Corser talks BMW, admits interest.

I'm surprised that Yamaha hasn't even talked to Corser about the possibilty of extending his contract. Corser is excellent at developing bikes. I wouldn't be surprised if Haga's improved form these last two years isn't somewhat attributable to Corser's development talent. That said, I think it would be foolish for Yamaha to let him go for that reason alone. Also it appears that Corser is getting more comfortable and competitive lately on the R1. However, Yamaha's loss would definitely be BMW's gain if he ends up there.

Didn't Randy Mammola mention that Yamaha has an all new R1 out next year and that they had Colin Edwards lined up to ride it. that may be why Yamaha have not talked to Corser as of yet. But now that Colin is going great in MOTOGP and looking to stay on they are having to rethink their plans.

Summed it up nicely Marc. Plus, who would they (Yam) replace him with? Does not seem to be a smart move on Yams behalf if they not at least talk to him about post 08.

Mossop I agree that Colin would have been great but you're right Edwards will likely stay with Tech 3 next year. If Corser makes the jump to BMW then Yam may look at some 600 riders or ex-Gp riders but if Biaggi doesn't get the nod for the Ducati factory he may be a decent choice. Could Haga get along with Biaggi? Not sure.

Agree with your initial comments Marc although there isn't a cat in hells chance of Biaggi going to the Motor Italia squad because Nori is part of the family in that team and i can't see him ever wanting Biaggi alongside him. They'll want to keep Nori happy thats a certainty. If he ends up there i will eat one of my Nori t-shirts and post it up on youtube for all to laugh at

Cubik that's why I said "not sure". I'm sure that Haga wouldn't like it but you never know the team is Italian after all and team-mates don't have to be friends or even like each other. However, I could see Biaggi on the Factory Ducati team before the Yam team. Like I noted in my original post I think Yamaha would be foolish to let Corser go.

Evening all

Interesting how its all going to pan out with Corser to BMW and Bayllistic retiring.

My only real point would be that Nicolo the Ducatis wildcard for Vallelunga etc is posting some amazing times and consistency. He has won lots of stuff for ther junior team, so i wouldnt count him out.

See you at Brands Hatch guys.......working with the XEROX Ducati team again for the Brit rounds.

Pitt - could he go back to Yamaha? Reputedly he did all the development work for Haga before Corser took over. I agree Biaggi has zero chance of a ride on that bike - Haga is vital for marketing reasons.

i've heard elias has been offered a yamaha contract.other than that i could see fonsi being in the frame,maybe pitt aswell but i think he might be bitter about the sacking

Corser spent three lost tears with foggy supposedly developing a new bike. Unless BMW offers big bucks, why would he want to go down that road again. BMW is not going to be competitive for a few years if at all. On the other hand, Corser has played out his string, and should go for the money. His winning days are over.

Edward- Not trying to start anything with you but Foggy's Teams was far off of what BMW is. I am sure that BMW will hit the ground running and lets hope they have a ton of spares and money to replace what Xaus destroys. Although Xaus is one of my favorite riders so I am not bagging on him either. When is Aprilia coming back?

Stampy, I'm a Xaus fan to, and he seems to have improved lately not only going faster, but crashing less. I would be very surprised if BMW is competitive in the first year. How long have they been building an inline 4? Yamaha seems to be looking to dump Corser, if the Edwards rumors are true, so he might do worse than go to BMW if the bucks are right. A lot depends on the new management of the AMA races but latest news seems to indicate that the factory superbikes will after all be accomodated. If the factories pull out of AMA, their will be alot of SBK roders looking for a new seat. Hodgeson for one as well as Maladin perhaps. Hacking for sure.

Yamaha might grab Anthony West.

Did a great job when raced supersport last year, and doubt he will have a seat in motogp next season.

1- Edward... BMW doesn't equal Foggies $5 effort...
BMW WILL win straight out of the box.. This has already been reflexed in the comments from other teams who are worried there inclusion, "With a BIKE not available to buy ATM." Is going to push the cost up for other teams to compete against them.

2- Stampy... Aprilia are wanting to race WSBK 09 & Bimoto also tipped to return with a V2.

imagine elias and haga as teammates. they are both extremely excitingriders and elias has the same problem as melandri. he can't work the duke. he's proved he can win at moto gp level with that awesome display against world champ riders like rossi, edwards, roberts jr. he beat 3 world champs that day. he and haga would run riot in wsbk's.

Yamaha would be foolish to let Corser go, but if BMW want him they will pay big money for his services. An Italian friend tells me the Biaggi works Ducati ride has already been agreed. Would like to see Hodgson back in WSB, maybe on the Yamaha

unoeverything

1) BMW WILL NOT win straight out the box, but they will be competitive pretty quickly. As for the bike not being available - the rules say that BMW needs to sell the required number in the year they're racing, so while the bikes arent currently available, they will be at the (very) end of 2009.

2) Aprilia are wanting to race, but they are lobbying in the back rooms about the 1098 / 1199 issues tehy feel are unfair.
Bimota are currently using the Ducati 1098 motor in their DB7 production bike, so unless they do a deal with Ducati Corse for those 'special' over bored race engines & also release a special DB7R ... dont think we'll see them soon

Edward - It was originally thought that Edwards would finish his career with Yamaha in AMA, but on Sunday he signed for 2009 with an option for 2010 with Tech 3.

I think Yamaha do want to retain Corser - In the interview with him in this weeks MCN he says they spoke to him at Misano: "They've told me that they need a few more weeks to work out exactly what they are up to next year."

That could mean anything, but I guess it's code for - we need a few weeks to talk to our sponsors to see if we can afford to match (or better) BMW's offer.

Re BMW 4 cylinders - they already have experience - their 1200 4 was the most powerful production bike at 167bhp when introduced a few years ago.

Correction - one of the most powerful (behind Hayabusa and ZX12R).

I wonder who the other riders are that BMW are talking to apart from Corser? - I would guess Checa would be a favourite, also Pitt. Maybe Checa would be out because they wouldn't want two spaniards. Could Barros make a come back next year?