CLASS-LEADING TRIAL MODELS AVAILABLE NOW AT THE ALL-NEW GASGAS DEALER NETWORK
GASGAS Motorcycles are pleased to announce the availability of the complete 2020 line-up of trial models with the GASGAS TXT RACING 300, 280, 250 and 125 now available globally, at selected authorized dealers. Produced at the trial production facility in Girona, Spain and distributed by GASGAS Motorcycles GmbH, all machines deliver class-leading chassis performance and are equipped with powerful and compact 2-stroke engines. The GASGAS trial range sets the benchmark against which all other trial bikes are measured.
As part of the Pierer Mobility Group, GASGAS Motorcycles are establishing a new and expanding dealer network to handle the brand’s sales and aftersales activities.
TXT RACING 2020 models now available at dealers
www.gasgas.com for full authorized dealer information
GASGAS further establish position as trial sector specialists
Renowned for their minimal weight, usability, ease of maintenance and high-performance, the 2020 GASGAS TXT RACING models represent the ultimate trial machines. A complete range of advanced 2-stroke models, all machines deliver class-leading chassis performance, strong and controllable power, minimal weight, a compact, minimalist aesthetic and high-quality components.
The flagship model of the range, the TXT RACING 300 offers a potent combination of linear power and massive torque. Featuring the best suspension components in class, selectable engine maps and BRAKTEC hydraulic clutch and brakes, the TXT RACING 300 combines performance, quality and reliability.
Strategically positioned between the highly successful TXT RACING 250 and the TXT RACING 300, the TXT RACING 280 offers the perfect blend of maneuverability and power – the ideal steppingstone for improving riders looking for increased levels of power.
The TXT RACING 250 features the ‘classic’ engine displacement of the GASGAS trial model range, offering the perfect balance between usable 2-stroke torque and nimble, lightweight handling. Revving up to 10,500 rpm, the TXT RACING 250 is easy to use, versatile and excels in tough, technical terrain.
As the smallest capacity model of the GASGAS 2-stroke trial family, the TXT RACING 125 is a bike with a big heart! Featuring a capable and continuous torque curve and the same suspension and chassis features as the larger displacement models, it is the perfect machine for trial newcomers and youngsters stepping up to full-sized machines.
For further details on pricing and availability, please refer to your local authorized GASGAS Motorcycle dealer.
MotoAmerica: Premier Motorcycle Road Racing Series First To Begin At Road America
MotoAmerica To Start Championship Without Fans; A Second Race At Road America, June 26-28, Scheduled To Include Fans
IRVINE, CA (May 12, 2020) – MotoAmerica, the home of the AMA Superbike Series, has announced that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the Governor of Wisconsin’s safer-at-home order being set to expire on May 26, the racing portion of the opening round of the 2020 MotoAmerica Series, May 29-31, at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, will continue, but without fans.
Although Road America and MotoAmerica worked diligently to find an alternative, the task proved impossible due to unknown restrictions that may be placed on public outdoor events. MotoAmerica, however, is planning to return to Road America, June 26-28, along with all previously scheduled activities, including Vintage MotoFest. The June 26-28 event will also feature the MotoAmerica Heritage Cup and the opening round of the Mini Cup by Motul.
All five classes of the premier National motorcycle road racing championship in the U.S. – Superbike, Supersport, Liqui Moly Junior Cup, Stock 1000 and Twins Cup – will compete in the series opener, May 29-31.
“We worked hard with Road America to try to make the original date work with fans, but after Governor Evers extended the safer-at-home order to May 26, we couldn’t make it work due to the unknown restrictions on public outdoor gatherings,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “But we still intend to run the event May 29-31, without fans and air it on Fox Sports and MotoAmerica Live+. This is not something we ever imagined, but then again we never thought we’d be faced with something like COVID-19. We will continue to work towards making the event special for everyone tuning into the broadcast and will keep everyone posted moving forward for the next event in June. In the meantime, we urge our fans, teams, and riders to continue to do the right things to keep them safe and healthy.”
“This event attracts competitors and fans, not only from the U.S. but around the world,” said Road America President and General Manager, Mike Kertscher. “As of today, we cannot predict when we will be at a point that our public outdoor events meet the proper criteria for mass public gatherings in the state of Wisconsin. Make no mistake, we intend to come back stronger and ready to continue with our existing June events – including the WeatherTech Chicago Region SCCA June Sprints, June 12-14, and the IndyCar REV Group Grand Prix presented by AMR, June 18-21. We also anticipate by mid-June, there will be further transparency to safely host outdoor events, which is a primary factor for why we added a weekend in June.”
Customers who have already purchased tickets, camping or other items, for the May 29-31 MotoAmerica Superbike Series weekend, are encouraged to hold onto those items for the MotoAmerica Superbikes at Road America weekend, June 26-28.
MotoAmerica is the North American road racing series created in 2014 that is home to the AMA Superbike Championship. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership that includes three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey, ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland, motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges, and businessman Richard Varner. For more information on MotoAmerica, visit www.MotoAmerica.com. Also make sure to follow MotoAmerica on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
THE GOVERNMENT OF ANDORRA REOPENS THE ANDORRA CIRCUIT PAS DE LA CASA (2,400M)
After long meetings and a lot of effort on the part of all those involved, the Andorra Circuit is reopening its facilities to the professional riders resident in the Principality of Andorra for training, coinciding with phase 2 of the deconfinement plan.
This situation would not have been possible without the cooperation and collaboration of the Government of Andorra and the efforts of the Ministries of Sport, Economy and Health.
The Automobile Club of Andorra, the Andorran Motorcyclist Federation and the unconditional sponsorship of Crèdit Andorrà, who have believed in the project from the beginning, have also made it possible. Raúl Romero (owner of the Reale Avintia Racing Team and investor of the Andorran Circuit), Rubén Xaus (promoter of the Andorran project) and Alex Bercianos (director of the facility) have also helped to achieve this.
The excellent management of the health crisis by the Andorran government has meant that the 22 professional motorcycle riders (9 of whom are MotoGP riders) resident in Andorra can now ride their motorcycles again and resume training immediately. These will be marked by an anti-contamination protocol validated by computer biologist Joel López. The training sessions will be divided into two groups and different time slots to avoid having more than 10 riders training.
The layout designed by the specialized company Racing Loop will be especially technical and that, together with the height of the Circuit, will make it physically demanding.
Rubén Xaus commented on the possibility that the MotoGP riders could restart the season at the Andorra Circuit: “The circuit and all its members are very proud to take another step, which will undoubtedly serve the resident riders, to prepare an atypical start to the world championship.”
MAY 31, 2020 WERA WEST EVENT PRESENTED BY LUCAS OIL HAS BEEN CANCELED!
Due to the extension of regulations by the State of California and its County governments restricting activities in the State and talking to the track again yesterday WERA has canceled their event scheduled for May 31 at Auto Club Speedway. At this time there is no make-up date…
The 2020 purse money which would have been paid for this round will be moved to a future round. Thank you to all our sponsors for working with us through this. Please give their products a try and support them: Lucas Oil Products, Fresh n’Lean and 61DTC/Pirelli.
The WERA office will re-open Wednesday, May 13. Until then please communicate via e-mail: [email protected]. Our first event will be May 16-17 at Roebling Road Raceway and we ask that all our participants please look at and follow the guidelines we are using for this event. They are on page two of the schedule and will be on the back of the schedules at the track. We are currently working with Road Atlanta to get guidelines in place for our event scheduled May 30-31.
WERA Motorcycle Roadracing is currently working with all our upcoming venues, looking at all the various state restrictions with regard to our dates scheduled for the first part of June and we will update on these events once we have definitive answers.
WERA Motorcycle Roadracing was established in 1973 and is currently co-sanctioning event with AMA and partners with N2 on the National Endurance Series. Website is wera.com and more information is available on the website as well as our Facebook Page business.facebook.com/wera.roadracing/.
Due to circumstances beyond our control, ASRA/CCS and Summit Point management have agreed to cancel the Memorial Day event at Summit Point Raceway.
While statewide restrictions are being eased on May 21st, the Jefferson County DHHS currently has a 5 person limit in place for all events and cannot commit to easing that restriction by the Memorial Day weekend. (The next projected change would be either to 10 or 25 persons, well below the expected racer and crew turnout of 400 people.)
For your information, SPR will be running schools and private rentals with this 5 person limit with the intent to implement and test the new procedures for upcoming larger events.
Both Summit Point and ASRA/CCS are committed to work with Jefferson County to make the June event possible. SPR has also committed to notify ASRA/CCS of any openings in their schedule to see if this event can be rescheduled.
Thank you for your patience and support while we work out our next course of action.
NCBike Update
With the cancellation of VIR in September and Memorial Day at Summit Point, CCS would like to announce that NCBike on August 1-2 will now be a Twin Sprint Event for Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast Championships. The Friday practice day is hosted by EvolveGT so please contact them for entry into that event.
ASRA Schedule Updated for 2020 Due to Cancellations
Updated ASRA Schedule for 2020 Again!
As of May 12, 2020
After cancellations at Summit Point Raceway, Carolina Motorsports Park, Blackhawk Farms Raceway and Virginia International Raceway, both the ASRA Sprints presented by Pirelli Tire and the Michelin ASRA Team Challenge schedules have been revamped again..
Revised ASRA Schedules for 2020
AMA Sanctioned ASRA Championship Series Presented by Pirelli Tire
Feb 29-Mar 1 Roebling Road Raceway
Jun 13-14 Blackhawk Farms
Jul 18-19 Road America
Jul 25-26 NJMP Thunderbolt
Aug 15-16 Summit Point Circuit
Aug 22-23 Roebling Road Raceway
Oct 16-18 Daytona Intl Speedway
Dec 5-6 Homestead
AMA Sanctioned ASRA Team Challenge Presented by Michelin Tire
Feb 29 Roebling Road Raceway
June 20 NH Motor Speedway (Date change)
Jul 18 Road America
Aug 15 Summit Point Circuit (Date change)
Sept 6 NJMP Thunderbolt
Sept 19 Blackhawk Farms
Dec 5 Homestead
UPDATE Since there has been a lot of cancellations and rescheduling going on during the shutdown, this means that for now, the best way to contact us is still via email. If you call or fax something to the office, there is no guarantee how fast Chris can respond so please be patient with us.
We appreciate your patience and support during this difficult time for our country as well as our sport.
Latest Registration and Tech Procedures
These new procedures will allow us to comply with existing orders for limiting contact in enclosed spaces, masks, gloves and hand sanitizer for the staff who deal directly with the racers. (For the foreseeable future we will use these at every event.)
Since these are the two areas where the closest interaction takes place, here is our new procedure for registration and tech.
Registration:
Our goal is to limit personal contact to a minimum. (We are working on a touch-less registration but unfortunately we do not have a clear answer how an “app” would stand up in court as a signed waiver/release.)
One door in, (at Summit, the door to the East), and one door out, (the North door).
Each rider will be given their own pen, at the end on the line there will be a bucket for the rider to drop the pen in for us to sanitize when registration closes. (Registrars will sanitize their work station with wipes and/or spray anytime they return to their station and before leaving in the evening.)
One registrar will be stationed the door with gloves, face mask and hand sanitizer. They will have all riders sign a waiver and release at the door and control the access to 10 racers at a time in the room. (Unfortunately we have been advised that to get a true body temperature with an infrared thermometer, the subject has to acclimate to the ambient room temp for nearly 10 minutes before the test would be considered accurate so while we will have a touch-less thermometer available its accuracy could be compromised.)
Each registrar will have gloves, face mask and hand sanitizer for them and/or the racer to use. All staff in registration will be at least 6’ apart with their own table between them and the racer. We will allow only 10 riders in the room (east classroom), at a time with 3 registrars. (Tape lines on the floor 6’ apart).
Once the racer is finished and deposits their pen in the bucket, they will be asked to exit the North door.
Tech:
Our goal is to limit personal contact to a minimum.
Each inspector will have gloves, face mask and hand sanitizer for them and/or the racer to use.
We will have multiple tech lines approximately 10-12’ apart.
Inspectors will strive to maintain 6’ separation in the lines waiting to be inspected.
Racer will bring a stand to tech with the motorcycle and place the bike on the stand and move 6’ away from the motorcycle. Then the inspector will evaluate the machines race-readiness. After placing an approval sticker on the machine or notifying the rider of what needs to be addressed, the inspector will move away from the machine and let the racer remove their machine from the tech area.
While we have some specific in-depth procedure changes for the staff, these are the outline we are starting with to mitigate the potential of spreading the virus among or racers and staff.
ASRA/CCS management believe these measures would allow us to be safe and in full compliance with existing restrictions but we understand new orders could be issued with immediate implementation that could remove/change procedures or require postponement or cancellation.
The global coronavirus crisis has created a global reaction, including from the MotoGP™ paddock and all those who make our sport what it is. That includes riders, teams, sponsors, partners and everyone in between as we all pull together to try and do our part to fight Covid-19.
The official charity of MotoGP™, Two Wheels for Life, recently launched a campaign alongside Dorna Sports to raise funds for their work to combat Covid-19, with the world first Red Bull Virtual Grand Prix of Spain in aid of the cause. Funds raised will go towards the delivery of test results, education and equipment to hard to reach communities across a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus and other deadly contagious diseases – all in the name of MotoGP™.
A number of MotoGP™ riders have made key contributions, including reigning MotoGP™ World Champion Marc Marquez and teammate Alex Marquez, as the two Repsol Honda Team riders donated equipment to the Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova in their local city of Lleida, Catalonia.
Valentino Rossi’s (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) VR46 Srl has come together with a number of other businesses in their area to raise and donate funds to acquire new respirators for l’Azienda Ospedaliera Marche Nord, and the number 46 himself has also carried out a number of morale boosting actions – including surprising a 102-year-old fan of his who beat the virus by getting in touch via video call, and recording a number of different video messages for those affected. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) has also been an active presence in and around his hometown. The Yamaha rider purchased a significant number of Covid-19 test kits to allow care home Residencia Europalau to test all staff and residents for the virus on a regular basis, and has donated masks and protective screens to University Hospital de Girona Doctor Josep Trueta and Hospital de Santa Caterina, both in Girona.
Francesco Bagnaia’s (Pramac Racing Team) Fan Club have also been fundraising for the battle against the virus, with nearly €14,000 donated to the Agenzia Ospedaliera Città della Salute di Torino in Turin. Intact GP MotoE™ rider and Grand Prix winner Dominique Aegerter, meanwhile, made some headlines when he was locked down in Barcelona, giving a helping hand to a local care home by disinfecting the building.
Ducati Motor Holding, to which the Ducati Team belong, is organising a fundraising appeal on behalf of Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Bologna Policlinico di S.Orsola. The #raceagainstCOVID campaign is aiming to raise the funds to finance equipment, research and staff at the Policlinico di S. Orsola in Bologna, which is dedicated exclusively to the care of patients in convalescence post Covid-19. The target is €500,000, with the first donations coming from board members, followed by Ducati employees – and the sum total of the two then doubled by the company to create the foundation of the fundraising drive. It has now been rolled out to Ducatisti worldwide, with MotoGP™ riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci just two of the paddock personnel lending their support to the initiative.
The parent company of FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup bike manufacturer Energica – CRP Technology – is ensuring that some of the same expertise that has made the Energica Ego Corsa such an incredible success is now committed to fighting coronavirus. In house, the company are manufacturing several functional prototypes of emergency valves for reanimation devices, as well as link components for emergency respiratory masks for assisted ventilation, using additive manufacturing and their own patented Windform® P1 isotropic material. The valves are currently being tested in a hospital in Lombardy, Italy.
LCR Honda have one of their RC213Vs included in an art exhibition created to support hospitals in Brescia called BrixiaPROart. The BrixiaPROart initiative was created by a group of professional photographers who decided to put their own art for sale online, in order to help raise funds for equipment, machinery and medicines necessary in the fight against Covid-19. Pramac, owner of Pramac Racing Team, also provided a standby diesel GSW705V generator to Wuhan hospital to provide standby power.
Repsol has donated 400,000 masks to the Spanish healthcare system, as well as polypropylene produced at their plant in Huesca to the Spanish Foundation for Research and Development in Transportation and Energy (CIDAUT) in Valladolid, enabling the manufacture up to 5,700 visors a day for face shields. In addition, Repsol have re-adapted their laboratories at the Repsol Technology Lab to produce hand sanitiser, and loaned the Hospital de La Paz in Madrid a PCR machine capable of carrying out 500 Covid-19 tests per day.
Petronas, the official fuel supplier to the Moto2™ and Moto3™ classes, as well as title sponsor and technical partner of Petronas Yamaha SRT in MotoGP™ and Petronas Sprinta Racing in the Moto2™ and Moto3™ classes, has a number of initiatives. The Malaysian company is working towards developing a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) prototype, which helps lessen the dependency of Covid-19 patients on ventilators in Malaysia. The machines were originally developed by another Petronas partner in motorsport: Mercedes AMG F1 at Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP), in collaboration with University College London. Petronas have also contributed RM20 million (around €4.3 million) towards vital medical equipment and supplies, and have launched the #WeWishYouWell campaign on social media to show solidarity with and support for those battling the virus, as well as spread that message.
Moto2™ and Moto3™ lubricant supplier and Liqui Moly Intact GP team sponsor Liqui Moly made an initial donation of €1 million of free products to emergency services, hospitals and fire brigades across Germany, including engine oils for ambulance vehicles as well as additives to maintain emergency power generators which are needed to operate medical equipment in case of emergency. Since that first donation, the company has now added another €2 million worth of products.
The Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello was another quick to respond, delivering equipment from their Medical Center to the Tuscan health authorities, including two ventilators, two intensive care monitors, four defibrillator monitors and more.
MotoGP™ communications supplier Tata Communications’ parent holding company Tata Sons have pledged INR 1,000 crore (over €122 million), and Tata Trusts have donated INR 500 crore (over €60 million) to go towards medical equipment, set up treatment facilities and health worker training.
MotoGP™ class and MotoE™ Official Tyre Supplier Michelin® is a key contributor to the fight against the pandemic, focusing on a number of vital pieces of protective equipment and medical device components including the development and manufacture of several types of mask, as well as outsourcing the production of 10,000 sterilisable polycarbonate protective visors for French hospitals. The company has also joined others from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in manufacturing a new, reusable face mask, with the aim of producing more than five million masks by the end of June. Michelin® is also offering free services from local distribution networks and free tyres to health-care professionals and logistics companies, with a number of countries having already benefitted from that initiative including China, Germany, Italy and a number of Gulf countries.
The BMW Group to which BMW M, provider of the official car of MotoGP™, belong, have used cross-divisional planning to enable a number of initiatives. The group donated 100,000 masks in the early stages of the crisis, followed up in early April as they presented the government of Bavaria with one million pairs of disposable gloves and 50,000 FFP2 respiratory masks. A further one million masks will be added soon and the BMW Group have procured the systems to produce its own, beginning in a few weeks. The company is also providing vehicles to social and healthcare facilities, and at its German and international locations is helping social and public institutions with donations of goods and materials such as disinfectants.
MotoGP™ sustainable power partner and FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup partner Enel has donated €23 million in Italy, through its non-profit organisation Enel Cuore, for a series of measures to support key organizations involved in providing health and social assistance services. Via the Lenovo Foundation, Lenovo, MotoGP™ technical partner and exclusive technology sponsor of the MotoGP™ eSport Championship, has donated technology to new hospitals treating patients, as well as researchers studying the virus, and made software and hardware available to schools to operate online. In addition, the Foundation has so far donated $6.7 million towards fighting coronavirus.
Allianz, the official insurance partner of the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup, have been globally active. Allianz Partners, in collaboration with Allianz Germany, has entered into a collaboration with Get.On Institute to offer digital, accessible-to-all mental health services in Germany. Allianz Spain has also become the main sponsor of the OxyGEN project by Protofy. OxyGEN is a device that automates the process of manual ventilation and is open hardware project, meaning Protofy makes the schematics available for free download to anyone who wishes to build them. In addition, Allianz Spain has contributed €2.8 million to a special €37 million life insurance fund created by insurers in Spain for healthcare workers.
In Italy, Allianz has partnered with the Sapio Group to support the establishment of an intensive care hospital in the facilities of the Fiera di Milano and the Italian arm of Allianz Partners has donated €55,000 to the project. Allianz Italy is also supporting two Milanese initiatives to assist the underprivileged in the city, as well as a related project in Trieste to help local families in need. Allianz France, in partnership with UNIM, has donated €1 million to the Institut Pasteur and the Coronavirus Task Force for Covid-19 research, and for supporting initiatives from startups to improve the daily lives of medical workers. Allianz Slovakia has allocated around €85,000 for the purchase of medical devices for hospitals, the first of which was a ventilation device donated to the University Hospital in Bratislava.
Allianz Africa has earmarked €100,000 to support the Covid-19 efforts in the African countries where it operates, aimed at buying testing kits and medical supplies, which will be delivered directly to hospitals and health institutions, and in Thailand, Allianz Ayudhya has donated 1 million Thai baht (over €28,000) to source 1,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) and 4,000 N95 masks for hospitals in the country. Close by, Allianz Indonesia is collaborating with Halodoc Indonesia to provide drive-through Covid-19 rapid tests in Jakarta.
MotoGP™’s hand tool supplier Stanley’s parent company Stanley Black & Decker has committed US$10 million in financial support to benefit communities and employees, including the purchase of three million face masks, an employee relief fund and a donation matching scheme. The official beer of MotoGP™, Singha, is owned by Boon Rawd Brewery Company Limited. They have donated 50 million baht (nearly €1.5 million) to the fight against Covid-19 in Thailand.
Official MotoGP™ and FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup logistics partner DHL are also making an important contribution as they send emergency medical equipment and supplies to healthcare workers, deliver necessary goods and use their logistical expertise to find solutions to enable companies to continue operating in these exceptional circumstances. Their UK staff have also been vibrant contributors to the #ClapForTheNHS campaign across the country. R&D and manufacturing teams at Oakley, official eyewear supplier to MotoGP™, have been working with their local medical community to develop protective shields for mass production and have donated 20,000 units of protective eyewear to be shipped across North America and Europe.
MotoGP™ and MotoE™ prosecco supplier Prosecco DOC normally take centre stage on the podium, but they’ve also take on a key role in their home nation of Italy during the Covid-19 crisis. In aid of the Veneto region, one of those most affected by the outbreak, the consortium has made available funds to purchase an intensive care unit, and has requested a contribution from members to be allocated to the immediate purchase of equipment necessary in the fight against the virus.
MotoGP™ Sustainable Truck Supplier Scania, meanwhile, are involved in the battle against coronavirus in Sweden. Experts from their purchasing and logistics organisation are working with Karolinska University Hospital and Region Stockholm to acquire protective equipment for healthcare workers, and trailers from Scania are being converted to mobile testing stations. Dell’Orto, the exclusive ECU supplier to the Moto3™ class, joined a campaign to raise money for the intensive care unit at Monza hospital. MotoGP™ rental car supplier Hertz has provided free vehicle rentals to New York City healthcare workers from March the 25th to April 30th.
Doctors from the FIM are taking on a vital role during the pandemic, with more than twenty of them fighting on the frontline in their respective nations. MotoGP™ Medical Services supplier Quironsalud are also on the front line fighting the outbreak in Spain, and staff from the Clinica Mobile, including head of the service Michele Zasa, are likewise on the ground in Italy to lend their expertise.
We would like to extend our thanks to the entire MotoGP™ and motorcycle racing community for all their efforts. To find out more about how you can help support the campaign from MotoGP™ official charity Two Wheels for Life, click here.
The World’s best athletes use them, Australian motorcycle racing champions past and present have and still use them today.
Riders spend thousands of hours exercising their bodies into peak physical condition, endless hours fine tuning their race machines, lap after lap honing their skills, but what about their mental health?
What is sports/performance psychology and how can it help riders reach their goals of standing on top of the number one podium position.
With COVID-19 restrictions and racing in a holding pattern, many riders are sitting idle, but should they be, or is now the best time to hone fitness, skills, and mental development for when racing re-starts?
Australian Institute of Sport Performance Psychology Network Lead, Jonah Oliver. Photo courtesy Motorcycling Australia.
Motorcycling Australia (MA) spoke to Australian Institute of Sport Performance Psychology Network Lead, Jonah Oliver, a man who works with world champions, the best of the best in sport to help them attain their goals.
Combining his training in sport psychology and neuroscience, Jonah works with a wide variety of sporting and corporate clients including the AIS, Olympians, professional golfers, soccer, AFL players, and NRL players , elite tennis players and coaches, Supercar drivers and teams, just to name a few.
Sports/performance psychology coaches are used by athletes both amateur and professional to gain optimal performance in both body and mind using biomechanics, physiology, kinesiology and psychology.
“I help people focus, looking at the mental aspects of performance and focusing on the right thing at the right time,” Jonah said of his coaching.
“A lot of athlete’s fears and anxieties are based on reality. Traditional psychology is stemmed from treatment based on irrational fears, disorders of thinking, phobias.
“Whereas my clients if they say if I don’t hit an apex I’m going to get flicked on the high side and hit that wall, you are treating real fears.
“Athletes have to perform in very restrictive time frames, milliseconds, where as if I’m a traditional employee and I have anxiety before I walk into a boardroom, I can stop at the door, take a breath and reset and in I go. You can’t do that at the start line or in the middle of the apex. We have to train our athletes.”
Strong mental health has helped Australian speedway stars Max Fricke and Jack Holder compete on the international stage
Jonah said all athletes worry about things they care about, not about confidence, but competence, not about being calm, but focused.
“I help normalise peoples emotional experience, we get anxious before a race, we get angry during a race when we make an error, and we feel sad or disappointed if we haven’t reached our standard after a race, that’s really normal stuff.
“It gets a bit Dr Phil here – If I stop worrying that I get worried, when my adrenalin is pounding, my hearts pounding and I’ve got thoughts of how I race, and I go thanks brain just my normal pre-race thoughts, all of a sudden I can focus on my race plan, my apex, my start line procedure.
“My work is freeing people up from their psychology so they can focus on the right thing at the right time.
“The biggest thing is learning that anxiety, nerves, doubt, insecurity, low confidence is normal, and the moment I don’t worry that I have those thoughts I can get on with being the rider I think I can.”
Jonah said most athletes have specialised individual needs of their sports/performance psychologist.
“Sometimes it’s looking at removing an existing problem, there might be some performance anxiety, residual fear which is leading to safe riding, or not riding on the edge, or they are worried about repairs to a bike because of a crash.
“Instead of getting rid of the fear of crashing, or getting rid of the thought, it’s ok to have those thoughts, they are just thoughts.
“First: learning the skill to make room for tough unwanted unpleasant thoughts, and then not lose focus by them being there.
“Second: connect to what sort of value you want. One rider says it’s more important to not take anyone out and another one says they want to win. So when I work with people who have hindering relationships to their fears or their riding philosophy and style, it’s just about connecting to what’s more important, not the anxiety.
“Often I’ll get riders to say what do you want to be, what do you want from your career, and they’ll say I want to be world champion, I want to be best I can be. If that’s important to you then you might have to sit with some of the internal conflict that shows up when you go into a corner aggressively.”
Jonah said racers need to have a long-term goal to help them train and compete as short-term goals can be disrupted at the moment as sporting calendars are not possible to predict.
“I encourage riders to connect to their values and vision of the athlete they want to be.
“If I help an athlete who says I love self-improvement, mastery. I love this sport because you never stop learning and I want to be the best I can be. What does that look like today, as it has nothing to do with national championships? But you can train for that today and be better today than yesterday.
It’s about connecting to something more permanent and lasting, that is deep within us, our value set, not just short-term outcomes like a race schedule as they are all up in the air.”
While COVID-19 would see athletes question their future, Jonah said Australian racers looking to compete overseas this year, had the biggest advantage.
“If you are a young athlete just starting to break into the sport, having an additional year before a world championship is welcomed.
“People think COVID-19 restrictions have been a negative, but there are a whole bunch of athletes that have gone ‘this gives me an extra 12 months to really get my skill level, fitness strategy, and mentally to a level where I will be even more dominant’.
“Some athletes are relieved they have more time. Other athletes close to retirement who thought they might do one more championship, one big race or an event like the Olympics are the ones quite thrown out of whack as now they need to revaluate – do they still have the passion to continue, can they afford to continue.
“Then the group in the middle, the majority, have gone WOW, that’s really crazy and thrown my whole schedule and thinking out, but you have the buffering effect of it being a global pandemic.
“If it was just a pandemic that affected only Australia or just motorcycle sport you would feel disenfranchised, but there seems to be something like a collective buffering effect, we are all going through this together, but for athletes it’s about letting go of that attachment.
“I’ve done a lot of work in the last month around increasing comfort with discomfort.
“You might know within a month roughly when the new competition schedule is and guess what that might change in a month if there is another outbreak. So instead of craving certainly, the work we’ve been doing around Australia as psychologists is increasing athlete’s ability to sit with inherent uncertainty, but not compromise their training standards.
“When we come out of this restriction and isolation, you are going to find out those that continued to train well and those that didn’t
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to test your honesty with yourself and inner motivation to be the best you can be and ask, how can I use this to come out with a competitive advantage against my rivals.
“As a nation we are in a pretty good position compared to the rest of the world, so for those that do compete on an international level they can be well ahead of others (in other countries) who aren’t even allowed to come outside their apartment at this point.”
Jonah said riders looking to take on a sports/performance psychologist should get some real benefits from four to six sessions.
“With the professionals I work with around the world in motorsport often it’s an ongoing engagement because you’ve done the work to build the skills, and then you want to transfer that into automaticity as well as ongoing support as you negotiate a world championship.”
So is a sports/performance psychologist for you?
“It’s like not having a mechanic or not putting fresh rubber on the bike, the human machine interaction is so nuanced and complex, if you tune up the bike, why wouldn’t you tune up the mind,” said Jonah.
Australian Superbike racers Wayne Maxwell (left) and Josh Waters (right). Photo courtesy Motorcycling Australia.
JW Racing’s Josh Waters and Boost Mobile’s Wayne Maxwell – who have a swag of Australian titles between them have used sports/performance psychologists in the past and believe they have helped them maintain their championship winning form.
“A big part of it is having confidence and having good people around you who support you 100 per cent,” said Waters.
“You just need to look at the high-level sports professionals who use them, and it works because of the team they have around them, and for us we need someone who understands our sport.”
Maxwell said it was vital in putting proper processes in place for his weekend racing.
“It helps you get the most out of yourself and you have to have the right people around you as well, and I was lucky I was surrounded by other good people.”
In using the service, Maxwell said “you have to be honest with yourself as well to make it work and get the most out of it”.
Mental health fitness is a priority for John Green who competes in the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship, presented by MXstore. Photo courtesy Motorcycling Australia.
Australian Off-Road Championship Active8 Yamalube Yamaha rider Josh Green has also used the services and recommends them to younger riders wanting to assist them with their riding.
“Definitely they can help and I’d recommended them to younger riders if they need them which I have done.”
Road racing legend Ian Hutchinson returns to the BMW Motorrad Motorsport family.
Ian Hutchinson to make his comeback for TAS Racing competing together under the new banner of SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad.
Marc Bongers: “It is absolutely remarkable how determined and motivated he is”.
Ian Hutchinson: “I see no reason why we cannot pick up from where we left off”.
Munich. When the motor racing season resumes, a familiar face will make his comeback on the BMW S 1000 RR: Ian ‘Hutchy’ Hutchinson (GBR). The 16-time TT winner returns to the TAS Racing team, with Team Principal Philip Neill, with whom he will compete in international road races and the British championship under the new banner of SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad. The project is being supported by BMW Motorrad Motorsport.
Hutchinson, BMW Motorrad Motorsport, BMW S 1000 RR and TAS Racing proved to be a successful combination back in 2016 and 2017. “I am delighted to have Ian back in the family,” said BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director, Marc Bongers. “He has enjoyed great success with us in the past. We would obviously have liked this announcement to have been a little more spectacular, and to have had Ian in his leathers on the bike and competing in the North West 200 and the Isle of Man TT. However, we will have to put that on hold for now.”
“I enjoyed my previous spell with TAS Racing on the BMW S 1000 RR,” said Hutchinson. “Now that I’ve secured a deal to return to the TAS team with Philip Neill at SYNETIQ BMW, I’m really looking forward to getting going again.” Team Principal Neill added, “I honestly thought our racing days with Ian had come to an end after our successful partnership through 2016/17. However, we are clearly delighted that Ian was not only available but extremely keen on a return to TAS Racing. People may differ in their opinions on the various riders but one thing everyone can agree on is the utter determination shown by Hutchy time and time again. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of dedication and effort the man puts into his preparation for racing, and for that reason he is the perfect man to lead SYNETIQ BMW into this new chapter of our racing journey.”
Ian Hutchinson in his new Synetiq-branded leathers. Photo by Double Red Photographic, courtesy BMW Motorrad Motorsport.
A road racing legend.
Hutchinson enjoys legendary status on the international road racing scene. He laid the foundation for this in 2010 when he became the first rider ever to win all five individual races at the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy – the first time in the history of the classic event, which stretches back over 100 years, that anybody had achieved the feat. However, fate turned against him just a few days later when ‘Hutchy’ severely injured his left leg in a crash in the British championship. It looked as though his career was over. Hutchinson bounced back, returned to racing, and overcame yet more setbacks. Although he broke his left leg again in 2012, he fought his way back into the sport’s elite. He made a much-acclaimed comeback at the Macau Grand Prix in 2013. Hutchinson’s first race back after another injury lay-off was at the infamous ‘Guia Circuit’ – and he promptly marked his comeback with a victory.
“He is a legend,” Bongers confirmed. “I experienced that for myself for the first time in Macau in 2013. The award ceremony took place on the Sunday evening. First to receive their trophies were all the car drivers. They all came up to the podium in their smart-casual outfits and were politely applauded. Then came the motorcyclists, and so on, until Ian Hutchinson was called up to receive his trophy. He was sitting relatively far back in that big hall, and still was not particularly quick on his feet. He was given a standing ovation – all the way, as he slowly made his way to the podium and back – from every person, every team, whether automobile or motorbike, and regardless of brand. Even when I tell the story now, so many years later, it still gives me goosebumps.”
Success with the BMW S 1000 RR.
Hutchinson joined the BMW Motorrad Motorsport family in 2016 and competed for TAS Racing in road races and the Superstock class of the British Superbike Championship. Right at the start of the season, Hutchinson won the Superstock race at the North West 200 on his BMW S 1000 RR. Next was the Isle of Man TT, at which he not only won the Superstock TT, but also set a new Superstock lap record.
Hutchinson claimed no fewer than three victories on the RR at the 2016 Ulster Grand Prix and set a new world record when he topped the 134-mph mark in the event’s second Superbike race. In setting an average speed of 134.089 mph, he was crowned the ‘World’s Fastest Road Racer’. ‘Hutchy’ was no less successful at the racetrack that year. He won two races and claimed a total of nine podium finishes in the Superstock class of the BSB. Hutchinson was one of the favourites for the title, despite missing a round that clashed with his road racing commitments.
“For a road racer the TT is the main goal and we won there,” Hutchinson explained looking back. “But we did the same at the North West 200 and also took three wins in a day at the Ulster Grand Prix. That day at Dundrod included earning the accolade of world’s fastest road racers with a 134mph lap. We took Superstock wins on the TAS Racing prepared BMW S 1000 RR at all three major internationals in 2016 and we also got that all-important Superbike win to finish the season on a high.”
As well as those successes, another thing stands out in BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Bongers’ memories of that 2016 season: “It was in the Superstock race on the Isle of Man, when he set the lap record. Back then, his lap – from a standing start – was only a few seconds slower than Peter Hickman when he subsequently set his new Superbike lap record on a flying lap. That was extremely impressive – a highlight.”
At the 2017 Isle of Man TT, Hutchinson first won the Superbike race, before claiming a dominant victory in the Superstock race. He was also one of the hot favourites in the Senior TT, and was looking to get his third win of the week. Unfortunately, however, he crashed and fractured his left femur. That resulted in another break from racing, but ‘Hutchy’ once again fought back. “It is remarkable how determined and motivated he is, not just to come back and compete, but to challenge for victories,” said Bongers.
A strong future together.
Hutchinson was back in action on the BMW S 1000 RR last November, when he appeared at the 2019 Macau Grand prix for Shaun Muir’s Milwaukee with SMT team. “The preparation time was extremely short, and you only have a very limited amount of riding time in practice in Macau. For that reason, we did not have particularly good results,” said Bongers.
Hutchinson now returns to the BMW Motorrad Motorsport family as a rider for SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad, and Bongers is certain that they can add to the success story together. “He feels right at home on our package. We have also modified our BMW S 1000 RR so that we have the gears on the right side. He has already ridden at a few tests and is still extremely quick. I am confident that he is a podium contender at the road races. And if we have enough time to test – which will hopefully be the case – then he can certainly challenge for the top step of the podium in Macau.”
And what expectations does Hutchinson have? “I enjoyed working with the whole team. It was a good relationship. The same core people are still there, so I see no reason why we cannot pick up from where we left off,” he said. “Having prepared so well in January and February I’m ready to race as soon as it is possible again.”
You can find an exclusive in-depth interview with Hutchinson in the new TAS Racing e-magazine ‘Full Gas’: www.synetiqbmw.com/fullgas
Featured In the Roadracing World 2020 Trackday Directory Special Issue:
“I’m in Turn Two on the main course (a.k.a. Big Willow) for an Alpinestars Friends and Family Ride Day. I’m riding a trusty Suzuki SV650 again (the eighth one I’ve owned, and I swear I’m not going to sell this one!) and I’m carving around the outside of a rider on a big-bore hooligan bike, one that’s got a solid 35 horsepower on mine.
“It’s not just that his bike is more powerful that makes the moment memorable. It’s that the rider is a professional, with skills good enough to excel in his discipline, and he’s well paid to do what he does. But those skills didn’t get him and a more powerful bike around Willow as quickly as I could get the SV around there that morning.
“It’s an apples-to-oranges comparison—and that’s my point. Sometimes, we don’t give ourselves enough credit for learning to ride well at a track day on a proper road racing circuit. There’s always someone faster than you at any given track day. Later on that day, I thought I was flying on a new Suzuki GSX-R1000R—a seriously amazing machine, by the way—when Ben Spies and Casey Stoner came by me on either side like I was standing still.
“Yeah, that Ben Spies and that Casey Stoner. And the past World Champions didn’t look like they were trying hard. Stoner may have been texting as he went by…”
—On The Learning Curve, By Michael Gougis
If you’re a member of the track day riding family, give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve learned skills that a lot of the Internet claims to have, yet you’ve put yours to the test in the crucible of the circuit, in real time, in real life. Editor at Large Michael Gougis’ ruminations on skills and speed kick off the Roadracing World 2020 Trackday Directory! Order your copy today, or pick one up at leading retailers, including Cycle Gear stores nationwide!
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American Racing Team Announces Official Ohvale Racing Team
Calabasas, CA (May 11, 2020) — The American Racing Team is excited to announce the American Racing Academy’s newest project; the American Racing Ohvale Team. The team will participate in the MotoAmerica Ohvale Mini Cup by Motul.
Team boss Eitan Butbul and former American MotoGP star John Hopkins have had lengthy conversations about the state of Americans racing at the highest levels on the world stage. Much of those conversations centered around the lack of support and clear path to MotoGP for American riders.
With those discussions in mind, Hopkins joined Butbul’s APEX Motorsport Agency as a managing partner and together they created the American Racing Academy in 2020. The American Racing Academy is designed to provide young American riders with the professional training and tools to improve their skills and prepare them for a potential career racing at the sport’s highest level.
The focus of the academy is to provide the youngest generation of American riders a chance to learn and grow and provide a structured path to a career at the highest levels of road racing. The newest component of the Academy is the American Racing Ohvale Team, which will provide a number of young riders the opportunity to compete in the MotoAmerica Mini Cup by Motul championship in the US.
The American Racing Ohvale Team will consist of 4 talented young riders; Jesse James Shedden and Travis Horn from California, Kayla Yaakov from Pennsylvania and Julian Correa from Miami. James and Horn will compete in the 160 category, with Yaakov and Correa will be competing in the 190 category.
Julian Correa. Photo courtesy American Racing Team.Kayla Yaakov. Photo courtesy American Racing Team.
The 4 riders are members of the American Racing Academy and will receive personal coaching from John Hopkins and other top riders on and off the track. Their Academy experience will also include a personalized training program specifically tailored to their riding needs, use of Academy partner The W Training Facility in California including the pro gym and yearly support of the professional trainers, and exclusive training days at the Academy’s official circuit. In addition, riders will have access to receive personalized coaching in dirt track, motocross and mini/Super moto to help them master those techniques to be able to transfer to road racing. The American Racing Ohvale Team riders will also have full support from APEX Management, who will work with each rider and his/her parents to help them decide the best path through their early career and prepare them for racing on the world stage.
Butbul and Hopkins, through the Academy, are working to identify and recruit additional talented young Americans of different ages to join the Academy with the goal of preparing the next generation of world-class riders.
The top riders in the Academy will also get a chance to race with the American Racing Team in the Moto2 World Championship in the future as part of the program. Butbul and Hopkins believe this is one of the most unique opportunities available to American riders.
“Obviously, things are still in the early stages and we continue to build out the concept of the Academy and find the talented riders,” observed Butbul. “The goal is to have the best platform for those young talented riders and to give them the opportunity and support they need to reach the world level. Creating the American Racing Ohvale Team helps in that process.”
The Academy management team intends to host selected talent searches in hopes of finding young talent across the U.S. that may not have the financial means or opportunity to race on their own. The Academy will host promotional track days and training events at various tracks throughout the year.
“The amount of talent in and around the United States is massive,” Hopkins stated. “It’s just a matter of finding that talent, showing them what’s possible and preparing them for the future by giving them the best possible tools and training to succeed at the highest level. Although my family did everything they could to help me from an early age, being from a low-income family meant they could only do so much. If it weren’t for the help from a select few individuals, along with an academy-style series they had back then called The Aprilia Cup Challenge, there is no way I would’ve ever made it into professional road racing, let alone MotoGP. Eitan and I want to be able to give back and provide young American riders the same opportunities that were given to me.”
The American Racing Ohvale Team will be fully supported by Ohvale USA and will run as a professional, factory-supported team. American Racing’s Moto2 Tech team will oversee the project from Europe and will provide the high-level technical support needed for the project. The Team has secured support from HJC who will provide riders with helmets.
About the American Racing Team
The American Racing Team competes in the MotoGP World Championship. The team currently fields 2 riders in the Moto2 class; American Joe Roberts (#16) and Spaniard Marcos Ramirez (#42). The team is the only team in the MotoGP series owned by an American and featuring an American Rider. The team has grown under the guidance of team owner Eitan Butbul and is a respected part of the MotoGP world championship paddock.
A GASGAS TXT Racing 300 trials bike. Photo courtesy of GASGAS Motorcycles.
GASGAS TXT RACING TRIAL RANGE 2020 AVAILABLE NOW
CLASS-LEADING TRIAL MODELS AVAILABLE NOW AT THE ALL-NEW GASGAS DEALER NETWORK
GASGAS Motorcycles are pleased to announce the availability of the complete 2020 line-up of trial models with the GASGAS TXT RACING 300, 280, 250 and 125 now available globally, at selected authorized dealers. Produced at the trial production facility in Girona, Spain and distributed by GASGAS Motorcycles GmbH, all machines deliver class-leading chassis performance and are equipped with powerful and compact 2-stroke engines. The GASGAS trial range sets the benchmark against which all other trial bikes are measured.
As part of the Pierer Mobility Group, GASGAS Motorcycles are establishing a new and expanding dealer network to handle the brand’s sales and aftersales activities.
TXT RACING 2020 models now available at dealers
www.gasgas.com for full authorized dealer information
GASGAS further establish position as trial sector specialists
Renowned for their minimal weight, usability, ease of maintenance and high-performance, the 2020 GASGAS TXT RACING models represent the ultimate trial machines. A complete range of advanced 2-stroke models, all machines deliver class-leading chassis performance, strong and controllable power, minimal weight, a compact, minimalist aesthetic and high-quality components.
The flagship model of the range, the TXT RACING 300 offers a potent combination of linear power and massive torque. Featuring the best suspension components in class, selectable engine maps and BRAKTEC hydraulic clutch and brakes, the TXT RACING 300 combines performance, quality and reliability.
Strategically positioned between the highly successful TXT RACING 250 and the TXT RACING 300, the TXT RACING 280 offers the perfect blend of maneuverability and power – the ideal steppingstone for improving riders looking for increased levels of power.
The TXT RACING 250 features the ‘classic’ engine displacement of the GASGAS trial model range, offering the perfect balance between usable 2-stroke torque and nimble, lightweight handling. Revving up to 10,500 rpm, the TXT RACING 250 is easy to use, versatile and excels in tough, technical terrain.
As the smallest capacity model of the GASGAS 2-stroke trial family, the TXT RACING 125 is a bike with a big heart! Featuring a capable and continuous torque curve and the same suspension and chassis features as the larger displacement models, it is the perfect machine for trial newcomers and youngsters stepping up to full-sized machines.
For further details on pricing and availability, please refer to your local authorized GASGAS Motorcycle dealer.
Action from MotoAmerica Superbike Race One at Road America in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
MotoAmerica: Premier Motorcycle Road Racing Series First To Begin At Road America
MotoAmerica To Start Championship Without Fans; A Second Race At Road America, June 26-28, Scheduled To Include Fans
IRVINE, CA (May 12, 2020) – MotoAmerica, the home of the AMA Superbike Series, has announced that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the Governor of Wisconsin’s safer-at-home order being set to expire on May 26, the racing portion of the opening round of the 2020 MotoAmerica Series, May 29-31, at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, will continue, but without fans.
Although Road America and MotoAmerica worked diligently to find an alternative, the task proved impossible due to unknown restrictions that may be placed on public outdoor events. MotoAmerica, however, is planning to return to Road America, June 26-28, along with all previously scheduled activities, including Vintage MotoFest. The June 26-28 event will also feature the MotoAmerica Heritage Cup and the opening round of the Mini Cup by Motul.
All five classes of the premier National motorcycle road racing championship in the U.S. – Superbike, Supersport, Liqui Moly Junior Cup, Stock 1000 and Twins Cup – will compete in the series opener, May 29-31.
“We worked hard with Road America to try to make the original date work with fans, but after Governor Evers extended the safer-at-home order to May 26, we couldn’t make it work due to the unknown restrictions on public outdoor gatherings,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “But we still intend to run the event May 29-31, without fans and air it on Fox Sports and MotoAmerica Live+. This is not something we ever imagined, but then again we never thought we’d be faced with something like COVID-19. We will continue to work towards making the event special for everyone tuning into the broadcast and will keep everyone posted moving forward for the next event in June. In the meantime, we urge our fans, teams, and riders to continue to do the right things to keep them safe and healthy.”
“This event attracts competitors and fans, not only from the U.S. but around the world,” said Road America President and General Manager, Mike Kertscher. “As of today, we cannot predict when we will be at a point that our public outdoor events meet the proper criteria for mass public gatherings in the state of Wisconsin. Make no mistake, we intend to come back stronger and ready to continue with our existing June events – including the WeatherTech Chicago Region SCCA June Sprints, June 12-14, and the IndyCar REV Group Grand Prix presented by AMR, June 18-21. We also anticipate by mid-June, there will be further transparency to safely host outdoor events, which is a primary factor for why we added a weekend in June.”
Customers who have already purchased tickets, camping or other items, for the May 29-31 MotoAmerica Superbike Series weekend, are encouraged to hold onto those items for the MotoAmerica Superbikes at Road America weekend, June 26-28.
MotoAmerica is the North American road racing series created in 2014 that is home to the AMA Superbike Championship. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership that includes three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey, ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland, motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges, and businessman Richard Varner. For more information on MotoAmerica, visit www.MotoAmerica.com. Also make sure to follow MotoAmerica on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The Andorra Circuit. Photo courtesy Reale Avintia Racing.
THE GOVERNMENT OF ANDORRA REOPENS THE ANDORRA CIRCUIT PAS DE LA CASA (2,400M)
After long meetings and a lot of effort on the part of all those involved, the Andorra Circuit is reopening its facilities to the professional riders resident in the Principality of Andorra for training, coinciding with phase 2 of the deconfinement plan.
This situation would not have been possible without the cooperation and collaboration of the Government of Andorra and the efforts of the Ministries of Sport, Economy and Health.
The Automobile Club of Andorra, the Andorran Motorcyclist Federation and the unconditional sponsorship of Crèdit Andorrà, who have believed in the project from the beginning, have also made it possible. Raúl Romero (owner of the Reale Avintia Racing Team and investor of the Andorran Circuit), Rubén Xaus (promoter of the Andorran project) and Alex Bercianos (director of the facility) have also helped to achieve this.
The excellent management of the health crisis by the Andorran government has meant that the 22 professional motorcycle riders (9 of whom are MotoGP riders) resident in Andorra can now ride their motorcycles again and resume training immediately. These will be marked by an anti-contamination protocol validated by computer biologist Joel López. The training sessions will be divided into two groups and different time slots to avoid having more than 10 riders training.
The layout designed by the specialized company Racing Loop will be especially technical and that, together with the height of the Circuit, will make it physically demanding.
Rubén Xaus commented on the possibility that the MotoGP riders could restart the season at the Andorra Circuit: “The circuit and all its members are very proud to take another step, which will undoubtedly serve the resident riders, to prepare an atypical start to the world championship.”
WERA racers Aaron Ascher (312), Nicholas Ciling (50), and Sahar Zvik (161) during a previous event at Auto Club Speedway. Photo by Caliphotography.com.
MAY 31, 2020 WERA WEST EVENT PRESENTED BY LUCAS OIL HAS BEEN CANCELED!
Due to the extension of regulations by the State of California and its County governments restricting activities in the State and talking to the track again yesterday WERA has canceled their event scheduled for May 31 at Auto Club Speedway. At this time there is no make-up date…
The 2020 purse money which would have been paid for this round will be moved to a future round. Thank you to all our sponsors for working with us through this. Please give their products a try and support them: Lucas Oil Products, Fresh n’Lean and 61DTC/Pirelli.
The WERA office will re-open Wednesday, May 13. Until then please communicate via e-mail: [email protected]. Our first event will be May 16-17 at Roebling Road Raceway and we ask that all our participants please look at and follow the guidelines we are using for this event. They are on page two of the schedule and will be on the back of the schedules at the track. We are currently working with Road Atlanta to get guidelines in place for our event scheduled May 30-31.
WERA Motorcycle Roadracing is currently working with all our upcoming venues, looking at all the various state restrictions with regard to our dates scheduled for the first part of June and we will update on these events once we have definitive answers.
WERA Motorcycle Roadracing was established in 1973 and is currently co-sanctioning event with AMA and partners with N2 on the National Endurance Series. Website is wera.com and more information is available on the website as well as our Facebook Page business.facebook.com/wera.roadracing/.
ASRA racers during a Team Challenge event at Summit Point Raceway in 2019. Photo by etechphoto.com, courtesy ASRA/CCS.
Latest Summit Point Raceway Update
Due to circumstances beyond our control, ASRA/CCS and Summit Point management have agreed to cancel the Memorial Day event at Summit Point Raceway.
While statewide restrictions are being eased on May 21st, the Jefferson County DHHS currently has a 5 person limit in place for all events and cannot commit to easing that restriction by the Memorial Day weekend. (The next projected change would be either to 10 or 25 persons, well below the expected racer and crew turnout of 400 people.)
For your information, SPR will be running schools and private rentals with this 5 person limit with the intent to implement and test the new procedures for upcoming larger events.
Both Summit Point and ASRA/CCS are committed to work with Jefferson County to make the June event possible. SPR has also committed to notify ASRA/CCS of any openings in their schedule to see if this event can be rescheduled.
Thank you for your patience and support while we work out our next course of action.
NCBike Update
With the cancellation of VIR in September and Memorial Day at Summit Point, CCS would like to announce that NCBike on August 1-2 will now be a Twin Sprint Event for Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast Championships. The Friday practice day is hosted by EvolveGT so please contact them for entry into that event.
ASRA Schedule Updated for 2020 Due to Cancellations
Updated ASRA Schedule for 2020 Again!
As of May 12, 2020
After cancellations at Summit Point Raceway, Carolina Motorsports Park, Blackhawk Farms Raceway and Virginia International Raceway, both the ASRA Sprints presented by Pirelli Tire and the Michelin ASRA Team Challenge schedules have been revamped again..
Revised ASRA Schedules for 2020
AMA Sanctioned ASRA Championship Series Presented by Pirelli Tire
Feb 29-Mar 1 Roebling Road Raceway
Jun 13-14 Blackhawk Farms
Jul 18-19 Road America
Jul 25-26 NJMP Thunderbolt
Aug 15-16 Summit Point Circuit
Aug 22-23 Roebling Road Raceway
Oct 16-18 Daytona Intl Speedway
Dec 5-6 Homestead
AMA Sanctioned ASRA Team Challenge Presented by Michelin Tire
Feb 29 Roebling Road Raceway
June 20 NH Motor Speedway (Date change)
Jul 18 Road America
Aug 15 Summit Point Circuit (Date change)
Sept 6 NJMP Thunderbolt
Sept 19 Blackhawk Farms
Dec 5 Homestead
UPDATE Since there has been a lot of cancellations and rescheduling going on during the shutdown, this means that for now, the best way to contact us is still via email. If you call or fax something to the office, there is no guarantee how fast Chris can respond so please be patient with us.
We appreciate your patience and support during this difficult time for our country as well as our sport.
Latest Registration and Tech Procedures
These new procedures will allow us to comply with existing orders for limiting contact in enclosed spaces, masks, gloves and hand sanitizer for the staff who deal directly with the racers. (For the foreseeable future we will use these at every event.)
Since these are the two areas where the closest interaction takes place, here is our new procedure for registration and tech.
Registration:
Our goal is to limit personal contact to a minimum. (We are working on a touch-less registration but unfortunately we do not have a clear answer how an “app” would stand up in court as a signed waiver/release.)
One door in, (at Summit, the door to the East), and one door out, (the North door).
Each rider will be given their own pen, at the end on the line there will be a bucket for the rider to drop the pen in for us to sanitize when registration closes. (Registrars will sanitize their work station with wipes and/or spray anytime they return to their station and before leaving in the evening.)
One registrar will be stationed the door with gloves, face mask and hand sanitizer. They will have all riders sign a waiver and release at the door and control the access to 10 racers at a time in the room. (Unfortunately we have been advised that to get a true body temperature with an infrared thermometer, the subject has to acclimate to the ambient room temp for nearly 10 minutes before the test would be considered accurate so while we will have a touch-less thermometer available its accuracy could be compromised.)
Each registrar will have gloves, face mask and hand sanitizer for them and/or the racer to use. All staff in registration will be at least 6’ apart with their own table between them and the racer. We will allow only 10 riders in the room (east classroom), at a time with 3 registrars. (Tape lines on the floor 6’ apart).
Once the racer is finished and deposits their pen in the bucket, they will be asked to exit the North door.
Tech:
Our goal is to limit personal contact to a minimum.
Each inspector will have gloves, face mask and hand sanitizer for them and/or the racer to use.
We will have multiple tech lines approximately 10-12’ apart.
Inspectors will strive to maintain 6’ separation in the lines waiting to be inspected.
Racer will bring a stand to tech with the motorcycle and place the bike on the stand and move 6’ away from the motorcycle. Then the inspector will evaluate the machines race-readiness. After placing an approval sticker on the machine or notifying the rider of what needs to be addressed, the inspector will move away from the machine and let the racer remove their machine from the tech area.
While we have some specific in-depth procedure changes for the staff, these are the outline we are starting with to mitigate the potential of spreading the virus among or racers and staff.
ASRA/CCS management believe these measures would allow us to be safe and in full compliance with existing restrictions but we understand new orders could be issued with immediate implementation that could remove/change procedures or require postponement or cancellation.
The 2019 FIM MotoGP World Championship field. Photo courtesy of Dorna.
Tuesday, 12 May 2020
The global coronavirus crisis has created a global reaction, including from the MotoGP™ paddock and all those who make our sport what it is. That includes riders, teams, sponsors, partners and everyone in between as we all pull together to try and do our part to fight Covid-19.
The official charity of MotoGP™, Two Wheels for Life, recently launched a campaign alongside Dorna Sports to raise funds for their work to combat Covid-19, with the world first Red Bull Virtual Grand Prix of Spain in aid of the cause. Funds raised will go towards the delivery of test results, education and equipment to hard to reach communities across a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus and other deadly contagious diseases – all in the name of MotoGP™.
A number of MotoGP™ riders have made key contributions, including reigning MotoGP™ World Champion Marc Marquez and teammate Alex Marquez, as the two Repsol Honda Team riders donated equipment to the Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova in their local city of Lleida, Catalonia.
Valentino Rossi’s (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) VR46 Srl has come together with a number of other businesses in their area to raise and donate funds to acquire new respirators for l’Azienda Ospedaliera Marche Nord, and the number 46 himself has also carried out a number of morale boosting actions – including surprising a 102-year-old fan of his who beat the virus by getting in touch via video call, and recording a number of different video messages for those affected. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) has also been an active presence in and around his hometown. The Yamaha rider purchased a significant number of Covid-19 test kits to allow care home Residencia Europalau to test all staff and residents for the virus on a regular basis, and has donated masks and protective screens to University Hospital de Girona Doctor Josep Trueta and Hospital de Santa Caterina, both in Girona.
Francesco Bagnaia’s (Pramac Racing Team) Fan Club have also been fundraising for the battle against the virus, with nearly €14,000 donated to the Agenzia Ospedaliera Città della Salute di Torino in Turin. Intact GP MotoE™ rider and Grand Prix winner Dominique Aegerter, meanwhile, made some headlines when he was locked down in Barcelona, giving a helping hand to a local care home by disinfecting the building.
Ducati Motor Holding, to which the Ducati Team belong, is organising a fundraising appeal on behalf of Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Bologna Policlinico di S.Orsola. The #raceagainstCOVID campaign is aiming to raise the funds to finance equipment, research and staff at the Policlinico di S. Orsola in Bologna, which is dedicated exclusively to the care of patients in convalescence post Covid-19. The target is €500,000, with the first donations coming from board members, followed by Ducati employees – and the sum total of the two then doubled by the company to create the foundation of the fundraising drive. It has now been rolled out to Ducatisti worldwide, with MotoGP™ riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci just two of the paddock personnel lending their support to the initiative.
The parent company of FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup bike manufacturer Energica – CRP Technology – is ensuring that some of the same expertise that has made the Energica Ego Corsa such an incredible success is now committed to fighting coronavirus. In house, the company are manufacturing several functional prototypes of emergency valves for reanimation devices, as well as link components for emergency respiratory masks for assisted ventilation, using additive manufacturing and their own patented Windform® P1 isotropic material. The valves are currently being tested in a hospital in Lombardy, Italy.
LCR Honda have one of their RC213Vs included in an art exhibition created to support hospitals in Brescia called BrixiaPROart. The BrixiaPROart initiative was created by a group of professional photographers who decided to put their own art for sale online, in order to help raise funds for equipment, machinery and medicines necessary in the fight against Covid-19. Pramac, owner of Pramac Racing Team, also provided a standby diesel GSW705V generator to Wuhan hospital to provide standby power.
Repsol has donated 400,000 masks to the Spanish healthcare system, as well as polypropylene produced at their plant in Huesca to the Spanish Foundation for Research and Development in Transportation and Energy (CIDAUT) in Valladolid, enabling the manufacture up to 5,700 visors a day for face shields. In addition, Repsol have re-adapted their laboratories at the Repsol Technology Lab to produce hand sanitiser, and loaned the Hospital de La Paz in Madrid a PCR machine capable of carrying out 500 Covid-19 tests per day.
Petronas, the official fuel supplier to the Moto2™ and Moto3™ classes, as well as title sponsor and technical partner of Petronas Yamaha SRT in MotoGP™ and Petronas Sprinta Racing in the Moto2™ and Moto3™ classes, has a number of initiatives. The Malaysian company is working towards developing a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) prototype, which helps lessen the dependency of Covid-19 patients on ventilators in Malaysia. The machines were originally developed by another Petronas partner in motorsport: Mercedes AMG F1 at Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP), in collaboration with University College London. Petronas have also contributed RM20 million (around €4.3 million) towards vital medical equipment and supplies, and have launched the #WeWishYouWell campaign on social media to show solidarity with and support for those battling the virus, as well as spread that message.
Moto2™ and Moto3™ lubricant supplier and Liqui Moly Intact GP team sponsor Liqui Moly made an initial donation of €1 million of free products to emergency services, hospitals and fire brigades across Germany, including engine oils for ambulance vehicles as well as additives to maintain emergency power generators which are needed to operate medical equipment in case of emergency. Since that first donation, the company has now added another €2 million worth of products.
The Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello was another quick to respond, delivering equipment from their Medical Center to the Tuscan health authorities, including two ventilators, two intensive care monitors, four defibrillator monitors and more.
MotoGP™ communications supplier Tata Communications’ parent holding company Tata Sons have pledged INR 1,000 crore (over €122 million), and Tata Trusts have donated INR 500 crore (over €60 million) to go towards medical equipment, set up treatment facilities and health worker training.
MotoGP™ class and MotoE™ Official Tyre Supplier Michelin® is a key contributor to the fight against the pandemic, focusing on a number of vital pieces of protective equipment and medical device components including the development and manufacture of several types of mask, as well as outsourcing the production of 10,000 sterilisable polycarbonate protective visors for French hospitals. The company has also joined others from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in manufacturing a new, reusable face mask, with the aim of producing more than five million masks by the end of June. Michelin® is also offering free services from local distribution networks and free tyres to health-care professionals and logistics companies, with a number of countries having already benefitted from that initiative including China, Germany, Italy and a number of Gulf countries.
The BMW Group to which BMW M, provider of the official car of MotoGP™, belong, have used cross-divisional planning to enable a number of initiatives. The group donated 100,000 masks in the early stages of the crisis, followed up in early April as they presented the government of Bavaria with one million pairs of disposable gloves and 50,000 FFP2 respiratory masks. A further one million masks will be added soon and the BMW Group have procured the systems to produce its own, beginning in a few weeks. The company is also providing vehicles to social and healthcare facilities, and at its German and international locations is helping social and public institutions with donations of goods and materials such as disinfectants.
MotoGP™ sustainable power partner and FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup partner Enel has donated €23 million in Italy, through its non-profit organisation Enel Cuore, for a series of measures to support key organizations involved in providing health and social assistance services. Via the Lenovo Foundation, Lenovo, MotoGP™ technical partner and exclusive technology sponsor of the MotoGP™ eSport Championship, has donated technology to new hospitals treating patients, as well as researchers studying the virus, and made software and hardware available to schools to operate online. In addition, the Foundation has so far donated $6.7 million towards fighting coronavirus.
Allianz, the official insurance partner of the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup, have been globally active. Allianz Partners, in collaboration with Allianz Germany, has entered into a collaboration with Get.On Institute to offer digital, accessible-to-all mental health services in Germany. Allianz Spain has also become the main sponsor of the OxyGEN project by Protofy. OxyGEN is a device that automates the process of manual ventilation and is open hardware project, meaning Protofy makes the schematics available for free download to anyone who wishes to build them. In addition, Allianz Spain has contributed €2.8 million to a special €37 million life insurance fund created by insurers in Spain for healthcare workers.
In Italy, Allianz has partnered with the Sapio Group to support the establishment of an intensive care hospital in the facilities of the Fiera di Milano and the Italian arm of Allianz Partners has donated €55,000 to the project. Allianz Italy is also supporting two Milanese initiatives to assist the underprivileged in the city, as well as a related project in Trieste to help local families in need. Allianz France, in partnership with UNIM, has donated €1 million to the Institut Pasteur and the Coronavirus Task Force for Covid-19 research, and for supporting initiatives from startups to improve the daily lives of medical workers. Allianz Slovakia has allocated around €85,000 for the purchase of medical devices for hospitals, the first of which was a ventilation device donated to the University Hospital in Bratislava.
Allianz Africa has earmarked €100,000 to support the Covid-19 efforts in the African countries where it operates, aimed at buying testing kits and medical supplies, which will be delivered directly to hospitals and health institutions, and in Thailand, Allianz Ayudhya has donated 1 million Thai baht (over €28,000) to source 1,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) and 4,000 N95 masks for hospitals in the country. Close by, Allianz Indonesia is collaborating with Halodoc Indonesia to provide drive-through Covid-19 rapid tests in Jakarta.
MotoGP™’s hand tool supplier Stanley’s parent company Stanley Black & Decker has committed US$10 million in financial support to benefit communities and employees, including the purchase of three million face masks, an employee relief fund and a donation matching scheme. The official beer of MotoGP™, Singha, is owned by Boon Rawd Brewery Company Limited. They have donated 50 million baht (nearly €1.5 million) to the fight against Covid-19 in Thailand.
Official MotoGP™ and FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup logistics partner DHL are also making an important contribution as they send emergency medical equipment and supplies to healthcare workers, deliver necessary goods and use their logistical expertise to find solutions to enable companies to continue operating in these exceptional circumstances. Their UK staff have also been vibrant contributors to the #ClapForTheNHS campaign across the country. R&D and manufacturing teams at Oakley, official eyewear supplier to MotoGP™, have been working with their local medical community to develop protective shields for mass production and have donated 20,000 units of protective eyewear to be shipped across North America and Europe.
MotoGP™ and MotoE™ prosecco supplier Prosecco DOC normally take centre stage on the podium, but they’ve also take on a key role in their home nation of Italy during the Covid-19 crisis. In aid of the Veneto region, one of those most affected by the outbreak, the consortium has made available funds to purchase an intensive care unit, and has requested a contribution from members to be allocated to the immediate purchase of equipment necessary in the fight against the virus.
MotoGP™ Sustainable Truck Supplier Scania, meanwhile, are involved in the battle against coronavirus in Sweden. Experts from their purchasing and logistics organisation are working with Karolinska University Hospital and Region Stockholm to acquire protective equipment for healthcare workers, and trailers from Scania are being converted to mobile testing stations. Dell’Orto, the exclusive ECU supplier to the Moto3™ class, joined a campaign to raise money for the intensive care unit at Monza hospital. MotoGP™ rental car supplier Hertz has provided free vehicle rentals to New York City healthcare workers from March the 25th to April 30th.
Doctors from the FIM are taking on a vital role during the pandemic, with more than twenty of them fighting on the frontline in their respective nations. MotoGP™ Medical Services supplier Quironsalud are also on the front line fighting the outbreak in Spain, and staff from the Clinica Mobile, including head of the service Michele Zasa, are likewise on the ground in Italy to lend their expertise.
We would like to extend our thanks to the entire MotoGP™ and motorcycle racing community for all their efforts. To find out more about how you can help support the campaign from MotoGP™ official charity Two Wheels for Life, click here.
Action from the Australian Superbike Championship in 2019. Photo by Andrew Gosling/TBG Sport, courtesy Motorcycling Australia.
Becoming A Champion – The Mental Game
The World’s best athletes use them, Australian motorcycle racing champions past and present have and still use them today.
Riders spend thousands of hours exercising their bodies into peak physical condition, endless hours fine tuning their race machines, lap after lap honing their skills, but what about their mental health?
What is sports/performance psychology and how can it help riders reach their goals of standing on top of the number one podium position.
With COVID-19 restrictions and racing in a holding pattern, many riders are sitting idle, but should they be, or is now the best time to hone fitness, skills, and mental development for when racing re-starts?
Australian Institute of Sport Performance Psychology Network Lead, Jonah Oliver. Photo courtesy Motorcycling Australia.
Motorcycling Australia (MA) spoke to Australian Institute of Sport Performance Psychology Network Lead, Jonah Oliver, a man who works with world champions, the best of the best in sport to help them attain their goals.
Combining his training in sport psychology and neuroscience, Jonah works with a wide variety of sporting and corporate clients including the AIS, Olympians, professional golfers, soccer, AFL players, and NRL players , elite tennis players and coaches, Supercar drivers and teams, just to name a few.
Sports/performance psychology coaches are used by athletes both amateur and professional to gain optimal performance in both body and mind using biomechanics, physiology, kinesiology and psychology.
“I help people focus, looking at the mental aspects of performance and focusing on the right thing at the right time,” Jonah said of his coaching.
“A lot of athlete’s fears and anxieties are based on reality. Traditional psychology is stemmed from treatment based on irrational fears, disorders of thinking, phobias.
“Whereas my clients if they say if I don’t hit an apex I’m going to get flicked on the high side and hit that wall, you are treating real fears.
“Athletes have to perform in very restrictive time frames, milliseconds, where as if I’m a traditional employee and I have anxiety before I walk into a boardroom, I can stop at the door, take a breath and reset and in I go. You can’t do that at the start line or in the middle of the apex. We have to train our athletes.”
Strong mental health has helped Australian speedway stars Max Fricke and Jack Holder compete on the international stage
Jonah said all athletes worry about things they care about, not about confidence, but competence, not about being calm, but focused.
“I help normalise peoples emotional experience, we get anxious before a race, we get angry during a race when we make an error, and we feel sad or disappointed if we haven’t reached our standard after a race, that’s really normal stuff.
“It gets a bit Dr Phil here – If I stop worrying that I get worried, when my adrenalin is pounding, my hearts pounding and I’ve got thoughts of how I race, and I go thanks brain just my normal pre-race thoughts, all of a sudden I can focus on my race plan, my apex, my start line procedure.
“My work is freeing people up from their psychology so they can focus on the right thing at the right time.
“The biggest thing is learning that anxiety, nerves, doubt, insecurity, low confidence is normal, and the moment I don’t worry that I have those thoughts I can get on with being the rider I think I can.”
Jonah said most athletes have specialised individual needs of their sports/performance psychologist.
“Sometimes it’s looking at removing an existing problem, there might be some performance anxiety, residual fear which is leading to safe riding, or not riding on the edge, or they are worried about repairs to a bike because of a crash.
“Instead of getting rid of the fear of crashing, or getting rid of the thought, it’s ok to have those thoughts, they are just thoughts.
“First: learning the skill to make room for tough unwanted unpleasant thoughts, and then not lose focus by them being there.
“Second: connect to what sort of value you want. One rider says it’s more important to not take anyone out and another one says they want to win. So when I work with people who have hindering relationships to their fears or their riding philosophy and style, it’s just about connecting to what’s more important, not the anxiety.
“Often I’ll get riders to say what do you want to be, what do you want from your career, and they’ll say I want to be world champion, I want to be best I can be. If that’s important to you then you might have to sit with some of the internal conflict that shows up when you go into a corner aggressively.”
Jonah said racers need to have a long-term goal to help them train and compete as short-term goals can be disrupted at the moment as sporting calendars are not possible to predict.
“I encourage riders to connect to their values and vision of the athlete they want to be.
“If I help an athlete who says I love self-improvement, mastery. I love this sport because you never stop learning and I want to be the best I can be. What does that look like today, as it has nothing to do with national championships? But you can train for that today and be better today than yesterday.
It’s about connecting to something more permanent and lasting, that is deep within us, our value set, not just short-term outcomes like a race schedule as they are all up in the air.”
While COVID-19 would see athletes question their future, Jonah said Australian racers looking to compete overseas this year, had the biggest advantage.
“If you are a young athlete just starting to break into the sport, having an additional year before a world championship is welcomed.
“People think COVID-19 restrictions have been a negative, but there are a whole bunch of athletes that have gone ‘this gives me an extra 12 months to really get my skill level, fitness strategy, and mentally to a level where I will be even more dominant’.
“Some athletes are relieved they have more time. Other athletes close to retirement who thought they might do one more championship, one big race or an event like the Olympics are the ones quite thrown out of whack as now they need to revaluate – do they still have the passion to continue, can they afford to continue.
“Then the group in the middle, the majority, have gone WOW, that’s really crazy and thrown my whole schedule and thinking out, but you have the buffering effect of it being a global pandemic.
“If it was just a pandemic that affected only Australia or just motorcycle sport you would feel disenfranchised, but there seems to be something like a collective buffering effect, we are all going through this together, but for athletes it’s about letting go of that attachment.
“I’ve done a lot of work in the last month around increasing comfort with discomfort.
“You might know within a month roughly when the new competition schedule is and guess what that might change in a month if there is another outbreak. So instead of craving certainly, the work we’ve been doing around Australia as psychologists is increasing athlete’s ability to sit with inherent uncertainty, but not compromise their training standards.
“When we come out of this restriction and isolation, you are going to find out those that continued to train well and those that didn’t
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to test your honesty with yourself and inner motivation to be the best you can be and ask, how can I use this to come out with a competitive advantage against my rivals.
“As a nation we are in a pretty good position compared to the rest of the world, so for those that do compete on an international level they can be well ahead of others (in other countries) who aren’t even allowed to come outside their apartment at this point.”
Jonah said riders looking to take on a sports/performance psychologist should get some real benefits from four to six sessions.
“With the professionals I work with around the world in motorsport often it’s an ongoing engagement because you’ve done the work to build the skills, and then you want to transfer that into automaticity as well as ongoing support as you negotiate a world championship.”
So is a sports/performance psychologist for you?
“It’s like not having a mechanic or not putting fresh rubber on the bike, the human machine interaction is so nuanced and complex, if you tune up the bike, why wouldn’t you tune up the mind,” said Jonah.
Australian Superbike racers Wayne Maxwell (left) and Josh Waters (right). Photo courtesy Motorcycling Australia.
JW Racing’s Josh Waters and Boost Mobile’s Wayne Maxwell – who have a swag of Australian titles between them have used sports/performance psychologists in the past and believe they have helped them maintain their championship winning form.
“A big part of it is having confidence and having good people around you who support you 100 per cent,” said Waters.
“You just need to look at the high-level sports professionals who use them, and it works because of the team they have around them, and for us we need someone who understands our sport.”
Maxwell said it was vital in putting proper processes in place for his weekend racing.
“It helps you get the most out of yourself and you have to have the right people around you as well, and I was lucky I was surrounded by other good people.”
In using the service, Maxwell said “you have to be honest with yourself as well to make it work and get the most out of it”.
Mental health fitness is a priority for John Green who competes in the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship, presented by MXstore. Photo courtesy Motorcycling Australia.
Australian Off-Road Championship Active8 Yamalube Yamaha rider Josh Green has also used the services and recommends them to younger riders wanting to assist them with their riding.
“Definitely they can help and I’d recommended them to younger riders if they need them which I have done.”
Ian Hutchinson and the TAS Racing team after winning a race at the Isle of Man in 2016. Photo courtesy BMW Motorrad Motorsport.
Road racing legend Ian Hutchinson returns to the BMW Motorrad Motorsport family.
Ian Hutchinson to make his comeback for TAS Racing competing together under the new banner of SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad.
Marc Bongers: “It is absolutely remarkable how determined and motivated he is”.
Ian Hutchinson: “I see no reason why we cannot pick up from where we left off”.
Munich. When the motor racing season resumes, a familiar face will make his comeback on the BMW S 1000 RR: Ian ‘Hutchy’ Hutchinson (GBR). The 16-time TT winner returns to the TAS Racing team, with Team Principal Philip Neill, with whom he will compete in international road races and the British championship under the new banner of SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad. The project is being supported by BMW Motorrad Motorsport.
Hutchinson, BMW Motorrad Motorsport, BMW S 1000 RR and TAS Racing proved to be a successful combination back in 2016 and 2017. “I am delighted to have Ian back in the family,” said BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director, Marc Bongers. “He has enjoyed great success with us in the past. We would obviously have liked this announcement to have been a little more spectacular, and to have had Ian in his leathers on the bike and competing in the North West 200 and the Isle of Man TT. However, we will have to put that on hold for now.”
“I enjoyed my previous spell with TAS Racing on the BMW S 1000 RR,” said Hutchinson. “Now that I’ve secured a deal to return to the TAS team with Philip Neill at SYNETIQ BMW, I’m really looking forward to getting going again.” Team Principal Neill added, “I honestly thought our racing days with Ian had come to an end after our successful partnership through 2016/17. However, we are clearly delighted that Ian was not only available but extremely keen on a return to TAS Racing. People may differ in their opinions on the various riders but one thing everyone can agree on is the utter determination shown by Hutchy time and time again. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of dedication and effort the man puts into his preparation for racing, and for that reason he is the perfect man to lead SYNETIQ BMW into this new chapter of our racing journey.”
Ian Hutchinson in his new Synetiq-branded leathers. Photo by Double Red Photographic, courtesy BMW Motorrad Motorsport.
A road racing legend.
Hutchinson enjoys legendary status on the international road racing scene. He laid the foundation for this in 2010 when he became the first rider ever to win all five individual races at the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy – the first time in the history of the classic event, which stretches back over 100 years, that anybody had achieved the feat. However, fate turned against him just a few days later when ‘Hutchy’ severely injured his left leg in a crash in the British championship. It looked as though his career was over. Hutchinson bounced back, returned to racing, and overcame yet more setbacks. Although he broke his left leg again in 2012, he fought his way back into the sport’s elite. He made a much-acclaimed comeback at the Macau Grand Prix in 2013. Hutchinson’s first race back after another injury lay-off was at the infamous ‘Guia Circuit’ – and he promptly marked his comeback with a victory.
“He is a legend,” Bongers confirmed. “I experienced that for myself for the first time in Macau in 2013. The award ceremony took place on the Sunday evening. First to receive their trophies were all the car drivers. They all came up to the podium in their smart-casual outfits and were politely applauded. Then came the motorcyclists, and so on, until Ian Hutchinson was called up to receive his trophy. He was sitting relatively far back in that big hall, and still was not particularly quick on his feet. He was given a standing ovation – all the way, as he slowly made his way to the podium and back – from every person, every team, whether automobile or motorbike, and regardless of brand. Even when I tell the story now, so many years later, it still gives me goosebumps.”
Success with the BMW S 1000 RR.
Hutchinson joined the BMW Motorrad Motorsport family in 2016 and competed for TAS Racing in road races and the Superstock class of the British Superbike Championship. Right at the start of the season, Hutchinson won the Superstock race at the North West 200 on his BMW S 1000 RR. Next was the Isle of Man TT, at which he not only won the Superstock TT, but also set a new Superstock lap record.
Hutchinson claimed no fewer than three victories on the RR at the 2016 Ulster Grand Prix and set a new world record when he topped the 134-mph mark in the event’s second Superbike race. In setting an average speed of 134.089 mph, he was crowned the ‘World’s Fastest Road Racer’. ‘Hutchy’ was no less successful at the racetrack that year. He won two races and claimed a total of nine podium finishes in the Superstock class of the BSB. Hutchinson was one of the favourites for the title, despite missing a round that clashed with his road racing commitments.
“For a road racer the TT is the main goal and we won there,” Hutchinson explained looking back. “But we did the same at the North West 200 and also took three wins in a day at the Ulster Grand Prix. That day at Dundrod included earning the accolade of world’s fastest road racers with a 134mph lap. We took Superstock wins on the TAS Racing prepared BMW S 1000 RR at all three major internationals in 2016 and we also got that all-important Superbike win to finish the season on a high.”
As well as those successes, another thing stands out in BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Bongers’ memories of that 2016 season: “It was in the Superstock race on the Isle of Man, when he set the lap record. Back then, his lap – from a standing start – was only a few seconds slower than Peter Hickman when he subsequently set his new Superbike lap record on a flying lap. That was extremely impressive – a highlight.”
At the 2017 Isle of Man TT, Hutchinson first won the Superbike race, before claiming a dominant victory in the Superstock race. He was also one of the hot favourites in the Senior TT, and was looking to get his third win of the week. Unfortunately, however, he crashed and fractured his left femur. That resulted in another break from racing, but ‘Hutchy’ once again fought back. “It is remarkable how determined and motivated he is, not just to come back and compete, but to challenge for victories,” said Bongers.
A strong future together.
Hutchinson was back in action on the BMW S 1000 RR last November, when he appeared at the 2019 Macau Grand prix for Shaun Muir’s Milwaukee with SMT team. “The preparation time was extremely short, and you only have a very limited amount of riding time in practice in Macau. For that reason, we did not have particularly good results,” said Bongers.
Hutchinson now returns to the BMW Motorrad Motorsport family as a rider for SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad, and Bongers is certain that they can add to the success story together. “He feels right at home on our package. We have also modified our BMW S 1000 RR so that we have the gears on the right side. He has already ridden at a few tests and is still extremely quick. I am confident that he is a podium contender at the road races. And if we have enough time to test – which will hopefully be the case – then he can certainly challenge for the top step of the podium in Macau.”
And what expectations does Hutchinson have? “I enjoyed working with the whole team. It was a good relationship. The same core people are still there, so I see no reason why we cannot pick up from where we left off,” he said. “Having prepared so well in January and February I’m ready to race as soon as it is possible again.”
You can find an exclusive in-depth interview with Hutchinson in the new TAS Racing e-magazine ‘Full Gas’: www.synetiqbmw.com/fullgas
Carving through a turn, pushing personal boundaries, and enjoying the experience: Author
Michael Gougis (791) has fun with Fastrack Riders at Auto Club Speedway. Photo by
Caliphotography.com.
Featured In the Roadracing World 2020 Trackday Directory Special Issue:
“I’m in Turn Two on the main course (a.k.a. Big Willow) for an Alpinestars Friends and Family Ride Day. I’m riding a trusty Suzuki SV650 again (the eighth one I’ve owned, and I swear I’m not going to sell this one!) and I’m carving around the outside of a rider on a big-bore hooligan bike, one that’s got a solid 35 horsepower on mine.
“It’s not just that his bike is more powerful that makes the moment memorable. It’s that the rider is a professional, with skills good enough to excel in his discipline, and he’s well paid to do what he does. But those skills didn’t get him and a more powerful bike around Willow as quickly as I could get the SV around there that morning.
“It’s an apples-to-oranges comparison—and that’s my point. Sometimes, we don’t give ourselves enough credit for learning to ride well at a track day on a proper road racing circuit. There’s always someone faster than you at any given track day. Later on that day, I thought I was flying on a new Suzuki GSX-R1000R—a seriously amazing machine, by the way—when Ben Spies and Casey Stoner came by me on either side like I was standing still.
“Yeah, that Ben Spies and that Casey Stoner. And the past World Champions didn’t look like they were trying hard. Stoner may have been texting as he went by…”
—On The Learning Curve, By Michael Gougis
If you’re a member of the track day riding family, give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve learned skills that a lot of the Internet claims to have, yet you’ve put yours to the test in the crucible of the circuit, in real time, in real life. Editor at Large Michael Gougis’ ruminations on skills and speed kick off the Roadracing World 2020 Trackday Directory! Order your copy today, or pick one up at leading retailers, including Cycle Gear stores nationwide!
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From left, Travis Horn, John Hopkins, Eitan Butbul, and Jesse James Shedden. Photo by Karen E. Ott Photography, courtesy American Racing Team.
American Racing Team Announces Official Ohvale Racing Team
Calabasas, CA (May 11, 2020) — The American Racing Team is excited to announce the American Racing Academy’s newest project; the American Racing Ohvale Team. The team will participate in the MotoAmerica Ohvale Mini Cup by Motul.
Team boss Eitan Butbul and former American MotoGP star John Hopkins have had lengthy conversations about the state of Americans racing at the highest levels on the world stage. Much of those conversations centered around the lack of support and clear path to MotoGP for American riders.
With those discussions in mind, Hopkins joined Butbul’s APEX Motorsport Agency as a managing partner and together they created the American Racing Academy in 2020. The American Racing Academy is designed to provide young American riders with the professional training and tools to improve their skills and prepare them for a potential career racing at the sport’s highest level.
The focus of the academy is to provide the youngest generation of American riders a chance to learn and grow and provide a structured path to a career at the highest levels of road racing. The newest component of the Academy is the American Racing Ohvale Team, which will provide a number of young riders the opportunity to compete in the MotoAmerica Mini Cup by Motul championship in the US.
The American Racing Ohvale Team will consist of 4 talented young riders; Jesse James Shedden and Travis Horn from California, Kayla Yaakov from Pennsylvania and Julian Correa from Miami. James and Horn will compete in the 160 category, with Yaakov and Correa will be competing in the 190 category.
Julian Correa. Photo courtesy American Racing Team.Kayla Yaakov. Photo courtesy American Racing Team.
The 4 riders are members of the American Racing Academy and will receive personal coaching from John Hopkins and other top riders on and off the track. Their Academy experience will also include a personalized training program specifically tailored to their riding needs, use of Academy partner The W Training Facility in California including the pro gym and yearly support of the professional trainers, and exclusive training days at the Academy’s official circuit. In addition, riders will have access to receive personalized coaching in dirt track, motocross and mini/Super moto to help them master those techniques to be able to transfer to road racing. The American Racing Ohvale Team riders will also have full support from APEX Management, who will work with each rider and his/her parents to help them decide the best path through their early career and prepare them for racing on the world stage.
Butbul and Hopkins, through the Academy, are working to identify and recruit additional talented young Americans of different ages to join the Academy with the goal of preparing the next generation of world-class riders.
The top riders in the Academy will also get a chance to race with the American Racing Team in the Moto2 World Championship in the future as part of the program. Butbul and Hopkins believe this is one of the most unique opportunities available to American riders.
“Obviously, things are still in the early stages and we continue to build out the concept of the Academy and find the talented riders,” observed Butbul. “The goal is to have the best platform for those young talented riders and to give them the opportunity and support they need to reach the world level. Creating the American Racing Ohvale Team helps in that process.”
The Academy management team intends to host selected talent searches in hopes of finding young talent across the U.S. that may not have the financial means or opportunity to race on their own. The Academy will host promotional track days and training events at various tracks throughout the year.
“The amount of talent in and around the United States is massive,” Hopkins stated. “It’s just a matter of finding that talent, showing them what’s possible and preparing them for the future by giving them the best possible tools and training to succeed at the highest level. Although my family did everything they could to help me from an early age, being from a low-income family meant they could only do so much. If it weren’t for the help from a select few individuals, along with an academy-style series they had back then called The Aprilia Cup Challenge, there is no way I would’ve ever made it into professional road racing, let alone MotoGP. Eitan and I want to be able to give back and provide young American riders the same opportunities that were given to me.”
The American Racing Ohvale Team will be fully supported by Ohvale USA and will run as a professional, factory-supported team. American Racing’s Moto2 Tech team will oversee the project from Europe and will provide the high-level technical support needed for the project. The Team has secured support from HJC who will provide riders with helmets.
About the American Racing Team
The American Racing Team competes in the MotoGP World Championship. The team currently fields 2 riders in the Moto2 class; American Joe Roberts (#16) and Spaniard Marcos Ramirez (#42). The team is the only team in the MotoGP series owned by an American and featuring an American Rider. The team has grown under the guidance of team owner Eitan Butbul and is a respected part of the MotoGP world championship paddock.
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