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World Superbike Preview of Laguna Seca

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There are not many circuits in the world like the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and the Californian circuit offers a unique challenge in World Superbike.

Led Zeppelin sang about Going to California and said, “I’ll meet you up there where the path runs high. Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams, telling myself it’s not as hard, hard, hard as it seems.”

Unfortunately for the riders in WorldSBK, when you stand at the top of the mountain at Laguna Seca, the challenge facing riders who dream of a win truly is as hard as it seems. This highly technical race track demands precision, consistency, imagination, and above all else experience.

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Bikes

MV Agusta Brutale 800 America Debuts for USA

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Ahead of the World Superbike round at Laguna Seca, MV Agusta is releasing a special limited edition machine for the American market. Called the MV Agusta Brutale 800 America, only 50 examples of this red/white/blue street bike will be made, one for each state of the union.

As the name implies, this special edition machine is built off the MV Agusta Brutale 800 street bike, with a unique livery and color scheme being the key defining features of the MV Agusta Brutale 800 America.

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MotoGP

Max Biaggi Continues to Recover, Leaves Hospital ICU

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The Max Biaggi continues to show progress on his recovery, with the six-time world champion finally leaving the intensive care unit at the San Camillo Hospital. The transfer occurred yesterday, which also happened to be Biaggi’s 46th birthday.

Tweeting to his fans on Twitter, the Roman Emperor said “After the time I spent in there, the most beautiful gift and get out of intensive care after 17 days. Thank you for all the birthday wishes and for all the affections received every day. Unforgettable. I love you.”

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MotoGP

Max Biaggi Has Successful Lung Surgery

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We bring you some good news today, Max Biaggi is said to have had a successful surgery this week at the San Camillo Hospital, after his supermoto crash from two weeks ago.

The six-time world champion underwent surgery to his chest, in what the hospital calls a “thoracoscopic toilette of the right pleural cavity.” This was to repair a tear in his lung cavity.

Biaggi will continue to remain in the hospital’s intensive care unit, with painkillers and supplemental oxygen, where his prognosis is listed as “reserved” for now. The surgery was considered a success however, and all signs seem to point to Biaggi’s recovery.

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WSBK

The Ducati Panigale R and Its Carbon “Wheel Cover”

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While everyone else seems to be turning a blind eye to aerodynamics, Ducati continues to be the brand pushing the aero envelope with its designs.

As such, World Superbike fans may have seen this weekend that Chaz Davies was sporting a unique rear end, as Ducati Corse continues to experiment with a lenticular wheel setup.

A piece of technology borrowed mostly from cycling, the carbon fiber disc “wheel cover” provides a more slippery surface for the wind to flow over, than the chaos that comes from a spinning spoked wheel on a motorcycle.

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WSBK

Pirelli Responds to WorldSBK Tire Woes with Change

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The Misano round of WorldSBK was dominated by talk of tires. As such, following a weekend fraught with failures, Pirelli will revert to an older specification of tire for the Laguna Seca round. The move sees Pirelli at a crossroads, after a series of high profile incidents during the scorching weekend in Italy.

This includes Michael van der Mark’s crash from the lead of Saturday’s race, after a tire failure saw the Dutch rider robbed of his chance to claim his first podium for Yamaha.

One has to remember too, Jonathan Rea also crashed out of the lead at the previous round in Donington Park, as it was a shock to see the previously robust Pirelli fail once again.

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Bikes

The End Is Nigh for the Ducati 1299 Panigale

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That Ducati is about to debut a V4 superbike is perhaps the worst-kept secret right now in the motorcycle industry, and when we saw the Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario late last year, we were sure this would be last “new” Panigale from its namesake, Borgo Panigale.

Getting ready to send the v-twin superbike on its final farewell, it seems Ducati still has a few surprises up its sleeve, as the Italian brand has released a teaser video for an event on July 7th, with the tagline “When the End Tells the Whole Story.”

Filled with quick-takes on a Panigale superbike, in the red/white Corse livery (just like on the Ducati 1299 Superleggera), the video is surely a nod to the end-of-the-line for this big-displacement v-twin superbike. The words “Panigale Final Edition” in the video title are a tip-off too.

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Spoiler

WorldSBK: Chaz Davies Fractures Back in Crash

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After a last-lap crash in Race 1 at Misano, Chaz Davies has been declared to have broken his back during the incident. The announcement comes after Davies was taken to the Rimini Hospital for further medical assessment, after he was taken by stretcher off the race track – just three corners away from the finish line.

Doctors in Rimini diagnosed Davies with a closed thoracic trauma, which includes aa fracture of the transverse process of the third lumbar vertebra (L3). Davies also suffers from a contusion of the left thumb.

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Spoiler

WorldSBK: Pirelli Explains Race 1 Tire Failure at Misano

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Michael van der Mark suffered a rear tire failure during the closing stages of Race 1 at the Misano WorldSBK round.

The Dutch rider was leading the race at the time, and had a firm chance to claim a first career victory in the class, when his rear tire suddenly failed and pitched him off the bike through the series of fast right-handers at the end of the lap.

For Pirelli, it is the second round in a row where they have seen a tire failure affect the outcome of a race, after Jonathan Rea suffered the same fate at Donington Park.

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