awwwnuts

Neil Hodgson makes a return with the Motorpoint Yamaha team, and Tommy Hill joins the Worx Crescent Suzuki team. I thought Hydrex would have hung onto Hill after the cracking rides at the end of the season. No idea if Hodgson will keep Chris Walker has his team mate?

Bit of a comparison from the 2008 test times. Interesting how not a great deal in changes. Also how Suzuki were showing good form, but then you look at how the season went. Just goes to show. I would have thought Paul Denning would have been given the P45 by now. 1. Casey Stoner, Ducati Marlboro Team - 1´32.464 2. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda - 1´32.672 3. Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha Team - 1´32.921 4. Chris Vermeulen, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP - 1´33.142 5. Loris Capirossi, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP - 1´33.325 6. Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini - 1´33.375 7. Jorge Lorenzo, Fiat Yamaha Team - 1´33.550 8. Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda - 1´33.676 9. John Hopkins, Kawasaki Racing Team - 1´33.760 10. Marco Melandri, Kawasaki Racing Team - 1´33.782 11. Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda MotoGP - 1´33.832 12. Nicky Hayden, Ducati Marlboro Team - 1´33.960 13. Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini - 1´34.129 14. Sete Gibernau, Onde 2000 Ducati - 1´34.451 15. Mika Kallio, Alice Team - 1´34.793 16. Olivier Jacque, Kawasaki Racing Team - 1´34.925 17. Niccolo Canepa, Alice Team - 1´34.995 18. Yuki Takahashi, JiR Team Scot Honda - 1´35.203

No one likes a smart arse

I know Rossi has God status for some, but I don't think even he could bring Suzuki back from the dead

Good to see Hayden up there, and Melandri too. I think we might see Melandri on the podium a few times next year. I never understood why he didn't get the Repsol ride.

There is no doubt Spies will be a strong satellite rider. remember though on Sunday he was riding a test bike, which meant a fresh engine and also probably running a higher spec than Toseland. Yes Spies did well, but so did Toseland in the first race at Qatar in 2008. Qualified 2nd and finished 6th. Both better than Spies, in not his first premiership race. I'm not making a defense for JT, I never thought he was suited for GP's, but he gave it a go, more than can be said for a certain other British champion, who was offered the chance. Also dreading next years Laguna race. jeeez its bad enough with all that singing on the grid and cheer leaders. Now we have 3 bloody yanks. Which bike will have the most crappiest American paint scheme

Its a strange one this. Rossi is not only backing Yamaha into a corner, but also himself. If Lorenzo goes on his own accord, people are going to say its because Rossi dictated it, and he's running the shop. If Yamaha keeps Lorenzo then Rossi has gone online saying he won't stay, and that's put him in the frame. Yes the Ducati is strong in Stoners hands, but everyone else struggles, and we all know a bike can be good one year, and an absolute dog the next. It seems strange Rossi went on camera saying these things right now. You would have thought he would have waited till the middle of next season, and seen how things panned out with Lorenzo at Yamaha, and how Pedrosa pans out at Honda. Poor results for Pedrosa and I see Lorenzo being a big target for HRC You have to wonder what motivation he requires at this stage in his career. The biggest one I see is Aggo's record, and he is on record saying he would love to reach it on an Italian bike. Could that be it? Either way I would love to know the salary he was offered, bet its more than they offered Lorenzo, and that was eye watering. Maybe he will go to Moto 2 ......It will after all be the only premiership championship he hasn't won

Not far off - for those with no brain! (Must be summat missing to go racing!! ) From someone who rode a Pan...an authority on the subject

Brilliant 250 race, and well done bradders, as to be champion next year 800 was the same old. I'm starting to belive thet have a toss up behind the garages in the morning and decided who's going to win. "Hey Danny you notta do a so well thees yeer. You a canna have a ween today"

Christ the BBC pictures of Toseland coming back to the garage was like watching someone strangling a puppy.

No explanation, but it puts yamaha in a difficult posistion. What do you do, Lorenzo is the future, but then you lose Rossi, and the marketing machine that comes with him, not to mention the development expertise. Do you let Lorenzo go and move Spies up? I would love to see Rossi go to Ducati, If only to see if he can ride it. Also goes to show that all the we are not speaking to Ducati was bullsheet. Jerry let me see that plane ticket The BBC2 Interview Rossi hands ultimatum to Yamaha Rossi (left) and Lorenzo may not be team-mates beyond next season World champion Valentino Rossi has hinted he will leave Yamaha if they do not drop Jorge Lorenzo in 2011. Italian Rossi, who won his ninth world crown this year, has also revealed he could switch allegiance to Ducati. Lorenzo recently signed a new one-year deal with the Japanese firm but Rossi does not think there is room for the two riders in the same team. "Yamaha have to decide between me and Jorge for 2011," Rossi told BBC Two. "I have a great option to join Ducati." The pair have fought some incredible battles on the track this season, with the 30-year-old Rossi coming out on top and clinching the title with one race left of the campaign. Spaniard Lorenzo, 22, has been Rossi's closest rival this year and went into the last race of the year at Valencia needing one point to seal the runner's up spot in the championship. But Lorenzo has said that he has not always felt appreciated at Yamaha and revealed he had received offers from other manufacturers before signing his new deal. Now Rossi, who signed a two-year deal with Yamaha in August 2008, has made it clear he could make a switch. "I am not sure 100% if I will stay with Yamaha," said Rossi. "It depends on what happens next year. It depends on my performance and the fight with Jorge Lorenzo and the decision of Yamaha for 2011. "I could change bike, ride for Ducati and try to win the world championship with an Italian bike. That would be a great motivation. "But I prefer at this moment to stay with Yamaha because the love between me and Yamaha, our relationship, is something special. "To change bike would feel unfaithful. So for Yamaha it is important that I finish my career with them and for me it is also important. "

Just been on BBC2. Rossi interview. States wants to stay with Yamaha, but has been offered a deal with Ducati for 2011. Will only stay with Yamaha if they get rid of Lorenzo. ......No doubt more to follow on this!

ESPN 9.25pm each night

Actually ACU

Expect we all know this but just in case. Makes for interesting times Tardozzi open to offers By Michael Guy - World Superbikes 06 November 2009 15:07 Former Xerox Ducati WSB team boss Davide Tardozzi has told MCN that he is open to offers from other factories to continue his distinguished career as one of the worlds most successful team managers. Tardozzi worked for Ducati as a rider and then team manager for 20 years having clinched the WSB crown with Carl Fogarty, Troy Corser, Neil Hodgson, James Toseland and Troy Bayliss. Speaking to MCN by phone from his home in Italy he said: “I still had two years left to run on my contract, but in the last two months I felt my motivation wasn’t 100%. I did not want to make any announcement while the championship was still running so I waited until after Portimao. “As team manager it is my job to motivate the riders, the engineers and the mechanics but I did not feel that I had the right motivation myself to do this.” Since the revelation yesterday that Tardozzi was quitting the most successful team in WSB history there has been endless speculation over why he is leaving. The rumours vary from him being sacked because of a lack of team orders in this years title fight to that he left because he was not offered Livio Suppo’s job in MotoGP. He said: “I’ve read and heard the rumours and the speculation, but I can say that this is not true. I spoke with Filippo (Preziosi) on Tuesday night and the Claudio (Domenicali) on Wednesday. They tried to convince me to change my mind but the whole thing has been dealt with in a professional, gentlemanly and friendly way.” “The reason is because I am looking for a new challenge. I started with Ducati in 1989 and I am making this chance for my own personal reasons and challenge. I am not thinking any new role has to WSB or it has to be MotoGP, but I want to have a relationship direct with a factory. There is no interest in me running a private team.” There is one scenario that would mean Tardozzi wouldn’t have to look to far to find another job. Current rumours suggest that Yamaha World Superbike team manager Massimo Meregalli has an offer on the table from the Fiat Yamaha MotoGP team. Should he decide to take it, Tardozzi would be well placed to secure the role. Tardozzi wouldn’t be drawn on the speculation, but said: “I am happy for Massimo. It would be good for him, but I don’t think it would be good for Yamaha Superbike because he has done a very good job this year." Valencia MotoGP: Ducati confirm Livio Suppo departure By Matthew Birt - MotoGP 05 November 2009 14:22 Ducati has confirmed team boss Livio Suppo will leave its factory team after this weekend’s final race in Valencia. Although not yet officially confirmed, Suppo will take up a management role with Honda in 2010, as was first reported by MCN earlier today. A key player in Ducati’s MotoGP project since its inception in 2003, the Bologna factory confirmed current test rider Vittoriano Gaureschi would replace Suppo next season. MCN understands Suppo has been in discussions with HRC about a role for months. “Livio has meant a great deal to Ducati and also to me personally; he has been a loyal and valuable colleague but above all a great friend,” Claudio Domenicali, General Director of Ducati. “We are very sorry that he has decided to leave the company but, in light of his correctness, professionalism and the great contribution he has made to the growth and success of the MotoGP project and the Ducati brand, we can only offer him our very best wishes as he takes on a new professional challenge. "This is, however, also one of those moments in which we can rethink our organisation in order to further improve, and this is what we have done in defining the 2010 team’s direction. "The management of the Ducati Marlboro Team will be entrusted to, and reinforced by, two new managerial figures. "Alessandro Cicognani, currently marketing manager for the Ducati Corse Division, will be responsible for the MotoGP project and alongside him, Vittoriano Guareschi, already the test rider for Ducati, will undertake the role of Team Manager, bringing to the squad a wealth of knowledge and experience that he has gained through being a professional rider and, most recently, a test rider.”