Tag

Racing

Browsing

MotoGP is set to follow the World Superbike Championship with the addition of a sprint race on Saturday, after qualifying.

The move is aimed at providing more on-track action during on Saturday’s, and adding a bit more spectacle to MotoGP’s racing format.

Sprint races have been a success already with the MotoE World Cup, where the electric bikes feature hard bar-to-bar racing in their limited racing distance.

The Saturday sprint race format in WorldSBK has also been a strong move for Dorna in the production series, so it doesn’t come as a surprise to see the powers are be implementing it in MotoGP.

After a prolonged absence, Casey Stoner returned to the paddock at Portimão, where he gave an extensive press conference to the media present on site and via zoom.

Just as when he was still racing, his observations were well worth listening to, and without the pressure of race weekend and an endless string of media commitments, was even more thoughtful and insightful than usual.

One subject which he was particularly interesting on was the question of competition, why people race, and what drives them, and especially, what drove him.

There has been a lot of death this year in motorcycle racing. At Mugello, Jason Dupasquier crashed and was hit by another rider during qualifying for the Moto3 race, and died in the early hours of the following morning.

At Aragon, during the European Talent Cup race held at a round of the FIM CEV championship, Hugo Millán crashed during the race and was hit by another bike, dying as a result of his injuries.

And yesterday, during the WorldSSP300 race at Jerez, Dean Berta Viñales crashed at Turn 2 and was hit by another rider, dying in hospital a few hours later. Dupasquier was 19, Millán was 14, Viñales 15.

The deaths – three teenagers in the space of less than four months – led to a great deal of introspection in the racing world, and concerns over what should be done to prevent this from happening again.

A lot of people had a lot of ideas, but the thing that strikes me about these deaths is that, as good as some ideas might be, there are no easy answers.

MotoAmerica was in the backyard of Asphalt & Rubber last weekend, and we sent our man Ryan Phillips up to the Washington track to snap some photos of the national series’ stop at the Ridge Motorsports Park.

The temperatures were hot (115°F), and the racing was fast. The Ridge Motorsports Park has changed a lot too, since the last time the national series stopped by the Pacific North West.

With fresh asphalt, more facilities, and a heck of a lot more black-top, The Ridge is quickly becoming a national-caliber race track, and a popular destination with riders.

If you haven’t had a chance to spin some laps on its 16 turns (plus chicane), then you are missing out. The racing there is pretty good too.

Episode 53 of the Brap Talk motorcycle podcast is out with another weekly episode, for your two-wheeled listening pleasure.

Since we are on the road right now, we thought we would dig up this old episode that for whatever reason just didn’t get out on time when we first recorded it.

It was recorded in July 2020, so you will hear some dated references in the discussion, but we think the content holds up pretty well. Don’t worry, we will be back to present time next week, with plenty to talk about.

Dorna Motor Sports has announced a new race series aimed promoting young racers and helping them start their racing careers.

The new race league is called the FIM MiniGP World Series, and it is a novel approach to finding young racing talent, ages 10 to 14, around the globe.

The concept is simple: Dorna and the FIM have created a standardized racing format that clubs at the national, regional, and continental levels can adopt, which  creates a level playing field for young racers to make their mark.

Sylvain Guintoli continues to make YouTube gold during the coronavirus lockdown, producing some great informational videos to help you when you get back on the race track.

Today’s edition sees the Frenchman breaking down how to use the rear brake on the race track.

Unlike Guintoli’s last installment, which was geared more towards beginning track riders, today Guinters tackles a pretty high-level topic for experienced track riders and racers, though we think riders of all skill levels will benefit from hearing it.

Sylvain Guintoli is crushing it on YouTube right now, as the former WorldSBK champion continues to pump out insightful videos  about riding motorcycles while the world is stuck at home.

If you missed his explanation on why racers dangle their leg during braking, you should go watch it right now. It is the most exhaustive and complete breakdown on the subject that we have seen to date, and Guintoli combines his unique experience with clear explanations.

Moving ahead, the Frenchman is back with another video about riding technique, though this one is geared not so much towards racers and high-level track riders.

Instead, we think it fits well for intermediate-level riders who want to work on their track skills.

Episode 140 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one takes us back in time, to one of the best MotoGP seasons we have ever had. We are talking about the 2006 MotoGP Championship.

For this stroll down memory lane, this show sees David Emmett, Steve English and, Neil Morrison on the microphones talking about this epic season, and there is a lot to get excited about when talking about the 2006 season.

When we will be able to go racing? That’s the question everybody wants an answer to, as MotoGP and WorldSBK rounds are canceled seemingly every week.

The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has cast a pall over the world that not even motorcycle racing can escape. This week, MotoGP was canceled at Mugello and Barcelona.

Last week, it was MotoGP at Le Mans, the week before that, Jerez MotoGP and Assen WorldSBK. Each race is canceled as it heaves into view on the calendar.

So when will we be able to go racing again? I don’t know. You don’t know. The truth is, nobody knows, not even Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta or FIM president Jorge Viegas.

Because it is out of their hands. Organizing a world championship motorcycle race is complicated, and requires large numbers of people and equipment to cross multiple national borders using various modes of transport.

No news is good news, at least as far as the current outbreak of COVID-19, or the coronavirus is concerned.

And for thirteen days – nearly two whole weeks – we went without a change to the calendars of either the WorldSBK and MotoGP calendars (ironically, that changed this morning).

Given the speed at which the world has changed over the past two weeks, that is almost an eternity in normal time. The same could not be said for other motorsport disciplines. For two weeks, we have been inundated with cancellations and postponements.