With the final race of the season days away, riders are scrambling to grab every last point and secure positions. 3 Teams are going for a win, each team saying farewell to a rider as the switch to other teams. On the Fiat Yamaha Team, Rossi is trying to get at least 1 point to secure his 2nd place in the championship points, teammate Colin Edwards is trying to go out with a bang as this will be his last race with Fiat Yamaha and the factory Yamaha team. Edwards is leaving Fiat Yamaha to ride with new teammate James Toseland and Tech 3, Yamaha is happy to announce he will still be riding for them at least. Rossi has won twice here and is hoping to at least maintain his grip on 2nd. Both riders want to do well and say thanks to Yamaha for all their hard work and dedication to the bikes this year, they are still fighting to secure Yamaha’s 2nd place standing in the Manufacturers points. On the Ducati Team, Loris Capirossi is saying goodbye to Ducati after many years together and will move to the Suzuki team. World Champion teammate Casey Stoner and he hope to repeat the Ducati One-two finish from last year in Valencia. On the Rizla Suzuki Team, American rider John Hopkins is leaving to join up with the Kawasaki Team, after 81 Races for Suzuki. Hopkins also is in a battle with teammate Chris Vermeulen for Championship points and securing the 4th place spot, Hopkins wants to leave Suzuki on top.

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Cool link I found floating around the web for a book, 101 Sportbike Performance Projects. This link is only a preview, you will need to purchase the book to read it in its entirety. Reading this preview I get the sense it will be great for novice to intermediate riders new to the world of motorcycling and sportbikes. Seems to give detailed descriptions and photos to keep things simple to understand.

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According to Yahoo Sports:

Valentino Rossi, who raked in $30 million, placing him at No. 11 in the world.

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Casey Stoner, rider for the Ducati Marlboro Team and 2007 MotoGP World Champion, has some fights left this season. He has already snatched the Championship and the main reason Ducati won their first Team and Constructor titles, but he is not done yet. There still is a chance this wonderful year will be even better with the last race of the season less than a week away. Stoner currently sits ontop of the Chapionship list with 347 points, if he wins at Valencia, what will be his 11th win of the season, he will be the new single season Record Points holder passing Valentino Rossi’s 2005 Record of 367 points, or if he places 2nd will tie Rossi for the record.

If Stoner and Ducati can pull off an 11th win this season, Stoner would tie Rossi for 2nd place for most victories in a single season behind his idol, Aussie great, Mick Doohan’s record of 12 wins in a single season back in 1997. This would also be remarkable for Ducati, able to claim 11 victories in a single season for the first time and join the list of Manufacturer’s that have accomplished this. Only Honda, Yamaha, and MV Agusta would rank above them with 12 victories in a single season. Things are looking good for the Ducati Marlboro Team considering Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi’s Podium finishes last year at Valencia.

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Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, the one who initially proposed on September 22nd at the A-style Grand Prix of Japan, has withdrawn his proposal and killed the proposal of a control tyre in the MotoGP Championship. The FIM released the following statement on behalf of the Grand Prix Commission:

” The Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpelta (Dorna Chairman), Claude Danis (FIM), Herve Poncharal (IRTA) and Takanao Tsubouchi (MSMA), with the oresence of Mr Paul Butler (Secretary of the meeting), took note with Mr. Ezpeleta of the withdrawal of the proposal from Dorna to introduce a single tyre manufacturer rule for 2008.”

“Changes to the current MotoGP tyre regulations (number and use of tyres) will be discussed at an extraordinary meeting of the Grand Prix Commission to be held in Valencia on Novemeber 3.”

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