Yoshimura Suzuki wildcard entry Josh Waters qualified the team's GSX-R1000 10th in today's opening day of the World Superbike Championship first round at Phillip Island in Australia.

The 22-year-old 2009 Australian Superbike Champion, who finished the recent two-day test with a creditable 12th position, is using a brand new R-11R racing exhaust from Yoshimura. Although in prototype form, Yoshimura is focused on testing and using it in extreme use and the competition of WSB is a perfect proving ground.

Day two of the first official MotoGP test at Sepang saw Yamaha Factory Racing Team riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies again up to speed quickly. Both riders were on the pace from the outset as they took advantage of the good weather conditions. The cooler morning session provided an opportunity for the riders to set their fastest times of the day before the track temperatures increased from noon onwards. 2010 MotoGP Rookie of the Year Spies was clearly at home on his 2011 YZR-M1, lapping the Sepang track as the second fastest rider for the majority of the day, only dropping to third in the last moments. Team mate Lorenzo was just 0.05 seconds behind him in seventh at the end of the session as he worked through some different chassis and engine settings.

Tomorrow is the final day of the test, both riders will continue to test developments of the 2011 M1 along with new Bridgestone tyres to provide some data for the MotoGP championships sole tyre supplier.

KTM factory riders continued to deliver strong results in the seventh stage of the 33rd edition of the Dakar Rally as riders resumed the competition after the one rest day on Saturday. While victory in the stage in the Chilean desert went to home-grown rider Chaleco Lopez, KTM’s Cyril Despres and Marc Coma were close behind in second and third. French-born Despres also clawed back a little over a minute from overall leader and arch rival Coma who continues to lead the overall standings by a margin of 7:24. The competition is shaping up to be a great battle between the two KTM factory riders who are aiming to give the Austrian brand its 10th consecutive title. Other serious podium contenders as the riders settle into the second half of the rally are Lopez and Helder Rodrigues of Portugal while the two co-riders for the KTM teams, Ruben Faria (Portugal) and Juan Pedrero of Spain are fifth and seventh overall.

Despres was elated at the end of the day saying that the rest day had been “good for man and machine”. “Today was one of the best days of motocross-type racing of my entire life. Not only was it a beautiful stage, it was also a fantastic one to ride - a really great day, even in terms of results.”

Dealing with the dust

Coma also commented that the day had been another technical one in the sands of the Atacama, which he described as “nice but demanding”. “I suffered in the first part, because I was behind Ruben Faria and I was getting a lot of his dust; it was hard to pass. But in the last part, the sand dunes, I could ride at my own pace,” he said. Coma, who has won this great event twice, is riding his ninth Dakar and he says the rally has been the focus of his life for the past seven years. “My life revolves around it – around getting ready and working hard day after day to keep myself competitive and in a position to fight for the win. I’m proud to be part of the Dakar family,” he told reporters.

Worx Power Tools will partner Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing in British and international road racing in 2011.

Said Team Manager Philip Neill: "Worx represents quality, making our job of promoting its products very easy indeed. In fact the support of Worx has enabled us to expand our racing commitments for 2011 representing Suzuki in the British Supersport Championship with Alastair Seeley on the all-new Suzuki GSX-R600.

"Worx will also be involved in our British Superbike and International Road Racing programmes as a team partner. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Worx for its commitment to TAS Racing and also to our existing partners and title sponsor Relentless for welcoming Worx into the fold."

Thai Honda PTT Singha-SAG Moto2 team has introduced the 2011 lineup, the Colombian Santiago Hernandez will alongside Ratthapark Wilairot riding complete new Moto2 race motorcycles.

The Honda PTT Singha-SAG Moto2 team has switched from the Bimota HB4 to a British build FTR chassis, it will will feature Ohlins suspension, Marchesini wheels, Brembo brakes and Dunlop tires.

Overall dimensions 1995mm length, 490mm width, 1195mm height with a wheelbase of 1390mm and a ground clearance of 135mm. A compete machine based on a FTR M209 chassis will weight about 135 kilograms (dry).

The frame is a aluminum twin spar, with a fully adjustable headstock and insert for angle and position. The front triple clamps are available in 24, 27 and 30 offsets. The FTR chassis comes with Ohlins SD210 steering damper. The swingarm comes with an aluminum bespoke design and construction. Integrated rear stand locator's and fixing, bespoke chain adjuster assembly, bespoke self-aligning rear spindle assembly, and pivot adjustment system.

The 33rd Dakar Rally draws ever closer and the 2011 edition of the historic and daunting event will begin in Buenos Aires on new year’s day with Yamaha hopeful of further good results in the motorcycling category thanks to the excellent support of Yamaha Motor France and their potent Team Yamaha Racing France Ipone.

For the third year in a row the Dakar will remain in South America. The two week contest covering more than 9000km starting from the Argentine capital crossing the Andes into Chile, the longest country in the world, through the Atacama desert and traversing a wide range of topography and climates. Over 180 bikes and 30 quads fill an entry list that sees more than 430 participants from 51 different countries set to attempt the distance. The competitors have already sailed from Le Harve to Argentina and will undergo technical control on the last two days of the year.

In Team Yamaha Racing France Ipone colours will be recent Rally of Morocco runner-up Helder Rodrigues, Spaniard Jordi Viladoms, France’s Olivier Pain and David Barrot filling an important supporting role. Hopes are high for Portugal’s Rodrigues who was 4th overall in the rally in 2010 and in currently in decent form on the adapted Yamaha WR450F. 31 year old Rodrigues – 2010 European Enduro Champion no less - was 5th in the ’09 Dakar and breached the top four ten months ago so is now optimistic of reaching the final podium in one of the toughest rallies in the world. To add to his pedigree the rider has not finished off the podium in the four major international events he has contested in 2010. The motorcycle class boasts a full entry with 200 competitors and will use new regulations for the first time limiting all bike sizes to 450cc. This will suit the WR that won the previous 450cc section of the Bikes division in 2004, 2005 and 2007.

Socialite Paris Hilton, the latest celebrity to join forces with a motorcycle grand prix team, was present for the official 'SuperMartxé VIP by Paris Hilton' launch at Madrid over the weekend.

At the presentation, the American unveiled an 'easy to spot' pink, white and blue livery for the 125cc Aprilia RSA motorcycles that Sergio Gadea and Maverick Viñales will race in 2011. BQR will run the team.

Paris wearing a white with pink racy suit flaunted some ample cleavage which she seemed particularly pleased with, leaning forward to give the cameras a better view.

Yamaha World Superbike Team riders Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri completed their three day test at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia today. The two new signings for the 2011 season spent the three days testing out various parts including new Ohlins (TRVP25) front forks on both the 2010 and 2011 racebike. A large part of the test for both riders, particularly Melandri, included ongoing physical modifications to the YZF-R1 racebike to fit their riding style, adjusting foot pegs, handlebars and other geometry settings.

The team enjoyed good weather, sunshine and a dry track for the first two days of the test with rain only appearing in the last minutes of day two. The third and final day saw more sunshine with rain only at lunchtime and towards the end of the day’s sessions. The 2011 bike tested by the riders featured a revised weight balance, the new Ohlins forks, new engine performance parts and a different seat and fuel tank design. The bike also features standard fuel injectors and fuel pump in line with the 2011 racing regulations.

Eugene Laverty was clearly enjoying his third outing on the R1, having been impressively quick in the first two tests, he was again fast from the off, leaving Australia as the fastest rider of the test with a blistering 1’31.5 lap on soft race tyres at the end of day three, over half a second faster than closest rider Max Biaggi. He also spent some time on race simulation, putting in consistently fast race pace laps.

In the days before corporate bullshit had suffocated motorcycle grand prix racing, the paddock was full of real people. The golden age was full of mavericks and chancers running from the nine to five, guys like Gardner's gofer, Mick Roberts, who convinced half the paddock that he was the HRC team boss. These people were the heart, soul and sinew of motorcycle racing before the sport grew the flab of PR flunkies and marketing wankers. And, of course, there was a lot of drinking.

Back then, Sundays nights weren't about worrying where the next race or test were. It was where riders were all gonna meet, have some beers, tell stories, lie about the race and whatever else. It was definitely a golden age. Sunday nights were always huge. You never knew where or when it'd end.

The racing of this era was like a high-speed bar-room brawl. The kins of the golden age all had one thing in common – they learned to fight like dogs on doggy dirt-track ovals in the States and Australia. Dirt track is like a bar-room brawl with engines and handebars thrown in,so it was no wonder they kept it rough when the hit Europe. Of them all, Rainey and Schwantz were the worst.

Every person like to measure, to set a marker for themselves by which they can be judged. Notches hacked into sticks were enough in the prehistorical times, but modern technology means ever more sophisticated means of measuring.

Motorcycles with laptimers are as good a judge as any. Useful on the track, see if you can beat it. Nothing new there – people have been doing that since the first leg was swung over the first motorcycle. What laptimers do is give you your time, your average speed and how your latest effort compares with your previous attempts. Just what you need for a little boost.