Source: Ultimate Motorcycling
Be careful the next time you heckle a MotoGP rider on Twitter, because they might just respond. Such was the case when a fan chastised Lorenzo, who was upset about his performance during the Aragon GP. Catching the attention of Lorenzo, the fan promptly found himself on the wrong end of a retweet from the Spanish rider. Zinger! Thanks for the tip David!
Source: Jorge Lorenzo (Twitter)
Pope Benedict XVI received a nice surprise today as Ducati Motor Holdings dropped off two purpose-built Ducati Multistrada 1200S Touring bikes for His Holiness. We don’t expect Il Papa to be riding the bikes anytime soon though, as the two Ducatis will be used by the Pope’s motorcade and Vatican gendarmerie (the Vatican police force), hence the special papal yellow paint scheme.
We came across this render while trolling the internet for Ukrainian wives, and thought to ourselves that it sure did look like the bastard child of the Yamaha FZ1 and the upcoming Ducati Diavel. Made back in 2009, this artist’s render pre-dates any of the leaked viewings we saw of the Diavel, but could be an interesting evolution of the VMAX design to answer the Ducati power cruiser.
We like to think of the render as a VMAX on steroids, although we can’t seem to wrap our heads around how the Öhlins shock above the motor mounting works out…but then again we had trouble finding Ukrainian wives on the internet (now that’s saying something).
As a nine-time Grand Prix Champion, Valentino Rossi might be the most iconic rider in the MotoGP paddock, if not the greatest motorcycle racer of all-time. Now that Rossi has signed-on with Ducati for the next two MotoGP seasons, there is a wave of enthusiasm in Italy about the duo, and what it could mean for the sport.
Along with Rossi’s move to Ducati, MotoGP is set to go back to 1000cc capacities, Dorna has allowed claiming rule teams to run production-based engines, all in the hopes of turning the sport around into the spectacle it once was.
Of course the greatest excitement will be seeing Rossi on a Ducati GP bike that he helped develop, so we thought it fit to give Valentino the Shepard Fairey treatment for his “Barack moment”, and thus we whipped-up some posters of the Italian. Check them out after the jump.
Scooters are the preferred mode of transport in the MotoGP paddock, and if you stand still in the MotoGP paddock, it won’t be long before you see one of your GP heroes whisk by on their way to the next press event. With his personal manager riding shotgun, we can only imagine the conversation that’s ensuing in this photo as Lorenzo rolls around The Brickyard. Leave your best caption in the comments section.
No, this is not an April Fool’s joke…but it has all the makings of one though. Long-time Sturgis rally veteran Tom Bandy must have woken up one day and thought to himself, “man how cool would it be if Sturgis wasn’t held in South Dakota, but instead it was in South Korea!” and boom, Sturgis Asia was born.
In actuality, Bandy told the Rapid City Journal that “[he] had a a dream to bring Sturgis to the rest of the world,” which is starting with a tour of South Korea. While the festival is catering heavily to locals (much of SturgisAsia’s website is in Korean), the group will also fly riders and their bikes to South Korea presumably from China and Japan.
Photo: Yamaha Racing
Handwritten and then reproduced by Fiat-Yamaha, Valentino Rossi included an open letter with the announcement of his departure from Fiat-Yamaha to Marlboro Ducati. In his own words Rossi documents his “relationship” with the Yamaha YZR-M1, and is quick to point-out that it was Rossi’s direction and input that turned the bike into the weapon of choice in MotoGP. Reading the letter, it might be a bit strange as to why the message was included with the official press release from Yamaha, but peering between the lines some parting words can be inferred from Rossi, and perhaps greater insight into what makes a nine-time World Champion.
During the Red Bull US GP weekend, Asphalt & Rubber’s Jensen Beeler got a chance to sit down with Hervé Poncharal, Team Manager of the Monster Tech3 Yamaha MotoGP team, and have a lengthy discussion. Sharing with us his insights into the race weekend, which for his riders was to a home crowed, Poncharal talks about the development of Ben Spies as a MotoGP rider, and role Colin Edwards has played in helping his teammate adjust to racing in MotoGP. Giving some insight about how the 2011 season will shape up for both Ben and Colin, Poncharal hints that we could see a British rider on the satellite team next year. Read the full interview transcript after the jump.
For the past four days, we’ve inundated you with our coverage of the Red Bull US GP race weekend, and while we do love us some racing here at Asphalt & Rubber, we like to think we’re more than a one trick pony. So let’s switch gears and mix it up a bit…and by that we mean, let’s showing you this awesome helmet prop designer Volpin made for Daft Punk. Where not sure if it’s channeling Eurofunk or Disco fever, but it’s seven shades of awesome on a Rocketeer helmet. Harder, better, faster, stronger videos/photos after the jump.