Is this an image of the much anticipated BMW S1000R – the streetfightered version of BMW’s popular S1000RR superbike? Nope, it’s not…but, it is a spot-on approximation of what we expect to see from BMW Motorrad early next month at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Italy. Italian site DueRuote commissioned this render from the folks at MotoRendering.com, and we have to say it is some damn fine work.
We’re having dirty thoughts here at Asphalt & Rubber, mostly as we drool over HRC’s new Dakar challenger, the 2014 Honda CRF450 Rally. Based off the Honda CRF450X enduro, HRC says that its new Honda CRF450 Rally race bike has an improved engine output, aerodynamic performance, durability, and maintenance requirements. We just think it looks like awesome in two-wheel form.
The Honda CRF450 Rally factory race bike will be the work horse for the Team HRC rally team, as it aims to unseat KTM from its Dakar Rally thrown in a few months. With zie Austrians debuting an all-new KTM 450 Rally race bike of their own, and Yamaha Racing now benefitting from the talents of Cyril Despres, HRC might have its work cutout for it. Until then, we’ll just spend some alone time with this video.
Sure to be the talk of EICMA, the Ducati 1199 Panigale R Superleggera is slowly leaking out from Borgo Panigale. We already broke the news about the Superleggera’s 220hp crank horsepower, and the “superlight” superbike’s insane weight trimmings. Looking at the special parts that comprise the Superleggera, it is not hard to see how Ducati dropped 40 lbs from the bike’s mass.
A magnesium frame/headstock, a carbon fiber rear subframe, magnesium wheels, titanium bolts, tungsten inserts on the lightened crankshaft, titanium/carbon fiber exhaust cans…we could go on with our pairings of motorcycle parts and elements from the periodic table.
Ducati hopes to whet our appetites with this machine with a proscribed trickling of information and media. We don’t like that idea too much, so here are eight unreleased teaser videos of the Ducati 1199 Panigale R Superleggera from Ducati’s invite-only microsite. Don’t ask how we got them.
These are the first photos of the 2014 KTM 450 Rally factory race bike that Marc Coma, Kurt Caselli, and Ruben Faria will ride in the upcoming Dakar Rally in three-months time (factory rider Francisco Lopez will be on the 2013 machine). The 2014 race bike is a completely new machine from the ground up, and will make its racing debut at the OilLibya Rally of Morocco.
With the goal of winning its 13th Dakar in a row, KTM has some stiff competition for this upcoming Dakar, as former-rider Cyril Despres has defected to the Yamaha Racing team, and HRC has recently debuted its brand new 2014 Honda CRF450 Rally race bike as well.
Earlier today we brought you a photo of the parts used to make the Ducati 1199 Panigale R Superleggera, and we ended our thoughts with the knowledge that Ducati would begin teasing the “superlight” superbike this week, likely later today…well, here you go.
The first of many videos planned by the Italian OEM, Ducati’s pitch for the Panigale seems to focus around the use of elements from the periodic table, and how they were implemented to make the company’s lightest superbike ever. With a little change in the music, this could easily be a Breaking Bad intro, no?
Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam will return to the Pata Honda team for the 2014 World Superbike season. Both men have extended their contracts for one more season, giving the aging CBR1000RR what is expected to be its last season before a new bike makes an appearance.
The pairing has been plagued by injury this season, and despite increased support from HRC for 2013, the results have not been as the team had hoped.
Confirming one of the worst-kept secrets last weekend, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca has made an official statement that says that the coastal Californian track will not host the MotoGP Championship in 2014. The track cites the two other US rounds, and the circuit’s not-for-profit status as reasons why the US GP could not continue at Laguna Seca.
Boiling down the reasons we already laid out yesterday, the simple truth is that Laguna Seca was unable to meet the demands and needs of Dorna, nor was the circuit able to compete against the purpose-built Circuit of the Americas; as well as Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the motorsport capital of the world, which our sources say was “willing to do whatever it takes” circuit-wise to keep the premier-class of motorcycle racing at IMS.
To its credit, Laguna Seca hopes to return the MotoGP Championship to its facilities in the near future. We have heard talk of the California track alternating years on the MotoGP calendar, though it is too early to tell if that plan is what Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is referencing in its release.
The press release from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca can be found after the jump.
Do you like new model motorcycles? Of course you do. Well, this time next week, Ducati Motor Holding will be making a presentation to the motorcycling media at its Bologna headquarters. The invitation in our inbox is light on details (unsurprisingly), though smart money would be on Ducati debuting some of its model refreshes for next year, and possibly its much anticipated 2014 Ducati 899 Panigale.
Putting down on paper the regulation changes for the 2014 World Superbike Championship, the FIM has posted the new rule changes that will govern the Superbike and Superbike EVO classes next season. As was confirmed earlier by the FIM, WBSK will see the introduction of the Superbike EVO category, which will run rules similar to World Superstock, but run congruently with the standard Superbike races as a sub-class.
Like in MotoGP, a maximum engine usage cap (eight engines per rider, per season in the Superbike category) has been imposed, along with price caps on braking and suspension parts. WSBK will also see a limited number of gear ratios used over the course of the season, with various rule options available regarding changing the gearbox and primary gear sizes.
What is noticeably lacking from the new posted rules is any mention of a price cap for an entire WSBK race bike, a much anticipated, though hotly contested, cost-cutting provision. Part price caps are also not listed, though the regulations specify only approved pieces and aftermarket supplies can be used by teams. The full verbiage of the new rules can be found here.
The 2014 MotoGP calendar could see the first steps in a long process to transform Grand Prix motorcycle racing from a Eurocentric series to a truly international world championship. Today, Dorna CEO held a press conference in Brazil to announce that MotoGP could make a return to that South American country as early as late 2014.
The event would be held at the Autodromo Nelson Piquet de Brasilia, the motorcycle circuit in the capital city of Brazil, and has been scheduled to take place in the second half of the 2014 season. That date is still very far from certain, however, as the track is still subject to safety homologation by the FIM for Grand Prix motorcycle racing.
If the race goes ahead – and the facilities at the circuit are believed to need a lot of work to bring them up to MotoGP standard, though there appear to be few physical obstacles to moving walls back and creating the necessary runoff required – then it will join the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit in Argentina as the second South American race on the calendar, giving a much more international feel to the MotoGP series.
The expansion into Central and South America is seen as crucial to the future of the sport, as all forms of motor sport are extremely popular in the region. The inclusion of Colombian rider Yonny Hernandez in the premier class provided a boost for the visibility of the series in the region, and the hope is that by adding Argentina and Brazil to the calendar, more local talent can be cultivated. The region is also a key market for the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers.
Talking to MotoGP.com this weekend at the Indianapolis GP, Kenny Roberts Sr. admitted to the website that he is working on putting together a new GP program for the 2014 or 2015 season — though was quick to caution against the project’s full-fruition.
“We’re working on it. And we’re working on something quite big – it’s going to happen or it’s not going to happen. It’s not going to be almost there. When we come back we’ll come back in a big way! And if you don’t see me, you’ll know we didn’t get it done,” said King Kenny.