Tag

road race

Browsing

On Tuesday, Dorna issued a press release together with the Indonesian Tourism Development Company, or ITDC, that brought an Indonesian round of MotoGP one step closer to reality.

If the plans come to fruition, MotoGP could be racing on a specially-adapted street circuit on the island of Lombok as early as 2021.

Carmelo Ezpeleta and his son (and MotoGP Sporting Director) Carlos visited Nusa Dua, in the south of Bali, one of Indonesia’s favorite destinations for tourists, as guest of the ITDC. While he was there, they hopped across to Lombok, the next island east of Bali, to visit the Mandalika tourist resort on the south coast of Lombok, which is currently under development. 

The plan is for a race to be organized on a circuit using the public roads inside the resort. This is the ‘street race’ which was rumored much earlier in the year, but about which few details had emerged.

What happens when an immoveable object joins forces with an unstoppable force? The result might look like the latest news from the Isle of Man TT, where this year’s race will see Michael Dunlop onboard with Tyco BMW.

Of course, Michael Dunlop is a top favorite to win at this year’s TT, and the Tyco squad is certainly no stranger to making the BMW S1000RR go lightning fast around the Mountain Course.

To make matters worse for the competition, the BMW S1000RR is already a machine that Dunlop has shown good results with, in past TT fortnights, and as such we expect big things from the collaboration.

The sound of two-stroke race bikes will once again thunder through the streets on the Isle of Man, as Ian Lougher is set to race the Suter MMX 500 at this year’s Isle of Man TT.

The 576cc V4 two-stroke Suter has already made its debut during the TT, last racing during the 2016 edition of this iconic road race, though with lackluster results (121+ mph best lap) due to mechanical issues.

Hoping to right that wrong, Lougher will once again climb aboard the Suter MMX500, and no matter what the result sheets say, we are sure the fans along the Manx hedgerows will enjoy his effort.

Dirt-focused machines will no longer be welcomed at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), says the race organizers.

With the change in the road surface and race course, the 2017 running of the “Race to the Clouds” will be the last one where competitors can use machinery that was originally intended to operate off-road.

How PPHIC will determine what is a prohibited machine is not really clear, with the press release stating only that “vehicles that were originally designed with the intention of competing on Pikes Peak’s traditional dirt surface” would no longer be allowed to race, after this year’s event.

The ACU (governing body of motorcycle races in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man) along with the Southern 100 Club (the organization behind the Southern 100 road race on the Isle of Man) have seen it fit to allow electric motorcycles to compete alongside petrol-powered machines at this year’s Southern 100 road race. Booyah!

Accordingly, Darvill Racing will be the first team to enter an electric bike alongside the current crop of internal combustion machines, and will campaign Brammo’s eSuperStock and TTXP2 machine at the other Manx road race.