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: Red Flags Mean Second Chances for Race 2 at MMP

05/29/2012 @ 6:55 am, by Jensen Beeler5 COMMENTS

With clean racing for Race 1 at Miller Motorsports Park, World Superbike’s Race 2 was interrupted after a few laps with a red flag incident caused by Hiroshi Aoyama’s Honda CBR1000RR crashing, and spilling fluid onto the track. This proved to be bad news for Carlos Checa, who like in Race 1, had gotten clear of the field, and was able to once again run his own race. Instead, Checa had to contend with strong showings from Marco Melandri and Tom Sykes, proving that the restart of Race 2 would be another good battle.

As the lights went out for the restart, Marco Melandri again lead through the first turn, with Sykes and Checa following. Checa would find his way again into the lead, and slowly broke away from the field with his better-handling Ducati. That lead wouldn’t last though, as with 13 laps left in the race, Checa went down, and brought his bike into the garage, only to end up back out on the course a few laps later.

Meanwhile on the track, Jonathan Rea went on a tear, having first a great battle with Chaz Davies (who was having a great race in his own right), and then started putting pressure on the new race leader, Marco Melandri. Getting around Melandri, the two riders had an epic battle to the line, as Marco Melandri returned the favor to Jonathan Rea coming down the straight, and into the final lap. With Rea chasing all the way to the finish line, Melandri just managed to hold off the Brit, and brought BMW is second race win on the S1000RR.

Equally entertaining was the race for third between Chaz Davies and Max Biaggi. Stalking the front group, Biaggi finally got his factory Aprilia past Davies and his similar satellite machinery, with the Roman Emperor making his move on the front straight. Despite trading positions in T2, Biaggi makes the pass stick in T3, and then broke away from Davies.

Because of that late effort and the crash by Checa, Biaggi retains his lead in the Championship standings, with 18 points separating him from Marco Melandri and Tom Sykes. Jonathan Rea sits fourth in the Championship, 19.5 points behind Biaggi. World Superbike racing returns to Europe on June 10th at Misano.

Race 2 Results from World Superbike at Miller Motorsports Park, USA:

Pos.	Rider	Team	Bike	Time	Diff.
1.	Marco Melandri	BMW Motorrad Motorsport	BMW S1000 RR	32’56.257	-
2.	Jonathan Rea	Honda World Superbike Team	Honda CBR1000RR	32’56.452	0.195
3.	Max Biaggi	Aprilia Racing Team	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	32’58.394	2.137
4.	Chaz Davies	ParkinGO MTC Racing	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	33’00.502	4.245
5.	Tom Sykes	Kawasaki Racing Team	Kawasaki ZX-10R	33’05.791	9.534
6.	Eugene Laverty	Aprilia Racing Team	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	33’06.055	9.798
7.	Davide Giugliano	Althea Racing	Ducati 1098R	33’08.148	11.891
8.	Leon Haslam	BMW Motorrad Motorsport	BMW S1000 RR	33’08.972	12.715
9.	Jakub Smrz	Team Effenbert Liberty Racing	Ducati 1098R	33’09.274	13.017
10.	Sylvain Guintoli	Team Effenbert Liberty Racing	Ducati 1098R	33’09.960	13.703
11.	Leon Camier	FIXI Crescent Suzuki	Suzuki GSX-R1000	33’11.944	15.687
12.	Michel Fabrizio	BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet	BMW S1000 RR	33’18.180	21.923
13.	Ayrton Badovini	BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet	BMW S1000 RR	33’20.197	23.94
14.	Loris Baz	Kawasaki Racing Team	Kawasaki ZX-10R	33’20.308	24.051
15.	Maxime Berger	Team Effenbert Liberty Racing	Ducati 1098R	33’30.154	33.897
16.	John Hopkins	FIXI Crescent Suzuki	Suzuki GSX-R1000	33’34.949	38.692
17.	Leandro Mercado	Team Pedercini	Kawasaki ZX-10R	33’43.960	47.703
18.	Jake Holden	Grillini Progea Superbike Team	BMW S1000 RR	34’03.480	67.223
19.	Shane Turpin	Boulder Motor Sports	Ducati 1098R	34’37.971	101.714
RET	David Salom	Team Pedercini	Kawasaki ZX-10R
RET	Carlos Checa	Althea Racing	Ducati 1098R
RET	Niccoló Canepa	Red Devils Roma	Ducati 1098R
RET	Lorenzo Zanetti	PATA Racing Team	Ducati 1098R
DNS	Hiroshi Aoyama	Honda World Superbike Team	Honda CBR1000RR

Tagged under: 2012 BigM Weekend, Aprilia, BMW Motorrad, Carlos Checa, Chaz Davies, Honda, Jonathan Rea, Marco Melandri, Max Biaggi, Miller Motorsports Park, MMp, PATA Aprilia, race, Race 2, race results, Salt Lake City, USA, Utah, world superbike, WSBK

Comment:

Rob says:
May 29, 2012 at 12:40 PM
Great racing to watch, as was AMA with the exception of Hayes and Checa running around making everyone look slow.
Andrey says:
May 29, 2012 at 4:01 PM
Was a great race to watch but the appalling US commentary on SPEED channel is just unbearable… why do they insist on doing this?… there was more chit chat than race commentary. They didn’t even run through grid positions before the race. Absolutely ridiculous that in a place like the U.S. this could be so bad. Makes watching here so much less enjoyable than other locations in the world.
Victor Knowles says:
May 29, 2012 at 7:56 PM
Superbike is a lot better to watch then MotoGP……..at least for now.
Let’s hope that changes soon.
Faust says:
May 30, 2012 at 11:52 AM
Good to see Rea up front again! I agree that the US races are not as enjoyable to watch because the commentary is SO bad. It’s the same thing every year!
Tom says:
June 3, 2012 at 12:16 PM
SPEED is run by News Corp (fox) so it will always suck. It’s run by dumb ignorant hicks who want 24/7 NASCAR coverage and don’t want to consider ANY other form of racing. Over the last 15 years, SPEED has shifted lockstep with Fox to pandering to the conservatives.
Never watch Speed, ever. Go buy a subscription to online racing or download them a day after the race.

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