Crashed Ducatis in the pit lane at Phillip Island are hardly an uncommon sight - but when all four Desmosedici MotoGP bikes in the Alice and Pramac D’Antin teams are wheeled back to the pits in a single practice session, the dollars really start adding up.
Stoner, Melandri, Elias and Guintoli all crashed out of a dry and sunny free practice #3, providing those of us in the paddock a rare close-up look at the Desmosedici GP8 with its clothes off. Enjoy! (more …)
Australian MotoGP: Melbourne’s reputation for quickly changing weather has given teams two starkly opposed practice sessions to prepare for Sunday’s race. After a completely dry and warm morning session, the first rains started to appear at lunchtime - and conditions were atrocious by the time free practice session #2 started at 2pm.
In a joint press conference on day 1 of the Australian MotoGP round at Phillip Island, Rossi, Stoner, Pedrosa, Vermeulen and West were asked their opinions on the controversial one-tyre rule announced after Rossi clinched the 2008 title in Motegi last week. And despite all 5 riders being lucky enough to be on this year’s dominant Bridgestone tyres - and thus presumably having the most to lose from a one-make series, their reactions were quite diverse and revealing.
Rossi, perhaps predictably, spoke out in favour of the rule on the grounds that it should make for a better spectacle for viewers and a closer fight for riders to enjoy - “I agree with the one tyre rule. Everyone has the same problems, the same advantages. We should have more riders on the same plane for a better battle.” (more …)
In exciting racing news, BMW have signed 2006 World Superbike champion Troy Corser to pilot the team’s brand new S1000RR superbike in WSBK 2009, alongside former MotoGP star and sideways Hypermotard pilot Ruben Xaus.
So for 2009 we’ve got Xaus and Corser on a brand new Beemer superbike, and Max Biaggi piloting a firebreathing V4 Aprilia, taking on the established superbike might of Ducati and the big 4 from Japan. Neither BMW nor Aprilia are taking SBK lightly - and both are premium brands that can shoehorn expensive and out-there technology into homologation bikes and still make sales. The RSV4 and S1000RR could retail for almost twice what the average japanese superbike costs - these are very serious contenders.
Bring it on - with MotoGP grids dwindling but an injection of fresh blood into the production based superbike series, WSBK 2009 is going to be white hot!
Ducati has released a big brother to the Monster 696 - the Monster 1100 and 1100s will both be available in 2009. The original naked performance bike has received a nice styling upgrade and a sweet single-sided swingarm, as well as the 1100cc, 95 horsepower motor found in the laugh-a-minute Hypermotard. (more …)
Alongside the new GSX-R1000, Suzuki have launched an all-new, funky 650cc v-twin naked called the Gladius for 2009. The neat looks seem to forge an alliance between the 4-cylinder GSR and the MV Agusta Brutale, with the odd radiator shrouds of the Kawasaki ER-6N and the steel trellis frame of a 696 Monster.
Details are scant at this point, but engine performance is said to have been “enhanced” and the style is certainly fresher than the angular SV650 of recent years. It looks like a comfortable, friendly and fun nakedbike - and it asks the question: how does Suzuki plan to differentiate this bike from the perennially popular SV650 - or is the SV’s life cycle coming to a close?
In Paris, the veils have finally come off the 2009 Gixxer thou’ and specs are starting to come through for the Suzuki flagship superbike. The most significant changes for the 09 model appear to be a new, more compact, more powerful and more oversquare engine, a longer swingarm, slightly shorter wheelbase and the much-maligned double trashcan exhausts from 07/08 have been replaced by equally offensive titanium “Horns of Gondor.” (more …)
Kawasaki has launched its new supersport for 2009 with a look very similar to this year’s ZX-10R. The underseat exhaust has given way to a triangular side-mount muffler as seems to be the rage these days, the tail has taken on a distinctly GSX-R sort of look in its absence, and the tank has gained a huge indentation into which you can settle your helmet’s chinpiece as you assault the main straight on trackdays.
The engine has been revised for a little more peak horsepower (final details yet to be released) and a fatter midrange, with an emphasis on smooth throttle response mid-corner. The new double-bore intake funnels, situated at two different heights, presumably help to boost the low-end and midrange power. The chassis has been lightened, and mass has been purposefully moved around the frame to provide this year’s optimal centre of gravity for quick handling. (more …)
Kerry McLean’s Buick-powered V8 monowheel contraption is an engineering marvel, supporting its rider in the centre of its rotating wheel. Completely road-legal in the USA, McLean’s had it up to a clocked 53mph on the public road.
It’s not the sprightliest handling machine in the world - steering seems to be a hit and miss, feet-down proposition, and because the interior has to rotate freely as the wheel is driven, you can’t really use all the power that V8 engine has in store if you don’t want to flip over.
But it’s the brakes the brought McLean undone on a recent road test of the machine, when despite having both feet planted on the ground he was unable to pull the contraption up before it developed a nasty wobble, which intensified before the machine smashed down on the road, dragging its inventor with it. (more …)
Aprilia has released the first studio photos of its 2009 RSV4 road superbikes, as well as a carbon-laden track version. In typical Aprilia style, the bike is pure hotness, with the trademark triple headlight and a no-passengers-allowed single seat unit that screams MotoGP. The chunky exhaust interrupts the look somewhat but will likely never leave the showroom for most customers.
Specs are yet to be released but the lowest-spec version of the 1000cc V4 motor Aprilia tested for reliability was making more than 180hp, with higher-spec units running up to 220hp at the crank. 180hp will still make for a massively powerful roadbike, especially given the general ability of V4 engines to devlop big grunt through the lower revs.
The bike seems thoroughly race-focused - signalling Aprilia’s serious desire to make a splash in Superbike racing in 2009, perhaps to offset the fact that the firm’s successful 250GP 2-strokes will no longer be able to carry the flag in competition once the 250 2-stroke GP support class is axed in the next couple of years. The RSV4 will mount an immediate title assault in 2009 with GP God Max Biaggi on board. (more …)
