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Rainey goes back

August 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Triple world champion, Wayne Rainey, will return to Misano this weekend. Misano was the scene of his career-ending accident on September 5th 1993 when, with a clear lead in the title chase and a probable 4th world championship beckoning, Rainey lost control of the bike and slid off into the gravel trap. The deeply-rutted gravel caused both him and the bike to bounce, and, during one of these, the footpeg of the bike hit him in the back. Wayne has been a paraplegic since but has continued to work in the sport, compete in go-karts and be an inspiration to hundreds of people all over the world who have, like him, suffered spinal injuries.

Here’s Wayne as we remember him.

And here he is, back in 1983. Great picture, this one.

This weekend sees the MotoGp meeting at Misano and the WSBK round at the Nurburgring so it’s going to be a busy weekend. A full preview of both events will be posted before the weekend.

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To USGP or not?

August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Now that the “fuss” that is the USGP at Indianapolis is over, time for a bit of reflection.

Firstly, the attendance at the meeting was appallingly bad, given the capacity of the IMS facility and the importance of the meeting. This is mainly because most Americans don’t even know that MotoGp exists (or any sort of motorcycle racing for that matter) Given the great heritage of Roberts, Spencer, Lawson and Rainey, it seems inconceivable to us that the sport wouldn’t be a household word, but, sadly, this isn’t the case. Motorcycle racing remains basically invisible and the attendance of paying customers at the two venues represents a huge percentage of the people who follow motorcycle racing at all. Road trips across the states to attend are as numerous as they are to attend PI here.

Secondly, the prospect of a concentrated “hit” of racing in the states to drive home its popularity is seeming to be as elusive as ever. Despite the apparent stupidity of programming 2 races in the USA in close proximity while requiring a trip BACK to Europe for the race meeting at Brno, hopes that the races could be better programmed next year are probably not going to be realised. IMS is hoping for a contract extension for 2012 but it’s not looking good as the venue and the meeting seems to be almost universally reviled.

Thirdly, the chance of a “clean slate” start by staging the event at the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, seem also to be fading dramatically with news that the consortium who are building the track are now in a great deal of financial difficulty.

It seems that attempts to revitalise motorcycle road racing in the USA are still going to be facing a rocky future.

POSTSCRIPT: This item just in from crash.net confirms what I have been saying.

I know that it’s probably a bit unkind to post crash pictures and I don’t do it often, but, coming hard upon the nasty highside pic of Kenan Sofoglu’s that I posted yesterday, how about this one?

Kiwi rider, Dennis Ireland,  was doing a photo shoot that required the photographer, Don Morley, to lie on the road while Ireland did a wheelstand while riding towards him. It didn’t quite work out as the RG500′s throttle stuck open (you can see Dennis’s right hand desperately trying to close the throttle) and Ireland was forced to bale off the back of the bike. He suffered broken bones in his legs and Morley was also injured. Confirms what I’ve always said, that, if you bring a camera out while people are riding a bike, something always goes wrong.

 

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Looking down in the mouth

August 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

After suffering all through the weekend with a very painful toothache I fronted up to the dentist this morning and had said troublesome tooth removed. I now have a swollen mouth, numb lips and a big hole where the tooth was. But I’m not in pain so that’s the pay-off.

I didn’t stay up to watch the Grand prix last night/this morning. I figured that, while I was asleep, my tooth wouldn’t bother me and that proved to be the best idea. From the media reports this morning it seems like another dominating performance from Casey Stoner (is it too early yet to call him the World Champion-elect?) and the usual suspects filling the minors. Spies fell to 9th at the start, which is rather like his usual form, but he did fight back to grab 3rd spot on the podium and, with no team orders at Yamaha, apparently, take a few more points off Lorenzo that he might desperately need come end of season time. Dani Pedrosa got his usual lightning start but must be getting pretty fed up of being stalked and then passed by Stoner. I wonder why it is that the American riders only really seem to perform at their best in front of their home crowds? Nicky Hayden has won 3 races since entering the class and two of them were at Laguna Seca. Do they, perhaps think that home races pay double points? I don’t understand. Anyway, with Phillip Island looming, the betting on Casey Stoner making it a “four-peat” is getting shorter. The odds of Ducati scoring its fourth win in a row at PI are lengthening to kilometre proportions.

Front tyre issues seemed to be the major talking point at Indy with many riders falling foul of the newly-paved surface which apparently chews up tyres and spits them out.

Marc Marquez has ignited the Moto2 class this year. Just imagine where he would be if he hadn’t crashed out of the first 3 races of the year with various unforced errors. Anyway, the gap between him and Bradl is now down to less than one win and Bradl finished 4th last night. The momentum is certainly with the young Spaniard and Bradl has gone from unbackable favourite to having a very tenuous grip on the championship.

Nico Terol, however, marches on, doing what he has to do to keep the pack at bay and proving himself to be the class of the field, mechanical woes aside. Maverick Vinales is the discovery of the season and surely Johann Zarco MUST win a race before the year is out? It’s going to be a fascinating close to the season.

HRC’s Executive Vice President, Shuhei Nakamoto ignited a storm of debate over the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix by declaring that he’d like to have the race at Suzuka instead of Motegi. Of course he would, it’s Honda’s track and it’s in the middle of the Honda heartland. But he clarified his statements on the weekend adding that he was only expressing a personal preference and that, anyway, Suzuka does not meet the minimum safety standards to be able to run a GP at the moment. Given the parlous state of the world economy, I can’t see Honda shelling out for a major upgrade any time soon.

Finally, spare a thought for two-times World Supersport champion, Kenan Sofoglu, who was forced to sit out last night’s Moto2 race after suffering this monstrous highside during FP1 on Friday. Kenan broke his foot and also injured his left knee which will require surgery.

 

 

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A long way for

August 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Well, yesterday didn’t quite work out like I’d hoped. I was booked to call the PCRA meet at Eastern Creek and, after getting up early and driving up there, doing my pit walk and my homework, I found out that I wouldn’t be able to commentate since the commentary box was in the process of being completely renovated. Well, that was a bit of a bummer. Nevertheless, I made the best of the morning, networking with some friends, renewing some old acquaintances and collecting a couple of old tyres that I can use to protect the rims of the Shadowfax once it reaches rolling chassis stage. By mid-morning I was a bit tired and what I thought earlier was a possible toothache had developed into exactly that, so I pointed in the direction of home and made an appointment with the dentist on Monday morning. Hope it stays fairly quiet until then.

Casey Stoner got his 7th pole position of the season last night at Indianapolis and will have Lorenzo for company on the front row. Stoner broke the lap record in the process so it’s looking threatening for the rest. Rossi qualified 14th, his worst-ever performance at Indy. The GP11.1 doesn’t seem to be helping much.

I cleaned up some old motorcycle mags during the week and, as is so often the case, I stumbled across an article that was very topical. Just a few days ago I had been chatting with an American acquaintance on Facebook and he was a drag racing fiend. We started swapping stories about the Top Fuel bikes of the 1970′s and, wouldn’t you know it, in one of the magazines I found the article about Russ Collins’s 170mph get-off from the triple-engined Honda in 1976. So I scanned it and I’ll provide the links here if you’d like to read it. It’s taken from the November 1976 edition of Big Bike magazine.

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Page 5

Needless to say I won’t be staying up into the wee small hours to watch the MotoGp !

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History made

August 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Well, this morning a little bit of history was made when 17 year old Elena Myers rode the Suzuki GSVR Grand Prix bike at IMS. After a hesitant start when the bike cut out on the first lap, the test went well with Elena giving it the berries down the straight, exceeding 300km/h in the process. The net is already awash with pictures and the American Road racing World magazine has published a full report online.

Elena Myers laps Indy on the Suzuki

Watching this kid and listening to her talk, it’s hard to believe that she’s so young and yet so unspoiled by the media attention. She should, and I think WILL, go a long way.

Tonight (well, actually tomorrow, our time) the hard work begins for the teams with FP1 & 2. With Honda in full flight at the moment and Yamaha gasping in their wake, Lorenzo and Co will be hoping that that engine upgrade they were promised will deliver some extra, much needed performance. 125cc practice begins just before midnight our time.

If your memory goes back past the Noughties, then you will remember when the name Laverda stood for expensive and desirable Italian motorcycles. Sadly the 90′s version of the marque left a lot to be desired compared to their forebears and the name has sunk like a stone. However, there are still enthusiasts out there who remember and love their SFC’s and the Jotas (including a solid core here in Oz) and this example must rate as one of the best.

A genuine low-mileage Jota, read it and weep.

Here’s John Hughes on one at Oran Park in 1977. That very complex 3-into-i-into-2 was one of their Archilles heels in racing.

And, while we’re talking about old bikes, there is a growing trend happening where people rescue old Japanese bikes from the scrapper (usually bikes that don’t deserve it anyway) and turn them into cafe racers. I guess that’s the way it has always been, but anyway, here’s an example of what can be done..

Honda 250 cafe by Jason Lajikov of Vintage Customs.

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