It was Ben Spies again who took the holeshot of Race 2. Building off of his performance in Race 1, the American again began building a lead early on in the race. But wait! There’s more, continue reading for the full report from Race 2 of World Superbike at Assen.
In Assen, Holland, it was Ben Spies who took the holeshot in Race 1, launching off the line from pole position and into turn 1 of the Dutch course. Spies was followed by Max Neukirchner and Noriyuki Haga, neither of whom could touch the American’s lead position after turning just one lap around the course. As Haga closed in on Neukirchner it seemed there would be a good battle for second brewing, but the German made a mistake in the GT chicane and tossed his bike. He would finish 13th for the day. However, Race 1 at Assen wasn’t about to disappoint. Continue reading for a woefully inadequate description of one heck of a Superbike race that was WSBK Race 1 at Assen.
We don’t usually post about project bikes, but this one stood out and grabbed us. What do you do with an old and busted CBR600F that’s more than 20 years old? Why, you turn it into new hotness that’s what, and that is exactly what rider did to this CBR rat bike.
Here are a few shots of the transformation, but Roguemoto has put a full-accounting of the metamorphisis up on Flickr. It’s worth the time flipping through the shots to see the craftsmanship that went into this old relic.
Source: PNW Riders
In Assen, Ben Spies took his fourth Superpole win in a row by besting the existing pole record by 7/10ths of a second, with back-to-back 1’36.6 laps. Nipping at the heels of Spies, and the only other man to break into the 1’37’s, was Jakub Smrz and his Guandalini Ducati. Continue reading for the rest of the front row, and the Superpole results.
Heavy lunchtime rain at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit led to the cancellation of all qualifying sessions for the Polini Grand Prix of Japan, leaving grid positions in all three World Championship categories to be decided according to Free Practice positions. Initially, the decision was to wait for an hour, and then assess if the weather conditions would improve enough for qualifying to be run later in the day. However with the rain being unrelenting, there was nothing left for Race Direction to do but to cancel the qualifying sessions for all three classes. As such, Valentino Rossi will start at the Japanese GP’s pole position for the first time in his career.
It looks like there will be a respite over about the temporary measure, and while they are pleased with the announcement, they urge Congress to step in and make a more permanent solution for children riders.
If you were to ask John Hopkins what his least favorite track is right now, we’d bet good money the American would say the Dutch track Assen. The last time Hopper was in Assen, he smash his leg in a huge crash, which left him sitting out of two races, and struggling in pain for the rest of the season. Now, after only four laps around the course this year, Assen has shown its teeth again for Hopper. During the free practice today Hopkins dislocated his hip in another big crash, and there is doubt surrounding his return to riding by Sunday.
Sometimes the power of the already insane ZX-10R isn’t enough. And sometimes, after a weekend ride, you look at your liter bike, and wish for a way that a mortal man can have GP bike performance in a stock chassis. If this is your case, then The Two Stroke Shop (TSS), makers of the that we told you about earlier this year, could well have the answer you’re looking for in the shape of their 1100cc two-stroke ZX-10R.
First quarter numbers for the powersports industry are coming in, and they don’t look good. New unit sales were down more than 30% compared to Q1 of 2008. This drop is attributed to both the economic slowdown, as well as the ban on youth-designed ATVs and motorcycles with lead paint.
Nicky Hayden is a go for Friday’s practice session for the Polini Grand Prix of Japan, although the American will not be fully recovered from his Qatar highside. Hayden still has several stiches from his practice session crash at Qatar, but they should not affect his ability to ride hard on Sunday.
The wait for the first official showing of the 2010 BMW S1000RR may well be over! Well, almost. BMW is expected to debut the road-going version of the S1000RR to the press and public at the World Superbike Championship being held at Monza May, 10 2009. That’s the buzz around the paddock, and it would seem to be confirmed by BMW’s changes to the S1000RR’s website.
Source: BMW via