Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 69 Issue 05 i Australian Motorcycle News

ALEX RINS’ ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ last corner manoeuvre at Silverstone wasn’t the only reason I know we’re not only among a Golden Era of MotoGP right now, but we’re also witnessing a paddock brimming with talent, passion, win-at-all-costs attitudes and undiluted love for what they are doing. The paddock mood dictates a watchable championship and the place is alive with the kind of thinking that makes me want to watch it, even when one bloke is doing most of the winning. The footage of our Jack Miller arriving at the practice start area on the nose of his $2m Ducati, to the applause of Aleix Espargaro and encouragement of Marc Marquez, is a big part of it for me. Here are the top blokes in a high-pressure world championship mucking around like…

Arcing up Melbourne electric startup Savic Motorcycles has secured enough investment to start production, with orders open from November 8 and delivery planned in August 2020. Go Brooksey! AMCN columnist, Aussie Josh Brookes, is back in the BSB championship lead on the all-new Ducati Panigale V4. Oh, Danny boy! Former Moto3 champion Danny Kent, the first British world champ since Barry Sheene in 1977, has lost his BSB ride after receiving a suspended jail sentence for “carrying a knife during an altercation in a car park”. Vale Chris Swallow Leading Kiwi classic racer Chris Swallow was killed in the Senior race at this month’s Classic TT. AMCN extends its condolences.…

1 Easy Rider was shot in early 1968 and took a year to get into cinemas. 2 It made over $A60m on a budget of $A400,000. 3 The original title was The Loners. 4 Three of the four choppers were stolen before the film was released, which is why in the final campfire scene there are no bikes in the background. 5 The chopper that catches fire at the end of the film was a cobbled-together version with a rattle-can paint job on the frame, not chrome. 6 There are many unsung heroes of the Easy Rider production, including cinematographer László Kovács. His exquisite style was first seen in the 1967 film Hells Angels on Wheels, starring Jack Nicholson. 7 Website www. mrzip66.com has a complete and illustrated route of…

Congratulations Henry, you’ve scored a beaut Motul cap and T-shirt valued at $35, kindly supplied by our mates at Link International. Rider Henry James Ride Honda XR100 He says This is one of the bikes I had when I was a kid which, after almost 30 years after it started the rounds as a family hand-me-down, has made its way back to me. When I was in primary school, I thought I was the bee’s knees riding this around my backyard – which I’d do most afternoons, for hours and hours and hours. I’d pretend that I was competing in international races and even do Le Mans-style starts as no one but my dog watched on. I’d love to restore it back to how it looked when I was a…

WHEN I PICKED the 1290 S up, the good people at KTM informed me that the KTM MY RIDE software is now iOS compatible. Prior to now, it has only been android users who could play along. So, before I took the 1290 out for its first major jaunt, I coughed up the $12.99 for the KTM MY RIDE Navigation app. Pairing to a phone is extremely easy, as is the link-up to my UCLEAR com system. The basic onscreen navigation works well, displaying an arrow pointing in the direction of your next turn and the distance until you need to make said turn. The system isn’t without its glitches though. An attempt to play a podcast resulted a slowed down version being fed into my helmet, with an ambiance…

WELL, HOW WE planned it and how it panned out ended up being two different things. The plan was awesome; meet on the north western fringes of Sydney nice and early, head north to Singleton to take in the excellent Putty Road. We’d grab a quick coffee in Singleton before heading south-west along the fun, fast and flowing Bylong Valley Way through to Rylstone where, as so many AMCN group tests have over the years, we’d have long and robust discussions about the pros and cons of each machine at the warm and welcoming Globe Hotel. From there, we’d begin our ride home via Bathurst in a bid to sample the splendid Sofala road, a short highway run to Lithgow, before heading back to Sydney via the Bell’s Line. “Let’s…

SAM MACLACHLAN A 2016 KTM 1290 Super Duke was my personal ride for a couple of years, so I’m a bit biased towards the big Kato. Monster horsepower in a street-friendly engine that just begs to be challenged, the sweet chassis and proper brakes and suspension will always place it among my favourite bikes to ride on the road. It’s fun, effective and can do it all, more comfortably than a lot of its competition. That price though… If KTM could drop $2k, or add the quick shifter, it would be a no-brainer. KEL BUCKLEY Flashy and foolhardy, KTM’s Super Duke feels like a supermotard on steroids. The jewel in its crown is its 48mm WP front fork, which offers unrivalled feedback, stability and trust in the front end –…

I caught up with the cop car in the peak-hour nonsense without even trying, the Hypermotard easily scything through traffic. I’d literally just picked up the latest 2019 model from Ducati HQ but within seconds had the measure of its superb low-speed balance despite feeling like I was sitting on top of the headstock, compared to the rather more laid-back Scrambler I’d just given back. Deciding discretion was the better part of valour I kept pace with the boys in blue rather than give them any excuse to have a chat by leaving them in my dust. In the ebb and flow of traffic we traded position fore and aft on the three-lane road for a few minutes and, as I was slowing for a red light with Mr. Plod…

KTM 790 DUKE $17,300 (plus on-road costs) THE 799CC PARALLEL- twin punches hard for its size, with a combination of 78kW (105hp) and 87Nm. It looks as aggressive as the Ducati and comes with its own suite of electronic wizardry accessed through a full-colour TFT dash. Three road-oriented rider modes plus a fourth Track mode (where you can turn everything off) combine with lean-angle traction-control, cornering ABS (with the ability to disable the rear-ABS function alone) and variable anti-wheelie to put it right in the same ballpark as its Italian rival. WP suspension (non-adjustable front end and preload only adjustable rear), a steering damper and a quickshifter rounds off a pretty complete package. Its seat height is a lot lower at 825mm and fuel capacity half a litre less but…

Top 3 TV 1 ASBK Rd5 LIVE asbk.com.au 8 Sep 11.25am (AEST) You can watch Round 5 of the Australian Superbike Championship live from Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria by logging on to asbk.com.au. Other classes will also be aired live; see the website for the full schedule. 2 WSBK Rd10 LIVE Videopass 7-8 Sep 11pm (AEST) WSBK heads to Portugal for Round 10. Race 1 airs Saturday night at 11pm and Race 2 on Sunday night at 11pm. The WSS action happens at 9.15pm Sunday. Catch it all live on Videopass or on Fox Sports. 3 MXGP Rd19 LIVE MXGP-TV 8 September 8pm (AEST) Log on to mxgp-tv.com to catch all of the FIM MXGP action from Turkey. Race 1 starts at 9pm Sunday night, with Race 2 at…

I HEAD INTO the Winton round of the ASBK Superbike championship just one point off the series lead. You won’t find me making any bold claims, but I couldn’t feel more confident about where I am in my racing life. It all started at Round One at Phillip Island when I got back on the Yamaha YZF-R1 after winning the 2018 Supersport title on the YZF-R6. I wasn’t expecting much of a result on a track I’ve never done that well on. Also the small amount of pre-season testing hadn’t gone to plan. To be honest, I was a bit panicky after the tyre test because getting back on the superbike had me thinking; Wow, this is a whole new level. Fortunately Superbikes don’t feel crazy fast at Phillip Island…

“I was struggling at the end, with no contact with the rear tyre. I was trying to fight and I couldn’t really. In the last lap I nearly lost the rear, on the left of the tyre. I’ve never had that problem with the holeshot device. It was quite scary heading down to turn three. I was trying to grab extra brakes, but at the front of a group. I brought home some points, but I wanted more.” “We were struggling in the beginning, but once the fuel level came down I could push a little harder, start catching the guys. I rode my absolute balls off for the last six laps… managed to get past Binder, but he brakes like a f***ing demon. I don’t know how he stopped…

THERE WAS ANOTHER Marquez upset in the last race of the day, when younger brother Alex brought his purple patch to an end, leading away from Jorge Navarro, only to slip off on the sixth lap. “It was my mistake. I braked too late,” said the EG-VDS Kalex rider, whose consolation was that his previous nearest title rival Thomas Luthi was no better than eighth. On the other hand, he now has two new challengers, with winner Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox Kalex) and second-placed Navarro (Campetella Speed Up) equal on points with Luthi, just 35 adrift of the leader. When Marquez crashed, Navarro had a lead of close on 2sec, while a fierce scrap for second had just seen an ultra-determined Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) get ahead of Australian Remy…

AS THE BANHAMS WA Junior State Road Racing Championship progress some epic battles have unfolded at the various rounds. Jayden Martin (Yamaha R15), William Wasley (Yamaha R15), Hayden Treversh (Honda 150) and Hannah Stewart (Yamaha R15) are just four of the strong field of riders who have impressed. Their racecraft was on show at Round Four at the Wanneroo International Kart Track, where Martin (#85, left) qualified on pole by 0.4sec from Wasley. In Race One, Wasley got the jump, but a missed gearchange gave Martin the lead followed by Stewart and Treversh. Wasley fought back into second before a front end lose saw him crash and the whole field went past. He remounted and carved his way back through the field. Attempting a move for fourth place he came…

THE FIRST one hundred dollar bill is printed in Australia, medicare has just come into effect to help ease the cost of medical bills for Australians and Bob Hawke gets re-elected with a reduced majority. Paul and Linda McCartney get arrested in Barbados for possession of cannabis. Indira Gandhi, who was the fourth Prime Minister of India, is assassinated by two of her bodyguards at 66. Western Australia becomes the last Australian state to abolish the death sentence for crimes like murder. New South Wales maintained it as a punishment for treason and piracy with violence until 1985, when capital punishment was abolished in Australia. How much? For under four and a half grand, you could get yourself a Suzuki GSX750SF. And that was one of the more expensive bikes.…

Quick learner ON COMPLETION, AND with zero instruction on how to successfully control an outfit, Barry picked up his new wheels from the centre of London ahead of the most dangerous half-hour ride of his life. “It would not steer around left-hand corners and the body would lift on right-hand bends,” he recalls. “Taking off and turning from traffic lights was especially scary. I must admit at one point, I mounted the curb and nearly hit a few pedestrians!” Barry eventually figured out that he needed to drive the outfit like a car, rather than ride it like a bike and got his head around the geometry of the vehicle and the best way to set it up before piling the family in the chair and setting off. Making do…

ENGINE Capacity 1301cc Type 75-degree V-twin, DOHC, eight valves Bore & stroke 108mm x 71mm Compression ratio 13.1:1 Cooling Liquid Fueling Keihin EFI, 52mm throttle body Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate PASC slipper, hydraulically operated Final drive Chain PERFORMANCE Power 118kW @ 8750rpm (claimed) Torque 140Nm @ 6750rpm (claimed) Top speed 265km/h (est) Fuel consumption 5.13L/100km (measured) ELECTRONICS Type Keihin EMS with RBW and cruise control, double ignition, Rider aides Bosch 9ME combined-ABS, and MTC CHASSIS Frame material Chromium-Molybdenum-Steel Frame type Trellis Rake 26° Trail 120mm Wheelbase 1560mm SUSPENSION Type WP Semi-Active Front: 48mm USD fork, electronically adjustable damping, 200mm travel Rear: die-cast open-lattice swingarm with monoshock, electronically adjustable…

SAM MACLACHLAN Nakedbikes have to be fun, and if you can’t have fun on this thing, hand in your bike licence right now. The Race Replica looks amazing, even if the price to get it that way is too steep in my opinion, but the power delivery, looks, ride position and excellent TFT dash all make each time you climb aboard fun and involving. The sidestand operation from the seat is a shocker, the seat height a little too high and the bike takes a long time to warm up and run smooth for a modern bike, but none of these aspects took away from the ride for me. I had a ball on this bike. KEL BUCKLEY Easily the best looking of the bunch, its longer wheelbase and larger-diameter…

ENGINE Capacity 937cc Type 90-degree L-twin, DOHC, eight valves Bore & stroke 94mm x 67.5mm Compression ratio 13.3:1 Cooling Liquid Fueling EFI, twin Ø 53 throttle bodies Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate, slipper Final drive Chain PERFORMANCE Power 84kW @ 9000rpm (claimed) Torque 96Nm @ 7250rpm (claimed) Top speed 240+km/h (est) Fuel consumption 6.5L/100km (measured) ELECTRONICS Type Bosch 6-axis IMU RIDER AIDS Adjustable Bosch Cornering ABS, three customisable rider modes, anti-wheelie EVO, traction control CHASSIS Frame material Tubular steel Frame type Trellis Rake 25° Trail 104mm Wheelbase 1493mm SUSPENSION Type Marzocchi fork, Sachs shock Front: 45mm USD telescopic fork, adjustable preload, damping, compression, 170mm travel Rear: Single-sided swingarm with monoshock,…

ESSENTIALS There is plenty of fuel available at either end of this route in Cooma, Bega, and Cobargo. Food and accommodation is at Nimmitabel and Bemboka. Keep an eye out for Highway Patrol on the Monaro Highway, a hotspot for the policing of motorcycles. Fix it We have it on good authority that Bega Motorcycles is good for some workshop advice, tyre repairs or spares assistance during the week. It’s open between 8.30am and 5.30pm five days a week near the Cheese Factory, 14-18 Ridge Street, North Bega (02) 6492 3122 Sleep Alpine Hotel – 170 Sharp St, Cooma (02) 6452 1466. This is a cool old art-deco style building on the main street, with basic pub-style rooms with shared facilities for a decent rate. We also like that it…

Show time 7 SEPTEMBER Show & Shine Family Fun Day, Kilcoy Showgrounds, 26 Showground Rd, Woolmar, Qld. 9am to 2pm. Bikes, cars, showbags, slides and jumping castle. Gold coin donation at the gate; show ’n’ shine entry $15; $2 for kids category. Hosted by the Kilcoy State School P&C Asociation. For information phone Kira on 0408 204 879. 14 SEPTEMBER Salubrious Day in the Dirt, Archer Falls Airfield, 1253 Neurum Rd, Woodford, Qld. Gates open 8am. Dirt drags, car, truck and bike show. Trophies, food, drinks, joy flights, bar and band til late. $10 entry; kids free; onsite camping $5. No dogs, no fires, no BYO and no aggro. For more information phone Scott on 0417 427 016. 14 SEPTEMBER Eudlo Car & Bike Show, Eudlo State School, 2 Highlands…

THE MARGINS IN MotoGP have never been smaller, the difference between glory and humiliation remains clear. The distinction has been painfully defined for Johann Zarco… and the Frenchman’s plight is a warning. The news broke at the last round in Austria, that the erstwhile nascent superstar’s primrose path had in place of prosperity and pleasure led to a precipice. Now he has fallen over it. Fortunately this is just figurative. But it surely hurts just as much as if it were literal, and as if his French flier successor Fabio Quartararo was leaning over the edge and poking fun at him. To sneer at Zarco would not only be unpleasantly cruel, it would also be unwise. At the same time, viewing this as a temporary set-back cannot be done with…

Circuit length 5.900km Race distance MotoGP 118.000km Moto2 106.200km Moto3 94.400km 2017 winners [No races in 2018 due to weather] MotoGP Andrea Dovizioso 40m45.496s Moto2 Takaaki Nakagami 38m20.883s Moto3 Arón Canet 35m53.028s Did you know? The last time Suzuki won more than one GP in a premier class season was 19 years ago. Kenny Roberts Jr won in Malaysia, twice in Spain (at both Jerez and Catalunya) and in Japan, though the race at Motegi was called the Pacific GP. With four wins, KR JR went on to win the 2000 title comfortably ahead of 500cc rookie Valentino Rossi. But after that season the American never won another GP, and retired in 2007 with 10 poles, 8 wins and 22 podiums.…

CAL CRUTCHLOW WAS miffed and mystified by his inability to compete for a home grand prix victory at Silverstone. The LCR Honda rider was forced to wrestle his spinning and shaking RC213V for 20 laps and said that his sixth place, 19 seconds adrift of winner Alex Rins, was “not the reality” and “something strange” contributed to his disappointing result. “If I finished sixth I expected to be two seconds off the win, given how close the times were in practice, and Jack Miller had similar issues,” said Crutchlow who duelled with Miller for much of the race. “I’m not making excuses but we need to investigate what happened.” Crutchlow said it was “just ridiculous” that Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci was 1.5sec a lap faster at the end of the…

AUSTRALIAN SPEEDWAY STAR Max Fricke will be part of the Speedway Grand Prix series in 2020 after he claimed the last of the three available berths from the SGP Challenge meeting staged at Gorican, Croatia on Saturday 24 August. Fricke did it the hard way with two thirds, two wins and a second, and then beat Martin Vaculik in a run-off. “This was one of my major goals for this year and I’m so happy to have got through to contest the 2020 Speedway Grand Prix series,” the Aussie said. Vaculik is well placed in the 2019 series, so he may still be there for next year. The top two at Gorican were Matej Zagar and Niels-Kristian Iversen, both of whom are struggling in this year’s series.…

AFTER VENTURING TO Europe after dominating the latter rounds of the 2006 Australian Supersport Championship with Team Yamaha, Mark Aitchison landed the plumb FIM Superstock 1000 ride with Celani Suzuki. He made an immediate impact, winning the second round at Valencia and leading the title chase mid-season before a run of outs saw him finish fourth in the final standings. He landed a seat on the WSS BE-1 Triumph 675 in 2008 before joining the Althea Honda team the following year, with a best finish of third in 2009 at Kyalami behind Cal Crutchlow and Eugene Laverty. He performed near miracles on the Pedercini Kawasaki Superbike with several top-10 finishes in 2011, before struggling to secure a full-time ride in WSBK. ‘Atcho’ enjoyed success racing in China back in 2015,…

1 Just one point separates the first two riders in the ASBK Superbike championship. Cru Halliday explains exclusively to AMCN how he will snatch back the points lead. Page 108. BIKER BOY PUTIN Russian President Vladimir Putin has outraged the Ukraine by leathering up for the Night Wolves motorcycle club. His ride with the pro-Kremlin club in Crimea was described by Kiev’s Foreign Ministry as “a crude violation by the Russian side of state sovereignty and the territorial integrity of our state”. LEGACY LID A limited-edition Arai QV-Pro helmet in a Suzuki Katana theme is available exclusively through Suzuki and its dealer network for $995. “There aren’t many material things in life you can really invest in, but with a motorcycle it’s emotional, it’s long term” Actor Ryan Reynolds talks…

THIS LINE, UTTERED by Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction, might be a reference to the Easy Rider bike but it also sums up two decades of customising that preceded the film. By the mid-1960s, this California-based styling had reached its peak, with sky-high handlebars, backrests and exhaust pipes combining with raked-out front forks and footrests to create a fashion statement. The next decade saw the custom styling in California turn to the ‘low-rider’, with raked out frames but a riding position that was low and lean. The Easy Rider chopper was built nearly two years before the film’s release in 1969, so it’s fascinating to compare it with its co-star, known as the Billy bike and ridden by Dennis Hopper. One was the last of an era, the other a…

BIMOTA TESI → Engine V-Four DOHC Honda (From Honda’s Formula One) → Capacity 750cc → Power Unknown → Torque Unknown → Gearbox Five-speed → Weight 170kg (wet, claimed) The Tesi’s appearance was proof that Bimota had picked up Andre de Cortanze’s gauntlet. The show bike was powered by a small V4 Honda engine, but there was the promise of a full-blooded 750cc version propelled by works Honda units, which would be developed during the 1984 World Endurance season. It’s clear to see that the Tesi is one wild racer, maybe because the frame was constructed by Formula 1 car chassis builders, Monfrini.…

The real McCoy A mate and I often pick a destination for an Adventure ride and make it up as we go along, so it becomes interesting not knowing what we are going to encounter. You end up acquiring an adventure, memories and friendships that endure for a lifetime Our last ride, we went northeast from Brisbane to the Bunya Mountains. We found some good back roads, then we needed fuel and I remembered that Cooyar had fuel so off we went. When we got there, the fuel bowser was gone, but as it was lunchtime we thought we might as well have a feed. We walked inside and I realised it had changed a lot since I had been there last, now there was bikes and leathers and memorabilia.…

SAM MACLACHLAN What does this bike do wrong? Nothing. It has one of the more aggro riding positions for a naked – the KTM feels more natural to me – but everything is so flawless, it’s easy to start thinking it’s a bit vanilla. Then you crack the throttle, squeeze the brakes, change gear or tip into a corner and you know it’s too good, too dynamic to be accused of that flavour. It simply cracks on so many levels, and that powershifter is still the best in the business – as flawless as the rest of the bike’s dynamics. It could do with a TFT dash, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting to ride. KEL BUCKLEY I’m always asked what my favourite bike is and I always…

BMW ENGINE Capacity 999cc Type Inline, four cylinder DOHC, 16 valves Bore & stroke 80mm x 49.7mm Compression ratio 12.1:1 Cooling Liquid/oil Fueling EFI, Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate with ‘anti-hopping’ system Final drive Chain PERFORMANCE Power 121kW @ 11,000rpm (claimed) Torque 114Nm @ 9250rpm (claimed) Top speed over 200km/h (claimed) Fuel consumption Not given ELECTRONICS Type ECU, Not given Rider aides BMW Motorrad ABS Pro, ASC, DTC, Quick shift assist pro, riding modes pro, cruise control CHASSIS Frame material Aluminum composite Frame type Bridge Rake 24.8° Trail 98.5mm Wheelbase 1439mm SUSPENSION Type BMW Front: 46mm USD telescopic fork with DDC, adjustable preload, 120mm travel Rear: Aluminium 2-sided swingarm…

Want more motard for your money? IF THE STANDARD Hypermotard isn’t hyper enough, for a slightly eye-watering $5200 more you can own the SP version. For your moolah you do get a fair bit of extra metal in the form of fully adjustable Öhlins with 15mm more travel up front and a not-insignificant 25mm more at the back, which also gives the bike more available lean angle at 47 degrees. Tyres are chewing-gum-soft Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SPs to help you use that all up. IT COMES WITH SPECIAL PAINTSO WILL SURELY BE FASTER DESPITE IDENTICAL POWER FIGURES Be prepared to wear your fanciest high-heels if you’re short of leg though, as that inner-leg-curve thing is 40mm more than on the standard kit. You also get less metal, with a kerb…

Forty two years ago this summer, a pint-sized, bespectacled youngster from the furthest north-west corner of the United States became the first American to win a road-racing world championship. Steve Baker didn’t know it at the time but he opened the floodgates: the diminutive 25-year-old was followed immediately by Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz, who won 13 500cc world championships over the next 16 seasons. Baker, from the town of Bellingham, just a few miles south of the Canadian border, was also the first dirt-tracker to make it big in road racing. Like his compatriots he learned his skills on dirt ovals, before applying them to road racing, using his throttle control to square the circle of springy frames, nascent slick-tyre technology and two-stroke…

Daytona F750 13 March 1st / Venezuelan 500 GP 20 March 2nd/ Imola F750 3 April 2nd/ Jarama F750 24 April 1st Salzburging 500 GP 1 May DNS/ Hockenheim 500 GP 8 May 2nd/ Imola 500 GP 15 May 4th/ Paul Ricard 500 GP 29 May 3rd Dijon F750 5 June 3rd/ Assen 500 GP 25 June 5th/ Spa 500 GP 3 July 2nd/ Brands F750 10 July 1st/ Anderstorp 500 GP 24 July 3rd Imatra 500 GP 31 July DNF/ Brno 500 GP 7 August DNF/ Silverstone 500 GP 14 August 2nd/ Salzburging F750 21 August 1st Zolder F750 28 August 1st/ Assen F750 4 September 2nd/ Laguna F750 11 September 2nd/ Mosport F750 18 September 3rd…

DO YOU EVER read lists? I do. I suppose the curiosity that prompted me years ago to chuck in a perfectly fine career doing something else for the art of questioning people why and how about things, and writing down their answers, makes me curious about the order in which other people may prioritise stuff. One that I see from time to time is ‘Most and Least Trusted Professions’. While it does me good to see that nurses and teachers habitually top the list (my wife is a nurse), at the other end... not so much. Journalists are often placed towards the lower end, along with politicians (ugh), real estate agents (except, surely, for the nice ones who read this magazine) and... talkback radio announcers. Don’t start me (and c’mon,…

FOR THE SECOND RACE in a row, the dominant Marc Marquez got his nose wiped in the final corner. The wiper this time was compatriot Alex Rins on the Ecstar Suzuki, who had hounded the Repsol Honda for the full race distance over 20 complicated laps and 118km of the longest track of the year. It was a second win of the year for Rins, but his first in a straight fight with Marquez. A sun-baked and resurfaced Silverstone made up for last year’s flood-cancelled debacle for some 50,000 fans, with a race full of tension, although depleted by a first-corner crash that took out two important players. Star-studded rookie Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha), leading the second row of the grid, was bamboozled by the lack of traction control when…

JORGE LORENZO WOULD neither confirm nor deny that he had approached Ducati before the Austrian GP, rumours that left Pramac incumbent Jack Miller on tenterhooks. A partial resolution came on Saturday night, with news that Lorenzo had called Honda team boss Alberto Puig to confirm his commitment to fulfil the second year of his contract. Asked whether he had contacted Ducati, he obfuscated, talking instead about the problems he had faced. “After crashes I had never suffered in my career, I started to have doubts about my life and my career. I think it is human to have these doubts,” he said. “When I started to feel better these doubts started to disappear… I started again to be convinced about challenge I took on one year ago, to be competitive…

JACK MILLER WAS an eyewitness to the scary turn-one crash that put Fabio Quartararo and Andrea Dovizioso out of the British Grand Prix. The spectacular spill was triggered when Quartararo’s Yamaha YZR-M1 highsided out of turn one just seconds after the start. Quartararo said the off-throttle highside started when he “aggressively shut the throttle” in response to a slide by Alex Rins (Suzuki GSX-RR) “This was really strange because if Rins didn’t make the mistake, for sure I would just keep on sliding,” the Frenchman said. Miller saw it all unfold. “As I grabbed the brakes, Fabio was peeling around the outside of me and unfortunately you normally go through that corner in third gear so the bike is mapped for third,” Miller said. “But from the start you only…

IN ONE OF the most popular wins ever around the hallowed Mountain Course, New Zealand road racing legend Bruce Anstey took a flag-to-flag victory in the this year’s Lightweight Classic TT race, 16 months after falling ill to cancer for the second time. As the first Lightweight rider to break the 120mph lap back in 2017, the likeable Kiwi led off the line at Glencrutchery Road and was coaxed around the four-lap 149-mile race by a vocal and adoring crowd. He beat his Padgetts Honda teammate Davey Todd to the finish by well over a minute to take his sixth Classic TT win (and his third in the Lightweight category), with James Hand rounding out the podium. “It’s awesome to win. I can’t believe it,” Anstey said following the race.…

Australian Motorcycle News road test photographs are posed for by skilled, professional riders under controlled circumstances. Attempting to imitate their actions may be dangerous. Australian Motorcycle News supports and endorses rider training and wearing protective riding gear. Especially if there’s no way that experienced rider up there in front of you would stop for that truck doing 50km/h all the way back there. Yeah, especially. Cos even though all three riders were skilled and quite proficient in pulling onto a suburban street, that experienced rider up there thought we might need a bit more time to sort our clutch levers from our brake levers. We all took off, Kel looking rearward over her shoulder to get the lay of the land, while Sam thought better of it and decided to…