Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Author

Bryan Delohery

Browsing
Racing

BMW Backs Out of Endurance World Championship

By 8 Comments

Just two months shy of the start of the 2014 FIM Endurance World Championship, and BMW Motorrad has announced that it will not be continuing support of Team Thevent, the Belgian racing outfit that has in the past run BMW’s EWC effort.

Despite finishing a disappointing 12th in the 2013 season, Team Prinicipal Michael Bartholemy said the decision from BMW came as a shock given they had been involved in ongoing negotiations with BMW Motorrad for the 2014 season.

“We were asked by BMW Motorrad at Le Mans if we would continue in 2014, to which our answer was a definite yes,” he said. “Since then we have been negotiating in good faith, with BMW, with riders and with Pirelli, while BMW clarified internally some technical issues with the bike we would race in 2014.”

“Finally the budget was agreed with BMW, but just 24 hours later we got a call from them saying that they were sorry, but there was no budget and they weren’t going racing.”

Keep Reading
By
News

Unified Toll System in the Works for the Europe Union

By 10 Comments

Since the inception of the European Union in 1993, politicians in the EU have been spouting off about the advantages of a “unified Europe,” claiming that it would bring all of its member states under one economic system with one currency, allowing them to act cooperatively for the “greater good.”

Of the many advantages touted to be included in the EU was the ability to travel freely between member states with no passports, unfortunately one crucial system that was not unified was the toll system.

Because the member states of the EU have been left to implement their own system to collect toll fares, this has left traveling between countries difficult and often expensive, which is why EU is planning to implement the European Electronic Toll Service.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Heavy Floods Damage Tech3 MotoGP Facility

By 4 Comments

A high pressure system wreaked havoc over France and Italy throughout this past weekend, and dumped nearly six inches of rain in some areas, which caused massive flooding and damaged buildings.

In Bormes-les-Mimosas, France, one of the buildings to suffer water damage was home to the Monster Yamaha MotoGP team of Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro, as well Moto2 riders Marcel Shrotter and Alex Mariñelarena.

According to a report released on MotoGP.com, a water-tight door failed at the facility, allowing flood waters into the building, leaving the floors covered in mud and damaging equipment. The resulting floods also caused damage to crates that were scheduled to be shipped to Malaysia.

Keep Reading
By
WSBK

Kawasaki to Compete in 2014 World Superbike Evo Class

By 3 Comments

Just a month before the start of the 2014 FIM World Superbike Championship, Kawasaki has announced it will also be competing in the Superbike EVO class, a new sub-class in the Superbike category for 2014, in addition to the regular Superbike class.

This new class will follow the updated 2014 rules of the FIM Superbike class for chassis, brakes and suspension components, while adhering to the FIM Supertock class rules for engines and electronics. This means each rider will only be allowed three engines per season, versus eight per rider in the Supersport class.

The Kawasaki Racing Team, based out of Spain, will be competing with the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, piloted by David Salom, alongside the World Superbike champion Tom Sykes and his teammate Loris Baz.

Salom is scheduled to have practice sessions with Sykes and Baz at the Jerez Circuit in Spain on February 5th and 6th, then again on the 17th and 18th.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Dakar Rally – Stage 12: Joan Barreda Out of Dakar Podium

By 2 Comments

As riders finished the last majorly sandy stage of the rally, the 699 km run from El Salvador to La Serena for Stage Twelve, leaders have shuffled yet again and disaster has struck, leaving some shaking their heads.

Marc Coma is breathing a bit easier today after opening up the gap between himself and his closest competitor, Joan Barreda, to 3:4:54. Barreda suffered a serious setback after having electrical problems and losing nearly two and half hours, dropping to seventh place overall.

“I had electrical problems. The bike wasn’t working well and the battery gave up. It was very difficult. I just had to try and get to the finish. All is lost. I’m going to finish the rally. And that’s all,” said Barreda.

Coma, finishing second on todays’ stage, has put nearly two hours between him and now second place overall, Jordi Viladoms of Spain, making his 15 minute penalty for an engine swap a non-issue for the overall standings.

Keep Reading
By
News

Suzuki Motor America Shuffles in New Company President

By 3 Comments

Suzuki Motor of America Inc. (SMAI) has announced that company veteran Takeshi Hayasa has been appointed President to the American subsidiary, replacing the recently appointed Toru Muraki. According to a press release from SMAI, Mr. Hayasa has many years of experience serving as an executive with Suzuki Motor Corporation and his sales experience make him a vital asset to the company.

“We’re glad to have Mr. Hayasaki’s business experience and leadership as we plan for continued growth,” said Larry Vandiver, Suzuki’s Motorcycle/ATV Vice President. “The introduction of new products such as the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS and the Burgman 200 ABS shows just part of our growth plan, and Mr. Hayasaki’s experience will help Suzuki Motor of America with these new products and much more.”

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Dakar Rally – Stage 11: Yamaha Takes Day’s Top Honors

By 5 Comments

Stage Eleven, from Antofagasta to El Salvador, proved to be the most challenging stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally, and saw riders pushed to their limits as they spent nearly seven hours on their bikes, battling rivers and the infamous Dunes of Copiapo.

As we enter the final stages of the 2014 Dakar rally, this is still anyone’s game as the stage and overall leaders have begun to shuffle.

The two French teammates of the Yamaha Factory Racing took today’s stage, placing first and second. Cyril Despres took first with a stage time of 6:38:59 with his teammate, Olivier Pain, following a close second at 2:37 behind.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Polaris Slingshot – A Side-by-Side Trike That’s Coming Soon

By 19 Comments

Earlier this month, UBS Investment Research released their Top 10 Predictions for 2014, one of them being that Polaris would release the Slingshot, a three-wheeled vehicle, in the first half of 2014.

Although there has previously been much speculation as to whether Polaris Industries would officially be producing the Slingshot, a press release dated January 3, 2014 discusses the release of a slingshot product line.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Dakar Rally – Stage 10: Barreda Racks Up 4th Stage Win

By 4 Comments

Stage Ten of the 2014 Dakar Rally, a 688 km ride from Iquique to Antofogasta, started with a descent down the dunes towards the Pacific, where more dunes and plenty of fesh fesh lay ahead — for those unfamiliar with Rally or Baja, fesh fesh is a sticky, talcum fine sand that has been eroded over time, leaving surfaces extremely slippery and at times, acting like a sand trap.

Undoubtedly the Factory Honda Team is celebrating today as teammates Joan Barreda and Helder Rodrigues took the first and second place victories on today’s tough stage.

Despite a 15-minute penalty yesterday for speeding, Joan Barreda continues to gnaw away at his fellow Spaniard and overall leader Marc Coma, giving him his fourth stage win of this year’s rally and closing the gap between them to 44:24.

Keep Reading
By
News

IronWorks Magazine Will Stop Publishing in March

By 2 Comments

An accomplished 24 year run comes to a close this March as IronWorks Magazine, a publication dedicated to Harley Davidson fans and custom motorcycle enthusiasts alike, prints its last issue.

IronWorks Magazine was started in 1989 by Dennis Stemp and his wife Marilyn, with the intention of producing a publication that would provide information about custom motorcycles that could not be found through other media, word of mouth or at the local shop.

The announcement came as publisher Hatton-Brown, which acquired the magazine in 1995, decided that the medium shift to digital publications combined with the costs for traditional print were not advantageous enough to continue.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Dakar Rally – Stage 9: Coma Leads, Problems for Duclos

By No Comments

As the sun rose this morning over the Andes Mountains in Chile,  the riders of Stage Nine prepared for the long ride through the Atacama Desert. 150 km of sand dunes were followed by a three kilometer descent into Iquique, which lay ahead.

Although starting in third place behind Despres and Barreda, Marc Coma managed to pilot his team Redbull KTM 450 Rally to first place on today’s stage, solidifying his overall lead to 40:19 ahead of his closest competition, Joan Barreda.

“It was a complicated stage in the Atacama Desert. Very nice and very fast at the beginning, but we found some dunes at the end,” said Coma. “I tried to catch Joan because he started two minutes in front of me. When I caught up with him I tried to follow to ride together to the end. It was a good day for me.”

Today’s stage win for Coma not only marks his second special stage win of this year’s rally, but his 23rd special stage victory in the Dakar.

Keep Reading
By