2003 Honda Goldwing Gl1800 on 2040-motos

Moto blog

How to solve the mystery of the wildcard replacement

With the two test riders coming forward to act as replacement riders for the injured Rossi and Aoyama, it brought back memories of the days when the grid would be gifted with wildcard riders from the respective countries. The Japanese rounds were always attended by some of the top guys with experience of the 500GP and MotoGP bikes, through racing them in their domestic championships. What resulted was getting to witness the exciting and talented Japanese riders, and bring new riders to the attention of the teams.

The Japanese oddity to naming teams

Whenever the calendar shifts to a major Japanese race, such as the Suzuka 8hr, one of the more amusing things to do is glance down the team sheet This years highlight for me has to be team Moto Bum, with other stand outs including aprilia D.D.BOYS, Team Etching Factory Yamaha and MITO MOTO & e'freaks Honda. Looking back through the ages some of the great Japanese team names have been Burning Blood Racing Team, Dog Fight Racing and Team Moto Space amongst others. Credit to a member of the Twitterati @temalive

V8 Honda motorcycle

Some of the best things happen in Holland - if you know where to look. For such a small country their can-do attitude has allowed them to conquer a great part of the developing World and most of the developed World with their prudent and er, careful attitude towards money. It's no coincidence that some of the most successful banking conglomerates are Dutch.  And then we have people doing this - just because they can - in their sheds.