ArenaX: Round #4 Race Preview – Nashville (Video)

ArenaCross Media Press Release:

The first three rounds of AMSOIL Arenacross have produced four different overall winners through five nights of competition and as a result the Arenacross Class battle for the championship is intensifying heading into this weekend’s fourth round in Nashville, Tennessee, and its inaugural visit to Bridgestone Arena. The action commences this Saturday, January 31, beginning at 5 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. CT / 8 p.m. ET.

Two nights of action last Friday and Saturday inside the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado, featured some of the best racing of the 2015 season. On Friday night Team Babbitt’s Monster Energy Kawasaki‘s Jacob Hayes became the first two-time winner this season, and Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing’s Kyle Regal followed that up with his first win of the year on Saturday. Adding to the drama surrounding the outcome of each night of action was the fact that both nights needed tiebreakers to determine which rider would walk away victorious. Heading into this weekend’s visit to Nashville just 12 points separate points leader Matt Goerke from Hayes, his teammate.

Colorado Springs Post Race Friday Jacob Hayes:

Hayes’ triumph on Friday night in Colorado Springs was thanks in large part to his impressive consistency. Last year’s championship runner-up posted 2-1 finishes and by virtue of his win in the night’s second Main Event, he was able to edge out Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing’s Gavin Faith, who tied him in points earned for the evening, for the top spot via tiebreaker. Goerke followed the pair in third to complete the overall podium.

It was a similar course of action on Saturday night for Regal. Like Hayes on Friday night, the Husqvarna rider was very consistent and his 3-1 results put him in position to earn the win. However, Yamaha’s Bobby Kiniry was on top of his game as well and ended up in a tie for points scored at the end of the night. In the end Regal’s win in the second Main Event earned him the tiebreaker and helped him jump from sixth to third in the championship standings. Hayes rounded out the overall podium in third, with Goerke fourth.

Hayes’ strong efforts on both nights in Colorado Springs helped him earn four points on Goerke and now only a 12-point difference separates the two heading into this weekend’s action. A pair of Main Events lies ahead of the Arenacross Class field on Saturday night, providing an opportunity for a potential shakeup in the championship. Nearly every title contender has been forced to endure misfortune at some point this season, finishing outside the top 10 in at least one Main Event. Goerke however has managed to avoid that distinction and while he hasn’t been void of adversity, he’s found a way to battle through it and finish no worse seventh in a Main Event this season. That consistency and resiliency has put him in the position to lead the championship in his first full season of Arenacross competition and he’ll carry the red number plate as the points leader for the fourth night this season.

The Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class gave way to its Western Regional counterparts last weekend, but will be back in action on Saturday night. Current Eastern Regional points leader Daniel Herrlein was in action in Colorado Springs and enjoyed a tremendous weekend, taking a dominant win on Friday night and overcoming a late incident with a lapper on Saturday night to soldier home to a runner-up finish despite a broken shift lever and being forced to race in fourth gear. The A&Y Racing Honda rider carries a slim three-point lead over Spinechillers Racing KTM’s Dave Ginolfi in the Eastern Regional Championship and both riders are more than ready to resume their battle on Saturday night in Nashville.

The fourth round of AMSOIL Arenacross kicks off in Nashville this Saturday, January 24th, inside Bridgestone Arena. Racing begins at 5 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. CT / 8 p.m. ET.

Previous Round Results:

Night One – January 23, 2015

Arenacross Class Results – Overall (Main Event Finishes)

Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (2-1)
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna (1-3)
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki (3-2)
Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Yamaha (10-5)
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM (5-10)
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna (12-4)
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda (6-9)
Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM (4-12)
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (8-8)
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM (11-6)

Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results:

Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
Chase Marquier, Newcastle, Okla., Honda
Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM
Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM
Axell Hodges, Encinitas, Calif., Kawasaki
Dylan Merriam, Corona, Calif., KTM
Josh Struebig, Crown Point, Ind., KTM
Night Two – January 24, 2015

Arenacross Class Results – Overall (Main Event Finishes)

Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna (3-1)
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha (2-4)
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (5-2)
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki (6-3)
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (7-5)
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki (1-12)
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM (8-6)
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM (10-7)
Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Yamaha (4-14)
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda (11-8)

Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results:

Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
Dalton Oxborrow, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki
Tanner Sisson, Chillicothe, Ohio, KTM
Travis Bannister, Calhan, Colo., Honda
Mason Wharton, Brush Prairie, Wash., Kawasaki
Alex Frye, Huntington, Md., KTM

Arenacross Class Points (Race 5 of 20)

Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki – 140
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki – 128 (3 Main Event wins)
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna – 109 (2 Main Event wins)
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM – 105 (1 Main Event win)
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM – 99
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM – 97
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki – 85 (2 Main Event wins)
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha – 85
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda – 85
Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM – 75

Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 2 of 9)

Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM – 30
Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM – 24
Chase Marquier, Newcastle, Okla., Honda – 13
Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM – 13
Travis Bannister, Calhan, Colo., Honda – 12
Mason Wharton, Brush Prairie, Wash., Kawasaki – 12
Josh Struebig, Crown Point, Ind., KTM – 12
Dalton Oxborrow, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki – 11
Tanner Sisson, Chillicothe, Ohio, KTM – 10
Axell Hodges, Encinitas, Calif., Kawasaki – 9

Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 3 of 10)

Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda – 44
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM – 41
Darian Sanayei, Orting, Wash., Kawasaki – 33 (2 Main Event wins)
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM – 29
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM – 26
Steve Roman, Apollo, Pa., Suzuki – 24
Dave Blanchet, Quebec, Canada, Kawasaki – 20
Mitchell Harrison, Cairo, Georgia, Kawasaki – 18 (1 Main Event win)
Josh Cartwright, Tallahassee, Fla., Yamaha – 18
Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM – 18

Tickets for each round of AMSOIL Arenacross are on sale now!

The entire AMSOIL Arenacross season will air on FOX Sports 1, including re-airs on Fox Sports 2.

For more information: www.arenacross.com

Source : cycleworld[dot]com

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“Scrambler Café Racer” Ducati Scrambler by Mr. Martini

The third, and last, Ducati Scrambler concept from the Verona Motor Bike Expo, the “Scrambler Café Racer” by Mr. Martini is exactly what the name implies: a cafe racer styled scrambler motorcycle.

Mr. Martini appropriately added a high-mount exhaust to his “scrambler” and retained the Scrambler’s Pirelli knobby tires. The addition of a cafe racer fairing though is an interesting choice, and leaves this concept straddling the two staples of hipster motorbiking in the custom scene.

We’ll let you decided whether this doubles the “post-authentic” nature of the Scrambler, or if the work is just an overload of the self-ironic.

“I decided to take part in the project because I was fascinated by the idea of working with this Italian brand and in particular by the opportunity of working with the young, dynamic and easygoing Scrambler team. Thanks to the bike’s versatility, I decided to revolutionise the basic concept, from Ducati Scrambler to Café Racer,” said Nicola Martini, of Mr. Martini.

“The style is reminiscent of American rather than British design, owing partly to the fact that the roots of the original Ducati Scrambler project date from the seventies. Although the style is that of a Café Racer, this bike has a combination of elements that make it unique; In fact, details such as the high exhaust and knobby tyres retain a decidedly Ducati Scrambler flavour.

“This fusion gave our bike its name: S.C.R. – Scrambler Café Racer. We’ve changed the nose fairing, the tail-piece, the whole of the exhaust, the foot-peg and handlebar mountings and the rear suspension unit and have, of course, given the bike a new colour. The Scrambler Café Racer is in ‘total black’ including the saddle, undertail and timing belt covers.”

Source: Ducati

Source : asphaltandrubber[dot]com

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Vyrus 986 M2 Goes Racing in the Spanish CEV

The Vyrus 986 M2 Moto2 race bike is perhaps one of the most beautiful machines to grace the pages of Asphalt & Rubber, as it comes with ample portions of avant-garde design and outside-of-the-box chassis design inklings.

We also like the Vyrus 986 M2 because its true to the ethos of the Moto2 class, where chassis designers were free to build around a spec-motor and racing package.

But, instead of getting a buffet of wild designs, we saw a race to the middle.The differences between the chassis provided by companies like Suter, Kalex, FTR are so minute that the smallest of changes can shake up the standings on race day.

It’s something we have talked about before, here at A&R, but the short explanation is that race teams are conservative entities, and developing a radically new chassis is a massive undertaking full of risks.

Well, it look like Vyrus is up to the the task and that danger, as the company is going racing with its Vyrus 986 M2 design in the Spanish CEV Moto2 Championship.

On the bike will be former Red Bull Rookie Bradley Ray. The 17-year-old Englishman comes with an impressive racing record in the development class, finishing fourth in the 2014 edition.

The Moto2 class in the Spanish CEV is a brutal entry for any rider and team, so Ray and Vyrus will have their work cut out for them, especially as they develop the hub-center steering package featured on the Vyrus 986 M2. We wish them the best of luck.

Source: Vyrus-Racing

Source : asphaltandrubber[dot]com

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Mag Announces New CEO

MAG Group Press Release:

Motorsport Aftermarket Group (MAG) today announced the hiring of former Brunswick Boat Group President Andrew Graves as its new Chief Executive Officer. Graves will lead the next phase of integration following the 2014 merger of Tucker Rocky/Biker’s Choice and MAG, and drive the long-term strategy of the combined company. He becomes CEO of MAG effective immediately.

“We conducted an extensive national search to find the right CEO for MAG,” says J.A. Lacy, MAG’s Chairman. “Andy understands building enthusiast-oriented brands and supporting a strong independent dealer network, proven by his success in the boating industry.”  Most recently, Graves served as President of the Brunswick Company’s boat group including Sea Ray, Boston Whaler, Lund and other market leading brands.

“Andy has proven he can successfully manage diverse, complex and decentralized product-based companies — exactly what MAG’s portfolio of market-leading powersports brands is comprised of,” adds Lacy. “He also understands developing distributor networks through a strong focus on customer satisfaction, which is right in the wheelhouse for Tucker Rocky and Biker’s Choice. I expect Andy to energize our team around creating competitive advantage through product innovation and marketing strategy linked to consumer and dealer insights.”

At Brunswick, Graves successfully integrated major acquisitions to expand the group’s brand portfolio and strengthened relationships with Brunswick’s sister company Mercury Engines to increase company profits. After the collapse of the boat market in 2009, Graves focused on taking costs out of the business through lean manufacturing while at the same time challenging designers to continue to deliver innovation which led to several “Boat of the Year” awards.

Graves brings a diverse, 30+ year work history which includes industrial sales and manufacturing, international, financial services and brand management experience. “I am sincerely looking forward to the opportunity to work with industry leaders and believe we all benefit from remembering consumers and dealers are ultimately responsible for our success,” says Graves. Borrowing from his Brunswick experience Graves offers, “a rising tide floats all boats!”

The company also announced Brian Etter is no longer part of MAG Brands. “Brian played a key role in building the legacy MAG organization,” says Lacy. “I am highly appreciative of his leadership in helping guide the business through the first phase of integration. I wish him well as he pursues new opportunities.”

For more information: www.maggroup.com

Source : cycleworld[dot]com

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Kawasaki To Return To MotoGP? An Unlikely Tale…

Rather perversely, a lot of the talk at the World Superbike test at Jerez has not been about World Superbikes at all. Which is a shame, as the 2015 World Superbike championship promises to be particularly fascinating, with testing times very close indeed.

Instead, there was a real kerfuffle about the slowest bike on the track, the one being ridden by Kenny Noyes and Dominique Aegerter.

The cause of the fuss? The fact that it was a Kawasaki, a further development of the Open class bike raced by the Avintia Racing team in MotoGP last year, has generated a mountain of speculation that Team Green is preparing a comeback to MotoGP, bringing all four major Japanese factories back into the premier class.

The truth was a good deal more prosaic.

As Gilles Bigot, the crew chief working on the project, told Spanish website Motocuatro, this was a private project of engine tuner Akira, who has been involved in engine preparation for Kawasaki’s previous MotoGP effort and their World Superbike engines.

The company were also behind the development of the Open class bikes used by the Avintia MotoGP team in 2014, and the engines for the FTR bikes which preceded them in 2013.

Not wanting to allow two years’ work to go to waste, Akira is continuing to develop the bike, looking to learn where there is room for development.

Is this just a front for an official MotoGP project to hide behind? As far as I have been able to discern, absolutely not. There is lots of evidence that Kawasaki are not involved in this project, for those who wish to see it.

The biggest giveaway? The fact that there were no Japanese technicians at all in the garage, the crew consisting of Bigot and the engineers from the Swiss tuning company.

Then there were the tires. Domi Aegerter was running round on Michelins, but not the tires currently under development for the French company’s return to MotoGP in 2016, but tires used in the Spanish CEV Moto2 championship.

As a result, Kenny Noyes (who briefly rode the bike, before going on to test the spec tire due to be introduced in the CEV Superbike class) and Domi Aegerter were some five seconds off the pace.

Speaking to the German website Speedweek, Aegerter described the performance of the tires as “bad, really bad.” If Kawasaki were behind the project, there is no doubt that either they or Dorna (who would love another factory in MotoGP) would have arranged access to either Michelin test tires or Bridgestone MotoGP tires.

For private tests organized by people without a MotoGP entry, however, the answer is no. Even when FTR first started testing the CRT bike they built for Gresini, they were forced to use Pirellis, as Bridgestone MotoGP tires were not made available.

The parts being used were a real hotchpotch. The engine was more or less the same version of the Kawasaki-based powerplant campaigned by Avintia in 2014, including pneumatic valves.

Two different chassis were being used, according to the eagle-eyed Manziana over at Motocorse: one was a lightly modified version of the one used last year, the other closer to a Superbike chassis.

The bodywork was a mixture, as MCN reporter Simon Patterson told me. There was a pile of bodywork in the garage, with the bike appearing in different colors almost every time it went out.

This could be in part because Akira was working on the ergonomics of the bike, which includes in part the aerodynamics, but it could also just be a way of testing on the cheap. Why waste money getting lots of new bodywork made, with the risk of it being damaged, when you have lots of old spares lying around?

The other area which the team was working on was electronics. They were using a Magneti Marelli ECU, and though Aegerter said he was out without either anti-wheelie or traction control, there is still a lot to be learned from such tests.

Engine mapping worked out on the dyno never works the same when a bike is on the track, with wind, gradient, air pressure and humidity variations all conspiring to make engine response less predictable than back in the workshop.

Akira hope to continue testing later this year, Bigot told Motocuatro. Why do so if nobody is paying, now that Avintia have switched to Ducatis. Because, as Bigot put it, “they want to keep developing this bike to see how far they can go with it.”

Is there a chance that the bike could appear on the grid in 2016? Bigot only repeated that the idea was first to see how far they could go with the bike.

However, he did reiterate that his was not a Kawasaki project, but one run by Akira, the confusion stemming from the fact that Akira been so closely involved with the Japanese factory in the past.

Will we really see Kawasaki return to MotoGP? There are good reasons to suspect that we will not, at least not in the next couple of years. The last time Kawasaki were involved in MotoGP, they found themselves hemorrhaging money, with little to show for it. Five podium finishes, no wins, yet spending €60+ million a year.

When they decided to leave at the end of 2008, when the global financial crisis struck, Dorna may have let them off relatively lightly, but it still cost Kawasaki more than they wanted. Kawasaki’s years in MotoGP were, above all, a costly failure.

Contrast that with their efforts in World Superbikes. Once they switched their focus to WSBK after leaving MotoGP, their results quickly started to improve. In 2012, Tom Sykes missed out on the title by just half a point, then won the title the next year, missing out again in 2014, losing the championship in the final race of the season.

For 2015, Kawasaki have two of the top title contenders on their books, with Sykes and new teammate Jonathan Rea. Instead of spending €60 million, they are spending less than €5 million, and probably considerably less than that.

If racing is about marketing, then winning races in World Superbikes makes a better sales pitch than scratching around in tenth in MotoGP.

The new rule changes for MotoGP from 2016 are aimed at reducing costs, but even spec electronics will not make that much of a dent in what winning a championship will cost a factory.

As Livio Suppo said at a press conference in Valencia in November, the cost is not related to the rules, but to the interest in the championship. As long as MotoGP continues to dominate world championship motorcycle racing, the costs will remain high.

So why were Domi Aegerter and Kenny Noyes running round on a Kawasaki-powered MotoGP bike at Jerez? Because if there is one thing which motivates everyone inside motorcycle racing more than money, more than success it is passion.

People get involved in racing because they want to compete, because they aim for success, because they hope to make money. But they do it most of all because they love the sport. It remains the world’s best possible drug.

Source: Motocuatro & Speedweek; Photo: © 2012 Scott Jones / Photo.GP – All Rights Reserved

This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.

Source : asphaltandrubber[dot]com

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“Hondo Grattan” Ducati Scrambler by Deus Ex Machina

At the Verona Motor Bike Expo, Ducati presented the first customized Ducati Scrambler models. As you may remember from our review, this $8,600 machine is pitched with a heavy lifestyle component, and Ducati hopes that fat margins on t-shirts and jackets will overcome the thin margins on the model itself. To that end, the Italian company has gone to great trouble in making the Scrambler “cool” for the younger “post-authentic” crowd.

As such, Dario Mastroianni (Officine Mermaid), Filippo Bassoli (Deus Ex Machina), and Nicola Martini (Mr. Martini) were given the first crack at modding Ducati’s newest model. The results have been interesting, and first up on our pages is the “Hondo Grattan” by Filippo Bassoli and the Deus Ex Machina crew in Milan.

The Hondo Grattan model struck our eye the hardest out of this trio, as it is perhaps the one furthest away from the hipster-centric marketing being pumped out by Ducati.

There is still a retro feel to the swooping yellow fairings, which really pop because of the black frame and engine pieces found on the stock Scrambler.

Contrasting the fairings of course is the powder blue seat — an interesting choice in colors, but compliments the design well. Color wheel aficionados  already knew that though.

At first glance, the Hondo Grattan was a “pass” for our eyes, but something about Bassoli’s work is intriguing, and we kept coming back to it. I’m not sold on it entirely, but I’m getting there — and I am of course a sucker for something a bit outside of the box. What are your thoughts?

Source: Ducati

Source : asphaltandrubber[dot]com

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