I have been pretty disgusted by the responses to the tragic death of Marco Simoncelli. A lot of what has been done and said in his “honour” does his memory no honour at all. Journalists, commentators and a myriad of internet trolls have spent the week trying to out-do themselves in their “tributes” to Marco and in trying to find something new to say that someone hasn’t already said.
As well, the Youtube ghouls have had a field day, publishing video, despite DORNA’s express ban on it, of the accident and screen caps from the video to boot. Even some previously well-respected motorsports web sites, like gpupdate have sunk to this level of gutter journalism. Add to this Jill Singer’s outrageous exposure of her own ignorance in the Herald/Sun yesterday and it seems that everyone has forgotten that the last word in “Rest in Peace” is “PEACE”.
Marco is gone; it’s a tragedy for all enthusiasts but, for heaven’s sake, let his family grieve in private without having to put up with his death becoming a media circus.
After first announcing that the Gresini Team would not attend the final round of the championship at Valencia in a week’s time, it seems that team principal, Fausto Gresini has been “leant-on” by DORNA and has now announced that team WILL attend but have yet to make up their mind whether the team’s other rider, Hiroshi Aoyama, will ride. My tip is that he WILL ride, especially given that it will be his last outing for the team before heading off to WSBK next year. No doubt the organisers at Valencia will arrange a suitable tribute to Marco, probably in the form of a minute’s silence. Suggestions that the Pole Position be left empty in his honour sound good in theory but are impractical in practice.And, in keeping with the tradition started after the death of Daijiro Katoh, where his racing number, #74, was “retired” after his death, the Italian Motorcycle Federation has petitioned the FIM to do the same thing with the #58. With MotoGp grids getting smaller and smaller, I don’t think that the authorities are going to have any difficulty acceding to this request.
Marc Marquez has been discharged from hospital in Barcelona after being checked in for a more thorough examination on his return from Malaysia. Doctors have confirmed a mild concussion accompanied by blurred, or double, vision, the main reason he was ruled out of the Moto2 race on Sunday. Whether he competes at Valencia in a week or so’s time will depend entirely on how quickly his vision returns to normal.
Remember last year I talked about the Honda “Mid” and speculated just what this for-show-only machine might end up being? Well, Honda has now answered that question. It’s the INTEGRA (wow, they must have been up all night thinking up that one!) A fascinating cross-over vehicle between motorcycle and scooter, it could be a very successful “niche” bike if Honda markets it right. Sadly, even though it only develops 51 bhp, its capacity of 670cc puts it over the limit in terms of being recognised as a LAMS bike here in Australia.
The new Honda Integra, part scooter, part motorcycle, all bells and whistles.
It is another sign of just how deeply the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers are feeling the effects of the GFC that the release this week of the 2012 Suzuki GSX-R/1000 has barely raised a ripple. Over 2kgs lighter, a myriad of detail changes, the abandonment of the dumb two-muffler exhaust system and a boosted mid-range should see its virtues being shouted from the rooftops. But it will probably still struggle against the BMW and you sense that all the Japanese manufacturers are just hunkering down, doing what has to be done and waiting till the world economy picks up so that they can again dazzle us with their technical brilliance and their innovation.
Likewise the release of several new models from Triumph seems to have been somewhat overlooked (though the hardcore Trumpy fans will be rejoicing). Perhaps this just wasn’t a good week to debut a new bike/range?
All the same, the 2012 Speed triple R-1 is a very tasty-looking piece of kit.