In a release posted yesterday, the California Highway Patrol reports it’s issued 2,493 citations statewide for speeding more than 100 mph since the state’s stay-at-home order was issued April 19, along with a 35% decrease in traffic volume during the same time period. According to the LA Times, “one motorist was arrested and charged with speeding, reckless driving and driving without a license after officers clocked him going 165 mph in a Cheverolet Camaro on Interstate 5 in San Juan Capistrano, an official said.”
MO does not condone speeding, but has anyone heard anything more about the new Suzuki Hayabusa we were supposed to get?
CHP Press Release:
CHP Citations Jump by 87% for Violators Speeding More Than 100 mph
SACRAMENTO — Caltrans announced today a joint effort with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to urge drivers in the state to slow down given a recent 87% increase in citations for speeding in excess of 100 mph that coincides with decreased traffic volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From March 19 when the state’s stay-at-home order began to April 19, the CHP reports issuing 2,493 citations statewide for speeding more than 100 mph, as compared to 1,335 during the same period last year. This increase in citations occurred as Caltrans has measured an average decline in traffic volume on state roads of approximately 35% as compared to this time last year.
“Excessive speed and unsafe driving threaten everyone using our highway system,” said Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin. “Viewing less congested roads as an invitation to drive dangerously jeopardizes the safety of construction and maintenance crews who are working to maintain reliable access to our highways when people need it most.”
“It is alarming to see the number of citations officers are writing for excessive speeds on California roadways,” said CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley. “Higher speeds can lead to much more serious injuries and significantly increase the chance of death should a crash occur. Keep yourself and those on the road around you safe. Slow down and drive at a safe, legal speed.”
California’s “Move Over” law continues to be in effect and requires all drivers to move over a lane or, if unable to do so safely, slow down when they see amber flashing lights on Caltrans vehicles, law enforcement and emergency vehicles, and tow trucks.
“Fewer cars on the road doesn’t give drivers the green light to travel over the speed limit,” OTS Director Barbara Rooney said. “Driving at a safe speed when you must go out is one way to keep you and your family safe during this pandemic.”
California’s more than 700 electronic highway signs will also soon display the following types of safety-related messages:
Feedback on the Virtual Races from the MotoGP™ community, fans, partners and more has only continued to grow. 29 broadcast partners showed the event, with titans of sports broadcasting showing the race to audiences around the world. Partners such as Sky Italy, Canal+ in France, DAZN (in Spain, Italy and DACHS), BT Sport in the UK, ServusTV in Austria and Germany, Viasat in Sweden and many more showed the event in Europe, whilst the Americas received coverage thanks to the likes of NBC in the USA and Fox Brazil and ESPN in Latin America. Fans further east could enjoy coverage from partners including Motorsport TV Russia, Eurosport India and Fox Asia, with those Down Under covered by Fox Australia and TEN. SuperSport also broadcast the event in Africa, meaning the second MotoGP™ Virtual Race once again reached every inhabited continent on Earth – as did the first!
“We had some ups and downs during testing and also in the race in Qatar, but we expected that. It’s been a long time since my last race and I have jumped back on the Moto3 bike so I have had to adapt to that. It was a great feeling to be back racing again though; I had definitely been missing it a lot.”
Why have we picked some of the races you’ll be able to watch? Well, some are historic – like Can Öncü’s Valencia 2018 victory, which saw the Turkish rider become the youngest ever Grand Prix winner. Marc Marquez’ MotoGP™ debut in Qatar 2013 was the just the beginning for the now eight-time World Champion in the premier class, with Loris Capirossi also getting his successful premier class campaign off to a flyer in South Africa 2000. Other races include five-time WorldSBK Champion Jonathan Rea impressing on his MotoGP™ debut with Repsol Honda at Misano in 2012, while at the other end of the spectrum we showcase Xavier Artigas’ heroics in the Moto3™ Valencia GP in 2019 – a phenomenal season-ending race. Enjoy all this, plus Romano Fenati’s Moto3™ debut, for the next seven days.
Many of the features that made the success of the previous chapter of the franchise, return this year with a lot of improvements as a result of the precious feedback that Milestone received from its passionate community: • A renowned historical mode. One of the community’s favorite game modes will be back in a brand-new format, with full races randomly generated that players need to win to unlock and collect the most iconic riders and bikes. • Neural AI goes 2.0. What many thought was utopic, has become a reality. Last year A.N.N.A. (an acronym for Artificial Neural Network Agent) brought a more fast, natural and fair AI. This year Milestone developers further enhanced its capabilities, to allow her to strategically manage tire and fuel consumption, as real riders do. • New Editors. Together with Stickers, Helmets, Racing Numbers and Lower-back patches, in MotoGP™20 players will also be able to customize bikes’ liveries of their Custom Team, to race on track with a unique style. • The best online experience. Dedicated Servers for the Multiplayer mode have continued to enable a more reliable and fun online experience. Now we added quality of life improvements that will further enhance online gameplay in all modes: Public Matches, Private Matches and Race Director Mode. After three successful editions, Dorna and Milestone also confirm this year’s MotoGP™ eSport Championship, where players come from all over the world, with the challenge to win the World Champion title. The fourth edition of the MotoGP™ eSport Championship has a renewed formula, for more information: https://esport.motogp.com
20 years ago today, April 23, Phillip Island hosted the second round of the 2000 World Superbike Championship and boy was it one to remember.
Troy Corser had taken pole on the Rotax engined Aprilia RSV Mille with a 1m33.321 while alongside him on the front row were Pierfrancesco Chili (Suzuki GSX-R750) and Colin Edwards on the new RC51 Honda.
Troy Corser – 2000
Race One
Come Sunday though it was wet and tyre choice was critical. It looked as though the track would steadily dry thus it was really a roll of the dice and for a 25-year-old Anthony Gobert it was one gamble that paid off.
Anthony Gobert – 2000
Gobert had qualified 11th and his Suzuki TL1000R engined Bimota SB8R was almost 20 km/h down on top speed compared to the front runners.
When the lights went out it was Colin Edwards that got the initial jump but the American was quickly overhauled by Gobert and Corser who immediately started pulling away only for TC to go down at Hayshed.
At the end of lap one Gobert led by 9-second and by the end of lap three, that lead was out to an incredible 31-seconds and by lap seven Gobert’s buffer was over 47-seconds.
Gobert lapped both Haga and Bostrom on lap eight but on lap ten a dry line had started to appear and the Australian could no longer continue to pull away.
Carl Fogarty put in the fastest lap of the race on lap 12 and had reeled Gobert in a little, the gap down to a still very significant 40-seconds but diminishing nonetheless.
Then on lap 13 the rain started falling once again and Gobert was able to maintain his advantage before backing off on the final laps to take the chequered flag 29-seconds clear of Fogarty.
Anthony Gobert – 2000
2000 WorldSBK – Round Two – Phillip Island Race One Results
Anthony Gobert – Bimota SB8R
Carl Fogarty – Ducati 996 +29.542s
Vittoriano Guareschi – Yamaha YZF-R7 +41.205s
Lucio Pedercini – Ducati 996 +52.174s
Colin Edwards – Honda +56.985s
Robert Ulm – Ducati 996 +57.168s
Gregorio Lavilla – Kawasaki ZX-7RR +57.627s
Giovanni Bussei – Kawasaki ZX-7RR +66.223s
Akira Yanagawa – Kawasaki ZX-7RR +77.071s
Noriyuki Haga – Yamaha YZF-R7 +92.748s
Alistair Maxwell – Kawasaki ZX-7RR +95.951
Mauro Sanchini – Ducati 996 +1 lap
Katsuaki Fujiwara – Suzuki GSX-R750 +1 lap
Lance Isaacs – Ducati 996 +1 lap
Ben Bostrom – Ducati 996 +1 lap
Race Two
Colin Edwards and Pierfrancesco Chili both got away well from the line and were being chased by Simon Crafar, Haruchika Aoki, Noriyuki Haga and Juan Borja on what was a slightly damp but almost dry track. Race one winner Gobert was down in 15th place and battling with a 14th placed Carl Fogarty.
By lap four Colin Edwards led the race by ten-seconds over Chili. The American had gone with intermediates and that gave him the upper hand early on but the others on slicks were reeling him as a better dry line appeared as the laps clicked on.
On lap five, a 12th placed Carl Fogarty went up the rear of Robert Ulm’s mis-firing Ducati at around 200 km/h in a frighening clash through turn three. It subsequently proved to be a career ending crash for the four-time World Champion.
Noriyuki Haga took second place from Chili on lap eight and then took the lead from Edwards two laps later.
Troy Corser then came to the fore as the track dried further and by lap 12 was leading the race from Haga and Chili.
Troy Corser – 2000
Lapped traffic caused Corser some problems on lap 14 when a slower rider cut back across him in alarming fashion but TC successfully threaded the needle.
The intermediate rubber on Edwards’ Honda was now very much a hindrance and was relegated to fifth by Gregorio Lavilla.
On lap 16 though, the rain started falling again, and with Fogarty still being attended to by medics by the side of the track, officials took the decision to red flag the race and the results were declared with Corser the winner from Haga while Chili rounded out the podium.
In the post race press conference at Phillip Island Corser seemingly took great delight in pointing out that, at that point in time, the top six riders in the championship points were all on different brands of motorcycle, but none of them was on a Ducati.
The 2000 season as a whole was a big one for both Troy Corser and Aprilia. It was Aprilia’s first season in World Superbike and TC took five victories on his way to third in the championship.
2000 was the year that Ducati’s stranglehold on the series was broken as rival manufacturers produced V-Twins to also exploit the 250cc advantage that the rules gave the twin-cylinder machines over their four-cylinder rivals.
Honda’s Colin Edwards won the 2000 World Superbike Championship with eight race victories on the new VTR1000 SP-1, 65-points clear of Noriyuki Haga on the Yamaha YZF-R7.
The race two accident at Phillip Island also effectively ended the career of Carl Fogarty.
Fogarty’s injuries and subsequent retirement led Ducati to pull Troy Bayliss back from America to replace Carl in the Factory Ducati WorldSBK Team.
Bayliss had missed the first few rounds but won two races (Hockenheim and Brand Hatch), and finished as the highest Ducati with sixth in the championship from his debut season.
The following year, 2001, Bayliss wrestled the World Superbike crown back for Ducati only to lose it again by the narrowest of margins to Honda’s Colin Edwards in 2002, when the pair completely dominated what was a brilliant season of World Superbike racing.
2000 WorldSBK – Round Two – Phillip Island Race Two Results
Troy Corser – Aprilia RSV1000
Noriyuki Haga – Yamaha YZF-R7 +1.994s
Pierfranceso Chili – Suzuki GSX-R750 +4.330s
Gregorio Lavilla – Kawasaki ZX-7RR +23.592s
Colin Edwards – Honda VTR1000 +23.604s
Akira Yanagawa – Kawasaki ZX-7RR +25.243s
Katsuaki Fujiwara – Suzuki GSX-R750 +25.322s
Simon Crafar – Honda VTR1000 +40.832s
Anthony Gobert – Bimota SB8R +41.349s
Haruchuki Aoki – Ducati 996 +43.223s
Robert Ulm – Ducati 996 +59.059s
Mauro Sanchini – Ducati 996 +60.692s
Lucio Pedercini – Ducati 996 +84.219s
Ben Bostrom – Ducati 996 +85.570s
Igor Antonelli – Kawasaki ZX-7RR +91.897s
2000 Phillip Island World Superbike official program Source: MCNews.com.au
Both were riders at the highest level. Both have managed race teams to great success. Both have been in racing for over 30 years. One is JCR, the other is CDR. Coppins and Dack. Between them there are countless championships around the world, years of experience and a shared passion of dirt bikes.
They worked together as rider and manager, now they have a close association on running race teams. Let’s get their thoughts on racing, managing and motocross in general.
The moment you knew you were done in racing as a rider?
JC: “I know the exact moment. I was back in the UK visiting my family early in 2012 between some rounds of the MX Nationals. I was doing some riding at Fat Cat Moto Park and it was cold, wet, raining and just a miserable day and sitting there between rides looking out over the track and I knew that I didn’t want to do this anymore. I returned back to Australia and announced my retirement for the end of the 2012 season while at the Appin MX Nationals. I was fortunate enough to win the championship in my final year, but I had done enough. I had no more motivation to race at that level again.”
CD: “It was the winter of 1992 and I had just returned from two broken wrists. I entered a local race at Monza Park, Ballarat to get myself back in to race shape and it was the coldest, windiest, muddiest day and I recall I fell off and drove my hand into the ground and broke my wrist again. As I was getting back to the pits, I made up my mind that this was the end. I finished out the year and never raced again.”
Josh Coppins retired in 2012 and won the Australian MX Championship that year by 11-points over a young Todd Waters – Image by Shayne Rice
What’s easier, a racer or a team manager?
JC: “A racer is far easier. It’s only about you as a racer, your life is selfish in that you can control how you prepare, how fit you are and for the most part, your result in the race. As a manager, I sit on the side lines and hope that the rider has all that under control.”
CD: “A racer for sure, but in saying that, during my time in racing, the riders were the ones that did the majority of the deals with the sponsors anyway, so there wasn’t a lot of difference. For me, it wasn’t until I returned from Europe in 1991 that I had someone take care of a lot of those things for me. But I think a racer has a lot less to be concerned about and they are generally younger and more carefree in life anyway.”
Craig Dack post race in 1988
Your most memorable moment as a racer?
JC: “For me, the Spanish GP in 2007. I went 1-1 on the day and was leading the world championships. It was a long time coming but a great feeling and something I will always remember.”
CD: “The year 1986 stands out to me the most and the event that always comes to mind is the MXoN in Italy where I finished second in class. It was a day as a rider you rarely get, and everything clicked. I felt amazing and there was 60,000 people there watching. I was racing with the likes of David Bailey, Rick Johnson and all the European riders and to be in the group was something I won’t forget.”
Josh Coppins went 1-1 in the second round of the Motocross World Championship in Spain in 2007
Your greatest achievement as a team manager?
JC: “2020. Compared to Craig, I’m fairly new to this management game so to win the MX1 and MX2 championships as well as the NZSBK in the one season is a huge reward for myself, Amy and everyone at Yamaha New Zealand who have worked so hard to get this season in place.”
CD: “The first thing I think of when you say that is that fact that this time has been around for 28 years and built long term relationships with people like Yamaha, Fox and Dunlop. It’s a good innings in the racing business and in that time we have been able to run a tight ship, pay our bills and to have continued success.”
Best rider you have had to work with?
JC: “I have a soft spot for Jay Wilson. He listens and you know every time he is on the track he gives you all he has. He doesn’t win every time, but he is 100% a racer and is coachable.”
Jay Wilson with mentor Josh Coppins pictured here in 2015
CD: “We have had a lot of riders come though the doors at CDR and naming just one of them is extremely difficult. Jay Marmont has been our most successful rider over the time, and I liked many of the attributes Jay had. He was an old school, tough, determined rider and he worked hard to extract every ounce of talent from his mind and body. But when I look back over the years, there have been plenty of guys I liked working with. Josh Coppins was great to deal with, same goes for Darryl Hurley. Even going back to Lee Hogan who won our first championship or Daniel Milner when we ran the off-road program.”
The respect went both ways between Craig Dack and Jay Marmont – “I have enormous respect for team owner Craig Dack and the way his team go about running a race team. It bought the best out of me when I raced for them.”
Best team manager you have had to work with?
JC: “Carlo Rinaldi. He was sympathetic, passionate, understanding and professional. But more importantly, he understood me and got me. He knew what made me tick and how to get the best from me.”
CD: “John Collins was the guy who probably helped me the most during my career and if I had a mentor, then he was it. He was my first sponsor, was involved in getting me back from Europe in 1991 and was there to help or guide me through my racing days.”
Craig Dack, Brian Collins team launch, hosted by Neil Crompton, 1988
Greatest challenge facing our sport?
JC: “As mentioned above, I have only really done this for a short time as a manager, but I think the sport and the world in general has never faced anything like COVID- 19. The unpredictability of it makes it so tough as none of us have any idea of the effects it will have physically or financially going forward.”
CD: “My goal for this sport is to get unity between all the invested parties. That means having the manufacturers, team, riders, importers, promoters and governing body all pushing in the one direction and show casing the sport for how good it can be. It’s the biggest challenge facing us and our biggest hurdle to overcome.”
Something that would have escaped the thoughts of most MotoGP fans in this period of down-time is the struggles to repatriate all the MotoGP Teams equipment and machines after the world went into virtual lock-down just as the Grand Prix of Qatar was about to take place.
The Moto2 and Moto3 classes raced at Qatar but the MotoGP Teams were unable to return to Losail International Circuit and yet their equipment remained in Doha following the earlier test held at the venue. There were three classes of freight for MotoGP, team and DHL logistics personnel to pack and repatriate to Europe – a task that only this week has been completed.
Only yesterday were the final containers of equipment flown from Doha back to Europe
Initially a normal timetable was maintained upon completion of the Qatar GP, ensuring all the material was put on pallets and ready to fly to its next destination within a regular time-frame. Under normal circumstances, the freight would have then travelled to the next GP on flights leaving in the subsequent days, but this time it was instead put into storage at Doha airport awaiting more updates on where it would next be required and when.
Thanks to partner Qatar Airways; highly-secure, automated and climate-controlled space was provided for the freight at Hamad International Airport – crucial for much of the material as it was protected from both humidity and any changes in ambient temperature, keeping it safe and secure.
With flights repatriating material from Doha to Spain in extremely high demand, Dorna Sports then worked with Qatar Airways to secure the five flights of freight that were required to repatriate all the material.
The first was able to begin returning the goods on the 1st of April, followed by the second and third on the 8th and 10th of April, respectively – all of which landed in Zaragoza. A flight to Barcelona on the 12th of April then completed four fifths of the task before the final flight landed in Zaragoza on Wednesday the 22nd of April to complete the repatriation.
Only yesterday were the final containers of equipment flown from Doha and landed in Aragon
Once each plane load of material was back in Europe, it was transferred to a secure storage facility in Catalonia on arrival. Some of it will be kept in storage awaiting the next Grand Prix, including much of Dorna’s equipment, whilst much will now be returned to those who have requested it be transferred to their own facilities for storage.
Once the date and location of the next Grand Prix are confirmed, Dorna Sports and logistics partner DHL will resume normal service to continue transporting MotoGP around the world.
At this point in time, it seems the earliest we can expect to see MotoGP back on track will be at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on August 16th. That of course largely depends on how measures to help try and control the Coronavirus are working in the lead up to that date, which is almost four months away.
Red Bull Ring is the most likely venue to host the first MotoGP race of season 2020 on its originally scheduled date of August 16th Source: MCNews.com.au
Troy Bayliss will feature in the first of a series of Ducati Corse Official Instagram livestream interviews wth racers to entertain riders on “home detention” during the pandemic.
The Aussie three-time World Superbike champion will star on the @ducaticorse Instagram page tonight at 8pm (AEST or noon Italian time).
The following two Thursdays will feature American Champion Ben Bostrom and Ducati Corse eSport rider Andrea Saveri.
Italian presenter DJ Ringo will interview his guests interacting with the viewers through the comments left during the live stream.
Ducati says they will open dealerships with a program of special cleaning, customer distancing, masks and other precautions developed by a special task force, says Ducati spokesman Francesco Milicia.
“It is now clear to everyone that the virus won’t disappear from our lives any time soon,” Francesco says.
“We will have to learn to deal with it, putting in place all possible actions to protect ourselves, allowing us to return to live our lives again.
“It is in this context that, by capitalising on the experiences gathered by our internal Task Force as well as some of our Asian dealers, we have developed the Ducati Cares program to support our dealer network all over the world.
“It will allow our dealers to welcome our customers in the safest and most practical way.”
Kawasaki displayed its electric project electric bike at the EICMA motorcycle show and now has released a teaser video showing it has manual four-speed transmission.
While electric motorcycles can be twist-and-go, Kawasaki believes manual transmission “not only allows a greater speed range, it also allows the rider to have greater input when operating the bike”.
Manual transmission
That’s nothing new. We already could see from the prototype electric at EICMA that it featured gears and a chain rather than direct drive or twist-and-go throttle like many other electrics.
Many electric motorcycles have manual transmission.
The Brammo (later Victory) Empulse TT electric I rode in the USA in 2015 had manual transmission which they believed would make it easier for riders of normal bikes to make the transition to electric.
MBW rides the Victory Empulse TT electric motorcycle
The new Kawasaki video doesn’t reveal too much else about the project except that it’s a Ninja-style sportsbike and it looks near to production.
It will be called the Kawasaki EV Endeavor.
However, with current record low petrol prices, we wonder whether there is much need for an electric Kawasaki at the moment!
The above video teaser is one of several about the Kawasaki EV Project appearing on YouTube.
This is the first official video from the company showing the work they put into the project.
They say it is mainly proof of their technology and intentions, but have not announced any timeline for a production bike.
The oil-and-liquid cooling system in the Kawasaki patent drawings are certainly more substantial than we have seen on any other electric motorcycle so far.
That would not only provide more range, but also greater performance.
Electric Kawasaki Ninja patent drawing