MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

The practice sessions scheduled for Misano have been delayed due to a torrential downpour, flooding the pit lane and parts of the track. The rain started on Thursday, and has continued through Friday, throwing the practice schedule into chaos. Ironically, an extra session had been scheduled for the MotoGP class, with extended sessions scheduled for the other classes, to give the riders a chance to learn what is for most of them a new track. More updates as and when they become available.

The redoubtable Toby Moody over at Autosport.com is reporting that the FIM and Dorna will announce today that the Qatar MotoGP round, set to be the season opener for next year, will be run under floodlights as a night race. This option had been discussed previously, with Valentino Rossi, Loris Capirossi and Kenny Roberts Junior running a few laps under floodlights in 2006 as members of MotoGP's safety commission.

The speculation earlier this week has finally been confirmed. Today, Kawasaki announced that Ant West will join John Hopkins at Kawasaki for the 2008 season. West had been getting closer to clinching the deal over the past weeks, his position getting even stronger after current team mate Randy de Puniet announced that he would be joining LCR Honda.

Motorcycle News is reporting that Ant West is very close to securing the second seat at Kawasaki, alongside John Hopkins, whose signing was announced last month. According to MCN, West's signing will be announced on Thursday, on the eve of the Misano grand prix.

Another piece of the MotoGP puzzle fell into place today, with the news that Randy de Puniet has signed a deal with LCR Honda for two years. The move is something of a surprise, as the Kawasaki has been very impressive this year, in stark contrast to the Hondas, and especially the satellite bikes run by teams such as LCR.

The MotoGP paddock has spent a long time waiting for Dani Pedrosa to finally sign the new contract which HRC have waiting for him. It was thought that much of the delay was due to disagreements about the length of the contract, with HRC wanting Pedrosa to sign for 3 years, while Pedrosa only wanted to extend for a single year. With Pedrosa's displeasure with HRC becoming ever more public, delaying signing the contract seemed understandable, but rather pointless. After all, where, realistically, could Pedrosa go?

The paddock is awash with rumors at Brno, and one of the most stubborn is not about riders or bikes, but about tires. With Michelin so far failing very publicly to come to terms with the new tire rules, the balance of power has shifted as far as tires are concerned, from Michelin to Bridgestone. The demise of the overnight tire shipment has removed what has turned out to be the sole advantage for Michelin, and more and more teams are looking to switch to winning rubber.

Ever since the news broke that 250cc World Champion Jorge Lorenzo would be moving to MotoGP with Yamaha, there had been intense speculation about how the young Spaniard's role would be fit into the Yamaha team. Normally, the matter would be settled quite simply, as a young and promising rookie would be slotted in as the junior rider with the seasoned veteran, but in Lorenzo's case, this required a little more tact.