Rumours and movements

[voyeur]

I hear that 250 rider Ant West is up for a 250cc KTM ride....
while Casey Stoner will rejoin Cecchinello's Safilo Carerra LCR team in 250s....
Toni Elias will get a MotoGP ride before Randy de Puniet...
Anyone else heard of anthing?

[Marieke]

Hmmm..sorry not really only that from Toni Elias

[voyeur]

This just in:

Héctor Barberá and Jorge Lorenzo will both ride for the Fortuna Honda team managed by Dani Amatriaín in the 2005 250cc World Championship.

Both riders were due to ride their new machine, the Honda RSW 250, for the first time on Wednesday at the Cheste circuit in Valencia, venue of the final race of the ’04 season last Sunday. It is the start of an intense preseason for the pair ahead of the opening round of the new season at Jerez in Spain on the 10th April.

Barberá, who clinched the runner-up spot in the 125cc World Championship with victory at the Ricardo Tormo circuit arrives at the FORTUNA HONDA team from SEEDORF RACING. The agreement is part of a link-up between the two teams and Honda and is the first step in a new project of collaboration.

Lorenzo, who had an interesting battle with his new team-mate in the 125cc class at the weekend, ends a three-year relationship with Derbi which has wielded four Grand Prix victories. The 17 year old Mallorcan will be one of the youngest riders in the category, having already had the honour of being the youngest rider ever to compete in a Grand Prix and the youngest Spaniard to ever win one.

The 2005 season will be Fortuna Honda's third in the World Championship and will again be sponsored by LOTUS, having already finished runner-up in the 250cc class with Roberto Rolfo in 2003 and taking fourth this season with Toni Elías. Between them, the two riders have won four Grands Prix for the team.

[voyeur]

It's good to see....



Stoner returns to Aprilia - and Cecchinello

Casey Stoner was back on board a 250cc Aprilia today after two seasons in the 125cc World Championship. The Australian youngster contested his first full season with the Italian factory in the quarter-litre class in 2002 before stepping down to the minor class in an attempt to win the title, first for Aprilia and then KTM.

However, after a season fraught by bad luck and injuries with the Austrian factory the 19 year old today returned to the team run by former rider Lucio Cecchinello in a private test at Jerez and was quickly back in the swing, lapping within three tenths of a second of Daijiro Kato’s lap record as he clocked a best time of 1’44.663.

"I’m really happy to be back on a 250 and with Lucio’s team," commented Stoner, who was joined on track by new team-mate Roberto Locatelli. "It was a hard decision to leave KTM but I took it because I want to try and win races in this category. Today the only objective was to rack up as many kilometres as possible and get used to the bike again.

"I’ve been riding the 2004 bike and it’s hard to compare it to what I rode in 2002 because I can barely remember! But I am really happy to be here and I’m confident I can achieve things with this team in 2005. I very much enjoyed my time at KTM and would like to thank everybody there and at Red Bull."

Stoner and Locatelli were joined on track today by Mirko Giansanti, who looks certain to step up to the 250cc class on an Aprilia with the Matteoni Racing team he rode for in the 125cc series last season. Factory Aprilia rider Alex de Angelis also rode although his lap times were not released.

Unofficial lap times:

Casey Stoner: 1’44.663
Roberto Locatelli: 1’45.340
Mirko Giansanti: 1’46.894