April 2010 - Page 3 of 7 - Asphalt & Rubber

Racing

WSBK: Close Group Vies for Win in Race 1 at Assen

By Jensen Beeler 04/26/2010 1 Comment

The results of Race 1 at Assen may not be a huge surprise for race fans, but the racing that took place to get those results surely was. The first race of World Superbike’s stop in mayonnaise country saw some strong showings from hometown favorites, and some disappointments from WSBK greats. This trend in the 2010 season seems to be the norm this year, which means great racing for WSBK fans. With five racers vying for the win and only a handful of laps to go, you’ll be disappointed if you didn’t catch this race and its conclusion.

Keep Reading

Racing

WSBK: Assen Superpole Sees Surprise Front Row

By Jensen Beeler 04/26/2010 1 Comment

World Superbike action came to Assen this weekend, and it didn’t take long for the Dutch track to claim it’s first victim. Seeing a rider crash in the first round, and a number of big names lost in the second round shuffle, the Superpole format clearly is still a quagmire for many teams. This didn’t stop a couple familiar names from making it onto the front row, but going into the WSBK round in Holland, you never would have guessed who these riders would have been.

Keep Reading

Racing

Fiat Boss Fuels Ferrari/Rossi Rumors

By Jensen Beeler 04/22/2010 10 Comments

Fiat Chairman Luca di Montezemolo has thrown some more fuel on the never-ending fires about a Valentino Rossi’s rumored switch to Formula One racing. Fiat as you might remember is the title sponsor of the factory Yamaha MotoGP team, and also the parent company to Ferrari. In what he calls a “great idea”, di Montezemolo made it clear that he would like to see the seven-time World Champion driving for Corse Rosa.

Keep Reading

Racing

Neil Hodgson Retires From Racing

By Jensen Beeler 04/22/2010 2 Comments

After a crashin during a practice session at Brands Hatch re-injured Neil Hodgson’s shoulder, the former WSBK (2003) and BSB (2000) Champion announced his retirement from racing today in a press release. In his crash, Hodgson injured his shoulder, which had been previously injured during a motocross training accident (road racers after cross-train in the dirt) here in the US. After undergoing testing on the shoulder for the past three weeks, it’s become clear that the injury will require Hodgson to retire from racing after a 20 year career.

Keep Reading

Bikes

Oberdan Bezzi’s Second-Take on a Bimota/Moto Morini – MMB2 FighterMotard

By Jensen Beeler 04/21/2010 1 Comment

Just a couple days after Oberdan Bezzi inked this incarnation of a Bimota MMB1 (Bimota Moto Morini), he brings us this drawing of a streetfighter/hypermotard version of his imaginative cross-pollination of the two Italian brands. The drawing of course looks great, but we have our same criticism from his previous render…it looks more of the same.

We were pretty tough on Bezzi for his prior design, and the problem is we take these drawings as compared to each other, whereas in the real world there would be only one iteration of these designs, which no doubt would look fantastic on its own. We especially appreciate how Obiboi has channeled Bimota’s genius in the frame design. So with that, we still hope for a change of inspiration from the Italian designer, but we’d gladly welcome any of these bikes in the A&R garage.

Keep Reading

Bikes

Confederate C3 X132 Hellcat – Brought to You by New Orleans and S&S Motors

By Jensen Beeler 04/21/2010 11 Comments

After creating the F131 Hellcat, B120 Wraith, and P120 Fighter Combat, Confederate Motor Company announced at the New York International Auto Show its fourth motorcycle: the C3 X132 Hellcat. Built in conjunction with S&S Cycle (better known for its S&S motors), the new Hellcat is being touted as “the lightest, fastest, toughest, smoothest, most exquisite Hellcat, ever”, which isn’t as lofty of a statement as you’d think considering there’s really only two other motorcycled to compare the new Hellcat to: the two older Hellcats.

Keep Reading

Racing

A Close Call at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

By Jensen Beeler 04/21/2010 7 Comments

Racing for third place, Honda National Motos wass rushing to fill their CBR1000RR when all of a sudden gallons of race fuel come out of the refueling hose, and slathered the bike in flammable liquid. What happens next is completely predictable to even the most casual race enthusiast.

Likely hitting the super-heated header pipes, the fuel ignites while crew members with minimal fire protection are crowded around the motorcycle trying to dry it with mechanic’s rags. Luckily it would appear no one was injured, but check the video out after the jump to see how close this could have been to a real disaster.

Keep Reading

Racing

Twitegi Circuit Gets Ready for the TwitGP

By Jensen Beeler 04/20/2010 3 Comments

By now you’ve surely heard the news that the Japanese GP at Motegi has been cancelled because of the volcanic ash the continues to spew out of an unpronounceable mountain in Iceland. With teams unable to fly out of Europe and into Japan, Dorna had no choice but to postpone the event until much later in the season.

Leaving MotoGP fans with nothing to do this weekend except watch the confirmed WSBK stop at Assen, some clever individuals have turned to the internet to get their GP fix. Enter TwitGP, the first virtual sporting event, that’s being hosted on twitter. With a bevy of twitter-based wordplay, TwitGP has seen a number of tweeps get on-board with the concept, which hopes to bring racing action straight to 4,000 or twitter followers come Sunday.

Keep Reading

News

Harley-Davidson Returns to Profitability

By Jensen Beeler 04/20/2010 19 Comments

Harley-Davidson has announced its Q1 quarterly earnings today, and the Milwaukee-based company posted a $68.7 million profit. This news comes after Harley-Davidson posted a $218 million loss last quarter, and finished in the hole over $55 million for the 2009 year. Harley’s return to profitability is partially due to the company’s restructuring of its financial services, which are once again generating money for the iconic American brand. Harley-Davidson Financial Services posted a profit of $26.7 million this past quarter, almost a third of HD’s net income in Q1.

Keep Reading

Racing

Video: Bridgestone Explains Tires in MotoGP

By Jensen Beeler 04/20/2010 6 Comments

Bridgestone is halfway through its three year contract with Dorna as the sole tire supplier to MotoGP. The exclusivity contract means that the Japanese tire company has to provide a variety of compounds and options to race teams as they tackle the MotoGP season. Explaining the options available to teams, and the some of the challenges the company faces, Bridgestone has put together these two videos (after the jump) that contain everything you wanted to know about tires and motorcycle racing. Check them out after the jump.

Keep Reading

Racing

MotoGP and WSBK Battle Over Valencia Exclusivity

By Jensen Beeler 04/20/2010 1 Comment

Dorna (MotoGP) and Infront Sports (WSBK) are to battle over the exclusive rights to race at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, Spain. Home to the Valencian GP, the venue has also played host to the World Superbike Championship since 2000. As one of the larger and most popular venues, the track is the cornerstone for both races series, and in one of the most fruitful motorcycle racing markets…and Dorna wants it all to itself.

Keep Reading