Haslam and Melandri at BMW in 2012

Leon Haslam believes the arrival of Marco Melandri will be a positive boost for both himself and BMW as he begins his preparations for the 2012 World Superbike Championship season.

Haslam, runner-up with Suzuki in 2010, scored three podium finishes on the way to fifth place in the final standings, but struggled to be a consistent front-runner aboard the temperamental BMW S1000RR.

However, Haslam is feeling confident about his chances ahead of 2012, insisting BMW has implemented many of the changes he felt were required to make the bike a stronger package.

He is also pleased to have a strong team-mate in Melandri, the Italian, who finished second to Carlos Chec last season, switching to BMW following Yamaha's withdrawal from the series

"I have known him for years and he used to live nearby me in England," he said. "We used to ride motocross together as well. I am happy to have Marco as a team-mate. The opinions he has given about the bike are the same ones I had last year. Marco brings a lot of experience and it is good to have a fast team-mate as well."

"We have got a lot of the changes to the bike that we were asking for year last year, some new staff and a new structure. I still have my crew chief Giacomo Guidotti, plus two new mapping and data analysis guys, Bruno and Stefano. The main factors we have improved with the package are electronics, engine management and machine rideability."

Having made a handful of post-season test outings last year, Haslam will return to the track next week at Valencia before flying out to Australia to prepare for the opening round of the season.

"We are going to Europe to test next week, at Valencia, then we will be heading to Australia for some track time with lots of other teams, and then the official tests before the first race. The testing ban has made it a very long winter so I am really eager to get back into it again."

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The Jed Metcher Story

The Jed Metcher Story.

Listen to Jed Metcher talk about how it all began to now, as World Superstock 600 Champion in 2011.

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Motogp 2012 Entry List Revealed

The FIM has announced the provisional entry list for the 2012 Motogp season before the season opener at Qatar. The list confirms a total of 21 motorcycles that will compete in the new 1000cc era.

View the complete Motogp entry list for 2012.

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Motogp 2012 Entry List Revealed

The FIM has announced the provisional entry list for the 2012 Motogp season before the season opener at Qatar. The list confirms a total of 21 motorcycles that will compete in the new 1000cc era.

View the complete Motogp entry list for 2012.

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Jorge Lorenzo finally gets his driving license

If there is one thing Jorge Lorenzo can do well, it has to be riding a bike. The Spanish MotoGP rider made his debut in the 125cc Championships at the age of just 15 and has been living on the edge ever since.

In his nine-year career, Lorenzo has done it all on the tracks -- notched two 250cc world titles and even won the 2010 MotoGP title. However, last week brought one of the happiest moments of his life. The reason was simple: Lorenzo was finally the proud owner of a driving license having cleared the motorcycle theory test in Barcelona.

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Andrea Dovizioso Broken Collarbone Update MotoGP

The Italian had surgery on Saturday to plate his right clavicle, which he fractured in four places in a relatively minor motocross crash last Thursday. The surgery was carried out by Dr. Giuseppe Porcellini, who also repaired Valentino Rossi's 2010 shoulder injury. After the hour procedure, Dovizioso announced via his Twitter account: "I’m almost as good as new!"

The new Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team rider will have to stabilize his arm for 15 days, after which he can begin rehabilitation, just over three weeks before pre-season testing gets underway at Sepang on January 31st. According to Dr. Porcellini, barring any unforeseen complications, the 25 year old should be able to participate in the first test in Malaysia without any problems.

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Marco Melandri to BMW and reveals why not with Aprilia.

World Superbike runner-up Marco Melandri discusses his first impressions of the BMW S1000RR and reveals why he cannot partner Max Biaggi at Aprilia.

Marco Melandri has spoken out for the first time about his switch to BMW ahead of the 2012 World Superbike Championship, revealing that he sees both potential and 'difficulties' in the manufacturer's package.

Though he has participated in three tests with BMW since he concluded his maiden WSBK season with Yamaha at Portimao, contractual obligations have prevented Melandri from discussing his first impressions of the S1000RR.

With his Yamaha contract having now expired, Melandri has spoken to Gazzetta dello Sport about his decision to join BMW and not, as was rumoured, Aprilia, the former MotoGP rider stating that 'Biaggi's contract excludes an Italian rider as a team mate'.

Opting to join Leon Haslam at BMW, Melandri is confident the S1000RR has the potential to be a front runner, even if he concedes there is still much to improve upon.

“We don't want to teach the Germans how to make motorcycles, we only want to offer our experience. We entered the pit garage on tiptoe, but they are curious to learn about how we work. 

“I saw enough during the first test with the S1000RR to realise that there will be a lot of difficulties. One of the priorities will be to keep up the team morale when things don't go well. On a fast lap we are still far away, but over a race distance, I'm sure I can come up with more. I can't wait to start.”

Melandri finished runner-up to Carlos Checa in 2011, while BMW – which is yet to win a race in three seasons of WSBK racing – ended the year fourth in the manufacturers' standings.

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