Members with Birthdays Today
SBK
worldsbk.com: Silverstone by the numbers
akrapovic.com: Interview with Marco Melandri
supersport.com: Melandri confident for Silverstone
crash.net: Haslam eager to get back to normal at Silverstone
roadracingworld.com: Aprilia's Biaggi and Laverty ready to make up for disappointments
foxsports.com.au: Max Biaggi, Carlos Checa like Silverstone – Confident for World Superbike round in Britain
bikesportnews.com: McCormick returns to WSBK action at Silverstone
roadracing.com: Checa says he feels confident heading into this coming weekends World Superbike races at Silverstone
WORLDSBK: 2012 Race Calendar | Championship Standings Rider / Manufacturer
LeonHaslam.com, MarcoMelandri.co.uk, BMW Motorrad Motorsports.com, AlphaRaccing.com
motogp
bikesportnews.com: Gossip rumor and intrigue
motomatters.com: Repsol press release | Casey Stoner talks about defending his MotoGP title
bbc.co.uk: Scott Redding tests MotoGP bike
motogp: 2012 race calendar | Results and Statistics
SuterRacing.com, NGM Forward Racing Team
Formula 1
speedtv.com: Stefano Domenicali hints Ferrari seeking number 2 driver
thef1times.com: Honer - 'Raikkonen a key factor in title race'
speedtv.com: Double DRS to be banned for 2013
Formula 1: 2012 Race Calendar | Results Season/Team/Driver
fia.com: 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship - Race Information & Event Starting Times for the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship
On the Street
motorcycle-usa.com: 2013 Kawasaki Ninja 250R revealed – brave new world - benchracing
sportrider.com: Electric motorcycles, generation
cyrilhuzblog.com: Harely-Davidson second quarter earnings per share rise 32.1percent. New motorcycle sales up 4% US, 2.8 worldwide.
jsonline.com: Harley-Davidson profit tops predictions but company cautious in its outlook
businessweek.com: Harley-Davidson falls as sales miss analysts estimates
motorcycledaily.com: MD – double tested – 2012 Triumph Explorer
ultimatemotorcycling.com: BMW USA 2013 July sales down 2.8%
The Mothership
Munich. The Automotive Brand Contest – a prestigious international design competition – saw the German Design Council acknowledge projects by the BMW Group with a total of 48 awards. BMW Group Design was named a winner 11 times...More
Woodcliff Lake, NJ – August 1, 2012… The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) reported July sales of 27,152 vehicles, an increase of 4 percent from the 26,120 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, BMW Group is up 9.5 percent on sales of 185,715 in the first seven months of 2012 compared to 169,641 in the same period in 2011....More
In addition to brand revised twin-models and ABS as standard, many BMW motorcycles will be available with a revised range of paint finishes from 2013. The numerous new colours ensure an impressive appearance. ...More
Munich. The Automotive Brand Contest – a prestigious international design competition – saw the German Design Council acknowledge projects by the BMW Group with a total of 48 awards. BMW Group Design was named a winner 11 times...More
FWIW: The S1000RR and Husqvarna are recognized in the process.
Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – August 1 2012… The August 4th Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge is next on the 2012 American Le Mans Series calendar for BMW Team RLL. Now standing second in the GT Class Manufacturer point standings, Mid-Ohio marks the beginning of the second half of the ALMS season for the 2010 and 2011 class champions as well as special homecoming for team principal Bobby Rahal who attended the very first sports car race at the circuit in 1962....More
The 4th August Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge is next on the 2012 American Le Mans Series calendar for BMW Team RLL. Now standing second in the GT Class Manufacturer points standings, Mid-Ohio marks the beginning of the second half of the ALMS season for the 2010 and 2011 class champions, as well a special homecoming for team principal Bobby Rahal, who attended the very first sports car race at the circuit in 1962. ...More
Cage World
sfgate.com: BMW quarterly profit beats analysts estimates on X# SUV demand
FWIW
Quick out of the box may be very important this weekend. The Silverstone weather forecast is improving. The Superpole Saturday has the worst outlook for wet conditions. If Superpole were a washout the combined Q1 and Q2 time sheet would determine the grid; therefore, Friday qualifying sessions take on extra importance.
BMW 292pts
BMW heads into the Silverstone round P1 in the Manufacturer Championship. Much of the BMW back story will center around what comes next in the 2013 realignment plans, will Ben Spies be a Roundel Rider and what will happen with Haslam. In many sports this could be the formula for a dismal weekend. In SBK and this silly season it will no doubt play on peoples minds but I don't think it will be in a negative for the BMW team.
The Bike
In my mind the S1000RRv2 has taken on the role of Yamaha in SBK. Silverstone was good to Yamaha in its last two seasons (six out of the twelve podium positions were taken by Yamaha riders). In 2010 Crutchlow took a double and 2011 saw Laverty and Melandri on the podium in both races. The bike seems ready.
The riders
Melandri is coming off a double and heading to a track he has done well at. Haslam would seem to be the question mark but I think you would be wrong to do so. Last year he placed P4 and P8 on the S1000RRv1. The year before he was on a Alstare Suzuki. Rumors of Alstare's pending demise were surfacing and Haslam's future was in question. He pulled a P3 and P4 that year. Look at his performance at PI to start this year and his Alstare effort and you see Haslam responds well to pressure.
There may be a good deal of background noise to deal with but the bike should be ready and the riders wear earplugs and full face helmets. Look for a strong weekend for BMW. It will have to be for them to retain their lead in the Manufacturer hunt.
Aprilia 290 pts
Biaggi comes into the weekend on top of the Rider standings with a 21 point lead over BMW's Melandri. He also should come in with a clear head about his future after signing a new contract with Aprilia. Aprilia may be the marque BMW needs to defend from but Laverty is the Aprilia rider I think they need to fear. Laverty's season is on the rise. In 2011 he rode his Yamaha to a pair of P2 finishes behind Checa's Ducati. The Aprilia and the teams riders will go wheel to wheel in and effort to regain the lead. They will be a real factor but not my biggest concern for the BMW team to worry about.
Ducati 276.5 pts
Ducati is the long shot for this weekend. Silverstone has not been kind to the Italian team in the past two seasons. Checa did take the double last year but that is the only Ducati that has made it to take a podium finish out of the 12 possible steps open.
Kawasaki 218 pts
Rain which could bring rules into play make me very nervous about Kawasaki. Sykes has a way of being fast out of the box; a potentially very important factor this weekend. Kawasaki and Sykes have been figuring out how to manage tyres over the length of a race making the an even bigger threat with a strong grid position. Baz has be on the rise adding a second fist to Kawasaki's punching power.
Honda 193pts
Rea and his Honda are the other pair to watch this weekend. In 2010 he pulled a pair of P2 finishes while missing 2011 races altogether. They have been in the thick of things many of the race weekends. This is a good track for the Honda and a bobble from the competition could have Rea repeating Donington Race 2.
Suzuki 72.5
Home court for the Suzuki team. Haslam did well here in 2010 scoring a P3 and P4 for Alstare. The FIXI Crescent team has been improving and comes into this weekend on something of a roll. No I don't see big finishes for them but they could play a role in where Ducati will finish the weekend.
Forget the background noise. This is the weekend for BMW to show they have matured as an organization. Rain is shrinking as a factor yet its timing if it shows it could be a really big deal. The competition is tough but BMW team goes into this weekend with the fare fighting chance of any fighter entering a championship ring.
Reference::
SBK
2012 FIM Superbike Championship Calendar
fim-live.com: FIM Superbike & Supersport Championship & FIM Superstock Cup Regulations 2012
BMW MOA 2012 International Rally
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 | Salem, Oregon
CA:
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/canada_e.html
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