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Aprilia issued the following press release and official photos of their 2015 MotoGP bike after the launch in Milan:

MOTOGP, APRILIA'S NEW CHALLENGE

Milan, 5 March 2015 – Aprilia's new challenge is called MotoGP, the top world motorcycle racing category.

This is a Championship the Italian brand decided to return to in the 2015 season, moving the début up a year with respect to the initial plans. This is a brave choice, in line with the character of one of the most victorious racing divisions in history. In fact, in its brief history in motorsports - from 1992 to 2014, Aprilia has managed to win an impressive 54 world title wreaths, 28 of which were earned from 2006 to the present, after joining the Piaggio Group. The Manufacturer from also Noale skilfully demonstrated its competitiveness in the Superbike challenge, where it quickly became a genuine dominator, earning an impressive seven world titles in the last five years.

After the burst of activity leading up to last week, things have once again calmed down in the world of international motorcycle racing. Neither MotoGP nor World Superbikes are testing – though BSB are preparing for their season by testing in Spain – and as a consequence, news is thin on the ground. But not completely absent, so here is our weekly round up of what is happening in MotoGP and WSBK. And in this case, further abroad.

Casey Stoner to make a sort of return?

The fact that Casey Stoner spent a few days lapping at Sepang at the request of HRC came as no surprise. Stoner is, after all, a fully paid-up Honda test rider, and has been put to work to help develop the Honda RC213V for this year and next. When HRC issued a press release casually mentioning that Stoner had put in a few laps on the Suzuka 8 Hour CBR1000RR endurance bike, that raised an eyebrow.

Troy Bayliss is to race again in World Superbikes. The Australian will once again replace the injured Davide Giugliano in the Aruba.it Ducati squad at the Thai round of WSBK at the Chang circuit. Whether Bayliss will also replace Giugliano at Aragon and Assen is yet to be decided.

Official confirmation came as rumors started to emerge this morning, after Bayliss posted a rather coy status update on his Facebook page, stating only "See you soon." Unsurprisingly, that set Social Media ablaze with speculation, with various news sources claiming with varying degrees of confidence that the decision had already been taken. Their eagerness was vindicated earlier, when Ducati finally issued an official press release confirming Bayliss' return.

MotoMatters.com is delighted to feature the work of iconic MotoGP writer Mat Oxley. Oxley is a former racer, TT winner and highly respected author of biographies of world champions Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi, and currently writes for Motor Sport Magazine, where he is MotoGP correspondent. We are featuring sections from Oxley's blogs, which are posted in full on the Motor Sport Magazine website.

Rubber and robbery

Many of you probably already know something about bike racing’s greatest story of industrial espionage, when East German Ernst Degner defected through the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War, carrying with him MZ’s hard-won two-stroke secrets. Degner sold MZ’s knowhow to the struggling Suzuki factory, which went on to win its first GP victories and first World Championship the very next year.

For all we know, stuff like this happens all the time; we just don’t get to hear about it. But we did get to hear about something that happened 10 years ago in Ireland.

One of the more intriguing match ups of the 2015 MotoGP season is the battle between the two newcomers from the support classes. Maverick Viñales and Jack Miller are both close friends and fierce rivals, sharing a motorhome off the track, doing battle on it. Viñales has come to MotoGP early, after just a single year in Moto2, where he was very competitive within a short space of time. Miller has made an even bigger jump, skipping Moto2 altogether and heading straight to MotoGP from Moto3. It is a huge leap for the Australian, switching from a narrow, 55hp, 80kg razor of a bike to a 158kg, 250hp monster.

So how have they adapted? Though the two are only a few days apart in age, comparing their progress is fraught with difficulty. Viñales, riding the Suzuki GSX-RR for Suzuki, is on a factory prototype inside a factory team. Miller, on the other hand, is riding an Open class Honda RC213V-RS with the LCR team. Viñales has a large team surrounding him, with sufficient backing to act on his input. Miller has a much smaller group around him, though he has the excellent fortune to have Cristian Gabarrini as his crew chief, one of the very best in the business. But perhaps the biggest and most important difference is that Viñales has experience on a larger, heavier bike, having raced in Moto2 in 2014, while Miller has only ever raced a lightweight Moto3 machine.

Yet it is still possible to measure progress. By comparing the times they set during the two Sepang tests, and seeing how much quicker they got, and how much closer to the front, there is a glimpse of how the two riders are doing. Furthermore, if we compare their progress to the progress made by riders on the same machine as them, we get a better measure of how they are progressing.

The Misano World Circuit is to be completely resurfaced. Under the direction of Studio Dromo, the engineering and circuit designing firm run by Jarno Zaffelli, the track is to receive a new layer of asphalt, especially formulated to cope with the stresses of both world championship racing and exposure to the salt sea air which blows in from the Adriatic coast. The work is due to continue until 10th March, and Studio Dromo issued the following press release describing the work in detail.

MISANO WORLD CIRCUIT: NEW ASPHALT FOR THE INTERNATIONAL RACETRACK

Works of resurfacing of 4,226 meters on the international circuit has started.

The project and site engineering is from designer Jarno Zaffelli, owner of the studio Dromo. The works will be done by specialized company Pesaresi SpA in Rimini using feeders technologies for the very first time in Italy.

Misano World Circuit, March, 1st, 2015 – Technology and safety characterize the intervention that the property of the Misano World Circuit, the Santa Monica SpA, decided to carry on the eve of the 2015 sport season. It's been a few days that the Works of complete resurfacing of the circuit has started, and they will continue - weather permitting - until March 10.

It has been a busy week for racing, with the World Superbike season opener at Phillip Island followed by the MotoGP test at Sepang, including the extra day of testing on Michelins. There has been a lot of news, but between MotoMatters.com's star WSBK reporter Jared Earle and I, we got most of it covered, with an extra bonus of photos from top Australian shooter Andrew Gosling.

But there have been one or two things we may have missed, so here's our weekly round up of racing news.

Scratching the itch: Young Gun vs Old Master

There were a lot of happy faces at the Australian round of World Superbikes. Troy Bayliss, three-time World Superbike champion and arguably, WSBK's last superstar, made a return to the series, replacing the injured Davide Giugliano on the Aruba.it Ducati Panigale. The replacement was at very short notice, Giugliano having crashed during the test which preceded the opening round and fractured a couple of vertebrae.

The departure of Bridgestone and the arrival of Michelin as official tire supplier to MotoGP is an extremely delicate operation, in terms of marketing, tire development, and motorcycle set up. Bridgestone have paid a lot of money for the exclusive rights to MotoGP branding with their tires for 2015; Michelin have done the same for the rights from 2016 onwards. Neither company wants to tarnish their brand or see the value of their investment diminished, either by rider comments expressing a preference one way or another, or by lap time comparisons showing either firm up.

This posed problems for the Michelin test, held on the fourth day of the Sepang MotoGP test. After the factory test riders had tried the Michelins at the first Sepang test, it was the turn of the MotoGP regulars. To avoid any comments which might favor one factory or another, Bridgestone imposed a blanket ban on riders or team members speaking to the media after the test. All Bridgestone branding was removed from bikes and leathers, and no visible Michelin branding was allowed, even down to the manufacturer's logo on the tire sidewalls. With major money on the line, the PR gagging order was enforced rigidly, and observed religiously. No official times were released, nor made unofficially available by the teams. A range of times have seeped out from journalists present, but given that only a few laps were timed by a few people out of practice with using a stopwatch (or its modern equivalent, the smartphone), those times can be taken as guidelines only.

Perhaps the biggest problem was posed by the requirements of tire testing. The riders have just completed three days of testing, building speed and confidence on their 2015 bikes with the latest generation of Bridgestones. They have put in a lot of laps in extreme heat, and are running out of reserves of energy, despite their almost superhuman fitness levels. Their minds and muscle memory is completely attuned to the Bridgestones, so putting them onto a different tire with different characteristics poses a major risk. The riders are focused on pushing hard, and expecting a particular feel from the tires, front and rear. It is potentially a recipe for disaster.

Take a glance at the timesheet after the final day and it is easy to draw some simple conclusions from of second Sepang MotoGP test. Marc Márquez reigns supreme, with Jorge Lorenzo is the only rider to get anywhere near to him. Cal Crutchlow has improved, but at the moment is only fast over a single lap. The Ducati Desmosedici GP15 is fast, but only in the hands of Andrea Iannone. Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa have their work cut out if they are to match their teammates. Bradley Smith has surpassed his teammate, Pol Espargaro. Suzuki is close, but not quite close enough, while Aprilia are hopelessly lost.

As attractive as those conclusions are, the underlying truth is a lot more complex. Testing is exactly that, testing, and everyone is on different programs, trying different things at different times of the day. Or as Dani Pedrosa succinctly put it, when asked if he was trying out a new strategy for qualifying during the test, "we were just trying. That's why we are here." Marc Márquez was undeniably faster than the rest of the field, and his race simulation was undeniably faster than anyone else's. But just comparing the times does not provide the whole picture.

Márquez' race simulation was fearsome to behold. 19 laps at an average of 2:00.760, just one shy of full race distance. 16 laps of 2:00, just three of 2:01. While it is impossible to know how fast his out lap was – the analysis timesheets available only show the full lap times, and no partials, and Márquez embarked on his race simulation after spending 15 minutes in the pits – that pace would have seen him beat his own race time from last year by some 25 seconds. That is seriously fast.

Press releases at the end of the second test at Sepang:

While the focus of most testing is on the rider who goes fastest - that, after all, is the point of motorcycle racing - only looking at the best times does not tell the full story. If the aim of testing is to improve, then measuring improvement can reveal the shift in power, and give hints of the shape of things to come.

Comparing times between the Sepang 1 and Sepang 2 tests show Hector Barbera as the man who has got the most out of the two tests. The Avintia Ducati rider has already shown solid pace, ending the test as 8th overall on the Open Class GP14, and ahead of Andrea Dovizioso on the factory Ducati GP15. Barbera is clearly highly motivated, and with a much more competitive bike, capable of some interesting results. After the two Sepang tests, he has staked his claim as the favorite to win the Open class in 2015, if he can translate his one-lap pace into the race.

Marc Marquez finished on top of the timesheets at the second test at Sepang, posting a fast lap early and then switching his focus to race set up. The Repsol Honda rider completed a punishing test, grinding out 73 laps in the blistering heat of Sepang, 12 more than any other rider. Marquez finished with a race simulation in the final hour of the test. Jorge Lorenzo leaves Sepang as 2nd fastest, the Movistar Yamaha rider satisfied with the work done so far, and the gap to Marquez three tenths of a second. Cal Crutchlow surprised many with a fast lap in the morning, made despite braking problems to take third slot, ahead of Andrea Iannone on the Ducati GP15. Valentino Rossi was 5th fastest, and Dani Pedrosa was one of the few riders to improve their times at the end of the day, finally cracking the two minute barrier.

The combined timesheet looks very similar to the timesheet from Wednesday, almost everyone improving their lap time on the final day. Only Andrea Dovizioso, Loris Baz and Yamaha test rider Katsuaki Nakagama were faster yesterday, the difference for Dovzioso meaning he climbs up to 9th in the combined standings.

With temperatures hotter again on Wednesday, a lot of riders got their fast laps in early on the last day of the official test, at least on Bridgestones. Marc Marquez was, unsurprisingly, the fastest, his quick lap impressive, but unable to match the record time he set at the first Sepang test. Jorge Lorenzo took 2nd, and did manage to beat his best time from Sepang 1, perhaps a sign of the progress Yamaha have made. Cal Crutchlow was 3rd quickest, and nearly a second faster than his best time at the first, though the LCR Honda rider was struggling with brake problems similar to those suffered by Marc Marquez on Monday.

Andrea Iannone was the fastest of the Ducatis, taking 4th spot aehad of Valentino Rossi, while Bradley Smith improved to takes 6th, and the last rider under the two minute mark for the moment. Dani Pedrosa has the 7th fastest time so far, ahead of Hector Barbera on the Open class Ducati, an impressive feat from the Avintia rider, though he found a wheel to follow to set the time. Aleix Espargaro is in 9th, while Andrea Dovizioso rounds out the top ten on the other factory Ducati. With temperatures starting to cool a little, riders will likely put in another attempt to improve their times at the end of the day, when track conditions are a little more conducive to fast laps.

Times at 4pm:

After the excitement and confusion of the first day of testing at Sepang, some semblance of normality returned on Tuesday. Cooler temperatures and more stable weather meant that riders had much more time to do work on track, the heat and humidity not quite as oppressive as they had been the previous day. The excitement over new bikes and gearboxes had also subsided, and the hard grind continued.

If Tuesday is representative of the normal state of play in MotoGP, then it seems like there are already two favorites for the title emerging from the pack, though margins are slim indeed. Marc Márquez and Jorge Lorenzo were the only two riders to crack the two minute barrier, posting fast times early on in the day, then getting back to work on 2015. Nobody else got near, with the exception of Andrea Iannone, who piled in a quick lap at the end of the day to fall just short of two minutes, the Ducati GP15 quickly proving its worth.

Marc Márquez was perhaps the most relieved rider. After losing a day due to untraceable braking issues, things were back to normal as soon as he hit the track on Tuesday. Márquez was cagey about the cause of the brake issue, joking that he did not want to reveal the secret to his rivals, in case they too suffered the issue. The Repsol Honda rider spent the day focusing on electronics and engine management, working hard to make up for lost time. That left him still with work to do on Wednesday, when the team will turn their attention to the chassis he is supposed to be testing. So far, Márquez has been sticking with the chassis he used at the last Sepang test, but Honda also have a chassis with 'something for the rear'. Whether that is in the frame, swing arm, shock mount, or linkage is not clear.

Press releases from the MotoGP teams after the second day of testing at Sepang: