MotoGP '07....a thing of the past...

Julian Mayo · Post by **Julian Mayo** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 12:47 pm

.....okay

<T-K> · Post by **<T-K>** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 4:15 pm

Julian Mayo wrote:
<T-K> wrote:
Julian Mayo wrote:Times are tight.

<T-K> · Post by **<T-K>** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:26 am

Team Roberts owner, Kenny Roberts, has revealed that his independent British-based outfit could withdraw from the upcoming 2007 MotoGP World Championship if it does not secure additional sponsorship by the end of next week's Jerez test.

Speaking in an interview with Superbikeplanet.com, Kenny Sr has warned that at present the finance necessary to run a full MotoGP season is missing - and that a decision on his team's participation is imminent...

Kenny Roberts snr:

Well, we're not a bank. So right now, it doesn't look good...That could change overnight, but at the moment I can say that there's too much funding that's not there...
We have a [target] budget that we can do this season with, and we're short on that budget by about 20%, I would say, right now.....

There are sponsors in Formula One that pay three times as much for a sticker on a car, as what they could have a whole MotoGP team for, The only thing I can judge from that is that the hospitality at Formula One is really what they want, not selling their product. Because you can't, you cannot, argue the point that that is getting to more people than motorcycles. No way. You just can't do it...You couldn't stand up in front of a corporate board and say, 'Look, this sticker on a Formula One car is going to get a lot more press than having a fully-backed two-rider Team Roberts in MotoGP, for the same amount of money'. You cannot say that. Because the TV stats in MotoGP are going up, and Formula One's going down. It's the craziest thing for us to be in this position now, while MotoGP is going up so much. I'm going to make a decision next week, and we're going to go or no go. It's just odd. We don't know

http://www.crash.net

Julian Mayo · Post by **Julian Mayo** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:51 am

<T-K> · Post by **<T-K>** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:47 am

The Factory Yamaha Team will finally unveil its 2007 MotoGP race livery during a special launch at Milan, Italy, on March 5...

Julian Mayo · Post by **Julian Mayo** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:57 am

<T-K> wrote:The Factory Yamaha Team will finally unveil its 2007 MotoGP race livery during a special launch at Milan, Italy, on March 5...

Hhmmm, thats 4 days after entries close for the tipping competition in the V8Supercars

<T-K> · Post by **<T-K>** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 6:12 am

MotoGP's newest team, Ilmor, has called an immediate halt to its racing activities until desperately-needed sponsorship is secured.

Ilmor had hoped to find its full 2007 budget by competing in two rounds at the end of the 2006 season, thus proving to potential investors the seriousness of its 800cc project, but the team's X3 was still unbranded during last Saturday's season-opening Qatar Grand Prix - leaving Ilmor to foot the bill for chassis and engine development, plus race team running costs.

To make matters worse, riders Andrew Pitt and Jeremy McWilliams have been permanently trapped at the tail of the field - between 3-5secs per lap from the front - making the team's chances of attracting significant sponsorship slim. McWilliams subsequently missed Saturday's race through injury, while Pitt retired from last place with a technical problem.

http://www.crash.net

<T-K> · Post by **<T-K>** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 9:39 pm

Marco Melandri has vented his frustration at Honda after finishing just fifth and eighth in the opening rounds of the 2007 MotoGP season.

I'm very disappointed and angry as I spent more than half the race literally coasting around, thinking just about finishing, I couldn't ride my bike, it was just carrying me around the track. I'd have liked to have cried, just to get it off my chest, but I didn't manage it...I feel really alone, all through the winter it was said that I would be an official [Honda] rider, on par with Dani [Pedrosa] and Nicky [Hayden] but in actual fact I'm still carrying the same problem I had on my first day on the 800 and nobody is doing anything about it for me. My team do their best but sadly some modifications need to be carried out by someone above us...

Julian Mayo · Post by **Julian Mayo** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 11:32 pm

<T-K> wrote:Marco Melandri has vented his frustration at Honda after finishing just fifth and eighth in the opening rounds of the 2007 MotoGP season.

I'm very disappointed and angry as I spent more than half the race literally coasting around, thinking just about finishing, I couldn't ride my bike, it was just carrying me around the track. I'd have liked to have cried, just to get it off my chest, but I didn't manage it...I feel really alone, all through the winter it was said that I would be an official [Honda] rider, on par with Dani [Pedrosa] and Nicky [Hayden] but in actual fact I'm still carrying the same problem I had on my first day on the 800 and nobody is doing anything about it for me. My team do their best but sadly some modifications need to be carried out by someone above us...

Ouch

He deserves better

jacfan · Post by **jacfan** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 2:46 pm

Julian Mayo wrote:
<T-K> wrote:Marco Melandri has vented his frustration at Honda after finishing just fifth and eighth in the opening rounds of the 2007 MotoGP season.

I'm very disappointed and angry as I spent more than half the race literally coasting around, thinking just about finishing, I couldn't ride my bike, it was just carrying me around the track. I'd have liked to have cried, just to get it off my chest, but I didn't manage it...I feel really alone, all through the winter it was said that I would be an official [Honda] rider, on par with Dani [Pedrosa] and Nicky [Hayden] but in actual fact I'm still carrying the same problem I had on my first day on the 800 and nobody is doing anything about it for me. My team do their best but sadly some modifications need to be carried out by someone above us...

Ouch
He deserves better

<T-K> · Post by **<T-K>** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:23 pm

Unemployed former World Superbike champion Neil Hodgson is likely to make his 800cc MotoGP debut as a stand-in for injured Ducati/Bridgestone test rider Shinichi Ito.

Ito fractured a thighbone while testing at Motegi on March 20, while Hodgson has been left without a ride following Ducati's withdrawal from the AMA Superbike championship at the end of last season.

The Briton - who made an ill-fated move to MotoGP as the reigning WSBK champion in 2004, before joining Ducati's factory effort in the AMA series - had hoped to return to WSBK in 2007, but failed to find a competitive seat and has been awaiting opportunities while looking ahead to 2008.....

http://www.crash.net

<T-K> · Post by **<T-K>** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:25 pm

Team Roberts has received yet another sponsorship boost with the news that Top 1 Oil Products will support the team for the remainder of the 2007 MotoGP season.

Kenny Roberts Sr.:

We welcome the support of Top 1 Oil Products to our MotoGP program...Top 1 Oil Products has seen the potential that MotoGP has to offer and we are pleased that they have chosen Team Roberts as their partner.

Frank Ryan, V.P. of Sales & Marketing:

Top 1 Oil Products Company is pleased and excited to be sponsoring Kenny Roberts Jr. and Team Roberts for the 2007 MotoGP season. Not only are we excited about being part of Team Roberts we are equally honored to be a part of the rich history that both Kenny Roberts Jr. and Kenny Roberts Sr have contributed to the global motorsports landscape.

<T-K> · Post by **<T-K>** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:08 pm

Marco Melandri's hopes of being on the grid when the MotoGP championship resumes in the Czech Republic later this month have been dealt a blow by news that his Laguna Seca ankle injury is actually worse than initially diagnosed...

Julian Mayo · Post by **Julian Mayo** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:49 am

<T-K> wrote:Marco Melandri's hopes of being on the grid when the MotoGP championship resumes in the Czech Republic later this month have been dealt a blow by news that his Laguna Seca ankle injury is actually worse than initially diagnosed...

..........................And???

<T-K> · Post by **<T-K>** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 7:59 am

Having lost his Pramac d'Antin seat for 2008, Alex Barros admits it's now '90%' certain that he'll retire.....