PPIHC: Carlin Dunne Sets Outright Best Motorcycle Time at Pikes Peak Tire Test on a Lightning Motorcycle

The competitors for the 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb have just concluded a two-day tire test at the Colorado road course, and it should perhaps come as no surprise that our boy Carlin Dunne has posted the outright fastest lap for a motorcycle during the tire test (the Santa Barbara native set the outright two-wheeled course record last year on his Ducati Multistrada 1200 S). What is surprising about Carlin’s result at the tire test is that he was on the Lightning Motorcycles electric superbike. That’s right, the fastest bike so far for 2013′s Race to the Clouds is a 200+ hp electric superbike that is refueled with solar energy. Petrol heads, eat your heart out.

Report: Indianapolis “Opting-Out” of 2014 MotoGP Race?

Talking to the Indy Star, Mark Miles (CEO of Hulman & Co, the parent company to Indianapolis Motor Speedway) has put some doubt into the historic venue’s commitment to host the MotoGP Championship. Having a contract to run the race through the 2014 season, Miles said that IMS might opt-out of the final year in its agreement with Dorna (IMS apparently has this option for a brief window after the 2013 Indianapolis GP). However while the news has focused so far on IMS’s ability to opt-out, both Dorna and Indianapolis Motor Speedway have options in their contract to go through with the 2014 round, and with a bevy of variables in the air, we may or may not see three American GP rounds next year.

2014 Yamaha FZ-09 – Three Cylinders of Naked

Surprise! America will be getting a 847cc three-cylinder naked bike for the 2014 model year, the 2014 Yamaha FZ-09. Replacing the Yamaha FZ8 in the Japanese company’s line-up, the FZ-09 is the first motorcycle from the tuning fork brand to sport the Yamaha’s new line of three-cylinder engines. The Yamaha FZ-09 comes about as the MIC is reporting its second-consecutive year of growth in the 751+cc sport bike segment, as well as increase in commuter riding over short-distance sport riding. With those trends in mind, Yamaha has punched out the displacement on its middleweight naked bike, and focused on giving riders a comfortable, yet stout, motorcycle. Priced at $7,990 MSRP, we think Yamaha hit the nail pretty much on the head with this one.

Trackside Tuesday: The Mind-Killer

In the past few years I’ve come to believe that, while superior physical differences (their reflexes and fine motor skills) are significant, it’s the mental differences that are the most interesting. I suppose anyone who has ridden a motorcycle even a bit beyond one’s comfort zone can appreciate some part of the physical aspect of riding a racing bike. For most of us, even the speed of racers in local events is impressive compared to our street riding. While the skills with throttle, brakes, and balance are on a level similar to the best athletes in other sports, I think that what really sets motorcycle racers apart is their ability to overcome fear.

Video: Still Think Electric Motorcycles Are Slow?

The progress in the last five years on electric motorcycles has been astounding. Taking their first laps around the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course, a 87.434 mph pace was the best an electric motorcycle could do at the prestigious road race in 2009 — a pace that was on par with the 50cc record set in 1971. In just five years after the first laps were taken by electric motorcycles at Snaefell, these machines have grown their average lap speeds by over 20 mph at the TT Zero race, setting a new record of 109.675 mph in 2013, and boasting a rate of improvement of roughly 5 mph each year since 2009. If hitting 142.2 mph down the Sulby Straight speed trap wasn’t further proof of the speeds these bikes are achieving, maybe some visual evidence will help support the notion.

Here’s Your Feel Good Moment of the Week — Now, What’s Your Excuse for Not Riding Today?

Darius Glover is a dirt bike racer. Like you and me, he lives to ride, and when he is on two-wheels he feels the freedom that only other motorcyclists can truly understand. The thing is though, Darius is paralyzed from the waist down. Where others would give up their dreams and this sport, Darius at the age of 15 instead pushed onward. No pity parties, no excuses, just simply a daily example of where there is a will, there is a way, and a reminder that you can achieve anything that you put your mind to. It’s hard not to get a bit choked up listening to Darius tell his story, but you walk away feeling uplifted after feeling his attitude come across the screen.

Erzberg Rodeo – Red Bull’s S&M Playhouse for Motorcycles

Any race where 1,500 riders start, 500 qualify, and only 14 finish, has got to be an epic competition, and considering the fact that the Erzberg Rodeo starts in the excavation pit of an Austrian mine…well, it takes a special rider to be enticed by such an event. One such special rider is Graham Jarvis, who was the first of the fourteen men to reach the 20th and final checkpoint. Taking 2 hours and 52 seconds to complete the course, Jarvis made the 2013 Erzberg Rodeo look downright easy. However, with one look at the race-day conditions from this past weekend, we know it was anything but.

Controlling the Uncontrollable – The Role of Ritual in Racing

While normally, MotoGP fans never get enough of seeing Valentino Rossi on TV, there is one shot they would (for the most part) gladly be spared. As he leaves the pits, Rossi stands on the footpegs, and pulls his leathers from between his buttocks, before sitting back down again and leaving. These rituals – part useful limbering up, part invocation of Lady Luck – are something many riders perform, in their attempt to exert control over themselves, and over their environment. In a fascinating press release – by far the most interesting we have received in many months – the Aspar team today provided a discussion and explanation of what riders are trying to achieve through the use of these rituals.

Up-Close with the 2013 MotoCzysz E1pc

Hoping to make it four wins in a row, it goes without saying that the MotoCzysz crew is working hard to close the gap to the John McGuinness and the Mugen team. However, having Team Principal Michael Czysz stuck back in the US, undergoing cancer treatments, must certainly add another level of motivation for the on-island MotoCzysz crew. Making time in their busy schedule, Asphalt & Rubber got to take some up-close photos of the 2013 MotoCzysz E1pc. The most obvious changes made to the MotoCzysz E1pc for the 2013 TT Zero race are the use conventional suspension pieces. Of course, it’s not a completely standard suspension setup, as MotoCzysz has developed its own adjustable triple clamp that incorporates tunable lateral flex parameters.

MotoGP: Max Biaggi To Test Ben Spies’s Ducati at Mugello, Michele Pirro To Replace Spies at Barcelona

Max Biaggi is to make a surprise return to riding a MotoGP machine. The former 250 and World Superbike champion will take a seat on Ben Spies’ Ignite Pramac Ducati as part of a one-day test at Mugello, as part of Ducati’s testing program, according to Italian site GPOne. Spies was scheduled to stay on at Mugello to take part in a two-day test, but after the first day of practice at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, it was clear to both Spies and Ducati that his shoulder was still too weak to ride a MotoGP machine. With work continuing on the Desmosedici, it was important for Ducati to get as much data as possible on their bike, and so Biaggi was offered the chance to ride the machine.

WSBK: While Rossi Looks for the Ocho at Mugello, Spies Looks for the Septo at Miller

05/30/2009 @ 11:20 pm, by Jensen BeelerComments Off

WSBK: While Rossi Looks for the Ocho at Mugello, Spies Looks for the Septo at Miller ben spies wsbk miller motorsports park

World Superbike has landed on American soil with its first stop in the States: Miller Motorsports Park. The track based in Salt Lake City is playing host to WSBK for the second time in its history, and because of injuries a special contingency of American riders participated in the today’s events. With the AMA series sharing a stop at Miller, it should come as no surprise that one of “dem good old boys” was at the top of the Superpole podium.

Jamie Hacking lead the charge in the first round of Superpole qualifying, followed closely by Ben Spies, who is searching for his seventh Superpole in a row. The American duo set the tone for the rest of the day, and worked their way all the way into the final round.

In the second round of qualifying, Spies showed why he is the master of the Superpole, and quickly took matters into his own hands. Meanwhile, Max Biaggi crashed his Aprilia RSV4 with 6 minutes to go in the session, before he could clock in a lap time. Right after he went down, he leapt onto a scooter and was rushed back to the pits, where he got on his spare bike out just in time to go out for another lap. Unfortunately for Biaggi, as he went out very light rain started, and he failed to improve his time from the previous round. It was at this point the weather in Salt Lake City started to play a factor into the Superpole competition.

In the third and last round of Superpole racing, Carlos Checa took an early lead, but it didn’t last long as Ben Spies dropped the hammer down with just 7 minutes to go, with a time of 1’48.344.

This would be the fastest time of the day, as Spies upped the ante just before the rain really began to fall at Miller. This meant that Ben was assured his his 7th Superpole in a row, taking the pole record from fellow American Doug Polen. Jamie Hacking couldn’t improve his position in the last round of qualifying, and will start from the 8th position on the grid.

Results from World Superbike at Miller Motorsports Park Superpole:

Pos	No.	Rider	Bike	Time	Diff
1	19	B. Spies	Yamaha YZF R1	1’48.344
2	7	C. Checa	Honda CBR1000RR	1’48.908	0.564
3	9	R. Kiyonari	Honda CBR1000RR	1’49.243	0.899
4	84	M. Fabrizio	Ducati 1098R	1’49.434	1.090
5	96	J. Smrz	Ducati 1098R	1’49.658	1.314
6	67	S. Byrne	Ducati 1098R	1’49.982	1.638
7	23	B. Parkes	Kawasaki ZX 10R	1’51.328	2.984
8	2	J. Hacking	Kawasaki ZX 10R	1’51.438	3.094
Out after Superpole 2 (Ben Spies, 1’48.319)
9	41	N. Haga	Ducati 1098R	1’49.516	1.197
10	56	S. Nakano	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	1’49.528	1.209
11	65	J. Rea	Honda CBR1000RR	1’49.541	1.222
12	91	L. Haslam	Honda CBR1000RR	1’49.765	1.446
13	71	Y. Kagayama	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	1’50.114	1.795
14	10	F. Nieto	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	1’50.488	2.169
15	99	L. Scassa	Kawasaki ZX 10R	1’50.987	2.668
16	3	M. Biaggi	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	1’51.351	3.032
Out after Superpole 1 (Jamie Hacking, 1’49.216)
17	36	G. Lavilla	Ducati 1098R	1’50.344	1.128
18	25	D. Salom	Kawasaki ZX 10R	1’50.633	1.417
19	57	L. Lanzi	Ducati 1098R	1’50.868	1.652
20	31	K. Muggeridge	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	1’51.004	1.788

Tagged under: America, Americans, Ben Spies, Jamie Hacking, MMp, record, Salt Lake City, superbike, Superpole, USA, world superbike, World Superbike Championship, WSBK

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