2011 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Notebook

The roar of vintage cars racing today at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was like the sound of music to thousands of motor racing and historic automobile enthusiasts attending this year?s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Racing took place in nine of 17 groups, representing just over half of the 550 cars entered, which can fairly be said to represent the full, rich lineage of motor racing in this country and abroad. (The remaining eight race groups compete tomorrow.)

Though all groups contributed to the enthusiasm of the crowds, two that made hearts race wildly were the Jaguar Invitation class, with more than a dozen E-Types racing and enjoying their 50th anniversary, and the Ferrari GTO (Gran Turismo Omologata) class, which put 13 of these most venerated of historic cars?recognized by the distinct shrill of their three liter V12 engines– to the test.

With less than 40 of the GTOs built between 1962 and 1964 and some of them valued at up to $30 million, it?s logical to wonder about the risk of racing such a valuable car, but Tom Price of Larkspur (who finished the race in second position) doesn?t give it much thought.

?I?ve owned my GTO since December of 1983 and raced it over 165 times,? he said. ?The fundamental car is all there, so if you damage the car it really doesn?t cost any more to repair it than it would any car of a much less value; it?s strictly a body shop issue. When you start worrying about the value you shouldn?t be racing the car, because that?s when you get into trouble on the track. What has made these cars so collectable is that people do take them out and race them and have a wonderful time with them.?

Lukas Huni from Zurich, Switzerland, raced his Ferrari 250 GT Bertinetta Competition SEFAC, which is a short wheelbase car that is technically one evolution earlier than the GTO but it utilizes the same engine. It was raced by brothers Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez and won the 1000 kilometers of Paris in 1961. ?Everyone who races in vintage events love their cars,? said Huni. ?The history of the car is appreciated by the owner, ideally for the right reasons, which has nothing to do with the value of the car. It is what it did in its time and why you want to preserve that history that matters. The current owners of vintage race cars actually become a part of the history of their car.?

In addition to the world?s finest historic cars, some of racing?s biggest names showed up to either race or watch and, of course, mingle with admiring fans, who more often than not were impressively educated on the accomplishments of such race heroes. Sir Sterling Moss, Derek Bell, Dario Franchiti, Hurley Haywood, Arie Luyendyk, Gil de Ferran, John Morton, Brian Redman and Howden Ganley were among those most notable, and two were officially feted: British driver Martin Brundle at a now-traditional Rolex dinner on Friday and American driver Bob Tullius at the Jaguar Picnic (where Brundle joined him) today at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Brundle originally raced in British Formula Three and competed in the 1983 Championship with Ayrton Senna, finishing a close second to him and moving directly into Formula One with Senna the next year. He raced in Formula One for over 12 years and 158 races, during which time he saw ten podium finishes and 98 points. Brundle?s connection with Jaguar began in 1982 with touring cars, and he won the 1988 World Sportscar Championship with record points, took victory at the Rolex 24 At Daytona that same year and also won the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Jaguar XJR-12.

He has retired from racing but his job as a motorsports commentator on BBC prepared him nicely for his stage conversation with the Rolex dinner audience.

?Often nowadays you can?t even see the drivers, as they?re buried in the cars,? explained Brundle. ?I think that?s why classic racing, like what we are going to see this weekend, is so interesting: you can see the drivers at work and that?s a treat today.?

Arie Luyendyk, the Dutch race car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1990 and then again in 1997 and also won the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, also commented on vintage racing: ?As you get older, you appreciate the history of motor racing. When I was younger, I really didn?t care about it, but now it means a lot to me to see all these magnificent cars. I got to drive one of my winning Indianapolis 500 cars before the start of this year?s Indianapolis 500 as a demonstration. I also got to drive Graham Hill?s 1966 Indianapolis winning car up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last July. I drove one of the Penske Formula 1 cars, and I plan to drive a 962 Porsche at Sebring this year. I guess you can say I am getting more and more involved in historic racing.?

At the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion this year were an impressive number of Jaguars, which were honored as the special marque, and paddock after paddock full of cars bearing names such as Porsche, Shelby Cobra, McLaren, Lotus, Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Lister, Lola, and Studebaker. The competitors came from 27 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and 14 countries (USA, France, Monaco, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, England, Switzerland, New Zealand, Germany, Spain).

Saturday’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Winners:

Group 1A – Pre 1940 Sports Racing and Touring Cars: Peter Giddings, Danville, CA, 1930 Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3

Group 2A – 1955-1962 GT Cars: Martin Brewer, Farnham Common, UK, 1962 Aston Martin DB4

Group 3A – Jaguar Invitational Class: Art Hebert, Larkspur, CA 1965, Jaguar E-Type

Group 4A - 1973-1982 IMSA GT, GTX, and AAGT Cars: Ken Epsman, Santa Clara, CA, 1976 Chevrolet Monza

Group 5A - 1960-1968 Sports Racing USRRC Cars: Byron DeFoor, Ooltewah, TN, 1965 Lola T-70

Group 6A – Ferrari GTO Cars: Carlo Vogele, Rapperswil, SUI, Ferrari 350 GTO

Group 7A – 1963-1966 GT Cars over 2500cc: Terry Gough, Reno, NV, 1965 Chevrolet Corvette

Group 8A - 1964-1976 FIA Mfg. Championship Cars: Bert W. Skidmore, Sparks, NV, 1976 Lola T-286

Group 9A – 1966-1971 TransAm Cars: Bruce Canepa Scotts Valley, CA 1970 AMC Javelin

Source: http://www.zimbio.com/MotoGP/articles/YBKMLTePOJk/2011+Rolex+Monterey+Motorsports+Reunion+Notebook

Angel Nieto Wayne Rainey Phil Read Jim Redman

Gubian aims high at Europe GP

29/08/11 - 17:14

Twenty-two year old Loris Gubian ? Gas Gas will arrive in his home country this weekend looking to secure his current sixth place position in the general standings as the 2011 SPEA FIM Trial World Championship comes to a close at Isola 2000, France. Located in the southern French Alps around ninety kilometres north of Nice, the settlement is a popular ski resort built in the late 1960's, although the surrounding terrain also lends itself perfectly to the discipline of Trial.

First joining the World championship scene in 2005, Gubian quickly established himself in the Youth category, taking the runners-up spot for two consecutive seasons. Progressing up to the highly competitive Junior class in 2007, the young Frenchman ended his debut year in sixth place overall. It was the following year that the then nineteen-year old first experienced the sweet taste of success, lifting the 2008 FIM Junior Trial World Championship.

Signing for Spanish manufacturer Gas Gas and advancing into the World Pro class in 2009 Gubian instantly impressed by setting a clear level of consistency with his results. Finishing ninth at the end of the year, Loris went on to record the same result at the end of 2010. This year has seen a vast improvement in his level of riding, currently finding himself positioned sixth in the general standings.

Despite his positive 2011 season Loris is only three points clear of Michael Brown ? Gas Gas and five points ahead of James Dabill ? Beta who are placed seventh and eighth respectively. Aware that both of these British riders will be looking to move up the championship standings this weekend, Gubian must produce a strong performance and take advantage of the double points on offer if he is to hold on to his current position.

Yet to record his first top five finish, the Gas Gas teamster will look to use the increased motivation of home support this weekend in order to realise his career goal. With Albert Cabestany ? Sherco a clear twenty-five points ahead of him in fifth, Gubian remains focused that sixth place in the final rankings is where he wants to be.

"My main objective this weekend is to finish in front of Michael (Brown) and James (Dabill), sixth place overall is the most important thing to me. I have experienced a good year so far and want to produce another good ride in my home country. I have ridden at Isola 2000 once before and like the venue very much. I remember from last time that the sections require much power, but that makes it a nice Trial."

"For sure next season my target is to ride inside the top five of the championship, but I know I will have to find a big increase in ability. I think I have improved a lot this year and I want to continue to progress in 2012. Hopefully I can spend some time in Spain with Adam (Raga) and Takahisa (Fujinami) next year. I think spending time in Spain is very important because this is where all of the good riders are coming from, but for now my focus is on finishing sixth this year."

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> Back to list

Source: http://www.fim-live.com//en/media/news/news-detail/article/1314630841-gubian-aims-high-at-europe-gp/

Andrew Pitt Randy de Puniet Kenny Roberts, Jr. Kurtis Roberts

Sunday at Indianapolis with Scott Jones

Leaked by Honda Hong Kong, these images are the first shots of the 2012 Honda CBR1000RR, and judging from our initial analysis, it looks like Honda is putting out only a cosmetically different version of the Fireblade for next year (*sigh*). Showing off the HRC tri-color paint scheme (that surely won?t be coming to the United States), the majority of the new Blade looks quite familiar. Obviously the wheels, headlights, and air intake ducts have clearly been worked over, and we see some big-piston forks on the front suspension, but otherwise the mechanical bits and and the rear of the motorcycle look like the current model.

Lightning Motorcycles is still on the salt flats at Bonneville, looking for the ultimate in speed on an electric motorcycle. After already on Sunday setting the fastest speed recorded for any electric motorcycle, the Lightning crew set back to work on crushing its own 206.079 mph land speed record. Posting a 214.209 mph speed yesterday, Paul Thede had to once again back up the team?s accomplishment with another wicked fast run today, in order to get into the record books. Battling gusty cross-breezes, Thede put in an astonishing palindromic 217.712 mph time to set another LSR for Lightning, which officially comes in at 215.907 mph in the APS-? class.

Claudio Castiglioni, President of MV Agusta, passed away this morning in Varese, Italy at the age of 64. In a statement from MV Agusta, the company says that Castiglioni succumed from an unnamed illness while attending a clinic in Varese. Over the course of his career, Castiglioni touched such esteemed brands as Ducati, Cagiva, Husqvarna, and of course MV Agusta. His most recent accomplishment was bringing MV back into Italian ownership, in an act of business acumen that saw Harley-Davidson actually pay Castiglioni ?20 million to take back the recent refurbished company.

Head of Ducati Corse, Filippo Preziosi is a busy man under regular circumstances, and with the shenanigans going on in Ducati Corse?s MotoGP team right now, the former motorcycle racer is a hard man to get a word with, let alone on a race weekend in Brno. Somehow catching up with Preziosi during MotoGP?s Brno test, our friend David Emmett at MotoMatters, along with several other journalists, sat down with Ducati?s Maestro of MotoGP to ask him about where the Italian team was headed, and the challenges it is currently facing. Preziosi makes some other interesting comments that read well between the lines, check them out in transcribed interview after the jump.

According to the Dow Jones Newswire, Investindustrial, the private equity firm behind Ducati Motor Holding SpA, is considering putting the Italian motorcycle company?s stock up for sale in a private offering next year. Investindustrial bought the Texas Pacific Group?s 45% share in Ducati back in 2006, becoming the company?s largest single investor. Later in June 2008, the private equity firm lead by Carlo and Andrea Bonomi increased its stake in Ducati, controlling 84.6% of the company?s stock. If today?s rumors are true, Investindustrial would be dumping some, if not all, of its shares in Ducati, likely into other investment groups.

News from the salt flats is that Lightning Motorcycles was successful in achieving a land speed record for electric motorcycles. Making a pass of 206.981 mph during Sunday?s sessions, the speed averaged from Saturday?s pass of 205.238 mph creates a land speed record of 206.079 mph for electric motorcycles (class APS-?). As a capper to the weekend, the Lightning team posted a top speed of 208.386 mph through the speed trap on its record run, showing that the ?Flying Banana Mk. II? (as we like to call it) had a bit more pep left in it during its run.

Husqvarna?s foray into true-blue street bikes has unsurprisingly taken a two-pronged approach, as the Swedish brand has unceremoniously dropped photos of the base model Husqvarna Nuda 900. Sporting lower-spec components, and having a noticeably absent ?R? missing from its nomenclature, the Husqvarna Nuda 900 is no doubt going to be Husqvarna?s more affordable version of the Nuda 900R. Though we can only discern the differences that are skin deep at this point in time, it would look like the base model sees the R?s �hlins rear-suspension, Brembo monoblocs, and carbon-accented exhaust exchanged for lesser models.

Rumors are swelling around the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 (the Kawasaki ZZR1400 for friends on the other side of the pond). First up is that a new updated Kawasaki ZX-14 is set to debut by the end of the month. Expected to be only a cosmetic makeover, the 2012 Kawasaki ZX-14 will mechanically be the same as the current model. Looking farther down the pipe though, it would seem from reports and patents that Kawasaki has been eyeing putting a supercharger on the hypersport machine, presumably to better position the ZX-14 against the increasingly more powerful 1,000 superbikes, like the company?s on 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R.

I?m on the fence with this product. There?s an element with the Moto-Grip ?passenger safety harness? that strikes you with one of those ?now why didn?t I think of that? moments. The idea is a simple harness that a rider wears, which provides hand grips on the rider?s chest and back that a passenger can hold onto as they are performing their various pillion duties. Looking like one of those baby backpacks that helicopter parents employ to lug their child around in, the Moto-Grip is fairly straight-forward with its $179 design.

For Christopher Nolan?s last installment of his Batman trilogy: The Dark Knight Rises, Hollywood hottie Anne Hathaway will don the leather bodysuit (no word yet on the leather whip) of Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. Exactly where in Catwoman?s tumultuous relationship with Batman will Hathaway?s character stem from is uncertain, but it looks like her feminine wiles managed to get her Batman?s motorcycle, the Batpod. Filming is currently going on in Pittsburgh, and confirmed from this photo, Pennsylvania is a no-helmet state. If this feels like a shameless attempt to get photos of Anne Hathaway dressed in leather on the pages of Asphalt & Rubber, then you?d be right.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AsphaltandRubber/~3/bRm4NEBkuco/

Alvaro Bautista Toni Elias Dani Pedrosa Casey Stoner

Dani Pedrosa returns to the top in Sachsenring

Despite having decent pace through all practice sessions at Sachsenring, Dani Pedrosa was not considered to be main candidate for victory at German circuit due to the fact that he is still recovering from recent injuries. Opening laps of the race were also not favoring Pedrosa, looking more like victory is going to be decided between Stoner and Lorenzo. However, after both Lorenzo and Stoner shown their best cards, Pedrosa pull few lap records from his hat and won for the second time in 2011. Jorge Lorenzo managed to steal second place from Stoner in last lap, cutting his championship lead for 4 more points.

Andrea Dovizioso won battle with Marco Simoncelli and put his repsol Honda in 4th place. Simoncelli was eventually re-delegated to 6th place by Ben Spies, who came long way from behind to steal 5th place from Italian.

Alvaro Bautista was strong all weekend showing promises of improvement in Suzuki garage, and transformed that into 7th place finish, which is best dry-race finish for Suzuki this season. Fact that Bautista has beaten both factory Ducatis of Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi gives even more credit to young Spanish rider, while also showing amount of problems Ducati is facing. Hayden took glory of best Ducati rider in 8th place, while Rossi ended race in 9th place, improving his pace from practice sessions by about half second, but still being about second slower than Pedrosa. Colin Edwards completed top 10 finishers in Sachsenring.

After Sachsenring, Jorge Lorenzo is still in touch with Casey Stoner, only 15 points behind Australian. Dovizioso is 21 points back from Lorenzo, while Rossi is far back in fourth place, four points ahead of Dani Pedrosa, who is on the winning mission again.

Source: http://www.highrevs.net/motogp_news/dani-pedrosa-returns-to-the-top-in-sachsenring-718111.php

Randy de Puniet Kenny Roberts, Jr. Kurtis Roberts Roberto Rolfo

Rider Media Training Wins The Day

August 16th, 2011

From the Berkeley PR Blog: an interesting PR take on the way MotoGP riders handled the Japanese GP questions at Brno. Following flat refusals to attend the GP a few weeks ago, the rider?s positions have softened as contractual realities have bitten, and the Dorna report on the radiation levels in Japan has been issued.

But as well-briefed and media-savvy professionals, Stoner, Lorenzo, Abraham and Rossi deftly responded using the A-B-C method. They (A) acknowledged the question, (B) bridged with a recap of their previous position, and then (C) communicated their points clearly and concisely. Such a change in position would automatically expose them all to criticism, but they were all so articulate none of the attending media could really find any points to argue.

So, they dug themselves out of a mess, but this nevertheless flags up how unprepared they were for the initial questions before the summer break.
via @smginger

Posted by Rob J Jones in Riders | Leave a comment �

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/motogpblog/postfeed/~3/8M25-e5TyW8/1295

Colin Edwards Hiroshi Aoyama Hector Barbera Ben Spies

Source: http://www.facebook.com/MotoGP/posts/227281853989114

Karel Abraham Kousuke Akiyoshi Alex de Angelis Nobuatsu Aoki

Friday at Indianapolis with Scott Jones

Leaked by Honda Hong Kong, these images are the first shots of the 2012 Honda CBR1000RR, and judging from our initial analysis, it looks like Honda is putting out only a cosmetically different version of the Fireblade for next year (*sigh*). Showing off the HRC tri-color paint scheme (that surely won?t be coming to the United States), the majority of the new Blade looks quite familiar. Obviously the wheels, headlights, and air intake ducts have clearly been worked over, and we see some big-piston forks on the front suspension, but otherwise the mechanical bits and and the rear of the motorcycle look like the current model.

Lightning Motorcycles is still on the salt flats at Bonneville, looking for the ultimate in speed on an electric motorcycle. After already on Sunday setting the fastest speed recorded for any electric motorcycle, the Lightning crew set back to work on crushing its own 206.079 mph land speed record. Posting a 214.209 mph speed yesterday, Paul Thede had to once again back up the team?s accomplishment with another wicked fast run today, in order to get into the record books. Battling gusty cross-breezes, Thede put in an astonishing palindromic 217.712 mph time to set another LSR for Lightning, which officially comes in at 215.907 mph in the APS-? class.

Claudio Castiglioni, President of MV Agusta, passed away this morning in Varese, Italy at the age of 64. In a statement from MV Agusta, the company says that Castiglioni succumed from an unnamed illness while attending a clinic in Varese. Over the course of his career, Castiglioni touched such esteemed brands as Ducati, Cagiva, Husqvarna, and of course MV Agusta. His most recent accomplishment was bringing MV back into Italian ownership, in an act of business acumen that saw Harley-Davidson actually pay Castiglioni ?20 million to take back the recent refurbished company.

Head of Ducati Corse, Filippo Preziosi is a busy man under regular circumstances, and with the shenanigans going on in Ducati Corse?s MotoGP team right now, the former motorcycle racer is a hard man to get a word with, let alone on a race weekend in Brno. Somehow catching up with Preziosi during MotoGP?s Brno test, our friend David Emmett at MotoMatters, along with several other journalists, sat down with Ducati?s Maestro of MotoGP to ask him about where the Italian team was headed, and the challenges it is currently facing. Preziosi makes some other interesting comments that read well between the lines, check them out in transcribed interview after the jump.

According to the Dow Jones Newswire, Investindustrial, the private equity firm behind Ducati Motor Holding SpA, is considering putting the Italian motorcycle company?s stock up for sale in a private offering next year. Investindustrial bought the Texas Pacific Group?s 45% share in Ducati back in 2006, becoming the company?s largest single investor. Later in June 2008, the private equity firm lead by Carlo and Andrea Bonomi increased its stake in Ducati, controlling 84.6% of the company?s stock. If today?s rumors are true, Investindustrial would be dumping some, if not all, of its shares in Ducati, likely into other investment groups.

News from the salt flats is that Lightning Motorcycles was successful in achieving a land speed record for electric motorcycles. Making a pass of 206.981 mph during Sunday?s sessions, the speed averaged from Saturday?s pass of 205.238 mph creates a land speed record of 206.079 mph for electric motorcycles (class APS-?). As a capper to the weekend, the Lightning team posted a top speed of 208.386 mph through the speed trap on its record run, showing that the ?Flying Banana Mk. II? (as we like to call it) had a bit more pep left in it during its run.

Husqvarna?s foray into true-blue street bikes has unsurprisingly taken a two-pronged approach, as the Swedish brand has unceremoniously dropped photos of the base model Husqvarna Nuda 900. Sporting lower-spec components, and having a noticeably absent ?R? missing from its nomenclature, the Husqvarna Nuda 900 is no doubt going to be Husqvarna?s more affordable version of the Nuda 900R. Though we can only discern the differences that are skin deep at this point in time, it would look like the base model sees the R?s �hlins rear-suspension, Brembo monoblocs, and carbon-accented exhaust exchanged for lesser models.

Rumors are swelling around the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 (the Kawasaki ZZR1400 for friends on the other side of the pond). First up is that a new updated Kawasaki ZX-14 is set to debut by the end of the month. Expected to be only a cosmetic makeover, the 2012 Kawasaki ZX-14 will mechanically be the same as the current model. Looking farther down the pipe though, it would seem from reports and patents that Kawasaki has been eyeing putting a supercharger on the hypersport machine, presumably to better position the ZX-14 against the increasingly more powerful 1,000 superbikes, like the company?s on 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R.

I?m on the fence with this product. There?s an element with the Moto-Grip ?passenger safety harness? that strikes you with one of those ?now why didn?t I think of that? moments. The idea is a simple harness that a rider wears, which provides hand grips on the rider?s chest and back that a passenger can hold onto as they are performing their various pillion duties. Looking like one of those baby backpacks that helicopter parents employ to lug their child around in, the Moto-Grip is fairly straight-forward with its $179 design.

For Christopher Nolan?s last installment of his Batman trilogy: The Dark Knight Rises, Hollywood hottie Anne Hathaway will don the leather bodysuit (no word yet on the leather whip) of Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. Exactly where in Catwoman?s tumultuous relationship with Batman will Hathaway?s character stem from is uncertain, but it looks like her feminine wiles managed to get her Batman?s motorcycle, the Batpod. Filming is currently going on in Pittsburgh, and confirmed from this photo, Pennsylvania is a no-helmet state. If this feels like a shameless attempt to get photos of Anne Hathaway dressed in leather on the pages of Asphalt & Rubber, then you?d be right.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AsphaltandRubber/~3/kPTTfMSJExA/

Wayne Rainey Phil Read Jim Redman Kenny Roberts