I miss these moments the most. The nervous excitement, the knowing the game plan but having to execute it perfectly and the chaos going on around on the grid but everything inside my head is still. Generally I like to stay quiet on the grid although my bro @uripallares always gives me some inputs. I live for this kinda shit, deep breath and only 22 laps in front of you! So excited to get back to it! #team65
Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook
The laps ticked by with Ferrari still out front, despite Granado asking him to slow down to no avail, and, even though the World Cup winner crashed in the final sector on the final lap, he still cruised across the line four seconds ahead of the Brazilian. The final podium place in the end went to Casadei after he chased down and forced a mistake out of Medina on the final lap. Xavier Simeon (LCR E-Team) clinched fifth ahead of Torres and Mike Di Meglio (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) in sixth and seventh. The final finishers were Tulovic and Aegerter.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
In a hectic opening half a lap, The Doctor also crashed out after some contact with Alex Marquez through Turns 4 and 5. It allowed Quartararo to escape at the front, with both Marc and Alex Marquez unable to match the pace of the Frenchman. The younger of the Marquez brothers swooped through to second shortly after, with Marc admitting he’d rather try and secure a top-three finish then crash whilst chasing his brother.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
“Then I saw Fabio was so fast today, he was a second a lap quicker than everyone but when he made a mistake I thought ok maybe I can manage this. Then we crashed again, we both touched and crashed. Marc was in front and then, at last corner, I thought ‘ok, I will try to brake early and then try to attack in the acceleration’. His mentality was the opposite, try to attack at the brake point, just like in reality! I accelerated well and I won.”
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
“I’m very, very happy for this podium,” said the 41-year-old Italian. “Because it’s an important result at my home Grand Prix. I trained this week and feel much better on the 2020 game, so this is for me, the team and all of the fans. Unfortunately, I made a mistake on the first lap and I had a crash, so I was a bit behind. But in the end, in the last three laps, I started to see the front three guys and I tried to keep my good rhythm and, in the end, with Fabio’s mistake, I got the podium.”
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
By Eric Johnson
“I want to continue like this because I believe a lot in myself and this team,” said a declarative Alex Rins of the Team Suzuki Ecstar outfit for which he won two MotoGP races for in 2019. “The work the team is doing is awesome. They trusted me during the evolution of the bike at the end of 2017, and ever since we have been working very hard together. In Japan, the factory is doing a great job with always bringing little new updates. We did great in 2019, but now we need to look where 2020 is going.”
Alex Rins – Image AJRN
The two triumphant Grand Prix wins Rins speaks of were the Circuit of Americas Grand Prix on April 12, 2019 and the British Grand Prix on August 22, 2019, the double-header success signifying the first time Suzuki had done such a thing since Kenny Roberts Junior’s four wins during his 2000 500cc World Championship run.
Alex Rins celebrates victory – COTA 2019 – Image by AJRN
Yes, 2019 brought hope and optimism to the Hamamatsu, Japan-based company which has won premier class championships with Barry Sheene in 1976 and 1977, Marco Lucchinelli (1981), Franco Uncini (1982), Kevin Schwantz (1993) and the aforementioned Kenny Roberts Junior (2000). And so now a pandemic has sabotaged the 2020 season and the globetrotting MotoGP contingent must deal with many issues before being called back out to the racetracks of the world. Enter Suzuki mastermind Davide Brivio, a MotoGP paddock stalwart who formerly worked closely with Valentino Rossi in helping the racer manage his global business affairs, Brivio has played a significant role in Suzuki’s MotoGP renaissance.
“Winning a championship for Suzuki is our target,” declared Brivio from his current lockdown base. “Being a champion is something very difficult. We are aware of that. There are very strong competitors, strong riders, strong teams, but we are here to try and win. In the coming years, our approach is to fight for the world title. And no doubt Alex Rins can do this. We are here for this. Suzuki and me, we both believe we can achieve it and we are working hard and doing our best to get the title.”
Alex Rins during Qatar MotoGP Test in February, 2020
Alex Rins and the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR in-line-four have been something of a match made in heaven, the bike allowing for excellent handling and high speed changes of direction, ideal for Rins’ aggressive, yet smooth riding style.
Rins, like all the rest of us, has had plenty of time to think about riding, racing and even life in general while riding out the coronavirus clampdown, and we were able to find all of this out via a Zoom conference call on Friday. Dressed up in Suzuki blue and in good spirits, albeit a bit bored, Rins spoke to us about his current lot in life in Andorra where the Spaniard has been holding station.
Alex Rins training this week in Andorra
“Well, for me, I’ve had small holidays and have stayed close to home during this lockdown,” pointed out Rins. “I’ve been training at home and doing a little bit of indoor cycling and I’ve been doing some push-ups and stuff, but it is not easy to train at home because I don’t have the right materials and equipment here to work. Now, though, it is clear that we can see light at the end of the tunnel because for example today, we start to ride again with the motorbikes ere in Andorra, so I’m quite happy for this.”
Alex Rins in Andorra this week
At this point in the conversation, I mentioned to Alex that I had spoken with Fabio Quartararo a few days back and that the French MotoGP sensation was also down in Andorra where he was trying to get tuned-up for the day he gets called back to the global racing grid.
“Yes, yes, I have seen a lot of riders riding here in Andorra. As you say, Fabio, Maverick Vinales and the Espargaro brothers. There are a lot of people around. For example, today I went riding with Tito Rabat. That was nice to see once again your rivals at the track and also away from the track! That was good.”
Alex Rins during Qatar MotoGP Test in February, 2020
And of being bored and trying to burn time off the clock before someone, somewhere calls everyone back to Grand Prix racing sometime this summer? “As you know, when you are a rider, your entire life is racing,” offered Rins, visibly a bit flustered in wanting to get back to racing way of life. “I mean, the bike, the PlayStation, going to the workshop that I have… With my friends and coworkers, it’s like, ‘Hey, I go into the shop today and we’ll race, okay? I’ll be faster than you and get out of the way!’ We’re always racing. Not a bad thing. Yes, I’ve been racing on the Esports and PlayStation with MotoGP and I prefer the real one! I like to do that. I’ve also done some races in cars with Gran Turismo and we play these games. These are the kinds of things we’ve enjoyed at home during this period.”
Alex Rins – Qatar MotoGP Test 2020
2019 great year with Suzuki. Two wins. Coming off an awesome season. History! 2020!
“Yes, as you said, we come off of 2019 which was a very good season. This year I hope to go faster than last year and it looks like we will race again at the end of July. That is very good news for us because after a season that was quite good in 2019, I’m so excited to start racing again to feel the adrenaline and to race and to try and win.”
Alex Rins – Qatar MotoGP Test 2020
Having signed on to the dotted line with Suzuki to race as a rookie for the team in 2017, Rins has been the foundation of Suzuki’s rapid ascension in modern day MotoGP, the Suzuki Ecstar outfit working closely together to further fortify and bolster high performance and consistent podium finishes.
“For sure, we win the races together and we are all very close, and as you know, I just signed two more years with Suzuki,” explained Rins of 2020 and beyond. “All of us together as a team and with the bike, we are all together and we have the same mentality and that is to win. For sure I believe in them and they believe in me.
Alex Rins and Joan Mir
“I’m also now very excited to start back racing to show to the world that I’m more ready than ever to fight again,” continued Rins of just what’ll come next. “It’s not easy to win a race in MotoGP and I got two victories last year and that was a pleasure for me. When you arrive and you do something like that, you want to keep it and for sure I want to continue getting podiums and winning races. And something we want to focus on this year is to be more consistent and to finish all the races on the podium and to try and see where we are at come Valencia. We improved the bike a little bit and made it more consistent and it is more powerful down the straights for 2020 As you said, the 2019 season was so good and we are ready. Suzuki did a very good job and they believe in me and they want to start racing right now – and so do I!”
Alex Rins – Sepang MotoGP Test 2020
Source: MCNews.com.au
Two senior Harley-Davidson executives, including new CEO and president Jochen Zeitz have bought up millions of dollars of company shares.
The move follows the recent announcement of first-quarter results earnings which revealed a global 17.7% drop to 40,430 motorcycle sales, 20.5% crash in overseas sales (16,707) and a 15.5% domestic slide (23,732).
Harley shares have dropped 48.6% this year.
Jochen was announced as CEO on 8 May 2020 after becoming interim CEO when former CEO Matt Levatich was sacked in February. Since then, stock has slid another 37.2%.
Levatich in Australia last year
On May 5, senior VP and CFO John A. Olin bought 13,500 shares of HOG stock at the average price of $19.02 for a total of $256,770.
The day after being announced CEO, Jochen paid $US2.1 million for 97,850 Harley-Davidson shares at an average per-share price of $21.26.
Since then the stock has bobbled around and closed on Wall St at $US19.66.
These are the first such purchases of share by a Harley-Davidson insider since 2017.
Jochen also converted the 3.7 million share units he was awarded from his service as a director into the equivalent amount of stock.
He now owns 100,450 Harley-Davidson shares in a personal account, along with 225,403 restricted stock units and 22,612 share units.
The stock purchase is his first open-market buy since joining the company’s board in 2007.
Harley-Davidson Museum
There is no statement from Harley about the share purchases and no record of Jochen’s salary.
However, the previous boss was paid a record $11m last year.
When he became interim CEO, Jochen implemented measures to ride out the pandemic recession including he and fellow board members forgoing salary/cash compensation.
The measures also include cutting back on all non-essential spending, temporary salary reductions, 30% reduction in executive leadership, 10-20% reduction for US salaried employees, no merit increases for 2020 and no new staff until further notice.
Jochen is also implementing his plan five-year strategy which he calls “Rewire”.
It involves expanding “profitable iconic heritage bikes” while committing to branching out to adventure touring, the new Streetfighter range and electric motorcycles.
However, last week he delayed the August 2020 launch of the new an America adventure bike and water-cooled Bronx streetfighter until next year.
It will be interesting to see what the market makes of the bosses’ stock buyout. It certainly shows belief in the company’s future.
Together wth the five-year plan, it also shows tis is not a get-rich-quick manoeuvre.
Source: MotorbikeWriter.com
Five-time Champion Jonathan Rea discusses his relationship with Toprak Razgatlioglu, Bautista’s move to Team HRC and MotoGP™.
Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook
With the current break in racing activity we thought it a good idea to start rolling out this series that I have dubbed ‘Twisted ASBK Interviews’.
This is a somewhat comedic departure from the norm that hopes to shed some light into the personalities of ASBK Superbike riders.
Some of these were conducted in person at the track earlier this year, while others were conducted more recently over the phone.
A few of them certainly got me laughing out loud and I hope you view them through the prism of good fun they were taken in. Today we have a twisted chat with Josh Waters.
Josh Waters – TBG Image
MCNews.com.au: Who is the dirtiest rider you least trust when racing against?
Josh Waters: “Markus Chiodo.”
MCNews.com.au: Who would you most like to punch in the ASBK paddock?
JW: “Markus Chiodo.”
MCNews.com.au: Who would you least like to be punched by in the ASBK paddock?
JW: “Matt Walters. I reckon he would go off if fired up..“
Josh Waters on the grid at the 2020 Phillip Island season opener – Image by Rob Mott
MCNews.com.au: If you were stuck on a deserted island, which rider would you choose to be stuck with?
JW: “Bryan Staring. Easy going and cool bloke.”
MCNews.com.au: Who is the king of swiping right during ASBK race weekends?
JW: “Easy, Markus Chiodo loves to swipe.”
MCNews.com.au: Which rider has the hottest sister?
JW: “Most riders aren’t silly enough to bring their sisters to the track.”
Josh Waters on the grid at the 2020 Phillip Island season opener – Image by Rob Mott
MCNews.com.au: Who is the biggest princess in the ASBK paddock?
JW: “Maybe Daniel Falzon..?“
MCNews.com.au: Who has the most fitting nickname in the paddock?
JW: “Troy Bayliss – Baylisstic.”
Maxwell, Halliday and Waters on the podium at 2020 Round One – Image by Rob Mott
MCNews.com.au: What is the worst track ASBK visits?
JW: “Toss up between Morgan Park and Wakefield.”
MCNews.com.au: Which corner on the calendar is your favourite?
JW: “Turn 12 at Phillip Island.”
MCNews.com.au: Which corner would you liked to see nuked from orbit?
JW: “Morgan park the bit out the back. Fast right. It is that rough, it’s like riding Finke desert race track.”
Josh Waters testing at Wakefield Park – TDJ Image
MCNews.com.au: If you could overtake one rider, on one corner, who would it be, and where, and how?
JW: “Troy Herfoss on any of the turns at Wakefield because he is bloody good there. Be good to out-brake him into the final turn.”
MCNews.com.au: Which animal would you most liken yourself to?
JW: “Koala.”
MCNews.com.au: You need to borrow tools. Who would you ask first? Who would you never ask?
JW: “Ben Henry is a nice bloke and would always try helping you out. Everyone is pretty nice. Although if you were in a battle with someone at the end of the year I don’t think any teams would go out of there way to help you try beat them. I woudn’t ask for something off Kelvin Reilly (BCperformance) haha.”
2020 ASBK Race One Podium – Image Rob Mott
MCNews.com.au: If you weren’t racing, what would you be in jail for?
JW: “Maybe speeding because Mildura is quite away from most places and the roads are pretty boring.”
MCNews.com.au: If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
JW: “Too nice, or something like that.”
MCNews.com.au: How would you describe yourself in three words?
JW: “Kind-hearted, happy, good cook.”
Josh Waters testing at Wakefield Park – TDJ Image
MCNews.com.au: If you won a million dollars on Lotto what would be the first thing you would buy?
JW: “A race-track.”
MCNews.com.au: If you could keep one of your race bikes from throughout your career which one would it be? And why?
JW: “2012 Suzuka 8 Hour bike. It was a Yoshimura Suzuki bike and the times I rode it that year ( testing before race and race weekend ) brought the best out of me ever riding a bike.”
MCNews.com.au: What is your plan for life after racing…?
JW: “I’m fortunate that I’ve got a trade, I’d love to still be involved in racing though. I really enjoy cooking too so maybe that.”
Josh Waters on the Yoshimura Suzuki at the Suzuka 8 Hour in 2012
Source: MCNews.com.au
Lithuanian start-up AKO is now testing its electric-powered tilting trike prototype which is somewhere between a motorcycle, trike, car and plane.
Like the Piaggio and Yamaha leaning scooters, the Yamaha Niken leaning motorcycle and the non-leaning Can-Am Spyder roadster, it has two wheels up front and a single wheel at the back.
But the most interesting departure is the steering system which is somewhere between an aircraft yoke, car steering wheel and motorcycle handlebars.
Riders turn the bars/wheel the same as a motorcycle to steer, but can also move the steering column side to side to tilt the machine up to 30°.
AKO leaning electric trike
The hefty 500kg AKO is powered by a 26kWh battery and electric motor driving a shaft to the single rear wheel.
Output is 200kW with 600Nm of torque.
Range is claimed to be more than 300km with a top speed limited to 240km/h.
That compares with the Harley-Davidson LiveWire with 150km of highway range and 235km of city range. It will arrive in Australia later this year costing probably more than $40,000.
MBW tests the LiveWire in the US
AKO applied for the patent in July 2019 and is now in the prototype testing phase so production is be a long way off yet.
The company is now asking for manufacturers interested in production to contact them via their website: akotrike.com.
Several other companies are also working on tilting three wheelers.
Yamaha is particularly keen on a leaning trike future and has applied for several patents.
Yamaha patent drawing
Honda was the only one that has applied for a leaning trike patent with an electric motor until the AKO.
Honda patent
And late last year, Kawasaki applied for a patent for a tilting trike.
Kawasaki leaning three-wheeler patent drawing
We can see the advantages of a tilting three-wheeler:
There are also disadvantages compared with a traditional two-wheeled motorcycle or scooter:
Source: MotorbikeWriter.com
