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Guy Martin to Race the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

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It seems Guy Martin, the barely understandable, though immediately lovable road racer of Isle of Man TT fame will compete in the 2014 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. One of the stars of the Isle of Man TT, and perhaps the fastest man on the Mountain Course who has never won an IOMTT race, Martin’s involvement with “The Race to the Clouds” has been a long time coming.

The organizers at the PPIHC have long been trying to get riders and teams from the Isle of Man TT onto the Pikes Peak road course, in an effort to bolster the race’s international appeal and reputation, as well as breathe new life and interest into the historic American race.

Our sources say a special effort was made to lure Guy Martin, who was the centerpiece personality in the Isle of Man’s Closer to the Edge film, and it seems those efforts have finally paid off with this latest news.

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Bikes

Saroléa SP7 Electric Superbike Debuts Ahead of IOMTT

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After a 50 Year Hiatus, the Belgian brand Saroléa is making a bit of comeback, albeit this time in electric form. Already making its intention to race in the 2014 Isle of Man TT, Saroléa has now finally debuted its racing machine, the Saroléa SP7.

An amalgamation of retro-styling and high-technology, the Saroléa SP7 boasts a carbon fiber chassis, a 174hp (130 kW) motor, and a 441 lbs bulk.

All of that is wrapped into a café racer styled machine, which with all the modern equipment has a certain juxtaposition that is both visually pleasing, and visually glaring — we will let you decide which sensation dominates your senses more heavily.

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Racing

This is the Reason Why Pikes Peak Needs Spectator Zones

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I got a bit fired up yesterday while I was talking about the spectator zones that will be put into place for the 2014 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and I got a bit of flak for calling it “the world’s most unprofessionally run international motorsport event.” It is, full stop.

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is about to host its 92nd running, and in the almost hundred years of competition, the Race to Clouds has failed to move beyond its folksy roots.

Don’t get me wrong, I love this race. It’s a great historic event, which actually gets more coverage abroad than it does in the United States. But, it has some serious growing to do from a safety, media, coverage, and promotional point-of-view.

Implementing new rules for the 2014, as to where spectators can view the race, is a huge step forward for Pikes Peak, and the following video is a great example why some modicum of professional organization needs to be brought to this race.

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Racing

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Will Have Major Spectator Restrictions in 2014 and Onward, For Safety

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The world’s most unprofessionally run international motorsport event is growing up a little bit for 2014, as the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will finally have spectator restrictions on its mountain-side race course starting with this year’s event.

Instead of having spectators sitting right on the tarmac, in a sort of 12.42 mile free-for-all, event organizers for “The Race to the Clouds” will have severe spectating restrictions, with six designated spectating zones located throughout the race course.

In total, the six spectating zones will account for roughly 1.5 miles of course length, so roughly 1/10 the original area available to PPIHC fans. As such for 2014, a general admission ticket will give a spectator access to the starting line, Halfway Picnic Grounds, Ski Area, Glen Cove, Cove Creek, and the Devil’s Playground.

However, once the race begins, fans will be stuck at whichever location they choose, and law enforcement officers will issue trespassing tickets to those fans found outside those areas, i.e. hiking the interconnecting trails along the race course.

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Racing

Isle of Man TT Gets TV Deal for Australia & USA

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Want to watch the Isle of Man TT from the comfort of your non-British TV, but haven’t been able to in the past? A new TV from the Isle of Man’s Department of Economic Development will do just that.

Inking a new TV contract with North One TV, the Isle of Man TT will be televised in the American, Australian, and of course British markets, making it easier than ever to watch the iconic road race.

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Racing

Mission Motors Providing Mugen with Electric Powertrain

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One of the more interesting details to come from the Mugen Shinden San electric superbike reveal is that a familiar name is helping power the Japanese motorcycle: Mission Motors.

One of the inaugural racing teams at the first Isle of Man TT electric race, Mission Motors has since focused its business model on providing OEMs with HEV/EV powertrains — you may remember its motorcycle project was spun into a new company, Mission Motorcycles.

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Racing

IOMTT: Dunlop Eyes 130 MPH Lap…On a Supersport

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Maybe it is an attention-seeking headline, but the prospect of Michael Dunlop doing a 130 mph lap at the Isle of Man TT, on his Supersport-spec machine, is a titalating prospect. A 130 mph lap is a tall order, even in the Superbike and Superstock classes, where only a handful of riders have broken the 130 mph barrier.

Setting the Supersport TT record last year, Michael Dunlop is currently the fastest man around the Isle of Man TT course on a 600cc machine, with an average lap speed of 128.666 mph under his belt. To break 130 mph though, Dunlop will have to drop an additional 11 seconds from his fastest lap time, a tall order despite the 37.733 mile of race course to work with.

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Racing

A Lap Around the Isle of Man TT with Michael Dunlop

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Stop what you’re doing for the next 18 minutes — just stop right now. Take a ride with Michael Dunlop on his Honda CBR600RR during the Isle of Man TT’s second Supersport race.

We enter the race on lap three of four, Michael Dunlop has just finished his pit stop, and is in second place on corrected time — Bruce Anstey is leading. On the course, Michael is behind John McGuinness and Cameron Donald, who serve as his carrot.

At this point in the TT fortnight, Dunlop has already won three races and the nephew of Joey is looking for win number four as he puts the hammer down coming down Bray Hill. This is more than a video of an epic lap around Snaefell Mountain Course, it’s a lap of Michael Dunlop’s determination. There should be no doubt about Michael being a force to be reckond with in 2014.

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Racing

AMA Pro Road Racing Will Race at Laguna Seca with WSBK

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When AMA Pro Road Racing released its 2014 calendar, there were no tracks out west, and there were only five race weekends schedule. The folks at DMG hinted a possible sixth round though, with Laguna Seca heavily rumored to be venue.

When Mid-Ohio reshuffled its schedule to accommodate AMA Pro Racing’s desire to race at Laguna Seca on the World Superbike weekend, it seemed like we were only moments away from an update to the provisional calendar. And then nothing happened.

Since then we’ve see John Ulrich put together his still unnamed “Triple Crown” event, which will bring three races, for AMA riders, west of the Mississippi. News of a complete lack of a TV deal has hit the AMA paddock shores, as even the Daytona 200 will be without a TV contract for 2014.

But, today we do have some good news for American motorcycle race fans: AMA Pro Road Racing will compete as the support class for the World Superbike stop at Laguna Seca, this coming July 11th-13th.

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News

Fund This Documentary: “It’s Something Inside”

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Last month, our friend John Shofner (you may have seen some of his work on A&R already) sent us a link to a project he was working on, and we couldn’t wait for it to become a reality.

So finally, we can talk about the full-length documentary, , that Shofner Films hopes to produce, which will tell the story behind America’s two-wheeled petrol racing culture.

To help raise the $400,000 that the It’s Something Inside project will need to produce the film, John has turned to the crowd-sourcing platform of Kickstarter.

If funded (your contributions only get collected if John meets his fundraising goal), and once completed, Shofner Films will then pitch the film to various film festivals, with the hope of ultimately getting a theater or TV deal for the film.

As you can tell from the trailer above, and the stills after the jump, John has a great photographic eye; and his previous work, including a documentary of the karting scene, shows his immense talent in storytelling as well.

We are pretty pumped to see this project go forward, and if you are too, we hope you will contribute some money towards his Kickstarter fund. Count us in for a couple bucks John!

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Racing

Michael Dunlop and BMW Talk About Racing in 2014

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Michael Dunlop’s shock announcement that he will be racing with a factory-backed BMW for the 2014 Isle of Man TT is still percolating through the road racing paddock.

It was only in November of 2013 that the Irishman announced that he was likely to sit out the 2014 season, after failing to come to an agreement with the factory Honda squad, the Honda TT Legends.

Winning four solo-races in the 2013 Isle of Man TT, Dunlop solidified himself as being the man to watch in 2014, and perhaps the racer with the best chance of challenging John McGuinness on race day.

With Honda keen to see McPint break Joey Dunlop’s record of 26 TT race wins (McGuinness has 20 thus far), the backstory for Dunlop seems fairly obvious to guess.

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