorcycles from all over the country and further. Cannery Row is the place to be Saturday night, regardless if you came in on a dresser, sportbike, chopper, or classic. Had Ed Ricketts somehow managed to witness this mob, Doc may have suspected the delirium tremens. More »
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The intense qualifying battle between Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Chris Vermeulen ended with the favorite Stoner taking pole position in this year's MotoGP US Grand Prix. Stoner turned in the fastest lap at 1:22"292, followed by Pedrosa at 1:22"501 and Vermeulen at 1:22"590. Kentucky's homeboy Nicky Hayden pulled up in fourth, while Valentino Rossi ended qualifying in fifth. We'll see tomorrow how starting position translates into race results. [Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images] More »
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There are some pretty sweet cycles hanging out in the Moto GP midway. This particular model is a worked version of a Ducati Sport 1000 by Speedymoto. More examples of custom cyclery in their [Gallery] More »
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We've shed two wheels for the weekend and spirited northward from the Jalopnik Los Angeles compound to California's Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to catch the 2007 Red Bull US Grand Prix. We spent yesterday sampling two of Ducati's latest — a Monster 695 and a Sport1000 Monoposto, the company's throwback sportbike — on some of Bumbeck's favorite haunts like State Route 154. We also dodged landscape trucks on the 101 and hippie vans on the coast highway, following a risky stop for Oxacan food in San Luis Obispo and an encounter with some portly creatures of the deep near Big Sur. Difficulty level: A-ok. Now we're listening to the latest round of MotoGP free-practice sessions and stuffing ourselves with double espressos and Jimmie Dean food products. We'll be here all weekend, catching the latest chapter in Casey Stoner's rise to stardom, Valentino Rossi's slog back to superstardom and Nicky Hayden's bid to make Kentucky the new Motegi. Catch our field reports on the MotoGP tag or RSS feed. More »
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After a bit of clutching around in Los Angeles traffic and enjoying some nightlife, we're loaded up and ready to roll a pair of Ducatis up the coast to the big Moto GP race at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway. On deck are a Monster 695, and a Sport 1000 Monoposto. We'll be coming to you as live as technology allows from the event. We're hoping a Volare wagon with a candy striped canvas top will pick us up trackside, and bring us to Ducati island. More »
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Think back to August, 1909. You just caught a clown act at the Hippodrome, went for a boysenberry phosphate at Spunk's Unguents and Ointments and nearly got flattened by a runaway fish cart. Meanwhile, in Indianapolis, a motorcycle race just became the first motorized event at the new speedway. Ninety-nine years later, the MotoGP will stop at the brickyard, commemorating the original event, in 2008. The exploits of Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi, et al will replace the US Grand Prix, sunk when Bernie Ecclestone put Tony George's walnuts in a vice and started cracking. IMS track president Joie Chitwood made the announcement yesterday, that the MotoGP will be held on the speedway's 2.66-mile road course, which will be modified with extra turns for the two-wheelers. [via Autosport.com] More »
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