Who are your motorcycling heroes?

Valentino Rossi and Giacomo Agostini - motorcycle greats from two different eras come together...

Virgin Media have compiled their list of Top 10 motorcycle racers of all time. Take a look here.

While we approve of most of their choices, we don't understand how Dani Pedrosa has made the list. He may be good, but is he already an all-time motorcycling great? Don't think so! Also, while we admire 1987 500cc world champ Wayne Gardner, we don't agree with his being included in the list, while people like Freddie Spencer, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz and Mike Hailwood have been left out!!!

Also see:
The mighty Yamaha YZR500
The saga of the Honda NSR500
The evolution of MotoGP bikes...
Stephanie McLean remembers Barry Sheene
A racer for all seasons: John Surtees
A MotoGP bike for your garage...

Valentino Rossi: 2008 and beyond...

Can MotoGP ever be the same without The Doctor...?

USA Today have an insightful story on Valentino Rossi here. Among other things, it talks about whether or not Rossi will move to F1 once he's done with motorcycle racing. Five-time 500cc world champ, Mick Doohan says, 'Formula One is very stiff. Valentino's personality is very flamboyant. People have more passion when they talk about Valentino than when they talk about Michael Schumacher or Fernando Alonso.'

Stoner and Pedrosa might also be fast, but Rossi is the greatest rider ever

Eugenio Gandolfi, chief engineer at Brembo and a close friend of the Rossi family says, 'He can be good anywhere, but the problem is that he's a guy that doesn't follow the rules too much. Formula One has six or seven meetings a day. You have to wake up early and go to bed by 10 o'clock. That's not hospitable to the Valentino lifestyle!'

Rossi himself says, 'I have to decide whether I stop or make it another two years in MotoGP. I'd like the second part of my career to be on four wheels. It's something I could race in for quite some time. Rally has also been a great passion of mine...'

The King holds court... :-)

Finally, Doohan sums up it up best: 'If you beat Valentino, you've beaten the best. He's still the benchmark. He's still going to be the one everyone looks to each weekend.'

Get the full story on the USA Today website here.

Also see:
2007 MotoGP: Hi-res wallpaper
Jorge Lorenzo to join Yamaha's MotoGP team in 2008
Italy: Rossi's stomping grounds...
Rossi vs Pedrosa...?
Two-stroke racers: The mighty Yamaha YZR500
990cc MotoGP replica: MotoCzysz C1 gets closer to production

MotoGP: Lorenzo to join Yamaha in 2008

Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo will ride for Yamaha's MotoGP team in 2008 and 2009

Colin Edwards is a nice guy and an accomplished racer. But he's 33 years old now and he isn't winning races in MotoGP. Valentino Rossi is, of course, God. But even he's had trouble going up against Casey Stoner this year. Rossi's won five successive MotoGP world championships already and doesn't need to prove anything to anyone. Which is perhaps why Yamaha need a fiery young gun on their team for 2008. They need someone who's wants to show his stuff, someone who's hungry to enter the MotoGP record books...

Will Lorenzo be able to do as well in MotoGP as he has in the 250s? We'll find out next year!

Enter Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo. The Aprilia rider won the 250cc world championship last year and so far, has been pretty much unbeatable this year as well. He will, in all probability, win his second 250cc world championship this year and yes, he seems well and truly ready for MotoGP. Which is why Yamaha have signed him on for two years – Lorenzo will be racing alongside Rossi next year. This also means Colin Edwards will probably have to move on to some other team, but with Kawasaki and Suzuki scouting for MotoGP talent, finding another ride might not be too hard for the Texas Tornado.

End of the MotoGP road for the Texas Tornado? As far as his riding for Yamaha is concerned, probably yes

Says Yamaha Motor Racing's MD, Lin Jarvis, 'We've been watching Jorge's career with interest for some time and we are delighted he is joining us. We're sure he'll be a valuable asset and we look forward to the commencement of his MotoGP career.'

The only Spanish rider to have won a world championship in motorcycle racing's premier class is Alex Criville, who won the 500cc world title in 1999 aboard his Honda NSR500.

Also see:
The 2007 MotoGP season unfolds...
The business of MotoGP: Dorna to quantify TV exposure
Pat Hennen inducted into The Motocycle Hall of Fame
BIKE magazine readers: "Carl Fogarty is an idiot!"
Aprilia may enter MotoGP by 2009
Desmosedici RR: Ducati's MotoGP bike for the street!
Wayne Rainey inducted into the Laguna Seca Walk of Fame

New colour schemes for the 2008 Suzuki GSX-R1000

The 2008 Gixxer paintjobs are boring, which is why we had to add the Dainese-clad lady...

According to a report on MCN, Suzuki will be offering these three colour schemes on the 2008 GSX-R1000. These colours are for the American market and other colour schemes are likely to be offered in other markets worldwide.

Our opinion on the America-spec paintjobs? Ho…. hum. Yawn…. Snooozzze. Hire a new paint and graphics specialist please, Suzuki. And doing a WSBK Rizla replica GSX-R1000 may be a good idea too.

More GSX-Rs:
Twenty years of the Suzuki GSX-R!
Flexi-flyer: The mid-1980s GSX-R750
Slingshot: The late-80s/early-90s GSX-R
Kevin Schwantz talks about Suzuki GSX-Rs...
2007 GSX-R1000s get the Rizla treatment!
"GSX-Rs are for moped riders!!!"

Kenny Dreer: “it’s time I pack my bags and head off in another direction…”

The Norton which Kenny Dreer tried to build. It wasn't to be...

Cycle World magazine has an interview with Kenny Dreer, the man behind Norton’s attempted revival for the last few years. The people who had promised to invest money into bringing Norton back to life backed out last year, and Norton had ceased operations in March 2006. Now, Dreer has also resigned from the Norton Motorsports board of directors.

Says Dreer, ‘While a lot of time and money has been expended on this enterprise, I feel it’s time I pack my bags and head off in another direction, hence my decision to resign. There is no denying that I would still like to see the 961 become reality. What I can’t answer is by whom and when, or if ever.’

Get the full interview on the Cycle World website here.

Also see:
Rotary revival: The NRV588...
Memorable: Yamaha RD500 LC
Significant firsts in motorcycling
Why British is best...!
NCR Ducati Millona: For a mere US$80,000...
Down memory lane: The Cagiva 500 GP racer

American MotoGP: Stoner extends world championship lead over Rossi

Other riders should give up their championship hopes now. 2007 is Casey Stoner's year...

Taking his sixth win of the season, Ducati rider Casey Stoner dominated the USGP at Laguna, ultimately taking 1st place almost 10 seconds ahead of Rizla Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen, who finished in second place. In third was Gresini Honda’s Marco Melandri, who, by the way, will be moving to Ducati for the 2008 MotoGP season.

Chris Vermeulen finished in second place, about 10 seconds behind Stoner

The Doctor finished in fourth place and is now 44 points behind Stoner in the world championship standings. And the Americans didn’t do particularly well either, at Laguna. Nicky Hayden and John Hopkins collided on the first corner and while Hayden ultimately retired, Hopkins could only finish in 15th place.

Marco Melandri finished third. Next year, he'll be riding alongside Stoner, at Ducati

Nicky’s younger brother, Roger Hayden was the top placed American, finishing in 10th spot on his Kawasaki ZX-RR. His bike’s funky new paintjob didn’t help Colin Edwards. More mild breeze than tornado, Edwards finished in 11th place. Kurtis Roberts, of course, did not finish the race at all. What will happen to Team Roberts in 2008, we wonder...

More MotoGP:
The 2007 MotoGP season unfolds...
2007 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR vs other MotoGP bikes
Can The Doctor still come back this year?
John Hopkins to move to Kawasaki in 2008
Loris Capirossi to move to Rizla Suzuki in 2008