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Video: John McGuinness – A Legend in the Making

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John McGuinees, the King of the Mountain, could quit road racing today and go down in history as a legend of the sport. The thing is though, Mr. McPint is showing no signs of slowing down, and in reality McGuinness is at the top of his game — adding two more race wins from the 2012 Isle of Man TT to his impressive total. Nineteen wins to his name, McGuinness was favored to win his 20th in the Senior TT, after coming in second during the TT Zero competition.

There doesn’t seem to be any doubt in the TT paddock that McGuinness will break the twenty-win barrier, a feat only ever accomplish by one other man: Joey Dunlop. But, fate has a cruel way of changing our expectations. Three wins in a TT fortnight is no easy matter, and no one wants to win more than John McGuinness himself. So, it goes to show you a bit about the man when you learn that McGuinness was instrumental in the canceling of the Senior TT, since his voice hold some of the most weight with the riders and Race Control — even though his own racing interests would have been served best by the race’s continuation in adverse conditions.

On that Saturday’s Senior TT, no one wanted to make more history than McGuinness — of course he wanted to do so in an entirely different way than what occurred. It will now be a long wait before he can lay claim to that twentieth IOMTT victory trophy, but John McGuinness isn’t too worried about that I suspect, and I reckon he has his eyes leveled firmly on the horizon, staring at what would seem to be an impossible an impossible number that starts with three.

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Racing

Official: World Superbike Heads to India for 2013

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World Superbike has a serious venue problem, as only two of its fourteen races are outside of Europe — a market with a significantly depressed sport bike market. With both WSBK and MotoGP fighting for venues in developing regions, it looks like World Superbike is first to score the lucrative Indian market.

Signing an agreement with Jaypee Sports International Ltd (JPSI), a subsidiary of the private Indian engineering and construction conglomerate Jaypee Group, the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) will host a round on the World Superbike Championship Calendar.

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Dirt

Video: KTM Freeride E in Action

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The KTM Freeride E is quite the buzz in the electric world, as it is the first proper electric motorcycle to be announced by an OEM. As it did with its street-bike debut with the RC8, KTM is set to test the market’s waters first with a limited production run of 100 units in 2012, likely to pre-select KTM owners/dealers. Assuming a favorable review, the Austrian brand would then presumably ramp-up production of its €10,000 electric dirt bike.

With 30hp peak & 10hp continuous, the KTM Freeride E boasts four-stroke 125cc specs, albeit on the heavy side with a 204 lbs curb weight. Running time is said to have a 20 minute ride time in the hands of a professional, the KTM Freeride E is rated to last 45 minutes in the hands of an amateur…whatever that means. While the world at large will likely have to wait another year before it can truly asses the KTM Freeride E, we do have at least our first glimpse in the bike’s performance.

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Bikes

Ducati Multistrada Biuta by Carlo Roscio

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It is hard to believe that the “Biuta” began life as Ducati Multistrada, as it really looks nothing like the air-cooled Terblanche-penned bike. Getting more of Streetfighter meets Monster look and feel than the lines of the Multi, the Biuta is one hot looking machine, no matter which flavor of Desmo you prefer. Made by Carlo Roscio and his brother, the two brothers from Pavia, Italy spent over two years getting the Biuta right — and get it right they did.

Not too ostentatious, and not too sublime, the reincarnated 2003 Ducati Multistrada 1000DS looks great in powder blue, and has a tasteful mix of parts that allures to both the form & function crowds. We particularly like the custom Zard exhaust and side-mounted radiator, though we would hate to have to be the one to make all those many, many perfect welds. The only thing we don’t like? The far-too-tiny photos found after the jump.

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Racing

MotoGP: British GP Gives Vital Confidence Boosters

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With Sunday’s race having perhaps some of the best weather yet at Silverstone, the British GP started with concern, after Cal Crutchlow missed qualifying after a hard crash in FP3. Getting cleared to ride Sunday morning, the Honey Badger was relegated to the back of the grid for the start, dashing any hopes of a podium finish.

Still, the man from Man delighted British fans with his resolve to go racing, with further spectacle coming in the form of Alvaro Bautista’s first MotoGP pole-positiion start, putting his black San Carlo Gresini Honda in front of the factory machines of Ben Spies, Casey Stoner, and Jorge Lorenzo. With the British GP showing the first signs of Spies’ renewed confidence, MotoGP fans had all the makings of a good race as the sun shined through the cloud cover. To see how it all finished out, click on past the jump.

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Racing

MotoGP: A Touch of Rain Shakes up Qualifying at Silverstone

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With tough conditions being the week-long tradition at the British GP, MotoGP qualifying at Silverstone began with dry, but very windy, conditions. Friday’s rain saw the Ducatis of Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden on the top of the time sheets, though the day proved to be the tale of two Ducatis, as once the British track dried, the Desmosedici GP12 once again showed its other personaly, and proved to be a handful in the dry.

Unsurprisingly, Casey Stoner was the fastest once the water cleared, with Yamaha-man Ben Spies showing some renewed confidence as well. Noticeably quick was satellite Honda rider Alvaro Bautista, who posted a third and fifth in FP2 & FP3 for the San Carlo Gresini Honda team, respectively. With the weather supposedly set to improve tomorrow, though the chance of rain still seems to be a coin toss of probabilities, the certainty for a wet race seems to have been reduced in the paddock, though the tough windy conditions can still be expected.

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Racing

Isle of Nan TT: Closer to the Hedge

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Is it possible that there a better TT video than the hit-flick TT3D: Closer to the Edge? That might just be the case we have here, based off this trailer of Isle of Nan TT: Closer to the Hedge. Beautifully shot and edited, this epic thriller is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat, and find a permanent spot on your motorsport DVD bookshelf. Set on the historic Manx course, this documentary of the Isle of Nan TT brings you the riders, the blood, and the glory. Check out all the hedge-clipping action, after the jump.

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Racing

Day of Champions Raises £250,000+ for Riders for Health

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The official charity of MotoGP, and an example of motorcycles making the world a better place, Riders for Health is an organization Asphalt & Rubber truly enjoys supporting. For those still not familiar with the work being done by Riders for Health, the charity was founded by Andrea & Barry Coleman, along with some guy named Randy Mamola. Providing motorcycles to health workers in Africa, Riders for Health has helped bring vital and reliable (this point being key) medical care to remote locations in DRC, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Being here in Silverstone for MotoGP’s British GP has meant the unique opportunity to participate in the Day of Champions, the trackside Thursday event that helps raise money for Riders for Health. The event is perhaps most well known for its rider auction, which has forever been immortalized with of then teammates Cal Cructhlow and Colin Edwards.

For an added bonus this year, the British government has graciously agreed to match any funds raised by Rider for Health at the Day of Champions, which means yesterday’s event helped raise in total £254,989 for the organization. British readers, if you want to help support Riders (and get a gold star in our book), you can donate 3 by texting the letters “RFH” to  70303 (your donation will also be doubled by the Crown). US readers, you can go to Riders.org to make a donation (I’m told the text message donation system doesn’t work abroad).

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Rumors

More Photos of the 2013 Ducati Hypermotard 848

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Last month, we brought you a photo of what we believed to the new Ducati Hypermotard 848. There was a bit of chatter after the photo hit the internets, as some believed the bike to be akin to the Multistrada line. While the telemetry rack on the bike of the machine, and its side-mounted GP-style exhaust followed the design ethos of the Multistrada 1200, the bike’s seat, mud gaurd, and overall aesthetic were reminiscent of the current Hypermotard.

Seemingly confirming our suspicions, these photos of the likely 2013 Ducati Hypermotard 848 add further credence to our Hypermotard line of reasoning — especially with the front of the motorcycle being seen more clearly. Expected to have a detuned lump from the Ducati Superbike 848 EVO, photos of the liquid-cooled middleweight create more questions about the machine than they do answers.

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News

CDC Says $3 Billion Saved in 2010 Thanks to Helmet Laws

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The US Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an interesting report regarding the economic impact of motorcycle helmet laws, based on data from 2008-2010.

While the takeaway shouldn’t surprise anyone, as it doesn’t take a genius to understand that more riders helmeted means fewer fatal crashes from motorcycles, the figures coming from the CDC with that observation are a bit shocking.

According to the statistical analysis done by the CDC, riders wearing helmets during a motorcycle crash were 37% less likely to receive fatal injuries than riders that were not wearing a helmet.

Additionally, states with universal helmet usage laws are estimated to have save 4x as much in economic costs associated with medical, productivity, insurance, legal, and other expenses. For 2010, the total economic impact of having helmeted riders topped $3 billion in savings. Chewy.

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