Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Author

Steve English

Browsing
A&R Pro

Josh Brookes – The Mentality of a TT Racer

By No Comments

One of the most common questions about the TT is “how does it feel?” Asphalt & Rubber sat down with Josh Brookes at the 2017 Isle of Man TT to find an answer to that question.

Josh Brookes is as experienced as any short-circuit rider currently plying their trade. As a former Australian and British Superbike champion, World Supersport race winner, Suzuka 8-Hour podium finisher, and WorldSBK race winner, his CV is impressive, but it counted for very little when he made his debut at the Isle of Man TT in 2013.

That year, the Australian left the island with a lap record for the fastest newcomer, and his reputation enhanced as the most exciting up and coming rider at the TT.

He also left with an itch that has continued to require scratching. His return in 2014 saw him ride a Yamaha and claim a Top 10 finish at the Senior TT, but since then circumstances have forced him to the sidelines.

“I love the TT,” beamed Brookes. “I can now remember clearer just now much of a disappointment it was when I wasn’t able to come back in 2015. Having a year off as well, it meant that I fell back into my old ways of just focusing on short-circuit.”

“Last year being in WorldSBK meant that all my focus was on that, and it took away some of the disappointment of missing the TT. I did come over last year during the TT, and we went trial riding across the island to watch the races.”

“When we were watching all the other riders on track, it really started to sink in that I’d rather be riding than watching. Just riding the event isn’t enough for me; I need something more.”

Keep Reading
By
A&R Pro

A Shooter’s Guide to the Isle of Man TT

By No Comments

Asphalt & Rubber readers have been enjoying Tony Goldsmith’s work for years, but how does the Manxman approach his home race?

The Isle of Man TT is a race unlike any other, and for A&R’s Tony Goldsmith, it provides a unique challenge. Having grown up on the island, Tony has only missed a couple of TTs in his life, and for those he has a good excuse, “I was doing my exams in school so I had to miss a TT when I was a kid.”

Other than that, his experience offers him a massive benefit during a fortnight of practice and racing, where his native land becomes the centre of the motorcycling world.

With a 37.73-mile circuit, one lap of the TT circuit is more than half the distance of a MotoGP race, and that places a real challenge on the photographer.

“I don’t really prepare for TT, by saying what days I will shoot at different sections,” says Goldsmith. “Maybe a lot of that is because I spend most of the year talking to my friend Stephen McClements about places that I’ve not been to before, and where he’s been that’s good.”

“I do try and not go to the same places every year, because I want my library of photos to be as complete as possible for the whole TT.”

Keep Reading
By
News

Preview of the 2017 Isle of Man TT

By No Comments

Last year saw the Isle of Man TT distilled into a rivalry between Michael Dunlop and Ian Hutchinson. They arrive on the island this year to once again take center stage.

The rivalry between Michael Dunlop and Ian Hutchinson defined last year’s TT, and that is because the duo shared the five wins between each other, but at times it seemed as though shared respect was in short supply.

Last year with both riders using BMW machinery for the big bikes, and the Yamaha YZF-R6 in the supersport class, there was no where to hide at the end of races. It simply came down to preparation and execution, and last year the score was 3-2 in Hutchinson’s favor.

The man who won an incredible, and unmatched, five races at the 2010 festival is once again the man to beat this year, as he continues to ride for the crack Tyco BMW squad, with Dunlop making the switch to Suzuki to ride their all-new GSX-R1000.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Remembering Nicky Hayden – Becoming A Champion

By No Comments

Like the article that preceded it, there is a backstory to this story and the photos that go along with, which I wanted to share with our readers.

As some of you already know, Steve sat down with Nicky at the Assen round for the World Superbike Championship, with them having a long conversation about his earlier racing career. 

We originally planned to publish this story later in the year (maybe around the Laguna round), to showcase how Nicky came to be a World Champion, as he hunted for wins in the WorldSBK paddock, but with his untimely passing we wanted to share it with you now, as our last feature about the life of Nicky Hayden.

The photos are my own, shot at the 2013 MotoGP rounds held in the US, where at Laguna Seca, Nicky debuted his “Born to Ride” Arai helmet. While not the most recent photos of Nicky Hayden, the shots seemed like fitting photos to include of The Kentucky Kid, as the world continues to share the #RideOnKentuckyKid hashtag on social media. -JB

The choices we make can have consequences for years. Nicky Hayden’s choices as a teenager led him on a path to a world championship

In all walks of life, the decisions that you make at an early age can have untold consequences in later life. Whether it is the college you decide to attend, or your first job, there are certain moments that become cornerstones of your life.

For most people, the choices can be corrected over the passing of time, but for a motorcycle racer with a short career they can have huge consequences.

The pressure on young shoulders, once racing transitions from a hobby to a career, are huge. Families stake their financial future on a child in the hope rather than expectation that it will all work out.

In the current economic climate, this risk is huge, but it has always been the case. The Hayden family rolled the dice on their sons’ racing careers, and with a world title on the mantle back home in Owensboro, Kentucky it has worked out well for Nicky Hayden.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Remembering Nicky Hayden – Growing Up a Racer

By No Comments

There is a backstory to this article that I wanted to share with our readers, as we originally planned to publish this piece a couple weeks ago, as something for our A&R Pro readers, to showcase the upbringing of Nicky Hayden, and his early racing career.

Steve and Nicky had been working together on several pieces – we will share the another with you later today/tomorrow – about his career, and we delayed this one because Nicky said that he had a bunch of old photos we could use with the story.

Getting the photos and finally ready to click “publish” on A&R, I woke up on the morning of Wednesday, May 17th with plans to start the day with this great story by Steve, only to read first the horrible news about Nicky’s accident.

Throughout the week that followed, it seemed inappropriate to share this retrospective with our readers, as Nicky clung onto life. Now today, as his family and friends remember him in Owensboro, we wanted to share Nicky’s story with all of our readers, as we say goodbye to The Kentucky Kid. -JB

Growing up in Kentucky, Nicky Hayden was a motorcycle racing protégé from an early age, but winning hasn’t come easy to the Hayden family.

Over the last 15 years, Nicky Hayden has become one of the most recognisable faces in the motorcycle racing world. He’s morphed from the Kentucky Kid to an old hand of the paddock, and now the Kentucky Legend.

But where did that legendary status come from? Hard work, dedication and an insatiable love of racing are the traits that have made Hayden famous, but the cornerstone has always been family and loyalty.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Remembering Nicky – Words by Steve English

By No Comments

I have always been a fan of racing, and from my earliest memories all I can remember is watching racing and loving it. From when I started watching motorcycle racing, I was drawn towards flat track racers from the United States.

Perhaps, it was because the risks they take are so similar to road racing in Ireland, or just their style on a bike. There was always an attraction for me towards flat trackers, and as a child the riders I admired were Americans who grew up on the dirt.

Whether it was hearing stories of Kenny Roberts and Freddie Spencer, or watching Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz, the Americans held a certain mystique for me.

Nicky Hayden was the next of that lineage and coming into MotoGP as a 21-year-old rookie — as well as being paired with Valentino Rossi, no less — I couldn’t help but root for the underdog.

Having been to Laguna Seca, to see Nicky pick up a MotoGP win, I was firmly a fan of his by the time he claimed his MotoGP title in 2006. Like so many others around the world, it was impossible not to like the rider and the man.

Keep Reading
By
A&R Pro

John McGuinness on the Allure of the IOMTT

By No Comments

John McGuinness is a name that has become synonymous with the Isle of Man over the course of the last 25 years. The Englishman has claimed seven wins for the blue ribbon Senior TT race, and 23 wins overall to leave himself second on the all-time winners list.

Having been back in the winners enclosure in 2015, this year was marked as the race where he would once again take the fight to Michael Dunlop and Ian Hutchinson.

A crash at the recent North West 200 put an end to any such ambition, and unfortunately for McGuinness and his army of fans, the Honda rider will have to sit out this year’s running of the event.

With a compound fracture of his right lower leg, four broken vertebrae, and three broken ribs there are question marks as to whether McGuinness will make a return to racing in the future, but the legacy he has left on motorcycle racing is almost unique.

Keep Reading
By
News

Will WorldSBK Introduce a Spec-ECU?

By No Comments

Momentum for a technical shake-up in WorldSBK has increased, but the manner to instigate that change is a big question. As such, the Imola paddock was full of rumor and discussion about changes to the technical regulations for 2018.

With Kawasaki and Ducati having shared all but four wins since the start of the 2015 season, there have been calls to grant other manufacturers some avenues with which to improve performance. Discussions between the manufacturers took place once again in Italy to lay down a framework for the future.

No answers were forthcoming but with Yamaha and Honda having brought all-new Superbikes to the series in the last year, and struggled to compete with the front-runners, it is clear that the winds of change may be in the air.

For 2017, Aprilia increased its involvement with the Milwaukee Aprilia bikes built and prepared in Italy. The former title-winning marque has thus far failed to live-up to preseason expectations.

Keep Reading
By