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Two Competitors Have Died at the Isle of Man TT

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It is with a heavy heart that we report the passing of two competitors who died in separate incidents while at the Isle of Man TT. Dwight Beare died during today’s Sidecar TT Race 1, and Paul Shoesmith who died during this evening’s solo-class practice sessions.

Dwight Beare was a 27-year-old from Melbourne, Australia who moved to Onchan on the Isle of Man. While competing in the Sure Sidecar 1 TT, Beare unfortuantely did not survive a crash near Rhencullen, the race was red-flagged immediately after the crash.

Beare’s sidecar passenger, Benjamin Binns, was airlifted from the crash site to Nobles Hospital, and thankfully is reported to have only a fractured ankle.

Later that day, 50-years-old Paul Shoesmith from Poynton, Lancashire died during Saturday’s evening practice session. His incident occurred on the Sulby Straight. The practice session was red-flagged immediately following the incident.

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Racing

IOMTT: Michael Dunlop Breaks Outright Lap Record

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The 2016 Isle of Man TT got off to a blistering start today, with two riders in the Superbike TT breaking the outright lap record on the very first lap, from a standing start no less.

Ian Hutchinson was the first rider to break the outright lap record, which was set by John McGuinness during last year’s Senior TT race, with a 132.892 mph lap.

The record would be short-lived though, as Michael Dunlop was hot on Hutchy’s heels, with a 133.369 mph lap performance on his Hawk Racing BMW S1000RR.

The first ever TT lap under 17 minutes, and the first ever lap that averaged over 133 mph, Dunlop’s performance during the Superbike TT was nothing short of dominant…and he wouldn’t stop there.

Upping the ante on the second lap, Dunlop benefited from less fuel and put down another scorcher – a 133.393 mph lap.

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Racing

IOMTT: RST Superbike TT Race Results

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It’s been seven perfect days of weather at the Isle of Man TT, which is a rarity for the island nation, which sits in the turbulent Irish Sea. That has boded well for Saturday’s opening race, the RST Superbike TT, as riders have been putting in scorching laps so far this practice week.

All expectations were for a record lap to be set, especially after Ian Hutchinson set an “unofficial” outright lap record the day before during practice, but the question was from whom would the record be broken by officially, as a number of riders were showing good race pace.

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Racing

Ian Hutchinson Sets Unofficial Absolute TT Lap Record

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The weather gods have been smiling on the Isle of Man TT this fortnight, with six consecutive days of sunshine and warm temperatures thus far. That bodes well for the TT riders, as it means that they will push faster and faster with each session.

Thus, it is perhaps unsurprising to hear that Ian Hutchinson is now “unofficially” the fastest man ever to lap around the Isle of Man TT course, setting a scorching 132.803 mph lap on his Tyco BMW Superstock. That’s right, on his Superstock machine.

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MotoGP

Ride in Peace, Moto2 Racer Luis Salom

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It is with a heavy heart that we have to report that passing of Luis Salom, who crashed tragically today during the Moto2 FP2 session at Catalunya.

The incident occurred at Turn 12, a fast corner that is the second-to-last turn for motorcycles on the Catalan circuit. The crash is still being investigated, and a great deal of speculation is still coming from the MotoGP paddock, but security camera footage of the incident shows Salom sliding after his bike sliding, at great velocity, over the F1 runoff and into the air fence at the turn.

Salom was treated by medical personnel trackside for a lengthy duration of time before being transported by ambulance to the Hospital General de Catalunya in Sant Cugat del Valles, where he later succumbed to his injuries at 4:55pm, local time. He was 24 years of age. Ride in peace, Luis.

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MotoGP

Paddock Pass Podcast – Episode 28 – Photographer Special

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Episode 28 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is is another special edition show, and again are we taking a break from our usual routine to find out more about life from a less-talked-about part of the MotoGP paddock.

As such, David Emmett sits down with photographers Tony Goldsmith and Scott Jones to find out what it is like to photograph professional motorcycle racing, especially in the MotoGP Championship.

The guys cover everything from what gear they carry, to what tracks they prefer, and they give an honest account of to what life inside the paddock is truly like – when you’re not a professional motorcycle racer, that is. It’s another insightful show that you won’t want to miss.

As always, be sure to follow the Paddock Pass Podcast on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to the show on iTunes and SoundCloud – we even have an RSS feed for you. If you like the show, we would really appreciate you giving it a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

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MotoGP

KTM Signs Pol Espargaro to a Two-Year Deal

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As expected, we didn’t have long to wait to find where Pol Espargaro would be working next season, as KTM has announced that it has signed a two-year contract with the Spanish rider, for the 2017 and 2018 MotoGP seasons.

Espargaro’s departure from the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 was announced earlier this morning, along with the news that his direct contract with Yamaha Racing would not be renewed.

The change from Yamaha to KTM won’t be a dramatic shift though, as Pol Espargaro will be joined by his current teammate, Bradley Smith, at the Austrian brand’s factory team as well.

KTM hopes to capitalize on both riders’ feedback on developing the KTM RC16 race bike, as well as their promising pace for strong results.

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MotoGP

Pol Espargaro and Yamaha Will Go Their Separate Ways

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News from Catalunya today is that Pol Espargaro and Yamaha Racing will go their separate ways at the end of the 2016 MotoGP Championship season, effectively also ending the younger Espargaro’s tenure in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 garage.

It is not clear yet where Espargaro will go for the next season, though that decision and announcement could happen as swiftly as this race weekend in Barcelona. Similarly, it is also not clear who will replace Pol Espargaro with a Yamaha contract in the Tech 3 garage, for next season.

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Bikes

CEO Tips New MV Agusta Brutale in the Works

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Many words lately have been spent telling the tale of MV Agusta, as the Italian motorcycle manufacturer is at an interesting crossroads for its future. It’s marriage with Mercedes-AMG failed, and now MV Agusta is in a precarious state, financially.

Because of its financial troubles, the motorcycle brand from Varese, Italy has had to rethink it production goals, and its model lineup.

MV Agusta CEO Giovanni Castiglioni sat down with Alan Cathcart (that interview is slowly making its way out from the publications that Cathcart works with internationally) about this subject, and many other topics of interest.

One of the more interesting elements to come from their discussion is MV Agusta’s work on a new inline-four platform, and when we can see MV Agusta’s most iconic models getting a refresh.

We originally thought this delayed endeavor would manifest itself in a new superbike platform, with the next-generation MV Agusta F4 debuting shortly, but as Castiglioni reveals, the first new four-cylinder from MV Agusta will not be and F4, and instead will be a Brutale.

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Bikes

Say Goodbye to the Kawasaki W800

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Kawasaki announced today that 2017 will be the last model year for the Kawasaki W800, as the retro-classic machine is going the way of the dodo, thanks largely to the advent of Euro4 emission standards.

Any hope of a model refresh down the line seems to have been squashed, as Kawasaki says that this is “the end of the iconic W series of four-stroke vertical twin motorcycles” and that the “W800 ‘Final Edition’ marks the end of an era” in its press release.

That’s an interesting move from Team Green, considering the popularity of post-authentic machines right now – bikes like the Triumph Bonneville and Ducati Scrambler.

This is as much of the death of a motorcycle line, as it is a shift of focus by one of the largest motorcycle OEMs.

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