Roadracing World MotoGP Editor and Isle of Man TT winner Mat Oxley and two-time World Championship-winning Crew Chief Peter Bom have started “The Oxley Bom MotoGP Podcast,” which will be focused on the FIM MotoGP World Championship.
The original podcast can be found on BuzzSprout.com or listened to via other places you get podcasts.
From the Oxley Bom Podcast:
Oh boy, it’s a big one this week with a very special guest! He’s won the World Championship Supersport, rode in front of the pack in MotoGP, is fast as lightning when test riding for Yamaha and has drunk beer with our hosts since way back in the day. That’s right, we’re having a chat with the one and only Cal Crutchlow!
But that’s not all, because we’ve got a surprise announcement for you this week. Here’s a little hint: it rhymes with ‘fab mite’ and can be found at oxleybom.com. Or help us out at our brand new Patreon…
With big thanks as always to Brad Baloo from The Next Men and Gentleman’s Dub Club, who wrote our theme song. Check out The Nextmen for more great music!
Trimby will become the first non-rider to be inducted in the Hall of Fame, honouring his off-track contributions to the sport
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Mike Trimby will be named a MotoGP™ Legend in 2024, honouring a life dedicated to motorcycle Grand Prix racing. Trimby was the founder and CEO of IRTA, thereby becoming one of the most important figures in the history of motorcycle Grand Prix racing and playing a pivotal role in shaping the sport MotoGP™ has become.
To celebrate his contribution to the sport, he will become the first person inducted into the Hall of Fame wholly due to their work off-track.
That said, Trimby did begin his career as a rider and mechanic in the 1960s. However, he soon started to emerge as a key figure off-track and had established himself as such by the late 1970s. In 1982, the riders officially requested Trimby to act as their representative, something further formalised a few years later with the founding of the International Road Racing Teams Association (IRTA) in 1986, with Trimby at the helm.
Advocating for riders and teams, IRTA has remained a pivotal part of the sport. The huge progress in safety made since the organisation was founded is thanks in large part to the work undertaken by Trimby, his wife Irene, and IRTA.
1992 also marked the beginning of the great collaboration between the FIM, IRTA and Dorna Sports, which likewise owes much to the foundations laid by IRTA over the decade before, giving riders and teams a voice at the table.
Trimby will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, officially becoming a MotoGP™ Legend.
Irene Trimby: “Mike would have been very honoured about receiving this prestigious award, and everyone who knew him knows he never would have expected it either. It’s wonderful for his work and legacy to be acknowledged in this way, although I’m sure he might also have been a little embarrassed to see us putting on a ceremony and giving him a trophy! It’s also something very special for me, for everyone who worked closely with him, and everyone who continues to miss him very much. Thank you very much.”
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports: “Mike’s contribution to motorcycle Grand Prix racing is truly monumental, and we’re proud to name him a MotoGP Legend. Since the concept of MotoGP Legends was born, it has always been about more than numbers. There are no criteria based on simple race wins or number of championships, it’s about contribution to the sport – be it off-track, on-track or a combination of the two. So it’s fitting that Mike becomes the first figure honoured purely for his off-track impact, as his work in this sport was truly second to none. It will be an honour for us, and for me, to induct Mike into the Hall of Fame. He is greatly missed and we race on in his memory.”
Mike Trimby (49) in action on the Isle of Man. Photo from the Trimby Collection, used with permission.
Mike Trimby will join the list of his fellow MotoGP™ Legends in the Hall of Fame: Giacomo Agostini, Hugh Anderson, Hans-Georg Anscheidt, Kork Ballington, Max Biaggi, Alex Crivillé, Mick Doohan, Stefan Dörflinger, Andrea Dovizioso, Geoff Duke, Wayne Gardner, Mike Hailwood, Nicky Hayden, Jorge Lorenzo, Daijiro Kato, Eddie Lawson, Marco Lucchinelli, Randy Mamola, Anton Mang, Jorge ‘Aspar’ Martinez, Angel Nieto, Dani Pedrosa, Wayne Rainey, Phil Read, Jim Redman, Kenny Roberts, Kenny Roberts Jr, Valentino Rossi, Jarno Saarinen, Kevin Schwantz, Barry Sheene, Marco Simoncelli, Freddie Spencer, Casey Stoner, John Surtees, Luigi Taveri, Carlo Ubbiali and Franco Uncini.
Triumph Motorcycles reveals new MY25 Trident Triple Tribute Special Edition
Contemporary white, blue, and red graphic scheme, inspired by “Slippery Sam’, the five-time TT winning Trident.
Exclusive extras; Triumph Shift Assist, belly pan, and color-matched fly screen fitted as standard
Triumph Motorcycles has launched a striking new special edition Trident 660, featuring a dynamic, contemporary graphic scheme designed to appeal to new Triumph fans, and extra technology including Triumph Shift-Assist.
New for 2025, the Trident Triple Tribute celebrates Triumph’s legendary triple engines and will be available for one year only. This hugely popular naked roadster is now available with a distinctive graphic scheme, which is a contemporary take on Triumph’s iconic white, blue, and red racing scheme and features the distinctive ‘67 number graphic, which once adorned ‘Slippery Sam’, the most famous Trident in history.
The Trident’s characterful and unique triple engine performance and celebrated handling will be even more enjoyable with the addition of Triumph Shift Assist, adding to an already impressive specification and list of equipment for its class. Included as standard, the color matched fly screen and belly pan add even more unique character to the Trident’s distinctive style, showcasing the exceptional standard of fit and finish that is synonymous with Triumph.
Paul Stroud – Chief Commercial Officer, Triumph Motorcycles
“Since its launch in 2020, this middle-weight roadster has reinvigorated this highly competitive category, selling more than 35,600 units worldwide.
It’s triple engine and premium detailing at a great price, has been successful in bringing younger and new riders to Triumph, and just as ‘Slippery Sam’ once inspired a generation, we believe this special edition has the iconic style, extra technology, and dynamic performance to appeal to today’s Triumph fans.”
UNIQUE TRIPLE TRIBUTE EDITION DESIGN
The Trident Triple Tribute has a stunning, modern design, inspired by the most celebrated Triumph triple bike of all time, ‘Slippery Sam’, which is the only motorcycle ever to win five TT production races in five consecutive years, from 1971 to 1975. The white, blue, and red scheme with color-matched fly screen and belly pan, stands out from the clean, minimal lines, beautiful silhouette, and confident poise of the Trident.
The distinctive tank design with number 67 race graphic surrounds the signature knee cut-outs, complementing the flowing seat line. With an impeccable attention to detail, the Trident 660 features high quality Triumph badges in both the headlight and taillight, and logo touches on the fuel cap, handlebar clamp, and instruments, plus an inset aluminum Trident badge with diamond machined detailing. Body colored radiator cowls, aluminum yokes & heel guards, body colored fork protectors, tapered aluminum handlebars, and teardrop shape mirrors, with five-spoke black lightweight cast aluminum wheels, complete the eye-catching look.
TRIPLE ENGINE PERFORMANCE ADVANTAGE
Featuring a dedicated Trident tune, the popular 660cc triple engine was developed to deliver the character and performance benefits of a triple to riders in the middleweight naked category, providing the perfect balance of low-down torque, mid-range, and top end power. A distinctive deep triple soundtrack is provided via a compact and minimal single sided silencer, with a premium stainless-steel finisher.
Fully Euro 5 compliant, the engine gives 80 HP (81 PS) peak power @ 10,250 rpm with a progressive, smooth, and linear delivery, as well as 47 LB-FT (64 Nm) peak torque @ 6,250 rpm.
The Trident’s smooth six-speed gearbox, with gear ratios and final drive that are optimized to make the riding experience easy and fun, is further enhanced by the addition of the Triumph Shift Assist, included as standard for this special edition. This quickshifter enables clutchless changes up and down the ratios, with an autoblipper on downshifts for fast, seamless changes.
CLASS LEADING HANDLING
Renowned for its agile, sporty, and confidence-inspiring feel on the road, the Trident has an accessible 31” (805mm) seat height and a low wet weight of 416 lbs. (189kg). It is already leading the class, with a high specification of branded equipment including black Showa upside down forks delivering 4.7” (120mm) front wheel travel, and Showa preload adjustable monoshock RSU with linkage, which delivers 5.3” (133.5mm) rear wheel travel.
For great stopping power, the Trident has two-piston Nissin brakes with twin 12” (310mm) discs and Michelin Road 5 tires, giving the rider confidence in all weathers.
The Trident has its own dedicated chassis with tubular steel construction, lightweight tapered aluminum bars and lightweight 17” cast aluminum sports wheels which combined with the high specification equipment, delivers a light steering weight and agility that’s confidence-inspiring and easy to control.
HIGH SPECIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
The Trident 660 provides ABS, Road and Rain riding modes, switchable traction control, and a ride-by-wire throttle, for crisp, precise throttle response, as well as a practical, multi-functional, color TFT screen, integrated with a ‘white-on’ black’ LCD display. For enhanced security, an engine immobilizer is built into the key.
MAKE THE TRIDENT TRIPLE TRIBUTE YOUR OWN
The Trident Triple Tribute can be tailored with a range of 32 accessories, including protection and care, technology, style & detailing, comfort & practicality, and security.
Protection includes rubber tank pad, molded frame and engine cover protectors, and CNC machined fork protectors, as well as a Muc-Off cleaning kit, all weather cover, and battery charger. With the technology accessories, customers can add a convenient under seat USB charging socket, and a tire pressure monitoring system. Designed specifically for the Trident, customers can add a set of water-resistant luggage, with quick release tank bag and tail pack.
Billet machined bar end mirrors, and parts to add to the detailing. The Trident is also pre-prepared to be able to be fitted with the internally wired heated grips, which include a neatly integrated button, and the ergonomically shaped pillion grab handles.
Designed hand-in-hand with our motorcycles and manufactured to the same exacting standards, all Triumph accessories have the same two-year unlimited mileage warranty as the bikes themselves.
ON THE ROAD
The new Trident Triple Tribute will be available from $8,595 USD / $10,195 CAD, with a class-leading service interval of 10,000 miles (or 12 months, whichever comes sooner) which contributes to the incredibly low cost of ownership. Customers can find out more at triumphmotorcycles.com or place an order with their local Triumph dealer. Bikes will be arriving in dealerships from April 2024.
SPECIFICATION
ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION
Type
Liquid-cooled, 12 valve, DOHC, inline 3-cylinder
Capacity
660 cc
Bore
74.0 mm
Stroke
51.1 mm
Compression
11.95:1
Maximum Power
81 PS / 80 bhp (60 kW) @ 10,250 rpm
Maximum Torque
64 Nm (47 lbft) @ 6,250 rpm
Fuel System
Multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection with electronic throttle control
Exhaust
Stainless steel 3 into 1 header system with low single sided stainless steel silencer
Final Drive
X-ring chain
Clutch
Wet, multi-plate, slip & assist
Gearbox
6 speed
CHASSIS
Frame
Tubular steel perimeter frame
Swingarm
Twin-sided, fabricated steel
Front Wheel
Cast aluminum, 17 x 3.5 in
Rear Wheel
Cast aluminum, 17 x 5.5 in
Front Tire
120/70R17
Rear Tire
180/55R17
Front Suspension
Showa 41mm upside down separate function forks (SFF)
Nissin single-piston sliding caliper, single 255mm disc, ABS
Instruments
Multi-function instruments with color TFT screen
DIMENSIONS & WEIGHTS
Length
2020 mm (79.5 in)
Width (Handlebars)
795 mm (31.3 in)
Height Without Mirrors
1089 mm (42.9 in)
Seat Height
805 mm (31.7 in)
Wheelbase
1401 mm (55.2 in)
Rake
24.6 °
Trail
107.3 mm (4.22 in)
Wet weight
189 kg (417 lb)
Fuel Tank Capacity
14 liters (3.7 US gal)
CONSUMPTION AND EMISSIONS (EU)
Trident 660 – EUROPE
Fuel Consumption
60.1 mpg (4.7 l/100km)
Emissions
107 g/km
Fuel consumption and emissions figures are measured according to the World Motorcycle Test Cycle (WMTC) under specific test conditions and provided for comparison purposes. Actual fuel economy may vary depending on factors such as riding style, accessory fitment, rider and pillion weight and tire pressures, as well as external environmental conditions.
Brough Superior Motorcycles arrives in North America
The iconic motorcycle brand Brough Superior is proud to announce the opening of its first filial office in North America. Earlier this year, Brough Superior launched Brough Superior Japan to bring its historic motorcycles to riders across the country.
Founded in Nottingham, England in 1919, Brough Superior is renowned for producing the world’s first superbikes and is considered the “Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles.” The brand is known for its signature 1,000 cc V-twin engine, striking design, and impeccable quality. Brough Superior has a rich history and was favored by famous riders like T.E. Lawrence “Lawrence of Arabia.” The rebirth of Brough Superior in France marks a new stage in the adventure of this exceptional brand, which draws from its DNA the know-how and inspiration to make dreams come true by shaping French luxury motorcycles. Masterpieces handcrafted with passion and authenticity. Made in Toulouse, France, world capital of aircraft industry (Airbus), the new era Brough Superior models are bringing distinctive innovations such as Titanium Chassis and Engine Crankcases fully machined from aeronautical alloy solid blocks.
Brough Superior North America has recently started building up a dealer network in select cities, to provide sales and service for the entire Brough Superior range, including the SS100, Lawrence, and the AMB Pro model in collaboration with Aston Martin. The standard models are fully homologated for the US and Canadian markets, and can be purchased with several options, either through the dealership network or the filial. The first flagship is set to open in May 2024 in Malibu, CA and others are scheduled to follow later on this year in Florida, Texas, Illinois, New York and Georgia.
Current MSRP prices are: $81,075 for the SS100 and Lawrence and $183,895 for the track only AMB Pro.
A Brough Superior SS100. Photo courtesy Brough Superior.
Paul Capodanno, CEO of Brough Superior North America said, “Launching Brough Superior North America and re-introduce this brand of exceptional motorcycles to discerning riders is truly an amazing project. There is a growing demand for luxury, limited production and exclusive motorcycles in this market, and we believe Brough Superior is uniquely positioned to serve provide riders with a brand that is considered “the Rolls Royce of Motorcycles. The North American office will also offer customization options for Brough Superior motorcycles tailored to each customer, as well as the ability for dealers to create a community of riders, local events and VIP gatherings”.
Albert Castaigne – Executive Director for Brough Superior Motorcycles SAS – added: “Our commitment to increase our presence worldwide started with our decision to expand into North America and Asia in 2024. It’s important for our company to provide riders from all over the world with a quality motorcycle, that carries the latest technology, amazing design and performance, and fits the expectations of modern motorcycle buyers. We’ve very excited to finally open our first office in North America, after many years of hard work and dedication from our partners and suppliers, and start creating a new dynamic around the Brough Superior models”.
Brough Superior represents the pinnacle of motorcycling luxury and performance. The arrival of Brough Superior North America invites riders to experience these qualities firsthand. To learn more or find a local dealer, visit https://www.brough-superior-motorcycles.com/en
Brough Superior was recently elected to the “Motorcycle Trophies” 2024 edition, an annual event organized by Editions Larivière in Paris, France. Rewarding the best innovations and performances in the world of motorcycles, by categories selected by a vote open to the public, it brings together enthusiasts, professionals and the media to celebrate advances in design, technology, eco-responsibility and safety.
About Brough Superior Motorcycles SAS
Brough Superior was founded in Nottingham, England in 1919 and produced the world’s first superbikes. The brand is renowned for its striking design, signature 1,000 cc V-twin engine, and impeccable quality. Brough Superior has a historic pedigree and was favored by famous riders like T.E. Lawrence. In recent years, Brough Superior has had a
resurgence under new ownership and released the SS100, Lawrence and AMB Pro models. Brough Superior Japan is the brand’s first office in Asia. For more information, visit: www.brough-superior-motorcycles.com/en
Models available in North America
SS100
An icon built for icons during the Roaring Twenties that quickly garnered itself with a legendary status thanks to Lawrence of Arabia, Brough Superior’s Super Sports 100 motorcycle is for riders who love luxury, beauty and speed. With its classic design, unparalleled elegance, sleek detailing, and top-notch performance, the SS100 is an emblematic Brough Superior motorcycle. Each SS100 motorcycle is handcrafted, and custom built for its future owner in Brough Superior’s French workshop. This classic motorcycle has been updated with a modern design while encapsulating the brand’s original engineering ethos. Each detail is designed to optimize its rider’s interaction with the bike and connectivity with the road!
Lawrence
The latest addition to Brough Superior’s French workshop, Lawrence is the ultimate 21st century pillion motorcycle. Its luxurious aesthetics were inspired by the sleek, flowing curve of the traditional Bedouin dagger used by Lawrence of Arabia – the man who helped bring this brand its legendary status and who also inspired this eponymous motorcycle.
This revolutionary, hand-crafted, custom two-seater features a revamped retro design that is an ode to the brand’s past. Designed for two riders who want to share in their passion, primmed to hit the road with their adventurous partner. This motorcycle exhibits superior quality, down to the last screw, thanks to the exceptional knowledge and skill used for its traditional artisanal production. This new model represents a major milestone for Brough Superior. It is handcrafted by the finest French artisans and incorporates state-of-the-art engineering and innovative materials, Lawrence is a customizable, high-end pillion motorcycle that can be tailored to its future owner’s specifications.
An Aston Martin by Brough Superior AMB 001 Pro. Photo courtesy Brough Superior.
Aston Martin by Brough Superior AMB 001 Pro
The strictly limited-edition AMB 001 PRO is the latest design collaboration between the two brands, pairing Aston Martin’s legendary design with state-of-the-art Brough Superior motorcycle engineering. Offered in 2 PRO specifications, the successor to the sold-out AMB 001 was inspired by Aston Martin’s no rules track hyper car Valkyrie AMR Pro. Like its inspiration, AMB 001 PRO takes track performance to the extreme, offering a 25% power increase on its predecessor, with its 225 HP producing a power to weight ratio of 1.28 hp/kg, similar to that of a Formula One® car. AMB 001 Pro is offered in two spectacular racing liveries; Aston Martin Verdant Jade, with Photon Lime accents creates a bold modern look whilst Aston Martin Racing Green paired with Lime Essence pays a nod to Aston Martin’s winning bloodline on the track. Both specifications feature satin finished carbon fiber bodywork and wheels, with high performance black Cerakote for the engine and suspension. In common with other extreme performance, ultra-luxury Aston Martin models, AMB 001 PRO is fitted with the Aston Martin ‘lacewing’ badge. Designed for the Aston Martin Valkyrie programme, the chemical etched aluminum lacewing is a remarkable 99.4% lighter than the brand’s regular enamel badge, and at just 70 microns thick is 30% thinner than a human hair. It will be applied on the nose cowl and tank, on top of the painted finish yet beneath a perfectly smooth coat of lacquer.
Persistence Pays Off in Portugal for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
Portimao (Portugal), 24th March 2024
GRAND PRIX OF PORTUGAL
RACE
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo showed consistent pace and defensive riding in the 25-lap Grande Prémio de Portugal Race, and it earned him seventh position. Álex Rins didn’t have the feeling he was looking for today and ultimately crossed the finish line in 13th place.
7th F. QUARTARARO +20.130 / 25 LAPS
13th Á. RINS +31.334 / 25 LAPS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo showed strong defensive riding at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Race and his persistence was rewarded with a seventh place and 9 points. Álex Rins wasn’t as competitive as he had hoped for on the Sunday at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve but kept pushing and went on to score his first 3 points of the season thanks to a 13th place.
Quartararo began his quest from P9 and held his position on the opening lap. However, the top-10 rider group soon split up. El Diablo was mostly riding by himself in the first 10 laps but later got company from Miguel Oliveira and Marco Bezzecchi. He kept them at bay until seven laps before the end. When the three riders commenced a battle, it ultimately resulted in the Frenchman circulating in tenth. With three laps to go, Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez crashed out, and on the last lap also Maverick Viñales’ race ended early. This moved Quartararo up to seventh at the chequered flag, 20.130s from first.
Rins had a strong start from P11 and slotted in behind his teammate in tenth position after the usual opening corner tussle. But the Spaniard was unable to stick with Quartararo and soon had to direct his attention to charging riders. Defending his position proved difficult for the number-42 rider as he struggled with his feeling with the front tyre, and he gradually fell back to 16th place. However, he reaped the benefit from several late crashers and climbed back up to 13th in the final classifications, 31.334s from the front, scoring his first points of the 2024 season.
Today’s results see Quartararo keep his 11th place in the overall standings with now 15 points. Rins is in 18th position with 3 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP are 8th in the team championship with 18 points, and Yamaha is in 4th position in the constructor‘s championship with 15 points.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team will be back in action at the Portimao track tomorrow for a private test. The MotoGP World Championship will resume in three weeks’ time at the Circuit of The Americas with the Grand Prix of The Americas.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
Team Director
It was a tough Race. In the end, Fabio is in the top 7 and Álex scored his first points, but this was mostly due to the late race incidents. Our riders gave it their best shot, and every point counts, but we can’t be satisfied with our overall performance level during this Race. That said, today’s data will be useful for us. We have a private test in Portimao tomorrow. We will use this opportunity to try some set-up solutions to improve the feeling with the front tyre in time for COTA, which is tough on the front tyre. We will also test some new items that we’re working on, because we are keen to introduce updates throughout this season.
FABIO QUARTARARO
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
After yesterday’s Sprint, I expected to finish a little bit closer to the front guys today, but in terms of position I expected this. We have some good data to analyse, and hopefully we can make some steps forward. It looks like the weather tomorrow will be quite bad, but hopefully we will have a good day to try some things. Apparently, we have many items to test, so that will be great. Hopefully the weather will allow us to test them. We have many small things that we have to improve step by step. We’re on the right way, but we need to be patient.
Fabio Quartararo (20). Photo courtesy Monster Energy Yamaha.
ÁLEX RINS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
These are my first Yamaha points, but maybe it wasn’t enough for us. But the second Race is done – it was a hard one. These two races, Qatar and Portimao, didn’t go as I expected. We need to work a little bit more on our own. After this Race, I realised I need to do something different on the bike because I had similar problems today as I had in Qatar. I was struggling a lot with the front. Tomorrow, when we have a private test here, maybe we will need to focus more on the set-up than on the new parts. It’s just our second Race, and we need to get used to the bike and need to understand it.
Alex Rins (42). Photo courtesy Monster Energy Yamaha.
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Determined Mir fights through early damage to secure points in Portugal
Joan Mir showed his grit as he matched the pace of the top ten to recover from early contact and secure more points aboard the Honda RC213V as Luca Marini continued to hunt improvements.
Round two of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship came to a dramatic conclusion at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve for the Repsol Honda Team. Recovering from a tough Qualifying, Joan Mir found himself in the mix of the second group and suffered contact and damage on the first lap after a strong opening to the race. The #36 gritted his teeth and steadily made his way through the field and into the points as he mirrored the pace of the top ten. Ultimately crossing the line in 12th, Mir leaves Portugal with clear areas to improve in mind but satisfied with how he and the team overcame the troubles of Friday.
Luca Marini made a lightning start to the 25-lap Portuguese Grand Prix aboard the Repsol Honda Team machine and immediately found himself in the mix with his fellow Honda riders. Working on his own pace and continuing to deepen his understanding of the Honda, the #10 completed another 25 laps in race trim on the Honda RC213V machine. 17th as the checkered flag came out, the Italian was pleased with what he and the team achieved from Friday morning to Sunday evening.
The MotoGP World Championship will resume in Austin, Texas at the Circuit of the Americas, April 12 – 14. Alex Rins took Honda’s lone victory of the 2023 season there and the unique Texan track saw Luca Marini take his debut MotoGP podium in the same weekend.
Joan Mir
12TH
“I am happy with how we performed today, if you look just at the final results page it maybe wouldn’t seem like it. On the first lap we had a huge contact with Morbidelli, my leathers on the right side were almost fully black and the bike suffered a lot of damage and I was sent wide. It was quite hard to manage with all the damage, but even like this we were able to match the pace of the guys battling for the top ten. The key point we need to work on is improving our Qualifying so we can avoid these type of incidents. Everyone in the team and HRC have done a great job to improve from where we were on Friday so I want to say thank you to them.”
Joan Mir (36). Photo courtesy Repsol Honda.
Luca Marini
17TH
“We had a better race today than in Qatar and also compared to yesterday, I am happy with the changes we have made to the bike. I was enjoying riding towards the end of the race which was a good little step ahead. Joan Mir has a better feeling on the bike and certainly more experience so he’s able to extract more from the bike, it’s motivating, and we need to study what he is doing. It’s a positive weekend, despite the result, because we got a lot of really good information, and we know what areas to follow and also which areas we should not with the setting. There’s room to keep improving.”
Luca Marini (10). Photo courtesy Repsol Honda.
More, from a press release issued by Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team:
TOP10 FOR BEZZECCHI AND DI GIANNANTONIO IN PORTUGAL
Points for both riders of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team who cross the finishing line respectively in P6 and P10
Portimao (Portugal), March 24th 2024 – Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio both hit the Top10 at the Portuguese GP which took place today at Portimao. The riders of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team finished the second GP of the season in sixth and tenth place.
Starting from the second row of the grid, but struggling in the initial stages of the race, Marco manages to keep a good pace and recover from the 12th place, thus signing his best result of the season so far (12 points in the general standings).
Fifth row at the start, but constant pace over the distance, on the Ducati Desmosedici GP, for Fabio capable of a good comeback up to the limits of the Top10 after a more complicated weekend than expected (15 points in the standings).
MARCO BEZZECCHI – 72
We have collected a lot of info and this is the most important thing. Today’s race wasn’t fantastic, but a definite step forward compared to Qatar. I managed to do some good laps, not at the level of the strongest riders, but my confidence with the bike has improved. The real problem was the first corners, I wasn’t incisive and the pressure on the front tire immediately increased. In those conditions it’s even more difficult, then alone I felt better and didn’t finish badly.
Marco Bezzecchi (72) leads Augusto Fernandez (37) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (49). Photo courtesy VR46 Racing.
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO – 49
I’m not very happy with the race, certainly the potential we could express today was much higher, but we made a mistake which compromise our recovery. On the one hand, knowing what the problem was helps us, also considering that we are only at the second race with the Team. We go to the US ready to do well. Overall the balance is positive, we improved from Friday to the race.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (49) leads Augusto Fernandez (37). Photo courtesy VR46 Racing Team.
PABLO NIETO, TEAM MANAGER
The general balance of the weekend is certainly more positive than Qatar, especially considering that we managed to get both riders into the Top10. We had some gifts at the end of the race, but in any case it is important to be there close to the strongest guys. Marco is not yet completely comfortable with the bike, but he has made a great steps forward and is becoming competitive again. Fabio is also doing well, perhaps for the first time since he has been in this Team he has struggled more than expected, but he continues his work with the crew.
More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing:
A SUNDAY TO FORGET IN PORTUGAL: A CRASH RULES OUT ALEX, A COMING TOGETHER BRINGS MARC’S EFFORT TO AN EARLY END
#PortugueseGP race. The ingredients for a good Sunday were all there, especially after a good start from both standard bearers of Team Gresini MotoGP. From 8th and 12th on the grid, respectively, Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez were able to immediately make up some positions in the very beginning before the first hurdle of the day came.
The #73 crashed – uninjured – out of the encounter at turn five with very little time spent on track, a tumble that took away any hope for points to the Spaniard, in a weekend that was already made quite complicated due to an unfortunate result in Q2. Marc’s race outcome was all in all very similar, but the dynamic was completely different…
With four laps left, the #93 makes an overtaking manoeuvre on Bagnaia, but the counter-attack of the Italian at the following corner results in a coming together that send both riders on the ground. The #93 was able to jump back on the bike and finish 16th as he crossed the line with a bitter taste in his mouth. A fourth place would have translated in the second position in the standings…
16th – MARC MARQUEZ #93
“A racing incident that none of us would have wanted. We go home with no points, but after a positive weekend in which we found continuity and speed. The stewards have decided that the incident deserves no sanction and we accept the decision. Pecco tried to defend his position, maybe with a little bit of optimism. The result still is the one nobody would have wished.”
Marc Marquez (93) picks his crashed bike up in Portugal. Photo courtesy Gresini Racing.
RET. ALEX MARQUEZ #73
“Shame, because we had a good start. I pushed a lot as today’s MotoGP forces you to do a little bit more in the early laps. I gave my all and unfortunately, I ended up crashing. I got back on track simply because had it rained, everything would have changed, but after a few laps I decided to pull out of the race. A Sunday to forget, but we’ll try again at Austin.”
Alex Marquez (73). Photo courtesy Gresini Racing.
More, from a press release issued by GASGAS Factory Racing:
SENSATIONAL FIRST MOTOGP™ PODIUM FOR GASGAS AS PEDRO ACOSTA CARVES THE ALGARVE
MotoGP 2024 – Round 02 of 21, Algarve International Circuit – Race
Red Bull GASGAS Tech3’s Pedro Acosta continues to inject youth and energy into 2024 MotoGP and the rookie showed his rapid learning curve once more with a 3rd place finish at the demanding Algarve International Circuit for only his second outing on the GASGAS RC16. Augusto Fernandez grabbed his first points of the season in 11th at the Grand Prix of Portugal as the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 team watched Moto3™ star Daniel Holgado score his first win in red!
Pedro Acosta completes the 25-lap chase with three sensational overtaking moves, his first podium finish in just his second MotoGP race and the first Grand Prix trophy for GASGAS!
Augusto Fernandez pushes for his first Grand Prix points of the year and meets the checkered flag in 11th
More speed and glory for Daniel Holgado with Moto3™ victory! The Spaniard also bags his second consecutive podium finish in 2024 and P1 in the early world championship standings
Portimao missed some spring sunshine but brought action, fans and entertainment to the 2024 MotoGP story. Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 headed into the 25-lap Grand Prix race on Sunday with some indication of tire performance and their potential thanks to an engaging Sprint on Saturday where Pedro Acosta logged a ‘PB’ with 7th place and Augusto Fernandez discovered more feeling and competitiveness on the #37 machine.
Acosta’s 7th place grid position (after experiencing the intense dive through Q1 and Q2 on Saturday) meant he was able to concentrate on his form and potency in the opening laps and then establish his race pace. The rookie was 9th in Qatar two weeks ago but swiftly sliced into that position and higher from the off. He overtook Brad Binder, Marc Marquez and then stalked world champion Francesco Bagnaia for a long period, climbing all over the Italian’s rear wheel. He finally relegated his rival to 5th with a delicious move into Turn 3. The last lap granted Pedro P3 to become the third youngest premier class podium finisher in history and his first spray of podium Prosecco!
Augusto battled with two other riders around the edge of the top ten and came home with a deserved 5 points for 11th. An improvement over Qatar a fortnight ago and a shot of confidence for the Grands Prix to come.
After building their pitbox setup and structure for European rounds, Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 now repack the flight cases for another long-haul appointment. The Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin will bring round three to life in three weeks.
Pedro Acosta, 3rd: “What to say about today?! From the beginning of the race the bike was working unbelievably. I am still not 100% comfortable in the Sprint at the moment – but it is coming – and in the longer races with the full tank and the harder suspension I feel much better. I have been racing like this all my life! But, man, we have to be super-happy! Our first podium in MotoGP! The team have been working super-hard. For example, we tried some things in warm-up this morning to help us in the first laps and they worked. The bike has been super-nice from beginning but, step-by-step, we are arriving to the point of getting the pace that we really want it.”
Pedro Acosta (31). Photo courtesy GASGAS Factory Racing.
Augusto Fernandez, 11th: “A big step today. I managed the low grip after a good start and also had some good fights. I made a few mistakes because I wanted to push more but we know we need to make steps and take points. Our pace is here right now but happy to get points and want to keep building. Congrats to Pedro. Incredible!”
Augusto Fernandez (37). Photo courtesy GASGAS Factory Racing.
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “What an unbelievable result and unbelievable weekend here in the Algarve. We knew Pedro could have good pace here this weekend and with a good start he could stay with the leaders but what a race. We saw all his talent when he moved to the front and passed those riders, those champions. A great result for the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 team so we can only be happy and enjoy the moment. We are looking forward to seeing him again a bike as soon as possible! Congratulations also to Augusto and who doesn’t give up. He is facing his problems, and he is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. He was near the top ten and if he keeps working like this then he will be back near the front very soon.”
More, from a press release issued by Trackhouse Racing:
PROGRESS AND POINTS
Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portugal: Track length: 2.853 miles / 4.592 kilometers
Warm Up: 9.40am – 9.50am – Dry track
Air Temperature (end of session): 69.8°F / 21°C
Track Temperature (end of session): 69.8°F / 21°C
#25 Raul Fernandez
P8 – Best Lap: 1’39.559
Completed: 6 Laps – 17.1 miles / 27.5 kilometers
Top speed: 212.7 mph / 337.5 km/h
#88 Miguel Oliveira
P18 – Best Lap: 1’39.893
Completed: 6 Laps – 17.1 miles / 27.5 kilometers
Top speed: 219.3 mph / 341.7 km/h
RACE: 2pm – Dry track: 25 Laps – 71.32 miles / 114.8 kilometers
Air Temperature (end of session): 75.2°F / 24°C
Track Temperature (end of session): 86°F / 30°C
#88 Miguel Oliveira – P9 (Race Points: 7 Championship Standing: 14 Total Points: 8)
Race Time: 41’ 42.067 Best Lap: 1’39.480
Average speed: 102.58 mph / 165.1 km/h Top Speed: 217.85 mph / 350.6 km/h
– Started from 15th on the grid with a Michelin hard front tire and medium rear.
– Immediately made progress on Lap 1 up to 11th and then improved to 10th before being forced him wide in turn 1, late in the race which put him back to 12th.
– Retirements ahead meant a 9th place finish and 7 valuable Championship points.
Average speed: 105.07 mph / 162.9 Km/h Top speed: 213.67 mph / 343.9 km/h
– From lights out and 16th on the grid, gained a spot on lap one running a hard front tire and medium rear.
– Gained another place on lap 2, up to 14th before crashing out on lap 4 and forced to retire.
Trackhouse Racing MotoGP – Team World Championship Standing: 9th – 8 points
Next Round: Grand Prix of the Americas – Circuit of the Americas, Texas, USA : April 12-14
MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
“It was what I could do. The opening lap and the first few corners have been quite ok. I managed to overtake Rins and Quartararo and I was on course to a top 10 finish, ninth place without crashes. But unfortunately, when Bezzecchi overtook me in the first corner, he took me a little bit wide and I had to stop the bike and go around the whole turn one and two, where I lost three positions. It’s a real shame because with all the crashes, we could have finished in P6, which would have been very uplifting this weekend. But we have to take the positives; in the race, it was the best bike I rode during the weekend. I could fight, be competitive and do something in terms of results. It’s definitely another starting point to build up from here so, hopefully, in Texas we can continue the progression.”
Miguel Oliveira (88) leads Marco Bezzecchi (72). Photo courtesy Trackhouse Racing.
RAUL FERNANDEZ
“I’m lucky that I’m ok. It was honestly a very stupid crash, a rookie mistake. During the track walk I told my crew chief that you need to be calm in this corner when you get a bit offline and I actually didn’t manage to do that. Until then, I felt good with the bike, I had a good pace, I did a 39.2 in one lap. But maybe I was a bit too ambitious at the beginning of the race. I saw we had the pace, I was closing and I was there but I made the mistake. I would like to say sorry to the team. It’s not nice to start the season like this, but this is just the beginning. For sure, we have more opportunities and in two weeks we are at COTA, a track I really like. So, we should forget this Sunday now and focus on the US.”
Raul Fernandez (25) leads Fabio Di Giannantonio (49) and Aleix Espargaro (41). Photo courtesy Trackhouse Racing.
WILCO ZEELENBERG – TEAM MANAGER
“After a hectic weekend in Portugal, which was the home race of Miguel, we had some issues, no grip and finally a ninth place, which is not amazing but brings seven points. Job done, but of course, we want more. Clearly, in the race, the bike was the best we had it the whole weekend. Miguel was in P9 before he had an incident with Bezzecchi, he went really wide, lost 2.5 seconds and then he missed the connection to the three boys in front. Then, of course, being 12th and having three riders crashing out gave us ninth place, which is a good result. Raul had a bad start, was attacking very well in the beginning and he was fighting with Augusto Fernandez and taking a tight line, lost the front while fighting to go forward. Lesson learned. I think we have a lot to come for the upcoming rounds, because the speed is there.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – TEAM PRINCIPAL
“At the end of the day, we scored some points, which is positive. Of course, we expected and wanted more than that. I can take the positives of this weekend. In the race, Miguel found the best feeling of the weekend but, unfortunately, starting from that position made it difficult to get more. Also, Raul was very confident all weekend with his bike. Let’s take this home and to the next race. The weekend in Portugal was very important for Miguel, unfortunately, we couldn’t completely reach what we wanted but we will try again. It’s a long championship and if we continue to work like this we can find a way to make both comfortable on the bike and that’s our target. But we know, we have to work”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
#PortugueseGP: Second place for Bastianini and the Ducati Lenovo Team at Portimão, a crash for Bagnaia following a coming together in the final stages
Jorge Martín the race winner aboard Pramac Racing Team’s Desmosedici GP
The Ducati Lenovo Team scored a second-place finish in the Portuguese GP race courtesy of Enea Bastianini, who put together an excellent performance that saw him in close proximity to the race lead up to the chequered flag. Francesco Bagnaia was out of contention with three laps to go while battling for fifth place due a coming together at turn five.
Bastianini showed a consistently quick race pace throughout the 25-lap race. After setting the fastest lap of the encounter in 1:38.685secs – new race lap record at Portimão – Enea moved up to second place at the start of the final lap, securing his maiden podium of the season.
After being part of the battle for the podium in the early stages, Bagnaia spent most of the encounter in a strenuous effort to defend fourth place. With three laps left, a coming together with Marc Márquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and the subsequent crash at turn five resulted in an early end to Pecco’s race, who was running in fifth position.
The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action on April 12-14 at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas for the third Grand Prix of the 2024 season.
Enea Bastianini (#23 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 2nd
“It was a good battle. I never stopped believing until the end, but Jorge Martín pushed very hard and did a perfect race, so I had to settle for second. This is a special result for me, as Portimão isn’t among my favourite tracks. Surely, it’s a really great circuit, but prior to this weekend I had never been able to be really strong here. The three of us at the front did some push and pull throughout the race, but in the end the win was an impossible task today. Having Maverick (Viñales) ahead of me made my life a bit more complicated as he was really strong in the fourth sector, and I was never able to get close enough to him in the rest of lap. Things may have been easier had I been in front of him, but I was a bit nervous in the opening lap and made a few too many mistakes. I would like to thank the team and my family for their support because it wasn’t easy to return to top positions after such a complicated 2023 season.”
Enea Bastianini (23). Photo courtesy Ducati.
Francesco Bagnaia (#1 Ducati Lenovo Team) – DNF
“I got a good start but unfortunately chose the wrong line at turn three: I closed the line a bit, while the outside would have been a better choice. I wanted to overtake Enea in the early laps as I saw him having a bit of a difficult time, but at some point, I started experiencing a lack of grip at the rear-end which prevented me from pushing as hard as I wanted. We weren’t at our best and it’s clear we couldn’t find the perfect solution, even though the feeling was very good both yesterday and this morning. It’s a pity; we’ll now focus on the next race as after the warmup I felt I had the potential to battle at the front – but we weren’t able to capitalise. I’m particularly sorry because we have worked well, but we were missing something in today’s race.”
Francesco Bagnaia (1) leads Pedro Acosta (31) and Marc Marquez (93). Photo courtesy Ducati.
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
A bitter Sunday for Viñales and Aprilia
A PROBLEM WITH THE GEARBOX TAKES VIÑALES OUT OF PLAY WHEN HE WAS LYING SECOND, ESPARGARÓ COMES BACK TO FINISH EIGHTH
Consistent with the performance demonstrated in the Sprint Race, Maverick Viñales had a brilliant start, moving immediately into second place. The Spaniard held the position throughout the race until, on the final lap, a problem with the gearbox cost him any chance of finishing a perfect weekend.
Straight away on the opening lap, Aleix Espargaró was the recipient of contact from another rider which relegated him to nineteenth place. From the rear guard, he launched an incredible come back, making up positions and managing to finish eighth.
ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
“I’m really disappointed for Maverick because he had an incredible weekend and he deserved the podium, but unfortunately, that’s how racing is. I was unable to find the right feeling all weekend. I was lacking grip at the rear. In any case, I still set a good pace coming back from the rear and I’m taking some important points home.”
Aleix Espargaro (41). Photo courtesy Aprilia.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
“From the sixth lap I could tell that something wasn’t working right with the gearbox. I was losing a lot of time on the straight. I still felt like I could have won, though. It’s a shame about the technical problem. In any case, I’m happy because I know that I gave one hundred percent. This weekend we took a huge step forward. We got our speed back and we demonstrated that the RS-GP24 can win. Now we’ll head to Austin, a track that I like and where I’ll arrive more motivated than ever.”
More, from a press release issued by KTM Factory Racing:
REWARDS IN PORTUGAL AS BINDER AND MILLER GO 4-5 FOR MOTOGP™ POINTS AT ROUND TWO
MotoGP 2024 – Round 02 of 21, Algarve International Circuit, Portugal – Race
Brad Binder rode to 4th place and Jack Miller was 5th to cap another competitive and positive weekend of MotoGP for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, and for what was the second Grand Prix of the campaign and only the fifth to be held at the Algarve International Circuit. In Moto3™ Jose Antonio Rueda earned his first silverware of the season with a strong charge to 2nd.
Redemption for Brad Binder with 4th place from 25 laps on Sunday after the slip and DNF in the Saturday Sprint in Portugal. The South African retains 2nd in the world championship standings
Jack Miller extends his fast form throughout the weekend in Portimao to end the Grand Prix with a well-earned 5th and his first points haul: rising to 9th in the MotoGP rankings
Personal best Moto3™ Grand Prix finish for runner-up Jose Antonio Rueda as Celestino Vietti fights back to 7th in Moto2™
Qatar, Portugal and now a third continent next with the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas at COTA in Texas on April 12-14
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing reset their objectives for the Grand Prix of Portugal and for what was a strategic and cagey 25-laps in southern Europe. The Algarve International Circuit may have missed the sunshine on race day but there was plenty of color to be had in the contest for maximum points and where Brad Binder (starting 10th) and Jack Miller (launching from 5th) had their say.
Both KTM RC16s made their customary bright getaway from the grid and Brad and Jack were joined by starlet rookie Pedro Acosta as Austrian machinery filled three slots in the mid-top ten. Binder and Miller had to measure their pace with their tire wear and levels of effective grip as the race distance counted down. Incident and accident marked the running order in the space of the final three laps and the two orange bikes took full benefit to cross the line in the top five. The points ensure that Brad stays P2 in table after two rounds and Jack posted his first score to sit 9th.
The Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas will bring MotoGP to a U.S. audience with the annual visit to the long and varied Circuit of the Americas in Austin. The world championship will reconvene in Texas in mid-April.
Brad Binder, 4th: “It was cool to take 4th today even though we had some help with it. It was a really tough weekend and I struggled to get comfortable and that meant it was hard in the race because I wanted to push and go with the boys. I had to ride smart and make sure I didn’t make the same mistake as yesterday. To have 4th after a hectic and hard weekend…we’ll take it.”
Brad Binder (33). Photo by Rob Gray – Polarity Photo, courtesy KTM Factory Racing.
Jack Miller, 5th: “I wanted a little bit more today. I wanted to go with the boys at the front early on but just didn’t quite have the pace mid-corner to get my claws-in and hang on for the [tire] drop. We got a bit lucky with some of the crashes at the end there…but we’ll take it. We have to have some luck sometimes! We still have a bit of work to do but this was a massive improvement over Qatar. The bike has plenty of potential, so we’ll do our homework, look at the data and come back for another go in Austin.”
Jack Miller (43). Photo by Rob Gray – Polarity Photo, courtesy KTM Factory Racing.
Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “Quite good feelings about today because it was not an easy weekend and to have these positions on a Sunday afternoon means we were not too bad. The gap could be better, the feeling for the riders also, but we took points for the championship and the Teams standings. Congratulations to Pedro. This is a good sign that the equipment is working well and for different riding styles and is a friendly bike. As a manufacturer we have to be proud of the work so far.”
More, from a press release issued by Idemitsu LCR Honda:
Solid race for Nakagami in Portimao
Takaaki Nakagami (30). Photo courtesy LCR Honda.
IDEMITSU Honda LCR rider Takaaki Nakagami crossed the line 14th on Sunday in Portimao.
After a tough weekend at the Autodromo do Algarve, Nakagami has carried out a consistent race: despite rivals not making it easy and not having the best feeling on the bike, the Japanese managed to get to his goals, which was grabbing some points for the championship.
Overall, the Portuguese Grand Prix has been tougher than expected, and there are some areas to analyze and improve to make a step in the next race (Circuit of the Americas, 14th of April).
Takaaki Nakagami 14th
“The situation compared to yesterday hasn’t changed a lot, but this morning we found something as we decided to do some modifications to improve the grip. I’ve got a better feeling, and we’ve kept it for the race. I could have taken a better position, but I lost a lot of time following Marini. Then I just tried my best and scored some points, which is always important”.
More, from a press release issued by Castrol LCR Honda:
Johann Zarco takes points in Portimao
Johann Zarco (5) leads Joan Mir (36). Photo courtesy LCR Honda.
CASTROL Honda LCR rider Johann Zarco finished 15th on Sunday race in Portimao
Twenty-five laps at the rollercoaster in Portimao served the Frenchman rider to finally get to the points. Zarco had some troubles at the start and lost some positions. However, he demonstrated cleverness, and without losing concentration, he managed to handle the race and got to the 15th position.
Overall, the Portuguese Grand Prix has been more challenging than expected. The next weeks will be useful to determine which areas need to be analyzed and improved ahead of the next race (Circuit of the Americas, 14th April).
Johann Zarco 15th
“It’s been a tough race; I didn’t expect to struggle this way. Lap after lap we’ve learned many things and, in the end, we’ve grabbed a point. We now have a direction to follow, which will help us in Austin”.
More, from a press release issued by OnlyFans American Racing Team.
Roberts Clinches Second Place as Ramirez Breaks into Top 10 at Moto2 Portuguese Grand Prix
Joe Roberts celebrates his second-place finish in Parc Ferme in Portugal. Photo courtesy OnlyFans American Racing Team.
Portimao, Portugal – March 25, 2024 – The OnlyFans American Racing Team
demonstrated their competitiveness at the Moto2 Portuguese Grand Prix, with
remarkable performances from both their riders. Joe Roberts delivered an
impressive performance, finishing second on the podium and securing second
place in the overall championship standings before heading to the team’s home
round at COTA, Texas.
Joe Roberts: “Man, what a race! I’m so happy for my team, it’s the first podium
back with these guys. Since Jerez, they’ve done such an amazing job getting this
bike working for me and I’m so excited for the next round at home.”
In addition to Roberts’ standout performance, Marcos Ramirez demonstrated his
skill once more, securing a strong ninth-place finish. Ramirez’ consistent pace
allowed him to effectively navigate the challenging race, contributing crucial
points to the team’s tally and moving the team up to second in the championship
standings.
The OnlyFans American Racing Team extends its appreciation to all partners,
sponsors, and supporters for their commitment. With determination and focus,
the team looks forward to building on this success and fighting for this year’s
championship.
Editorial Note: This effort is being led by Shinichi Sahara, the former Suzuki MotoGP Project Leader.
Suzuki Motor Corporation will participate in the 45th Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race 2024 which will be held at the Suzuka Circuit as one of the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC), from 19 to 21 July by using Sustainable Fuel and multiple sustainable items.
Suzuki will use the 40% bio-sourced Sustainable Fuel, certified by the FIM (International Motorcycling Federation). Since this is not the official fuel of the EWC, Suzuki will participate in the Experimental Class, a category set for experimental purposes. Besides Sustainable Fuel, development of new sustainable technologies will also take place including muffler, tires, oil, fairings, and brakes which will be provided by our sponsor partners, who have agreed with our challenge, involved in the development and supported this project.
The team is named “Team SUZUKI CN CHALLENGE” and is mainly composed of Suzuki employees. Yoshimura Japan is working together in a collaborative partnership. Additionally, along with all our partners, we will strive to overcome issues to achieve our goal.
The purpose of the participation is to accelerate development of environmental performance technologies through participating physically in the demanding conditions of the endurance racing. By verifying valuable information gathered through this participation, we will discover higher goals and promote feeding back of technologies to our future production models.
Team Suzuki CN Challenge is being led by former Suzuki MotoGP Project Leader Shinichi Sahara (left). Sahara is seen here at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show with Tsuyoshi Tanaka, Executive General Manager Motorcycle Operations (right). Photo courtesy Shinichi Sahara.
2024 APRILIA RS 660 TROFEO AVAILABLE NOW FOR PURCHASE
PREPARED BY APRILIA RACING WITH ALL THE EXPERIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF THE FACTORY THAT HOLDS 54 WORLD TITLES, THE TRACK-ONLY EDITION RETURNS WITH A 2024 PRODUCTION, 28 TOTAL COMING TO THE USA AND CANADA
FROM THE PROVEN CAPABILITY OF THE STANDARD RS 660, RACE-FOCUSED WEIGHT PREPARATION AND POWER ARE THE FOCUS FOR PERFORMANCE ON TRACK
After its début on the track in the single-brand championship, the Aprilia RS 660 Trofeo was launched to the masses for any enthusiast who wants to have fun on the track with the category reference twin-cylinder sport bike from Noale. The limited production, which happens between race seasons, is made directly by the Aprilia Racing department as a part of the Factory Works program, and returns to the public in 2024, with a dedicated livery update, in a production of just 28 units for North America.
Already agile and lightweight in the street-legal version, the Trofeo transformation uses high-level components and exploits the perfect balanced between chassis architecture, engine, and electronics to the fullest. Like its street-legal sibling, it raises the bar in the category, representing the perfect sport twin-cylinder proposal, with an outstanding weight/power ratio and a leading electronics package for the segment.
Starting from the already high-performance standard RS 660, the upgrades begin with the electrical system, simplified by eliminating the ignition switch assembly and ABS. The braking system is simplified with independent lines. The ABS control unit, however, remains on the bike and connected to exploit the strategies of the integrated electronic system. The ECU is reprogrammed in Race version, with mapping (all “full power”) developed by Aprilia Racing and dedicated exclusively to track use, as well as being calibrated for the SC Project racing exhaust. The color TFT dashboard is reprogrammed and integrated by a dedicated button block on the left-hand side.
The suspension can count on a front fork with “Misano by Andreani” internal cartridge, adjustable in hydraulic compression and rebound damping and preload. The Öhlins AP948 rear shock absorber features hydraulic preload, compression, and rebound damping adjustment.
The chassis architecture is upgraded, with a lowered riding position thanks to the racing upper steering yoke and adjustable semi-handlebars. The footpegs are adjustable and dismountable so each rider can achieve optimum ergonomics. The fairing is in fiberglass.
The engine upgrades have brought power up to 105 HP, a record value for an inline twin-cylinder, whereas dry weight has dropped to 153 kg. The secondary air system and the thermostat are eliminated, whereas aluminum guards are installed for the clutch cover and alternator, as well as a specific Sprint Filter air filter. As always, working alongside Aprilia Racing in every one of its projects are top-level partners such as Castrol, Zanasi Group, Cruciata, Jetprime, Spider and Bike Lift.
Stefano Manzi won restarted and red-flag-shortened FIM Supersport World Championship Race Two Sunday at Catalunya, in Spain. Riding his Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing YZF-R6, the Italian rider won what ended up being a six-lap race by 0.086 second.
Marcel Schroetter was the runner-up on his MV Agusta Reparto Corsa F3 800 RR, and Lucas Mahias placed third, just 0.201 second behind Manzi, on his GMT94 Yamaha.
Former MotoAmerica Supersport regular Valentin Debise finished fifth, just 0.714 second behind the race winner, on his Evan Bros. Racing Yamaha.
Provisional Parts Unlimited AFT Singles Main Event (6 Minutes + 2 Laps) Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Kody Kopp (KTM), 22 laps
2. Tom Drane (Yam), -1.522 seconds
3. Chase Saathoff (Hon), -2.726
4. Aidan RoosEvans (Yam), -3.662
5. Dalton Gauthier (KTM), -4.539
6. James Ott (Hus), -7.306
7. Hunter Bauer (Yam), -8.271
8. Trent Lowe (Hon), -8.898
9. Travis Petton (KTM), -8.971
10. Bradon Pfanders (KTM), -10.193
11. Tarren Santero (Hon), -10.716
12. Tyler Raggio (Hon), -11.365
13. Shayna Texter-Bauman (KTM), -11.576
14. Evan Renshaw (Hon), -11.833
15. Landen Smith (KTM), -12.332
16. Logan Eisenhard (KTM), -13.748
17. Justin Jones (Hus), -13.791
18. Jared Lowe (Hon), -14.307
19. Chad Cose (KTM), -18.021
Provisional Mission SuperTwins Main Event (10 Minutes + 2 Laps) Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Jared Mees (Ind), 36 laps
2. Dallas Daniels (Yam), -1.591 seconds
3. Brandon Robinson (Ind), -3.211
4. Briar Bauman (KTM), -3.371
5. Jarod VanDerKooi (Ind), -7.706
6. Johnny Lewis (Roy), -9.482
7. Brandon Price (Yam), -10.689
8. Davis Fisher (Ind), -11.984
9. Trevor Brunner (KTM), -17.031
10. Max Whale (Har), -17.191
11. Dan Bromley (Hon), -17.324
12. Ben Lowe (KTM), -17.720
13. Bronson Bauman (KTM), -17.930
14. Declan Bender (Ind), -18.432
15. Kolby Carlile (Yam), -1 lap
16. Cameron Smith (KTM), -1 lap, 9.245 seconds
17. Kevin Stollings (Kaw), -2 laps, -7.366
18. Michael Hill (Yam), -15 laps, DNF
More, from a press release issued by AFT:
Mees Responds with Statement Ride at Yamaha Senoia Short Track
Jared Mees (1) and Dallas Daniels (32) in action at Senoia Raceway. Photo by Tim Lester, courtesy AFT.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 24, 2024) – Reigning Mission SuperTwins champion Jared Mees (No. 1 Rogers Racing/SDI Racing/Indian Motorcycle FTR750) turned to his successful ‘23 script, once again rebounding from a quiet season opener with a statement performance in the Yamaha Senoia Short Track at Senoia Raceway in Senoia, Georgia, Round 3 of the 2024 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing.
That said, Sunday’s ride didn’t exactly get underway as he’d originally envisioned. The factory Indian star was involved in a minor pre-race dispute and was forced to line up on the far outside of Row 1 after believing he could select the slot at the bottom. Even if it went against his wishes, the swap either gifted him the ideal position or the motivation required to make it work, as Mees promptly blasted into the lead once the race got underway.
Even with the benefit of that prime launch, Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) was quickly looking for a way by and slid underneath to steal away first less than a minute into the Main Event. But Mees had an answer, reclaiming the position a short two laps later and then went about steadily working his way to what proved to be a 1.591-second margin of victory.
Afterward Mees said, “I fast qualified earlier in the day, but I didn’t really feel good. I was making some decent laps but also making a lot of mistakes. In the (Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge), Dallas ate my lunch – I was really worried about him; he and his team were rolling really good. He was really consistent and could get the bike turned, and that’s where I was struggling all day. We made some changes and went a direction we’ve never gone before with some things. And the motorcycle was phenomenal. It turned great and rolled good. Everything I needed it to do all day, it finally came to me.”
The fight for third was a hard-fought three-way affair for much of the race, led for a long spell by Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650) with Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) and Briar Bauman (No. 3 Rick Ware Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790 Duke) jammed up close behind.
Lewis did well to keep Robinson and Bauman corralled behind him for the majority of the contest, but their superior pace ultimately won out – at least once Bauman showed they could tap into the high line to find a path through.
Free of the Royal Enfield runner, Robinson then managed to keep two-time champion Bauman at bay by just over a tenth-of-a-second at the flag. Lewis, meanwhile, found himself also overtaken by a charging Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Ohio Indian FTR750), who secured the final spot in the top five after circulating as low as ninth in the early going.
The remainder of the top ten consisted of a pair of premier-class veterans – Brandon Price (No. 92 Memphis Shades/Corbin/OTBR Yamaha MT-07) and Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750) – and class rookies – Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Mission Foods/Zanotti Racing KTM 790 Duke) and Max Whale (No. 18 Latus Motors Racing/Liqui Moly Harley-Davidson XG750R).
Mees’ triumph elevated him from sixth to third in the points (54), but he continues to trail Daniels (64) and Robinson (61), the duo having upped their respective ‘24 podium streaks to a perfect three for three.
Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER
Reigning two-time Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER king Kody Kopp (No. 1 Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus KTM 450 SX-F) continued to build his case as the most accomplished rider in class history, earning a record-tying sixth career Short Track win on Sunday afternoon.
While in the end, the victory proved a lonely one, that order first had to be forged in chaos.
Former class champion Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F) grabbed the holeshot with title fighters Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), Chase Saathoff (No. 88 JPG Motorsports Honda CRF450R), and Kopp running alongside while sorting out second in shadow.
In one fell swoop, that fight for second became one for the lead as Drane and Saathoff both went under Gauthier at the same moment Kopp ringed around the outside, all despite no obvious mistake on Gauthier’s part.
Kopp continued to work the high line, using it to both overhaul Drane and make his escape in relatively short order.
At that point, the top three broke apart, while Gauthier lost one final position to Aiden RoosEvans (No. 26 FRA Trust/ATV’s and More Yamaha YZ450F), who ran just removed from the lead pack for the entirety of the race.
“I’m happy to be up here and be able to spin laps like that,” Kopp said. “Hats off to Tom, Chase, and Dalton – those first few laps were chaos. I got a terrible start and tried to roll ‘em around the outside. Huge shout out to my Rick Ware Racing team and everybody that’s behind me. We’re ready to get on a roll now.”
2023 Senoia Short Track podium finisher James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450) took sixth, followed by Hunter Bauer (No. 24 Vinson Construction/American Harley-Davidson, Yamaha YZ450F), Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), and Travis Petton IV (No. 82 ECG Racing/A.M Ortega KTM 450 SX-F).
The final spot in the top ten was earned by Bradon Pfanders (No. 288 Pfanders Racing/Scott Powersports KTM 450 SX-F), who made an extremely impressive Progressive AFT debut immediately after becoming eligible by turning 16.
Kopp already boasts an early 17-point advantage over Gauthier (71-54) with Drane (51) and Saathoff (50) placed third and fourth and desperate to prevent the double defending champ from executing another championship runaway.
Next Up:
The Progressive American Flat Track tour will compete on a Half-Mile for the first time this season with the Mission Texas Half-Mile presented by Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda and Roof Systems of Dallas at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, April 27. Please visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/texas-half-mile-86387 to secure your tickets today.
For those who can’t catch the action from the circuit, FloRacing is the live streaming home of Progressive AFT. Sign up now and catch every second of on-track action starting with Practice & Qualifying and ending with the Victory Podium at the end of the night at http://flosports.link/aft.
FOX Sports coverage of the Yamaha Senoia Short Track, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, March 31, at 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PT).
More, from a press release issued by Indian Motorcycle:
INDIAN MOTORCYCLE RACING AND REIGHNING CHAMPION JARED MEESE SECURE FIRST VICTORY OF 2024 SEASON AT SENOIA SHORT TRACK
Mees Edges Out the Competition Aboard Indian FTR750, Moving into Third in Overall Standings
Fellow Indian FTR750 Rider Brandon Robinson Rounds out the Podium in Third
Minneapolis, MN. – Indian Motorcycle Racing had a stellar showing at round three of the 2024 American Flat Track series in Senoia, Georgia, for the Senoia Short Track. It was nine-time champion Jared Mees scoring his first victory of the year aboard his Indian FTR750, moving him into third in the championship. Fellow Indian Motorcycle-supported racer Brandon Robinson rounded out the top three aboard his Indian FTR750 privateer ride.
After a slow start to the season, Mees, the reigning champion, made a strong statement in Senoia that he’s still at the top of his game and the rider to beat. Despite an unwanted starting position, he used it as motivation to rocket his FTR750 off the line when the green flag waved to take over the lead quickly. Mees was overtaken a short time later but maintained his speed and stayed within striking distance to regain the lead a few laps later. Once out front, Mees didn’t look back throughout the remainder of the 36-lap race, taking the checkered flag and winning by 1.6 seconds.
“This was a solid showing for Jared and the Indian Motorcycle team, securing the win and keeping him within striking distance in the chase for his 10th-career championship,” said Gary Gray, Vice President of Racing & Service for Indian Motorcycle. “Although the weekend didn’t go completely how he’d like, it was important for him to get this win under his belt. There is still a lot of racing left this season, and this victory provide him and his team momentum going next month’s race in Texas.”
“It was a challenging start to the season so to come away with the win tonight is incredible,” said Mees. “I struggled throughout the day and during qualifying so was a little worried but after making some changes to the bike it performed phenomenally in the Main event. Everything I had been wanting it to do all day, finally came to me and it paid off. I can’t thank the Indian team enough for the support.
After three rounds, Mees sits third in the championship chase with 54 points, a mere 10 points off the lead. Currently tied with Scottie Parker with the most career championships, Mees is looking to secure his spot in the history books as the all-time greatest flat track racer with a 2024 championship, earning him 10-career titles. Of his nine-career championships, Mees has five while piloting the Indian FTR750, coming in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
The 2024 American Flat Track season continues on April 27 for the Texas Half-Mile in Fort Worth, TX.
For more information on Indian Motorcycle Racing, visit IndianMotorcycle.com and follow along on Facebook, X and Instagram.
ABOUT INDIAN MOTORCYCLE
Indian Motorcycle is America’s First Motorcycle Company. Founded in 1901, Indian Motorcycle has won the hearts of motorcyclists around the world and earned distinction as one of America’s most legendary and iconic brands through unrivaled racing dominance, engineering prowess and countless innovations and industry firsts. Today that heritage and passion is reignited under new brand stewardship. To learn more, please visit www.indianmotorcycle.com.
Cooper Webb Wins Seattle Supercross in Closest Finish of the Year
Levi Kitchen Tops Field in 250SX Class
Seattle, Wash., (March 23, 2024) Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb took a thrilling win at Lumen Field in Seattle to nab his third win of the season at Round 11 of the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross season. The win marked the slimmest margin of victory so far this season as 58,342 fans cheered Webb and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Chase Sexton to the finish line.
Chase Sexton led much of the race and put on an incredible final surge; he missed the win by less than one second to earn the runner-up spot. Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence pushed a strong pace early but a crash with Webb put him back; he finished in third place. In the Western Regional 250SX Class’ return to racing, Washington-native Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen ran away with a huge win in what is his hometown Supercross.
Cooper Webb. Photo courtesy Feld Motor Sports.
“This is probably – we keep saying it every weekend – but by far the gnarliest track I’ve ridden. And it was really tough; we were all trying to push the pace, but you had to watch out for all the changing lines, the ruts, the lappers… I got arm pump pretty bad there at the end and it was just [a matter of] surviving, but I was able to hold on. Chase rode great, obviously made a few mistakes, then I’d make mistakes, and we’d go back and forth so, man, I’m stoked. I just want to give it up to the good Lord, want to give it up to the team; man, we’ve been dealt some adversity and we’re fighting through it, and it just feels amazing to win. It’s crazy, you know, you see Jett do it over and over and you just, you want to get that feeling again… I’m pumped.” – Cooper Webb.
“To be honest I didn’t even look at the pit board, so I had no idea [Webb was jumping the wall after the sand section]. I had [a] line late in the race where I was doubling into the pocket, but I never even thought of going outside [in the sand], so that’s on me not looking at the pit board. But overall, minus a few mistakes, I rode a really good race, even through[out] the whole race. I came back towards the end. I felt like I had really good speed. We made a change going into the heat race with my bike and it showed. I was really comfortable the whole night on such a gnarly track. And I gotta give it up to the team; they put a lot of work in to get me happy and we’re climbing that ladder… [when asked about stalling the engine during the night’s racing] …I got actually clipped that hay bail on this rhythm over here and bent my rear brake out, and I think that’s what happened when I stalled it over there. I caught my rear brake. So, just a few small hiccups, but overall it was a lot better race from me. This is the most I’ve fought all year, as far as [battling] close to the front, so we’re getting better.” – Chase Sexton, when asked if he saw that his mechanic was signaling him to double out of the sand and over the wall.
“I had a good charge at the start [of the race], had a really good flow, and I think I just came in the sand here and was a little bit committed. I knew I was going to hit Cooper, I could have been mean and hit him harder and just committed to it, but I didn’t want to hit him, and then in that sand you don’t want to – it’s very hard to pull up. So yeah, I ended up kind of being nice and checking up, but I [ended up] clipping the back [of Cooper’s bike], got off balance [and crashed]. And then I stalled it here once, and also had a lapper stop on the wall jump in front of me [and hold me up]. So, I’m like, ‘You know, that’s enough signs that tonight’s not the night, so we’ll just try and bring it home in third.’”– Jett Lawrence
The Western Regional 250SX Class passed its season midpoint with Seattle marking Round 6 of 10 rounds. Levi Kitchen made the technical track look almost easy with a win margin of over twenty seconds. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire fought back from a mediocre start to claim second place. Team Honda HRC’s Jo Shimoda was blazing fast, recovering from a crash to lock down the third-place spot.
Levi Kitchen (47). Photo courtesy Feld Motor Sports.
“I’ve been waiting for a night like this for a long time… I just finally rode like myself and, you know, to do that in front of the hometown is awesome. Man, I just felt good on my dirt bike, like finally completely myself… it wasn’t a pretty race, actually, if you were me; I got really frustrated a few times and just tried to stay with it and I just kept telling myself, ‘stay with it,’ and I find myself again. It was crazy, but yeah I can’t give it up [enough] to all my friends and family for coming out, and shout out to my sister and my newborn nephew and niece, and just everybody, man, I’m going to really enjoy this one. Yeah, I’m stoked, extending the points a little bit.” – Levi Kitchen
“I said in the beginning of the day [to] just kind of take what the night gives me. I had nothing for Levi all day, I mean, you’ve seen in the heat race – like, that was embarrassing… I didn’t have the speed, that’s just what it was. I had to settle down and then, I don’t know what happened off the start there; I felt like I had a really good jump, and [then] I must have spun or something. And those first couple laps are hectic. I made some good passes but, man, the track is brutal. I rode Indy a few times [but] I don’t think I rode a track like this. So coming from the East Coast, it’s definitely technical tonight… We said we want to be solid tonight, and that’s all we had, so we’ll take a second on the night and look forward to St. Louis.” – RJ Hampshire
“Oh my God, it was the gnarliest track I ever rode. Honestly, like, from the heat race, I just kept dragging my foot pegs, and that threw me off. I actually crashed on the rhythm [section in the Main Event] – same thing, just [coming] out of the rut [it] caught my peg and it threw me off to the side…. I just needed to really, really focus, I guess. But I’m stoked to be on the podium, and I just want to shout out my mechanic [and team]. Thank you so much, and it was tough one.” – Jo Shimoda
The series moves east for Round 12, which kicks off next Saturday inside The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The round also pays points toward the SuperMotocross World Championship, seeding top racers from both Supercross and Pro Motocross into two Playoff races and a World Championship Final. zMAX Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, and The Strip at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway will host the 2024 post-season rounds.
Every Monster Energy AMA Supercross and SuperMotocross League event is available live and on-demand at PeacockTV. Select rounds can also be found on NBC, USA Network, CNBC, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app. CNBC airs next-day encore presentations of all 31 rounds of 2024 racing. For international coverage the SuperMotocross Video Pass (supermotocross.tv) provides live and on-demand coverage, in both English and Spanish.
The Seattle round continued to celebrate Supercross’ long-standing partnership with St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Fans are encouraged to support this great cause and wear their Love Moto Stop Cancer t-shirt, which is available with a donation. For more information go to stjude.org/supercross to text “SUPER” to 785-833.
Tickets are available for the remaining Monster Energy Supercross events. For tickets, video highlights, points standings, feature stories, and more information on streaming and broadcast airtimes please go to SupercrossLIVE.com.
Roadracing World MotoGP Editor and Isle of Man TT winner Mat Oxley (right) and two-time World Championship-winning Crew Chief Peter Bom (left). Photo courtesy Mat Oxley.
Roadracing World MotoGP Editor and Isle of Man TT winner Mat Oxley and two-time World Championship-winning Crew Chief Peter Bom have started “The Oxley Bom MotoGP Podcast,” which will be focused on the FIM MotoGP World Championship.
The original podcast can be found on BuzzSprout.com or listened to via other places you get podcasts.
From the Oxley Bom Podcast:
Oh boy, it’s a big one this week with a very special guest! He’s won the World Championship Supersport, rode in front of the pack in MotoGP, is fast as lightning when test riding for Yamaha and has drunk beer with our hosts since way back in the day. That’s right, we’re having a chat with the one and only Cal Crutchlow!
But that’s not all, because we’ve got a surprise announcement for you this week. Here’s a little hint: it rhymes with ‘fab mite’ and can be found at oxleybom.com. Or help us out at our brand new Patreon…
With big thanks as always to Brad Baloo from The Next Men and Gentleman’s Dub Club, who wrote our theme song. Check out The Nextmen for more great music!
Trimby will become the first non-rider to be inducted in the Hall of Fame, honouring his off-track contributions to the sport
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Mike Trimby will be named a MotoGP™ Legend in 2024, honouring a life dedicated to motorcycle Grand Prix racing. Trimby was the founder and CEO of IRTA, thereby becoming one of the most important figures in the history of motorcycle Grand Prix racing and playing a pivotal role in shaping the sport MotoGP™ has become.
To celebrate his contribution to the sport, he will become the first person inducted into the Hall of Fame wholly due to their work off-track.
That said, Trimby did begin his career as a rider and mechanic in the 1960s. However, he soon started to emerge as a key figure off-track and had established himself as such by the late 1970s. In 1982, the riders officially requested Trimby to act as their representative, something further formalised a few years later with the founding of the International Road Racing Teams Association (IRTA) in 1986, with Trimby at the helm.
Advocating for riders and teams, IRTA has remained a pivotal part of the sport. The huge progress in safety made since the organisation was founded is thanks in large part to the work undertaken by Trimby, his wife Irene, and IRTA.
1992 also marked the beginning of the great collaboration between the FIM, IRTA and Dorna Sports, which likewise owes much to the foundations laid by IRTA over the decade before, giving riders and teams a voice at the table.
Trimby will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, officially becoming a MotoGP™ Legend.
Irene Trimby: “Mike would have been very honoured about receiving this prestigious award, and everyone who knew him knows he never would have expected it either. It’s wonderful for his work and legacy to be acknowledged in this way, although I’m sure he might also have been a little embarrassed to see us putting on a ceremony and giving him a trophy! It’s also something very special for me, for everyone who worked closely with him, and everyone who continues to miss him very much. Thank you very much.”
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports: “Mike’s contribution to motorcycle Grand Prix racing is truly monumental, and we’re proud to name him a MotoGP Legend. Since the concept of MotoGP Legends was born, it has always been about more than numbers. There are no criteria based on simple race wins or number of championships, it’s about contribution to the sport – be it off-track, on-track or a combination of the two. So it’s fitting that Mike becomes the first figure honoured purely for his off-track impact, as his work in this sport was truly second to none. It will be an honour for us, and for me, to induct Mike into the Hall of Fame. He is greatly missed and we race on in his memory.”
Mike Trimby (49) in action on the Isle of Man. Photo from the Trimby Collection, used with permission.
Mike Trimby will join the list of his fellow MotoGP™ Legends in the Hall of Fame: Giacomo Agostini, Hugh Anderson, Hans-Georg Anscheidt, Kork Ballington, Max Biaggi, Alex Crivillé, Mick Doohan, Stefan Dörflinger, Andrea Dovizioso, Geoff Duke, Wayne Gardner, Mike Hailwood, Nicky Hayden, Jorge Lorenzo, Daijiro Kato, Eddie Lawson, Marco Lucchinelli, Randy Mamola, Anton Mang, Jorge ‘Aspar’ Martinez, Angel Nieto, Dani Pedrosa, Wayne Rainey, Phil Read, Jim Redman, Kenny Roberts, Kenny Roberts Jr, Valentino Rossi, Jarno Saarinen, Kevin Schwantz, Barry Sheene, Marco Simoncelli, Freddie Spencer, Casey Stoner, John Surtees, Luigi Taveri, Carlo Ubbiali and Franco Uncini.
A 2025-model Triumph Trident Triple Tribute Special Edition. Photo courtesy Triumph.
TRIUMPH UNVEILS TRIDENT 660 SPECIAL EDITION
MODERN GRAPHIC SCHEME INSPIRED BY
WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS TRIDENT
Triumph Motorcycles reveals new MY25 Trident Triple Tribute Special Edition
Contemporary white, blue, and red graphic scheme, inspired by “Slippery Sam’, the five-time TT winning Trident.
Exclusive extras; Triumph Shift Assist, belly pan, and color-matched fly screen fitted as standard
Triumph Motorcycles has launched a striking new special edition Trident 660, featuring a dynamic, contemporary graphic scheme designed to appeal to new Triumph fans, and extra technology including Triumph Shift-Assist.
New for 2025, the Trident Triple Tribute celebrates Triumph’s legendary triple engines and will be available for one year only. This hugely popular naked roadster is now available with a distinctive graphic scheme, which is a contemporary take on Triumph’s iconic white, blue, and red racing scheme and features the distinctive ‘67 number graphic, which once adorned ‘Slippery Sam’, the most famous Trident in history.
The Trident’s characterful and unique triple engine performance and celebrated handling will be even more enjoyable with the addition of Triumph Shift Assist, adding to an already impressive specification and list of equipment for its class. Included as standard, the color matched fly screen and belly pan add even more unique character to the Trident’s distinctive style, showcasing the exceptional standard of fit and finish that is synonymous with Triumph.
Paul Stroud – Chief Commercial Officer, Triumph Motorcycles
“Since its launch in 2020, this middle-weight roadster has reinvigorated this highly competitive category, selling more than 35,600 units worldwide.
It’s triple engine and premium detailing at a great price, has been successful in bringing younger and new riders to Triumph, and just as ‘Slippery Sam’ once inspired a generation, we believe this special edition has the iconic style, extra technology, and dynamic performance to appeal to today’s Triumph fans.”
UNIQUE TRIPLE TRIBUTE EDITION DESIGN
The Trident Triple Tribute has a stunning, modern design, inspired by the most celebrated Triumph triple bike of all time, ‘Slippery Sam’, which is the only motorcycle ever to win five TT production races in five consecutive years, from 1971 to 1975. The white, blue, and red scheme with color-matched fly screen and belly pan, stands out from the clean, minimal lines, beautiful silhouette, and confident poise of the Trident.
The distinctive tank design with number 67 race graphic surrounds the signature knee cut-outs, complementing the flowing seat line. With an impeccable attention to detail, the Trident 660 features high quality Triumph badges in both the headlight and taillight, and logo touches on the fuel cap, handlebar clamp, and instruments, plus an inset aluminum Trident badge with diamond machined detailing. Body colored radiator cowls, aluminum yokes & heel guards, body colored fork protectors, tapered aluminum handlebars, and teardrop shape mirrors, with five-spoke black lightweight cast aluminum wheels, complete the eye-catching look.
TRIPLE ENGINE PERFORMANCE ADVANTAGE
Featuring a dedicated Trident tune, the popular 660cc triple engine was developed to deliver the character and performance benefits of a triple to riders in the middleweight naked category, providing the perfect balance of low-down torque, mid-range, and top end power. A distinctive deep triple soundtrack is provided via a compact and minimal single sided silencer, with a premium stainless-steel finisher.
Fully Euro 5 compliant, the engine gives 80 HP (81 PS) peak power @ 10,250 rpm with a progressive, smooth, and linear delivery, as well as 47 LB-FT (64 Nm) peak torque @ 6,250 rpm.
The Trident’s smooth six-speed gearbox, with gear ratios and final drive that are optimized to make the riding experience easy and fun, is further enhanced by the addition of the Triumph Shift Assist, included as standard for this special edition. This quickshifter enables clutchless changes up and down the ratios, with an autoblipper on downshifts for fast, seamless changes.
CLASS LEADING HANDLING
Renowned for its agile, sporty, and confidence-inspiring feel on the road, the Trident has an accessible 31” (805mm) seat height and a low wet weight of 416 lbs. (189kg). It is already leading the class, with a high specification of branded equipment including black Showa upside down forks delivering 4.7” (120mm) front wheel travel, and Showa preload adjustable monoshock RSU with linkage, which delivers 5.3” (133.5mm) rear wheel travel.
For great stopping power, the Trident has two-piston Nissin brakes with twin 12” (310mm) discs and Michelin Road 5 tires, giving the rider confidence in all weathers.
The Trident has its own dedicated chassis with tubular steel construction, lightweight tapered aluminum bars and lightweight 17” cast aluminum sports wheels which combined with the high specification equipment, delivers a light steering weight and agility that’s confidence-inspiring and easy to control.
HIGH SPECIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
The Trident 660 provides ABS, Road and Rain riding modes, switchable traction control, and a ride-by-wire throttle, for crisp, precise throttle response, as well as a practical, multi-functional, color TFT screen, integrated with a ‘white-on’ black’ LCD display. For enhanced security, an engine immobilizer is built into the key.
MAKE THE TRIDENT TRIPLE TRIBUTE YOUR OWN
The Trident Triple Tribute can be tailored with a range of 32 accessories, including protection and care, technology, style & detailing, comfort & practicality, and security.
Protection includes rubber tank pad, molded frame and engine cover protectors, and CNC machined fork protectors, as well as a Muc-Off cleaning kit, all weather cover, and battery charger. With the technology accessories, customers can add a convenient under seat USB charging socket, and a tire pressure monitoring system. Designed specifically for the Trident, customers can add a set of water-resistant luggage, with quick release tank bag and tail pack.
Billet machined bar end mirrors, and parts to add to the detailing. The Trident is also pre-prepared to be able to be fitted with the internally wired heated grips, which include a neatly integrated button, and the ergonomically shaped pillion grab handles.
Designed hand-in-hand with our motorcycles and manufactured to the same exacting standards, all Triumph accessories have the same two-year unlimited mileage warranty as the bikes themselves.
ON THE ROAD
The new Trident Triple Tribute will be available from $8,595 USD / $10,195 CAD, with a class-leading service interval of 10,000 miles (or 12 months, whichever comes sooner) which contributes to the incredibly low cost of ownership. Customers can find out more at triumphmotorcycles.com or place an order with their local Triumph dealer. Bikes will be arriving in dealerships from April 2024.
SPECIFICATION
ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION
Type
Liquid-cooled, 12 valve, DOHC, inline 3-cylinder
Capacity
660 cc
Bore
74.0 mm
Stroke
51.1 mm
Compression
11.95:1
Maximum Power
81 PS / 80 bhp (60 kW) @ 10,250 rpm
Maximum Torque
64 Nm (47 lbft) @ 6,250 rpm
Fuel System
Multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection with electronic throttle control
Exhaust
Stainless steel 3 into 1 header system with low single sided stainless steel silencer
Final Drive
X-ring chain
Clutch
Wet, multi-plate, slip & assist
Gearbox
6 speed
CHASSIS
Frame
Tubular steel perimeter frame
Swingarm
Twin-sided, fabricated steel
Front Wheel
Cast aluminum, 17 x 3.5 in
Rear Wheel
Cast aluminum, 17 x 5.5 in
Front Tire
120/70R17
Rear Tire
180/55R17
Front Suspension
Showa 41mm upside down separate function forks (SFF)
Nissin single-piston sliding caliper, single 255mm disc, ABS
Instruments
Multi-function instruments with color TFT screen
DIMENSIONS & WEIGHTS
Length
2020 mm (79.5 in)
Width (Handlebars)
795 mm (31.3 in)
Height Without Mirrors
1089 mm (42.9 in)
Seat Height
805 mm (31.7 in)
Wheelbase
1401 mm (55.2 in)
Rake
24.6 °
Trail
107.3 mm (4.22 in)
Wet weight
189 kg (417 lb)
Fuel Tank Capacity
14 liters (3.7 US gal)
CONSUMPTION AND EMISSIONS (EU)
Trident 660 – EUROPE
Fuel Consumption
60.1 mpg (4.7 l/100km)
Emissions
107 g/km
Fuel consumption and emissions figures are measured according to the World Motorcycle Test Cycle (WMTC) under specific test conditions and provided for comparison purposes. Actual fuel economy may vary depending on factors such as riding style, accessory fitment, rider and pillion weight and tire pressures, as well as external environmental conditions.
A Brough Superior Lawrence. Photo courtesy Brough Superior.
Brough Superior Motorcycles arrives in North America
The iconic motorcycle brand Brough Superior is proud to announce the opening of its first filial office in North America. Earlier this year, Brough Superior launched Brough Superior Japan to bring its historic motorcycles to riders across the country.
Founded in Nottingham, England in 1919, Brough Superior is renowned for producing the world’s first superbikes and is considered the “Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles.” The brand is known for its signature 1,000 cc V-twin engine, striking design, and impeccable quality. Brough Superior has a rich history and was favored by famous riders like T.E. Lawrence “Lawrence of Arabia.” The rebirth of Brough Superior in France marks a new stage in the adventure of this exceptional brand, which draws from its DNA the know-how and inspiration to make dreams come true by shaping French luxury motorcycles. Masterpieces handcrafted with passion and authenticity. Made in Toulouse, France, world capital of aircraft industry (Airbus), the new era Brough Superior models are bringing distinctive innovations such as Titanium Chassis and Engine Crankcases fully machined from aeronautical alloy solid blocks.
Brough Superior North America has recently started building up a dealer network in select cities, to provide sales and service for the entire Brough Superior range, including the SS100, Lawrence, and the AMB Pro model in collaboration with Aston Martin. The standard models are fully homologated for the US and Canadian markets, and can be purchased with several options, either through the dealership network or the filial. The first flagship is set to open in May 2024 in Malibu, CA and others are scheduled to follow later on this year in Florida, Texas, Illinois, New York and Georgia.
Current MSRP prices are: $81,075 for the SS100 and Lawrence and $183,895 for the track only AMB Pro.
A Brough Superior SS100. Photo courtesy Brough Superior.
Paul Capodanno, CEO of Brough Superior North America said, “Launching Brough Superior North America and re-introduce this brand of exceptional motorcycles to discerning riders is truly an amazing project. There is a growing demand for luxury, limited production and exclusive motorcycles in this market, and we believe Brough Superior is uniquely positioned to serve provide riders with a brand that is considered “the Rolls Royce of Motorcycles. The North American office will also offer customization options for Brough Superior motorcycles tailored to each customer, as well as the ability for dealers to create a community of riders, local events and VIP gatherings”.
Albert Castaigne – Executive Director for Brough Superior Motorcycles SAS – added: “Our commitment to increase our presence worldwide started with our decision to expand into North America and Asia in 2024. It’s important for our company to provide riders from all over the world with a quality motorcycle, that carries the latest technology, amazing design and performance, and fits the expectations of modern motorcycle buyers. We’ve very excited to finally open our first office in North America, after many years of hard work and dedication from our partners and suppliers, and start creating a new dynamic around the Brough Superior models”.
Brough Superior represents the pinnacle of motorcycling luxury and performance. The arrival of Brough Superior North America invites riders to experience these qualities firsthand. To learn more or find a local dealer, visit https://www.brough-superior-motorcycles.com/en
Brough Superior was recently elected to the “Motorcycle Trophies” 2024 edition, an annual event organized by Editions Larivière in Paris, France. Rewarding the best innovations and performances in the world of motorcycles, by categories selected by a vote open to the public, it brings together enthusiasts, professionals and the media to celebrate advances in design, technology, eco-responsibility and safety.
About Brough Superior Motorcycles SAS
Brough Superior was founded in Nottingham, England in 1919 and produced the world’s first superbikes. The brand is renowned for its striking design, signature 1,000 cc V-twin engine, and impeccable quality. Brough Superior has a historic pedigree and was favored by famous riders like T.E. Lawrence. In recent years, Brough Superior has had a
resurgence under new ownership and released the SS100, Lawrence and AMB Pro models. Brough Superior Japan is the brand’s first office in Asia. For more information, visit: www.brough-superior-motorcycles.com/en
Models available in North America
SS100
An icon built for icons during the Roaring Twenties that quickly garnered itself with a legendary status thanks to Lawrence of Arabia, Brough Superior’s Super Sports 100 motorcycle is for riders who love luxury, beauty and speed. With its classic design, unparalleled elegance, sleek detailing, and top-notch performance, the SS100 is an emblematic Brough Superior motorcycle. Each SS100 motorcycle is handcrafted, and custom built for its future owner in Brough Superior’s French workshop. This classic motorcycle has been updated with a modern design while encapsulating the brand’s original engineering ethos. Each detail is designed to optimize its rider’s interaction with the bike and connectivity with the road!
Lawrence
The latest addition to Brough Superior’s French workshop, Lawrence is the ultimate 21st century pillion motorcycle. Its luxurious aesthetics were inspired by the sleek, flowing curve of the traditional Bedouin dagger used by Lawrence of Arabia – the man who helped bring this brand its legendary status and who also inspired this eponymous motorcycle.
This revolutionary, hand-crafted, custom two-seater features a revamped retro design that is an ode to the brand’s past. Designed for two riders who want to share in their passion, primmed to hit the road with their adventurous partner. This motorcycle exhibits superior quality, down to the last screw, thanks to the exceptional knowledge and skill used for its traditional artisanal production. This new model represents a major milestone for Brough Superior. It is handcrafted by the finest French artisans and incorporates state-of-the-art engineering and innovative materials, Lawrence is a customizable, high-end pillion motorcycle that can be tailored to its future owner’s specifications.
An Aston Martin by Brough Superior AMB 001 Pro. Photo courtesy Brough Superior.
Aston Martin by Brough Superior AMB 001 Pro
The strictly limited-edition AMB 001 PRO is the latest design collaboration between the two brands, pairing Aston Martin’s legendary design with state-of-the-art Brough Superior motorcycle engineering. Offered in 2 PRO specifications, the successor to the sold-out AMB 001 was inspired by Aston Martin’s no rules track hyper car Valkyrie AMR Pro. Like its inspiration, AMB 001 PRO takes track performance to the extreme, offering a 25% power increase on its predecessor, with its 225 HP producing a power to weight ratio of 1.28 hp/kg, similar to that of a Formula One® car. AMB 001 Pro is offered in two spectacular racing liveries; Aston Martin Verdant Jade, with Photon Lime accents creates a bold modern look whilst Aston Martin Racing Green paired with Lime Essence pays a nod to Aston Martin’s winning bloodline on the track. Both specifications feature satin finished carbon fiber bodywork and wheels, with high performance black Cerakote for the engine and suspension. In common with other extreme performance, ultra-luxury Aston Martin models, AMB 001 PRO is fitted with the Aston Martin ‘lacewing’ badge. Designed for the Aston Martin Valkyrie programme, the chemical etched aluminum lacewing is a remarkable 99.4% lighter than the brand’s regular enamel badge, and at just 70 microns thick is 30% thinner than a human hair. It will be applied on the nose cowl and tank, on top of the painted finish yet beneath a perfectly smooth coat of lacquer.
The start of the MotoGP race at Algarve International Circuit, in Portimao, Portugal. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Persistence Pays Off in Portugal for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
Portimao (Portugal), 24th March 2024
GRAND PRIX OF PORTUGAL
RACE
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo showed consistent pace and defensive riding in the 25-lap Grande Prémio de Portugal Race, and it earned him seventh position. Álex Rins didn’t have the feeling he was looking for today and ultimately crossed the finish line in 13th place.
7th F. QUARTARARO +20.130 / 25 LAPS
13th Á. RINS +31.334 / 25 LAPS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo showed strong defensive riding at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Race and his persistence was rewarded with a seventh place and 9 points. Álex Rins wasn’t as competitive as he had hoped for on the Sunday at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve but kept pushing and went on to score his first 3 points of the season thanks to a 13th place.
Quartararo began his quest from P9 and held his position on the opening lap. However, the top-10 rider group soon split up. El Diablo was mostly riding by himself in the first 10 laps but later got company from Miguel Oliveira and Marco Bezzecchi. He kept them at bay until seven laps before the end. When the three riders commenced a battle, it ultimately resulted in the Frenchman circulating in tenth. With three laps to go, Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez crashed out, and on the last lap also Maverick Viñales’ race ended early. This moved Quartararo up to seventh at the chequered flag, 20.130s from first.
Rins had a strong start from P11 and slotted in behind his teammate in tenth position after the usual opening corner tussle. But the Spaniard was unable to stick with Quartararo and soon had to direct his attention to charging riders. Defending his position proved difficult for the number-42 rider as he struggled with his feeling with the front tyre, and he gradually fell back to 16th place. However, he reaped the benefit from several late crashers and climbed back up to 13th in the final classifications, 31.334s from the front, scoring his first points of the 2024 season.
Today’s results see Quartararo keep his 11th place in the overall standings with now 15 points. Rins is in 18th position with 3 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP are 8th in the team championship with 18 points, and Yamaha is in 4th position in the constructor‘s championship with 15 points.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team will be back in action at the Portimao track tomorrow for a private test. The MotoGP World Championship will resume in three weeks’ time at the Circuit of The Americas with the Grand Prix of The Americas.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
Team Director
It was a tough Race. In the end, Fabio is in the top 7 and Álex scored his first points, but this was mostly due to the late race incidents. Our riders gave it their best shot, and every point counts, but we can’t be satisfied with our overall performance level during this Race. That said, today’s data will be useful for us. We have a private test in Portimao tomorrow. We will use this opportunity to try some set-up solutions to improve the feeling with the front tyre in time for COTA, which is tough on the front tyre. We will also test some new items that we’re working on, because we are keen to introduce updates throughout this season.
FABIO QUARTARARO
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
After yesterday’s Sprint, I expected to finish a little bit closer to the front guys today, but in terms of position I expected this. We have some good data to analyse, and hopefully we can make some steps forward. It looks like the weather tomorrow will be quite bad, but hopefully we will have a good day to try some things. Apparently, we have many items to test, so that will be great. Hopefully the weather will allow us to test them. We have many small things that we have to improve step by step. We’re on the right way, but we need to be patient.
Fabio Quartararo (20). Photo courtesy Monster Energy Yamaha.
ÁLEX RINS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
These are my first Yamaha points, but maybe it wasn’t enough for us. But the second Race is done – it was a hard one. These two races, Qatar and Portimao, didn’t go as I expected. We need to work a little bit more on our own. After this Race, I realised I need to do something different on the bike because I had similar problems today as I had in Qatar. I was struggling a lot with the front. Tomorrow, when we have a private test here, maybe we will need to focus more on the set-up than on the new parts. It’s just our second Race, and we need to get used to the bike and need to understand it.
Alex Rins (42). Photo courtesy Monster Energy Yamaha.
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Determined Mir fights through early damage to secure points in Portugal
Joan Mir showed his grit as he matched the pace of the top ten to recover from early contact and secure more points aboard the Honda RC213V as Luca Marini continued to hunt improvements.
Round two of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship came to a dramatic conclusion at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve for the Repsol Honda Team. Recovering from a tough Qualifying, Joan Mir found himself in the mix of the second group and suffered contact and damage on the first lap after a strong opening to the race. The #36 gritted his teeth and steadily made his way through the field and into the points as he mirrored the pace of the top ten. Ultimately crossing the line in 12th, Mir leaves Portugal with clear areas to improve in mind but satisfied with how he and the team overcame the troubles of Friday.
Luca Marini made a lightning start to the 25-lap Portuguese Grand Prix aboard the Repsol Honda Team machine and immediately found himself in the mix with his fellow Honda riders. Working on his own pace and continuing to deepen his understanding of the Honda, the #10 completed another 25 laps in race trim on the Honda RC213V machine. 17th as the checkered flag came out, the Italian was pleased with what he and the team achieved from Friday morning to Sunday evening.
The MotoGP World Championship will resume in Austin, Texas at the Circuit of the Americas, April 12 – 14. Alex Rins took Honda’s lone victory of the 2023 season there and the unique Texan track saw Luca Marini take his debut MotoGP podium in the same weekend.
Joan Mir
12TH
“I am happy with how we performed today, if you look just at the final results page it maybe wouldn’t seem like it. On the first lap we had a huge contact with Morbidelli, my leathers on the right side were almost fully black and the bike suffered a lot of damage and I was sent wide. It was quite hard to manage with all the damage, but even like this we were able to match the pace of the guys battling for the top ten. The key point we need to work on is improving our Qualifying so we can avoid these type of incidents. Everyone in the team and HRC have done a great job to improve from where we were on Friday so I want to say thank you to them.”
Joan Mir (36). Photo courtesy Repsol Honda.
Luca Marini
17TH
“We had a better race today than in Qatar and also compared to yesterday, I am happy with the changes we have made to the bike. I was enjoying riding towards the end of the race which was a good little step ahead. Joan Mir has a better feeling on the bike and certainly more experience so he’s able to extract more from the bike, it’s motivating, and we need to study what he is doing. It’s a positive weekend, despite the result, because we got a lot of really good information, and we know what areas to follow and also which areas we should not with the setting. There’s room to keep improving.”
Luca Marini (10). Photo courtesy Repsol Honda.
More, from a press release issued by Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team:
TOP10 FOR BEZZECCHI AND DI GIANNANTONIO IN PORTUGAL
Points for both riders of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team who cross the finishing line respectively in P6 and P10
Portimao (Portugal), March 24th 2024 – Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio both hit the Top10 at the Portuguese GP which took place today at Portimao. The riders of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team finished the second GP of the season in sixth and tenth place.
Starting from the second row of the grid, but struggling in the initial stages of the race, Marco manages to keep a good pace and recover from the 12th place, thus signing his best result of the season so far (12 points in the general standings).
Fifth row at the start, but constant pace over the distance, on the Ducati Desmosedici GP, for Fabio capable of a good comeback up to the limits of the Top10 after a more complicated weekend than expected (15 points in the standings).
MARCO BEZZECCHI – 72
We have collected a lot of info and this is the most important thing. Today’s race wasn’t fantastic, but a definite step forward compared to Qatar. I managed to do some good laps, not at the level of the strongest riders, but my confidence with the bike has improved. The real problem was the first corners, I wasn’t incisive and the pressure on the front tire immediately increased. In those conditions it’s even more difficult, then alone I felt better and didn’t finish badly.
Marco Bezzecchi (72) leads Augusto Fernandez (37) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (49). Photo courtesy VR46 Racing.
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO – 49
I’m not very happy with the race, certainly the potential we could express today was much higher, but we made a mistake which compromise our recovery. On the one hand, knowing what the problem was helps us, also considering that we are only at the second race with the Team. We go to the US ready to do well. Overall the balance is positive, we improved from Friday to the race.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (49) leads Augusto Fernandez (37). Photo courtesy VR46 Racing Team.
PABLO NIETO, TEAM MANAGER
The general balance of the weekend is certainly more positive than Qatar, especially considering that we managed to get both riders into the Top10. We had some gifts at the end of the race, but in any case it is important to be there close to the strongest guys. Marco is not yet completely comfortable with the bike, but he has made a great steps forward and is becoming competitive again. Fabio is also doing well, perhaps for the first time since he has been in this Team he has struggled more than expected, but he continues his work with the crew.
More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing:
A SUNDAY TO FORGET IN PORTUGAL: A CRASH RULES OUT ALEX, A COMING TOGETHER BRINGS MARC’S EFFORT TO AN EARLY END
#PortugueseGP race. The ingredients for a good Sunday were all there, especially after a good start from both standard bearers of Team Gresini MotoGP. From 8th and 12th on the grid, respectively, Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez were able to immediately make up some positions in the very beginning before the first hurdle of the day came.
The #73 crashed – uninjured – out of the encounter at turn five with very little time spent on track, a tumble that took away any hope for points to the Spaniard, in a weekend that was already made quite complicated due to an unfortunate result in Q2. Marc’s race outcome was all in all very similar, but the dynamic was completely different…
With four laps left, the #93 makes an overtaking manoeuvre on Bagnaia, but the counter-attack of the Italian at the following corner results in a coming together that send both riders on the ground. The #93 was able to jump back on the bike and finish 16th as he crossed the line with a bitter taste in his mouth. A fourth place would have translated in the second position in the standings…
16th – MARC MARQUEZ #93
“A racing incident that none of us would have wanted. We go home with no points, but after a positive weekend in which we found continuity and speed. The stewards have decided that the incident deserves no sanction and we accept the decision. Pecco tried to defend his position, maybe with a little bit of optimism. The result still is the one nobody would have wished.”
Marc Marquez (93) picks his crashed bike up in Portugal. Photo courtesy Gresini Racing.
RET. ALEX MARQUEZ #73
“Shame, because we had a good start. I pushed a lot as today’s MotoGP forces you to do a little bit more in the early laps. I gave my all and unfortunately, I ended up crashing. I got back on track simply because had it rained, everything would have changed, but after a few laps I decided to pull out of the race. A Sunday to forget, but we’ll try again at Austin.”
Alex Marquez (73). Photo courtesy Gresini Racing.
More, from a press release issued by GASGAS Factory Racing:
SENSATIONAL FIRST MOTOGP™ PODIUM FOR GASGAS AS PEDRO ACOSTA CARVES THE ALGARVE
MotoGP 2024 – Round 02 of 21, Algarve International Circuit – Race
Red Bull GASGAS Tech3’s Pedro Acosta continues to inject youth and energy into 2024 MotoGP and the rookie showed his rapid learning curve once more with a 3rd place finish at the demanding Algarve International Circuit for only his second outing on the GASGAS RC16. Augusto Fernandez grabbed his first points of the season in 11th at the Grand Prix of Portugal as the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 team watched Moto3™ star Daniel Holgado score his first win in red!
Pedro Acosta completes the 25-lap chase with three sensational overtaking moves, his first podium finish in just his second MotoGP race and the first Grand Prix trophy for GASGAS!
Augusto Fernandez pushes for his first Grand Prix points of the year and meets the checkered flag in 11th
More speed and glory for Daniel Holgado with Moto3™ victory! The Spaniard also bags his second consecutive podium finish in 2024 and P1 in the early world championship standings
Portimao missed some spring sunshine but brought action, fans and entertainment to the 2024 MotoGP story. Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 headed into the 25-lap Grand Prix race on Sunday with some indication of tire performance and their potential thanks to an engaging Sprint on Saturday where Pedro Acosta logged a ‘PB’ with 7th place and Augusto Fernandez discovered more feeling and competitiveness on the #37 machine.
Acosta’s 7th place grid position (after experiencing the intense dive through Q1 and Q2 on Saturday) meant he was able to concentrate on his form and potency in the opening laps and then establish his race pace. The rookie was 9th in Qatar two weeks ago but swiftly sliced into that position and higher from the off. He overtook Brad Binder, Marc Marquez and then stalked world champion Francesco Bagnaia for a long period, climbing all over the Italian’s rear wheel. He finally relegated his rival to 5th with a delicious move into Turn 3. The last lap granted Pedro P3 to become the third youngest premier class podium finisher in history and his first spray of podium Prosecco!
Augusto battled with two other riders around the edge of the top ten and came home with a deserved 5 points for 11th. An improvement over Qatar a fortnight ago and a shot of confidence for the Grands Prix to come.
After building their pitbox setup and structure for European rounds, Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 now repack the flight cases for another long-haul appointment. The Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin will bring round three to life in three weeks.
Pedro Acosta, 3rd: “What to say about today?! From the beginning of the race the bike was working unbelievably. I am still not 100% comfortable in the Sprint at the moment – but it is coming – and in the longer races with the full tank and the harder suspension I feel much better. I have been racing like this all my life! But, man, we have to be super-happy! Our first podium in MotoGP! The team have been working super-hard. For example, we tried some things in warm-up this morning to help us in the first laps and they worked. The bike has been super-nice from beginning but, step-by-step, we are arriving to the point of getting the pace that we really want it.”
Pedro Acosta (31). Photo courtesy GASGAS Factory Racing.
Augusto Fernandez, 11th: “A big step today. I managed the low grip after a good start and also had some good fights. I made a few mistakes because I wanted to push more but we know we need to make steps and take points. Our pace is here right now but happy to get points and want to keep building. Congrats to Pedro. Incredible!”
Augusto Fernandez (37). Photo courtesy GASGAS Factory Racing.
Nicolas Goyon, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager: “What an unbelievable result and unbelievable weekend here in the Algarve. We knew Pedro could have good pace here this weekend and with a good start he could stay with the leaders but what a race. We saw all his talent when he moved to the front and passed those riders, those champions. A great result for the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 team so we can only be happy and enjoy the moment. We are looking forward to seeing him again a bike as soon as possible! Congratulations also to Augusto and who doesn’t give up. He is facing his problems, and he is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. He was near the top ten and if he keeps working like this then he will be back near the front very soon.”
More, from a press release issued by Trackhouse Racing:
PROGRESS AND POINTS
Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portugal: Track length: 2.853 miles / 4.592 kilometers
Warm Up: 9.40am – 9.50am – Dry track
Air Temperature (end of session): 69.8°F / 21°C
Track Temperature (end of session): 69.8°F / 21°C
#25 Raul Fernandez
P8 – Best Lap: 1’39.559
Completed: 6 Laps – 17.1 miles / 27.5 kilometers
Top speed: 212.7 mph / 337.5 km/h
#88 Miguel Oliveira
P18 – Best Lap: 1’39.893
Completed: 6 Laps – 17.1 miles / 27.5 kilometers
Top speed: 219.3 mph / 341.7 km/h
RACE: 2pm – Dry track: 25 Laps – 71.32 miles / 114.8 kilometers
Air Temperature (end of session): 75.2°F / 24°C
Track Temperature (end of session): 86°F / 30°C
#88 Miguel Oliveira – P9 (Race Points: 7 Championship Standing: 14 Total Points: 8)
Race Time: 41’ 42.067 Best Lap: 1’39.480
Average speed: 102.58 mph / 165.1 km/h Top Speed: 217.85 mph / 350.6 km/h
– Started from 15th on the grid with a Michelin hard front tire and medium rear.
– Immediately made progress on Lap 1 up to 11th and then improved to 10th before being forced him wide in turn 1, late in the race which put him back to 12th.
– Retirements ahead meant a 9th place finish and 7 valuable Championship points.
Average speed: 105.07 mph / 162.9 Km/h Top speed: 213.67 mph / 343.9 km/h
– From lights out and 16th on the grid, gained a spot on lap one running a hard front tire and medium rear.
– Gained another place on lap 2, up to 14th before crashing out on lap 4 and forced to retire.
Trackhouse Racing MotoGP – Team World Championship Standing: 9th – 8 points
Next Round: Grand Prix of the Americas – Circuit of the Americas, Texas, USA : April 12-14
MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
“It was what I could do. The opening lap and the first few corners have been quite ok. I managed to overtake Rins and Quartararo and I was on course to a top 10 finish, ninth place without crashes. But unfortunately, when Bezzecchi overtook me in the first corner, he took me a little bit wide and I had to stop the bike and go around the whole turn one and two, where I lost three positions. It’s a real shame because with all the crashes, we could have finished in P6, which would have been very uplifting this weekend. But we have to take the positives; in the race, it was the best bike I rode during the weekend. I could fight, be competitive and do something in terms of results. It’s definitely another starting point to build up from here so, hopefully, in Texas we can continue the progression.”
Miguel Oliveira (88) leads Marco Bezzecchi (72). Photo courtesy Trackhouse Racing.
RAUL FERNANDEZ
“I’m lucky that I’m ok. It was honestly a very stupid crash, a rookie mistake. During the track walk I told my crew chief that you need to be calm in this corner when you get a bit offline and I actually didn’t manage to do that. Until then, I felt good with the bike, I had a good pace, I did a 39.2 in one lap. But maybe I was a bit too ambitious at the beginning of the race. I saw we had the pace, I was closing and I was there but I made the mistake. I would like to say sorry to the team. It’s not nice to start the season like this, but this is just the beginning. For sure, we have more opportunities and in two weeks we are at COTA, a track I really like. So, we should forget this Sunday now and focus on the US.”
Raul Fernandez (25) leads Fabio Di Giannantonio (49) and Aleix Espargaro (41). Photo courtesy Trackhouse Racing.
WILCO ZEELENBERG – TEAM MANAGER
“After a hectic weekend in Portugal, which was the home race of Miguel, we had some issues, no grip and finally a ninth place, which is not amazing but brings seven points. Job done, but of course, we want more. Clearly, in the race, the bike was the best we had it the whole weekend. Miguel was in P9 before he had an incident with Bezzecchi, he went really wide, lost 2.5 seconds and then he missed the connection to the three boys in front. Then, of course, being 12th and having three riders crashing out gave us ninth place, which is a good result. Raul had a bad start, was attacking very well in the beginning and he was fighting with Augusto Fernandez and taking a tight line, lost the front while fighting to go forward. Lesson learned. I think we have a lot to come for the upcoming rounds, because the speed is there.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – TEAM PRINCIPAL
“At the end of the day, we scored some points, which is positive. Of course, we expected and wanted more than that. I can take the positives of this weekend. In the race, Miguel found the best feeling of the weekend but, unfortunately, starting from that position made it difficult to get more. Also, Raul was very confident all weekend with his bike. Let’s take this home and to the next race. The weekend in Portugal was very important for Miguel, unfortunately, we couldn’t completely reach what we wanted but we will try again. It’s a long championship and if we continue to work like this we can find a way to make both comfortable on the bike and that’s our target. But we know, we have to work”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
#PortugueseGP: Second place for Bastianini and the Ducati Lenovo Team at Portimão, a crash for Bagnaia following a coming together in the final stages
Jorge Martín the race winner aboard Pramac Racing Team’s Desmosedici GP
The Ducati Lenovo Team scored a second-place finish in the Portuguese GP race courtesy of Enea Bastianini, who put together an excellent performance that saw him in close proximity to the race lead up to the chequered flag. Francesco Bagnaia was out of contention with three laps to go while battling for fifth place due a coming together at turn five.
Bastianini showed a consistently quick race pace throughout the 25-lap race. After setting the fastest lap of the encounter in 1:38.685secs – new race lap record at Portimão – Enea moved up to second place at the start of the final lap, securing his maiden podium of the season.
After being part of the battle for the podium in the early stages, Bagnaia spent most of the encounter in a strenuous effort to defend fourth place. With three laps left, a coming together with Marc Márquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and the subsequent crash at turn five resulted in an early end to Pecco’s race, who was running in fifth position.
The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action on April 12-14 at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas for the third Grand Prix of the 2024 season.
Enea Bastianini (#23 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 2nd
“It was a good battle. I never stopped believing until the end, but Jorge Martín pushed very hard and did a perfect race, so I had to settle for second. This is a special result for me, as Portimão isn’t among my favourite tracks. Surely, it’s a really great circuit, but prior to this weekend I had never been able to be really strong here. The three of us at the front did some push and pull throughout the race, but in the end the win was an impossible task today. Having Maverick (Viñales) ahead of me made my life a bit more complicated as he was really strong in the fourth sector, and I was never able to get close enough to him in the rest of lap. Things may have been easier had I been in front of him, but I was a bit nervous in the opening lap and made a few too many mistakes. I would like to thank the team and my family for their support because it wasn’t easy to return to top positions after such a complicated 2023 season.”
Enea Bastianini (23). Photo courtesy Ducati.
Francesco Bagnaia (#1 Ducati Lenovo Team) – DNF
“I got a good start but unfortunately chose the wrong line at turn three: I closed the line a bit, while the outside would have been a better choice. I wanted to overtake Enea in the early laps as I saw him having a bit of a difficult time, but at some point, I started experiencing a lack of grip at the rear-end which prevented me from pushing as hard as I wanted. We weren’t at our best and it’s clear we couldn’t find the perfect solution, even though the feeling was very good both yesterday and this morning. It’s a pity; we’ll now focus on the next race as after the warmup I felt I had the potential to battle at the front – but we weren’t able to capitalise. I’m particularly sorry because we have worked well, but we were missing something in today’s race.”
Francesco Bagnaia (1) leads Pedro Acosta (31) and Marc Marquez (93). Photo courtesy Ducati.
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
A bitter Sunday for Viñales and Aprilia
A PROBLEM WITH THE GEARBOX TAKES VIÑALES OUT OF PLAY WHEN HE WAS LYING SECOND, ESPARGARÓ COMES BACK TO FINISH EIGHTH
Consistent with the performance demonstrated in the Sprint Race, Maverick Viñales had a brilliant start, moving immediately into second place. The Spaniard held the position throughout the race until, on the final lap, a problem with the gearbox cost him any chance of finishing a perfect weekend.
Straight away on the opening lap, Aleix Espargaró was the recipient of contact from another rider which relegated him to nineteenth place. From the rear guard, he launched an incredible come back, making up positions and managing to finish eighth.
ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
“I’m really disappointed for Maverick because he had an incredible weekend and he deserved the podium, but unfortunately, that’s how racing is. I was unable to find the right feeling all weekend. I was lacking grip at the rear. In any case, I still set a good pace coming back from the rear and I’m taking some important points home.”
Aleix Espargaro (41). Photo courtesy Aprilia.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
“From the sixth lap I could tell that something wasn’t working right with the gearbox. I was losing a lot of time on the straight. I still felt like I could have won, though. It’s a shame about the technical problem. In any case, I’m happy because I know that I gave one hundred percent. This weekend we took a huge step forward. We got our speed back and we demonstrated that the RS-GP24 can win. Now we’ll head to Austin, a track that I like and where I’ll arrive more motivated than ever.”
More, from a press release issued by KTM Factory Racing:
REWARDS IN PORTUGAL AS BINDER AND MILLER GO 4-5 FOR MOTOGP™ POINTS AT ROUND TWO
MotoGP 2024 – Round 02 of 21, Algarve International Circuit, Portugal – Race
Brad Binder rode to 4th place and Jack Miller was 5th to cap another competitive and positive weekend of MotoGP for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, and for what was the second Grand Prix of the campaign and only the fifth to be held at the Algarve International Circuit. In Moto3™ Jose Antonio Rueda earned his first silverware of the season with a strong charge to 2nd.
Redemption for Brad Binder with 4th place from 25 laps on Sunday after the slip and DNF in the Saturday Sprint in Portugal. The South African retains 2nd in the world championship standings
Jack Miller extends his fast form throughout the weekend in Portimao to end the Grand Prix with a well-earned 5th and his first points haul: rising to 9th in the MotoGP rankings
Personal best Moto3™ Grand Prix finish for runner-up Jose Antonio Rueda as Celestino Vietti fights back to 7th in Moto2™
Qatar, Portugal and now a third continent next with the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas at COTA in Texas on April 12-14
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing reset their objectives for the Grand Prix of Portugal and for what was a strategic and cagey 25-laps in southern Europe. The Algarve International Circuit may have missed the sunshine on race day but there was plenty of color to be had in the contest for maximum points and where Brad Binder (starting 10th) and Jack Miller (launching from 5th) had their say.
Both KTM RC16s made their customary bright getaway from the grid and Brad and Jack were joined by starlet rookie Pedro Acosta as Austrian machinery filled three slots in the mid-top ten. Binder and Miller had to measure their pace with their tire wear and levels of effective grip as the race distance counted down. Incident and accident marked the running order in the space of the final three laps and the two orange bikes took full benefit to cross the line in the top five. The points ensure that Brad stays P2 in table after two rounds and Jack posted his first score to sit 9th.
The Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas will bring MotoGP to a U.S. audience with the annual visit to the long and varied Circuit of the Americas in Austin. The world championship will reconvene in Texas in mid-April.
Brad Binder, 4th: “It was cool to take 4th today even though we had some help with it. It was a really tough weekend and I struggled to get comfortable and that meant it was hard in the race because I wanted to push and go with the boys. I had to ride smart and make sure I didn’t make the same mistake as yesterday. To have 4th after a hectic and hard weekend…we’ll take it.”
Brad Binder (33). Photo by Rob Gray – Polarity Photo, courtesy KTM Factory Racing.
Jack Miller, 5th: “I wanted a little bit more today. I wanted to go with the boys at the front early on but just didn’t quite have the pace mid-corner to get my claws-in and hang on for the [tire] drop. We got a bit lucky with some of the crashes at the end there…but we’ll take it. We have to have some luck sometimes! We still have a bit of work to do but this was a massive improvement over Qatar. The bike has plenty of potential, so we’ll do our homework, look at the data and come back for another go in Austin.”
Jack Miller (43). Photo by Rob Gray – Polarity Photo, courtesy KTM Factory Racing.
Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “Quite good feelings about today because it was not an easy weekend and to have these positions on a Sunday afternoon means we were not too bad. The gap could be better, the feeling for the riders also, but we took points for the championship and the Teams standings. Congratulations to Pedro. This is a good sign that the equipment is working well and for different riding styles and is a friendly bike. As a manufacturer we have to be proud of the work so far.”
More, from a press release issued by Idemitsu LCR Honda:
Solid race for Nakagami in Portimao
Takaaki Nakagami (30). Photo courtesy LCR Honda.
IDEMITSU Honda LCR rider Takaaki Nakagami crossed the line 14th on Sunday in Portimao.
After a tough weekend at the Autodromo do Algarve, Nakagami has carried out a consistent race: despite rivals not making it easy and not having the best feeling on the bike, the Japanese managed to get to his goals, which was grabbing some points for the championship.
Overall, the Portuguese Grand Prix has been tougher than expected, and there are some areas to analyze and improve to make a step in the next race (Circuit of the Americas, 14th of April).
Takaaki Nakagami 14th
“The situation compared to yesterday hasn’t changed a lot, but this morning we found something as we decided to do some modifications to improve the grip. I’ve got a better feeling, and we’ve kept it for the race. I could have taken a better position, but I lost a lot of time following Marini. Then I just tried my best and scored some points, which is always important”.
More, from a press release issued by Castrol LCR Honda:
Johann Zarco takes points in Portimao
Johann Zarco (5) leads Joan Mir (36). Photo courtesy LCR Honda.
CASTROL Honda LCR rider Johann Zarco finished 15th on Sunday race in Portimao
Twenty-five laps at the rollercoaster in Portimao served the Frenchman rider to finally get to the points. Zarco had some troubles at the start and lost some positions. However, he demonstrated cleverness, and without losing concentration, he managed to handle the race and got to the 15th position.
Overall, the Portuguese Grand Prix has been more challenging than expected. The next weeks will be useful to determine which areas need to be analyzed and improved ahead of the next race (Circuit of the Americas, 14th April).
Johann Zarco 15th
“It’s been a tough race; I didn’t expect to struggle this way. Lap after lap we’ve learned many things and, in the end, we’ve grabbed a point. We now have a direction to follow, which will help us in Austin”.
More, from a press release issued by OnlyFans American Racing Team.
Roberts Clinches Second Place as Ramirez Breaks into Top 10 at Moto2 Portuguese Grand Prix
Joe Roberts celebrates his second-place finish in Parc Ferme in Portugal. Photo courtesy OnlyFans American Racing Team.
Portimao, Portugal – March 25, 2024 – The OnlyFans American Racing Team
demonstrated their competitiveness at the Moto2 Portuguese Grand Prix, with
remarkable performances from both their riders. Joe Roberts delivered an
impressive performance, finishing second on the podium and securing second
place in the overall championship standings before heading to the team’s home
round at COTA, Texas.
Joe Roberts: “Man, what a race! I’m so happy for my team, it’s the first podium
back with these guys. Since Jerez, they’ve done such an amazing job getting this
bike working for me and I’m so excited for the next round at home.”
In addition to Roberts’ standout performance, Marcos Ramirez demonstrated his
skill once more, securing a strong ninth-place finish. Ramirez’ consistent pace
allowed him to effectively navigate the challenging race, contributing crucial
points to the team’s tally and moving the team up to second in the championship
standings.
The OnlyFans American Racing Team extends its appreciation to all partners,
sponsors, and supporters for their commitment. With determination and focus,
the team looks forward to building on this success and fighting for this year’s
championship.
Team Suzuki CN Challenge's special GSX-R1000R endurance racebike. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motorcycles Australia.
Editorial Note: This effort is being led by Shinichi Sahara, the former Suzuki MotoGP Project Leader.
Suzuki Motor Corporation will participate in the 45th Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race 2024 which will be held at the Suzuka Circuit as one of the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC), from 19 to 21 July by using Sustainable Fuel and multiple sustainable items.
Suzuki will use the 40% bio-sourced Sustainable Fuel, certified by the FIM (International Motorcycling Federation). Since this is not the official fuel of the EWC, Suzuki will participate in the Experimental Class, a category set for experimental purposes. Besides Sustainable Fuel, development of new sustainable technologies will also take place including muffler, tires, oil, fairings, and brakes which will be provided by our sponsor partners, who have agreed with our challenge, involved in the development and supported this project.
The team is named “Team SUZUKI CN CHALLENGE” and is mainly composed of Suzuki employees. Yoshimura Japan is working together in a collaborative partnership. Additionally, along with all our partners, we will strive to overcome issues to achieve our goal.
The purpose of the participation is to accelerate development of environmental performance technologies through participating physically in the demanding conditions of the endurance racing. By verifying valuable information gathered through this participation, we will discover higher goals and promote feeding back of technologies to our future production models.
Team Suzuki CN Challenge is being led by former Suzuki MotoGP Project Leader Shinichi Sahara (left). Sahara is seen here at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show with Tsuyoshi Tanaka, Executive General Manager Motorcycle Operations (right). Photo courtesy Shinichi Sahara.
A 2024-model Aprilia RS 660 Trofeo. Photo courtesy Aprilia.
2024 APRILIA RS 660 TROFEO AVAILABLE NOW FOR PURCHASE
PREPARED BY APRILIA RACING WITH ALL THE EXPERIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF THE FACTORY THAT HOLDS 54 WORLD TITLES, THE TRACK-ONLY EDITION RETURNS WITH A 2024 PRODUCTION, 28 TOTAL COMING TO THE USA AND CANADA
FROM THE PROVEN CAPABILITY OF THE STANDARD RS 660, RACE-FOCUSED WEIGHT PREPARATION AND POWER ARE THE FOCUS FOR PERFORMANCE ON TRACK
After its début on the track in the single-brand championship, the Aprilia RS 660 Trofeo was launched to the masses for any enthusiast who wants to have fun on the track with the category reference twin-cylinder sport bike from Noale. The limited production, which happens between race seasons, is made directly by the Aprilia Racing department as a part of the Factory Works program, and returns to the public in 2024, with a dedicated livery update, in a production of just 28 units for North America.
Already agile and lightweight in the street-legal version, the Trofeo transformation uses high-level components and exploits the perfect balanced between chassis architecture, engine, and electronics to the fullest. Like its street-legal sibling, it raises the bar in the category, representing the perfect sport twin-cylinder proposal, with an outstanding weight/power ratio and a leading electronics package for the segment.
Starting from the already high-performance standard RS 660, the upgrades begin with the electrical system, simplified by eliminating the ignition switch assembly and ABS. The braking system is simplified with independent lines. The ABS control unit, however, remains on the bike and connected to exploit the strategies of the integrated electronic system. The ECU is reprogrammed in Race version, with mapping (all “full power”) developed by Aprilia Racing and dedicated exclusively to track use, as well as being calibrated for the SC Project racing exhaust. The color TFT dashboard is reprogrammed and integrated by a dedicated button block on the left-hand side.
The suspension can count on a front fork with “Misano by Andreani” internal cartridge, adjustable in hydraulic compression and rebound damping and preload. The Öhlins AP948 rear shock absorber features hydraulic preload, compression, and rebound damping adjustment.
The chassis architecture is upgraded, with a lowered riding position thanks to the racing upper steering yoke and adjustable semi-handlebars. The footpegs are adjustable and dismountable so each rider can achieve optimum ergonomics. The fairing is in fiberglass.
The engine upgrades have brought power up to 105 HP, a record value for an inline twin-cylinder, whereas dry weight has dropped to 153 kg. The secondary air system and the thermostat are eliminated, whereas aluminum guards are installed for the clutch cover and alternator, as well as a specific Sprint Filter air filter. As always, working alongside Aprilia Racing in every one of its projects are top-level partners such as Castrol, Zanasi Group, Cruciata, Jetprime, Spider and Bike Lift.
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Photo by Kohei Hirota.
Stefano Manzi won restarted and red-flag-shortened FIM Supersport World Championship Race Two Sunday at Catalunya, in Spain. Riding his Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing YZF-R6, the Italian rider won what ended up being a six-lap race by 0.086 second.
Marcel Schroetter was the runner-up on his MV Agusta Reparto Corsa F3 800 RR, and Lucas Mahias placed third, just 0.201 second behind Manzi, on his GMT94 Yamaha.
Former MotoAmerica Supersport regular Valentin Debise finished fifth, just 0.714 second behind the race winner, on his Evan Bros. Racing Yamaha.
Provisional Parts Unlimited AFT Singles Main Event (6 Minutes + 2 Laps) Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Kody Kopp (KTM), 22 laps
2. Tom Drane (Yam), -1.522 seconds
3. Chase Saathoff (Hon), -2.726
4. Aidan RoosEvans (Yam), -3.662
5. Dalton Gauthier (KTM), -4.539
6. James Ott (Hus), -7.306
7. Hunter Bauer (Yam), -8.271
8. Trent Lowe (Hon), -8.898
9. Travis Petton (KTM), -8.971
10. Bradon Pfanders (KTM), -10.193
11. Tarren Santero (Hon), -10.716
12. Tyler Raggio (Hon), -11.365
13. Shayna Texter-Bauman (KTM), -11.576
14. Evan Renshaw (Hon), -11.833
15. Landen Smith (KTM), -12.332
16. Logan Eisenhard (KTM), -13.748
17. Justin Jones (Hus), -13.791
18. Jared Lowe (Hon), -14.307
19. Chad Cose (KTM), -18.021
Provisional Mission SuperTwins Main Event (10 Minutes + 2 Laps) Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Jared Mees (Ind), 36 laps
2. Dallas Daniels (Yam), -1.591 seconds
3. Brandon Robinson (Ind), -3.211
4. Briar Bauman (KTM), -3.371
5. Jarod VanDerKooi (Ind), -7.706
6. Johnny Lewis (Roy), -9.482
7. Brandon Price (Yam), -10.689
8. Davis Fisher (Ind), -11.984
9. Trevor Brunner (KTM), -17.031
10. Max Whale (Har), -17.191
11. Dan Bromley (Hon), -17.324
12. Ben Lowe (KTM), -17.720
13. Bronson Bauman (KTM), -17.930
14. Declan Bender (Ind), -18.432
15. Kolby Carlile (Yam), -1 lap
16. Cameron Smith (KTM), -1 lap, 9.245 seconds
17. Kevin Stollings (Kaw), -2 laps, -7.366
18. Michael Hill (Yam), -15 laps, DNF
More, from a press release issued by AFT:
Mees Responds with Statement Ride at Yamaha Senoia Short Track
Jared Mees (1) and Dallas Daniels (32) in action at Senoia Raceway. Photo by Tim Lester, courtesy AFT.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 24, 2024) – Reigning Mission SuperTwins champion Jared Mees (No. 1 Rogers Racing/SDI Racing/Indian Motorcycle FTR750) turned to his successful ‘23 script, once again rebounding from a quiet season opener with a statement performance in the Yamaha Senoia Short Track at Senoia Raceway in Senoia, Georgia, Round 3 of the 2024 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing.
That said, Sunday’s ride didn’t exactly get underway as he’d originally envisioned. The factory Indian star was involved in a minor pre-race dispute and was forced to line up on the far outside of Row 1 after believing he could select the slot at the bottom. Even if it went against his wishes, the swap either gifted him the ideal position or the motivation required to make it work, as Mees promptly blasted into the lead once the race got underway.
Even with the benefit of that prime launch, Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) was quickly looking for a way by and slid underneath to steal away first less than a minute into the Main Event. But Mees had an answer, reclaiming the position a short two laps later and then went about steadily working his way to what proved to be a 1.591-second margin of victory.
Afterward Mees said, “I fast qualified earlier in the day, but I didn’t really feel good. I was making some decent laps but also making a lot of mistakes. In the (Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge), Dallas ate my lunch – I was really worried about him; he and his team were rolling really good. He was really consistent and could get the bike turned, and that’s where I was struggling all day. We made some changes and went a direction we’ve never gone before with some things. And the motorcycle was phenomenal. It turned great and rolled good. Everything I needed it to do all day, it finally came to me.”
The fight for third was a hard-fought three-way affair for much of the race, led for a long spell by Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650) with Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) and Briar Bauman (No. 3 Rick Ware Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790 Duke) jammed up close behind.
Lewis did well to keep Robinson and Bauman corralled behind him for the majority of the contest, but their superior pace ultimately won out – at least once Bauman showed they could tap into the high line to find a path through.
Free of the Royal Enfield runner, Robinson then managed to keep two-time champion Bauman at bay by just over a tenth-of-a-second at the flag. Lewis, meanwhile, found himself also overtaken by a charging Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Ohio Indian FTR750), who secured the final spot in the top five after circulating as low as ninth in the early going.
The remainder of the top ten consisted of a pair of premier-class veterans – Brandon Price (No. 92 Memphis Shades/Corbin/OTBR Yamaha MT-07) and Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750) – and class rookies – Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Mission Foods/Zanotti Racing KTM 790 Duke) and Max Whale (No. 18 Latus Motors Racing/Liqui Moly Harley-Davidson XG750R).
Mees’ triumph elevated him from sixth to third in the points (54), but he continues to trail Daniels (64) and Robinson (61), the duo having upped their respective ‘24 podium streaks to a perfect three for three.
Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER
Reigning two-time Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER king Kody Kopp (No. 1 Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus KTM 450 SX-F) continued to build his case as the most accomplished rider in class history, earning a record-tying sixth career Short Track win on Sunday afternoon.
While in the end, the victory proved a lonely one, that order first had to be forged in chaos.
Former class champion Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F) grabbed the holeshot with title fighters Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), Chase Saathoff (No. 88 JPG Motorsports Honda CRF450R), and Kopp running alongside while sorting out second in shadow.
In one fell swoop, that fight for second became one for the lead as Drane and Saathoff both went under Gauthier at the same moment Kopp ringed around the outside, all despite no obvious mistake on Gauthier’s part.
Kopp continued to work the high line, using it to both overhaul Drane and make his escape in relatively short order.
At that point, the top three broke apart, while Gauthier lost one final position to Aiden RoosEvans (No. 26 FRA Trust/ATV’s and More Yamaha YZ450F), who ran just removed from the lead pack for the entirety of the race.
“I’m happy to be up here and be able to spin laps like that,” Kopp said. “Hats off to Tom, Chase, and Dalton – those first few laps were chaos. I got a terrible start and tried to roll ‘em around the outside. Huge shout out to my Rick Ware Racing team and everybody that’s behind me. We’re ready to get on a roll now.”
2023 Senoia Short Track podium finisher James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450) took sixth, followed by Hunter Bauer (No. 24 Vinson Construction/American Harley-Davidson, Yamaha YZ450F), Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), and Travis Petton IV (No. 82 ECG Racing/A.M Ortega KTM 450 SX-F).
The final spot in the top ten was earned by Bradon Pfanders (No. 288 Pfanders Racing/Scott Powersports KTM 450 SX-F), who made an extremely impressive Progressive AFT debut immediately after becoming eligible by turning 16.
Kopp already boasts an early 17-point advantage over Gauthier (71-54) with Drane (51) and Saathoff (50) placed third and fourth and desperate to prevent the double defending champ from executing another championship runaway.
Next Up:
The Progressive American Flat Track tour will compete on a Half-Mile for the first time this season with the Mission Texas Half-Mile presented by Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda and Roof Systems of Dallas at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, April 27. Please visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/texas-half-mile-86387 to secure your tickets today.
For those who can’t catch the action from the circuit, FloRacing is the live streaming home of Progressive AFT. Sign up now and catch every second of on-track action starting with Practice & Qualifying and ending with the Victory Podium at the end of the night at http://flosports.link/aft.
FOX Sports coverage of the Yamaha Senoia Short Track, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, March 31, at 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PT).
More, from a press release issued by Indian Motorcycle:
INDIAN MOTORCYCLE RACING AND REIGHNING CHAMPION JARED MEESE SECURE FIRST VICTORY OF 2024 SEASON AT SENOIA SHORT TRACK
Mees Edges Out the Competition Aboard Indian FTR750, Moving into Third in Overall Standings
Fellow Indian FTR750 Rider Brandon Robinson Rounds out the Podium in Third
Minneapolis, MN. – Indian Motorcycle Racing had a stellar showing at round three of the 2024 American Flat Track series in Senoia, Georgia, for the Senoia Short Track. It was nine-time champion Jared Mees scoring his first victory of the year aboard his Indian FTR750, moving him into third in the championship. Fellow Indian Motorcycle-supported racer Brandon Robinson rounded out the top three aboard his Indian FTR750 privateer ride.
After a slow start to the season, Mees, the reigning champion, made a strong statement in Senoia that he’s still at the top of his game and the rider to beat. Despite an unwanted starting position, he used it as motivation to rocket his FTR750 off the line when the green flag waved to take over the lead quickly. Mees was overtaken a short time later but maintained his speed and stayed within striking distance to regain the lead a few laps later. Once out front, Mees didn’t look back throughout the remainder of the 36-lap race, taking the checkered flag and winning by 1.6 seconds.
“This was a solid showing for Jared and the Indian Motorcycle team, securing the win and keeping him within striking distance in the chase for his 10th-career championship,” said Gary Gray, Vice President of Racing & Service for Indian Motorcycle. “Although the weekend didn’t go completely how he’d like, it was important for him to get this win under his belt. There is still a lot of racing left this season, and this victory provide him and his team momentum going next month’s race in Texas.”
“It was a challenging start to the season so to come away with the win tonight is incredible,” said Mees. “I struggled throughout the day and during qualifying so was a little worried but after making some changes to the bike it performed phenomenally in the Main event. Everything I had been wanting it to do all day, finally came to me and it paid off. I can’t thank the Indian team enough for the support.
After three rounds, Mees sits third in the championship chase with 54 points, a mere 10 points off the lead. Currently tied with Scottie Parker with the most career championships, Mees is looking to secure his spot in the history books as the all-time greatest flat track racer with a 2024 championship, earning him 10-career titles. Of his nine-career championships, Mees has five while piloting the Indian FTR750, coming in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
The 2024 American Flat Track season continues on April 27 for the Texas Half-Mile in Fort Worth, TX.
For more information on Indian Motorcycle Racing, visit IndianMotorcycle.com and follow along on Facebook, X and Instagram.
ABOUT INDIAN MOTORCYCLE
Indian Motorcycle is America’s First Motorcycle Company. Founded in 1901, Indian Motorcycle has won the hearts of motorcyclists around the world and earned distinction as one of America’s most legendary and iconic brands through unrivaled racing dominance, engineering prowess and countless innovations and industry firsts. Today that heritage and passion is reignited under new brand stewardship. To learn more, please visit www.indianmotorcycle.com.
The track at Lumen Field formed deep, peg-dragging ruts after rains earlier in the week saturated the dirt. Photo courtesy Feld Motor Sports.
Cooper Webb Wins Seattle Supercross in Closest Finish of the Year
Levi Kitchen Tops Field in 250SX Class
Seattle, Wash., (March 23, 2024) Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb took a thrilling win at Lumen Field in Seattle to nab his third win of the season at Round 11 of the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross season. The win marked the slimmest margin of victory so far this season as 58,342 fans cheered Webb and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Chase Sexton to the finish line.
Chase Sexton led much of the race and put on an incredible final surge; he missed the win by less than one second to earn the runner-up spot. Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence pushed a strong pace early but a crash with Webb put him back; he finished in third place. In the Western Regional 250SX Class’ return to racing, Washington-native Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen ran away with a huge win in what is his hometown Supercross.
Cooper Webb. Photo courtesy Feld Motor Sports.
“This is probably – we keep saying it every weekend – but by far the gnarliest track I’ve ridden. And it was really tough; we were all trying to push the pace, but you had to watch out for all the changing lines, the ruts, the lappers… I got arm pump pretty bad there at the end and it was just [a matter of] surviving, but I was able to hold on. Chase rode great, obviously made a few mistakes, then I’d make mistakes, and we’d go back and forth so, man, I’m stoked. I just want to give it up to the good Lord, want to give it up to the team; man, we’ve been dealt some adversity and we’re fighting through it, and it just feels amazing to win. It’s crazy, you know, you see Jett do it over and over and you just, you want to get that feeling again… I’m pumped.” – Cooper Webb.
“To be honest I didn’t even look at the pit board, so I had no idea [Webb was jumping the wall after the sand section]. I had [a] line late in the race where I was doubling into the pocket, but I never even thought of going outside [in the sand], so that’s on me not looking at the pit board. But overall, minus a few mistakes, I rode a really good race, even through[out] the whole race. I came back towards the end. I felt like I had really good speed. We made a change going into the heat race with my bike and it showed. I was really comfortable the whole night on such a gnarly track. And I gotta give it up to the team; they put a lot of work in to get me happy and we’re climbing that ladder… [when asked about stalling the engine during the night’s racing] …I got actually clipped that hay bail on this rhythm over here and bent my rear brake out, and I think that’s what happened when I stalled it over there. I caught my rear brake. So, just a few small hiccups, but overall it was a lot better race from me. This is the most I’ve fought all year, as far as [battling] close to the front, so we’re getting better.” – Chase Sexton, when asked if he saw that his mechanic was signaling him to double out of the sand and over the wall.
“I had a good charge at the start [of the race], had a really good flow, and I think I just came in the sand here and was a little bit committed. I knew I was going to hit Cooper, I could have been mean and hit him harder and just committed to it, but I didn’t want to hit him, and then in that sand you don’t want to – it’s very hard to pull up. So yeah, I ended up kind of being nice and checking up, but I [ended up] clipping the back [of Cooper’s bike], got off balance [and crashed]. And then I stalled it here once, and also had a lapper stop on the wall jump in front of me [and hold me up]. So, I’m like, ‘You know, that’s enough signs that tonight’s not the night, so we’ll just try and bring it home in third.’”– Jett Lawrence
The Western Regional 250SX Class passed its season midpoint with Seattle marking Round 6 of 10 rounds. Levi Kitchen made the technical track look almost easy with a win margin of over twenty seconds. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire fought back from a mediocre start to claim second place. Team Honda HRC’s Jo Shimoda was blazing fast, recovering from a crash to lock down the third-place spot.
Levi Kitchen (47). Photo courtesy Feld Motor Sports.
“I’ve been waiting for a night like this for a long time… I just finally rode like myself and, you know, to do that in front of the hometown is awesome. Man, I just felt good on my dirt bike, like finally completely myself… it wasn’t a pretty race, actually, if you were me; I got really frustrated a few times and just tried to stay with it and I just kept telling myself, ‘stay with it,’ and I find myself again. It was crazy, but yeah I can’t give it up [enough] to all my friends and family for coming out, and shout out to my sister and my newborn nephew and niece, and just everybody, man, I’m going to really enjoy this one. Yeah, I’m stoked, extending the points a little bit.” – Levi Kitchen
“I said in the beginning of the day [to] just kind of take what the night gives me. I had nothing for Levi all day, I mean, you’ve seen in the heat race – like, that was embarrassing… I didn’t have the speed, that’s just what it was. I had to settle down and then, I don’t know what happened off the start there; I felt like I had a really good jump, and [then] I must have spun or something. And those first couple laps are hectic. I made some good passes but, man, the track is brutal. I rode Indy a few times [but] I don’t think I rode a track like this. So coming from the East Coast, it’s definitely technical tonight… We said we want to be solid tonight, and that’s all we had, so we’ll take a second on the night and look forward to St. Louis.” – RJ Hampshire
“Oh my God, it was the gnarliest track I ever rode. Honestly, like, from the heat race, I just kept dragging my foot pegs, and that threw me off. I actually crashed on the rhythm [section in the Main Event] – same thing, just [coming] out of the rut [it] caught my peg and it threw me off to the side…. I just needed to really, really focus, I guess. But I’m stoked to be on the podium, and I just want to shout out my mechanic [and team]. Thank you so much, and it was tough one.” – Jo Shimoda
The series moves east for Round 12, which kicks off next Saturday inside The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The round also pays points toward the SuperMotocross World Championship, seeding top racers from both Supercross and Pro Motocross into two Playoff races and a World Championship Final. zMAX Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, and The Strip at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway will host the 2024 post-season rounds.
Every Monster Energy AMA Supercross and SuperMotocross League event is available live and on-demand at PeacockTV. Select rounds can also be found on NBC, USA Network, CNBC, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app. CNBC airs next-day encore presentations of all 31 rounds of 2024 racing. For international coverage the SuperMotocross Video Pass (supermotocross.tv) provides live and on-demand coverage, in both English and Spanish.
The Seattle round continued to celebrate Supercross’ long-standing partnership with St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Fans are encouraged to support this great cause and wear their Love Moto Stop Cancer t-shirt, which is available with a donation. For more information go to stjude.org/supercross to text “SUPER” to 785-833.
Tickets are available for the remaining Monster Energy Supercross events. For tickets, video highlights, points standings, feature stories, and more information on streaming and broadcast airtimes please go to SupercrossLIVE.com.
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Accessibility
Accessibility modes
Epilepsy Safe Mode
Dampens color and removes blinks
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Online Dictionary
Readable Experience
Content Scaling
Default
Text Magnifier
Readable Font
Dyslexia Friendly
Highlight Titles
Highlight Links
Font Sizing
Default
Line Height
Default
Letter Spacing
Default
Left Aligned
Center Aligned
Right Aligned
Visually Pleasing Experience
Dark Contrast
Light Contrast
Monochrome
High Contrast
High Saturation
Low Saturation
Adjust Text Colors
Adjust Title Colors
Adjust Background Colors
Easy Orientation
Mute Sounds
Hide Images
Hide Emoji
Reading Guide
Stop Animations
Reading Mask
Highlight Hover
Highlight Focus
Big Dark Cursor
Big Light Cursor
Cognitive Reading
Virtual Keyboard
Navigation Keys
Voice Navigation
Accessibility Statement
www.roadracingworld.com
September 11, 2025
Compliance status
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience,
regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level.
These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible
to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific
disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML,
adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive
a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements,
alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups),
and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag
for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology.
To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on
as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
