Unless you’re twenty years old and leading the MotoGP championship or made from very stern stuff like Cal Crutchlow it is hard to shrug off a crash, even one that hurts more your pride than your body as Dani Pedrosa found out today in qualifying at Le Mans.

The Repsol Honda rider crashed during Q2 at turn 3 - Dunlop chicane - and despite being able to return to track was unable challenge for the pole position that left him down in sixth a position that he isn’t used to, and disappoint for Pedrosa who will have struggle to do one of his usual lightning starts and hope that no one rear ends him.

“The afternoon’s practice sessions were difficult,” said Pedrosa. “I crashed in qualifying and then had to go back to the garage and only had a little time left on the clock when I got back out on-track. I wasn’t able to make the best use of the session, but at least I was able to clock a fairly decent time and place sixth. It is a pity because we could have been much higher up the grid. For tomorrow we will have to try to get a good start, come back up through the field and have a good race.”

Marc Marquez also suffered a crash but luckily for him it happened during the fourth free practice and he was still able to get used to his spare bike before qualifying in pole position for the second time this season.

“I was on my second bike, but to build that confidence again after a crash is quite difficult. It takes time. I took one or two laps, but then it was qualifying and I pushed like before. In terms of my rhythm: I’m happy, not so bad. Jorge (Lorenzo) had a very good rhythm but, you know, we will see how the weather and everything is tomorrow and we will try to do our best,” commented Marquez.

Marc Marquez: 'I pushed as before' - Dani Pedrosa: 'I could have qualifed higher' é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 20:23 di Saturday 18 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

Even if Jorge Lorenzo didn’t take the pole position at Le Mans pipped by Marc Marquez by mere 0.030 seconds, the Yamaha rider is quietly confident that he can take on the two Repsol Honda riders.

“All weekend we’ve been working pretty much to improve the feeling on the front tyre, where we had some difficulties at Jerez, and trying to improve the bike to keep a more consistent pace. I think we’ve got it. I also concentrated on doing a very fast lap but unfortunately I couldn’t beat Marc today because he was really fast, but our main target was to improve the bike for the race and I think we’ve done that. We’ll see tomorrow,” said Lorenzo.

Valentino Rossi’s strong suit has never been qualifying. In 279 GP race starts he has had only 59 pole positions which we can compare to team mate Jorge Lorenzo who has 182 GP starts and already has 53 pole positions.

The new 15 minute qualifying format puts the Italian rider in a quandrary, unable to use, and above all trust a new soft tire right off, something that Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Marquez are able to do without batting an eye, so they almost always qualify on the front row, while he lingers more often than not on the third row.

Rossi doesn’t have a bad race pace, but his position on the grid will penalize him again. He isn’t fast in the first two or three laps of the race where the usual three front runners build up their advantage and escape from the rest of the field, while the Yamaha rider finds himself bottled up and jockeying for positions unable to give chase.

Today’s qualifying was another example and another disappointment for Rossi, who admitted that he just can’t take advantage of the extra grip from a new tire and still isn’t content with his braking, which has always been his strong suit. The Italian is getting older and is becoming too much of perfectionist and his squad is always chasing an elusive set-up that will give him the 100% confidence that he wants, and the situation is becoming a vicious cycle.

“Like the other races, in the qualifying I am unable to do what I want,” said Rossi. “When I try to push more I create some problems with the bike. The other riders are better than me at using the extra grip from the new tyre, so I have to start from the third row. My rhythm is not so bad so we have to try to fix something. My rhythm and pace for the race is quite good, unfortunately Lorenzo, Marquez and Pedrosa are a bit faster.

Rossi also said that a tire issue (it had cracks on the right side and Bridgestone replaced it) this morning’s practice session that set him backwards.

“Unfortunately today was a worse day compared to yesterday. We started quite badly this morning because we had some problems with the rear tyre so we struggled very much in the practice. We had a lot of question marks so we wanted to try the same setting this afternoon. In fact the tyre had a problem because this afternoon it was not so bad.”

Jorge Lorenzo thinks he's got it, as Rossi is unable to take advantage of new tires é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 18:36 di Saturday 18 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

We’ve run out of accolades to describe the super talented Marc Marquez. The Repsol Honda rookie did it again as he took his second pole position of the 2013 season in today’s qualifying session at the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans.

If a pole position in the Austing GP was more than expected at the French circuit, Marquez learned the layout so well so well that he posted a flying lap in a stunning 1:33.187, shrugging off his FP4 crash just fifteen minutes before QP2.

Only the hammering laps of Jorge Lorenzo could keep up with the Repsol Honda rider and he finished a mere 0.030s adrift, but just checking out the time sectors you can see that the Yamaha rider is a war machine more than prepared for tomorrow’s race.

Andrea Dovizioso took the third spot on the front row, and giving Ducati their first front start after Nicky Hayden’s last year qualifying result at Jerez. Dovizioso also managed to pip by just 0.006s a battered and heroic Cal Crutchlow for the position, proving that the Ducati does like the French circuit.

Fifth fastest was Alvaro Bautista who also a little battered after his crash yesterday and he’ll have a fellow Honda rider next to him Dani Pedrosa. The Repsol Honda had posted the second best time but then crashed out at turn 3 - the Dunlop chicane - that has caught out so many riders this weekend which left his down in sixth.

Opening the the third row will be Stefan Bradl, while Valentino Rossi has another horrible qualifying ending up 8th and more than eight tenths of second from his own team mate, losing a massive amount of time in the braking sections of the first and third sectors. Bradley Smith took ninth and just two tenths slower than Rossi, while Nicky Hayden rounded out the top ten with Aspar CRT riders Aleix Espargaro and Randy De Puniet in 11th and 12th.

2013 MotoGP Le Mans QP2 results:

01- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – 1’33.187
02- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.030
03- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 0.416
04- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.422
05- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 0.447
06- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.452
07- Alvaro Bautista – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – + 0.797
08- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.822
09- Bradley Smith – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.035
10- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.055
11- Aleix Espargaro – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 1.567
12- Randy De Puniet – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 1.899

2013 MotoGP Le Mans Starting Grid:

01- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V
02- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1
03- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13
04- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1
05- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V
06- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V
07- Alvaro Bautista – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V
08- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1
09- Bradley Smith – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1
10- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13
11- Aleix Espargaro – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13
12- Randy De Puniet – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13
13- Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13
14- Michele Pirro – Ignite Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13
15- Hector Barbera – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR
16- Danilo Petrucci – Came Iodaracing Project – Ioda Suter BMW
17- Colin Edwards – NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR Kawasaki
18- Karel Abraham – Cardion AB Motoracing – ART GP13
19- Claudio Corti – NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR Kawasaki
20- Michael Laverty – Paul Bird Motorsport – PBM 01
21- Bryan Staring – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – FTR Honda MGP13
22- Lukas Pesek – Iodaracing Project – Ioda Suter BMW
23- Yonny Hernandez – Paul Bird Motorsport – ART GP13
24- Hiroshi Aoyama – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR

Marc Marquez takes Le Mans pole position é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 15:39 di Saturday 18 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

MV Agusta Brutale 1090 RR was chosen by the Brazilian Motociclismo magazine as “Moto de Ouro 2013” in the Naked category. With this award, Brutale kicked aside 10 other rivals of leading manufacturers currently active in the Brazilian market. The super sports F4, another finalist, arrived second place in the Sports category.

This is the second award won by MV Agusta in a little over a year of official activity in Brazil. In addition to the Golden Motorcycle won by Brutale, the brand has recently earned the title of Motorcycle of the Year awarded by the Duas Rodas magazine, in the Sport category.

The 15th edition “Moto de Ouro” is part of the “Motorcycle of the year”, the world’s most important motorcycle award, organized by the magazines of the Motorpress Group in 9 countries: Germany (Motorrad), Brazil (Motociclismo), Switzerland (Töff), France (Moto Journal), Spain (Motociclismo), Holland (Moto Plus), Hungary (Motorevue), Poland (Motocyckl) and Czech Republic (Motocyckl).

The Brutale 1090 RR features a 1078cc four cylinder, 4 stroke, 16 valve engine that pours out 158hp (116.5 kW) at 11,900 rev/min and 100 Nm (10.2 kgm) of torque at 10,100 rev/min and has eight levels of traction control.

MV Agusta Brutale 1090 RR wins Brazilian Golden Motorcycle Award é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 14:46 di Saturday 18 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

It was very overcast and the track temperatures were much cooler for the fourth and final free practice at Le Mans and the session was almost immediately was red flagged when Cal Crutchlow’s Yamaha M1 pitched him off on his third lap out.

The British rider remained laying on the side of the track holding his right side for a few minutes and the was able to get up and walk away on his two legs but with his nose bleeding and reluctantly went to the medical center riding a bicycle, only to stoically return to track and finish seventh.

Jorge Lorenzo set the fastest time of the session and lowering Marc Marquez morning lap time by almost a tenth and finishing with a best lap of 1.33.508, as he hammered out lap after lap in the high 1.33s and very low 1.34s.

Marc Marquez took the second position and trying to better himself in the final minutes lost the front on his Honda at turn 3 and slid out he was taken back to his garage by one Ducati’s scooter. Team mate Dani Pedrosa was third followed by Valentino Rossi who improved after returning to yesterday’s setting but he was still eight tenths off pace from Lorenzo.

Stefan Bradl also improved and moved up to fifth followed by Andrea Dovizioso, Crutchlow, Alvaro Bautista, Bradley Smith and Nicky Hayden closed out the top ten.

Hector Barbera’s crash during FP3 left him with a fractured index finger finished 15th while Claudio Corti lost the front of NGM CRT bike leaving him dead last.

2013 MotoGP Le Mans FP4 results:

01- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – 1’33.508
02- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.309
03- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.437
04- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.802
05- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 0.953
06- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 0.969
07- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.309
08- Alvaro Bautista – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – + 1.341
09- Bradley Smith – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.432
10- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.569
11- Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.901
12- Randy De Puniet – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 1.957
13- Aleix Espargaro – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 2.328
14- Michele Pirro – Ignite Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 2.430
15- Hector Barbera – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 2.463
16- Hiroshi Aoyama – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 2.886
17- Karel Abraham – Cardion AB Motoracing – ART GP13 – + 3.060
18- Danilo Petrucci – CAME Iodaracing Project – Ioda Suter BMW – + 3.087
19- Colin Edwards – NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR Kawasaki – + 3.339
20- Michael Laverty – Paul Bird Motorsport – PBM 01 – + 3.487
21- Bryan Staring – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – FTR Honda MGP13 – + 3.649
22- Lukas Pesek – CAME Iodaracing Project – Ioda Suter BMW – + 3.758
23- Yonny Hernandez – Paul Bird Motorsport – ART GP13 – + 3.964
24- Claudio Corti – NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR Kawasaki – + 4.402

Jorge Lorenzo sets new benchmark in FP4 at Le Mans é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 14:22 di Saturday 18 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

In the Reuters interview Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta said regarding the number of Spanish riders that are now dominating in all three classes, “In the history of Dorna, we never helped any Spanish people to race and we help a lot of non-Spanish people…obviously we prefer as organisers more nationalities but we can’t kill anybody.”

He was also asked if their was a possibility of introducing a quota system and he said “Maybe, if things continue like that, we can consider it in the future. But this is not the problem. If we have more bikes, there will be more people. In Moto2 and Moto3 there are people from many nationalities and they are doing well.”

However, in a interview that will be broadcasted on Radio Rai tonight during the Sabato Sport, Speciale Moto Gran Prix programme, the Spanish manager reconfirmed that no Spanish rider has received any financial help to race, but he also added that he has no intention of limiting the teams on their choice of riders of the same nationality, but he could put in place a quota system and restricting the number of riders from each country in all three classes, because the numerous presence of riders from the same country, according to Ezpeleta limits media interest.

Who could pay for this choice are obviously Spanish riders. Dorna holds the rights of Spanish CEV and Repsol sponsors it this year. The series is a huge breeding ground for riders and even talented youngsters that have families who can afford it, come from other countries to compete in the championship and try to follow in the footsteps of Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez, Maverick Vinales and Pol Espargaro.

The problem isn’t Spain who has worked hard and invested in their young talents with the results that we are currently seeing, with Spanish riders leading in all three classes; but other countries that don’t have feeder classes of this level nor the sponsorship following.

Even Italy, who produced riders like Valentino Rossi, the late Marco Simoncelli, Andrea Dovizioso, Marco Melandri etc, rested on their laurels too long, letting things slide, basking in the limelight of the successes of these riders without thinking of the future, even if Fausto Gresini organized pre-gp racing schools and events.

Only recently has the FMI (Italian Motorcycle Federation) decided to invest on upcoming riders, but before some of these kids even become world class material several years will have gone by and the Spanish armada will rightly continue to dominate, while other countries continue to sit on their thumbs.

Carmelo Ezpeleta thinking of limiting the number of Spanish riders in each category é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 13:26 di Saturday 18 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

After yesterday’s MotoGP’s two very tight practice sessions, this morning’s third free practice at Le Mans, the situation was very different, and the weather had nothing to do with it as it was sunny and dry.

Marc Marquez took the top of the timesheets in a dominating manner. The MotoGP rookie in the finale posted two stunning laps under the 1.34 mark - and the only rider to do so - and stopped the clock in 1.33.600, breaking the 2011 circuit record by 0.017s. The record had been held by his team mate Dani Pedrosa, who ended up third fastest in the session, but almost six tenths adrift.

Jorge Lorenzo was the only rider able to barely contain the gap to the enthusiastic rookie to less than half a second, as he was 0.499s adrift. Team mate Valentino Rossi took a huge step backwards after yesterday’s so called ‘breakthrough’. The Italian fell back to 9th and accumulating a gap of more than 1.214.

Le Mans may not be Nicky Hayden’s favorite circuit but this morning he was fourth fastest and ahead of Cal Crutchlow, and his Ducati team mate Andrea Iannone and a surprisingly excellent Bradley Smith who 7th fastest and less than a second from Marquez.

Ahead Rossi as we said who was a lowly 9th, was Alvaro Bautista in 8th. The Gresini rider suffered a huge crash at the Chicane under the Dunlop bridge, but seemed not to have suffered any serious injuries. Yonny Hernandez and Hector Barbera also crashed during the session.

The last rider to go directly to the Q2 was Stefan Bradl, another rider who like Rossi was unable to improve which left him down on the timesheets.

2013 MotoGP Le Mans FP3 results:

01- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – 1’33.600
02- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.499
03- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.582
04- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 0.826
05- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.867
06- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 0.876
07- Bradley Smith – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.997
08- Alvaro Bautista – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – + 1.186
09- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.214
10- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 1.390
11- Randy De Puniet – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 1.522
12- Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.643
13- Aleix Espargaro – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 1.907
14- Hector Barbera – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 1.965
15- Michele Pirro – Ignite Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.992
16- Claudio Corti – NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR Kawasaki – + 2.665
17- Danilo Petrucci – CAME Iodaracing Project – Ioda Suter BMW – + 2.679
18- Colin Edwards – NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR Kawasaki – + 3.058
19- Karel Abraham – Cardion AB Motoracing – ART GP13 – + 3.184
20- Hiroshi Aoyama – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 3.266
21- Yonny Hernandez – Paul Bird Motorsport – ART GP13 – + 3.551
22- Bryan Staring – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – FTR Honda MGP13 – + 3.776
23- Lukas Pesek – CAME Iodaracing Project – Ioda Suter BMW – + 4.093
24- Michael Laverty – Paul Bird Motorsport – PBM 01 – + 4.213

Marc Marquez dominates FP3 at Le Mans é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 11:12 di Saturday 18 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

The weekend of the French GP has already begun - with Repsol Honda duo Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez taking first and second position in the first day of practice and Yamaha Factory Racing dream team Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo within 2 tenths of a second from Pedrosa’s fastest lap of the day - but while waiting for today’s qualifying session, we thought it would be a good idea to put out an appetizer of the paddock girls photo gallery we use to release right after every major racing event.

The thing is that, apparently, there are quite a few Monster Girls hanging around in Le Mans these days as the famous energy drink is also the main sponsor of the French GP, so we thought we better take immediate advantage of such abundance and unleash some pic found here and there right away. This doesn’t mean we won’t treat you we the usual gallery later on, that’s a given.

Monster Girls take the spotlight in Le Mans é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 02:57 di Saturday 18 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

Today’s MotoGP free practice at Le Mans showed that Dani Pedrosa not only topped both practice sessions, even if the sessions were tightly contested, but the most important thing was he had a very good race pace with a string of fast laps in the low 1.34s, with a third sector that is 2 to 3 tenths faster than the rest of the field, but Jorge Lorenzo is also lapping very close to the Repsol Honda rider.

Valentino Rossi found a breakthrough set-up which allowed him to closed his gap to the front and his final run also put him very close to his team mate’s pace and that of Pedrosa, while Marc Marquez put in a do or die final lap that put him in second, but he still hasn’t the pace that the other three have.

All the riders made the most of the two dry session because tomorrow’s weather forecast calls for rain all day.

Check out what the riders had to say:

Dani Pedrosa - 1st

“In today’s practice sessions it was important to test the tyres and make the most of the dry track time, because here you usually don’t have that opportunity. So I tried to stay out on track for as long as possible and gather the best information, because maybe tomorrow it will rain -and you don’t have that chance again. Luckily the weather held up and we were able to make some positive steps, which we hope to capitalise on for the race on Sunday”.

Marc Marquez - 2nd

“Le Mans has always been a good track for me in the other classes. I was fast today right out of the box and felt comfortable. In the first session I got a bit overwhelmed, because I could tell that the track was not allowing much space for me between the corners with this bigger bike and faster pace. I didn’t have much time to think. I was calmer in the afternoon and things went much better. This track is all about accelerating and then braking, although the final sector is more twisty and has some longer corners. It is only Friday, and we still have work to do. Tomorrow, if the track is dry, we will improve our times -but the forecast predicts rain. With a little luck, on Sunday we will have a dry track and be able to have a good race”.

Valentino Rossi - 3rd

“Today we were good in braking because we modified the settings and we tried two different settings to understand which way to follow to improve the braking, that was the main problem. This morning was not too bad and this afternoon especially I made the comparison one more time. I took the setting I preferred with some small modifications and the last run was very good. I could brake hard, which was the main problem in Austin and also in Jerez so it’s a good day. We try to modify also the rear for to not stress the rear tyre so much; that helped me a lot; I did my best laps with a used tyre that had more than 30 laps on. The practice this afternoon was good so I’m happy. We are already quite good with the setting of the bike so now we wait for the weather tomorrow. In case of rain we are more or less ready and if dry we can try something else, some small details to modify. We are very close to those in front so it’s not so bad.”

Jorge Lorenzo 4th

“We are changing the bike to improve the feeling because at the moment we have a lot of margin for improvement. I think we can make a big step to improve the constant pace for the race. I think if it rains tomorrow things will change completely and it will be a different story. We will have to be as always more careful and have more concentration in the wet.”

Stefan Bradl - 5th

“This morning we have tried an updated braking system compared to the past because we think that the front tyre issue we had in Jerez is due to the braking system. Actually we made a big comparison this morning and, even in the afternoon, we lapped with this new system which gave me a good feeling immediately. We could improve our lap time and I had my standard bike back: this is the bike I like to ride and I am very happy about that. Now we have to work on the tyre life for the race because we are abusing the tyre a bit too much but so far it has been a good opening day for me and the Team”.

Cal Crutchlow - 6th

“We did not have our best day today and I’m not really happy with how things started this weekend. We experimented quite a lot with the bike and made it shorter and longer but we did not find an ideal setting yet. We have a lot of chatter and not too much grip, so clearly we are struggling quite a bit at the moment because the other guys seem to improve while I feel the same as on the first lap out there this morning. So we still have a lot of work to do tonight and we have to improve in several areas. I’m having an issue with the brakes but we are still confident for tomorrow and I am sure we can improve to put on a good show in such a big race for Tech 3 and Monster Energy.”

Andrea Dovizioso - 7th

“I’m pleased because we’re closer than we have been at the other tracks with our fastest lap, but especially our pace. I managed to do my best time on the final lap of my long run, which is nice. We’re pretty good with the setup, and although we still have to work on the details, I’m happy to be so close.”

Nicky Hayden - 8th

“The start to the weekend has been a little more positive than at some of the other races. In the morning we were making good steps in each exit, although not as much in the afternoon. Our lap time was pretty good, but it didn’t come easily, so we need to make the bike calmer in order to be more consistent. We do have some good sections, especially the second sector, but we have to improve on change of direction in the tighter areas. We’ll see what the weather does tomorrow; today could well be some of the only dry track time we get before the race.”

Alvaro Bautista - 9th

“Maybe today could have gone better but we had some problems getting the bike turned in the hard braking zones this morning. We worked hard to find a solution this afternoon and even though I am not completely satisfied we have some data and some more ideas to try tomorrow. We also need to work with the electronics to improve the traction control and find more speed out of the corners. If we can do that I am confident we can close the gap to the guys in front of us and secure a good position on the grid.”

Aleix Espargaró - 10th

“I am really happy with the job we have done on this first day because in recent years Le Mans hasn’t been a good track for me. Last year I was two seconds behind Randy in qualifying but this year we have started out really well. You need to get the bike stopped here because there are so many hard braking zones but we have found a good compromise with the bike in this area this season. I am happy because we are well prepared in case it rains tomorrow. If it does then we will go straight through to Q2. There are a lot of second gear corners here and we need to play around with the ratios a little bit to get the setting just right but we are on the pace, things are going well and we don’t want to start wasting time by making unnecessary changes.”

Bradley Smith - 11th

“Today was a good first day in Le Mans. I started to feel a lot more confident this afternoon compared to this morning because there was extra grip on track thanks to the higher track temperature. We found almost 1.5s and that’s really positive. I like this circuit a lot, especially with a MotoGP bike and the differences compared to a smaller bike seem to be not that big compared to the other tracks I have experienced so far. I just have to understand the different braking points like in the first corner where I’ve already made three mistakes so far. But now I think I understood where the limit is. But it was a good day and we are closer than usual to the top after day one and I really feel confident with the new chassis, especially on new tyres, so we will work hard tonight and hopefully go straight into the second qualifying session tomorrow.”

Andrea Iannone – 12th

“Today it was important to understand if I could do the race, especially as we look ahead to Mugello. Near the end of the second session, I wanted to try the last changes we’d made to the bike, and we also changed the tire. I fell, but that’s how it goes—fortunately, I wasn’t hurt and I’ll try again tomorrow. I think the crash may have been due to the tire change; it was new, so I should’ve been more careful. Although I’m struggling with my arm and knee, I’ll be in the race. I can do it, and I need to understand how the arm is before and after. For the moment, I can say that it has improved, but I’ll wait for Sunday to be sure because I’m certainly putting it under some stress. Dr. Claudio Costa and the Clinica Mobile are helping me a lot, and removing the stitches helped the knee to feel better so that I immediately went better. I want to and have to improve as quickly as possible tomorrow, and seeing that Nicky and Andrea went pretty well gives me hope.”

Randy De Puniet - 13th

“I am still not happy with the feeling from the front end but we have worked well here and moved things forward. I am struggling to get the bike stopped and turned into the corners without running wide but if we can improve in this area there are a few tenths there for us. It is really important here to have good confidence under braking. We have also had some rear grip issues this morning but managed to sort them out and now we just need better feel from the front because there are five corners where it is costing us time.”

Michele Pirro - 14th

“The day was a bit difficult, as I had some small problems in both sessions. I had to change bikes in the afternoon, but I actually felt more comfortable on the second one. I think that the situation slowed me down a bit. I’m still satisfied because although it’s my first time with the Ducati on this track, and I’m still getting used to this version of the bike, I began gaining confidence. I hope that we’ll also be able to ride in the dry tomorrow so that I can continue to get better. There’s room for improvement, and we must try to get everything set. I’m sure we can do it.”

Karel Abraham - 18th

“The shoulder seems quite okay, but I expected to feel better. Unfortunately the injured arm is little bit weaker after four weeks of recovery, but the most important is that I can ride with it and I should be able to do whole race with it.”

Bryan Staring - 22nd

“It hasn’t been a fantastic day for guys because we had a few problems with the electronics that held us back. It was a shame because I really liked the track even though it is new to me and I think we could have gone a lot faster. I have to say the guys in the team did a great job to find the source of the problem, which was with a cable, but there was only a few minutes left of the session. We will keep working tomorrow and I am sure we will manage to improve our position. ”

2013 MotoGP Le Mans: rider quotes after Friday's two practice sessions é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 21:27 di Friday 17 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

It now seems confirmed that the much rumored MV Agusta F3 800, powered by the same ‘Tre Pistoni’ engine of the Brutale 800 and the recently unveiled Rivale 800
(which will finally be available for order in the second half of the current year), is really just around the corner by now, so much so that the official presentation of the model will take actually place as early as the beginning of June in view of a possible arrival on the market in late 2013/early 2014.

The new sportsbike from the legendary Italian manufacturer will therefore join the F3 675 pretty soon, though - unlike its ‘little sister’ - it won’t be homologated to compete in any of the current FIM classes. Nonetheless, it will surely turn out to be an interesting toy for the track, and will go on to challenge such competitors as the Suzuki GSX-R 750 and Ducati 848. With this background, it would seem reasonable to expect the F3 800 to deliver something like 145 horsepower (versus the 128 hp of F3 675) as well as a higher torque. The advanced MVICS electronics (Motor & Vehicle Integrated Control System) which debuted on the F3 675 will also be part of the package, meaning that ABS, traction control and ride-by-wire technology will be the same of the 675.

The weight should not be too dissimilar to that of the 675 (167 kg dry weight) while the price may be slightly less than € 14,000. In light of the imminent launch date, more news and technical details on the new MV Agusta F3 800 should not take long to arrive, as well as the first official images and videos of the model. We will be waiting impatiently.

MV Agusta F3 800 ready in a month é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 16:26 di Friday 17 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

Despite the brief rain shower during the last five minutes of Moto3’s second free practice that left a slightly damp Le Mans surface that quickly dried out as the sun broke through the cloud cover.

MotoGP’s last free practice of the day saw lap times drop but it was another tight session with nine riders were again in less than one second, but this time they were separated by just a little more than seven tenths.

Dani Pedrosa once again topped the timesheets and he posted a best lap of 1:34.035, six tenths faster than this morning, while his rookie team mate Marc Marquez was second fastest, that he managed with his last final flying lap and he was +0.134s from Pedrosa and he demoted Valentino Rossi to third by just 0.004s

Rossi is having issues with his brakes overheating, but he was able to post his best time on used tires and after his team raised the front end of his Yamaha M1. Team mate Jorge Lorenzo was fourth fastest and just 0.166s from Pedrosa.

Stefan Brad made a big jump forward to take fifth and he was just 0.264s from his Honda factory counterpart. Cal Crutchlow was sixth and followed by Ducati duo Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden who were just a little more than half a second from the top of the timesheets, while Alvaro Bautista was ninth.

Closing out the top ten was Aleix Espargaro. The CRT rider may have made it directly into QP2 if tomorrow morning should rain and he was 1.010s adrift. Bradley Smith was 11th after a off track excursion, while Andrea Iannone suffered a crash at the Raccordement with ten minutes left in the session. His Ducati GP13 bucked with a new tire and then pitched him off, but he returned to track, albeit holding his arm and take the 12th spot.

2013 MotoGP Le Mans FP2 results:

01- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – 1’34.035
02- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.134
03- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.138
04- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.166
05- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 0.264
06- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.477
07- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 0.543
08- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 0.555
09- Alvaro Bautista – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – + 0.704
10- Aleix Espargaro – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 1.010
11- Bradley Smith – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.327
12- Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.398
13- Randy De Puniet – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 1.412
14- Michele Pirro – Ignite Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.829
15- Hector Barbera – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 1.905
16- Colin Edwards – NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR Kawasaki – + 2.414
17- Claudio Corti – NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR Kawasaki – + 2.608
18- Karel Abraham – Cardion AB Motoracing – ART GP13 – + 2.724
19- Danilo Petrucci – CAME Iodaracing Project – Ioda Suter BMW – + 2.729
20- Hiroshi Aoyama – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 2.786
21- Yonny Hernandez – Paul Bird Motorsport – ART GP13 – + 3.069
22- Bryan Staring – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – FTR Honda MGP13 – + 3.843
23- Michael Laverty – Paul Bird Motorsport – PBM 01 – + 3.988
24- Lukas Pesek – CAME Iodaracing Project – Ioda Suter BMW – + 4.783

Dani Pedrosa tops the timesheets in another tight free practice at Le Mans é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 15:16 di Friday 17 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

Niccolò Canepa, who currently leads the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup championship standings will be racing in next weekend’s World Superbike Donington Park round as a wildcard entry.

The Italian will be racing a 1199 Panigale R in SBK trim and will joining Team Ducati Alstare Carlos Checa and Ayrton
Badovini at Donington thanks to a collaboration between Alstare and Barni Racing Team and Ducati, and Canepa has already tested the Superbike during the Ducati SBK test last week at Mugello.

For Canepa it will be return to World Superbikes after spending 2012 with Team Red Devils Roma team last year who fielded a Ducati before switching to Aprilia in 2013.

Niccolò Canepa said, “I enjoyed testing at Mugello and got on very well with the bike and so I’m really pleased to have this opportunity to ride the 1199 Panigale with Team Ducati Alstare at Donington. I want to thank Francis Batta of Ducati Alstare, Ernesto Marinelli and Ducati and of course my own team, Barni Racing and manager Marco Barnabò for coming together and arranging this. I hope to be able to pay them back by scoring some solid results during these important races.”

Niccolò Canepa to wildcard in WSBK Donington round é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 11:32 di Friday 17 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

It was sunny, but very cold this morning for the first MotoGP free practice at the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans. The fastest rider of the session was Dani Pedrosa who was immediately set the pace in what turned out to be a tight practice with nine riders in less than nine tenths of a second.

The Repsol Honda rider is on a high after his first victory of the season at Jerez stopped the clock in 1.34.645, but Jorge Lorenzo was right on his tail and just 0.040s adrift.

Valentino Rossi was third fastest followed by Ducati duo Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso, who were 4th and 5th respectively, and just 0.327 and 0.427 from the top of the timesheets and effectively Le Mans seems to work for the Desmosedici, even in the dry.

Cal Crutchlow was 6th, while Marc Marquez who has to learn the lines with his RC213V was 7th but just a little more than half a second from his veteran team mate. Alvaro Bautista posted an interesting time even he was only 8th and followed by Stefan Bradl.

Hector Barbera after his trouble with the law was 10th, ahead of Aleix Espargaro and Andrea Iannone. However the Pramac rookie rider is nursing 20 stitches in his right forearm, two holes in his knee and also the flu. Ducati test rider Michele Pirro who is subbing for recovering Ben Spies this weekend and is using the American’s Desmosedici was 13th as he tried to get used to the different Ducati spec - as he’s used to the ‘lab’ bike.

In the finale the rider pushed to get their best times, because tomorrow the weather forecast calls for rain all day and they need to post their best times as early as possible in order to qualify for QP2.

2013 MotoGP Le Mans FP1 results:

01- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – 1’34.645
02- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.040
03- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.293
04- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 0.327
05- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 0.427
06- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.504
07- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.525
08- Alvaro Bautista – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – + 0.640
09- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 0.833
10- Hector Barbera – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 1.304
11- Aleix Espargaro – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 1.438
12- Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.566
13- Michele Pirro – Ignite Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.962
14- Randy De Puniet – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 2.100
15- Bradley Smith – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 2.145
16- Hiroshi Aoyama – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 2.227
17- Claudio Corti – NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR Kawasaki – + 2.680
18- Colin Edwards – NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR Kawasaki – + 2.786
19- Yonny Hernandez – Paul Bird Motorsport – ART GP13 – + 2.952
20- Danilo Petrucci – CAME Iodaracing Project – Ioda Suter BMW – + 2.975
21- Karel Abraham – Cardion AB Motoracing – ART GP13 – + 3.564
22- Bryan Staring – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – FTR Honda MGP13 – + 3.871
23- Michael Laverty – Paul Bird Motorsport – PBM 01 – + 4.680
24- Lukas Pesek – CAME Iodaracing Project – Ioda Suter BMW – + 5.065

Dani Pedrosa fastest in tight FP1 at Le Mans é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 11:02 di Friday 17 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez may have shook hands during the flight home from Jerez - they were seated next to each other - while after the race Lorenzo took the politically correct route refusing more or less to talk about the last corner incident, but apparently the reigning World Champion has been brooding over the incident for the last two weeks, and at Le Mans, the Yamaha rider decided to talk about it during the usual riders’ briefing with the Race Direction also present, according to Italian website GPone.com

It wasn’t exactly handbags against Marquez, nothing like what happened with the late Marco Simoncelli, but more against the Race Direction for not taking action, with Lorenzo saying that Marquez should have been punished for the pass, under the new penalty points system.

Lorenzo believes that Race Direction should have given Marquez a penalty for Jerez incident citing that, “In football, you just take off your shirt you get a yellow card, in Formula 1 every manoeuvre is under a microscope while here no one does anything.”

Lorenzo also stated that he couldn’t find anyone of the Race Direction to talk following the race, upset that the pass wasn’t even investigated (but apparently it was). He also said Marquez would have never closed the corner and that he would have ended up running off track if he didn’t use him as a berm.

The discussion also spilled over in the pre-event press conference - whoever organizes these things decided it was cute to sit Lorenzo next to Marquez, even if the two did shake hands in the conference.

“When you see some space, you try it! I have nothing against Marc,” said Lorenzo. “But we are not using this points system, and I’d like us to use it. I think you can become a more logical rider – I only changed in 2005 because I was penalized.” adding “Like I say, I have no problem with Marc, I just want to improve the safety of my sport.”

While Marquez said, “If you do that on the first lap or in the middle I can understand a penalty. But on the last lap … I think fans like it.”

Jorge Lorenzo still upset about Marquez clash é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 20:20 di Thursday 16 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

Aprilia has decided to lodge an appeal with the International Disciplinary Court following Tom Sykes reinstatement to third place late Sunday evening following race 2 at Monza.

Sykes had just conquered the third position by overtaking Sylvain Guintoli during the last lap when he overcooked the Roggia and ran onto the paved run off area, but he returned to track taking back his original position ahead of the Aprilia rider to finish third.

After the race, Aprilia filed an appeal sustaining that Sykes outbraked himself and cut the chicane, gaining an unfair advantage by not conceding the position. The Race Direction after several hours ruled to drop Sykes to fourth and awarded third to Guintioli (who celebrated the ruling with a private ceremony, posting the above picture on Twitter).

Kawasaki later appealed to the FIM Stewards’ Panel stating that Sykes was already ahead of Guintoli and that he ran off track to avoid rear ending Marco Melandri, who apparently braked a litte earlier. The FIM Stewards re-analyzed the race footage and decided to reinstate Sykes to third.

Aprilia had five days to lodge another appeal, and have now sent their appeal to International Disciplinary Court who will have six weeks to make a decision on who between Sykes and Guintoli will get those precious extra three points.

2013 WSBK Monza: Aprilia lodges appeal with IDC é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 17:14 di Thursday 16 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

Every few months or so Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta comes out with the fact that he wants to open up MotoGP racing in other countries.

In an interview that Ezpeleta gave to Reuters during last weekend’s Formula 1 race in Barcelona, the CEO revealed that he is thinking of holding another race in South America - Argentina has been rescheduled for 2014, with the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo circuit is waiting to get its FIM homologation - wanting to bring MotoGP back to Brazil in 2015, with plans for a round in Brasilia, which confirms the words of president of the Brazilian Motorcycle Confederation (CMB), Firmo Alves, who stated earlier this year that MotoGP World Championship would be returning to the country in 2014.

To capitalize on the booming South East Asia motorcycle markets, Ezpeleta said that “there are other projects in Asia also,” which will no doubt make Yamaha’s Lin Jarvis happy, because the manager would like to host two MotoGP races at Sepang until another circuit in the area is built like Motorsport City, which will be located near the border of Malaysia and Singapore, but there are also talks of an event in Thailand.

Ezpeleta stated that the new events are likely to replace certain venues in Spain and in the US.

“There is not a lot of possibility to continue with four races in Spain,” said Ezpeleta, who added: “I don’t think we will continue with three [races in America].”

Of the three races in the US, Indianapolis is more than likely to get the axe, because Ezpeleta said, The Austin (Texas) track is fantastic and we will continue with them, we have a five-year contract with them and we will honour that,” and “Laguna Seca (in California) is special also. It is a particular grand prix but we think the atmosphere and everything at Laguna is interesting to us.”

However he made no mention which Spanish round - Jerez, Catalunya, Aragon and Valencia could be dropped, but with all probability it will be Valencia. Jerez is too popular, Dorna has an office in Barcelona, and Aragon is where ExternPro, the engineering firm that does the Honda Moto2 engine maintenance is based and they also received a discount on the sanctioning fees.

More Asia and South America in Dorna's MotoGP plans? é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 16:29 di Thursday 16 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

Pramac’s Andrea Iannone has confirmed that he will try to race in this weekend MotoGP round at Le Mans, France.

The MotoGP rookie underwent arm pump surgery a little more than ten days ago in Spain. Normally for professional riders recovery is rather quick, but the MotoGP rookie revealed that his operation was slightly more complicated than expected because the muscle was so deeply wrapped in the fascia, so Dr. Mir had to open his right forearm much more than they usually do, and much longer incision that required twenty staples.

Speaking to the Gazzetta dello Sport, Iannone said that he’ll probably have them removed after the French GP so he can prepare for his home round at Mugello. Describing his post surgery situation he said:

“After surgery, it was extremely painful. I couldn’t stretch my arm and didn’t have any strength.I couldn’t even write a text message on my mobile phone. Instead day after day, the situation began improving, but I still can’t have any draining massages done, but the pain has decreased and the extension increased. So I’m rather confident, but obviously the track will give me a clearer picture of my fitness.”

Iannone is hoping that the Le Mans weekend will be wet, because riding in the rain is physically less tiring:

“I tried to ride a maxi scooter and in acceleration in the muscle hurts, I’m counting on the rain because the Le Mans circuit is really quite twisty and riding in the wet is easier. “

Ahead of the Mugello GP, on May 29 at 7pm Andrea Iannone and team mate Ben Spies will be in the streets of the medieval Tuscan village of Casole d’Elsa to sign autographs and carry out interviews in Piazza della Libertà.

The event will kick-start the MotoGP weekend. Participation is free and the public is welcome, and there’ll be music and also a small appetizer. So if anyone is planning to attend the Grand Premio d’Italia keep in mind this event.

Andrea Iannone will race at Le Mans and hopes for rain é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 14:57 di Thursday 16 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

When KTM purchased Swedish-born Italian manufacturer Husqvarna, many we’re left wondering what Pierer Industries AG (a company owned by KTM CEO Stefan Pierer) would do with the company, especially after it was announced that the Husqvarna’s production facility in Varese, Italy was being closed with 212 workers layed off.

The company has now announced that they will be moving to Austria, will be reunite with Husaberg for its technology, and form a new company called “Husqvarna Sportmotorcyle GmbH” with a new generation of models already in the works.

Press release:

The year 2013 will be remembered in motorcycling history as the year that Husqvarna was reborn.

HUSQVARNA STARTS A NEW ERA OF GREAT SUCCESS

Following the acquisition of Husqvarna by Pierer Industries AG and after careful analysis and evaluation of all aspects, it was decided to reunite what came out of shared roots 25 years ago. In other words, Husqvana will enter a positive new era by combining its own rich heritage with Husaberg’s state-of-the-art technology.

NEW HUSQVARNA MODEL LINEUP TO BE PRESENTED IN OCTOBER

The new generation of Husqvarna models is already in progress: a new model range, with brand new exclusive design and the latest technology is being developed and will be offered in the segments Enduro, Motocross and Sportminicycles. There will also be exciting, newly developed products in the Supermoto segment – one in which Husqvarna has enjoyed a lot of success in in recent years.

DON´T MISS THE PRESENTATION OF THE NEW HUSQVARNA OFFROAD MODEL RANGE IN SWEDEN; PLANNED FOR EARLY OCTOBER 2013.

The new line-up will be presented to the big fan community at the international EICMA show in Milan in early November.

HUSQVARNA SPORTMOTORCYCLE GMBH, OPERATIONAL AS OF OCTOBER 2013

As of October 2013, the new group company “Husqvarna Sportmotorcyle GmbH” based in Mattighofen, Austria, will be fully operational in the production and sale of the new model range to the Husqvarna network of dealers and distributors. Parts supply and Customer Service for all Husqvarna models up to and including Model Year 2013 are guaranteed for the years to come and will remain at the current business location in Biandronno (VA), Italy.

Husqvarna and Husaberg reunite and the Husqvarna Sportmotorcycle GmbH is born é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 12:12 di Thursday 16 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

Frank Ohle is a German engineer/designer who adores big bikes, the bigger the better, and he likes to custom build bikes and one of his creations was a 700 kg motorcycle fitted with an Aston Martin V12 engine that was seen at the Essen Motor Show in 2010.

Ohle’s latest creation is a ‘chopper’ dubbed the Red Baron. The bike bears the name of the famous World War 1 German fighter pilot, because it’s powered a 150hp nine-cylinder Rotec Radial R3600 aircraft engine.

It took Ohle 18 months to create the motorcycle, only he isn’t the first to experiment with a radial airplane engine on a motorcycle

Red Baron motorcycle with airplane engine (w/video) é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 18:41 di Wednesday 15 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

For the first time ever, a Moto Guzzi motorcycle has been crowned “Best of the Best″ by the Robb Report. The US magazine, for 37 years the world’s leading luxury-lifestyle magazine, is to include the California 1400 Custom, the new motorbike just introduced by Moto Guzzi in its “Best of the Best” Luxury Portfolio for 2013.

Published in twelve international editions, for 25 years every June the Robb Report has presented its “Best of the Best” special issue, which, say the magazine’s publishers, is the “the culmination of an entire year’s search for the most extraordinary new products and services”. The issue spans premier-quality world production in six categories: “Wheels”, “Journeys”, “Style”, “Leisure”, “Home” and “Wings & Water”.

In the 2013 “Best of the Best” issue, the Robb Report pays tribute to the technology, style and irresistible appeal of the new Moto Guzzi California 1400 Custom, named as the top product in the “Cruiser Motorcycles” category.

Robb Report names the Moto Guzzi California 1400 Custom “Best of the Best Cruiser Motorcycle” for 2013 é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 17:29 di Wednesday 15 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

Ducati riders have often scored podiums at Le Mans but have never obtained a race victory, not even with Casey Stoner who got the result only when he rode for Repsol Honda.

The layout of the track and the wet weather conditions often sees the Desmosedici competitive, however Andrea Dovizioso is hoping to capitalize on the Ducati’s characteristics at the circuit and also the fact that he has always had decent results, something that team mate Nicky Hayden hasn’t had. The American has never been on the podium in France in the 10 years he’s been in MotoGP.

Dovizioso and Hayden carried out two days of private testing at Mugello last week and it will be interesting to see if they can found some set-up solutions to better the performance of the bike.

“The conditions at Le Mans are always tricky, in part because it’s typically raining! Still, I think it’s a good track for Ducati, and it’s a really good track for me. That being the case, we should go there with confidence and see if we can understand a little bit about where we can improve, although for the moment, we still shouldn’t think too much about the result,” said Dovizioso.

“We’ve had a couple of days off after a very busy week, so I was able to head north and regroup. Honestly, I’ve struggled at Le Mans, but one of the keys to the track is hard braking, which is a strong point of the Desmosedici. We’ve seen a lot of spectators at the last couple of races, and I imagine that will also be true at Le Mans. My wrist has improved since Jerez, and although it’s still not perfect, I expect to have less pain in France. Hopefully we can have some fun and do a good race,” commented Hayden.

Andrea Dovizioso not thinking of results and Nicky Hayden's wrist improves ahead of Le Mans round é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 12:42 di Wednesday 15 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez are heading to Le Mans on a high. Pedrosa took his first victory of the season at Jerez two weeks ago and rookie Marquez with his second place is now the championship standings leader..

Dani has finished on the podium 6 times in Le Mans, with three victories in the lower classes - 2003 in 125cc, 2004 and 2005 in 250cc, but has never won on the French circuit in the MotoGP, but now that his racecraft in wet conditions has drastically improved he has big chance.

Marquez will have to learn to ride the Le Mans circuit with his RC213V, but considering his results in the last three rounds, this shouldn’t be a problem for him. The only question mark will be cold temperatures and rain which is always a strong possibility at Le Mans.

“We go to Le Mans and again we arrive there starting from zero, as I haven’t done any tests there. I’ll do my best and I’ll try to make the most of the situation. I hope it doesn’t rain so we can prepare the bike on a dry track, this is very important to find the right set up. I’m very happy at the moment but we have to keep our feet on the ground as the coming circuits are new for me in MotoGP. A huge part of our success in this first part of the season is down to the help that Honda and the team have given me and it had helped my riding a lot,” said Marquez previewing the upcoming round.

“After a fantastic weekend in Jerez and a productive test on the Monday, I’m looking forward to going to Le Mans. I had good results in the past and I enjoy the circuit, so I’m hoping that the bike works well there. Practice management in Le Mans can sometimes be difficult and complicated due to the weather but I’m finding my comfort again on the bike and I’m working well with the team. I will go to France and aim to use all of my experience and remain focused for the whole weekend,” said Pedrosa.

Video of Marquez analyzing the Le Mans circuit after the jump.

Marc Marquez keeps feet on the ground and Pedrosa hopes bike works well at Le Mans é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 11:44 di Wednesday 15 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

Thanks to our mates from twin-site Motoblog.it, here is a pretty extensive photo gallery dedicated to some of the most fascinating ladies spotted here and there at the Monza track during the latest World Superbike round. We do this every week, but this time around our usual photo gallery is even bigger than usual as we had one of our men over there for the event, and surely he has an eye for this kind of stuff.

The Italian GP surely did not let us down in terms of sheer entertainment on the track - with home favourite Marco Melandri sprinting to victory in Race-1 and Irishman Eugene Laverty nailing it in Race-2 - but we must say that what we saw off it was almost just as exciting. Next up is the French GP in Le Mans for the MotoGP World Championship, so keep an eye on this page and wait for some nice French beauty.

SBK Monza: the paddock girls gallery é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 19:06 di Tuesday 14 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

MotoGP followers know that Valentino Rossi, Andrea Iannone, Danilo Petrucci, Lukas Pesek and Stefan Bradl all wear AGV’s ultra modern Pista GP.

The AGV Pista GP was born on the racetrack and designed according to AGV’s own ‘Extreme Standards Helmets‘ and these above MotoGP riders talk about the improved features and virtues of using this helmet, from its lightness, the ventilation air takes that radically improves cooling, the visor that has been enlarged and extended upwards, which allows them to see better when they are tucked in behind the fairing or heading towards a turn.

Check out what four of the riders had to say about this helmet.

MotoGP riders preach the features and virtues of the AGV Pista GP helmet é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 15:56 di Tuesday 14 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.

Even if the Circuit de la Sarthe at Le Mans is considered a stop-and-go track, Yamaha usually performs well and the team is hoping to capitalize on the historically friendly circuit, after what turned out to be a suprisingly demanding Jerez GP for the two factory riders.

Yamaha has won four of out of five last French GPs, and both Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi have each recorded three MotoGP wins at Le Mans.

The team will be displaying special logo on Lorenzo’s and Rossi’s Yamahas’ during the weekend in tribute to Yamaha legend Jean Claude Olivier who passed away tragically earlier this year in a road traffic accident.

Known to all as ‘JCO’, Olivier was a Yamaha icon and loyal employee for 45 years until his retirement in 2010. JCO competed in the Dakar Rally for Yamaha from 1979 to 1989, finishing second in 1985. There will also be a display of images inside Yamaha’s Hospitality depicting highlights of Yamaha Motor France’s story in road racing.

Lorenzo who had a rough Jerez GP after bashing fairings with Marc Marquez. The Spaniard has made peace with the Honda rider - shaking his hand during the flight home - but has vowed to improve even more and warned that if it’s necessary he’ll revert back to being as aggressive as he was in the 250cc class.

“Now we travel to France, to Le Mans, a special circuit which is a very different track to Jerez. I am looking forward to racing there. I arrive with a lot of motivation after the Jerez results. Perhaps we expected better there but we struggled much more than we expected because of the extreme heat on the track. Fortunately we worked a lot on the test day afterwards to solve little problems. That session helped us to understand what the main problems had been on the Sunday. I’ve always had very good results at Le Mans and it brings me good memories. Last year in fact, I got a victory in the wet by a great distance over the rest. I rode a perfect race, without making a single mistake and in terrible track conditions. I have won many times in France and think it’s a good track for both me and the Yamaha M1.”

Rossi will try to score his second podium of the season after struggling at Austin and Jerez. Le Mans is also the venue where he was obtained two of the three podiums in his two ill-fated years with Ducati.

“Le Mans is a good track for me, also because in the last two years I was able to arrive on the podium in the dry and also in wet conditions. We hope to do the same and also better with Yamaha because this is a good track for the M1. In Le Mans the weather will be very important, because usually the weather is quite bad. It can be cold and wet so we will see. We will have to work well like always and try to understand the weather and the conditions of the track. We will try to do the maximum as always.”

Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi hope to capitalize on Yamaha friendly Le Mans é stato pubblicato su twowheelsblog alle 11:59 di Tuesday 14 May 2013. Leggete le condizioni di utilizzo del feed.