The qualifying session this morning went swimmingly, leaving us with the comfort of the usual front row qualifiers, Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner - Pedrosa took first chair in the second row. Just as it should be.
Fiat is taking brilliant advantage of it's sponsorship of the top two riders in the world by running a one-off livery design to announce the unveiling of it's new 2010 Evo Punto car.
The bikes (as well as Rossi and Lorenzo) are clad in a classy silver and white design, inspiring Lorenzo to top it off with a special helmet painted in the theme of Neil Armstrong's astronaut helmet.
Now on to the line-up for 2010....
Every season's end brings surprises, disappointments and smatterings of hope for MotoGP fans, teams and riders, and this year is no exception. Although not quite as cliff-hanger-esque as the last couple of seasons, there are a few surprises and indeed, a few disappointments.
One surprise that played out a little earlier than planned is Ben Spies step-up to MotoGP. Originally sited for the 2011 season, Ben and Tech 3 Yamaha have bumped up the timeline and signed a contract for the 2010 season. But, Ben will not wait until 2010 to make his first appearance in the premier class. He will ride as a Wild Card in the Valencia race, the last race of the year, and he will be racing on track with James Toseland.... the man he is poised to replace. Juicy... I know :)
James Toseland will cross back over to SBK for 2010 along with Chris Vermeulen, who's Rizla Suzuki ride is being taken over by Alvaro Bautista.
San Carlo Honda Gresini has given both of their 2009 riders the boot. Alex de Angelis and Toni Elias are floating at the moment without a confirmed ride for next year. Toni seems to be calling his own shots thus far and is waiting to decide his own future in MotoGP. He will reportedly wait until after Sepang and Philips Island to pin-down plans for next year. According to him, top six finishes in both sessions will mean MotoGP for 2010, and sub-top-six will result in a switch to Moto2. His options for a ride in MotoGP are down to Scot Racing and Pramac Ducati.
San Carlo will have a fresh pair of riders in their camp next year - Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli.
FB Corse is reportedly working on a bike for a new MotoGP team next year. This looks to be Alex de Angelis' best bet for a ride. The team is building a bike around the engine designed by BMW for their MotoGP efforts... which turned into a SBK campaign, and the engine was thus abandoned. Being an all-Italian effort, FB Corse will likely seek an Italian rider. Alex fits the bill.
Pramac Ducati has confirmed Mika Kallio for 2010, and I believe Aleix Espargaro has signed with them as well. Niccolo Canepa has made this his first and last year in MotoGP. He will not race the premier class next year. He is allegedly entertaining several offers from SBK as well as the Moto2 series.
Here it is in a less-confusing layout:
Repsol Honda
- Dani Pedrosa
- Andrea Dovizioso
- Ben Spies
- Colin Edwards
- Loris Capirossi
- Alvaro Bautista
- Randy De Puniet
- Marco Melandri
- Marco Simoncelli
- Casey Stoner
- Nicky Hayden
- Mika Kallio
- Aleix Espargaro (not confirmed)
- Valentino Rossi
- Jorge Lorenzo
- Not confirmed
Until next time.....
Rubb'er Down!!!!
Kristen
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