What a ...lucky rider!

A Bike Accident - video powered by Metacafe

Normally I don’t like to post videos of motorbike accidents for obvious reasons and then for this kind of reports we have FOX News. In any case for the above one I had to bend my rules. The guy is riding with NO helmet (just tons of hair), NO jacket, NO gloves, NO long pants, and … YES nothing happened to him. After being hit on the side, somehow he fell back on his own legs! Unbelievable! No foggy idea on his language too: is he coursing, thanking God or threatening the woman?

Also as you can note, with the exception the other rider, nobody stopped on the scene of the accident .... this is just crazy.

Slow speed turns ...

My friend Antonio from Techline LLC has signaled this video. It’s a gymkhana, a contest where the competitors test their balance skills: the winner is the rider who completes the course in the shortest time without touching the ground with his feet. This type of competition seems to be very common in Asia. What’s interesting to notice is the technique: to make a tight turn at slow speed the rider has to shift his body position far outside the bike with his weight on the outside peg. The farther away the rider moves from his bike the more will lean the bike and the tighter will be his turn. Just the opposite technique used in high speed turns (see Antonio’s picture).

I have never raced in a gymkhana but I grew up in Rome with tight roads and bumper to bumper traffic, a perfect field to challenge your balance and reflex.


Video Source
Picture source: Traffic in Rome

Round 12: Gauloises GP Ceske Republiky

Welcome back MotoGp! We missed you …. Almost a month went by since the last race in Laguna Seca. Time that riders have used to recharge their “batteries”and in some cases to recover from the consequences of injuries. In the meantime the team have been busier than ever fine tuning the present bikes for last leg of the championship and developing the new 800cc for next season. Team and riders managers have probably started meeting each others in restaurants, bar, behind dark sunglasses to re-build new business relationships or consolidate old ones. August went fast for everybody, even for us: vacation trips and outdoor activities replaced the time spent in front the TVs or our computers. Personally I have not taken care of my beloved Pure Motorbike Passion for almost 2 months, but I am back with the intent to post one or two pieces on a weekly basis.
The first surprise of the weekend happened on Friday: Valentino shocked everybody by setting up the bike with qualifiyng tires. Unheard strategy with unquestionable results given his pole position on Saturday. The obvious goal was to put an end to the terrible string of qualifying results accumulated so far. With the exception of the GP in Italy and in Catalunya, Valentino this year started almost every race in the 3rd or 4th row. Sunday was Showtime: DESMOCapirossi was untouchable taking the lead of the race since the first lap and winning the race at a pace that could not be matched by anybody else. Before easing off on the last lap he had 8 seconds on Valentino. I call him DESMOCapirossi because it’s with the Ducati DESMO16 that last Sunday he was able to mark a new record: he is the only winning rider still active after 16 years from his first GP victory.
Behind Capirex, Valentino had his own challenge with an aggressive Pedrosa that after starting in 9th position, in only 8 laps was able to reach the third position and for a while to aim at getting the second place. The battle between two champions was breathtaking, with several attacks of the Spaniard blocked going to the apex of the turn. For two times the young talent was able to pass Rossi who retook the position immediately after on both occasions.

Behind them Kenny Roberts Jr. lead a dynamic group followed by Melandri, Stoner, Hopkins, Nakano and Hayden. For the Kentucky Kid was the worst result of the year. He blamed a poor grip on the rear tire and a malfunctioning slipper clutch. Something must have happened because he lost positions after positions without any particular resistance.
The Cech Gp has once again revealed the potential skills of ex 250cc riders Pedrosa, Stoner and Elias. They look totally confortable with the big 4 stroke bikes, but how much credit they do deserve? As my brother Roberto keenly points out, the evolution of the electronic in the traction control and in the slipper clutches along with the use of the fat rear rubbers make the bikes less prone to spin the tires. Clean and smooth styles are rewarded with faster laps and competitive results. We have the Michelin technicians claiming that Pedrosa’s riding style is very similar to Biaggi’s one. But he stopped racing last year … someone could argue. Well, with the MotoGp bikes reduced to 800cc for 2007 is just a coincidence that Ducati is looking at him as rider in a satellite team?

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NESBA: Pocono Raceway FUSA course Aug 12th

What a blast! The FUSA course at the Pocono Raceway marks the middle of the summer. As usual NESBA had it on Saturday and it was typically overcrowded. The track is organized by two straights and a banking borrowed from the oval and the rest from the infield. Everybody has a love/hate relationship for the layout of the circuit (marked in red in the picture).

In my opinion the biggest issue is that it doesn’t flow well, especially for the bumps and patches that characterize the infields. This summer I was there on Thursday with the school and on Saturday with NESBA, so I had plenty time to get used to the rough surface.
The weather was stunning and the riders upbeat. Whoever has been there knows the magic atmosphere that hundreds of bikes and their owners can create under the long opened garage: loud music, comments, bikes that come and go, some of them with the scars of an unfortunate crash. Beginners are the most thrilled: they can enjoy the high speeds of the straights without being to concerned with the following turns, because they are shaped like funnels so lines, brake markers and turn points are less critical than in more typical situations. Saturday I was assigned as Control Rider to the Beginners but I ended up riding with the Intermediates as well, and of course with the Advanced group; just a couple of breaks for gasoline, water and some chitchat with my numerous friends.

I attached a few pictures of us: Naim Behdzet (from the back … my former student!),Frank Aluzzo # 326, Steven Lombardi # 324, and myself.

Pictures:
- for more pics covering the event visit Racedayphoto
- Pocono Raceway Track

European "Banzai"

My friend Almos is suggesting a very funny video of an European (Austria, Vienna) amateur endurocross race. Somehow it reminds me those Japanese games where the participants are never able to go from one station to the other one without falling ruinously. In TV the Japanese contenders keep smiling and laughing, in this video we cannot tell because of the helmets but my guess is that they are, at least, “displeased” … (LOL).

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MotoGp Poll: Gas British Grand Prix

Once again ... I have listed the first 7 riders in the championship as potential candidates. Scroll up and down to read the whole list and click on one of the choices. The poll will be immediately updated.

Last Saturday in Assen, until the end, Nakano (13th in the World Championship) was in 3rd and Pedrosa 4th. They became 2nd and 3rd only because Colin Edwards crashed in the very last turn of the race.

Round 8: A-Style TT Assen

Who needs you? Yes, last Saturday in Assen the Americans run the show … well the Italians were there but in what physical condition? The carnage in Catalunya not only eliminated Gibernau for a few Gps, but also pounded heavily Melandri and Capirossi. Also last Thursday Valentino Rossi too crashed fracturing his ankle, his wrist and bruising his thorax.



Anyhow the 3 Italian riders had better luck than the Spaniard Elias forced to return home after breaking his shoulder during free practice.
The day of the race the final grid saw in order Hopkins, Nakano and Edwards on the first row; Hayden, Pedrosa and Vermeulen in the second row. Surprisingly Melandri was in the 7th position, when Capirossi in 15th and Rossi only in the last position, 18th.
The race was almost tedious: Edwards took immediately the lead that he maintained up to the last 2 laps. During the race only Hayden was able to remain in sight with Edwards, because the 3rd rider, Nakano had accumulated a gap of 5’. It was only on the last couple of laps that Hayden was able to fill the gap and to attack Edwards going into a very fast chicane. The Honda rider took the inside line and Colin was left with no option to stand his bike and going straight down the escape road to get back on the track 1’ behind Hayden.. At that point it seemed that Nicky had the victory in his hand but the Texas Tornado in half lap was able to make up the distance and pass again the Kentucky Kid with 2 turns to go. Going into the last chicane Edwards took the inside while Hayden tried the impossible attacking him on the outside at a speed that could have never managed thru the turn. Both of them, on the brakes with a torpedo attitude, had already missed the turn point area: Hayden suddenly took the gravel area while Edwards off line, missed the apex and running over the cement edge and the synthetic grass, high-sided from his Yamaha. The lucky man, Hayden rejoined the track and won his first race of the season. Edwards was able to remount the bike and finishing 13th. Personally I didn’t enjoy the end of the race, and maybe even the winner felt strange about it because during the comments with the media Nicky didn’t mention at all what happened in the last lap. Nakano got the 2nd place and Pedrosa 3rd after dicing with Stoner and Roberts Jr. in the last part of the race.

And the Italians? Melandri 7th @ 18’’, Rossi 8th @ 23’’ and Capirossi 15th @ 1’ 17’’.
By looking at the gaps among the riders more than a motorbike race it looked like a mountain stage of the Tour de France with all the participants separated by big gaps at the end, but then ,if you analyze the fastest lap of each person you will discover that the injured Rossi’ best time was 1’17’’77 vs. Hayden’s best time of 1’17’10. Let's think about ...

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MotoGp Music : Honda Fortuna #33

Another taste of MotoGp Music, this time offered by Marco Melandri, Team Fortuna

Revving ...too much!

Over the years I have heard about different mechanical accident but never in relation to a piston blowing through the head and ... forearms.

MotoGp Music : Suzuki Rizla

Music (only with Internet Explorer) for our ears offered by Suzuki Rizla

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