MX
The right rub.. Eli Tomac found the best ointment after a difficult weekend at the Motocross of Nations by becoming the third millionaire courtesy of three race wins at the Monster Energy Cup six days later in Las Vegas. Just as sweet for the Kawasaki rider will be his competitiveness on the new KX450F as the weeks quickly click down to Anaheim 1 Photo by Ray Archer
MotoGP
so far so close MotoGP draws a sharp intake of breath this week ahead of the first of three backto-back weekends across Asia and Australia. Marc Marquez will be exhaling with a little more gravity thanks to his initial ‘matchpoint’ for a fifth MotoGP crown in six years Photo by CormacGP
MX
little history maker
Our first issue since Red Bull KTM’s seventeen year old wonder Jorge Prado became 2018 MX2 World Champion – the first ever in the principle classes for Spain and in just his second season of Grand Prix – and confirmed his rocketing stock as a sensational motorcycle racer Photo by Ray Archer
SBK
motul argentinian round villicum ¡ october 13-14 ¡ Rnd 12 of 13 Race one winner: Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Race two winner: Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki
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ten Blog by Graeme Brown, Photos by GeeBee Images
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THE MOST EXTREME TRAVEL SAVAGE
Please make no attempt to imitate the illustrated riding scenes, always wear protective clothing and observe the applicable provisions of the road traffic regulations! The illustrated vehicles may vary in selected details from the production models and some illustrations feature optional equipment available at additional cost.
Photo: F. Lackner
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SBK BLOG
a surprising new road... After all the months of speculation and doubt over the event happening, the WorldSBK championship finally landed in Argentina at the weekend. GeeBee landed in South America a few days earlier than the teams and riders, taking the chance to explore a new destination. I landed in Santiagio in Chile, picked up a rental car, and headed through the Andes to Argentina and a first stop in Mendoza. When it was first suggested that there would be a race in San Juan I was immediately enthused. I had never been to South America and had heard so many good things about Argentina that I was really looking forward to going. Having done a bit of online research about San Juan and Mendoza regions I decided the plan would be to arrive the weekend before and have a proper look around the region before the race action got underway, and what better way to do that than by motorcycle. I had put together an itinerary for the trip and had hoped to use a current model touring bike and write about the experience.
However, after much to-oing-andfroing that scheme fell apart and I fell back on plan B which was to rent a bike from a touring company in Mendoza. I was joined by US photographer, and friend of Jake Gagne, Corey Coulter and we set off last Monday morning loaded-up on two Honda 250 Tornados on what was to be a really eventful trip. What quickly became apparent was that I had confused my intentions with my abilities, both in terms of my itinerary and my off road riding skills. There was no way we were going to be able to cover the route I had planned, partly due to the small capacity of the bikes but also due to the fact that we kept stopping every two minutes to marvel at the beauty of the scenery. We were riding through the foothills of the Andes and it is a truly stunning part of the world. After a roadside puncture repair cut short part of our route we ended up in San Juan a day
early. We came south on the famous Ruta Nacional 40 which runs parallel to the Andes for the entire north/south length of Argentina and stumbled across this bustling construction site on the edge of the desert mountains outside San Juan city. The final bolts were being tightened and the last coat of paint was being applied to the El Villicum circuit when we rode past on Tuesday afternoon but the immediate impression was – wow, what a great looking circuit, and all this in the space of a few months. When we were chasing around Europe in the summer, San Juan was in the depth of winter and reports were that the track hadn’t been laid and the likelihood of the event taking place was worse than slim. Then, here we were, looking down the road towards this stunning looking motor racing facility.
By Graeme Brown
We returned the bikes to Mendoza on Wednesday and headed back north to start work at the circuit on Thursday morning. As soon as I walked into the paddock I was warned to expect some teething problems. The actual Media Centre hadn’t been constructed and we were set up in a huge tent in the paddock – no different to the last 15 years or so at Laguna Seca in actual fact, but in reality there were few issues. The tent was noisy with the Paddock Show on one side and Supersport 300 bikes bouncing of the rev limiter being warmed up on the other side, the internet kept dropping out and there was the inevitable security worry of working in a tent, but otherwise it was like any other race on the calendar. As I said, remarkable given that six months ago there was very little on site. The track itself posed some problems with it being a completely new surface that had construction traffic running on it a few days earlier. Being close to the desert it was also dry and dusty.
The layout looked pretty good, and from what I heard most riders were pretty positive about it. From my perspective there were a few problems with the layout as well. It struck me as I was making a recce on Thursday afternoon that it was like a South American version of the Losail Circuit in Qatar. The service road was so far away from the track and separated by vast white stone, gravel traps. Getting tight action shots was going to be a challenge. That challenge was multiplied on Friday when it became apparent that everywhere you looked there was an intense heat shimmer on the track in the warm bright sunshine. It was virtually impossible therefore to have bright, crisp images at some locations. On a plus side the mountain back drop was something fairly unique, helped by a fresh dusting of snow on the highest ranges on Saturday night it reminded mea little of Miller in Utah.
Not every track is perfect but I think the people at San Juan have done a pretty good job and with a little improvement in the years to come I am sure it will become a very popular destination. As for the racing….well…..we all know what happened, and probably did before it happened. All you really can do is once again marvel at how good JR is. Another record in WorldSBK has gone with him now having 10 race victories in a row. Is anyone willing to bet against more records tumbling before the final chequered flag in Qatar in two weeks time? The one thing that was interesting was that with a clean sheet of paper, if not a racing surface, there were a few surprise performers. Toprak Razgatlioglu was consistently fast all weekend, scoring his second podium of the year on Saturday and being disappointed not to repeat that on Sunday. I also thought that Jake Gagne gave us a glimpse of what he can do on the Honda.
SBK BLOG
After FP2 on Friday he was sixth fastest and despite crashing out in race one, had a strong performance in race two. His crew chief Mick Shanley was pleased that we had seen a ‘racing’ Jake this weekend. Rumour has it that he is still in the running to remain at Red Bull Honda with a second option of moving to the Triple M squad a possibility as well. It would also appear that if everything goes to plan Lucas Mahias will ride a Yamaha in the Superbike class for GRT Racing. He was, however, quite philosophical about the current position when I spoke to him saying that normally this would be the case but he knows that in racing nothing is certain until you sit on the grid for the first race. The question still remains however; who will challenge the dominance of Rea and Kawasaki in 2019? With three races a weekend coming, there is every likelihood that more records will tumble next year.
For me there is unfinished business in San Juan. I didn’t get to scratch the surface in terms of exploring the region and my plan for 2019 is to come back and fill in a few of the parts of my original route that I didn’t get to cover. On the weekend I met a group of riders that had also come from Chile. However, they had crossed the border much further south and taken 12 days to travel up RN40 to get to the track. They had come specifically to see WorldSBK and were heading back to Santiago via the Los Libertadores mountain frontier like us. I don’t think Mrs GeeBee will let me get away with a 12 day trip next year but I certainly want to explore more of this beautiful region. As an entirely new destination on the WorldSBK trail, San Juan gets a big thumbs up from me.
mx
monster energy motocross of na redbud, mi ¡ october 7th Winners: Team France (Ferrandis, Paulin, Tixier)
ations
2018 mxon
five-time france Blog by Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer
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MXGP BLOG
it’s good to talk... It feels like there has been plenty of cause for bench-racing lately and that always an encouraging sign for any sport. Among all the emotion and opinions I feel a degree of sympathy for Eli Tomac. It seems the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider – 26 next month – finds a wall of judgment wherever he turns. Whether it’s for his ability to crush opposition in supercross or motocross (his 2016 USGP win at Glen Helen was the epitome of dominance) but then prove to be so inconsistent with race starts, his hesitancy to add to an overloaded schedule for each Motocross of Nations but then failure to shine on home turf where conditions for that one event should have been the most favourable, or the swing between results that drew disappointment at RedBud but then will allow him to withdraw a million dollars from his bank account just six days later. In a sense Tomac cannot win. Even if he wins.
Of course the way to really create some calm across the seas will be that 450SX crown: the one thing missing from his locker. It would be far too easy – as well as disrespectful and dismissive – to assume that Tomac devalued the Nations at RedBud in favour of the Monster Energy Cup (and no doubt more testing/set-up time for 2019 Supercross). Even if there was a slither of this thinking in the run-up to the 72nd edition of the race then it would have been quickly dissipated by the fever of the fans and that magnificent scenario at RedBud that was also crowded with a ‘who’s who’ of American motocross from the last fifty years. Stages do not come any bigger, especially for an athlete wearing the colours of a home country.
Tomac may have nursed some angst from Team USA’s unexpected showing to sixth overall with the Monster Million (and thanks to some very shrewd political work by new teammate Joey Savatgy) but his final words in the press conference at Las Vegas last Saturday were revealing. #3, the only double winner of the Monster Energy Cup giving him a 1.1 million take home so far, smiled that the Nations results had “probably added another three years to my career because I want to go over there and get some revenge on those guys”. “It is still in my head, my mind,” he added. “I know we are better than where we finished but allin-all we did just got straight-up beat.” Tomac in MXGP? Now that would really start some tongues wagging.
By Adam Wheeler
But, realistically, Grand Prix is perhaps now the ultimate test of a dirt bike racer; where the tracks are diverse and the skill set has to be widened and strengthened for any hope of competing. When Glenn Coldenhoff enjoyed the best day of his career in the USA by going 1-1 it was not only indicative of the competitiveness of MXGP but also showed that to win you almost need a freakish level of performance. Glenn has only won two Grands Prix in his career – one in the premier class – and from twenty opportunities in 2018 he did not make the MXGP podium. I believe RedBud was an eye-opener for a great many who even cast a casual eye towards motocross. For some it was a lot more emotional, at least judged by the native that banged repeatedly on the side of the Media Centre wall later Sunday evening in Michigan and felt compelled to holler ‘f**k Europe!’
The Nations drew so many comments and thoughts. Team USA was head of the bunch and their mitigating factors of the metal start (used in every round of supercross) and the altered track (almost all of the European/GP riders were seeing RedBud for the first time) to account for the underwhelming outcome was not actually helpful. There was also the Musquin/ Team France situation, the breakdowns, Team Puerto Rico, Ken Roczen’s reduced part-play and the Dutch decimation (but also disaster). Along with Jason Anderson’s maturation in 2018 and the Herlings-Cairoli, Jonass-Prado dynamics in MXGP it has been a good year to talk.
GRIP IT AND RIP IT NO SHORTCUTS
You know that it’s more than an adrenaline fix – it’s freedom. It’s about being unhindered and uninhibited. It’s about feeding your need for speed. So go ahead – gear up and get out there.
SCOTT-SPORTS.COM © SCOTT SPORTS SA 2018 | photo: Juan Pablo Acevedo
450 ANGLED LIGHT
Products
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AMA BLOG
on the mic... Lots of things going on over in the USA in terms of racing. Of course last weekend there was the Motocross des Nations and the less said about that the better in terms of an American MX media guy. Besides, I feel like we hashed that out enough right? Next weekend it’s the Red Bull Straight Rhythm which is a pretty cool, unique event that’s steeped in nostalgia and two-stroke smells. This weekend, it was the Monster Energy Cup which is a stand alone race that does not want to be called another supercross but ends up being perhaps less than a regular supercross. There’s lot of racing going on during the night and that might be the issue. There’s the three 450SX mains, a 250F all-star class of amateurs and then also a SuperMini class which necessitates a track that’s rather basic. In fact there’s no whoops or even a triple jump out there.
So it’s a very basic track that has to be able to work with everything from 112cc Supermini’s (or whatever CC’s they are), 250 and 450 four-strokes. Starts are very important and it’s very hard to pass and make up time. The track is easy and what we get from the event is a lot of lag time with some things that make you perk up from time to time. Of course by now you probably know that Monster Energy Kawasaki’s newest rider, Joey Savatgy, let his teammate Eli Tomac by on the last lap of the third main to ensure Tomac swept all three and won the million dollar bonus that goes along with that. Predictably, there was outrage on both sides for Savatgy doing that with some look backs and a point to instruct Tomac to go to the inside. The happiest guys outside of Tomac might have been the Red Bull KTM team who’s felt the wrath of pit whispers of Kawasaki and others upset about Marvin Musquin
pulling over to give the win to Ryan Dungey a couple of years ago. Finally some redemption for them…or at least the ability to yell back: “What about…?!” at the green guys. Hurray for Tomac and Savatgy (who maybe rode better in his debut ride on the 450 than he did all year on the Pro Circuit 250) and all that but there are some more interesting things for me to come out of the race. Such as… Chad Reed was back! And he was racing a JGR Suzuki at that. There’s been quiet buzz about Chad being very good out in North Carolina test tracks and with no solid deal between Reed and the team for 2019, this was sort of a test run to see how it all went. Practice wasn’t good for the #22 but his starts in all three mains were. The first one he went backwards pretty fast in when he said the intensity caught him by surprise.
By Steve Matthes
Second one he again was up there when he got caught up with Musquin early on. Finally, in the third main he scored a third. Was it a resounding success for Reed’s return to being “a guy”? Probably not but there were flashes of brilliance. Afterwards I asked him about the deal with Supercross 2019 and JGR and he seemed content that if it doesn’t happen, this might have been his last race. “I guess what’s nice and what I respect is they’ve (JGR) always been honest with me. I think that the common goal within in the team is that they would like to see me stay around. So for me, they’re being honest with me. They keep me in the loop. Running my own team, I obviously have quite a few contacts in my phone, so we’re trying to make all those calls and all the appropriate things,” said Reed. “I believe that it happens. I genuinely think that everybody’s working hard and the things that I see happening behind closed doors, I think that it works out.
But unfortunately it’s not a guarantee at all. But I have the next month and a bit of riding and training and I’ll continue that. Obviously if that’s the end of the road, then we need to figure out what’s next. Anything short of a factory team, I’m not going racing next year.” So, yeah we’ll see I guess if Reed can come back with a Suzuki under him next year but I didn’t get the idea that anything was imminent for the two sides. I didn’t get a chance to talk to Justin Barcia after the MXDN to get his take on the disaster for Team USA. Barcia’s now 0-3 at this race and that has got to sting. At the MEC, he was in position for a podium until a first turn crash in the last main event left him on the outside. After the race I asked him about the MXDN and what Team USA can do to get back to the top in this race and I found it interesting in that he was all in to go back and do what he can to help the USA win again.
“We should have had an advantage going to RedBud but it wasn’t because they changed the whole track. They changed the soil. The start gates are very unique. Eli got full sideways on one because it was painted. We don’t know that,” said Justin. “There’s a ton of little things that get in our way. If Roger’s team manager again next year, I think we all need to really sit down and be like, what do we have to do? Next year is going to be no easier than this year. That track is gnarly. It’s bottomless sand on a road race track. So I think it won’t be easy next year. It’s never easy, but it will be very hard. Honestly, we’ll have to probably go live in Belgium after this season. Let’s be realistic. That’s the dedication I think we are going to have to have. I took off a week and changed after the season, but I don’t think you can do it if you want to win that race anymore.”
AMA BLOG
Props to Justin for talking about that bummer of a day and also for realizing that you can’t show up, throw out the Team USA rugs and collect the trophy. Something else happened this weekend besides the MEC and that was the first ever live Podcast show with myself (Pulpmx) and the Racer X guys. It was a pretty cool experience, the place was almost full with over 200 people and we had a good time discussing the MXDN and previewing the MEC which was the next night. Myself, Jason Thomas, Jason Weigandt, Kris Keefer and producer of the show Travis Marx had a grand ol’time up there. We had Ryan Villopoto come up there to talk about his decision to race the MEC and why he felt he should be allowed to be #2 still. Then Damon Bradshaw joined the group to talk about his role with Fly Racing and being back into the weekto-week of supercross. Both guests were funny, laid back and honest about their careers
and the fans reciprocated their appreciation back at them. The small club, The Space here in Vegas, reported that alcohol sales were strong all night long which wasn’t a shock to anyone that follows the fans of the sport. All in all, it was a good time by everyone and fun to do. I wasn’t even that nervous really, it was just another bench race session. Hopefully we’ll end up doing some more of these down the road and if you were there, thank you.
Products
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www.scott-sports.com The product has been tweaked and refined over several generations since its launch and is one of the best options on the market. Buying the BCA serves the rider as well as a very worthy cause. For more information click on any image here.
Feature
debutant The world’s biggest off-road race through the eyes of a first-timer By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ben Watson/Ray Archer
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nations thru the eyes of a first timer xxxxxxxx: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
For some motorcycle racers the chance to represent their country at the Motocross of Nations is a career zenith: it’s as good as it gets. Wearing national colours and performing as one of a team of three in front of the biggest crowd at an annual event with 72 years of history is the FIFA ‘World Cup’ of the sport. The ‘MXoN’ is the pinnacle, as well as the most famous and prestigious one-day event in bike racing. 21 year old Briton Ben Watson experienced the Nations from the other side of the fence for the very first time at RedBud in Michigan this year. Hailing from a racing family (his Dad competed and his brother Nathan is a star in the FIM Enduro World Championship) Watson used to travel around to see the ‘best of the best’ take part in the once a year hit. Now the dream became the reality. For RedBud Watson, who had risen from 15th in 2017 to 4th in the 2018 FIM World Championship in his first season with the Kemea Yamaha team, was experiencing the euphoria and excitement of the contest as a debutant. We asked #919 (wearing ‘8’ for Team GB in accordance with their ranking from 2017 where they finished on the podium behind France and Holland) for a timeline and his thoughts and feelings from a milestone trip to the USA.
August. 2018:
Sunday, September 30:
Team Great Britain, one of three original teams to contest the Motocross of Nations back in 1947, is announced for the 72nd running at RedBud; one of the most iconic circuits in the United States. Tommy Searle (in the MXGP class), Max Anstie (MX Open category) and Ben Watson (MX2) are chosen as the best and fastest riders in the UK. Searle and Anstie were part of the squad that finished on the podium in 2017. After a breakthrough season in grand prix Watson has earned his place.
Watson completes the twentieth and final Grand Prix of the FIM World Championship at the Imola circuit in Italy and confirms his 4th position in the MX2 class for 2018. It is one week before RedBud and the motocross seasoncloser. “I flew home to the UK directly after the last MXGP in Imola. It was a bit of a rush to get out of the circuit and to the airport but leaving Sunday night meant I had a day at home with my family before getting the train at 9am on Tuesday to Gatwick and the flight to Chicago. We were testing for a few days before Imola so it meant I had to get everything packed up almost two weeks beforehand, as I didn’t want to travel from Italy to my base in Belgium and then
Feature to the UK! Once my stuff was all sent off then I could concentrate on the test and the last GP.” My usual packing routine for a race was a bit different because I have different helmets, different kit, different coloured boots and so on for the Nations. I had to wait for it to come and get organised. I had a completely new look and it was all part of that early excitement for me. It’s the Motocross of Nations! An incredible feeling.” “The Nations is different to a Grand Prix. Matterley Basin in the UK is my home GP and was amazing for me this summer because I’d never been one of the main riders that people were watching. I was always just ‘another Brit’ for a couple of seasons but this year was special as I had some of the spotlight. I was having the same feeling thinking about the Nations. I am one of just three riders selected by the whole of Great Britain to represent the country and it’s really exciting.”
Tuesday/Wednesday/ Thursday October 3/4/5: Watson arrives in the United States and heads straight from O’Hare Airport with Searle and Anstie to rented accommodation for the race at RedBud, located a few miles outside the sleepy town of Buchanan in Michigan. The British motorcycle federation, the ACU, and Team Manager Mark Chamberlain decided to house all three athletes together. “We got to the airport and jumped in the hire car because we knew it was a two hour drive from Chicago to the house. Chicago looked impressive in the evening
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and that downtown area is not something you’d see anywhere in Europe really. Pretty cool. We got to the house and ‘crashed’ straight away because it was quite late in the evening.” “Wednesday morning we went to the supermarket to load-up with food and then had a gym session. In the afternoon the three of us decided to play some golf. It was good to relax and do something that took our minds off the race ahead. I had flown at 4pm from the UK and those guys went at 5, so the jetlag wasn’t too bad as it was 11pm when we were finally in a position to go to the sleep.” “We all had our own rooms and there were a few bathrooms so it was comfortable. I was by myself and I think if I was in a hotel room then I would be pretty bored. It is cool to be together and build a bond with the guys and their girlfriends. It wouldn’t be like that if we were in a hotel or even separate hotels. At a GP we never have time to hang out and I came here not really knowing those guys that well but that all changed.” “We found a Supermarket called Whole Food: amazing! People say that Americans just eat crap and huge portions but I’ve never seen a supermarket with such a selection of healthy, organic food. It was very local, we stocked up and it was perfect.” “There wasn’t a great deal of time to kill. We had Netflix at the house but after the shopping, gym and golf and then cooking that was it. The next day Tommy went riding so Max and I went to the gym again and chilled in the afternoon. We prepared some kit for Friday at the track and some food as well.”
Friday, October 6: Watson and his team make the 30 minute drive to RedBud. The weather forecast is poor and the track is already wet on Friday as teams arrive for media work, acclimatisation, track viewing and a presentation to the thousands of fans that are already wandering around the circuit. It is also their first look at the fast and loamy layout. “We walked the track and had the press conference as Team GB. We made a few interviews for Monster Energy and then had a cool Team Presentation in front of the public. It was not the crazy-busy time I was expecting actually. Still, all this stuff was new for me and that feeling of ‘buildup’ I’ll never forget.” “My family arrived on Wednesday but they’ve spent their time in Chicago and have made a small holiday of the trip because it’s 8.5 hours from home and it’s not cheap to get here. We met at the track. They were always going to support me just over the race weekend and were not expecting to be with me every minute I was here. They did so much for me as a kid and as a youth racer so for them to see their son as Team GB racer and something we had been watching and support in previous years then of course they are proud and don’t want to miss the moment.”
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nations thru the eyes of a first timer
Saturday, October 7: The Motocross of Nations begins with more rainfall and muddy conditions but the track holds up well and many of the eventual 81,700 attendance is already defying the swampy conditions to see the riders and countries spin their first fast laps. To preserve the track the Free Practice sessions are slightly shortened. Watson then has his Qualification Race in the MX2 class (the slots for which on the start line were decided by the FIM ballot).
When I finished practice at 11.30 I wasn’t riding again until 15.00. It was a bit easier. At a GP I sometimes have to force myself to eat at 11-ish even though I’m not really hungry then. Otherwise it will be too late before the races.” “I thought RedBud looked amazing: a proper motocross track and something MXGP had not had much of in 2018. I was really excited to get out there, to try it and to get the whole event kicked off. The first practice was wet but enjoyable and I could push and find drier lines.
“ I didn’t eat or drink and before I went to the gate I thought ‘drink something!’ I downed a bottle of water before moving onto the line. That whole rush was the biggest new factor of the weekend and something I’ll know how to deal with next time I’m picked.” The two best results from the three riders will count for the entry position in the gate for Sunday. Watson keeps calm to take a 7th and his classification is required by the Brits for their scorecard. “No butterflies for me really as it wasn’t race day and whatever we managed didn’t really count for that much. It was just about getting in the best position possible for Sunday. I had breakfast – porridge with some fruit and nuts, nothing special but my usual for race weekend – with the guys and we travelled together to the track. Usually I have lunch early at a grand prix because I like to eat two hours before a session but the Nations had a different schedule with a lot of time.
The session was just about getting an eye for the track because the ballot took care of our positions in the gate for the qualification races.” “Despite the wait, Saturday was relaxed and went quite quickly. I had some advice from the other two; they have much more experience than me at this event and Max was telling me to make sure everything was ready and in place for Sunday as I’d have very little time between my two races. For example I’d have a couple of hours between the motos at a GP but only 30-40 minutes here, so instead of prepping my goggles before the race I’d have to have every ready well in advance. I would have to come back, get changed and then go directly to the
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gate again. I watched the other two races and it was good that we were all helping each other when it came to spotting lines. It is a team event and we all wanted each other to do well.” “Cheering another rider was quite strange actually. I mean, I’m in a different class to Tommy and Max. They are competitors in MXGP and are racing each other head-to-head each weekend so for them to now be on a team together is a bit of a change. For me they are more like friends and the competitive scenario doesn’t really come into it.” “The Qualification race didn’t actually go that great. I started well in the top ten but got water under my goggle laminates straight away so I tried to pull all 21 tear-offs away as quickly as I could and it took maybe two laps. I was then
trying to wipe my goggles and my gloves were very wet and sandy so they were just blurring my vision. In the end I just had to throw them away and bring the bike home in the position I was in. I was seventh and wanted better than that but the team still used my result as one of the best two from the three.” “Late afternoon we all left the track together, went back to the shop and brought some more food. Max and Tommy’s girlfriends cooked dinner for us so we just relaxed and got some goggles ready for Sunday.”
nations thru the eyes of a first timer
Sunday am, October 8: Heavy showers over Buchanan has not helped the condition of RedBud. The circuit is extremely busy but also very damp and muddy. Cars remain abandoned in the vast grassy parking area. Watson has to negotiate warm-up and then has his two 30 minute and 2 lap races back-to-back: the first with the 450 riders of the MXGP class and then those of MX Open. He’ll race with Searle and then Anstie. Team GB will count the best five of the six results towards their final score. “Sunday felt different. For a start we had to leave the house much earlier as our first session – warm-up – was at 9.15. So the same breakfast and by 7.45 we were out and at the track by about 8.20. The car park was a muddy mess and we managed to slide our way through the entrance and Tommy left the car at the side of the road! A narrow escape and not really following the rules!” “I had my special Team GB race kit again – six sets in total, one for each session and a spare – and it was cool to put that on. As a rider you always like wearing new gear but this was a special novelty. It was designed like a big GB flag on the front and you immediately felt like you were doing something for your country and you weren’t just going out on the track to race for yourself. I’ll keep one set for me and then I have a few sponsors and people who have helped me on this journey and who have asked for my first Nations shirt, so they’ll be gone for sure!”
“The track was even wetter on Sunday and I kept thinking ‘if this place was dry it would be so amazing’. I really wanted to experience it in good conditions…but at the same time I wasn’t that bothered because I knew the circumstances would suit me down to the ground. I wasn’t too fussed.”
Sunday pm, Crunch time: Searle takes the first gate pick so is 7th to the line. Watson has to go 27th. Searle is running a positive fourth in the moto until disaster strikes and his smoking Kawasaki stops two laps before the finish. Watson is deep in the pack after being held-up by a falling Antonio Cairoli on the first corner. “The team all had a little chat before the first race and then we all went down to the line. Tommy and I were out first and Max was there for support. We stayed close as a team over the weekend and tried to work together as much as we could. This is a team event but at the end of the day each rider can only do what he can and get the best result possible. There are some tactics. Two riders go into the gate so one is going to get a better pick than the other.” “There were so many people at RedBud and probably the biggest crowd I have ever raced in front of. It didn’t really ‘get to me’. I wasn’t focussing on that and all my attention and concentration was on the track and what I could do. I tried to block the big picture – the crowd, the fact that it was the Nations and the thoughts of the podium – out of my mind: these are the sorts of things that add pressure to a rider.
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I’d learned a few lessons in this during the last couple of Grands Prix and as I fought to score fourth position in the world. I had focussed on that too much on that fourth place, and wasn’t riding like I normally would. So I attempt to ‘block’ the fact that I was starting my first Nations.” “So, Cairoli crashed on the first corner and I got stuck behind him. Weirdly we almost expected something like that to happen because Tommy had the first gate pick, and on the 250 I knew being 27th would be tricky and I’d be back in the pack. Another rider hit me in the back and from there I just had to soldier-on and get as high as I could in the order. I was a little bit gutted because I got filled-in and had to dump my goggles again. I was disappointed because the way I rode all day meant I should have had a better finish than 15th in that first race. Nothing ever really goes how you want it.”
Sunday pm, Crunch time 2.0: Watson has minimal time to change, debrief and relax until he has to race again for the second moto of three. This time he takes 7th place on the metal start grill while Anstie has
the worse position. Ben makes the advantage count. He runs third and closes up to Spain’s MX2 World Champion Jorge Prado deep into the moto. The pair squabble for track space until Australian Hunter Lawrence speeds through. Watson still registers 4th position: Team GB’s best on the day (and eerily replicates his 15th-4th trajectory in Grand Prix). It is a performance that leaves BW smiling and with a spring in his step. Watson watches the last race as Searle and Watson try to push Britain onto the podium. In the end the country misses out to the Netherlands and classifies fifth. “It was a bit of a rush between races and Max had prepared me for that by saying I’d have no time: I just had to go back and get changed. I tried to regroup and stay calm and collect my motivation to go again. I didn’t eat or drink and before I went to the gate I thought ‘drink something!’ I downed a bottle of water before moving onto the line. That whole rush was the biggest new factor of the weekend and something I’ll know how to deal with next time I’m picked.” “I had the first gate pick for the second moto and started well, had some strong first laps and just pushed. I got into my own groove and closed up to Jorge Prado in second. I was trying everything to pass him and out of the blue Lawrence passed me and I didn’t even know he was there. I eventually got past Prado but was too deep in the turn and he squaredme-up and got the drive on me. So I was fourth – that number again - and loved the way I rode and really enjoyed the race. When I crossed the line I felt the weight fall from my shoulders. I’d carried the disappointment from race one. I knew I could do better and I was overjoyed I could do it and show the team and
nations thru the eyes of a first timer
everyone else that I deserved to be picked. It was great to give something back to Team GB. It was a relief. I got changed and went to support Max and Tommy in the third race and we just came up short. If it hadn’t have been for Tommy’s bike problem in the first race then we would have been second on the podium. We just missed a bit of luck.” “The family came by and everyone was overthe-moon for me. It was chaos after the end
of the second moto, everyone was saying I should be proud and that GB should be also. So many people came up and shook my hand. We had some dinner and then hit the Monster party! It has been a really long season and I have stuck to a schedule like a proper athlete: for the first time in my career really. I haven’t had a beer since new year! I’ve had a great year and went out to enjoy a party and one evening with my friends that came over to support me.”
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Thomas Covington’s departure from the FIM World Championship means even less American MXGP representation at a time when Grand Prix has perhaps never been stronger than their USA counterparts. The Husqvarna rider’s return to his homeland also leaves MX2 devoid of a character and an individual who took a big career risk to walk to his own tune…
the last song
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer
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T
homas Covington’s departure from the FIM World Championship means even less American MXGP representation at a time when Grand Prix has perhaps never been stronger than their USA counterparts. The Husqvarna rider’s return to his homeland also leaves MX2 devoid of a character and an individual who took a big career risk to walk to his own tune… Shortly after Anahiem 2 next year Thomas Covington will turn 23 years old. In that relatively short lifetime the grand prix winner has already traversed professional and personal life experiences far and beyond people three times his age. #64’s decision to take a prime opportunity with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna crew in AMA competition after five years of graft, accomplishment, anguish and setbacks in Europe was a bold one.
An explosive start as a wild-card in the opening race in Qatar 2014 (while still on the books with Pro Circuit Kawasaki as an amateur) saw TC running as high as third in MX2. He decided to stay. “I had mixed emotions when Thomas went to Grand Prix,” says father Mitch; a senior marketing figure for Monster Energy and thus familiar with the MXGP scene. “As a motocross family growing up in the US, supercross is normally the goal but at that point in time I felt like it would be nice for him to get some experience in professional racing rather than showing up at Anaheim or Hangtown on a really top level team – like he had at the time. The expectations from the team alone would have been very high. As a parent and what I have learned about the GPs through my job, I knew what a great adventure it would be for a young man to travel all over the world doing what he likes.
Mitch Covington: “I remember him first riding the sand at Lommel, amateur kids were leaving him behind and he came in and said: “I don’t get it…”! And then this year at Lommel he was running a strong second. I don’t think I’ve seen Jacky Martens any happier. It was made in the midst of a knee injury that initially limited his potential in the 2018 MX2 campaign; the irony coming after the announcement in France mid-season when he embarked on a eight-podium run in the next eleven rounds, including another victory in Turkey. Nine trophies in 2018 means Covington completed his best Grand Prix term at a time when he had one foot out of the door. Thomas’ trajectory in MXGP was always far from linear.
The experience of that alone is worth just as much as the career development as a racer. It was about developing as a person and being better equipped to take on the world in the rest of his life. I feel that as Americans – particularly ones that don’t get to travel – we are not as tolerant or as knowledgeable about other cultures and to have that opportunity to not only visit and see but also be a part of it was something very big. It would be as valuable as any college education.”
the last song: thomas covington
Initially racing a Monster Energy Kawasaki, Covington, just 17 at the time, then transferred to CLS Kawasaki after several rounds and struggled to adapt to life in the UK and Holland as well as the staggering diversity of Grand Prix tracks. “The second year really was the hard part because the first was a blur; he went over to race three GPs and got an offer to change teams and had to get ready for the rest of the season and life in Europe in one week,” Mitch adds. “He did well in the flyaways – maybe high top ten – but then back in Europe it was a disaster. He was barely scoring points, with no injury and no excuse. I think it hit him pretty hard. It was a strange environment: where he was living, the food, team, culture. It was not a good year for him and there were times when he’d call and he was as homesick as anybody could be. Totally miserable. I remember one phone call where he sounded so miserable and it was followed by another three calls from the team and Kawasaki and they said: ‘maybe you should come over, he’s homesick and everybody knows it’. So we did, we went over and had a long talk. I said he’d regret it for the rest of his life if he quit something in the middle of the season. The hard times are what will make you better in the long run and we just need to stick this thing out. And he agreed, got his head down and got through it.” A first win arrived in Mexico but injury disrupted progress and eventually the key move was Covington’s decision to sign for Jacky Martens’ Husqvarna team for 2016. He settled in Belgium, committed more time to living and training in Europe and discovered that environment crucial for all-round growth.
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the last song: thomas covington
For the last two MX2 seasons he has been a front-runner in the class. “I was impressed with him as a rider and did a background check and it turned out to be true that he is a good test rider,” says Martens. “He is correct, polite and presents himself like a professional sportsman, so the choice was easy to take him. We had a great three years together; it was only spoilt through some injuries but that’s racing.” “I gotta ‘give it’ to Thomas: he never questioned whether he’d succeed at this,” stresses Mitch. “Even at his lowest points he did not want to quit anything because he had an obligation and secondly I think he knew he could win in Grand Prix. He believed it. It’s a good story that he stuck it out. He is now comfortable and independent living on his own. He has a mild confidence about him as a person. He doesn’t get too worked up about much. I think the whole experience accelerated his maturity.” Part of the prolonged settling-in period for Covington involved music. The Alabama family are immersed in their Country roots (Mitch Covington also plays and performs) and it wasn’t long before Thomas, a piano player, sought solace in learning guitar strings. Any social media followers of TC or MXGP will have seen the rider tinkling ivories on airport instruments or learned of his first proper ‘gig’ in Belgium this summer where he opened for an American band in Mol to excellent reviews. Covington used music as a form of company – shedding light on the difficulty of being young and so far from home – and also as a way to kill boredom when not training or socialising with the group of friends he had built up in Belgium.
Feature The guitar sits in his motorhome and is a quiet and untouched third party during our interview at Assen and his penultimate Grand Prix. Thomas laughs and smiles quite a lot, and in a self-deprecating way also. He’s quietly spoken but also thoughtful. His demeanour has won a lot of fans inside the paddock in the way that his barrelling style and propensity to mix holeshot potential with fluffed starts and attacking recovery-riding has gathered attention on the track. “He is a unique character in this world, he is almost too nice to be a racer but he manages that well because he also brings those other traits that you need to be a winner,” reveals team coach Rasmus Jorgensen. “If you don’t respect him on the track then he won’t respect you but he doesn’t have half the ego of some of the other guys.” We talk to Covington as a Grand Prix winner but also as a racer that seems to be only just realising some of his full potential. He is aware that ejecting out of MX2 at a time when he would be a valid title contender for 2019 is unfortunate but he also has to follow the path of circumstance and the chance to fill Zach Osborne’s championship-winning 250 saddle was hard to turn down. Still, there is a general feeling that his best was only just emerging in MX2. “He might not have the best week but has the ability to then win the GP on Sunday whereas many riders need to have those ‘positive days’ in training to make a result,” adds Jorgensen. “He is balanced mentally with his whole process. He doesn’t care if he has a bad day because he knows he can still win at the weekend.”
There could be an element of ‘slow burn’ about Covington. Not only for all the obstacles he overcame with his lifestyle change (Jorgensen: “for me he is a ‘full euro’. He never had a problem socialising. He is a different kind of American. I think it will be very different for him to go back now.”) in five years but also on the bike. “I don’t want to be too negative but I think he took too long to come back after the knee injury,” assesses the Dane. “I think he tended to have a dip at the beginning of seasons and if you want to be a title contender then you need to be looking at the top five from the very first rounds. He hasn’t been able to do that, for the last two years at least, and it’s hard to catch those up to the likes of the KTM boys. On a bad day they are fifth or sixth and a bad day for Thomas was a DNF or a fifteenth; that was the difference.”
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“He doesn’t want to use an excuse if something isn’t working well,” opines Martens. “Every rider has his own mentality and I don’t push a rider if I don’t think he can handle it. You cannot order a rider to do something or to change but you can create a feeling that he might be more aggressive at the start, for example. Thomas could be better with his starts but then he does something like Assen where he started from the outside gate and was ahead of everybody!” Before that impressive display out of the sandy Dutch gate we were quizzing the man himself in his camper… Let’s start with the music. There was a clip of you playing the piano in an airport on social media last year. That was a bit of a surprise. Was it something you wanted to keep quiet?
I don’t think it is your typical mix: motocross and something like playing the piano. I started lessons from when I was four or five and since then it was a bit ‘offand-on’. I played a lot in Church growing up. My Dad always played guitar and was in a local band in our town and sang quite a bit. What kind of music was that? Country. I could never play the guitar; it just didn’t click for me. My hands weren’t big enough I think. I always wanted to because my Dad played and then for my eighteenth birthday he bought me a guitar. When I moved to Europe I brought it with me because I had quite a bit of time on my hands. I didn’t know too many people at first so I was on my own quite a lot in an apartment. It started to click then because I spent hours and hours on it occupying my time.
Feature Is it a bit like languages? Learning another instrument is like moving from being bilingual to trilingual? Once you know chords then it’s about transfer? I guess. For music it’s all related. Even if taking piano lessons when I was younger was not the greatest thing in the world I’m glad I did it now. I barely touch the piano now. I have a few songs memorised, which helps in airports! I can play along with a band if I need to. I have a keyboard in my place in Lommel but I’m not sure why I bought it because I’m on the guitar more. But I think my background with the piano helped. No offence but I guess many don’t normally associate motocrossers or professional racers as the most cultural of people; maybe it is to do with the amount of time and energy motocross requires. Even though there are a couple, it’s hard to imagine a successful rider who is also an accomplished musician… Sure! I think motocrossers are usually put into that stereotype of being meatheads that just like to train. We can only hold the gas on when it matters! I think there are actually quite a lot of motocrossers that are that way if I’m being honest. I guess I am wired a little bit different.
Have you met many other racers with hidden creative abilities? Not too many. I’ve heard that Brian Hsu is a good violinist and that’s pretty cool because it is one of the hardest instruments to play. I don’t know Brian so I have talked to him about it. Is music like an escape? I think so. On my days off my trainer Joel [Roelants] will tell me to rest and I look forward to those days because it means I can sit there and work on my guitar. It is cool to have something different, just to get my mind off racing. Even on race weekends I will have it in the camper and will mess around on a Friday night. People might assume you’ll just be binging on Netflix otherwise… Ha! I do watch Netflix quite a lot, I’m not going to lie but then I try to force myself away from it to play or read a particular book. Something to better myself. I moved to Europe at a super-young age and had time. I thought ‘not many people get this opportunity, I have to make the most of it to better myself in every way’Was it a coping mechanism as well? Yeah. I don’t think I meant for it to be so…but it worked out like that. I liked the process of learning songs. I’m ‘big’ on lyrics. And I like songs where I can relate to the words.
Many will be talking about things in southeast America and Alabama, where I’m from. I play a lot of stuff by songwriters from Alabama because it reminds me of home. Probably a big motivation was also so I could pick up the guitar and play for friends when they come over. It’s cool and fun to play after dinner. Obviously it’s cool when it comes to girls as well! Anything can be motivating for that! You played a support slot at a gig recently in Mol, Belgium. Was that the first time? It was my first legit gig. A couple of other times I’ve have just showed up at bars to play. I did that twice actually when we were in Bali between the Indonesian Grands Prix. A couple of friends went up to the performer and asked if I could play a few tunes and I think he was happy to get a break. I played for half an hour one night. I also did an open mic night in Eindhoven. For Mol a friend called and said a band was coming over from LA and they didn’t have anybody to open for them, would I consider it? Yeah, sure! Then I found out I’d have to play for forty-five minutes! So I had to put together a proper set list for the first time and practice and rehearsed. I wanted to do it straightaway because I knew the more I played shows like that the better I’d get. You need experience.
the last song: thomas covington
Feature I think everyone enjoyed it, but I watched the video back and was ‘oooh’ [grimaces]. Each time I play I think I will get better. Can you draw a parallel between performance on the stage and also at a Grand Prix? The main question people asked was: ‘were you nervous?’ and the answer was a definite ‘yes’. Much more so than a Grand Prix gate drop. Actually riding at the 2017 Motocross of Nations was a similar feeling. You get to a point where you think ‘I’m just going to get up there and do it’ and that’s like being in the start gate. Then once it drops you just ‘go’. Instinct takes over. I knew when I would be there and they’d call me on stage then it would be a like a gate drop. Generally you can hide a small mistake on the track; I’m guessing that’s not really possible on stage. Is that focus for both more or less the same? If you have a band behind you then you can get away with some mistakes because they carry the song. But it was just me and the acoustic guitar up there so that made it a bit more nerve wracking. I did make a few mistakes but I just kept going and I don’t think people really noticed it. It must also take balls to sing… That’s what I’m most worried about. I never sing when I played piano, not in public anyway, but my Dad is probably the one that pushed me to do that. He never sung either until he was older and I wasted my younger years not bothering. He always said that people enjoy it if you try. So I thought ‘screw it, I’ll do it’.
Did living on your own overseas and enjoying success professionally help with confidence generally and therefore in music? Yeah. Even a few weeks ago he told me that when I started singing in public then I’d start winning races. It’s funny. I think it is connected and it’s about confidence. It’s an unusual existence isn’t it…? It’s true. This last year in Europe I have made an effort to try and take-in every experience and enjoy it as much as I can. I’m 22 years old and I feel like these years here is something I will talk about more than anything back home. There were many cool things that not many people would get the chance to see or do. Playing to a bunch of Belgians was a good warm-up, also if I wasn’t that good then at least I’d be leaving and they could talk bad about me when I’ve gone! Does music inspire or pump you up before a race? I don’t know about inspire…but it gets me in a good mood before the race. I’ll be dancing around the camper a bit. Is there a race playlist? I’ve been trying to put one together. I know that Darian [Sanayei] has one or puts one together every week for the race. Recently I’ve been putting on Post Malone and his new album. There is one song called ‘Win’ which is a bad song but it gets me fired up. It took you a while to get going in Grand Prix. There were circumstances involved…but why did it take so long to acclimatise and excel? There is no [single] reason that sticks out in my mind. I think I made some pretty good decisions but if I could turn
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back and there was the opportunity to hand then I would have joined my current team earlier. Not that I don’t appreciate everything that CLS did for me but I think my riding and my whole programme took a big step up when I started working with Jacky and Joel. Other things? People have said ‘you should have spent more time in Europe in your first two years’ but I was just a kid, 17-18 years old. I didn’t want to spend holiday season in Europe by myself. Looking back I would not change anything I’ve done. With hindsight were you too young to come over? It is definitely a lot, but I think making decisions like that helped me to mature pretty quickly. I’m glad I did it at that time though and I think it will benefit me later in life. Not necessarily for racing but every other part of life. I’ve been trying to put together a ‘going away’ memento for all the people who have been around me in Holland and Belgium for the last five years. I was wandering about what to say, and although I’ve had some good races and results in GPs the thing I cherish the most is the relationships I’ve formed with these people. The teams, Kawasaki and Husky: that’s what means the most to me, certainly over winning four GPs. Your musicality was a surprise to some but your development as a racer was also impressive to chart. It’s been a nice story… People have always been surprised when I’ve done well. Which is fine! Up until this year and last year it [good results] was expected. Before that I’d win a qualifying race and people would be like ‘where did that come from?!’ I’d always been fast enough but I might have finally made a
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start or just put it together. I’ve never been the guy that people had pegged to win. I was not a complete underdog but maybe like a dark horse. Imagine we’re at A1 and not a Grand Prix. Can you visualise how that environment will be? More pressure? Less friendly? More fantastic? What comes to mind? Hmmm. I think it will just be bigger, purely because it is Supercross. If I think of Anaheim 1 then it will be weird to know I am one of the guys racing because I have always gone there just to watch. I’ve been involved but never really as the guy who is expected to go out there and perform. I think there will be more pressure. GPs, for me, are really laidback and really friendly. I cannot see the races in America being the same but maybe it will surprise me. It’s really friendly here. Normally I’m parked next to Cairoli and he’ll be like ‘hey Thomas! How’s it going?’ and he’ll come in a use my
ice machine. Or [there is a relationship with] people I race against. Jed Beaton [Kawasaki MX2 rider and Covington’s replacement on the Rockstar Husqvarna next year] was in here earlier and we’ve had some pretty heated situations this year and we were watching the F1 qualifying together. It’s nice. Will coming back to visit a GP feel a bit like a holiday then? Totally. It would be really nice. I’d love it. I’ve been joking with the team actually that if I have a weekend off next year then I might be over for an MX2 race again. Not wanting to get too far ahead it must be encouraging to remain an important rider for a European manufacturer for future options, whatever the series… Yeah, I really like being involved with Husqvarna. Mainly because I’m a rider that really likes testing and developing the bike.
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Luckily they have trusted me enough to do a lot of that for them in the last couple of years. It is good to be with a brand that cares enough about that sort of stuff and if I want to change something or fancy something different or I have an idea then they make it happen. Whereas with other brands – if they’re in Japan or whatever – it takes more time to do that. I have never done the level of testing that we do here. There is a big deal of flexibility with the US side. If I go home for two weeks to ride then they can see all my settings and they have bike identical to what I ride here. Jeffrey Herlings is currently the benchmark for global motocross it would seem. You’ve raced against him. Why and how has he been able to accomplish so much? He just works the hardest. Without a doubt. Personally I could not handle what he does; I would be sick every week. I feel like I have been on the line of over-training and being sick quite often. It is a constant battle to stay healthy and I don’t know why. If I’m training too much then I get tired and start to get sick. I cannot keep going. He just does motos day after day, week after week. He goes home and cycles and is then back in the gym in the morning, I remember racing Zwarte cross [Dutch Championship] and we had qualifying on Saturday and on his way home that day he stopped at a practice track and did another moto and yet more starts. The next morning I saw he was on the rowing machine, turned up and won both motos and the Dutch title and then went home again. I was like ‘whoah’. I was sitting eating my dinner and looking at Instagram stories and he was out practicing starts somewhere and I thought ‘what am I doing?!’ I did ride a little bit with Jeffrey. At one point during the season he was like ‘yeah, come with me and do what I do’. So I
did it for one week and it was really good for me for a short period of time but there is no way I could keep that up all year. Maybe it’s because he has done it for so long that he has a tolerance to it. Someone like Cairoli – and I haven’t spent that much time with Tony – but it seems he is a little the opposite: he’s riding once a week and wanting to feel fresh at the weekend. Obviously he is a bit older. I feel I relate more to Cairoli! You’re leaving Darian to fly the U.S. flag next year. Do you think more American riders and kids should be receptive to a GP ride? Yeah, I think so and I think it is coming. There are more eyes on GPs since [Ryan] Villopoto came over. I have felt it as well. I get messages on social media and through contacts asking how they can get into a team in Europe. I feel that it is not easy. The communication is not there. Team Managers in Europe cannot really get out to Loretta Lynns to see these kids ride. The top guys coming out of amateurs there that would be a good fit for teams here will go to a team in the US because that’s all they know. It means the GP teams might go for a second tier guy and they won’t do so well here…because it’s so hard. Darian kinda got squeezed out of a Pro deal in the US and came over here and it was perfect for him and would perhaps be for a rider in a similar situation. It definitely hasn’t been easy for him but he’s finally figured it out. I hope more American kids consider MX2 as an option but they need a good team to take care of them over here and that’s not easy to find. Covington had his bags packed at Imola for his last grand prix (at least as an MX2 rider). There is now a school of thought about how he will adapt to US racing.
Feature Post-Motocross of Nations there are already calls for him to represent Team USA at Assen in 2019 (for what would be his second turnout) and his motocross education in the FIM world championship should stand him in excellent stead for the Lucas Oil Pro Nationals (especially when judging the efforts of previous grand prix riders’ appearances like Herlings, Desalle, Simpson and more long-term participants like Musquin, Roczen and Ferrandis). Supercross will be the biggest challenge. “I think it will be tough for him because he has been in GPs for five years now,” says Jorgensen. “I think he needs to go into Supercross and treat it with a lot of respect and not with ambitions of winning anything in the first year. He needs to build up safely and slowly and not look at his teammates or anything like that. If he can get through this year and with solid results in the Mains then this will be a success for him. He’ll crush it Outdoors and then have another winter to prepare again.” “Thomas knows his job and is straight to the point and nothing is too much: from riding, testing, training or even spending a lot of time travelling. He does everything a top rider needs to do,” vouches Martens. “It [supercross] would have been a lot of pressure at 17 because he was at Pro Circuit, which was the top team at the time,” says Covington Snr. “Now he is coming back and he’s not worried about that.
He’s genuinely not concerned about competing in the US. He has an air of confidence about it.” It’s easy to be envious of Covington. He’s had an adventure and now stands on the precipice of another. He’s also clearly proficient with at least two of the vocations in his life. Jacky Martens even describes him as “the ideal son-in-law”. From a raw and promising youth with good family connections (another reason the Rockstar Husqvarna transfer was beneficial for his progression) #64 has risen to the point where he is one of the USA’s premier international off-road racing athletes. More excellence on home turf next year and the distinct possibility of an MXGP ‘sequel’ means Thomas will not be changing his tune any time soon.
the last song: thomas covington
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steps to make a
motocross handlebar By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer,
It is one of the easiest ways to make your ride really feel ‘yours’. Aftermarket upgrades for a dirtbike can centre on exhausts, suspension upgrades, graphics and other component tweaks but the bend and size of a handlebar can sometimes be overlooked for the comfort and true connection between the rider and what’s going on with the machine. Shopping for a new handlebar can be tricky though. It’s not as though a rider can ‘try before they buy’ so a lot of the advantages of a swap can be hard to communicate. Brands like ProTaper and Renthal invest heavily into racing not only for R&D but to get the product onto winning race motorcycles to show how reliable and durable their technology can be. This is one area of awareness. In a quest to gain more information we decided to quiz ProTaper Brand Manager Paul Perebijnos on how the 27 year old American firm – one of at least two big hitters in the ‘bar market and also renowned for other parts like grips, drive chain elements (sprockets, chains) and controls – on how they go about creating and manufacturing handlebars and then attempt to spread the word.
S. Cudby/ProTaper
Where does a handlebar begin? “It all starts with an idea initially. I’m fortunate to work with two very gifted individuals and that’s my product engineer and my product developer. Between the three of us we have extensive motorsport background. One gentleman we work with is the inventor of the rolloff system and the first plastic motocross boot, the flak jacket chest protector: he has some great ideas.” “Our product engineer is based in Texas and is great to work with because we can talk about an idea and he’ll immediately understand the customer and the demographic and the manufacturing needs. We have a small team and we can develop a product pretty quickly between the three of us.”
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“I also have a design team that works under me in Irvine, California as well. It is about the ideation and bringing drawings and thoughts together. We then have engineering and lab-based thinking onboard. There are so many differences in handlebars and people don’t realise quite how much. ProTaper was the inventor and innovator of the oversize handlebar without a crossbar and now so many people have one.” “I believe many customers think a handlebar is just the same as any other and it is a tough job for me to explain the variation in things like manufacturing techniques and alloy mixture, different treatments, thickness and diameter, internal poxy coatings, the ways it’s contoured and metallurgy. I’ve been learning quite a lot even though my background as a mechanic has helped and my parents had a machine shop; that was my very first job actually. There is a lot you can do with a handlebar and there are technological advancements in our field all the time with new machinery. My focus is to make sure ProTaper stays on the cuttingedge of that and this might mean different materials like carbon fibre or diameters. I have a huge pile of stuff in my office that we’ve been trying.”
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Moving on with the idea “So when have an idea or a new concept and we do finally arrive at the sample stage then it will visit our lab for a while where it will have a series of tests for things like fatigue and strength and to make sure it is safe to put on the motorcycle.” “We need to check for patents and we have our legal team look into a lot of things. Generally we have a huge programme that we feed information into to see if the product is feasible. Sometimes we have to invest over 100,000 dollars into tooling and we might scrap thousands and thousands of dollars worth of samples. You have to be deliberate and careful about that sort of stuff.” “We have an off-site test laboratory in California and we have been working with them for a long time. We have an engineer that works at a prominent college in the state and collates so much data. We get very scientific when it comes to testing.” “When we know or believe what we are doing will improve the experience for the rider then we take it to our race teams like Geico Honda, JGR Suzuki or the Rockstar Husky guys and have them put it through the wringer for months before it even reaches production. There is a lot of extensive testing. We have products coming up that have been in tests for over a year and with race teams for six months. One particular product is very deep in that process but the public won’t see it until late 2019.” “Every rider is different. A great one for feedback – and he is actually using some stuff that you cannot buy at the moment – is [AMA
250SX Champ] Zach Osborne. He has very small hands. Zach uses a Youth sized glove or an Adult S I believe and was trimming the waffles off his grip or using a full diamond grip. He runs a bar that is very similar to our Micro bar but it is for an adult; a custom bar for him where the bar and grips are smaller. The day he tested it then he wouldn’t ride with anything else and two-three weeks later he won his first National with it. He said his hands don’t get as tired and he can ride hard the whole moto and that’s from information we learned with kids about their bar diameter that we could use at Pro level. It’s helped Zach a lot.” “We don’t just give the teams customer stuff; we’ll do whatever we can to make the riders happy. We try to be on the cutting edge and if we can make some cool stuff for our riders to allow them to perform better on the track then we’ll help them.” “Turnaround time depends on the product… but as a brand we can operate pretty quickly: 12-18 months but then there are things that are far too extensive and require much more testing, sometimes actual race testing. The schedule depends on the complexity of the part. My level of criteria is very high and I think that comes from previously working at Pro Circuit; good s**t ain’t cheap and cheap s**t ain’t good.” “The amount of products we bring to the market in one year can depend on what we have in the pipeline. The one we have in the process now is already on its eighth revision because we find better ideas and we learn things in testing by trying to make it cooler, lighter, stronger. Our focus is not really on cost when we are developing; it is about creating the best possible product. Cost comes later and that’s quite cool because ProTaper is a premium brand. We want the best thing possible.”
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WHO are PrOtaPer? Based in California with manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, ProTaper have pushed to their front of the market for handlebars, controls and drive train spares and components since 1991. ProTaper made inroads into the industry with some innovative concepts like their oversized 1/8th bar as well as the Micro Handlebar Kit – the only truly engineered kit for youth racers. Leading American race teams like Geico Honda and JGR Suzuki use their wares and the factory Husqvarna teams in MXGP and AMA MX/SX are also ProTaper aligned. In recent years the company have concentrated on an international push. “I’m trying to gauge how people perceive the brand in Europe because it feels like in the US we have some good momentum going,” says Paul Perebijnos. “Our sales point that way. I’ve tried to make it more of a ‘youthful’ brand and focus on premium products and innovation. Our customer base means you are Renthal or ProTaper – one or the other – so we’ve mobilised in order to try and make ProTaper different or to appeal to a different crowd, a younger crowd. Our Micro product line is a big one supporting that, which is basically built for a 50 or a 65. We have chains, grips and the smaller diameter bars for kids. We’re trying to appeal to them and the parents.”
making mx handlebars: protaper
Getting it out and spreading the word “When we are ready for production then everything gets sent to Asia, Taiwan actually and a lot of good material comes out of that country, like Specialized bicycle components. It is all designed, engineered and tested in California but we’ve had the same facility in Taiwan since ProTaper started in 1991.” “We do huge, huge volumes of product when it comes to handlebars and sprockets. When I first got to ProTaper I was quite blown away by the volume and it has only been growing. People seem to love the brand and sales have been increasing.” “It gets a bit more fun then when it comes to packaging, colours, hues and fitment. We set up pricing structures, part numbers and logos. A whole marketing cycle, so things like making a teaser to the media or a presentation. Again it depends on the product because if it is something that has required thorough race testing then the public will probably already know about it or the media will have seen it or found out things in the pits.” “I don’t see handlebar evolution stopping but there are a lot of options and ideas out there. I laugh sometimes at what I see: you can tell if something is a ‘marketing’ or an ‘engineering’ idea. There are ideas coming but it is kinda tricky because there are patents in the water that halt the evolution of things. There is still a lot to explore and you can learn a lot by looking at other industries. Carbon fibre has been around for a while but it is very firm; it doesn’t bend, it breaks and that’s not great for motocross.” “It is also my job to educate the market and the public about what our stuff does and I never try to talk down about another brand. I think there is room in the industry, and other brands are trying to do the best job they can. I’m respect-
ful but it is my job to point out the differences of our stuff and show why it might be on a different level, then it is up to the public to decide or show what they believe in.” “It is tough to do that and that’s what I battle with all the time. The high-end products in our catalogue are geared more towards the regular racer and you have to market that a bit differently and get more technical. The other side of the spectrum means you have to make the message more broad and simplistic. A weekend rider will walk into a shop and see fourteen different bar bends and not really know what he wants. That’s one of the big reasons why we created ProTaper Sport; a sub-brand of ProTaper and it’s our value priceline to capture the customer that is looking for a change. We’ve named the bars after factory riders rather than a technical drawing number. We try to make it easy for the mid-level consumer to figure out what they need with more generalised products and more universal fitment but still with the premium name. The analogy I use is with cycling and I know that Specialized is a brand I trust and they have elite athletes like Peter Sagan. When I get a component in my price range and it is from Specialized then I know I can trust it and it’s the same principal with ProTaper Sport and our different levels of price point. A customer might see a product on Gautier Paulin’s bike or Thomas Covington’s and if they cannot afford the same item they still might be able to take a cheaper one but with the same belief and trust.” “We put a lot of our attention into social media: I didn’t want to acknowledge that for a long time but I don’t think you can ignore it any more. We tried to put a lot of focus into this area and I believe that’s where a lot of the kids are these days. People are constantly on the go. We are looking to be current and on-trend while also still targeting a lot of grass-roots events.”
Products
fly racing Fly Racing boast a thoroughbred selection of off-road racing wares: to the point where the company in Idaho invest substantially in their native U.S. market as well as MXGP and the international scene in support of their athletes. Some of the lessons learned from the design and durability of the gear can be seen in production of the Patrol XC for more allround off-road riding. The pant (130 dollars) is built from 900 Denier with stretch panels, has a ventilated mesh liner, leather heat shields and 6 zippered vents on the front and back of the leg as well as the knee. There are two zipped pockets as well as an internal compartment.
www.flyracing.com The fit boasts a full ‘floating’ seat and is engineered for comfort as much as resistance. The jersey (60 dollars) has ‘ultra resistant’ sleeve panels, a sleeveless armpit panel to prevent chafing, mesh panels and has a comfort fit. The gloves (50 dollars) are firmly Enduro-orientated with the tough knuckle reinforcement, reinforced palm and thumb section and a adjustable wrist closure system. Four-way stretch panelling for the fingers is also complimented by silicone ‘grip strips’ on the fingers and palm. For roost or tree branches, the Patrol XC is a worthwhile and effective option. Credit for the matte black scheme as well.
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Heady stuff Alpinestars talk about their envelope-pushing first off-road helmet
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Alpinestars
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lpinestars have dedicated themselves to off-road safety and protective innovation for more than five decades and one of their landmark products has occupied the last five years of the company’s existence in Asolo, northern Italy. The Supertech M10 was launched with a degree of fanfare earlier this year with former (and luckless) Red Bull KTM rider Broc Tickle engaged to show off the sleek lines of the lid in Supercross stadiums.
At the MXGP Grand Prix of Belgium Media Manager Jeremy Appleton gave a comprehensive presentation to a European media audience. First off: why? The motorcycle helmet market is heavily saturated with a vast gamut of units and brands, prices, ideas and a (perhaps worryingly) range of effectiveness and protection. It would take a major and significant effort to make a dent on the landscape, even from such a
alpinestars’ supertech m10
the second aim was performance-features like weight and ventilation,” says Alpinestars Media Manager Jeremy Appleton. “This follows in line with elements like our footwear and other protective products.” “The helmet department was given a brief for the objectives but was also asked to create something that was a little unique to make customers enthused,” he adds. “We wanted to make it a bit more innovative.” So why the fuss and what have they packed in? Like most serious brands Alpinestars have not cut corners when it comes to weight, comfort, fit (they claim the M10 is designed to accomodate most goggles) and ventilation. But they have worked diligently to add a few more notable features. Firstly the shell (in four sizes) is carbon but a combination of material layers leads to improved energy management. Alpinestars say the M10 came through an “exhaustive impact research program” and “it exceeds 2021 certification standards by a significant margin,” asserts Appleton “including a straight hit test by 41% and 48% up on the standard for rotational acceleration.”
player as Alpinestars. However the firm’s position at the forefront of motorcycling and motorcycle sport has provided a small advantage: a high degree of awareness as to the requirements of riders, and some gaps where their offering could satisfy needs like safety, style and function. “We had a special product philosophy; the priority was protection and to get the highest performance possible and
Further protective enhancement comes from the use of MIPS but rather than coating the crown of the skull like other brands the M10 is built in a way so that the MIPS liner covers most of the head. This is an important measure in the fight against concussion injuries and means the M10 complies with the hardening line the FIM are starting to take with helmets and the issue of rotational acceleration. MIPS is a useful workaround for brands like Alpinestars that perhaps cannot launch into a multimillion dollar R&D project for new technology (at this stage), and for any rider now a helmet
Feature with that yellow MIPS logo has to be an essential choice when it a new investment. Don’t accept anything less, and the M10 is extra useful courtesy of the blanket MIPS incorporation. Moving onto fitment and the M10 has a novel (and patented) approach called ‘AHead’. “This is new technology,” stresses Appleton. “It is a structure that sits in the helmet and allows it to canter forwards and backwards and up and down for the ideal fit.” A micro-adjustable pad connected to the inner shell permits this configuration. It’s not the only patent. Like Fox with their magnetic system and Scott with their smooth-flow approach, the firm looked closely at the design of the peak; something that affects the practical use of the helmet but also influences safety again (how it detaches in the event of a crash), ventilation and the overall aesthetic of the lid. Getting the visor right seems like half of the battle. “The visor is patented and doesn’t have any bolts, screws or magnets,”Appleston explains. “It is a clip system that allows the visor to be streamlined and make a seamless design with the shell. We studied ventilation closely, and the best ways to get the air in and out and the visor helps especially for this. Venting the air out the back helps keep more positive pressure inside. During testing we used sensors around the helmet to look and get a comprehensive view of what is going on around the rider’s head; we knew cooling was critical for performance on the track.”
The visor is part of a well-thought out construction. There is extra strength in the chinbar section “for more definition and rigidity,” says Appleton. It’s made from polypropylene to achieve that effect and the base shape and profile of the M10 is made to give relief to collarbone impact in the event of a spill.
The helmet clocks in at 1260g for a size medium under ECE and 1370g for DOT. Those numbers might not mean much on the page but the M10 is a respectable weight. Its includes almost ‘standard’ items like washable interior lining, hydration system compatibility, easily cleanable surfaces, emergency release for the pads, a woven poly yarn for the 26mm strap with D-ring and possibilities for an ‘eject’ inflation system. There are five designs already shipping (two of those being solid white and black) and another two to come next month. The M10 is selling for 650 euros. Far from confusing a consumer perusing the vast helmet market, the M10 is Alpinestars tossing their hat into the ring and forcing some competition to up their game. The Supertech already promises more (and better) elements than other specialist helmet brands - particularly a few European ones. If the M10 stretches into a street model then it will be another significant option.
alpinestars’ supertech m10
motogp BLOG
the importance of the call... As the MotoGP paddock heads out east for the long Asian Pacific triple header, more than a few riders will be looking to next year, and wondering about the choices they have made. The WorldSBK paddock, meanwhile, is sat on planes heading back to Europe from Argentina, mulling over their options for 2019, more than a few weighing up the offers they have on the table, and wondering which one will give them the best chance of success and which will be dead ends. It is hard to overstate just how big a decision this is. Picking the wrong bike or the wrong team – arguably a bigger handicap than the bike – can mean not just one bad season but send a rider’s career into a downward spiral, from which it may take years to recover. In racing, you are only as good as your last race. Riders are hot property when they are doing well but spend a season stuck in the back of the pack and they are history. It is always the rider’s fault, no matter what the underlying truth is.
In a way, Eugene Laverty is the poster boy for the drastic consequence such choices can have. In 2007 and 2008, he spent a couple of seasons aboard privateer 250s. He showed real talent but on ancient and inferior kit compared to the class leaders, he struggled to score points. After two fruitless years in Grand Prix, he made the switch to the World Supersport paddock on the back of a podium and a strong result as a replacement rider. He was runner up in that championship for two years in a row¸ losing out to Cal Crutchlow and Kenan Sofuoglu before making the move up to World Superbikes. Three strong seasons on factory-backed teams followed, including narrowly losing out to Tom Sykes in the 2013 championship. Then Laverty’s career took a sideways turn.
For 2014, he switched to the Crescent Suzuki team, on a bike that struggled to be competitive, except at Phillip Island. After finishing tenth in the championship, the Irishman decided to take a gamble on the Open Class bikes in MotoGP. The plan was to try to impress on an underpowered bike, and get a shot at more competitive machinery the year after. Laverty joined the Aspar team at the wrong time, just as the squad was running a skeleton operation due to a lack of sponsors. Worse, he was saddled with the RC213V-RS, one of the least competitive of the Open bikes. The next year, he rode a Ducati GP14.2 to better effect, coming up just short of a podium in Argentina, and finishing a creditable thirteenth overall in the championship.
By David Emmett
But it had been two tough years for Laverty, and at the behest of Aprilia, he moved back to WorldSBK to race the RSV4 in the Milwaukee team. However Shaun Muir’s outfit found it harder in WorldSBK than they had hoped, and factory support from Aprilia was limited. Two more tough seasons followed. Despite this, Laverty is highly rated by both Aprilia, for his work on the RSV4, and by Ducati, where Ducati Corse boss Gigi Dall’Igna knows how hard he rode on the Aspar bike. The trouble is, Laverty is now 32, and the age bias in both paddocks means certain berths are automatically out of his reach. Laverty can only hope that SMR Racing get competitive machinery next year. How did Laverty go from nearly winning championships to making up the numbers? He took some calculated gambles in the hope of a long-term pay off. But some of those gambles were in teams which were underfunded, lacking resources and expertise to compete at World Championship level.
Perhaps a little too often, promises made were not kept, and by that time, it was too late to back out. Eugene Laverty didn’t change much but everything around him did. How different might his career have been if he hadn’t taken those gambles? Eugene Laverty’s career is not unique. Look elsewhere, and you see a similar pattern. Luca Marini and Lorenzo Baldassarri were middling at best with Forward Racing, and both are a lot more competitive in new teams. Scott Redding went from fighting on equal footing with Danilo Petrucci in the Pramac team, to perennial backmarker on the factory Aprilia, while Petrucci is set to make the step up to the factory team in 2019. In 2013, Redding nearly won a Moto2 title and is now destined for a domestic series. Motorcycle racing is a mechanical sport, and it is a team sport. All too often, we look at the rider, and ascribe everything they do to their talent alone.
Reality is more complex than that: the bike matters, as does the team. Riders talk constantly of the package. The right package can make or break a rider’s career.
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the getaway understanding a MotoGP start
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by CormacGP
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n every MotoGP track there will be a section of a straight with a small white sign placed just next to the tarmac. ‘Practice Start’ is the zone for riders to rehearse one of the key elements of a Grand Prix and yet another sphere of this sport where it is not easy to clock a lot of training time.
Compared to the instinctive and fearsome release seen in the likes of MXGP – where 450cc motorcycles fly out of the gate thanks to launch control, RPM indicators and suspension ‘catches’ but still boast a ‘pure’ correlation between reaction/clutch, power and grip – MotoGP is a little more convoluted.
If a chance ever presents itself then get along to watch a practice start, typically at the end of each session. It looks clumsy and clunky: riders get into position and fire away from their stationary stance with a gargle of sound and RPM note. It is the antithesis to the speed and flow of the laps they had previously been making on the track but it is perhaps the moment when the motorcycle is engaging most of its software and hardware to intense effect.
But, contrasted to motocross, is the start really that vital?
There is a subtle blend of technique from the rider and intricate technical performance from the motorcycle colliding together. The bikes are capable of 0-100 in just a couple of seconds so the measures are almost essential while the athlete has to consider timing, strength and harnessing the mechanical might of the bike to make the best launch.
A motocross athlete can holeshot a Grand Prix from the very outside of the start gate; an equivalent on the seventh row of the MotoGP grid knows his chances of bountiful position gain is nigh-on impossible. We asked a selection of riders, as well as Pol Espargaro’s Red Bull KTM Crew Chief, Paul Trevathan, for a breakdown of what is going on with a MotoGP bike, how much is really down to the rider
motoGP stARts
Bradley smith, Red Bull ktm: Power output and anti-wheelie control: a lot of that comes from the bike itself. It self-regulates and knows how much power and torque it can deliver to the engine so the clutch doesn’t actually slip because slip means you are not going thomas luthi, eG 0,0 marc forward any more and there is vds: I remember my first one, excess power for nothing. The at Malaysia for the first test and calculations are made, but all the biggest difference was placof the clutch movement and ing 100% trust in the electronics, drag and is down to the rider. otherwise you’ll do an instant That’s why I think you see backflip. It is kinda scary: you everyone react quite well and activate the launch control and then those that make good go to full throttle and then play starts have that final phase of with the clutch. It’s a powerful releasing the clutch and getbike! You need all the electronics ting the power down for the to work perfectly with the antistraight. That is not much to wheelie and traction control for a be gained in the initial jump perfect start. but there is in the drag. Once you’re in first or second gear Cal Crutchlow, lCR honda: then you are flat out against Of course it has to be down to the engine’s power anyway so the judgement and reaction on it’s about who has the fastest compared to the electronics, how the lack of practice (a maximum of six times a weekend while an MXGP athlete might do that ten times that amount in a week) is a factor and whether the a decent race start is really as crucial as it seems…
SMITH: THE MORE STARTS PEOPLE MAKE THE MORE FOCUSSED THEY GET ON THEIR STRATEGIES AND IT BECOMES ALMOST LIKE MARIO KART. the lights and then it is how you let the clutch out and how you maintain your speed. I’ve learned a lot with that, and how I’ve done it over the last year is much better than what I used to do with the Yamaha. With Ducati I was average but Honda, at first, I was bad. I changed the clutch settings a little bit.
engine and then slipstreaming and those sorts of things.
the teChnICAl sIde Paul trevathan, Crew Chief for Pol espargaro, Red Bull ktm: It’s a complicated process. First gear is a long and tall gear so the clutch has to work in a good way so that the rider has a good feeling. We have
an RPM limit, which is a launch control system, and is related to how much torque is delivered as well as wheelie control. There is three systems in place so the rider can go full throttle and just drop the clutch: the bike should take care of the rest. franco morbidelli, eG 0,0 marc vds: It is pretty tricky because there is a lot of electronics going on so it is difficult to finetune everything and every detail. Sometimes you can mistake something or adjust it in the wrong way and it ends up looking pretty bad from outside and on the data. The work we do is to adapt the electronics to the sprocket we have on the track. Different sprocket and gearing is of course a different type of acceleration and power delivery in first gear. We need to adapt and I also need to understand the biting point and how the acceleration is with the clutch. Everything has to be adjusted. smith: We’re in first gear. There is no way we could start in second, you wouldn’t be able to get the gear to turn over. A 450 motocross bike will start in second or third to make that gear a bit longer and to keep the bike level and tamer. We have the same philosophy but we start with full power in first gear, that’s why we have launch control because it holds the bike at a certain RPM and away you go.
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Crutchlow: “If you don’t make that start and the first five guys get away then you won’t get them back. I don’t think it is a marginal gains thing: I think it is one of the most important parts of the race now.”
him…but you really need to have a good plan.
the human aspect and style
Jack Miller, Alma Pramac Racing: Everyone’s different and we are all trying to Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia RacIf you watch BSB then you improve. We measure the ing Team Gresini: I have to have 1000cc stock motorstarts when we come back say that one of the weakcycles at around 200 horse[to the pits] and it is within nesses of the Aprilia is the power and they’ll be riding thousandths of a second. You launch control. We are workaround in the wet with no trac- might see that your initial ing a lot, trying many clutches tion control. That’s a national jump wasn’t good but then and every test we are trying championship. We can all ride you had good acceleration, many things. On the Aprilia without a need for this…but so you work on that. You also the human ability is a lot more the anti-wheelie is something work on your mapping. For important. I remember on the we are all grateful for because example in Texas where you Suzuki that the system was you come out of corners and have the hill you can almost very different and the possibil- the bike might be a little loose wheelie into the hill and use a ity to make a mistake was a and instead of getting carried little more power compared to lot smaller, but also to make a away you can get it rotated. some places like Sachsenring super-great start was not poswhere the gearbox is so short sible. The stability was better. Trevathan: You find your base and you need a lot less power. core in testing. What makes You work with the map and Luthi: It is difficult to get the it messy is if your rider loses also clutch feel and we play right point with the clutch… confidence. It’s like in motowith new plates and old plates but that’s all you need to focus cross; if you guy is making to get the nice feeling. on, not the throttle because good starts then he can do it you just have to set the right blindfolded because he has Trevathan: If you have a bike point with the RPM. the ‘feeling’ and it doesn’t with a good clutch then it is become a stress. If you have easier. Our bike in particular Smith: You’re glad for antia guy doing bad starts then is good for this and the ridwheelie; it will always manage it is extra stress. A rider like ers can either ride the clutch the situation. At the end of Maverick [Viñales] is a prime or just drop it, depending on the day we are all motorcycle example: if you watch his what’s going on there. It is alracers and if there weren’t any practice starts then they are ways related to the clutch and traction control then we’d find horrendous and he always the drive train and things like a way around it. You might not suffers the most at race starts how stiff it is. There are not be able to ride at 100% throtbut then he’s lost confidence many guys who can just drop tle everywhere but you’d feel and you can see that. He’s the clutch, they always have to your way through. doing different things and do something. they are trying to set it up for
motogp starts
There are a few that just go ‘bang’ and that’s the best way but you really need the system to work electronically and with the right clutch and the materials and the right slip and grab. Of course it is also temperature related. Espargaro: It’s hard to make good starts. With Aprilia, just one time this season, I think it was Misano actually, I did a super good start but in the other ones I struggled a lot
more because it’s super sensitive, the clutch, the modulation, and we are working a lot. On the Aprilia I have to say the ability of the rider is still very important. Luthi: When you get used to it then it feels normal and I would say it is easier to start a MotoGP bike than a Moto2 bike. You need a better feeling with the Moto2 bike whereas in MotoGP you just keep full with the throttle. Sure, you
need to control wheelie, but those electronics help a lot. It is hard to take big step forward with the MotoGP bike but each small step gives motivation again. It is kind of up and down. Smith: The power you have to deliver to the engine to spin the gear over to then drive at a certain RPM rather than completely dying off the face of the earth is the reason why it looks a bit clunky.
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motogp starts
We have to deliver so much power and we just cannot pull away. You have to ‘launch’ the clutch to get everything engaged and spinning to send it forward and you need a big torque demand for that. The 450 boys in motocross might start at 10% throttle because wheelspin is a limiting factor whereas for us the power is a limiting factor and it is about how you can get that clutch out. Nobody ever wheelspins on these bikes, only sometimes in the rain. It is about maximum power and maximum torque so when the clutch gets out you are driving forwards. Trevathan: You can lose four or five seconds on the first lap and in this sport - at the moment - you cannot find that back.
the practice & value Crutchlow: You do practice starts all weekend at the end of the session but [that’s when] you have no fuel. At the race start you have a full tank and the bike doesn’t move the same way. You have to be careful and it has to be taken into consideration. Smith: The more starts people make the more focussed they get on their strategies and it becomes almost like Mario Kart. Trevathan: If you have qualified in the top ten and you just have to hold your place in the first corners then it is less of a factor because those guys know that something stupid is normally not going to happen: they will get into a rhythm and people will get dragged along. But if you are back a couple of rows and the ‘desperation’ is higher for some guys then you know there will be some moves
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on the first corners. That’s when it gets messy and the big gaps come. If you are 15th then you almost want to jump the light because then you will be running with a different class of rider. Morbidelli: I try to practice a lot, at least twice per session. It’s something I started to work on only a couple of races ago because I see the top guys focus a lot on that.
Crutchlow: I don’t do many… because if it goes badly then I am already thinking about it for the race. I reckon I might only do two. Espargaro: It’s difficult to train for because the stability that we are having right now is not the best so every clutch is a little bit different. Every time we have to play with the power from Friday to arrive in a good place in the race. Also
when you don’t have a full tank it’s different. It’s not easy. Miller: It is also down to you. I always get quite a bit of wheelie at the start because I ‘dump it’ and pull it back whereas you get guys like [Jorge] Lorenzo who are so smooth with it. When people like that get it perfect then it is unbeatable.
motogp starts
loses his balance. The system is working against you. That’s the problem with electronics: if everything works in the right way then it is super but when things start working against each other then it just becomes a mess. Crutchlow: If you don’t make that start and the first five guys get away then you won’t get them back. I don’t think it is a marginal gains thing: I think it is one of the most important parts of the race now. Some riders think you can practice for those reactions but I’m not sure…
Trevathan: Don’t forget factors like the noise and the adrenaline. Some guys like to go on the limiter and then back-it-off a little bit and find their RPM but when there are 20 other bikes around then you don’t get that feeling. Also if you get just a little bit of wheelie then you finger the clutch a bit differently than you had all weekend and suddenly the bike isn’t set-up for that and the rider panics a little and
Smith: There is still nothing that beats lining up with 40 guys, aiming for a metre space and going through a corner with the holeshot because being filled in with 450 roost is never fun…but there is something about the noise and energy going into the first corner and first lap of MotoGP when you have guys pickingit-up, touching each other and jostling for position. On every corner you feel there is a chance to overtake because the speed is a little bit lower than a normal lap and you don’t need to be so ‘follow my leader’. The first half a lap is a lot of fun. Morbidelli: Of course you can still have a good race [if you don’t start well] but if you have a good start then it is
a big part of the job done. If you’re struggling and you get a good start…it is an advantage that you have to take, if you can. I think we reached a level where you have to be good with everything. You cannot make bad starts and have good races. MotoGP is the highest level and the start is something everyone does well. Trevathan: You’ve seen a couple of times in the past when the traction control has unset itself…honestly, it is so hard to understand how hard these things accelerate. I remember being here in MotoGP for the first time and standing at the final corner at Sepang just before they go onto the straight. The bikes would come out of the curve at low RPM and it was like someone shot them out of a cannon. You don’t see that on TV and you don’t really understand the force and the power that goes on. It would be interesting to have a force meter on the arms to see how a ride stays in position for the start, even though you are limiting the RPM to what the bike and tyre can handle and it isn’t wheelying: it is still hard to describe. You are talking 0-100 in 2.5-2.7 seconds and 0-180 in 4 seconds: it is a fast motorcycle with a small contact patch.
motogp BLOG
A dispute to cherish... There are many ways to measure the worthiness of a champion. Numbers usually come first: wins, poles, fastest laps, laps led and, of course, points all paint a picture of a rider’s strength. To an extent, they tell the story of how a season plays out, too. Strength in depth of the competition plays a part. As does the merits of machinery – and personnel - at a rider’s disposal.
before) mid-November, we will no doubt look back to the inaugural Thailand Grand Prix as one of those moments. His was a performance that had it all: coolness under pressure, outright speed, and, mostly, a willingness to go toe-to-toe with Miguel Oliveira, the only man that can deny him that debut world crown.
But those key moments that define a year are what occasionally leave the greatest impression. Every season has them, when two of the best find themselves hustling for the same stretch of tarmac at a point when it feels the emphasis could go either way. Think Rossi-Stoner at Laguna Seca in 2008 or RossiLorenzo at Montmeló a year later. One rider trumped a main adversary when the stakes were highest. From there, the loser found no way back.
The look on the Portuguese rider’s face in the press conference that followed was as long as it was concerned. Losing to Bagnaia after a succession of bruising exchanges was one thing; missing out on second on the final lap as Luca Marini, the Italian’s team-mate, was quite another. From here, his task of overhauling a 28-point deficit in the upcoming four races just became a good deal more daunting.
Should Francesco Bagnaia go on to capture this seasons Moto2 championship in (or
For a season that has ebbed one way in favour of one rider then flowed in favour of another, Bagnaia and Oliveira have
faced-off just twice. But, representing battling manufacturers Kalex and KTM, the pair have never been far away: an even match for the most part of a year in which the intensity has rarely let up. This has the feel of a classic, the kind of championship we’ll look back on. Both challengers are MotoGP bound next year, coveted by Ducati and KTM respectively. In Bagnaia, the Bologna factory has ensured Jorge Lorenzo’s current bike (and crew chief Cristian Gabarrini) will aid his quest as a class rookie. And the growth of Oliveira is one the bosses in Mattighofen have mostly presided over since his brief three-race stint in the Red Bull Rookies Cup ten years ago. It’s telling that third place Brad Binder is 102 points back of the championship summit. This may be the most competitive Moto2 field since Marc Marquez’s title year in 2012. But to put it simply, the rest – boasting three combined championship
By Neil Morrison
victories and 83 grand prix wins – haven barely had a look in. The only two riders to have scored points at each round (Bagnaia’s last finish outside the top 15 came 16 months and 27 races ago; Oliveira’s was in September, 2017) the pair are relentlessly consistent. Off track and Bagnaia and Oliveira aren’t a million miles apart. Bagnaia is the quiet late bloomer, who shares a flat on Italy’s east coast with Lorenzo Baldassarri, a class rival. Oliveira is Portugal’s first (and only) grand prix winner, a man who is slowly completing a university degree in dentistry in his hometown of Lisbon. Doing one’s talking on the track is a well-worn cliché in this game. But being quietly confident, and endlessly selfassured are traits you’d assign to both of them when facing the television cameras, while steering clear of the flashier trappings that accompany fame and a burgeoning reputation.
Each of their challenges has been so impressive in different ways. Sure, the numbers back up Bagnaia’s pitch to end the year as #1. He has seven wins to Oliveira’s two and five poles to Oliveira’s zero, a clear weakness for the Portuguese rider and KTM’s 2018 chassis. And he’s led a whopping 122 laps from 318 (or 38% of the year’s races). Oliveira has only led 46. And, most importantly, he has 259 points to Oliveira’s 231. That 28-point lead, incidentally, is the biggest it’s been all year. But one of Bagnaia’s great strengths in 2018 was last year’s weakness. “In 2017 he was very strong already but he suffered at the beginning [of races],” says Valentino Rossi of the hard yards put in at his own VR46 Academy during the off season. “We tried to work especially at the beginning of the race because last year he suffered [there].” It paid off. Bagnaia’s wins in Austin, France, the Netherlands and at home in Misano were demolition affairs, establishing command from the very start.
Then there was how he grappled the initiative of the championship away from his adversary. Oliveira’s win at Brno in August saw him assume the mantle of title leader for the first time. A week later and Bagnaia harried and hassled him, winning out in a last-lap vintage in Austria. Thailand was another flash point. The Italian shrugged off the effects of a burned out clutch in the opening laps to break clear of Oliveira mid-race. From there, no turning back. And looking beyond his most recent win, what really stood out came before the racing started. During the weekend’s first free practice session, Oliveira found himself just behind Bagnaia on track. Having reeled his rival in, the KTM man made his intentions for the sessions and race ahead more than clear, barging by at the final turn. Bagnaia’s response was as swift as it was defiant: chase Oliveira down in two laps before returning the favour – at turn four, the fastest of the flat, featureless track’s twelve bends.
motogp BLOG
While Oliveira shrugged it off, stating this was nothing more than “a coincidence” when pressed on the incident, Bagnaia was full of mischievous smile. “We were just joking,” he said. Which roughly translates to: ‘Bring it on.’ Until then Oliveira’s showings were almost as deeply impressive as the Italian’s. The victim of brutal exchanges when contesting victory in Argentina, the 23-year old vowed his own aggression was found wanting. Something to work on in the future, he said. Two weeks on and he disposed with seven riders on the first lap at Jerez. He carried the flag for KTM solo in the first eight races, and wins at Mugello and Brno were brilliant, combative affairs (the former coming courtesy of another opening lap haul, passing eight riders in just under two minutes).
“I just can’t do that on the first lap,” conceded Sam Lowes, exgrand prix winner, and another of KTM’s riders that has repeatedly been impressed by the Portuguese rider’s feats. The 2018 Kalex and KTM frames are fairly well matched. But Kalex has reacted to KTM’s dominant end to ’17. There have been few occasions when the Austrian fleet have pulled clear in a race’s closing laps, as they did in Australia, Malaysia and Valencia last year. And extracting the most from a new tyre has been the KTM chassis’ one repeated failing. Oliveira’s lousy qualifying record could yet be his undoing in 2018’s chase for the prize. As this dispute enters into its critical final phase, Bagnaia’s Thai showing now has him down as a clear favourite. This latest run – five straight podiums and four wins in seven – even had Oliveira pining for
answers. “It is quite hard to make a strategy if your rival is winning every race,” he said soon after. “It’s hard to be this constant.” But should Oliveira rally, as he has done in a season’s closing month in previous years, and take the fight to Valencia, it’s tempting to wonder whether this would be the most fiercely contested intermediate crown since Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso fought it out in 2006. Based on this year’s evidence, only a fool would bet against the Bagnaia-Oliveira rivalry continuing long into the future. If it’s anywhere near as good as the past seven months, you’d best not look away.
Photo by Milagro/Monster
Photo: R. Schedl
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ktm Dive into the KTM PowerWear catalogue and it will be difficult not to find something that appeals, surprises or amuses. The Austrians somehow redesign or reinvent their accessory, gear and fashion lines every year and there is always an item that will satisfy a KTM rider or customer but also someone who might just be into bikes and favours an orange shade. KTM put it best when they state ‘the latest KTM PowerWear Casual &
www.ktm.com Accessories range features everything from bikes to bags, hoodies to hats, mugs to mats, shades to shoes and watches to wallets’. Here are a few pieces to look at, but browsing the whole collection is a slightly different experience compared to most motorcycle brands. Prices are reasonable when matched with the quality and there is a range of highprofile partnerships with other companies like Arai, Alpinestars, Scott and more.
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The eye
of Aki By Adam Wheeler, Photos by KTM images/S.Romero
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hether as team owner, manager, athlete agent, talent spotter and nurturer or general expert of Grand Prix racing, Aki Ajo has left a lasting influence in the MotoGP paddock and especially since a fruitful Moto3 alliance with KTM at the start of the decade that has delivered copious success to the Austrian brand. Given ten minutes to sit down with the man in his compact but sparse and immaculate office room within the Ajo racing truck we asked about some of his roles, affiliations and impact with the likes of Marc Marquez, Jack Miller, Johann Zarco and so on. The Öncü twins being the latest bright light on the horizon. How has the development been with KTM? You ran their initial re-entry to MotoGP with the Moto3 team at the end of 2011 but the paddock has become much more orange since then… Of course it is different now. In the beginning we were the only team for KTM then there were others in Moto3 but basically there is not a major difference for us, in fact I see the growth as a positive because it means more and more
“People ask me often ‘what did you teach Marc Marquez?’ and I say to the journalists ‘why don’t you ask what I learned from him?’” resources from KTM and the whole factory is enthusiastic. It sometimes feels like every KTM employee is behind the racing and it really is part of their DNA. So it is good to see when something new comes up. For us we also have a team in the CEV with the Öncü brothers and
in Moto2 I am proud that we are seen as something important for building for the future at KTM. I think more manufacturers are waking up to this idea of having some junior programmes. I’m proud to be a part of it and proud that we kinda started it at a wide and large level with
the eye of aki xxxxxxxx: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
KTM in the MotoGP paddock. The Red Bull Rookies Cup was there but we built-up Moto3 and I opened my own Moto2 team with WP branding and with Pit [Beirer] and Mr Pierer’s support. Moto2 then developed and became bigger. We’re thankful and proud. Is it a shame that your Moto3 team seems to almost have been left behind a little bit? Moto3 has been very important for the factory and for us but I understand that
KTM and their motorsport strategy perhaps did not want to really show it any more as a ‘factory team’. It is still a Red Bull KTM Ajo team but with one rider instead of three so everything is a bit smaller but we haven’t forgotten it or put it on the side. What we are doing with the Öncü twins is again something new and we want to build and we want to make the steps for the Rookies even stronger and better. We’ve already tried to educate them through Rookies and CEV and then make the big step into GP. It’s important there is this middle step. CEV means they are even more prepared.
Feature Making that structure has meant a change; swapping wins and titles for progress that can sometimes be hard to see… I don’t think so. We have good experience now and when we have more activities – instead of just one or two strong riders – then we are stronger in the paddock and as a company and a structure. We can offer different possibilities each year to different partners, with one team and two slots you can be limited. This year we have three separate groups under one colour and I think all are important. Did KTM want initially want success and then asked you to change strategy a little bit to look at the future? Yeah, the Moto3 structure now is a step for the Rookies and if I am honest this is the job I really like. I like to educate riders and I think this is something where we can really use our experience and where we are strong. In racing you always want to win…but you can win in different ways. The Öncü twins have just turned fifteen but there is an amazing
aptitude and passion that they have. I think they can achieve something special. Is there danger in seeing an athlete so good, so early? There are examples like Quartararo or Hanika, Bendsynder that have struggled to push on… That’s true and it is so important that you have the right people around you when those things are happening. We try to use our experience because we have worked with so many young talents on different levels. We try to help them see clearly and focus on the right things. This means not only the riders but everything behind them like the family, the management, the federation or whoever. You have to take care of the whole group and make them feel like a team, comfortable and build trust to find the correct. How do you see the twins then? Is there a good foundation or still a lot of work to do? They have a good family behind them but then the team has to take care when
the eye of aki xxxxxxxx: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
they get older and things become more serious and more professional. The team and their partners have to take care and almost take ‘charge’ when it comes to their racing life. Of course keeping the family and all the important people around but the team has to somehow head the way and be responsible for the key racing things: that’s important. How do you feel now seeing people like Jack Miller, Johann Zarco, Miguel Oliveira and other riders progress to the top level? It’s a good feeling to follow the guys and see them have wins or podiums in MotoGP. I feel happy and thankful that our team played a small part in their ‘way’. There are many riders now in MotoGP that have worked with us: Marquez, Viñales, Zarco, Miller. Just to mention some.
Is it also a bit sad that you start a project with a rider and don’t go all the way? I don’t see it like this. I don’t feel that the team and myself will learn so much if we just follow one or two riders for their whole career. It is their career not ours! Our ‘career’ is to offer services to partners and riders at the maximum level to reach the best results. That’s our job. If we can do it with as many riders and talents as possible this just makes us more and more strong. We can learn much more when we work with 35 riders than just 3. You must have seen and dealt with many different characters and their ways to work: is this variety the spice of the job? Yes, it makes the job very rich and enjoyable. We’re lucky to have worked with so many because you always learn from every single one. People ask me often ‘what did you teach Marc Marquez?’ and I say to the journalists ‘why don’t you ask what I learned from him?’ Of course we try to teach and offer our best and everything we have available to our riders but
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at the same time we are collecting information and learning from them. This is one of best parts of the job…and I don’t think we always learn something new, but at least the chance is there. Lastly, can it be difficult sometimes to keep patient? Some younger riders think they know better? Ha! As I get older I try to be more diplomatic but that is probably not the best part of my character! But I’ve been here quite a few years now and I think most riders know that when I say something ‘very straight’ it’s because I’m just trying to help. I’m proud of myself in the last few years that I’ve learned to be a bit more diplomatic. Sometimes I am too straight but I hope people understand that I am very passionate about this work.
the eye of aki xxxxxxxx: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Valentine Guillod
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D
ucati’s Scrambler has been a major hit since its launch in 2015. The retro-styled V-twin’s “Land of Joy” marketing onslaught and hipster target audience might bore the leather riding pants off many long-time motorcyclists. But it’s hard to argue with the 50,000-plus sales that the Scrambler has notched up, while expanding its original four-bike family to nine, including Café Racer and Desert Sled variants. That success has given Ducati a problem: how to retain those customers who’ve bought the original 803cc or smaller 399cc Scrambler, and want to progress to a bigger or more powerful bike? And what about other riders who like the Scrambler style but regarded a capacity of 803cc as simply too puny? The answer was close at hand, in the shape of Ducati’s aircooled Monster 1100, which was abandoned in 2014 to make way for the liquid-cooled Monster 1200.
The old Monster’s 1079cc V-twin powerplant was dragged out, updated and used to power the Scrambler 1100. Three Scrambler 1100 models, in fact, starting with the basic bike with its yellow or black paint and cast wheels. The more expensive 1100 Special (tested) has grey paint, aluminium mudguards, wire-spoked wheewls and brown seat. The Scrambler 1100 Sport, black with yellow stripes, justifies its premium price with Öhlins suspension at both ends. All three Scramblers use an identical adaptation of Ducati’s sohc, two-valves-percylinder V-twin, detuned from its old Monster specification with new cams and other internals, and visually livened up by a black finish with machined sections. There’s a new, high-level exhaust, which in the case of the 1100 Special has a chromed finish.
ducati scrambler 1100
Electronics are comprehensively updated, with new ride-by-wire throttle control and choice of three riding modes (Active, Journey and City), the first two of which give the full maximum output of 85bhp at 7500rpm. An Inertial Measurement Unit allows sophisticated traction control, with four levels, plus Bosch cornering ABS. The frame combines a traditional Ducatistyle steel trellis with a new cast aluminium rear subframe. Suspension is fairly long-travel, with 150mm at each end. Braking is by Brembo, with four-pot radial Monoblocs up front. It’s a tried-and-trusted Ducati format, albeit in subtly softened form, and the big Scrambler works very well provided you’re not looking for too much traditional desmo V-twin excitement. The development team’s aim was to make the aircooled unit flexible and easy to use, and it’s exactly that. Throttle action is light yet direct, fuelling is sweet from low revs, and the softly tuned Scrambler is happy to accelerate from below 3000rpm, feeling better behaved than the old Monster. But that 85bhp maximum means it’s 15bhp less powerful. The sohc unit starts feeling breathless by 8000rpm, making the Scrambler feel dull by big Ducati standards. Even so, there’s enough performance for easy 75mph cruising and a top speed of around 130mph. The fairly wide, raised onepiece handlebar means this isn’t the bike for sustained high speeds, anyway. Best to throttle back, take things easy and enjoy the bark and occasional crackle from the pair of cylindrical silencers beneath the seat. Chassis performance is generally good, with the wide bar and fairly sporty geometry combining to make the Ducati respectably agile, despite its long wheelbase and 18in front wheel. Pirelli’s dual-purpose MT60 RS tyres grip the road better than their blocky tread pattern suggests.
ducati scrambler 1100
ducati scrambler 1100
“Best to throttle back, take things easy and enjoy the bark and occasional crackle from the pair of cylindrical silencers beneath the seat....�
Despite the exposed riding position I found the Scrambler reasonably comfortable, though the generous travel of the Marzocchi forks and Kayaba shock couldn’t prevent a slightly crude feel on bumpy roads. Short riders might conclude that there’s a bit of a stretch to the wide handlebar. At least the seat is respectably low, allowing most riders to get both feet flat on the ground. Practicality is reasonable, at least by naked bike standards. Fuel capacity is up on the smaller Scrambler’s, at 15 litres, giving typical riders a realistic range of over 120 miles. The compact digital instrument panel is informative and incorporates a fuel gauge. Stylishly short aluminium mudguards mean bike and rider soon get soaked on wet roads. At least the Special looks good enough to make the effort of polishing it up again worthwhile. Inevitably, the 1100 moves slightly away from the original Scrambler remit of providing Ducati with a down-to-earth, low-tech, entry-level V-twin. But although it’s larger, more powerful and more expensive than the 803cc models (the mid-ranking Special costs £11,495 in the UK), it’s arguably just as easy to ride, thanks partly to its superior electronics. Many riders looking for a naked Ducati would find more thrills aboard the liquid-cooled Monster 821, which is quicker, lighter and less expensive than the Special. But for hipsters, Land of Joy devotees and anyone else who fancies a relaxed V-twin roadster with generous size and plenty of punch, the Scrambler 1100 adds a new dimension to Ducati’s retro family.
ducati scrambler 1100
back page Monster girls at WorldSBK By GeeBee Images
on track off road
‘On-track Off-road’ is a free, bi-weekly publication for the screen focussed on bringing the latest perspectives on events, blogs and some of the very finest photography from the three worlds of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the AMA Motocross and Supercross series’ and MotoGP. ‘On-track Off-road’ will be published online at www.ontrackoffroad.com every other Tuesday. To receive an email notification that a new issue available with a brief description of each edition’s contents simply enter an address in the box provided on the homepage. All email addresses will be kept strictly confidential and only used for purposes connected with OTOR. Adam Wheeler Editor and MXGP/MotoGP correspondent Ray Archer Photographer Steve Matthes AMA MX and SX correspondent Cormac Ryan-Meenan MotoGP Photographer www.cormacgp.com David Emmett MotoGP Blogger Neil Morrison MotoGP Blogger & Feature writer Sienna Wedes MotoGP Blogger Graeme Brown WSB Blogger and Photographer Roland Brown Tester Núria Garcia Cover Design Gabi Álvarez Web developer Hosting FireThumb7 - www.firethumb7.co.uk Thanks to www.mototribu.com PHOTO CREDITS Ray Archer, CormacGP, GeeBee Images, Milagro, Monster Energy, KTM images/S. Romero Cover shot: Four times WorldSBK Champ by GeeBee Images
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