Bradl Crowned Moto2 World Champion

Germany's Stefan Bradl was crowned the 2011 Moto2 World Champion in Valencia, Spain today following the withdrawal due to injury of his biggest challenger, Marc Marquez. The twenty-one year old Bradl is the first German to take a motorcycle world championship since Dirk Raudies in the 125cc class in 1993.

The son of World Championship runner-up and 250cc ace, Helmut Bradl, Stefan attributes much of his success to his father. According to Bradl this championship is special as 2o years after his father was 2nd in the world championship, Bradl is now a champion himself. Bradl says of his father, "He's the biggest part in my life, supporting me from every second of racing."

Winning the World Championship is still sinking in for Bradl, as the title did not come easily. Rookie Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez put up a strong fight, and took over the championship points lead in Motegi. It was then that Bradl decided to take an all or nothing approach to score some good results, remain consistent and take the championship title. Bradl says of his battles with Marquez, "I think everybody has enjoyed this Moto2 season. It was a very good battle in the end between Marc and me and I think there hasn't been a single race which has not been exciting. Sometimes as a rider you think 'Oh F***! Another race like that!', and you just want to go away and do your own race, but in this class everything is just so close."

For Sunday's final Moto2 race of the season, Bradl's goal is to win and enjoy the moment; "My goal for tomorrow is to win the race, because now everything is so free; I'm just enjoying racing."

Stefan Bradl is expected to remain with the Veismann Keifer Racing squad in the Moto2 class in 2012.

MotoGP: Stoner Clinches Decisive Pole in Valencia

MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner clinched his 12the pole position at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia today, in decisively convincing fashion with a best lap time of 1:31:861, over a second ahead of second place finisher and Respol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa (1:32:875). Stoner also equalled the record of five-time world champion Mick Doohan of 12 pole positions in a single season.

Track conditions were tough for this afternoon's qualifying, as the track started out wet and then began to dry up towards the end of the session. Riders have been struggling all weekend with rainy and damp practice conditions on Friday, followed by dry conditions for Saturday morning's free practice. According to Stoner, "This afternoon conditions were very tricky, some parts of the track the rain was a little heavier and you weren't sure how far to push". Conditions started to improve towards the end of the session and with under 10 minutes remaining, Stoner went out on a soft rear tire and set a lap time of 1:31:861 which would remain unchallenged for the rest of the session.

Dani Pedrosa qualified second and also struggled with the wet racetrack, "Qualifying was very tricky especially in the middle of the practice, it was a bit raining and you didn't know how hard to push."

Factory Yamaha's Ben Spies bounced back from a difficult past few weeks by clinching the third spot on the front row of the grid. "It was actually a pretty good session. It was definitely difficult like they said with spitting rain the whole time and not knowing how hard to push on certain parts of the track." Spies circulated patiently on the racetrack, keeping the tires hot in case there was a break in the weather. The strategy paid off as a time of 1:33:057 was quick enough to secure a spot on the front row.

In Moto2 action, Gresini Honda's Michele Pirro secured his first and very special position. According to Pirro, "It is a special pole position because I dedicate the pole to Marco, his family and the team." The entire Gresini Honda family has been struggling all weekend in what has been described as a "surreal atmosphere" by the entire team as the experience the gaping hole left by the loss of Marco Simoncelli. All of the riders in the Gresini Honda camp are working hard and dedicating their riding to their friend and fellow rider this weekend.

History was also made in 125cc qualifying as Mahindra Racing's Danny Webb secured his very first pole position ever, and also the last pole position in the 125cc class, which will be replaced by the Moto3 race category in 2012. Webb took a gamble going out on dry tires about half way through the session, but his feeling to switch to slicks paid off when he pulled in a best time of 1:45:898, nearly a half a second faster than second place rider Louis Rossi. Webb also noted it was an important result for Mahindra, as he and his teammate are about the only two riders in the 125cc class who are not equipped with an Aprilia or Derbi motorcycle. Webb's pole position also comes on the same weekend that Mahindra Racing unveiled its 2012 Moto3 bike.

Follow Inside Motorcycles as we continue to cover MotoGP action from Valencia. Racing takes place on Sunday afternoon in the final round of the world championship series.

MotoGP Final at Valencia: Hayes Settles In

Two-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes wishes it were under different circumstances that he was to be riding the Monster Energy Tech 3 Yamaha at the MotoGP season finale in Valencia this weekend. He is replacing an injured Colin Edwards, who was involved in a an incident which took the life of Marco Simoncelli in Malaysia two weeks ago.

This weekend will mark the first time that the reigning AMA Champion has ridden the Valencia circuit, as well as his first experience aboard the powerful MotoGP livery. "I really don't belong here," said an overwhelmed Hayes on Thursday afternoon in a rainy MotoGP paddock, "I don't fit in." For those who have had the opportunity to get to know Josh, he is a humble and down to earth character. He comes into the weekend with no expectations other than to learn the workings of the Yamaha YZR-M1 equipment and to do his best to represent the Yamaha squad.

Wet track conditions during Friday's free practice sessions meant that Hayes' MotoGP debut would be a soggy one. Hayes spoke about his first day on the GP bike, "My first day in MotoGP has been very difficult and scary at times to the honest. Before I went out this morning I don't think I have ever been so nervous in my life. I was happy with my lap times this morning in the tricky conditions but then in the full wet this afternoon it meant it was quite a scary introduction to MotoGP."

While Hayes may not yet have had the opportunity to experience the full potential of the Monster Energy Tech3 Yamaha, the seasoned rider certainly appeared right at home in Valencia. Aside from an uncharacteristically (and to be expected) high level of nervousness prior to the session, Hayes managed to complete his first free practice in 15th position with a time of 1:48:037, a mere 2.524 seconds off morning leader and recently crowned World Champion Casey Stoner. During the afternoon session, Hayes was the first to get out onto the wet racetrack and quickly went to work. After turning countless laps around the 2.5 mile circuit, Hayes found himself in 10th place at the end of the session, with a best lap time of 1:50:509, again 2.5 seconds behind the leader, Suzuki's Alvaro Bautista, who had a best time of 1:47:975 on a wet to damp racetrack.

While Hayes is still learning about the motorcycle, he hopes for some dry conditions prior to Sunday's race so his has an opportunity to test the carbon brakes. According to Hayes, "I don't want to be going into the race on Sunday having to learn to ride in the dry and also adjust to the carbon brakes after two wet days. That would be the worse case scenario for me but I enjoyed today a lot. It was a good experience and once again I want to thank everybody at Yamaha, Tech3 and Monster that made this possible."

Watch for Josh Hayes and the rest of the MotoGP field to be racing the final round of the series this coming Sunday at 2pm local time. All riders have agreed that racing on Sunday is what Marco Simoncelli would have wanted, and a number of riders and teams are sporting the #58 on their motorcycles or gear this weekend in honour of the fallen Italian rider. This weekend will also mark the last race for Pramac Ducati's Loris Capirossi, who after 22 successful years of road racing, will be retiring at the end of this season. Capirossi will be racing with the #58 on his motorcycle this weekend, in honour of his friend.

CSBK planning for a successful 2012

Canadian Superbike Championship series organizers Frontline CSBK sent out a much-anticipated press release regarding its plans moving forward without longtime title sponsor, Parts Canada.

"Central sponsors including BMW Motorrad Canada, Deeley Harley-Davidson® Canada, Honda Canada and Mopar have confirmed their intention to continue supporting the National Series," the release announced.Pirelli will also return as official tire supplier. A season schedule is currently in the works and will be announced at the Toronto Motorcycle show opening on December 9th.

One thing is for sure, and that is the return of the successful double header event at Mosport in late August. Inside Motorcycles broke the news early last month that the series was looking at running the Mont Tremblanc circuit, although nothing will be confirmed until the full schedule is released December 9th.

After a very successful first running in 2011, the H-D XR1200 class will be back and, as the press release indicates, some U.S. racers may be taking part in the Canadian series next year. CSBK also officially announced the debut of Honda's all-new youth-based CBR250R spec class on the full tour. Pro Superbike will remain the national series' flagship class, while Amateur Superbike, Pro Sport Bike and Amateur Sport bike will all remain unchanged for 2012.

(photo courtesy CSBK.ca)

BCCOM proposes lane filtering in B.C.

The British Columbia Coalition of Motorcyclists (BCCOM) has written a proposal letter for the legalization of lane filtering in the province. The letter is to be discussed with B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Shirley Bond in the next two weeks, with the results of the discussion to be announced at a BCCOM meeting on November 17. The organization also mentioned that the letter would be sent to the Ministry of Transportation.

Below are some of the safety measures that BCCOM has proposed to allow lane filtering:

- The operator must operate the motorcycle no more than 10 km/h faster than the rest of traffic
- Traffic can’t be going over 30 km/h
- Lane splitting can’t be done in a school crossing zone, park area, area with a high volume of crossing pedestrians, or somewhere where the speed limit is less than 30 km/h
- Motorcyclists must never ride in between vehicles equipped with mirrors that won’t be able to see them (semi-trucks, large RV’s)

Whether the Ministries of Safety and Transportation see this proposal as a way to improve congestion and safety remains to be seen. In the U.S., similar proposals have seen resistance, with some transportation officials arguing that such legislation has no effect traffic congestion, given the fact that motorcycles make up such a small percentage of vehicles on the road in North America.