Yamaha Motor has announced an investment in Andes Ag, Inc., a U.S.-based start-up pursuing research into beneficial microorganism technologies to remove CO2 from the air. This marks the first investment made through the $100m Yamaha Motor Sustainability Fund, established in June last year specifically for investing in early-stage companies working to address climate change. This investment in Andes was made possible through Yamaha Motor's Silicon Valley-based group company Yamaha Motor Ventures (YMV), the corporate venture capital arm of Yamaha Motor Company.
MV Agusta's restructuring has been completed following the final decision of the settlement with the creditors under Italian law ("Concordato Preventivo in Continuità Aziendale"). In its judgment of December 29, 2022, the court in Varese declared the proceedings to be over. The judges had previously determined that all outstanding debts to creditors and all obligations arising from the settlement had been settled in full. The company explicitly points out that this result was only possible thanks to the strong commitment of the Sardarov family. Four years ago, the Russians took control of the company and have provided financial support since the settlement began in 2017. Since then, more than € 180m has gone into restructuring business practices, paying off all debt, supporting MV Agusta's day-to-day operations and ensuring a solid business plan for future growth. In November 2022, KTM AG, a subsidiary of PIERER Mobility AG, took a 25.1% stake in MV Agusta Motor SpA as part of a capital increase and thus holds a blocking minority stake. (B&B)
GasGas won the FIM SuperEnduro Manufacturer's World Championship when Taddy Blazusiak, riding the EC 350F, claimed the championship bronze medal in front of his home fans in the fifth and final round of the SuperEnduro World Championship in Poland.
The 2023 French GP at Le Mans will mark the 1,000th event in the history of the championship. MotoGP was the world's first motorsport world championship, having begun in June 1949 on the notorious Snaefell Mountain course on the Isle of Man. That first 500 cc race was won by Briton Harold Daniell on a Norton, ahead of another Briton, Johnny Locket, also on a Norton, and Irishman Ernie Lyons third on a Vellocette. At the end of a six-race frost season (IOM, Switzerland,) Assen in the Netherlands, Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the Clady Circuit in Ulster/Northern Ireland and Monza, another Briton, Leslie Graham, took the first ever Motorcycle GP Championship title on an AJS, with the Gileras of Nello Pagani and Arciso Artesiani in second and third place in the standings. At the end of that first season, the top 20 consisted of five Nortons, four AJS, three Gileras and Moto Guzzis, and two each of Vellocette and Triumph. There were 12 British riders in the top 20 final standings, six Italians, and one rider from each of Ireland and New Zealand.
BDN reports that Moore Large, the UK's largest family-owned supplier and distributor of bicycles and formerly motorcycles and scooters, has gone into administration. Moore Large was a key player in the motorcycle world not so long ago. In 1998, the company returned to the motorised sector for the first time in decades, being appointed UK distributors for Sanyang's SYM branded machines - building a 150-dealer network and registering 4,500 units sold in 2001. SYM moved its distribution to MotoGB in 2010, and although it had a short spell with the Chinese brand CPI and was then the distributor of the KSR Moto, Brixton and Nipponia brands from 2013, it finally closed the doors of its motorised division in 2019.
Well known motorcycle expert Horst Edler, of Team Metisse (Leiferde, Germany) fame, has finally achieved his long-held dream of being able to open a Classic Superbikes motorcycle museum in March 2023 at Gifhorn, near Wolfsburg. Hurrah! Kudos Horst! www.classic-superbikes.com
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com
