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motoDNA: The Global Dirt Track Resurgence

By 3 COMMENTS

When AMA dirt tracker Kenny Roberts arrived on the European 500 Grand Prix scene in 1978, road racing would never be the same. Not only did Roberts win the 500 GP title in his rookie year, as Marc Marquez did in 2013, but he also brought with him a radically new style derived from dirt track in the USA.

Robert’s style was of course, immediately copied by his rivals, much like Marquez’s dynamic style is being imitated today. KR, and the Americans that followed him, embraced dirt track lines, sacrificing entry speed, picking the bike up early and launching out of the corner, rear wheel spinning and handlebars crossed up.

Putting the bike sideways with the rear wheel 100mm out of line, steering with the rear wheel was the new way to ride. Dirt trackers then pretty much dominated 500 Grand Prix for nearly two decades between Americans: Roberts, Spencer, Lawson, Rainey, Schwantz and the Aussies: Gardner and Doohan.

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Bikes

2015 MV Agusta F4 RC Confirmed – $46,000

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One of the more surprising things to come from MV Agusta USA’s price sheet for its 2015 models is the confirmation of the MV Agusta F4 RC superbike — a bike that had been leaked ahead of the 2014 EICMA show. MV Agusta hasn’t publicly released details on the F4 RC yet, though leaked information points to a homologation special styled superbike with over 200hp. Expected to cost €40,000 in the European market (the price cap for WSBK racing machines), American enthusiasts will enjoy the MV Agusta F4 RC’s $46,000 price tag in the United States. If rumors are true, we can expected a 210hp machine that weighs 386 lbs dry.

WSBK

World Superbike Considers 300cc Class & More

By 8 COMMENTS

At the last meeting of the Superbike Commission, the body which makes the rules for the World Superbike series, representatives of Dorna, the FIM and the factories agreed a number of measures which provide yet another step on the path to the future of the series. There were a couple of minor technical updates, and two changes which point the way to the series’ long term future. The changes to the technical regulations were relatively simple. The balancing rules, aimed at allowing different engine designs to be competitive against each other, received a number of minor tweaks resulting from the fact that those rules will now be carried on from one season to the next.

Racing

FIM Women’s European Cup Added to the EJC

By 4 COMMENTS

Good news for females riders in the European Union, as we hear that the FIM Women’s European Cup has been folded into the European Junior Cup, which runs alongside the World Superbike Championship. Running alongside the EJC as its own class, young female riders won’t have to decide between the two series, as they will score points in both. This relieves young ladies from having to choose between racing with just the girls, or the boys on an equal playing field…as now they will be doing both.Much of our focus lately has been on MotoAmerica’s efforts and designs to rebuild an American presence in international motorcycle racing, but our European counterparts are hard at work as well.

MotoGP

Marco Melandri Returns to MotoGP, with Aprilia

By 9 COMMENTS

After finishing fifth in the 2014 World Superbike Championship with Aprilia, Marco Melandri will continue with the Italian manufacturer, but switch to the MotoGP paddock for next season. Melandri will join Alvaro Bautista in the Aprilia Racing garage, where they will compete on an updated version of the ART machine, which was originally built to compete under the CRT bike rules. The team, now operated by Gresini Racing, will come up to speed during the 2015 season, and in 2016 they will race with a brand new race bike, which will use the compulsory “open” spec-electronics from Magneti Marelli. For Melandri, the move to MotoGP is a bit of gamble, with Aprilia’s program uncertain.