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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Jorge Lorenzo focused as title battle heats up  With reigning World Champion and team mate Valentino Rossi currently leading the MotoGP World Championship standings. Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo has been with him all the way. A
wall separates the Fiat Yamaha duo in the garage, but on the track these two are even closer rivals. With a fifteenth Grand Prix podium in Assen for Jorge Lorenzo which continues his almost perfect run of podium
finishes in 2009, with only a crash when chasing third place at Jerez to blemish his record this season, for the sophomore
competitor was left pondering what might have been had he been speedier off the line on Saturday in which he got caught at
the beginning. “I am happy, because despite an awful start and there being some
sections of the track where I lost a lot of ground, I pushed at my limit. Especially at the start of the race,” said
Lorenzo. “When I saw that my front tyre was starting to slide, I said ‘enough’
and settled for second place,” he also added, showing his maturity in chasing points rather than glory that has won
many a rider the World Championship. “We had a great race with a fierce pace that dropped half a second, so I really
couldn’t have done any more.” With the race next week at Laguna Seca, a
site at which Jorge Lorenzo crashed out last season just seconds into the Sunday showdown. The Spanish rider is as most would
expect, unfased by this fact and looks forward to the race. To read more click here
Monday, June 29, 2009
Casey Stoner should be ready for Laguna Seca  Two week's in a row Australian Casey Stoner has been suffering and has been exhausted
after and during the race. But the Ducati
Marlboro team have been doing everything they possibly can in an attempt to assist the former World Champion recover from
what appeared to be severe exhaustion following the race at the Alice TT Assen. Much like
at the Barcelona race Casey Stoner crossed the line third behind championship rivals Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, though
on this occasion he was even more run down than at Catalunya, unable to attend post-race media briefings and receiving treatment
from Clinica Mobile staff in his motorhome post race. Ducati’s MotoGP Project Director
Livio Suppo had this to say regarding the situation, “There is something wrong with Casey’s condition and we are
trying to understand what is wrong and trying to help. What we have done so far is not enough and we have to investigate more.
Dr Claudio Macchiagodena from Clinica Mobile has done a lot to help after the race and he has some ideas for Laguna so let’s
just hope.” Casey Stoner was aslo quoted by Ducati, “I’ve been feeling
fine all week but started to feel run down again on Friday and I’ve just got worse as the weekend has gone on. I’ve
taken every kind of supplement and vitamin tablet you can think of but nothing seems to have worked, so it is obviously something
we need to have looked at closer because I can’t keep going like this and it is costing us points.”
“Thankfully I had a fantastic bike underneath me again today and I owe the team for
that. A big thank also to Dr Macchiagodena and our physiotherapist Freddie (Dente), who took good care of me both in Catalunya
and here. Unfortunately we don’t have much time to get fit for Laguna but we’ll see what we can do.” To read more click here
Friday, June 26, 2009
MotoGp riders enjor classic motorcycles  Ahead of this weekends race in The Netherlands, a group of MotoGP riders have gathered to attend the MotorDreamEvenTT,
at the Assen circuit’s TT Museum, this event provides a demonstration ride on some classic race machinery for
the fans to enjoy.
This is the World Championship’s 61st consecutive
visit to ‘The Cathedral’, as Assen is known, it should be noted that The Netherlands’ venue being
the only ‘ever-present’ on the Grand Prix calendar since 1949, so the museum event was a fitting preliminary
ahead of this weekends battle.
Jorge Lorenzo who rides for Fiat Yamaha showed off a Jarno Saarinen 250cc
Yamaha, whilst Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards of America rode Jack Middelburg’s 500cc machine,
which won at Assen in 1980.
Australian and Rizla Suzuki rider Chris
Vermeulen rode the 1976 500cc Suzuki of his hero and mentor Barry Sheene, Whilst the Hayate Racing teams Marco Melandri was
in charge of the Lorenzo Pasolini 1968 Benelli replica and Dutch 125cc youngster Jasper Iwema was riding a 1972 Seel machine.
The riders from Scot Racing Yuki Takahashi and Gabor Talmacsi, rode a 1976 Mike Hailwood Honda replica
and a 1976 Bob McIntyre Honda respectively.
The riders were clearly aware
of the rich history having mounted the classic 1970s Yamaha which had been ridden by a fellow former 250cc World Champion,
current joint MotoGP standings leader Jorge Lorenzo said, “For me it was an honour to ride the bike because it belonged
to Jarno Saarinen, a Finnish rider who died in Monza in 1973. This bike is nearly 40 years old so it is very different to
my M1. For me it is great to ride any bike and especially this one.”
To read more click here
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Oleon oil and new high performance blend Oleon Oils has now in conjunction with Motologic Racing department finalised a blend of oil for use in high performance
street bikes and race bikes.
The formulation has taken the company 16 months to produce and develop and it has
now evolved over five different blends. After many hours of Vigorous testing at each stage of development with the Motologic
Honda Race team both on and off the track, hte compnay has come up with a semi synthetic blend of oil that is set to deliver
maximum horsepower outputs without sacrificing wear protection for your motorcycle.
“We are extremely pleased
with the results and development of our blend Moto Lube RR5 as we believe that we have achieved the optimum balance in power
Vs protection as seen on the track, on the dyno and ultimately in the pull down of the race bike engines,” said Shane
Trovato Oleon Oils Managing Director.
Oleon RR5 assisted Glenn Allerton to securewin his first Australian
Superbike Championship in 2008 aboard the Oleon supported Honda CBR1000RR Superbike.
“At Motologic it’s
imperative for us to use the best oils in our machines. The RR5 exceeds our requirements for both of our racing and our retail
customers. Our Honda Superbikes must operate at the highest levels of performance at all times and to remain dominant we must
continually develop all aspects of the motorcycle.” commented Motologic’s Mr Paul Free. “We are now extremely
happy to confidently tick the box in this area of development”.
To read more click here
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Rookie quartet undertake Barcelona training  The 2009 Red Bull MotoGP Academy project
saw a group of four selected Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup riders visit the famous Barcelona track last week and get the chacne
to participate in several days of training, which is hoped will help them in their development.
The riders selected were Arthur Sissis, Mathew Scholtz, Xavier Figueras and Alejandro Pardo and they all worked very hard,
with Academy staff such as Raúl Jara and Alex Batlle helping them along the way.
The young riders took part in Supermotard and Motocross sessions to help improve their riding skillsn the riders also worked
on their fitness in circuit training, cycling sessions, running and gym sessions. The idea behind the project is to make the
riders aware of the kind of preparation work required by regular World Championship riders.
Following the visit 14 year-old Rookie Sissis said, “It was really interesting and we learned so much, but I have
to admit I was very tired afterwards!” Meanwhile, his colleague Pardo commented, “I train in the gym almost every
day and I go mountain biking, and I thought I was training correctly, but now I know that I need to work even harder. I had
never done motocross before and I can see how it’s a really important extra exercise.”
Monday, June 22, 2009
Yamaha R1 Rossi Replica To celebrate the wonderful season thus far for the Yamaha racing team, Manufacturers Yamaha has just released a much sought
after sticker kit for the new Yamaha R1 which will now transform your pride and joy into a full Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha
race replica, looks wise anyway.
The Team Replica body kit now features a fully prepared and easy to use and
ready to fit and includes full fairing, tank, seat-unit and front/rear mudguards with an additional sticker kit included for
the swing-arm, with all these stickers you cant help but feel like Rossi himself. The sticker kit itself looks fantastic
and is available from Yamaha dealers.Note the sticker kit is just that a sticker kit and not the actual bike or a paint job
which are also viable options for Rossi fans. Regardless of your views on sticker kits, Yamaha are once again
providing customers with options to personalise your motorcycle. To find out more click here
Friday, June 19, 2009
Street Bike Stunt Demo
12:32 pm
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Valentino Rossi vs Jorge Lorenzo Since the conclusion of this epic race
the riders and fans have been trying to relive Sunday’s incredible duel between Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo at
Catalunya with a series of one-off videos available, the latest three of those showing more superb, exclusive angles of the
conclusion of the race.
In the "Rossi vs Lorenzo: Bird's Eye”,
aerial footage from the helicopter over the track allows the fans to see the two Yamaha stars going head-to-head over the
concluding laps and shows just how Valentino Rossi finally achieved his stunning 0.095s victory with a remarkable last corner
move.
"Rossi vs Lorenzo: Re-live" features the last three laps
with commentary from Nick Harris and Gavin Emmett, whilst the latest release features "Rossi vs Lorenzo: Pure
Track" shows ‘clean’ track footage with no cuts away to box or aerial images of the race that really
did live up to the hype and will go down as one of the greatest of all time.
To find out more click here
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Yamaha finish on top at Catalunya Grand Prix Watching on in what can only be described as an epic race with and ending that dreams are made
of, Fiat Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo completed a remarkable 1-2 finish at the sixth round of the 2009
MotoGP series in Catalunya, Spain.
taking third place on the podium was a noticeably exhausted Australian in Casey
Stoner, the pair fought throughout the duration of the race with Valentino Rossi securing his win on the very last corner
of the 25 lap race. The win marks Valentino Rossi’s 99th GP victory in his illustrious career, and one in which he won
by less than one-tenth of a second from team mate and home town favourite Jorge Lorenzo.
After the race an excited Valentino Rossi had this to say “In Italian you would just say about that race, ‘Mama
Mia!’. This battle with Lorenzo was very, very close,” added an excited Rossi. “Our two bikes are set-up
very well and we had the same pace so I knew we would get to the end of the race like that so it was fantastic. It was a great
race and we know that Lorenzo is very strong, so to try and beat him in the future we have to be at 100 per cent. I’m
so happy about today and my 99th GP win. It was so important to take this victory here in Barcelona, more than just the 25
points, because for me, for my team and for the crowd it is just fantastic, so I think the show was unbelievable.”
With the Yamaha riders tied in first position in a three-way fight with Australian Casey Stoner, thoughts
were already turning to the next race of this outstanding and close 2009 title contest at the Dutch TT in Assen.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Australian Road Rider website After a wait finally it has arrived direct from the
publishers of the famous and well respected Road Rider and Road Rider’s Cruiser & Trike have just launched roadrider.com.au,
The website is for the entire motorcycle community not just one specific group.
The road rider website will have information for motorcyclists on,
• Blogs for people who just can’t get enough of The Bear’s adventures
and keep wanting more.
•
Motorcycle news from around the world.
•Various bike stories, travel, gear and other reports
for enthusiasts to read
Peter Thoeming the editor said “Road Rider readers are used to getting quality information about
motorcycles, travel and gear from our magazines, but the website allows us to venture into news,” he also added
“The news plus the interactive features are genuine points of difference in the market.”
So..Why a website?
“Put simply, there are mag people and there are web people,” said Associate Publisher Janice Williams. “The
website gives us an opportunity to make sure we are reaching people who are in the web habit, plus also offer a better service
to those who are mag people but are currently going elsewhere for news.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Honda Goldwing Airbag demo Official demo of Honda
Goldwing Airbag.
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya racing numbers Here are some key number to note for the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya this weekend. The number
60 – The day of qualifying at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya will be the 60th anniversary of the very
first race that counted towards the World Championship classification, this was the 350cc race at the Isle of Man TT event
in 1949. This race was won by British rider Freddie Frith riding a Velocette. Frith then continued on to win all five Grand
Prix races in the 350cc class in 1949 to take the world title and then retired from racing.
The
number 20 – After his 4th place result at the Mugello circuit, Andrea Dovizioso has now scored points
in 20 consecutive races.
The number 17 – Race day at the Gran Premi Cinzano
de Catalunya will represent 17 years to the day of the German Grand Prix in 1992 when the first three riders home in the 250cc
race were Pier Francesco Chili, Max Biaggi and Loris Reggiani, note that all three riders were on Aprilia machinery. This
was the first all Aprilia podium in Grand Prix racing.
The number 16 – There has been
16 MotoGP races gone by since the last win by a Honda rider, Spain very own Dani Pedrosa at the Catalan GP last year. This
streak is the longest of it's kind for a sequence of races in the premier class without a Honda win since they rejoined
Grand Prix racing in 1982.
The number 7 – Note that Aprilia riders have won the last
seven 125cc Grand Prix races. This amazing streak now equals the longest ever sequence of successive 125cc GP victories by
Aprilia, a result they achieved in 2007.
The number 5 – In the first five
races of the year in the 250cc class, a different rider has collected the spoils each time(Barbera, Bautista, Aoyama, Simoncelli
and Pasini) the last time this happened was in 1988 (Mang, Filice, Pons, Garriga and Dominique Sarron).
3.274 seconds – this is the time covering the first five riders across the line at the end
of the MotoGP race in Mugello, this result made it the 8th closest top five of all-time in a full length premier-class
Grand Prix.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Bridgestone set to introduce asymmetric rear tyres The Catalunya track has eight right-hand corners, most of which are long and fast, and only five left-handers, most of which
are much slower, this is the exact reason why the Catalunyan Grand Prix provides such a special challenge for the MotoGP riders
at round six of the Championship, but MotoGP’s sole tyre suppliers Bridgestone are on hand to provide a suitable solution
for the riders.
The right shoulders of the tyres experience far greater cornering forces at Barcelona than
at other venues, this means that the tyre must be able to cope with higher temperatures. At the same time, the left shoulders
must be able to perform at a lower temperature range as they are much less stressed, this is the reason why Bridgestone plan
to provide asymmetric slick rear tyres for this weekends Catalunyan Grand Prix.
Also worth noting is that
with the nature of the circuit and the high track temperatures expected for this time of year at Montmeló,
there is a need for harder rear slick.
Bridgestone will thus need to bring hard compound and extra
hard compound rear slicks, though in both rear options the left shoulder of the tyre will now be featuring a soft compound.
These asymmetric rears are designed by Bridgestone to provide a consistent level of grip throughout the lap.
Tohru Ubukata who is Bridgestone’s Motorcycle Race Tyre Development Manager said, “The Catalunya circuit is
a technical track with long right-hand corners which increase the temperature on that shoulder of the tyres. The surface is
smooth and the stress placed on the tyres’ outer shoulders necessitates hard compounds, especially for the rear. We
will bring asymmetric rear tyres for the first time this season as having dual compounds to suit the right and left hand corners
is essential for good feeling and performance at this circuit.”
Mr Ubukata then added “Because
the left shoulders are not used as much the temperature in them is cooler than in the right shoulders, but the soft compound
on the left side allows the tyres to give optimal grip and rider feeling in these conditions.”
The
recently revised 2009 tyre regulations will be in effect from the end of this weekend in Barcelona, this ruling means that
every rider will need to inform Bridgestone of how many of each compound of front slick tyre they wish to use at the next
race in Assen.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Dainese Airbag Suit The Dainese airbag suits,
need we say more.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
British track Donington Park granted FIM Licence The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme also known as the FIM has just renewed its FIM Grade A License
for the British track at Donington Park, the FIM has now confirmed that Donington Park is fully compliant to host this year’s
British Grand Prix in July, for the final time before MotoGP moves to Silverstone in 2010.
The licence was issued
after a thorough inspection of the circuit was completed by FIM circuit inspector Claude Danis on Friday. Mr Danis then confirmed
that all the works in the homologation requirements had been satisfactorily carried out, this includes the recent alterations
to re-instate the huge run-off areas on the outside of the circuit between McLeans and Coppice corners, although due to the
circuit contractors extending the new infield tunnel in the last two weeks.
The British Grand Prix is a show
case event and takes place on 24-26 July and once again James Toseland, who in recent times has failed to shine in England
suffering a disappointing home GP at the Leicestershire parkland circuit last year, Toseland will again be cheered on by thousands
of English fans, as his nation’s only representative in the premier class of MotoGP.
In the smaller
capacity 125cc class the current series leader Bradley Smith will again be battling it out with another talented
young British rider in Danny Webb and last year’s race winner Scott Redding for a home victory.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Ducati Streetfighter tested Whilst the standard Ducati Streetfighter model shares the same basic engine and chassis as the S, it is however 2kg heavier
and does without the traction control system and lightweight wheels, Also to be noted it comes with Showa suspension instead
of Ohlins suspension. Take a glance and the easiest way to tell the difference between the two motorcycles is
that the S has a bronze frame and wheels, whilst the standard Ducati Streetfighter motorcycle has a black frame and grey wheels.
Both Ducati Streetfighters come in the traditional Ducati red, but you can also get the standard version in a white version.
Once on the road it is difficult to find the difference.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Jorge Lorenzo is maturing but still has more to learn  Spain's Jorge Lorenzo will get a second chance to undertake a MotoGP race next weekend in Montmeló, after missing
out on the 2008 Sunday proceedings after he crashed in a practice session.The Spaniard is still in high spirits going back
to his home race, although he is proving to be wary of the necessary improvements that are required for him in order
to continue his 2009 MotoGP title challenge.
Jorge Lorenzo who rides
for Fiat Yamaha has been on the podium in every race this season so far except for one where he crashed out chasing Australian
Casey Stoner, Lorenzo now has the added motivation of making up for a crash he had at his last home round at Jerez. Since
the Jerez incident, Jorge Lorenzo has managed to keep up his points tally with a victory and a second place finish in recent
races.
“We are more confident in the bike right
now, and we have also had some luck,” Lorenzo said modestly at the official presentation of the Gran Premi
Cinzano de Catalunya. “Apart from Jerez, we’ve had no real setback this year.”
Now with the assistance of a flat screen television monitor in the background showing the young
Spaniard planting the the trademark ‘Lorenzo Land’ flag in the Le Mans gravel, the 22 year old revealed
that he now psychologically feels like he is in a better state of mind than where he was in his rookie year.
“I can say that I am more mature right now, but that’s not to say that I am immune to making mistakes. At Le Mans
I assumed the wrong grid spot and could have been disqualified, but I picked up 25 points. At Mugello I could have had zero
points after crashing on the sighting lap, but I ended the day with 20.” Jorge Lorenzo added. To read more click here
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Harley-Davidson and Vanity Fair Harley-Davidson and Vanity
Fair supporting women riders
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Valentino Rossi pleased to return to the podium Having never had great success before in flag-to-flag races and having crashed at Le Mans just after swapping bikes in
the French wet-dry contest, Valentino Rossi was pleased with his relatively smooth showing at the Gran Premio d’Italia
Alice on Sunday.
Valentino Rossi didn't win and keep his incredible seven race winning run in front of
his adoring Italian public going, it had to and end eventually and Rossi was simply content to be on the podium alongside
race winner Casey Stoner and his fellow Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo, as the 2009 season continues to heat up the three
continue to jostle for supremacy in the 2009 title race. The Doctor explained how his race had panned out at Mugello,
“I have never been able to take a podium in one of these types of races before so it is the first time I have done it
when we have had to change the bike. It was a good race for me especially as we found a good wet setting in just 20 minutes
of warm up and I was strong in the first part.” “I made a good decision on when to come in and change
this time but unfortunately we decided to go with the harder front tyre for the second part of the race and that was a disadvantage
for me, especially at the beginning. I was slow in the first two laps on slicks and I was thinking about the Le Mans crash.
The front choice wasn’t right and even though I found a good pace it wasn’t enough to win.” Valentino Rossi
added. Valentino Rossi also commented about avoiding allowing himself to be disappointed at the end of a sensational
period of home dominance, “After seven victories in a row here it was just important to get on the podium for all the
fans. The podium here in Mugello is always a great party and a great emotion even if we are not on the top step. The championship
is very close, with the three of us separated by less than ten points, but it will be a long fight and we will try again in
Barcelona next time out.” the reigning World Champion added. To read more click here
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