Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Archive

June 2015

Browsing
MotoGP

Thursday Summary at Assen: Races Saved & Races Changed

By 2 Comments

If the Honda is so bad, why are two RC213Vs at the top of the timesheets? That seems like a very valid question, given the public struggles that all of the Honda riders have had with the bike this year. Has the 2014 chassis finally fixed the Honda’s ailments? Is Márquez back?

If only it were that simple. Firstly, of course, Marc Márquez never went away. The double world champion still possesses a gargantuan talent, and the desire and will to use it. He was hampered by many aspects of the 2015 bike, including both the engine and the chassis.

The 2015 chassis, he explained at Assen, was more precise and could be used more accurately. Unfortunately, the only way to get the best out of it was to ride it like every lap was a qualifying lap. That level of intensity is just not sustainable over race distance.

At some point, you will make a mistake, and the 2015 chassis punishes mistakes mercilessly. So HRC have reverted to a hybrid version, using a 2014 chassis and the new swingarm which Márquez first tested at Le Mans.

Keep Reading
By
Products

Could Golf Balls Be the Answer to Helmet Noise?

By 9 Comments

Helmets are a rather stagnant segment of the motorcycle industry, with even the more “innovative” designs being evolutions to the basic principles of crash helmets, rather a revolutions.

Helmets like 6D and Bell’s Moto-9 Carbon Flex use two different variable techniques to lessen hard and soft impact types.

Companies like Skully and Reevu aim to add more visual features to helmets, while major brands like AGV, Arai, and Shoei are ever improving their designs for better customer fit, whether it be through additional helmet models, or rethinking how the helmet fits to the rider’s head.

All of these improvements are good for us motorcyclists, of course, yet they are all based on the same basic principles of a hard protective shell, lined with some sort of impact absorbing material.

In fact, the only truly revolutionary helmet design we have seen, comes from the bicycle sector, and involves advanced airbag technology. In 50 years, we’ll be wearing these helmets (or not wearing them, as the case may be). But until then, the basic design continues to evolve.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

MotoGP: Dutch TT Moved to Sunday for 2016 & Onward

By 2 Comments

The Dutch round of MotoGP, the Dutch TT at Assen, is to switch from Saturday to Sunday.

From 2016, the event will surrender its unique status as the only MotoGP round to be held on Saturday, and fall in line with the rest of the MotoGP races. It will, however, remain on the last weekend of June, but will now be on the last Sunday, rather than the last Saturday of June.

The decision was taken by the circuit management after long consideration and discussions with many of the parties who have an interest in the race.

The circuit also commissioned market research into the use of leisure time among the Dutch public, which showed that Sunday is the day most people set aside to spend attending sporting events, such as the Dutch TT.

Circuit director Peter Oosterbaan and chairman Arjan Bos said that the market they were operating in was such that Sunday was a better day all round for sporting events.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Carl Sorensen Has Died While Practicing at Pikes Peak

By 7 Comments

Tragic news comes to us today from Colorado, as racer Carl Sorensen died during today’s practice session for the 93rd Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

With the motorcycles on the top section of the mountain, Carl crashed in a fast left-hand turn, known to have a bump on the racing line, near the summit.

Carl’s last run would have been one of the final runs up the course for the day, as the bikes were closing-in on their end time. Conditions reported to Asphalt & Rubber were that it was very cold at the Devil’s Playground staging area, with the road thawing from a measured 32°F to 42°F by the end of the sessions.

Thursday marks the third day of sanctioned practice for the motorcycles entered in Sunday’s racing event, with qualifying being tomorrow, on the lower section of the course (Pikes Peak practice sessions are divided into three course segments, with one motorcycle group and two car groups rotating through the course during practice week.

Familiar with the PPIHC race course, Carl finished last year’s hillclimb an impressive 16th overall, and 10th in the competitive “Open” class on his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. For this year’s race, he made his move into the middleweight class, riding on a Ducati 848 Superbike.

A loyal A&R reader, and an avid motorcycle racer, Carl is survived by his wife and son, and will be sorely missed by all his family, friends, and racing compatriots. Our hearts and thoughts go out to all of those affected by Carl’s passing.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Video: Remembering John Britten & The Britten V1000

By 6 Comments

A special event took place earlier this year at the Ruapuna Raceway in Christchurch, New Zealand. Paying tribute to John Britten, not one, not two, but seven Britten V1000 motorcycles were on-hand to celebrate the 20th B.E.A.R.S. Sound of Thunder gathering.

Attending the occasion were Britten racers Andrew Stroud, Shaun Harris, and Loren Poole, as well as new owner of the CR&S V1000 “Black Beauty” race bike, Bob Robbins. Fans were given the special treat of two of the Britten V1000s superbikes lapping around the race track.

Undoubtedly, the day was surely a special event for those in attendance. Thankfully, Britten Motion Pictures commemorated the day with a short video, for those of us too far away to experience these special machines. Enjoy it, after the jump.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Preview of the Dutch TT: To the Great Natural Tracks

By 1 Comment

Assen is a funny old track. And when I say old, I mean old, the event has been on the calendar since 1925, though back then there was no such thing as world championship, and the race took place between Rolde, Borger and Schoonloo, some ten kilometers east of Assen.

From 1926, it moved to a route between the villages of De Haar, Oude Tol, Hooghalen, Laaghalen and Laaghalerveen. The roads, forced into short straights with fast sweeping kinks and bends by the complex drainage patterns of the creeks and ditches which keep the region from reverting back to peat bogs, gave shape to the track which was to follow.

They still leave their mark on the circuit today, despite being a closed-circuit since 1955, though the track has been much shortened since then.

What remains is a track with nary a straight piece of asphalt on it. The back straight meanders between the Strubben hairpin and the fast right and long left of the Ruskenhoek, living up to its name of Veenslang, or Peat Snake.

The short stretches between the fast combinations of corners weave and flow, and the only thing keeping the front straight straight is the pit wall. As a piece of geometric design, it is a disaster.

As a race track, it is glorious, proving that the best tracks are not designed on paper, but laid out in a landscape. Mugello, Phillip Island, Assen: all great riders track, each owing a debt of gratitude to the landscape which forms them.

Keep Reading
By
News

Venturi Ends Its Voxan Electric Motorcycle Project

By 10 Comments

The motorcycle brand Voxan saw new life in 2010, when it was bought by Venturi Automobiles, and transformed into an electric motorcycle company. A pet project of billionaire Gildo Pallanca Pastor, Voxan debuted its first motorcycle, the Voxan Wattman, in 2013. You either loved it, or hated it…we were of the latter opinion.

Production details on the Voxan Wattman were sketchy at the time of the bike’s release, and Pastor has a reputation of not seeing project through to their finish. Therefore, it is not surprising that reports out of France say that Venturi has pulled the plug on Voxan, and the Wattman.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Track-Only KTM RC16 Expected to Cost €140,000

By 27 Comments

The motorcycle world is still processing Honda’s decision to make a road-going version of its RC213V MotoGP race bike, and whether you think its price tag overwhelms, or its spec-sheet underwhelms, the Honda RC213V-S is a testament to the engineering that HRC is capable of producing for its racers.

KTM has a similar philosophy afoot. Though Stefan Pierer has made it clear that there will be no successor to the KTM 1190 RC8 R street bike, the company will be making a track-only customer version of its own MotoGP race bike: the KTM RC16.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

MotoGP: Czech GP Ticket Sales Suspended

By 2 Comments

This year’s Brno round of MotoGP looks to be under severe threat. Ticket sales on the circuit’s official website for the event have been suspended as of this afternoon, after talks with Brno city council and the regional government broke down over funding of the race.

The message on the Brno circuit website reads:

With an immediate effect, Automotodrom Brno suspends the sale of tickets for the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic 2015 due to insufficient funding for the event.

The final decision on the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic 2015 will be published on 29 June. In case of cancellation of the event, all paid tickets will be refunded. 

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

MotoGP: Van Der Mark Will Not Replace Abraham at Assen

By 4 Comments

Michael van der Mark will now not be racing at his home MotoGP round of Assen. The deal to replace the injured Karel Abraham at the AB MotoRacing team has fallen through, the stumbling block being who would cover the cost of crash parts.

The deal came very close to fruition. Rumors that Van der Mark would take the place of Abraham first started over the weekend at Misano, emerging publicly on Monday afternoon.

HRC had put Van der Mark forward to replace the injured Abraham, and the AB MotoRacing team were very open to having the young Dutchman as a substitute.

Things soured on Monday, however, as discussions grew heated over who would pay for crash damage to the Open class Honda RC213V-RS if Van der Mark were to drop the bike.

Keep Reading
By