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.

Official: Colin Edwards to Forward Racing’s CRT Team – Hopes for an R1 Motor in a Tech3 Chassis

09/02/2011 @ 10:33 am, by Jensen Beeler7 COMMENTS

As we published at the Indianapolis GP this past weekend, Colin Edwards’ time in the Monster Yamaha Tech3 garage seemed to be coming to an end, as the veteran MotoGP racer and former-World Superbike Champion was linked to several other possibilities in WSBK and MotoGP for the 2012 season. Making his thoughts clear, Edwards believes there’s some value to the claiming rule team (CRT) formula, saying ”I think there’ll be tracks where it’s going to surprise some people.”

Finally releasing his plans for the 2012 season, Edwards announced today at the San Marino GP that he will race for the Italian NGM Forward Racing team, on a CRT bike, next season. While the team has been linked to a BMW/Suter motor and chassis, Edwards will use instead an R1 motor with a custom chassis. The preference right now is for Tech3′s Guy Coulon to make a chassis for the R1 motor, as the team did for its own Moto2 effort, but nothing has been finalized with the French MotoGP team.

Talking to our friend David Emmett from MotoMatters, Tech 3 Boss Hervé Poncharal denied that Tech 3 has even explored the idea of a custom chassis for an R1 motor; however, catching Guy Coulon at the Indianapolis GP, the French Crew Chief for Colin Edwards explained to A&R that he had all the technical requirements for such a job already at hand, and just needed to hear from those on the business end of things (presumably Poncharal) to undertake building the project.

When the press conference panel was probed on the details of the CRT entry, Edwards made it clear he would ride with a Yamaha motor, and appealed to Poncharal to have Tech 3 make NGM a custom chassis. ”We will be riding a Yamaha engine, for those of you who want to know,” blurted Edwards. “As far as a chassis…Hervé do you want to answer this?”

“We are still weighing out the options,” Edwards continued. “My #1 option would be to have Hervé Poncharal, Guy Coulon, and Tech 3 build a chassis for us, but we still in negotiations with that. But for me, that would be the dream team — to have a Yamaha and a Tech 3 chassis.”

Edwards hedged his confidence about using the R1 motor for his CRT team, confiding that no deal has been finalized with Yamaha, though there are links between NGM Forward Racing and the Yamaha World Superbike effort. ”My first contract with Yamaha was 1986, full-factory support, three bikes a year, unlimited parts list…I could have had whatever I wanted,” explained Edwards. “I was 12-years-old at the time and motorcrossing. So, in my entire career I’ve had 16 years I’ve been with Yamaha — road racing: 13 years.”

He added though, ”for me it’s natural…I have full support back home in the U.S. — they really are keen to do it. Have I gotten the word, or the go-ahead, that it absolutely is going to happen? No, but it’s natural. It always seems fitting. I’m part of the Yamaha family, I always have been. It’s a natural step that we’re going to do this, so let’s do this on a Yamaha.”

While we’ll have to wait and see how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together for Edwards, NGM Forward Racing, and MotoGP, one thing is for certain: a lot is riding on the success of the CRT program in premier motorcycle class racing. Time will tell how it all pans out.

Tagged under: Colin Edwards, CRT, Forward Racing, Guy Coulon, Herve Poncharal, italy, Misano, MotoGP, NGM Forward Racing, R1, San Marino GP, Tech3, Yamaha, Yamaha R1

Comment:

liango13 says:
September 2, 2011 at 10:45 AM
I am a huge fan of Colin, but I seriously think he should ride superbikes again and retire with couple more championships under his belt.
RSVDan says:
September 2, 2011 at 10:51 AM
Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!! There goes my hopes of ever seeing Edwards anywhere near the front of the pack again. He could have had a good shot at the title in WSBK on good machinery, instead he is resigning himself to the role of back marker development rider.
Lame.
Mark Morrison says:
September 2, 2011 at 11:11 AM
A brave effort, but I’m afraid like all the CRT guys he will be resigned to racing to try and break into the top 10 a couple of times a year.
Keith says:
September 2, 2011 at 12:11 PM
Yea; would much preferred to see him on Yamaha WSBK or another top flight team in 2012. Wish him all the best…..
Bruce Monighan says:
September 2, 2011 at 1:27 PM
Not sure what the politics were at Tech3 but Colin has delivered them more success than anybody in recent history. He has made their bike better, he has given them many many top 10 placements and he is running high in this years MotoGP. I know that Tech3 is suposed to be a devlelopment team bringing in young talent and Colin is far from young, but with all due respect to Cal he is nowhere near the racer that Colin is. The rumor is that they want Laverty on the team and he also, while talented, will get ground up in the MotoGP world. This series is the best of the best and for Colin to be there as long as he has, outlived many other stars and still places consistently high is a testament to his skills as a racer, his tenacity, his guts and his commitment. I can only hope he embaresses a few people on his new ride.
Kick it Colin, you got a lot of fans pulling for you
Westward says:
September 2, 2011 at 1:28 PM
Colin Edwards back in WSBK could have supplanted Fogarty as the king of that series… But since he is still one of the best, he should be competing with the best in MotoGP….
He deserves a factory bike though…
Damo says:
September 2, 2011 at 6:17 PM
I am very interested to see how the larger fuel allotment helps the CRT teams. They may run bonkers engines and don’t have to min max so much. Well if anyone can do it the Tornado can.

Follow Asphalt & Rubber on Facebook

Follow Asphalt & Rubber