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Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Meet me on the sand, at the motorcycle art-filled crossroads between hooligan carnage and Red Bull supercross. Nestled between the race pits and the ocean, riders are catching waves sculpted in the dirt, finding their flow in the Straight Rhythm dream event on Huntington Beach, California.
This year, Red Bull’s best supercross racers were amidst the Moto Beach Classic’s masterful custom bike builders, live artisans, a host of great vendors, and the nation’s only Super Hooligan flat-track racing on the sand.
It’s hard to believe what they actually built out there on the beach, from the pristine dirt flat track (their best ever), surrounded by a small city of food trucks, vendors, art installations, custom motorcycles, to the insane half-mile supercross track made from 229,500 cubic feet of dirt with 53 individual jumps. The combination of the Moto Beach Classic and the Red Bull Straight Rhythm was an extremely well-suited pairing, like fragrant premix in the autumn.
Straight Rhythm
Finding your rhythm is what it’s all about on this gnarly track full of whoops, jumps, tabletops, and more. Redlining two-strokes in battle, striving to scrub just enough speed to stay low, with the added obstacles of many of the riders not racing nor riding two-strokes in quite some years and the game-changing precipitation toward the end of the race. The intimidating tabletop jump was built over the bathrooms resulting in the massive jump that riders soared above, affectionately called the “baños.” The track was built with a long corridor of race pits to the east and bleachers full of cheering fans on the other side. Motocross without turns is all about precision with no room for the slightest mistake and each race lasting under 40 seconds.
Excitement built as the lead changed hands many times working toward the best two out of three with the rain increasing in the semi-finals. With the track broken in and saturated, riders reported the nerve-racking qualities of climbing the glassy-wet ramp and much of the track, but particularly the whoops, becoming super slick. As a crew worked to dry the starting platform with rags and leaf blowers, the racers did their best to keep their rear wheels from spinning and bikes from doing endos out of the gate before sending the impressive starting drop.
Marvin Musquin seemed to be aggressively pushing the bike down to the ground to stay low, remaining undefeated in each of his matchups. Musquin also took home Red Bull Straight Rhythm wins in 2014, 2016, and 2017. Previous 2019 winner Ken Roczen killed it in the whoops and took the lead from Justin Barcia with a huge whip on the tabletop, landing him in second place. Third place podium position went to Barcia after a rainy duel into their third run with Josh Hansen after his mistake in the quad quad, despite Barcia’s slippery loop-out on the starting platform.
Carson Brown consistently looked fantastic right out of the gate, beating Josh Varize for first place in the 125 Class with Derek Kelley coming in third place.
Motorcycle Art
Immersive free-standing paintings lined the packed walkways of the art and motorcycle show. The individual walls stood as backdrops for an array of custom motorcycles like an ornate mirage in the sand. Steve Fawley’s illusive portal of red, black, and white pulled you in as the MahaloBrah Yamaha R3 seemed to move out toward you. Melany Meza-Dierk’s “v-twin ecstasy” was a stunning centerpiece with Trev Dogg’s regal golden Dyna sitting pretty in front.
Renowned surfboard shaper and conceptual artist Peter Schroff painstakingly displayed The Pink Whale, his Jetson-esque board sculpture with integrated keg tap, fish aquarium, radio, computer, lava lamp, and V-8 exhaust pipes. He later theatrically shaped a “made in China” surfboard with a chain saw.
Interactive pieces involved Nick Sawyer’s dreamlike “shark twin” painting, with cutouts for faces, as was art director Brad Parker’s Evel Knievel painting, which was torched to give an antiquated patina effect. Smoke was sent out from the Yahama photographed in Joe Hitzelberger’s “Yami Smoke Show” on the backside of Mikey Zeller’s epic Smokey the Bear piece titled “Smoke ‘em.”
Flat Track
It’s easy to share common ground when you bring your own dirt. A wide variety of riders and types of bikes took to the track at the Mission Foods Moto Beach Classic, from baggers to ebikes. There was no shortage of family fun, with Stacyc Kids’ races and father-son hooligan race duos such as Frank and Frankie Garcia and Randy and Tyler Bereman. Andy DiBrino won the dash for cash and was the only rider to race both the Straight Rhythm and the Super Hooligan track.
The super hooligan main class was brimming with talent on the track, with AJ Kirkpatrick, Robbie Maddison, Andy DiBrino, and Fast J to name a few. Stacked with racers banging bars, this thrilling 20-lap race was interrupted by multiple red flag events building suspense with Brad Spencer winning the race after keeping Tony Alves at bay in second place and Sam Cover with third.
Dream It, Build It
Overall this two-wheeled beach party was all about fun and motorcycles, with 20,000 fans coming out to enjoy the day. It’s incredible to see what can happen when dreams are realized and teams conquer the chaos to make visions tangible. Efforts by the Roland Sands Design and Red Bull crews were laudable and we can’t wait to see what they pull off next year.
For all Moto Beach flat-track results: speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/2065997
Watch the live streamed Moto Beach Classic 2022 event that took place on Spot Network here:
watch.spotnetwork.tv/play/moto-beach-classic-live-2022/0_2ejvn0po
Watch the full Red Bull Straight Rhythm event: youtube.com/watch?v=cI15hTksjlI&t=3469s
Source: MotorCyclistOnline.com
What techniques do some of the best riders in the world use to stay safe while going so fast? The Yamaha Champions Riding School, led by racer and author Nick Ienatsch, aims to imbue this wisdom on participants at its numerous events. Along these lines, the partial 2023 ChampSchool schedule has been released, with events from coast to coast and several points in between – and promises of more to come. Read the press release below from the Yamaha Champions Riding School for more information
GARYSBURG, N.C. — Yamaha Champions Riding School, the premier riding school in North America, is proud to announce the partial 2023 schedule featuring events in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington state. This is a partial schedule release with several more dates to be added in the next few weeks. In all, the 2023 ChampSchool schedule will consist of more than 30 events including 2-Day ChampSchool, ChampStreet, ChampGrad, and Racer Only curriculums. Significant “early bird” discounts are available for all schools up to 60 days before the events, and most schools sell out weeks in advance.
“We pushed hard to get our 2023 partial schedule out because of incredible demand,” CEO Nick Ienatsch explains. “We keep our classes small because we feel that riding must be taught specifically and individually, but we filled all of our classes in 2022 with incredibly long wait lists! We have added several new events, changed up some programs, and we include our new Champ U online curriculum with every in-person school purchase. Thanks to all riders for their interest; see what events fit your schedule and let’s ride together in 2023.”
See all of Rider‘s Yamaha coverage here.
The first event of the year might be the best event of the year! Yamaha Champions Riding School is going to Homestead Miami Speedway for what has turned into our annual four-day moto-vacation extravaganza! ChampSchool has partnered with N2 Track Days for four days of fun in the sun. Thursday and Friday, Jan. 19-20, will feature our 2-Day ChampSchool, and ChampStreet programs.
N2 Track Days will be holding a track day event on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 21-22. Track prepared rental bikes will be available from Bike Pass Motorsports, Track Bike Rentals, and BobbleHeadMoto. Street based rentals will be available from ChampSchool and our new partners at Eagle Rider. 2-Day ChampSchool students will also have the opportunity to get “third-day” private coaching from Kyle Wyman, Ben Walters, Chris Peris, Eziah Davis, Stefano Mesa, Robertino Pretri, and others at the N2 Event. Call the boss and take vacation time now. This event will sell out.
ChampSchool’s traditional winter home is Inde Motorsports Ranch in Willcox, Arizona. Inde is a gearhead’s dream with 75,000 sq-ft of beautiful facilities, a 5-acre skid pad, and an amazing, freshly-repaved, 21-turn road course. We will be holding traditional 2-Day ChampSchool events at Inde on Feb. 20-21 as well as adding ChampStreet to the program.
On March 20-21, we will hold our “Racer Only” school. This event will not include our normal 2-Day curriculum but will focus specifically on racing, race craft, training, nutrition, sponsorship, and racing as a business…taught by a who’s-who of American roadracing.
We will be back at Inde for a “Graduate Only” event on May 9-10, open to any ChampSchool grad regardless of speed or riding venue.
The next ChampSchool at Inde will be on Oct. 9-10 followed by Grad schools on Nov. 28-29. Inde is the perfect destination to improve your skills while your friends are shoveling snow. Private “third-day” coaching is available from Chris Peris at most Inde Motorsports Ranch events. Yamaha motorcycles are available to rent at all Inde events for a true “arrive and ride” experience.
ChampSchool loves California, and California loves ChampSchool. How do we know? Simple: Every event in California sells out! YCRS is returning to California for up to six events in 2022. We can only tease a few at this time though. We can confirm events at the repaved Streets of Willow on March 31 to April 1, as well as Nov. 13-14. Don’t worry California, we have plenty more to announce in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.
We have had years of requests to come to Texas, and we finally made it happen last year. The event sold out, and all we heard about was more events in Texas, so we will be back with two events in 2023. We will roll in to Cresson Motorsports Ranch just outside of Dallas/Ft. Worth for a 2-Day ChampSchool program on April 11-12 . This is the Tuesday/Wednesday prior to MotoGP at COTA. Come ride with us at this very fun track and then take the 3.5 hr trip to COTA to watch the best in the world. We will return to Cresson on Sept. 5-6.
Big news! We will be bringing our ChampStreet program to both events in Texas.
We have a massive mid-west following who have traveled all over the country to ride with us, and now we are finally coming to them. On Aug. 7-8, we will be holding a 2-Day ChampSchool program at beautiful Autobahn Country Club just outside of Chicago. New for 2023 will be the addition of our ChampStreet program. This is an amazing facility at the perfect time of year.
Big news! We have moved the ChampSchool East Coast home base to Garysburg, North Carolina, to the North Carolina Center for Automotive Research (NCBike)! We are celebrating by holding a six-day event for our housewarming party.
Our first event of the year will be a big one. We will kick things off with 2-Day ChampSchool on Thursday and Friday April 27-28. We are partnering with N2 for private lessons and Grad programs on April 29-30. After all that fun, we will hold our first East Coast Racers Only school on Monday and Tuesday, May 1-2. It’s going to be a blast, national #1s will be coaching
We will return to NCBike for an almost identical program Thursday and Friday Oct. 19-20, followed by an N2 Track Day with private lessons on Oct. 21-22, then a Grad Only event on Monday and Tuesday Oct. 23-24. Stay tuned for at least one more Southeast date in 2023.
ChampSchool is coming back to Colorado on Memorial Day weekend at High Plains Raceway! Saturday and Sunday, May 27-28. This event will feature our 1-day ChampStreet program and our full 2-Day ChampSchool. This event will sell out and will have limited rental availability, so prep your bike and come ride with our team that includes six-time MRA #1 plate holder Ryan Burke and class champions like Michael Applehans and Joe Clark
ChampSchool is back with a full program at The Ridge in June. The Ridge is the premier road course facility in Washington state, and ChampSchool is excited about returning for our sixth straight year. The event will be held on the Tuesday and Wednesday after the MotoAmerica weekend: June 27-28. Watch the pros race on the weekend and then learn from the same riders during the week.
The Northeast will have four events in 2023. Pittsburgh International Race Complex is hands down one of the best tracks in the country. Pitt Race will be the epicenter of motorcycle track riding in mid-August with our 2-day event in the center. The N2 National Endurance and WERA Sprint racing will start the week off with ChampSchool next on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 14-15.
The best riders in the country (and several of your instructors) will be next as MotoAmerica moves in Aug. 18-20.
We have a long history at New Jersey Motorsports Park and will host three events on May 16-17, June 19-20, and Sept. 26-27. With more than 45 million people within a couple hour’s drive of the famous south Jersey track, NJMP is an extremely popular facility and a ton of fun. All three events this year will be on the Thunderbolt course and feature our 2-Day ChampSchool and a pair of 1-day ChampStreet programs.
The 2023 Yamaha Champions Riding School schedule will continue to expand with new events being added throughout the rest of the year. Check back often at the ChampSchool website for the latest info.
Yamaha Champions Riding School (ChampSchool) is the nation’s premier motorcycle training program. ChampSchool is the evolution of the Freddie Spencer High-Performance Riding School and is led by racer, author, and former right-hand man of Spencer, Nick Ienatsch. ChampSchool uses “Champions Habits” to teach all riders the skills and techniques used by the top riders in the world to go faster safer, while concentrating on the way in which modern motorcycles are designed to be ridden. ChampSchool is dedicated to making all motorcycle riders safer and more in control of their riding, no matter what type of riding they do. For more information visit the ChampSchool website.
Yamaha Champions Riding School is proudly sponsored by: Yamaha Motor Corporation USA, Dunlop Motorcycle Tires, Dainese, Omnediem, Arai Helmets, YamaLube, GYTR, Chatterbox, GB Racing, ModOp, Chickenhawk Tire Warmers, Techspec, Payless Rental Cars, Core Moto and N2 Track Days.
The post Partial 2023 ChampSchool Schedule Announced first appeared on Rider Magazine.
Source: RiderMagazine.com
It was a stunning comeback title win, and Francesco Bagnaia has deservedly been crowned the 2022 MotoGP™ World Champion. The number 63 ended two long waits, bringing a riders’ title back to Ducatiafter 15 years and also becoming the first Italian since Valentino Rossi to win the title in 13 years. Unsurprisingly, Bagnaia has hit the headlines across the globe, and this is how the world’s media reacted!
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
How appropriate it was to see both Italian legends Giacomo Agostini and Rossi in the Ducati garage at the Ricardo Tormo circuit. Vale, the last Italian MotoGP™ World Champion back in 2013. Ago, the last Italian rider to win the premier class on an Italian machine 50 years ago. Yes, half a century ago way back in 1972. Vale tried but failed in his two seasons with Ducati. Stoner won Ducati’s only other MotoGP™ Championship riding the 800cc machine but of course, he is Australian. It is an amazing fact that just two countries have produced premier class World Champions riding machinery built in their country. Since Grand Prix racing began in 1949 only Italy and Great Britain have achieved such a feat. Others and especially Japan have tried but still wait to join the exclusive double club.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
The season finale didn’t disappoint, with Alex Rins taking the win to deliver the perfect farewell to Suzuki, but the day belonged to Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). The Italian is the newly crowned MotoGP™ World Champion having stolen the title from Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
After the final qualifying session of the 2022 MotoGP™ season, it was time for the traditional presentation of the BMW M Award at the final in Valencia, Spain on Saturday. This year, Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia won the coveted accolade for the fastest qualifier in MotoGP™ for the first time. His exclusive prize: the first BMW M3 Competition Touring with xDrive*. The BMW M Award is an important pillar in the close partnership between BMW M GmbH and MotoGP™ rights holder Dorna Sports, in existence since 1999, and was awarded for the 20th time this year. Franciscus van Meel, CEO of BMW M GmbH, and Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, presented the prize to winner Bagnaia in Valencia.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
It was a historic day in Valencia on Sunday, and not just for the fact we crowned a first-time premier class Champion. 15 years on since Ducati’s last win, and 13 years since an Italian claimed glory, Francesco Bagnaia brought an end to both droughts following a sensational 91-point turnaround to become the 2022 MotoGP™ World Champion.
FREE: Bagnaia reaches the promised land in Valencia
Flashback to 15 years ago, and Ducati were still celebrating their maiden Riders’ Championship delivered by Casey Stoner in 2007. Few would have thought it would have taken another decade and a half before the Borgo Panigale factory celebrated again
Stoner was unable to back up his initial success in his remaining years with Ducati, having to wait until his Honda switch in 2011 before he would be once again crowned Champion. To offset the loss of the Australian, the Bologna bullets secured the services of a certain Valentino Rossi, a nine-time World Champion.
Casey Stoner opens up on personal relationship with Bagnaia
It seemed a match made in heaven. An Italian superstar with an Italian bike. Not since the legendary Giacomo Agostini and MV Agusta in 1972 had such a combination taken World Championship honours, but if there was one to emulate that feat, it was Rossi and Ducati… or so it seemed.
Moving from the comforts of his Yamaha to the Desmosedici proved a taxing challenge. So demanding, that Rossi went an entire season without a win for the first time since his Championship debut, with a solitary podium his only consolation.
The hard work continued through the following year, but his and Ducati’s misfortunes continued, with just two podiums to his name in 2012. By the end of year, it was chalked down as a failed experiment, and Rossi returned to Yamaha and title battles from the following year.
Rossi and Stoner battle once again at Le Mans
Tough years lay ahead for Ducati with likes of Nicky Hayden and Cal Crutchlow unable to bring them to the top step, and it wasn’t until 2016 that one of their riders took the chequered flag first, with Andrea Iannone taking victory at the Austrian GP. It was a first Ducati win since Stoner’s final season back in 2010.
While they went on a barren run, a star had been developing within their ranks. Andrea Dovizioso joined Ducati in 2013, and he took his first win at a rainy Malaysian GP in 2016. That was just the beginning as the next season, he took six race wins as he pushed Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) all the way to the season finale. Dovi even outshone star recruit and five-time World Champion Jorge Lorenzo that season as he claimed second in the Championship.
2018 saw Dovizioso claim four more victories as he once again finished runner-up to Marquez, while 2019 continued in the same vein as the Italian claimed a third consecutive runner-up medal as the entire grid were outclassed by Marquez once again, with the Repsol Honda rider tallying up a preposterous points total.
Despite his best efforts, Dovizioso just kept falling short, but he achieved what others failed and became a consistent Championship threat while developing the Desmosedici into a formidable weapon.
Dovizioso: What were his best and worst moments in MotoGP™?
In 2020, Dovi bid farewell, as did his teammate Danilo Petrucci, and Ducati gambled on youth, promoting Pramac pair and great friends Pecco Bagnaia and Jack Miller to the factory team. They were betting big on Pecco too, having previously handed him a factory bike debut at the end of season 2018 Test.
Having been under the tutelage of Rossi, hopes were high that Bagnaia could live up to the hopes that were set upon his mentor ten years previously. And things got off to a pretty good start with an opening night podium at the Qatar GP. More podiums followed before that victory breakthrough finally came at a thrilling Aragon GP, where he held his nerve against a relentless Marc Marquez.
My best race: Bagnaia between Thailand and Australia
After a myriad of near misses, that victory broke the dam wall and three victories in five followed to close out the season. That form had him primed as a main contender in 2022, but struggles ensued at the beginning of the season. After five podium-less races, Bagnaia upset the odds to take the win in Jerez. Then it was a case of win it or bin it, with his next three races seeing record DNF-P1-DNF. At this stage, he was 91 points off the pace, and seemingly out of contention, but cue the most remarkable title turnaround we’ve ever seen in the sport.
Four consecutive victories came before a second place in Aragon. Within striking distance of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), back-to-back podiums in Thailand and Australia saw him assume command of the Championship race while a Malaysian GP victory put him on the brink.
15 years later, Bagnaia sealed the deal and finally brought the Riders’ Championship back to Ducati. 13 years on from his mentor Valentino Rossi’s last title, an Italian is once again the toast of the MotoGP™ paddock. Judging by the celebrations seen at the circuit, we have no doubt the town was painted red as they partied hard into the night.
Pecco Bagnaia, your 2022 MotoGP™ World Champion
Congratualtions Pecco. Congratulations Ducati. We can’t wait to see what you bring next year.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Francesco Bagnaia is the new MotoGP™ World Champion. The Ducati Lenovo Team rider ended the Borgo Panigale’s 15 year wait for a title at the Valencia GP after a magnificent 91-point turnaround. Seven victories and three more podiums were key to his success, and you can enjoy some of the best snaps from his season by clicking below!
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Denali Electronics has developed several new accessories for the 2021-up KTM 1290 Adventure bike to help you stand out or see farther ahead.
Related Story: 2022 KTM 1290 Super Adventure R | Review
When the trail gets dark or traffic gets hairy, check out the following accessories:
The Plug-&-Play Rear T3 Turn Signal License Plate Kit adds significant visibility to the rear of your bike and gives your KTM 1290 a slick modern look that matches the factory LED taillight. ($213.97)
The Upper Driving Light Mount allows you to mount any Denali driving light in the optimum upper location on your motorcycle. ($70)
The S4 Center Light Mount allows you to mount a single S4 Driving Light Pod tucked into the front headlight assembly where the accessory radar unit sits. ($40)
The Lower Driving Light Mount allows you to mount the smaller Denali DM, D2, D3, and S4 driving lights in the optimum lower location for maximizing your daytime visibility. ($40)
The DialDim Lighting Controller product bundle includes our standard DialDim Lighting Controller and a KTM 1290 Adventure plug-&-play wiring harness. The vehicle-specific harness simply plugs in-line at the 1290 headlight, horn, and turn signal connectors to enable dozens of useful lighting features and settings. ($299.98)
The SoundBomb Mini Horn Mount allows you to mount the Denali SoundBomb Mini in the optimum location on your KTM 1290 Adventure tucked behind the right side tank fairing. ($30)
The new CANsmart Controller GEN II is available for both the 1290 KTM Adventure and all 2020-up KTM 890 models. The controller provides plug-n-play installation and integrated control of up to four accessories to enable dozens of customizable settings that can be controlled right from your KTM switch cluster or the CANsmart
Accessory Manager Software. ($285)
For more information, visit the Denali Electronics website.
The post New Gear: Denali Electronics Accessories for KTM 1290 Adventure first appeared on Rider Magazine.
Source: RiderMagazine.com
