#racing

With six different winners in the last six races, trying to predict a winner for Round 12 is a fool’s errand. The usual suspects (minus Dani Pedrosa), Andrea Iannone, Jack Miller, Cal Crutchlow – who’s next? During this period, series leader Marc Marquez has built his lead over his nearest pursuers by being aggressive when he can and protective when he can’t. With #93 up 50+ heading to the two-thirds marker, there’s an eerie absence of pressure. Marquez can be cautious from here on out, while the Yamahas, or at least Valentino Rossi, have already conceded defeat. Sunday’s race should be a nice stroll in the Northamptonshire countryside, then.

Nelson Ledges Road Course in the wet was stickier than Summit Point Raceway in the dry. This was one of the first of many epiphanies I had in 1986 in my first full season of racing with WERA. I had shed my international orange “I am a Hazard” t-shirt along with my provisional novice status the year before with crash-free races at Pocono and Summit Point, and I was now a full-fledged novice racer free to crash with impunity so far as my license status was concerned. An option I would avail myself of at first opportunity.

After getting schooled by the Dueling Andreas of the factory Ducati team in Austria, the fast movers at Movistar Yamaha and Repsol Honda look to get even this week in The Czech Republic. These ambitions appear justified, in that the Automotodrom Brno has a healthy number of what are called “turns,” whereas the Red Bull Ring is more of a long straight with a couple of kinks in it. It will take a heroic effort from the Ducs to convince the racing world that Sunday’s historic result wasn’t an outlier.

You may not be familiar with the company Ghost Works, but chances are good you’ve seen the company’s work. An industrial-design consultancy based in Portland, Oregon, Ghost Works specializes in athletic footwear design. Everything from running shoes to cycling shoes, Ghost Works has designed them. The company also has a long-standing relationship with Fox boots, having designed several products within several categories for the popular motocross brand. The company is no stranger to the moto world, but beyond simply designing boots, the Ghost Works team are enthusiasts of the sport.

KTM‘s new MotoGP race bike made its public debut ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. We’ve previously seen the KTM RC16 undergoing testing last October, but this is the first time we’d seen the V-4 prototype in full colored livery and, as KTM is fond of saying, just about “Ready to Race.” KTM has four more tests lined up before it plans to enter the RC16 at the Nov. 13 season-ending race at Valencia, Spain.

By any measure, today’s Austrian Grand Prix was an eventful race. The starting grid featured an all-Italian front row for the first time since Motegi in 2006. Andrea Iannone, late of the factory Ducati team, won his career first premier class race, several whiskers in front of teammate Andrea Dovizioso. Ducati bikes finished 1st and 2nd for the first time since Phillip Island in 2007. But once the celebration dies down, the Bologna factory may need a reality check, as explained below.

Based upon the test results after Round 9, it appears MotoGP Chief Cheddar Carmelo Ezpeleta has finally located a circuit at which the Ducati teams can compete for a win, their first since 2010. The two-day test, at which the Repsol Honda and Tech 3 teams were AWOL, found seven of the top eight times on Tuesday clutched by Ducati pilots. Wednesday, it was the top four and six of the top ten, with the factory Yamahas and Suzukis claiming fifth through eighth.

Occasionally in this world, team sports produce individual accomplishments that stay etched in people’s minds for years. We know that Marc Marquez qualified on pole at the Sachsenring for the seventh consecutive time. We know that he won at the Sachsenring for the seventh consecutive time. We know that in doing so he became, at age 23, the seventh winningest rider in MotoGP history. It is important, however, to acknowledge the work of his crew that made all of these sevens possible.

Misfortune having found Movistar Yamaha icons Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo last time out in Assen, Repsol Honda #1 Marc Marquez looks to be getting away with the 2016 MotoGP championship. For the riders currently trailing Marquez, i.e., everyone, the GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland couldn’t come at a worse time.

World Superbike and MotoAmerica are both underway this weekend at one of America’s most famous race courses, Laguna Seca. From KTM RC Cup, Superstock, Supersport, and Superpole to Superbike, the combined racing event is so packed with action there should be nothing further compelling you to attend. But, if you’re in need of extra enticement, or maybe a reminder of what you use to love about going, let us spell it out for ya.

The 86th running of the Dutch TT Assen featured so many zany antics that a simple line listing would exceed the space available for this story. Australian Jack Miller’s first premier class win aboard the Marc VDS Honda sits at the top of this list, even though it took him two tries, as the first race was red-flagged after 14 laps. Valentino Rossi recorded his third DNF of the season, his once-high hopes for 2016 in tatters. And Marc Marquez, in deep yogurt early in the first race, leaves Assen with some breathing room between himself and the Yamahas in the 2016 world championship chase.

Seems like months ago when Ducati wildman Andrea Iannone T-boned Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo in Barcelona, handing the Mallorcan his second DNF of the season and costing him the 2016 championship lead. The triple world champion must now commence his attack on Honda wünderkind and series leader Marc Marquez at a venue where his recent fortunes have ranged from bad to worse. Meanwhile, teammate and rival Valentino Rossi and Marquez look to pick things up where they left off last June as we steam into Round 8 of 2016, The Motul TT Assen.

Husqvarna announced a revised FS450 supermoto for 2017, updated with air forks and traction control. The 2017 model is currently listed on Husqvarna’s U.S. site but U.S. pricing and availability is still to be confirmed.

The 2016 Isle of Man TT is done and dusted, and what a fortnight it was! It was a meeting filled with incredible highs and lows, brilliant warm weather throughout, record-setting performances across every class, and, sadly, the death of four competitors. The emotional intensity, fervor, and outright love for the TT and the brave riders who take on the Mountain Course is hard to describe, and quite complex.

The 2016 Isle of Man TT fortnight has come to a close, and thousands of people, from visitors, to racers, to now-unemployed TT umbrella girls are saddened. Our coverage of every race from the 2016 TT can be found at this link. But since my gig is to provide color on the atmosphere and goings on around the Isle of Man, I’m going to pivot now from racing to pork sandwiches.