We are sad to report that the 2017 Isle of Man TT has claimed its first fatality, as Davey Lambert of Gateshead, England passed away this evening, after sustaining injuries during the Superbike TT race on June 4th.
Lambert crashed near Greeba Castle, during the third lap of the Superbike TT, and was treated at the scene before being flown by helicopter to Noble’s Hospital on the Isle of Man. He was later transferred to Aintree Hospital in Liverpool, where he then passed away.
The Isle of Man TT is one of the most iconic motorcycle races on the planet, and part of the allure that comes with the TT is the great spectacle and danger that comes from road racing on tiny city streets.
It is a high price to pay for entertainment – one that competitors do not take lightly. On average, the TT claims the lives of two riders each year, and the casualty list sometimes isn’t contained just to racers, as it is very easy for spectators to be collected in an incident on the track.
Such was the case yesterday, during the Sure Sidecar TT Race 1, when the #47 machine, with Deborah Barron and Alun Thomas on board, veered left after running the turn wide at the Ramsey Hairpin on the race’s third lap.
Fortunately, the Ramsey Hairpin is the slowest point on the TT course, and spectators were able to get out of the way in time, as the sidecar plowed through the spectator section.
Alta Motors is announcing that it has closed two fundraising rounds, for a total of $27 million capital raised in exchanged for preferred stock in the San Francisco based electric motorcycle company.
The B & C series fundraising rounds were led by Grassy Creek Ventures, with the Series C round joined by Latin American venture capital fund Mountain Nazca, along with motorcycle legend Bob Fox – of Fox Racing fame.
Alta Motors says that the use of funds goes to the expanding the company’s existing manufacturing and R&D facility in Brisbane, CA; refining the company’s vehicle technology; and developing more lightweight vehicles.
From the funding, Alta Motors sees two more board members added to the company’s board of directors: Travis Bradford, Professor of Practice and Director of the Energy and Environment graduate program at Columbia University, and Hector Sepulveda, Managing Partner at Mountain Nazca.
Monday’s racing action at the 2017 Isle of Man TT saw the supersport machines taking to the Mountain Course, for the four laps of the Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 1. Despite the change in the machinery, the narrative remained focused on two men: Ian Hutchinson and Michael Dunlop.
With Hutchinson already taking the honors in the opening Superbike TT, the question remained whether Dunlop would respond on the 600cc machines – a class where he typically goes quite well around the TT course.
The was a resounding yes, with Michael Dunlop taking Race 1 of the Supersport TT in a convincing fashion, making this his 14th Isle of Man TT race victory.
Episode 53 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is out, and it continues our adventures in Austin, Texas. For this show, we focus on one of our favorite topics: Ducati motorcycles.
The show revolves around two interviews we recorded at COTA, one with Jason Chinnock, the CEO of Ducati North America; and the other with Julian Thomas, the press manager for the Ducati MotoGP team.
With Chinnock we talk about a number of topics, including Ducati’s new models, the current motorcycle climate, and the rumors about its V4 superbike. The interview ends with a very interesting discussion about ownership structures for motorcycle companies, which is proving to be a timely commentary.
With Thomas, we talk about the current state of the Ducati MotoGP team, the progress that they have seen so far this season, and how the arrival of Jorge Lorenzo has changed the team dynamic.
Both interviews have plenty of interesting insights, which we think even non-Ducatisti will find insightful and enjoyable.
You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!
You may have noticed during the Italian GP at Mugello, that Valentino Rossi was once again wearing a special AGV Pista GP R helmet for the event. Created by designer Aldo Drudi, this year’s Mugello’s helmet pays homage to Nicky Hayden and Francesco Totti.
To remember the American motorcycle racer, Rossi’s #46 morphs into the shape and colors of Hayden’s #69, complete with the star that precedes Hayden’s number.
The top of Rossi’s helmet also portrays a soccer pitch, where the nine-time world champion is wearing the blue jersey of the Italian national team, and saying “Mo’ je faccio er cucchiaio” which translates (with a Roman accent) to “I made it spoon” – the spoon referring to a type of penalty kick that sees the ball arching into the goal.
This scene too pays tribute to another athlete – Francesco Totti, who played his last match with the A.S. Roma team last week. On the back of the helmet are “Un capitano…C’è solo un capitano!”, which translates to: “One captain… There’s only one captain!”
This is another nod to Totti, as the chant is something his fans would yell to him while he was playing.
British marque CCM Motorcycles is getting some much-deserved press for its new 600cc “Spitfire” street bikes, which use a single-cylinder thumper from SYM.
The company’s roadster model has already caused quite a stir, and now CCM is showing off its scrambler variant, which features of course knobby dual-sport tires.
The bulk of the platform remains the same of course, as such the CCM Spitfire Scrambler uses the same tubular chassis as the roadster, which is made of T45 carbon steel, though there are noticeable off-road touches that set the scrambler apart from its roadster counterpart.
Still, the Spitfire Scrambler is simple in its bespoke design, offering a back-to-basics approach for riders who want a fun street bike, without all the bells and whistles that come on today’s modern machinery.
Only a limited number will be produced, with pricing said to be around the $10,000 range.
Racing for the 2017 Isle of Man TT finally got underway on Sunday, with the RST Superbike TT (often called the “Junior TT” by regulars, in contrast to the final Senior TT of the fortnight) getting underway.
The race framed an important narrative for this year’s TT, pitting Ian Hutchinson and Michael Dunlop against each other.
With Hutchinson on the race-proven BMW S1000RR, the question marks go to Dunlop, as he campaigns this year’s big-bike races on the new Suzuki GSX-R1000R superbike. So far in the practice sessions, both riders have shown considerable pace.
Dunlop Sportmax Q3+ tire owners have some worry today, as Sumitomo Rubber USA (the maker of Dunlop motorcycle tires) has issued a recall on its popular sport bike tire because of air pockets that may have formed during the tires’ curing process.
Sumitomo says that it has contained most of the affected 120/70ZR17 58W Sportmax Q3+ tires, which were made between April 27th and May 4th of this year, and that only four to seven tires need to be recalled from the consumer market.
Accordingly, Sumitomo will notify potentially affected Dunlop retailers and customers, and Sumitomo will offer replacement tires free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during June 2017. Concerned owners may contact Dunlop Motorcycle Tires at 1-800-845-8378.
After the jump, there is a timeline from Sumitomo on its discovery and quarantine process for the Dunlop Sportmax Q3+ tires. It makes for an interesting read regarding the internal QA process at the Dunlop tire facility.
Each MotoGP event has its own character. Ostensibly, most Grand Prix are the national races of a particular country. The Grand Prix of Great Britain. The Czech Grand Prix. The Grand Prix of The Americas.
Most, however, are only the national Grand Prix by virtue of taking place in a particular country. A few, a very few, are much more than that.
There are only really two races which fully embody the national character of the country which holds them though: the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, and of course, the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello.
This year, Mugello was rendered even more Italian by virtue of the fact that it started on the Festa della Repubblica, the day on which Italy celebrates its founding as a republic at the end of the Second World War. It was a moment for Italian teams and Italian riders to break out Tricolore-themed liveries and helmets.
The Sky VR46 team added a tasteful green, white, and red pinstripe to their mainly black fairings. The Forward Racing team clad their bikes and riders in a particularly well-done green, white, and red fairing and leathers.
Valentino Rossi added a homage to an Italian soccer legend which was only really comprehensible to those steeped in the Italian language and Italian sport.
