>>>> The FIM MotoGP World Championship will arrive in Bulgaria as of 2012, following a preliminary agreement reached between the Bulgarian Motorcycle Federation and Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder for MotoGP. Meanwhile the Hungarian MotoGP race looks set to be axed due to problems with the construction of the new Balatonring circuit, says Istvan Gyenesei, the minister for local government – this is likely to be replaced by a second MotoGP in Portugal.>>>> The 2009 MotoGP field head to the Losail International Circuit in Qatar this weekend to commence their second test since the winter break, with three evening sessions awaiting them under the floodlights at the desert track from 1st-3rd March. The opening test of the year was considered a positive outing for Rizla Suzuki colleagues Loris Capirossi (fastest on the first day) and Chris Vermeulen, who now strive to confirm the apparent increased competitiveness of the GSV-R800 at a second track. The 2009 FIM MotoGP World Championship will commence in Qatar with the first GP of the year on 10th-12th April.

>>>> Kawasaki have announced that after constructive talks between themselves, Dorna and additional third parties, a new one-rider team will participate in the 2009 MotoGP World Championship. The decision was made after negotiations which followed Kawasaki’s January 2009 announcement to suspend its factory supported MotoGP activities, due to the global economic downturn. The rider for the new MotoGP team will be the Italian 26 year-old Marco Melandri. Away from MotoGP; Melandri recently made his Speedcar Series debut at the Losail Circuit in Qatar and was leading the Saturday night contest before a mechanical problem ended his race. The Italian star qualified in a respectable fourth position under the Circuit’s floodlights on Friday and finished the first race of the weekend in eighth place. Melandri’s compatriot Gianni Morbidelli won the race ahead of second placed fellow Italian and ex-Formula 1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi.

>>>> MotoGP fans in the UK will be able to enjoy the most complete coverage ever of the sport, thanks to agreements for 2009 between the championship’s commercial rights-holders Dorna Sports and both the BBC and British Eurosport. More than 23 million UK viewers watched live coverage of MotoGP during 2008, and thanks to the combined efforts of the two networks to increase their broadcast hours in 2009, that figure is set to rise.

>>>> Track modifications at the Silverstone circuit look set to make it one of the fastest circuits on the MotoGP calendar, when the World Championship heads to the Northamptonshire venue from 2010 onwards. The new Silverstone circuit, which will feature a spectacular new section of track running from the approach at Abbey corner to a tightening ‘Arrowhead’ hairpin at the inside of Becketts, will measure 5.67km in length, 0.53km longer than the existing 5.14km Grand Prix circuit. Scientifically measured data calculates that the average lap time for MotoGP riders around the new track would be 1′51.456 – an average speed of 182km/h… 3 km/h faster than at Phillip Island, which is currently the fastest circuit in MotoGP. The data is based on simulations provided by HOK Sport. www.motogp.com