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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The FIM has announced that MotoGP riders will have added choice for their front slick tire allocation from the end of next month. Although the total number of front slick tires permitted for a race weekend will remain unchanged at eight, three different distribution options will be made available. However, new rules on when the tires can be ordered may make the tire situation much more difficult for teams.
You may remember that a month ago, Dani Pedrosa suffered a tire failure while racing at the Japanese GP at Motegi. While still able to stay in the race, fans watched as the Spainard began slowing down, unable to challenge the Fiat Yamahas any further. Pedrosa would finish 3rd for the day, but some serious questions and concerns were being asked of Bridgestone, the sole tire provider of the series.
Bridgestone has now confirmed that faulty construction of the tire allowed a foreign element to be embedded in the rubber, which later broke out, taking chunks of rubber with it.
Editor’s note: The colored rims are only for non-competetive sessions such as the Free Practice sessions, and for Qualifying or Racing.
Bridgestone, the now sole provider of tires for the MotoGP series, is taking a cue from from Formula 1 and coloring the rims of MotoGP bikes to indicate the tire compound the rider has selected. Like in Formula 1, green will be used for riders using the soft compound, and red for riders using the hard compound.
For now, this is purely for the enjoyment of TV viewers, but there is speculation that color codes could lead to abuse by teams looking to inject a little disinformation into their rival teams. We imagine safeguards similar to those in Formula 1 will be put in place, and that the coloring scheme will play into MotoGP racing as it has in the pinnacle of auto racing.
Source: Two Wheels Blog
Bridgestone race tire manager Tohru Ubukata has issued an official apology to Dani Pedrosa and the Repsol Honda Team for the condition of Pedrosa’s front tire during the Japanese GP at Motegi. As you can see in the photo, Pedrosa came back into the pits after the race with chunks of rubber missing from the tire carcass. Bridgestone has promised to carry out a full investigation to find out why the tire was missing pieces at the the end of the Motegi GP.
According to Ubukata, no other riders or tires were affected with a similar malfunction, which makes this an unfortunate incident for Pedrosa:
“We did see some problems with Dani Pedrosa’s medium compound front Bridgestone tire after the race. All the other tires that were used during the weekend, and this season, performed well so we can say this is a problem isolated to just this one tire, but of course we have already taken the tire to our technical center in Tokyo where we are investigating the problem in detail.”
Pedrosa could very well owe his 3rd place finish to that tire malfunction, being unable to pass Rossi after several opportunities. Its a good thing the official track car of MotoGP isn’t a Ford Explorer.
Source: TwoWheelsBlog
Bridgestone has finally signed the agreement with Dorna Sports making it the only tire supplier for MotoGP for the next three seasons. Last season saw for Michelin dwindle as Bridgestone became the favorite shoe in the paddock, so much so that Dani Pedrosa jumped ship mid-season, leaving teammate Nicky Hayden behind who was not given the same option to switch to Bridgestone. The agreement comes about as Dorna tries to further reduce cost and make closer wheel-to-wheel racing. Continue reading for more.
Jeremy Burgess, the man beind behind great riders like Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan, and Valentino Rossi has voiced his opinion about the one tire manufacturer rule for next year’s MotoGP season…just a little bit more loudly than before. Read more after the jump.
