MotoGP Commercial Chief Carmelo Ezpeleta said that MotoGP "is ready for a foray into India convinced it has a better future than Formula One in the world's second largest motorcycle market." Calling India a "very, very important market" for MotoGP, Ezpeleta, CEO for Dorna Sports, which holds the TV and commercial rights to the sport, "was hopeful they had the right mix to be successful in India, which is the world's second largest motorcycle market after China." Ezpeleta: "It's different, Formula One is another aspirational level. Motorbikes are something very popular in India and are much closer to normal people" (REUTERS, 2/2). ... A group of int'l racing analysts and veterinarians "are poised to call for a cobalt chloride threshold of 100 micrograms per litre of urine, half the current permitted level in Australian racing." A conference of the world's leading analysts and vets "convened in Mauritius late last year and, after examining more than 10,000 random pre-race urine samples, declared the 100-microgram limit appropriate." The data "announced at the conference made it clear that, without a horse being medicated, it couldn't get close to 200 micrograms or even 100 micrograms" (THE AGE, 2/3). ... Victoria Racing Integrity Commissioner Sal Perna on Tuesday insisted that "there is no evidence that alleged harness race fixing spreads beyond Mildura." Perna said information he had received over five years had suggested concerns were “region specific’’ and that the wider harness industry was “clean’’ (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 2/3). ... Spanish Superior Sports Council (CSD) President Miguel Cardenal invited Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President Ángel María Villar and the RFEF to attend a "public meeting" to explain the CSD's "interference" in Spanish Football, which the RFEF referenced in a letter it sent to UEFA last week. Cardenal requested a public debate with Villar to "clarify all the problems." Cardenal: "It is surprising and it seems very unfortunate and repetitive to me. He makes an accusation that is difficult to defend. I'd like him to tell me what the interferences are. I would like to invite the RFEF to a public forum, radio or TV, where it can ask me for accounts so that I can give my version and the people can make a value judgement" (EL MUNDO, 2/3).
