AllMoto News from the Web
* (December 21) New life for Bimota? According to a number of reports, former Aprilia and Bimota exec Guiseppe Della Pietra is the front man for a $3million-plus bid to buy the almost defunct company. Bimota has long specialised in building sport-focussed bikes using power plants from bigger makers, but has been in the doldrums in recent years. One report (thanks to reader and former Bike SA Editor Steve Kealy) says former German importer Dieter Konemann is behind the move.
* (December 21) The Malaysian-backed Sauber/Petronas world supers team, spearheaded by former multi champ Carl Fogarty, has signed fellow Briton James Haydon and is reported to be close to signing Australian Troy Corser, who is currently Aprilia's lead superbike rider.
* (December 20) It seems that Australia has lost its battle to host a round of the world MX championship next year after negotiations broke down over sky-high license fees.
* (December 11) Word is that Moto Guzzi (now owned by Aprilia, is reviving its 75-degree liquid-cooled engine project. Power figures of 135 horses on the road and 165 on the track are being bandied about. Watch this space.
* (December 10) The debut of former
world superbike champ Carl Fogarty's race team has
been delayed to the Laguna Seca round on July 14.
This is to allow the Malaysian Petronas group, which
is backing the venture, time to build the required 75 road-going replicas of
the race bike - required by series rules. AllMoto
suspects there may be a little more to the situation, as special dispensation
has been awarded in the past, and the series needs all the help it can get to
compete with next year's new four-stroke class in MotoGP.
* (December 10) From the Suzi PR mob: Suzuki's GSX-R600 is now available in Team Telefonica Movistar colours, a precise replica of the Suzuki RGV500 Grand Prix race machines of former World Champion, Kenny Roberts Jnr and teammate Sete Gibernau.
* (December 10) From MotoGP: British rider Jeremy McWilliams is set to rejoin the premier class of World Championship Motorcycle Racing, the MotoGP World Championship, riding for the Proton KR Team. The 37-year-old Ulsterman will sign for the Oxfordshire-based team which is run by three times World Champion Kenny Roberts in the next couple of days when he returns from a family holiday.
* (December 7) Aprilia is due to reveal a new three-cylinder four-stroke race bike today, developed in partnership with Cosworth, the F1 race division of car giant Ford. Cosworth's previous dabble in the motorcycle world was consulting with Triumph on its early triples. Aprilia is due to enter the new four-stroke class in MotoGP (formerly 500cc Grands Prix) in 2002 - much earlier than expected.
* (November 29) Honda says Valentino Rossi has been testing the company's new V-five four-stroke MotoGP bike and has smashed his own Jerez lap record by half a second. Not surprisingly, the new 500 world champ has opted to make the switch to the new bike in 2002. The 22 year-old stated, "I will ride the four-stroke. All the changes I asked for have been completed and we have an excellent base to work from." Rossi added, "The bike is good and we're on the right track, but before saying anything I want to lap in identical conditions to the Yamaha and the Suzuki."
* (November 29) It seems the prayers of Oz Ducati nuts have been answered. The company is producing a limited edition Troy Bayliss replca 998S. Form an orderly queue at <http://www.ducati.com> - the bike will be made in numbers of 300-500, will cost a whoppng $43,000 and is only sold online.