Archive - 2007

The influence of electronics has been growing ever since the MotoGP class entered the four-stroke era. This has caused a great deal of concern among many fans and riders, as the bikes get easier to ride within 99% of their potential. To put an end to this, Carmelo Ezepeleta, the CEO of Dorna, has suggested that MotoGP could switch to a standard ECU, much as Formula 1 has done.

The FIM, the governing body of international motorcycle racing, today announced changes to the technical regulations for the MotoGP series. The changes are numerous, if mostly rather minor, and covered tires, seat units, and cylinder bores, together with a host of minor clean ups and clarifications.

Thanks to reader John Thomson, Canadian MotoGP fans will be able to watch the documentary on Nicky Hayden's 2006 and 2007 season, "The Kentucky Kid" over the holiday season. John e-mailed MTV Canada, and they wrote him back that "The Kentucky Kid" is scheduled to appear in the week of Christmas. So, in addition to the usual fare of movies about Santa, Canadians can relive a bit of the summer's excitement.

Exact broadcast schedules are not know yet, but should appear on MTV Canada's website in due course.

The FIM today unveiled the provisional entry list for the 2008 MotoGP season (PDF document), revealing a couple of important changes in the numbers riders will be running next season. The most important of these is of course the number to be carried by the world champion. Like Nicky Hayden before him, Casey Stoner's bike will bear the number 1 plate.

One of the specters currently haunting MotoGP is the question of when the series' biggest audience puller, Valentino Rossi, will retire. After losing the title now for two years in a row, speculation had been mounting that Rossi would leave MotoGP sooner rather than later, possibly as early as the end of the 2008 season.

On Tuesday, the final MotoGP test of the 2007 season will start at Jerez before the long winter test ban sets in. And the Spanish track will see some of the most significant pieces of the 2008 season puzzle make their debut, and giving MotoGP fans a first taste of what next year is likely to hold.

The MTV show about Nicky Hayden's 2006 and 2007 season, The Kentucky Kid, generated a lot of interest throughout the world, but so far, viewers outside the US were out of luck. Now, MTV have put the show on their website, so that international viewers can see it as well.

Watch The Kentucky Kid over at MTV.com