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The pre-season test sees action set to begin in April at Snetterton, before Round 1 gets the season in gear at Oulton Park alongside BSB. From there the calendar visits Thruxton, Snetterton 300, Knockhill, Brands Hatch and Donington Park (National) before heading to Silverstone to race the Grand Prix track alongside MotoGP™ in August.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
As we know, Mir sits 37 points ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and teammate Alex Rins in the race to be 2020 World Champion. A podium, no matter where anyone else in the hunt finishes, will hand Mir his first premier class title. In the Team Championship, Team Suzuki Ecstar are 82 points ahead of Petronas Yamaha SRT and can wrap up that title before the season finale in Portimao too, if they are over 45 points ahead after Sunday’s chequered flag.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
If Lamborghini ever made a motorcycle, you can be it would be a pretty extreme design. The car company is known for its outlandish machines, and artist Al Yasid has captured what that might look like in his latest concept design.
Yasid is known for his car designs, but this time he thought he’d change things up and give motorcycles a shot, specifically, a Lamborghini-inspired motorcycle.
The bike appears to be based on the Ducati Diavel. That makes sense because VW Group owns both Ducati and Lamborghini. Also, the Diavel is just a crazy enough bike that it makes sense as the base for a Lamborghini motorcycle. It’s a unique power cruiser unlike other bikes on the market.
The styling is undeniably Lamborghini with sharp edges and dramatic angles. It’s mean and the front cowl of the bike looks a bit like the Huracan, which is fitting for this bike. At the rear of the motorcycle, you see some LED taillights that remind you of the Aventador.
According to RideApart, Yasid’s fans have begun calling this bike the Mangusta. That’s an odd name. The supercar manufacturer De Tomaso used this name on one of its models, so it seems a little weird to use it here. That said, the whole idea of a Lamborghini motorcycle is weird, so I guess that’s not too big of a deal.
Source: MotorbikeWriter.com
Recently, the 2021 Suzuki V-Strom 650XT hit Australian Suzuki dealerships. The adventure bike is a machine that’s been proven to be one of the best adventure motorcycles on the market.
The V-Strom 650XT features a 645cc DOHC v-twin engine that puts out 70 hp and 62Nm of torque at 6,500 rpm. It’s a reliable engine, too, known to be tough enough to handle the demands of an adventure rider for mile after mile. There’s also a learner version of the bike that has a maximum output that’s restricted to 47 hp to mee the Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme requirements.
The V-Strom 650XT comes with switchable multi-mode traction control. This system monitors a variety of stats and adjusts the controls and engine output accordingly by altering ignition timing and air delivery to the v-twin engine. You can adjust the sensitivity to suit your riding needs and preferences.
The motorcycle also has an aluminum twin-spar frame, a seat befitting an adventure tourer and known as one of the more comfy seats out there, disc brakes with ABS (twin 310mm discs up-front with twin-piston calipers and a single 260mm disc in the rear with a single-piston caliper.
The motorcycle also has wire-spoked aluminum-alloy rims as standard equipment. These rims get Bridgestone Batlax Adventure A40 tires. The V-Strom 650 XT also gets hand guards and protection from the engine to help keep the bike in good condition as you traverse rough terrain. There’s also a 12-volt DC outlet allowing you to charge a mobile device if you need to.
For 2021, Suzuki also has two new Genuine Accessory luggage kits, including aluminum luggage and top box. The bike is currently for sale at Australia Suzuki dealerships. The MSRP for the V-Strom 650XT is $13,490 Ride Away.
Source: MotorbikeWriter.com
🚨 STOLEN!!🚨
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Last night thieves broke into my garden shed and stole my training bikes and kids bike along with garden equipment! Please help me to get these bikes back!
Source: Jonathan Rea On Facebook
Lithuanian motorcycle clothing company Pando Moto claim their updated Steel Black 02 single-layer riding jeans for men and women are not only safer, but also more comfortable and blacker.
So we put them to the riding test.
I hope to never have to test the safety of the jeans and they have not yet been tested by Australia’s MotoCAP clothing comfort and safety ratings system.
However, Pando Moto use new Dyneema single-layer denim and include SAS-TEC TripleFlex armor for knees and hips which make the jeans officially approved as personal protective equipment under EN 17092, level AA (speed 70km/h).
Dyneema is a Dutch invention which blends the abrasion-resistant material into a single-layer denim that meets CE standards for protection without the need for a separate layer.
Compared with the Steel Black 9 jeans I reviewed last year, they do look blacker. The previous jeans look more of a dark blue.
The cut is like that of a pair of fashionable jeans which broadens the utility as they can function as a ‘regular’ pair of jeans.
I have now put them to the comfort test for the coming hot summer weather in Australia.
Thanks to the single-layer fabric protection they feel so lightweight and flexible when riding and remain cool up to ~32+ degrees.
They are also comfortable due to the ultra-thin armour.
In fact, you can’t even tell they have the armour in them, unlike some riding jeans which look ridiculous with their knobbly knee armour.
It can be fiddly to install the armour, but just turn them inside out and it’s a 2-minute job.
Other features such as pockets and key tag are great; similar to the previous generation.
The jeans cost €399 ($A554, $US402), which is not cheap, but they are certified safe for urban riding and are comfortable and so stylish you could wear them out without having to remove the armour.
They come in a small array of sizes from 29” waist to 34”.
Source: MotorbikeWriter.com
The FIM, International series organisers DWO and MSVR are to collaborate on the future evolution of the Supersport racing category. The production derived intermediate class is long established, but as the motorcycle market evolves it is clear that changes are required to allow more motorcycle models to become eligible.
Taking recent experience from the Junior Supersport 300 category, where motorcycles of varying displacement and architecture are balanced to ensure parity of competition, the same principle could be applied to the future direction of the senior Supersport class.
In recent years the Supersport class has been bound by regulations to incorporate 600cc 4 cylinder, 675cc 3 cylinder and 750cc twin cylinder machines. As the market changes, motorcycles outside of this parameters now form the Supersport sector.
Planned new regulations could allow machines from different manufacturers that currently are not eligible to compete in the Supersport class adding value either to the teams and the series organiser.
MSVR, as the organiser of the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship, will pilot the evolution of the class in 2021 with the introduction of a Triumph 765 three cylinder machine, and later in the season a Ducati 955 twin cylinder machine. In a view to evaluate if this new technical regulations could be the platform for the 2022 FIM Supersport World Championship organised by DWO.
“The Supersport class is tremendously important to the international and domestic racing structures. Previously multiple manufacturers and machine configurations have competitively raced together, but this has diminished given the changes in the market. To reset and redefine the category will provide a great stimulus and great future for the intermediate production derived class. I am very pleased and excited to be co-operating and working closely with our friends at the FIM and DWO on this project.”
“We are always open for better ways to improve the sport and I’m happy to see that our ideas match with so many Promoters at national level and the FIM. To have the support of MSVR helping to develop this idea is great and we will work closely with all parts involved for this to be a success, with the future to have equal regulations in both Championships and maybe other national series.”
“Motorsport is a Worldwide big family, the FIM is more than happy to see all stakeholders working together to improve racing from National to World level. Since the creation of the class, Supersport has always offered a great show on track with some amazing fights for the title. Due to the current market situation, in order to keep this same level of interest and to keep the fairness for all teams and riders, it is absolutely necessary for FIM rules to be updated. All the FIM family support this idea and will work closely with promoters, organisers and manufacturers to move forward with this exciting project.”
Source: MCNews.com.au
As the races of the MXGP of Garda Trentino finished for the day, it concluded an intense season of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship, which saw Champions decided a round early, when Team HRC’s Tim Gajser claimed his fourth World Title in MXGP and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle secured his very first Championship in MX2.
For the final round this shifted the focus onto who would finish the season off with a medal alongside the two victors, with Tim Gajser also presented with the MXGP Trophy, wrapped with plagues which are engraved with all the world champions’ names from 1957 until now in the main class.
Tim Gajser took the overall round win, narrowly beating Romain Febvre on account of a final race victory, with both riders taking a win and a runner up position a-piece. Gautier Paulin took the final podium position, from Jeremy Seewer, both on 38-points and with identical results, but Paulin the better performer in the final race.
“As I’ve said many times, I was super happy to win my fourth world title on Wednesday. Today, my goal was just to go out there and have fun and we did that, winning the last overall of the year and it couldn’t have gone better. I want to say a huge thank you to all my team who have worked so hard and put in so much effort. In March, we did two GPs in Matterley and Valkenswaard and they went well, but then we had a long break and when we returned, I wasn’t feeling good, I was struggling. Now, the second half of the season I found good speed, I was consistent, and I was able to win the title.”
Second and third in the MXGP championship were also still up for grabs, with Jeremy Seewer claiming the silver medal on the day with the addition of 38-championship points to his name. Tony Cairoli had a mixed weekend, with sixth in Race 1, but no points in Race 2. It was enough for the bronze medal however.
Romain Febvre was fourth overall, followed by Gautier Paulin. Jorge Prado was sixth, Clement Desalle seventh, Glenn Coldenhoff eighth, and Jeremy Van Horebeek and Brian Bogers ninth and 10th respectively. Despite still being out injured Mitch Evans finished the season in 14th.
In MX2 Tom Vialle was already crowned champion and Jago Geerts had cemented his place as runner up, with the final championship podium position between Maxime Renaux and Australian Jed Beaton.
While Ben Watson won the MX2 round overall from Tom Vialle and Maxime Renaux, Jed Beaton finished fourth, four-points behind Renaux. Unfortunately for Beaton that left him in fourth overall – an amazing result nevertheless, while Renaux’s 581 championship points was enough to claim the bronze.
“I really want to congratulate the whole team. They work really hard and it’s really nice for me and Jago to give them a 1-2 on the podium. It is a little bit difficult to pass out there, but I have been feeling really good on the bike. I had a mediocre start in the first race, but I came through good and then in the second one, I took a good start and it’s always a nice race when you can battle with your teammate up front. I finished second, but I am really happy with second overall.”
Overall Beaton enjoyed a highly positive year in 2020. Showing race-winning speed throughout the season, he came agonisingly close to a maiden overall win at the penultimate round. Proving to be a capable racer on any surface, the 22-year-old claimed three overall podium finishes, along with nine moto podiums and was the first rider in the standings to score points in every race. A memorable season with many career milestones reached.
“It’s been great to end the year with a runner-up finish in the last moto of the season. I had a great start and challenged for the win, so it’s positive to end the season like this. It’s a shame about the first moto but moto two proved I can be up there with a good start. It’s been a long season. Many ups and downs but all in all it’s been a positive year for me and the team. Having completed a full season I know what it takes now and I know what I need to work on over the winter ahead of 2021. I’m actually really glad that we got a season in as at one point it looked like we weren’t going racing at all. The three GPs in a week, that was different, racing so frequently was different, but it was always a good time and it’s been a lot of work for the team as well as myself. The team has done a phenomenal job with such a tight schedule. It can’t have been easy so credit to them, they’ve done an awesome job.”
Bailey Mailkiewicz finished 15th in Race 1, improving to ninth in Race 2, and was 11th overall for the weekend, claiming 18-championship points. This saw him finish the 2020 season in 14th overall.
The MXGP races saw great battles, especially between Gajser and Romain Febvre, who challenged the four-time world Champions in both of the heats, one of which he won. But it was Gajser who finished the 2020 season with his fifth Grand Prix victory at the MXGP of Garda Trentino, with a 2-1 result.
Febvre was forced to settled for second with a win in the opening heat, that saw him chase down Gajser, before passing him on lap 6 and lead the race until the end, to take his second race win of the year. In race two, the Kawasaki rider worked hard to get around a couple of riders before catching up to Gajser once again, though this time he could not make a pass stick and eventually dropped the gap, to finish the race in second.
It was also a special day for Gautier Paulin who lined up for the last MXGP races of his professional racing career. The Frenchman battled well inside the top five in both heats and finished race one in fourth and race two in third position, after a battle with his teammates Jeremy Seewer and Arnaud Tonus. He claimed the third step on the podium, his second podium this season, on his final GP.
Clement Desalle and Tanel Leok also took part in their final MXGP of their careers, with Desalle narrowly missing out on a podium spot, as he was tied on points with Seewer in fifth, and Leok finishing 21st overall.
With Gajser crowned as world champion at the previous round, this left the door open for second and third in the championship standings, which was to be decided between Seewer and Antonio Cairoli.
Seewer had a strong first race, starting well inside the top five and then worked hard to get past his teammate, Tonus, for third. While Seewer finished third, Cairoli placed sixth, giving Seewer a one-point advantage heading into race two. As the gate dropped for the second heat, Seewer was able to get another good start and squeeze into the lead, before being passed by Gajser, Febvre and then eventually Paulin.
Cairoli had a dramatic start to the second race, which saw him pushed out wide in the first corner, as he hit the bank, which as a result caused unrepairable damage to his bike and forced him out of the race, meaning he could not fight for the silver medal. All while Seewer had another strong race to finish fourth and cement himself as this year’s vice world champion, for the second season in a row.
“I want to say a huge thanks to everyone, to all my team, we were really working hard, and everybody was putting so much effort into preparing the bike, getting better and better. The last couple of GPs I started to find good speed and started to put consistent races together and win the title, so I’m super happy and I want to say congratulations to all the guys here, but also to Gautier [Paulin] for an amazing career, wishing you all the best in the next chapter.”
“It was a strange year for us, starting that early and then a big break. But, Valkenswaard was really horrible, I scored seven points and I think that’s one of the worst GPs in many years for me, so it was hard to not race for that long after a GP like that, because you would love to go back the next day and show different. Somehow, I did my homework and put many good races together after that, had some awesome races in Latvia, won my first races in Faenza and stuff like this. I definitely made a step and improved. I could battle with these guys. Overall Tim [Gajser] was the man, he put things together, especially for the last few races and he was just that little better but overall for me, I’m happy, I got second today in the championship, ok the thing I wanted was first but I can’t wait now to get back to work and for next year.”
“I’m really happy. It’s another season that I finish on the podium, my fourteenth season that I finish on the podium, so it’s something amazing, after so many years of racing. Of course, Tim [Gajser] was very difficult to beat this year, especially in the last part of the season, he was very strong. After Latvia, my knee was getting worse every time, so I couldn’t really train, so for me it’s really important and I lost a little bit of fitness and confidence because when the track gets rough and slippery, I need to slow down. In the end, we are all ok and that is the most important thing, ok we lost second place but we try to look forward to the next year, we have another season to see what we can do.”
“It’s always nice to end the season on the podium and go into the winter feeling confident for next year. I had a nice battle with Tim in the first moto and could catch him for the win; I think he hoped to pick up on my lines when I passed him but I could keep him behind me and I knew it would be all on the second moto for the overall GP win. My start wasn’t bad in the second moto but also not as good as Tim’s; I could see him in front so I knew I needed to pass the other guys quickly. He had a gap of nearly four seconds when I got to second; I was pushing but I couldn’t see anywhere to make up the time and in the end I fell just before the waves with five minutes to go. I was still a safe second but the chance of victory was gone.“
“It was a pretty tough day today. In the first moto, the rider next to me anticipated the start too soon, and that made me move too soon for the start, and then right after the gate a rider cut across. I started from really far back after that, but I made my way back to the top-10. The riding was good, but it was difficult to make a good result after a start like that. In the second moto, we had a red flag on the first lap, and hopefully the rider involved is well and the injury is not too bad. After that we had to start with dirty tyres and I had a big spin on the mesh, so I didn’t start so good. On this type of track, it’s hard to pass, everyone forms a train. Here it is really important to have a good start, but on the bright side, the pace is good and physically I feel good.”
Source: MCNews.com.au
Convincing end with another moto podium for Australian prospect.
Image: Supplied.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jed Beaton has declared his MX2 World Championship campaign as ‘a positive’ one after sealing fourth in the final point-standings and establishing himself as a legitimate front-runner in 2020.
Beaton scored fourth in the championship with three podiums overall, highlighted by nine moto podium results in what was a breakout season for the Australian.
“It’s been a long season, many ups and downs, but all in all it’s been a positive year for me and the team,” Beaton reflected. “Having completed a full season I know what it takes now and I know what I need to work on over the winter ahead of 2021. I’m actually really glad that we got a season in as at one point it looked like we weren’t going racing at all.
“The three GPs in a week, that was different, racing so frequently was different, but it was always a good time and it’s been a lot of work for the team as well as myself. The team has done a phenomenal job with such a tight schedule. It can’t have been easy so credit to them, they’ve done an awesome job.”
The final round at Garda Trentino ended on a strong note for the 22-year-old, taking seventh in moto one, but being able to rebound in moto two with a tight runner-up result and fourth for the round. Beaton was fourth overall for the weekend to cap-off the year.
“It’s been great to end the year with a runner-up finish in the last moto of the season,” he added “I had a great start and challenged for the win, so it’s positive to end the season like this. It’s a shame about the first moto, but moto two proved I can be up there with a good start.”
Source: MotoOnline.com.au
Final MX2 outing results in Watson achieving another overall win.
Image: Supplied.
MXGP world champion Tim Gajser completed the 2020 season with another overall victory at the Garda Trentino round, as Ben Watson achieved a round win in the final MX2 outing of his career.
Gajser went 2-1 for the round at Pietramurata, which saw the opening moto won by Romain Febvre (Monster Energy Kawasaki) over Gajser and Jeremy Seewer (Monster Energy Yamaha).
Moto two resulted in Gajser turning the tables on Febvre to clinch the top step of the podium, with the retiring Gautier Paulin (Monster Energy Yamaha) third. It was Gajser who won the final round, joined by Febvre and Paulin inside the top three.
While Team HRC’s Gajser captured the title on Wednesday with a round to spare, fourth overall on Sunday enabled Seewer to climb to runner-up in the final championship standings ahead of Antonio Cairoli (Red Bull KTM), who was 12th at the final round due to a DNF in the second encounter.
Image: Supplied.
Monster Energy Yamaha rider Watson delivered an emphatic result prior to stepping up to the premier class from next season, winning both MX2 motos for his second-career overall.
New champion Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM) won moto one ahead of Maxime Renaux (Yamaha SM Action MC Migliori J1 Racing) and Watson, before Watson won moto two over Jed Beaton (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) and Isaac Gifting (Diga Procross GasGas Factory Juniors).
That placed Watson on top of the podium for the weekend, joined by Vialle and Renaux, while in the final championship points, Vialle had already been crowned ahead of Jago Geerts (Monster Energy Yamaha) and Renaux.
Beaton was top-finishing Australian overall in fourth position, also sealing that same result in the series, while Bailey Malkiewicz (Team Honda 114 Motorsports) went 15-9 for 11th overall. DRT Kawasaki’s Wilson Todd scored points with P13 in moto two for 19th on Sunday.
Source: MotoOnline.com.au
