Back in June I wrote a blog entry about the MRA, the local Colorado roadrace series, in which I stated that “Many of the top riders in the MRA have been ruling the club’s races for a decade now…Its time for some talented youngsters to step it up and give these guys some competition“. Well, now that the season is over it is time I give one rider in particular some credit for doing just that: Brad Hendry, MRA rider #616.

I’ve been watching the MRA for over ten years now. During that time the same riders have always dominated: Ricky Orlando, Donny Hough, Dan Turner, Aaron Turner, Shane Turpin. All of these guys are great club racers and many have had flashes of success at the national level but all are older, most are in their thirties and a few in their forties. As much as I enjoy watching talented riders demonstrate their skills on the bike no matter what their age I also enjoying spotting the young guys that have the talent to go on to greater things. At the moment I think Brad Hendry is far and away the fastest rising star in Colorado.

There are a few reasons that Hendry impresses me. First off, he’s clearly just naturally talented on a motorcycle. After racing motocross since he was 13 he just made the switch to road racing three years ago. Despite racing on pavement for such a short time he is already pushing the MRA front runners. Clearly he has adapted quickly to the speed, the feel and the technique needed to road race. Another sure sign of talent is when someone can consistently push hard enough to run at the front and yet rarely crashes. So far this season, Brad hasn’t had a single DNF.

Second, the guy has an amazing work ethic. I think there are a lot of talented racers in the world (a guy like Anthony Gobert, for example, had amazing raw talent) but many lack the understanding that hard work is required to do well beyond a certain level. Brad is not only racing the MRA season full time but also raced select AMA and AHRMA events during the ‘05 season. In addition to racing Brad is also a full time student at University of Colorado scheduled to graduate this winter with a degree in marketing. Oh, and on top of all that he is also working part time at Foothills BMW. Clearly, this kid is willing to punch the clock if that is what is required to get the job done.

Another positive aspect of that mindset is that he seems to have set his goals very high and that motivates him to keep diving into the deep end in order to become a better rider. After just two years of racing with the MRA Hendry decided to focus his efforts in 2005 on the Open Superbike and Race of the Rockies GTO classes. These are probably the two hardest fought classes in the club’s line-up. For a relative rookie rider to pit himself against the best in the club meant that he would have to learn fast and that is exactly what he’s done. He has shown that he has the hunger to improve with each race and a burning desire to be the best. When he’s finished in the top ten, he wanted a top five. Once he was in the top five, he wanted to be on the podium. Once he was on the podium, he wasn’t happy until he won. Because of that drive, his results for the year speak for themselves:

At the first race at PPIR:
Race of the Rockies GTO - 10th
Open Superbike - 6th

The second race at Second Creek Raceway:
Race of the Rockies GTO - 4th
Open Superbike - 5th
Supertwins GTO - 12th

The third race at Continental Divide Raceway:
Race of the Rockies GTO - 4th
Open Superbike - 3rd
Supertwins GTO - 9th

The fourth race at La Junta Motorsports Park:
Race of the Rockies GTO - 4th
Open Superbike - 2nd

The fifth race at Pueblo Motorsports Park:
Race of the Rockies GTO - 3rd
Open Superbike - 2nd
Supertwins GTO - 9th

The double header, races six and seven, at PPIR:
Race of the Rockies GTO #1 - 3rd
Open Superbike #1 -3rd

Race of the Rockies GTO #2 - 3rd
Open Superbike #2 - 2nd

The nineth race at Pueblo Motorsports Park:
Race of the Rockies GTO - 3rd
Open Superbike - 2nd

Finally, the tenth race at Second Creek Raceway:
Race of the Rockies GTO - 5th
Open Superbike - 1st

The final points for the season haven’t yet been posted by the MRA but it looks like Brad has a good shot at winning the Open Superbike championship and being top three in Race of the Rockies GTO title race. This shows a trend of steady improvement throughout the year and a very respectable pair of finishes for the year.

On top of all this success there is another thing that I think will really help Brad out in the future. He seems to be a genuinely nice guy. There are a lot of guys racing who have attitude and ego problems which seem to hold them back. There is a fine line between having a healthy dose of self confidence and having an major ego issue. Some riders, notably Ben Spies and the Hayden brothers, seem to have found the former while others like Jason Disalvo appear to struggle with the later. So far, Hendry has shown a lot of respect towards his rivals while still having the competitiveness and aggressiveness needed to race against them. When beaten on the race track by more experienced riders he still has the unshakable belief in himself to learn from his defeat and then to line back up against them on the starting grid with the intent to win. When the racing is over, he can shake their hand and share in the experience of racing motorcycles with his fellow riders. That kind of attitude is always welcome by team owners who not only want results but also want riders who can interact in a positive way with fans, crew, teammates and other riders.

So, you may be thinking, why devote so much time on my blog to one club racer? Well, it is because I really hope to see big things happen for the guy. When I talked to him at Second Creek a week ago his plan for 2006 is to again climb another rung up the road racing ladder. He and his father have bought two ‘05 GSXR-1000s from the Corona Suzuki team and hope to race the entire AMA series next year competing in the Superstock and Superbike classes. Its going to be a steep learning curve but one which I think is essential if he wants to continue to challenge himself and if he wants to attract the attention of people who can help further his career as a roadracer. Brad’s degree in marketing should immediately be put to the test since marketing himself off the track is going to be just as important as his results on the track. Next year will require a lot of hard work: travelling, learning new tracks, racing at the top national level, constantly trying to improve as a rider, doing the delicate job of learning the political landscape in the AMA paddock and somewhere in there trying to still have a family and social life. I think he has the talent, the drive, the work ethic and the attitude to be successful in the sport despite all of those challenges. I’m looking forward to watching his progress in ‘06.

[image from my photo collection.]

This weekend the World Superbike paddock bids “Adieu” to another season. The closer is again the magnificent Magny Cours Circuit in France. The track is built to European Formula 1 car specs but is still a fantastic motorcycle racing venue. So much so, in fact, that the annual Bol D’Or 24 hour endurance motorcycle race was moved to the track from its original home at Paul Ricard. Unlike America, where endurance racing is barely a blip on the screen of even die hard motorcycle racing enthusiasts, the Bol D’Or is hugely popular in France and thus it says a lot that Magny Cours hosts the event.

The 2.74 mile long track has a bit of everything. Like most F1 tracks, there are chicanes and hairpin turns which slow the bikes down to first gear. There are a few of these which stand out. First is the Adelaide Hairpin about halfway through a lap where the bikes have to turn back practically 180 degrees. The second is the Imola Chicane where the bikes have to transition from right to left while very near top speed. This then leads into the third slow section which is the Chateau d’Eau Hairpin. Put all of these together than the bikes will have to run relatively stiff front end to deal with all the braking forces. Technically, the track is listed as having 14 turns but there are large number of little kinks around the tracks so that count is a bit deceiving. These same slight bends are what give the track a completely different character than the tight turns might initially indicate. The first quarter of the track from the time the bikes leave Estoril all the way through Golf corner and into the Adelaide hairpin is a long sweeping right hand turn. The front forks which have been set up to deal with major braking will now be too stiff for the fast sweeping corners. For the riders, it means finding a compromise on suspension and, in turn, deciding which part of the track they will be fast on and which they will sacrifice. It should be very interesting to watch the splits to see which riders made which choice.

In addition to the excellent track facilities there will also be the bike crazed French fans on hand. As with any home race, expect the native riders to put in noticable performances. In France, that means Regis Laconi and Sebastian Gimbert. Laconi is still recovering from his tendon injury and was visibly slowed by it last weekend at Imola. Only time will tell whether the energy from the French fans will help him over come his pain. Gimbert actually has two things going for him. First, is the fact that he is racing on home soil. Second is the fact that the former endurance champ probably has more laps around Magny Cours that any living motorcycle racer. Last year, Gimbert really showed his stuff at Magny Cours so keep an eye on him to do the same. Finally, another endurance racing star will be on hand, in this case it is David Checa who is making another wildcard appearance for Yamaha. Like Gimbert, Checa knows the circuit better than most since the Spanish rider has been racing in the World Endurance series for the past few years, so expect him to be further up the order that wildcards generally appear.

Still, the favorites this weekend have to again be Troy Corser and Chris Vermeulen. The two riders have been the class of the field over the past three or four weekends and I suspect they will continue that at Magny Cours. Both riders have something to prove: Corser wants to show that he was just playing conservative over the last few races and not that he was out classed by his Honda rival. Vermeulen, on the other hand, wants to show that he is the best rider on the track and that it was only bike problems early in the season that allowed his Suzuki counterpart to build up the insurmountable points lead.

There are a lot of riders that are still out trying to get rides for next season. James Toseland probably tops the list, although it isn’t clear whether this teammate Laconi is signed for ‘06 either. Likewise, Kagayama will be out to show that he deserves to be back in WSBK next year as his season as been inconclusive with early season success followed by a mid season slump. Most of the Yamaha riders are still looking for a job and riders like Pitt and Abe could go either way at this point. Both need to show they can do better than struggle for top ten finishes.

Also on the list of riders that will be hoping to end the season strong is the long list of guys joining Laconi on the injured reserve list. Ben Bostrom is still recovering from a back injury and if anybody needs a decent result to close out the season its Benny. The Kawasaki squad of Chris Walker and Mauro Sanchini are still recovering from elbow injuries so they will again have Fonsi Nieto on board as a wildcard in France. Gary McCoy is still out but Foggy has brought in test rider Andi Notman to ride the second Petronas bike.

Looks like the racing this weekend will make for a great way to close out the season.

[image from the eTracks web site.]

It is tough being Jeff Ward.

In 2003, when the AMA made the surprising leap into the world of supermoto racing they decided to do something different with the series. Rather than having a conventional season where points are awarded at each round until one rider gains enough to win a championship the AMA decided to have each round just a qualifier for a single end-of-the-season, winner-take-all race. During that initial season, it was ex-motocross legend Jeff Ward that consistently won races. Coming into the ‘03 season finale in Las Vegas, Ward had won three of the five races. However, those wins didn’t mean anything in terms of the Supermoto #1 plate. When the green flag flew in the final race of the season it was Ben Bostrom that got the job done and was crowned the inaugural AMA Supermoto champ. Ward crossed the line a disappointed third behind second place Doug Henry.

Last year, the AMA decided to run a traditional season without any of the final race shenanigans. With this more conventional setup Ward was able to use his consistent riding to trounce the field. In ‘04 Ward won three times, was second twice and third in the other two races. He was never off the podium and that dominant riding earned the seven time Supercross and Motocross champ his first AMA Supermoto title. KTM’s Jurgen Kunzel was second with Doug Henry third.

This year, the AMA was up to their old tricks again. Not content to just build another exciting series they again changed up the rules for the Supermoto series. First, each round of the 2005 season would feature two races for the premier Supermoto class as well as the usual one race each for the Supermoto Unlimited class, the Supermoto Lite class and the Junior Supermoto class. This meant the Supermoto guys would have twelve different races at which to earn points toward the championship. However, the rules mavens weren’t content with just this twist to the rules. They also deemed that the final race of the season, race two at the finale in Reno, would pay double points. This meant that there were effectively 13 races based on the amount of points that would be available throughout the season. Finally, another rule was added that anyone could race the final event but only those that earned points in the earlier rounds would actually be eligible for points at the end. Confused already? Good…

The season has once again been primarily about Jeff Ward. Despite a slow start to the season by the time everyone headed to the final round it was Ward that held a commanding 31 point lead. Back in June, when the season first got started at Road America, Wardy was still trying to race cars. The distraction of going cage racing meant he wasn’t training and that showed with a pair of fourth place finishes. He followed those up with an equally uncharacteristic 6/4 showing at Shawano. It was at Copper Mountain here in Colorado that the Team Troy Lee Designs rider really hit his stride winning all four of the races held during the Suzuki Cycle Fest weekend. That quad set of victories propelled him into the points lead in the championship and he backed that up with a second and another victory at the Nashville round. When the riders showed up in Reno for the Red Bull Superrmoto A-Go-Go all the money was on Ward to sew up his second Supermoto championship. I even predicted as much in my race preview last Friday.

But it wasn’t to be. The funky AMA rules once again got the better of him and stole another championship right out from under him. Ward came in second in the first race of the weekend doubleheader behind Mark Burkhart but ahead of championship rival Jurgen Kunzel. Since this was Burkhart’s first weekend racing the premier class in ‘05 he wasn’t eligible for any points meaning Ward effectively won the first race. This allowed him to carry a 35 point lead into the final double-points paying race of the year. Despite the large points lead, Ward made a rare mistake by crashing while battling with race leader Burkhart. Ward was able to get back up and finish but he was outside the top 20. Burkhart won the race while Kunzel took the runner up position. Again, because Mark had no previous points in Supermoto this season he got zero points while Jurgen got the full 25 which was then doubled to 50. Because of the double points situation, Kunzel’s 2/2 finishes netted him a total of 72 points for the weekend versus just 25 for Ward’s win in race one. This allowed the German to jump ahead of Ward in the points battle and thus to snatch away the 2005 Supermoto Championship. Once again, Ward has been torpedoed by a screwy rule from the AMA.

The Supermoto Unlimited class came into Reno with a much closer points battle that that in the premier Supermoto category. Three riders were separated by only six points and two of them were yet to win a race this year. All five of the races leading up to Reno has been won by either Troy Herfoss or David Baffeleuf. However, it was Herfoss, along with Micky Dymond and Darryl Atkins, who were in the title fight as Baffeleuf missed scoring points at the Colorado races due to an injury from a crash in the first race at Copper Mountain. Those DNFs left the Frenchman a distant fourth in the points. While both Atkins and Dymond had visited the podium neither had yet won a race and yet they were separated by only one point in a near 1-2 tie for the championship. This lead to the possibility that the Unlimited champ might never have stepped to the top of the podium if one of them earned the title without winning in Reno. Coming into the final race the title fight was on.

In the race that proved particularly true. Since this was effectively a winner-take-all race for the three title contenders the racing was going to be pretty tight. As it turns out, the racing may have been too tight. Once the race was underway it was Atkins, Herfoss, Dymond and Baffeleuf that went to the front. Almost immediately there after, Herfoss and then Baffeleuf ended their race with crashes both while leading the race. Now the title was between Atkins and Dymond and they were both up front battling for the lead. After an initial exchange of positions it was Atkins who held the front position in every corner except the final one. He held a tight line going into the last corner but then ran a little wide when he got on the gas for the charge to the line. The seasoned vet Dymond saw the gap and went for it but ended up making contact which sent Atkins slamming into the trackside barriers. Dymond crossed the line for the win while Atkins remounted to take third behind Rodney Taplin. The win netted the veteran KTM rider the points necessary to claim the title over his New Zealand teammate.

In Supermoto Lites it was Brandon Currie that took advantage of Mark Burkhart’s absence from the final race of the sesason to grab his first win. Just to make sure that Supermoto Lites didn’t get overlooked in the drama comparison between the classes Currie went about winning the race in an unusual way…he threw the bike away in the first few laps and then had to fight his way back from the crash to get to the front. He was aided in this by earlier race leader Joel Albrecht who’s bike started having brake problems at the mid-point of the race. Currie’s eventual win allowed him to gain enough points to solidify second in the ‘Lites class for the year.

So my picks for the weekend…Well, clearly all the champions deserve a quick shout-out:

Supermoto - Jurgen Kunzel
Supermoto Unlimited - Micky Dymond
Supermoto Lites - Mark Burkhart

However, I also think Jeff Ward deserves props for again being the most impressive rider in the Supermoto series, all this despite being 44 years of age. Had it not been for strange rules, Ward would now be a three time Supermoto champ. Sure, Ward shouldn’t have been racing with Burkhart since the Yamaha rider wasn’t elligible for points but its in the heart of a racer to race. Besides, had the AMA not put the bizarre rules in place it probably wouldn’t have been an issue.

Second, I think Mark Burkhart deserves a lot of recognition for his undefeated season in 2005. As if sweeping all the Supermoto Lites races he entered wasn’t enough he then stepped up to the main class for the last race of the season and won both of those as well. His dominance in the Lites class wasn’t all that surprising…after all he was racing a factory supported Yamaha in a class mainly populated by privateers. It is the fact that he won both races in Supermoto against the other factory supported bikes that impressed me. Rumor has it he’ll be racing Supermoto full time in ‘06 along side Doug Henry so the other riders better watch out. I expect to see a bunch of blue on the podium next year.

I think Atkins deserves a little more credit as well. Losing a championship is bad enough but losing it because your teammate took you out is harsh indeed. As with many racing incidents it is hard place blame but I still think that Atkins had done everything he needed to do to win the race and did it without crashing into other riders. Dymond won the glory for the day but he did it in a questionable manner. Lets hope rough riding doesn’t become the norm in Supermoto.

Finally, lets hear it for the fans in Reno. The official count for the weekend shows that 45,000 people attended the Supermoto races over the weekend. That is more than attended most of the AMA Superbike races this season and in line with the max for most of the AMA Motocross races. This is a case where being able to hold a race in the middle of a substantial sized city, along with offering free admission, is going to draw a lot of new eyes to the sport. If any of those eyes are impressed enough to come back again then the AMA has done a great job using Supermoto as marketing for all the various forms of motorcycle competition. Bravo!

Finally, it will be a long winter waiting for the Supermoto series to get cranked up again next year. In the meantime, I’ll be feeling bad for Wardy and will be wondering what unusual rules the AMA will think up for next season.

[image from my photo collection.]

Back in June I did a write-up about how cool club racing is after catching one of this season’s MRA races. At the time I talked about a few different issues including criticizing the quality of the local tracks, pointing out the continued dominance by veteran riders in the series and talked about how great it is to watch a race in such a casual environment rather than being confined to some spectator only area like at a big pro race. Well, this past weekend was the final race of the 2005 MRA season and I headed down to be part of the last hoorah for the year. After just a few months some of the items I mentioned back in June have changed so I’ll try to touch on all that during this posting.

First off, the race at Second Creek marked the end of racing at this venue, not just for the year but permanently. As I mentioned in a posting I did back in April the encroachment of house developments has finally put an end to Second Creek Raceway. With the season over, the track is boarding up its doors and going up for sale. With the recent announcement that PPIR is being sold and closed after October the MRA has lost two race venues in one summer. Ouch! I hope that the new Miller Motorsports Park facility outside Salt Lake City is worth riders making the long drive and that the MRA can get at least one event there in 2006. What the club will lack in quantity of tracks perhaps it can make up in quality if a date at MMP can be added to the schedule. Anyway, with this being the final race at Second Creek as well as the last race of the season there was an added bit of excitement in the air on Sunday. Racers came out of retirement for brief race appearances, lots of stories were told about the history of MRA racing at the circuit and most riders put in that extra little bit of effort to win the last race at the track for their class or to try to break the lap record one final time. The attendance was huge, following a trend for the entire season, with more and more riders registering for races and and equal positive trend among spectator turn out. Definitely a good weekend to be at the track.

I again spent about half my time hanging out in the Brewer/Baker pits. In addition to racing and performing their regular MRA board duties the two clowns were also helping out with announcing races. This mean their normally chaotic race weekend was even more crazy. When Jim or Tony were around the pits, the usual pit banter ensued which generally means that insults, lewd comments and cussing were the norm. In Jim’s case, he had family from out of town visiting but it turns out his brother only added to the mayhem. Good entertainment value for those of us in the area but probably even more insanity for Jim to deal with…why again is it he calls this fun?

The two amigos had a mixed weekend but a good season overall. Jim got knocked out of the lead while passing a backmarker in the Super Twins GTO race. Fortunately, he’d tied up the championship at the last round so it was only pride, plastic and contingency money that got damaged in the accident. The crash bent the bracket for his electric shifter and that caused him problems in his remaining races. He started strong but faded in Heavyweight Superbike while having to re-learn how to manually shift a motorcycle when the fancy gadget quit working. After adjusting the shifter for Race of the Rockies GTO he found it was too sensitive and was causing the engine to constantly cut out on the bumpy track. Jim runs RoR to pick up extra contingency cash and the bike problem relegated him to 17th, two spots outside the money paying positions. The one accident in the morning pretty much screwed up the day especially since he didn’t have time to focus on the bike given his other duties. Ah, the sacrifices of being a Big Kahuna with the club… Winning the twins class on his RSV Mille means Jimbo qualifies for a pretty big check from Aprilia so at least he’ll have that to console him after a rough weekend at the race track.

Tony, meanwhile, had a better day. He had a solid finish aboard his RZ500 in Modern Vintage which was what he needed to earn him that championship. The previous day he’d sewn up the Supermoto Sportsmen class which puts two number one plates in his garage for the winter. Tony bagged on the rest of his races for Sunday to focus on the announcing and helping out with club duties. Or so he claims…there is always a question mark over how well the old two smoke is handling the stresses of racing so perhaps taking a day off was just giving the old mule a much needed rest. Tony and Jim both spent about half the day in the tower on the PA system and they did a respectable job there as well.

“Congratulations” and “Thanks” go out to both guys for winning their titles, entertaining nearly everyone in the pits at one time or another and for all the work they put into the MRA.

Another of the gripes in my June posting was that the MRA was dominated by old guys and that there wasn’t enough new blood coming along to challenge the established order. Well, I’m glad to say there are signs that is changing. First of all, there is Brad Hendry who consistently challenged the front runners in both Open Superbike and Race of the Rockies. I’m going to do a separate blog entry focusing just on him so look for that in the next week. On Sunday Brad had mixed fortunes. He took a commanding win in Open Superbike but then had a mechanical problem while leading Race of the Rockies that dropped him back to fifth. He rode over half the race without a shifter so to finish that strong was impressive even if losing a potential victory was heartbreaking for him. Also impressive at Second Creek was Ryan Burke. While Ryan quit qualifying for newcomer status about five years ago he is at least on the lower side of 40 which makes him young compared to the guys that have been winning MRA titles for the past decade. Ryan ran strong in Race of the Rockies GTO, the premier race class for the club, which is the surest sign that a rider is improving. He has also been runnin at the front in Open Superbike and Open Supersport all season which again shows he’s running with the big dogs. I hope that Ryan continues to improve next season as he may be the best hope for some new blood to win the #1 plate in ‘06.

As for the established order, they continue to rule in the MRA. Shane Turpin ran strong for the first half of Sunday’s races before a crash while leading Race of the Rockies GTO ended his day early with a knee injury. It is a rare day indeed that sees Turpin crash but the turns at the back side of Second Creek seem to be one of his few weak spots as he has crashed there before. The trip into the dirt also ended his chance of sweeping every RoR GTO race of the season. Still, he tied up the championship a few races back and will once again be carrying that big #1 plate for 2006. Likewise, Dan Turner ran in the top three for most of his races including a strong win in Race of the Rockies GTO. Ricky Orlando made a rare MRA appearance and showed why he’s such an established part of the scene with good results in his races. In fact, club elders were at the front in most of the classes with guys like Dave Galant, Denny Burke, Rich Deeming and Mike Applegate all turning in strong performances for the weekend.

Finally, I want to again touch on just how much fun it is to hang out at a club race. The pits are casual and the riders approachable. Since this was the last race of the season the entire place turned into a party as soon as the checkered flag few on the final race of the day. Grills were fired up, beers were opened, rear tires went up in huge clouds of smoke and crazy stunts were performed on pit bikes. There are a lot of great things about the rules that are in place for national and international level motorcycle racing: bikes and riders have to look professional, pits are generally roped off, unsafe behavior is stopped immediately, a strict schedule is generally adhered to and the general atmosphere is one of organization. This is all well and good but it does have a bit of sterility to it which tends to exclude the enthusiastic spectator from being a part of it all. Club racing, on the other hand, is so much more relaxed. Sure, you will have to be more alert to make sure you don’t get nailed by the guy doing wheelies on a mini-bike and you may want to think twice before bringing your kid into someone’s pit space without first listening in to make sure the conversation in progress doesn’t touch on topics you may not want Little Billy to learn at a tender young age. Still, the great thing is that its so “real”. The guys that crashed aren’t sitting around waiting for mechanics to wheel over their replacement bike they are in there frantically turning wrenches trying to get ready for the next race. The guy that came in third probably isn’t sulking in an RV he is instead more likely to be sitting under his neighbor’s canopy excitedly detailing the race. The guy that won isn’t wisked away by the media he is hanging out in his pit drinking a gatorade and chatting with whoever walks up. You can be part of the scene at a MRA race not just be watching it.

Club racing is fantastic and I’m already looking forward to next year. The MRA has some hurdles to over come but the group exists because there are a bunch of people in Colorado that are passionate about road racing. As long as there is that passion there will be somewhere to race, whether it is Mark Miller Motorsports Park, Continental Divide Race Park, La Junta Raceway or Pueblo Motorsports Park. If you are in Colorado, please plan to come out in 2006 and support the club.

[image from my photo collection.]

A storm has been brewing in the World Superbike over the three rounds as Ten Kate Honda’s Chris Vermeulen has been winning races and clawing back championship points in the battle against leader Troy Corser. With the World Superbike series winding down to just two weekends remaining the recent races at Imola where a watershed moment.

Coming into the race the pressure was on Vermeulen as he trailed Corser by 60 points at the start of the weekend. However, Vermeulen was looking good having won three off the last four races and coming in second behind Lanzi in the race he didn’t win. This streak meant he had been consistently out scoring his rival countryman and slowly closing the points gap. If Vermuelen could add to his string of victories at Imola then he could keep his title hopes alive until the final round at Magny Cours.

As early as the first practice it was obvious that both Australian riders came to Italy prepared to do what needed to be done. Both were among the fastest riders in the first practice and both were one-two in the first qualifying session with Corser holding a slim tenth of a second advantage in lap times when the sticky tires were mounted up. The two riders were again quick in the second qualifying round, again separated by little more than a tenth of a second, although Corser’s teammate Kagayama split the two for second on the provisional grid. When superpole rolled around Chris did what he had to do and turned in the fastest lap seen all weekend with a blistering 1:48.075 lap time. Corser ended up a half second back in third, the two kept apart on the grid by Ducati’s Regis Laconi. The second Ducati of James Toseland finished off the front row.

Speaking of the two Ducati riders, this is a good time to give a brief review of the state of the Superbike grid. Having both of the Ducs on the front row is amazing and a testament to how hard their riders were pushing to impress the team bosses with them racing so close to Bologna. Laconi was back for his first time on the bike after his Assen accident that damaged a tendon in his arm. Toseland, likewise, was racing injured having bruised his hand in a practice crash on Friday. Lanzi ended qualifying at the front of the second row on his loaner factory Ducati meaning all three factory bikes were in the top five. Given Ducati’s history at Imola this surely had the Italian bosses worked into a frenzy. Things weren’t quite so rosy over at Kawasaki where injured riders Walker and Sanchini were both recovering from broken elbows. Kawasaki brought in newly unemployeed Fonsi Nieto to ride a third bike but given his performance for Yamaha earlier in the season this didn’t necessarily look to improve their the green team’s chances. I’m sure there were long faces in the Kawasaki garages all weekend but this was especially so after qualifying where Walker was mired back in 16th with his two teammates further down the grid behind him. Another rider that was riding injured was Ben Bostrom who was flung off his Honda during qualifying. No major injuries but a general battering that wasn’t going to do him any favors. Missing completely from the grid was Foggy Petronas’ McCoy who was out with a broken coccyx. The Aussie is likely out for the remainder of the season.

The injury list aside there were a few other surprises when qualifying was over. The second row, as I’ve already mentioned, was headed by Lanzi followed by Haga, Kagayama and then the bombshell of Bostrom who turned in the eighth fastest time despite his aches and pains. Given how poorly he’s qualified for most of this year, maybe he needs to start highsiding during practice on a more frequent basis as it seems to actually improve his results. Another surprise was Frankie Chili who was down in 14th on the grid. He has been running closer to the front that than all season and I thought he would get caught up in the spirit of racing in front of his home crowd as he usually does at Monza. Just racing in Italy is usually good for a front row start for the Honda rider but apparently that wasn’t the case this weekend.

With the dark clouds gathering, both figuratively and literally, the riders lined up for race one. Before things could get started the clouds opened up with a brief shower that drenched the track. The marshalls decided to give all the riders a brief wet weather practice and then get things started under “wet race” rules. With the track damp but drying, most of the riders went with slicks but Vermeulen took a big gamble to go with an intermediate front. This meant he should have more confidence in the early laps but would risk destroying the tire should the track dry up during the race.

When the green lights came on it was Corser who made the leap off the line to the front of the pack with Vermeulen a close second. Half way through the first lap Chris put the grooved tire to good use to make the pass on Troy. Even as early as the first lap the wet conditions started to cause problems for riders. Chili and Silva crashed out immediately and Muggeridge retired with mechanical problems after overheating his clutch trying to get the slicks to hook up on the wet start. Within a few laps others would join the crashers with Abe, Kagayama, Lanzi and Pitt all dropping their bikes due to the wet surface. Pitt and Kagayama were both able to restart but both were outside the points by the time they returned to the track.

The race quickly broke into three main battles. Up front, the two championship leaders were stuck tight together with Vermeulen holding the tire advantage but Corser clearly with the horse power needed to force a pass despite his more tentative corner entries. A few seconds back was another dog fight, this one between Toseland and Haga. The third group, a few seconds even further behind, was a scrap between Walker, Martin, Neukirchner and Gimbert. In all three groups, passes were frequent but the most spectacular racing was between Haga and Toseland. Neither was willing to let the other lead and both were making risky passes given the mixed track conditions. Despite their antics, the battle for second place started to make up ground on the lead pair which made it look as if the fight for victory would boil down to a four bike scrap. However, two events happened almost simultaneously which changed all that. First, Vermeulen made another pass on Corser to retake the lead but then upped the pace to the same lap times being running by the chasing riders. Second, with six laps to go Toseland ran wide and allowed Haga past for third. With Toseland loosing valuable time and Haga stalled in his forward progress, the battle boiled down to just the two men in front.

Once Vermeulen went to the point position Corser seemed content to park on this rear wheel and wait for a last lap pass. This was probably a wise strategy, especially considering that the track had indeed dried up during the course of the race which mean that Vermeulen’s intermediate front tire was busy over-heating with each lap. It also looked as if his rear tire was taking a beating as well since he was drifting the rear each time he tried to get the Honda’s power to the ground. By the last lap, Chris was all over the track but despite his obvious tire problems his lap times weren’t dropping off. To the surprise of everyone, and no one more so that Troy Corser, the Honda rider was able to maintain his lead through the last lap, despite an attempt by Corser for a pass, and to hold on to win the race. This victory allowed him to close another five points on Corser and keep the championship storm rolling into the second race. Haga head on to third and Toseland recovered from his off track mistake to finish fourth. Martin made a last lap pass on the wounded Walker to close out the top five. The rain took its toll with only 16 bikes completing the race despite 34 bikes originally lining up for the start.

Unfortunately, Vermeulen’s dream weekend came to a rapid halt when the real storm intervened. While the riders were preparing for the second race another cloud burst soaked the track and this time it wasn’t likely to dry up. After some of the top riders were given a tour of the circuit in the pace car it was decided that the track was too dangerous to continue the event and the second race was cancelled. While it is always disappointing to have a race cancelled I applaud the race marshalls for making that decision. (This is especially true given how poorly the marshalls handled the rain storm that happened during the World Supersport race earlier in the day!).

With race two cancelled due to the rain, the math worked out that there weren’t enough points available at the upcoming Magny Cours rounds to allow Vermeulen to catch Corser. The sun broke through the proverbial clouds and shown down upon Corser as the cancellation made Troy Corser the 2005 World Superbike champion with a 55 point lead over Vermeulen. This marks the first ever WSBK championship for Suzuki and the second WSBK title for Corser. As I mentioned at the beginning of the season, Corser had a deep desire this year to show that his poor results over the past four seasons while he rode the Petronas were because of the bike he was on and not a lack of talent on his part. He has definitely proved that this year.

I remember watching Troy ride the Fast by Ferraci Ducati in ‘94 enroute to the AMA Superbike championship and knowing he was a spectacular rider. That opinion was reinforced in 1996 when he won the World Superbike title. I think this title shows just how much his talent was wasted in the years between 2002 and 2005. I think Corser could have given both Hodgson and Toseland runs for their money during their respective championships if he’d just had something decent underneath him.

Finally, congratulations to Troy Corser and the Corona Suzuki team for winning the ‘05 Superbike title.

[image from the Alstare Corona Suzuki web site.]

“No Arab loves the desert. We love water and green trees. There is nothing in the desert and no man needs nothing.”
— Prince Feisal, _Lawrence of Arabia_

There was so much racing this weekend that I’ll have to split up my coverage in blog entries over the next week or so. First up, the MotoGP race at Losail circuit in Qatar…

Like Sufi mystics, a handful of riders headed out into the burning confines of the Qatar desert with the hope of finding something inside themselves. For Loris Capirossi, it was finding the strength to win a third straight race. For Sete Gibernau, it was breaking his one year old dry spell of victories in the premier class. For Max Biaggi it was to get beyond having his championship chances dashed at Sepang and to now focus on consolidating his second place in the championship. For Colin Edwards it was another chance to build confidence by matching his teammates’ spectacular results. For everyone else it was a chance to prove to themselves and the world that they deserve a ride for next year. …and for all of them the dry sands of Arabia were a harsh place indeed.

Things started out strong for Capirossi who earned his third straight pole position. Unfortunately, other than his one lap wonder on the impressive Bridgestone qualifying tires his lap times weren’t very impressive which meant he would be fighting an uphill battle if he hoped to win the race. Gibernau also came out swinging while the stop watches were ticking to take second on the grid. Also, his practice lap times indicated he had could run the presumed race pace and thus had a chance at breaking “The Curse” and taking a win. Rossi qualified in third position at the track where he crashed last year after the grid cleaning fiasco to make it three different brands on the front row. That kind of machine diversity is good for a series that has been primarily dominated by a single brand all season long. Also, on paper the circuit looks like it would favor the Hondas, as Gibernau’s second and fifth place Melandri proved, so it was nice to see both of the Yamahas and both of the Ducatis in the front two rows showing that overall the bikes may be on a more even footing that the season’s results might initially indicate. While Capirossi was shining at the front his countryman Max Biaggi was sulking near the back of the grid. Biaggi qualified a miserable 12th and his only consolation was that he still out did fellow Honda rider Alex Barros who was one position further back. Things weren’t looking for for the two veteran riders.

When the race got started on Saturday the wind was horrible. Not only does the wind play hell with the bikes stability it also blows a fine dust onto the track surface which makes a slick track even slicker. Capirossi took advantage of the Ducati’s killer horsepower to launch off the line while Hayden and Gibernau resumed their turn one game of bumper cars just as they had done in Sepang. Gibernau again came out the better in the shoving match to join Capirossi, Melandri, Rossi, Hayden and Edwards at the front. Slightly further back, Robert Rolfo was running in an astounding seventh which is about ten places higher than the Dunlop shod, one year old Ducati can normally be found. Biaggi and Barros followed up their awful grid positions with equally poor starts and both were well outside the top ten in the first first few laps.

Two of the men who came to the Losail Circuit with such high hopes had their bubbles burst relatively early in the race. First, Biaggi pulled into the pits with yet another mysterious bike problem. As has been the case a few times earlier in the season the Roman made some vague comments which described some kind of handling problem and retired rather than ride around the problem. Whatever the real problem, there is definitely an attitude problem and his leaving the race is bad for Honda, bad for his sponsors and bad for his image. It is also bad for his chances of strengthening his second place in the championship. The second rider to have a problem was Capirossi who ran wide in one of the many sweeping turns and ran through the gravel trap. Given how dusty the outside edges of the track are, combined with the lack of traction on the plastic astro-turf used around the track instead of grass, the Italian was lucky to keep the bike upright. He rejoined the race but the off track excursion put him out of touch with the lead pack and fighting just to stay in the top ten.

Up front, Gibernau took control and tried to break the following pack of Rossi, Melandri, Hayden and Edwards. He pulled a slight gap but then a few laps later Rossi and Melandri had closed right back up again. During this battle , Nicky Hayden turned in an screaming 1.57.903 lap to break the old track record and cut the gap to third place in half. Edwards, meanwhile, was starting to lose the pace and started the slow drift back from the lead pack. Further back, Suzuki mounted Hopkins had to pull in for a new rear Bridgestone.

At half race distance Melandri passes Rossi for second and immediately starts to pressure his Spanish teammate for the lead. With five laps to go Melandri makes a couple of pass attempts but runs wide in both to immediately hand the position back to Gibernau. However, the pressure is apparently too much and Sete runs off the track and into a gravel trap. He manages to keep the bike upright and returns to the track but like Capirossi earlier he has lost the lead pack. He probably also left a big chunk of his self-confidence sitting in that Losail gravel trap. I don’t know how many more times the talented Spaniard can return to the well to replinish his soul before he comes up dry. Riders like Rossi can suck the spirit right out of competitors and every mistake Sete makes while leading races is just handing his rival the siphoning tube.

With Melandri and Rossi out front the pace continues to be fast and Hayden slowly starts to fall back leaving the lead battle to be a mano-a-mano scrap between the two friends: Melandri and Rossi. As we have seen so many times this season Valentino waits until the penultimate lap to make his move passing Marco for the lead. On the last lap Melandri tries a gutsy pass in turn eight but runs a little wide gifting the win to Rossi. The Honda rider recovers before running too far off track and holds onto second place ahead of Hayden.

With Rossi’s 10th win of the season and Edward’s fourth place the Gauloises Yamaha team score enough points to wrap up the Team title. This bucket load of points also helped them to close in even more on the Manufacturer title. Pretty much a perfect weekend for Rossi and the boys but a pretty bleak time for everyone else.

When the points were tallied Max Biaggi still holds onto 2nd but only by two points over Marco Melandri who jumps up to third in the title race. Edwards rises to fourth overall and trails Melandri by five points. Hayden continues to climb up the points table and is now in fifth just two points behind Edwards. Capirossi’s eventual tenth place finish drops him from third to sixth but the race for second overall is still close with only 11 points covering the group from Biaggi to Capirossi.

Other notables finishers were Toni Elias who managed an eighth place finish. The Spanish MotoGP rookie has earned finishes inside the top ten on four different occasions this year all while riding the second string Yamaha. He has also consistently bested his teammate Ruben Xaus (who was 14th at Qater) which is perhaps a better measuring stick for his success. Shinya Nakano brought his Kawasaki home in seventh which isn’t that notable except that it is a finish which is something that has eluded the Japanese rider at the last two races. Alex Barros charged up through the field to eventually finish in ninth. After looking so strong in the middle part of the season Barros needs to finish strong to have any chance of riding in MotoGP next season. Lackluster results now may finally close the book on his long GP career. Suzuki’s continued their trend of frustrating results with Roberts getting 11th and Hopkins the last of the finishers in 17th after his tire change. Rolfo eventually brought the ancient D’Antin Duc across the line in 12th, one spot ahead of Camel Honda replacement rider Shane Byrne. Oddly enough, Byrne ended his final stand-in race on the RC211V in roughly the same ranking as he was earning earlier in the season aboard the Team KR/Proton bike. Food for thought, huh?

Was anyone other than Rossi really a winner in Qatar? Well, Hayden and Melandri both re-closed the gap in the battle for second but neither earned enough points to solidify anything. Biaggi, Capirossi and Gibernau would rather forget about the race all together as none of them accomplished their goals. No one really put in the kind of performance that will help them get a ride next year so it appears everyone will have to hope for better in the greener pastures that are Phillip Island. In the meantime, all the riders came back out of the desert with only Rossi having found any answers.

[image from the MotoGP web site.]

This weekend will be another one that is jammed packed with racing. Since there are a lot of racing I’ll just say a little about each one.

First up, the MotoGP guys return for their second ever race at the Losail circuit in Doha, Qatar. The race is being held on Saturday, in deference to the local Muslim population, which means the bikes, teams and riders have had to get from Malaysia to Qater in just four days to be ready for first practice on Thursday. The 3.36 mile, 16 corner track has a right hand bias with 10 of the turns heading in that direction. Like most of the new tracks built primarily for F1 the track surface is billiard table flat and the asphalt is almost perfectly smooth. In the the only negative thing that can be said about the track, because after all it is in the middle of a freakin’ desert, is that it is hot and sandy. This means that it will again be a race where tires may be the deciding factor. Because the track is so smooth and the circuit is so flowing the bikes can be set up with a relatively soft suspension. This is definitely a good thing because it will help the riders with all important front tire feel which is essential due to the heat and sand. It is especially true in turn 1 were the riders are slowing down from around 200mph for one of the slowest parts of the track. Last year this race was the most dramatic of the season with the now infamous penalty against Rossi’s team for their cleaning his grid position by doing burn-outs with a pit scooter. One of the repercussions of that was the Rossi “curse” which was placed on Gibernau forecasting that the Spainard would never win again. After Sete won at Qatar last year, that prediction has held true. If Gibernau could win at Qatar it would be an amazing turn of events. The favorite going in, other than Rossi, has to be Capirossi who has won two in a row on the resurgent Ducati. Biaggi desperately needs a good race to maintain his spot as #2 in the title chase. Melandri is still riding hurt after his foot injury in Motegi. Hoffman and Bayliss are still out. Jacque is riding the Kawasaki while Byrne is again subbing at Camel Honda. Finally, there should be some more silly season info leaking out this weekend so watch for that news.

Next up is the World Superbike race at Imola. This is the penultimate race for the WSBK series so the riders hoping to claw their way back into the championship points battle better be on the ball at the Santamonica track. Obviously, all eyes will be on the championship battle between Chris Vermeulen and Troy Corser. Both of the Australians will probably be at the forefront all weekend though both have histories of having championship runs fizzle at the end of a season. The other riders to watch at Imola will be the Ducatis. With Bologna only a short hope away, the riders of the Italian equipment will be under a lot of pressure to perform for the bosses. To add to that pressure, the four year history of WSBK coming to Imola shows Ducati have won five of the eight races and that every race has been won by a v-twin. Talk about big expectations! Toseland is probably looking for a job next year and thus needs to impress. Laconi is coming back from injury and needs to settle any lingering doubts among his bosses that he should be their star rider in ‘06. Superstar Lanzi is back with the privateer team but now armed with factory bikes. He’s looking to solidify his position as Laconi’s teammate at the factory next year. The field of honor for this weekend’s event is a historic track with a fantastic layout. The 3.01 mile long track has 16 turns with over half of those being of the left hand variety. Nearly half a lap at Imola is spent at high speed making flip-flop transitions through fast, flowing turns. There are three tight left hand turns and one right hander but otherwise its a high speed circuit. Add in a rough track surface and you have an event where the suspension guys will be earning their money. The always slippery Pirelli tires will get a workout so expect some guys to have tire trouble in the later stages of the first race unless everyone decides to run the hardest thing in the tire truck.

The big finale of the AMA Supermoto series is being held this weekend in Reno and it promises to be a hoot. Both the Supermoto and Supermoto Unlimited classes are yet to crown a champion, though Jeff Ward will almost certainly tie up the former but with double points being paid in the second race there is still a chance for second place Jurgen Kunzel to win the thing. The Unlimited class champ is anyone’s guess as three riders are all bunched within six points of each other: Darryl Atkins, Micky Dymond and Troy Herfoss all have a shot at the title this weekend. Even David Baffeleuf and Robert Loire still have a long shot chance being only 23 and 24 points back respectively. Mark Burkhart has already sewn up the Supermoto Lites championship. The track is a mix of really cool stuff and some pretty boring stuff. The 12 turn, 1 mile track has a small but technical dirt section and a interesting sounding banked turn that goes up onto the side of a building. Sadly, about half of each lap is a point-n-shoot style square going around a city block with three short straights connected by 90 degree right hand turns (why not turn the track around 180 degrees so these turns become left handers and thus give the dirt track guys an advantage?!?). Not exactly the most inspired layout in that sense but with this being in the middle of downtown Reno it is example of the philosophy that Supermoto racing can be set up anywhere. I *love* Supermotos so I suspect the track will prove exciting and the racing will be good. It bad enough that I can’t be there to watch but to add insult to injury OLN isn’t broadcasting the race until mid-November.

Finally, another series is coming to a close this weekend. With fall right around the corner here in Colorado this Sunday marks the season ending race for our local MRA club. As as been the tradition the past few years the final race of the season is being held at Second Creek Raceway out by Denver International Airport. As is typical of the tracks our club races at the place is small. In fact, it is only 1.7 miles in length but with 10 turns crammed into that short space. Despite its size the the layout is actually interesting and it makes for some great racing. Shane Turpin has already tied up the premier Race of the Rockies GTO title but needs to win this weekend to complete a sweep of every race for the season. Likewise, he has already locked up the Race of the Rockies GTU championship as well but a uncharacteristic fourth at Pikes Peak ruined any chance of him sweeping every Race of the Rockies event this year. I’m heading down on Sunday to watch the racing and to catch up with my buddies ‘05 SuperTwins GTO champ Jim Brewer and Modern Vintage GTU points leader Tony Baker.

[image from the Losail Circuit web site.]

I made a blog posting a few nights ago about how the biennial Paris Motorcycle Show was this weekend and that this is the time of the year when all the new models and wild concept bikes are announced. I’ve also posted a few times this summer about how I had planned to buy a new bike this year (though that project has, in both the interest of financial responsibility and the hope that KTM imports the 990 Super Duke in ‘06, been pushed until next year). With those thoughts still bouncing around in my head I thought I’d take a moment to mention some of the 2005 bikes that I think are exceptional but which, for one reason or another, aren’t actually on my list of potential purchases. Consider this a sort of “Coolest bikes of 2005” posting for motorcycles which are impractical to own but well worth drooling over.

First, any time I start talking about dream bikes the first thing I always mention is having a full on GP bike for the street. Well, Ducati said in 2004 that they would be making a street version of their MotoGP bike to be called the Desmosedici RR. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that the bikes made it from concept to sellable product in 2005 but since rolling models have been displayed at least it has made the leap from drawing board to prototype. Assuming this bike ever becomes reality (and wishfully thinking I could afford the purchase price which will likely be over $50,000) it will be the closest I’ll ever get to riding a Grand Prix machine. I consider this the ultimate on my list of impractical but lust worthy motorcycles. (Now, if only Honda would release a Nicky Hayden replica RC211V in 2007…)

A bike that is much more real, though not much more attainable, is the new $45,000 wonder bike from MV Agusta: the F4 Tamburini. The standard F4 is stunningly beautiful and, unlike so many other salon bikes, brutally effective. With the Tamburini edition, MV has pushed to the absolute limits of what a company can achieve when they aim for a very select (and well heeled) sport bike audience. The bike has all the right modifications in that MV has focused on increasing horsepower, improving handling and removing weight. Perfect. The purchase price is the *only* reason the F4 Tamburini isn’t in my garage.

The Confederate Wraith got a lot of press in 2005 and, unlike nearly every other V-twin powered custom bike, I think it actually deserves it. Both the engineering and visual design are incredible and yet the core philosophy has been to make a bike that not only looks unique but is thrilling to ride. In fact, it is even built to be ridden hard. The Wraith really seems innovative in its styling while distancing itself completely from the choppers that generally come to mind when I think of a v-twin powered custom. I don’t think I would ever drop $50,000 on one but if I had that kind of money laying around I’d at least give it a serious look.

As long as I’m talking about customs, I might as well give some props to the Honda Rune. When it comes to bikes which can be generally classified as cruisers I can only if I find out that it is something different from the norm can I muster even the smallest amount of interest. I don’t mean different in the way that chopper builder TV shows find new themes with which to bolt together crappy, unrideable bikes but different in the sense that someone looked at the basic concept of a cruiser with fresh eyes. That is what appeals to me about the Wraith and it also gives me a huge amount of appreciation for the Rune. The fact that Honda, a company that rarely takes styling risks, are the ones that made it gives me that much more admiration for the accomplishment. Taking the monster motor from the Gold Wing, giving it retro inspired design and then making the whole bike seemingly bigger than life just pegs my cool meter. The fact that it costs half what a Wraith goes for just means it is almost within reach of us mortals.

Another bike that goes in a surprising new direction for a company is the MGS/01 Corsa model that was first shown by Moto Guzzi in 2004. Like Honda building the Rune, having a company like Moto Guzzi which has reputation for building large, clunky engines with long, low profiles suddenly come out with a full on sport bike is shocking. The fact that the MGS still has some characteristic “Guzziness” to it just means that the designers were on their A Game when the penned the bike. The MGS is supposedly being marketed to Guzzi owners who want to go to the track…that has to be a very select group but hopefully this bold step (along with a big infusion of cash from new owner Piaggio) will shatter Guzzi’s previous image and help the company create a reputation for bold and exciting motorcycles and thus gain an entirely new market. As someone who loved the Sport models from afar this MGS comes close to winning me over.

If Moto Guzzi seems to be being metaphorically reborn then Norton has been through the real deal. The name Norton has been missing from the motorcycle market place for nearly thirty years as the brand was one of the many casualties of the wave of Japanese made motorcycles that appeared in the 50s and 60s. Now ex-Norton restorer Kenny Dreer has acquired the rights to the name and has built an entirely new bike which will wear the Norton name. The 952 Commando pays serious hommage to the famous Norton Commando by using a parellel twin engine derived from the original but is otherwise thoroughly modern with fancy Ohlins suspension, massive Brembo brakes, 17″ forged rims, a reasonably light 415 lb dry weight and at $20,000 it is almost reasonably priced. I think this bike is damned near perfect. Unique, beautifully styled, well engineered and the right blend of new mixed with old.

There are also a few honorable mentions I’d like to throw on here at the end:

First is the Aprilia SVX 4.5 supermoto bike. When I first read about the race only model that broke cover last year I put it very near the top of my dream bike list. However, now it is actually being released as a production bike so it isn’t quite so exotic as it seemed earlier this year. Still, while it is probably too specialized to make it onto the list of bikes that I will consider purchasing it is very, very close. A lightweight supermoto bike with 20% more power than the competition and with a 13,000 redline sounds like more fun that you should be allowed to have with your clothes on.

As I mentioned above when talking about the Rune and Commando I have a soft spot for nuevo-retro styling. Bikes which have a distinctly retro look but which have been updated to more modern specs. There are three bikes which definitely fall into that catagory for me and all three are either now available for purchase or will be in the next few months. They are the Triumph Bonneville Thruxton, the newly announced Triumph Scrambler and the Paul Smart 1000 bike from Ducati’s “Sport classic collection. When it comes time to get out the checkbook and lay down cold, hard cash I can’t justify any of these but if I lock that rational part of my brain away then all three just seem so *right*. Fantastic classic styling but with modern engines, modern suspension, modern brakes and modern wheels. They are an excellent balance of the form versus function design philosophy and are all the more tempting since they aren’t outrageously priced like most dream bikes.

When it comes down to buying a new bike, I don’t think any of these bikes would ever make the cut either because they focus too much on styling, focus too narrowly on their market or simply because they are out of focus with my financial reality. Nonetheless, any one of them is more deserving of a TV show than any of the so called “exotic” custom choppers that seem to find their way onto my boob tube. These are my dream bikes for ‘05.

[image from the Confederate Motorcycles web site.]

Well, another page of my MotoGP calendar needs to be turned over and that means it is time for another of my monthly Odds and Ends “catch up” postings. September has been really busy, especially with both silly season and new bike announcements trickling out, so I’ll have to skip a few things just to keep this post from being too long.

First up, is a news item about newly crowned ‘05 MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi. No matter how talented the guy is on the track his real talent is his ability to constantly keep his name in the news. He has monopolized the headlines for most of September as people focused on what he was already doing in 2005, questioned his 2006 plans and speculated about what he would be doing in 2007. For 2005, he has been winning races but has also now had two controversial accidents. The season opener at Jerez with Sete Gibernau and now one with Marco Melandri at Motegi. I’ve covered all this in my MotoGP blog entries but the overriding message is that Rossi continues to keep people guessing. As for 2006, I covered Rossi’s re-signing with Yamaha in my August Odds and Ends posting so that isn’t new news but who will be sponsoring the Italian superstar’s Yamaha has been the topic of endless speculation. Rossi is currently sponsored at Yamaha by Altadis’ Gauloisis cigarette brand but has apparently asked to be run without tobacco sponsorship on this bike in ‘06. The most likely reason for this, other than a possible dislike of tobacco companies, is that he is still flirting with racing a Ferrari F1 car in the near future. The best way to avoid problems with Philip Morris, the long time sponsor of Ferrari, is to make sure he has no contractual obligations to a competing tobacco company. What colors Rossi will be running next year is yet to be decided but the rumors continue to pop up on motorcycle racing news sites. Finally, there is the constant speculation about Vale becoming a F1 driver in ‘07. Again, the flurry of rumors continued all through September. First, Ferrari sent out a press releases claiming Rossi was basically signed as a test rider in 2006 then Rossi responded with a harsh public statement saying no such thing had been signed and finally Ferrari sent out another message which back pedalled considerably from their earlier claims. Presumably Valentino’s manager has been frantically fielding phone calls from Yamaha, Ferrari, Altadis and Philip Morris all month long and I suspect the actual situation probably isn’t clear to any one of these people yet. All the while, Rossi’s popularity is growing ever stronger and his name is showing up in news reports the world over. We’ll see if October brings any answers…

The rest of silly season has been so completely dwarfed by the Rossi story that very little has made the news. It seems that most of the 2005 championship winners (or likely championship winners when you look at the two international series) are already tied up for 2006. In the AMA series, Mladin (Suzuki), Yates (Suzuki), Duhamel (Honda) and Hayden (Kawasaki) are all staying put for at least another year. The biggest news in the AMA paddock has been Eric Bostrom’s move from Ducati to a Supersport/Superstock ride with Yamaha which, in my opinion, seems like a waste of his talent. The MotoGP silly season has been excruciatingly slow to play out this year and many of the top riders are still unsigned for next year. Leading that list is Sete Gibernau who may be back with Movistar Honda or may be riding for Ducati. Max Biaggi will almost certainly stay with Honda but probably won’t be in Repsol colors. Whether he ends up with the Movistar or Camel team is probably dependent on where Sete ends up. Bayliss and Barros, both teammates at Camel Honda, are unsigned for next year as is Suzuki’s Kenny Roberts Jr. It also appears that Yamaha’s Ruben Xaus, Ducati’s Carlos Checa, Kawasaki’s Alex Hoffman, and all the smaller teams riders like Shane Byrne, James Ellison, Franco Battaini and Roberto Rolfo are without contracts for next season. It seems pretty late in the year for this many teams to be without a signed rider but that may be because the current season still has four races to go. I expect all of these riders to have clarification within the next month. As far as World Superbike goes, it seems certain that Corser will be back with Suzuki next year. However, both Ducati riders, Regis Laconi and James Toseland, appear to be up in the air. Likewise, most of the Yamaha riders (Haga, Pitt, Abe, Gimbert) are still looking for jobs. Honda is rumored to be moving Chris Vermeulen to MotoGP so that opens up a seat at Ten Kate, though presumably his teammate Karl Muggeridge will stay on another year. Who knows what is happening with Kawasaki. Again, I suspect a lot of the WSBK riders will be confirmed in the next month but in the meantime you can always follow who is going where on my silly season web page.

Speaking of the AMA series, a tentative 2006 race schedule has already been announced. Combine this early release of dates for next year with the long term commitment that the AMA Pro Racing board announced earlier this summer for the superbike class rules and you’d almost get the idea that they have been listening to the criticism that has been leveled at them for the past decade. These efforts to get things nailed down early and with more solidity mean that teams can better plan and prepare for the upcoming year. Even better than the AMA’s promptness in this regard is the content of the proposed ‘06 series: As late as February of last year there were only nine circuits listed on the ‘05 schedule while the tentative ‘06 schedule already shows 11. Only three ovals are on the list (Daytona, Fontana and PPIR) while the remaining eight rounds will be at true road race tracks. This year the AMA raced at the same three ovals (and eventually at VIR to make ten rounds) so I’m glad to see that the new addition to the schedule is a venue with a true road race track. Racing at more places that don’t just cram a flat infield into a NASCAR oval will help make the sport safer and will keep the racing more interesting. It is only a baby step but adding one new track is definitely a step in the right direction. Now if only they can find a series sponsor!

Speaking of the new road race track the AMA announcement shows a mid-June date for the inaugural Superbike race at the Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City, Utah in 2006. Even better, this is currently slated to be a doubleheader round so it increases the races on next year’s calendar by *two*. I’m excited about this news for two reasons, the first of which is simply that its close enough that I can actually attend which means I should hit three AMA Superbike races in ‘06: Miller Motorsports Park, PPIR and Laguna. Second, the AMA adding another event in the Rocky Mountain region means that they can now seriously consider dropping PPIR event off the schedule in the future. Its a crappy track for road racing and losing it from the ‘07 AMA schedule wouldn’t be much of a loss. Lets hope the clock has started ticking on how much longer the AMA guys will have to suffer through going round and round the PPIR merry-go-round.

Another bit of exciting AMA Superbike news as the announcement at the Kawasaki dealer show that Team Green would be racing the ZX-10R in Superbike next season with Tommy and Roger Lee Hayden as their riders. This again is great news for the sport because it gets the premier superbike class that much closer to having full participation by all the major manufacturers. Additionally, it puts two of the most talented riders in the series into the top class in the series which again increases the excitement of the racing. Both riders deserve a shot at the top prize in AMA road racing and I’m thrilled to see they are getting their shot. Kudos to Kawasaki for taking up the challenge. Now if only Yamaha was so brave.

Also on the domestic front the AMA Pro Racing board made news this month when they handed down fines to motocross riders Mike Alessi and Matt Walker after the Tedesco/Alessi/Walker incident earlier this month at Glen Helen. At issue was an accident in which Alessi appeared to intentionally take out 125cc championship rival Ivan Tedesco but ended up taking himself down as well. Alessi then stood on Tedesco’s still running bike to prevent him from being able to continue the race. Meanwhile Tedesco’s teammate Walker doubled back on the track to knock Alessi of the Kawasaki so Ivan could get back underway. The AMA decided that because of his actions Alessi needed to take a $5,000 hit to his wallet, as well as a disqualification from the entire Glen Helen round and a 12 month probation. Finally, and perhaps the most painful, is that Alessi is also taken out of the running for the AMA Pro Racing Rookie of the Year award. Walker was deemed to have also acted in a way that negatively affects the sport and was given a $2,500 fine, a disqualification from the second moto at Glen Helen and a was put on probation for next year’s Supercross and Motocross seasons. I have mixed feelings about the reprimand for Walker but I’m thrilled to see Alessi get such a heavy penalty after acting so immature. Bravo to the AMA for taking action on this.

Shifting gears completely, let me mention two completely unrelated things to close out this month’s Odds and Ends.

First, Yamaha did an initial announcement of their new bikes earlier this month and included in that a quick photo of the ‘06 FJR1300 sport touring bike. Then all the info associated with the FJR was removed from their web site which caused all sorts of rumors to start flying around the net. Well, at the Paris Motorcycle Show today the European model FJR was officially announced and the mystery was finally revealed: the 2006 FJR will be released with a semi-automatic transmission. This means it will have a conventional gearbox but will use electronics to handle the shifts without the rider having to use a shift lever. It remains to be announced if this auto tranny will be available on US models or not. This will be the first production street bike since the old Hondamatic and Moto Guzzi Convert to have an automatic transmission so this is pretty big news from a technology stand point. However, as a rider I have zero interest in such a thing as shifting gears is a fundamental part of the motorcycle experience for me.

Finally, I wanted to mention that a new motorcycle movie about New Zealander HJ “Bert” Munro has been released Down Under called The World’s Fastest Indian. I doubt this movie will make it to US theaters but it should eventually be available on DVD some time next year. If you haven’t heard of HJ Munro he build Indian motorcycles in the pre-WWII era as land speed racers. Like John Britten, who came along much later, Munru hand build most of his bike’s parts in a little shed in on the south island of New Zealand and was a real innovator at a time when the application of technology to motorcycles was still at a relatively early stage. His story is a fascinating one to anyone interested in the people who pushed the limits of motorcycles during the infancy of the sport. I think it will make a nice addition to my library of motorcycle movies so I hope the DVD does make it to the US so I can buy a copy. Maybe it will inspire me to finally buy that welder for the garage I’ve been dreaming out…

That’s it for this month. Thanks for reading.

[image from the Drive.com.au web site.]