2022-05-26 Australian Motorcycle News

RACER
052 TEST
DOUG POLEN’S 1992 POLICE DUCATI 888

52 amcn.com.au

Just before Doug
Polen successfully
defended his
remarkable maiden
Superbike crown, we
grabbed a very telling
20 laps on his 1992
title-winning Ducati
888 Superbike

TEST ALAN CATHCART
PHOTOGRAPHY KYOICHI NAKAMURA

Thirty years ago in 1992,
Ducati’s 851 – its first-
generation desmoquattro
model launched in 1987
– made it a hat-trick of
world Superbike titles for
the Italian manufacturer,
thanks to its reigning
American world champion
Doug Polen successfully
defending his title on
his 888 version of the Ducati 851 run by the
Police-sponsored factory race team – that’s the
sunglasses company, not the local Carabinieri!

Ducati’s feat in wresting world Superbike
supremacy away from Honda in 1990 was matched
only by its achievement in retaining the title in
1991, courtesy of Texan newcomer Polen. Running
a tight budget, Doug’s expat Italian team owner/
manager/tuner/race engineer Eraldo Ferracci,
who’d been based in the USA for the previous
quarter century, teamed up with the dynamic
duo of Ducati Euro-tuners Giorgio Nepoti and
Rino Caracchi – better known collectively as the
partners in NCR. Together, they ran a shoestring
but effective privateer operation that netted them
the title against the considerably better resources
of Marco Lucchinelli’s factory race team, headed
by defending champ Raymond Roche.

Polen’s first title in 1991 was won with a display
of dominance that neither Carl Fogarty nor Troy
Bayliss ever achieved on a Ducati. He won 17
of the 24 races and scored 10 pole positions in
succession in the 12 rounds, including no less
than six double victories and nine fastest laps.
All riding a customer 888 Corsa motorcycle on
unfamiliar circuits, two of which the Texan had
never raced before.

“This is the true spirit of Superbike racing,”
declared Ducati’s then owner Claudio Castiglioni.

amcn.com.au 53

Doug Polen’s 1992 Police Ducati 888

1 “Where a customer’s bike can beat the factory “DYUOCUAATBI CIKAENYSOEULL
machines. It’s also good for business – it shows CAN WIN A WORLD
2 that we at Ducati can sell you a bike you can win a
world championship with!” CHAMWPITIOHN!”SHIP
3
Still, it wasn’t surprising that Castiglioni team manager was a successful one, although he
4 made sure Doug Polen switched to the works was at pains to credit Eraldo Ferracci and Team
Ducati team for 1992, bringing Ferracci with Polen’s contribution to the successful campaign.
1. Cathcart raced for Team him as chief race engineer. Polen’s transfer to
Ferracci Ducati at Daytona in the factory Ducati team took time to gel, but My chance to ride Polen’s Police Ducati came at
1994 alongside Pascal Picotte, although the Kawasaki ZXR750 of Rob Phillis Misano mid-season, a month before he took over
led the championship at the halfway point, with at the head of the points table with successive
left, and Troy Corser Fabrizio Pirovano’s Yamaha OW-01 also in the double wins in Malaysia and Japan. As a Ducati
2. Ducati technical boss frame, the Texan asserted himself from then racer myself, who 18 months later would ride
Massimo Bordi in 1992 on, winning nine of the 26 races with six pole for Eraldo Ferracci in the Daytona 200 on a big-
3. The 888cc V-twin is a positions to double-up on titles aboard an 888cc engined 926cc version of this bike, it was a highly
Ducati which represented the ultimate version of educational experience.
torquey delight this iconic first-generation V-twin. The following
4. The ‘92 bike had an early year, in 1993, the desmoquattro engine would start Mostly because the 1992 season was the first
making its way up the capacity scale to 926cc, and in which Ducati took full advantage of what
version of an airbox of course in 1994 the iconic Massimo Tamburini- nowadays seems a crazy imbalance in the
designed 916, which replaced the 851/888, respective weight limits, with the 750cc fours
54 amcn.com.au would bring Britain’s Carl Fogarty his first world only then permitted in world Superbike – no
Superbike crown in its debut season. 1000cc fours for another decade! – scaling a
minimum of 165kg dry, against 140kg for the
Before that, Doug Polen’s Race 2 victory at 1000cc twins. The desmo V-twin’s light weight
Assen in 1992 was both poignant and significant. was a bone of contention among the four-
It was the ninth anniversary of the then-reigning cylinder brigade, and for sure the Polen bike
500cc world champion Franco Uncini suffering abounded with copious examples of the weight-
serious head injuries in the 1983 Dutch TT,
when he crashed his Suzuki in front of Honda-
mounted GP newcomer Wayne Gardner who hit
him. Uncini fortunately recovered from the coma
resulting from that, and even resumed racing
briefly, before eventually becoming today’s
MotoGP Safety Officer.

But prior to that, 1992 saw Franco take on a
one-year gig running the factory Ducati world
Superbike race team. Uncini was called up late in
the day to replace Marco Lucchinelli as manager
of the Police Ducati team. Despite being the
architect of Ducati’s debut title with Raymond
Roche in 1990, Lucchinelli became unavailable
for a repeat effort in 1992 after being arrested in
December ’91 for cocaine possession, spending
some time in prison, where he successfully
overcame his drug addiction.

Franco Uncini’s brief tenure as Ducati WorldSBK

THERULEBOOK gear, and from then on it
was rolling red thunder
IN 1992, THERE was a all the way in SBK, as
widespread feeling its engineering guru
among all teams and Massimo Bordi gradually
manufacturers that it was increased capacity of
time to take stock of the the desmoquattro motor
previous half-decade of from the original 851cc to
world-level four-stroke 888cc, 926cc, 955cc and
racing. No motorcycle finally 996cc, while at the
currently dominated its same time greatly refining
own racing category at is Weber-Marelli engine
world level as totally as management system.
the Ducati 888, leading to
widespread complaints by Bimota and Honda both
the four-cylinder faction fell by the wayside, and by
that the technical dice 1992 the only competition
were loaded against them. to the twin-cylinder
desmo bandwagon was
So WSBK’s founding painted Kawasaki green,
fathers established a with Rob Phillis and Aaron
minimum weight limit of Slight race-winning rivals
165kg for four- (and three-) to the Ducati freight train.
cylinder bikes and 140kg
for twins, which could The contentious weight
also be of 1000cc capacity limit formula so heavily
against the fours’ 750cc. favouring twin-cylinder
The basis was laid for a bikes was progressively
fascinating power struggle reduced by the FIM until,
between two completely by 1996, it was the same
different engineering for both fours and twins –
philosophies – a struggle in and bringing in a universal
which the ultimate winners 1000cc capacity limit for
were streetbike customers fours, triples and twins in
around the world, who 2003 finally brought about
were able to enjoy its the long-awaited level
technological fruits. playing field for the world
Superbike rulebook.
But then the Ducati
steamroller got into

watchers guide to Superbike supremacy.
But additionally, the Italians had concentrated

on refining their title-winning 888, rather than
seeking to wrest extra horsepower from the 94
x 64mm desmoquattro engine (2mm overbored
versus the original 851), which that year delivered
134hp to the rear wheel at 11,200rpm, up 2hp from
’91 according to Ducati technical boss Massimo
Bordi, who also revealed there was 108hp on
tap at just 8000rpm. It revved 500rpm higher
to 12,000rpm thanks to a new stainless-steel
Termignoni exhaust system. The trade-off was
a little less midrange, but with so much torque
already available from the desmo V-twin, Ducati
could afford to sacrifice a little bit of grunt for the
increased top-end performance.

The Italian engineers were also concentrating
on reliability, already much improved since the
arrival of a new crankcase design in 1991 made
of higher-grade aluminium with reinforced
internals, with new Omega pistons in Mondial
cylinders, and drilled oilways on the Pankl steel
conrods for enhanced small-end lubrication.

Most important on Polen’s ’92 bike though was
the adoption of a primitive airbox formed by the
underside of the fuel tank and vestigial carbon
side panels, housing the 2mm-larger 54mm Weber
throttle bodies, plus the continuously refined
mapping of the Marelli EFI, now with twin side-
mounted injectors.

Also new for ’92 were larger 36mm inlet/31mm
exhaust valves (up from 34/30mm), as well as a

amcn.com.au 55

Doug Polen’s 1992 Police Ducati 888

1

2

“EVEN THE EXHAUST SYSTEM “This, and the valve sizes, are the only
ON THE WSOTRAKINSLMESASCHSITNEEEILS” difference between one of the 50 works engines
we made this year for our six riders, and one of
new exhaust camshaft design. the 50 Corsa production racers we have built,
Bordi denied Ducati was using any special all sold. Even the exhaust system on the works
machine is stainless steel, not titanium – we
lightweight components in its factory engines, don’t need the extra expense, which in any case
such as the rumoured hollow camshafts or would have brought us too close to the 140kg
thinned-out gearbox pinions, to slash the weight weight limit for peace of mind!”
down 10kg from an 888 Corsa production racer, to
142kg half-dry for Polen’s 1992 bike. All well and good ingegnere, but what about the
lightened crankshaft?!
“We save weight with titanium fasteners, and
using magnesium for the bottom triple clamp of Ducati’s trademark tubular-steel spaceframe
the forks and some covers, as well as carbon-fibre chassis with Öhlins suspension and rocker-arm
bodywork, clutch cover, brackets and so on, which rear link looked pretty quaint next to the high-
altogether account for just three kilos,” he told me. tech GP-style twin-spar aluminium designs of the
Japanese fours. But it worked better, delivering
3 that greater sense of control and crucial feedback
from the tarmac.

Though absent from the testbike, fitted with
conventional Brembo 320mm steel front discs for
my test, Polen’s 888 usually employed either twin
US-made C-CAT carbon discs which were the
same size as the steel discs, and therefore didn’t
need a complete re-jig if they had to be changed
for a damp race, or a ‘Wayne Gardner cocktail’
of one steel and one carbon disc, as used by the
Aussie on his Honda GP racer. Based on a carbon
cloth construction, rather than an aircraft-type
fibre material, the C-CATs apparently worked just
fine in ambient temperatures, and didn’t need
shrouds to build their working temperature up
to optimum levels – Polen even used them in the
rain! Too bad Uncini took the front carbon discs
off the bike before I took to the track on it: maybe
he didn’t want me wearing them out.

Perhaps for that reason it wasn’t fair to criticise
the Ducati’s braking, but the desmo V-twin really

56 amcn.com.au

6

5 7
4
with the same motor, was definitely quicker
1. Racing team boss didn’t inspire nearly as much confidence under steering. That was perhaps because we could run
Eraldo Ferracci braking as the carbon disc-equipped Pirovano a steeper effective head angle and less trail on that
Yamaha four I rode the same day, despite the hub-centre device to make it turn faster, than the
2. Lightweight fasteners considerably lighter weight of the Italian V-twin. relatively conservative 24.5° rake and 94mm of
kept the weight down As I knew very well from racing my own desmo trail that Ducati ran on the Polen bike fitted with a
V-twins, in those pre-slipper clutch days you conventional fully adjustable Öhlins tele fork.
3. Trellis frame was had to be really careful back-shifting through
in contrast to the the gears under braking on the Ducati 888, with But the architecture of the Ducati engine
a meaty 12.2:1 compression ratio and those big necessitated some compromise. Bordi told me
Kawasakis and Yamahas pistons. It was pretty easy to get the back wheel they couldn’t pull the Öhlins fork back as much
hopping into turns if you used too many revs on as they’d like because of the forward-facing lower
4. Ducati activated a lot the overrun by way of engine braking, and/or cylinder with its bulky four-valve desmo cylinder
of promotional ideas used the rear (carbon) brake to any great extent – head denying the needed space. For this reason,
necessitating much fanning of the clutch lever to he said, Ducati was already experimenting with
5. Doug Polen and stop the chatter. an angled front cylinder head. But two years later
veteran Ducati engineer Massimo Tamburini negated the need for that by
The Ducati was also very definitely harder designing the all-new 916 Ducati, on which fork
Franco Farné work to change direction on than the Yamaha, deflection wasn’t an issue.
perhaps because of the tall engine and higher
6. Polen gets down to centre of gravity, except that the factory Bimota On the Ducati 888, it was important not to find
business Tesi Superbike that I was racing myself that year, yourself entering the strong dose of extra top-end
power which kicked in at about 9000rpm driving
7. Sometimes the 888 out of a turn with the bike cranked over, or else
ran carbon discs; for AC, the back wheel would start to spin up, losing
traction and thus time. Traction control was still
it was steel rotors over a decade away even on factory Superbikes,
so Polen’s hot tip was to hit the apex of a turn at
around 7500-8500rpm, so that by the time you
accessed the tail-end of the desmo V-twin’s meaty
torque curve, you were about to straighten up and
really benefit from being on the fat part of the rear
Dunlop when driving hard out of a bend.

Watching the two-hour Daytona 200 duel earlier
that year between Polen’s Ducati and eventual
winner Scott Russell’s Muzzy Kawasaki had
provided an illuminating guide to the respective
merits of these two bikes. Exiting the infield turns,
the lighter Ducati would get an immediate jump

amcn.com.au 57

Doug Polen’s 1992 Police Ducati 888

1

2 3 4
5
over the heavier, higher-revving Japanese four,
only for the Kawasaki to peg Doug back on top
speed round the banking – that’s how Russell
swooped to take the win on the final lap a mere
200 yards from the line.

Riding the very same Ducati, you could feel
how well it already hooked up out of turns: the
front wheel lightened up, the rear-end squatted,
the rear Dunlop dug in and the red V-twin
rocketed towards the next turn, accompanied by
a muted but still glorious roll of thunder from the
unmistakeable lilting exhaust note.

Doug’s ’92 title-winning Ducati was a much
more sophisticated ride than the last factory
desmo Superbike I’d ridden three years earlier.
Roche’s 1989 bike was hard-edged, even raucous
by comparison, with loads of induction roar from
the injection trumpets. By now that was muted
by the primitive but effective sealed airbox, and
combined with the well-silenced Termignoni
system, the Ducati was actually quieter to the rider
than its rival Japanese fours. It also seemed quite
a bit more refined and responsive, the light-action
fuel injection butterflies delivering a precise,
controlled throttle response contrasting with the
much brusquer, more sudden pickup of the flat-

58 amcn.com.au

6 fitted with electronic fuel injection. This wasn’t SPECS
on its own a passport to more power, but to a more ENGINE
1. In Austria in 1992 refined and sophisticated performance package
Falappa leads Robbie which ensured the engine always delivered its Capacity 888cc
Phillis (Kawasaki), Polen, best. That was doubly vital at somewhere like Type 90° V-twin, desmodromic
Stefan Mertens (Ducati) Hockenheim, for example, where you passed
and Fabrizio Pirovano at high speed through a forest into an open-air valve operation, four valves
stadium with several tight turns, with all the per cylinder
(Yamaha) atmospheric changes that entailed. Same thing at
Monza, too. Bore & stroke 94 x 64mm
2. Giancarlo Falappa and Compression ratio 12.2:1
Farné prepare for testing Ducati also had at least three of the top six
Superbike riders in the world back then aboard Cooling Liquid
3. Franco Uncini (centre) its bikes, and all three tyre manufacturers each Fueling EFI, 2 x 54mm
with his Police Ducati equipped one or more of its six factory-supported
team in 1992 racers. Ducati had been planning for Superbike throttle bodies
success ever since the winter of 1985/86, when Transmission Six-speed
4. Detail is predictably in the immediate aftermath of the Castiglioni Clutch Dry, multi-plate
impressive brothers’ rescue of the then state-owned Ducati
motorcycle concern just days before it would Final drive Chain
5. The podium at Albacete have been consigned to the scrapheap of history,
in 1992: Polen (P2), Race 1 Massimo Bordi had spent four months at British PERFORMANCE
Formula 1 engine gurus Cosworth’s Northampton
winner Aaron Slight Power 134hp @ 11,200rpm
(Kawasaki) and Pirovano AFTER 20 (claimed)
LAPS I COULD
6. Farné (left) joined UNDERSTAND WHY Torque Not given
Ducati as a test rider STOHHE ADRUDCATTOIBWEAAST Top speed 289km/h (Monza, 1992)
in 1951. He passed away
R&D facility in Britain learning about modern-day Fuel consumption Not given
in 2015 performance engineering.
ELECTRONICS
slide carbs on the Phillis Kawasaki, for example. With the crucial financial support of the
After my 20 laps of Misano aboard Polen’s Castiglioni brother’s Cagiva concern, this enabled Type Weber/Marelli
the Ducati R&D team to gradually develop a Rider aids Not applicable
future world champion, I could understand why potent contender for Superbike success, working Rider modes Not applicable
the Ducati was so hard to beat, and not all of with a degree of thoroughness and engineering
the reason was its lighter weight or 138cc bigger inspiration that was almost universally CHASSIS
engine. The Ducati’s midrange power delivery underestimated. Remember MV Agusta making
was so strong, so immediate and yet so flexible the 500cc world championship its own with a Frame material Chrome-moly
that you could attack the track secure in the superlatively engineered series of motorcycles tubular steel
knowledge you’d always be sure to have the right that even Honda couldn’t defeat? Well, the bright
amount of power available whenever you wanted red Ducati desmoquattro 888 was the Superbike Frame type Trellis
it, compared to your higher-revving four-cylinder equivalent of those red and silver mechanical Rake 24.5°
rivals. Polen told me he geared the Ducati to use works of art. Trail 94mm
just four gears of the six available (second to fifth)
at both Spanish rounds that year, held on the All these factors, plus the undoubted excellence Wheelbase 1430mm
twisty Albacete and Jarama circuits – a compelling and reliability of the motorcycle itself, turned the
tribute to the engine’s flexibility and torque. Police Ducati 888 Superbike into an undisputed SUSPENSION
world champion.
Eraldo Ferracci confirmed the 1992 factory Type Öhlins
desmo V-twins like Polen’s bike indeed had Front: 42mm USD fork, fully-
lightened crankshafts whose reduced inertia, adjustable, travel unknown
coupled with revised mapping for the Marelli Rear: Monoshock, fully-adjustable,
EFl, meant the V-twin four-stroke picked up
engine speed like a GP two-stroke between 9500- travel unknown
11,500rpm, yet the copious torque allowed you
to shift up a little early without attacking the WHEELS & BRAKES
12,000rpm redline. I tried revving the Ducati
engine right out a couple of times, but it didn’t get Wheels Marchesini
me anywhere faster because it was so flexible. Front: 17 x 3.75 Rear: 17 x 6.0

The Police Ducati’s unanswered run of victories Tyres Dunlop KR108
at world level that year may have been partly due Front: 3.10/4.80x17
to the weight and capacity advantages, but frankly
there were other compelling reasons, too. By 1992 Rear: 185/55-17
the Ducati 888 desmoquattro was by some way the Brakes Brembo, ABS
most sophisticated bike on the world Superbike Front: Twin 320mm disc,
grid, a purpose-built four-stroke GP racer-with- four-piston caliper
lights developed for racing, then homologated for Rear: Single 200mm carbon disc,
the street, rather than vice versa. twin-piston caliper

The Ducati (and the Bimota Tesi it shared DIMENSIONS
engines with) was the only bike on the 1992 grid
Weight 142kg (water/oil, no fuel)
Seat height Not given
Width Not given
Height Not given
Length Not given

Ground clearance Not given
Fuel capacity Not given

SERVICING & WARRANTY

Servicing First: Not applicable
Minor: Not applicable
Major: Not applicable

Warranty Not applicable

BUSINESS END

Price Not applicable
Colour options Not applicable

Contact
Ducati Meccanica SpA,

Bologna, Italy

amcn.com.au 59

060

60 amcn.com.au

TWBTEHSINETNGOPATPHGEEPDWORDSMATOXLEY PHOTOGRAPHYA.HERLARCHIVE

Fifty years ago the Isle of
Man TT was the world’s
premier motorcycle race,

then the 1972 event
happened and everything

changed. And it created
the most famous TT race

of all time

O n the morning of Friday 9 June 1972,
the Isle of Man was enveloped in
thick fog and battered by heavy
rain. The British round of the 125cc
world championship was due to get
underway at 11am. Should the race
be postponed? Of course not, said
the ACU jury.
Despite the horrendous
conditions, the early race leader was
TT rookie Gilberto Parlotti, who had
travelled to the Isle of Man to protect his lead
in the 125cc world title chase.

By half-distance – at Ramsey on lap two of
three – Parlotti was still ahead of eventual
winner Chas Mortimer. But it all went wrong
when the 31-year-old Italian rode through
the high-speed Verandah right-hander on
the Mountain.

His factory Morbidelli two-stroke twin
skidded sideways and flung its rider into a

The first Formula 1 TT

concrete fence post. The four-times GP winner

was airlifted to Nobles Hospital but was dead

on arrival.

The inquest into the accident found that

the Morbidelli’s screw-on fuel cap had come

undone, covering the rear of the machine in

petrol. The chief scrutineer believed this was the

cause of the accident.

The effect of the TT’s 58th fatality was seismic,

signalling the end of the TT as a round of the

grand prix world championship. Parlotti was

good friends with Giacomo Agostini, already a

multiple TT winner and about to change his view

of the event forever.

“The night before the 125 race Parlotti and I

had dinner together and he said, ‘please, Ago,

why don’t you take me for a lap in a car, just

to help me remember all the track’,” recalls

Agostini. “I was very tired but he needed my help,

so we did one lap in the car. The next day my race

was in the afternoon but I went to the paddock

early to see the 125 race and everybody knows

what happened…”

When news of Parlotti’s death reached the 1
paddock Agostini wanted to withdraw from the

afternoon’s Senior race. Finally

the 29-year-old giant of grand prix A“CWWHEAAYSHMTTAAPHDTIEOUTWNOSS”OTHRAIKLPDE
racing lined up on Glencrutchery
Road to take his 10th and final
TT victory, beating MV Agusta
teammate Alberto Pagani by
almost eight minutes.

Ago never contested another TT
and began lobbying the FIM to
remove the event from the grand
prix series.

“It was very, very difficult for
me, because riding the Isle of Man
is the best emotion ever and the

atmosphere is fantastic, but if

you think about safety, this is the

1. Phil Read’s Honda blasts problem,” said the Italian legend.

through Union Mills in 1977 “Every year, two or three riders died. The first

2 2. A year later Mike time you think it’s okay, the second year the

Hailwood arrived to race same, because you are young and you don’t really

him on the NCR Ducati think about it, then the third year and the fourth

3. Gilberto Parlotti in the year you are older, so you think more.”
1972 Isle of Man 125cc TT Sadly the fatality rate was sometimes much

that claimed his life worse that two or three. During 1970 TT

4. Mike the Bike takes off fortnight, no less than six riders lost their lives,
on his historic 1978 TT ride including Spanish 250cc world title hopeful
Santiago Herrero.
5. Seen here on a Benelli
250 at the 1969 Adriatic “I spoke with many GP riders and they told
they were obliged to do the TT or lose world
GP, Parlotti was an championship points, so I spoke with the FIM
experienced racer

6. Three of GP racing’s and said we should take away this obligation,”
rock stars; Giacomo Ago adds. “If riders want to do the TT, this is fine,
Agostini, Read and because it’s an incredible track, but we had to
Jarno Saarinen take away the world championship status, for the
future and for the riders.”

In fact some GP riders were already boycotting

the TT, including reigning 125cc world champion

Angel Nieto, who never returned after breaking a

3 leg during his 1968 debut.

Reigning 250cc world champion Phil Read

joined Ago’s boycott, although the Briton was as

angry about lack of money as lack of safety.

62 amcn.com.au

5

4

6
“When I did the 1972 TT, my appearance money

as a five-times world champion was £50 [£700 or
$A1225 today],” says Read. “And I had to pay for
my own ferry, hotel, everything, so even if I won a
race or two, the Isle of Man still cost me money.

“The TT didn’t frighten me. I loved it over there,
but Ago and I mutually agreed that it was too
dangerous for a GP, so we wouldn’t go again.”

The FIM was already moving in the same
direction, announcing later that summer that GP
venues wouldn’t be able to retain championship
status purely through tradition.

Two years later reigning 125cc world champion
Kent Andersson asked the FIM to move the 125
world championship round from the Isle of Man
to Anderstorp in Sweden. The FIM agreed.

The TT was no longer sacrosanct. The event’s
expulsion from grand prix racing began in
earnest during the 1975 FIM congress, held in
West Berlin.

New regulations were drawn up for GP venues:
circuits must be between 2.5 miles and six miles
(4km and 10km) long, run-off areas were to

The first Formula 1 TT

be introduced, the edge of racetracks must be
1 marked with anti-slip paint and so on. In other

words, GP racing was moving into the modern
world and the TT wouldn’t be going with it.

Although many TT stalwarts were horrified,
some understood the need for change, including
Neil Tuxworth, who contested the TT from 1971
to 1989.

“As much as I loved the TT I thought it had run
its course as far as GPs went,” says Tuxworth, who
later became Honda UK’s race boss.

“GPs were progressing, so I thought the TT
shouldn’t really be a GP.”

However, the TT’s unique standing – the event
had been the pinnacle of motorcycle racing for
almost three-quarters of a century – saved it from
total annihilation.

During the FIM’s first get-togethers of 1976,
held in Torremolinos, Spain, and Geneva,
Switzerland, delegates took extraordinary steps
to keep the TT relevant as a world-class event.

“We take into account the TT’s importance,

“AS MUCH AS I LOVED
2 THE TT I THOUGHT IT

HAD RUN ITS COURSE
AS FAR AS GPs WENT”

the tradition attached to the event and the
services which the TT races have rendered to the
development of motorcycle racing,” said the FIM
in a statement.

“The central board considers that purely and
simply removing the event from the classic event
calendar, even though this decision would be
legal, would be detrimental to the TT itself and to
motorcycle racing in general.

“As a consequence, after long deliberations, the
central board has decided to create a new world
championship based on the TT and to which
other events with the same characteristics can be
added in the future. This decision will come into
force in 1977.”

The TT duly staged its last grand prix in June
1976 and its first Tourist Trophy Formula races
in June 1977. This was an historic moment,
because the TT Formula classes – F1, F2 and
F3 – created for the Isle of Man TT were the first
world championship events specifically designed
for road-based machines, pre-dating world
Superbike by more than a decade.

Therefore the bikes that Peter Hickman and his
rivals will race at this year’s TT are born out of
what happened in the mid-1970s. The first Tourist
Trophy Formula world championship technical
regulations were drawn up by the ACU in July
1976 and agreed by the FIM a few months later.

The rules initially included four categories,

all using motorcycles based around production 4
engines, with working starter motors and 5
generators, but with no restrictions on chassis
design: TT F1 (1000cc four-strokes, 500cc two- 1. Agostini’s MV 500 during
strokes), TT F2 (600cc four-strokes, 350cc his final TT in 1972
two-strokes), TT F3 (400cc four-strokes, 250cc
two-strokes) and TT F4 (200cc four-strokes, 125cc 2. The outspoken Read was
two-strokes). The fourth class never happened; a polarising character
probably just as well.
3. Read retired from the
Many TT riders greeted the new TT format with ’78 F1 TT with a broken
great enthusiasm.
oil cooler
“I thought the Formula thing was a great idea,”
said Tuxworth. “In those days nearly all races 4. The Hondas of Read
were full of Yamaha TZ250s, 350s or 750s, so TT and Joey Dunlop start
Formula was good for the spectators because it
gave them something different and a real variety the 1978 race
of machinery. It created lots of interest, in Europe
and Japan as well.” 5&6. Parlotti, seen
racing Chas Mortimer in
The first F1 TT in June 1977 coincided with the West Germany, turned to
return of Read, who had recently retired from Agostini for help prior
GP racing. The 36-year-old came back because
the TT promoters were finally paying generous to the TT
appearance money, because they could no longer
rely on the stars showing up to score GP points. 7. Ago took the 350/500
TT double in 1972
“The promoters had been ripping us off
for years,” says Read. “In 1977 they gave me 6
£6000 to race there. I entered two bikes in two
races and came away with more than £20,000
[approximately $A236,000 today].”

Read’s two machines were a Suzuki RG500
GP bike for the Senior and a factory Honda for
the inaugural F1 race. The TT still meant a lot
to Honda, so it sent over Michihiko Aika – the
race engineer that had masterminded Honda’s
stunning 1960s GP successes – to fettle Read’s
bike, a modified RCB endurance racer, powered
by an 820cc CB750 engine.

Read scored an easy victory in the rain-lashed
F1 race. Honda was the first team to find out that
the race was to be shortened due to the weather,
so it saved time by cancelling his pit stop.

“The race was horrible,” Read adds.
“It pissed down and got wetter and wetter. I
was wearing red Honda leathers and my body

3

7

amcn.com.au 65

The first Formula 1 TT

was red for a week after.” 1. Hailwood’s F1 TT win “I thought, ‘here we go – typical of Mike!’”
may well have saved the Read started the race first, as reigning F1
That night at the prize-giving ceremony, the champion, followed shortly after by Hailwood:
event itself hunted and hunter. By the time the old rivals
winner of the first-ever TT F1 race got a nasty 2. Parlotti on his reached Ramsey for the second of six visits, they
Morbidelli on that were together and they mostly stayed that way
shock – he was booed by the fans for his harsh tragic day in 1972 until the Honda expired.
3. Read’s works Honda “That race with Mike was one of the most
words following Parlotti’s death. won the ‘77 F1 race by exciting times I had on the Isle of Man,” Read
recalls. “I heard him coming into Ramsey and
“The reception at the prizegiving wasn’t very 38 secconds I thought, ‘oh no, I recognise the sound of that
Ducati’. Then I thought, ‘well, I’ve got to stay with
good, but when I won the Senior a few days later 3 him and make it more interesting’.
“He had more top-end, I had better
they were a bit more enthusiastic,” he remembers. acceleration. Mike was always a fair rider, there
were no dirty tricks. We passed and repassed,
“The bad reaction did bother me. The fans had waving at each other as he went by or I went by,
usually with a V-sign.
accused me of getting the TT withdrawn from
“Obviously the crowds were getting pretty
the GP championships. Okay, perhaps I was a bit excited. I learned a lot riding behind Mike –
how fast he went through certain corners and
verbal, but although Ago and many others agreed I was riding nine-tenths to stay with him and
pass him.
with me, I was always the headline news.”
“We pitted together and went out together
The following year another TT veteran and on the last lap I was tucked in behind
him on Cronk y Voddy straight when my
returned to the Island, setting up a classic F1 duel oil cooler blew and covered me in boiling
oil. I thought, ‘oh shit’, f lung the bike into
that established the new class as one of the TT’s
BUWE“NEIINPNWONTOPEHUURELLEDAMV’RVEORETS”TT
main events.
the bank and listened to the radio as Mike
Sixties superstar Mike Hailwood arrived at Ramsey, the Bungalow, Signpost and
then crossed the line. I realised that if his bike
rode his last TT in 1967, before had broken instead, I would’ve been the most
unpopular TT winner ever.
Honda’s and his withdrawal from 1
GP racing. However, the 38-year-old “When I eventually got back to the Douglas
Bay Hotel, where Mike and I were staying, I
had grown bored in retirement and went to his room and said, ‘well done Mike,
congratulations!’ I was still in my oily leathers.
wanted another crack. He said come down to the bar and we shared a
couple of bottles of champagne with friends.”
“I realised that I would be quickly
The TT was no longer a part of motorcycling’s
down the tubes if I tried to go GP world championships, but the 1978 F1 race proved
that the event could survive and even flourish.
racing,” he wrote later. “But I felt the
Other road circuits like Dundrod in Northern
Island would continue to be kind to Ireland, Vila Real in Portugal, Montjuic in Spain
and Brno in Czechoslovakia joined the Tourist
me and that I would have a wobble Trophy Formula series, which was further
enlarged by short circuit rounds at Assen,
round without disgracing myself.” Donington Park and Sugo.

Hailwood’s epic 1978 F1 duel The last TT Formula series took place in 1990.
By then its place as motorcycling’s road-based
with Read is the TT’s biggest race world championship had been taken by the new
world Superbike series.
of all time. It caught the public’s

imagination for all kinds of reasons,

but mostly because Hailwood was still 2
worshipped by fans, so it was the good

guy versus Read the bad guy.

Read rode the latest version of

Honda’s RCB, while Hailwood rode

a factory-built Ducati 900SS, with

fabled Ducati engineer Franco

Farné present to keep the big V-twin

running strongly.

“In the last practice session I

thought I’d done a good lap and then

Mike came in, having lapped a mile

an hour quicker,” says Read.

3

66 amcn.com.au



RETRO

068 RACERS VINCENT BLACK LIGHTNING

68 amcn.com.au

P hil Irving was adamant: “V-twins: the
only practical alternative to the single” he
wrote as the heading of one of the popular
columns he wrote in the 1970s.
Republished a few years later in his book
Rich Mixture, Volume One, Irving laid
out a theory which negated the decades
of development and hundreds of thousands of
British parallel twins manufactured and sold
from the late 1930s.

“The only practical alternative to the single-
cylinder engine was a twin made by bolting
two similar cylinders in “V” formation onto a
crankcase which was larger in diameter and little,
if any, wider than the single-cylinder version as
both conrods ran on a single crankpin,” he wrote.

“This was easily the most logical thing to do,
because the resulting engine could be fitted neatly
into the same frame. It need be only 50 percent
heavier for double the capacity and possessed
much better balance than either a single or a
parallel twin and therefore gave smoother running

amcn.com.au 69

Vincent Black Lightning

1 Paul Wilkins

without excessive complication.” THE BLACK LIGHTNING
He went on to accuse Triumph of leading the WAS ONE BOOKEND FOR
THE VINCENT RANGE,
major manufacturers down the parallel-twin sales THE COMET THE OTHER
path. Even Norton, which he noted had won the
first Isle of Man TT race in 1907 with a V-twin. 1. Dean Hogarth racing The race-ready Black Lightning was the star of
solo on Benny’s Black the new Series C models, which featured Vincent’s
“In many respects, the parallel twin is Lightning in 1957. Image own in-factory-built Girdraulic front forks and
technically inferior,” he concluded. from The Vincent Story rear hydraulic suspension. The Black Lightning,
the latest in a model line that had started with
Every motorcycle enthusiast knows Phil Irving’s in South Australia the Rapide and progressed to the Black Shadow,
role in the development of the Vincent. The Black was one bookend for the Vincent range, with the
Lightning was the peak of his V-twin engine 2. One of 19 documented single-cylinder Comet the other.
design theories. It was also his swansong, as the Black Lightnings
company went into receivership just a year after it The theory Irving laid out in his 1970s column
was launched in 1948 and Irving left soon after. 3. The rider’s view was reflected the lateral thinking that had created
pretty basic the first Vincent. In basic terms, the Comet’s
The company struggled on until its final cylinders, heads and valve train could be fitted
collapse in 1955, while Irving’s design career 4. The engine came to the V-twin’s crankcases to keep costs down. In
continued on his return to Australia and spanned without a kickstarter… fact, Irving’s first Vincent V-twin of the mid-1930s
many other areas over the next two decades. was even fitted to a slightly modified Comet
Everything from a compact, reliable, low-cost, 5. … but with twin Amal frame confirming how compact the V-twin
world-beating F1 V8 car engine to a six-litre 32mm 10TT9 carbs design was.
Chamberlain flat-twin diesel tractor engine are
included in his portfolio of work. 6. With no mufflers, shut The Black Lightning was the equivalent of
your eyes and imagine today’s handbuilt factory world Superbike
However, his Vincent efforts with the Black the sound… racers. Polished and tuned engine internals
Lightning have made it an almost mystical produced 25hp more than the Shadow’s 70hp,
motorcycle. This is based on its performance, very while lightweight aluminium parts, including the
limited production numbers and that timeless rims, shaved 100lb (45kg) off the Shadow’s 380lb
and famous photograph of Rollie Free’s record- (170kg) overall weight. A choice of compression
breaking run at Bonneville in 1948 on what is ratios, as high as 12:1 for methanol, were fitted,
considered a prototype of this rare model.

The world’s fastest production motorcycle in
the late-1940s-early-1950s, the Black Lightning
was often compared to the fastest production car
of that time, Jaguar’s XK120. It was launched in
November 1948 at London’s world-famous Earl’s
Court Show, which had returned for the first time
since 1938.

70 amcn.com.au

VINCENT BLACK LIGHTNING

2
34
56

amcn.com.au 71

Vincent Black Lightning

along with Irving’s ‘Mk II cams’. Careful assembly 1 “RACERS
and head porting ensured both longevity and 2 LIKE TOM
high performance. MNECVQEURATDHEREW
ANYTHING OUT”
The example featured here has a history that in
many ways sums up the Black Lightning’s story
and underlines why motorcycles built for racing
never stay original for long. It was bought new in
1952 by flamboyant Grand Prix car racer Prince
Bira of Siam from a Singapore Vincent agency.

Eton-educated and one of the ‘gentleman racers’
of Grand Prix, Prince Bira appears to have bought
the Black Lightning as a plaything. It sat around
for a year or so before Australian motorcycle racer
Gordon Benny acquired it. Benny certainly was no
Prince Bira. Working at the time on an oil tanker,
he brought the Black Lightning back to his home
state of South Australia as baggage, fitted a sidecar
to it and went racing.

This involved both tarmac and speedway
events, where it won major races, including
the 1957 South Australian Sidecar Grand Prix.
Benny would also take the sidecar off to allow his
passenger Dean Hogarth to race solo events.

The engine ended up in West Australian Tom
McQuade’s speedway sidecar outfit. McQuade,
a legend of the sport also regarded as a mentor
to other riders, kept the outfit until fellow West
Australian Ian Boyd acquired it.

“I call it David’s restoration,” says Boyd,
who has one of the world’s largest collections
of Vincents. He is referring to David Bowen,
whom Boyd regards as one of the key world
figures in the revival of Vincents as a collectable
motorcycle. Bowen died last year in his long
adopted home of South Australia, aged 88 years.
He had started off as a Vincent apprentice in
1949 alongside a young John Surtees. Both their
fathers had worked at the factory.

“It took only a few moments of conversation with
David to know he was a genuine person and one I
could trust,” says Boyd, explaining how he enlisted
Bowen to help with his restoration projects.

Typical of many Vincents that had spent a couple

3 of decades in speedway racing, Boyd had to source
the original frame and other key components.

“Fortunately racers like Tom McQuade never

threw anything out as they never knew when they

might need it,” he says.

But how do you turn such a rare motorcycle back

to original?

Boyd’s answer shows he has a realistic approach

to Vincents, their restoration and what is

considered ‘factory original’.

“People forget that buyers could order what they

wanted and that as the factory bought in parts

when they ran out of eight-inch headlights, they

might reach up on the shelf and pull down a six-

inch one and fit that,” he says.

What left the factory may not have been exactly

what was in the sales brochure, as is proved

by the fact that when the Vincent trademark

succeeded HRD, some of the new range sported

crankcases stamped with HRD as the factory

Paul Wilkins used up old stock.

“What is factory original, anyway?” asks Boyd.

“As soon as you modify the riding position or even

put a different brand of tyres on when the first lot

72 amcn.com.au

VINCENT BLACK LIGHTNING

6

HAVE A DRAG

The Black Lightning that didn’t exist

45 IAN BOYD’S BLACK A typical sidecar
Lightning drag bike was meeting would see as
1. In 2018 a Vincent wear out, it’s not factory original anymore.” built at the Vincent factory many as 10 or 12 Vincents,
Black Lightning fetched He also disputes the claim that only 34 Black but never recorded, as the often competing against
$US929,000 ($A1.337m) original order had been JAP V-twins. South
at a Las Vegas auction Lightnings were built and has the evidence to to build an engine for an Australian Len Dyson
back it up. open-wheeler car. When went one step farther,
2. Brakes were upgraded that order was cancelled, grafting Jawa barrels
for the 230km/h “The drag bike I have was built at the factory and another buyer requested and heads onto Vincent
Lightning not recorded, as was John’s Penn Black Lightning,” a complete machine cases for his version of the
he says. suitable for drag racing. ultimate V-twin.
3. Gordon Benny and
passenger Dean Hogarth South Australian Penn, a factory employee It was built and sent to Vincent engines were
who drowned while testing a Vincent Amanda the US, eventually ending reliable and didn’t suffer
racing in 1957. Image watercraft, a precursor of today’s jet skis, had built up in Australia. Speedway the crankcase cracking
from The Vincent Story up a potential record-breaker. sidecar ace Tom McQuade and other stress-related
heard about it and, issues that a typical
in South Australia It was shipped home to Adelaide after his death. always keen to gain British twin did.
Although crashed during a speed attempt on Lake an edge on his rivals,
4. Phil Irving designed Eyre in 1962 it remains in the Penn family and bought it and installed “We’d fit steel Carrillo
his engines to be used in within the past decade has appeared at Australia’s the supercharged conrods and change the
Lake Gairdner’s speed week. engine into his outfit. crankpin set-up from
multiple applications It was raced briefly but a stepped system to a
Adelaide was a strong sales outlet for Vincents. the supercharger was parallel pin,” says Mitchell.
5. The ‘Picador’ aero A lot of this was due to local importer Sven Kallin, unsuitable for this role so
motor featured an who negotiated directly with the factory every it was converted back to a Parts were plentiful
year. This involved regular six-week voyages to the drag racer. as Vincents had no real
upgraded crankshaft UK but the result was at least two Black Lightnings monetary value.
and oil pump, Scintilla being brought back and sold in South Australia. It wasn’t unusual
for Vincent engines “At one stage I had
magneto and fuel So a rare motorcycle, even at that time, but to be exposed to such 10 Vincents, some
injection available if you made the effort to secure one. extreme treatments. incomplete, as spares,”
Most Australian racers says Mitchell. “To give an
6. The McQuade racing converted them to indication of their worth,
Vincent methanol, with some I swapped a pedestal drill
even experimenting with for one.”
a nitro-methane mix.
The advent of two-
South Australian strokes eventually killed
Bill Mitchell was one off the Vincent as a
of McQuade’s Vincent speedway winner, but it
sidecar rivals. was a slow death.

He says speedway “It took a while for the
actually saved many two-strokes to dominate
Vincents from ending up as the Vincent was much
on the scrapheap. better at getting traction
on our heavy tracks than
“No one wanted them a peaky two-stroke,” says
in the 1960s and early Mitchell. “But when the
1970s but their torquey Kawasaki 750 and then
engines were perfect for the water-bottle (GT750)
speedway,” he says. Suzukis were sorted, they
took over.”
“We built or got built
a chassis to suit and
dropped the engine and
gearbox in. We’d use the

amcn.com.au 73

FAST

074 TALK WAYNE RAINEY

INTERVIEW MICHAEL SCOTT
PHOTOGRAPHY AMCN ARCHIVES

74 amcn.com.au

We catch up with Wayne Rainey and
find out how he’s feeling about being
reacquainted with his title-winning Yamaha

YZR500 at Goodwood next month

T hirty years ago, Wayne Rainey survive, but paralysed from the chest down.
swept to a third successive world In the shocking aftermath, while Misano was
championship, his dayglo-and-white
Yamaha YZR500 the current king of banned from the calendar for the next 14 years,
the generation of 500cc two-strokes Wayne spent months in hospital and rehab in
christened ‘the unrideables’. The Italy and then in California, coming to terms
Californian racer with the surfer- with his injury.
dude looks was on top, in a racing era
where courage and determination “Early on, when I was in hospital in Long
were at a premium. Beach I had thoughts – I don’t know if it was the
drugs I was on or what, but my goal was to try
The following year, 1993, while on course for to ride the bike again. I was going to try to ride
a classic fourth consecutive title, the beast bit it the next year.
him. A strange crash, which he later explained
as “a front-end highside”, sent him looping and “As time went on, of course, things changed
tumbling through the gravel at Misano. He didn’t and my reality came real. And that was not
get up. A fractured vertebra left him lucky to going to happen. But that was something that
got me through the first couple of weeks. That
was a goal – just to ride it round.

amcn.com.au 75

Wayne Rainey

“It’s taken 30 years, but it looks like it’s 2
gonna happen.”

The ride is scheduled for the Goodwood
Festival of Speed, over four days at the end of
June. Rainey will be riding his 1992 title-winning
Yamaha YZR500 racer up the famous event’s
hillclimb course each day, in company with
other racing legends.

Rainey explains how it all came about.
“Goodwood actually asked me in 2020, but
I didn’t have anything I could ride at that
point, then the pandemic hit… They started
thinking about ’22, 30 years since my last world
championship in ’92.
“So we spoke to Yamaha in Japan… ’cos they
had that bike sitting in a museum. We asked if
it would be possible to prepare it for me to ride
at Goodwood.”
Worries about safety and cost prompted some
initial questions.
“They were concerned about the bike being so
old, no parts, and if something was to happen…
how would that look.”
Yamaha were also concerned about how Shea,
Wayne’s wife, felt.
“Everybody that had to be in the loop to make
this work all had the same concern. And so I
started thinking: ‘I’m okay with it. I understand

1

76 amcn.com.au

4

3 1. Wayne Rainey leads but as it turned out everything was pretty good.”
John Kocinski, Mick Some detuning modifications will cater for
they’re asking me these questions, but I thought,
y’know, if I felt like this I wouldn’t get out of bed Doohan, Doug Chandler, the scary two-stroke’s new role as demonstrator
every day.’ Kevin Schwantz and Eddie rather than fighter.

“So – over three years, we’ve put something Lawson in 1992 “We’re going to put steel brakes on it, and
together.” Michelin rain tyres. Plus a push-button shifting
2. Doohan leads Rainey in mechanism… basically a couple of buttons
Goodwood owner the Duke of Richmond was the 1992 Spanish GP on the left side of the handlebar, up and down
a prime mover – “He was very enthusiastic” says buttons – that’s what we used for the R1. But
Rainey – while Yamaha Racing boss Lin Jarvis 3. Masahiko Nakajima the R1 already has electronics on it – they had
was also instrumental, “a big help organising it”. and Lin Jarvis are to come up with a whole new system for the
racebike, with no electronics. They’ll probably
At Yamaha, Masahiko Nakajima took control. behind the project from have to run a battery.”
He had been Wayne’s engineer, rising over the Yamaha’s end
years to become president of Yamaha Racing. Rainey is referring to the only other time he
4. Three years ago has been on a real motorcycle, when he rode a
“He’s leading the build on the bike,” said Rainey rode a Yamaha specially modified Yamaha YZF-R1 in 2019: a
Wayne. “Nakajima-San actually took the bike R1 roadbike at Willow shakedown test at Willow Springs Raceway in the
apart, and said: ‘Hey, it’s in much better shape Springs in California USA followed by an emotional public gallop at
than we thought’. So a lot of the parts they Suzuka. As a streetbike, however, the affair was
thought they were going to have to make they less daunting. The 500cc racing two-stroke is
didn’t have to. I think they were thinking engine more of a challenge.
parts and it was going to be a big undertaking,
“The difficult part is going to be taking off,
and stopping. I have to get a bit of a roll when we
first go… as long as I’m moving already then the
momentum gets you going. The slower you go the
worse it is – so I need to get up to a safe speed. It
has a normal clutch – I’m putting on a real low
gear, so I don’t stall it,” he laughs. “When I rode
the R1 I almost tipped over when I first took off
because I was going too slow. At least with the R1
it’s got electric start, and then with fuel injection
it runs really good at low rpm. It’s like riding to
the local grocery store.

“But on a YZR500 it’s nothing like that, so I’m
gonna have to be a little bit more prepared than I
was the first time I rode the R1.”

“It’s been almost 30 years since my racing
accident. I’m starting to feel my age in my

amcn.com.au 77

Wayne Rainey shoulders, so I’m doing a bit of physical therapy 2
to try to get them to work a little better, and I 3
1 hope to be riding some bikes here just to get used
to the balance a bit more, certainly more than 3
1. Doohan and Rainey when I rode the R1… so I’m going to be a little bit 4
catch up in 2001 more prepared this time.
2. Rainey as he is
“I think it will be a fun experience, just to get
remembered; on top of back on top of it. But it is so different riding a
the podium 24 times… bike now. The only thing I feel is the handlebars.
3. … showing the back of I feel nothing else.
a Yamaha 500 to the rest
“I was riding a minibike a couple weeks ago,
of the field… and you catch everything late, because you only
4. … and fighting with the see that you’re making a mistake when you see it,
not when you feel it. So it’s a little bit later than
best in a golden era of feeling it in your feet or your butt or through the
500 GP racing bike. It’s a whole different experience.”

Riding a minibike?
“At Lake Havasu. Kenny [Roberts] moved out
to Lake Havasu, out there by Eddie [Lawson].
I shared with Kenny what I was doing… so we
pulled out one of his minibikes and I rode it. He
zip-tied my feet onto the ’pegs, and I rode it for
20 minutes. He was a little nervous, but it all
worked out.”
Rainey is scheduled to ride over four days at
the Festival of Speed, over 23-26 June, making
two runs a day up the hillclimb course.
“I won’t be breaking any lap records,” he quipped.
But with other contemporary racing stars on the
invitation list, like Roberts, Mick Doohan and
Kevin Schwantz, there is a chance the others
might do so.

78 amcn.com.au

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Rd4 25 Jun, Assen, ND FIM MXGP/MX2 9-13 Jun, Finke, NT
Rd5 9 Jul, KymiRing, FI Rd9 27-29 May, intu Xanadú, ES
Rd6 20 Aug, Red Bull Ring, AT Rd10 3-5 Jun, Ernee, FR FIM SPEEDWAY GP
Rd7 3 Sep, Misano, IT Rd11 10-12 Jun, Teutschenthal, DE Rd3 28 May, Prague, CZ
Rd12 24-26 Jun, Samota-Sumbawa, ID Rd4 4 Jun, Teterow, DE
BRITISH SUPERBIKE C’SHIP Rd13 1-3 Jul, Jakarta, ID Rd5 25 Jun, Gorzow, PL
Rd4 18-19 Jun, Knockhill, FIF Rd14 15-17 Jul, Loket, CZ Rd6 9 Jul, Togliatti, RU
Rd5 23-24 Jul, Brands Hatch, KEN Rd15 22-24 Jul, Lommel, BE Rd7 13 Aug, Cardiff, UK
Rd6 13-14 Aug, Thruxton, HAM Rd16 5-7 Aug, Uddevalla, SE Rd8 27 Aug, Wroclaw, PL
Rd7 28-29 Aug, Cadwell Park, LIN Rd17 12-14 Aug, Itti-KymiRing, FI Rd9 10 Sep, Vojens, DK
Rd8 10-11 Sep, Snetterton, NFK Rd18 19-21 Aug, St Jean d’Angely, FR Rd10 17 Sep, Malilla, SE
Rd9 24-25 Sep, Oulton Park, CHS Rd19 2-4 Sep, Afyonkarahisar, TR Rd11 1 Oct, Torun, PL
Rd10 1-2 Oct, Donington Park, LCE Rd20 8-10 Sep, Mussanah, OM Rd12 5 Nov, Oceania, AU
Rd11 15-16 Oct, Brands Hatch, KEN
FIM MXoN
MOTOAMERICA 24-25 Sep, RedBud, US
Rd5 4-5 Jun, Road America, WI
Rd6 25-26 Jun, The Ridge M’sport Park, WA
Rd7 9-10 Jul, Laguna Seca, CA

5 JUNE

7pm

It’s back-to-back race weekends Phillip Island Ride Days / Phoenix MCC Ride-Tek MTA
for the MotoGP circus and as usual 0490 281 840 Junior Coaching 1300 788 382
for the European rounds, the Phillip Island, Vic 0403 386 788 Sandown, Vic
Moto3 race starts at 7pm AEST, Tailem Bend, SA
Moto2 at 8.20pm and MotoGP at Sydney Motorsport Park Mallala, SA Ridedays WA
10pm. Catch it live on MotoGP Ride Days/0490 281 840 (08) 9409 1002
Videopass, Kayo or Foxsports. SMSP, NSW California Superbike Barbagallo, WA
School / 1300 793 423 Collie, WA
Murray Valley Training Co Phillip Island, Vic
0459 415 787 SMSP, NSW Top Rider
Barnawartha North, Vic Broadford, Vic 1300 131 362
Morgan Park Qld Wakefield Park, NSW
Champion’s Ride Days
(07) 3287 4144 Mount Gambier MCC Trakdayz
Broadford, Vic Coaching / Ride Days 0401 484 898
Collie Motorplex, WA 0448 951 163 Barbagallo, WA
Morgan Park, Qld Mac Park, SA
The Bend, SA

80 amcn.com.au

Rallies & shows

28-29 MAY There are bound to xxxx
45th Historic Winton, Winton Motor Raceway, be some fantastic
Benalla, Vic. Billed as Australia’s longest- bikes at the Bulli 29-31 JULY 9-11 SEPTEMBER
running and most popular all-historic Antique Motorcycle Hat Rally, Araluen, NSW, 3km from the 42nd Dargo High Plains Rally, 8km from
motorsport event, with plenty of motorcycle Weekend Araluen Hotel or 23km from Braidwood. Talbotville, Vic. Take the High Plains Rd
and car action throughout the weekend. This is a back-to-basics rally and is BYO. from Dargo, proceed 17km and turn left
Adults $45 per day at the gate or $35 online; brekky Saturday and Sunday. Rally T-shirts Entry $20. Plenty of camping and friendly at McMilan Tk (do not go down Bulltown
kids free entry; programs $10; camping $50 extra. Register at www.darwinhog.org.au. atmosphere. Bring your best hat for the Spur Tk). Dim sims, prizes and trophies
per person for the weekend. Hosted by the For more information see the website at parade and the chance to win a prize. For Saturday; BYO everything else. Plenty of fresh
Austin 7 Club. For camping enquiries call www.darwinhog.org.au. information phone Chris on 0447 256 154 water; some firewood possibly available.
(03) 5760 7100 or for more event information or Pogo on 0429 359 710. Registration on-site; $20 with badge and
see www.historicwinton.org. 8-10 JULY raffle tickets. Hosted by the Monarchs Motor
40th Anniversary Winter Rally, 4km 27-28 AUGUST Cycle Club. For more information email
10-13 JUNE south of Nerriga, Nerriga Rd, Nerriga, NSW. Bulli Antique Motorcycle Weekend, Bulli [email protected].
53rd Alpine Motorcycle Rally, rally site tbc. Fully catered rally on 50 acres of land with Showground, Grevillia Park Rd, Bulli, NSW.
Back to basics rally. Entry $25 (prepaid only); camping and firewood. Live band and bonfire A celebration of all motorcycles 35 years 30 SEPTEMBER-3 OCTOBER
any rider who brings a rider under 25 years Saturday night. Gymkhana starts at 3pm. and older, including American, Japanese, National Thunder Motorcycle Rally, The
of age will earn free entry for both. Payments No cars; motorcycles only. Hosted by United British and European. This year’s theme rally will include motorcycles of all brands,
can be made at https://alpinerallyshop. Tourers. Entry $30. For more information is boardtrackers, bobbers and cafe catering for individual riders, club members
bigcartel.com/. For more information phone Miles on 0430 287 042 or email racers. Parts and memorabilia, awards, and organised groups. This national event
see alpinerally.webs.com, or head to the [email protected]. demonstrations, technical seminars and is expected to draw several thousand bikes
Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ much more. For bike auction enquiries phone to Tamworth and will feature live music with
AlpineMotorcycleRally. 9 JULY Antony Gullick on 0415 284 620, for parts local and national bands, specialised equine
All Bike Day 2022, Willowbank Raceway, 38 auction enquiries phone Phil Fordham on activities, dozens of vendors and much,
11 JUNE Champions Way, Willowbank, Qld. A day for 0427 407 398 and for camping and swap much more. Entry $149 includes rally pin,
Suicide Prevention Run, departs Sikh riders of all skill levels on bikes from LAMS to phone Mick Johnson on 0419 297 171. For patch, T-shirt and raffle entry. Register now
Society of SA, 10-14 Mount Barker Rd, Glen cruisers. Dial Your Own format with everyone more information check out the website at www.nationalthunder.com.au. Registrations
Osmond, SA at 9.30am. Second meeting getting three qualifiers and three rounds of www.amcaaustralia.org. close 8 July 2022.
place Alburn Service Station at 10.30am. racing. Entry approx. $100 (tbc). For more
Ride to Kapunda, Sedan and then Strahalbyn information phone Marty Armstrong on 0424
for barbecue and camp. Everyone welcome. 134 904, check out www.willowbankraceway.
For more information phone Graetzy on 0466 com.au or see www.facebook.com/allbikeday.
326 400 or Tattz on 0431 656 929.

24-26 JUNE
37th Casper Rally, Bummaroo Ford Camping
Ground, on the banks of the Abercrombie
River, 28km north of Taralga, NSW on the
Goulburn to Oberon road. BYO drinks, food
and cooking gear. Toilet facilities on site with
drinking water and firewood provided. Raffle
and awards Saturday afternoon. Hosted by
Scum Tourers. Entry $20 includes badge
and raffle ticket. For more information
phone Andy on 0437 608 440 or Dieter
on 0417 616 199.

24-26 JUNE
Darwin NTHOG Rally, Club Tropical Resort
Darwin, 622 Lee Point Rd, Lee Point, NT.
Hosted by Darwin HOG. Tickets $130 for
international HOG members only (kids under
12 free entry). Ticket includes rally pack,
dinner Friday and Saturday nights, and

Aussie made designs, visit us online or call
from a life on the road
(03) 9786 3445
the road beckons

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MODEL PRICE LAMS MODEL PRICE LAMS MODEL PRICE LAMS MODEL PRICE LAMS
$AUD $AUD $AUD $AUD
APRILIA RR 390 4T EFI Multistrada V2
aprilia.com.au RR 390 4T Racing EFI $13,995 Multistrada V2 S $22,500
All prices are ride away RR 430 4T EFI $15,795 Desert X $25,200
RS 660 $20,730 RR 430 4T Racing EFI $14,295 Hypermotard 950 $24,200
RS 660 LAMS $20,230 RR 480 4T EFI $15,995 Hypermotard 950 RVE $22,300
Tuono 660 $20,430 RR 480 4T Racing EFI $14,595 Hypermotard 950 SP $23,900
Tuono 660 LAMS $20,030 X-Trainer 250 2T $16,395 Streetfighter V2 $28,300
Tuareg 660 $22,230 X-Trainer 300 2T $11,195 Streetfighter V4 $22,600
Tuono V4 $28,230 $11,495 Streetfighter V4 S $31,700
Tuono Factory $32,030 Streetfighter V4 SP $36,400
RSV4 $31,530 BMW bmwmotorrad.com.au BRP au.brp.com Monster $48,400
RSV4 Factory $38,730 Monster + $18,500
All prices are ride away All prices are ride away $15,199 Monster 659 $19,100
BENELLI benelli.com.au Ryker 600 $17,749 Supersport $13,500
F 900 XR $19,899 Ryker 900 $19,799 Supersport S $20,000
All prices are ride away $4390 Ryker Rally 900 $31,149 Scrambler Urban Motard $22,400
TnT 135 $9990 F 900 R $16,655 Spyder F3 S $35,699 Scrambler Icon $18,900
TRK 502 $9890 Spyder F3 LTD $41,449 Scrambler Icon Dark $15,600
Leoncino $10,690 S 1000 XR $27,975 Spyder RT LTD Scrambler Desert Sled $14,900
TRK 502 X $10,390 mojomotorcycles.com.au Scrambler Nightshift $20,000
Leoncino Trail $10,590 M 1000 RR $54,105 CFMOTO Scrambler 1100 Dark PRO $18,300
502C $12,990 $3490 Scrambler 1100 PRO $19,100
752S $11,790 S 1000 RR $25,680 All prices are ride away $4290 Scrambler 1100 Tribute Pro $20,390
TNT 600i betamotor.com.au 150NK $4990 Scrambler 1100 Sport PRO $21,300
$11,695 R 1250 RS $25,220 250NK $5790 Panigale V4 $24,200
BETA $12,995 300NK $7790 Panigale V4 S $34,000
$12,995 R 1250 RT $38,820 300SR $7490 Panigale V4 SP2 $43,600
RR 125 2T $14,495 650NKSP $8490 Panigale V2 $56,900
RR 125 2T Racing $13,195 K 1600 GT $43,820 650MT $6790 Diavel 1260 $23,900
RR 200 2T $14,995 650GT $9490 Diavel 1260 S $31,800
RR 200 2T Racing $13,695 K 1600 GTL $44,585 650NK $10,490 XDiavel Dark $37,700
RR 250 2T $15,695 700CL-X Heritage $12,990 XDiavel S $30,900
RR 250 2T Racing $13,695 K 1600 B $43,825 700CL-X Sport $13,990 XDiavel Nera $38,300
RR 300 2T $15,495 800MT Sport $44,900
RR 300 2T Racing K 1600 B Grand America $46,520 800MT Touring
RR 350 4T EFI
RR 350 4T Racing EFI G 310 R $8325

F 900 R $16,655

S 1000 R $22,695

R 1250 R $23,780

R 18 $27,390

R 18 Classic $30,480

R 18 B $41,995

R 18 Transcontinental $44,390

R nineT $26,440

R nineT Pure $21,099

R nineT Scrambler $22,485

R nineT Urban G/S $22,336

G 310 GS $8725

F 750 GS $15,520

F 850 GS $19,499

F 850 GS Adventure $20,840

R 1250 GS $25,840 DUCATI ducati.com.au GASGAS gasgasaustralia.com.au

R 1250 GS 40 Year Edition $34,890 All prices are ride away $29,800 All prices are ride away $14,965
Multistrada V4 $34,200 EC250 $14,965
R 1250 GS Adventure $28,000 Multistrada V4 S $42,200 EC250F $16,375
Multistrada V4 S Sport $44,600 EC300 $15,990
R 1250 GS Adventure 40 Year Edition $37,205 Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak EC350F

C 400 GT $11,555

C 400 X $10,269

CE 04 $21,915

YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE
STARTS HERE!

MODEL PRICE LAMS MODEL PRICE LAMS MODEL PRICE LAMS MODEL PRICE LAMS
$AUD $AUD $AUD
CBR600RR Ninja 650
H-D harley-davidson.com.au CBR500R $25,999 INDIAN indianmotorcycle.com.au Versys 650L $10,959
CB125E $9449 Z650L $10,959
All prices are ride away $22,995 Grom $2699 All Indian prices are ride away Z650RS $10,759
Softail Standard $23,995 Monkey $3999 W800 Cafe $11,759
Harley Nightster $26,250 CB500F $6249 Scout Bobber $21,995 W800 Street $14,159
Street Bob 114 $29,750 CB650R $8949 Z900 Supernaked $13,659
Sport Glide $30,750 CB300R $10,849 Scout Bobber Twenty $23,495 Z900RS $13,109
Low Rider S $35,250 CMX1100 DCT $6749 Ninja 1000SX $16,759
Low Rider ST $31,750 CMX1100 $18,499 Scout $22,995 Versys 1000 S $17,459
Fat Bob 114 $36,250 CMX500 $17,499 Z1000 $20,459
Heritage Classic 114 $36,250 NSS350A Forza $8599 Scout Rogue $23,995 Ninja ZX-6R (636) KRT $16,459
Fat Boy 114 $36,250 ADV150 $8999 Ninja H2 $15,359
Breakout 114 $39,495 PCX150 $5799 Chief Dark Horse $26,995 Ninja H2 SX SE $37,160
Road King Special $41,995 C125 Super Cub $4999 Ninja ZX-10R $29,460
Road Glide Special $44,995 CT125 $6249 Chief Bobber Dark Horse $28,495 Ninja ZX-10RR $26,160
Road Glide ST $26,495 NSC110 Dio $6999 Z H2 $42,160
Sportster S $41,995 MW110 Benly $3149 Super Chief Limited $30,995 Ninja ZX-14R $23,160
Street Glide Special $44,995 CRF1100 Africa Twin $3749 Vulcan S $22,559
Street Glide ST $43,995 CRF1100 Africa Twin Adv. Sport $20,999 Springfield Dark Horse $36,995 Vulcan S SE $10,259
Ultra Limited $49,250 CRF1100 Africa Twin Adv. Sport DCT $24,699 Vulcan S Cafe $10,459
Freewheeler $59,250 CRF300LRA Rally $25,649 Springfield $37,495 Vulcan 900 Classic $10,859
Tri Glide Ultra $58,250 CB500XA $8649 Vulcan 900 Custom $12,859
CVO Street Glide $58,750 CRF300LA $9349 Chieftain Dark Horse $40,495 Kawasaki KLX150BF SE $12,959
CVO Road Glide $61,750 AG-XR $7499 KLX230 S $4529
CVO Limited $76,250 $5099 Chieftain Limited $40,995 KLX250 $6329
CVO Tri Glide $33,495 KLX450R $6829
Pan America 1250S Challenger Dark Horse $41,495 KLR650 ABS $11,329
KLR650 ABS Adventure $9129
Challenger Limited $41,995 $10,129
KTM
Roadmaster Dark Horse $43,495 ktm.com.au
All prices are ride away
Roadmaster Limited $43,995 200 Duke ABS $5470
390 Duke $7885
Roadmaster $44,995 890 Duke $16,850
890 Duke R $19,840
Pursuit Dark Horse $44,995 690 SMC R $19,295
RC 390 $8399
Pursuit Limited $45,495 1290 Super Duke R $29,420
1290 Super Duke R EVO $32,115
FTR $19,995 1290 Super Duke GT $33,165

FTR S $22,995

FTR R Carbon $25,995

HUSQVARNA husqvarnamotorcycles.com.au

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Vitpilen 401 $7875

Svartpilen 401 $7875

FS 451 $16,625

701 Supermoto $19,490

701 Enduro $18,795

TE 150i $14,735

TE 250i $16,520 KAWASAKI

HONDA hondamotorcycles.com.au TE 300i $18,025 Versys-X 300 SE kawasaki.com.au
Ninja 400 SE
All prices are ride away FE 250 $16,520 Ninja 400 $7159
Z400 $7429
GL1800 Goldwing DCT $39,499 FE 350 $17,610 Ninja 650L $7129
$7029
GL1800 Goldwing Tour Prem DCT $46,999 FE 450 $18,025 $11,159

CBR1000RR-R SP $49,999 FE 501 $18,655

CBR650R $11,399 Norden 901 $25,050

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MODEL PRICE LAMS MODEL PRICE LAMS MODEL PRICE LAMS MODEL PRICE LAMS
$AUD $AUD $AUD $AUD
690 Enduro R Classic 350 Signals
390 Adventure $19,295 PEUGEOT peugeotmotorcycles.com.au Classic 350 Dark $8290
890 Adventure $9970 Classic 350 Chrome $8690
890 Adventure R $23,400 All prices are ride away $2990 Interceptor 650 Classic $8790
1290 Super Adventure S $25,380 $4290 Interceptor 650 Custom $10,790
1290 Super Adventure R $31,710 Kisbee 50 2T $4390 Interceptor 650 Chrome $11,090
2021 250 EXC-F $33,265 Tweet 125 $4190 Continental GT 650 Classic $11,390
2022 250 EXC-F $15,205 Tweet 125 Pro $5490 Continental GT 650 Custom $10,990
2021 300 EXC TPI $15,900 Django 50 $5990 Continental GT 650 Chrome $11,290
2022 300 EXC TPI $16,670 Django 150 $14,790 Himalayan 410 $11,590
2021 350 EXC-F $17,400 Belville 200 RS $8190
2022 350 EXC-F $16,265 Metropolis 400
2021 450 EXC-F $16,985
2022 450 EXC-F $16,570 MOTO GUZZI motoguzzi.com.au PIAGGIO piaggio.com.au
2021 500 EXC-F $17,300
2022 500 EXC-F $17,175 All prices are ride away $18,030 All prices are ride away $4140
$17,925 V7 Stone $19,030 Typhoon 50 $6540
V7 Stone Centenario $18,930 Medley $6640
V7 Special $19,330 Medley S $12,440
V9 Bobber Centenario $22,230 Beverly 400 S
V85 TT $22,830
V85 TT Evocative $24,330 SHERCO Sherco.com
V85 TT Travel $22,830
V85 TT Centenario 250 SE Racing $12,899
300 SE Racing $13,299
KYMCO kymco.com.au RIEJU rieju.com.au 125 SE Factory $13,299
250 SE Factory $14,599
Agility 50 $2390 All prices are ride away $12,790 300 SE Factory $14,999
Like 50 4T $2690 MR Ranger 200 $12,990 300 SEF Racing $13,999
Agility RS 125 $3490 MR Ranger 300 $13,990 250 SEF Factory $15,299
Agility Carry 125 $3190 MR Racing 250 $14,290 300 SEF Factory $15,799
Agility 16+ 125 (w/ top box) $3290 MR Racing 300 $15,690 450 SEF Factory $16,399
Agility 16+ 200i (w/ top box) $3990 MR Pro 250 $15,990 500 SEF Factory $16,799
People S 150 (w/ top box) $4950 MR Pro 300
Super 8 50 2T $2690 MV AGUSTA mvagusta.com.au
Like 125 (w/ top box) $3090 ROYAL ENFIELD royalenfield.com.au SUZUKI
Like 200i (w/ top box) $3990 All prices are ride away $36,990
Like 150 R ABS (w/ top box) $4990 F3 800 Rosso $41,990 All prices are ride away $7890 All prices are ride away
Like 150 S $4990 F3 800 RR $32,990 Meteor 350 Fireball $8290 Address 110
Agility 16+ $6490 Brutale 800 RR SCS $58,990 Meteor 350 Stellar $8690 GSX-S125A
Downtown 350i ABS $7490 Brutale 1000 RR $68,880 Meteor 350 Supernova $7990 DR-Z400SM
DT X360 $8790 Rush 1000 $74,880 Classic 350 Halcyon
Xciting S 400i ABS $9490 Rush 1000 (+race kit) $35,990
AK550 ABS $12,490 Dragster 800 RR $37,990
Dragster 800 RR SCS $44,490
LAMBRETTA lambrettaaustralia.com.au Dragster 800 RC SCS (+race kit) $38,990 suzukimotorcycles.com.au
Superveloce 800 $43,990
V50 Special Flex $3590 Superveloce 800 S $45,990 $3790
V200 Special Flex $4990 Superveloce 800 S (+race kit) $39,990 $5590
Turismo Veloce Lusso SCS $43,990 $10,490
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YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE
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MODEL PRICE LAMS MODEL PRICE LAMS MODEL PRICE LAMS MODEL PRICE LAMS
$AUD $AUD $AUD $AUD
V-Strom 650XT SYM SCOOTA Tiger 900 GT Pro
V-Strom 650XT LAMS $14,490 Tiger 900 Rally $24,390
SV650 $14,490 Crox 50 Tiger 900 Rally Pro $22,550
SV650 LAMS $10,490 Mio 50i Tiger 1200 GT Pro $24,990
GSX-S750 $10,490 Classic 125 Tiger 1200 Rally Pro $29,990
GSX-R1000 $14,390 Orbit 125 Tiger 1200 GT Explorer $31,800
GSX-R1000R $24,490 Orbit II 125i Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer $32,600
GSX-S1000 $27,990 Symphony ST 200i $33,950
GSX-S1000GT $17,290 Classic 200i
GSX-S1000 Panorama GT $19,090 HD300i symscooters.com.au YAMAHA yamaha-motor.com.au
Katana $20,590 GTS300i Sport
V-Strom 1050XT $18,990 $2490 All prices are ride away $3849
Hayabusa $21,490 $2890 D’elight 125 White $5899
Boulevard M109R $27,690 $2790 NMAX 155 $9149
DR200S $21,990 $2790 XMAX 300 $19,849
Trojan $6090 $3190 TMAX 560 $8849
DR-Z400E $5690 $3990 XV250 Virago $4999
DR650SE $10,390 $4090 YZF-R15 $7849
$10,390 $6690 MT-03 $8199
$7690 YZF-R3 $12,749
URAL ural.com MT-07 LAMS $13,599
$25,299 MT-07 HO $13,699
CT $28,599 XSR700 $15,699
Gear Up $30,599 MT-09 $18,099
Sportsman SE $30,599 MT-09 SP $17,299
Sahara SE XSR900 $23,999
vespa.com.au Tracer 9 GT $28,199
SUPER SOCO supersoco.com.au TRIUMPH triumphmotorcycles.com.au VESPA Niken GT $23,649
$6490 MT-10 $27,349
All prices are ride away $5490 All prices are ride away $16,190 All prices are ride away $7690 MT-10 SP $32,649
TC – Cafe $7990 Bonneville Street Twin $18,290 Primavera 50 $8490 FJR1300 $19,049
TC Max (alloy wheels) $8290 Bonneville T100 $18,590 Primavera 125 i-Get $8590 YZF-R6 (Race only) $14,049
TC Max (wire-spoke wheels) $4990 Street Scrambler $20,890 Primavera 150 i-Get $8990 YZF-R7 LAMS $15,049
CUX Scooter $5490 Bonneville T120 $21,090 Primavera 150 S $9040 YZF-R7 HO $28,199
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Speedmaster $22,490 Primavera 150 75 Anno $9590 WR250F $16,549
Bobber $23,450 Sprint i-Get $12,290 WR450F $19,399
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Scrambler 1200 XE $34,450 GTS 300 Super Sport $12,590 Super Tenere
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$8590 Trident 660 LAMS $14,990 GTS 300 75 Anno
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Old School

HAMISH COOPER

Should I stay or should I go?

A SIMPLE ROCK’N song blared out of the old Wharfedale Now I am in the granddad stage of my life, when the big

speakers in my home workshop. It was a late autumn question is: When are you too old to keep riding? Perhaps

afternoon on the fixer-upper farm after another day of hard Valentino Rossi would be the person to ask this. His famous

physical work. number 46 will be retired from MotoGP at this weekend’s

No headphones or AirPods for an old-school guy like me. Mugello round.

Just dial up the Dual 505 turntable, turn up the volume on The last half decade of Rossi’s career was a slow decline. He

the Sonab P-4000 amplifier and let a fat sound reverberate sacked crew chief Jeremy Burgess, who had guided him to all

around the big tin shed. No immediate neighbours to worry seven of his premier class titles, at the end of season 2013.

about lets you live like a former seventies longhair always In 2019, aged 40, Rossi was struggling as he prepared for

wanted to live. the Phillip Island round. He was seventh on the points table,

The song? Should I Stay or Should I Go, from the 1982 The behind teammate Maverick Viñales and the satellite Petronas

Clash album Combat Rock. Generally agreed by music Yamaha of fast-rising rookie Fabio Quartararo.

critics to be “a good rocking song”, but for me the “He has perhaps hung around a little bit too long,”

appeal is the plaintive, confused lyrics expressed Burgess told a reporter when quizzed about

in a very basic way. It summed up a few feelings Motorcycle Rossi’s delicate situation. “The concerning
I was experiencing that day. thing is, and the sad thing for me is, he is

Was I getting too old to continue another deprivation finishing about where he qualifies.”
week of rural fencing, brutal work that Whereas many elite riders simply stop

involved clearing out 3m-high hawthorn comes in when they lose competitiveness, it was
bushes and wild olive trees from what difficult for Rossi (and also for British hero

seemed a never-ending boundary fence? I many forms Barry Sheene in the early 1980s). Both loved
hadn’t ridden a motorcycle for nearly two the whole process of racing, the fans, the

weeks now. And anyone who knows me buzz of the media, the corporate power they

knows I turn into a pretty edgy person if I wielded. Racing for them was much, much

don’t get some regular saddle time. So should more than the actual competition.

I distract myself from an important job for a few When Rossi finally announced his retirement

hours of self pleasure? Burgess said: “He’s contributed so much over such

Motorcycle deprivation comes in many forms, a few of a long time and brought so much pleasure to so many.

which I have experienced over the past decades. In the Knowing him as I do, he just gets so much enjoyment out of

formative years of a person’s motorcycling (for me back in what he does.”

the early 1970s) it came when the Triumph was unrideable, As the weak autumn sun faded I turned on the light over

either because it had broken down terminally, I’d sold it my workbench to finish sharpening the old faithful Stihl 034

to buy a better one, or it was in pieces under a verandah in chainsaw. The final verse of The Clash song rang out:

winter while I converted it into a chopper. Should I stay or should I go now?

Then came the next phase. That involved becoming a If I go there will be trouble,

father and those responsibilities meant a short ‘holiday’ And if I stay it will be double. So ya gotta let me know…

from motorcycling while I ensured my young family had a I answered my own question as I fired up the chainsaw for

more reliable means of transport than a battered old single- a test of my sharpening. I ain’t going anywhere, I thought as

cab Nissan ute. it buzzed up to full revs.

1
21 3

4
1. Steve Dougherty took

his first laps on the
1 track on a Yamaha R6

2. The Motorcycle
Sportsmen of Qld Club
Pilot program provides

a Yamaha R3, tyres,
consumables, tech
support and riding gear

3. Dougherty
races inside Aaron

Mountney’s
Kawasaki 400
4. There is a lot of trade
and club support for the
Sporties’ Club Pilot

Revolving Racer

STEVE DOUGHERTY

Fighter pilot

I’M A 39 year-old American and I moved to Australia in 2018. name, I was gobsmacked!

I grew up in a small town in rural Illinois. I work in the mining So far riding the R3 has sharpened my precision and

sector as an engineer at Caterpillar dealing with technology and consistency, it’s improved my racecraft considerably and my

automation. I’ve been riding with the Motorcycle Sportsmen corner speed has gone through the roof in comparison. Just

(club) since mid-2019 and I bought my first trackbike back then, this previous weekend I can see from my GPS data that some

an R6 that I still own. I caught the bug and now can’t let go. corners are up 10km/h faster than the beginning of the year. I

I grew up in a very rural area and the closest racetrack was could run some fast laps on the R6 before, but my consistency

a good three hours away. My parents were very much anti- wasn’t there. My laps on the R3 can be two or three tenths

motorcycle when I was growing up, so I didn’t get to throw apart all day and I can now place the bike right where I want it

a leg over until I was about 18. The riding season is also very to be. I feel that’s a good skill to learn because one mistake can

short due to the cold winters, so where I lived, the racing kill an entire lap on a small bike.

scene was almost non-existent. Here though, there are We get so much help from our sponsors such as Moto

three pretty decent racetracks within two hours of National and Ricondi. We’ve fitted products like

Brisbane proper. My first a quick-action throttle from Race DNA which
I’ve learned a lot since arriving in Australia. helps with ergonomics. Chris Jones from XXX

I would say I was a competent street rider and trackday Suspension has put in a lot of time setting up the
like many I thought I knew what being fast bike as well. It’s not free racing, it just doesn’t

felt like. When I came out to my first trackday was cost you money. So far I have paid for fuel and
and actually got to see real racers, it was eye- eye-opening a few sets of tyres, because I wanted to spend
opening to say the least. At the time I was on time tuning a shock absorber on fresh tyres.
a 1290 Super Duke and getting balled up by to say the
ever y body. I’ve had one crash where I’ve needed
Buddha’s Motorcycle Spray Painting, and that

But I decided I wanted to learn how to ride least was at the fast turn nine on the most recent race
fast, so I got stuck into the coaching days run day. We had been making suspension changes

by Dave Fuller and the Advanced Rider Training back and forth, and I knew on my sighting lap that

crew. I did maybe half a dozen training days before I we had gone too far in one direction. I was so tempted

entered my first race in late 2019. What I did work out was to pull in, revert back to the previous setting and start

that you don’t really need to be so fast to go racing, there is such from pitlane. Instead I went out and raced, pushed too hard and

a huge range of skill levels within the club. crashed. It was a valuable lesson to learn.

I first applied for the Club Pilot position for the 2021 year Australia is a beautiful country and I love Queensland,

when Troy Guenther was selected, so this was my second so I’m planning on staying for the long haul. I’m currently

attempt. The Sporties Club pilot program is a fully supported working on my permanent residency and I’ve met a wonderful

ride for one of the club’s members on a race-prepped Yamaha partner. I’ve also met some of the most friendly and welcoming

YZF-R3. The package includes the loan of the bike for the people I’ve ever encountered in my life here at the Motorcycle

season, free race, trackday and coaching-event entries, tyres, Sportsmen club, so all I can say to anyone considering racing is

consumables and riding gear. So when they announced my to jump in!



In Pit Lane

MICHAEL SCOTT

Dare to dream

ALEIX ESPARGARO IS carefully matter of fact. He’s not championship, if only distantly. Overall, his results were as

thinking about winning the championship, just “enjoying the average as his machinery, including a production-based CRT

moment. It might come only once in my career”. Given how long Aprilia, a superannuated Yamaha and an early-stage Suzuki.

he has had to wait, he doesn’t want to become over-confident Much to his dismay, Suzuki dropped him just as the machine

about what might prove a fleeting purple patch. he’d helped develop started getting good.

But what a moment it is, and how very purple, for the 32-year- Aleix was chiefly distinguished for emotional displays, more

old veteran of 288 grand prix starts. Only 36-year-old Andrea notable for waving his arms around than getting his elbows out.

Dovizioso is older, and has more – 339. A side notably absent during 2022.

Suddenly, however, one-third of the way into his 19th grand If nothing else, this is an object lesson in how close the

prix season, the Spaniard finds himself a serious championship margins are. And in how easy it is to turn one’s nose up at riders

contender. His first grand prix win is backed by three more who are overshadowed for reasons other than talent – either

podium finishes, more than any other rider this year. So technical or circumstantial.

more consistent, as well as faster… In a world where second is the first loser, it’s easy

Only defending champion Fabio Quartararo has to smirk at riders haunting at the back of the grid.

more points, and then, only the four of them. His rivals And unfair. Even to qualify for a grand prix
With the longest-ever MotoGP season moving demands exceptional talent; to be reliably up

towards its second half, his rivals are taking are taking front requires in addition a very high level of
Aleix seriously as a title contender, even if he both technical and moral support. And good

is trying not to. Aleix seriously luck too.
He hasn’t emerged from the shadows The same is true of the motorcycles.

alone. A massively improved Aprilia as a title The smallest quirk in handling or throttle
RS-GP has carried him, and the Noale response can make a huge difference to

marque has benefited hand in hand with contender results. Just look at this year’s Honda.
the rider. At Le Mans on Sunday, with a For Aprilia, however, it is not only ironing

third successive podium, the previously out the quirks that has turned the bike into a

unobtrusive squad moved into the lead of the reliable front-runner.

teams’ championship. Underdogs to top dogs, in It is also significant investment, both in

seven easy races. personnel and an all-new engine design – the

The elder Espargaro has been overshadowed throughout 90-degree V4 that replaced the previous 72-degree version

his career – including by younger brother Pol, who outranks in 2020. Dedicated development has now achieved reliability

him by 15 wins to one, not to mention the 2013 Moto2 title. and class-matching speed.

Commendably, the siblings have so far been able to enjoy one An intense calendar of 14 more races lies ahead, with little

another’s success without spitting in one another’s cornflakes. breathing space for development for Aprilia’s surprised rivals.

An undistinguished beginner on a 125, Aleix’s five years in the Furthermore, in spite of having lost “concession-team” status

intermediate class – 250 and later Moto2 – were likewise rather two weeks ago, Aprilia alone retains the privilege of free engine

underwhelming. A single top-three finish seemed something of development for the rest of this year.

a fluke. The bike’s performance puts it on the top level. It has the

A dozen years in the premier class have been slightly potential to get better still.

better: two podium finishes and twice in the top 10 in the So too the rider. Dare to dream? Definitely!

Nature of
the Beast

Bastianini gives Ducati
bosses a headache

REPORT NEIL MORRISON PHOTOGRAPHY GOLD&GOOSE

CAN THERE BE such a thing by comments Bagnaia had 1 braking brought on by more
as a winner on the right bike, made the previous day, which advanced ride-height devices
just in the wrong colours? indicated he’d prefer Miller to 2 and aerodynamics.
That was the impression remain in factory colours for 110,003 in attendance on
given by Ducati bosses a further year, Bastianini was Sunday, Le Mans’ biggest At one point six machines
on Sunday afternoon in only too happy to pour salt gate for at least 17 years, circulated at the head of the
France, as Enea Bastianini into his opponent’s wounds. bathed in uncustomary race, 2.7sec apart. But only
(Gresini Ducati) coolly French sun. But on the other, the Ducatis of Bagnaia and
dispatched with factory “He prefers Miller because the nature of the racing was Bastianini could overtake.
runner Francesco Bagnaia he is the leader of Ducati,” he concerning. This was further Thus, the spectacle was
(Lenovo Ducati) for a third said. “He knows the potential evidence that Michelin’s similar to Jerez: a group
victory of the year, giving the of me and of (Jorge) Martin current front tyre can’t deal
Bologna bosses a headache (Pramac Ducati) – and that with the extra pressures of
as contract talks reach a could be a problem for him.”
critical phase.
The result came at the
The fortunes of the two close of a weekend when
Italians were in sharp Ducati bosses stated the fight
contrast here. In a similar for next year’s second factory
manner to his previous bike would be between
triumphs in Qatar and Bastianini and Martin. And
Austin, Bastianini managed rumours hinted they were
the contest brilliantly, sitting edging toward the Spaniard.
in third behind Bagnaia
and Jack Miller (Lenovo For his part, Bagnaia
Ducati) for 10 laps before could only admit his costly
a late push took him to the mistake wasn’t the mark of a
head of the field. It was the champion in waiting.
kind of mature, measured
performance we expected “I can’t win the
of his compatriot before championship with these
the season started. Instead mistakes. Maybe it’s time to
Bagnaia folded, crashing out be more mature,” he said.
10 turns after Bastianini had
first hit the front. The camera shot of his
forlorn walk down pitlane
There was an said it all.
uncharacteristic spikiness
to the Gresini rider soon Ducati’s recruitment
after, too. Apparently riled turmoil stood out as the
racing failed to deliver.
On the one hand, this had
the hallmarks of a proper
sporting occasion, with

Cracker Jack MotoGP 2nd

THIS WAS ANOTHER solid he had to be careful with the soft I was able to block the line and get Turn 8, a little bit in the last corner.
weekend for Miller at one front to make it last and maintained it done. Then I just ran my pace. “When I saw Enea come through
of his best tracks. Two his own rhythm throughout. Pecco got in front. He had about
crashes in free practice put him off three laps that were decent, but on me and then set to work on
using the medium front compound “I got in front, had a dream start. then I saw he started to struggle on Pecco, I thought, ‘here we go’. I just
in the race. The 27-year-old knew It was a bit dodgy going through the right-hand side, especially in did my pace and brought it home. It
Turn 1 with everyone locked in, but was a good race.”

96 amcn.com.au

1. Enea Bastianini took his third win, while Pecco Bagnaia hit the floor MotoGP
seconds after this image was taken 2. Fabio Quartararo took fourth on
home soil 3. The Beast performed The Shoey 4. Jack Miller shone in Track attack – Round 7 finishing positions
P2 5. Marc Marquez finished sixth but was 15sec back from Bastianini

8 10 Round 7

6 9 MOTOGP
5 11 27 LAPS

7 12
3 13
4
2 14

1

POS RIDER NAT BIKE TIME

Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans, 1 E BASTIANINI ITA DUC 41m34.613s
France DUC +2.718s
2 J MILLER AUS APR +4.182s
YAM +4.288s
3 A ESPARGARO SPA DUC +11.139s
HON +15.155s
Circuit length 4 F QUARTARARO FRA HON +16.680s
KTM +18.459s
4.185km 5 J ZARCO FRA DUC +20.541s
Race distance APR +21.486s
6 M MARQUEZ SPA HON +22.707s
MotoGP 112.995km DUC +23.408s
Moto2 104.625km 7 T NAKAGAMI JPN DUC +26.432s
Moto3 58.590km HON +28.710s
8 B BINDER RSA YAM +29.433s
YAM +38.149s
9 L MARINI ITA YAM +59.748s

10 M VIÑALES SPA

2021 winners 11 P ESPARGARO SPA

3→ MotoGP J Miller 12 M BEZZECCHI ITA
47m25.473s
“Maybe it’s 13 F DIGIANNANTONIO ITA
time to be Moto2 R Fernandez
40m46.101s 14 A MARQUEZ SPA

Moto3 S Garcia 15 F MORBIDELLI ITA
42m21.172s
16 A DOVIZIOSO ITA

17 D BINDER RSA

DNF P BAGNAIA (ITA, DUC), R FERNANDEZ (SPA, KTM),
M OLIVEIRA (POR, KTM), R GARDNER (AUS, KTM), J MIR
(SPA, SUZ), A RINS (SPA, KTM), J MARTIN (SPA, DUC).

more mature” Did you know? POLE POSITION (NEW RECORD)
Rest assured that 5621 days is a
long, long time. That is how long BAGNAIA 1m30.450s (ZARCO 1m31.185s, 2018)

– Bagnaia it was between MotoGP wins for FASTEST LAP (NEW RECORD)
Team Gresini, from Toni Elias’s
win at Estoril in 2006 to Enea BAGNAIA 1m31.778s (VIÑALES 1m32.309s, 2017)

Bastianini taking the opening race STANDINGS AFTER 7 OF 21 ROUNDS
of this season. The Beast’s first
1 QUARTARARO 102, 2 A ESPARGARO 98, 3 BASTIANINI 94,
MotoGP win was the team’s 15th, 4 RINS 69, 5 MILLER 62, 6 ZARCO 62, 7 P BAGNAIA 56,
and now they have won another 8 B BINDER 56, 9 MIR 56, 10 M MARQUEZ 54, 11 OLIVEIRA 43,
12 P ESPARGARO 40, 13 VIÑALES 33, 14 NAKAGAMI 30,
two in the 70 days since that 15 MARTIN 28, 23 GARDNER 3.
Qatar win. Bastianini joins Marco
Melandri as a three-time winner for Round 7

Gresini in one season, but still trails MOTO3
Sete Gibernau, who won four times 14 LAPS

for Fausto in 2004.

4 5 Round 7 POS RIDER NAT BIKE TIME

circulating together at close But he was on the ropes MOTO2 1 J MASIA SPA KTM 24m04.119s
to identical speed, albeit from the first turn. 25 LAPS 2 A SASAKI JPN HUS +0.150s
several metres apart with no 3 I GUEVARA SPA GAS +0.220s
chance of passing. Ducati, Miller – the only of the POS RIDER NAT BIKE TIME 4 D FOGGIA ITA HON +0.322s
it seems, is the grid’s only lead riders to fit Michelin’s 5 T SUZUKI JPN HON +0.529s
machine on which passing soft front over the medium, 1 A FERNANDEZ SPA KAL 40m31.726s 6 C TATAY SPA CFM +1.594s
isn’t some kind of ordeal. along with Alex Rins (Ecstar +3.746s 7 S GARCIA SPA GAS +2.007s
Suzuki) – started best of all in 2 A CANET SPA KAL +4.628s 8 R YAMANAKA JPN KTM +2.275s
The rousing rendition of a dream getaway for Ducati +4.745s 9 D ÖNCÜ TUR KTM +2.502s
La Marseillaise, the French with Bastianini and pole 3 S CHANTRA THA KAL +15.376s 10 A MIGNO ITA HON +2.917s
national anthem, has been man Bagnaia behind. Rins +17.547s 11 D HOLGADO SPA KTM +3.025s
the undoing of at least one and Joan Mir (Ecstar Suzuki) 4 C BEAUBIER USA KAL +19.035s 12 J McPHEE GBR HUS +3.193s
home charge in the past. followed, with Quartararo +19.854s 13 R ROSSI ITA HON +3.330s
Johann Zarco (Pramac getting squeezed at the 5 A OGURA JPN KAL +20.766s 14 D MOREIRA BRA KTM +7.993s
Ducati) cracked under the Dunlop Chicane to sit eighth +20.879s 15 K TOBA JPN KTM +9.891s
weight of home pressure in behind Takaaki Nakagami 6 M SCHROTTER GER KAL +21.381s 16 E BARTOLINI ITA KTM +10.134s
the 2018 encounter here, (LCR Honda) and Aleix +23.892s 17 S NEPA ITA KTM +10.444s
despite starting from pole. Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), 7 J ROBERTS USA KAL +26.881s 18 I ORTOLA SPA KTM +10.530s
and ahead of Marc Marquez +26.952s 19 M BERTELLE ITA KTM +12.382s
And one wonders if that (Repsol Honda). 8 C VIETTI ITA KAL +32.063s 20 A FERNANDEZ SPA KTM +12.382s
impacted Fabio Quartararo +36.712s 21 J RUEDA SPA HON +12.435s
(Monster Energy Yamaha). Then the moves started 9 J NAVARRO SPA KAL +50.822s 22 M AJI INA HON +12.552s
So strong through free coming thick and fast. First +59.691s 23 L FELLO FRA HON +12.697s
practice, the reigning Bastianini made his sole 10 S MANZI ITA KAL +1 LAP 24 G RIU SPA KTM +17.016s
champ commented “we mistake at Garage Vert, +2 LAPS 25 T FURUSATO JPN KTM +26.961s
have something extra” running wide to allow 11 M GONZALES SPA KAL +2 LAPS 26 J WHATLEY GBR HON +27.278s
with regards to pace after Bagnaia and Rins through 27 A CARRASCO SPA KTM +32.200s
qualifying fourth. to the podium places. 12 L DALLA PORTA ITA KAL

13 J ALCOBA SPA KAL

14 B BENDSNEYDER NED KAL

15 F SALAC CZE KAL

16 S CORSI ITA MVA

17 Z VD GOORBERGH NED KAL

18 A ZACCONE ITA KAL

19 A ARENAS SPA KAL

20 S KELLY USA KAL

21 J DIXON GBR KAL

DNF G RODRIGO (ARG, KAL), P ACOSTA (SPA, KAL), M RAMIREZ DNF X ARTIGAS (SPA, CFM), S OGDEN (GBR, HON).
(SPA, MVA), F ALDEGUER (SPA, BOS), T ARBOLINO (ITA, KAL), DNS J KELSO (AUS, KTM).
B BALTUS (BEL, KAL), A LOPEZ (SPA, BOS), N ANTONELLI (ITA, KAL).
POLE POSITION
POLE POSITION (NEW RECORD)
FOGGIA 1m41.621s
ACOSTA 1m35.803s (ROBERTS 1m36.256s, 2019)
FASTEST LAP
FASTEST LAP (NEW RECORD)
GUEVERA 1m42.081s
FERNANDEZ 1m36.276s (NAVARRO 1m36.764s, 2019)
STANDINGS AFTER 7 OF 21 ROUNDS
STANDINGS AFTER 7 OF 21 ROUNDS
1 GARCIA 112, 2 MASIA 95, 3 FOGGIA 95, 4 GUEVERA 89,
1 VIETTI 108, 2 OGURA 92, 3 CANET 89, 4 ARBOLINO 70, 5 SASAKI 75, 6 ÖNCÜ 70, 7 MIGNO 58, 8 TATAY 52, 9 SUZUKI 38,
5 FERNANDEZ 69, 6 ROBERTS 66, 7 CHANTRA 61, 8 SCHROTTER 10 TOBA 37, 11 ARTIGAS 37, 12 MOREIRA 34, 13 ROSSI 29,
57, 9 NAVARRO 52, 10 BENDSNEYDER 36, 11 LOWES 35, 14 YAMANAKA 32, 15 HOLGADO 28, 17 KELSO 14.
12 DIXON 32, 13 ALCOBA 31, 14 BEAUBIER 29, 15 ARENAS 29.

amcn.com.au 97

rreacpeort 1. It all came crashing down for Bagnaia after a rare mistake 2. Taka Nakagami
fought off Johann Zarco for most of the race 3. Brad Binder salvaged something
from a distastrous weekend for KTM 4. If Pecco did not know he was in a dogfight
before, he does now 5. Aleix Espargaro starred again. Dear Aprilia; just re-sign him

Round 7 Le Mans Circuit, France 13-15 May 2022 MotoGP World Championship

2

13

Espargaro was under leading Brad Binder (Red “All 4
Nakagami for sixth at Turn 9, Bull KTM) to lose his left weekend he
then Quartararo bit at the winglet after contact with By then Bastianini was
Japanese rider two turns Zarco. Then Rins’s charge was faster working on Bagnaia, 0.6sec
later. But a poor opening spectacularly came apart than me” ahead. Closing lap 20 they
for the world champion was as he was dragged into crossed the line almost
compounded by Nakagami Bagnaia’s slipstream at – Bastianini together. And 90 seconds
reacting at Turn 13, pushing Turn 1, lifted, cut the chicane later, Bagnaia’s world
Quartararo wide and giving and rejoined at turn four. a wide Miller on the exit of came crashing down. First
Marquez the chance to dive Only he was airborne, hitting Musée on lap four to assume Bastianini expertly took
under both of them. the outside kerbs with speed control. And from there, the lead at Turn 3, only for
before landing with wheels with Quartararo now past Bagnaia to respond on the
There was further drama out of line. Marquez and sitting sixth, exit of La Chapelle. Then
on the two laps that followed. the race settled down. The the factory man outbraked
First came Quartararo’s “In that point you need to top six was never more than himself into Garage Vert,
retaliation on Nakagami control the bike at 200km/h, three seconds apart. rejoining 0.9sec in arrears.
at Turn 3, shunting the trying to avoid Miller (on Time for the number 63 to
Japanese rider off track. As track).” A fast, but painless A few critical moves would breathe and relax.
he rejoined, the field behind crash, was a lucky getaway. decide the race. Just as
bunched up into La Chapelle, Bagnaia was inching clear of “I was thinking, no
Bagnaia then moved under Miller on lap 11, Bastianini pressure, I will retake
upped his pace, passing him, not soon but with
Landscape Gardner MotoGP DNF the Australian for second
at Garage Vert. Mir then
ANOTHER TOUGH WEEKEND. track and we crashed out of fourth three
Remy wasn’t the only KTM rider go home early laps later, misjudging his
struggling, as the RC16 was found that’d be good as braking into Turn 13.
wanting in all departments and well,” he quipped.
called on the factory to deliver He later complained of
new parts to improve the bike. From 22nd, the 23-year old the difficulty stopping when
soon started gaining positions. behind a Ducati.
“We need help… everywhere!
Turning. Stopping. Acceleration. “We were up to P16. I got good “You feel less air when you
Horsepower. Just a few things! drive out of Turn 6 but at Turn 7 are behind them, also some
What we’ve got we’re a bit stuck. (Fabio Di Giannantonio – Gresini turbulence,” he noted.
We need some parts,” he said Ducati) touched the front of my
on Friday. bike. The rear came around and “But my mistake.”
I had a big highside. I’ve hurt my
Qualifying was so bad he was ankle, got more burns.
desperate for a wet race.
“I’m in the wars at the moment,
“If a tornado wants to rip up the and just not enjoying life.”

STAYER OF THE WEEKEND BROTHER OF THE WEEKEND

Bastianini may have made Ducati’s 2023 Alex Marquex’s previous five Le Mans results
decision a lot easier. But they must have were 4, 2, 1, 2 and 6. This year he finished 14th,
on a day when five riders crashed in front of him.
a seat somewhere for Miller, surely?

98 amcn.com.au

Fernandez took his maiden
Moto2 victory from Canet

Finally Fernandez!

5 THIS WAS SUPPOSED to be the tenth, Acosta was attempting to Ai Ogura (HTA Kalex) picked up
race in which Pedro Acosta (Ajo break his teammate, crossing the important points for fifth, ahead of
consistency,” he explained. Kalex) announced himself. The line 0.8sec up. Marcel Schrotter (IntactGP Kalex)
“But then arriving in the reigning Moto3 champion began and Joe Roberts (Italtrans Kalex).
second-last corner, I entered the year as the bookies’ favourite. But that Moto2 breakthrough Title leader Celestino Vietti (VR46
a bit slower and crashed.” Acosta was thrilling viewing here, would have to wait. For Acosta Kalex) recovered to eighth.
taking a maiden pole in the class tucked the front the following
That uncharacteristic and building an early advantage lap at La Chapelle, handing Vietti (108 points) continues to
mistake left Bastianini free in the race with Augusto Fernandez an easy route to a lead but Ogura (92) and Canet (89)
to cruise home 2.7sec ahead Fernandez (Ajo Kalex) struggling comfortable 3.7sec victory, his are coming.
of Miller to put his name in to keep up. first since September, 2019.
the title mix once more.
The pair streaked clear of Behind, Arenas collided with
“It was important for me a close battle for third, which Lopez on the exit of Musée on lap
to learn something from included Aron Canet (Pons six, taking both men down. That
Pecco,” he said, “because all Kalex), Albert Arenas (Aspar left Canet, Chantra and Beaubier
weekend he was faster than Kalex), Alonso Lopez (Speed Up contesting the final podium
me in two points. I changed Boscoscuro) – recently drafted places. It was going Chantra’s way
some of my lines and I closed in to replace the sacked Romano as he got to second by lap 15. But
this gap.” Fenati – Cameron Beaubier a mistake when braking at Garage
(American Racing Kalex) and Vert four laps later allowed his two
Miller was a strong second, Somkiat Chantra (HTA Kalex). pursuers through. Canet held on
his second podium of the to second, with Chantra depriving
year. And Espargaro clung on By the second lap, the Ajo duo Beaubier of a debut podium with
to third despite Quartararo’s were 1.8sec clear and on the a move two laps from the flag.
late efforts to scramble a
home podium in an anti- Masia Masia edged ahead at the end
climactic finale. Quartararo nabs it
was a disconsolate fourth, down to five. Dennis Foggia audaciously snatch if off him on
just a tenth of a second off THIS RACE WAS thrown into (Leopard Honda) did much of the the switchback into Turn 12.
the podium. chaos by the briefest of rain leading with Jaume Masia (Ajo
showers that arrived on the KTM), Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard But Masia is finally showing
Zarco recovered to fifth opening lap. Aspar GASGAS men Honda) and Sasaki never far way. signs of a rider whose fighting
but was never in the podium Sergio Garcia and Izan Guevara, instincts are as obvious as his
hunt, while Honda’s woes as well as Andrea Migno (Snipers Guevara, meanwhile, recovered talent. A clinical move on Sasaki
continued with Marquez and Honda) and Ayumu Sasaki (Max from a tepid start to launch a late at Turn 13 was enough for his
Nakagami a distant sixth Racing Husqvarna) were among attack, while an uncharacteristic second victory of the year, with
and seventh, 15sec and 16sec the seven fallers, leading to red mistake on the penultimate lap Guevara nabbing third from
off the winner. In light of flags being shown. meant Garcia was mired in a fight Foggia. Suzuki was fifth, the top
his early wing loss, Binder right behind. five covered by just 0.529sec, with
collected a heroic eighth The rerun, held over 14 laps, Carlos Tatay (Pruestel CFMOTO)
ahead of Luca Marini (VR46 was a corker. Few were willing Twice Masia had to scrap to leading Garcia home in sixth.
Ducati) and Maverick Viñales to push initially on slicks around get to the front on the final lap. A
(Aprilia Racing). a track featuring damp patches. beautiful pass on Foggia at Turn 3 Garcia (112 points) leads Masia
A massive lead group quickly gave him the lead, only for Sasaki and Foggia (95) by 17 points, with
Quartararo (102 points) formed, which was soon whittled – past the Italian at Musée – to Guevara (89) 23 back.
still tops the standings,
but Espargaro (98) and Kelso Cutback Moto3 DNS together. I think we’ve made the
Bastianini (94) are closing in. best decision, which was not to
KELSO IS STILL in knew a full race distance was a take part. It’s a bummer.
great pain from his big ask. He withdrew on Sunday
unfortunate horror morning, as doing further damage “This is the home GP for the
collision at Jerez, which had to the injured muscle could rule team. Obviously, I wanted to be
twinged the abductor muscle in him out for longer. on track, especially as I qualified
his left leg. quite well. I need to go home and
“It’s so unfortunate,” he continue resting. I’ll go to the
Despite not being able to do said. “We’re still suffering from physio as much as possible and
three consecutive laps through the injury I got at Jerez. I’m try to be back for Mugello.”
free practice, Kelso still managed having tendon issues. We were
to qualify a promising 11th but struggling to do many laps

amcn.com.au 99

Three times
Three

WorldSBK played out another
weekend of threes, with three
riders on three different bikes,
battling it out for the biggest prizes

REPORT GORDON RITCHIE PHOTOGRAPHY GOLD&GOOSE

THREE DIFFERENT RIDERS the grid got finalised by the 1 Bautista’s
are sharing the WorldSBK Superpole Qualifying session, speed down
spoils out – unfairly, greedily it was Rea who recorded 2 the straight
– between them this year. his first Superpole of 2022
It’s called racing, and right with a 1m35.346s lap, good Bautista’s speed down the could not
now almost nobody else enough for a new track best straight could not be stopped be stopped
except Alvaro Bautista (Aruba status. Razgatlioglu was only by the other riders, however, by the other
Ducati), Jonathan Rea (KRT) 0.091sec behind, having won and he rode with controlled
and Toprak Razgatlioglu both opening Superpoles, in aggression in the twisties to riders
(Pata Yamaha with Brixx) can Aragon and Assen. close in on Rea.
get a look in at the level the
top three are producing every Bautista was third on the A mistake from the six-
other weekend. grid and in a morale boosting times champ, running wide
ride for all the ‘M’ members, under braking, saw Bautista
WorldSBK is very much Scott Redding (BMW through to second. Rea had
back in business – show Motorrad WorldSBK Team) used up all his tyre in the
business – as once again the was fourth on the grid. In rising temperatures by that
spectacle and racing spirit of the first race of the weekend, stage and had to settle for
production-derived bikes that over 21-laps on Saturday, third. Up front the concertina
shimmy and slide at will got Bautista had a moment early effect was in full flow.
tongues wagging and Twitter- on and that allowed Rea and
spats starting. The racing Razgatlioglu to break free
all through was tough and and gap everyone.
entertaining but the reality is
that nobody else got a podium Stuck behind Andrea
finish at Estoril except those Locatelli’s well-ridden
big three, even though some Yamaha, Bautista had to
others were in the silverware work hard to get back into
fights for a while. contention as the two leaders
flew around so close to each
It looked like Razgatlioglu other that Rea snagged his
may be able to win a race for front tyre on Razgatlioglu’s
himself at more than one rear at one stage – luckily
stage… but it was not to be. without any real damage for
either rider.
More of that later, but as

GAMBLER OF THE WEEKEND SAVE OF THE WEEKEND

A few riders looked at the damp track Toprak Razgatlioglu pulled off an
in Sunday’s Superpole Race and astounding Superpole Race save into the
final tight uphill chicane on the last lap,
chose to go with the seldom used worthy of Marc Marquez’s. Impressive
‘Intermediate’ tyres. It nearly worked and seemingly impossible because
Toprak’s Yamaha was simply gone, but he
for Iker Lecuona, as he closed in on somehow got it upright…
third place (with an intermediate front
only) until the track dried out on the racing line.

100 amcn.com.au