08
WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL 2009 kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca
News 6AK :,$$F gbYU_ f]XY
New BMW F800R ridden ►BU_YX a]XX`YkY][\h ► GidYfV dUfU``Y` hk]b ► @]_Y`m hc Wcgh ),))
Win a Suzuki GSX-R100 at MCN Live! Visitors to MCN’s weekend extravaganza at Skegness on April 24-27 have the chance to win two brand new sports bikes – for free. The GSX-R1000 K9 – worth £9800 – is up for grabs on Suzuki’s stand in the manufacturer village at the event, where you’ll also be able to have a look at all the other Suzuki models. Kawasaki’s latest ZX-6R – worth £7449 and supplied by P&H Motorcycles – can be won by entering at the MCN stand in the main pavilion. Again, it’s a free to enter competition. MCN’s favourite charity Riders for Health have also announced they will be auctioning star riders’ kit at the event. James Toseland is donating signed boots and gloves from the first MotoGP race in Qatar, plus there will be kit signed by the likes of British 125GP winner Scott Redding. And of course there’s all the usual MCN Live! lunacy: stunt shows, live bands, dressing up, listening to MCN staffers gibber incoherently, etc. Call 0845-070-4750 or visit www. mcnlive.co.uk if you fancy a great weekend. Prices start at £94.
A sneak ride on a pre-production BMW F800R shows the bike could be a class leader in the competitive middleweight market. MCN has gleaned some early riding impressions from a foreign journalist who got a quick blast on the new naked machine in southern Germany. The naked F800R uses the same 85bhp 798cc parallel twin as the F800S and GS, but has none of the bodywork, gets some upright handlebars and the nonsymmetrical lights from the K1300R. Our man told us: “The bike feels lovely and light, and with the raised bars this is made more apparent – the bike is so easy to move around at low speeds. “What is immediately clear is that the snatchy throttle response of the early F800 models has been smoothed out, making slower riding much easier. “As with all of the F800 engines, the motor makes a fantastic noise when revved. And also like the F800S, the brakes – fitted with ABS on the bike I rode – were great.”
So the initial riding impressions are positive, but the only downside is that the new F800R is likely to cost around £5855 in the UK – £1345 more than immediate rivals like the £4500 Suzuki Gladius. MCN will do a full test on the F800R in two weeks.
GYY acfY d]Wg cb`]bY kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca# bYkZ,$$
THE FACTS
BMW F800R £5855 Power (claimed): 87bhp Torque (claimed): 63ftlb Kerb weight: 199kg In showrooms: May Colours: Orange, silver, blue Info: www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk
RIVALS
Suzuki Gladius Triumph Street Triple
£4500 £5349
GbUhW\m ZiY` ]b^YWh]cb \Ug VYYb gacch\YX cih
DfYgg g\ch cZ bYk :,$$F g\ckg ?%'$$F! ghm`Y \YUX`Uadg
WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL 2009 kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca
57
BSB-o-meter AIRWAVES YAMAHA
ID
The multiple BSB titlewinning team switched to Yamaha for 2009. Despite only starting the bikes for the first time on Wednesday the team won race two.
SYLVAIN GUINTOLI In his first ever race on a Superbike the Frenchman set pole and took a comfortable looking win in race one. Slightly erratic in race two but left Brands leading the championship.
STEVE PLATER Standing in for Australian Josh Brookes in the HM Plant Honda squad Plater ran at the front before crashing out, finished second in Supersport, jumping back on the Superbike for a podium.
GARY MASON Superbike Cup rider Gary Mason, on the 2007 exStobart Honda, gave established stars something to think about. He secured sixth and ninth, battling with Chris Walker and James Ellison.
ID
ID
ID
HIGHS LOWS JOSH BROOKES
DOUBLE RED
The BSB bike has more torque than a MotoGP 800. It feels like a 990 with a little less power SYLVAIN GUINTOLI
Easton unhappy with third By Phil Wain
Despite Hydrex Honda’s Stuart Easton claiming his first BSB podium, both he and the team left Brands unfulfilled. Shaun Muir’s team were the dominant force in practice but only left with one podium to their name after technical problems, particularly with tyres, severely hindered them in the two races. The first race saw both riders forced to switch to their spare bikes as newlyinstalled clutches failed on the sighting lap, but Easton claimed his debut podium, despite a rear tyre having spun on the rim by 90 degrees. The luck that had plagued Harris in
2008 continued (see right). Easton looked like he’d make it two podiums when he led race two comfortably, but at two-thirds race distance, the tyre issue resumed and he was powerless to respond, slipping to fourth. “I’ve had my best ever BSB results this weekend and I should be happy but I’m not,” said Easton. “I was sure I was going to get the second race win but the bike was vibrating in the corners and I just couldn’t push as hard as I’d have liked. I didn’t deserve to come fourth. Muir echoed Easton’s thoughts, saying: “In the past we would have been happy with podiums but now we expect podiums and want to win races.”
Aussie missed the opening round after he was refused entry to the UK last week. HM Plant Honda’s new signing fell victim to new UK visa rules. Targets a return at Oulton Park in three weeks.
KARL HARRIS
8CKB
After a torrid 2008, Harris had impressed in winter testing and qualifying at Brands. But crashed out of race one before claiming sixth in race two, 11 seconds off the pace in his second outing.
MICHAEL RUTTER Superbike veteran looked set to be a contender in 2009 but had a weekend to forget at Brands. After suffering arm pump in race one and a lack of grip in race two he slumped to 16th and 17th.
RELENTLESS SUZUKI
9UghcbÈg W\UbWYg cZ U dcX]ia ]b h\Y gYWcbX fUWY kYfY h\kUfhYX Vm hmfYg
8CKB
Ian Lowry ran into Tom Tunstall’s bike on Saturday and sustained knee ligament damage and a sprained ankle. He secured the team’s only points with a 13th.
8CKB
8CKB
WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL 2009 kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca
61
‘I jinxed the race’ says Rossi Qatar: It’s Valentino Rossi reckons he jinxed Sunday’s Qatar night race having packed his bags ready for a quick exit. Rossi, left, who was due on a 3.45am flight out of Doha to Europe, said: “The mistake is that I put my bag in the car because of the early morning flight. This proved very unlucky. It was the first time I’ve ever done this. “Next time I will leave the bag in the hotel, make the race, come back in the
hotel, take the bag, and go home.” Rossi was one of hundreds of people in the paddock who needed to check back into hotels and reschedule flights home.It is estimated that the extra hotel, flight and hire car bills would cost each team between £20,000 and £30,000. Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta pledged to pay the teams their normal race fees and assured them they would be reimbursed for any additional costs.
too hot by day – too wet at night ►DAYTIME
TOO HOT
desert storm hits
Staging the aborted Qatar night race during the day on Monday was impossible on safety grounds. When it became apparent that monsoon conditions would force the postponement of the race, initial suggestions were to re-run the race in daylight on Monday. But that was killed off by Bridgestone, who didn’t have tyres with hard enough compounds to cope with a track temperature 20 degrees higher during the day. Under the new single-tyre rule, Bridgestone only needs an allocation of two sets of front and rear tyres available to each rider. Because track temperatures are much cooler at night – about 25° to 30° – Bridgestone only took soft and medium compound tyres to Qatar. Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso told MCN: “They had to run it at night. It is impossible to race in the day because the tyres are designed for much cooler temperatures and they wouldn’t last for more than four or five laps.” There was some concern that Bridgestone didn’t have enough tyres for the re-arranged race, with some riders having no back-up tyre for their spare bike.
HcgY`UbX kUhW\Yg h\Y ghcfa gkYYd ]b Zfca h\Y XYgYfh
►NIGHTTIME
I have never understood the point of racing at night. We should look at doing something else VALENTINO ROSSI
MARTIN HEATH
TOO WET
Last year’s inaugural night race was a dazzling success, so much so that on the eve of last weekend’s race, circuit bosses were beaming with delight after being voted the best GP of 2008. But the night race plan has one serious flaw. If it rains it is impossible to ride. Valentino Rossi said: “It is impossible to ride and too dangerous. When you have raindrops on the visor it reflects the light so it becomes incredibly difficult to see anything. Visibility becomes too much of an issue.” Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards added: “It’s just impossible to see where you are going. You get water on your visor and then the light hits it, so you can’t see anything. “It’s hard to distinguish a damp patch or a dry patch. So even if you go out and it’s patchy, it’s dangerous. “In natural light you can see the darker patches so you know it is wet. It’s also hard to judge where the track is because it is so dark and there’s nothing on the horizon to get your bearings.”
04
WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL 2009 kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca
:i``!:UWY \Y`aYhg
2AGV AIRETECH £129.99-£149.99 WE SAY: Comes in two shell sizes, has a quick-release buckle strap, air intakes at the front and extractors at the rear. There’s an anti-allergy lining which is removeable and washable. Has an anti-fog, anti-scratch visor which can be removed in seconds. Also ACUapproved for track use.
2AGV K3 £119.99-£149.99 ( ( ( (
SPECS:
Sizes: XS-XL Colours: Two plains (silver and black) plus six multi-colour options Shell: Composite fibre Contact: www.agv.com
6im cb`]bY Uh. kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca#g\cd
2AIROH SPEED FIRE £59.95 WE SAY: Take what you want from SHARP’s findings, but you can’t argue with a four-star rating on a 60 quid lid. The cartoon design ‘Graphite’ won’t appeal to all but has a certain cool factor. Same removeable, washable innards as the Leox.
( ( ( ( SPECS:
Sizes: XS-XXL Colours: Two plains (gloss and matt black), a multi-coloured ‘Asymmetry’ design, four Rossi reps Shell: Thermoplastic Contact: www.agv.com
6im cb`]bY Uh. kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca#g\cd
2ARAI CONDOR £239.99-£309.99 ( ( ( (
SPECS:
Sizes: XS-XL Colours: Three multi-coloured options - Graphite (pictured), Grifo and Rise Shell: Thermoplastic Contact: www.airoh.com
6im cb`]bY Uh. kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca#g\cd
2BOX BX-2 £59.99 WE SAY: A cracking SHARP rating considering the price, this budget helmet is fairly basic in construction, with two air vents and a quick-release visor system. It’s ACU-approved, too, so is suitable for track use.
WE SAY: The cheapest route to Rossi-rep ownership in the AGV range. Quick-release buckle strap, air intakes at the front and extractors at the rear (different design to the racier Airtech, though). Visor and lining spec identical to the AGV Airtech. The K3 comes in one shell size only.
2AGV S-4 £169.99-£179.99
WE SAY: Features the same quick-release visor system favoured by racers and road riders the world over (and also featured on the rangetopping RX7 GP), eyebrow vents, multi-adjustable vents, double-D ring closure and de-mist visor lock. Options include MCN Michael Neeves replica (pictured).
( ( SPECS:
Sizes: XS-XXL Colours: Black, white, silver plains, plus three multi-coloured options (including St George flag) Shell: Composite fibre Contact: www.whyarai.co.uk
6im cb`]bY Uh. kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca#g\cd
SPECS:
Sizes: XS-XL Colours: Two plain colours (black and silver) plus blue, red or black ‘Wired’ design Shell: Thermoplastic Contact: www.oxprod.com
6im cb`]bY Uh. kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca#g\cd
WE SAY: This replacement model for the old BX-4 shares the outgoing helmet’s six-point ventilation system, removeable and washable lining and cheek pads, quick-release visor and quickrelease buckle closure. Takes a useful four stars in the official SHARP safety ratings.
( ( ( ( ( SPECS:
Sizes: XS-XL Colours: White, black, black/ silver, silver/black/chequered flag, plus three Butterfly designs Shell: Composite fibre Contact: www.agv.com
6im cb`]bY Uh. kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca#g\cd
2ARAI VIPER GT £349.99-£429.99
2BOX BX-5 £69.99 ( ( ( (
WE SAY: Only a tenner’s difference between plain colours and ‘butterfly’ design (which looks more to have angel’s wings on the back rather than those of a butterfly). The AGV has easily removed anti-scratch, anti-fog visor and a quick-release buckle closure. It comes in two shell sizes.
WE SAY: Quite possibly the greatest array of colour options of any helmet known to man, including some pretty classy replicas and colourschemes (including the Passion Blue, pictured). Features breath deflector, Pinlock-ready visor, removeable and washable cheek pads and lining.
( ( ( SPECS:
Sizes: XS-XXL Colours: Four plains (grey, white, black and silver) plus 14 multi options (including Cal Crutchlow) Shell: Composite fibre Contact: www.whyarai.co.uk
6im cb`]bY Uh. kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca#g\cd
2CABERG V2R £109.99-129.99 ( ( ( ( SPECS:
Sizes: XS-XL Colours: Plain matt black or red, black or blue multi-coloured options Shell: Thermoplastic Contact: www.oxprod.com
@UhYgh _]h bYkg. kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca
WE SAY: A five-star helmet with a very affordable price tag. The V2R comes in two shell sizes, and has an anti-scratch, anti-fog visor and double-D ring closure. It also uses Caberg’s internal sun visor system – one flick of the wrist and the dark aviator-style visor flips down.
( ( ( ( ( SPECS:
Sizes: XS-XXL Colours: Five plain colours (matt or gloss black, silver, gunmetal and blue) plus three multi-colours Shell: Composite fibre Contact: www.caberg-helm.com
6im cb`]bY Uh. kkk"achcfWmW`YbYkg"Wca#g\cd