2006 Honda Vtx on 2040-motos

Moto blog

X-ray: Marquez's Suter Moto2

Learning in the quickest and most painful manner with some huge crashes, Marc Marquez has grown into a championship contender in his first year in Moto2. A debut win in Le Mans saw the rookie go on to win four races in a row and become a glaring orange nuisance in the championship peripherals of Stefan Bradl. As success has gone Marquez's way there have been complaints from riders of the same chassis that this is down to Suter giving the Spaniard preferential treatment.

How about Edwards at Repsol Honda?

Casey Stoner's decision to retire at the end of the season has had a real shake-up for the Repsol Honda line-up along with the discussion, rumour and speculation of who will take his vacated seat for next season. With silly season occurring much earlier following Stoner's announcement at the French GP in May, rumours and speculation have been banded around with three candidates leading the way: Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez. Lorenzo, until he was confirmed to stick with Yamaha for another two seasons, was the most plausible of the trio as both himself and Casey are the top two riders in the world right now, making him the obvious choice after the Australian departs.

Looking after number 1

There was a time when a rider’s number indicated his position from the previous season, with the ultimate accolade being the number 1 emblazoned on the front of the champion's bike. The rise of branding in MotoGP and a rider wanting to market themselves, born from Barry Sheene and his retention of no.7, saw riders decide against displaying their finish from the year before. Rossi, who on winning his numerous championships, stuck with his famous #46 in defence of his titles, instead of stamping a great number 1 on his bikes.