If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up to much space!
Round five of the World Supersport Championship was at Monza last week and as typical the racing was hot and heavy. Until the last lap or two Eugene Laverty was running up front and looking for the win. Coming out of Parabolica, Eugene was on the gas! In fact when I posted this picture to Twitter Eugene sent this in reply:FYI I didn’t back off! No traction control at 100% gas for all ye anti-electronics folk.
Many people who have followed me from “back in the day” of Rumblestrip.net and over the last 3+ years know that I’m a two stroke snob. There are few things that I love more than a two stroke at full song.
Over the last couple years I’ve also grown to really like this late 60’s early 70’s Cafe Racer movement. While this bike isn’t exactly what I had in mind, it would be a great platform to pull it off.
Sorry for the silence here on the blog but I haven’t been home for much of the last week. That being said we have some great content coming at you over the next week. For now though sneaking in a Two Wheel Tuesday post in under the wire.
Having covered Mat Mladin for over 10 years now I have always been impressed with him, as a man, and as a racer. I have always found Mat to be very fair. Back in 2001 at a January test at Laguna Seca I interviewed Mat for the old version of Rumblestrip.net and in transcribing the interview misquoted him. It was interesting to actually get a call from Mat himself to ask if that is what he had said. It turned out that he was correct and I was not. I posed a correction to the interview and an apology for misquoting him and we were good. In fact as long as Mat wasn’t “working” he was always available for a chat, an interview or just to say hi. It was also then that I found Mat to have a very good sense of humor.
Dave Despain who I’m going to guess hasn’t always been a fan of Mat given their dust ups in the past still has great respect for the guy and says so here on a recent episode of WindTunnel.
A video review from the launch of the RSV4 by the MCN boys. There is also a 10 minute HD video from Tor of Raptors and Rockets of this, but it’s more music video than review.
The RSV4 has been eagerly anticipated by by Aprilia fans like myself, as the Mille has now been around for a decade. This bike is more MotoGP rep than WSBK machine when you break down what it’s all about, it will be interesting to see if anyone does a comparo between this and the vaunted Ducati Desmocidici.
For now have a look, it will be in the states in July according to the boys at AF1 Aprilia.
A BRILLIANT promo put out by British Eurosport to promote the return of the MotoGP season. As many of you may know, at the end of last season it was announced by DORNA that British Eurosport would not be offered a contract to continue it’s coverage and that for the UK, it would be covered exclusively by “The Beeb”
This was a HUGE shocker to everyone as even “The Beeb” acknowledged that they wouldn’t and couldn’t offer the same level of coverage that British Eurosport had. On top of that the triumvirate of Moody, Ryder and Mamola were recognized BY EVERYONE as THE BEST broadcast team in the business. Even His Holiness Pope Valentino the 46th ordained a day of fasting and prayer that this team was being banished by DORNA.
Thankfully a public outcry from around the world has fixed most of this. Toby and Julian will be back again, sadly sans Mamola, and they will not be at every race, but doing some of the long flyaway races for the studios in the UK. Better this than nothing at all I say!
With that I give you this gem that was shown after GP Zero at Jerez this past Sunday, and in a conversation with Toby on Monday he said there are more of these come come, and from the description he gave me, they only get better!!
The pricing on this bike may be on the high end, and not everyone is sold on the styling, that said, I DESPERATELY want to test ride this thing!!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone!
So in the spirit of everyone being Irish for a day, how about featuring a real Irishman. Eugene Laverty brought home the first win ever for the Parkalgar Honda team in Qatar this past Saturday, it was a fantastic race and here is the last lap.
If you are a listener to the RumblestripRadio Show (and we know that you are!), in our interview with Chaz Davies you might have caught us talking about this track when I brought up some of the British Tracks. Truly one of the epic, and dangerous sections of racetrack in the world.
Jack and Jamie give the call in this 2007 BSB race, and you know this is all old hat to them as they don’t even notice as Leon Haslam leads Johnny Rea and Leon Camier in some massive air time over the jump.
Time for another edition of Two Wheel Tuesday.
The opening weekend for the World Superbikes at Philip Island was a cracker, and Ben Spies showed the world that he wasn’t just hype. The Supersport race was outstanding as well, but as an American I had to jump up and wave the flag after the finish of round two.
Sorry that you have to listen to Johnathan Greene rather than Bernakle and Whitham.