MotoGP: Sete and his Shady Sponsors

Sete Gibernau is returning to MotoGP after an absence of two years to ride a Ducati for the Onde 2000 team. The bike was unveiled bearing two names, those of a convicted fraudster and a small African country ruled by one of the world's worst dictators. Has MotoGP taken a step too far in its search for financial backing?

The name of the first sponsor is Francisco Hernando, who owns the Onde 2000 property development company. He is known in Spain as "El Pocero" which translates as "The Well Digger". This is a reference to his origins as a manual labourer digging wells and sewers. Despite being virtually illiterate, he owns the grandest yacht in Spain and is the mastermind of huge property developments. [El Mundo (Spanish)]

Hernando's rise from poverty to boss of a multimillion Euro property empire would seem like a marvellous rags to riches tale, if it were not for the controversy which has dogged him. "El Pocero" was convicted of tax fraud and sentenced to four years imprisonment in 2007, but managed to stay out of jail by paying the tax man 3 million Euros. [El Pais (Spanish)]

His grandest property development is at Seseña, just outside Madrid, where more than 13,500 apartments were built. Of course, the Spanish property market crashed hard this year, with Seseña being described as a ghost town by a BBC reporter who visited. The number of residents is estimated at less than a thousand, with people trying to sell the apartments at a loss. [BBC]

So how is a Spanish property developer finding the cash to sponsor a MotoGP team, when his flagship development plan lies in tatters?

Now is when our story turns sinister.

Francisco Hernando is maintaining his property empire by building in foreign countries. One of the countries he has linked up with is "Guinea Ecuatorial", or Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony in Central Africa. This tiny country has a population of around half a million, and is ruled with an iron fist by Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who appears in 11th place in Parade Magazine's list of the World's Worst Dictators (having dropped out of last year's top ten position.) [Parade Magazine]

Although Equatorial Guinea holds "democratic" elections, Obiang's party wins every time (with 97% of the vote in the 2002 election). His rivals do not stand against him, as the system is so corrupt that they cannot possibly win. [BBC] Opponents of the ruling regime risk torture and death. This gives Obiang god-like powers over his countrymen, and crucially, total control over the country's oil and gas reserves.

Equatorial Guinea's annual income from selling oil is estimated at more than 4 billion US dollars. With a population of just half a million, this means the country is theoretically one of the wealthiest in Africa, with a GDP per capita close to that of Portugal and nearly twenty times that of neighbouring Cameroon. In fact, the discovery of oil has led Equatorial Guinea to record the second highest growth in GDP per capita in the world for the period 1975-2002. However, the people of Equatorial Guinea are among the world's poorest, subsisting on around one dollar per day. [BBC]

Obiang and his family, on the other hand, are rich beyond most Westerner's wildest dreams. At one stage, it was discovered that Obiang had deposited $700 million of oil money in a bank in the United States, where he was educated. More than $2 billion is hidden in foreign bank accounts. [IRIN] His son Teodorin, who is known for his flashy lifestyle, owns a record label in the US, and has splashed out millions on fast cars. [London Times] Western governments, particularly the United States, stay out of Equatorial Guinea's affairs because they benefit from the country's oil boom. [Slate] A group of bungling British and South African mercenaries recently tried to overthrow Obiang, not because he is evil, but because they had been promised oil contracts if they succeeded. [The Independent]

Less than half of the people in Equatorial Guinea have access to clean water. A simple visit to a doctor would cost many weeks' wages, and is therefore impossible for most people. [IRIN]

The country's infant mortality rate is terrifying. Twenty percent of Equatorial Guinea's children die before they reach five years old. [UNICEF]

Why is Equatorial Guinea sponsoring a MotoGP bike when its children are dying in their thousands? How low will MotoGP sink to ensure there is another bike on the grid in 2009?

MotoGP: Stoner Snoozes to Valencia Victory

The final MotoGP race of the season at Valencia, Spain, was won by Casey Stoner. Dani Pedrosa could only manage second, while Valentino Rossi took the final podium spot after starting from the fourth row of the grid.

Qualifying had been held in dodgy conditions, starting off slightly damp, getting damper, then drying out a bit. Casey Stoner took pole position on his Ducati ahead of Repsol Honda "team-mates" Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden. The Tech 3 Yamaha duo gave everyone a shock by qualifying on the second row, with Colin Edwards fourth and James Toseland fifth. Caught out by the changeable conditions, Valentino Rossi could only put his FIAT Yamaha in tenth spot at a circuit that has been cruel to him for the last few years.

Race day was warm and dry, meaning that most teams had to make an educated guess for their setups and tyre choice. The Repsol Honda bikes appeared in a retro white livery to honour their title sponsor, while Jorge Lorenzo's leathers and bike were plastered in the flags of each nation where he has won a race.

Dani Pedrosa made his usual blistering start, thanks to having a power to weight ratio close to that of an ant riding a Saturn V rocket. Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden were in hot pursuit. Stoner had no intention of letting Dani Pedrosa do his usual race winning act of disappearing into the distance for another boring victory. No, Stoner wanted to do that stunt himself. A couple of corners into the race, Stoner passed the teeny Spanish hero, turning the race from a typical Pedrosa snoozefest into a typical Stoner snoozefest.

Stoner's cracked wrist refused to make things interesting by flaring up as it had in Malaysia, so he pulled out a few seconds in front of Pedrosa. The pair circulated a few seconds apart for the remaining twenty-eight laps. So far, so snoozy.

Valentino Rossi charged through the field as expected. It took him just six laps to pass Hayden for third place. Then his charge ended. He was lapping faster than the riders behind, but could not get any closer to Stoner and Pedrosa in front. The trio circulated a few seconds apart until the end of the race.

Still, tedious as the non-battle for the podium positions was, there was some interesting racing for the positions that nobody really cares about...

Read the rest of my review of the MotoGP race at Valencia at Motorbikesport.

MotoGP: Rossi Stars at Sepang

Valentino Rossi won his ninth MotoGP race of the season at Sepang, Malaysia. Dani Pedrosa was second, while Andrea Dovizioso finished third for his debut visit to the MotoGP podium.

The qualifying session had been an amazing spectacle, with the track starting out wet but becoming fully dry by the final few minutes. This resulted in a mad dash for pole position in the last moments of the session, with Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa snatching top spot ahead of FIAT Yamaha team-mates Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. Casey Stoner could only manage seventh position on the grid after failing to exit the pits in time for his last run.

Pedrosa made his usual rocketship start to the race, pulling out several bike lengths by the end of the start/finish straight. Scot Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso battled through to second place by the time the field had passed through the first right-left complex, just ahead of Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden on the second Repsol Honda, and Casey Stoner on the Ducati. Rossi was immediately all over the back of Dovizioso's silver bike, but the younger Italian was in the mood for a good result. The Doctor passed his countryman in the final hairpin, but ran wide, and Dovi grabbed the place back. However, Rossi's Yamaha eased past the underpowered satellite Honda machine down the start/finish straight to take second place and set off after Pedrosa's quicker factory Honda.

Casey Stoner was now battling to overtake Nicky Hayden for fourth place. The Kentucky Kid was already sliding his Repsol Honda, but Stoner was unable to use the Ducati's top speed to pass the American. The Australian soon to be ex-champion was not looking like his usual self, and had admitted that he had not found a good setup for his Bologna Bullet.

Englishman James Toseland only lasted four laps before lowsiding out of the race unhurt, blaming a hard compound tyre which he was struggling to bring up to temperature. Alice Ducati rider Toni Elias was given a jump start penalty.

At the front, Pedrosa was not breaking away from Rossi. The miniature matador's lightly loaded Honda was firing out of the corners and leaping onto the straights, but Rossi's tightly turning Yamaha was clearly faster through the swooping corners at the back of the Sepang track. The eight-times world champion was trying very hard, as evidenced by his left foot flapping in the breeze under heavy braking, the usual sign that Rossi is in a determined mood...

Read the rest of my report on the Sepang round of MotoGP at Motorbikesport.

BSB: HM Plant Goes All Aussie For 2009

HM Plant Honda will field two Australians in the 2009 British Superbike championship: Glen Richards and Josh Brookes.

There are two big teams in BSB that have won the last few championships between them. GSE Airwaves won this year's title with Shakey Byrne on a Ducati, but they are switching to Yamaha bikes next year, and most people expect them to take a few races before they get into the groove. For that reason, HM Plant Honda are favourites for next year's BSB title, so these two Aussies will be expected to win lots of races and challenge for the title.

Glen Richards is a relative veteran, having done well on a Kawasaki in BSB back when that was possible. Last year, he rejuvenated himself by dropping to British Superstock 1000 and winning the title. This year, he moved up to British Supersport 600 and won that title on a Triumph after a season-long battle with the South African Hudson Kennaugh on a Yamaha. There was a massive contrast between the two, with the laid-back, humble, down to earth Aussie becoming hugely popular while the quick but highly-strung, mouthy, bike-blaming South African got up more and more noses as the year went on.

Fans of the theory of karma will be nodding sagely as Richards has bagged the best ride in the paddock while Kennaugh has seemingly had a massive row with his team and disappeared back to Africa. The post-race interviews with Richards gave a lot of chuckles as he gave his rival a bit of needle, but the year will be remembered for an outrageous overtaking move at Oulton Park. Towards the end of a breathtaking last lap, Richards passed Kennaugh around the outside in the move of the season.

Glen Richards has become so popular among BSB fans that you get the feeling there would have been some kind of riot had he not ended up with a good seat on a superbike for next year, but there will be no need for that now.

Josh Brookes is an up and coming Aussie who is currently in third place in the World Supersport championship standings, and still in with a shout of second place. He is obviously very quick as they don't give away top three positions in the WSS championship table free in packets of rice crispies (I've checked.) Brookes made a one-off appearance for HM Plant in the final round of the British Supersport championship at Brands Hatch. He finished third behind Richards and the blindingly fast, but almost wilfully erratic, Steve Plater. That ride seems to have sealed his contract for next year. As Tom Sykes, Leon Haslam and Shane Byrne have shown, winning races and fighting for the BSB title can get you a move to World Superbike. Josh Brookes will surely follow that path over the next couple of years too.