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Erik Buell Racing Bid Contested, Headed Back to Court

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The receivership of Erik Buell Racing continues to go on, as the company’s second round on the auction block ended with no fruitful resolution.

It was hoped that Monday would see the announcement of a Erik Buell Racing’s new owner, after the auction on Thursday seemed to show that a new bidder, Liquid Asset Partners LLC, had snatched up the American motorcycle effort and had plans to liquidate EBR’s assets.

However, it appears that the winning bid on Erik Buell Racing’s liquid assets has been contested by previous auction-winner Bruce Belfer and potential-bidder US Heritage Powersport. Accordingly, a new date in court set for January 14th, 2016 and formal motions to be submitted by January 4th, 2016.

This means that the ongoing saga and future of the Erik Buell Brand will continue, well into the start of the new year.

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MotoGP

MotoGP: Valentino Rossi CAS Appeal Dropped, Case Closed

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Valentino Rossi has formally withdrawn his appeal against the three penalty points handed down to him in the clash at Sepang.

The Italian had originally appealed the three points handed down by Race Direction for the incident with Marc Marquez at Turn 14 at Sepang, first to the FIM Stewards, and after the FIM Stewards had rejected his appeal, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

After filing the appeal to the CAS, Rossi then filed an appeal for a stay of the three-point penalty. If that stay had been granted, then Rossi would not have had to start from the back of the grid at Valencia.

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News

US Congress Passes Favorable Laws for Motorcyclists

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Don’t say that the 114th US Congress hasn’t done anything for you, as the American Motorcyclists Association (AMA) is happy to report that our legislature has passed a $305 billion highway bill – The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act – which has a number of favorable provisions for motorcyclists.

The big wins come in the form of funding for recreational off-road trails, and the prohibition against motorcycle-only checkpoints, two growing concerns that the AMA has been involved in fighting.

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MotoGP

Rossi to Start from Back of Grid, As CAS Rejects Injunction

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The Court of Arbitration for Sport has rejected Valentino Rossi’s request for a stay of his penalty, given to him at Sepang. The three-point penalty, handed to him at Sepang for the incident he was involved in with Marc Marquez, means he will start from the back of the grid for the final race of the season at Valencia.

Rossi will still be entitled to participate in Q2, if he finishes in the top ten after the three sessions of free practice, but the position he secures in Q2 will not count for his grid position. Everyone who qualifies behind him will be moved forward one position on the grid.

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Lifestyle

“Due Process??! Do Wheelies!!!” – The Texas Law Hawk

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Things have been pretty heavy here lately at Asphalt & Rubber, especially with the “Sepang Clash” nonsense continuing to collapse the sport in like a dying star. The Tokyo Motor Show had a lot of hard news too, with a bevy of models and concepts making an appearance.

So much has been going on, we nearly forgot the number one reason we ride motorcycles: they’re fun! Never fear, we have our eyes on the prize here at A&R HQ, so here’s a little something to brighten your day.

If you ever need a lawyer in Fort Worth, Texas area, we know a guy…Bryan Wilson, the Texas Law Hawk. Click past the jump for so much internet win.

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News

You Can Legally Work on Your Own Motorcycle, Still

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You may have not realized it, but if certain OEMs had their way, you would not be legally allowed to work on your own motorcycle. That’s right, because of a perversion of the US copyright law, it would have been illegal for you to turn a wrench on your motorcycle, all in the name of digital rights management.

The issues comes around because of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a law from 1998 that was originally intended to update the Copyright Act of 1976 for life in the digital age.

Of the more important provisions, the DMCA protects ISPs from copyright claims, and it defines how copyright law would work on the internet and other digital mediums.

One of the major sections of the DMCA deals with digital rights management (DRM), and attempts to circumvent digital systems that are meant to block access to copyrighted information and material. This effectively makes it a violation of the DMCA to circumvent any sort of DRM or encryption put forth by a rights holder.

The original intent of this provision was to protect record labels and movie studios, who were seeing their products shared on peer-to-peer networks ad infinitum, but crafty lawyers have been able to expand this portion of the DMCA to include just about any digital system, including your motorcycle…until now.

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Bikes

Volkswagen Ordered to Sell Its Stake in Suzuki

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The big news this week might be about how Volkswagen falsified emissions reports on its diesel-powered automobiles – a move that today lead to Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn stepping down from his position in the company, and VW stock dropping nearly 30%, at the time of this writing.

Less well-known though is that Volkswagen has also lost its long-fought battle with Suzuki over the Japanese company’s stock ownership. VW and Suzuki were supposed to untie the knot back in 2011, but Volkswagen did not go quietly into that good night.

Taking the case to arbitration, the London Court of International Arbitration has finally handed the two parties its verdict. As such, Volkswagen will have to sell its 19.9% stake back to Suzuki.

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News

Some Curious Details of That Stolen Victory TT Race Bike

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A month ago, the Victory TT electric race bike was stolen from the Brammo’s headquarters in Talent, Oregon. Thankfully, the bike was recovered quickly, though it suffered some damage to the bodywork, and the rear wheel was removed.

Two suspects were arrested in conjunction with the theft, and currently are out on $25,000 bail bonds. We will have to let the great wheel of justice sort out the facts, and awaits the two suspects in question.

While one would likely not call the legal process entertaining, there are some amusing facts at issue to this case.

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Racing

Niccolò Canepa Charged for Track Day Altercation

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Niccolò Canepa is in deep water with Italian officials for an incident that occurred at Mugello, back in 2013. Allegedly participating at a track day at the iconic Italian circuit, Canepa has been named as the rider that closed-circuit cameras picked up having an altercation with another rider, on track.

The camera footage shows quite clearly two riders gesticulating to each other while riding around the track between the Poggio Secco and the Materassi turns.

The footage then goes on to show that the rider, who is alleged to be Canepa, intentionally hits the other rider’s front brake, causing that rider’s bike to fall and nearly take out another non-involved rider in the process.

The crashed rider has been identified as Davide Cappato, who fractured his collarbone in the fall. Taking recourse with authorities in Florence, Cappato seems finally set to have his day in court with Canepa.

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MotoGP

Official: Forward Racing to Miss Indy GP, Hopeful for Brno

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Forward Racing will not be at Indianapolis for the Red Bull Indianapolis GP. As was widely expected, the team formally announced today that they lacked the funds to take part in the race. The team is now focused on making it to the following round, at Brno in the Czech Republic.

The team has been in severe financial difficulty ever since the arrest by the Swiss authorities of team owner Giovanni Cuzari on charges of corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion.

First, the team had all of its assets seized, as they were all in the name of Cuzari. Then, a number of its sponsors, including MotoGP title sponsor Athina, withdrew their support and stopped payment.

With no access to existing funds and payment of new funds impossible, it was clear that making it to Indianapolis would be impossible.

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MotoGP

MotoGP: Forward Racing Looking for Solutions for Indy

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Forward Racing boss Giovanni Cuzari remains under arrest in Lugano, Switzerland, and the team remain in doubt whether they will be able to participate in the next MotoGP round, scheduled for Indianapolis on August 9th.

The biggest problem the team faces is that their bank accounts have been frozen, as part of the ongoing investigation into tax evasion, fraud, and corruption which Cuzari and Libero Galli have been charged with by the Swiss authorities.

The Open class Yamaha M1s and equipment belonging to the team are already in Indianapolis, having been flown there by IRTA after the German round of MotoGP at the Sachsenring.

But without access to money to be able to pay for flights, hotels, car rental, and all of the other sundry expenses that are necessary to allow a MotoGP team to actually go racing, Forward Racing team manager Marco Curioni has called on the series organizers to help them make the race at Indy.

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