The Confederate X132 Hellcat is the latest creation from the boutique southern motorcycle brand, and continues the Hellcat lineage’s custom-roadster aesthetic. Like any machine produced by Confederate, the real beauty of the new Hellcat comes down to the bike’s detail finishes, which for the X132 includes a motor casing that was built out of two pieces of billet 6061 aircraft grade aluminum. Officially spec’d with “sufficient” power and torque figures, the 2,163cc v-twin motor on the X132 is more than eye-catching, and should propel you down the road just fine with its estimated 132 peak horsepower and 150 lbs•ft of torque.
During the second AMA Pro Supersport qualifying session at Sears Point, #422 Genki Hagata had a moment that every motorcycle racer knows all too well: a highside. Still completing his out-lap, Hagata’s Yamaha YZF-R6 lost traction at the rear wheel, and then abruptly regained it, which for most riders would usually mean an ejection seat straight into the kitty litter, but not for Genki. Holding onto the bars throughout the incident, Hagata avoided crashing (again, as the case would be for the weekend), and while he missed making the cut-off for Supersport grid by only a few tenths of a second, we still think he was the big winner of AMA Pro Racing’s third road-racing stop of the season.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
With MotoGP riders at Valencia debuting their own personal tributes to Marco Simoncelli today, back in Italy an entirely different tribute has been undertaken, as the Misano Circuit is set to change its name to honor the fallen Italian motorcycle racer. While not one of Simoncelli’s favorite tracks, Misano was the Italian racer’s home venue, and hence forth it will be renamed from the Misano World Circuit to the Marco Simoncelli World Circuit in honor of the fallen rider.
Álvaro Bautista sported some new race livery this past weekend in Misano, as the Spanish rider donned a chrome paint scheme at the San Marino GP to help title sponsor Rizla hock some more cancer sticks. The “Micron” paint scheme, done by Troy Lee Designs, is one of the many ways the Rizla Suzuki team has tried to promote itself for its financial backers, with PR rides by John Hopkins and Elena Myers also filling the bill. While the Suzuki team has struggled in MotoGP the past few years, the more recent races this season have shown that Bautista and the Suzuki GSV-R are capable of mixing it up with the second-tier of riders (when the bike stays on the track of course).
Finishing most recently 6th and 8th, respectively at the Indianapolis and San Marino GPs, Bautista seems finally comfortable on the 800cc GSV-R. If rumors are true, Suzuki could very well continue with the 800cc package into the 2012 season, electing to mix things up with the larger displacement bikes from Honda, Yamaha, and Ducati (though, the displacement on some of those machines is surely not the full 1,000cc as well).
Despite its venue title, MotoGP returned to Italy this race weekend, as Misano played host to the San Marino GP. With the Championship standings vetting themselves out, Casey Stoner seems to be all but assured of his second premier class title. Trailing Stoner by 44 points, Jorge Lorenzo’s bid for keeping his #1 plate for next season is in serious jeopardy, though not mathematically impossible. If the Spaniard can mount a slew of top finishes, starting at San Marino, he might have a chance at the Championship if Stoner or the Repsol Honda team drops the ball at one the six remaining races (including this weekend’s).
That task won’t be easy for Lorenzo though, as Stoner has been strong all season, and once again sat at the pole position for today’s race. The x-factor however is one Dani Pedrosa, as the Catalan has been a Top 3 contender for every race he’s been healthy at this season. Likely to be in every fight, Pedrosa could easily take points from both Stoner and Lorenzo, aiding either his teammate or his countryman in their bid for 2011 supremacy.
Also looking for some magic in Misano are Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli. With both Italians vying for a factory seat in 2012, Honda made its position clear that it will only have two riders in the factory-backed team, with a factory bike a possibility for SuperSic, though his support levels could change. For Dovi, Honda has made it clear there is no room in the team for the Italian. Wanting a factory ride for 2012 though, Dovi’s best choice might be a Rizla Suzuki, though he has been linked to LCR Honda, Tech 3 Yamaha, and Pramac Ducati as well.
Speaking of Ducati, not all is well with the home town brand, which yet again at another race weekend has shown itself to be decidedly out of the 2011 MotoGP Championship contention. With the back half of the starting grid at Misano having an almost exclusive showing of the Bologna brand’s bikes, even local hero Valentino Rossi admitted a strong showing at Misano would be impossible without some help from global warming. With the coastal weather threatening to put moisture on the track, or even rain, Rossi’s wishes looked like they could be coming true as MotoGP riders took to the grid. You’ll have to follow after the jump though to see if flag-to-flag racing reared its head at the San Marino GP, and how that may have affected the day’s racing results.
With sunny weather finally becoming the status quo for MotoGP race weekends, the Adriatic track of Misano, Italy is playing host to the San Marino GP this weekend. Immediately following the Indianapolis GP, it seems little has changed in the past six days since the last US round. At the front of the week’s time slips have been the Hondas of Casey Stoner (setting another “best lap” record in Qualifying) and Dani Pedrosa, with moments of hope coming from the factory Yamahas of Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies.
Noticeably at the rear of the pack is a gaggle of Ducatis, which sees even the G.O.A.T. that is Valentino Rossi struggle against the non-works GP11/10s of Hector Barbera, Karel Abraham, and Randy de Puniet. Nicky Hayden has also struggled, while Pramac Ducati’s Loris Capirossi is likely just marking time until he can step away from his satellite Ducati, as the legendary Italian GP rider announced his retirement on Thursday at the pre-race conference.
As we published at the Indianapolis GP this past weekend, Colin Edwards’ time in the Monster Yamaha Tech3 garage seemed to be coming to an end, as the veteran MotoGP racer and former-World Superbike Champion was linked to several other possibilities in WSBK and MotoGP for the 2012 season. Making his thoughts clear, Edwards believes there’s some value to the claiming rule team (CRT) formula, saying ”I think there’ll be tracks where it’s going to surprise some people.”
Finally releasing his plans for the 2012 season, Edwards announced today at the San Marino GP that he will race for the Italian NGM Forward Racing team, on a CRT bike, next season. While the team has been linked to a BMW/Suter motor and chassis, Edwards will use instead an R1 motor with a custom chassis. The preference right now is for Tech3′s Guy Coulon to make a chassis for the R1 motor, as the team did for its own Moto2 effort, but nothing has been finalized with the French MotoGP team.
Three Grand Prix Championships, twenty-nine race victories, forty-one pole positions, and ninety-nine GP podiums, there is no denying the fact that Loris Capirossi has had an illustrious career in GP racing. Finally confirming what’s been hinted at all season long, Capirossi tearfully spoke at today’s pre-race press conference, as the 38-year-old announced that 2011 would be his last season racing motorcycles. Electing not to ride in World Superbike or continue in MotoGP on a CRT machine, this weekend’s race, the 325th for Capirossi, will be the last time the legendary Italian rider will race in front of a home crowd.
Making the announcement in the presence of past-Ducati teammate Casey Stoner and fellow Italian Champion Valentino Rossi, CapiRex said “it is difficult for me to say this after 22 seasons, but this for sure is my last race in Italy, because I decide to retire at the end of the season. When I do the last race in Valencia, racing for me will stop. I won’t go to a different championship and I will stop racing completely.
