There are a lot of things that make Mugello special. Its location, in the heart of Tuscany, a sumptuously beautiful part of the world; its layout, fast, flowing, winding naturally up and round the valley it is set in.
The wide open nature of the track, all third and fourth gear combinations which require the perfect combination of intelligence, talent, and sheer courage that make it close to the perfect test of skill. It is fast, it is flowing, and it is undulating.
Even the front straight isn’t really a straight, but a rolling sinew of asphalt that winds down to the first corner. You come down out of the last turn, hammer on the gas, shifting up to sixth as you go, and ride up the rise towards the crest.
Drift right then left through the slight kink in the straight which becomes something resembling a 330 km/h chicane, then just as your front wheel floats free over the crest, you need to get it back down again and get on the brakes for the first corner, the 90 km/h San Donato.
The straight and the braking area are immensely difficult to get right, and a simple error can leave you hurtling into the gravel. Or, in the case of Marc Marquez, drifting towards a wall.
Each rider has their own technique, but subtlety is the key to getting it right. Jorge Lorenzo told the press that he does not really brake over the crest, nor does he use rear brake to keep the front down, but instead Lorenzo rolls off the throttle a fraction.
This puts the front tire back in contact with the tarmac, and allows him to brake at full force for San Donato. Dani Pedrosa’s technique is slightly different, but achieves the same result. “You never really hit the brake at once,” he said, “you squeeze and put the pressure a little after.”
I don’t know why Ducati Corse is calling this video “Ducati Team 2013 Presentation Video” on YouTube. Maybe it is because the team has been absent from the top of the time sheets for so long that Ducati thought we might have forgoten that Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso are the team’s factory riders. I kid, I kid…but really…no, I kid.
Already two practice sessions deep at Mugello for the Italian GP though, Ducati Corse is making quite the impression with all five of its riders: Hayden (4th), Iannone (6th), Dovizioso (7th), Pirro (10th), and Spies (16th). Mugello is Ducati’s home track event on the MotoGP calendar, and the 2013 Ducati Desmosedici GP13 has turned more than a few laps at the Tuscan circuit.
For Ducatisti, Sunday could be a very good day, though the weather remains a huge variable. But still, in the dry the Ducatis seem to be going very well, and for Ducati podiums, we all know you just add water. Chewy.
At the 2013 Isle of Man TT, when it comes to the TT Zero race, there are really only two entries being talked about: MotoCzysz and Mugen. Rumored last year to be a black hat electric superbike project for Honda, Mugen of course denies such involvement, though admits that company’s share a very special and close relationship.
Whether you believe that an association exists or not, the paddock gossip says that Mugen (or Honda) has spent nearly $4.3 million on its electric bike project, and that sounds like a number that is well within the ballpark. With John McGuinness at the helm, Mugen is taking the TT very seriously, and looking at the 120 hp Mugen Shinden Ni, you can see that the Japanese squad has spared no effort in giving McPint the most potent weapon possible.
Having seen too many practice sessions affected by the weather, Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson was left with little choice but to postpone what would have been the first race of the Isle of Man TT, taking the opinion that the riders hadn’t had enough time on the Mountain Course — a point-of-view that many riders shared.
As such, Saturday’s scheduled Dainese Superbike Race will be pushed back to 2:15pm on Sunday (local time). However this does not mean that Saturday’s sidecar race will be altered, and remains scheduled for 2pm. This means that the sidecars will serve as the opening race for the 2013 Isle of Man TT.
As we suspected, the Mission R by Mission Motors lives, albeit in a new company and with a new name. Coming from Mission Motorcycles, the now-called Mission RS (race special) is the realization of what we consider to be the finest road-going electric motorcycle…and we should know, we’ve ridden them all.
Essentially the electric race bike that Steve Rapp piloted to Supersport class lap times at the Laguna Seca MotoGP/AMA/e-Power round in 2011, but with a headlight, taillight and mirrors, the Mission RS boasts some impressive figures.
Sport bike enthusiasts will enjoy the quoted 160hp horsepower, 120 lbs•ft of torque across the rev range, and 17 kWh battery pack, which Mission says is good for a 200 mile range (140 mile real world) and a 150 mph top speed. However, the $58,999 price tag may take some getting used to (insert sticker shock joke here, as well as corresponding eye roll).
Mugello is a spectacular setting. Even when it absolutely pours down, so badly that a river starts running through the Mugello paddock, the setting remains spectacular. It makes navigating the paddock without a life vest fairly treacherous, but at least the view is stunning. The rain looks set to stay for the duration, though the forecast appears to be improving day by day, but the riders need not fear a lack of wet track time.
As always, the riders waxed eloquent on the circuit, almost universal in their praise. Most entertaining simile of the day was from Bradley Smith, who compared Mugello to a motocross track: all undulating surfaces, blind crests and banked corners. He is right, of course, but it is not the first comparison that springs to mind when describing a track as physically large and magnificent as Mugello.
