Q&A: Yukio Kagayama Talks About the Upcoming Suzuka 8-Hour with Kevin Schwantz & Noriyuki Haga

In case you missed the story last week, Kevin Schwantz is preparing to race in this year’s Suzuka 8-Hour endurance race. For the race, Schwantz will be riding on a team formed by Yukio Kagayama, who in addition to having raced in the MotoGP, World Superbike, and British Superbike Championships, is also a previous Suzuka 8-Hour winner with the Suzuki Endurance Race Team (also joining the three-rider team Noriyuki “Nitro” Haga). Releasing a Q&A about his team’s Suzuka 8-Hour entry, Kagayama-san walks us through how the team came together, what equipment the riders will use, and his outlook on the team’s competitiveness.

KTM RC4 Concept by Luca Bar Design

A single-cylinder hooligan-maker, the KTM 690 Duke is 330 lbs (curbside without fuel) and 67hp of two-wheeled fun, and we hope that the Austrians bring the KTM 690 Duke R our way as well. While we are on the topic of things missing from KTM’s American line-up, a decent supersport is painfully obvious, yet we can’t see the folks at KTM following the paths of other brands. That’s where our friend Luca Bar comes to mind with his latest concept: the KTM RC4. Using the KTM 690 Duke platform and its LC4 engine, Bar has designed a super-single full-fairing sport bike that takes the Austrian company’s “Ready to Race” DNA and applies it to an idea that is not all that disimilar to the Ducati Supermono.

Q&A: Claudio Domenicali Talks Frameless Chassis, Sacred Cows, & The Future for Ducati

When I sat down with Claudio Domenicali at the Ducati 1199 Panigale R launch, the now-CEO of Ducati Motor Holding was still just the General Manager of the Italian motorcycle company. Four weeks after our interview though, Gabriele del Torchio would leave Ducati for Alitalia; and Domenicali, a 21-year veteran of both the racing and production departments of Ducati, would take his place at the top of Italy’s most prestigious motorcycle brand. After reading our interview from Austin, Texas after the jump, I think you will agree too.

Is Yamaha Using A Seamless Gearbox? The Data Says No

That Yamaha is working on a seamless gearbox is no secret, with Yamaha’s test riders currently racking up the kilometers around tracks in Japan. Recently, however, Spanish magazine SoloMoto published an article suggesting that Yamaha has already been using its new seamless gearbox since the beginning of the season. My own enquiries to check whether Yamaha was using a seamless gearbox or not always received the same answer: no, Yamaha is not using the seamless gearbox. To test this denial, I went out to the side of the track on Friday morning at Jerez to record the bikes as they went by.

OCC Coming Back to TV? — Universe Collapses in on Self

After a very public father/son break-up between Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr., a steroid-ring scandal involving Paul Sr., and finally a bankruptcy proceeding, it appears that Orange County Choppers is the impossible to kill multi-headed hydra of doom that we all knew it was, as the custom chopper shop is once again headed to the small screen and recruiting some talent, on and off the show. Looking for “someone who will work alongside Paul Senior, running the shop and helping build some of the best custom motorcycles in the world,” OCC says it will be back on television with a new show later this month. Please for the love of god, will someone give this man the attention he craves so dearly??! Or, just shoot us in the face.

Alstare Superbike Concept by Team Alstare

We love us some concept bikes here at Asphalt & Rubber, and we have featured more than a few pieces of stunning design and imagination on our pages. Though, we can’t remember the last time one of these works of art were brought to us by a legitimate racing team, but that is what we have here with the Team Alstare Superbike Concept. A nod to the former Suzuki team’s return to the World Superbike Championship as the Ducati factory squad with Carlos Checa and Ayrton Badovini, Alstare has enlisted the help of designer Serge Rusak of Rusak Kreaktive Designworks to ink the shape of its futuristic Superbike concept, while Tryptik Studios handled the 3D modeling prowess.

Transcript: The Gay Question at Jerez

If you didn’t watch Thursday’s pre-event press conference for MotoGP at Jerez, it is worth a viewing right to the end (assuming you have a MotoGP.com account). Building off the news about the NBA’s Jason Collins coming out as gay in a self-written feature in Sport Illustrated, my good colleague David Emmett had the courage to inquire about the culture and acceptance of the MotoGP paddock for homosexual riders. For the sake of accuracy, after the jump is a full transcript of David’s question, as put to riders Cal Crutchlow, Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez, Andrea Dovizioso, Stefan Bradl, and Scott Redding, as well as those riders’ responses to David’s inquiry.

2014 Suzuki GSV-R Spotted Again

News that Suzuki plans on returning to the MotoGP Championship in 2014 should be old information for dedicated Asphalt & Rubber readers, and the Japanese company’s inline-four race bike was already spotted doing test laps last year by the eager eyes at Cycle World. Well the American print-mag has another set of eyebrow-raising high-quality photos of the 2014 Suzuki GSV-R to mull over from the Motegi race track, along with some technical insights provided by the venerable Kevin Cameron.

BMW F800GS Adventure – Germany’s Middleweight ADV

A surprise addition to BMW Motorrad’s 2013 model line-up, zie Germans have announced a new middleweight adventure-tourer, the 2013 BMW F800GS Adventure. Like its larger predecessor, the BMW F800GS Adventure is a more travel-ready and off-road capable build of the recently updated BMW F800GS motorcycle. Featuring a larger windscreen, panniers, and a bigger fuel tank capacity (2.1 gallons larger, for a total of 6.3 gallons of fuel), the BMW F800GS Adventure keeps the same 85 hp, liquid-cooled, 798cc, parallel-twin engine found on the F800GS, as well as the same chassis configuration. Pricing in the US will be $13,550 for the base model BWM F800GS Adventure.

Kevin Schwantz Returns to Motorcycle Racing – Enters the Suzuka 8-Hours with Team Kagayama

Former 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz has certainly been in the news a bit these past few months, mostly for his involvement and falling out with the Circuit of the Americas and the Americas GP, but also more recently for his comments regarding Dani Pedrosa — we also sat down with Mr. Schwantz in Austin, and the Texan gave us some sobering insight into the future of American road racing. As if all that wasn’t enough, Schwantz is making a return to two-wheeled racing, and has entered the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hours endurance race with Team Kagayama racing alongside Noriyuki Haga and team owner Yukio Kagayama.

MotoGP: Testing at Jerez Provides Few Surprises

03/27/2012 @ 1:31 pm, by Jensen Beeler8 COMMENTS

MotoGP: Testing at Jerez Provides Few Surprises Ducati Corse Jerez MotoGP test 2012 22 635x422

With testing concluded at Jerez, the MotoGP paddock has just two short weeks before the opening round at the Losail International Circuit is underway. Heading into Qatar, there are few surprises from last season though, as the Honda of Casey Stoner continues to dominate the time sheets, while teammate Dani Pedrosa and top-Yamaha man Jorge Lorenzo trail closely behind.

Yamaha’s package looks very refined and balanced, and appears to have gained a step on the Honda machines. This should make for more interesting racing moments, where the more balanced Yamaha YZR-M1 will excel at certain tracks, while the more powerful Honda RC213V will shine at others. Also coming more into play will be the strengths and weaknesses of Honda and Yamaha’s top riders, whose particular track preferences could be the x-factor at some of the races.

Still at best, MotoGP is shaping up to be a three-man show, with maybe Ben Spies and some other riders occasionally mixing the order of things up. This statement is of course a direct reflection on the progress of Ducati Corse, which despite having made improvements to the Ducati Desmosedici GP12, is not really any closer to making up the difference to the front of the pack. Now using a completely revised aluminum frame, the team still seems to be struggling to find a starting point from which to build from, and in the process they have killed enough spare parts to start a pick-and-pull MotoGP junkyard.

Meanwhile the CRT riders continue to be off the pace, sans one Randy de Puniet. Apparently no one told the Frenchman that his Aprilia ART was not supposed to be competitive, as the Power Electronics Aspar rider has been nipping on the heels of the slower satellite riders throughout the testing week. A thinnly disguised Aprilia RSV4 World Superbike, the Aprilia ART is the CRT of choice in the paddock, despite being one of the newer models to hit the track.

NGM Forward’s BMW/Suter machine has perhaps been in the limelight the longest, though the team and Colin Edwards have not been able to make the bike be competitive. In what may be Edwards’s last season in MotoGP, this certainly is not the way he wanted to start the long goodbye. BMW is reported to be helping the team to some degree now (as is Aprilia with the ART), and Suter seems committed to making the package work. Though like Ducati Corse, NGM Forward is talking more about future potential and opportunities, as opposed to good expectations at Qatar. Photos and test results below.

MotoGP: Testing at Jerez Provides Few Surprises Ducati Corse Jerez MotoGP test 2012 29 635x422

MotoGP: Testing at Jerez Provides Few Surprises HRC Jerez MotoGP test 2012 10 635x421

MotoGP: Testing at Jerez Provides Few Surprises HRC Jerez MotoGP test 2012 58 635x421

MotoGP: Testing at Jerez Provides Few Surprises HRC Jerez MotoGP test 2012 03 635x421

MotoGP: Testing at Jerez Provides Few Surprises HRC Jerez MotoGP test 2012 23 635x421

MotoGP: Testing at Jerez Provides Few Surprises HRC Jerez MotoGP test 2012 29 635x421

MotoGP: Testing at Jerez Provides Few Surprises Yamaha Racing Jerez MotoGP test 2012 26 635x423

MotoGP: Testing at Jerez Provides Few Surprises Yamaha Racing Jerez MotoGP test 2012 33 635x423

Overall MotoGP Test Results from Jerez, Spain:

Pos.RiderTeamBikeTimeDiff.Leader
1Casey StonerRepsol HondaHonda1:38.780 - -
2Jorge LorenzoFactory YamahaYamaha1:38.9530.1730.173
3Dani PedrosaRepsol HondaHonda1:39.1570.3770.204
4Ben SpiesFactory YamahaYamaha1:39.4950.7150.338
5Cal CrutchlowMonster Tech 3Yamaha1:39.5850.8050.090
6Valentino RossiDucati FactoryDucati1:39.7330.9530.148
7Andrea DoviziosoMonster Tech 3Yamaha1:39.8681.0880.135
8Nicky HaydenDucati FactoryDucati1:39.9191.1390.051
9Alvaro BautistaSan Carlo GresiniHonda1:40.0171.2370.098
10Stefan BradlLCR HondaHonda1:40.0981.3180.081
11Hector BarberaPramacDucati1:40.2871.5070.189
12Karel AbrahamCardion ABDucati1:40.5791.7990.292
13Randy de PunietPower Electronics AsparAprilia ART1:40.6011.8210.022
14Aleix EspargaroPower Electronics AsparAprilia ART1:41.6452.8651.044
15Danilo PetrucciIODA RacingIODA Aprilia1:41.9263.1460.281
16Franco BattainiDucati Test TeamDucati1:42.0573.2770.131
17Colin EdwardsNGM Mobile ForwardSuter BMW1:42.0733.2930.016
18Mattia PasiniSpeed MasterAprilia ART1:42.1843.4040.111
19Michele PirroSan Carlo GresiniFTR Honda1:42.2123.4320.028
20James EllisonPBM UKAprilia ART1:42.4373.6570.225
21Ivan SilvaAvintia RacingFTR Kawasaki1:42.4463.6660.009
22Yonny HernandezAvintia RacingFTR Kawasaki1:42.9064.1260.460

Ducati Corse Testing at Jerez, Spain

HRC Testing at Jerez, Spain

Yamaha Racing Testing at Jerez, Spain

Source: MotoGP; Photos: Ducati & Yamaha

Top 5 Related Posts:

  1. MotoGP: Mixed Weather for Qualifying at Jerez
  2. Yamaha Testing 1,000cc MotoGP Bike Monday at Brno
  3. MotoGP: The Championship Gets Framed at the Spanish GP
  4. Colin Edwards Makes CRT Debut at Jerez

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Comment:

  1. Halfie 30 says:
    March 27, 2012 at 1:48 PM

    Ummm… Nicky and Vale are not down as much as they were last year. I’m pretty sure Vale is sandbagging too. Tore season tests are hardly a benchmark for how the season will go other than the fact that Casey is obviously the guy to beat. Being a second or so off pace from Casy’s Honda is not a bad gap considering how down the GP11 was last year. The GP12′s development will only excelerate as the season progresses. Counting any of the factory riders out of regular podium finishes is just silly.

  2. Dr. Gellar says:
    March 27, 2012 at 2:26 PM

    Saying that Valentino Rossi is sandbagging is just silly. He and the Ducati package may be slowly improving, but no way is he sandbagging.

  3. Halfie 30 says:
    March 27, 2012 at 7:00 PM

    Like he wasn’t sandbagging in ’04 during pre season tests…? LoL. What mean is he can get more .10′s out of the bike. These times won’t be the same come race qualifying. Expect the factory riders to up the ante. Including Casey.

  4. Westward says:
    March 27, 2012 at 10:12 PM

    Well, I am hoping Rossi and Spies surprises us all, and makes this season more than a three man series. last year, Simoncelli was the biggest X-factor that threatened the front runners….

    Also looking forward to De Puniet maybe turning some heads with his ART.

    Maybe it’s just me, but, Kalex seems to make anyone look better than they were before…

  5. Pooch says:
    March 28, 2012 at 1:26 AM

    haha…that’s funny. Vale needs a crapload more than a few .10′s to be competitive. He’ll be fortunate to finish better than 5th/6th this season. Again.

  6. Halfie 30 says:
    March 28, 2012 at 1:33 AM

    @pooch Really? Less than a second down on an under developed bike and
    Vale needs more? I’m not even a fan and I know not to count Rossi out this season… LoL

  7. Pete says:
    March 28, 2012 at 1:39 AM

    Oh man… Halfie, you’re hilarious. Thanks for the laughs. Vale sandbagging! That’s the funniest thing I’ve read on a motorcycle forum in a long time. I don’t need to put LOL cause I am actually really having a good old chuckle.

    Again – cheers for the laughs. Made my day :-D

  8. Westward says:
    March 28, 2012 at 7:31 PM

    If Rossi could get with 6 tenths of the leaders, he could podium or even win via racecraft alone…