On-Track Off-Road issue 209

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SEE MORE AT WWW.KTM.COM

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AMA-SX

HEADING FOR RED

Cooper Webb’s recent stranglehold on the 450SX championship has seen the pendulum swing into the 25-year old’s favour with only five races remaining at three venues in three weeks.

Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac are now 15 and 41 points adrift respectively. Is it almost over?

Photo by Align Media

MotoGP

TURN AND BURN BABY

Maverick Viñales started the opening Grand Prix of 2021 with his Crew Chief absent and isolating, but the sometimes-wayward performing Yamaha man kept steely through the Barwa Qatar round and produced one of his best rides on the M1. The start of a new era?

Photo by CormacGP

MXGP

STILL HOLDING CARDS

MXGP riders have little to do at the moment aside from maintaining a loose training schedule and fulfilling 2021 promotional duties, like photoshoots. A fantastic shot of Tony Cairoli – still MXGP’s star name – who will be glad of the recent season delay to get extra fitness, testing and bike time after right knee surgery. There are many questions around the #222: Is this his last season? The last with KTM? Can he still make a play for a tenth title?

Photo by JP Acevedo

MotoGP

ONE OF THE HAPPY FEW

According to world feed commentator, the well-informed Matt Birt, Sam Lowes’ Moto2 victory at Losail was the first for Britain at the opening race of a world championship since the Barry Sheene era at the end of the 1970s.

At a time when emerging UK talent in Grands Prix is sparse, the sight of #22 looking strong - in arguably the toughest category for riders to make a difference - is encouraging Photo by CormacGP

MotoGP

Blogs by David Emmett, Neil Morrison & Adam Wheeler Photos by CormacGP/Polarity Photo

MotoGP 1. Maverick Viñales, Yamaha 2. Johann Zarco, Ducati 3. Pecco Bagnaia, Ducati

Moto2 1. Sam Lowes, Kalex 2. Remy Gardner, Kalex 3. Fabio Di Giannantonio, Kalex

Moto3

1. Jaume Masia, KTM 2. Pedro Acosta, KTM 3. Darryn Binder, Honda

PER

RFECT MotoGP - QATAR

MotoGP - QATAR

MotoGP - QATAR

MotoGP - QATAR

MotoGP BLOG

LESSONS FROM THE DESERT With the first MotoGP race in the bag, and only 18 more to go (in theory, at least) we can obviously now start leaping to conclusions.

Dorna can start to engrave Maverick Viñales’ name on the impressive tower of champions which form the MotoGP trophy, can’t they?

That is, of course, a little premature. The winner of the Qatar race rarely goes on to actually pick up the title at the end of the year. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t messages to be deciphered in the entrails of the first race. Some of the things that happened in the Qatar mattered, and gave a hint of what is to come. So here are the lessons I took from round 1.

1. The champ is ready Joan Mir had a miserable Saturday. And Friday, come to think of it. The Suzuki Ecstar rider didn’t have a good feeling

with the front end and couldn’t brake the way that he needed.

On Sunday, they reverted to an old setting from last year, and he regained his confidence. Starting from tenth on the grid, he fought his way forward to the podium battle and only an intemperate pass on Johann Zarco for second saw him miss out, and finish fourth behind Zarco and Pecco Bagnaia.

2. The Yamahas are still sensitive

“The ideal thing, was to not try to overtake Zarco and to have a slipstream on the straight and to try to defend the third position,” Mir said after the race. “But it’s the start of the season and we have to take a bit of risk.”

What these disparate results point to is that Yamaha’s glaring weakness is still there. In 2020, the biggest problem with the bike was a lack of consistency.

The highs were very high – the 2020 bike won four races – but its lows were positively abysmal.

All too often, the 2020 Yamaha riders were barely scraping into the points.

Mir and his team ran into problems during the weekend, figured out a way to fix them, qualified poorly and still ended up with 13 points. You win championships on your bad days. Fourth place is a good way to end a bad day.

How good is the 2021 Yamaha M1? It’s either the best bike on the grid (Maverick Viñales, first), loses rear tyre performance after a few laps (Fabio Quartararo, fifth), or is disastrously incapable of saving the tyre for the full race (Valentino Rossi, twelfth). Take your pick...

Maverick Viñales’ imperious victory at Qatar showed just how good the bike can be when the team gets everything right. But the struggles of Quartararo and Rossi, the way they lost rear grip after a few laps, suggests the M1 is still incredibly sensitive to setup.

If there is a bright spot, it is that Quartararo still finished fifth on what was a glum outing for him.

“This experience from last year that actually P5 on a day that is not great for us is what we need to do,” the Frenchman said. “On a tough day, making this kind of result will help at the end of the year.”

3. Pol Espargaro can ride the Honda Honda’s RC213V is a motorcycle to be approached with some trepidation. The first thing that goes through the minds of fans when they hear their favourite rider has signed to race a Honda MotoGP is always “Will he be able to ride it?” Jorge Lorenzo thought he would master the RC213V, and then retired at the final race of the year.

Based on his time at KTM, we all thought that Pol Espargaro would be able to ride the Honda, but only the race would tell. The Spaniard passed his first test with flying colours, coming home in eighth, 5.9 seconds behind the winner. He

did that starting from twelfth on the grid and having to fight his way past the riders ahead. He played it safe at the start of the race, going easy with a full fuel tank. But once he got underway, his pace matched the front runners. Espargaro isn’t going to win the title this year. But he is going to right among the podium fight at a lot of races soon enough. …

It would be a mistake to decipher too much from the opening race at Qatar. Not just because it was the first race, but also because Qatar is such an atypical track. MotoGP always practices after Moto2, so there are no surprises with grip levels on Sunday. Track temperatures are relatively low, and the surface is very abrasive, so the grip is usually quite good. It is a night race, coming after five days of testing at the circuit. Qatar is not a normal GP. All these are confounding factors for anyone wanting to extrapolate the rest of the championship.

And with another race coming

up at the circuit, that will muddy the picture even further.

One thing does emerge clearly from Qatar: the MotoGP field is closer than ever. The top ten were separated by just 9.288 seconds, making it the second closest top ten finish in Grand Prix history, behind Brno 2018.

The top fifteen were covered by 16.422, the fourth closest in history. We have a great season to look forward to.

BY DAVID EMMETT

MotoGP - QATAR

MotoGP SBK BLOG BLOG

TITULAR TITULAR ROUND BLACK CIRCLES “It’s like riding around in my back yard now.”

So spoke Ducati’s Jack Miller last Sunday evening when asked on the peculiar circumstances surrounding 2021 MotoGP so far that have seen the teams complete eight full days of riding at Losail. The sole preseason test and opening Grand Prix of nineteen have created a ‘Qatar 500’ with each rider clocking laps well into the mid-to-high hundreds and with no other frame of reference for their ’21 machinery. Thus, all we know so far is that the Ducati holds its typical speed advantage around the flowing Losail, Aprilia are faster and more reliable, Suzuki has a bit more performance on full throttle, Yamaha’s modifications could be even more tyre friendly, KTM’s RC16 is still not a versatile packleader and the spec Michelin tyres are still causing as many headaches as happiness.

Aside from Maverick Viñales’ now periodic spurt of optimism for both his fans and manufacturer, the other notable element from the first 22 circulations of the year was how much the Michelin experience varied across the grid. Riders like Fabio Quartararo and Valentino Rossi endured contrasting fortunes on their Yamahas compared to the flyaway Viñales while Miller’s right-hand side rear tyre woe was a separation from the blast enjoyed by both Johann Zarco and teammate Pecco Bagnaia on the Desmosedicis. Even KTM were defying their one-lap speed malaise seen throughout most of the practice and qualifications sessions with both Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder circulating in – or on the fringes of – the top ten until they both “hit the wall”, to use another of Miller’s descriptive phrases this time of the rubber, midway through.

Losail is a well-known and frustrating ‘shifting’ platform for racing. If it’s not too hot from the afternoon sun then it’s substantially chilly in the evening. If it’s not too dusty from winds blowing sand and muck across the asphalt then it’s damp and dewy under the night-time glare of the lights. Riders practice in one climate set, and then have to qualify and race in another.

Last week winds and temperatures varied. Not only did teams have to decide on 2021 set-ups and options for homologation but also work out the best solution for race circumstances that are notoriously difficult to nail. Throw any inconsistencies or surprises from rubber into the mix and it’s little surprise that irritation was one of the barely concealed emotions on Sunday.

Michelin have shuffled their tyre allocation for 2021, replacing the Soft option

BY ADAM WHEELER with the old Medium because the 2020 ‘Soft’ was not giving enough durability for a full race distance. The Soft was the choice for many in the race and became problematic.

Binder admitted that “our tyre engineer – or whatever his job title is – said that the front tyre would be an issue and I kinda didn’t think too much of it because I didn’t feel it when I was riding [beforehand].”

The South African was one to fall foul of deteriorating grip.

Teammate Oliveira was also seething, and then subsequently forthright on the general hassle that tyre selection is posing to MotoGP racers in a category where one second means the difference between the front and rear of the grid.

“Unfortunately, the line is so narrow between having the right tyre and right temperature and getting our performance right,” he explained. “To be honest it is really disappointing because

the allocation here is chosen by elimination and not by choice. It is not our free choice to use a soft tyre, we use it because we cannot use another one.

HAVING A CONTROL TYRE MEANS THE BRAND NEVER WINS, EVEN IF IT IS HELPING TOWARDS PARITY AND SOME OF THE CLOSEST RACE CLASSIFICATIONS IN THE HISTORY OF THE SPORT. The combination between the carcass and the rubber from the Medium is just wrong, and we communicated that from day one of testing here and in fact nobody uses it. So, we use the hard when it’s hot and when we do that we’re competitive. As a tyre manufacturer, we should have different options available [from Michelin], that actually work and after all the years of experience they have. It is quite the opposite.

We cannot spend time during six months developing a bike to a certain kind of tyre and then just have this tyre removed from the allocation.

We feel that the result today is not any kind of reflection of a bike issue, let’s say.”

Oliveira can be an engaging talker and not one to suffer meandering enquiries.

When asked if there were any positives to take from his 13th place in Qatar ‘1’ he thought for a moment and then dead-panned “well, we had a crowded grandstand, which was nice”. He did take time to outline how riders are using and re-using tyres with a variety of different parameters such as different fuel loads, practice track conditions, mileage, temperature. It’s not such an easy process to immediately select ‘Soft, Medium, Hard’ for a 22-lap race.

We cannot forget that Michelin themselves also have to scratch their heads and

MotoGP BLOG SBK BLOG

provide the broadest range for a myriad of demands and preferences. Having a control tyre means the brand never wins, even if it is helping towards parity and some of the closest race classifications in the history of the sport.

Rarely is the rubber solely credited for high performance or lap-records (and don’t forget that more circuit chrono and top speed feats were set at Qatar) and it is quickly cited when a race dismantles for a particular rider; perhaps the plight of Valentino Rossi in 12th place being the starkest example of how an attentiongrabbing hot qualifying lap (4th) is exposed as folly when it comes to making more than twenty of them.

Tyres are rarely talked about, until a lot of people are talking about them.

“The Soft Michelin Power Slicks used by all the riders gave very strong grip throughout the 22-lap race, despite difficult track conditions caused by the amount of sand deposited

on it by the strong winds around the circuit,” viewed Two Wheel Motorsport Manager Piero Taramasso in the official Michelin press release. “Such a slippery track inevitably has a negative impact on the consistency of the tyres, which are subjected to higher friction levels on the rough asphalt. This phenomenon had a limited impact on the lap times and the more careful riders managed their tyres during the final laps.”

The last line is decidedly pointed. You blame us, we blame you.

Michelin are working on a new front tyre for 2022.

Like the teams, the French have to balance the criteria of a geographically diverse championship and it is not a case of ‘three sizes fits all’. It still staggers me to this day that riders can be separated by thousandths of a second after 5.5km, and sometimes in the attractive physics of the sport we forget just how knife-edge the technical aspect can be.

Qatar ‘1’ offered a fascinating duel between Ducati power and inline 4 flow, with Yamaha and Suzuki embracing the happy medium (forgive the pun) and it remains to be seen who can work out the limitations of the tyres and join the party for another patience-testing series of laps at Losail. Riders might be tired, fed-up or perplexed by the challenge but Binder summed up the forthcoming Tissot Grand Prix of Doha quite nicely when he said: “I think we need next weekend. It is not good to leave any place with a bad taste in your mouth. I want to leave here next week knowing we have made a step, and if we ever have this issue again there is a way out of it and we know what to do. I genuinely believe we need to dig deep as much as possible. If we need to try a different set-up every session then we need to explore [this]. I know that something so small can make a huge difference.”

MotoGP - QATAR

MotoGP - QATAR

MotoGP BLOG

THE LIGHT BULB MOMENT...

Preseason promise.

Mechanical improvements.

Changed team dynamics. A more mature head resting on older shoulders. Headline testing times.

Unerring consistency in practice... In recent years, pieces on Maverick Viñales have tended to write themselves. Pick and choose any of these phrases at will. But the bottom line was so often the same: where was he on the Sunday?

past two weeks). Yet when it comes to the crunch, a certain Catalan had a perplexing habit of finding a way to drop like a stone. His temperament in the big moments has, with some justification, long been questioned. And Viñales’ inability to address the glaring weaknesses – starts, riding with a full tank – in his game across six campaigns meant very little thought was given to the argument that 2021 was his year.

Yes, his testing performances are so often stellar. The same could be said of free practice and qualifying (as it was over the

But what happened from there deviated from the regular Viñales template. There was an instant response. He recovered three

So, on Sunday evening when the new season was just two turns old, it was fair to assume it was same-old same-old. The knives were already being sharpened when Maverick and his Yamaha were overwhelmed by Ducati’s almost laughable starting superiority (to be fair, he wasn’t alone). As he exited turn one in ninth, having lost ground to Aleix Espargaro, Pol Espargaro and Valentino Rossi, the alarm bells were already ringing.

places on the first lap, a time when he has so often resembled a sitting duck in the past. There was no early panic. His race craft was measured and intelligent, sitting behind Fabio Quartararo for the first ten laps, allowing his younger team-mate to drag him toward the Ducatis, who had initially threatened to break clear.

Then there was aggression. And plenty of it. Having measured himself against Marc Marquez throughout his career, it has become frustrating to see a lack of bite in Viñales’ make up. That wasn’t evident here. The 26-year was nothing short of sensational as he executed a string of clinical moves on his team-mate, and a trio of red bikes in a thrilling eight-lap blitz. After witnessing Yamaha’s cornering heroics bottled by Ducati’s top speed advantage in recent Qatari contest, it was remarkable this result was never in doubt from the moment Viñales swept into the lead.

Simply put, the Catalan has never looked this good, that

formative run in 2017 when he genuinely appeared to have the tools at his disposal to dethrone Marquez included. There was certainly enough in this performance to hint he has all in place to make good on that early promise. And there have been sufficient recent changes within Yamaha and Viñales’ personal life to suggest this could be more than just a single standout showing.

Compare the 26-year old now away from the track. Polite and engaged, he’s come a long way from the monosyllabic, moody figure that regularly seethed with frustration during his first two Yamaha campaigns. Speaking frankly, there was a time when Viñales rarely gave the impression he was content with life, despite earning millions as one of the sports leading names. He can cut an isolated figure, with a limited inner circle. Yamaha Managing Director Lin Jarvis spoke how his rider had “been a little bit frustrated and depressed” at the close of 2018.

“It’s been a hard grind for him.”

But now, having secretly married

Raquel, a childhood sweetheart, over the winter, and a baby on the way, he appears happy away from the spotlight. Moving back to Catalunya from what can be a lonely existence in Andorra is another factor. “I have a perfect wife. I will have a perfect baby. I cannot ask for more,” he beamed on Sunday. This can only have positive effects on his racing.

In previous years, Viñales has shared a garage with Valentino Rossi, a fairly daunting prospect.

From his viewpoint, the Yamaha outfit wasn’t always pulling in the same direction. “For the last four years the team… everyone was going alone,” he said back in February. “We were not all in one. In previous years, there was Valentino’s team and my team.

Now Yamaha have the opportunity to make one, complete team.” With Quartararo new to the factory squad, Viñales may no longer be dwarfed by the colossal presence next door.

If Sunday’s comments are to be believed, the team has re-found “the DNA from the Yamaha”.

BY NEIL MORRISON

MotoGP BLOG

Viñales had full trust in the frond-end of the M1 and his corner speed advantage was considerable. After unsuccessful spells with Jonas Folger and Jorge Lorenzo in recent years, Yamaha has finally found a test rider in Cal Crutchlow that can complement its full-time riders. The Englishman isn’t your archetypal Yamaha rider. He, like Viñales, is more aggressive than a Lorenzo or Quartararo, a trait that has taught the #12 a few secrets about getting the best out of the M1.

“We ride very similar, honestly,” said Viñales on Sunday. “(That) Helps me to understand many things. I was quite surprised because in the last day of testing. I tried his bike and it was fantastic for me.

So it’s the kind of thing that helped me a lot to just stay concentrated on racing and not on testing things. This is a totally different mentality from last year. Sometimes we needed to test many things. I wanted everything to work, but normally nothing works when you try it during the race weekend. This looks like it gives us a lot of calm because we know when Cal will say this is good, it’s really good.”

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There remains a string of caveats to include.

Namely, the season is exactly one race old.

The Losail International Circuit has long been favourable to Yamaha’s sweet han-

dling M1 and Viñales has form here. The struggles of Quartararo and Rossi on Sunday suggest the 2021 M1 is a fickle beast to set up. The heavy headwind on Sunday negated some of Ducati’s top speed advantage (fuel conservation strategies likely did the rest). And the weekend’s events all played out in the absence of the man against whom Viñales always measures himself: Marc Marquez.

Plus this wasn’t a flawless performance: another average start was alarming, especially seeing preseason testing included an excess of ten practice starts a day. In what is his fifth season with Yamaha, it’s not unreasonable to question why Maverick hasn’t worked that out by now.

There have been so many false dawns with Viñales in the past so I write the following words without a great deal of conviction. But maybe – just maybe – everything is finally in place for him to kick on. No ordinary rider can blaze a trail to the front as emphatically as he did on Sunday. Let’s treat this win with caution. Recent history demands as much. But it was hard to resist the feeling there is something slightly different about the 2021-version of Maverick.

So far, so good and tougher tests lie ahead.

But on this evidence, maybe – just maybe – Viñales could finally become the rider we all suspect he can be.

MotoGP - QATAR

PRODUCTS

HUSQVARNA

www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com Husqvarna have unveiled some new Spring products in their lifestyle clothing; a range they have split into ‘Explore’, ‘Ride’ and ‘Live’ collections according to the level of practicality and functionality of the garments. At the ‘ Explore’ end of the scale is the Accelerate Hardshell jacket while typical ‘Ride’ and ‘Live’ clothing can be found in the Authentic and Remote t-shirts and hoodies. As ever with Husqvarna the fit and the quality of the fabrics and the designs are first-class. Purchasing any products is easy: select an item through the website, find your local Husqvarna stockist and simply visit and order through the dealer (if they don’t already have the gear on shelves or hangars).

FEATURE

THE END

By Roland Brown Photos by Honda

D OF THE SOUND IT’S BEEN TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE LAST GREAT 500cc 500 cc TWO-STOKE TERRORISED Moto MotoGP GP

FEATURE

T

he sound in Qatar was very different to the one of 20 years ago – the shriek emitted as two-dozen 500cc machines left the Suzuka grid in what would prove to be the beginning of the end for racing’s two-stroke era.

That 2001 season would be dominated by Valentino Rossi, who rode Honda’s yellow Nastro Azzurro-sponsored NSR500 to victory in the Japanese opener and ten of the other 15 races to take his first premier-class championship. And while this was just the start of Rossi’s

remarkable period among racing’s elite, the year would prove a swansong for the NSR and its similarly ferocious two-stroke rivals.

The two-stokes wouldn’t be banned when the MotoGP era began in 2002. The new format mixed two- and fourstrokes, with the latter favoured by the works teams and allowed a 990cc capacity that would prove too much of an advantage. Rossi’s all-conquering 2001 season would be the last blaze of glory for the NSR500 that had arrived in 1984 to dominate racing’s most prestigious class for the

best part of two decades.

Not that the V4 had been a hit from the start. In fact its debut was an embarrassment for Honda, despite coming the season after Freddie Spencer had ridden the ultralight NS500 triple to the firm’s first ever 500cc title. His reward was a new and much more powerful V4 but the NSR was flawed. Its unconventional format, with fuel tank below the engine and exhaust above, resulted in strange handling that even Fast Freddie could not overcome.

HONDA NSR500

For 1985 Honda swallowed their pride and designed a right-way-up NSR, which was good enough to give Spencer one half of his unique 500/250cc double. The NSR500 layout was by now established: liquid-cooled, single-crankshaft V4 (in contrast to the twin-crank designs of Yamaha and Suzuki) in an aluminium beam frame.

The cylinders were spaced at 90 degrees, peak power was 144bhp at 11,500rpm, and the NSR weighed just 119kg dry.

The NSR was a formidable weapon and the most powerful 500, but injury-troubled Spencer lost the title in 1986.

The V4’s peak output was over 150bhp when Wayne Gardner put the NSR back on top the following year, thanks partly to a wider 112-degree cylinder angle, which allowed bigger reed valves and better carburettor positioning in the Vee. But Honda’s emphasis on increasing power rather than developing the chassis meant the NSR often handled poorly.

That was especially true in 1989 when Eddie Lawson won the title on a bike whose output exceeded 160bhp, but which was such a pig to ride that its frame had to be substantially reinforced during the season.

The powerful and light 1990 NSR was rated by famed crew chief Jeremy Burgess as one of the best ever, but Gardner had injury problems and rising star Mick Doohan could manage only third in the championship. Wayne Rainey’s skill kept Yamaha’s YZR on top for the next two seasons, though Doohan would almost certainly have won in 1992 but for his leg-mangling Assen crash.

to Kevin Schwantz and Suzuki.

By 1994 Doohan was fit and ready, and so was the NSR – by now producing over 185bhp from its big-bang engine, its cylinders timed to fire in quick succession for added traction.

In 1993 an NSR ridden by Shinichi Itoh became the first GP bike to be timed at 200mph, at Hockenheim, but Honda lost out again, this time

After Doohan’s run of five straight titles was ended by his crash in 1999, Repsol team-mate Alex Criville took over to keep the NSR, by now

The combination of Doohan and the NSR soon became almost unbeatable, partly due to the Aussie’s ability to improve the bike while changing it only when absolutely necessary.

FEATURE

HONDA NSR500

“THE NSR500 AND ITS FELLOW TWO-STROKES, WITH THEIR SOUND, SMOKE AND SMELL, SEEM LIKE MACHINES FROM A LONG-AGO AGE. IT’S ONE THAT NOBODY WHO SAW THEM IN ACTION IS LIKELY TO FORGET...”

FEATURE back with more even “screamer” firing order, on top. But Honda’s pre-season wrong turn contributed to the loss to Suzuki’s Kenny Roberts Jr in 2000, when the retuned motor produced almost 200bhp but made the V4 too hard to ride.

Rossi and Burgess had the NSR on the pace by mid-season, but that was too late.

Rossi made amends in the eraending season that followed, 20 years ago, when he rode the NSR to its tenth title in 18 years.

When MotoGP began in 2002 he was equally dominant on Honda’s new RC211V, winning 11 of the 16 races on the 990cc four-stroke V5. The NSR managed a handful of podiums, notably ridden by Brazilian ace Alex Barros. But even the lighter NSR could not win against bikes of almost twice the capacity and it disappeared at the end of that year, victim of racing’s rule-makers rather than a direct rival.

Almost two decades later MotoGP’s format remains a success, its fearsome fourstrokes closely matched and their battles arguably more spectacular than ever. The NSR500 and its fellow twostrokes, with their sound, smoke and smell, seem like machines from a long-ago age. It’s one that nobody who saw them in action is likely to forget.

HONDA NSR500

FEATURE

HIDDEN W

By Adam Wheeler Photos by Ray Archer, JP Acevedo & shotbybavo

COMPARED TO THE TRANSPARENCY AND SCRUTINY OF MotoGP, MXGP TESTING IS STILL SOMETHING OF A MYSTERY TO RACE FANS. HOW MUCH DO FACTORIES TEST? WHERE AND WHEN? AND WHAT EXACTLY? WE ASKED FOUR GRAND PRIX RIDERS – THOSE WHO ARE MAKING KEY DECISIONS ON PROTOTYPE COMPONENTS AND EQUIPMENT BOTH FOR THEIR RACEBIKES AND PRODUCTION MODELS – WHAT REALLY GOES ON… MotoGP began a monthlong residency at the Losail International Circuit before the launch of the championship last week. The back-toback races were prefaced by a five-day test and the sole pre-season outing for the teams and riders. The first glimpse of new MotoGP bikes traditionally happens in the heat of Sepang where there is a sweaty clamour to spot the ideas and innovations on machines like Ducati’s Desmosedici that can sail well beyond 350kmph.

Losail was the substitute location as the pandemic still impacts the prospect of international travel. For the duration of those five days images and clips were rife on social media, TV broadcasters were doing wrap shows and riders were conducting media debriefs at the end of each session where they were being quizzed on aerodynamics, chassis modifications, suspension, tyres, rideheight devices and more.

If we apply this crucial preparation phase and context to MXGP then it is far more enigmatic.

Motocross – of course – has the luxury and the flexibility of need far fewer resources and being able to evaluate parts and experiments on a range of tracks and in private. MotoGP brands can also exclusively hire circuits, and the trend of having fast recentlyretired ex-racers providing feedback has accelerated enormously in the last five years but they are also bound by rules that prevent the current racers themselves from being part of the process..

WORK

FEATURE

Outside of the teams little is known about the extent of MXGP testing, aside from the commonly accepted fact that the bulk of the work for a new season will be done swiftly after the close of the previous one to profit from a riders’ conditioning and race trim. Then – and this is particularly timely with the 2021 term facing yet more COVID-19 enforced delays – there will be more work done in the first weeks of the new year and through International ‘warm-up’ races and as components arrive directly from R&D departments for further validation.

Although there are less technical parameters at play compared to MotoGP, testing is still highly important in MXGP. The process can range from trialling ideas like start devices to perfunctory assessment of suspension upgrades (Tony Cairoli famously used the same 2010 chassis on his Red Bull KTM 350 SX-F to win titles for the following three seasons).

Then to dedicated work for the low-down on a brand-new bike; a situation that Tim Gajser and HRC faced in the winter of 2019 with the latest generation CRF450R going on to win the MXGP title and being raced to resounding effect by Ken Roczen in the current AMA 450SX dispute.

Racers can sync immediately with a motorcycle thanks to their testing laps or get a set-up horribly wrong. At the end of 2014 Romain Febvre clocked a lot of track time on a stock Yamaha YZ450F for his first year in the premier class. The Frenchman broke his arm that winter but returned, tested and laid the foundation for Yamaha’s last MXGP championship success. The same athlete made a misstep in 2017 when looking for more potency from the YZ450FM out of the gate, but then could not handle the extra ferocity of the Yamaha through a full moto. It took almost half of the season to find an effective balance, and to the point where he could post two podium finishes from the last four rounds.

Compared to the set hours and days that MotoGP racers will have to test, MXGP is more fluid and reactive. But we wanted more details.

So, we spoke with the World Champion, HRC’s Tim Gajser, a MXGP rookie in the form of Monster Energy Yamaha’s Ben Watson, an MX2 title contender in Rockstar Energy Husqvarna MX2’s Jed Beaton, and blossoming MXGP star Red Bull KTM’s Jorge Prado, to get them to lift the lid on the work taking place while the waiting happens.

TESTING IN MXGP

THE PROCESS Tim Gajser: I take testing very seriously because I really want the bike to be how I want.

If we are working on simple new things, then it’s only a couple of laps to get the feeling.

Normally I will always start with the bike I was using in the last race or the base setting that I had before. I’ll do five laps on a track to get

a feeling, change the parts, another five laps with the new stuff then give the feedback. If I can understand the difference immediately then I will say which is better. If I’m a little unsure then we go back to the base, go again, and change to the new one again to be really sure. I pay a lot of attention to the details. I’ll do motos to test things like the clutch or engine parts for durability when we’ll need race mileage.

Jed Beaton: It depends on what we are testing. I think every rider and every team is a bit different. If it is something for reliability then it will involve more riding. With testing we are sometimes looking to be at that race pace limit for obvious reasons. If you are doing suspension then you’ll do a couple of laps, come in, give some feedback or want some changes.

I don’t test too much on the engine side – or I haven’t lately - and focus more on suspension.

There can be some long days because we are looking to improve the 1% things and the fine details.

FEATURE Jorge Prado: For me it’s a 365-day process! We are always ‘testing’ because we have that attitude with the team that we are always trying to improve. There can be set days, weeks or even months where I will have even more support for testing, especially for bigger things. In 2020 I didn’t really test anything! Just a couple of items very quickly because my focus was on training and recovery. So this year I’m testing what I didn’t for 2020, plus the things we want to get even better for ’21! We have tried many things that I quite liked and make me more comfortable.

Sometimes it does feel like we test every day.

Ben Watson: Coming from a 250 to a 450 this year I had a lot to get used to before I even started to test. I am lucky to have Jeremy [Seewer] and Glenn [Coldenhoff] as my teammates because they are two guys who are more experienced with what works better on a 450 and what doesn’t. We’ve worked on suspension but in terms of the engine, Jeremy and Glenn have mostly been doing that and eliminating parts or ideas that they know will not work. If they find two, three, four things that will make an improvement then I’ll also test those. I already have a lot to take-in with the new changes.

Gajser: It depends on how much the Japanese bring but we’ll normally schedule five-six days of riding in a week and a half, so two days riding and one day off and each two days at a different track. We ride from 9am until dark. Last November, for 2021 tests, in six days I did 17-18 hours on the bike, which is a lot and we moved from Arco di Trento to Mantova to Ottobiano for a range of soil. We also look for the best solutions and HRC are also really good about asking me where to ride. We’ll make a schedule together a month before we test. We also want the track owners to leave the tracks very rough, so we can have the same feeling as at the races. A completely flat track doesn’t help at all for suspension testing.

PRADO: “MOTOCROSS IS A VERY COMPLICATED SPORT BECAUSE OF THE TRACKS AND THE CHANGES AROUND YOU. YOU CANNOT ALWAYS JUST LOOK AT THE BIKE AND SAY ‘THIS, THIS AND THIS IS NOT GOOD’. YOU HAVE TO FEEL IT IN THE MOMENT AND KEEP AN OVERVIEW...”

Watson: On a typical testing day you might start at 8.30-9am and finish by 5.30-6. The days are long because there is normally a lot to try, and some parts take time to be changed. An engine component might need an hour for swap-outs to be done. Obviously, a test won’t happen until all the parts and stock is ready. We’ll do it for 2-3 days, have a break and then go for another 2-3 days.

Beaton: Once we find a nice set-up then it is good to do some sort of moto simulation, just to see what it is like over a longer amount of time and how it might feel towards the end of a race.

Watson: With starts we’ll do a lot but then also focus on the riding at the same time. If you are just working behind a gate then you can lose focus and the clutch wears so you don’t get that completely realistic reaction. If we’re doing suspension then it will be short, fast blocks closer to race pace to get a proper feel. Engine parts can sometimes mean durability and a series of laps and laps.

Prado: I feel things quite early. I don’t need to do many laps to know if something is better or not. I can make pretty good and fast decisions, so that means I don’t have to do a hundred laps. You are always getting better and faster as a rider though so some of things you like at a certain time then need to be changed in the future and as you evolve. Motocross is a very complicated sport because of the tracks and the changes around you. So, you are trying to figure out things with the same set-up but in very different conditions. Also, your riding style or feeling might not be sharp on that particular day. Motocross is a sport where you cannot always just look at the bike and say ‘this, this and this is not good’. You have to feel it in the moment and keep an overview.

TESTING IN MXGP

Prado: There are a couple of things that have to be tested early-on just because KTM need to make the material for the season. But there are many small things that can make a big difference as well and to me that is also ‘testing’ and that might be to do with comfort or a personal preference and for that I’m grateful to Claudio [De Carli] who has a lot of experience and every year he knows more about me and what I like. It’s a good working system, and KTM always want to step things up with new and better material. It is never-ending development even if 2021 will be the last year with this model of the 450 SX-F.

FEATURE Watson: You won’t be feeling really good on every track and at every race so I don’t think you can be someone who says ‘change this and that’ all the time. I’d prefer to work on myself and if I feel something - or the team see and suggest something - then I’m open to change.

Beaton: The mechanics and technicians create the stuff that they want you to test, so they obviously want the best feedback possible. Communication is key and I’m lucky that everyone I work with speaks really good English and they can interpret exactly what I need when I say something. We speak with the factory and the engineers from Austria quite a lot. I’ve progressed as a rider over the years. I like the fact that I will get on the bike now and it really feels like it’s mine. I really felt the difference when I had a stock bike to ride back home the year before last. The testing and the result of that – and the amount of things they can come up with - is a different level. I was brought up the old-school kinda-way where if there are too many things to test and I believe that some won’t help me then I’ll get frustrated…but everyone has their own approach.

Prado: If I have to race with something I don’t like then mentally I can do it because I can switch to say: ‘I don’t like it but I’ll do my best with what I have’. This is something I learned in the last few years and through a process of getting older, understanding more.

More maturity.

THE EASY AND HARD Gajser: An easy thing for me to test is the clutch. I use it a lot, so I know when it’s working nice, good and smooth. It’s one of the things I always understand immediately. A tough thing? Maybe suspension. If Showa come with some new internal parts you need laps and maybe make half a day to really

TESTING IN MXGP

understand how everything is working and the direction you should go. The fork and the shock can be weird. It can sometimes feel hard and that’s not because they are too stiff but because they are too soft! You can have opposite effects. Little things that are hard to notice are also tricky.

Prado: With KTM we’re quite simplistic with electronics. The bike is - like they say – ‘ready to race’! I will feel any changes quickly and will already have an opinion.

With smaller things, like footpegs for example, it might be a bit more difficult to judge but with things like engine or suspension then we are not looking for tiny improvements.

Beaton: Handlebars and things like that can make the bike feel different straightaway so I think a lot of people are quite cautious on those things. Electronics can be about finding more power and testing reliability, so you have to ride for longer. Something like testing triple clamps makes a notable difference to how the bike feels and how it reacts and you might not like one option but then that same set-up feels very different in sand compared to hard-pack. You’re always looking for that happy medium on what you like and what you feel: you want a consistent base. You have to make up your mind before the season starts and you will then have options later but you need that base comfort setting for the year.

Watson: Things like handelbars and grips can be easy and you can even get an idea whether they can work just by sitting on the bike. For me engine parts can be hard to test, especially those for the starts. In MX2 there was a time when I was struggling and we’d practice 50 starts in one day by changing something, making a start, changing something else and then doing it again.

We’d come to a point where we would find a good solution but then we’d go to the race and I’d have a completely different reaction. That might be because the race engine was fresh or the clutch was brand new and only had 10-15 minutes on a dyno. A clutch with 25 starts is very different and you cannot have a fresh bike and new clutch every time. So, the best process, when I didn’t feel that good, was to do it right after qualifying or timed practice to be set for the race. Tracks, climates even altitude can widen the scope for what you need to test and why.

THE ELECTRONICS Gajser: You can adjust how aggressive the bike will be and how smooth you want the power.

In the sand you’ll want a more aggressive bike out of the corners. You want it accelerating harder. On hard-pack I want it smooth because there is a lot of traction and I like the bike to be controllable and easy to handle. We try to adjust the maps quite a lot and from race-torace it can be different with the weather and temperature also playing a part.

FEATURE

GAJSER: “WHEN YOU HAVE MANY THINGS TO TEST IT IS EASY TO GET LOST. I’M THE SORT OF GUY THAT REALLY LIKES TO KNOW EVERYTHING THAT’S GOING ON. I WANT TO KNOW ALL MY SETTINGS AND CLICKS.IF I KNOW, THEN IT’S EASIER FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND WHAT TO CHANGE...”

Watson: It is an area that needs really fine tuning. One small change can make a big difference. Knowledge also counts and I can only explain what I feel on the track. I know how a sprocket that’s bigger by one tooth will make the bike feel and how it will be, whereas electronics is another game where you really have to focus on where and how they are making a difference.

The mechanics know where the change should come but that might not match up with your comments. It’s difficult, and it can take time, so while changes on electronics are good because they can really help, getting to that point isn’t always simple.

THE SUSPENSION Prado: Suspension testing is always on-going because every year WP come up with new stuff but then you need to develop it and you’ll always have a few options. Sometimes you’ll like one setting, but then go to a different track and prefer another, so you need to try and figure the best

one overall. You can do so many things. Sometimes you’ll feel like the bike is perfect and you think ‘why do I need to change it when it’s so good?’ but then they suggest something new and somehow it gets even better. I don’t know where the limit is when it comes to suspension. You end up looking back over the years thinking ‘that felt great, but I’m on something very different now and I still feel great!’

It’s crazy.

Beaton: I feel that suspension is the most important thing to get right. You can kinda adapt to an engine or an effect of the power whereas the suspension is something where you always want it to feel good.

If it’s ‘off’ then it can cause arm-pump or other issues. I don’t like changing my suspension that much. I have already tested many things in the run-up to 2021 but always seem to come back to what I know and like. I’m really picky with my forks and don’t like to change those at all but with then shock or other parts I’m happy to change and try.

Watson: I’m moving from one Yamaha to another and my first test with the MXGP guys took place right after my last MX2 GP so I used my 250 set-up and didn’t change it much! So far for me it’s been flexible. The technicians will watch, I’ll give my comments and one day we might change two clicks. Then we’ll ride somewhere else and we’ll change spring rates or other components. We don’t do specific suspension testing as such. It’s better for me to be riding hard, in my zone and then making minor alterations throughout the day.

Beaton: WP are making adjustments and have new parts that they’d like us to test that might go into their production line later on. In terms of our own priorities we’re just chasing a good feeling for the race bike but the company might have other requirements, so there is another kind of testing to be done.

Gajser: For the past three seasons I have been riding with the same set-up, the

TESTING IN MXGP

same internal parts. Every year I was almost afraid to change because I didn’t want to move out of that comfort zone to try something else but Showa always have ideas to improve. With the new bike we had a lot to do last year and I didn’t want to mess up my feeling. This February we made our last ’21 pre-season test with six days in Sardinia.

We didn’t have a lot to test on the engine, or any pipes,

swingarms and so on. We just had a few little things on the electronics so we had more time to adjust and try different forks and shocks and I found an even better set-up.

We dedicated ourselves to that and I learned that we really must make more time for suspension. It was not enough of a priority in the past because we’d just change a few clicks and that would be it. This time, in six days, we changed

a lot and we found new things.

It was important to give that feedback to the guys.

THE ’GETTING LOST’ Beaton: It’s so easy to get lost and I think many riders actually do. I really don’t want to test too many things. When I find something that’s good and I think it works then I really don’t need to change.

A test day can be frustrating

FEATURE sometimes but then I also know that the guys in the factory have worked hard to produce new parts and more advanced components for the future: I get that. As I get older I also enjoy the testing process more than I used to.

I was really impressed by how easy it was to ride. I was enjoying it straight away, so I wanted to keep riding and get used to it without wanting to change too much. There was a lot to learn and I didn’t want to lose my way.

Prado: When you test and you make a change because you believe that decision will improve the set-up there is the final question of whether it will really be better or not for racing. This final step can be hard sometimes. You might need to get used to something new before you realise it’s better and especially when the old version still feels great! It can be confusing because your between two good options.

Gajser: When you have many things to test it is easy to get lost. I’m the sort of guy that really likes to know everything that’s going on. When I leave the bike for the mechanics I always like to remain behind and see what the guys are doing. I want to know all my settings and clicks, whether we running something like 28 for compression or 1.25 for rebound: things like that.

If I know, then it’s easier for me to understand what to change. Some riders will say “the shock is too soft” and the technician will change it and

Gasjer: As a rider it can be easy to understand something on the bike…but it might not be so easy to put it into words what you feel.

Watson: There is pressure in a factory team. You’ll have two mechanics working full-time for you and staff for engines, suspension, parts and a person in every corner. That is a lot of focus on you, and I think that some people feel they are obliged to test because there are many options given to them and resources available.

I believe in the bike I have and what I’ve been given. On my first day with the YZ450F

they’ll try again. In my case I really want to know what has been changed, and for other parts I will want to be told ‘what’ and ‘why’. If you know, then you can benefit.

TESTING IN MXGP

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WHAT’S THE POWER OF A NAME OR A N MXGP 2021 might still feel far away but the riders I’ve spoken to about the reluctant 65th season of Grand Prix racing have all talked about the ‘usual guys’ as title contenders and naturally Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings is one of the first figures to be mentioned.

Herlings is a brilliant competitor and in some ways the archetype racer: utterly single-minded, endlessly hungry for success, prone to swagger. But the 26-year-old Dutchman carries a medical file thick enough for a small rider to use as foot stool in a start gate. He has also failed to complete the last two seasons due to three separate ‘entries’ to that catalogue of injury.

Elite level riders are the first to know just how good their rivals or peers are or can be.

So, when journalists ask for predictions for the year it’s usually because their insight can be revealing. I’ve mentioned it before but David Philippearts’ statement to me in early 2009 that Clement Desalle would be a challenger that

season is a fine example.

Desalle had occasionally barged and banged his way around the mid-section of the premier class in 2008 riding a two-stroke RM-Z250, surprising with some top ten finishes and then signing to ride a privateer Honda for the LS team. He was just 20 years old and undoubtedly had a future.

But good enough to vie with Coppins, De Dycker, Nagl, Ramon, Pourcel and Philiippaerts himself?

The Italian was proved right.

Desalle would win three Grands Prix and finished 3rd in the points table in just his third full season, one position and eleven points above Philippaerts who struggled with Yamaha’s new ‘reversed’ YZ450FM and then the team’s use of Ohlins

suspension in 2010 when Desalle really flourished as a factory Suzuki rider. The media were getting used to Desalle’s candour by the end of 2009. Still building up confidence with his English, the Belgian was forthright enough to say in the press conference for the seasonending Brazilian Grand Prix – an event heavily branded by title sponsors Honda at Canelinha and which he had won on the LS CRF450R – that he owed Honda nothing, and the brand had offered scant assistance to him and the team that year when he was by far the brand’s best representative (the next highest Honda rider in MXGP was the injury-hit Billy Mackenzie who finished 18th). I was writing press releases for HRC at the time and had to smile at his

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CREATED THANKS TO

BY ADAM WHEELER honesty, a touch of naivety and the tendency to say whatever was on his mind, a characteristic that stayed with him until his retirement at the end of 2020.

Back to Herlings though.

While he is followed by an undesirable shadow of unpredictability, his quality is beyond doubt. He is already one of the most victorious riders in the history of the sport, the best MX2 racer of all-time, the leading Dutchman and arguably the most ruthless sand rider ever seen. The KTM stalwart has another two full seasons on the 450 SX-F after 2021.

He should maintain his billing and status as one of – if not the – leading rider in MXGP by virtue of his pedigree. When Herlings won – no, decimated - the 2018 MXGP FIM World Championship it was an achievement that goes beyond numbers.

The sheer superiority of his performances created deep reverberations in the sport that last to this day.

“IN 2018 THE SHEER SUPERIORITY OF JEFFREY HERLINGS’ PERFORMANCES CREATED DEEP REVERBERATIONS IN THE SPORT THAT LAST TO THIS DAY. EVERY 2021 MXGP RIDER PRAYS THAT THE SAME ANIMAL DOES NOT AWAKE...”

It means the sight of that orange #84 and the Alpinestars gear carries extra gravitas when rivals see a flash of it coming or disappearing on track.

There were 20 Grands Prix in 2018, the longest season in the history of the FIM World Championship.

Herlings broke his collarbone while practicing and missed one round. He won 17 GPs and finished runner-up in the other two. He swept the last 17 motos(!) of the series in a row.

I’m sure a small part of every 2021 MXGP rider prays that the same animal does not awake. Herlings talked of the physical and mental cost of reaching such a level in 2018 and even now admits that might have been his peak.

Despite being a competitive giant Herlings is a sensitive and inhibited person so it was eyebrow-raising but also understandable when he admitted to Eurosport colleague Frank Weeink in an interview published on the monolithic German website speedweek.com that he believes riders might not be ‘afraid’ of him anymore.

MXGP SBKBLOG BLOG

I think Jeffrey is doing himself a disservice. Every single racer in the paddock knows that they need to reach a lofty platform of consistency to ward-off that #222 and beat Tony Cairoli for that gold medal at the end of the year but Herlings is still the benchmark for speed, even if he does have people like Jorge Prado and Romain Febvre in hot pursuit.

2018 not only gave Herlings a strong, blinding layer of armour but his impact elevated the standard. For the first time riders, teams, brands collectively had to go back to base and take a 360 look at how the Bullet could be beaten. The urgency and the prolificacy of Herlings that season even eclipsed memories of the grip that Cairoli used to have on the class, in part helped by the fact that Herlings comprehensively defeated the Italian who could only hang onto his roost and hope for a Herlings mishap.

Jeffrey constructed a

watermark that very few will ever reach. He also crafted an aura. And smart riders can use this ‘presence’ as part of their arsenal.

Reigning champion Tim Gajser – who, at 24 years of age, with two premier class titles and seven seasons in HRC – is the best rider in MXGP and won the 2020 pandemic-ridden contest in difficult circumstances but even the Slovenian’s profile is still in the shadow of the ‘2018 Herlings’. One of the pressing questions for 2021 will be how much the KTM man can evoke some of that past and present power or will the damaging effects of 2019 and 2020 mean we’ll see a more mellow monster?

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CREATED THANKS TO

OUT OF THE SHADOWS Every rider strives to hit the very top in their particular discipline, as the spoils that come with that are simply too great to ignore. One would think that reaching that pinnacle would be the toughest task that a rider could face – maintaining that level can often be even trickier though.

Perhaps that is why riders like Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings, who have sat atop the tree for such a prolonged period, are so adored? There are some who have flirted with similar success and enjoyed it briefly, before falling back into the shadows and fighting for survival again. The factors that can force a rider to drop into the background are endless, although that inevitable hurdle of staying healthy is the main culprit.

Injuries will remove a guy from the spotlight and then recency bias causes them to be forgotten about in a matter of weeks, if not days.

Mitch Evans of Team HRC immediately springs to mind. Those with a rather keen memory will recall that

he was the star of the preseason races twelve months ago, as he pushed the world champion and made onlookers take notice of his potential on the CRF450RW. The impressive form continued at the opening round of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship, as he challenged Jeffrey Herlings and finished inside of the top three as a true rookie. That is a rarity in this sport. A dislocated shoulder followed at the next event and consequently things started to snowball.

A full shoulder reconstruction that was completed in the midst of the first lockdown prompted a lengthy recovery process, which understandably

impacted his results once racing resumed. Evans had just got back up to speed and begun to show glimpses of his potential at the Spanish Grand Prix, before an untimely crash forced him to limp onto the sidelines with a broken wrist.

That was the last that anyone saw of him on a racetrack and now, as the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship beckons, his name is rarely mentioned in the pre-season chatter. A stark contrast to one year ago.

The title favourites for the premier-class crown were listed in this column in the previous issue of OTOR, yet there is really no doubt that Evans could get amongst those riders and become a

BY ADAM WHEELER

BY LEWIS PHILLIPS consistent podium threat for Team HRC (completing a potent squad beneath the red awning with the back-toback champion). If he races onto the circuit at the first round, wherever that may be, and again finishes inside of the top three much like last term, it is quite likely that a lot of people would be surprised.

“IF EVANS RACES ONTO THE CIRCUIT AT THE FIRST ROUND, WHEREVER THAT MAY BE, AND AGAIN FINISHES INSIDE OF THE TOP THREE MUCH LIKE LAST TERM, IT IS QUITE LIKELY THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED. WHY SO THOUGH? RECENT DATA PROVES THAT HE CAN ACHIEVE JUST THAT...”

Why so though? Recent data proves that he can achieve just that.

The same could be said about Pauls Jonass, who stood atop the Grand Prix podium as an MX2 world champion just three and a half years ago. Jonass was actually a strong performer in his rookie season, scoring three podium finishes en route to sixth in the title race. Jeremy Seewer did not achieve any topthree finishes in his rookie term, in comparison, but is now tipped to win multiple Grands Prix and battle for the title. There is no reason why Jonass cannot achieve something similar – he was on track to do just that before bad luck struck.

The fact that he has not raced in more than twelve months now, again because of injuries, is obviously a factor and is a significant bump to overcome.

Momentum can be the cure though; every lap and moto that he logs once the season starts will take him closer to his former level.

That raw talent does not simply disappear. Jonass is going into battle with Standing Construct GASGAS Factory Racing too, a team that managed to extract the best from Glenn Coldenhoff.

Smart money would be on Jonass thriving in that new setting and returning to the box sooner rather than later.

Excitement for the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship is at an all-time high, thanks to the long list of potential winners and title contenders. The real thrill could actually come from those who have been overlooked, like Evans or Jonass, though – they are entering with a drive to claw their way back to the top again and remind everyone of their prowess. Everyone loves an underdog story. Embrace it.

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SUPERCROSS Blogs by Steve Matthes & Mike Antonovich Photos by Align Media

450SX POINTS 1. Cooper Webb, KTM, 275 points 2. Ken Roczen, Honda, 260 points 3. Eli Tomac, Kawasaki, 234 points

250SX POINTS

East: 1. Colt Nichols, Yamaha, 166pts 2. Christian Craig, Honda, 158pts 3. Jo Shimoda, Kawasaki, 138pts West: 1. Justin Cooper, Yamaha, 108pts 2. Cameron McAdoo, Kawasaki, 106pts 3. Hunter Lawrence, Honda, 102pts

SUPERCROSS

SUPERCROSS

SUPERCROSS

SX BLOG

WEBB SLINGING

CREATED THANKS TO

What a switcheroo in the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross series huh?

At one point Honda’s Ken Roczen had swept all three rounds in Indianapolis and had a 16-point lead in the series. It was all looking so good for Ken and the red riders. However Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb has now dashed many of the hopes the Honda guys had for an easy win of this series with three in a row in Dallas this past week to go along with his two wins in Orlando and a second in Daytona.

In case you’re not counting Webb’s gone 1-1-2-1-1-1 in his last six races. That 16 point deficit is now 15 up for Webb and it’s hard, with just five races remaining, to see how he loses this thing. All the signs point to Webb continuing to roll along here as the symmetry he seems to have with his bike right now is ‘all-time’.

Webb had a crappy heat race, got passed and taken down by another rider and had the 10th gate pick in the Main for the last Dallas race.

Doesn’t matter, he reeled in Roczen and passed him for the win. The race before that, he crashed hard in the whoops in practice and still went on for a win. In short, no matter what obstacles Webb’s had to deal with, he makes it work.

Webb’s got one 450SX title already to go along with two 250SX titles and a 250MX title so win or lose in 2021, his resume is already impressive but if he manages to add this SX contest to the mantle, well now he’s approaching some rare air for sure.

Here’s the thing though, riders that came before him and accomplished these same feats, names like Carmichael, Stewart,

Villopoto, Dungey and Tomac (the only riders in the sports histories with the titles that Webb already has) never followed Webb’s path.

And by that I mean, none of the aforementioned stopped winning for a couple of years like Webb did. When Cooper signed to stay with Yamaha after his 250 career was over, many people assumed that more good things would happen for the brash kid from North Carolina.

Injuries, crashes and general ineffectiveness got him just two podiums in two years and he lined-up for only 20 out of 58 races indoors and out. One of those podiums was at Daytona which is its own animal so yeah, one third place in two years on the Yamaha 450 was not what he wanted nor what Yamaha paid him highly for.

Webb had stopped winning.

BY ADAM WHEELER

BY STEVE MATTHES And the fact that he’s where he is now in the 450 class makes him quite an outlier.

But then again, outside of that two-year blip, Webb was prolific as an amateur and his first couple of years as a pro. I first met him at the last national of the season years ago when JGR MX (based in North Carolina as well) were helping Webb with his Honda CR150F at the halftime race there.

Jeremy Albrecht, team manager for JGRMX, introduced me to this kid with an oversize Red Bull hat on and told me that I’ll be interviewing him real soon in the pro pits because he’s gonna win a ton.

Yeah, sure J-Bone, whatever you say.

Webb’s pedigree was winning, he carried that on for a long time after that day until those two years where he didn’t.

But the winning started over once he signed with KTM and committed to training with Aldon Baker. Webb himself admitted that his practice habits hadn’t been ideal those first couple of years on the Yamaha 450 and Baker helped that out.

The team got the bike dialed for him (the Yamaha is a big bike compared to the KTM and Webb’s a smaller dude) and the rest is history.

Webb’s ability to rise to the occasion is definitely something that’s damn impressive. As stated above, there were a few times where it didn’t look like it was going to come together for the #2 but in the end, he makes it happen. One of his buddies that knows him best is Phil Nicoletti and I asked him about what he thinks of Webb’s greatest talent: the ability to be cool when the pressure is rising.

“It’s like the books you read about. He can find that zone week-in and week-out vs the guys that can only find it two or three times a season,” says Nicoletti. “Of course, the cream of the crop at the top all have that mental capacity. But I think Coop plays it the best. Rarely ever cracks in the mental department.”

Well said. Cooper Webb has really shown us all something yet again but, really, should we be that surprised? He’s a winner, been that way his whole life.

Just took a couple years off but he’s back and in a big way.

SUPERCROSS

SX BLOG

CREATED THANKS TO

TECH TALKING...

Walking through the paddock has long been one of my favorite things in racing.

Many years ago, I’d guzzle a Monster Energy, turn in the empty can to the recyclingredemption dumpster for complimentary entry, then bounce through the pits to watch the mechanics put finishing touches on the motorcycles while riders passed out autographed posters. A prime spot near a factory team’s awning was hard to come by, especially when riders like MC-RC-StewartReed were underneath, but it was worthwhile to get a whiff of race gas or a chance to see the stars swing a leg over and ride away.

Did I know what I was looking at? Not quite. The factory bikes were always outfitted with the latest parts, but youthfulness had me more caught up in the appearance of pieces made from carbon fiber, aluminum, and titanium than how they actually worked.

All I knew was that each thing was lighter/faster/ stiffer/more expensive than anything that would ever be bolted onto my Honda CRs, and thus, better.

I get even more excited to see bikes on race days now, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I can slip underneath the chainlink fence and look at them from literally inches away. Actually, it’s all thanks to conversations with wrenches and technicians that have taken place over the years, which revealed how impactful specific components can be to a motorcycle’s performance and the craftsmanship that goes into each piece.

Under AMA rules, the bikes themselves have strict production-based homologation, so there is not much of the fancy ultra-prototype stuff seen in MXGP.

KTM even produce a ‘FACTORY EDITION’ limited special of the 450 SX-F to augment the race bikes for the Red Bull guys. Having said that there’s no shortage of exotic equipment in the Supercross pits this year. The first breakthrough item of 2021 was the WP air shock, something almost every Red Bull KTM-Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing-Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing 450 was outfitted with at Houston. WP has worked on a pneumatic dampener for years, most notably with Andrew Short and Ryan Dungey from 2013 to 2015 and quietly with a few riders in MXGP last season, but this iteration has been especially noteworthy.

Even with a late arrival that limited testing time in the offseason, riders were impressed by the consistent

BY ADAM WHEELER

BY MIKE ANTONOVICH feeling the air shock provided, and its use on the European bikes was practically universal at the opening rounds (Dean Wilson was the only 450 Class factorysupported racer without it). That led to immediate success, including Justin Barcia’s win at Houston One, Cooper Webb’s victory a week later, and podium finishes for Marvin Musquin and Webb in the series’ opening stint.

But “newer” isn’t always “better,” and the part fell out of favor with a few riders as the championship continued. Webb’s move back to a traditional coil spring shock was the most telling sign that minor issues will need to be worked out over time, and he’s explained that going back to what he knows allows him to focus more on racing and less on the bike.

“I think there’s a lot of great capability with the air, but we need more time. We only had one month.

When you ride the same track every day, you feel like you’re in a good spot, but then we go racing, and the tracks are different,” said Webb in Arlington Three’s post-race media session.

“I’m sure we’ll learn more for next year, and it will be even better, but for now, for where I’m at and how I’m riding, we’ll stick to the spring and go from there.”

As of now, only Barcia and Musquin are still using the factory air shock, though I’ve heard rumors that a consumer version could be a short time away.

Team Honda HRC made waves in the 250 Class when they ran wires to the rear wheel on Jett Lawrence’s CRF250R. What’s back there? A small sensor, which is matched to a machined disc on the hub and charts the wheel’s rotating speed for more information to Honda’s data acquisition package, something that’s crucial in the small-bore bike’s first

year under direct factory supervision. This caught the attention of others in the pits, as some suspected it was part of an illegal traction control program, but Honda was quick to point out that similar technology has been used for years by other teams, just not in the 250 Class. The team has added more pieces to the Lawrence brother’s bikes in recent weeks, including an oil cooler that came from HRC but had been stashed away in the Torrance warehouse.

Not every part in the pits is for mechanical performance.

Christian Craig had mechanic Derek Rankin strap a small light to the handlebars of the Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha at Indianapolis One, and the red strobe could easily be seen standing next to the track or even on television. Race officials were alerted of the piece, which Craig had to explain was really a

SX BLOG

personal reminder for him (I’ve heard that it’s a reminder to breathe and to keep from abusing the clutch) and that it is not wired into any element of the motorcycle. Frankie Latham has crafted carbon fiber covers that go on top of the radiators on Marvin Musquin’s Red Bull KTM, as the rider has a habit of dinging the tops of the cooling units with his boots, and many others have small extensions on the ends of their radiator shrouds to prevent the pointed edges from catching on their gear. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s move to the new generation KX250F caused some delays in certain parts, such as the clutch cover, and the team had to use the stock piece until the machinist was able to mill out billet components with sponsor logos.

An item as simple as a clutch lever can require hundreds of hours of labor, thousands of dollars in materials, and laps of testing to determine if it’s really “better” for a rider. Sometimes the effort is all for naught, but when everything comes together perfectly, it’s worth the team’s effort and a few moments of your attention if you see it in the pits.

PRODUCTS

www.evenstrokes.com

ARMA/EVEN STROKES The expansion and influence of new British online stockists Even Strokes continues at pace and the latest influx of wares sees American performance drink brand, Arma, get UK and European distribution. Arma reinvented itself as a protein, nutrition and training product after initially trying to budge against the energy drink giants almost ten years ago.

Even Strokes have quite a decent line-up of Arma goods, ranging from strawberry, orange and lemon flavoured dietary supplements and nutrition tubs in vanilla and chocolate,

sachets, samples and even apparel. Arma claim to have created their material with extreme diligence to the ingredients, aiming to provide a means to boost anti-inflammatories and antioxidants post-work out and also be ‘hormone free, no antibiotics, cold pressed whey, Whole Fruit Extract, Diabetic Safe, non-GMO, Preservative Free, Gluten Free, To ensure our certified products are safe for athletes, we test every single batch for banned substances before being released to the market.’ Expect to pay around 45 pounds for 12 and 16oz packs.

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FEATURE

COOL

KIDS

By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Husqvarna Motorcycles/ S.Romero/M.Campelli

YOU MIGHT CONSIDER THE NEW HUSQVARNA SVARTPILEN 125 FOR YOUR INSISTENT OFFSPRING…OR YOU MIGHT BE TEMPTED TO KEEP ONE TO YOURSELF. HERE’S WHY…

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here are two things that come to mind when riding Husqvarna’s new Svartpilen 125. Firstly, the handling and the connection with the road regularly makes you forget you’re on a 125 with just 15hp. You have to frequently work the throttle for more oomph. Spinning around the lanes that surround the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya requires a lot of gearbox action to keep up the speed and momentum.

Compared to bigger bikes it’s a different kind of fun; where flow and momentum mean a lot more. Secondly, the motorcycle looks damn cool. Compared to a scooter or another garish but bland learner option, the Husky is delightfully compact and stylish and at first glance can easily be mistaken for one of its larger 401 or 701 brothers.

the Milan EICMA show. “The prototype had minimal styling.

It was cool - but very accessible - and the final design version ended up being very close to the completed motorcycle: this is very rare in the automotive industry,” says Husqvarna Motorcycle Brand Marketing Team Leader Andrea Dadanova.

Husqvarna started with modest streetbike sales but soon started to double their figures thanks to the unique looks and quality parts. 3000 units turned to 14,000 and then more by 2020 “from 20182020 we sold more than 24,000 bikes which is an incredible figure if you consider Husqvarna was mainly regarded as an off-road brand,”

Husqvarna borrow much from the technical platform of sister brand KTM (mostly the single cylinder twin overhead camshaft engine) but the designers – with key input from agency KISKA – were clearly able to get happy with the sculpting knife. The Svartpilen and the Vitpilen (the latter being the slightly sportier model of the two road bikes in the marque’s collection) now exist in 125, 200, 250, 401 and 701 guises and in just under seven years since the first prototypes were unveiled at

“THE SVARTPILEN 125 IS PARKED ON THE PAVEMENT OUTSIDE A NEW, MODERN HOTEL LOCATED ON A BUSY ‘VIA’ IN THE CENTRE OF BARCELONA. LEANT ON ITS SIDE-STAND THE BIKE IS CAPTURING ITS FAIR SHARE OF ATTENTION. ONCE ONBOARD THE MINIMALISM SOMEHOW CONVEYS A NATURAL RIDING POSITION...”

SVARTPILEN 125

explains Dadanova. “Our pace has been relentless, and we will not stop.” Image is important for the Svartpilen. It’s a hefty chunk of the appeal for youngsters, first stage licence holders or those wanting to be ‘seen’ for an urban run-around. The price is also favourable coming in at less than 5000 pounds/euros, which competes with most high-spec

FEATURE mountain bikes these days.

Outside of Europe the 125 is even more potent. “The smaller displacements are gathering a lot of success in markets like India and South America,” she adds. “It is not just design but also performance and premium components. This is the vision of our bikes.”

PRETTY BUT PUNCHY

The Svartpilen 125 is parked on the pavement outside a new, modern hotel located on a busy ‘via’ in the centre of Barcelona. Leant on its side-stand the bike is capturing its fair share of attention.

Once onboard the minimalism somehow conveys a natural riding position. It feels more relaxed compared to a ver-

sion of the 401 Vitpilen tested around the city two years previously, aided by the offroad inspired handlebar bend.

An easy gearbox and light feeling clutch eases the 150kg (give or take, the dry weight is 146kg) Husky into the traffic.

The Svartpilen has enough power and guile to weave into holes through the congestion.

It can be given a good work-

out on some of the clearer lanes and then starts to provide some of that full horsepower limit once tackling the mountain pass that dwarfs the western fringe of the Catalan metropolis. “It complies with Euro5 and gives out 15hp giving a satisfying mix of acceleration and speed but with a very low fuel consump-

tion at 2.3l/100miles, meaning a full tank could make up to 450km,” said Product Manager Florian Braatz at the presentation the previous evening. We don’t get far enough on the ride to worry about fuel limit but the Husqvarna doesn’t disappoint with its buzz and push.

DEVILY DETAILS

The Svartpilen flips from side to side through Barcelona’s Collserola natural park with the same lightness evident among the morning urban chaos. The agility is the accumulative effect of a generous specification list and other factors such as the 65 degree steering head angle, 835mm seat height and the sumptu-

“The bike inherited many technical elements of the 401, such as the powder-coated steel challis frame which gives super nimble handling and a lot of feedback,” revealed Braatz. “There is exceptional feedback. And it really looks like a full-size bike. The level

of detail is unparalleled in this segment of the market.”

Just looking around the Husqvarna bears truth to his words.

The 43mm WP APEX fork is split cartridge hardware, even if it isn’t adjustable. There is two-channel ABS (with a Supermoto mode) through the excellent Brembo-suppled

ByBre brakes and a large 320mm front disc. “It was a question of how much performance we want to give to the 125,” he adds. “The fork is a really important thing where we wanted to give the maximum…but there are always compromises. We don’t have the adjustable compression and damping on the fork as we do on the 401 but it was a case of thinking about a six-

as the all-black bar, dash and controls – which are backlit the luggage rack as standard, the hallmark LED headlight, the logo on the filler cap and a clear circular dash that befits the aspect of the whole package. The grey-ish tinge of the bike actually arouses curiosity in the accompanying Pursuit riding gear and casualwear that are suitably elegant. Pillion space looks a

teen year old who hasn’t really got much experience with suspension. We didn’t want to confuse a youngster or beginner and we also wanted to keep costs low. There is no need for it on this bike yet.”

little tight but there are actually hand holds as part of the saddle and other ergo options in the accessories list, where a tank bag and rear bag are other highlights.

Pausing to wait in line for photos allows full appreciation for the other minutiae, such

SVARTPILEN 125

ous 17” spoked wheels that seems extra sticky thanks to the Pirellis.

SVARTPILEN 125

FEATURE

WHY A SVARTPILEN? Perhaps it’s an unfair question to pose to a Husqvarna engineer but Braatz smiles when we ask why we should buy a Svartpilen instead of, say, a KTM 125 DUKE. “The 125 DUKE is a super-aggressive-looking bike whereas the Svartpilen is just different, perhaps more sophisticated,” he opines. “It’s maybe the more understated choice, for a person that doesn’t need to boast but will do so through the bike’s performance.” The Svartpilen delivers as a ride, and is even more desirable as a head-turning vehicle that won’t break the bank. It’s hard to find much fault with it. Ultimately its success will come down to exactly what riders and users actually want their 125 to be and to do. Dadanova sums up the Husqvarna’s allure nicely: “It’s exclusive, unique and different to what you will see in the 125 segment where people will have scooters or Vespas. It can fill different roles, so it’s even more accessible.”

Husqvarna have used the same KTM tech on the steel frame by robot welding and hydro-forming the structure.

It means the chassis is stiff but also carries an effective amount of flex. The Svartpilen’s carriage is the same as the 401 version and to get a further ‘fill’ of its capabilities Husqvaran hired the flat-track layout at Rocco’s Ranch; the off-road complex adjacent to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Thanks to some tips from top racer Ricky Cardus the 401’s extra power led to a thrilling and immediately tiring first slide on the dirt. With Supermoto ABS activated into turns and the Svartpilen’s torquey thrust helping with a rapid exit, another dimension of Husky’s street machine – and those versatile Pirelli tyres – was on tap. The 125’s horsepower would have made for a fickler exercise through the corners but the same easy handling and balance from the chassis was a blast with the extra power.

SVARTPILEN 125

FILTHY FUN: USING THE SVARTPILEN TECHNICAL BASE FOR SOME DIRT TRACK

PRODUCTS

MES 4 Milestone have been busy. Earlier this month they released the fourth instalment in their Monster Energy Supercross series.

The SX offering follows upon the mid-winter MXGP title and the new MotoGP game to come in April. ‘MES 4’ has the obligatory update from the 2020 competition with the tracks and colours – even the multiple variations of design produced at Salt Lake City – of the condensed competition. It features a new career mode with players encouraged to earn skill points and develop from a ‘Future’ basis, although other game sites have been critical as to the feeling of progression and ‘achievement’ through these levels. The track designer looks particularly easy as well as some of the lusciously mapped training compounds.

There is also a hell of a lot of brands officially tied into the game for extra authenticity. Available now on PlayStation5, PlayStation4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC/STEAM and Google Stadia the game looks gorgeous on most of the platforms. As ever the physics and handling will be enjoyable for some and ridiculed by others. Whether this is enough to encourage players to upgrade from ‘MES 3’ or is sufficiently accessible to entice new gamers remains to be seen. Racing titles seem to offer quite a decent package-per-buck these days but perhaps a different kind of game content format could be considered for a ‘Motocross Madness’ impact in the future?

www.supercrossthegame.com

SCOTT SPORTS Scott Sports’ prolificacy and excellence with goggles is almost unsurpassed (credit is given as keen users of the Prospect goggle). Aiming for the Prospect, the Fury or the WFS roll-off pack covers many off-road or Adventure riders’ needs, but that’s forgetting other models that Scott produce. One example is the Split OTG: goggles for glasses wearers with brand new tech to avoid fogging.

The engineering involves an integrated ram air system that funnels the air over a top spoiler.

Combined with the anti-fog lens treatment and the 3-layer foam it’s an effective package.

The OTG also comes in five different colour options. In the EU it will cost 60 euros.

www.scott-sports.com

ENJOY YOUR RIDE

WorldSBK BLOG

FINDING A BALANCE-XIT Racing is all about balance but the WorldSBK grid doesn’t reflect this.

It’s top heavy with Brits at a time when MotoGP is crying out for one.

Why is that?

The WorldSBK season is still seven weeks away but as you read this bikes are officially back on track. A two day test in Catalunya marks the start of the campaign and it will be to no surprise that Jonathan Rea and Scott Redding start the year as the favourites.

The top two riders from 2020 are expected to battle it out for the crown once again but while their passports are the same their paths to the top of the Superbike pile have been very different. They’re a case study of why Britain has had such a successful past in SBK racing.

Rea was a talented schoolboy motocross star who answered an ad in Motorcycle News looking for Red Bull Rookies.

He’d never worn a set of leathers when he turned up for the try outs but his talent shone through and he was taken under the wing of Honda Britain and quickly turned into a Superbike prodigy with pole position as an 18 year old BSB rookie.

The dye was cast very early for Rea that there was a path to the World Championship but ultimately that path kept him away largely from the Grand Prix paddock, aside from a brief and impressive ‘substitute’ dabble for Repsol Honda.

Redding was a different animal. A sheer fighter that got by on bravery and natural ability. He was brought to Spain as a 12 year old and the route was set for him; MotoGP or bust.

A front row on his 125GP debut in Qatar, a win at his

home round at Donington at a ridiculously early age, he was the coming man of the paddock...until his old rival showed up. There’s no shame in being beaten by Marc Marquez and it’s very easy to forget just how big an impression Redding made as a youngster on the scene.

From 2012, over the course of two years, he became a front runner again with a dozen Moto2 podiums and three wins. Pol Espargaro would narrowly take the Moto2 title but both stepped up to the premier class in 2014.

On Honda, Ducati and Aprilia machinery he took a brace of podiums but ultimately washed out of MotoGP and had to go looking for a lifeline. That came in the British Superbike paddock where

BY ADAM WHEELER

BY STEVE ENGLISH he dominated in 2019 before moving to the world stage last year. Winning at Jerez proved his adaptation, and Redding was seen as the latest in a long line of Brits to strike gold in WorldSBK even though his early career never really related to production bike racing.

Redding is a product of the continental system. Rea - and the likes of Cal Crutchlow, Sam Lowes and Jake Dixon is a racer that comes from a ‘proddie’ background. By and large the top Brits still filter through this way.

Why is that? To answer a complicated question as simply as possible; money and opportunity.

The money in Britain is in Superbike racing. BSB is big business with a great TV deal where riders can be stars. If you’re competing in the National Superstock 600 class you can still get the coverage

and therefore sponsors. The riders that arrive to the very top then strive to get out of Britain as early as possible in their careers because they’re safe in the knowledge that they can go back to BSB and make a living.

Making a living or making waves on the world stage is a choice that many Brits have faced. Even for the likes of Crutchlow and Sam Lowes, both World Supersport champions, who left the weighty contracts of WorldSBK to jump to the Grand Prix paddock. The money was less, the challenge was greater but they backed their talent to find a way.

They’re the exceptions though.

Most riders are put into silos and if you haven’t come up through the ranks of CEV to Moto3 to Moto2 it’s hard to find a MotoGP berth.

The only way that this changes is with series’ like the British Talent Cup being successful.

The jury is still very much out on the BTC because it’s now been snapped up as part British Superbikes.

Do 12-14 year old kids get enough knowledge to transfer to Grand Prix style tracks by racing at Oulton Park or Knockhill? That’s debatable but the BTC could simply see the rich-get-richer in the BSB paddock and the next generation of British riders all sticking to production based championships.

Britain badly needs to elevate any standouts into the Red Bull Rookies or the Moto3 Junior World Championship.

In 2021 there will be three Brits racing in both the European Talent Cup and the Moto3 classes.

Max Cook started last year very strongly in CEV before an injury at Jerez took away his momentum. Despite having a Red Bull Rookies Cup podium and race wins in BTC on his

WorldSBK BLOG

CV, Cook finds himself back in Britain and racing in the National Superstock 600 class.

He might be 18 years old but he’s already slipped through the cracks of getting opportunities in the Grand Prix paddock. Making your debut in CEV at 17, an age when many rivals are already into their second year of World Championship action, puts riders like Cook at a big disadvantage. A future in production racing is his only option.

Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? MotoGP needs more fast British riders. WorldSBK needs more fast non-British riders.

The only way to correct that balance is to have more British kids racing Grand Prix bikes on Grand Prix tracks at an early age.

Otherwise a glut of talent gravitates towards BSB and WorldSBK.

We need more fast nonBritish riders in WorldSBK and there has been a shift in recent years. Yamaha has a factory line-up devoid of the Union Jack. BMW has Michael van der Mark as their lead rider. Honda has Alvaro Bautista as their point man. The likes of Tito Rabat making the move to WorldSBK is good for the series. If he can get up to speed he’s a Grand Prix champion that adds weight to the entry list. After a career spent racing prototypes though he’s struggled to adapt to a Superbike in testing but he can get there.

Seeing the American flag on the podium with Garrett Gerloff was very positive last year. The Turkish flag for Toprak Razgatlioglu was fantastic. New countries with new stars should be what racing is all about. The Asia Talent Cup is bringing these riders through. There are now more opportunities for riders of all nationalities

to race on the world stage.

Young British riders need to take a leaf out of their book and desperately forge a path to the Grand Prix classes.

Ironically Superbikes would end-up benefitting too.

PRODUCTS

DUCATI Those Ogio bags get everywhere. The American brand has aligned with Ducati for an officially licenced ‘Redline’ collection of luggage. The range uses models like the Terminal, Renegade and other staple Ogio pieces with a design touch provided by the Italian manufacturer. The Redline T1 and T2 will serve for equipment and aircraft carry-on while the D1 has resistant materials and multiple handles for both backpack and gym use. Then there are three more backpack choices. From the Redline B1 (the Ogio ‘Mach’ bag designed for aero performance and riding) B2 and B3 (the multi-pocketed Renegade: our personal choice for travelling for the past ten years). Ducati dealers can stock or order any of the units while the Ducati online shop is another port of call to make a purchase.

www.ducati.com

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FEATURE

Lovely nakedness ARE YAMAHA GETTING FRISKY WITH THEIR NEW MT-09?

WE HAD A RIDE TO FIND OUT

By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Yamaha/WHO

MXGP NETHERLANDS

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hink of the signature bikes produced

by Yamaha: the R1, the Super Tenere, the XSR, Tracer, the YZ450F. It’s the MT-09 though (‘MT’ standing for ‘Master of Torque’) that has topped the manufacturer’s sales charts in recent years and has become a central figure in Yamaha’s portfolio since its creation in 2013. Why? The vibrant CP3 threecylinder engine has something to do with it but there’s also an image and ethos around this ‘hypernaked’ that the Japanese have come to market as the ‘Dark Side of Japan’.

Compared to racing/supersport models (and innovations like the Nikken trike), naked bikes are fairly simplistic. They are versatile, customisable and therefore appealing because of this multi-use orientation and thus tend to benefit from more imaginative publicity campaigns. Think of the Ducati Scrambler (almost a brand within the brand), Triumph’s heritagetinged Bonneville versions, KTM’s ‘Beast’ and ‘Scalpel’, Indian’s FTR; to name but a few. To fashion the MT-09 and conjure enough energy around a road bike that would bubble with force, Yamaha Motor Europe had to convince the hierarchy in Iwata that the alignment with

FEATURE Japanese underground, neon-infused, manga sub-culture would seize attention. Initially it was a hard sell for staff more obsessed with horsepower rather than histrionics, but the ploy would work. Despite a rough-and-ready first edition of the bike midway through the last decade the MT-09 proved to be enticing.

The initial promotional video for the motorcycle has been seen well over a million times on YouTube.

“Since 2013 and the launch of the MT09 we have reached 250,000 users in Europe, which means there is a whole community out there excited by the Yamaha product,” explains Yamaha Motor Europe Marketing Manager Antonio Orpinell. “1 out of every 5 bikes sold in Europe is a MT09 so it is a very important part of our line-up and we felt it was time to make a big change.”

Elements of Yamaha’s success with the MT (the 07 capacity model also shifts units…and large sections of the 09 goes into the sports touring Tracer 9; more on that in the next issue) is the combination of the ‘experience’ - punchy, stable, agile, throaty - and the feeling of a quality build. As well as the slightly aggressive aspect (well, for a Japanese bike that is) the MT-09 strives for an edgy look that maybe only Kawasaki’s Z series can dismiss.

Yamaha initial MT-09 in 2013 was “a bit scary” admits Orpinell, when talking about the bike’s handling but with this third generation about to arrive in dealers for 2021, the company have had to improve the whole product to stay at the top of a crowded pole in the naked bike segment.

“We’re trying to attract four different types of customer,” Orpinell reveals. “The post-supersport crowd - because nowadays supersports are a bit restricted and riders don’t want big fines so they end up coming to naked bikes then people that might want an alternative to the big-cc nakeds. There are younger enthusiasts or those who want to move up from a bike like the MT-07, and lastly existing MT09 customers seeking an upgrade.”

Yamaha used Barcelona as a base for the worldwide launch of the MT-09. The accompanying and varied roads south east of the Catalan capital provided a splendid topography to assess whether the bike could keep top billing.

YAMAHA MT-09

+ TURN ME ON: Yamaha have hollowed out the MT-09 to the point where the new diecast aluminium frame and subframe is 2.3kg lighter (and just 1.7mm thick in some places), produces 50% more lateral rigidity, has a shorter wheelbase, 14% less steering inertia and a more vertical engine.

KYB front forks are shorter than on the older model as well as fully adjustable. These factors help contribute to one of the lasting impressions of the new MT: a front end feel that is wonderfully connected to the road. The bike will turn in an instant, grip and ask you to dare a bit more. Whipping through minor country lanes was a joy. Trust can be a big thing with a new motorcycle and the MT is surprisingly generous in this aspect. Of course, there are other aspects: the compact, sporty (and frankly gorgeous) spin-forged 17” ten-spoked wheels not only contribute to the overall 4kg weight saving (at 189k the MT is one of the lightest 900s) but also decrease the inertia by 11% on the rear to augment that agility.

Just the thought of riding the Yamaha again through a condensed series of bends makes my wallet itch.

FEATURE + SIT ME DOWN: As soon as you nestle into position on the MT09 with its 825mm seat height it’s easy to appreciate the engineering that has gone into the ergo. The extremely curvy 14l fuel tank might make you wary of chipping the paintwork but it envelopes your legs while the diamond chassis brings you into the heart of the matter.

Pushing further back into the saddle after a good few kilometres helps to stretch the upper legs a little and the general set invites a sport stance when you really feel like chucking the Yamaha around. If, for some reason, the Yamaha doesn’t initially say ‘jump on me’ then actually sitting in place makes you wonder what is possible; surely the underlying thrill associated with any bike.

+ DRIVE ME FURTHER: Yamaha say that almost every component of their 889cc CP3 triple is new and redesigned.

It spits out 93Nm of torque at 7000rpm – an improvement of 7% - and 117bhp. It’s also lighter and meets Euro5 emissions: a combination that Yamaha staff admitted was one of the real triumphs of the MT-09. But what does it all feel like? ‘Lively’ is a word that springs to mind. The torquey sensation for a triple is prevalent but not overwhelming (it’s certainly no match for a KTM twin) and the power gives the sensation of being very usable. Yamaha

YAMAHA MT-09

- SPOILING THE VIEW: Of the three colour schemes Yamaha’s Storm Fluo was definitely more attractive. The Tech Black and Icon Blue were pretty staid and reserved. While the curve of the frame, the swing-arm and the tank bring a wonderfully compact and ‘stocky’ aspect to the MT-09 – which also translate into those excellent ergonomics – the front of the bike looks a little ‘shrunken-headed’. It’s a minimal design, granted, but a missed opportunity to make the Yamaha carry a little more of that ‘dark side’ vibe. The dash felt very much like an afterthought: small, plasticky and uninspiring. The LED light forms were slightly alternative both front and rear, although their effectiveness was questionable.

have given the MT-09 taller 1st and 2nd gears but the bike is easy and grunty in 3rd and 4th through a diverse range of corners. It’s all administered by a chip-controlled throttle, which has an Accelerator Positions Sensor Grip (APSG) to make the ride-by-wire more tactile and reliable: we’re talking about an acutely responsive action. It adds up to heightened fun and speed-limit bashing in the merest of moments. On faster A roads you want a little more from the overall package and you will want to switch the engine mapping onto the sportiest setting right away, without hesitation.

FEATURE

+ HEAR ME: It might sound trite, but Yamaha interweaved their musical heritage and prestige into the reworked audibles of the MT-09. Its sound is ‘tuned’ by new air intakes and stainless steel header pipes with different curvature, achieving a ‘pulse’ effect. The ports are symmetrical, and the air cleaner box and alternate three duct layout all add to the orchestra. The first thing to notice about the exhaust is the ‘underneath’ design that lets the rear of the bike become far lither. The output sees the pitch and growl of the bike bounce around: on occasions it felt like the engine was disconcertingly screaming on over-rev while other times there was an unmistakable MotoGP-ish howl about the Yamaha. This is one of the tasty little idiosyncrasies of the MT-09, and especially appealing for riders that want to rebel against the oncoming silent wave or whine of the electric era.

YAMAHA MT-09

+POP, POP, POP: Initially it took a good, firm stab to engage the MT-09’s down-direction on the Quickshifter.

Minor gripe over. Every motorcycle should have a Quickshift systems. It should be obligatory. The Yamaha’s equipment comes as standard and rattling through the gearbox while accelerating ignites a satisfying component of the MT-09’s ‘soundtrack’.

It engages from 20kmph and 2200rpm while new friction plates and other clutch components embolden the conviction in the reliability of the system and empowers the rider further to really explore the spread of power and possibilities of the bike.

+ MEET MY NEEDS: It’s an illusion that naked bikes in the second decade of the century lack substance. The MT09 uses a new and upgraded version (lighter and smaller) of the 6-axis sensor imported from the R1 superbike at the centre of various ride aids. The unit and software handle 125 calculations per second on the behaviour of the bike and informs Traction Control, Lift Control and Brake Control as well as the MotoGP-curated Slide Control System.

None of the traction control settings felt too intrusive and the Brake Control that handle the ABS also oversees Nissin hardware that was entirely fit for purpose. The new front linear braking set-up involves a master radial cylinder; it was reassuring to squeeze harder into turns and correct misjudgements with speed.

The various electronics have presets as well as a manual option. All of which is filtered through a very solid handlebar switch.

FEATURE - RATTLING ME: There is a certain point of the rev range, around 3500rpm, when the CP3 was pumping out a few vibrations through the bars. It was unnerving at first, especially when coupled with the shrieking engine audio. Luckily the playfulness of the power spread means you want to be busy with the throttle. What this means for longer distances over less adventurous roads raises question marks over the extent of the MT-09’s usability but riders wanting hours and hours in the saddle will do better to embrace the Tracer 9 for some of those MT characteristics.

+ CHANGE FOR ME: The MT-09 can be transformed through a litany of accessories, from luggage to stickers to protection to comfort. Yamaha have a ‘MyGarage’ App which allows users/riders to digitally add and remove upgrades to a virtual bike and then have the pricing and package sent to their local dealer for fitting. Yamaha claim the App has already had two million downloads. There is plenty of temptation, but tank protection would be a first choice while swapping the seat material would also be beneficial as the fabric on the standard MT was a bit slick when moving around the bike.

Those hunting a ‘MT-09+’ can consider the ‘SP’ version that comes with high-grade KYB forks, that seat material, Cruise Control, a different paint job, blacked-out components and a fully adjustable Ohlins shock; a decent addition considering the standard shock setting was a little stiff and noticeably harsh on corner exits. Riders might want more options aside from the preload and rebound adjustments.

YAMAHA MT-09

NO ‘MT’ PROMISES? YAMAHA GO FOR NAKED BIKE CROWN… What is your view on the congested ‘naked bike’ market and Yamaha’s pitch with the MT-09?

Antoni Orpinell: It is a very populated segment with a lot of brands and bikes available and I think, from our perspective, that we believe that MT-09 has unique components or elements that make it a winning product or solution. We’re talking about a triple engine, which is already a differentiating factor, and there is also the torque. We believe with this character it is the ideal solution for a motorcycle enthusiast that was perhaps enjoying supersports and who is now quite restricted on the open road.

They want torque, acceleration and agility: you can really have a lot of fun with this bike and the 2021 model enhances the feeling for the rider further. A big engine with big amounts of power can be scary in some conditions but now we have the perfect package to enjoy and have the adrenaline experience in a controlled way.

Do you feel that naked bikes need juicy marketing campaigns in order to gain more attention? Yamaha are quite direct with their ‘Dark Side…’ message…

The first MT-09 had some controversy inside the company when it was launched. Like most Japanese brands we were known for being reliable, traditional and innovative but this bike was playing on the aggressive side of being torquey and taking some of that underground culture. It’s about exploring the limits of what is forbidden. We packaged the original launch under this attractive sub-culture and it was a hit. It was really embraced by the customers globally so we kept it. In 2021 it is a bit more mature and more modern but with the same DNA behind it. A solid marketing campaign is a must-have. It gives an identity for the brand and allows us to tell the story in a way that is accepted by the customer. If we just talked about features and technical specs then in some cases those would speak by themselves and you can come to the conclusion that there is something special on this bike. [But] If you can label it as the Dark Side of Japan and it will offer something that you cannot find with another bike then it will really load that experience.

FEATURE

should you buy it?

In the search for torque you cannot beat a twin like the KTM 890 DUKE or the Ducati Monster but for handling that makes you forget everything related to the bike and being able to focus on the road, the robust construction and even the price (just under 9000 pounds in the UK) the MT-09 serves up the goods. Yamaha’s objective of updating their ‘hypernaked’ and sustaining its relevance has been realised with that dreamy front end feel and the punch it makes for the pound. The MT won’t disappoint.

It just depends how much thrill you want.

YAMAHA MT-09

PRODUCTS

www.ride100percent.com

100% 100% have widened their growing sunglasses collection with the ‘Rideley’, which they describe as a ‘active performance retro and race-inspired square frame’.

The HD lenses are shatter proof and impact resistant with 100% UV protection. We’re not quite sure what this means but they have also had ‘hydrophobic and oleophobic treatment’ that ‘repels water, dirt and oil’.

The frame is apparently light and prescription-lens ready and comes with rubber nose and temple tips to ensure a sturdy fit. There are five different colours to choose and expect to pay between 110-150 dollars. As you’d expect each pair comes with a microfibre cleaning bag.

JUST1 Just1 might be renowned for their distinctive helmets but the Italian brand – part of the hefty Chinese H&H Sports Protection Group – have diversified in recent years and have produced riding gear, mountain bike products and road lids. Now they have new goggles on the market with the NERVE and NERVE Plus that includes an integrated roll-off system. Just1 claim the large field of vision offered by the frame and the precurved, 2mm injection mould ultra-HD lens as product highlights but ‘dual-material frame construction and a Quick-release lens system that doubles as locking mechanism for lens removal/ replacement’ is also mentioned. A smoke lens set will cost 99.99 euros while a mirror lens will set back customers 119.99 euros. Ten euros more will deliver the roll-off version. Fly Racing – with their understated Zone Pro – are a good example of an unconventional eyewear brand that managed to forge an effective google.

Will Just1 enjoy a similar impact with prices that already lodge the NERVE next to Scott’s Prospect and 100%’s Armega?

www.just1racing.com

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By CormacGP

ON TRACK OFF ROAD

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