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MotoCzysz Confirmed For e-Power Race at Seca

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While attending the Skip Barber Superbike School, A&R Editor Jensen Beeler overheard a conversation between Lead Instructor Michael Czysz and a couple of students. As the students asked Czysz if he’d be at Seca to watch the Red Bull US GP, Czysz lamented that he would not be able to watch MotoGP at Laguna Seca because MotoCzysz would be racing that weekend. As some may remember the FIM’s e-Power Championship series has a round that is occurring at Laguna Seca in coordination with Dorna and the AMA. Czysz went on to pique out ears, confirming that MotoCzysz would be racing that weekend in the FIM e-Power Championship, with the rider yet to be determined.

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Racing

Twins Get 3kg Weight Reduction in World Superbike After Rules Threshold Reached

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After public pressure from Althea Ducati and surely private pressure from Ducati Corse, the FIM has agreed to allow twin-cylinder motorcycles in World Superbike to have a 3kg lower minimum weight allowance. Effective at the Miller Motorsports Park round of WSBK, twins (essentially the Ducati’s) will be allowed a minimum weight of 165kg (363.7lbs), down from the previous 168kg minimum weight allowance. The mode of this change in rules comes about from how the rules were drafted, which allow for a continuous revision of basic components to the rules as the season goes forward. More on that after the jump.

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Racing

Silly Season: Italian Press Says Stoner Signed with Honda – Rossi Offered Deal by Ducati

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UPDATE: GPOne.com (probably the most reliable source in the Italian Media) has gotten word from Livio Suppo that “no one has signed anything yet”, which probably confirms that Stoner is talking to HRC, but obviously hasn’t made his mind up about anything.

Silly season is officially underway starting today as the Italian press is full of accounts (all penning their source as being from Sportmediaset) that Casey Stoner has signed with the Repsol Honda MotoGP team, with a sub-headline that Valentino Rossi has been offered a two-year contract with Ducati. Sportmediaset cites the deciding reason for Stoner jumping ship as being the Australian rider’s disappointment in how Ducati backed him during his mysterious illness last year.

Despite headlining Stoner’s move, the bulk of their article concerns Rossi’s switch to Ducati, which may be a tip-off on the validity of the news, as the Italian press loves to pair the two marquee names together. We wade through the silly season possibilities further after the jump.

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Bikes

Roehr eSuperbike Electric Sportbike is Almost Ready

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Roehr Motorcycles has released more information and a few teaser photos of its electric motorcycle platform. Coming in three flavors: eSupersport, eSuperbike, and eSuperbike RR, Roehr hopes to raise the performance peg on entry level electric motorcycles, and also provide a competitive/afforable electric race bike.

All threee Roehr electric motorcycles feature an AC induction motor, with the Roehr eSuperbike models featuring twin AC induction motors. Battery capacity also makes a jump at the eSuperbike level, with the two superbikes making 9.6 kWh. Pricing is expected to start at just under $17,000 for the eSupersport, and the eSuperbike and eSuperbike RR costing $27,595 and $34,495 respectively, which is pretty close to our initial pricing information back in January. More photos and technical specs after the jump.

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Racing

WSBK: New Record Set During Superpole at Monza

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Max Biaggi took his first career Superpole today (as well as Aprilia’s first Superpole), at his home track of Monza no less. As if that wasn’t enough for the Italian rider and his Italian team, Biaggi also set the fastest top speed for the track on a superbike (205 mph), as well as a lap record (1’42.121).

Superpole however wasn’t as kind to the other Italian manufacturer, with only Michel Fabrizio making it into the third Superpole round. Fabrizio finished 3rd for the day, but his teammate, Norikuki Haga, finished at the bottom of Superpole 2 in 16th position.

With Ruben Xaus finishing 6th in the Superpole, six different manufacturers will make up the top six riders on the starting grid come Sunday, which should make the races exciting for any fan. Check the full Superpole results after the jump.

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Racing

Max Biaggi Breaks World Superbike Record with 203.1 mph Top Speed at Monza

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It was Suzuki who drew first blood, breaking the 200mph barrier at Monza, but it was Max Biaggi who set the bar the highest today during World Superbike FP1 practice. Clocking 203.21 mph (nearly 327 kph) down the straight, Biaggi broke the WSBK top speed record, but still fell short of the all-time superbike record, which was also set at Monza, and also by an Aprilia.

Last week, Fabrizio Pellizzon clocked 203.4 mph on his CIV spec’d Aprilia RSV4. Either way you look at it, the Alitalia Aprilia team is sure to be a force in Italy this week.

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Racing

A Graphical Representation of a Win at Jerez

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Did you ever wonder what a MotoGP win looks like on paper? Take away the close-passes, the high-speed wobbles, and on-air commentary, and all that’s left behind is the truth in the lap times. No excuses, no almosts, the above is a graphical represenation of what coming back from a 3.75 second deficite looks like at the storied Spanish track of Jerez, which saw Jorge Lorenzo win by over half a second when it was all said and done. Click here for a higher-res version.

Source: E_Bland

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Racing

Zero Not Racing A Mavizen at Infineon TTXGP

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After hearing that Werkstatt Racing and Repair would soon be taking delivery of the first Mavizen to hit US soil, our ears piqued because we were under the impression that Zero Motorcycles must surely have recieved their Mavizens already, after announcing that the team would field two Mavizen bikes in the TTXGP series a while back.

With that apparently not the case, rumors suggested that Zero would be using another non-proprietary chassis at the first round of the TTXGP series at Infineon Raceway. While Zero wasn’t able to comment on their racing plans to us before the weekend, we do have some clues on what the company has up its sleeve from what we know already. More after the jump.

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Rumors

Aprilia RSV4 Race Replica Coming?

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MotoBlog.it is reporting that Aprilia is set to release a race-spec replica of its RSV4 superbike. While the rumor is not clear if this will be a track-only model, or street-legal race rep like the Desmosedici RR, what is clear is that the bike is expected come with a WSBK spec motor, chassis, and electronics package.

With a price tagged rumored to be around €50,000, the race replica RSV4 certainly won’t be cheap if it’s built, but compare that price to the €90,000 price tag that comes on Ducati’s 1198RS race bike that teams have to purchase from Bologna if they want to compete in WSBK, and the RSV4 starts looking very affordable. However, with most rumors, we’re not sure this story is all that it’s cracked up to be. Keep reading for our analysis and thoughts.

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Racing

MotoGP and WSBK Battle Over Valencia Exclusivity

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Dorna (MotoGP) and Infront Sports (WSBK) are to battle over the exclusive rights to race at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, Spain. Home to the Valencian GP, the venue has also played host to the World Superbike Championship since 2000. As one of the larger and most popular venues, the track is the cornerstone for both races series, and in one of the most fruitful motorcycle racing markets…and Dorna wants it all to itself.

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Racing

Betti Wins FIM e-Power Championship at Le Mans

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This weekend France played host to the FIM’s first round of the e-Power Championship, which took place in Le Mans. Starting before the Le Mans 24 Hours Endurance World Championship race, only five riders took to the starting line, with Belgian rider de Ridder not making it to venue. Taking the first win in the FIM’s first zero-emission motorcycle race was Thomas Betti, the son in the father-son duo of Betti Moto.

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