WSBK » Haga expecting a British threat

RE: The fastest wsbk race lap is 1:31.575, set by T. Bayliss in 2007. Since this is .2 slower than bsb this year, the brits just might give the yank a run for the $$$. Need to remember that the BSB guys and the WSBK guys are all on same spec bikes and tires for 09. So those old comparisons are just theory. Like I said the weather could totally re-shuffle this because then the locals will have recent track knowledge and wet weather setup working for them. In the dry though I think they will find life a bit harsh. Spies will be in an interesting situation here. Last season he raced on Dunlops in the US, Bridgsestones in his 3 MotoGP forays and now Pirelli's. I'd love to hear his fave!

MOTOGP » Takahashi at Assen, Talmacsi 'will never go back'

Gabor is swimming with Sharks now and I think he is the bait!

MOTOGP » Updated: Marco Simoncelli to MotoGP with Honda.

The way I see it... Factory Honda and Yamaha unchanged. Ducati may swap Nicky and Mika. Suzuki just needs to clean house starting with team manager for not signing Spies when he could have. Tech3 could potentially have an all rookie Lineup with Spies and Bautista. Gresini has one half of its team set with Elias on the hot seat and Marco in the wings. I would predict Canepa, Gibernau and Takahashi will all be gone with possibly Vermeulen, DeAngelis and Toseland not far behind them. Edwards might just take that Aprilia ride in WSBK where he has a shot at winning still. Maybe Ducati will move Fabrizio to the MotoGP squad? Its kind of fun to play silly season MotoGP style don't you think?

WSBK » Haga expecting a British threat

Bayliss' Superpole from 2007 (on the F07 999 I believe) was a 1'30.370. The riders, bikes and tires have improved since then. So you know that in the right conditions that number will fall! Or it could rain!

WSBK » Haga expecting a British threat

You can never rule out the locals with all their track knowledge, just look what Spies did to em in Utah. But Jamie Hacking and Jake Zemke are two of the faster guys in the US and Hacking is likely the 2nd fastest guy racing in the US at the moment but these guys were never a factor for the fast guys in Utah. You gotta be realistic. If these Local BSB guys were as fast as some people seem to think they are, wouldn't they be in WSBK by now? I agree that guys like Shakey and Rea and Kyo will likely fare well here but for the rest of the locals I suspect they will likewise not be much of a factor in the races this weekend. But it could rain and then anything could happen then!

WSBK » Fabrizio keen to reverse Donington fortunes

Not a big fan of Fabrizio's, but no question he has elevated his game this year! A guy in his position should be out of excuses as far as producing wins and championship results. He is now in his second year on the best team in the sport with the best developed bike (to say nothing of the displacement advantage) in the sport. He has been team mate (and, I presume privy to their setups) to two of the best riders in the history of the series. The deck is stacked in his favor and results should be expected. With Haga presumably in his twilight and Spies likely to move on to MotoGP that would leave him at the top of the heap and there are some hungry young guys coming up to push him off!

MOTOGP » MotoGP gets stronger, closer.

Statistics are cool but in the end you still only have four or five guys capable of winning a race on a regular basis. After all statistics are just another name for "history" and there are several in this grid who should be!

MOTOGP » Updated: Marco Simoncelli to MotoGP with Honda.

Well that's the first piece of the puzzle for 2010. I have long said that Simoncelli, Bautista and Spies would wind up in MotoGP next year. There are some old guys and under-performers that should be culled out as well for next year. This is going to get good!

WSBK » Suzuki Alstare sign Young for Donington

Cardenas is a stud no doubt! I could see him spanking a bunch of the regular AMA Superbike guys when he gets a shot. Another guy I used to think was going places was Danny Eslick. When he was on the Matsushita squad he was also linked to Schwantz. He even got to ride Spies Yosh Supersport bike at one point. But then he spent a year trolling around mid pack (?) and then went to Buell . Maybe he will be on the Buell WSBK team if it materializes?

WSBK » Suzuki Alstare sign Young for Donington

I like Blake young a lot. He shined last year in the Supersport series on the M4 bike (as is Cardenas this year) which got him the Yosh ride. He has already eclipsed Tommy Hayden on that team so maybe this is a logical progression. That being said I think Jeff May might have been a better choice personally. He has done very well against the factory boys on the Jordan Suzuki this year. But he doesn't have Kevin Schwantz in his corner! And since Schwantz mentored Spies coming up I guess he knows what he is doing! AMA will be a ghost town next year! I doubt Mladin will continue under the current regime & Hodgson has to be growing weary of it. Bostrom, Hacking, Yates & Pegram may be next.