Lorenzo had originally stated that he would not take part in the race, but since the publication of the Dorna commisioned report on environmental radiation around the Motegi circuit that declared it safe, some initial rider resistance has softened.

Yamaha also confirmed that Ben Spies will also race at Motegi. The full, but short, press release from Yamaha can be read below:

Press Release:
Yamaha Factory Racing herewith confirms the attendance of its riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies to compete for round 15 of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship at Motegi in Japan on 2nd October.

The Yamaha Factory Racing team will race in Yamaha’s WGP50th Anniversary red and white livery for the 4th time this year at the home GP of team owner Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

Toni Elias took one step closer to claiming the first Moto2 Championship title with victory in Japan. Only Julian Simon can now score enough potential points to derail Elias’s championship hopes, however this is unlikley as Elias currently holds an 81 point gap over Simon, and there are only 100 points remaining from the last 4 races.

Toni Elias dedicated his Moto2 vcitory to Shoya Tomizawa.

Toni Elias (1st)
“I am really happy with this win, which moves us closer to the title. We have worked well all weekend and it was an important victory for me because I wanted to dedicate it to Tomizawa. I would have liked to have done it at Aragon but maybe winning Shoya’s home race for him is an even bigger tribute. I took control of the race pretty early but Simon didn’t make life easy for me. In the end I managed to hold him off and I’m really pleased. I am also happy to have won for Moriwaki at their home circuit. It has been a great day.”

Great slo-mo MotoGP fan footage of Rossi being chased down by Casey Stoner at the 2008 Japanese MotoGP

Not a headline we’d thought we’d ever write for a post – but it is being reported via GPOne that the Japanese MotoGP at Motegi is being cancelled and will be rescheduled for 3rd October, due to the current flight restrictions being caused by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland.

It should noted that at this stage there has been no official confirmation from FIM as to the cancellation of the Motegi GP.

The clouds of volcanic ash are currently causing a no-fly policy being imposed over the UK and parts of Europe – which obviously makes it very hard for teams to mobilise and get their crews and staff off the ground and in the air en-route to Japan. It was also reported by GPOne that Dorna boss Carmello Ezpeleta was preparing to have two charter planes ready to take skeleton crews (enough to run a GP weekend) directly to Japan, thus avoiding all the airport delays, but it seems that this would prove to be difficult for some teams.

*UPDATE 19th April 2010:*
FIM have issued a press release confirming the postponement of the Motegi MotoGP race. Press release below:

FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix

Postponement of the Grand Prix of Japan

The recent vulcano eruption in Iceland has resulted in an ash cloud cover infiltration. Air traffic space over Europe has stopped all international travel in and out of Europe.

This case of ‘force majeure’ has obliged the Grand Prix Permanent Bureau composed of the FIM President Vito Ippolito and Dorna C.E.O. Carmelo Ezpeleta, with the agreement of the Grand Prix Promoter, Mobilityland Corporation, to postpone the Grand Prix of Japan planned on 25 April 2010.

The Grand Prix Permanent Bureau proposed equally to the FIM to reschedule the Grand Prix of Japan on 3 October 2010.

Rizla Suzuki announce a ‘threesome’ in Japan – this post is going to be highly disappointing for random searchers arriving from Google after searching for “Japanese Threesome”.

The Rizla Suzuki regulars will be joined this weekend by a wildcard rider in the shape of Test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi

Loris Capirossi:

“I have great memories from Motegi, I have won the last three races there and it will be good to go back and try to do my best again – especially now that I am riding for a Japanese factory on its home track. We had a tough time at Indianapolis for a number of reasons, but that is now behind us and we have to make the most of the rest of the season and Motegi is a good place to start that. I can still fight with the best guys out there and that has to be my goal!”

Chris Vermeulen:

“I had a good ride at Motegi last year despite stalling on the grid. I feel that every time I go out on the track I am getting faster and faster and the new chassis that we have been using for the last couple of races should certainly help us at this track. I am in a good state of mind going into this event and confident of a strong performance. I am just outside the top five at the moment and with the races we have left I am sure I can make a serious challenge to improve my position in the championship.”

Kousuke Akiyoshi:

“I am really pleased and excited to be racing at Motegi. It is my home circuit and I was doing well there last year before I had to retire. I have done many miles testing the 2008 GSV-R and now it will be good to race it – I cannot wait to get out there!”

What’s a Lupin?:
Lupin III, to give its correct name is a famous Japanese manga about….well, some guy called Lupin (as seen below), who travels the world and steal treasures. This fusion of a MotoGP star and Japanese Anime is an Otaku’s wet dream and regardless of what position Lorenzo finishes the race in; (if he stays on the bike) he’ll be a focus of attention for thousands of awkward looking males.

Otaku is fairly negative in meaning as it is widely used to refer to someone who stays at home all the time and doesn’t have a life (no social life, no love life, etc) and obsesses over stuff like Anime, movies and the internet etc…Possibly a blogger……except us of course.

Make your own highside joke below:

“We cannot put too much pressure on ourselves and I will try to treat it like another normal race,” Rossi said on the MotoGP official Web site. “We have a good margin of points, but there are still four more races so it’s not over.”

Yeah, right. Rossi’s aggression and determination at Indy in the torrential rain and wind is anything to go by, it’s unlikely he’ll be content to sit back and run a safe race to secure 3rd place – race fans could be treated to an exciting event.