Andrea Dovizioso’s second year in MotoGP has come with highs and lows, a first premier class victory at Donington followed by the disappointment of being beaten to fifth place in the Championship in the last event at Valencia.

An impressive season in 2008 with the satellite Scot Honda squad saw the 23 year old taken in by Repsol Honda for the 2009 year, which finished with Dovizioso just missing out on fifth place in the overall rankings to Colin Edwards by a single point.

Dovizioso is sure to take his experience into effect for next season, in which he has already made steps towards with the post season testing at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit.

“This year’s results have not been what everybody expected, starting with me,” states Dovizioso. “I didn’t feel comfortable enough with the bike to battle with the front pack, and the problem is that we can’t make any significant changes to the bike during the season, so Honda focused on preparing next year's bike. Unfortunately, I couldn’t up my speed during the year and sixth place in the championship is nowhere near my dream. It has been an important year for me, to learn with the future in mind, and I know that Honda is going to work hard. I’m sure that next year, although we have to make up lost ground, all of us will increase our performance.”

Dovizioso also comments on the overall season and the switch to racing a factory machine.

“The best moment was obviously the win at Donington Park, and the worst I would say in Portugal; we had a lot of problems that weekend,” he says. “There is a huge difference in all aspects. With a satellite team, you focus on using the full power of the bike, but in a factory team, you also have to think about how to improve it and that’s not easy.”

The former 125cc World Champion used Valencia testing to try the 2010 prototype of his RC212V with good results, he looks to further improvements at the next testing at Sepang in February.

“Although everything is not fixed, there has been a change,” he says. “We’ll have to continue working on it for Malaysia, and also on the engine, to have better control of the bike. I feel optimistic, and of course I think that it'll be better than, for example, our last race in Valencia. We have a lot of work ahead of us and lots of changes to make before the season starts, so we'll have to wait.

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This week’s Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana testing has a number of competitors trialling fresh engines, with Toni Elías uniting in the sessions at the Ricardo Tormo track, thanks to of Fausto Gresini who has given him the opportunity to test a new Gresini Moriwaki Moto2 prototype.

Although ending seventh this season in the MotoGP rankings, Elías has not been able to hange on to his San Carlo Honda Gresini race in the premier class, due to the incoming of Marco Simoncelli and the return of Marco Melandri, however there is a chance that Elías could race for Gresini in the fresh Moto2 class next season.

Collaborating with Japanese company Moriwaki, Gresini has been testing their Moto2 prototype with Xavier Simeon this week at Valencia, on Tuesday Elías also tested the engine.

Following his initial session with the bike, Elías comments on his future, “It is not clear yet, we are negotiating, but I have a contract with the Gresini team until the end of November.” Referring to the test overall, he adds, “Fausto has given me the opportunity to try the Moto2 bike on Tuesday and Wednesday just for my information and for the information of Moriwaki. I really enjoyed it, the bike is slower than MotoGP but it is fun and it has been a good experience.”

Team manager Gresini says, “In Moto2 we did some more tests this morning with Simeon to allow him more time on the bike and to see how good the kid is, and then in the afternoon we let Elías out on it, having signed a pre-contract agreement with him until the end of November.

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After his impressive race to seventh spot on Sunday at Valencia, Ben Spies tested initially with his fresh team Monster Yamaha Tech 3 on Monday at the Ricardo Tormo track, tasting his first sample of life in the pit of Herve Poncharal’s team, alongside fellow Texan Colin Edwards.

The American’s best time was the sixth fastest on Monday, he was only 0.8s behind quickest racer Casey Stoner’s pace and a huge 0.6s better than his own quickest lap in Sunday’s event.

The 25 year old finished 50 laps which made it a positive and productive first day with Tech 3. He states, “I was obviously on a different bike but with the same setting that I raced on and it felt good. I improved on my qualifying time so it was a positive and productive day. I really just focused on doing a couple of things different with my style and in the last two sessions I tried to do some things very different and it worked.”

“I was slowly able to chip away at the lap times, so it is encouraging that I'm getting faster and more comfortable without even making any changes to the set-up of the bike.

 

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Honda’s CRF450X has taken the nation’s most prestigious desert racing trophy, the Australian Safari, for the past three years, anyone can now add the bonus of a free toolbox and ramp priced at $799.

The same deal is due on the CRF250X, creating a perfect opportunity to grab one of Honda’s engines.

The toolbox promotion is availabe between now and December 31, 2009.

Malaysia was a frustrating event for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 duo of Colin Edwards and James Toseland, who placed 13th and 15th respectively.

The pair had front end grip issues on their satellite YZR-M1s, Edwards could not keep up the race pace in cooler conditions than those his squad had prepared for.

After working through hot and humid conditions, the rain that delayed the beginning of the event by 35 minutes proved difficult and after moving into 12th spot on lap 13, Edwards finally placed one position lower.

“The weekend wasn't great to be honest. The bike wasn't fast in the dry for some reason and I just couldn't get going all weekend,” states Edwards. “We tried a different setting on the race morning and it felt better, but it certainly wasn't a miracle spark. But with the rain coming like it did it just made it a guessing game.”

“When it was properly wet I felt like I was upping my pace and closing in on the group for tenth, but then the tyres started heating up and I was sideways all of the time. In the final laps I was losing a lot of time.”

The smash and being unable to finish the race for rival Andrea Dovizioso meant Edwards is now only six points behind him.

“I'm going to Valencia still fighting for fifth in the championship with Dovizioso crashing, but I don't like taking profit from the mistakes of other people,” says Edwards.

Team Manager, Herve Poncharal, also commented on the difficult weekend.

“It has been a very disappointing weekend and easily the worst for us this season,” he explains. “We were struggling in the dry so I can't say I was unhappy to see the rain because I thought this would give us a chance of improving our results. Unfortunately our performance was even worse in the rain and we can't be happy. Now we have to understand why we struggled so much this weekend.”

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Rizla Suzuki racer Loris Capirossi had disappointment behind him in Malaysia on Sunday, after placing in ninth spot from fifth on the grid.

The Italian equalled his second best form of the year to start from the second row of the grid, and following two first corners he had arrived to second place.

However, Capirossi had grip issues on the slippery circuit fell further down the order, before creating balance and eventually arriving in ninth place.

“I don't really have a lot of things to say about today - I am just so disappointed!” states Capirossi. “The team did such a good job this weekend and we thought we would have a good race this afternoon, especially after this morning's warm-up was good as well, but then for the race it rained really hard.”

“The set-up of the bike for the wet was pretty good, but I struggled a lot for the first ten laps because I couldn't get any feeling from the left of the tyres. I dropped down to 13th and I then managed to overtake three or four riders and finish ninth.

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A sixth place end in the event of the year matches Chris Vermeulen’s second best record so far this year in terms of the disappointment that has occurred, however the Rizla Suzuki man was happy to have staged a challenging display in Malaysia on Sunday.

Though the Aussie is heading off from MotoGP at the end of the season, he aims to return to the World Championship in the future, the 10 points gained at Sepang means he has every opportunity finishing with a good result after Valencia in a fortnights time.

Vermeulen is united in a close five racer challenge with Marco Melandri, Loris Capirossi, Alex de Angelis and Toni Elías for seventh spot overall, and he outdid all of them on Sunday to give himself a confidence boost.

“I got a good start, but in turn one there was a lot going on and I got pushed around a little bit, but I came out of it ok and was able to get my head down straight away,” Vermeulen states. “For the first four or five laps I really struggled to get a feeling in the tyres, especially on the left-hand-side, but once I got that working and into a rhythm I felt quite good. The bike worked well up until the last few laps - when the track started to dry out - and then it was very difficult through the corners, but I'm sure it wasn't easy for anyone out there.”

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Casey Stoner was the winner at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix on Sunday, however Valentino Rossi who placed third lay the basis of the story this weekend.

Stoner’s second consecutive victory was impressive, along his lengthy 14.666s margin, but it was the Doctor’s placing that claimed his ninth world title (seventh in the premier class) as he defended last seasons’s crown, Dani Pedrosa arrived in second place with his 78th stage appearance over all classes.

The event began on a wet circuit after a delay due to rain, there was drama from the beginning. An issue during the sighting lap with his engine for Jorge Lorenzo meant that he was unable to join the starting grid in time, resulting in relegation from second to the back.

It made no difference to the Spaniard as he raced up to pass Rossi, who fell to tenth after a sluggish beginning from pole position. Lorenzo eventually placed in fourth position.

Randy de Puniet had an early nasty high-side which luckily resulted in no injury for the Frenchman, as Stoner gained a four second lead at the front over Pedrosa after only two laps.

Nicky Hayden was dogged in his efforts to hold off Lorenzo in fifth spot, but the Fiat Yamaha racer was able to pass the Ducati Marlboro competitor before Rossi overtook both to move into fourth position after eight laps.

Shortly after, Stoner’s lead at the front had increased to a massive 15 seconds, however there was no such deficit between Pedrosa in third and his Repsol Honda colleague Andrea Dovizioso, who challenged for second place. Disaster arrived for the Italian as on lap 14 he gave way to the wet conditions and slid off the track, allowing Rossi to move up to third and take on Pedrosa.

The Spaniard was out of Rossi’s grasp for the rest of the event, third was one place better than he needed to claim the crown, and a flamboyant celebration ensued involving a chicken clad in the Italian’s blue and yellow colours.

Aleix Espargaró impressed with an eleventh position in his third MotoGP event for Pramac, whilst Monster Yamaha Tech 3 duo Colin Edwards and James Toseland both found the conditions difficult, finishing 13th and 15th respectively.

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Prior to the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix on Wednesday, four representatives including Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki), Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Racing), Héctor Barberá (Pepe World Team) and Nico Terol (Jack & Jones Team), paid a visit to the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary.

The competitors arrived at the Bukit Rengit Biodiversity Institute where they then made a short journey to the Kuala Gandah sanctuary and were welcomed by the staff.

The racers enjoyed feeding the elephants and able to take rides on the elephants themselves, having an opportunity interact with the native Malaysian beasts, only Terol was courageous enough to join the elephants in the water.

On the experience and comparing it to a Grand Prix, Terol comments, “Well obviously you are so much higher up and things are a lot calmer, but you know if there is a crash there is a much bigger distance to fall!”

Capirossi added, “It was just amazing, it was a really nice feeling and when you see a place like this you realise how important it is that they are trying to save this beautiful animal. Riding the elephant was a bit like riding my Suzuki as they are both quite crazy! Being on top of the elephant is incredible, they are so powerful and strong and you feel how much bigger they are than us!”

 

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Stoner raced at a strong pace from beginning to end at Phillip Island to clear up any doubts on his fitness, now Casey Stoner is due to challenge the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Tough heat and humidity are what is in store at the Sepang track, this will provide Stoner with another test in his recovery.

Stoner was happy with his physicality at Phillip Island and with a victory at Sepang, the 24 year-old is expecting the 5,548km long circuit to be a great challenge, he finished sixth there last season.

“In the past I used to like racing in the heat but last year in Malaysia I was racing with a wrist injury and I’ve had the physical problems everybody knows about, so I suppose it’s a combination of factors that I have suffered with in recent hot races,” said Stoner. “But at Phillip Island things went so well from a physical point of view that I feel reasonably confident.”

“Sepang will definitely be a tough race as being fast and consistent in those conditions is always difficult regardless. It is not easy to find the perfect set-up there but that’s always been the case and with every day that passes I feel stronger and more confident that I can be competitive in both of the two races that remain.”

Stoner’s colleague Nicky Hayden always seems to place fourth at Sepang, except in 2007, the American will be looking to put Phillip Island behind him, when his first lap crash with Jorge Lorenzo resulted in 15th spot.

“I wouldn’t say that Malaysia is one of my favourite circuits and it’s almost as if I’ve got ownership on fourth place there because I’ve finished in that position five times out of six!” says Hayden

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Another strong performance by the Moriwaki Moto2 MD600 engine in the latest event of the All Japan national championship  at Twin Ring Motegi, as the racer Shogo Moriwaki finished in first spot in the 250GP event.

Enjoying similar success at Okayama, Moriwaki this time was victorious by a 38 second margin after beginning the event in pole position on the 600cc 4-stroke machine.

The next step in Moriwaki’s Moto2 campaign may be an appearance in Spain prior to the end of the year, as the Japanese company have received a proposition to participate in the CEV (Spanish National Championship), they continue their preparations to have an effective presence in the fresh Moto2 World Championship category next year.

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Iveco AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
MotoGP Event Classification – Phillip Island
 
Pos.    Points    Num.    Rider        Nation    Team             Motorcycle Total time    Km/h    Gap
1    25    27    Casey STONER     AUS    Ducati Marlboro Team    Ducati    40'56.651    175.989   
2    20    46    Valentino ROSSI ITA    Fiat Yamaha Team    Yamaha    40'58.586    175.851    1.935
3    16    3    Dani PEDROSA     SPA    Repsol Honda Team     Honda    41'19.269    174.384    22.618
4    13    15    Alex DE ANGELIS RSM    San Carlo Honda Gresini    Honda    41'29.353    173.677    32.702
5    11    5    Colin EDWARDS    USA    Monster Yamaha Tech 3     Yamaha    41'32.536    173.456    35.885
6    10    4    Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA    Repsol Honda Team     Honda    41'35.133    173.275    38.482
7    9    33    Marco MELANDRI     ITA    Hayate Racing Team     Kawasaki41'41.112    172.861    44.461
8    8    14    Randy DE PUNIET FRA    LCR Honda MotoGP     Honda    41'41.592    172.828    44.941
9    7    36    Mika KALLIO     FIN    Pramac Racing         Ducati    41'50.996    172.180    54.345
10    6    24    Toni ELIAS     SPA    San Carlo Honda Gresini    Honda    41'57.856    171.711    1'01.205
11    5    7    Chris VERMEULEN AUS    Rizla Suzuki MotoGP     Suzuki    42'02.068    171.425    1'05.417
12    4    65    Loris CAPIROSSI ITA    Rizla Suzuki MotoGP     Suzuki    42'02.601    171.388    1'05.950
13    3    41    Gabor TALMACSI     HUN    Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda    42'14.602    170.577    1'17.951
14    2    52    James TOSELAND     GBR    Monster Yamaha Tech 3     Yamaha    42'14.636    170.575    1'17.985

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100 – Sergio Gadea at the Australian GP will be making his 100th Grand Prix beginning, all have been in the 125cc session.

50 – Hiroshi Aoyama will claim the 250cc world title if he gains fifty points in the last three events of the season, irrespective of the points made from other competitors.

25 – Julian Simon requires 25 points from the last three events to claim the 125cc world title, even if nearest rival Bradley Smith wins all three events.

24 – Casey Stoner celebrates his 24th birthday on the initial day of testing at Phillip Island.

23 seconds – At the Portuguese Grand Prix Valentino Rossi placed 23 seconds behind victor Jorge Lorenzo. This is the longest margin Rossi has ever placed after a colleague in MotoGP in an event where he has not smashed and re-mounted.

21 – The 21st Australian Grand Prix held every season since the initial race in 1989. The first two Aussie GP's were held at Phillip Island prior to visiting the Eastern Creek track for six successive seasons, before returning to Phillip Island in 1997 where it has stayed.

11 – Jorge Lorenzo claimed the eleventh pole of the season for Yamaha in Portugal. This is the biggest number of premier class pole positions in a single year for Yamaha.

7 – The fourth placing for Valentino Rossi at Portugal was only the seventh occassions that he ended one place off the stage in his 164 beginnings in the premier class of Grand Prix racing. The last time he came fourth was at Laguna Seca in 2007.

7 – Aussie competitors have taken seven premier class wins in the home Grand Prix; Wayne Gardner at Phillip Island in 1989 and 1990, Mick Doohan at Eastern Creek in 1992 & 1995 and Phillip Island in 1998, Casey Stoner for the past two seasons at Phillip Island.

4 – Yamaha racers have been victorious in the last four MotoGP events. A win for any of the Yamaha competitors in Australia will equal the biggest ever sequence of successes for Yamaha in the premier class.

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The Selection Committee incorporating delegates of the FIM, Dorna and IRTA gathered together on the 2nd October in Estoril to choose the squads that will be invited to participate next year.

Teams totalling 39 racers were accepted. Teams totalling 10 racers were placed on a reserve list.

Squads that have now been accepted  will have until the 2nd of November to confirm the names of their competitors and lodge a security deposit with IRTA.

Please note that no team applied to participate with 250cc session engines means that the entire grid next year will be comprised of Moto2 class engines.

Accepted Teams and number of entries accepted (reserve entries in brackets):
AJO MOTORSPORT: 1 (1)
BALATON RACING TEAM 250: 1
CAMPETELLA RACING: 1
CARDION AB MOTORACING: 1
CIP MOTO - GP250: 1 (1)
EMMI - CAFFE LATTE: 1
G22 RACING TEAM: 2
HAYATE RACING TEAM: 2
HONDA GRESINI: 2
JIR: 2
KINO RACING: 1 (1)
MAPFRE ASPAR TEAM: 2
MATTEONI RACING: 1 (1)
PONS RACING PEPE WORLD: 2
PRAMAC RACING: 2
RACING TEAM BY QUERESENO: 2
RACING TEAM GERMANY: 1 (1)
SCOT RACING TEAM 250: 2
SPEEDUP APRILIA: 2
SPRINT TECNOLOGY RACING: 2
STOP AND GO RACING TEAM S.L.: 2
TEAM ROBERTS: 2
TECH 3: 2
VIESSMANN KIEFER RACING: 1 (1)
WTR SAN MARINO TEAM: 1
SUB TOTAL: 39 (6)

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Mick Doohan, who claimed five titles at racings highest level from 1994-1998, will unite with fellow Aussie Jamie Whincup, the Australian V8 Supercars Champion, in The ROC Nations Cup on Tuesday 3 November. Both riders will then vie for individual glory in The Race of Champions on Wednesday 4 November.

“The Race of Champions is a really fun event,” states Doohan. “In June I raced in Portugal at the ROC Legends and had a great time, so I’m really looking forward to taking part at the World Finals in Beijing. I can only imagine how good it will be! I’ve got a great team-mate in Jamie Whincup for the ROC Nations Cup so we’ll be giving it our best shot to win the crown for Australia.”

Doohan is the most recent in a selection of famous heroes from the world of motorcycle sport, who have participated in The Race of Champions, others will include World Champion Valentino Rossi, Troy Bayliss and Travis Pastrana.

Whincup, who has claimed Australia’s Bathurst 1000 touring car event for the last three years, expressed his excitement at competing.

“It’s going to be an awesome event. I will get to race some amazing cars against the likes of Schumacher and Button, which is incredibly exciting,” states Whincup.

Fredrik Johnsson, President of Event Organisers IMP, comments of the two riders, “It’s great to have Mick and Jamie in The Race of Champions – Mick is a big name in motorsport and Jamie is a great Australian talent. I’m sure they’ll make a great pairing for Australia.”

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Pramac Racing have announced that Aleix Espargaró will unite with their squad next season to race alongside Mika Kallio in MotoGP.

The talented competitor made his debut this season for Pramac, substituting for Kallio while the Finn raced the Ducati factory bike in Casey Stoner’s absence, his results at Indianapolis and Misano (13th and 11th) respectively were good enough to allow him a permanent ride.

The 20 year-old, who was raised near Barcelona’s Montmeló track, commented on the news stating, “I am very happy to be arriving in MotoGP after the time I have had this year. It is better news to be riding for Ducati all through next season than to be riding in the final few races of this year, which could have happened. The two races that I did for Ducati this year were good, I was very comfortable on the bike and with the team. I think I adapt well to MotoGP because I’m quite tall and the bikes suit me better than Moto2 machines. 2010 could be a good year for me.”

He adds, “I performed well in the two MotoGP races I did but now I will have the whole winter to practice with the bike, get the set-up right and prepare for 2010. I will be able to prepare calmly and precisely for racing in MotoGP.”

On his decision to move ahead in his career after spending the majority of the year developing a Moto2 engine, Espargaró says, “Obviously this is a great opportunity for me as I had already assumed I would be riding in Moto2 next year, which was my objective this season, to secure a place in the new championship. But in the end this chance has come along and it is so hard to get a chance in MotoGP so you can’t turn it down. Pramac are one of the best satellite teams in the championship, so I’m really happy and really motivated to make the most of this opportunity.”

Pramac Racing Team boss, Paolo Campinoti, adds, “This year we have already got good results thanks to Mika Kallio’s performances and this is why the Finnish rider will remain with us next season. In Indianapolis Aleix demonstrated his competitiveness from the first laps in both track conditions, dry and wet, and in Misano he confirmed his good feeling with the bike. We really count on him; his attitude and devotion to this sport give us a lot of trust.”

On departing competitor Niccolò Canepa, Campinoti states, “I want to take this opportunity to thank Niccolò. He is a strong guy and we wish him a happy future on and off track.

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There was disappointment once again for Mika Kallio on Sunday as he raced well in the early phases of the bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal event, before smashing out on lap six when challenging to keep sixth place.

Kallio has crashed in events on five occasions this year in his rookie MotoGP season and has been able to claim points in only eight events, which has been very frustrating for himeself and his squad, given his talent. The Finn has three more events this year to claim some good results and look for extra consistency next season, having announced his renewed contract with Pramac for 2010 recently.

After Sunday’s event he stated, “I am very disappointed. I was doing really well and all of a sudden I myself on the ground. I wasn’t pushing too much, in that part of the track you don’t accelerate or brake, you just maintain the rhythm to accelerate later while exiting the corner going to the final straight. The front gave up on me and I slid to the dirt on the side of the track. I am very sorry for all the team, they deserved a good result and I hope to do better in these last three races.”

Fabiano Sterlacchini, the Pramac Racing Technical boss adds, “We are very disappointed that Mika lost the chance to get a good result. He deserved it for how the weekend went. During the warm up we found a really good solution on the bike and we got the fifth fastest lap of the session. In the race things seemed to go in the right direction, but we all know how things ended.”

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Toni Elias united in the S1 and S2 legs, which were taken by the French siblings Thomas and Adrien Chareyre, and had a fantastic time. It was adrenaline mixed with testing in sliding motorbikes on a combination of dirt and tarmac surfaces, ahead of an important appearance next week at Estoril, the place of his famous win over Valentino Rossi by just 0.002 seconds.

“I was delighted to accept the invitation to experience the excitement of a Supermoto race," explains the Spaniard. "It was also really good fun to see riders with such a natural gift for sliding the bike in action. It was a different way to spend time before we head to Estoril, a circuit I love and where I hope to be amongst the pacesetters once again.”

Niccolò Canepa will stay on with Pramac Racing until the end of the year according to his squad, the Italian racer is excited to getting back on his Ducati engine in Portugal after rumours that Aleix Espargaró may take his spot was claimed untrue.

Canepa states, “It has not been an easy time. People have been talking about me a lot and I read the newspapers every day. There was a meeting with Ducati to clarify the situation, which the team owner Paolo Campinoti attended. Now all I can say is that I am happy I will be finishing the season on my bike.”

He adds, “No-one asked me to win the World Championship at the beginning of the year. I don’t think I have been as disappointing as people have said. I’ll finish the season and I am happy to be able to do so.”

Previewing the final four events of the year, Canepa explains, “I’ll do my best. It is a critical time with regard to the rider market for next year. Throughout the year I have been making progress in every race and I need to keep going like that in order to secure my future in the sport."

It is unlikely he will continue in the premier session of MotoGP next season, he admits,  “I don’t think I will be back in MotoGP. Riders such as Alex de Angelis and Toni Elías, who have been on the podium this year, still don’t have their rides for 2010 sorted. so I think that makes it even harder for me. Riding again in MotoGP is my dream for the future but maybe now it wouldn’t be bad to ride in another championship to gain more experience and fight for podium places.”

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Honda’s fresh VFR1200 V4 has been rumoured to be completely finished.  The first time it seems the production specification, colours and design of the motorbike have been seen in full force.

The bike was seen filming a Honda promotional video in the Alps and backs up the previous leaked images of the bike earlier in the year.

Up until now, only images of the bike riding were of a pre-production motorbike seen doing low speed fuel injection set-up in America.

Look out for the new look, arriving soon.