Bench Racing & The Morning Reads

**patiodadio** · 08-31-2011, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by Mika

Tell us more! How did you get involved? What was the race weekend like from your perspective? Did you meet any umbrella girls...err...racers?

Had a blast and got to meet many famous folks, Scott Russell, Earl Hayden etc.
I had worked the Miller WSBK race in 09 and some guys I met there told me to work a Moto GP as it was first class. They were right , the people running the show (USAC & Sandy Byrnes) did a great job. It was my first time in flagging and I really enjoyed it.
Your day starts very early, leaving the hotel (Jameson Inn) around 6am, morning meeting at the track approx. 6:30 with some snacks , juice etc. , in position by 7 am ( I was about 3/4 way down pit lane) hook up and test all your com equipment , land line head set, FM radio head set, sort out flags etc. They bring you a cooler with ice and water and they bring you lunch. You have a full day with a few min between action for restroom breaks etc. Ending around 5:30 or so each day , getting all your gear back to the morning start point by riding trams. Then a great evening meal with your co-works at a very nice patio area at the golf course club house beside the track. Great conversation with some of the coolest folks you would ever meet. Back to the hotel around 8 pm, shower watch a little TV, get some sleep and repeat the next day

Yes its a grind, yes its hot, but if you love moto racing, its the place to be ! They always need volunteers, if they have another Indy GP next year I will post all the info for workers here.

**mika** · 08-31-2011, 12:34 PM

Wednesday, 31 August

Members with Birthdays Today

If you are like me you just go to the last post in most threads. If you did that here this morning you missed a great post. Racing, on tarmac or dirt, is much more than the guys and gals on the bikes. It involves all sorts of enthusiasts having fun while making the event happen.

There are many local and regional racing organizations holding events that need support staff and are ready willing and able to train you to have a great time participating. Check with your local dealers for information.

Thanks for the reply patiodadio

SBK

superbike-news.co.uk: WSBK title rush under way with Nurburgring round

suzuki-racing.com: Fabrizio hungry for German WSB result

speedweek.de: N??burgring – Vermeulan not fit again

MotoGP

fim-live.com: MotoGP Stoner begins to pull away

motogp.com: MotoGP field to try and reel in Stoner at Misano

ultimatemotorcycling.com: Bridgestone previews Misano

motomatters.com: Interview with Stoner's crew chief Christian Gabbarrini on getting heat into the Bridgestones

speedtv.com: Spies – No point wondering wondering 'what if'

Formula 1

ferrari.com: [Spa] Analysis and reaction

formula1.com: Ferrari – Improved tyre usage essential for title push

formula1.com: Interview – Virgin's Timo Glock

Other Racing

hondaproracing.com: Interview with Laia Sanz

BMW Team RLL: Baltimore Grand Prix Preview
Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – August 30, 2011… This Labor Day Weekend, GT class leading BMW Team RLL travels to the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix for the second street race of the 2011 American Le Mans Series season. The long established race on the streets of Long Beach, California has been part of the series for years, but the newly constructed temporary 2.0-mile circuit winding through the streets of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor area will be brand new to teams, drivers and fans alike.

motorcyclistonline.com: Two new Honda NSF250Rs for 2012

On the Street

bsmotoring.com: Triumph's bike for Asia
Triumph has denied reports like this in the past. The Indian paper the Business Standard motoring section, with the unfortunate url – bsmotoring, normally has some decent sources. Stay tuned.

Less is More -

Uploaded by motousa on Aug 30, 2011
Our editor needed to scratch his touring itch with a near 1000-mile ride home from Southern California. He wanted a full touring bike, what he got was the Kawasaki Versys. See how things went in our Kawasaki Versys Coastal Run Video then head over to www.motorcycle-usa.com to read the full article.

roadracingworld.com: Zero Motorcycles announces Canadian dealers

webbikeworld.com: Knox Handroid Gloves - review

The Mothership

NHTSA Campaign no. 11V441000
BMW IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2009 X5 XDRIVE35D VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A DIESEL ENGINE AND MANUFACTURED FROM OCTOBER 1, 2008, THROUGH JUNE 12, 2009. THE FUEL FILTER HEATER, WHICH IS USED FOR WA...

rac.co.uk: Morgan planning electric supercars

Reference::

FIM: Official Documents
Link to the current year official documents for all classes and search tool for other years.

FIA Regulations – Formula 1 World Championship

WEATHER
US:
http://www.weather.gov/ | NOAA's National Weather Service
Select to go to the NWS homepage. National Weather Service - or - Follow the National Weather Service on FaceBook

http://www.weather.com | Bloomsburg, PA

CA:
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/canada_e.html

ROAD CONDITIONS
US:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/trafficinfo/ : National Traffic and Road Closure Information
511 - America's Traveler Information Telephone Number; Construction Related; Local and State Transit Links; Traffic Conditions; Regional Links; Weather/Road ...

CA:
http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/drivebc_supp/canada_map.htm :
Canada Road Condition Information: Links to provincial highway condition websites across Canada..

Shameless Trolling For Touring Tips

NHTSA.dot.gov Vehicle Recalls RSS

SportRider.com: Motorcycle Riding Skills Series – Street bike and motorcycle riding skills techniques articles at Sport Rider

BMW-Motorrad.com: Service
Electronic Parts Catalogue
Download Manuals
Breakdown Dictionary
Tyre Options
Tips
Before every journey…
Before a log trip…
Before winter…
How to clean your motorcycle

ascycles.com: BMW Motorcycle Service and Maintenance Schedules

Gasbuddy.com: Search for local gas prices along your trip route.

pure-gas.org: Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. And Canada

Cycle-ergo.com motorcycle ergonomic simulator.

Woot of the Day

MSF Motorcycle Operators Manual

Bike Candy

If you missed this you must have been asleep on your cycle-lift. Some things are worth repeating.

CONGRTULATIONS!

--------------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
--------------------------------------

Ouray, Colorado
Red Mountain Overlook on the Million Dollar Highway
August 30, 2011

Voni Glaves and Ardys Kellerman became the first two women in North America to document riding one million miles on BMW motorcycles. As they approached these accomplishments they arranged to meet in Ouray, Colorado to ride their one-millionth miles together on U.S. Highway 550, the “Million Dollar Highway. They reached this milestone at Red Mountain Overlook between Ouray and Silverton, Colorado the morning of August 30, 2011. Dealership documentation of their achievements has been sent to BMW Motorrad U.S.A. and to the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America, each of which provides mileage awards at 100,000 mile intervals.

Glaves, 64, is a retired teacher who resides in the Texas Big Bend just north of Big Bend National Park. Kellerman, 79, is a retired electronics technician who resides in Lexington, Texas. Both have been riding BMW motorcycles for many years. Kellerman bought her first BMW in 1985. Glaves first BMW was her Mother’s Day present in 1977. Glaves accumulated the million miles on 15 different BMWs over the years since then. Her highest mileage on a single motorcycle was 357,658 miles on a 1993 R1100RS, which she still owns. Kellerman has owned 16 BMWs including a 1999 R1100RT with 170,000 miles.

Both Kellerman and Glaves are experienced long distance endurance riders. Glaves finished the 11-day Iron Butt Rally in 2003. Kellerman completed the biennial 11-day Iron Butt Rally four times.

For additional information contact Paul Glaves at: paul.glaves@bigbend.net

Found on OttoNero Cafe Racer site – HP2 Caf?® Racer Concepts

**mika** · 09-01-2011, 03:52 AM

Members with Birthdays Today

SBK

Ducati.com: Championship leader Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) ready for action in Germany this weekend

worldsbk.com: Biaggi not giving up yet in title chase

BMW Motorradd Italia Superbike Team – Nurburgring - Preview

James Toseland will compete in his 200th Superbike World Championship race at the German Nurburgring track this weekend – the tenth round in the series. Ayrton Badovini aims to consolidate his position in the World Championship rankings. In Superstock Lorenzo Zanetti and Sylvain Barrier are looking to be in the top slots.

The BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike Team has used the month break between the race at Silverstone and the Nurburgring on Sunday September 4th *to add upgrades to the bike on which James Toseland and Ayrton Badovini will face the remaining rounds of the 2011 season.

James - back in action at Silverstone, where he competed in both races – will celebrate his 200th World Superbike race in Germany at the weekend. James fell in race one at the Nurburgring last year and finished eighth in the race two.
Ayrton Badovini – currently eighth in the world championship - will be defending his position in the standings from the close competition with several racers looking to take his place. The Biella rider has shown his ability to compete with the top contenders in recent races. Last year Ayrton won the Superstock FIM Cup race at the Nurburgring, while he has raced there on Superbikes once, in 2008.
In the Superstock team, Lorenzo Zanetti lies second place in the FIM Cup, eleven points behind the leader Davide Giugliano, and Sylvain Barrier is fourth, 50 points behind the leader (with 100 available). The two riders have won a race each so far (Lorenzo at Monza and Sylvain at Brno), while Lorenzo has made five podium appearances and Sylvain two.

Serafino Foti, sporting director of BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike team, said shortly before leaving for the Nurburgring: "During the summer break we continued the development program in anticipation of testing at Misano on 13 and 14 September, but we wanted to try something for the Nurburgring before that. After a month off, both riders have had a well deserved rest and are anxious to get back in the saddle. James should finally be at 100% and we hope to show his contribution in the coming races. Ayrton wants to continue his points scoring streak, trying to improve further. In Superstock, in light of the result at Silverstone, which reopened the championship, the team head to the Nurburgring with much enthusiasm. We have worked on the bike set-up and will verify the work done."*

MotoGP

gpone.com: Bridgestone faces Misano exam

ducati.com: Ducati Team prepares for second home race

Formula 1

FIA.com: World Motor Sport Council rules on F1 schedule for 2012 and other items.

bbc.co.uk: Turkey dropped from 2012 schedule

speedweek.de: Lopez – Heidfeld's reaction emotional

Other Racing

returnofthecaferacers.com: Team Obsolete 1954 AJS Porcupine

visordown.com: Checa challenges Rossi to race WSB

On the Street

bsmotoring.com: Ducati Multistrada vs BMW R 1200 GS End-Ero Trip

thekneeslider.com: Polaris – Indian number 1 rolls out for test and quality checks

Cage World

indiancarsbikes.in: Mini Paceman given the go-ahead for production

Reference::

FIM: Official Documents
Link to the current year official documents for all classes and search tool for other years.

FIA Regulations – Formula 1 World Championship

WEATHER
US:
http://www.weather.gov/ | NOAA's National Weather Service
Select to go to the NWS homepage. National Weather Service - or - Follow the National Weather Service on FaceBook

http://www.weather.com | Bloomsburg, PA

CA:
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/canada_e.html

ROAD CONDITIONS
US:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/trafficinfo/ : National Traffic and Road Closure Information
511 - America's Traveler Information Telephone Number; Construction Related; Local and State Transit Links; Traffic Conditions; Regional Links; Weather/Road ...

CA:
http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/drivebc_supp/canada_map.htm :
Canada Road Condition Information: Links to provincial highway condition websites across Canada..

Shameless Trolling For Touring Tips

NHTSA.dot.gov Vehicle Recalls RSS

SportRider.com: Motorcycle Riding Skills Series – Street bike and motorcycle riding skills techniques articles at Sport Rider

BMW-Motorrad.com: Service
Electronic Parts Catalogue
Download Manuals
Breakdown Dictionary
Tyre Options
Tips
Before every journey…
Before a log trip…
Before winter…
How to clean your motorcycle

ascycles.com: BMW Motorcycle Service and Maintenance Schedules

Gasbuddy.com: Search for local gas prices along your trip route.

pure-gas.org: Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. And Canada

Cycle-ergo.com motorcycle ergonomic simulator.

Woot of the Day

MSF Motorcycle Operators Manual

QOD~ In what position should the elbows be for proper riding posture? http://t.co/61Mo9lc

TIP~ Ride sport bikes? Forget tucking in and hanging off to drag your knee UNLESS you're on a racetrack

Bike Candy

**mika** · 09-02-2011, 04:56 AM

Life has me on an odd schedule for the next weeks. What happens to me happens to BR&TMR. Hope you enjoy.

Members with Birthdays Today

SBK

gpone.com: BMW looking for another top rider

FWIW: RSS a.k.a. Rider Silly Season is always fun. GPone's analysis takes us through the current BMW silly season name dropping. Fun yes but the real important search will be behind the scenes and for the tech developer not the new Enigma Trooper.

BMW has been working hard on getting more into and out of the racing S1000RR. They will have picked up a few new horses in the process but the real goal has been to reshape and strengthen the torque curve. In WSBK trim the S1000RR has been a slippery handful for the riders. More torque adds to the challenge. Much of that challenge falls to the handlers dealing with the various engine and traction controls. Handlers along with hardware have been moved between the German and Italian cavalry. Over this and previous seasons the handlers have overcome several issues. Wheelie control has allowed the riders to aggressively launch themselves into the race for turn one on Sunday. Traction and other engine controls have been less successful. Handlers efforts have no doubt looked good on paper and on the dyno but have in several cases resulted in steeds that riders have described as unpredictable on the track. Who these electronic control handlers are and which troop they are placed with will be as important to the 2012 cavalry's success as who takes the second ride.

Geeks, engineers, designers and mechanics put together the steeds for the riders. To date they have developed a formidable machine that shows great in other racing venues. In WSBK the riders have at best have found it a handful. At worst it is a been one that a rider like Troy Corser has expressed little or no confidence in at various race venues.

[insert normal coffee buck and change disclaimer]

worldsbk.com: Checa prepares for next challenge

thecheckerdflag.co.uk: Fit again Sykes ready for the Nurburgring

MotoGP

bbc.co.uk: MotoGP vetran Looris Capirossi announces his retirement

autosport.com: Why Indy must stay on the MotoGP calendar

motogp.com: Racing numbers for the Gran Premio Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini

hondaproracing.com: Stoner and Pedrosa look forward to Misano

fm-live.com: Yamaha back across the Atlantic to Misano

suzuki-racing.com: Bautista ready for Misano

motomattrers.com: Bridgestone press release – Hirohide Hamashima talks about graining at Indy

Formula 1

speedtv.com: Jean Todt to propose Friday practice for testers only
FWIW: Other sources have called this a 'radical proposal' in their headlines. It really is not. Variations of this proposal have been around since F1 began its fiscal crackdown on testing. FOTA appears to be behind the idea but has mad not formal statement. For a variety of reasons it makes sense. Tyres may have been the last issue to work out in making this a reality.

Each team has a compliment of tyres for the race weekend. If a driver/team uses up tyres on Friday it on them and their efforts for Sunday. If limited to the same batch of tyres a test driver could put a serious dent into the numbers and impact the team on Sunday. How this is addressed in the details will be worth checking out.

A truly 'radical testing' proposal will be one that gives teams outside the top ten some sort of additional testing. A revolutionary proposal would look at how the use of the blue flag could be changed and force designers to build cars that can do more than turn really fast laps in clean air.

formula1.com: Progress 'beyond expectations' in India
But not in my wallet. The FIM sent me information on accommodations and press credentials for the race, but I won't be going.

[insert normal coffee buck and change disclaimer]

Other Racing

Team BMW Motorrad France drivers ressourc?®s for the front last test FSBK!
[French to English translation by Bing]

01.09.2011

This weekend will take place the sixth and last test of the France Superbike Championship on the circuit of Ledenon near N?«mes, where had already occurred the fourth event of the championship this year. Deprived of victory in the first round last June, S?®bastien had won the second race before Erwan. Two representatives of the BMW mark are well changer this weekend because their objective is clear: be always first.

For Sebastian, who leave in family during the summer recess while affutant his physical condition, it is clear that manage the racing championship is not part of its strategy for the last two tests. His motivation is still present today and is not "ensure" and put in a false pace which could make him make mistakes. Its strategy is to always attack and counter his greatest opponent remaining teammate Erwan, and win the point of the Superpole at each event will make a decisive difference for the title.

Erwan is also in great shape after a well-deserved vacation. The young auvergnat feels calm and reasoned for this forward last test and well catch up this weekend a few points of delay which split the S?®bastien Championship and will seek to widen the gap with his Prosecutor Julien Da Costa who will be a formidable opponent on this route.

S?®bastien accompanied by their teammates in Endurance, Damian Cudlin and Hugo Marchand, and Erwan were testing on the circuit of le Mans yesterday and today for the next 24 hours motorcycle of le Mans to be held the last weekend of September. This test is important for the team as he is currently the head of the interim classification of the Endurance World Championship.

motorcyclenews.com: Blade hits 200mph in new record by a woman

Wade Boyd flat-tracking the Yamaha R1 at the Sacramento Mile, 2011

On the Street

sportrider.com: The forgotten electronic rider aid

powersportsbusiness.com: Yamaha to stop developing some bikes in Japan

visordown.com: 2012 Triumph Daytona 675 revealed

The Mothership

BMW and Husqvarna at the IAA 2011

BMW Group U.S.A. reports August 2011 sales

BMW Group Canada achieves best ever August

[url=http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/results.cfm?rcl_id=11V438000&searchtype=quicksearch&summary=true&refurl=rss]NHTSA Campaign ID no. 11V438000
Dated: AUG 25, 2011 BMW IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2002-2005 325I, 325XI, 330I, AND 330XI VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM SEPTEMBER 1, 2001, THROUGH MARCH 1, 2005. OVER TIME, RESISTANCE IN THE ELECTRICAL CONTACTS MAY CA...

Change in management : BMW Technology Office USA.

BMW develops a laser light for the car. Following the introduction of the full LED headlight, laser light is the next logical step in the development of vehicle headlight technology. BMW is planning this step, thus further expanding its lead in innovative light technology.

US Pat. 13009231 - Filed Jan 19, 2011 - Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft

This popped up in another search The patent was issued in October 2010. -
A closed two-wheel motorcycle including a closed cab with a door arranged around the motorcycle structure and having retractable floors for the driver's feet, separated from each the other, which can be depressed toward the ground and are resettable by spring members is presented.

FWIW

Cage World

paultan.org: Rolling in electric – We drive the battery powered Rolls-Royce

Reference::

FIM: Official Documents
Link to the current year official documents for all classes and search tool for other years.

FIA Regulations – Formula 1 World Championship

WEATHER
US:
http://www.weather.gov/ | NOAA's National Weather Service
Select to go to the NWS homepage. National Weather Service - or - Follow the National Weather Service on FaceBook

http://www.weather.com | Bloomsburg, PA

CA:
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/canada_e.html

ROAD CONDITIONS
US:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/trafficinfo/ : National Traffic and Road Closure Information
511 - America's Traveler Information Telephone Number; Construction Related; Local and State Transit Links; Traffic Conditions; Regional Links; Weather/Road ...

CA:
http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/drivebc_supp/canada_map.htm :
Canada Road Condition Information: Links to provincial highway condition websites across Canada..

Shameless Trolling For Touring Tips

NHTSA.dot.gov Vehicle Recalls RSS

SportRider.com: Motorcycle Riding Skills Series – Street bike and motorcycle riding skills techniques articles at Sport Rider

BMW-Motorrad.com: Service
Electronic Parts Catalogue
Download Manuals
Breakdown Dictionary
Tyre Options
Tips
Before every journey…
Before a log trip…
Before winter…
How to clean your motorcycle

ascycles.com: BMW Motorcycle Service and Maintenance Schedules

Gasbuddy.com: Search for local gas prices along your trip route.

pure-gas.org: Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. And Canada

Cycle-ergo.com motorcycle ergonomic simulator.

Woot of the Day

MSF Motorcycle Operators Manual

TIP: When riding at night, wear only clear eye protection (not tinted), and keep it clean and free of scratches. http://dld.bz/dsGR

QOD: What should you do when entering a turn? http://t.co/OD7dmzi

Bike Candy

A combination of things caught my attention today. I may need an eye exam.

I like Tritons

Gravity never looked so much fun

Finally, no comment

**mika** · 09-02-2011, 02:56 PM

Friday, 2 September : UPDATE - N??burgring WSBK

SBK

Friday Free Practice

worldsbk.com: Carlos Checa moves to the front

Free practice numbers were a jumble for the Enigma Riders.

James Toseland and Leon Haslam topped the field for session top speeds at 272.7 for both. Take a look at the Ideal Time chart and Haslam moves from 9th to 5th while Toseland does not change. Ayrton Badovini's numbers are all over the place. While this is not unusual for a race weekend first session they look more like early season form than the form that had him moving up the charts before break. What you see in Friday FP is often what you get from Troy Corser on Sunday; things don't look stellar.

Other teams were looking at similar data at the end of the first session and scratching their heads. Max Biaggi was 11th on the session chart, sixth fastest with a 270.0, and 12th on the Ideal Lap chart. Biaggi is often a slow race weekend starter and we can expect him to muscle his way up the charts.

On the other hand Carlos Checa was toping the session chart but not much else in the statistical world. His top speed of 265.4 was 17th fastest of the field. He topped only one sector time. What Checa and his Ducati have is balance. They have found a balance that does not have them leading the field in much of anything but race wins.

Nurburgring - SUPERBIKE - Free*Practice

1. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'57.296
2. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'57.374
3. Jakub Smrz (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'57.700
4. Michel Fabrizio (Team Suzuki Alstare) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'57.927
5. Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'58.194
6. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'58.306
7. Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1'58.319
8. Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1'58.332
9. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'58.368
10. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'58.419
11. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'58.452
12. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1'58.529
13. James Toseland (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team) BMW S1000 RR 1'58.530
14. Noriyuki Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'58.844
15. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team) BMW S1000 RR 1'58.854
16. Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'58.965
17. Maxime Berger (Supersonic Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 1'59.269
18. Roberto Rolfo (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'59.722
19. Makoto Tamada (Castrol Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.355
20. Mark Aitchison (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 2'01.741

Friday 1st Qualifying Session – 1 hour

At the half way point Checa remained at the top of the charts but challenger Biaggi had in fact muscled his way up to P2 followed by Laverty, and Haslam. Rea would shortly supplant Haslam for P4 but a big improvement for BMW and Haslams hopes for the weekend. Toseland had dropped to P13. Corser was on the Superpole bubble in P16 with his closest challenger being Badovini in P17. Keep in mind this was roughly at the session half way mark.

At the front of the field the duel continued between Checa and Biaggi until the 4'06 remaining mark. The board went red as Biaggi set a new fastest lap besting Checa by 0.149 seconds. Checa would not be able to improve on his best lap and 'settled' for a session P2. What I find interesting is how they got there. Biaggi muscled his way with more speed topping out at 275.5 at one point. Checa too added speed increasing to 268.0. The various charts aren't available yet. Watching the live timing numbers I continued to get the sense of balance from Checa. His interval times would nudge forward together as his times improved. He was not over-riding any one section. Meanwhile the Enigma riders remained just that.

Haslam was P4 at the midway point and finished in P10. I am not certain we can take to much from this in qualifying terms. The team has a way of deciding they will safely cross over to Superpole and will stop competing for best time and work on setup and other issues for latter in the weekend. Toseland finished in P15 and Corser P16 provisionally would advance to Superpole if they are not bumped in Saturday Q2. Badovini in P18 is one of the riders looking to do some bumping.

Nurburgring - SUPERBIKE - Qualifying*1

1. Max Biaggi (Aprilia*Alitalia*Racing*Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'55.524
2. Carlos Checa (Althea*Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'55.673
3. Marco Melandri (Yamaha*World*Superbike*Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1'55.819
4. Michel Fabrizio (Team*Suzuki*Alstare) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'56.085
5. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha*World*Superbike*Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1'56.197
6. Sylvain Guintoli (Team*Effenbert-Liberty*Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'56.319
7. Jonathan Rea (Castrol*Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1'56.325
8. Maxime Berger (Supersonic*Racing*Team) Ducati 1098R 1'56.338
9. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki*Racing*Team*Superbike) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'56.353
10. Leon Haslam (BMW*Motorrad*Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'56.354
11. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki*Racing*Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'56.444
12. Jakub Smrz (Team*Effenbert-Liberty*Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'56.470
13. Noriyuki Haga (PATA*Racing*Team*Aprilia) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'56.517
14. Leon Camier (Aprilia*Alitalia*Racing*Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'56.571
15. James Toseland (BMW*Motorrad*Italia*SBK*Team) BMW S1000 RR 1'56.637
16. Troy Corser (BMW*Motorrad*Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'56.782
17. Mark Aitchison (Team*Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'56.820
18. Ayrton Badovini (BMW*Motorrad*Italia*SBK*Team) BMW S1000 RR 1'56.901
19. Roberto Rolfo (Team*Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'57.560
20. Makoto Tamada (Castrol*Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1'58.016

**mika** · 09-03-2011, 06:36 AM

Long post today.

Members with Birthdays Today

SBK

fim-live.com: Biaggi rules the Ring

teamtech3.com: Edwards and Crutchlow seek improved pace in Misano

suzuki-racing.com: Fabrizio in Nurburgring WSB top-4

BMW Motorad Motorsport: N??rburgring ÔÇô Free Practice & Qualifying Practice 1.
Friday, 02 September 2011.

Weather conditions: Sunny with some clouds in the afternoon.
Temperature: Air: 22 ÔÇô 25 ??C, Track: 25 ÔÇô 37 ??C
Number of riders participating: 20 from 13 teams
Fastest lap Free Practice: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:57.296 min
Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) 1:55.524 min
*
*
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport has started its home round at N??rburgring (GER). The iconic track hosts the tenth round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship. Factory rider, Leon Haslam (GBR), finished the first Qualifying Practice in tenth position. His team mate, Troy Corser (AUS), lost track time in both of todayÔÇÖs sessions due to some technical issues and qualified provisionally 16th. James Toseland (GBR) and Ayrton Badovini (ITA) of the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team finished in 15th and 18th respectively.
*
Leon Haslam:
Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:58.368 min (P9)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 1:56.345 min (P10)

ÔÇ£It was a good day. I am not worried about the position. We were riding at the front for the whole session, and were in P1 and P2. We were really working on a base set up and I did not use the soft tyre, like a few of the other guys did. We have learned a lot of useful things for tomorrow. For sure we have some improvements to do, but 0.2 secs would have put me in the top five, so it is pretty close out there and I am looking forward to tomorrow.ÔÇØ
*
Troy Corser:
Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:58.965 min (P16)/Fastest lap Qualifying Practice 1: 1:56.782 min (P16)

ÔÇ£We had quite a few small technical issues in the practice and qualifying sessions and lost useful track time. In the morning we had a gearbox issue that made me swap to the other bike, which I was not going to ride that much. Because of this we lost the whole session. Then right at the end of the first Qualifying Practice we were able to work out quite a good set-up and I went quite a bit quicker. Anyway the gap to first place is not that big, and I am pretty confident that we can make a good step tomorrow.ÔÇØ
*
Rainer B?ñumel (Head of Race Operations):
ÔÇ£With Troy we had some smaller technical issues and, due to this, we could not work through our programme as planned. We were missing two or three outings with him. Leon was with the front guys from the beginning on. Only in the end he could not improve his time. We will now analyse the data to improve for tomorrow. Overall we are very confident that we will have two strong races on Sunday.ÔÇØ

BMW Motorrad Itallia Superbike Team

02.09.2011
On the first day of practice for the Nurburgring weekend,* James Toseland*and* Ayrton Badovini, *were 15th and 18th *respectively, after working to find the right balance for their bikes. The Superstock team are provisionally on the front row with Sylvain Barrier third and Lorenzo Zanetti fourth.

The two riders from the* BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike Team , James Toseland and Ayrton Badovini, found this afternoonÔÇÖs qualifying difficult, and after the session their lap times were near the bottom of the time sheets.   Both riders had been slow in the morning practice. The bike had a balance problem that affected it especially in the first sector. The engineers are discussing this with the riders, and are working on solutions that will hopefully see improvements for tomorrow's sessions.

In* Superstock,* Sylvain Barrier *and* Lorenzo Zanetti*are close to the Ducati that set the fastest time in first qualifying. In the afternoon both riders improved significantly compared to the morning session, which was on a wet track. Sylvain was only four tenths slower than Giugliano, who is on provisional pole, while Lorenzo is about eight tenths slower.

Serafino Foti,*Sporting Director of the BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike Team said at the end of qualifying: "It was a difficult day today, because we have not yet got the right balance for the bike. Both James and Ayrton complained about the same problem, and this has allowed us to understand what it is.* In fact we believe we have identified the area the technicians ned to work on and we are trying to make the necessary major changes. Tomorrow we will see if we have made an improvement. In Superstock we went quite well, with Sylvian's third place and Lorenzo in fourth. We will try to do better tomorrow. "

The times from first qualifying:
Superbike: 1, M. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1'55"524 ÔÇô 2?? C. Checa (Ducati) + 0.149 3?? M. Melandri (Yamaha) + 0.295 ... 15?? J. Toseland (BMW) + 1"113 ... 18??* A . Badovini (BMW)*+ 1"377.
Superstock: 1, D. Giugliano (Ducati) 1'59 "998 ÔÇô 2?? D. Petrucci (Ducati) + 0031 - 3??* S. Barrier (BMW)*+ 0491 - 4?? *L. Zanetti (BMW)*+ 0803 - 5?? M. Reiterberger (BMW ) + 0983.

TroyCorser.com
Today was a day of problems and we spent a lot of time trying to sort them all out.The track was a bit wet at the start of this mornings free practice, but the rain had stopped, so I just went out for a couple of laps to see what the conditions were like. It wasnÔÇÖt long before the track was dry enough for slicks and then we were able to make a proper start. I began with a bike set up like last yearÔÇÖs Nurburgring bike because it had worked pretty well last year, so we thought it would be a good start. However, after about six laps there was a problem with the engine, so I had to swap to the other bike. This one had the set-up from the last round (Silverstone) and was quite a bit different. In the afternoon, I switched back to the first bike (which now had a different engine) but immediately had problems getting the thing to stop. When the team changed the engine, it seems that that the throttle needed re-calibration as well, so I changed to the other bike again. I had problems backshifting on this bike, so went back to the other one again and by the time all this was done there was not much time to put down a lot of good laps. I put in a tyre to go for a quick lap, but there was only time for two laps and that wasnÔÇÖt enough. But only a second separates me from third place today, so once again things are pretty tight. I know that tomorrow will be better and fell pretty confident that I can be much, much faster as long as there are no major problems. The track was actually OK today, though it was pretty dirty if you went off-line, but I am hoping that it doesnÔÇÖt rain on raceday especially as the track is pretty slippery in the wet and there could be many crashes. See ya, Troy

MotoGP

gresiniracing.com: Positive first day for Team San Carlo Honda Gresini

teamaspar.net: Misano day on ÔÇô Excellent 8th for Hector Barbera

rizla-suzuki-motogp.co.uk: Strong start for Bautista at Misano

ducacti.com: Ducati Team searches for setup at Misano

motogp.com: Fastest Ducatti on the Misano circuit belongs to Barbera

bbc.co.uk: Colin Edwards cofirms he will leave Tech 3 at end of the season

MotoGP Video : Indy rewind

Formula 1

formula1.com: Renault and Heidfeld agree to separation

lotusrenaulgp.com: Lotus Renault GP and Nick Heidfeld announce separation

thechicaneblog.com: C'est ci n'est pas une pipe

Other Racing

Is this becoming the All Star Wrestling version of Motorcycle Racing Promotion?
bikesportnews.comt: MotoGP Misano ÔÇô Rossi says 'why not' to WSB race with Checa

Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) has set a new lap record for an electric vehicle (EV) at the legendary 20.8km N??rburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany. The TMG EV P001, with 100% electric powertrain and Jochen Krumbach at the wheel, set a new lap record of 7mins 47.794secs to beat the previous lap record, which stood at 9mins 1.338secs, by a very substantial margin. Using two electric motors, the TMG electric powertrain has a top speed of 260km/h which combined with 800Nm of torque to achieve impressive speeds on the extremely challenging Nordschleife track, which includes significant elevation changes and lengthy flat-out sections.

A lap of curvy Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in a rare USRRC Cobra with Jim Farle - Ford's Group Vice President, Global Marketing, Sales and Service.

This is a 2-minute teaser highlight reel summarizing the incredible 2011 Bonneville BUB Speed Trials sanctioned by the FIM and the AMA, where Chip Yates, Robert Ussery, and the SWIGZ.COM Pro Racing Team collected a history-making 4 FIM Official World Land Speed Records on one bike! FIM World Records are internationally recognized as the pinacle of record-setting and allow record-holders to say "World's Fastest", they are also the most difficult to achieve, with strict rules on everything from the bike to the allowable winds, and require a flying mile average speed in one direction to be immediately followed by a flying mile average speed in the opposite direction within 2-hours on the same day, those two average speeds are then averaged to arrive at the Official World Record. Top speed achieved was "only" 200.7mph due to battery problems, but the team left the salt flats extremely happy and Chip Yates announced his retirement of the electric superbike and also of himself from professional motorcycle racing, leaving on a very high note!

**mika** · 09-03-2011, 06:38 AM

On the Street

From a reader tip -
motorcycletraveldvd.com: How to save a motorcyclists life with tennis balls.

visordown.com: Will 2013 see a motorcycle revival?

Parilla 175 Corsa

The Mothership

BMW0 GT/ GTL Luxury/Sport-Tourers Earn Multiple ÔÇ£Best Of 2011ÔÇØ Awards from Motorcycle.com
02.09.2011
Woodcliff Lake, NJ ÔÇô September 1, 2011ÔÇª The new BMW K 1600 GT and K 1600 GTL has just been awarded multiple honors from Motorcycle.com.
*
In its ÔÇ£Best of 2011 Awards,ÔÇØ Motorcycle.com named the BMW K 1600 GT/GTL ÔÇ£Motorcycle of the Year,ÔÇØ stating ÔÇ£BMWÔÇÖs new K 1600 platform is nothing less than impressive, whether discussing its marvelous inline-six motor, its lengthy list of technologically advanced features, or its beguiling sporting performance for a comfy touring mount of its size.* And, amazingly, the K 16ÔÇÖs underpinnings give it the ability to compete simultaneously with luxury-touring bikes and serious sport tourers.ÔÇØ

FWIW

Reference::

FIM: Official Documents
Link to the current year official documents for all classes and search tool for other years.

FIA Regulations ÔÇô Formula 1 World Championship

WEATHER
US:
http://www.weather.gov/ | NOAA's National Weather Service
Select to go to the NWS homepage. National Weather Service - or - Follow the National Weather Service on FaceBook

http://www.weather.com | Bloomsburg, PA

CA:
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/canada_e.html

ROAD CONDITIONS
US:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/trafficinfo/ : National Traffic and Road Closure Information
511 - America's Traveler Information Telephone Number; Construction Related; Local and State Transit Links; Traffic Conditions; Regional Links; Weather/Road ...

CA:
http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/drivebc_supp/canada_map.htm :
Canada Road Condition Information: Links to provincial highway condition websites across Canada..

Shameless Trolling For Touring Tips

NHTSA.dot.gov Vehicle Recalls RSS

SportRider.com: Motorcycle Riding Skills Series ÔÇô Street bike and motorcycle riding skills techniques articles at Sport Rider

BMW-Motorrad.com: Service
Electronic Parts Catalogue
Download Manuals
Breakdown Dictionary
Tyre Options
Tips
Before every journeyÔÇª
Before a log tripÔÇª
Before winterÔÇª
How to clean your motorcycle

ascycles.com: BMW Motorcycle Service and Maintenance Schedules

Gasbuddy.com: Search for local gas prices along your trip route.

pure-gas.org: Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. And Canada

Cycle-ergo.com motorcycle ergonomic simulator.

Woot of the Day

MSF Motorcycle Operators Manual

TIP~ The friction zone is your friend, the area of clutch-lever travel where the clutch starts to transmit power to the rear whee

QOD~ Why should you become familiar with your motorcycle and check all motorcycle equipment? http://t.co/x5rKAzu

Bike Candy

Husqvarna Nuda 900 & Nuda 900R

02.09.2011
*
*
Husqvarna Motorcycles is proud to unveil the first of a new generation of motorcycles: Nuda 900 and Nuda 900R. These exhilarating new models are the first to combine the history and race pedigree of Husqvarna with the technological innovations and engineering prowess of the BMW Group, and the flair of Italian styling. The results speak for themselves ÔÇô the Nuda 900 and Nuda 900R ÔÇô two motorcycles built with soul and passion that is backed up by high performance developed through years of competition experience. The first page in the story of the new Husqvarnas has been turnedÔÇª
*
Nuda 900 and Nuda 900R ÔÇô a taste of things to come
*
Developed as a crossover model between a supermoto and a naked bike, Husqvarna doesnÔÇÖt feel the Nuda can be shoehorned into any specific category. It delivers a sporty, dynamic ride where agility is balanced perfectly with performance in a bike with a bold and fresh look. Is it a supermoto? Is it a naked bike? The Nuda is whatever you want it to be, but above all itÔÇÖs a Husqvarna.
*
Styling
*
With the factory situated to the north-west of Milan, HusqvarnaÔÇÖs team of designers draw inspiration from the passion and flair that encapsulates this area of Italy. Inside the ÔÇÿCentro StileÔÇÖ a specially selected group of talented young designers work tirelessly to create the look that is unique to every Husqvarna, whether it be an on or off-road model.

Despite being minimalist in its design, every panel on the Nuda helps define its athletic body, giving it a sense of dynamic tension that flows the length of the bike and finishes on the tapered tail that mimics the aerodynamics of a sports bike. The exposed trellis frame, high level exhaust and red rocker cover hint at the performance that lies behind the curvy body, while the bikeÔÇÖs unique headlight ÔÇô its face on the road ÔÇô glowers intent. Sporty yet elegant, sleek yet purposeful, the Nuda is bold Italian styling at its very finest.

The Nuda 900R proudly displays the companyÔÇÖs distinctive red and white competition colours, made famous through race success, while the Nuda 900 has a more subtle black paint scheme.
*
Engine
*
Husqvarna understands that the heart and soul of a motorcycle comes from its engine and so choosing the right motor formed a crucial part of the Nuda project. A joint decision was made with BMWÔÇÖs engine development team in Munich to use the highly reliable and technologically advanced F 800 R motor as a basis for both the Nuda 900 and Nuda 900R ÔÇô however it would then be adapted to meet HusqvarnaÔÇÖs specific needs and demands.

Designed to reflect HusqvarnaÔÇÖs sporting pedigree, this new configuration not only delivers a more aggressive racing feel and sound at maximum performance, it also vastly improves the power and torque characteristics of the engine, not to forget the higher capacity of 900cc *Husqvarna has increased the power and torque (>100hp and 100Nm) *while managing to retain the linear, fluid nature of the power delivery at small throttle openings and low revs.

Finally, to add the Husqvarna stamp to the engine, the rocker box cover is painted red ÔÇô a feature common to all Husqvarna motorcycles.
*
Chassis
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With its vast racing experience, Husqvarna knows which components to turn to for the ultimate performance and how to extract the maximum from a chassis. To further increase prestige of the Nuda 900R, Husqvarna has equipped its chassis with the very highest specification of components. The 48mm Sachs forks are fully adjustable and the ?ûhlins shock comes with compression, rebound and spring preload adjustment as well as a ride height adjustor. The Nuda 900RÔÇÖs suspension is designed to raise the bikeÔÇÖs centre of gravity compared to the Nuda 900, increasing ground clearance and improving the handling to deliver a thrilling and responsive ride.

To create a motorcycle more suited to urban life or touring, the Nuda 900 comes with 48mm Sachs forks and a fully adjustable Sachs monoshock. The suspension is set-up to deliver a smoother ride and make the bike more relaxed and user-friendly while the seat has a double level to provide greater comfort also for the pillion

Husqvarna has made the ergonomics and handling a priority on both models of Nuda and as a result the bikeÔÇÖs fuel tank is located under the seat to allow the weight distribution to be as close to the centre of gravity as possible. This work has created a bike that is both stable at high speed and agile at low speed that delivers a safe and comforting ride whatever the conditions.

This, along with the relaxed and natural riding position, is certain to be appreciated and exploited in full by both beginner and expert riders alike.
While both models have radial brake calipers, in order to further enhance its sporty appeal, the Nuda 900R comes with Brembo monobloc racing brakes with 320mm discs. Constructed out of a single piece of aluminium for maximum feel and power with minimal flex, these twin four-piston radial calipers give the Nuda 900R superior braking power on both the road and track. The Nuda 900 also features Brembo four-piston radial calipers and 320mm discs with sintered pads, delivering powerful, accurate and smooth braking feel whatever the conditions. Both models use the same 240mm disc and Brembo two piston caliper rear brake.
Weight is crucial in making a motorcycle agile and Husqvarna has managed to keep the mass of the Nuda 900 to less than 175kg (dry weight), thanks to clever engineering solutions and compact design.. Both models of Nuda come with a stainless steel exhaust muffler, however the 900R has a carbon fibre clamp, end cap and heat shield.
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Accessories
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Should owners of the Nuda 900 or Nuda 900R wish to take full advantage of the motorcycleÔÇÖs all-round ability, or simply want to personalize their machine, Husqvarna has developed a full range of accessories. For example those wishing to take their Nuda touring, either solo or with a pillion, either for a relaxed day loop in your home turf or multiple days with your friends, can perfectly enhance the experience with a high windshield kit and *in their size easily adjustable sidebags.
*
Nuda 900 and Nuda 900R ÔÇô thrilling riding experience

**mika** · 09-03-2011, 10:40 AM

Saturday, 3 September : UPDATE ÔÇô WSBK Q2 and MotoGP Free Practice results

SBK

Biaggi's Friday pole is bested by Checa, Laverty and Haga leaving him on the front row but in P4 instead of the pole position after Q2. Haslam did enough to be P10 once again. As expected there was some bumping. Coser and Toseland were bumped by Atichison and Badovini. The Kawasaki rider taking P14 ahead of Berger's Ducati.

Haslam may be playing a coy game but the rest of the troopers are not starting the post holiday break in style.

Nurburgring - SUPERBIKE - Qualifying*2

1.*Carlos Checa (Althea*Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'55.030
2.*Eugene Laverty (Yamaha*World*Superbike*Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1'55.428
3.*Noriyuki Haga (PATA*Racing*Team*Aprilia) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'55.479
4.*Max Biaggi (Aprilia*Alitalia*Racing*Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'55.524
5.*Tom Sykes (Kawasaki*Racing*Team*Superbike) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'55.781
6.*Marco Melandri (Yamaha*World*Superbike*Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1'55.819
7.*Sylvain Guintoli (Team*Effenbert-Liberty*Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'55.827
8.*Jonathan Rea (Castrol*Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1'55.842
9.*Leon Camier (Aprilia*Alitalia*Racing*Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'55.856
10.*Leon Haslam (BMW*Motorrad*Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'55.887
11.*Michel Fabrizio (Team*Suzuki*Alstare) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'55.927
12.*Jakub Smrz (Team*Effenbert-Liberty*Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'55.933
13.*Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki*Racing*Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'55.994
14.*Mark Aitchison (Team*Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'56.273
15.*Maxime Berger (Supersonic*Racing*Team) Ducati 1098R 1'56.338
16.*Ayrton Badovini (BMW*Motorrad*Italia*SBK*Team) BMW S1000 RR 1'56.382
17.*Troy Corser (BMW*Motorrad*Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'56.401
18.*James Toseland (BMW*Motorrad*Italia*SBK*Team) BMW S1000 RR 1'56.637
19.*Roberto Rolfo (Team*Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'56.996
20.*Makoto Tamada (Castrol*Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1'57.950

MotoGP

Stoner and Pedrosa are 1,2 in free practice with Lorenzo, Spies behind them.

1 27 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'33.567 4 18 275.1
2 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'33.666 18 20 0.099 0.099 277.9
3 1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing YAMAHA 1'33.890 8 22 0.323 0.224 272.5
4 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing YAMAHA 1'34.285 18 23 0.718 0.395 270.7
5 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'34.321 23 23 0.754 0.036 267.5
6 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'34.420 22 24 0.853 0.099 272.4
7 58 Marco SIMONCELLI
ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1'34.606 6 20 1.039 0.186 269.9
8 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP DUCATI 1'34.659 16 20 1.092 0.053 274.0
9 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'34.797 18 20 1.230 0.138 270.2
69 Nicky DUCATI 10 HAYDEN USA Ducati Team 1'34.919 11 17 1.352 0.122 273.6
11 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 1'34.924 8 22 1.357 0.005 274.3
12 46 Valentino ROSSI
ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'34.933 21 22 1.366 0.009 270.3
14 Randy DUCATI 13 DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team 1'35.063 18 20 1.496 0.130 268.2
14 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing DUCATI 1'35.321 7 19 1.754 0.258 273.0
15 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1'35.357 7 23 1.790 0.036 275.7
16 65 Loris CAPIROSSI
ITA Pramac Racing Team DUCATI 1'35.558 19 21 1.991 0.201 272.2
17 24 Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 1'36.347 12 20 2.780 0.789 272.9

Back later this morning with Superpole and MotoGP qualifying results.

**mika** · 09-03-2011, 01:20 PM

Saturday, 3 September: UPDATE ÔÇô WorldSBK Free Practice and MotoGP Qualifying

SBK

Saturday Free Practice always seems like the angry bee session to me.

The WorldSBK hive has been busy working through the weekend of first practice, Q1 and Saturday Q2. After that the teams advancing to Superpole work on their super-sprint Superpole setups to be used in the three elimination rounds while the other riders and teams prepare for Sunday's races. While the paddock hive is busily working away at all of the this the race officials grab them all and throw them on the track one more time. The form and pace of this session always seems a bit oddly frenetic to me and in the past has yielded some curious session results while, for this fan, raising more questions than it answers.

Checa topped the FP round followed by Laverty and Biaggi. Haslam appears to indeed have been sandbagging and turned in a P4 performance for the session. The rest of the Enigma Riders have me scratching my head once again.

In the interim from Q2 Corser and Toseland have found improvements. Coser finished the session in P9 and Toseland in P15. Where were those improvements a couple of hours ago?

Badovini is advancing to the Superpole round. I know it may be silly of me to expect him to improve in this session. The rider who helped bump the previous two out of Superpole spent the session slipping a spot coming in P17. I hope they can figure out how to undo some of the 'improvements' they made to his bike between Q2 and FP.

Nurburgring - SUPERBIKE - Free*Practice

1.*Carlos Checa (Althea*Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'54.652
2.*Eugene Laverty (Yamaha*World*Superbike*Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1'55.047
3.*Max Biaggi (Aprilia*Alitalia*Racing*Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'55.565
4.*Leon Haslam (BMW*Motorrad*Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'56.181
5.*Michel Fabrizio (Team*Suzuki*Alstare) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'56.200
6.*Jakub Smrz (Team*Effenbert-Liberty*Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'56.459
7.*Noriyuki Haga (PATA*Racing*Team*Aprilia) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'56.478
8.*Marco Melandri (Yamaha*World*Superbike*Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1'56.585
9.*Troy Corser (BMW*Motorrad*Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'56.593
10.*Sylvain Guintoli (Team*Effenbert-Liberty*Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'56.685
11.*Leon Camier (Aprilia*Alitalia*Racing*Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'56.713
12.*Mark Aitchison (Team*Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'56.858
13.*Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki*Racing*Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'56.864
14.*Jonathan Rea (Castrol*Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1'56.886
15.*James Toseland (BMW*Motorrad*Italia*SBK*Team) BMW S1000 RR 1'56.894
16.*Tom Sykes (Kawasaki*Racing*Team*Superbike) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'57.159
17.*Ayrton Badovini (BMW*Motorrad*Italia*SBK*Team) BMW S1000 RR 1'57.354
18.*Maxime Berger (Supersonic*Racing*Team) Ducati 1098R 1'57.472
19.*Roberto Rolfo (Team*Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'58.340
20.*Makoto Tamada (Castrol*Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1'58.451

Checa continues to make the case for balance being more important that raw speed. His maximum speed for this session was slower than the next five riders on the session chart. Yet his average speed and thus lap time was better than everyone. This is road racing and you have to turn quickly and go fast in the straights. Remember you must do both to be on top. Checa has found the best balance so far to achieve the desire result.

MotoGP

I flipped back and forth between WorldSBK FP and MotoGP qualifying. At one point I thought I wish BMW could do that in WorldSBK. P1 Lorenzo and his Yamaha was followed by four Hondas before his teammate showed up on the grid list in P6. Winning manufacturing championships is as much about denying positions and points to other teams as it is about winning. Well almost. But I digress.

1 27 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'33.567 4 18 275.1

2 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'33.666 18 20 0.099 0.099 277.9

3 1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing YAMAHA 1'33.890 8 22 0.323 0.224 272.5

4 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing YAMAHA 1'34.285 18 23 0.718 0.395 270.7

5 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'34.321 23 23 0.754 0.036 267.5

6 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'34.420 22 24 0.853 0.099 272.4

7 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1'34.606 6 20 1.039 0.186 269.9

8 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP DUCATI 1'34.659 16 20 1.092 0.053 274.0

9 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'34.797 18 20 1.230 0.138 270.2

10. 69 Nicky DUCATI 10 HAYDEN USA Ducati Team 1'34.919 11 17 1.352 0.122 273.6

11 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 1'34.924 8 22 1.357 0.005
274.3

12 46 Valentino ROSSI TA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'34.933 21 22 1.366 0.009 270.3

13 Randy DUCATI 13 DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team 1'35.063 18 20 1.496 0.130 268.2

14 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing DUCATI 1'35.321 7 19 1.754 0.258 273.0

15 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1'35.357 7 23 1.790 0.036 275.7

16 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Pramac Racing Team DUCATI 1'35.558 19 21 1.991 0.201 272.2

17 24 Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 1'36.347 12 20 2.780 0.789 272.9

Stoner took another pole with Pedrosa in his timing slipstream. Lorenzo had much to show during the session. This should set up an interesting race with Honda teammates 1-2 and Yamaha mates 3-4 on the grid.

The rest of the field holds some interesting results. For all the ballyhoo about Ducati MotoGP development and riders at this point in the season it is privateer team Mapfe Aspar and Hector Barbera that are in P8 and the first Ducati team to show on the starting grid. I will make a major leap of analysis and say this suggests the potential better things next season for CRT teams than many are expecting. We can hope.

Hayden is the next Ducati on the grid in P10 and Rossi back in P12. The pair are split by Bautista's Rizla-Suzuki. The Rizla team has been working very hard with their solo bike effort. Going into the qualifying session they looked to improve on a potential P8. It will be interesting to see what they say happened.

Back to Superpole.

**mika** · 09-03-2011, 01:57 PM

Saturday, 3 September: UPDATE ÔÇô WorldSBK Superpole

SBK

Superpole 1

Badovini was able to improve a position on the grid chart (P15) but not a row on the starting grid (R4).

13 2 L. CAMIER GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'55.633 0.992 0.031 5 159,930

14 121 M. BERGER FRA Supersonic Racing Team Ducati 1098R 1'55.811 1.170 0.178 5 159,684

15 86 A. BADOVINI ITA BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team BMW S1000 RR 1'56.101 1.460 0.290 6 159,285

16 17 J. LASCORZ ESP Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'56.162 1.521 0.061 5 159,202

Continuing my look Checa's balance and the topic of max speed v average lap speed lets compare these four riders to Checa.

Checa's first session max speed was 271.4 yielding an average speed of 161.314 and a 1'54.641 best in session lap time. The four eliminated riders had comparable maximum speeds ranging between 270.7 and 272.7 with P16 Lascorz turning an identical 271.4 max. What these riders lacked was the balance that Checa and his Ducati have found. Their average lap speeds were in the 159+ range which yielded lap times a full second and more slower than Checa's.

Superpole 2

Main news from this session is Haslam advanced to the next round...just...finishing in P8. I observed him running as high as P4 early in the session. How he will do in the final round will be up to team strategy, tyre management and the racing dogs.

Superpole 3

At roughly the half way mark Haslam was briefly in P2 then the Yamahas of Laverty and Melandri crossed the line and set new times. That said Checa finished his first real hot lap and moved to the top of the chart. When everyone duct into the pits Checa was in P1 followed in order by Laverty Biaggi Melandri Haga Sykes Haslam and Guintoli.

Haslam and a couple others headed out for one last shot but failed to beat the chequered flag that ended the session.

This is the starting grid for Sunday's races. Haslam is on the outside of row 2. Row 1 is better but with a good launch he has a shot at winning the race to turn one and hopefully will come out of turn three with a lead.

Nurburgring - SUPERBIKE - Superpole*3

1.*Carlos Checa (Althea*Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'54.144
2.*Eugene Laverty (Yamaha*World*Superbike*Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1'54.512
3.*Max Biaggi (Aprilia*Alitalia*Racing*Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'54.743
4.*Marco Melandri (Yamaha*World*Superbike*Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1'54.818
5.*Noriyuki Haga (PATA*Racing*Team*Aprilia) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'55.113
6.*Tom Sykes (Kawasaki*Racing*Team*Superbike) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'55.223
7.*Leon Haslam (BMW*Motorrad*Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'55.237
8.*Sylvain Guintoli (Team*Effenbert-Liberty*Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'55.249
9.*Jonathan Rea (Castrol*Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1'55.321
10.*Jakub Smrz (Team*Effenbert-Liberty*Racing) Ducati 1098R 1'55.598
11.*Mark Aitchison (Team*Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'55.625
12.*Michel Fabrizio (Team*Suzuki*Alstare) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'56.177
13.*Leon Camier (Aprilia*Alitalia*Racing*Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'55.633
14.*Maxime Berger (Supersonic*Racing*Team) Ducati 1098R 1'55.811
15.*Ayrton Badovini (BMW*Motorrad*Italia*SBK*Team) BMW S1000 RR 1'56.101
16.*Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki*Racing*Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'56.162
17.*Troy Corser (BMW*Motorrad*Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1'56.401
18.*James Toseland (BMW*Motorrad*Italia*SBK*Team) BMW S1000 RR 1'56.637
19.*Roberto Rolfo (Team*Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'56.996
20.*Makoto Tamada (Castrol*Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1'57.950

That is all till Sunday.

**patiodadio** · 09-04-2011, 01:34 PM

I'm officially switching my support to Rossi, I don't think Hayden will be back to Moto GP next year.

.

**mika** · 09-05-2011, 09:01 AM

Members with Birthdays Today

A three part post-

Part 1 Qualifying / Superpole

SBK

suzuki-racing.com: Fabrizio on Nurburgring 4th row

BMW Motorrad Motorsport - WSBK - N??rburgring - Superpole
03.09.2011

N??rburgring ÔÇô Qualifying Practice 2 & Superpole.
Saturday, 03 September 2011.
*
*
Weather conditions: Sunny with light clouds.
Temperature: Air: 25 ÔÇô 26 ??C, Track: 39 ÔÇô 42 ??C
Number of riders participating: 20 from 13 teams
Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:55.030 min
Fastest lap Superpole 3: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:54.144 min
*
*
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport finishes this Saturday at the N??rburgring (GER) with mixed emotions. Factory rider, Leon Haslam (GBR), has a promising starting position for the tenth round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship. He finished todayÔÇÖs Superpole qualifying in seventh, and will start the teamÔÇÖs home races from the second row. On the other hand, team mate, Troy Corser (AUS), missed out on the Superpole qualifying by just 0.019 seconds, so will be starting 17th. Ayrton Badovini (ITA) from the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team will start with his BMW S 1000 RR from 15th. His team mate James Toseland (GBR) qualified 18th.
*
Leon Haslam:
Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:55.887 min (P10) / Fastest lap FP: 1:56.181 min (P4) / Fastest lap Superpole 3: 1:55.887 min (P7)
ÔÇ£I am happy with the way everything has gone today. I managed to post my fastest lap time on race tyres, which is promising for the two races tomorrow. Sadly we donÔÇÖt seem to be able to extract the full potential from the qualifying tyres like the other guys, but we made it through to SP3 which was the main objective. For the races tomorrow I will be hoping for a good start and to push for the podium. I think Carlos Checa has good pace and will be hard to beat, but we can definitely challenge the others so I am looking forward to tomorrow.ÔÇØ
*
Troy Corser:
Fastest lap Qualifying Practices: 1:56.401 min (P17) / Fastest lap FP: 1:56.593 min (P9)
ÔÇ£To miss out on Superpole is certainly frustrating. Yesterday we had a technical issue which really cost us a lot of track time, and since then we have been simply playing catch up. It is almost like we are a session behind everybody else, and I think that has cost us. But the issues we had were unforeseen and we couldnÔÇÖt do anything about that. We just need to make sure we work hard in the morning to finalise our set-up and race strategy, then definitely we can do something in the race. At the minute the weather forecast predicts rain, but either way if we get a good start and stay out of trouble we can challenge for the top ten.ÔÇØ
*
Rainer B?ñumel (Head of Race Operations):
ÔÇ£Leon and the team did a good job and deserved to get into Superpole 3. I think that it would have been difficult to qualify on the first row today. Therefore we are very happy with LeonÔÇÖs result, but at the same time we are sad that Troy missed the Superpole by only two hundreds of a second. That was a shame, but tomorrow we could see surprises because the forecast predicts rain. Then it more or less does not matter from which position you start, and I think that we are very well prepared for tomorrow, especially for wet conditions.ÔÇØ

TroyCorser.com: Nurburgring German ÔÇô Final qualifying ÔÇô No luck for Troy at the 'Ring

After yesterdayÔÇÖs problems, Troy was hoping for an improvement in his fortunes today, but things didnÔÇÖt go as he wanted. Although there were no mechanical issues today, Troy and the team struggled to improve the grip in the morning timed qualifying session sufficiently for Troy to lap fast enough to get into Superpole. Although the bike did improve in the afternoon (untimed) session, Troy was forced to sit out Superpole and watch the action from his pitbox instead. Series leader Carlos Checa (Ducati) won Superpole - his fifth of the season - with Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) second, Max Biaggi (Aprilia) third and Marco Melandri (Yamaha) fourth. Troy - 17th, 1:56.401 My time in the final qualifying session wouldÔÇÖve put me in the top ten but, at the end of the day, thatÔÇÖs irrelevant because I didnÔÇÖt get into Superpole - and that was pretty frustrating. We had quite a few issues yesterday, so I was looking for a big improvement today, but I didnÔÇÖt get what I was expecting in time to get into Superpole. In the morning timed qualifying session, I just didnÔÇÖt have sufficient grip to lap quickly enough. The rear felt a bit too soft, so the mechanics stiffened up and it felt better, but by then it was too little too late. Basically, I donÔÇÖt think we made the steps needed in the time required and thatÔÇÖs why I didnÔÇÖt make Superpole. The good news is that I have a pretty reasonable race set-up and my lap times in the afternoon session were competitive. ItÔÇÖs going to be a very hard day tomorrow and IÔÇÖm not looking forward to starting from the fifth row of the grid. Normally I make pretty good starts and can usually make up a row or two, but even if I make the best starts of my life, IÔÇÖm still probably not going to be in the top six or so going into turn one. ItÔÇÖs difficult to pass in the first four or so corners and itÔÇÖs very easy to get held up. Charging though the field after that is going to be very hard and doing that makes the tyres wear out more quickly, so itÔÇÖs certainly going to be an interesting day for me. At the moment, I am thinking of a good top ten finish, but obviously IÔÇÖd like the chance to do better. WeÔÇÖll have to see what happens tomorrow, but if it rains then everything changes. That would be a whole new ball game, but it might be better for me. See ya, Troy

BMW MOTORRAD ITALIA SUPERBIKE TEAM - NURBURGRING - SUPERPOLE
03.09.2011
Ayrton* Badovini*took part in Superpole, and will start tomorrow's race from the fourth row. James* Toseland*is still suffering with his injured wrist and will start from 18th place. In Superstock*Sylvain Barrier and Lorenzo Zanetti will start from the front row, having set the 2nd *and 4th *times respectively.
It was a hard day for *BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike Team.* Set-up changes after qualifying yesterday, did not give the positive results the team was looking for.
James* Toseland, who has covered 25 laps today, was forced to take painkillers for his wrist pain and was unable to ride the bike to his best ability. He starts from the fifth row.
Ayrton Badovini*experienced no benefit from the changes made to his bike, and struggled, particularly in the third and final sector. Ayrton covered 30 laps in the session and managed to get into Superpole, where he set the 15th *fastest time.
In* Superstock, Sylvain* Barrier*and Lorenzo* Zanetti*start from the front row having set the second and fourth fastest times respectively. The two riders are ranked fourth and second in the FIM Cup. Starting from the front row, they will be fighting for results that keep the championship open.
Serafino Foti, sporting director of BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike team said: "From the beginning of the weekend we have had difficulties, especially for Ayrton who wasn't as fast as he should be in the final sector and it cost us a lot. James showed gimpses of his true form and it's a real shame that his wrist hurt constantly and he had to resort to painkillers. We will analyse the data tonight to try to improve. The weather will be variable and we will see what we can do. *In Superstock, apart from a fall for Lorenzo that had no repercussions, we have improved as shown by Sylvain being second on the grid. ItÔÇÖs a small step forward and the race tomorrow will as usual be ultra competitive and should be a fight between the two BMWs and Ducati.
Superbike
Superpole: 1?? C. Checa (Ducati) 1'54.144 - 2?? E. Laverty (Yamaha) + 0.368 - 3?? M. Biaggi (Aprilia) + 0.599... 15?? *A. Badovini (BMW)... 18?? *J. Toseland (BMW).
Superstock:
Qualifying: 1?? D. Giugliano (Ducati) 1'58"763 - 2?? *S. Barrier (BMW)*+ 0.496 - 3?? D. Petrucci (BMW) + 0.505 - 4??* L. Zanetti (BMW) *+ 1.049 - 5?? M. Reiterberger (BMW) + 1.170

speedweek.de: Max Biaggi takes painkillers

hondaproracing.com: Rea and Honda together in 2012

motomatters.com: Infront CEO Paolo Fammini reacts to the buyout by Dorna owners Bridgepoint

**mika** · 09-05-2011, 09:04 AM

RACE 1

worldsbk.com: Checa winner yet again

ducati.com: Carlos Checa and the Althea Racing Team triumph in race 1 at the Nurburgring

1 1 7 C. CHECA ESP Althea Racing Ducati 1098R 20
2 4 33 M. MELANDRI ITA Yamaha World Superbike Team Yamaha
3 5 41 N. HAGA JPN PATA Racing Team Aprilia Aprilia RSV4 Factory
4 2 58 E. LAVERTY IRL Yamaha World Superbike Team Yamaha YZF R1
5 7 91 L. HASLAM GBR BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR
6 8 50 S. GUINTOLI FRA Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati 1098R
7 16 17 J. LASCORZ ESP Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R
8 13 2 L. CAMIER GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team Aprilia RSV4 Factory
9 15 86 A. BADOVINI ITA BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team BMW S1000 RR
10 9 4 J. REA GBR Castrol Honda Honda CBR1000RR 20
11 6 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike Kawasaki
12 11 8 M. AITCHISON AUS Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R
13 18 52 J. TOSELAND GBR BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team BMW S1000 RR
14 19 44 R. ROLFO ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R
15 17 11 T. CORSER AUS BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW S1000 RR
16 12 84 M. FABRIZIO ITA Team Suzuki Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000
17 20 100 M. TAMADA JPN Castrol Honda Honda CBR1000RR
--------------------------------------------------Not Classified--------------------------------------------------
RET 10 96 J. SMRZ CZE Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati 1098R
RET 14 121 M. BERGER FRA Supersonic Racing Team Ducati 1098R
NS 3 1 M. BIAGGI ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team Aprilia RSV4 Factory

RACE 2

worldsbk.com: Sykes takes wet win for Kawasaki

gpone.com: Melandri ÔÇô the race was stopped!

Nurburgring - SUPERBIKE - Race*2

1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki*Racing*Team*Superbike) Kawasaki ZX-10R 29'49.337
2. Sylvain Guintoli (Team*Effenbert-Liberty*Racing) Ducati 1098R 29'53.400
3. Jakub Smrz (Team*Effenbert-Liberty*Racing) Ducati 1098R 30'12.096
4. Jonathan Rea (Castrol*Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 30'17.834
5. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha*World*Superbike*Team) Yamaha YZF R1 30'27.711
6. Marco Melandri (Yamaha*World*Superbike*Team) Yamaha YZF R1 30'34.663
7. Ayrton Badovini (BMW*Motorrad*Italia*SBK*Team) BMW S1000 RR 30'36.367
8. Carlos Checa (Althea*Racing) Ducati 1098R 30'39.369
9. Leon Haslam (BMW*Motorrad*Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 30'42.923
10. Maxime Berger (Supersonic*Racing*Team) Ducati 1098R 30'44.598
11. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki*Racing*Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 31'02.142
12. Troy Corser (BMW*Motorrad*Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 31'04.805
13. Roberto Rolfo (Team*Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 31'29.660
RT. Noriyuki Haga (PATA*Racing*Team*Aprilia) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 27'12.450
RT. Makoto Tamada (Castrol*Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 28'49.186
RT. Leon Camier (Aprilia*Alitalia*Racing*Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 25'20.427
RT. Mark Aitchison (Team*Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 23'13.507
RT. James Toseland (BMW*Motorrad*Italia*SBK*Team) BMW S1000 RR 18'52.995
RT. Michel Fabrizio (Team*Suzuki*Alstare) Suzuki GSX-R1000 12'20.292

Manufacturer Standings after N??rburgring

Ducati 400
Yamaha 351
Aprilia 336
BMW 214
Kawasaki 171
Suzuki 158
Honda 132

Rider Standings after N??rburgring

1 ÔÇô C. Checa ÔÇô 376
2 ÔÇô M. Melandri ÔÇô 302
3 ÔÇô M. Biaggi ÔÇô 281
4 ÔÇô E. Laverty ÔÇô 232
5 ÔÇô L. Haslam ÔÇô 176
6 ÔÇô L. Camier ÔÇô 154
7 ÔÇô M. Fabrizio ÔÇô 141
8 ÔÇô S. Guintoli ÔÇô 139
9 ÔÇô A. Badovini ÔÇô 134
10 ÔÇô N. Haga ÔÇô 115
11 ÔÇô T. Sykes ÔÇô 114
12 ÔÇô J. Rea ÔÇô 113
13 ÔÇô J. Lascorz ÔÇô 111
14 ÔÇô J. Smrz ÔÇô 109
15 ÔÇô T. Corser ÔÇô 67
16 ÔÇô R. Xaus ÔÇô 44
17 ÔÇô M. Berger ÔÇô 42
18 ÔÇô R. Rolfo ÔÇô 39
19 ÔÇô M. Aitchison ÔÇô 24
20 ÔÇô J. Hopkins ÔÇô 20

BMW Motorrad Motorsport - WSBK - N??rburgring ÔÇô Races
04.09.2011
N??rburgring ÔÇô Races.
Sunday, 04 September 2011.
*
*
Weather conditions: Overcast at noon, heavy rain in the afternoon.
Temperature: Air: 20 ÔÇô 21 ??C, Track: 25 ÔÇô 29 ??C
Number of riders participating: 19 from 13 teams
Fastest lap Race 1: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:55.971 min
Fastest lap Race 2: Noriyuki Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia) 2:14.6199 min
*
This race day at the N??rburging (GER) was not for the faint-hearted. Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport experienced an exciting tenth round of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship, including a hectic wet race. Factory rider, Leon Haslam (GBR), finished fifth and ninth on his BMW S 1000 RR. He is now fifth in the ridersÔÇÖ championship with 176 points. His team mate Troy Corser (AUS) came home in 15th and 12th respectively. In the championship he lies 15th with 67 points. In the manufacturersÔÇÖ standings BMW is fourth with 214 points.
*
In race one Leon improved from seventh on the grid to fifth during the early laps, pushing to close the gap to the leading group. But on lap seven he ran off the track, re-joined but fell back to 14th. After this mishap, Leon fought his way back in a determined manner, setting extremely fast lap times and showing a series of strong manoeuvres. On lap 13 he overtook three other riders at once, and on the final lap he made it back to fifth. Troy improved from 17th on the grid to 11th, but experienced tyre issues in the second half of the race and finished 15th.
*
Only minutes before the start of the second race it began to rain heavily. The start had to be delayed by 15 minutes. Leon again gained two positions in the early stages, but unfortunately he was one of many riders who crashed in the worsening conditions. Again, Leon was able to rejoin and he started another fight back from the very end of the field. As the conditions became more and more dangerous and numerous riders fell, the race was red-flagged on lap 14. Leon and Troy were classified ninth and 12th. Ayrton Badovini (ITA) of the BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team finished the heats ninth and seventh. His team mate James Toseland (GBR) was 13th in the first race, but crashed in the second. The races were won by Carlos Checa and Tom Sykes.
*
In the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race BMW riders were once more successful, with three BMW S 1000 RRs finishing in the top six. Sylvain Barrier (FRA) from the BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock Team finished second on the podium. His team mate, Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA), crossed the line in fourth, Markus Reiterberger (GER) from the Garnier Alpha Racing Team completed the top six.
*
Leon Haslam:
Result Race 1: 5th / Gap to 1st: 00:09.727 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1:56.340 min
Result Race 2: 9th / Gap to 1st: 00:53.586 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 2:16.672 min
ÔÇ£In race one I had a good start and managed to pass two guys. Then I tried to bridge the gap to Eugene Laverty. I just pushed a little bit too hard, got a false neutral and ran off the track. To be fair, I thought the race was over. But I got my head down and managed to get back to fifth. I am happy to have managed that, but disappointed I ran off. But the battling was certainly fun. In the second race I felt really good. The crash was my fault. I clipped a white line, which in these conditions is not good, and I went down. I managed to get going again and climb all the way up to seventh, but the race was stopped before I crossed the line, the results were taken from the lap before, and so I was ninth. The conditions out there were really bad, and it probably should have been stopped earlier. I think I could have got on the podium today because my times at the end were really good, but it was definitely the right decision to stop the race.ÔÇØ
*
Troy Corser:
Result Race 1: 15th / Gap to 1st: 00:33.320 min / Fastest Lap Race 1: 1:56.919 min
Result Race 2: 12th / Gap to 1st: 01:15.468 min / Fastest Lap Race 2: 2:16.950 min
ÔÇ£Today has been difficult for sure. The starting position we had made life very difficult, because the first corner tends to spread the field out and you just cannot make the time back. Race two was just so wet and I could hardly see what was going on. The rain was causing me to aquaplane everywhere and I was having some big slides. I saw James Toseland crash in front of me, and then I decided to just keep it upright and finish the best I could. It was the right decision to stop the race because it was becoming very hard to ride safely out there, but I am just happy to have brought it home and score some points.ÔÇØ
*
Bernhard Gobmeier (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director):
ÔÇ£The first race was very exciting. We had LeonÔÇÖs run-off that cost him a few seconds, and in the end he these seconds were exactly his gap to the top. On top of that comes the fact that in the closing stages he was doing the fastest lap times. That showed we are heading in a very good direction, and are able to race at the front. In the second race we proved we are also very strong in the wet. Also in these conditions we did top lap times, but the very bad vision and the extremely difficult conditions led to LeonÔÇÖs crash that hindered us in getting a better result. Maybe it would have been a different story if the race had been stopped earlier and then restarted. To sum it up: No top result, but a positive summary ÔÇô because we could see that we are definitely competing at the front.ÔÇØ

BMW MOTORRAD ITALIA SUPERBIKE TEAM - NURBURGRING - RACE
04.09.2011

Over the weekend at the Nurburgring Ayrton* Badovini*finished both races in the top ten. James* Toseland*skidded out of race two in the extreme weather conditions without sustaining serious damage. In* Superstock, Lorenzo Zanetti remains in the race for the FIM Cup, crossing the finish line fourth to stay second in the series. Sylvain Barrier has taken a strong second place, is 4th in the standings and has closed the gap to the rider in third.

A weekend of hard work to the Nurburgring for the* BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike Team .

Grid position not benefited* Ayrton Badovini *and* James Toseland* in race one without a doubt, from which they surged through the field to finish in ninth and thirteenth respectively. In race two heavy rain had a big impact on rider performance. While Ayrton managed to finish in seventh place, James was caught out by running water on the tarmac and fell, fortunately only bruising his right elbow and grazing the left.

"During the two days of qualifyingÔÇØ -* Ayrton*said ÔÇô ÔÇ£we headed in the wrong direction with set-up, so we took a step backwards. In the race, the bike was better suited to my riding style and it felt fairly good. IÔÇÖm going home quite happy, given* the fact that weÔÇÖve shown we are top ten runners in the wet and dry conditions."

In* Superstock, Sylvain Barrier tried to counter the force of the Ducati before wisely deciding to hold second place that not only allowed him to get on the podium, but also meant closing in on Petrucci in the Cup standings ÔÇô just nine points separate Sylvain from the Italian. Lorenzo Zanetti was hindered at the start by a patch of wet asphalt and was forced to start a comeback during which he engaged in a great battle with Niccol?? Canepa. The fourth place finish allows him to retain second place in the Cup, 23 points behind leader Giugliano.
"In the opening laps I had a good feeling for the bike.ÔÇØ -* Sylvain*said ÔÇô ÔÇ£Then I heard a change in noise from my bike and it was hard to keep up with Giugliano and Petrucci. Since I had the advantage on track I decided to slow down to gain precious points in the Cup. "

Lorenzo* Zanetti, not happy at the end of the race, said: "We had some problems over the weekend and we spent a long time finding the right path. Now we must concentrate and move forward without losing sight of our goal."

Serafino Foti,*sporting director of BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike Team said: "It was a difficult weekend but we are quite happy with the progress from yesterday to today, mainly in the dry. Ayrton managed to maintain a good pace throughout the race, considering a bad start. James himself has improved but is still very limited by his wrist. In race two the conditions were really tough and it was important to get to the end without making mistakes . Unfortunately, James slipped, which can happen in these conditions. Fortunately there was virtually no damage.As always I want to congratulate all the team who, until late last night, were analysing all available data, allowing us to improve.In Superstock, Sylvain drove a clever race, realizing immediately that it was difficult to keep up with Giugliano and still taking second place. Unfortunately, Lorenzo suffered a very bad start and was down to 16th at the end of the first lap. With Superstock races being quite short this compromised his race. "

Superbike:
Gara 1:*1?? C. Checa (Ducati) 38'59.779 - 2?? M. Melandri (Yamaha) + 1.855 - 3?? N. Haga (Aprilia) + 2.322... 9?? A. Badovini (BMW) + 18.166 ...13?? J. Toseland (BMW) + 31.617.
Gara 2:*1?? T. Sykes (Kawasaki) 29'49.337 - 2?? S. Guintoli (Ducati) + 4.063 - 3?? J. Smrz (Ducati) + 22.759 - ...7??* A. Badovini (BMW)*+ 47.030
Campionato: 1?? C. Checa (Ducati) p. 376 - 2?? M. Melandri (Yamaha) p. 302 - 3?? M. Biaggi (Aprilia) p. 281 - ...9??* A. Badovini (BMW)*p. 134 ...22??* J. Toseland (BMW) p. 13 - 23??* L. Lanzi (BMW)*p. 10...27??* B. Veneman (BMW)*p. 3.
Superstock
Gara: 1?? D. Giugliano (Ducati) 22'00.274 - 2?? S. Barrier (BMW) + 4.274 - 3?? N. Canepa (Ducati) + 11.241 - 4?? L. Zanetti (BMW) + 11.459 - 5?? L. Baroni (Ducati) + 11.711
FIM Cup:*1?? D. Giugliano (Ducati) p. 140 - 2??* L. Zanetti (BMW)*p. 117 - 3?? D. Petrucci (Ducati) p. 94 - 4?? *S. Barrier (BMW) *p. 85 - 5?? N. Canepa (Ducati) p. 80.

url=http://www.hondaproracing.com/sbk/news/?race_event_report=1363]hondaproracing.com[/url]: Solid return for Rea at Misano

**mika** · 09-05-2011, 09:05 AM

MotoGP

bbc.co.uk: Stoner earns pole

gresiniracing.com: Second row for fifth fastes Simoncelli at Misano

teamtech3.fr: Edwards storms to superb seventh in Misano qualifying

rizla-suzuki-motogp.com: Bautista records best qualifying of the year

ducati.com: Challenging qualifying session for Rossi and Hayden at Misano

San Marino GP

MotoGP Video: Official video podcast of Misano

motogp.com: Lorenzo returns to victory in San Marino

1 25 1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing YAMAHA 44'11.877 160.633

2 20 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 44'19.176 160.192 7.299

hondaproracing.com: Honda's Pedrosa and Stoner on podium with Lorenzo at Misano

3 16 27 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team HONDA 44'23.844 159.912 11.967

4 13 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 44'29.230 159.589 17.353

gresiniracing.com: Fourth place that feels like a podium for Simoncelli

5 11 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 44'29.267 159.587 17.390

6 10 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing YAMAHA 44'29.969 159.545 18.092

7 9 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 44'35.580 159.210 23.703

ducati.com: Nice race for Rossi at Misano, Hayden unfortunate

8 8 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 44'42.555 158.796 30.678

suzuki-racing.com: Bautista battles hard to 8th at Misano

9 7 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP DUCATI 44'49.379 158.393 37.502

teamaspar.com: Another top ten finish for Hector Barbera

10 6 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 44'49.597 158.380 37.720

teamtech3.fr: Crutchlow makes welcome return to top 10 in Misano

11 5 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 44'51.425 158.273 39.548

12 4 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing DUCATI 44'52.383 158.217 40.506

13 3 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 45'05.226 157.465 53.349

14 2 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team DUCATI 45'14.243 156.942 1'02.366

15 1 24 Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 45'32.033 155.920 1'20.156

Other Racing

bikesportnews.com: Bird looses Kawasaki World Superbike contract

reuters.com: MotoGP to stay at Indianapolis until 2014
FWIW: What remains in doubt is what happens after 2014. That is in the hands of Bridgepoint now. Will they see the US market as important enough to hold three races or not. If they find that value the follow up question for Bridgepoint I will wonder is will they expand the current WorldSBK schedule in the process?

BMW Team RLL finishes second and fith at Baltimore Grand Prix

On the Street

webbikeworld.com: Husqvarna nuda 900

ultimatemotorcycling.com: Husqvarna expands, seven more dealerships

cyrilhuzeblog.com: Fast industry news.

The Mothership

MINI at the Frankfurt Auto Show
The MINI brand takes to the stage at the 2011 Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA) with increasing variety within its ranks and an unparalleled focus on the individualisation of its models. The worldÔÇÖs most important car show plays host to the world premiere of the MINI Coup?®. And visitors to the event ÔÇô which takes place from 15-25 September 2011 ÔÇô will also be able to explore the rest of the MINI model family, not to mention the latest MINI Yours range of products and an attractive array of Original MINI Accessories...

Reference::

FIM: Official Documents
Link to the current year official documents for all classes and search tool for other years.

FIA Regulations ÔÇô Formula 1 World Championship

WEATHER
US:
http://www.weather.gov/ | NOAA's National Weather Service
Select to go to the NWS homepage. National Weather Service - or - Follow the National Weather Service on FaceBook

http://www.weather.com | Bloomsburg, PA

CA:
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/canada_e.html

ROAD CONDITIONS
US:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/trafficinfo/ : National Traffic and Road Closure Information
511 - America's Traveler Information Telephone Number; Construction Related; Local and State Transit Links; Traffic Conditions; Regional Links; Weather/Road ...

CA:
http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/drivebc_supp/canada_map.htm :
Canada Road Condition Information: Links to provincial highway condition websites across Canada..

Shameless Trolling For Touring Tips

NHTSA.dot.gov Vehicle Recalls RSS

SportRider.com: Motorcycle Riding Skills Series ÔÇô Street bike and motorcycle riding skills techniques articles at Sport Rider

BMW-Motorrad.com: Service
Electronic Parts Catalogue
Download Manuals
Breakdown Dictionary
Tyre Options
Tips
Before every journeyÔÇª
Before a log tripÔÇª
Before winterÔÇª
How to clean your motorcycle

ascycles.com: BMW Motorcycle Service and Maintenance Schedules

Gasbuddy.com: Search for local gas prices along your trip route.

pure-gas.org: Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. And Canada

Cycle-ergo.com motorcycle ergonomic simulator.

Woot of the Day

MSF Motorcycle Operators Manual

TIP- When riding at night, flash your brake light often when stopped. It's more noticeable than a steady light

TIP- Need to slow down in a corner? As your speed comes down, your radius can tighten. Keep looking, keep braking, be smooth

QOD- When stopping your motorcycle, which of the following is true? http://t.co/84UMgNt

QOD- Which lane position is best for a motorcycle? http://t.co/J1UIAc8

Bike Candy

Haslam getting aggressive during Nurburgring Superpole

**mika** · 09-07-2011, 10:26 AM

Members with Birthdays Today

SBK

TroyCorser.com

The second race today took part in atrocious conditions. After a dry first race, everybody was hoping for a dry second , but when the teams all lined up on the grid for race two, the heavens opened and heavy rain began to fall, rendering the track a combination of standing water and rivulets. Aquaplaning became the norm and it was no surprise when the race was red-flagged after fourteen laps. Troy splashed around to twelfth out thirteen finishers, which was better than his fifteenth in the dry first race. Carlos Checa (Ducati) comfortably won race one, with Marco Melandri (Yamaha) second and Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia) third. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) took the rain-affected race two, with Ducati team mates Sylvain Guintoli and Jakub Smrz second and third. Troy - Race 1: 15th, Race 2: 12th Well, it has not been a good weekend for sure. It didnÔÇÖt start well on Friday and really it never got any better. We lost a lot of time on Friday and that affected the grid position because we were unable to get into Superpole. ItÔÇÖs a shame because my pace in Saturday afternoonÔÇÖs free practice was pretty good. Starting from the fifth row of the grid was never going to be good and matters werenÔÇÖt helped in race one when I didnÔÇÖt get a particularly good start. I found it difficult catching and passing anybody and then began losing grip after about six laps. The bike was spinning up too easily and, from then on, it was just a matter of trying to keep the bike upright and bringing it home, so not a great race for me. We all lined up on the grid for race two on slicks, but it was pretty obvious that the rain was going to come, so the start was delayed ten minutes. Pretty soon the rain began and there was a lot of activity on the grid as everybody changed to full wet tyres. We softened up the bike a little and changed the preload to the wet set-up we tried in the morning warm-up. Even on the inspection lap, puddles were beginning to form and so we all took the first lap of the race pretty cautiously. I didnÔÇÖt make a bad start, but maybe took it a bit too cautiously going into turn. It wouldÔÇÖve been so easy to crash there and take a load of other riders out, so I erred on the side of caution. I lost some time because of that, but soon had to concentrate hard to avoid crashing in the variable conditions. Some parts of the track had a lot of water on them and some not so much, so you had to keep your wits about you all the time. There were deep puddles everywhere and many, many rivulets running across the track. Down at the bottom hairpin, there was even some mud or sand washed down from the hill and we were also aquaplaning in many areas. Toseland came past me pretty hard and then had a big off and that made me a bit more cautious. I didnÔÇÖt want to crash and bend or break the plate in my arm because that wouldÔÇÖve been a disaster. By half race distance, the conditions were pretty dangerous and a few of us riders put our hands up to get the race stopped. But no notice was taken until about four laps later, when the race was red-flagged. If I had been in a different position in the championship and didnÔÇÖt have a plate and screws in my arm, I might have gone a bit faster but, in my situation, there was no point. I am happy to have survived the afternoon, uninjured, and hope that conditions will be much better in the next round in Imola. See ya, Troy

worldsbk.com: Checa plays it safe in Race 2

biksportnews.com: Haslam plans to re-sign with BMW in the next few weeks

"I really want to finish what I started with BMW so the plan is to re-sign with them in the next few weeks. I have offers from pretty much every other team in the paddock but I think that is the right way to go," said Haslam, speaking to bikesportnews.com this evening.

MotoGP

MotoGP Misano Post Race Interviews ÔÇô video
Lorenzo
Pedrosa
Stoner

fim-lice.com: Yamaha 1000cc test in Misano

motomatters.com: Misano and Indianapolis extend MotoGP contracts

Formula 1

formula1.com: Jarno Trulli ÔÇô New man or past master?

autosport.com: Deconstructing Formula 1 ÔÇô the front suspension

Other Racing

Husqvarna and Meo ÔÇô 2011 Enduro 2 World Champs
Double podium finish at GP of Andorra ensures Husqvarna and Antoine Meo secure Enduro 2 world title in style at the yearÔÇÖs penultimate GP

On the Street

gizmag.com: BMW and Husqvarna to show electric motorcycle concepts at Frankfurt

sportrider.com: Motorcycle riders motivation ÔÇô What motivates you?

ducati.com: Diavel AMG Special Edition

motorcyclenews.com: New Tiger 800 gives Triumph big boost in [UK] sales

visordown.com: Bikers death sparks road investigation

webbikeworld.com: Vemar VRX7 helmet review

The Mothership

Woodcliff Lake, NJ ÔÇô September 6, 2011ÔÇª BMW of North America today announced a partnership with the Big Ten Conference, becoming the official luxury automobile of the oldest Division I college conference in the United States. The agreement will run for the duration of the 2011-2012 sports seasons covering football, menÔÇÖs and womenÔÇÖs basketball, baseball and Olympic sports programs.

FWIW

Cage World

Reference::

FIM: Official Documents
Link to the current year official documents for all classes and search tool for other years.

FIA Regulations ÔÇô Formula 1 World Championship

WEATHER
US:
http://www.weather.gov/ | NOAA's National Weather Service
Select to go to the NWS homepage. National Weather Service - or - Follow the National Weather Service on FaceBook

http://www.weather.com | Bloomsburg, PA

CA:
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/canada_e.html

ROAD CONDITIONS
US:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/trafficinfo/ : National Traffic and Road Closure Information
511 - America's Traveler Information Telephone Number; Construction Related; Local and State Transit Links; Traffic Conditions; Regional Links; Weather/Road ...

CA:
http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/drivebc_supp/canada_map.htm :
Canada Road Condition Information: Links to provincial highway condition websites across Canada..

Shameless Trolling For Touring Tips

NHTSA.dot.gov Vehicle Recalls RSS

SportRider.com: Motorcycle Riding Skills Series ÔÇô Street bike and motorcycle riding skills techniques articles at Sport Rider

BMW-Motorrad.com: Service
Electronic Parts Catalogue
Download Manuals
Breakdown Dictionary
Tyre Options
Tips
Before every journeyÔÇª
Before a log tripÔÇª
Before winterÔÇª
How to clean your motorcycle

ascycles.com: BMW Motorcycle Service and Maintenance Schedules

Gasbuddy.com: Search for local gas prices along your trip route.

pure-gas.org: Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. And Canada

Cycle-ergo.com motorcycle ergonomic simulator.

Woot of the Day

MSF Motorcycle Operators Manual

TIP. The recommended following distance is normally a minimum of 2 seconds from the vehicle ahead of you. P.15 http://t.co/FlH3PnJ

QOD. The motorcycleÔÇÖs front brake provides how much of total potential stopping power? http://t.co/8LcrZ2E

Bike Candy

Leon Haslam doing some all weather touring on the S 1000 RR

Thread: Bench Racing & The Morning Reads

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Display

Thursday, 1 September

Friday, 2 September

Saturday, 3 September: Part 1

Saturday, 3 September Part 2

Monday, 5 September

WorldSBK Nurburgring Race 1 and 2

Part III: MotoGP at Misano and the rest of the news

Wednesday, 7 September

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