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Marco Simoncelli AGV Replica Helmet

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UPDATE: The Simoncelli Tribute helmet will be available in the US in the GP-Tech only. They should be in stores any day now, with an MSRP of $749.95.

It has been over a year since we lost Marco Simoncelli, though it is clear from MotoGP’s revisiting of the Malaysian GP this year that his memory is alive and well. Helping commemorate Marco’s spirit, AGV Helmets is releasing more accurate re-styled Marco Simoncelli replica helmets that have been authorized by the Simoncelli family.

Incorporating the San Carlo logo on the chin guard, the Dainese logo on the top of the shell, a heart with the colors of the Japanese flag on the back, and Marco’s 58 racing number on the temple, the helmet is basically identical to the one that SuperSic wore during the 2011 MotoGP Championship season.

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Opinion/Editorial

How Much Does a Motorcycle Crash Cost?

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In 2010, 439,678 motorcycles were sold in the United States. In that same year, 82,000 motorcyclists were injured in motorcycle crashes, and 4,502 were killed. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the direct cost of these motorcycle crashes was $16 billion or more. Thirty-times more likely to die in a vehicle accident, the typical fatal motorcycle crash costs an estimated $1.2 million according to the report, while non-fatal crashes range from $2,500 to $1.4 million depending upon the severity of the injuries and incidents.

In making its recommendations to curtail the costs associated with motorcycle crashes, the GAO says that only effective measure is the mandatory use of a motorcycle helmet. Citing several studies that say motorcycle helmets reduce the fatality rate of motorcycle crashes by 39%, the GAO also cites the NHTSA, which says that motorcycle helmets prevented 1,550 deaths in 2010. The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) says helmets saved the economy $3 billion in those 1,550 instances.

This information seems to confound Jeff Hennie, Vice President of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), who told the Associated Press that his group is “100% pro-helmet, and 100% anti-helmet law,” and went on to state that “putting a helmet law in place does not reduce motorcycle fatalities.” The MRF has the stated goal of promoting motorcycle education and training, but a track record of ignoring the prior, while failing to achieve the latter.

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Racing

Rumor: Race-Only 450cc BMW/Husqvarna Bike Coming?

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Italy’s motorcycle publication of record, Motociclismo, is reporting that BMW Motorrad is developing a 450cc race bike for youth racers. Said to be a ground-up design that centers around a single-cylinder motor that will likely be prepared by Husqvarna, the BMW race bike would feature a frame built in Bologna, Italy with “racing” suspension, forged wheels, and carbon fiber bodywork.

With pricing to be in the €20,000 range, BMW hopes that its 450cc cup bike will appeal to 15 to 18-year-old riders, and is formulating a racing series that will piggyback off six select World Superbike and British Superbike rounds. As such, BMW’s proposal appears to be in direct competition with the European Junior Cup (EJC), which will use the Honda CBR500R as its spec-machine for the 2013 season.

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Bikes

XXX: 36 Photos of the MV Agusta Brutale 800

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We might question the wisdom of building a stroked-out 798cc version of the three-cylinder MV Agusta Brutale 675, but we cannot disagree with the fact that the machine is a sight to behold. Using the same engine that motivates the MV Agusta Rivale, power for the MV Agusta Brutale 800 comes in at 123hp, with 59.7 lbs•ft of torque at 8,600 rpm, which means the new Brutale 80 won’t be nearly as peaky with its horsepower as the Brutale 675.

Fitted with higher-spec suspension and components, along with the MVICS electronics package, MV Agusta hopes that the Brutale 800 will be the feature-rich alternative to the more affordable naked bike, which is the Brutale 675. However you want to make the distinction between the two models, it is another piece of rolling motorcycle art, better known as MV Agusta. We have 36 photos of it after the jump for you to…enjoy.

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Racing

Photos: 2013 KTM Rally Team

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Gearing up for the Dakar Rally, and the start of the adventure rally season, KTM has debuted its 2013 rally team with Cyril Despres, Marc Coma, and Ruben Faria. Riding the KTM 450 Rally race bike, the three KTM riders are tipped to be the favorites at the 2013 Dakar Rally, with Despres looking for his fifth win, while Coma races for his fourth victory against his teammate and rival.

The Dakar will once again be held in South America, making 2013 the fifth time that the race has been held outside of its namesake territory. A bit of branding yoga, the famous adventure race has been right at home in the varied terrains of Peru, Argentina, and Chilé, and for 2013, the Dakar will visit those countries in that order. New to the Dakar, Honda’s factory team will be on the roster, as well factory teams from Husqvarna and Aprilia.

Because we know how much you enjoy them, high-resolution photos of the factory KTM riders doing their thing, after the jump (HD display owners will also note that A&R has gone “retina” with our post images, woot).

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Opinion/Editorial

What MotoGP Can Learn From F1: The Business Symposium

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Since the global financial crisis struck back in 2008, MotoGP’s primary focus has been on cutting costs. These efforts have met with varying success – sometimes reducing costs over the long-term, after a short-term increase, sometimes having no discernible impact whatsoever – and as a result, the grids in all three classes are filling up again.

Further changes are afoot – chiefly, the promise by Honda and Yamaha to supply cheaper machinery to private teams, either in the form of production racers, such as Honda’s RC213V clone, or Yamaha’s offer to lease engines to chassis builders – but there is a limit to how much can be achieved by cutting costs. What is really needed is for the series to raise its revenues, something which the series has signally failed to do.

In truth, the series has never really recovered from the loss of tobacco sponsorship, something for which it should have been prepared, given that it had had many years’ warning of the ruling finally being applied.

The underlying problem was that the raising of sponsorship had been outsourced and the marketing of the series had been outsourced to a large degree to the tobacco companies, and once they left – with the honorable, if confusing, exception of Philip Morris – those skills disappeared with them. There was nobody left to try to increase the amount of money coming into the sport.

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Racing

MV Agusta Racing in WSS with ParkinGO Factory Team

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MV Agusta is returning to its racing heritage next season, as the Italian company has announced that it will be fielding a factory World Supersport effort with the venerable ParkinGO team in 2013. Forging a three-year contract, ParkinGO will race the MV Agusta F3 675 in WSS, with MV Agusta providing technical support on the F3 from the factory in Varese.

Inked on what would have been Claudio Castiglioni’s 65th birthday, the agreement sees the return of MV Agusta to the World Superbike Championship series, and could be a stepping stone for the Italian brand back into the Superbike class at a later time.

A prudent ally, ParkinGO is no stranger to WSS or WSBK, having won the World Supersport title in 2011, and making a strong showing in the 2012 World Superbike season, both with Chaz Davies.

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Racing

Video: Ride the Macau GP with Horst Saiger

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Road racing is mental. I mean real road racing…where motorcycle racers compete on actual city streets, with zero run-off and off-track obstacles abound. Having been to the Isle of Man TT, and seen the Manx course up-close, I can attest to the special breed of rider that chooses to compete in motorcycle road racing events — I dare say I even understand the allure to such an act (you will never, however, see me partake in such a racing event).

Looking at Tony Goldsmith’s photos from the 59th Macau GP though, words fail to describe the lunacy taking place here with the tight and narrow Macanese course. Luckily, my failure as a writer can be overcome through the miracle of technology, in this case: YouTube.

Take 31.25 minutes out of your day, and ride with Austria’s Horst Saiger for all 10 laps of the 2012 Macau GP. Watch him trade corners with Martin Jessop and Conor Cummins on his Saiger-Racing.com Kawasaki ZX-10R in what may be our favorite video of the year, after the jump of course (yes, there is a jump!).

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Racing

Trackside Tuesday: Our Most Precious Resource

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It’s easy to forget that motorcycle racing is a sport for children. Their courage on track is remarkable, and even more so because of their young age. They start at five, four, sometimes three, riding their tiny motorbikes around the paddock or on dirt tracks in rural towns and lonely desert spaces and sometimes in organized series such as the Cuna Campeones Bankia.

At this moment there are thousands of kids either on their little machines or wishing they were riding, counting the minutes until they get to put the helmet back on and ride, perhaps just for the joy or perhaps with dreams of a world championship.

They have various levels of support from adults, ranging from the tolerant, to the indulging, to the demanding. As in all endeavors, most of the individuals either don’t reach their potential due to other demands on their time, energy or budget, or they approach that potential, and are judged to have too little talent in their bodies and minds to warrant moving to the next level.

Those who have the talent and desire, and are lucky enough to be recognized as such, might receive the support to compete at higher and higher levels. And sometimes by the onset of adolescence these kids are worldly and experienced in the ways of competition, travel, sponsorship, and so on.

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