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Video: A Whole New Meaning to Passing on the Inside

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Helping promote World Superbike’s stop at Britain’s Silverstone circuit, stunt driver Paul Swift has climbed behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo Mito (the pace car of WSBK), and collaborated with Chris Walker, of Kawasaki Ninja British Superbike fame, and created a little promotional clip. What starts out seemingly as a trite marketing video, rapidly turns into something pretty spectacular, and we wouldn’t recommend trying it at home (or elsewhere).

What we would recommend is for other racing venues to take note of what is going on with the Silverstone circuit and the marketing that surrounds it. Cleverly promoting World Superbike with this event, along with the body-painting of Leon Haslam, Silverstone also distinguishes itself by playing host to Riders for Health’s Day of Champions fundraising event, and has been featured on Google Streetview with a very unique entry. It pays to be media friendly.

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Racing

Listen to Attack Kawasaki’s Crossplane CRT Bike

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The 2013 MotoGP Championship season is rapidly approaching us, and while many of the teams are now making their way to Sepang, Malaysia for their first test since the winter ban period, Attack Kawasaki and rider Blake Young were out in the California desert, putting laps in on Rich Stanboli’s new crossplane-enginged Kawasaki CRT bike at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway.

Only time will tell on how Attack’s racing package performs at its three MotoGP wildcard events (Austin, Laguna Seca, and Indianapolis), but so far the project is music to our ears. The only Kawasaki with a crossplane crankshaft that we can think of, enjoy the video posted by RM Racing after the jump. And remember, it’s Friday, so no one at work would judge you if you bumped up the speakers.

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Racing

Awesome: Honda TT Legends Team Gets Own TV Show

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Our riding brethren across the pond have all the luck, as we learn of another cool motorcycle production that will be hitting the British airwaves: TT Legends. An eight-part documentary series that will cover the Honda TT Legends team throughout the 2012 season, TT Legends looks like a cracking good watch, if the trailer (after the jump) is any indication.

Following John McGuinness, Cameron Donald, and Simon Andrews behind the scenes at six events, we get a unique perspective at some of the World Endurance Championship’s best venues like the Bol d’Or, Suzuka 8-Hour, and Le Mans, as well at the Isle of Man TT and North West 200. In addition to the racing footage, TT Legends also shows the stories off the track, as the riders prepare themselves physically, and mentally for the racing season.

With the 30-minute premiere showing on  ITV4 at 8.30pm on Monday, February 4th, there is no word if the documentary will find its way into North America, though we imagine the internet might help in that regard. Check out the trailer after the jump.

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Racing

What is Fesh Fesh?

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A hallmark of both the African and South American varieties of the Dakar Rally, ask any of the competitors in the 2013 Dakar Rally about what the Arabians call fesh fesh, and you may see their faces turn as ashen as the material in your inquiry.

A very fine and light powdery substance, fesh fesh in large enough quantities can spell instant disaster for an adventure rider or rally racer, as it plumes can quickly obscure the vision, and its quicksand-like properties can instantly envelope tires that tread too deeply or too slowly.

The byproduct of countless years of the erosion process, fesh fesh is sand that has been worn down from its typical granular size, into a dust-like particle that closely resembles talcum powder. When layered thinly on hard rock, fesh fesh can be as slippery as ice, and when accumulated in deep pits, fesh fesh is essentially quicksand, minus the water.

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Racing

Grand Prix Racer – A Documentary on the Manx GP

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If you haven’t seen TT3D: Closer to the Edge, the documentary about the Isle of Man TT, then you owe it to yourself to beg, borrow, or steal a copy for your viewing pleasure (we enjoyed it greatly at our viewing at the Isle of Man). A follow-up to that venerable film (no, not this), from the Isle of Man comes Grand Prix Racer, a documentary that covers that other race over the Snaefell Mountain Course: the Manx Grand Prix.

Originally a race for amateurs that was designed to help introduce them to the TT, the Manx GP runs on the same 37 mile course as the TT and uses the same time trial format. Building its regulations to cater to older machinery, the Manx Grand Prix has just recently gone through a brand and format restructuring to make it more of a “Classic TT” event, helping differentiate the autumn race from its summer counterpart.

The restructuring is surely due to the hope by the Isle of Man government to make the Manx Grand Prix as much of a headline and destination event for motorcycle enthusiasts as the TT, and to aid in that effort the island nation has, followed-up the progress made by TT3D by producing Grand Prix Racer.

With a one-hour version of the film set to air on Britain’s ITV4 network on Tuesday, February 5th at 8pm, the film will also be made available to international broadcasters (cross your fingers America). A DVD of the film will be available March 4th. Check the trailer out after the jump.

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Banter

Video: Chennai to Pondicherry with Royal Enfield

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Somewhere on the A&R bucket list is riding Royal Enfields through India. Like blizting a German car down the autobahn, there is just something that feels right about taking the classic Indian-made motorcycle through its native terrain.

Now with India becoming the epicenter of growth for the motorcycle industry, a whole new definition of what is motorcycling is about to be written. Perhaps then, it is fitting that Royal Enfield has paired the visuals of this video with the words that Robert M. Pirsig wrote in his classic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

“The test of the machine is the satisfaction it gives you. There isn’t any other test. If the machine produces tranquility it’s right. If it disturbs you it’s wrong until either the machine or your mind is changed.” Could anyone have enivisioned better words to describe the shift we are seeing in the motorcycle industry to markets like India and Asia as a whole? Enjoy the video after the jump.

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Racing

Cyril Despres Claims Fifth Dakar Rally Win

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Wrapping up two weeks of racing, the 2013 Dakar Rally concluded this weekend in Santiago, Chile. His fifth Dakar win, Cyril Despres once again claimed victory in the iconic rally race, and though he was tipped heavily to win after Marc Coma announced that he would be sidelined due to injury, Despres’s win was anything but a sure-thing as the stages progressed. Seeing strong rides from factory-backed Yamaha and Husqvarna teams, Despres even got pressure from his fellow KTM riders over the 14 racing stages.

Despite finishing the Dakar Rally with a 10 minute 43 second overall lead, Despres found himself on the wrong-side of the time sheets during several stages, and even had to replace his motor during the “marathon” weekend, where riders are not allowed any mechanical help from their support crew (Despres got more than a little help from his fellow KTM teammates though). His second Dakar Rally win in a row, and his fifth career-win, Despres now sports two-more Dakar victories than rival Coma — deficit that surely will be contested next year.

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Racing

Dakar Rally — Stage 11: American Kurt Caselli Wins Again

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It is a special thing to win a stage at the Dakar Rally, and multiple stage victories are a true accomplishment in a racer’s career. We could leave the accolades there for Kurt Caselli, but taking two stage wins, during his rookie debut at the famous rally race, now that is something truly noteworthy. Filling the very big shoes left behind by the injured Marc Coma, Caselli has proven to be a diamond in the rough for the factory KTM team, which can only bode well for the California natives return to The Dakar in the coming years.

Winning the Baja-like terrain of Stage 11 with a 4:45 margin, Caselli helped lead the way for fellow bannerman Cyril Despres to regain the outright lead of The Dakar, while Despres’ teammate Ruben Faria also consolidated KTM’s 1-2 standings in the overall time slots, 13:16 behind Despres.

Still ranked well below the other factory KTM riders, Caselli’s position moves to 29th, a figure weighed heavily by his navigational errors in Stage 8, which saw him miss several waypoint and checkpoints.

With eleven stages now completed, the 2013 Dakar Rally will head back into Chile tomorrow with the 12th stage, meaning only three stages of racing remain. A Top 10 finish may be a large challenge for Caselli, but it is undeniable that the American has made a strong first impression at his debut Dakar.

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Racing

Photos: Rossi + Lorenzo + Yamaha = ???

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Valentino Rossi likes to refer to the Yamaha YZR-M1 race bike as “his” M1. Leaving Yamaha for Ducati, Rossi even wrote his M1 a “Dear John” goodbye letter, which many understood to be a message to former-teammate Jorge Lorenzo that the young Spaniard was riding on the coattails of the nine-time world champion. Burying the hatchet that once built a wall in the pit box, Rossi and Lorenzo are once again teammates, though the pecking order has changed to some degree within the factory Yamaha Racing team.

With Lorenzo the reigning World Champion, and Rossi coming off an abysmal two-year stint with Ducati Corse, for the first time in a long while, the Italian racer finds himself in the #2 seat. With some questioning whether the better days are behind him, there is even doubt coming from The Doctor’s own mouth about his ability. Sandbagging or true position, one can never be sure, but the issue is surely going to be one that is touched upon heavily in the beginning of the 2013 MotoGP World Championship.

With the winter ban nearly over, and riders returning to their racing duties, we won’t have long until we see bikes on the track testing. Until then, we have the marketing machines of the various factories for entertainment, and not to let Ducati steal the show with its 2013 Wrooom event, Yamaha has teased out some photos and a video of its 2013 team. Now, I am a huge fan of Gigi Soldano’s work, and I like to think I’m a pretty open-minded dude…but shit gets weird after the jump.

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Racing

Video: Who is Kurt Caselli?

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After winning Stage Seven of the 2013 Dakar Rally, the A.S.O. has started to give American Kurt Caselli a bit more love on its made-for-YouTube video updates. Replacing the injured Marc Coma on the factory KTM team, Caselli may be a rookie to The Dakar, but he is no stranger to high-achievements in some of motorcycling’s most brutal events. A WORCS, Hare & Hound, and ISDE winner, Caselli was also part of the second-place finishing KTM team that tackled the Baja 1000 in 2012.

The experience has helped the California native to adapt to the South American race, though not all the learning has been easy. Having a horrible ninth stage, Caselli dropped from 11th in the standings to 39th, with navigational errors costing him dearly. All a part of the learning process for this Dakar rookie, Caselli has several more days to overcome his time penalties and improve his finishing position.

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Bikes

Honda MSX125 Will Make a Monkey Out of You

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If there ever was a motorcycle that earned the word “cute” is its best descriptor, the Honda Monkey might be it. A diminutive and fun motorcycle, it was hard to look good on Honda’s old Z-series bikes, though the machines themselves still carry their own unique flavor of cool to this day.

Fast-forward fifty-years later, and Honda is bringing the Monkey back, this time in the guise of the 2013 Honda MSX125. Manufactured in Thailand, the Honda MSX 125 (MSX = Mini Street X-treme 125), the 125cc, 9.7 hp, four-stroke, two-valve, single-cylinder, fuel-injected fun machine will be a Spring 2013 model in markets around the world (no word on North America though).

The ultimate pit bike for us Anglo-Saxons, the Honda MSX125 also serves as a practical and durable machine for markets where potholed asphalt is a luxury where roads rarely exist. With the seat just a touch above 30 inches off the ground (30.1″ to be exact), the new Honda Monkey is a friend to the short man (or woman) as well.

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