Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 69 Issue 20 i Australian Motorcycle News

THERE ARE SO many variables in life right now. Wondering when you will see interstate friends and family again, wondering how Zoom works, wondering if a short blast up your favourite ride road qualifies as ‘essential travel’ or not. All of that. The one thing we can rely on is the feeling that the motorcycle (or indeed, those motorcycles) in your shed offers. Even if we aren’t enjoying it as we once did, or are stuck simply working on them rather than riding them, it will come back. We will ride freely again. And appreciate it even more. We will ride again, and in the meantime, ride when it’s essential It’s like those of us who have kids. When they are toddlers; demanding, messy, not sleeping great and so goddamn…

H-D PLANS TO slowly add two adventure bikes – the Pan America in 1250cc and 975cc sizes – along with five Revolution Max-powered Streetfighter models and five similarly-engined Custom bikes. We’ve already seen designs that suggest one of the new machines will be a half-faired sports bike that harks back to the VR1000 racer. Another push is towards more electric bikes including battery-assisted cycles, scooters and this middleweight electric dirt tracker. Designed to slot in under the pioneering but pricey LiveWire, the tracker was revealed in September’s investors-only document and wears the badge ‘EDT600R’ on its tank. ‘EDT’ probably means Electric Dirt Tracker. While the LiveWire has gained praise for its accomplished performance and range, it’s aimed at wealthy early-adopters. The cheaper EDT600R will target a wider audience.…

3 That’s how many years Yamaha’s iconic V4 RZ500 race replica streetbike was around for, between 1984-86. Turn to page 82 for the full story BIKE-MAD BANA’S RIPPING YARN Eric Bana’s Pick Up Truck Pictures and fellow Aussie Robert Connolly’s Arenamedia production company recently secured rights to Mike Hailwood’s 1978 Isle of Man TT comeback story. Bike-mad Bana, who sometimes pops up at track days, will star as Mike ‘the Bike’ Hailwood. Little wonder the stars want to recreate the event; even before Hailwood went and won it, Isle of Man hoteliers had to import extra beds to cater for the huge crowds his 1978 TT return attracted. 3D WONDER How’s this for groundbreaking customising. French outfit VIBA and the Erpro 3D factory have combined to trick up this BMW…

AS DISTANCING regulations keep changing by the day, recreational motorcycle riding is a state-by-state proposition. As an example, in Victoria the State Government has banned “all recreational activities beyond basic exercise”. “Unfortunately, this means no fishing, no hunting, no boating, no camping and no golf,” Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton has said. So a Sunday blast is out but you can ride down to the shops for essentials. And that is going to help you beat the blues. Every state has different policies but government websites have daily updates. Consult them to see how the restrictions on movement and social gathering affect you as a motorcyclist in your state.…

IN HIS SENIOR years, George Morrison delighted in telling the story of his Isle of Man race debut in the 1949 350 TT, and how he scattered spectators. “Halfway around the Isle of Man course there’s a village called Kirkmichael. The corner coming into the town is a long, sweeping bend, which we could take at about 90mph. On the outside of the corner was a footpath, about three feet wide and then a low stone wall. During the races people would sit along the wall. “British roads have low-melting point tar, so it won’t crack during the winter. The temperature that day was up around 90 on the old scale (30ºC), and so unbeknownst to me, the tar started to melt. “The first time through Kirkmichael, my bike started…

Essential in iso Let me get one thing straight right off. AMCN is an essential service. In fact, you should be providing a weekly publication during this time of self isolation and quarantine for so many around the world. Having been a reader for 46 years now, I have seen the development of the magazine from its beginnings and most has been very positive there is one aspect of your production which has slipped away to some degree. When I started saving my pocket money, purchasing and reading AMCN there were reviews much like now of the current samplings on the market, but there were also articles on the dreams of potential motorcyclists. Things like alternative front ends, fully enclosed motorcycles and the Egli Kawasaki which produced so much power…

HARLEY’S MILWAUKEE- Eight engine is the ninth-generation Big Twin from the iconic American manufacturer. First appearing as a 107 cubic inch (1745cc) donk in 2017, the Milwaukee-Eight found its way into CVO models and later into the touring range as a 114 cubic inch (1868cc) version. The Milwaukee-Eight offered the same familiar look as past engines from the Motor Company but was a complete redesign, with more power, more torque, better throttle response and cooler running over the outgoing twin-cam engine. Power and torque gains were achieved via the capacity increase as well as a higher compression ratio. New four-valve cylinder heads with increased intake and exhaust flow capacity also helped, as did dual-spark plugs that also improved combustion efficiency. The lighter single chain-driven camshaft is less complex and creates…

2019 9th MotoGP world championship (Honda) 2018 6th MotoGP world championship (Honda) 2017 9th MotoGP world championship (Honda) 2016 7th MotoGP world championship (Honda) 2015 8th MotoGP world championship (Honda) 2014 13th MotoGP world championship (Ducati) 2013 5th MotoGP world championship (Yamaha) 2012 7th MotoGP world championship (Yamaha) 2011 12th MotoGP world championship (Yamaha) 2010 5th Superbike world championship (Yamaha) 2009 1st Supersport world championship (Yamaha) 2008 3rd British Superbike championship (Honda) 2007 9th British Superbike championship (Suzuki) 2006 1st British Supersport championship (Honda) 2005 3rd British Supersport championship (Honda) 2004 10th British Supersport championship (Honda) 2003 2nd Yamaha R6 Cup 2002 4th Junior Superstock championship 2001 1st Aprilia RS 125 Challenge 1999 1st UK Junior Challenge…

The 1982 season was a watershed moment in the 500cc Grand Prix world championship. It was the final year all four Japanese manufacturers went head-to-head in the championship, pushing the envelope with new or revised designs. Yamaha was perhaps the most committed and, perhaps, also the one with the most to lose. Its star rider Kenny Roberts had rewritten the history books back in 1978 by becoming the first American to win the ultimate motorcycle title as well as delivering Yamaha its first world crown since Giacomo Agostini’s amazing effort in 1975. Proving he and Yamaha were no one-hit wonder, Roberts had repeated the effort in 1979 and 1980. For 1981 Yamaha had introduced what some observers cynically describe as a copy of Suzuki’s RG500, the bike that Barry Sheene…

Melbourne riders have a number of excellent riding routes close to the city. The Yarra Ranges are home to the very popular rides known as the Black Spur and the Reefton Spur. The Reefton Spur is a little further out of town, but offers the benefit of less through traffic and more corners. It is not only the better stretch of road, but also has good opportunities to extend the ride, or even to take a couple of interesting detours. Heading out of Melbourne city towards the east, the route starts at Warburton and follows the southern end of the Yarra Ranges National Park to McMahons Creek. From here the road gets more interesting as it heads up to Reefton and becomes 16km of continuous corners that keep riders on…

WHAT TO LOOK FOR MANY SECONDHAND RZ500s have travelled only minimal kilometres as the model was not a ‘touring’ motorcycle. However, the usage may have been in extreme conditions if used as a track bike. Hard usage is not a problem if the bike has been well maintained. Check for the usual wear and tear – swingarm and steering-head bearings; brakes and brake lines; tyre wear; leaking fork seals; rear shock absorber damping; oil weeps around gaskets; and crash damage. AMCN’s Victorian Advertising Manager Russell Malley owned and raced a RZ500 in the mid-80s, and is full of praise for the reliability of the model. “The engine design is bulletproof,” said Malley. “Mine was taken out to 640cc and never gave a hint of bottom-end trouble, despite the extra power.…

THE RIDER WOBBLES across the petrol station forecourt, both feet skimming the tarmac, using the front brake only to bunny-hop to a stop. You shake your head in disbelief, wondering if it’s ever possible to fix stupid. Surely everyone knows that you use the rear brake when manoeuvring at speeds less than 10km/h. Using the feet as a stabilising device risks a broken ankle and public embarrassment as the bike topples. Likewise, after refuelling surely everyone also knows that when making a U-turn from a standing start you gently use the rear brake to stop the front fork weaving. But no, mildly stupid people just look supremely stupid trying to wrestle the handlebar into submission. Stupidity seems to have risen (or lowered) to new heights in the world-changing COVID-19 coronavirus.…

This time The Cat did not get up; he was stretchered away to the medical centre. He would start 12th THIS WAS NOT the usual Andrea Dovizioso (Team Ducati) win. Yes, he won at Losail for the third straight time and yes, he did it from pole position. But this time, he won without any real challengers, taking home a NoShowGP points lead. Ducati dominated; it had to, because other teams did not look... if not quite ready, then not at their best. Yamaha was solid, as you would expect, Suzuki’s youngsters look like they’re up for the fight (but maybe not here). The rest all have their stories, and we will get to some of those. Dovizioso took pole in style, and at the last minute. On the final…

ANDREA IANNONE SAYS he will appeal the decision by the FIM International Disciplinary Court that will see him suspended until 16 June 2021. The 18-month ban was handed down earlier this month after the Italian veteran tested positive for anabolic steroids during a routine drug test at Sepang last November. It’s a ruling hailed as unfair by people close to the Aprilia rider, after the court reportedly conceded Iannone unknowingly ingested the substance through contaminated food. “The judges recognised Andrea’s complete good faith and unawareness of consuming the substance,” Aprilia team boss Massimo Rivola said. “The penalty imposed does not make any sense.” Aprilia ambassador and two-time world champ Max Biaggi agrees, telling SkySports.it that Iannone was “practically acquitted” from any wrongdoing, adding the ban will be hugely detrimental to…

AUSTRALIA’S MXGP HOPEFUL Mitch Evans has undergone successful surgery to his right shoulder here in Australia and is recovering at home until the 2020 calendar resumes. The 21-year-old Queenslander was campaigning his maiden MXGP season alongside reigning champ Tim Gajser under the Team HRC banner when he dislocated his shoulder after a coming together with another rider during the second round in the Netherlands. “It wasn’t necessary surgery, but we thought with the gap in the racing, it was better to get it done now so I can get back on the mend and not miss too many races,” he said. Team boss Marcus Pereira de Freitas sees the postponement of the calendar as a positive outcome to Evans’s otherwise unfortunate situation, saying he doesn’t need to take any risks…

IN THE DAWN of motoring in Tasmania, motorcycle sales outnumbered cars in 1905 as cycle shops fitted small engines to pushbikes. Soon after, a sporting element took hold, in the form of hill climbs and reliability events. On August 18, 1905, a meeting formed the Tasmanian Automobile Club for both car and motorcycle owners, one of the first in the world. By 1920 the motorcycle membership had broken away to establish the Northern Tasmanian Motorcycle Club. Soon after “Northern” was dropped from the title to become the Tasmanian Motorcycle Club (TMCC), which still exists today and is based in Launceston.…

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. But don’t think you need to forget about protective gear in these times when we’re not officially allowed to ride for recreation. Anyone who’s having online office drinks will know you need to take precautions; a raincoat for unseasonal Adelaide storms, eye protection when the Art Director starts dancing, ear protection when Kel starts singing Dolly Parton and HR protection when Sam plays that video from the archives……

The year was 3... 002017 THE 18TH YEAR of the new millennium started in a strange and tragic way, with a gunman dressed as Santa Claus opening fire in a Turkish nightclub. Even stranger, Donald Trump and his hair were sworn in as the 45th POTUS, while that other crazy world leader from North Korea continued blowing things up with nukes. The famous auction house Christies flogged a Leonardo da Vinci painting for an eye-watering US$450 million. Back at home and Malcolm Bligh Turnbull held the top job, but like the weather on Phillip Island, it didn’t last long. Libs minister Sussan ‘double S because I’m into numerology’ Ley got herself into strife by shopping for property while on a work junket to the Gold Coast. She subsequently had to pull…

A REAL PROBLEM for Morrison and Hinton was engine vibration. “Our Manx Nortons vibrated so much they made your eyes water. And if they stopped vibrating it meant the frame had broken – the frames just used to shatter. They’d break at the saddle and the rear plunger box. Five miles from the finish, my bike’s float bowl vibrated off the carburettor. It was mostly downhill from there, so I pushed and coasted to the finish and still got a bronze replica for finishing 31st. I thought that was pretty good. Sid Jensen finished sixth. When I looked at my bike afterwards, the frame was broken in five places! “How we got away with some of those races God only knows, because those frames were dangerous. When Harry and I…

I HAVE OWNED my 1994 Honda VFR750F for approximately 3.5 years. The VFR is my daily ride. I purchased the bike from Brisbane, met the seller at the airport and rode it home to Sydney. It came with a Staintune exhaust and rim tape and I have added the top box, Corbin seat and heated grips. I also have a 1988 Harley-Davidson Softail Springer, an 85th Anniversary Edition. This is the first Harley I have owned, but I rode my mate’s Softail Custom FXSTC in the early 1990s and this bike takes me back to that time. It is my mid-life crisis bike. Jason Leithner THIS IS MY 2007 Honda CBR1000RR. I’ve only recently bought this bike but I absolutely love it. It’s pretty much stock except for the Roo…

ENGINE Capacity 1868cc Type V-twin, pushrod, 8 valves Bore & stroke 102 x 114mm Compression ratio 10.5:1 Cooling Liquid Fueling Delphi ESPFI with ride-by-wire throttle control Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate, slipper Final drive Chain PERFORMANCE Power Not given Torque 164Nm @ 3000rpm (claimed) Top speed 199km/h (est) Fuel consumption Not given ELECTRONICS Type Delphi ECU, linked cornering ABS, cornering traction control, cruise control, drag torque slip control, hill roll-back prevention, tyre pressure monitoring CHASSIS Frame material ALS steel Frame type Dual cradle Rake 26 degrees Trail 170mm Wheelbase 1625mm SUSPENSION Type Showa Front: 49mm Dual-bending valve, non-adjustable telescopic fork, 130mm travel Rear: Monoshock, remote preload adjustment, 86mm travel WHEELS…

ENGINE Capacity 998cc Type Supercharged inline four cylinder, DOHC, 16 valves Bore & stroke 76.0 × 55.0mm Compression ratio 11.2:1 Cooling Liquid Fueling Mitsubishi EFI, 4 x 40mm throttle bodies Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate, slipper Final drive Chain PERFORMANCE Power 147.1kW @ 11,000rpm (claimed) Torque 137Nm @ 8500rpm (claimed) Top speed 299km/h (claimed) Fuel consumption 6.5L/100km (claimed) ELECTRONICS Type Bosch/Kawasaki Rider aides Cornering ABS, Cornering Traction Control, Launch Control, Cruise Control, Four ride modes (Track, Sport, Rain & Rider) and Quickshifter CHASSIS Frame material High-tensile steel Frame type Trellis Rake 24.9 degrees Trail 104mm Wheelbase 1455mm SUSPENSION Type Showa Front: 43mm USD fork, fully adjustable, 120mm travel Rear:…

The Reefton Hotel in McMahons Creek is a popular spot on most weekends, with many riders stopping in after a run up and back to Cambarville. The pub has food and drinks, and limited accommodation. (03) 5966 8555. Marysville Caravan Park on the Buxton Road is a good budget accommodation option if you plan to stay the night. (03) 5963 3247. The Buxton Hotel, five kay up the road, is another popular pub with motorcyclists and has a good bar and bistro, as well as motel-style accommodation. (03) 5774 7381. Options There are a couple of little sidetracks off this route worth exploring. Alternately, if you continue on to Marysville and turn left to Healesville, you can return to Melbourne via Narbethong and the Black Spur. This makes for a…

1 Adventure Jacket Monza Imports $599.95 1800 060 882 monzaimports.com.au The RST Adventure Jacket features a removable Sinaqua Pro waterproof lining, Level 2 armour throughout, back protector, double and triple stitched seams with Coates bonded nylon thread and vents on chest, arms and shoulders with rear exhaust vents. Matching pants $399.95. Available from May. 2 Helmet Saver Link International $210 (07) 3382 5000 linkint.com.au The AGV Premium Helmet Bag can now be purchased separately. This is a hard-case helmet bag that ensures your AGV helmet is not damaged or scratched when stored or in transit. The bag has been designed to accept a range of AGV helmets and it comes with an integrated handle and a shoulder strap. 3 Carbon Solid McLeod Accessories $799.90 1300 300 191 mcleodaccessories.com.au The HJC…

Circuit length 5.380km Race distance MotoGP 116.644km 2019 winner MotoGP Andrea Dovizioso 42m36.902s Did you know? Johann Zarco’s debut on Ducati could not have been more impressive but beneath the numbers, does Ducati have cause for concern? It’s one thing for an Italian bike to motor past the opposition on the straights, but his pass on Jack Miller for P2 in the race was emphatic. His GP19 was 4km/h faster in the speed trap than the GP20, suggesting the aero is not that great on the latest red rocket. Zarco was virtually as fast as Andrea Dovizioso was on the same bike last year, topping 347km/h on the straight. But the quickest bike was 1km/h faster and that was Alex Marquez’s Honda. When Marc comes back, the feathers are bound…

SPEEDWAY’S WORLD championship racing and major league racing competitions across Europe are all affected by the coronavirus crisis with the starting date for all competitions subject to postponements at this stage. Even if racing does resume any restrictions on travel and self-isolation periods will impact many riders, particularly those who have returned to Australia. Rohan Tungate is one Australian who has returned home having had just one practice session in the UK. He then headed to Poland, where he spent eight days in lockdown before getting a flight to London and then back to Sydney, and further self-isolation. Triple world speedway champion Nicki Pedersen (pictured) has tested positive for the coronavirus at Kolding Hospital in Denmark, but was relieved that his symptoms had been fairly mild. Pedersen travelled to the…

SYDNEY’S DAILY TELEGRAPH has reported seven-time AMA champ Mat Mladin has been arrested for child sex offences, with the 48-year-old released on $50,000 bail after spending two weeks in jail. Bail was granted on the condition he surrendered his passport, and the former champ requires a chaperone in the company of a child under the age of 16. According to the paper, Mladin has been charged with two counts of intentionally carrying out a sex act on a child under 10; one count of intentionally inciting a child to perform a sexual act on him; and sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10. It is understood he will plead not guilty to the charges. “This is a matter which is obviously going to go to trial,” Mladin’s…

AUTHOR KEN YOUNG and racer Malcolm Campbell are two club stalwarts with a life-long involvement with the TMCC. Young took up racing with the club in 1970, having most success in sidecar passengering. He transferred to the commentary box in 1979 and here is seen interviewing Malcolm Campbell at a Swann Series event. “Wally” Campbell also started racing in 1970, on a Kawasaki Avenger. He is best known for his multiple Australian championship wins. Still involved with the club, especially as a ride-day instructor, Campbell also headed the team that built the new pit building and garages at Symmons Plains.…

HARLEY-DAVIDSON IS no stranger to the brutal politics involved in running one of the world’s most important motorcycle brands. Last week the Milwaukee Business Journal reported another key executive had left, along with news that a boardroom fight had been settled with a major investor that wants to impose its authority on the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Senior vice president and chief operating officer Michelle Kumbier, who had been with the company since 1997, left on 3 April. A heavy hitter who oversaw H-D’s U.S. and international markets, she followed former president and CEO Matt Levatich out the door. The long-time H-D employee, who has implemented H-D’s new vision, left a month ago and a permanent replacement has yet to be hired. As H-D manages the effects of the global pandemic,…

HOW TO DO IT AMCN READER BARRY Le Lievre has the right idea. “The Duc is getting new tyres, front brake pads and chain and sprockets (with altered gearing),” he says. “I will then look at exhaust gaskets and anything else I find. The Honda will get its fuel system drained and a good clean and check over. “I’m ready for when this thing is contained and the boomgate goes up,” he says. Great work, Barry. HOW NOT TO DO IT AMCN’S HAMISH COOPER failed spectacularly. “I pulled the two-in-one exhaust off my Hinckley street-tracker and repainted it,” he says. “Then when I was refitting it my back went out, so it’s only half finished.” He then decided to strip parts out of an old wheel to complete the rebuild…

Since Kawasaki released its H2 and H2R in 2015, the supercharged weapons have gathered a certain mystique, with YouTube liberally scattered with H2’s laying waste to any vehicle brave enough to have a crack. Insanely fast, exotic and extremely desirable they may be, but with a H2 costing the better part of 45k these days, a H2 or the impractical and more expensive H2R are out of reach for the average rider. Enter the Z H2. It puts Kawasaki’s supercharged juiciness within reach, in a popular supernaked package that’s undressed to impress. The Z H2 carries the Z family resemblance, it looks tough as you approach it, and once up close you realise it’s a nicely fettled piece of kit as well. The frame is new and offers more flex…

We conduct this interview in Cal Crutchlow’s office inside the LCR Honda garage in Sepang’s pit lane. It sounds glamorous, but really it isn’t. The tiny space feels more like a police interrogation cell than a MotoGP star’s paddock sanctuary. Paint peels from the walls and apart from a table and chair the only furniture is a manky old sofa, like you might find in a crack den. The weather is typically tropical – 34 degrees outside – so Crutchlow is sprawled across the sofa wearing nothing more than underpants and some recently acquired tattoos. The 2020 season – if it ever happens – will be Crutchlow’s 10th in the premier-class of motorcycle racing. The man from Coventry hasn’t won a MotoGP world championship but he is the only Briton…

HICKMAN RODE THE Norton twin to an eighth-place finish in last year’s Lightweight TT, almost a minute behind winner Michael Dunlop’s Paton. Norton may have gone bust since, but Smiths are convinced they can dramatically improve their own Superlight through an R&D programme, ironically made possible by the cancellation of the 2020 TT. The Superlight engine was designed in Britain with the help of legendary engine designers Ricardo. Smiths have had 95 horsepower out of the 650cc twin on the dyno. “Internally the engine is very good,” says Darren Jones. “Our engine builder was surprised and impressed. “The whole bike is 25kg over the minimum weight limit, so if we can get rid of 15 to 20 kilos and find another five or 10 horsepower, we’ll be somewhere near fully…

RAY COURTNEY WAS born in Indiana in 1895, the second of five children. He first rode a motorcycle in 1908 when aged just 13, and acquired his first proper bike – a 1916 three-speed Excelsior V-twin – before joining the Army Air Corps to fight in the First World War. On his return home he found work at Central Manufacturing in Connersville, Indiana, making body panels for luxury cars such as Duesenbergs and Packards. Later he moved to Lansing, Michigan where he worked for the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors, moving post-WW2 first to Pontiac, then to the newly founded and highly innovative design-led Kaiser-Frazer company. He spent his life shaping metal for the prototypes coming out of these firms’ design departments, in the process acquiring a feel for the…

Show time 3 MAY Goomeri Chrome Bumpers, Goomeri Showgrounds, Burnett Hwy, Goomeri, Qld. All bike and car makes welcome. Show ’n’ shine ($15) registration from 9am; presentation 2pm. Swap meet sites ($10). Live entertainment, food, licenced bar and camping. Public show entry $2. For information phone Rob Reik on 0488 681 748, Margaret Long on 0413 488 418 or Lyn McEachern on (07) 4168 5704, or email goomericb@gmail.com. 17 MAY Independent Riders Australia Show ’n’ Shine, Fraser Coast Wildlife Sanctuary, 31 Mungar Rd, Maryborough, Qld. Registration from 7.30am to 11.30am ($5); winners announced 12.30pm. Best American, Best European, Best Japanese, Best Trike and more. Markets, raffles and cash prizes. All proceeds to Fraser Coast Wildlife Sanctuary. For information phone Michael on 0409 575 284, Julie on 0400 690 981 or…

WITH NO RACING now other than the virtual, and with the future uncertain, at least for the next few months, we’re left instead to look back. Not in anger nor with rose-tinted those-were-the-days reminiscence. Just to pass the time, while we’re waiting. Talking of which, revered wooden-faced actor Steve McQueen had a line, in his meandering self-made racing-car film Le Mans: “Racing is life. The rest is just waiting.” You might think that very profound. Or very silly. It is both. Quotations are the theme, and I’ve made a small collection over the decades. Remarks that made us laugh, think, maybe even weep. The funny ones, rather unfairly, are usually innocently nonsensical, made by people using language they don’t understand. Usually, though not always, because it’s not what they speak…

Alias Smith and... Aprilia was down to one bike for the race but not really because of the suspension of Andrea Iannone. The team’s test rider Bradley Smith was meant to ride in his place, but a pre-race press release omitted the word ‘Bradley’ and the race promoters took‘will Smithrace’as‘WillSmithrace’. When officials laid out the red carpet for a big Hollywood star at the airport, only to be greeted by a pasty-face Pom, there was a riot and they refused to let him into the country. Let’s hope that the Texas promoters are not expecting Tom Cruise to race... French connection You have to hand it to Avintia; for a team not accustomed to celebrating in parc ferme, they did a good job. But among all the Italian gushes there…