Just days after WSBK wrapped up its season opener at Phillip Island, Australia, rumors are about that the Flammini Brothers are eyeing the Hampton Down circuit in New Zealand as a possible destination for the World Superbike Championship in 2012. Hampton Downs will reportedly have to increase its track length in order to qualify for FIM homologation, which should make the road course 2.4 miles long.
Blasphemy, heresy, stupidity, sacrilege, un-American, and downright irreverence. Go ahead, get all those words out of your system. I’ll wait. The default opinion of marketers, analysts, and the general population is that Harley-Davidson has one of the strongest brands in the United States, this being confirmed by the fact that every business student in America has studied Harley’s marketing efforts if they’ve ever taken a brand management course. So why would I start a three-part series on how to fix Harley-Davidson by arguing to change one of the most revered marketing houses in the motorcycle industry? Giving credit where credit is due, Harley-Davidson, or I should say its admirers in business school academia, wrote the book on demand generation marketing geared towards the baby-boomer generation. However, in defending this market position, Harley-Davidson has painted itself into a corner by only engaging a very small segment of the population with its product. Unless they redefine and reposition their company image and who it resonates with, Harley-Davidson is going to watch the continued erosion of its footing in the motorcycle industry, and also the continued deterioration of its only industry leading quality: its brand.
- First Glimpse at the Erik Buell Racing 1190RR
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- Harley-Davidson Reports Devastating 89.7% Annual Income Loss for 2009 - Made $70 Million Last Year
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- Volkswagen Motorcycle Concept
- AMA Pro Racing Adds AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Spec Racing Series
- World Superbike in New Zealand 2012?
- 2010 Yamaha FZ8 Officially Revealed
- Metzeler Sportec M5 Interact Tires: Now with Pi Sign
Phillip Island served up another nail-biter for WSBK fans this Sunday. With the race winner making a last lap pass, no one could have guessed the top four finishers in this race. With a few familiar faces, along with a few new hopefuls, wrapping up the first stop on the World Superbike Championship only wets the appetite further for the rest of the WSBK season. Rider quotes, video highlights, and race standings after the jump.
The wait is over, World Superbike racing action is back as Race 1 was underway at Phillip Island today. Perhaps a glimpse into the racing year, the action from down under did not disappoint race fans, and sets up WSBK to have a excitingly close season. Click past the jump for all the racing news of Race 1 at Phillip Island, including rider quotes, video highlights, and race standings.
Erik Buell Racing has just updated its website, and releasd the first real clear shot of what the EBR 1190RR will look like it in its racing form. With 185hp being made at the rear-wheel (according to the optimistic DynoJet dynamometer), the EBR 1190RR sits at the top of the Buell totem poll. Erik Buell Racing has spec’d the machine to be legal in both the AMA and WSBK, but the 1190RR is not homologated for neither the AMA American Superbike class (yet?), nor for WSBK (even bigger question mark).
Based off the 1125R chassis, the 1190RR is virtually anorexic, dropping 30lbs off the AMA Daytona Superbike racing machine, while still bumping up displacement by 65cc’s. With 93lb•ft of torque on hand at 9,500 RPM, the EBR 1190RR is sure to sling your eye balls into the back of your head…if you can find a racing series to race it in. Full technical specifications after the jump.
With the 2010 World Superbike Championship series getting underway in only one week’s time, WSBK riders are getting their last days of testing in at Phillip Island before the season opener next Sunday. If this weekend’s testing is any idication of what we can expect from next weekend while under race and qualifying conditions, then Michel Fabrizio looks like the man to beat. The Italian lead the testing sessions on his Xerox Ducati with a lap time of 1′31.650. Continue on for footage of the testing session by SuperbikeTV, and testing session times from Australia.
For the 2010 World Superbike season, Aprilia is looking to build upon their successful 2009 season, which saw Max Biaggi finishing 4th despite the RSV4’s first outing in WSBK racing. While the 2009 factory Aprilia team ran no title sponsorhip, that’s all set to change in 2010 with the announcement that Italian airline Alitalia will be headlining on the teams livery.
The 2010 World Superbike Championship series is only two weeks away from its season opener at Phillip Island, and to help get the Superbike juices flowing for race fans, WSBK has put together a video that highlights moments from the 2009 season and an update on riders and teams for the 2010 season.
If only we could get coverage of WSBK this good on the television back here in the States. At 22 minutes long, this is a video well worth watching with beverage and food within arms’ reach. Enjoy the season preview after the jump.
Roger Lee Hayden, younger brother to former MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden, has signed with Team Pedercini for the 2010 World Superbike season. Roger Lee rode the Kawasaki ZX-6R to an AMA Supersport Championship, so theoretically he should feel at home again on Team Green satellite team in WSBK. However, the liter-bike class has proven difficult for the younger Hayden. In his three years on the Factory Kawasaki AMA Superbike team, two of those years were shortened by serious crashes.











