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Legend of the Motorcycle
ENTRY DEADLINE NEARS; FEATURED MARQUES ANNOUNCED
San Francisco, 2 October 2007 – Entries are actively being sought for next year’s Legend of the Motorcycle: International Concours d’Elegance.
The selection committee is searching for exemplary restored and original condition motorcycles of any make and model up to 1977, and owners are encouraged to submit their bikes for consideration.
The featured marques of the third annual invitational will be MV Agusta and Norton and, as with previous years, history is expected to be made with a world-class line-up.
The entry deadline is December 31st. There is no submission fee and ALL motorcycle makes and models, from any era, whether production, competition or custom, will be considered.
The prestigious international event, involving expert judges, racing legends, manufacturer executives and designers, custom builders, collectors, and enthusiasts from around the world, takes place the first weekend of May in Half Moon Bay, California, just south of San Francisco.
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FastDates.com October 2007 Superbike, MotoGP Racing & Calendar Girl News Official Calendar of the SBK World Superbike Championship
Home of the official SBK Fast Dates Calendar Kittens
Page 2 - Casey Stoner's MotoGP Homecoming at
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Stoner is not looking back after having clinched the 2007 MotoGP World Championship two weeks ago as he continues to dominate on the Ducati Desmsedici.
MotoGP World Championship, Maylasia, Round 17 of 18
European Manufacturers Continue to Steamroller the Might Japanaes in MotoGP and 250 GP
Casey Stoner's Perfect Ducati 10 of the Season at Sepang Lorenzo Clinches the 250cc GP Championship on Aprilia
Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang , October19-21st - Ducati Marlboro Team rider Casey Stoner scorched to his tenth victory of the year in faultless style at Sepang today, leading every one of the 21 laps and setting the new record on lap 15. His team-mate Loris Capirossi came home in 11th place.
Stoner got the holeshot from the front row of the grid and masterfully controlled the entire race, holding a slender lead over his pursuers Marco Melandri and Dani Pedrosa until he upped the pace and stretched his advantage. At one point he led by two seconds, finally crossing the line 1.7 seconds ahead. It was another remarkable performance from the World Champion who showed his mettle in sweltering hot and humid conditions.
Stoner's tenth success aboard his Desmosedici GP7 came one week after his home win in Australia which added the constructors' and teams' titles to the riders' title he secured in Japan last month. The Australian is also the only man to have scored in all 17 races so far.
Is this a cute couple or what? Newlyweds Andrea and Casey Stoner.
Sepang Preview
MotoGP takes in two continents in as many weeks as the 2007 season draws to a close, moving from Australasia to Asia for the Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix on October 21st. The penultimate round of the year, which takes place at the Sepang Circuit close to Kuala Lumpur, sees the riders and teams preparing for a final push for pride, points and positions in the MotoGP World Championship.
With the individual, team and constructors title already in the bag for Casey Stoner and Ducati, the main interest in the MotoGP class lies in whether the Australian can add to his win tally, and to whom will take second place in the premier class. Valentino Rossi currently holds a 29 point advantage over Dani Pedrosa with 50 still up for grabs, heading to a track where both riders were on the podium last season.
The most recent Malaysian Grand Prix was also won by Yamaha, with Valentino Rossi taking his fourth premier-class win at Sepang following a stunning battle with Loris Capirossi last season. Rossi is keen to repeat that performance this weekend as he aims to become the first MotoGP rider ever to score 100 career podiums in the class - his third place finish at Phillip Island last Sunday having taken his tally to an unsurpassed 99. Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards is also targeting a return to the podium after a dry spell of eight races since his last top-three finish at Donington Park.
Sepang is one of the widest tracks on the calendar, measuring 16 metres across in some areas, and high track temperatures are always a factor in the tropical climate. With four major hairpins, and some fast and frequent changes of direction in its 5,542m layout, Sepang provides a stern workout for the entire bike set-up and its largely consistent, if demanding, climate makes it the ideal winter testing venue. However, after being completely resurfaced since preseason testing back in February, the teams will have to wait until first free practice on Friday morning to see how useful previous data will be for set-up this weekend.
Dani suits up to go out and win Pole for the 3rd race in a row on Bridgestones, but how will they do in the race?.
Saturday Qualifying; Pedrosa on his 3rd Pole in a Row Saturday October 19th - Repsol Honda 's Dani Pedros cliched pole for the third successful MotoGP in a row today in the closing stages of Qualifying at Sepang for the Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix..The rain stayed away today and during this morning’s session, with temperatures in the low 30s and conditions of the newly improved track becoming increasingly more consistent as more rubber was laid down, times improved all round.
On the dry track there were several riders in contention for the top spot and the provisional pole changed hands several times, but yltimately it was the 22-year old former 125cc and 250cc World Champion who put his Michelin shod RC212V at the front of the grid - in front of four Bridgestone riders in the top five - which in itself presented perplexing evidence to the decision to be made this weekend, wether MotoGP should go to a spec tire class to even the claimed inbalance between the teams and their tire sponsors.
After lapping ninth quickest in morning practice, Pedrosa upped his game in the afternnon with a time of 2'02.877 to beat the second fastest participan by 0.041s, Ducati's recenly crown 2007 World Champion casey Stoner. Marco Melandri, who will be Stoner's new team mate next year on Ducati, finished out the 1st Row with 2'01.944s on the Gresin Honda. The 2nd Row saw Kawasaki's Randy dePuniet, quickest in Friday practice, and team mate Anthony West take 4th and 5th quickest times respectively in front of the other top factory teams of Yamaha and Suzuki.
Dani Pedrosa took Pole on Michelin tires, ahead of 4 Bridgerstone bikes.
Dani Pedroa, on Pole - “It’s great to have three pole positions in a row and it gives us a good chance for the start tomorrow, but of course the only important thing is the race result because there are no points for pole position. The qualifying laps went quite well and I improved by 0.8s on my second fast lap which was just enough to take pole position This afternoon the conditions were quite different to those we had yesterday and this morning – it was much hotter which made the surface a little bit more slippery. We’ve been testing more tyre options today and we still have to decide which ones we’ll race with.”
CASEY STONER, 2nd fastest, 2m 01.877s - "Race setting-wise everything's looking quite good again, we've concentrated on all the things we normally do and we've come up with a good package for the race. Unfortunately for the second weekend on the trot we've lucked out on qualifying. At Phillip Island we got held up by another rider, this weekend the bumps were so bad in places that the electronics system didn't work as well as usual with the qualifying tyre, which lost us some time. I'm a little bit disappointed we didn't get pole position but we're second on the grid and on the front row, so we'll try to get a good start and we'll see what happens. The new surface here has definitely got a lot better since yesterday. The bumps are still there but for sure the grip has improved a lot and will probably improve again tomorrow. Everything's going well for doing race distance on the tyres - it doesn't really matter which tyre we choose, we're going to be able to last the race."
Marco Melandi was 3rd quickest on the Gresini Hannspree Honda
Fiat Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards both made some positive steps forward and finished the morning session in seventh and thirteenth, confident of more improvements in the afternoon Final Qualifying afternoon.
The team worked hard throughout the day to rectify the lack of grip from which both riders have been suffering, but they were unable to find a competitive package and the pair now face a daunting task for tomorrow’s 21-lap race when they start from ninth and thirteenth positions.
However this was not to be and a lack of grip on race tyres this afternoon kept the pair down in the lower orders, before they made their qualifying challenges in the last 15 minutes. Fiat Yamaha Rossi briefly held second after his first qualifying lap but several riders went faster and a small mistake with his second tyre meant he was unable to improve again. Ninth place puts him on the outside of the third row, whilst Edwards will start from the head of the fifth row after failing to find a comfortable rhythm with either of his qualifying tyres.
Valentino Rossi: 9th Time: 2'02.466 Laps: 22 - “This morning things were feeling better for us and we were a little bit more confident. Unfortunately this afternoon, with the higher temperatures, our tyres didn’t work in the same way and we were much slower and sliding quite a lot. With the qualifying tyre I was quite confident and they worked quite well, as they have all season, and I thought there was a chance for the front row. With the second one I thought we could improve again but I had a slide in the third section and lost some time, and so now we are on the third row. I am quite disappointed because our race pace is not good at the moment and we needed to be on the front row to give us the best chance possible for tomorrow. It will be difficult to use the warm-up to our advantage because the conditions are different to those we will probably have during the race, but anyway we will do what we can and try to make the best from the situation.”
Qualifying Times
FRONT ROW
1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 2'01.877
2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 2'01.918
3. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda Gresini 2'01.944
SECOND ROW
4. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team 2'02.107
5. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki 2'02.202
6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team 2'02.225
THIRD ROW
7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2'02.301
8. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda Gresini 2'02.432
9. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team
2'02.466
FOURTH ROW
10. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2'02.697
11. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 2'02.708
12. Alex Barros (BRA) Pramac d'Antin 2'03.022
FIFTH ROW
13. Colin Edwards (USA) Fiat Yamaha Team 2'03.040
14. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda 2'03.233
15. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 2'03.408
SIXTH ROW
16. Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda LCR 2'03.525
17. Chaz Davies (GBR) Pramac D'Antin 2'04.197
18. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 2'04.314
SEVENTH ROW
19. N Aoki (JPN) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2'04.604
20. Kurtis Roberts (USA) Team Roberts 2'05.404
Casey Stoner (27) leads the Sepang Bullet Train from the station ahead of Pedrosa (26), dePuniet (140 and Melandri (33).
Stoner Dominates from Start to Finish over Melandri and Pedrosa Sunday Race, October 21st - Ducati Marlboro Team rider Casey Stoner scorched to his tenth victory of the year in faultless style at Sepang today, leading every one of the 21 laps and setting the new record on lap 15. In searing heat under tropical sun Casey Stoner was hounded all the way by Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) who finished a brave second with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) third.
These 21-laps of this 5.548km Sepang track were extremely hard work for riders and despite the tough conditions no one fell, although Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) had to take to the run-off when he overcooked his entry to the final turn on lap 12.
Stoner made a rapid getaway from the lights and led Dani into turn one, these two closely followed by Marco Melandri and Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki). Both Stoner and Pedrosa made errors at the final turn on the opening lap, but the pair stayed on and stayed at the head of the pack.
As the field settled down, the top four were covered by just one second by lap seven and this looked as if it might be a very tight race – so it proved to be, Melandri making strenuous efforts to get on terms with Dani as he kept the pressure on Stoner. Stoner was doing everything he could to shed his pursuers and on lap nine he recorded an early fastest lap of the race with a 2m 02.309s effort. Rossi was holding fifth but he was 3.2 seconds adrift of the leading four-rider group.
As mid-race distance drew close Stoner had carved out a 1.5 second lead as Melandri successfully challenged Dani for second. Nicky meanwhile had survived his off-track moment but had dropped from seventh to tenth place. Stoner kept a rapid pace at the front recording another fastest lap of the race at 2m 02.108s as De Puniet closed on Pedrosa for third place. The Aussie Ducati man confessed to making a few errors in this race but he never let his lead slip to more than a second, and his 1.7 second margin at the flag was comfortable enough.
Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V) finished in sixth place but he was more than 17 seconds off the winner’s pace, while Nicky brought his RC212V home in ninth spot. Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V) was 14th, Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) 16th and Kurtis Roberts (Roberts KR212V) 20th.
Stoner got the holeshot from the front row of the grid and masterfully controlled the entire race, holding a slender lead over his pursuers Marco Melandri and Dani Pedrosa until he upped the pace and stretched his advantage. At one point he led by two seconds, finally crossing the line 1.7 seconds ahead. It was another remarkable performance from the World Champion who showed his mettle in sweltering hot and humid conditions.
Stoner's tenth success aboard his Desmosedici GP7 came one week after his home win in Australia which added the constructors' and teams' titles to the riders' title he secured in Japan last month. The Australian is also the only man to have scored in all 17 races so far. Stoner's tea mate Loris Capirossi started from the fourth row of the grid and knew the race was going to be a tough challenge. He spent the closing stages battling with Alex Barros, just beating the Brazilian.
CASEY STONER, race winner, World Champion on 347 points - "The bike, the tyres and everything were performing really well but it was a very, very difficult race. The biggest battle I had was being out front by myself and not having anyone to focus on. I've been fine with it all year but this track seems to take it out of you a little bit more. Sometime after half-distance I had a couple of front-end loses, so I had to change my style a little bit, the way I was going into corners, to make sure I didn't lose the front any more. That took up a lot more of my energy and concentration, so it was quite hard to keep it up at the end. The reason the gap was going up and down so much was because I was trying to get a break for one lap, just to recover a little bit.
Unfortunately I'd let them catch too much, so then I'd have to really concentrate for another lap which would take more of my energy away, so I think I'm very lucky and very happy to come out on top. Marco and Dani were fast right to the end, they were putting a lot of pressure on me and they never let me go. After I crossed the line I started to feel a bit dizzy, so it was definitely a hard race."
Melandi will join Casey Stoner at Ducati next year, giving the Bologna Mafia the top 2-rider team in 2008.
Marco said: “We had a very good warm-up this morning and I was very confident for the race. I was strong in the twisty part of the track but Dani had incredible acceleration – better than the Ducati. I tried to pass him as quick as possible to try and pass Casey (Stoner) and I made a mistake and lost a second. But I pushed to catch him and was at one second with six laps to go. But I couldn’t do it so with two to go I concentrated on preserving my position. We had a very good bike and tyre package today.”
Dani said: “I pushed very hard at the beginning because from what we’d seen in practice I was expecting the grip level from the tyres to fall away towards the end of the race. My plan was to make a gap if possible and handle the grip situation as well as I could. For the first laps I was quite consistent behind Casey but when I started to brake later with a full tank of fuel I was losing the front-end, so I dropped back a little and that’s when Marco passed me. At that stage I was trying to maintain my rhythm and, as the race went on and the fuel load came down, I began to get a better feeling at the front of the machine under braking. I was really surprised about the high pace in the final part of the race because we didn’t expect to maintain these lap times based on what we’d seen in practice.”
Elias said: “I’m happy with this result. Everything was working well in the warm-up and things improved even further with the higher temperatures in the afternoon. I had some good battles out there as I came through the pack. Once the tyres went off, I just focused on hanging on for a result. Compared to Phillip Island, we've made a big step forward here and I'm now looking forward to the last race at Valencia, in Spain, in front of my fans.”
Nicky said: “The team did a really good job this weekend and the bike was working very well in the race. Unfortunately I didn’t get a great start and on the first lap or two I got boxed in everywhere and I always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. That cost me a lot of positions but once things settled down I started moving forward and was going well. Then, passing Elias at the end of the back straight, I got in too hot and it was a silly mistake which I’m not happy about. I was in the draft and just got into the corner a little too fast. After that I got back on the track, put my head down and I’m actually proud of the way we recovered.”
Race Classification MotoGP: (21 laps = 116.508 km)
Pos/ Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time/ KM/H / Gap
1 / Casey STONER / AUS / Ducati Marlboro Team / DUCATI / 43'04.405 / 162.292 /
2 / Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Honda Gresini / HONDA / 43'06.106 / 162.185 / 1.701
3 / Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 43'06.731 / 162.146 / 2.326
4 / Randy DE PUNIET / FRA / Kawasaki Racing Team / KAWASAKI / 43'08.170 / 162.056 / 3.765
5 / Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Fiat Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 43'09.178 / 161.993 / 4.773
6 / Toni ELIAS / SPA / Honda Gresini / HONDA / 43'22.072 / 161.190 / 17.667
7 / Chris VERMEULEN / AUS / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 43'25.355 / 160.987 / 20.950
8 / John HOPKINS / USA / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 43'26.603 / 160.910 / 22.198
9 / Nicky HAYDEN / USA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 43'26.855 / 160.894 / 22.450
10 / Colin EDWARDS / USA / Fiat Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 43'34.151 / 160.445 / 29.746
11 / Loris CAPIROSSI / ITA / Ducati Marlboro Team / DUCATI / 43'39.328 / 160.128 / 34.923
12 / Alex BARROS / BRA / Pramac d'Antin / DUCATI / 43'40.072 / 160.082 / 35.667
13 / Nobuatsu AOKI / JPN / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 43'48.518 / 159.568 / 44.113
14 / Carlos CHECA / SPA / Honda LCR / HONDA / 43'48.891 / 159.545 / 44.486
15 / Anthony WEST / AUS / Kawasaki Racing Team / KAWASAKI / 43'54.063 / 159.232 / 49.658
Pole Position: Dani PEDROSA 2'01.877 163.876 Km/h
Fastest Lap (New record): Casey STONER 2'02.108 163.566 Km/h Lap 15
Circuit Record Lap: Loris CAPIROSSI 2'02.127 163.541 Km/h 2006
Circuit Best Lap: Valentino ROSSI 2'00.605 165.605 Km/h 2006
Jorge Lorenzo kicks off his victory celebrationon the podium for this year's 250cc Championship.
Aoyama Wins on KTM, Lorenzo Takes 250 Championship on Aprilia
Hiro Aoyama (KTM) won a thrillingly hard-fought 250cc race by 2.251 seconds from Hector Barbera, with Jorge Lorenzo (both Aprilia) finishing third and doing enough to clinch his second successive World Championship in the class.
His only possible rival to the crown was the dogged Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Honda RS250RW) who could only manage 11th place here after leading and then becoming the victim of a Mika Kallio (KTM) mistake. Julian Simon (Repsol Honda RS250RW), however, was sixth, and Dovi’s team-mate Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda RS250RW) ninth.
The Thai rider Ratthapark Wilairot (Stop And Go Racing Honda RS250RW) finished 16th at what amounts to his ‘home’ race. Lorenzo now has 303 points and Dovi on 247 cannot catch him with just one race remaining in Valencia next month.
Dovi said: “I’m really sorry because even if I knew that Lorenzo was going to win the World Championship, today I wanted the victory so I’m more disappointed for the race rather than for the title. Things happen in a race but the fact that it was today and on this circuit really hurts a lot. We have been unlucky as it happened at other times this year and we have to accept it even if it isn’t easy.”
Race Classification 250cc: (25 laps = 111.2 km)
Pos / Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time / KM/H / Gap
1 / Hiroshi AOYAMA / JPN / Red Bull KTM 250 / KTM / 43'09.316 / 154.270 /
2 / Hector BARBERA / SPA / Team Toth Aprilia / APRILIA / 43'11.567 / 154.136 / 2.251
3 / Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Fortuna Aprilia / APRILIA / 43'12.273 / 154.094 / 2.957
4 / Mika KALLIO / FIN / Red Bull KTM 250 / KTM / 43'12.281 / 154.094 / 2.965
5 / Thomas LUTHI / SWI / Emmi - Caffe Latte Aprilia / APRILIA / 43'16.621 / 153.836 / 7.305
6 / Julian SIMON / SPA / Repsol Honda 250cc / HONDA / 43'18.063 / 153.751 / 8.747
7 / Roberto LOCATELLI / ITA / Metis Gilera / GILERA / 43'25.421 / 153.317 / 16.105
8 / Marco SIMONCELLI / ITA / Metis Gilera / GILERA / 43'35.417 / 152.731 / 26.101
9 / Yuki TAKAHASHI / JPN / Kopron Team Scot / HONDA / 43'37.348 / 152.618 / 28.032
10 / Aleix ESPARGARO / SPA / Blusens Aprilia Germany / APRILIA / 43'44.070 / 152.227 / 34.754
11 / Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Kopron Team Scot / HONDA / 43'45.204 / 152.161 / 35.888
12 / Karel ABRAHAM / CZE / Cardion AB Motoracing / APRILIA / 43'51.830 / 151.778 / 42.514
13 / Shuhei AOYAMA / JPN / Repsol Honda 250cc / HONDA / 43'57.336 / 151.461 / 48.020
14 / Alex BALDOLINI / ITA / Kiefer - Bos - Sotin Racing / APRILIA / 43'57.374 / 151.459 / 48.058
15 / Dirk HEIDOLF / GER / Kiefer - Bos - Sotin Racing / APRILIA / 43'58.506 / 151.394 / 49.190
Pole Position: Hiroshi AOYAMA 2'07.429 156.736 Km/h
Fastest Lap: Hiroshi AOYAMA 2'08.266 155.713 Km/h Lap 20
Circuit Record Lap: Dani PEDROSA 2'08.015 156.019 Km/h 2004
Circuit Best Lap: Sebastian PORTO 2'06.940 157.340 Km/h 2004
World Championship Positions:
1 LORENZO 303 (World Champion), 2 DOVIZIOSO 247, 3 DE ANGELIS 215, 4 BAUTISTA 181,
5 BARBERA 166, 6 AOYAMA 154, 7 KALLIO 132, 8 LUTHI 126, 9 SIMON 113,
10 SIMONCELLI 92, 11 AOYAMA 90, 12 TAKAHASHI 82, 13 LOCATELLI 56, 14 LAI 49,
15 ESPARGARO 43
The Ultimate Naked Riding Experience Ducati Hypermotard R We build the sport's most fun bike
No other motorcycle (other than argueably the Ducati Desmosedici RR MotoGP street bike) has been waited on for so long, with so much anticipation, than the newly released 2008 model Ducati 1080 Hypermotard. Ducati has a way of teasing us years in advance by giving us a preview of their latest prototype concept at bike shows and in the media, and then making us wait 3 years as they guage opinion, decide, design and tool up for production.
The Complete Story with sexy Tiffany Toth Screensavers in New Bikes HERE.
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Click Above to Vote for our Favorite Pop Country Singer Taylor Swift for the America Music Awards!
And click at left to order her first album which is now Platinum and Number One on the Country Music Charts.
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Tear Drops on my Guitar - Music Video
HP2 Sport is the latest edition to the HP2 range of high performance motorbikes from BMW. Their future Superbike may look similar to this, but will still need an all-new watercooled engine to make the maximum power need to be competitive in WSB. Cornering clearance could be a major issue for the Boxer, so we would expect thier future Superbike to be based on their in-line four MotoGP project bike.
BMW to race WSBKs from '09, targets sportsbike sales
BMW unveiled the latest addition to its HP2 line-up of high-performance models at the Mondial du Deux Roues, Paris. The BMW HP2 Sport, based on the company's R1200 S, is the third bike in the HP2 range, and is claimed to be the most powerful and lightest 'Boxer' series on the road yet.
Alongside the launch of the new model, BMW further strengthened its commitment to move into sportsbike sales with the announcement of plans to enter the 2009 World Superbike Championship. Peter Müller, Vice President Development and Model Lines BMW Motorrad, said: "In 2007 BMW returned to road racing after a gap of more than 50 years with the sports Boxer. In 2008 we will continue our activities in the Endurance categorys at the same time though we will be preparing our entry into the Superbike World Championship in 2009."
BMW's sporting intentions can clearly be seen in the specification of the HP2 Sport, which includes carbon fibre bodywork, a MotoGP style dash, Öhlins suspension and radial mount Brembo brake calipers.
The most striking difference on the BMW HP2 Sport is the new cylinder heads. Each of the double overhead camshafts (DOHC) uses a drag lever to actuate the valves that are larger than in the BMW R1200 S. Further modifications such as the flow-optimised intake and outlet, new forged pistons and adapted connecting rod help the engine to achieve the necessary higher output compared to the basic engine.
The new stainless steel exhaust system is placed below the engine for the first time. This keeps the construction of the lower area of the motorcycle extremely slim, enabling great freedom of movement for the familiar 'hanging off' riding.
Too Sexy for Her Shoes? Calendar Kitten Cora Skinner
Cora, who is featured in the 2007 and 2008 editions of the Iron & Lace and Garage Girls Calendars, is a 5'9' raven haired stunner with probably the most perfect body in the world - except for that damn tattoo. We're talking about that one on her right foot (click for a closeup) which reads, "Kick Him When He's Down." Talk about a ball breaker!
You can find out more about Cora in her Meet the Models profile, and see more of this and her other photo shoots in Members Corner.
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16-month Calendar starts Sept 2008 Fast Dates &
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One Chance to Win
Motocross Movie
Scripted by
by Jim Gianatsis Premier of "One Chance To WIn" on November 3rd at 6:00pm at the California Theatre in San Bernardino.
It took 30 years to get it released, but a feature length movie which I wrote over 30 years ago is finally being released and shown, and will soon be available on DVD.
"One Chance to Win" covers the final round of the 1975 AMA 500cc outdoor National Championship on the New Orleans levee river banks of the Mississippi River with a 5-way points battle right down to the final round for the Championship between Jimmy Weinert, Tony DiSefano Pierre Karsmakers, Marty Smith and Brad Lackey. The film will premier in a theatre in San Bernandino on the weekend of the Legends of Motocross Race Weekend out at Glen Helen Raceway, all the old motocross stars are expected to attend including Tony D and Bob Hannah. I hope you will join me and all the old motocross greats.
Premier of "One Chance To WIn" on November 3rd at 6:00pm at the California Theatre in San Bernardino. The doors will open at 6:00pm and the program begins at 7:00. We will show the original 77 minute film and then the 47 minute "Behind The Battle-The Making of One Chance To WIn". Many of the riders and mechanics who raced at that famous "Battle of New Orleans" in 1975 will be in attendance that night. There is a bar and concessions. More details and buy tickets at the theatre or online at: OneChanceToWin.com
Tech 3 Yamaha MotoGP Team Signs James Toselandand possibly Colin Edwards
Oct 1st - Tech 3 Yamaha would like to announce that it has secured the services of James Toseland for the 2008 season. The British rider will begin his MotoGP career with the Yamaha factory supported organisation next year.
Toseland – who is currently leading the Superbike World Championship by 43 points – has already proved his racing credentials. He was the youngest ever World Superbike Champion in 2004 and is aiming to secure the title once again this season.
“I am delighted to have secured a rider of James’ calibre and am looking forward to working with him,” says Team Principal Herve Poncharal. “Procuring James is a major coup for Tech 3 Yamaha and for the MotoGP championship in extending our reach into Northern Europe. It is an exciting time for us all and I am certain that he will be an integral part of the team’s future.”
Further details, including James’ team structure will be announced in due course. It is expected that Colin Edwards will be leaving the factory Fiat Yamaha team and will join Toseland at Tech 3. The official announcement can't be made until the end of the race season.
Loris Capirossi
Moves to Suzuki with Chris Vermeulen,
Marco Melandri to Ducati MotoGP team in 2008
Loris Capirossi's late season MotoGP comeback on the factory Ducati with his most recent Phillip Island runner-up spot behing team mate Casey Stoner was just a few races too late. Ducati would have liked to have kept their favorite Italian rider who has been with their GP team since the beginning, but Loris' lack luster performances in mid-pack earlier this season while Casey Stoner was scoring week after week wins, caused Ducati to start looking elsewhere during the summer for a fresh young rider like Stoner to replace the veteran Capirossi who's contrast is expiring the end of this season.
So during the Augut break Ducati signed another Italian, younger Marco Melandri fromthe Gresini Honda team. We know that Capirossi would have prefered to stay at Ducati, but he had no choice but to take the open seat at Team Suzuki for 2008 that had been vacated by John Hopkins. But the past two MotoGP race weekends at Motegi and Phillip Island with Capirossi scoring podium wins, and Melandi finishind down in 10th spot this weekend, you know that Ducati might be regretting their decision.
Yamaha MotoGP Team signs Jorge Lorenzo
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd announces that it has concluded a two-year agreement with 250cc World Champion Jorge Lorenzo. The 20-year-old Spaniard will make his MotoGP debut in 2008 aboard a YZR-M1, with direct Factory support.
Lorenzo, who won the 250 title in 2006, is currently leading the championship, after winning six out of the first ten races this season.
"Yamaha has been watching Jorge's career with interest for some time and we are delighted that he will be joining our MotoGP line-up from next season” - commented Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing. “We are sure that he will be a valuable asset for the future and we look forward to the commencement of his MotoGP career with Yamaha.”
The exact structure of Yamaha’s team and rider organization is still under consideration at the present time. Further details, including Lorenzo’s team structure, will be announced in due course.
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Rider Quotes from
Sepang MotoGP
Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 2nd - “We had a very good warm up this morning and I was very confident for the race. I made a stupid mistake on the warm up lap trying to adjust the valve on the water feed into my helmet, I pushed it too hard and broke it every time I braked the water came into my helmet. I was very nervous on the start line and didn’t make a good start but after a few laps I said to myself; ‘Concentrate’ I found a good rhythm but it was difficult to pass Dani (Pedrosa). I was strong in the twisty part of the track but Dani had incredible acceleration better than Ducati. I tried to pass him as quick as possible to try and pass Casey (Stoner) and I made a mistake and lost one second. But I pushed to catch him and was at one second with six laps to go. But I couldn’t do it so with two to go I concentrated on preserving my position. That got me fourth place in the championship. We had a very good package of bike and tyres today and I’m happy with this first podium at this track. When we came here I felt that this would not be a good track for us but this race proves that if you have a good bike and tyres you can go fast at every track. This is like a win for me. I’m happy and want to thank Fausto and the team for their great cooperation. The asphalt is very bumpy but it had good grip.”
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd - "I pushed very hard at the beginning because from what we'd seen in practice I was expecting the grip level from the tyres to fall away towards the end of the race. My plan was to make a gap if possible and handle the grip situation as well as I could. For the first laps I was quite consistent behind Casey but when I started to brake later with a full tank of fuel I was losing the front end, so I dropped back a little and that's when Marco passed me. At that stage I was trying to maintain my rhythm and, as the race went on and the fuel load came down, I began to get a better feeling at the front of the machine under braking. I was really surprised about the high pace in the final part of the race because we didn't expect to maintain these lap times based on what we'd seen in practice. So I must say thank you to Michelin because we were able to get on the podium today thanks to the consistency of the tyre performance. Now I'm looking forward to Valencia because it's a home race and I'd like to get good result for the fans. I hope we can take another step forward and get even closer to taking the win."
Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: 6th "I'm happy with this result. Everything was working well in the warm-up and improved even further with the higher temperatures in the afternoon. I had some good battles out there as I came through the pack Once the tyres went off, I just focused on hanging on for a top result. Compared to Phillip Island, we've made a big step forward here and I'm now looking forward to the last race at Valencia, in Spain, in front of my fans."
Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 9th - "The team did a really good job this weekend and the bike was working very well in the race. Unfortunately I didn't get a great start and on the first lap or two I got boxed in everywhere and I always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. That cost me a lot of positions but once things settled down I started moving forward and was going well. Then, passing Elias at the end of the back straight, I got in too hot and it was a silly mistake which I'm not happy about. I was in the draft and just got into the corner a little too fast. After that I got back on the track, put my head down and I'm actually proud of the way we recovered and started setting some really quick laps. First I caught Colin and lost a little time getting by him. Then I was able to catch Hopkins and Vermeulen on the last lap but we ran out of time to pass them. Still, I think I had the fastest lap of the race for a while which is encouraging considering how things were going earlier this weekend. Our speed and rhythm was way better than 9th place today and that's encouraging, but it was rider error that cost us a better result today. We've got one more chance to get the job done in Valencia in two weeks."
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Hard Fought 4th for Randy dePuniet and Kawasaki at Sepang
Randy de Puniet gave his team something to celebrate today when he rode to a spectacular fourth position in the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang. However, in an unfortunate turn of events, Anthony West made an error on the starting grid that cost him a potential MotoGP career-best result.
Frenchman de Puniet shot off from fourth on the line as the race began, showing brilliant progress in an area which has vexed him in the past, and clinched third place from Marco Melandri in turn one. A leading group of Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa, de Puniet and Melandri quickly formed, with the Kawasaki number 14 pilot maintaining third until the Italian overtook him on lap five. But he never let up throughout the race and, whilst riding his 800cc Ninja ZX-RR to the maximum, held his position, eventually landing himself 13 championship points and taking 11th position in the current standings.
A delighted de Puniet came home to an uproarious reception from his crew after a weekend which has seen him relentlessly topping the timesheets and consistently displaying both talent and courage on the 4.55km circuit. Bike, rider and Bridgestones shone for the entire, 21-lap race.
Fortune did not smile, however, on Anthony West. Upon lining up for the start, the 26-year-old Australian placed himself on a 250cc grid position, marked on the track adjacent to the MotoGP spot. This was officially flagged as a jump start and he was given a ride-through penalty, which he fulfilled at the end of lap five, surrendering a very-promising fifth place in the process.
It was a heartbreaking turn of events for West, after he had clocked spectacular times throughout the weekend and qualified in a personal best fifth position on the grid. He re-joined the race in 20th place but, in typical West fashion, other riders were overtaken and he finally finished 15th, miraculously maintaining his run of scoring points at every round since he began racing in MotoGP in June.
The team now leave Malaysia and head back for Europe, where the final round of the MotoGP World Championship will take place at Valencia in two weeks' time.
Randy dePuniet #14 - 4th position - "I’m very happy, it was a good race. For the first time in 17 rounds, I managed a good start and then I took Melandri by the first corner, holding third for a few laps. After that he passed me and I tried to stay with the leading group. I did make some small mistakes during the race but the gap between me and the others didn't change and towards the end I got within less than a second of Pedrosa. But then I had a few problems with stability under braking and decided to hold my place rather than push too hard and take any risks. The bike worked very well today and I'm so happy with this result."
