-limited 1000cc engines, and even production-based engines for privateers. Dumbing down, to save money and build up grid numbers from the present minimalist 17. This further reduces the distance between the two series.By starting late, and then getting caught

The great medical mystery of MotoSoap 2009 remains unsolved. But, late in the series, the corpse has come back to life for the last 
few episodes.Casey Stoner wrote himself out of the series after the British GP and disappeared into the lost

substantial straight where the 990s topped 190mph last year, the lap record sits at a measly 95.4mph. (To put the speeds in proportion, the 990s topped 200 at Mugello and Phillip Island last year, and this year Capirossi's amazing Ducati nudged 204mph at pre

The 117,000 fans who packed the stands at Valencia should have asked for their money back, after a dismal drear-fest procession of a MotoGP race. Asked afterwards, none of the top three riders - Stoner, Rossi, Pedrosa - thought control tyres would

. His own national championship series represented a high level of racing, and his victories a high level of achievement. But it was a dead end nonetheless, in the sense that he was a rider very much of world quality, but there was no clear path leading

another one? Sounds a bit like motorbike racing to me. But the race officials, perhaps inspired by a rather maudlin series of Kato commemorations at the Japanese circuit, saw it differently. Tamada had barely stepped off the rostrum before he was called

After deposing Barry Sheene for three straight championships, Kenny Roberts stopped winning the 500GP title after 1980. He remained King Kenny nonetheless. In racing terms, his status equalled that of Valentino Rossi.In 1982, injury at the British

. Oh dear.It was, let it be observed, for 13th. Tady wasn’t really up to speed, while Nice Nicky had a duff tyre and went backwards from fourth all race long.Still didn’t look good on paper for a man who is desperate for results to save his career as a

of a racing series about to disappear up its own bottom.No wonder a suggestion which was scorned earlier in the year is beginning to gain some credibility: to replace the finicky prototype engines with production-based one-litre engines, which

at a disadvantage, or by needing expensive modification. Current bore sizes for the Honda CBR1000RR and Yamaha YZF-R1 are 76 and 78 mm respectively. To get to 81mm would require a new crankshaft with a shorter stroke.Or perhaps it won’t be a drawback