Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Fabrizio to race Byrne's Aprilia.

This Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix will see WCM regular Michel Fabrizio line-up in MS Aprilia colours after being selected to replace the injured Shane Byrne for the Estoril event. Crash.Net

Monday, August 23, 2004

Byrne to miss Estoril, targets Motegi return.

Aprilia's Shane Byrne - who was forced to withdraw from Sunday's Czech Republic Grand Prix through injury - has confirmed that he will also miss the next round of the MotoGP world championship, the Portuguese Grand Prix on September 5. Crash.Net

Sunday, August 22, 2004

Gibernau Czechs rivals with Brno victory.

Sete Gibernau has halted title rivals Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi's recent MotoGP win domination by beating the two Italians in a tense race long battle at the Czech Republic Grand Prix - to claim his first victory since Le Mans in mid-May.Crash.Net

Saturday, August 21, 2004

Laguna Seca Selling US MotoGP Tickets

The track hasn't passed an FIM homologation and the event is based on an agreement "in principle" but that hasn't stopped people from getting into the USGP spirit. Laguna Seca started selling tickets for the 2005 USGP yesterday. SuperBike Planet

Gibernau beats weather for Brno pole.

The tempestuous Czech weather continued to torment the MotoGP field this afternoon at Brno, with rain returning just before the final qualifying session began – and playing into the hands of rain master Sete Gibernau. Crash.net

Final qualifying times - Brno.

Full MotoGP final qualifying times for the Czech Republic Grand Prix, at Brno, round ten of the 2004 world championship. Crash.net

Byrne dislocates wrist in Brno highside.

Shane Byrne has almost certainly been ruled out of the remainder of the Czech Grand Prix weekend, after dislocating his wrist following a massive highside in this morning's final free practice session at Brno. Crash.net

Friday, August 20, 2004

2005 MotoGP provisional calendar

SuperBike Planet Link

MotoGP: First qualifying at Brno

Crash.net Link

Thursday, August 19, 2004

Impressive Hardware

Pro Italia's Cafe Desmo saw a tremendous turnout of vintage bikes last night. It was an incredible display of hardware. Check out the photos.

MotoGP returns to Laguna Seca

Today's Monterey Herald features an article about the return of MotoGP to Laguna. The event will be officially named the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix and is tentatively scheduled for July 8-10, 2005. Link

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

2004 V-twin Track Test

Motorcycle USA has published the obligatory "which v-twin sportbike is better" annual test. This year's contest pits the Aprilia Mille Factory against the Ducati 999S and Honda RC51. Link

Monday, August 16, 2004

Italian Wedding - Piaggio and Aprilia

Looks like it's more and more likely that Italian motorcycle manufacturer Aprilia will be taken over by Italian scooter manufacturer Piaggio.

Aprilia Motorcycle's shareholders have signed a preliminary agreement with Piaggio, giving them the possibility of purchasing 100% of Aprilia.

Personally, I think this is a better match than Ducati buying Aprilia, since Piaggio does not have any motorcycles of the Aprilia type in their product range (Gilera and Derbi), while Ducati only has sports motorcycles. But still better would be a marriage between Aprilia Motorcycles and Bombardier !! Link

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Cafe Desmo

Shine up your bike and join us for a Pro Italia summer tradition, Cafe Desmo, our all Italian bike show. The collection of bikes will be wide and varied as all makes, manners and years are welcome; from rare timeless classics to wildly custom displays of style and from daily workhorses to the latest polished ride just purchased that afternoon. There will be classes for Classic and Modern bikes, entry is free and there will be lots of awards.

In addition we will be featuring special pricing on selected parts and apparel.

Mark your calendar now. Cafe Desmo will be held on Wednesday night, August 18th from 5:30pm - 8:30pm. Link