FIM reveals MotoGP entry list.

The FIM has published the official entry list for the 2009 MotoGP season, which will feature 19 riders.The main addition to the 2008 line-up is the return of Sete Gibernau, who will ride a privateer Ducati under the banner of Grupo Francisco Hernando, as announced during the final round of the season at Valencia.Other changes for 2009 include Andrea Dovizioso's move to the factory Honda team, which has avoided the fate of Honda's Formula One team to return for the new season, while Nicky Hayden moves over to Ducati to partner Casey Stoner.

Elsewhere, Pramac Racing - whose 2008 title sponsor Alice is not mentioned - brings in Niccolo Canepa and Mika Kallio for 2009, with former Pramac rider Toni Elias moving to the San Carlo Honda Gresini team to partner Alex de Angelis.Marco Melandri will ride with Kawasaki after his ill-fated stint with Ducati in 2008, while the Scot Racing team will hope that Yuki Takahashi can continue to bring home the kind of results achieved by Dovizioso last year in his debut season.Outside of the team changes and new arrivals, there is confirmation that 2008 Rookie of the Year Jorge Lorenzo will switch from the #48 to the #99 next season, while countryman Dani Pedrosa changes from #2 to #3 - reflecting his new championship position. Former world champion Casey Stoner moves from #1 back to #27.2009

MotoGP entry list:

3. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Respol Honda Team5. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha7. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP14. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP15. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini21. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team24. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini27. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team33. Marco Melandri ITA Kawasaki Racing Team36. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing46. Valentino Rossi ITA FIAT Yamaha Team52. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha59. Sete Gibernau SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando65. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP69. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team72. Yuki Takahashi JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP88. Niccolo Canepa ITA Pramac Racing99. Jorge Lorenzo SPA FIAT Yamaha Team

Alstare Suzuki drops Nieto from line-up

Suzuki will condense down to two bikes for the 2009 World Superbike Championship, Crash.net can reveal, a decision that leaves Fonsi Nieto on the sidelines.

Nieto, who only joined the Alstare Suzuki team from Kawasaki this season, was expected to be retained by the team in 2009 after an encouraging year that saw him win on only his second outing at Losail on the way to sixth in the standings.

However, serious doubts about his future were raised when Suzuki began testing the new GSX-R1000 K9 with only Max Neukirchner and Yukio Kagayama.

It has now been confirmed to Crash.net that Neukirchner and Kagayama will form the Alstare Suzuki line-up in 2009, a decision that leaves Nieto with no chance of a manufacturer ride with any team next season.

Despite the setback, it is rumoured that Nieto, who came with prominent backing from Spain, is now chasing a privateer berth aboard another Suzuki. This could come with some degree of backing from the factory team in a deal similar to what Neukirchner enjoyed in 2007.

Specifications for 'Moto2' revealed

MotoGP has unveiled the technical specifications for the new ‘Moto2' Championship, which will replace the 250cc Class from 2011.

The controversial decision to replace the current two-stroke championship was finalised in June, but only now have the FIM published the specifications that they hope will achieve the primary aim of lowering costs, yet retain its status as a ‘prototype' series.

Amongst the regulations, only four-stroke, non-turbo or supercharged engines will be permitted, but they will be able to run two, three or four-cylinders. These will be rev-limited and have different weight minimums to keep them on a par with one another.

Together with the raft of technical changes, one interesting motion has been implemented that will see competitors able to buy engines from rivals for a fixed price of 20,000Euros. It will be stipulated as follows:

“The engine (excluding exhaust, throttle bodies and ECU) used in a race is available to be purchased by another competitor in the same race for a fixed price of €20,000 (Euro). Such purchase request must be made in writing to Race Direction within the protest period that is within 60 minutes after the official end of the race.

“The transaction and delivery will be completed immediately at the end of the 60 minute protest period and will be underwritten by IRTA. Teams refusing to sell when presented with a valid request will be disqualified.”

The full list of regulations for the 2011 Moto2 class

Technical Regulations:

Engine

1.1 4-stroke engines only.
1.2 Engine capacity: maximum 600cc.
1.3 4 cylinders maximum.
1.4 No oval pistons.
1.5 Engines must be normally aspirated. No turbo-charging, no super-charging.
1.6 Engine speed limited to maximum:
16,000 rpm. 4-cylinder engines
15,500 rpm. 3-cylinder engines
15,000 rpm. 2-cylinder engines
An electronic system supplied by the Organisers will be permanently attached to monitor and control
engine speed.
1.7 Pneumatic valve operation is not permitted.
1.8 Inlet and Exhaust valves must be of conventional type (reciprocating poppet valves).
1.9 Variable valve timing or variable valve lift systems are not permitted.
1.10 Only wet-sump type engine lubrication systems are permitted.
1.11 Minimum weight of complete engine with throttle body, dry:
53 kg 4-cylinder
50 kg 3-cylinder
47 kg 2 cylinder
Inlet & Fuel System

2.1 Variable-length inlet tract systems are not permitted.
2.2 Only one throttle control valve per cylinder is permitted. No other moving devices are permitted in the inlet tract before the engine intake valve.
2.3 Throttle bodies will have a maximum internal diameter (must be perfectly circle except for the area of dent or groove to allow the injector to come out) at engine side out-let of:
42 mm for 4-cylinder
48 mm for 3-cylinder
59 mm for 2-cylinder
2.4 Fuel injectors will be restricted to a defined type (tba, based on cost).
2.5 Fuel pressure must not exceed 5.0 bar.
2.6 No artificial cooling of intake air or fuel.
2.7 Only air or air/fuel mixture is permitted in the induction tract and combustion chamber.
2.8 No direct fuel injection into the cylinder/head/combustion chamber.
2.9 Fuel specification will be for standard unleaded fuel (commercially available EU-compliant “pump fuel”).

Exhaust system
3.1 Variable length exhaust systems are not permitted.
3.2 Noise limit will be a maximum of 120 dB/A, measured in a static test.

Transmission

4.1 A maximum of 6 gearbox speeds is permitted.
4.2 A maximum of 3 alternate gear ratios for each gearbox speed, and 2 alternate ratios for the primary drive gear is permitted. Teams will be required to declare the gearbox ratios for each gear used at the beginning of the season.
4.3 Electro-mechanical or electro-hydraulic clutch actuating systems are not permitted.

Ignition, Electronics & Data-Logging

5.1 Data logger system will be supplied by the series Organizer.
5.2 Only the ECU/fuel injection control units supplied by the series Organiser are allowed to be fitted to the motorcycle. Electronic control units include the timing transponder, engine RPM control, and datalogger systems. No other electronic control or datalogging systems will be allowed on the motorcycle. The price of ECU unit made by each engine manufacturer must be equal to or less than JPY75,000 (about Euro650).

Wright: Toseland will be top five in '09

James Toseland's former team manager has high hopes for him in 2009.



Colin Wright has labelled James Toseland's maiden season in MotoGP as ‘outstanding' before predicting he will finish inside the top five overall in 2009.

The two-time World Superbike Champion made his long-awaited graduation to the premier class in 2008 with Tech 3 Yamaha, the Brit going on to win plaudits for his early season efforts, even if his form faded as the year wore on.

The British rider would end the season a fair 11th overall with a best result of sixth place, achieved a total of six times. However, while his fall at Donington Park and lacklustre form at Indianapolis raised doubts about his ability to get the set-up right on the M1, Toseland's performance has come in for significant praise from Wright, team manager of GSE Racing.

GSE Racing is credited for giving Toseland his big chance, offering him a spot on the 2001 World Superbike grid despite having never managed a top five result in either British Superbikes or World Supersport.

Going on to win the 2004 and 2007 World Superbike title, Wright believes that, given how difficult the switch from Superbikes to MotoGP can be, Toseland has performed better than people give him credit for.

“He was outstanding this season,” he told Crash.net. “I didn't expect him to do as well as he did, although James would have wanted to go better than he did - that is just what James is like.

“He was in at the deep end, just like he was in World Superbikes, so anyone who says you can go from World Superbikes to MotoGP and do the business is wrong. It just doesn't happen.”

Wright uses the example of Toseland's Tech 3 team-mate Colin Edwards, who arrived in MotoGP regarded as one of the finest Superbike racers of all-time following his 2002 title win. However, in the six ensuing MotoGP seasons and more than 100 races, the American is yet to win a race.

“Look at the years Colin Edwards has been trying… He went out of Superbikes pretty much at the top of his game, but he has hardly ever been at the top of MotoGP, so in comparison Toseland has done a remarkable job.”

Rossi eyes rallying future after bikes

Record-breaking MotoGP star Valentino Rossi has confessed that he could see himself switching across full-time to rallying following his successful outing on Wales Rally GB at the weekend - but not just yet...

Valentino Rossi has evoked a possible full-time future in rallying after finishing a highly commendable twelfth on his second appearance on Wales Rally GB at the weekend – but added that he hopes to remain in bike racing first for ‘more than two years'.

The record-breaking, six-time MotoGP World Champion participated in the end-of-season event for Stobart VK M-Sport, aboard a Ford Focus RS WRC 07 adorned by his traditional #46, and he improved from 45th position following Friday morning's opening stage to be setting consistently competitive times come the end of the rally.

That earned Rossi praise from his fellow drivers and observers, and whilst he has insisted that his Ferrari Formula 1 tests of late have been purely ‘to have fun', the man from Urbino did confess that rallying has always a been a great ‘passion' of his and that one day he could foresee a switch from two wheels to four, and from the circuit to the gravel tracks and forests.


“It's very different, but not particularly tough,” the 29-year-old told Crash.net of having swapped between MotoGP, F1 and rallying in the space of a matter of weeks. “I decided to do this because I have a great passion for cars and for rallying, and I had this month to use for gaining experience and, in the end, to have fun. This is the main target.

“I think in Formula 1 it would be very difficult for me to have a future, because I'm quite old, but for rallying it's not impossible. I think it would be difficult to win rallies or become a world champion, but maybe with more experience and a good programme it would be possible to get some good results when I stop bike racing.

“I don't know when I will stop with bikes, though, sincerely, because if I continue to stay at this level, I'm enjoying riding a lot and my place is over there. I hope to stay more than two years.”

MotoGP » Rossi edges Pedrosa as 2008 ends.

Valentino Rossi fastest during second and final day of Jerez MotoGP test.

The final European MotoGP track action of 2008 ended with Valentino Rossi outpacing Dani Pedrosa by just 0.018sec, during the second and final day of testing at Jerez in Spain.

Home star Pedrosa, who won the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez in April, had put his Repsol Honda 0.610sec clear of nearest rival Rossi on Wednesday, but it was Yamaha's reigning six time MotoGP world champion who got the upper hand on day two.

After a splitting his time 50/50 between the 2008 M1 and a prototype version of the '09 on Wednesday, Rossi spent most of the final day on the '09, working on developing the setting and also trying out some new parts for the engine, amongst other things.

The Italian set his best time of the day on lap 52 of 54 and, whilst recent resurfacing means official lap records are somewhat irrelevant, the #46 nevertheless dipped nearly seven tenths of a second under Pedrosa's race lap record.

"The track was a bit drier today and so we were able to improve even more and do a great job," said Rossi. "We worked a lot on the new bike and tried some different parts to yesterday, including for the engine and we were quite fast.

"It seems we're going in the right direction with this new bike and I am happy about this. I hope that the information we have gathered here will help the engineers to improve the bike and I look forward to the next evolution in Sepang.

"I think these first tests with the one-tyre rule have been quite positive and Bridgestone have done a good job so far, although for sure they will have a difficult job to decide which tyre for which track. Anyway, I hope that we will have some exciting battles next year with everyone at the same level with their tyres."

Whilst Rossi won't be back on a MotoGP bike until the first test of 2009, at Sepang from February 5-7, he doesn't have long to wait for his next taste of competitive action - The Doctor taking part in the final round of the World Rally Championship, Rally GB, from December 5-7.

Guintoli: Stoner understood something we didn't!

Sylvain Guintoli gives credit to Casey Stoner; believes four-stroke replacement for 250GP is a good idea.

Former Alice Ducati MotoGP rider Sylvain Guintoli has refused to blame the Italian factory for his tough 2008 season, and credits Ducati's 2007 world champion Casey Stoner for his success with the Desmosedici.

Guintoli, who will move to BSB next season, took a best finish of sixth on his way to 13th in the 2008 MotoGP World Championship - his second year in the premier grand prix class - while factory star Stoner claimed six wins, eleven podiums, nine poles and nine fastest laps on his way to second position.

But Sylvain was far from the only rider to struggle with the GP8 - Stoner's factory team-mate Marco Melandri took a best finish of just fifth and was only 17th in the championship.

Guintoli's team-mate Toni Elias was the only other Ducati rider to finish on the podium this season, twice, but the Spaniard's next best result outside of that was only seventh. Previously, during Stoner's title winning season, MotoGP veterans Loris Capirossi and Alex Barros had also failed to replicate the young Australian's excellent results.

Elias recently criticised the level of support from Ducati this year, but - during a special Q&A with Crash.net viewers - Guintoli flatly refused to blame the Italian factory and gave Stoner credit for understanding 'something about his bike that lots of riders can't'.

"Everyone in MotoGP relies a lot on electronics," said Guintoli, in answer to a question about the amount of electronics used by Stoner. "Casey is fast first because he is very talented and second because he obviously understood something about his bike that lots of other riders can't (me included!). More traction control doesn't make faster lap times; it's all a question of balance and confidence of the rider."

Looking at his own future Guintoli, who doesn't believe "anyone is gifted a GP ride without being worthy of it", insists that his switch to BSB will make him stronger.