Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 66 Issue 21 i Australian Motorcycle News

Honda hybrid engine THE HONDA NEO Wing concept might be a three-wheeled oddball, but we reckon it hints at the design of the next-generation Goldwing – not least because of the flat-four engine, which is boosted by an electric motor to be a true hybrid. A new patent reveals the engine’s hybrid electric drive section, which uses a large electric motor that doubles as a generator and is bolted directly to the front of the engine. The motor’s position means it can share the engine’s water-cooling system, while it’s also exposed at the front to take advantage of air cooling. Three-wheeled NC750 IN 2015 WE revealed that Honda was working on a three-wheeled derivative of the NC750, with two different design options. Now there’s a third possible layout, and it…

Now and Then gem Back in 1991 at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Eastern Creek, I snuck into the factory Cagiva team garage and had a photo taken with Eddie Lawson’s factory grand prix bike. Last weekend I helped run the International Festival Of Speed at Eastern Creek Raceway and found that the very same bike had been shipped out for the event and was on display in the paddock, just behind that same garage. I showed the photo to the new owner of the bike and he asked me if I’d like another photo of it. And he even offered to wheel it into that very same garage so that we could replicate the photo, which we did. So I was very lucky to be able to get…

PICTURE AMERICAN RACE legend Eddie Lawson for a moment. You’re probably thinking about him on the early 80s Kawasaki Z1000 he made famous. Or maybe it’s the mid-80s 500cc World Championship Marlboro Yamaha. Or, at a stretch, it could be his Rothmans Honda of the late 80s. Unless you’ve had one too many disco biscuits, a BMW boxer is probably the last bike that has come to mind. That would never work. Or would it? Maybe we’ve all had one too many biscuits because from the moment we laid eyes on this Eddie-inspired #21 R1200R, the latest build from Switzerland’s VTR Customs, we were smitten. Eddie on a Beemer? Count us in. It would be fair to say that VTR’s first ‘Goodwood 12’ R1200R, a bike that broke cover in…

Although you may not have noticed, there’s a wind of change blowing through our country’s motorcycle licensing systems. A little over a year ago, VicRoads put in place the final stage of its Motorcycle Graduated Licensing System (MGLS). This May, Tasmania is set to implement the same system, albeit under a different name. Queensland added components of the MGLS to its regime last October, and other states are considering similar moves. And while it’s true that ‘new system’ is often just a euphemism for ‘more restrictions’, this one is different. Victoria’s MGLS is an example of an initiative where the rule-makers, dare we say it, might have got it right. First, what exactly has changed? Well, before 2 April 2016, Victorian riders could get a learner licence by passing a…

SURPRISINGLY, HONDA’S FIRST 2017 aero effort was the most basic of the lot; surprising because this is a company that’s been involved in Formula 1 for decades and now manufactures jet planes! “This looks like a bit of an afterthought,” says Rowland-Rouse. “It’s a standard fairing, with a skin wrapped around last year’s wing. The skin is a carbon-based rapid prototype [made using a 3D printer]. We use this system a lot in F1; if we need a part at the last minute we churn it out and put it on the car.” Honda’s first solution didn’t work well; Márquez crashed in testing and blamed the accident on the aero. “The fairing gives less wheelie but makes bike the little bit heavier to turn, so I didn’t like the feeling,”…

Attending the launch of a new tyre requires a degree of acceptance that the information provided in the press kit has been obtained using accepted methods of testing. Unlike a motorcycle test, it’s often difficult to prove these figures true or false without undertaking the rigorous testing procedures yourself. There’s no reason to doubt Michelin’s claims that its new Power RS tyre is more durable and has better dry and wet weather grip than its competitors. Rigorous testing at three test tracks also revealed it’s up to 3.5sec a lap quicker than the Pilot Power 3 tyre it is replacing. But some things cannot be snuck past a cynical group of journalists, no matter how flash the press kit, and that’s how I ended up in Qatar thrashing a stable…

ONE OF THE great things about being the boss is you can use the word ‘because’ a lot, and no one can argue. “Why are we doing it that way?” they ask. “Because” I reply. It’s the reason I decided to relocate our Fiat Ducati Maxi Professional van to Sydney for a while – because. Having already used the Fiat to attend the most recent round of the ASBK at Wakefield Park, as well as collect and deliver a few bikes, I can see why the guys in Melbourne were so sad to see it head north – it’s brilliant. Here’s a list of the top five things I’m already impressed by. 1. The rear cargo doors open all the way around and press flat against the sides of the…

1 Superlight adventure Adventure Moto $845 (02) 9651 3355 adventuremoto.com.au Weighing in at just 1500g, the Klim Krios is claimed to be the lightest adventure helmet on the market. It features carbon-fibre construction,optically correct face shield, anti-microbial/ bacterial fast-wicking liner, plenty of ventilation and it’s Pinlock-ready. It will also accept goggles in the wide face port. 2 Smooth action A1 Accessory Imports $39.95 (07) 3451 1300 a1accessory.com.au The Motion Pro Cable Luber V3 makes it easy to clean and lubricate control cables. It completely seals around the cable housing and an adjustable plunger ensures efficient use of cable lube. Suitable for most cables with a 4mm to 8mm OD housing. Best used with Motion Pro Cable Lube (not included). 3 Trigger happy Kärcher $185.90 1800 675 714 kaercher.com/au With a…

Australian rider Anthony West (pictured, left) has been stripped of his Round 2 Asia Road Race Championship results in what the organisers have called an “infringement of technical procedure”. The 35-year-old former GP rider, who finished third and first in the two races, defended his position on social media, saying: “The top three bikes were told to check the camshafts … our cam passed the test as being a standard part. Then the organisers tried to push the FIM scrutineer to make my team pull out the motor [which] can only be pulled out with a formal protest and a payment.” It’s undertood West’s team failed to comply with instructions to remove the motor and were disqualified. “I won the race fairly … I know my bike was not the…

AUSTRALIAN MOTO2 RIDER Remy Gardner (Tech3 racing) says a “stronger than ever” return to the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez in just over one week’s time is the target, following successful surgery to repair a broken ankle suffered in a crash during the Argentine GP. Gardner was replaced at the recent COTA round by GP veteran Julian Simón with team manager Hervè Poncheral saying before the event: “[Simón] has raced in the intermediate class since 2010 and he has ridden almost every bike that has been available. We will be very interested to hear his comments and feedback, which will certainly help us to understand our machine more.” In an unlucky turn of events, Simón, too, was taken out in the first corner by Stefano Manzi (Sky Racing Team VR46).…

WITH TWO YEARS contesting USA’s Grand National Cross-Country Championship under his belt, a new team backing him and a new KTM 450EXC between his knees, Daniel Milner (right) dominated the field in the opening two rounds of the 2017 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship. With a best lap 34 seconds quicker than Lyndon Snodgrass – KTM 300 EXC – and Lachlan Stanford – Husqvarna 501 – in Saturday’s 10-lap cross-country enduro, Milner demonstrated that bulk mumbo wasn’t vital to quick times through the Dandenong Ranges. And nothing made this clearer than Wil Ruprecht – Yamaha YZ250FX – and Jack Simpson – KTM250EXC – who finished fifth and sixth behind Josh Green – Yamaha WRF450. Less than eight minutes covered first through 10th places after three hours of gnarly single-track racing. Milner…

“It’s now a pretty ambitious year” It’s been a year of ups and downs for you so far. We know you intended to be riding an Aprilia in the ASBK series, but recently tested a Yamaha at Winton. Can you bring everyone up to date? Our season started in New Zealand this year riding an MV Agusta 675 F3 for Rod Price. Then came the Island Classic, which is a track I know well, and we had a good run there and raised a bit of awareness. I spoke to Steve Mudford, who does the chassis and suspension on the Irving Vincent. He had a bike he wanted to run in ASBK and we finally got the go ahead from Aprilia to race the opening Phillip Island ASBK round –…

BMW SHOCKED EVERYONE at last year’s EICMA in Milan when it unveiled the carbon-framed HP4 Race. Now it has revealed the production version – and it’s everything we’d hoped for. Priced at £68,000 (about $116,000) and with only 750 examples on offer, 10 of which are heading to Australia, it’s a showy demonstration of BMW’s technical prowess, with the carbon-fibre chassis as its centrepiece. But the firm’s commitment to carbon construction is such that this could well be a precursor to more mainstream road-going models. BMW is pioneering three new carbon construction techniques in the HP4 Race. The first, Carbonview, is for mainly cosmetic parts such as bodywork, and is a conventional hand lay-up method. The second, Carboncore, creates much stronger parts, with the carbon fabrics put in a mould…

BMW IS UNLEASHING an entirely new F-series parallel-twin range starting with this GS model, which looks set to debut later this year. While the F800GS was mildly tweaked for 2017 to pass Euro 4 emissions standards, it’s likely to be a short-lived stopgap until a completely reworked machine appears. Speculatively titled F900GS, this isn’t just an update but a clean-sheet redesign. Starting with the engine, there are new cases and cylinders, surely topped by a new cylinder head as well. Behind it lies a redesigned transmission with its chain final drive now on the left rather than on the right. As a result, the silencer swaps over the right, with a large collector box sitting below a swingarm that, while a similar shape, is also completely new. Notably, the chassis…

THROTTLE ROLL CRUISED into Marrickville last week for its fifth year and shows no signs of slowing down, with strong crowds and plenty of bikes, music and good times to go around. The day started with a few hundred bikes taking part in the Throttle Roll ride, and then festivities turned to the closed-off Railway Parade for the day-long Street Party. There was a strong presence from the major manufacturers. Harley-Davidson showed off its brand-new Street 750, Yamaha had some impressive XSR series bikes, and there was all the colour and cool of myriad Ducati Scramblers. Royal Enfield and Sol Invictus also had bikes on display while Triumph paraded its new models, as well as some truly trick metal that included a supercharged Bonneville. It was a day packed with…

Our test ride began with a spin up to the unbelievable rooftop test track and its steep banking As popular and mainstream as KTM motorcycles have now become, there’s still one place you’ll never find a luminous orange Austrian: in the middle of the road. But the longer KTM occupies the fringes of thinking and fashion with each subsequent model release, the wider its fanatical following becomes. Which means it won’t be long before the middle of the road is in the gutter, and orange is the new black. What a topsy-turvy tangerine-flavoured world we live in. I digress. Steve Martin’s Triumph Bobber launch report in the previous issue (Vol 66 No 20) left me wondering why, in all the bike launches I have attended, I’ve never been fed any…

The show must go on – that’s how the saying goes, right? Yamaha had organised the launch of its new MT-07-based Tracer in the beautiful Hunter Valley, but the timing was terrible. Cyclone Debbie had ravaged Queensland, and the north-east coast of NSW suffered flooding in the aftermath. In the Hunter, Cyclone Debbie’s effects were still being felt, with rain and wind sweeping across the area, wreaking havoc on all in its path. We’d been told to expect wine tasting, feasting and even a helicopter ride around the region, but all that seemed highly improbable as we were bussed from Newcastle airport to Sebel Kirkton Park resort. Instead of a simple ride down the Putty Road towards Sydney, we journalists would have somewhat trickier conditions to contend with the following…

1 Wavy discs: gimmick or gotta have? Wavy (or petal) disc designs have been a common sight on roadbikes for several years, firstly as aftermarket upgrades, but more recently as original equipment. So what’s the deal? Are they better than regular circular discs? For road use, the theory is that a wavy disc can give you all the performance of a circular disc of equivalent diameter and thickness, but with significantly reduced weight. There’s no doubting the potential benefits of lower wheel weight – lighter steering, faster acceleration, improved suspension performance – but the fact is, heavily stylised petal-shaped rotor designs just don’t match a quality full-circle disc of the same size in terms of pure braking performance. Don’t believe me? Just take a look on the grid at any…

THESE GORGEOUS GRABBERS just arrived at Gassit HQ and they’re already attracting plenty of green-eyed glances from the rest of the team. The RFX1 16 was completely overhauled last year and presents with the kind of quality materials and design that can only come from a company that specialises solely in making gloves – like Five. Stay tuned for a full review once we’ve put these high-performance units through their paces on track and road. Size range S-2XL RRP: $299.95 Moto National Accessories www.motonational.com.au 1300 885 355…

AS MUCH AS I love a great solo flick through morning peak hour madness or a spritely scratch with my bestie on any day that starts with ‘S’, there is nothing better than sharing a nice weekend away or a pleasant scenic ride with the good lady wife. But on numerous occasions my plans have been sunk with the words: “you are not getting me on the back of that thing.” If I wanted to get away on the BMW R1200RS with the bride I needed to make sure she was at peace with the perch where she would place her pillion posterior. Some of the manufactures that provide a topbox for motorcycles have a warning etched somewhere that it is not intended as a backrest, which is fine, because…

JORGE LORENZO HAS to face the fact that the Ducati Desmosedici will never replicate the silky-smooth manners of the Yamaha YZR-M1. The message comes from Ducati Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti who insists Lorenzo’s potential to win is not under question, even though the 2015 world champ has so far made little impact on the Ducati GP17, with an 11th, DNF and ninth from his first three races. “Jorge is showing a great willingness to do as much as he can to adapt, including modifying his riding style,” Ciabatti said. “And Ducati can improve the bike, but it will always be a Ducati. It is a V4, not an in-line four – it will never be a Yamaha. “There are some characteristics we are working on, such as improving the turning,…

SUPERBIKES When the Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli arrives at Winton Raceway on 28-30 April, Yamaha rider Daniel Falzon will be looking to defend his narrow points lead over Honda rival Troy Herfoss. Herfoss dominated the previous round at the similarly tight Wakefield Park circuit and looked every bit the champion not about to give up his title easily. At the recent Winton official ASBK, the plot thickened with Cru Halliday (above) clocking the fastest time on his YZF-R1. Further strengthening the ASBK grid is news that Alex Phillis is back and is now riding a Yamaha, while Josh Hook returns to the series to ride the Racer’s Edge Performance Ducati Panigale. Regular pilot Beau Beaton has announced he will sit out the Winton round but the team…

A NEW RECORD for race distance as well as the narrowest winning gap in the event’s history defined the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hour endurance event held at the Bugatti Circuit in France over 15-16 April. Less than 20 seconds (19.819sec) separated the two official Yamaha entries after their record-setting 860 laps, allowing Yamaha to celebrate its first Le Mans 24 Hour win since 2009. It was the GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team of David Checa, Niccolò Canepa and Mike Di Meglio who pounced in the final hours to snatch the lead from Yamaha Austria Racing Team (YART) of Aussie Broc Parkes, Marvin Fritz and Kohta Nozane, who were forced to relinquish the top spot after having led for 20 of the 24 hours. “We have to be happy,” said…

TRENT HEADLAND AND Darryl Whetstone are the new Australian Speedway Sidecar champions after two nights of fierce competition at Gillman, South Australia, over Easter. Championship night saw two teams dominate – Andrew Buchanan and passenger Denny Cox on 14 points, beaten only by Headland/Whetstone, who scored 13, breaking Darrin Treloar’s track record on the way. Warren Monson/Andrew Summerhayes also went direct to the final with 10 points ahead of a congested score chart with 11 riders finishing the heats within five points of them. A dramatic last round of heats resolved the order after several crashes and exclusions, and it took four attempts to determine the fourth of the finalists, with Darrin Treloar/Blake Cox (9) eventually beating Mark Mitchell/Sam Harrison (9) to take the semi. Treloar/Blake Cox briefly shaded Buchanan/Cox…

THE HORIZON POWER Kickstarters’ Gascoyne Dash has been won by Daymon Stokie (Yamaha YZF450), who overcame injury to hold off 2015 winner Cody Upton (Honda CRF450R). The ‘Gasdash’, as it is known, is held about 1000km north of Perth on a 70km loop through Carnarvon. Competitors cover more than 400km over two gruelling days. After Day 1, Stokie was looking good with a one-minute advantage over the rest of the field. But on Day 2 disaster struck when he fell just 10km from the start and broke two bones in his hand. With 200km still to race, he battled on to take the overall win with a time of 3:41:50, the pain in his hand allowing Upton to close to within an uncomfortable four seconds at the line. “I’m glad…

What got you into bikes? My dad Kevin was into bikes and so was my brother, but in the middle of the minibike boom I only rode a little bit at Norm Fraser’s farm on an MR50, XR75 and SL70. In fact, I didn’t get my first bike until I was 17, a Suzuki TM125 that cost me $300. I left school in Year 11 and took up an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner in the coal mines, but didn’t go racing until I was 21. When was your first race? I bought a Yamaha LC250 and had my first race at Oran Park in April 1982. It was only a three or four lapper, but I ended up winning it. I never had the money to do anything…

WORLD 500 CHAMPIONSHIP runner-up of 1964, Jack Ahearn, died in his home town of Lismore on 10 April, aged 92. The 2016 AMCN Hall of Fame inductee won the 1964 Finnish GP at Imatra aged 39 on a privately entered Norton and finished second in the championship to MV Agusta’s Mike Hailwood. He raced for a quarter of a century, was a multiple winner at Bathurst and represented Australia many times at the Isle of Man TT, beginning in 1954 when he was 29. Ahearn was one of the great characters of the famed Continental Circus, and the late Barry Sheene fondly recalled meeting him when he first went to Europe as a teenage mechanic. Born in Bondi, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, Ahearn was regarded as the quintessential private entrant…

ON THE BACK of the industry’s best annual result since 2009, sales of new motorcycles, ATVs and scooters recorded a 13.4 per cent decline in the first quarter of 2017, compared to the same period last year. Aussies purchased 21,794 brand newies in the three months to March, compared to 2016’s result of 25,160. Scooters took the biggest hit with a drop of 22.3 per cent (to just 291 units), followed by roadbikes, which were down 15.5 per cent. The off-road segment dropped 15.3 per cent while the ATV and SxS sector suffered the least, recording a mere 1.3 per cent decline compared to the first quarter of 2016. It was not all bad news, though. BRP (+16.8 per cent), Husqvarna (+33.1 per cent), Indian (+12.4 per cent), Polaris (+9.2…

THE HEALTHIEST SALES segment in the Australian motorcycle industry right now is the ATV and Side-by-Side (SxS) category, propped up by Aussie farmers. With the safety of ATVs coming under increased scrutiny and the popularity of the SxS vehicles booming as a result, a New Zealand company has come up with a third option, and it might be far more practical than it first appears. While the four-wheeled workhorses are invaluable in the day-to-day running of nearly all agri-businesses in Australia and NZ, the UBCO 2x2 boasts a few features neither an ATV nor an SxS can – it’s narrow, light and extremely nimble. Tipping the scales at just 58kg – all of which it carries extremely low due to its step-through-type design – the UBCO rolls on 17-inch tyres,…

Is there such an attribute as the hugability of a bike? Servicing First service 1000km Service intervals every 12,000km thereafter. At a skinny 755mm, the CBR650F is a handy lane-filterer Strong braking performance from the twin 320mm discs at the front and the 240mm disc at the rear; and ABS is included Pegs are set up and back as you’d expect on a sportsbike, but not excessively SURE, IT MAKES sense to think of LAMS bikes as a single category – there’s the shallow end of the pool guys, go swim in it. But in reality there’s a huge gap between your 125 or 250cc buzzabout and a bike like the CBR650F. Honda’s offering is pretty much as close to the deep end as you can get as a learner,…

Baby Beast The most notable update for 2017 is the radical styling overhaul which has turned the somewhat juvenile looking 390 Duke into an aggressively-styled motorcycle, with the face and attitude of KTM’s awesome 1290 Super Duke R. No doubt the 790cc parallel-twin replacement for the 690 Duke will be similarly styled, giving a clearer family connection across KTM’s range. Lord of the fly The Duke 390’s fly-by-wire throttle marks the first time the technology has been applied in the lightweight nakedbike sector. Its benefits are felt in smoother throttle response and acceleration. All things being equal, you would also expect better engine efficiency, but in this case fuel economy is marginally down on the previous model, due to a 12kg increase in the bike’s wet weight. Two-piece sweet The…

There are few places on earth that are as alien in appearance as the desolate surroundings of the Bonneville Salt Flats. Situated not far from the Wendover Air Force Base in the US state of Utah, this extraterrestrial-looking terrain, covered by an expansive sheet of grubby white salt and girdled by a jagged brown-black mountain range, each year becomes the eerie backdrop for what is simply known as Speed Week. Run in August by Bonneville Nationals Inc. and held under the auspices of the Southern California Timing Association, this is an event that is the spiritual home of land speed record-breaking. Many come from around the globe to ‘shoot the salt’ and try to put a new mark in the record books. And many fail. One person whose name is…

“Ducati’s new aero is a step-change in design, it’s changed the game overnight’” Last year’s MotoGP aerodynamic revolution was bolt-on winglets. Now, in 2017, the real aero race has begun. Protruding winglets were banned last autumn on safety grounds. Some riders called them “knives on the side of the bikes”, others complained that the dirty air behind a heavily winged MotoGP bike threw any motorcycle in its wake into a 200-miles-an-hour tankslapper. Those who thought the ban was the end of the aero race were in for a shock, but they shouldn’t have been because MotoGP bikes have a problem – they approach take-off velocity on the fastest straights, so they need downforce to keep the front wheel on the road. In other words, they’re pretty much as dangerous without…

YAMAHA’S 2017 AERO design is the most elegant solution, with two aero vanes inside each side of a widened fairing. The bodywork is less radical than Ducati’s, but still only suits some tracks. Yamaha didn’t use the fairing in Qatar or Argentina for the same reason most factories didn’t – the extra downforce was too much of a negative on the long main straights and through the numerous direction changes. “At the Sepang pre-season tests the new fairing was better because there are no really fast corners and not so many changes of direction,” said Maverick Viñales. “But somewhere like Losail or Phillip Island, there are many fast corners and changes of direction and a lot of wind. All these things make the bike really heavy to turn, so I…

DURING THE 1950S, huge all-enveloping fairings were used across all GP classes. These so-called ‘dustbin’ fairings were painstakingly constructed from hand-beaten aluminium and increased speeds significantly. But they were banned at the end of the 1957 season because they were blamed for causing numerous accidents, especially in side winds. In 1974 MV Agusta attached winglets to Phil Read’s 500 at super-fast Spa-Francorchamps, but they were never seen again. Four years later New Zealand bike racer and astrophysicist Rodger Freeth created huge Formula 1-style wings for his Yamaha TZ750 (photo left). The rear wing was about 70cm wide and was quickly banned. Around the same time, Suzuki fitted smaller winglets to the RG500s used by Barry Sheene and Pat Hennen. These increased front downforce and thus front tyre temperature, which was…

THE RETRO AND scrambler craze presently sweeping the motorcycle industry has had a pleasant side effect for us road riders: the opportunity to wear retro dirtbike-style helmets. Leading the way in yesteryear looks is Bell with its Moto-3, but for the 60-year-old American firm, it’s a case of original not retro. I can still emember when full-face motocross helmets burst onto the scene in the early 70s. Until then we’d all worn open-face helmets with cool-looking, but not so safe face masks. The first big name in full-face MX helmets was Bell with its original Moto-3, and it was a helmet I lusted after but never owned. Now 40 years on, and I have my very own Moto-3 helmet, and it’s brand new with 21st-century safety technology. The new Moto-3…

I MUST ADMIT, I felt like a proud dad when I spied our Sol Invictus Nemesis on display at the recent Throttle Roll Street Party event in Sydney. It wasn’t the best looking or wildest bike at the event, and it didn’t get a guernsey on the famous wall of bikes, but it still attracted plenty of attention sitting out the front of the Sol Invictus stand. Our AMCN Nemesis café racer is proof that you can achieve a cool custom look on a budget with just a few simple touches. The original challenge was to undertake all the work single-handed in my garage, using only over-the-counter bolt-on parts. Cutting or modifying the chassis was off limits. Other than the fitment of the Shinko whitewall tyres from Bruce Collins Enterprises,…

Victoria is well endowed with awesome motorcycle-friendly riding destinations. Lake Eildon and Jamieson to the north of Melbourne are both good examples and, to make things even better, the picturesque road linking these two towns is sealed for its entire length. At the top end of the Yarra Valley, beyond the Black Spur, the Eildon-Jamieson Road has always been a nice scenic ride through the Lake Eildon National Park. With roadwork some years ago sealing the final section of what was once a dirt road, it is now more easily accessible for riders of sports and touring bikes. Jamieson, at the northern end of this route, is very popular with motorcyclists either passing through or using the town as a base to explore the area further on trailbikes. The surrounding…

FORMER WORLD CHAMP Kevin Schwantz said he was “cool” with rookie Johann Zarco’s dynamic attempt to snatch third from Valentino Rossi in the frantic early laps of the Texas GP. Zarco dived inside the Italian, forcing him wide over the run-off to avoid crashing. The 0.3sec penalty imposed on Rossi eventually made no difference to the results, though it did spark controversial discussion around what other option Rossi was left with. “That’s racing,” said Schwantz. “Zarco had some roll into that corner and thought, I’m beside you, let’s go. And I’m absolutely cool to see Zarco racing like that. If you get a sniff of the 46 then f*cking hell, that’s exactly what I’d be doing.” Rossi was not quite so accommodating: “For me,” he said, “the problem is not…

IT HAS BEEN an impressive start to the British Superbike Championship for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team, with Luke Mossey continuing its winning streak with two wins from two races over the Easter long weekend at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit. Although claiming pole with a 44.728sec lap, McAMS Yamaha rider James Ellison’s weekend was cut short when he crashed on lap 12 of the opening race. He tried to start Race 2 but parked the bike after the warm-up lap. That allowed Kawasaki duo Mossey and Leon Haslam to score impressive 1-2 and 1-3 finishes in the two races. A stoked Mossey said: “I am so happy for myself and my team. Our first ever double in a weekend. I’m over the moon. I’ve never had such a strong…

SPANISH RIDER TONI Elías – former Moto2 world champion and potential replacement for Suzuki Ecstar’s injured MotoGP rider Álex Rins – has won the opening two rounds of the 2017 MotoAmerica Superbike championship run in conjunction with the American Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas. Riding the new-for-2017 GSXR1000R, the Yoshimura Suzuki man battled with teammate Roger Lee Hayden in both races, with Hayden scoring a strong second and third-place scorecard for a team one-two on the overall points ladder heading into the second round. “COTA is one of my favourite tracks of the season and I’ve had a lot of success here the past couple of years,” Elías said. Yamaha Factory Team’s defending champ Cameron Beaubier crashed out of the opening race before remounting to…

THE TRAIN OF success continued for Dean Ferris (CDR Yamaha) at Appin, New South Wales, where he put together a clinical second moto in the pouring rain to secure the overall win for the day, and retain the red plate, following the second round of the MX Nationals. In the opening moto, several riders made early moves for the lead before Kirk Gibbs (KTM Australia) settled out front ahead of Ferris. Behind them, Brett Metcalfe (SD3 Husqvarna) had found form, holding off a hard-charging Todd Waters (Crankt Honda). Gibbs looked at home on the track, running away to a convincing win. As the sighting lap commenced for the second moto, the heavens opened and added another factor to the already rough and rutted track. But Ferris excelled in the trying…

THE BATTLE FOR the 2017 World Speedway Championship starts at Krsko in Slovenia this weekend, and finishes with the 12th and final round in Melbourne on 28 October. There are four previous champions among the 15 permanent participants (Greg Hancock, Nicki Pedersen, Tai Woffinden and Aussie Chris Holder), but which riders could upstage them? Three potential future champs loom, and clearly one of them is Australian Jason Doyle, who was on track to win last year before being injured. His early European season form indicates he’ll be a major contender. Any improvement from last year’s No. 3 Bartosz Zmarzlik would see him close to the top in the points chase, while Emil Sayfutdinov’s return to the series after a three-year absence should not be underestimated. The quality of the other…