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Fiat-Yamaha-Rossi-Lorenzo-Catalunya-motogp

With a tenth of a second separating Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi in yesterday’s qualifying, the Catalan GP was shaping up to be a MotoGP race worth watching. Adding to the intrigue was a course that is especially demanding on tires, and a heat wave that was sure to make the rubber selection ever more critical. Bridgestone brought to the track an asymmetrical tire compound that was expected to help teams, but with so many factors going on, race day was bound to get interesting.

The fans at the Circuit de Catalunya were given a treat of a race, that saw two riders battling it out until the very last turn. The end result is a three-way tie in the MotoGP Championship standings, and a season that is really starting to brim with excitement.

The 2009 Isle of Man TT was to be the return of Norton motorcycles to the island and its Mountain Course. It has been 16 years since the British manufacturer raced the city streets of the Isle, and we eagerly awaited their return to the TT, and the showing of their rotary motor powered NRV 588 race bike. We, like many others, were disappointed then to see the Norton only shuffle around on a parade lap, and not tearing down the asphalt in the quest for absolute speed.

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We should begin this article with a preface. The following information is comprised of facts, and in some cases, where noted ,substantiated rumor. However, the inferences drawn, when looking at all these instances as being correlated events, are purely our own here at A&R, and should therefore be taken as fanciful speculation on our parts, but none-the-less something to mull-over while riding this weekend..

Looking at the facts leading up to the TTXGP, and the occurences at the Isle of Man, is it possible that Michael Czysz orchestrated a game plan at the Isle of Man that included sandbagging the E1pc’s true performance capability on race day? Our analysis after the jump.

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In case you missed it this morning, the first running of the TTXGP, a zero-emission TT held on the Isle of Man, occurred today with Team Agni being the victor. Team Agni has dominated the whole week, setting the fastest times in both practice sessions. Their bike, piloted by Rob “Rocket” Barber, is a modified Suzuki GSXR frame, with Agni’s proprietary electrical motor in place of the standard internal combustion engine. Report and results below.

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Colin Edwards has to be one of our favorite motorcycle racers, primarily for the epic races he would put on for us while racing in the World Superbike Championship against Troy Bayliss. Since his move to MotoGP, Edwards has been less of a talking point for his racing prowess, and instead usually for controversies associated with him.

First it was the Aprilia RS3 “Cube” that had a propensity to catch on fire. Then, it was playing second fiddle to Valentino Rossi. And lately, it has been the Tech3 antics between himself and James Toseland.

Love him, hate him, discount him, but Colin always has one consistency: telling things exactly the way he sees them. In a recent interview with Riders (an Italian Magazine) Colin did just that.

Edwards fielded some colorful questions about sex, his favorite porn starts, as well as some political topics like gay marriage, and gun control. We didn’t think you wanted to hear any of that though. Continue reading after the jump for some of the more calmer questions, and Colin’s to the point answers.

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It is a well established fact that all bad things either come from German or Florida. In an effort to fix this rule of thumb, German design agency Zoom has invisioned a “hobby racer” that the firm hopes to build after securing financing. Called the Rih (arabic for wind), the concept bike will incorporate a few very interesting technologies (like lungs), while at its core, there is an Aprilia RSV4 motor.

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First to arrive on the Isle of Man, Brammo has been the most photogenic of the TTXGP contestants from the United States. If IOM gossip is to be believed, the team has been spotted swinging the occasional wrench in between pub hosted team meetings. 

Today on the Isle, Brammo was out testing the TTR on a 40 mile circuit. While they haven’t been out on the full Mountain Course yet, they were able to test the TTR over the 40 miles at a continuous race pace, with a focus on the increasing the endurance of the electric race bike. They were kind enough to shoot a couple shots of Roy Richardson putting the TTR through its paces. Photos after the jump.

Thursday, the organizers (ASO) of the Dakar Rally announced that the event will only allow 450cc motorcycls in the professional class. Taking the news a bit hard, KTM has now claimed that the new class regulations are specifically “designed to end the dominance of KTM” in the historic and difficult race.

Unable to field and prep 450cc rally bikes, the Austrian company has announced that it will cut the race completely out of its schedule and budget, leaving nearly 50 riders SOL for bikes and/or sponsorships.

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As we said Monday, we had photos of the MotoCzysz in its final TTXGP race form, and here they are out in the wild now for all to see.

Looking at the photos, we can see that MotoCzysz chose to keep 6 of the 10 battery packs visible in the final design, 3 on each side. We can also see the chain connecting the 3 motors below the number 5 on the silver and red fairing. A slightly confusing touch is the C1 logo placed in the fairing. C1 is the name given to their MotoGP project which was recently abandoned to pursue the TTXGP electric motorcycle race at Isle Of Man.

Of all the TTXGP bikes that have broken cover over the last week the MotoCzysz may have been the most anticipated besides the Brammo TTR. We have to say the E1pc looks as good as it sounds with all three electric motors drawing max current.

Also from the pictures we can see the iPhone powered dash unit, which we assume is bringing speed, acceleration, pitch, and lateral-g information to rider via the phone’s bevy of built-in gadgetry. Take that in contrast to the almost rudimentry on/kill switch that looks so easy a Geico spokesperson could use it. Green for go, Red for stop.

Another note is the top-down view on the triple clamps. Gone are the pre-load and compression knobs most motorcyclists are familiar with, instead we see a hollow tube that goes down to the proprietary MotoCzysz fork/suspension assembly, another carry-over from the deceased MotoGP hopeful.

MotoCzysz still has not revealed much about the internals of this D1gi1al Superbike, a term they filed a trademark for at the USPTO. However, we do know this bike is designed to be flexible in power and tuning so it will be available to the consumer at multiple price points.

Source: MotoCzysz