Perhaps as a belated holiday treat, Honda has finally seen it fit to give a better glimpse of its HRC NRS 250 Moto3 contender. With a few quick cuts and some blurry shots, HRC isn’t completely giving away the 250cc single-cylinder GP bike, but the footage does give us a better idea of what the final shape of the Honda will look like, and perhaps more importantly what it will sound like. If you’re a four-stroke fan, you’ll love the video after the jump…two-stroke fanatics, probably not as much.
Seasons Greetings from A&R. While we stoke the fires on the yule log, everyone at Asphalt & Rubber would like to wish our readers a Happy Holiday. We’ll be taking the weekend off as we gear up for the new year, but should be back in the swing of things on Monday. Whatever your denomination, we hope it’s spent with good friends and family, and that the two-wheeled vehicle in your garage gets some merriment bling as well.
If one were to grade the marketing efforts in the motorcycle industry, you’d be hard pressed to hand out a grade better than a B- to one of the major OEMs. While some companies have produced some brand value, carved out a defensible niche for themselves, or caught on to this whole internet fad thing, none of the OEMs really do a bang-up job of hitting all the standard marketing best practices.
If we had to single out one company that needs a letter sent home to mom, it has to be Aprilia, as the Italian company constantly proves itself to be the pants-on-head retarded (sorry Sarah Palin) window-licking moron (sorry again Sarah Palin) paste-eating buffoon (we’re not sorry for that one) of motorcycling media. Report card: F with a “does not play well with others” note attached.
After the news yesterday that the Canadian distributor for MV Agusta had posted pricing on its website for a new Brutale model, MV Agusta has quietly released photos and information on the 2011 MV Agusta Brutale 920, an entry-level version of its big street-naked motorcycle. With its four-cylinder radial valve 921cc motor, the MV Agusta Brutale 920 shares the same crankshaft as the Brutale 1090RR (55mm stroke), resulting in this over-square motor making 129hp with its 73mm bore. Available in matte black and white, we expect the new Bruatle to his US shores with a ~$14,595 price tag.
Last week, in what was an apparently frigid outdoor press call and party, Althea Racing showed off its new 2011 livery. The bike, ridden by Carlos Checa in next season’s World Superbike championship, showcased more red than the team’s livery last season, with “Althea” and most of the blue having disappeared from the bike entirely. While main sponsor Unibat, a battery company, kept its name placement from the 2010 season’s livery, quite a bit of what had been white on the bike was filled in with Ducati red. So much so, the 2011 livery could nearly be mistaken for the 2010 Ducati Xerox livery.
Althea will use the same livery on the Ducati, ridden by Lorenzo Baroni, in both the Superstock 1000 and Italian Superbike championship. According to the team in its press release, “The presentation of Althea Racing’s Ducati gave added value to an already impressive line-up of bikes”, commented Team Principle Luigi Termignoni. ‘The Italian motorcycle manufacturer has always participated in SBK and we are proud to be able to equip Genesio Bevilacqua’s Ducati outfit in 2011.”
After recently announcing the return of MV Agusta to the Canadian market, MV Agusta’s Canadian distributor Motovan has outed the Italian company’s new Brutale model. While it doe not seem that this model is the 675cc “Brutalina” that Castiglioni hinted at earlier this year, this Brutale instead appears to be an F4 derived street-naked, and is expected to hit the North American markets in mid-summer 2011. With pricing starting at $15,595 CAD, we expect pricing here in the United States to be closer to $14,595.
Likely based off the revised MV Agusta F4, which debuted at EICMA back in 2009, the new Brutale should see a style update to keep the street-naked inline with MV’s current take on the F4. Noticebale from Motovan’s pricing is the new Brutale’s lower price tag amount, which should help move some more units. We expect the new Brutale to have a 920cc displacement, and borrow heavily from the F4’s chassis design and aesthetic.
Unveiled this weekend in Madrid, Paris Hilton was on-hand in her pink, blue, and white skin tight set of leathers to help promote her latest business endeavor (her words, not ours): Team SuperMartxé VIP by Paris Hilton. While we generally hate everything about Paris Hilton, and even try to avoid staying in Hilton hotels just for good measure, we do have to say one thing: this weekend’s launch of the SuperMartxé VIP by Paris Hilton Team is arguably the largest team launch in history of GP racing (in one of the worst economic climates ever for the sport)…and that includes the upcoming Wrooom launch of Valentino Rossi and Ducati Corse.
After rumored and real strife at the end of the WSBK season, BMW Motorrad continues to rearrange their team structure. The team, according to a recent press release, has continued on with the restructuring. BMW Motorrad Motorsport announced Thursday that Rainer Bäumel is the new Head of Race Operations, after being the Technical Director, with Stephan Fischer Head of Development, and Josef Hofmann the Managing Director of the factory. After leaving Ducati at the end of the 2009 season and signing on as team manager for BMW for the 2010 season and producing something a turnaround for the team, Davide Tardozzi either left or was forced out due to “different ideas regarding the structure of the team,” leaving Bernhard Gobmeier to named as BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director in October.
According to Gobmeier, Thursday’s announcement might just be the end of the restructuring, “In filling these three key positions we are concluding the restructuring of the team management.” He also noted that this “new formation is leaner and the division of labour more clearly delineated,” which is either a statement of the obvious or a bit of a slap to Tardozzi’s management style, since “All three report directly to…Gobmeier.”
Tucked away in the Friday press release from the World Superbike Commission, along with other changes to the technical and sporting regulations, was the news that only sixteen bikes would be eligible to compete in Superpole qualifying. In the 2010 season, the fastest 20 riders during the qualifying practices competed to move on to Superpole 2 and 3 to vie for the pole position for the Sunday races.
With the lower numbers of entries this past season, many if not sometimes all of the riders gained entry into the first Superpole session. This coming, 2011, season, only the sixteen fastest riders will be in the first session of Superpole, with the slowest four getting knocked out of the running for Superpole 2 (allowing the fastest twelve to move onto Superpole 2).
Needing Nicky Hayden for a special project at Ducati Corse HQ, the Italian company called the former MotoGP Champion into its Bologna office, only to have the place be completely deserted when he arrived. Like a kid in a candy store, Hayden does what we imagine anyone would do in such a situation, and trying out the new Diavel and taking a stroll through the Ducati Museum. Watch all the way through for the feel good ending, and Happy Amadeus everyone! (trust us when we say that’ll make more sense when you watch the end of the video…that Nicky Hayden is one silly son of a bitch).
Source: Ducati
After a long absence, Triumph North America has once again joined the Progressive International Motorcycle Show, after being absent from the American event for several. Looking to come out of the gates in strong form, Triumph is showing its largest collection of motorcycles ever in the company’s 109 year history. With 23 models spanning six motorcycle families, Triumph will make its 2011 American debut at Long Beach this weekend.
With the Tiger 800, Tiger 800 XC, Daytona 675R, and Speed Triple being the crowning jewels of Triumph’s new model line-up, Triumph’s North American subsidiary will also be introducing its new CEO Greg Heichelbech.