Highside

Round three of the 2010 MotoGP season is about to begin, and all eyes are turned to the Fiat Yamaha duo of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. For the seventh time since the two first rode on the same team, Fiat Yamaha has qualified 1-2, and when the lights go out on Sunday, the vicious battle for the World Championship title resumes in earnest at the legendary home of French racing, Le Mans.

Rossi, who has been slowly recovering from a bad shoulder after an incident in training, has shown himself to be in good health and stamina going into the race. He currently sits four points behind his teammate Lorenzo in the standings, and will be looking to finish better than the disappointing 16th he posted in last year’s wet French Grand Prix. Lorenzo, on the other hand, will be looking to put in a repeat performance of last year’s chaotic race at Le Mans, and continue to build his lead in the standings.

Looking to challenge the Fiat Yamaha duo is the remainder of the Fantastic Four, Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa. Stoner comes to Le Mans with a serious gap between himself and Lorenzo in the standings, thanks in no small part to his crash at the season opener in Qatar. Being beaten by his Marlboro Ducati teammate Nicky Hayden for the first time at the previous race in Jerez, Stoner will come off the line focused, and having qualified in 4th, he stands poised to make a strong start and take the hole shot into turn one. Pedrosa also comes to Le Mans with a bit of a grudge to settle, having led the previous race for nearly the entirety, only to have his victory snatched from his grasp in a last-lap pass by his bitter rival, Jorge Lorenzo. Pedrosa is notoriously quick off the line, and if the cards fall his way, he could very well end up doing what he does best–a lightning start that rockets him into first, where he can ride a lonely and unchallenged race to win.

Farther back in the grid, a number of riders are hoping to mess up the projected orders. Nicky Hayden has had an unbelievable start to his season, performing on a level that has been absent since he won the championship in 2006. Fellow American Ben Spies has yet to crack into the top four as many had predicted, but hopes are still high for the Texan to demonstrate the raw, furious talent that propelled him to the World Superbike title last year. A number of other rookies are hoping to start moving up the order as well, most notably Marco Simoncelli and Hiroshi Aoyama. The two former 250cc champions have performed well so far, but have failed to crack into the ranks of the rest of the veterans.

Of course, there’s one other thing that’s on all the other rider’s minds now. Last week’s rumor that Casey Stoner signed a contract with Honda for 2011 has marked the start to what will undoubtedly be a long and exciting Silly Season. As the riders take to the tracks at Le Mans, they will not only be riding for championship points, but also for seats on the best bikes, and the best teams, in the coming seasons.

The lights go out at Le Mans in less than 12 hours. Round three is upon us. Stay with us for more coverage of the MotoGP season as it unfolds!

A number of fairly reliable sources are reporting that World Superbike sensation Ben Spies has made up his mind for 2010: Elbows will be joining fellow Texan Colin Edwards in the Yamaha Tech 3 paddock for 2010.

The decision is set to be formally announced at the Imola World Superbike round, which should solidify yet another piece of the Silly Season puzzle. Spies’ decision to enter MotoGP means that the 2010 lineup will feature at least 4 rookies (Alvaro Bautista, Hector Barbera, Marco Simoncelli, and now Elbows), and the paddock is filling up really fast now. For the current riders who have yet to sign a contract for next year, things are looking scarier with the day, with the number of available bikes shrinking rapidly and no news yet from Honda if they’re going to provide Scot Honda and LCR one extra bike apiece.

Strangely, Spies decision has caused more speculation and excitement than any other 2010 rookie, and this might come from his 2008 wildcard success. Riding at Laguna Seca, Indianapolis and Donington, Spies captured 14th at the Great Britain circuit, and two top 10 finishes in the States. Spies has a lot of pressure on him to perform, but if his rookie year in WSBK has shown the world anything, it’s that Ben Spies is fully capable of standing up agains the toughest of competitions. 2010 will be a fascinating season, to be sure.

Back when Tetsuo Suzuki announced that HRC were resigning Pedrosa and Dovizioso, there was an audible sigh of relief amongst the fans, as it meant that the 2010 paddock was starting to form more clearly.  Just minutes later, though, we fnd out that HRC had been a little vague: a basic agreement had been reached, but neither rider had actually signed.  This left the door open for either rider to still be courted, and it would appear that The Red Beast has come knocking for Dani Pedrosa.

The tiny Spaniard told Visordown magazine “Yes, we have had some contact, simply that.  They [Ducati] are interested.”  Specifically, it’s Livio Suppo who is interested, with the head of Ducati Corse’s MotoGP venture always looking for some way to stir up rumors and flex his Marlboro Muscle at the other riders.

We’ve seen this before, back when Lorenzo was debating between Yamaha and Ducati.  Suppo sees a rider that’s up for grabs, prepares to throw a giant sum of cash at the rider, while the rider—who has no desire to actually step onto the Desmosedici—uses this as leverage with his preferable signing team.

Much has been said about Pedrosa’s dilemna: his contract with HRC explicitly states that Alberto Puig, Pedrosa’s longtime mentor, cannot be in the garage.  And Pedrosa, who is seemingly the only human in the world that is close with Puig, doesn’t like this demand.  So now, Pedrosa is looking to Suppo to help him gain leverage over HRC, hoping to push the factory Honda squad into letting him keep the unpopular Puig.

Of course, Suppo isn’t just doing this to help Pedrosa.  Ducati’s boss seems furiously intent on replacing Nicky Hayden, who is slowly finding some pace on the Desmosedici, but hardly at the pace that Suppo would like.  Hayden’s podium at Indy means he’s now an option for 2010, but hardly an option Suppo likes.  Despite Hayden’s willingness to do extensive PR events—something their star rider, Casey Stoner, absolutely refuses to partake in—and the commercial success of the Limited Edition Nicky Hayded Desmosedici 848 bike, Suppo is looking to drop Hayden, and fast.

Why is Suppo so set on replacing Hayden?  Possibly because their star rider, Casey Stoner, has become a falling star of late.  His mystery illness continued to hurt him throughout the central part of the season, and now with the Australian sitting out three races, his future in MotoGP is the unspoken question on everyone’s lips.

Enter Pedrosa.  The current Honda star is in 4th place in the standings, just 9 points behind the absent Stoner.  Pedrosa is young, and despite his small stature, has proven his skill in controlling a MotoGP machine.  And while Pedrosa brings the bad baggage of Puig with him if he comes to Ducati, he also brings something that Hayden, Melandri, and many others haven’t been able to bring: hope that Ducati can remain competitive in the coming years.

Of course, Suppo is banking on one thing: Pedrosa taming the Desmo.  So far, only Stoner has done this, and there are many other who have tried and failed.  The most recent name to be added to this list is Mika Kallio, whose performance on the factory Ducati has been no better than his runs on his satellite GP9.  Kallio, who is filling in for the absent Stoner, has been a hit-or-miss rider, finishing consistantly around 10th position.  His best performance of the year doesn’t speak for itself, though—he was poised to take 5th place in the TT Assen when he crashed out on the final chicane.  Since stepping onto the factory Ducati, Kallio’s performances haven’t improved, crashing out of 8th place in Brno in a questionable collision with Marco Melandri, and finishing in 8th in Indianapolis—but only after Pedrosa, Rossi, and Melandri all crashed out from in front of him.  One would hope that Kallio’s performance on board the factory Ducati would improbve, but it’s famous difficulty would seem to effect even the aspiring Finn.

Pedrosa doesn’t have too long to make up his mind.  With the San Marino GP beginning in 3 days time, Silly Season is soon coming to a close, and if Pedrosa doesn’t play his hand soon, HRC might play it for him.  HRC has a lot to lose if Pedrosa leaves, after spending 2 years building the bike for Pedrosa’s specific stature, but HRC seems convinced that a Pedrosa with Puig is a Pedrosa worth leaving.  As the MotoGP circus pulls into Misano this weekend, the rumor mill will surely pick up more speed.

Silly Season is in full swing in the MotoGP Paddock, and there seems to be one player whose indecision on signing a contract has many of the other players waiting behind him, scratching their heads and wondering what they’re going to do, and when.  The man in question has galvanized public opinion for and against him, and has certainly made this Silly Season one of the most remarkable on record.  That man is none other than Jorge Lorenzo.

Much has been written about what is ultimately Lorenzo’s first ambition: to be the number one rider at the team, to be the rider that the bike is built for.  Through this, Lorenzo believes he will finally have the last edge he needs to be the undisputed champion next year, and he makes a very strong case.  The question is, where can he get that top ride? (More after the break.)

Jorge Lorenzo

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This time, our ongoing series explaining the Terms and Phrases of the MotoGP world is Silly Season themed!  Don’t know what that means?  Read on and find out!

Silly Season

Most MotoGP rider contracts are good for one or two years, which means that there are always riders changing teams between years.  Most riders start to make these decisions during the summer break, and begin announcing them just after.  Some racers wait until the end of the season, or even the off-season, to announce changes.  The name Silly Season comes from the period of time when many European and North American legislative branches are in summer recess, in which speculative and superfluous stories run rampant.

Factory team

A factory team is a team which receives the bulk of their financial backing from a single sponsor–almost always, this sponsor is the same company that manufactures their motorcycles.  The current primary factory teams are FIAT Yamaha (sponsored by Yamaha), Marlboro Ducati (sponsored by Ducati), Repsol Honda (sponsored by Honda), and Rizla Suzuki (sponsored by Suzuki).  Kawasaki withdrew their factory team after the 2008 season, but decided to run a faux-factory team under the name Hayate Racing in the 2009 season.

Satellite team

Just as a factory team’s primary sponsor is the company that provides their motorcycles, a satellite team has a wide range of sponsors, in which the largest sponsor is not the company that produces their motorcycles.  Current satellite teams include the Tech 3 team, Pramac Racing, Gresini Racing, Team LCR, and Scot Racing.