Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 75 Issue 6 i Australian Motorcycle News

“IS MARQUEZ NOW OFFICIALLY THE GOAT? HOWEVER YOU SLICE IT, THE NUMBERS ARE MONSTROUS” AS MARC MARQUEZ pocketed another world title in Japan – with five rounds to spare – his career stats lit up the paddock (and the internet) with the inevitable question: is he now officially the Greatest Of All Time? The timing of his Motegi win only fanned the flames. Marquez had planned to celebrate with a bold “9” to mark his ninth world crown, just as he did with his Level 7 shirt in 2018 and gigantic 8 ball in 2019. But Dorna wasn’t having it, reminding everyone that his pre-Motegi record showed six MotoGP titles, not eight, under their new classification system. Bureaucracy, it seems, can spoil even a well-earned champion’s party. Still, no amount of…

LETTER OF THE ISSUE 40 years of trying 1: deleted power pole/radio mast? 2: 1 less baby aerial. 3: sticker on pannier replaced. 4: extra front mudguard stay. 5: Toby Price showing the way to San Jose (or some other clown on a KTM). Please ensure I win. Youse mongrels ain’t not never let me win a prize in 40 years. Nick Hellen Consider this your lucky day then, Nick. AMCN neck sock set aside with your name on it. And for bonus points, tell us your favourite AMCN moment from the last 40 years. GB How smart do you fellas think I am? Nobody can remember 40 years of ‘The Horror’. Certainly not me! Some of your single bike tests and your multi-bike comparison tests were standouts. (Always good…

REMY GARDNER Remy finished the races in ninth, sixth and seventh position, for a strong haul of points in all races. He now lies 11th overall. “Saturday was a decent day overall, although we’re aiming for more. Free Practice Three went really well and gave us confidence ahead of Superpole. We just missed a fifth-place start by a few thousandths of a second, but it was still a strong lap. In Race One, our pace was consistent from start to finish, even if we lacked a bit of speed compared to the front guys. It was a solid Sunday, and we can head into the season finale in Jerez with confidence. In the sprint race, we were able to fight with the front group and grab sixth place, which gave…

AS THE MotoGP championship was decided in Japan five weekends early, WorldSBK offered up three superb fights between this year’s big two. It looks like their personal battle will go to the final round in Jerez, unless something mad happens in the penultimate round at Estoril. It was a game of Ducati swings and BMW roundabouts at Aragon, as the psychological advantage was ripped from one grasp only to be wrestled back by another. It made for endless and brilliant mobile combat and pure entertainment. We really do have a Big Two in WorldSBK this season – and that beats a Big One elsewhere, if we take a coldly logical view. We got a new track best in Superpole qualifying as both championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK…

CARTER THOMPSON clean bowled the opposition on the final lap to win his second WorldSSP300 race. He’d qualified second behind Matteo Vannucci in Superpole then worked out the final game of elbow argy-bargy best on his MTM Kawasaki in Race 1 to beat Yamaha’s David Salvador by 0.037sec. Benat Fernandez (Kove 321RR) was third while recently injured potential champion Julio Garcia came back to ride but was not fully fit and was placed only 13th in Race 1. To give an indication of the scale of this class, 34 riders started and 30 finished. Race 2 saw Vannucci win by an almost impossible 10 seconds and more, from Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) and Yamaha’s Humberto Maier. Two rounds are left, with Fernandez now on 172, Salvador 159, Thompson 150 and…

THE PENULTIMATE round of the Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship was held at Goulburn’s One Raceway over October 3-5 and Yamaha Racing Team’s Mike Jones delivered a masterclass in precision, taking pole position in lap record time and both race victories in convincing style. It was Jones at his best, with the combined results of Yamaha-equipped riders preventing McMartin Racing’s Ducati Panigale V4 R-mounted Josh Waters from being crowned 2025 champion a round early. All eyes will now be at the finale at SA’s Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend. Waters was the only Ducati to crack the top five in either race, a far cry from his usual dominance and underlining the performance and hunger of Cam Dunker, Anthony West and new YRT recruit Troy Herfoss. In the opening…

OJC TITLE RACE TIGHTENS The bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup will go down to the wire at The Bend with three different winners at One Raceway tightening the points gap between Connor Lewis and Chaz Williams. Ghage Plowman took out the opening bout ahead of Rossi McAdam and Lewis, with the top five covered by less than half a second. McAdam, one of the older and physically larger riders, turned the tables in Race 2 for the victory with Tom Cameron and Hunter Charlett completing the podium in a nine-bike freight train. Crucially, polesitter Williams finished ahead of Lewis, adding to the tension in Race 3. The two championship protagonists went head-to-head in the final event, with Queenslander Williams pipping Northern Beaches Sydneysider Lewis by a mere 0.064 seconds. “It…

THERE IS A perfectly acceptable argument that the first 17 rounds of MotoGP 2025 had been far too predictable. But with the championship settled, the shackles came off in Indonesia as a dirty track, insane temperatures and a special, stiffer Michelin rear tyre played havoc with results and turned the usual running order on its head. First, recently crowned champion Marc Marquez (Lenovo Ducati) was taken out in spectacular fashion by Sprint winner Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing). Then, a week on from dominating both races in Japan, Pecco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati) went into full meltdown, suffering the worst weekend of his career. In their absence, Fermin Aldeguer broke clear to become the second youngest winner in premier class history, while 11 riders fought it out for second place, with previous 2025…

IF EVER there was a race that showed how far Jose Antonio Rueda (Ajo KTM) has come in 2025, this was it. The Spaniard wrapped up the 2025 Moto3 title after recovering from a disastrous start to win his 11th race of the year in dramatic circumstances. Rueda was as low as 15th as Joel Kelso (MTA KTM), polesitter Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Honda) and Max Quiles (Aspar KTM) made the early running. Yet he never lost focus while a number of his challengers imploded. First Kelso crashed out of on lap five. Then a collision between David Almansa (Leopard Honda), Taiyo Furusato (HTA Honda) and Alvaro Carpe (Ajo KTM) at Turn 16 reduced the lead group further. Quiles and chief rival Angel Piqueras (MSI KTM) were then handed Long Laps…

THIS WAS all set up for a Manuel Gonzalez (IntactGP Kalex) win. Along with Jake Dixon (Marc VDS Boscoscuro), the polesitter had the best pace going. Yet Moto2 in 2025 has shown it’s rarely straightforward. The title leader blew the start, had contact at Turn 1 and was facing a recovery from ninth. All the while Dani Holgado (Aspar Kalex) broke clear of the hectic fight for second, which included Tony Arbolino (Pramac Boscoscruo), Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Kalex), Dixon and David Alonso (Aspar Kalex) in the opening laps. Once second, Dixon could showcase his speed. From 4.4sec back on lap 10, the Brit whittled the deficit down to 1.3sec by the flag. Truth is, Holgado could cruise from mid-race to claim a second Moto2 win. Moreira held off a stern Alonso…

Casey Stoner returns to Phillip Island on a race bike for the first time since his last race and win there in 2012. His parade laps on Saturday and Sunday are keenly awaited by fans. Between 2007 and 2012, Stoner dominated at the Island with six premier class victories, including a fairytale win there in his final season before retiring. His legacy is formalised by the fast left-hand Turn 3 named in his honour. “To be recognised with a Lap of Honour is very special,” he said. “It’s a great chance to celebrate and thank the fans whose passion, energy and loyalty throughout my career is something I’ll always cherish.”…

Accelerating, braking, leaning into corners… MotoGP races are won by riders who excel at the limit of grip. But what if it rains and grip suddenly decreases significantly? To be well-prepared for racing on a wet track, MotoGP bikes are modified and the set-up is altered. Here is the how and the why. Get a grip First, the theory: tyre grip depends on two factors: the coefficient of friction (think ‘roughness’) between the tyre and the road surface, and the load (think ‘weight’) on the tyres. This load is largely due to weight, but also to the position – the motorcycle’s position, so to speak. When braking, more load shifts to the front tyre; when accelerating, it shifts more to the rear. This shift is useful, as it moves the…

Local fans attending Phillip Island this year should have plenty to cheer about. Senna Agius (Moto2) and Joel Kelso (Moto3) are realistic podium threats in their respective races, while Jack Miller (MotoGP) will be sampling Yamaha’s sweet-handling V4 M1 around the glorious open curves for the first time – a sight in itself. So, ahead of the four Aussie stars’ home GP, we asked them for their favourite memories of the event when they were growing up, as well as those standout moments when competing at Phillip Island themselves as professional riders. JACK MILLER Prima Pramac Yamaha, MotoGP How’s your season going? “I haven’t been able to be as competitive as I would like this year on a consistent basis. We’ve shown that we have speed on random occasions. But…

“WITH PHILLIP ISLAND LOOMING AND MARC ABSENT, WILL ITALY’S STANDARD BEARERS GET THEMSELVES A BASS STRAIT BEATING?” DUCATI’S FACTORY bikes had a terrible weekend in Indonesia. The top GP25s got well and truly Lombocked. With the even more demanding Phillip Island race looming, and lacking the services of the only rider capable of reliably good results (to put it mildly) on the latest Desmosedici, will Italy’s standard bearers get themselves a Bass Strait Beating? It is not an entirely frivolous suggestion. Marc apart, and he is in a world of his own, the latest version of the class-leading machine has suffered some serious blows through the year. Or were the wounds self-inflicted? New world champion Marc went from hero to hospital, after his worst qualifying of the year. He was…

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, like intrepid AMCN tester ‘Chad’, you’re head-down, bum-up and nudging 300km/h in semi-typhoon conditions on Ducati’s Panigale’s V4 S, all in the name of assessing its rider aids in the wet.…

Australian motorcycle racing came of age at the inaugural Phillip Island Grand Prix 500cc race in 1989. Here Wayne Rainey leads eventual winner Wayne Gardner, followed by Christian Sarron, who finished third, and Kevin Magee, who finished fourth. Spot the five changes Fred’s made to this image, email answers (and postal address!) and you could win a coveted AMCN neck sock. ANSWERS WILL BE REVEALED IN THE NEXT IS S UE WIN! AN AMCN NECK SOCK EMAIL YOUR ANSWERS AND ADDRESS TO AMCN@AMCN.COM.AU FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!…

REMY GARDNER Remy placed 10th in Superpole on his Yamaha, then had a luckless electrical DNF in Race 1. He was 16th in the Superpole Race and 12th in Race 2. He said, “Superpole wasn’t bad, but not quite enough to secure at least a third-row start, even though we improved by more than a second compared to last year. In Race 1 I was close to the leading group in the opening laps but, unfortunately, I began struggling in the second half and had to retire due to an electrical problem. The Sprint race was disappointing, while in Race 2 we were at least able to keep a steadier rhythm to the end. We’ll take the positives and focus on improving for the season finale, where we expect to…

JACK MILLER Sprint: 11th, Result: 14th. A solid weekend for Jack, even if results didn’t show it. He backed a strong Sprint showing with a podium challenge on Sunday. But for a Morbidelli barge, it could have ended so differently. “I felt good there, at the back of the group, two-tenths back, biding my time. Three laps until the end, Frankie came past me into 12. Only reason we didn’t make contact is I heard a bike when I shut the gas. Then I was off the track and DiGia came through and then next time I put the bike down on the left I crashed. Tyres were dirty going off line. F….d it up at the end. Disappointed about that. Nice to be back there regardless.” SENNA AGIUS Result:…

AFTER WATCHING the Japanese Grand Prix it was entirely fair to ask: Where had this Pecco Bagania (Lenovo Ducati) been for the previous 16 rounds? The Italian rekindled some of his old magic to take a dominant double victory, and ride like the former champion he is for the first time in 2025. Bagnaia’s resurgence even pushed Marc Marquez into cruise mode as he settled for second place and his seventh MotoGP title. The question remained – just how could a rider who had finished the previous six races (Sprints included) in 13th, ninth, 14th, seventh, 13th and DNF’ed lead every lap of both races and destroy the field so convincingly? The secret lay in the post-race test at Misano, where it’s believed Bagnaia reverted to the very base of…

ON THE day the MotoGP title was sealed, the championship race was as good as done come the end of Moto3 as well, as Jose Antonio Rueda (Ajo KTM) produced a brilliant rally to capitalise on Angel Piqueras’ (MSI KTM) late crash. The order had been thrown by the unexpected arrival of a soft rain shower three laps in. Not hard enough to merit a red flag and gone after eight minutes, it nonetheless threw a couple of early challengers, with Joel Kelso (MTA KTM) dropping from first on lap three to 11th on lap six. Likewise, Rueda fell to 10th having been third early on. Conversely, David Munoz (IntactGP KTM) came into his own as he jumped Valentin Perrone (Tech3 KTM) and Max Quiles (Aspar KTM) on lap six…

There aren’t many tracks in the world that can boast of having a list of classic races. But from Phillip Island’s first grand prix in 1989, the fabulous high-speed curves have regularly offered up some of MotoGP’s most memorable fights. To get you in the mood for another potential classic, we’ve whittled down our six favourite contests around the jewel on the MotoGP calendar. (Honourable mentions go to: 1999 500cc race, 2009 MotoGP race, 2017 MotoGP race, 2019 MotoGP race, 2023 MotoGP race). Let’s go! 01 1989 500cc race: A new dawn A CURSORY glance at the 1989 calendar showed the series was still made up of fearsome tracks that were soon to go out of fashion – Suzuka, Hockenheim, the Salzburgring, Rijeka and Spa-Francorchamps to name but a few. Even…

FOR DECADES, fans have flocked to the Island to watch legends battle it out on one of the world’s most spectacular circuits. For a chance to win double passes to this year’s event, plus a copy of the shiny new MotoGP25 video game, we asked readers to share their fondest memory of the Aussie round. Winner (Double Pass + MotoGP25 video game): Sarah Roffey “My fondest memory is from 2019. But not because of the MotoGP directly, because of the trip to get there. Everyone raves about the racing at Phillip Island, but let’s be honest – half the magic is in just getting there. Nothing ever goes to plan – lost luggage, saddle bags disintegrating (thanks, super glue and gaffer tape), roadside stoppages, wrong turns… and that’s before we…

A YEAR AGO, Kawasaki replaced the Ninja 1000SX and Versys 1000 with ‘1100’ models – swapping their old 1043cc fours for a long-stroke 1099cc version – and now it’s time for a Z1100 for 2026. The basics are as expected, and essentially replicate the updates made 12 months ago to the Ninja 1100SX. The longer-stroke engine, as in the Ninja, focuses on torque rather than power. The absolute peak actually drops a fraction, from 104.5kW at 10,000rpm for the Z1000 to 100kW (134hp) at 9000rpm for the Z1100, while torque edges up fractionally from 111Nm to 113Nm, achieved at 7600rpm. Ride-by-wire throttles bring the Z1100 up-to-date in terms of rider assists and help it meet tougher emissions limits. It also gets an up-and-down quickshifter. A six-axis IMU for 2026 means…

WORLDSBK WILL definitely go to the very last round in Jerez to determine the 2025 champion. And the stress of it all is showing after some highly entertaining, occasionally sketchy but theatrically tense racing at Estoril. The top two – one with it all to lose and one with lots of ground to make up in the championship table – approached all three Portuguese races like every one was the title decider. The on-track tension was palpable at times, especially when other riders beyond the championship hopefuls got involved. Off track it was maybe even worse. In the post-race interviews, even the most evenly mannered and intelligent riders came out with some bizarre comments and personal gripes. The short explanation for this was etched on the faces of even the…

ONCE MORE the mercurial Matteo Vannucci (Pata AG Motorsports Italia Yamaha) managed to hold off the warring factions in first race of the penultimate ever WSSP300 round, but second place for Carter Thompson (Kawasaki) was good news for the neutrals, as he had his teammate Loris Veneman alongside him on the podium, keeping championship leader Benat Fernandez (Kove) in fourth place. In Race 2, a truly epic finale saw Thompson win by a tiny 0.010seconds from Fernandez and next up a suddenly podium capable Daniel Mogeda (Kawasaki). Three riders are still really in the championship chase, with one an arithmetical possibility. Fernandez has 205 points, Thompson 195, David Salvador (Kawasaki) 183 and Vannucci 159.…

SCOTT NICHOLSON has put the Race and Road Supersport 300 title beyond doubt with another consistent display at One Raceway, posting a 7-4-4 result to win the 2025 championship. “It’s amazing, the culmination of 14 years of racing. I’ve been so close before, but I’ve finally got one,” an emotional Nicholson said afterwards. “My mum and dad have been amazing, they have supported me my entire racing career along with my partner Mariah and my two brothers, they come to every race meeting.” Congratulations flooded in for Nicholson, with many praising the way the experienced campaigner has elevated the field. In the three races over the weekend, it was Champions Ride Days Kawasaki teammates Riley Nauta and Jake Paige who dominated, with Nauta grabbing his maiden Supersport 300 win in Race…

THE MOTO2 title race was blown wide open three hours after the race finished as leader Manuel Gonzalez (IntactGP Kalex) was disqualified from second place for ‘using a non-homologated software version’. Further reason for polesitter and winner Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Kalex) to feel the points momentum has shifted. Like in Japan, Gonzalez had superior pace to anyone on Friday and Saturday. Yet again he failed to make progress off the line as he slotted in behind Izan Guevara (Pramac Boscoscuro), Moreira and Dani Holgado (Aspar Kalex) from the start. Soon he was third after Holgado crashed from second on lap six. And by the time he was by Guevara on lap seven, Moreira had 1.1sec in hand. With 15 laps to go, there was plenty of time to overhaul his…

JACK MILLER Sprint: DNF, Race: DNF. Disappointment for Jack at one of his best tracks. He was hamstrung by qualifying 14th and from there was unable to overtake. He climbed to 11th before crashing out on the final lap of the Sprint. Then his chain snapped when 14th on Sunday. “We went super conservative with the fuel map at the beginning and I felt we could’ve done more. Even still, the tyre drop was still there. Three laps to the end the chain snapped and that was all she wrote. It was a weekend that had good potential but we weren’t able to unlock it. Very difficult to make overtakes – you’re just waiting for the boys to make a mistake.” SENNA AGIUS Result: DNF. A tough round. Technical issues…

“IF WE TALK about the DAVC suite (optional race pro software) (DTC, DWC, DSC) we are much better than a MotoGP of 10 years ago. The new generation of controls, based on the DVO (Ducati vehicle observer), is not anymore based on wheel speed and lean angle, but on the forces that impact the vehicle and the centre of gravity positioning in every riding phase. Basically, we don’t wait for the slip or wheelie to manifest in order to intervene, but we know in advance the thrust that the vehicle can bear in every situation. This allows us to be much more accurate in the wheelie and traction thresholds and targets definition, thus rendering the control predictive. “The Race eCBS situation is completely different. The production bike is even ahead…

Long-time AMCN contributor Mat Oxley wrote his biography of Marc Marquez after interviewing the seven-times MotoGP champion and dozens of people who have worked with him and raced against him over the past two decades. From rivals and engineers to crew chiefs, team managers, medical professionals and even former MotoGP champions, Oxley explains for the first time just how Marc works in the garage and how he rides on track. The 32-year-old Spaniard is often misunderstood because he rarely talks about himself, preferring his results to do the talking. And the people who know him best paint a very different picture of the Marc we know from the one we see on TV and in the media. Why Doohan thinks he’s the GOAT Mick Doohan won five world 500cc GP…

RACING WHAT, WHERE & WHEN ROAD RACING AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP Rd8 7-9 Nov, The Bend Motorsport Pk, SA AUSTRALIAN SIDECAR CHAMPIONSHIP Rd5 8-9 Nov, CARGO Raceway, WA BLU CRU OCEANIA JUNIOR CUP Rd5 7-9 Nov, The Bend Motorsport Pk, SA AUSTRALIAN HISTORIC ROADRACE CHAMPIONSHIP 13-16 Nov, Broadford, Vic MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Rd19 17-19 Oct, Phillip Is, AU Rd20 24-26 Oct, Sepang, MY Rd21 7-9 Nov, Portimao, PT Rd22 14-16 Nov, Valencia, ES SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Rd 12 17-19 Oct, Jerez, ES WORLDWCR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Rd 6 17-19 Oct, Jerez, ES BRITISH SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP Rd11 17-19 Oct, Brands Hatch MACAU MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX 13-16 Nov, Circuito da Guia, Macau China OFF-ROAD RACING AUSSIE FLAT TRACK NATIONALS Rd6 15 Nov, Gunnedah, NSW (FT) Rd7 16 Nov, Gunnedah, NSW (TT) FIM WORLD SUPERCROSS…