Motorcycle News - 2020 Triumph Scrambler 1200 Bond Edition Announced
https://ift.tt/36sE7kK Triumph announced, and then quickly sold out of a limited edition James Bond-branded version of the Scrambler 1200 XE. Only 250 models are to be produced, and all 30 units allotted to the U.S. have already been nabbed up. For those still curious, the Scrambler 1200 Bond Edition was priced at $18,500, a premium of $3,100 over the regular Scrambler 1200 XE. The 2020 Triumph Scrambler 1200 Bond Edition was created as a promotional tie-in for the 25th James Bond movie, No Time To Die. Thanks to the novel coronavirus, the film’s premiere was pushed from April 10 to Nov. 25, but Triumph decided not to wait and proceeded to release the limited edition model. The Bond series has always had strong automotive tie-ins, most notably with Aston Martin, but it’s somewhat surprising it took until now for there to be a Bond-branded motorcycle. The Bond Edition comes with 007-branded panels, leather seat with embroidered logo and the film series’ iconic gun barrel sequence set as the TFT display’s startup screen. The overall paint scheme is inspired by a Scrambler model ridden by actor Daniel Craig’s Bond in No Time To Die. This includes black anodized high-mounted front fender, matching rear mudguard, black forks, black powder coated swingarm and sprocket cover, plus a grab rail, sump guard and infills all anodized in, you guessed it, black. Other highlights include black-shrouded fog lights, an Arrow exhaust with carbon fiber end caps, a machined front brake reservoir, stainless steel headlight grill and black rear wheel adjusters. Each unit have a numbered plaque on the billet handlebar riser clamp and come with a rucksack and a letter hand-signed by Triumph Chief Executive Officer Nick Bloor. The Triumph Tiger 900 also makes an appearance in No Time To Die, so perhaps there will be another future tie-in model on the way. The post 2020 Triumph Scrambler 1200 Bond Edition Announced appeared first on Motorcycle.com. Motorcycles via Motorcycle.com https://ift.tt/2Std7JO May 25, 2020 at 03:02PM
MotoGP News - MotoGP News: Lorenzo to make Virtual GP debut with Yamaha at Silverstone
https://ift.tt/2XkXaJu Jorge Lorenzo will make his Esports debut on Sunday for MotoGP's latest Virtual GP, which will be staged at Silverstone and feature the Moto2 and Moto3 classes. Three-time MotoGP world champion Lorenzo retired from racing at the end of last year following a miserable season on the works Honda. He returned to Yamaha, with whom he spent the first nine years of his MotoGP career, in the winter as its official test rider and was due to make a wildcard appearance in June's Catalan Grand Prix on an M1 before coronavirus forced the race to be postponed. Lorenzo will be one of two Yamaha representatives on a depleted Virtual GP grid this weekend, which will feature just eight riders. Petronas SRT's Fabio Quartararo, who has scored pole position in three of the last four MotoGP virtual races, will again compete along with Suzuki's Joan Mir. The Ducati contingent consists of official test rider Michele Pirro, Pramac's Francesco Bagnaia - who won the Austrian virtual race last month - and Avintia's Tito Rabat. Honda will be represented by LCR's Takaaki Nakagami (below), with Misano race winners Alex and Marc Marquez are absent for the first time. Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori completes the field on the virtual RS-GP for a 10-lap race around British Grand Prix venue Silverstone on the MotoGP 20 video game. After making its debut in the Virtual GP of Spain at the start of May, the Moto2 and Moto3 classes return for the Silverstone event. A grid of 10 riders from Moto2 and Moto3, including Moto2 Qatar GP winner Tetsuta Nagashima (KTM Ajo) and Moto3 Qatar GP podium finisher John McPhee will compete for honours in the class over six laps. The races will be broadcast from 2pm BST, with highlights of qualifying shown prior to the race and virtual press conferences on social media taking place afterwards. MotoGP's fifth Virtual GP will coincide with real-world international motorcycle racing's return for the first time since March, as the MotoAmerica series is due to stage its opening round of 2020 behind closed doors at Road America. The American Superbike series is working closely with MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports in sharing data and information on all of its measures to ensure a safe return to racing. MotoGP hopes to get its campaign underway on 19 July with the first of two races in a week at Spanish GP venue Jerez. Motogp Motorcycle Racing News via MotoGP news - Autosport https://ift.tt/2uOa9Ei May 25, 2020 at 07:53AM
Motorcycle News - Iron Horse GSXR750 – Bandisca Motorcycles Suzuki SV650
https://ift.tt/2zpTL4c Suzuki’s SV650 offers riders a cheap entry point into the mid-sized sportbike category. That doesn’t make the twin-cylinder UJM sound all that exciting, and to be honest, it isn’t. That comment is probably going to get me in a bit of strife with SV650 fans, but it’s the truth – deal with it. Despite being one of the highest spec bikes in its class back in ’99, a standard SV650 lacks the grunt to compete with 4 cylinder motorcycles in its class. Unfortunately, the SV’s styling is also showing its age. Older models feature uninspiring nineties naked bike aesthetics and the latest model looks like an early edition Ducati Monster. So what does the Suzuki SV650 have going for it? Stellar handling characteristics, a bulletproof engine and huge potential for customisation. Motorcycles via Return of the Cafe Racers https://ift.tt/2M9riRb May 24, 2020 at 11:00PM
F1 News - Eracing round-up: Rock star's guitar lessons to get F1 drive
https://ift.tt/3gniQh8 Eracing is getting serious. Sponsorship money is rolling in, and drivers' reputations are being formed on beanbags (and sim-rigs) across the globe. As if the world hasn't been turned completely on its head by the coronavirus, we are now seeing the unthinkable: some of the greatest jobs on Earth being traded. A Formula E driver can't be bothered to take part in his own esports race and replaces himself with a sim racer. Before a rock star furloughs himself to train to become a virtual F1 driver. He is the mountainAfter curating F1's official playlistexternal-link recently, Simon Neil - lead singer of Scottish stadium rockers Biffy Clyro - has fallen so in love with the sport he's obsessed with becoming good enough to partake in a Virtual Formula 1 GP. Not satisfied with gluing himself to a simulation steering wheel and pedals back at the castle/condo/flat, Neil has enlisted the help of Alpha Tauri driver and F1 driving instructor Daniil Kvyat to teach him how to handle himself around the track. The charge? Teaching the Russian former Red Bull man a few licks on the guitar - presumably to enable him to become a rock star, post F1 career. Abtsolute jokeSo what happened in Formula E's Race At Home Challenge on Saturday? Oliver Rowlands' crowning as the first British winner of the nine-round event - streamed on the BBC Sport website, Red Button and iPlayer - was massively overshadowed. German racer Daniel Abt was disqualified and ordered to pay £8,900 to charity for getting a professional gamer to compete under his name - ironically following what we all thought was a brilliant race in which he almost won. Mercedes' Stoffel Vandoorne finally got off pole position brilliantly to lead, after weeks of terrible luck being taken out by his rivals at the first corner. But the Belgian driver battled with whom he thought was Audi-Schaeffler's Abt through most of the race - it was actually sim racer Lorenz Horzing - the pair swapping positions at the Berlin Tempelhof circuit. The pair were eventually hi-jacked by the opportunist Rowlands, who drives for Nissan eDams. Organisers also took away all points won to date by the 27-year-old German, who later apologised: "I did not take it as seriously as I should have. "I am especially sorry about this because I know how much work has gone into this project on the part of the Formula E organisation. I am aware that my offence has a bitter after-taste but it was never meant with any bad intention." #F1 via BBC Sport - Formula 1 https://ift.tt/OHg7x6 May 24, 2020 at 04:09PM 5/24/2020 Formula E driver Daniel Abt uses professional gamer to compete for him in esports race - F1 News
F1 News - Formula E driver Daniel Abt uses professional gamer to compete for him in esports race
https://ift.tt/2Xj7gdS Formula E driver Daniel Abt was disqualified and ordered to pay £8,900 to charity for getting a professional gamer to compete under his name in an official esports race. Organisers also took away all points won to date by the 27-year-old German in the Race at Home Challenge series. Lorenz Horzing, who competed for Abt, finished third in Saturday's race behind Britain's Oliver Rowland and Belgian ex-F1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne. Abt later apologised. "I did not take it as seriously as I should have," he said. "I am especially sorry about this because I know how much work has gone into this project on the part of the Formula E organisation. I am aware that my offence has a bitter aftertaste but it was never meant with any bad intention." Vandoorne suspected Abt was not driving and French racer Jean-Eric Vergne asked the German to turn his video on in the next race so they could confirm it was him. #F1 via BBC Sport - Formula 1 https://ift.tt/OHg7x6 May 24, 2020 at 01:15PM
Motorcycle News - Custom Bikes Of The Week: 24 May, 2020
https://ift.tt/2A8uiMY
That’s because this 1978 CB550 comes with a unique backstory. The client had originally ordered a few Kott Motorcycles parts to build the bike himself, with the help of his father.
Having some of his own style already imbued into the bike was a great springboard for Dustin, who proceeded to add the hands-on touches it needed to get over the finish line. He retained the stock fuel tank, but hammered out a pair of knee indents. They pair up nicely with an elegant perforated seat, and a typical Kott tail section.
The biggest change is that the Buell’s clumsy bodywork is all gone. In its place is a hand-shaped tank, followed by a custom seat and subframe arrangement. The subframe bolts on and has an LED tail light embedded at the back, and there’s a leather Harley-Davidson belt adding extra security to the tank.
Put this side-by-side with a stock X1, and you’ll also notice that a ton of parts have been redone in black—except for the tank and fender, which are sporting raw finishes. [K-Speed]
Spencer grew up around flat track racing, so he took inspiration for this project from a bike he’d ogled in his youth: the legendary RS750. He started by stripping the 2002-model XR’s dirt-bike plastics off, then tried to figure out what fuel tank would fit the frame’s broad backbone. A 1974 CR125 Elsinore unit turned out to be just the ticket—once he’d fettled it a bit.
There’s a fair bit of mechanical work going on here too. The XR motor was rebuilt, and the front end swapped for a set of Honda CRF forks, upgraded with Racetech internals. The wheels are 19” Excel rims on Dubya hubs, wrapped in dirt track rubber from Mitas.
With a throwback Honda paint scheme to finish it off, it’s an absolute showstopper. [More]
This mad science comes from Frenchman Jérémie Duchampt, who normally customizes cars, and who decided to ‘cafe’ the Streetfighter simply because he hadn’t seen it done before. His first big job was to design a new bolt-on subframe, and then a new tail section to sit on top of it. He kept the stock fuel tank, but extended the bottom of the tail unit to flow into it, mimicking its contours at the same time.
Upgrades include a steering damper, a bunch of carbon fiber bolt-ons to shed weight, and a small Lithium-ion battery. The suspension was upgraded with parts from French company Delcamp Energie, and a Yoshimura muffler was matched up to the new custom headers. And since Jérémie is a car enthusiast too, a Gulf-inspired livery was the only logical choice. [More] Motorcycles via Bike EXIF https://ift.tt/2Mf9b0c May 24, 2020 at 12:36PM
Motorcycle News - Church of MO: 2000 Laverdas
https://ift.tt/3d0jz5G Laverda, in Italian, means “wash your hands,” and that’s what Piaggio did after it acquired the small Breganze brand circa 2000 – washed its hands of the entire brand. (Piaggio bought Moto Guzzi at the same time.) Seven years earlier, though, one Francesco Tognon had bought the brand and produced the bikes you see here, based around an updated 668cc version of a pre-existing parallel twin. Some brave people from Texas, Laverda USA!, brought some bikes to California for the motorcycle press to crash. Why not? They were expendable. The Affordable Exotic
By Motorcycle Online Staff Oct. 23, 1999
LOS ANGELES, October 21, 1999
There exists a generation gap among motorcyclists. Doubt us? Find two enthusiasts and play the Motorcycle Online Word Association Game.One contestant should be over 40, the other under 30. The category: Famous European Manufacturers. First, ask the 40-year-old what is the first thing that comes to mind after hearing “Bultaco” and he’ll probably mutter something about a famous Spanish off-road motorcycle. Say Bultaco to the 20-year-old and he’ll ask you if that comes with chips and salsa. Now, say Laverda and the 40-something might begin to wax sentimental about racing championships and 1200 Jotas of yore. Say Laverda to the 20-something and if there’s a hint of recognition on his face it will be because his dad used to race them. His knowledge of Laverdas likely goes no deeper than the thickness of the decals on his bold-new-graphics Gixxer. In the USA, Laverdas do not receive much notice or press because there’s very little racing activity from their camp. But Laverda feels that it’s about time the American press and public took a harder, more serious look at what they have to offer because, they feel, it’s as good as any Italian bike available today. To prove their point, Laverda USA trucked in a few bikes from their Houston, Texas homestead for a day of track fun at the Buttonwillow Raceway, just northwest of Bakersfield, CA. They invited a number of scribes from the motorcycle press to sample their new Strike 750, Café Racer 750 and the 750S Formula. Also on hand were three of their race bikes which are designed to compete in the new AHRMA/Laverda National Challenge Series; one was a 668, the other two were 750-based racers also eligible for next year’s AMA Pro Thunder class. Tech Breakdown
750 Strike
Providing the power for this machine is Laverda’s own Weber-Marelli fuel injected DOHC, eight-valve, liquid-cooled 747cc, parallel twin they claim produces 85 hp at the crank. The engine is mated to a six-speed tranny that, when pushing around just 418 pounds claimed dry weight, makes for plenty of propulsion. Other chassis niceties include dual Brembo disc brakes up front employing four-piston calipers and semi-floating 320mm discs, a fully-adjustable Paioli rear shock, a 41mm inverted fork and Marchesini three-spoke rims.Built on the Strike platform, the 750 Café Racer differs from its orange sibling in a few ways which make it appealing to the more sport-inclined rider. The black beauty weighs in at 412 pounds, mostly due to the addition of a two-into-one Termignoni carbon fiber exhaust system that, when paired with the other upgrades, boosts power across the board. The compression ratio is raised by one point to 11.5:1, hotter camshafts are employed along with larger valves, and a new EFI management chip offers up a claimed 92 hp at the crank. Other changes include lower, fully-adjustable clip-ons, rear-set pegs, five-spoke Marchesini wheels and Metallic Black paint.
750 Cafe Racer
Drawing back to Laverda’s full-on sportbike heritage is the full-faired 750S Formula. This bike is also built around the same basic platform as the other two more scantily-clad models, with its powertrain and chassis set-up similar to that of the 750 Cafe Racer. Differences include a polished swingarm and frame, full-floating front discs, externally adjustable fork preload, adjustable billet aluminum rearsets, adjustable front brake and clutch perches and a two-into-two Termignoni carbon fiber exhaust system. Wrapped in either Orange/Pearl Metallic Gray or Orange/Metallic Mediterranean Blue, the Formula offers up the same competent package as the Café Racer but with even racier accouterments, all wrapped in attractive bodywork.
Track TimeThe first bike we let lose on was the 750 Strike. This proved to be a wonderful bike to learn the basic track layout since its comfortable riding posture and mellow power delivery allow for full attention to be paid to the corner at hand instead of worrying about unwanted wheel-spin or a wheelie-prone ride. The bike was powerful, mind you, feeling not unlike a Ducati Monster 900, and its handling, for an entry-level bike, was taut and crisp . The chassis remained composed and never wandered about when traversing rough pavement as is the tendency of a number of other “standards” and “street-fighters.”
750S Formula
The brakes worked wonderfully when slowing down for corners, providing excellent feel and stopping power. But track duty is not what this bike was designed for, and as the laps wore on and the tires heated up and scrubbed in, a few parts started to drag along with our knees. Still, the only complaint we could muster about the Strike is that something caused the throttle response to be just a touch sluggish, but Laverda’s engineers chalked that up to the wrong chip in the EFI system from earlier testing with a different exhaust system.
750 Strike handles better than a “standard” should.
At these elevated track speeds we yearned for something with a more sport-oriented riding position and a bit more motor. So we brought the Café Racer to life and immediately we were tuned into the sound of the Termignoni carbon fiber exhaust. Just pulling out of the pits and onto the track, before we even had a chance to wind the throttle on hard out of a slow corner, the added power was readily apparent. On the track, the added oomph was obvious and, with the changes in handlebar and footpeg position, we took a more aggressive attitude towards the track. The bike’s chassis remained unchanged, and it retained the same great handling manners and braking of the standard 750 Strike. Since the racier riding position put more weight on the front end, we could carry extra speed through the corners and, when combined with more power on tap, the stock tires left black stripes at most corner exits. For the street the Strike is a better choice with its more upright seating position and mellower motor. For serious work in the twisties, the Café Racer simply looks and feels better suited, and the sound, the modifications, and the sultry metallic black paint combine to make this the mount of choice for sunny Sunday mornings on your favorite road.
750 Cafe Racer off to hunt Monsters.
Unfortunately, someone high-sided the 750 Formula on only it’s second lap. He thought the tires were warm — they were not — and as he rolled on the throttle over a rise, the back end came around then caught, launching both bike and rider into the air then hard onto the pavement. The rider walked away, although he was now the not-so-proud owner of a broken collarbone and a heavy chunk of guilt on his busted shoulder. Of course, this meant we would not be able to give a first-hand riding impression of the Formula. However, judging by the performance of the Café Racer, we figure that by wrapping the wonderful package in more slippery bodywork and adding a few other race-inspired features at the expense of only an additional four-pounds, the bike is sure to turn heads of onlookers and give riders wide grins.
750-based racer for AHRMA and AMA Pro Thunder Series.
In all, Laverda USA seems to have a pretty solid line-up for the new Millennium. Yet, the factory acknowledges that a Laverda is not for everyone. It’s more of an enthusiast’s bike. This doesn’t mean the bikes are quirky, however, nor does it mean you’ll need a best friend who is a mechanic to go along with a fat wallet. All new Laverda motorcycles will come with two-year, unlimited-mileage warranties when they hit dealer showrooms at the end of this year. And, with MSRPs of $8,495 USD for the Strike, $8,995 for the Café Racer and $10,595 for the Formula, the prices, as well as the bikes, are right in line with what other Italian manufacturers have to offer. Maybe better, even. The post Church of MO: 2000 Laverdas appeared first on Motorcycle.com. Motorcycles via Motorcycle.com https://ift.tt/2Std7JO May 24, 2020 at 11:48AM
MotoGP News - MotoGP News: Ducati closing in on 2021 rider shake-up
https://ift.tt/36sxoY6 Ducati is close to securing Jack Miller to form part of its works MotoGP line-up for the 2021 season, as a host of Pramac replacements from Moto2 have also emerged. Miller has been part of the Ducati family since joining satellite squad Pramac in 2018, and has had machine parity with the works riders since last season. With Ducati losing its main 2021 targets of Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo to Yamaha, plus Joan Mir to Suzuki, Miller emerged as the favourite to move up to the works outfit. Pramac boss Francesco Guidotti told motogp.com last week that he believed a deal between Miller and Ducati was close, with Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi confirming this to BT Sport on Sunday. "So far we are thinking about [having] Jack in the factory team," Tardozzi said. "It's obvious we have to manage the situation within the operation because the riders that will join the factory team, it will be two of the two riders who are already under contract with Ducati so far. "So, two of the five will be there. Jack did something very good in the end of the season, so we are thinking that he could be a possibility. We are discussing internally about that, we are discussing also with Jack. "But no decision at all are taken. We are very close to taking a decision regarding Jack, but nothing done yet." Miller finished eighth in the standings last year after scoring five podium finishes, and was only 11 points behind works Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci, who won a race in 2019. Petrucci's dramatic downturn in form in the second half of last year cast doubt on his Ducati future, with the Italian marque understood to have been willing to terminate his contract for 2020 to move Miller up to make way for Johann Zarco. However, when it became clear that the financial implications of terminating Petrucci's contract didn't justify such a shuffle, KTM exile Zarco was placed at Avintia on a year-old Desmosedici but contracted directly to Ducati. Despite talks between Ducati and Andrea Dovizioso having stalled over money, all signs point to Dovizioso and Miller as the Italian marque's works line-up for 2021 Prior to the major rider market moves earlier in the year, Miller was expected to be high in demand, with a step up to Ducati not a given. Miller's 2020 season was plunged into uncertainty in the middle of last year when Ducati made an attempt to sign Jorge Lorenzo - whom it had ditched for 2019 - to Pramac for 2020. With Francesco Bagnaia already contracted to Pramac and Ducati for 2020, Lorenzo would have taken Miller's place. Lorenzo ultimately committed to Honda for the second year of his deal, though he would retire at the end of 2019 and move on to become test rider at Yamaha. Miller, who was offered Zarco's KTM for the remainder of 2019 when his Pramac future remained uncertain, thought the tempting KTM deal was too much of a risk at that point and committed to Pramac, and insisted to the press at the British Grand Prix that there was no bad blood with Ducati over its attempted Lorenzo affair. But it was unclear just how much that incident would impact negotiations further down the line. Despite talks between Ducati and Andrea Dovizioso having stalled over money, all signs point to Dovizioso and Miller as the Italian marque's works line-up for 2021. Not only will Ducati have the young talent it has been looking for with Miller, it also gains a vital development asset, with Miller acting as a test mule in recent years - including giving Ducati's holeshot device and its active ride height evolution their race debuts well before the factory riders used them. A Miller/Dovizioso line-up at Ducati obviously leaves no room for Petrucci, and it's unlikely he'll return to the Pramac squad he rode for between 2015 and 2018. Despite an underwhelming debut campaign in 2019, Bagnaia is set to stay at Pramac for 2021, while Moto2 frontrunners Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin appear to be the favourites to join him. Bastianini enjoyed a solid maiden Moto2 season last year for Italtrans, scoring a podium at Brno to finish 10th in the final standings - three points clear of 2018 Moto3 champion Martin, who scored two podiums late on in a difficult season on the KTM chassis. Martin is understood to have interest from Honda, with whom he won the Moto3 title, but options with HRC appear limited. Honda has signed up Marc Marquez for four more years, and his brother Alex is unlikely to be given the boot after one year regardless of what happens this year. Recently, LCR's Cal Crutchlow has expressed his desire to continue his MotoGP career beyond this year and has begun talks with Honda about staying, while current team-mate Takaaki Nakagami also looks set to stay put. Ducati might struggle to beat KTM to signing Martin too. In light of the current financial crisis brought about by coronavirus, Ducati is kicking back against big money rider deals - hence the current issues with Dovizioso's negotiations. For Petrucci, a move to WSBK with Ducati alongside Scott Redding appears most likely, though he could be a solid option for Aprilia in MotoGP should Andrea Iannone be unsuccessful in his appeal to have his 18-month doping ban overturned Though KTM has stated recently that it is looking to re-sign all four of its current riders at the factory team and Tech 3 (Pol Espargarao, Brad Binder, Miguel Oliveira, Iker Lecuona), it could move to secure Martin - especially if Honda is expressing interest, given the tensions which exist between both brands. Commenting on the Martin rumours, Pramac boss Guidotti told motogp.com: "For sure, Jorge Martin is under the light from Honda because he won the title with them in Moto3 two years ago. "I know they were really upset that he left them to sign for KTM [in Moto2], but I think they would have him back. And KTM, I don't know if it will release him. If Ducati will be able to sign Martin, I think it will be a miracle. They have to be very brave and smart to get him." For Petrucci, a move to World Superbikes with Ducati alongside former Pramac team-mate Scott Redding appears most likely, though he could be a solid option for Aprilia in MotoGP should Andrea Iannone be unsuccessful in his appeal to have his 18-month doping ban overturned. The biggest loser from all of this, however, looks to be Zarco. Offered a reprieve by Ducati at the end of last year following his exit from KTM and subsequent three-race spell with LCR Honda, he initially rejected Avintia as an option as it was "not a top team". Ducati was able to talk him round (with MotoGP promoters Dorna Sports and French GP organiser Claude Michy thought to have been involved in getting Zarco back on the grid) and get him to join Avintia. Zarco maintained his sights were set on stepping up to the factory squad for 2021 should he prove himself in the early races of this year. With COVID-19 halting this, as well as a poor reference on his CV from his failed KTM challenge, Zarco looks locked into Avintia for the foreseeable future. Motogp Motorcycle Racing News via MotoGP news - Autosport https://ift.tt/2uOa9Ei May 24, 2020 at 08:48AM
F1 News - Tony Brooks: Formula 1's last surviving race winner of the 1950s
https://ift.tt/3d3J8mk The formation of the Formula 1 World Championship in 1950 brought with it a production line of charismatic race winners who came to encapsulate an era of gruelling, dangerous and pioneering racing. Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari, Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Nino Farina, Mike Hawthorn and Jose Froilan Gonzalez - legendary names all - were among the series' earliest race winners. Now, sadly, just one of their elite band remains. The death of Moss at the age of 90 last month means fellow Briton Tony Brooks is the last surviving F1 race winner from the sport's tumultuous first decade. While Brooks, now 88, stands alongside Moss as one of the best British drivers never to win the title, his achievements in the sport have always comfortably been eclipsed by his compatriot. Not that Brooks, who quit motorsport at the age of 29, would have lost too much sleep about that. The stats - not lost on him - stand testament to his skill. Of the 75 Formula 1 grands prix (excluding the Indy 500) held in the 1950s, 49 of them - 65% - were won by just three men. Five-time world champion Fangio won 24, two-time champion Ascari bagged 13, and Moss claimed 12 (four more would follow in the 1960s). Fourth on the list with six wins? Tony Brooks. Brooks' tally of grand prix victories may not appear an impressive number by today's standards - not since Michael Schumacher so emphatically rewrote the record books, and with 20-race seasons and bulletproof reliability now the norm - but in the 1950s it was a significant return indeed. Between 1956 and 1959, Brooks won 46% of the races he finished. A similar return for a driver in the 21st century would deliver multiple world titles. The 'Racing Dentist' hits the trackAs a young man, Brooks appeared set to follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a dental surgeon, but he would ultimately eschew his family trade after being drawn to motor racing, beginning in 1952 in club events at the wheel of his mother's Healey Silverstone and progressing from there. By October 1955, Brooks - still a dentistry student at Manchester University - was handed the unlikely opportunity of making his Formula 1 debut at that season's non-championship race in Syracuse, Sicily. Driving for the cash-strapped Connaught team, Brooks sprung an almighty surprise by coming home comfortably clear of the factory Maseratis of World Championship regulars Luigi Musso and Luigi Villoresi. It was the first international grand prix win by a British car since the 1924 San Sebastian race, and set Brooks on course for a more sustained tilt at the highest level of motorsport. His first campaign, at the wheel of a BRM in 1956, was a brief one - just two races in total. But it was an education. After failing to take the start at that season's Monaco Grand Prix, his only other appearance - on home soil at Silverstone - ended when his throttle stuck open and he was flung from his car, sustaining a broken jaw. Speaking to Motorsport magazine in 2003, Brooks described that year's BRM as "lethal... if you tried to drift, it would just fly off the road". Of his Silverstone crash, he added drily: "Being that car, it just went completely out of control, spun into the bank, somersaulted and threw me out. "Finally it landed upside down on the track again, and set itself on fire - the only thing it could reasonably do." Mercifully, a move to Vanwall for 1957 was to prove a huge step forward, delivering a maiden World Championship podium first time out at Monaco, before he claimed his first official F1 win at the British Grand Prix, albeit in a shared effort with fellow Briton Moss. It was also the first time a British team had won a World Championship race - and on home soil to boot. Shared wins are rare things in F1 terms - this was only the third and final time in would ever happen - but it was a welcome one for both men and no source of regret that the glory and points were shared. For Brooks - replaced by Moss after 26 laps after his own car hit trouble - it was a blessing in disguise. He was racing on despite still nursing several injuries - among them "a hole in my thigh as big as a tennis ball" - after a big accident at the 24 Hours of Le Mans just weeks earlier. "We decided to pull in poor Tony because he was still suffering from a shunt at Le Mans and was not in good shape at all. He was out on track and he saw that I had retired and was really relieved to give his car to me," Moss would say in an interview years later. "Sharing it with Tony Brooks, who was such a fantastic driver anyway, certainly didn't take anything away from it." The next two years would see Brooks' career peak - delivering five wins and two world title challenges that might so easily have gone in his favour had the cards fallen differently. Hawthorn won just one race on his way to the title in 1958; Brooks won three. But a lack of reliability at other events meant he could only finish third in the standings (also behind Moss and ahead of Roy Salvadori and Peter Collins, as British drivers filled the top five places). He went one better after moving to Ferrari in 1959, winning twice - in France and on F1's sole outing at Avus for the German Grand Prix - on his way to finishing second in the championship, four points behind Australia's Brabham. Yet rather than this being the catalyst for greater things, Brooks was already considering life beyond Formula 1, the dangers being all too apparent. His crashes at Silverstone in 1956 and Le Mans in 1957 weighed heavily, and he was determined never to allow himself to be at the mercy of potentially unsafe machinery. The fate of several of his peers also fuelled his desire to get out while he could. In the space of just a few short months in 1958, Brooks experienced the loss of two compatriots in racing accidents - Peter Collins at August's German Grand Prix and Stuart Lewis-Evans at the Moroccan Grand Prix in October. Italian driver Musso - famously beaten by Brooks at Syracuse three years earlier - was also killed in a crash at that year's French Grand Prix. Then, in January 1959, new world champion Hawthorn was killed in a road accident three months after retiring. "It was a very, very dangerous sport," Brooks told BBC South Today in 2012. "There were three to four top drivers being killed every year on average through the fifties, and I'd had a pretty good innings. "Of course I would love to have the label 'world champion' but I don't have any great regrets about it. There was only Fangio, Ascari and Moss who won more grands prix than I did in the 1950s." Despite toying with retirement at the end of 1959, Brooks raced on into the 1960s - but his moment at the sharp end of Formula 1 was over. He would be out of the sport before his 30th birthday. Two more seasons delivered just a handful of points and 10th and 11th place in the standings, although he was at least able to bow out in a fitting manner - claiming a podium finish in his final race at the 1961 United States Grand Prix. Modest and unassuming, Brooks' departure from F1 was total. He instead diverted his attention to his family and running a successful car dealership in Surrey, and never raced again. #F1 via BBC Sport - Formula 1 https://ift.tt/OHg7x6 May 24, 2020 at 08:09AM
Motorcycle News - Ask MO Anything: Should I Buy a Motorcycle with a Salvage Title?
https://ift.tt/2XlhCtT Dear MOby, As I wander through the Craigslist and Marketplace wonderland, I can’t help noticing there are some really good deals on bikes with salvage titles. All the sellers always claim these bikes run great, cosmetic damage only if they admit to any damage at all. I’m new to motorcycling, so I probably don’t want a bike that’s perfect anyway – and money is definitely an object. Is a salvage bike a bad idea? What are they hiding? M. Pefrect Dear M, “Salvage title” is another one of those phrases that strikes fear into the hearts of many – similar to “used Jaguar” or “please come into my office and close the door.” All those phrases, though, can portend good news just as easily as bad. Basically what’s usually going on is that an insurance company has decided that the cost to repair damage to a vehicle – be it from a crash, flood, angry ex-spouse with flamethrower or what-have you – exceeds what the insurance company thinks the vehicle is worth. At that point, they write the owner a check and take the vehicle, which they’ll probably then sell at an auction unless it’s totally beyond repair, or sometimes back to the owner. At that point, the new title will have something like “salvaged vehicle” stamped on it like a scarlet letter, and its value will have been greatly reduced in the process. For the average civilian who moves blithely from Civic to Kia to Camry and makes payments, this is probably a medium-sized, quickly repressed financial setback. For the savvy repair-minded person, however, the salvage title can be the ticket to a great deal, since anything branded with the scarlet “S” title is worth way less money. Wiki informs us: Industry standards followed by the National Automobile Dealers Association Appraisal Guides, Kelley Blue Book Market Report Official Guide, and the International Society of Automotive Appraisers devalue a motor vehicle that has a salvage title. The Kelley Blue Book automatically rates any salvage vehicle as “poor” and does not value it at all. The value of a vehicle with a salvage title is generally 65-75% lower than the vehicle’s estimated value. For the person who’s at least somewhat mechanical minded, willing to invest a bit of sweat equity, and not concerned with resale value, a salvaged motorcycle can be a great bargain. In the old days, just about any bike more than a few years old with three or four scraped-up body panels, or a scratched frame or swingarm as the result of a gentle lowside, would be too expensive for the insurance people to repair. OEM body panels are way expensive. These days, cheap imported plastic is an easy if inelegant fix, or maybe some nice Sharkskinz race bodywork… or maybe you’re just handy with the Bondo and Rhino liner… In the case of a motorcycle, if the frame isn’t bent and you’re not buying a salvaged Mondial Piega or something equally exotic, tons of perfectly usable forks, wheels, lights, whatever you need, are way more easily sourceable second-hand than in the old days. (And, just because your title isn’t salvage, doesn’t mean you’re in the clear anyway: My $1500 2000 R1 had some obvious damage, but I didn’t realize it had a bent frame until I bumped into the GMD Computrack guy at the track one day. Your R1 is tucked!, he said. Excuse me?) Speaking of the track, in most states you’re not allowed to operate your salvage-titled vehicle on the king’s highways (until you prove it’s roadworthy), which makes salvage-titled bikes an excellent choice for people looking for a track bike. You were only going to put on race bodywork and upgrade the suspension anyway – and you don’t need a license plate, lights or any of that extraneous stuff, do you? Warning: Salvage title is not the same as No title! From the great Brian Catterson: Yup, lots of race/track-day bikes are ex-salvage. Damaged fairings and scratched frames/forks/swingarms (believe it or not) often result in a bike being “totaled” by the insurance company, even if it’s 100% mechanically. I wouldn’t buy a salvage bike with an eye toward reselling it, as resale values are nil. But as a rider, sure, provided all of the DMV ducks are in a row. Oh, and BTW, I would get a title even if you’re just going to ride it at the racetrack. I remember a police flatbed showing up at Willow Springs once and hauling off all of the bikes that the riders couldn’t prove they owned.
If you do want to get your salvage bike back on the road, laws vary from state to state, but the beauty of the modern world is that the www makes it pretty easy to figure out exactly what hoops you need to jump through without braving the DMV repeatedly. In California for example, it’s all spelled out on the DMV website, right here in Requirements for Reregistering a Salvage Vehicle. We are dealing with bureaucracy, but none of it sounds like rocket surgery. Just a couple of forms followed by an inspection to see if the lights and horn work. Many states don’t even require that. Another piece of conventional wisdom is that salvage bikes are hard to insure, but that’s not what people who’ve insured plenty of them say. Our friend Jesse Kiser: I’ve owned like five. I’ve rebuilt all of them, so I know what’s there. The old horror stories came during the custom-bike craze in the early 2000s. There aren’t any significant issues with titles, insurance, etc. anymore. Most have been in North Carolina, and I transferred one in and out of CA… I had full-coverage insurance through Geico on two “Total Loss” title bikes. There’s TONS of hearsay about salvage bikes. I just sold one and had so much crap from Marketplace messages, and no one would take the time to just call the DMV and ask… they just wanted it for even cheaper than my low asking price. In short, then, a nice salvage bike that’s in reasonably decent shape doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all if money is tight, but it’s of course up to you as buyer to determine what reasonably decent means. If you’re new to bikes, bribing an experienced friend or better yet, an actual mechanic to have a look before you jump, is always the best way to go. If the seller doesn’t encourage that, maybe keep shopping. I’m glad you brought this up. I’ve seen a couple of used Jaguars with salvage titles that really appeal to me, but until now I was afraid. Sounds like I shouldn’t be. Step into my office. Direct your motorcycle-related questions to AskMoAnything@motorcycle.com. If you have a hard time telling the difference between Fake News and real, you’ll be amazed at our depth of knowledge on all matters moto and otherwise.
The post Ask MO Anything: Should I Buy a Motorcycle with a Salvage Title? appeared first on Motorcycle.com. Motorcycles via Motorcycle.com https://ift.tt/2Std7JO May 22, 2020 at 05:09PM |
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