Simoncelli. Assen GP. Toseland. Gossip!
June 25, 2009 - E.L. Luz
Hair Bear boy Simoncelli replaces Elias in Gresini MotoGP 2010. Toseland axed. Edwards for Aprilia. And so on ... Scroll down for the full story
Yes, one of those 'worst kept' secrets is out and former 250GP world champion Marco Simoncelli has signed for satellite Honda team San Carlo Gresini. The press release said Marco was 'Very happy' and so was team boss Fausto Gresini, since Simoncelli is being groomed by the Italian media as a Rossi replacement. If Honda has backed Simoncelli then Gresini has snagged the hot rider and his team is more secure.
Which is more than you can say for his existing riders Toni Elias and the other one whose name escapes me. Ah yes, the crash-tastic Alex De Angelis. It'll be entertaining to watch these two try to our perform each other for the rest of the season, trying to show Gresini (who still has a fine head of naturally black hair...) that he's made a big mistake. Aye, right...
Meanwhile, the odds on James 'JT' Toseland keeping a ride in MotoGP are shrinking with every lap of every circuit. "Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player" is the sort of thing ivory-tinkler Toseland might really have said. Meanwhile, Toseland's Tech3 Yamaha team-mate, the straight-talking Colin Edwards the Third, has been offered a barrow load of cash to ride an Aprilia RSV4 in WSB 2010. Or that's what we heard.
Friday's, whoops, sorry, we mean Thursday's MotoGP free practice in the land of the clog, the dooby, the waxy cheese and windmill saw Edwards, Casey Stoner (Ducati), that almost insepearble couple Rossi'n'Lorenzo (Fix It Again Tony - Yamaha) swapping places at the top of the timing screens. And Lil' Dani Pedrosa posted some decent laps too, trying to please that guy with the scary eyes who runs Honda in MotoGP, Mr Puig.
And at one point (as happens at every GP these days) Stoner was P1 while the other four Ducatis on the grid occupied four of the bottom five places. If only that new fella at Scot Honda had gone one miserable tenth quicker, it would have been one Ducati at the top and the bottom four all Ducatis. Which would have been funny. Or embarrassing. Or both!
Subscribe to Superbike Magazine
What is SuperBike?
SuperBike is an irreverent, humorous and massively informative magazine for all kinds of bikers. The staff has decades of testing and riding experience and are all still passionate about bikes. Biking is – or should be – great fun as well as a huge thrill.