From there it was a comfortable last two laps for Rodrigo, the advantage over Arenas and Fernandez sitting at over four seconds. Further back there was an intense battle for fifth between Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team), Lopez and Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Lap 7 saw the latter duo clean each other out at Turn 11, allowing Arbolino to cruise through to P5. In the end though – although a tad controversially – Rodrigo was victorious at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto, with Arenas holding off Fernandez for P3. Öncü wasn’t too far off the podium in P4 as the leading quartet were split by 8.5 seconds, with Arbolino completing the top five in the first-ever Moto3™ Virtual Grand Prix race. 2019 Spanish GP winner Antonelli claimed P6 on his return to Jerez, with Lopez picking up P7 ahead of former teammate Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0). Riccardo Rossi (BOE Skull Rider Facile Energy) finished over 40 seconds back to take P9, with the unfortunate Foggia unable to finish the race.
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 talk with Penrite Honda’s Troy Herfoss.
MCNews.com.au: Who is the dirtiest rider you least trust when racing against?
Troy Herfoss: “You’re going to get my in a lot of trouble here Trev, Mike Jones, that guy’s outspoken and dirty as hell.”
Herfoss and Jones after the final battle for the 2019 Title at SMP – TBG Image
MCNews.com.au: Who would you most like to punch in the ASBK paddock?
TH: “Honestly, I’d punch the top five guys.”
MCNews.com.au: Who would you least like to be punched by in the ASBK paddock?
TH: “I’ve seen Wayne go and I know he can throw them, so I don’t want to be punched by him.”
Troy Herfoss’s Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP on arrival in Australia. Herf’ is keen to race the new bike
MCNews.com.au: If you were stuck on a deserted island, which rider would you choose to be stuck with?
TH: “I’d say Aiden Wagner, just because he seems to be a practical sorta country bloke, probably has a few skills to keep us safe.”
MCNews.com.au: Who is the king of swiping right during ASBK race weekends?
TH: “Oh man, up until a few years ago it had to be Cru Halliday, right now I probably don’t know them young blokes enough, but all those 300 riders are always up to no good.”
MCNews.com.au: Which rider has the hottest sister?
TH: “I haven’t taken note for a little while, but I think at my age all the riders that I race with have learnt not to bring their sisters to the track.”
Troy Herfoss – Image by Rob Mott
MCNews.com.au: Who is the biggest princess in the ASBK paddock?
TH: “Cru Halliday.”
MCNews.com.au: Who has the most fitting nickname in the paddock?
TH: “Wild Man Waters, just joking, him or Mad Mike, I’m just jealous as I don’t have one that rhymes with Herfoss.”
Jeremy Burgess overseeing the Michelin rubber for Penrite Honda at the ASBK Test – Image by Rob Mott
MCNews.com.au: What is the worst track ASBK visits?
TH: “I don’t want to say because I love it so much, but it has to be Morgan Park, it’s an old track, but I love that track so much.”
MCNews.com.au: Which corner on the calendar is your favourite?
TH: “I would say my favourite corner is probably Turn 3 at Morgan Park, a blind turn around the wall and it opens up, and when you know the track really well, you’re on the limit smoking the tyre up, not knowing where you’re going.”
MCNews.com.au: Which corner would you liked to see nuked from orbit?
TH: “Turn 12 of Phillip Island, but there’s probably safety corners I should say… Turn 12 has always been hard for me, and it’s hard to get right.”
Troy Herfoss – Wakefield Park ASBK Test – TDJ Image
MCNews.com.au: If you could overtake one rider, on one corner, who would it be, and where, and how?
TH: “Turn 12, Jamie Stauffer up the inside, just because we were on the same bike and he always used to pass me there.”
MCNews.com.au: Which animal would you most liken yourself to?
TH: “The greyhound.”
MCNews.com.au: You need to borrow tools. Who would you ask first? Who would you never ask?
TH: “Wayne’s a bit of a handy-man, I’d go to him. I would never go to Lachlan Epis, because he’s always got his Dad working on his bike.”
Maxwell leads Halliday, Herfoss and Waters at the season opener – Image by Rob Mott
MCNews.com.au: If you weren’t racing, what would you be in jail for?
TH: “Too many speeding fines.”
MCNews.com.au: If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
TH: “I don’t know mate.”
MCNews.com.au: How would you describe yourself in three words?
TH: “Arrogant, impatient, selfish.”
Troy Herfoss – Image by Rob Mott Source: MCNews.com.au
There is no need to go to the lengths of Indian rider Partha Saha, 39, to maintain a social stance from his pillion.
Partha bought an old bike from a scrap dealer and lengthened it by a metre to social distance his daughter for their ride to school, instead of taking the crowded school bus.
Partha lengthens his motorcycle
Social distance
In Australia, authorities don’t see any problem with riders taking a pillion so long as it is a member of your household.
However, NSW and Queensland have stipulated that you should only ride with one other rider or several if they are from your household.
We’re not sure how you can transmit coronavirus while riding.
But more importantly, riders and pillions must practise social distancing when they stop.
Maintain social distance unless they are your partner!
That is why authorities would like to see riding group numbers limited.
In Western Australia, riders can ride in groups of up to 10, so long as they social distance when they stop.
Crowded cafes
Because riders have been detained at home for so long, many took to the roads yesterday and stopped at their favourite cafe where it can be difficult to maintain social distance.
Mt Glorious Cafe owner Hugh Douglas said staff used a loud hailer to remind riders to keep their distance.
They also used it to call out when food and drink orders were ready so customers didn’t need to congregate by the collection window.
The cafe had been closed for a few weeks after a local complained to police about the lack of social distance among patrons.
However, Hugh says the resident is a “vexatious complainant” and he would dig his heels in this time and not close.
The police were called yesterday, but they didn’t have any problem with the behaviour of the large gathering of riders.
Hugh talks with police
“The police were pretty happy with everything they saw and how we were trying to reinforce social distance,” Hugh says.
“They hung around for a while and watched as we were making announcements with loud hailer when people bunched up
“We’ve had no visits from the cops today so hoping that everything is ok.
“It’s not as busy as yesterday, anyway.”
Reports coming in from other riders around Queensland and NSW seem to match this situation of riders taking to the roads yesterday and having difficulty social distancing at cafes and other stops.
Queensland Police say they don’t break down the fines to whether they were motorbike riders and how far they’ve travelled, or the circumstances.
However, they issued 32 fines for breaching public health direction infringements yesterday.
NSW Police media say they have not experienced any problems with motorcyclists.
“If riders are congregating, police aren’t being told to the extent that it’s being passed on to us (yet),” they say.
Joan Mir will remain with Suzuki for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The news of the renewal of his contract comes shortly after that of Alex Rins, who will also be with the team until 2022 giving Team Suzuki some real stability for the future.
Alex Rins and Joan Mir
Davide Brivio
“We are very happy to have reached an agreement with Joan Mir and have him complete our lineup for the next two years. We consider Joan a very talented rider and it is important to continue together to take full advantage of the experience that we have built so far and trying to improve even more. We are also happy to have a young team with two very strong riders such as Alex and Joan, which has always been our real target. This allows us to look to the future with confidence.
“I would like to thank Joan for trusting us with his future and also the whole Suzuki Motor Corporation who supports us. Being able to extend the agreements with both Alex Rins and Joan Mir during such an extraordinary and strange moment in history is a sign that give us high hopes for the future, and encouragement to all the fans to look ahead with positivity and optimism, with the hope of being able to get back on track as soon as possible.”
Alex Rins and Joan Mir
Joan Mir made his MotoGP debut with Team Suzuki Ecstar in 2019, following a highly successful Moto3 season in 2017 which saw him crowned champion. The 22 year old who hails from Palma de Mallorca came quickly through the ranks early in his career and proved to be a fast learner when making his ‘top class’ debut too. Gelling well with his new team, he secured 8th place in his inaugural race in Suzuki colours, going on to score another nine Top 10 finishes in 2019 despite an injury hit mid-season.
Once fully recovered, Joan was able to pick up an impressive 5th place finish at Phillip Island last season, and in the 2020 pre-season tests he was showing fantastic form and pace with the latest generation GSX-RR.
Joan Mir
“I’m extremely happy to sign with Suzuki for another two years – renewing is the best thing that could happen and it’s a dream come true again! It’s really important for me to continue because now I have more time to learn and more time to show my potential. Two years can go by quickly, but I am ready to arrive at a higher level, and we are working every day to make that happen. I am also so pleased on a personal level because I have a really good team and crew around me. I really want to thank everyone at Suzuki for their confidence in me, and let’s see if I can get the results that we’re capable of.”
Joan Mir
The current situation surrounding the Covid-19 crisis makes for a strange environment for both the team and the rider at the moment, with so much uncertainty in the air. However, this latest announcement ensures a firm eye is kept on the future and proves the confidence which Team Suzuki Ecstar have in their young rider.
Shinichi Sahara – Project Leader
“We are proud to have reached an agreement with Mir alongside Rins and maintain the current lineup. This will give us a continuity that will be very helpful for the development from a technical point of view. The consistency of keeping the same riders is very important, because it helps us keep track of the progress made and means we stay on the right path. Beside this, Joan is a talented rider, he has already shown strong skills last year and we believe he could harvest some important successes with our team as soon as his experience grows.”
Joan Mir during Qatar MotoGP Test in February, 2020 Source: MCNews.com.au
Indian Motorcycle has unveiled a beautiful FTR 1200 Carbon version, but as suspected it is quite expensive.
It features carbonfibre fenders, tank, airbag cover, and headlight and tail cowls, but not wheels.
The Carbon costs $2000 more than the flagship Race Replica (now deleted) and a whopping $4000 more than the FTR 1200 S on which it is based.
So that’s $26,995 ride away for what amounts to a basically cosmetic update, a beautiful one at that.
There is no performance improvement in the carbon.
In fact, the lightweight carbon fibre parts do not make it any lighter than the FTR 1200 S which s also fitted with an Akrapovič low-mount dual exhaust.
While carbon fibre wheels may have improved handling, braking, steering and wheelie-ing ability, they may have added about $3000 more.
Beautiful FTR 1200 Carbon
In fact, the only performance difference we can find it is actually has a smaller 260mm rear disc, just 5mm smaller.
Not sure if that makes a difference in performance, but it would be a shame if it did as we found in our review of the Race Replica that the rear disc is not just there for show. It works well in the gravel to dig in and steer the bike.
Apart from the same engine, frame and suspension, the Carbon has all of the other S features such as 4.3 LED touchscreen, ride modes, cruise control, USB port, traction control, and LED lighting.
Rent one of more than 2,000 privately-owned motorcycles nationwide with Twisted Road, with its all-new website and newly added supplemental insurance options. A rental bike through Twisted Road doesn’t have restricted mileage and is billed as a flat, per-day charge. Both owner and renter are verified via the local DMV, and rentals include $100,000 in free liability protection with the option to increase up to $1 million, as well as up to $25,000 in damage protection.
Joan Mir made his MotoGP debut with Team Suzuki Ecstar in 2019, following a highly successful Moto3 season in 2017 which saw him crowned champion. The 22 year old who hails from Palma de Mallorca came quickly through the ranks early in his career, and proved to be a fast learner when making his ‘top class’ debut too. Gelling well with his new team, he secured 8th place in his inaugural race in Suzuki colours, going on to score another nine Top 10 finishes in 2019 despite an injury hit mid-season.
Indian this week released details of a new addition to their line-up, the FTR Carbon.
2020 Indian FTR Carbon
Predictably, the bodywork of the FTR Carbon is largely carbon-fibre including the front fender, headlight nacelle, tank/air-box covers and passenger seat cowl.
2020 Indian FTR Carbon
An Akrapovic low-mount exhaust adds to the package which is celebrated by an ‘FTR Carbon’ branded centre console plate.
2020 Indian FTR Carbon console plate
Other standard features include cruise control, big Brembo stoppers, lean angle sensitive ABS and traction control, full LED lighting and a colour 4.3″ LED touch screen display.
2020 Indian FTR Carbon
The 1203 cc V-Twin makes 123 horespower and 120 Nm of torque. We have put the feelers out to Indian Motorcycles Australia for an ETA and rough price point on the new model.
Spaniard to remain aboard GSX-RR into 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Image: Supplied.
Team Suzuki Ecstar has renewed its contract with Joan Mir that will see the Spaniard remain with the factory through the 2022 MotoGP season.
After recently re-signing Alex Rins, Mir’s continuation will form a consistent direction for the team over the next two years.
“I’m extremely happy to sign with Suzuki for another two years,” Mir said. “Renewing is the best thing that could happen and it’s a dream come true again! It’s really important for me to continue because now I have more time to learn and more time to show my potential.
“Two years can go by quickly, but I am ready to arrive at a higher level and we are working every day to make that happen. I am also so pleased on a personal level because I have a really good team and crew around me. I really want to thank everyone at Suzuki for their confidence in me.”
Davide Brivio commented: “We are very happy to have reached an agreement with Joan Mir and have him complete our line-up for the next two years. We consider Joan a very talented rider and it is important to continue together to take full advantage of the experience that we have built so far and trying to improve even more.
“We are also happy to have a young team with two very strong riders such as Alex and Joan, which has always been our real target. This allows us to look to the future with confidence. I would like to thank Joan for trusting us with his future and also the whole Suzuki Motor Corporation, who supports us.
“Being able to extend the agreements with both Alex Rins and Joan Mir during such an extraordinary and strange moment in history is a sign that give us high hopes for the future and encouragement to all the fans to look ahead with positivity and optimism, with the hope of being able to get back on track as soon as possible.”
Mir made his MotoGP debut with Team Suzuki Ecstar in 2019, following a highly successful Moto3 season in 2017 which saw him crowned champion. The 22-year-old came quickly through the ranks early in his career and proved to be a fast learner when making his premier class debut.
Gelling well with his new team, he secured eighth place in his inaugural race, going on to score another nine top 10 finishes in 2019 despite an injury mid-season. Once recovered, Mir was able to pick up an impressive fifth place at Phillip Island and in the 2020 testing he was showing inspiring form with the latest generation GSX-RR.
6. Number of paddock personnel attending races in 2020 “We talked to the teams and arrived at a consensus that maximum number for a MotoGP manufacturer team will be 40, for satellite or independent teams will be 25, 20 for Moto2 and 15 for Moto3. Then there will be, of course, all the people who produce the television signal; all this crew, then the minimum number of people from Dorna who are in charge of race organisation. This will give us an average of around 1600 people. This is a possibility to control the MotoGP family. Unfortunately at the moment will be no media and no TV. Maybe, but not sure, maybe some photographers to supply images to everybody.”
Maintain social distance unless they are your partner!
Hugh talks with police
