Akrapovič Magazine vol. 32

>> ISSUE 32

Interview with Franco Uncini DIDN’T PAY TO RACE. MISTAKE? ““II D I DN’ T P AY T OR ACE . M ISTA KE? PERHAPS…” P ERH A PS…”

Bentley Continental GT Speed visits Brooklands

JOHN McGUINNESS AND TT ISLE OF MAN

READY FOR SOFA AND SLIPPERS? Violinist Ara Malikian

LIFE WITH (FOUR ) STRINGS ATTACHED

Stiffer, lighter, faster!

Ultimate performance cruiser built by a sailor’s dream-team.

The Elan E6 is out! Shooting ahead in the world of performance sailing, the Elan E6 is a next generation 47 foot perfromance cruiser.

Watch the E6 premiere and walkthrough: https://landing.elan-yachts.com/ elan-e6-launch

www.elan-yachts.com

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sail@elan.si

04

C ont e nt s

A K RAP OV I Č Akrapovič Lifestyle Magazine Issue 32, April 2022 Akrapovič d.d.

Malo Hudo 8a SI-1295 Ivančna Gorica Slovenia www.akrapovic.com Editor in Chief: Miran Ališič Publisher: Korpmedia d.o.o.

Tomšičeva 1, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia www.korpmedia.si Registration No.: 2272237000 VAT No.: SI14601737 Client Coordinator: Primož Jurman Photo Editor: Bor Dobrin Art Directors: Slavojka Akrapovič, Neja Engelsberger, Saša Kerkoš Cover design: Zdenko Bračevac Design: Zdenko Bračevac, Andrej Perčič, Bojan Perko, Robert Cankar, Akrapovič Kreativa d.o.o.

Content Editor: Jasna Milinković Contributors: Alenka Birk, Tony Dodgins, John Hogan, Matevž Hribar, Primož Jurman, Gaber Keržišnik, Toby Moody, Imre Paulovits, Mitja Reven, Karin Sturm, Tina Torelli Contributing Photographers: Akrapovič, Alex Štokelj, BMW, BRX, Bor Dobrin, chili films, Graeme Brown, Hoch Zwei, Kawasaki Racing Team, Marc Robinot, Polarity Photo, Team HRC, Uroš Podlogar, Yamaha Racing, X-raid Translation: Matjaž Horvat, Werner Schneider Proofreading: Tim Walpole Ad space marketing: www.yvision.ch Y.Vision GmbH, Poststrasse 9, 6300 Zug, Switzerland On the cover: Evolution Header Set (Titanium) for the Porsche 911 GT3 (992)

Contents

05 Letter

06 Akrapovič News

12 Evolution

16 Evolution

18 Story

24 Story

30 Visit With Us

36 Interview

44 Story

48 Drive With Us

54 Story

60 Story

66 Story

74 Original

78 High Gear

Photo by Alex Štokelj Printing: LUart, Lepovče 42, 1310 Ribnica, Slovenia

// Si NOTE All the longer articles in the Akrapovič magazine include a text that will be marked with the // Si sign and placed in a special frame. The Akrapovič company is based in Slovenia and this is why we decided to keep this part of the text in Slovenian as well.

Copyright notice This magazine and its entire textual and pictorial content are subject to copyright. Any reproduction thereof without prior written consent of the copyright holder is prohibited.

The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Akrapovič d.d., the publishers or the editors.

Not for sale. Printed in Slovenia in April in 6.000 copies.

General Warning Because of the world-wide distribution of Akrapovič d.d. products, neither Akrapovič d.d. nor any of its subsidiaries make any representation that the products comply with the air and/or noise emissions laws, or labeling laws, of any jurisdiction. The purchasers are entirely responsible for informing themselves of the applicable laws where the products are to be used and to comply with those laws. Warning / USA Various U.S. states and the U.S. federal government have individual laws regulating the use of aftermarket exhaust parts and systems, especially as those parts and systems modify, remove, or replace original equipment catalysts. Please consult the appropriate laws in your area before installing any aftermarket part or system on your vehicle to ensure compliance with all applicable laws. Neither Akrapovič d.d. nor any of their subsidiaries or the sellers of the parts or systems make any representation that any of their parts or systems comply with any such laws. Warning / California California laws prohibit the use of any aftermarket exhaust part or system that modifies, removes or replaces original equipment catalysts unless the California Air Resources Board has issued an Executive Order regarding such part or system or unless the part or system is exempted by being used only on racing vehicles on closed courses. Neither Akrapovič d.d. nor any of their subsidiaries make any representation that any of their parts or systems has received such an Executive Order or that any of their parts or systems conform with the racing vehicles exemption. The purchasers are entirely responsible for informing themselves of applicable California laws and to comply with those laws.

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Letter

05

photography Bor Dobrin

04

spring For years now, the first of the biannual issues of the ALM magazine came out in the spring and the one you are holding is no different.

Also unchanged throughout these years has been its creators’ desire to provide the readers with interesting stories, usually, though not always, connected with the world of motorsports.

Spring plays a significant role in motorsports, especially motorcycling. Following the long winter with its inhospitable weather conditions, the stronger sun rays signal the arrival of warmer days and the start of a new riding season. Spring is also when championships in various automotive and motorcycle racing series start – from the local to the global level. In the past, at least in Europe, Easter weekend signalled the racing start to the season.

Quite a few readers probably still remember the Transatlantic Trophy motorcycle road races (formerly known as Anglo-American Match Races), which, especially in Britain, served as an unofficial opening to the season. In the USA, one of the main season openers is the March annual racing spectacle in Daytona, though motocross and supercross riders as well as seasons kick off even earlier. The start of the ‘spring’ for motorcycle races, at least in the northern hemisphere, has been progressively pushed closer to winter in recent years: world championships series, such as MotoGP and WorldSBK, thus start in March, sometimes already in late February, with racing teams spending the winter months testing their new machines and looking for increasingly advanced solutions to stay ahead of the pack. While there used to be a clear boundary between season and off-season, this line is becoming increasingly blurred in the racing world. For all who take part in racing car and motorcycle development and planning for the new season – with Akrapovič right there in the mix – the season has become a never-ending event, a constant cycle that never breaks and only intensifies.

Spring also brings motorcycling and motoring enthusiasts out on the roads and allows them to wake their machines up from hibernation. The long and cold winter evenings are forgotten and so are the endless hours of waiting for the moment when weather

conditions allow them to enjoy riding again. But not all are content with having to stay dormant in the winter: some go out looking for places and parts of the world where it is possible to get that adrenaline rush even if the weather at home prohibits it. This just goes to show that humans are willing to sacrifice time, money and more for pleasure.

The ALM magazine tries to capture the passion on two and four wheels in both its spring and autumn editions and entertain you with background stories created on and alongside the racetracks that add another stone to the mosaic of global motorsports. But we also add to these with content that contains the curios, the attractive, the unusual and the exceptional. And we are not solely talking about something related to car or motorcycle racing. ALM wants to look beyond that world and share our enthusiasm for such stories with you.

In this edition you will thus learn how former 500cc World Champion Franco Uncini survived the horrific fall in Assen and what role he currently plays in the MotoGP World Championship; serving as a final memory of winter, you will read about what it is like to glide on ice with rare and prestigious cars; we will then transition to spring by asking why Isle of Man TT motorcycle racing legend John McGuinness is still not calling it quits; what former racers do in WorldSBK World Championship teams today; what riders progress from lower classes all the way to MotoGP; what extreme enduro racer Tjaša Fifer thinks about reaching and going beyond the limits; what the legendary motorcycle brand MV Agusta expects from working with Akrapovič; and, last but not least, tell you why cigars are not just a male domain anymore.

Spring truly is beautiful in every way.

Primož Jurman Client Coordinator

A krapov ič Ne w s

Three Red Dot Product Design 2022 awards

The international jury at the Red Dot Design

Red Dot distinction in the Innovative Products

type-approved Akrapovič Slip-On Line (Titanium)

Award competition awarded three ‘Red Dot

category. The twice-awarded Ferrari F8 Tributo

Exhaust System for Ducati Monster and Monster

Award: Product Design 2022’ awards to two

exhaust system is a must-have for collectors

+ meanwhile features a unique design with two

Akrapovič products. The Akrapovič Slip-On Line

as it was manufactured in a very limited edition

exhaust mufflers to match the bike’s twin engine

(Titanium) Exhaust System and Heat Shield

of 30 pieces marking the 30 anniversary of

configuration and can be upgraded with Heat

(Carbon) for the Ducati Monster and Monster

the Akrapovič company. Built from lightweight

Shield (Carbon) - a handmade, forged carbon

+ has been awarded with the product design

titanium and Inconel, the system incorporates

fibre heatshield, also a very rare material in the

award in the Vehicle Accessories category, the

many cast parts and features the extremely

motorcycle world - an outstanding finishing touch

same as the Akrapovič Evolution Line (Titanium)

rarely used ceramic matrix composites. Each

for the meticulously designed Ducati Monster

30th Anniversary Exhaust System for the

piece was engraved with a special 30 year logo

and Monster + exhaust system.

Ferrari F8 Tributo, which received an additional

and its own serial number. The Euro 5 EC/ECE

th

Uphill battle for the BMW M4 GT3 The first 24 Hours of Daytona proved to be a tough test for the completely new BMW M4 GT3 with the BMW M Team RLL’s two MOTUL BMW M4 GT3s crossing the finish line of this challenging race in seventh and ninth place, respectively, in the GTD PRO class. After the taxing 24 Hours of Daytona, the new BMW purebreds, fitted with Akrapovič exhaust systems, faced another difficult challenge: 12 Hours of Sebring. The endurance classic on a track, whose uneven surface is extremely unforgiving for both race cars and their drivers, saw the brand-new BMW M4 GT3 fighting for the podium before having to settle for fourth and tenth place in the GTD PRO class. “Although we missed the podium, we can take a lot of positives from this race. I’m sure the first podium will come soon,” Marco Wittmann said after his first-ever Sebring appearance. Akrapovič is an Official Partner of BMW M Motorsport.

06 / 11

Akrapovič News

Cutting-edge innovations When designing the aftermarket Slip-On Race Line (Titanium) exhaust

Header Set (Titanium), which comes with a slew of technological

system for Porsche 911 GT3 (992), Akrapovič engineers utilised their

innovations, including tuned resonator tubes, cast collectors and cast

wealth of experience with past exhaust systems including the one for

cylinder head flanges, and - for the first time in an Akrapovič car

Porsche 911 GT3 (997). The 911 GT3 (992) exhaust, manufactured from

aftermarket exhaust system - cast manifold crossover tubes in order to

lightweight and durable titanium and developed for use on closed-course

boost performance in the mid rev range. Crossover tubes have often been

tracks and racetracks only, can be further upgraded with an Evolution

seen before on Akrapovič motorcycle exhaust systems.

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Build your own BMW M 1000 RR BMW Motorrad and the LEGO Group revealed the LEGO® Technic BMW M 1000 RR, shortened to simply M RR, at the start of the year. If that hasn’t whetted your appetite and you aren’t already eyeing that empty spot on your living-room shelf, the 1:5 scale model is made up of 1,920 pieces, and the attention to detail is simply staggering. Based on BMW Motorrad’s 156kW (212hp) superbike motorcycle, considered one of the most powerful machines for road and racing use, the LEGO® Technic version measures 27.7cm in height, 45.5cm in length, and 17cm in width. It features fully functional components such as a three-speed gearbox, upside-down fork and rear swingarm with suspension, a dashboard with three different display options and a gold-coloured drive chain. Just as the 1:1 scale M RR, the LEGO® Technic BMW M 1000 RR is also fitted with an Akrapovič exhaust system.

Sports Exhaust for Continental GT Speed Bentley Motors and Akrapovič engineers jointly developed a new titanium sports exhaust for the Continental GT Speed, the most dynamic road car in Bentley’s 101-year history. The new exhaust is constructed from lightweight titanium and has been designed to heighten the layers of sounds produced by the iconic W12 engine in the new Continental GT Speed and GT Speed Convertible. Through the use of titanium in manufacturing and with complex parts produced in Akrapovič’s in-house foundry, Akrapovič has created an exhaust to manage the engine’s 485kW (659hp) – a 4% increase over the current W12 model – and 900Nm of torque. The exhaust, displaying the logos of both brands, is available through the Bentley Motors dealer network and allows the car’s engine to breathe more freely, improves throttle response by reducing the back pressure and boosts the turbocharger’s performance while offering maximum strength, optimum flow, extreme heat resistance and tipping the scales at 7kg less than the stock system.

MV Agusta, also featured in this issue of the Akrapovič Lifestyle Magazine, began selling the Akrapovič exhaust system for its F3 RR. The RR is at the pinnacle of MV Agusta’s F3 range, a motorcycle that offers class-leading performance, state-of-the-art aerodynamics and a superb chassis, making it a unique member of the Supersport segment. Many accessories are being offered for the bike, including the Akrapovič Slip-On Line (Titanium) exhaust, an EC/ECE type-approved system that offers a power and torque increase of 2.5kW (3.4hp) at 13,000rpm and 2.5Nm at 11,900rpm, plus weight savings of 49.5% when compared to the standard stock exhaust.

Developed by Akrapovič and MV Agusta engineers, the exhaust is constructed entirely from lightweight titanium and finished with a beautiful hand-crafted carbon-fibre end cap. It is also available as part of the Racing Kit, aimed at riders using the F3 RR only on racetracks. The kit, which comes with a dedicated MV Agusta Racing electronic control unit, boosts the power to 114kW (155hp) and reduces the dry weight from 173kg to 165kg.

Designed for F3 RR

06 / 11

Akrapovič News

First Dakar for GASGAS Factory Racing The 2022 edition of the world’s toughest rally entered history as the first-ever Dakar Rally won by the GASGAS Factory Racing team. The historic success for GASGAS came courtesy of Sam Sunderland, who rode to his second Dakar victory. “This win feels better than the first as this victory was anything but easy. The times were so close this year and there was no time to let off the gas, it was a really close race, right to the end. All of the hard work, the sacrifices, and everything that the GASGAS team has done for me makes it all worthwhile,” Sam said of his two victories following the 12th stage of this year’s Dakar, which took place in Saudi Arabia.

Photos: GASGAS Images/RallyZone

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Motorsport aktuell double for Akrapovic LESERWAHL

LESERWAHL

BEST BRAND

BEST BRAND

KATEGORIE MOTORRAD Auspuffanlagen

KATEGORIE AUTOMOBIL Sport-Auspuffanlagen

2021 Heft 17/22

2021 Heft 17/22

In the Racer of the Year 2021 survey, published by Motorsport aktuell in 2022, Akrapovič found its way to the top in two categories for the ninth time in a row. Voted for by the readers of one of Europe’s premier publications, Akrapovič secured 61.2% of the vote in the Most Popular Brand in Automobile Racing Sports for Sports Exhaust Systems category, and received an incredible 81.1% in the Most Popular Brand in Motorcycle Racing for Exhaust Systems category.

Number 1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) will be defending his 2021 WorldSBK title on a motorcycle sporting number one with fifty-four, the number with which he won last year’s title, written inside with smaller numerals. It does not always happen that world champions in racing decide to defend their title with the starting number one.

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BMW R18 Empathy BMW R18 is the first such motorcycle made by the Bavarian brand to be customised in Slovenia.

Its transformation is part of the Empathy charity project, which aims to improve the quality of life for the bike’s recepient, who was injured in a traffic accident. In cooperation with Dreamachine and Akrapovič, the BMW R18 got a new look as well as some unique components. Akrapovič created a one-off exhaust system, providing the two-cylinder engine with an unmistakable deep sound. The two-piece fuel tank, enhanced with a carbon lid and side panels, was devised

by Dreamachine, as were the carbon protection at the front of the engine, the front and rear fenders with an LED brake light and Kellermann turn signals. Dreamachine also added TTS wheels, a new seat, front grille with an LED headlight, side-mounted licence plate bracket, handlebars and modified the rear-view mirrors.

The project’s final touch is the glowing Empathy inscription on the engine’s block, giving the finished product a unique and attractive look.

17 years on top 52,333 readers of Motorrad, the renowned German magazine, and visitors to its website, chose Akrapovič as the best brand in the exhaust systems category in their latest vote. The readers were able to choose their favourite in a total of 22 categories, with Akrapovič winning its respective class with an incredible 79.7% of the votes cast. 2022 thus brought the Slovenian company its 17th best brand title as chosen by Motorrad readers.

Podium for Loeb The Bahrain Raid Xtreme team featured prominently at its second-ever Dakar Rally, with two of its Prodrive Hunter T1+ race cars, equipped with Akrapovič exhaust systems, finishing in the top four. The pairing of Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin was in the running for the victory all the way until the end, but had to settle for second after 8,500 gruelling kilometres, while the second car with Orlando Terranova and Dani Oliveras finished fourth, Terranova’s best result in his 16 appearances at the famous rally. “Dakar remains one of the most challenging motorsport events on the planet and considering this is only our second attempt we have to be very proud of what we have achieved,” BRX team director David Richards said after the rally, while already looking forward to what’s to come in the all-new FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (WRRC), where Loeb is currently in the lead after the second rally of the season, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

06 / 11

Akrapovič News

Laia and MINI Laia Sanz, the reigning world champion in the FIM EnduroGP Women World Championship and the queen of Rally Dakar, consistently achieved good results on motorcycles at the world’s toughest rally, culminating in ninth place overall in 2015. She added an extra pair of wheels at this year’s edition of the Dakar, which saw her behind the wheel of a Primax X-raid Team race car. The Spaniard crossed the finish line with the Akrapovič-equipped MINI ALL4 Racing car in 23rd place. “You get to share your emotions with somebody else,” Laia described her experiences on four wheels, where you have a co-driver in a car, adding that she felt doing the rally on a motorcycle seemed quite a bit more dangerous.

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Bid for WorldSSP crown Ducati is entering this year’s World Supersport Championship season in cooperation with the Aruba.it Racing WSSP team and rider Nicolo Bulega. The class, placed a rung lower than WorldSBK where Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team riders regularly fight for the podium, is increasingly competitive and presents a new opportunity for Ducati. “It’s a fascinating challenge that underlines Ducati’s deep commitment to the world of production-based racing,” said Luigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse General Manager. Bulega will be racing with an Akrapovič-equipped Panigale V2.

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Evolut ion

Evolution

by Mitja Reven photography Yamaha Racing, Akrapovič

Track Day exhaust systems

EXHAUST SYSTEMS ARE ALIVE No, the title does not imply that you could meet an exhaust system for a coffee and chat about the goings-on in the world of racing, though some people do treat theirs as if they were real living beings.

What it means is that, in a metaphorical sense, exhaust systems change, due to, among other things, advances in technology, materials, engineering solutions and, largely, also rules and regulations.

12

The rules of the game on some circuits are changing and, due to lower sound volume requirements, the demand is increasing for capable exhaust systems, which are quieter than the classic „racetrack only“ exhausts.

13

12 / 15

Evolution

In 1996, increased demand resulted in the first Akrapovič exhaust systems with TÜV type approval coming to the market, with the company investing heavily in equipment for the development and manufacture of type approved exhausts in the following years and decades.

14

For more than 30 years Akrapovič has been

certified track for measuring sound volume

developing and selling high-performance

levels. The number of Akrapovič exhaust

exhaust systems, renowned all over the

systems that meet the latest EC/ECE type-

world for their performance, reduced weight,

approval requirements is growing by the

unique shape and sound. Like many other

week.

companies, Akrapovič started by making

As soon as man invented bicycle, he wanted

products for racing motorcycles, before

to ride faster, race against the clock, go for

expanding to the general motorcycle market

distance and challenge other riders. The

and then to cars. At the very beginning

same stayed true after engines were added to

the company therefore followed racetrack

bicycles, though speeds increased alongside

regulations, which are far less restrictive

the noise levels. We know from a young age

regarding the development of exhaust

that not all music suits all. This is also true

systems than those in place for exhausts

for the sound made by motor vehicles, which

used in everyday life that require EC/ECE

brightens the day for many (including this

type approval. In 1995, Akrapovič’s range

writer, especially if the sound is mixed with

thus did not include an exhaust with type

the smell of racing tires and burnt petrol at

approval. There simply wasn’t enough

the racetrack), while others get annoyed

demand and riders didn’t need one. But just

by engines that get too loud for their liking.

a year later increased demand resulted in

Type-approval systems thus provide balance

the first Akrapovič exhaust systems with TÜV

and a compromise.

type approval coming to the market, with the company investing heavily in equipment

Racetracks

for the development and manufacture of

But let us leave the everyday traffic to

such exhausts in the following years and

those who drive to work, to their vacation

decades, ranging from a certified emission

destination, to visit their mother-in-law,

measurement laboratory, a durability dyno

or simply because they enjoy the ride and

operated by a robot “rider” all the way to a

the wind rushing by their helmets and

What is shared by all the solutions aiming to make the exhaust systems quieter while providing the best possible performance, is the addition of „Track Day“ to all such Akrapovič aftermarket products.

motorcycles. We are not interested in what

providing the best possible performance,

Reducing the sound levels of exhaust

came first - the houses by the Rivazza

is the addition of “Track Day” to all such

systems for motorcycles, which are intended

curve at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo

Akrapovič aftermarket products. Honda

exclusively for use on closed circuits and

e Dino Ferrari racetrack or the racetrack

CBR1000RR-R 2022 riders can enjoy the

racetracks, is a current trend, so more

itself. The fact is that the rules of the game

performance of the Evolution Line (Titanium)

“Track Day” exhausts and TD solutions are

on some circuits are changing and, due to

and Racing Line (Titanium) exhaust systems

likely to appear in the future. Challenged

stricter loudness requirements, the demand

on tracks without strict volume restrictions,

by the unequal loudness requirements

is increasing for capable exhaust systems,

and then switch to the “Track Day Link

and inconsistent methods of measuring it

which are quieter than the classic “racetrack

Pipe/Collector” with an added resonator to

at different circuits, Akrapovič engineers

only” exhausts, listed in Akrapovič catalogue

lower the loudness for circuits with stricter

continue to strive to develop exhaust systems

as the Evolution Line and Racing Line and

noise volume restrictions in place. In-house

that offer maximum power, best power curve

considered the top of the range of products

measurement on the Honda CBR1000RR-R

for excellent rideability, weight reduction

from Ivančna Gorica. Solutions used by

with the “Evolution Line (Titanium) with Track

through the use of light titanium and carbon

Akrapovič engineers to reduce the sound

Day Link Pipe/Collector (SS)” exhaust system

fibre, are beautiful to look at and, naturally,

levels of such exhaust systems for use on

and a noise insert showed static sound

sound great.

racetracks by a few dB vary from motorcycle

volume at below 98dB. Similar solutions are

to motorcycle. For details, check the

available for the 2022 Aprilia RSV4, Kawasaki

company’s website and ask your local dealer.

Ninja ZX-10RR, Yamaha R6…

Some manufacturers, including Yamaha Motor Europe, have teamed up with Akrapovič to develop high-performance motorcycle exhaust systems designed exclusively for use on the racetrack that provide excellent sound at lower volume.

In its Genuine Yamaha Technology Racing (GYTR) catalogue, the Japanese brand offers performance exhaust systems for various models, including R3, R6, R7 and R1. Worth checking out if you are an amateur racer or ride your Yamaha exclusively on racetracks and want your machine to be as fast as possible. The Yamaha R6 GYTR model year 2022 for the European market, which is intended exclusively for track use, comes factory-equipped with an Akrapovič exhaust system, developed with the aim of ensuring maximum performance and riding capabilities alongside uncompromising durability and reduced loudness. It is constructed from lightweight titanium with a carbon fibre heat shield.

TD as Track Day Just as there is no universal protocol for measuring the sound levels of motorcycles on racetracks, there is no universal solution that Akrapovič engineers use to lower the loudness of exhaust systems. Technical solutions differ from exhaust to exhaust, as do motorcycles themselves. What is shared by all the solutions aiming to make exhaust systems quieter while

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16 / 17 Evolution

Evolut ion

TITANIUM PROTECTION BARS

LIGHTWEIGHT STRENGTH

by Mitja Reven

photography Akrapovič, chili films

I believe that most of you reading this magazine have a special relationship with motorcycles. Perhaps you even see them a bit like pets we can devote our free time to. Pets that give us joy, but can also cause us worries.

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You can count yourself lucky if you have never experienced your motorcycle falling down or getting a nasty scratch or two. The heart skips a beat while the eyes well up assessing the damage.

In order to maximise the former and minimise

heart skips a beat while the eyes well up

from sandblasted precision TIG welded

the latter, Akrapovič engineers designed

assessing the damage. Akrapovič titanium

titanium tubes fitted with laser-cut and finely

a product unlike anything else you have

protection bars, a completely new product

machined 8mm flanges to provide a perfect

seen from the Slovenian company, which

category for the Ivančna Gorica based

fit and strength.

won its worldwide renown by producing

company, were designed with the thought of

However, it is not only the experience with

performance exhaust systems. It is more than

preventing exactly such scenarios in mind.

the lightweight titanium that links Akrapovič’s

three decades of experience transforming

Created from scratch with the knowledge

new product with the brand’s exhaust

lightweight materials into parts for exhaust

that there can never be enough protection

systems. Also included as standard is the

systems that have won more than 150 world

and officially named the Upper Protection Bar

attention to detail, reflected in the finishing

titles in various motorsport categories, has

Set (Titanium) and Lower Protection Bar Set

touches, and lightness, underscored with

now placed Akrapovič in a position to enter

(Titanium), these useful products are currently

the Titanium label. These protection bars

a completely new segment - motorcycle

available for BMW’s R 1250 GS adventure

from titanium tubes, which have the same

protection. Why not use the comprehensive

tourer and, as their names show, comprise a

mechanical properties as steel bars, offer

know-how in the field of lightweight titanium

set of upper and lower protection bars.

high strength and corrosion resistance.

technology and the skilful hands of welders to

Having begun life as a blank sheet of

All four parts weigh in at 6.26kg, which is

manufacture something new that will make the

paper, they underwent numerous tests and

about 40% less than if they were made from

motorcyclists’ grin even wider - without having

deformation analyses aimed at providing

stainless steel, making them one of one of

to forego the sublime soundtrack of Akrapovič

perfect protection and integration with the

the lightest protection bar sets on the market

exhausts, naturally.

motorcycle’s existing components while

for the BMW R 1250 GS. The Bavarian

You can count yourself lucky if you have

not restricting its lean angle. The frames

motorcycle meanwhile officially tips the

never experienced your motorcycle falling

are partly fixed to the chassis to distribute

scales at 249kg, so you can easily do the

down or getting a nasty scratch or two. The

any impact through the bars and are made

maths yourselves.

Story

18 / 23 Story

DIFFERENT ROLE,

The history of motorcycle racing abounds with examples of former racers remaining on the scene after finishing their active racing careers. The formula has proven to be successful many times over and we have seen quite a few such instances this season in WorldSBK. We would like to introduce you to five former riders - whose current jobs now range from Team Principal, Team Manager, Crew Chief to Motorcycle Coach.

by Primož Jurman

photography Graeme Brown, Jamie Morris, BMW, Ducati, Kawasaki Racing Team, Team HRC, Yamaha Racing

World orldSBK SBK OFTEN ATTRACTS FORMER RACERS

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SAME GOAL – WINNING

Motorrad in managing the BMW Motorrad World Superbike operation. I do this working alongside the BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director and his team. The work we do inside SMR includes building the BMW M 1000 RR Superbikes, on- and off-track maintenance, logistics management, corporate hospitality, coordination, managing sponsor requirements, the riders and much more.”

Beginnings of cooperation The most famous pairing in recent racing history must surely be that of Valentino Rossi and Jeremy Burgess. Before coming to work Andrew Pitt

with Rossi, Burgess won the world titles with Mick Doohan and before that with Wayne Gardner. During his career, the machines serviced by the popular Burgess won 13 world

somewhat different tasks at Kawasaki Racing

“If I had known what I know now, I would probably have been a better rider.”

Andrew Pitt, Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK

Team: “My role in the team hinges on a few different points. The first is being Jonathan Rea’s spotter and this includes commenting on where he could improve on the track. I also work on bolstering his mental strength at race weekends. Race strategy is a big part of my

titles in the 500cc and MotoGP classes. This is certainly not the definitive outstanding racer/ crew chief pairing though: just think of Wayne Rainey and Mike Sinclair, Eddie Lawson and Freddie Spencer with Erv Kanemoto, Kevin Schwantz and Stuart Shenton, as well as Kenny Roberts Snr. and Kel Carruthers.

mission, too. I sometimes provide comments to his crew chief Pere Riba if I feel the bike could be improved in some areas.” Andrew Pitt, Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK, is the crew team chief, responsible for Andrea Locatelli: “It’s not just about managing the

We asked five former racers who now play various roles in WorldSBK teams to compare their past and present lives. Shaun Muir is Team Principal for BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, Serafino Foti works as Team Manager at Aruba.it Racing − Ducati, Leon Camier is the Team Manager the Team HRC, Fabien Foret is Motorcycle Coach at Kawasaki Racing Team and Andrew Pitt operates as Crew Chief in the Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK team.

Asked what their role is and what exactly they

bike, I collaborate with people as well. I try to advise Andrea in the best way possible.

Basically, I coordinate all the tools in terms of human resources, try to give him what he needs in terms of technology, allow him to have the best feeling [on the bike] and also be a kind of psychologist and make him trust me.”

Shaun Muir, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, plays a different role at SMR (Shaun Muir

“With more than 125 wins and podiums and two British Championships, it’s very difficult to turn your back on a sport you have put so much effort into. I guess this is why we stay involved.”

Shaun Muir, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

Racing) - he is the team’s owner: “My job is to work in a joint venture arrangement with BMW

do in the team, Serafino Foti, Aruba.it Racing – Ducati, explains: “The team manager’s role is an all-round one, consisting of coordinating all the parts of a team - from technicians to riders - to work as well as possible and also managing all the activities that are carried out both at home and on the track. The team manager is the first to arrive to the pits and the last to leave.” Former racer Leon Camier, now working for Team HRC, has a similar feeling: “My role being a team manager is really hard to summarise. I take care of many technical aspects, I check the goings-on with the bike from every performance angle and look for ways to improve it. Having been a racing rider, I can also help our riders in terms of fitness, nutrition, coping mentally as well as understanding how the systems on the bikes work to push performance to a higher level.

Also very important, how to concentrate on

“Having been a racing rider, I can also help our riders in terms of fitness, nutrition, coping mentally as well as understanding how the systems on the bikes work so as to push the performance to a higher level and how to concentrate on race pace.”

Leon Camier, Team HRC

race pace.” Fabien Foret meanwhile performs Leon Camier

18 / 23 Story

“I was asked by Jonathan Rea in 2016 as I was finishing my career in Endurance to work for him as a spotter and I thought it could be a good continuation of being on the bike. We tried it, it worked and I found it was an effective way to utilise my experience and passion.”

Fabien Foret, Kawasaki Racing Team

Fabien Foret

“The team manager is the first to arrive to the pits and the last to leave.”

Serafino Foti, Aruba.it Racing − Ducati

Shaun Muir

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Serafino Foti

21

Going even further back in time, we can find Geoff Duke and Joe Craig, Mike Hailwood and Honda’s Michihiko Aika as well as Giacomo Agostini and Arturo Magni, of MV Agusta, though these were more relations between racers and factory officials. According to many, the first modern racer/team leader pair came in the guise of Roberts and Carruthers, with the pair winning three world titles in the 500cc category in the late 1970s.

Many of the best team leaders are former racers, as it is easier to understand racers if one had actually walked in their shoes.

Burgess, for example, raced at a high level in Australia. “I think it helps if the team principal was a racer,” Roberts once said. “It adds a bit more credibility. It is very important that the racer respects the man he is working with.”

Kawasaki Racing Team

Still the case today This is still the case today. Shaun Muir gives an insight into his transition to team ownership: “I retired from national level racing through injury and always felt I never achieved my riding

the paddock for 37 years, I’ve gained a lot

Kawasaki SRC, took the role of rider coach via

ambitions, so entering team management

of experience and I still want to learn and

an invite from a world champion: “I was asked

seemed a natural route for me. After retiring

challenge myself.” Coming directly from the

by Jonathan Rea in 2016 - as I was finishing

from racing, I started by sponsoring some

grid to team management, Leon Camier has

my career in Endurance - to work for him as

riders through my business and from there

a different view: “I realised my racing career

a spotter and I thought it could be a good

it quickly turned into owning a race team. It

was ending after my second shoulder injury

continuation of being on the bike. We tried it,

happened so fast I couldn’t stop it. With more

which occurred while I was still recovering

it worked and I found it was an effective way

than 125 wins and podiums and two British

from my first injury. I knew the path to recovery

to utilise my experience and passion. It suits

Championships, it’s very difficult to turn your

would take a long time. It did, I still feel pain

me more than being, for example, a crew chief

back on a sport you have put so much effort

today. At that point I had an opportunity to

and I am really enjoying myself, especially with

into. I guess this is why we stay involved.”

take the position of team manager at HRC.

the close relationship I have with Jonathan.”

Serafino Foti has been in the paddock for

It’s an important position to jump into straight

Andrew Pitt, who won 2001 WorldSPP

almost four decades: “If somebody had asked

away, but with my experience I still wanted

title with a machine fitted with an Akrapovič

me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I

to be involved in the sport I grew up loving.

exhaust, describes how his role continues

would have answered, ‘What I’m doing now’.

I felt I could pass my experience on to the

to evolve: “If I hadn’t done this people would

This is my world. The most beautiful thing is to

younger riders and use it to try help the

have wondered why not - it was like a natural

love your job, and this allows you to overcome

team’s performance. This was my motivation

progression. It was something I never planned

any obstacle and keep stress under control.

to stay in motorsport.” Fabien Foret, who had

to do. I was also offered the position of a crew

From the outside it all looks easy, but this job

a sucessfull racing career with winning 24h

chief in the British Superbike Championship

makes you sacrifice many important aspects

Le Mans and Bol d’Or EWC races with Team

(BSB) paddock. I was able to learn new things,

of your life, such as your family. I’ve been in

like software and chassis adjustments. I really enjoyed it, I discovered I could do it and I had been lucky enough to work with some great people and that’s why I kept going. You learn all the time, in different teams with different people.”

Which role is more demanding?

Serafino Foti firmly believes that both roles are important: “Obviously, the life of a rider is different, everything revolves around you and you feel like you are the centre of attention, but it also requires a lot of physical and mental sacrifice to always be at 100 percent. Life as a team manager is very demanding, it requires a lot of work both at home and on track. You always have to be connected and prepared for any eventuality. I’ve been lucky enough to have experienced both roles, going through BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

different generations and eras.” Leon Camier believes that being a racer is much harder:

18 / 23 Story

“I put a lot of pressure on myself as a racer and I had very high expectations. Perhaps I expected too much from myself, but in those moments you push yourself to perform in every way possible. I took every training session very seriously, and it’s not always fun to race under such conditions.” Fabien Foret judges the roles as very different: “They require diverse commitments, but I have to admit it gets pretty busy once the season starts. I apply the same basic principles to both positions - hard work, determination, and passion.” Andrew Pitt tries to find some common ground between the roles: “I guess there are some similarities, but in general there are big differences. I spend more hours at the track in my current role, I

Team HRC

need to coordinate more and with more people.

When I meet a new team member, I need to understand him, incorporate him into our team, learn about his private life, see if everybody is happy. If I had known what I know now, I would probably have been a better rider. When I was racing, I was able to do everything in the last lap to win the race, now I believe that we give the racer the best bike to win.”

Even though all these ex-riders now work in various roles in the paddock, they all have the same goal as when they were racing - it’s all about winning.

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23 Aruba.it Racing – Ducati

// Si Nekdanji dirkači ostajajo v razredu WorldSBK Iz zgodovine motorističnega dirkanja poznamo veliko primerov, da so nekdanji dirkači po koncu aktivne kariere ostali v motošportu. Formula se je velikokrat izkazala kot uspešna in tudi v tej sezoni v svetovnem prvenstvu razreda WorldSBK poznamo kar nekaj takšnih primerov.

Predstavljamo pet nekdanjih dirkačev, ki v svojih ekipah opravljajo različne naloge. Shaun Muir je lastnik ekipe SMR, ki skrbi za BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, Serafino Foti dela kot vodja ekipe Aruba.it Racing − Ducati, Leon Camier je vodja ekipe Team HRC, Fabien Foret s svojimi izkušnjami skrbi za izboljšanje vožnje dirkača pri ekipi Kawasaki Racing Team, Andrew Pitt pa je eden izmed vodij pri ekipi Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK. Čeprav zdaj delajo v različnih vlogah, imajo isti cilj kot takrat, ko so sami dirkali – vsi želijo zmagati.

Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK

Story

24 / 27 Story

BMW JUNIOR TEAM

UNDER THE SAME ROOF

by Karin Sturm

photography BMW

Promoting young racing talent is something that several car manufacturers have taken up today. The pioneering effort, however, was made by BMW, which set up the first BMW Junior Team in 1977 with Marc Surer, Manfred Winkelhock and Eddie Cheever. In more than 40 years of promoting young racers, BMW has discovered and produced more young driving talent than almost any other manufacturer.

Many of them have gone on to forge successful careers, including current and former DTM stars Marco Wittmann, Philipp Eng and Martin Tomczyk while numerous juniors from the BMW talent pool also made it to Formula 1. In addition to Timo Glock, Formula 1 World Champions Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg both benefited from the Bavarian company’s junior development scheme.

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24 / 27 Story

Max Hesse, Neil Verhagen, Dan Harper

Jochen Neerpasch

Today, almost 45 years later, a new BMW

Both then and now, BMW’s holistic and

Medicine under Riccardo Ceccarelli, who has

Junior Team has made a return to the world

intensive training program sets new standards

for many years worked in Formula 1 at Toyota.

stage, courtesy of a 2020 recruitment of Dan

in the development of young talent. Its aim? To

Training as a team within BMW M GmbH

Harper, Max Hesse and Neil Verhagen. The

develop the juniors in different areas, provide

meanwhile aims at bolstering their co-operation

three youngsters will this season have to

individual and all-inclusive support and by

by letting the three share their living quarters.

prove themselves in two different areas: on

doing so make them better and more mature

In addition, they receive media and social

the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, Harper, Hesse

racing drivers. The results can already be seen.

media coaching, as well as insights into the

and Verhagen will join forces with the BMW

After successfully racing in the BMW M240i

environment at BMW M GmbH. In doing so,

M Team RMG to try and make a mark in the

Racing and BMW M4 GT4 in 2020, the three

they are supported by mentors who advise,

battle for overall victory at the 24 Hours of

juniors moved up to the GT3 class in 2021

train and help them navigate a large corporation

Nürburgring. Further highlights await the trio

and contested the entire racing season on the

like BMW. One of their mentors is Jochen

in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance

Nürburgring-Nordschleife, including the 24-

Neerpasch who returned to the programme over

Cup where the young competitors will contest

hour race in the Akrapovič-equipped BMW M6

40 years after founding the first BMW Junior

five endurance races under the auspices of

GT3. In addition, the youngsters were also given

Team in 1977 as the then managing director of

ROWE Racing, most notably the 24 Hours

their own simulators for training and took part in

BMW Motorsport GmbH and so paving the way

of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. They will

sim racing events.

for numerous talented youngsters to become

be pitted against a second BMW M4 GT3

racing drivers.

from ROWE Racing, driven by BMW M works

Return of the legendary mentor

drivers Nick Catsburg, Augusto Farfus and

But the BMW Junior Team programme offers

Jochen has thus made a full circle. “When I

Nick Yelloly.

much more than just racing. Its integral part

founded the first BMW Junior Team in 1977,

is mental and fitness training with Formula

we at BMW Motorsport were pioneers in

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27

Max Hesse

junior development. Now, being involved in the

and modernity: “I find it particularly fascinating

third year as the BMW Junior Team will be

advancement of a BMW Junior Team again

how the current success sees the project

very exciting with a new car and a new racing

after more than 40 years is a real joy,” says

come full circle since the founding of the first

program awaiting us. We have already gained

the 83-year-old. “The BMW Junior Team has

BMW Junior Team in 1977, thanks to Jochen

some initial experience with the BMW M4 GT3,

successfully completed its apprenticeship on

Neerpasch’s initiative. Even after so many

we already know the BMW M Team RMG well,

the Nordschleife for the past two years. The

decades, Mr Neerpasch remains a great asset

and we will certainly work well together on the

three lads are now preparing intensively for their

and inspiration for BMW M Motorsport.”

Nordschleife. I am very much looking forward

biggest test at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. We

to our new partner team ROWE Racing. And,

have high expectations of them. As far as the

Preparation in Viareggio

drivers themselves are concerned, I see the

The three youngsters underwent physical

World Challenge Europe. That’s where we really

BMW Junior Team on the podium. They will also

and mental training for the upcoming season

wanted to race.”

be put to the test in the GT World Challenge

with Formula Medicine in Viareggio, where

Europe. They will be driving at racetracks that

great care was again taken to promote the

Hans-Peter Naundorf, ROWE Racing team

are new to them, and will be up against the best

team spirit. The trio shared a house in Italy

principal, is equally excited at the prospect of

GT drivers in the world – at ROWE Racing, they

just as they did at the Nürburgring after the

collaborating with the youngsters: “We are very

will be in direct comparison with established

GT World Challenge Europe test at the start

proud that BMW M Motorsport has entrusted

BMW M works drivers. It is going to be an

of March, where the idea was to have them

us with accompanying the next step of the

eventful season, but I am sure that they will

as close as possible to the racetrack and

BMW Junior Team this year. We followed their

succeed again in the new environment.”

BMW M Team RMG as the 2022 season was

positive development last year. They improved

nearing its launch.

consistently and hardly made a mistake at the

of course, to racing in a great series like GT

toughest racetrack in the world. As such, the

Franciscus van Meel, BMW M CEO and also a mentor of the current BMW Junior Team,

Max Hesse, the 20-year-old German, is really

logical next step in their career is to move up

was equally impressed by the mix of tradition

looking forward to the challenges ahead: “Our

into an international racing series.”

One of their mentors is Jochen Neerpasch who returned to the programme over 40 years after founding the first BMW Junior Team in 1977 as the then managing director of BMW Motorsport GmbH and so paving the way for numerous talented youngsters to become racing drivers.

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Bike Stuff

Bike Stuff

by Mitja Reven

Akrapovič exhaust systems are designed for riders who demand maximum performance from their motorcycles.

They feature exceptional production quality, hi-tech materials, increased engine performance and all come with amazing sound and appearance as standard. The change is also visual, as Akrapovič mufflers perfectly fit the exterior line of modern motorcycles and add a clean racing image.

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Yamaha TMAX +1.4kW (+1.9hp) at 7,000rpm +1.9Nm at 7,000rpm -1.9kg (-21.9%)

Yamaha XSR900 +1.4kW (+1.9hp) at 9,100rpm +1.4Nm at 9,800rpm

Yamaha MT-10 +0.6kW (+0.8hp) at 11,200rpm +0.9Nm at 8,500rpm

Italjet Dragster 125 / 200 +0.7kW (+1.0hp) at 10,200rpm +0.7Nm at 10,200rpm -1.8kg (-35.6%)

Triumph Trident 660 +2.6kW (+3.5hp) at 10,000rpm +2.5Nm at 10,000rpm -3.3kg (-41.0%)

Ducati Monster +1.6kW (+2.2hp) at 8,800rpm +3.5Nm at 3,100rpm

Because of the world-wide distribution of Akrapovič d.d. products, we make no representation that the products shown comply with the air, noise or other emission laws of your jurisdiction. Hence, please make sure you have all the relevant information before you consider purchasing any of the products. You are welcome to contact our local partner in your country if you have any questions or turn to page 4 and our website at www.akrapovic.com for additional information.

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Car Stuff

by Mitja Reven

Car Stuff

Check out the latest Akrapovič aftermarket exhaust systems for cars, where only the best materials and exclusive titanium alloys are used. These materials are combined with high technology and exquisite craftsmanship of Akrapovič welders to create a package that separates them from everything else on the market.

Porsche 911 GT3 (992) +16.5kW (+22.5hp) at 4,550rpm, +35.2Nm at 4,550rpm, -12.2kg (-39.0%), Titanium, Rear Carbon Fibre Diffusers - High Gloss and Matt

BMW M5 (F90) / M5 Competition (F90) + 8.0kW (+10.9hp) at 6,150rpm, +14.7Nm at 3,250rpm, -3.9kg (-23.7%), Titanium, Carbon Fibre Mirror Cap Sets - High Gloss and Matt, Rear Carbon Fibre Diffusers - High Gloss and Matt

Audi RS 6 Avant (C8) +11.6kW (+15.8hp) at 6,150rpm, +17.9Nm at 6,150rpm, -10.4kg (-24.7%), Titanium, Rear Carbon Fibre Diffusers - High Gloss and Matt

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BMW X3 M (F97) / X3 M Competition (F97) +5.4kW (+7.3hp) at 6,550rpm, +12.8Nm at 3,400rpm, -9.5kg (- 41.1%), Titanium

Visit With Us

30 / 35 Visit With Us

by Gaber Keržišnik photography MV Agusta, Bor Dobrin

The date was 29 August 1976 and spectators along the Nürburgring racetrack were excitedly watching each unfolding lap of the German Grand Prix. Although Suzuki’s RG500s were extremely fast in the 500cc class that year, the first sound that travelled to the crowd through the woods was unmistakably that of a four-stroke engine. Not the high-pitched buzz emanating through the characteristically shaped exhausts of the ever-better two-stroke Suzukis, but rather a distinctly

MV Agusta

MECCANICA VERGHERA

deep tone, announcing that Giacomo Agostini, whose lead seemed to be increasing, was still firmly in the lead.

The Italian remained the first rider to pass the fence on which the spectators were leaning during the final lap on his four-cylinder MV Agusta, finishing the race with a huge 52-second gap. MV Agusta and Agostini again left their competitors far behind, but this was to be their last time for quite a while.

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30 / 35 Visit With Us

Gaps between competitors used to be

“Akrapovič manufactures some of the best

immense, something quite unthinkable in

exhaust systems. The workmanship is stunning,

the current era of evenly-matched MotoGP

the design perfect and only the best materials

racers and race bikes. Giacomo Agostini,

are used. MV Agusta has not worked closely

the legendary ‘Ago,’ won his last race in the

with Akrapovič until now and I am very pleased

premiere class on his MV Agusta well ahead

that this has changed. Initiating cooperation

of the rest of the pack, though it was already

with Akrapovič was my own personal choice.

becoming clear that technology was moving

We want to show that MV Agusta is entering

towards the ever-faster two-stroke engines.

a new era. Both parties produce top-notch

The end was approaching for the four-stroke

products, with an emphasis on quality,

bikes and the 1976 German GP was to be

exquisite design and advanced technology,”

Agostini’s last victory at a world championship

said Sardarov.

race. His tally stopped at 122 and remains unsurpassed today, making him the most

Cooperating with Akrapovič

successful motorcycle racer of all time.

During our walk around the factory yard of

Agusta riding high again

Mr. Mannavola, Agusta Secretary General, Carlo Ubbiali and Corrado Agusta

MV Agusta, we came across someone who contributed his share to the beginning of

In the years that followed, the renowned MV

the cooperation between MV Agusta and

Agusta brand hit a prolonged stormy patch; for

Akrapovič. Brian Gillen is the R&D Director

decades the Italians were navigating through

and has been with MV Agusta since 2008. He

perilous waters, though it seems they have

is an avid motorcyclist, spending almost every

found the crest of the wave in recent years.

weekend on two wheels. “The cooperation

MV Agusta CEO Timur Sardarov, who invested

between MV Agusta and Akrapovič is taking

in MV Agusta, took the reins, brought in new

part in what is the most fruitful period for MV

management and revived the company. He told

Agusta in the past few decades. Akrapovič is

us during our visit to the plant located besides

a brand with a great reputation in the world

Lake Varese in northern Italy that,

of motorcycling and many parallels can be

“If everything goes according to plan, we will

found with MV Agusta. For several years now, I

return to the racetracks with a factory racing

have also been very supportive of establishing

team. We are not quite there just yet, so we

cooperation with Akrapovič and you can now

are relying on our partners and teams racing

order the new Agusta F3 RR exclusively from

“The whole exhaust development for the F3 RR model and the collaboration was a pleasure for everyone and was truly one fantastic experience for both parties involved. We are all looking forward to the future.

We are interested in what we can achieve with the F3 RR model and also with the range of motorcycles we are planning for the coming years.”

Brian Gillen, R&D Director MV Agusta

Domenico Agusta with his daughter Giovanna

our motorcycles, providing co-operation and

us with their exhaust, which I think is great.

copious amounts of help.”

I really believe and hope that this is just the

Our visit to this famous factory took place on

beginning of an extremely fruitful and long

a beautiful day and the factory yard was quite

collaboration and that the best is yet to come.

busy. It was filled with perfectly-lined crates,

I am glad that we managed to get together

whose large logos on the side announced that

at the Milan Motorcycle Fair two years ago

they contained new motorcycles, packed and

and that we have outlined the guidelines for

ready to bring joy and pleasure to customers

our new collaboration. These are two ‘top

from all over the world. Bikes ready for

level brands’ who share the same focus and

transport could also be seen in the company’s

mentality. At Agusta, we want exhausts that are

warehouse. We also took a stroll around the

legal for road use. And we need exhausts that

production and various other departments,

provide more than just a sticker on the pipe.

peeked into the R&D section, checked how

On the other hand we are still looking for style

the engines are assembled, looked at the

and performance and I think together we have

production line, observed the final assembly and

managed to develop a fantastic exhaust that

finished in the testing department, where every

has great performance and boasts a beautiful

manufactured bike undergoes a rigorous check-

design. Our designers have worked closely

up. We were also eager to see the new MV

with Akrapovič’s designers and technicians

Agusta F3 RR, which can now be bought with

and I think the end product is really great. The

an Akrapovič exhaust system, thus heralding the

whole exhaust development for the F3 RR

start of a new era of cooperation between the

model and the collaboration was a pleasure for

two renowned and reputable brands.

everyone and was a truly fantastic experience

for both parties involved. We are all looking

Agusta, a racing enthusiast, saw an excellent

forward to the future. We are interested in what

opportunity to use races to promote the

we can achieve with the F3 RR model and also

motorcycles and boost their sales and under

with the range of motorcycles we are planning

his auspices MV Agusta achieved the majority

for the coming years,” said Brian Gillen.

of its triumphs.

A creator of timeless products

Corrado took over as the racing department’s

As Timur Sardarov says, MV Agusta will remain

manager, but the ever-improving two-stroke

a creator of timeless products. The company’s

engines and Agostini’s final victory in 1976

management believes in this approach and has

convinced him that there was no point to

no wish to expand into ready-made fashion or

continue investing money in racing and

other constantly-changing products. They want

developing the then underwhelming four-

to design and produce items that buck the

stroke engines.

trends, because they believe we are living in

Timur Sardarov

After Domenico’s death in 1971, his brother

a world that favours this course of action and

Success with the new F3 RR model?

hankers for such products. Today’s customer

But as we know, history often repeats itself

wants distinct, singular and unique products,

and at MV Agusta today they do not hide that

so the management plans to continue with this

with the new F3 RR model they also want

approach. It seems Sardarov is on the right

success on the racetracks.

track. Giovanni Agusta founded the company

Is MV Agusta returning to its old glory also on

in 1907 with the aim to work in aviation and

the racing circuits? Giacomo Agostini, whom

followed a similar line of thinking, though his

we met at last year’s MotoGP race in Misano,

unfortunate death twenty years later meant

believes that this is indeed the case. The

that his wife and four sons took over the

legendary Ago firmly believes that MV Agusta

management of the brand.

has the knowledge and vision to produce top-quality motorcycles and is convinced that

After the crisis that followed World War

we will soon see this brand among the winning

II, the company was forced to change its

motorcycles on the racetracks as well.

tack. The period did not need powerful and

Who knows... Perhaps MV Agusta has a bright

luxurious leisure machines, but called for

future ahead with its F3 RR model and perhaps

mass-produced and affordable products, so

even a new Giacomo Agostini will be found

MV Agusta shifted towards motorcycles with

among the young racers and customers eager

lower displacement, wanted by the people for

to sit on this marvellous motorcycle.

their everyday usage. For this purpose, the MV Brian Gillen

Agusta department was established, with MV standing for ‘Meccanica Verghera.’ The bikes were built in a small town of Verghera near

34

today’s Malpensa Airport. Count Domenico

“Akrapovič manufactures some of the best exhaust systems. The workmanship is stunning, the design perfect and only the best materials are used. MV Agusta has not worked closely with Akrapovič until now and I am very pleased that this has changed.”

Timur Sardarov, CEO MV Agusta

Giacomo Agostini

30 / 35 Visit With Us

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// Si MECCANICA VERGHERA 29. avgust 1976. Gledalci ob stezi dirkališča Nürburgring so nestrpno pričakovali vsak nov krog dirke za Veliko nagrado Nemčije. Čeprav so bili tega leta v razredu do 500 kubičnih centimetrov izjemno hitri Suzukijevi dirkalniki z oznako RG500, so gledalci tudi tokrat skozi gozd najprej zaslišali zvok, ki je bil povsem nezmotljivo štiritakten. Ni šlo za visoke tone značilno oblikovanih izpušnih cevi vsako leto hitrejših dvotaktnih Suzukijevih dirkalnikov, ki so z visokimi toni brenčali skozi značilno klobasaste dvotaktne izpuhe, ampak je bil zvok nezmotljivo globok in je oznanjal, da tudi v tem krogu kot vodilni prihaja Giacomo Agostini, katerega prednost je očitno še naraščala. Italijan je tudi v zadnjem krogu s svojo štirivaljno MV Agusto* švignil mimo ograje, na katero so se naslanjali gledalci, in dirko končal z veliko prednostjo 52 sekund. MV Agusta in Agostini sta tekmece spet pustila daleč za seboj. A tokrat zadnjič in za dolgo časa.

Desetletja je MV Agusta plula v nemirnih vodah, že nekaj let pa se zdi, da se znova vzpenja. »Če bo šlo vse po načrtih, se bomo lahko kmalu vrnili na dirkališča s tovarniško dirkaško ekipo. Ni nam še povsem uspelo, zato se trenutno zanašamo na svoje partnerje in ekipe, ki dirkajo z našimi motorji, in jih podpiramo na najboljši možni način,« nam je med obiskom v tovarni, ki leži ob jezeru Varese v severni Italiji, razlagal izvršni direktor podjetja Timur Sardarov. * MV - Meccanica Verghera

Inte r v iew

36 / 41 Interview

by Gaber Keržišnik photography Bor Dobrin, Franco Uncini Archive

Franco Uncini

“I DIDN’T PAY TO RACE. MISTAKE? PERHAPS…” Utter chaos! Joy, singing and laughter. The town’s main square, named after the famous poet Giacomo Leopardi, was absolutely packed that day.

Long-haired city youth were dashing about on two-stroke mopeds, wildly waving the Italian Tricolore. The entire population of the small hilltop town was on the streets celebrating the title of World Champion. Proud of their town and of one of their own, who used to race up and down the cobbled streets on his tuned-up motorcycle as a boy and was on that day crowned World Champion in the up to 500cc class, the top flight of motorcycle racing. This black-haired young man carried the town’s name around the world. What town? Recanati, a stone’s throw away from Ancona. Which young man? Franco Uncini, who won the title in 1982 on a Suzuki RG 500 Gamma XR40. We met him on the same town square nearly 40 years later.

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Is the memory of the title and celebration still alive? I see that the locals still recognise you, shake your hand or greet you on the street.

Was your father a fan of racing?

up, the pads’ grip began to fail and I finished

He was very much against it at first. He didn’t

the race with difficulty and almost no brakes.

even want to hear about motorcycles. Then

Instead of winning, I came in as third. My father

I somehow convinced him to let me buy the

has believed in me ever since and helped me

True. My success was a major event for the

Laverda. He had no clue I intended to race

financially.

town back then. The celebration was full-

with it. I wrote the permission to race myself

on. The square and the centre were packed.

and signed it as my father because I was too

40 years have passed since then, and my

young to race without my parents’ consent.

friends and members of the local motorcycle

I did everything on the sly. But when the

club, which bears my name, are preparing an

races came, my father soon found out. He

anniversary event this year. We will once again

even came to watch me. I took a big lead at

celebrate in August as we did four decades

the start and would have won easily, but for

ago. We might be fewer in number, but the joy

the brakes. Before the race, I discovered I

will be sincere and the memories alive.

needed new brake pads. The originals were

Motorcycles have remained your passion, right?

expensive, so I had the old ones repaired for a third of the cost. As the brakes warmed

Franco Uncini soon became a recognisable name in racing. However, some seasons passed before the works teams invited you to join them. Why? Perhaps one of the reasons was that I didn’t have a manager to find me a place with one of the professional works teams. After winning the world title, I had a serious accident in 1983 in Assen. I recovered from my head injury, which put me in a coma for quite some time,

Of course. There is a 1000cc Suzuki in my garage - with an Akrapovič. It’s painted in the same colours as my winning bike. I got it from

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Suzuki as a gift and I still occasionally take it out for a spin. Bikes are still in my blood. I like to ride on tracks, but I rarely venture onto roads. When on the bike, my head is still as

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wild as it was in my racing days. The body and adrenaline push for higher speeds and I get into the racing rhythm too quickly. One can’t do that on roads anymore. My road-going Suzuki GSX-R1000 is substantially faster than my winning Suzuki XR40, which is now in the city museum.

The very museum we came to see. Who is looking after the collection?

Mainly my friends. The collection is permanent, but the museum only opens occasionally, mainly by appointment or for larger groups. It is also the seat of our local motorcycle club.

It’s where I keep my helmets, leather racing overalls, trophies, and photos that tell my story.

The Suzuki with which I won the 1982 title stands in the middle of the room. I am currently in talks with a Swiss motorcycle collector who owns my former Laverda SFC racing bike. I started my racing career on it and I’d like to see it in the museum’s lobby.

Is the orange Laverda extra s pecial to you?

In 1972 I gathered enough courage and money to convince my father to let me buy a bike. I paid for and ordered a Laverda SFC from a local dealer. I intended to tune it for racing. A few days later, the dealer informed me that it wasn’t available anymore. Instead of a 750cc SFC, he offered me a more powerful 1000cc Laverda and was surprised when I said no. My father also tried to persuade

“We will once again celebrate in August as we

me to take the larger model, but I wanted

did four decades ago. We

the 750cc SFC, as it was more suitable for

might be fewer in number

tuning. In the end, I managed to convince the dealer to call the factory and arrange for my

but the joy will be sincere

motorcycle to be assembled from the spares

and the memories alive.”

they still had in stock.

36 / 41 Interview

Maradona with Franco Uncini and his wife Cinzia

rider Didier de Radigues performed the job.

I was soon taken under the wing by IRTA, an association representing racing teams.

I later performed the same function for the International Motorcycle Federation, FIM. The riders supported me again and I began working for FIM. I kept inadvertently changing employers, but my role remained the same: to act on the riders’ behalf regarding their safety.

You’ve been doing this for over 30 years.

Do you still go to races with the same passion and desire? What’s your take on rider safety?

I still like being a part of racing, even 40 years later. I have many wonderful memories.

Perhaps the only bad one is the accident in

Franco Uncini (left) with Marco Lucchinelli and Ayrton Senna

Assen. I actually got very lucky there too. The heavy knock took off my helmet, but I still somehow survived. Marco Simoncelli was similarly unlucky in Sepang, but tragically congratulated me on the title of champion and

also less fortunate. I was probably also saved

the times I did in testing. I proved myself and

because an excellent hospital was nearby.

Ecclestone was thrilled. He promised to find

Quite near Assen is Groningen, which then

me a place in Formula 3000. And he did...

had one of the best neurosurgeries in Europe.

But I would have to pay for the seat. I had

Testing with Brabham Formula 1 car

and started racing again, but couldn’t repeat

sponsors who might have been able to provide

Has rider safety improved since then?

the funding, but it went against my principles.

Immensely. It might not look like it from the

I never paid for racing; others paid me to do it.

outside. Riders still ride in seemingly identical

Mistake? Perhaps… If I had a manager, I would

leather overalls and use similar helmets. But

probably have reacted differently and gotten

things are very different now. Safety technology

a seat in Formula 3000. I’m sure that back

has progressed. Pads, modern helmets, air

then I could’ve been fast in that class or even

bags in overalls, inflated barriers at run-off areas

Formula 1.

and so on. Above all, the racetracks are safer.

the feats. Not so much due to me, Suzuki bikes weren’t as competitive any more. If I had a manager, I might have been able to find a more competitive team.

But you went into management instead and quickly became a representative for the riders, something you still do to this very day.

Some time ago, I was flipping through an old racing encyclopaedia at a friend’s. I suddenly shuddered after realising that more than half of the riders from my time are no longer alive.

They were mainly killed by accidents and falls.

What about continuing your career on four wheels? Didn’t you test drive a Formula 1 car?

I led the Ducati works team in Superbike,

I did. In 1982, Pirelli invited me for a

Champion that year. After a successful year, I

promotional test of a Formula 1 car. I tested

parted ways with Ducati. Our views on racing

for Brabham and recorded excellent times.

and the way the team should be run were very

I wasn’t far behind Formula 1 drivers, and I

different. I already had an offer from the Riders

was much faster than my compatriot Marco

Association to work on their behalf regarding

Lucchinelli and Briton Barry Sheene. A fax

If you said the track was dangerous, they just

safety. They chose me as their representative.

from Bernie Ecclestone, sent to me the day

stared at you. “Of course it is, boy. You’re at a

Official title? Rider Safety Delegate to the

after the tests, is still on the museum wall.

motorcycle race. If you’re scared, stay home.

International Motorcycle Rider Association

Bernie, then the owner of team Brabham,

No one is forcing you to race. It’s safer on the

or IMRA for short. Before me, former Belgian

couch at home,” was the reply and that was it.

fronted by Italian Giancarlo Falappa and American Doug Polen who became World

On-track fatalities or serious injuries are the exception rather than the rule today. However, motorcycle racing will always be dangerous.

There wasn’t much talk about rider safety in the past?

Riders had no one to represent us in the past.

“There is a 1000cc Suzuki in my garage - with an Akrapovič.

It’s painted in the same colours as my winning bike. I got it from Suzuki as a gift and I still occasionally take it for a spin.

Bikes are still in my blood.”

Is your job more stressful now than when you were still racing?

How do you cooperate with Mike Webb and Loris Capirossi?

What about the pressure due to TV broadcasts and the spectators?

In a way, yes. I share responsibility for rider

All decisions used to be made by one man

We try to resolve matters quickly and efficiently

safety, for continuing the race when something

- the race director - but since 2000 three of

because of TV broadcasts, but if it’s necessary

goes wrong. Occasionally, the decision

us manage them: Mike Webb is race director

to stop the race, we do it. Riders are our priority.

comes down to me and it’s not easy. I sit in

while Loris Capirossi and I take care of

Carmelo Ezpeleta brought this mindset into

the racetrack’s control room every day from

safety. We are a well-coordinated team and if

modern racing when he took over at the helm of

half past seven in the morning, looking at the

something happens, we look at each other and

motorcycle races. He was the first who said it

screens and what’s happening on the track.

usually make a decision in an instant. Red flag!

was necessary to listen to and protect riders. I

After the race weekend is over, I’m worn out.

Stop the race! Safety comes first.

was surprised when he told me at the time that I had to do my job as diligently as possible and that for him rider safety comes first.

36 / 41 Interview

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//Si Franco Uncini: »Nisem plačeval za dirke. Napaka? Morda …« Avgusta 1982 je na glavnem mestnem trgu v Recanatiju, ki nosi ime po slavnem pesniku Giacomu Leopardiju, vladal popoln kaos. Pravi vsi meščani majhnega kraja pri Anconi so bili na ulicah in proslavljali naslov svetovnega prvaka, ki ga je v najelitnejši motociklistični kategoriji, razredu do 500 kubičnih centimetrov, osvojil njihov mladi sokrajan Franco Uncini. Od takrat je minilo skoraj štirideset let in z njim smo se srečali na istem trgu.

Njegova motociklistična kariera ni bila dolga, vmes je testiral tudi dirkalnik Formule 1. Leta 1982 je testiral za Brabham, katerega lastnik je bil Bernie Ecclestone, in dosegel odlične čase. Še danes na steni muzeja visi Ecclestonov telefaks, v katerem mu je čestital za naslov prvaka in dosežene čase na testiranju njegovega dirkalnika. »Ecclestone je bil navdušen. Obljubil je, da mi bo našel mesto v Formuli 3000. In res mi ga je ... Za sedež pa bi takrat moral plačati. Imel sem pokrovitelje, ki bi morda celo priskrbeli sredstva, a to je bilo proti mojim načelom. Nikdar nisem plačeval za dirkanje, pač pa so drugi plačevali meni. Napaka? Morda …« pravi 67-letni Italijan, ki danes skrbi za varnost dirkačev pri Mednarodni motociklistični zvezi FIM.

F A N T A S T I C

by Alenka Birk

GOLDEN ELEGANCE Italy’s Fope jewellery has forged a unique aesthetic note throughout its 90 years of existence. Its cufflinks, bracelets, rings and necklaces are made exclusively from 18-carat gold and were until recently intended primarily for the fairer sex. What you see here is Fope’s first foray into the world of men’s jewellery and it happened quite by accident.

Designers have seen Fope bracelets next to their watches on many male wrists. It turned out that a gentleman would give his lady an 18-carat rose gold bracelet in a ‘feminine’ size and treat himself to one made of white gold and decorated with black diamonds and fitting his wrist perfectly.

fope.com

MESSI BURGER Do you know what football legends like to eat? This Hard Rock Cafe creation is the perfect meal for football fans and burger lovers and allows you to experience the taste of victory. Inspired

by Lionel Messi, the explosion of flavours is made from fresh toasted brioche buns, finest ground beef patties, decadent caramelised red onions, with slices of savoury Spanish-style chorizo, melted provolone and finished off with refreshing shredded lettuce and tomato. Top off your Messi Burger with a free-range egg - just the way Leo likes it. Messi Burger is available worldwide, but hurry up - this special burger will only be on sale for a limited time.

hardrockcafe.com

BORN IN ROME Valentino has created an oriental fragrance for men which enchants with its unexpected and addictive composition. This captivating eau de toilette entices the senses with a juicy Italian mandarin and a twist of pineapple before hitting a surprising note where fresh gingerbread aroma mixes with the sharp taste of ginger. The warm base of vanilla and sandalwood rounds off the long-lasting fragrance, which, like the fashion house, comes from the eternal city. This is one of the reasons why the ‘Born In Roma Uomo Spring Eau de Toilette’ bottle is a tribute to Roman architecture.

valentino.com

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Fantastic

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE An exceptional conversation piece, and an even more remarkable workout implement, this Primal Bell collection is in a class all by itself. The very unique products from Onnit embody respect for the ancient methods of strength training and resemble bigfoot, gorilla, chimpanzee, and other primates. Made of chip resistant iron, these kettlebells are perfectly balanced with enlarged handles for enhanced grip strength. But it is their visual appeal that makes these ‘beasts’ stand out from the crowd. Bigfoot, the heaviest of them all, weighs in at 41kg and will inspire a strength in you that you previously thought to be mythical.

onnit.com

MEET JACK Say hello to Jack, the latest iconic accessory from the family of highquality Ray-Ban sunglasses, which were originally designed to protect pilots from the glare of the sun. Inspired by the legendary Round and the stunning Hexagonal models, Jack combines the best of both worlds and perfectly blends its two main inspirations to bring a calm, yet daring look to the scene. The bridge and extremely thin handles come with additional engraved details. Let the world see what you like with a hint of modern charm, even when the sun isn’t shining.

rayban.com

R O L E X D AY T O N A - I N S P I R E D Presenting the world’s first ‘Rolex Daytona Nike Air Jordan’ sneakers, sneaker customiser Connor Seltz, founder of NYC design studio Ceeze, has dropped a pair of sneakers that will get horology junkies, as well as sneakerheads, on their feet. The new design pays homage to the craftsmanship of Rolex. This special shoe comes with a green alligator-effect upper and for the first time ever features gold suede accents. Design details take inspiration from the OG 1963 18 carat gold Rolex Daytona, which features a sapphire crystal case and a green dial. In addition, the sneaker’s tongue has been printed with Rolex’s five-point crown motif. The sneakers are available for preorder from £2,650 (about 3000 euro) and will take between three and five months to land on your doorstep.

ceezemc.com

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Story

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Story

Moto2 and Moto3 Classes Supply MotoGP with Talent

CRADLE OF

This season, four more highly talented riders Remy Gardner, Raúl Fernández, Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio have moved up from Moto2 to MotoGP. In addition, Darryn Binder is now the second rider to move up from Moto3 straight into the premier class.

by Imre Paulovits photography Ducati, Marc Robinot, Polarity Photo

CHAMPIONS There used to be many ways for riders to get into MotoGP, but in recent years there‘s really only been one: via Moto3 and Moto2, which MotoGP marketer Dorna Sports has systematically turned into junior classes.

Since their rulebooks place a strong emphasis on equal opportunities, we can already witness relentless battles among the young riders in these classes and the level is getting higher all the time.

Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM was not yet thinking about entering MotoGP when it launched the MotoGP Rookies Cup with Dorna and Red Bull in 2007, but many of today’s GP stars first stepped into the limelight there. KTM later went on to develop the biggest talents within its own structure.

Miguel Oliveira, who first rode in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2008, later got a chance with the Red Bull KTM Ajo team, KTM’s supported team with Akrapovič exhaust systems in Moto3. The team moved him up to Moto2 and he ended up with MotoGP victories while riding for Red Bull KTM Tech3 and for his current employer, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team. His teammate Brad Binder also followed the same path, but while Oliveira was ‘only’ the runnerup in Moto3 in 2015 and Moto2 in 2018, Binder became Moto3 World Champion in 2016 and fought for the Moto2 title in 2019, finishing second overall before moving up to the premier class the following season.

In his debut year in 2020, he took the first MotoGP win for the Austrians. “It’s really fun to watch these guys grow up,” explains KTM Motorsport Director Pit Beirer. “You can see when they are young who has that special talent and who’s pursuing the right ambition.

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Then they mature very quickly both as riders and personally.”

44 / 47

Story

Brad Binder

Miguel Oliveira

Francesco Bagnaia

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Fabio Quartararo

// Strong development

The ladder of promotion from Moto3 via

against another Moto2 up-and-comer: his

Last year, two riders stood out for their rapid

Moto2 to MotoGP was the road taken by

two-years younger teammate Francesco

advancement. The first one was Pedro Acosta,

many stars. Until last year, however, there

‘Pecco’ Bagnaia. After riding in Moto3

who won the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

was only one who went from Moto3 straight

for some years, he became Moto2 World

to MotoGP. Australian Jack Miller showed

Champion in 2018 as part of Valentino

such riding skills in Moto3 in 2014 that he

Rossi’s Sky Racing Team VR46, racing with

in 2020 at the age of 16 and was subsequently promoted to Red Bull KTM Ajo in the Moto3 World Championship. Showing consistent class, he became the first rider since Loris Capirossi in 1990 who went straight to win a World Championship in his rookie year and has now moved up to Moto2 with Aki Ajo’s team. The 21-year-old Raúl Fernández, who had matured into a top rider in Moto3 with Ajo in 2020, was allowed to move up to Moto2 and was right up front from the very start. He gave his more experienced teammate Remy Gardner

immediately received a MotoGP contract for the following year. A year later he was also able to win a MotoGP race in rainy conditions, but it would take another five years before he would win in the dry. After making it into the Ducati Lenovo Team via the Pramac Racing Team in 2021, he has been a consistent contender for the top spot.

an Akrapovič exhaust. He joined the factory Ducati Lenovo Team in 2021 via Pramac Racing Team and went from strength to strength towards the end of the season. He won four of the last six races, finished the season as the runner-up and is among the title favourites in 2022. Ducati is also fielding a strong title contender in the Pramac Racing Team: Jorge Martín, 2014 Red Bull MotoGP

// Bagnaia, among the title favourites

Rookies Cup winner and 2018 Moto3 World

a fierce battle for the title, which he narrowly lost to the 24-year-old Australian and now both

However, the 27-year-old Australian has

the ‘Martinator’ really came into his own in

have moved up to MotoGP.

recently had a particularly challenging time

MotoGP. He was on the podium at his very

Champion. While already a top rider in Moto2,

Francesco Bagnaia, Jack Miller

„You can see when they are young who has that special talent and who’s pursuing the right ambition.

Then they mature ver y quickly both as riders and personally.“ Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsport Director

Joan Mir

second race and even though he suffered a

The Highs and Lows of Quartararo

Barcelona before joining the newly formed

serious injury one race later, he came back

Fabio Quartararo, the reigning MotoGP

PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team

to score his first MotoGP victory at the Red

World Champion on the Akrapovič-equipped

in MotoGP at the age of 19 and became the

Bull Ring and then a second place in Valencia

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1,

discovery of the 2019 season. A year later he

brought a promising end to the season.

caught the racing world’s attention as a

led the World Championship standings for

teenager. Winning the Moto3 Junior World

a long time, and in 2021 he won five of the

The last two MotoGP World Champions also

Championship by the time he was 14 (in

first twelve Grands Prix with Monster Energy

climbed up the proven ladder. Joan Mir was

2013) and 15 (in 2014) was enough to open

Yamaha MotoGP team, becoming World

runner-up in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies

the doors to the Moto 3 World Championship

Champion early at Misano in October.

Cup behind Jorge Martín in 2014 and became

level in 2015 where he was only beaten by

But the story continues. This season, four

Moto3 World Champion in 2017. After just

Danny Kent - that season’s eventual champion

more highly talented riders Remy Gardner,

one year in Moto2, Suzuki brought him into

- at his second Grand Prix in Austin, but

Raúl Fernández, Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio

MotoGP and he became World Champion

then hit a very rough patch. He quickly grew

Di Giannantonio have moved up from Moto2

in his second season with Team Suzuki

taller, injuries did the rest, and he tried his

to MotoGP. In addition, Darryn Binder is now

Ecstar - winning only once but showing

luck in Moto2 where he finished 13 th and

the second rider to move up from Moto3

amazing consistency throughout the season.

10 th overall in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

straight into the premier class and we will

Even though he failed to defend his title in

Things were definitely not going his way,

certainly hear a lot more from them.

2021, finishing third in the final standings, he

but then he changed his riding style in 2018

remains one of the favourites this year.

after a low point in Argentina and won in

D rive With Us

48 / 53 Drive With Us

Bentley Continental GT Speed visits Brooklands

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by Tony Dodgins

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photography Nick Dungan, Bentley Motors, Motorsport Images

The connection is obvious. Bentley represents British pride, history, luxury and used to play a central role in British Motorsport, while Brooklands is the original home of British motor racing. When it opened on 17 June 1907, the 4.4-km track was the world’s first purpose-built banked motor racing circuit, pre-dating the first running of the Indianapolis 500 by four years. The track was 30.5 metres wide, with 9-metrehigh banking. We took a brand-new Bentley Continental GT Speed and drove it to the place, where it all began.

Brooklands was the brainchild of British

W.O. used the money to found Bentley

entrepreneur Hugh Fortescue Locke King,

Motors in London’s Cricklewood. His aim

constructed at a time when almost half of

was always to build “a good car, a fast car

the world’s new cars were built in France.

and the best in its class.” He believed that his

Concerned about the ability of the fledgling

cars should be rugged, robust and reliable

British car industry to compete after

and understood the philosophy of selling and

parliament’s 1903 Motor Car Act imposed a

marketing them with a racing pedigree. The

blanket maximum speed of 32 km/h, Locke

first Bentley engine was fired up in September

King spent over £150,000 of his own money,

1919 in New Street Mews near London’s

equivalent to around £16,5m (EUR 19.6m) in

Baker Street. Today, a plaque marks the spot

2020, developing Brooklands. It was central

in what is now Chagford St, London NW1.

to the UK’s car testing and racing until 1939

According to Bentley’s autobiography, a nurse

and the outbreak of World War Two. It was

soon arrived to complain that her patient had

at this point that its other major function - an

been disturbed by all the noise whereupon a

airfield and home base to several aviation

Bentley employee responded, “A happy sound

companies - took over. Less than two weeks

to die to – the exhaust roar of the first three-

after its official opening, Brooklands was the

litre Bentley engine...”

venue for the world’s first 24-hour ‘racing’

One can only imagine what he might have

event. British businessman, cyclist and racing

thought over 100 years later upon hearing

driver Selwyn Edge trained specially to beat

the sumptuous tones rendered by the

the 24hr distance record, single-handed

fitting of a high-performance Akrapovič

without rest breaks, aboard a modified Napier.

exhaust to Bentley’s most recent W12-

Red railway lamps were used to light the track

engined Continental GT Speed, as it had

during darkness as Edge completed 2,545.56

the opportunity to sample its ancestral

kilometres at an average speed of 106.07

surroundings!

km/h, a record that stood for 18 years.

Walter Owen Bentley

1929-1931 Bentley Blower

Four victories in a row at Le Mans But back in the beginning, it was the Bentley

In February 1913, Percy Lambert became

Boys, a group of wealthy British performance

the first to do 160.9 kilometres in one hour

enthusiasts with a preference for Bentleys,

at Brooklands and a contemporary film

who helped establish the marque’s reputation

detailing the feat can still be seen at the

in the 1920s. The first competitive race won

track’s museum. Enthused by all of this was

by a Bentley was the Whitsun Junior Sprint

a young Walter Owen Bentley, a man who

Handicap, won by a hand-built Bentley EXP2

would become universally known simply as

on 16 May 1921. Soon, W.O. was looking

‘W.O.’ Born in London’s Hampstead in 1888,

abroad, his touring 3 Litre model going on sale

Bentley, the youngest of nine children, was

in 1921 and racing internationally. Visiting the

a keen driver and motorcycle racer, twice

very first Le Mans 24 Hours two years later,

competing in the Isle of Man TT. At 24, he

Bentley thought the whole thing ‘crazy’ and

partnered with his brother Horace to sell cars,

predicted nobody would finish because cars

mainly French-made DFPs - Doriot, Flandrin

weren’t designed to take that kind of strain

& Parant. Inspired by the lightness of an

for 24 hours. But when John Duff and Frank

aluminium paperweight, W.O. started to fit

Clement finished fourth in a private Bentley

aluminium pistons and modified camshafts to

3 Litre, W.O. changed his mind, returned the

DFPs, claiming several Brooklands records

following year and gave works support to help

in 1913 and 1914 before being interrupted

Duff and Clement win the race. Bentley won

by the First World War. He could also see

one of its most memorable victories at Le Mans

the benefits of aluminium in giving an edge to

in 1927 when both works 4.5 Litre cars were

British fighter aircraft, such as the Sopwith

damaged in a multi-car pile-up and it was left

Camel among others. That culminated in an

to the 3 Litre, ‘Old Number Seven’ driven by

MBE in January 1919 and £8000 from the

Dudley Benjafield and Sammy Davis to uphold

Royal Commission on Awards to inventors.

company honour. It had also been damaged in

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W.O. Bentley

Brooklands is the original home of British motor racing.

When it opened on 17 June 1907, the 4.4-km track was the world’s first purpose-built banked motor racing circuit, pre-dating the first running of the Indianapolis 500 by four years.

Bentley EXP2 took first win for Bentley in 1921 at Brooklands circuit.

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Spectators on the River Wey as cars pass on the banking of Brooklands in 1938.

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the crash, but the team repaired it as best they could and strapped it with a strong flashlight to the windscreen to try to make up for the damaged headlights. In keeping with their wellheeled status, they held a celebratory dinner at London’s Savoy hotel, toasted “someone who should be present” and wheeled the car into the dining room!

The success continued, Bentley won at Le Mans four times in a row between 1927 and 1930, including a hat-trick for Woolf Barnato, a diamond heir who bought the company when finances were problematic in 1925.

W.O. had always been against supercharging, believing that increasing engine size was always preferable to forced induction. A 4.5 Litre won the 1928 Le Mans and passed on the laurels to the 6.5 Litre Speed Six in 1929 and 1930. Brooklands, however, remained important. In 1929 Bentley won the Brooklands 500 and in 1930, the prestigious Double Twelve – an endurance race spanning two gruelling 12-hour legs. When Barnato took control, he approved a supercharged ‘Blower’ version of the 4.5 Litre, against W.O.’s wishes - developed at Brooklands by Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin - but reliability was not as good, just as W.O. had predicted. But, in March 1932, Birkin recorded a Brooklands lap record of 222.02 km/h in his single-seater Blower Bentley. In 2012, that car sold for £5m in a Bonhams auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Bought by Rolls-Royce in 1931 Ettore Bugatti, founder of the eponymous arch-rival company, believed that weight was the enemy. His racing designs were noted for their grace and beauty and, perhaps envious of its track success, he described Bentley as “the fastest lorry in the world.”

Despite Bentley’s racing achievements, and selling more than 100 of its 8 Litre model, launched for the super-rich in 1930, the Great Depression brought the company to its knees and in 1931 Rolls-Royce bought it.

Today, owned by the VW Group, Bentley is going from strength to strength, with 2021 delivery of 14,659 cars, a 31 percent increase on the previous year’s record numbers.

The vehicles remain true to the founder’s principles – big, powerful, solid and luxurious, even if the founder might not agree with their twin turbos! The rationale behind the latest Bentley Continental GT Speed was simple enough: build the world’s best two-door luxury grand tourer. Its 6 litre W12 engine offers 485kW (659hp), which takes you from 0-100 km/h in 3.6 s, and to a top speed of 335 km/h. But, just a warning, you will need about 250,000 euro (£209,000) before specifying any extras!

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// Si Bentley Continental GT Speed na obisku v Brooklandsu Povezava med Bentleyjem in Brooklandsom je očitna. Bentley predstavlja britanski ponos, zgodovino in razkošje. Imel je osrednjo vlogo v britanskem avtomobilskem športu. Brooklands je bil prvotni dom britanskih avtomobilskih dirk. Ko so stezo 17. junija 1907 odprli, je bila dolga 4,4 km. To je bila prva namensko zgrajena dirkalna steza na svetu z naklonom, štiri leta pred prvo dirko Indianapolis 500. Za stezo s širino 30,5 metra in naklonom v višini do 9 metrov smo si izposodili popolnoma nov Bentley Continental GT Speed in se z njim odpeljali tja, kjer se je vse začelo.

Brooklands si je zamislil britanski podjetnik Hugh Fortescue Locke King, ki je porabil več kot 150.000 funtov lastnega denarja, kar je leta 2020 ustrezalo 16.495.218 funtom (19,603 milijona evrov), za razvoj dirkalne steze.

Brooklands je bil središče testiranja avtomobilov in dirk v Združenem kraljestvu in na njem so dosegli več rekordov. Nad tem je bil navdušen mladi Walter Owen Bentley, navdušen voznik in motociklistični dirkač. Navdihnjen z lahkotnostjo aluminijastega obtežilnika za papir je začel nameščati aluminijaste bate in modificirane odmične gredi v takratne avtomobile, pri čemer je v letih 1913 in 1914 dosegel več rekordov v Brooklandsu, njegovi avtomobili pa so nato štirikrat zapored med letoma 1927 in 1930 osvojili Le Mans.

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Story

IRON WOMAN Tjaša Fifer,

extreme enduro champion

by Matevž Hribar

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photography Bor Dobrin, Denis Janežič

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The rhythm of our conversation mimicks that of her racing. She says she only warms up halfway through the stage and is 30 percent faster when many are already running out of stamina. Not faster than the competition - faster than herself. “Tjaša, we’ve run out of space, we only have four pages,” I tell her, so I turn off the voice recorder while we continue talking. Mainly about enduro.

I would like to ask the female members of

What I really want to point out is that I

at the house for fun. It was only six years ago

the motorcycle racing world not to take this

recognised Tjaša Fifer at the off-road course in

when my brother - thank you, Goran - dragged

amiss, but as a former hobby racer and

2018 by the way she sat on the bike - with her

me to the track, and I soon discovered that

riding instructor I can usually recognise a

elbows held high, as if she was on the starting

cross country races were not a good fit for

woman on a motorcycle from afar. What

ramp of an MXGP race. She followed the basic

a motocross bike.” But then the guys whom

usually betrays them is the position of their

enduro course carefully and was not dismissive

she occasionally joined for an enduro trip,

arms or, more precisely, elbows. Guys,

in any way, although she already knew much of

convinced her to buy an enduro motorcycle.

especially on off-road bikes, hold their elbows

what was being told.

“You won’t regret it,” they said - and she did not, her passion got even stronger.

raised aggressively. Girls, even though they successfully conceal their smaller figure with

“Motocross bikes have been part of the

all the protective pads under the bodysuits,

furniture since I was six. I trained in other

usually hold their elbows closer to their

sports for many years - six or seven years

bodies as if they were a bit restrained and

of karate, followed by football, first with the

unsure if they really dare to tackle the muddy

boys, then with the women’s team, and when

slope. We don’t have to agree, but it is an

the national team preparations were about to

observation I have made.

start, I suffered an injury. The bike was parked

2019 – the turning point In 2017, the experienced ski instructor finished fourth in the women’s class of the Austrian cross-country championship on a Beta XTrainer, not exactly a racing powerhouse. The turning point came in 2019. After recovering

from her third knee operation, she flung herself

Rallye, not only did she get to the finish line,

bags of ice, filled the bathtub with it and I sat

into motorsport with the full support of her

but she won in the Iron class! Was it tough?

in there until my buttocks nearly froze off. I was

family, taking part in 19 races and becoming

Did it ever cross her mind that she wouldn’t

barely able to get on the bike in the morning,

both the Slovenian and Austrian Enduro Cross

be able to do it? “There were a few moments

but when I warmed up, it all went swimmingly.

Country champion. But she was tempted by

when I was really grateful for the positive focus

On the third stage, during a transfer in the

something else. Something even tougher...

of two team members, mechanic Matej Kofol

middle of Romanian hills, 2,000 meters above

“Everyone wants to test their mettle at one of

and photographer Denis Janežič. On the first

sea level, I collided with a car. Luckily neither

the extreme enduro races, get to the finish line,

day I went over the handlebars and hit my thigh

me, the bike nor the Golf Mk2 came out much

prove to themselves that they can. Yeah, you

so hard that my entire leg turned red, blue and

the worse for wear, but I never thought about

need a bit of luck, but you don’t finish a five-

eventually purple. When I was wearing shorts,

packing up and leaving. It was only later that I

day race due to luck.” Not only did Tjaša take

people looked at me as if I was an alien. So we

started reliving what went on during the race.

part in the Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro

visited the gas station every night, bought two

These are the feelings I long to experience

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The turning point came in 2019. After recovering from her third knee operation, she flung herself into motorsport with the full support of her family, taking part in 19 races and becoming both the Slovenian and Austrian Enduro Cross Country champion. But she was tempted by something else. Something even tougher... again. When the reporters at the finish line

YOU do it then if you have the balls for it.

a rather high bar - she wants to become the

asked me how I felt, I had no clue what to say.

Meh, tittle-tattle. I’ve had nothing but positive

world enduro champion. So, what now? “That’s

Now I do. Just look at my goosebumps,” Tjaša,

experiences with fellow racers. I made a

why I’m off to the FIM EnduroGP Women

- whom you can follow on Instagram @tjasafifer

navigation error at the Romaniacs, got back

World Championship. I like long races. You get

on track, overtook a competitor who then

warmed up during the transfer and then go full

latched on to my back wheel. After crossing

gas at the special, oh yeah! I want to feel the

the finish line, he came to me, panting, saying

same joy when riding a motorcycle, but I also

her as a woman. She says that she has been

that he really wanted to overtake me after

want to achieve something.”

hit below the belt a few times in Slovenia.

seeing I was a woman. He said he couldn’t,

“Like, everyone could win in the Iron Class,

but that he had to up his riding level.”

I should have really gone for Gold. Well,

Tjaša, born in Slovenia in 1997, also set herself

- rolled up her sleeve and showed us.

Next goal - enduro world champion I can’t but wonder how her teammates accept

The guys whom she occasionally joined for an enduro trip, convinced her to buy an enduro motorcycle. “You won’t regret it,” they said - and she did not, her passion got even stronger.

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by Alenka Birk

AIRGLAM GLAMPING ABOVE THE CLOUDS The terrace on top of the Gregorčič Mansion offers an unforgettable Airglamping experience - the first of its kind in Slovenia that is above the clouds. Anuška (Anushka), an iconic Antonov An-2 biplane that carried the Slovenian national flag during the country’s struggle for independence, has been placed on the roof of the manor, providing a unique place to spend the night alongside a private terrace, swimming pool and a warm thermal spring with splendid views. Savour a gastronomic masterpiece under the glittering stars, pampered by your very own serving staff, in a sumptuously furnished home above the clouds. You will finally get a good night’s sleep without having to worry about turbulence! www.air-glam.com

ONE66 Do you consider yourself a rebel against traditional hotels and crave for more than just a superb overnight stay in Slovenia’s capital? Are you a basketball fan as well? If so then Ljubljana’s Hotel One66 is the perfect getaway for contemporary travellers who wish to live, work and socialise with similarly minded people. It offers two accommodation types - rooms and apartments. The heart of the hotel, its pièce de résistance, is a spacious and lively multipurpose area, as eclectic as the rest of the hotel, housing a restaurant, bar and lounge and letting you have a ton of fun in the hotel itself! The establishment’s conference room naturally provides state-of-the-art technology as well as something extra - a basket with a hoop! We Slovenians are a basketball nation, so come on in and let off some steam by throwing a few balls. www.one66hotel.com

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Crazy Stuff

GLASS SLIDE Do you have what it takes to really let yourself go? Discover a thrilling new attraction in the heart of Downtown Dubai and ride the breathtaking Sky Slide between the 53rd and 52nd floor while being 219.5 metres above the ground. Slide down inside a glass corridor and take in the stunning views surrounding the 25-metre-long corridor that is transparent on all sides. Specially manufactured in Germany, the Sky Slide is fabricated from 12-metre sheets of quadruple-laminated glass. Supported at the top and bottom only, riding between the floors offers completely uninterrupted and spectacular vistas of the city below - if you dare to open your eyes! www.skyviewsdubai.com

FIRST ART EXHIBITION IN SPACE Space now also contains the first art exhibition outside the confines of our planet, which has been delivered to the International Space Station aboard the Antares resupply rocket launched from NASA’s Virginia facility.

Among the 64 contributing artists taking part in this important mission is Mateja Š. Dimic, who created a ceramic cube measuring one cubic centimetre and containing the #DBE - A Message from Earth fragrance, soaked in a piece of clay. This scent was also part of a space exploratory mission on Hawaii, where it was evaluated for its influence on the astronauts’ wellbeing. The inaugural arts exhibition aboard the space station also has a scientific purpose, as the gallery offers a diversified palette of materials and expertise which will be assessed as part of the mission while the artists will get the chance to see how their works of art function in microgravity.

www.moongallery.eu www.dbe528.com

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Story

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JOHN McGUINNESS AND TT ISLE OF MAN

READY FOR SOFA AND SLIPPERS?

by John Hogan photography Dave Collister, Honda Archive

NOT YET…

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On Saturday, 4 June 2022, John McGuinness MBE will line up for his 100th TT race start. The highs and lows of the most dangerous road race on the planet have defined him as a boy, a man, a racer and a TT winner. After a unsuccessful time with Norton in 2018 and a Covid related false start with Kawasaki, his relationship with the Isle of Man is one that people are already assuming has lost its spark. John himself and Honda think differently and here’s why.

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“I’ll be 50 years old for the 2022 TT races.

most of these fans are forgetting are the good

“Seeing your road racing idol ride his race bike

Most men that age like the idea of slippers

times I’ve had with Honda.”

to the shop for a packet of cigarettes when

and a nap on the sofa after a Sunday dinner, but I’m not ready for that life just yet and as long as I’m still enjoying myself, I can’t ever see a time where I don’t get excited about

Joey Dunlop as idol John means good times in every sense. As a boy he idolised Joey Dunlop on a Honda at

racing at the TT.

the TT. Close your eyes and picture Joey back

“Responding to the call to join Honda again

The distinctive Downtown Radio Arai in Yellow,

was a bit of a no brainer for me. It’s natural for people to immediately think of the crash that I had on a Fireblade in 2017 and I’ve seen a fair bit of resentment to Honda on social media since we announced our 2022 plans. What

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in the day and you’ll see a number of things. flowing hair, big sideburns and maybe some cigarette smoke. There’s a Honda there too, so the seeds of McGuinness’s relationship with the mighty H were planted before he had a driving licence, let alone a racing one.

you’re 10 years old clearly had an impact. I’ve never smoked a day in my life, but the sight of Joey and his RVF riding along the Promenade in Douglas is scorched into my memory. Other boys in my class were putting pictures of football teams on their bedroom walls, not me.

All I wanted to do was go to the next TT races, I’d bounce with excitement when I knew we were going and then I’d cry when we had to come home. To me it felt completely natural to go from TT obsessed fan to TT racer.”

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Trips to the Isle of Man came easily to the

the island and if that meant missing exams and

McGuinness family. His father ran a motorbike

school then I was more than happy to do that.”

shop in Morecambe, just minutes from the ferry port in Heysham where they would board the boat to Douglas. John senior raced the roads of the Isle of Man in the Jurby road races in the North of the island. As a young lad in the late ’70s it was quite normal for John junior to find himself sat on the grassy banks of the 6.8-kilometre road circuit with a bagful of sandwiches and a bottle of juice while his dad chased victory on whatever race bike he had

Riding with Becky on the back Eventually John would ride over on a motorcycle, tearing over the mountain on a Yamaha TZR125 first and then a Kawasaki KR1-S with his then girlfriend and now wife Becky on the back.

“We’d sleep in a tent or on the floor of wherever we could find, it was so much fun being

managed to put together.

around the paddock, feeling like we were

“Not every trip was planned or even involved

anyone knew who we were.

part of something special before

my mum and dad. While a teenager who should have been in school, I had better ideas and used to ride my pushbike onto the ferry early in the morning instead. I’d spend the day watching whatever was happening, a practice session or if I was lucky a race. Looking back now you could argue that I was doing the best kind of revision possible for the job I’d eventually go on to have, but at the time I just wanted to be on

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I can see why so many people keep coming

After thousands of laps that have captivated

back to just sit in the hedges and enjoy the

millions of road racing fans over decades of TT

racing because I’ve done it myself. Hearing a

racing, it will take more than a few extra candles

bike held wide open coming towards you from

on his birthday cake to keep the Morecambe

miles away, spotting it come into view and

Missile away from his favourite place on earth.

then having the air sucked from your lungs as it flashed past within arm’s reach is a unique

“I don’t really feel like I’ve got anything else to

feeling that never leaves you. I’m lucky enough

prove when it comes to the TT. My relationship

to know how it feels to be on the other side of

with the Isle of Man wouldn’t be stronger

memories like that and can picture the individual

because of more race winning success. I’ve

faces I’ve picked out on the run down from the

done a lot for the TT and the TT has done a

Creg. It might be a random fan cheering me on

lot for me in return, we’re at the stage of our

or a mate of mine flicking me the Vs, it’s amazing

relationship where we can just enjoy each

how much detail you can pick out in a crowd

other’s company. I’ve seen the ugly side of

when you’re flying by at 240 km/h or more.”

road racing here, I’ve tasted the tears as well as the champagne and both leave their

From his first TT race in 1996 to the most

mark on a man. I still keep coming back for

recent in 2019, John would go on to ride as

more though and it’s certainly not because

Joey Dunlop’s teammate, win 23 TT races,

of the money or the fame. I think there’s only

set the first 210 km/h lap and gift the Honda

one thing worse than having to retire from a

Fireblade more than half of its individual TT

race and that’s having to retire from racing

wins. Of course, that means more than half of

altogether. I’m not quite there yet…”

his TT wins have also been with Honda and the Fireblade, so it came as no surprise that he was interested in hearing what Honda had to say

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about the 2022 TT races, which will mark the 30th anniversary of the bike he will ride as well as that magical 100th start for John.

“The new blade has changed a lot from the previous model I rode. There’s a lot to learn with it but I’m excited by this. In road legal trim it feels like it has a lot of potential. It wasn’t a question of why I should join Honda again, but why not?”

Favourite place on earth The TT races have changed a lot for John and everyone else in the time that he has raced them. Early morning practice is a thing of the past, as is the iconic timing board at the grandstand. Cables and carbs have made way for ride by wire rocketships that are pretty much ready to race straight off the showroom floor.

// Si John McGuinness MBE: Pripravljen na kavč in copate? Še ne povsem …

V soboto, 4. junija 2022, bo John McGuinness MBE stotič zapeljal na start motociklistične dirke TT na otoku Man. Vzponi in padci na najnevarnejši cestni dirki na svetu so ga oblikovali kot fanta, moškega, dirkača in zmagovalca te dirke. Po neuspešnem delu z Nortonom leta 2018 in slabem začetku s Kawasakijem, ko zaradi virusa dirk TT niso izvedli, marsikdo domneva, da je njegov odnos z otokom Man izgubil iskrico. John in Honda razmišljata drugače. »Za dirke TT leta 2022 bom star 50 let. Večini moških te starosti je všeč ideja o copatih in dremanju na kavču po nedeljskem kosilu, vendar še nisem pripravljen na to življenje. Dokler še uživam, si ne morem zamisliti, da se ne bi navduševal nad dirkami TT,« pravi John, ki je med letoma 1996 in 2019 na tej dirki zmagal kar 23-krat.

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Story

The Ice in St. Moritz - a quite different car show

A TEN MILLION EURO CAR? NOTHING TO SEE HERE… The winter in Engadin is cold, white and icy - as it should be, seeing that we are in one of the highest-lying Alpine valleys. Engadin runs from east to west with the famous town of St. Moritz and its lakes located at its head. Skiing was being discovered here 150 years ago by the English, who mostly arrived by train. While here though, they were transported across the ice in horse-drawn carriages with horse racing and polo on the frozen lakes soon added to the mix. Ironically, driving was banned in the Graubünden canton until as late as 1928, but fast forward some 90 years, a frozen lake there saw the world’s most exclusive cars racing on it, although some came from an era that made them quite a bit less suited to such frolicking on the ice.

The connection is obvious and logical. St. Moritz

was clearly enough to entice owners of 50 very

Champagne was slowly turning to slush in the

with its ‘White Turf’ attracts horse racing and

special cars from all over Europe to come this

glasses and the visitors on the ice lake were

polo aficionados from all over the world, and

year. How special? Suffice it to say that at this

warmed - alongside the thick coats on some

the lake gets transformed for a few weekends

driving exhibition cars worth between five and

attendees - mainly by cars. It is rare to see a

into a luxurious backdrop where the part of the

ten million euros were ranked in the middle of

Ferrari 250 GTO today, especially a moving

world’s jet set that likes to spend the winter in

the pack.

one. Not just moving, gliding across the lake at high speed shod with spike tyres and justifiably

Engadin, competes. Just prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus, organisers - backed by

Concours d’Elegance is a notion strongly

earning the top prize in the ‘Instalake’ section.

lovers of luxurious vintage cars - came up with

associated with summer at Villa d’Este on Italy’s

Only 36 examples of this model were produced

the idea to use the lake for a different kind of

Lake Como or even more so with California’s

in Enzo Ferrari’s garages in Modena, so a

party - one with far more horsepower. ‘The Ice,’

Pebble Beach. For many years that is where

Ferrari 250 GTO is worth around 60 million

a meeting of the most unusual, luxurious and

the highest-profile presentations of luxurious

euro today. An intriguing counterpoint to the

unique vintage cars in the world, was born. To

vintage cars have taken place and provided

sporty Ferrari was provided on the ice by a Fiat

make it more than just a gathering for fun, a jury

the water, sun and champagne for the casually

130 Villa d’Este Introzzi, the very one used by

selected winners from among the participating

dressed garden party crowd, but those places

the Italian company’s legendary owner Gianni

vehicles in many categories. The inaugural

do not offer a frozen lake with a racetrack on it.

Agnelli for trips between his villa in Suvretta

event happened here three years ago with the

St. Moritz woke up to a gorgeous sunny day on

above St. Moritz to the Cresta Run skeleton

organisers seemingly facing an uphill struggle

the last Saturday in February, with temperatures

track or Club Dracula in St. Moritz itself. This,

in terms of attendance, but the two-year hiatus

staying at 10°C below zero throughout the day.

at first glance a run-of-the-mill family car,

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by Miran Ališič

photography Pietro Martelletti, The Ice

Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3 Grand Prix

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won in the ‘Spirit of St. Moritz’ category. The

know if that was the reason, the car won no

enthusiasts of sheet metal imbued with patina

prizes this year. The real star on wheels, not

were also fawning over another tiny Fiat, the

only among those walking on Engadin’s ice,

1964 Fiat 500 Jolly Ghia. Sporting a mighty

but also according to the jury in its ‘Stars on

12kW (17hp), fewer than a 100 of them can still

Wheels’ category, was an orange Lamborghini

be found in the world and one of them, currently

Miura, looking as if it just left the factory in

being sold by a dealer in Geneva, was among

Sant’Agata Bolognese yesterday.

the vehicles used by former Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito for short trips. The one that was on display in St. Moritz meanwhile came fully equipped for winter travel with wooden skis sticking out of the cockpit and a suitcase on its trunk.

Maserati 4CL, a Formula 1 race car from 1939 Racing cars were in a category of their own.

Strain your neck all you want, you will not find any modern Formula 1 race cars here, though

No prize for Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 -

Red Bull Racing has shown in recent years

Now for a quick dose of Hollywood. Also on

ice if fitted with special tyres, so the limelight

the ice was the Aston Martin DB5 from James Bond movies, driven by Sean Connery and Daniel Craig. The silver purebred made famous by the British MI5 stalwart was naturally fitted with all of its armaments and though I don’t

that 588kW (800hp) can traverse snow and during this weekend of luxury in the jet set’s winter Mecca was squarely on former Formula 1 race cars, or GP race cars to be more exact.

The Maserati 4CL first appeared on the racing public’s radar at the Libyan Grand Prix race in

Ferrari 250 GTO

Lamborghini Countach

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Tripoli in 1939, where Luigi Villoresi won the pole position, but then had to retire from the race. The car, which continued to be used at Formula 1 races after WWII, was very fast, though prone to breaking down, and its only podium finish was third place taken by Monégasque Louis Chiron at the 1950 Monaco GP. It won the first prize here though, in the ‘Vintage Grand Prix’ category. Another racing star on this sunny and cold Saturday in St. Moritz and the exhibition’s overall winner was a race car celebrating its 90th anniversary. This Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3 Scuderia Ferrari dates back to the time when Enzo Ferrari was preparing Alfa Romeo race cars in Modena. Designed by Vittorio Jano who was also responsible for technological solutions, this extremely successful car was driven to numerous Grand Prix victories by Tazio Nuvolari, Achille Varzi and Louis Chiron between 1932 and 1935, and it was the very model that made Enzo Ferrari a household name. In total, the Alfa Tipo B P3

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won 42 of the biggest races in Europe during

James Bond in action

those four years and, to top it off, was also the fastest in 1935 at the legendary Mille Miglia race from Brescia to Rome and back.

How special are the cars taking part at this driving exhibition? Suffice it to say that those worth between five and ten million euros were ranked in the middle of the pack.

A world of nostalgia and memories -

Maserati 4CL Grand Prix

We were also smitten by a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, a Lamborghini Countach, the 1987 Ferrari Testarossa used by Michael Jackson to shoot a Pepsi commercial, a Meyers Manx once driven by Steve McQueen, and the best of it all was that anyone was able to come and see them up close - for free. The only slight hint of discomfort we felt was when we overheard conversations between extravagant Gucci jackets and an abundance of fur, not exclusively worn by ladies, which revolved more around the millions needed to own these machines rather than the machines themselves. These snippets reminded us that on this sunny day in the middle of Engadin we entered a world of nostalgia and

Italian Police Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2

memories, which, truth be told, a different social class provides for us mere mortals with events like ‘The Ice.’

The enthusiasts of sheet metal imbued with patina were also fawning over another tiny Fiat, the 1964 Fiat 500 Jolly Ghia. Its owner let wooden skis sticking out of the cockpit and a suitcase on its trunk.

Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

Lamborghini Miura

Story

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by Miran Ališič photography Peter Garittano

Woman in the world of cigars - Nirka Reyes

I KNOW CIGARS ARE NOT FOR MEN ONLY

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Cigars are considered to be a male domain, they are not for everyone and they are for more than just smoking. Something to be enjoyed occasionally, cigars are a status symbol, and almost always symbolise a certain lifestyle as well as power and authority.

Winston Churchill was rarely seen without one and former Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito adored Havanas, supplied by Cuban President Fidel Castro.

You won’t find many cigar-wielding women in history, though things have been changing. In the suburbs of Santiago, the tobacco industry capital of the Dominican Republic, one can find the Reyes Family Cigars company. So what, you shrug, the place is full of cigar factories. True, but this one has been managed in recent years by Nirka Reyes, who decided to turn the male cigar world upside down. Very successfully, as it turned out.

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The family only established their first cigar factory in 1990 in Navarette, making cigars for various brands. Their most notable product was the Fittipaldi cigar, made for the legendary Brazilian Formula 1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi.

The 33-year-old Nirka belongs to the sixth

enthusiasm to the high-quality boutique cigar

for some time and was drawn in by the world

generation of the Dominican family Reyes,

market,” Nirka recalls her beginnings.

of money and investment banking, though she

who have been in the tobacco business in the

The young businesswoman says that the

did not stay there for long. “I really wanted to

northwest of the Dominican Republic for more

years after taking over were very difficult, with

try banking. Once I got there, I quickly began

than 150 years. Whereas the majority of cigar

low volumes, weak financial flows and the

hating it all. The banking world is too fast; time,

production in the country moved here from

production of just two cigar brands, Patoro and

interest and money are the only things that

Cuba following Fidel Castro’s banishing of

Debonaire, being maintained. One of the things

count. There is no room for emotions there, but

private property after coming to power, Reyes

she did, was to introduce two new brands,

it was a valuable experience. Living through it

remain one of the few homegrown tobacco

Saga and Don Julio. “Father was not impressed

gave me the necessary internal structure to run

families, though, truth be told, they were

with the name. Saga is used in the Dominican

the company now.”

tobacco farmers rather cigar manufacturers.

Republic to describe a poor baseball player

The family only established their first cigar

[the most popular sport in the country], but no

Quality over quantity

factory in 1990 in Navarette, making cigars for

one in the US or Europe knows this, it’s not

Time for cigars, then. When Nirka turned 18,

various brands. Their most notable product

even a Spanish word but rather comes from a

she began learning about the production

was the Fittipaldi cigar, made for the legendary

Dominican dialect.”

processes in the company and noticed that

Brazilian Formula 1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi. For the first 25 years, company management and cigar development were in the hands of Augusto Reyes, whereupon they passed on to his daughter Nirka Reyes. She persuaded her father to let her run the business in 2014, aged just 24. These were bleak times

A potent pair Their differences in opinion often cause family disputes, but Nirka is adamant that her father and she are an excellent combination: “We have a lot in common. We like the same cigars, and we share enthusiasm for many other

the extremely good Patoro cigar was not even used as a brand, but rather as a quality standard. After completing her internship in all departments, she moved on to banking, but returned in 2012, when her father made her a partner in managing the company. She wondered why the factory produced a lot of

things, for example whiskey. We are both very

cigars of lower quality. Even way back then

individualistic. Augusto is not just my father,

her goal became to produce fewer, but higher

he is also my mentor. Both in my business and

quality cigars. “I wanted to put all cigars on

in the 1990s, when the market was buoyed

private life. In a way he is my friend and I can

the level of the Patoro brand, which is made

by producing cheap cigars for the American

talk to him about literally anything.”

for the Swiss market. Let Swiss quality be the

market. I remember my father’s enthusiasm for

Nirka felt the siren call of cigars at a young age,

standard for all our cigars.” Nirka recalls that

cigars, he made them for other brands, but I

though not before getting to know the financial

achieving that goal required changing many

also saw that he was not able to transfer this

world. She attended a school in Switzerland

established habits, like convincing tobacco

with the factory’s cigar output standing at 2.5 million units, a far cry from 13 million during the company’s heyday. “Cigar production flourished

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wrappers to work more slowly, which of course

that it’s hard working with family, you have to

meant that they were no longer paid according

gain their trust. I am Leo’s client, but he has a

to quantity, but rather quality. “We slowed

lot of other clients too. When he shows me his

down cigar production thereby improving the

tobacco, I just want to be the first to negotiate

quality and, consequently, boosting the price.

the purchase price with him.” Nirka is proud

The important thing was that we started testing

that her favourite cigars are made exclusively

new methods, processes and developing new

from tobacco fields that have been owned by

ideas. We stopped making our family name

her family for generations. “During the tobacco

cigars as well. Those mass production cigars

growing season, I don’t travel anywhere, I

with mixed tobacco fill didn’t fit into my new

simply watch tobacco being prepared, which is

vision anymore. It was very difficult to extinguish

done for all our cigars by my uncle. That’s a big

something, which bears my father’s name and

advantage. If I were to buy tobacco elsewhere,

the family surname. Now we only produce

I would have to prepare it myself.” Saga came

Augusto Reyes Nativo cigars for my father,

in the form of shorter cigars and its box was

no longer for sale,” Nirka proudly adds. The

designed as a book, which attracted a lot of

process of cigar production is complex and

interest. I wish to have 10 different cigars from

requires handcrafting; each type of tobacco

the Saga family someday.”

has its own characteristics and one must know

The tobacco and cigar industry is large

and control fermentation, cigar storage, drying

and diversified. Though facing increasing

and also cigar production. This is a special, very

restrictions, Nirka is convinced that cigar

boutique business.

smoking cannot be equated with mass smoking

Enter Nirka’s Saga Nirka has clear goals. Though she has been managing the company independently for several years now, she still answers and explains her decisions to the supervisory board, consisting of her father and brother. But let us wrap up our tale with Nirka’s brainchild, the Saga. “Saga is made exclusively from Dominican tobacco and came on the market in 2014. My uncle Leo Reyes is a passionate tobacco planter and if he didn’t grow Piloto tobacco, this cigar couldn’t have happened. The wrappers are Dominican as well. I must admit

of cigarettes and other tobacco products. But the young and very energetic entrepreneur had another hurdle to pass. “It was very difficult to start in this business. Not because I’m a woman, I got a lot more surprised looks and remarks because of my age. It took some time for the masculine environment to begin respecting me. And there’s something else.

Women can enjoy cigars just as much as men do. I would like to spread this idea. Although it might seem the case, I don’t go to parties and don’t drink alcohol at ‘cigar events.’ And if I’m asked to come to a function in a mini-skirt, I usually still go while ignoring that request.”

Nirka Reyes with her father.

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Original

Ara Malikian

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by Tina Torelli

photography Anton Corbijn, Patricia Martin

LIFE WITH (FOUR ) STRINGS ATTACHED This is a bittersweet tale of war, love and indebtedness to a violin. It is a story about a man who was destined to become a musical alchemist in order to transform darkness into light.

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The year 1915, when Krikor Malikian escaped

a lot,” says Nata Moreno, his wife and author of

on TV. Two years later, he sent a recording of

the Armenian genocide with the help of a violin,

a documentary entitled Ara Malikian, Una vida

his performance to a number of academies,

was never mentioned on the third floor of an

entre las cuerdas. This masterpiece escaped

receiving a scholarship from the Hochschule für

apartment building in West Beirut. Without

like a genie from the 25 boxes of photographs

Musik und Theater in Hanover as the youngest

the violin, with which the fifteen-year-old fled

and newspaper clippings that arrived at Ara’s

student in history. Ara still finds it hard to believe

with a group of musicians, first to Greece,

address after his father’s death.

how incredibly brave and selfless Lucine and

then to Syria, and finally to Lebanon, Malikian’s family tree would probably have been cut down in the arid Anatolia. Years later Lucine,

An act of generosity

Jirair were to send their son, then still a boy, to Germany. They did not sugar-coat the truth and

The Malikian family connection between

Ara knew full well that he would have to be ten

Krikor’s daughter in law, gave birth to Ara,

violin and war is shrouded in mystery. If the

times better than others to make people forego

a boy with rare talent. With his violin as the

violin could speak, it would tell the story of an

their prejudice. The feeling of being overwhelmed

family’s diplomatic passport, Ara, the same as

incredibly generous act. By giving his violin

was at time relentless, but necessary if he were

his grandfather, managed to play his way to

to Krikor, an old Armenian preferred to die so

to mould himself into an artist.

freedom. The violin demanded restitution, so

that the young Armenian could live, so that

Ara became not only one of the best violinists

his people to survive. Krikor began a new life

of his time, but also a messenger for the

in Lebanon and, fully knowing the value of the

oppressed and forgotten. “We are all emigrants.

instrument, passed the enthusiasm for playing

I immigrated to Barcelona this afternoon to be

because he had no one to share the freedom

it onto his son Jirair, who used it to accompany

able to play to this wonderful audience. Estais

with. He was straightening his hair and plucking

the famous Lebanese singer Fairuz. When

guapisimos, de verdad!”

his eyebrows to blend in with his surroundings,

Ara was born on September 14, 1968, Jirair

longed for the sparse calls from Beirut and

instinctively placed the violin under his chin.

practiced 12 hours a day. His first friend was

The outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in

a Turk and that was something he could not

He has been calling for compassion and

1975 ended Ara’s childhood and took away

share with his parents for a long time. “But my

tolerance at all his concerts, sometimes

the violin’s status as a toy: “My father imbued

Turkish friend never hurt me.” The door to the

performing twice a day. Known for having a

me with the need to practice every day. When

world of music opened for him after winning

hard time saying goodbye, he once rode from

I was younger, I experienced strong pangs of

the prestigious Pablo Sarasate competition in

one concert to another - on two wheels with

guilt every moment I spent with friends. Guilt

Spain. This morphed into studies in London

a violin on his back - at 260 km/h. Not that he

due to what? No guilt!”

and Paris, performances in the Far East and

25 boxes of father’s love

is keen on doing that again - he much more prefers to reach incredible speeds with the bow when playing his beloved Paganini, but when

Birth of an artist

Hard landing Ara was burdened more by freedom than war

his first recordings and so Ara started living out of a suitcase. Asked if he carried a violin

After the war’s outbreak, Ara’s performances

or a Kalashnikov in his case, he had to bite

the stage lights go out, his life slows down and

moved from the balcony to the garage that

his tongue at the world’s airports for years.

words are replaced by thick and fast notes. “Ara

served as shelter. During a truce between the

He chose Madrid as his next home, where,

has the peace of those who have lived through

warring sides, the 12-year-old made his debut

in his own words, he made a living as an

77 ‘anticoncertino’ - anti, because the role of the concertmaster includes lecturing the orchestra, something Ara is not very good at. Live and let live - after seven years, Ara and the orchestra parted ways. Ara had to become Ara.

Welcome to the Ara Malikian Show At exactly nine o’clock, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu shrouds itself in complete darkness, which is punctured a few moments later by the wailing sounds of a violin, flowing like gusts of wind that announces the sorely needed rain.

After putting down his ragged bow, applause erupts. “After all this time we’ve been locked up, there’s a real risk that we’ll be playing for 28 hours today. There are no more curfews, no one can chase us away,” he says, dressed in his indispensable vest and trainers, required because he accompanies his tunes with his entire body. He kneels, jumps, even plays a piece lying down - his black mane spread over the floor, his bare hands holding the violin high above his head putting the scratches, tattooed but no less real, in full sight.

United sounds of Ara When seeing him play, one can clearly see he is not just doing it for himself. But neither does he only play for his hypnotised audience. His

“You can find beauty in the worst circumstances. Life can be transformed by your passion, your faith, your love, your confidence, your dignity.”

music transcends the boundaries of the theatre, space and time without the need for border passes or visas. When on stage, his family and ancestors are there in his music and his words.

Ara remembers the refugees and victims of genocides that keep recurring because the indifferent world keeps sweeping them under the rug. Paganini, Dvořák and Bach are here, hanging out with Bowie and Björk. Flamenco, tango, gypsy, klezmer, Arabic and Armenian music cohabit on the stage like nomads mingling at the immigration office. His own works are his autobiography in notes and have lately been mainly inspired by his son Kairo. Ara not only fills the theatre with music and laughter, but also with pure light.

And since, as mentioned before, he is reluctant to say goodbye, he ends the performance with a joke: “I hope that you will forgive me for telling so many stories during the concert and I have to admit that I did tune some of them up. I said we would play for 28 hours, but the doorman just received a WhatsApp message from his wife to go to the on-duty pharmacy. That means we have time for one more piece and then we’ll have to close the bar.”

We understood, so we only clapped long enough to get just one encore. Of course, no one would complain if the doorman could have stayed a little longer. About 26 hours longer.

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Hig h G e ar

High Gear

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The emotional whirlwind of motorsport

IT CAN NEVER LEAVE YOU COLD After some years this is my last column for Akrapovič. I’ve met some wonderful people in the business and made some good friends here too, proving that motorsport is a community as well as a business, a sport and a release for millions across the globe.

Through these pages I have been asked to write about MotoGP, electric mobility, the emotion of motorsport and even eSports about which I knew nothing, but then learnt a great deal. But what I enjoy writing about the most is the emotion of sport and the passion accompanying it. That’s what really fires me up and I feel the same is true for many.

There is nothing quite like the feeling of excitement before the race starts; the buzz in the crowd, the ghosts in the Monza grandstands looking over a scorching sunny grid with a Ferrari on pole for the Italian GP, the distant echo of an engine under full load approaching through the trees on a rally, or the full house of Spaniards cheering on for their local hero to win at Jerez for the very first time.

While the business side of things is in and around the paddock for the rest of the week, those few hours during a race weekend when it’s pure fight, cunning, skill and bravado is what fires us up and gets us so involved in the sport. That’s how I feel when commentating and what ‘makes’ a race.

What races have I felt part of then, which

have stood out as one of those ‘this may never happen again’ moments? Valentino Rossi’s run of seven consecutive MotoGP victories at Mugello, Honda into Yamaha, Repsol to Gauloises to Camel to FIAT colours, for example, then Porsche’s victory at the 2017 Le Mans 24 hours with Bamber, Bernhard and Hartley 65 minutes and 18 laps behind 3.5 hours into the race, but then getting their heads down and thrashing the No.2 car beyond all measure to take the lead with an hour to go. Colin McRae’s fully charged head-to-head with Carlos Sainz at the 1995 RAC Rally that brought a whole country out on to the roads to follow the iconic blue and yellow Subaru through to winning the rally and the World Championship. It was an emotion driven display in and out of the car resulting in people’s hearts still skipping a beat over 25 years later when they see a blue Subaru with gold wheels.

What would I have liked to have seen that I haven’t been lucky enough to be part of? I suppose if I had a time machine for a week, I’d love to go to the Targa Florio in 1972 and see Andretti, Schetty and Vaccarella drive Le Mans prototypes over a 72-kilometre course with evocative names like Collesano and Campofelice, passing donkeys in the field bringing in the hay. People just rocked up, sat on the side of the road and revelled in their day watching the circus come to town. They had to gorge on the moment as there were only

by Toby Moody illustration Natan Esku

newspapers to glean information from, rather than the hourly digital feed about so many aspects of life nowadays. Is communication so ubiquitous now that it maybe takes away some of the WOW factor when we go to a motorsport event?

Pre-war, I’d love to go back to see the Auto Unions battle the Mercedes at the Nürburgring.

It must have been like a Saturn 5 rocket turning up to a provincial air show seeing those machines with their budgets that even today would not be sniffed at in many circles of top flight motorsport.

In the meantime, it’s been a pleasure to be on this page just talking through cool things with people who ‘get’ the cool things in motorsport wherever you are in the world and with however many wheels you prefer. See you around.

“While the business side of things is in and around the paddock for the rest of the week, those few hours during a race weekend when it’s pure fight, cunning, skill and bravado is what fires us up and gets us so involved in the sport.”

Toby Moody International motorsport TV broadcaster for both two wheels and four, having commentated on motor sport for 22 years.

The article here does not necessarily correspond with the opinions of Akrapovič d.d., the publishers or the editors.

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