Video: Josh Brookes Shows Us the Fastest Line over “The Mountain” at Cadwell Park

The Mountain at Cadwell Park, as it is known, is like the British version of the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca: another one of those special points on a race track, that would not exist on the computer-generated courses we see today. Famous for lofting bikes into the air, The Mountain makes for spectacular photographs, and should be on every rider’s track day bucket list. Finding the fastest racing line over The Mountain can be difficult though, as riders have to contend with keeping the front of their motorcycles down, but such is not the case for HM Plant Honda’s Josh Brookes…

Lost Knee Puck Hinders Hayden at Indy

Track conditions were the talk of the paddock this weekend at the Indianapolis GP, as riders battled the changing tarmac surfaces, and undulating bumps of the Indy infield. Perhaps most vocal of his displeasure with the course was Ducati rider Casey Stoner, who called the Indianapolis Motor Speedway not a world class track, and specifically complained about plastic drains that would catch riders as the ventured in towards the edge of the track (Rossi also complained of these drains). Teammate Nicky Hayden was less critical before Sunday’s race though, saying that Stoner’s comments could be applied to many of the courses on the MotoGP calendar. However after losing a knee puck to one of the drainage grates that Stoner criticized earlier, Hayden may be re-thinking his tune.

Rossi Waiting to Hear if Burgess Will Retire

Talking after the Indianapolis GP, Valentino Rossi explained that he is waiting to hear from Jeremy Burgess as to whether the Australian Crew Chief will retire next season. Assured of the fact that Burgess would not stay behind at Yamaha, and would not work with another rider, Rossi stated the buzz around whether Burgess would move with the Italian to Ducati, hinges as to when Burgess plans on retiring from motorcycle racing.

Nicky Hayden Renews Contract with Ducati

Under the lights of the Indy Mile, where motorcycle racing began for the Kentucky-born MotoGP racer, Nicky Hayden has signed a two-year contract with Ducati Corse for the 2011 & 2012 seasons. Not the biggest surprise in the paddock, Hayden’s contract renewal has never really been questioned this season as the American started the season off with series of strong finishes and continues to be a strong brand ambassador for Ducati in the United States. Hayden will be joined the next two years by former teammate Valentino Rossi, the pair rode for Repsol Honda in 2003, with Hayden finishing the season 5th in his rookie GP season.

World Superbike Responds to Ducati Exodus

Infront Motor Sports, rights holder to the World Superbike Championship series, has responded to the news that Ducati Corse will be leaving the series in 2011. Responding with an official press release, IMS’s message essentially boils down to poking holes in Ducati’s statement about technical regulations. Stating that the 2009 season was dominated by the Ducati 1198 Superbike, sans one Ben Spies, the Italian firm has clearly been able to be competitive with the current formula. IMS goes on to basically say that WSBK is about more than one manufacturer, and can’t cater to Ducati’s whims even if they do have a lengthy history together.

Ben Spies to Factory Yamaha Team

As expected, Ben Spies and Yamaha have announced that the current World Superbike Champion and MotoGP rookie will move up to the factory Yamaha team (noticeably not called Fiat-Yamaha in the press release) for the 2011 season. Spies’ move to the factory squad has lovingly been referred to as the “second worst-kept secret in MotoGP,” right after Rossi’s departure from the Fiat-Yamaha team to Ducati Corse.

Colin Edwards – “I’m going fishing. Screw this sh*t.”

No one makes the MotoGP media center come alive with emotion more so than Colin Edwards. A veteran of the sport, and born with no filter between his brain and mouth, the Texan Tornado captured the spotlight during the pre-race press conference at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP. A stark contrast to the polished veneers of other riders, Edwards isn’t afraid to tell things the way he sees it, even if it involves some colorful language. To get an idea of what we mean, check out a portion of the press conference transcript after the jump.

Ducati Trademarks “Diavel” Name in the UK

Ducati has recieved a trademark with the UK Intellectual Property Office for the Bolognese word for devil, or “Diavel”, which according to MCN is to be the name of the company’s new performance cruiser (shown here in a render done by Bar-Design exclusively for Asphalt & Rubber). Interestingly enough, Ducati has not trademarked the Diavel name with the United States Patent & Trademarks Office (USPTO). However with the British government, Ducati has reserved the Diavel mark for virtually every use possible, including lifestyle items like shirts, perfume, watches, and our personal favorite: skin cleansing lotions and creams.

Casey Stoner Ducati 1198S Phillip Island Replica

Missing three races because of a mystery illness, Casey Stoner put any critics he had from his sudden departure in 2009 to bed with his masterful race at Phillip Island. Racing in front of his home crowd, Stoner slid around the Australian course to a decisive victory, in what we called one of the top races of 2009. Making the moment even more special for Australian fans, and Ducatisti alike, was the special race livery that Stoner ran for his home race. Hoping to commemorate that race and Stoner’s contributions to the Marlboro Ducati team (Stoner is leaving Ducati for HRC next year), a French Ducati dealership in Moulins-lès-Metz has decided to sell a limited number of Casey Stoner Ducati 1198S Phillip Island replicas.

Norton Returning to MotoGP Racing

German magazine Speedweek is reporting that Norton will be back in GP racing for the 2012 season with a two-man team. Speedweek’s highly respected Austrian journalist Gunther Wiesinger has received word that Norton has requested two spots on the 2012 MotoGP grid, and has signed a request to join the series when it returns to the 1000cc format. It’s unclear at this time if Norton will be entering as a claiming rule team (CRT), or be listed as a factory prototype, which could have a dramatic affect on the team’s success in the series.

WSBK: Race 1 at Brno – The Crash That Could Cost the Championship

Sun 07/26/2009 @ 7:32 pm, by Jenny Gun

Home » Racing » WSBK: Race 1 at Brno – The Crash That Could Cost the Championship

Brno has a variety of meanings to different people. To the Old Czech, the words means muddy, to the Slavs it means to fortify, to men aged 16-55 it means rail thin supermodels, but to motorcycle race fanatics, the city should take on the meaning of unpredictable racing action. You’ll have to continue after the jump to see why Race 1 proves this theory.

Imagine you’re Ben Spies, and you trail in the World Superbike Champion by a handful of points. All that stands in the way of you achieving your victory, is an injured rider who will likely be unable to answer your advances for the next few race venues.

But wait, this is World Superbike, and this is Brno. Ben Spies found out the hard way that anything can happen; such as, Michel Fabrizio barging into you, causing a collective 45 Championship points pile up. Spies is of course no stranger to the adverse racing conditions in WSBK, surviving break downs, fuel mishaps, and even birds to climb his way to within 7 points of Haga. You can imagine that this race will come up later from arm-chair racers if Spies loses the Championship by a margin less than the 17 point spread between 1st and 8th.

Despite still being the Championship leader (for now), Haga was not expecting to pull his lead farther ahead with his 8th place finish, but because of the crash between Fabrizio and Spies, Haga could celebrate Race 1 as if he won it. However the true podium duty went to Max Biaggi on his Aprilia RSV4.

The Emperor had been on fire all week, and it finally paid off for him and the Aprilia team. With Spies and Fabrizio out of the way, Max sailed to a comfortable three second lead over Carlos Checa, who was followed six seconds later by Johnny Rea. Biaggi later complained that his RSV4 was not setup properly, thus holding him back from going faster and/or crashing into Spies himself.

Other honorable mentions go out to Troy Corser and the BMW team for their 5th place finish. Brno has been good to BMW, despite Ruben Xaus’s DNF this Sunday.

Results from Race 1 of World Superbike at Brno, Czech Republic:

Pos.	Num.	Rider	Country	Bike	Diff
1	3	M. Biaggi	ITA	Aprilia RSV4 Factory
2	7	C. Checa	ESP	Honda CBR1000RR	3.631
3	65	J. Rea	GBR	Honda CBR1000RR	9.948
4	67	S. Byrne	GBR	Ducati 1098R	12.952
5	11	T. Corser	AUS	BMW S1000 RR	14.599
6	96	J. Smrz	CZE	Ducati 1098R	19.359
7	91	L. Haslam	GBR	Honda CBR1000RR	19.680
8	41	N. Haga	JPN	Ducati 1098R	20.731
9	14	M. Lagrive	FRA	Honda CBR1000RR	21.923
10	100	M. Tamada	JPN	Kawasaki ZX 10R	27.807
11	10	F. Nieto	ESP	Ducati 1098R	35.263
12	23	B. Parkes	AUS	Kawasaki ZX 10R	36.535
13	9	R. Kiyonari	JPN	Honda CBR1000RR	38.586
14	71	Y. Kagayama	JPN	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	40.061
15	77	V. Iannuzzo	ITA	Honda CBR1000RR	40.280
16	99	L. Scassa	ITA	Kawasaki ZX 10R	40.641
17	25	D. Salom	ESP	Kawasaki ZX 10R	1′10.529
18	94	D. Checa	ESP	Yamaha YZF R1	1′14.874
19	88	R. Resch	AUT	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	1′42.979
20	51	M. Cihak	CZE	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	1′43.111
RET	66	T. Sykes	GBR	Yamaha YZF R1	1 Lap
RET	53	A. Polita	ITA	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	6 Laps
RET	121	J. Hopkins	USA	Honda CBR1000RR	10 Laps
RET	56	S. Nakano	JPN	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	12 Laps
RET	19	B. Spies	USA	Yamaha YZF R1	16 Laps
RET	84	M. Fabrizio	ITA	Ducati 1098R	16 Laps
RET	57	L. Lanzi	ITA	Ducati 1098R	18 Laps
RET	111	R. Xaus	ESP	BMW S1000 RR

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Tagged under: Ben Spies, Brno, Czech Republic, Max Biaggi, Michel Fabrizio, Noriyuki Haga, Race 1, world superbike, World Superbike Championship, WSBK

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