Those handy people at Haynes publishing have just bought out two new very exciting books. The first is the 'Official MotoGP 2007 Season Review' and it has been written by Julain Rider. The book looks at the changes in MotoGP over the last year with the 800cc engines coming into play, and the amazing Casey Stoner who with Ducati won the series and gave World Champion Valentino Rossi a good run for his money. The second book is the 'Official British Superbike 2007 Season Review' written by Gary Pinchin. This book describes the British Superbike year beautifully and is the second Official review from Haynes. British Superbike Rider Leon Haslam will be signing copies at the Duke Stand at the NEC on Wednesday 28th November, 1.30pm. The Duke stand is Number: 2H50, so get your selves down there and get your copy signed.
Official MotoGP Season Review 2007
The 2007 season marked a new beginning for MotoGP as the bikes dropped down to 800cc and the series got a new champion in the form of 21-year-old Australian Casey Stoner. Stoner left Valentino Rossi and pre-season favourite Dani Pedrosa floundering, but 2007 saw Suzuki and Kawasaki up their game, and their riders – John Hopkins, Chris Vermeulen and Randy de Puniet – regularly fighting for rostrum finishes. It was a season that made history. The new bikes were slower down the straights but riders could brake later and carry more speed through the corners, resulting in a different type of racing but lap times that matched last years more powerful machines.
Everyone thought that the engineers of the giant Honda company would produce the motorcycle the rest had to beat, as they did when MotoGP arrived in 2002, but it didn’t turn out like that. Ducati, the smallest company in MotoGP, fielded a brilliantly designed bike and a great new Champion raced it to ten wins in 18 races. Casey Stoner’s season was nothing short of brilliant. In his first season as a factory rider, his first on a Ducati, and his first on Bridgestone tyres, the Australian racked up an amazing string of performances. In only his second season in the top class, Casey’s career statistics for win rate and number of wins in a season are only bettered by three all-time greats: Giacomo Agostini, Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi. And you just know there’s more to come.
In this fourth edition of the Official MotoGP Season Review, British Eurosport’s MotoGP commentator, Julian Ryder, tells the story of each race with the vital assistance of Andrew Northcott’s stunning photography. Neil Spalding provides the technical analysis of Ducati’s first Grand Prix Championship winner as well as each bike on the grid individually with the help of stunning double-page photographs. There’s also a round-up of each rider’s season and a report on the activities of MotoGP’s official charity, Riders for Health. And there’s the unique and authoritative Riders’ Rider of the Year poll in which every rider votes. If you want to know who really is the fastest in the world you have to ask the racers themselves.
Julian Ryder
Publication Date: OUT NOW!
ISBN: 978 184 425 451 4,
Format: Hardback,
RRP: £19.99
Official British Superbike 2007 Season Review
In another closely fought scrap, the 2007 Bennetts British Superbike Championship was decided at the last round, with Japanese star Ryuichi Kiyonari clinching the title for a second successive year. There were dramatic twists and turns throughout the season, and the sensational action is what makes BSB such a thrilling championship to follow.
The championship started with Gregorio Lavilla running away with it on the Airwaves Ducati, but Kiyo, his HM Plant Honda team-mate Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam reeled in the Spaniard when he hit problems mid-season. The championship went to the last round with Kiyo holding the upper hand but with Rea and Haslam still mathematically in with a shout, should Kiyo have a bad weekend, as at the penultimate round when another rider crashed into him and took him out of the race. Lavilla bounced back to end the season as he started it with two wins, but Kiyo took the title.
The story of BSB in 2007 wasn’t just about two HM Plant Hondas and two Airwaves Ducatis. Though Stobart Honda’s Shane Byrne was the only other rider outside the top four to win a race, the season saw a whole new crop of BSB riders emerge, with youngsters Tom Sykes, Cal Crutchlow and Leon Camier stepping up from Supersport to flex their muscles in the big league. Sykes, on the second Stobart Honda, came out as best rookie in terms of overall points and was on the podium five times. Crutchlow impressed, shouldering most of the development work on the Rizla Suzuki while his more experienced team-mate Chris Walker struggled, and finally took a richly deserved podium in the final race of the year. Camier was the star of the first half of the year on the Bike Animal Honda, but struggled mid-season with set-up problems and then badly broke his leg at Cadwell.
BSB rode high all year. Healthy grids, lap records, record crowds – and fantastic TV coverage. This book, the second Official British Superbike Season Review 2007, (hitting shops just five weeks after the last round of the championship), provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes insight into the championship, and captures all the excitement of yet another amazing year of racing. MCN’s Gary Pinchin describes the action on and off the track as the season unfolded, complete with comprehensive statistics from each race and stunning colour photography. There’s a technical assessment of each of the top Superbike teams plus a full review of the Maxxis British Supersport series, won by Michael Laverty on the Relentless by TAS Suzuki. It is the definitive record of yet another brilliant season of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, a must-have for all
Gary Pinchin
Publication Date: OUT NOW!
ISBN: 978 184 425 4521,
Format: Hardback,
RRP: £19.99
Related Links:
www.haynes.co.uk
