Yesterday, Anthony West announced that he was withdrawing from the Speed Master team due to financial issues. The Speed Master team announced today that they have reached an agreement with Mattia Pasini who will ride an Aprilia Racing Technology CRT motorcycle in the MotoGP class this year.

Valentino Rossi has won 7 premier class World Championships. He's scored 79 victories, taken 49 pole positions, and landed on the podium 139 times. But after The Doctor's dreadful 2011 season, his first ever without a victory, some started to speculate that the former champ was on the decline.

The MotoGP grid has lost its first bike of the season. Anthony West, who was scheduled to ride a Speed Master CRT bike during the 2012 MotoGP season has withdrawn from competition saying that he couldn't afford to race this year.

If the MotoGP wants to expand its global reach, they'll have plenty of options in the next few years. The championship is already scheduled to head to new tracks in Argentina and Texas starting in 2013, and India and Chile could soon be added to that list.

On April 8th, thousands of fans will watch the first race of the 2012 MotoGP season. Racing fans will watch as Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi, and Dani Pedrosa compete on the track. But according to the 2010 MotoGP champion, the real battle will take place in the garages.