he Ducati Marlboro Team recently enjoyed its greatest day in racing when 21-year old Australian Casey Stoner clinched the 2007 MotoGP World Championship at Motegi, Japan. In doing so, Stoner became the second youngest rider to win the world title in the premier Grand Prix class. (American Freddie Spencer was about two months younger) Also, Ducati, broke a 34-year domination of the class by Japanese-made motorcycles.
     Stoner had to finish the Motegi race ahead of Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi to wrap up the title with three GPs remaining, and he did that, finishing sixth after leading the early stages. The race couldn’t have been more nerve-wracking: it started on a slightly damp track, most riders choose rain tires, then the circuit dried out enough for riders to swap to slick-equipped bikes. Stoner’s Ducati teammate Loris Capirossi was one of the first riders to switch, at the end of lap nine, and his strategy paid rich dividends. The 2005 and 2006 Japanese GP winner went on to score a Motegi hat-trick, 10.853 seconds ahead of his closest rival. Stoner swapped bikes at the end of lap 14 and maintained his renowned cool to become the 2007 MotoGP World Champion.
     Having progressed up through the ranks riding 125cc and 250cc KTMs and Hondas, Stoner competed for the LCR Honda MotoGP team in 2006. He then made a dream move to the famed Ducati Marlboro Team to ride the all-new 800cc Ducati Desmosedici GP7 in 2007.
     What was first considered to be a development year pointed skyward quickly when Stoner won the opening round of the season at Qatar. As of this writing, he had won additional rounds in Turkey, China, Catalunya, Great Britain, USA, Czech Republic and San Marino, Italy.
     Immediately following the race in Japan, Stoner said, “I’m struggling for words, I don’t think there is any feeling that can compare to this.”

The huge Red Line Powersports facility in Myrtle Beach provides a great location for a sportbike event.

ne of the fastest growing motorcycle events in the country is the Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Weekend BikeFest in Myrtle Beach, SC. Ed Giesing, driver of the Parts Unlimited exhibit big rig was on hand and captured these photos of some of the great bikes that were seen as an exhibition held at Red Line Powersports. The exhibition also included a stunt show by Jason Britton and his Team No Limits.

One seriously-customized Suzuki.

Drag racing’s influence on the style of extreme Sportbikes is easy to spot.

With major vendors on hand such as Kawasaki and Icon, plus Jason Britton and his Team No Limit stunts, the Red Line Powersports venue was a big success.

The stunt demonstrations were held right alongside the store.

You’ve heard the warnings before: These are trained professionals. Don’t try this at home.

Team No Limits always finds a way to impress the crowd.

From left: Joey Barta, Jason Britton and Eric Hoenshell of Team No Limits sign autographs for the crowd.

Jason Britton shows how to stop on a dime.

Parts Unlimited has announced the addition of Bob Sage as a new Southwest Region Sales Rep. Previously, Dan has worked as a sales rep. in the Arizona area. He grew up riding and racing and still can be seen at his local MX track.


eam Toyota Yamaha/Fast Company was named winner of the Inside Motorcycles Team of the Year. They received the award at the final round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park Sept. 2. Team rider Steve Crevier finished second in both the Parts Canada Superbike and Yoshimura Pro 600 Sport Bike point standings for 2007. Riding the team’s Yamaha YZF-R1, the Maple Ridge, B.C. rider won the last three races in the seven-round Superbike schedule. He claimed one win and a pair of runner-up results on the Fast Company-prepared Yamaha YZF-R6 in the Pro 600 class. This marked the second time tuner Scott Miller and his Breslau, Ontario-based team has won the award. They also picked up the honor in 2001, the first year it was presented. “I’ve been trying to beat Steve for years,” said Miller, who won a national Superbike title in 2002 with Jordan Szoke. “Working with him turned out to be a better fit than I expected. We seemed to get along fine.”
     This was the first year for the Team Toyota Yamaha/Fast Company set up and the squad took some time to get up to speed, especially with the brand new Yamaha YZF-R1. Miller was assisted on the team by Derek Uttley, Jim Nelson, Dave Oakley, Pete Snell, Sandra McGill, Mike Rush and Michelle Rush. “Team Toyota Yamaha/Fast Company faced some challenges this year but persevered and really showed their form in the second half of the season,” said Inside Motorcycles Editor John Hopkins. “For a new program, with a new rider to achieve the results they did was very impressive.” This is the seventh year Inside Motorcycles has presented the Team of the Year Award in the Parts Canada Superbike Championship.