Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

EWC

Browsing
Racing

Video: SERT’s Victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

By 1 Comment

No name means domination more in the FIM Endurance World Championship than the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, and SERT is currently living up to that hyperbole as the team to beat in the 2015 championship race.

Winning this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, SERT makes its tally 11 wins out of the last 15 races at the historical French track, with riders Anthony Delalle, Vincent Philippe, & Etienne Masson on the Suzuki GSX-R1000.

So strong was Suzuki’s performance, that the squad’s “junior team” took fourth overall, winning the Superstock class at Le Mans in the process. Helping commemorate that feat, SERT put together a little video for its victories at Le Mans. Enjoy it and the bevy of hi-res photos from the event.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Video: Yamaha Racing at the 24 Hour of Le Mans Moto

By No Comments

Yamaha is looking to defend its FIM Endurance World Championship title, won last year by the Yamaha GMT94 squad. Yamaha is still very much in the hunt for the 2015 title, though the GMT94 guys will have to post some strong results to overcome their 5th place finish at the EWC’s first round, at Le Mans.

You wouldn’t know that the reigning world champions were having a tough time of it, after checking out their promotional video from the 24 Hours of Le Mans Moto — it’s that well done.

Hopefully that will translate onto the track for the French team, and their Austrian counterparts at YART, who are also featured.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Weekly Racing News Digest #4

By 5 Comments

After the burst of activity leading up to last week, things have once again calmed down in the world of international motorcycle racing.

Neither MotoGP nor World Superbikes are testing – though BSB are preparing for their season by testing in Spain – and as a consequence, news is thin on the ground.

But not completely absent, so here is our weekly round up of what is happening in MotoGP and WSBK. And in this case, further abroad.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Rumor: Casey Stoner To Race at the Suzuka 8-Hour?

By 23 Comments

A rumor that we are almost certain isn’t true, yet too good not to muse about: Casey Stoner is said to be making a return to motorcycle racing, competing in the prestigious Suzuka 8hr endurance race for Honda.

The rumor comes from the Sportmediaset blog of Max Temporali — usually one of Italy’s more reputable sporting publications. Given Stoner’s contentious relationship with the media, especially the Italian media, one can guess as to the motivations involved though.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

XXX: The 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1 World Endurance Race Bike is Pure Sex…with a Headlight

By 19 Comments

The long-winded “Yamaha France GMT 94 Michelin Racing” team is ready for FIM Endurance World Championship action this year, especially with the all-new 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1 motorcycle.

The new R1 offers state-of-the-art electronics, as well as near-200hp from its crossplane four-cylinder engine, and the French team is looking to capitalize on those improvements in the EWC for 2015.

Yamaha France took the 2014 title in a convincing fashion, so it will be interesting to see what riders David Checa, Kenny Foray, and Mathieu Gines can accomplish with their new toy. We’ve got a bevy of high-resolution photos for you, after the jump.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Yamaha YZF-R1M Gets Homologated by the FIM

By 34 Comments

It is something that we have expected ever since we heard of Yamaha’s intent to bring two different variations of R1 to market, so it should come as no surprise then that the Yamaha YZF-R1M has been homologated by the FIM for use in the Superbike & Superstock 1000 classes.

Actually both flavors of R1 have been given the nod by the FIM, though we know that if given the choice, teams will choose to develop the YZF-R1M over the base model, especially as it comes with upgraded suspension pieces and carbon fiber fairings.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

2015 FIM Endurance Calendar Down to Four Rounds

By 1 Comment

After releasing initially a five-round provisional calendar, with a sixth round yet to be confirmed, the FIM Endurance World Championship will actually go back to a four-round schedule for 2015.

The announcement coincides with Eurosport Events being named as the series’ promoter, and presumably Eurosport Events didn’t see the advantage of adding a 24-Hour Magny-Cours round to the schedule, along with one of three possibilities in Portual (Estoril), Belgium (Zolder), or Slovakia (Slovakia Ring).

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

The Season Begins – Private MotoGP Tests Start at Sepang

By No Comments

Officially, testing for 2015 MotoGP season starts in five days time, on Wednesday, 4th February. Unofficially, it started yesterday, when Yamaha and Honda’s test teams gathered at Sepang to pre-test a number of parts and prepare the way for the arrival of the factory riders, who arrive in Malaysia next week.

Normally, test teams test in secret – a local journalist and photographer was told in no uncertain terms he would not be welcome at the track – which means their work goes unnoticed. Unfortunately for Honda – or perhaps fortunately, depending on your perspective – HRC had a very high-profile test rider at Sepang.

Casey Stoner spent a couple of days on the 2015 Honda RC213V, and he made a couple of posts on his Instagram and Twitter accounts gave a few clues about the test.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Honda Announces Its 2015 World Endurance Racing Team

By 2 Comments

HRC continues its bid for an FIM Endurance World Championship, and has reconfirmed its team of Julien Da Costa, Freddy Foray, and Sebastien Gimbert for the 2015 season.

Honda switched strategies in the EWC last year, dropping its “TT Legends” squad of venerable road racers for the current trio of endurance experts.

The plan worked, as HRC finished 7th in the 2014 Endurance World Championship, winning the Oschersleben 8-hour in the process. This was a marked improvement over the 2013 season, where the Honda TT Legends team finished a disappointing 18th overall.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Photos of the Top World Endurance Race Bike of 2014

By 12 Comments

The 2014 World Endurance Championship was action-packed from round-to-round, and at the end of the season, it was Yamaha Racing GMT 94 Michelin Yamalube team with that surprised the field with 141 championship points (SERT: 104pts, Bollinger 100pts), for the Championship win.

Team riders David Checa, Kenny Foray, and Mathieu Gines finished second at the series opener at Bol d’Or. The team also had a strong 9th place finish at Suzuka, the third fastest full-time team at the Japanese race. At both Germany and Le Mans, Yamaha Racing GMT 94 team podiumed in second place — solidifying its Championship position through consistency.

Left uncleaned from its Le Mans finish, GMT 94’s endurance-spec Yamaha YZF-R1 is off to the museum…the French take the EWC very seriously. You can believe that Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki will be looking to give Yamaha a proper run at the Championship defense in 2015.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Yamaha Racing GMT 94 Michelin Wins the 2014 Endurance World Championship

By No Comments

The 2014 Endurance World Championship has finally come to an end, as this past weekend played host to the Le Man 24-Hour motorcycle race. Winning the 2014 title was the French team of Yamaha Racing GMT 94 Michelin, which also took second place at Le Mans (SERT finding its way to the top podium step).

Yamaha Racing GMT 94 Michelin’s team of David Checa, Kenny Foray, and Mathieu Gines have had a prominent position all season long in the EWC. Finishing second at Bol d’Or, ninth at Suzuka (second among the regular EWC entries), second at Oschersleben, and now second at Le Mans, Yamaha France’s position came about because of sheer consistency.

With Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki’s top teams having troubles at individual races (along with Yamaha’s YART squad), Yamaha Racing GMT 94 Michelin showed that true endurance racing is done over the long term. The full 2014 Endurance World Championship results are after the jump.

Keep Reading
By