Source: http://sportbikeblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/wsbk-world-superbike-philip-island.html
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Chareyre dominates qualifying in Vairano
Day one of the SMGP of Europe took place today with a heavy rain but with a really good racing; the Italian crowd got behind their riders as usual and they cheered for them from the beginning of the day until the last chequered flag. Thomas Chareyre was the one who dominated the qualifying heats, but there were many riders fighting for the lead who gave good expectations for tomorrow. Unfortunately, another time, due to the persistent rain, the off-road section, which was very well prepared according to the riders, has not been used; YS and FIM aim to be able to include it tomorrow morning.S1The defending ChampionTM Racing Factory Team Tomas Chareyre was very satisfied with his riding today; he obtained the best lap time with 1:20.142. The French rider started in second and kept his position almost until the end of the qualifying race, when he overtook Mauno Hermunen.TM Shr Mauno Hermunen had a very good start and he managed to open a big gap since the beginning, but in the last minutes he made some mistakes and tomorrow he will start in the second position in the starting grid.Third position for HONDA Luc1 Owatrol Sylvian Bydart who did not have a very good start today but, towards the end, he found the correct setting with his bike. Beautiful recovery for APRILIA Fasth Wheels Adrien Chareyre, who changed the tyres from GoldenTyre to Michelin and found a good rhythm with his bike, finishing in the fourth position today. TM Shr Petr Vorlicek, who a had a very good free practice today and who feels confident on wet tracks, will close the first row tomorrow. Sixth position for TM SBD Unionbike Racing Giovanni Bussei, who feels very confident with this type of track, which are wide and fast, also because the Italian rider had a story in Superbike.Consistent race for YAMAHA Team Blot Grelier Aurelien, and it is the same for KTM Gp Racing Hohnhart Hannes Maier, who had a solid qualifying race today and he will close the second row tomorrow, followed by the Czech TM Hardbike Racing Tomas Travnicek.Home rider HM L30 Racing Ivan Lazzarini had to settle down with the tenth place but he will surely do his best to improve his position tomorrow.S1 Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Thomas Chareyre (FRA-TM Racing Factory Team) 1'20.142; 2. Mauno Hermunen (FIN-TM SHR) 1'20.237; 3. Sylvain Bidart (FRA-Honda Luc1 Owatrol) 1'21.122; 4. Adrien Chareyre (FRA-Aprilia Fast Wheels) 1'21.135; 5. Petr Vorlicek (CZE-TM) 1'21.199; 6. Giovanni Bussei (ITA-TM SBD Unionbike Racing) 1'21.444; 7. Aurelien Grelier (FRA-Yamaha Team Blot) 1'21.570; 8. Hannes Maier (AUT-Ktm) 1'21.614; 9. Tomas Travnicek (CZE-TM Hardbike Racing) 1'21.664; 10. Ivan Lazzarini (ITA-Honda L30 Racing) 1'21.721.
Arai Vector-2 Helmets
The design philosophy behind Arai Vector 2 helmet is simple - Everything you want, Nothing you don’t. They consolidated many of the features from their top-of-the-line models like the Corsair-V into this more affordable version. It may come with a lower price tag, but this doesn’t mean that it is lacking one bit bit of the legendary handmade quality Arai is famous for.
Like the Corsair-V, the Vector-2 features a wider eyeport for improved peripheral vision, a fully-removable interior liner and a stronger shell around the lower (and now wider) opening. The wider opening is part of what Arai calls the Hyper-Ridge. In addition to being structurally stronger, it makes it easier put the helmet on as well. Intake and exhaust vents have also been revised to allow for more airflow into, and out of the helmet.
Another attribute that the Vector-2 shares with the Corsair-V is the the intermediate oval interior shape. This is the fit that works for the widest range of riders, and the inclusion of customizable pads makes getting the perfect fit even easier, right out of the box. There are 5mm peel away layers of foam in the cheek pads and at the temples that let you free up more space if you need it.
The Arai Vector-2 is available in a wide range of solid colors and graphics, all of which are available from Riders Discount. If you’re interested in this, or any other Arai helmet, just get in touch with Brad at 866.931.6644 ext. 810 and he’ll be happy to help. You can also send a PM, or shoot an email to FORUM at RIDERSDISCOUNT dot COM and we’ll get back to you right away!
The Arai Vector-2 Loop graphic shown here is new for 2013.
Like the Corsair-V, the Vector-2 features a wider eyeport for improved peripheral vision, a fully-removable interior liner and a stronger shell around the lower (and now wider) opening. The wider opening is part of what Arai calls the Hyper-Ridge. In addition to being structurally stronger, it makes it easier put the helmet on as well. Intake and exhaust vents have also been revised to allow for more airflow into, and out of the helmet.
Another attribute that the Vector-2 shares with the Corsair-V is the the intermediate oval interior shape. This is the fit that works for the widest range of riders, and the inclusion of customizable pads makes getting the perfect fit even easier, right out of the box. There are 5mm peel away layers of foam in the cheek pads and at the temples that let you free up more space if you need it.
The Arai Vector-2 is available in a wide range of solid colors and graphics, all of which are available from Riders Discount. If you’re interested in this, or any other Arai helmet, just get in touch with Brad at 866.931.6644 ext. 810 and he’ll be happy to help. You can also send a PM, or shoot an email to FORUM at RIDERSDISCOUNT dot COM and we’ll get back to you right away!
The Arai Vector-2 Loop graphic shown here is new for 2013.
Source: http://www.esportbike.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146114&goto=newpost
Raikkonen escapes penalty for Safety Car speeding | 2013 Monaco Grand Prix
Kimi Raikkonen has escaped a penalty for driving too quickly while the Safety Car was on the track. 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/2KO7410pHac/
MotoGP 13 Set To Receive a Demo Before Release
Milestone, has announced that a demo for its upcoming Motorbike title MotoGP 13, (the MotoGP World Championship 2013 official game, which will be out in June 2013) – will be released on LIVE in the coming weeks.
Valentino Rossi. Marc Márquez. Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya. Quick Race. 3 Laps. This is the special Milestone recipe for the brand new MotoGP 13 Demo. Once downloaded, the demo will offer the chance to select between two amazing riders and sprint for three laps on one of the best designed circuits of the recent era which won the much coveted IRTA ‘Best Grand Prix’ trophy in 2001. In addition, in order to give the gamers a quick sneak-peek of the game, all the options will be available, except number of laps selection will be locked.
Michele Caletti, Game Director Milestone has said that “it’s the first real hands-on for all users” and “will announce the official release date for the demo and for the game during the upcoming weeks”
You can watch the announcement video below:
Source: http://www.zimbio.com/MotoGP/articles/vkHmgUXurEQ/MotoGP+13+Set+Receive+Demo+Before+Release
In, Out, In, Out: Effenbert Liberty Withdraw From WSBK, Again
The Liberty Racing team has today announced they will be withdrawing from the World Superbike championship. The announcement is hardly a surprise: the Liberty team announced their withdrawal last year after the Silverstone round, missing the final four rounds of the series. The team had not fared much better in 2013, making a late start and missing the first round of the championship in Phillip Island. Now, after just three races, they have pulled out once again.
The withdrawal of the Liberty Racing team leaves Mark Aitchison without a ride for the rest of the season, after the Australian agreed a late deal to ride for the team. It also leaves the World Superbike field looking very sparse, with just 18 full-time entries left on the grid. The World Superbike grid weathered the first storms of the global financial crisis relatively well, due to lower costs of competition, but poor TV coverage of the series for the past few seasons has seen numbers dropping season by season, with the 18-bike grid the result. Dorna and the MSMA hope that the new rules discussed recentlly, limiting the cost of a bike to 300,000 euros per rider per season, will help make the series more affordable, and help swell numbers on the grid.
Below is the official press release issued by Liberty Racing on their withdrawal:
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Effenbert Liberty Racing Withdraws from WSBK…Again
Sweet baby Jesus, here we go again. We are only into the fifth round of the World Superbike Championship, and Effenbert Liberty Racing is having its first (and hopefully last) kerfuffle. Announcing that “the adventure of the team in the WSBK 2013 is not of our further interest” in a press release today, Effenbert Liberty Racing announced that [...]
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AsphaltandRubber/~3/-M-S3tCicyI/
Riders partnership with The Gambia wins award
The Gambia has been recognised for its success in bringing universal access to maternal health care closer for its citizens by becoming Africa's first country to have enough motorcycles and ambulances to deliver health care to the whole country.The partnership between The Gambian Ministry of Health and Riders for Health, has now been recognised by the Aspen Institutes' Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health. Chaired by Mary Robinson, the Global Leader's Council named The Gambia winner in the finance category of its annual Resolve Award, for the innovative and groundbreaking way that it is ensuring that it has a reliable fleet of health care vehicles.Transport is the weak link in health care in Africa. Over 60% of people in Africa live five miles from a health centre. People in rural, isolated villages rely on health care workers being able to reach them, but health workers lack the reliable transport. The result is that children go without lifesaving vaccinations and in many countries up to one woman in 12 dies in childbirth because health care workers can't reach them – or they can't get to hospital.To solve this issue of isolation, The Gambia has established a partnership with Riders for Health, who manage and maintain vehicles for the Ministry of Health. The programme involves Riders for Health leasing a fleet of vehicles to the Ministry of Health, providing sustainable, reliable transport for the future. The impact of this programme has been that outreach health workers can visit three times as many villages each week and spend twice as long in the community each day. A third of health centres are now holding more outreach clinics each month across the country and not a single clinic has been cancelled due to a lack of transport.The Gambia's nomination stood out due to the innovation of the Riders for Health programme and the potential for the programme to be a model for many other African countries facing the same transport barriers to quality health care. Riders co-founder and CEO Andrea Coleman said 'The partnership between Riders for Health and The Gambia is saving money and saving lives. It should be a model for countries across Africa. We are making sure that the management of vehicles is well funded and sustainable. This gives the ministry of health the security to plan and means health care can reach everyone who needs it. Riders for Health have shown what can be achieved with sustainable budgeting and good financial discipline.' 'The Resolve Award winners show us that, even in the most challenging environments, progress can be made,' said Peggy Clark, Executive Director of Aspen Global Health and Development and Vice President of Policy Programs at the Aspen Institute. 'With ingenuity and commitment, these leaders are pushing the frontiers of reproductive health.'On 22 May 2013, Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health (GLC) member Joy Phumaphi will present the Resolve Award to representatives of The Gambia at a ceremony during the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. To learn more about each of the Resolve Award winners watch the ceremony at www.aspeninstitute.org/live and participate via Twitter by following @GLCRHresolve and #Resolve.Communication Riders for Health - www.riders.org -
Guest Blog: Mat Oxley: Pneumatic-valve Aprilia for MotoGP?
MotoMatters.com is delighted to feature the work of iconic MotoGP writer Mat Oxley. Oxley is a former racer, TT winner and highly respected author of biographies of world champions Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi, and currently writes for Motor Sport Magazine, where he is MotoGP correspondent. We will be featuring sections of Oxley's blogs, posted in full on the Motor Sport Magazine website, over the coming months.
The race to arm MotoGP’s private teams with higher-performance CRT bikes is gathering pace. Last summer Honda announced that they will sell a lower-cost version of their RC213V and then two months ago Yamaha confirmed that they will lease YZR-M1 engines from 2014. At Le Mans the whisper going round the paddock was that Aprilia are working on a pneumatic-valve spring cylinder head for their RSV4 CRT engine, which could be ready by September.
2013 Donington World Superbike FP1 Results: Davies Tames The Rain
So few riders went out on track, as the wet conditions rendered the session useless. Chaz Davies, a rider who last year complained of a lack of wet weather experience, recorded the quickest time of the few daring enough to brave the deluge.
Results:
Friday, May 24, 2013
Bonnier Corp. & Source Interlink Swap Publications – Cycle World, Motorcyclist, & Sport Rider Now Under One Roof
Interesting news for American motorcycle enthusiasts, as nearly all your printed two-wheeled information is set to come from a singular company in the coming future. Already the recent purchaser of Cycle World, Bonnier Corporation seems poised to control a significant portion of the two-wheeled industry’s printed and online press.
Inking a two-way deal with Source Interlink, Bonnier Corp. receives in the transaction Motorcyclist, Sport Rider, Dirt Rider, Motorcycle Cruiser, Hot Bike, Baggers, Super Streetbike, Street Chopper, and ATV Rider. In exchange, Source Interlink receives the TransWorld extreme and urban sports properties (except TransWorld Snowboarding), as well as Sound + Vision magazine.
According to Bonnier, no layoffs will occur as a result of the transaction (for now, at least), and the reshuffling of publications seems to be more of a sign that the two publishers aim to move away from having diverse horizontal holdings (a publication title in each niche market), to a more vertical structure (owning multiple titles in select market niches).
It is not clear how Bonnier Corporation will “create business efficiencies” within its new two-wheeled acquisitions, it is of note however that consumers will be faced with getting the bulk of their printed motorcycle news from a single corporation.
While our immediate concern with this news is the monopolization of the motorcycle media market, consumers should also be apprehensive about a singular voice now dominating what used to be a variety of two-wheeled perspectives. We’re sure the parties involved disagree with those two statements, but as always, time will tell.
Source: Bonnier Corp.
MotoGP: Bridgestone Denies Lorenzo’s Tire Accusations
As is customary, the Bridgestone media service issued their post-race debrief on tire performance on Tuesday, in which they discuss how the tires they selected held up during the race at Le Mans the previous weekend. This week’s press release is more interesting than most, as it contains a denial from Bridgestone that there was anything wrong with the rear tire used by Jorge Lorenzo in the race on Sunday, countering claims that his tire was defective.
Speaking to the media after the race on Sunday, Lorenzo said that although he was not a tire engineer, he could think of no other explanation but a defective tire for the complete lack of rear grip he had suffered throughout the race. The setting they had used in the wet morning warm-up had worked well, Lorenzo said. In 2012, under similar conditions, he had not had a single problem, he explained, going on to win the race by nearly 10 seconds.
Lorenzo also pointed to the fact that Valentino Rossi had had problems with a tire on Saturday morning, and had that one replaced, as is allowed under the rules if a defective tire is found. Bridgestone denied on Sunday night that there was a problem with Lorenzo’s tire, and have reiterated their stance in the official press release. The tire was examined by both Bridgestone technicians and Yamaha engineers, and found to have normal wear only.
Shinji Aoki, manager of Bridgestone’s Motorsport Tire Development Department, gave Bridgestone’s official response in the press release as follows: “It was clear during the race that Jorge had an issue as he couldn’t keep the same pace as the leading group. Immediately after the race he had a debrief session with his tire engineer where he explained his lack of rear grip.”
“As is always the case in these situations, his engineer thoroughly examined Jorge’s race tires which were found to be in good working condition. In addition, I examined the tire myself and personally discussed the matter with the Yamaha engineers and we all agreed that Jorge’s lack of rear grip was not attributable to his tire.”
“We received many different comments from the riders after the race on the feeling on the track, even though they all used the same specification of wet tire and endured the same track conditions. In these low grip situations, machine set up is critical as the smallest setting change can have a big effect on performance.”
Whether Lorenzo has changed his mind or not is still unclear, though the 2012 World Champion has gone back and deleted a number of messages he posted on Twitter on Sunday night. No doubt more questions will be asked once the MotoGP paddock arrives at Mugello, in just under two weeks’ time. Below is the full text of the press release issued by Bridgestone today:
French MotoGP™ debrief with Shinji Aoki
Tuesday 21 May 2013
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Extra-soft, Soft Rear: Extra-soft (Symmetric), Soft, Medium (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)
Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa won a wet and wild French Grand Prix ahead of second-placed Cal Crutchlow on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1 and teammate Marc Marquez who was third.
The riders were met with extremely challenging conditions at Le Mans for the fourth Grand Prix of the year, with wet asphalt and a track temperature of just 14°C at the beginning of the race, and a rapidly drying track surface which caused variable grip conditions towards the end of the twenty-eight lap contest.
Q&A with Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
Cold and wet conditions were forecast for the weekend of the French Grand Prix and this is indeed what happened, can you explain how these conditions affected tyre performance at Le Mans?
“Yes the conditions were as expected but this didn’t make it any easier for the riders! Track temperatures were very cool, as low as 13°C and although we brought our softest tyre compounds to this race, the track didn’t provide the best grip levels, particularly in the morning sessions. The consensus from rider feedback was that tyre warm-up performance over the weekend was good, but even so the cool ambient temperatures and strong breeze meant some riders got caught out during practice and qualifying. The cold conditions also meant that very few riders tried the harder rear slick options as they wanted the best rear grip and warm-up performance possible, which is especially important at Le Mans which has a stop-and-go layout with a lot of acceleration zones.
“Sunday presented a different kind of challenge for the riders as the only time during the race weekend when track conditions were fully wet was at the beginning of the MotoGP race. Although morning warm up was declared wet, it wasn’t raining, so the level of standing water on track was less than at the beginning of the race. With such limited time to find a wet setup and considering that Le Mans requires good levels of rear grip, every rider ended up choosing the softer wet tyres for the race.
No riders selected the harder compound wet tyres for the race, but would this option have worked better towards the end of the race when the track was drier?
“Some riders actually did try the front and rear hard compound wet tyres in morning warm up, and other riders also scrubbed in a set of hard wet weather tyres on the sighting lap just before the race. However, because it was so cold which made the grip level of the circuit very low, every rider decided the soft compound wet tyre was the best choice, and I think this was the right choice given the conditions. Even though the track began to dry towards the end of the race, the rate of abrasion on the soft wet tyre was still within the acceptable range, so I don’t think the harder wet tyre would have given a performance advantage at the latter stages of the race. However, if the track temperature was say, five degrees warmer then I believe we would have seen some riders select the harder wet tyre for the race and this option may have given riders a performance advantage in some areas, particularly when braking.”
Jorge Lorenzo said he had a lack of rear grip during the race; did this have anything to do with his tyre?
“It was clear during the race that Jorge had an issue as he couldn’t keep the same pace as the leading group. Immediately after the race he had a debrief session with his tyre engineer where he explained his lack of rear grip. As is always the case in these situations, his engineer thoroughly examined Jorge’s race tyres which were found to be in good working condition. In addition, I examined the tyre myself and personally discussed the matter with the Yamaha engineers and we all agreed that Jorge’s lack of rear grip was not attributable to his tyre. We received many different comments from the riders after the race on the feeling on the track, even though they all used the same specification of wet tyre and endured the same track conditions. In these low grip situations, machine set up is critical as the smallest setting change can have a big effect on performance. In any case it was a shame for Jorge as he was so strong in morning warm-up and we all expected a better result from him, but he is a champion and I know he will be back to his competitive best at the next race.”
Photo: Bridgestone
This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.
Chevrolet bid to claim Honda’s Indy 500 crown | 2013 Indianapolis 500 preview
Honda-powered cars have won the Indianapolis 500 for the last nine years. But Chevrolet have claimed the top ten places on the grid for Sunday's race. 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/CXav1-N4jNs/
MotoGP’s Best Qualifier This Season Will Be Awarded BMW M6 Coupe
Since 2003, the MotoGP rider with the best qualifying results throughout a season has been awarded a BMW M car. In 2013, BMW celebrates the 15th year as “Official Car of MotoGP” and the 10th anniversary of the BMW M Award for the best MotoGP qualifier. To mark the occasion, the carmaker announced that this year’s BMW M Award will be an M6 Coupe. Read more »
Source: http://www.zimbio.com/MotoGP/articles/g-xKrDkVGhW/MotoGP+Best+Qualifier+Season+Will+Awarded
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