INSPIRE September 2012

“ Everything you can imagine is real. ” Pablo Picasso

We’ve always had wings.

Now we’re flying...

more info at:

hondajet.honda.com

E D I TO R I A L

Enrico Barbieri Editor In Chief

There have been so many anniversaries this year, so many special milestones! Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, Charles Dickens would have been 200 years old back in February, and the amazing Spiderman made his first appearance in comics in 1962, making this his 50th anniversary.

What’s more, the foundations for the Golden Gate Bridge were laid 75 years ago ready for full construction to begin on January 5, 1933. To celebrate, we’ve marked this incredible landmark three times over in the new issue of Inspire.

First, we follow Eveline Besters, the beautiful Dutch top model, who took the amazing Rizoma 77|011 Metropolitan bike for a spin in San Francisco.

On the other side of the bridge, our friends from Red Bull came up with two crazy ideas. First, they took Stefan Bradl on Treasure Island for a couple of wheelies, before driving all the way through to the world famous Lombard Street. And as if that wasn’t enough, incredible artist and bike enthusiast Bill Patterson painted our front cover live and at full speed. We certainly had an amazing time in the City of Love!

And speaking of further anniversaries, the Rolling Stones might not be the only British institution that celebrated half a century at the top. World famous secret agent James Bond found 50 candles on his cake as well, and to celebrate the thrilling spy saga we delved into the historical 007 archives to come up with an amazing reportage of the greatest vehicles used by the special agent. And while we were at it, could we miss the chance to meet Bérénice Marlohe, Skyfall’s gorgeous Bond Girl? Of course not!

Talking about exclusive interviews, we met two amazing personalities of the Motorsport World: Tetsuo Suzuki and Shuhei Nakamoto, respectively President and Vice President of Honda Racing.

Enjoy another amazing issue, Inspired people.

K E Y N OT E When, one day, you wake up and decide not to race any more, your world falls in around you. Everything you have experienced, fought for, loved… suddenly those same things make you feel bad.

And that’s when you realise that you can’t live without this world. In one way or another, you know perfectly well that the umbilical cord that attaches you can never be cut. Ángel Nieto Grand Prix Motorcycle Roadracing 13 times World Champion

You know that you will never find emotions that come close to those you once felt as a racer. It’s for that reason I began to manage a team, and much sooner than I ever expected. More than 40 years after beginning in all this, and I still sit in front of the TV cameras every week to do what I love best – talk about motorcycles.

The first time I was interviewed for Inspire magazine I got that same feeling; the feeling that somebody like me – in this case Lucio Cecchinello – wanted to tell everyone about the passion and the love he had for this sport. The poetry of the articles are magic and the accompanying photos help unite motorcycling with passion, fashion and the spectacle of what it is. Your emotions are stirred by the greatness of this sport seen through the eyes of a photographer, a film director, a DJ or a chef… it’s simply spectacular.

That’s how great Inspire is for me, and it makes me feel fantastic to be a part of this industry, this world. It is, after all, a world that only a privileged few have the honour of living in…

Those who live the dream and who don’t live dreaming.

PHOTOGRAPHER

Dean Treml

WATCH AND GET INSPIRED Courtesy by Red Bull Content Pool www.inspire-lcr.com/redbullcliffdiving

Blake Aldridge of Great Britain dives from the 27.5 metre platform during the seventh and final stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, Wadi Shab, Oman.

INSPIRE

CONTRIBUTORS Massimo Visconti Photographer, videomaker, sound designer and most of all: bike lover.

A true born gipsy, always willing to jump on a plane and land somewhere sunny, exotic and unknown.

Eveline Beskers This Dutchie travels around the world with her job as an international model.

She gets inspired by: other cultures, everything that’s vintage, motorbikes, surfing, reading, studying, writing and capturing images.

Fabio Alberti Business Developer and New Media I met my incredible wife 29 years ago and we are together since then.

We have two beautiful kids that I love so much. I’ve been working in the communication and advertising industry for 14 years now and I joined LCR since 2009.

Nelly Pluto-Prondzyńska Editor in chief of MotoGP section at www.motosports.pl I’m very young but I have a huge passion for MotoGP and I love to do interviews with the riders and to write articles about the races.

Mark McVeigh A freelance technical moto journalist, road race coach and development rider, the former International road racer and MotoGP Engineer runs motoDNA an Australian based motorcycle engineering consultancy and academy www.motodna.com.au Sayaka Miyazaki LCR VIP guests coordinator, Japanese Media reporter.

I love travelling and learning European languages.

Lucio Cecchinello Former rider, LCR Honda Team Principal I feel lucky to adore my job and I feel happy when together the guys of my team we can give a smile to our fans.

// FROM NOW ON, THE JOY OF RIDING

ISN‘T LIMITED TO THE RACE TRACK.

The CBR600F LCR-Edition bikes bring that racing feeling right to your home. The limited edition motorcycle sports the look of Stefan Bradl‘s championship bike.

Alongside the LCR-Team colours the bike features Progrip handlebar grips, an Arrow Titan exhaust, a pillion-seat cover and a rear rim in pearl nightstar black. With all these extras, a sporty run-out is guaranteed.

More at www.honda.de

Honda CBR600F LCR Edition.

30

S U M M A RY 18 44

18

CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE A beautiful model and an amazing bike in San Francisco

30

GRAND PRIX OF CZECH REPUBLIC Race Highlights - Round 12

44

JAMES BOND 007 Bikes and Movies

58

BÉRÉNICE MARLOHE Bikes and People

66

GRAND PRIX OF REPUBLIC OF SAN MARINO Race Highlights - Round 13

80

GREEN APPEAL A color with a lot of attitude

86

WARM UP IN SAN FRANCISCO Stefan gets ready for the US Grand Prix

58

66 86

80

98

S U M M A RY 106

98

THE POWER OF DREAMS Great Life Stories

106

JOHN KOCINSKI Vintage Emotions

112

RUSH ART Bill Patterson: painting on the Race Track

120

THE LEG WAVE Motorsport Technology

124

RAFFAELLA GIANOLLA The Racing Spirit in One Shot

126

GRAND PRIX OF ARAGON Race Highlights - Round 14

140

DRIVER 2.0 Green Light, Drive Responsibly

142

JAPAN, MALAYSIA, AUSTRALIA Travels

112

120

126

140

passion recommends OUTBACK

| MONOKEY速 CAM-SIDE SYSTEM | ALUMINIUM STRUCTURE | REINFORCED TECHNOPOLYMER INSERTS | LOCKING MECHANISM IN DIE-CAST ALUMINIUM |

a i n r il fo

Ca

e r u t n e Adv

DUTCH TOP MODEL EVELINE BESTERS WAS A GUEST OF HONOUR AT MotoGP’S LAGUNA SECA TRACK. WE ASKED HER TO TAKE A BIKE RIDE IN THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO. PUT YOUR SEATBELTS ON AND RIDE WITH HER! text: Eveline Besters - photo: James Pipino

Personal disaster in Las Vegas I’d like to start this story in Las Vegas. After all, that was the place where my little California adventure began. For a few months this year I was living and working in New York as a model. From the moment I set foot in this metropolitan jungle I had it in mind I’d definitely want to stay until the end of July.

Why? Because then I could visit the MotoGP at the amazing Laguna Seca. I attended my first MotoGP race when I was still in my mother’s belly, so I guess you could say it’s in my blood. Some parents put classical music on for their unborn child; mine took me to the MotoGP. It might be a little different from what other people do to pass their spare time, but that’s what I love about it. Maybe it’s also a little different that I, a skinny little Dutch girl who was almost too fragile to hold a bike, got my motorcycle licence when I was just 19-years-old.

Where there is a will, there is a way, right?

Being raised in a motorbikemad family, seeing the Corkscrew – one of the most iconic racing corners in the world - was definitely on my ‘to-do’ list. To be honest, I’ve been very fortunate the last two years of my life and have ticked off a lot of ambitions. But seeing this particular segment of Laguna Seca was definitely near the top. A few days before the MotoGP weekend, I confirmed a modelling job in Las Vegas. I had to shoot for the magazine of one of those huge hotels on the main road in that crazy city in the middle of the dessert. My f light to Las Vegas was early in the morning and, as I love photography and collecting visual memories to look back at later, I really wanted to take a picture of the famous ‘Las Vegas’ sign. Running a little late and in a rush, my friendly cabby still stopped for a second so I could get the snap I wanted.

Yet it all so nearly ended in tears. Somehow while taking the photograph I managed to drop my phone. Thankfully, an extraordinarily kind couple noticed and ran after me to return it. The taxi driver said: “At least you can say ‘I was lucky in Vegas’”. He was right.

I felt incredibly relieved and we laughed a long way up the road. Watching out of the taxi window with my travels to Los Angeles, Laguna Seca and San Francisco ahead of me, I felt the excitement building in me. This is how life is supposed to be, I thought. I checked my phone for the time, as I always do, and a horrible feeling ran down my spine.

My phone was broken... as in totally, completely, irreparably broken. For a second my world fell apart. How on Earth was I going to get where I needed and longed to be? My f light details, my car details, the phone numbers of the people from LCR and the directions to my hotel were all stored - supposedly safely - on the crumpled little device in my hand.

Then I remembered it was 2012 and with a little bit of help from the Wi-Fi at the airport, my best travel buddy Mr MacBook Air helped me avoid what had threatened to be an ill-timed personal disaster.

“When I was still in my mother’ s belly I visited my first MotoGP race, so I guess it’s in my blood”

Getting inspired by Easy Rider As is usual in life, it was all okay in the end.

I got safely to Los Angeles and started a very long but very beautiful train ride up the Californian coast. As a motorcycle and classic movie fan, when I think of the Californian coast, the film Easy Rider springs to mind.

Easy Rider was a 1969 American road movie written, directed, produced and starred in by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, and I guess everyone reading Inspire magazine is familiar with what is a brilliant movie. For me

it belongs in the top five best movies of all time, and I feel sure I’m not alone. Even before the U.S. premiere, Easy Rider scooped an award at the Cannes film festival in France.

In 1998, the movie was added to the United States National Film Registry, having been deemed ‘culturally, historically and aesthetically significant’. The success of the movie helped spark the so-called ‘New Hollywood’ phase of filmmaking during the early 1970s as filmmakers began to introduce subject matters and styles that were set apart from those established by the traditions of an earlier generation. Hopper and Fonda belonged to the avant-garde directors who were heavily inf luenced by the so-called French New Wave. For the first time they were innovative with respect towards art, culture and politics. The pair shot more about current social issues and on location due to their desire to experiment with the film’s form. Easy Rider therefore explores the social landscape, issues, and tensions in the United States during the 1960s, such as the rise and fall of the hippie movement, drug use and a communal lifestyle. The movie was not only very important for the film industry, but also for the motorcycle world. Nowadays people are still are inspired by the movie. Think of the whole chopper culture in America. And earlier this year Nicky Hayden wore a helmet during the Laguna Seca MotoGP dedicated to Easy Rider. So when I think of California, I think of Easy Rider and its Route 66. Every year thousands of motorcyclists from all over the world come to California to ride this famous road, all inspired by a movie that’s over 40 years old. Disappointingly, I wasn’t riding a bike myself at Route 66 that day, but I was at least travelling through California and, for a short while, I almost felt I was on set and part of an all-time classic. It felt good. As night began to fall, I finally arrived at my destination, Monterey. I was staying there together with the guys from LCR. Exhausted but excited I quickly fell into a deep, deep sleep. The next day I would see the famous Corkscrew.

May I introduce you? The Rizoma 77|011 Metropolitan bike Whenever I go to watch a MotoGP race, I get butter f lies in my tummy. The closer I get to the track, the more boisterous the butter f lies get. The atmosphere, the teams arriving, the spectators forming, the roar of the engines; for me this is what life is all about. Once I arrived at the hospitality lounge of LCR, I caught from the corner of my eye a glimpse of this incredible orange bicycle - the Rizoma 77/011 Metropolitan. This bike is made in Italy and, personally, when I think of Italy I think of passion, a country with a beautiful language, the communal love of speed and a land where they know how to dress impeccably. I’m a big fan of online ‘street style’ fashion blogs and those websites are always full of well dressed people from the main fashion city, Milano. For me, the Italian people have a unique passion for style and for invention. And that is exactly what the Rizoma 77|011 Metropolitan bicycle combines: unparalleled sophistication and cutting-edge technology. The bike is made for those people who want to look fashionable while capitalising on a fast and easy form of transportation. When you are taking the metro, tram or bus, you can be dressed up to your best, but when you are squeezed between all your fellow travellers, you do not feel that noticeable.

Using a motorbike looks cool, but it’s just not safe to jump on a bike while wearing a suit or a dress. But a bicycle? Now there’s a solution to deal with all your problems. In my opinion the Italian style is simple and elegant and that’s what makes it so easy on the eye. And that’s exactly how I felt about the orange Metropolitan. You could consider the bicycle as a jacket you would use indoors instead of outdoors to look elegant in a casual way. It is the ultimate in style and function for the urban bike rider or commuting worker. The real beauty with this bike, however, is that the inventers didn’t just think about aesthetics. The technology is mind-boggling.

Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the Metropolitan 77|011 is the lack of a seat

Top Model Eveline Besters on Rizoma 77|011 Metropolitan Bike

tube. The result is the appearance of a sleek frame. The explanation of the designers is that the down tube sweeps seamlessly into the chain-stays and curves up the seat-stays. The Rizoma-team worked really hard in their ‘77’ workshop for around eight months to create the Metropolitan 77|011 and I am absolutely ecstatic they did. Honestly, the bike is a miracle which solves all problems.

Using Metropolitan 77|011 in a metropolitan setting When I was living in Holland, I never had to carry my bicycle. Because everything is so close by in our little country, you are not as reliant on public transport and we have plenty of parking spots for a nation of faithful twowheel travellers. As we all have a bicycle, we have created enough parking spots for the entire population. Of course we have to watch out that our bikes do not get stolen, but as a rule we use the best locks that exist. When I moved to New York and got a bicycle, I found it was completely different using my twowheeled friend in a humungous metropolitan city. All of a sudden I had to carry my bicycle on the metro because the distances I needed to cover were simply too vast to cycle. Worse, I had to carry my bike up the stairs to my apartment. There was no way I could leave my bike outside during the night. There just aren’t locks big enough for New York City!

But, whatever my grumbles, I had been introduced to the idea of carrying a bike and I would get used to it. The problem was, it just wasn’t possible with the kind of bikes I was used to. It was out of the question. Not only because I own the smallest arm muscles in the entire world, but because Dutch bikes are traditionally as heavy as they come. Step forward the Rizoma 77|011 Metropolitan. It was the first bike I had encountered which I could carry comfortably. And this is coming from a girl who struggles to carry a normal, everyday bag. I was falling in love with the bike when the question came. LCR wanted me to go to San Francisco the next day, take the bike with me, wander around in that amazing city and shoot some pictures. Did

I fancy it? My answer was instantaneous; it was an opportunity I simply couldn’t miss.

With thoughts of San Francisco filling my head, the rest of the day was spent marvelling at Laguna Seca and a dream came true as I finally came face-to-face with the corkscrew. And what a corner it was. Personally I consider that tarmac art. It’s like a dance all those riders taking the corner in the same way, throwing their bikes from one side to the other in a tough yet elegant manner. You don’t need classical music to make life good, MotoGP does the job just fine.

Rather explore San Francisco on a fast bicycle than in a wedding dress The morning of Saturday, July 28, the orange Rizoma 77|011 Metropolitan and I travelled together towards San Francisco. One of the top tourist destinations in the world (it is ranked 35th in the list of the 100 most visited cities in the world), ‘San Fran’ is renowned for its cool summers, steep rolling hills, its mix of architecture, the famous Lombard Street, the Golden Gate Bridge, delicious seafood, as well as a large gay, lesbian and bisexual community. Then there’s Alcatraz Island, Pier 39, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), the plethora of independent art exhibitions that lines its streets and so much more. With more than 200,000 residents, San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the United States and it’s one everyone should visit once in their lifetime. Lucky me, I was visiting for a second time. On my previous visit, also this year, I had to shoot a bridal catalogue in this city. Of course I was very happy I got to see San Francisco, but running around the streets in a wedding dress is not exactly my idea of fun. But give this kid something with speed and she is definitely more satisfied. And so they did. They gave me my friend, the Metropolitan 77|011. And boy did we have a blast!

Disappointment at the amazing Twin Peaks Many people told me that San Francisco’s Twin Peaks were not to be missed. They are two hills with an elevation of around 922 feet situated in the centre of the city and offer sweeping views of downtown and beyond.

They promised me the view would blow my mind. It would be absolutely amazing, they said... like ‘amaaaazing’. I couldn’t ignore such reviews so I found my way and started the huge, difficult climb. I go jogging three times a week so my condition should be fine to tackle something like that. But I admit, it was the 77|011 Metropolitan that saved me on this trip, not my fitness. Thanks to its light, fast shape, we were at the top in no time. The trip was quite an adventure - and I love adventures - but when I got to the top, I was absolutely, amazingly disappointed. The last two years I have been fortunate to travel the world and learn a lot about other cultures. I can tell you that all over the world people like to exaggerate. In Asia, they apologise when they do things you don’t even notice. In South Africa, the entire population is super happy with their life. In Australia, food is labelled ‘beautiful’ when it’s merely tasty. In the Mediterranean part of Europe, people speak so passionately that sometimes when I thought they were engaged in a huge fight, they were actually just sharing a laugh. All over the world I was people’s best friend, their ‘bro’, when they wanted to sell me something. “You are really, really lovely,” is what they told me every single day when I used to live in India. And, of course, last but definitely not least, there are the American people, the inventors of the word ‘exaggeration’. Maybe it was no-one’s fault though. When I got to the top it was completely cloudy and I could barely see a thing. Maybe another day it would have been better. If you ever get a chance to check it out yourself, please let me know how it goes.

Though, please, spare me any exaggerations.

27 SEPTEMBER 2012

Dutch bicycle-culture Heading downhill from the top was a little less hard. Speed! You couldn’t not love it. About two years ago I did a shoot for a mountain bike catalogue in the Tuscany region of Italy.

That particular job offered up experiences I had never sampled before, but compared to the Metropolitan 77|011 it was nothing. Yet, getting to the bottom of the Twin Peaks, I got my second disappointment of the day. This time it was not because of a disappointing view; it was because this ‘trip of speed’ was over. The Netherlands, as you might know, is completely f lat. For Dutch people, every mountain, hill and mound is fascinating.

But we also love bikes.

Why does almost every single person in Holland have a bicycle? Just because it is so easy to travel with. We are the f lat land people of Europe and cycling is a breeze. But riding like that was something special. I wanted to go to the top and start all over again.

Only two years ago I found out how special our bicycle culture is in the Netherlands. During spells living in other countries, I always had the feeling I was missing something. After a while I realised it was my bike. It’s because in Holland we are so used to this form of transportation; you are practically born on a bicycle. You start out with training wheels and, depending on how your balance is, at about four years old you graduate to a tiny little two-wheel bike and build from there. I still remember my first time. My parents took me to the countryside where my grandma lives and got me up and riding in a day. Afterwards, my dad wrote in my little poetry album: “You learnt cycling within five minutes, but how about motorcycling….?!”. He knew,

even then. I was beginning to realise Metropolitan 77|011 was like a combination of a bicycle and motorbike to me. Of course it will always stay a bicycle, but it was so easy to manoeuvre. And then there’s that speed.

All adventures do come to an end The rest of the day in San Francisco I spent visiting all the aforementioned highlights of a spectacular city. It turned out to be an awesome day. Riding the Metropolitan 77|011 in a metropolitan city was a great adventure, not only for me, but also for the bike. People were asking for pictures all the time. But instead of having my picture taken for once, it was the bike which took centre stage. When we got back to the paddock at Laguna Seca, people were staring at us. The controller at the gate recognised me simply because I was the girl riding the Metropolitan 77|011, nothing else. At the end he stopped asking for my entry pass, and that never happens. On Sunday I was back at the track to watch the MotoGP race – the event I had always hoped would crown my trip. And it did, making my little Californian adventure even more worthwhile. After the race I sat down on the grass for a while, overlooking the beautiful Corkscrew, and I almost couldn’t believe what I had experienced. Seeing the hilarious spectacle of Las Vegas, breaking my phone, f lying to Los Angeles, taking the train up the Californian coast and retracing the path of Easy Rider, seeing the Corkscrew for the first time and touring around San Francisco on that bike – it had all been an unforgettable eye-opener for me. So thank you LCR and thank you Rizoma. It was one hell of a ride.

“Always when I go visit a MotoGP-race I get butterflies in my tummy. The closer I get to the track, the more boisterous the butterflies get”

29 SEPTEMBER 2012

CZECH REPUBLIC

RACE HIGHLIGHTS

LAST-GASP DRAMA text: Elisa Pavan - photo: Milagro

PEDROSA EDGES LORENzO IN THRILLING LAST-LAP BATTLE IN STONER’S ABSENCE, WHILST BRADL ACHIEVES ANOTHER ExCELLENT RESULT WITH FIFTH

BRADL TARGETS FRONT ROW

START AFTER BRNO GP OPENING DAY B rno, 24th August: riders were back out on track for the bwin Grand Prix České Republiky opening day at the popular Brno track.

After a little time to rest this week even Stefan Bradl moved from Indy to Europe to contest the Czech track setting the 5th fastest lap time of the day (1’57.250).

The German considers Brno one of his favourite circuits having collected his first victory in 125cc and the third place in last year’s Moto2 race so his first outing riding the RCV looked very promising as Bradl even set the fastest time in the first sector of the 5.403km track.

Stefan :

“The first free session this morning was a bit strange but I knew we had a better potential and finally we made a good practice in the afternoon. I am happy about the 5th position but there’s something to adjust in the overall package especially in the front because it seemed that we overheat the tyre at the end of the session causing some movements. That issue stopped me a bit in recording a good average lap time but at the end the pace was quite consistent. I am in good form and very motivated but we must improve the bike even in the rear because we are not at 100% right now”.

BRADL TO START FROM THE SEVENTH PLACE

IN TOMORROW’S CZECH GP B

rno, 25th August: with track and ambient temperatures significantly lower than yesterday’s scorching temperatures the MotoGP contingent hit the Czech circuit for the second day of practices with LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl in third row on

the grid with the seventh lap time (1’56.827).

With some small improvements to some areas he struggled with today the German is confident he can put up an even stronger challenge in tomorrow’s 22-lap race on the track he experienced the podiums in lower classes.

Stefan: “Well... It was a difficult qualifying because we made a lot of changes from

the morning session to the afternoon and we were expecting more improvements but unfortunately the adjustments did not work properly. We are still struggling with front-end feeling in corners entry. We tried to fix the chattering problems during the qualifying and at the end I could find a better feeling but we are still missing something. The bike potential is bigger than this and I must be sharper in the entry of the corners because there are many downhill breaking areas”.

GERMAN ROOKIE IMPRESSES ONCE AGAIN FINISHING 5TH AT BRNO GP

B

rno, 26th August: the LCR Honda MotoGP rider Stefan Bradl rode his Honda RC213V to an exciting 5th place in today’s 22-lap Czech GP at Brno race track scoring further important points which saw him holding the 6th place in the world classification.

In a morning warm-up held on a mostly wet track the German could not confirm the adjustments he required after yesterday’s disappointing qualifying but despite dark clouds looming, the track was dry for the race to delight the rookie riding the Japanese machine.

Stefan: “I am quite happy because after some technical issues we have found a good race

set-up. I could not push as hard as I wanted yesterday and the warm up session was wet so we could not test the last adjustments but the Team made a very good job and I could make another positive race. During the race I was quite confident and motivated: I took a good start and Rossi was in front of me in the beginning but suddenly he had a technical problem and some smoke came out from his exhaust. After that I thought he was having an engine problem and some oil soiled my visor which cost me a bit of time because I did not what was going on. Also Spies slowed down and Bautista overtook me but after that I started to set my pace.

It took some laps to pass Bautista and Rossi again to do my own race. I had a better speed compared to the guys behind me so it’s a pity that we lost the race at the beginning but in any case it was a strong race by my side and want to thank my crew for their concentration and their efforts�.

BEHIND THE SCENES

That’s the wrong parking place for your bike Dani! – Not sure if Ben is keen to jump on his bike today: what a baffled face! – The Bradl’s Gang hit the Czech race track to support his idol – another Czech beauty on the grid for the joy of the photographers… right Marco Guidetti? photo: Milagro 39 SEPTEMBER 2012

Ops… Something is burning Vale: Barbecue time? – Dovizioso is happy to pose on his Yamaha bike.. or maybe is more excited to pose next to the umbrella girl: typical Italian latin lover! – Lorenzo is pointing his finger to the guys: tonight you pay the bill at the bar!

photo: Milagro

41 SEPTEMBER 2012

TRACK KEY NOTE

TRACK KEY NOTE

CIRCUIT INFO LENGTH: 5.403 M. / 3,357 MILES WIDTH: 15M LEFT CORNERS: 6 RIGHT CORNERS: 8 LONGEST STRAIGHT: 636 M. / 0,395 MILES CONSTRUCTED: 1987 MODIFIED: 1996

The world’s most famous riders have taken part in GP events in Brno since 1930, where up until 1982 they would race through the villages and western parts of the city on a road track named after the first Czechoslovak President T.G. Masaryk. A new circuit was built during the 1980s with the aim of attracting Formula 1 to Czechoslovakia, and in 1987 it played host to the FIM Czech Grand Prix.

Popular with both fans and riders, the new circuit is built in a natural bowl which is banked in places to offer spectators an excellent view.

Brno constantly changes in elevation as it sweeps across forested hillsides and its fast undulating corners test rider talent and engineering to the limit.

BRNO KAZUTO SAKATA text: Nelly Pluto-Prondzynska

Former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer Kazuto Sakata was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1966. He debuted at the 1991 Grand Prix championship on home soil in the 125cc class, kicking off his racing career at the relatively late age of 25. At the end of 1991 season, he stood on the podium at the Malaysian GP after finishing second in the race.

But that was just the beginning. He came close to a race podium finish in 1992, but missed out despite setting the fastest time in qualifying on three occasions.

The breakthrough year for Sakata was 1993. He finished second

in the overall classification with two wins and 13 podiums. And a year later, he clinched victory on three occasions, for the first time in his career becoming the best in the world in the 125cc class.

While he couldn’t repeat his title triumph the following year, in 1995 he stood on the podium again in his home race, winning other rounds in Great Britain and the Czech Republic – a third victory at the Masaryk circuit.

The following years didn’t yield title success for Sakata, yet as a competitor he was renowned for giving nothing less than 100%, always believing that one day he could win the title again.

Just when many had written him off, his dreams came true in 1998, when he was again crowned Grand Prix champion again.

A year later Kazuto retired, bringing to a close 41 podiums finishes, 19 pole positions and 11 career victories.

43 SEPTEMBER 2012

BIKES AND MOVIES

JAMES BOND

7 text: Frank Grice

HE’ S SYNONYMOUS WITH THE GAD GET S, THE DRY MARTINI, THE ASTON MARTIN. BUT CELEBR ATING 50 YEARS OF THE ICONIC SPY FR ANCHISE, IT ’ S A TELLING SIGN OF THE TIMES WHEN THE OPENING CREDIT S TO THE 23RD JAMES BOND FILM, SKYFALL, FEATURE A BR ACE OF HONDA MOTORCYCLES SHOT ON LO CATION IN ISTANBUL. WE’ VE COME A LONG WAY...

D

aniel Craig’s Bond is seen tearing through the streets of the Turkish capital, in hot pursuit of villain Patrice, played by actor Ola Rapace, both astride the rather understated CRF250R. Twenty models were provided for the scene, each featuring extensive stunt modifications, while two further CRF450R motorbikes were used as HD camera filming machines, as only a two-wheeled vehicle could easily enable the camera crew to follow the various stunts. But how many bikes lived to tell the tale?!

Of course, Bond is as adept with his vehicles – be they two- or four-wheeled – as he is with the ladies, and with the new movie now in

cinemas, we chart 10 memorable bikes and motors from years gone by.

Motorbikes BMW 1200 Cruiser (Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997) Pierce Brosnan must get away from Carver’s clan through the winding streets of Saigon, and utilising the shared driving skills of Wai Li (Michelle Yeoh) on a 1200 Cruiser getaway – one of BMW’s finest and most shapely rides – you would fancy his chances. Unfortunately, Bond is handcuffed to his fellow escapee behind the controls, but by changing positions the duo manages to fight off their helicopter-

boarded pursuers.

In a breathtaking move, Bond jumps the bike from one rooftop onto another and over the whirling blades of their enemy’s airborne machine. The actual stunt was performed by making a 60mph 44-foot leap across the roof of the two buildings.

In much the same way as Skyfall, a huge number of back-up bikes were used – 15 in total, with only three making it out the other side!

And for those who believe the politics behind product placement is a very recent phenomenon, think again. The appearance of this bike came before it was available for sale.

Cagiva 350 T4E (Goldeneye, 1995) At the end of the pre-title sequence at the Arkangel facility in Russia, Bond – again played

by Brosnan – hops on the Cagiva in pursuit of a pilot-less aeroplane - his only true means of escape. In possibly the most unbelievable of all Bond stunts, the plane plummets off a cliff, yet Brosnan skydives after it, falling through the open door of the plane before wrestling with the controls seconds before it would have crashed.

Given that Bond was, for a change, using a f lat tarmaced surface, only three motorcycles were needed during filming. One was destroyed while another is known to be held by a British collector. The third was donated to the The Ian Fleming Foundation, which is based in California.

Honda ATV-90 (Diamonds Are Forever, 1971) Several Honda ATV-90s were used in the chase scene when Bond escapes Willard Whyte’s Nevada factory. The all terrain vehicle has to be used in order to negotiate a route through the rocky landscape, with the giant rubber wheels and iconic Honda shape making this vehicle a collectors’ item even today.

Montesa Cota 4RT dirt bike (Quantum of Solace, 2008) This Spanish bike brought its manufacturers a history of financial unease, but in Quantum of Solace it proves Daniel Craig’s salvation when Bond sees Camille (Olga Kurylenko) in apparent trouble and revs up the Montesa Cota 4RT trial bike. The brand dates back to 1944 in Barcelona - the four-stroke Cota 4RT

49 SEPTEMBER 2012

being introduced in 2005 as the successor to the 315R that was ridden by world champion Dougie Lampkin, amongst others.

Yamaha XJ650 Seca Turbo (Never Say Never Again, 1983) Sean Connery finds himself engaged on a Yamaha xJ 650 Turbo motorbike that comes complete with fitted rockets. The bike is sharp, styled, effortless and a touch controversial, which makes it all the more strange that a safety-conscious Bond takes the time to put a helmet on first!

Cars Sunbeam Alpine Series II (Dr. No, 1962) Bond’s first vehicle would have to be British – the Sunbeam Alpine, in light blue.

Although he rolls out on a leisurely drive across the sunshine island of Jamaica, Bond finds himself being chased by The Three Blind Mice in a hearse. He ducks under a crane that is blocking the road, forcing the hearse is to take evasive action, swerving off the mountain to meet, fittingly, its fiery demise.

The Alpine wasn’t part of the film’s budget, and was borrowed from a local!

Aston Martin DBS V12 (Casino Royale, 2006) Bond returned to the tradition of showcasing an ultra-modern vehicle in 2006 when the DBS V12 rolled into shot. Yet the manufacturers, Aston Martin, were still in the final phases of designing the DBS at the time of filming.

The car actually seen is a DB9 that was modified to look like a V12. Amongst other things, it featured an air cannon located behind the driver’s seat, which sent the car into a sevenrotation roll (a new world record).

Citroen 2CV (For Your Eyes Only, 1981) If Bond stands for an almost Shakespearean combination of drama and humour, then the use of a Citroen 2CV is a perfect depiction. Tearing through a Spanish olive plantation with gun-yielding criminals in pursuit shouldn’t be anyone’s idea of comedy, but in a yellow 2CV the chase is perfectly weighted.

And proving they were happy to be in on the joke, Citroen produced a special 007 edition of the car, complete with fake bullet hole stickers!

Lotus Espirit (The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977) While the Lotus Espirit Turbo (complete with skis) would appear in For Your Eyes Only four years later, this iconic version became famous for its ability to double as an underwater submarine. When Roger Moore emerges from the sea on a crowded beach, there’s all the typical irreverent humour that you would expect of Bond, although maybe not the sub-aqua safety certificate.

Aston Martin DB5 (Goldfinger, 1964) The original and the best. This was the first time a car was crammed full of gadgets, and it was done with effortless charm, to include rockets, an ejector seat and more. The car returned for future productions including Goldeneye and Casino Royale. The original was sold at auction in 2010 for £2.6million.

Other Bond vehicles Bond may carry with him the style and swagger of a man who is usually at one with only the most stylish of vehicles, but there have been times when the world’s best known secret agent has relied upon very basic con-

GEOMETRIC ALUMINIUM

New indicator light

“ACTION”

www.rizoma.com

Daniel Craig rides a Honda CRF250R in the opening scene of SkyFall

WATCH AND GET INSPIRED www.inspire-lcr.com/007crfbackstage

structions. The Tuk Tuk (or auto-rickshaw) featured in 1983’s Octopussy has a 192cc engine and a top speed of 40mph. Yet having become regarded as something of a cult mode of transport, the Indian creation can now retail for upwards of 20,000 Euros.

The Gyroplane Sean Connery f lew in You Only Live Twice in 1967 saved Bond from a sticky end in Japan when being pursued by five Spectre helicopters, while a decade later, the wetbike featured in The Spy Who Loved Me was so much at the cutting edge of technology, it prompted the invention of what we to-

day recognise as the jet ski.

In addition, we’ve seen a number of sea-faring creations, including the one-man Bath-O-Sub mini-submarine in Diamonds Are Forever, and of course, who can forget the biggest of all Bond vehicles, the zorin Industries airship in View To A Kill... or the smallest, for that matter, Pierce Brosnan’s Union Jack parachute in 2002’s Die Another Day! Chris Corbould – the ultimate secret agent?

Of course, the skill behind fashioning the ultimate Bond vehicle has always been in cramming as many gadgets and as much techno-

logy into the engine.

For over three decades now, one man has remained a constant within the Bond legacy, namely special effects supervisor Chris Corbould. Starting as an uncredited 21-year-old technician on Moonraker back in 1979, Corbould has since layered his knowledge over 12 productions involving 007. In Skyfall, Corbould’s team made extensive modifications to the CRF250Rs. He tells Inspire, “The challenge is always to keep realism beneath the

bonnet, if you like. We can modify any vehicle in terms of gadgets, general appearance or performance, but from the outside at least, it must still, for the most part, behave like the machine it originally was.

“The CRFs are great off-roaders, yet they gave us the versatility to be slick road bikes around the streets of Istanbul. And of course, the most important thing was to ensure rider safety. A stunt must never go beyond that extreme.”

www.arrow.it

“Another one bites my dust ”

BIKES AND PEOPLE

BÉRÉNICE MARLOHE

text: Stephen Milton

BOND GIRL BÉRÉNICE MARLOHE ON AUDITIONS, ART, AND A GROWING PASSION FOR AMAzING MACHINES

B

érénice Marlohe grimaces and produces a little cry of displeasure when the words ‘Bond girl’ are uttered. Not that the 33-year-old previously unknown French siren is anything but electrified by her role as Severine in the 23rd Bond movie Skyfall.

It’s more the fact that she despises the idea of her character, and indeed herself, being described as a girl.

“The idea of the Bond ‘girl’ is history,” she retorts animatedly. “Now is time for the Bond ‘woman’. A girl is a jeune fille - a girl is 16 or 17. All the time we see these skinny little girls who have nothing to say or no life experience to draw on to show what it is to be a woman today.”

Ravishingly stunning and statuesque, Marlohe is wearing an olive green strapless dress, her hair is piled high, her eyes are heavily made up - the entire effect giving her a glamorous look. It’s easy to see why the Amazonian beauty started out as a couture model but quickly found the limitations of a fickle industry to be reductively galling.

“The fashion industry was not for me,” she purrs, in near perfect English. “They said to me, ‘Oh no, too much shoulders, too much hips. My God, you are just too much woman.’ But being too much woman is bad for fashion.

Thankfully, it turned out to be good for Bond!”

Born in Paris to a Cambodian/Chinese father and a French mother, raven-haired Marlohe didn’t set out to become a model or an actress. In fact, she studied at the prestigious French arts school Conservatoire de Paris for 10 years and had her sights set on becoming a pianist.

“From 10 to 18, I played the piano and wanted to make it my career. I had a classical formation, so I am very connected with music in general, and I think all these things are linked - it’s all about art and creations.

And because I studied as a painted and an artist and pianist, acting seemed to be another step in that direction.”

Eschewing the fastidious pressures of the fashion world, Bérénice saw acting as her saving vocation. But inexplicably, the roles did not come easy for the exotic beauty, a result some might say of her decidedly exotic

heritage.

“I had real difficulty getting auditions in France and elsewhere; it was a tough time for me,” she admits. “But it is like that for so many. Like me, at first aspiring actors may only find themselves getting some TV work... a few films. It wasn’t easy.”

With her best work in France as a transsexual in a French medical soap, Equipe Médicale d’Urgence, and as a ‘sexy, funny girl’ in an advertisement for low budget Dacia cars – a world away from Bond’s DB5 - Bérénice finally gave up after years of struggling to establish herself as an actress in France and decided to look for work in America.

But on the verge of gaining an American visa and moving to Los Angeles, she discovered that Sam Mendes was auditioning for the new Bond film in Paris. Landing her first audition involved virtually ‘stalking’ anyone she could find involved in the film over the internet.

Finally her show-reel reached the casting director and she had her first audition with Mendes, her second alongside Daniel Craig and her third with the all-powerful producers. The chemistry was right from the start.

“I think you have it or you don’t, absolutely. It’s like in life, people either have a connection or not,” she continues. “The first time I met Daniel when auditioning at Pinewood Studios the good connection was there, and it was the same with Sam Mendes. You’re dealing here with two great human beings, both very humble, both very nice. It was all just very natural.”

In the film, the enigmatic Severine finds herself drawn to Bond as he delves deep into his murky past, and provides a powerful ally when it comes to battling villain, Silva, played by Oscar winner Javier Bardem. The role is typically all-action, something Bérénice relished.

“I’ve done some photo shoots around bikes and classic cars, and they have always been of interest. But having your picture taken around them as props, compared to actually bringing them into the way you deliver an acting performance is very different.

“I’ve certainly learnt a lot more about the power of mo-

I’ve certainly learnt a lot more about the power of motorbikes and cars from Bond, and it has been a thrill to do that, I must say.

61 SEPTEMBER 2012

Bérénice Marlohe and Daniel Craig in a scene from the film “Skyfall”

WATCH AND GET INSPIRED www.inspire-lcr.com/berenice

torbikes and cars from Bond, and it has been a thrill to do that, I must say.

“It has all been an incredible experience – from the attention to detail that goes into every part of the film, to working with someone like Javier Bardem, who I had dreamt I was filming alongside not six months ago. It’s strange and wonderful. I love what life can give you... what it can deliver.”

Sharing the standard provocative scenes with hulky Craig - notably a steamy encounter in the shower - the actress giggles when the notion that the more, shall we say, saucy scenes end up on the cutting room floor?

Leading with a bright, white grin, she cries; “Did we get naughty in the shower? No, not at all! What was shot is what you see.”

Working with Craig, a man known to take his work seriously, how did Bérénice find their interaction on set?

“Daniel was absolutely great. He’s just so charming and funny and a good human being, a beautiful human being. It was a real pleasure to get to work with him, and I think it was great because we had a good connection, and so hopefully it shows on the screen.

“People may see him as serious sometimes, as that’s possibly the persona he puts out there. But on his own, he’s a wonderful, wonderful man.”

Being thrust into the public eye as a Bond ‘lady’ brings with it the inevitable fame and public scrutiny. Is Bérénice prepared at all for how different life will be now?

“Honestly, 10 years ago when I was discovered by an agent, I was happy I wasn’t given an audition because I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that career, specifically because of the celebrity thing. I find that it is a luxury being anonymous, because you are in the street or you are anywhere, and you feel free.

“And also I am big on paranoia and I was afraid of people coming to see me for the wrong reasons, and this is true because since I have been in this movie, I have people everywhere that I hardly know.

“Suddenly, people are saying, ‘Do you want to have dinner, let’s be friends’! And that is so funny. But I love

my job, I love creation and I love art, so I don’t mind and I know my best friends, I have my family and so if there are some people like that, it’s not a problem and I feel quite peaceful with all that now. But I don’t understand people who want that kind of career now just as a route to becoming famous.”

For the last year, Bérénice has criss-crossed the globe shooting Skyfall, but what’s the crucial next step? “I guess staying in Los Angeles and working hard is the next step,” she laughs, infectious in her effective humility. “It has been a lovely transition and I’m so happy to be working. I have an independent movie which I am very excited about and then another film which is English and American, called Pan, an adaptation of Peter Pan, and directed by Ben Ebon. So these are the two next projects – it’s exciting.”

Will she straddle both sides of the Atlantic or forsake European production for lucrative Hollywood territory?

“I want to keep working in France but also in English movies. I really love acting in another language other than mine, I really love to work in English, and I’d love to work in Spanish too. I feel freedom when I am playing a language other than mine.

It’s a gift to do so, right?!”

Following in the illustrious steps of Honor Blackman, Jane Seymour, Halle Berry and Sophie Marceau, Marlohe has still managed to make Bond girl history; the first to never wear high heels. Was this some sort of feminist statement?

“No, the reason is that I don’t manage to walk with high heels,” she giggles. “It’s a shame, I wear high heels when I have to, but it’s very difficult, even now. This is the reason why I am very bad with high heels. Maybe that’s why I was not so good a model, yes!”

And what about discovering that new passion for fast motors?

“I still don’t know too much about bikes and cars, although this Bond experience can be regarded as an interesting ride, certainly! If you cannot grow a passion for road machines from being around Bond, then really you will never be passionate about these things!”

If you cannot grow a passion for road machines from being around Bond, then really you will never be passionate about these things!

RACE HIGHLIGHTS

TURNING

POINT text: Elisa Pavan - photo: Milagro

BRADL BATTLES FOR PODIUM BEHIND LORENzO, AS START LIGHT DRAMA LEADS TO PEDROSA BEING TAKEN OUT AT EMOTIONAL MISANO RACE

REPUBLIC OF SAN MARINO

TRICKY CONDITIONS DEEPLY AFFECT MISANO GP OPENING DAY

M

isano, 14th September: on a damp and drying track less than 10 riders took to the Misano circuit for the first free practice this morning and even the second free practice session was neither completely wet or dry so the majority of riders remained in their box including LCR racer Stefan Bradl.

Stefan: “As everybody can see it was not a really productive day for us because the weather

was very strange. On these conditions we could not learn anything from the track because it was not dry and not wet so I just went out once for an investigation lap and that’s it”.

BRADL TAKES TERRIFIC FOURTH SPOT ON THE GRID AHEAD TOMORROW’S GP

M

isano, 15th September: in much improved conditions for MotoGP qualifying at the Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini in Misano the LCR rider Stefan Bradl took the fourth place (1’34.221) ahead tomorrow’s 22-lap race with yet another terrific performance in his first season in the premier class.

The German rookie riding the RC213V was consistent top runner in this afternoon 60-minute sunny qualifying session gaining the pole position with 10 minutes to go. On his last Q tyre while holding the 4th position, he was on a front row pace but was blocked by some CRT riders costing him two tenths to make his first front row.

Stefan: “I am quite happy about this qualifying but I think it was hard for everybody

because we had no data and no track time in the dry due to the bad weather of last 2 days. The grip condition was not perfect but since the beginning we made a combination of the two bikes using data and adjustments of the last Monday test sessions in Brno and Aragon and at the end I decided to stay on one bike which was better for today’s surface situation. We lost a bit of front-end feeling and we had to adjust it twice because I was losing too much in the entry of the corners. At the end I could make a good lap time thanks to those adjustments but we still have to fix it properly. In my last run I found some traffic and I probably waited too long for the tyre to warm up before my flying lap… Anyway I could enjoy this session and I think we are in a good shape for tomorrow”.

71 SEPTEMBER 2012

DETERMINED BRADL

TAKES 6th PLACE IN MISANO AFTER A FRONT-FIGHT RACE

M

isano, 16th September: LCR rider Stefan Bradl put in a great performance riding his RC213V at San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Gran Prix holding the third place for the majority of the 27-lap race and after the chequered flag the 22-year Bavarian rider celebrated his 100th GP with a final 6th place.

Yesterday’s Bradl’s performance once again proved

how much the young German has learned in the first two thirds of his rookie MotoGP season.

As fast and smooth as ever, the reigning Moto2 champion was ready to achieve his first premier class podium but struggled a bit with the front towards the last laps and managed to finish 6th after an excellent race.

Stefan: “First of all it was a strange beginning of the race with two starts… after that, since

the beginning, I was not fully confident with my front tyre and throughout the race it became worse and worse. Then in the last laps I even felt something wrong in the front but do not know what happened exactly and must check the data with the technicians. Once I arrived at the garage we noticed that I had very low front tyre pressure and we are going to investigate later.

In those conditions I was not capable to stop the bike on braking so I was losing the position.

It’s very frustarting because we were in a good shape and I could gain my first MotoGP podium but I have to take the positive aspect of the weekend. We are capable to stay up in the pack and we will try our best in Aragon. I want to thank the whole Team because this race was very busy for them and once again they made an excellent job”.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Congratulations to Stefan for his 100th GP! So young so experienced – What’s that Vale? Ducati has designed a new chassis for your home race? GOOD LUCK! – A patriotic grandstand for all the Italians racers: great impact! photo: Milagro 75 SEPTEMBER 2012

All these Aperol Girls and nothing to drink? Come on… let’s have a Spritz to celebrate Rossi’s podium at his home race. – It must be a good joke Hector! Your mechanics look very happy… what’s better Stefan? Wheeling on your RC213V or on Rizoma spectacular bicycle?

photo: Milagro

77 SEPTEMBER 2012

TRACK KEY NOTE

TRACK KEY NOTE

MISANO FAUSTO GRESINI text: Nelly Pluto-Prondzynska

Fausto Gresini currently is the team-manager of his own team not only in MotoGP, but also in Moto2 and Moto3 categories. Some years ago Italian was also a Grand Prix rider, who scored quite good results as two world titles. He was riding only in 125cc class.

Fausto Gresini manages his own team not only in MotoGP, but also in Moto2 and Moto3 categories. Some years ago, the Italian was a Grand Prix rider, and winner of two world titles in the 125cc class.

Gresini was born in Imola, Italy, in 1961. He began his career in Italy age 17 riding Minarelli. Two years later, in 1983, he debuted in Grand Prix with team MBA. His first podium came in the same season during the Swedish round, where he finished second. One year later, also at Ander-

storp, he triumphed again, winning his first ever race in GP. In his just second season he was the third rider in the overall classification.

The 1985 season was one of the finest of his entire career. Scoring three wins and five podiums, he won the world title in the 125cc class. One year later Gresini was the v-ce champion – and he came back even stronger in 1987, winning 10 races (still the record in a single season in the smallest class) – but crashed in the last GP of the season in Portugal. Still, it was his best season ever, when he won the World Championship for the second time. The next few years proved more of a challenge for the rider, yet he still scored two second places in general classification in 1991 and 1992.

Throughout his career, one of the best tracks for him was the Misano world circuit in Rimini, where he triumphed three times. In 1997, three years after he retired from racing in Grand Prix, he decided to make a brave career change. Having enjoyed a successful career as a rider, he created an Italian team. Tragically, he lost two talented riders, Daijiro Kato and Marco Simoncelli, who died in separate incidents on the track.

But there were victories along the way as well, the biggest of which as a team manager came with Daijiro Kato in the 250cc class (2001), and in 2010 in Moto2 with Toni Elias.

79 SEPTEMBER 2012

CIRCUIT INFO LENGTH: 4.226 M. / 2,626 MILES WIDTH: 14M LEFT CORNERS: 6 RIGHT CORNERS: 10 LONGEST STRAIGHT: 565 M. / 0,351 MILES CONSTRUCTED: 1969 MODIFIED: 2008 11

12

16

13 15

8 10

9

N

7

14

1 4

5

2

6 3

Close to the city of Rimini, the Misano Adriático circuit was constructed in 1972 and has since undergone an array of modifications. A regular scene for Italian Grands Prix throughout the 80s and early 90s, Misano returned to the MotoGP calendar in 2007.

With updated facilities, track and grandstands, the Misano Adriatico holds a maximum capacity of 60,000 spectators.

In accordance with MotoGP safety regulations, the 4,200m track runs clockwise for the World Championship races.

GREEN APPEAL GREEN IS THE COLOUR OF GROWTH, THE COLOUR OF SPRING, OF RENEWAL AND REBIRTH. IT RENEWS AND RESTORES DEPLETED ENERGY IT IS THE SANCTUARY AWAY FROM THE STRESSES OF MODERN LIVING text: Massimo Visconti - photo: Dario Altamura - hair & make up: Giulia Lancia model: Samantha Shorter _2Morrow Model - clothes: Dirk Bikkembergs

I

n ancient Egypt, colours were considered an integral part of a person or object’s nature. Green was the colour of fresh growth, vegetation, new life and resurrection. It was the colour of the ‘Eye of Horus’, which had healing and protective powers, while green remains the colour of balance and harmony.

From a psychological perspective, it is the great balancer of emotions, creating equilibrium between the head and the heart. Being a combination of yellow and blue, the colour green encompasses the mental clarity and optimism of yellow with the emotional calm and insight of blue, inspiring hope and a generosity of spirit not available from other colours.

Green has long been a symbol of fertility and was once the preferred colour choice for wedding gowns in the 15th century. Green is often used in decorating for its calming effect; a guest waiting to appear on TV is often left waiting in the so-called ‘green room’ in order to relax.

Green is also the colour of the Heart Chakra, which bridges the gap between the physical and spiritual worlds. Opening the Heart Chakra allows a person to love more, empathise, and feel compassion. Green is the colour of prosperity, abundance, finance and material wealth. In Japan, green is regarded as the colour of eternal life. In Aztec culture, green was considered to be royal because it was the colour of the Quetzal plumes used by the Aztec chieftains.

And in the highlands of Scotland, people used to wear green as a mark of honour. Friday is the day of green. Green jade is a sacred stone of Asia. Ancient Egyptians wore green eyeliner. Green is the colour of love associated with both Venus, the Roman goddess and Aphrodite, the Greek one. Green contains the powerful energies of nature. Change and transformation is necessary for growth, and so this ability to sustain changes is also a part of the energy of green.

Green symbolises the master healer and the life force. The colour green revitalises us when we are physically, mentally or emotionally exhausted. Because of its link with the heart, green urges us to nurture others. Green was also the favourite colour of George Washington, the first President of the United States.

And consider too that many successful companies choose green as their corporate colour and this choice has helped them become leaders in their markets.

And finally, when the green light is on, we pull the throttle and a new race begins.

text: Lucio Cecchinello - photo: Cameron Baird and Steve Jennings / Red Bull Content Pool

FROM A BRILLANT IDEA OF RED BULL US, STEFAN AND THE LCR TEAM HELD A UNIQUE WARM UP SESSION ON THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO. A GOOD TRAINING FOR THE GERMAN RIDER AND A TASTE OF FUN AND ADRENALINE FOR EVERYBODY JUST FEW DAYS BEFORE THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIx!

Stefan makes a wheelie on Avenue Of The Palms, Tresure Island

I

think that amongst the million of passionate MotoGP fans who follow each race, year on year, there are only very few who don´t know or don´t talk about the Laguna Seca race track!

My first memories of this track go back to the great battles between heros like Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Rainey, Eddy Lawson, John Kocinski, in particular watching them negotiate the Corkscrew!

A few years later, around 1993, I had the pleasure to experience this phenomenalcorner, how it feels when your stomach turns in on itself whilst doing a highsider!

When you get close to that point of the track you can´t actually see the corner, you have to fix a breaking point and lean into the corner before you actually get to view it. The change in direction happens at very high speed and in that moment when you shift your body on the bike you are experiencing the same phenomenal feeling in your stomach as would be associated with a rollercoaster!

After half a second you have to open the throttle on full and hope that you have enough grip on the rear, otherwise you could find your body going one way and your bike the other! In short, it’s a leftright-left that truly takes your breath away!

I’ve often wondered how difficult it was to do that turn on a 125cc bike with 50 PS, and how hard it would be to do that on a MotoGP bike with another 250 PS? Add to that, how would our Stefan manage given that he has never ridden in Laguna Seca before?

Well, there was only one way to find out...!

At the beginning of this World Championship Stefan surprised us all with a number of great performances, all these coming in his first MotoGP season. In our plans for the season, Laguna Seca was obviously going to be one of the hardest races in the calendar, and a circuit notoriously difficult to plan for.

I remember talking openly to our friends at Red Bull about whether Stefan´s current levels would be enough at Laguna Seca – after all, it was his first appearance on that particular race track. A couple of days later I received a telephone call: “Lucio, let´s organise some training before the US Grand Prix, we´ve got a cool idea!” My answer was immediate: ”Hey guys, we can´t test on track!”

The reply came back: “Don´t worry, Stefan will be training on the street!”.

In that moment I thought ‘are these guys from Red Bull crazy or what?’

Stefan on Treasure Island Road

Stefan on Lombard Street, San Francisco

A couple of days later, I received an e-mail which explained their plans in a bit more detail. And that confirmed it, they were crazy! Luckily, so are we... so we were going to go for it!

The programme which was finalised by Red Bull America meant I found myself in the lobby of a hotel in San Francisco at 6:15am one sunny morning. I had breakfast (hot coffee, and bread with peanut butter), left at 6:40am, and within 20 minutes I was with the police at the entrance of Treasure Island (an artificial island in the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland) for a test session of starts into the straights of Palm Avenue!

Preparation for the bike (warming up the tyres, programming the engine map, fuelling, setting up the data recording) were soon well into full swing.

It was just the rider who needed getting into shape now, set for a 9am departure.

We had been working on Stefan´s starts, and after a lot of effort he managed to break the team accelaration record, speeding from from 0 to 100 km/ h in 2.05 seconds! The previous team record had been held by none other than Casey Stoner – now beaten by five hundredths of a second.

The view that you get from Treasure Island is incredible. There’s a curious smell in the air too – a mixture of sea air and the industrial engine smell that wafts up from the RCV in the 100 degree heat.

That smell will stay with me forever, I think.

Around lunch time the bike and everything that goes with it was packed up and we moved on to Lombard Street to try a bit of ‘left-right-left’, similar in process to what Stefan will have to do in the Corkscrew!

Arriving at the intersection between Hyde Street and Lombard Street there was a sense of excitement in the air. Local cops where trying to help us park our vehicles while onlookers stood not quite knowing what was going to happen next.

After a few hamburgers and a Red Bull, we unloaded the bike and started the preparations. And why Lombard Street? Well, the small matter that it’s an exact copy of the Corkscrew at the Laguna Seca circuit!

Suffice to say, the practice went really well. It was a great pleasure and for Stefan it proved an invaluable warm-up before the US Grand Prix. None of it would have been possible without the huge effort and support of Jordon and all his colleagues from Red Bull US. Thank you guys!

WATCH AND GET INSPIRED www.inspire-lcr.com/warmupinsanfrancisco

N

T X E

M I T

. . .

E

www.progrip.it progrip.it

CONTROL YOUR RIDE

WORLD’S BEST HANDGRIPS

. . .

T FI

PR

CONTROL YOUR LIFE

R G O

!

P I

Mr. Tetsuo Suzuki (left) and Mr. Shuhei Nakamoto (right)

GREAT LIFE STORIES

THE PO W ER O F

text: Sayaka Miyazaki - photo: Honda Racing Corporation

INSPIRE MEETS TWO OF THE AMAzING PERSONALITIES FROM THE MOTORSPORT WORLD: TETSUO SUzUKI, PRESIDENT OF HONDA RACING, AND SHUHEI NAKAMOTO, WHO IS VICE PRESIDENT. HERE WE PRESENT A FRANK AND POSITIVE FACE-TO-FACE THAT ExPLORES THE POWER OF THEIR DREAMS Do you believe in “The Power of Dreams”?

Suzuki/Nakamoto: Yes! Certainly!

Suzuki: The most important thing in life is to achieve your dreams. If you don’t have clear dreams or goals, the means become just purposes. When you set your goals, it is essential to choose the right way to go.

Nakamoto: And more than that, if you have a dream, put all of your energy into it.

At what age did you start to have a clear dream about your future?

Suzuki: That was when I was 10 years old; I had this dream of developing factory machines.

Nakamoto: Well, when I was at college I used to race at Suzuka and at the Tsukuba Circuit near my university.

Unfortunately, I was not a great rider (laughs). However I started to dream about working in this field.

Few people know that the HRC President and Vice President both graduated from the same university. Had you discussed working at Honda at that time?

Suzuki: We studied at the same seminar and we spoke about going to Honda, yes!

Nakamoto: I was the older student but I stayed in school one more year. So we entered Honda at the same time.

Back then, most Japanese major companies had closed their doors for Masters students who stayed at university for more than six years.

But I felt I deserved to work in the motorcycle industry, so I went through the Driving Safety Promotion Centre to get a job at Honda. Anyway, both of us were not good students at all! (laughs) I thought that both of you pursued an elite route since you were little boys!

Suzuki/Nakamoto: Not at all! (laughs)

Suzuki: In fact, even today, we are still mavericks at the company (laughs).

I presume that Honda consists of great mavericks who achieve innovative things, from the birth of the company through to today?

Suzuki: Yes. Honda is a company which retains a culture that each employee thinks by himself. Also ‘Sangen Shugi’ (the importance of three Gens in manufacturing - Genba (actual place), Genbutsu (actual thing), and Genjitsu (what actually happened) was introduced by Soichiro Honda, and still exists at Honda.

Which one of you started working first at Honda HRC? Nakamoto: I started working at HRC first, while Tetsu chan (the nickname of Mr.Suzuki) was still working at Honda R&D (Research and Development) in Asaka. Tetsu chan was also well qualified to be able to work at HRC but our boss said ‘No! Do not allow Nakamoto and Suzuki to work together!” (laughs) Suzuki: “Otherwise HRC might have folded! In addition, some colleagues told our boss that we even were classmates at school, so he said with mounting fear, ‘No, absolutely not!’ (loud laughter) Nakamoto: Anyway, before I went to F1, my boss asked me who was the best successor would be for my position, so I recommended Tetsu chan as a well-qualified person.

What was your first job at HRC? Nakamoto: My very first job was designing the Honda RS125 and RS250.

Suzuki: My first job was designing the chain case of the Cx125. Then when I arrived at HRC I started following the Super Bike race division.

How did you feel when you stepped onto a racing track for the first time?

99 SEPTEMBER 2012

Nakamoto: In 1978 I went to the Suzuka 8-hour race. It was the first time they ran that competition. The Honda factory team was overwhelmingly strong, but Yoshimura (Suzuki) won the race! I was so excited and it was incredible to see that such a small team could beat a gigantic one like Honda! I was just a student back then and was not working for Honda, but that’s when I started to dream of working for the manufacturer, despite the fact they lost!

Suzuki: I had my very first experience on a track when I was a high school student at the Fuji Speedway during an F1 race. I was so impressed by the sound of the acceleration on the pit lane! That’s what really did it for me.

Nakamoto-san, you’ve been responsible for the F1 division of Honda. Tell us about your experience in the field. What about now - do you prefer MotoGP or F1?

Nakamoto: What I’ve learned while working in the F1 division is how to manage a team. In general, our work processes mean us Japanese don’t work with Americans and Europeans, so I had to start to try to understand their habits and personalities. Thanks to this experience, today I know how to recognise who’s a good or bad person, who’s a hard worker and who’s a lay-about. Therefore when I spoke with Livio Suppo, I knew that he was the right person for HRC. I am happy to work with him and he loves Honda even more than we do!

Personally, I love both MotoGP and F1 in the same quantities. I am very proud to work at HRC because our company is able to support competitions and offer a great and lasting contribution to the future of the motorcycle racing world. Establishing the Moto3 class and providing engines for the Moto2 class are good examples of how much we can do.

At F1, Ferrari has absolute authority. To be honest, we suffered a lot in that period. In the MotoGP, in fact, Honda is in a similarly strong position but we like to be fair with our rivals. If we were to use our force, the MotoGP race would lose its appeal.

Miyazaki: So Honda doesn’t behave like Ferrari in the MotoGP, trying to make a biased racing environment?

Nakamoto: That’s correct. However, so many people believe that Honda do whatever Honda wants! In fact, they bash us about that frequently! Think about it like this - Honda provides the Moto2 engines without making a profit. It set up the Moto3 class in order to hold back the soaring spending of the GP125 class budget. And in the MotoGP class, we are trying to keep fair regulation.

Suzuki-san, you attend lots of races, correct?

Suzuki: Absolutely! I come four or five times a year, but I wish I could take in the thrill of racing more often. Unfortunately we are all very busy at what we do.

Who is your hero as a racer?

Nakamoto: I was surprised when I first saw Freddie Spencer. I thought ‘Wow, he’s amazing!’ I had never seen anybody else riding like him before. Among the riders I work

with, I think Casey Stoner is outstanding. All the other riders are very fast and talented too, but Casey is one of a kind.

How do I describe him? He is like a three-year-old riding a competitive machine! He constantly amazes me. For example, he can show the same acceleration even when using Engine Traction Control. But more than that, he is such a trustworthy and honest person.

Suzuki: For me, Daijiro Kato and Valentino Rossi are the leading lights. I have to mention their racing attitude – it’s exemplary. Most of the riders say: “I can’t ride very fast because of this and that.” but Daijiro and Valentino both say: “Please solve this issue and I’ll do the rest!”

And they understand how many months it takes to solve some technical issues. Because of that, and because they’re in touch with the realities of bikes, they come up with ideas in order to ease the problem in the meantime on the track.

People who are the best don’t use excuses when losing – this is how these guys are. Instead, they find solutions.

What do you think about current MotoGP and also the future of MotoGP? Nakamoto: I believe that motorcycle fans love to follow the racing to see the advances in motorcycle technology, not just to witness the battles between riders on the track. As motorcycle racing keeps on providing enhancements for the bikes you find in the shops, then fans are more and more familiar with the technology on the road. So manufacturers have to pursue that technology at a constant and high level.

Yet, at the same time, we need to introduce eco-friendly ideas into our field. For the future of MotoGP, my opinion is that we shouldn’t change regulations dramatically. I do not think introducing electrical motorcycle races for the MotoGP is the solution. Otherwise, the MotoGP value will fall. We must maintain the motorcycling fans we have whilst attracting new ones.

Suzuki: I do agree with Nakamoto-san. The essential quality of racing is to compete by both human power and technology. Think why the rider’s Championship points classification comes before the constructors’ points - we manufacturers always think how we can support riders and drivers in the best way.

According to Honda’s annual report, Mr. Ito, the Presi-

dent, has a proactive attitude for environmental leadership. Do you think that HRC will commit to technical rules and Co2 emission regulations in pursuit of developing an efficient engine?

Nakamoto: Increasing durability of engines is one of the main technical challenges. When an engine increases its durability, we can decrease the number of engines used during the season. That makes good sense.

But there are so many challenging points in this area – do we increase durability or increase horsepower? And again, the challenge is to reduce the budget but also to impact less on the environment. Also, developing the 20-litre fuel tank is another challenge. Actually, Honda machines can finish races on 20 litres of fuel already. But Honda does not suggest controlling the fuel tank regulation. This leaves the door open for new manufacturers for the MotoGP. Suzuki: I personally think the eco is not just to increase fuel economy on the track. The importance is in having the accumulated data fed back from the race track, reflecting what is a multimillion dollar motorcycle on the road.

Nakamoto: Indeed, and actually, a lot of Honda motorcycle production is focused around increasing fuel economy.

LCR thinks that our technology must be linked more with the environment and safety, and must assume higher levels of social responsibility. What do you think about that?

Nakamoto: Racing is not safe (laughs)! Through racing and its advances in technology, we trust that we contribute and can find a better way for safety, but it will never be absolutely safe.

Suzuki: The racing situation becomes safer as time goes on, through decreasing machinery risks and increased rider safety, certainly compared with 20 years ago. Honda will always keep applying efforts to safety, for racers and for everyday riders.

Please give a message to INSPIRE readers.

Suzuki: Dear INSPIRE readers and motorcycle fans, Honda will keep working hard in order to give you the best bike experience! We are looking forward to your continued support, especially for the LCR Honda MotoGP team!

Nakamoto: Thank you for your continued encouragement!

I am delight to see Stefan (Bradl) progress so quickly and rapidly. With his help and that of others, we can keep fighting to clinch World Championship honours!

105 SEPTEMBER 2012

INSPIRE

Vintage Emotions PRESENTS

JOHN KOCINSKI text: Nelly Pluto-Prondzynska

John Kocinski is a former Grand Prix and World Superbike rider. Some people say he was a genius, others think he was just a crazy man. We support the first theory

K

ocinski was born in Little Rock in Arkansas, USA, in 1968. He was just 17 when he began training at the legendary Kenny Roberts ranch. The same year he started riding for Roberts’ team in AMA Championship. He was the youngest rider in America to have a factory-spec bike – but, being only 17, was too young to enter the prestigious Daytona 200.

His first great achievements came in the United States, and he went on to win several titles in AMA Championship. During one of his opening AMA Supersport races at Daytona, he managed to clinch vic-

tory having started 53rd on the grid.

In 1988, he debuted in Grand Prix and scored his first pole position in the 250cc class during his home round at Laguna Seca. One year later he took part in two rounds in the quarter-litre category and won both races.

In 1990, he began his career in GP as a full-time rider in 250cc class. Thanks to some attentiongrabbing performances in the US, expectations were high. And Kocinski was not about to disappoint - he won seven races on his Yamaha and eventually became World Champion.

After some good opening performances in the 500cc class, he struggled to make the jump forward to find true world title form. Despite that, his first victory came in only the second round of the season in 1990, in Australia. At the end of that same season, during a race in Malaysia, he won his first GP in the premier class. One year later, with one win in Brazil, he ended the season in third place in the general classification.

Kocinski started 1993 in the 250cc category, landing Suzuki’s first-ever podium in this group. But in the middle of the season, after a disagreement with team Suzuki, he went back to 500cc.

He won Cagiva’s first ever dry 500cc race at Laguna Seca, and came 10th overall despite only making four appearances. In 1994, Kocinski again finished the season in third place in the championship, winning in Australia and scoring six more podiums.

In 1996, he moved to World Superbike with Ducati. In just one year, he had proven that he could fight for the best positions, dominating that category by winning nine races and scoring more than 400 points in the season.

Kocinski came back to GP in 1998 but disappointed.

Just one podium in France in two years wasn’t the sort of form he was accustomed to. Because of that, Kocinski returned to the United States and started riding in the AMA Championship again, and later helped Yamaha develop the M1. He officially retired from racing in 2002.

What made Kocinski such a popular rider was not only his consistency across multiple codes, but his off-track behaviour too. He believed that the key for success was discipline, and followed a very strict diet and fitness plan. This even included eating and sleeping at the same time every day – not exactly easy when you’re travelling the world.

MotoGP riders generally ride on motocross bikes during off-season. Not Kocinski. He would ride mini-bikes: “They help my timing and concentration, knowing when to gas and when to brake,” he once said.

And unbelievably, after Cagiva pulled out of GP in

1995, Kocinski briefly became a professional waterskier! He took it seriously, even taking part in the professional waterski series.

Outside the racetrack, Kocinski was known for his fiery demeanor – he wasn’t unafraid to fall out with teammates or journalists. Kocinski even traded blows with the driver of his motorhome, who he reportedly sacked for using the vehicle’s toilet during a long journey.

Everything around him had to be immaculate. For many it was just funny but, for Kocinski, it was an obsession. Kocinski loved to ride on motocross bikes – a pleasure and a real nightmare at the same time.

He’d scrub any mud off himself immediately after racing and his bikes were the cleanest on the circuit.

There is, they say, a thin line between genius and madness.

And the eccentricity doesn’t stop there. One day he was so mad after crashing in the race that he decided to leave his bike on the track. Then he got straight into a hire car and headed for the exit, getting caught in traffic immediately. Kocinski got the fantastic idea to mount the grass verge and drive down the wrong side of the road to escape…

The judge gave him charity work.

After he retired from professional racing, he soon found a new job. The inspiration came after he sold his lavish home in California to an American rap star for a 400 per cent profit. That gave John the idea to enter the real estate business in Beverly Hills. He bought a French Villa in Beverly Park for around $4.5 million, and after extensive renovation was able to sell it for almost twice the initial amount.

But one of the most important deals was selling a mansion in Bel Air to Eddie Murphy for around $10million.His good business sense has made him a millionaire, while his very special character and racing style made him one of the most popular racers in the world. During his career, Kocinski proved his huge talent and love for motorcycle racing.

He might not have achieved everything he was dreaming of, though many people still consider him a genius rider – and so do we.

WATCH AND GET INSPIRED www.inspire-lcr.com/johnkocinski

RUSH ART BILL PATTERSON HAS BEEN PAINTING FOR 25 YEARS NOW. SPEED HAS ALWAYS BEEN PART OF HIS LIFE. HE SAW HIS FIRST MOTOGP RACE IN 2005 AND IMMEDIATELY FELL IN LOVE WITH TRACKS AND FAST BIKES

Valentino Rossi - Studio Painting 2011

Sebastian Vettel 2012

B

orn in Wyoming, as a boy Bill Patterson moved to the Canadian Rockies where, at the age of just three, he quickly engaged in his two passions – art and downhill skiing.

By 11, Patterson’s artistic talent was more than evident, as was his talent for downhill racing. But his father’s career as a petroleum engineer dictated a move for the family again and Patterson found himself in a British boarding school in Argentina.

He was quick to learn Spanish, sketched on everything in sight and participated in all kinds of sports – but nothing compared to the precision, speed or exhilaration he remembered from downhill racing. At least, not until he was invited to go to his first auto race, a formula race in Buenos Aires.

Patterson immediately recognised in auto racing the same edge he knew from skiing. It was the edge of precision, calculated speed and technical limits with infinite exhilaration – and he was hooked.

After returning to the United States and becoming a licensed architect, Patterson made a life-changing decision. He knew he was an artist first and an architect second. He began to paint and hasn’t stopped since.

Patterson is currently the official artist of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and produces an array of commissioned work for private clients, as well as performing ‘live paintings’ internationally for corporations such as Microsoft, Mazda and FedEx. Although he is best known in auto racing circles, he’s accomplished in other markets too. Some of these include music, film, television, medicine and finance, with products ranging from sculptures to web design, interactive animations and, of course, original designs for logos, embroidered products or custom-etched wine bottles.

Today, Patterson lives in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. When he’s not painting, he’s likely speeding down the side of a mountain on his bike or flying his model glider at speeds of up to 200mph. For Bill, it has always been about speed, and there is no slowing him down.

For more info: www.billpatterson.com

Nicky Hayden - Painted live at the USGP in Laguna Seca 2011

Marco Melandri, Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Laguna Seca 2006

Motorsport Technology THE LEG WAVE

text: Mark McVeigh - www.motodna.com.au

EVERY NOW AND AGAIN THERE IS A QUANTUM LEAP IN MOTORCYCLE RACING TECHNOLOGY, WHETHER IT’S THE ENGINE, THE CHASSIS, THE SUSPENSION… WHETHER IT’S A RIDING TECHNIQUE OR BIKE SAFETY

C

onsider the genius of Walter Kaaden’s 2-stroke expansion chamber or the back protector which Barry Sheene knocked up from old visors for Dainese. Both were massive successes, from out of nowhere.

More recently it’s been electronics with traction control, wheelie control, engine braking and more.

As far as rider mechanics go, getting your knee down springs to mind, first seen by former world champion Jarno Saarinen and further refined by three times world champion Kenny Roberts, after Jarno was sadly killed at Monza.

The modern equivalent of that is of course the leg wave. It has been around for a few years now, having first been seen in 2005 when a certain Valentino Rossi, hard on the brakes, dived perilously up the inside of arch rival Sete Gibernau in a desperate last corner move at Jerez. It was a move that had massive ramifications for the championship.

Gibernau was gobsmacked by the daring move and Rossi played the mental game to its max, as only Rossi can do, continuing to use his new found technique, which he and no doubt Gibernau associated with that epic manoeuvre, as a double psychological weapon. It both inspired confidence in the Italian whilst practically psyching Gibernau out of the

championship.

Rossi continued to use the leg wave as part of his extensive ritual, complimenting his Ronald MacDonald colour schemes, pre-ride crouch downs and leather bum extraction repertoire!

The psychological advantage to one side, speculation about the benefits of the leg wave remain rife as Rossi - and other riders who have adapted the technique - have failed to explain the advantage, other than to say it feels natural or simply balances the bike.

The statistics show no time gain for corners taken in such a way, and furthermore there has been no proof either way that it acts as a distraction for a rider approaching from behind – a type of blocking technique to reduce the space available for an inside pass.

However, when we look at the leg wave with technically tinted glasses, other possible benefits start to emerge.

Consider this, for example - the leg is a heavy part of our anatomy and can make up 20% of our body weight. For a 70kg rider that’s 14kg of mass that he can use to help control the dynamics of a motorcycle to his maximum advantage.

To understand cornering dynamics, we must first appreciate that cornering is a balancing act. In short, when cornering we are keeping the centrifugal and

gravitational forces in equilibrium. These forces act through the combined (motorcycle and rider) centre of gravity. When we hang off we effectively move the centre of gravity closer to the ground and towards the inside of the corner which, for a given speed, requires less roll angle to balance out these forces. This allows the motorcycle to remain more vertical and on the flatter, fatter part of the tire, therefore offering more grip.

The leg wave is an evolution of this technique, moving that centre of mass further again, towards the inside of the corner and forward, keeping the bike even more upright and placing more weight on the front tire, thus increasing grip yet again until the lean angle is so great that the rider is forced to lift his foot onto the peg.

Considering a motorcycle really only wants to go in a straight line, it takes considerable effort to combat the forces at work in the MotoGP world and turn the motorcycle.

Another useful force is evident on high speed leg waves. Have a look at the graph to understand the huge aerodynamic drag forces at high speeds, with 10 times the force acting on the motorcycle frontal area - including the rider’s exposed leg - at 300km/hr compared to 100km/hr.

Dangling your leg into this high speed airstream results in a significant force on the rider’s limb as it acts like a small parachute, creating a turning moment by pulling the rider’s leg around his core. This, in turn, encourages a pull on the outside handlebar, further helping to turn the bike through counter-steering.

121 SEPTEMBER 2012

The jury is still out on the genuine benefits of leg waving. The technique has a similar theme to Doohan’s thumb brake, where other riders will adopt any advantage, or perhaps, more importantly, perceived advantage. This element is very important as, physically, all the riders are very similar – superbly fit athletes. Why is one rider faster than the other?

Other than the bike, mostly it’s a brain game. If the rider feels an advantage, perceived or not, it can give him that small edge, and that can be enough for victory.

Imagine the massive psychological advantage Rossi has gained into his racing twilight years when not only his rivals, but almost every road racer on the planet, has adopted his leg wave technique.

MotoGP needs Rossi more than ever and it will be no surprise to see him on the podium once again in Yamaha colours.

More info at: www.motodna.com.au

Photographer Raffaella Gianolla

THE RACING SPIRIT IN ONE SHOT

I was born in Venice, a unique city in the world, where the passion for art, architecture, history and photography made - and continues to leave - an indelible mark on my life.

I graduated at the IUAV – Architecture University of Venice - and have spent more than 15 years as photographer and archivist, deepening my knowledge of architectural history in Italy and abroad.

But over time, my passion for travelling became more intense, and I switched life goals completely when I started working in the MotoGP world. Since 2003, have linked up with a number of teams in logistical and communication roles, but I retain a passion for photography, in particular through my work with Mirco Lazzari, the renowned freelance photographer.

Moving from static photography to the action on track was a big challenge for me, but I like reinventing myself, and really, this new game is surely the most exciting one I have ever played.

ARAGON

RACE HIGHLIGHTS

MIXED

FORTUNES

text: Elisa Pavan - photo: Milagro

BRADL CRASHES OUT OF THIRD AS PEDROSA CHOPS BACK IN TO LORENzO’S LEAD WITH DOMINANT VICTORY

FEELING GOOD ON WET ARAGON SURFACE

A

ragon, 28th September: the Aragón GP opening day got underway in similar conditions to Misano last time out with a damp track hindering the riders’ preparations and an intense track cleaning procedure with LCR racer Stefan Bradl sitting out the first morning session like the majority of his colleagues.

Then premier class riders were greeted with rain for their second run out and the 22-year-old ended the day in sixth, after looking strong all session on his RC213V machine completing 14 laps (2’01.626).

Stefan: “This second outing in the wet was not that bad for us. Since the beginning I had a

good feeling with my bike in the wet and the whole package was functioning in the right way. We have tried to improve a bit my front feeling because I was struggling a bit in the downhill corners and after that we made a little suspension modification and it worked well. When the surface started to dry up a little bit I felt too much pressure on the tyres but at the end I think we are in a good shape and well prepared for another rainy day on track�.

BRADL 5th FASTEST AT ARAGON GP

DRY QUALIFYING SESSION

A

ragon, 29th September: LCR racer Stefan Bradl is looking in good shape riding his RC213V at Aragon GP finally dry qualifying session this afternoon occupying the 5th place ahead tomorrow’s 23-lap race. After yesterday’s “weird” opening day the MotoGP action resumed

on day two at the Spanish circuit with low temperatures and bad weather marking the riders preparations in this morning free session but Bradl demonstrated his wet riding ability setting the 5th lap time and repeating his strong performance even in the dry in the 60-minute qualifying session (1’50.034).

Stefan: “I am pretty satisfied about my qualifying because we lapped with a good pace since

the beginning of the session. Unfortunately in one middle-session run I suffered a bit because of the front tyre: we were using the soft rubber the whole session but normally I prefer the hard one but in these cold conditions we thought the soft ones were the best choice. At the end I was trying to put the things together but it was not easy because the rear tyre dropped very fast so I was expecting to get one more position on the grid but P5 is good anyway”.

131 SEPTEMBER 2012

PUSHING TO THE LIMIT A

ragon, 30th September: LCR Honda Team’s Stefan Bradl failed to finish the 23-lap race today at Aragon Motorland. The German rookie was in 3rd place on the 5th lap when he lost the front end in turn three and fell unhurt.

Bradl was once again up with the leaders throughout the Spanish weekend, finally taking fifth spot on the grid in yesterday’s qualifying. He started the race in the middle of the second row between Yamaha Ben Spies and Andrea Dovizioso looking very comfortable in today’s warmer conditions but lost the front pushing too hard.

Stefan: “Well…it’s difficult to find the right word for me because we are all very disappointed

but this is racing. My feeling out there was very good today: good overall package, good start and good firsts laps. I felt very comfortable on braking and then I noticed I could go as fast as guys like Spies and Crutchlow so I wanted to push immediately because I knew that the rear tyre would have dropped towards the end of the race. I overtook Spies and I lost the front in turn 3: maybe I was a bit too aggressive and I am sorry for my Team and my fans. Anyway we are in good shape and really looking forward to the next race”.

BEHIND THE SCENES

A huge ant walking through the paddock? Carmelo should buy some bug spray! – Yamaha technicians went on strike… they left Lorenzo alone in his garage. Poor thing! – Another book to pay tribute to Marco Simoncelli: Il Nostro SIC: edited by Marco’s family.

Do not miss it! photo: Milagro 135 SEPTEMBER 2012

Hands Up for Pedrosa, Dovizioso and Espargaro: it might be a new dance! – Knock Knock! Is anybody inside? Espargaro’s mechanic looking for his rider behind the helmet… - Come on Vale… stop doing your yoga exercises… it’s time to jump on the bike now.

photo: Milagro

137 SEPTEMBER 2012

TRACK KEY NOTE

TRACK KEY NOTE

MOTORLAND CIUDAD DEL MOTOR DE ARAGÓN

CIRCUIT INFO LENGTH: 5.078 M. / 3,155 MILES WIDTH: 15M LEFT CORNERS: 10 RIGHT CORNERS: 7 LONGEST STRAIGHT: 968 M. / 0,601 MILES CONSTRUCTED: 2009

text: Nelly Pluto-Prondzynska

Motorland Aragon, officially known as Ciudad del Motor de Aragón, is one of the newest circuits on the Motorcycle World Championship calendar. The track is located near Alcañiz in Spain, where the streets of the town have history – after all, they have hosted a number of prominent racing events between 1963 and 2003. With support from local institutions, the facility has been designed by the well known and well regarded Herman Tilke (who has overseen tracks such as Sepang in Malaysia, Buddh in India, Shanghai in China, Istanbul in Turkey and the street circuit in Valencia). Former F1 driver Pedro de la Rosa also took part in the Spanish circuit project alongside the German architect.

To be honest, Motorland Aragon is placed in the middle of nowhere. But the facility incorporates three zones – one for technology, one that hosts a sports area, and another for leisure and culture. The aforementioned sports area includes multiple layouts of track, various ground circuits as well as a karting track. On March 18, 2010, it was announced that the Spanish track would replace the Balatonring in the MotoGP calendar for that coming season. The Hungarian circuit had been dogged by bad luck and economic hardship, but their loss was Motorladnd Aragon’s gain.

Wind forward, and Dorna has now signed a contract with the circuit to organise MotoGP events there until at least 2016.

The track is used not only for MotoGP racing, but it also hosted the round of World Series by Renault in 2009 and 2010. And in 2011 it was announced that the circuit will hold a World Superbike round for the next three seasons.

The first MotoGP weekend at the arena took the IRTA award for the Best Grand Prix in 2010! It was the first time that a circuit had received the prize in its debut year, so while the present takes the plaudits, the future looks equally good.

139 SEPTEMBER 2012

An ultra-modern facility, MotorLand Aragón had its roots firmly established thanks to a solid history of street racing in Alcañiz, which hosted events between 1963 and 2003. Safety advice warning against the continuation of this led to the proposal and construction of a sporting complex dedicated to motorsport.

With support from local institutions, renowned German architect Hermann Tilke was commissioned to design the facility. The circuit, which is 5.077km long and has 17 turns, was roundly praised by riders after its first Grand Prix in 2010, and it was rewarded with the IRTA Best Grand Prix of the Year award, the first time a circuit had received the prize in its debut year.

DRIVE RESPONSIBLY

ONLINE INSURANCE

presents

LUCIO CECCHINELLO Former Rider - MotoGP Team Manager

DRIVER 2.0

I

www.inspire-lcr.com/intuireeanticipare

n the motor-racing world, the word “development” is used virtually on a daily basis.

I think that it is a fascinating term because it embodies novelty, innovation and progress.

Lately, I’ve also been fascinated by the term 2.0. This originated as a way of referring to the upgrade of a piece of software compared to a previous version, and more recently it has been used to indicate the development of the Web itself (Web 2.0 to be precise) which has gone from an information platform to a much more interactive one (with blogs, forums, chat…).

In more recent years, the term 2.0 is more commonly used to describe anything that is in a developmental stage, and by reflecting on how car FEATURING

drivers and motorcycle riders are undoubtedly evolving, I find it useful and fun to define this innovative state of many drivers as, “Driver 2.0”.

Let’s start with their approach to buying.

For most users economy, safety, and the environment all now have the upper hand over other factors that had previously influenced their purchase habits. In this respect, I found some very interesting data being reported by the Linear Observatory where, in the last study commissioned by Nextplora, it is clear that the majority of Italians now have a strong web/social media influence when they are in the process of changing their car; as much as 92% of Italians look online for as much information as possible. Web forums and social networks are now the masters, whereas going to the dealer (36%) and reading sector magazines (22%) now seem “old hat”. It’s a multimedia scenario that is reflected in the latest figures released by Audiweb referring to the first half of 2012 that indicate 38 million Italians access the internet from a variety of locations and devices, or according to Linear research, as much as 79.9% of the population .

The buying culture is changing, today users

DRIVE RESPONSIBLY

choose their new vehicle by exhaustively consulting the web, carefully assessing reviews on the product, data on consumption, maintenance costs, reliability, safety equipment… and take note that 62% of Italians when buying a new car, prefer a non-polluting vehicle (and as many as 44% would prefer one to be completely environmentally friendly) I would say that they are looking to the future more than ever!

The information provided today by the internet, and especially interactivity, is developing a new approach not only to purchasing but also to driving itself: 67% of those interviewed by

Nextplora state that the most useful “apps” on their smartphones are those dedicated to mobility, 52% indicate an app that finds the cheapest petrol stations while 35% choose those dedicated to searching for restaurants and hotels. In particular, the most used apps for 43.4% of respondents were mapping, route and traffic information apps. Furthermore, considering the success of the recent crowdsourcing apps, such as Waze, talking about a “Driver 2.0” is absolutely correct and to the point: this app stands out from the others because drivers who use them become part of a community that updates real-

time data such as traffic information, roadworks, traffic accidents, weather and other useful info to the community’s mobility.

The “Driver 2.0” is not just a web surfer who gets real-time updates from their smartphone or the dashboard of their car or bike (fuel consumption, range, distances, routes, traffic, weather monitoring data for your vehicle...) but also has a decidedly more developed approach to driving. In fact, it may be the need to make savings on classic unforeseen expenses that has contributed to the “softening” of many of those who drive (or maybe simply it is to keep their li-

cences) ... but I can safely say that drivers today definitely pay more attention to the rules.

The use of seatbelts, lower drink-driving, greater attention being paid whilst manoeuvring and, of course, respecting the speed limits (including how hard the accelerator is pressed) is increasingly the profile of today’s 2.0 driver.

For me, being a 2.0 driver is rewarding, cheaper and safer for ourselves and for others... Guys let’s all do it, because this community is open to everyone and needs all of you!

141 SEPTEMBER 2012

Lucio Cecchinello

TRAVELS

JAPAN - 12th/14th OCTOBER GETTING READY TO THE NEXT GRAND PRIX text: Sayaka Miyazaki

D

on’t say “Kekko” until you’ve seen “Nikko”. Nikko is considered as a place, which all Japanese people should visit before they die. Nikko is located of northwest of the Tochigi Prefecture (The Twin Ring Motegi circuit is also located in the Tochigi Prefecture.). The Toshogu Shrine, an UNESCO world heritage, is dedicated to Ieyasu Tokugawa, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. As you are visiting the Japanese Grand Prix, you can also visit the Kairakuen, which is one of the great gardens in Japan in Mito city, in the Ibaraki Prefecture!

The Tokyo Skytree is new symbol of Tokyo.

The Kairakuen, one of the three great garden in Japan.

The Tosyogu Shrine, UNESCO world heritage.

TRAVELS

MALAYSIA - 19th/21th OCTOBER GETTING READY TO THE NEXT GRAND PRIX text: Sayaka Miyazaki

K

uala Lumpur is one of the biggest cities in Asia with a mix of the old and the new. The heterogeneous populated city consists of the Malaysians, the Chinese and the Indians. On the top of the must-see’s in KL city, I would put the Petronas Twin Towers. You can enjoy the stunning towers at night from three different angles: facade, the KLCC park side and the Surica KLCC side. KL hosts an amazing variety of architectural highlights: the Sultan Abdul Samad Building on Merdeka Square and the old Kuala Lumpur Railway station. Enjoy the malaysian climate and a sudden rain:)

KL Railway Station

Masjid Negara 143 SEPTEMBER 2012

Malaysian Sultan Abdal Samad Building

TRAVELS

AUSTRALIA - 26th/28th OCTOBER GETTING READY TO THE NEXT GRAND PRIX text: Sayaka Miyazaki

L

et’s hang around the city which was ranked as the world’s most livable city in the yearly ratings published by the Economist Group’s Intelligence Unit in August 2011 and as well as in 2012! The city is an international cultural center, with cultural endeavors spanning major events and festivals. It was the second city after Edinburgh to be named an UNESCO City of Literature. As Melbourne has many public transports, you can easily get to many places throughout. In front of Melbourne’s famous Flinders street station, you can find the Federation Square!

Royal Exhibition Building

Federation Square

Melbourne’s famous Flinders Street Station

Team LCR is extremely grateful to all the friends and brands involved in our projects.

With your hard work, support and passion, you keep on making us bigger as a MotoGP team. Your efforts also helped us in giving birth to an amazing magazine, we’ll be forever thankful.

Life is a race, let’s get inspired.

We keep on running!

145 SEPTEMBER 2012

INSPIRE

CREDITS Editor In Chief ENRICO BARBIERI enrico.barbieri@lcr.mc

LCR Honda Team Principal LUCIO CECCHINELLO cecchinello@lcr.mc

Art Director Emanuele Vallorani graphic@lcr.mc

Production Coordinator Errico Gasperoni graphic@lcr.mc

Contributors Massimo Visconti, Nelly Pluto-Prondzynska, Elisa Pavan, Gavin Emmet, Sayaka Miyazaki, Tanja Gvozdenov Special Contributors Mark McVeigh, Eveline Besters, Frank Grice, Stephen Milton Photography Dean Treml, Cameron Baird, Steve Jennings, Milagro, Gigi Soldano, Raaella Gianolla, Davide Esposito, Damiano Alessandri, James Pipino, Dario Altamura, Getty Images All photographs not directly credited within this issue have been sourced from the public domain (Internet). If anyone has any questions regarding a non credited photograph please contact us.

Publisher Steve Burgess

steve.burgess@clearsightpartners.com

www.lcrhonda.com

Published by Clearsightpartners Ltd 121 Longmead Drive Sidcup - Kent DA14 4NY Š 2012 Clearsightpartners Ltd and LCR - x racing s.a.m.

All rights reserved

Valentino’s lesson #2 BATTLAX S20: how to enjoy authentic racing emotions on any road.

The new Bridgestone BATTLAX S20 is engineered to give you the great performance of a MotoGP tyre, wherever you want. Its pattern, designed for extreme comfort in any conditions, guarantees you great stability.

The innovative 3LC compound of the BATTLAX S20 warms up quickly, for immediate, extreme performances.

The same experience as MotoGP Champions.

Bridgestone Europe NV/SA Kleine Kloosterstraat 10 1932 Zaventem, Belgium

www.bridgestone.eu

more info at:

hondajet.honda.com