On-Track Off-Road issue 182

RALLY

quick start

Before OTOR starts up again for 2019 Supercross will be full underway as well as the 41st Dakar where reigning champions Red Bull KTM will be looking for their 19th consecutive success and the likes of Monster Energy HRC are hoping to wrestle the rally crown away. Peru launches the 5000km race on January 6th Photo by HRC/MCH Photo

AMA-SX

anderson again?

2019 AMA Supercross is just weeks away and teams will soon be dipping into a frantic USA-spanning schedule. Take your pick in 450SX: Tomac? Musquin? Webb?

Osborne? Barcia? Or perhaps Jason Anderson will be able to reinforce the start of a new hegemony?

Photo by Simon Cudby

MotoGP

systems down For a section of the MotoGP paddock December and January comes as a blessed relief. For others armed with tools and data it is a frantic and key phase of getting ready to reset. The two month winter period features very little in the way of action but the ‘racing’ never subsides Photo by CormacGP

Feature

6

of the finest best moments & talking points from 2018 MXGP

By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer

Feature

passing of the baton?

Argentina, Rnd 1 of 20, March Argentina, March 2018. A new MXGP campaign begins in Neuquen for the fourth visit to Patagonia. Gone are the lights of Losail, Qatar – for the first occasion since 2013 - and the sweeping curves of volcanic earth is the spectacular setting for the Grand Prix opener.

Neuquen, the facility and the atmosphere alone would be a memorable stage to get the season started but fans were treated to the first instalment of the Cairoli/ Herlings dispute. The reigning champion claimed the first moto to halt the looming superior run of form that Herlings had established towards the end of 2017 but the second moto was pure thriller.

Buoyed by his decreasing deficit to leader Cairoli, a rampaging Herlings hit every knuckle of the Argentine terrain to chop at the massive nine-second cushion.

Cairoli unwillingly assisted with some uncharacteristic errors and the order changed in a grandstand last lap finale.

It would be the first of thirteen podiums (from twenty rounds) with the teammates on the box together, eleven of those in a 1-2 ranking. For Herlings it was a major confidence boost after a shaky and arm-pump riddled Saturday while Cairoli had his eyes widened to the depth of the task facing him in 2018. It was a thumping and breathtaking first salvo. Typically the initial (nervy) fixture of any championship is hardly a barometer for what will come to pass but Tony and Jeffrey started slugging as soon as the gates dropped in South America.

Desalle juices the orange russia, Rnd 6 of 20, may Round six of twenty and MXGP heads back to the popular (but fast and unforgiving) Orlyonok facility on the banks of the Black Sea for the second year in a row. The riders discovered the real pace and potential of the track on the May Day holiday (a Tuesday bizarrely) having waded their way through torrential rain and mud the previous summer. Sunshine beat down on the paddock in Russia and bounced particularly bright from Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Clement Desalle who managed to register two excellent starts (second both times) to construct the base of the sole victory in 2018 for a Japanese manufacturer (and the 21st win for the Belgian in his career, making him the third most successful racer in MXGP this decade).

Desalle’s escape in the first moto and narrow 1.5 second win over Cairoli was the first part of his spoils. Cairoli and Herlings had engaged in their own very watchable duel for second place and ran out of time and laps to attack the #25.

With Cairoli in fourth and struggling to pass Tim Gajser in the second moto, Desalle cruised behind Herlings to grasp the overall. Sadly, he wouldn’t be able to take profit of another similar opportunity for the rest of the campaign.

Feature

Cairoli’s Hope Italy, Rnd 11 of 20, June Early June 2018. MXGP is rocked by news filtering out of Belgium that series leader Herlings – vanquisher of the last four Grands Prix in a row – has snapped his right collarbone in a training crash.

Red Bull KTM confirm a fourth set of surgery on the Dutchman’s upper torso and damage to the plate that had already been inserted. The rest of the MXGP pack can smell a break in more ways than one. Herlings is cursing his luck, what he would call ‘a bump in the road’ on social media, but Tony Cairoli strides through the open door back into title contention at round eleven of twenty with barely a second glance.

#222 aces both races in front of an eager home crowd at Ottobiano and Herlings’ hard-earned 60 point gap at the top of the championship is hacked down to just 10. At the time it felt like a title ‘reset’ that had neutral fans rubbing their hands: what could Cairoli do from here?

However less than three weeks after he tasted a surgeon’s knife, Herlings had managed to drag the ship back onto course and the waters became significantly calmer as he reasserted the same pre-injury routine.

prado’s first Italy, Rnd 4 of 20, april For all the brilliance of Jorge Prado’s debut season in 2017 there were some concerning signs that the teenager was not quite ready for MX2 Grand Prix, and his propensity to pull out of hot and physically-demanding race conditions hinted at a fragility that might just prevent his enormous potential from being reached. Nestling under Claudio and Davide De Carli’s wing (as well as Tony Cairoli’s) in the winter was a change of tact by the Prado family as they partly abandoned their Belgium-based programme for the climes of Italy. It turned out to be a shrewd piece of manoeuvring by KTM motorsport honcho Pit Beirer. Little was known about Prado’s work in Italy, only that he’d fractured his elbow only a few weeks before the first Grand Prix in Argentina and it looked as though the now-seventeen year old would again flatter to deceive. In Neuquen a first moto crash contrasted with the dominant display by teammate and world champion Pauls Jonass and it looked as though Jorge might be in for a ‘difficult second year’.

He quickly changed his tune as fitness and bike time increased. He ran Jonass much closer in a frozen Valkenswaard, then suffered slightly under the weight of home GP expectation at Redsand.

By round four and the arrival to Arco di Trento and Prado was ready to strike. The compact, stony and winding Italian course held good memories. He’d podiumed for the first time in EMX250 there in 2016 and mastered MX2 for his maiden GP triumph in 2017. With Jonass toiling, Prado used the brutal effectiveness of his starts around a course that difficult for passing to win the first moto (the first of the year and of what would be seventeen in total) and then chase Thomas Covington in the second to secure the overall. Arco was verification of Prado’s credentials for the title.

It brought him to within 30 points of Jonass and a mini gulf that he’d paddle through gently up until round thirteen. Italy was also the first of twelve Grand Prix wins for Prado and he’d only miss the podium twice for the rest of a ground breaking season.

Feature

British base and Turkey pate Britain & Turkey, Rnd 8 & 18 of 20, june & September An air of decorum and professionalism existed within Red Bull KTM for the most part in 2018. This could be due to effective leadership, but managing the atmosphere couldn’t have been easy with four of the five riders in factory orange trading positions on the track and swiping points away from the other with the slightest invitation. There were two notable flash points. The first came between Herlings and Cairoli at the British Grand Prix at Matterley Basin and round nine of twenty. Herlings led by 28 points and had claimed the last two events in Latvia and Germany coming to the UK. Cairoli was circulating quickly at one of his favourite circuits. Their clash in the first moto coming into the final two laps was another jaw-dropper (only minutes beforehand Herlings had performed one of the best overtaking moves of the season by sweeping through outside ruts to gain the lead).

The collision led to a tweaked knee for the reigning champion and Cairoli could offer previous little in the way of retaliation when Herlings was hunting his rear wheel again in the second moto. The degree of ‘racing incident’ validity is debatable, and the Cairoli camp were adamant that Herlings’ tactics were overly aggressive but the Dutchman was unapologetic and claimed he had no intention to hit his teammate. It was Herlings 100th GP podium and not the cleanest won but further underlined his willingness to usurp the champion and rattle him at any given opportunity.

Herlings was respectful afterwards while Cairoli didn’t offer too much in the way of comment.

“He is a nine time world champ for a reason,” said Herlings. “You can win one title with a bit of luck but never nine! He is one of the best riders in the sport. He is still at the top at 32 and I don’t think he has ridden better than he has now. Luckily I was able to pull it off today.

I didn’t want to ride the whole second moto in his roost.”

Secondly, in MX2, the tangle between Prado and Jonass had far more serious ramifications. Thanks to Prado’s juvenility and Jonass’ happy demeanour the rivals were easily comfortable in each other’s company…despite the close to-and-fro of their 2018 battle for the red plate. Prado’s eagerness and perhaps lack of experience compared to the Latvian with three more years of Grand Prix under his belt, was to blame for their crash while disputing the lead in Turkey, round eighteen of twenty. It was a sizeable prang that allowed Thomas Covington to win on the day and pretty much ended a strong rally by Jonass to stop Prado’s walk to the MX2 championship. The MXGP-bound athlete stretched ligaments in his knee and although he attempted the Dutch GP at Assen (in the vain hope that Prado would somehow falter in the sand and he’d be in with a last chance at Imola) he allowed his rival to mathematically confirm ownership of the series prior to the Italian closer by opting for surgery.

Feature

hold on honda

indonesia, Rnd 12 of 20, july MX2 graduation involved pleasing progress for the likes of Kemea Yamaha duo Ben Watson and Jago Geerts, a second term of improvement for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Thomas Kjer Olsen, a best-ever season for Thomas Covington (in what was his last in MX2) and bright signs from athletes like Henry Jacobi, Jed Beaton and Conrad Mewse. It was HRC’s Calvin Vlaanderen who gathered plenty of attention in what was a campaign of declaration; a term where the South African was one of just three principal Honda riders in the MX2 pack and bustled his way towards regular podium contention.

Like Watson and Olsen, Vlaanderen is limited by his size and weight on the 250, but, regardless, built effectively to a first glorious win in Indonesia with consecutive podium results in Germany and Britain and bookended the first half of 2018 as the ‘one to watch’ in Grand Prix.

Vlaanderen’s success in Pangkal Pinang was refreshing because MXGP had been largely under siege from athletes accustomed to victory and spoils. To watch #10 drink-in every second of joy with his maiden accomplishment was a delightful reminder that not every motocross athlete’s goal is to string multiple wins and titles, and the chase to achieve just one moment of timelessness is long and bloody hard. The effect of inflated confidence was clear to see with further trophies a week later at Semarang and then in the Czech Republic once back in Europe.

Calvin’s 2018 would tumble to the lowest point at the Motocross of Nations but he’d already made his mark as the sole first-time winner this year. It was also the sole triumph for Honda in 2018, the first since 2016 in MX2 and gave the Japanese giants reason not to treat their CRF250R technology too dismissively.

MXGP BLOG

keep a watch...

Damn, motocross: this sport never stops reminding us how brutal it can be.

Last week 2018 Motocross of Nations hero Glenn Coldenhoff was ejected off his Standing Construct KTM and into hospital with three compressed thoracic vertebrae and a broken wrist. The accident, while training at Lommel, was captured on video and makes for uncomfortable online viewing. The 27 year old Dutchman was not exaggerating when he described the extent of his injuries as “very lucky” via an Instagram post.

Only nine weeks earlier and Coldenhoff had been flying upwards in a more figurative way with his comprehensive success at RedBud. As with new teammate Max Anstie at Matterley Basin in 2017, Glenn had forged a magnificent career highlight in the biggest window but – as with Anstie in the early phases of 2018 – has soon learned again that this punishing discipline is not slow or hesitant to change the direction of the slope.

Also fortunate for the #259 is the fact that he won’t (allegedly) require an operation, which should make his recovery time easy to chart. You have to feel some sympathy for the Standing Construct team however. After the injury setbacks for Kevin Strijbos and Valentino Guillod before the 2018 championship even got underway their latest star, alongside Anstie and Ivo Monticelli, has now thrown winter plans into the mire.

Glenn’s accident came some days after the news emerged that Stefan Everts – motocross’ record holder for world championships and Grand Prix wins and the statistical target for both Red Bull KTM riders Tony Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings – has been in a serious battle against a Malaria infection. Stefan’s disappointing episode with Suzuki undoubtedly led to a hard time for the Belgian although he took time away from the spotlight (which he’d inhabited practically all of his life, barely pausing after his retirement in

2006 before he launched into management) to guide son Liam and take stock.

Everts lost his spleen in an accident while racing in the 1990s and always took care around Grand Prix tracks in inclement conditions to avoid possible illness. The 46 year old is the ultimate benchmark in international motocross but was no stranger to big injury and it is dismaying to see how the consequences of racing can still bear such an influence long after the goggles have been wrapped around an empty helmet.

Coldenhoff and Everts were of course part of Red Bull KTM’s recent history. Don’t let the impact of the factory’s mark on the sport on grand prix and in AMA competition over the last five years go be underestimated.

By Adam Wheeler

It seems like the 450 SX-F (or Husqvarna FC 450) is very much the motorcycle to have in the premier classes. 2019 will see Anstie, Shaun Simpson and Max Nagl all back in orange. The works team will look no further than Cairoli and Herlings (and why would they?) but there will be more orange pervading the top ten of MXGP by the time Argentina comes around.

On a recent visit to the factory and in an interview with VP of Offroad Robert Jonas it was interesting to listen to the Austrian warning against possible complacency in the company. There is a perception that 2018 and that sledgehammer of success came easily for KTM. Of course very few actually see the work, decisions and anguish that goes on behind the scenes and the amount of miles on the road for tests and riding before a single truck appears in a race paddock.

KTM have their work ethic as well as some truly outstanding

motorcycle racers in order to maintain their standards and (perhaps) a similar rate of spoils.

A quick look around the race HQ in Munderfing (five minutes away from the main factory plant) and listening to someone like MX2 Team Manager Dirk Gruebel talk of the travel to the southern corners of Europe in December and January to try to mix the magic formula again only reveals even more how hard they are pushing.

Red Bull KTM, like Coldenhoff, Everts and practically anyone else who has made a conscious decision to gamble their health, are starkly away of how motocross can rise and trash all that effort and dedication in an instant. Only three years ago plans and programmes were crossed through with a pen after crashes by winners such as Cairoli and Herlings (and look how Tim Gajser’s 2018 was effectively doomed with one heavy spill only weeks before the first GP).

Teams, athletes and sponsors will be entering that tricky void after Christmas. A time when riding hours crank-up and everything gets a bit more serious and focussed with the journey to Argentina creeping closer and closer. It’s also a phase when even the most experienced of riders will be wondering about their race speed and whether their ratio of work has cut the mark. How fast do they ride and take risks out of competition to ensure they are fully on-point for when the gate drops?

On another theme, I’d like to thank each and every person who took time out to send a message or note of support over the last two weeks. It meant a lot and there have been some lovely gestures from inside the MXGP family. Merry Christmas and best wishes to all.

mxgp FeAtuRe

toP mXGP riDers

By Adam Wheeler. Photos by Ray Archer

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mxgp Feature

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2018 mxgp top five

jeffrey herlings Position: 1st Team: Red Bull KTM Factory Racing What did he do?

RacerX Rider of the Year (the first time a grand prix athlete has scooped the accolade) and Cycle News Rider of the Year as well as the most successful athlete in any FIM series in 2018: it’s hard to bestow any more acclaim on the former #84. Herlings swelled a wave of statistics that simply brushed his rivals back onto the shore. A 100% podium record, 17 wins from 19, 19 red plates, 33 moto wins from 38 and he dropped only 17 points from the maximum possible for the nineteen events he entered. Astonishing.

What did we like?

The manner of the dominance. Those results were obtained on Argentine volcanic ash, frozen Dutch sand, Indonesian and Turkish hardpack and a range of other terrain, climate and across other diverse circuits in MXGP. Herlings was the complete package once he and Red Bull KTM had refined his starts by round five.

He frequently won motos in the first laps, powering away or up to the leader and making short work of any resistance. The then-23 year old commented – more than once – on the commitment and sacrifice he had to reach in order to achieve the fitness and conditioning to be able to set such intensity. He broke his peers with flurries of time-attacks. He’d usually provide a preview of his speed in qualification and even though Cairoli bettered his rate of holeshots by some distance Herlings knew a period of limit-pushing would be enough to create a winning margin. #84 carried an air of inevitability into the final quarter of the season.

Herlings could bolt from the stable like no other but the fact that he could then control races with a similar proximity of lap-time – and very few mistakes – meant he enjoyed a clear advantage in 2018.

Standout moment?

A toss-up between his pursuit and last lap relegation of Tony Cairoli in Argentina to win the open round of the championship, and his 1-1 at Assen for his home Grand Prix that prompted some of the most widespread and joyful celebrations since David Philippaerts ended a tense 2008 campaign with title success (the first Italian MXGP/MX1 World Champion) at Faenza. Herlings flirted with disaster in his comeback from collarbone surgery in Indonesia – Team Manager Dirk Gruebel believes he took unnecessary risks that day in Pangkal Pinang – but his gamble to push for victory was a crushing statement in a phase of the campaign when Herlings was at his weakest.

More to come?

This is the big question. 2018 was clearly a major effort for Jeffrey; physically, mentally, even personally. Gruebel claims that 2019 will see the same sort of force from #84 purely because Herlings wants to back-up the display of excellence, and anything near the same sort of track record would cement his impact on the sport. Another important factor is that win tally. His last win of eight in a row at the final round in Imola drew him up to 84 career triumphs (truly further proof that 2018 was Herlings’ year) and he has that 101 record set by Stefan Everts in his sights. When the Belgian (who will hopefully recover from his Malaria affliction) retired in 2006 his numbers were thought to be ‘untouchable’. It would be some stretch for Herlings to equal the total in 2019 – and Cairoli is still ahead in the list with 85 wins – but there is no bigger carrot.

mxgp Feature What did he do?

He was the only challenger, the only one to keep pace. This distinction alone – especially against a rival almost ten years younger – vindicates any plaudits in 2018. Jeffrey Herlings commented in interviews that he felt Tony, at 32, was riding better than ever this year and while such remarks could have been made to elevate his own achievements confirmation was provided by the man himself at Assen. “I think this is one of my best years… apart from the last part of the series where I was struggling with some injuries,” he said. “The speed was unbelievable for sure. It’s an honour to finish behind Jeffrey because he is the fastest rider in the world at the moment and I didn’t finish second to a slow guy. I know I can still be competitive and have to work a bit harder to be strong the whole race.” Nine titles and eighty-five wins have not dimmed Cairoli’s enthusiasm and, fortunately for motocross fans, his thirst to lead and continually better himself did not fade. 2018 would have been far more boring without him.

What did we like?

Those starts, and attempts to break Herlings by upping the ante from the first laps were a formidable (but eventually unfruitful) tool for Tony this year. It showed his competitiveness and potent combination with the KTM 450 SX-F. Cairoli was also a class act. There were controversial bumps with Herlings – none more so than their contact at the British Grand Prix at mid-season that sent the Sicilian tumbling – but the slightly simmering rivalry did not veer into drama or conflict behind the scenes. Respect remained, along with a minor distance under the awning. 2018 was a culture shock for Cairoli. He’d never faced such a virulent and consistent rival over the course of an entire season, so he needed to work out a strategy beyond his normal rate of unmatchable consistency and didn’t quite manage it.

tony cairoli Position: 2nd Team: red bull ktm factory racing

Harrying, pressurising and even intimidating Herlings on the track might not be in his character but it is a tactic that maybe his followers and general race fans would have like to see more. A tweaked knee, yanked thumb and fractured hand took the edge off his conditioning at points of the term, even to the extent where he might have hovered with the white towel in terms of trying to actually race Herlings each weekend, but Cairoli kept on grounding out results and podium finishes to frustrate Jeffrey and stretch the notion of ‘what if’ down to the last motos of 2018.

Standout moment?

A very fine win in Spain for round three was the first of the season and a brief moment of resurgence against Herlings’ growing confidence but the effect of the victory was wiped out the following week when his teammate beat him on native ground at Arco di Trento where he had prevailed in such spectacular fashion in 2017. Tony gobbled his chance to appease the fans at Ottobiano for round eleven and while Herlings was at home nursing his recently operated collarbone. #222’s energised 1-1 in the Italian sand drew the ball back plump into his court and almost ‘reset’ MXGP. More to come?

At the end of 2017 some were questioning Cairoli’s motivation more than ever. Injury-hit seasons in 2015 and 2016 had been successfully

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2 erased by his comeback and ninth crown.

There are no such doubts for 2019. Cairoli clearly has his target. The real poser comes over his energy and ability to reach Herlings’ performance level. Noises from the Red Bull KTM camp so far this autumn would seem to indicate that the 33 year old is accepting the

challenge and prepared to find new boundaries. Even though he has insisted that career numbers hold no real importance to him, Cairoli is also close to making history. He too can reach the magical 101 and a tenth FIM gold medal would be another admonishment of his worthy status as the best of all time.

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2018 mxgp top five

clement desalle Position: 3rd Team: Monster Energy kawasaki What did he do?

In short, the best of the rest. Clement broke the orange grip in Russia for round six thanks to one of those rare days where he was a handful for any rider in the world: if only there had been more Sundays like that. Astonishingly Desalle’s feat with the Monster Energy Kawasaki was the sole win by a Japanese manufacturer in the premier class and he was one of only three athletes from seven to make the MXGP podium on a non-Austrian manufactured motorcycle. Seven of Clement’s nine rostrum appearances involved the third step of the box, but the fact that four of them came in the final five Grands Prix helped the Belgian to his sixth career top three championship finish since 2009.

big gaps that the KTMs would eek over the rest of the pack on a weekly basis.

What did we like?

That silky smooth style has become more measured and less frenetic in recent seasons, largely through his work to increase the competitiveness of Kawasaki’s new KX450F equipment and through injury. However Clement could still react and prod-away at rivals and his form in 2018 was perhaps the most promising and biting yet in his three year tenure on the green bike. Races with the likes of Romain Febvre, Gautier Paulin and Tim Gajser provided some excellent sideshow action away from the KTM headliners.

In ’18 Desalle found regularity with results and presence at the head of the pack, but the perfectionist knows the key to improvement involves denting the

More to come?

If 2018 taught Desalle about his limits with the KX450F then 2019 could see him exploit his potential a bit more. #25 approached the year with caution after 2016 and 2017 were interrupted by injury and he knew that making it through forty motos in seven months was almost one of his goals for the season. Mission accomplished, (with some further bumps on the way and without further physical setbacks) and entrenched as Kawasaki’s main MXGP hope for two more years means Clement still has much to offer any championship narrative.

Standout moment?

Russia. It was a glimpse of another athlete threatening the hegemony and was still early enough in the season for Desalle to mount an outside bid for the championship (he was only 70-odd points adrift after Orlyonok and both Cairoli and Herlings would go on to have their injury wobbles). It was a shame then that some mistakes and crashes kept him away from the box for the next six events. He picked up the pace in the second half of the campaign and led the way in Switzerland but rarely looked as capable as around the fast Russian inclines.

mxgp Feature

jeremy seewer Position: 8th Team: wilvo yamaha

What did he do?

Rookie season in MXGP and was cast late into the well-supported and resourceful Wilvo Yamaha team after the drawn-out implosion of Team Suzuki and a contract that should have seen Jeremy in factory yellow for 2018. The Swiss had to learn a new motorcycle after a career with RM-Z technology, and quickly. Seewer battled the odds, was modest with his goals after a 2017 where he made an uphill struggle to win the MX2 championship and was very much a protagonist of that class and shone with top ten capability in MXGP. By the end of the season he was posting top five finishes in arguably the most daunting competition yet in premier class history.

What did we like?

The calm, measured approach but still with such style and a sense of flamboyance on the YZ450F. The team and bike were ‘satellite’ compared to the Monster Energy Yamahas of Romain Febvre and Jeremy Van Horebeek but Seewer gave the impression that the technical difference was non-existent and segued into the category with a bustling energy to make a name for himself. There were crashes, mistakes and copious learning but there were also great starts, frequent moments as the leading Yamaha (so much so that his transfer to the factory team was confirmed by mid-season) and relentlessness to make a nuisance of himself among the ‘big boys’. The blue #91 was a constant sight.

With teammates Shaun Simpson and

Arnaud Tonus enduring more injury woes Seewer carried the squad on his relatively inexperienced shoulders without qualm.

Standout moment?

Great form in the sand; terrain that represented a former weakness that Seewer has worked diligently to improve. The sandy races in 2018 saw some of his best results.

Ottobiano came after a decent showing in France, and despite some shaky moments in Asia his 5-6 at Lommel (of all places) was a season highlight. He found the top five again in the pressure-cooker of his home Grand Prix at the next round in Switzerland.

More to come?

Jeremy was tussling with another ‘rookie’ – Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Julien Lieber – early in 2018 as the MX2 graduates rattled senior names in the MXGP leading group. Seeing the #91 and #33 putting their wheels up against decorated 450 racers gave great cause for optimism in their respective potential. Lieber succumbed to some injury problems while Seewer’s remarkable tendency to escaped unscathed from tumbles (and to be effectively frugal with race mistakes) meant that he surged ahead. Factory backing means another change for a rider that thrived in the relative consistent climes of Suzuki for five years but the extra support around the Yamaha set-up and Michele Rinaldi’s superb record with ‘new’ athletes into the Italian set-up means ’19 bodes well.

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2018 mxgp top five

tim gajser Position: 4th Team: team hrc What did he do?

Gajser took a long time to recover from a horrific pre-season crash at the Starcross International at Mantova, the injury repercussions to his head and jaw affected dayto-day life long after he’d left the hospital in Italy. Sporadic podium finishes in the first half of 2017 became more prevalent as the weeks wound on. By the end of the campaign (and perhaps influenced by Tony Cairoli’s resignation that the title chase was slipping away) Tim popped up with three runner-up positions in the last four events.

Overall he was less than twenty points and one trophy behind Desalle at the end of the year…and despite missing the opening Grand Prix in Argentina.

What did we like?

The charging and irrepressible #243 in the latter phase of the campaign that harked back to the form and figure of his peerless 2016 winning term. Gajser’s 2018 was almost the definition of how unexpected injury can derail plans and a title plight. Tim not only had to rediscover confidence and his competitive edge over time but HRC were also delayed with their ability to test and react against the mauling KTMs. Once he ‘got going’ then he was arguably the most realistic troublemaker to the Herlings/Cairoli axis. There would surely have been more red mixed with the orange if Gajser had travelled to Argentina and began the season without one of the worst setbacks of his young career. He is still just 22.

Standout moment?

Great front-running pace in Indonesia with some classic Gajser form on the Semarang hard-pack for round twelve. That Grand Prix was the second time he’d interrupted the KTMs with a runner-up finish. He was more of a pest in Bulgaria, Turkey and Imola – again all ‘Gajser-friendly’ layouts and terrain where he was again on the second step.

More to come?

In 2016 there were whispered opinions that Tim grasped the MXGP title using almost all of a cat’s nine lives. It was a disingenuous picture of how well he was riding that year but the crashes, injuries and strange decisions in races during 2017 gave some sway to the notion he’d ridden a lot of luck the previous season. Gajser was bitten by the sport in ’17 and again at Mantova. What kind of rider we’ll see come Argentina is a mystery but if it is anything like his pomp of 2016 then the MXGP tussle could welcome a needed and superb extra player. HRC will also need to further dial-in the CRF450R to help the Slovenian in those getaways against the KTMs; his two holeshots against the 27 of Herlings/Cairoli indicated the potential is there.

honourable mentions

mxgp Feature

Glenn Coldenhoff Glenn’s three years with Red Bull KTM came with 7-10-7 championship finishes and where the likeable and professional Dutchman played a solid supporting role to the wins and titles that were floating around him. In 2018 he was more consistent with his performances and points and very rarely dropped out of the top ten. Fourth and fifth on more occasions that he’d like, Coldenhoff chased an elusive podium finish that sadly never arrived this year but then ended his term with the team in the most emphatic way possible at RedBud. Julien Lieber Much in the same vein as Jeremy Seewer, rookie Julien Lieber caused some ripples in MXGP at the first attempt and with a factory Monster Energy Kawasaki that some cynical parts of the Grand Prix paddock felt the Belgian barely deserved. Lieber was quick and occasionally a match for teammate Clement Desalle, all the more surprising considering he missed most of the winter and pre-season after knee surgery. A very decent effort.

Gautier Paulin The whys and wherefores of how the IceOne and Gautier Paulin combo did not quite kick-on to greater prizes after a satisfying 2017 are bound to emerge over time and as the Frenchman returns to Yamaha and his fourth team in six years in the premier class. Fifth place in the championship and four podiums (fifth in the list) meant that 2018 was far from a disaster but still this exceptional athlete is capable of delivering a lot more.

2018 mxgp top five

Products

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J O E Y SAVATGY

Feature

6

of the finest top picks and topics from 2018 MotoGP

By Neil Morrison, Photos by CormacGP

Feature

Photo by Monster Energy/Milagro

Marquez loses his cool 8th April, Termas de Rio Honda Where to start with this bizarre hour-long spell when it felt as though the MotoGP grid had been turned upside down, the FIM stewards had imbibed two sips too many of the local Malbec, and Marc Marquez appeared intent on tearing up his hard-fought reputation, forged over the past three years, as a more mature, considered challenger?

This year’s running of the Argentine Grand Prix had it all: drama; skill; confusion; and, of course, controversy. The race provided some of the year’s iconic images, with Jack Miller and Alex Rins joining Cal Crutchlow and Johann Zarco for a memorable podium fight that pointed to a new generation of challengers waiting in the wings. There was the rare sight of Miller sat alone on the front row after the grid was re-jigged to reflect his foresight in choosing slick tyres – a decision all other 23 riders would abandon the grid to replicate.

And then, of course, there was the loss of Marquez’s cool. From incurring a ride-through penalty for bump-starting his bike after stalling on the grid, his subsequent ride through the pack was as awe-inspiring as it was careless. There is so much to admire in Marquez’s daredevil escapades. But this showing had too much testosterone, too much swagger. On this occasion pride appeared to overrun the part of Marquez’s brain that has so effectively weighed up risk in recent years.

His opportunistic move on Valentino Rossi at turn 13 was careless at best and entirely warranted a penalty that excluded him from the points. Then there was the vitriolic reaction that followed. Yamaha’s Lin Jarvis deemed him to have “a total lack of respect.” Rossi opined he “was ruining our sport.” And the gradual thawing of tensions in the paddock was reversed. Still, it all made a bloody enthralling watch for those keen on scandal.

Oh, and Crutchlow’s brilliant, measured win took him to the championship summit, the first time for a British rider in the premier class since 1979 – another reason this wayward afternoon will live long in the memory.

Lorenzo’s Return 3rd June, Autodromo del Mugello Like Jorge Lorenzo or not, there can be no doubting the Majorcan’s honesty. It’s rare to hear of elite racers, requiring a steadfast self-belief and overwhelming confidence, to talk of depression. But the 31-year old’s outlook wasn’t a positive one after a lackluster start to the season, which got a whole lot worse in France.

“It was [a crazy time]. I was almost in a little depression,” Lorenzo said in a recent interview with BT Sport. He was referencing his prospects for securing a competitive seat for 2019. With Ducati’s belief in his talents ebbing away, the possibilities of a switch to Suzuki dispersed.

There remained a far-off chance in a newly created satellite team. But a man of his standing surely deserved a factory working around his requests. “When I was seeing the possibility to retire, in my head I was getting depressed,” he said.

Not that you’d have known it from watching him at Mugello. From the very start of the weekend, there was the rebuttal of Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali’s disappointment, expressed at this “great rider’s” predicament (“I’m not just a great rider, but a champion,” he said).

There was then an insistence retirement was not an option. “I’ll continue for the next two years … and with a good bike” (little did we know which good bike).

And that was even before we got to Sunday; a day which confirmed his genius on a bike, and underlined the competitive courage that has been a hallmark throughout his glittering 16-year stint in grand prix.

In terms of fighting for the lead, this wasn’t a thriller. But here was a performance of the highest level. A change in how Lorenzo approached each of Mugello’s 15 high-speed, rolling bends was worked on overnight, and put into practice in warm-up. Minimising the effects of front tyre graining effectively staved off Andrea Dovizioso’s challenge after breaking clear mid-race. Even his teammate, only too happy to fire barbs toward the garage’s opposing side, commended the approach. “Both tyres he used were really soft,” opined the Italian. “So to keep that pace until the end was really difficult.”

You can’t keep a good man down.

Feature

Another battle for the ages 1st July, TT Circuit Assen Quality up front. A depth in talent. Memorable headto-heads - all factors that contribute to the greatness of any given era. But those multi-rider contests tend to produce memories that stay longest. The ‘Golden Age’ of the late eighties/early nineties, for example, knew how to put on a show. All-time classics at Paul Ricard in ’88, Phillip Island in ’89 and ’90, and Suzuka in ’91 and ’93 are (rightly) conjured up when arguing the case for that generation being grand prix racing’s most fondly remembered era.

At this rate though, the current crop can’t be far behind. Multi-rider scraps over the past 20 months have become a common occurrence. Even by modern day standards (yes, Michelin’s control tyres and spec electronics have played their part), this year’s Dutch TT was something special. Being the closest top 15 finish of all time was just the start of it. This was an eight-rider brawl that included six different leaders and, by one estimation, 99 overtakes. Who could argue with Marquez when he described it as a “group of wolves, fighting against everybody”?

Lorenzo, a tenth-place qualifier, insisted on setting the tone from the very beginning, taking nine (nine!) riders with an audacious around-the-outside dive at the first turn to assume an early control. From there, the moves came as thick, fast and heavy as a Heavyweight title bout: Lorenzo’s losing of the front at Meeuwenmeer, causing Rossi to tag his rear; Alex Rins’ barge at Struben that left Marquez hanging of the side of the bike; Marquez’s late-braking attempt on Maverick Viñales at turn nine which had both offtrack.

And still Marquez managed to rise above it all, easing clear of the pack with three laps to spare to record yet another decisive triumph. No one in the current era can handle the rough-and-tumble with such aplomb. This was further evidence of his mastery over the current crop.

Dovizioso’s Defiance 5th August, Automotodrom Brno The resumption of the series after a miserly two-week break wasn’t entirely welcomed. But a three-way thriller in the weekend’s main race (which saw the closest premier class top ten finish of all time) had the adrenaline pumping, and heralded a pattern we saw more-of as the year edged toward its close: the dominance of a rejuvenated Ducati pairing only challenged by the everpresent Marquez.

Dovizioso’s late-career renaissance has been extraordinary. Through 2017 his shrewdness and consistency led to each of his six wins. But in these cases he was rarely setting the pace, attacking from the front, and completely at ease with having a target on his back.

Brno represented a sea change.

Rossi may have interrupted it for three laps , but Dovizioso always appeared in control, leading from laps 11 to 21.

Marquez and Lorenzo, benefiting from a patient approach to conserve his rear tyre, kept him honest, though, with the Majorcan lighting up this outing with outrageous braking moves on both men at turns 13 and 14, before blunting Marquez’s last lap charge with an authoritative lunge at turn five.

By then, his team-mate had established enough of a gap to come home ahead - but only just. 0.3s covered the podium. After chastening mistakes at Le Mans and Montmeló, Dovizioso re-found his cool in those critical high-pressure situations.

And his comments the following day confirmed he rated this among his very best victories: “I really love the race for many reasons, from the start to the end,” he said. “I was fighting with three riders and at the end we won – and we speak about Valentino, Marc and Jorge. This is something, when I think about that … it’s something very important for us.”

Marquez’s Revenge 7th October, Chang International Circuit “Perfection doesn’t exist,” according to Alberto Puig, team boss for Repsol Honda, in a recent interview with Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia. “But [Marquez] is quite close.”

If amassing six world titles by the age of 24, isn’t perfection, then I for one, don’t know what is. But he has a point: if his rider could look back upon 2017, those head-to-head losses against Andrea Dovizioso were a blemish on an otherwise exceptional campaign.

The inaugural Thai Grand Prix – voted the best all-round event of the year – was the perfect chance to put this right. Just as Ducati was reaching peak strength, Marquez sought out its challenge and went about nullifying it. This was another multirider scrap, eventually whittled down to a four-man sort-out with Movistar Yamaha’s Viñales and Rossi joining in the fun.

The final three laps were vintage.

Twice Marquez attempted a move in the simple, featureless track’s third

sectors. And twice Dovizioso rapidly responded. Thus Marquez changed tack on the last lap, catching his rival off guard with a smart move at turn five. But it wasn’t done. Far from it, in fact. The horribly tight final turn was always going to witness high drama, and here was an end of race to give Schwantz and Rainey’s Hockenheim ding-dong in 1991 a run for its money.

Unlike the Red Bull Ring and Motegi last season, or Qatar this year, it was Dovizioso’s turn to attack rather than defend. But he soon knew his chances were doomed. “As soon as I touched the brake I knew I had lost the race,” he mused. Drifting wide, Marquez pounced. All the while Viñales hovered just behind, narrowly avoiding an all-or-nothing dive from his team-mate. 0.270s covered the top three, the fifth closest premier class podium of all time.

So much for this being a boring track.

Feature

Rossi Rekindles Magic 4th November, Sepang International Circuit So much of this day had rightly centred on the promising state of Italian racing. Marco Bezzecchi’s attempts to wrestle an unexpected Moto3 triumph failed but won admirers with his postrace outpouring of emotion. In Moto2 Luca Marini confirmed his status as a coming force in grand prix by claiming an assured debut GP win. Meanwhile teammate Francesco Bagnaia wrapped up a deserved world title in that same race, the first championship success for Sky Racing VR46.

But still the figure to whom they all aspire would have the final say. Well, almost. For 16 laps of this engrossing contest, Valentino Rossi produced one of those performances that had all 103,984 in attendance shaking their heads in disbelief. There was a variation of just 0.2s in his times from laps 2 to 15. That this was achieved while 39 years old, in 34 degrees of heat, and a stifling humidity of 55% almost defies logic.

There would be no fairytale ending, however. A certain rider whose machine bears the numbers 9 and 3 was intent on reeling his great rival in.

For 30 minutes the pair engaged in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase that required both men to summon up some of their very best feats. Go back and watch Marquez’s antics for the three laps before Rossi’s fall: an example of controlled, on-the-edge riding as his front tyre skipped and twitched that complimented the Italian’s skills (it’s rare we see Marquez having to work that hard) as much as they did the Catalan’s.

Rossi’s crash on lap 17 of 20 deprived us of the glorious climax we were all awaiting. And it would have been some show, too. “I would’ve ridden to the death,” he joked in Italian later that afternoon. Still, this was confirmation the nine-time champion can perform at the very highest level.

Don’t bet against it occurring more often in 2019.

PROductS

arai Arai have released their new 2019 paintjobs for some of their leading helmet models as well as few other novelties for the refreshed catalogue with products expecting to hit dealerships in the spring. The very capable MX-V off-road lid gets a cool reworking (the Barcia-11 rep is special) and the RX-7V has also been touched up in white, matt and yellow schemes. Take some time to look at the Arai website which gives great insight into the work and construction of the helmet.

www.araihelmet.eu Admittedly it is tricky to see what Arai are doing to combat rotational acceleration and concussion limits compared to other brands but it is hard to argue against the other aspects of their helmet construction. Each Arai lid comes with the same criteria towards quality, namely: five control checks, they are still handmade, built for all-day comfort with an organic shape, smooth shape, hard shell and soft inner shell and a five year limited warranty. There is a good reason why Arai is used by some of the best motorcycle racers on the planet

motogp BLOG

blue still feeling blue...?

2018 was a bad year for Yamaha: 13 podiums from 19 races, including a single, solitary win, the first in 26 GPs. Third in the manufacturer standings behind Honda and Ducati, the Movistar Yamaha team third in the team standings, behind the factory Honda and Ducati teams.

More worryingly, 2018 was not a one-off, but part of a longer decline since the high point of 2015, when they won the rider, manufacturer, and team triple crown, Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi taking first and second in the championship. That year, Yamaha gained 11 wins and a total of 30 podiums. In 2016, that was down to 20 podiums.

In 2017, it was 17 podiums. This year, just 13 podiums…

The loss of Yamaha’s proprietary software was a more sensitive blow. Their ‘Mu Learning’ software was so clever that it would calculate tyre wear from lap to lap, and adapt itself. The spec Marelli software has no such sophistication: the engineers must optimise the engine mapping for the entire race, leaving riders to manage tyre wear by manually selecting TC and engine braking maps.

Yamaha’s decline coincides with the change from Bridgestone to Michelin tyres, and the switch to the spec Magneti Marelli software. The different character of the Michelins did not suit the high corner speed nature of the M1, the front end not providing the confidence needed to fling the bike in and rail around the corner.

As the Hondas got faster and the Ducati got better at going round corners, Yamaha found themselves facing two challenges.

They had to reinvent the chassis to give more feedback from the front tyre, while pampering the rear. But they also needed to find more power and speed, while trying to master the electronics. So they ended up with an engine that was too aggressive and chewed through rear tyres in the first half of the race.

That, in a nutshell, is how Yamaha finds themselves where they are. But how do they fix it?

The Japanese engineers brought two engines for Viñales and Rossi to test at Valencia and Jerez, aimed at solving the issues. Both riders agreed the engine was an improvement, but their comments reveal Yamaha’s deeper problem. At Valencia, Maverick Viñales praised the better engine braking, which allowed him to carry more corner speed. “I felt much better going into the corner,” the Spaniard said. “I stressed the front tyre much less and I can keep the corner speed. That is what I needed through all the year, to arrive faster to the apex.”

But Valentino Rossi was less positive. Yes, the improvement in engine braking was a good step, he said, but the fundamental issue remained.

By David Emmett

“It’s a small help because the bike becomes more easy to ride and you can be more constant.

And it’s more or less the same in acceleration. We tried to have a more soft character to spin less and it’s already a help. But it’s not enough. We suffer too much with the rear tyre degradation, after some laps we slide too much.”

Things were not much sunnier at the Jerez test. “We’re always struggling with grip in acceleration with the slide and spin,” Rossi said. “If you see the test here, like in Valencia with the new tire we are fast.

Maverick is very, very fast. Also Franco [Morbidelli] is fast. But after some laps all the Ducatis and also Suzukis have a better pace.”

Viñales saw it very differently.

“I think we were very competitive with used tyres,” he said at Jerez. “We kept the tyres for nearly 30 laps, and I can still keep really good lap times until the end.” It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t far off.

“We have to find a little bit of mechanical grip, and then we have to adjust the electronics.

We are going to make a good jump if we improve there.”

For the development of a successful racing motorcycle, you need uniform feedback from your riders to be able to set out a direction. That is Yamaha’s problem: they have two riders pulling in different directions. One says the bike is good enough to win a championship on, if they can find some mechanical grip. The other says the bike is good enough for fourth, if they get lucky and someone crashes out ahead of them.

Who to believe? The seven-time MotoGP champion with 19 seasons of experience in MotoGP, but who hasn’t won a title since 2009? Or the youngster you have chosen to be Yamaha’s future because of his obvious potential, despite only having five wins in four seasons in MotoGP?

Is Rossi trying to develop a bike to win the 2019 championship or the 2009 championship? If Viñales hasn’t won a title yet, does he know how to develop a championship-winning bike?

If you were at Yamaha, who would you listen to? And can you afford to get the answer wrong?

Feature

lens

a selection of cormacgp’s peerless work from the 2018 motogp season

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motogp BLOG

2018 gongs...

Rider of the year: Marc Marquez Yes, you may yawn at the predictability. But from early May Marquez’s seventh world crown was never in doubt. Amid MotoGP’s most unpredictable era, he remains the only constant. The 25-year old continued to make the impossible appear ordinary on a regular basis and his insistence on fronting up to Ducati’s potent threat from midseason underlined his continued competitive courage. His insistence of innocence in Argentina aside, this was a near flawless year. Those wins at Assen, Thailand and Sepang rate among the very best in his haul of 70 victories. Oh, and he achieved his late season success with a mangled left shoulder, the seriousness of which only became clear in December.

Race of the year: Argentinean Grand Prix, MotoGP Assen was more combative, more breathless. But the talking points from Argentina totted up so quickly we were still discussing the implications of the

Marquez-Rossi collision weeks later. The grid melee, which led to Jack Miller starting six rows ahead of everyone, was one thing, as was the unlikely four-way fight for the lead that followed. But Marquez’s onerider demolition of the field after incurring a ride-through penalty was as spectacular as it was brash. Just once, too much ego spilled over and his riding hinted he was more intent on making this a one-man spectacle than scoring good points.

His total conviction in his own methods, and Yamaha’s inflated reactions simply added to the theatre.

Overtake of the year: Jorge Lorenzo, Lap one, turn one, Dutch Grand Prix Winning on Ducati was one thing; doing so with a revamped riding style from his days at Yamaha was another.

But the greatest joy in observing Jorge Lorenzo in 2018 was witnessing a combative streak so pronounced he even caught Marquez off guard. Dives under the Repsol rider and Dovizioso

in little over four seconds at Brno was a moment to savour.

So, too, was a late braking assault on Marquez in Austria. But his early exchanges at Assen topped them all. From the front of the fourth row, the Majorcan navigated a path to first by the outside of turn one via a ridiculously late-braking move around the outside. They used to call him Por Fuera (Round the Outside) for good reason.

Disappointment of the year: Maverick Viñales For a rider set to rule the world just over a year ago, Viñales was grand prix racing’s forgotten man until late October. He called this “easily my worst year” for good reason. Those familiar failings were continually on show: mainly a tendency to fluff his starts, and an inability to run a fast pace in the opening laps. His demands to remove crew chief Ramon Forcada and experienced technician Javi Ullate sent his side of the box into a temporary tailspin.

It’s to his credit he never gave up, and was back on form dur-

By Neil Morrison

ing the flyaways. But 2018 highlighted the need to work on his interpersonal skills, as well as a handful of riding flaws. Bringing Yamaha back to its previous level in ’19 represents the biggest challenge of his career.

Most improved rider: Francesco Bagnaia This, the final year of Honda’s CBR600 engine in Moto2, could have been the best instalment of the intermediate category since two-strokes were banished in 2010. But from August Francesco Bagnaia found another gear, packing the punches so thick and so fast rival Miguel Oliveira was on the ropes by October. Until then Bagnaia had eradicated his weaknesses from ’17, namely racing with a full tank of fuel. By autumn he was so fast and consistent, his race runs suggested Ducati may well have found a ready replacement for the outgoing Lorenzo. Don’t be surprised to see him fighting in a leading group early in 2019.

The Second Coming Award: Can Öncü The Öncü name had long sounded out and around the grand prix paddock before the season finale at Valencia. Can’s record in this year’s Red Bull Rookies series –championship victory, five wins - merited a level of fanfare. But who could have foreseen a display of maturity during his debut that resulted in him, at 15 years and 115 days, becoming the youngest ever winner in 70 years of grand prix racing? The best part came after - Can couldn’t comprehend why team boss Aki Ajo was signalling from pit wall to remain calm with five laps to go. “At that point I wasn’t even pushing,” he shrugged. This kid’s destined to go far.

Quote of the year: ‘Everyone knows the value of Jorge Lorenzo, and what Lorenzo can do on a bike’ – Jorge Lorenzo Oh, how we snickered. Said without a hint of irony, the five-time champ’s insistence of speaking in the third person was the butt of jokes for weeks to come. It was typical of Jorge

of course: pigheaded in his own self-belief when it seemed those around him were losing faith.

This phrase, spoken after a poor showing at Le Mans, may have generated eye rolling from those in attendance. But two weeks on and it was tough to recall a more astonishing turnaround.

Winning the Italian Grand Prix, announcing he’d leave Ducati, and confirming an astonishing move to Repsol Honda all in four days. The value of Jorge Lorenzo indeed. It equated to him having the last laugh.

Medal of valour award: Tito Rabat Jorge Martin’s superhuman return to the podium one week on from breaking his left wrist deserves a mention. As does Cal Crutchlow’s eighth place at Le Mans less than a day after thwacking his pelvis so hard he was sure it was broken. But how can we look past Tito Rabat?

The initial diagnosis from the horrendous collision in the gravel at Silverstone was grave: a triple leg fracture and the possible ending of his career.

motogp BLOG

There were even fears he had severed an artery such was the amount of blood at the scene. But the photos of him on his feet one day after his smash were nothing short of extraordinary.

The ‘Must Try Harder’ Award: Aprilia Not for the first time we were left wondering about Aprilia’s approach. Its full backing for SMR’s World Superbike operation waned. And its MotoGP operation was beset by gremlins that had plagued previous campaigns.

Still there is the suspicion this team is entirely centred on its lead rider. Attempts to mesh factory personnel with faces from Fausto Gresini’s team have been unsuccessful. And it’s constantly behind, playing catch up in terms of parts and development. The signing of Andrea Iannone, ex-F1 team manager Massimo Rivola to become Aprilia racing CEO, and Bradley Smith as test rider bodes well. But to repeatedly fail to learn from mistakes at this level is close to unforgiveable. 2019 will be a critical year for all involved.

The ‘Did he really just say that?’

Award: Stuart Pringle, Silverstone MD The Silverstone CEO really didn’t cover himself in glory following justified concerns regarding the resurfaced track’s inability to drain water. According to Pringle, the huge puddles on the Hangar Straight that caused five riders to run off track on Saturday afternoon, were due to a “Biblical downpour,” rather than drainage issues. “It was an exceptional cloud burst,” he told befuddled reporters that evening. “The drainage on the circuit is very good.”

Sorry. Say that again? Words that sounded ridiculous on Saturday.

By race day they were nothing short of embarrassing, much like the situation that caused the first total cancellation of a GP since 1980.

The ‘Pinch yourself, is this really happening?’ award: Yamaha’s public apology, Austrian Grand Prix That was a manic, chastening two-month period for the factory Yamaha team, from August to September, when it appeared everything was slowly falling apart. A desperate qualifying performance from both riders at Austria – Rossi was a despondent 14th while Viñales was reduced to a seething monosyllabic mass – was surely a nadir. A barely believable pubic apology from project leader Kouji Tsuya followed, conveying a team (and factory) in freefall.

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SBK BLOG

the wild west...

All good things must come to and end. Was 2018 a good thing? I guess every year that I get to photograph one of the coolest sports on the planet is a good thing. However, in the best Christmas movie tradition there is always The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

In terms of WorldSBK it was definitely good if you wore green and your name was Jonathan Rea. With 17 race wins and a fourth consecutive championship in the bag, not to mention a few other records, there are not many superlatives that we can add when writing about the Ulsterman. For many, however, the domination of Kawasaki for another season is a bad thing.

It must be especially galling for those that rewrote the technical regulations that Kawasaki and Jonathan dominated so much.

The rules had been designed to specifically rein him in and try and give the other manufacturers a chance to take the title but in the end it had the opposite effect.

The Kawasaki engineers went away, did a little bit of work, and came back with a solution to the problem that ended up with the most successful winning streak in WorldSBK history.

It wasn’t all bad however. One of the best things for me this year was to see Michael VD Mark and Alex Lowes take their maiden wins in the Superbike category on the Yamaha. Van Der Mark’s double at Donington was particularly impressive. He went toe-to-toe with the Kawasaki’s of Rea and Sykes and came out on top. Brno was the same for Lowes.

Yamaha have been working really hard since they came back into WorldSBK and it is starting to pay off. They are still a little step behind in the overall championship fight but you come into every race weekend now with the feeling that they are genuine contenders. My worry for 2019, however, is that Kawasaki have brought a revised ZX-10RR to the market, specifically designed to meet the development needs of the race machine, and Ducati have introduced the stunning new Panigale V4 R.

I am not aware of anything ground breaking being introduced at Yamaha and I really hope they don’t get left behind.

There were other small ‘good’ things that happened in 2018. Toprak Razgatlioglu’s potential began to bear fruit with a podium at Donington and a series of strong performances in the second half of the season. Xavi Fores was a surprise performer for many on the privateer Barni Ducati, outperforming the factory riders on a number of occasions. I was also pleased to see Eugene Laverty on the podium in the second half of the season as well. Especially since his 2018 campaign got off to such a bad start. The Irishman spent a few weeks in a Thai hospital recovering from surgery on a broken pelvis following a crash at Buriram. He returned to action at Imola three races later and by Laguna Seca in June was on the podium.

By Graeme Brown

The bad thing for WorldSBK is that we won’t see Fores in 2019.

Ducati, in their wisdom, have chosen to favour their young pretender Michael Ruben Rinaldi. He had ridden some of the European rounds last year on a factory supported Ducati but is being moved into the Barni squad for the coming season. I see the value of promoting and nurturing young riders in the championship but if Ducati are serious about taking the manufacturers title from Kawasaki, to have a proven podium finisher in your ranks would surely be seen as an advantage. WorldSBK’s loss will the British championship’s gain as Fores moves to the factory Honda team in BSB. Ducati will, however, retain another podium finisher in their ranks as Eugene Laverty put together an 11th hour deal to ride a Panigale V4 R with the Go Eleven squad.

There were a few bad things to come out of 2018. The most notable for me is the end of the Ten Kate Honda squad. It was such a shock when the news broke at the EICMA show that they were being completely cut out

of Honda’s plans. I felt this one a little personally as I have worked with Ten Kate in some form since I began my own full time journey in WorldSBK 18 years ago. It is still difficult to imagine that they won’t be around in 2019. I hope what Ronald Ten Kate said is true, that he is already working on a plan for 2020 and that next year is only a brief hiatus in their racing activities.

The EICMA show also brought a number of good and bad stories for 2019. It’s great to see BMW push their effort in the series with their new bike, a new team and two top quality riders. As I write this Tom Sykes and Markus Reiterberger will be preparing to take to the track for the first time at Almeria in Spain. This is just being used as a shakedown for the team and the riders. Shaun Muir Racing has taken over the running of the BMW effort and the plan for the two-day test in Spain is for everyone in the team to get familiar with the working of the race machines and the structure of the set-up. The real testing will begin in January at Jerez.

It is also good to see HRC return to the WorldSBK championship in the form of the Moriwaki and Althea alliance. However, things are moving slowly in getting everything up and running. It appears that the announcement at EICMA was fairly rushed. Honda had taken the decision to end their association with Ten Kate so felt they had to make an announcement as soon as possible about the future plans. At that stage there was nothing really in place and over the last few weeks there has been a lot of activity behind the scenes to get testing in Jerez and Portimao in January.

What about the ugly? If you have been reading my ramblings over the last few months I think you will be able to guess my feelings.

The way the season ended was pretty ugly. Qatar is not my favourite venue on the calendar but the weather that rolled in on Saturday, which could not have been predicted, added to my bitter taste of the event. I always remember a former colleague having a laugh about some weather drama in the UK where

SBK BLOG

roads were closed and trains cancelled. He felt it was good to be reminded that Mother Nature was still in charge.

It was the second time in the year that extreme weather had disrupted an event for me. At the Suzuka 8Hr we had the typhoon on Saturday night that meant much of the events surrounding the race were cancelled. We were instructed to leave the track by 7pm and go straight to our hotels.

The aftermath of the storm disrupted the race with long safety car periods but at least the crowd turned up and the WEC championship celebrations went off in impressive fashion. The scene on Saturday night at Losail was pretty depressing as a handful of team mechanics were the only people on hand as the championship trophies were handed out.

With ‘18 now behind us it is time to focus, if you pardon the pun, on 2019. With that in mind I had to make a last minute change to my Santa list. I have added a new abacus to the list to help me work out the points system and grid positions for the races in 2019.

It only leaves me to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and healthy and prosperous 2019.

The KTM 790 ADVENTURE R meets the demands of the toughest adventurers.

Packed with Dakar-winning DNA, it has all you need to push the boundaries of exploration to new extremes. When you’re in constant pursuit of the most intense escapes, this offroad-annihilating machine is ready to adventure harder.

Please make no attempt to imitate the illustrated riding scenes, always wear protective clothing and observe the applicable provisions of the road traffic regulations!

The illustrated vehicles may vary in selected details from the production models and some illustrations feature optional equipment available at additional cost.

THE NEW REASON TO ADVENTURE HARDER Photo: F. Lackner

Products

troy lee designs Skipping through Troy Lee Designs catalogue is an exercise in temptation for a motocross fan.

Alliances with several brands and companies like KTM, Yamaha and Honda and the special look and design of the products gives TLD an extra classy edge. We like the official KTM backpack (79.00 dollars) that features two main compartments, a padded back section, a microfiber sunglass pocket, two lateral compartments, drink bottle mesh and sternum fastener. The Yamaha RS1 men’s tee (28.00 dollars) has a cool retro feel and also comes in blue and black while the cotton Corsa sock (14.00) is made in five different colours.

www.troyleedesigns.com

AMA BLOG

rolling tides...

Just 18 days until the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross series kicks off in Anaheim, California and we’re in for another exciting 29 races covering both the supercross and the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series’.

The usual bench racing has been going on, the favorites once again are Tomac, Anderson, Musquin and Roczen - the usual riders - and we’re looking for someone to take ‘the leap’ into the main group of potential winners. And there are three rookies that are all interesting in their own ways. In short, it’s another year that might be tough to call.

So, how we doing?

Well, to the consternation of many the sport of supercross and motocross aren’t blowing up into something where we’re seeing the results and highlights along with the big four sports and soccer in America.

Heck, we’re not even getting close to the coverage that the number one motorsport in the USA, NASCAR, gets. I know this might make some fans of the sport unhappy but we’re niche and most likely will always be niche.

There are storm clouds gathering in the pro pits though. The last few years there have been more riders than rides and we haven’t really had any new teams pop up. At least not, Alevel or even B-level really. And that’s an issue to me. We need private ownership to step up and want to run a team in our sport and we’re not really getting it right now. Hence riders like Dean Wilson, Josh Grant, Justin Bogle (all past 250 winners) have plans to be fill-in riders. Yes, they are banking on injuries (that always happen) to get a ride. All three of these are potential top ten 450SX guys and yet, here they are on the outside.

At some point, someone has to realize that pulling back might be the smart move right? We need to make this business model of owning a team more profitable or at least maybe a break-even type of deal?

Outside of Motoconcepts Honda, Rocky Mountain KTM and JGR, there aren’t any top level A teams that are privately funded. The OEM’s are still the ones shelling out millions to go racing.

Feld Motorsports TV deal for SX was up for this year and they’ve switched from FOX to NBC and its sports networks.

Word on the street is that it’s a worse deal financially than the previous agreement and no rumors needed for this tidbit:

When JGR, who own a multimillion NASCAR team and presumably can schedule a meeting with just about any fortune 500 company out there, cannot get a title sponsor then I think we’ve got to look in the mirror as a sport. That’s right, if the word on the street is correct JGR won’t have a title sponsor in the 2019 SX/MX championships. That’s a rather depressing fact for me.

By Steve Matthes

there are less live races than the old deal.

For a guy like me, that’s been in the pits for over twenty years in a variety of positions, I’ve excited for the new season on the track, and the Triple Crown races and timed main events are all changes that are for the positive. I think it’ll be interesting to see the racers sort these titles out and I hope most of them stay injury free. But off the track, I see more scary things in terms of how we’re doing. NASCAR TV ratings are heading south and we’re probably going to see that in our end of things in a few years as these things tend to have a ripple effect. The rise of e-sports is a scary thing, more and more sponsorship dollars and media coverage is being sent over to watching people play video games. Yes, I’m serious.

We can put our head in the sand and ignore all of this but something needs to be done to our business model to help the sport survive in the future.

Feld Motorsports taking some steps to help get kids riding dirt bikes in the pits is a good thing but to me, there’s got to be a massive group-think on what we’re doing here as a sport. From rider salaries to team ownership to promoters helping out, we need to realize that what we’ve been doing for 45 years isn’t working out anymore. A rising tide lifts all boats and everyone involved in this sport needs to start rowing in the right direction before it’s too late.

Products

MXGP Album 2018 For the tenth year this wonderfully designed and presented hardback MXGP yearbook is the reference for a chronicle of the racing season. Each Grand Prix is highlighted along with Stanley Leroux’s excellent imagery and feature interviews. There are over 200 pages. Editions from 2010-2016 are sold out. This is the definition of a well presented ‘coffee table’ record of MXGP, essential for motocross fans. You can only order from the official website where you can also preview some of the pages.

Dream. Believe. Achieve ‘Dream. Believe. Achieve’ tells Jonathan Rea’s story and has already been longlisted for The Telegraph autobiography awards. We’ve yet to get our hands on a copy but Rea has long been keen to explain his tale of a shy and bullied school kid that strived at the highest level to eventually become a record breaker and a Superbike greatest of all time. Order or pick it up from any decent bookshop.

Will to Victory Photographer Roddy MacLeod followed the 2018 MXGP series armed with a Leica camera and managed to capture a side of the championship (even motorcycle racing in general) rarely seen. He focused on the atmosphere and the people at Grands Prix as much as the athletes and track action.

It makes for a fascinating and alternative perspective. He has also been busy with the Dictaphone for some feature interviews.

Ignore the slightly hammy title and roll with the 50 euro price tag because this publication reaches almost 300 pages in a wide, hardback format and is something a little special.

MotoGP Technology We’ll have a longer review of this engrossing tome on the website in a couple of weeks but Neil Spalding’s comprehensive breakdown of what is being used at the peak of motorcycle racing is unmissable. The title and size of the book should not be a deterrent for technophobes; this is as much about the story of the brands, their work and development as it is a revealing insight into the shape and form of the prototypes.

This third edition is updated and revised for 2018, is clearly designed and laid out and with some excellent photographs.

Motocourse

Need we say more? The definitive motorcycle Grand Prix yearbook, and now in its 43rd year with some past editions changing hands for large sums of money online. The 2018 annual covers the full MotoGP term but also focuses on WorldSBK and includes several essays on themes, riders or subjects connected with the racing. Superb writing, an elegant and timeless layout and sensational photography make the ritual ordering of Motocourse a no-brainer.

It’s an institution.

MotoGP Review Revered journalist Mat Oxley now helms the content work for the official MotoGP Review; a project now fifteen years in existence but has been kept firmly in the shadow of Motocourse due to the uninspiring and formulaic design. No glimpse yet to see if the look and feel has altered and moved away from an ‘official programme’ vibe or to see whether Oxley’s usually sharp and observational eye has been narrowed by the licensed nature of the product…but 2018 could mark a directional shift for this project. The book costs 28 pounds.

Products

answer Answer are well known for their eye-catching and high-performing race gear but they also have some casualwear items that could appeal as a swift Christmas gift for fans of the brand or bikes in general. Try the black Stamp or Victory Zip-up Hoodies (both at 54.95 dollars). The Team 76 Women’s Tank top (29.95) or some of the many t-shirts like the dark blue Daytona (29.95), the burgundy Linked Tee, the long sleeved Team 76 (for men and in white also both at 39.95) or the Official. Key ring, umbrellas, stickers and even haybale covers can be ordered from the website as can hydration packs (the 79.95 dollar 3l is shown here) and gear packs (600 denier water-resistant treated construction with special vents and compartments at 124.95). Head to answerracing.com for a browse.

www.answerracing.com

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Feature

Hogs’ Heaven!

Motoring to Milwaukee for some motorcycle Americana 3 things we loved about the Harley-Davidson Museum

By Adam Wheeler. Photos by Ray Archer

Feature

T

he 2018 Motocross of Nations and arrival into Chicago meant being able to check out another (very sizeable) aspect of American motorcycling fabric. Crossing the state line from Illinois to Wisconsin means only a short trip downtown to the birthplace of Harley-Davidson (back in 1903) which is marked and celebrated by a museum ‘complex’ housing a memorial display, restaurant, workshop and facilities for events such as concerts, meet-and-greets and other gatherings.

400 West Canal Street looks like a downtown area that has benefitted from a typical frenzy of regeneration. Old architecture now cases modern residences and work places. The Harley site, immaculate with its lawn, off-street parking and faux street layout is welcoming. As soon as you exit the car then the American rock music that blares from the PA system around the location immediately reminds you what lies behind the façade of the tall grey and industrialised buildings and how ‘HD’ has filtered into American society over the last 115 years to become more than just a motorcycle manufacturer.

The museum costs 20 dollars (and according to Wikipedia attracts over 300,000 visitors) and there is plenty of (knowledgeable) staff on hand to guide and offer stories. The museum houses a comprehensive and enormous collection of models but also goes right to the heart of other strands of Harley-Davidson’s story. Here’s what we took away from a brief trip to Milwaukee.

HARLeY-DAviDSoN MuSeuM

The range grows and evolves as the years pass. In WW1 the US government bought one third of the firm and the bikes would enter a phase of remarkBill Harley and Arthur Davidson able versatility, being used for could barely have imagined various military roles as well what their experimentation with as for larger transport, even gas engines around the 1900s by the US Postal Services. The would have spawned over the manner of the timeline allows course of a century and the a generous appreciation for the exhibition gives an immediate march of technology and how flavour of the Harley-Davidson ornate (and bloody heavy) the movement with a brightly lit Harley-Davidsons were. Greys, case enshrining 315 patches blacks and copper shades from 1400 ‘Hog’ owners clubs give way to more creative and around the world. decorative tones as the 1930s approach. The diversity of purThe initial gallery showcases pose for the motorcycle is disthe very first Harley-Davidson played in an aside atrium while models; (including the Model the an adjacent room contains 2 Atmospheric-Valve Single of some fantastic articles, pho1906) a gathering of immacutos and artefacts from the first late machines of the age when years of Harley-Davidson’s racpower over suspension and ing history on the boards, hills comfort seems to have been and flat tracks around the US.

that history

HARLEY-DAVIDSON MAINTAINED A FRUITFUL PLACE IN RACING CIRCLES AND THE 1946 WR WAS AMONG THE MOST SUCCESSFUL BIKES IN DIRT TRACK HISTORY... very much the priority. The motorcycles are absolutely pristine if cumbersome. By 1912 HarleyDavidson’s catalogue featured seven models, sales of around 4000 bikes thanks to over 200 dealers in the US and even one in Japan. 1912 was also significant as the first year that the company began to produce clothing: it now seems incomprehensible to imagine that logo solely limited to vehicles.

This is perhaps one of the most striking zones of the exhibition; the attire used by the racers of yore beggar belief in some cases (woollen garments and tough leather helmets) while the speeds in relation to the handling of the bikes at the time make the imagination zing. The FHAC racer had no transmission or brakes and had to be pull started!

Feature

That cultural impact It doesn’t take long to see how Harley-Davidson grew, prospered and then began to alter their portfolio to spread to a wider consumer base. By the 1920s they were already appealing to female riders with specially engineered sport models and the 2 Cam Twin in 1928 promised a “new power sensation” with a mighty (!)

50hp. The eight-valve V-Twin had already set a mark in 1923 with the racing models topping 100mph. The eight-valve cost 1,500 dollars at the time; a quantity that had HarleyDavidson claiming “superior engineering came at a price”.

The Flathead engine of 1934 and a new design was good enough to lead to a spike of sales and output reached over 11,000 models. In 1936 the VTwin was being used to break land speed records at Daytona Beach (136.183mph) and the El Factory Streamliner is one of the exceptional units with pride of place. Arrival of WW2 saw Harley-Davidson back in that distinctive army green with the WLA Side-Valve Twin and the BMW-inspired XA; production climbed to 60,000 (a third of which shipped to Russia curiously enough).

The military bike on show is interestingly customised with blacked-out visors, a gun scabbard, an ammo box and a heavier and braced frame to cope with all the add-ons.

Harley-Davidson produced few civilian models during WW2 but the ‘baby boom’ years of the 1950s saw a period of expansion with some other notable events taking place, such as the request by the factory to levy a higher tax on British imports (UK brands were surging in profile and pace at this time) and HD’s main rival, Indian, going out of business.

Harley-Davidson maintained a fruitful place in racing circles and the 1946 WR was among the most successful bikes in dirt track history with 18 of 24 National Championship wins.

Their production of lightweight and middleweight bikes increased their reach even further and became a 1/3 of their general output to the market.

Walking down the gallery section reveals experiments like the 1960 ‘Topper’, Harley-Davidson’s attempt at a Scooter to appeal to a younger demographic. The bike was fashioned by former aircraft firm Aeronautica Macchi, had a floor mounted rope-pull starter (like an outboard), solid wheels, a fibreglass body and a rubber mounted engine.

It is in this section where off-road, two-strokes and motocross bikes are housed, showing just how adventurous Harley-Davidson could be before entering into the 1980s and periods of instability with buy-outs and eventual shifting of production to other States.

The whole enterprise now has facilities in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Brazil and India and with almost 6000 employees.

The ground floor has a pop culture section with Elvis’ first Harley-Davidson bought in 1956 and after the success of ‘Heartbreak Hotel’. ‘The King’ was allegedly a Harley enthusiast and bought the KH for 903 dollars and on a payment plan! The portrayal of HarleyDavidson in the movies and on TV shows encompasses the ‘bad boy’ rep conveyed by the likes of Marlon Brando in ‘The Wild Ones’ and – funnily – the steps the company took to try and alleviate the association of their motorcycles as the transport of what William Davidson described as the “fringe minority” and “a symbol of delinquency”. Nothing seemed to work as the iconic image of biking culture (tats, black leather, shades, cool, rebellion) was enforced and Harley-Davidson was undisputedly part of the make-up.

Bikes such as Henry Fonda’s ‘Easy Rider’ ‘Captain America’

harley-davidson museum

OHV V-Twin’ have been replicated in Milwaukee. Various other movie references and memorabilia (e.g. Terminator 2) divulge how much the Harley-Davidson product has infiltrated the mainstream.

The Captain America 750 Street model used in the recent Marvel film is perhaps the newest bike on show.

Looking up and Harley-Davidson have recreated the famous Evel Knievel XR-750 1975

Wembley jump motorcycle (the same painter even replicated the livery) with the identical bends and damage as sustained in the gnarly crash in London. Apparently Knievel used to have real dollar bills engraved into the fuel tank and the minimal modifications for making the 120ft 13 bus jump included lower footpegs and a drag chute (that was more effective as a showpiece rather than actually slowing the stuntman).

harley-davidson museum

Feature

That technology From movies to movers, and the way Harley-Davidson influenced motorcycle construction is explored in a detailed and engrossing manner. The glass walls for suspension, engine development and chassis design give this sections a sterile feel, but the way the evolution is laid out and explained makes it easy to grasp.

Harley’s hardtails meant that rear suspension only became an object of acute attention from 1958 (!). They had started the transition from a bicycledesign by the 1920s and their Model J frame was responsible for that squat and more natural and comfortable sitting position. In the 1936 the ‘El Frame’ helped towards creation of the softail. The 1984 FXST is highlighted as a signature model with hidden shock absorbers under the transmission to give the appearance of a ‘60s hardtail chopper.

Running alongside the lower ground wall are more of the collection of over-400 bikes Harley-Davidson have been accumulating since 1915. From road race bikes (1960s CRTTs), Buells, police units, custom jobs and dirt trackers the lineup goes on and on.

harley-davidson museum

The depth of information explained and the gamut of bikes and parts on show mean that the museum is not a rapid runaround. It takes a good couple of hours to digest the full scale of the history and the pockets of American society that Harley-Davidson have penetrated. One of the best parts of the tour experience comes at the end with the chance to sit and sample a spread of bikes, from historical models to cruisers to police pursuit specials and the latest hardware to bear the famous badge.

Outside, the official shop is a little disappointing; the hundreds of threads and products are all museum affiliated so there is a lack of normal Harley-Davidson wares.

There is plenty of choice for a gift or memento with the ‘Museum’ moniker however.

Sadly a lack of time forbade sampling the ‘Motor’ restaurant and the chance to devour a ‘Fatboy Burger’ but we’d had our fill of a US institution. It is impossible to deny HarleyDavidson’s position as one of the forebears of motorcycling, and the Milwaukee museum is an engaging and almost overwhelming opportunity to see just how much it has pervaded American and international lives since those heady 1900s.

Products

alpinestars A few Christmas goodies from Alpinestars. Have a look at their Tech Watch Race (in Chrono version) and Tech Watch Satined Steel. The Race has a 45mm face (Japanese mechanism), three hands and a leather strap. The Chrono edition of both models has the three different timers. The price varies from 190 euros to 250 euros. The Satined Steel is perhaps more elegant with a cool ‘tyre’ style silicone strap and comes at 130 euros, and 180 for the Chrono. Other items to consider include the Venture R off-road glove (49.95 euros), the Iguana hydration pack (79.95), the City Hunter backpack (89.95) and the Neck Warmer (15.95). All available from the Alpinestars website.

www.alpinestars.com

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TEST

wanting more mt Words by Roland Brown Photos by Alessio Barbanti & Jonathan Godin

yamaha mt-09 sp

Creating a sporty naked model presents bike manufacturers with plenty of internal conflict. The design team’s desire for performance – of chassis as well as engine – leads them to want high-quality components. But, the firm’s bean-counters point out, naked bikes are expected to cost less than their faired equivalents, making expensive parts hard to justify.

Yamaha was particularly mindful of the need to minimise expense when finalising the original MT-09, the triple that led the firm’s rebirth as a maker of exciting and competitively priced bikes in 2013.

Since then that original raw, 847cc naked model has been given useful chassis upgrades while retaining its focus on value as much as performance.

But Yamaha knew there was potential for an MT-09 variant that kept the standard model’s essential blend of lean looks,

light weight and three-pot aggression, while refining its handling ability and ride quality.

Hence the MT-09 SP, whose initials stand for Sport Production, and whose brief is to elevate the triple’s chassis to the level of that stonking engine. This is the MT from the design team, not the bean-counters.

Predictably, the SP’s most important components are its upmarket suspension parts. Up front the standard MT-09’s Kayaba forks are replaced by more sophisticated units from the same Japanese firm. They contain dualrate springs, and are adjustable for both high and low-speed compression damping as well as preload and rebound damping.

The rear shock comes from Öhlins, being an adapted version of the Swedish specialist’s fully adjustable aftermarket unit, complete with a remote preload knob below the seat.

Yamaha considered fitting Öhlins at both ends, but didn’t because that would have meant adding substantially to the cost.

In fact the desire to maintain a keen price even with this upgraded model ensured that other differences are basically cosmetic. The SP features Yamaha’s “Silver Blu” paintwork, similar to that of the exotic R1M super-sports flagship, plus blue wheels and blue seat stitching. It also has black handlebar and levers; and its LCD instrument panel’s colours are inverted to white on black.

There’s no change to the ultra-torquey 12-valve triple engine, super-light aluminium frame (fully-fuelled weight is just 215kg), or the upright, roomy riding position dictated by the wide, slightly raised one-piece bar, broad seat and reasonably low-set footrests.

The radial, four-piston front brake calipers and Bridgestone S20 tyres that the MT has worn all along are also retained.

Despite that, the SP’s advantage is easy to appreciate. Straight-line performance is unchanged, as you’d expect – and just as addictively entertaining as the standard model’s. The Yamaha revs rapidly through the box towards its limit of about 11,000rpm, aided by the reliable quick-shifter which, like the standard bike’s, works on up-changes only.

Such is the low-rev punch that you’re rarely tempted to cane it that hard because the Yam pulls from 4000rpm with effortless enthusiasm, hoiking its front wheel up when requested in the lower gears, even when the two-way adjustable traction control is on.

The Standard ride mode gives good throttle control, with the sharper, slightly abrupt A for straight-line laughs and the softer B a useful option for slippery conditions.

Which ever the mode or rider’s mood, you get the benefit of the Öhlins shock’s superior quality and damping control over the rear wheel’s 142mm of travel.

yamaha mt-09 sp

yamaha mt-09 sp

“The SP was created to bring the MT-09’s chassis up to the level of its awesome engine, and it pretty much succeeds in doing just that. .”

When accelerating hard out of a turn, the SP is distinctly more stable, without the tendency to squat at the rear and twitch its handlebars, which both the standard MT-09 and its retro-styled relative the XSR900 are prone to do.

The SP even feels better at a steady pace when, with shock preload backed off using the easily accessible remote knob, it delivers a plush ride that makes the broad, flat seat seem improbably comfortable. Although the spring is slightly softer than the standard MT’s, its stiffer, better regulated compression damping improves ride quality as well as control.

With an unchanged 137mm of travel, the SP’s forks are generously sprung by naked bike standards, but they work well and are a notable improvement on the standard model’s. Feel through the bars is very precise, especially with some extra rear shock preload dialled-in to raise the rear end. The Yamaha can be cranked through smooth turns at a very healthy pace, making use of its generous ground clearance and capable, if unexceptional, Bridgestone tyres.

The SP was created to bring the MT-09’s chassis up to the level of its awesome engine, and it pretty much succeeds in doing just that. Given that it’s priced at about ten per cent higher than the standard model (£9199 compared to £8399 in the UK), it does so without departing from the valuefor-money ethos that has made the triple so popular. For anyone contemplating an MT-09 for hard road riding, let alone a racetrack, the SP premium is well worth paying.

yamaha mt-09 sp

back page Red Bull KTM’s new MotoGP rider: Johann Zarco Photo by Sebas Romero

Somehow, somewhere I’d just like to convey thanks to a special person. A Dad who took his oldest son to Brands Hatch every other week, who shared his passion and gave up his money, time and energy to live his life with his children. In 1983 he travelled with a seven year old to Spa Francorchamps and the following year to Assen when he could easily have gone by himself or with friends and wouldn’t have had to worry about a spindly, imaginative, inquisitive kid that was probably very anxious about which small toy motorbike he could buy from the vending stalls with his pocket money.

I guess many offspring become distanced from their parents and can easily see their faults as they grow. I was always content to be the mirror image of my Dad: a man with a very practical mind and a vast amount of common sense as well as joyful wit. He was a friend and a role model.

He loved racing, he loved bikes (his last, a Yamaha 350LC, burned the image of howling two-strokes in my mind forever and I remember the quiet atmosphere around the house on the day when he had to sell it) but he loved his kids most of all.

Thanks for everything. Won’t forget you…

Adam

on track off road

‘On-track Off-road’ is a free, bi-weekly publication for the screen focussed on bringing the latest perspectives on events, blogs and some of the very finest photography from the three worlds of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the AMA Motocross and Supercross series’ and MotoGP. ‘On-track Off-road’ will be published online at www.ontrackoffroad.com every other Tuesday. To receive an email notification that a new issue available with a brief description of each edition’s contents simply enter an address in the box provided on the homepage. All email addresses will be kept strictly confidential and only used for purposes connected with OTOR. Adam Wheeler Editor and MXGP/MotoGP correspondent Ray Archer Photographer Steve Matthes AMA MX and SX correspondent Cormac Ryan-Meenan MotoGP Photographer www.cormacgp.com David Emmett MotoGP Blogger Neil Morrison MotoGP Blogger & Feature writer Sienna Wedes MotoGP Blogger Graeme Brown WSB Blogger and Photographer Roland Brown Tester Núria Garcia Cover Design Gabi Álvarez Web developer Hosting FireThumb7 - www.firethumb7.co.uk Thanks to www.mototribu.com PHOTO CREDITS Ray Archer, CormacGP/Polarity Photo, GeeBee Images, Barbanti/Godin Monster Energy/Milagro, MCH photo Cover shot: Marc Marquez by CormacGP

This publication took a lot of time and effort to put together so please respect it! Nothing in this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the editorial team. For more information please visit www.ontrackoffroad.com and click ‘Contact us’.