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Watch Only Five Competitors Finish the 2015 Erzbergrodeo

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The Erzbergrodeo billed as the toughest single-day motorcycle race on the planet – a name the race more than live up to each year. For 2015 though, Sunday’s Red Bull Hare Scramble, as its known to the marketing-hip, was something out of Dante’s seven circles of Hell.

500 riders qualified for the main event, a number that was whittled down from the 1,500 entries. Of those 500 riders though, only 5 of them finished the course, known better as “The Iron Giant”.

Though the Erzbergrodeo is known for its low-finishing rate, this year’s event was extra difficult because the race organizers added an additional 21 miles to its length, including the new “Downtown” section, which was a virtually impassable with its ravine and steep muddy hill.

With four co-winners (Jonny Walker, Graham Jarvis, Andreas Lettenbichler, and Alfredo Gómez), and a fifth lone finisher (Mario Roman Serrano), we bet this will be a race talked about for some time. Luckily if you missed it on TV, we have the full TV episode right here, after the jump. Enjoy!

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MotoGP

Preview of the British GP: The Ryanair Round, Silverstone’s Peculiar Challenges, & The Silly Season Latest

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The Irish budget airline Ryanair gained something of a reputation for being, shall we say, creative with the names of the airports it flies to.

Fancy a trip to Sweden? They will fly you to Stockholm Skavsta, a mere 100 km from the city of Stockholm. The same trick is played out time and time again: Paris Beauvais? Beauvais is a charming French city, and well worth a visit, but it is very long way from the French capital. Munich West (Memmingen)? 112 km west of the Bavarian capital.

So perhaps we should call this British GP the Ryanair MotoGP round. Officially, it is being run by the Circuit of Wales, located in Ebbw Vale, South Wales.

Yet the race is to be run around the Silverstone circuit, nearly 200 km further East. Close, it is not. How did it end up at Silverstone? Thereby hangs a long and convoluted tail.

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Bikes

Honda Project 2&4 – A Honda RC213V-Powered Car

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The 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show is just around the corner, and while the event is typically a four-wheeled affair, Honda is cooking up something that piques our two-wheeled interest here at Asphalt & Rubber.

Calling it the Honda Project 2&4, the concept is simple: a futuristic and sporty car that is powered by Honda’s championship-winning, 1000cc, 90°, V4, RC213V MotoGP engine. See, it’s piquing your interest too.

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Bikes

2016 Yamaha MT-03 Gets Confirmed by Japan

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In June, Yamaha officially took the wraps off the Yamaha MT-25 — the naked version of the Yamaha YZF-R25 sport bike. While that bike is destined for many markets abroad, it began the strong speculation as to whether Yamaha would punch-out an MT-03 for developed countries.

Today we have that answer, as Yamaha Japan has listed the MT-03, with photos, on its website. Roughly 9lbs lighter than the Yamaha YZF-R3, and good for just over 41hp, there aren’t too many surprises with the new model, though small-displacement bike fans should be rejoicing.

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Bikes

Husqvarna 701 Café Racer Spied

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The spy photographer who sent us these photos calls this mystery motorcycle a “Husqvarna 701 café racer” which honestly is as good of a guess as any when it comes to figuring out what the Swedish brand is doing with this machine, and its 2016 motorcycle lineup.

Based off the KTM 690 Duke, as is the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto, this machine promises to have a 70hp thumper at its heart, mixed with a short seat-height, clip-on handlebars, underslung exhaust, and an attractive trellis swingarm.

To our eye, the motorcycle in question looks like Husky’s take on the KTM 690 Duke – a naked street bike that’s equally at home in the city as it is in the twisties – more than it does a café racer.

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Bikes

Spy Photos: KTM 800cc-Class Parallel-Twin Duke

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It looks like KTM is getting ready to add another Duke to its street bike line, as spy photos of the above machine have broken cover.

Said to be roughly 800cc in displacement, the new Duke would slot in well between the KTM 690 Duke and the KTM 1290 Super Duke R, which is a fairly obvious base to cover.

What is interesting about the KTM 800 Duke (our name, not KTM’s) though is that at the heart of the machine is a parallel-twin engine, which breaks from KTM’s general affinity for single-cylinder thumpers, and v-twin monsters.

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Bikes

Rumor: Is Ducati Working on a Four-Cylinder Superbike?

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We have a love/hate relationship with unverified rumors here at Asphalt & Rubber. On the one hand, we strive to break timely and accurate stories for our readers, which means getting the best information as possible, and sharing it with you as soon as possible.

On the other hand though, some wild rumors are worth repeating, not so much for their accuracy, but for how fanciful and romantic it is to think of them being real. Today’s news falls into the latter category, though it comes from the reliable Carlo Baldi of Moto.it.

According to the Italian publication, Ducati is working on a four-cylinder superbike platform, which is likely being developed with World Superbike competition in-mind.

We know, we know, the very concept of a Ducati superbike without a v-twin platform borders on heresy. The rumor isn’t that crazy though, if you think about it, which is probably why it is so delicious to share with you.

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MotoGP

Cal Crutchlow Signs for Two More Years with LCR Honda

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First, it was Bradley Smith, today it is Cal Crutchlow. On Wednesday, the LCR Honda team announced that Cal Crutchlow will be riding with the team for two more seasons. The deal will see Crutchlow staying with LCR for 2016, giving him an option to stay on for 2017 as well.

Crutchlow’s deal has been a long time coming. Talks were started as early as Barcelona, with Crutchlow looking for a two-year extension with LCR.

Honda was keen to keep Crutchlow within the ranks, as the Englishman has been able to provide valuable feedback to HRC for the RC213V.

With Honda having taken a wrong path for this season, having an extra rider to provide development input has been important. Crutchlow’s results have been solid this year, including a podium at Argentina, though he has also found himself in the gravel a number of times.

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MotoGP

Bradley Smith Extends Contract with Tech 3 for 2016

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Bradley Smith has signed on for another season with the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha team. The British rider has extended his contract, and will continue to ride for the team in 2016.

The announcement and its timing had been widely expected, coming as it does just days before the start of the British round of MotoGP at Silverstone.

Smith had made it clear since before the summer break that he wanted to stay with Tech 3, but the contract took longer to put together than hoped.

Smith spoke of his frustration about the situation at Indianapolis, though by Brno, some progress appeared to have been made. The deal was finalized shortly after the Czech round of MotoGP, just in time to be announced at his home race.

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MotoGP

Crunching The Numbers: Rossi vs. Lorenzo

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Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi head into Silverstone tied on points, with Lorenzo only leading because he has more wins to his name this season than his teammate.

With the race that close, who does the season favor? Who will emerge victorious at the end? It is far too early to make any firm predictions, but perhaps we can guess from looking at last year.

There are seven races left in 2015, and the seven left this season are the exact same races in the exact same order as the last seven of 2014.

That parallel invites comparisons, and the drawing of conclusions, though such conclusions are tenuous at best. However, there are tracks which favor Rossi, and tracks which favor Lorenzo, and their performance there may yet be indicative of the final outcome.

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