Eurosport - Thu, 04 Dec 09:53:00 2008
It's that time of year when the silly season is drawing to a close and the landscape of who will be riding where is a little more clear.
Several big names have landed several big rides across the championships, and 2009 looks like being one of the best years ever - especially in the World Superbike championship where several British Superbike riders are joining the ranks.
Here, at the moment, is where the rumour mill and confirmed rides are putting the riders for 2009 (the list may yet change):
MOTO GP
Fiat Yamaha - Stays the same: Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo
Suzuki - Stays the same: Chris Vermeulen, Loris Capirossi
Repsol Honda - Out: Nicky Hayden. In: Andrea Dovizioso. Staying: Dani Pedrosa
Ducati - Out: Marco Melandri. In: Nicky Hayden. Staying: Casey Stoner
Tech 3 Yamaha - Stays the same: James Toseland, Colin Edwards
Kawasaki - Out: Anthony West. In: Marco Melandri. Staying: John Hopkins
San Carlo Honda Gresini - Alex de Angelis
New team: Ducati Onde 2000 - Sete Gibernau
Alice Ducati - Mika Kallio, Niccolo Canepa
JiR Scot Honda - Yuki Takahashi
LCR Honda - Randy de Puniet
WORLD SUPERBIKE
Xerox Ducati - Retired: Troy Bayliss. In: Noriyuki Haga. Staying: Michel Fabrizio
Yamaha - Out: Troy Corser, Noriyuki Haga. In: Tom Sykes, Ben Spies
New team: Aprilia - Max Biaggi, Alex Hofmann
Suzuki - Yukio Kagayama, Max Neukirchner
Ten Kate Honda - Out: Kenan Sofuoglu. In: Jonathan Rea, Ryuichi Kiyonari. Staying: Carlos Checa
New team: BMW - Ruben Xaus, Troy Corser
Sterilgarda Ducati - Out: Max Biaggi, Ruben Xaus. In: Shane Byrne, Alex Polita
New team: Stiggy Honda - Leon Haslam
New team: Hannspree Althea Honda - Tommy Hill
Kind of new team: DFX Ducati - Regis Laconi, Lorenzo Lanzi
Kind of new team: PSG-1 Corse Kawasaki - Ayrton Badovini, another rider to be announced
Kind of new team: Suzuki Celani - Karl Muggeridge
Kind of new team: Pro-Bike Honda - Gregorio Lavilla
New team: Paul Bird Motorsport Kawasaki - Makoto Tamada, Broc Parkes
WORLD SUPERSPORT
Ten Kate Honda - Out: Jonathan Rea. In: Kenan Sofuoglu. Staying: Andrew Pitt
Yamaha - Out: Broc Parkes. In: Cal Crutchlow. Staying: Fabien Foret
Suzuki - Stays the same: Barry Veneman
Stiggy Honda - In: Anthony West, Robbie Harms
Parkalgar Honda - In: Eugene Laverty
BRITISH SUPERBIKE
GSE Yamaha (formerly Airwaves Ducati) - Out: Shane Byrne. In: James Ellison. Staying: Leon Camier
HM Plant Honda - Out: Leon Haslam, Cal Crutchlow. In: Josh Brookes, Glen Richards
Hydrex Bike Animal Honda - Out: James Ellison. In: Guy Martin (occasional British Supersport races, the rest of the season will be spent contesting the roads), Karl Harris
Suzuki - Out: Tom Sykes, Atsushi Watanabe. In: Sylvain Guintoli (outside chance of a second bike for as yet undisclosed rider)
Rob Mac Yamaha - Out: Karl Harris. In: Chris Walker, another rider to be announced
MSS Kawasaki - Out: Billy McConnell, Stuart Easton In: Simon Andrews, Julien Da Costa
NorthWest 200 Ducati - No news yet, may still run with John Laverty and Michael Rutter
Relentless TAS Suzuki - In: Atsushi Watanabe, Ian Lowry
Comment 6 - 25 of 25
its sad to the end of kawasakis gp team .but go and do what they were good at in world superbikes ,in the muzzy era .dorna should wake up there aint no coffie and the toast is burnt .its time for europe to have its own chapionship within moto gp on hybrid 1000s in harris/roc frames tuned motors and no electronic aids ,moto gp are prototypes these will also be prototypes on a smaller budget as no two tuners will use all the same parts/ideas .young riders ,full grids ,nofly aways,bring it on make me want to go back to europe to watch gps instead of worldsupers
............and with NO Kawasaki in MotoGP, only 17 bikes on the grid..............end of MotoGP as we know it................??
No Melandri or Hopkins next year as Kawasaki are OUT.................!!! Pity this site is so slow in getting the latest news......................!
i agree with garethunwin (comment 18) what a mouth-watering prospect doviziozo on the repsol honda bike is!
one of the coolest,least modest guys on the grid........can't wait!
good luck jimmy on the yamy again next year!
JEZ32, if I had the money to try I would shut up but I dont , and I cant see any old racers signing on cos they are skint , can you, retired at 30 with one hell of a bank balance, TO55ER
if you think mr Bayiss was good you just watch SHAKEY burn the field up next year!!!! REMEMBER you head it here FIRST!!!!!!!!!
so dunkty2006 what team do you ride for and what have you won? thought so sweet F,A!!!
As for the older riders bowing out im sure if you were in their shoes doing what you loved and getting paid loads of money with all the fame that goes with it you would say " sure take my job away i would love to be unemployed at 30 odd"!!!!!
Dovizioso will be a serious threat next year, a definate outside bet for the championship. That boy is fast.
In - Steve Plater and Glen Richards??? It'll be Giacomo Agostini back on a bike next. Gamble on the young turks, not the never-quite-got-there's.
ALICE DUCATI - Niccolo Canepa and Mika Kallio
What happened to the Alice Ducati team from the MotoGP field??
After a poor year is 2009 the last chance for Chris Walker?
shame troy bayliss retired damn good rider but what a good replcement with Noriyuki Haga gonna be another winning combination look forward to next year.
To those of you putting down these riders what team are you riding for? I don't remember seeing any of your names on the entry list for these races. If Leon wasn't good enough he wouldn't be where he is today regardless of his parentage. He is competing with the best and regularly beating them. Todays result shows he's got what it takes. Good luck to him in his new team and to all the others. Thank you for keeping me entertained again this year.
HM Plant Honda were very slow sorting their bike out this year but once they got it right Haslam was on fire and winning loads of races. They offered him loads of cash to stay in BSB and had he done so I'm sure he would have won it but new team and bike in WSB so BSB is poorer for losing all the top 4 riders.
well said comment number 2 all haslam gos on about is having a top ride, well he had it this year and could,nt stay on it or was full of lame excuses. all he seems to do is ride on his surname
maybe hard but true, he has been in everything on bikes and won nothing, another aaron slight, shakey like hodgeson(wooden spoon champ, no other factory bike but the petronas, ha), only likes ducatis when he wins, dont get me wrong i like the ducatis but i dont agree with the 1200cc palava, when people started beeting the 999 the rules are changed in favour , that said i'm a big nori fan so GO NORI(on your 1200),
yeah very @#$% Leon his consistently up there on whatever machine so best of luck to him. I agree the older ones need to give young life a chance but thatss to be seen...
Dunkty, bit @#$% Leon, without Shakeys flying start he would have been in with a shout of winning it, certainly front seat for next season if he'd stayed at HM Plant Honda.
Would like to have seen Ant west in WSB but I am glad he has a ride for next year. Maybe now he can be on a half descent bike.
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