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Bonneville: Microclimate of the Salts Video

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It’s been a tough season on the Bonneville Salt Flats, as the weather has played havoc on the narrow window that land-speed record pursuers have to operate. One of the groups looking to make history is Triumph, which is looking to break the 400 mph mark on a motorcycle.

Campaigning the Triumph Castrol Rocket, with Jason DiSalvo at the helm, Triumph hoped to be speeding down the salt these past few weeks, but instead the team has been rained out of competition thus far.

There are still opportunities remaining this year for the Triumph Castrol Rocket squad, the next being the rescheduled Mike Cook’s Bonneville Shootout, which will take place on October 5th thru 10th, where the streamliners two Triumph Rocket III engines will roar again search for the outright two-wheeled record.

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Racing

Just So We’re Clear, This is How You Market a Race Team

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The start of the AMA Pro Road Racing calendar is just around the corner, and that means manufacturers, teams, and riders are getting their PR machines in full swing. Unfortunately, it’s hard to get excited about our venerable national racing series (DMG’s shenanigans aside), but duds like this don’t help in whetting our two-wheeled racing appetite here at Asphalt & Rubber.

Just when we were about to lose all hope though, Triumph shows up and saves the day…with a little help from Jason DiSalvo and Elena Myers. Kneedragging, wheelie popping, backwheel drifting two-wheeled fun, all packaged in a well-done YouTube video that even manages to show a little personality from the riders.

We dig it, we dig it hard. A quick warning though: several orange cones were hurt during the filming of this video. Some footage may not be suitable for adult-sized children with a history of brrraaappptitus. Thanks for the tip Matt!

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Bikes

“Castrol Rocket” Makes a Bid on the 400 MPH Mark

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With only minor modification, most new liter-bikes have no trouble reaching 200 mph, provided that you have a track long enough in front of you (don’t be an idiot and try to go that fast on the street). However, it is north of 200 mph where things start to get difficult. As we saw with the untimely passing of Bill Warner, reaching the 300 mph mark on a motorcycle is a serious matter, and it doesn’t take much for things to go horribly wrong.

It goes without saying then that Triumph and Jason DiSalvo’s attempt at 400 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats is a serious endeavor. Piloting the carbon/kevlar clad the Hot Rod Conspiracy/Carpenter Racing Castrol Rocket, DiSalvo will have two turbocharged Triumph Rocket III engines, good for a combined 1,000+ hp and 500 lbs•ft of torque when burning methanol, hurling him down the land speed record course on two wheels.

The self-proclaimed most advanced streamliner on the salt, the Castrol Rocket was built not only to break the outright AMA & FIM motorcycle land speed records of 376.156 mph (set in 2010 by Rocky Robinson on the Ack Attack streamliner), but the team also wants to go all the way past the 400 mph barrier. It’s a huge undertaking, and also a breathlessly beautiful machine. Check it out after the jump.

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Racing

AMA: Minimum Weights Changed to Rein in Fast Ducati(s)

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AMA Pro Racing has  announced a change in  the minimum weight requirements for both the Daytona SportBike and SuperSport classes, biasing the weights to be more of a disadvantage for two-cylinder machines, i.e. Ducati 848 Superbikes. Decreasing both the four and three-cylinder minimum weights by 5 lbs (to 355 lbs & 365 lbs respectively), two-cylinder machines conversely get a 5 lbs increase (to 385 lbs), thus making the spread from four to two cylinders now a total of 30 lbs (it was a 20 lbs difference before this rule change).

The move is presumably to reel in the Ducati 848 race bikes that shocked the paddock with their speed early-on in the season at the Dunlop Test, though in terms of race results, the change in rules seems to be due more because of the domination by Jason DiSalvo, than anything else. The Team Latus Motors Racing racer has won every race thus far this season, with a close finish at the Daytona 200, and a blow-out double at Infineon Raceway.

Confounding though, Ducati’s results in the SuperSport class have been less impressive, with the 8th and 13th being the finishes for the Italian brand at Infineon.

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Racing

AMA Pro Racing Gets off to a Shaky Start with Daytona 200

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Despite rain early in the weekend, the weather was clear and sunny for the running of the 2011 Daytona 200. The historically important race featured entries from the AMA Pro Racing Daytona Sportbike class, as it was decided a few years ago that the Superbikes were traveling at too dangerous of speeds through the turns and onto the banking of the Daytona International Speedway.

However these concerns seemed to be overshadowed by the issues 2011, as the race distance was ultimately not to be 200 miles, as today’s race saw a mid-race red flag for safety issues regarding the Dunlop front tires forcing a long delay, a second red flag with a multi-rider crash on the restart, and a third red flag caused by a crash at the checkered flag.

Perennial rider Jake Zemke won pole (1:49.775) for the race on his final lap of qualifying Friday, taking the first starting position from Jason DiSalvo, with Danny Eslick and rookie Daytona Sportbike rider JD Beach completing the front row. Of thouse four, only DiSalvo was quick in the Saturday morning warm-up, second fastest behind PJ Jacobsen. Josh Herrin, Dane Westby, and Cory West were the fastest five in the morning.

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Racing

Americans Get Ready for Moto2 at The Brickyard

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Taking a two-day testing session at The Brickyard, American riders Roger Lee Hayden, Jason DiSalvo, Kenny Noyes, Robertino Pietri (US Resident) had an opportunity to lap around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the Moto2 race held during the Indy GP this coming weekend. The first riders to take to the 2.6 mile, 16 corner course since MotoGP visited The Brickyard last year, the four riders were given 90 minutes each day to setup and practice for Sunday’s race.

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Racing

Garry McCoy Out of WSS and into Moto2?

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Sultan of Slide Garry McCoy has been dismissed from the factory Triumph WSS team this week. While the team issued a press release saying that the move was mutual, McCoy tells a different story, and is quick to point out salary wasn’t the issue. Whatever the case may be, the late departure by McCoy means a tough road ahead for the Australian in finding a 2010 ride, and his best option seems to be Moto2.

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