<img width="200" height="127" class="floatleft" src="https://motorcycleinth.com/images/articles/The-Truth-of-Riding-a-MotoGP-Bike_1.jpg" alt="" />To listen to some people, you would think that the rider no longer has to do anything to go fast on a MotoGP bike. According to the prohibits of doom, MotoGP has already gone the way of Formula 1 and anyone could climb on a 800cc GP bike and crack the throttle open without fear of the consequences. The culprit is, of course, traction control, otherwise know as Spawn of Satan.

It was not always like this, back in the time of the 500cc two-strokes, Grand Prix bikes where wondrously light, frighteningly powerful, MotoGP bikes back then were rare-groove motorcycles in extremes. They were truly evil works of art and a breed apart – nothing like the motorcycles you or I used on the road, which only made them more alluring. And they were unspeakable difficult to ride – beasts that'd high-side you to hell for the slightest indiscretion.

This is why riders like Schwantz and Doohan became closer friends with GP surgeon Dr. Costa than they'd have liked.

The 500cc two-stroke Grand Prix bikes where so bad and nasty that they took 500s to the brink of extinction. Grids dwindled to the point where Honda suggested switching to 375cc two-strokes while the FIM proposed street-based 600s.

<img width="200" height="136" class="floatleft" src="https://motorcycleinth.com/images/articles/Red-Rooster-team-for-Asian-GP-series_1.jpg" alt="" />Red Rooster Racing is set to become the first Indian team to enter the Petronas FIM Asian GP two-wheeler series this year with participation of four of its riders - K Rajini, Preetam Dev Moses, Rohit Giri and Sameer Venugopal.

Of the four, Giri and Venugopal would be riding only in the Indian leg of the series to be held at Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, in September, while Rajini and Moses, both National champions in their respective classes, will participate in six rounds, according to Dinesh Reddy, Managing Director, Red Rooster Racing.

The Bangalore-based Red Rooster Racing team skipped the first round held in Malaysia, but will participate in the races to be held in Japan (May 22-24), Indonesia (June 26-28), Chennai, India (Sept 4-6) and China (Oct 16-18 and Dec 11-13).

Reddy said: 'Red Rooster Racing's participation in the FIM Asia GP is the first step taken by an Indian team into the higher echelons of two wheeler competition. Our riders Rajini and Moses, we believe, have what it takes to compete and challenge the best Asian talent. As I said, this is our first step and we are confident of putting up a fair show.'

World Superbike rookie Ben Spies proved to be an unstoppable combination with the new 2009 YZF-R1, having qualified on pole position yesterday, he powered to a flawless victory in the second race of the opening round at Phillip Island today. Running at the front from the outset and fighting for top position with Ducati rider Noriyuki Haga, Spies rode a perfect race, the new R1 performed impressively as he kept the pace up to the very end for a well deserved victory. Spies goes to Qatar sitting fourth in the championship standings (only a single point from third), after the Phillip Island race weekend, he is also the first American to win a World Superbike race since fellow American Colin Edwards in 2002.

It was a dramatic start to the first race when a late entry into turn two by rider Leon Haslam, forced Max Biaggi to sit up, in turn pushing Spies wide and off the track. Having dropped back several positions he then had to again avoid a coming together between Ruben Xaus and another rider, and in doing so went off track again. The American pole position starter found himself in 26th position with a lot of work to do. Spies put his head down and put in consistently fast laps, finishing the race one position off the points in 16th, and lapping at the end of the race at a similar pace to the race leaders Haga and Neukirchner.

<img width="200" height="133" class="floatleft" src="https://motorcycleinth.com/images/articles/Melandri_to_start_2009_MotoGP_season_1.jpg" alt="" />Kawasaki announces that after constructive talks between Kawasaki, Dorna and other involved parties, a new one-rider Team will participate in the 2009 MotoGP Championship season.

This decision was made after negotiations that followed Kawasaki's January 2009 announcement to suspend its factory supported MotoGP activities due to the economic crisis. Rider for the new MotoGP team will be the Italian Marco Melandri.

The team will be equipped with Kawasaki motorcycles and supporting materials.

The Yamaha World Superbike team has enjoyed a successful final pre-season test at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia. The two day test was the final shakedown for the 2009 YZF-R1 in advance of the season opening race this coming weekend and was a valuable opportunity for both riders to get to know the track.

Three-time AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies ended the final day of testing with a quick 1.32"36 lap time, a mere 0.2 of a second off fastest rider Michele Fabrizio. Fellow Yamaha World Superbike team rider Tom Sykes had a crash on the start of the second day of testing and spent a large part of the day resting before going back out again for a final run. He too stepped up the pace and finished the day with an overall time of 1.32"10, a great result considering he missed most of the day's track time after his fall.

Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike team - 1.32"36 (160 laps)

"It was a good test for me. We worked on a lot of race stuff, we had some tires to test and get through for Pirelli then we got up to speed on the track and did some longer stints getting the bike to work on race setup. We were looking good for race pace, we did a race simulation and it felt really good. For sure we only got two days testing on the track and the whole race weekend is going to add some adrenaline. I'm extremely happy with the bike and the team is working really well so I can't wait to get started."

<img width="177" height="115" class="floatleft" src="https://motorcycleinth.com/images/articles/Yamaha_World_Superbike_Team_unveil_2009_1.jpg" alt="" />The Yamaha World Superbike Team has unveiled their new racing livery for 2009, showing its new sponsors and 'war paint' for the upcoming season. The team now fully belong to the Yamaha Motor Europe operations and so have been renamed 'The Yamaha World Superbike Team'. With new riders on board, 3-time AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies and promising Brit Tom Sykes, and a brand new YZF-R1 race machine it's going to be an exciting championship. Both riders are new to the World Superbike series but have already proved to be fast and highly competitive in pre-season testing with their sights set firmly on winning in 2009.

The team's current sponsors are joined this year by new supporters BM Group, Yamalube, Parts Europe and Novation. They will sit alongside existing sponsors FIMER, Akrapovic, Meccanocar, Fabbri, NGK, Rapid Inside , Volvo, Domino, DID, Magneti Marelli, Beta and BMC.

The BM Group has almost 50 years of experience in manufacturing and supplying electrical connections and is a global market leader in its field.

Fiat Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo rounded off the first test of the 2009 season in strong style, with the Italian finishing second, less than one tenth off Casey Stoner. His Spanish team-mate was seventh and inside the lap record pace for the first time this week.

Rossi continued to focus mainly on electronics on the last day as he looked to fine-tune the 2009 M1 step-by-step. With the stitches in his hand and foot he decided not to attempt a long-run, but was able to improve on his time from previous days by half a second and recorded a best lap of 2'01.137.

Lorenzo had struggled to find confidence on the first two days of tests but on the final day found his rhythm with the new Bridgestone tyres. He was delighted to complete a long-run of 22 laps and his best lap of the day, in a time of 2'01.907, was over a second quicker compared to previous times during this test.

The next stop for the team is a night test at Doha in Qatar on 1st, 2nd and 3rd March.

Jerez de La Frontera circuit. It's the starting of 2009 season for the independent Scot Racing Team, the only World Championship team to be present in MotoGp and 250cc class. The Japanese Hiroshi Aoyama and the rider of Naples, Raffaele de Rosa, novice in this class, are the Scot Racing Team new riders in the quarter cylinder class.

Hiroshi Aoyama: &quot;First of all, I thank the team for this occasion and I was positively impressed by the professionalism of the new technical staff. I'm very happy to ride again a Honda machinery. This is a completely different bike from KTM or from the old Honda I rode. I had to reset my previous approach to riding in order to find the right feeling and these days were very important to find this condition. At the next Valencia test, if the weather will be good, we'll certainly improve&quot;.

For World Championship Grand Prix in the 250cc class, Honda will field six riders from a total of four teams. Hiroshi Aoyama, Raffaele De Rosa and Ratthapark Wilairot will ride the Honda RS250RW. Moving up to the world championship series this season for a greater challenge is Shoya Tomizawa, who until last year, competed in the GP250 class of the All-Japan Road Race Championship Series. Tomizawa, along with Bastien Chesaux and Toni Wirsing, will take part in the race on an Honda RS250R.

The 20-year old Ratthapark Wilairot, riding for Thai Honda PTT SAG will start in the new season with the number 14.

The Honda RS250R(W) racing motorcycle

Inspired directly from works. The machines perfection continues attract riders.

The Honda RS250R is powered by a 2-stroke, liquid-cooled V-twin engine, which develops a maximum output of 92 real horsepower at 12500 rpm, featuring dynamic power and high response over the entire engine speed ranges.

Format for the SuperMoto series 2009. We would like to get together a group of like minded people to discuss the 2009 SuperMoto series to be held again this year in Thailand. We normally run the series with the kind permission from Suzuki. This year we are looking for some possible other tracks and ideas to further expand SuperMoto popularity and exposure.