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June 2010

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Our Test Rider is Faster than Your Test Rider

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After the collective groan that emanated from MotoGP fans around the world when Wataru Yoshikawa was announced as Valentino Rossi’s replacement, Interwetten Honda is feeling a bit frisky about MotoGP’s next stop at Barcelona for the Catalan GP.

As such the team has challenged the Fiat-Yamaha substitute rider to battle with their own replacement for Hiroshi Aoyama: Kousuke Akiyoshi. With neither rider likely to make much of a showing against the MotoGP usuals, Interwetten Honda boss Daniel Epp sees a battle of the backmarkers as a way to spice up the race.

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News

Video: Shinya Kimura – Motorcycle Artist

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Don’t call him a custom motorcycle builder, Shinya Kimura is really more of any artist whose medium is on two-wheels (among other formats). In an industry that centers around products that should resonate with their owners, Kimura finds a way to put more soul into metal than just about anyone else we know. Check out after the jump this unlisted YouTube video by Henrik Hanssen, which shows Kimura and his work from his shop Chabott Engineering.

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Racing

WSBK: Battle for Second Leaves Runaway Finish During Race 2 at Misano

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Hot World Superbike racing continued under the Italian summer sun as Race 2 was underway at Misano on Sunday. The home track for Aprilia looked for Max Biaggi to try for another weekend double, but BMW and Troy Corser set themselves as the team to beat all weekend long. With Corser on the pole, The Emperor had his work cut out for himself, not to mention the fact that the majority of the top WSBK teams had tested at Misano, and brought their A-game this weekend. Check after the jump for all the spoilers, results, and video highlights.

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Racing

Ducati Multistrada 1200S Wins Class at Pikes Peak

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Racing to the clouds this weekend, Team Spider Grips Ducati took a comfortable class victory in the 1205cc Pikes Peak motorcycle group, racing on the special Pikes Peak Ducati Multistrada 1200S. Finishing 50 seconds ahead of second place finisher Walker Pew, Greg Tracy was the second fastest motorcyclist overall on the mountain (the fastest bike being in the 750cc class). Tracy’s run continued a strong showing for Ducati at the Pike Peak International Hill Climb, and was 13 seconds off an overall win motorcycle on the mountain.

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Racing

WSBK: Geriatrics Battle for Race 1 at Misano

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Max Biaggi turned a year older yesterday, making the Italian rider 39 years-old, but he isn’t the only rider on the World Superbike grid that’s whose a bit weathered with age. Battling for Race 1 at Misano this weekend, the old duffs came out of the woodwork, and showed that you can teach an old dog new tricks after all. Get out your walked, and check out all the race spoilers after the jump.

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Racing

WSBK: Surprise Superpole Qualifying Excites Misano

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World Superbike hits Italy again this season, with WSBK stopping at Misano for its racing action. Sunday’s race should be a good one as there was a surprise result in Saturday’s Superpole qualifying event. Mixing it up on the front row is a glimpse of faces of old, some newcomers, and the usual suspects, which could sort itself out very interestingly in Sunday’s races. Find the full results after the jump.

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Racing

MotoGP: Hat-Trick Win at Dutch TT

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From the land of windmills, awkward late night television commercials, and mayonnaise covered French fries, comes MotoGP action at Assen. The only MotoGP race to start on Saturday instead of Sunday, Holland played host to its 80th Dutch TT this weekend. Assen saw a few riders making progress on their season, despite only 15 bikes taking to the grid. Check after the jump for race spoilers.

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Banter

Lost in Translation: The Shineray Transformer

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One of our favorite shows here at Asphalt & Rubber is SPIKE TV’s MXC (Most Extreme Elimination Challenge). It takes Japanese game show Takeshi’s Castle, and dubs over it with American announcers who have more than a sense of humor.

The show, if not entertaining and mildly culturally offensive, is a lesson that some things don’t carryover from one culture to another, and we still have a lot to learn about each other in this big wacky world.

The following video from Chinese manufacturer Shineray Motorcycles exemplifies this phenomenon further, and shows that the motorcycling isn’t immune to some of these cultural quirks. More than meets the eye follows after the jump.

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Racing

MotoGP: Lorenzo on Poll at Assen – Spies Continues to Impress with 4th Place Qualifying Finish

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Jorge Lorenzo continues to dominate in a Rossi-less MotoGP, taking his second pole this season while at Assen for the Dutch TT. Also making waves was American Ben Spies, who after taking a third place finish at Silverstone, finds himself fourth on the starting grid tomorrow for the Dutch TT’s Saturday race day start. Lastly, a big shirt-less high five goes to Randy de Puniet for taking his second second-place qualifying in a row. The Frenchman continues to make the Repsol Honda team look bad with his impressive season, and apparently hasn’t gotten the memo that satellite riders are supposed to be slow.

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Racing

Melandri Dislocates Shoulder – Out for Dutch TT

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Injuries continue to plague MotoGP, and the starting grid at Assen will feature only 15 riders as Marco Melandri dislocated his shoulder during today’s early morning practice session (FP2). Melandri was going through the revised Ruskenhoek corner, and found himself overshooting the corner, as he negotiated the narrow run-off, his rear tire went from the slippery grass surface to the tarmac. Catching immediate traction, the Gresini Honda catapulted Melandri, who landed on his shoulder, which became dislocated.

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