All-Moto from the web

* (October 1) Kawasaki's long awaited debut in the MotoGP World Championship takes place at the Grand Prix of Motegi at the Twin Ring circuit in Japan on Sunday. Veteran Akira Yanagawa will ride the 990cc in-line four-cylinder four-stroke machine in the 25-lap race. He will compete in the four remaining grands prix in preparation for a two-rider assault on the championship next year with Australian Andrew Pitt. Honda will be fielding a new RC211V machine at the 4.8km circuit with Brazilian Alex Barros riding one of the dominant machines for the first time, in Pons Team colours. He is currently the top rider of a 500cc two-stroke bike in the championship.

Completing the trio of new four-strokes in Japan is Wataru Yoshikawa riding a Yamaha M1 990cc four-stroke that only Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa have ridden so far in MotoGP races. The circus move to Oz in three weeks.

* (September 30) Texan Colin Edwards wrestled the world superbike championship from Australian Troy

Bayliss last night across two races that were the highlight of the series. They rate as compulsory viewing, if you can get hold of a tape. Frenchman Fabian Foret clinched the world supersport title, while 2001 champ Australian Andrew Pitt finished fifth.

* (September 30) Kevin Curtain made it four Formula Xtreme titles in five years after wrapping up the 2002 Yamaha Formula Xtreme at the sixth and final round of the 2002 Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State series held at Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway yesterday. Curtain arrived at the final round holding a 38-point advantage over defending champion and Radar's Team Yamaha teammate Robbie Baird, but finished the day with a total of 435 points, 33 clear of Baird.

The weekend also proved to be a good one for Yamaha all round as it covered the top five placings in the championship with Jamie and Daniel Stauffer (Bio Magnetics Yamaha) and Craig Coxhell (Radar's Team Yamaha) completing the top five positions. Curtain's title win makes it five consecutive Formula Xtreme scalps for Radar's Team Yamaha, while his Supersport win was the first for the team in the Xtreme Tri-State series. Former AMA superbike champ Matt Mladin completed the four 8-lap races with three fourths and a fifth.

* (September 27) Kawasaki's Akira Yanagawa is confirmed as a wildcard for the upcoming grand prix and Phillip Island, mounted on Kawasaki's new 990cc four-stroke machine.

* (September 26) Six months after fire damaged its factory in Hinckley, Triumph is building motorcycles again. The company says it did not merely replace equipment which had been lost or damaged in the fire, but took the opportunity to relocate and upgrade many processes. Production will start at 25 per cent of pre-fire levels, building up to 100 per cent by Christmas.

* (September 25) Australian GP tuner Warren Willing moves to KTM in 2003 to head up its challenge on the 125 class. The story according to one source: "The Australian motorcycle whiz who guided Americans Wayne Rainey and Kenny Roberts junior to grand prix world championships is switching camps to a new entrant in MotoGP racing. Sydneysider Warren Willing is set to become the technical chief of Austrian manufacturer KTM's grand prix assault, starting next year in the 125cc category - with a full-scale MotoGP bike planned for 2004. Willing worked with triple world champion Rainey when he ruled on Yamaha bikes and in recent years has been with Suzuki, with which Kenny Roberts was champion in 2000.

(September 22) It's official - Valentino Rossi has won the MotoGP title in a wet race in Rio over night. It is the Italian's fourth world title and he was followed home by Max Biaggi and early race leader Kenny Roberts. Garry McCoy finished tenth

(September 20) Max Biaggi will ride a four-stroke Honda next MotoGP season for Italian engineering giant Pramac's team, which this year has fielded Japanese rider Tetsuya Harada. Biaggi won four 250cc world titles on Honda bikes in the 1990s