Photo of the Week: Here’s to the Unsung Heroes of MotoGP

This, race fans, is Danilo Petrucci, one of the brave souls trying his luck on the future of MotoGP hardware, in his case the doggedly underpowered Came IodaRacing Project machine. Not on a (relatively) zippy Aprilia ART, or a Honda-powered FTR, Petrucci qualifies on the same grid as Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo, and brings to this gunfight a knife that packs a whopping 185 bhp, compared to the factory prototype engines that are rumored to be around 260 bhp. As I photograph a race, I see a much different version of the event than TV viewers. I watch the recorded TV broadcast later, and can tell you that there is a lot going on with the Claiming Rule Team bikes that doesn’t make in onto TV.

Suter 500 Factory V4 – Thank You for Smoking

We are now purely a “suck, squeeze, bang, blow” society, and while that suits many motorists just fine, there are some who enjoy the smell of pre-mix in the morning — you know who you are. You enjoy the sound of angry bees following you from apex to off-camber. You think a displacement for “serious riders” starts at around 250cc. You like your engine compression low, and your powerbands narrow. You sir (or madam), are a two-stroke junky, and we have just the fix you need. Having a bevy of intriguing two-wheeled projects within its walls, the Swiss bike that catches our eye today is the Suter 500 Factory V4: a two-stroke, 500cc, V4, track weapon that puts out over 200 hp and weighs 284 lbs ready to race — no, that is not a typo.

Photo: Five – Two = Podium

Blurred to protect against spoilers, we’ll just leave things simply by saying that World Superbike’s Race 2 at Donington Park is well worth a watching if you haven’t already seen it. Decided right down to the last few turns, race pundits surely will be discussing the race and its outcome over the next week. Unsurprisingly, geography is playing a major a role in how things are being viewed. Though in a race where a number of questionable passes occurred, it is hard to single out this one event from the plethora of others that occurred during the race, but of course this one had the biggest effect on the race outcome. Click past the jump for the he said, she said, and of course for some slightly sharper photos.

Norton V4 Gets Shakedown Test Ahead of Isle of Man TT

More news from Norton, as the British firm has begun track-testing its V4 road race bike, in preparation of the 2012 Isle of Man TT. Focusing on the bike’s handling, Norton has been working hand-in-hand with Öhlins and Dunlop developing the bike’s chassis. The trio has devised the highly sophisticated “165 mph no hands” test, which supposedly checks the stability of the bike, though we imagine Health & Safety would frown upon it. With the bike’s Aprilia RSV4 motor putting out 195hp at the crank, and with the total race package weighing 419 lbs (195 kg) when it is sopping wet, the Spondon-framed Norton may not be exactly what fans of the famous marques were hoping for after seeing the very appealing Norton NRV 588, though it does seem to be a potent package.

2012 Brammo Empulse R – Was It Worth the Wait?

Launching in downtown Los Angeles, the 2012 Brammo Empulse R & 2013 Brammo Empulse broke their cover and officially debuted. Right off the bat from the designations, you can see that Brammo intends for the Empulse R to be a 2012 model, with the base model Emuplse coming out next year (more on that further down). As we expected, the Brammo Empulse R got quite the price bump after its 22-month marination, and will be $18,995 MSRP. Meanwhile when the Brammo Empulse becomes available next year, it will have a slightly more palatable $16,995 price tag.

Up-Close with the Erik Buell Racing 1190RS ‘merica Edition

While the EBR 1190RS race bikes were on the track, their $40,000+ street-legal counterparts were on display outside of the Erik Buell Racing garage. Rocking an American flag livery, I naturally took pictures of this show bike. Eye catching to say the least, nothing says “Made in ‘merica” better than a red, white, and blue color scheme, especially when it is laid over carbon fiber. And while I want to love this bike because of its nuances and outside-of-the-box technical design, I don’t.

Sunday Summary at Estoril: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

If there’s one lesson we can take from Sunday’s race at Estoril, it’s this: “I’ve always said we know Casey’s the guy that’s the fastest guy in the world. Maybe over the seasons he hasn’t put the championships together, but by far he’s the best guy in the world.” Cal Crutchlow is not known for mincing his words, and his description of Casey Stoner pulls no punches. But given the fact that Stoner only managed to win the Portuguese round of MotoGP by a second and a bit, is that not a little exaggerated?

Up-Close with the 2012 Brammo Empulse RR

Brammo is back for electric motorcycle racing in the North American TTXGP series, as the Ashland-based company is set to defend it’s #1 plate this year with Steve Atlas on board ( Shelina Moreda is slated to join the team later in the season). Gaining a title sponsorship from Icon, Brammo arrived at Sears Point with some edgy graphics on the 2012 Brammo Empulse RR. Dropping roughly 35 lbs in weight, and gaining roughly 50hp over the bike they ran at last year’s season opener, Brammo is making most of those gains in its revised motor and power inverter for the newest Empulse RR.

Mea Culpa: The Media’s Hard-on for a Good Penis Story

As you can imagine, the bulk of the commentary, both from readers and from professional journalists, has centered around the absurdity of the claim, with even jokes being offered about how an aged BMW rider should be thanking the German motorcycle brand for saving him money on Viagra, etc. The situation reminds me of the McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit. You know the story, right?. A woman buys a cup of coffee at McDonald’s, spills it on herself while in the car, and sues the bastards for her incompetence. True to litigious American form, the unthinkable happened, and a jury awarded this gold-digging woman millions of dollars. It is repudiating, and it stands for everything that is wrong with the legal system, or so we would be lead to believe — especially by the media.

An Addendum to Valentino Rossi’s Options for the Future

Never say never, but few are expecting Valentino Rossi to hang up his spurs at the end of the 2012 MotoGP Championship. Going out on a career low-point is certainly not the Italian’s style, especially as it casts a particularly dark shadow on a career that has enjoyed the bright-light superlative of “Greatest of All Time” from some of motorcycling’s most knowledgeable sources. Hoping to cast that phrase with an underlined typeface, and not with an interrogatory question mark, there is sufficient evidence to believe that Rossi will want to end his career in a way that will leave no doubt about the nine-time World Champion’s abilities. The question of course is how those final seasons will play out, and who they will be with.

WSBK: A Point Proven During Superpole at Monza

05/06/2011 @ 6:36 pm, by Victoria Reid2 COMMENTS

Racing for some redemption, Max Biaggi (1:41.745) proved a point in winning pole for the 2011 World Superbike round at Monza, returning to the track to best his own qualifying time after most riders had returned to their garages. Biaggi also bested his record top speed (334.8 kph/208.035 mph) from an earlier practice session in qualifying. He will be joined on the front row for his home race by Eugene Laverty, Jonathon Rea, and Troy Corser. Meanwhile, points leader Carlos Checa was knocked out in Superpole 2 and will start eleventh. Most riders fell afoul of the Monza chicane at least once, having their lap times ruined and deleted by cutting across the feature.

Rea (1:43.712) was the first to go fastest for the weekend, leading Corser, Badovini, and Biaggi in the first free practice on Friday morning. Haslam (1:42.934) took his turn to put the quick BMW on provisional pole in the afternoon qualifying practice, though it was Biaggi breaking the WSBK speed record that garnered more attention for the Italian in front of the home crowd. Laverty and Badovini, who was again quick Friday afternoon, completed the provisional front row. Meanwhile, James Toseland, Badovini’s returning teammate, was only twenty-first quickest in QP. Also recovering Chris Vermeulen did not ride in the afternoon session, after an off in the morning required a visit to the medical center and stitches on his elbow.

Nor did Vermeulen ride on Saturday, due to that injury. His participation in Sunday’s races is possible but undetermined as yet. Corser was quickest in the second qualifying practice Saturday morning, though Haslam’s time remained as provisional pole. The session was delayed after oil dropped during the WSS required cleanup, then red flagged to clear oil spewed across the track after Fabrizio Lai’s engine decided to give up the ghost. Haslam, Biaggi, Corser, Lascorz, and Badovini were the overall fastest five in the two qualifying practices. Biaggi finally took the lap time lead (1:42.589) for the weekend in the final free practice, again breaking the top speed record with a 334.8 kph (208.035 mph) fastest speed. Knocked Out in Qualifying Practice: 17. Ruben Xaus, 18. Roberto Rolfo, 19. James Toseland, 20. Mark Aitchison, 21. Fabrizio Lai.

Superpole 1:
Superpole 1 got underway on a bright and sunny Monza sky, with Haslam tweeting moments before the session, “Just about to start superpole. Onit.” When ten minutes remained in the fourteen minute session, only six riders had posted a time. At that point, Lascorz (1:43.090) was quickest, followed by Haslam, Guintoli, Haga, Berger, and Smrz. Just a couple of minutes later, Laverty led (1:42.645), with Smrz, Biaggi, Berger, and Camier in the relegation zone. As usually happens in the ever-changing Superpole, Biaggi took the provisional pole soon thereafter, dropping Sykes into the knockout zone.

The Italian led Laverty, Rea, Corser, and Melandri as the fastest five in a session where the point was not to be one of the slowest four. While most of the faster riders went back into the garage, those in the bottom half of the pack made their way out for faster lap times as the minutes ticked away. Interestingly, Camier was slowest of all while teammate Biaggi was quickest, with just over two minutes remaining. He soon joined the Italian with a third quickest lap. Biaggi remained fastest at the end of the session, with Haslam, Fabrizio, Camier, and Laverty the top five. Knocked Out in Superpole 1: 13. Joan Lascorz, 14. Tom Sykes, 15. Jakub Smrz, 16. Maxime Berger.

Superpole 2:
Things were again quickly underway in the ten minute long Superpole 2. Rea had moved forward while using a race tire and still had two qualifying tires remaining for the final two sessions, a tire which put him quickly in provisional pole. He was quickly eclipsed by Laverty as times continued to drop. Soon, Yamaha teammate Melandri (1:42.201) took charge, leaving Guintoli, Fabrizio, Badovini, and Checa, who had not yet set a time in S3, in the relegation zone.

At the halfway point, Melandri led Laverty, Biaggi, Rea, and Corser as the fastest five as the knockout zone remained half populated by Italians. Guintoli’s efforts to move up and out were hampered by cutting the chicane and losing his lap time. Meanwhile, sixth fastest Haslam was an unhappy rider in the garage, asking for a race tire. Checa’s first time put him ninth fastest, only to have his next lap deleted with yet another bit of chicanery. With a minute remaining, Haslam, Camier, Checa, and Guintoli were in danger of being left behind. Haslam soon moved up to fifth fastest, only to slip down a position after a fast lap from Fabrizio. The session ended with Melandri leading Laverty, Biaggi, Rea, Fabrizio, Haslam, Corser, and Haga as the top eight. Points leader Checa would not advance to fight for pole. Knocked Out in Superpole 2: 9. Ayrton Badovini, 10. Leon Camier, 11. Carlos Checa, 12. Sylvain Guintoli.

Superpole 3:
Times were not set until halfway though the session, with Biaggi (1:42.319) taking an early lead, follwed by Rea, Melandri, and Fabrizio. Corser, Laverty and Haga remained in the garage a bit longer, with Haslam cutting the chicane and wasting his first lap. Soon, Laverty was just under eight hundredths off Biaggi’s time, with Rea and Corser completeing the provisional front row.

That order remained the same with just two minutes to go, as Corser also lost a promising lap time. Most of the riders seemed content with their times as the seconds ticked down, choosing to end the session in the garage. Biaggi, though, had a point to prove and bettered his own fastest time by nearly six tenths.

Superpole Results from World Superbike at Monza, Italy:

Pos.	No.	Rider	Team	Time	Diff.
1.	1	Max Biaggi	Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team	1:41.745	-
2.	58	Eugene Laverty	Yamaha WSBK Team	1:42.393	0.648
3.	4	Jonathon Rea	Castrol Honda	1:42.614	0.869
4.	11	Troy Corser	BMW Motorrad	1:42.688	0.943
5.	33	Marco Melandri	Yamaha WSBK Team	1:42.714	0.969
6.	91	Leon Haslam	BMW Motorrad	1:42.723	0.978
7.	84	Michel Fabrizio	Team Suzuki Alstare	1:42.954	1.209
8.	41	Noriyuki Haga	PATA Racing Team Aprilia	1:43.043	1.298
Out After Superpole 2
9.	86	Ayrton Badovini	BMW Motorrad Italia	1:42. 886	0.685
10.	2	Leon Camier	Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team	1:42.995	0.794
11.	7	Carlos Checa	Althea Racing Ducati	1:43.116	0.915
12.	50	Sylvain Guintoli	Team Effenbert-Liberty Ducati	1:43.146	0.945
Out After Superpole 1
13.	17	Joan Lascorz	Paul Bird Kawasaki Racing	1:43.090	0.953
14.	66	Tom Sykes	Paul Bird Kawasaki Racing	1:43.437	1.300
15.	96	Jakub Smrz	Team Effenbert-Liberty Ducati	1:43.993	1.856
16.	121	Maxime Berger	Supersonic Racing Ducati	1:44.005	1.868
Not qualified for Superpole
17.	111	Ruben Xaus	Castrol Honda	1:44.216	1.216
18.	44	Roberto Rolfo	Team Pedercini Kawasaki	1:44.515	1.515
19.	52	James Toseland	BMW Motorrad Italia	1:44.989	2.989
20.	8	Mark Aitchison	Team Pedercini Kawasaki	1:45.022	2.088
21.	32	Fabrizio Lai	Echo Sport Racing Co. Honda	1:45.739	2.805

Source: WSBK; Photo: Pirelli

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Tagged under: Ayrton Badovini, BMW, Eugene Laverty, italy, Jonathon Rea, Leon Haslam, Max Biaggi, Monza, record speed, Superpole, top speed, Tory Corser, world superbike, WSBK

Comment:

Dan Fischer says:
May 7, 2011 at 5:13 PM
What a machine.
Mike J says:
May 8, 2011 at 4:05 AM
The only point he proved here is that fastest bike maters at Monza.

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