posted January 04, 2006 11:08 AM
Stoner is supposed to go to a new Honda-running MotoGP one-man team run by his former Aprilia racing boss, Lucio Cecchinello.
posted January 05, 2006 04:23 AM
So does Checa now follow Barros and try to find a ride in SBK?
____________
refuse 2 tip-toe throughlife only 2 arrive safely at death!
posted January 05, 2006 08:03 AM
How can MotoGP keep screwing it up, more important, how long can they keep doing what they are doing until they kill MotoGP entirely?
MotoGP television viewership is better than ever, they are breaking into new markets like China, Asia, and the Middle East, and after their best year yet they are met with over 50 million dollars of sponsorship LEAVING the sport, replaced by nothing?
The absolute worst is to seesome of that sponsorship going into F1, which is suffering a decline in interest as the on-track product becomes more mundane and the technical regulations get more arcane. For God's sake, 8 million dollars in MotoGP will buy a company virtually an entire team, that money in F1 might buy space for a sticker on the sideplate of the rear wing or behind the front tires and a couple VIP passes into the hospitality area.
Is it the team owners, the manufacturers, the FIM itself, who brought on this deplorable state of affairs, and how can it be remedied?
posted January 05, 2006 01:34 PM
Edited By: trenace on 5 Jan 2006 14:03
From Motorcycle-USA:
MotoGP: Pons Team Checks Out
1/5/2006
Courtesy of Honda Pons
After twenty-five successive seasons competing at the highest level in the Motorcycling World Championships, the Honda Pons team, managed by former double 250cc World Champion, Sito Pons, has announced that it will not be participating in the forthcoming 2006 MotoGP World Championship.
Due to diverse circumstances at the end of the 2005 season, and after a successful partnership of three years, the team failed to renew its agreement with title partner Camel, and subsequent difficulties in securing sufficient financial support for its 2006 project have prompted the team to take the decision to pull out of competition this year, Sito Pons made the following statement, "In spite of determined efforts to maintain our team's 2006 MotoGP project in which we have gratefully counted on the support of HRC and Honda Spain, and having taken part in recent preseason tests at Valencia and Malaysia in preparation for the season ahead, the option to continue did not in the end materialise. We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to both HRC and Honda Spain for their patience and assistance, and to Carlos Checa and Casey Stoner for the trust placed in our team."
Honda Pons will now concentrate all its efforts on consolidating its MotoGP project for 2007 where it aims to return to competition with a competitive package that can fight for the World Championship Title.
"Honda Pons would like to convey its gratitude to JT International for its support during the last three seasons, and to Alex Barros, Troy Bayliss, HRC, Michelin and all other partners who have collaborated with our team during the 2005 season and with whom we look forward to working again in the future. The decision to withdraw from this year's championship has been a very difficult one to take, but our determination and competitive spirit remain unchanged and twenty-five years of success at the top level serve as a motivation to continue. Our firm intention is to return in 2007 and work is already underway on the new project" , added Sito Pons.
Sito Pons, in the meantime, will continue to serve in his role as President of IRTA, the International Road Racing Teams Association, where he will be principally involved in the evolution of the MotoGP World Championship and the renewal of the agreement between IRTA and championship organisers Dorna Sports, S.L.
Just when I was preparing for the first test of the year at Sepang I was given the unfortunate news that the Honda Pons team, with whom I was supposed to be contesting the next edition of the MotoGP World Championship, has ended its competitive involvement in the series due to a lack of sponsorship. This decision, so close to the start of the 2006 preseason, leaves me in a very complicated situation with regard to the future because I find myself with no remaining alternatives that would allow me to challenge for decent results. It is particularly ironic that, after looking towards the future with utter confidence in a project that would see me riding a Honda with a team that know me well and in which I have complete faith, things have swung around so dramatically and left me out in the cold. This is clearly not the time to start feeling sorry for myself or try to find somebody to blame for this regrettable situation - I have never done that because it is not my style. The only thing I can say is that all the hope I had placed in the 2006 season, based on the confidence I had in what had been offered to me, has disappeared in a single moment. In the face of this disappointing situation I am determined not to let my guard down because I am, and always have been, a fighter. Circumstances have left me out of the championship against my will but I still consider myself as an active rider and I wouldn't rule out anything with respect to the future.
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posted January 04, 2006 08:34 AM
posted January 04, 2006 11:08 AM
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